"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it, and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." -Marcus Aurelius
I want to share something I read in this book. It was about this doctor who was working to cure criminally insane patients in a hospital ward using a technique called ho'oponopono. His whole theory was based on, "if we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves." The doctor explained by using this technique, he recognized that the people around him were reflections of something that needed to be healed in himself. Situations and events involving others may appear as something outside ourselves, but the truth according to his technique is that the world is as we are, and that if we want to heal it we must take complete responsibility for ourselves and our connection to the world around us.
I found this absolutely amazing... There was no magic or voodoo performed on these patients. All he did was review each person's file and then turned inward, into HIS OWN HEART! He kept saying over and over again, "I'm sorry," and "I love you." And most importantly is that his theory was successful. Some patients who had been shackled were allowed to walk unrestricted and others improved so much that they were taken off their medications.
Sadly but true, we are accustomed to seeing ourselves as separate from the world around us, in which case it is easy to blame others for problems we may encounter, neighbors being too loud, or to a war halfway across the globe. The exciting message and POSSIBILITY is that everything that comes into our lives, BOTH GOOD AND BAD, is a REFLECTION, a MIRROR in which to see ourselves. I think it is important to look at all aspects of ourselves... I have explained in my last few blog entries the importance of internal and external forces that shape our overall body, mind, and soul. I think it is very important to understand issues and feelings that may arise from situations or people around us. It is important on how we react, how we feel, how we can change any outcome... YOU HAVE A CHOICE.
We are surrounded by obstacles and PESSIMISM each and every day... and because of negative problems we tend to limit our expectations, protect ourselves from failure by not trying or reacting, embarrassment, and disappointment. In our society, people have often given up too fast, stopped following dreams/goals, expected little or nothing... just to PLAY IT SAFE. But the sad thing about PLAYING IT SAFE, is that many people end up with little or nothing.
On the BRIGHTER SIDE, the idea of OPTIMISM can fill us with elation, strength, and a sense of accomplishment. You MUST believe in yourself and recognize the wonderful opportunities, possibilities, and joys that life holds for us. You will face obstacles in everything and anything you do, but once you LOOK INWARD within yourself (YOUR HEART) and UNDERSTAND INWARD within yourself (STRENGTH OF YOUR HEART), you will overcome and start to grow!
Make your DREAMS COME TRUE... LIFE is like an ECHO-we get from it what we put into it, and often much more!
NEVER GIVE UP AND FINISH YOUR FIGHT! YOUR FIGHT TO FIND...WHERE YOU ARE? HERE! AND WHAT ARE YOU? YOU ARE THIS MOMENT!
Hawthorne, J. (2007) Be The Change. p260-262.
Ohrbach, B. (1998) You Can. p.6-7
