Unconscious Invitation

OUR BELIEFS CREATE OUR REALITY

Our beliefs create our reality. That is what Ernest Holmes, the founder of the Science of Mind philosophy, and many like him taught. As noted on the Centers for Spiritual Living website, “Science of Mind teaches the unity of all life. Intentions and ideas flow through a field of consciousness, which affects and creates the world around us. This idea is common to the major religions and is supported by the teachings of psychology and quantum physics.” It is part of the New Thought Ancient Wisdom teachings that originated in the 19th century. It is essentially the tenets that run through all the major religions, such as “it is done to you as you believe” (i.e., your faith), “life after death” (i.e., eternal life), and “do unto others as you have done to you” (i.e., love your brother as yourself/Oneness).

This is the philosophy that changed my life. Since I have been studying Science of Mind in 2008, my life has continually become more abundant in so many ways. I embrace life to a fuller degree. I know that life is for me. And I consciously think more positively to manifest the life that I desire. I experience awe-inspiring synchronicities on a regular basis. And yet sometimes unwanted things happen in my life. Hmmmm. Why is that? I’m a positive person. I pray every day. I repeat positive affirmations. Well, there is the life I had before Science of Mind when I didn’t know this amazing secret of life. There are the messages that I received throughout my life and continue to hear through media, friends, family, and strangers. The ones that contain limiting beliefs like “it sucks getting older” and “money doesn’t grow on trees”.  And even though I scan my belief system regularly, some false ones are more deeply rooted than others. I catch myself saying untrue statements such as “I have to work hard to get this done right.” Through these false beliefs and declarations, I unconsciously invite unwanted experiences. In the book, The Essential Ernest Holmes, it is said that Holmes declared that “80% of all accidents are unconsciously invited”.

UNCONSCIOUS BELIEFS CREATE OUR REALITY TOO

I have experienced unconscious invitation in too many ways to mention here, so I will focus on one story. Over the last few years, I have experienced health complications. It started when I changed to a new job and a moved to a new city. After living in Chicago for 30 years and having worked mostly in banking, I took a teaching job with the University of Illinois and packed it up for Champaign-Urbana. And even though I knew from the depths of my being that it was time for a change, banking and Chicago were what I knew. It was comfortable. And, it was getting boring and unfulfilling and that began to wear on me. So, I suppose I was looking for some excitement to come back into my life. And that’s what I got! In my position, I created a whole new curriculum for a highly ranked business school. I took the lead role of another course with peers that are extremely successful and brilliant. No pressure there! And almost immediately, a digestive condition that I hadn’t experienced in several years returned. According to Louise Hay in her book, Heal Your Body, diarrhea (okay, I’m getting real!) can be caused by fear of rejection and wanting to “run off”. And after much internal exploration, I know this comes from long-standing feelings of “not good enough” and unworthiness. The false (and often unconscious) belief that I am not good enough just as I am. The lie that says I must prove that I am worthy of acceptance only by doing something amazing. The truth is that you and me, all of us, are worthy of acceptance and love just by being. As we are children of this Universe, the truth can be nothing else. Louise Hay suggests the affirmation, “I am at peace with life”, to turn around this fear of rejection and wanting to run away. For the most part, I am at peace with life. And yet, through this inwardly focused excavation, I see where I am not.

TURNING AROUND THE CURRENT CONDITION

So how am I turning this fictitious thought process around? It has been a multi-step process. I work with a spiritual practitioner to help me uncover where the false beliefs come from specifically and replace them with the Truth. I pray and meditate daily. I align consciously with the Spiritual Law that says, “it is done to me as I believe” and consciously choose an opinion of self-worth and self-love. I listen for guidance from my internal wisdom that I know comes from my oneness with Spirit. Since my move to central Illinois, I have given myself a break and went part-time in my job, started my spiritual coaching practice (that I love!), and moved to an area that has abundant nature in the form of lakes, trees, and hiking trails in Wisconsin. I let myself have what I want, including peace, and have begun to accept that I can have the life I desire. And I am starting to feel better. I have been guided to even more healthy practices that sustain and invigorate me.

Simply put, unconscious invitation explains the things that happen in our life that are caused by our subconscious thoughts instead of our conscious ones. The thoughts that run through our minds that seem automatic. As I become more conscious of my thoughts and words that are limiting, I stop them in their tracks. Any time that I use the words “always, all, and never”, it is a clue that the statement is untrue. I can say, “no, I actually believe that anything is possible. I believe that life is for me. I believe that I can have and deserve all that is in my heart”. I am uncovering new insights all the time. Even by writing this blog article, I came to realize more specifically how my health condition arose. I choose to know that these insights can only lead to more robust health in my body and a fuller expression of life. As a spiritual practitioner, I know that for you too. Let’s know this together and co-create an amazing, shared experience of this world.