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Focus

What Are You Focusing On?

Dec 20th, 2011
by Gary N. Larson.
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I talked earlier about the concept of Threshold, of reaching a boiling point in your life, of hitting rock bottom and realizing you need to change. But after that, then what? Where do you go from there? Many people have reached that point and they say, “I’m going to make a change, I’m going to turn over a new leaf.” But, you know, they go to bed, they get up the next day, and life goes on and nothing really changes. Well, that’s a good point. Where do you go from there?

Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t want

I think many times we focus on the bad habit or behavior that we want to change and that’s where our mind is, that’s where our attention is, that’s where the vision is, the pictures that we have in our mind. Now I’ll go back to the example of the person who overeats. You know they say, “I’ve got to change, I’ve got to go on a diet, I’ve got to quit eating the food.” They put all of their focus on not eating and they are constantly thinking about food, saying things to themselves like; “I can’t eat the chips and salsa. I can’t eat the chocolate cake in the fridge. I’ve got to count calories.” Their whole focus is all on food, and not eating the food. (more…)

The Power of Dominant Thought

Jul 24th, 2011
by Guest.
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dominant thoughtsAuthor: Brian Carson

Wayne Dyer, the famous author, speaker and teacher, likes to say in his writings that what you focus on expands. Nothing could be more profound or truthful.

What you focus on expands should be a rallying cry for all who want and are willing to pay the price to live the life they imagine. We are the sum total of all our thoughts. Our dominant thoughts create the life we have lived up to this point and will create our futures as well. Make no mistake about it.

This is not some New Age hocus-pocus. This principle has been around for centuries. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, that is what he is.” Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius said, “a man’s life is dyed by the color of his thoughts,” and the Buddha commented that, “All that a man is comes from his thoughts.” (more…)

How to Turn Negative Thoughts Into Positive Action

Jun 29th, 2011
by Guest.
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think positiveAuthor – Susan Meyerott

“Worrying does not empty today of its troubles, it empties tomorrow of its strength.” Mary Engelbreit

The Secret Decoded

Do you ever wake up with doubts, anxiety or insecurities? I do. It’s those little whispers in my brain causing my heart to race and my stomach to flutter until I pause to identify ‘what’s up’.

Over the years I’ve learned the secret to befriending these physical messages. I’ve developed a more positive interpretation of the role my brain plays in producing the unsettling messages, and this helps me transition faster from reacting fearfully to taking calm, conscious action. So what’s the secret? (more…)

Five Ways to Become Motivated

Jan 25th, 2011
by Guest.
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motivationAuthor – Dr. Joyce Knudsen

What really motivates us? Making more money, driving in a bigger car, achieving more social standing or prestige? Or are these goals external needs rather than motivations that serve our growth and transformation? What do we really value in our lives?

We all heard, “I have problems motivating myself.” They may have a great house, good kids and a fine career, but, for some reason, they do not feel fulfilled and happy with their life. They want to change it, but can’t or won’t.

This seems to be a common problem for people. We all have plans to be successful in life, but what is lacking is the motivation that keeps us going to convert plans and dreams into action. Usually you feel very excited at the beginning when doing something new for the first time, but after awhile, somehow you feel that you lack passion and motivation. (more…)

We Hear What We Listen For

Aug 7th, 2009
by Gary N. Larson.
1 comment

Alarm ClockGood morning! Today I want to talk about an interesting phenomenon that actually happened this morning. It has to do with your mind’s ability to block out what it’s not interested in and only let in what it is trained to let in.

What brought this up was what happened this morning when my alarm went off. I have to admit that I hit the snooze button and jumped back in bed to sleep for 10 more minutes. I actually set my alarm 10 minutes earlier than when I plan to get up. So I lay back in bed and slept a little longer. When my alarm went off again and when I woke up I noticed that my wife was already out of bed. She wasn’t there. She had already gotten up to go wake the boys so they could do their paper route.

I thought it was interesting that I didn’t hear her alarm at all. We both have alarm clocks. They are very similar. They each have a red digital readout and their alarms sound very similar. It’s that annoying beep beep beep sound that today’s alarm clocks typically make. The sounds of the two alarm clocks aren’t that different really. They aren’t exactly the same but very similar. I thought it was interesting that my mind, my brain, is trained to hear my alarm clock and not hers. Her alarm didn’t wake me up but mine did. I thought it was interesting that I hear mine but I don’t hear hers. How can that be?

It makes you wonder about what else in life we don’t see or hear because of what our minds have been trained to see or hear. There is a story I once heard that helps us understand this phenomenon.

WE HEAR WHAT WE LISTEN FOR

Two men were walking along a crowded sidewalk in a downtown business area. Suddenly one exclaimed: ‘Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket.’ But the other could not hear. He asked his companion how he could detect the sound of a cricket amid the din of people and traffic. The first man, who was a zoologist, had trained himself to listen to the voices of nature. But he didn’t explain. He simply took a coin out of his pocket and dropped it to the sidewalk, whereupon a dozen people began to look about them. ‘We hear,’ he said, ‘what we listen for.’ –Kermit L. Long, taken from ‘The Three Boxes of Life,’ by Richard Bolles

We hear what we listen for. What are our minds trained to hear? What are out eyes trained to see? What are we conscious of and what are we unconscious of? What are we paying attention to and what are we not paying attention to? (more…)

Core Desires – My Mountain Epiphany

Apr 25th, 2009
by Gary N. Larson.
1 comment

Mountain epiphany

Epiphany - I’m not sure of the definition but I think it has to do with an “Ah ha!” moment when you learn something new or understand something for the first time. I feel like I’m having one today.

Right now, as I write this, I’m on top of a mountain, taking a day to be alone to think and to meditate.

A depressing discovery

Let me back up a little. I took some time yesterday to try and come up with a plan for change. As I went through years and years of my files containing goals and lists of changes I wanted to make I became very depressed. I saw a pattern of doing the same thing over and over and never making any real progress. For a brief moment as I sat at my desk at home I just felt like giving up, like it was a losing battle that I’ll never get a handle on. (more…)

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