There was a man who had two sons. The youngest came to the father and asked for his inheritance because he wanted to experience more of life. So the father gave the son his inheritance and he went into a far land to live a riotous life. Before long he was broke, hungry and eating what he was feeding the pigs. He said, "Even my father's servants live better than this," and he headed for home. His father seeing him coming from far off, ran to welcome him back home. As a sign of his joy for the son's return, the father threw a feast and gave the son a robe, new shoes and a ring for his finger.

The older son confronted the father saying, "I stayed home and lived up to my responsibilities and I get nothing?"  Why should that young stupid snot be rewarded ? (My paraphrase) The father said, "All that I have is yours, but your younger brother was lost and now he is found"

This is a parable told by Jesus that has been called the Prodigal (wasteful) Son. Granted, it seems like a pretty cut an dried, in-your-face story about how a young person can get caught up in the attractions of the world and fail to see the downside. But, the metaphysical meaning hidden in the story says something deeply personal about you, me and every seeker on the planet.
 
I will share this meaning with you next time.
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
  

 
I had a recurring dream when I was a kid that there was a large black spider waiting just under the seat of our outside toilet. I worried about it every time I went down the path. In later years I thought of all the anxiety and worry I experienced fretting over a spider that was never there.

Worry is like that because it often causes anxiety over something that might happen rather than something that has actually occurred. There's a Swedish Proverb that says, "Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow." This was  especially true of my experience with a big black spider that was never there. 

The original meaning of the word worry is "wringing." If there is anything that will wring the life out of you,  it's worry. You waste too much precious time fretting over something that might never happen. 

Let me give you a good reason to work at letting go of worry. We've talked before about how your imagination can create your experiences – how your mind doesn't know the difference between a real and imagined experience. Right? Well, when you worry, your imagination gets involved. You start imaging what might happen. Consequently, worry takes on an attracting power. It draws into your life the very thing you've been worrying about. You worried it into expression! 

Think about it!

Have a great day!
John Williamsen

 www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
 

I had bad experiences in my past that I carried with me for years. They interfered with my ability to see the truth that was around me because my interpretations of people and circumstances were colored by those experiences. Those missed relationships and bungled business opportunities were painful memories until I learned how to not let them haunt me.

What helped me let them go was realizing that nothing is lost if I viewed those bad experiences through a trial and error attitude. Learning any skill requires time to learn the difference between what works and what doesn't.

Life is the same. Nothing is a waste if you choose to see past negative experiences as the means to grow into a more peaceful and prosperous person. The truth is that nothing is good or bad unless you choose to see it this way.  

It helps to never blame the world or the people in it for your experiences because everything is a personal choice whether you realize it or not. When you take responsibility for your experiences, you access the mental power to see those hidden beliefs that are sabotaging your life.

The only failures you will ever have are when you don't take the time to find out what attitude caused the failure and make a commitment to change it.

Watch a fly fisherman. He will try different lures until he finds one that attracts the trout. He does not give up just because one fails to do the job. He uses trial and error until he finds one that does.

You do the same. Give thanks for the opportunity to find out what does and does not work. Use your so-called failures as the means of growing into the being that you are meant to be. Focus on what you want instead of on your failures because, in this way, you will find the right mental bait to attract what you desire.

All the best,
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
 

Is there such a thing as an accident prone person? I agree that there seems to be a lot of evidence that such a person exists. We have all known people who seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and as a consequence spend a lot of time getting stitched up in the emergency room.
 
I am going to stick my neck out here and say that there is no such thing as an accident prone person. If a person is experiencing a never-ending line of accidents, they are subjecting themselves to the Law of
Fluke. 

A person becomes subject to  the Law of Fluke when they have turned their destiny entirely over to whatever life hands them. This "brainless" approach to life creates the vacuum in which the Law of Fluke does it's best work.

You remember the phrase in the movie, Forrest Gump, where he says, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get!"  The truth is that if you really look at a box of chocolates you do get a pretty good idea of what you are going to get. The square ones are caramel and the round ones are usually soft creams or jellies.

Taking time to look around you and make intelligent choices about what to do or not do – what to think or not think, fills the necessary space to keep you from experiencing the Law of Fluke.

Keep on keepin' on!
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net 
 

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to see when another person has an attitude?  Have you ever made the mistake of informing them that they have one?  I'll bet they denied it and then counter-attacked by telling you that you were the one with an attitude. Right?

Why are our attitudes so hard to see and yet they're so obvious in others? Well it's because the "attitude-R-us." We do not have them, they have us. Because our attitudes are so much part and parcel of the fiber of our being, they are like our nose—we take it for granted.

How do we acquire attitudes?  Let me give you a personal example of how it can happen. For years I had an attitude toward Japanese cars because once when I tried to lower the window in one, the crank fell off. From that one experience I started the attitude that all Japanese cars were junk.

Why do people have the attitude that Democrats are bad and Republicans are good or vice versa?  It's because people borrow these attitudes from parents. The truth is that the voting records of the individual congressman make it hard to find the defining difference between Republicans and Democrats.

So attitudes can happen because of a single experience or by repetition or imitation.

The harm attitudes can have is that they can keep you from thinking. Thinking is what helps you see alternatives that open up possibilities that can change your life for the better. How do you know that what you consider offensive or untouchable is not the very thing that can open your world to undreamed of possibilities?

Attitudes come from the mind set that says, "Yes OR No!  There is nothing on the planet that is either good OR bad. If you think past the superficial, you will see this as being true. You can break an attitude by using the mind set that says, Yes AND No. It takes time and thought to find that middle ground where attitudes cannot exist.

Learn to laugh at yourself,

Sincerely
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net 





 

If you are content with your food, your income, your immaculate virtue, your responsibility, your fine career, your house, your excellent disposition, your children, your respectability and your prowess in general, you have no magnetic center. 

What is magnetic center? It is often the state of mind born in a person who has achieved a degree of success in life and finds themselves saying, "Is this all there is?" Magnetic center is the understanding that things are never as they seem and there is a deeper meaning as well as an alternative way of thinking about and seeing everything.  

Having magnetic center causes you to see that nothing can be taken at face value.  Life cannot be explained in terms of itself. You may find that things, while they are good in themselves, do not satisfy a craving to understand and experience on a deeper level. If you are feeling that there is another reality - one that will take away the emptiness and make your life more meaningful, this is caused by the activity of your magnetic center. 

There is no such thing as standing still if you are growing and changing your thinking, and changing the way you think is the greatest purpose of your life.
 

Sincerely
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
 

Do you self-justify? Do you create reasons why things didn't turn out the way you think they should? Self-justification is the act of avoiding the responsibility for the result of your actions.

The interesting thing about self-justification is that it can occur before and after the fact. You can self-justify or make excuses about why you're going to fail before it happens, which only reinforces the chances of it happening. You can also self-justify after you find that your goal didn't pan out quite like you thought it would.

Can you see why self-justification – whether it's before or after the fact – will serve to lead you down the same path over and over?

John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
 

Establishing a goal is a good thing to do. Right? Having a plan is pretty important, too. I mean – haven't you been told that if you fail to plan that you're planning to fail?

The flaw in many goal-setting courses/books is that the information skips over the internal work necessary to rid yourself of old mental patterns – patterns that can sabotage your good intentions for planning and achieving your goal.

How many times have you tried to achieve a goal – a goal you desperately wanted to achieve – and found yourself running into obstacles at every turn? How many times have you adjusted your goal to try to work around the obstacles, only to find yourself face-to-face with something else? Finally, how many times have you said, Maybe it just wasn't meant to be?

I know exactly how you feel. It was out of those frustrations that my wife and I became aware that things do not change just because we set goals and then do things in the outer.

We discovered that the real power comes from being aware of the mental and emotional influences on our goal. These become the obstacles, the pitfalls, that cause us to turn away from our goals or settle for something much less.

It's Your Move! Transform Your Dreams From Wishful Thinking To Reality reveals what few are willing to share with you because it doesn't lend itself that well to traditional selling strategies. Selling strategies say that people want the benefits RIGHT NOW – and you'll never be able to convince them to buy your product unless you tell them that in 10 days or whatever, their lives will change.

The truth is that after 5 hours of listening to It's Your Move! you will have been exposed to the information YOU NEED to change your life. Now whether you do it or not is up to you. Not a good selling strategy – but it is the truth!     

If you're ready to change your life – not to parrot someone else's idea of what it should be, but to create your own vision, fight your dragons and conquer them – then you are ready for It's Your Move!

All The Best,
John Williamsen

www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  
 

Most people believe the change they want is in front of them. That is, what they desire is somewhere in the future.

You don't walk into the changes you want, you climb into them. If your life seems to be the same things and experiences over and over and yet you desire something different, you are walking the streets rather than climbing the stairs of life.

Life exists on different levels. The streets symbolize one level called horizontal living. Horizontal living is
defined as thinking or doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.

If you want to experience something different, you must climb the stairs of life. You must elevate your thoughts and feelings to a higher level. You must experience vertical living.

Where are you living?


All the best,
John Williamsen


www.MindSlapOnline.com

www.MindSlapOnline.net  

Subscribe:  http://howtoenjoyyourlifeinspiteofitall.com/rss2.aspx