Human beings live within a very narrow range of trajectories. However, withing that range lies infinity.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: most of the things about your life were determined long before you were born. It's nobody's fault, it's neither bad nor good (although it may feel differently), it simply is. Because of that your life is on a very precise trajectory.
Imagine that someone threw a ball upwards and at an angle. Now, those of us that are familiar with basic physics (or ever played a game of catch) know that the ball will go in a parabolic arc, rising at first and then dropping at an angle in a smooth curve. If you know the speed and angle of the ball at the time it is initially thrown, you can predict the exact arc it will fly in and where it will land.
People are much more complicated, but aren't ultimately much different. When you were born you were a ball that was thrown, much about your life being determined by the thrower before you were even a thought in someone's mind. Changing yourself and your life is like being that ball thrown in that trajectory and deciding you want to land someplace different that where your current trajectory is taking you.
More than that, most of us not only want to land someplace different, we want to turn at a right angle in mid-air and land in a different place altogether. The question isn't only what is the best way to do this, but... is it possible at all?
The answer is, 'yes'.
You've been thrown on the trajectory, but there is a 'cone' of possibility in which you do get a say. Within that cone you actually have quite a bit of control via your own decisions. But the further you want to go outside of the range of your trajectory, the harder things become.
To move very far out of your trajectory, you'll have to change at the lowest levels of self.
It starts by realizing what your 'trajectory' is. It's nothing but your programming, but into you by your DNA at birth and your mental programming during the first 13 years or so of your life.
For now an attempt to change your DNA is not advised (also, I'm guessing the benefits would be somewhat more slight than some think - at least as far as 'success' is concerned).
That leaves the mind.
Everyone throws around the phrase 'change your mind' like it's no big deal:
Someone: You got sushu? I thought you wanted burgers for lunch?
Someone Else: Eh, I changed my mind.
Yeah, changing your mind is, in fact, the biggest deal. There's no greater power you can acquire than the ability to reform your own mind. Well, so how do we reform it in ways that will give us big results?
Mental health and powers are secured in the same way as physical health and powers: exercise.
But just like doing two jumping jacks before gorging yourself at the local pancake house isn't going to get you in shape, neither will 10 minutes of positive thinking a day undo a lifetime of poisonous thinking.
A few years ago I began my own journey to trying to right myself mentally. Luckily I don't seem to have any major issues, my life is just not where I want it to be. Over the years I've made huge strides, but it often still feels like a drop in the bucket (or a nudge on the ball in midair) compared to how far I have to go to get where I want to be.
The good news is that I still have time. Maybe more time than even I think, depending on whether the Singularity (Google it) actually happens. We'll see.
For those of you looking for some good reading that might help you, look for The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel. It's over a 100 years old, meaning it's in the public domain and you can probably find it as a free pdf. I have a physical copy, but I do not at all regret it. I'd say that about 90% of my progress so far is due to that book.
I'm pretty hopeful about this program I'm listening to now, Igor Ledochowski's Beyond Self Hypnosis. However, I'll reserve my judgment until I'm done with it. Only about a third of the way through, at the moment.
What if there were gyms for doing mental exercises? I suppose there are places that you can go to in order to take classes on meditation. Also, on some level, physical activity does lend itself to mental stability (this is one of the things Igor talks about in Beyond).
Still, it feels like even in these places its the physical benefit that is emphasized. My point is, what if there were a place equivalent to a gym that was dedicated to the betterment of the mind?
Sign me up for a lifetime membership.
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