You’re Not What You Eat, But What You Think

Prevalent in the world today, especially the Western world, is the idea that food can and does harm us and that it has some sort of power over us. For example, it is thought that certain foods are ‘bad’ and others are ‘good’. We are always looking out for ‘that’ food which will make us fat, or ‘that’ food which will make us prone to some type of disease or illness. But, before we proceed any further, ask yourself these quick questions. How do you know ‘that’ food causes ‘those’ effects? And how do you know that food can make you fat? Or sick? Or kill you?

If you took all the descriptions of food you have ever heard on face value, you would most likely think it is some type of monster, a living entity that has no other aim but to seek your destruction. Now, we obviously don’t look at it that way, but is that really far off how it is currently perceived? All this talk about “good” and “bad” foods gives the impression that food has a mind of its own, that it has power in and of itself to do with us what it wills. You might laugh at this and say something like, “Oh, don’t be silly,” but seriously, ask yourself, how is it I can think of food as being able to harm me and not believe it is a conscious living entity with power of its own?

Unfortunately, we live in a world where most people believe anything they hear, with very little discrimination or thought involved at all. As we proceed beyond this point, it is acknowledged that everyone who reads this article will be at different levels of belief and openness, hence, each will get out of it what he is ready to receive.

To most people, it is common sense that food can harm us. We don’t think twice about someone saying “stay away from this food,” or “eat as much of this food as you can.” But, what we don’t realise, is that all statements such as these are reflections of belief; they are individual or shared beliefs about the food, they do not represent what the food actually is. Any person can come along and say a food is this, or a food is that. But does just saying that make it true? If I came along and said a banana will make you look 10 years younger, does that mean it will happen? Does that make it a reality?

You may not have recognised this before, but all the things we label as ‘this’ or ‘that’ are merely a reflection of our beliefs about it. More importantly though, is the reality that our beliefs supersede and take precedence over what the food actually is and the effects it might have. In other words, your beliefs or thoughts about the food influence the effects it has on you. This is why two people can eat the same food and one person will get sick from it and the other will not. Have you ever noticed how one person supposedly gets fat from eating a certain type of food and yet another person eating the exact same food does not?

Here is the problem, if it was actually the food that made you fat, or sick, or whatever, then it would have the same effects on everyone. But it does not; therefore, there must be another cause at play. And there is: our beliefs. You are what you think, not what you eat. Broken down further, your thoughts about the food have a greater effect upon you than the food itself does. What you think about your body, health, and illness will determine how your food is used in your body, and how your body chemistry handles fats, for instance, or carbohydrates.

For example, if you believe that the chemicals in certain foods will harm you drastically and bring about disastrous consequences, then even small doses of these will harm you. Yet, another person with completely opposite beliefs about the food will not be harmed one bit by it. It is the same food with the same chemicals, yet there are completely different results, being governed by two different belief systems. In alignment with this, any chemical upsets in the body will right themselves after the inner problems have been worked out.

These same principles apply to diets. We typically think that diets are based on the idea that people are overweight because they eat too much. But, in reality, people eat too much because they believe they are overweight. The physical picture always fits because the belief in being overweight conditions the body to behave in that exact manner. Thus, in the oddest fashion, diets simply reinforce the condition, since people diet because they believe so deeply in their overweight condition. The solution is to willingly suspend that belief. The person must make a conscious effort to insert a different belief, or more preferably, let go of all beliefs about it altogether.

And this is how it works in all cases. In this case, it is not food that is the problem, but your thoughts and beliefs about it. Change your beliefs about it and it will change how it affects you. As much as we would like to blame food for our health issues, it is not the problem, nor is it the enemy it is made out to be. In truth, there are no enemies, only incorrect and misguided beliefs and perceptions. Change these and you change your life and everything in it simultaneously.

How to Heal Yourself of Heart Disease

On a physical level, the heart acts as a two way pump for the circulatory system. As such, it is the life giving organ that regulates the flow of life force throughout the body. Coronary Heart Disease is the most common cause of death in North America. As is reiterated in my previous articles, traditional medicine has a hard time identifying what causes disease and why some people get them and others don’t.

The Traditional View

Traditional medicine, or current mainstream medical practices, teaches us that all illness is the result of some physical cause. For heart disease, the cause is most commonly attributed to factors such as smoking, genetics, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, high alcohol consumption, lack of exercise and stress. Research has shown smoking appears to be the cause of about 36% of cases and obesity roughly 20%.

According to what is happening on the physical level, these are the most identifiable causes of why it manifests in a person’s body. Unfortunately, there is never a reliable, solid cause that can be pinpointed by traditional medicine and its counterparts. Why? Because the physical body is not the source of illness and disease and until the actual source is understood, the confusion will remain.

The Body Has No Power of Itself

According to our traditional thinking, we believe that all illness and disease are caused by something going wrong physically in our bodies. For heart disease, the physical cause is mainly attributed to hypertension and genetics. But these are not the real causes. Why? Because the physical level, including our bodies, is the level of effect, not the cause itself. If this is true, and if nothing physical is the cause, then what is? In the general sense, it is the mental and emotional levels, as all things exist in the mind before they become physical.

Quite practically, the physical body can do nothing in and of itself. It does not have power to create anything, including illness, sickness and disease. Power comes from being at cause, and seems the physical level is the level of effect; it has no power to create. The physical body merely reflects the mental. In other words, our physical bodies are no more than a mirror of what is taking place within us on a mental and emotional level.

The Actual Cause of Heart Disease

As unfortunate as it may be, traditional medicine is seeking the causes of illness and disease in the wrong places. In reality, something physical, like smoking for example, cannot cause a physical effect in the form of an illness or disease. Put another way, an effect cannot create another effect, only cause can create an effect. With that being so, why are there similar physical actions or symptoms shown in people who share an illness or disease? Essentially, it is because they are seeking to find a way to alleviate the mental and emotional pain and imbalance taking place within them.

It’s interesting to note that the heart is placed virtually at the centre of the body. If a person is centred, they are living from the heart in a balanced state of love and trust. A heart disorder is the manifestation of the opposite mindset. This person is fighting the current of life to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion. Often the person with heart disease seeks love through what they do for others. Essentially, heart disease is an urgent message from your body to change your perception of yourself.

How to Cure Diabetes

As I have stated in my previous articles, this new paradigm of thinking requires us to let go of the belief that illness and disease is an enemy that serves no purpose. Everything in our life is either an expression of love or a call to love. Illness and disease, in whatever form, is a call for us to love ourselves, because we are not living out of love in an area or areas of our life. It is all designed to lead us forward in life, not to lead us backward or to destroy us.

All illness and disease is a message from our bodies, helping us be conscious of what we are not conscious of. Heart disease is a specific message that you are not allowing for the proper flow in your life; whether it’s the flow of ideas, of love, or of your very lifeblood. To bring about healing, you need to tap into the wellspring of love within you by changing your belief that love can come only from others. Give yourself the love you seek and it will always be there. Start believing that you deserve love and affection from others and that you are just as loveable as everyone else.

Once the beliefs and perceptions that cause heart disease are changed and balanced, it will disappear automatically. There is no need for any type of physical intervention, although it is encouraged that you still seek such intervention as your beliefs necessitate. All real healing requires no pills, no diet, no exercise, or any other physical treatment. This is how it works for every single illness and disease a person experiences, without exception. When we understand the real purpose of illness and disease, our lives will be changed forever. The question we need to constantly ask ourselves when we experience illness and disease is this: “My body is sending me a message, am I listening?”

The ONE Thing You NEED To Know About Illness and Disease

There is a belief system prevalent in the western world today that says illness and disease is caused by something physical in the body and that physical illness is caused by physical means. This belief is one of the greatest misconceptions, or more accurately, misperceptions, that exists in relation to health and medicine in the western world today. It is the main reason why medicine is not making any headway on any of the major illnesses and diseases currently prevalent in the world.

Somewhere along the way we developed an incorrect view or perception of what sickness really is and why it exists in the first place. Unfortunately, we are presently locked into the belief system that says we are at the mercy of all illness and disease and that there is nothing we can do about it. This is mainly due the belief that illness is caused by strictly physical sources and means and by them only.

We get the flu because we are infected with the influenza virus; we develop cancer because of cancer cells in our body; we have repetitive headaches because we do not drink enough water; or we have a sore back simply because we sat incorrectly on a chair. These are just a few examples of causes that we ascribe to our physical symptoms. In most of these cases, we are told that these physical ailments are separate from us and that we have to suffer the effects until they disappear, either on their own or through the help of medication etc.

Fortunately, we do not have to believe this any longer. Knowledge of a better way is beginning to flood the earth like rays from the sun as it rises above the horizon. It is becoming clear to many that there must be more to sickness than what is commonly believed and taught in the world as a whole.

As was introduced in my article, 3 Misconceptions About Illness and Disease, the body, in reality, does not have power to create. The belief that it can, a fundamental error, is the source of all physical symptoms produced in our bodies. As hard as it may be to accept, the body is nothing but a machine, and like a machine, it receives its directions and messages from a higher source.

What is that higher source? It is the mind, which is the only level of creation. Nothing physical is able to create anything else that is physical. The level of mind is the level of creation, aka the cause, and the physical level is merely the effects of this cause. It may seem hard to accept at first, but this is how it works. There can be nothing physical unless it first existed in the mind. For something to be in the body, it must first have been in the mind, if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t be there.

This leads us to the one thing we all need to know about illness and disease: You cannot cure it via physical means, because it is not caused by those means. What does this mean for us? It means that we do not need to seek outside ourselves for healing; we are the cure we have been looking for. Our perceptions and corresponding beliefs are what drive our physical symptoms. In this way, illness and disease is a call to lead us back to a balanced perception, to help us let go of beliefs that are hindering our moving forward in life.

Until we understand and acknowledge this, nothing will change in our health & well-being. No one will be completely free of illness and disease in the world until they realise that it is not a physical problem. The symptom may seem physical and appear in the body as something physical, but the symptom is NOT the real illness or disease. All illness and disease stems from the mind, and this is the only place it can be cured or alleviated. Therefore, the problem is not physical, it is mental. All types of physical healing or treatment are forms of magic, being based on magic principles.

Again, as hard as it is may be to accept, until it is accepted, no progress will be made in overcoming illness and disease, no matter its form. It is not something to be despised or avoided, as it contains within it the very seeds for its reversal. Every illness or disease is designed to teach us a specific lesson, to lead us forward and ultimately back to wholeness in the mind. It is futile for us to hold onto the belief that these things are separate from us, that illness and disease are out to get us.

There is nothing out to get us, because it is all just us in the first place. When we know how this works, we can begin taking back control of our lives, including our health & well-being. To know that we create our lives, including our physical symptoms, is essential to our liberation from illness and disease, as contradictory as that may seem at first. Physical symptoms exist for the very purpose that we will overcome them, so that we will learn the lessons the symptoms were designed to teach us.

Are Illness and Disease What We Think They Are?

If someone said you will catch a cold from being in a cold wind, would you believe them? How do you know you will catch a cold from the cold wind? How do you not know? In the same vain, how do you know what illness and disease are? Do you know because your parents told you? Maybe your Doctor told you? Or was it your school teacher? Whoever it was, ask yourself this question, who told them and how do they know?

Have you ever stopped to think about how you know what you know about something? Do you ever question the things you learn or hear, or do you just go along with the masses and believe whatever is popular at the time? Consider this for a second. Just because the masses believe X causes Y, does it make it true? Does the mere fact that the masses believe a cold wind causes you to get a cold mean that a cold wind causes a cold? If most people believed eating chocolate makes you fat, does that mean chocolate makes you fat?

In case you haven’t noticed, the health industry is constantly changing their tune on what is healthy and what is not, what causes a disease and what doesn’t etc. For example, a few years ago, all forms of chocolate were declared unhealthy and people were told to stay away from it at all costs. Yet, this year, the year 2012, we are now told that dark chocolate is very good for us and we are now being encouraged to eat it. How does that work?

Now, I am not saying this to beat down on the health industry, they are doing the best they can with the beliefs and resources they have. But, for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear, there is more to health and illness than what we hear through the masses. There is a simpler and clearer answer to what causes a cold and to how people get cancer.

Typically, when we think of illness and disease, we imagine something physical as being the cause of our ailment. For example, we traditionally think we can catch a virus from being coughed on or coming into physical contact with someone who is “infected” with it. We ascribe DNA and genes as being the source of our heart problems, weight issues, diseases etc etc. We blame our parents, grandparents, neighbours, pets, microwaves and so on and so forth for our health problems.

You may notice that this paradigm of health is based on one thing, “blame.” In our current society, everything else is responsible for our health and we are the victim. Nothing is our responsibility; it is all because of an “external” thing. Is it any wonder there is so much confusion and fear in the world today?

We act as though our DNA is something separate from us, even though it is part of us and within us. Huh, how does that work? It may seem humorous, but this is how illness and disease is currently viewed. When we develop an ailment or disease we are told, “There is nothing you can do about it”, “it is in your DNA”, “it is the dog’s fault”, “you smoke too much”, “take this pill and hope that it goes away,” and on and on and on it goes.

In our current framework (belief system) of dealing with illness and disease, we treat it as though it is 100% separate from us. The ailment or condition is “out there” and we are told it is trying to harm us, destroy us etc. But is this really so? When we really think about it, does this make any sense at all? Surely there is a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that we are missing?

Thankfully, there are many jigsaw pieces that are missing in mainstream medicine and the masses beliefs around health and well-being. I wrote about three of these in my previous article titled, “3 Misconceptions about Illness and Disease.” The reality is we are not separate from our health issues. They are but outer manifestations of internal causes within us. Instead of us being 100% at the mercy of illness and disease, we have 100% control over it. This may come as a shock at first, but this how it really works.

Although not intentionally, the current health framework promotes fear, hate, anger, sadness, and confusion. It reinforces the “victim” mentality and keeps people disempowered not thinking they have any power or ability to directly influence their health and well-being. As you might expect, the exact opposite of this is true. We are not “victims” to anything, let alone our illnesses and diseases. This new paradigm of looking at health promotes freedom, love, peace, power and clarity.

Have you ever considered this before? Instead of illness and disease being an enemy, it is a friend. Instead of it being separate from us, it is one with us. Instead of it being negative, it is positive. Instead of it being a nuisance, it is a gift. Instead of it being a physical problem, it is a message from our bodies reflecting our unconscious thoughts and emotions within us.

From this perspective, illness and disease is nothing but a tool to help us become conscious of that which we are currently unconscious of. It is a reflection of our internal thoughts and emotions. This is all it is. There is no need to examine DNA or any other physical thing to find the answers and cures. The cause is not physical; therefore the cure is not physical. There is nothing separate from us that we experience. Somewhere along the way, we adopted an incorrect perception of what our health issues really are.

Nevertheless, this is no longer important, as we each now have a choice. It may be a choice you didn’t think you had until now, but, yet, it is a choice available to us all. The choice is this: Will you continue to believe that illness and disease is there to attack and destroy you? Or that it is there to help and support you? One will keep you in a state of fear and confusion, while the other will liberate you and allow you to experience love and freedom. The choice is in front of you, and there is only one question that remains, what will you choose NOW?

3 Misconceptions About Illness and Disease

We are all conditioned from a very young age that illness and dis-ease are random occurrences that are out of our ability to control. From birth we are exposed to thoughts and beliefs such as how frail our bodies are, how susceptible we are to illness, and how we have no cures for many of the so called ‘major illnesses’ prevalent in the world. We are programmed to believe that we are victims to the outside world and that we are powerless little ants walking around not knowing which illness will squash us next.

This article is written for all those who are seeking to break free from the old beliefs about illness and dis-ease. It is for those who are ready to embrace new ideas that promote empowerment and liberation. What follows is a brief list of 3 misconceptions about illness and dis-ease and how we can begin to break free of these old conditioned ways of thinking.

Misconception #1: Illness and Dis-ease Have Physical Causes

Traditional views teach us that these are caused by physical means. For example, if you get a cold, it is because you “caught a cold” from being out in the cold or because someone sneezed on you etc. Another example is in regards to being overweight, as it is commonly thought that people become overweight because they either eat too much or do not exercise enough, or a combination of both. It is based on the belief that there is something external to you, that there is an “out there” separate from you.

To break free of this misconception, we understand that nothing physical can cause anything else that is physical. The physical level is the level of effect, and the level of effect has no power to create anything in and of itself. One of the great universal laws is the law of cause and effect. Very simply, this law states that for every effect there is a cause and to every cause there is an effect. Illness and dis-ease operate on the level of effect, meaning they are only effects and not the cause. The causal levels are the mental, emotional and spiritual levels, these levels are often referred to as “within” a person.

Misconception #2: Illness and Dis-ease is an Enemy

Most of us are taught as children that sickness is bad and that we need to “fight” against or it will destroy us. All forms of sickness are considered as being caused by some type of foreign body that is invading our body in an attempt to harm or hurt us. Resultantly, all attempts are made by current medicine to destroy the physical illness or dis-ease by medication or other such physical treatments. From this point of view, we are not cured until the physical 'invader' is no longer visible or traceable in our bodies, and thus, the so called enemy has been overcome.

This misconception is broken down when we understand and perceive correctly that illness and dis-ease is our friend, rather than our foe. In this way, it is merely seen as a physical effect, i.e. a message from the body, that what is happening within us, on the level of cause, is not in balance with our greatest good or our own best interests. Whenever we are acting out of harmony with love, we receive feedback in our bodies in the form of illness and dis-ease to help us become aware that we are out of balance within ourselves.

Misconception #3: Illness and Dis-ease is Separate from You

This was briefly mentioned in #1, in that we have been conditioned to believe that these are things which are external to us. Because we can see a virus, a bacteria etc., in our bodies, it appears that these foreign bodies are external to us, that they have nothing to do with us. For example, we believe we get the flu as the result of contracting the influenza virus, because it can be seen through a microscope; therefore, it is deemed as being separate or external from us. In the traditional way of thinking, we have contracted this “external” virus via some type of physical contact, either through another person, animal etc.

Consequently, this is one of the hardest misconceptions to let go of, as it is the one that seems the most accurate based on our senses and what we perceive with them. Nonetheless, if we are to fully understand the role of illness & dis-ease in our lives, it is one we must change. Even though it is hard to understand at first, all illness is the result of non-physical causes. In other words, they are simply outward manifestations of thoughts and emotions that are taking place within us. When we experience a physical illness or dis-ease, we have not contracted anything physical, but in reality have contracted the thinking or belief system that causes the physical effect in the form of a specific illness or dis-ease.

In the cases of epidemics, the duration and extent of an epidemic is directly proportional to the particular belief system that maintains it. The people affected by such widespread dis-ease are allowing themselves to be overrun by the way of thinking prevalent at the time.

Conclusion

From this perspective, we begin to understand that all forms of illness, injury and dis-ease are there to help us; not to hinder, hurt or destroy us. This article is merely an introduction to a different way of approaching health & wellbeing. There are many who have been advocating this approach for many years, including Louise Hay, Lise Bourbeau and Deepak Chopra to name a few. You have nothing to lose in considering this approach, although our natural tendency is to resist, as our ego (beliefs) doesn’t like to be challenged and asked to change from the status quo.

How to Start Living Your Perfect Life

Have you ever wondered why things happen in your life as they do? Do you ever ask yourself, why is this happening to me? Does life anger, confuse or frustrate you with what it throws at you sometimes? If you are human, and are honest with yourself, then you will most definitely answer yes to all the above questions. We all desire to know the answer to this enigmatic question, “are the events in our life random, or is there something greater taking place that we cannot naturally see?”

The answer, in reality, is a lot simpler and easier to grasp than we would originally think. Actually, it is the mind, or more specifically, the ego-mind, that is the very cause for such a question needing to be asked. If it wasn’t for the ego-mind, such a question would be irrelevant, as the answer would be eternally before our eyes. For those of you not acquainted with the ego-mind, here is a brief description.

As human beings, we have a split mind in our current phase of progression. We have a unified-mind and an ego-mind. At any given moment, we have only two choices; to see life through the unified-mind or to see it through the ego. The unified-mind is connected with all things, sees all things as being one, and perceives things as they really are. The ego, on the other hand, separates all things, sees things as being separate from the self, and perceives things according to our beliefs, values, language, memory, past experiences etc. The unified-mind perceives reality; the ego perceives illusion.

The problem for each of us is this: we tend to identify with and look at life through the ego, instead of the unified mind. The ego, because it sees things as being separate, creates the illusion that people and events are external to us. On the other hand, reality, only perceivable through the unified-mind, sees all life as being one with us. The unified-mind is based on the truth that, ‘there is only one person in the room’, and that all things are one and interconnected. But, to the ego, such things are ridiculous, as it is based on the illusion that, ‘there are many people in the room’.

For many, this will be the first time you have come across these concepts. Please be aware, that you will most likely be reading this with the ego-mind, and not the unified-mind. Resultantly, your ego will be disgusted at these words, and will be resisting them vehemently. The ego helps form that little voice in your head that talks to you constantly, the one that you have a hard time turning off sometimes. Essentially, these words challenge the ego, especially the hold it has upon your life and what you perceive within it.

The whole purpose of the ego is to create and maintain the illusion of separation. One of the main principles it works according to is found in the phrase, “perception is projection.” Simply put, what we perceive in others is our own projections coming from the ego. If we dislike how our co-worker has a short temper, it is because we also have a short temper. If we regularly get gossiped about, and it angers us, it is because we also gossip, and we feel guilty about it. In reality, all that we experience in others and life is a reflection of our own inner projections. The ego projects all these things, and then perceives them outside in others, thus confirming to itself the illusion that these things are separate from the self. This is the cycle of illusion that we are all trapped in to different degrees.

Thus, to live a perfect life, and answer the great question asked at the start, we must expose the ego, and start living from our unified-mind. When we live from the unified-mind, we accept that everything is perfect in any given moment. This is the true meaning of love. Love can only be experienced from the unified-mind, as the ego only experiences fear, anger, sadness etc. We can only access the unified-mind in the present moment, as all thoughts of past and future come from the ego-mind. This is why the unified-mind perceives reality, as reality only exists NOW, in the moment. This is the great secret to life that it exists in the moment; there is no past or present, only one eternal now. The ego cannot exist in the moment. Because of this, you or I can never live a perfect life from the ego, as ego is based on illusion, and in reality, it doesn’t even exist. This may come as a shock to some, but know it is only the ego-mind that finds this shocking, as the unified-mind, who you really are, already knows and accepts all these truths.

To live your perfect life is to live in the moment. It is to know and trust that each moment will reveal the best course of action. It is to cast off the ego and start perceiving life through the perfect lens of your unified-mind. When you come to realise that you are the only person you interact with every day, you will start living your life, instead of having life live you. The perfect life is to see the universe as a great mirror, always reflecting back to us our own projections, ultimately to move us closer to love. It is to accept that life already is perfect each and every moment. In this way, your perfect life is that of perfect love. To attain this perfect love, we must let go of the ego and start embracing the unified-mind, who we really are.

Change Your Perceptions, Change Your Life

One thing I am beginning to realise is that perception drives everything in life. I am beginning to realise that all my negative states are the results of perception, or judgement of what is taking place in my life. Essentially it is all according to story, or the ego. Most of the perceptions we make are based on ego, our stories of what has happened in the past.

This realisation has come due to an effort on my part to be more aware and conscious of what is taking place in my life. It is apparent that life is just perception; it is the observer perceiving the observed. We as human beings are both the observer and the observed of what we experience. Accordingly all of life is feedback of us, allowing us to see where we are at, ultimately giving us never ending opportunities to change, grow and essentially progress. In reality the universe and life is organised to cater to our progress, it is designed to lead us upward and forward towards realising our full potential.

I have had opportunities this week to descend into old, repetitive negative states but I have chosen not too. And how did I get to that point of choice? First I was aware and secondly I changed my perception. If I was not aware, fully conscious, I would not have been able to change my perception. Why? Because I would have been consumed in the perception, the perception and I would have been one, not separate. Only by being conscious can you separate yourself from the perception you are making. This is why agency or the ability to choose is essential in the grand scheme of things. Everything in our lives is designed to move us closer to choice, whether we see it that way or not.

How many people can actually say they are conscious in their lives? How many people are actually aware of the perceptions they are making when they make them? How many people can separate their perception from themselves? The truth is most people run on auto pilot for the majority of their lives, totally unaware of the perceptions they are making on a moment by moment basis. Generally the ones that say they are the most conscious are the ones who are the most unconscious. People that are truly conscious do not need to make such assertions as they operate from a state of awareness, fully aware of their inner and outer conditions.

In my own life, most of my negative states in the past are the results of self-judgement, the perception of some action I have or haven’t performed according to some expectation. Normally the expectation is according to our story, what has happened in the past or what we have seen others do in the past. Because we have seen a certain action performed in such a way we expect ourselves to do it the same way or even better. We pick up these expectations throughout our lives, and then compare ourselves to them as we go about day to day lives. Then when we don’t live up to these expectations, we get upset to the point of beating ourselves up both within and without. Do you see the futility in this?

First of all, the expectation has been formed from a perception, a perception based on our story at that point in time. Essentially it is now a perception of a perception. With each layer of perception we get further and further from reality, how things really are. You see there are two sides to every experience, what really happens and our perception of what happens. In NLP this is described by the phrase, “the map is not the territory”, meaning that we do not experience the actual territory, we experience the territory only according to the map we are using. Our map is our perceptions, these perceptions work according to our filters. The filters are beliefs, values, memory, language etc. based mainly off the past.

If left on auto pilot then this becomes a vicious cycle of perception creating perception creating perception. A person then becomes at effect of their reality, as from their unconscious perspective everything in life outside of them is just “happening” to them. Being unconscious, on autopilot, is the basis of the victim mentality. The victim mentality is manifested by those who believe life isn’t fair and that life just happens to them being outside of their control. This again is all according to perception. The map has become the territory to these people, they believe what they experience is what is actually happening. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is we experience life as we are, not as it really is. We experience the territory, what really is, only according to our maps, which are our filters and the ego. The ego and the filters work hand in hand feeding off each other in a repetitive cycle. This is what is referred to as the story. Our story is what has happened to us in the past. It is the “I’m not good at dancing because when I was 10 I tripped up during dance practice at school”. It is the “No one likes me because I am fat and people tease me”. It is the “The world is an evil place because of all the wars, rapes and murders that I see on the news.” It is the “I don’t believe in marriage because all my friends are divorced and are bitter as a result.”

This is all “story” and is based on perception. Every single person is influenced by their own “story”; this is why we don’t see life as it really is; we only see things according to our “story”, our perceptions based off the past. Most people do not live in the moment, they live unconsciously in the past; letting the past dictate what they experience. This is why people repeat the same experiences over and over again. This is the meaning of the map is not the territory, but unfortunately most people live their lives believing the map is the territory. They don’t realise their entire life is created by and based on perception. It is all perception; it is all the way we experience the territory via our individual map.

It is only possible to see the map for what it is when you are aware, when you are operating outside of your “story”. When you are aware and in the moment, you are not operating according to your filters and ego. Being aware allows you to see the perceptions you are making, and gives you the ‘choice’ to change that perception if you so choose. By changing your perception you change the territory as you are using a different map. Change the map and you change the territory. The truth is you are the map and the territory; you use your own map to create your own territory. If people really understood this then most of the so called problems on the planet would disappear almost instantly.

So the question is when will you choose to be aware? When will you choose to be conscious of your perceptions? When will you choose to use a different map to see the territory for what it really is? The choice really is yours, no one else can make it for you, no one else can perceive for you. You make your own perceptions, and your life is a result of those perceptions. Change your perceptions and you change your life. In order to change your perceptions you need to be conscious, be aware of your thoughts and emotions and what is going on inside of you. To remain on autopilot is to remain trapped in the perception. Only by being conscious can you separate yourself from your perception. You are in control of your life; you are your map. Change the map, change the territory; change your perception, change your life.

The Real You Vs. The False You

For many this will seem like an intriguing concept, the concept of there being another you. Most people go about their day by day lives thinking that what they see in the mirror is ‘real’. What’s more, most people believe that everything they see in the world around them is ‘real’. Have you ever seen the cartoon Transformers? It is an old cartoon which was around in the 1990’s and has become popular in recent times by Michael Bay’s attempt at bringing them into the theatre. For those of you who saw the original cartoons, can you remember the tag line in the theme song? For those not familiar with this song the words are, “Transformers, more than meets the eye”. This being the perfect phrase to now use in describing you, as just with the transformers there is also a lot more to you than meets the eye.

Most people tend to identify themselves with what they see in front of them. If you are like most people, when you look in the mirror you believe that person being reflected back is you. As far as you are concerned everything that is ‘you’ can be seen in that mirror. But in reality this couldn’t be further from the truth. What you see in the mirror every day is just the reflection of something greater, something that is hidden within your physical shell which we call our bodies.

This hidden part of ourselves is not hidden in the sense that we are not meant to find it. Neither is it hidden from us so that we will not find it or become aware of it. It is hidden in the fact that it cannot be seen with our traditional five senses. And seems we as humans tend to equate reality with being able to perceive it with one of our senses, we are not normally aware of this ‘hidden’ aspect of ourselves as we go about our day by day lives. It is this hidden aspect of ourselves that we will be looking at here.

Many civilisations, nations, cultures, people throughout the ages have had an awareness of this hidden aspect of being. Many refer to it as spirit, whereas others call it the soul. It is this spirit, this soul, where the ‘real’ you resides. This is the ‘you’ that existed before you were born on earth, and will continue to exist long after you pass through the process we currently call ‘death’. This part of you is eternal; it cannot be created or destroyed.

Now this is completely opposite the characteristics of the ‘you’ you’re acquainted with on a day by day basis. The ‘you’ you’re used to is fat, slow, ugly, dumb, broken, limited, weak, handsome, hairy, short, tall and the list goes on. And according to this part of ourselves we will cease to exist once we die. This is based off the fact that we have seen our ancestors die and be put in the grave; therefore we too will follow the same path.

It is at this point appropriate, after having established that there are two aspects to us as human beings, to put names to these dual aspects of ourselves. First of all, one of these aspects of our being is false, whereas the other is real. No points for guessing which one is which at this point, right? The false aspect of ourselves is called the ‘ego’, with the real aspect of ourselves being referred to as ‘I AM’, or the Higher Self.

Before getting into any more detail it is important to provide some visual aids to help describe what is being explained. The following diagram depicts very basically some attributes of these two different aspects of us as human beings. Following the diagram we will break it down and apply it to ourselves in seeing how this knowledge can benefit us in our day to day lives.

The Real You – ‘I AM’ This is your spirit. This is the eternal you that is: Unlimited Unchangeable Immortal Accepts everything without judgement Part of the One One with all things Exists in the ‘NOW’

The Filters These represent our filters as human beings. These function as we go about our daily lives. The filters are: Beliefs & values Perceptions Environment Memories Decisions Attitudes Language Time/Space It is these filters that determine what we experience in our lives. We do not actually see life as it is, we only see life through these filters. Each of us have differences in how we use these filters, which is why we all experience different things in life.

The False You – ‘The ego’ This is the container that is the effects of the filters on the left. How we use the filters create the ego, or the false self. The ego is your false self, it is the you that is: Limited Changeable Mortal Judges Separate from the One Separate from all things Exists in the past and future At birth, this false self, the ego, is blank. Thus each of us creates our own egos as we go through life from birth. The ego grows and feeds off our filters. Without the filters the ego would not exist.

Let us now take a more detailed look at these dual parts of our being. The deepest, most authentic part of ourselves is who we really are, the ‘I AM’. It is within this ‘I AM’ that our true nature and abilities reside. It is the ‘I AM’ that has come to this part of Earth to experience life within the physical density. This was necessary so the “I AM’ could experience itself in a way that wasn’t possible before we were born on Earth.

As part of being born on Earth we each acquire a physical body of flesh and blood. But we also acquire something else when we enter mortal existence; we acquire filters. As seen in the table above these filters include beliefs & values, perceptions, environment, language and time/space. These filters were not part of our existence before being born on Earth. It is these filters that colour every aspect of our physical lives.

This is where it begins to get very interesting. How we use our filters from birth essentially determines who we become. But you see, who we really are, the ‘I AM’, is unchangeable. Who we really are is already perfect and complete. We are not here to become something as the ‘I AM’ already is all it can be. And it is here we enter into one of the greatest paradoxes that life has to offer.

As we grow as children we begin to experience and use these filters in different ways. As we do so a certain thing known as the ego begins to expand and grow. The more and more we use these filters the stronger the ego becomes. As the ego grows stronger the ‘I AM’ slips more and more into the background. The more control the ego has over our lives, the less control the ‘I AM’ has. Put another way, the more we live from ego, the more of an illusion we live in; and the more we live from ‘I AM’, the closer to reality we live.

The more we identify with ego the less we identify with what is real. The ego does not see things as they really are; it sees things according to the past. For example, after multiple break ups we begin to be resistant to entering into future relationships. Why? Because according to our ego, relationships cause hurt, pain and suffering. Your filters are now coloured accordingly and all you experience in relationships is pain, hurt and suffering. This applies to any experience which we have judged or perceived to be a certain way.

Hence the fact that it is all but an illusion. In reality all of life is a fresh moment, a new moment of NOW. This new moment is not influenced by any of the previous ones, unless we allow it. When we live from ego, we live according to our past, according to our life story. But this story is nothing but an illusion of past beliefs & values, perceptions, environment, language, memories, decisions etc. If we were to drop these filters at any moment we would see life as it really is. This is the paradox we live in. We live in a reality that is an illusion created by ourselves.

The irony of it is that reality is always there to be seen, but we choose not to see it as we live via the ego. The real you, the ‘I AM’, is the pure awareness that exists beyond your thoughts, beyond the filters, and beyond the ego. You are not your thoughts. You are not your filters. You are not your body. And you are most definitely not your ego. These things are parts of you, but they are not you. It is like your body. It is made up of hands, fingers, a head, neck, legs etc. These things are part of you, but they are not who you really are.

As you wake up to this you will start to experience the power that lies within you. As you recognise you are not the voice in your head, it begins to liberate you from the inside out. You will realise you are not a slave to that inner voice, to your emotions, your feelings, and your thoughts. You will realise that you are the silent ‘I AM’ that underlies all of these things, the part of you that is real. As you get in touch with this ‘real’ you, life as you know it begins to shift dramatically. You realise that you have been living in an illusion, albeit an illusion that seems very real while you are in it. Einstein affirmed this as near the end of his life he stated, “Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one”.

You cannot begin to live your full potential until you realise who you really are, and in order to do this you need to understand who you are not. I hope that as a result of reading this you now have a better idea of who you are not, so that you might more fully get in touch with who you really are. There is so much more to you than meets the eye. The more you get in touch with the ‘real’ you, the more you will be able to transform your life. It all starts with a decision, the decision to act. Will you continue living in the illusion, or are you ready to step out of the illusion into reality. The choice is yours.

What is Our True Potential?

The answer to this question has been a topic of discussion since the dawn of time itself. But in order to understand the answer fully, one needs to fully comprehend one simple fact. The very essence of our being is of a dual nature. One is real, the other just an illusion. The real part of us, the spirit, that immortal aspect of us, had it's existence before we were born into this physical body. The illusionary part of us, the ego, that mortal aspect of us, came into existence when we were born into this life with a physical body.

This is such a fundamental truth of our existence, yet so very few people have a knowledge of it, yet alone understand it. This is especially so in the western civilisations as there is such a huge focus on the physical, worldly aspect of life that the spiritual, unseen part of life is often completely overlooked and disregarded. But this very fact remains even when knowledge of it is absent, that human's and life share a common bond of having a dual nature, one being physical and the other being spiritual. The spiritual part of life is reality. One of the fundamental laws of the universe is the law of cause and effect. The spiritual aspect of life in all its forms is the cause level. And the physical aspect of life in all its forms is the effect level.

Let me ask you this question. Where do most people place all their attention and awareness? Is it on the spiritual, cause level; or the physical, effect level? That's right, most people only have their awareness in the physical, effect level of reality. Now remember, the physical aspect of life is an illusion, it is not real. The physical merely reflects the effects of things that are taking place on another, deeper level. And that deeper level is the spiritual level, the level of true reality. This is the level where all things existed BEFORE they became physical. That's right, ALL things that have previously existed, do now exist and will ever exist physically had their existence first spiritually.

This truth is consistent through all of life. All things on this planet have a dual nature, including Human Being's. Now our TRUE potential exists in only one of these aspects of our being. The problem is, most of us Human Being's believe our true potential is found and expressed in the physical aspect of ourselves. This couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is this, that you are a spiritual being have a short physical experience. The truth is that you existed long before entering this world as a baby with a physical body, and you will exist long after you leave this world through the process we call death.

You see the nature of the ego is separation. The ego is limited by our beliefs, values, thoughts and perceptions. When you look at life through the ego you are destined to encounter fear, anger, hurt, sadness etc.. All emotions are created from judgement. The day you stop judging the world, and others in the world, is the day you will never experience another emotion. Emotions are the physical bodies response to judgements and perceptions taking place in your mind. Remember the physical is the effect level, not the cause. So in order for something physical to be created, it first had to exist in the non physical.

When you live life through the ego aspect of your being, you are automatically limited. Looking at life through the veil of ego is like living in a dream. In this dream you only see things according to your beliefs, values and perceptions. You do not see life as it really is, you see life as you are according to your beliefs, values and perceptions. It is not possible to experience life as it really is in this dream like state. This is why it is an illusion. And the funny part is that we live life as though the illusion was reality. Funnier still is the fact that we created the illusion and then believe it is reality without even knowing it. Trust me I know as I have been there and am still there in many facets of  life.

So then where does our true potential lie? It is in the other half of our nature, the spiritual, immortal part of us. Some refer to this as our conciousness, the untainted awareness that lies beyond our thoughts. This awareness is accessible only in moments of peace and clarity. It is the stillness that exists beyond thoughts and is accessible through meditation and other such practices. This state of pure conciousness and presence is where your true potential lies. It is the immortal aspect of yourself, the real you so to speak. This is the part of you that possesses all the seeds of Divinity and unlimited potential.

As a person gets in touch with this aspect of themselves a whole new world opens up to them. An aspect of themselves they never knew existed. When you go through your day to day life looking through the real aspect of yourself it is a completely new experience. It is through this pure conciousness that you see life as it really is. Emotions do not exist when you live from this aspect of yourself. Emotions are replaced by states of being, or in other words, the true parts of yourself. You realise that you do not need to be anyone other than who you are in this state. All judgement is non existent from this aspect of yourself. Separation is also non existent as all things are one and equal. A person is only able to express their true nature and potential when they get in touch with this immortal aspect of themselves. It is here that we must seek to live from. It is here where we get in touch with the reality of who we are and what we can really achieve in this life and beyond.

 

The truth is that each Human Being on this planet has unlimited potential as a Son or Daughter of the Divine. Call this Divine personage or essence what you may, but the truth is that each of us has the same blueprints within as inherited from our Divine parentage. Remember we are each beings of a dual nature. One is real, one is an illusion. One is spiritual, the other physical. One is conciousness, the other ego. One is our true potential, the other our fake potential. It is our choice which side we live from. No one can make the choice for you. 

Knowledge is not enough. For knowledge to work it needs to be put into action, and that also is your choice. You can either live from the cause side of life where you create the life you want; or you can live on the effect side of life where your life is created for you by forces outside of yourself. Either way it is your choice.