Outlining

The false self always finds a way to create the conditions it needs in order to make itself feel important.

THE STORM

A group of friends rented a mountain cabin for a few days. When an unexpected storm kept them indoors, the first few hours were spent in pleasant conversation. But one man suddenly revealed a deep bitterness by complaining of past mistreatment by people. Surprised by his outburst, the others said little.

Next morning, the complainer asked someone who had just stepped out the door, 'Is it still storming?'

'Not out here.'

“_It is the inner storm which needs attention and correction._"

Vernon Howard

“Reality” is what you see and hear now.

Period.

I felt a HUGE love for God. For reality, reality, and for what we have now!!!

For the last 5 years I have investigated many thoughts about rockets, but I saw that it was only the thoughts that were causing damage and not the rockets!!! So what does it matter if it’s Hurricane Sandy or rockets “Red Alert”? Everything is what is in the moment!!! (this is the role of reality) and love is what’s left after I question the stressful thoughts.

The Byron Katie Newsletter

NOVEMBER 2012

Read: Red Alert

Excerpt from someone who lives in the western Negev in Israel, what you hear in the media as a “near Gaza “ Road (4 km and 4 km from Rafah to Egypt)

ACIM, Google+ and social media.

Google+ (GooglePlus) allows you to organize friends, acquaintances and family by circles. That’s how we tend to organize our lives. By inner and outer circles.

How many people in your life love you, support you, forgive you and want the best for you.

There’s no judgement there. You really just need to become aware and do a mental inventory.

The people in your life now, are mirrors of yourself. The mirror your beliefs back at you.

The people that are “in your face”, that push your buttons seem to be persecutors or judging us, making us feel like victims, are the strongest mirrors. Reflecting back our beliefs. I heard a great analogy to the use of bowling balls as beliefs. All that weight and baggage we carry around weighing us down.

People are mirrors of ourselves. And I realized yesterday how true that is. I met a friend for coffee and he metioned different people he;d been talking to, what they said and his reactions. They were mirroring back his beliefs the same as he mirrors back some of mine. I was positive. I just mentioned my current mantra is "I am looking forward to __________". I even told him a story that Seale shared at Unity about Miss Eleanor Mel from the Boston Home of Truth. 

But, these people offer an opportunity to free yourself from that belief.

Look at the people around you. In your inner and outer circles. Look at Google+, Facebook and Linkedin. Have you gone for quality or quantity? How many are allies, that love and support you, forgive you, want the best for you . How many are persecutors or ready to judge? They judge your jewelry, your clothing, your shoes and clothes. You didn’t do it right! How many are victims or deficient in some way? Actually these are people that you are judging.

But we have a choice. Question the belief. What’s going on inside of you. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, knowing God is your strength.

Byron Katie calls it taking it to inquiry.

I’m not good enough . . . .

You don’t love me.

1. Is it true?

2. Do you absolutely know it’s true?

3. Turn it around

                I am good enough. They aren’t good enough

                I love me. I love them. They don’t love me. They don’t love themselves.

4. And then you find 3 or 4 specific instances of when the turn around were true.

Remember, NOW is the only time. If you are single then you are single. The fact that you are single doesn’t mean anything. I’ve seen 58 and 60 year old women on Christian Mingles who are single. Good for them.

If love is lacking in any of your circles it’s because you have a belief you don’t deserve love. Love yourself. Allow yourself to remember God’s love. We’ve never lost God’s love, only how to remember it.

Tony Robbins, in his book “Personnel Power”, had a great line “Can you remember a time when you felt totally loved”. Try it!

How do we react to what they say? What should you do when someone says something that hurts. ACIM says in our defencelessness lies our strength. Maybe you simple say “Thanks, I hear what you're saying”. And then you go into the silence and see what the words mean and ask the Holy Spirit to see them in a different light or context. What belief needs re-alignment. Your thoughts and beliefs have to be in agreement otherwise when you say an affirmation your inner voice says “Yeah, sure you don’t believe that.”

Do you want to be Right or do you want to be happy?

The idea is to wake up and remember the Love which is our natural state.

Chapter 14 of ACIM talks of the Circle of Atonement.

Each one you see, you place within the holy circle of Atonement, or leave outside, judging him fit for crucifixion or redemption. If you bring him INTO the circle of purity, you will rest there WITH him. If you leave him without, you JOIN him there. Judge not, except in quietness which is NOT of you. Refuse to accept anyone as WITHOUT the blessing of Atonement, and bring him INTO it by blessing him. Holiness MUST be shared, for therein lies everything that makes it holy. Come gladly to the holy circle, and look out in peace on all who think they are outside. Cast no-one out, for this is what HE seeks along with you. Come, let us join him in the holy place of peace, which is for all of us, united as one, within the cause of peace. (ACIM, T, 14,V,11.1-9)

Invite everyone from your inner and outer circles into your circle of atonement. Family (had a rough time settling estates, I know I did which makes this an easy choice). What about brothers and sisters (Family issues, not talking, love is lacking or maybe not talking)? If you know any alcoholics include them, even street people that ask for money. Workers, co-workers and even the companies. People from bowling, golf or any league where someone pushed your button or said something. This is a mental house cleaning or cleansing. Accountants, car dealerships, service advisors and mechanics seem logical. Have you declared bankruptcy or do you have debt. Take your belief about money to inquiry and invite the people you owed money to and everyone involved into your circle of Atonement.We are all one after all.

The body is a dream. Like other dreams it sometimes seems to picture happiness, but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every dream is born. For only love creates in truth, and truth can never fear. Made to be fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it. But we can change the purpose that the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.

The body is the means by which God's Son returns to sanity. Though it was made to fence him into hell without escape, yet has the goal of Heaven been exchanged for the pursuit of hell. The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother, and to help him walk along the road with him. Now is the body holy. Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to kill.

You will identify with what you think will make you safe. Whatever it may be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your safety lies in truth, and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and find your Self. (ACIM, M, Section 5. What is the Body?)

Commitment, the acid test of forgiveness

So, if you've had a relationship that didn't work out examine your thoughts. Did you believe you were worthy of a relationship? Focus on what you did from a state of love rather than what went wrong. Maybe there will be a shift and you realize you can be loving and committed. What did you do out of love. Maybe it was just listen and the feeling of being in their company. A special act or a gift you bought. This is from YOUR perspective not theirs. You don't know what their beliefs were. And then you can accept and realize that when the time is right you will find the relationship you are entitled to.

Sweethearts reunite after 58 years, marry next day

The irrational Beliefs (iB’s) of REBT

[ see http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2011/07/dr.html ]

1. The idea that it is a dire necessity for adults to be loved by significant others for almost everything they do -- instead of their concentrating on their own self-respect, on winning approval for practical purposes, and on loving rather than on being loved.

2. The idea that certain acts are awful or wicked, and that people who perform such acts should be severely damned -- instead of the idea that certain acts are self-defeating or antisocial, and that people who perform such acts are behaving stupidly, ignorantly, or neurotically, and would be better helped to change. People's poor behaviors do not make them rotten individuals.

3. The idea that it is horrible when things are not the way we like them to be -- instead of the idea that it is too bad, that we would better try to change or control bad conditions so that they become more satisfactory, and, if that is not possible, we had better temporarily accept and gracefully lump their existence.

4. The idea that human misery is invariably externally caused and is forced on us by outside people and events -- instead of the idea that neurosis is largely caused by the view that we take of unfortunate conditions.

5. The idea that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome we should be terribly upset and endlessly obsess about it -- instead of the idea that one would better frankly face it and render it non-dangerous and, when that is not possible, accept the inevitable.

6. The idea that it is easier to avoid than to face life difficulties and self-responsibilities -- instead of the idea that the so-called easy way is usually much harder in the long run.

7. The idea that we absolutely need something other or stronger or greater than yourself on which to rely -- instead of the idea that it is better to take the risks of thinking and acting less dependently .

8. The idea that we should be thoroughly competent, intelligent, and achieving in all possible respects -- instead of the idea that we would better do rather than always need to do well and accept ourselves as a quite imperfect creature, who has general human limitations and specific fallibilities.

9. The idea that because something once strongly affected our life, it should indefinitely affect it -- instead of the idea that we can learn from our past experiences but not be overly-attached to or prejudiced by them.

10. The idea that we must have certain and perfect control over things -- instead of the idea that the world is full of probability and chance and that we can still enjoy life despite this.

11. The idea that human happiness can be achieved by inertia and inaction -- instead of the idea that we tend to be happiest when we are vitally absorbed in creative pursuits, or when we are devoting ourselves to people or projects outside ourselves.

12. The idea that we have virtually no control over our emotions and that we cannot help feeling disturbed about things -- instead of the idea that we have real control over our destructive emotions if we choose to work at changing the must-erbatory (I must …) hypotheses which we often employ to create them.


• Hidden Persuaders is a term used by Geoffrey Dean and Ivan Kelly (2003) to describe affective, perceptual, and cognitive biases or illusions that lead to erroneous beliefs. It is also the name of a 1957 book by Vance Packard. He chronicled the many methods, some pretty open and obvious, that advertisers use in their quest to manipulate the thoughts and actions of consumers. Packard attempted to expose corporate propaganda as a kind of mind control operation, especially in its use of subliminal messaging.
• Life Game Alcoholic from Games People Play by Dr. Eric Berne. The players: the Alcoholic ( the Victim), the Persecutor , the Rescuer, the Patsy or the Dummy and finally the Connection . And, of course, the Alcoholic will try to make thePersecutor or theRescuer or thePatsy theVictim.
• "... [T]here is a direct connection between what occurs in your consciousness and what occurs in your external life... if you initiate change internally a corresponding change will happen externally." [The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz]

Letting Go of REBT’s Irrational Beliefs (iB’s) with The Work: http://goalhypnosis.blogspot.com/2011/07/letting-go-of-rebts-irrational-beliefs.html

The Work of Byron Katie

is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the fear and suffering in the world. Experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through The Work, and allow your mind to return to its true, awakened, peaceful, creative nature.
Her website and blog are helpful.
The Work reveals that what you think shouldn’t have happened should have happened. It should have happened because it did, and no thinking in the world can change it. This doesn’t mean that you condone it or approve of it. It just means that you can see things without resistance and without the confusion of your inner struggle. No one wants their children to get sick, no one wants to be in a car accident; but when these things happen, how can it be helpful to mentally argue with them? We know better than to do that, yet we do it, because we don’t know how to stop.
YouTube - Byron Katie Loving What Is
YouTube - ‪TheWorkofBK's Channel‬‎
The key to experiencing The Work is to go beyond the quick answers of the intellect and tap into a deeper wisdom. Ask, then be still and wait for an inner voice to respond. With practice, this will become easier. You will learn to rely on yourself—not the world—to see what's true for you.

On Course Looking at the world through forgiving eyes
has some great comments about attending
The School for the Work with Byron Katie
under her About Me.

ACIM says "Minds are joined, bodies are not".

Thoughts are important.

Byron Katie - The Enlightened Mind
There is a simple test by which you can tell a true teacher from a false one.