Providential Dynamics

Tudor (Photo credit: TBoard)

Yesterday, I saw an advertisement for a self help program. The tag line begged to ask the question, “What is the number one reason your dreams are failing you?”  

To me, this is a rather bizarre question, but I know what the program is probably getting at. So, I’ve decided to throw in my two cents on the subject.

Assuming you are an adult, at any given moment in time, you are exactly where you’ve lead yourself. You are exactly where and what you’ve always wanted. You are the fulfillment of your own dreams and aspirations. Even if you think this is not the case in your own life, it is you, and only you, who shifts the gears and steers the wheels toward your own destiny.

You are exactly where and what you’ve always wanted. You are the fulfillment of your own dreams and aspirations. The Cosmos will bend over backwards to get you what you’re asking for. Unfortunately, such providence is not in the rack of candy bars beside the checkout counter at the grocery store. The Cosmos is not set up for instant gratification. There tends to be a delay in the process. If your dreams are failing you, it’s probably because you’ve outgrown the ones that got you where you are today, replaced by new dreams and aspirations.

I should point out here that dreams and aspirations are not fulfilled from the thoughts of the conscious mind, which tends to be impetuous and hedonistic. Dreams and aspirations are fulfilled from the thoughts of the subconscious mind, which tends to concern its self with the survival and continuity of its mechanism. Your conscious desire to be a multi – millionaire may not be congruent with your subconscious desire to keep a consistent flow of food on the table.  The good news is, your pragmatic subconscious mind gets its view of the World from your impetuous conscious mind.

Lets examine this dynamic on a superficial level.

Lets say you have a thing for Tudor cottages. You think Tudor cottages are simply the coolest style of house in which a person could live. You want to build a Tudor cottage for yourself, and go live in it. You start gathering Tudor cottage blueprints, Tudor cottage wood, Tudor cottage nails, Tudor cottage sinks and Tudor cottage toilets. You marshal all your Tudor cottage stuff out to a spot in the woods, and start building yourself a Tudor cottage. You measure twice, cut once. line things up, and nail them together in Tudor cottage fashion. You are going to have yourself a Tudor cottage.

Somewhere along the process, you see a ranch style house … level, long, sleek, no stairs to climb. You start thinking how cool it would be to live in a house like that. Your tastes have evolved. You have a new dream, a new desire, a new aspiration. However, you can’t just stop working on your Tudor cottage, tear it down, and start building a ranch house. You have a lot of time, energy, and resources tied up in this Tudor cottage. All the stuff you have lined up for building a house is Tudor cottage stuff, not ranch house stuff. You then drudge through finishing your Tudor cottage to get a roof over your head.

Your dreams of building and living in a ranch style home did not fail you. They simply evolved away from your dreams of building and living in the Tudor cottage you already have in progress. However, if you keep the dream alive, you will more than likely build yourself and live in a ranch style home.

Hopefully, I won’t wait another two years to post an article on this blog. However, till next time, remember, you are spectacular, so dream big, and dream often.

Trees in the Stream

The mind has a hard time thinking in the negative.  In fact, the mind is incapable of thinking in the negative.  You can have negative thoughts, but you can’t think in the negative.  If you tell your mind not to think of something you’ll wind up thinking about it.

Here’s another exercise.  Ready?  Go … say to yourself  ‘Do not think of a forest green VW Bug with purple polka dots.’ and then don’t think of a forest green VW Bug with purple polka dots.  I’m serious, don’t think of a forest green VW Bug with purple polka dots.  Stop it!  Stop thinking of a forest green VW Bug with purple polka dots.  No more!  Quit it!  Do not think of a forest green VW Bug with purple polka dots!

What was the effect?  You more than likely couldn’t help but hold a vision of a forest green VW Bug in your minds eye.  Your mind can’t think, can’t focus in negative terms.

I once had a woman tell me a story.  She was negotiating a boat in a broad stream.  Up ahead she noticed that a tree had fallen into the stream.  There was more than enough room to one side of the fallen tree to negotiate the boat.  However, she said to herself, ‘Whatever you do, don’t hit that tree.’  She said to herself over and over again, ‘Watch out for that tree in the water up ahead!  Don’t hit it.’  With all the room she had available to negotiate the boat past the tree, she wound up grounding the boat on the tree anyhow.

It is a good idea to know the obstacles you have lying in the river up ahead.  It’s good to know the position, the depth, the width, and the breadth of the obstacle.  However, it’s wiser to focus on the passable side of the stream in positive terms than it is to focus on the tree laying in the water in negative terms.  That tree in the water might just draw you in to it like a magnet.

Till next time, remember, think of what you want in terms of what you want.  Thinking of what you want in terms of what you don’t want doesn’t work very well.  Thanks for reading, and remember, you’re spectacular.