a painting by my nephew Alex Encinias, Pueblo, CO.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
How to Attract Success by FW Sears, Chapter 6
The following is an excerpt from How To Attract Success by F.W. Sears, written in 1914. It can found free on the internet. Just google it. It's basically Chapter 6.
"In the beginning God gave us all the power and faculties through which to use it; He also gave us the power to use these faculties in any way our desires might lead us. God never used the Law of Force in our lives. He never told us that we must, or must not, do anything. His hand has never been laid on our lives in any way; we have been free agents all down the ages past and gone and will continue to be free agents all along the ages yet to come to express ourselves in accordance with whatever causes we may set in motion. No one has ever enslaved us in any way but ourselves; no one has ever set a cause in motion but ourselves for which we are in any way responsible; no one will ever set a cause in motion but for ourselves for which we will ever be responsible.
In this material world our responsibility begins and ends in the Intellect, the Mental plane of consciousness. When we use our Intellect, consciously or unconsciously, to generate thoughts in the physical brain which in any way lower our vibrations or retard or repress our ability to express, we are using the Universal Energy destructively; on the other hand when we use our Intellect to generate thoughts in the physical brain which are harmonious and constructive, and so increase our vibrations and enable us to relate with more harmonious and constructive currents on the unseen side of life, we are using this Universal Energy constructively.
The Universal Energy--this one substance which pervades the universe, this One Life in all and through all--is neither "good" nor "bad" in itself; it simply IS. It is like fire which in itself is neither constructive nor destructive; it is the use of the fire which determines its effect. When we use fire constructively it runs the commerce of the world both on land and sea; it heats our homes and our business places and keeps us from freezing in the winter time; it cooks our food, and in fact becomes one of the most beneficial agencies known to man. When we permit fire to get out from under our control and run riot it destroys our commerce both on land and sea; it destroys our homes and business places; it destroys our food, and it even destroys us, and so becomes one of the most devastating agencies known to man; but in itself it is neither "good" nor "bad".
And so with this Universal Energy. We can use it to materialize an abundance of supply for ourselves, or we can use it to create poverty and lack. God does not attempt to tell us how we must use it any more than He attempts to tell us how we must use fire.
The question is then, "How shall we use our Intellect in order that we may build consciously for permanent success?"
One of the very first things to do is to displace in our consciousness every thought which will in any way relate us with this Law of Force; that is, all anger, hatred, worry, fear, envy, jealousy, impatience, intolerance, resentment, resistance, condemnation, criticism, etc., everything that creates the energy which relates us with this Law of Force. We should displace such thoughts with those of kindness, patience, tolerance, love (not simply the personal kind), peace, poise, harmony, etc., these generate a constructive energy and relate us with the currents wherein are contained the atoms of which will produce in material form the harmonious and constructive things we want.
When we first attempt to train our minds to displace these old negative, destructive thoughts we find it necessary to continually and persistently affirm our oneness with the thing we want, no matter how far away from its materialization objectively we may seem to be. We must fill our thought world with the thought of the thing we want, displacing again and again the thoughts which come to us of the thing we do not want, and in accordance with our persistency in displacing them will we materialize the thing we do want soon or late.
Our work should be done without worry, fear, strain, effort, or tenseness of any kind. These old negative thoughts will come back again and again until we have formed the new habit of filling our thought world with the thoughts of the things we want.
When night comes and everything turns from light to darkness, as it does every night since the beginning of the world, we do no fret and fuss and fume and cry about it and say "Oh, what's the use of trying to get rid of this darkness: I have tried it again and again but I cannot get rid of it and there's no use of trying any more," but we just take the darkness as a matter of course and turn on the light.
We should use our Intellect to do this same thing in our thought world and no matter how often thoughts of poverty, lack, and failure come to us, no matter how often we look into our pockets and find them empty, no matter how poor and poverty stricken our environment may tell us we are today, no matter how often we have failed to succeed in the past, no matter how dark the future may seem to us today, these are, one and all, like the "darkness" which comes to us every night and we should give them no more attention than we give to the night's darkness, but "turn on the light" by making strong powerful affirmations, such as "I have wealth now, I have an abundance of money now, I am wealth now, I am success now."
Should we start to go down Broadway from 100th Street to the Battery and turn off Broadway at 99th Street, wander around for a while but finally return to Broadway, continuing on to 98th Street, turning off again and wandering around awhile on that street but finally returning to Broadway and continuing our journey, we could turn off Broadway at every cross-street we came to and it would not affect our ultimately reaching the end of our journey did we return to Broadway and continue our journey down town every time we recognized that we had gotten off Broadway. Our turning into the side streets would only delay our arrival at the Battery, not prevent it.
So with these negative, destructive thoughts of lack, poverty, anger, hatred, etc., which come to us from time to time; they will not prevent our ultimate success, but only delay it a little, when we learn to recognize that they create a destructive energy and we continuously and persistently displace them with constructive thoughts and affirmations every time we recognize that they have returned to us.
The length of time it will take us to arrive at our journey's end, that is form the new fixed habit in our lives of thinking constructively, will depend upon how often we "get off Broadway" and how long we stay off it on these side streets, that is how often we relate with the negative currents and remain in them -- in their darkness -- before we begin to displace them with the constructive thoughts."
I picked up on the Law of Attraction several years ago, probably closer to 6 or 7 years now. I got a copy of The Secret and read it from cover to cover, then lost interest in it when money wasn't falling out of the sky into my lap.
I've tried to be as positive a person as I can be but the last couple years had brought me down and I was getting to the point where I didn't like myself very much. One morning in January I woke up and decided, I'm done, I can't continue down this road that is leading me to a dark, yicky place. I've hit rock bottom before and I am not going there again, no thanks. That morning in January I made a conscious decision to stop with the negative self-talk and to stop talking negatively about other people. It started me on a path that has been incredible and I have so much to look forward to!
Recently I have read several books that were written in the late 1800's to early 1900's, for instance The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles, The Conquest of Poverty by Helen Wilmans, The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier, etc. I have read a couple books written in this century as well like The One Command; Six Steps to Attract Wealth with the Power of Your Mind by Asara Lovejoy and The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden. I have gotten something out of every book I have read and it is all sinking in to the core of my being in a way it never did before. I think it's because I wasn't ready for the material that was being presented to me previously. It did help me to pull myself off the floor at the time I was looking into the subject 6 or 7 years ago, but this time I JUST GET IT.
When I read this chapter in How to Attract Success this morning, it just made so much sense to me. (I have not included a paragraph that I personally agree with on the subject of religion so as to not offend anyone.) In addition to just loving the eloquent way the various authors wrote over a hundred years ago, the way F.W. Sears relates his thoughts on what he refers to as the Law of Harmonious Attraction and the Universal Energy, AKA God, to FIRE and to DARKNESS was very enlightening for me. And I absolutely love how his trip down Broadway and the many detours on the way to the Battery (he's talking about Manhattan for my friends not familiar with New York City)is a perfect example of how it's okay to get off track now and then, as long as you recognize that you are getting off course and consciously return to the course you set for yourself, you will still reach your destination; you will get the result you desire. It is when we get off course and get completely lost and have no GPS and have forgotten how to read a map that we can fall victim to the old negative thoughts and limiting beliefs, and we can give up hope.
Most of the older books I have read can be found online free. They are very well written and forward thinking for their time. This particular chapter struck a chord with me enough to where I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoyed it!
"In the beginning God gave us all the power and faculties through which to use it; He also gave us the power to use these faculties in any way our desires might lead us. God never used the Law of Force in our lives. He never told us that we must, or must not, do anything. His hand has never been laid on our lives in any way; we have been free agents all down the ages past and gone and will continue to be free agents all along the ages yet to come to express ourselves in accordance with whatever causes we may set in motion. No one has ever enslaved us in any way but ourselves; no one has ever set a cause in motion but ourselves for which we are in any way responsible; no one will ever set a cause in motion but for ourselves for which we will ever be responsible.
In this material world our responsibility begins and ends in the Intellect, the Mental plane of consciousness. When we use our Intellect, consciously or unconsciously, to generate thoughts in the physical brain which in any way lower our vibrations or retard or repress our ability to express, we are using the Universal Energy destructively; on the other hand when we use our Intellect to generate thoughts in the physical brain which are harmonious and constructive, and so increase our vibrations and enable us to relate with more harmonious and constructive currents on the unseen side of life, we are using this Universal Energy constructively.
The Universal Energy--this one substance which pervades the universe, this One Life in all and through all--is neither "good" nor "bad" in itself; it simply IS. It is like fire which in itself is neither constructive nor destructive; it is the use of the fire which determines its effect. When we use fire constructively it runs the commerce of the world both on land and sea; it heats our homes and our business places and keeps us from freezing in the winter time; it cooks our food, and in fact becomes one of the most beneficial agencies known to man. When we permit fire to get out from under our control and run riot it destroys our commerce both on land and sea; it destroys our homes and business places; it destroys our food, and it even destroys us, and so becomes one of the most devastating agencies known to man; but in itself it is neither "good" nor "bad".
And so with this Universal Energy. We can use it to materialize an abundance of supply for ourselves, or we can use it to create poverty and lack. God does not attempt to tell us how we must use it any more than He attempts to tell us how we must use fire.
The question is then, "How shall we use our Intellect in order that we may build consciously for permanent success?"
One of the very first things to do is to displace in our consciousness every thought which will in any way relate us with this Law of Force; that is, all anger, hatred, worry, fear, envy, jealousy, impatience, intolerance, resentment, resistance, condemnation, criticism, etc., everything that creates the energy which relates us with this Law of Force. We should displace such thoughts with those of kindness, patience, tolerance, love (not simply the personal kind), peace, poise, harmony, etc., these generate a constructive energy and relate us with the currents wherein are contained the atoms of which will produce in material form the harmonious and constructive things we want.
When we first attempt to train our minds to displace these old negative, destructive thoughts we find it necessary to continually and persistently affirm our oneness with the thing we want, no matter how far away from its materialization objectively we may seem to be. We must fill our thought world with the thought of the thing we want, displacing again and again the thoughts which come to us of the thing we do not want, and in accordance with our persistency in displacing them will we materialize the thing we do want soon or late.
Our work should be done without worry, fear, strain, effort, or tenseness of any kind. These old negative thoughts will come back again and again until we have formed the new habit of filling our thought world with the thoughts of the things we want.
When night comes and everything turns from light to darkness, as it does every night since the beginning of the world, we do no fret and fuss and fume and cry about it and say "Oh, what's the use of trying to get rid of this darkness: I have tried it again and again but I cannot get rid of it and there's no use of trying any more," but we just take the darkness as a matter of course and turn on the light.
We should use our Intellect to do this same thing in our thought world and no matter how often thoughts of poverty, lack, and failure come to us, no matter how often we look into our pockets and find them empty, no matter how poor and poverty stricken our environment may tell us we are today, no matter how often we have failed to succeed in the past, no matter how dark the future may seem to us today, these are, one and all, like the "darkness" which comes to us every night and we should give them no more attention than we give to the night's darkness, but "turn on the light" by making strong powerful affirmations, such as "I have wealth now, I have an abundance of money now, I am wealth now, I am success now."
Should we start to go down Broadway from 100th Street to the Battery and turn off Broadway at 99th Street, wander around for a while but finally return to Broadway, continuing on to 98th Street, turning off again and wandering around awhile on that street but finally returning to Broadway and continuing our journey, we could turn off Broadway at every cross-street we came to and it would not affect our ultimately reaching the end of our journey did we return to Broadway and continue our journey down town every time we recognized that we had gotten off Broadway. Our turning into the side streets would only delay our arrival at the Battery, not prevent it.
So with these negative, destructive thoughts of lack, poverty, anger, hatred, etc., which come to us from time to time; they will not prevent our ultimate success, but only delay it a little, when we learn to recognize that they create a destructive energy and we continuously and persistently displace them with constructive thoughts and affirmations every time we recognize that they have returned to us.
The length of time it will take us to arrive at our journey's end, that is form the new fixed habit in our lives of thinking constructively, will depend upon how often we "get off Broadway" and how long we stay off it on these side streets, that is how often we relate with the negative currents and remain in them -- in their darkness -- before we begin to displace them with the constructive thoughts."
I picked up on the Law of Attraction several years ago, probably closer to 6 or 7 years now. I got a copy of The Secret and read it from cover to cover, then lost interest in it when money wasn't falling out of the sky into my lap.
I've tried to be as positive a person as I can be but the last couple years had brought me down and I was getting to the point where I didn't like myself very much. One morning in January I woke up and decided, I'm done, I can't continue down this road that is leading me to a dark, yicky place. I've hit rock bottom before and I am not going there again, no thanks. That morning in January I made a conscious decision to stop with the negative self-talk and to stop talking negatively about other people. It started me on a path that has been incredible and I have so much to look forward to!
Recently I have read several books that were written in the late 1800's to early 1900's, for instance The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles, The Conquest of Poverty by Helen Wilmans, The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier, etc. I have read a couple books written in this century as well like The One Command; Six Steps to Attract Wealth with the Power of Your Mind by Asara Lovejoy and The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden. I have gotten something out of every book I have read and it is all sinking in to the core of my being in a way it never did before. I think it's because I wasn't ready for the material that was being presented to me previously. It did help me to pull myself off the floor at the time I was looking into the subject 6 or 7 years ago, but this time I JUST GET IT.
When I read this chapter in How to Attract Success this morning, it just made so much sense to me. (I have not included a paragraph that I personally agree with on the subject of religion so as to not offend anyone.) In addition to just loving the eloquent way the various authors wrote over a hundred years ago, the way F.W. Sears relates his thoughts on what he refers to as the Law of Harmonious Attraction and the Universal Energy, AKA God, to FIRE and to DARKNESS was very enlightening for me. And I absolutely love how his trip down Broadway and the many detours on the way to the Battery (he's talking about Manhattan for my friends not familiar with New York City)is a perfect example of how it's okay to get off track now and then, as long as you recognize that you are getting off course and consciously return to the course you set for yourself, you will still reach your destination; you will get the result you desire. It is when we get off course and get completely lost and have no GPS and have forgotten how to read a map that we can fall victim to the old negative thoughts and limiting beliefs, and we can give up hope.
Most of the older books I have read can be found online free. They are very well written and forward thinking for their time. This particular chapter struck a chord with me enough to where I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoyed it!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Conversation with my ego
Conversation I had with my ego today (yes, that is a kind of way of saying I talk to myself!):
Me: "Hey ego, what's up with you today? Can't you see that I'm becoming a much more positive person, I'm actually looking forward to the future while appreciating everything I have right now? Why are you trying to ruin my mood, bring me down? Why are you dredging up all this negative garbage from the past? Don't you think we deserve a better, more abundant life?"
My ego: "Of course we deserve better! But we don't have all the things you are wanting because of other people and what THEY think of us! We don't own our own home because your Mommy and Daddy made you feel like you didn't deserve it! You ARE a decent writer but you'll never get published and you'll certainly never make money writing because your family made you feel like you'll never amount to anything, so of course you won't! WE don't have what WE deserve because of EVERY ONE ELSE! It isn't OUR fault! No, wait...it isn't MY fault! I love you. I've always been here for you. Well, most of the time. Sure, I may have said "I told you so" a few times but I was just being truthful! I can't help it that you're so sensitive and believe every negative thing I say! No, it's everyone else's fault, including YOURS! I like things the way they are. I'm comfortable. If all these so-called wonderful things start appearing, you're going to leave me behind. You won't need me anymore. When you consciously choose what to think and how to feel, I feel left out and alone. I can't let that happen! I won't!! I will block EVERY GOOD THING from coming to you! I don't care that you deserve it! I am more important then "GOD", I'm bigger then your "Universe"! Please don't leave me, I promise I'll be good..."
Me: "I love you(me). I forgive you for being scared and trying to blame everyone else. But sweetie, I am responsible for exactly where I am right now, I am responsible for everything I have and don't have, no one else. It's ok. It's going to be wonderful! Trust that!"
disclaimer: my parents and family are amazing! i love you guys! :D
Me: "Hey ego, what's up with you today? Can't you see that I'm becoming a much more positive person, I'm actually looking forward to the future while appreciating everything I have right now? Why are you trying to ruin my mood, bring me down? Why are you dredging up all this negative garbage from the past? Don't you think we deserve a better, more abundant life?"
My ego: "Of course we deserve better! But we don't have all the things you are wanting because of other people and what THEY think of us! We don't own our own home because your Mommy and Daddy made you feel like you didn't deserve it! You ARE a decent writer but you'll never get published and you'll certainly never make money writing because your family made you feel like you'll never amount to anything, so of course you won't! WE don't have what WE deserve because of EVERY ONE ELSE! It isn't OUR fault! No, wait...it isn't MY fault! I love you. I've always been here for you. Well, most of the time. Sure, I may have said "I told you so" a few times but I was just being truthful! I can't help it that you're so sensitive and believe every negative thing I say! No, it's everyone else's fault, including YOURS! I like things the way they are. I'm comfortable. If all these so-called wonderful things start appearing, you're going to leave me behind. You won't need me anymore. When you consciously choose what to think and how to feel, I feel left out and alone. I can't let that happen! I won't!! I will block EVERY GOOD THING from coming to you! I don't care that you deserve it! I am more important then "GOD", I'm bigger then your "Universe"! Please don't leave me, I promise I'll be good..."
Me: "I love you(me). I forgive you for being scared and trying to blame everyone else. But sweetie, I am responsible for exactly where I am right now, I am responsible for everything I have and don't have, no one else. It's ok. It's going to be wonderful! Trust that!"
disclaimer: my parents and family are amazing! i love you guys! :D
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
I wanted to be a Marine Biologist because I liked dolphins
I don't think I had any real aspirations to BE anything in particular as a child, except for maybe a horse or a dolphin. I loved animals more then people but I never really dreamed of being a veterinarian. Instead I wanted to BE a dog or a tiger or a horse, sometimes an eagle. I even wanted to be a humpback whale. When we would go to the beach I would splash around in the tide pools pretending to be a mermaid. I remember diving over the waves as they came in and I could feel my flippers propelling me forward out to the deepest part of the sea....ah, I can almost feel them now.
When I was in high school I still had no real idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. I'm not sure where or when I came up with the idea of being a Marine Biologist. We used to watch Jacques Cousteau and Nature a lot. I think I was a Senior when I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well, I like dolphins so I guess I'll be a Marine Biologist." It didn't dawn on me that by that time I had already dropped Physics (or was it Chem?) and I wasn't a huge fan of Biology 101, and I avoided math like the plague. No one, including myself, noticed that I had quite the talent for writing term papers the night before they were due and getting the best grade in the class. So off I went to college with the brilliant idea of becoming a Marine Biologist because I liked dolphins. I would have had better luck had I chosen to actually become a dolphin.
I've had the vague desire to be a writer but I never had the confidence to do it. I'm not one to follow grammatical rules and I don't know a lot of fancy synonyms for common, ordinary words. But I love to write. I have had great success in college writing classes. I remember being absent from an English 121 Comp class one day and upon returning to school a classmate told me that the Professor had read my story out loud to the class. All I could think was how grateful I was that I hadn't been there to endure the attention. I think my self-esteem was hiding under a rock somewhere. Anyway, I have started several stories that sounded pretty good, but as soon as I would allow myself the thought that hey, this story IS pretty good, I've walked away never to explore that story again.
I've been reading The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. He writes at great length about becoming who you want to become and that it is our duty to advance as humans by making the most of ourselves. He says "Desire is possibility seeking expression." I, for whatever reason, have downplayed my desire to be a writer since the first time I copied Clifford The Big Red Dog into one of my composition notebooks and showed it to my Mom as if I had written it myself. I remember how impressed she acted and told me it was a wonderful story. Somewhere between then and now my desire has been hiding, trying to fly under the radar, not wanting to be noticed or expressed. Or maybe it was my diminished ego that was choking it down, telling it to shut the hell up, not wanting my desire to become real for fear that the scared, selfish little ego would be left behind.
I forgive myself for denying my desire to be a writer. I forgive myself for not giving myself the chance to live up to my potential. I love to write! I stammer and stutter when I try to verbalize my thoughts, sounding more like a blathering idiot then an intelligent woman. But when I write, while I may be rather long winded, I can articulate my thoughts plainly and in a way that people just get it, they know what I'm talking about.
In 1910 Wallace D. Wattles wrote, "Man must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become; and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all his desires are granted to him." I desire to write. I desire to become a published, paid author. I am very grateful for what talent I do have, and I know that if I keep this desire in my thoughts, my talent will increase in such a way that I will become what I desire to become. Thank you Mr. Wattles. For a dude born in the 1800's, you got it goin on!
When I was in high school I still had no real idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. I'm not sure where or when I came up with the idea of being a Marine Biologist. We used to watch Jacques Cousteau and Nature a lot. I think I was a Senior when I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well, I like dolphins so I guess I'll be a Marine Biologist." It didn't dawn on me that by that time I had already dropped Physics (or was it Chem?) and I wasn't a huge fan of Biology 101, and I avoided math like the plague. No one, including myself, noticed that I had quite the talent for writing term papers the night before they were due and getting the best grade in the class. So off I went to college with the brilliant idea of becoming a Marine Biologist because I liked dolphins. I would have had better luck had I chosen to actually become a dolphin.
I've had the vague desire to be a writer but I never had the confidence to do it. I'm not one to follow grammatical rules and I don't know a lot of fancy synonyms for common, ordinary words. But I love to write. I have had great success in college writing classes. I remember being absent from an English 121 Comp class one day and upon returning to school a classmate told me that the Professor had read my story out loud to the class. All I could think was how grateful I was that I hadn't been there to endure the attention. I think my self-esteem was hiding under a rock somewhere. Anyway, I have started several stories that sounded pretty good, but as soon as I would allow myself the thought that hey, this story IS pretty good, I've walked away never to explore that story again.
I've been reading The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. He writes at great length about becoming who you want to become and that it is our duty to advance as humans by making the most of ourselves. He says "Desire is possibility seeking expression." I, for whatever reason, have downplayed my desire to be a writer since the first time I copied Clifford The Big Red Dog into one of my composition notebooks and showed it to my Mom as if I had written it myself. I remember how impressed she acted and told me it was a wonderful story. Somewhere between then and now my desire has been hiding, trying to fly under the radar, not wanting to be noticed or expressed. Or maybe it was my diminished ego that was choking it down, telling it to shut the hell up, not wanting my desire to become real for fear that the scared, selfish little ego would be left behind.
I forgive myself for denying my desire to be a writer. I forgive myself for not giving myself the chance to live up to my potential. I love to write! I stammer and stutter when I try to verbalize my thoughts, sounding more like a blathering idiot then an intelligent woman. But when I write, while I may be rather long winded, I can articulate my thoughts plainly and in a way that people just get it, they know what I'm talking about.
In 1910 Wallace D. Wattles wrote, "Man must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become; and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all his desires are granted to him." I desire to write. I desire to become a published, paid author. I am very grateful for what talent I do have, and I know that if I keep this desire in my thoughts, my talent will increase in such a way that I will become what I desire to become. Thank you Mr. Wattles. For a dude born in the 1800's, you got it goin on!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)