Recovering our True Self: The Journey Out of Our Negative States

Down through the centuries, spiritual teachers of all traditions have differentiated between our mundane, invented personality so filled with stress, and our true identity characterized by serenity, constancy, and wisdom.  They urge us to discover our inner depths and that vaster Self which enables right action in the world. Everyone of us is meant to live with joy and compassionate outreach to the people around us. We are designed to be masters of our selves, capable of overcoming all the difficulties of life. This is our birthright, but in order to experience it, we must recognize how far we are from living in this manner, why this is so, and what efforts we must make to live in such a way. This new awareness and these efforts are the process that leads us out of our negative emotional habits in order to enter into the depths of our spiritual nature.

To recover from our ingrained habits and our subconscious imitations of parents and peers is truly spiritual warfare.  It is the narrow way that few want to travel as it requires going against the grain of our own behavior.  It is making the hard choices rather than taking the easy way as we always have.  This process takes place in the trenches of our most ordinary interactions with the world.  Authentic spiritual development takes place in that moment of irritation, that moment of unkindness, that moment of selfishness that we encounter the heat of the battle.  This inner battle determines who we are and how we live this life during our brief journey through time.

Here then are some specific methods for recovering from those toxic habits:

The first and most fundamental effort is the objective study of ourselves. Why? Because nothing real can take place until we know what we are dealing with. We cannot take for granted that we know how or why we function the way we do. If you want to operate a computer, you have to learn the software. Human beings are complex software indeed and are rarely user friendly. So tryobserving yourself from a completely neutral standpoint. Do not judge what you see. Just see it. Observe your reactions, your attitudes, your moods and the many aspects of yourself that take charge from moment to moment. If you do this with sincerity and courage, not justifying every action and passing thought, you will begin to see yourself more objectively and initiate the awareness of the Observing Self who will be the key to your recovery.

This simple effort begins the process of creating a space within you that is not completely hypnotized by external events. Though you still react to external circumstances through ingrained habit, there is now this sliver of your Self that is not pulled out of you. A new space of inner freedom is being created along with a new sense of a deeper identity than the surface personality.

Another critical aspect of this observation is the study of our negative states. You will be amazed at how much of our time is spent under the dominance of these dark moods and thoughts. You will catch yourself grumbling about other people, feeling dejected over this or that event, complaining about the weather, resenting something somebody said. Nothing healthy can grow under the constant downpour of this acid rain within you. Eventually, you will discover that you can free yourself from such unpleasant behavior and states of mind. Step one is to turn off the leaking faucet: stop expressing negative emotions.

This effort is the beginning of separating yourself from them. You don’t have to accept living in those dark states. You are not them. They are bad habits acquired over a lifetime. If you want healing and joy in your life, you must stop the momentum of negativity. One of the important things to observe about negative states is how much energy they take away from us. If you are aware of yourself before and after a moment of rage, you will see very clearly how much energy has been lost in that brief moment. We only have so much energy available to us each day, and we can use it to be healed and renewed, or we can squander it thoughtlessly.

So notice your thoughts before they plant themselves in your feelings and eventually manifest in your actions. Anger at a colleague or spouse can be caught before it has caused internal and external damage. In that more rational, detached place before the feeling has caught you by the throat, you can notice why you are angry. What is it in you that is reacting that way? What is it in your colleague that has caused his or her behavior which is so disturbing? Anger can then turn into compassion, or at least into a new insight about yourself or another.

After self-observation and separation from negative states comes the next all-important practice: becoming present to the moment. Experience the moment as it is, for what it is. Becoming present grounds you in reality here and now and takes you out of the tempests of imagination and inner talking that fill the mind with so much noise. Become present not only to your surroundings, but to your body. Relax the tensions that you haven’t even noticed before: In the shoulders, in the jaws, in the stomach. Begin to experience the revitalizing peace of being alive in this moment. Those of you familiar with meditation know how helpful it is to regulate one’s breathing in order to center oneself. Just breathing in and out slowly to ease the inner tensions is a powerful tool for nourishing your spirit in the moment. Learn to sit quietly for awhile. This is no luxury or idle behavior. We are so wracked with stress and worry that we cannot recover enough to get back in touch with ourselves until we are released from the grip of our anxieties. We rob ourselves of the very joy of living when we let ourselves fall into endless worry and nervous tension. Take time to let go of all that.

This daily effort teaches us to stop or at least to step back from the constant flow of thoughts that creates reality for us. This means that most of our worrying and anxious considerations fall by the wayside and we are able to rise above the clouds of our immediate concerns to the larger picture of our existence as a whole. Sometimes, however, the flood of thoughts refuses to slow no matter what we do. Our nerves are so frayed that we cannot achieve the simple peace of looking out the window and enjoying the view without anything coming to mind. That’s when you might employ the stop exercise. In the midst of a thought or daydream, tell yourself to stop and abruptly cut short what is going on in your mind. Then relax your body and look around you, just seeing what is there. Take a vacation from the inner turmoil.

So our daily practice for recovering from a life polluted with negative emotional habits includes: objective observation of our selves, separation from negative states, quieting the mind, and becoming present to the moment. You will notice how these practices begin to take us out of our usual nervous tension and keep us from mindlessly responding to everything around us by turning a portion of our attention inward and by expanding our perspective in the moment.  We then become more than our self-centered, habitual mass of reactions.

If you apply these techniques regularly, you will soon find yourself living more frequently in that space of peace, of centeredness, of recovery from being victims of automatic reactions. Then you will find that you become capable of a serenity and acceptance of what is, of a surrender of selfishness that empowers you to help others as well as yourself.

Such a journey of emotional and psychological recovery offers us a new spiritual empowerment which enables us to accept life as it comes, even with all its complications and the capacity to act rightly in any given situation. This developing inner power creates a free human being who is no longer entangled in his or her selfishness and constant stream of fears and desires. Such a person can journey through life in peace, with wisdom and compassion. Such a person makes the world a better place.

About the Author

Ted Nottingham

Ted Nottingham is the author and translator of a dozen books, the producer of numerous televised programs, and the pastor of Northwood Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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How to Overcome Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts make us feel down and gloomy. We all know that negativity will destroy us, but we still do it- we think negative, and we behave negatively. To a certain extent, we all worsen our situations just by taking things to another level in our minds. And even though we know that it’s not helping us, we still somehow find ourselves stuck in the spiral of negative thoughts that recur again and again, following different patterns.

Thinking negative is like wearing dirty and dark glasses, because it fogs our vision and gives us a highly distorted image of reality. When you are thinking negative, you can’t find joy in life as your entire mindset convinces you that joy and happiness are not an option for you, and even if you are feeling some happiness, it is only temporary.

Negative thinking leads to negative actions, which creates a wall between you and your friends or other people around you. No matter how kind and open others may be to you, you will not be able to trust them if you do not have a positive outlook towards life. Your negativity will lead you into thinking that their kindness isn’t real, and their good behavior will not last for long.

An especially harmful situation arises when a person enters a stage that is sometimes called the ‘negative negativity’. In this situation, a person is aware of his negative thinking-so much so, that he actually knows the exact pattern of his negative thinking. He is aware that this thinking is destructive for him, and thus he goes into guilt for feeling so negative. And this trap of guilt proves to be even more harmful as it leads to more of negativity.

Yes, it does sound grim. This situation promotes negativity to a higher degree, and creates a spiral. Negative thinking patterns aren’t naturally acquired- they are learned.

When we get the light of positivity, we can see the negativity clearly without giving ourselves a bad time mulling over it. This is when we decide to change ourselves and our way of thinking. It lightens up the heavy burden on our personality.

Here are five great ways to defeat negative thinking:

1. Use breathing techniques

After every few minutes, pause your work and just breathe. Concentrate on your breathing and feel yourself breathe. Enjoy the goodness of things that surround you. If you do this often, you will be more in touch with your inner self and feel tremendous energy, which will purify any negative thinking.

2. Keep a log about negative thinking

Carry a notebook with you. Whenever you feel that you are experiencing a negative pattern, just note it down along with whatever thoughts you are having and the cause behind them. Then after a couple of weeks, sit down and go through that notebook. Try to find some common themes that encourage negative thoughts in you. This will make you more aware about yourself.

3. Do stuff that you like

Take some time out from your schedule and enjoy your life a bit. Do things that make you happy. Everyone wants to be happy, but they mostly can’t find time for it. Take a vacation this weekend, go for long walks in the park, go out for dinner or movie, or get a relaxing massage. Just slow down the pace and give yourself some peace of mind.

4. Appreciate the little things

Learn to see the brighter side of life. Be thankful for who you are and what you have. Keep in mind that no matter what happens in your life, it is still possible to gaze up and behold the magic that is around you. Acknowledge the simple joys of life, like feeling of cool breeze on your skin, or how amazing the universe is. When you appreciate goodness, negativity dissolves away.

5. Spread the joy

Kindness never goes unrewarded. But somehow we all have forgotten this old saying. It is the greatest medicine that eases aching minds and hearts. When you make someone else happy, you get happiness in return. Generosity puts a sure end to negativity and generosity doesn’t have to be always shown. Try leaving the best parking spot for someone else. Or maybe clean up the office lunch room someday, and don’t let anybody know who did it. Doing small things like these will wash away your negativity and you will start feeling good about yourself.

If you be kind in this way, you release positive energy. Even if nobody gets to know about your generous acts, it will cheer you up and you’ll feel better from the inside. This will make you less negative and you will experience personal growth. Follow these simple points honestly and you’ll find a huge difference in less than a month.

Life is perpetual, creative and expansive. It continually creates itself within each moment, so remain attuned to the energy of the moment.

Tony Fahkry - About the Author:

Visit www.tonyfahkry.com for weekly video updates on health, personal development and self awareness matters. I lead you to create lasting health and vitality – more energy to make things happen; maintain a healthy body to look and feel good permanently and create a NEW health destiny.

 

 

 

Following Your Own Guidance

“The more and more each is impelled by that which is intuitive, or the relying upon the soul force within, the greater, the farther, the deeper, the broader, the more constructive may be the result.” Edgar Cayce

Intuition is defined as ‘a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.’ The word ‘intuition’ comes from the Latin word “intueri”, which means to see within.

Intuition has been referred to in many different ways including sixth sense, following your heart, guidance, inspiration and inner wisdom. However we may choose to refer to it, the Law of Attraction explains that everyone is an extension of source energy and has access to infinite intelligence within them. Also, as everyone is unique with unique intentions and desires, everyone’s guidance from infinite intelligence is unique to them.

Guidance or intuition can come in many different forms including feelings, dreams, visions, hearing the same thing several times in a short period of time and synchronicities. However, whilst it can come in different ways some of which are outer signs you can know the significance of it by how it feels. There are also different reasons as to why you receive guidance, often it is to lead you in a particular direction, whilst at other times it is to reassure you that things are working out for you and that there is a loving universe that is aware of and assisting you.

It has been that said that guidance takes into account an infinite number of factors from a higher perspective and that usually we are not aware of all of these factors as if we were, we would be overloaded with unnecessary information when all we need is the guidance about what to do or what to think. In relation to this sometimes the guidance doesn’t seem logical, however the more people begin to pay attention to it, the more they usually see that it is assisting them. For instance as guidance is operating in a non-linear framework, someone’s guidance might tell them to meet a friend on Saturday afternoon but logically they know they can’t because they have a client on Saturday afternoon, however their infinite intelligence is taking into account the fact that the client is going to reschedule their appointment. Another interesting aspect of guidance is that usually you are not given guidance for the whole of your journey but rather moment by moment guidance for the next step.

A key part of living the Law of Attraction is developing an increased awareness of and relationship with your intuition. People are sometimes taught to listen to others, rather than to follow what feels right to them, however as they begin to increasingly follow their own guidance, they become more of their own authority in their life and to know that their unique guidance matters. Following your own guidance also leads to life being easier and more of an exciting adventure.

It can be best to begin to follow your guidance on things that are more inconsequential such as which way to walk or drive. The more you listen to and follow your guidance the more you will then having an increasing ability to discern what is guidance and what isn’t and you will gain more and more confidence and trust in your own guidance and how it is benefiting you.

Whilst guidance is always available there are several things that you can do to open yourself to receive it more. One powerful way is to firstly begin to pay attention to it and to appreciate it when you do receive it, as this will keep you in a receptive mode to allow more guidance to flow. Also, as infinite intelligence is operating on the level of love and appreciation through doing regular lists of appreciation you will have greater access to guidance. Furthermore meditating regularly clears the mind which allows guidance to be more easily recognised.

A final technique that can be useful if you have a particular decision to make, is to write down a request to the universe such as “allow me to know which direction to take in my life” and to then go into meditation. Very often through having firstly clarified and focused on the question by writing it, an answer will come to you during the unresisted time of meditation. However, even if it doesn’t come to you immediately if you do your best to stay open to receiving an answer at a later time, the answer will very likely come.

Tracy Friend – About the Author:

Tracy Friend, is a leading authority on the Law of Attraction philosophy whose profound yet practical teachings have touched the lives of thousands across the UK, Europe and the US.

She is co-founder of the Law of Attraction Centre, which was established in 2003 and is the largest and most trusted organisation in Europe dedicated to teaching the practical application of the Law of Attraction teachings.

Through proven technology delivered through workshops, groups and products including books, audios and meditation CDs, The Law of Attraction Centre’s objective is to share tools to encourage self-empowerment, improving the quality of people’s lives and helping change the world for the better.

With its base in London, UK and other communities around the UK and internationally, The Law of Attraction Centre has over 3,500 members focused on the study and practice of the Law of Attraction, with over 800 groups and events having been organised to date.

In addition to hosting weekly groups both online and offline, Tracy maintains a rigorous workshop schedule.

Tracy’s ventures also include the creation of Meditation 101 Live™, a free online meditation experience with webinars on most days, it provides a space for people to meditate with other’s from across the world. Tracy’s Creating a Wonderful Life, Living in Love, Opening to Abundance and Happy Body visualisations have been designed as tools to assist you in using the power of guided visualisation to bring all of your dreams and desires into fruition. Tracy has also produced a four part on–demand Living the Law of Attraction Online Training Course and a three part on-demand Opening to Abundance Online Training Course.

In Tracy’s one to one coaching practice she has helped people in the fields of health, wellbeing and relationships.

When Tracy is not running Law of Attraction events and coaching, she loves to travel and to continue her life’s study of human potential and well-being.

Letting Go Of Your Past

Reblogged from A World of Inspiration and a little extra!:

Sometimes we spend a chunk of our lives looking back on what was. We are stuck remembering and holding onto something that is no more. We reflect on old issues, remembering things that have happened and moments that have passed. Why do we do this; why is it so important to us that it, in a way, consumes us? What benefit is there from spending so much time reflecting and remembering?

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