It's All Made Up

It occurred to me last night while attending a Core Passion workshop that my friend Jodie conducted that everything in the world was at some point made up by someone. Everything we see around us - outside of nature - existed first in the imagination of someone. The Core Passion workshop, the traffic signal, the metric system, the television, XM Radio - they all existed only in the mind of someone somewhere at some point.

We've all agreed - for the most part - that these "standards" are what we will go by. Money is an interesting concept. We've all agreed that a green piece of paper with a 1 on it is less valuable than a green piece of paper with a 10 on it. But how many of us actually use those green pieces of paper anymore? Paypal is amazing to me. That is a system someone made up that is basically a huge set of agreements. I've never seen any of the "money" that my Paypal account supposedly contains. When I get paid by a client, it's not in those green pieces of paper, it might be in a different colored paper with someone's signature on it. I take that piece of paper to my bank and they take it from me and then I might be able to get some of that green paper if I want. But most of the time I just use a piece of plastic to get stuff. It's very bizarre when you think about it.

But if we really get down and dirty in this topic, how many of those thoughts and agreements are really true? Our thoughts and judgments and stories have a tendency to become our truth because we really do believe them. Yet many of us don't ever really dig deep and question them for present-day situations.

I'm listening to the newest Wayne Dyer and Byron Katie lecture/CD called "Making Your Thoughts Work For You" and I'm fascinated by Katie's "Work" (it's called "The Work"). On this CD, which is a recording of a live lecture, she is demonstrating "The Work," with audience members. She asks everyone to fill out what she calls a "Judge Your Neighbor" form which asks questions like "Who angers, irritates, saddens, or frustrates, you and why?" "How do you want them to change? What do you want them to do?" "What is it that they should or shouldn't do, be, think or feel?" "What do they need to do in order for you to be happy?" "What do you think of them? Make a list." "What is it that you don't want to experience with that person again?"

She tells the audience not to be spiritual or wise - but to be honest. When they've got the worksheets filled out, she asks for a volunteer to do "The Work." The Work consists of four questions and the turnaround. The four questions are:

1) Is that thought true?
2) Can you absolutely know it is true?
3) How do you react when you think that thought?
4) Who would you be without that thought?

And then you turn the thought around.

It's fascinating to listen to this "technique" and how effective it is in helping people turn their judgmental thoughts around to show how they are really the ones with the "problem." It is our own belief in the truth of our thoughts that keeps us stuck. We believe things like "He always yells at me" and "She never puts the peanut butter away" even when those things aren't happening in the present. We become much more tied to our need to be right than to be happy. Katie helps the audience members get rid of the tie to those thoughts so they can be free.

I love her line: "Who needs God when we've got our thoughts?"

Byron Katie made up "The Work." Walt Disney made up Disneyland. Henry Ford made up the Model T. Bill Gates made up Microsoft.

What can each of us make up that will move us to higher ground? I think a great place to start is to determine, once and for all, what it is we really, truly want.

I'll let you know when I have determined my goal. As I'm studying my Bob Proctor materials, I realize that although I've had good results in my career without specific goals, I could be much more focused if I had an articulated goal stated in the present beginning with "I'm so happy and grateful now that I ..."

Stay tuned ... I'll let you know what it is I'm making up. And look out ... I am the only Jodee Bock on the planet (and you're the only (fill in your name here) on the planet). What power and magic will there be when we all get clear with our personal missions!

What is your burning desire? What is your overall goal? If everything's only made up anyway, let's make up something HUGE!!