How to Break an Emotional Habit

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At New Year’s time, we often decide to break old physical habits that don’t serve us anymore. We may resolve to eat more healthfully, exercise more, or stop smoking. With the holidays coming up soon, perhaps now is a good time to think about addressing your negative emotional habits — those chronic, habitual, almost reflex-like ways of thinking and feeling that cause suffering for you. When you visit with family and friends, emotional habits are sure to become activated. Why not prepare in advance?

The truth is, emotional habits are even harder to break than physical ones. They have likely been with us since childhood. As a result, we don’t even notice them anymore. Typical examples include tendencies to react to social interactions with feelings of hurt, resentment, guilt, anger, abandonment, anxiety, or irritation. Usually we think these habitual reactions are warranted, and we certainly justify them to ourselves that way. But as Byron Katie suggests we ask ourselves, “Is that true? Is that really true?”

Even if our beliefs about a social situation are true, do we really need to react in the same old habitual way? After all, our negative emotional habits have toxic effects on our own bodies and also serve to perpetuate tired old social patterns of interaction from the past.

For example, suppose that you have a feeling of jealousy whenever you are around a sibling. As a result, whenever you hear that something good has happened to them or you hear a parent praise them, you react with a feeling of jealousy, abandonment, and self-loathing. In reaction, you slink away into the next room and grit your teeth.

What if, instead, you first said to yourself, “There I go again!” or as Henry Grayson recommends in his book Your Power to Heal, quietly say to yourself, “There is one of those enemy thoughts that is just here to make me suffer!” What if you then said to yourself, “I love myself just the way I am” or “All is well” — and you really tried to believe it? Finally, what if you forced yourself to stay in the room, put a smile on your face, and say with genuine feeling, “That’s really great! I’m happy for you!” You never know how people might react.

The bottom line is, habitual emotional reactions are just that — habits. That means they can be broken. The first step is to notice them. That alone goes a very long way. I myself have always had a tendency to be a worrier. I now can laugh at myself (with kindness and compassion) when a “worry” thought pops into my head, and I also say to myself, “There I go again!” This goes a long way towards dissipating my worry.

The next step is to introduce a new thought or feeling to replace the chronic one. Warning: this won’t feel comfortable or natural! A part of you will argue and try to keep you from doing it. Emotional habits hate to be broken and will fight you tooth and nail. It may feel awkward at first, but just do it. It helps to say the new positive thought or feeling out loud, even if it feels artificial at first. Nevertheless, you’ll likely feel a difference within.

Finally, it’s helpful to perform a physical action to reinforce your new replacement feeling. Say something positive out loud. Do something that reinforces or derives from the new intended feeling.

In summary: notice, replace, reinforce. And repeat! With some effort and enough repetition, you can break your negative emotional habits. As I discuss in my book Active Consciousness and will stress even more in the book I am currently writing, your thoughts and emotions help to create your reality. As a result, you may find that your new emotional habits change your life for the better!

 

As More Research Supporting Homeopathy Pours In, Efforts to Eliminate It Double Down

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Almost every week I find out about new research supporting the efficacy of homeopathic remedies. It ranges from focused clinical studies, to broader studies that focus on overall patient wellness and satisfaction, to laboratory studies on animals, to basic research studies that prove that homeopathic dilutions are not merely “plain old water.” At the same time, the attacks on homeopathy have escalated.

After the mid 1900s, when the heyday of homeopathy came to an end, homeopaths and homeopathic remedies were, at first, largely ignored by the mainstream and relegated to a small group of followers and the pharmacies that supported them. In the late 1900s, homeopaths and remedies began to be derided as bunk by a group of paid “skeptics”. Small studies were ignored or downplayed. Nevertheless, the use of homeopathic remedies grew and homeopathy became more popular, as other forms of alternative medicine also began to gain ground, especially after the 1970s.

Earnest homeopaths and researchers started to do more studies. Clinical evidence began pouring in. Meta-analyses began to show that the effects of remedies were definitely not due to the placebo effect. (By the way, as I discuss in my book Impossible Cure, the whole idea of a placebo-controlled study was devised by homeopaths.) Animal studies also proved that the remedies were not acting via a placebo-effect.

Then, famous and otherwise-traditional medical researchers, like Jacques Benveniste and Luc Montagnier (who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for the discovery of HIV) started investigating the efficacy of ultra-dilutions prepared using methods essentially equivalent to homeopathic potentization. Despite the reputation of these doctors, their research was blocked and defunded. Montagnier moved his lab to China. More clinical studies poured in. A fraudulent meta-analysis by Chang, et.al was then concocted to undermine previous meta-analyses and was widely publicized (unlike the others) and declared the “nail in the coffin” for homeopathy. Numerous articles outlining methodological problems with this study (including an entire issue of a journal) were ignored.

Recently, an Australian report was coordinated to study past homeopathic research, but it was abandoned and buried when it found results that were positive for homeopathy. A new report was then created that yielded the “desired” result (by omitting research that was positive for homeopathy — the same tactic used by the Chang study). This newer report was soon widely touted by world-wide media as another “nail in the coffin” for homeopathy, and has even been used as an excuse for more attacks. The movie Just One Drop focused on this duplicity. And more basic and clinical research keeps pouring in.

Now the efforts to suppress homeopathy have doubled down. In the old days, the practitioners of homeopathy were largely the targets. The AMA banned members from practicing or consorting with homeopaths (one of the reasons the organization was formed). Homeopathic medical schools were shut down in the early 1900s or converted into allopathic medical schools. Unlicensed homeopaths of the late 1900s were prosecuted for “practicing medicine without a license.” Today, with the health-freedom movement in full swing and naturopathic physicians (who use some remedies) getting licensure, this strategy is no longer working. Big Pharma and its skeptic henchmen have now decided to attack the remedies themselves. No remedies, no homeopathy.

At first, the skeptics tried to assert that remedies were just sugar pills or plain old water. Then they tried to say that homeopathy was dangerous because people who used it weren’t seeking “proper medical treatment”. When this strategy failed, homeopathic “sugar pills” suddenly became dangerous drugs! Oblivious to the inconsistency behind this sudden change in tactic, the media (which even mainstream politicians acknowledge is bought-and-sold by Big Pharma) has been fed horror stories about “poisonous substances” in homeopathic baby teething tablets! Of course, these dire warnings ignore the fact that the “poison” has been diluted beyond any possible toxicity, even if a baby was given 1000 tablets. Nor were there any reports of harm. It’s all too ironic, given the fact that pharmaceutical drugs are killing people every day.

Enter the latest strategy. Why not make homeopathic remedies…. illegal?

The legislation that formed the FDA in 1938 was written by Senator Royal Copeland, who was not only an MD but a homeopath. Because of this, he enshrined and protected the homeopathic pharmacopeia as part of that legislation. Oops! Time to change that! That’s what is currently happening. A little bit at a time, access to homeopathic remedies is being whittled down by the FDA. Say goodbye to your access at the local health food store. At first it will be only some remedies. Then more. Soon, many remedies may only be available by prescription. Given that there are very few medically-licensed people who would be willing to prescribe them (and most of whom know little about homeopathy), that won’t be very helpful. Time to stock up and build your own pharmacy folks! Luckily, remedies tend to last indefinitely…

So that’s the state of things. What’s next? Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people are studying homeopathy these days, given the embattlement of practitioners and their remedies. Many schools in the US have shut down over the past 10 years. In the UK, the homeopathic hospitals are being shuttered and treatment defunded by the National Health Service. Luckily, things continue unabated in India where homeopathy thrives. More studies continue to pour in, especially from the rest of Europe and India.

I believe that no matter what happens, homeopathy will definitely not die. Instead, it may go underground or dormant for a bit and then spring up in full bloom, like a plant in the desert. It always has! This will be made more likely by the increasing unsustainability of conventional medicine. When people cannot be helped or cannot afford to get help (or are afraid to get help) from conventional doctors, they will turn to other modalities like homeopathy. When an epidemic arises and homeopathy provides the only cure, people will flock, just like they did in the 1800s.

Another scenario, of course, is that Big Pharma will co-opt homeopathy. The science of ultradilutions will yield such incontrovertible evidence that it will not be able to be ignored. Big Pharma will fight this tooth and nail — because ultradilutions inherently cost next to nothing — but they may find a way to charge big bucks for remedies. Who knows? In the meantime, hunker down folks and keep the faith!

In next month’s newsletter, I’ll provide links to some interesting new studies. That’s what I intended to do this month, but I got a bit carried away!

 

Are Relationships Forever?

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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of relationship. Over the past few years, some long term friendships ended for me, and truthfully, in each case, it came as a relief. However, mixed with relief came a lot of other feelings — especially guilt and sadness. I felt like I had failed in some way. In some cases, these feelings have lingered for years.

I’d like to think of myself as a loyal friend. I tend to go out of my way to “be nice”, and as a result, I sometimes put off confrontation and don’t assert my own needs and feelings right away. For me, this is mostly true of my relationships with women. We women are socialized to be “nice”. We are supposed to be understanding, supposed to be supportive. But sometimes there comes a time when there simply has to be a parting of the ways. Things have just become too difficult, too strange, too toxic.

So what is really going on beneath the surface of friendship and relationship on an energetic level?

I believe that when we meet a new friend or lover, the vibrations of our energy bodies literally “synch up.” We feel this emotionally as a kind of commonality or familiarity. Indeed, the word “familiar” literally means a feeling of “family.” Of course, in the case of our actual families, we live or have lived together, share genetic material, even sleep with each other. This automatically guarantees an intrinsic “synch” between our vibrational energy bodies (to learn more about these bodies, read Active Consciousness). Indeed, perhaps the very notion of a “best friend forever” comes from a yearning to recreate family bonds, especially our bonds with our parents. Perhaps the yearning for a friend of this kind becomes especially strong if our relationship with our parents was less than ideal. Unfortunately, projecting parental need onto a friend can also be a recipe for disaster.

In the early days of a relationship, our sense of “synching” up with someone might simply be a projection — we believe something about the other person that may not actually be true. We are synching with an idea, not with the person.

With time, however, the truth of who another person is energetically will be palpably felt by us. That’s because we are energy beings too. If a relationship is just not meant to be, we’ll experience an internal sense of grating discomfort of some kind. If, on the other hand, things are going well, things deepen and synch up even more.

Over time, of course, people change. If the result of these changes causes two people not to “mesh” anymore, one or both of them will begin to feel it. They might stick with things out of habit, “old times sake”, loyalty, or responsibility. But they will know or at least feel that things just aren’t the same.

Of course, sometimes that’s okay. We might occasionally see a friend we have nothing in common with anymore — indeed, that kind of friendship has its own rewards. But if the disconnect with an old friend is energetically palpable, we will also realize that we don’t really want to spend extended periods of time with them. In fact, if we want to maintain a friendship with them, we know that we shouldn’t do so, for the sake of the friendship.

Family, of course, has its own issues. If we’ve really shared a lot of time with someone, that relationship can also take on the quality of family. In such cases, past history and even genetics creates energetic links and “synching” that will remain with us. Even if we’re not “feeling it” with a family member anymore, we may choose to remain connected out of responsibility or the comfort of a familiar face. Or we might sense that doing so is part of our spiritual and evolutionary growth.

In other cases, however, we just know that our true path is to leave that grating energetic sensation with a person behind and move on. When that time comes, perhaps it is best to do so without self-recrimination.

Ending a relationship is never easy. Sometimes, life simply takes care of the problem for us — when the other person decides to move away geographically. Other times, however, maybe it’s best to acknowledge that the purpose of a relationship has now run its course. Hopefully, both parties will agree to move forward and wish each other well as each person continues on with their life journey.

 

Preparing for This Year’s Flu

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The yearly hype about the flu shot has begun, so it’s time to consider your response. First and foremost — assume that you won’t get sick! In fact, I hesitated to use the above title and corresponding image for this article because it may just serve to prime your belief that you’ll get the flu. All the hype about the flu each year serves as a “no-cebo” that has the opposite effect of a “pla-cebo” — that is, it instills a belief in you — and thus your body — to become susceptible to the flu.

Here is one thing you can do in response to any no-cebo. Say the words: I am an infinite being and I am not subject to that. This does not apply to me. I hereby cancel and refuse it.

Next, know that taking a flu shot is marginally helpful (already, reports are stating that it will prove to be only 20% effective this year) and potentially harmful. Be aware that almost all flu shots (and definitely those you get at a place like a pharmacy or grocery store where they vaccinate lots of people) include a dose of mercury and/or aluminum in them. Some health writers believe that the flu shots given regularly to the elderly (despite the fact that they have been shown to be less effective for infants and the elderly) are contributing to the increase in Alzheimer’s disease.

On an immunological level, a flu shot merely primes your immune system to focus itself on a particular flu antigen or antigens. If you become susceptible to a different flu, you will get no protection and will likely become even sicker than you normally would, because your general immune response has been weakened by this erroneous focus. Indeed, getting a flu shot every year perpetuates and deepens this general immunological weakening.

So what to do?

First, be as healthy as you can be so that you are not susceptible to disease. Eat well, get rest, exercise, get sun, drink water, and perhaps add in a few supplements like Vitamins C and D3. Get a “homeopathic checkup” with your practitioner and take a suitable constitutional remedy if necessary.

Next, build up your knowledge and remedy kit to be prepared, just in case. I have written before about common flu remedies. Some practitioners also advise taking the remedy Influenzinum preemptively, made from the year’s flu shot. Personally, I have never done this. Another useful remedy to have on hand is Oscillococcinum, which studies have shown to be effective at nipping a flu in the bud if it is taken at the first sign of symptoms. This remedy is made from duck liver, and ducks are known vectors for the transmission of the flu.

Finally, it pays to be aware of the developing genus epidemicus for the year — that is, the set of particular symptom pictures emerging and the corresponding remedies that are proving effective (read Impossible Cure  to understand more about this methodology). One homeopath who performs this service admirably is Paul Herscu ND. You can keep tabs on his thinking for this year’s flu at his website. For this year, so far, he is suggesting keeping in mind Nux Vomica (a very common flu remedy and one that has benefited me personally many times in acutes) and Phosphoric Acid, especially in cases of extreme fatigue (a less commonly-used alternative to the standard flu remedy associated with deep fatigue, Gelsemium). For young children, he is finding that their chronic remedy is most helpful, as well as Chamomilla for fussiness and clinginess.

Bottom line: prepare yourself with flu remedies and knowledge, engage in healthful practices, and assume that you won’t get the flu!

 

Where Can You Find Meaning?

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One of the books on my summer reading list this year is Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. Reading about the experiences of a concentration camp survivor might be considered rather harsh summer fare, but I have repeatedly heard people talk about the inspirational power of this book. I agree — and I recommend it to you as well.

Frankl’s perspective is that of a psychiatrist who experienced the horrors of both Auschwitz and Dachau. Rather than focusing on the details of those horrors, however, he concentrates more on the psychological effect they had on the inmates. I’d like to share one particular passage with you that has given me food for thought:

“An active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realize values in creative work, while a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfillment in experiencing beauty, art, or nature. But there is also purpose in life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment … namely, in man’s attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. A creative life and a life of enjoyment are banned to him. But not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails … gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life.”

For most of us, our sense of meaning is wrapped up in either creation or enjoyment. Are we making something, building up a business, raising children, creating a beautiful home, working for political or social causes? In the West, a focus on creation is given the highest emphasis and esteem.

Or, alternatively, are we focused more on enjoying art, music, entertainment, food, and our leisure time? For most people, enjoyment is seen as a side pursuit or enviable luxury. Indeed, when life becomes limited simply to the pursuit of enjoyment, many people begin to feel an inner sense of meaninglessness. I must admit that I am prone to this! In fact, it was important for me to hear Frankl’s view that the pursuit of enjoyment, in itself, can provide worthwhile meaning to life.

Even deeper, however, is the realization that life’s inevitable sufferings, be they disease or loss or hurt feelings, can provide an avenue for meaning. We don’t need to experience a concentration camp to be provided the meaning-inducing power of life’s sufferings. But knowing that meaning can be found even in such an environment — one devoid of the possibility of creation or the pursuit of enjoyment — is quite profound. As Frankl describes, even as all trappings of their former existence disappeared to be replaced by unending degradation, starvation, and brutality, some people experienced inner growth and a deepening of their inner spiritual life. This is so heartening to hear. Not all people were reduced to a brutal consciousness.

Returning to a much more mundane subject, I recently attended my 45th high school reunion. It was fun and joyful to talk to some old friends and acquaintances and even people I didn’t know (I was in a high school class of 1000 — one couldn’t know them all!), but inevitably, memories of rejection by peers and losses I experienced in high school also came up for me. In fact, the reunion left me feeling somewhat morose for a couple of days. However, upon reflection, I realized that the rejections and losses of my youth comprised the very impetus that steered me toward creating a new self, a new sense of being that had nothing to do with high school or my family or my hometown. My teenage sufferings ended up liberating me to become the person I am today.

I am grateful that, most likely, none of you reading this article will ever experience the horrors of Frankl’s life in a concentration camp. But however major or minor your life’s sufferings may be, each of us has a choice about how we respond to them. Do we ultimately find some kind of growth or courage or inner awareness as a result?

How you use your life’s experiences is up to you. You may create, you may enjoy, and you may grow — even through suffering. It is all of these choices that can give your life meaning.

Think HOMEOPATHY! — for Summertime Woes and Back to School

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Summertime is waning and school days are nearly here. Remember that homeopathy can come to the rescue for all of those summer bumps, bruises, and stings. And when you’re sending your kids off to school, don’t forget to send remedies too! I’ve always bought or created a kit for my children when they went to camp, traveled, went to university, or set up their new home as adults.

Here are some useful ideas:

Homeopathic Creams

My own own homeopath, Deborah Olenev, sells a suite of very useful and effective homeopathic first-aid creams. Recently, I have been using one of her creams for a coccyx injury. Be aware that, just like any remedy, these creams shouldn’t be used repeatedly like some kind of salve. Apply, wait a few days to see the response, and if effective, apply only as needed (that is, only when the symptom returns or starts getting worse again).

At her homeopathic creams site, firstaidcreams.com, Olenev provides a lot of useful and educational information. This includes a comprehensive article about the uses of each cream, repertorizing charts, and tips about the use of creams for certain needs (e.g., for children and for numerous common complaints). In fact, I’ve learned a lot from reading her articles!

Useful Articles from Washington Homeopathics and Homeopathic Educational Services

I get the monthly newsletters from Washington Homeopathic Products and Homeopathic Educational Services and find them to be loaded with handy information. In addition to product information, they include articles or pointers to articles about the uses of remedies, new research results about the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies, information about homeopathic practice and philosophy, and timely alerts about supporting your access to homeopathy.

The Homeopathic Educational Services site includes a blog, videos, and much more. You can see the latest Washington Homeopathics newsletter at this link. The August issue includes articles about the most important travel/vacation remedies to pack, and research projects in Belgium and Italy that followed the progress of hundreds of patients who used homeopathy (successfully!) for serious medical conditions.

Buy Kits for Yourself and Loved Ones!

I love my homeopathy kits. You can get them from many suppliers, but my own personal favorites are from Helios, Washington Homeopathic Products, and Natural Health Supply.

Don’t forget — when you or a family members has some kind of health issue, consider turning to homeopathy first, not last. More often than not, you’ll save a lot of time, money, aggravation, and get well quicker too!

 

Act Now! Before It’s Too Late

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How often have you heard an advertisement that warns you to “Act Now! Before It’s Too Late”? Of course, most of the time, this kind of thing is simply a form of psychological manipulation. But there really are some things that have an expiration date.

I’m 62 and my husband Steve is 65. That means we know a lot of people in their 60s, 70s, and older. One thing we’ve consistently noticed is that as people age, they tend to become “more” of whatever they’ve always tended to be — especially those negative or childish traits. For a example, if a person has always tended to be selfish, they will likely become more selfish. If they have a tendency to be paranoid or angry, they will likely become moreso. You get the idea.

Why is this true?

The model of the complete human being described in Huna (a system of teaching based on ancient Hawaiian shamanism) provides clues to the answer. Our “Basic Self” is the part of us that is our primary driver until about age 8. It’s our impressionable emotional self, how we really feel deep inside. You might call it the subconscious, but it’s more than that. It’s the seat of our memories, the source of most psychic abilities, and a primary controller of our energetic etheric body and by extension, the physical body. It’s likely the same as the Astral Body discussed in my book Active Consciousness. Like the Middle and High Selves, our Basic Self continues on after we die.

After about age 8, however, our Middle Self starts to run the show and becomes the “boss” of our Basic Self. It’s the locus of our rational mind, the part of us that makes us finish our work even if the Basic Self feels lazy or resentful. It’s our Middle Self that goads us on to fulfill our responsibilities and often stops us from saying or acting upon how we really feel.

But something happens as we begin to age. Not only do our bodies and minds begin to weaken, but we also tend to experience a weakening of the control that the Middle Self can exert upon the Basic Self. Sometimes that’s good! We may finally act upon things we’ve always felt or desired. But sometimes it’s not so great. Without the full force of rational judgement or, perhaps, due to diminished physical senses, we may become too angry or depressed or paranoid or prideful.

Unfortunately, by this point, it may be too late to do anything about it. If you’ve never done any inner work by the time you are 70, it is unlikely that you will have the strength of mind and will to do so. That’s because it’s hard to truly confront and work on the childhood experiences that formed you. But if you do earnestly embark on this path, you will likely make at least some progress in evolving your Basic Self so that it becomes inherently wiser, more compassionate, more courageous, and more peaceful.

Of course, aging usually happens gradually. So even if you have done some inner work, you likely won’t notice that you’re becoming a bit more greedy or suspicious or angry or anxious. Even those around you may not notice this is happening until it actually becomes troublesome.

But be forewarned, this will occur. After all, as the body becomes weaker and senses begin to fail, it’s natural to revert to the habitual coping mechanisms developed and relied upon since childhood. Those most ingrained parts of us remain the longest.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any easy solutions either. There is no “spiritual bypass” for most of us (or arguably, for any of us). You can’t just jump to enlightenment and reach nirvana, eject your Basic Self and Middle Self, and become unified with your High Self and merge with All That Is. Sorry! You’re here on Earth to do the hard work. That’s why we reincarnate — to help move us along, one lifetime at a time.

So my message to you today is: Act Now! Before It’s Too Late! If you’d like to have a gracious and wise elderhood, develop your awareness skills while you are younger! Develop a meditation practice. Engage with work like the Sedona Method or Byron Katie’s teachings or those of many other teachers.

Perhaps it’s never too late to make progress. But just as those who’ve spent their lives physically active usually age better physically, it’s also a good idea to exercise your awareness muscles while they’re still in top form.

 

Odds and Ends — Stuff to Watch and Read (about autism and/or homeopathy)

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Stuff to watch on YouTube:

Great video of a New Jersey autism-prevalence research official discussing the recent federal statistics, including information about:
a) the especially high rate in New Jersey — 3% (1:33) of all children and 1:22 boys;
b) the fact that rate increases are NOT due to increased awareness or diagnostic criteria.

A scene from Just One Drop —
Rachel Roberts discusses the role homeopathy has to play in efforts to contain antibiotic resistant super bugs, and research that demonstrates the clinical benefits of homeopathy.

Stuff to Read:

Evidence of a CDC coverup: link between chicken pox vaccine and rise in shingles incidence.

90% of people in India trust homeopathy : IMRB International study

 

Life Is a Feedback Loop

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Most of us assume that our day-to-day emotional and physical ups and downs are a result of things that “happen to us.” We believe we are at the effect of random events or influences in the outer world or at the mercy of other people. But what if it’s the other way around? What if, by and large, your experience perfectly reflects your inner state — not in order to punish you, but to guide you?

Certainly there are forces in the universe that are much more powerful than the influence of a single individual. In many cases, they are the outer reflection of our collective inner state. For example, the culture or political situation in a region may reflect the collective inner consciousness or subconscious of the people that live there. When a society is attracted to violent media or elects a fascist leader, it is a reflection of its inner fears. The media then sets up a feedback loop which amplifies the situation and gradually infects almost everyone unless they are consciously aware of this process.

But on the smaller scale of our personal life’s events, be aware that many of the things that crop up for you — even supposedly random events — may actually be reflective feedback. Are you suddenly experiencing a string of breakages or accidents? Are you plagued by a variety of ailments and aches and pains? Rather than assume that these events are what’s making you angry and frustrated or fearful, consider that it may be your own inner state that is causing these events. Indeed, as I discuss in Active Consciousness, this is one way in which synchronicity can operate.

However, please note:  I’m not trying to say that every misfortune you experience is “your fault”, but rather, that it may be a useful form of feedback that has  appeared as a learning opportunity. So, rather than fight what’s happening, consider that it could be released through awareness and inner action.

If you’re willing to consider this possibility, why not perform an experiment? The next time the going gets rough, take your mind off the external and go within. First, examine what’s going on for you. At a deeper level than the external events, why might you actually feel angry or irritated or depressed or vulnerable? Are you unhappy at work? Are you having difficulty with a relationship? Your state may even reflect a habitual pattern that goes back to events or traumas in childhood — things that you normally don’t think about or are aware of, but are always alive under the surface.

If you find something that “clicks”, you can now try a new strategy to alter your outer reality. You may decide to leave your job or make a promise to yourself to work on your relationship. You may begin to pursue some deep inner work with a therapist or use methods like Emotional Freedom Technique, the Sedona Method, or hypnotherapy to uncover and release wounds that normally lie below the surface. Indeed, for many people, just believing that your physical woes or outer experiences are a reflection of your suppressed inner state can alleviate the problem. That was the message of revolutionary doctor, John Sarno, MD. When your next headache or backache crops up, simply say out loud — “It’s psychological, not physical!”

I’m currently writing my third book. Much of it will be focused on self-healing through methods like these. But the deeper message is that there are many levels to our being and that when dysfunction arises, the best solution is to address a problem at its root. Thus, if your backache is actually a reflection of suppressed anger at your spouse, all the pills and back-braces in the world won’t eliminate it. You need to address that anger. Similarly, if you are besieged by accidents that reflect inner feelings of insecurity and fear, these events won’t stop until that fear is at least acknowledged and hopefully released in a healthy way.

I’ll leave you with one last tip from visionary American mystic Neville Goddard (1905-1972). According to Goddard, the events of each day reflect the dreams of the subconscious while we sleep. Moreover, these dreams reflect our state of consciousness before we go to sleep. Because of this, he suggests making a special effort before sleep to imagine your ideal goal state of being. When you lie in bed, “pretend”, if necessary, that everything is ideal — your health, your family, your job, etc. This ideal state of being will then permeate your subconscious during sleep, which then will become enacted in your waking life. Why not try it out?

“Sleep conceals the creative act, while the objective world reveals it.” – Neville Goddard