Topic:   Simple strategies to have a positive day and a fulfilling life.

Ask the Author: Question and Response

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I am a 48 year old woman, who although is not new to the twelve step recovery program, has found myself remaining "stuck" in a place in my mind that has not allowed me to move forward. I found this site this morning. By no means do I do believe it to be an accident. My question is this: What short meditation or phrase might you recommend to say upon awakening each day, in order to retrain the thought process toward a more positive day and fulfilling life, and to stay in the present moment and release the past?

- Kathy, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

That feeling of being “stuck in a place in my mind” comes from bringing the past into the present moment. You bring the past into the present, creating a future like your past. In this state, the present is not experienced as the gift that it is, but as past patterns that are being repeated, a mental treadmill that does not move you forward, a mental treadmill that is getting you nowhere you desire to be. When you experience people, places and things with stress, judgment, frustration and condemnation, you are simply reacting to your external environment through past learned behaviors. For stress, judgment, frustration, condemnation and any other “negative/non-loving” responses are learned responses and not natural to your true expression.

All people, places and things are God’s gift to you. All people, places and things assist you in seeing where, through your own thoughts and perceptions, you are taking yourself. All people, places and things simply act as an external mirror to your own thoughts. And it is the thoughts that you entertain that you will end up experiencing. If during your day, you experience judgmental and negative thinking, stress, frustration and/or anger know that you are replacing your past learned behaviors for the present moment. But do not judge yourself for doing so. Each time, simply try to catch yourself quicker and quicker, and substitute it with what you truly desire to experience, the present moment. The present moment always, and without judgment, allows you to begin anew, to choose once again, to experience peace where you once thought the possibility for peace was unattainable. This is God’s gift to you.

Since our strongest reactions during the day are usually directed at other people, a good phrase to use upon awakening that will assist you in staying in the present moment is:

When I meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As I see him, I will see myself. As I treat him, I will treat myself. As I think of him, I will think of myself. Never forget this, for in him I will find myself, or lose myself.

Every person you meet is a gift presented to you by God. Each person is a gift because he or she is assisting you in seeing the thoughts and feelings that you are supporting and carrying within. They help you bring to the surface what is within, allowing light and understanding to shine upon your internal state.

If you are experiencing stress, judgment, frustration and/or condemnation toward a brother or sister, these thoughts and feelings do not come from what the person is doing, but from your reaction to what the person is doing. And your reactions are simply past learned behaviors that are used by the ego to cloud over the present moment. Thus not allowing you to experience the true opportunity that is being gifted, to obtain peace where you once thought such a possibility unobtainable.

Every person you meet is a mirror of you, and what you offer that person - you will experience yourself. For when you direct anger at someone, doesn’t that same anger boil your own blood? When you judge or criticize someone else, doesn’t some type of regret or sadness always follow? And when you get into an argument with anyone, regardless of how right you think you are, doesn’t the weight of that action stay with you, affecting the rest of your day and night? So know that you and your brother are one, and as you see him you will see yourself, and as you treat him you will treat yourself.

Do you truly desire peace, a more positive day and a fulfilling life? Then this is what you must offer your brother and sister. And when you do, know that you are in the present moment. For in the present moment, every loving thought is true, and everything else is simply an appeal for help and healing, regardless of the form it takes.

Another short phrase that has been very useful to me, and that I still use during the day when I catch myself beginning to judge someone is: “This is the Christ in front of me.” Regardless if it’s a man or a woman, an older person or a young child, regardless what that person looks like, is saying or doing, whenever I feel judgment begin to surface, I look at the person and quietly say to myself: “This is the Christ in front of me.” Immediately, my energy begins to shift. Yet sometimes, if I need even more help, I visualize Christ’s face upon that of my brother or sister’s face, and again I feel my energy shifting to a more compassionate and loving vibration. This is your brother and sister’s true gift to you, the opportunity to experience love, compassion, peace and fulfillment where you once thought that possibility impossible. And when you finally acknowledge that truth, your connection to them will be solidified within you. And then, your response to them will be of gratitude for helping you remember who, in truth, you are.

You will once again see your brothers and sisters as God sees us, and as you realign your thinking with that of God, a whole new level of peace and satisfaction will be experienced. You will then become an example to all your brothers and sisters of the truth within us all, and they will look at you and recognize that sameness in them. For a fulfilling life comes from the realization that you have everything you need.

   

View larger images of front & back cover 
of the great spiritual / self development book You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy by James Blanchard Cisneros.