Unity’s third principle teaches that we create our experience through the thoughts and feelings that we allow to dominate in the activity of our consciousness. As you are probably aware by now, the activity of consciousness is perpetual. Even in meditation or sleep, consciousness still remains active. It never stops. We can slow down the activity by consciously engaging with it, but we can never completely shut it down.
A large part of the activity of consciousness takes place in the subconscious. It runs almost on auto pilot. We are not consciously aware of our every thought, nor do we necessarily need to be. It is estimated that somewhere north of 60,000 thoughts a day pass through the consciousness of the average human. It is a near impossible task to keep track of them all.
Research indicates that, of those 60,000 some thoughts we think each day, 80% are redundant. That is, we tend to think the same thoughts repeatedly throughout the day. Even more revealing is that 80% of those redundant thoughts are negative, which is to say, they are fear-based in one way or another. Ultimately, this means that, on average, nearly two-thirds of our thoughts every single day are both repetitive and negative.
As We Think, So Are We
We have thoughts about all kinds of things throughout our day. Thoughts about everything from the mundane to the sublime, from the comic to the tragic, from the seemingly inconsequential to the monumentally influential. We think of fear; and we think of love. We think of both in myriad forms throughout the day.
We think of our dreams and aspirations. We think of our perceived strengths and limitations. We think of past successes and failures, traumas and healings. We think of music, movies, books and art. We think of what we are going to eat today, and, many of us, even think of making better choices on what we eat today. We may think of our exercise program, or lack thereof. All of this does not even consider our thoughts about the news events of the day, possible interpersonal dramas at home, or crises in the workplace. Whatever we are thinking of on a daily basis becomes our reality. As we think, so are we. Whatever dominates in our consciousness determines our experience.
What’s On Your To Do List?
We also think a lot about our “to do lists,” which are comprised of what we want to, or must, accomplish today. All too often, our “to do list” can become so cluttered with the mundane tasks necessary to maintain order in our lives, that we find we have no room left for the sublime experiences that make life worth living. We can get so busy in simply maintaining a household, making a living, and paying the bills, that we have no energy or time left in the day to activate and realize our dreams, or manifest our best self. Before we know it, the day is over, we are tired, and must get some rest so we can get up tomorrow and tackle the to do list all over again.
By the end of the day, some part of our consciousness is thinking about what we did not accomplish today. Whether through the demands of the day, or the unplanned activities that intervene upon our day, or through plain and simple procrastination, it is virtually guaranteed that most of us will feel stress, anxiety, and even, at times, regret over what we did not accomplish today. Many times, it may even taint the sweetness of what we did accomplish today. Remember, two-thirds of our thoughts are negative.
Where Are YOU On Your To Do List?
Of all the items you place on your daily “to do list,” do you ever include the realization of your Christ potential? Do you make it a priority in your day, in your life, to do the daily work necessary to express your authentic nature and achieve your highest potential? Is there a higher calling you feel drawn to, that the daily stresses and activities of your life seem to overshadow? Do you find that when it comes time to put energy and time into manifesting your dreams, you are depleted and have no energy for your Self? When was the last time you made YOU a priority on your daily to do list?
In my own life, I am and have been committed to serving others for a long time now. I enjoy serving others. Doing so has been an important part of my own spiritual recovery, since hitting my bottom in the summer of 1994. However, it has been an ongoing and consistent struggle to maintain balance between serving others, which I do willingly, and serving my own best interests, which I usually tend to after great resistance, procrastination and rationalization.
Who Are You Being When You Do What You Do?
If the tasks necessary to manifest my own personal creative dreams and aspirations do happen to make it on to my own personal “to do list,” on most days, they usually get pushed to the bottom of the list, and carried over day after day. I am all too willing to kick the can of my own needs down the road of tomorrow, to be of service to others today. This is okay to do once in a while, but long term it has deleterious effects on the realization of our best future Self.
If your default is to sacrifice your needs for the needs of others, perhaps you should do what I have done and create a second list. Instead of a “to do list,” start a “to BE list.” The big difference is the “to BE list” has only one item on it: to BE the best version of your Self that you can be today. Before you start your day, take out your “to BE list,” and meditate on it in the silence. Get real clear with your little self that the most important thing you can do today is to BE the best YOU that you can be today.
Then, after that is accomplished, take out your “to do list” and carry on with your day, knowing that you have already achieved the most important action item first thing out of the chute. It will make all the difference in how you go through the day, and you may even find that it becomes easier and easier to make sure that YOU don’t get lost in the busy-ness of doing. Remember, it is not what you do that matters, it is who you are being when you do what you do that matters most.
