Our feelings are the keys with which we open the doors of
perceiving reality. We can best remember past events when we feel the
emotions we felt at the time of those memories... and feeling those
emotions again opens the doors of those realities in this present moment
now.
To better understand what I'm talking about, take whatever mood you are in
right now, and try to remember an event from your past in which you were
feeling the opposite feeling. For example, if you are feeling content and
amused, see whether you can retrieve a memory from a time when you were
feeling discontent and somber, without actually feeling those feelings.
Chances are that you will only be able to retrieve memories that are linked
to whatever emotions you were feeling at that time, whatever those emotions
may be.
So why does this matter? What difference does it make in our lives to know
that we store memories by feeling?
Most of us have a deep subliminal need to find a sense of paradise lost...
a vague recollection of being perfectly loved and cared for, without the
stress and strains of everyday life as we know it. We miss a feeling of
being completely alive, totally blessed with love, connected, and to know
that we truly matter. These are the emotional keys that open the doors to
bringing Heaven to Earth.
Have you noticed that some people seem sulky and bitter, no matter what is
happening around them, while others seem to be enjoying life much more
fully? The difference in these two approaches to life has more to do with
attitude than it does with individual circumstance... the woman who feels
that she's been a victim of circumstance and continues to wallow in this
emotion day after day after day is selectively denying herself the
opportunity to receive synchronous gifts from the universe that come to
those who feel love and gratitude.
We know this is true when we look to some of our great spiritual leaders,
and note that they rarely (if ever) indulged in wallowing in self-pity.
The Dalai Lama certainly could be said to have every right to be wallowing
in self-pity, yet instead he is the perfect example of a man who knows that
love and joy can be found within.
My preferred way to open the doors to my favorite realities is to practice
a meditation of loving appreciation, in which I feel blessed and lucky to
be the recipient of divine good fortune. I remember feelings of the
greatest love I've ever known, and hold those feelings of love for as long
as I can (even if that's only one minute).
When I start each day feeling blessed and lucky, chances are that
throughout the day I'll remember to do this meditation again... letting go
of my resentments about past injustices and worries about the future, and
simply feeling the greatest love imaginable to me.
We can be ACTIVE observers who choose how our days unfold by opening each
day with the emotional key required to unlock the best possible day. We can
feel loved by choice... entraining our hearts with the loving feelings that
are the key to opening the MOST loving day... thereby opening the door to
that reality. At every opportunity throughout the day, we can ask, "How
good can it get?", summoning the best possible experiences.
When I do this exercise, I find parking spots where I need them, meet
long-lost friends unexpectedly, get wonderful packages and letters in the
mail, and find all sorts of delightful things I've long wished for coming
into my life as if by magic.
Please don't just take my word for this... do try it at home!
