Louise Hay Audio Book You Can Heal Your Life II

[Music] exercise creating new changes now is the time to take your list of things that were wrong and turn them into positive affirmations or you can list all the changes you want to make and have and do then select three from this list and turn them into positive affirmations say your negative list was something like this my life is a mess I should lose weight nobody loves me I want to move I hate my job I should get organized I don't do enough I'm not good enough you can then turn them around to this I am willing to release the pattern in me that created these conditions I am in the process of positive changes I have a happy slender body I experienced love wherever I go I have the perfect living space I now create a wonderful new job I am now very well organized I appreciate all that I do I love and approve of myself I trust the process of life to bring me my highest good I deserve the best and I accept it now out of this group of affirmations will come all the things you want to change on your list loving and approving of yourself creating a space of safety trusting and deserving and accepting will enable your body weight to normalize they will create organization in your mind create loving relationships in your life attract a new job and a new place to live it is miraculous the way a tomato plant grows it is miraculous the way we can demonstrate our desires exercise deserving your good do you believe you deserve to have what you desire if you don't you won't allow yourself to have it circumstances beyond your control will crop up to frustrate you look in your mirror again and say I deserve to have or be and I accept it now say that two or three times I deserve to have and I accept it now how do you feel always pay attention to your feelings to what's going on in your body does it feel true or do you still feel unworthy if you have any negative feelings in your body then go back to affirming I release the pattern in my consciousness that is creating resistance to my good I deserve repeat this until you get the acceptance feelings even if you have to do it several days in a row in our approach to building the new we want to use a holistic approach the holistic philosophy is to nurture and nourish the entire being the body the mind and the spirit if we ignore any of these areas we are incomplete we lack wholeness it doesn't matter where we start as long as we also include the other areas if we begin with the body we would want to work with nutrition to learn the relationship between our choice of food and beverages and how they affect the way we feel we want to make the best choices for our body there are herbs and vitamins of homeopathy Bach Flower Remedies we might even explore colonics we would also want to find a form of exercise that appeals to us exercise is something that strengthens our bones and keeps our bodies young in addition to sports and swimming there are dancing Tai Chi martial arts and yoga I love my trampoline use it daily and my slant board enhances my periods of relaxation we might want to explore some form of bodywork such as Rolfing or heller work or Trager massage foot reflexology acupuncture or chiropractic work are all beneficial there are also the Alexander method bioenergetics Feldenkrais touch for health now with the mind we could explore visualization techniques guided imagery and affirmations there are lots of psychological techniques Gestalt hypnosis rebirthing psychodrama past life regressions art therapy even dream work I give very little nutritional advice because I've discovered that all systems work for some people I do have a local network of good practitioners in the holistic field and I refer clients to them when I see the necessity for nutritional knowledge this is an area where you must find your own way or go to a specialist who can test you many of the books on nutrition have been written by persons who were very ill and worked out a system for their own healing however everyone is not alike for instance the macrobiotic and the natural raw food diets are two totally different approaches the raw food people never cook anything seldom eat bread or grains and are very careful not to eat fruits and vegetables at the same meal and they never use salt the macrobiotic people cook almost all of their food have a different system of food combining and use a lot of salt both systems work both systems have healed bodies my personal nutritional approach is simple if it grows eat it if it doesn't grow don't eat it be conscious of your eating it's like paying attention to our thoughts we can also learn to pay attention to our bodies and the signals we get when we eat different things cleaning the mental house after a lifetime of indulging in negative mental thoughts is like going on a good nutritional program after a lifetime of indulging in junk foods they both can often create healing crises as you begin to change your physical diet the body begins to throw off the accumulation of toxic residue and as this happens you can feel rather rotten for a few days so it is when you make a decision to change mental thought patterns your circumstances can begin to seem worse for a while recall for a moment the end of a Thanksgiving dinner the food is all eaten and it's time to clean the turkey pan the pan is all burnt and crusty so you put in hot water and soap and let it soak for a while then you begin to scrape the pan now you really have a mess and it looks worse than ever but just keep scrubbing away and soon you'll have a pan as good as new it's the same thing with cleaning up a dried on crusty mental pattern when we soak it with new ideas all the comes to the surface to look at keep doing the new affirmations and soon you will have totally cleared an old limitation so we have decided we are willing to change and we will use any method that works for us let me describe one of the methods I've used with myself and with others first go look in a mirror and say to yourself I am willing to change notice how you feel if you are hesitant or resistant or just don't want to change ask yourself why what old belief are you holding on to please don't scold yourself just notice what it is I'll bet that belief has been causing you a lot of trouble I wonder where it came from do you know whether we know where it came from or not let's do something to dissolve it now again go to the mirror and looking deep into your own eyes touch your throat and say out loud ten times I am willing to release all resistance I am willing to release all resistance mirror work is very powerful as children we received most of our negative messages from others looking us straight in the eye and perhaps shaking a finger at us whenever we look into the mirror today most of us will say something negative to ourselves we either criticize our looks or berate ourselves for something to look yourself straight in the eye and make a positive declaration about yourself is in my opinion the quickest way to get results with affirmations in the infinity of life where I am all is perfect whole and complete I now choose calmly and objectively to see my old patterns and I am willing to make changes I am teachable I can learn I am willing to change I choose to have fun doing this I choose to react as though I have found a treasure when I discover something else to release I see and feel myself changing moment by moment thoughts no longer have any power over me I am the power in my world I choose to be free all is well in my world chapter six resistance to change I am in the rhythm and flow of ever-changing life awareness is the first step in healing or changing when we have some pattern buried deeply within us we must become aware of it in order to heal the condition perhaps we begin to mention the condition to complain about it or to see it in other people it rises to the surface of our attention in some way and we begin to relate to it we often attract a teacher a friend a class or workshop or a book to ourselves that begins to awaken new ways to approach the dissolving of the problem my awakening began with a chance remark of a friend who had been told about a meeting my friend did not go but something within me responded and I went that little meeting was the first step on my pathway of unfoldment I didn't recognize the significance of it until sometime later often our reaction to this first step is to think the approach is silly or that it doesn't make sense perhaps it seems too easy or unacceptable to our thinking we don't want to do it our resistance comes up very strong we may even feel angry about the thought of doing it such a reaction is very good if we can understand that it is the first step in our healing process I tell people that any reaction they may feel is there to show them they are already in the process of healing or chain gee many people think nothing is happening until the total healing takes place but that is not true the process begins the moment we begin to think about making a change impatience is only another form of resistance it is resistance to learning and to changing when we demand that it be done right now completed at once then we don't give ourselves time to learn the lessons involved with the problems we have created if you want to move to another room you have to get up and move step by step in that direction just sitting in your chair and demanding that you be in the other room will not work it's the same thing we all want our problems to be over with but we don't want to do the small things that will add up to the solution now is the time to acknowledge our responsibility and having created the situation or condition I'm not talking about having guilt nor about being a bad person for being where you are I am saying to acknowledge the power within you that transforms your every thought into experience in the past we unknowingly use this power to create things we did not want to experience we were not aware of what we were doing now by acknowledging our responsibility we become aware and learn to use this power consciously in positive ways for our benefit often when I suggest a solution to the client a new way to approach a matter of forgiving the person involved I will see the jaw begin to clench and jut out and the arms cross tightly over the chest maybe even fists will form resistance is coming to the fore and I know we have hit upon exactly what needs to be done we all have lessons to learn the things that are so difficult for us are only the lessons we have chosen for ourselves if things are easy for than they are not lessons but are things we already know lessons can be learned through awareness if you think of the hardest thing for you to do and how much you resist it then you're looking at your greatest lesson at the moment surrendering giving up the resistance and allowing yourself to learn what you need to learn we'll make the next step even easier don't let your resistance stop you from making the changes we can work on two levels looking at the resistance and still making the mental changes observe yourself watch how you resist and then go ahead anyway our actions often show our resistance for instance changing the subject leaving the room going to the bathroom being late getting sick procrastinating by doing something else doing busy work wasting time looking away or out the window flipping through a magazine refusing to pay attention eating drinking or smoking creating or ending a relationship creating breakdowns cars appliances plumbing etc we often assume things about others to justify our resistance we make statements like it wouldn't do any good anyway my husband wife won't understand I would have to change my whole perspective only crazy people go to therapists they couldn't help me with my problem they couldn't handle my anger my case is different I don't want to bother them it'll work itself out nobody else does it we grow up with beliefs that become our resistance to changing some of our limiting ideas are it's not done it's just not right it's not right for me to do that that wouldn't be spiritual spiritual people don't get angry men women just don't do that my family never did that love is not for me that's just silly it's too far to drive it's too much work it's too expensive it'll take too long I don't believe in it I'm not that kind of person we give our power to others and use that excuse as our resistance to changing we have ideas like God doesn't approve I'm waiting for the Stars to say it's okay this isn't the right environment they won't let me change I don't have the right teacher book class tools my doctor doesn't want me to I can't get time off from work I don't want to be under their spell it's all their fault they have to change first as soon as I get then I'll do it new they don't understand I don't want to hurt them it's against my upbringing religion philosophy we have ideas about ourselves that we use as limitations or resistance to changing they are too old too young too fat too thin too short too tall too lazy too strong too weak too dumb too smart too poor too worthless too frivolous too serious too stuck maybe it's all just too much our resistance often expresses itself as delaying tactics we use excuses like I'll do it later I can't think right now I don't have the time right now it would take too much time from my work yes that's a good idea I'll do it later I have too many other things to do I'll think about it tomorrow I'll do it as soon as I get through with or as soon as I get back from this trip the time isn't right it's too late or too soon denial this form of resistance shows up in denial of the need to do any changing things like there's nothing wrong with me I can't do anything about this problem I was alright the last time what good would it do to change if I ignore it maybe the problem will go away by far the biggest category of resistance is fear fear of the unknown listen to these I'm not ready yet I might fail they might reject me what would the neighbors think I don't want to open that can of worms I'm afraid to tell my husband or wife I don't know enough I might get hurt I may have to change it might cost me money I would rather die first or get a divorce first I don't want anyone to know I have a problem I'm afraid to express my feelings I don't want to talk about it I don't have the energy who knows where I might end up I may lose my freedom it's too hard to do I don't have enough money now it might hurt my back I wouldn't be perfect I might lose my friends I don't trust anyone it might hurt my image I'm not good enough and on and on and on the list goes do you recognize some of these as the way you resist look for the resistance in these examples a client came to me because she was in a lot of pain she had broken her back her neck and her knee in three separate auto accidents yet she was late got lost and then was stuck in traffic it was easy for her to tell me all her problems but the minute I said let me talk for a moment all sorts of turmoil began her contact lenses began to bother her she wanted to sit in another chair she had to go to the bathroom then her lenses had to come out I could not keep her attention for the rest of the session it was all resistance she wasn't ready to let go be healed I discovered her sister also had broken her back twice and so had her mother another client was an actor a mime a street performer and quite good at it he bragged at how clever he was at cheating others especially institutions he knew how to get away with almost anything and yet he got away with nothing he was always broke at least a month behind in the rent often without a telephone his clothes were tacky work was very sporadic he had lots of pains in his body and his love life was zilch his theory was that he couldn't stop cheating until some good came into his life of course with what he was giving out no good could come into his life he had to stop cheating first his resistance was that he was not ready to let go of the old ways leave your friends alone too often instead of working on our own changes we decide which of our friends needs to change this too is resistance in the early days of my work I had a client who would send me to all her friends in the hospital instead of sending them flowers she would have me go to fix up their problems I would arrive with my tape recorder in hand usually finding someone in bed who didn't know why I was there or understand what I was doing this was before I learned never to work with anyone unless they requested sometimes clients come to me because a friend has given them a session as a present this usually doesn't work too well and they seldom come back for further work when something works well for us we often want to share it with others but they may not be ready to make a change at that point in time and space it's hard enough to make changes when we want to but to try to make someone else change when they don't want to is impossible and it can ruin a good friendship I push my clients because they come to me I leave my friends alone mirror work mirrors reflect back to us our feelings about ourselves they show us clearly the areas to be changed if we want to have a joyous fulfilling life I ask people to look in their eyes and say something positive about themselves every time they pass a mirror the most powerful way to do affirmations is to look in a mirror and say them out loud you are immediately aware of the resistance and can move through it quicker use it often for affirmations and to check where you are resisting and where you are open and flowing now look in a mirror and say to yourself I am willing to change notice how you feel if you are hesitant resistant or just don't want to change ask yourself why what old belief are you holding on to this is not a time to scold yourself just notice what is going on and what belief rises to the surface that is the one that has been causing you a lot of trouble can you recognize where it came from when we do our affirmations and they don't feel right or nothing seems to happen it's so easy to say Oh affirmations don't work it's not that the affirmations don't work it's that we need to do another step before we begin the affirmations repeated patterns show us our needs for every habit we have for every experience we go through over and over for every pattern we repeat there is a need within us for it the need corresponds to some belief we have if there were not a need and we wouldn't have it do it or be it there is something within us that needs the fat the poor relationships the failures the cigarettes the anger the poverty or abuse or whatever it is that's a problem for us how many times have we said I'm don't ever do that again and then before the day is up we have the piece of cake smoke the cigarette say the hateful things to the ones we love etc then we compound the whole problem by angrily saying to ourselves oh you have no willpower no discipline you're just weak this only adds to the load of guilt we already carry it has nothing to do with willpower or discipline whatever we are trying to release in our lives is just a symptom an outer effect trying to eliminate symptom without working on dissolving the cause is useless the moment we release our willpower or discipline the symptom crops up again I say to clients there must be a need in you for this condition or you wouldn't have it let's go back a step and work on the willingness to release the mean when the need is gone you will have no desire for the cigarette or the overeating or the negative pattern one of the first affirmations to use is I am willing to release the need for the resistance or the headache or the constipation or the excess weight or the lack of money or whatever say I am willing to release the need for if you are resisting at this point then your other affirmations cannot work the webs we create around ourselves need to be unwound if you have ever untangled a ball of string you know that yanking and pulling only makes it worse be gentle and patient with yourself as you untangle your own mental knots get help if you need it above all love yourself in the process the willingness to let go of the old is the key when I say needing the problem I mean that according to our particular set of thought patterns we need to have certain outer effects or experiences every outer effect is the match expression of an inner thought pattern and to battle only the outer effect or symptom is wasted energy and often increases the problem I am unworthy creates procrastination if one of my inner belief systems or thought patterns is I am unworthy then one of my outer effects will probably be procrastination after all procrastination is one way to keep us from getting where we say we want to go most people who procrastinate will spend a lot of time and energy berating themselves for procrastinating they will call themselves lazy and generally will make themselves out to feel they are bad persons resentment of another's good I had a client who loved attention and usually came to class late so he could create a stir he had been the baby of 18 children and he came last on the list of getting as a child he watched everyone else have while he just longed for his own even now when someone had good fortune he would not rejoice with them instead he would say oh I wish I had that or why don't I ever get that his resentment of their good was a barrier to his own growth and change self-worth opens many doors a client who was 79 came to me she taught singing and several of his students were making television commercials she wanted to do this but was afraid I supported her totally and explained there is nobody like you just be yourself I said do it for the fun of it there are people out there looking for exactly what you have to offer let them know you exist she called several agents and casting directors and said I'm a senior senior citizen and I want to do commercials and in a short time she had a commercial and since then she's never stopped working I often see her on TV and in the magazines new careers can start at any age especially if you do it for the fun of it self criticizing is totally missing the mark it will only intensify procrastination and laziness the place to put the mental energy is into releasing the old and creating a new thought pattern say I am willing to release the need to be unworthy I am worthy of the very best in life and I now lovingly allow myself to accept it as I spend a few days doing this affirmation over and over my outer effect pattern of procrastination will automatically begin to fail as I internally create a pattern of self-worth then I no longer need to delay my own good do you see how this could apply to some of the negative patterns or outer effects in your own life let's stop wasting time and energy putting ourselves down for something we can't help doing if we have certain inner beliefs change the beliefs no matter how you approach it or what subject matter we are talking about we are only dealing with thoughts and thoughts can be changed when we want to change a condition we need to say so I am willing to release the pattern within me that is creating this condition you can say this to yourself over and over every time you think of your illness or your problem the minute you say it you are stepping out of the victim class you are no longer helpless you are acknowledging your own power you are saying I am beginning to understand that I created this I now take my own power back I am going to release this old idea and let it go self-criticism I have a client who will eat a pound of butter and everything else she can get ahold of when she cannot to be with her own negative thoughts the next day she'll be angry at her body for being heavy when she was a little girl she would walk around the family dinner table finishing off everyone's leftovers and eating a whole stick of butter the family would laugh and think it was cute it was almost the only approval she got from her family when you scold yourself when you berate yourself when you beat yourself up who do you think you're treating this way almost all of our programming both negative and positive was accepted by us by the time we were three years old our experiences since then are based on what we accepted and believed about ourselves and about life at that time the way we were treated when we were very little is usually the way we treat ourselves now the person you are scolding is a three-year-old child within you if you are a person who gets angry at yourself for being afraid and fearful think of yourself as being three years old if you had a little three-year-old child in front of you who was afraid what would you do would you be angry at it or would you reach out your arms and comfort the child until it felt safe and it ease the adults around you when you were a child may not have known how to comfort you at that time now you are the adult in your life and if you're not comforting that child within you then that is very sad and deep what was done in the past is done and it is over now but this is present time and you now have the opportunity to treat yourself the way you wish to be treating scolding yourself only makes you more frightened and there's nowhere to turn when the child within feels unsafe it creates a lot of trouble remember how it felt to be belittled when you were young it feels the same way now that child within be kind to yourself begin to love and approve of yourself that's what that little child needs in order to express itself at its highest potential in the infinity of life where I am all is perfect whole and complete I see any resistance patterns within me only as something else to release they have no power over me I am the power in my world I flow with the changes taking place in my life as best I can I approve of myself the way I am changing I am doing the best I can each day gets easier I rejoice that I am in the rhythm and flow of my ever-changing life today is a wonderful day I choose to make it some all is when in my world [Music] Chapter seven how to change I cross bridges with joy and with ease I love how to's all the theory in the world is useless unless we know how to apply it and make a change I have always been a very pragmatic practical person with a great need to know how to do things the principles we will be working with at this time are nurturing the willingness to let go controlling the mind learning how forgiveness of self and others releases us releasing the need sometimes when we try to release a pattern the whole situation seems to get worse for a while this is not a bad thing it is a sign that the situation is beginning to move our affirmations are working and we need to keep going example we are working on increasing prosperity and we lose our wallet we are working on improving our relationships and we have a fight we're working on becoming healthy and we catch a cold we're working on expressing our creative talents and abilities and we get fired sometimes the problem moves in a different direction and we begin to see and understand more for example let's assume you are trying to give up smoking and you are saying I am willing to release the need for cigarettes and as you continue to do this you notice your relationships are becoming more uncomfortable don't despair this is a sign of the process working you might ask yourself a series of questions like am I willing to give up uncomfortable relationships were my cigarettes creating a smoke screen so I wouldn't see how uncomfortable these relationships are why am i creating these relationships you notice that the cigarettes are only a symptom and not a cause now you are developing insight and understanding that will set you free you begin to say I am willing to release the need for uncomfortable relationships then you notice the reason you're so uncomfortable is that other people always seem to be criticizing you being aware that we always create all of our experiences you now begin to say I am willing to release the need to be criticized you then think about criticism and you realize that as a child you received a lot of criticism and that little kid inside of you only feels at home when it's being criticized your way of hiding from this had become creating a smokescreen perhaps you see the next step as affirming I am willing to forgive and as you continue to do your affirmations you may find that cigarettes no longer attract you and the people in your life no longer criticize you then you know you have released your need this usually takes a little while to work out if you are gently persistent and are willing to give yourself a few quiet moments each day to reflect on your process of change you will get the answers the intelligence within you is the same intelligence that created this entire planet trust your inner guidance to reveal to you whatever it is you need to know in a workshop situation I would have you do the following exercise with a partner however you can do it equally as well using a big mirror think for a moment about something in your life you want to change at the look into your eyes and say loud I now realize that I have created this condition and I am now willing to release the pattern in my consciousness that is responsible for this condition say it several times with feeling if you were with a partner I would have your partner tell you if they really thought you meant it I would want you to convince your partner ask yourself if you really mean it convince yourself in the mirror that this time you are ready to step out of the bondage of the past at this point many people get scared because they don't know how to do this releasing they're afraid to commit themselves until they know all the answers that's only more resistance just pass through one of the great things is that we do not have to know how all we need is willingness the universal intelligence or your subconscious mind will figure out the house every thought you think and every word you speak is being responded to and the point of power is in this moment the thoughts you are thinking and the words you are declaring at this moment are creating your future your mind is a tool you are much more than your mind you may think your mind runs the show but that is only because you have trained your mind to think in this way you can also untrain and retrain this tool of yours your mind is a tool for you to use in any way you wish the way you now use your mind is only a habit and any habit can be changed if we want to do so quiet the chatter of your mind for a moment and really think about this concept your mind is a tool you can choose to use any way you wish the thoughts you choose to think create the experiences you have if you believe that it is hard or difficult to change a habit or thought then your choice of this thought will make it true for you if you would choose to think it's becoming easier for me to make changes then your choice of this thought will make that true for you there is an incredible power and intelligence within you constantly responding to your thoughts and your words as you learn to control your mind by the conscious choice of thoughts you will line yourself with this power do not think your mind is in control you are in control of your mind you use your mind you can stop thinking those all thoughts when you're old thinking tries to come back saying it's so hard to change take mental control tell your mind I now choose to believe it is becoming easier for me to make changes you may have this conversation with your mind several times before it will acknowledge that you are in control and that what you say goes the only thing you ever have any control of is your current thought your old thoughts are gone there's nothing you can do about them accept and live out the experiences they caused your future thoughts have not been formed and you do not know what they will be your current thought the one you're thinking right now is totally under your control you know if you have a little child who has been allowed to stay up as late as it wishes for a long time and then you make a decision that you now want this child to go to bed at 8:00 every night what do you think the first night will be like the child will rebel against this new rule and may kick and scream and do its best day out of bed if you relent at this time the child wins and will try to control you forever however if you calmly stick to your decision and firmly insist that this is the new bedtime the rebelling will get less and less in a few nights the new routine will be established it is the same with your mind of course it'll rebel at first it does not want to be retrained but you are in control and if you stay focused and firm in a very short time the new way of thinking is established and you will realize that you are not a helpless victim of your thoughts but rather a master of your own mind let's do an exercise letting go close your eyes take a deep breath as you exhale allow all the tension to leave your body let your scalp forehead and your face relax let your tongue and your throat and your shoulders relax let your back and your abdomen and your pelvis relax but your breathing be at peace as you relax your legs and feet is there a big change in your body notice how much you hold on if you are doing it with your body you're doing it with your mind in this relaxed comfortable position say with me I am willing to let go I release all tension I release all fear I release all anger I release all guilt I release all sadness I let go of all old limitation I let go and I am at peace I am at peace with myself I am at peace with the process of life I am safe repeat this exercise several times feel the ease of letting go repeat it whenever you feel thoughts of difficulty coming up it takes practice for the routine to become a part of you place yourself in this peaceful state first and it becomes easy for your affirmations to take hold you'll become open and receptive there is no need to struggle or stress or strain just relax and think the appropriate thoughts I assure you it is this easy physical releasing sometimes we need to experience a physical letting go experiences and emotions become locked in the body screaming in the car with all the windows rolled up can be very releasing if we've been stifling our verbal expression beating the bed or kicking pillows is a harmless way to release pent-up anger as is playing tennis or running a while ago I had a pain in my shoulder for a day or two and I tried to ignore it but it wouldn't go away Bonnie I sat down and I asked myself what's happening here what am I feeling it feels like burning burning burning that means anger what are you angry about I couldn't think what I was angry about so I said well let's see if we can find out and I put two large pillows on the bed and I began to hit them with a lot of energy and after about 12 hits I realized exactly what I was angry about it was so clear so I beat the pillows even harder and made some noise and released the emotions my body and when I got through I felt much better and the next day my shoulder was fine letting the past hold you back some people tell me they cannot enjoy today because of something that happened in the past because they did not do something or do it in a certain way they cannot live a full life today because they no longer have something they had in the past they cannot enjoy today because they were hurt in the past they will not accept love now because something unpleasant happened when they did something once they are sure it will happen again today because they once did something that they're sorry for they are sure they are bad people forever because once someone did something to them it is now all the other person's fault that their life is not where they want it to be because they became angry over a situation in the past they will hold on to that self-righteousness because of some very old experience where they were treated badly they will never forgive and forget because I did not get invited to the high school prom I cannot enjoy life today because I did poorly at my first audition I will be terrified of auditions forever because I am no longer married I cannot live a full life today because my first relationship ended I can no longer be open to love because I was hurt by a remark once I will never trust anyone again because I stole something once I must punish myself forever because I was poor as a child I will never get anywhere what we often refused to realize is that holding on to the Past no matter what it was or how awful it was is only hurting us they really don't care usually they are not even aware we are only hurting ourselves by refusing to live this moment to the fullest past is over and done and cannot be changed even when we grunge about the past we experienced our memory of it in this moment and we lose the real experience of this moment in the process exercise releasing let us now clean up the past in our minds release the emotional attachment to it allow the memories to be just memories if you think back to what you used to wear in the third grade usually there is no emotional attachment it's just a memory and it can be the same for all the past events in our lives as we let go we become free to use all of our mental power to enjoy this moment and to create a grand future make a list of all the things you are willing to let go how willing are you to do this notice your reaction what will you have to do to let these things go how willing are you to do so what is your resistance level alright let's move to forgiveness forgiveness of ourselves and others releases us from the past the Course in Miracles says over and over that forgiveness is the answer to almost everything I know that when we are stuck it usually means there is some more forgiving to be done when we do not flow freely with life in the present moment it usually means we are holding on to a past moment it can be regret sadness hurt fear or guilt blame anger resentment and sometimes even the desire for revenge each one of these states comes from a space of non forgiveness a refusal to let go and come into the present moment love is always the answer to healing of any sort and the pathway to love is forgiveness forgiveness dissolves resentment there is an old Emmett Fox exercise for dissolving resentment that always works he recommends that you sit quietly close your eyes and allow your mind and body to relax then imagine yourself sitting in a darkened theater and in front of you is a small stage and on that stage place the person you resent the most it could be past or present living or dead when you see this person clearly visualize good things happening to this person things that would be meaningful to them see them smiling and happy hold this image for a few minutes and then let it fade away and I like to add another step as they leave the stage put yourself up there and see good things happening to you and see yourself smiling and happy and be aware that the abundance of the universe is available for all of us this exercise dissolves the dark clouds of resentment most of us carry for some it will be very difficult to do each time you do it you may get a different person do it once a day for a month and notice how much lighter you feel there's an exercise for revenge those on the spiritual pathway know the importance of forgiveness for some of us there is a step that is necessary before we can totally forgive sometimes the little kid in us needs to have revenge before it is free to forgive for that this exercise is very helpful close your eyes sit quietly and peacefully and think of the person who is hardest to forgive and what would you really like to do to them what do they need to do to get your forgiveness and imagine that happening now and really get into the detail how long do you want them to suffer or do penance and when you feel complete condense time and let it be over forever and usually at this point you feel lighter and it's easier to think about forgiveness now to indulge in this every day would not be good for you but to do it once as a closing exercise can be very freeing forgiveness now we're ready to forgive do this exercise with a partner if you can or do it out loud if you are alone again sit quietly with your eyes closed and say the person I need to forgive is and I forgive you for the person I need to forgive is and I forgive you for and do this over and over you will have many things to forgive some for and only one or two to forgive others for if you have a partner let them say to you thank you and I set you free now if you do not then imagine the person you are forgiving saying it to you do this for at least five or ten minutes search your heart for the injustice as you still carry and then let them go when you have cleared as much as you can for now turn your attention to yourself and say out loud to yourself I forgive myself for and do this for another five minutes or so these are powerful exercises and good to do at least once a week to clear out any remaining rubbish some experiences are easy to let go and some we have to chip away at until suddenly one day they just let go and dissolve here's another good exercise begin to visualize yourself as a little child of five or six and look deeply into this little child's eyes see the longing that is there and realize that there is only one thing this little child wants from you and that is love so reach out your arms and embrace this child hold it with love and tenderness tell it how much you love how much you care admire everything about this child and say that it's okay to make mistakes while learning and promise that you'll always be there no matter what and then let this little child get very small until it's just the size to fit into your heart and put it there so whenever you look down you can see this little face looking up at you and you can give it lots of love now visualize your mother as a little girl of four or five frightened and looking for love and not knowing where to find it reach out your arms and hold this little girl and let her know how much you love her how much you can let her know she can rely on you to always be there no matter what and when she quiets down and begins to feel safe let her get very small just the size to fit into your heart put her there with your own little child and let them give each other lots of love now imagine your father is a little boy of three or four frightened and crying and looking for love see the tears rolling down his little face as he doesn't know where to turn you have become good at comforting frightened little children so reach out your arms and hold his trembling little body comfort him Kroon to him let him feel how much you love him let him feel that you will always be there for him and when his tears are dry and you feel the love and peace and his little body let him get very small just the size to fit into your heart put him there so those three little children can give each other lots of love and you can love them all there is so much love in your heart that you could heal the entire planet but just for now let us use this love to heal you feel a warmth beginning to glow in your hearts enter a softness a gentle and let this feeling begin to change the way you think and talk about yourself in the infinity of life where I am all is perfect whole and complete changes the natural law of my life I welcome change I am willing to change I choose to change my thinking I choose to change the words I use I move from the old to the new with ease and with joy it is easier for me to forgive when I am forgiving makes me feel free and light it is with joy that I learn to love myself more and more the more resentment I release the more love I have to express changing my thoughts makes me feel good I am learning to choose to make today a pleasure to experience all is well in my name chapter 8 building the new the answers within me come to my awareness with ease I don't want to be fat I don't want to be broke I don't want to be old I don't want to live here I don't want to have this relationship I don't want to be like my mother or father I don't want to be stuck in this job I don't want to have this hair this nose this body I don't want to be lonely I don't want to be unhappy I don't want to be sick what you put your attention on grows these statements show how we are culturally taught to fight the negative mentally thinking that if we do so the positive will automatically come to us it doesn't work that way how often have you lamented about what you didn't want did it ever bring you what you really wanted fighting the negative is a total waste of time if you really want to make changes in your life the more you dwell on what you don't want the more of it you create the things about yourself or your life that you've always disliked are probably still with you what you put your attention on grows and becomes permanent in your life move away from the negative and put your attention on what it is you really do want to have or be let's turn those negative affirmations into positive affirmations I am slender I am prosperous I am eternally young I now move to a better place I have a wonderful new relationship I am my own person I am filled with love and affection I am joyous and happy and free I am totally healthy learn to think in positive affirmations affirm a are any statements you make too often we think in negative affirmations negative affirmations only create more of what you say you don't want saying I hate my job will get you nowhere declaring I now accept a wonderful new job will open the channels in your consciousness to create that continuously make positive statements about how you want your life to be however there is one point that is very important always make your statements in present tense such as I am or I have your subconscious mind is such an obedient servant that if you declare in future tense I want or I will have then that is where it will always stay just out of your reach in the future the process of loving the self as I have said before no matter what the problem the main issue to work on is loving the self this is the magic wand that dissolves problems remember the times when you have felt good about yourself and how well your life was going remember the times when you were in love and for those periods you seem to have no problems well loving yourself is going to bring such a surge of good feelings and good fortune to you that you will be dancing on air loving yourself makes you feel good it's impossible to really love yourself unless you have self approval and self-acceptance this means no criticism whatsoever oh I can hear all the objections right now but I've always criticized myself how can I possibly like that about myself my teachers parents lovers always criticize me how will I be motivated but it is wrong for me to do these things how am I gonna change if I don't criticize myself training the mind self criticisms like these are just the mind going on with old chatter see how you've trained your mind to berate you and be resistant to change ignore those thoughts and get on with the important work at hand let's go back to an exercise we did earlier looking to the mirror again and say I love and approve of myself exactly as I am how does that feel now is it a little easier after the forgiveness work we have done this is still the main issue self approval and self-acceptance are the keys to positive changes in the days when my own self denial was so prevalent I would occasionally slap my own face I didn't know the meaning of self-acceptance my belief in my own lacks and limitations was stronger than anything anyone else could say to the contrary if someone told me I was loved my immediate reaction was why what could they possibly see in me or the classic thought if they only knew what I was really like inside they wouldn't love me I was not aware that all good begins with accepting that which is within oneself and loving that self which is you it took quite a while to develop a peaceful loving relationship with myself first I used to hunt for the little things about myself I thought were good qualities even this helped and my own health began to improve good health begins with loving the self so do prosperity and love and creative self-expression later I learned to love and approve of all of me even those qualities I thought were not good enough that was when I really began to make progress exercise I approve of myself I have given this exercise to hundreds of people and the results are phenomenal for the next month say over and over and over to yourself I approve of myself I approve of myself do this three or four hundred times a day at least no it's not too many times when you are worrying you go over your problem at least that many times let I approve of myself become a walking mantra something you just say over and over and over to yourself almost non-stop saying I approve of myself is guaranteed to bring up everything buried in your consciousness that is in opposition when the negative thought comes up like how can you approve of yourself when you are fat or it's silly to think this can do any good or you're no good or whatever your negative babble will be this is the time to take mental control give it no importance just see the thought for what it is another way to keep you stuck in the past gently say to this thought I let you go I approve of myself even considering doing this exercise can bring up a lot of stuff like it feels silly or it doesn't feel true or it's a lie it sounds stuck-up or how can I approve of myself when I do that just let them all pass through these are only resistance thoughts they have no power over you unless you choose to believe them I approve of myself I approve of myself I approve of myself no matter what happens no matter who says what to you no matter who does what to you just keep it going in fact when you can say that to yourself when someone is doing something you don't approve of you will know you are growing and changing thoughts have no power over us unless we give it to them thoughts are only words strung together they have no meaning whatsoever only we give meaning to them and we choose what sort of meaning we give to them let us choose to think thoughts that nourish and support us part of self accept is releasing other people's opinions if I were with you and kept telling you you are a purple pig you are a purple pig you are a purple Pig you would either laugh at me or get annoyed with me and think I was crazy it would be most unlikely that you would think it was true yet many of the things we have chosen to believe about ourselves are just as far out and untrue to believe that your self-worth is dependent on the shape of your body is your version of believing that you are a purple pig often what we think of as the things wrong with us are only our expressions of our own individuality this is our uniqueness and what is special about us nature never repeats itself since time began on this planet there have never been to snowflakes alight nor to raindrops the same and every day Z is different from every other day Z our fingerprints are different and we are different we are meant to be different when we can accept this then there is no competition and no comparison to try to be like another is to shrivel our soul we have come to this planet to express who we are I didn't even know who I was until I began to learn to love myself as I am in this moment put your awareness into practice think thoughts that make you happy do things that make you feel good be with people who make you feel good eat things that make your body feel good go at a pace that makes you feel good think for a moment of a tomato plant a healthy plant can have over a hundred tomatoes on it in order to get this tomato plant with all these tomatoes on it we need to start with a small dried seed that seed doesn't look like a tomato plant it doesn't taste like a tomato plant however let's say you plant this seed in fertile soil and you water it and let the Sun Shine on it and when the first tiny little chute comes up you don't stomp on it and say that's not a tomato plant rather you look at it and say oh boy here it comes and you watch it grow with delight in time if you continue to water it and give it lots of sunshine and pull away any weeds you might have a tomato plant with more than a hundred tomatoes on it and it all began with that one tiny seed it is the same with creating a new experience for yourself the soil you plant in is your subconscious mind the seed is the new affirmation the whole new experience is in this tiny seed and you water it with repetitions you let the sunshine of positive thoughts beam on it you weed the garden by pulling out the negative thoughts that come up and when you see the first tiniest little evidence you don't say that's not enough instead you look at this first breakthrough and you say with glee oh boy here it comes it's working and then you watch it grow and become your desire in manifestation [Music] unaware that all good begins with accepting that which is within oneself and loving that self which is you it took quite a while to develop a peaceful loving relationship with myself first I used to hunt for the little things about myself I thought were good qualities even this helped and my own health began to improve good health begins with loving the self so do prosperity and love and creative self-expression later I learned to love and approve of all of me even those qualities I thought were not good enough that was when I really began to make progress exercise I approve of myself I have given this exercise to hundreds of people and the results are phenomenal for the next month say over and over and over to yourself I approve of myself I approve of myself do this three or four hundred times a day at least no it's not too many times when you are worrying you go over your problem at least that many times let I approve of myself become a walking mantra something you just say over and over and over to yourself almost non-stop saying I approve of myself is guaranteed to bring up everything buried in your consciousness that is in opposition when the negative thought comes up like how can you approve of yourself when you're fat or it's silly to think this can do any good or you're no good or whatever your negative babble will be this is the time to take mental control give it no importance just see the thought for what it is another way to keep you stuck in the past gently say to this thought I let you go I approve of myself even considering doing this exercise can bring up a lot of stuff like it feels silly or it doesn't feel true or it's a lie it sounds stuck-up or how can I approve of myself when I do that just let them all pass through these are only resistance thoughts they have no power over you unless you choose to believe them I approve of myself I approve of myself I approve of myself no matter what happens no matter who says what to you no matter who does what to you just keep it going in fact when you can say that to yourself when someone is doing something you don't approve of you will know you are growing and changing thoughts have no power over us unless we give it to them thoughts are only words strung together they have no meaning whatsoever only we give meaning to them and we choose what sort of meaning we give to them let us choose to think thoughts that nourish and support us part of self-acceptance is releasing other people's opinions if I were with you and kept telling you you are a purple pig you are a purple pig you are a purple pig you would either laugh at me or get annoyed with me and think I was crazy it would be most unlikely that you would think it was true yet many of the things we have chosen to believe about ourselves are just as far-out and untrue to believe that your self-worth is dependent on the shape of your body is your version of believing that you are a purple pig often what we think of as the things wrong with us are only our expressions of our own individuality this is our uniqueness and what is special about us nature never repeats itself since time began on this planet there have never been to snowflakes alike nor to raindrops the same and every Daisy is different from every other days our fingerprints are different and we are different we are meant to be different when we can accept this then there is no competition and no comparison to try to be like another is to shrivel our soul we have come to this planet to express who we are I didn't even know who I was until I began to learn to love myself as I am in this moment put your awareness into practice think thoughts that make you happy do things that make you feel good be with people who make you feel good eat things that make your body feel good go at a pace that makes you feel good think for a moment of a tomato plant a healthy plant can have over a hundred tomatoes on it in order to get this tomato plant with all these tomatoes on it we need to start with a small dried seed that seed doesn't look like a tomato plant it doesn't taste like a tomato plant however let's say you plant this seed in fertile soil and you water it and let the Sun Shine on it and when the first tiny little shoot comes up you don't stomp on it and say that's not a tomato plant rather you look at it and say oh boy here it comes and you watch it grow with delight in time if you continue to water it and give it lots of sunshine and pull away any weeds you might have a tomato plant with more than a hundred tomatoes on it and it all began with that one tiny seed it is the same with creating a new experience for yourself the soil you plant in is your subconscious mind the seed is the new affirmation the whole new experience is in this tiny seed and you water it with repetitions you let the sunshine of positive thoughts beam on it you weed the garden by pulling out the negative thoughts that come up and when you see the first tiniest little evidence you don't say that's not enough instead you look at this first breakthrough and you say with glee oh boy here it comes it's working and then you watch it grow and become your desire and manifestation [Music] you then think about criticism and you realize that as a child you received a lot of criticism and that little kid inside of you only feels at home when it's being criticized your way of hiding from this had become creating a smokescreen perhaps you see the next step as affirming I am willing to forgive and as you continue to do your affirmations you may find that cigarettes no longer attract you and the people in your life no longer criticize you then you know you have released your need this usually takes a little while to work out if you are gently persistent and are willing to give yourself a few quiet moments each day to reflect on your process of change you will get the answers the intelligence within you is the same intelligence that created this entire planet trust your inner guidance to reveal to you whatever it is you need to know in a workshop situation I would have you do the following exercise with a partner however you can do it equally as well using a big mirror think for a moment about something in your life you want to change at the mirror look into your eyes and say aloud I now realize that I have created this condition and I am now willing to release the pattern in my consciousness that is responsible for this condition say it several times with feeling if you were with a partner I would have your partner tell you if they really thought you meant it I would want you to convince your partner asked yourself if you really mean it convinced yourself in the mirror that this time you are ready to step out of the bondage of the past at this point many people get scared because they don't know how to do this releasing they're afraid to commit themselves until they know all the answers that's only more resistance just pass through one of the great things is that we do not have to know how all we need is willingness the universal intelligence or your subconscious mind will figure out the house every thought you think and every word you speak is being responded to and the point of power is in this moment the thoughts you are thinking and the words you are declaring at this moment are creating your future your mind is a tool you are much more than your mind you may think your mind runs the show but that is only because you have trained your mind to think in this way you can also untrain and retrain this tool of yours your mind is a tool for you to use in any way you wish the way you now use your mind is only a habit and any habit can be changed if we want to do so quiet the chatter of your mind for a moment and really think about this concept your mind is a tool you can choose to use any way you wish the thoughts you choose to think create the experiences you have if you believe that it is hard or difficult to change a habit or a thought then your choice of this thought will make it true for you if you would choose to think it's becoming easier for me to make changes then your choice of this thought will make that true for you there is an incredible power and intelligence within you constantly responding to your thoughts and your words as you learn to control your mind by the conscious choice of thoughts you will line yourself with this power do not think your mind is in control you are in control of your mind you use your mind you can stop thinking those old thoughts when you're old thinking tries to come back saying it's so hard to change take mental control tell your mind I now choose to believe it is becoming easier for me to make changes you may have this conversation with your mind several times before it will acknowledge that you are in control and that what you say goes the only thing you ever have any control of is your current thought your old thoughts are gone there's nothing you can do about them except live out the experiences they caused your future thoughts have not been formed and you do not know what they will be your current thought the one you're thinking right now is totally under your control you know if you have a little child who has been allowed to stay up as late as it wishes for a long time and then you make a decision that you now want this child to go to bed at 8:00 every night what do you think the first night will be like a child will rebel against this new rule and may kick and scream and do its best to stay out of bed if you relent at this time the child wins and will try to control you forever however if you calmly stick to your decision and firmly insist that this is the new bedtime the rebelling will get less and less in a few nights the new routine will be established it is the same with your mind of course it'll rebel at first it does not want to be retrained but you are in control and if you stay focused and firm in a very short time the new way of thinking is established and you will realize that you are not a helpless victim of your thoughts but rather a master of your own mind let's do an exercise letting go close your eyes take a deep breath as you exhale allow all the tension to leave your body let your scalp for it and your face relaxed let your tongue and your throat and your shoulders relax let your back and your abdomen and your pelvis relax let your breathing be at peace as you relax your legs and feet is there a big change in your body notice how much you hold on if you are doing it with your body you're doing it with your mind in this relaxed comfortable position say with me I am willing to let go I release all tension I release all fear I release all anger I release all guilt I release all sadness I let go of all old limitation I let go and I am at peace I am at peace with myself I am at peace with the process of life I am safe repeat this exercise several times feel the ease of letting go repeat it whenever you feel thoughts of difficulty coming up it takes practice for the routine to become a part of you place yourself in this peaceful state first and it becomes easy for your affirmations to take hold you'll become open and receptive there is no need to struggle or stress or strain just relax and think the appropriate thoughts I assure you it is this easy physical releasing sometimes we need to experience a physical letting go experiences and emotions become locked in the body screaming in the car with all the windows rolled up can be very releasing if we've been stifling our verbal expression beating the bed or kicking pillows is a harmless way to release pent-up anger as is playing tennis or running a while ago I had a pain in my shoulder for a day or two and I tried to ignore it but it wouldn't go away Bonnie I sat down and I asked myself what's happening here what am I feeling it feels like burning burning burning that means anger what are you angry about I couldn't think what I was angry about so I said well let's see if we can find out and I put two large pillows on the bed and I began to hit them with a lot of energy and after about 12 hits I realized exactly what I was angry about it was so clear so I beat the pillows even harder and made some noise and released the emotions from my body and when I got through I felt much better and the next day my shoulder was fine letting the past hold you back some people tell me they cannot enjoy today because of something that happened in the past because they did not do something or do it in a certain way they cannot live a full life today because they no longer have something they had in the past they cannot enjoy today because they were hurt in the past they will not accept love now because something unpleasant happened when they did something once they are sure it will happen again today because they once did something that they're sorry for they are sure they are bad people forever because once someone did something to them it is now all the other person's fault that their life is not where they want it to be because they became angry over a situation in the past they will hold on to that self-righteousness because of some very old experience where they were treated badly they will never forgive and forget because I did not get invited to the high school prom I cannot enjoy life today because I did poorly at my first audition I will be terrified of auditions forever because I am no longer married I cannot live a full life today because my first relationship ended I can no longer be open to love because I was hurt by a remark once I will never trust anyone again because I stole something once I must punish myself forever because I was poor as a child I will never get anywhere what we often refused to realize is that holding on to the past no matter what it was or how awful it was is only hurting us they really don't care usually they are not even aware we are only hurting ourselves by refusing to live this moment to the fullest the past is over and done and cannot be changed even when we grunge about the past we experienced our memory of it in this moment and we lose the real experience of this moment in the process exercise releasing let us now clean up the past in our minds release the emotional attachment to it allow the memories to be just memories if you think back to what you used to wear in the third grade usually there is no emotional attachment it's just a memory and it can be the same for all the past events in our lives as we let go we become free to use all of our mental power to enjoy this moment and to create a grand future make a list of all the things you are willing to let go how willing are you to do this notice your reaction what will you have to do to let these things go how willing are you to do so what is your resistance level all right let's move to forgiveness forgiveness of ourselves and others releases us from the past the Course in Miracles says over and over that forgiveness is the answer to almost everything I know that when we are stuck it usually means there is some more forgiving to be done when we do not flow freely with life in the present moment it usually means we are holding on to a past moment it can be regret sadness hurt fear or guilt blame anger resentment and sometimes even the desire for revenge each one of these states comes from a space of non forgiveness a refusal to let go and come into the present moment love is always the answer to healing of any sort and the pathway to love is forgiveness forgiveness dissolves resentment there is an old Emmett Fox exercise for dissolving resentment that always works he recommends that you sit quietly close your eyes and allow your mind and body to relax then imagine yourself sitting in a darkened Theatre and in front of you is a small stage and on that stage place the person you resent the most it could be past or present living or dead when you see this person clearly visualize good things happening to this person things that would be meaningful to them see them smiling and happy hold this image for a few minutes and then let it fade away and I like to add another step as they leave the stage put yourself up there and see good things happening to you and see yourself smiling and happy and be aware that the abundance of the universe is available for all of us this exercise dissolves the dark clouds of resentment most of us carry for some it will be very difficult to do each time you do it you may get a different person do it once a day for a month and notice how much lighter you feel there's an exercise for a revenge those on the spiritual pathway know the importance of forgiveness for some of us there is a step that is necessary before we can totally forgive sometimes the little kid in us needs to have revenge before it is free to forgive for that this exercise is very helpful close your eyes sit quietly and peacefully and think of the person who is hardest to forgive and what would you really like to do to them what do they need to do to get your forgiveness and imagine that happening now and really get into the details how long do you want them to suffer or do penance and when you feel complete condense time and let it be over forever and usually at this point you feel lighter and it's easier to think about forgiveness now to indulge in this everyday would not be good for you but to do it once as a closing exercise can be very freeing forgiveness now we're ready to forgive do this exercise with a partner if you can or do it out loud if you are alone again sit quietly with your eyes closed and say the person I need to forgive is and I forgive you for the person I need to forgive is and I forgive you for and do this over and over you will have many things to forgive some for and only one or two to forgive others for if you have a partner let them say to you thank you and I set you free now if you do not then imagine the person you are forgiving saying it to you do this for at least five or ten minutes search your heart for the injustice as you still carry and then let them go when you have cleared as much as you can for now turn your attention to yourself and say out loud to yourself I forgive myself for and do this for another five minutes or so these are powerful exercises and good to do at least once a week to clear out any remaining rubbish some experiences are easy to let go and some we have to chip away at until suddenly one day they just let go and dissolve here's another good exercise begin to visualize yourself as a little child of five or six and look deeply into this little child's eyes see the longing that is there and realize that there is only one thing this little child wants from you and that is love so reach out your arms and embrace this child hold it with love and tenderness tell it how much you love how much you care admire everything about this child and say that it's okay to make mistakes while learning and promise that you'll always be there no matter what and then let this little child get very small until it's just the size to fit into your heart and put it there so whenever you look down you can see this little face looking up at you and you can give it lots of love now visualize your mother as a little girl of four or five frightened and looking for love and not knowing where to find it reach out your arms and hold this little girl and let her know how much you love her how much you can let her know she can rely on you to always be there no matter what and when she quiets down and begins to feel safe let her get very small just the size to fit into your heart put her there with your own little child and let them give each other lots of love now imagine your father is a little boy of three or four frightened and crying and looking for love see the tears rolling down his little face as he doesn't know where to turn you have become good at comforting frightened little children so reach out your arms and hold his trembling little body comfort him Kroon to him let him feel how much you love him let him feel that you will always be there for him and when his tears are dry and you feel the love and peace and his little body let him get very small just the size to fit into your heart put him there so those three little children can give each other lots of love and you can love them all there is so much love in your heart that you could heal the entire planet but just for now let us use this love to heal you feel a warmth beginning to glow in your hearts enter a softness a gentle and let this feeling began to change the way you think and talk about yourself in the infinity of life where I am all is perfect whole and complete change is the natural law of my life I welcome change I am willing to change I choose to change my thinking I choose to change the words I use I move from the old to the new with ease and with joy it is easier for me to forgive forgiving makes me feel free and light it is with joy that I learn to love myself more and move the more resentment I release the more love I have to express changing my thoughts makes me feel good I am learning to choose to make today a pleasure to experience all is well in my life chapter 8 building the new the answers within me come to my awareness with ease I don't want to be fat I don't want to be broke I don't want to be old I don't want to live here I don't want to have this relationship I don't want to be like my mother or father I don't want to be stuck in this job I don't want to have this hair this nose this body I don't want to be lonely I don't want to be unhappy I don't want to be sick what you put your attention on grows these statements show how we are culturally taught to fight the negative mentally thinking that if we do so the positive will automatically come to us it doesn't work that way how often have you lamented about what you didn't want did it ever bring you what you really wanted fighting the negative is a total waste of time if you really want to make changes in your life the more you dwell on what you don't want the more of it you create the things about yourself or your life that you've always disliked are probably still with you what you put your attention on grows and becomes permanent in your life move away from the negative and put your attention on what it is you really do want to have or be let's turn those negative affirmations into positive affirmations I am slender I am prosperous I am eternally young I now move to a better place I have a wonderful new relationship I am my own person I am filled with love and affection I am joyous and happy and free I am totally healthy learn to think in positive affirmations affirmations are any statements you make too often we think in negative affirmations negative affirmations only create more of what you say you don't want saying I hate my job will get you nowhere declaring I now accept a wonderful new job will open the channels in your consciousness to create that continuously make positive statements about how you want your life to be however there is one point that is very important always make your statements in present tense such as I am or I have your subconscious mind is such an obedient servant that if you declare in future tense I want or I will have then that is where it will always stay just out of your reach in the future the process of loving the self as I have said before no matter what the problem the main issue to work on is loving the self this is the magic wand that dissolves problems remember the times when you have felt good about yourself and how well your life was going remember the times when you were in love and for those periods you seem to have no problems well loving yourself is going to bring such a surge of good feelings and good fortune to you that you will be dancing on air loving yourself makes you feel good it's impossible to really love yourself unless you have self approval and self-acceptance this means no criticism whatsoever oh I can hear all the objections right now but I've always criticized myself how can I possibly like that about myself my teachers parents lovers always criticize me how will I be motivated but it is wrong for me to do these things how am I gonna change if I don't criticize myself training the mind self criticisms like these are just the mind going on with old chatter see how you've trained your mind to berate you and be resistant to change ignore those thoughts and get on with the important work at hand let's go back to an exercise we did earlier looking to the mirror again and say I love and approve of myself exactly as I am how does that feel now is it a little easier after the forgiveness work we have done this is still the main issue self approval and self-acceptance are the keys to positive changes in the days when my own self denial was so prevalent I would occasionally slap my own face I didn't know the meaning of self-acceptance my belief in my own lacks and limitations was stronger than anything anyone else could say to the contrary if someone told me I was loved my immediate reaction was why what could they possibly see in me or the classic thought if they only knew what I was really like inside they wouldn't love me I was not aware that all good begins with accepting that which is within oneself and loving that self which is you it took quite a while to develop a peaceful loving relationship with myself first I used to hunt for the little things about myself I thought were good qualities even this helped and my own health began to improve good health begins with loving the self so do prosperity and love and creative self-expression later I learned to love and approve of all of me even those qualities I thought were not good enough that was when I really began to make progress exercise I approve of myself I have given this exercise to hundreds of people and the results are phenomenal for the next month say over and over and over to yourself I approve of myself I approve of myself do this three or four hundred times a day at least no it's not too many times when you are worrying you go over your problem at least that many times let I approve of myself become a walking mantra something you just say over and over and over to yourself almost non-stop saying I approve of myself is guaranteed to bring up everything buried in your consciousness that is in opposition when the negative thought comes up like how can you approve of yourself when you're fat or it's silly to think this can do any good or you're no good or whatever your negative babble will be this is the time to take mental control give it no importance just see the thought for what it is another way to keep you stuck in the past gently say to this thought I let you go I approve of myself even considering doing this exercise can bring up a lot of stuff like it feels silly or it doesn't feel true or it's a lie it sounds stuck-up or how can I approve of myself when I do that just let them all pass through these are only resistance though they have no power over you unless you choose to believe them I approve of myself I approve of myself I approve of myself no matter what happens no matter who says what to you no matter who does what to you just keep it going in fact when you can say that to yourself when someone is doing something you don't approve of you will know you are growing and changing thoughts have no power over us unless we give it to them thoughts are only words strung together they have no meaning whatsoever only we give meaning to them and we choose what sort of meaning we give to them let us choose to think thoughts that nourish and support us part of self-acceptance is releasing other people's opinions if I were with you and kept telling you you are a purple pig you are a purple pig you are a purple pig you would either laugh at me or get annoyed with me and think I was crazy it would be most unlikely that you would think it was true yet many of the things we have chosen to believe about ourselves are just as far out and untrue to believe that your self-worth is dependent on the shape of your body is your version of believing that you are a purple pig often what we think of as the things wrong with us are only our expressions of our own individuality this is our uniqueness and what is special about us nature never repeats itself since time began on this planet there have never been to snowflakes alight nor to raindrops the same and every daisy is different from every other Daisy our fingerprints are different and we are different we are meant to be different when we can accept this then there is no competition and no comparison to try to be like another is to shrivel our soul we have come to this planet to express who we are I didn't even know who I was until I began to learn to love myself as I am in this moment put your awareness into practice think thoughts that make you happy do things that make you feel good be with people who make you feel good eat things that make your body feel good go at a pace that makes you feel good think for a moment of a tomato plant a healthy plant can have over a hundred tomatoes on it in order to get this tomato plant with all these tomatoes on it we need to start with a small dried seed that seed doesn't look like a tomato plant it doesn't taste like a tomato plant however let's say you plant this seed in fertile soil and you water it and let the Sun Shine on it and when the first tiny little shoot comes up you don't stomp on it and say that's not a tomato plant rather you look at it and say oh boy here it comes and you watch it grow with delight in time if you continue to water it and give it lots of sunshine and pull away any weeds you might have a tomato plant with more than a hundred tomatoes on it and it all began with that one tiny seed it is the same with creating a new experience for yourself the soil you plant in is your subconscious mind the seed is the new affirmation the whole new experience is in this tiny seed and you water it with repetitions you let the sunshine of positive thoughts beam on it you weed the garden by pulling out the negative thoughts that come up and when you see the first tiniest little evidence you don't say that's not enough instead you look at this first breakthrough and you say with glee oh boy here it comes it's working and then you watch it grow and become your desire in manifestation you [Music] you

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Length: 121min 37sec (7297 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 19 2017