rediscoverywomen

To me, the power of prayer is the incredible power we wield when we join our mind and spirit — our brain and heart, or thoughts and feelings. This is indeed the secret to having your prayers answered: Align yourself completely with what you are asking for — body, mind, and spirit. Whatever you ask for, believing in your heart you have received it, will be yours.

It occurred to me that, if this was true, people should just be able to pray for those things they want, things like: Better health, more happiness, peace of mind, and quick and easy weight-loss, among other things. It had already occurred to me that I was 50-pounds overweight; and it seemed natural that I should “put my money where my mouth is,” as they say.

I think anyone could lose weight by starving themselves and working-out like crazy. But would they be happy? Some of them might; and others may shift into a happy place upon seeing tangible results. But most people have tried this route to weight-loss; and most of them have failed. Remember, there are over 200-million overweight Americans; that’s over 66% of our population!

Whatever we have been doing, collectively, is not working. It is, in fact, indirectly causing our weight-problems to get worse rather than better. So, I decided not to do those things that most people do; because most people (in the U.S., anyway) are overweight. Specifically, I did not change my diet — not the quantity of food I ate, nor the kinds of foods I ate. I didn’t alter the times I ate, either.

But I did start drinking about three-liters of clear water each day. This was the only change to my diet. I didn’t stop drinking any of the things I used to drink — like coke-floats, milkshakes, etc… — but I naturally drink less of those things because I am not thirsty (thanks to all the water). I now choose to enjoy those things as food rather than beverages; and I do enjoy them — without a shred of guilt. Guilt makes you fat. Actually, guilt causes stress; stress causes you to create and store fat.

I also refused to stick to any rigid programs or plans — no programs at all — and did not start an exercise program. I prayed, or visualized. I used only the power of my mind and my belief in the concepts and goals I decided upon. I used my mind to create a new self-image, a new body weight, and I declared that it was so. And I declared it was so every day; and one day it was. Of course the process was gradual, but surprisingly fast.

I used my mind to change my mind about food and fat. I decided that food doesn’t really make anyone fat, but that fat is made by my body when I need it — no matter what I eat. And, I decided that fat is my friend — produced by my body in times of stress to add one more layer of protection between me and my life. I also started blessing what I saw in the mirror — and the fat that my body made to protect me. I started blessing my wonderful health and fitness.

I also spent time working on releasing stress, anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, worry, grief, and any other negative emotion, because they all cause stress; and stress is what causes your body to release cortisol and produce and store fat. When I released the stress, the fat disappeared on its own; I simply didn’t need it anymore. And I did all of this in my mind — in my thoughts and prayers.

The one other thing I can think of doing during the two-months I lost 55-pound was to apply the findings of Dr. Masaru Emoto as published in his Messages from Water series of books and videos. I removed the labels from the water I drank, and wrote blessings on the water with the intention that they would live on inside my body. I wrote words like, “Love, Health, Peace, Lean, Flexible, etc…” I wrote only positive things I felt would help. Dr. Emoto’s work was featured in the movie, “What the Bleep,” and can be found at www.Hado.net.

It took less than two-months for over 50-lbs. to simply disappear; I didn’t work out or diet — I simply changed my mind and focused my thoughts on my new desire for my health. “As a man thinketh…” In my case, I only “thought-eth” of myself the way I truly wanted to be; I declared it — and it is so. I didn’t spend time thinking about what was; I spent time loving what was and thinking about what will be. You can literally change any part of your life by simply changing your mind — and thinking on that which you desire most.

For many, though, changing their mind isn’t always that simple. Thanks to breakthroughs in modern science and medical research, there are a number of techniques currently available to assist you with changing your ideas about yourself, your body, the food you eat, the things that have happened to you, and practically anything else you’d like to change. Using the mind, and nervous and meridian systems, techniques such as The Z-Point Process for Instant Emotional Healing, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique), all help you discharge the reasons your body makes and stores fat — as well as negative or limiting beliefs about yourself.

These rapid change techniques, as they are often called, are being used by thousands of physicians, psychologists, coaches and therapists around the world because of the profound results they produce by removing the obstacles to effective and creative thinking and allowing for more conscious, focused, thoughts.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Perception is reality.” Perception, however, is only part of the picture. The greater part of REALITY lies beyond your perception and defies human definitions or explanations. Some ancient cultures speak of the ultimate reality – God – as that which cannot be spoken of or about. Thus, reality remains hidden and not only unknown, but unknowable. All we can really know, in a traditional sense, is that which isn’t hidden. All we can know are these passing, temporary, transient, illusory experiences that come out of “nowhere” and pass through our awareness on their way back into “nothingness.”

Our path seems to be from “Nowhere, to Now-Here, to Now-There, which is where we started — Nowhere.” Some cultures believe this is a continuous process and, like the tide, the seasons, day and night, and every other part of nature, we rise and fall — into and out of existence in this physical world. Cultures who believe in reincarnation believe that, like a spinning wheel, this cycle can be accelerated or slowed, we can add more energy, wisdom, etc, or we can lose energy and personal power – all through our own thought-inspired actions. In each part of the cycle, we are preparing for the next part; we are sowing seeds for the coming seasons. Who knows?

The point is, whatever you believe, you believe. More important is the fact that your reality is shaped and interpreted according to your beliefs; so, if you don’t like your experience, you need only change your belief about it. Consider the example of an “irritating” co-worker who can’t seem to get along with anyone. This person probably wants to fit in and be accepted, but doesn’t know how, or can’t find the inner resources to take those important first steps and DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. If you recognize this and love those who seem to need it the most, you will be amazed at the change; and you may find true treasures where you thought there were only worthless stones.

Change the way you look at those situations, experiences, and people that seem to irritate or upset you the most; you’ll find that, as your perception changes, so does your reality. You can find friends in the exact place you found enemies yesterday – with a simple change in the way you perceive these people in your experience. At first, sudden changes in behavior can be met with suspicion; you can surely understand this, so don’t make an issue out of it. Be persistent in your efforts to see things and people in a new light – through new eyes. You don’t have to force your “charity” on others; but initial rejection of your efforts at friendship don’t mean you have to stop being kind, or friendly. Ice melts slowly in the sun; but it eventually melts.

By creating new perceptions, you can actually create new realities. Throughout the ages people have used prayer, meditation, contemplation, concentration, and other mental faculties to change perceptions and create new realities. Think-tanks are used by governments, advertisers, and researchers to break through the limitations of current perceptions and create new realities. The common theme is, “As a man thinketh, so it is done unto him;” or, “If man can imagine it, man can do it.” Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, or think you can’t, either way you’re right.” So where do these thoughts come from, anyway? And how do we change them?

I see our dreams turning into reality along a path that looks something like this:

• We Conceive of a thing;
• We Believe in that thing;
• We Perceive the reality of that thing;
• We Achieve resonance with that thing;
• We Receive that thing in our experience — according to our thoughts and beliefs.

We can’t really “change” our thoughts; but the thoughts we focus on will become our primary experience. In other words, it is preferable to THINK OF SOMETHING POSITIVE rather than try to STOP THINKING SOMETHING NEGATIVE. Instead of stopping old thoughts, consciously choose new thoughts and practice thinking them. Where do you get new thoughts? You can inventory your old thoughts and “reverse” them. In other words, you can write down your beliefs about yourself, for instance, and then turn them around. If you write down, “I am fat,” change it to, “I am FIT and healthy;” and say it whether you believe it or not. You must first declare a thing before you believe it. If you don’t have belief — MAKE BELIEVE. The repetition of affirmations is the best way to build belief: “I think I can; I think I can; I know I can; I know I can…”

Essentially, the things we think about come from three primary sources — sometimes called the three instruments of knowledge. There are, presumably, three ways you can come to know something. Obviously, you must know of something for it to be a part of your thoughts and conscious reality or experience. These are the ways we come to know the things in our experience:

1. Perception — Acquiring information from the world via Sensory Perception (Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell, Touch…)
2. Inference — Combining information acquired via Sensory Perception to form new ideas or concepts
3. Intuition — Information that arrives in our awareness “spontaneously,” or not obviously through Perception

Some people call Intuition, “ESP,” or “Extra-Sensory Perception;” meaning that we have “sensed” something at a level “above,” or “higher than,” our physical senses — there are many ways of interpreting the ways information seems to arrive within our awareness. Sayings such as, “If you think long, you think wrong…” imply that our first impressions — intuition — are much more reliable than inference. Inference — like Perception — is based on the senses; and anyone who has seen a magician’s act has a real good idea about some of the ways our senses can lie to us.

Perception, for instance, includes information we are told by others. If we are told a specific thing at an early age, this information affects our perception; it could become a core belief by which we live our life. Consider children born to parents who are members of what the media would call a “hate group,” or a group of racial extremists. These children will have a completely different experience than children growing up without such prejudices. Right or wrong is beside the point; the point is — different thoughts and beliefs create different perceptions and experiences.

If you like eating a food that you used to hate, you have experienced another example of changing your experience of reality by changing the way you perceive your environment — in this case food. Allergies, fears, and phobias can be anchored into us in this same way; which is why an apparently harmless substance can cause someone to react in ways that can be life-threatening — or why average adults can be paralyzed in fear at the sight of an insect or spider. The spider has no power over us; but our perception of the spider (which is filtered by our experience and beliefs…) is enough to trigger our protective responses.

Sometimes we experience changes in our perception and perspective overnight — as if by magic. We ask questions about our lives and, at some point, the information arrives and we feel spontaneously “enlightened.” But, whether you use prayer, affirmations, hypnosis, meditation, or one of the many, highly-effective change techniques available today such as the Z-Point Process for Instant Emotional Healing when your thoughts change, your beliefs change; and when your beliefs change, your life changes. And there is not a single limiting belief that you can’t change. Just imagine your life without limits — imagine your life, only easier.

There are many ways to change your perceptions; and there are many inferences that can be drawn from any set of sensory inputs. The “real” part of our existence — the part we can weigh and measure — seems to be the most fluid part. Reality — the unseen, underlying fabric of existence — is always there; the physical world comes and goes with time and is always subject to our perceptions and interpretations. We apparently live in an illusion that we can actively — and interactively — edit with our thoughts and feelings. Since most of us are faced with this world daily, it helps to remember that we can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we perceive and respond to what happens. No matter what happens “out there,” we can always create and control our own experience “in here,” because perception is reality — or a part of it, at least.

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about the mind-body connection. Of course, this discussion has been going on for thousands of years; and the new consensus matches the old — there really is no “connection” – the mind and body are the same. The body is simply the visible repository for those things we hold in our mind; the body is the physical representation, or reflection of, the mind.

In a way, though, I still say they are connected simply because of this obvious RELATIONSHIP – which, to me, implies “Connection.” At any rate, the shape of your body – and the size of your booty – is intimately related to the shape of your mind and thoughts. If your mind is cluttered with old junk-thoughts, so will your body and life be cluttered with old junk. Keep your mind, body, and life fresh; change your mind often.

Here’s how the mind-”booty” connection works:

Your brain stores memories of all the things your body has experienced; and it is believed that your DNA stores memories of anything that IT has ever experienced – all the way back to the beginning of humanity. Now, your DNA hasn’t experienced everything everyone else’s DNA has experienced; but all DNA is “Original” and has been added to over the ages. Your DNA is in the middle of each of your cells; and it has never seen the light of day – no living DNA has. SO, your cells have lifetimes of “cellular memory” stored in them; and your brain and body has one-lifetime of memory stored in it – even if you can’t access or recall it easily.

It is with these memories that we form the filters of perception through which we see ourselves and the world in which we live. Any new experience is quickly compared to the old experiences stored in your memory; and a decision is made about your safety, or survivability, based on those past experiences and outcomes. For example, when you hear a loud “Boom!” and see a bright FLASH, your memory may tell you that you have seen and heard an explosion. Depending on where you live, your response could range from, “What was that?!” to “Oh no! They’re coming again and this time we’re going to die!” Explosions mean many different things to many different people.

If it was the 4th of July, and the explosion and flash was up in the sky, at night, during a festival, your memory banks – the stuff you “know” – will likely tell you that the purpose of the explosion is to entertain you rather than destroy you; but if you live in an active war zone, the nature and purpose of the “fireworks” is much more ominous. Your filters of perception, in other words, help your brain determine if your body is safe, or in jeopardy of non-existence. This is an “On-Off” or “Yes-No” decision; and if the verdict is “Possible danger,” your Stress Response is activated – much like we call the fire department when are in certain kinds of physical danger.

When you sense stimulus that matches a past experience in which things went badly, or could have gone badly for you, the “packet” of sensory information is delivered to a part of the brain that compares and decides if you are indeed in danger. If there is the slightest chance that you are, a signal is sent from a part of your mid-brain activating what many people call, “the Fight-or-Flight” mechanism (stress response). Technically, this chain of events is often referred to as the HPA-axis, because the “danger-signal” is sent to the Hypothalamus, which triggers the Pituitary gland to release a hormone called ACTH, which then acts on the Adrenal cortex, causing the release of stress hormones — such as adrenaline and cortisol. Hypothalamus — Pituitary — Adrenals (HPA).

More simply, researchers look at the overall “domino-effect” as it goes from: Psyche (Mind), to Brain (Nervous System), to Body – hence, “Mind-Body Connection.” Yes, there are many “little pieces” to this system; but the bottom line is that you are either in a state of stress, or you are not. And, in either case, it is your thoughts – your perceptions of things – that cause what your body experiences. (And then, we judge those “feelings” and sensations; but that’s another story…)

Stress hormones are great when you are really in danger; but they are not so great when you are exposed to them for prolonged periods of time. Chronic stress – constant, long-term stress – is related to practically every known medical problem; and it is the cause of most unwanted, or excess, weight and body fat. Stress hormones increase your heart rate, respirations, blood-pressure, anxiety, and cause blood to be directed away from your vital organs and into your arms and legs. Stress hormones also cause oxygenated blood to be forced from your brain’s “reasoning centers,” in the front, to its “survival centers” in the hind-brain. When you are stressed, in other words, you are literally “dumber” than you are when you are relaxed.

The stress response also shuts down your Immune system, Reproductive system, and Digestive system; as they are not considered to be vital in a life-threatening emergency. Unfortunately, our perceptions have made it so that most people consider everyday events, such as noise, bills, relationship difficulties, etc, as threats; and even if they don’t do this consciously, their subconscious thoughts often trigger the stress response for them. Most people know when they are stressed. Most people don’t, however, understand this process or what it is doing to them. If they did, they’d surely spend more time learning how to manage their stress by better managing their thoughts.

How does stress make you fat?

Stress causes you to produce and store fat for many practical reasons. The way the body makes fat is really quite simple. First, you perceive your life; then you judge it as a threat – or inconvenience that has threatened your peace, or status quo. As your stress response is activated, your digestion is slowed, or stopped; this causes such things as: Indigestion; IBS; Crone’s disease; Diarrhea; Constipation; Gas; Acid-reflux; and other gastrointestinal problems. Since you aren’t digesting, processing, and eliminating food; you must hold on to it (kind of like the thoughts you are holding on to…)

As part of this process, your body produces Cortisol to help convert the food you are holding on to into fat for storage. Fat is a part of our stress response because: 1. We can’t leave the food in our digestive tract for prolonged periods of time; and 2. Fat provides many practical advantages for a person in stress (under attack, in danger, etc…) If you are chronically stressed – often angry, sad, depressed, grieving, worried, anxious, afraid, etc – it doesn’t matter what you eat – or how much you eat — your body will try to protect you.

It may surprise you, but food doesn’t make you fat. Of course, fat is made out of food; but so is every other cell in your body. It is your body that decides – based on your thoughts and perceptions – what to do with the food you eat. Food, like every cell in your body, is simply combinations of elements – Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen, mostly. When you eat steak, for instance, it doesn’t stay intact and migrate to your biceps; and when you eat ice cream, it doesn’t stay intact and migrate to your hips. Your body breaks these things down and uses the raw materials to build whatever you need. Cows are made of muscle (meat); but they eat only grass. And they produce milk (cheese, butter, ice cream, etc…) without drinking milk. Where do cows get all the fat? They make it out of grass and water; and you can do that, too, if you are stressed.

These days, it seems like everyone is searching for their “life’s purpose.” If you look around, you might notice that most people seem to be doing what they’re told – just like when we were kids. And most of those people, who are just trying to be good people, seem to be unhappy, unhealthy, and unfulfilled. Why do so many people do only what they’ve been told to do, or only what they think they have to do, or do what they do without asking or understanding why they’re doing it – especially when it’s not working for them? And why ask, “Why?”, when you can just follow orders, right?

The fact is you’ll never find your own way following others. I used to think I was just lucky; I always seemed to have a purpose. Then I realized that I had just always been inquisitive; and I only followed “the rules” until I was interested in doing something else. And, if I didn’t understand a rule, I asked questions; and if I didn’t like a rule, I took my chances doing things my way. I learned a lot that way – a lot of things people who spend their lives following rules will never know. Along the way, I discovered how my questions – and my willingness to listen to the subsequent answers – had created my entire life. I was always living on purpose because I was always determining my own purpose by always thinking for myself and making my own decisions and choices.

I can’t tell you what your life’s purpose is other than to say that the purpose of all Life is expression; and, likewise, your purpose is to express something. When most people talk about their “life purpose,” they are usually referring to what they should be doing with their time. Most people get that information by asking OTHER PEOPLE, “What should I do?” Try asking yourself! That’s the secret to finding YOUR life’s purpose; ASK YOURSELF. You’re the only one who knows.

You might be thinking to yourself, “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking!” Here’s a secret few people realize: The part of you that knows is not the same part of you that’s asking. Part of you observes your outer world from within; and another part of you observes your inner world from within. The part looking out can get answers and guidance from the part looking in. The ancient wisdom tells us, “Ask and you will receive,” and “Seek and you will find;” you must ask yourself the truly important questions, and then look and listen for the answers that follow, in order to own the answers to those questions.

I always asked that I thought were important questions. I ask things like, “Why do people suffer?” or “How do our thoughts affect our physiology and outer experience?” Sometimes I just “wonder” how I could do a thing – or what it might be like to do it. Then, sometime later, I would have new thoughts on the subject that help me see the same issue from a new perspective; the old questions are answered and new ideas and questions take their place. But, if you are seeking a specific kind of growth, or specific answers to problems or questions in a certain area of your life, then you need to ask specific questions. Below are some questions you should consider asking yourself if you are searching for your life’s purpose. The answers to these questions should help you get pointed in the right direction.

1. What do you love doing?

2. What is the most helpful or useful thing you know how to do?

3. What is the most enjoyable thing you know how to do? Why?

4. What is the scariest thing you know how to do? What’s the scariest thing you’ve done?

5. What do you want to do? What are you afraid of? What is your biggest fear?

6. What are you afraid of? What is your biggest fear?

7. What were you doing the last time you “lost yourself,” or lost track of time?

8. What purpose do you currently serve, or what purpose did you use to think you served?

9. When you were younger, what did you want to be “when you grew up?”

10. What have you always wanted to do?

11. What are your natural talents? Do you enjoy using them?

12. Why don’t you do what you want or love to do?

13. What can you do, right now, to serve others or help someone in some way?

14. Are you sure you aren’t already serving some purpose or helping someone?

15. Can you be happy doing nothing?

Ask yourself these questions, and as many others as you can think of. Don’t worry if you don’t immediately know the answer; you may have to “sleep on it.” There’s no telling how long it might take for some or all of these answers to come; but just looking at these questions is all it takes for some people to get an idea, an answer, or a piece of information that leads to the next step or opens the next door in this experience. Your purpose is to live and be as happy as possible while doing it – without infringing on the happiness and well-being of others. How you do that is up to you. If you need guidance, all you have to do is ask. Just remember to ask yourself first.

How many times have you felt like giving up? How many times have you thought it’s not worth it? How many experiences have you had that made you think, “Why am I doing this?” It could be a small business venture you’re going for. It could be a relationship you decided to go into.

Maybe you’re just exhausted and standing there with your hands in the air ready to throw in the towel.

This could be any one of us with any path we decided to travel. It’s not limited to the CEO. It’s not limited to the overwhelmed single mom even. I’m speaking to any one who has too much on your plate or just feels like you’re on the brink of utter failure.

Consider this your wake up call.

There are several things that people do that create the failure feeling. It’s fairly consistent across the board. There may be variations of these present, but for the most part these are the 3 main issues.

If you feel overwhelmed and at the end of your rope in your endeavor or in life in general, STOP TRYING.

1. STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT.

If you have a personality that never quits until everything is just right – guess what. You’ll be going forever. You’ll never accomplish perfection. You are human. You are not going to be perfect.

There’s a difference in being perfect and being more than the customer ask for in value. If you stop at “more in value” you’ll have hit a homerun.

Perfection is not a goal. If you make it your goal, hang up any chance for success. It won’t happen. Perfection, no matter how hard you try to attain it, will elude you every time.

This is another curse of those who dream of success. If you try to be someone else, you’ll fail without a doubt. If you can’t accomplish success being you, you’re not going to succeed.

Now don’t get “trying to be someone else” confused with modeling others behaviors and actions. There’s a difference. If you’re modeling the plan that others have had success in, you may not necessarily have the idea of trying to be someone else.

If you are just using a model that has already worked and you’re not using the same positioning, you’re not claiming the same promises, you’re not selling the same product, you’re in the clear.

Just be aware of the difference and steer clear of any identity that isn’t your own.

3. STOP TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING.

If you have a personality that has to get it all done and “it has to be now!” then you are about to hit burn-out – if you haven’t already. There’s only so long a person can go before giving out.

It may not be profitable for you to do everything anyway. Count the cost of your task. How much does it cost you to complete your next job? Look at your to-do-list. How much is it going to cost you to… wash your car, paint the house or cut the grass?

Couldn’t that job be given to someone else? You could use your time more wisely I’m sure. You may use that time to make far more cash than you would ever spend hiring someone to do it for you. However, if you really enjoy painting the house – go ahead.

Happiness is a great asset. It can’t be replaced.

Take a look at the previous 3 things. Do you fall into one or more of these categories? Do you know someone who does? If this doesn’t seem to be you, be warned. In the journey of success, it’s easy to get caught up in one of these 3 lifestyles. Take inventory of your life on occasion. Assess your lifestyle. Keep these in mind when assessing.

If you find yourself slipping just remember 2 words.

STOP TRYING.

1. Know exactly what you want to achieve in your life. You first find out what you want, if you do not know what you want, you will never achieve it. How can you hit if there is no target for you? This is also one of the most common problems with most people, they do not know what they want to achieve in their life, which is why most people live a mediocre life.

2. Once you knew what you want to achieve in your life, create strong and powerful belief system towards it. You must believe that you can achieve it before you actually achieve it. Your belief system is what going to determine what decision you make and how you live your life. Some people believe that they can be a millionaire, and that is why they can achieve it.

3. Set clear and specific goal. You must write down your goals about what you want to achieve in your life. Be as specific as possible. If your goals are not specific enough, you will be sending blurry message to your mind, as a result, it is hard for your mind to come up with strategies on how to achieve your goals.

4. After setting your goals, it is time for you to develop strategies on how you can achieve your goals. Your goals will determine the strategies that you set. If your goal is to earn $1,000, the strategies you develop are different from the goal of earning $100,000. Write down every strategies and action step you can think of in a piece of paper and start to organize them.

5. Organize your action plan and strategies. What you need to do is after you have written down all the goals and strategies, you must prioritize them and set deadline for each of them. Getting the most important task done first will greatly impact your life. Many people fail to achieve their goals because they are doing something unimportant. Successful people do the most important task that will give them the most results in their life first before they do others.

6. Take massive action according to your strategies. Nothing is going to happen without taking action. It is not like one day you wake up and you will achieve your goals. Action is the only factor that produces results. So if you are not taking any action, you will never achieve what you want in your life.

7. Take consistent and continuous action. You have to keep on improve on your strategies and review your goals all the time. Take consistent action all the time if you truly desire to achieve great success in your life. It is going to be a waste if you did everything but do not take the necessary action.