Inside / Outside

To open to fulfillment, you must be free of fear, worry, and doubt. Unfounded negative thoughts hinder fulfillment.

The question is, what constitutes an unfounded negative thought? Some people say their negative thinking is justified because such thoughts are natural responses to negative life experiences. This excuse is flawed, for several reasons. First, as experiences influence thought, so does thought influence experience. Secondly, we choose how to mentally and emotionally respond to any given experience in life, meaning there is more than one way to respond.

We participate in a feedback cycle with reality - experiences shaping our mindset and our mindset influencing our experiences. Choice is what lets us break out of any cycle and initiate a new kind. By assuming there can only be negative responses to negative experiences, people lock themselves into a vicious cycle whereby negative thoughts create negative experiences which in turn seem to “objectively” justify further negative thoughts. By assuming the external world is independent of our internal world, the internal world capitulates to the external world. Because thought effects experience, the only way to break out of this cycle is to choose to think, feel, and act differently than before, in alignment with higher principles rather than old socially-programmed assumptions.

One must replace fear, worry, and doubt with courage, faith, and confidence regardless of prior negative patterns of experience. This may seem like willfull ignorance or wishful thinking, but there is a difference. Wishful thinking is baseless and proves itself empty when its false assumptions contradict what actually happens. In contrast, having courage, faith, and confidence is far from baseless, because it stands upon principles, which have been proved, through past positive patterns of experiences. Rather than contradicting what actually happens, these actually affect what happens.

The validity of having courage, faith, and confidence in higher principles is evidenced by the consequent alteration of life experiences for the better.

Any questions??