Thoughts Are Things

I was doing some private coaching with members of Character Builders a team from Ohio last week and we got into a conversation on how we make a difference to the team. Whether we are at home or on the job, we carry our energy wherever we go. Further, our thoughts go with us and these thoughts permeate the environment. "In fact," I said, "Thoughts are things."

This led to a pretty lively discussion on what I really meant by this.  "What do you mean? Thoughts don't have mass," said one person.

"I always thought that as long as I keep my thoughts to myself and
don't say them out loud, that was okay. In fact, I was being
responsible by keeping my negative thoughts to myself," said another. 

And I got her point. You and I have been trained to keep our judgments and negative thoughts to ourselves. As long as we don't say our negative thoughts out loud, we don't hurt anyone. And of course there is a lot of truth to this. You don't want to go around telling everyone what you think of them all the time.

"No way," another person chimed in, referencing back to the original concept. "Thoughts are definitely not the same as things! Things are solid and thoughts are not solid!"

I completely understood where they were coming from. But think about it this way for a moment. It is now well known that we humans only see a small amount on the total spectrum of light.  Looking at the image to the right, the range of human sight falls within the vertical lines on the picture. We do not see either the infrared or ultraviolet range of light. http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/visible.html .

So with thoughts, most human beings do not see thoughts. We do know that a few individuals down through history have reported that they have the ability to see the thoughts that people are thinking. But most of us don't see thoughts.

But let me reassert, thoughts are things and sometimes they break through into our consciousness to let us know that we are truly connected to each other. Have you ever had a strange uncomfortable feeling when you walk into a room only to find that the people in the room are having an argument? Or have you ever had the experience of the phone ringing and you know who it is before you look at the caller ID? I'd love to get your feedback on these questions. Let us know your experience with knowing something before you have proof of knowing it.

Just the other day when I was at the NCEA Conference in Anaheim I wandered away from the booth. I got totally engaged in a conversation with someone about 6 aisles away from our booth when suddenly it was as if I'd been hit in my forehead. "Oh my gosh," I apologized. "I have to go. My business partner is calling me back. She must want me to meet somebody." From the look on the man's face, he was stunned by my assertion. I had to laugh at the scene later. He must have thought I was crazy, but it was such a powerful thought that it was almost palpable.

When I go back to the booth, Lynne said, "Where have you been. I kept sending you a thought to come back. I wanted you to meet one of the principals I was talking to."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I didn't get the message fast enough."

Naturally, thoughts don't always break through as powerfully as this. But every once in awhile things like this happen just to let us know that our spectrum of conscious awareness may fall short of the full spectrum of what is available.

In our next blog post, we'll bring our discussion full circle to what this all means to you and me in terms of making a difference in the lives of everyone we meet. I'd love your thoughts on this too!

For now, play with the idea that thoughts are things and that we make a difference and give us your feedback.

Your Daily Dose!

It's time to check out your practice. So how is the habit of making new habits coming? Have you done your Daily Dose of visualization toothbrush in hand? Or has it been a checkerboard experience – sometimes on and sometimes off – maybe even hit and miss?

We're obviously taking about two things here. The first is making a habit of making new habits. That is, remembering to remember to begin your visualization every time you pick up your toothbrush! Use the toothbrush as an anchor. Take your toothbrush in hand and instantly start your Daily Dose envisioning the new state or condition as if you were already there.

The second thing we're talking about is the specific new habit that you happen to be working on at that time. This is vital as the new habit will be the behavioral change you're wishing to instill. This might be anything from being proactive with your To Do list so you get more done on a daily basis, to staying focused when you're listening to your employees or team members.

However, if you simply master the first habit by doing your Daily Dose practice and closing the day with your daily assessment, then you can 'plug in' any behavioral change you wish. You will have gained access to a tremendous new power… the power to change anything you wish to change. In fact, you will have achieved the meta-mastery level of mastering the habit that frees you from being stuck with any habit!

Research tells us that it takes anywhere from 21 to 30 days to create a new habit. I don't know about you, but I shoot for the 30 day mark just to be on the safe side! So pick up that toothbrush and do the Daily Dose.

And BTW (by the way) have fun with it… Do it not as a labor but as the joy of love… the love of improvement, the love of growth and greater success, the love of service to your fellow humans whether at work or in the home. Do it for the love of whatever it is you love and value…

Have a great week. Make magic at the mirror… for as one of our great Hawaiian teachers Nana Veary said, change we must!!!

ALOHA, Trin

At Night – Close the Circle!

Now let's close the circle in the evening. The day is done. You are ready to close it up maybe do a little reading or watch a bit of TV. So here you are back in front of the mirror, toothbrush in hand. 

Have you ever added up the minutes in a life time that we spend brushing your teeth in front of that bathroom mirror? I have. 

If I go back just 10 years at 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes at night it adds up to 14,600 minutes or approximately 243 hours for brushing alone. And that doesn't include my hair and makeup as a woman or shaving and whatever else you do as a guy! 

So I just decided to look at the stats. This is 2 minutes twice a day, morning and evening with my electric toothbrush! Way back before electric brushing, I still took about 4 minutes a day brushing. So what do you think about this?

1. 10 years = 14,600 minutes or approximately 243 hours
2. 20 years = 29,200 minutes or approximately 486 hours
3. 30 years = 43,800 minutes or 730 hours
4. 40 years = 58,400 minutes or approximately 973 hours or approximately 40.5 days of your life!

Do you know how many other things we could have done with that time?! If a 2 year old doesn't brush his or her teeth, we say they are learning. But if you don't brush your teeth we refer to it as a social disease!

So if you're going to spend time brushing your teeth, why not increase the value by using the time to retrain your brain for the success you want to achieve in your life?! It seems like a complete no-brainer!

So at night you revisit the day in terms of the vision you wrote on your Ideal Self Card. Ask yourself 3 questions;

1. What worked (in terms of my vision) today?
2. What could have worked better?
3. Where (specifically) do I want to improve tomorrow?

So there we are with a perfect plan for using the neuroplasticity of your beautiful brain to develop yourself in a positive way. Do you want to change your results in the world? Remember: All change begins with self change.

We create our own reality. Look at the reality you have created and check it out. Do you want to keep progressing? And do you want to progress without spending anymore time then you already do? Go to the basin, toothbrush in hand, and start the process today!

And have fun with it. You are the author of your own story. Write it well!! And we'll check back on my next blog to see how you're doing with developing a new habit.

As for me?! It's time for my 2 minute brushing! So I'm going to enter Visualization Nirvana for a moment before I start my day!