The Secret to Life

"Become a person who appreciates,
... and you will thrive."

That is the secret to life.

Abraham-Hicks

The Power of the Universe Inside You

Every individual's consciousness is connected to,
and is a part of,
the mass consciousness.

When a small but significant number of individuals
have moved into a new level of awareness
and significantly changed their behavior,
that change is felt in the entire mass consciousness.

Every other individual is then moved
in the direction of that change.

And the whole thing may have started
with one individual who first made the leap.


So often we look at the world around us and feel terribly helpless to effect any significant positive change.

The world seems so big, and in such a mess,
and we feel so small
and powerless.

The hundredth-monkey story helps us to see how powerful one individual or a few individuals can be in transforming the world.




Because the world
truly is our mirror,
as we change, it must change.

You can see this easily
in your personal life.

As you develop
the habit of trusting
and taking care of yourself,
you will gradually release
your old patterns.

Soon, you notice that your friends,
family, and business associates
all seem to be feeling and acting
differently as well.

People you encounter seem to be dealing
with less serious problems
(or if their problems are serious, they are more quickly healed)
and more creative issues.

Things that previously frightened and upset you
seem to have lost their emotional "charge."

Even the serious problems of the world,
while they still concern you,
may not seem quite as scary as before.

The reason for this shift is that you are beginning
to feel the power of the universe inside of you.

To the degree that you experience
the presence of the universe in your own body,
you don't feel afraid.

Of course, every time you open up to more power,
more of the old fear gets flushed to the surface and released,
so in the healing process you will experience alternating states
of power and fear.

Gradually, however, a solid base of trust
will be established within you.

Others will feel this and in it will find the support
to open up to more of their own power and truth.

The people and things around you reflect you
in increasingly positive ways.

The more light you allow within you,
the brighter the world you live in will be.

(Shakti Gawain, ... from the book, "Living in the Light.")

Be What You Want to Experience

...from Field Training

In the Tao Te Ching, Lao-Tze writes,

“Do you think you can improve the world?

You cannot.

The world is a sacred vessel.”

In many such statements in this remarkable text, Lao-Tze tells us that the way of wisdom opens only to those who approach the world with the willingness to be empty, to follow rather than lead.

“When the sage leads the people to victory,
they say ‘We did it ourselves!’”

The sage does not boast or assert or use force
to make anything happen.

Because “he does not contend, he cannot be beaten.”

He is subtle; he doesn’t brag about how great he is, or take pleasure in the defeats of others. “Victorious in war, he grieves for his fallen enemy.”

He knows that the world is a sacred vessel because it fills up with the consciousness poured into it, which it then re-presents as factual events and conditions.

Trying to change the world, the sage knows, is pure folly—
just as it would be folly
to try to wash one’s face
by scrubbing its reflection in the mirror.

The world changes only when the self changes;
it is an indirect path.

To feel more secure in the world, we have to become secure enough in ourselves to be willing to promote security for others. Rattling sabers will never make us safe.

This applies at every level.

To be prosperous, we must first become generous.

To be closer to people, we first have to be open to them.

Always, consciousness is first.

If this simple and profound principle were understood and practiced by national leaders, the world would enter a new era
of peace, mutual respect, and sanity.

But we need not wait for them.

It is for us to understand and practice it.
Then, without trying, we become leaders.

Now: Think of a situation you’re facing that you’ve been wanting to change. You may be alone and long to be with a partner who will complete you. Perhaps you’re facing a health crisis and want to recover. Or you may be struggling to make ends meet, and want to have more money.

In every case, we suggest that you let go of trying to change the world (conditions).

This means that you would stop trying to find your partner and begin being a partner to yourself; that you would forget about recovering and begin appreciating the ways you are already well; that you would release all worries, strategic thinking, and urgency about making money and start extending yourself generously in the form of whatever currency is available to you: a moment of real listening, a kind word, a gesture of tolerance or forgiveness, an hour of attentive and interested time with your child or a friend.

When you’re loving toward the world, the world reciprocates. It returns your love.

When you’re resting in gratitude for your life and whatever vitality you have, the world notices and increases their measure.

When you give more generously to others, the world gives more generously to you.

This is the way taught by Lao-Tze: to stop trying to make things happen and instead—not strategically,
but solely for the joy and relief of inner agreement—
be what you want to experience.

In this practice, you will discover the power of emptiness and living indirectly, and how all the power of a concerted will cannot even reach the hem of the effortless power of willingness.

source

What Matters is Your Vibration

It only matters
what you are
doing.



It doesn't matter
what anybody else
is doing
with their
vibration,
...
it only matters
what you are
doing.












You cannot desire something
—and notice that it isn't coming—
without offering two
contradictory vibrations
that won't let it come.

Abraham-Hicks

What's the Plan, Stan?

Whatever you're thinking about
is literally like planning
a future event.

When you're worrying,
you are planning.

When you are appreciating,
you are planning.

What are you planning?

Abraham-Hicks

Those Button Pushers

Who are the people who seem to be able to push your buttons and send you into a frenzy?

Your spouse?

Your children?

Your parents?

A certain
employee?

Your boss?

A neighbor?


I'm talking about the ones who really seem to get to you.

Anyone else might say the same thing
and you are able to blissfully ignore them
and even respond in your most spiritual
and unconditionally loving tone,
"Thank you for sharing."

Obviously those people do not present any threat
to your being an instrument of peace.

It's those button pushers,
the ones who succeed in sending you
into a state of frustration and turmoil
with a simple look of disapproval or a frown,
who are your greatest teachers.

Begin recognizing that all of these people
are your master teachers,
assisting you in being an instrument of peace.

That's right, these are your guides,
and they have much to teach you.

The moments when you think someone else
is causing the disorder and chaos
that you are feeling
are moments to recognize
that that person is allowing you to discover
that you have not yet mastered yourself.

That's right,
you needed a reminder
that you have work to do on yourself
in order to be an instrument of peace.


Remember,
the state of enlightenment
is a state of being immersed in,
and surrounded by peace.

Anyone whom you have given authority
to remove you from that position
is a reminder to you
of just what you must do
in order to become more peaceful.

In my life,
my wife and children are my greatest teachers.

I call these very special teachers
my soul mates.

Now my definition of a soul mate
is not someone who agrees with you on every issue,
shares the same interests,
and is always attempting
to please you.

I define soul mates as
the ones you love deeply,
but whom you can never get rid of,
who always show up,
and with whom you are
often in disagreement.


These soul mates are
your greatest teachers
because they are
a continuous reminder,
sent by God(dess),
to help you
to master yourself.

So it is tremendously beneficial
if you are aware that these
are people to honor.


My wife is just such a person.

We have been together for many years,
weathering crises together,
but still I can be upset over something
she said
or the tone of voice she may have used.

I know full well that had anyone else said it to me that way,
I would have dismissed it and been at peace instantly.

Yet, with my soul mate,
I am not at peace.

Likewise, I have given my children the same power.

In moments of quiet reflection on my being upset
I realize that once again I have not passed this simple test
---
the ability to be at peace in the face of my master teachers.

To be an instrument of thy peace you (and I) must be able to radiate outward that which we are inside.

Regardless of what or when we encounter them,
our master teachers are there to help us
to become an instrument of peace.

Someday, gradually to be sure, I will be able to be at peace
even in those moments when my greatest teachers
are doing their very best work!






... from the book, "There's A Spiritual Answer to Every Problem,"
by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Your Initial Knee-Jerk Response

Sometimes you walk
into things that,
if you were paying attention,
vibrationally,
you would know right from the beginning
that it wasn't what you are wanting.

In most cases,
your initial knee-jerk response
was a pretty good indicator
of how it was going
to turn out later.

The things that give most of you the most grief are those things that initially you had a feeling response about, but then you talked yourself out of it for one reason or another.

Abraham-Hicks