Many people, especially those on a Spiritual path often refer to the heart as being “open” or “closed”.  While this may seem to be the reality, I would offer another possibility for your consideration.  That possibility would be that the heart is always open for that is its natural state.

In those moments (or days or weeks or years) when we “experience” our heart or the heart of another as being closed, what actually is is occurring is that we/they are identifying more with the chaos, confusion, and fear of the mind, and this blocks the awareness of the open heart.

We came into this world with a heart that was wide open and overflowing with unconditional love.  No matter what you have experienced since the day of your birth, no matter the pain or disappointments, your heart which is your connection to Spirit is always open and always unconditionally loving.

What changes are our thoughts about life and for too many people these thoughts come from a place of lack, of fear, of unworthiness, etc. and this blocks our awareness to our of our heart and our natural way of being and expressing ourselves in the world.

In order to reawaken our awareness of our heart and our natural way of being in the world we need to dissolve those thoughts that are blocking our awareness and disconnecting us from our hearts.  There are many ways in which one could choose to do this; through hypnosis, affirmations, handwriting, prayer, etc.

As with anything, I encourage you to choose what resonates with you and do it for at least seven days and observe any changes that take place.  If you become aware of positive changes taking place, then keep doing what you’re doing.  If after seven days you don’t experience any positive change or shift, you may want to re-evaluate how you are doing what you are doing, or simply do something else.

For those of you who may respond well to guided imagery, I recently recorded two guided imagery’s that will specifically help in dissolving the negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, so that you can get out of your head and into your heart.

I have uploaded them on “YouPublish” and the links are below.  You can listen to these guided imagery’s on on your computer, or download them for free.

http://www.youpublish.com/files/20624/Connecting-To-The-Passion-Of-Your-Champions-Heart

http://www.youpublish.com/files/18894/Conquering-Negativity

If you would like further assistance or guidance, please email me at mitchell@thechampionsheart.com

If you enjoyed this post, please comment and/or share it with others.  If you have a suggestion for future posts, please send an email to mithcell@thechampionsheart.com

I have said it before, and I think it bears repeating.  Everything, whether positive or negative begins with a thought.  When we experience fear, it is because of what we think “might happen”  when we experience joy, it is because of the positive thoughts that we have.

We all experience negative thoughts from time to time.  Some experience negative thoughts throughout the day every day.  These negative thoughts are most often the result of our mind “predicting” all the awful things that could happen.

The way to overcome this is to train your mind to be focused in the present on the task at hand.  The way you can begin to train your mind is to simply be aware of when your mind drifts to thoughts of the future, and gently bring the focus back to the here and now.

The question to be asking yourself throughout the day, is “what is the most valuable thing I can be doing in this moment?”  Once you have asked and answered that question, your whole being; mentally, physically, emotionally, Spiritually, should be focused on completing that thing.

Your mind may still wander and have thoughts of the future, and if this happens you simply continue to bring it back to the here and now.  In time, through your continued awareness of your thoughts, your mind will focus for longer and longer periods of time on the present moment.

The end result will be less and less fear and anxiety about the future, which will free up a whole lot of energy for more positive thoughts and activities.  So as an experiment, just make a commitment that for the next seven days you are going to be more aware of your thoughts.

Commit to bringing your thoughts back to the present whenever you become aware of them drifting toward the future or back to the past.  After seven days if you have been faithful in your commitment, you may be so pleasantly surprised with the results that you will want to commit for another seven days, or maybe even thirty days.

Everything begins with a thought.  What are you thinking right now?

If you would like to suggest a topic for a future article please send an email to mitchell@TheChampionsHeart.com

It’s Celebration Friday, and today I want to celebrate your goals.  The fact is that it is part of our nuerology to be goal seeking.  It is a natural part of who we are.  As you probably already know there is a difference between seeking and achieving.

If you want to be more successful at achieving goals, then there are five questions that you absolutley must ask and answer for yourself.  I will list and explain them below.

1.  What Do You Want?

In answering this question, be sure to answer it in the positive.  For example:

I want to be fit trim and vibrantly healthy.

NOT

I want to lose weight

2.  How will you know when you have achieved it?

What will be different in your life that will let you know that you have achieved your goal?  what will it look like, feel like, what will you hear?  If your goal is to be fit trim and vibrantly healthy, some of the things that might let you know you have achieved it are a) you’re able to fit into the clothes you wore in college, b) you can run a mile without huffing and puffing, c) you feel energized throughout the day, d) people are complimenting you on the way you look, etc.

3.  Is it within your control?

Is the goal something you can achieve on your own, or do you need help/cooperation from someone else?  In the example above, you could most likely achieve it on your own (although you may need to consult various sources for information).

What if you said your goal was to get a new job?  Is that within your control?  Not really.  You have to rely on someone else making the decision to hire you.  If I were coaching you, I would suggest that you tweek the goal to something you can control.  Perhaps stating something like I want to be prepared to accept a new job.  Preparing yourself is definitely within your control.

4.  Will achieving your goal have any negative impact on you or anyone/anything you care about?

Too often we never think of any possible negative consequences of achieving our goals.  What if your goal is to prepare yourself to accept a new job, and you are offered a job in which you must be away from home 3-5 days a week.  If you are recently married and have a newborn son, accepting the job would achieve your goal, however the negative consequences may not be worth it.

5.  What would be an immediate next step you could take toward achieving your goal?

If your goal is to be fit, trip and vibrantly healthy, you might decide to start walking ten or more minutes a day.  If your goal is to prepare yourself to prepare yourself to accept a new job, then you might choose to sign up for a new class to become stronger in one of your areas of weakness.

By asking and answering the five questions above you ensure that you are giving your subconscious mind the information it needs to assist you in achieving your goal.  You also ensure that you are not wasting your time on a goal that is either not within your control, or that may negatively impact yourself or someone you care about.

I encourage you to take the time in the begining to explore these questions, and you will set yourself up to be much more successful in achieving your goals.