Archive for May, 2011

A Little of This and That

Writing sustains me. 

Sitting down with paper and pen to journal or opening my net book to string together a few sentences and paragraphs brings me joy and smooths out the rough patches that I’ve created in my life path.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I have created and/or invited every single pebble, stone and boulder that occupies space along my otherwise powder-sand trek through my days.

I know that when I focus on writing, my mental beach is pristine and free of debris. So why has it been more than two weeks since I’ve posted here?  Because–and this will shock those of you with a predilection for the 12 steps–I don’t always do what’s best for me.  In fact, there are times when I dig my feet in the sand–and get stuck.

Sticky-stuck times

Here’s the really cool part:  It doesn’t matter because I’m learning to love those quicksand times.

Huh?

At the core of all purpose work–my purpose being to create–is love.  Mindy Audlin believes–and I agree–that every step, even the ones that take us to failure, must be approached lovingly in order to fulfill my purpose. (for more about Mindy, go to http://whatifup.com/)

That sure eliminates the need for resentment, fear and anger.  But if they come up, I hit ‘em with love.

I gotta love it all?

Yes!  Loving the wrong turns, the slipping into quicksand thinking, the actions of others that cause me pain, the circumstances that are circumtances that are way less than desirable–really loving them, not merely accepting or tolerating them–is the one surefire way to live on purpose.

We all have an unending supply of love available to us.  The well never dries so that I can dip my cup into love whenever I want and then upturn it on the top of my head.  Can’t you just picture love flowing all the way down your body, forming a protective shield?  Don’t you LOVE that image?

We have the power.  We have the tools.  We have the choice.  I do, you do, and if we throw God into the mix, heck, we can truly accomplish anything!

To Be or Not to Be?  Why not B Here Today?  (that Billy S., he was way before his time, wasn’t he?)

6 More Reasons to Abandon Your Thinking

I want, I want, I want to give, to love, to create, to serve, says your outside voice.

Too bad.  You don’t deserve.  You’re crazy.  You may want, but you cannot have, says your inside voice.

Which voice do you listen to?  See why it’s necessary to abandon your thinking?

In my last post, we explored six reasons to let go of destructive thinking.  Those six were:

1.  What we think about, we bring about.

2.  You will no longer be plagued by those “yeah, buts.”

3.  We sit in our own sh@t because it’s warm.

4.  You’re getting bloody and bruised from beating on yourself. 

5.  Much, if not all, of our thinking is erroneous.

6.  Our thinking is based on conclusions of people who lived in another time and place.

I just know you have, like me, mastered all six reasons and are chomping at the bit for the remaining six.  Not!  I do so love being facetious!

Here goes:

Reason #7 to Abandon Your Thinking:  Old patterns of thinking block us from contemplating new possibilities.

Or more correctly, according to scientific research, continued thought patterns actually form grooves or channels in the brain and when a repetitive thought enters the brain, it gravitates to its groove.  When those repeated thoughts are destructive, it’s not groovy.

The good news is that our brains are malleable and with concerted effort, we can create new grooves with repetitive good and positive thoughts.    I think I can, I think I can . . .

Reason #8 to Abandon Your Thinking:  We can become immobilized, unable to move one way or another off the high-center point of destructive thinking.

We brood, we stew, we ruminate on a change we want to make instead of allowing a “what if?” thought to enter our thought process.  For more information on how to “what if,” visit my friend Mindy Audlin’s masterful technique called What If Up at  http://whatifup.com/.

Reason #9 to Abandon Your Thinking:  To save our planet.

When you really become aware of the energy flow around your moods and their corresponding thought patterns, can you feel how negative comments or judgmental remarks create a feeling of toxicity?  We’ve all encountered the spoiled-sport who is a “downer” in an otherwise great situation. 

Imagine that particular situation multiplied. Now you’re in a location where most everyone is grumpy and tired.  They complain about everything without appreciating anything or anyone.  You can’t wait to escape that situation, right? 

Now imagine an entire neighborhood or town behaving so destructively.  Expand the toxic circles out to your state, your country, your continent and your world.  What do you see in your mind’s eye?

Our thoughts are powerful conductors of energy that can literally cause massive shifts in our planetary health.  Pretty cool, huh?

Reason #10 to Abandon Your Thinking:  We can stop wars.

I’m of the belief that collective, focused thinking can produce the most incredible, even seemingly impossible, outcomes.  Never underestimate-NEVER, NEVER-the power of positive thinking.

Our God-given powers are meant to be used for good deeds, not destructive ones.  Believe me, I am not naiive enough to believe that violence and wars can be stopped on a dime. 

But, what if they can?  Who’s to say?  Can we try stop wars by letting go of the old, outdated and manufactured methods of being in relationship with others?  As with the principle behind #9, this #10 reason begins with one-with-me, then me-with-you, then us-with-them.

Are you with me?

Reason #11 to Abandon Your Thinking:  So we can stop relying on outward methods of stimulation.

We turn to food, alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, shopping, whatever makes us feel good about ourselves.  We find an elusive haven in the things when in reality, they are merely a replacement, a stand-in, for the One.  Instead of telling ourselves–and believing–that we’re craving all those things, can we crave God instead? 

I invite you to take a 21-day challenge with Lisa TerKeurst, author of Made to Crave, http://madetocrave.org/21-day-challenge/.

And finally:

Reason #12 to Abandon Your Thinking:  To Win Our Personal and Collective Victories.

Need I say more?

Just this, to paraphrase Mastin Kipp of The Daily Love (http://thedailylove.com/):

Ask.  Believe.  Act.  Release.  Receive.

Namaste, my friends. 

Photo courtesy of Jen @smiling_heart

6 Reasons to Abandon Your Thinking

“This sort of thinking had to be abandoned.”    

–Alcoholics Anonymous, page 48

I’m told that my best thinking brought me to my here-and-now circumstances.  Sometimes that frightens the crap out of me because my mind field of thoughts is filled with sand traps, booby traps and every other kind of trap.

Yes it’s true.  That sort of thinking must be abandoned.  Before you ask how, which would be my first question, consider that the “how” isn’t as important as the “why.”

How to abandon your thinking is pretty easy . . . just think different thoughts.  (I didn’t say it would be simple.)  But why should you abandon those thoughts?  Because those erroneous thoughts we contemplate become the beliefs that evoke our attitudes that produce our actions.

Reason #1 to Abandon Your Thinking:  What we think about we bring about. 

I don’t know about you, but I have an obsessive and compulsive mind.  If I see it, I want it.  If I want it, I can’t stop thinking about it.  I must have it.  I have to have it.  If “it” is unattainable or at least difficult to obtain, I noodle my thoughts round and round the spoon until I find a way to get it. Then I generally hurt my arm patting myself on the back because I found a workaround.  Abandon that thinking!

What if I tried accepting that I can’t have the coveted thing, the decadent dessert, the newest electronic gadget, the desire for more?  What if I could be happy without?

There is every possibility that I would be happy without the latest, greatest whatever, or the most recent flavor of ice cream or the latest sequel to my favorite book or movie.  Yeah, but what if I’m not?

Reason #2 to Abandon Your Thinking:  You will no longer be plagued by those “yeah, buts.”

You know what I mean.  Think of a time when you’ve been depressed or a little down and a well-meaning friend has offered a myriad of solutions in hopes of getting you out of your doldrums.  With every offer of a helpful suggestion from your friend, you find yourself responding with “Yeah but, . . . ”

Our own thoughts can produce the same response.  We can usually think of at least three options to pull our minds out of the quicksand, but we don’t follow-through because:

Reason #3 to Abandon Your Thinking:   We sit in our own sh@t because it’s warm.

We’re comfortable with circumstances as they are because they’ve been this way for five, 10, 20 years or more.  Things may not be the way I like them, but hey, there are millions of people worse off than me.  I’m doing alright.  Sure, I’m a little down and things could always be improved, but it’s not as if I’m suicidal or anything.  There is someone worse off than me who needs help worse than I do.  So I’ll just suck it up and be grateful for what I have.

Let’s be clear:  We’re not here to suggest that anyone who changes her or his present circumstances is ungrateful for what they’ve been given.  Our concern here is how those present circumstances are treated, whether with respect and integrity or with a “what the hell” cavalier attitude.

Reason #4 to Abandon Your Thinking:  You’re getting bloody and bruised from beating on yourself. 

For the first few years of my sobriety, I saw a counselor who said to me many times over, “Beth, eliminate all those “o-u” words from your vocabulary.  No more should have, could have, would have or ought to.

I was a new woman when I took this advice to heart.

Reason #5 to Abandon Your Thinking:  Much, if not all, of our thinking is erroneous.

Let’s be honest.  The percentage of our thoughts that are pure and true is far less than our thoughts that masquarade as judgments and false conclusions.  Erroneous thoughts create a vicious cycle of limited sight and crippling perceptions.  

Reason #6 to Abandon Your Thinking:  Our thinking is based on conclusions of people who lived in another time and place.

Have you ever uttered the words “that is just the way it is” or “because we’ve always done it that way?”  Where is the growth, the challenge, the adventure in those phrases? Abandon them!

There you have it.  Six of 12 reasons to abandon your thinking. Just let go . . . create a vacuum of emptiness where fresh, creative and beautiful thoughts can begat themselves.  Yes, it’s difficult to undo years and decades of same-0ld, but I have faith in you.  Let’s do it together!  And don’t forget to check back for the remaining six nuggets of reasons to abandon your thinking.

See you in the fresh mind fields.

(photo courtesy of wadem)