Category Archives for "Brain and mind"

How to Access Your Powerful Natural Painkiller

By Dr. Victor Schueller | Brain and mind

We all experience pain in its many forms.  Whether it’s physical pain, sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, shock, confusion, or worry, we’ve come to know pain as an unwelcome guest in our lives.  Pain can frequently visit us in its many versions, as it can pave the way for sleepless nights, arguments, stress, anxiety, or other unpleasant side effects.

But what is pain, really?  What does pain truly represent and mean to us?  When we begin to investigate the nature of pain and its source, we can come to terms with its properties and value to us and see it for what it really is.

Pain provides us with awareness

While we may tend to share the opinion that pain is undesirable, the reality is that pain is neither good nor bad, or desirable or undesirable.  It just is.  When we experience physical pain, we are obviously made aware of physical damage or distress somewhere in or on the body.  Likewise, if we can realize that pain in its other forms, such as sadness or anger, has the capacity to shine a light on an aspect of our life that leads to personal discovery, pain can be a powerful feedback mechanism.  The key to allowing the pain to serve as a feedback mechanism is to dive deeper than the superficial experience of the pain.  While you may feel sadness, you may not be taking the opportunity to really experience it on its many levels and understand what it really is to you.

Pain resides in our passion

Diving deeper with an inquiry into our pain can provide much insight as to why we are experiencing it in the first place.  This provides us with an opportunity to go below the superficial experience of the pain and really gain an understanding of its source.  Upon further investigation, you may come to realize that pain resides in our passion.  When we care so deeply about something, such as being accepted by others, having peace in the world, or kindness between people, if we see a contradiction to or violation of that ideal it causes pain.  For example, if I was passionate about keeping my house clean, and someone comes into my house and makes a mess, I will experience the pain of frustration, anger, resentment, or even sadness.  Because my passion is cleanliness, but I see a contradiction, I experience pain.

Our natural painkiller – Indifference

With the understanding that pain provides us with awareness, and that awareness leads us to discover the passion behind the pain, we can move to resolving it within us.  The long and the short of it is that we can eliminate the pain through indifference, although in practice this is not so easy and takes time and patience.  However, if you can simply develop the awareness of the source of the pain, this is an important step in moving forward along the process of removing the pain from your life.

I suggest that you first find something else in your life about which you are indifferent.  For me, for example, I would say that I am indifferent about NASCAR.  How do I know I’m indifferent about it?  I know because I don’t care about who the drivers are, what races they’re in, when the races are, or who wins.  I have absolutely no interest in the sport, its competitors, or outcome.

Once you find something that you are indifferent about, you can examine the experience of indifference.  Take time to learn what indifference feels like to you, and how it creates a sense of ease and subtle strength.  When you are indifferent you are not affected by an outcome and you feel unattached.

After you have had some time to spend in that indifference, it’s time to return to your passion.  Now you can spend time in the process of inquiry, asking yourself just why this is a passion to you and why it is so important to you to maintain this passion.  Only you can answer these questions, and only you know what your next steps will be.  Sometimes simply understanding the nature of the pain and its source provides comfort and relief of the pain when it comes.  Awareness alone has the capacity to soothe and heal.

The bottom line is that pain is not necessarily bad or undesirable.  It’s something that leads to our awareness if we take the time to understand it.  That awareness can lead us on a path toward the elimination of the pain if we can come to understand the passion in which our pain resides.  Through meditation and contemplation, you can uncover the nature of your pain and its source and determine what the next steps are for you.  Understanding our pain is a journey, but on that path, you may transcend it to experience peace.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalcures/22784724783

How Can I Connect Better with Others? – Part 1

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be discussing what I call the top three contributors to “interpersonal discontent” and misunderstanding.  There are three main contributors, that I believe make up over 90% of the problems we face when it comes to living in peace and harmony with others.  I would contend that if everyone did these three things a little better, the world would be a lot better place to live.

So, for today, I’m going to talk about what I call the “hammer in the toolbox” problem.  This arises when people have difficulty articulating how they feel, and then they have an even more difficult time articulating what it is that they need or what value of theirs is in misalignment.  Finally, people have a very difficult time making requests of others that will help them either get what they need or help them reach a place of alignment with their personal core values.

But before we dive in today about how we can overcome the “hammer in the toolbox” problem, we need to, in my opinion, look at the world we live in first.

Let’s look at our children’s television programming or movies to start.  (Remember, what we show our children over the first seven years of their lives becomes their subconscious “program” that basically “runs the show” 95% of the time for the rest of their lives) If I were to tell you that I would bring a guest to your house that would show your child that it’s okay to kill or beat up another person, would you approve?

I’m guessing that most of you would say, “no” pretty quickly to that question.  Yet, that’s what your television and the cinema does with a lot of popular children’s programming and movies.  Here’s the typical story line: There is an antagonist (the “good” entity).  Things are going well until the antagonist shows up (the “bad” entity).  There is building tension throughout the movie as the antagonist does “bad” things, and then, at the climax, the antagonist is either punished or killed.

Is that pretty accurate?

And why, exactly, does there need to be a bad guy?

Because of what it does to us mentally and emotionally.  We’ve been conditioned to find pleasure in punishment.  It’s the product of a society based on the idea that there is “good” and “bad,” and “right” and “wrong,” and “normal” and “abnormal.”  And, you had better “fall in line” and do what is “good,” “right,” and “normal,” because if you don’t you’ll be punished and an example will be made of you so that others don’t do what you did.

I mean, that’s a very efficient way to control other people.  To heck with how they feel.  We don’t need to know how people feel.  We just need to know that they’ll do what they’re told.  That’s just easier, right?

As a parent, can you not just “tell” you child what to do, without consideration for their feelings?  Sure.  As a supervisor, can you not just “command” your subordinates to do what you want them to do, because you’re their boss and if they don’t they’ll get fired, without consideration for their feelings?  Yes.

But, just because you can do it, does that mean that it is the preferred way to do things?

We don’t talk about our feelings.  We aren’t asked about our feelings.  When were you ever asked about your feelings by your teacher, or during your entire educational process?  What about at work?  Are you asked how you’re feeling?  Probably not, and that is what leads to the “hammer in the toolbox” syndrome.  We lack the know-how on how to express our feelings, and even if we do, it can feel uncomfortable because it’s just “not the way we do things” on this earth and in our society.  To talk of your feelings is to be perceived as “weak” and “too sensitive” to be a leader or effective in anything we do.

And then, when we do muster up the courage to talk of feelings, we’re not really talking about our feelings most of the time.  We say things like “I feel like you’re taking advantage of me,” or “I feel like you’re not listening to me.”  “Like” is not a feeling!  We can feel “happy,” “angry,” “frustrated,” “elated,” “curious,” “perplexed,” “confused,” or even down right “sad,” but we cannot feel “like.”  And I can prove it.  What can you do to feel “happy?”  Now, what can you do to feel “like?”  Yeah, I thought so…

So here we are, unable to articulate how we feel.  So, here’s the first question: “How do you feel?”

Question number 2: “Why do you feel this way?  What is it that you are either getting (usually leads to a positive feeling), or not getting (usually leads to a negative feeling)?  Or, what core value do you hold true to yourself that you are aligned with (usually leads to a positive feeling), or with what value are you not aligned (usually leads to a negative emotion).”

Question number 3: “If you are experiencing a negative emotion, and have identified what it is that is lacking or out of alignment, what can you ask others for, so that you can get it or align with that value?”

When we put this all together, we can connect better by overcoming the “hammer in the toolbox” problem.  The problem, by the way, is that we’re not effectively articulating our needs or unmet values, so we’re just “hammering away” violently, telling people what to do with no regard for their feelings.  This creates a lot of damage, just as if you were to try to do everything you needed to do to build or fix something, but all you had in your toolbox to use was a hammer.

To overcome this problem, we simply have to state what is happening, how we feel about it, and what we need that we’re not getting.  Then, we simply have to ask others to help us get what we want, without demanding it.

When we can do this, we can add another tool to our “toolbox of communication.”  We can also use it to listen to others too!

If you’ve enjoyed this post, you’ll really enjoy my book, Rise Above Criticism, Negativity, and Conflict.  It’s a book that describes the “hammer in the toolbox” problem, and provides you with many more helpful things to consider and apply to your own life to help you speak to and listen to others much more peacefully and effectively.  You can get it by visiting Amazon.com or Barnes And Noble.  It’s a quick read, and people really enjoy it!

I’ll talk with you next week in the next installment of this series, to talk about the second major contributor to “interpersonal discontent” and misunderstanding.  Talk soon!

 

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/olga-lednichenko-photos-albums-images/6417934707

Blessing Your Misfortunes – An Unconventional Approach | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

I don’t know about you, but it occurs often while I am reading a book that the author makes a reference to another author or book that inspired them.  I immediately stop reading the book and go searching for that author or that book to check it out.  It’s hard to finish a book that way, when you keep interrupting your reading because you’re going off on a scavenger hunt for more books to read!

shinn bookNevertheless, on one of my excursions I came across the writings of Florence Scovel Shinn.  She was born in the 1870s, and she died in 1940.  Behind her she left some absolute gems of writing, one of them, published in 1925, titled The Game of Life and How to Play It.  It is described as down to earth and filled with anecdotes, covering topics that include prosperity, healing, forgiveness, faith, and Divine Design.

The book is an easy read, and it teaches some valuable lessons through many stories and examples.  One of the ideas that I really took to was the idea of essentially “blessing your misfortunes.”  Instead of being angry or fearful about what happened, what may happen, or what is happening, Shinn recommends changing the way you view your circumstances.

Why would you do this?  She explains it this way: “We must substitute faith for fear, for fear is only inverted faith; it is faith in evil instead of good.  The object of the game of life is to see clearly one’s good and to obliterate all mental pictures of evil.  This must be done by impressing the subconscious mind with a realization of good.”

In other words, if you seek all the reasons why you are justified to be suffering from the unfortunate situation, if you affirm that unfortunate things seem to always happen to you, or if you are convinced that people have it in for you and are plotting against you or have evil intentions, you are giving into fear.  You are exhibiting “faith in evil,” instead of having faith in the good in you and the good in everyone and everything around you.

It’s only natural when things go wrong that we brood over it and curse and sit in that place of frustration, anger, and resentment.  The problem with letting this go on is that our mental dialogue starts to take over, and we begin to think about perhaps the other person that’s involved.  We start to think about how they may have done something intentional to us or had ill intentions.

Our mental dialogue may start to chime in about how bad things always happen to us but don’t seem to happen to other people.  We may get more frustrated as we start to compile a list of our misfortunes and start comparing it to those around us, especially those who have a shorter list.

But what does all this do?  It creates a resonance of negative energy within.  It activates the stress centers of our brains, thrusting us into a stress response.  We begin to shut down the thinking parts of our brains, and we crumble to fear and negativity.

By blessing your misfortunes, thanking them for the lesson they taught, and by blessing others who are involved and seeking the good in them, affirming your faith in the good in them, you will begin to have faith in yourself.  You’ll start to activate the loving, compassionate parts of your brain, and you’ll begin to think loving thoughts and bring to mind memories of pleasant experiences and examples of times when things did go well for you.

In short, if you curse your misfortunes, you’ll begin to see misfortune in your world.  If you bless your misfortunes, you’ll begin to see blessings in your world.  Your world becomes a reflection of your thoughts and active concentration.  Concentrate on the good.  BE the good in the situation.  By being, you will shape your environment. By being, you will influence those around you. By being, you will have the power to create your own circumstances and attitude about them.

Begin with blessings, and blessings will follow.  Begin by expressing your faith in the good, and the good will come as a result. When you start counting your blessings, even in your misfortunes, you’ll quickly see that more good will come out of it as a result.

 

Photo: http://www.freeimages.com/profile/cjn

Video: What to Do When Someone Is Agreeable but They’re Really Not

By Dr. Victor Schueller | Brain and mind

Have you ever had someone who was agreeable to something you said, but at the same time you believed that they were not totally agreeable?

Check out this video which gives you some recommendations on how to handle this situation, either if you find someone to be “falsely” agreeable, or if you’re asked to do something that you’re not really agreeable to doing.

If you liked this video, and you’d like more, make sure you click here to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel!  I do a new video about once a week.

 

 

Compassion for “Carnies” | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

[hcshort id=”67″]Carnival workers have a bad reputation, don’t they?

It seems like everyone likes to take a crack at the “carnies.”  We like to make fun of how they look.  We like to look down at them and their “lowly” life.  We mock them, criticize them, and make them the butt of our jokes.

The last I checked, they counted as humans.  Two arms, two legs, a working brain, and everything else that makes them the same as you and me.

However, why do we lack compassion for the “carnies?”  Why do we make fun of them?  Why?

It’s the same reason why we lack compassion and understanding for anyone else who belongs to a “group” that differs from our own.

It’s not just the “carnies.”  It’s the people who have a different color of skin than us.  It’s the people who belong to a different religion than us.  People who work a different type of job from us.  People who make a different income than us.  People who are attracted to different people than us.  It’s the people who dress differently than us.

I’ve noticed a correlation between the size of the distance we place between ourselves and others and the magnitude of the lack of compassion and empathy for others.  The more “different” we view ourselves as another, the less compassion we have for them.

Here’s a great example of that:

carnies

Source: motifake.com

 

 

And, another:

carnie bob

Source: motifake.com

So, how can we find compassion in our hearts for the “carnies” and other groups of people we struggle to accept and understand?

Here are three easy steps we can follow to decrease the amount of “distance” we place between ourselves and others to find more compassion and empathy in our hearts.

1. Seek commonalities

Try hard to find ways that we are similar to others.  By seeking to find the commonalities we share with other people, the more we will see others as, well, humans.  Just like us.  When we can look to others as brothers and sisters, we will be more likely to love and exercise compassion and understanding for others.

2. Exercise the art of “wondering”

There is also a corresponding relationship between empathy and wonder.  The more you “wonder” what it’s like to be another person, and experiencing what they are experiencing, the more empathy you develop for that person.  It’s that neuronal “mirroring” that occurs.  The more you “become” the other person, the more you’ll develop emotions within you that help you understand what emotions the other person may be experiencing as well.  The great news is that our brains are highly developed to perform this task.  We just have to use it more often, especially when we are interacting with someone who we may view as very different from us.

3. “De-group” the people and “Re-humanize” the interaction

Its been observed in scientific studies also that when people lump others into “groups” it allows for the interaction to be de-humanized.  Just think of what happened to the Jews during World War II.  They were put into a “group.”  As a result, they were de-humanized and slaughtered.  That’s because people no longer are people.  They are non-human members of a group.  They become less than human.  This is exactly what’s happening when we categorize people as “carnies.”  We are “grouping” them, and therefore they become “de-humanized.”  Then, they become easy pickings for our jabs, insults, and ridicule.

We are here for much more than criticizing others.  We are here for great purpose.  Truth to be told, when we stoop down to this level of behavior, we don’t feel good about it.  Something doesn’t sit well within us.  That’s because our true heart knows that we are compassionate and loving.  When we don’t act in this manner, there is inner conflict.  We’re not at peace.

It’s time to stop calling people names and placing them into groups.  It’s time to seek commonalities rather than emphasize differences.  It’s time to rise to that higher level of compassion, love, empathy, and celebration of who we are and who others are.  It’s time for us to reach our full potential.  The time has never been better.  Less judgment, and more compassion.  We can do it!

 

How did you like this article?  Did it speak to you?  Was it helpful?  Please let me know how you felt about it in the comments section below.  I promise to respond if you do!

 

Photo source: http://www.freeimages.com/profile/dynamix

 

3 Reasons Why Being a Good Storyteller Can Work Against You | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

About a year ago, my older daughter, Brianna, approached me outside as I was doing some yard work.

“Dad?” she asked.  “How tall are you?”

I said, “I’m five foot eleven.  Five one one.”

“Okay,” Brianna said, as she retreated back into the house.

A couple of minutes later, she came back out.

“How much do you weigh?” she asked.

“One hundred seventy-five pounds.  One seven five,” I answered.

“Okay,” she said again, and as before, she went back in the house.

Once again, she came out of the house, and she handed me a piece of paper.  It was a Fathers’ Day gift:

Brianna for fathers day

It all looked good, until the part where she described that when I was younger I used to “pretend to be a woman.”

Never, ever let a child see a picture of you dressed as a woman for Halloween.  No doubt it burns itself into their memory.

victor as woman

Now you also know that I “yell” when I am angry.

Stories are so powerful.  They have the ability to capture our attention.  They take us somewhere we’ve never been.  They turn a dull presentation into an exciting adventure, where time flies and our hearts and souls sing.

If you’re a great storyteller, it can really be to your benefit in building relationships and talking with other people.

On the other hand, your strength in telling stories can be holding you back.

How so?

One of the great things about stories is that they can be told by one, and then repeated by others, fairly accurately, time and time again.  It’s how many of the great books we have come to know have been written.  However, this can work against us as well.

We all tell ourselves and other people our stories.  I’m not talking about stories like the one I told you above.  I’m talking about the “stories” we have come to believe about ourselves, our talents, our abilities, our limitations, and our shortcomings.

For example, one of my stories was always, “I’m not good at math.”

Another one was “I’m a horrible salesperson.”

I’ve heard other people say that they’re not creative, or that they are not smart, or even, “It’s just the way it is.  I can’t change it.”

They’re all stories.  But, they get in our way.

Here are three reasons why our stories can work against us:

1. Some of our stories are simply the reflections of what others have told us and we’ve accepted as true.

This is why we must be so careful of what we say to other people.  If you tell your child, for example, that “mom and dad aren’t very good athletes,” and that the child “probably won’t be very good at sports either,” you’re feeding your child a story about how they probably won’t be good at sports.

The problem with this is that whatever your child consciously hears, and then chooses to accept as true, it will become a “program” for your body to execute as instructed.

With children, this is especially powerful, because why would a child ever question whether what their parents say is true?  Parents tell their children to look both ways before crossing the street.  They tell their children not to talk to strangers.  They tell their children all sorts of things to help keep them safe, and they continue to teach them so much about everything!

The next thing the child knows, they’re playing soccer with their friends, and they clumsily dribble the ball just as any other learning soccer player would.  What do they say to themselves when they see other children who appear to be better dribblers?

“I’m just not good at sports, just like my parents.  My parents were right.”

Years go by, and the story continues…”I’ve never been good at sports.”

2. The stories we tell ourselves continue to shape our perceptions of truth

Just like above, the new (or old) stories we have come to tell ourselves as we continue throughout our lives shape our perceptions of what “is.”  If we tell ourselves that we can’t or never have been able to do something, and we accept it as true, our bodies follow the “program” and perpetuate it.

And then we also wonder why we can’t grow or accomplish new things…

3. Having a “convenient” story to tell gets us “off the hook.”

Our stories then become our excuses.  “I can’t paint the walls in my house because I’ve never been good at the ‘small details.'”

“I can’t be successful in business because I would have to sell things and I’m not a good salesperson.”

“I can’t be financially successful because whenever something goes well in my life something else comes along and I end up losing my job.  I’ll always mess things up and I’ll always be poor.”

“I can’t change things because it’s always been done this way.”

Stories are great for teaching lessons, entertaining others, or connecting authentically with someone else.  On the other hand, our stories can really set up obstacles that stand between us and the changes we would like to see take place in our lives.  Sometimes our stories keep us safe and give us an excuse to stand pat and not make any changes.  Sometimes our stories stop us before we even get started.

Do you have a story that you tell that you feel may be holding you back?  Do you have examples of stories you used to tell yourself and others that you’ve stopped telling?

I’d love to hear about it.  Please scroll down and leave a comment below!  I promise to respond.

The Power of Our Words: The Experiment Results Are In! | VictorSchueller.Com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

Two weeks ago, I did a post on an experiment that I was going to conduct on the power of our words, to demonstrate just how much of effect our words can have on others.

Well, not only other people, but pretty much anything…Like cooked rice, for example.

So, I set up the experiment.  Here’s what I did:

I took some rice and cooked it according to the instructions.  Next, I divided the rice in half and put each half into identical Tupperware containers.  I closed both lids so that the seal was air tight, and then I labeled each container as seen below:

rice experiment

Finally, I broadcast a network stream of the two containers of rice, so that people could view them at any time and send thoughts or even audible words of love and gratitude to one container, and thoughts or audible words of negativity to the other. (Thank you to all of you who participated in the experiment).

I left this feed up for one week, and then I discontinued the feed, and then I just placed the picture above within the post so people could continue to send their thoughts and words to the containers at my home while I was vacationing in Nashville.  The entire time that this rice was displayed through the feed or simply sitting there I did not refrigerate the rice.  It stayed at room temperature for two weeks.

So, before I get to the results, let me just make a confession to you about this whole thing: I think I may have sent thoughts and words to the rice maybe a handful of times.  That’s about it.  I wanted to see how much of an effect we could collectively have on the rice, but I wanted to largely leave it up to all of you who were participating!

The results:

Well, at first I didn’t see much of anything.  I opened up the top of each container, and they pretty much looked the same.  “Bummer,” I thought, full of disappointment.  But then, I thought perhaps the top only told part of the story, so I closed the lids on the containers, and flipped over the containers.  This is what I saw…

Here’s a picture of the bottom of the “Love and Gratitude” container of rice:

love rice

 

And, here’s a picture of the bottom of the “Hate and Disease” container of rice:

hate rice

What do you think?  Pretty remarkable, huh?  I thought so.

So, what does this all mean?

Thoughts are energy

Our words are articulated thoughts.  By thinking or saying something, it has a vibrational energy to it.

Matter and non-matter is energy

The components of the universe are made up of charged particles — atoms and molecules made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons.  They also have a vibrational energy.

When we send out a certain vibrational energy and direct it toward a component of the universe, we establish a vibrational resonant frequency, and it can affect the universal components.  I had mentioned the works of Masaru Emoto, who famously takes pictures of water crystals that are exposed to various stimuli to see the effects of the stimuli on them.  Similar to the rice experiment, the thoughts and words directed at the water crystals had a profound effect on their shape and geometry.

The reason why I did this experiment was twofold.  One, to see this experiment and the results with my own eyes, for validation.  Two, to impress upon you how what we think are simple and non-harmful words and thoughts can have an impact on everything around you.  It can position you for success and failure.  It can help or harm your relationships.  It can be the difference between you liking yourself and not liking yourself.  It can impact your health and wellbeing, both physically and emotionally.

The next time you think or say something, just remember that if simple words or thoughts can impact a bunch of cooked rice simply sitting in a container at room temperature, they certainly can have a substantial impact on living, breathing beings who co-exist on this planet along with you.

Take heed of your words and thoughts.  Never forget the powerful effects they can have on everything around us.

 

What are your thoughts about this experiment?  How does it affect your viewpoint of the power or our words and thoughts?  I’d love to hear from you!   Scroll down and leave a comment, and I’ll respond.

I Need Your Help! A Rice Experiment on the Power of Words | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

This past week I was at a conference in Atlanta, and I was eating lunch with my friend, Andria Molina, and she was telling me about an interesting experiment that she conducted.

She cooked some rice, and then placed the rice in a container.  With one container, she expressed positive thoughts and said loving words to it.  With the other, she expressed negative thoughts and said not-so-loving things to the rice.

The results were amazing.  You could clearly see how the rice which was the recipient of the positive thoughts and words never really changed in its appearance, while the other rice which received the negative thoughts underwent some changes.

Her experiment was based on the studies done by Masaru Emoto, who famously takes pictures of water crystals that are exposed to various stimuli to see the effects of the stimuli on them.  The results are astounding.  If you’re not familiar with his work, feel free to visit his website, http://www.masaru-emoto.net/english/index.html

You can also see some evidence of his intriguing discoveries by watching this video:

So, I want to do this experiment myself, to see what results I can get, but I want you to help and be a part of this experiment!  I just cooked some rice, and I am placing it into two airtight containers.  One is going to be labeled “Love and Gratitude” and the other is going to be labeled “Hate and Disease.”

Here’s where I want your help:

I am going to stream a live feed of the two containers of rice, and I want you to visit the stream.  When you view the two containers of rice, I would like to ask you to send thoughts of love and gratitude, or happiness, or joy, or any other positive emotion to the container labeled “Love and Gratitude.”  You can even actually say kind things to that container.

Next, I want you to send thoughts of negativity and criticism to the container labeled “Hate and Disease.”  You can even say things like, “Yuck,” or “I hate you,” or anything else negative or critical toward that rice.

I’m going to leave the stream up throughout the week, and I invite you to come back as often as you’d like to participate in the experiment.  I’ll take a “Before and After” photo of the rice, and then I’ll share the results of the experiment with you.

I want to see how powerful our thoughts and words are, and I hope you can join me in this fun experiment!

**Please note:  The stream is no longer active, but the rice is still in the same spot.   I want to continue the experiment by having you view a picture of the rice, and continue to send your thoughts to the rice.  I want to see how this affects the rice.  The picture is below:
rice experiment

Thanks for participating!  I am looking forward to the results!  I’ll be sure to share them with you in an update!

UPDATE!

The results are in!  CLICK HERE to see the results of this experiment!

 

Photo: http://www.freeimages.com/profile/szorstki

How to Maximize Your Potential by Moving Beyond “If…Then” Thinking | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | belief systems

We seem to say it so often.  We seem to think it even more:

“When I get ______ (fill in the blank), then I’ll be happy.”

My daughters say it all the time!

“Daddy, I want to get _______ (fill in the blank).  I’ll be so happy when I get it!”

I ask them, “So, you think that happiness comes from ‘getting’ things?”

They reply with the usual, “Yes!”

So, the question I ask you is the same — Does happiness come from getting “things?”  Do we think that once we get something our lives will be better?

Now, truth to be told, yes, if we think about what we usually seek, which is more money, chances are we will be happy about the fact that we don’t have to worry about where the next dollar is going to come from.  But, here’s the rub: Even if we were to experience more happiness by getting “things,” we’re not going to get those “things” or reach our highest potential if we continue with the same mentality which got us to where we are now, which is not enough “things” at the moment.

It’s “If…Then” thinking.  We say, “If I get _____ (fill in the blank), then my problems will go away, and then life will be better.”

So, how are you going to get whatever you filled in the blank with if you don’t change what you’re doing?  You didn’t really think about that, did you?

The truth of the matter is that we think that we have to change what we do between now and the future, when we actually “get” the “thing” we want.  The reality is that it’s flawed thinking.

Here’s what really has to happen: We need to change what we do “now” to have an effect on what happens in the “between,” which then will impact what will transpire in the future.

By continually thinking that all we need is to get that “thing” what we’re really doing is focusing on the “lack” of that “thing” in the now.  We’re vibrating with an energy that says, “I don’t have what I seek.  I lack it.”  When you send this signal out into the universe, the universe hears you essentially saying, “Hey Universe, I want more of this!”

The universe doesn’t discern what you “think” you want from what you are shouting out from your vibration and energy, so the universe will respond by saying, “You want more?  You’ve got it!”  And, for you, nothing changes.  You still go on, lacking what it is you really desire, and you keep sending out those vibes saying that you lack it and you like it.

So you really need to change what you think.  You actually have to think about what it is you desire, and you have to act as if that comes easily to you, and it’s just a matter of time before the “thing” you desire is on it’s way to you.

I suggest instead of thinking, “When I get _____ (fill in the blank), I’ll be happy,” instead ask yourself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if ______ (fill in the blank with what you desire)?”

When you make this switch, you make it more playful.  You are just enticing the universe to play along.  You say, “Hey Universe, wouldn’t it be fun if _______?” and the universe will say, “You want to find out?  Here you go!  On it’s way.”

Even if you’re not buying this whole “universe” thing, let me ask you this — What harm does it do to give it a try?  Are you going to be in a worse position than before if you give it a shot?  What do you have to lose?

Nothing, I believe.  You have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Here is an article I wrote that give some more suggestions on some fun things you can try to play with your universal power!

We transmit vibrational energy.  That brings things to us that have a similar energy.  If you want to keep focusing on what you lack, the lack is what you’ll get.  Shift.  Focus on what it is you want, but make it playful.  Act as if you have it, or that you have always had it.  That simple change can really make a difference.

I’d love to hear from you!  Do you engage in “If…Then” thinking?  Do you see how perhaps making the small shift can be helpful to you?  Let me know!  Scroll down and leave a comment below.  I want to hear about it!

 

Photo: http://www.freeimages.com/profile/_jonesy_


On my radio show this week:

 

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This week I will be welcoming author and garden expert Fran Sorin to my radio show to talk about her book,  Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening, as well as her 7-step process for being more creative in the garden as well as in life.

Click on Fran’s picture above to listen to the show!

 

How to Love Someone Who Criticizes You | VictorSchueller.com

By Dr. Victor Schueller | Brain and mind

When someone says, “You’re an idiot,” it’s hard to find love within you, isn’t it?

Want to know a secret?  Their statement says a lot more about them than it does about you.  And, no, I’m not suggesting that when they say you’re an idiot that they’re really the idiot, although in many ways it would feel a lot better, right?

The truth is that people have largely learned how to cope with what they lack by dishing out criticism and putting other people down.  I wish I could say it’s just human nature, but that really isn’t true.  There really is something else going on beneath the surface.

But, to actually find love in your heart for someone who criticizes you?  Sounds a little preposterous, doesn’t it?

It sure does, but it’s not impossible.  Actually, I’m going to go a step further and say that it’s actually more natural for you to find love in your heart than it is for you to find contempt for someone who criticizes you or puts you down.  And, I’m going to prove it to you before the end of this piece.

So here’s the truth behind what’s going on.  Like I said, the statement says a lot more about the other person than it does you.  In reality, the statements are a very pitiful (my interpretation) attempt to ask you for help.

Okay, what?  Just back up…Someone who tells me that I’m an idiot is asking for my help?  How so?

Here’s how so:

When people offer up criticism or put you down, they are doing it because it is the next step after coming to terms with their feelings.  They may be feeling angry, upset, embarrassed, frustrated, or any other negative emotion.  The emotion is stemming from something that they need but they’re not getting.

So, when someone says, “You’re an idiot,” they may really be saying, “I’m saying this because I feel embarrassed due to my need to be recognized as significant and important in the eyes of other people.  Could you please provide me with the recognition I desire?”

Yeah, I know that “You’re an idiot” sounds like light years from “Could you please provide me with the recognition I desire?” but both statements are getting at the same thing — this person seeks recognition.

So, the reason why people say the things they do is because they’re really asking one thing, and that is “please?”

I talk all about it in my book, if you care to check it out.

So, if we can shift our thinking from getting defensive because we’ve felt we’ve been attacked by the “You’re an idiot” statement to recognizing that the other person needs our help, we can significantly change our perception of the other person.

Instead of thinking that they have it in for us, we’ll start thinking about how we can help this person.

If a short elderly woman asks me to help her by grabbing a package off of the top shelf in the grocery store because she can’t reach it, am I going to take it personally and feel that she’s attacking me?  Of course not.  That’s not human nature.  I just hope she doesn’t ask me to help her by starting off saying, “Hey, you’re an idiot…Grab that item off the shelf, won’t you?”

But seriously, it’s not in our nature to get offended, defensive or feel we’re being attacked when someone asks us for a favor.

This is why when someone criticizes us or puts us down, while they’re really asking “please?” it really is not in our nature to get offended or defensive as a result.  We’ve just been conditioned to respond this way.  Our society has tainted us and gotten us to believe that it’s natural for us to respond the way we have become conditioned to do so.

So, I rest my case.  It’s not in our nature to get angry or defensive with others when we are asked to offer help from others.  As a matter of fact, we become more compassionate and loving when others ask us for a hand.  It feels good to help.

The next time someone dishes out a criticism or puts you down, just remember it’s their convoluted (my interpretation) way of asking “please.”  If you can remember that, and figure out what it is that they need that they’re not getting, and then respond by offering a way to help meet that need, you’ll find that you will be extending love from your heart to theirs.  You’ll actually love the person who criticizes you.  And, it will be authentic and natural the whole way.  Awesome, isn’t it?

I want to hear from you!  Does this make sense to you?  Do you see opportunity with someone you interact with on a regular basis to offer love instead of a defensive reaction?  Let me know!  Scroll down and leave your comments below!


 

I’ve been interviewed!

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I’m usually the one who is conducting interviews, so it’s refreshing to be on the “other side of the microphone” and be interviewed!  This past Sunday I was a guest on Martine Joseph’s radio show, called “Thriving Minds,” and it was a ton of fun.

If you want to listen to a replay of the interview, you can access it by clicking HERE, or by clicking on Martine’s picture above.

Photo: http://www.freeimages.com/profile/theodore99

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