E. E. Cummings wrote, “To be nobody-but-yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody but yourself—means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight—and never stop fighting.” “Staying real” is one of the most courageous battles that we’ll ever fight.
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- Vision (2)
You can get a very clear view of yourself through the helpful feedback of those who are close to you. Therefore, the hopes and vision you cherish for the growth of your authentic personality will be worked over and refined in the conscious and nonconscious interchange with your partner and theirs with you. But that vision must always be on your own terms, not theirs.
Researchers at Harvard University tested fifteen people in such a scenario. The unsuspecting subjects of the experiment were walking down the street and a researcher dressed as a “passer-by” (who was in fact part of the research team) asked them for directions. As the subject was giving the directions to the passer-by, two workmen rudely barged between them carrying a door.
This highlights the fact that attention is primarily a conscious activity. The visual experience of change requires focused visual attention, which takes up a lot of processing capacity. In the “present moment” (this is the period of short-term memory span of 1-2 seconds) the conscious mind has a processing capacity of only 127 bits of information per second or about five separate items of thought (plus or minus two). That’s why we miss things at a conscious level. And that's why we need to pay more conscious attention to what's happening around us.
If you doubted the power of mind imagery to change your physical state take a look at this report in Scientific American Mind (May 2012). Amputees who experience phantom limb pain can get relief from an optical illusion. This trick involves looking in a mirror at the reflection of a healthy limb from a certain angle, which causes it to appear where the missing limb should be. Seeing the limb move freely fools the brain into relieving the pain.
Thinking of something else is a time-honored method for coping with pain. Indeed, psychologists have demonstrated repeatedly that what you think about can modulate the pain you experience. People using binoculars to view an injured hand reported greater pain in the hand when it was magnified and less when the binoculars were reversed and the hand was minimized. The size of the image affected the pain.
Until now scientists did not know how exactly that effect plays out in the body. In a study published in Current Biology, neuroscientists have found that distraction does more than merely divert your mind; it actually sends signals that bar pain from reaching the central nervous system.
If we can control pain just by thinking differently then imagine what effective mental imaging can have in all areas of your life. The idea of visioning achieving your goals has been around for a long time but rarely has hard science been so precise in backing up these ideas.
Others accept such experiences willingly seeing them as a natural unfolding of the underlying spiritual nature of the world. God, religion and spirituality may be linked and may also exist separately, and of course you can have a spiritual life with or without a religious dimension to your life. In the 2nd Pillar of the Freedom Code: Alignment I suggest that spirituality is a deeper more profound nature to your being and your connection to the spirit may be understood as a connection to the divine, and/or to your inner nature or to what I call “Quintessence”—itself a sort of spirit of the universe. Whatever you call it or however you describe it my view is that your connection to this deeper more profound and primal connection is absolutely crucial in discovering your authentic nature – and more important – it provides you with the power and strength to fully realize it.
These words of Albert Einstein sum it up well: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.”
Self-direction is the essence of purposive action. You may now be more aware of yourself, have accepted your past, understand your needs and desires, be clear about your vision and values, and yet find yourself much the same as you always have been. Movement may be what’s missing. Literally speaking purposive action is the act of propulsion. No vision, great deeds or notable achievements occur without action.
To be aligned you must have a clear Vision of the ‘ideal you’ accompanied by a life plan that is informed by your values. Vision creates and attracts power. When the flow of your intentions and goals are clear they flow effortlessly into the universal information field. Vision feeds belief and as you begin to see parts of your vision being realized your belief is bolstered.
In the First Pillar of the Freedom Code you learn to access the power of Perceptive Awareness by becoming focused on what is happening in this moment and in the broader sweep of your life in general, and this simply means to be able to pay attention. This enables you to have a clear and accurate perception of the reality you create for yourself. It allows you to access the power of your memory and intuition effectively. All four lead to awareness or what is also called ‘consciousness.’
Many people are simply surviving: surviving work, surviving unemployment, surviving the weekend, surviving Monday, surviving relationships and breakups, surviving parents and children. When you start to live authentically you stop surviving and start thriving. You become honest with yourself about yourself – you get real about what works for you and what doesn’t. This requires getting a handle on what you value in life and what you are prepared to commit to. Because a coherent, authentic life involves commitment, control, compassion and connection with others. Authenticity is about making choices and far more about saying ‘yes’ to committed living than saying ‘no’ to what you don't want. To thrive is also to strive – to make an effort to live a better, richer, fuller life and in the process come into full possession of your unique authentic nature. And the wonderful thing is that just making the choice is often enough to get you there.
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