NaturalWealthJournal

“There is no such thing as separation. We do not end where our bodies end. We do not stop when we die. We are timeless, multi-dimensional beings walking around in temporary physical form and we are capable of far, far more than we have been led to believe.” (from the Natural Wealth Course.)

Dear Gaye,

What we focus on expands. I’ve found this to be so true not just in my life, but working with clients too.

For instance: a little while ago I had a client who, although very successful was very unsettled. He didn’t have any big trauma going on in his life, nor did he have something “deeply buried” from his past that was causing him pain. But he was sleeping badly, not able to focus and generally anxious and on edge for much of the time. In other words he was stressed.

This is a common thing for many of us right now. The pace of life is hectic and the world moves with ever-increasing speed. Pebbles (our feelings, thoughts and actions) are dropped into the pond each nano-second (by us and by others) and their ripples meet each other so often that interference-patterns can be created.

With this particular client I simply suggested that he stop watching television for a week. “Put your focus onto pretty much anything else. Give your mind and body time to relax.” I then explained how television ratchets up tension in the body rather than relaxing us as so many people think it does.

About a month later I heard from my him. “Thanks so much, Richard,” he said. “I stopped watching TV like you suggested and the transformation is just amazing. I’ve started walking in nature again, I spend time in my garden, I read books…and my wife and I are talking like we haven’t talked in years. It’s like I suddenly have my life back!” Bingo!

Over the past five years or so I’ve seen a huge rise in the number of people who are coming to me suffering from intense stress. It’s a big problem and is now the commonest cause of heart disease (the biggest killer) in the West. Here’s one theory on why this might be.

We live in an age of over-stimulation. Teen-age years have become screen-age years, with our kids spending several hours per day on gaming consoles or squinting at their portable devices. Screens seem to greet us everywhere we go with messages of terrible things happening all across the globe. The virtual world is fast encroaching on the real one. You only have to get off a plane to see what 90% of people do as soon as possible: turn on the cell phone!

Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and emails bombard us each and every second of the day. If we’re not careful we can get subtly drawn into returning to the screen more and more often. We just can’t seem to help ourselves. We feel we just have to send out another tweet, rush to reply to our Facebook comments or check the stats on our blogs etc.

It’s addictive. And the more we pay attention to it, the more stressed we become. And the more stressed we become, the more agitated are the ripples we that send out on the pond, which means we spread stress to others.

One of the prime side-effects of this addiction is loneliness. People spend increasing amounts of time on their own. And even if they are taking part in an online community activity, this is no substitute for real relationships in the three-dimensional world. Loneliness and isolation are racing up the charts when it comes to causes of stress-related illness. The results are plain for all to see. A few years back I predicted that one of the fastest-growing businesses in the coming decade will be “Screen-Disorder Rehab Units”. It’s happening as we speak.

So how do we deal with the bombardment? One way is to take time each day to ourselves. Give ourselves a platform firmly based in something that rests heart, body and mind. If we can find time in nature so much the better. It’s a known fact that simply thinking about a plant lowers the heart rate and reduces stress.

But getting into nature is not possible for many of us. So what else can we do? Well, we can learn to put our attention to things that feed and nurture us. I don’t just mean going out and playing sport or visiting the gym here. I mean shifting focus so that new areas of life expand. How do we do this? By using our imagination.

Imagination is a real power within us. And its effects are very real. That’s because our subconscious minds cannot tell the difference between real and imagined input. And our subconscious minds are far, far more powerful than our conscious minds.

For example: I have a fear of heights. It’s totally irrational, but try as I might I haven’t been able to fix it. Put me in a car driving along a narrow country lane (something that happens often!) and I’m just fine. Put me in the same car on a lane equally narrow on the side of a mountain with a sheer fall to one side and I’m a gibbering wreck. What makes the difference between the two situations? My imagination. Pure and simple.

I imagine the car falling away down the side of the mountain, I start sweating, my muscles tense up and I feel sick. Logic might shout at me that there’s no reason for this, but that doesn’t matter. My imagination wins the day, every time.

The great thing about this is that we all have imagination. And it’s free! So, we can use it to take us to places where we can relax. We can put our attention onto simple things that help us relax, refresh and heal. If we do this each day it builds up (like going to the gym to workout) and pretty soon we find ourselves able to cope with the daily stressors much better. We’re literally creating our own reality, rather than being pushed around by life.

We are what we put our attention to. Or, as you say: “What we focus on

expands…” And the fun part of that is that, so long as we are not totally addicted to the adrenalin-pumping world of the screen, we can choose where we put that focus.

Imagination is the key. It beats willpower every time.

Where is your attention going? What life are you imagining for yourself, right now?

Love and best wishes,

Richard.

Richard’s Sanctuary Creation MP3 is available as a totally free download at www.ignitewealthnow.com Taking you on an inner journey to create and maintain a place of true tranquility within, this 28 minute audio-recording is a must for anyone suffering from anxiety, stress or confusion.

Also available at www.ignitewealthnow.com is Richard’s full 17-part course Natural Wealth, the Instruction Manual to the Great Game of Life.