Feeling My Way

Chapter 2 – Good News Isn’t interesting how we humans over-think and over-complicate things? As I watch our cat or the birds in the yard or any of the animals on TV nature shows for that matter, they give no thought to the next moment and they survive very well. It’s always “now” to them and they are content with their lives. I love the passage in Matthew 6:23 of the Bible that tells us, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not nor do they spin…” God or the Universe or whatever you want to call the enlivening force in our lives takes care of all living creatures, sentient or not. We humans are the ones who create fears and regrets, challenges and obstacles, loves and hates, worries and wars. We possess this wonderful thing we call the subconscious mind that primarily exists to keep us safe from harm, but too often its power destroys our confidence, our courage, our faith in ourselves and in life. Our subconscious is constantly scanning our world, looking for danger, warning us of deviations from our old programming. While it’s certainly helpful at times, we don’t often question what our subconscious delivers up. A better question is, “Is this thought true?” Thoughts lead to feelings, feelings lead to action, and action creates results according to T. Harv Eker, and the starting point is in our thoughts and how we manage them. Few people realize that not every thought we think is true, right or useful. It’s just our subconscious drawing on past experience and trying to prevent future harm, but it’s working on insufficient data because new information is blocked unless we consciously choose to question, evaluate, and then opt to change what we think, what we do, and how we do it. In the process of allowing our subconscious to rule us, we resist change, we develop a fear of differences based on past experiences, and we hunker down in our comfort zones, only peeking timidly over the edge to other, possibly better futures. So great is the old programming in some cultures that wars have been fought for centuries over miniscule differences in interpretations of religious practices. So persistent is the old programming in some families that dysfunction is the norm. So fear-based is our old programming for many of us that we dare not even dream of success. How convoluted and sad is that? The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. We can free ourselves of old programs, create successful lives, and throw away our limiting beliefs about living a successful, happy life. A belief (or old program) is just a thought you keep thinking and repeating until you believe it is truth. However, you don’t have to hold on to a belief if that belief doesn’t serve you. You’re free to change, to grow, to play, and to enjoy your life. You have the power. It’s not complicated. What thought no longer serves you? Bring it out in the clear light of day and ask yourself if it’s useful to you. No? Bless it, let go of it, and release yourself from limiting beliefs. Step into freedom, shift your perspective to a better possibility, and create more positive results.