"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Few will disagree with the fact that we are being pummeled daily by the media with how "bad" things are today. If we are not mindful, it's easy to get seduced into agreement with that opinion because the evidence seems to be so overwhelming. As a "mindfulness practice," I have been giving a lot more attention to the words that come out of my mouth. When I listen very closely, I continue to amaze myself that even after 35 years of studying the power of the universe and how it supports my deepest beliefs, at times, I still catch myself agreeing with the prognosticators of doom. I can hear it reflected in my conversations with others. After some self-inquiry, I discovered why it is so seductive to agree with negative news: It makes it easier to come up with justifiable excuses for what may be going on in our lives at any particular moment that is less than wonderful. In other words, it makes what's not working in our lives more acceptable to ourselves and others. When we buy into that belief, it is like baiting the trap of a self-fulfilling prophesy into which we then step. In his great book Illusions, Richard Bach wrote, "Argue for your limitations and they are yours." Understanding the way the universe works, I think there is profound wisdom in those words.
If we are totally honest with ourselves, we will admit that it is often far easier to live with our discomforts and challenges than it is to initiate the mindfulness to become the conscious observer of our beliefs, thoughts and actions that may be supporting them. Why? Because once we are faced with the conscious awareness that we may be thinking "down" rather than up, we become responsible for changing our perspective, and change is something most of us avoid at almost any cost, including our inner peace, joy, health and sense of fulfillment. As we prepare to enter into the new year it may be worth while to examine where our thinking will take us in 2012.
As a mindfulness practice, consider the following:
- Take a moment for some self-inquiry. Become the conscious observer of your own thoughts and beliefs. What are you thinking right now about these ideas?
Rather than arguing for your limitations by buying into what the purveyors of doom may be selling this week, celebrate your possibilities by remembering you are one with a universe which always affirms for you that which you affirm for yourself. What do you think you can or cannot do with your life today? Think again and know that either way you are right.