Good Things Don't Happen to Me

Last night I was watching an episode of Secret Millionaire. A show where a millionaire seeks out people who are doing good in the world or are in need. At the end of the show the millionaire chooses  people and gifts them with some of his/her personal fortune. In the last few minutes of last nights show, a real estate mogul from San Diego gifted a 24yr old single mother, and dialysis patient with $20,000 to care for her 5 year old daughter who was suffering from severe health challenges. It was a very touching scene and I was literally bawling. But then she said something that  took my breath away. As he was handing her the check she looked at him in disbelief and said "but good things don't happen to me!" I immediately wished that this act of compassion by a complete stranger would turn her thinking around and change her world view forever.

It is our world view that shapes our decisions, our reality and ultimately our destiny. But how many of us are even aware of what our world view is? Have we done any introspective work to discover the seeds of our thoughts? Our world view can be shaped by a thoughtless comment from a parent or an experience that we had as a child- good or bad.  Once we invest in a particular world view our entire reality will conspire to support that view. If you don't believe me just think of a friend that always is convinced that things wont go their way- somehow they are always getting fired, their car is always breaking down, they are always calling with some new drama. People who don't trust anyone are always feeling betrayed in one way or another. Alternatively, the friend who whose mantra is" the universe will provide" has somehow manged to travel all over the globe and hasn't had a job for a year! For anyone whose read The Secret you know about the Law of Attraction, but learning to unwind those negative thoughts, identifying them and ultimately identifying where they came from can be very transformational.

We need to change our event horizon to access a new perspective and begin bringing new energy into our lives to effect real change. There are many ways to become aware of our thoughts: yoga, mediation, going on retreat, reading books by enlightened teachers, journaling and the practice of vichara.

Try a meditation that's not about trying to empty the mind of all thought, but becoming a witness. Close your eyes- listen to your breath- sit calmly. Let the thoughts float by like clouds without becoming attached or invested in them or some tangential story. Notice what happens..perhaps you realize that there is a recurring theme to your thoughts. Maybe there is one thought that keeps coming back or so many that you cant keep track. But after some practice you will begin to notice a silence, a peace between the thoughts, a place that feels more like home, free of anxiety and pain where we touch our true selves - who we are without that misperception that led to our limited world view in the first place.

We know so much about celebrity lives, our favorite TV shows, politics or other peoples drama's. Maybe its time we invested as much energy into our own inner world as we do the outer world.