I've received several questions about this sentence from my article: "I know it might sound strange, but remember: Thought is a spiritual principle; not a circumstantial one."
So, let's dig a little deeper into what I was driving at by considering this personal example: Last weekend I played golf. My second shot on the first hole missed the green wide right. I stepped up to my chip shot, pulled a club from my bag, and knocked the ball within a foot of the cup. Simple as pie.
On the second hole, my second shot missed the green wide left. I stepped up to the chip shot (which was actually an easier chip than I had on the first hole) -- and, suddenly, I felt nervous. I had trouble selecting a club, and when I did, I was uncertain about how high or hard to hit the shot.
What happened next? I'll tell you, but, first, a question:
In this example, do you see the insignificant nature of my circumstances? I had two chip shots (my circumstances), and my feeling state varied completely during each.
Why? The answer is my thinking.
On the first hole, my thinking was clear -- for no particular reason. On the second hole, my thinking was cluttered -- for no particular reason. When the mind is clear, human beings instinctually look, react, and excel. When it's cluttered, well, let's go back to what happened on the second green last weekend.
You see, because I have a fairly good grasp that the thoughts that pop into my head are spiritual -- i.e., they come from a higher power, the unknown -- I know they're out of my control. I also know that my nerves, like all feelings, come from my thinking. So as I anxiously stood over my chip shot on the second hole, I did the exact same thing as I did on the first hole (with no effort to fix my jammed-up head): I simply pulled a club, addressed the ball, and hit the shot. The result: my chip finished six inches from the cup. Simple as pie.
Never forget: Your feelings do not come from your circumstances. It may not look that way, but understanding that you live in the feeling of your thinking is the key to accessing your built-in ability to get over your indifferent perceptions, move on, and overcome. In fact, as I hit my chip shot on the second hole, an amazing calm came over me. I looked away from my circumstances and toward the ebbs and flows of my thinking -- in order to explain my nervousness -- and, thus, I couldn't fail.
And neither will you. I hope that clears things up -- no matter what type of "chip shot" you face.
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