Negative thinking patterns like worry or fear can be very intrusive and even addictive. An undisciplined mind can run wild, but it is reassuring to know that it can be calmed and focused and become our best friend. Many people feel that their mind is in control of them but it needn’t be that way; our mind is a wonderful tool for us to use, not the other way around.
Negative habits of thinking can be seen as an opportunity to practice something new; because anything that has been ‘practiced in’ can be ‘practiced out’. In other words, all negative thoughts and beliefs we have, no matter how strong or real they seem to be, have been repetitively practiced into our minds over time; we have thought about them over and over. And in this same way, we can practice in more positive ones. ‘Practice’ is the key word here.

Example: My mind is a wonderful tool for me to use. I am in control of my mind.  I begin to choose thoughts that make me feel good. I begin to dwell on thoughts that feel good when I think them. Like drops of water my positive affirmations build up to create a sea of beneficial and uplifting thoughts and beliefs. Choosing good-feeling thoughts becomes easier and easier for me.  

Be sure to be kind and patient with yourself as you begin to change your thinking. Thoughts like ‘this is impossible’ or ‘I can’t do it’ may surface; this is a normal part of the process- especially if you want to believe something that has not been done before or society thinks is ‘difficult’ to make happen.  Persevere and keep it up, always accepting yourself as you are and where you are right now. At the beginning, when you have quite a mental struggle going on (of old thoughts of criticism or doubt vs the new successful affirmations) it is easy to give up and give in to the old ways but don’t do it!
Remember, it is only ever a thought you are dealing with. And a thought can be changed.  

Example: I am kind and patient with myself. I am doing fine. I can like myself exactly as I am, knowing that where I am is temporary. Everything I need comes to me. Supportive people and techniques come to me at the perfect time. I am divinely guided and assisted in all things and in all ways. I am perfect where I am and constantly changing for the better. I know I can do this. I am a positive thinker. I look for good wherever I go. I easily expect the best in life. It is only a thought and a thought can be changed!

Like any new behaviour- whether it be learning to ride a bike or to drive a car, it takes practice for you to ‘get it’ and for the new pattern to become easy and automatic. I remember when I had my first few driving lessons I thought I would never be able to drive. But one day, after many hours of practice, it all came together. In one moment driving was easy and effortless. It was as if a switch was flicked and I just ‘got it’. We may fall down many times when we learn anything new… But we can keep getting up and getting on with it. Then, sometime soon we’ll ‘get it’. With a little effort and self-discipline, your new thoughts will build up and ‘tip the balance’ and the new habit will be internalised; that is it will become part of your automatic nature.

Example: I can be someone who expects the best. I can be someone who dwells on positive thoughts of abundance, love, beauty and success. It is becoming easy for me to choose only thoughts that feel good.

It is good to know that just as worrisome thoughts can be addictive, so can thrilling thoughts or thoughts of beauty and abundance. With practice you will create good-feeling habits which will transform your way of looking at life. Remember you don’t have to be ‘perfect’, but there is a need for consistency much like going to the gym. You can do one push up every six months or you can do twenty every day- but your results will be very different. It is exactly the same with this mental work. With a little bit of effort every day, before long (it only takes weeks or months to replace decades of negativity) your new thoughts will have flourished into a garden of abundant thoughts and beliefs. You will become fixated on your dreams and obsessed with success and fun and optimism in all things. And almost as a bonus to this joyful feeling, the Law of Attraction will bring you wonderful manifestations to match your new good-feeling state of mind.
 

The idea of creating our own reality can be empowering yet daunting. Empowering, because it allows us to realise that we are not powerless beings buffeted about by a random Universe, but daunting because we may think we have to do it all ourselves. But we don’t. We are not alone in all of this.

We are co-creators of our reality

We co-create our reality with the divine. Whether you pray directly to God, the archangels, Buddha or Krishna or Jesus or one of the many other myriad of non-physical helpers (and extensions of God), you are tapping into the vast stream of Well-being that flows through the Universe. Your role in creation is to believe and expect (the asking comes automatically) and then you will receive. It is the Divine’s job to orchestrate what you want and to answer your prayers. It is a collaboration.

Prayer and the Law of Attraction

“What ever things you so desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them” Jesus, The Bible

Jesus was a master of the Law of Attraction- and the power of prayer- and I will be using his wisdom throughout this article. His quote above says it all: Ask for what you want, believe that you will achieve it and then what you want will come to you.

Many people ask from a negative attitude and stay there- and this is exactly what Jesus was correcting; we must ask and then move into an expectation of a solution for the prayer to ‘work’.

Why do some prayers get answered and others not?

“When you ask, it is given. It is always given. It is given every time. No exceptions.” Abraham

All prayers are answered immediately- the question is: are we allowing in the answer? God never fails to answer our asking- but it is for us to do our work and match the vibration of the solution.

If you ask and believe that you will be answered, you will be. It is the difference between asking or praying from a state of hope and expectation- or from doubt and fear. You need to ask and then get out of the way in trust, letting the Universe work on the solution.

There are no limits

“All things are possible to him who believes” Jesus, The Bible

All things are possible. The key is ‘to him who believes’. You have to do your part by working your thoughts into an expectation that your prayers will be answered- and they will, as Abraham says ‘every time, no exceptions’.

There are absolutely no limits!

“Whoever shall say to this mountain, ‘be removed, and be cast into the sea’; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he says” Jesus, The Bible

It was true over two thousand years ago and it is true today. It has always been true. With faith you can accomplish anything.

“If this life experience has inspired the desire within you, this life experience has the where with all to fulfil it down to the very last detail… Anything that you can imagine is yours to be or do or have” Abraham

Let go and let God

Once you’ve asked- and you are asking or praying every time you have a desire- you can release the request and focus on something else entirely, trusting that the Universe is working on the solution. Imagine the vastness of the pure, positive, Universal energy- infinitely more powerful than the sun; it is this energy that creates worlds that flows through you.

Practice, Practice, Practice

“Ask, and it shall be given to you” Jesus, The Bible

This philosophy sounds simple- and it is. But believing in it takes practice. Just as you could spend a lifetime reading thousands of books or attending seminars with different opinions on how to ride a bike and still not be able to ride a bike- it is the same with reading spiritual books about the Law of Attraction or spirituality. You learn how to ride a bike by getting on the bike; you change your life by applying the processes. If you are anything like me- you may have shelves full of spiritual books and you may have listened to dozens of motivational speakers. Where have they got you?

“The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” Jesus, The Bible

Now is the time to do it. You know the truth. Now it’s about practice, practice, practice. The good news is it’s a great-feeling practice- in fact it must feel great as you do practice for it to work.

“If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed… nothing shall be impossible unto you” Jesus, The Bible

Stop reading and go for it!