Manifesting: Removing Self-made Constructs
Every day when you wake up, the world is full of possibility…
This is what I believe and what I have always believed. Some days are tough though, especially these days with our political troubles, high rate of inflation and little money in the bank. Still, it’s important to keep an open mind and let possibility keep you looking at the glass that’s half full.
I’ve got a list of blogs that I’ve written in the past that skirt this area that I want to discuss today. There are bits and pieces in each of them that sheds some light on my thought processes and why I believe what I do. It wasn’t until I read a book in Janes Agenda Masterplan 365 Personal Development Course entitled The Art of Possibility. written by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander that I feel like I was finally able to put this concept into words. I suppose truly there is more than one concept here. The book gives you this uplifting, inspiring call to action without really telling you how to do anything. Maybe it brings forth motivation; to feel different, to change actions and start from a place of growth rather than from a place of confinement.
I digress… here are the blogs:
Reading back on some of these, I have to admit my perspectives have changed some more over the course of the last couple of years. We’re always learning new things and new ways to think, feel, and do things. Read these blogs with a grain of salt and remember that each of them were created in a span of a moment and are finite (as opposed to the great ever-expanding and ever-changing universe). We, as humans are ever-changing, and that’s good - it’s something you should never apologize for. You are allowed to have new beliefs and new thoughts and you don’t need to explain it to anyone.
LIMITING BELIEFS…What are they?
From birth, we are told how to behave, how to act, how to look and sometimes how to think. We don’t get a sense of self (hey, things could be different than what our parents taught us!) until our teenage years into our early twenties, and we don’t have enough bravery to start doing different until we’re in our thirties. At least that was me. Like I’ve said before, once I had my kids, my life changed - it became about them and not me. Besides for less self-care time, it got me thinking outside of the box and thinking less about me and more about others. My actions now affect them so I need to be cautious to let them develop their own minds. I think that’s what a good parent does, is get your kid to think outside the box early on so they can stand up in the world and shout,
“I’m here now! I’ve got something to add and I want to participate!”
Limiting beliefs are these boxes we put ourselves in. They’re our assumptions, feelings and abstractions about the world we live in that can hold us back and prevent us from experiencing a life full of possibility. An easy example would be “I’m not coordinated enough to try out for soccer”, or any other example you can come up with.
So what does this all have to do with manifesting? The book I mentioned earlier talks about being with the way things are as opposed to how we think they should be. Call it living in the moment (which most of us don’t do). What is that saying? If you live in the past, you feel guilt, resentment. anger or sadness, and living in the future makes you feel anxious. It’s not until you live in the moment that you kind of forget about everything else and you focus on the things happening now. You experience fulfillment and enjoyment.
Abstractions are creations of our mind and our language. We each experience the world differently (the authors even touch on the very fabric of reality - is what we see the real deal, or is it something our minds construct?)
[Aside: I read another article from Gaia recently that stated that humans have a very limited perception of reality (our vision and hearing is limited to a very small scope of each range), so how do we know that what we perceive is all of reality. The facts are - we don’t. We do not see or hear all of what actually makes up reality.]
On top of reality itself, the narrative changes by who’s directing the story. You and I can each look at a painting and see very different things.
The authors continue to explain that we need to focus on the way things actually are and not how they should be. If we focus on a negative mindset, or a lack mindset, we remain inside the box. It blocks us from seeing things the way they actually are. We need to start from the way things are as opposed to the way we think they should be. Our abstractions (constructs of reality) prevent us from seeing things as they are. When we do this, we reduce our manifesting power.
Say for example you want to make more money. You may think that wishing to win the lottery is a way to manifest more money. I’m afraid to burst your bubble, but that’s not the way it works. If you live in a mindset that there is plenty to go around for everyone, and you are awakened with the thought that anything is possible, you open your mind (and physical doors) to more positive outcomes. You might see opportunities where before, you might not have. Being negative about a situation (living inside your box) sends you on a downward spiral. It seems that more bad things happen to you (because you’re coming from a lack mindset). You are not open and looking for new possibilities and opportunities. However, if you tend to look at things with a positive light (i.e. a mistake is not something inherently bad - it’s a learning opportunity so that next time you can do better), more doors open for you.
Nine Dot Puzzle
Assumptions: thinking outside the box
This diagram is taken from page 13 and 14 of the book I mentioned above. The first diagram is a grid of nine dots. You are asked to simply connect all nine dots with four lines without your pen leaving the paper. My first personal attempt I was able to connect the dots, but with five lines. The author’s example, (third diagram) connected only eight of the dots. What the puzzle doesn’t give you are any other constraints. The last diagram is an example of thinking outside the box. It’s in this realm of possibility that we can connect all dots with four lines. Literally, the lines are outside the box.
The self made construct here would prevent most people from thinking of this possibility. We assume we need to figure out a solution based on only the facts provided. What is not stated is not possible. But what if it was…
If we could somehow start thinking like this with our everyday problems and situations, imagine how much we could do. Imagine how many more possibilities would exist for us - it would be exponential!
With this in mind, let’s try to step out of our boxes. (I know it’s hard!) Awaken each day and say “Today is going to be a great day” and truly believe it! Let’s think better and bigger… Get out a pen and paper, write down ten affirmations about yourself or your abilities and then do something to prove it. It will make you feel better and get you out of that lack mindset into a growth mindset. When you see positive things start happening, it’s going to keep reinforcing those postive benefits!
Thanks for reading!
Sandra 🌸
