Eliminating the Blocks to Success

"I don't have enough money to do it!"

"I don't have enough time to do it!"

"I never get the right opportunities!"

"I am not good enough!"

"I don't deserve it!"

"If I get what I want it won't make me happy anyway!"

"It is selfish for me to want that!"

Have you ever said or thought any of the above?  The chances are you have.  Perhaps without even noticing it.

These are just some of the many reasons we give our subconscious mind, and the Universe, not to deliver the things we want in life.  And when we give reasons like this, especially when we repeat them enough, both our subconscious mind and the Universe listen and act accordingly.

So we are constantly setting ourselves up to fail.

Is it any wonder, therefore, that so many people fail to achieve what they really want in life?  The reason is not because life is unfair - it is because life usually gives us what we ask for, and we are asking for all the wrong things.

Along with many others in the Personal Development arena I refer to these mental states as "blocks".  They are blocks preventing you achieving what you want to achieve.  The only way you can move forward and get what you really want is to eliminate those blocks.  Permanently.  Once and for all! 

This is easy to say, but not so easy to do.

The first step is to recognize what blocks you have.  Sometimes that is quite straightforward.  You may have recognized and identified with one of the above blocks already.  If so, great!  Knowing which blocks are preventing you moving forward is a very good first step.  In fact, it may even be all that is necessary.  Bringing these negative reactions out into the cold light of day may be enough for you to see them for what they are.  Mental vampires as they are, they cannot stand the sunlight and melt away when you expose them.

The next step, if the block does not immediately melt away, is to affirm the opposite.  If your block was "I don't have enough money to do it!", replace this with something along the lines of "The money I need to .... is flowing towards me, allowing me to succeed in my ambitions".  If it was "It is selfish for me to want that", think about all the good things you can achieve, helping others around you, once you have acquired whatever it is you want, and then write and use an affirmation to express that. 

Some blocks, though, are hidden deep within you.  These are much more difficult to remove.  You may believe you do not have such a negative reaction and never recognize it - but it is still there, hidden away from the light of cold logic, resisting all your attempts to succeed.  Meditating on your goal can be very helpful in unearthing these hidden blocks.

A really good way to find and eliminate hidden blocks is to use the services of a coach who specializes in this area.  One I have found who is excellent at this is Christie Marie Sheldon.  Christie runs free online energy clearing sessions which help with removing blocks.  You can check here for the next available free session:

Free Online Clearing Session

Alignment

Are you fully aligned with your inner values?

What exactly do I mean by this, and why is it so important?

When two things are aligned they are going in the same direction.  This can create a very powerful force.  An alignment of two countries, for example, is usually far more powerful than each country acting on its own.  The alignment of the movement of electrons in a piece of iron creates a powerful magnetic force.

When they are misaligned, the power is greatly reduced or even disappears altogether.  For example, if a piece of material has "paired" electrons which counter each other by moving in opposite directions it is simply impossible to create any magnetic force at all.

Many people, perhaps even the vast majority of people, are not properly aligned with their inner values. When they are not properly aligned, everything will be a real struggle.  Not because the universe is opposing them (even though it may seem that way to them) but because they are opposing themselves!

This very often applies when someone tries to use the Law of Attraction.  They begin affirming and visualising.  Nothing happens.  They become disillusioned and complain that the Law of Attraction doesn't work.  The reality is that it does work, but the Universe is getting conflicting messages from them about what they want to achieve.  Outwardly they are saying "I want this!" but inwardly they are saying "No I don't!".

There are many keys to using the Law of Attraction properly, and if you are a regular reader of my blog you will already have read a number of them, but this is probably the most important key.  If you do not align yourself properly with your inner values you are most unlikely to succeed.

The first step is to find out what those inner values are.  Unless you know what they are, how can you possibly expect your day to day life and your affirmations and visualisations to be in alignment with them?

Don't make the mistake of assuming you already know what those values are!  Many of us have superficial values that are not in alignment with our inner values.  These superficial values may be the values you have "inherited" from your parents, values drummed into you at school, or values you have picked up from your church, mosque, yeshiva, temple etc.  Don't get me wrong when I say "superficial" here.  I am not denigrating the teachings of any religion or institution or your parents.  By "superficial" I mean "on the surface" rather than "deep inside".  It may well be the case that what you believe superficially is the same as what you believe in the depths of your soul, but start with an open mind ready to accept that may not be the case.

There are many ways of determining your inner values.

One way is to start with something you have decided you want to achieve and then sit quietly thinking about it and see how both your body and emotional state react.  Do you feel a tightening around your chest for example?  A kind of heaviness in your body?  If so, this suggests what you are thinking about is not aligned with your inner values.  You may be surprised by this and feel it cannot be true, but this kind of bodily reaction is rarely wrong.  If you feel a lightness and a sense of freedom, this suggests what you are thinking about is aligned with your inner values.  If you feel a sense of foreboding or unhappiness, you are probably not aligned.  If there is a sense of happiness, or even joy, and completeness, you probably are aligned.

This method doesn't specifically identify your inner values as such, but it does at least determine whether what you think you want is aligned with them.

Another way is to go into a meditative state with the specific purpose of determining your inner values.  Each of us is likely to have a slightly different way of doing this, but the key is to begin your meditation with that as your clear purpose.  One method I find quite helpful is to imagine you are walking down a path into a beautiful garden.  See what is planted there and how it is growing.  You may find some plants are withering; these are probably desires you have which are not properly aligned.  Others are flourishing, and these will be desires that are properly aligned.  Ask each plant what it represents.  Don't struggle to get an answer.  Simply ask the question and then let it rest and move on to the next one.  All will eventually be revealed, but probably not all at once and not necessarily in this initial session.  Make repeated visits to your "Inner Values Garden" and gradually you will begin to get the answers, either during the meditation itself or through a sudden realization afterwards.

What should you do if you begin to find your inner values are in conflict with your stated beliefs?  This is a tricky one.  I cannot dictate what you should do but only point you in a direction.  I hesitate to say this, but you may need to consider whether the beliefs you thought you had really are the beliefs you should have.  If you don't wish to pursue that, then I suggest you speak to your spiritual adviser, your priest, vicar, immam, rabbi or whoever and ask them for their help.  It may simply be that you have misunderstood the signals.  But whatever you do, if there is misalignment something must change.  Either a spiritual awakening that changes your inner values, or a change in the superficial values you hold.  Without this you will be unable to have a settled life and will certainly find applying the Law of Attraction very difficult if not impossible.

As you build up a better picture of your true inner values, make absolutely sure that not only your future dreams but also your daily life is in alignment with them.  This will impact on everything you say and do.  It could mean you need to change your job and what you do in your spare time - so treat this process with great respect and make sure you do it well.

As Above So Below

No, I am not talking here about the film of that name.  I am referring to a phrase in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, the father of hermetic or occult philosophy.

Here is the translation of that section of the Emerald Tablet as given by Isaac Newton (yes, the same Newton who gave us the laws of motion and an understanding of the law of gravity):

"That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing."

One idea arising from this ancient phrase is that by making changes in yourself, in your mind and spirit, you can cause similar changes in the entire universe.  A heady and powerful concept!

This concept is the basis of astrology, ceremonial magic and alchemy, and for that reason has been rejected by many modern thinkers.  Personally I do believe in all three disciplines, although not in the way in which they are commonly presented (especially the case with astrology).  However, it is not at all necessary to believe in any of these disciplines to believe in the power of "as above, so below".

This concept shows you why personal development can be so important.  It is not just something that helps you have a better life, although clearly it does that, but also means you are literally making the world a better place.  How so?  Well as you make changes in yourself those changes become reflected in the world around you ("that which is above is like that which is below").  Those changes in the world around you then reflect in subtle but definite changes in other people ("that which is below is like that which is above").

This is the entire basis of the work a good ceremonial magician does. However, it is not necessary to believe in any mystical forces or the power of ceremonial magic to accept this principle.  Again, I DO believe in mystical forces, but even if you have no such beliefs you should still be able to accept some aspects of "as above, so below".  By changing yourself for the better you cannot but help to make things better for those around you, even if only by a small degree.

Within the Tablet there is a clue as to the way in which you can bring the power of the Universe into your daily life.  It says:

"It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior."

This is something I use in visualization and in other techniques to work improvements in myself and in the world around me.  I have referred to this in earlier articles, giving you a very solid clue how to work this magic in your life.

Here is the exact technique I use.  I begin by centring my mind and spirit.  I then "move" them upwards.  Whether you believe there is real or imagined movement upwards is actually irrelevant.  Personally I believe it is more allegorical than actual.  As they move upwards they merge with the Light that is at the centre of the Universe.  This is my "ascent from the earth to the heaven".  I then come back into my centre, but bringing that Light with me, "descending to the earth".  I now move this centred force into the centre of the world, become one with the world, and bring this oneness back to my own centre.  Now I expand it from my centre so my awareness encompasses the entire universe.  At this point I use this Universal power to achieve whatever it is I am trying to achieve at this time, be it a healing, an affirmation, etc.  I am "receiving the force of things superior & inferior".

Try it, and I believe you will surprise yourself with just how powerful a technique this can be.  It will be putting you in touch with a power that has no limitations whatsoever and which can achieve whatever you may wish to achieve provided you use it in the right way.