L. Dwight Turner
So often many of us are guilty of becoming preoccupied with the notion that we have to do great things for God. I know I am guilty as charged. There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with this sort of thing, unless it becomes an obsession. When we become obsessed with the notion of doing great things, it has at least one highly deleterious impact on our lives: we either ignore or completely miss the myriad small things God may be attempting to have us do.
In practical terms, by focusing so much of our attention and energy of those big, earth shattering projects we are convinced God has in store for us, we may completely overlook all those seemingly mundane tasks that we figure are not worth our time or, for those of us who have a paucity of humility, beneath our exalted station. I am exaggerating here, but I think my point is clear. It is often in those seemingly small events that the will of God may be lurking. Further, the fact of the matter is this: scripture tells us that unless we are faithful in the small things, God isn’t going to give us bigger things to accomplish.
For those who may have forgotten this valuable lesson from the Master, I suggest you review the Parable of the Talents. In the meantime, it might also be highly beneficial to listen to these words from James Allen:
Not only great happiness but great power arises from doing little things unselfishly, wisely, and perfectly, for life in its totality is made up of little things. Wisdom inheres in the common details of everyday existence, and when the parts are made perfect the whole will be without blemish…..
One of the fundamental laws that God has placed in the universe is the principle that states that the small is the exact replica of the great. An example of this is the similarity between an atom and a solar system. Just as the electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom, the planets orbit the sun. And in an example that is both personal and biblical, we humans are made in the image of our creator. It boggles the mind, truly. These divine principles can be of great use to us if we comprehend them and the mechanisms involved in their practical application.
For our current purposes, however, let’s keep things as simple as possible. To do that, we return to the words of James Allen as he reminds us of the importance of giving attention to the small things in life:
Neglect of the small is confusion of the great. The snowflake is as perfect as the star; the dew drop is as symmetrical as the planet; the microbe is not less mathematically proportioned than the man. By laying stone upon stone, plumbing and fitting each with perfect adjustment, the temple at last stands forth in all its architectural beauty. The small precedes the great. The small is not merely the apologetic attendant of the great, it is its master and informing genius.
Our attention to matters small is intimately tied up with two issues: the discipline of responsibility and becoming the optimal version of who we are. Let’s briefly explore these two in turn.
Increasingly, it seems that our culture is placing less and less emphasis on the significance of meeting our responsibilities. Discipline is not a popular word in post-modern culture. Instead, we are encouraged to “follow our bliss” and “do our own thing.” The world pays lip service to the importance of discipline and self-control in daily living, but the over-arching message is in actuality much different. Often, instead of encouraging individuals to delay gratification, defer rewards, and develop character, our culture tells us, “If it feels good, do it.” No one ever manifested divine potential by adhering to this advice.
Scripture repeatedly stresses the importance of discipline, self-control, and personal morality. Without personal discipline, we squander our energies, waste precious time, and lose direction and focus.
Instead of putting forth the effort required to meet the obligations placed before us, either by God or our life situation, many conversely seek ways to avoid that expenditure of effort. As a result, there are many decent people who settle for mediocrity or even less in terms of their personal accomplishment. For all too many, phrases like “the pursuit of excellence” seem like a foreign language.
For the follower of Jesus, this kind of approach to life is not acceptable. We are encouraged by Paul, for example, to do everything as if we were doing it for the Lord. Further, it is a life characterized and motivated by a pursuit of excellence to which we are called by the Master. Anything less does not glorify God and certainly brings no glory and honor to ourselves. We must ever keep in mind that God calls us to be the optimal version of ourselves and our steadfast avoidance of personal responsibility and hard work makes this impossible.
It is precisely that consistent practice of paying attention to the small duties of our daily round that makes a life of excellence possible. Moreover, no one ever slouched his or her way to greatness. Again, let’s listen to the wisdom on James Allen:
The great man has become such by the scrupulous and unselfish attention which he has given to small duties. He has become wise and powerful by sacrificing ambition and pride in the doing of those necessary things which evoke no applause and promise no reward. He never sought greatness; he sought faithfulness, unselfishness, integrity, truth; and in finding these in the common round of small tasks and duties he unconsciously ascended to the level of greatness.
If you genuinely are committed to becoming the optimal version of who you are, you are in for a grand adventure. This adventure unfolds as you discern, identify, and meet the challenges that face you moment to moment each day. And it is there, in the context of the divine moment, that you find God’s work and God’s will.
Erwin Raphael McManus, pastor of Mosaic in Lost Angeles, makes the cogent point that the reality of God’s will can only be found in the present moment; “divine moments” he calls them. I could not agree more with what he says and experience, both my own and those of countless clients over the years, bears this out time and time again. The past is already a done deal and the future, at the very best, is but a fleeing fantasy. Reality is happening right now, under our noses, and it is happening nowhere else. Once you get that, and I mean really get it, you are well on your way to a most rewarding life, regardless of external circumstance.
As a brief sidebar, I also want to mention that a big part of finding our place in God’s scheme of things involves becoming the optimal version of ourselves and the context in which we accomplish that is also in the divine moment. McManus also speaks to this issue:
Earth’s unlimited resource is the gifts, talent, passions, imagination, and ingenuity of its citizens. You would think that we know this by now, but we often seem to miss the gift right in front of us. The world needs you to find the hero within you. The real battle is not between good and evil but between less and more. Most of us don’t choose the worst life; we just don’t choose the best. We can’t afford for you to sleep through your dreams…..The world needs you at your best. This planet is made better or worse by the people we choose to become. If you live a diminished life, it’s not only you who loses, but the world loses, and humanity loses. There is a story to be written by your life, and thought it may never inspire a graphic novel, it is a heroic tale nonetheless. Though you may not recognize it, there is a greatness within you.
I love these words by McManus. They reverberate through the inner fiber of my being, ringing loudly with both truth and relevance. I know that many times I forget that there is a God-planted greatness within me and within others. Fortunately, God has found ways to keep me focused enough to have at least one eye on the potential he placed within me.
Developing the ability to discern where and how God is moving requires more than merely taking time out for rest and relaxation. It takes a more radical and comprehensive reorientation of our approach to life in general and focus in particular. If you are to become more sensitive to what God is doing and where he is doing it, you need to become intimately acquainted with a practice that we in this fast-paced, multi-tasking world are not good at. In order to discover the movements of God in the context of the “divine moment,” you have to become more mindful.
Mindfulness is not stressed so much in our culture and it is stressed even less in our churches. This is unfortunate because no matter how much the post-modern world sings the virtues of multi-tasking this and multi-tasking that, the ability to fully focus on one thing at one time, to the exclusion of any distraction, is a highly useful skill. Our corporate world, in spite of its alleged genius, has yet to discover that mindful people are far more productive than multi-taskers. Their efficiency alone makes them more of an asset.
Even more relevant from a spiritual perspective, if we are going to find God’s will we are going to have to seek the epicenter of his activity. As we have seen, that sublime activity is going to be found in its purest, most pristine and discernable form in the present moment – the divine moment. It will be found here and nowhere else. As we have also seen, in order to discover this epicenter and God’s will, we may, indeed, have to reorient our perspective on several key issues. With certainty, we have to become more mindful.
Mindfulness, discipline, and character are essential ingredients in the establishment of a life of excellence and equanimity. By paying attention to the small things, we are often called upon to crucify our lower desires in favor of loftier themes. It is precisely by doing this, saying no to ourselves, that personal power comes about. And it is by denying “self,” with its clamorous cacophony of heckling demands, that we are walking the path of Christ – the path of the cross. By following the way of the Master, we are better able to master ourselves. Let’s visit James Allen a final time:
The man who sets his whole mind on the doing of each task as it is presented, who puts into it energy and intelligence, shutting out all else from his mind, and striving to do that one thing, no matter how small, completely and perfectly, detaching himself from all reward in his task – that man will every day be acquiring greater command over his mind, and will, by ever-ascending degrees, become at last a man of power…There is no way to strength and wisdom but by acting strongly and wisely in the present moment, and each present moment reveals its own task. The great man, the wise man, does small things greatly regarding nothing as “trivial” that is necessary. The weak man, the foolish man, does small things carelessly, and meanly, hankering the while after, some greater work for which, in his neglect and inability in small matters, he is ceaselessly advertising his incapacity. The man who least governs himself is always more ambitious to govern others…
I don’t know about you, friend, but when I first read those last two sentences I was strongly convicted – so strongly convicted that the Holy Spirit held my feet to the fire, so to speak, for several days. In the end, I made a strong commitment to devote myself to mindfulness in small things and spend less time hankering after great things. In doing so, I discovered two important lessons. First, I became a more efficient and responsible person and second, I became more tranquil and less reactive. Granted, I am still far from perfect in these areas, but I am much improved over where I once stood in these matters.
And herein is the key: we are to be mindful of the small things, presented to us in the divine moment. It is here, and only here, that we will find the epicenter of God’s activity in general and his will for us in particular. If we are faithful in the small things, then we can be trusted with greater responsibilities.
© L. D. Turner 2009/ All Rights Reserved
Showing posts with label Discipline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discipline. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Today's Encouraging Word
The man who sets his whole mind on the doing of each task as it is presented, who puts into it energy and intelligence, shutting out all else from his mind, and striving to do that one thing, no matter how small, completely and perfectly, detaching himself from all reward in his task – that man will every day be acquiring greater command over his mind, and will, by ever-ascending degrees, become at last a man of power…There is no way to strength and wisdom but by acting strongly and wisely in the present moment, and each present moment reveals its own task. The great man, the wise man, does small things greatly regarding nothing as “trivial” that is necessary. The weak man, the foolish man, does small things carelessly, and meanly, hankering the while after, some greater work for which, in his neglect and inability in small matters, he is ceaselessly advertising his incapacity. The man who least governs himself is always more ambitious to govern others…
Monday, January 19, 2009
Dedicated Desire and Affirmative Prayer
L. Dwight Turner
Desire
Let’s begin by looking at desire, because all good things, whether or not they are brought to fruition, begin in the realm of desire. It is desire that gives rise to our dreams in life and it is desire that provides the fuel for performing the positive activities that will allow us to bring those dreams into reality. In this sense, desire provides positive motivation. When we truly desire something with our whole heart we set in motion the powers of the mind to achieve that which we desire. If we have as a goal to deepen our walk of faith and manifest some degree of success in living the genuine Christian life then we must recognize that this positive goal began as a desire. Further, the power of a strong desire, when properly applied, helps insure our success. Christian Larson tells us:
…it is readily understood why the wish, if strong, positive, determined and continuous, will tend to produce the thing wished for…It is not occasional desire, or half-hearted desire that gets the thing desired. It is persistent desire; persistent desire not only desires continually, but with all the power of life and mind and soul. The force of a half-alive desire, when acting upon a certain faculty (the subconscious mind) cannot cause that faculty to become fully alive….it is true that the desires of most people are neither continuous nor very deep. They are shallow, occasional, wishes without enough power to stir to action a single atom.
Let’s look more closely at what Larson is trying to tell us when we apply these principles to the process of spiritual formation. If you want to develop spiritually you must first possess the desire to do so. Lack of desire is why so many Christians fail. They just don't have any desire to improve. Larson goes on to say that our desire must be strong, positive, determined, and continuous. He further states that it is persistent desire that brings about results. When applied to our spiritual formation it means specifically that we must have:
Strong Desire:
From the outset of our desire to improve must be strong and unwavering.
Positive Desire:
We must always keep in the forefront of our minds the concept of positive thinking and positive faith in ourselves and especially in God. We should always remind ourselves that part of our purpose in life is to grow and develop, in short, to become all that we can be.
Determined-
Desire: Our desire must be paired with a willful determination to make every effort to see it through to completion.
Continuous-
Desire:
Continuous desire means ongoing desire. If we are to be successful our desire cannot be here today and gone tomorrow. Although there may be days when we feel like our energy is low and our desire is at low ebb, we must maintain the power to resurrect our dream and keep it ever before us. This is the surest way to success and fulfillment.
In addition to these four vital characteristics of positive desire, Larson goes on
to tell us that an "occasional, half-hearted desire" will avail us nothing. It is easy to see, based on Larson words, why so many apathetic, ambivalent, and lethargic Christians fall short of their goals. Their desire is occasional and half-hearted. Ambivalent and lethargic Christians have the dream but not the drive. Apathetic Christians don't even have the dream.
What is the opposite of occasional, half-hearted desire? A desire that is continuous and full-hearted. It means that we give our all, all the time, to deepen your walk of faith and, more importantly, deepen you relationship with Christ. Application of this type of desire with diligence will insure our success.
Dedication
The second aspect of our subject to consider is the concept of dedication. Dedication is fundamental to any successful endeavor in life, including spiritual development. Dedication is defined as the act of "devoting oneself wholly and earnestly to a specific goal or purpose". If we are to improve our application of Christian principles of living we must dedicate ourselves to that specific aim.
Dedication is an act of the mind. We begin with a strong desire to improve our relationship with the Lord. We follow this by firmly dedicating ourselves to making this goal a reality in our lives. We can best do this by the use of affirmations. Affirmations are powerful, positive statements that we make to ourselves over and over again, thereby deeply impressing them into our subconscious mind. According to the discoveries of Cognitive and Transpersonal Psychology, it is those things that we deeply plant in our subconscious minds that actualize into physical reality in our lives. So, if our goal is to become closer to God, we begin by dedicating ourselves to the process. We do this not only in the conscious mind, but also in the subconscious.
Look at the process like this. Suppose a farmer wants to grow corn. He begins by preparing the field, then he carefully plants the seeds in the fertile ground, then waters and cares for the field so that, at harvest time, his yield of corn will be bountiful. Your conscious desire to deepen your Christian walk is the farmer. The affirmations are the seeds, and the subconscious mind is the field. Based on your desire, you use your conscious mind (the farmer), to plant the seeds (affirmations) into the fertile field (subconscious mind). You then water and nurture the field through constant repetition of your affirmations. Try the following: Each morning before you get out of bed, relax your breathing and repeat silently to yourself the following statement:
Every day, in every way,
I am getting closer and closer
To Christ
During the day, at lunch- time for example, repeat this statement over and over to yourself. Each time that you repeat the statement you are not only planting more seeds, but you are also watering and nurturing the field of your subconscious mind. This is the way to insure success. It may sound simplistic and perhaps it is. That's the beauty of positive thinking. It is simple! But in spite of its simplicity, it is a proven method of personal and spiritual transformation that has worked miracles in countless lives. Try it and see.
The keys to making successful affirmations are: repetition, faith, and expectancy. We need to repeat the affirmation many times and have faith in the process, a living expectancy that if we continue, we will surely succeed. The key again is repetition. Do it over and over again. In this way, your subconscious mind will be saturated with positive thoughts of dedication.
Keep It Simple!
This procedure that has also come to be known as affirmative prayer is a fairly straight forward process but, as with many things, we humans have a marked tendency to complicate it. I know this from past experience because I have been as guilty of exhibiting this “genius for complexity” as anyone – probably more than most. It was with some degree of difficulty that I eventually learned that with most things it is best to keep it simple. With this truth in mind, let’s see if we can simplify the basics of affirmative prayer by stating the following:
When we use our affirmative thinking, put into the containers which we call words, and animate it speaking with living faith, we are able to manifest that which we desire, providing of course, that it is in alignment with God’s will.
There is really no need to mystify the process any more than that. Granted, the underlying laws and cosmic principles associated with affirmative prayer can seem a bit mysterious, but in actuality, even the laws are not all that complicated.
It is essential that we understand that this process begins with our thinking and moves forward from there. Everything that we see began somewhere as someone’s thought. Creation in all its glory began as God’s thought and came into being at God’s command, using His words. He literally called things into existence from the world of the unseen, into the world of the seen. On a smaller scale, this is how we manifest reality as well. Our thoughts begin the process and or faith-filled words empower and animate the process that results in the creation of the thing desire.
Two important factors are also involved in the process of bringing our desired outcome down out of the spirit world and into concrete manifestation. These are emotion and intention. Centuries of working with these principles has revealed that the more deeply you feel about your desired goal, the more readily it manifests in physical reality. I have found that this is precisely where imagination comes into play. When we clearly visualize what it is we desire we arouse our feeling nature, which is a natural part of our soul. We facilitate this by focusing not only on repetition of our positive prayer, but we also form a clear, concise image of the desired outcome and bring our attention to bear on that outcome. We allow the feelings that arise to become magnified and these feelings, along with our thought, image, and faith-filled words form a powerful magnetic force that will pull our desired outcome out of the spirit world, where it already exists, down into physical reality.
Intention is perhaps the most important component of affirmative prayer. Your intention is what gathers and focuses your cognitive energy in a specific direction. It is for this precise reason that your intention must be constructed carefully and spoken clearly. This is not some sort of cosmic, New Age mumbo jumbo, but instead, is a fundamental principle of positive cognition. Your words of intention accomplish several vital functions in the process of affirmative prayer. First, speaking your intention gives direction to your energy and gives firm direction to your prayer. Second, your intention lets your subconscious mind know exactly what it wants to bring down from the spirit realm and why. And finally, your spoken words contain the power necessary to animate the unfolding of the process of affirmative prayer. As stated before, your words, especially when joined to a vital foundation of faith, serve as a magnet to attract the very thing you desire.
So keep these two aspects of affirmative prayer before you at all times. Positive emotion amplifies the power of your prayer and positive intention supplies even more punch to the process. Without these two vital aspects of prayer, you may find your prayers unfocused, impotent, and ineffective.
Here at Sacred Mind Ministries we conduct a training program entitled, “Conscious Cognition,” which is basically the capacity to be acutely aware of what we are thinking on a consistent basis. It has as its goal the honing of our ability to recognize negative thoughts the moment they arise and take those thoughts captive. Rather than climbing aboard our negative “train of thought,” we never allow it to leave the station. Instead, through the development of our capacity for conscious cognition, we replace these negative thoughts with positive ones. At first this process will seem quite cumbersome and highly unnatural. This is to be expected because we have been thinking in unproductive ways for many years. It takes time to delete this negative process from our memory banks and reprogram our minds to think along positive avenues. Persistence and patience are the keys. Keep at it and you will eventually find that you are responding to life in a healthier, more optimistic manner.
Another key principle when using affirmative prayer can be expressed this way: use frequent repetition in present tense. Your patterns of negative thinking and behaving were not formed overnight. Instead, these unhealthy thoughts were repeated over and over again until they were firmly planted in your subconscious mind. Once that happened, these damaging thought patterns seemed to have developed a life of their own. This same principle of repetition, however, can also be utilized to your benefit. First, understand that positive thoughts are more powerful than negative thoughts. Formal research and well as the experience of countless pilgrims who have used these methods of cognitive reprogramming have confirmed the fact that one positive thought can counteract many negative ones, provided the positive thought is constructed in the present tense and is repeated many times.
The principles we have discussed here are basic but essential to the process of creating and using affirmative prayers. As stated at the outset, these principles are not overly complicated, unless of course we choose to make them so. My suggestion is that you study the relevant literature available on affirmative prayer, positive thinking, positive imaging, and the Law of Attraction. By doing so you can deepen your understanding of what is going on when you utilize affirmative prayer as a part of your spiritual path. However, don’t let your studies lead you into any unnecessary confusion or complexity. Above all:
Keep it simple!
Desire
Let’s begin by looking at desire, because all good things, whether or not they are brought to fruition, begin in the realm of desire. It is desire that gives rise to our dreams in life and it is desire that provides the fuel for performing the positive activities that will allow us to bring those dreams into reality. In this sense, desire provides positive motivation. When we truly desire something with our whole heart we set in motion the powers of the mind to achieve that which we desire. If we have as a goal to deepen our walk of faith and manifest some degree of success in living the genuine Christian life then we must recognize that this positive goal began as a desire. Further, the power of a strong desire, when properly applied, helps insure our success. Christian Larson tells us:
…it is readily understood why the wish, if strong, positive, determined and continuous, will tend to produce the thing wished for…It is not occasional desire, or half-hearted desire that gets the thing desired. It is persistent desire; persistent desire not only desires continually, but with all the power of life and mind and soul. The force of a half-alive desire, when acting upon a certain faculty (the subconscious mind) cannot cause that faculty to become fully alive….it is true that the desires of most people are neither continuous nor very deep. They are shallow, occasional, wishes without enough power to stir to action a single atom.
Let’s look more closely at what Larson is trying to tell us when we apply these principles to the process of spiritual formation. If you want to develop spiritually you must first possess the desire to do so. Lack of desire is why so many Christians fail. They just don't have any desire to improve. Larson goes on to say that our desire must be strong, positive, determined, and continuous. He further states that it is persistent desire that brings about results. When applied to our spiritual formation it means specifically that we must have:
Strong Desire:
From the outset of our desire to improve must be strong and unwavering.
Positive Desire:
We must always keep in the forefront of our minds the concept of positive thinking and positive faith in ourselves and especially in God. We should always remind ourselves that part of our purpose in life is to grow and develop, in short, to become all that we can be.
Determined-
Desire: Our desire must be paired with a willful determination to make every effort to see it through to completion.
Continuous-
Desire:
Continuous desire means ongoing desire. If we are to be successful our desire cannot be here today and gone tomorrow. Although there may be days when we feel like our energy is low and our desire is at low ebb, we must maintain the power to resurrect our dream and keep it ever before us. This is the surest way to success and fulfillment.
In addition to these four vital characteristics of positive desire, Larson goes on
to tell us that an "occasional, half-hearted desire" will avail us nothing. It is easy to see, based on Larson words, why so many apathetic, ambivalent, and lethargic Christians fall short of their goals. Their desire is occasional and half-hearted. Ambivalent and lethargic Christians have the dream but not the drive. Apathetic Christians don't even have the dream.
What is the opposite of occasional, half-hearted desire? A desire that is continuous and full-hearted. It means that we give our all, all the time, to deepen your walk of faith and, more importantly, deepen you relationship with Christ. Application of this type of desire with diligence will insure our success.
Dedication
The second aspect of our subject to consider is the concept of dedication. Dedication is fundamental to any successful endeavor in life, including spiritual development. Dedication is defined as the act of "devoting oneself wholly and earnestly to a specific goal or purpose". If we are to improve our application of Christian principles of living we must dedicate ourselves to that specific aim.
Dedication is an act of the mind. We begin with a strong desire to improve our relationship with the Lord. We follow this by firmly dedicating ourselves to making this goal a reality in our lives. We can best do this by the use of affirmations. Affirmations are powerful, positive statements that we make to ourselves over and over again, thereby deeply impressing them into our subconscious mind. According to the discoveries of Cognitive and Transpersonal Psychology, it is those things that we deeply plant in our subconscious minds that actualize into physical reality in our lives. So, if our goal is to become closer to God, we begin by dedicating ourselves to the process. We do this not only in the conscious mind, but also in the subconscious.
Look at the process like this. Suppose a farmer wants to grow corn. He begins by preparing the field, then he carefully plants the seeds in the fertile ground, then waters and cares for the field so that, at harvest time, his yield of corn will be bountiful. Your conscious desire to deepen your Christian walk is the farmer. The affirmations are the seeds, and the subconscious mind is the field. Based on your desire, you use your conscious mind (the farmer), to plant the seeds (affirmations) into the fertile field (subconscious mind). You then water and nurture the field through constant repetition of your affirmations. Try the following: Each morning before you get out of bed, relax your breathing and repeat silently to yourself the following statement:
Every day, in every way,
I am getting closer and closer
To Christ
During the day, at lunch- time for example, repeat this statement over and over to yourself. Each time that you repeat the statement you are not only planting more seeds, but you are also watering and nurturing the field of your subconscious mind. This is the way to insure success. It may sound simplistic and perhaps it is. That's the beauty of positive thinking. It is simple! But in spite of its simplicity, it is a proven method of personal and spiritual transformation that has worked miracles in countless lives. Try it and see.
The keys to making successful affirmations are: repetition, faith, and expectancy. We need to repeat the affirmation many times and have faith in the process, a living expectancy that if we continue, we will surely succeed. The key again is repetition. Do it over and over again. In this way, your subconscious mind will be saturated with positive thoughts of dedication.
Keep It Simple!
This procedure that has also come to be known as affirmative prayer is a fairly straight forward process but, as with many things, we humans have a marked tendency to complicate it. I know this from past experience because I have been as guilty of exhibiting this “genius for complexity” as anyone – probably more than most. It was with some degree of difficulty that I eventually learned that with most things it is best to keep it simple. With this truth in mind, let’s see if we can simplify the basics of affirmative prayer by stating the following:
When we use our affirmative thinking, put into the containers which we call words, and animate it speaking with living faith, we are able to manifest that which we desire, providing of course, that it is in alignment with God’s will.
There is really no need to mystify the process any more than that. Granted, the underlying laws and cosmic principles associated with affirmative prayer can seem a bit mysterious, but in actuality, even the laws are not all that complicated.
It is essential that we understand that this process begins with our thinking and moves forward from there. Everything that we see began somewhere as someone’s thought. Creation in all its glory began as God’s thought and came into being at God’s command, using His words. He literally called things into existence from the world of the unseen, into the world of the seen. On a smaller scale, this is how we manifest reality as well. Our thoughts begin the process and or faith-filled words empower and animate the process that results in the creation of the thing desire.
Two important factors are also involved in the process of bringing our desired outcome down out of the spirit world and into concrete manifestation. These are emotion and intention. Centuries of working with these principles has revealed that the more deeply you feel about your desired goal, the more readily it manifests in physical reality. I have found that this is precisely where imagination comes into play. When we clearly visualize what it is we desire we arouse our feeling nature, which is a natural part of our soul. We facilitate this by focusing not only on repetition of our positive prayer, but we also form a clear, concise image of the desired outcome and bring our attention to bear on that outcome. We allow the feelings that arise to become magnified and these feelings, along with our thought, image, and faith-filled words form a powerful magnetic force that will pull our desired outcome out of the spirit world, where it already exists, down into physical reality.
Intention is perhaps the most important component of affirmative prayer. Your intention is what gathers and focuses your cognitive energy in a specific direction. It is for this precise reason that your intention must be constructed carefully and spoken clearly. This is not some sort of cosmic, New Age mumbo jumbo, but instead, is a fundamental principle of positive cognition. Your words of intention accomplish several vital functions in the process of affirmative prayer. First, speaking your intention gives direction to your energy and gives firm direction to your prayer. Second, your intention lets your subconscious mind know exactly what it wants to bring down from the spirit realm and why. And finally, your spoken words contain the power necessary to animate the unfolding of the process of affirmative prayer. As stated before, your words, especially when joined to a vital foundation of faith, serve as a magnet to attract the very thing you desire.
So keep these two aspects of affirmative prayer before you at all times. Positive emotion amplifies the power of your prayer and positive intention supplies even more punch to the process. Without these two vital aspects of prayer, you may find your prayers unfocused, impotent, and ineffective.
Here at Sacred Mind Ministries we conduct a training program entitled, “Conscious Cognition,” which is basically the capacity to be acutely aware of what we are thinking on a consistent basis. It has as its goal the honing of our ability to recognize negative thoughts the moment they arise and take those thoughts captive. Rather than climbing aboard our negative “train of thought,” we never allow it to leave the station. Instead, through the development of our capacity for conscious cognition, we replace these negative thoughts with positive ones. At first this process will seem quite cumbersome and highly unnatural. This is to be expected because we have been thinking in unproductive ways for many years. It takes time to delete this negative process from our memory banks and reprogram our minds to think along positive avenues. Persistence and patience are the keys. Keep at it and you will eventually find that you are responding to life in a healthier, more optimistic manner.
Another key principle when using affirmative prayer can be expressed this way: use frequent repetition in present tense. Your patterns of negative thinking and behaving were not formed overnight. Instead, these unhealthy thoughts were repeated over and over again until they were firmly planted in your subconscious mind. Once that happened, these damaging thought patterns seemed to have developed a life of their own. This same principle of repetition, however, can also be utilized to your benefit. First, understand that positive thoughts are more powerful than negative thoughts. Formal research and well as the experience of countless pilgrims who have used these methods of cognitive reprogramming have confirmed the fact that one positive thought can counteract many negative ones, provided the positive thought is constructed in the present tense and is repeated many times.
The principles we have discussed here are basic but essential to the process of creating and using affirmative prayers. As stated at the outset, these principles are not overly complicated, unless of course we choose to make them so. My suggestion is that you study the relevant literature available on affirmative prayer, positive thinking, positive imaging, and the Law of Attraction. By doing so you can deepen your understanding of what is going on when you utilize affirmative prayer as a part of your spiritual path. However, don’t let your studies lead you into any unnecessary confusion or complexity. Above all:
Keep it simple!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Five Foundations of Positive Success
Mick Turner
If you are to be successful in pursuit of your goals and vision, you need to internalize these cardinal concepts, which I have termed the Five Foundations of Positive Success, into your core character. If one studies the lives of great men and women throughout history it is readily apparent that they, one and all, manifested these positive traits of great character in all that they did. Without a doubt, it was these very principles that led to their successful accomplishments. What are the "Five Foundations of Positive Success?”
Desire – Dedication – Devotion – Discipline – Determination
It is a foundational principle of success that every positive accomplishment that was ever made began as a desire in the mind of an individual. Desire is that initial impetus that gives birth to our dreams and it is desire that motivates us to achieve those dreams. All great things begin with positive desire.
Dedication is an act of the mind. From the outset, make a firm decision to follow your dream, no matter what it takes. If you dream is consistent with the will of God, benefits others, and brings glory to the Creator, then rest assured that it was He that placed this dream in your heart. Make a resolute commitment to believe in yourself and your abilities. It is a fundamental law of spirituality that God never places a dream in your heart without also providing you with the ability to achieve that dream. In addition, keep in mind that dedication is a mental act and is based on positive desire and positive thinking.
Devotion is an act of the heart. You will find that getting your emotions involved in your goals and dreams can be of great benefit. One of the most valuable lessons I learned early on in my ministry efforts is: If you don t fall in love with your vision, you will not advance toward its realization. Emotions flow from the heart and they can provide fuel to energize personal motivation. Emotions have been described as “energy in motion” and that is essentially what they are. Desire, coupled with faithful devotion, is the basis for creating a supportive environment for positive action in your life.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson I have learned over the years concerns the necessity of discipline in all areas of our lives. Without personal discipline, the achievement of Christian success is impossible. Without personal discipline, your dreams will eventually crash and burn so never, ever, short-change the importance of being a disciplined disciple.
Discipline is an act of the will requiring sacrifice and strength of character. It is important to realize that improving your level of competency in any field often necessitates experiencing short-term pain in order to achieve long-term benefit. This is a foundational truth for Christian success. In practical terms, your goals will often require that you, through acts of disciplined will, give up certain activities to devote more time to the pursuit of your vision and success.
Determination combines the mind, the emotions, and the will. In practical terms, determination means facing difficulties with optimism rather than pessimism. It means pursuing your dreams under all kinds of circumstances, good and bad. Determination implies that you keep going even when things get rough. When you possess determination, you maintain a positive attitude even when your progress is slow and particularly when other demands and responsibilities crowd in on your plans.
Determination does not come easy. It requires your conscious attention and consistent effort to apply your mind, your heart, and your will as well as the other four “foundations” of desire, dedication, devotion, and discipline.
The "Five Foundations of Positive Success" form the bedrock upon which the structure of any worthwhile goal is built. Without this quintet of character assets your chances of personal success is minimal. However, at times when we begin to incorporate new, more positive ways in which to approach life in general and our goals in particular, we encounter unexpected resistance arising from within ourselves. When this happens we have to keep in mind that our old, habitual ways of doing things are usually deeply ingrained. Making things even more difficult is the fact that, in spite of our best intentions, we often hold on to these negative patterns of thought and behavior simply because they are familiar. More baffling is our tendency to do this even though these very tendencies of negativity bring us less than positive results.
These deeply imbedded negative thought patterns and character traits are what the Apostle Paul called “strongholds.” Strongholds can be formed in several ways including traumatic, emotionally charged events, repetitious patterns of negative thinking, assaults from the Enemy, or a combination of any of these. No matter how particular strongholds are formed, they are often difficult to deal with.
As Christ-followers, our primary tools for tearing down strongholds, and preventing new ones from forming, are to utilize the spiritual weapons outlined by the Apostle in the sixth chapter of the Book of Ephesians. In addition, we must understand and accept that we cannot deal with strongholds with our own power alone. We need the help of the Holy Spirit and we elicit this assistance through prayer. Ask God to help you tear down an especially stubborn stronghold and also ask a trusted brother or sister in the faith to pray for you as well.
In addition, we must become acutely aware of our patterns of thinking. The reason for this centers on the fact that strongholds are constructed, like everything else, with the building blocks of our thoughts. Our goal is to consistently intercept the negative thoughts associated with particular strongholds and stop them in their tracks. Paul calls this “taking thoughts captive for Christ.” The success of many disciples has verified that the next step in dealing with strongholds is, after intercepting the negative thoughts, is to immediately replace them with positive thoughts.
Bear in mind that this cognitive process does not occur overnight. It took a long time to form these counter-productive ways of thinking and responding to life and it will take time to eliminate them. Yet always maintain your sense of hope and keep in mind that one positive thought overcomes the effect of many negative ones. Just as turning on one light can overcome the darkness in a room, lighting up your mind with a single positive thought can illuminate and eliminate dark patterns of thinking. Remain patient, keep praying, and trust God to provide the help he promised. If you keep at it, your success is assured.
To conclude, we have perhaps now traveled full-circle. In our discussion of the “Five Foundations of Positive Success” we discovered that it was often cognitive and behavioral strongholds that formed much of the resistance we encounter when attempting to put these vital principles into practice. Now, I would like you to understand the fact that, in addition to the spiritual tools outlined above that we can use to deal with strongholds, we can also use the “Five Foundations” as well. Think about it. Desire, dedication, devotion, discipline, and determination are all needed in combating these deeply embedded aspects of our thought life and behavior.
These five key principles we have been exploring are not optional if we want to achieve and maintain success in any field of endeavor. Further, these five principles are in many ways like “mirrors” in that each one of the five reflects the other four. The Five Foundations of Positive Success exist as a unified and interdependent whole. When you apply one principle, you automatically apply all of them in a number of ways.
I encourage you to continue to explore what these cardinal principles of success mean to you and to pray in earnest to the Father to help strengthen each of these vital characteristics in your being. It will be well worth your time and effort.
© L. Dwight Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved
If you are to be successful in pursuit of your goals and vision, you need to internalize these cardinal concepts, which I have termed the Five Foundations of Positive Success, into your core character. If one studies the lives of great men and women throughout history it is readily apparent that they, one and all, manifested these positive traits of great character in all that they did. Without a doubt, it was these very principles that led to their successful accomplishments. What are the "Five Foundations of Positive Success?”
Desire – Dedication – Devotion – Discipline – Determination
It is a foundational principle of success that every positive accomplishment that was ever made began as a desire in the mind of an individual. Desire is that initial impetus that gives birth to our dreams and it is desire that motivates us to achieve those dreams. All great things begin with positive desire.
Dedication is an act of the mind. From the outset, make a firm decision to follow your dream, no matter what it takes. If you dream is consistent with the will of God, benefits others, and brings glory to the Creator, then rest assured that it was He that placed this dream in your heart. Make a resolute commitment to believe in yourself and your abilities. It is a fundamental law of spirituality that God never places a dream in your heart without also providing you with the ability to achieve that dream. In addition, keep in mind that dedication is a mental act and is based on positive desire and positive thinking.
Devotion is an act of the heart. You will find that getting your emotions involved in your goals and dreams can be of great benefit. One of the most valuable lessons I learned early on in my ministry efforts is: If you don t fall in love with your vision, you will not advance toward its realization. Emotions flow from the heart and they can provide fuel to energize personal motivation. Emotions have been described as “energy in motion” and that is essentially what they are. Desire, coupled with faithful devotion, is the basis for creating a supportive environment for positive action in your life.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson I have learned over the years concerns the necessity of discipline in all areas of our lives. Without personal discipline, the achievement of Christian success is impossible. Without personal discipline, your dreams will eventually crash and burn so never, ever, short-change the importance of being a disciplined disciple.
Discipline is an act of the will requiring sacrifice and strength of character. It is important to realize that improving your level of competency in any field often necessitates experiencing short-term pain in order to achieve long-term benefit. This is a foundational truth for Christian success. In practical terms, your goals will often require that you, through acts of disciplined will, give up certain activities to devote more time to the pursuit of your vision and success.
Determination combines the mind, the emotions, and the will. In practical terms, determination means facing difficulties with optimism rather than pessimism. It means pursuing your dreams under all kinds of circumstances, good and bad. Determination implies that you keep going even when things get rough. When you possess determination, you maintain a positive attitude even when your progress is slow and particularly when other demands and responsibilities crowd in on your plans.
Determination does not come easy. It requires your conscious attention and consistent effort to apply your mind, your heart, and your will as well as the other four “foundations” of desire, dedication, devotion, and discipline.
The "Five Foundations of Positive Success" form the bedrock upon which the structure of any worthwhile goal is built. Without this quintet of character assets your chances of personal success is minimal. However, at times when we begin to incorporate new, more positive ways in which to approach life in general and our goals in particular, we encounter unexpected resistance arising from within ourselves. When this happens we have to keep in mind that our old, habitual ways of doing things are usually deeply ingrained. Making things even more difficult is the fact that, in spite of our best intentions, we often hold on to these negative patterns of thought and behavior simply because they are familiar. More baffling is our tendency to do this even though these very tendencies of negativity bring us less than positive results.
These deeply imbedded negative thought patterns and character traits are what the Apostle Paul called “strongholds.” Strongholds can be formed in several ways including traumatic, emotionally charged events, repetitious patterns of negative thinking, assaults from the Enemy, or a combination of any of these. No matter how particular strongholds are formed, they are often difficult to deal with.
As Christ-followers, our primary tools for tearing down strongholds, and preventing new ones from forming, are to utilize the spiritual weapons outlined by the Apostle in the sixth chapter of the Book of Ephesians. In addition, we must understand and accept that we cannot deal with strongholds with our own power alone. We need the help of the Holy Spirit and we elicit this assistance through prayer. Ask God to help you tear down an especially stubborn stronghold and also ask a trusted brother or sister in the faith to pray for you as well.
In addition, we must become acutely aware of our patterns of thinking. The reason for this centers on the fact that strongholds are constructed, like everything else, with the building blocks of our thoughts. Our goal is to consistently intercept the negative thoughts associated with particular strongholds and stop them in their tracks. Paul calls this “taking thoughts captive for Christ.” The success of many disciples has verified that the next step in dealing with strongholds is, after intercepting the negative thoughts, is to immediately replace them with positive thoughts.
Bear in mind that this cognitive process does not occur overnight. It took a long time to form these counter-productive ways of thinking and responding to life and it will take time to eliminate them. Yet always maintain your sense of hope and keep in mind that one positive thought overcomes the effect of many negative ones. Just as turning on one light can overcome the darkness in a room, lighting up your mind with a single positive thought can illuminate and eliminate dark patterns of thinking. Remain patient, keep praying, and trust God to provide the help he promised. If you keep at it, your success is assured.
To conclude, we have perhaps now traveled full-circle. In our discussion of the “Five Foundations of Positive Success” we discovered that it was often cognitive and behavioral strongholds that formed much of the resistance we encounter when attempting to put these vital principles into practice. Now, I would like you to understand the fact that, in addition to the spiritual tools outlined above that we can use to deal with strongholds, we can also use the “Five Foundations” as well. Think about it. Desire, dedication, devotion, discipline, and determination are all needed in combating these deeply embedded aspects of our thought life and behavior.
These five key principles we have been exploring are not optional if we want to achieve and maintain success in any field of endeavor. Further, these five principles are in many ways like “mirrors” in that each one of the five reflects the other four. The Five Foundations of Positive Success exist as a unified and interdependent whole. When you apply one principle, you automatically apply all of them in a number of ways.
I encourage you to continue to explore what these cardinal principles of success mean to you and to pray in earnest to the Father to help strengthen each of these vital characteristics in your being. It will be well worth your time and effort.
© L. Dwight Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved
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