Change Your Perception; Change Your Life
Did you realise that you have the power to change your life by changing the way in which you view the world?
We view the world based on an internal map of rules that we have developed over the years. This is comprised of personal experience and beliefs we have gleaned from parents, friends, teachers etc.
Some of our rules are based on what society has determined is the correct way to behave, and are necessary to ensure we can all live and prosper together. This is our reality. We use this framework on which to base our decisions.
You can have two people with contrasting views, who both feel that they are right. This is because they have contrasting perceptions of reality. They see the world through different coloured lenses and they think their perception is ‘The Truth.’ However the term truth has no singular definition on which philosophers and scholars can agree.
Events, of themselves, are not good or bad; right or wrong, they just are. It’s the way we view them that makes the difference.
Because what we focus on expands, our perceptions of reality and thus our experience of reality, attracts more experiences that validate that perception. In other words, our thoughts lead to actions, which lead to results which cause us to prove ourselves right.
A life changing and empowering way to view any negative event is to ask yourself is, “what is good about this?” You may find this a hard question to answer at first and may not come up with anything positive, however keep asking yourself the question and your mind will give you the answer. The seeds of success are often hidden in adversity.
Learn to question your perceptions and assumptions. Become aware of the way in which you are seeing the world. Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. Changing your perception puts you on the path to deliberate creation of your life.
Fun photo by -RobW-
Wayne Dyer ~ LOA
“What you really, really want, you’ll get. And what you really, really don’t want, you’ll also get. What you are focused on in your mind is what you attract. Like attracts itself to like. Once you know that what you think about is what expands, you have to get really careful about what you think about.”
~ Dr Wayne Dyer, Your Erroneous Zones
Great pic by alex-s
Power of the Mind ~Shakespeare
“There is nothing either good or bad,
but thinking makes it so.”
- William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”
Shakespeare also believed that “perception is reality.” We create our own experiences; our own experience of life, through our thoughts.
Don’t like what’s going on in your life? Change how you think about things.
Leo Babauta from the popular Zen Habits has also recently mentioned this quote from Shakespeare. Read his take on it here.
A great picture by alicepopkorn
Escape the Rat Race; Read these Books
Here are ten of the many great titles that helped us on the road to financial freedom:
Rich Dad Poor Dad ~ Robert Kiyosaki
Cash Flow Quadrant ~ Robert Kiyosaki
Retire Young Retire Rich ~ Robert Kiyosaki
Think and Grow Rich ~ Napolean Hill
The Science of Being Rich ~ Wallace D. Wattles
The Secret ~ Rhona Byrne
The Power of Intention ~ Dr Wayne W. Dyer
Conversations with God 1-3 ~ Neale Donald Walsche
Your Best Life Now ~ Joel Osteen
The 4- Hour Workweek ~ Timothy Ferriss
These books have been indispensible to us; a quick precis:
Firstly, Rich Dad paved the way with his lessons on handling money and the importance of being financially literate. A great start.
Napolean Hill introduced the importance of the “Power of the Mind”‘ along with Wallace D. Wattles who had a mental and spiritual approach to getting rich. Wallace D. Wattles ‘thinking stuff’ was an early forerunner to the “Law of Attraction”, a la “The Secret”. The LOA is a very popular concept nowadays and rightfully so, though it’s nothing new.
Dr Wayne Dyer’s book is in a similar vein, the “Power of Intention” being a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. I love his meditation CD, “Getting in the Gap” also.
The “Conversations With God” series is for the open minded. God spoke to Neale Donald Walsche! The ‘conversation’ is riveting and answers many questions about life, the universe and everything. I really enjoyed these books, though they made my head spin for a while!
Joel Olsteen is a senior pastor at Lakewood Church, Houston. He is quite progressive and open-minded and his book, about living at your full potential, is inspiring.
Tim Ferriss is a radical (in the nicest way of course!) and wraps up this list well. His book, “The 4-Hour Workweek” is about throwing out old outdated concepts and living your life as you want it. He calls it ‘lifestyle design’. Very interesting.
Dale Carnegie on Happiness
Remember happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.
~ Dale Carnegie
Success ~ Henry David Thoreau
“I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
Wonderful picture by alicepopkorn
A Few Words on Creation
“It is your mind that creates the world.” ~Buddha
Beautiful Photo by Hamed Saber
How to Feel Happy at Least 80% of the Time
BANISH ALL NEGATIVE THOUGHTS before they can take hold.
This is the number one reason I manage to feel pretty happy at least 80% of the time. The tactic is not to get yourself in an unhappy state in the first place.
If a violent story comes on the TV News, I mute it! If I see disturbing images, I turn away! If my friends are bitching and moaning about all the things they hate, or exchanging horror stories, I change the subject (or leave the room!). I never ponder upsetting scenarios…especially ones that don’t exist!
DO NOT watch, read, listen to or think about anything that gets you down. You don’t have to be ignorant, but don’t take all that negative stuff on board. Sift it if you have to, then dump it.
If banishing unhappy thoughts isn’t appropriate or possible, you can change them instead. Recently my father had a heart attack; of course I wanted to think of him, so I changed the way my thoughts went. I imagined him saying “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily” and filled my head with a vision of him 100% well again.
A week or so later, after a successful operation, I called him and he said those exact words!
So, what about the other 20% of the time? I believe it’s close to impossible to be happy all of the time (with the exception of a few very advanced monks who live in caves) because, let’s face it, we still face plenty of adversity in our day to day lives. Recognise the adversity for what it is. It will pass.
Remember, you get what you focus on, so the more unhappy thoughts you have the more you get. Mentally, put up a “NEGATIVE THOUGHTS NOT WELCOME” sign and you will be amazed at how much better you feel!
Great photo by
Your Thoughts are Powerful
“You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, your intentions create your reality. Learn to act as if the life you visualize were already here.”~Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
“The only thing between you and your desire to be successful and wealthy is one single fact: you are not successful or wealthy because of how you think. This little known fact keeps many from reaching their goals of success and wealth… “
Read post: Abundance Secrets Article: Your Thoughts Are Powerful by Gerri D Smith
My RSS Feed
