The intent of appreciating what one already has attracts more things to appreciate.
The Law of Attraction
I would say that focused appreciation is truly at the core of any manifestation practice. If we don’t know how to appreciate what we already have, then how will we be able to appreciate all that we attract?
Creating the Mental Shift
This shift in perspective starts by setting an intention. This is to make a switch from focusing on what you are missing in life,to focusing on all that you already have. Once you set the intention to consciously make this shift in perspective, then all you have to do is follow through with your own awareness (consistency is key!).
Give it Your Attention
To be quite frank, your guides and higher-self can most definitely call bullshit if you are being inauthentic with your appreciation. This is where the focused aspect of focused appreciation comes in.
When you are bringing your attention to all that you have to appreciate in life, give it your full attention! This also means genuinely focusing on “why” you appreciate it, as well as knowing the intent that you have for appreciating it in the first place.
Get Ready for Change!
Not only does focused appreciation welcome in more things to appreciate, it also feels good! The more consistent one is with this shift in perspective, the more they will find their external world shifting with them.
And I say to you whom may hold doubt that it would work: Does it hurt to try?
How the mantra, “I AM THAT ALREADY,” created a positive shift within my life.
JOURNAL ENTRY 11/30/20:
"For today, I let myself know that 'I AM THAT ALREADY.'
In other words, I don't need to 'get' anywhere, I'm already there.
Whatever I need/want I can attract.
Whatever does not honor me or bring me joy, I can let go of.
I am already successful, at peace, complete, enough.
The only way I can lose this peace is by believing I don't have it,
by believing it is lost.
I AM that peace, and I lose it when I look outside of myself for answers, validation, satisfaction.
So... Whatever I often try so hard to be, I am that already.
I am, that I am."
“Love, You Are Enough, As You Are.”
This is truly at the core of the mantra “I am that already.“
One cause of suffering is the belief that we are not good enough as we are. The belief that we need to obtain, achieve, or satisfy something outside of ourselves in order to prove that who we are is in fact enough.
The difficult part about this though, is that no matter how hard we work towards the things that we think are required in order to make us complete, it will never be enough, because we would have been looking in all of the wrong places (we do not even have to look in the first place).
You do not have to prove yourself to anyone… So whatever point you feel as though you need to get to in order to be enough, whatever you spend so much time desiring and aspiring to “be”, just know that you are that already.
The more you know this statement to be true, that you are already enough, the easier it will become to attract and manifest the things and experiences that you truly desire.
The energies of lack and love, of dissatisfaction and appreciation, vibrate on completely different frequencies; Therefore, they will attract completely different things.
“There’s No Need To Chase, You Are Already There.”
This goes hand in hand with knowing that we are already complete and enough as we are.
We are already where we need to be. Everything that we need or desire, we have the power to attract. We don’t need to “get” anywhere outside of ourselves to be where we want to be, it truly all happens within our being.
Whether it be slaving away at work to try and live up to a certain standard, or sticking with a strict routine in order to maintain a certain image, more often times than not: We are unconsciously doing it in the attempts to manage the perceptions of others, rather than doing it because we genuinely love and care for ourselves.
All it takes is a shift in our way of thinking, a shift to being more loving and compassionate towards ourselves. So the next time you meditate, exercise, go to work, or even something as simple as washing your face, think about why you do it.
“Allow You To Be The Source Of Your Own Peace.”
Once we realize that we are the source of our peace, we also realize that this peace can then never be lost. This can be one of the hardest concepts to accept as we live in a world filled with so many ways to escape and distract ourselves.
You can be your own friend, your own lover, your own motivation.
One of the most liberating things for me was truly realizing my worth. Stepping into confidence and letting go of all the internal self-doubt I was grasping onto. The doubt that I thought I needed in order to improve. Little did I know, the only way I could improve was by letting go of this doubt, this judgement, entirely.
So the same thing I say to myself, I now say to you: No need to worry about achieving, chasing, or living up to something “greater.” Love, you are that already, and that is more than enough.
YOU are what keeps United Being going, so thank you for your support! All my love, and I continue to wish you all the best on your journey. Namaste.
Big news, we are transitioning United Being to a social media platform!
United Being’s mission is to provide an online social networking platform for the higher-conscious/truth-seeking community to connect with one another and expand their knowledge and understanding on a variety of spiritual, mystical, metaphysical, and philosophical topics. Our goal is to provide a positive safe space where people can go to learn, grow, and lift each other up.
On United Being’s site and mobile app, members will have the opportunity to create their own individual profiles, form online subgroups within the United Being network, share content, and initiate and participate in online forums/discussions within the United Being site/app. (United Being also provides a Newsroom section on our site where we, as United Being, will share a variety of articles and updates on news happening in the spiritual, metaphysical, and philosophical community as a whole.)
THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW SITE AND MOBILE APP WILL BE HAPPENING ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th. WE WILL MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT AS SOON AS IT IS UP AND RUNNING, SO STAY TUNED!
It’s not uncommon to get caught up in the trickiness of how to perceive our egos. Once we become aware of it, we are then met with the crossroads of how we should approach it.
The patterns and behaviors of the ego are often portrayed as a mental structure that does not serve our true selves, but if opposing it only makes it grow, then how should we go about treating it?
Better Understanding The Ego
A simplified definition of the ego is a false sense of identity that our mind creates for ourselves throughout our lives by identifying with different things like certain thoughts, beliefs, opinions, stances, forms, etc. In our thinking mind, it is who we often mistake for who we are, but who we truly are goes far beyond any conceptual structure built within our minds.
What I consider to be two of the most common misconceptions of the ego are that:
The ego is a conscious entity that we have no influence over.
Once we dissolve the ego, we can live without the presence of it.
To address what I consider to be the first misconception (based on my own experience), instead of conceptualizing the ego as its own entity beyond our control, I like to think of the ego as a set of programmed beliefs.
The ego trying to “survive” is simply an analogy for our minds defending the beliefs that we have identified to be either true or untrue, good or bad, right or wrong, who we are or who we are not, and so on.
This is what Eckhart Tolle means when he says “the ego loves nothing more than to be right.” In our minds, “right” is what we have identified and programmed ourselves to believe as true, or “good”, so this belief is what our egos will continue defend. The main thing to realize here is that although we are not consciously choosing to defend this stance, we are the ones who have unconsciously programmed our egos to take that stance, and we do in fact have the power to change these programsto ones that serve us.
To briefly address the second misconception that I listed above: We as human beings will always have an ego. Now, whether it be subtle or inflated, whether we be conscious of it or not, that it up to us. It is not about eliminating the ego, it is about learning how to live with it.
Observing It Without Judgement
When we first learn of becoming aware of the ego, and are able to observe its behavior, it is common to instinctively become judgmental towards it.
“Ugh, there it goes again.”
“That’s my ego, I shouldn’t be thinking that.”
“Shut up, that’s not who I really am.”
Thought narratives like these can be common when one observes the patterns of the ego within their own mind. The funny thing about it is, is that all of these narratives are also derived from the ego! This is one of the things Eckhart Tolle is referring to when he regards the ego as being “clever”.
When we judge something, we are also making the implication that the thing in which we are judging is “wrong”, which also implies that we are then “right”. When we judge the thoughts, patterns, and behaviors that come as a result of our egos, this judgement is also the work of our egos, as we are perceiving the “ego” as a new enemy that is “wrong” or “bad” and must be defended against.
I made the mistake of doing this constantly when I first became aware of the patterns and behaviors of my own ego, not realizing that this judgement was in fact inflating it even more. Once I realized that this was in fact causing me more suffering than liberation, I made the connection that although I was able to observe and become aware of my ego, I did not have to react to it. “What you resist, persists.” had never rung so true.
Treat It Like a Child, Not An Enemy
Lastly, the greatest advice that has helped me when coming to perceive the ego: Treat the ego like a child, not an enemy. Fighting the ego only makes it grow stronger, so the more one tries to resist the ego, the more power it will have over them.
This does not mean that we have to give in to the ego, it simply means that we must guide it, as if it were a child and knew no better. Like our thoughts, although we may not have control of what passes through our mind, we definitely have control over how we choose to perceive it.
As we alter the way in which we perceive the content that rises within our minds, we will begin to see that over time, this change in perception alters the content itself. This is what Dr. Wayne Dyer means when he says, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.“
When we approach the ego with a loving presence instead of attacking it with labels and frustration, our mind will begin to reflect this peaceful and loving state, and the limiting behaviors of the ego will begin to dissipate.
We can still be aware of the ego without fighting it. It is simply about replacing these thoughts, patterns, and behaviors to ones that serve our true selves, not our self-constructed identities that live within our unconscious.
So if you ever get caught trying to determine whether something is arising as a result of the ego or as a result of your true self, choose love over fear and you will never be wrong. Namaste and all my love, I hope this helps!
To pause, and realize that we are the ones reacting to our own thoughts.
Many of the negative emotions that we experience come as a result of reacting. Even if there is nothing external to react to, we may be stuck in patterns of reacting to our own mind activity, reacting to our own thoughts.
“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.”
– Eckhart Tolle
It is so easy to fall into cycles of judgement towards our own mind activity, especially when thoughts arise that don’t align with our highest desires or expectations, and once we are stuck in these cycles it is often difficult to see any way out through the shrouds of illusion. But, it is important to highlight the key word here, illusion.
(Although this is in regards to our internal, this goes for external circumstances as well.)
If we attempt to fight or judge an illusion, the illusion will only grow, for we are then feeding it our energy and attention, we are then reacting to it. We are the masters of our own minds, not the other way around. The only power our minds have over us is the power that we give it.
No matter what though, love and compassion never cease to overcome all forms of negativity. It may sound cliché, but it is true nonetheless.Often the simplest of truths are the ones that are closest to it. My advice, from my own personal experiences is: Always choose love, and there will be no regret.
“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”
– Nancy Willard
I’m sure that many of you have heard the saying, “sometimes the questions are more important than the answers,” as have I; Before I realized the extent to how true and impactful this message actually was.
I have found that asking myself questions is the easiest way to become aware of unconscious patterns.
I also made the connection that the wording I used when posing the question played a major role in what I was able to uncover within myself.
For example: Whenever I feel feelings such as fear or anxiety arising within me, I simply ask myself the question, “What am I so afraid of?“Whenever I ask myself this question, all feelings of fear and anxiety dissipate within me.
Another example is when I catch myself having a difficult time being genuine or authentic with my words, or simply not sure which direction I want to go in. Whenever I feel this way, I pose to myself the question, “What are my true intentions?” Whenever I ask myself this question, a sense of clarity comes over me, and I am able to honestly work towards and communicate my goals and expectations.
So often we spend our time unconsciously avoiding or ignoring thoughts or emotions that we don’t like, instead of confronting them with the presence of awareness.
One way to confront these thoughts or emotions with the presence of awareness is by asking ourselves questions. Once we address this cause of suffering by asking ourselves the right questions, we create an internal shift allowing inner peace to take over.
These are just a couple of examples that I use often within my own life, but the power of questions don’t just apply when asking questions to myself, but sending a question out to the universe as well. I have found to be true that whenever I send a question out into the universe, even if the answer may not be direct, I always receive an answer in some form. Although from my own experience, I would say that the simplest and most effective way to use the power of questions to benefit one’s life is by posing them to themselves.
When posing a question to oneself, I have found that the most effective way to do so was by asking it internally, in the form of thought.
Although it is true that we are not our thoughts, as Eckhart Tolle and many others influential teachers express, our mind can still be used as a tool for good.
One does not have to verbalize the question that they are posing to themselves out loud in order for it to have a positive impact, asking the question in the form of internal thought is just as effective, if not more.
The possibilities for the questions that can be posed are endless, whether it be from something as vague as “What do I want?” to something as specific as “What am I feeling?“. At the end of the day, pose whatever question calls to you! We are all on our own individual journeys and thus are looking for our own individual answers that relate to our own individual experiences, so we will all have very different questions to ask, and that is the beauty of it.
To have self-discipline is to honor and encourage oneself, while being consistent with one’s own word.
The truth about self-discipline is that one simply has to do it. There is no thinking when it comes to making decisions that honors oneself, they either make it or they don’t.
There are many spiritual and metaphysical practices as well that require self-discipline like: yoga, meditation, journaling, educating oneself, and so much more. (although self-discipline can be practiced throughout anyone’s everyday life)
The more one practices making decisions that are aligned with their highest intentions, the easier it will then become to make these decisions. When one remains consistent with their word, then these decisions are no longer a struggle to make; they then become automatic, ingrained as a pattern within our subconscious.
For me in the beginning, I can admit that I had to force myself to become accustomed to such practices of self-discipline. Although looking back now, I am grateful for the ways in which I pushed myself to reach my highest potential.
Below, I list some of the healthy ways in which I was able to establish self-discipline in order to better myself.I hope it helps.
Getting to Know My Patterns
We all have patterns that run through our minds on a daily basis. These are the same patterns that influence our behavior, as well as the decisions we make throughout each day.
Once we become aware of the recurring patterns that we often follow without thought, we are then able to catch ourselves before we unconsciously react to such patterns.
These patterns can be something from eating a sugary snack with a cup of coffee every morning, to smoking a cigarette whenever stress hits, to procrastinating every time one has to do work that disinterests them.
Yes, eventually the intention may be to reprogram these patterns to something that serves us, but nonetheless, the first step is simply becoming aware that these patterns even exist. Once we are aware, we can then take the steps to stopping these patterns through self-discipline.
Stop Playing the Victim Card
One of the most difficult shifts to make, yet also one of the most impactful, was realizing that it was time for me to stop playing the role of the victim and to take accountability for my actions.
As I became more and more aware of how much I unconsciously played the victim card, I also realized how much power I gave away in the process of doing this. I wanted to rise up to my true power, yet I was simultaneously contradicting myself by claiming to be a victim.
If I knew I was a co-creator, then why would I choose to fall victim to my own creations; Unless I had doubt that I was in fact a powerful creator?
This victim mentality was the very thing that was holding me back from reaching my highest potential.
To make this shift, I first had to realize that I could not pick and choose when I created and when I did not. I had to make the connection that I was in control of the experiences that I brought into my life. If I wanted to accept the good, then I also had to take accountability for my mistakes.
Now this does not imply that we are the sole cause of all the suffering on this planet. This simply means that we are in full control of the experiences that we attract within our own personal lives, and that we cannot pick and choose what we want to take accountability for.
Being Consistent
This aspect of adding self-discipline to one’s life is so important, for it involves honoring one’s own words and intentions. To be consistent with your word is to keep the promises that you make to yourself.
For me, this meant following the rules I set for myself until it became routine.
It is so easy (and also very common, it happens to the best of us!) to begin a practice or to set an intention for ourselves in order to establish a set routine, just to have it discontinue as time goes on.
Of course it is never intentional to discontinue said routines, but we often tend to forget soon after, or sometimes manage to find an excuse in order to make ourselves feel better about discontinuing.
The truth of the matter is that being consistent simply requires dedication, determination, and yes, self-discipline. But the good news is that one does not have to rely on anything external in order to implement whatever routine it is they would like to establish, because no one has the power to push and motivate you more than yourself.
The initiative I took that helped me the most when it came to being consistent, in addition to simply taking action in the present moment and doing what it was that I wanted to achieve, was dropping all excuses.
I realized that when I kept being dishonest with myself, and convincing myself of things that were not true, the only person I was lying to and holding back was myself.
I then made the connection that if I was going to maintain self-discipline, it would be for me and my own good; To love and honor myself through genuine and consistent actions (and although I am speaking from my own personal experiences, this can go for anyone).
Making the Right Decisions
Lastly, it cannot be broken down into a simpler form: Make the right decisions.
As I stated above, I realized that making excuses for myself was simply a waste of time. If I wanted to make the right decisions, I came to the conclusion that all I had to do was make them.
This may sound simple, but that is only because it is. I would spend so much time thinking about whether I wanted to make a decision or not, that I would end up making no decision at all; Or I would simply allow my impulsivity to take control and make the decision that I was used to (which was often not the one that served me).
I then reached a point where I was tired of my own excuses, and was hungry for change.
To my surprise, the decisions that bettered me were not difficult to make at all. It was only overthinking and procrastination that convinced me making decisions that were good for me was a complex and nearly impossible feat.
A mere illusion that I convinced myself to accept as true.
No matter what though, through it all, one must not forget to love themselves unconditionally through the process, and to remain patient and forgiving with oneself as they continue to practice and learn.
So I encourage you all to be the best yous that you can be, because we all deserve to be our best authentic selves. All my love, I hope this helps. Namaste.
“Just listen,” is not as easy of a task as most make it out to be. Listening is an art, a skill that can be mastered.
How does one listen? I have always found it interesting that from a very young age, we have constantly been told to “listen” and to “pay attention” without ever being taught how to. Even as adults, we so often neglect the importance of what it truly means to listen.
Listening is an art, and trust me, it takes a lot of practice. There are a lot of aspects that come into play when listening to another speak.
Investing All of One’s Attention Into Listening
I would consider this to be the aspect of most importance when it comes to listening to another. Directing one’s attention towards one thing at a time requires intense focus, practice, and self-discipline (especially within the fast-paced society we’ve constructed for ourselves).
When listening to another, it is of utmost importance to give them all of your attention within that moment. If one is simultaneously attempting to complete a separate task, or if their mind is wandering the entire time, then their attention is not being fully invested in what the other has to say, and they are therefore not listening.
Being Present
Being present goes hand in hand with investing one’s attention into what the other has to say. If one is not fully present for the other, whether it be focusing on what is to come, or focusing on what has already passed, then they will not be able to comprehend the message that the other is trying to convey within that moment.
To be present with someone is to be grounded within the moment, to connect on a deeper level; A level deeper than the identities and mental-constructs of what we expect others to be. It is important to do this so one can accurately become conscious of what the other is actually trying to communicate, instead of formulating one’s own misinterpretation of what the other was originally intending to express.
Maintaining an Open Mindset
If we hold onto the assumption that we already know what the other has to say, then we are also implying that whatever the other has to say is not important, or does not matter.
I always remind myself that regardless of what the other is trying to communicate, their feelings are valid, and they deserve to be heard. This does not mean that I have to agree with or believe everything that they have to say, but by no means does it suggest that I have to disregard their thoughts and feelings.
One cannot truly listen to what another is trying to communicate if they have already established a presumption in their mind of what they are going to say. If one listens with an open mind, letting go of all preconceived notions and expectations, then they will be able to effectively hear the message that the other is attempting to convey to them.
Acknowledging the Beingness in Another
Lastly, acknowledgement is so powerful. It is important to acknowledge the beingness and conscious aspect of the other as you are listening and present for them. The other is not simply an object existing only to serve, the other is a living, breathing, human being with thoughts, feelings, and perception just like you and me.
Once one practices becoming aware of the fact that how we treat others is equally as important to the way in which we treat ourselves, and that what others choose to express to us is equally as important to what we have to say, we then are able to communicate from a place of compassion and higher awareness rather than placing the importance only on the points that matter to us and our own objectives.
To live in a constant state of gratitude is to be content with all-that-is.
Only when we make peace with all-that-is are we able to rise above, or overcome all that we consider to be negative in our lives. The situations within our own personal lives that we consider to be negative are only negative because we choose to perceive our circumstances through that lens. When we create a shift and recognize the reasons to be grateful for all that we have, we then begin to realize that where we are is actually pretty good!
Give to receive. That is law.
Whatever we give is what we shall receive. Whether it be love, judgement, fear, or gratitude; Whatever goes around comes around.
The power of living in a state of gratitude typically tends to be pretty underestimated. I’ve found this aspect of my life to be so important now that the last thing I say before I go to sleep and the first thing I say as soon as I wake up in the morning is “Thank you.”
When we teach ourselves how to be thankful for all that we have, we also open ourselves up to allowing and receiving that same type of positive energy. If we only focus on the things that are “wrong” in our lives, then that focus will allow those types of experiences to continue.
I know how easy it is to slip into the ego’s tendencies of complaining about all the things we claim to dislike in our lives. I know how easy it is to slip into thinking about how good our lives would be “If we just had…“, and I know how easy it is to slip into negative ways of thinking when things don’t go our way; But it is still our choice whether we want to focus on the positive or the negative.
It is, and always is, that simple of a decision.
Some ways that one can practice living in a constant state of gratitude are:
Starting a Gratitude Journal
This can vary from writing a list of at least 5 things you are grateful for every day, to keeping a journal dedicated to gratitude.
Saying “Thank You“
This can be saying “Thank you,” right before you go to sleep and as soon as you wake up in the morning, to simply becoming aware of saying “Thank you,” to people in general.
For Every Complaint, Find Gratitude
Every time you catch yourself focusing on complaints, become aware of at least one thing that you are thankful for. Make the shift.
These are just a few examples that work for me, but like always, the list can go on forever and it is important to follow whatever path works for you personally. All my love and best wishes, thank you.
The moment one “tries” to be a certain way is the moment they get lost in the process.
The beauty of simply being is that one doesn’t have to try or do anything. This is what some would call, “going with the flow”. It is the art of intentionally transitioning into a state of allowing and acceptance.
When we try to act, or even think a certain way, we are also unconsciously establishing the implication that we have to do in order to be.But we are already complete as we are.
Although it is important to recognize that through this natural process, awareness is powerful.Being is not simply giving up and falling into a state of unconsciousness, in fact, when we are in a state of being we are becoming more aligned with our higherconsciousness. When we allow things to flow naturally, it is important to do so with the presence of awareness so we also become conscious of the things that were once running behind the scenes as unconscious patterns.
So being is not simply a doing in order to gain a temporary sense of relief from our lives, it is a way of living. Once we begin to live life in this constant state of flow, it creates the shift into becoming our natural state. There is no more trying, there is no more “If I could just achieve this, I will finally be complete,” there just is, and that is a beautiful thing.
United Being 