The Three Levels of Enlightenment: Which are you?

I didn't write this article; it is currently circulating on Facebook, and it is such a good clue that I wanted to post it here, where I can remember to find it later.

Blessed are the Trudgers

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.   Henry David Thoreau, Walden 

The journey of 1000 steps may begin with just one step, but it is still 1000 steps long:  one foot in front of the other, consistently, persistently, whether you're feeling it or not.  When you're in the flow, it's great!  Everything you touch is golden:  your work is brilliant, you are joyful and at peace, in harmony with your world.  During these times, the journey seems effortless and it feels reasonable to hold big dreams.

PROSPERITY PROJECT: How Much Money Do You Really Need?

During the course of the Prosperity Project exercise, in which we began with $1000 and every day had to spend $1000 more than the day before, we found that we very quickly ran out of things we wanted to buy.  After about four days, the amount of money we were expected to spend became ridiculously large.  When the game got to that point, many people stopped playing ...  I mean, we were clearly being forced to spend unrealistic sums of money, so why bother?  Those of us who stuck with it for the full 28 days -- in which we had to spend yet another $28,000 in one day after already having spent $27,000 the day before and $26,000 the day before that, after having already bought everything we've ever really wanted -- were forced to really stretch our imagination in order to complete our assignment. The exercise was not a pointless one, however, because we can't learn where our limits are if we never attempt to move beyond them (ask any teenager).  

Exactly what is a thought, anyway?

Thoughts are powerful things.  They can make us happy, make us sad, make us feel week or powerful, they can convince us we can do anything, or they can convince us to give up.  As Hamlet pointed out to his good buddies, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."  And Hamlet should know:  he spent so much time brooding on the negative that he worked himself into one humdinger of a depression.

In this series of posts we are exploring the Law of Attraction idea that if we want to change our results, we must first change our thinking.  So what exactly is a thought?  And how is it that they so easily lead us astray?

How the Mind Works: An Introduction

Where do our thoughts come from?  I'm not talking about our ideas, which can range from brilliant to "What in the world was I thinking?"  I'm talking about the chatter that constantly goes on in our mind.  What instigates those thoughts?  What is the catalyst that gets those thoughts started?  It seems to me that if we can understand the answer to that question, we can better control our thinking so that we can deliberately create the results we truly desire.

Before we can answer that question, we need to first understand what we mean by the term mind.  The classic model taught that our mind is synonymous with brain, but we are learning that that is nowhere close to the true picture.  The brain is a part of the mind, certainly, but the neural network that actually constitutes our mind extends to every part of our body.  Have you ever had a thought that made your heart race or tied your stomach up in a knot?  Have you ever had a feeling in the pit of your stomach that only eventually turned into a thought?  Whereas scientists and philosophers used to talk about how the mind can affect the body and the body can affect the mind, they now speak of a Mind/Body Connection, or just call it BodyMind or MindBody.  Turns out, our entire corporeal being is an information processing system.

What Do You Really Believe About Money? (It's Why You Might Not Have Any)

During last fall's Prosperity Project, we played a game in which we imagined ourselves spending large sums of money.  We began with $1000, and every day our goal was to imagine spending $1000 more than we spent the previous day.  The first few days were easy, because most of us have a backlog of things that we need and want.  By about Day 4, however, many of us had run out of things to buy.  Most of us who played that game have no real need for $28,000 a day (which works out to over $10 million in one year).  Yet there are some people on this planet who routinely spend that kind of money with no problem. 

Back to School

School started yesterday.  I miss school.  I always loved the anticipation of the first day of school.  My mother would take us shopping for new clothes, which I tolerated.  But she would also take us shopping for new school supplies, which I adored.  I got to choose the notebooks and pens and pencils that I would use in organizing all of the new knowledge I was about to soak in.  Even many years later, as a graduate student, I used to love getting the book list for the semester, and making the week-before-school trip to the bookstore to get all my supplies.

Plan Be: Surviving Winter

I've been on sabatical since just before Thanksgiving.  Until then I had been writing a daily blog, dutifully getting up hours before dawn to post a fresh article before I started my day job at the pool store.  It was a lot of work, but it was a wonderful run!  I was energized and enthused.  I learned things as I wrote, and I grew quite a bit as a result of practicing what I was learning.   My life was flourishing, like a tropical garden in midsummer.  And then came winter, and suddenly I found myself completely exhausted.

Prosperity Project Revisited: Learning to Receive

The Prosperity Project was a game, originally suggested by Abraham-Hicks, that we played here on The New Book of Clues a few months ago.  Every day we took some time to visualize how we would spend a certain amount of imaginary money.  We started with $1000, and every day we got $1000 more dollars than the previous day.  


The game was designed to stretch our imagination when it comes to money.  Most of us had no trouble spending $1000.  I bought an all-weather jacket, Keen sandals, and a round-trip ticket to San Francisco.  The next couple of days were also relatively easy, because most of us had a backlog of things on our wishlist that we could buy or pay for.  By about Day 5, though, we started running out of things to buy.  Most of us had never imagined ourselves with large sums of money, and so our imaginations were unable to keep up with the growing numbers.  Which, of course, was the whole point of the game.  

The Power of Gratitude: Prosperity Project Revisited

 Sometimes our dreams start small.  If we have been accustomed to believing that we are only worthy of just barely scraping by, then our dreams must start small if they are to start at all.   For most of my life, whenever I envisioned having a place of my own, I always pictured a small studio somewhere, with just barely enough room for my things.  I was always certain that I could pay my own way, but only if that way were meager.  I never dreamed that I would ever own a real house, even though a house is what I've always wanted. 

For ten years, I lived in a small one-bedroom condo that I bought with the money my father left me when he died.  When I bought that condo, what I really wanted was a house; but I didn't feel worthy of owning a whole house, so I settled.  Unfortunately, that condo recently became a casualty of what is now euphemistically known as "This Economy," and for the past year I have been staying in my boyfriend's house, with all of my stuff in storage. Although I will always be grateful to Keith for giving me a safe place to stay, rent-free, while I got back on my feet, I've really missed having my own home.  And although he has been happy to be able to help me in a very significant way by graciously providing me with shelter, we are both people who have a strong need to be alone in our own space.

Life as an Alto

I've been silent since November.  At first it was necessary; I was exhausted, and badly in need of rest.  After several weeks had passed, though, I began to be a bit concerned.  I'm a writer.  Shouldn't I be writing?  And yet, I felt strongly led to remain silent.  Until today.  Today, it dawned on me that the silence I've been exhibiting recently is actually a very compelling portion of the song I am here to sing.

After a long hibernation through one of the coldest winters we've had here in central Florida, I am slowly beginning to return to my usual activities.  Rehearsal season has resumed, and I've spent a great deal of time in the past few weeks learning the alto parts to both the Dvorak Requiem and the Mozart Mass in C Minor.  For many years my life has revolved around choral performances.  I generally plan my rest periods between performances, and then work like mad during rehearsal season.  This spring I've committed to two simultaneous performances of very challenging pieces of music, and after my long rest I'm thoroughly enjoying the process.

Focus on Your Best Possibilities

Note to Self:

Your best possibilities

Stop trying to prove to the world how bad things are. Start showing the world how great things can be.

From the very same place where you've been sliding backwards, you can begin to move ahead.

Whether you're in a good place or a bad place depends entirely on where you choose to go next.

Where your passion and attention are consistently focused, is where your life will go.

Focus on the positive possibilities that excite you the most.

Don't let your excuses continue to hold you back.

Allow your effective and purposeful actions to move you forward.

You don't have to save the whole world in a single bound.  Small steps, taken again and again, will accomplish far more than any grandiose scheme.

Now is the moment you're living, and now is the moment to give your very best to life.

Yes, you can do it, so choose right now to find real joy in living your best possibilities.

-- Ralph Marston


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