Seven Steps From Visions To Reality

Fear is my best friend.
It shows me a path to nowhere;

I choose another way.
they say that a true hero is not one that harbors no fear but rather one that dares to overcome their fear.

fear is there behind you; don’t let it follow you.
if you do, you will spend your life running.

turn around and walk towards your fear; see it shocked with disbelief.
keep walking despite fear’s attempts to scare you; keep walking steadily.

walk through it – a miracle happened!
fear disappeared as if there was nothing there but thin air.
this is the substance fear is made of – thin air.

STEP ONE – BE A FOOL FOR VISION

I tend to say that only the naïve can achieve. The naïve is a fool, don’t be confused by the term and mistake fool for foolish. What is meant by fool is the innocent child quality that lives in an adult. This faculty is the most essential in acquiring vision, for as adults we tend to be cynical, skeptical, insecure, calculated and afraid of failure, while a child looks at the world awe inspired and imagines that everything is still possible. As adults we need to discern how to use different aspects of ourselves properly; when it’s time to garner vision, be the fool, awaken the child and reach for the stars.

STEP TWO – SEE IT HAPPEN and IT WILL

The conscious mind is where we spend most of our life; it seems that there is nothing else but it; it’s where we live and naturally it is that same conscious mind that we use when we try to create things in the world. Here’s a great secret; the conscious mind is very limited faculty of manifestation, it is not efficient at all for that purpose.

The subconscious mind on the other hand is the mind that can communicate your vision to the outside world and merge it there for its manifestation.

Use your conscious mind to plant the vision in your unconscious mind. To do that imagine your vision, see it happen and imagine how it feels – see it, feel it; do that with conviction and you will witness miracles.

STEP THREE – MAKE IT YOUR PURPOSE

Once you’ve summoned a vision and envisioned it happen, saw it and felt it, make it your purpose. You will need purpose when discomfort and pain appear on the scene and sacrifice is needed, for not much is achieved in life without sacrifice.

If you don’t make your vision one with your purpose, you will uphold another purpose, an underlying purpose you may not even be aware of. The most prevalent purpose is to avoid pain and gain pleasure – the mother of mediocrity and the archenemy of greatness. The only way to escape this purpose is to consciously choose another.

STEP FOUR – MAKE THE NOW YOUR HOME

Don’t dwell in the past, don’t allow it to be chains around your ankles, acknowledge it and move forward for this is the only movement there is. The present moment is the only asset you own, elusive as it is, it is home. What is now cannot be changed but it is where the work is done. Take your judgment away from the equation: hone the faculty of clarity; it is not good or bad it is what it is. If you think that circumstances are not in your favor, imagine instead that you’ve invited them yourself to create an appropriate challenge to optimize your growth. Do not harbor aversion to what is. Remember, the present moment is what it is and from here the future is shaped. (Repeat step two the more the better).

STEP FIVE – INITIATE IT

Your vision is in place, a sense of purpose kicks in, the present is acknowledged for what it is; you have used your imagination to plant the vision into the subconscious mind; now it is time to take action. It is amazing how many people expect things to just happen for them. You must initiate, do something to actually take the vision from the realm of your mind and anchor it in the reality of the world. Jot down your mission statement, write an action plan, arrange the priorities, take initial action, do something to set things in motion. This point seems simple and obvious but most visionaries stop here, they just dream and stick to their comfort zone. Remember; action is where manifestation begins: initiate – take action towards your vision, once you do that, you will know you are on track, it’s not a dream any more.

STEP SIX – RESISTANCE IS PART OF IT

Initiation generates resistance – it’s the law for nothing works without resistance, nothing at all. Understanding that resistance is a fundamental and essential part of the process is the most important point of all. Don’t confuse resistance with trouble; don’t let your judgment interfere. Expect resistance, the so called obstacles along the way, they will come don’t doubt that for they are needed and no process will occur without them. Resistance is an organic part of the process itself be ready for it.

Harness the adult to the process as the child tends to crumble when the seas turn rough. Don’t blame anyone or anything, don’t curse your luck; rather, claim responsibility and maintain your power at all times. Don’t say ‘it happened to me’, say instead ‘it happened for me’ and everything will change and make sense, the entire universe will conspire to help you, no force will be able to stop you if you learn the final move in this magical dance.

STEP SEVEN– FLOW WITH THE FORCE

Keep your pace. Maintain your vision, spur yourself, if your sense of purpose is intact any sacrifice along the way will only feel natural. You may need to explore the uncharted, to walk toward your fear. In the process you may discover your power; endurance, persistence, perseverance – this is the stuff winners are made of. Yet remember you are not in control; the force of life is greater than you. Walk with it, not against it, or it will crush you.

When you arrive at your destination, it may not be exactly the place you have envisioned, things have changed in the process; they always do. You are not the same person that took the first step, you’ve interacted with living forces and they’ve left their imprint, respect that and remember the only destination is the journey itself.

(A hint: While all steps are important step number two is the key.)

Tolerance

From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: tol·er·ance: 1. The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others. 2. The capacity to endure hardship or pain.

I made a promise to myself that when I started writing articles for my website I would focus on what issues currently were being raised in my personal life. Lately, I’ve been getting strong indications that tolerance, or my lack of it, is something I clearly need to look at. So, I’m delving into it with fear tossed aside, knowing that if I don’t look at it now, I quite possibly face an even more painful lesson on it in the future. I’m presenting this article to you in hopes of sharing insight you may find useful in developing coping methods for yourself or others.

Conceptually we know the importance of remaining tolerant to the diverse attitudes, behaviors, and cultures we find ourselves experiencing nearly every day. Does that stop us from instantly losing our cool when another driver suddenly pulls into our lane, cutting us off so that we have to slam on our brakes and slow us way down? Then we patiently wait for the driver to pick up speed, enough to do the speed limit, only to find they continue to putt along at 35 m.p.h. in a 55 zone. That’s when we really lose it. I know, because I’ve been there several times. And I don’t even drive in commuter traffic on a regular basis. But I’m sure the millions who do commute fight a mounting level of unhealthy stress as their tension builds up after one tolerance-testing incident after another. (I cite an example of driving in commuter traffic because I personally feel this activity is a clear, repeated test of tolerance in our society!)

“By taking revenge, a man is even with his enemy; but in passing over it, he is superior.” Francis Bacon

So now you’re asking, how do I deal with these everyday situations? My guidance shows me that in these situations we tend to take things too personally. It is obvious that the other driver doesn’t know you personally, so why would they want to be hurtful to you? One coping method for the above-mentioned situation is reminding yourself that you can’t possibly know the whole story of why the person is acting the way they do.

There can be many circumstances influencing their behavior: (1) perhaps they’re driving home from work, where they just got chewed out by their boss and are allowing their anger to be displayed in their actions on the road; (2) they could have just received bad news about a loved one’s illness and are in despair over it, inhibiting their mental functions to properly execute rational driving behavior; (3) or 100 other reasons unforeseen which I can continue on about. But I’m sure you see the point I’m trying to make here.

Their actions are caused by strictly personal issues which are affecting their behavior, inadvertently affecting others in their external world. Simply reminding ourselves that we can look at this from a higher perspective by acknowledging we don’t know the whole story and that this person may be going through difficult times can be enough to relax about it and develop increased tolerance.

This way of thinking can apply to not only mundane experiences such as commuting, but in bringing peace to perplexing relationships with others at work, family matters, and in our interactions with others in our community, not to mention on a global scale with those of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Instead of struggling to change unchangeable situations, an easier solution is to adjust our own perspective.

In addition, the following technique is immensely healing for those tolerance-testing circumstances. Immediately after a tense, anxiety-producing situation, take a deep breath and mentally blow out all of the tension to which you are holding on.

You can imagine this tension as an unpleasant color, such as gray, and mentally watch this gray energy leaving your body through your breath. With each in-breath, picture a calming color entering your body, eventually filling it to overflowing. Continue to repeat this until you feel calm once again. This helps you to return to a state of mind where you can then look at the situation from that higher perspective I mentioned above.

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” Dalai Lama

It’s helpful to understand why we react in an overly sensitive manner to begin with. We are conditioned by past experiences to respond with strong emotions when we perceive possible harm toward our bodies or emotions. Feeling vulnerable, we feel the need to be further protected from hurt, so in response we activate our learned defense mechanisms.

If we continue to respond with anger to the slightest perceived annoyance, however, then the cause may be deeper than we first thought. Anger can act as a cover-up emotion, and may signal that a suppressed fear is persisting in our lives which we need to take a look at. If this is the case, be sure you have support, perhaps a therapist, who can assist you in discovering this underlying fear, and openly and effectively deal with it.

“Tolerance implies a respect for another person, not because he is wrong or even because he is right, but because he is human.” John Cogley Commonweal

An important strategy for developing tolerance under certain circumstances is forgiveness. Forgiving others that have acted hurtful toward you in the past brings about immense feelings of release and freedom from old resentments that are keeping you stalled from growing in your life. In hypnotherapy sessions I have witnessed transformations created by the simple act of forgiveness, either of someone else or of themselves.

By allowing this process a person can form greater self respect by refusing to allow the resentment to continue grow and fester inside them, holding them back from finding peace and satisfaction within themselves. As an aside benefit, forgiveness eliminates obstacles in a person’s life. There’s a good chance that the other person may not even be aware of the harsh feelings you bear toward them, so what purpose is your bitterness serving?

When you understand that maintaining resentment only hurts yourself, and not the other person you feel strongly toward, you can then let go of the old pain and give yourself permission to experience joy and positive growth.