What Are You Forgetting?

Last month our theme was...
We learned that, again and again, we should treat our mind with mind candy, knowing we are the ones starting the healing process, in co-creation with the Universe, by going back to our factory settings, especially when faced with chaos or trauma.


This month's theme is...
We bend reality all the time, using our perceptions on life. For example, some people feel unloved. It probably started with some stupid thing and hurtful thing our parents said. And no matter how much we are show or told how wrong we are, this idea continues to bend reality through that dumb learned belief of being unlovable. It became a subconscious habit, a core belief...an inner dialogue etching. We all have similar triggers. Do our perceived “truths” eliminate the Truth?  Or have we just forgotten? 

Faria Sana, psychology professor at Athabasca University wrote:

The information flowing in actually doesn’t stick unless you put effort into it and concentrate and engage in certain strategies that will help you remember.

There is something call the forgetting curve. It is described as the timely decline of memory retention, if no attempt to retain it. It happens within 24 hours. And, after a few days, you usually can only recall one fourth of what you read; a few days after that, you're pretty much a goner, retention-wise.
We must use our brains and minds on purpose, if we want to retain the tools and tenets of this philosophy. We want to do more than learn, we want to transform.

Massive change requires some form of transformation. Professor Emeritus Robert Boyd, a Psychologist, and the Director of the Laboratory of Group Dynamics at Univ of Wisconsin-Madison tells us:

Transformation involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift in consciousness that dramatically and irreversibly alters our way of being in the world

Transformation allows us to irreversibly see the world in a fundamentally different way. It is an expansion and evolution that takes place in our brain and throughout our entire Divine Matrix of heart, mind and gut.

Here's a couple of examples of transformational learning:
     You start a business, it fails, you lose a ton of money, it’s painful, but you look back at what may have gone wrong and learn what to do and what not to do the next time you attempt your next business.

     You may be extremely ambitious at work, stress takes its toll and you fall ill...it’s painful, but once you recover, you make a commitment to take better care of your health.

This type of transformation comes from satori learning . Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, comprehension; understanding.














Another type is a gradual accumulation of experiences that shifts the way we understand how we fit into the world through insight. It is a type of transformation from kensho learning, a Japanese term from the Zen tradition. Ken means "seeing," and shō means "nature, essence;" "seeing one's (true) nature." One is usually chock with painful experiences – satori, the second (evolving over time) is usually more slow in the download – kensho.




So how do you shift from just learning to transforming? Here's a few ways to lock in learning and turn it into transformation:

Critical Reflection Sometimes it is advantageous to assess your fundamental assumptions and beliefs honestly through a critical reflective practice, whether as a voluntary process or taking advantage of some dilemma you just experienced. Through meditation, contemplation, using spiritual mind treatment or affirmative prayer to unlock insights from the Universe on what's going on in that belief system of yours.

Think of a belief that limits how you experience life right now. We all have one or some. We bend reality by thinking these beliefs are 'truth:'  “I’m not smart enough” or “People just don’t respect me.”
Ask yourself, "What was the stacking of ideas, beliefs and learning from childhood to now that makes me arrive at this particular form of identity? Did I create these beliefs based on my own experiences? Or did I inherit them from fathers, mothers, preachers, teachers or the news media?

Once identified, find a specific example how you came to this belief. Maybe recall an embarrassing, shameful, or traumatic moment in which this 'truth' took hold. For example, maybe in elementary or junior high school, you raised your hand in class to ask a question, and everyone laughed at your question. After that, you decided to never risk that kind of exposure again. Now you play it safe and wait before you speak. It has happened to a lot of us. Okay, then picture yourself back in that specific moment, but then imagine yourself finding your voice. Tell those involved how you feel about what just happened or what they said or 'did' to you. Reflect on how different your beliefs about yourself would be if this event never happened. Many times these beliefs stick because we haven't expressed ourselves on purpose about them.

In another situation, you might remind yourself that these beliefs are a product of your experience. Then, you might imagine yourself being raised in a loving and supportive family.  Notice how differently you feel about yourself? Once you choose to reclaim your potential, you cease being a victim of damaging circumstances. Remind yourself, over and over again (re-treat) that “I don’t need to be imprisoned by my past if I choose to free myself from my limiting beliefs.”  You may want to do this kind of shadow work with a professional, but the transformation you will feel and have as you take control and command of these limiting beliefs will be exponential in living your greatest life.

Contemplative Study & Writing Using my talks, other talks, classes, the weekly affirmation cards (see this week's below), and integration of SOM principle like you would in a class with a test. Not to memorize facts and figures, as such, but to comprehend and integrate the information. This will commonly lead, over time, to the accumulation of what is called, changed meaning-schemes. Not schemes, as in something nefarious, but in an conglomeration of ideas from various deep learning experiences that you work on and allow to stick.

Sharing Talk with like-minded friends or start a small group at your home. These gatherings develop new frames of reference, integrating learning into practice. Like a movie or book discussion club, this type of conclave of friends, works the brain to integrate these concepts on a deeper level.

Application Like riding a bike, learning an instrument or new skill, you gotta work this stuff. Through spiritual practice, you work your new or remembered knowledge. It is essential that this not be just an intellectual process, though it may start that way. The application of this information requires it to be worked logically, scientifically, whole-heartedly, spiritually, and holistically - it is a full body experience!

Steven Kotler, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author, wrote:

We need to start moving from a mono-phasic state of existence to a poly-phasic state of existence.

Though we may start there, to effectively transform, we need to go from doing (mono-phasiic) to being (poly-phasic). Mindfulness meditation or other contemplative practices create a lasting transformation. You are more than your experiences! There is an infinite potential of possibility awaiting you. And it matters not your age, gender, height, weight, schooling, culture, etc. Once you learn to see how your beliefs are informing you and do the work of transformation, you are free to bust through, soar...zoom into your greatest life.

Witness your thoughts and recognize the story they are telling you. Don’t confuse them with the truth. You can always rewrite your story. Immersion leads to inspiration, which leads to transformation. See and experience “painful” moments in a different light. Go ahead and allow to experience the initial pain of the experience of change, but quickly then turn that pain or shame, blame, guilt or embarrassment into something that doesn't pull you down, but informs you. It is an indicator you are on the cusp of new growth, a course-correction of the direction of your life. Use to expand and evolve, then life becomes an ever-growing unfolding of new ideas, insights, and awakenings into those Aha moments. I know life can suck sometimes, but using the concepts I talked about last month (see top of blog or previous blogs at this site), you will go from victim to victor. 

Memory must be the storehouse of all ideas that have passed through my mind. Memory is active, for my thoughts come back to me. My thought is conscious of my body; my body is operated upon by my thought, and it must be operated upon by my memory, since memory is active; but since memory is the result of conscious thought, memory of itself is an unconscious operation of what was once a conscious thought. This is one of the most important conclusions which the mind of [humankind] has ever made.   ~Dr. Ernest Holmes

So, don't just learn the Truth, become the Truth! You know, an acorn doesn't learn to be an oak tree, it becomes one and a caterpillar doesn't learn to be a butterfly, it transforms into one.

By changing [their] thought, [one] could re-mold [their] affairs; and by right thinking [one] could bring new conditions into [their] life.  ~Holmes

Next time you experience a painful moment, as we all do in life, ask yourself this:  “What have I learned from this and how can I grow?”  And when you do, you’ll quickly realize that pain is nothing more than the Universe’s way of directing you to take the next step. It is a time you are in that liminal space (see previous blog), at choice. It is a time to choose to remember your heritage, your factory settings and transform your core beliefs.

What are you forgetting? Nothing! It is there in your memory, waiting to come out .... grab it, learn it, absorb it, and transform yourself into constantly and consistently Being It. The power in you is always at the ready to transform your life so you can bust through, soar and zoom into your best self.

Affirmation 
I Am Evolving
I move through the world around me with confidence, kindness, compassion and grace. Today I calmly challenge the status quo of my life, enriching it with thoughts of joyous prosperity and feelings of gratitude.

The Evolution Is In Full Swing
I live in the world I choose, experiencing the abundance I choose; confident my awakened consciousness points True.