The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds. – Albert Schweitzer
Change Your Mind/Change Your Life
What could you accomplish if you had the Midas touch of Warren Buffet, the selflessness of Mother Teresa, the entrepreneurial genius of Bill Gates, the dedication to a cause of Aung San Suu Kyi? If you could change your mind to think like any of these people, have their single pointedness of purpose, self-discipline, and drive, you could gradually become more like any of them.
When you can change your mind — not in the usual sense of reversing a decision, but fundamentally change your thinking — you change yourself and ultimately, your environment. We hear of people doing this in dramatic ways, like the former gang member who is mentoring young boys and men in his old neighborhood; the woman who was homeless, pregnant, and addicted at sixteen, now inspirationally helping girls at risk.
Paul the Apostle is probably one of the best known of those who have radically turned their lives around. Until his unforgettable religious conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul was a feared scourge of Christians who admitted that he “violently persecuted” this new religion. Yet, after he became convinced that Christ was really the long-promised Messiah, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to help advance the Christian movement.
Few of us have the unusual devotion, the humility to admit we are on the wrong track, or the courage to completely change the course of our lives that Paul displayed. At least we probably think we lack these virtues, especially if we’ve never been in a situation where they were needed. But most of us have some devotion, courage, and humility. We can build on these beginnings, and strengthen them. So why don’t we?
You know the answer to that. Changing ourselves is hard. Anyone who has quit smoking, alcohol, or drugs knows this. For most of us, it takes many tries, a lot of talking to ourselves, and some agonizing effort, and even then we may relapse a few or many times before we finally make this profound turnaround in our lives. Often, there’s a catalyst, like discovering you are pre-diabetic, before you can get serious about losing weight. In some fundamental way, we have to be deeply committed to changing ourselves to change our habits. But once we are, there are many boosts and supports to help us, much like having a personal trainer for weight loss.
This is where the Lemurian Philosophy comes in. If we have good reasons for changing our minds, the Philosophy can help us do it. When we understand the laws governing all life and human interaction, and start working with these eternal principles instead of against them, our problems begin working out. Not all at once, but gradually. Most of us won’t face the dramatic and momentous changes Paul or the other Disciples were called on to make. The changes we need to and can make are more modest, but potentially just as significant to us and those around us in our lives and environments.
Steadily, as we keep moving toward the good, the right, and the true, we experience in greater and greater measure that more abundant life Christ promised all of us so long ago.
It is an exciting thought to recognize that we have the power to change our environment or objectives etc – if we change our minds. I remember a time when I used to smoke. I wanted to quit but it was hard and took awhile! But eventually, I summoned the courage to stop and move forward.
Thank you for reminding me in such a positive article, that we have every reason, and every help, to encourage progressive changes in ourselves by changing our minds.
Marcelle writes: It is because of what I read in the blogs that I find the courage to be so open about my own problems. Only a short time ago, just before I received the blog on fear, I realized I was having a problem with pride: I was afraid to let someone see I had made a mistake. Then I felt I had learned something about myself and I’ll watch myself on that. Thank you for sharing!
There seems to be a fast growing segment of teachings that appeal to man’s awakening need for understanding, offering much of the common sense, practical, and positive information that we need, but yet hold out the promise of a magical awakening that somehow is supposed to circumvent the need to do the real work of changing.
How helpful it has been to learn of these cosmic laws and begin to try apply them in my life. I have had some of the “catalysts” the article mentions and they are no fun. It is so much better when I see the need for change and express the humility to take action in my life to make it happen. When we do this, we are taking a step toward controlling our own environment, an important step in spiritual advancement.
Changing your mind and life sometimes takes experiences that teach you what you are doing is not the right path. As an instructor, I was always looking for ways to relate to students through similar experiences. If you could point out why a particular method didn’t work because you had made the same mistakes, it always had more of an impact. It’s a been there, done that and it doesn’t work attitude that keeps you looking for better ways to conduct your life.
It is an exciting thought to recognize that we have the power to change our environment or objectives etc – if we change our minds. I remember a time when I used to smoke. I wanted to quit but it was hard and took awhile! But eventually, I summoned the courage to stop and move forward.
Thank you for reminding me in such a positive article, that we have every reason, and every help, to encourage progressive changes in ourselves by changing our minds.
Marcelle writes: It is because of what I read in the blogs that I find the courage to be so open about my own problems. Only a short time ago, just before I received the blog on fear, I realized I was having a problem with pride: I was afraid to let someone see I had made a mistake. Then I felt I had learned something about myself and I’ll watch myself on that. Thank you for sharing!
There seems to be a fast growing segment of teachings that appeal to man’s awakening need for understanding, offering much of the common sense, practical, and positive information that we need, but yet hold out the promise of a magical awakening that somehow is supposed to circumvent the need to do the real work of changing.
How helpful it has been to learn of these cosmic laws and begin to try apply them in my life. I have had some of the “catalysts” the article mentions and they are no fun. It is so much better when I see the need for change and express the humility to take action in my life to make it happen. When we do this, we are taking a step toward controlling our own environment, an important step in spiritual advancement.
Changing your mind and life sometimes takes experiences that teach you what you are doing is not the right path. As an instructor, I was always looking for ways to relate to students through similar experiences. If you could point out why a particular method didn’t work because you had made the same mistakes, it always had more of an impact. It’s a been there, done that and it doesn’t work attitude that keeps you looking for better ways to conduct your life.