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“Every option seems to have a down side. How do I know what’s best? I just don’t know what to do,” a friend recently complained.

My friend was caught in a quandary familiar to many of us. After losing a well-paying job and pounding the pavement for months to find another, an excellent opportunity had just come up – but it required moving out of state. Now a decision had to be made: stay on unemployment and hope for something to turn up locally, uproot the family to accept the offer out of state… or consider something in-between?

Every option offered potential benefit as well as the potential risk of failure. The conversation reminded me of something I read many years ago when I faced a similar dilemma:

Decision-making is easy when there are no discrepancies in your value system.

The fact is, there are decisions to be made every moment of life: Over time, these choices tend to unfold as failure or success, fulfillment or disappointment, or any of the myriad choices in between. So how can we optimize decision-making and minimize the downside?

A clear understanding of your core values will help you choose well at the decision-making junctions of your life. These inner values and your emotions around them form part of the immediate content of the decision-making process. Awareness of your core values makes it easier for you to make choices in harmony with those values.  If you value being able to provide for your family, you will find it easier to make the sacrifices necessary (such as working out of town for a while) than if you deeply cherish the comforts of the known.

By the way, I have found that most people who cling to the comfort and security of their known environment, are doing so from fear: fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of making mistakes. If you want to make great decisions, you first need to evict fear from your life. It is a dream killer and a useless waste of energy!

Effective decision-making looks at the content as well as the context of the situation.

Your inner world of values and desires constitute the immediate content of your decisions. Beyond that inner world of content, effective decision-making also requires you to consider the external context of your choices. In other words, there are factors in your external environment that need to be taken into account: in the example above, my friend needed to consider the timing of the job offer, the overall conditions in the job market, the other opportunities out there, and how a decision might impact the family.

Without taking external factors into consideration, even great decisions can lead to failure.

Powerful decisions require you to be truthful.

Decisions based on inner truth lead to inner empowerment. Choices that compromise your truth, lead to conflict and confusion. 

It is helpful to remember Socrates’ observation that each of us chooses what we believe to be optimal, given our level of awareness and insight at the time. Our choices create a resonant frequency field which attracts resonant energies and repels dissonant frequencies. Over time, this quantum attractor field draws particles of probability into becoming possibilities, eventually manifesting as our reality. Our thoughts and choices eventually manifest as things, so it behooves us to focus on truth!

You cannot live an authentic life by dishonoring your inner truth. There comes a time for each of us when we must choose to honor our truth and let the chips fall where they may. As Marianne Williamson has said, our playing small does not serve the world!

The Course in Miracles teaches that Truth is not frail. Truth can withstand the demands of the ego. It can surmount the envy, misperceptions and judgments of others, because it needs no defense.

True power lies in choosing from within, from the strength of having owned your fears, from the gentleness that you carry with grace. Each time you choose to honor your truth, you are creating more resonance to empower you on your journey.

A great way of drilling down to your true intention, is by asking yourself powerful questions. Answering these questions will help you face patterns of self-sabotage, fear or compromise so you can make clear decisions. Author Debbie Ford outlines great questions in her book, The Right Questions. Here are a few:

•    Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or keep me stuck in the past?
•    Will this choice bring me long-term fulfillment or short-term gratification?
•    Am I standing in my power or am I trying to please another?
•    Am I looking for what is right or for what is wrong?
•    Will this choice add to my life force or rob me of energy?
•    Will I use this situation as a catalyst to grow or as an excuse to beat myself up?
•    Does this choice empower or disempower me?
•    Is this an act of self-love or is it an act of self-sabotage?
•    Is this an act of faith or is it an act of fear?

Powerful decisions require involvement of body, mind and soul.

Finally, sound decision-making requires you to listen to the subtle message of your being at all levels. To listen to all aspects of your being, it is most helpful to cultivate healthy connections among your body, mind and soul. Each of these levels of communicates with you in different ways. Remain aware of your spiritual core guiding you through the physical challenges of life, and you will become most effective at decision-making. Take time for meditation or contemplation. It will help you stay centered and at peace.

Once you have made a decision, stay flexible and embrace ambiguity. As additional information surfaces, you may want to adapt to it. Remember, change is usually a messy process! Flexibility makes it easier to release unrealistic expectations and to adjust to new information so you can optimize your decisions.

 

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com
This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.  

A lot of success coaches and motivational speakers tell you to THINK BIG. They tell you to create a big vision in order to succeed. And I agree - having a big vision is necessary to accomplish big things.

At the same time, even big things are compiled of multiple smaller components - and so I find myself coaching clients to think small instead.

Whenever you are in a tight spot in life, it is especially important to focus on the goodness of life at the present moment. The past is over and the future is not here yet. This is the perfect time to appreciate what you do have now instead of focusing on fear or lack.

Being laid off is a case in point. If you are out of work and have been for some time, it may be difficult to think about the perfect job or the ultimate contribution you want to make in the world. At this stage of the game, you may just want a paying job... it’s time to think small.

This bleak season will pass. Make the most of it by finding ways in which you can make a difference. Spend more time with loved ones, help the children with homework, plant some flowers. You can teach yourself a new skill or take a local adult education class. Join a Meet Up group. Being unemployed may feel like a permanent condition. The fact is, it is a season that will surely pass. You are not going to be out of work forever, so take advantage of the time you have now!

Whenever a project feels huge, it’s time to think small. If the size or complexity of a project overwhelms you, focus on just the next few itty bitty steps. Locate the phone numbers you need to call... schedule the time to make the call. Outline the chapters of the book you want to write...commit to writing just one chapter a month. Unclutter one drawer rather than thinking about uncluttering the whole house. Baby steps will get you there.

Even in business, there’s a place and time for thinking small. When thinking big, we often complicate things with too many ideas… and we overwhelm ourselves.

No matter where you are in life, there is always something you can do. If you cannot tackle big things now, don’t dither in indecision - start with something small! Here are a few pointers to help you take a step forward:

1.  Pick just one or two things to focus on each day. I find that most clients are trying to do too much in too little time. As a result, few things get completed. If you commit to one or two things daily, you’ll get more done and feel less stressed.

2.  Revel in little things. Go out and literally smell the roses. Slow down and appreciate your surroundings. Taste your food instead of inhaling it. Have meaningful conversation instead of passing interactions.

3.  Scale down. Get rid of physical clutter as well as mental clutter. Review your obligations and decide if they still serve you. Do you need to withdraw from some? Clear your mind by doing a brain dump: put your ideas, to-dos and tolerances (those things you are tolerating) down on paper. Prioritize what you will do and what you won’t, and tackle them one at a time.

4.  Focus on being great at what you do, rather than being the biggest or best. If you shift your focus to being great, you’ll begin to do things from a place of excellence instead of overwhelm.

5.  Allow extra time for everything you do. If writing a letter will take ten minutes, allow yourself twenty.  That way, you build buffer time into your day to cope with unexpected events. If you finish in less time than that... go watch the clouds!

©Copyright Ada Porat.
This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached. To sign up for Ada's inspirational monthly newsletter, visit www.AdaPorat.com.

Disasters and upheaval happen in every life. You may have been spared the trauma of earthquakes, terrorist attacks or civil war. Instead, you may be facing work layoffs, mounting debt, or a devastating medical diagnosis. You may feel stuck working at a job you hate but can’t leave because of current market conditions, or you may feel stuck in a seriously dysfunctional relationship. When trauma strikes, it is common to feel overwhelmed, helpless and scared in a world that seems to spiral out of control.

The intensity of your emotional response to a present setback may seem out of proportion to the level of the event, because the current event may have triggered an avalanche of past trauma memories or  flashbacks. Your ability to deal with setbacks depends on many factors, including your natural resilience or ability to cope with stress, the severity of the trauma, and what kinds of support you got from family, friends and professionals immediately afterwards.

When setbacks leave you feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable, it may be tempting to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. These substances may temporarily make you feel better, but they make things worse in the long run. Substance abuse worsens many symptoms of trauma, including emotional numbing, social isolation, anger and depression. It also interferes with treatment and can add to problems at home and in relationships.

As news of disastrous events continue to unfold worldwide, it is more important than ever to sharpen your coping skills at physical, emotional and spiritual levels. It is up to you to put together your own disaster-preparation kit, so that you can be resilient in navigating winds of change.
 
Here are some positive coping strategies to help you get through times of major upheaval:

Recognize that you may be grieving. Grief is a natural part of the life cycle that follows loss. You may find yourself cycling back and forth through five major stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Cycling through the stages of grief is normal – you are not losing your grip on reality. Allow yourself to grieve for the parts of life that you have lost, and take comfort in knowing that this process will come to completion in due time.

Honor your losses. Loss can show up in many ways. You may have lost your job, a relationship, a loved one, friends, pets, your home, possessions, your dreams, health, or your quality of life. Try writing about your loss or create a ritual to express your sense of loss. Rather than expecting to just "get over it" and move on with your life, take time to honor and affirm your losses - it is a valuable part of the healing process.
 
Talk to someone for support. It is important not to isolate yourself. Instead, make efforts to be with supportive people that you have carefully identified as safe. Face the challenges in your life and identify the most important problems. Then get help from safe friends, family members or professionals to help you address these so you can move past them.
 
Find your new normal. When life as you knew it ends, you may feel as if your entire infrastructure has collapsed, and rules of your previous world no longer hold true. You may find your emotions swinging from one extreme to another, and temporarily lose your sense of what’s normal. When your personal world falls apart, it is important to remember that you are not alone, weak, or crazy. It helps to know your problems are shared by many others who have experienced – and survived - similar setbacks.
 
Break things into manageable chunks. When feeling too scattered to focus, recognize that your mind is trying to cope with your situation the best it can. Instead of putting yourself down or fearing that you are losing your mind, take positive steps to regroup. Slow down. Give yourself time to focus on what you need to learn or do. Write things down and make “To Do” lists. Break tasks down into smaller, manageable chunks. Set one realistic goal or task for each day. And get help if you need it.

Take time out when angry. The stress that accompanies major setbacks can create irritability and anger. This can affect your self-control, health, and relationships. Anger can increase your heart rate so much that you cannot think clearly. Remember that staying angry doesn't work. It actually increases stress and can cause health problems. Burn your anger off in the gym or get professional help to learn how to manage it more effectively.
 
Reconnect to positive emotions. After a major setback, many people have trouble feeling or expressing positive emotions. They may even feel guilty for surviving while others did not. This is a common reaction to trauma. It is not helpful to feel guilty for something you did not want to happen and cannot control. Instead, shift your focus to gratitude for surviving and resolve to live in the present.
 
Practice helpful thinking. Monitor your thoughts. If they cause you to feel stuck or helpless, focus on generating more helpful thoughts. For example, if you find yourself thinking, "I can't do it," challenge yourself with questions such as: "Is it really true that I can't do it?" "Is it ALWAYS true?" "Under what circumstances could I do it?" "Could I do it if I had some help?" Then select a more helpful thought. In this case, you might say to yourself, "With the right help, I can get through this."

Take time to relax. Consciously choose to focus on something positive in your life to help you relax. Some helpful activities include mental calming with progressive relaxation, mindfulness meditation, or conscious breathing; physical exercise such as swimming, walking or yoga; spiritual activities such as prayer, chanting or singing; and other healing activities such as listening to quiet music, spending time with pets or being in nature.

Reach out to help others. Helping others in need or volunteering in your community can make you feel better about yourself. It can relieve stress by taking your mind off your own problems for awhile, and may help you see them in a different light. Providing support for others can also make you feel more connected and empowered.

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com.  This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

“I can’t seem to focus long enough to get unstuck.” This is one of the most common complaints I hear from clients these days.

There are some good reasons why we have difficulty focusing on what is most important to us. With increased levels of hi-tech connectivity, smart phones continuously alert us to incoming e-mails, tweets, text messages and alarms. We are surrounded by electronic media streaming news and information from around the world - and the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. Add to that the increased pace of life, the challenges of making a living, and the never-ending demands for our time, money and resources – it can get overwhelming.

So what goals should we focus and how do we sustain that focus?

Without clear focus, people commonly go into reactive mode; instead of initiating the change they wish to see, they react to what is happening to them. Amid an endless onslaught of distractions, we can easily spend days without focusing on our true agenda. And we end up losing out on the joy of living a purpose-directed life. Author Deepak Chopra expressed it thus, “The events on the surface of your life distract you from the deeper work of soul-making.”

I have learned that when someone makes the decision to get focused, there are several things that can help support a lasting shift. Here are a few nuggets you may find useful:

Choose To Live Your Life With Purpose. When you work toward something positive, as opposed to running from or being driven by fear, you quickly build up momentum. Why are you here? What do you want to learn, do, experience or share? What’s on your bucket list? If you haven’t created a mission statement for your life, then do it now. It will give you a vision bigger than yourself to focus on when the going gets tough. My mission statement for life is posted right above my computer, where I am reminded of my purpose every day.

Set Priorities. Once you have clarified the mission statement for your life, identify specific related priorities you want to focus on. Next, break those down into smaller chunks until they don’t feel so intimidating and you can envision yourself doing them. 

Focus On One Goal. Still feeling overwhelmed? Overwhelmed most often happens because we try to juggle too much. When overwhelm hits, you can counteract it by simplifying your priorities even more. Break down your action steps or To-Do list items until you can identify the single most important goal to focus on for this hour, this morning or this day.

Analyze Why You Lose Focus. Knowing yourself better allows you to identify what gets in your way, so you can step back and look at these issues in a more detached, objective way. Instead of getting frustrated that there isn't enough time in the day or getting swept up in the flood of activities, dig down inside to discover what is pulling you in and recognize that you can choose a different response. Clear out old limiting beliefs, slash the sabotage programs and dare to create new rule sets that work for you now!

Pay Attention. Learn to observe how you spend your time and stop wasting time on unworthy projects. If your teenager had a big test tomorrow and you saw her doing everything except study, you'd probably have a talk with her about timely preparation and focus. Do the same for yourself! Set one goal for yourself each day to help you overcome procrastination. Start small and review your success every night to reinforce your accountability to your goals.

Slay The Dragon First. Start your day with the thing you avoid the most and get it done. This one principle really moves me forward. Once I have the most dreaded thing out of the way, the rest looks like cake; I’m a dragon slayer, after all!

Stop Interrupting Yourself! Do yourself a favor – turn off the phone or computer ding and disable the pop-up box that tells you, “You’ve got mail!” Instead of losing valuable time and energy by diverting your attention to check on messages, you will have more energy available to focus on the task at hand.

Feed Your Soul. Feeding your soul requires you to detach from the surface world of activity – even if just for twenty minutes a day. It’s during that time of stepping back from the activity at the surface of life and reconnecting with your identity as a timeless soul, when solutions to problems become blindingly obvious. It’s called inspiration – and it arrives when your mind is still, whether in relaxation, contemplation or meditation. One of the most prominent benefits meditators experience from their practice is becoming more focused in their daily activities. Meditation also boosts your intuitive abilities to recognize true priorities and make better decisions. Whatever, your spiritual practice of choice, recognize the importance of feeding your soul, and hence, your creativity.

Do A Brain Dump Before Bed. I write down my “To Do” list at the end of my work day as a part of reviewing the day. Writing it down clears my head and when I wake up in the morning, the list is ready for me to get focused right away.

Stick With It. Whatever you do, don’t give up! Even if you feel discouraged today, don’t give up. All of life consists of energy cycles that ebb and flow. Think of your life as a long journey and the present problem as just a little bump in the road. If you can stick with it during the rough times, just imagine what you could accomplish when you get the wind from behind! Remind yourself that it is progress that matters, not perfection.

And A Few More:
•    Distinguish between what’s important and what is simply urgent.
•    Eliminate unnecessary activities and physical clutter; they stop up your life and drain your energy.
•    Reduce your overhead – financial burdens drain your energy and your vitality.
•    Do projects when they align with your vision and purpose, not because you feel obligated
•    Don't say yes to anything right away; reserve the right to sleep on it.
•    Share your goals with a few trusted friends so they can support you and hold you accountable.
•    Acknowledge your progress and celebrate your successes!

Applying even just a few of these tips will bring about noticeable changes in your life right away. By applying them over time, you will feel more productive, energized, and focused!

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com  This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

It is a scientific fact that the space around objects is not empty or void; instead, it consists of a cauldron of seething energies or potentialities also known as the zero point field. Any observable effects (such as inertia and gravitation) are merely electromagnetic phenomena resulting from interaction with this field.

Albert Einstein found it is this Field which governs the shape of matter. Physicist Max Planck called this invisible field the matrix. Today, it is also referred to as the Divine Matrix, the Energy Field, or the Life Force. This matrix is the Field that is accessed in prayer, miracles and healing of all types.

This Field not only contains the potentialities of life; it interfaces and shapes our biology through the intricate workings of the mind. Your interaction with this Field governs your individual function and healing at all levels. Wouldn’t you love to enhance that exchange?

To maximize your interaction with the Field, it is essential to recognize that there are two separate parts to your mind: the conscious mind is your creative mind and connects to your identity; while the subconscious mind is equivalent to an Ipod - it simply records your thoughts, actions and emotions, and plays them back.

Another critical distinction concerns the hugely different processing speeds of the two minds. The conscious mind processes information in a linear, serial format. The subconscious mind, on the other hand, processes information in a parallel format faster than the speed of light – its information processing is estimated to be one million times more powerful than that of the conscious mind!

On a daily basis, your subconscious runs your physical functioning around 95% of the time. While you think, work, play, rest or engage in conscious activities, your subconscious keeps your systems functioning so you can stay alive. In a positive scenario, this is great.

However, the subconscious can also get you into trouble. It may just as easily run negative programming because it does not distinguish between good or bad; it simply records and plays back the information you give it.

You may have heard of the placebo effect in medicine, where positive thoughts and attitudes generate healing even when a placebo is administered instead of a proven medication. The placebo effect accounts for some 33 percent of healing in western medicine.

The flip side of the placebo effect is known as the nocebo effect, where negative thoughts and attitudes create negative outcomes. Noted brain scientist Dr. Daniel Amen calls such habitual patterns ANTS, or Automatic Negative Thoughts. Research shows that as much as 70% of the average person’s thoughts are negative and recurring. To get positive outcomes, it is essential to change habitual thought patterns from negative to positive.

How do you do that?

For many years, positive thinking seemed to hold big promise to bring about effective change. Today, the limitations of this approach are obvious because of a better understanding of how the mind functions. Effective change comes about not by arguing the point in the conscious mind, but by changing the programs running in the subconscious mind. In other words, if you don’t like the information playing back from your subconscious Ipod, it may be time to change the programs you’ve recorded there.

To change the programs in the subconscious, you need to do more than positive thinking – you need to bypass the conscious mind. You see, positive thinking is a creative thought formed and held by the conscious mind. Whether you dream of that red sports car you desire, visualize yourself driving that car, or create a vision board to attract that car, you are creating from the conscious mind. Whenever you are creating with the conscious mind, you are pitting the serial processor of your conscious mind against the powerful parallel processor of your subconscious mind.

If your subconscious conditioning is not in alignment with your goal because it says that you don’t deserve it or are unworthy of it, you are stacking your best efforts against an instrument one million times more powerful – and guess who’s going to win?

Another fact to take into consideration is the relatively low activity level of your conscious mind. Research shows that your conscious mind is operating only about five percent of the time, leaving most of your daily functioning to the resources of the subconscious!

Unless your beliefs are in agreement at the levels of the conscious and the subconscious both, your positive thinking will not work. To maximize positive results, it is therefore essential to find congruence between the two minds.

Your conscious mind can run any aspect of your body, including involuntary functions such as your heart rate. However, its capacity is very small because it is a serial processor; it cannot focus on all aspects of function simultaneously. For that reason, the subconscious tends to take over automated functions to free up the conscious mind for creative thinking.

Whenever your mind is not focused on some specific task it floats into daydreaming, and your subconscious takes over to run the show. Even when your conscious mind is focused on the past or future, it is not noticing what the subconscious is doing. Whenever your conscious mind is busy or distracted, it is unaware of the automatic negative thoughts and programs running in the subconscious that can hurt it.

Subconscious behavior manifests whenever you are distracted or preoccupied with other things. Others may recognize the shifting patterns in your behavior, yet you are oblivious. Whenever you operate from the subconscious, you are being run by programs you are unaware of! How does this serve you – or not?

If life doesn’t work for you, you may want to blame the outside world; instead, it is your subconscious programs that need to be looked at. First the bad news: The discrepancy between what you consciously want and what shows up, comes from programs driving your life at a subconscious level. Looking for causes outside yourself and blaming them for your life outcomes, is a cop out.

The good news is that you can change your outcomes because your own subconscious mind is responsible for creating your outcomes. You can change your life by changing the programs in your subconscious mind!

Today, there is an amazing range of resources available to you to start deprogramming and reprogramming your subconscious mind. Behavioral Kinesiology, the Sedona Method, Matrix Energetics, Theta Healing, and Emotional Release work are some highly effective methods that come to mind. They work because they offer ways to bypass the conscious mind and to clear the limiting recordings in the subconscious.

Are you dialoguing with your problems or arguing with yourself in your head? If so, save your energy for better things! You cannot argue or dialogue with the subconscious because it is merely an instrument that records and plays back data, it is not a person. Perhaps you are begging for God to come and rescue you from your life?

No more! It is up to YOU to push the stop button and change the recordings in your subconscious! Instead of complaining about your life, you can learn how to effectively clear and align your subconscious mind.

You have an innate ability to heal yourself. And yes, you can heal your life as well – but only when you take back your power from the institutions and people you gave it to. It is time to reclaim your inherent power to create, to heal and to transform!

Your subconscious is continuously recording what you think, feel and say. Likewise, your genes are turning on or off through the power of your conscious and subconscious mind, creating sickness or health in response to your thoughts.

Your mind can create great outcomes or limitations. It’s your choice, so step into the Field of possibilities and choose your thoughts wisely!

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com  This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

Successful adaptation to change requires shifts in the way we believe and behave. It requires us to evaluate our motivations and clarify our intentions. Behaviors that seemed appropriate at some former level of life, may now appear outdated or may limit our functioning.

In my work, I am blessed to see the power of questioning assumptions every day. Once we become aware of limiting behaviors or beliefs, we can change them. And so we learn to look deeper instead of blindly repeating the same old behaviors to getting the same old outcomes. As soon as we manage to identify the hidden determinants of our behavior, our lives often shift spontaneously!

One of the primary areas of limitation shows up in our relationship to abundance -or scarcity, whichever side of the coin one tends to focus on. In an era of unprecedented abundance in the western world, many still struggle with feeling that there is not enough: not enough to feel satisfied, not enough to feel safe or secure. We keep accumulating things, yet it cannot fill the deep emptiness inside our souls.

Perhaps it is time to redefine our relationship to abundance. The definition of an abundant life cannot be satisfied by the presence of material things alone. Jesus knew this when he said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by the living Word or Spirit.

During feudal times, all wealth was tied to land ownership and material prosperity was a zero-sum game. Abundance was defined by the presence of material goods because there was only so much land, and only so many people could own it. Land owners could build fortresses and tax travelers to pass across their property, leading to more wealth. This system led to separation between those who owned land and those who didn’t, the haves and the have-nots.

This belief system is still active as a powerful undercurrent in modern society. Millions of families who had over-extended themselves to acquire property during a real estate boom, recently found their fortunes swept away overnight by a collapsed real estate market and loan scams that left them underwater. Almost overnight, they went from proud owners to impoverishment, loss or bankruptcy. But does the loss of physical assets really make you a loser?

Two thousand years ago, enlightened teachers like Jesus and the Buddha taught that true abundance is not based on physical assets alone. They proposed that true abundance includes qualities such as integrity, honesty, service, and loving kindness to all forms of life, to name a few.

And yet, talk to people around you and you will soon find many adhering to the outdated belief of measuring abundance by material displays of wealth. Beside that, you will find the limiting notion of having to compete against others to access these limited resources for survival.

In western society, we are driven by this outdated assumption that there’s only so much to go around, and that we need to compete with others for these resources on a basis of win/lose. I have to get mine first before you can get yours or the limited supply runs out (think black Friday shopping mobs)… if you win, I must lose... and on we go, pitting our limiting beliefs against others in an effort to survive. We expand this belief in scarcity to cover every facet of our lives: believing that for my faith to be right, yours has to be wrong; for my political party to win, I have to sling mud and make yours look bad; and so on.

If I believe that you must lose for me to win, or that you must be belittled so I can have value, or that you must be wrong for me to be vindicated, or you must be suppressed for me to feel free, then my sense of happiness becomes dependent on your lack thereof.  My experience of life becomes fragmented into dualities of opposites, and I end up suffering estrangement from my fellow humans. A life that is lived from such outdated beliefs offers very limited love, serenity and security.

This outdated thinking and behavior cause untold suffering in the world. The Buddha taught his disciples to become free from the vice of duality-thinking; to liberate themselves from the opposites of desire and aversion which propel the cycles of scarcity and suffering. It is only when we let go of this misguided struggle for a bit of material security, that we are able to poise our minds in peace.

How do we uncouple from the vicious cycle of chasing after material security and finding scarcity instead?

The power lies in our thoughts. Our thoughts contain the seed forms of potential; making change possible in our consciousness, our belief systems and our world.

Physical reality flows from our imagination and ideas about how things could be. As humans, we are gifted with the ability to change the way we think, and hence create different outcomes. We can change the way we look at things and thereby change the outcomes!

Instead of seeing the world as a physical pie, with ourselves competing against others for a slice of it, we can consciously choose again. Perhaps it is time to recognize that energy is never destroyed; it simply changes form. It is time to expand our definition of abundance to include all its myriad forms: the material as well as the mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual. And perhaps we need to acknowledge that there is enough for all of us when we are prepared to share.

This step in our evolution, this changing of the old mindset for a more appropriate one, may not be as clean or predictable as we’d like. Evolution is messy and uncertain. A clear outcome is not always apparent. To the minds of westerners who like control, reliability and certainty, this can be nerve-wracking. Yet, the alternative is to become extinct.

Times of change call for us to trust on a grand level. It is time to trust in our Source, ourselves and each other. We need to trust this time of upheaval to give birth to new paradigms that better fit our world… and we need to step into the game and play our active part in it. Are you ready? I’ll see you at the top!

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com  This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

As each of us expands in our own understanding and consciousness, that growing level of awareness raises the level for everybody on the planet. The trick lies in how to open up to your true identity and power so that you can live from the heart without losing your mind, right!

Opening up to Higher Truth requires the ability to peck your way out of the primordial egg of conditioning. With each peck, you break out of rigid structures and beliefs that are no longer appropriate to birth a new you, more aligned with your Truth and power.

This process looks different for each person. And rightly so, since each one of us is a unique combination of body, mind and spirit. Your consciousness always seeks to express itself in ways that are aligned with the totality of your being. When you practice inner awareness and honor the voice of Spirit within, you evolve; when you suppress it out of fear or some such emotion, you devolve.

While everybody’s process of growth looks different, there are some similarities that can serve as helpful mile markers on the journey of becoming. There are three areas which, when addressed appropriately, can be of great help during this time of unprecedented change, growth, and transformation on our planet.

The Buddha taught that the root of all imbalance arises from three toxins – three expressions of ego in our lives that take the form of attachment, ignorance and aggression. When based on these emotions, we engage in actions, speech and thoughts that lead to suffering in our lives, just as planting a seed gives rise to fruit in the future.

These three poisons are the reasons we get caught up in the dramas of life, whether they be spiritual, emotional, or physical. Their presence is seen in the imbalance, dis-ease and suffering in our lives. The conditions in our lives today represent the outcome of the seeds we have planted yesterday.

To remedy this situation we need to transform the three poisons. The process of transformation includes intervention, detoxification through forgiveness or physical cleansing, and a renewed dedication to our spiritual growth.

First, everyone faces attachment of some form. Do you think you are somebody? If so, you are attached to what you think you are. Do you think that you are nothing? If so, you are attached to what you think you aren't. It is only when you realize that you are a part of everything through the presence of Spirit in you that you can finally let go of attachment and find the grace to stand in compassionate detachment; the freedom of your Higher nature.

To free yourself from the bondage of attachment, let go of that which no longer serves you. Realize, as you do, that letting go does not always mean that you are getting rid of that person or object of affection. It simply means that you are letting go of your attachment to expectations and outcomes. Letting go frees you to act from a place of compassionate detachment.

Second, we need to transform our ignorance. Ignorance itself is not evil; it is the actions taken in ignorance, that cause untold pain and misery for humanity.

In truth, everyone chooses the good as perceived through their level of ignorance or awareness – and therein lies the catch. To bring about better choices, we need to raise awareness first.

As we open our hearts to new ways of seeing and experiencing life, we open up to higher levels of awareness. Ignorance is rooted in limited understanding and awareness; the more we come to understand higher levels of truth, the wider our eyes open to the limitless nature of our souls. And when we fully understand that, miracles start happening!

Third, our lower nature uses aggression to defend its limited, ignorant actions. Feeling aggressive toward some person or situation? Try asking yourself what you are afraid of. Aggression is a camouflage for fear.

When we give up the fear, we let go of aggressive defensiveness and open up to the broader interconnectedness of life. Our drive toward aggression is transformed through surrender to the hand of a Higher Power. We align to Higher Truth. We stop resisting and feeding the very thing we hated or fixated on. Instead, our hearts open up to embrace new ways of seeing, being and doing – and we are transformed.

Ultimately, it is not our need but our view that needs to be transformed. Higher Truth will untangle our warped thinking and enable us to align with higher levels of awareness. As we grow in understanding, we move away from the poisons of attachment, ignorance and aggression to embrace the higher states of compassionate detachment, awareness of our True nature and alignment to Higher Truth.

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com  This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.