Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Setting New Intentions, Patterns, Habits, and Internal Attitudes That Lead To Self-Mastery, Podcast, Part III
(length 08:24 minutes)
Learning to act in ways that nurture and empower you
to be "True to YourSelf!"
This is Part IV of a four part blog.
New Internal Attitudes con't:
Asking for the inspirations, insights, courage, patience, and resources to create a truly
balanced, joyous, prosperous, fulfilled life in every way, right now. Be specific.
Creating new internal attitudes for work, relationships, prosperity, health, etc. Be
specific.
Inviting and expecting new energetic patterns and internal attitudes to be easily,
elegantly, and effortlessly established. Be specific.
Releasing all illusions: need, failure, disunity, lack, obligation, judgment,
condemnation, conditionality, superiority, and ignorance.
Fostering new attitudes of compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, surrender, and devotion
while at the same time releasing old attitudes based on fear, judgment, duality,
separation and ego.
Doing envisioning exercises for the things and experiences you want to experience in
your life. See my blog entries beginning on 07/27/09 through 08/31/09 for how to do the envisioning exercises.
Practicing this technique over just a period of a few months can and will radically transform the quality of your life. The greatest treasures we can acquire while on earth are the qualities of goodness and personal mastery that we learn. I have found that this technique is the fastest way to accomplish this.
We are remembered for who we are and what we embody and not for what we have done. So, why not develop all the best habits and qualities possible in this lifetime. If you want to be a Master of your Life, and live the best possible life, the highest quality life, this kind of intentionality and clarity will definitely get you there.
Peace and Joy be with you! Go for the Good!
This is Part IV of a four part blog. See my blog entries of 09/07/09 for Part I, 09/14/09 for Part II and 09/21/09 for Part III.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Setting New Intentions, Patterns, Habits, and Internal Attitudes That Lead To Self-Mastery, Podcast, Part III
(length 07:55 minutes)
Learning to act in ways that nurture and empower you
to be "True to YourSelf!"
This is Part III of a four part blog.
Some Examples:
New Patterns and Habits:
Spending quality time with yourself:
Meditating and praying;
Time in nature;
Reading inspiring books;
Writing in a journal.
Taking care of your physical needs:
Eating a healthful, balanced, appropriate diet;
Exercising;
Getting sufficient sleep;
Taking breaks from work.
EnJoying sufficient re-creation time; play; leisure.
Cleaning your home.
Spending quality time with your significant other(s).
Laughing.
Also, you can list patterns and habits you do not want to continue doing, e.g.,
procrastinating, watching too much TV, sleeping too much, etc..
New Internal Attitudes:-
Staying emotionally unattached to the results of your activities/work on all levels,
i.e.practicing discernment.
Often saying, "I have done my very best with what I knew today. I am perfect (i.e. good
enough) and complete. All my creations are perfect and complete."
Making only one real commitment: "to be true to the promptings of your Higher Self."
Learning to trust your feelings. For your feelings are your connection to your Soul and your only authority.
Remembering that you can always choose what you think and feel and, therefore, choose what you experience. You are not your fears, pain, and anger.
Releasing your fears, worry, doubt, anger, sadness, etc. towards whatever specific
situation(s) or individual(s) that limit you from stepping forth into the fulfillment
of your Soul's deepest, most authentic desires, and true, unique Divine purpose.
This is Part III of a four part blog. See my blog entry of 09/07/09 for Part I and 09/14/09 for Part II.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Setting New Intentions, Patterns, Habits, and Internal Attitudes That Lead To Self-Mastery, Podcast, Part II
(length 05:42 minutes)
Learning to act in ways that nurture and empower you
to be"True to YourSelf!"
This is Part II of a four part blog.
3. Create two grids. On the left side of the first grid list ten patterns and habits. On the left side of the second grid list ten internal attitudes. On the right side of each grid create thirty-one boxes, one for each day of the month. You now have two visual charts that will serve as daily reminders and will also provide structure to help you map your progress. You can hang these visual reminders on your refrigerator or any other prominent spot in your living space. [If you would like a copy of the grids I describe above in Word document format, please email me at yanni.maniates@verizon.net and I will send them to you gratis.]
4. Commit to one month of using these daily intentions, patterns, habits, and internal attitudes. Each day check off on the grids the patterns, habits and internal attitudes you achieved that day. Be Honest! Some days will be better than others!
5. At the end of the month objectively and lovingly review your lists and drop off any habits and patterns or internal attitudes that are now securely a part of your "way of being." Add to these lists any new intentions, patterns, habits, internal attitudes, or refinements of the ones you have been working with. These will now become next month's lists. Observe how you will continue each month to evolve into higher and higher degrees of clarity and Mastery.
This is Part II of a four part blog. See my blog entry of 09/21/09 for Part III.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Setting New Intentions, Patterns, Habits, and Internal Attitudes That Lead To Self-Mastery, Podcast, Part I
(length 05:12 minutes)
Learning to act in ways that nurture and empower you
to be"True to YourSelf!"
This is Part I of a four part blog.
How can you change your habits, both your external ones and your internal ones on a permanent basis?
Over the years I have worked with numerous techniques to accomplish this. What I would like to share with you in my next four blog entries is a process that I use which is a distillation of many techniques. I believe that this process is the most effective way for you to take responsibility for your life and to make the changes that will allow you to live your life to its highest potential. Here is the process in outline form:
1.Take time in a quiet place to reflect on your life. Objectively and lovingly review how you are living and identify the healthy intentions, patterns, habits, and internal attitudes you already have in place. Write them down--as many as possible.
2.Now ask yourself, "What are some additional intentions, patterns, habits, and internal attitudes that would further enrich my experience of life everyday?" Brainstorm! Make two lists. On the first list, write spontaneously as many new patterns and habits as you can, such as meditating regularly, eating healthy foods, etc., (more examples will follow in subsequent blogs) and on the second list write as many new internal attitudes as you can, such as letting go of worry, trusting your feelings, etc. (more examples will follow in subsequent blogs). Then narrow each list down to ten by either eliminating some or by combining some. Hint: Start with broad strokes that outline what you would like to experience in your life and then sketch out the intentions, patterns, habits, and internal attitudes that would help you to accomplish this.
This is Part I of a four part blog. See my blog entry of 9/14/09 for Part II.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Love is "Being Present" Part II" Podcast
(length 5:13 minutes)
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Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Love is "Being Present" Part I" Podcast
(length 5:11 minutes)
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This is Part I of a two part blog.
To find the way,
Close your eyes,
Listen closely,
And attend with your heart.
Anonymous
What does it mean to love oneself or another person? As I have journeyed through my life, I have come to the following understanding of what it means to truly love:
Love is simply "being present for your self or for another."
But what does it mean "to be present for yourself," to just be there for yourself?
As far as I am concerned, you are your most "significant other." So, in order to love yourself, you must be fully present for yourself. You must be "listening" to your self. You must be honoring yourself. You must be accepting and appreciating yourself unconditionally. This is love: "Being totally present for your self" with no judgments, no analysis, no preconceived beliefs, concepts or ideas of what you "should" be or do.
Giving this kind of love and presence to yourself, whether someone else is "present" for you or not, is the key to Self-mastery and happiness; it is actually "the key" to life. "Being present," in this way, I believe, is the answer to the perennial question of "How do I love myself or another person?"
As for myself, I know that in the past I did not think that it was possible to love myself. I did not appreciate or understand my value. All I ever did was look at what was "wrong" with me and judge and reject myself. So, all I was doing was playing an old script of "I am not good enough" and "I am not worthy." I had adopted a false belief system about myself.
As well, I was always looking for validation outside myself. I was looking for others to affirm me. I was "looking for love in all the wrong places," so to speak.
I had no idea how majestic and miraculous a being I already really was. I did not know how to be in my own "Presence."
There is one spectacle grander than the sky,
That is the interior of the Soul.
Victor Hugo
This is Part I of a two part blog entry.
I thought that I would do something different this week and instead of doing a blog and podcast that I would direct you to a flash movie that I created entitled: Living From The Inside Out.
I feel that it best embodies what my work is all about.
Please go to the following link to view the movie:
http://www.insideoutjourneys.com/movie.cfm
If you can't click onto this link, please copy and paste it into your browser.
It's only 3 minutes long.
Many Blessings!
Yanni
The only real confidence is not self-confidence,
that is, confidence in your ego's delusions of superiority and importance.
True SELF-confidence is having the courage to listen to the "still, small voice within"
and then to act on its inspirations and promptings.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Living From The Inside Out" Flash Movie Podcast
(length 3:12 minutes)
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I thought that I would do somethng different this week and instead of doing a blog and podcast that I would direct you to a the flash movie that I created entitled: Living From The Inside Out.
I feel that it best embodies what my work is all about.
Please go to the following link to view the movie:
http://www.insideoutjourneys.com/movie.cfm
If you can't click onto this link, please copy and paste it into your browser.
It's only 3 minutes long.
Many Blessings!
Yanni
The only real confidence is not self-confidence,
that is, confidence in your ego's delusions of superiority and importance.
True SELF-confidence is having the courage to listen to the "still, small voice within"
and then to act on its inspirations and promptings.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"What is Quality?" Podcast
(length 4:52 minutes)
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Quality is not something inherent in an object, person or experience;
Quality is something we imbue into an object, person or experience.
Yanni Maniates
We create quality. We create a quality life.
We give life its meaning, substance and value by the way we choose to interpret events. All of life is good and working towards the Highest Good. Everything we experience is from the Good and for the Good though we may not know how to "see" it that way sometimes.
Quality can not be measured by the quantity of material things we accumulate, the number or status of the people we know or the types of experiences we have; it can only be determined by the value we give to the experience.
So, to have a quality experience; go out there and give value to all you see and experience; especially give value to yourself. You determine the quality of your experiences by the way you choose to value them. You determine the quality or value of yourself by the way you choose to value yourself.
So, take the time to quiet your mind and go within and listen to that "still, small voice within." And ask it to help you to learn how to "see" yourself and everything and everyone in your life with the eyes and heart of your Soul and then you will see all things "anew."
You will "see" how precious and valuable you are and how precious and valuable every person, place and experience is in your life. They all are steps up your mountain of mastery. Everything and everyone is leading you to your Highest Good.
By listening to that "still, small voice within," you will learn how to live your life in Grace and Trust. You will see the bigger picture and know who you truly are from the depths of your being and how blessed life really is.
So, slow down, quiet your mind and listen so that you can ease into a life of real Quality and Value!
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Put Your SELF First" Podcast
(length 5:46 minutes)
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A number of years ago I read a book entitled "The Automatic Millionaire." In the book the author, David Bach, emphasizes how really, really important it is to make payments to yourself first if you wish to accrue financial wealth.
As I continued to read the book, I came to realize that the principle that he was espousing, "Put Your Self First," was a very profound one and one that was applicable in all areas of my life. It got me to start asking myself whether I was putting myself first physically, emotionally and spiritually. And, of course, it was crystal clear that I wasn't.
Then I asked myself, why I wasn't? And it became apparent that it was an issue of unworthiness. Everyone and everything else was more important or worthy than I was!!! I always paid myself last!
So, it became obvious that if I kept listening to my ego self, I would always be last in line. I had to learn to listen to my real Self. I could not keep doing what I really didn't want to do. That was a recipe for disaster.
It finally dawned on me that my Higher Self knew what was best for me and for all those involved with me; and if I would just slow down enough to get in touch with my Higher Self and act on its promptings, I would be much happier and much more fun to be with.
So, one must pay oneself first on all levels; not only financially so that you accrue wealth, but also in terms of the kinds of things you do to take care of yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is where the real "wealth" lies.
You can live more of the life you desire and deserve once you learn to put your Self first. For, as I love to say in my classes: "If you follow any one but your Self, you will surely get lost."
So, it is all good. Learning how to listen to your Self is how you become a Master of your life and it is how you learn to leave behind being the victim!
So, slow down and get there fast. Trust, Relax and Listen to your Self! And remember and say often: "Life is good; I am good. Within me and around me I have all I need to fully feel happy, healthy, joy-filled, abundant, energetic, flexible, balanced, and full of passion in all aspects of my life."
You really do!
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Who Do You Think You Are? A Meditation" Podcast
(length 4:56 minutes)
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In the Katha Upanishad, the sages of ancient India describe
the source of the limitless potential within us in the following manner:
There shines not the sun, neither the moon nor star,
nor flash of lightening, nor fire lit on earth as bright.
The Self is the light reflected by all.
He shining, everything shines after him.
And as the Sufi mystics write:
He whom the galaxies can not contain, he is in my little heart.
It is so hard for the ego mind to wrap itself around who you really ARE. The ego mind is only capable of remembering the conditioning which it has been fed since birth. It knows nothing about the Divine plan that you formulated before it came into being. It has no clue regarding your infinite potential; and it certainly has no idea about the incredible mysteries and majesty that lie within you.
So, why do we keep relying on the ego mind to help us get to know ourselves or to understand what our purpose is? The ego mind is meant at best to be a servant of our soul. It is not meant to be our master.
So, let us learn how to access this clear, pure essence by learning to quiet our ego mind and listen to our heart/soul. Then we will discover who we ARE.
Meditation is the key to this way of perceiving.
Whatever arises is not Self.
It is not I;
it does not belong to anybody;
it is just conditioning.
Jack Kornfield
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"STRENGTH, Part II" Podcast
(length 4:59 minutes)
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A boy and his father were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy said to his father, "Do you think if I use all my strength, I can move this rock?"
His father answered, "If you use all your strength, I am sure you can do it."
The boy began to push the rock. Exerting himself as much as he could, he pushed and pushed. The rock did not move.
Discouraged, he said to his father, "You were wrong. I can't do it."
His father placed his arm around the boy's shoulder and said, "No son. You didn't use all your strength - you didn't ask me to help."
From Teaching Your Children About God
Do you believe that the Universe is a friendly, nurturing place or not?
Or is it a neutral or perhaps threatening place?
Do you believe that there are energies and beings that are just waiting to help you, if you just ask for their help? Or do you believe that you are all alone and basically just a spiritual orphan?
Do you believe that if you ask for support and believe and expect that it will come to you, that it will come to you?
These are the questions and beliefs that this parable is asking you to explore.
So, just take some time to explore and meditate on these questions. By doing so, you will come to better know yourself and then you will be better able to draw upon the sources of strength that are available to you.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Contemplate the Infinite Potential and Possibilities That You Are" Podcast
(length 5:42 minutes)
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Conversation
God and I in space alone
and nobody else in view.
"And where are the people, O Lord," I said,
"the earth below and the sky o'er head
and the dead whom once I knew?"
"That was a dream," God smiled and said,
"A dream that seemed to be true.
There were no people, living or dead,
there was no earth, and no sky o'er head;
there was only Myself -- in you."
"Why do I feel no fear," I asked,
"meeting You here this way?
For I have sinned I know full well--
and is there heaven, and is there hell,
and is this the Judgment Day?"
"Nay, those were but dreams,"
the Great God said,
"Dreams that have ceased to be.
There are no such things as fear or sin;
there is no you -- you never have been--
there is nothing at all
but Me."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
You are an invisible fullness, a field of latent possibilities from which all things emerge.
Behind the universe moves this unnamable mystery. It is a pregnant state of love, energy, and intelligence, ready to continually give birth to new forms and absorb old and wasted ones in order to give them rebirth in new form again.
This invisible, unnamable mystery and fullness is infinite possibility. The processes of change, transformation and rebirth are the very fabric of the universe and they occur in this field of potential and latent possibilities.
Contemplate the infinite potential and possibilities that you are. The well of living waters you have to draw upon is unlimited. You can not and are not defined or limited by any role, experience, or lifetime you have had or are having. Allow yourself to experience/feel the full promise of who You ARE. Embrace the Mystery and Majesty of Your Self! Enter the Silence! Meditate! Embrace the Unknown! Embrace Your Self!
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Ah! To be a Child Again! A Meditation" Podcast
(length 6:54 minutes)
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Before we were indoctrinated to the rules of the word, with its entire do's and don'ts, we were actually very receptive. We were willing to try new things, go into forbidden places and take risks without hesitation. We did not believe in unhappiness, defeat, rejection or lack. We asked for what we wanted and were willing to demand that it be provided. We thought the world existed to respond to our needs. It might do us well to revert back to the ways of childhood if we want to bring some good into our lives. It's not the temper tantrums or childish outburst we want. It is the openness and freedom from limitation we need. We have been taught to accept fear, lack sorrow and restriction as a part of everyday life. We are afraid to make demands of life because we believe we can't have what we want. We no longer feel free to express what we feel, when we feel it. Now, we want to be everyone's friend. If only we would think like a child again, there's a good chance we would find the freedom we gave up to become adults.
Just read through these words a few times in a meditative state. They are food for your soul. Then just sit in meditation and see, sense or feel whatever impressions, thoughts, feelings or images arise for you about you. Be receptive, objective and open!
Reading an inspiring passage and then just sitting with it in meditation is another form of meditation you may want to put into practice.
Besides this passage, find any inspiring passage you resonate with, read it and then just sit and see what happens! There are many ways to meditate and connect with your Source. Meditating on an inspiring passage is one I love to practice regularly especially when my mind is overly active.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"You are an Emperor, not a Beggar: a Meditation," Podcast
(length 5:30 minutes)
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You are an emperor, not a beggar. You possess the untold wealth of the universe, unimaginable riches. Don't beg for enlightenment, don't plead for it. You are the Self, don't assume that you are impoverished. Give up that yearning and be quiet and the treasure will be self-evident as your very nature.
Author unknown
"We are all gods and goddesses in training," as Deepak Chopra wrote.
We have come forth to explore and manifest the god/goddess potential within us.
We have come forth to be a god/goddess in finite form and to anchor and embody an aspect of that infinite Love that is our Source.
We are here to unravel the mystery of who we are.
We are here to discover the majesty of who we are.
We can never fail; we have success written all over us.
It is encoded in our DNA, in our eternal, hard wired template.
We are chips off the old holographic block, often called god/goddess, and are made in his/her Image.
When we enter the Silence, deep from within us rises up a feeling, a "knowing" of who we really are.
And in this place of clarity, we "know," beyond any doubt, fear or limiting belief system who and why we are.
We know that we are of noble stock and heirs of all that is great and good!
Be still and ye shall know!
The strongest tree has the deepest roots. Dig deep, deep within and you will find and know thy Self!
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Believe in Your Self! A Meditation," Podcast
(length 6:30 minutes)
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I find the above advice from the Buddha rather amazing given that it was written over 2,500 years ago. Nowadays with the advent of the internet and the incredible amount of information that is so readily available to us, his guidance is even more essential.
An old adage goes: "No shoe fits all sizes." So, too, no teaching or teacher is the proper fit for everyone. I have learned over the years to practice discernment and really go within to make sure that whatever teacher or teaching I am studying really rings true for me.
I have found over the years that the only way to know for sure is to initially, of course, take the time to study and research the teacher or teachings; but ultimately I have learned not to use my mind and not to do an intellectual analysis. What I have learned to do, instead, is to quiet my mind, go into the stillness and just "feel" what is right. And then if it "feels" right, I "accept it and live it."
As well, I periodically go within and check again and again to see if it still "feels" right given that I am constantly evolving and changing.
What I am not saying here is to keep shopping around and never settle on anything. No, not at all! What I am saying here is to always go within to make sure you are still on the right path, namely your path and not anyone else's!
A path is not a static experience. It is something you travel upon; it is a journey. Yes, at times you stop to rest, but then you get up and continue the journey moving through an ever changing landscape. Your life, your dreams are constantly evolving! So, too, are your belief systems!
Every teacher/teaching is a step up your mountain of mastery. But each step leads to another step. No step is an end in and of itself.
One of the things I love to repeat over and over in my classes is: "If you follow any one but your Self, you will surely get lost!" You must be "true to yourself." And the only way to do that and to know your path and to come to "know thy Self" is to go within regularly and listen. Then you will stay on your path.
Meditation is the key that helps you to go within. It helps you to find and follow your Self and to truly know and believe in Your Self.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Believing the Impossible! A Meditation," Podcast
(length 4:27 minutes)
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What is possible? Whatever you believe to be possible is what is possible! The impossible is impossible because you believe it to be so.
We create our reality by virtue of what we believe. Within each one of us is enormous potential, but often we do not manifest it or even realize it is there. In Latin the root for the word "potential" is the same as the root for the word "potency."
Within each of us is such great potency or power or potential to create, but because we think small, we create and experience small. The Universe/God is infinite potential waiting to be actualized. And, we, through our thoughts and feelings, can draw in this infinite potential and make it manifest. This drawing in of that infinite potential via our thoughts is precisely what qualifies us to be co-creators made in his/her Image.
But if your thoughts and beliefs about what is possible for you are small, you will never dream or create or experience "big." Why not get out of the old box and dream and think big, since you dream and think all the time anyhow? Think big, not small and all things are possible.
Take a few minutes each day in meditation to observe how big or small your thoughts and dreams are and then adjust in whatever way feels right.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Perfection Over the Illusion, Part V" Podcast"
(length 9:14 minutes)
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This is Part X of a ten part blog.
9) Will a different reality.
What you expect, you receive. Whatever you are looking for or looking at is what you see. Use the power of your mind to see the best in all and in yourself and you will experience the best. Keep your thoughts clear, pure, intentional and purposeful by using your will and you will create a new reality. Be clear and you will have clarity!
You are not a victim. Look at your thoughts and the predominant emotions that you have and if any of them are of a low quality, change them. You and only you have the strength and power to change them and you can.
You are a powerful creator! You created what you don't want; what makes you think you can not create what you do want.
You create your reality.
You create your experiences.
You give them meaning.
You get to choose!
You are a Master of your Life!
I hope that these reflections are helpful to you.
We really do create our reality and give meaning to our lives and experiences by the way we choose to interpret them and the perspective we choose to bring to bear upon them. Our happiness does not arise from anything we do, but by virtue of what we believe and think.
Do you live by choosing to experience your life through the eyes and heart of your Soul or do you choose to live by hiding in the shadows of your ego?
Reflect on these things!
This is Part X of a ten part blog.
This is Part IX of a ten part blog.
8) Go within and bring in the God presence over and over again and you will be free of all this suffering. Then you will have attained "perfection over the illusion."
Take the time to regularly sit in meditation and there in that Silence, where the ego mind is still and your heart is open, you will be filled with the Presence of God/Goddess and there you will know who you are and without a doubt you will know deep within you that you have eternal everlasting value. As well, you will also know that that value is inherent in you and in every living creature.
There is nothing you need to do or become or possess in this lifetime in order to realize your value. You are already THAT! You are God/Goddess in finite form who has taken on a temporary personality in this lifetime in order to manifest and embody Love. Period!
That's why you are here. It's not complicated. By realizing this, you will have attained "perfection over the illusion" and you will know your eternal value.
It's not about what we "do" with our lives that matters; it all about who we "become." So, open your heart and quiet your mind regularly and consistently and you will then come to truly "know ThySelf."
But to attain this awareness you must consistently take the time to go within over and over again so that you can touch in with "Reality," that is, God/Goddess. Otherwise the world of illusion will drag and beat you down and you will forget who you really ARE.
This is Part IX of a ten part blog.
Life Mastery's Friday Weekly Podcast:
"Perfection Over the Illusion, Part IV" Podcast"
(length 10:10 minutes)
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This is Part VIII of a ten part blog.
6) I am a Divine Spirit. I have everything that is needed.
You truly are a Divine Spirit having a human experience. You are here to learn "love," give "love," receive "love," and become "love." Within you, you have all the Wisdom and love to create the best possible life for yourself.
You were made in His/Her Image. You are a co-creator with God/Goddess of your own reality. God/Goddess is infinite potential and all He/She asks of you to believe in your eternal, infinite Self and by doing so you can embody and manifest all the potential that is within you. Everything is possible, if you believe that to be so.
You are a chip off the old holographic block called God/Goddess. Why not begin to claim your birthright and become who You are!
7) Know without any uncertainty that your fears and insecurities are not your true self; that your true self is totally integrated, totally capable of handling every thing over time in the right way and with enough patience it can accomplish what it came to accomplish.
When you feel inadequate, fearful, disconnected or like a victim, you are identifying with your "little self." That part of you that has forgotten who it really is and what you are really capable of. Everything is possible for you! You can do it! And you can truly know what it is that you came to fulfill and accomplish in this lifetime.
This is Part VIII of a ten part blog.
This is Part VII of a ten part blog.
4) There is no insufficiency in you. You will get past it. This will work for you!
When you feel down and out and disempowered, you're basically feeling that you are deep down at your core inadequate or unworthy and that there isn't anything you can do to bring yourself out of it. The fact of the matter is that you are never given a challenge that you can't overcome. It's only your thinking about your thinking that makes you feel that way.
You are not a victim. You are a Master. "I am not a victim; I AM a Master." Keep repeating this phrase to yourself because it is true! This is what be a Master is really all about!
5) "When I awaken tomorrow, no matter what comes my way, I am more than adequate to handle it! I will find all of the solutions through my objectivity and my own inner spiritual power."
You are a very powerful spiritual being who has come forth to embody the gifts and strengths that are who you really are. Claim your Divinity and your strength. Know without out a doubt that you are a Master of your Life and a powerful, creative soul. By stepping back from the fears and insecurities of your ego mind and witnessing them objectively rather than getting all caught up in their drama, you can, in that objective place of Silence and meditation, find solutions to all your "problems" and reclaim your power.
This is Part VII of a ten part blog.
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This is Part VI of a ten part blog.
3) Don't fall out of agreement with what is happening because when you do, you create a lot of emotional turmoil and resistance.
What you resist persists!
Embracing who you are and where you are in your life presently is the quickest cure for tension and anxiety and for resolving those very issues that you wish were not in your life.
Where you are is where you are!
To deny it or try to push it away only creates more of it. As you embrace and then honestly face the situation you have created, you can then let go of it enough and step back far enough from it to now see the bigger picture and get broadest perspective.
By stepping back in this way and giving some "space" to the situation, you can and will be inspired to take the right action that will lead to the Highest Good for all involved. As well, it will help you to transmute the energies of what you don't want into what you do want. In other words, by doing this you will see "outside the box" and thus you will be led to find empowered solutions.
As Albert Einstein said, "you can't solve a problem at the level it was created." You must see the bigger picture by seeing the situation with the eyes and heart of your Soul. You must quiet the fearful ego mind and all the drama it creates and instead listen to your Soul.
This is Part VI of a ten part blog.
This is Part V of a ten part blog.
1) Today I am going to create a day of peace and harmony.
You get to set the tone for your day. If you wake up grumpy and unfocused, you will attract more of the same. But if, when you wake up, you set a clear intention that you are looking to create peace and harmony in your day today [guess what?] peace and harmony is what you will mostly experience.
So, upon awakening, rather than allowing for random thoughts and feelings to enter, instead, clearly focus on peace and harmony and then think, feel and imagine the events that are coming up in your day to be filled with peace and harmony. As well, during the day create periodic reminders that help you remember that above all other things it is peace and harmony that you want to experience this day.
The more you do this, the easier it gets to do and the better and more intentional your life becomes.
2) I can look at these things going on in my life now and say, "I am in charge here and can be in a place of profound peace."
No matter what you are experiencing, know that you are not a "victim of circumstances," but a Master of your life. You get to make the "best" of any and every situation you are in and you get to choose how you feel about what you are experiencing. You can make lemonade out of lemons. You can see the Highest Good and the Divine plan in it all.
This is Part V of a ten part blog.
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This is Part IV of a ten part blog.
Over the years I have come up with numerous phrases, thoughts and interpretations that have helped me to raise my thoughts/energies around everything that happens in my life. It has made a world of a difference in terms of how I have experienced my life.
So, what I would like to do now is to share some of these with you. These are the ways that I use to see the Highest Good in all situations and to do my best to see everything from a Divine perspective.
You and only you get to give meaning or an interpretation to the experiences you have. What someone else thinks or believes about your experiences or about you doesn't matter at all. All that matters is what you think or believe about yourself or your experiences.
And, yes, you get to choose how to "see" the things that happen in your life. Coming to know that I get to choose how I interpret the events in my life is the most important thing I have learned. Because of this understanding I have created a great deal of peace, joy and empowerment in my life.
So, I will now share with you a number of of these phrases, thoughts and interpretations that I have used over the years. As well, I will offer some commentary as to what they mean to me and how I use them.
This is Part IV of a ten part blog.
This is Part III of a ten part blog.
So, let's begin with the following questions:
What creates your reality?
What creates your experiences?
Who or what gives them meaning?
You and only you do!
If you resolve to have a different reality, you will experience a different reality.
So, how do you resolve to have a different reality?
You do so by observing the thoughts and interpretations you have about yourself and about your experiences and then you consciously and intentionally choose thoughts and interpretations that place everything in the best light. You seek to see the Highest Good in every situation. You seek to see yourself and the events in your life from God/Goddesses' perspective.
As well, you very carefully and very honestly observe what your beliefs about the Universe are and what you expect from it. And if any of it is anything less than what you would ideally want, you change it.
In other words, get quiet for a minute or so now and ask yourself: Is the Universe a friendly and supportive place; or is it a neutral one; or is it "out to get me?" What do you really believe?
This is really worth taking a few minutes to sit quietly with and meditate on. It can and will make a world of a difference for you if you honestly and lovingly look at it. So, please do so before reading on.
Your underlying core belief about what kind of a Universe you live in has a huge impact on what you experience in your life. Usually this is an area that is unexamined by most people. But I can assure you that it is extremely important to look at.
This is Part III of a ten part blog.
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This is Part II of a ten part blog.
Our ego mind is meant to be the servant of our Soul and not the other way around. Our Soul is meant to be in the driver's seat of our lives for it sees the whole picture and understand the context and purpose for all that we experience in our lives. We are meant to live a life filled with inspiration and revelation and not one that is filled with perspiration and frustration.
So, learning how to get out of your head/mind and instead live from your heart and Soul can be a challenge. But I have found that living an authentic and empowered life can never be achieved if I solely identify myself with my ego and with the "things" in my life. I must instead come to know my Self, that is my Higher Self, and then live an empowered and passionate life that springs forth from the depths of my Soul and heart and is filled with life-sustaining, creative, vibrant energies.
There is a great depth and breadth to this "gift of life" that we have all been given and it is only through mastering our minds and opening our hearts that we can access a fulfilled, authentic and empowered life.
So, what follows are a series of techniques with which I have learned to master my mind. By learning to master my mind I have begun to live my life as an empowered person and not as a victim. I trust that you will find these techniques and the reflections about them of value to you on your path up the mountain of your own Self-Mastery.
This is Part II of a ten part blog.
This is Part I of a ten part blog.
In this series of ten blog posts beginning today, I will explore the concept that "we shape and create our reality and experiences by the thoughts we focus on." As well, I will give advice on how to master the thoughts that we have and thus create the life we want.
Usually we are quite unaware of the predominant thoughts we have. As well, we usually are unaware of the worldview and general belief systems we have.
Most people, without questioning, just follow the dominant thought patterns and worldview of their culture, country or family. There is little reflection about the beliefs that they hold or the way that they look at themselves and others.
Their worldview has been passed down for generations or it is a mish-mash of corporate- fed faux journalism that is often very disconnected from reality and is really just selling advertising. Unfortunately, most people just follow along, never questioning the dominant cultural beliefs, their lives, their own beliefs or themselves.
But as Socrates once said: "The life unexamined is not worth living."
It is a struggle and challenge to rise above the lowest common denominator thinking that is so dominant in our culture. As well, it is not easy to understand that our thoughts affect our reality; and that how our ego or "little self" interprets the events in our lives is never how our Soul does.
This is Part I of a ten part blog.
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This is Part IV of a four part blog.
In reality there is no ego. It is an illusion. There is nothing to get through, accomplish, destroy or strive for. There is only SELF. And SELF is God/Goddess.
The only issue is the state of mind we believe to be true and base our lives on. Which do we choose to be: self-absorbed or SELF absorbed? Do we seek the God/Goddess within or do we look without and try to control and manipulate.
As Neale Donald Walsch wrote, “If you don’t go within, you go without.”
If we could release all of our false, limiting beliefs to this state of Beingness or Silence, the Silence would embrace, transmute and dissolve them all. For in this Silence the ego mind is quiet and it is there in that Silence where we can eavesdrop on God/Goddess. It is there that we can finally hear our Selves, listen to our Selves and become our Selves.
Here the superb essence of SELF and its infinite attributes, qualities and potentials are revealed. So ultimately knowing yourself as SELF is the goal. It is the end of all seeking, sorrow, struggle, and suffering; and in “knowing” your SELF you gain real SELF confidence.
“So seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all will be given unto you.” Are you seeking the treasures you can store in heaven or are you seeking transient and ephemeral trinkets and experiences?
For my self, I have found that it is all an “inside job!”
This is Part IV of a four part blog.
This is Part III of a four part blog.
The miraculous benefit of coming to “know” this state of Beingness is experiencing the power of an incredible ease, freedom and real sense of Connection with All That Is. This ease and sense of Connection can and does transmute the “issues” that we resist, deny, and project onto others and that somehow manage to persist no matter how much we “look at” them and “understand” their origins.
After all is said and done, giving up on the notion of trying to “fix” or change ourselves, another, or a situation is the key to this whole new way of Being. This is the surrender necessary to enter your own “knowingness” of perfection. Once you “know” this state of well being as reality then everything not of it can be accepted, embraced, blessed and transmuted.
If we examine ourselves honestly, we will see that we are living in a state of constant striving. Ego, in one word, describes this state. The Buddha identified this state as the root cause of all our suffering.
Ego or our “little self,” has chosen itself as the master of our lives and has decided that its job is to enforce this striving, controlling opinion of reality. There will be no deviation as far as it is concerned. But what it doesn’t get is that it is meant to be the servant of the Soul and not the master. That is why anyone have any experience of the real SELF is an extraordinary occurrence.
This is Part III of a four part blog.
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This is Part II of a four part blog.
This third state, Beingness, is a state of well being that is, has always been, and always will be. It is a feminine state of openness and receptivity. It listens to its Self first and then acts out of inspiration. Its opposite is the first state of consciousness which is always calculating with a heartless mind and is always trying to “control” people and events. This state of consciousness sees everything and everyone as “objects” to manipulate.
As well, this third state of Beingness is not caused by any particular action on our part and is present everywhere and in every human being. It is our inherent nature. In the past this state was was only attained by saints and masters and everyone else was at a loss. But Beingness is our natural state, the birthright of each and every one of us. It is in our blueprint, our DNA. We can no longer deny or ignore it.
For millennia we have believed that it is our purpose to labor, attain, and then preserve our external accomplishments. We have been promised that this mode of behavior would give us a sense of security and well being. But the results of this belief system have manifested in a soul less life of solving one problem after another in the pursuit of happiness but with no end in sight and with little happiness to show for it.
As Albert Camus reminded us in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus, modern man’s plight is much like the story of Sisyphus who eternally found him self rolling a big boulder up a hill only to have it roll down again so that he would have to go down the hill and roll it up again. There was not much happiness or sense of purpose to Sisyphus’s life as is the case for so many modern people.
This is Part II of a four part blog.
This is Part I of a four part Blog.
Have you ever just wanted to be your Self? I’m sure you have. But who is this Self that you want to be?
I hope this series of blog posts will help to bring some clarity to you about what this elusive being named the SELF (Higher Self) really is. And in doing so help you to “be” and “find” your SELF.
This is an amazing time in history. On the one hand, there are wars and rumors of even more wars. There are famines and starvation. There are leaders whose consciousness is extremely self-centered and delusional. There is a world-wide economic system based on greed and hoarding that is collapsing.
Yet on the other hand, a whole new paradigm of consciousness is emerging in people who are opening to the Wisdom and Love within themselves and are seeking for answers from within and no longer just looking with out!
Both of these were based on a sense of separation, of otherness and of duality.
This is Part I of a four part blog.
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This is part IV of a four part blog.
I have come to realize that as I have integrated and released many belief systems that I have come to feel so much freer and so much more empowered and authentic than I ever imagined. I have come in this process to really understand what it means to “be true to myself.” And learned that, “if I follow any one other than myself, I surely will get lost!”
The truth is that everything that is represented as what God said—every word of it—has been brought to us by men/women. Now maybe they were good men/women, well-intentioned people, but they were just human beings like you and I are who were filled with strengths and wisdom, but also with the contradictions and foibles that you and I have. They just made huge claims and they spread.
Until you can stand up to the authority of those who claim they have “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” and instead live according to the God/Goddess truth within your own heart, you’re not following your Self. You are following someone else. Period! And that will get you nowhere! Actually, it can only get you eternally and infernally lost!
You are the creator and the authority of the meaning and the purpose of your life. No one else is or can ever be! Claim it!
This is Part IV of a four part blog.
This is part III of a four part blog.
When we reach this point in our personal evolution events in our lives truly have meaning because it is a meaning that comes from within us and not from an external source. We are connected to the power and essence of our Source. We no longer need to go outside of ourselves for answers or validation. It is a wonderful stage in our growth. Our only reference point is within. We now have learned to live our lives from the “inside out.”
The whole point of this is not to get identified with the system of growth you are using presently because it is temporary. Know that at some point you will graduate from needing it and/or it may take on a form very different from what you thought it was.
Please note that I myself am presently writing this piece using a belief system of some kind, but I know it won’t last. Actually, I hope it doesn’t last very long at all.
I am climbing my mountain of mastery and mystery and each turn brings me to a new vista—a new horizon—a new perspective. One that builds to some degree on the previous one, but ultimately it is one that is now very different from the previous one; and it does not allow me to “go back” any more. Once through the “rabbit’s hole”, you are in a totally new dimension—an entirely new reality—and there is nowhere else to go, but deeper.
So, what is important to understand here is that whatever system you are using is bringing you closer and closer to who you really are and to finding your own personal meaning and purpose for your life; and that you are gaining more personal power every step of the way.
This is Part III of a four part blog.
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This is Part II of a four part blog.
In the beginning of our search for meaning and purpose we need structure—a system for healing and growth. It is a natural part of our evolution. We can not take our initial baby steps of growth without structure. We need a common system just to communicate the concepts. But whatever the system, there is a tendency to turn the system into a set of rigid beliefs that “know it all,” so to speak. And these beliefs then validate all those who believe in them. This is when we get stuck. This is when our growth gets stunted.
Each belief we subscribe to is meant to be a stepping stone to the next. It is not meant to be a permanent landing place. Life is an evolutionary process, not a stagnant one, so is it the case with truth. We are meant to take a belief—digest it a bit, integrate it and then make it our own; that is, take the best it has to offer us and then release the rest. Then we move on and integrate a new one and so on up the line.
So, what I am saying here is that it is necessary to transcend our belief systems one by one. And then at some point we come to a place where we release all beliefs and we live our lives from pure intention simply connected to that which comes to us from our Higher Self. Thus it is no longer our beliefs or those of others that create meaning and purpose in our lives, but it is our connection with our God Self that does. We now live a life that is true to itself.
This is Part II of a four part blog.
This is Part I of a four part blog.
If you follow any one other than your Self, you will surely get lost!
Yanni Maniates
A belief is a thought that you repeat over and over again. Eventually you no longer question its origin or veracity. As well, in time some beliefs become “belief systems” that large numbers of people swear by and no longer question.
What of your beliefs have you consciously examined and explored to determine if they are really “true” for you or not?
Eventually there will come a time in your internal growth process when you will realize that you need to drop your “belief systems” completely—yes, all of them—and I do mean completely! Our Higher Self or our God Self does not adhere to a belief system or to a set of doctrines. It’s only reference point is the God/Goddess within. It’s only authority comes from within.
In order to fully develop our potential we must free ourselves of our existing beliefs. For it only then when we can hear and listen to our inner guidance and be lead by that which is for our Highest Good.
As Krishnamurti wrote: “Stop believing in anything and you may find that which is truth itself.”
This is Part I of a four part blog.