Do Your Beliefs Reflect Reality or Create It

Does it really make sense to convince yourself to believe something that may or may not be true? Where do you draw the line?

What defines truth? Is truth an exteal quality, completely independent of the observer?

If reality is completely independent of you, exteal and objective, then you can say that truth is entirely outside yourself. Truth would then be independently measurable and verifiable. This means that your beliefs will have no effect on reality itself. Whether you believe the world is peaceful or violent, your thoughts will have no impact on the level of peace in the world.

But if reality is at least partially subjective, then you cannot separate exteal truth from your own thoughts. Your thoughts would be affecting exteal reality. This means that you cannot merely look to exteal reality for truth because your thoughts are creating it. If you believe the world is peaceful or violent, your own thoughts contribute to shaping the world in accordance with your beliefs.

So if reality is 100% independent of our thoughts, then it makes sense to study exteal reality to figure out what to believe. Seeing is believing. The best we can do is to perceive exteal reality as accurately as possible, so we can make the best possible decisions.

But if reality is even partially created by our thoughts, then we cannot merely look to exteal reality as an impartial observer because our thoughts will be creating things at the same time we're trying to observe. There can be no passive observation in this case. Our own beliefs will be reshaping reality. Believing is seeing. If this is how reality works, then we need to assume great care in choosing our thoughts responsibly because they are affecting the world itself.

So which type of reality do we actually live in?

Many people behave as if we live in the purely objective reality. However, it's easy to see that this answer is definitely wrong, but only when you're on the outside looking in. If you believe in a purely objective reality, you've trapped yourself in your own thought bubble, where your beliefs are creating a higher degree of objectivity than inherently exists. By dropping this belief, you'll be more capable of taking advantage of the creative power of your thoughts. In order to use your thoughts to create, you must first believe it's at least conceivably possible to do so.

There are several reasons why this is so. First, if quantum theory is to be believed, then it's clear that our observations influence reality. An unobserved quantum system can be expressed only probabilistically, but an observed one undergoes quantum collapse and manifests a single, measurable outcome. And this effect can even be linked with macroscopic events, such as in the case of Schrödinger's cat experiment.

However, you don't need to dive into quantum physics to see how your thoughts affect reality. At the very least, it should be obvious that you're capable of interacting with the world through direct action. If you make a decision to do something and then do it, your thoughts are affecting reality through your actions.

Secondly, your thoughts can affect reality through indirect action, whereby your beliefs make you a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you go to work each day, you're a self-fulfilling prophecy. There's no law of the universe that says you have to do so. It's your beliefs that get you going to work each day. And when you do that, you have an impact on the world, again through your actions. You perform certain work, and you neglect to perform different work. Your beliefs about reality will be reflected through your actions, often in extremely subtle ways. I haven't had a job since the early 90s because I believe I don't need one and that I wouldn't ever want one. That shapes my experience of reality as well as impacting everyone who comes into contact with me.

Thirdly, there may be a pathway that allows for your thoughts to impact reality while bypassing direct action, such as through superconscious means. For example, do your thoughts about wanting to start your own business somehow mobilize the universe to bring you the resources you need through the experience of synchronicities? Many people believe this to be the case. This is something I've been studying actively lately, trying to understand to what degree I can change reality just by intending it to change.

But whether you believe in superconscious effects or not, you should at least be able to accept that your thoughts can change reality through direct (conscious) or indirect (subconscious) action. You can act upon the world. You can move things around, talk to people, make changes, etc. Of course, if you harbor the belief that your actions will be ineffective, then you create yourself as a powerless entity. But if you were to change your beliefs about that, you could significantly change the world.

Your thoughts are not merely passive observations. They have a creative component to them. And that component, however small it may be, means that you are creating whenever you think. You're either directly making decisions, or you're programming your subconscious, or you're putting out superconscious intentions that will eventually manifest in some way.

This is a key point. Understand that beliefs are decisions. They are choices. When you hold a belief, you aren't merely observing reality — you're actively creating it. So if you adopt the belief that you will lose weight, understand that what you're doing is choosing to lose weight. You're setting up the prophecy you wish to fulfill. If your thoughts could not impact reality, then this would be foolish. But if your thoughts can and do impact reality, then it's just common sense to choose the beliefs that are aligned with what you wish to create. So if you're overweight and believe you cannot lose weight, you're actually choosing to be fat. And underlying that belief may be a whole web of other disempowering beliefs — you may need to unravel quite a few of these in order to feel comfortable creating fitness for yourself.

The belief that reality is purely objective and that your thoughts cannot influence it is nothing but a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby you abuse the power of thought to make yourself powerless. And it is only fear that causes you to do this, fear that if you were to fully embrace the creative power of your thoughts, you wouldn't be able to handle it and would be overwhelmed with a feeling of responsibility. But that fear is also a belief, one which you're equally free to drop because it doesn't serve you. You have the power to let it go whenever you're ready.

I hold the belief that my thoughts are capable of having a significant impact on reality, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility for what I am creating with my thinking. It took a long time, but I feel I've successfully aligned my dominant thoughts with what I believe is the greatest good of all — for all of us to grow more conscious and aware. My whole life is aligned with that purpose. But ultimately it's a choice. This is how I choose to live.

I think that anyone who's been following my progress for the past year can see how my thoughts and beliefs are helping to reshape reality. Because I believe I can have an impact, I'm able to do so. Like everyone else I'm a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have the privilege of reaching out to a lot of people every time I sit down to write (in October this site received 975,000 page views). But this simply occurred as a natural consequence of my chosen beliefs. I didn't look to exteal reality to decide whether I could do this or not. I didn't waste time looking outside myself to figure out how successful I could be. I simply decided to make it so, knowing that my beliefs would find a way to manifest. On the other hand, I could just as easily have settled for beliefs that would have me sitting around and doing nothing.

Now fast forward ten or twenty years. It shouldn't be hard to predict the effect my beliefs will have in the long run. It will mean eventually influencing millions of people on a regular basis. And if the effect is a strong and positive one, then it can have a significant impact on the future direction of life on earth. The individual effects may be small, but the cumulative effect of getting more people to consciously chose a purpose for their lives could be huge. Now if one person can have such an impact simply by choosing to believe it's possible to do so, then what could 10 or 100 or 1000 people accomplish if they consciously chose to harbor thoughts which serve the greatest good of all?

So the problem with looking purely outside yourself to decide what to believe is that you make yourself powerless by doing so. This approach would only make sense if you were a passive observer viewing an independent system. But that's not the reality you're living in. You aren't a passive observer. You're a part of what you're observing. Right now you might be perceiving yourself as a small and insignificant part of the whole, but you can choose to play a bigger and more impactful role if you want to.

Is it true that with greater power comes greater responsibility? No. Your responsibility remains the same, regardless of how much power you have. You can only give up power, never responsibility. And the first way you give up power is to mistakenly believe you do not possess the power which you already do.

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
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Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he's awake right now.

Finding Your Passions

Where does our motivation come from? What makes us want to strive for more?

It comes from our PASSION, and with out it what are we left with? We are left with our lives in a seemingly endless spin of unhappiness. When we no longer have passion in our lives we no longer want to strive to make our lives thrive.

This I understand clearly after 15 years.

In the early 1990s it took me five years to muster 34 credits at my local community college. I didn't have the passion for formal schooling at the time. Yes, five years, but it wasn't until my grandfather insisted that I transfer to a university that I started to completely understand how I felt about school and what my passion was for school. At that time, it took me four years to finish my undergraduate degree. I worked full time; I went to school fulltime taking full advantage of the university's online programs and was even able to be inducted into the honor society while raising my first daughter. PASSION.

After I graduated, I decided to continue and within three years I was able to obtain my first master degree and year later I had my second master degree, while now raising two daughters. PASSION.

Because of this passion, I've been very successful in school and furthering my career, but now I find my life changing because my passions are different. My formal schooling is complete and now it's time for me to redirect my passions.

I am going back to creative writing. Difficult for me because I've been doing technical and research writing for so long now, however it's my true passion.

At this moment in time, if you are not happy in whatever it is you are doing, it's not your true passion. Sometimes we get sucked into the myth that making more money, having a big expensive house, or driving the best luxury cars is our life's passion. It isn't. These things and objects make us comfortable, but do they really fill the voided holes we have in our lives? These things are fruits of our passionate labors, but they are not the passion itself. If you feel like you're in rut or you're not happy with your current situation. Change it and find your passion. Working towards your passion will make your life so much happier.

Find your passion and make it happen.

Michelle R. Sweeny is the owner and founder of S&S Management Consulting. Ms. Sweeny is a Training Officer at an executive branch agency within the Federal govement. She recently completed her dual graduate degree program at the University of Maryland University College. She has a Master of Science in Management (specializing in Human Resources Management) and a M.B.A.

Creatively, she goes by the name of ZETAZEN and has successfully managed and owned an inteet radio station and message board.

Law of Attraction Article How to STOP Being a Person Nothing Works For

Do you ever wonder why great things happen to some people but not to you?

Do you ever read about people who have tried this or that product and had some incredible result, but when you try it, you don't get the same result?

Have you become a person who NOTHING seems to work for?

Maybe you've thought about trying the some new self- improvement package that sounds great, but you're just so tired of things not working for you.

Let's take a look at how you've gotten where you are and why these things might happen.

First, at some point, you tried something - either based on a recommendation, a testimonial you read, or some other reason. Basically, you tried it based on someone else's positive experience.

However, when you tried it, you did not get the same result so you made the assumption that it didn't work for you. But how true IS this? Often - VERY often - things work differently for different people, and it's a mistake to judge your life by comparing it with others. Perhaps you just needed more time.

Maybe your circumstances are completely different! Regardless, however, you made up - you CREATED a Truth for yourself at that time, that truth being "This didn't work", although remember, that truth is based only on your surface comparison with someone else... and it really doesn't have anything to do with you, and what - in the cosmic scheme of things - is best for you.

Those results you read about for that other person are what was right at that time for them, and that doesn't necessarily mean that NOW is the time for you and that it will happen to you the same way that it happened for them!

From then on, every thing else you try is then compared to that first experience, with the Truth in your mind being "Well, it didn't work that time...let's see if THIS works". So again you're comparing... and not really trying anything "purely" and on it's own merit without preconceived notions or judgements.

You are already working against yourself! You may not yet automatically expect failure, but you have it as an option, and perhaps even a probability based on your previous experiences.

The more things you try with this mindset, the more you fortify this mindset - it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that "Nothing works for me". Before you know it, that is who you become. The person you are about reaching your specific goals or trying this or that product or technology is "It works for others but never for me." Once you reach that place, it will most certainly become true for you.

So what do you do? How do you break out of this patte? First, acknowledge how you got here... by comparing yourself or your results with other people who are really on a completely different path then you, although they may have been after similar results. Then create a new idea for yourself - give yourself permission to experience success on your own terms, without judging what happens based on other people or expectations set up by anyone other than yourself.

Once you believe that you deserve to succeed and that you CAN succeed and that you WILL succeed, your life will change. Whatever you try will work for you, because YOU define what "working" is - not somebody else! You set your own timetable, you are relaxed, and non-judgement. Your infinite patience and lack of expectation based exteally, will work with you in very powerful ways and you will regain control over your destiny.

Bob Doyle is the CEO and founder of Boundless Living and the developer of the Wealth Beyond Reason program, which provides a continuing education of the physics of wealth, abundance, and joyous living through the Law of Attraction. RadicalWealthFromHome.com

Do Your Things Own You

Do you have things like a bicycle, jetski, or swimming pool that sit unused? Is it that you don't have time to use them because you have to work so much just to pay for them? Sometimes it seems like all the things we own somehow own us.

The bad news is that it's often true. We have to arrange our lives around our things. You get a new truck that can go anywhere, but you're too busy working to go there. Someone is out fishing while you are putting in overtime to pay for your fishing boat. You use your large-screen television a lot, but does it sufficiently reduce the debt-stress that came with it?

Break The Chains!

The good news is that there's a better way. Actually, there are three better ways. First, know what you really value. Second, use cash instead of debt. Third, lea how to look at costs and benefits.

Will you really enjoy that $2,000 mountain bicycle enough? Maybe. This isn't about right or wrong desires. It's a question of truly seeing your own values. Think back to things you've bought but not used, or not used enough. What truly enjoyable things could you do with that money if you had it now? You've got to be self aware and honest.

Cash is king. The price may seem the same, but put those things on a credit card and, with interest, you'll pay a lot more. Cash means you have to save and wait a little for things, but you can buy more and have less stress. Credit cards provide the illusion of a richer life. Escaping debt gives you the reality.

Finally, lea to understand costs and benefits. A friend once came to the realization, using pen and paper, that his jetski cost him $300 for every hour he used it the first year. Loan interest, gas, insurance, depreciation, repairs, licenses - these things add up. And he thought it was too expensive to pay $100 per day to rent one! Consider the real costs of things, and look for a cheaper way, or at least make an honest decision that it's worth $300 per hour to you.

Your things should be making your life better. If they aren't, you need to start looking at them differently. Don't let your things own you. Change your approach.

Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Lea more and get free e-courses at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com

Internet Success Just Do it

For several years now, I've been busy running the roads selling products to people I didn't know and I'll probably never see again. The two products I sold were walk-in bathtubs which sold for close to $13,000 to elderly people who had a hard time getting in and out of a bathtub, and then commercial-grade windows which sold for close to $1,000/each window. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is the money I made has been here and gone. What happened while I was on the road driving over 1500 miles/week? There are few places a woman without a college education can ea over $1000/week except in direct sales or who knows, maybe finding a niche over the inteet.

But how do you know where to start or what to do first? Well, I read an interesting article which motivated me to do something about it. This article was telling me to JUST DO IT, a simple statement--but profound. I remember hearing that statement many years ago in an A.L. Williams meeting. I even heard it last night when listening to a teleseminar with Les Brown, famed motivator, when he was talking about how faith without action means nothing. So why do I have such a hard time "just doing it." Well, maybe it's just that I'm afraid I won't be successful. Maybe it's because nobody believes in me but me. Who knows?

I have a son, Brian, who graduated from college five years ago. He majored in Art Education, but didn't like teaching like he thought he would. So, he went back to school and got Microsoft certified. Now, he drives a Mercedes and eas over $100,000 a year as a systems administrator. You know, that didn't come easy. After his Microsoft certification, he took a low-paying job with a computer firm which lead to a job with the school system (his art education helped him land that job). That job lead him to his present job. Anyway, at 29 he "just did it," and he's lovin' it.

While I was on the road, my boyfriend (live-in lover) pursued his passion of working over the inteet. He leaed it little by little. He only types with two fingers. It didn't come easy. He now designs websites and markets over the inteet. His previous experience in the printing business and his artistic flare helped him. How could he accomplish that? He just did it. He can now design a website with links, connect a merchant account, place adwords with servers, etc. And me--my money has been here and gone. I was too busy making a living to lea, too tired and soon too but out.

If you have a passion (whatever it is), just pursue it--just do it. The jouey of a thousand miles starts with a single step--so just do it. Each step you take brings you one step closer to your desired goal, so just do it. On the inteet, you will find a whole world at your fingertips.

There are people out there who can become your mentors. You may never meet them face to face. They may never hear you speak, but they will still be your mentor.

I have just given you a billion dollar concept. It is worth nothing, however, unless you take action. --Just Do it--

So, what am I saying--you might be like me; you have very little to show for your past work except paid bills and the fact that you made yourself a living. But, I plan on making changes in my life. I plan on leaing how to market on the inteet this year. I plan on "just doing it." You'll never know unless you take action. This one concept can make you a fortune and on the inteet, your possibilities are endless. So, get off your a _ _ and do something.

Your future is limited only to your acquired knowledge, imagination and action. You may have the desire but feel overwhelmed by the inteet, but DO NOT FEAR. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Thank you so much for your time. I hope I encouraged you to pursue your passion.

This is a billion dollar concept which is taught at http://www.InteetProfitMentor.com Get your FREE 12-hour video course plus FREE 120-page e-book

Invisible Progress

Have you noticed that some desires manifest quickly and easily while others seem to drag on and on without even a hint of fulfillment? Does your heart long for a mate? Does your pocket ache for some cash? Does your mind chat about enlightenment all through your meditation? As spring approaches we have the opportunity to plant seeds. Long before the seeds bring us zinnias and zucchini they offer us a far-reaching lesson.

We place the seed in the earth. The clock ticks. Days pass. The ground is quiet and still. It looks like nothing is happening. Meanwhile, under the surface, the seed awakens. A life is bo. However, the seed's transformational awakening looks exactly like its slumber to us living above the surface of the earth. From our limited perspective, we cannot tell the difference between dormancy and a surge of momentum toward life.

A similar gestational period occurs when we plant a seed with our intention into the fertile ground of consciousness. A period follows when it looks like nothing is happening. But just like the physical seed, which is undergoing its greatest metamorphosis hidden within the womb of the earth, the seed of our intention sprouts without our conscious awareness. How we relate to that period of invisible progress has much to do with what we will place in our baskets at harvest time.

Abundance

One apple seed, which produces one apple tree, offers innumerable apples in its lifetime. Each apple contains a core of seeds. From the one seed that produced the tree, countless seeds meet the earth for another opportunity to sprout. Some sprout. Some don't. Seeds surge into existence with such abundance that regardless of which seeds sprout, the big intention of the tree moves powerfully forward.

One seed of our intention also produces an abundance of new intentions, all moving towards the fulfillment of the big desire behind our actions. Some of our intentions sprout. Some don't. It is helpful to remember the abundance of the seeds that we sow and the fertile nature of consciousness. It is comforting to know that plenty will sprout for the fulfillment of our soul's desire.

Trust

As we plant our seeds in the spring, we trust the process. We feel confident that the seeds will grow into colorful edibles or decorative beauty. Bunches of tiny, compact seeds fit in the palm of our hand and we spread them without a worry about which exact seeds will sprout and which ones won't. We let the earth and the seeds work out the details under the surface and we welcome whichever sprouts shoot their little heads into the light.

This is a beneficial attitude to have with our intentions. To sow them into the ground of being and to trust that it will all come to fruition in a magnificent way. We don't have to dig our hands under the earth to squeeze the life through the seed. We simply wait and trust. And while we wait, we cultivate. We pull the weeds that may appear. We water if the weather is dry. We assist the invisible process with our loving care. Our care is based on trust that the process goes on with or without our help.

Process

If you constantly dig up your seeds to see why they have not grown yet, you interfere with the invisible process. Here are three simple steps that will nurture your invisible progress toward your most cherished goals.

Choose an intention that seems dormant. One that you'd like to move forward into manifestation. In this exercise we will cultivate the seeds of our intentions. We will embrace this period of quiet transformation when it seems like nothing is happening. Before long, you may find yourself with a big stable tree in your backyard providing you with season after season of fruit.

Step 1. Check the packet

What seed are you planting? It helps to plant a seed that you really want to see flower.

If you have conflict about the potential outcome of your seed-desire, you may find your garden facing a drought this season. Step one asks only that you double-check your intention. Does it resonate fully with your inner truth? Will the eventual fulfillment of this desire uplift you and others around you? Will it bring you joy? Will it open you to a greater flow of life-force? Ask yourself questions about your desire and make sure you are planting seeds you will love growing.

Step 2. Water

Flow your joyful attention toward the feeling of the fulfillment of your intention. Find every good feeling aspect of the process and its fulfillment and rain your tears of joy onto the invisible project.

Step 3. Weed

As conflicting thoughts of doubt and fear enter your awareness, remove them with a sense of authority and ease. Don't give much attention to your weed-thoughts. Just notice that they are crowding the garden of your awareness and remove them by retuing to step two. Nurture only the seeds you have planted. The weeds will wither.

Keep clearing the ground for your beautiful sprout to make its appearance whenever it is ready. These three invisible steps can make all the difference as your project moves toward manifestation. In this time, when it looks like nothing is happening, it can be especially comforting to remember that you don't have to make the flowers grow. That is not your job. The power of the invisible process lies in trusting the invisible progress.

© Rebbie Straubing

You can receive Dr. Rebbie Straubing's Free e-Course, "7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart's Desire," at http://www.yofa.net

Rebbie is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach, and writer.

To find or harmonize a relationship, visit http://www.GreatRelationships.net

Increase your awareness of Divine Love and begin a meditation practice in 3 minutes at the Affirmative Contemplation website, http://www.AffirmativeContemplation.com

Discover the Magical Power of Pulling Heartstrings It s Mindblowing

I wish you never have to go through that kind of pain!

Last week, I was on the breath-taking island of Puerto Rico at a resort on the beach enjoying the crashing waves of the ocean and the cool breeze. If you don't know by now, I am an observer. I love to observe people and their behavior.

Maybe I have been living under a rock. But I had no idea that so many people had tattoos on their bodies. Honestly, I am not a tattoo fan. The way I see it, I probably would go along with any trend, as long as it wasn't something that was permanent.

I would want to be sure that I could get rid of it if my belief changed, and/or after I had realized what I had done was silly and stupid. But that's just me.

Although I would never have a tattoo put on myself, I admit that many of the ones I saw were really beautiful and true works of art. And so, now my tattoo antenna was up. Suddenly I began to notice people with tattoos everywhere. It's almost as if the trend just started.

This week, a woman at the post office took me back to Puerto Rico. She was standing in front of me in line. And guess what? Yes, she had a tattoo on the right side of the back of her shoulder.

It was a great picture of Stevie Nicks. Oh, and for those of you who don't know who Stevie Nicks is, well, we have something in common. I had no idea who in the world she was until my waiting-in-line companion told me.

Without getting too into it, Stevie Nicks is a light rock singer who was hot in the 60's and 70's. Now the big question: Why in the world someone would go through so much pain to tattoo a total stranger on his or her back? Can you guess? Well, I can.

It all comes down to emotion. In this case, it's pleasure. Emotion is a little word that rules our world. I bet you that the lady tattooed Stevie on her shoulder because of the way Stevie's music makes her feel.

It's obvious that it must be a deep-seeded emotion. It was so deep that the woman made a lifetime commitment to carry the photo of a stranger on her back! Now that is a true fan!

Would you like for others to carry you, perhaps in their hearts and minds for a lifetime? Well, go out and start making people feel great and you will have friends for life.

You see, you don't have to be a doctor in order to operate on someone's heart! Have you ever noticed how some people change their colors when you shower them with high praise? I am telling you, a chain of chemical reactions take place at the moment a "heart is touched." Try it and observe.

Emotion is what makes the world go round. But keep in mind that I am talking about pleasurable emotion. And with repetition, it can undoubtedly cause others to want to tattoo you on their backs.

Right now, no matter where you are, you have the power to make someone feel good. And it doesn't cost one red cent to make that happen. All you have to do is to give an elevating compliment or do an unexpected favor.

It's unlikely that this one act of kindness would create that effect. But with repetition, you can definitely achieve the same warm result.

The opposite is also true. If we keep pinching others' self confidence or verbally abuse them, they will tattoo us on their jerk list. What I really want to say is their sh _ t list. You get my point.

Let me know when someone tattoos your face on his or her back.

I wish you incredible success!

Rene Godefroy is the award-winning author of No Condition is Permanent, a motivational keynote speaker and business consultant who shares ideas and strategies that helps individuals achieve extraordinary results in theirs lives.

For more information, click on this link: Motivational Speaker