Book Excerpt Chapter Five: Work on Yourself First

Align Yourself with God and Clarify the Goal

p. 110 - You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy by James Blanchard Cisneros.

My friend, it is only at the thought level that we can exercise choice. Just as what we see comes from what we value, so does what we do come from what we think. My friend, we are in paradise, but if we choose to believe that we are in a dump, then that is where we'll find ourselves. Where we stand is not nearly as important as where we think we stand. Where we think we stand unconsciously comes from where we want to be standing. Where we want to be standing, comes from where we believe we deserve to be standing. It is this belief; it is what we value that we will see. We could stand in the middle of heaven surrounded by angels, but if we consider ourselves not worthy enough, we will never see it or them. Again, we could stand in the middle of heaven surrounded by angels, but if we believe we deserve hell, then that is what we will see. In the end, it is our choice to make.

If, through our perceptions, we are experiencing any type of negativity it is due to negative conditioning by the ego. The ego will always respond first in any given situation, because this is how we have been trained and taught. We have been taught that the ego's world is the real world, and thus we think like it, and think it normal and correct to behave this way. If instead of listening to the ego, we align ourselves with God first, we can gain clarification about what it is that we want to accomplish, which will allow us to take control and handle any situation in a way that serves our highest good. I like to ask myself what Jesus would do in my place. What would Jesus' goal be in this situation?  How would Jesus think, act and react? Again, I would like to remind you that Jesus is simply the example that I use because I feel a connection to Him. You can also use Him as an example, or you may equally and just as successfully use whichever "self-actualized being" you feel the most connected to.

Let me offer you three small but personal examples of how I worked on myself to undo the negative conditioning taught to me by the outside world and the ego in my life.
 

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of the great spiritual / self development book You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy by James Blanchard Cisneros.