The Law that goes bump in the night!

( With all the discord world wide at present, I thought it would be good to revisit a previous post to help remember what we're dealing with here - not the outer conditions, but our attention!)

Many people are enjoying their lives more and more.  Others are not.  Why is this?  There are many variations, but the common theme is attention.  People who give their attention to what they appreciate (in Life) will see more of it and have more of it in their experience.  Others give their attention to what they dislike (in Life) and they see more of it and have more of what they dislike in their experience.

The former, either consciously or not, practice creation - their experience is a result of their thinking.  The latter, either consciously or not, react to a perceived external universe, and thus can only have a better experience if the external world changes.  One is possible.  One is impossible.

The adage "knowledge is power" is true.  The contrary is also true - ignorance is weakness.  Many people are enjoying their lives more and more as they better understand, and practice in their daily life, the Law of Attraction.  Others, ignorant of the Law of Attraction, are still ruled by it.  Their world is a confounding place of capricious forces resulting in constant struggle.

The universal Law of Attraction is the way the Universe manages.  Similar frequencies cluster.  Birds of a feather, flock together.  It is self-evident.  In a curious paradox, the Law demonstrates itself to those people who reject it.  One who thinks "there is no such thing as a law of attraction" is, by Law, going to cluster similar thoughts and manifestations - more evidence that there is no such law.  Like gravity, the Law of Attraction operates whether recognized or not.  It is what it is and it does what it does.  Working with the Law (like gravity) is "going with the flow" or the path of least resistance. 

A popular practice utilizing the Law to create a more satisfying life is the "Complaint Free" concept.  The exercise is to become more aware of complaining - thinking and spoken.  One is often surprised at how much conversation is an exchange of complaints!  Next, the challenge is to stop complaining.  Now why on Earth would anyone do that?  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

Back to worldview.  People complain when they see/experience something they do not like.  In order to feel better, the object/situation has to be removed or eliminated.  Someone or something has to do that.  That will take energy and resources, which the person gives up to get rid of the object of complaint.  Also known as struggle.  Yet what is the result?  More unpleasant conditions/situations are observed, which mean greater effort must be made to make the world pleasant so the observer can feel better about his/her life.  This is a materialistic approach based on the premise that the universe/world is a separate physical structure.  If you understand "people are a result of their environment" then you understand the materialistic approach.  The Law of Attraction will insure that you experience this materialistic approach if that is your intent.

People who spend less mental energy observing what they do not desire to experience and giving attention to what they appreciate in Life will, by Law, have more of what they appreciate in their daily life.  They will feel better and enjoy life more.  It's the same Law, but two different applications.  That's the difference between knowledge and ignorance.  Ignorance isn't stupid, it's the absence of knowledge and one cannot know what one does not know.  Ergo, those that get it, get it.  Those that don't, can't.

 The people who practice complaint-free notice the effects quickly.  They become very sensitive to complaining.  It is an unpleasant experience, one they do not wish to experience, and thus move their attention (and often physical self) away.  This shift in attention often means new friends, changes in relationships - birds of a feather flock together.  A person is not chained to a particular environment or condition.  Note:  The complaining/unhappy person will likely resent the complaint-free person.  Crab-bucket effect.

Releasing old/established relationships/patterns is often described as "following your heart" or dreams.  It is true.  Only you know what is best for you.  There are, of course, quite a number of materialists who know precisely what is good for you and will go to great lengths to "help you."  They believe they will feel better once you act right, so to speak.   You may choose to resist them, thus attracting (creating) more struggle, or you can direct your attention to what you wish to experience (appreciate) and supplant the struggle with desired experience.

 It's not a matter of right or wrong.  As Henry Ford is alleged to have said, "If you believe you can, or if you believe you can't, you're right."  Abe Lincoln is alleged to have remarked that "most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Going back in time, we find similar observations:  "People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them," Epictetus.

"We inhabit a cosmos made real in part by our own observations…our observations influence the universe at the most fundamental levels.”   Physicist John Wheeler (coined the phrase "Black Hole.)  Observation = attention.  Attention = thinking.

Author Eckert Tolle put it nicely: "Complaining is not to be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be put right. And to refrain from complaining doesn’t necessarily mean putting up with bad quality of behavior. There is no ego in telling the waiter your soup is cold and needs to be heated up – if you stick to the facts, which are always neutral.

^'How dare you serve me cold soup!'. . . That’s complaining."

The Law of Attraction.  Use it consciously.  It's in play, regardless.

 

 

 

The Magic Word!

LASACT folks -  if the slides for The Magic Word are not available from the conference website, send me an email and I will send you a pdf file.

georgeesewell@gmail.com

Thanks for attending.  It was a great gathering.  If you'd like the book, click on the cover at right - "Habits, Patterns, and Thoughts That Go Bump in the Night" to order.


UPDATE

For those who may want more information about the Complaint Free challenge, here's a short video by Brian Johnson that gives a great summary of Will Bowen's book and challenge.

MORE!  Here's the LINK to how the Magic Word was discovered.

Yes! It's the official "PAY ATTENTION TO YOURSELF" Day

Well?

Declare A Happy New Year 2015

Do you mean it?  A Happy New Year, 2015?  It’s not a wish.  It’s a matter of intent.

One simple declaration will make all the difference.  Attach the declaration to the beginning of every thought and you’ll be astonished.  Okay, ready?

“It is fun to ________________________________.”

Simple.  Uncomplicated.  Heck, it’ll even make pleasant those  New Year’s Resolutions:

“It is fun to plan to lose weight.”  It’s not necessary to “wait” until the weight is lost to have fun.

“It is fun to choose what I eat.”  If a healthier diet is in the plan, then have fun with it now.

“It is fun to de-clutter the house/office.”  Think about how much better it is without the mess rather than fixating on the mess.

“It is fun to have the car serviced.”  It’s fun to be able to drive where I want to go.

“It is fun to pay more attention to_____.”  Fill in the blank.

“It is fun to be around healthy, happy people.”  Duh.

“It is fun to pay the bills.”   For each bill you received some service or product.  Enjoy that!

2015 - The Year of Perspective

You get the idea.  The more you do it, the easier it becomes.  In fact, if you really intend to have a fun 2015, and you begin using this declaration January 1, by the beginning of March you’ll think like this habitually.  You won’t pay much attention to that fact because you’ll be having such a good time.

Of course, if you don’t really believe that you could/should/ought to have a continuous good time, then you won’t.  It’s the intention that rules, a.k.a. expectation.   If you look for the fun in anything, you’ll find it.  If you look for something else, you’ll find that.  What is consistent is that you will find and experience what you expect, what you look for, and what you give your attention to.

If you truly want a fun 2015, use the magic word as well.  Go whole-hog – complaint free!

How much delight can you have in 2015?  All you want.

Now there will be those who will not approve of  your delight.  They are looking at the misery, injustice, pain, suffering and lack in life.    Unless you are devoting your time and energy looking for the same, then you're not helping the less fortunate.  Those who get what you are doing, get it.  Those who don’t, can’t.  Denying any good thing/experience for yourself does not magically provide a good thing/experience for someone else.  People experience what they expect and experience cannot change until attention and expectation shift.  The best way to truly "help" someone live happier, healthier, etc., is to be so yourself.  At some point they may begin to "get it" from proximity to your attitude.

Happy New Year!  (If you want it.)

Getting the Point.

Many people are enjoying their lives more and more.  Others are not.  Why is this?  There are many variations, but the common theme is attention.  People who give their attention to what they appreciate (in Life) will see more of it and have more of it in their experience.  Others give their attention to what they dislike (in Life) and they see more of it and have more of what they dislike in their experience.

The former, either consciously or not, practice creation - their experience is a result of their thinking.  The latter, either consciously or not, react to a perceived external universe, and thus can only have a better experience if the external world changes.  One is possible.  One is impossible.

The adage "knowledge is power" is true.  The contrary is also true - ignorance is weakness.  Many people are enjoying their lives more and more as they better understand, and practice in their daily life, the Law of Attraction.  Others, ignorant of the Law of Attraction, are still ruled by it.  Their world is a confounding place of capricious forces resulting in constant struggle.

The universal Law of Attraction is the way the Universe manages.  Similar frequencies cluster.  Birds of a feather, flock together.  It is self-evident.  In a curious paradox, the Law demonstrates itself to those people who reject it.  One who thinks "there is no such thing as a law of attraction" is, by Law, going to cluster similar thoughts and manifestations - more evidence that there is no such law.  Like gravity, the Law of Attraction operates whether recognized or not.  It is what it is and it does what it does.  Working with the Law (like gravity) is "going with the flow" or the path of least resistance. 

A popular practice utilizing the Law to create a more satisfying life is the "Complaint Free" concept.  The exercise is to become more aware of complaining - thinking and spoken.  One is often surprised at how much conversation is an exchange of complaints!  Next, the challenge is to stop complaining.  Now why on Earth would anyone do that?  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

Back to worldview.  People complain when they see/experience something they do not like.  In order to feel better, the object/situation has to be removed or eliminated.  Someone or something has to do that.  That will take energy and resources, which the person gives up to get rid of the object of complaint.  Also known as struggle.  Yes what is the result?  More unpleasant conditions/situations are observed, which mean greater effort must be made to make the world pleasant so the observer can feel better about his/her life.  This is a materialistic approach based on the premise that the universe/world is a separate physical structure.  If you understand "people are a result of their environment" then you understand the materialistic approach.  The Law of Attraction will insure that you experience this materialistic approach if that is your intent.

People who spend less mental energy observing what they do not desire to experience and giving attention to what they appreciate in Life will, by Law, have more of what they appreciate in their daily life.  They will feel better and enjoy life more.  It's the same Law, but two different applications.  That's the difference between knowledge and ignorance.  Ignorance isn't stupid, it's the absence of knowledge and one cannot know what one does not know.  Ergo, those that get it, get it.  Those that don't, can't.

 The people who practice complaint-free notice the effects quickly.  They become very sensitive to complaining.  It is an unpleasant experience, one they do not wish to experience, and thus move their attention (and often physical self) away.  This shift in attention often means new friends, changes in relationships - birds of a feather flock together.  A person is not chained to a particular environment or condition.  Note:  The complaining/unhappy person will likely resent the complaint-free person. It's the Crab-bucket effect.

Releasing old/established relationships/patterns is often described as "following your heart" or dreams.  It is true.  Only you know what is best for you.  There are, of course, quite a number of materialists who know precisely what is good for you and will go to great lengths to "help you."  They believe they will feel better once you act right, so to speak.   You may choose to resist them, thus attracting (creating) more struggle, or you can direct your attention to what you wish to experience (appreciate) and supplant the struggle with desired experience.

It's not a matter of right or wrong.  As Henry Ford is alleged to have said, "If you believe you can, or if you believe you can't, you're right."  Abe Lincoln is alleged to have remarked that "most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Going back in time, we find similar observations:  "People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them." Epictetus.

"We inhabit a cosmos made real in part by our own observations…our observations influence the universe at the most fundamental levels.”   Physicist John Wheeler (coined the phrase "Black Hole.)  Observation = attention.  Attention = thinking.

Author Eckert Tolle put it nicely: "Complaining is not to be confused with informing someone of a mistake or deficiency so that it can be put right. And to refrain from complaining doesn’t necessarily mean putting up with bad quality of behavior. There is no ego in telling the waiter your soup is cold and needs to be heated up – if you stick to the facts, which are always neutral.

^'How dare you serve me cold soup!'. . . That’s complaining."

The Law of Attraction.  Use it consciously.  It's in play, regardless.

Aha! Eureka!

This blog emphasizes thoughts that go bump in the night – those aha! and eureka! moments of mental clarity.  Such thoughts solve problems, begin new ways of doing things, and herald a better situation for the thinker.  Such moments indicate a shift in perspective – a new and fresh approach to thinking about a circumstance, situation, relationship and so on.  The “charge” resulting from an aha! moment is the literal sensation of a quantum leap to a higher frequency. 

Thinking is the most natural of human processes.  It is impossible to NOT think.  It is possible, however, to become unaware of how one thinks.  And this is where the Eureka! moments come into play.  Humans have the ability to habituate – to render certain processes and actions into habits – which means that a person can do something without awareness.  That frees up a lot of consciousness for the 3-D experience.  Thinking can become a habit.  A thought, repeated over time, embeds itself into personal experience.  That can be desirable.  It can also be otherwise.

When someone considers changing their mind, this is what’s occurring.  A held thought, or pattern of thinking, is no longer serving and can be replaced with a different thought, to create a new pattern.  It’s the process Charles Fillmore spoke when he taught “If you’re unhappy with your life, change your thinking.”  Any unhappiness (dis-satisfaction, dis-ease, etc.) is due to a thinking pattern.  The thinking has to change before anything else improves.  Emmet Fox noted the frustration many have when attempting to change circumstances without changing their thinking – it can’t be done.

An example of what a “change” in thinking means is to examine two teachings, both about the same thing:

            Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.  Buddhism.

            This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.  Hinduism.

            What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman.  Judaism.

These very ancient teachings guide relationships between people.  In effect, don’t inflict harm on another; if it hurts you, it’ll hurt someone else.  Consider the point of attention – that which is hateful/hurtful/undesired.  Choices and decisions are made after noting a degree of pain/suffering/undesirable.  It’s a system that worked very well.

Yet there is another way of thinking about the relationships between people:

            All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them. 

The New Testament update of the old teaching is subtle, yet profound.  This teaching shifts the point of attention away from hateful/hurtful/undesirable and towards desirable.  It alters the initiative - the former being reactive to others, the latter being active regardless of others.  It’s a paradigm shift.  As with any change, not everyone is able to do it, as was evident with the turmoil created when Jesus amended the old teaching.  Yet if you are able to discern the difference between the two approaches, then you’ll better understand any Aha! moment.

Does a change in thinking result in a better experience?  The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as is said.  One cannot know until it is done, otherwise the established/habituated thought or belief continues to rule.

Readers of this blog have likely bumped into some reference to Complaint-Free – a idea racing around to literally stop complaining.  Complaint free simply means to become aware of how one interprets something.  Complaining personalizes undesirable observations – the waiter deliberately brought me cold soup!  Such personalizing obstructs solving a “problem” or finding an effective way of handling a situation.  More on this here.

The point is that anyone who has made any attempt at reducing complaining (a.k.a. gossip) will be forever more sensitive to complaints and complaining, especially by others.  That’s the pudding delivering its proof.

Complaining about the Mortgage Crisis!

Well, not really.  But "complaining" is a big part of a workshop coming up this July 11 in Milwaukee.
"Habits, Patterns, and Thoughts That Go Bump in the Night" will kick off the pre-conference workshops at the 26th National Conference on Problem Gambling, Prevention, Research, Recovery, and Treatment.

Caught Complaining!

The workshop, Adventures in Thinking about Complaint Free is described:  No matter who you are, what you do, where you’re from, or where you’re going, you think.  From the moment of birth you’re processing the energy fields around you.  Soon you’re able to distinguish your specific niche in the thought process.  You learn how to direct your thinking.  That never stops.  The knack is managing thinking to create a better life – right now.

            Before anything is the thought.  Although self-evident, many people can become so wrapped up in their immediate environment that they’re unaware of this fundamental order.  The thought comes first.  The condition, thing, action, or situation follows the thought in time.

            This power point presentation examines some historical concepts regarding thinking and suggests a contemporary application – reducing complaining – that can benefit clients, practitioners, you, me, and anyone else.

The workshop also looks at a source of suffering for many people - waiting/expecting other people to do something (or make a change in what they do) in order for the observer to feel better.  There is a term used for that condition:

And, of course, it never works.  Why?

The workshop spends time with the concept of learning to become complaint free, or, at least becoming aware of personal complaining (and for sure, aware of the vastness of complaining of others).  This blog has cited the Purple Bracelet exercise - going 21 days without complaining - to establish a mental habit for problem solving.  It's not a challenge to approach lightly...

Yet for those who want to feel better overall (and isn't what what Life is all about?) a re-structuring of attitude is not only possible, but achievable. Going "21 days" isn't the objective.  Awareness of personal thinking is.  Psychologist Amy Johnson includes some of her thoughts about becoming Complaint Free:

"For starters, I feel much better. And that's what it's all about.  I rarely launch into complaint or criticism and when I do, I'm quickly aware that I'm complaining because of how it feels. Basically, when I complain, I complain with awareness. That means I always have the choice of continuing with my tirade or shifting to something that feels better.  Other people rarely complain to me anymore. It didn't take long for others to see that I'm not interested in negative conversations.

By feeling better and learning to re-focus, I experience much more of what I want in life. I've created some pretty cool things, actually."

 July in Milwaukee... in the company of many, many people around the world taking a look at thinking, choices, behaviors, compulsions and the mysteries of how anyone can feel better about every moment, of every day...sounds like fun to this kid.

The Magic Word!

This is an update of an earlier muse.  Seems appropriate for the spring!

I’ve discovered the magic word.  It’s not abracadabra and it’s not a secret.  It’s not a mystery wrapped inside a symbol.  The long sought magic word – the utterance of which brings immediate reward to the speaker – has been found.  By me.

 I’ll tell you exactly how I found it.

As I was driving to work one morning, one of those idiot motorists clustered around me, lane-hopped near my rear bumper.  The idiot then challenged other drivers as he (maybe she, it was dark) then darted back into my lane, inches from my front bumper.  My ego first impulse was to let loose a string of verbal (or at least mental) descriptions of the idiot’s clearly errant consciousness.  But I didn’t.

The driver was an “accident looking for victims.” This was a time when I was practicing “complaint free” principles in my real-time daily living.  I was creating a habit to say and think what I desired in every moment, and not what I disliked or disapproved.  Did I desire for the idiot to cause an accident?  Of course not.  Therefore I thought and spoke to him/her what I genuinely desired - “May you arrive safely at your destination.”

I thought that pretty good, and, sure enough, felt a bit of relief.  A few more consciousness-challenged motorists wandered into my path, and I managed to send each along his way with the affirmation “May you arrive safely at your destination.” 

Yet there needed to be a closing, an “amen” conclusion, to the thought lest I continue my attention on the behavior of the driver I’d rather not encounter.  Hey, I’m a slow learner, but even I understood that attention given = attraction to.

Then flashed into my mind the magic word – the conclusion to that moment which would free my thinking and attention, and make it available for what I desired in my morning drive, rather than attract more idiots in my experience.  I appended the thought:  “May you arrive safely at your destination.  Ashalli.”  That was it.  End of drama.  The lanes cleared and I drove happily on my way.

I repeated the affirmation and magic word every time I drove and encountered idiots.  It was evident, after a couple of days, that there were less idiots on the road.  Ashalli.

The question was, of course, if this magic word produce the same effect off road?  A few days later I picked up a couple of items at the neighborhood grocery store when a patron with a cart full of stuff beat me to the “10 Items or Less” express checkout.

What?  You’ve never had such an experience?  Ego impulse was to scowl at the offending person (I had a flashback to the road idiots).  But, determined to practice complaint free, the thought was offered “may you move quickly with your tasks to your desired end.  Ashalli.”

The remarkably efficient clerk scanned the entire cart in record time – and with a quick payment from the person.  I liked this magic word.  Then the same clerk struggled with the bar code on one of my items.  I sensed the glare from the burly fellow in line behind me.  The laser scanner finally behaved and I was quickly beyond reach of what I imagine were less-than-complaint-free invectives from the fellow.  Well, why not?  I thought for him “may you have a pleasant day.  Ashalli.”  I went on about my business.

I’ve used the magic word frequently and it works.  However, it works only as the conclusion to a thought desiring a positive outcome for the person or situation.  I say that because I desire to give my conscious attention, as best I’m able, to what I would like.  I’ve heard that before – did someone say The Golden Rule?

Do I want others to complain and condemn my erroneous moments?  Or, do I desire that they treat me as I desire to treat them?  That’s Ashalli.

There is a difference between “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” and a variant that goes like “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.”  These two approaches are 180 degrees apart.

“Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.”  It sounds okay on the surface.  It smacks of consideration and kindness.  Yet it requires that you adjust your behavior and interactions to please what others want from you.  To do unto others as they wish accepts the obligation to act according to their rules, which may or may not coincide with your values and feelings.  In effect, you focus on what others want you to do (or be.)  If they are satisfied, they may respond kindly.  If they are not satisfied, well, they’ll let you know, so you can try harder.

If you’ve ever spent time on that merry-go-round you know that it can’t be done.  You can never achieve joy this way.  But you can attempt to do so and work really hard to please others for five, ten, fifteen, thirty, fifty years or more.  It’ll never happen because you can only treat others as you wish to be treated.  Would your life be more joyful and less entangled if you focused on treating everyone as you wished to be treated?

That approach places creative power in your hands and you’re no longer dependent on the good graces from pleasing others.  It’s nice to be loved and appreciated – but there’s a huge difference between Love and Appreciation and conditional “love” and “appreciation.”

How do you reconcile demands to treat another in a way that makes you feel badly?  The bad feeling is your indication that you’ve got the equation skewed.  The best guide is to always treat others the way you want to be treated and you are more likely to feel good.  It’s not about what other people do or don’t do.  It’s what you truly desire for them – as what you would desire for yourself.

The more I practiced the magic word the more relaxed many daily tasks became.  Then, one morning driving to work, another idiot zipped around.  At once I thought “May you arrive safely at your destination.  As Shall I.”

As Shall I.  It’s not magic.  It’s what you want for yourself.  May you have a wonderful day.  Ashalli.