Stinkin' Thinkin' Disempowered Thinking

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It seems so unfair to allow the children of our world to grow up without the basic understanding of how our thoughts become things. It's unethical! Understanding our intentions and the power of positive perspectives is every bit as important, perhaps more so, than reading and writing. Why? Because stinkin' thinkin' almost always starts in childhood. And it's preventable. It's so easy to teach children these concepts. Children want to be loved, lovable, and loving. They are also eager to share their love without conditions. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to squelch their gentle natures and turn their loving spirits to sadness or worse, anger. We inadvertently teach them our fears and our limiting beliefs. How many of your beliefs about life are the beliefs from your parents imprinted upon you? We restrict children's natural creativity and their natural ability for self-expression. Were you encouraged to sing and dance and draw freely when you were a child? We fail to recognize that their need for freedom, when restricted, often leads to self-conscious teens and limited adults.

Interestingly enough, beliefs are nothing more than thoughts we have thought often enough to believe they are true. It doesn't mean they are true. But we believe that they are. Someone tells us he or she had a horrible experience with a snake and we develop a belief that snakes are dreadful. Someone tells us the neighbor is creepy and we suddenly see his or her every move as sinister. Our religion tells us another religion is wrong so we believe those of another faith are misguided. Clever advertising slogans and marketing campaigns are built upon this premise. Advertisers want you to hear something often enough that you will believe it to be true!

Nearly every one of us can remember a situation where we were laughed at or felt out of place or worse, were bullied or made fun of by another student or a teacher. Seldom does the other person really intend to cause us hurt, long-term harm or sadness. No one purposely intends to teach us to devalue ourselves, right? Yet, the comments are forever etched within our subconscious. We never forget them. And if we receive other comments, thoughts or feelings which support the original comment, soon we believe it to be true. It becomes our truth.

Recently, I was reunited with a friend from grade school. We both attended an event and I recognized him. I study human behavior and can often be found watching the dynamics and interchanges between peopl