Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Abundance for Life, Effortless Success Giving Up

Hi French Claire,

If your niece has such a perfect life, why don't you follow her in her footsteps? She lives a great life without any worries at all. She must have a great job, lots of money coming in and all the rest. All you need is a Baptist bible and attend Baptist services. It will all come to you EFFORTLESSLY... your life is in God's hands so there is nothing to worry about. Even your speeding ticket was planned by your niece's God. You do not have to worry about the future.... keep repenting about everything in your past. Ask your niece to make you meet somebody who got saved by God after death!

So why did your niece not walk to Paris? After all there are no cars mentioned in the Bible. Why did your niece use an airplane to arrive from Australia? God did not make the airplane... no airplane construction plans in the Bible!

I prefer to follow ES and the teachings of other experts like Jack Canfield. If you start questioning religious people in a very logical way, they get very upset as they are confronted with the limitation of their believes.

French Claire, I like the story of the speeding fine. In NAB terms, you were concentrating on the negatives of speeding, you sent out the negative energy and you got a result to match your vibration. Ce n'est pas bizarre du tout!

I cannot understand, however, why any thinking person would follow a set religion like christianity, or dare I even mention it, islam!

You can usually tell how strong the foundation of a religion is by how intensely its staunch followers react to criticism: christians do a lot of whining and moaning and getting in the way, like the nun who got all arsey about the filming of 'The Da Vinci Code' and sat on some church steps and disrupted filming; muslims start strapping bombs to themselves. Go figure!

Laugh at a true Buddhist (capital letters where I feel they are deserved), question his beliefs, and he won't care a jot. I know Buddhsim isn't perfect, but it seems far less burdened with all the offence-taking and revenge that seems to preoccupy certain world religions.

The only way religion can maintain a hold on people is by indoctrinating them and hobbling them with the fear of sin and hellfire and damnation, you know, by the loving god who cares for all his children and if you don't do what he says you'll spend eternity in hell, because he loves you so much. You've got to laugh! Yet people live by this rubbish.

The bible is so full of contradictions, my favourite being from Exodus...

'Thou shalt not kill'
(Exodus 20:13)

Few pages later...

'Thus sayeth the LORD God of Israel, "Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour"'.
(Exodus 32:27)

So, which is it then?

YOU know in yourself what is right and that's the point!

Anyway, apparently they - the NAB crowd, the likes of Greg Bradden at alia - say that God is yin energy and is therefore, female. And you know what? Looking at the state of the world, I believe him! LOL!

No, but seriously, bibles do have their place. I just wish they'd make them from thicker paper because my middle finger keeps slipping through the pages. Can get rather messy!

Well in an effort to stay on topic!!

I will speak of what I do/have given up to accomplish on target.

1. TV (99+%)
2. Radio with commercials (100%)
3. Gossip (99%)
4. Listening to gossip, unless resisting creates more of a hassle; then I default to 'pretending to listen' and comment in short and move on...
5. Engaging in 'off-topic' conversations with anyone that does not adhere to my own 'One Ideal' or what I perceive to be theirs. (this can be crap shoot admittedly divining theirs)
6. Daydreaming 'off-topic', but when I do; analysis it and deal with the underlying emotions or issues.

This is the 'negative' side of the equation.
I spend much more toward what I feel/see/know as my 'One Ideal'. This is the 'positive' side of the equation and I count progress by its weight.

P.S. I dare someone to start a thread like...

'How much does your religion contribute or confound your plan to success?'

OR

'My religion must suck, cuss everyone I know practicing is miserable, can this be true for you?'

OR

'Ok, I need to 'de-program' from this religion, can you assist me?'

Kind Regards,

Greetings all,

Thank you Yukala, for your input and willingness to join in the game! I appreciate you challenges, and I appreciate your willingness to go for it regarding the things you are willing to give up. I look forward to hearing how it goes for you as you continue with it.

Interesting that I was in the midst of composing a post as your reply came in. Here is what I wrote, posted, and to which I have now added as an edit what I am saying up to this point...now:

Although I find discussions of religion and spirituality, fundamentalism and faith, and all manner of nuances of this and that, at times quite enjoyable, I need to say that I began this particular thread with something else in mind. In my opening post, I shared a decision I had made to give up the compulsive monitoring of internet sports for one week, linked to the question: What am I willing to give up to be successful? I ended that post by committing to a series of actions and invited others in this forum to do the same. Two members (French Claire, Margaret Ida, and now Yukala) have since taken me up on the invitation. Two (Unique Soul and Inchiki Gaijin), as of yet have not.

I cannot help but notice that what started out as a call to action has turned into a kind of intellectual bantering about fundamentalists and fundamentalism, ostensibly because French Claire mentioned her niece within the context of describing her relationship to doubt, which I understand her to have made the commitment to give up.

I realize I am not God (nor Buddha, for that matter) nor am I the one who set up this forum. I don't make the rules. But I think I was quite clear with the tone I set and the invitation and request I made to the members of the forum in the opening post of this thread. I am also very clear that my chief intention with this forum is to gain and give support from/to others in taking action to improve the quality of our lives using the principles and practices of Learning Strategies Effortless Success personal learning course.

I realize that others who have joined this forum may not share this same core intention. I also recognize that Learning Strategies provides very few guidelines regarding intentions and decorum of interactions on any of its forums. I currently see it as a free for all. Nevertheless, I am finding many of the posts on this thread annoying, because they indicate to me intentions that are not fully aligned with what I am primarily here for. I realize that this is speculation on my part in that I cannot really know another person's intentions. I am simply drawing conclusions based on my observations.

As I've said, I do not run this forum. Even so, my request is that, in the future, if folks want to have a discussion about philosophy (in this case the advantages and pitfalls of fundamentalism) that they simply begin a new thread with an appropriate title. That way, those of us who are committed to action and supporting each other in growing via applying the Law of Attraction with the ES course (in conjunction with other related success-oriented resources) can do so in a more contained and focused manner. That said, I reserve the right to join in the less action-based and success-oriented, more heady and philosophical discussions when I'm looking for that brand of entertainment (which is what they currently represent to me).

Thank you,
Stevers

Hear! Hear! Stevers!
Go for the gold!
How goes it with your action commitment? Have you found a rewarding alternate to internet sports this week?
I am still finding myself up later than I think is wise - but I am feeling good about doing more constructive things than compulsive puzzle-solving. Hooray for baby-step number one!
I'm also rooting for you, French Claire. If I may make a suggestion, choosing to recognize one thing you absolutely do believe in (maybe that the sun will rise tomorrow? - or that your mother loves you?) might be a start. As you add to your list of things you do believe in and feel the confidence you have in those things, I expect you will find that 'faith' and confidence grow in your life and your doubts fade away.
I add my thanks to Yukala for contributing to the refocusing of this thread. Your list of things you have gotten under control is indeed impressive. Would you care to comment on 'what you are noticing as you move forward' as Stevers proposed initially? And do you, by chance, have anything else you would like to add to challenge yourself to 'give up' and share with us here?
May we all create some peace within today!
Margaret Ida

Sorry I overlooked that salient point; 'what you are noticing as you move forward' as that would be fun to focus upon.

However, to present a more 'whole' picture I will add one more thing in this 'negative' column before pointing out that the other side (in my view), that of being pro-active doing positive things - together make the whole thing work.

For indeed what gets one excited about 'giving something up' if not some dear anticipated gain? Discipline breeds discipline however, so if you give things up you will mostly likely take up something more worthwhile that bears the promise of gaining ground.

My seventh point somewhat complicated:

For me point 7: I gave up frivolous dreaming. I have imposed a much higher standard of discipline in my sleeping time; dreams, traveling, and use of lucidity.

But again, I am reminded of not yet following out my positive agenda to a more determined and rhythmic implementing of various disciplines that are very poignant to apply at ones body sleep time.

I am near 100% lucid all night (so seeming, for it varies in degree or intensity); even every night and have been for decades. (another subject as to 'why' that might be, however)

What am I noticing? Still not enough freed up time to attend each day to all I would wish to do. And I am somewhat more at peace about it though, for I just push the time-lines out...


I AM eternal you know!! Though some objectives are 'not negotiable'.

Hi all

I was away last week, and just discovered Stevers challenge. I too would like to join in. Actually, when I first read it, it reminded me of a line from the poem- The Invitation-“ ..it doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.” I’m not sure why that immediately came to mind- but in reading thru the rest of the post- the flames seemed to light up from your challenge!

I am ready to give Up ( release actually sounds better to me) my constant busy-ness that fills my day and prevents me from doing what I know I truly want to do. I intend and create the time to take steps toward my goals, then fill in that time with a variety of things that really have no importance in the outcome of my life, the sudden urge to vacuum, run an errand that could wait a month, or even volunteer for an extra shift at work. I am very creative about this- and could call it being productive, however, none of these things move me towards the direction I want to be going in. So, for this week, I will allow the space I create to fill with activities that move me forward, and when the ‘urge’ to fill the space with non-essentials arrives- I will redirect- as much as possible. This is a big challenge for me- surrender & release- but I feel your post came at the perfect time for me.

French Claire- You talked of needing proof, and seeking faith ( sorry, I don’t know how to do those cool quote boxes) Wayne Dyer just published a book “Excuses BeGone”, and in the first part of it, he reviews a lot of the latest scientific research and proof that your perceptions have the power to change everything about your life. One of the many sources he refers to is The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton. I really enjoyed this book- but I am an avid fan of his, & have read all of his stuff. You might find something that satisfies your quest in one of these books.

Brenda

Hi all - As with some others, my first response was.. give up? oh no! Then I saw it was to Give Up (aka, release, surrender, etc). Oh yes!

I was out of town as well. And as some others have mentioned on other threads... taking a vacation from work also ended up being a vacation from ES, daily disciplines, and some of my progress. Arrghh.

Many great ideas here and a common thread among some that I am synching with... Stevers' and Margaret Ida's and Yukala's external derailers (TV, internet, email, gossip, ads, and similar fun-but-frivolous stimuli). And the busy-busy-ness of Brendann, Yukala and all of us who find ourselves saying... where did the Time go? A big one for me.

Lastly, Claire's dance with doubt... for me, I sometimes discover that when I doubt "others", further reflection often reveals an inner self-doubt to be at the core. Do you find that to be the case as well sometimes? Especially easy to realize when those I am questioning are already where I want to be! Surrendering my previously programmed need to be "safe and right" wakes me up usually.

Since I believe in the idea that it takes something like 21 days to break/form a habit and I would like make these permanent changes in my psyche... this will be my month of August commitment to myself.

So - I allow myself to release, to surrender, to give up:

1) the need to fill my hours with derailers - actions not oriented toward my goals (the big ones as well as the mundane daily-chores ones) like surfing internet/TV, readng all the junk mail, spending too much time with email, "unproductive" daydreams. This has become a bad habit lately.

2) self-doubt - I will use Sedona Method, which has helped me in other areas. My normal cycle tends to be:
Goals and Action Plan >>> Good Start >>> Self-Doubt (often sub-conscious so not noticed at first) >>> Magic Derailers Appear allowing for >>> Procrastination >>> in order to focus on Busy-ness (See #1) which really = Self-sabotage >>> disappointment in myself which in turn = more reason to doubt myself in future.

What a rollercoaster... dizzying.
Thanks to Stevers and all for this timely thread - Colleen

Wow! - two great posts that really hit home from Brendann and Col.
Thank you for putting it so clearly and concisely.
I have recently been noticing myself using up my hours in busy-ness and 'derailers'. I have also noticed that I have developed the habit of responding to "How are you doing?" with "Keeping busy!" - so... I now think I serve myself better by making a plan for a more useful thought to repeat to myself and to others.
How well you describe the cycle of doubt! Let's see...the cycle of trust would then run somewhat like this: Goals and Action Plan >>> Small Starting Steps >>> Self-Reinforcement (recognition and gratitude for action) >>> New Steps Towards Success Appear allowing for >>> Enthusiastic Intention >>> which focuses on Taking On-Target Action Steps which really = Self-motivated action >>> Sense of Accomplishment which in turn = more reason to trust myself in the future.
Hey! I like that! Perhaps I will post it in my office! - and start saying "Getting the important things done.' When asked how I am doing.
Thanks for being my sounding board as I think these things through! May you create some effortless success in your day!
Margaret Ida

Hi MI - thank you and I love the new cycle you created - that's for me! I think a banner along my office walls, with said banner ending right where it begins, much like ES. As Stevers has reposted this thread, I will continue on THAT one with my progress.

Have an awesome and insightful day - Colleen