Okay...here we go, ladies!! I finished this chapter on Monday night(yea, started a bit early), and have been so excited for this weekend to come! I am thrilled to be doing this with you both...I think we are about to really get to know each other as well as ourselves, and clear out some of the crap that we've been hanging on to unnecessarily. YAY for us!! :-)
On a sidenote, for the purpose of smoothly cruising through one book and moving on to the next, I am going to suggest that we skip Louise Hay's suggestion of reading through the book once, then coming back and reading it again and doing the exercises. It would take us the better part of this year to do it that way, and I think because we are doing this as a group, that we are going to be getting more out of this experience than if we were doing it on our own, so I think we should just do the exercises as we go. Figured you all would agree, just wanted to be clear.
So. Here are some of the things that stood out to me in Chapter 1. I will bold Louise's words and put my thoughts below in italics. <3
~However, if I am willing to release that belief (that life is lonely) and to affirm to myself that "Love is everywhere, and I am loving and loveable" and to hold onto that new affirmation and to repeat it often, then it will become true for me.
This is something that I know conceptually, but it is not yet part of my subconscious, every day thinking....this is going to go up in bold letters on a wall in my bedroom, so that I can remind myself of it everyday. Life often does feel lonely to me, being a SAHM, with a friend here and a friend there a half hour away. But thankfully I have some awesome joy-affirming friends online. :D
~We are all victims of victims, and they could not have taught us anything that they did not know.
Indeed. This takes the heat off my poor mama, who I have put a lot of blame on in the past ;-) - she is definitely the victim of a victim...and I know that she did the best she could with what she knew.
~We learn our belief systems as very little children, and then we move back through life creating experiences to match our beliefs. This is a big one for me. I think back to my early childhood....and I don't remember my house being one that was full of love. It seems that someone was always mad at someone, or trying to guilt trip someone about something(pretty common in hispanic cultures, I think). I lived in my grandmother's house, with my mom, grandmother, and great-aunt, and later my step-dad and step-grandmother moved in(that was no picnic either, except my step-grandma, she was a sweetheart). I have the faint recollection of feeling...misunderstood from a young age. And that feeling stayed with me as I went out into the world and went to school, and started meeting people. I was very shy and cautious around new people, until adulthood(of course, Pisces are typically shy and quiet...but I digress). I am pretty outgoing now...but as I think back on that time, I do get that scared, shy feeling a bit. <3
~We may habitually be thinking the same thought over and over so it does not seem we are choosing the thought. But we did make the original choice. We can refuse to think certain thoughts. Oh yes. I thought about this and then took out a piece of paper and wrote down a few of the things that run through my head throughout the day. I am often in a state of frustration. This is why I am on facebook a lot(probably too much!) because I l.o.v.e to gain and spread inspiration(I'm sure you haven't noticed ;) - but then I get off the computer and I'm immediately like...*grumble* this place is such a mess....I have no help...I'm so needed....I want to run away and just *be* without being needed...agh, my toddler wants to nurse, again....WHY is my son not listening to me when I've asked him 5 times, OMG we have to be dressed and be out the door, now...blah blah blah. And then I run back to facebook: Ahhh!! Inspiration!! Love and light!! <3 lol!! So...my everyday thoughts are, for the most part, not consistent with what I believe about life and love. No wonder I'm struggling! <3 Perhaps I should post reminders all over the house.
~Your point of power is in the present moment and is forming the experience of tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and so on... (and) the past has no power over us. It doesn't matter how long we have been in a negative pattern.
Ahhh...isn't that a sweet relief?? It doesn't matter how long we have been down on our luck, or been hard on ourselves, or felt that we've had to tolerate other people treating us like crap, or whatever. Our point of power is in the present moment, and now this one, and this one... at any given moment we can choose to close the door on our past and step into our power...tune in to the flow of the Universe and go with that flow. <3 We don't have to be prisoners of our past, or lie in the bed that we made....I believed that for a long long time, and created a pattern of misery for myself because of it. But I AM FREE to choose my thoughts, my mood, the next step to take...and so are you. :-) So happy we are on this journey of self-discovery and creation together, ladies.
I have a few more things highlighted, but I figure 5 *points* is enough to start, and now I would love to hear some of your thoughts. About the book, about what I've said...whatever. FTR, everything that is said here will stay right here, so please don't hold back. This book is about letting it all out and looking at ourselves with new eyes. So very exciting!! Namaste. <3
Oh Mia, I adore your post. It is so genuine and heartfelt. Thank you for sharing! I noted some of the same main points you did. I'm going to review my notes, and summarize my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on Chapter 1... (I must split it up into multiple comments as it is over the character limit) Louise's words will be in quotations and the rest are of course mine :)
ReplyDelete" The gateways to wisdom & knowledge are always open."
I love this affirmation. It is important that we constantly improve ourselves for the better. How nice it is to know that this process of improvement can and will go on infinitely as "the gateways to wisdom and knowledge are always open".
"The Universe Totally Supports Us in Every Thought We Choose to Think and Believe."
I find this such a wonderful reminder on the power of thought. I believe if we truly understood the power of thought we would never think a negative thought again. Our subconscious mind accepts whatever it is that we choose to think and in turn believe. Thought creates. The thoughts that we think about ourselves and our lives do become true. I find this most empowering.
"The Universal Power Never Judges or Criticizes Us"
Mia, I know you touched on this as well. And I agree with you on how incredibly freeing it is to realize this! I was always told about a divine power that judged me. I often felt much fear from this. It is incredibly comforting and healing for me to realize Universal Power truly reflects our beliefs in our lives and that I am loving and lovable. Again, the power of thought is incredible.
"When we grow up we have a tendency to recreate the emotional environment of our early home life. We also tend to recreate our personal relationships we had with our mothers or fathers. We treat ourselves the way our parents treated us."
ReplyDeleteThis really resonated with my soul. At the same time, much like you Mia, it is a tough one for me. However, I needed to realize this tendency and free myself from it. My home life and emotional environment from my home life was far from ideal. However, I needed to realize this tendency and free myself from it. My parents did not treat me all that great. They were both very busy and often preoccupied. This helped me realize that I myself have been busy or preoccupied and neglected loving myself. We must love ourselves and give ourselves the attention we deserve! I also took away from this the part you mentioned Mia about we are all victims of victims. We should never blame our parents, or even our grandparents for this matter. They couldn't have taught us something they were not taught. I had/have mounds of resentment towards my parents that I had not realized were there. My father has been a drug addict as long as I can remember. I remember very clearly dinner. My mom would have a constant eye on my dad. A reflex almost; to catch his head before it smacked into his plate. For many years I was told and thought my dad suffered from narcolepsy. But as I grew older I realized he was on drugs. There was much physical abuse at home. When my parents got divorced my dad was in prison (drugs) so we became very poor. I went from walking into school with confidence to fading into the background. We had to move in with my grandparents. It was 7 of us in a 2 bedroom home. My mom, my grandparents, me, and my 3 sisters. I hated it. And my mom really wasn't around much because she was working to try to provide for us. I have held so much resentment towards my mom and dad for this and I thought I had released it long ago. But I had not. My dad gave me strength and made me sensitive to others feelings. My mother gave me a very close bond to all my sisters and a realization of how senseless money is. I had forgotten the positives they gave me and began to focus on the negatives without even realizing it. I am also a cancer survivor. I finished treatment at age 12. My grandfather later died of the same form of cancer I had and then I was told it was most likely hereditary and thats why I got it so young. I had built up so much guilt to my father for passing this on to me. That is such a ridiculous notion! All of this was so important and healing for me to realize as tough as it was.
"I find that resentment, criticism, guilt, and fear cause more problems than anything else".
These cause problems in our bodies and in our lives. I find it important to remember that these feelings we may often have towards others truly end up hurting ourselves in the end. And there is no reason we should harbor these feelings toward anyone as long as we are accountable for our own lives and actions. A quote from another book that is forever with me & that this brought to mind goes something along the lines of 'When you see worthiness praise it. And when you see unworthiness trace it. Trace it back to your own unique history. Because something you do not like in another is actually a reflection of something you do not like within yourself.' I find it vital to remember this and to remember to focus on my actions and my life rather than others actions and lives. I must forgive and release, always.
I also had more I took away from this chapter but will follow the 5 point guide line :) I felt so many similarities to much of what you posted Mia. And I feel comfortable letting my thoughts flow freely with all of you ladies. I look forward to the posts to come. May you all have a lovely evening and fantastic tomorrow <3 Blessings and love; Namaste.
Oh Chelsea, this is beautiful, thank *you* for sharing also. This was nice to wake up to this morning. :-) I will come back and discuss some more later, as I have not had my coffee yet and the kidlets are needing my attention. Namaste, blessings and love. <3
ReplyDeleteChels, I just wanted to come back and send you big, HUGE hugs, I was astonished to find out that you are a cancer survivor and that you had to battle it at such a young age. (((())))
ReplyDelete"'When you see worthiness praise it. And when you see unworthiness trace it. Trace it back to your own unique history. Because something you do not like in another is actually a reflection of something you do not like within yourself.' I find it vital to remember this and to remember to focus on my actions and my life rather than others actions and lives. I must forgive and release, always."
I really like that. :-) I do for the most part(forgive and release), but it sure gets tricky when it comes to applying to family members that have a way of being more difficult to get along with. :-P It seems that I need to write my MIL an e-mail, to clear the air and also let her know that I am forgiving and releasing. She is a big pain in my butt. lol