Being, Doing, Having

Until recently I have struggled very much with making lasting change in my life. Making decisions and following through with them proved to be a challenge. I felt like no matter how much I willed to change, I couldn't. As I observed my actions and thoughts I became aware I could try to change the things I owned in order to move to this new idea of myself. I bought more books, sold my car, quit my job, changed my friends, changed my style. Only to find I was still in the exact same spot as before. After all that change I was still thinking and doing the same things... I had a revelation! It's not what I have but what I am doing! I thought to myself, this is it! This is the holy grail! I was so excited that I started that moment to change my habits and actions. I started buying organic food, exercising naturally, reading a book a week, I removed tv from my life, started running everyday, and walking barefoot. At the end of the night nothing had changed. Sure these changes brought me temporary joy, but what I didn't have were positive thoughts, love, appreciation, gratitude, and if I did have positive thoughts they were few and far between. I thought, how silly of me to have thought I found the holy grail. I felt like the scientist who proclaimed, "The earth is Flat!" Although he was right at the time, as we expanded our scope we found this was far from the truth. Here I discovered a truly profound concept that I now believe is the key to growth, I think ; ) In time something deeper may arise, keep reading my articles to witness it! A change in my state of being was what I really needed. Changing what you do will change what you have, but not how you see things. The root problem was the how I viewed the things I did, and the stuff I had. I was trying to change all these effects when my perception was the cause. *Facepalm*. I knew I had found a great truth, but where do thoughts come from? What are they inspired by? Here lies what I call a sponsoring thought. A thought that can either come from fear or love. In order to achieve this new state of being I would have to look at myself and those things in my life with way more love. As I began loving the things I used to fear, like feeling guilty about habits, worrying about money, getting anxious when I didn't have something to do, judging my friends, hating the parts of myself I didn't like. I observed a profound transformation in myself and in everyone else. I no longer had all these self-judgments about myself. Whenever I chose a thought void of love, I could feel it, but this time I didn't fear or resist this negative feeling, I accepted it as my creation. I understood that I gave this thought all the life it had. I knew in my old state of being this thought served me, but now it has become obsolete. I replaced that thought or idea about something with one full of love. Slowly as I changed the way I looked at my body, negative thoughts, the food I eat, the exercise I did, and how I viewed my friends and family, my entire reality shifted. I started meeting new people, eating healthier foods, loving my family more than ever, finding more efficient workouts, and most importantly I realized that anybody could do this. I started seeing others as these amazing, creative, limitless, infinite beings, who just haven't unlocked their potential. After viewing life from this perspective of love it was all I could see. My world was colored with appreciation and gratitude. This state of being requires a willingness to see things in a loving way. Like anything, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. If you want lasting change, change the way you think about things in your life, and most importantly how you think of yourself. Don't forget this "cleaning out" process is growth. As we grow old ideas won't fit anymore and I believe it is our responsibility as self-led beings to make room for new thoughts and beliefs. We must all learn to love, starting with ourselves.

Love,
        Dave : D