Touchy-Feely Part 2

My, you're brave to come back for Round 2 of Touchy-Feely stuff!

I just watched a very interesting movie called "The Secret" - and I'm tempted to give it away to you here, but I'll let you find out for yourself. If you've seen and like "What The Bleep Do We Know" you'll love this one. Here's a synopsis:

The Secret reveals amazing real life stories and testimonials of regular people who have changed their lives in profound ways. By applying The Secret they present instances of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles and achieving what many would regard as impossible.

The Secret reveals how to apply this powerful knowledge to your life in every area from health to wealth, to success and relationships.

One of the most interesting aspects of this documentary to me was how familiar I am with the people interviewed in the movie. I've met two of them in person (both of them have actually been in Fargo!), and another is a friend of a friend. One is someone I feel I know - he's the creator of TUT (Notes from the Universe) which I've told you about here before. Two of the others were also interviewed in "What The Bleep" and three others are authors of books I've read (see James A. Ray's book "The Science of Success" in my suggested reading list on the right-hand side of this blog).

I'm telling you this not to drop names, but to let you know that thoughts really do become things, and I'm seeing it for myself in my own life. How else could all these seeming "coincidences" keep showing up in front of me?

As long as I'm on the touchy-feely roll, I need to tell you about a great newsletter I subscribe to called Pure Heart, Simple Mind. The current issue talks about zen koans and their relationship to prayer. If you're not familiar with a koan, it is a Buddhist story or riddle that appears to have no apparent solution. Perhaps one of the most popular koans asks "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

This article tells story about an interview with Mother Theresa where the interviewer asked, "When you pray, what do you say to God?"

Mother Teresa replied, "I don't talk, I simply listen."

Believing he understood what she had just said, the interviewer next asked, "Ah, then what is it that God says to you when you pray?"

Mother Teresa replied, "He also doesn't talk. He also simply listens."

These questions may seem kind of odd. And, according to the article, if your brain automatically tries to come up with a logical answer, you may be missing the point of the koan, which is to get out of your typical mode of thinking in order to allow an "alternative truth" to emerge.

Where might you be searching for logical answers instead of listening for alternative truths? Maybe just thinking about that question will be enough to help you start thinking about things a little differently.