Chapter 5, part 8, A cause set in motion

This is a bit of a continuation from the last blog. Rather than re-reading it I am going to give a different example to explain what I am on about.

Has someone ever told you that you repeat a certain saying or a word time and time again? I personally have had many different friends over the years bring this up with me. And although this can lead to a little frustration I have been thankful in the end for others making me aware of it.

To stop repeating the same word over and over again takes focus and time, you can’t just stop it. You have to catch yourself out within the act each time. Being stressed or frustrated about the fact that you repeat a certain word doesn’t help. Frustration is not needed to make this change. Simply being aware of the problem (if you choose to believe it is a problem) makes you properly motivated to change. And from here, all you need to do is be aware (or present) when this word comes up. It then occurs that when the word does come up, slowly and over time you can laugh at yourself and come up with different words to replace it. Eventually, after catching yourself out about 10 times your mind will automatically shift without using conscious thought.

Now it’s time to take this example to a larger place. The mind likes patterns, paths and justifications. There is nothing worse in this world than someone telling us that our reality is incorrect or that we are wrong. Take politics, religion, or any heated debate you have seen or been a part of recently. Reality is hard to dismiss, we just forget that just because we see reality through our perspective it doesn’t mean that others see it in the same way.

Over the last couple of blogs I have been saying the following. Once you realise something within yourself that you might not like you can set an intention to change it and then forget about it and let it change naturally. This of course only happens when the intention is wanted, needed and or desired. A question like ‘do I want a coke or a Pepsi’ is not something your mind will give two shits about. It has to be purposeful otherwise it’s just surface (frontal cortex or conscious mind) stuff that you really don’t care about and eventually will forget about. BUT, if you have the desire and passion to change something in your life then setting an intention and letting it go is an effective technique to use. If it’s important enough your mind will seek answers well beyond that moment without you ever realising it.

A disclaimer on the above… For this to work you want to be in a good place with limited frustrations or distractions. The above works because your mind is seeking verification from its surroundings in your daily life. If you are panicking about some other area of your life you won’t be looking for verification because there are other more important pressing matters. The brain needs to be free to search for possible connections to justify its path with limited interference.

As much as I respect religious beliefs, when a devout follower finds a burn in their toast in the shape of Jesus I do have to wonder why God or Jesus would have done such a thing. Maybe he is telling the person they are earning too much dough 🙂 Yet to the religious excited person on the 6pm news it has been the answer to the prayers they were waiting for. It’s a message! It’s a sign! Then the person allocates what that sign is and makes it their life’s purpose. And as stupid as this might sound to some readers you might want to re-think your judgement as you yourself do the same thing, just in a different way.

What I am trying to say here is that the mind will find answers where ever they may be. Sometimes you have to dig into your past, sometimes you have to look at your present, and sometimes a bleeding obvious fish smacks you across the face and gives you a reality check. The old saying is ‘you seek and you shell find’ which is really true given the level of ‘importance’ you apply to what you are seeking. And no, it may not work with picking a hot blond to have sex with (mainly because you are also trying to influence others), but it may help you find a deeper purpose and make a desired change to your thinking. And maybe you will read the signs incorrectly and it will lead you down the wrong path, yet if you are committed, in the end, you will say that this was part of the journey to get to your final destination. Please read ‘The Alchemist’ if you would like further reinforcement on this.

I have a mate who has just followed his heart to Bali where he stayed for 5 months, just to follow his heart once again to China for a further 6 months. It hasn’t been an easy ride for him although he did it anyway because he followed the signs. He was willing to take the risk to live in another country which he had no idea about, yet at the same time he was smart enough to avoid the edge of a cliff. This is me saying ‘don’t be stupid’ which is the disclaimer for this blog.

The Point: The mind is always active and it is searching for patterns and meaning. Hence if you seek something the mind will find an answer whether it is true or not. And this is the weird bit. If the mind thinks that it is right then it is until it decides that it is not. Hence, if you believe that your emotional baggage came from seeing a bug being squished when you were 12 years old the you are right, at least until the mind say’s it is not.

As discussed in the Perception and Focus chapters, if you focus on hate you will walk out into the world and find hate in every corner, not because it’s all that is around you but because it’s what your subconscious is looking for. The same goes for love. So, what I am saying here is that if you believe that a cause is important enough and you set that intention in your mind, you no longer have to freak out about it. If done correctly (and I am not saying this is easy) the process will implant in your subconsciousness. It is then that when your consciousness finds evidence to back up or follow this new belief system that it will do so naturally without you having to push it. You will suddenly go ‘WOW’ this must be a sign!

There are books out there that take this belief to new levels. ‘The Secret’ is one and ‘E Squared’ is another. These books are hard to read as they are Oprah recommendations (which can be seen as commercial) and of course, they are often linked to spirituality with no proof. Furthermore this doesn’t work unless you follow the writer’s beliefs blindly and commit to believing everything these books say which is always a dangerous premise. Yet as I have discussed above the spirituality belief can be explained from a psychological standing point. At least, this is what I have attempted to do during this blog.