Tools For Your Mind, Soul and Spirit

by Linda Ann Stewart

Every moment of every day, you are making choices, from the moment of awakening to the time you go to bed at night. Your strongest thought determines what you’ll do at any given time, whether it’s conscious or habitual. In the morning, do you get up when the alarm buzzes or hit the snooze button? Do you cook eggs or oatmeal for breakfast? Which route do you take to work? Every moment is a fork in the road, and you travel one way or the other.

Your attitudes and actions have been created by your past choices that have become automatic over time. As a youngster, you could either accept or reject your caregivers’ assessments of you. One person would believe it when a father accused them of being “worthless,” while another would consider the source and discard the label.

Sometimes, you don’t even realize that you have options. When you were young, other people made decisions for you. Or maybe you accepted the attitudes of those around you to be able to cope in your environment. After you grew up, you lived on autopilot without assessing those old ideas. This resulted in struggling through a life based on those outdated concepts.

There may have been times when you felt that you had no alternatives. That only meant that the other choices would have been harder to live with. A person in an awful job may feel they have to stay in it, no matter what. However, they could always find another job, even if it would be at a lower pay scale. Or even work two jobs to earn an equivalent income. Peace of mind and satisfaction may be worth having less or working more.

You choose what your thoughts are, even when they seem to be reflexive. If negative thoughts arise spontaneously, you can challenge them and change them. George Eliot said, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” If a situation doesn’t end up like you want, you can always change your mind and go in a different direction.

The key lies in recognizing that you were always the one who made a choice. You’ve done so even when you don’t like the outcome or feel stuck. Making no decision is a decision in itself. Going along with what someone else wants is also under your control.

By realizing you’ve always chosen your thoughts, beliefs and actions, even if by default, eliminates the feeling of victimhood and hopelessness. This puts the sense of power back with you, where it belongs.

Be aware that every moment of every day, you’re making choices. If they are made automatically, without thought, then it might be time to evaluate them to see if they’re still valid. By switching from habitual decisions to making intentional ones, you transform from being unaware to being more conscious. When you become aware that there are other options, you can then select a better way.

When you recognize you have choice, even if the alternative doesn’t seem to be of equal benefit, then you open up a wide range of possibilities. It’s the difference between always looking down at your feet and raising your gaze to the horizon. Doing so takes your power back and allows your subconscious to discover better opportunities.

Affirmation

I always choose my thoughts, beliefs and actions. Even when I’m on autopilot, I decided my direction long ago. Now I bring those automatic ideas out of the shadows to assess whether they’re still useful. If I don’t like my current situation, I know that I can make a different choice and improve my life. Realizing that I always have a choice, I reclaim my power and set my subconscious to search for better opportunities.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development, motivation, inspiration

by Linda-Ann Stewart

This week, I was reminded that “We don’t have control of our past or our future. But we do have control of today.” The past is over and done with, and we can’t change it. We can change how we perceive it, and learn from it, but the events are over. And the future is yet to be. So right now is all we really have.

The future is created by the ideas, beliefs and attitudes we have today. If we want to see what our future will hold, just look at our current concepts. Planning for the future is one thing, as long as we work the plan one moment at a time.

Unexpected events could throw off the plan. A loved one dying, a company collapsing, war, these are out of our control. However, we have control over how we respond to what happens.

Viktor Frankel, psychiatrist and World War II concentration camp survivor, said, “The last of human freedoms - the ability to chose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.” We can resist or resent the situation, or we can find a way to learn and grow from it. It’s our choice.

Each moment, we have control over what we think, believe and do. Those moments add up and create the future. As long as we keep our focus on the positive possibilities in the present moment, then the future will take care of itself.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development

In some recent studies, researchers have found the people don’t like to work with others who are selfish. No surprise. But they also don’t like to work with people who are unselfish.

The control group, normal people, judge givers through their own filters and believe the altruistic ones have an ulterior motive. That somehow, the givers are doing so for some gain. Or that they broke the rules of everyone claiming the same reward, even if giving it up benefited the group.

The biggest complaint, however, were the unselfish people made them look bad. Their reputation somehow suffered because of the selflessness.

So it wasn’t so much about the unselfish ones, but was about how it affected the control group. They saw themselves as lacking in generosity, recognized how it made them look, and took it out on the people who were giving. Instead of using it as a model, they rejected the person who could make a true difference.

It’s a lesson that many creative, generous, compassionate people have learned all too well. We have to conform and hide our gifts or people will condemn and spurn us.

So we crater to survive, conform to what the average person does and avoid rocking the boat. Unfortunately, this means we won’t live up to our potential. It just bolsters the attitudes of the average person. We give them our power, and it means that the status quo thrives.

It’s interesting that in a society that teaches unselfishness, that very virtue is reviled. Our society may value it in theory, but in reality, it’s considered a vice. As children, we receive conflicting information about this issue. Is it any wonder that our culture is screwed up?

If we want to change our society, culture, or business, we can’t just cave into the people who are more invested in their egos than they are in progress or prosperity. “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

It takes courage to stand up to them and realize that their discomfort and accusations simply arise out of their own inadequacies. To fulfill our potential, we have to let our light shine and be authentic.

As more and more people have done this, it’s become more accepted and appreciated. The idea of practicing random acts of kindness has swelled in recent years. So, although the average person may shun the generous one, kindness has become popular.

To read about the studies, visit WSU Study Finds People Really Don’t Like Working with Unselfish Colleagues and Too good to live: People hate generosity as much as they hate mean-spiritedness.

And check out Random Acts of Kindness to see how it’s gained in popularity.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth
by Robert A. Johnson

The author is a Jungian psychologist and writes about how to use your personal images in dreams and active imagination to break through old barriers.

It’s one of the few books I’ve read that encourages a person to make their rituals or activities to ground the insights that they’ve gained. And it explains why that part is so necessary. Taking some action acknowledges to the subconscious that the person values the information.

This book has three sections. The first is an introduction to the subconscious (which he calls the unconscious) and its language.

The second part is devoted to dreams and dreamworking. This part gives some instructions on how to interpret your own dreams, then what to integrate the dream into your waking life. This is where the rituals come into play.

The third section addresses active imagination and how to do this on your own. Since imagery is the language of the subconscious, you allow the subconscious to dialogue with you in its own language.

I’ve used many of the processes from this book in my own life with great success. This is a wonderful book, and I wouldn’t let my copy out of my possession.

ScienceDaily (2010-08-23) — Researchers have found that yoga may be superior to other forms of exercise, including walking, in its positive effect on mood and anxiety. The findings are the first to demonstrate an association between yoga postures, increased GABA levels and decreased anxiety. Low GABA levels are associated with depression and other widespread anxiety disorders.

Read full story at Yoga Study.

Question: Would you please define the differences between the subconscious and unconscious minds?

Answer: The difference between the terms “subconscious” and “unconscious” is simply a difference of terminology. It’s essentially the same name for a part of our consciousness. It’s been called the unconscious, subconscious and subjective mind, but a rose is still a rose, whatever you call it.

I just prefer the term subconscious (or even subjective), because that part of the mind is beneath or subject to the conscious, rational mind. In other words, it takes direction from the conscious and must do so.

Even though the conscious mind is only about 10% of our consciousness, it is the authority or driver. Think of an iceberg, 10% is above the surface, and 90% is below the surface.

I don’t like the term “unconscious” referring to our consciousness, because it insinuates that that part of our consciousness isn’t aware. It’s always aware and processing information.

The only time I usually use “unconscious,” is when I’m referring to an action, because our subconscious often prompts us to act out without awareness of our actions. That’s where habits come from. We unconsciously follow our programming, whether it’s a physical, mental or emotional habit.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

You have the power and the choice whether to let someone else decide your fate, or to do so yourself. If someone makes demands on your time or energy, you have the right to decide if it’s appropriate for you or if it’s not. When you decline their invitation, you don’t have to explain why. By taking your power back, you’re letting your inner self know that its needs are important.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Question: If a person is daily using several affirmations, which one will manifest first?

Answer: I always suggest that a person restrict themselves to affirming in one area of their life at a time. You can affirm one area, and when you see improvement in that area, you can move onto another area of your life.

The reason for this is that when the subconscious mind gets too many instructions at one time, it tends to rebel. Think about how you’d feel if someone dumped a lot of tasks on you, and expected them to be immediately completed. The
subconscious gets overwhelmed.

If you use several affirmations at a time, the affirmation the subconscious will manifest, if it manifests any of them, is the one with the least conflict and that you feel most confident of.

In other words, the affirmation that will manifest first is the one that has the least resistance or fear around the issue, or that you’ve had the most success with in the past.

Copyright 2001, 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Some people don’t accept their own inner power. Many times, they abandon it because they’re afraid they’ll misuse it. Generally, this is because they’ve been the victims of other people who abuse their power and authority and don’t want to be like the abusers.

They’ve confused power with control. Power is the energy and ability to affect their own world. Contrarily, control is attempting to dominate the world of others for an advantage. Controllers manipulate, denigrate, discount and put others down to make themselves feel more powerful.

Since they don’t recognize their inner power, controllers feel they have to take it from others. This is the realm of bullies and abusers. They’re trying to make others do their bidding so that they feel better in some way. This is control, not empowerment.

If you don’t accept and exercise your power, then you’re making yourself a victim and living in survival mode. Instead of impacting your life in an assertive fashion, you’re always reacting to outside events. This causes you to live in fear, feel helpless, and let  others define who you are. They’re filtering who you are through their own beliefs about who they think you should be.

When you accept this and don’t set and keep boundaries, you’ve actually abandoned your inner self. Living at the mercy of someone else’s whims isn’t conducive to spiritual growth or personal development.

By not taking responsibility for your power, you hand it over to others. Instead of making decisions for yourself, you let others choose for you. This is how the Law of Attraction works. Personal power is simply energy. If you don’t  exercise it consciously, or reject it, it will go elsewhere. That disowned energy projects into the world and attracts people who will use it, usually to your detriment.

Personal power is a sense of confidence, strength and authenticity. Control comes from fear. When you accept your own inner power, you accept responsibility for yourself and your decisions. You rest in the assurance that you have the right to say “Yes” or “No,” based on knowing your limits and what’s appropriate for you.

Reclaiming your power may affect people in your life, because it changes the relationship. The other people now have to fall back on their own resources to meet their needs. Simply remember that they have their own power they can cultivate. They don’t have a right to your’s.

Only by being authentic and claiming your power can you attract what you want into your life. When you don’t hold yourself hostage to another’s motives, you can realize that you have a right to your life. Personal power means you decide what is best for you, rather than letting someone else do it.

You accept that your values, beliefs and opinions are as important as anyone else’s. They’re individual to you and appropriate for you. Other people can disagree with your ideas, and that’s fine for them. But your’s are valid for you. You are the person driving your life.

When you empower yourself, you authorize yourself to use your inner power to create your life. You’re accepting the responsibility for your beliefs, thoughts and actions, knowing that doing so means you can change any of these when you choose.

Believe it or not, when you accept your power and begin to exercise it in your life, other people will respect you more. You’ll be calmer, your inner self will be happier, and Life will be much more supportive of your endeavors. It takes courage to empower yourself, but it opens you up to the flow of the Universe.

Affirmation

I now give myself permission to reclaim my power. No one else has a right to it. It’s mine by Divine Right. I have the right to decide what is best for me and to ensure that I follow through on it. My values, beliefs and opinions are as important as anyone else’s on the face of the planet. I now accept responsibility for my life, and know I have the power to  change it whenever I choose.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

A nationally known speaker, life coach, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart helps people rediscover their power and sense of self-worth. Visit Secrets To The Law Of Attraction to download your copy of this free ebook.

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development, motivation, inspiration

As a hypnotherapist, I’ve helped people quit smoking for over twenty years. One client had quit with the patch a couple of days before his first session, and he was having a terrible time with it. On our second session, he said it was like night and day. It was so much easier after his first session of hypnosis.

Hypnosis won’t make you quit smoking, but it does help make the process of quitting easier. Mainly, hypnosis imprints new information into your mind and focus on different thoughts about smoking. You focus on the advantages of not smoking and different strategies to get you through the cravings.

Over the years, people have argued with me about whether changing your thinking about smoking can make quitting easier. Finally, scientific evidence confirms this very premise. A new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers, using an MRI, found that focusing on the long-term negative consequences of smoking actually switched off the part of the brain that controlled cravings.

Apparently, this concept also worked with cravings for various foods, as well. When you consider the long-range consequences, you change your focus, and it turns off the craving. Eventually, you’re able to train your brain to switch off the cravings. With hypnosis, you’re able to make those changes quicker.

I wonder what else they’ll discover that you can train your brain to do that hypnotherapists have been doing for years?

Copyright 2010 Linda-Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

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