I talk a lot about choosing our thoughts wisely, that they create our life. But it’s a very big idea and I wanted to take a moment to share some of the wisdom I’ve gleaned since losing my parents a few years back. There’s nothing like loss to help us dig a bit deeper into our own authenticity.
As the youngest child, my experience in the first few years of my life was one of observation. Missing was the spotlight and the constant hands on approach that - say for instance, the only child or the oldest child might experience. There for the observing were my older siblings at various stages of development and parental influence, acting and reacting to everything that happened: some of them sulking, others curious, and others rebellious – all in response to the same situation, each of them thinking of things slightly differently, attaching different meanings. I had courage and fear at my disposal, love and hate, worry and curiosity, optimism and pessimism, generosity and stinginess. The fact that I have the awareness of choice in how I think of and show up in the world today, is largely because I was shown the choices when it most mattered.
And that’s how it works. During the time we are between the ages of 0 -7 our brains are in theta, otherwise known as download mode. It’s the state hypnotists put us in to unlock or retrain the subconscious mind, which is our most powerful resource as human beings; literally the driving force of our lives. It’s necessary for us to be in theta during that phase of life, because we have so much to learn. Crucial networks of ideas are being formed during this time - which ‘life’ operating system or beliefs to download from these experiences we’re observing. Simply put – what the new child of this world sees and experiences becomes their belief of the way it is. At the same time we’re learning how to walk and speak, we’re learning how to think and what to believe. We’re being indoctrinated into the family belief system whether it has any merit or not. It becomes imbedded in the subconscious mind and becomes our operating system, for life. If your family belief system was one of lack, you likely picked up the belief that life is lacking, difficult and worrisome. And if that’s the case, you most likely have a lot of difficulty and worries about resources and life in general today. You might even say it became your story.
But what if you grew up in an ‘everything is going to be fine’ belief system? How would that colour your life? What would that story look like?
I grew up in an ‘everything is going to be fine’ world. But not all of my siblings did. The ones who were born first were literally dropped into a scarcity challenge; times were tough, a young married couple trying to eek out a living as musicians and raise little kids. Let’s just say, I’m glad I came last. Times were good when I arrived. We lived in a kind of abundance that those young parents were only yet dreaming of. And you know what? My life has pretty much been an ‘everything is going to be fine’ story. I am grateful.
But I’m not writing this to brag about my life. The message is too important to ignore. I have had an ‘everything is going to be fine’ life because I BELIEVED IT WAS AN EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE WORLD.
The beliefs we download colour our every experience and literally set the trajectory for our lives. Our beliefs dictate how we show up in the world, day in day out – moment to moment. Our beliefs become our thoughts which dictate our experiences.
‘OH-MY-GOD!!’
‘But wait! I was only a kid’ you say! ‘I want to choose a new operating system!’
With awareness comes the opportunity to reprogram where needed. So if you’re saying, I want to believe I’m safe, hopeful, lovable, worthy, courageous (or whatever you feel you’re lacking) but I grew up in that scarcity world and my life is a scarcity life - ‘that’s just the way it is’ – then the solution is to begin the reprogramming.
If given the choice, what do you really want to believe? What do you really want your life to look like? If you want to believe you can be happy, look no further than the closest happy person as proof of what is possible. The only difference between them and you is that they either were shown happiness in the theta state of their young minds and it became their truth, or they became aware it was a choice and went ahead and chose it. A lot of people think that sounds too simple but here’s the thing: When you choose you’d like to become a master chef do you just wave your magic wand and ta da! A master chef you are!? Of course not.
When we choose to learn something new we generally have to engage in a certain amount of study and practice. It is a journey of becoming aware of our programming. It is a journey of trial and error. But rest assured, happiness is an available choice for all of us, even if we have to learn it from scratch. Practice being happy and one day you’ll be a master at it.
With the neuroplasticity of your brain, it is possible to completely reprogram your subconscious mind to think however you want to think, and to show up in the world believing whatever you want, being the true YOU instead of your programming - and therefore colouring your every moment with new fresh colours, fresh experiences and a fresh outlook on life and your overall well being that feels really true to you – even if nothing else changes in your life.
Even if you were not given strong examples of love, safety, abundance, happiness, courage and delight as a young child when you were in download mode, this doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of feeling unfulfilled. YOU are not the belief system you grew up in, you were influenced by it and it had a pretty strong impact on how you think and behave but you weren’t even eight years old, you didn’t have the capacity to make better choices for yourself then. Take charge and make some healthier decisions for yourself now. Begin the reprogramming. Begin the study of happiness. What really makes you happy? Everyone’s path is different, but my wish for you is that your path finds you thinking happy thoughts and living happy and fulfilled lives, because the happier we think, the happier we feel, the happier we are. Eventually, it’s your new program and it’s just the way it is.
Sending much love your way.
As the youngest child, my experience in the first few years of my life was one of observation. Missing was the spotlight and the constant hands on approach that - say for instance, the only child or the oldest child might experience. There for the observing were my older siblings at various stages of development and parental influence, acting and reacting to everything that happened: some of them sulking, others curious, and others rebellious – all in response to the same situation, each of them thinking of things slightly differently, attaching different meanings. I had courage and fear at my disposal, love and hate, worry and curiosity, optimism and pessimism, generosity and stinginess. The fact that I have the awareness of choice in how I think of and show up in the world today, is largely because I was shown the choices when it most mattered.
And that’s how it works. During the time we are between the ages of 0 -7 our brains are in theta, otherwise known as download mode. It’s the state hypnotists put us in to unlock or retrain the subconscious mind, which is our most powerful resource as human beings; literally the driving force of our lives. It’s necessary for us to be in theta during that phase of life, because we have so much to learn. Crucial networks of ideas are being formed during this time - which ‘life’ operating system or beliefs to download from these experiences we’re observing. Simply put – what the new child of this world sees and experiences becomes their belief of the way it is. At the same time we’re learning how to walk and speak, we’re learning how to think and what to believe. We’re being indoctrinated into the family belief system whether it has any merit or not. It becomes imbedded in the subconscious mind and becomes our operating system, for life. If your family belief system was one of lack, you likely picked up the belief that life is lacking, difficult and worrisome. And if that’s the case, you most likely have a lot of difficulty and worries about resources and life in general today. You might even say it became your story.
But what if you grew up in an ‘everything is going to be fine’ belief system? How would that colour your life? What would that story look like?
I grew up in an ‘everything is going to be fine’ world. But not all of my siblings did. The ones who were born first were literally dropped into a scarcity challenge; times were tough, a young married couple trying to eek out a living as musicians and raise little kids. Let’s just say, I’m glad I came last. Times were good when I arrived. We lived in a kind of abundance that those young parents were only yet dreaming of. And you know what? My life has pretty much been an ‘everything is going to be fine’ story. I am grateful.
But I’m not writing this to brag about my life. The message is too important to ignore. I have had an ‘everything is going to be fine’ life because I BELIEVED IT WAS AN EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE WORLD.
The beliefs we download colour our every experience and literally set the trajectory for our lives. Our beliefs dictate how we show up in the world, day in day out – moment to moment. Our beliefs become our thoughts which dictate our experiences.
‘OH-MY-GOD!!’
‘But wait! I was only a kid’ you say! ‘I want to choose a new operating system!’
With awareness comes the opportunity to reprogram where needed. So if you’re saying, I want to believe I’m safe, hopeful, lovable, worthy, courageous (or whatever you feel you’re lacking) but I grew up in that scarcity world and my life is a scarcity life - ‘that’s just the way it is’ – then the solution is to begin the reprogramming.
If given the choice, what do you really want to believe? What do you really want your life to look like? If you want to believe you can be happy, look no further than the closest happy person as proof of what is possible. The only difference between them and you is that they either were shown happiness in the theta state of their young minds and it became their truth, or they became aware it was a choice and went ahead and chose it. A lot of people think that sounds too simple but here’s the thing: When you choose you’d like to become a master chef do you just wave your magic wand and ta da! A master chef you are!? Of course not.
When we choose to learn something new we generally have to engage in a certain amount of study and practice. It is a journey of becoming aware of our programming. It is a journey of trial and error. But rest assured, happiness is an available choice for all of us, even if we have to learn it from scratch. Practice being happy and one day you’ll be a master at it.
With the neuroplasticity of your brain, it is possible to completely reprogram your subconscious mind to think however you want to think, and to show up in the world believing whatever you want, being the true YOU instead of your programming - and therefore colouring your every moment with new fresh colours, fresh experiences and a fresh outlook on life and your overall well being that feels really true to you – even if nothing else changes in your life.
Even if you were not given strong examples of love, safety, abundance, happiness, courage and delight as a young child when you were in download mode, this doesn’t mean you’re doomed to a life of feeling unfulfilled. YOU are not the belief system you grew up in, you were influenced by it and it had a pretty strong impact on how you think and behave but you weren’t even eight years old, you didn’t have the capacity to make better choices for yourself then. Take charge and make some healthier decisions for yourself now. Begin the reprogramming. Begin the study of happiness. What really makes you happy? Everyone’s path is different, but my wish for you is that your path finds you thinking happy thoughts and living happy and fulfilled lives, because the happier we think, the happier we feel, the happier we are. Eventually, it’s your new program and it’s just the way it is.
Sending much love your way.