How It Works

For those who are interested in how thoughts become things, or how thinking influences experience, this video clip between Dr. Wayne Dyer and Esther Hicks (Abraham) outlines the process.

Managing the Moment

 There are some things we do well.  There are arenas in our lives where we feel very good – confident, comfortable – enjoying it all.

There are some arenas, however, where we feel frustrated, confused, helpless, hapless and otherwise not having any fun at all.

There are those people who have a wonderful consciousness for prosperity.  Money and such are never an issue for them and they enjoy all the delights of prosperity.  They have a great relationship with money.

At the same time, however, they may have a messy personal life which drains them emotionally and physically and is no fun at all.

Across town are those folks who have great personal relationships, wonderful family life, and a satisfying social life.  Yet they can’t balance a check book and seem to forever have money problems.

Then there are those wonderful folks who enjoy all aspects of their life and everything just seems to fall in place for them.

Most of us have parts of our living experience that are enjoyable, and some areas that alert us that we are not fully in sync with Consciousness.  And that’s okay.  If we could always “get it right” and live in full 24/7 Bliss, we’d probably be on another planet.  Planet Bliss – I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.

I had a discussion with a colleague recently who was distressed with the conundrum of being so skilled, so confident in some areas of life, but so lost, confused, and frustrated in others. 

Why do I have problems HERE while all is well over THERE, and there, and there?

Universe is very, very big and our life experience is much larger than we are typically aware.  There’s lots of room for us to experience ourselves.

It all boils down to relationships.  Not just interacting with other people, but interacting with everything.  LIFE is all about relationships.  In those areas where we have good, effective relationships, we feel the benefit.  In those areas where we stumble around, we feel that as well.

We often hear the phrase “our higher self.”  This is one relationship that is worth developing.

We create our experiences in the various arenas of our Life experience based on our consciousness.  A prosperity consciousness produces that.  A health consciousness produces that.  Varying degrees of consciousness produce the mixed results.  The point is that it is natural to have different levels of consciousness at the same moment.

It may be time to “cut some slack” and step back from dwelling on one thing or another that we are having difficulty with and listen to our higher self – our usual source of intuition.  In this moment do you want to feel good or to feel bad?  It’s a simple question.  But how do you answer?

“Why, George, I want to feel good...BUT...”

Some call it sabotage - along the lines of “the more I thought about it, the angrier I got!”  Well, then cease thinking about “it.”  Gosh, Doc, it only hurts when I press there.  Then don’t press there.

Alas, there is often a better relationship with feeling guilty (or any other variation of bad) than feeling good.   Of course I want to be happy, BUT... let me list all of the reasons why I can’t be happy...let me list those people who won’t allow me to be happy...let me list the sorry conditions I live...  Yet there are those whispers encountered urging a list of what is good right now, a list of gratitude, a listing of appreciation.  These listings evoke good feelings.

Higher Self is consistent.   Yet if we do not have a working relationship with our higher, intuitive, self, we may not only fail to HEAR this sane counsel, but may be unaware it’s even there.  There is no such thing as coincidence.  Every effect has a cause and every cause produces an effect.

On the whole we do not spend a lot of time thinking about those aspects of our life that are doing well.  That’s natural, normal!  What gets our attention are those areas that aren’t in sync with our higher self, or Consciousness.  This is certainly reinforced all around us – news, media, tv, movies, radio – all portraying what is WRONG. 

This is “news” because it’s not NORMAL.  On some instinctive level we know that such conditions/situations/experiences are abnormal, not the norm, not the usual, not a part of the plan, etc.  We focus on a hurricane because…it is rare.  We don’t focus on the usually fine weather.  Or whatever relationship is the issue.  Notice, though, that awareness of the hurricane highlights the pleasure of the gorgeous weather.

Not on the loose

Yet if we dwell on something feared, we cheat ourselves of the enjoyment of the moment and experience the moment.  It’s not some devil or villain  on the loose that robs our joy in life – it’s our own mental sabotage.  Whatever’s on our mind determines how we feel.  The disagreeable thought produces the unpleasant feeling; the unpleasant feeling reinforces the disagreeable thought, and so forth.  It’s quite possible to get so ensnared to become oblivious – feeling so bad, all the time, and totally preoccupied with the negative thought that nothing else can enter the experience.

Escape and freedom from such a vicious cycle can only happen right now.  Not later, not when, not if, but now.  And, no one can do it for you.  They may want to, sincerely, but it’s not possible.  No one can think for another.

Higher Self will allow the mind to settle on a soothing, pleasant concept.  That’s the natural “flow” we hear of.  We naturally flow towards joy unless resisted.  The resistance is attention given to the un-natural/un-normal which produces the bad feelings.  The more we look at something undesirable, the more undesirable we’ll see.  That’s just the way it works.  So, rather than jerk attention back to the negative arena when it takes a moment to dwell on something other (there’s always something more pleasant, more desirable that is accessible to thought in the moment.)

Manage the moment.  Give thanks, appreciation, for every relationship.  With your car, the television, loved ones, your job, APPRECIATE.  The area of challenge can be appreciated – become still and listen for your higher self to provide guidance on improving the situation. 

It all happens NOW.  This Moment.   Enjoy yourself, ashali.

More DUH!

You’ve done it, I know you have. Is there anyone, at one time or other, who hasn’t opened their hand, popped their forehead and said, or thought, “DUH!”

It’s intriguing, the “Duh” moment. The word may be contemporary, but the sudden awareness of “foolish me, I knew that!” is nothing new. The Duh! moment can be a very useful tool in managing thinking.
Duh! tends to show up in those moments when we’ve become overly focused on someone, something, or other distraction, and have mentally closed the quiet door to guidance. Often we’re in a rush. Consider the following:

“Where is that !%^#!! key?” I’m racing around the house looking for the key to the storage shed - there’s just enough time, this Saturday morning, to mow the lawn before heading out of town. The key, of course, isn’t hanging in its usual place. So begins the hasty search of all probable hiding places. Ignored, of course, is the quiet thought, “Hey, George, I’m in the kitchen drawer under the toaster.”
The errant key would not be there, of all places, so the search continues through rooms, dressers, the garage, tables, floors, counters... You know the scene. Finally, in a desperate moment, the kitchen drawer is opened, and voila! DUH!

Seek and Ye shall find. Finding is so much easier if the question is asked first, then followed with a quiet moment for the answer to reveal itself. It’s the second part of the process that often gets lost in the hustle and bustle of the daily adventure. Thank you, Duh! The key revealed its location. It just took a while for me to pay attention.

In matters great and small, the process is the same - ask - then shut up and listen. Occasionally, I think I’m fairly practiced with the listening part. How easily distracted I am. I suspect you are familiar with the experience. No matter where we are on the great spiral of spiritual evolution, there is always a degree of Duh! to assist us.

The cliche, “can’t see the forest for all of those trees,” is true. While searching for the forest of a solution, or an action, pesky perceptual trees may get in the way. It seems that while bumping into the endless array of mentally rooted trees, the focus - to see the forest - recedes to the back mental burner.
At such moments the persistent Duh! whispers “take a break, and look for the big picture.” The silent guidance is always there, but if I don’t take the mental and emotional moment to pause, and listen, I miss it or mistake it. The problem is not the elusive forest, but the distracted George.

Perhaps you’ve made a mental commitment to notice the good in everyone you meet. Why? To do so creates a more fulfilling experience for the moment - a blessing for the person, and a reinforcement of your desire to experience a joyful life.

Of course, there’s that idiot who cuts in front of you just as you drive towards your exit on the freeway. Without a Duh!, several blocks of less spiritually focused mental energy may be expended, benefitting neither the “idiot” nor you. Wailing and gnashing teeth may be symptoms of not paying attention to our highest desires. They may also indicate that we’ve temporarily lost sight of our chosen forest.
American mystic and philosopher Charles Fillmore put it as succinctly as anyone could - “If you’re unhappy with your life, change your mental habits.” Duh!

How often do we slip, unawares, from spiritually centered mental habits, to lesser thoughts of momentary impulse in reaction to a “freeway idiot?” That’s a case of bumping into the trees. Keeping a check on our thoughts is a simple process - being aware of how we are thinking at any given moment - and choosing to give attention to the thoughts we desire. Simple, of course, is not synonymous with easy.

An important aspect of this wonderful adventure on earth is mental and physical health. Mental and emotional focus on perfect health resonates with many people. In your mind’s eye, are you healthy? Many people strive to keep foremost in thought, the Truth of perfect health - despite contrary appearances. God is perfect health. I am a child of God. Therefore, I have inherited perfect health. That’s about as logical as it gets.

The interference, however, may be the accumulated “stuff” derived from old mental and emotional habits, that litter your expectations. There may be a negative, nagging, mental parrot perched on our thinking shoulder, whispering “I am sick...I am not well...that would be nice, but... That’s not discounting any circumstance or challenge - in greater and lesser degrees, we all have them - yet where is the mental force directed? Such a nagging mental parrot can subtly redirect thinking.

Are your powerful thoughts creating what is desired?   Or that which is feared and undesired? Enter, Duh!, a marvelous reinforcement for your preferred mental state.

Yes, even a child gets it!

Each night may end, and each day may begin, with focused acknowledgment that “Every cell in my body, every part of my being, is in perfect harmony with the healing vibrations of the Consciousness.” Not a bad way to end and start a day!

You know what can come next - pesky distraction tree thoughts, emphasizing the aches, the pains, the problems, and so on. And thus, the day may end, or begin, with semi-conscious rogue thoughts affirming, not your relationship with the Spirit, but with all that other stuff. At this moment Duh! might quietly work its way to the surface awareness and whisper “Time out!” Refocus.  Priority. “What do you want?”

It is reassuring to know that no matter how far, in whatever amount of time, we might stray from our preferred mental and emotional state of being, there is a “check for balance” that ignores the distraction.
Duh! is there, patiently nudging you to keep your thoughts directed towards your highest self, countering the nagging mental parrot of negativity. The beauty and magnificence of a spiritual consciousness is a “forest” at hand. It’s good to know that a part of you, Duh!, is on alert should you mentally stray into the underbrush and lose sight of where you are going.

But, you knew that already. Duh.

Danger!  Obvious!

Adventures in Thinking!

The Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling's Dan J. Talley Memorial Institute will present Adventures in Thinking Friday, March 9, 2012 at the Broadmoor branch of the Shreve Memorial Library.  The presentation, by yours truly, begins at 10:00 am and runs about ninety minutes.  Everyone is welcome and there is no charge.  Anyone who needs CEU's can register in advance for a small fee (email address on the flyer.)

No matter who you are, what you do, where you come 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 workshop takes a look at some historical concepts regarding thinking and suggests a contemporary application – reducing complaining.  Now that can be exciting!

Thinking About Thoughts

It's said that every thought, ever thought, exists.  Granted, that celestial repository is elusive, but not necessarily impossible.  Is it possible that the energy produced by thinking imprints a quantum fabric so fine that, like our nose, looms before us?

We humans have always wanted to preserve our observations, knowledge, and wisdom.  The universe may do that by default and perhaps some of our distant ancestors knew this.  But in the meantime, they had to invent language - to translate thoughts "inside the head" to the ears of those apart.  Then they told stories, and their children re-told the stories and so on.  Yet, as with every generation, since Eden, the youth were sending their inheritance to hell in a hand basket.  To protect the integrity of their thoughts they learned to inscribe symbols in stone or other more permanent manner.  Let the foolish youth mess with that!  There was value in having previous thoughts (aka learning) available.  As one wag put it, "invent the wheel once, not a gazillion times."  But I digress.

Now our thoughts are kept for what may be a forever in the cloud of cyber space.  Recently I read some emails sent long ago from my late father.  His gentle and delightful musings exist, available to those with access.  I had to think of our own postings on Facebook, Twitter, emails, and such, placed in that weird realm of frequency imprint.  In that sense, thoughts have become immortal.

That realization prompts the admonition "post not that which you may regret."  Not quite an edict from a prophet, but it seems to have common ground with the ancient adages - be deliberate in your thinking for it lives beyond your temporal experience.  Your grandmother told you that -  if you can't say something nice about someone then don't say anything at all.  Or, as your humble writer would posit, what do you want as a result of your thinking?  It's a heady thought.

In a sense we are the product of who-knows-how-long of thinking.  We're adding to that body of thought/energy.  What do we want?  What kind of world do we wish to bestow upon the upcoming generation?  What labors to invent another wheel may be spared? They'll create their own world, as we created ours, for sure.

Yet, when considering all that we've thought, from a higher realm, it would be nice to know that our efforts, our thoughts, helped create a better life experience.  That can only be accomplished now - in this moment.  I'm sure my late parents are doing that in their own manner.  It just may be that the celestial frequency is getting closer and closer...

Finessing Time Management

Many of us attempt to accomplish as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. We consider it efficiency - getting maximum value out of the investment. It isn't the time that is the real issue here, but rather what we're doing in that moment.


The premise of this blog is that thinking always precedes and influences experience. What you hold as dominant thoughts (often called beliefs) in your mind determine the experiences attracted by them. That's one reason why Charles Fillmore said if you're unhappy with your life, change your thinking. It is possible to deliberately think, rather than mentally react and respond to what the senses are interpreting.

If it wasn't your mother, then perhaps it was a grandmother, or aunt, or other older, wiser woman (usually) who admonished young you that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.

There's great wisdom in that.

If you're not looking for something worthy about someone (or some situation or condition) then you're emphasizing an undesirable element that will become more a part of your experience. A.K.A. complaining.

I come back to this theme, complaining, because it is important. Happy people do not complain. The question begs, do unhappy people complain because they are unhappy? Or, are they unhappy because they complain? To escape that vicious circle of reason one must ask in earnest - do I want to be happy? If the answer is YES! then the process has begun. Yet if one doesn't "want to be happy" then no way can they feel such joy. There are many reasons why a person might not "want" or feel they "deserve" to be happy. More on them another time.

For the moment, let's realize that you can look for a compliment as easily as a complaint. It takes the same amount of time. Why not go for the compliment? If you want to be a happy person, then test it. Become more aware of complaining and find a compliment or appreciation instead. Notice how you literally feel when appreciating someone or something as opposed to complaining. It's self evident.

The Universe as Hubble telescope sees it

It is said that every thought, ever thought, still exists. Our contributions to the universe never cease.