I have been listening to the SOGR book in my car and definitely hear something new or more clearly every time. However, I have a query.

We are instructed to have a very clear CMI and to keep it in mind at all times like the sailor focuses on the port. But then, in chapter 11, Acting the Certain Way, Mr Wattles says, "If you act in the present with your mind on the future, your present action will be with a divided mind, and will not be effective.
Put your whole mind into present action."

This confuses me because how can I take action towards my CMI, holding onto it like a port in a storm, and yet not take present action with my mind on my future? Surely the two are opposite.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for all your help and support. x

As we contemplate our CMI, we are to "enter into full enjoyment" as if it has already happened or is happening now. In other words, we are not looking out to the future of - someday - realizing our CMI. We see it as existing or happening right NOW.

Therefore... we can act in the present AND our thoughts are in the present.

I have to admit, sometimes I still have to stop and think about it. Like "why would I even be doing something towards it if I already HAVE IT???" I have to remind myself not to over-think this, just relax and enjoy it...

But here's what I've found. I spend some time each morning contemplating my CMI - as here today. THEN I look at some possible actions and do what feels like the most "efficient" action. When my choices come from the happy, relaxed thinking and feelings of my CMI, I am so inspired and I have way more fun.

Thank you Elain. That is an excellent question. It made me think for a long while and I went back reading chapter 11 again. Here's my take on it. Further in this chapter Wattles said-

"If you are an employee or wage earner and feel that you must change places in order to get what you want, do not 'project' your thought into space and rely upon it to get you another job. It will probably fail to do so.
Hold the vision of yourself in the job you want while you ACT with faith and purpose on the job you have, and you will certainly get the job you want."

Here, "project your thought into space" is like dwelling in a "future". And "hold the vision of yourself in the job you want" is "now", though they sound similar.

When we act now, in order to "get something", the underlining message that "we don't have something now" permeates our psych; that's what gets us "stuck". But when we hold the vision in our mind as if we are having it now, we move towards it quickly. That's why "purpose" is so important. It's the fuel in the action.

I don't know where you are in doing the course, but LifeLab 22 is about this. There are only two steps in Action formula. Step 1 is comtemplating CMI until enthusiasm and immense gratitude are fired up. Don't move to step 2 until this happens; Step 2 is Act Now. Be bold and act with purpose and faith. Why be bold? - It can be taking the course of EFT (from your other post) knowing money will resolve itself. I'm not asking you to act blindly. When you have faith and purpose and a certain knowingness, you will act with joy and enthusiasm. If that hasn't happened (the clarity hasn't come), go back to step 1.

There are a lot of "teachers" out there advocating "action". They say, "You have to act now!", and Wattles said "Act Now!" Be careful, they don't mean the same. Each time you take action, ask, "Am I acting out of fear, or am I acting out of enthusiam, or inspiration?"

Fear attracts to you what you are afraid of. When you have fear, your focus is on what you don't want. For what you want, it's foggy. There's no clarity. Only when you are excited, you have clarity, then you can get it - that which you want. So act now, out of clarity, not fear.

Therefore in Wattles language, acting is not to create what you want, acting is to receive. The creation has already happened in your thought.

And in a broader sense, what is action? It's everything, when I'm contemplating, I'm acting.

quote:

Originally posted by kemila:
Therefore in Wattles language, acting is not to create what you want, acting is to receive. The creation has already happened in your thought.

Thanks, Kemila - loved your whole post - but especially this line.

Elaine, the more I read and re-read the book, the more it all sinks in. (I think you said that in one of your posts.) I never know what's going to suddenly "come together" for me next . I am so enjoying the journey, though. It sounds like you are too. Keep the faith!

Thank you so much to Leslie B and Kemila for your responses. They have definitely helped to clarify things a bit for me. Leslie B, I will try your method of focusing on my CMI in the morning before deciding which actions I should take.

Everything gets more exciting and a bit less scary every day. x

quote:

Originally posted by emcmahon:
Leslie B, I will try your method of focusing on my CMI in the morning before deciding which actions I should take.

Great - fun talking with you. And thanks for giving me credit It actually comes from the PG Course and Rebecca.

That's a great suggestion, to concentrate on your CMI every morning and come up with some possible actions. I write in a journal on the weekends and this weekend I started a description of my life as it is in my mind. Every time I read it I tweak it some. So now I"m going to read it every morning until I get some ideas as to how to "roll with that wave" for the day. It might be just simply doing my very best at my job. Or it might be an idea for something to pursue to make me money, or friends, or whatever.

I was watching Mind Movies for a while each day a couple of years ago and it helped me get into the "mood" for making friends and being healthy and making money. I created a job for myself that brought me lots of money. But I stopped watching the movies and getting into the "feeling" of being wealthy or loved: the movies were not specific enough for me and the feeling didn't last. The job ended, I had to move and leave my good friends.

Your idea of contemplating every morning my CMI and coming up with possible actions will change my outlook for the day PLUS keep me in the CMI mindset because I'll be thinking about the "efficient" actions that are PART OF my CMI. (As compared to being just assignments to take). Thanks!

Here's an example from my own life. I just tried this last night.

If I look at my house the way it IS (appearances,) I can easily become discouraged. I might chastise myself and feel all sorts of bad feelings about myself, my pets, my kids, or my husband. To avoid these bad feelings, I might want to ignore the mess and escape from it by distracting my eyes on the TV, the computer or leaving the house altogether.

This avoidance is actually a step up from the stress I used to feel when trying to force myself to be a "good" housekeeper, and struggling against the feelings of worthlessness that often accompanied seeing a less that perfect house. I can now separate the housework from my self worth.

However, I acknowledge that I really would prefer a serene place to live and relax.

So, I tried this. I PRETEND that my house is spotlessly beautiful, serene and organized. I walk around with a sort of screen in my thoughts, projecting the movie of what I want onto the lens of reality. I pretend that I'm walking around in the environment I imagine -- a lovely, calm feeling. It's very relaxing. Also....

Because of that, I somehow begin to ACT AS IF all were as I want it to be. I act as if everything were ALREADY perfectly clean and organized. Guess what? I automatically scrupulously clean and put away everything I touch. It's as though that one thing were the only thing out of place, each time. No more feeling overwhelmed with the immensity or the pointlessness of the task. No resistance, no arguing with myself, no strain. *sigh* much better.

I bet this would work with other stuff, too. I'm going to try it.

Love and blessings,
Rachel

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I'm pretty convinced that this is what Wally meant when he wrote "Enter into the full enjoyment of what you want." My modern-day word for it is "PRETEND." So easy. Unbelievable.

Love and blessings,
Rachel

I just discovered this quote which supports what I was saying about pretending.

"Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery. Even if you lose, or are defeated by things, your triumph will always be exemplary. And if no one knows it, then there are places that do. People like you enrich the dreams of the worlds, and it is dreams that create history. People like you are unknowing transformers of things, protected by your own fairy-tale, by love.” - Ben Okri

Rachel

I love the quote Rachel.

quote:

Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery.

Discovery of what? Of my inner being, of what I believe to be true and how the beliefs constructed my "world", of who I am before I had those beliefs, of what's really possible without believing I'm restricted...