Read Faster, Read Smarter
Read Faster, Read Smarter was written by Michael Southon from ezine-writer.com
The Internet is a new continent where the maps areconstantly changing. What was a small stream becomes aroaring river. What was a desert becomes a lush greenvalley.
To keep up with the changing landscape of the Internetyou must read. And the best place to read about newdevelopments on the Internet is in Newsletters orEzines.
But you may not be reading efficiently.
Did you know that most of us use only 4% to 10% of ourmental abilities?
Speed reading is not just about reading faster; it'sabout learning to use much more of the extraordinarypowers of the Mind.
When you read, are you aware of an inner voice that follows the words as your eyes move across the page orthe computer screen? This inner voice is called'subvocalization'. You probably experience it as aslight movement in the tongue or throat region. Aslong as you subvocalize, you limit your reading to thespeed of normal speech, to about 300 w.p.m.
The Mind is capable of thinking much faster than that.So when you subvocalize, you're literally holding backyour mind.
Try this exercise:
As you read, count to yourself, silently, from one toten. Or, repeat the sound 'Eee', 'Eee', 'Eee'. It willbe impossible to do this at the same time assubvocalizing, so this is an excellent way of breakingthe habit of subvocalization.
As you do this exercise, you'll become aware thatyou're no longer processing the words in thetongue/throat region but in an area called 'thoughtstream' that you experience in the top of your head.
Thought stream moves much faster than subvocalization.And that's why people who subvocalize often havecomprehension problems.
There's a mismatch between reading speed and thinkingspeed. The Mind is constantly racing ahead of theinner voice and so it gets bored. You experience thisas an inability to hold your attention on what you'rereading. You have to back-skip words, or read the sameline twice.
As your reading speed catches up with your thinkingspeed, reading becomes much less tiring and yourcomprehension improves.
Once you've got a feeling for reading in 'thoughtstream', the next thing to do is speed up your eyemovements. This will also help break the habit ofsub-vocalization, since your eyes will be movingfaster than you can possibly subvocalize.
Your eyes move across the written page in a series ofquick jumps. Between each jump there's a stop lastinga fraction of second, called a 'fixation'. Thefixation is when the eye actually takes in the writtenword.
The untrained eye takes about a quarter of a second ateach fixation, and takes in 2 or 3 words per fixation.
By speeding up you eye movements, you'll learn to makefewer fixations per line and take in more words perfixation.
Try this exercise:
If you use a glass 'anti-glare' screen, draw 2vertical lines in felt-tip, 5 cms apart, so that youhave a strip 5 cms wide located over the middle of thetext you are reading.
Now move your eyes in a 'Z' pattern down this centralstrip, at a speed faster slightly faster than iscomfortable.
Because your Mind is not reading each word, it isforced to 'fill in the gaps'. This engages much moreof the Mind, since it has to build associations andpatterns in the written material. This in turn leadsto greater comprehension and increased memory of whatwas read.
This technique takes advantage of the fact that muchof written English is highly redundant; a lot of wordscan be skipped without any loss of meaning.
When your eyes move down a central strip of the text,you also engage much more of your peripheral vision.And that in turn brings the right hemisphere of thebrain into the reading process. You make much more useof the right-brain's ability to synthesize and buildrelationships within the material.
So speed reading is not just about reading faster; italso allows you to access much more of the brain andthereby increases your comprehension and creativity.
For an excellent, free, speed-reading course, visit:
Here are some more free speed-reading sites:
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Attitude In Business
Attitude In Business was written by William C. Wilson Sr. from great-homebusiness.com
Is your attitude pulling you down? Are you an optimist, glass half full, or a pessimist, glass half empty?
We have all experienced ups and downs in life. How we deal with them is what is important. How do you handle them? Do you say this business is not going to work? If so, you’re letting your attitude get in the way! When we set our minds to the negative side, we are bound for failure.
Think about the most successful person you know! Ask yourself this, how did that person become successful. Was it because they took every failure and said, "I quit, this will never work." Of course not, they analyzed what went wrong, learned from it, and made sure they did not make that same mistake twice. There attitude was not to fail!
"The satisfaction and happiness you derive from life depends on your aims, attitude, and actions. Those who wait for life to supply satisfaction and happiness usually end up with boredom and sorrow instead. "Dennis Gaskill
Take a moment and answer these questions.
When I was young, my Dad drilled into my head that there is no such word as can’t. He taught me a valuable lesson.
So, how can you change your attitude?
Be aware of your thoughts at all times. Concentration is the power to over come those negative thoughts. Your feelings are what you make them. If you focus on what is missing in your life, you will prolong that lack. Instead switch your thoughts to something positive, reflect about some thing good in your life. Be positive! Be definite!
Just by changing your thoughts, you can change your attitude. Realize that you already have the power in within you to change.
What you can visualize you can achieve! Imagination is one more key to changing your attitude. In the book, Your Psychic Potential, M. J. Abadie states, "By understanding you have no limits, and by letting your imagination soar, you contact that part of you that knows you lack absolutely nothing, that all things are possible to you."
Believe in your ability to change! Need I say more?
To change your attitude it will take toil and endurance. YOU CAN DO IT!
I am sure we have heard that adage, "Life is what we make it." It is true, life is what we make it! To succeed in any part of our lives, whether it is in business or your personal life, we have to have a positive outlook, no matter what might come! Being negative will pull you down into despair! Which one will you chose?
"You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses."Ziggy Marley
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Talk And Solve Problems
Talk And Solve Problems was written by Hifzur Rehman from selfimprovement.ch
Are you facing problems in your life and don’t know how to solve them?Are you passing through a difficult time of your life and don’t know how to get out of it? Are you in the grip of unfavorable circumstances and don’t know how to mould them in your favor?
Relax! There is nothing to worry about. Just talk to someone you can trust and get your problems solved. Did you ever think that it can be so simple and easy? Yes it is!
Don’t keep your problems to yourself. Open your mouth and ask for help. There is always someone who is willing to help you in overcoming your troubles. Talk to your friends, family, fellow workers or even to various help groups and associations. You will be astonished to see how many people will come forward to help you.
No doubt every person has a strong desire to succeed in life and every one wants to live a happy life. In spite of that most people unintentionally keep themselves worried over non-issues thus making their lives miserable.
Keep on thinking and worrying over the matters which do not directly affect their life is the hidden hobby of most people. You need to thoroughly examine whether your problems are real or fake (self-created). If the problems are genuine then you must give top priority in solving them, otherwise try to get rid of your stress habits and start living a happy life.
However, if in spite of your best efforts you fail to get your problems solved and think that there is no one in this world who can solve your problems then talk to God. (Talking to God looks strange! Give it a try). Ask God for His help and guidance in the matter which is a source of trouble for you. Once you have established contact with God then you will see how the glacier of your troubles melts away.
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Goal Setting Secrets Of The Real Life Indiana Jones
Goal Setting Secrets Of The Real Life Indiana Jones was written by Vic Johnson from Goals2005.com
Remember when you were 15? Can you recall some of the dreams you had then? How many have you accomplished?
My reflection on that is what attracted me so strongly to the story of John Goddard, of whom the LA Times called, "The real life Indiana Jones," and one of his expeditions, "the most amazing adventure of this generation."
When he was 15, Goddard was inspired to create a list of 127 "life goals" (he called it "My Life List"). By his last count, the young seventy-something has accomplished 111 of these PLUS 400 others he set along the way!!
Here’s just a few of the ones he’s reached:
He’s climbed many of the world’s major peaks including the Matterhorn, Ararat, Kilimanjaro, Fiji, Rainier and the Grand Tetons.
He followed Marco Polo’s route through all of the Middle East, Asia and China.
He’s run a mile in five minutes, broad jumped 15 feet, high jumped five feet and performed 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups.
He was the first person to explore the 4200-mile length of the world's longest river, the Nile. (It was the number one goal of the 15-year-old Goddard and the one the Times called "the most amazing adventure of this generation."). He has also been down the Amazon, Congo and others.
John has been to 122 countries, lived with 260 different tribal groups, explored the underwater reefs of Florida, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Red Sea, and more.
He has flown 40 different types of aircraft and still holds civilian air records; has read the Bible cover to cover and learned to speak French, Spanish and Arabic.
The last two on his original list included marrying and having children (he has six) and living to see the 21st Century, which he has done in style.
And I’m just getting started. But I think you get the point.
More than just one of the greatest adventurers the world has ever known, Goddard is an incredibly wise person, as this quote of his demonstrates: "If you really know what you want out of life, it's amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry them out."
How did John Goddard manage to live such an incredible life of achievement? Two simple, easily duplicatable "secrets:" He chose BIG dreams and he WROTE THEM DOWN.
There’s no power at all in small dreams. When the dream isn’t big enough, it’s too easy to give in to the obstacles that appear in our life. It’s very difficult to maintain the persistence that all great achievement requires when the dream is small or ordinary.
Harland Sanders was 65-years-old, with little more than a $105 Social Security payment in his pocket, when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. He is said to have been rejected by over 1,000 banks before he became successful. If he hadn’t had a big dream his self-esteem could never have withstood such rejection.
One of the biggest dreamers in the world is Mark Victor Hansen. Working with his partner, Jack Canfield, their idea was rejected by 140 book publishers as "unsellable." Today, their Chicken Soup series includes more than 70 titles that have sold more than 90 million copies in 39 languages. Mark says, "The more goals you set - the more goals you get. Think big, act big and set out to accomplish big results. "
Not only must your dreaming and goal setting be big, but it must be in writing. Brian Tracy says that this act alone increases your odds of success by 1000%! Like many people, I’d heard that I should write my goals down, but like most people, I rarely did. Looking at Brian’s formula another way, the failure to write your goals and dreams down means that you’ve got less than a 1-in-10 chance of succeeding. Can it be any wonder then that most people don’t live their dreams?
Who knows where your life can go after it is driven by life goals. You may find yourself landing on the moon someday, which happens to be one of the few original dreams that John Goddard hasn’t realized.
Whatever you dreams may be, when you're doing your goal setting, make them BIG and WRITE THEM DOWN! Don’t be like the chap in this poem that Napoleon Hill included in the original edition of Think and Grow Rich:
"I bargained with Life for a penny,And Life would pay no more,However I begged at eveningWhen I counted my scanty store.For Life is a just employer,He gives you what you ask,But once you have set the wages,Why, you must bear the task.I worked for a menial’s hire,Only to learn, dismayed,That any wage I had asked of Life,Life would have willingly paid."
Copyright © 2004 Vic Johnson
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The Shaman And Intent
The Shaman And Intent was written by Maggie Wahls from shamanelder.com
The Shaman’s Journey
Intent + Emotion + Knowledge = Shaman
There are 3 elements to being a Shaman: intent, emotional control and impeccable skills. Here we will look at intent.
"Intent is not a thought, or an object, or a wish. Intent is what can make a man succeed when his thoughts tell him that he is defeated. It operates in spite of the warrior’s indulgence. Intent is what makes him invulnerable. Intent is what sends a shaman through a wall, through space, to infinity." – Carlos Castaneda
Intent is the basis of manipulating this reality for anything including healing and manifestation. Reality is quite malleable really. It is just that we don’t use our will or intent to make it the best it could be.
"Inflowing thoughts come to an end in those who are ever alert of mind, training themselves night and day, and ever intent on nirvana." - Buddha
Often we say we want something, but deep down in our hearts be really don’t want that. And then we cry out in anguish because we don’t have that "thing" in our lives.
"Science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common sense rounded out and minutely articulated." – George Santayana
Our reality is completely and entirely based upon our intent. You say, How can that be? I did not create this world, this country or this house. But you do accept the intentions given to you by your parents, your relatives, your school, your community, and your society. We have been taught as babies to accept the realities of others for generations. This is simple psychosociology 101. We are even taught to fear anything but these realities and so life changes at a very slow pace indeed!
So yes, you aligned your intent for housing to that of your relatives. Your idea of social success is the same intention as your society at large. This is not necessarily a bad thing! But it shows the power of intent. One more example is the phrase we hear "If it is not good for me or meant to be then God will not give it to me." I think this is probably a good intent to inherit because you intend only good things for yourself this way. Without intending only good things in some way, you would have to assume responsibility for all the bad things that happen to as well. Get my drift? You are responsible.
"It is a sign of considerable advance when a man begins to be moved by the will, by his own energy self-determined, instead of being moved by desire, i.e. by a response to an external attraction or repulsion" Annie Besant, The Ancient Wisdom.
So how do we bring more good things into our lives?
By intending only good things. Dwell only on good things. Whenever you think a negative thought, immediately replace it with a good intention. Picture abundance in your life. Practice looking for goodness around you. Intent creates your reality-what are you intending for yourself? For others? You know the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it" I guarantee you will get what you really wish for.
First, you must be in touch with your real wishes, not just your fantasies. You real wishes are the ones with emotional buttons on them. The wishes that make you cry or scare you enough to make you cringe, or bring a huge smile across your face just thinking about them. They are buried deep inside and sometimes are really echoes of other people’s intentions for you. If your father intended for you to be a doctor but you didn’t want to do that, you may still walk through your life without a purpose because you accepted your father’s intent for you all along. This is the stuff counseling is made of.
But for a Shaman, it is using intent properly now that can heal issues of soul loss like that for others. All healing begins with intent. Unless the patient himself intends to get well, the reality will be his own intent of illness.
This knowledge can be very frustrating to the healer who knows that complete healing is just a change of mind away. But intent is free will and no one has the right to usurp another’s free will. Many times I have wept bitterly before the campfire for those people who chose to suffer rather than to heal. There is only one reason for the intent to not heal and that is fear.
Isn’t it odd that people fear change more that anything else in life? And yet, that is the one thing that is guaranteed with your passage! I invite you all to embrace change. Embrace each new day, each gray hair, each meal, each encounter, and each tiny adventure of every day. Learn to enjoy the most natural thing in life – change. And learn to use it to your advantage.
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The Magic Square: Penis Stuff
The Magic Square: Penis Stuff was written by Jeremiah P. Huck from jeremiahhuck.workzsites.com
The Magic Square: Men's TidbitsPenis StuffJune 6, 2004
CarlJung explored the complex process of individuation. That is, whilethere is only One underlying reality, that Reality has many parts.Also, each of these parts are a unique, functional part of the Whole. Achair is different from a table, and serves a different purpose inReality. With that perspective in mind, let us touch on issues of men'slives and men's magic.
But, before we do let me state that thismaterial is for Men, not children nor women. In traditional shamanicsocieties woman are initiated into the MYSTERY of the feminine by otherwoman only. Men are initiated by other Men only. This makes sense ifyou understand the real role of differences, and the critical role itplays in all levels of Reality and our personal lives.
Thisinformation was guarded and protected by the men and women of mosttribes. It was sacred knowledge, and was only shared with those to whomthe information applied, men to men and women to women.
However,in modern times this data is really lost. Since most of us don't wantto return to earlier times, we need to reconnect with this information,and find new ways to direct it to those who need it. By the way, we canignore or reject this stuff... but in earlier times you would be forcedto know this, even if you didn't feel ready or eager.........you wouldnot have been given a choice, since it was seen as critical sacredinformation!
Frankly, I could write a book about this....theissues is real close to my heart...but this is a magazine, so we canonly touch on it briefly here....SO THIS IS FOR THOSE MEN WHO ARESEARCHING!
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How To Create An Organized Filing System
How To Create An Organized Filing System was written by Ilene Drexler
Introduction
The test of a good filing system is being able to find something when you need it, regardless of how you choose to organize it. However, there are two basic approaches to setting up a filing system:
You can choose the method that makes the most intuitive sense to you. People who have trouble categorizing may feel more comfortable with the indexing approach. Regardless of which type of system you choose, if you feel overwhelmed about where to start, pick a group of papers in any pile. It does not matter where you start…..you just need to start with a manageable subset of paper.
Active files are those which you must access regularly. Historic files are those that it is unlikely you will need to access, but which you must keep for record retention purposes (i.e., tax files). Your inactive files should not be kept in your active file space, if file cabinet space is limited. These files can be stored in boxes in an out of the way location (since you should not be accessing these files regularly). To create your active files, follow the steps outlined below.
Organizing By Category
Step 1 Sort & Discard
Review your papers and discard any papers you no longer need to keep. If you feel unsure about discarding an item, in order to make the decision easier, ask yourself what’s the worst thing that could happen if you throw it away? It helps to put things in perspective.
When you decide to keep a paper, sort the paper into various categories/piles. Use post-it notes to label the top page of each pile until a permanent file location/category name is established later.
Use categories that are broad for sorting. For example, if you have lots of information on various leisure interests, you can create a hanging file called "Leisure" (vs. creating a hanging file for every type of leisure topic in your papers).
If you have a major hobby such as photography, for which you collect a lot of information, create a separate hanging folder named "Photography". This makes more sense (so that the "leisure" file won’t become too unwieldy).
You can create multiple interior file folders that reside within the hanging file folder, each labeled with the category sub-topic. This makes it easier to search by sub-topic. For example, within the "Leisure" hanging file category you might have file folders for the sub-categories of Art, Music & Reading.
Step 2: Determine Quantity Files Needed
Once you are finished sorting, count and double check the number of "piles" you have to keep. The number of piles equals the number of hanging file folders you will need for your active files. You should buy a minimum of the same number of interior file folders to insert inside the hanging file folders (more if you will have some categories with multiple sub-topics).
Step 3: Identifying/Labeling the Files
Create a set of hanging file folders and associated interior file folder(s) for each pile and its sub-categories.
In order to maintain the transition from active to historic status at the end of each year, the interior files should be labeled by subject and current year (e.g., Life Insurance 2004). This dating approach is best for those categories that involve monthly statements or bills.
For your hanging folders that do contain dated material, it is best to keep static papers that don’t change from year to year in front of the interior folders (e.g., the life insurance policy versus the quarterly invoices). This will make it easy to transition files from active to historical status at year end.
Step 4: Estimate file cabinet size
Once you put the appropriate papers in the files, you can get a sense of how many file cabinet drawers you will need. Using a single "Bankers Box" (heavy corrugated storage box) to stand the files up to measure the inches in depth needed is very helpful. These boxes are available at office supply stores, and also will serve later for inactive storage purposes).
The total number of depth inches you have equates to the number of file
drawers you will need in the file cabinet. Be sure to measure the depth of any file cabinet drawers you may be thinking of buying to ensure you’ll have enough space (allowing at least 4 inches in each drawer’s clearance for sliding & viewing files.
Maintaining the System Annually
At the end of the year, transfer the past year’s interior files to inactive storage. Keep the same hanging file folder in place, and create a new set of interior file folders labeled with the New Year. Keep the "static materials inside the hanging file folders from the past year."
Suggested Category Headings
Index Based Organizing
Step 1: Discard & Pile
Review your papers and discard any papers you no longer need to keep. For the papers you need to keep, sort your papers into a single pile (no need to categorize).
Step 2: Create the File Index
For each one of these papers or related group of papers (if that relationship is very obvious to you), you will create a numerical file. You will then record File #1’s contents in an excel log (or other computerized tool) that describes the contents of the file. For example, if I have a utility bill from March 2004, you would make the description "March 2004 Utility Bill". This file description will get assigned a random file number in a pre-identified location (i.e., File #1 in the office filing cabinet). Should you ever need to find this bill again, you would do an Edit/Find search in Excel and enter "March 2004 utility" to find it. The advantage of this approach is it does not rely on categorizing. When your May 2004 bill arrives, you can assign a totally unrelated file # to it.
You can create & record these indexes with Excel or Access by using their search capabilities. There is also a software program called "The Paper Tiger" from The Hemphill Productivity Institute that is designed for this purpose, and it adds some nice bells and whistles (like tracking files that have been pulled out but not put back). There is a free trial offer and tele-class if you are interested (information can be found at their website http://www.thepapertiger.com/.).
The major disadvantage of the indexing approach is that you must maintain many more files in your storage unit, as well as the data base to track them.
Other Filing Tips
Copyright 2004 – The Organizing Wiz
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Forgiveness: Letting Yourself Out Of Prison
Forgiveness: Letting Yourself Out Of Prison was written by Beverly Smallwood, PhD. from MagneticWorkplaces.com
I noticed the scowl on the face of a Vietnamese engineer as I taught about the impact of hardened anger and of the need to forgive. I was sure he wasn't the only one in this room of managers who felt the emotions his face seemed to reflect. After all, the company was about to go through downsizing, and many were unhappy with the edicts that had been handed down from Corporate.
He never spoke up in the group that day, though others were quite verbal. It wasn't until we sat together on the long ride back from the remote retreat location that I learned what he had been thinking.
"I heard what you said today about how grudges make you sick in your heart and body. But I can never forgive the Communists. They don't deserve to be forgiven."
"Tell me more about it," I invited.
"I had dreams," he said. "I left Viet Nam in 1982 in little 30-foot fishing boat with 60 people on board. We landed on Malaysian soil after four scary days and nights at sea. One year later I considered myself and my family very lucky to have been admitted to the U.S. under political asylum status. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You see, the horrible images of the past eight years keep coming back to me. All of my dreams would not have been just dreams if the Communists didn't invade my country."
What kind of crime did I committed anyway? Were it a crime to be born in a religious family? Were it a crime to attend an American college? Were it a crime to work for a living?
"Unfortunately, it were from the Communist perspective. Religion were considered a tranquilizer to the People's Movement. Educated in American school was enough to qualify me as a traitor to the "people." Working with government-owned Air Viet Nam meant collaborating with the enemy."
I had such a hard time trying to convince the political officer that I attended an American engineering college because I won a scholarship to have free schooling. I worked for Air Viet Nam just to make a living like anybody else does. I was a Buddhist because I was born in a family that believed in Buddhism for generations. The more I reasoned, the more I appeared not wishing to cooperate with the new government. It was not a surprise to see myself in the "re-education camp" (prison) shortly.
"Four years in re-education camp seemed decades. Days after days, I built the hatred in myself, I hate the Communists so much. They came and took away our future, our hope, our country's prosperity. I look at the guards like looking at monsters. No human would act the way they act... abusing people, treating people like animals, laughing on people's suffering. They tried to weaken our body by hard labor and undernourishing in order to control our mind."
Out of 1200 prisoners in the camp, four hundred died in one year, average more than one a day.
"After 15 years, the hatred are still boiling insides myself as much as the time I was in the camp. All the years living in the U.S., I never touch a book on Communism. I refused to watch movie about Viet Nam. When I talk to someone who says one word that seems like favoring Communism, I walk away. My wife has begs me to go with her to visit family back in Viet Nam, but I cannot set foot there because of what happened."
This man's experiences are very different from ours...or are they? The setting is different, but the essential elements are the same.
1. LOSS OF POWER AND CONTROL.
He was literally in a prison. We can feel that way when "life" or certain people create negative experiences for us against our will.
2. UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT.
This man did not commit a crime, yet he received four years of cruel punishment. Some of the hardest things to forgive are those that are totally undeserved, things we did not directly bring on ourselves by our own choices.
3. LOSS OF THINGS WE VALUE.
The psychological losses were the ones that fueled this man's anger the most - the loss of freedom, the stealing of dreams, the horror of witnessing harm to others. It is also these deeper losses that haunt us. They often convince us that our lives have been snatched from us - and that someone needs to be punished for that.
4. DIFFICULTY LETTING GO.
My friend was still living in the prison from which he had been physically released years before. Are you?
WHAT THOUGHTS KEEP YOU HELD CAPTIVE?
Your thought habits exert a powerful influence on your emotions and behavior. Let's examine some of the "cognitive culprits" - myths that can paralyze you, embitter you, and keep you from moving forward in your life.
1. If I forgive, I'll be letting the person get off scot free.
Truth is, the other person is probably not the one held most captive by this. It's you!
You were already injured. You already had important things stolen from you.
Why perpetuate the harm by keeping yourself trapped in the never-ending reliving of the horror?
Forgive to free YOURSELF!
2. If I forgive, I'll be saying that what happened doesn't really matter.
No way. It DID and DOES matter. What happened was very, very wrong. Choosing to forgive does not make any statement to the contrary.
3. If I forgive, he/she will have won.
When you allow yourself to have an unforgiving spirit, you are always the real loser. The collateral losses continue, as the bitterness causes you to become a less effective worker, spouse or partner, parent, and/or friend.
You couldn't help what happened to you originally. You didn't cause the first losses. However, if you harbor the anger and revenge, you will create more losses than the perpetrator could inflict. It's your choice about whether to continue to inflict pain on yourself.
4. If I forgive, I'll be more vulnerable to harm in the future.
Forgiveness will not prevent your learning the lessons that are essential in your future. What has happened will make you more cautious, true enough.
Yes, your rights were violated. However, the reality is, some of the things we presume are rights are really privileges. Another fact is, some of the assumptions we have about, "This will never happen to me," are unfounded. No one is immune..not even "good people."
The difficult realization is, this world may not be as safe as you had previously assumed. However, with that loss of innocence comes a more mature realization that, though there is danger in relationships, in work situations, and in all of life, you can make the choices that make safer choices without becoming paranoid.
If you free yourself from the bitterness that can distort your thinking, perceptions, and reactions...you'll be able to see the world more clearly. Without the irrationality that accompanies hatred and bitterness, you'll become a wiser person.
I had planned to get to the "how-to" part in this article, but because of the foundation we needed to lay, that essential information will have to wait til the next Magnetizer. See you then!
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Bitterness Can Make You Sick
Bitterness Can Make You Sick was written by Beverly Smallwood, PhD. from MagneticWorkplaces.com
I watched as the razor-sharp knife of the skilled surgeon performed the delicate, life-saving task of repairing an aneurism in the elderly man's stomach. I had a close-up view from a stool beside the operating table.
At that time several years ago, I shared an office building with this surgeon and his partners. He had finally said "yes" to my request to "let me watch one day." I knew it would be interesting, but I didn't know that I'd be blessed with a very graphic life lesson in that operating room.I'll spare you most of the very gory details. I had only been used to "verbal gore," not red stuff. Thank God there are those who are called to be surgeons--I'm not!
Anyway, back to the Operating Room. The task was to cut out the aneurism and replace it with a synthetic graft.The doctor had located the aneurism, had clamped off the arteries, and had begun to remove the crud (medical term, I'm sure) from the affected section of artery. I was amazed at the amount of stuff (another medical term) that he piled into the container. This HAD to be life threatening. The blood is the life flow of the body. If it can't flow where it's needed, the person can't live. At that moment, dressed in my surgery garb and totally grossed out, a powerful insight flashed into my spirit. This blockage is a lot like bitterness. Something negative happens in your life, and little by little, its poison accumulates, blocking the flow of life energy. Before my eyes was a living metaphor for BITTERNESS. Think through it with me.
CUMULATIVE CHOICES CREATE CUMULATIVE HARM.
That patient had made lifestyle choices that resulted in an accumulation of unhealthy material in the critical arteries that sustained his life.
The bitter person also makes choices--dwelling on the offense, mentally (or physically) performing little acts of revenge, refusing to forgive. The poison accumulates.
THE PROBLEM GROWS, AND ITS IMPACT SPREADS.
From a physical standpoint, the blood flow is critical. Block its flow to the heart or other vital organs and you have a catastrophic impact.
Each person has a similar flow of emotional and spiritual energy. The consequences of a blockage in these life-giving channels are just as tragic as an aneurism can be. The problem grows and its impact spreads.
Imagine that you released a drop of red food coloring into a beaker of water. At first you'd see a red dot. Soon you'd see pink water. Like the drop of food coloring, anger that is nurtured grows and deepens. It begins to affect every "system"--relationships, attitudes, motivation, and productivity.
DRAMATIC INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY TO SAVE A LIFE.
Thankfully, under the care of this experienced and competent surgeon, the patient got a chance to live an estimated 20 to 30 years longer. He would be freer to do the things that he enjoyed. Yes, there would be a painful period of recovery from this major surgery, but it was worth it.
You may or may not need professional help to release yourself from the bitterness you've harbored. Notice I said release YOURSELF, not release the other person(s). They are going on their merry way. (Of course, this can make you madder.)
I've had clients tell me, "If I forgive, that person will go scott-free." News flash! The other person(s) are already out there ppursuing their life interests. It's YOU who is suffering for holding onto bitterness. It you whose irritability and short fuse is robbing you of peace in relationships you value. It's you whose physical health is deteriorating because of anger. It's you whose sleep is disturbed and whose positive energy is sapped. It's you whose creativity is stifled and whose productivity is diminished.
In the next article, I'll share with you some "how-to's" on FORGIVING to RELEASE YOURSELF. Stay tuned!
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