– Star Trails over Atacama Desert Cacti by European Southern Observatory

This Rumi quote can be taken so many ways. Naturally, he’s saying ‘forge your own path –don’t pay attention to what’s gone before.’ But, as adults I think we should look beyond the surface of these two sentences. From time to time it pays to look at thought processes that come up routinely, the ones that make us feel bad and/or uneasy, and question them. Where are these thoughts coming from?What underlying belief generates these kinds of thoughts. From childhood on we inherit, just absorb through osmosis almost, societal, parental and peer beliefs.  We take them on many times without question . For instance, “Money is hard to come by.” Really? In my hometown of Dallas as is the case with most cities, there seems to be a mega-mansion on every corner. In 2014, 26 billionaires had to be left off the Forbes 400 List, the richest 400 people in the world, because there wasn’t room on the list for them. Not everyone has that limiting belief about money.

It really pays to wait and listen to your thoughts and say to yourself “Oh, really?! Do I really want to believe that? Does it serve me to believe and operate in the world with that limiting belief?”  When we can build more positive thoughts, a positive mind and a better life experience. Any bad feeling that arises, stress, fear, worry, upset, anger, sadness, depression, is the signal to call up the thoughts you had that generated the feeling. We are biochemical entities and our thoughts create the chemical dumps into our bodies that make us feel these various ways.

Challenge your beliefs. Hold them up to a light and discern where they came from. For example on the money issue you may realize “Oh yea, my parents and their parents went through the Great Depression.” Ahhh, no wonder! Forgive the source of your beliefs, forgive yourself for thinking them and establish a new belief on which to act and stand in the world. Some people think that being authentic is all about an apathetic disposition, “Oh well, this is just who I am.” I feel the exact opposite. I believe, since we absorb our beliefs of our world from the world around us from particularly from age one through seven when we are operating in a subconscious mind, it is important to dig deep and compare our limiting beliefs to the desires and wishes of the conscious mind. Examining that gap is an examination of the layers that need to be peeled to get to your authentic self.  In all cases, your guidance system on the authentic path will be your emotional guidance system. Examine the gap. Forge ahead. Be fearless.  Peel the onion to your brilliant authentic self.  Blessings!
Sandra M Bell
Author of “Lunchtime Joy Magnet” & personal coach