Written by Matt Zavadil
Updated January 5, 2021
Today, you’ll identify your personal philosophy.
In Lesson 2, you went to the beginning, reflecting on your inner child.
Lesson 3 had you thinking about the end of your life.
It’s now time to clearly define the values and principles you will live on a daily basis from this point forward…
This week, we’re going to define your Personal Philosophy, or Life Paradigm… the way you view life. The perceptions, beliefs, values, attitudes or principles you live by will dictate everything you do, both when you’re alone and when you’re around others.
Think about it…one person may see life through a personal philosophy where cheating and lying is OK while another has a Life Paradigm that ensures honesty, truthfulness, caring and helping.
Another person may see life through the eyes of the “victim”. This person is always asking, “Why is everyone out to get me? Why doesn’t anything ever work out for me? All my life, I’ve never gotten a fair shake and that’s never gonna change.”
I’m here to ask you to be careful about the thoughts you allow to enter into your mind. Your “reality” isn’t created “out there”. No, it’s created “in here”.
This is a subject I’m not going to venture too deeply into… yet! We’ll definitely be covering this in great detail in future lessons.
However, I do want to quote a couple sources in this lesson just to get you thinking about how you think. I’d like to have you consider what the consequences are if your thinking is predominantly of the negative variety.
From Thought Vibration, by William Walker Atkinson (1906):
“… we close our eyes to the mighty law that draws to us the things we desire or fear, that makes or marks our lives.
“When we come to see that Thought is a force – a manifestation of energy – having a magnet-like power of attraction, we will begin to understand the why and wherefore of many things that have heretofore seemed dark to us.
“There is no study that will so well repay the student for his time and trouble as the study of the workings of this mighty law of the world of Thought – the Law of Attraction.
“When we think, we send out vibrations of a fine ethereal substance, which are as real as the vibrations manifesting light, heat, electricity, magnetism. That these vibrations are not evident to our five senses is no proof that they do not exist.
“A powerful magnet will send out vibrations and exert a force sufficient to attract to itself a piece of steel weighing a hundred pounds, but we can neither see, taste, smell, hear nor feel the mighty force.
“These thought vibrations, likewise, cannot be seen, tasted, smelled, heard nor felt in the ordinary way; although it is true there are on record cases of persons peculiarly sensitive to psychic impressions who have perceived powerful thought-waves, and very many of us can testify that we have distinctly felt the thought vibrations of others, both whilst in the presence of the sender and at a distance.
“Telepathy and its kindred phenomena are not idle dreams.
“Light and heat are manifested by vibrations of a far lower intensity than those of Thought, but the difference is solely in the rate of vibration.”
From The Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot (1992):
“The electron, like some shape-shifter out of folklore, can manifest as either a particle or a wave… This chameleon-like ability is common to all subatomic particles.
“It is also common to all things once thought to manifest exclusively as waves. Light, gamma rays, radio waves, X-rays – all can change from waves and back again.
“Today physicists believe that subatomic phenomena should not be classified solely as either waves or particles, but as a single category of somethings that are always somehow both. These somethings are called quanta, and physicists believe they are the basic stuff from which the entire universe is made.” P. 33-34
Later, Talbot says the following:
“For (Karl) Pribram, this synthesis made him realize that the objective world does not exist, at least not in the way we are accustomed to believing. What is ‘out there’ is a vast ocean of waves and frequencies and reality looks concrete to us only because our brains are able to take this holographic blur and convert it into sticks and stones and other familiar objects that make up our world…
“… In other words, the smoothness of a piece of fine china and the feel of beach sand beneath our feet are really just elaborate versions of the phantom limb syndrome.
“According to Pribram this does not mean there aren’t china cups and grains of beach sand out there. It simply means that a china cup has two very different aspects to its reality. When it is filtered through the lens of our brains it manifests as a cup. But if we could get rid of our lenses, we’d experience it as an interference pattern. Which is real and which is illusion? ‘Both are real to me,’ says Pribram, ‘or, if you want to say, neither of them is real’.” P. 55
In his book, Michael Talbot also discusses how over 99% of the “known” universe cannot be seen or sensed by our five senses. As a matter of fact, physicists tell us that what we perceive as “empty space” contains more energy than that in which we can “see”.
So, unless you allow yourself to be “convinced” by conventional knowledge, you may just come to the realization that there really is no such thing as “empty space”.
How This Fits Into Personal Philosophy
OK, why did I go into all that when we’re talking about your values and principles?
What you perceive as Reality doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Truth
Let’s bring back Talbot’s words again:
It simply means that a china cup has two very different aspects to its reality. When it is filtered through the lens of our brains it manifests as a cup. But if we could get rid of our lenses, we’d experience it as an interference pattern. Which is real and which is illusion?
What you believe to be truth is all based on the “lens” through which you view everything.
Your “lens” has been affected by many things… your memories, experiences, the way you reason through issues, your current “knowledge” of how things “are”, your DNA, etc.
Start Questioning Everything
As you go about thinking through your Personal Philosophy, I’d like to suggest that you start questioning absolutely everything.
I mean everything.
- Why do you act the way you do?
- Where have your beliefs come from?
- What is your world-view?
- How did you get your world-view?
- Are there things you profess to believe because you were conditioned to do so, yet deep down you’d have to admit you have concerns about those very beliefs?
- Why do you see the world from a “victim” lens?
- Or, why do you see the world from a lens that says you’re superior to certain others?
- Or, why do you see yourself as inferior to certain others?
- Or, why do you see things as if you’re “entitled” to certain things?
Do you see where I’m going here? There is so much we don’t know or understand about the “world” we live in.
Think about your beliefs and convictions in terms of the times when people believed the world was flat.
Do you believe it’s possible that what you believe to be absolutely true today may one day be proved to be as true as the old belief that the world was flat?
There’s a saying I heard recently that fits here. I don’t know who originally said it (and I’m paraphrasing what I heard):
“It’s not what we stubbornly hold onto that defines us, but that which we’re willing to let go of.”
The quotes above relate to quantum physics. Quantum physics is today “proving” what the old sages have been trying to tell us for millennia.
We’ll get more into these topics later on in Life Purpose University™. For now, I wanted to introduce you to this idea that what we “believe” may not necessarily be the “truth”.
You very well may find that you need to hang up some of your current “absolute truths” as you continue to work toward your Life Purpose and an advanced spiritual state…so, at least be open about this as we continue our journey together.
With that said, I’d like you to take the next week and look at your life “lens” in terms of your Personal Philosophy.
Is your current “philosophy” or “belief” about life helping you get closer to living the life of your dreams or is it holding you back in some way?
Your Personal Philosophy
Now that I’ve got you questioning everything and feeling more confused than ever 😉 –—- let’s start clarifying your Personal Philosophy…
Hopefully you’re in your Peaceful Place.
Begin writing down the qualities you absolutely know you treasure or find value in. Maybe it’s things such as honesty, love, truthfulness, compassion, helping, happiness, integrity, reliability, contentment, inner peace, etc.
Next, begin to visualize your life where you live out these qualities each and every day. Envision what your life must look like for you to continuously feel and experience those qualities you wrote down.
This future may mean changing certain things… it may mean new relationships, it may mean living in a different city, it may mean a different line of work, it may simply mean a new mental approach inside the physical “reality” you live within now…
An Example:
When I was detailing my Personal Philosophy, I saw how important inner peace and serenity was to my soul.
I was also living within the enormous city of Los Angeles. Every day, I was in the midst of noise and chaos.
A part of my Life Purpose was to live in a small town, working from home and reaching people like you through my Internet business.
So, with that VISION in place, I worked toward the goal of moving my family to an extremely small town about an hour and a half outside LA, which is exactly where I’m writing to you from now 😉
It Starts With a Vision
The point I’m making is that it all began with a vision that materialized within my mind. Therefore, you must take time to sit quietly and envision yourself living out the qualities that make up your Personal Philosophy on life.
What will you not tolerate anymore? Envision your life arranged in such a way that those things are no longer a part of it.
What must your day-to-day life have in it? Envision your life arranged in such a way that those things are always a part of it.
This is a process of defining your values. When you know your personal values, values that you will never violate, your life purpose has just become more defined.
Remember when I told you the story of how I finally realized that writing was a huge part of my personal Life Purpose? I had invested so many of my younger years trying to be what I thought others wanted me to be because I had never defined my true values.
Sure, I always had a sense of service to others but until I went through this process myself, I wasn’t able to “see” my “true” dream life. Once I defined it all, I was able to stop chasing after that which my TV, parents, friends, or society were influencing me with.
I hope you take this exercise seriously…
What a freeing experience it is to lay aside all the false hopes and dreams as you finally begin living out that which you have always been meant to do! I want you to feel this joy and I want you to know that you can achieve this for yourself!
If you have any favorite quotes that embody your values or principles, then put them down here. Take pictures and include them. Anything that can help you visualize deep within a life that encompasses your most inner values, principles, beliefs, etc.
What you’re doing here is launching a beginning to your Life Purpose.
When you understand your values, those values help define a vision.
Once your vision has materialized, your goals begin to take shape. Once your goals begin to take shape, the steps that will help you accomplish those goals reveal themselves.
Creating a plan to reach your goals helps you understand what you should do each and every day of your life.
Values + Vision + Goals = Purposeful Living
Starting to see the process here?
No longer will you settle for less in your life. By developing your Personal Philosophy, you’ll develop a newfound drive that manifests more meaning in your life.
More meaning allows you to live life to the fullest.
It all begins with the awareness that you must change your outlook or beliefs about life. Awareness is vital to all change and improvement. Humanity, to a large extent, is still asleep in terms of what is really important.
You and I, together, are beginning to awaken though, aren’t we?
Allow me to leave you this week with one more quote. This one is from A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. Here, he’s talking about how the ego likes negativity. However, he also mentions awareness.
“…whenever there is negativity in you, if you can be aware at that moment that there is something in you that takes pleasure in it or believes it has a useful purpose, you are becoming aware of the ego directly.
“The moment this happens, your identity has shifted from ego to awareness. This means the ego is shrinking and awareness is growing.” P. 111
Your Assignment
Develop Your Personal Philosophy.
Remember, your beliefs should move you forward in personal and spiritual awareness. Now’s the time to question those thought processes that are holding you back. Now’s the time to discover and internalize those values and principles that will further your quest for purpose.
Reflect on the Native American legend you’ll find below.
You create your reality, plain and simple. Reflect also on the other quotes I gave you above. Read them again. Sit quietly and consider how your beliefs, thoughts, and emotions have led you to where you are today. What must change?
The Creator gathers all the animals and says, “I want to hide something from humans until they are ready for it – the realization that they create their own reality.”
“Give it to me. I’ll take it to the moon and hide it there,” says the eagle.
“No, one day they will go there and find it,” says the Creator
“I’ll hide it at the bottom of the sea,” says the salmon.
The Creator says, “No, they’ll find it there, too.”
The buffalo chimes in, “Give it to me. I’ll bury it in the great plains.”
“No, they’ll dig into the earth someday and find it,” says the Creator.
Finally, the wise grandmother Mole (who has no physical eyes, only spiritual eyes), says, “Put it inside them.”
“Done,” says the Creator. “They’ll never look for it there.”
The above story is an ancient Native American legend about creation.
