Words Have Power

At Rev. Bruce's recent workshop, Turbocharging the Law of Attraction, he explained that "no" is the most powerful word in the English language. As children, we were trained by our parents using the word "no." Our brain learned that "no" meant "you can't have that" or "you did something wrong." We internalized the feelings associated with hearing "no" and, as a result, when we hear it our body turns on the fight-or-flight response. The brain releases cortisol which attacks the emotional center of the brain and causes us to feel sad, stressed or depressed.

But here is the beautiful thing to know...there are other powerful words in the English language. Love, peace, joy, beauty, prosperity, freedom and abundance are just a few.

Bruce said it takes 3 to 5 positives to counteract the effects of one "no."

1. For two minutes repeat your favorite positive power word in your mind (love, joy, freedom, beauty, etc.)
2. Hug someone (friend, family member) or a pet and tell them you love them. Receive their love.
3. Make a gratitude list.
4. Recite a positive affirmation, like: I am all right, right now. 
5. Meditate for 10 minutes.
6. Say an affirmative prayer or call someone to pray with you.

These are just a few ideas. I bet you can think of a bunch more. Now incorporate those ideas into your daily activities. Create a strong list of powerful practices with power words that take the sting out of no.

The Mirroring Mind by Jason Silva

We are self-perceiving, self-creating, locked in mirages.

We are miracles of self-reference. ~ Douglas Hofstadter

Each one of us is an outlet to God 

& an inlet to God. ~ Ernest Holmes

Free Your Mind

A couple of years ago, a good friend introduced me to a little book called The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. After reading it, I bought copies for every member of my family because I loved the message so much. I must admit, even though I loved the concepts in the book, I found it difficult to actually execute them. I had so many questions:

• If I don't listen to that voice will I miss something important or cause harm to myself? 
• How can I ignore years of experience? 
• That voice is only trying to protect me, how can it be all bad?

Recently, Michael Singer made his first television appearance on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. The broadcast was so enlightening for me. Hearing Michael explain the concepts in person, made so much sense. Immediately, I went and found my copy of The Untethered Soul and began to re-read it. I quickly realized that I am a different person reading this book again. I'm seeing things more clearly and understanding the concepts on a new level.

In Chapter 2, Your Inner Roommate, Michael challenges the reader to do an experiment. He suggests we don't try to stop the voice in our head from talking, but rather externalize the voice. Imagine the voice with a body and likeness living outside your head. "Let it be a person who says on the outside exactly what the voice says on the inside. Now make that person your best friend." He goes on to explain, eventually you will see how annoying, mean, unreasonable, whinny and neurotic that voice can be. Michael contends that you wouldn't let a real person get away with saying to you the things that your inner voice says.

So, I tried it. This morning in the shower, Jason Mraz's song Living in the Moment was running through my head. I pictured Jason standing just outside the shower with his guitar singing to me. Hilarious!! I actually laughed out loud. Now, I know I need to continue the experiment with other voices in my head, but this one silly moment illustrated just how ridiculous living in our heads can be.

In that moment, I declared: It's time to move out! I'm ready for a little peace.

Watch the little snippet from Super Soul Sunday with Michael Singer and see if you are ready to evict the roommate in your head and free your mind.

Namaste

Depression and the God connection

Seeing the Light in darkness.

This past Sunday's talk: "With God as your carrier, you're never dropped" lead me to reflect on depressive thought.  Because, even in the midst of a depressive thought, I'm never dropped.  No matter when, why, how, what, or why, God is always within me.

Looking back at my youth, I remember spending a lot of time alone with my huge imagination, my thoughts were my company.  Even in college, spending time alone at the beach was heaven.  I loved being alone and never thought anything of it.  Then in my mid-20's I started to notice an unhealthiness about it.  Though never clinically diagnosed, it appeared to take a form of depression.  I started to rely on my huge imagination to convince myself to get out of the house.  It seemed to work, however, I thought of depression as something inside myself that was not welcome, it was a bad thing.

After many years of cultivating Spiritual awareness, a revelation came.  The same power in my mind that has the ability to create thoughts of depression is the same power in my mind that has the power to create thoughts not to be depressed.  I took all the teachings I've had and looked at depression in a new light.  Depressive thoughts may be something inside of me.  What if I honor that part of me?  What if I greet it, acknowledge it, and let it know that whatever it is, it has no power over me?  The reason is my connection in God.  I know God and I are One, I know prayer & meditation work, I know all that I need is within me.  With this knowledge I am comfortable with personality traits within myself.  Depressive thoughts can come and go; I acknowledge them, bless them and send them on their way or use them in a creative purpose. 

In a conversation with ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ author Matthew Quick , by Patrick Ryan.
Quick states, "If I didn’t have depressive episodes, I wouldn’t be a novelist. When I wrote this book, I had been living in my in-laws’ basement for two years. I was unemployed and felt very alone. I hope this book helps people feel less alone, too.”