Creative Mind and Success

The essence of Ernest Holmes’ teaching is that there is one Infinite Mind, and, as he so beautifully says: “All is mind, and we must provide a receptive avenue for it as it passes out through us into the outer expression of our affairs.”

Love that.

Reminds me of Joseph Campbell who, in The Power of Myth (see Notes), says: “What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light, or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle?”

(Ah! That’s currently my favorite description of the relationship between my little “self” and my Big “SELF.” :)

In my own life, it’s becoming more and more clear that my ultimate “job” is to see just how much of God I can let flow through me as I increase the wattage I can handle while strengthening the plug into Source. :)

I like to think of it like this: Imagine you’re only a 60 watt light bulb. Not gonna shine too brightly, eh? AND, to be clear, you’re not gonna shine AT ALL if you’re not plugged into Source!

Now, that 60 watt bulb can only handle so much light/love/bliss/appreciation/creativity/etc. before it pops. Hence, I think one of our key jobs is to do all that we can to “increase our wattage” so we can go from 60 watts to 75 to 100 to 1,000 to … and, in the process, light up the world!

How do we this?

One way we can practice is living in integrity with our highest ideals and creating rituals that allow us to stay plugged in and shining brightly.

Currently, for me, this means honoring my morning ritual of getting up with the sun (5am, technically), meditating for an hour (LOVE Holosync), moving for an hour (walk/jog for 20 minutes then 40 minutes of light yoga/strength), journaling and eating by 8am. It means striving to live with more and more authenticity, more self-trust, less doubt/fear/2nd-guessing, more flowing, more kindness and generosity, less negative thoughts, NO gossiping, complaining, criticizing, or blaming. Stuff like that. :)

How about YOU?

How can you connect to your Higher Self/Infinite Mind/Source/God/whatever you call it and shine more brightly and more consistently from today forward?

Let’s rock 5 things, shall we?

I will connect and express the Divine within me even more fully/consistently by integrating these practices into my life:

1. _______________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________

Sweet. Now a good time to start rockin’ that?

(Good answer. :)

What are your greatest visions for your life?

I’ll wait for a moment while you conjure up the images of your ideal life in your mind. :)

Take a deep breath in, close your eyes and really FEEL into the vision of your ideal life…

First issue is whether or not you CAN conjure up visions of your greatest life. If you can’t easily do that, no big deal. Well, it IS a big deal, but no need to stress out about it. It’s just time to go to the Destiny Gym and get your training on. Like everything in life we want to master, it takes time and practice and the strengthening of certain skills. (So get on that! :)

Let’s assume you have a vision of your ideal. How do you relate to it?

Are you afraid you’ll never achieve it? (This fear, btw, is the biggest reason why most people never even pause long enough to really dream about what they want!)

Or, do you view it with a deep knowing/faith that you have the power to bring it into your life?

As Holmes says: “Fear brings failure; faith brings success. It’s just that simple.”

Henry Ford says it another way: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

… So, whaddya think? :)

Brilliant.

Living with shame/guilt/a general inability to let the past go and forgive ourselves for mistakes is one of the quickest and surest ways to keep ourselves disconnected from God and, as a result, miserable.

Joseph Campbell’s on the brain today, so how about some more Campbell mojo?

He has a great story (see Notes on The Power of Myth): “Ramakrishna once said that if all you think of are your sins, then you are a sinner. And when I read that, I thought of my boyhood, going to confession on Saturdays, meditating on all the little sins that I had committed during the week. Now I think one should go and say, ‘Bless me, Father, for I have been great, these are the good things I have done this week.’ Identify your notion of yourself with the positive, rather than with the negative.”

I love that.

Do you go around remembering and tallying up your mistakes?

Why not switch it around and start keeping track of all the good things you do from now on!

Seriously.

Give it a try.

At the end of your day, write down all the “Magic Moments” from that day when you felt most alive, when you really felt like you were giving yourself fully to the world.

That’s a really simple and *really* powerful way to condition yourself to see the great things in your life and move away from a dominant focus on the challenges.

(And, THAT’s the kind of energy you want in your mind before you go to sleep fer sure. :)

Forgive yourself. Forgive others.

Immediately.

Focus on the beauty in your life. Pretty, please.

Amen.

What are you radiating?!?

Joy, faith, hope and expectancy? Sweet.

Or perhaps a mix of crankiness, frustration, doubt, and pessimism? Eek.

Take an inventory and know that you’re attracting whatever you’re putting out.

(And choose the good stuff. :)

That makes it simple, eh? :)

I’m pretty sure it’s Wayne Dyer who says something along the lines of: “Never let a negative thought complete itself in your head.”

I love that.

Never let a negative thought complete itself in your head.

And, I like to say that if the negative thought/sentence completes itself, no sweat… just don’t let the negative paragraph complete itself! And, if the paragraph completed itself, no biggy… just don’t let the negative page complete itself. Too late? Alright, well don’t write a short-story. Too late? Um, ok. Don’t make that a novel!!!

Point is simple: we need to “Put every negative thought out of your mind once and for all.”

Holmes continues: “Declare your freedom. Know that no matter what others may say, think or do, you are a success, now, and nothing can hinder you from accomplishing your good. All the power of the Universe is with you; feel it, know it, and then act as though it were true. This mental attitude alone will draw people and things to you. Begin to blot out, one by one, all false beliefs, all ideas that man is limited or poor or miserable. Use that wonderful power of choice that God has given you. Refuse to think of failure or to doubt your own power. See only what you wish to experience, and look at nothing else. No matter how many times the old thought returns, destroy it by knowing that it has no power over you; look it squarely in the face and tell it to go; it does not belong to you, and you must know—and stick to it—that you are now free.”

Can I get another “Amen!,” please?

Thanks. :)

So much goodness here.

First, if you haven’t checked out my Note on Positive Addiction, check it. All about the Psychology of Strength and Weakness. Powerful stuff.

And, I can’t read the phrase “self-reliant” without thinking about Ralph Waldo Emerson and his magical essay Self-Reliance. (Get both the Notes (PDF | MP3) on that and the actual essay in PDF and MP3 format in the members’ section!)

In fact, Emerson is often considered the Grandfather of a lot of the New Thought movement. His work integrating the ideas of classic western philosophy with Eastern spirituality (particularly Hindu and Buddhist thought) has had a *HUGE* impact on nearly all of the modern self-development teachers and certainly on Holmes.

Emerson says that “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.” He also says, “And truly it demands something godlike in him who cast off the common motives of humanity and ventured to trust himself for a taskmaster.”

It’s not just Western thinkers who talk about the strength we need to live in line with the Highest. How about Buddha and Lao-tzu and Krishna and Rumi?

Buddha from The Dhammapada (see Notes): “As irrigators lead water where they want, as archers make their arrows straight, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their minds.” And, “Little by little a person become evil, as a water pot is filled by drops of water… Little by little a person becomes good, as a water pot is filled by drops of water.”

Lao-tzu (see Notes on the Tao te Ching): “Don’t think you can attain total awareness and whole enlightenment without proper discipline and practice. This is egomania. Appropriate rituals channel your emotions and life energy toward the light. Without the discipline to practice them, you will tumble constantly backward into darkness.”

Krisha from The Bhagavad Gita (see Notes): “Be fearless and pure; never waver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life.” And, “Reshape yourself through the power of your will.”

Rumi (see Notes): “This discipline and rough treatment are a furnace to extract the silver from the dross. This testing purifies the gold by boiling the scum away.” And, “The intelligent want self-control; children want candy.”And, “Travelers, it is late. Life’s sun is going to set. During these brief days that you have strength, be quick and spare no effort of your wings.”

If we want to connect to God we’ve gotta be strong! Diligent, patient and persistent! We’ve gotta put in the work and create the rituals and the consistency.

How’re you doing with that? How can you turn it up a notch or ten? :)

And, remember: “We all need more backbone and less wishbone.”

I was reading a great little book called The Soul Mate Secret by Arielle Ford and came across her idea of what she calls “feelingizations.” Fell in love with it immediately. :)

Imagine your ideal and see it in your mind: that’s a visualization.

Now, imagine that same ideal and FEEL how you’ll feel when it’s arrived. That’s a feelingization. Cool, eh?!? :)

Wanna play with me and take Sir Holmes up on his challenge of practicing this for a year?!?

Fun! :)

Wow.

That’s one way to re-orient ourselves to thinking big, eh? :)

Holmes also says: “No matter how large the picture that you hold in mind, make it larger.”

Why’s he so adamant about it? Simple. In the words of Deepak Chopra: “The universe has much bigger plans for you than you ever dreamed of for yourself.”

We’re soooo conditioned to think small that it takes extraordinary courage and diligence to expand, expand, expand!!!

So, how can you think a little bigger today?

Ahhhh…

So, what idea has hold of you?

How is the Infinite Intelligence guiding you?

And what steps are you taking with one-pointedness and calm determination, to bring it to fruition?!?