Positive Liberty

What is Liberty?

This can be quite an emotive word, and one that can cause a lot of misunderstanding.  Probably everyone who reads this believes in freedom, in liberty.  It is the way the word is interpreted that can cause sometimes quite passionate differences.  Many people at different ends of the political spectrum may totally believe their interpretation is the only correct interpretation, and are therefore incapable of understanding the points of view of those at the other end of the spectrum.

For the purpose of this article, though, I am focused on a very particular form of liberty.  An aspect of what Isaiah Berlin referred to in 1958 as "Positive Liberty".  Berlin introduced the idea that there are two basic forms of liberty that are quite different - "Negative Liberty" and "Positive Liberty".  

Negative Liberty (or Negative Freedom - the two words are quite interchangeable here) is all about the removal of external restraints.  You could say it is the Liberty that concerned the Founding Fathers of the United States.  The Liberty that is central to both the Constitution of the United States itself, and the First Amendment of the Constitution.  A system that allows people the freedom to do, say, think and believe whatever they wish as long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others.  The freedom we expect from a democracy and recognize is not present in a totalitarian system.

Positive Liberty is quite different.  It is not concerned with removing external forces that prevent us from acting in the way we wish, but rather the removal of internal restraints.

Both forms of liberty are ideals.  In my view, ideals for which we can and should always strive, but also ideals we will never completely achieve.  Striving for the ideal of negative liberty is a political aspiration.  I hope you have reasonable negative liberty wherever you are, and wish you all the best if you are striving for greater liberty.

Striving for positive liberty is central to personal development.  In my view it is even more important than negative liberty.  It is possible to live in quite a controlling political system but still be happy and feel free because one has positive liberty.  But it is not possible to be happy and feel free without any positive liberty no matter how free the political system may be.

What do I mean by positive liberty?  I mean removing all the internal constraints that prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve.  The human spirit is an amazing thing.  There are virtually no limits to what it can achieve if it really wishes to do so - provided it doesn't have internal limits constraining it.

Let me give you a simple example of an internal restraint restricting positive liberty.  Imagine you live in a village in a completely free and safe society (in fact, I hope you do!).  You have an appointment with a friend in the next village which is a pleasant 15 minute walk away.  The friend is leaving for many months and you have something important you want to discuss with her before she leaves.  She is very busy preparing for her trip and was only able to book you in just before she has to leave, which is in half an hour.  You only need 10 minutes with her, so you are happy that you are in plenty of time.  When you are only 5 minutes away you have a sudden desire to smoke.  You reach into your pocket and realize you forgot your cigarettes.  The desire to smoke is so strong you turn around and walk back home to get your cigarettes, even though you know that means you will probably now not have enough time to have that important discussion with your friend before she leaves.

In that example, how free were you?  Nobody was stopping you from visiting your friend.  No policeman barred your way and told you to go home.  But nevertheless you were not free to do what you really wanted to do - because you lack positive liberty.

I know many people reading this will feel quite smug.  "I don't have a tobacco addiction, or an addiction to anything else, so this could never happen to me!"  If so, I am pleased for you.  It is good you are not addicted to anything.  But I only used the example of an addiction to tobacco as the concept was simple and something all my readers could follow.

The reality is that we all have inner barriers and restrictions that so often prevent us from achieving what we really want to achieve.  They are not as obvious as an addiction, but the way in which they restrict our positive liberty can be just as strong.

For example, an inner belief that you are not good enough to deserve whatever it is you are striving to achieve.  This is a very common limit to positive liberty.

Or an inner belief that what you are trying to obtain is a bad thing - even though you know full well it is not.  Again, a very common limit to positive liberty.

These inner restraints that limit our positive liberty are quite insidious.  It is almost as if they know that if you could shine the light of day on them they would burn up and disappear completely, like the vampires they are!  So they hide deep down within you, shunning the light of day and never really letting you know they are there.  You believe you are free to do what you want, to achieve whatever you put your mind to, but you are not.  First you have to identify and then clear away these inner limits to your freedom.

The next time you think about what it is you want to achieve, try to become aware of the inner constraints holding you back, your limiting beliefs.  There are many ways to do this, the best of which is to have "clearing" sessions with a good energy healer, such as Christie Marie Sheldon.  You can book a free energy clearing masterclass here:

Love or Above Free Masterclass

Even if you decide not to go that route, find a way, any way that works for you, to identify and clear your limiting beliefs yourself.  For example, while thinking about your goal have a blank sheet of paper in front of you and sit with pen in hand.  Write down all the thoughts that come to you.  Don't be critical about those thoughts, simply write them down.  When you have finished the exercise look at what you have written and I think you will be amazed.  You will almost certainly see lots of limiting beliefs there.  Now you have exposed them to the hard light of day, focus on each and recognize the error of such a belief.  Watch it crumble into dust before your eyes.

Do this and you will make a massive difference to your positive liberty.  Release those inner limiting beliefs and be free!

Limiting Beliefs

Are there any limits on what you can achieve in this life?

The scientists among you will probably answer this with a resounding "Yes!".  Of course there are limits!  There are the laws of physics for starters!  If you are going to deny the laws of physics, then you clearly don't know what you are talking about!

The practitioners of the Law of Attraction will probably answer this with a resounding "No!".  There ARE no limits to what you can achieve!  Know that you can achieve it, know why you want to achieve it, and know that because of this the Universe has already achieved it for you!

Both are right, but also both are wrong.

I would remind the scientists that even the laws of physics themselves are a changing feast.  Nothing in this universe is immutable; everything, including even the basic scientific laws we have believed in for centuries, has the seeds of change within it.  Laws help us interpret what is happening around us.  They even help us predict what is likely to happen next.  But they are not cast in concrete, even though some charlatans who claim to be scientists may tell us they are.

I would remind the practitioners of the Law of Attraction that there ARE limits - the limits we ourselves create, our limiting beliefs.  If you believe you cannot achieve something you are absolutely correct in your belief!  And it is that belief which will ultimately prevent you from achieving it.

Limiting beliefs arise in many different ways and from many different sources.  But often they are linked to that first objection - the belief that the laws of the universe will prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve.

There is, actually, a very good evolutionary reason for this source of limiting beliefs.  There are, of course, actions you can take which place you in danger.  If you are tempted to take such actions you will find strong objections rising from within that prevent you following through.  If this did not happen you would be much more likely to die, perhaps before you had contributed to the gene pool.  By definition, those who lack this protective mechanism are therefore much less likely to have children, and whatever gene "malfunction" stripped away the protection is unlikely to be passed on to the next generation.  If you look up "Darwin Awards" online you will see many such examples.

If you are tempted to step off a skyscraper just to see whether you have developed the ability to fly, but find an inner fear of the likely consequences prevents you, this inherent limiting belief is certainly performing an essential function.  But if you are a well trained acrobat you will need to conquer that same fear.  The fear that stops someone else doing something stupid can not only limit you from achieving what you need to achieve, but can also appear at just the wrong moment and cause the very harm it is supposed to limit.

The trouble is, this underlying evolutionary protective mechanism has no way of knowing when it should and when it should not act.  If it senses a set of pre-defined circumstances it will swing into action and prevent you achieving what you are trying to achieve.  Unless you know how and when to switch it off.

I have focussed here on physical danger, as that is the most obvious example, and one everyone can follow.  But our inherent evolutionary limiting beliefs are by no means confined to physical danger.  In fact, they tend to try to prevent any change at all.  If you are alive and healthy, then (this internal security guard argues) whatever you have been doing up to now clearly works in your favour.  By extension, anything you may wish to do which could change the status quo could bring danger.  To be on the safe side your internal security guard will try to lock you into the status quo and block out anything that could change it.

This resistance to change is present within all of us.  It is not the only limiting belief by any means.  We have all collected hundreds or even thousands of limiting beliefs.  But an inherent resistance to change is probably the biggest limiting belief of all.

Being aware you have a limiting belief is always the first required step to remove it.  Be aware that you have a natural, innate resistance to change.  Don't try to remove the fear of stepping off a skyscraper (unless, of course, you are an acrobat and that is part of your act).  You will probably not be successful if you do try, and if you ARE successful it may well be your last success in life!  But do look carefully at whatever within you is resisting change, as you need to accept and even demand change if you want to achieve anything at all.

Book of the Law

What is the "Book of the Law" that you carry with you?  How do you use it?

Each of us has a "Book of the Law", even those who appear to be pretty lawless.  And most of us, unfortunately, use it in completely the wrong way.  Do you have a vision of Sylvester Stallone wielding his Book of the Law in the film "Judge Dredd"?  If so, that is probably a good image to retain while thinking about this topic.

Let's first look at what I mean by the "Book of the Law".  It is a complete moral and ethical code that determines exactly what you should be doing, what you should be thinking, and what you should be feeling every minute of every day.  Does that sound rather extreme and repressive?  Good!  It should!  None of us should be so totally controlled as this - but most of us are!

If you are religious you may well say that your Book of the Law is the book that is the basis of your religion.  The Bible.  The Holy Quran.  The Torah and the Talmud.  The Book of Mormon.  The Bhagavad Gita.  The Tripitakas.  Guru Granth Sahib.  Kitáb-i-Aqdas.  The Book of Rites.  The Agamas.  Or whatever holy book contains the rules you try to follow.  Even if you are not religious you may still take something from a sacred text and try to live by it as your Book of Law - for example "the 10 commandments".

Maybe you don't identify with any of the above.  You may think you don't have a Book of Law.  But I can guarantee you do.

For those who believe their Book of Law is a particular sacred text, I am now going to say something that may shock you.  Although that text may be a part of your Book of Law it is not the whole of that book, nor even is it the main content of that book.

As I have said, your Book of Law is a complete statement of everything you should be doing, everything you should not be doing, everything you should be thinking, everything you should not be thinking, everything you should be feeling, and everything you should not be feeling.  It may be largely based on a sacred text, but it is certainly not just that text.  For a start, no sacred text, no matter how detailed, can be so complete that it covers everything.  And also, nobody is so insulated from every outside influence that they are only influenced by one sacred text and nothing else.

We each begin "writing" our Book of Law from soon after we are born.  Mummy says "Don't do that!  It's not nice!" and that goes right in the Book.  Daddy says "That's naughty!" and that goes in the Book too.  Big brother says "Stop it!" and that goes in.  Teacher says "No, you are wrong!" and you write that in your book.  You are told to read a sacred text, and everything you read there is copied into your Book.

So far I have mainly covered the negatives.  But all the positive strokes go in there too.  For example your partner says "Yes, that is so good!" and that gets written in your Book.

I have also mainly covered things said to and aimed at you.  But everything you see, hear and feel gets interpreted and is added to your Book.  You see good things happening to friends, and your unconscious tries to work out what actions led to this and then adds a new rule to your Book.  You see bad things happening to friends, and your unconscious tries to work out what actions led to this and then adds another new rule to your Book.  Sometimes this can be a good thing.  Especially if you have ensured you associate with good, successful people.  But it will not always be good, as your unconscious mind does not always interpret cause and effect correctly, and some quite irrational rules can be added as a result.

As you watch your favourite drama on television, and something good or bad happens to one of the characters, you will unconsciously be assessing what actions led up to that good or bad result and then that gets added to your Book too.  The same with films you watch and novels you read.  Perhaps you need to take a little more care over what you expose yourself to - or at least be aware of what is happening here and try to counteract it.

Nothing written in your Book of Law is ever erased unless you take great trouble to erase it.  So when your partner says "Yes, that is so good!" that stays even if you change partners and whatever it was is not enjoyed by your new partner!

How do you use your Book of Law?

Well, obviously one way you use it is to decide what is good and what is bad.  If you are strongly religious you are more likely to modify this if it conflicts in any way with what you have learned from your sacred text.  But the fact that you are first led one way and then have to consciously counteract this can create issues for you.  It would probably make life more comfortable for you if you had some way of finding out what some of those "false" rules in your Book are and then neutralizing them.

But that is not the only way you use it.  You also use it rather like Judge Dredd in the famous comic series and movie.  You judge yourself for having broken one of the laws - perhaps only by fleetingly having thought how nice it might be to do something which is shown in your Book as inappropriate.  Having judged yourself, you then punish yourself.  Unfortunately that is not an end to it.  Every time you remember that you broke this law, your Judge rises again and punishes you again.  This can happen many, many times for just one lapse (or even something that isn't a lapse but that conflicts with your Book).

What is even worse is that you will find there are many conflicting laws in your Book.  There are bound to be lots of cases where something you were told or you worked out was good, there is later something that seems to illustrate it was bad.  Rather than one rule replacing the other, you end up with both rules in your Book.  So you are "damned if you do and damned if you don't".

What should by now be clear to you is that it would be good to have some way of removing all these superfluous, and often completely wrong, rules in your Book of Law.  Fortunately there are a number of tools you can use and a number of coaches who specialize in this area.  Look for terms such as "Limiting Beliefs", "Abundance Blocks", or simply "Blocks".

One coach I have found who is very good at removing unwanted rules from your Book of Law is Christie Marie Sheldon.  She runs a free Masterclass on this called "Unblock Your Abundance".  Check it out at http://mval.li/?a=84&c=1762&p=r&s1=

Stalled Goals

Do you have any goals you have not yet reached?  I am sure you do, even if you haven't paid much thought to them recently.  Humour me a moment and write down some of those goals, perhaps the most important ones.

Against each of the goals, write down why you have not yet reached it.

If you have written that you simply haven't got there yet, but are on the way, and if this is completely honest, then congratulations!  That is exactly the way things should be!  You should always have goals you have achieved, hopefully many such goals, and also goals you are on the way to reaching.  It would certainly not be a good thing simply to have a whole series of goals you have already reached, and no further goals you want to reach.

I suspect, though, that if you are honest you will not have written "on the way" against every single unachieved goal.  Let us have a look at those goals and see what the problem is.

Sometimes we think we want to achieve something, but as we start working towards it our desires change.  This is no longer something we really want to achieve.  If that is the case, cross that goal out.  It doesn't belong on the list.  Every one of us will have changed some of our goals during our life, not because we think they are unattainable but because we realize we have evolved and those goals no longer inspire us.  There is no problem here - you just need to tidy up your list a little - there is no point pretending to yourself that you want something when really you don't.

But sometimes we also have goals we still want to achieve but we are not making any progress towards them.  These are the goals we need to look at very carefully.

As a first step, make sure none of those goals belong in the "cross out" list.  For each goal, think deeply about this question - do you really want to achieve this?  I know you initially left it on the "want to achieve" list, but does it truly still inspire you?  When thinking about this, don't confuse the issue by trying to decide whether or not it is achievable - just think about whether or not it is something that really inspires you when you think about it.

You may find a few goals do need to be transferred to the "cross out" list.  If so, cross them out.  Don't leave them on the list.  They don't belong there.

So now look through the remaining goals.  The ones you know you would still like to achieve but against which you are not making any progress.  These are what I refer to as "Stalled Goals".

For each of your "stalled goals" you now need to try to work out why they are stalled.

There can be many reasons for this, but I tend to divide those reasons into just three:

1.  I don't believe it is achievable.
2.  There is something inside me that seems to stop me from making any progress even though I believe it should be achievable.
3.  There is nothing blocking me, and I am certain it is achievable, but I simply cannot be bothered.

The division between each of these reasons may be a bit murky.  Perhaps there is a combination of reasons.  But usually you can place the main reason squarely within one of the three.  So I am now going to show you how to start chipping away at the reasons for the stall.

I don't believe it is achievable

There is nothing that is completely unachievable, no matter how ambitious it may seem.  You have to be prepared to move outside your comfort zone.  Maybe by so doing you will find what you thought couldn't happen actually can.

In many cases, though, this is not enough by itself.  Even moving outside your comfort zone you cannot see any way you could achieve this.  Don't worry, this is not the end of the process!

Where you very much want to achieve something but feel it is completely unachievable, begin by breaking it down, where possible, into smaller "jumps".  By looking at the end result, and seeing all the obstacles in the way of achieving it, you are convincing yourself it is impossible - but nothing is impossible.  Nothing!  Imagine you cannot swim, and between you and your goal there is a very big and deep river.  If you just see the goal in the distance and the very wide river you will not even begin to do anything to reach your goal, as it doesn't seem possible to get there.  But now I want you to look much more carefully at what is in the river.  Can you see there are stepping stones there?  When you were focussed on the goal you couldn't see those stones, but now you can see they are there.  Jump from the bank to the first stone.  You are not at your goal, but you are one step closer.  Now jump to the next one.  You are two steps closer.  Keep doing this and you will keep narrowing the distance.  Eventually you will find there is just one more jump and you have reached your goal.

Each time you make a small jump, you are not only one step closer to your ultimate goal, but also you have reached a smaller goal which can also bring you happiness.  So keep making those small steps and keep changing your life for the better.

Something inside me is stopping me from making any progress

This is a very common reason.  Such limiting beliefs are more common that perhaps you realize.  Somewhere deep inside you is an illogical, but powerful argument that says you shouldn't get there.  Maybe it says it is wrong to try, that in some way your goal is sinful.  Maybe it says you don't deserve it.  Sit still for a moment and see what thoughts rise to the surface as you meditate on this goal.  Almost certainly you will find a reason that has no logic.  Once you have identified this reason, give it a form.  For example, make it a small but nasty green monster.  Pick up that monster, tell it that it no longer belongs here, and throw it in a dustbin.  Do this with full focus and you will find the power of this block is greatly diminished.  It has been inside you for many years, so you may need to repeat the exercise several times.  Each time you do, you will take away more and more of its power, until eventually it has gone completely.  You should feel as though a burden has been lifted, and now you can make progress towards your desired goal.

I cannot be bothered

If truth be told, this reason afflicts us all.  We have to take action to get anything that is worthwhile.  Yes, we want it, but we are lazy and cannot be bothered.

The answer to this one is to do something that DOES make us bothered.  Focus on what your life is like now, without reaching this goal, and what it will be like once you have reached it.  Do this enough times and the energy you will stir up inside yourself will be enough to propel you into action so you CAN reach your goal.

Summary

Most, if not all, of us have stalled goals.  But just like a stalled car engine, there is usually something we can do to start it - even if that means calling on a professional who knows how to do it.  So get out there and start your engine!

How to Expand your Sphere of Availability

In my last article I outlined the concept of the Law of the Sphere of Availability, which came as quite a shock to a number of readers.  Some Law of Attraction gurus view it as a kind of heresy.  If we have the power of the Universe behind us, then how can there be any limits on what we can achieve?  And if there are no limits, then surely the Sphere of Availability is infinite!  If you really want something, then it is available to you right now as long as you use the Law of Attraction properly.

Those who read my article carefully will know that I did state quite clearly that there are no limits on what the Universe can bring us, and that the reason we do not achieve all that we wish to achieve is because of limits we create ourselves.  But just because we have created those limits ourselves, it does not make them any the less real or penetrable.  I am a firm believer in the infinite power of the Universe, and am a great optimist, but I also know that I, for one, cannot simply suddenly decide I want my bank account to expand by a factor of a million, affirm and visualize properly for it, and then expect that to happen overnight.  As has been said many times (and accredited to many different people) "the difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer!"  So be ready to accomplish difficult challenges but don't immediately expect the impossible!

So, is there anything we can do to expand our Sphere of Availability, and expand it rapidly and substantially?

As I have already said in the earlier article, begin expanding your Sphere of Availability by taking full advantage of it, and manifesting the things you desire from within it rather than initially trying for things well outside it.  You could imagine the Sphere as something a bit like the horizon.  If you simply stay where you are, it does not move, but it expands as you move towards it.  Don't sit there saying there is no point in trying to move forward because you can see the limit ahead of you and what you want is beyond that limit.  Start moving towards your goal and watch the Sphere of Availability move and embrace that goal.

Do not underestimate the power of doing this.  Maybe start in a small way until you get used to it.  Even a few steps forward moves the horizon a few steps further forward.  After just those few steps you are unlikely to notice the effect, but believe me it is there!  Get into the habit of congratulating yourself for your small successes, and thanking the Universe for granting them to you.  This will encourage you and you will find you can make larger steps.  And as you make those larger steps the expansion of your Sphere of Availability becomes more and more obvious.

What else can you do?

Going back to the horizon metaphor, if you really want to see it expand more quickly, then ride a bicycle rather than walk, ride a car rather than cycle, fly an airplane rather than drive.  In other words, use the right tools.  If you don't yet have an airplane, use a car, and if you cannot afford a car get a bicycle.  This, too, is using the Law of the Sphere of Availability - use what is available to you now rather than sitting down in the middle of the road crying because you don't have something better and faster.  If you keep your eyes open you will see many tools available to you.  Some are very effective but maybe cost more than you can afford right now.  Some are completely free, but are more like bicycles than airplanes!  Use what you can now, but remain alert and "upgrade" your tools once you are in a position to do so.  Such tools include the use of a personal coach, webinars, courses, blog articles etc.

As well as moving towards your goal and seeing the Sphere expand, start trying to find about about your self-created limits.  What are they?  Why are they there?  How can you remove them?

Some of those limiting beliefs were created in you when you were a small child.  Some you picked up later in life when you fell at a hurdle and came to belief that it is impossible ever to jump over a hurdle.  They are reinforced by you and also often by the people surrounding you.  Initially just try to become aware of what they are and then try to find what is continuing to feed them and keep them strong.

Most of these "Abundance Blocks" are hidden deep inside you, so it can often be very difficult even to find them, let alone to get rid of them.  There is a free masterclass on finding and ridding yourself of abundance blocks which you can study online at a date and time convenient to you.  This is called "Unblock Your Abundance", and it is run by the world-renowned expert on removing Abundance Blocks, Christie Marie Sheldon.   Regard taking that masterclass as riding a bicycle rather than walking.  You can find that masterclass here:

http://mval.li/?a=84&c=1762&p=r&s1=

When you have completed the class you will find there are options for you to upgrade your bicycle to a car or a plane if you are ready and willing to do so.  Or just keep cycling for free - it is certainly a lot better than walking or, even worse, standing still and just moaning that the horizon hasn't moved!

Inner Voices

If I came up to you and told you that I hear voices inside telling me what to do, and that I listen to them and act on them, I guess you would be afraid.  Probably very afraid!  After all, this is typically what a schizophrenic says, isn't it?  And what if those voices told me to kill you?

Don't worry.

First of all, I am not going to walk up to you, as you are probably many miles away, perhaps even many thousands of miles away.

Secondly, I am not referring to something that is symptomatic of schizophrenia or any other psychotic disorder.  Well, I guess I would say that anyway, wouldn't I?  But keep reading and I think you will agree with me.  Hopefully you will even start to hear voices yourself.  No, don't get scared - I am talking here about something very positive and good, not the negative voices which also exist.

We all have inner voices.  These voices are, in a sense, real.  They are real aspects of our own selves.

If the voices you hear are nasty, asking you to do things that go against your nature, then these are not voices you should listen to.  Instead you should talk to a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist, as this could be the start of a pyschotic episode, and you should not simply wait and hope that they go away.

But these are not the voices I am talking about.

There are some negative voices that do not fall into the above, psychotic category.  These include Mr or Mrs "Yabut".  I have already spoken about this voice in an earlier blog article.  This is the voice that always seems to give you a reason why you cannot achieve whatever it is you are trying to achieve.  When you start thinking about one of your goals, this voice says "yah, but ..." and what comes after the "but" is a whole host of reasons you should not pursue that goal.   We all have a Mr or Mrs Yabut.  You should listen to what is said, but only so you can identify your limiting beliefs and then squash them.  None of the reasons given should mean you cannot achieve your goal.  So listen to what is said, eliminate the limiting belief, and then banish Mr or Mrs Yabut.

The voice you are listening out for is a much more encouraging one.  You have a voice within you that wants to help you achieve what you should be achieving.  Notice exactly what I said there.  Not "what you want to achieve" but "what you should be achieving".  I have said this many times before, but very often the things we think we want to achieve are not the things that deep inside we really want to achieve (or to put it another way, the things we should be achieving).  Listen carefully for this voice.  It can lead you in a very unexpected direction, and a direction which is far better for you and far more likely to achieve success for you than the one in which you are travelling right now.

If you are spiritual (notice, I did not say religious) you can view this voice as the voice of God, or of Atman, or of the Spirit, or of the Universe - whichever word you prefer to use the meaning is really the same.  It is a voice from someone or something that knows far better than your conscious mind what is best for you.

It is the voice you will hear if you sit quietly and calmly, allowing peace to fill you.  The voice John Greenleaf Whittier referred to in his poem "The Brewing of Soma" as the "still, small voice of calm".

Spend time every day listening for this "still, small voice of calm".  Some days you may not hear it.  Perhaps this will be the case on many days.  But sometimes you will.  And the more you practice the more often you will hear it.  You may think of this as a form of meditation, which I guess it is.  You may find it helps at first if you can be alone in a quiet room.  Ultimately, though, you should be able to listen for this voice no matter where you are and no matter how much noise there is around you.

When you have spent some time practising this you will find the voice sometimes appears even when you are not consciously encouraging it.  That is good.  It will particularly appear in this way when there is something you should do right now, so take particular notice of what it is saying.

Listen for the small, still voice of calm, and take note of what it tells you.  Act on it.  If you do this you will find you will move quickly along the path to your ultimate goals - perhaps goals you didn't even realize you had until you started this little, but powerful, exercise.

Destroy Your Limiting Beliefs

We all have limiting beliefs, worries, and negative thoughts.  Things that try to stop us achieving whatever it is we want to achieve.  Sometimes we recognize these as our own internal beliefs and sometimes they appear as external barriers.  But if they do appear as external barriers you should be aware that they are still internal beliefs.  There is no independent external barrier that is capable of stopping you achieving what you want to achieve.  The power of the entire universe is behind you if you are prepared to accept that power and allow it to propel you forwards.  Those barriers that seem to be outside are either directly or indirectly your own inner limiting beliefs.

Limiting beliefs arise in different ways.  Some have been with you since your early childhood.  Often they are misinterpretations of what is happening around you as a young child.  Some are specific statements made to you by authority figures.  These may again have arisen in early childhood - something said by a parent, an older sibling, a teacher for example.  Or they may have arisen more recently - comments made by friends, especially those whose opinions you respect, something your boss may have said, a comment by your spouse, etc.  They can arise from something you have read.  This may be a direct statement - perhaps a comment in a non-fiction book that if you want to achieve something you must be prepared to struggle hard to get there.  Or it can be indirect - maybe a novel you have read in which the hero had to cross a number of barriers to get where he or she wanted to go, and had great difficulty in doing so.

Do you see why I have said we ALL have limiting beliefs?  It is simply not possible to go through life without acquiring them.

But it is possible to protect yourself so that it is more difficult for such beliefs to grow roots and take control over you.  And it is possible to uproot those that have taken hold.

There are many techniques to do both of these things.  If you have been reading my blog for long you will already have come across some of these techniques.  Today I want to focus on one powerful technique you can use to uproot and neutralize any limiting belief you may come across.

In order to use this technique you should create a safe space for yourself.  I am using the term "space" in the widest possible sense - a 4-dimensional space.  You should have a place where you can go and know you will not be interrupted.  I cannot tell you where that should be as it will depend entirely on your own personal circumstances.  It may be that you can reserve a room in your house for exercises of this kind.  For many of us that is simply not possible - we don't have enough rooms in our house to reserve one fully in this way.  But I did say this is a 4-dimensional space.  So it includes time as well as physical space.  Perhaps you can simply inform those around you (your spouse or partner for example) that at a particular time each day, in a particular place, you need you own space and would appreciate it if there could be no interruptions.  However you create it, do your best to create this 4-dimensional safe space to which you can retreat when you need to do so.  You will use it for today's particular exercise, but it will also be available for other meditations which you should use.

The time dimension of your safe space is very important.  You must make sure anyone who may otherwise wish to interrupt you is aware of it and knows it is very important for you.  But also you must avoid interruptions by yourself!  In other words, don't schedule your session at a time when there is a deadline coming up for something else you need to do.

Go to your safe space and relax yourself.  Close your eyes and feel your body and mind relaxing.  If you have any relaxation music it would be a good idea to use this to relax you more, but it is not essential.

Once you are fully relaxed I want you to imagine there is a big garbage bin just at the edge of your safe space.  There is no garbage in it yet.  But it is the most efficient garbage bin in the universe.  Inside it there is a black hole.  A black hole which will swallow up and completely destroy anything you put in the bin.  See that garbage bin there and see the black hole inside.

Allow a limiting belief or worry, or whatever other negative thought or feeling you may have, to surface.  Don't react to it.  Don't try to argue with it.  Don't judge it, nor yourself for having it.  Just let it surface.

Now see yourself picking up this negativity and throwing it into the most efficient garbage bin in the universe.  See the black hole swallowing it up.  It has no choice.  It cannot escape.  It cannot resist.  It has gone!

Feel the sense of peace that comes with knowing this particular negativity is gone for ever.  It is no longer in the universe at all.  It is as though it never existed in the first place.

Gradually allow yourself to surface from the deep, relaxed state you were in.  When you are ready, open your eyes.  Now you are ready to get up and leave your safe space.  Leaving behind the limiting belief you originally identified.  In fact, not just leaving it behind, but knowing it has disappeared from this universe and it is as though it never existed in the first place.

What are Your Limiting Beliefs?

Notice I didn't ask whether or not you have any limiting beliefs, just what they are.  If you believe you do not have any, you are deceiving yourself.  We all have limiting beliefs.  Every one of us.

Limiting beliefs are not "limited" to the poor and those of us who are not well known.  The French King Charles VI, for example, had a belief that limited him from being touched by others - his belief was that he was made of glass and that if anyone touched him, he would shatter!  Most of us will not have limiting beliefs quite that strange, and most of us will not act quite as erratically as King Charles - who even gave his country away to the King of England!  But we do all have limiting beliefs, and some of those beliefs will be highly debilitating.

A limiting belief is any belief which stops you achieving something you would like to achieve.  This is often, but not always, because you do not believe it is possible for you to achieve it right now.  Sometimes it is a belief that what you want is in some way sinful.  It may be a belief that even though you really want to achieve it, you will be unhappy if you do.  Perhaps because deep inside you are not sure it is right for you.

As you will see, there can be many different kinds of limiting belief.  The best way to deal with some of those beliefs is to take some time to review very carefully what you really do want to achieve.  As I have said many times before, look deep inside and make sure your desire is fully aligned with your inner values.  If it is not, then you will always be struggling against yourself when you try to reach that goal.  Something has to change before you can move forward.  Either your inner values must change or your goal must change.  For more help on aligning your goals with your inner values read my article on Alignment here.

Probably one of the most common limiting beliefs is that your goal is impossible to achieve.  Impossible for you.  Impossible at this time.  Perhaps even impossible for anyone, ever.

Nothing is impossible.  What seems to make it impossible is your limiting belief, or even a whole series of limiting beliefs which are all conspiring against you.  Absolutely anything is possible if you truly believe you can achieve it.  In fact, I would go even further.  My belief is that as long as you are determined to deal with your limiting beliefs you have ALREADY achieved your goal.  Read that again!  You have ALREADY achieved it.  That achievement is in the future, but the future is real, so you have really achieved your goal.  All you have to do now is to allow that future achievement to unfold in the present.

One way to unearth your limiting beliefs is to look out for a person inside you called Mr, Miss, or Mrs Yabut.  Yes, you have multiple personalities, and one of those personalities has the name "Yabut".  This is the person who, when you think about one of your goals, says "yah, but ..."!  What comes after "yah, but ..." is the key.  It is the objection you need to answer.

If you have ever had any sales training you have probably been taught to unearth and then answer objections.  If you don't have this skill it is very difficult to sell anything.  In fact many sales trainers will tell you that an objection is a buying signal.  Your prospective buyer is telling you that he or she wants to buy from you but first you need to help them remove this obstacle.  Give them the help they need to remove that obstacle and you have the sale.  In other words, find the "Yabut", answer it, and then you can assume the sale is made.

It is exactly the same when you are "selling" to yourself.  Find the "Yabut", answer it, and then move on with the certainty that you will now achieve your goal.

Just to give you some encouragement, here are some "Yabuts" that others have answered and moved on to achieve their goals.

Shania Twain was born into poverty.  In her childhood, she and her brother and sisters often went hungry.  From the age of 8 she had to work to help earn enough money for her family to survive.  Shania is now one of the most successful country singers of all time, with a net worth estimated at the time of writing as around $350 million.

Howard Schultz was also born into poverty, and nobody in his family had ever been to college.  Perhaps you have never heard of Howard Schultz.  But I am sure you have heard of Starbucks.  It was Howard Schultz who catapulted Starbucks from a single coffee shop into a worldwide chain that, when I last checked, had nearly 24,000 branches.

Another great man born into poverty was Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate and philanthropist who gave away around $350 Million to charity in the last 18 years of his life.  In today's terms that is over $78 Billion.

Have you heard of Steve Jobs?  I am sure you have - the co-founder of Apple Computers.  Steve had a lot of problems at school.  His parents were not well-off, and when he realized how much college was costing them and how little they could afford it, he dropped out of college to save them the money.  So here you have it - a family background of financial difficulty, and an educational dropout.  Despite this background, and despite many other challenges after he co-founded Apple Computers, Steve Jobs realized his dream and completely revolutionised the computer industry.  In 2010 he was worth over $8 Billion!

J K Rowling struggled as a single mother after a failed marriage, living on state benefits. Her first draft of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was rejected by publishers 12 times, before the 8 year old daughter of the chairman of the Bloomsbury publishing house read the first chapter and demanded to see the next chapter!  Bloomsbury took her on, but also told her she should get a "proper" job, as she had little chance of making any money as an author of children's books.  As I am sure you know, J K Rowling has made a fortune from the Harry Potter series and is now a billionaire.  She has also set up a charitable trust with an annual budget of over £5 Million to combat poverty and social inequality, which are two of her major passions.

There are plenty of other examples of individuals who are now very famous for what they have achieved but who overcame enormous obstacles to get there.  How about Michael Jordan, the basketball star?  He didn't even manage to get into his high school basketball team, and today he reminds us that the only reason he is successful is because he has failed so many times, having lost over 300 games!

Or how about overcoming obstacles that occur while you are already living your dream and that threaten to take that dream away from you.  Perhaps one of the best examples of someone who overcame in those circumstances is Ludwig Van Beethoven.  In his late 20's he started to develop hearing problems, compounded by severe tinnitus (a condition in which you continuously hear sounds that are not actually there).  This is a difficulty in many careers, but would seem an insurmountable problem for a professional musician!  Imagine having your concentration on creating a symphony interrupted by continuous noise!  And then being unable to play and hear the passages you want to include in your masterpiece!  These are the obstacles Beethoven faced.  They were pretty solid and apparently insurmountable obstacles, but they did not create for Beethoven the limiting beliefs they would have created in almost any other musician.  He was very frustrated by them, but that did not stop him - he simply carried on regardless!  When he wrote his magnificent 9th Symphony, which contains the "Ode to Joy" that is now the official anthem of the European Union, Beethoven was completely deaf.

Find your limiting beliefs.  Recognize that nothing can limit you unless you allow it to do so.  Then go on to achieve your goals, whatever they may be!  But don't stop there - also recognize that no matter how many limiting beliefs you have unearthed and destroyed, there will always be more under the surface.  Keep on rooting them out and keep on achieving goal after goal!

How to Transform Limiting Beliefs to Achieve Success

by

Rosa C Murphy

We all have self-limiting beliefs in one way or another. However, if we want to be successful we need to learn to let go of these beliefs; beliefs like denial and resistances. Many of these self-limiting beliefs result from stories that we have created in our mind. When bad things happens we tend to defend, over rationalize or protect ourselves as part of our survival instinct. Unfortunately these kinds of behaviors keep us from moving forward.

Do you make excuses for procrastinating? Do you blame others for your lower performance at work? Are you blaming your excessive weight on your genetics? If so, it's time to learn how to make some mental adjustments so that you can really enjoy your life and experience a much more abundant and fulfilling life.

Abundant and prosperous people face the same difficulties and discomforts that the rest of us do but they have learned how to take appropriate actions to avoid negative consequences.

The basic principle to learn is to take responsibility for your life. It is up to us to be successful, overcome challenges and deal with drawbacks. Sometimes there are things out of our control, but we can choose to acknowledge this situation, understand the red flags, find a detour, keep moving and take positive action. This sometimes implies that we have to take risks.

Why denial is the number one self-limiting obstacle?

Denial means to hide or ignore that we are facing a problem or dealing with challenges. Denial provides a set of myths and excuses to keep us from progressing. When we are in denial we use lots of excuses and blame to justify lack of action or passive interpretation of things. If you are in denial you most commonly use these terms:

• I don't want to be the center of attention. 
• I prefer to keep my mouth shut. 
• This is just temporary. 
• I will not be fired; I am indispensable. 
• I am waiting for the storm to pass.

These passive phrases provide us with justification or rationalization for something that is not working out and let us maintain the status quo. We are able to comfortably maintain the same state of mind and stay in our comfort zone. Self-limiting beliefs have also to do with poor self-esteem. Thoughts that accompany self-limiting beliefs include:

• I am not good enough for that job. 
• I do not have the right personality for that job. 
• Nothing I do is ever noticed by others. 
• Only good-looking people are successful. 
• Maybe next year I can try that. 
• I don't have a voice in this company. No one every listens to me. 
• My family have been in poverty forever and I don't expect this to change.

When these types of thought occur it is necessary to turn them around. Rather than thinking thoughts like those above, turn them around:

• I am good enough and I deserve that job. 
• My needs are as important as everyone else's needs. 
• I may not look like a movie star but I have talent and personality and these qualities are more important for success. 
• I can handle pressure I am a great multitasker. 
• Poverty is not fate. I am resourceful and dynamic and I am working towards change.

Our thoughts about ourselves, or our physical traits or talents and skills reflect how we act in front of others. Are we proud of our skills or do we try to keep them to ourselves in the hopes that we will be seen as being humble? Humble, by the way, means "teachable" and not shy, retiring and unassuming. Successful people, on the other hand, are more committed and determined to make sure everybody knows that they are the most qualified person for the job, promotion, business deal or transaction. There is no room for humility or passivity in their lives.

People who know how to overcome self-limiting beliefs find other ways to deal with change and the unknown. Don't think that you can't do it just because you have told yourself so many times that you don't have the right personality or talent that you actually believe yourself. Sometimes the worst thing that we can do is to believe our own thoughts. To enjoy a successful and more exciting life, a place of possibilities and dreams, we have to learn how to transform our self-limiting beliefs into self-empowering beliefs.

Solutions

You can identify beliefs that are self-limiting, beliefs that are not serving you or that are limiting your success, and replace them with positive ones that support your success. Here are some ideas to help you on this exciting quest:

• Make a list of what isn't working in your life. 
• Determine the most important areas of your life that need attention (family, career, love, finances). 
• Review your goals and focus on a successful future. 
• Ask a trusted friend or colleague what beliefs you seem to be manifesting that are not helping you move forward. 
• Ask yourself insightful questions, do some inner work: write a journal, create your ideal day. 
• Face what isn't working first, create a strategy plan. 
• Make a list of positive things you wish to happen to increase your chances of success. 
• Acknowledge your successes and achievements, remember you are greater than you think. 
• Seek competent professional coaching; an NLP coach can help you developed effective intra-person and inter-personal communication skills. 
• Seek a trained hypnotist to help you eliminate self-sabotaging beliefs and self-criticism that are not serving you and help you create a new set of self-talk words and mental programming for success.

Everything starts with your thoughts and mental processes. Words have power and it is important that you learn to use them correctly to your advantage. Believing that you are worthy of love and respect creates an aura of appreciation around you. You deserve to be successful and you are worthy of everything you want to achieve. Don't settle for less than you deserve. Once you understand that, your confidence will soar.

About the Author:

Rosa C. Murphy, M.Ed. is a certified relaxation therapist, artist and mentor, and a leading teacher in the area of mysticism, healing and expressive arts.  She has extensively research the goddess, divine feminine, human art, mythology and different archetypes. She talks about gnosis to self- mastery and personal transformation. and educates people about the body mind connection, thought field, hypnosis, and the Universal laws directing our lives.  For more information about her services, teachings or to contact her please visit her web site at:

http://www.whisperingtranquilitystudio.com

3 Simple Steps To Stop Sabotaging Yourself

by

Natalie Ledwell

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies. 

It's sad, but true… 

Even when we think we're doing all the right things, our subconscious can sneak out and undo some of our best plans. 

As a result, if we don't first get control of our deeply-rooted urges and addictions to past behaviors, creating our dreams can be a lot like trying to control a bull in a china shop. Not an easy task, right? 

So if you feel like you've been sabotaging your own success, and can't quite figure out exactly why or how it's happening, try these 3 simple steps for building a pen for the bull that might be living in your subconscious mind. 

Step 1 - Identify the bull in the herd

Our subconscious is a wonderful place full of ideas, instincts and intuition. These inherent traits make up who we are and how we act. For the most part, they are prized attributes. 

But, if your subconscious is sabotaging you, it needs to be wrangled in. 

• Spend some time in meditation focusing on what you DO want. 
• Then, move to the things you already do that can help you achieve those goals. 
• And lastly, try to identify the habits that are keeping you from success… 

If you're having a hard time identifying your bull or perhaps figuring out which is your dominant bull in the herd (I suggest dealing with one 'bull' - or your biggest obstacle - at a time)… 

Click here to find out what your number 1 success blocker is with this fun, quick quiz.

Then, once you've identified the bull that's keeping you from reaching success, try to… 

Step 2 - Separate the bull from the herd

You should never look a bull in the eyes, nor should we stare down our own inner struggles. Giving focused attention to your obstacle can increase the tension and allow your bull to go wild. 

Instead, try to find the root cause. 

Some people spend time toiling on the internet or watching TV, but focusing on watching TV won't change the way you feel or act. Rather, identify the main reason you're experiencing the problem. Why is it that you feel frustrated, unhappy or anxious? What is the real, 'deep down' reason that's causing you dissatisfaction? 

Once you have identified the obstacle (and separated the bull from the herd) next… 

Step 3 - Use the bull to grow the herd

After identifying the obstacle, you have a chance to embrace it and use it to your advantage. 

You simply need to find a way to meet the needs of your bull-ish urges, while not detracting from your main goals. 

Many of us have a need for nearly constant stimulation. I like to listen to music (rather than watching TV for example) while doing other things to provide that stimulus without completely distracting me from the task at hand. 

Whatever you see as being your biggest obstacle, you can always get to a point where it can be neutralized, or even better, used to your advantage.

The best way to get started is to practice visualizing yourself in the life you want, with clear intention and emotion. 

And to help you do that, first figure out what your #1 Success Blocker is, so you can more easily attract all of the things that matter to you the most. 

What are you waiting for? Get started now :) 

About the Author:

Natalie Ledwell is a Law of Attraction expert, bestselling author and speaker. She also hosts an online TV Show, The Inspiration Show, and is a co-founder of the personal development company, Mind Movies, which offers online courses and coaching programs, like Ultimate Success Masterclass. Natalie is passionate about helping others to achieve their greatest dreams and ambitions through personal transformation.

Find out more about Natalie and Mind Movies by visiting 

http://www.mindmovies.com/index.php?25923.

Change Naturally With Hypnosis Audio MP3s

Hypnosis has never been more popular.

Everyone is trying hypnosis and spreading the word, and it is becoming widely known as a simple and natural method for deep and lasting change.

Hypnosis is now well established.  It is a way to gain access to your mind and reprogram your limiting and negative beliefs, a tool you can use to eliminate these negativities and change for the better.

Hypnosis is often way over mystified, but really it is a simple tool. All it does is put you into a focused state of heightened awareness, where suggestions can easily be made to you which you will naturally accept.

It is because of this that you can make changes more naturally - as your logical, conscious, and often negative mind is turned off, and so you can make changes on a deeper level.

This used to be quite an expensive way to implement a self-improvement program.  You had to arrange a number of one to one sessions with a professional.  Nowadays, though, it is possible to download inexpensive MP3s to achieve the same result.

There are two main ways in which all hypnosis downloads work:

Firstly hypnotherapy will help to alter your patterns of thinking. This may differ depending on the area you're pursuing, whether it be weight loss or confidence for example.  Hypnotherapy would examine exactly how you think about healthy eating, going on a diet exercising, or meeting new people, socialising and so forth.  It would tap into exactly how you think when you think about working out, or consuming healthy food, or how you feel when you think about having to meet a new group of people. 

It would identify where you have negative patterns of thinking, and begin to replace these bad patterns for optimistic versions - for example, it would identify your negative patterns of thinking concerning healthy eating and exercise and replace these with positive patterns so that you start to enjoy healthy food and begin to look forward to exercising. Or if you worry about social situations, then it would instil inside you beneficial patterns of thinking in this area, so that you start looking forward to socializing, and make use of a way of thinking where you love meeting and learning new things about completely new people.

It is in this way that your behavior starts to alter.

However, a second element is necessary for greater, and genuine, lasting change:

The 2nd element is that hypnotherapy changes your beliefs on a deep level

For example, it will identify the subconscious beliefs which you will find are stopping you moving forward towards real change.  It will make you more positive, more confident, and make sure that you truly feel like you can achieve change, like you can improve yourself and that you DESERVE change.

Once you have these main self beliefs, this natural self assurance, and belief in yourself, then you will be able to change for the better. 

You can try the power of hypnosis for yourself with these 3 free hypnosis downloads from Natural Hypnosis.

Using these FREE hypnosis downloads you will see if hypnosis is right for you!

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Probably most of my readers would agree that life would be better if we could overcome our limiting beliefs.

I would go even further than this.  I believe this is one of the most important steps we can each take in our own path to self improvement.

Take a look at this video "4 Steps to Overcoming Limiting Beliefs" by the brilliant personal development coach, Katie Freiling: