The Unmistakable Touch of Grace by Cheryl Richardson

Author:Cheryl Richardson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2004-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

LESSON 1—UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CHOREOGRAPHY

Prior to the launch of my coaching, speaking, and writing career, I learned a fundamental lesson about the nature of life—what I came to see as the basic choreography of how things work. I learned how to use my mind to produce and direct my life instead of passively watching it unfold. I achieved a greater understanding of this principle from reading spiritual classics that offered great insight into the basic laws of creation. The first was The Power of Constructive Thinking by Emmet Fox, published in the early 1930s. In this book he proposed that we all have the ability to cocreate our lives with God, and the key to doing so is to harness the power of the mind. For example, in one chapter Fox suggests using a simple technique called spiritual treatment to correct a specific problem. In essence, a treatment consists of intensely focused prayer, turning your thoughts away from the problem, and thinking only of God and the desired outcome. The idea is to spiritualize the problem by shifting the focus of your mind away from the constant thoughts of worry and dismay, to something far more powerful—a Higher Power.

Fox’s teaching reflected the basic laws of metaphysics— using the power of the mind to create physical reality. In today’s world it can be quite a challenge to direct the mind. We are so often fueled by adrenaline and anxiety that we end up living in a constant state of fight or flight. This creates anxious neural pathways that make focusing on worries or problems a default position for the mind. Learning to control your thoughts by consciously overriding conditioned negativity is an important step in creating a self-directed life.

I put Fox’s advice to use immediately. For example, every time I started worrying about my future or finding my true calling, I replaced my anxious thoughts with affirmations that “a Higher Power is directing my life.” Then, because I tend to be very visual, I created a mental picture of myself looking happy and satisfied while doing work I loved. As soon as I became aware of any fearful thoughts, I would immediately shift my focus to the inner picture I had created, making it brighter, bigger, more vivid, and alive. I also imagined that I was creating a new neural pathway—a fresh, healthy groove in my mind that would eventually reverse my tendency to focus on the problem.

My introduction to Fox’s work increased my interest in other spiritual books that echoed his metaphysical views about the power of the mind. It was then that I began to read The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder. Her book offers specific examples of how people were able to create abundance by using affirmations to reprogram old, self-destructive thoughts. For example, after considering Ponder’s advice, instead of focusing on the low balance in my checkbook each time I balanced my bank statement (a habit that left me feeling vulnerable and powerless), I focused on the way that my life was rich and abundant already.

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