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Becoming spiritually self-aware brings profound change into our lives by enabling us to forgive, to leave the past in the past, and treat others as we would
like to be treated.
- We can do this without needing others to respond in kind or by allowing others to treat us poorly
- We become empowered to say 'no' to unreasonable demands or abusive treatment without feeling guilty, angry or resentful - without going on a drinking binge, or a shopping spree, or a cleaning frenzy, or whatever our favourite self-punishment
or medication happens to be
- We find ourselves less inclined to judge, criticize and condemn and instead show acts of kindness or service
We are all capable of acts of cruelty, given the right learning circumstances, so we must first acknowledge that we do have some negative:
Thoughts | Attitudes | Emotions | Belief systems | Desires | Behaviours
The importance of our thoughts cannot be overstated. Nothing exists in physical without first having existed in thought. Our thoughts drive our every action or inaction. The state of humanity is what it is today because of our thoughts. If we are ever
to change the world, we must first change ourselves; we cannot change ourselves unless and until we recognize - and reduce and refine - our own thoughts. For purposes of this website, the following meanings are used:
Thoughts are words, whether spoken aloud or not
Attitudes are products of our thoughts that cause us to believe certain things or to behave in certain ways
Emotions are feelings created by our thoughts and attitudes
Belief systems (also 'beliefs') are the stories we tell ourselves when certain things happen, to rationalize their occurrence
Desires are the things we tell ourselves that we need or want
Behaviours are the actions we take as a result of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, beliefs and desires
 It's all too easy to deny that we have negative thoughts, attitudes or emotions, but it's seldom our intention
to have them. They just seem to happen, almost like a reflex. Try watching television without judging or criticizing! These habitual thought patterns easily slip by unnoticed. Constant repetition of such negative messages can only harm us, yet we say
them to ourselves and others day in and day out. It's not that we're bad for having negative thoughts, attitudes and emotions; rather, it's up to us to recognize and change them. Our thoughts, attitudes and emotions (positive or negative) are the
great equalizer, for we all have them - no matter who we are, or where we live, or what we do for a living.
It may be hard to believe, but our words actually reflect what's going on inside us. They are expressions of our reactions to whatever is going on around us. The Universal Intelligence hears every single one of our expressions.
For example, thinking something as simple as, "At least I'm not like that person" expresses a self-righteous attitude. Our guide will flag this as a "lesson to be learned", and future experiences will provide us with the opportunity to change our way of
thinking. Here are some examples of everyday phrases that are loaded with hidden meaning.
| This pattern ... |
Sounds like this ... |
| Abandonment |
I'm mad at you so I'm not talking to you |
| Arrogance | It's ok if I break the rules.
Rules are for everybody else |
| Greed | I don't
want or need it, but I'm keeping it so that you can't have it |
| Judgment and
Criticism |
It's good, except ... |
| Perfectionism | It has to be done this
way, the right way, the only way |
| Resentment | I hate you and I will never
forgive you |
| Revenge | I will make you pay for hurting
me |
Food for thought
To truly change self requires changing our thoughts, attitudes and emotions
The next steps on the road to self-awareness are to acknowledge our inner child issues ( Section 2) and learn to meditate
( Section 3).
The next steps - inner child work and meditation - go hand in hand and are the means by which we learn how we came to be the person we are today. More importantly, we become empowered to come to peace with our past. Being at peace
frees us to make wiser choices about our lives. We become less inclined to judge, criticize and condemn because we find that we are all the same - we are all capable of anything, given the right conditions. Self-awareness enables us to forgive, it
frees us from dwelling in the past and it enables us to truly treat others as we would like to be treated, without needing them to respond in kind.
Learning more of how we came to be the person we are today, through self-awareness, self-respect and resolution of inner child issues, our lives will take on new meaning. Through this process, the pain and negativity from the past seem to
magically disappear, not because we're ignoring it or medicating it, but because we have truly dealt with it.
- What are the five components of our spiritual diet?
- What are the first three steps in becoming spiritually self-aware?
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