Point of View
The other day I was chatting with my good
friend Grant
Connolly of ZPoint. Many of
you know Grant and the wonderful work he does with ZPoint. Our
conversation turned to the topic of perspective, and how powerfully
our personal perspective or point of view can affect us, for good or
ill.
The conversation reminded me of an article I'd read a few days
earlier. The article, "Turning
the Clock Back," published in Cosmic
Lighthouse, was an interview with Ellen J. Langer,
Harvard Professor of Psychology.
Dr. Langer talked about a study she and a partner conducted with
chambermaids. They were testing whether "mental workouts"
could actually improve physical health. Now, mind you, the
chambermaids were not told to exercise, eat better diets, etc. --
all the things you hear from the experts.
Instead Dr. Langer and her associate simply made the chambermaids
aware that their work was exercise. They did not ask them to change
anything about their lives -- what they ate, how vigorously they did
their work, etc. The only change they made was in their
perspective, their point of view.
This shift in perspective resulted in weight loss, decreases in
body mass, smaller waistlines, decreases in blood pressure,
increasing vitality and energy. All of this from doing absolutely
nothing different from what they had been doing.
Except a change in their point of view.
Here's Chief Joseph.
Chief
Joseph
Friends, we've talked about this subject before. Whatever you
want to call it -- your perspective, point of view, focus or
whatever -- it powerfully affects your reality, your experience. In
the case of the chambermaids it created better physical health.
This is certainly one of the best examples we have seen of how
all of you truly do create your own realities. Whether you do it
deliberately through your conscious focus, or by default through
negligence, you are nonetheless responsible for every experience of
your physical lives.
The idea of being that responsible for everything
is daunting and scary to some of you. But it's your point of view
that's scaring you, not the responsibility itself.
Responsibility brings freedom. When you know you and only
you create your life experiences, you are totally free to create (or
change) whatever you want. You're not a victim of someone else's
whims, or of circumstances.
The chambermaids changed nothing about their lives except
the way they viewed their work. The results were remarkable.
The principle at work here applies to other areas of your lives
also.
Let's take a common issue for many of you -- food. We've heard
some of you say all you have to do is look at food and you gain
weight. Others of you can eat all you want, whatever you want and
never gain an ounce.
What's the difference between these two types of people? Some
would say it's their "metabolism." But your metabolism is
simply the way you flow energy through your physical bodies.
In other words, your metabolism is a direct result of your focus,
of your point of view.
You are free to change your point of view at any moment. And in
that moment you can change your lives.
=============================================================
This
Week's
Newsletter Reflection Questions
News Updates
1) Chief Joseph
& John Cali at Crimson Circle's Midsummer Conference
-- we now have audio
CDs and MP3
Files available of Joseph's and John's presentation on
July 17, 2009.
2) We're now doing regular
podcasts with Chief Joseph. You can now download them free.
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