What do you want? If you knew that you could have anything that you wanted simply by asking for it, what would you ask for? The answer to that question may seem obvious, but for many it is a difficult question to answer. Because, when we really stop to think about what we want deep down, beyond the "stuff" from our outer world, the question becomes more complex.
We all dream, and many of us wish for an opportunity to attract abundance in our lives. That abundance can be in the form of money, of freedom, of happiness, of love....and yes, of shoes or cars! None of it is bad. And the good news is that because of the very definition of "abundance", we are not limited to choosing just one thing! When we realize that we have the power to break free of limiting beliefs, such as the notion of scarcity, then we become empowered to change our lives and the lives of everyone around us.
Words of great meaning, from great individuals, can be found to support this idea. Nelson Mandela is quoted as saying, "...We are all meant to shine...your playing small does not serve the world..." So when we keep our lives small, why are we doing that? Sometimes it is a confidence thing, sometimes it is fear of failure, and believe it or not, sometimes it is the fear of success. After all, if we succeed then our activities and our lives may become more public and more open to scrutiny and judgment. People will expect more from us.
But the question to ask is - is that a bad thing? If we attract abundance to our lives, and succeed at something, we may be in a position to reach beyond our current circle of influence and touch the lives of people and influence issues that are important to us. How often to you read the news, or walk down the street and see a situation that you know could be improved. Now think about the satisfaction that you would feel if you were a part of the solution. In a small or large way you can make a difference if you allow yourself to take control of limiting beliefs and attract abundance to your life.
There are several things you can explore to make this paradigm shift in your mind, expelling all the past habits and beliefs that have been holding you back from your true potential. These techniques revolve around meditation and the ability to announce your dreams. You may have heard of the power of affirmations. This is just another word for the concept of announcing your dreams. When you are able to restate your beliefs and announce to the world what you want, then you begin to attract abundance to your life.
But what if you still don't really know what you want? You're busy, you always feel tired, and you feel like you work constantly but never have enough money. You don't believe that you have time to really think about what you want. This is exactly why you need to find a meditation technique that you can introduce into your life and practice on a consistent basis. Meditation simply allows your mind the time that it needs to clear out the clutter and find focus. With focus, you can determine what it is you really want from this life. Today is a good day to start. Clear your mind, find your focus, announce your dreams and attract abundance to your life!
Dawn Damico has been called the "Research Diva". If you are ready to discover the tools that will help you to attract abundance to your life and reach your true potential, you must click through to unleash the potential of your life! Go now to http://benefitsandpowerofmeditation.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dawn_Damico
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Spiritual Growth - How To Strike A Balance Between The Material and Spiritual Aspects of Your Life
How well you grow spiritually can have a remarkably positive effect on how you cope with stress and lead to you enjoying success and abundance in your life.
But to grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipment, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a result, our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are muddled. How can we strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives?
To grow on a spiritual level is to look inward.
Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically examining your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in provide useful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it gives you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation. Like any skill, introspection can be learned; all it takes is the courage and willingness to seek the truths that lie within you. Here are some pointers when you introspect: be objective, be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas for improvement.
To grow on a spiritual level is to develop your potentials.
Religion and science have differing views on matters of the human spirit. Religion views people as spiritual beings temporarily living on Earth, while science views the spirit as just one dimension of an individual. Mastery of the self is a recurring theme in both Christian (Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. The needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Beliefs, values, morality, rules, experiences, and good works provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being. In Psychology, realizing one's full potential is to self-actualize. Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. James earlier categorized these needs into three: material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual. Perhaps the difference between these two religions and psychology is the end of self-development: Christianity and Islam see that self-development is a means toward serving God, while psychology views that self-development is an end by itself.
To grow on a spiritual level is to search for meaning.
Religions that believe in the existence of God such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam suppose that the purpose of the human life is to serve the Creator of all things. Several theories in psychology propose that we ultimately give meaning to our lives. Whether we believe that life's meaning is predetermined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We do not know the meaning of our lives at birth; but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in. As we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs and values that we reject and affirm. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use, sustains us during trying times and gives us something to look forward to --- a goal to achieve, a destination to reach. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.
To grow on a spiritual level is to recognize interconnections.
Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus we call other people "brothers and sisters" even if there are no direct blood relations. Moreover, deity-centered religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship between humans and a higher being. On the other hand, science expounds on our link to other living things through the evolution theory. This relatedness is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow. Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and become stewards of all other things around you.
Growth is a process, thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further spiritual growth is made possible.
A good place to start to look for spiritual help is to Click Here! and Discover The Most Effective Way To Improve A Relationship, Overcome Stress, Get Out of Debt, Eliminate All Confusion, Find Comfort, And Enjoy MORE Success And Abundance…In Under Fifteen Minutes!
But to grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipment, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a result, our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning are muddled. How can we strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives?
To grow on a spiritual level is to look inward.
Introspection goes beyond recalling the things that happened in a day, week, or month. You need to look closely and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. Periodically examining your experiences, the decisions you make, the relationships you have, and the things you engage in provide useful insights on your life goals, on the good traits you must sustain and the bad traits you have to discard. Moreover, it gives you clues on how to act, react, and conduct yourself in the midst of any situation. Like any skill, introspection can be learned; all it takes is the courage and willingness to seek the truths that lie within you. Here are some pointers when you introspect: be objective, be forgiving of yourself, and focus on your areas for improvement.
To grow on a spiritual level is to develop your potentials.
Religion and science have differing views on matters of the human spirit. Religion views people as spiritual beings temporarily living on Earth, while science views the spirit as just one dimension of an individual. Mastery of the self is a recurring theme in both Christian (Western) and Islamic (Eastern) teachings. The needs of the body are recognized but placed under the needs of the spirit. Beliefs, values, morality, rules, experiences, and good works provide the blueprint to ensure the growth of the spiritual being. In Psychology, realizing one's full potential is to self-actualize. Maslow identified several human needs: physiological, security, belongingness, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. James earlier categorized these needs into three: material, emotional, and spiritual. When you have satisfied the basic physiological and emotional needs, spiritual or existential needs come next. Achieving each need leads to the total development of the individual. Perhaps the difference between these two religions and psychology is the end of self-development: Christianity and Islam see that self-development is a means toward serving God, while psychology views that self-development is an end by itself.
To grow on a spiritual level is to search for meaning.
Religions that believe in the existence of God such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam suppose that the purpose of the human life is to serve the Creator of all things. Several theories in psychology propose that we ultimately give meaning to our lives. Whether we believe that life's meaning is predetermined or self-directed, to grow in spirit is to realize that we do not merely exist. We do not know the meaning of our lives at birth; but we gain knowledge and wisdom from our interactions with people and from our actions and reactions to the situations we are in. As we discover this meaning, there are certain beliefs and values that we reject and affirm. Our lives have purpose. This purpose puts all our physical, emotional, and intellectual potentials into use, sustains us during trying times and gives us something to look forward to --- a goal to achieve, a destination to reach. A person without purpose or meaning is like a drifting ship at sea.
To grow on a spiritual level is to recognize interconnections.
Religions stress the concept of our relatedness to all creation, live and inanimate. Thus we call other people "brothers and sisters" even if there are no direct blood relations. Moreover, deity-centered religions such as Christianity and Islam speak of the relationship between humans and a higher being. On the other hand, science expounds on our link to other living things through the evolution theory. This relatedness is clearly seen in the concept of ecology, the interaction between living and non-living things. In psychology, connectedness is a characteristic of self-transcendence, the highest human need according to Maslow. Recognizing your connection to all things makes you more humble and respectful of people, animals, plants, and things in nature. It makes you appreciate everything around you. It moves you to go beyond your comfort zone and reach out to other people, and become stewards of all other things around you.
Growth is a process, thus to grow in spirit is a day-to-day encounter. We win some, we lose some, but the important thing is that we learn, and from this knowledge, further spiritual growth is made possible.
A good place to start to look for spiritual help is to Click Here! and Discover The Most Effective Way To Improve A Relationship, Overcome Stress, Get Out of Debt, Eliminate All Confusion, Find Comfort, And Enjoy MORE Success And Abundance…In Under Fifteen Minutes!
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