Tag Archives: reality

How to Change Your Reality

Every moment of the day, we are all experiencing our version of life, and through that, we see and understand what reality is.  But the strange thing is that our understanding of truth in the same situation as someone else can be different.  People do not respond to reality, and they respond tho their perceptions of that reality showing up in their life. Think about how some situations are so tricky they cause a person to break down and be destroyed. Another person in the same position turns the pain and suffering into positive action and becomes better and stronger because of their reality.  The same situation, different perceptions, and very different results. How is your perception of your reality affecting your view of life?

Beliefs and Paradigms

All of us have a structure of rules that allow us to comprehend the world and understand its place. That structure is a paradigm.  Your beliefs drive your paradigm. And our belief system was developed very early in life, usually before the age of 10. These beliefs are things we picked up from observation and direct lessons from our family, schools, organizations, peer groups, and society in general.  Our experience has programmed us.  Some of these beliefs are positive and helpful, and some are limiting and harmful.  It is up to us to evaluate each idea and construct our paradigms of life.

The paradigm you see the world through determines how you react to any situation.  The first choice we all make is whether the world is a hostile place or a wonderful and caring place.  That is the basis for all of the beliefs which follow.  If you think everyone is out for themselves, are mean-spirited and selfish, you will have a much different reaction to someone cutting you off in traffic than someone who believes people are inherently good and life will work out for the best.  These two fundamental views drive the reality of all people.  How do you see the world?  What paradigm have you constructed, and are you willing to evaluate where you are wrong?  That is the beginning of growth, and positive change and life are about development.

Helping Others See

Once you get a little experience looking at your view of reality, when you encounter a person in a place you have previously been, it is natural to want to help them.  Unfortunately, many life lessons are meant to be learned through the cold, unforgiving hand of experience.  You can’t help someone else unless they want your help and, in most cases, ask for it. That isn’t easy when you care about the person and see the path you think they should or could follow to achieve their goals. If they can’t see it, or it contradicts their paradigm, then fear will stop, which is a battle each of us has to fight individually. Just because you can see success for someone doesn’t mean they want it or are ready to receive it.

Please make sure someone wants your help.

To help someone, they need to be open to receiving your help and willing to listen to what you say and think about what they are doing. It helps a person also needs to be receptive to new ideas, thoughts, and potential growth coming their way.  Leaving old beliefs, even clearly limiting one behind, is uncomfortable and painful.  But it is a necessary part of life.  Finally, a person needs to appreciate the opportunity to change and grow.  Otherwise, it will be too easy to fall back into old habits or never take the necessary steps to reach their goals and become the person they want to become. You can offer your help to someone who is not appreciative but be prepared for painful and ineffective results.  It is all up to the person and how they view reality.

Looking Ahead

Finally, look at the vision a person has about themselves and their future, and you will see how we all shape our reality every day through the decisions we make every day.  A clear, inspiring vision of a positive future and understanding of some changes that need to be made to get there will help you shift your paradigm and vision of reality to bring that vision into being. If you lack a clear, inspiring vision, you tend to move around in the present moment or cling hopelessly to the past. Neither of these things will propel you forward, they will just be wasting your time, and unless you change, your vision will never come into your reality.

Having a vision and seeing what you want in your mind before you ever have it come into your life is one of the real joys of being human.  Look at the things you envision for yourself in the future. Are these things you want? Or are they ideas others want for you? Your happiness and fulfillment in life will be determined by how much you allow the creation of your visions. There is nothing worse than creating something you think you want, getting to the end, and experiencing an empty feeling of “this is it?” Real vision doesn’t have that feeling in the future because your reality matches up with your goals and what you want to see in your life. False ideas can come in pursuing a career, doing what you think you should, rather than doing what you want.

Look at your reality today, take an inventory of your paradigm, goals, and vision, and see if your reality matches what you want to see as a part of your life.  If it is, then keep doing what you are doing. If things don’t match up, then be willing to shift your paradigm into something you desire to have in your life.  How can you move your life in the direction of your vision today?  Who in your life can help you, if you ask?

People do not respond to reality, and they react to their perceptions of that reality showing up in their life.

Perception is reality. If you are perceived to be something, you might as well be it because that’s the truth in people’s minds.”- Steve Young

Our understanding is correlative to our perception.”   Robert Delaunay

Perception is created and twisted so quickly.” Louis C.K.

One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one’s perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them.”  Tom Robbins

Doors

There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Aldous Huxley

SHORPY_8d27251a.previewI came across this quote today, and it stuck in my head. It was worth a little thought. Maybe too little. Do you know what is important to you? Do you know the meaning of life? Do you know what your inner nature is? Do you see the power of your thoughts? What happens when this physical life ends?

We don’t know many things, and we are looking for the doors that will bring us into knowledge and understanding of a new life. This quote is said to have been the inspiration for the band the Doors to choose their name. Jim Morrison was on to something, but it makes me think about our perceptions of our realities and how foggy the unknown can make our lives.

What You See Isn’t Always What you See

a Julian Beever’s pavement drawing. amazing!!
Julian Beever’s pavement drawing. Amazing!!

There are whole industries created in marketing that show that our perception will see what they want us to see. That is how they control the marketing dollars by turning your perception of reality into wanting their product. There are also many artists who

An entire generation were lied to about the harm of tobacco products, but good advertisements made the perception of cigarettes positive.
They misled an entire generation about the harm of tobacco products, but good advertisements made the perception of cigarettes positive.

Create incredible images that manipulate our perceptions. Two-dimensional drawings which appear three-dimensional.  These trick your eye into believing something that is not there. How many things in our lives are doing the same thing?  Showing us what we already assume we are looking at, but it is something different. The only way to discern the truth of these perceptions is to investigate them thoroughly. Unfortunately, many people are living in a walking sleep and have no interest in finding the truth. Find the truth and change your perception. Open a new door.

Our Story Can Change

city3All of us have a story that we tell about our lives. It explains who we are and how we have come this far in life. Our trials and triumphs take center stage in this tale about our existence. BUT what happens if you change the story? What happens if you add something new and exciting or remove something devastating and sad? How does your perception change, and more importantly, how does someone else’s perception of you change?

Only by changing the story you tell can you change your perception of yourself. Give it a try. Change that tragedy to a win. Talk about it and see if it turns your descriptions.

Open The Doors of Perception

williamblake396783To understand people better and get fundamental knowledge of yourself, let’s open up these doors to the unknown. All things in your reality come down to the decisions that you make. Decide to be more accepting and open-minded about all facets of life, rather than force-feeding yourself the same old story about something you encounter. Look at it from a new point of view.

Engage in reading books that teach you something or videos about topics you want to learn. As your mind expands with new information, your perception of life is going to change. It has no choice, and it will not go back to what you perceived before.

The more we learn, the more we move into the unknown, the more doors we open. The more entries we begin, obviously, the greater our perception of the world around us. To expand your mind with more thought and knowledge, and the treasures of the world may just be yours. 

Wayne Dyer’s famous quote: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”   This quote tells us that our perceptions of the world are under our control, and it is our choices and decisions that make up our perception of reality.

What are you looking at today that brings a negative perception into your life?

Think

We think all the time! From the moment you wake up to the second your slip back into sleep at night, our minds are a thought creation machine. Smarter people than me estimate we are producing somewhere around 70,000 thoughts per day. The other shoe that must drop on this amazing statistic is that 95% of those thoughts are repeats and totally unoriginal footprints left from days before.  That leaves about 5% of original powerful thoughts to create in your day.  And there is more.  The tenor of your predominant thought patterns, either positive or negative, will determine how things are playing out in your life for you.  It is not what happens to you that matters but how you choose to think about them.  Remember this as we delve into the ideas I am thinking about today.   Think about it.

Thoughts  Lead to Happiness or Not

We think so much that you would be more aware of the thoughts we create and how they affect our lives, but we don’t, and those thoughts control the enjoyment and even success in life we experience. Thoughts that are positive in nature lead to how much you choose to enjoy life.  Those who are of a negative nature lead to the opposite of enjoyment. If you let your thoughts move unchecked through your existence, then your mood will change at the whim of random thoughts, which can easily be manipulated by someone else.

We live in a society that constantly bombards you with negative messages, so it is no wonder that the mind will produce a virtually nonstop stream of negativity left to its default state.  About other people, situations, and of course yourself and how you don’t measure up.  The greatest hope is that in all of our thoughts, we have a choice if we allow them to hook into our consciousness or not.  We can even create our own positive thoughts to buy into if we choose to.  Conscious creation of positive thoughts is the difference between the happy and the sad, and even the successful and unsuccessful in life.

All Things are Twice Created

Everything ever in existence was created twice. The first creation is in one’s mind as a thought.  The second is when forces combine to make that imagined thing a reality. It is true for every building, car, road, or stick of furniture around you.  All of them were once just a thought in the mind of someone, and only through action and pursuit of that dream were created in reality before you.  Can it be that much of a stretch to think the same is true about your health? Your financial well being? Or any other aspect of your existence.

Look at your reality today, and then follow your thoughts about that area of your life.  If you are not happy with your current financial situation or relationship situation, then it is time to examine and consider changing the way you think.  Choosing the thoughts about the way you want things to be like is the first creation. The second will come as you pursue those things in your life.  Of course, you have the choice to stay with the thoughts you have carried your whole life, but you can’t be surprised when those thoughts deposit you right back where you are now, in the same situations not making you happy. Choose to create the things that will make you happy with your thoughts.

It Can Change in an Instant

The great thing about refocusing your thoughts is it doesn’t require a long, drawn-out process to accomplish. You have to start to create a focus around the things you are thinking.  What are the negative thoughts you believe about yourself? Money? Success? Love? Whatever?  We predominantly think the thoughts are based on the programming we received when we were very young children, trying to figure out how to survive and thrive in this world.  The things which were true for us then clearly, at the very least, are no longer applicable today. At the most, they are inaccurate and faulty programming we accept as true without question.

Look at the thoughts you believe in and challenge them.  The worst thing that will happen is you will know some beliefs you want to hang on to. But the best thing will be that you will edit or remove faulty thinking from your reality.  Success, money, love, or anything else are available for everyone, and our thoughts are the place we need to start to take control of our own reality.  The alternative is to believe you are operating at the will of every other force in the world. You are not. Each of us has the ability to be a unique and powerful creator in this world.

 “If you realized just how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” Anonymous

 “Change your thoughts, and you change your world.” Norman Vincent Peale

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” Willie Nelson

 “Every thought we think is creating our future.” Louise Hay

“Begin to believe in the power of your thoughts.” Anonymous

“Thoughts have energy. Make sure your thoughts are positive and powerful.” Anonymous