,

About the Secret

About the Secret
By Will Edwards

The Secret is the title of a best-selling book by author, Rhonda Byrne and it is also the title of a full length movie that was released via the internet and based upon the book. According to Wikipedia, the movie was released in March 2006 though the Wikipedia entry does seem a little confused at present.

When I saw Rhonda Byrne interviewed, speaking about her personal experience of writing the book, it seems that she first became aware of the idea when she read The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles, back in 2004. After the death of her father, when she was at her lowest ebb emotionally, physically and financially, her daughter gave her the book to read and Rhonda commented that it gave her a first “glimpse of the secret.”

After that, she said that she spent hundreds of hours reading books, listening to audios, gradually learning more about the secret and tracing it back in history. She became passionate about sharing the secret, she appeared on the Oprah show and, what do you know, everything changed for her.

What is The Secret?

Quite simply, the secret is about the Law of Attraction. If you have never before heard of this, the law of attraction states that like attracts like. The idea is that it is operating, all of the time, whether you like it or not, to bring your future into reality. If your thoughts are full of negativity, then that’s what turns up in your life; if you think happy thoughts, you get a different life. It just sounds too good to be true – right?

When I ask people if they are optimists or pessimists at my workshops, I usually get a minority who admit to being pessimists. That is because, I believe, pessimists generally prefer the label ‘realist’. They often don’t see themselves as pessimistic, but realistic. It turns out that things don’t generally go too well for them in life, so they are not being pessimistic, but realistic, they say. Now isn’t that an interesting fact?

Similarly, when you question the optimists, you find out that they take the view that they tend to be naturally lucky, that things often do work out well for them and, if they don’t, they can always deal with the situation should it arise. The fact is that they do seem to be luckier and things do seem to work out well for them more often. Now, regardless of how this ‘law’ works, here we have a simple example (optimism/pessimism) that is very easy to corroborate.

There have been many studies on the benefits of optimism. Optimists and pessimists alike, according to proponents, are both making use of the same Law of Attraction to create their own versions of reality. However, optimists live in a much brighter world in which the universe seems favourable to their dreams and desires whilst pessimists continue to argue the toss that life is just not like that.

Where Did The Secret Originate?

There are a number of well known New Thought books, now in the public domain, that all advocate the same basic principle including:

  • As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
  • The Master Key System by Charles Haanel
  • The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Neither Wallace D Wattles nor James Allen directly refer to the principle as the Law of Attraction, however, both books are indeed based upon the concept. Both Charles Haanel and Napoleon Hill refer directly to the principle by name. The title of Allen’s book comes from the book of Proverbs and if you simply read the verse from which the title is taken, you can quite easily discern what was in the mind of the author.

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

Of course, this brings up the fact that the principle appears in the Bible and not just in the book of Proverbs either. It apparently also appears in Hindu scriptures and I would not be surprised to find it elsewhere within religious texts because it is essentially, a correct principle.

Here is the principle, as I see it anyway, in the Buddist scriptures:

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” – The Dhammapada

It seems that a famous hadith of the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) may support the proposal that the principle is also to be found in Islam:

“actions are by intentions, so each man will have what he intended.”

Religious texts are always open to interpretation of course, so if you see things differently, then that’s ok with me. You could certainly argue the above scriptures either way, but it seems to me that if the principle is correct, then we should expect to find it within religions writings. Thoughts, after all, are one form of prayer.

Application of The Secret

Now, this is the part that many people get wrong. Somehow, from the popular books, it seems that quite a number of people have got the impression that all you need to do is think about what you want and it will come to you without any effort on your part. None of the above writers say that this is the case.

Wattles says, on this very point, that people meet their ‘shipwreck’ when they fail to connect thought with action. James Allen says that people will only see the results and not the effort that went in to producing them, Napoleon Hill is a strong advocate of having a plan and then working it and finally, Charles Haanel says that thought is what we put out to the universe and thought is what is received.

All of the above-mentioned writers are in complete agreement that thought is an important part of the process of achieving success, but none of them advocate thinking alone as a mean of getting what you want in life. Without exception, they all advocate taking persistent, goal-focused action.

All you really need to know about the secret is that it essentially concerns the importance of constructing a vision for your life. When you have done that, you should to focus upon it regularly. If you are a religions person, then you obviously would arrive at your vision prayerfully because your future is bound up with what you believe God wants for your life. If you do this and arrive at a solid and detailed picture of what you believe is your future, then regardless of the mechanisms that are involved, like so many people before you, you will begin to find the way.

You will receive ideas that will illuminate your path and, if you are serious about achieving what you have envisioned, you will commit yourself to taking continuous action that will move you in the direction of your goal. If you do these things, nothing can prevent you from achieving success.

If you enjoyed this article, you will also enjoy The Inspiration Blog

Will Edwards is Founder of http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Edwards
http://EzineArticles.com/?About-the-Secret&id=6749492

Related articles
/by
,

The Awakened Soul: Marching to a Different Drum

Image via Wikipedia

The Awakened Soul: Marching to a Different Drum
By Jacob A Nordby

A nice definition of an awakened person: a person who no longer marches to the drums of society, a person who dances to the tune of the music that springs up from within. ~ Anthony de Mello

Within each of us is an inner orchestra and it is led by Soul, the invisible conductor of our life. We have trouble hearing this music in our modern world because we are engulfed in the clang and rush of external pressures. We often wonder why we keep mindlessly doing all the things which distract us from the call of purpose, but even this small, questioning voice is drowned out as we race to work, hack away at piles of obligation and drop exhausted into bed at night.

Does this sound familiar? Do you ever wonder how to stop the noise and re-discover the joy and harmony of your inner song?

First, it’s good to know you’re not alone. With almost no exception, everyone living in today’s first-world society struggles to carve out space in which we can remember ourselves.

I could spend a lot of time talking in generalities or bemoaning our stressed-out culture, but that’s not the purpose of this article.

No, I intend to strike a clear reminder bell: just that one ringing note which calls us back to mindfulness and peace.

Can you hear it in your imagination right now? It cuts through the clutter of voicemail and bills and ambition and depressing circumstances. It says, “Come find me. I’m your reason for living. I’m your purpose, your passion…your bliss. I will revive your joy. I will give new meaning to the mundane parts of life. I’m your north star and your guiding light.”

A practical sort of person is thinking, “…that sounds lovely and poetic, but what do I do with it? I want the magic back, but for godsake, man…give me something solid to put my feet on here.”

That’s a fair request. In fact, it’s more than fair. We have come to a critical point in human progress at which we are asking ourselves to bring together all the many centuries of higher wisdom and apply it. We know that we know better than we are doing. We know that we don’t need war and greed. We know that just piling up more stuff will never satisfy our essential questing selves.

So here we are. We live in this world. It does no good to wait for society to slow down or re-arrange itself around more meaningful values. We are tasked with finding balance for ourselves, but how?

Anthony de Mello gives us a clue in his definition of an awakened person: “…a person who no longer marches to the drums of society…”.

We’ve already talked about the drums of society: the expectations and obligations and death-by-a-thousand-cuts duties which demand our attention.

So, how do we silence those drums and start living life on our own terms?

Like any worthwhile journey, this one starts with a few simple steps. Here are some suggestions:

    1. Re-imagine. I invite you to sit quietly with a notebook and pen. For awhile, just doodle around the edges and write down whatever loose ends are nagging at you. Then, write yourself a letter. Tell yourself what is most important in life. Daydream about what you’d be doing and how you would be living if you could begin again with purpose. Don’t shortcut this step. Your quiet, inner voice needs room to play. Take care that the new dreams you write are your own…not the ones dictated by the “drums of society”. How does that feel?

 

    1. Start small. Do something every day to encourage your awakening. Just a short meditation, reading a good book, taking a long walk, or writing in a journal for twenty minutes can be powerful catalysts for self-discovery and transformation.

 

  1. Walk away. Remember that you have much more power of choice than you have been exercising. Can you turn off the television more often, cut out un-necessary expenses or compress your duties at work? We all end up carrying weights which are no longer necessary, and we often can’t remember why we agreed to pick them up in the first place.

In my own experience, when I got radically clear and honest, I found piles of extra baggage to shed. It wasn’t easy to de-junkify my life at first. I had to learn that saying “no” to stuff which no longer served me was a way of saying “yes” to my awakening purpose. People didn’t always understand my new path, and this is where I learned the value of listening to myself as never before.

Does this give you a bit more visibility on how to simplify your life and re-connect with your own inner music?

Want to learn more about how to re-engage your purpose and follow your destiny? Visit http://www.YourAwakenedSelf.com and download the complimentary e-book and MP3 titled: “Re-Mapping Your Life”. Jacob A. Nordby is the founder of YourAwakenedSelf.com, a published author and life-purpose coach.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacob_A_Nordby
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Awakened-Soul:-Marching-to-a-Different-Drum&id=6715719

 

 

 

Related articles
/by
,

Ten Ways to Awaken and Be Free!

Image via Wikipedia

Ten Ways to Awaken and Be Free!
By Pamela Turner

How beautiful to be free! Free from illusions and the endless demands of ego. We are in a magnificent age in the world right now, one where humanity is awakening, remembering our wholeness, our goodness, and our unlimited potential. Here are ten ways to enhance your own awakening process and live in freedom, love and joy!

1. Awareness: As you become more aware, you are able to see how the conditioned mind traps you and keeps you unfulfilled, always chasing after endless conditions to make you ‘happy’. You start to identify with the observer who is aware instead of the mind with its endless judgments and demands of the ego. When you realize you are not your thoughts, you can begin to change them or rise above them. You are the vast awareness that was there before you were born and will be there after you die. Practice meditation, mindfulness, the Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz.

2. Let Go: Energy follows thought. Whatever you focus on you are feeding. When you let go of a thought, desire or emotional charge, you disengage and enter the flow of life. Things come and things go, but you don’t have to be jerked around by them and controlled by them. You are the stillness in the center that is living it all. You are the sky, not the clouds.

3. Forgive: When you cling to feelings of resentment and revenge, you carry them around in you. They affect your mood, your thoughts and your vibration. They don’t affect the other person at all. Learning to forgive forgive others is granting you your own freedom. It doesn’t mean you condone that behavior, it means you want to be free from carrying the bad energy around. Forgiving yourself is loving yourself and having compassion yourself. This gives you room to blossom.

4. Gratitude: Gratitude comes in many forms: appreciating, blessing, expecting the best. When you are being grateful you are vibrating at a high level and you are attracting to you more of what you are blessing. When you are in gratitude you are in the present moment, receiving instead of in the past or future grasping or pushing away. Remembering your “Thank you, God’s” the first and last thing of every day opens you to life’s highest energies and increases everything good in your life.

5. Being Authentic: Running around endlessly trying to please others, pretending to be who you are not to gain their acceptance and avoiding life and situations because of fear separate you from Who you are and close you off from the Goodness of life. You are responding to life instead of reacting. When you are authentic, you love yourself and express your own unique beingness without holding back.

6. Raise your Energy: Many things in life lower our vibration. The more dense you are, the less clarity, love and vitality you have and the less you are able to choose your path instead of just following the rut. Your inner and outer environment affects your energy: who you are with, what you focus on, what you eat, how you breathe. Energy follows thought. Whatever you are focusing on in life you are attracting. Raise yourself by focusing on what you want, not what you don’t want.

7. Breathe: Breath is inspiration. You are not only giving yourself life-enhancing oxygen but also increasing your vital energy, your chi or mana. It takes energy to grow and evolve. While giving yourself this necessary fuel, deep breathing also centers you, releases endorphins, relaxes you, allows you to enter the healing, intuitive state and centers you in your Being. You can do it anywhere, anytime. It brings you Home.

8. Being not Doing: All the running around, grasping and pulling in the world is just your mind trying to make your mind happy. Awakening is not something you have to try to do. It is something you remember. Your heart remembers – being present, being aware, being loving, being authentic, being allowing, being life itself without judgment. Your heart knows the path. When it is happy, you are on the right path.

9. Allowing: Allowing exists when judgment stops. Judgment separates. It is a mind game that isolates you from the rest of the world, from the rest of your Self and nourishes your limiting beliefs. Allowing the present moment to be just what it is, allowing others to be who they are and allowing yourself to be who you are is a gateway to personal freedom and joy. When you are allowing, you are not blaming. You are in your power, not giving it away.

10. Laughing: You laugh in the present moment, letting go everything else just for that moment, free, joyous, raising your vibration, raising your energy, releasing endorphins, connecting to the world and your authenticity, just being n the flow of life just the way it is! Laugh alot. Laugh deeply. Just laugh!

http://www.BeginWithin.org founder Pamela Turner has spent her life studying personal and spiritual growth and healing. Pamela has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, is a Master Practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming, a Certified Hypnotherapist, Licensed EmoTrance Practitioner, Advanced Reiki Practitioner, Certified Energy Healer for Animals and a Huna Shaman. She has also studied extensively in the fields of quantum physics, mind/body healing, Toltec Spirituality and astrology, to list just a few of Pamela’s many areas of study. As she got older, and after quite a bit of healing and clearing of her personal path, Pamela realized the time had come for her to apply her years of dedicated study, work and learning to the greater good. Pamela now devotes her time and energy to the creation of products that promote and enhance healing and growth, performing Energy Healing for Animals and providing Counseling and Healing for people fortunate to cross her path.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Turner
http://EzineArticles.com/?Ten-Ways-to-Awaken-and-Be-Free!&id=6748672

 

 

Related articles
  • Awakening to the Truth of Your Self (wingingwithwhitehawk.wordpress.com)
  • Give Love – Gather Love (yourthoughtsyourfuture.com)
  • Awaken to the Truth of Man: You are Good, A Guest Post by Mike Hopkins (notesalongthepath.com)
  • Awakening from the illusion will enable all your faculties – from Saul through John Smallman (jhaines6.wordpress.com)
/by
,

The Body as the Reflection of a Mental State

English: American self-help writer Napoleon Hi...

Image via Wikipedia

The Body as the Reflection of a Mental State

Author: Genevieve

This is an assumption that any person in his right mind would desire to live a happy and fulfilling life in all areas of his existence.

Napoleon Hill popularized the statement “Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it achieves.” The mind is the origin of everything manifested in the material world. Health, wealth, beauty, lifestyle, education, job or career, relationships, appearances and everything that an individual experiences in his everyday life is a reflection of what is going on in his mind.

The mind is the seat of perception, creation and creativity, imagination and productivity, analyses of situations and any experiences in the material condition of an individual.

Whatever is the quality of the flow of thinking of a person is reflected in the quality of life he is experiencing in his material world. The contents and activities of the mind are enacted by the body and are also reacted by the surrounding including objects, incidents, and other human beings.

If the mind is disciplined to think only on beauty, wealth, health and creative works then these are also manifested in the lifestyle of the thinker. If the mind sees only beauty in the person regardless of any flaws then this person will look beautiful to everyone too. If the mind focuses on wealth as the person’s true state of being then this person will only see opportunities that he had never acknowledged before then he starts to act accordingly to success. If the mind sees the person healthy in every detail of his body then that is what this person becomes.

We are what and how we think. Everything we experience in our lives is just a reflection of our mental state. Our health and beauty, regardless of age and circumstances in life are the enactment and manifestations of the state of the mind.

Any shade of negative thoughts that become a dominating thought for quite some time reflects on the way we live in all areas; such as money or income, job or career, our chosen field of specialization, relationships.

Anyone who desires to live a fulfilling and successful life must first pay attention to his mental attitude in a moment by moment basis.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-of-attraction-articles/the-body-as-the-reflection-of-a-mental-state-5444182.html

About the Author

I am Jenny, married, 56 years old, a College Professor for 20 years teaching Social Sciences and Business specifically Economics.

 

/by
,

The Dream and The Separation

Image by unNickrMe via Flickr

The Dream and The Separation
By Gary Greenbank

The Dream

You have probably heard the saying ‘we are all one’. You may feel this to be true and have even had experiences in your life where you felt this connected energy. Why then do we all feel so separate from each other most of the time? What causes this separation and fear between people which results in everything from simple arguments and road rage through to racism, murder and even war?

What would you say if I shared with you that your life was actually a Dream, a complex illusion. At this stage your response may be that you’ve always felt this to be true. Or you may feel that I’m crazy. Some of you will be at a stage of life where you are open to this idea as a possibility and are prepared to withhold judgement. How about if I added that this Dream was taking place in the mind of a Supreme Being. Let me now go further. This Supreme Being, who is having the Dream, is actually YOU. In reality it is also me and everyone you see around you. In other words we are all this Supreme Being that is having this Dream and in this life we are simply a character in our own Dream. This Supreme Being is perfect and complete and this Dream is a way of feeling the feelings of NOT being perfect.

You, at your Higher Self level, are perfect and complete. YOU, as your HIGHER SELF are the SUPREME BEING, CONSCIOUSNESS, the CREATOR. If it suits your beliefs you could say that you, at the level of your Higher Self, are GOD. You are experiencing your life entirely in the mind of your Higher Self. So you and everything thing around you has been created by you at the level of your Higher Self in a Dream.

At the beginning of your life, in what I call The Separation, you are given judgement which is the mechanism that helps to keep you separate from others. At ‘birth’ you forget who you really are and begin having experiences that make you feel limited and incomplete. All this is designed to let you experience life, and everything you experience is designed to support you in living your life purpose. Your role, as a character in this Dream, is to experience feelings for yourself as the Supreme Being which is who you truly are. At some stage, when you are ready, you can begin to question reality and this feeling of being lacking and incomplete. This is the beginning of your journey back; where you begin to slowly understand the reality of the Dream.

When you see the Dream for the illusion that it is it ceases to have the same effects on you. People and things that have been affecting your life begin to lose their power. You begin to understand that we are all one. This is the beginning of reclaiming power in your life and thereby changing your Dream. This will then bring more happiness, joy and unconditional love into your life each day. Seeing life for what it actually is causes a feeling of lightness and even laughter and is no longer a cause of fear. If you are reading this you are more than likely ready for the journey back.

Click here to download a free copy of my eBook.

Visit http://www.theseparation.com for more thought provoking articles on spiritual development.

Gary Greenbank

� 2011, All Rights Reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Greenbank
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Dream-and-The-Separation&id=6724001

Related articles
/by
,

The Internet of Minds

The Internet of Minds
By Gary Greenbank

There is growing evidence that we create reality with our minds and further more that our minds are connected as one in a way we as yet don’t understand. How is this possible?

One explanation is to do with the two hemispheres of the human brain. You have probably heard that the brain comprises of two halves, left and right hemispheres. What surprised me when I researched this subject is that the brain really is in two distinct halves that are separate from each other and only connected by the corpus callosum at the base. These two distinct halves have very separate roles and both process information differently. The left brain is the one we use for regular tasks such as logical, rational thought and time orientation. The left hemisphere is all about the past and the future. It takes all our experiences and information from the past and projects into the future to give us feedback on possible actions and results. It’s the ‘little voice’, the ego that gives us our sense of individuality. The separate identity of ‘I am’. It is the mechanism by which we separate ourselves from others.

Conversely the right hemisphere is used for intuitive thinking and kinesthetic feelings. It is connected to the energy all around us and operates in the moment as this energy streams in from external sources. The right hemisphere lets us know what the present moment looks like, feels like, smells like and tastes like. Is it possible that the right sides of our brains are all connected in some way that we don’t fully understand as yet? Could the right hemisphere of our brains be connected in something like an internet of brains where all knowledge is available to all those connected to it and all those connected to it are also connected to each other. After all we are capable of sending complex information wirelessly between mobile phones and computers on opposite sides of the world. Isn’t it therefore feasible, and even probable, that our brains are connected in some way that we do not understand at this point in our technological evolution?

Right and left brains A fascinating example of this idea in real life was experienced in 1996 when Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven year old brain scientist, suffered a major stroke. A blood vessel had ruptured in the left half of her brain. What made this event fascinating was that being a trained professional in matters of the brain she was able to understand what was happening as the left side of her brain began shutting down. During the experience, that took place in her home over four hours, she lost the ability to talk, walk, remember anything clearly or undertake simple cognitive tasks. The intuitive, kinesthetic and feeling right hand side of her brain continued to function normally. Ms Bolte Taylor has presented her experience to fascinated audiences throughout the world.

In summary when her left brain was shut down and only her right brain was functioning she felt a total sense of peace and joy. Her left brain was silent and she had no ‘little voice’, no ego, no cognitive functions. On the other hand because she was experiencing the world purely through her right hemisphere she felt at one with all the energy around her. She found that could not define the boundary of her body, where she ended and the external world began. She couldn’t identify her position in space and felt enormous. She describes the feeling as ‘nirvana’, a world filled with compassion and love. In reality she was experiencing her true essence. She was experiencing herself as she was before The Separation which made her forget and start feeling limited and separate.

When she survived this near death experience Ms Bolte Taylor realised that if she could find nirvana then everyone could find nirvana. She makes the point that everyone can choose who and what they want to be at any moment. Step into the right hemisphere and feel compassionate and connected to the energy and people all around you. Or step into the left hemisphere and become an individual ego totally separate from others.

I believe that the right hemisphere is what connects all of us to our Higher Self. When you look from the perspective of you Higher Self it is the same as choosing to experience the world completely through the right hemisphere of your brain. You can make the choice to enhance your life and it is a conscious decision.

The video of Ms Bolte Taylor’s presentation

Click here to download a free copy of my eBook.

Visit http://www.theseparation.com for more thought provoking articles on spiritual development.

Gary Greenbank
� 2011, All Rights Reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Greenbank
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Internet-of-Minds&id=6724672

 

 

 

Related articles
/by