Taking Responsibility
How to Take More Responsibility For Our Lives
Dear friends,
We've gotten more rave reviews for the lesson below than for any of the other lessons which are part of our free, online courses. Many have written telling how the heart and mind expanding ideas presented in this lesson on taking responsibility helped to put their lives on an entirely new track.
Could it be that the more we take responsibility for how we interpret everything in our lives and world, the more we can create the lives and world we all know are possible? Read on to find out. This lesson takes about one hour to complete, so I invite you to find the spaciousness to really absorb the inspiring materials presented.
With very best wishes for a transformed world,
Fred Burks for PEERS and WantToKnow.info
Insight Course:
Lesson Three
Taking Responsibility for Our Lives
It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do with it.
W. Mitchell, Inspirational Speaker
Welcome to lesson three of the Insight Course. After learning in the last lesson how the media at times manipulates public perception in disempowering ways, it is easy to blame those in the media for many of the problems in our world. Yet in order to be the change we want to see in the world, taking responsibility for our own lives is an essential quality.
As a first step to exploring this key topic, the below two-page article discusses the roles of victim and creator, and how when the going gets tough, we have choice as to which role we play.
https://www.momentoflove.org/g/victim_or_creator_vs
Next, W Mitchell is a man who speaks from rich experience. The below inspiring 15-minute video reminds us that it's not what happens to us that matters, but rather what we do about it. In spite of tremendous adversity in his life, W Mitchell chooses again and again not to be a victim, but rather to be a powerful creative force in life, and an inspiration to all who know him.
https://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/video/what_matters_w_mitchell
It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what you do with it! After watching this inspiring video clip, think of all the ways you may have blamed yourself or others for shortcomings in yourself or your life.
Does it really serve you to blame anyone or anything? What if we choose to accept our circumstances, to accept our lives, and to accept our world just as they are? Aren't we then freer to move powerfully forward and transform into a more effective, inspiring presence for ourselves and for those around us?
For a thought-provoking three-page essay by a renowned relationship counselor giving more valuable ideas on this potent topic, please see the link below.
https://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories/hendricks.chemistryofblame1
So would you rather be right or be happy? The two short, inspiring stories of father and son healing below beautifully demonstrate how one person alone letting go of the need to be right and then taking personal responsibility can dramatically change a significant relationship for the better.
https://www.inspiringcommunity.org/inspiring... - Scott's story (two pages)
https://www.personalgrowthcourses.net/stories... - Fred's story (two pages)
Healing and mastery come as we embrace all that is exactly as it is, while taking complete responsibility for our relationship with it. ~ Dane Colby
Have we forgotten that we always have choice
over how we perceive the world? ~ Peter Russell
Both Scott and Fred changed the most challenging relationships in their lives by consciously committing to let go of blame, to understand their fathers, and most importantly, to open to love. For whom in your life are you still holding blame?
Take a minute now to think about it. Are you willing to change those relationships? Do you know that you have choice and that you alone can change and invite deeper connection into all your relationships?
We invite you to consider how you can let go of blame and open to deeper, more meaningful connections in all relationships in your life. Miracles happen when we set our will in motion and hold firm to the intention to support all around us.
Taking this further, what might happen if a person chose to take responsibility not only for everything in their personal life, but even for everything in other people's lives? This may sound strange, yet the below article shows how miracles blossomed when one caring individual had the courage to take responsibility to a greatly expanded level. Please read this inspiring article before moving on.
https://www.WantToKnow.info/070701imsorryiloveyou... - Ho'oponopono
Dr. Len states that everything in our lives is our responsibility and that the world is our creation. Though this may seem a bit difficult to swallow, think about it for a minute. Don't each one of us have some influence on what happens around us? Doesn't our individual perception of what is happening in the world around us in some way determine our experience of the world?
Remember that if you are willing to consider taking responsibility for everything that happens, this includes not only all of the craziness happening in the world, but also all of the amazingly inspiring and profound things happening everywhere. Consider what it might be like to take responsibility for all of this together.
We invite you to spend some time pondering this one. What if simply changing our deepest held beliefs and perceptions about ourselves and our world literally changes the world? Let it be so, and let it begin with me!
Consider in your life who you are blaming or holding in judgment. Draw up a list of anyone who falls in this category. For some people, the heaviest blame and judgment goes towards themselves. If you fall into this category, make a list of aspects of yourself towards which you harbor these feelings.
Whether the issue is with yourself, others, or both, think about what steps you might take in order to shift towards acceptance and love. Before moving on to the next lesson, consider taking at least one step or developing one intention to let go of blame and judgment and move towards personal responsibility, love, and deeper connection.
Even with all of the tools presented in this lesson, it often takes a long-term, continued commitment to make meaningful changes. These issues are rooted quite deep in almost all people's lives. Yet you can choose to take the first step on this journey now. Start with whatever step feels right and best for you.
Transforming blame and judgment is often like peeling away the layers of an onion. When you first start, the onion may be huge. Yet after you whittle away enough layers one step at a time, it can eventually become relatively easy to deal with and transform these challenges as they arise in your life. As you release each layer, you shift ever more fully from the role of victim into that of a powerful creator with infinite potential.
Take some time to let the wisdom of this lesson integrate into your being in whatever way is most empowering for you. Taking personal responsibility without the need for blame is a key to integrating everything presented in the Insight Course.
To close this lesson, please watch the short, inspiring video below. It's a fun, one-minute clip reminding us of the interconnectedness of all in our world.
www.personalgrowthcourses.net/video/wombat... - The Wombat: One World
When you are ready to move on, please be prepared that lesson four will take us back into the shadow side as we explore the root causes of war. Through understanding the underlying reasons for some of the major challenges facing our world, we can powerfully support each other in taking responsibility and working to be the change we want to see.
Reality is in the eye of the beholder.
Special Note: The information in this and other lessons in the Insight Course has the potential to create wonderful shifts in our lives. Yet when we open to profound changes, life does not necessarily always become easier right away. Sometimes things get more difficult before we make a significant breakthrough. Along with the new realizations we embrace, challenges sometimes arise which invite us to take what we learn even further.
Don't be surprised during your journey through the course if unusual things or strange "coincidences" start happening in your life, both challenging and inspirational. If challenges arise, look for the lesson wanting to be learned and open to guidance and support as you remember the unlimited potential inside you. If magical serendipity enters your life, celebrate and enjoy it! Most people experience some of both, with lots more on the inspirational side.
Take Action: Suggested Activities to Be the Change
- Explore and write up a list of those you are blaming for problems in your life. How are you choosing to be a victim? How is your interpretation of their actions keeping you from your own potential? Pick one or two of these relationships that you are ready to transform and take concrete steps towards letting go of blame and becoming a powerful creator in your life.
- Notice every time that you find yourself sitting in judgment of yourself and/or others. Can you first accept that your feelings of judgment are there for a reason? Explore then how you might work to understand your judgment and shift it through feeling your own heart, seeing the heart in those you judge, and choosing to come back to a place of respect and love.
- Think about your family or the people who raised you. Are you willing to consider that they were doing the best they could with what they had? Are you willing to forgive the past, to let go of blame, and to transform your life? Even if key people in your family have died, you can find a way to shift any difficult feelings you have with them towards acceptance and love.
- When do you choose being right over being happy? How does it feel? Notice the biological reaction and comfort you take from being right. Is that what you really want? Explore ways of stepping out of your comfort zone and delving into the deeper issues in any relationship problem. Explore the deeper joy that comes with claiming full responsibility for how you interpret everything that happens to you.
- Play with the ho'oponopono healing method. Choose someone who is disempowering you or others and follow the four steps given: I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.
- If you are one who blames yourself more than others, take concrete steps to heal this relationship with yourself. How much are you ready to let go of victimizing yourself to become a more creative force in our world?
For Those Who Want More
http://www.actsofkindness.org - The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation inspires people to practice kindness and to "pass it on" to others. The foundation provides free educational and community ideas, guidance, and other resources for all interested in spreading random acts of kindness throughout their lives and world. A wide variety of inspiring materials are provided, including activity ideas, lesson plans, teacher's guides, project planning guides, and workplace resources – all free of charge.
http://www.self-i-dentity-through-hoopono... - Website of Ho'oponopono
Ho'oponopono is about opening doors to greater understanding and deeper awareness of life, and to one's purpose as a unique and valuable member of the human family. It is a process of letting go of toxic energies within you while inviting in transformational thoughts, words, deeds and actions. The articles section of this simple, yet profound website has some particularly valuable material.
http://www.landmarkeducation.com - Website of Landmark Education
Landmark Education offers seminars around the world dedicated to changing lives through taking personal responsibility. Their teaching invites you to leave the past in the past and create a new image of yourself based on what you really want in life. Many have found the inspiring information gained in doing the basic Landmark Forum course to be incredibly transformational. If you go in with an open mind, you very well may come out better equipped to take full responsibility for your life.
http://www.wmitchell.com - Website of W. Mitchell
Learn more about this courageous author, TV host, business leader, conservationist and internationally sought after speaker who motivates and inspires audiences worldwide.
http://www.amazon... - Undefended Love by Jett Psaris and Marlena S. Lyons
Full of warmth and humanity, this remarkable book suggests that the most powerful change happens when we are willing to face the challenges in our relationships with openness and vulnerability. Many practical tools guide towards richer, deeper relationships not only with our partner, but also with ourselves and all around us. If you are ready to take responsibility for your own life, and to take the risks involved in being truly authentic with both your partner and yourself, don't miss this book.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Earth... - A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Renowned writer Eckhart Tolle expounds on powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to transforming conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how attachment to ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, blame, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows us how to awaken to a new, more responsible state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.
The above is lesson three of the heart and mind expanding Insight Course.
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