Have you ever wondered whether or not we live in an objective or subjective universe? In other words, do you believe that your life is influenced predominantly by outside influences such as dealing with difficult situations, rude people, illnesses, fate or genetic disposition? If so, do you feel empowered by such a world view?
I'd like to introduce you to a new concept of thought and perspective. What if the world we are living in wasn't objective at all? What if our reality was a direct consequence of our inner states, such as our thoughts, feelings, emotions? In fact, there's powerful evidence that this might just be the case. And traces of it you certainly have experienced for yourself.
Most of us brought up in the Western world are trained in the same way. We are confronted with a negative situation, which causes negative results and accumulates in us feeling bad, upset or angry. The same is true about the diagnosis of an illness. The doctor tells us that we are dealing with a very severe case and that the symptoms are such and such, causing our bodies and lives to be affected in such and such manners. As a result of the disease and the corresponding symptoms we feel bad, sad, anxious, depressed, and so forth.
Trained patterns (feeding the illusion of living in an objective world):
Neg. Event/Situation ----> Neg. consequences ----> Neg. feelings
Disease/Diagnosis ----> Symptoms ----> Neg. thoughts and feelings
The above mentioned perspective is VERY limited and outmoded. Think about it! How many people believe in some sort of Higher Power, but at the same time live life as if this Higher Power was some sort of punishing God. That's ridiculous or at least you would have to ask yourself the question why you believe in such a demeaning power! In my own experience, the source of our Universe (whatever you want to call it) is in no way evil. Its pure essence eventually just squarely and fairly mirrors our own beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions. I know, it's a hard pill to swallow. But bare with me because once it dissolves, a whole new perspective opens up.
In fact, we have a choice to make respectively choose our own subjective view on every subject in life. Let's go back to the earlier mentioned example of encountering a situation/event in life. Every situation/event is per se neutral. What gives it a positive or negative spin is our own attribution. Depending on our attribution or thoughts for that matter, positive or negative feelings are created.
Subjective Universe (reminding us of the truth: we are living in a subjective universe):
Event/Situation <-----> Our attribution/thoughts (pos./neg.) <-----> Our feelings (pos./neg.)
Disease/Diagnosis <-----> Our attribution/thoughts (pos./neg.) <-----> Our feelings (pos./neg.) <-----> Effect of symptoms/progression of symptoms
Now, I am not saying that choosing your thoughts and attributions is necessarily easy to do. But what's important to take away is the fact that WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE OUR THOUGHTS AND ATTRIBUTION IN EVERY MOMENT. There's a powerful quote by a man named Viktor Frankl (author of 'Man's search for meaning') who survived a Nazi camp in Germany stating that he realized that the only thing that cannot be taken from us is our freedom to choose our attitude in every given moment in life, which he attributes to his survival. Let that sink for a moment.
What's the conclusion? The next time you deal with a situation, stop for a second before you blindly consider it negative merely due to past experiences, your trained beliefs or the opinion of others. Recognize that you have a choice: the choice to make the best of the situation or to doom it negative.
In either case, there are immediate consequences which in no way differ from your own perspective/your own thoughts and attributions: choose a negative attribution/thoughts and you will feel uncomfortable or choose a positive attribution/thoughts and you will feel empowered. As the arrows below indicate, your thoughts and feelings always have a direct effect on the outcome of every situation, relationship, illness, etc.
Empowering patterns:
Event/Situation <-----> choose a pos. attribution/thoughts <------> Pos. feelings <------> pos. outcomes
Disease/Diagnosis <-----> choose a pos. attribution/thoughts <------> Pos- feelings <------> pos. outcomes
I have to admit that choosing your thoughts and feelings is more complex than writing a few inspiring words and drawing some arrows. But I sincerely hope that you are getting the essence of it:
There are no neg. situation or diagnosis that cause us to feel bad. It's our thoughts and attributions to a situation that cause our feelings, which create our perceived (subjective) reality. Choose positive thoughts and attributions and your feelings and your reality change.
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Visit http://www.lukastobler.com to download a free copy of my ebook "5 easy steps to feel good" today.
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