This week the Mindshifters group watched the first half of the lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled: Getting The Stress You Need. What struck me most about the lecture this time was how Dr. Ryce described how my intentions are the raw materials of my goals. When I hold a number of intentions and eventually elevate one of them to the level of a goal, that goal then organizes my energies and my behaviors to guide me to the accomplishment of that goal. Therefore, the quality of my intentions determines the quality of my goals.

Dr. Ryce described how each of us has a filter over the intentions in our minds, and a filter over the perceptions in our minds. These filters can be set to fear, hostility, or Love. Whenever the filters are set to hostility or fear, they distort our perceptions and show us a false set of data. We then take that data and build our perceptions of reality based on that false data. This is why we were told that the first and most important instruction is to keep the filter of Love set in our minds whenever we are thinking of God, neighbor, or self. The reason is that if the filter is set to hostility or fear, it will distort our perception and show us false data. So we are encouraged to frequently monitor our emotions and mental state and act quickly to reset our filters to Love, whenever we notice that we are feeling something other than Love. By definition this means that we are perceiving things falsely, and therefore we will not be reacting to actuality, but we will be reacting to the false reality we have constructed from the corrupt data that is created by the filters of hostility and fear.

Another critical concept that was introduced is the definition of stress as: “The tension within me that is created by the difference between the way things actually are, and the way I perceive them to be”. The greater the difference between these to things, combined with the amount of energy I pour into wanting things to be different, determine the level and intensity of my stress.
This concept alone is worth the entire time I invested in the lecture. The more I monitor my own thoughts and emotional responses and catch myself earlier and earlier in the process, the less time I spend in the tension of stress. As soon as I catch myself feeling tense, angry, frustrated, confused, irritable, or unhappy I ask myself some version of the following question – “I wonder how this is all going to work out for the better?”, or “I wonder how this is going to help me learn a critical lesson I need to master?”, or “I wonder how this will work out to be a blessing?”

This one process alone has improved the quality of my life more than I can even begin to describe. In the last five years that I have been practicing and applying this process, I have seen that it does two important things. First, it stops me in my tracks when I start thinking negative thoughts which generate negative feelings in my body. I find that since I have started this process, I have spent much less time feeling negative emotions in my daily life. Second, it leaves me more open and observant to see the ways in which things do turn out for the better. I find that I see positive “coincidences” much more often than I ever did before. My hunch is that these positive “coincidences” were always there, but because I was angry, fearful, or frustrated when things did not happen the way I had planned, I was not able to see or notice the positive “coincidences”.

Dr. Ryce presented one more very important quality of goals, which is that once a goal has been set in the human mind, it keeps running until it is either attained, or consciously canceled. This is absolutely true, even though it may be running in the unconscious part of the mind, it is still active and the mind is looking for ways to achieve or satisfy the goal despite the fact that the person may be completely unaware of it. This leads to some very confusing and unproductive behavior in people, as their unconscious mind is working to satisfy un-achieved goals, while the conscious mind is unaware of the motivation or the goal.

It is suggested that we take time to consciously cancel all un-achieved goals from the past, with a focused visualization exercise. Then we can implement a nightly routine which has us reviewing the day, and canceling any un-achieved goals before going to sleep each night. In this way we can rid ourselves of some unproductive baggage and prevent ourselves from creating more of it each day.

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false.

On Tuesday, the mindshifters group watched the second half of the lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled, “Purpose, Personal Power, and Commitment”. The theme of the second half of this talk was about the process of denial and suppression and how it leads to discomfort and dis-ease within the human energy system. Dr. Ryce traces a path beginning with the suppression of ENTHUSIASM and resulting in total unconsciousness. Throughout the process, the suppression of the natural expression of our connection to our source, Love, and the subsequent reactions to that suppression, build stronger and stronger negative reactions within the system until the system is almost totally shut down.

The process begins when a child is innocently spending time fully engaged in whatever feeds her soul, and then a parent or teacher comes along and demands that they stop being focused and engaged in ENTHUSIASM, and do what the adult thinks they should do. When this ENTHUSIASM is suppressed it results in PAIN for the child. When the child tries to express her PAIN she is punished, and this results in an ANTAGONISTIC response from the child. This is punished and suppressed and that results in OVERT HOSTILITY from the child. This is punished and suppressed which results in ANGER from the child. This is punished and suppressed which results in COVERT HOSTILITY from the child. This is punished and suppressed which results in PROPITIATION, (doing the right thing for the wrong reason), from the child. This is punished and suppressed which results in SYMPATHY from the child. This is punished and suppressed which results in GRIEF from the child. This is punished and/or suppressed which results in APATHY from the child. This is punished and/or suppressed and results in UNCONSCIOUSNESS from the child.

At each stage of this process the negative energy which is denied and suppressed gets stored in different organs in the body and the energy system, and each of those organ systems begin to shut down, or struggle to function fully. The end result is aging and dis-ease and death. Another way to look at this process is the gradual denial of our connection to our source of Love.

During the first half of the two hour lecture, Dr. Ryce details how the Primary Purpose for each of us is to develop a Viable, Conscious, Spiritual body, and in doing so, we need to tithe, or commit ten percent of our; time, intelligence, money and energy to those activities which help feed and nourish us spiritually. He is clear that this is an individual path and that it will be different for each of us, but that the goal is the same for all – to develop and strengthen a Viable, Conscious, Spiritual body.

He then proposes that each of us develop a Secondary Purpose which will be unique to each of us. He proposes making two lists and then writing out a statement of “What the world will look like, to me, when it is perfect.” The first list is a list of ten unique talents, or ten things that I am really good at, just naturally. The second list is ten things that I just love to do, whether I can make money at them or not, and whether anyone else thinks it is a valuable or productive use of my time. Once these two lists are completed and the statement of how the world will look to me, when it is perfect, is written out, then I compose a declaration in the following format. “I now choose to use, ( one, two or three things from the first list), in order to do, (one, two or three things from the second list), in order to help the world become, (insert your statement of how the world will look when it is finished).

Then when I move through my day, and I am faced with a choice of what to do, or a decision about how to spend my time, I can ask myself whether the activity is in line with my Primary Purpose. If it is, then I can ask if it is in line with my Secondary Purpose, and if it is then I should move forward with it. If it fails to be in line with either my Primary or my Secondary Purpose, I should drop the activity and move on to something else.

In this way I will focus my personal power, and become more of what I was created to be.

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love! Everything else is false.

Tuesday night the Mindshifters group watched the first half of the lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled, The Circle of Life and How To Play It. The lecture describes two different patterns of observing, interpreting and responding to the events in one’s life. Following one path makes us Winners in life and following the other path makes us Losers. The key point at the beginning of the lecture is that in order to get where we want to be, we first need to know where we are. The list of traits, behaviors and response patterns for those who choose “the high road”, and those who choose “the low road”, offers a kind of a road map which we can use to determine exactly where we are, and what we need to change in order to get to where we want to be.

My impression of the central characteristic of those choosing “the high road”, is their ability to understand that they are creating their internal reality, and therefore if they are in pain in any way, they are in error and can therefore make a correction. The people choosing “the low road”, are essentially blaming others or their circumstances for anything in their life they don’t like, and they are busy either playing the role of “victim”, or the role of “hero”. These people believe that “If I am in pain, you did it to me!” Therefore they are always externalizing their problem and therefore looking for external solutions.

When people who are choosing “the high road” become uncomfortable or experience a negative emotion, they take this as an indication that they need to make a correction because they are somehow creating a false reality which is causing them pain or discomfort. These people welcome the information that comes to them from their discomfort because it offers them an opportunity to learn and grow. When people on “the low road” become uncomfortable or experience a negative emotion, they either deny it and suppress it, or blame it on someone or something outside of themselves. This reinforces their belief that they are powerless and that they are being victimized.

The discussion after the video led to many interesting areas. The area that stood out most for me was the idea of looking to someone else as being a “master” or a “guru”. It is common for those who are trying to improve their lives to study, read, listen to, or even “follow” a “master”, “teacher”, or “guru”. We discussed how this pattern creates a sense of “one-up” and “one-down”, or “better than” and “less than”. I mentioned that the teachings that have resonated most with me, are those in which it is understood that the only significant difference between any two people, is the degree to which each understands that “We are all the same!”.

We also discussed how the book of The Way of Mastery frequently mentions that “It takes one to know one.”, which means that I cannot recognize the truth taught by a great teacher unless that knowledge already resides somewhere in me. I suggested to the group that rather than talking about how someone else is such a great teacher or great master – it would be interesting to see how it feels to simply say, “What this person teaches, really resonates with me.” This leaves the space for recognition that we are all the same and that in order for me to be able to recognize Love, and Wisdom in another, it must already be within me. The work we are engaged in then is simply to continue to uncover, and dismantle, anything within my mind and energy system which is less than Love.

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false.

This week and last, we watched the video of a lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled, “The Laws of Living”. In this lecture Dr. Ryce points out the dramatic difference between a natural law and the laws of man. A natural Law is simply a description of how things work. When we function with the knowledge of natural Law and keep our behaviors in accordance with those Laws, we flourish. When our behavior deviates from those described by the Law, the Law does not get broken, we get “broken”, or “injured”.

The laws created by man, on the other hand, are often in conflict with the natural Law, and therefore result in a very conflicted and dysfunctional society. For example; the natural Law states that your body is an energy system and that there are only two types of energy relative to that system. Integrative energy which builds the system up, and dis-integrative energy which tears the system down. The positive, loving, integrative energy which comes from the positive emotions and Love, are what the energy system is made of, and what it is designed to contain and expand with. The negative, fearful or hostile emotions are energies which disintegrate or tear down the energy system.

Now, our current legal system is based on holding other people responsible for what happens in one’s own life. We are encouraged to “press charges” against others, and “sue” others for things that happen in life. Then while the legal process is churning away, the negative emotions are also churning away in my mind and body. I will be angry at the other and feel justified in my anger. I will want revenge, or financial compensation, and again feel angry or hurt if I don’t receive it. The longer I hold these negative emotions in my body and mind, (my energy system), the more damage there is to that energy system. I am the one who gets hurt, in any way that really counts, when I choose to blame others for what I am experiencing. “The vessel in which anger, fear and vengeance are stored, always sustain more damage than the object upon which they are poured.”

This lecture starts with the question about what is the greatest commandment. The answer to that question is that we need to hold the condition of Love in our minds, whenever we think of God, neighbor, or self. In this context the word neighbor means, anyone we think of. So the first and most important law for healthy living is that we hold the condition of Love in our minds whenever we think of God, neighbor or self. This is a Law. The result of not acting in accordance with the Law is not that the Law gets broken, it is that we get “broken”, or damaged or injured, because we are not acting in our own best interests.

Whenever I hold any energy in my body, or my mind, other than Love, I am putting negative and dis-integrative energy into my system and it begins breaking down my energy system. This is not helping anyone else, but most importantly, it is hurting me. This is why we are encouraged, not to just “let go” of negative energy, but to actively dismantle the thought structure and belief system which creates the emotion and the intense negative energy which damages our minds and bodies. This is the reason for all of the tools Dr. Ryce teaches and makes available for free on his website, http://www.whyagain.com

The discussion after the video was once again very lively and wide ranging. There are several group members who are coping with health challenges and others who are coping with relationship challenges. There were a number of different book titles mentioned by different members related to the nature of physical and spiritual health and healing. The crux of the conversation for me was whether one puts more emphasis on the belief of themselves as being a physical being or a spiritual being. We emphasized yet again in the group that we support people in reading and doing any work which leaves them feeling Love and compassion for themselves and others, since that is the energy they need to hold in their system to get and stay healthy, physically and spiritually.

Next week we will watch the lecture titled, “The Circle of Life and How to Play it.”

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false.

Last week the Mindshifters group was without our usual DVD collection and a member brought in the DVD The Shadow Effect from Debbie Ford. While this movie makes several of the same points that Dr. Ryce makes in his lectures, the whole tone of the movie was dark and rather pessimistic. The key to the movie is that each of us has negative thoughts and judgments, and if we suppress them they come out in stronger, and more negative ways that we are not consciously aware of.

If I am not aware of something, there is nothing I can do to fix, change, or avoid it. So there is great value in increasing my awareness of the unconscious processes in my mind and my emotional beliefs. This is the primary focus of all the lectures by Dr. Ryce, and the practical tools he offers with each of his lectures.

I much prefer the positive and optimistic focus presented by Dr. Ryce, in which the energy of Love is the agent of change, with the realization that we are made of that very energy of Love. So, the process of change and self-improvement can either be seen through the lens which says that we are all filled with dark, negative emotions and beliefs about ourselves which need to be faced and owned – or it can be seen as recognizing that we are made of Love and then beginning the process of removing all of the roadblocks to seeing and living from the energy of Love that lives inside us. I prefer this second option.

The video we watched last night was the first half of the lecture titled “Codependence to Interdependence. This lecture begins with the focus on the beauty and Loving energy that is present when a baby is born. Most people who have been present at the moment of birth, or held a newborn baby, describe the infant with words like, Love, beauty, blessing, joy, etc. Dr. Ryce poses the observation that this is because we are made in the image and likeness of a creator, which is Love. We are made of the very energy of Love and it is our source, and what sustains us. He then describes the process in which we try to hide or change what we are, or how we appear to others, in order to gain or maintain their acceptance and approval. As we do this, we hide our true nature from others and eventually ourselves, as we try to be what we think others want us to be.

The entire process of hiding who and what we are is rooted in denial and suppression. Whenever we deny and suppress something, we give it more energy and store it in our bodies and emotional energy systems. The longer this negative, hidden energy stays in our bodies and emotional energy systems, the more damage it does to our relationships and our physical health. The more damage we do to our relationships and our bodies, the more physical and emotional pain we feel, and the greater chance that we will use people, substances, and behaviors to avoid or numb our selves to the pain. This is offered as an explanation of the process of addiction. It is offered that we use drugs, alcohol, food, sex, hostility, and a host of others substances and behaviors to either avoid pain, or numb our selves to the pain.

The solution which is offered is to remove the pain at its root cause, which is to remove the unconscious negative thoughts, beliefs, and false realities which we have stored in our systems through denial and suppression.

I highly recommend viewing this lecture for anyone who has difficulties with addiction of any kind. It is very empowering to realize that we are the Love we seek!

We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false!

Last night our Mindshifters group watched the first half of the Dr. Ryce lecture titled, Healing Through Relationships. The things which jumped out at me were Dr. Ryce’s definition of a Bias, as being “unperceived brain cell energy”. He went on to say that any Bias becomes the most powerful creative force in a person’s life, as when a Bias becomes active, it blocks us from reason and effectively turns our I.Q. to zero. This is powerful in many ways, but the simple explanation is that whenever something is having a powerful effect on us, and we are unaware of it, there is nothing we can do to change the situation or correct it. When a Bias becomes active in our minds, and remember this means that we are not able to perceive it, the Bias becomes the thing that drives our perception, words and behaviors.

On Friday October 2nd I went to see Dr. Wayne Dyer give a talk. I have been reading and following his works and writings, off and on again, since 1976. I felt as though I was going to see an old friend speak. The talk was very nice. He mentioned at the beginning that he was going to share new material from a new book he is writing, and that this new material was so powerful that we would be able to see the changes in him as he talked about it.

The Mindshifters group on Tuesdy watched the first half of the Michael Ryce lecture titled, On Creating Consciously. This lecture takes a look at the process by which each of us creates our internal reality and how this literaly shapes our experience of the world. Using the analogy of someone who knows nothing about metal, motors, airplanes, or anything mechanical, who comes upon a spinning airplane propeller, Dr. Ryce demonstrates the process by which we form our impressions of the world around us.

So, we have discussed the idea of needing to question whatever it is we think we know, in order to be open to learning new things. We discussed how the lecture on A Course In Miracles makes a major point about how it is our limited perception which causes most of the pain, suffering and misunderstanding in our world. An example in the lecture is how limiting and destructive it is to look at another person and believe you know them. How limiting and incorrect it is to look at someone and believe that they are just a body. The act of looking at someone and making the decision that you know them, without even being able to see, hear, feel, or perceive in any way all the energies which emanate from them, is truly silly.

This week we finished watching the lecture by Dr. Ryce (www.whyagain.com) and the thing that struck me the most as I watched this lecture, yet again, was the level of understanding that I received on several key points, which I had “missed” or only partially understood during the many other times I have watched the lecture.