Infinite Possibilities - Lesson One - Thoughts Become Things

All that we are is a result of what we have thought.   - Buddha

What you think creates the life that you have.  For this first lesson I like to use the model and concept originated by Dr. Thurman Fleet of San Antonio, Texas.  Dr. Fleet was the founder of Concept Therapy.  This works out to the same idea as thoughts become things only on a more physiological level.  The actual functioning of the mind.  Now I know what you are "thinking".  If thoughts become things then why am I not a millionaire, or why haven't I met the perfect mate, or why are my children struggling, why am I struggling.  Look at those verbal representations of your thoughts.  See the negative connotations there?I am not a doctor, nor am I a professed self-help speaker or even a talk-type therapist.  I am a student!  And my studies tell me that this "stuff" works.  As Henry Ford once said:  If you think you can't, you're right!

Let's look at the mind as divided between the conscious and sub-conscious.  And yes as an anatomy instructor I realize that it is not that simple, but humor me here and just stick with me for a bit.  The conscious mind is the thinking mind.  This is your free will.  The thoughts that you choose to accept are most definitely the ones that determine your life.  If you determine that life is going to be hard and that you will never get ahead without (fill in the blank) then I can guarantee that is how your life will turn out.  You are a product of your environment and what you have set as your beliefs.

The sub-conscious mind is the conditioned mind.  This is where everything that you have accepted as true from your conscious mind is stored.  There is no free will here.  Whatever you accept at the conscious level gets stored here - good, bad or indifferent.  If you look around you right now you will find that what you see are a reflection of your thoughts up to this point - good, bad or indifferent.

Once the sub-conscious accepts a thought, that idea will continue to express itself without any conscious assistance.  They become habits.  And the way these habits are expressed are through your body's actions.  Those thoughts or ideas that you have consciously chosen and imprinted upon the sub-conscious move your body into actions through the emotions that they create in you.  The actions that are taken determine the results - the things of your life.  To paraphrase Napoleon Hill,  What the mind can perceive, the body can achieve.

Thoughts build ideas, ideas stir emotions, emotions create action, actions are the physical manifestation of the original thought. Tada! Thoughts become things!

To change the result you need to change your thoughts, emotions and actions.  Keep it simple.

So what have you created up till now, what are you creating now and what will you create for your future?

Your Past Thoughts:  Think of at least one example of thoughts you have had about some of the following:

• Friends
• School
• Work
• Relationships
• Money

What happened as a result of your thoughts?

Your Present Thoughts:  Now think about what you currently think about in your life?  Are these thoughts positive or negative, empowering or limiting, loving or fearful.  Be honest with yourself.  Negative thoughts are normal so don't beat yourself up about them.  But take some time and think of some examples for the following:

• Friends - fun, important, trustworthy - loving or fearful
  
• School - hard, easy, helpful, a waste of time - positive or negative
  
• Work - creative, boring, necessary, dread it, love it - empowering or limiting
  
• Relationships - exciting, exhausting, important, stressful - loving or fearful
  
• Money - a blessing, a curse, good, bad, not enough - positive or negative
  

Where are you in life currently based on your thoughts about these things?  Add any more things that are some of the constants in your thoughts currently - the economy, state of the environment, etc.

So what can we do about the negative thoughts that we may have?  AND we ALL have them!  Worrying about anything gives it power.  Do your best to stop them and keep yourself positive.  If you are watching a program on TV and it becomes boring what do you do?  You change the channel!  That is exactly what you need to do with negative thoughts.  Bring back a happy, pleasant or uplifting memory from the past and think about that.  If money is an issue, start thinking about tens, twenties or even fifties in your wallet rather than the thought of running out.  If you job is boring or you think people don't like you; begin to imagine a job where you are excited to get up every morning and people being drawn to you because you are so outgoing and positive.  Tony Robbins calls this a state change.  Change the state of mind you are in and move to a different state.  Will tell you that when my daughters were younger we used this in an even more fun way.  Since they had traveled a bit when they were younger, they got used to "state" change if they were being fussy or arguing as a way to think about a different state they may have traveled to and the fun they had there!  Are you reading this Tony!

One caveat - as Genie says in Aladdin "and ixnay on the wishing for more wishes and you can't make someone love you!"  In other words you can't force or manipulate other people, they have their own thoughts!  But this also means that no one can force or manipulate you also, unless you let them.  You can, however, attract like-minded people to you - that potential mate or business partner, client or customer.  If you are trying to attract someone into your life, don't concentrate on a specific person but rather on the type of person you want, the way you want to feel with them and then allow the best person to be attracted to you based on those thoughts and feelings.

Your Future Thoughts:  So what are some positive, empowering, loving thoughts that you would like to have for the future?  Ignore what is currently happening in your life and write down the thoughts you would have if you life was already fantastic in these areas:

• Friends - I have great friends who understand me and I make more every week
• School - Learning and concentrations is easy for me and everything I have learned up to this point have a place in my life
• Work - I am happy and appreciated at work and I look forward to each and every new day
• Relationships - The right person is in my life and we love an respect each more each year that we are together
• Money - I am a money magnet!  I consistently have new ideas to increase my financial independence

Now is the time to start visualizing the future that you intend to have.  Use your imagination to create the emotions associated with your future.  You can't change the past and your present is already here but you can begin now to change your future.  It depends on what you choose to think and visualize right here and now.  You need to use all of your senses to visualize!  See, feel, taste, hear and smell what success is like for you!  Make it real in your mind.  As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, You will see it when you believe it.

Guidelines for Visualizing (from the Infinite Possibilities Workbook)

1. Just do it once a day - otherwise it is daydreaming
2. Only do it for 5-10 minutes at a time - otherwise it is daydreaming
3. Imagine every possible detail - sites, sounds, colors, smells, etc.
4. Feel the emotions you're after
5. Put yourself in the mental pictures
6. Imagine the end result (do not worry about HOW it will happen).

Get serious - take visualizing as seriously as any of the other daily tasks that you do, plan ahead when and where you will do your visualizing (otherwise it is daydreaming).  And be specific about what you will visualize.  Pick at least 3 of the goals that you now have.  AND always visualize/set goals/create affirmations in the present.  It is not, I WILL have (fill in the blank) but rather I HAVE ________!  Put the emotion with the things you visualize.

Emotion is pure power.  It is the emotion associated with a thing that drives the body to manifest what the mind is creating.  Start practicing visualization today!

Next:  Beliefs

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