I've Been Thinking...

As this past week came to an end, I found myself thinking a lot about Liz Cheney. I found myself thinking about her brave stand and the fear it generated within her party. I also thought about what it takes to make a stand in one’s life and the consequences that inevitably result from such a bold move.

Much was made on the news about the Congresswoman being stripped of her leadership position and her power in Washington D.C. and within her own party. But that’s not what I saw. In fact, I saw the opposite story unfold.

I saw a woman step into her power and step into her leadership. I saw a woman speak her mind. And when she was told that the party was going to come after her in her own state, she said bring it on. There is a lesson here for all of us.

When you take a stand against the so-called powers that be—at work or at home—well, they aren’t going to like it at all. There is going to be pushback. There is going to be pressure. There is going to be intimidation.

Are you thinking about making some changes in your life? Maybe you’re planning to move to a new city, try a new career or pursue a new relationship?

Whatever it is you want to manifest in your life, here are two tips to get you started: 

1. Have a clear mental picture of what you want.
2. Have a passionate desire to bring what you want into your life.

Remember: “The soul never thinks without a mental picture.”

When you have an image followed by the emotion of joy and excitement, as though what you desire is happening here and now, you open yourself to the universal energy – the Divine Source – that will assist you in fulfilling your aspiration or desire.

By visualizing what you truly desire and bringing in the positive, joyful emotions as if your goal is already happening, you stand a far better chance of your soul meeting your goal half way. If it’s for your highest good, and that of others – then you, your soul, and the Universe can all work as partners in your manifesting.

We all have goals, dreams and desires that we want to manifest in the world  truly meaningful — maybe it's a book maybe it's an idea or a project, a relationship, a house, a car. 

What is it you really want to manifest?

In our modern day culture and even in self-help and self-development, we're constantly being taught to know what you want and to be specific about what you want. 

Here's the thing, there is a limited old paradigm in the way. Manifestation has been taught that it is possible to get what you want by willing your way through life. 

To control life . . .
 
To impose your will on life and to manifest with your mind.  . . 

And, this is the old ego model of manifestation.

When not doing well, when full of doubt or pain or worry, when unable to find your way, try, very slowly, to return to moments that feel foundational. By foundational, I mean moments that are solid, however briefly, in which you feel directly connected to life, in which you feel safe and thorough, in which you feel at peace, even if for a few seconds.

You don’t have to name these foundational moments, or explain them, or fit them into some theological box. You simply have to experience them and locate them, so you have a chance to return to them or to moments like them, when you need to.

In time, you will chart a constellation of foundational moments that can hold you up when you fall down. And mysteriously, when identified and honored, these moments of peace and clearness start to join each other. So, in time, our foundational field enlarges when we have the courage to find what will hold us up.

2020, the year of the global pandemic, was in many ways an urgent wake-up call for humanity – demonstrating perhaps more clearly than ever that our conventional models of reality are deeply out of sync with the real world. The confused and incoherent responses to COVID-19 highlight the inadequacy of our collective sense-making and governance systems. But the pandemic might be just the catalyst for a profoundly disruptive and unstable decade. Driven, on one hand, by a convergence of complex global crises, from climate change to economic instability, from food scarcity to mental health as our current world order begins to fall apart; and on the other, by the cascading impacts of disruption to every sector of the economy as a new order emerges. Never has the need to understand the underlying processes of change that drive these extraordinary occurrences been more acute and consequential.

This speaks to a much deeper problem than recognised by conventional analysts – that our underlying models of thought and reality are increasingly out of touch with the interconnected complexity of global systems. If we are to successfully navigate the coming decades of crisis and disruption, then, we require not merely technocratic external solutions applied as a kind of ‘band aid’ to these mounting challenges, but rather a fundamental reset of how we think and see these challenges in the first place.

The metaheuristic of reductionism

At the core of the problem is a reductionist model of the world that has outlived its usefulness. Although reductionism as reflected across society has indeed enabled huge progress such as enabling incredible medical advances, the model is not adequate to the current crises, and now has become our biggest impediment.

There’s been mistreatment or injustice – now what?

The Practice:
Stay right when you’re wronged.

Why?

It’s easy to treat people well when they treat you well. The real test is when they treat you badly. (Much of what I say here applies to concerns about injustice or mistreatment that threatens or happens to others, from someone bullying a child to an oppressive government, but I will focus on the personal level.)

Think of times you’ve been truly wronged, in small ways or big ones. Maybe someone stole something, turned others against you, broke an agreement, cheated on you, or spoke unfairly or abusively.

When things like these happen, I feel mad, hurt, startled, wounded, sad. Naturally it arises to want to strike back and punish, get others to agree with me, and make a case against the other person in my own mind.

What are you thankful for? Have you used gratitude affirmations lately?

In a year like the one we’ve just had, these might be hard questions to answer. 

But here’s the thing: When you’re going through challenging or uncertain times, that’s when practicing gratitude matters more than ever! 

Gratitude allows you to completely transform your mindset and experience in an instant — no matter what is happening in your life or in the world around you. 

So today I’d like to share some gratitude affirmations that will help you change your perspective and stay focused on the positive, so you can attract more of what you want into your life and less of what you don’t.