Our Reactions Speak Volumes

I recently watched an interview of Sadhguru, and a quote stuck with me.

“They think they are suffering life. They are not suffering life. They’re suffering the two most fantastic faculties that human beings alone have: a vivid sense of memory and a fantastic sense of imagination.”

— Sadhguru

With that revelation, I began to think of how my mind uses painful memories to paint visions of how things can go wrong in the future. My memories are responsible for my anxiety.

As you may know, I love books about understanding the mind. I am currently doing a deep dive into the works of Neville Goddard, and I was led to a book that gave me a new piece to this mind puzzle.

“Start now to observe your reactions to life and do not allow yourself to become identified with any unlovely state…. If you continue to have the same reactions, you have not changed your feelings.”

— Neville

When I combined the two teachings, I realized that my memories of sucky moments in my past, were painting negative expectations over my visions of the future. I was worrying that what happened before, would occur again. I was feeling worried because I was reacting to the past, rather than reacting (in advance) to what I desired in the future.

This revelation is not groundbreaking science, but this discovery for me is HUGE. When I fully believe that what I desire is mine, I am not worried. My reaction lets know that I am not yet fully convinced, or focused, on the outcome I desire.

One of my core beliefs is that “thoughts become things”—what we envision with dominant emotions becomes our reality. When I picture a situation going wrong, and fear it will occur unfavorably, my thoughts predict and create that outcome. My memories of similar situations going wrong, choke out my positive expectations of things going right.

However, now that I am aware that worry is my reaction to envisioning things going differently than I desire, I can use that reaction a signal to refocus. I can take control of my thoughts by being aware of how I feel.

So I decided to create a new habit. Whenever I feel worried, I will ask myself, “What am I reacting to?” That simple question helps me to recognize that I am focusing in the wrong direction. Anxiety and excitement are the same energy, just one is focused toward we want and one is focused toward what we don’t want. With this new habit I am forming, I can catch myself mid-thought and turn my attention to what I want.

And, guess what. I am already beginning to see shifts!

We often think it’s major events, and unexpected miracles, that turn our lives around. The reality is that our lives are driven by our thoughts. Small shifts in perception, can bring about HUGE changes….

In one of my empowerment workshops, I taught a group of young ladies how small shifts can produce great results over time. Here’s how it works….

Imagine that you have the super power to walk (safely) through walls. Imagine you’re standing outside your front door holding a gigantic ball of yarn. Tie the free end of the yarn to your front doorknob, face the street, and start walking forward. Pass through houses, buildings, and traffic. Look around. Where are you after 3 blocks? 6 blocks? 3 miles? Okay, hit rewind, and quickly travel back to your front door. (You’ve already tied the yarn to the doorknob and are facing forward.) Now, pivot (turn) your feet slightly to the left (about 15-20 degrees, if you need specifics). Okay, now start walking. Where are you in 3 blocks? 6 blocks? 3 miles? In 3 miles, from that small pivot, you are nowhere near where you ended up after 3 miles walking straight forward. (You may return to reality, now, lol.)

This is how dramatic the shifts in our consciousness can be. By making small shifts in our thoughts, we can make MAJOR shifts in our lives.

As we begin to pay attention to our reactions, we can see if we are truly in alignment with what we desire to manifest. Are we facing toward our goals, or away from them?

This morning, as I found myself worrying, I asked myself, “What am I reacting to?” I realized that although I desired a better experience this morning, in my mind, I was reliving yesterday and the day before. As I began to pay attention to what I was reacting to, I realized that I have been doing this in other areas of my life. It finally made sense why I was not manifesting the experiences I desire because I was still envisioning— and REACTING to what I don’t want.

I am so excited about the possibilities that this simple practice will create in my life. This morning, alone, I saw how things shifted. I stopped freaking myself by anticipating things going as they had before. I caught myself reacting and remembered to focus on what I want. By simply noticing when I felt worried, and pausing to ask, “What am I reacting to?” I witnessed a shift from what seemed inevitable….

I am sharing this with you now because I want everybody to win. I want to save you time, pain, drama. If I discover something that works from me, I’m not waiting til I’m in my multimillion dollar villa to share it with you. We can all rise together. Everything I’ve learned and applied from Neville’s teachings has brought me closer to my goals. And this new revelation for me, I can tell is going to be a major gamechanger….

Maybe you have a habit of worry. Begin to pay attention to your reactions, (for example, feeling anxious, when you want to feel hopeful). The simple step of noticing when you feel this way is a big step. Then, you can become aware of what brought on that feeling by asking yourself, “What am I reacting to?” Resist the urge to go back down that rabbit hole. Instead, simply recognize that you feel the way you feel because of what you are focused on. If you desire to feel differently, you’ll need to shift your focus.

Maybe shifting completely to focusing on what you’d rather experience is too far for your mind to travel in that moment. Instead you can choose to focus on something that makes you feel better. Playing (or thinking of) a favorite song, can help. Getting up to grab a drink of water, can help. Saying (or thinking of), a positive affirmation/mantra, can help. (And if you’re familiar with work of Joseph McClendon III shaking your toosh, can help. )

Yesterday, I started doing a jigsaw puzzle, that helped. When I found myself feeling “off” or focused on something worrisome, I set my Pomodoro timer for 15 minutes and sat with my puzzle. I read a post yesterday that said that there are studies that say playing Tetris is a huge way to shift, even after major traumas. )

The main thing is to begin to be aware of our reactions— to pay attention to the thoughts that are causing our feelings.

Let’s create a new habit to interrupt thoughts that cause us discomfort. This small practice can bring about big changes.

“If you do not like what you are encountering in life, rearrange your thoughts by changing your consciousness.”

—Neville

Hope this helps. Blessings!

Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist

*** I’ll post links to the video, books, and social media post I referenced, below.

• Sadhguru Video: https://youtu.be/Gw1I7fqmxmA
• Neville Quotes: Neville Goddard The Power of Unlimited Imagination
• FANTASTIC series of Neville Goddard’s works: Neville Goddard: The Complete Reader
• Facebook Post on Tetris: https://www.facebook.com/113098573762126/posts/401409161597731/