Posts Tagged ‘neural pathways’
The Like Attracts The Like
If like attracts like, then what do you see surrounding you at this time? Someone once said to me, if you want to know to what you’re committed, just take a look around you. They are words I have never forgotten, and they can raise my spirit, or other times can leave me a little flat. Depending on how I interpret my surroundings in the moment.
Another suggestion, associated with the like attracts like phenomenon, is that of giving more love if love is what you are seeking, generosity when wealth is what you are after, being a great friend if you value your friendships. This removes you from a wanting or needy state, and back to where creative responsibility truly lies: with you.
We all know these to be truths, when we observe our lives, yet do we consciously take them on board as a way of living, and as path to achieving the things we want to accomplish? It is logical that if you want to live with greater awareness and live in a more enlightened way, then be mindful to envelop yourself with those things that support keeping you in a state of awareness and enlightenment.
Given that it is our mind registering all the things that surround us, and that the thinking of our mind is in the form of words and pictures, then our interpretation of what we see is paramount. It is one reason that gratitude journals and visualization tools are so effective. In the moment of recording those things for which we feel gratitude, we fill our mind with the upside of our lives. That compounds, every time we do it. The mind creates new neural pathways, changing our possibly negative perceptions to deliberately generated, affirmative patterns of thought.
Consider then how else you use language to interpret the things surrounding you each day. How do you think the cells of your body might logically respond to the words: I am starving? What image does that conjure? Would it cause a shift in the cellular and chemical response of your body if instead, you were to tone that down, and use the words: I am hungry? New words, new pictures, evoking empowering emotions.
What do you see around you, and what do you take on board emotionally, when you say to yourself: I have no money? Try this at home! Look around your home and say those words several times over. Do you notice what your mind is picking up and tuning in to? Now, try the flip side of that exercise, allowing at least five minutes to just be with it. This time, walk around your home saying: I am so wealthy. What did you notice?
You can use that very simple exercise with anything you like. Walk around for an afternoon, with the words: I am so alone. Then try it differently, and this time repeating the words: I have so many wonderful people sharing in my life. You may even be surprised by a few external manifestations of how like really does attract like.
There are so many ways in which you can become more attractive to the things you want to bring into your life. It all comes down to the emotions you feel, and these are triggered by thoughts created from the words you hear, and pictures you see. Every cell of your body responds to the emotions. Your body produces chemical, and therefore physical changes with each feeling that you experience.
The way we can manage emotion is with our thoughts, and you can help that along by shifting your interpretation of what you see and experience. You can also be much more vigilant with what you feed your mind, from external sources included. We can so easily fall into automatic patterns of thought, because we have had years of practising! It is going to take conscious action on your part to manage those thoughts, and remodel mind patterns if that is needed.
All this does not need to be hard work. For example, carry a number of one hundred dollar notes in your wallet at all times, so when you open the wallet you are not negatively triggered by a possibly low amount of money that you might otherwise see. At the end of each day, record at least five things for which you are grateful, in this way you will not look back on a less than satisfactory day and associate negativity, and taking that into your dreaming.
By keeping track of accomplishments, and listing at least one hundred of those at the end of a year, avoids the scenario of looking back over the year and being despondent over where that time went, and what you may imagine you did not get to do. As an aside to that, have you noticed that televised programs that present reflections over a past year, give to us a collection of the most highly dramatized, often negative events of the year?
Like attracts like, so set up your habits and the things in your environment to help you be someone that upbeat people love to be around. More opportunities and courageous living shows up around those kinds of friends. If you consciously work at interpreting your environment with the glass half full mindset, your skin and body posture will eventually reflect these positive emotions, through chemical shifts brought about by those states of being. Who and what, do you think, are most attracted to you? Look around you and you will have your answer, harsh or too fantastic, as that may seem.
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About the Author:
© Thea Westra lives in Perth, Australia. She publishes a wealth of material for increased life power, self improvement, inspiration, personal success, online business, and internet know-how. Enjoy her many self-improvement resources at My Forwards Steps and her latest book Time for My Life.
The Power Of Your Story
Many people go through life creating by default; they just aren’t clear about what they really want. They become hung up on how much is going wrong in their life or in the world. And once that happens, they start to tell a story—they construct a narrative around the grim details that have captured their attention. “People ask too much of me.” “My house is a mess.” “I don’t have enough money to do what I really want.” We’ve all heard these tales, and what’s worse, we’ve all told them. It’s really easy to let those thoughts weigh us down and sap our creative energy.
So how do you say “Cut!”? How do you stop telling the bad stories and start telling the good ones? To begin, you need to understand that events are not part of a narrative, that they simply happen. When you see that all events are neutral, you then recognize that the stories you see behind them are your stories—good, bad or indifferent. If you can reserve judgment, you give yourself a chance to let events unfold.
Once you do that, you can move on to create another story, one that feels better, one with a chance at a happy ending. That choice may seem to be a stretch sometimes, but like any exercise, it will become easier with time. Soon it becomes second nature to reflect on what you’re perceiving, see the tragedy you’ve started composing in your head, and then move on to craft that better-feeling story. The peace that comes with that choice is its own reward. But it gets even better: in time, your new story will have a ripple effect, creating positive results that will astound you.
Research shows that when you consistently engage in the practice of identifying your stressful, negative thoughts and find alternative and better-feeling thoughts you are creating new neural pathways that will lead to long-lasting benefits – decreased anxiety and depression and increased ability to find creative solutions, and ultimately satisfaction and happiness.
Of course, it’s not realistic to think that you can go immediately from a bad-feeling thought to a happy place. More than anything, you’re looking for a feeling of relief from where you were a moment ago. Feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or depressed by what is happening in your life right now is only a problem if you can’t think of what it is you want to be different. Still not sure? Let me walk you through an example from my own life.
Quite recently, an administrator in my hospital announced that at best, everyone in the hospital would receive a minimal raise this year. Even if we did everything right, all we could hope for was 2.5%, when exemplary employees would normally get 5%. After I heard this, I had some pretty stressful thoughts – among them were fears that the hospital was going to lay off employees—and that I could be among them! I also told myself that I had been counting on a raise, and everyone needs at least a 3% increase in salary every year to just meet the rising cost of living.
After a few minutes of those thoughts (a few very painful minutes), I realized that I was telling a story. I then challenged myself to find an alternative, better-feeling story; here is what I came up with:
“I don’t know that the hospital will need to lay off employees. In fact, I know they recently hired new employees. They are probably cutting back on raises so they don’t have to lay off people, or cut salaries (and I know many businesses are doing both).”
“I am grateful for my job and will keep appreciating all of the good things that I enjoy about it. If I need more money this year, I can always find other ways to make it or I will find ways to spend less. I trust that I always have whatever I need.”
I felt so much better after this internal self-talk. It made me feel powerful and abundant at the same time. And the facts hadn’t changed: all I had done was realize that the facts were neutral, that they included a few things I had chosen not to see, that I was telling a story I didn’t like—and that I had the power to tell a different one.
How about you? Have you ever been aware of a negative thought and tried to “talk” yourself to a better-feeling place? If not, are you willing to try now?
Stacey Curnow works as a certified nurse-midwife in North Carolina, and over more than 15 years her career has taken her from western Indian reservations to a center-city Bronx hospital to the mountains of southwestern Mexico.
She has been an enthusiastic student of positive psychology for years and applies it to her midwifery and life coaching practices with great success. You can find out more about her services at www.midwifeforyourlife.com.
She is the creator of a thriving blog and many of her articles have been published in print magazines and online.
She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband, young son, and Ruby the wonder chicken.
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