Day 14 - Family - Outsider

 Family                  (Goal Number:         )               Outsider

kindred, tribespeople, related,  lineage, ancestry, community                  alien, stranger, foreigner, intruder, misfit,

                                                                                                                 blacksheep, other

AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE: 

You treasure youir family, striving at all times to smooth over misunderstandings and maintain  caring and loving relationships. You also have a sense of the faily of humankind. You have a sense of being kindred souls with others. Our ancestry is so intermingled, that even at the physical level, you sense we are at least distant cousins. You try to encourage a sense of community in all groups of which you are a part. You find it difficult to understand violence and war, knowing how we are one family who share this earth. In so many ways, what hurts one, hurts all.

 PARTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENUINE VALUE:

You have lukewarm relationships with most of your family members, and perhaps some very cold and critical relationships with others. This attitude carries over to your attitudes toward humankind in general. You are very selective about who you let in to your inner circle. You do not have a universal outlook toward others. Some are okay, others to be avoided. And some are to be eliminated.

LIVING IN THE IMPOSTOR VALUE:

For you, almost everybody is an outsider. Strangers are immediately suspect. You define foreigners as anyone not in “your” group. They are outsiders to you in all ways, and you apply negative labels to them.You do not see individuals; you see groups and label everyone in the group as the same, usually with a long list of negative descriptors. They are other, and so fair game. You are considered  a prejudiced person, and you are proud of it.

Look at your life. Which is the most true for you?   ____ 1   _____ 2  _____ 3

What to do:

DECISION

Choose. Imagine a world where everyone is treated as family, loved, encouraged, and accepted. Then imagine a world where everyone is treated as an outsider, a suspicious outsider. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be?

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

To shift in the direction of family, select some or all of the following and copy them in order to have them with you. Live with them. Think about them. Absorb them.

•        We are one people, one human family.

•        Each person is unique and also sacred, that is, a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

•        I am getting better at looking beyond the appearance and seeing the inner truth.

•        I see the need for caring behind the pain in the eyes of others.

•        I strive to encourage a sense of community and caring,

•        I welcome new people into my life.

•        We all have something to contribute.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

Ø  Read up on the genealogy that tells us we all descend from one biological female about 200,00 years ago in Africa, and one biological male about 75,000 years ago in the Middle East - all other strands of DNA having died out.

Ø  Interview some of your family members about the stories of their lives with a heart to understand. Perhaps even write some short stories about them, compile them into a booklet, and give it as a gift to other family members.

Ø  Make a point of getting to know some people outside of your usual circle.

Ø  Do something helpful in your town for people you would otherwise never meet, such as volunteer at a food bank, homeless shelter, or a thrift store.

Ø  If you are particularly negative about a certain group, read up on their culture and history.

Day 13 - Second Day of Reflection

Take this time to consider the six value sets of this week Take note of the one that calls to you most, and the one you feel less drawn to or even upsets you.

What about them stirs your iner respones? What do you need to learn from these in particular? 

Spend some time re-reading these two and contemplating them.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit in you is calling you to open to something new and expanding.  Warm to this possibility.

No matter how far you've come, remember God is Infinite, and we can never know all there is. We can continue on the path, letting go of what was, embracing what can be, and walk on toward and with that Infinite One, always striving to be the best version of ourselves. It matters.

Day 12 - Faith - Fear

 Faith                         (Goal Number:         )            Fear

trust, reliance, conviction, expectation, optimism, hope                              anxiety, concern, dread, doubt, agitation, worry,                                                                                                                                                             nervousness

 AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE: 

You are a faith-filled and trusting person, You have faith in God, yourself, and in others. Your trust is constant unless someone shows themselves consistently to be untrustworthy. You yourself are completely trustworthy. Others can rely on you. You have deep convictions to which you are true. You expect good things, and agree with Paul’s thought that all things work together for good for those who trust God and live according to his purpose. You are known as an optimistic person, even in dark times, for you have faith it will work out.  You walk with hope. You are certain great things can happen, and you are exited about being part of it.

 PARTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENUINE VALUE: 

You have faith, but it is not rock solid. You waver from time to time. You are a bit suspicious of certain people or ideas, without having reasons to do so. You think things might work out, or at least some things will. You waver between being optimistic and pessimistic. You expect things might be okay, but you don’t expect great things. Your life is a little wobbly. 

LIVING IN THE IMPOSTOR VALUE:

Your faith is in fear. You are afraid of many things. You have faith that things will not work out. You jmay even expect catastrophe in various areas. You fear whatever is alien to you or your mindset. You fear others will intrude in your life, so you prefer to keep a distance between you and others. Sometimes you experience dread and doubt about things. You tend to get agitated and are nervous. You find yourself worrying, usually needlessly. You have very little hope for things to get better. Your life is grim, and often you sink into hopelessness.

Look at your life. Which is the most true for you?   ____ 1   _____ 2  _____ 3

What to do:

DECISION

Imagine a world where people have positive faith. Great things are happening. The air is electric with hope. Then imagine a world ruled by fear, where people have faith in dreadful things about to happen and so have no hope.

Choose. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be?

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

To shift in the direction of faith, select some or all of the following and copy them in order to have them with you. Live with them. Think about them. Absorb them.

•        Positive Faith guides my life.

•        I am filled with hope.

•        I expect great things.

•        I am known as an optimistic person.

•        I am confident that I will be guided to do great and interesting things.

•        I know, as I have faith that there are solutions for all problems. I am open to solutions.

•        Today is overflowing with promise.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

•        Spend some time contemplating our planet, its vast orbit, and the 584 million miles we all travel each year in that orbit. Realize what faith you have that all will be well.

•        Think of something where fear guides you. Investigate it, Google it, read up on it. Are there a variety of opinions and understandings about it? Is it really necessary to fear it? Is it time to change your mind?

•        Read stories by or about people of great faith.

•        Recall times in your life when you had faith, and it all worked oit.

•        Wander around nature. Do you have faith the tree will remain a tree, a flower will reain a flower, a rock will reain a rock? Or do you fear they will suddenly morph into something else? Realize how much faith you have and tell fear to take a hike.

•        Look in yourself. Weed out any habit, any belief, anything that keeps you trapped in fear. Fill the holes with faith in God, faith in the spark of God in you, faith in healing and wholeness.

• Remind yourself that there are answers and solutions for all problems. Fear only shuts down the mind, so we can’t find them, or even give up looking.

Decide, keep deciding until it sticks, that positive faith is my path, my way to be.

Day 11 - Discipline -- Pandemonium

  Discipline         (Goal Number:         )                           Pandemonium            

self-control, self-command,  aplomb, practice, apprenticeship                       out of control, disorder, confusion, muddle, slipshod

AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE: 

In order to achieve any goal in life, we have to discipline ourselves. As a disciplined person, you have self-control, which empowers you to take charge of your own life.You are under your own command. Of course, you take others into consideration, but you do not give them power over you, blame them, or act as if they are at fault in difficult situations. You are poised and comfortable in your own skin, You practice what you need to improve because you want to be the best you can be. You are willing to apprentice yourself to someone who can teach you what you want and need to learn.

 PARTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENUINE VALUE: 

Living half asleep to discipline leads you into choppy waters pf life. Sometimes you need others to focus and discipline you, for you have not developed the habit of self-discipline. You may find your lack of self-control gets you into arguments or leads to poor decisions.  You are aware you need practice in one or more areas, but you are sporadic in that practice. You do not consistently seek out mentors who can teach you what you need to know.

LIVING IN THE IMPOSTOR VALUE:

Because you have not cultivated self-control and discipline, you likely find much of your life out of control. You live with disorder, from lack of organization of possessions to the many messes you created in most areas of your life. This leads to confusion for yourself and others. You cannot be counted on to keep your word because you have so much chaos, plus what you do is not done well, it is slipshod. You tend to blame others, and you give excuses that increasingly sound farfetched.

Look at your life. Which is the most true for you?   ____ 1   _____ 2  _____ 3

What to do:

DECISION

Choose. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be? Consider how a world with pandemonium as the norm would be.  Decide today to shift to self-control and self- discipline.

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

To shift in the direction of discipline, select some or all of the following and copy them in order to have them with you. Live with them. Think about them. Absorb them.

·        Self-control is a new skill I am ready to learn.

·        I  will stick with it until I succeed, for I know self-control is empowering.

    I am learning to focus my energies.

·        I choose to be a person who is in charge of myself.

·        I become more and more aware of where I am undisciplined, and I begin to correct myself.

·        I am ready to stop avoiding what needs to be done.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

• •        Look around your home. What clutter do you see? Each day clean up some of it and organize your space neatly. Everything has its place, so it is easy to find and use whatever you need when you are organized. Remember, in the long run it is a time saver.
• •        Look over your work. What areas do you need to organize, complete, or end? Start doing what needs to be done.
• •        Honestly survey your life, and see where you need more skills or knowledge. Explore where you can get that.
• •        Spend time each day practicing for improvement.

•             If you catch yourself blaming someone else for your mess, stop, apologize and take responsibility. It's your life, own it,

 

Day 10 - Creativity - Imitation

 Creativity         (Goal Number:         )                         Imitation

.inspiration, innovation, originality, authenticity, freshness                              impostor, drivel, inanity, mimicry, copy, repeat

 AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE:

Living as a fully creative person, you are filled with inspiration and are an inspiration to others. You see possibilities for innovation in many ways and areas, not just in your main area of expertise. Originality calls to you, for you are not satisfied with how it has always been. It is important to you to be authentically you, even though it may ruffle some feathers or even cause some upset. You are drawn to authentic and creative people. You look with fresh eyes, seeing new and better, more interesting ways to do or be.

PARTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENJUINE VALUE:

You are sometimes hesitant to put forth your creative ideas. You do not fully embrace the creativity within you.You are somewhat timid about inspirations that come to you, carefully selecting with whom to share. You see ways to innovate some things, but ignore many possibilities. Occasionally, you dare to do or say something original, but you are not confident about it. You hide parts of yourself, feeling not always safe to be fully who you are. Life can feel stale at times.           

LIVING IN  THE IMPOSTOR  VALUE:

You  feel like an imitation, an impostor yourself. Your conversations are shallow, and tend to be about other people or simply repeats of soundbites.  Your words could be called inane or simply drivel. Your ideas and words are copies of others’ ideas you may have heard on the media or from your favorite politician or celebrity.You repeat the thoughts of others without examining them, comparing them, or considering anything new.You rarely, if ever, attempt something new and different.You are out of touch with your authentic self. Your life tends to be one note and boring.

DECISION 

Life without creativity is less than a full life. We are in the image and likeness of our Creator, so we have an inner need to express creatively; it is part of our nature. If everyone suppressed their creativity, there would be no great music, no beautiful art, no scientific breakthroughs.To the extreme lack of creativity, we would be still be in the Stone Age. Your creativity can bring joy to your life, and to others. Withholding creativity holds us all back. Risk being all you can be.

Choose. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be?

What to do:

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

* To shift in the direction of creative ideas and  experiences, select some or all of the following and copy them in order to have them with you. Live with them. Think about them. Absorb them.

 *I give myself permission to begin to be more and more creative.

* I don’t have to be perfect. I simply have to begin where I am.*                      

* I welcome inspiration.

* I am allowing myself to be more and more authentic.

* I see each new day, each new hour, filled with freshness, for it has never been lived before.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

*Each day for a week do one creative thing. Doodle, sketch, make up a song or poem, put on music and dance freestyle around your home, write about an imaginary situation far in the past or far in the future.

*Sit outside and watch the sunset every day for several days. Notice how varied they are, and yet are all beautiful.

*Go to a museum and celebrate the great variety of human creativity. Don’t judge it, just rejoice that humans have thought all this up and made it.

*Start a journal noting creativity you see or hear. Notice when someone is just reciting talking points or unexamined ideas. Take note of authenticity or lack of it.

* Play with ideas. What if…..? What’s another way to look at…..?

*Read some biographies of creative people.

*Dare to create something from inspiration.

*Risk being ajuthentic, being you as a unique, one of a kind person. You are no longer a pale

 imitation.

Day 9 - Cooperation - Opposition

 Cooperation     (Goal Number:         )                         Opposition

teamwork, supportive, consensus, reciprocity, alignment                              self-serving, alone, protest, contradict, clash, friction

AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE:  

Something inside of you knows that cooperation is a positive choice. Working together as a team is outstanding and can produce outstanding experiences along the way as well as excellent results. There is so much fun in doing projects when people support one another, coming together to reach a common goal. When people work like this, everyone is free to look at every aspect and facet openly, without preconceived notions, and arrive at a fresh solution.  You remember how empowering it is when a group reaches consensus. Everyone feels a part of it. No one is left out. Everyone is valued. Everyone wins. The times you have experienced cooperation, you have noticed that there is no attachment to positions, but people simply working together. It feels more like play than work. In such an experience, you share, they share, there are no secrets, no withholding of information. Everything is reciprocal. It is as if a well-oiled and synchronized moment has emerged. People feel in alignment.  You truly want to have more of these experiences.

PTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENUINE VALUE:  

You may have bought the story about competition and opposition, at least partially. You may find that you often would rather do it yourself, even when cooperation would be a better choice. Of course, there are times and moments and projects that need to be done alone, but there are also times and moments and projects that would be better served in a team atmosphere. You, however,  are distrusting of the help of others in many situations. When you do work in a team, you may hold part of yourself back for safekeeping. You may find you attract to you people who do not work well with you, making teamwork difficult. You want to make sure that you get credit for what you produce, so you have some friction and ego clashes in working with others. To the degree you believe in competition, in the sense that there have to be winners and losers in all things, you find yourself alone and overworked.

LIVING IN THE IMPOSTOR VALUE: 

You have forgotten cooperation. You experience having opposition to your ideas and you experience opposing the ideas of others with vehemence. Life seems like an uphill struggle to you. The choices that you make are not in consensus and joy but are self-serving. It’s you against the world , for you are alone. You protest wrongs and want to straighten the others out. You contradict what they say,  and they contradict you. There are clashes at home, at work, and even with strangers. Your life has a lot of friction in it. You may have told yourself that the friction creates sparks and makes life interesting and exciting. You always have ways of explaining to yourself why you are living in the impostor value system.

Look at your life. Which is the most true for you?   ____ 1   _____ 2  _____ 3

 What to do:

DECISION

To retire from the exhausting place of living in opposition, let yourself come to the decision for cooperation from the inside out. Picture what families, cities, nations, and any groupings you can think of, would be like if they constantly expressed opposition and all that this means. Imagine your life filled with clashes, friction and loneliness. Now turn the tables. Imagine life for all of these examples when cooperation is the choice. See them supportive, working as teams in alignment. Imagine yourself taking the lead to establish a new culture of cooperation in your home, job and community.

Choose. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be?

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

To shift in the direction of cooperative experiences, select some or all of the following and copy them in order to have them with you. Live with them. Think about them. Absorb them.

•     I have often longed to be supportive and to have support.

•     I know I can find new ways to be cooperative. I do find the way.

•     I am immediately alert to falling out of cooperation, for I notice that reciprocity is absent. The moment I notice this, I stop, think and change direction.

•     Being part of a team is much more fun and productive than always being alone.

•     I am conscious as I select the teams in which I work, alert to those who are willing to work in consensus. I know that some people are either not ready, willing or able to learn teamwork skills. I also know that many people are ready, willing and able, and others are teachable. I find these people, and I seek them out.

•     I am willing to inspire cooperation.

•     The biggest challenges on our planet require teamwork to solve. I want to be part of the solution and not the problem.

•     I am open to learn what I need to learn in order to be able to work in harmony with others.

•     I know when teamwork is the best choice and when it is a better choice to work solo.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

•     Spend a few minutes thinking about times you have worked in a team where cooperation was achieved. Remember how that felt. Let your mind remember what worked and how the team was developed.

•     Select some group in your life in which you would like to develop more cooperation. Make copies of this section for each person. Call a meeting of the group. Share your idea. Give them the paper. Ask each to speak and respond. Welcome the group wisdom to develop whatever needs to happen. Be clear that whatever develops, in order for it to be cooperative, all members participate and agree. There is no preconceived outcome to be manipulated into being. This is an open-ended kind of experience.

•     Look for opportunities to work in a win/win way with people. Reciprocity is an essential part of cooperation.

•     Begin to make decisions based on consensus. In consensus, everyone involved speaks whatever they want to speak. Often there is a period of silence. The decision reached is agreeable to everyone. It is not a vote where some say “yea” and some say “nay.” It is a decision where all feel good and in alignment.

•     Find at least one way each day to be supportive.

•     Remind yourself that being “right” is not the objective. Having the highest outcome for everyone concerned IS the objective.

•     If you find your life slipping into friction, stop, take 3 deep breaths, and use one of the focusing statements, repeating it until you are focused. Now, ask yourself, “What would be the supportive thing to do here.” Listen, trust and do it.

 

Day 8 - Compassion - Insensibility

 Compassion     (Goal Number:            )            Insensibility   

considerateness, benevolence, mercy, kindness, goodwill                   unfeeling, unperceptive, unkind, heartless, 

                                                                                                            unsympathetic

AWAKE TO THE GENUINE VALUE:  

Experiencing compassion is one sure sign of being spiritually awake and alive. When you are truly awake, you are considerate of yourself and others, knowing that each one is developing and expanding. You take into consideration that the person in front of you may be having a challenging day. You look with benevolence and offer mercy. You are not quick to judge, for you realize that you cannot fully know what struggle is going on within the life and soul of another as they wrestle with the current opportunity life has presented them. You exude goodwill for everyone. This is also true for yourself. Knowing that compassion is an essential ingredient in an awakened life, you pledge to be especially careful to look art yourself and others through the gentle eyes of compassion. You remember how important it is to you. Something in you recognizes that your life will be in good shape when you totally remember compassion.

PARTIALLY ASLEEP TO THE GENUINE VALUE:  

You may find yourself dulled to compassion with perhaps lukewarm compassion for others and little for yourself. You may be selective in your doling out of compassion, having more consideration for what you deem acceptable problems or for those you judge as worthy and deserving of your good graces. You may find that compassionate responses are not your first reactions to yourself or others. You may find yourself having to work at being compassionate and have a bit of resentment for having to give it.

LIVING IN THE IMPOSTOR VALUE:

 You may be disappointed at yourself if you have fallen asleep to compassion. Relax, it wants to emerge. Life is muted when compassion is asleep or under the sway of the amnesia mist. Such an experience has an uneasy quality to it. With your merciful part shut down, you most likely pride yourself as being discriminating as you look for opportunities to be judge and jury of others. You would rather be right than have peace and joy. You are not perceptive about what is going on in deeper levels of a person or situation. The way you speak and act is often unkind, even heartless. You are not sympathetic to the plight of others, and probably not to yourself either. You find that frequently, even tiny things irritate you and give you an opportunity to pounce on yourself or others. It is not a kinder and gentler world that you live in.

Look at your life. Which is the most true for you?   ____ 1   _____ 2  _____ 3

 What to do:

DECISION

To re-establish your natural compassionate nature, you first need to decide in favor of compassion versus insensibility. It needs to be clear in your mind that compassion is the choice that reflects your true and original inner inclination, your original nature. To assist you to do this, imagine the world devoid of compassion, living in an unfeeling, unkind way. Imagine your life totally heartless and unsympathetic. Now imagine a world filled with compassion, with people having goodwill toward one another. Imagine yourself as a fully developed, compassionate person.

Choose. Which do you want for yourself and your world? Which way would you like life to be?

FOCUSING YOUR MIND

Going for the target you have chosen

To take on more of the vibration of compassion, select whichever of the following statements your heart knows would be helpful to you, copy them on a note card and carry them around with you. Stop many times and read the cards, and think about them. Open your heart to them. Feel them soaking nutrients into your parched soul. Let the renewal restore you.

•     My deepest inner self desires a compassionate world.

•     I realize that compassion is essential for any spiritually awake person.

•     I feel more and more goodwill toward myself and others.

•     The moment I slip into insensibility, something triggers me to notice and change course.

•     I enjoy finding ways to express my kindness.

•     My Higher Power is a Compassionate Higher Power.

•     I am a considerate person.

•     What a relief to finally let go of judgmental ways.

•     It is fun to look for opportunities to be truly helpful and kind.

REINFORCING BEHAVIORS

Action steps to take to get off the log

•     Find at least one kind thing to do each and every day --- and do it.

•     If someone hurts you, stop and think how you can show mercy without approving of the hurtful behavior. Rise above the situation. Be bigger than it.

•     Look back over the times you have been inconsiderate. Are there any amends your heart knows you need to make? If so, make them.

•     Keep a log of the ways you can choose, and have chosen, compassion. Look for examples in literature of how others have been compassionate. Think of possible situations in life and of how many options you have to respond. Think of a variety of compassionate responses. Practice in your mind ahead of time so that it will become more and more comfortable and natural for you to respond with compassion.

•     Several times a day, try to imagine how it would be to walk in someone else’s shoes. Ask someone questions about their life, and endeavor to understand them and how they got to where they are in life.

•     If you make what you declare to be a “mistake,” have mercy upon yourself. Put the situation in context of your whole life. Look for patterns. Look for possible lessons. Look for gifts in the situation that can set you free in new ways. Learn from this and be thankful for the lesson. Imagine how you could handle such an occurrence in a more appropriate way in the future. Practice this in your mind. Take every such experience as a guide for learning and growing and making new choices.

•     Look into the mirror and speak kindly to yourself at least once each and every day.

•     If a tragedy in the news touches your heart, send love, donate something useful, write a kind note. Become gently and kindly involved.

•     If you find your life slipping into unkindness, stop, take 3 deep breaths, and use one of the focusing statements, repeating it until you are focused. Now, ask yourself what would be the compassionate thing to do here, listen and trust.