One Heads Up!

Most of us are being affected by what has happened with the world economy, and whether it has been in a minor or a major way, the truth is we are all in a very leaky boat and no matter what the talking heads on TV or the slap happy journalists in your favorite news rag tell you, happy times are not here again nor will they be for a long time.

The inevitable has hit the proverbial and we just are all in it deep. Let’s be frank about this.

We have two basic choices; the same ones all of us always have whenever we face any challenge, and that is:

·         a) throw up our hands, get angry, hang out with others who have done the same and complain to each other over and over, or

·         b) keep on truckin‘ and don’t quit looking for a better way.

Only by choosing “b” will our lives improve. There is no way that will happen if we just choose “a”.

So how do we do that?

WHAT WORKS?

If we are not used to using our thoughts as tools to achieve our desires and satisfy our needs, choosing “b” will likely seem on the same level as prayer, something which many believe has value, but which isn’t going to pay this month’s rent or car payment.

Our lives are limited only by what we think. Yeah, I know . . .we’ve all heard that and so what, because we are impatient, and scared, and lack faith, and want to see the badness go away now, quickly. And instant gratification we believe would be perfect, except that the only problem for most of us is that instant gratification isn’t quick enough!!

Changing our way of thinking is just not easy. It is not something we can just “do” because someone suggested it and we want to try it out to see if it works. You got to be real. It has to come from you to work, and this is the real challenge we face when we are under the gun and are being forced to free ourselves from old ways of thinking.

There’s a built in conflict here: if we are being forced by anything, financial, personal or whatever, it is natural for us to want to resist. We just don’t want anyone to tell us what to do, even if it is something we really even want to do.

So when we hear something that sounds like good stuff, such as “our minds and thoughts will create the outcomes of our lives,” we want to believe it, we even recognize within ourselves a spark of attachment to the truthfulness of it, but even when we decide to give it a chance it will likely be with a degree of fear, doubt and certainly impatience. How likely do you think it will be that we will see our new course of action (altering our thoughts) really succeed under those constraints? Not much, I would guess.

THE PUZZLE

So what do we need to make a change for the better in our lives actually work? What must we do to eradicate the fear and insecurity we have come to live with? This is a big question, folks.

This is a question recurring throughout the ages, and religions, philosophers and gurus of all stripes and colors have thrown their hats into this very, very large ring with “the answer.” Some say you need to “surrender,” realize that it is not within your power to do what you need and to put yourself into the hands of God for “His” (or “Her”) solution.

Well, like all answers which have attracted large bodies of followers, this one contains some potentially good advice, but it may go a little too far and end us up in the “a” group (passive complainers)  if we misunderstand what is good about it. I’ll get to that soon, but first I would like to give an example.

Motivation gurus from Napoleon Hill to Brian Tracy to “The Secret” have all touched on the same basic answers to life’s challenges. These center more about taking action, but what they emphasize is “internal” action.

What they say is if you build the field, “they will come.” This advice sounds more empowering than simply “surrendering” so many people mistakenly jump quickly aboard and ultimately peter out when those instant results take longer than they can tolerate.

But there is much truth within this crucial realization, as well. And being able to see it, to utilize what is essential, is what getting what you need is all about.

Before you can savor a wonderful glass of wine, you need to have a glass. Right? If the glass were filled with water, beer or gasoline it would prevent you from achieving what you need, which is to enjoy a wonderful wine.

So what do you need to do first? You need to clean out your glass!!.

And you need to do a good job. Depending on what you had in it to begin with, various degrees of purging will be necessary. This, folks, is what WE can call “surrender.” We are cleaning out, emptying our “contents” to make room for better stuff.

Most people will likely confuse their “contents” with their identity, themselves, and feel that by emptying old basic thought patterns, they are somehow “losing” who they ARE.

That’s just a crock people. Anyone who has done any meditation for a while can tell you quite clearly something they will very likely have discovered: WE ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS.

This is another essential idea. Thoughts are things. They form in our consciousness for millions of reasons and we, the REAL we, get comfortable with their familiarity and eventually defend them to the death. Well, in an absolute sense, that’s pretty stupid. But in the limited section of the universe in which most of us confine our daily lives, this seems perfectly reasonable. So what can we do?

WHAT WE NEED . . .TO KNOW!!

First, we need to understand this. We need to understand that we, each of us, is something greater than we can imagine; that we have more power to actually create our lives than we believe, and that this power is not something that can be given to us.  Each of us already has it. We need simply to learn how it is accessed.

It’s always the transition from the theoretical to the practical which presents the greatest challenge, and in the area we are talking about this is more true than in most others. Once we have had the realization that we can create a better reality for ourselves by adjusting our thinking, how do we do it?

I believe that there as many answers to this question as there are people asking it, but I also suspect that all the answers which are proven successful share certain elements.

I’d love to use this space right now to share success stories and hear how those people who managed to turn their lives around by self-realization (awareness, epiphany) followed by self-actualization (successful thought alteration and subsequent real world obtainment of goals) managed to do it.

Eventually, I’d like to explore some of the ways people are dealing with the real world economy right now, separating hype from reality with many of the offerings on the web which promise to make you rich and also get you out of debt . These issues are paramount in many of minds and most of the promises we see are scams of one kind or another. But some are not. These usually require some amount of work on our parts, but that makes sense . . .doesn’t it. Who really expects to get something for nothing?

I have some stories to tell . .and I will. I have also uncovered a few legitimate solutions to making money and to removing debt. I will share these later and continue to as I discover them. But first, I’d really like to hear how those successful with remaking themselves have done it.

Fire away!!