The Power of Your Thoughts

This is it. The key to a happier, more fulfilled life. 

YOU hold the power to change your experience in every aspect of your life by changing the way you think about it.

YOU ARE IN CONTROL. Not your jerk boss, cranky kid or some politician in D.C.

YOU.

Controlling your thoughts doesn’t mean you escape life challenges; it means you are equipped to move through them with more grace and ease. Let me explain.

Recently, an accident occurred that injured a family member. When I first heard the news, I was scared, and my mind went to the worst possible scenario as I waited for the details to slowly emerge. I made an important discovery in the following days:

While we can’t change the trauma, succumbing to drama is optional.

I realized my fearful thoughts did not change the facts or the outcome. Although many saw my fear as “justified,” “natural” and even encouraged legal retribution, none of that helped me feel better or allowed me to lovingly support other family members. 

For me, only one thing helped.

I went back to the Be Love Principles and asked the divine within:

• How can I greet everyone involved with an open heart, without an agenda?

• Show me the divine essence in this situation.

• Teach me how to forgive everyone involved quickly, completely and unconditionally.

• Remind me that everyone is part of the light of All.

I did my best, minute by minute, to be the presence of love and stay in that space as we moved through the situation. I did it for me and my family. It wasn’t easy and, at times, I failed to stay centered in love. It happened whenever I fell back into fear, anger and overwhelm. Once I became aware of those thoughts, I went back to love as quickly as I could. Full disclosure, I wasn’t the most popular with some people who didn’t understand my perspective. They thought I was “naive,” “nuts” or in denial. 

But I remembered the truth. I am responsible for my thoughts and how I react to life. 

Here’s an important point: I allowed myself to feel my feelings as they came up. Feelings that are ignored simply go underground then resurface later. I’ve learned that too! The difference here is that I felt my feelings then consciously decided how I would think about them. I could continue to fuel the fear, or I could choose to be the presence of love, as much as I could, throughout the challenge.

I’m grateful to add our situation has had a much better outcome than I first feared. All is well. And I understand that while Life wil certainly present more tough days in the future, my thoughts will dictate my experience of both life’s joys and sorrows. 

I choose to experience both with love.

P.S. Check out this episode of “Heart-Centered Success with Diane L Haworth” on “The Power of Your Thoughts”  for deeper insights on the topic and for more on the Be Love Principles, visit www.BeLovePrinciples.org. 

Everyday Miracles

We've likely all experienced what we call a "miracle" in our lives. Someone recovers from a grave illness, the job we wanted comes through or the deadly storm safely passes over our house...all good reasons to celebrate and declare a "miracle" has occurred.

I experienced a miracle today.

My husband and I get up a little after 4am most mornings now. He gets ready and starts his commute by 4:30am. I get up, pack his lunch, give him a kiss and the cat and I start our morning meditation. This morning, I was still a little sleepy and accidentally spilled bright red liquid B12 syrup on his clean beige shirt...less than five minutes before he was to leave for work. 

Oh. My. God.

He's not a "morning" person. He hates to be late for anything, much less his job. He's timed his daily routine so each second is orchestrated to allow maximum sleep and minimal time to get ready before he heads for the car.

And I just screwed up his process. To make matters worse, the only clean shirts were downstairs in the laundry room. I prepared for the well deserved retribution in response to my crime. I certainly would have been upset if the situation was reversed.

That's not what happened. As he saw his stained shirt and heard me gasp, "OMG! I'm so sorry!" he calmed replied, "That's OK."

That's OK???

My husband is a loving man but, again, he's not a morning person and in the past this would have been a HUGE deal for both of us. Guilt, blame, resentment and fear would have all been part of the scene and it would have come from both sides. But not now.

This was my miracle today and it came in two parts.

First, my husband chose not to succumb to the fear of being late. He chose to react in a loving way. My go-to spiritual source, A Course in Miracles says, "Miracles occur naturally as an expression of love." That's what I experienced this morning. An expression of love. 

The second part of my miracle was that I recognized it. I recognized we both have grown and aren't triggered by the same experiences that would have trapped us in a needless spat just a few years ago. My perspective has shifted deeper into love and so has his. Now that's a miracle. An everyday miracle.

While I'd still love to win big bucks with a lottery ticket, I'm not focusing on those types of "miracles" anymore. I'll take an everyday miracle anytime.