Belief creates reality, v2.0

[Wapsie B]

Awhile back in the lounge I asked a question and got many thoughtful responses. I'm still struggling with keeping a positive attitude with the major issues of my life, ie: finding a new career & finding love.
As the story goes using this principle of positive thinking a person should be able to attract good things into their life.

However, I find it next to impossible many days to focus on anything positive. I've tried affirmations. None of them are believable to me.
I ask for love. I've not had that before. Not realistic to me.
I ask for good fortune in business. Every job I've had I had this feeling I was getting screwed, compensation-wise, job-duty wise, advancement wise.
I ask for a more outgoing personality so I might attract good fortune to me, professionally and romantically. Zilch. Not realistic to me.

I've got a lot of things to do in order to get ready for my trip tomorrow. But I'll check back later to see if anyone's responded.

How do I make my goals believable to me so that I'll be in the proper frame of mind to attract good things? Thanks.

[davsand]

1. Have you considered the idea of "just enough"?

I know it sounds like an odd question, but are you asking for what you want or what you need? It can make a difference. "I'd LIKE to have kerjillions of dollars." is a WHOLE lot different than, "I'd like to have just enough to meet my needs and feel comfort with my financial situation."

For a long time I would ask for for a love to last my lifetime. While I was asking for it I had not REALLY identified what WAS the kind of love that would satisfy me in my lifemate. Once I got a clearer vision of what it was I needed to feel happy it came into my life.

When you ask for ajob have you asked for one that satisfies your emotional and fianacial needs and provides you just enough satisfaction to feel happy in your life?

I dunno if it is your answer or not, but as I looked at your post that question came up in my mind...

Good luck to you, and brightest blessings!


Laura

[seventythree]

2. wonderful advice!

Maybe add an affirmation that you are grateful for all you have been given.

[Wapsie B]

3. Thanks for the replies.

Maybe this just enough concept will make things believable enough to me to carry through with this. In so many of these self-help books you're taught to reach for the stars. Coming from a life where I've heard no all too often this rags to riches story isn't anymore real to me than winning the lottery.

[davsand]

4. If you can't see it then it probably isn't happening..

Part of any wish casting or affirmation work is creating the image in your own mind. If you can create it you can make it happen, pure and simple. Can you make it "touchable" in your mind? Can you SEE yourself happy and surrounded by what you seek? If you can, you stand a much better chance of recognizing it when it happens.

I'll tell you a story from my own life here to illustrate. I was in my thirties and I wanted to find Mr Right. Mr. "Remotely Close" would have been OK with me, probably, simply because I had never really identified WHAT qualities I needed to see in a potential mate.

I used to joke that in a room full of 100 single men, I could probably be guaranteed to walk out with the one asshole in the bunch. That wasn't too far off the truth, if I'm being honest. I did make some AWFUL choices. Not bad men, mind you, but rather men that were not right for ME.

Once I realized that I had no idea what Mr Right was even LIKE, I started working to ID what I was looking for. Suddenly, Mr. Right became more of a possibility because I knew WHAT to look for.

The same goes for jobs or other opportunities in life...

Hang in there. This stuff is work!


Laura

edited for spelling

[Eloriel]

5. One of your affirmations might be

just to be WILLING to think more unlimitedly about yourself, more WILLING to think good things are possible.

Please also take a look at these threads to see if there aren't some ideas in there that can help (in particular, I'm thinking of EFT for you, but perhaps other things as well):

The DU Spiritual Emergency Tool Kit
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=245&topic_id=4645

also: How to rid myself of negative energy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=245&topic_id=5108#5174

[mandyky]

6. Do you believe you are worthy?

It sounds like you are self sabotaging somehow....

[pacifictiger]

7. check out

Louise Hay's book "you can change your life' and really DO the exercises as she presents them. You will be amazed at how much internal junk comes up, and then is cleared, paving the way for new things to come into your life. The results are commensurate with how much effort you are willing to put into change.

The Buddha said "What you are is what you have been - what you will be is what you do now."

[bling bling]

10. Your last sentence

is the most profound thing I've seen in a long time. It totally makes sense to me. I've been searching for that. Though I didn't fully realize it until just now. Thanks.

[pacifictiger]

11. You're welcome

It hit me when I first came across it too.

[purduejake]

8. I accept no other future for myself...

than one of success, financial comfort, and happiness. As a goal, I work toward that each day with the understanding that sometimes there will be MAJOR setbacks and that it may take a while. If you are not always working for something and give up, it doesn't happen. It's kind of like diets... the minute you give up, you're screwed.

[truthpusher]

9. You might be suffering from the feeling that comes from...

...not living. You are alive, but you are not living. I personally find myself in the same situations you speak of. I have this feeling that nothing is happening in my life; a feeling that I am in a waiting room and all the magazines are People and Time magazines from 6 months ago. This sense that I get at times can almost always be traced back to the fact that I am doing too much 'projection'. I have a tendency to always be seeking something better. I have an overwhelming feeling that what I am about to embark on will be what I have been looking for, but what I have today, doesn't cut the mustard. Problem is, this feeling rarely goes away on its own. I find that I actually have to take a conscious action to try and understand why I feel this way. My conclusion is: I feel this way at times, because I am not living. If I am caught up in my mind, unaware of my surroundings, always looking for the next best thing, it is going to be impossible for me to see what is right in front of me today. What is in front of me today? What does it mean to me? Who is with me today? What really matters to me today? Usually when I debase these questions down to the core, I come to realize that I DO have what I need and want today. That I am happy where I am at and who I am with. It has to do more with the fact that the mind and the Spirit do not like to project. The mind and the Spirit want Today. That is where true joy lies...in today and today alone.

[seventythree]

14. good thoughts/analysis

[Wapsie B]

12. Yes, I am sabotaging myself.

I have a hard time just living in the moment and trying to enjoy it. The times I do allow this to happen and stop projecting things just start to flow. It's too easy to get my mind full of negative thoughts and energy. But yet even in my darkest moments there's something deep inside me that tells me there's a much better future for me.

[truthpusher]

13. By accepting what is right in front of you...

...you are allowing yourself to be alive. Being alive, regardless of circumstance is where the Joy is. Awareness of Consciousness is such a rarity and such a gift to us humans that no matter the circumstance your 'being' in a present state is naturally joyous, peaceful and loving. Matter of fact the JPL (Joy - Peace - Love) that you feel, is your barometer for measuring presence and the authenticity of a moment. JPL is the only true state of being; everything else is mental past or present projection. Next time you are in a circumstance that might be measured as a sad or negative moment (for example, you get fired or in a fender bender or something), try being completely present. You will see that JPL are in some ways present. Again, that is because when you are present, the ONLY possibility is for you to be in your true nature.

[Wapsie B]

15. Yes. So often I find myself lost in thought

rather than being in the moment, thinking of how good it will be down the road. But everything is down the road. I don't take the steps to find JPL.

[truthpusher]

16. I see it as more of a shedding that needs to be done...

...So much from a persons life experience and daily toil 'seems' to build up on a person. In order to get that state of natural being you have to shed the layers that cloud a persons presence. You don't actually 'find' JPL...you 'be' JPL by NOT being everything else.

I have come to a personal (based on recent observation) Idea that all of the things I think I am; can and can't do; will or won't become; etc. ......do not exist. Why? Because they can go away. These thoughts of worry, concern, fear, malcontent and overall sense of impending doom....these thoughts, I bring in and/or allow by my own will to exist. In a sense, they exist because I 'manifest' them.
In order for my ego (that which can think and act, but is not my true nature) to feel alive, it needs to stay busy. The best way for my ego to busy itself is through worry, fear and so on. My ego does not want to play second fiddle to my 'Being'. My ego likes to think it can control my being. I think the reason for this, is that my ego fears it's own inhalation. The ego dies with the body. The true nature of being 'JPL' is all pervasive and absolutely not exclusive to just me. My ego wants the pain and fear to feel alive. I am not an ant-ego protagonist; I just think that the ego has its place, and running my life and being, is not that place.

[Matariki]

18. this is a great post! n/t

[Matariki]

17. Belief creates reality - practical techniques

Greetings bushwentawol -

I notice two different things in your post. First you talk about "belief creating reality" but then you refer to "asking for things".

These are really two different techniques. "Asking for" is a form of prayer, and just like controlling your thoughts, prayer is a skill. Both are effective and can be learned.

An essential component to "creating reality" is taking responsibility for your experiences (yeah, for all of it). In some ways it's the opposite from prayer, where you are looking outward for help.

The best approach is to try to be as constantly aware of your thoughts as you are able. I've done exercises where i set an alarm every hour and observed what I was thinking at that moment, or deliberately think a particular thought on the hour. Make a practice of observing your thoughts - when you find yourself thinking something self-sabotaging, or counter productive to your goals, deliberately think the opposite.

Let me give you an example, I used to find myself thinking, for no apparent reason, "I'm so depressed". Needless to say it affected my outlook on life. When I started examining it and observing my thoughts, I really had to wonder where that thought came from, because in truth I wasn't depressed. What I did when I caught myself thinking that was to treat it as an outside thought - ask "who's saying that?". That gave me some insight to where it came from. I would also counter the thought immediately by thinking "I'm really happy" at least 3 times. I'd also think "I'm really happy" at various times throughout the day, (and this is the important part) whether I believed it or not.

What you want to do when using 'affirmations' is to always phrase them in the present (or past) tense, for instance "I am loved" or "I have finally found love" - never in the future tense. DON'T say "I will find love" and personally I wouldn't use words like 'deserve', no such animal as 'deserve'. Now of course you are saying something you want but don't already have and your conscious mind will scoff and naturally not believe it - but where the magick happens isn't on that level, so belief isn't really an issue.

A teacher of mine once suggested writing the thing I wanted as an affirmation 70 times on a piece of paper and repeating it for 7 consecutive days. I got some excellent results from that.

Anyway, the stuff works, give it a try.

[Wapsie B]

19. Thank you!

It's too early in the morning to write a longer reply but what you said makes sense to me.

[truthpusher]

20. I like the technique....

....you said: "I've done exercises where i set an alarm every hour and observed what I was thinking at that moment, or deliberately think a particular thought on the hour. Make a practice of observing your thoughts - when you find yourself thinking something self-sabotaging, or counter productive to your goals, deliberately think the opposite."

I also like (usually done while driving) to clear my mind of talking thoughts, background noise (bad songs, etc.) and allow my mind top become clear so I can observe the first thought that comes in. When that thought comes in, I take an objective look as to where and why this thought comes in and whether or not continuing with the thought has any value. So far this technique has yielded an observation of hundreds of worthless and pointless thoughts. Almost always the thoughts that pop up are 'busy' thoughts like: I gotta get there on time....what am I going to do when....what will I eat....what will I say...stuff like that. These are thoughts struggling with a non-existent future. These thoughts provide little or no help for me. This exercise has helped me target thinking of 'value'. It has helped give me lot's of time to consider things of value and also alot of quiet time that allows me to see the world around me as well.