Great Throughts Treasury

"The most powerful thing you can do to change the world is to change your own beliefs about the nature of life, people and reality to something more positive… and begin to act accordingly."

"Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness."

"The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf."

"Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it."

"We need to be willing to let our intuition guide us, and then be willing to follow that guidance directly and fearlessly."

"Almost everything you truly need or want is here for the asking; you only need to believe that it is so, truly desire it, and be willing to accept it."

"Ambition is an idol, on whose wings great minds are carried only to extreme to be sublimely great or to be nothing."

"A deadness occurs in relationships when people are no longer willing to tell each other how they really feel."

"An affirmation is a strong, positive statement that something is already so."

"An obstacle is often an unrecognized opportunity."

"Anything in life that we don't accept will simply make trouble for us until we make peace with it."

"Are relationships our mirrors? If we learn to see our relationships as the wonderfully accurate mirrors they are, revealing to us where we need to go with our own inner process, we can see much about ourselves that we would otherwise have a great deal of difficulty learning."

"As I learn to love myself, I receive the love I desire from others."

"As you learn to consciously observe the transformation process, you will watch yourself repeating a lot of old patterns long after you seemingly know better. Spiritually and intellectually, you realize there is another way, but emotionally you are still clinging to the old habits. This is a difficult time. Try to be patient and compassionate with yourself. When you recognize the futility of an old pattern so clearly, it's about to change! A short time later, you will suddenly begin to respond differently, in a more positive way."

"Ask yourself how it might benefit you to develop a bit more of that quality in yourself. Could it help you find more balance in your life? If you are judging someone as lazy, for example, chances are you are a very active, driven type of person who could benefit from developing a greater ability to relax. This person is a mirror, reflecting the disowned quality of relaxation to you, so that you can become more aware of what you need to develop."

"Assertiveness is not what you do, it?s who you are!"

"As long as we focus on the outside, there will always be that empty, hungry, lost place inside that needs to be filled."

"By viewing our relationships with friends, family, and co-workers as mirrors, as teachers ? we see that they are reflecting back to us exactly what we most need to learn."

"As you learn to be true to yourself, you will find that you attract people, work, and other circumstances that reflect your evolution and development."

"Begin by closing your eyes and relaxing for a few moments. Then bring to mind a difficult relationship. Think about what, exactly, bothers you about this person. What quality or trait does this person have that makes you uncomfortable or that you judge?"

"Consciousness is an ever-unfolding, deepening, and expanding process with no end point. We are infinite and complex beings, and our human journey involves not just a spiritual awakening, but the development of all levels of our being - spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical - and the integration of all these aspects into a healthy and balanced daily life."

"Creative visualization can be an effective tool for healing because it goes straight to one source of the problem -- your own mental concepts and images."

"Creative visualization is magic in the truest and highest meaning of the word. It involves understanding and aligning yourself with the natural principles that govern the workings of our universe, and learning to use these principles in the most conscious and creative way. If you had never seen a gorgeous flower or a spectacular sunset before, and someone described one to you, you might consider it to be a miraculous thing (which it truly is!). Once you saw a few yourself, and began to learn something about the natural laws involved, you would begin to understand how they are formed and it would seem natural to you and not particularly mysterious. The same is true of the process of creative visualization. What at first might seem amazing or impossible to the very limited type of education our rational minds have received, becomes perfectly understandable once we learn and practice with the underlying concepts involved. Once you do so, it may seem that you are working miracles in your life ... and you truly will be!"

"Creative Visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. There is nothing at all new, strange, or unusual about creative visualization. You are already using it every day, every minute, in fact. It is your natural power of imagination, the basic creative energy of the universe, which you use constantly, whether or not you are aware of it. To use creative visualization it is not necessary to believe in any metaphysical or spiritual ideas, though you must be willing to entertain certain concepts as being possible. It is not necessary to ?have faith? in any power outside yourself. The only thing necessary is that you have the desire to enrich your knowledge and experience, and an open enough mind to try something new in a positive spirit."

"Do Opposites Repel or Attract? The people in our lives who make us uncomfortable, who annoy us, who we feel judgmental or even combative toward, reflect parts of ourselves that we reject -- usually aspects of our disowned selves, the shadow side of our personality. If you are a gentle, soft-spoken person, you may be very irritated by a person who seems loud and pushy. Or if you are a direct, outspoken person you may feel uncomfortable with those who hold back and seem overly timid. The fact is that in both cases you are mirroring each other's disowned energies. The quiet person is being shown their undeveloped assertive side, and the aggressive person is being shown their undeveloped reflective side."

"Energy Is Magnetic: One law of energy is this: Energy of a certain quality or vibration tends to attract energy of a similar quality and vibration. Thoughts and feelings have their own magnetic energy that attracts energy of a similar nature. We can see this principle at work, for instance, when we "accidentally" run into someone we?ve just been thinking of, or "happen" to pick up a book that contains exactly the perfect information we need at that moment."

"Difficulties we are having in our relationships often mirror parts of ourselves that we need to heal. Such difficulties may involve a family member, a close friend, a coworker, or even people with whom we have only a brief encounter, such as a clerk in a store."

"Embracing Our Humanness: On the path of transformation we embrace both our humanness and our spirituality. Instead of attempting to escape or ignore them, we honor our human needs for relationship, and we learn to be more conscious of how to communicate those needs and how to take good care of ourselves and each other in the process. We also recognize that we are spiritual beings, not limited to our human form and emotions, but connected to the unlimited oneness of the universe. Rather than denying our sexuality, we embrace it as one of the most important expressions of our life force."

"Each one of us has all the wisdom and knowledge we ever need right within us. It is available to us through our intuitive mind, which is our connection with universal intelligence."

"Eventually I lost interest in trying to control my life, to make things happen in a way that I thought I wanted them to be. I began to practice surrendering to the universe and finding out what "it" wanted me to do."

"Every creative genius has been a channel. Every masterwork has been created through the channeling process. Great works are not created by the personality alone. They arise from a deep inspiration on the universal level, and are then expressed and brought into form through the individual personality."

"Following our inner guidance may feel risky and frightening at first, because we are no longer playing it safe, doing what we 'should' do, pleasing others, following rules, or deferring to outside authority."

"Falling in love is actually a powerful experience of feeling the Universe move through you. The other person has become a channel in you, a catalyst that triggers you to open up to love, beauty and compassion within."

"Form Follows Idea: Thought is a quick, light, mobile form of energy. It manifests instantaneously, unlike the denser forms such as matter. When we create something, we always create it first in thought form. A thought or idea always precedes manifestation. "I think I?ll make dinner" is the idea that precedes creation of a meal. "I want a new dress," precedes going and buying one; "I need a job" precedes finding one, and so on. An artist first has an idea or inspiration, then creates a painting. A builder first has a design, then builds a house. The idea is like a blueprint; it creates an image of the form, which then magnetizes and guides the physical energy to flow into that form, and eventually manifests it on the physical plane. The same principle holds true even if we do not take direct physical action to manifest our ideas. Simply having an idea or thought, holding it in your mind, is an energy that will tend to attract and create that form on the material plane. If you constantly think of illness, you may eventually become ill; if you believe yourself to be beautiful, you become so. Unconscious ideas and feelings held inside of us operate in the same way."

"Four Basic Steps for Effective Creative Visualization: 1. Set your goal - Decide on something you would like to have, work toward, realize, or create. It can be on any level ? a job, a house, a relationship, a change in yourself, increased prosperity, a happier state of mind, improved health, beauty, a better physical condition, solving a problem in your family or community, or whatever. At first, choose goals that are fairly easy for you to believe in, that you feel are possible to realize in the fairly near future. That way you won?t have to deal with too much negative resistance in yourself, and you can maximize your feelings of success as you are learning creative visualization. Later, when you have more practice, you can take on more difficult or challenging problems and issues. 2. Create a clear idea or picture - Create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling of the object or situation exactly as you want it. You should think of it in the present tense as already existing the way you want it to be. Imagine yourself in the situation as you desire it, now. Include as many details as you can. You may wish to make an actual physical picture of it as well, by making a treasure map (described in detail later). This is an optional step, not at all necessary, but often helpful (and fun!). 3. Focus on it often - Bring your idea or mental picture to mind often, both in quiet meditation periods and also casually throughout the day, when you happen to think of it. In this way it becomes an integrated part of your life, and it becomes more of a reality for you. Focus on it clearly, yet in a light, relaxed way. It?s important not to feel like you are striving too hard for it or putting an excessive amount of energy into it ? that tends to hinder rather than help. 4. Give it positive energy - As you focus on your goal, think about it in a positive, encouraging way. Make strong positive statements to yourself: that it exists; that it has come or is now coming to you. See yourself receiving or achieving it. These positive statements are called ?affirmations.?* While you use affirmations, try to temporarily suspend any doubts or disbelief you may have, at least for the moment, and practice getting the feeling that what you desire is very real and possible. Continue to work with this process until you achieve your goal, or no longer have the desire to do so. Remember that goals often change before they are realized, which is a perfectly natural part of the human process of change and growth. So don?t try to prolong it any longer than you have energy for it ? if you lose interest it may mean that it?s time for a new look at what you want. If you find that a goal has changed for you, be sure to acknowledge that to yourself. Get clear in your mind the fact that you are no longer focusing on your previous goal. End the cycle of the old, and begin the cycle of the new. This helps you avoid getting confused, or feeling that you?ve ?failed? when you have simply changed."

"Every day, I am learning to love and appreciate myself more and more."

"Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you."

"Generally, we find that the easiest people to get along with are those who reflect aspects of ourselves that we feel comfortable with and accept -- reflections of our primary selves, or complementary energies that we appreciate. These are usually people who we consciously seek out or are drawn to in everyday friendship. If you are primarily a physically active person who loves sports, you may feel most comfortable with people who are similarly athletic. On the other hand, you may also enjoy a relationship with a friend who is somewhat more intellectual and less physical than you because it stretches your mind in a way that you accept and enjoy ? it stimulates a less-developed aspect of you in a way that is comfortable and non-confrontational. Your friend is reflecting your intellectual self, and you may be reflecting his or her physical or athletic self. In this case, you are both comfortable with the reflections you are receiving, so the relationship is a harmonious one."

"Here are some other examples: If you find someone too needy, they may be reflecting the disowned part of you that has emotional needs. You may be too identified with strength and self-sufficiency and need to get more in touch with your vulnerability. If you find someone too domineering, perhaps you are overly timid and need to develop more assertiveness. If you judge someone as selfish, it's possible that you are too giving."

"I am a radiant being, filled with light and love."

"I am convinced that life in a physical body is meant to be an ecstatic experience."

"I was looking for what the meaning of life was."

"If I could identify one core problem about the world, it's that we've been taught to distrust ourselves."

"If we learn to see our relationships as the wonderfully accurate mirrors they are, revealing to us where we need to go with our own inner process, we can see much about ourselves that we would otherwise have a great deal of difficulty learning. Any and every relationship in our lives -- with our friends, co-workers, neighbors, our children and other family members as well as our primary partners -- can be a reflection to us in this way. Even an encounter with a stranger can sometimes be an important learning experience."

"If we look honestly at our relationships, we can see so much about how we have created them"

"If you constantly think of illness, you eventually become ill; if you believe yourself to be beautiful, you become so."

"In order to heal themselves, people must recognize, first, that they have an inner guidance deep within and, second, that they can trust it."

"Imagination is the ability to create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling sense of something. In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to manifest. Then you continue to focus on the idea, feeling, or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality ... in other words, until you actually achieve what you have been imagining."

"If you are having difficulty with a present relationship, or if you frequently encounter certain kinds of difficult people -- for example, a needy person or a person who doesn't respect your boundaries -- take a moment to look closely at what they are reflecting."

"In the same way that you can love a good friend while clearly seeing his or her faults and short comings, you can love yourself for all that you truly are."