Every event, every person we meet, and every experience we go through has a meaning in who we ultimately become. It might look like that whatever happens outside of us doesn’t affect who and how we react and respond to our environmental stimulus. Who we are and who we become has to do a lot with how we filter the information that comes our way, and how we interpret it. The lenses we use to filter this information is what makes us behave in a one way or another. But where do these lenses come from? The lenses through which we filter the meaning of events come from how we’ve programmed ourselves. To break out of old habits, and to embark onto a brand new world of opportunities, Richard Bandler, creator of Neuro Linguistic Programming teaches us how we can break out of old habits, and replace them with habits that are empowering in our lives. At the same time, this whole notion of how we become who are has to do a lot with how we interpret the events that occur throughout our lives, and for this Dr. Bruce Lipton shows us how we get to believe what we believe in “The Bilogy of Belief”.
Sometimes we go from one way to another, trying to find an answer to our behavior, to our patterns of conduct. We try to find the answer to our dilemmas outside of ourselves, or as Wayne Dyer puts it: “Some people look for their keys outside their homes, when there’s no light inside of their own homes. And why they do that? They say that they’re looking outside because there’s light outside of their homes” Isn’t that what happens sometimes when we lose connection with ourselves and just see darkness inside ourselves? Haven’t you found yourself trying to find in the things outside of you for things you don’t see inside of you? Have you sometimes lied to yourself that the answer to all your problems is in an external event or on an external material object? Sometimes we lie to ourselves and we say, if I were to have that position, or if I were to have that promotion, or if I were to have that which I desire, then I will be the happiest person. Sometimes, it is true, yes, but how long does it last? Perhaps just a matter of seconds, or minutes, or hours perhaps. Then we go out and try to recycle that feeling, so we can get more of the same feelings, and we’re never content and fulfilled. Think and reflect about that, as you are about to put your mind, spirit and energy into your goals. I think goals and outcomes and desires are wonderful.
But what I wanted to do this time, is see if maybe I can get across to you that it’s not merely the goals we want to achieve. That perhaps there’s something bigger than that. Happily achieving is a term that sounds a little cliché, but in essence, it’s true. And what that means to me is to work toward your goals, not merely with a never ending smile, but to work on your goals, knowing that it’s the journey to the mountain that really matters. Once you reach it, it’s just that, it’s the peak, and you can enjoy it up there. But it’s the whole process that really makes you appreciate things differently perhaps today as you are working. Now, before I’m condemned of followers of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and all that great people I’ve had the privilege to listen in my car. I want to give them all the credit, cause what you see written up there is basically their teachings. The reason I didn’t want to stop and start giving them their proper credit right away, is because I didn’t want to interrupt your connection with me, and interrupt the connection with yourself.
There’s tons of information on how to reprogram yourself. There are 2 interesting authors and practitioners that I admire tremendously because what they teach is not merely theoretical. They have actually taken the time to really test out, investigate, and use only the tools that really work the best. They have spent decades figuring out the different things that make you tweak by looking at patterns people develop. But the beauty of this is that is not just mere superficial spiritual knowledge, but their methods and tools are scientifically proven. They are the founder of Neuro Linguistic Programning (NLP), Richard Bandler, and the author of “The Biology of Belief”, Dr. Bruce Lipton. I’m not sure of what you prefer the most, but they’re really fun and easy to read and their techniques really work very well, from what I have tried. They’re just recommendations, you can go whatever route you want to go. Like I said there’s plenty of free information on the web, and plenty of videos on youtube.
Just to give you a quick snippet from Richard Bandler on NLP, here’s a quick exercise you can do to change a particular habit or behavior you have to reprogram yourself. Now, let’s just keep in mind, like with any habit you want to erase out of your body, there’s continuous repetition needed to actually be successful. Just like developing a muscle, it’s the same with these exercises. You need to do them continuously, be patient with yourself, and practice it several times. It’s like when you learned to walk, your parents had to be patient until you walked, same thing here. Be patient with yourself, and accept that this is just the beginning. You will get good at it before you know, but just practice enough times so that you condition it in your body. By conditioning I mean what Pavlov did with the experiments he carried out in conditioning the dogs on salivating by simply ringing a bell. It’s a very famous case in psychology. So, same thing here, you need to condition yourself for your body to act the way you want it.
This exercise can be achieved by first associating negative elements and consequences of, let’s say, smoking. Associate all the negative things to smoking and what are the negative results of smoking. Now, we’re just talking on the information level, conscious level. So, your mind is processing this information, but your sub-conscious is saying: hahaha, you’re so fool if you think you are gonna quit smoking, I got you addicted to nicotine, baby! Now, what you need to do is internalize it by creating a graphical representation in your mind of you smoking and maybe burning with the cigarette in your fingers, or magnifying the inside of your lungs and see how dirty contaminated and disgusting it looks. Make this image big enough that it makes you so sick of just looking at it. You can use another image of yourself using a microphone fixed in an opening in your throat so people can hear you when you talk. Once again make it big enough the size so gigantic and color vivid that you are so embarrassed to look at that picture of yourself. So, make all the negative effects and amplify it so that it looks huge, like the posters they have on McDonalds with the Big Mac Sandwich that when you pass by it you’re probably craving it. Use huge image representations of the negative effects of smoking. Now, think about what happens when you are about to pick a cigarette, think of the previous steps that come before you pick a cigarette, and once you’re about to pick that cigarette, in your mind change the event that is about to happen. Change it to something else, maybe think of snapping your fingers and saying: I’ve got an idea, how about I go check my email now. You can also use something like at the point you’re about to pick the cigarette, you want to dump it in the toilet. Or maybe you want to replace with you taking the pack of cigarettes to burn them in the chimney. But make the image big enough that it looks real. How about making your movie of you, that right before you are about to pick up the cigarette, you replace it with sending a text to your friend, or pick something that you’re not able to do because of your old habit of smoking.
Is there something that your habit of smoking has been depriving you of doing? Is there something like maybe because of your smoking habit, your husband or boyfriend usually repels you because of your stinky smell of nicotine? If the habit of smoking is hurting your job or your relationship, use these events you are sacrificing, and incorporate it in the movie. Do all of this in your mind, practice it in your mind, and do it big enough on a movie theater screen like size so it looks real. The bigger you make it, the more color you add to it, the more real it looks. This is what athletes do to win gold medals. They practice the day of the competition in their minds, and see themselves winning the competition. Now, they just don’t do it 1 day, they do it every second of their lives, they do it in their sleep, they do it their practice, when they’re waiting on line, when they wake up. This is all about erasing the old pattern that is in your subconscious with a new path that will allow you to change your behavior. If you practice enough, you will enter a new realm that you have not experienced before. Once again, be patient if you fail. The earlier you start, the more time and conditioning you have added to your neurons and you can forever destroy the old paths that only have you fixed to a habit that is depriving you of experiencing more and enjoying more of life. So, here’s the link for the book that Richard Bandler wrote called TranceFormation.
When looking at the events that cross our way, this effect has a tremendous play in whom we become. As we filter these events in a particular singular way, they get interpreted internally at our level of perception. As they get interpreted, they actually get stored into our subconscious, and later are the programs we go by. Addictions, ways of livings, patterns of behavior, customs, habits, are all inter-related and they hold together one another. They are the basis of who we are, and every time we try to change them, there’s an inner voice called subconscious that makes us act in a different way. As we go in life trying to eliminate these habits, there’s a constant fight for your body to preserve its natural state. For your body, to do as it has been programmed to do.
Dr. Bruce Lipton in his book “The Biology of Belief”, does a beautiful job in showing us how our genetic make up can be dramatically changed by how we go about responding to our environmental stimulus. Now, obviously nobody can change their DNA, except what we can change is the different variations of our DNA composition. Think about it this way, if you were an architect and you need to design a house in a specific area that is 1 acre in size. No matter what you do or how best of an architect you are, you only have 1 acre to work with. Now, the beauty of it comes as to what you as an architect can do within that 1 acre of land. How many variations and combinations can you design the house or mansion you want do build inside that 1 acre. And that is exactly what Dr. Bruce Litpon refers to when talking about Epigenetics. That for centuries we have been programmed to believe that whatever genes our parents pass to us, we’re victims of those genes. That if my father was an alcoholic, I will also be an alcoholic.
In essence, holding ourselves hostage to this common belief that for centuries society has made us believe. That there’s nothing we can do to alter our genes. The study of Epigeneticc, brings a whole new discovery to this topic, as he suggests that yes, in fact we can change our DNA by changing the meaning of events. By creating a different lense through which we can interpret events in a more profound and positive way. As we get to change our lenses of how we interpret events, then we’re empowered to alter our DNA and train our DNA to respond consistently in a way that supports us, and not destroy us as human beings.
So, how does that apply to you? Well, it applies to you specially when faced with challenging situations at work, where you might get discouraged because you got fired, for example. Not a nice example, but let’s examine it. Some people might interpret the meaning of getting fired and feel that they are not worth anything, and that it’s the end of the world, and that she/he as a person is just ruined. How about interpreting this event as a new change in your career life? How about interpreting this as a sign that the industry in which you are working is changing and that they’ve not kept abreast of the changes that they cannot continue employing you because we’re in the times of light and small is better than big? How about disassociating this event from yourself? Why do people have to associate events with themselves? I think it just sounds a little irritating sometimes to think that people make it so part of themselves that it’s them married to the event. When in fact, the event is something invisible that has nothing to do with the potential or the skills of a person. So, since this is something external from you, why not internalize by giving it a powerful meaning to this situation? Why not using this event to propel you to go beyond your cubicle and maybe become an entrepreneur? Why not make this event send you into a new industry? Yes, yes I know there are bills to pay, and there are obligations to fulfill. I totally understand that, but the event is there not matter what. So whether you gotta pay your bills or not, the event is still there. What Dr. Bruce Lipton recommends is to use this event as a propeller for you to turn it around and make it work in your favor. As you do this, you actually give your DNA a different meaning, by doing this you are actually altering what you will be able to achieve in the future. Think about it, meditate on it. Let it sink into you. And just walk with ease, comfort, and confidence, that there’s nothing wrong with you if you’re fired or if you need to change careers. Use this external events that are outside of your control to make you stronger in face of all the adversity.
Here’s the link to Dr. Bruce Lipton on The Biology of Belief. If you liked what I wrote above, great! You can buy the book here in the Maria’s Store or go to your Barnes and Noble, and read for free in the store. There are really no excuses for not following through.
Hope I’ve awakened a side of you, entertained you or make you break out of your old cycle. My best vibes to you, to your journey to designing a brand new life with new empowering beliefs, and to a brand new day with lots of great opportunities waiting for you.
Have a glorious day!