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"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos
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Hugs and blessings,

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #6


13 (plus 4 more) Laws That Change Lives
as suggested by Dan Millman in
THE LIFE YOU WERE BORN TO LIVE

  1. The Law of Flexibility - "Flexibility avails us far more than either passivity or resistance; by actively using whatever arises, embracing even the most painful circumstances, we deal with our difficulties more effectively, as we begin to see them as a form of spiritual training." (pg. 324)
  2. The Law of Choices - "The most basic choice we have in life is whether to expand or contract, whether to bring our creative and expressive energies out into the world in positive or negative ways. No matter what our circumstances, we have the power to choose our directions." (pg. 328)
  3. The Law of Responsibility - "Once we establish the limits and boundaries of our responsibility, we can take full charge of that which is our duty and let go of that which is not; in doing so, we find more enjoyment supporting others, as we create more harmonious cooperative relationships." (pg. 336)
  4. The Law of Balance - Balance applies to us on cosmic, biological, and personal levels -- to our body, mind, and emotions -- reminding us that anything we do, we can overdo or underdo, and that if our internal pendulum swings to one side, it will inevitably swing to the other." (pg. 341)
  5. The Law of Process - "On the path to our goals if we want to get from point A to a point Z, the surest way to get there is to first go to point B, then C, then D, and so on. Skipping a single step, even though it appears to be a shortcut, often results in failure." (pg. 346)
  6. The Law of Patterns - "Any habit or pattern, whether we call it 'good' or 'bad,' despite our best intentions tends to reassert itself over time unless we break that pattern by doing something different." (pg. 349)
  7. The Law of Discipline -"Discipline is the surest means to greater freedom and independence; it provides the focus to achieve the skill level and depth of knowledge that translates into more options in life." (pg. 354)
  8. The Law of Perfection -"From a transcendental perspective, everyone and everything is unconditionally perfect; from a conventional viewpoint, perfection doesn't exist -- excellence is the best we can achieve, and achieving it takes time and practice." (pg. 358)
  9. The Law of the Present Moment - "Time doesn't exist; what we refer to as 'past' and 'future' have no reality except in our own mental constructs. The idea of time is a convention of thought and language, a social agreement; in truth, we only have this moment." (362)
  10. The Law of No Judgments - "The Universal Spirit does not judge us; judgments are human inventions, a means to compare, contrast, and control as we judge ourselves against artificial, and often idealistic, standards of perfect, morality, or truth." (pg. 365)
  11. The Law of Faith ... "is founded upon the recognition that we know more than we have read, heard, or studied; we know more because we are more; we have a direct link to universal wisdom; we have only to look, listen, and trust." (pg. 369)
  12. The Law of Expectations - "Energy follows thought; we move toward but not beyond what we can imagine. What we assume, expect, or believe colors and creates our experiences; by changing our expectation, we change our experience of every aspect of life." (373)
  13. The Law of Honesty - "Recognizing, accepting, and expressing our authentic interior reality lies at the heart of honesty; only when we are honest with ourselves can we speak or act honestly with anyone else. In the sense of integrity, honesty entails acting in line with higher laws in favor of negative impulses to the contrary." (pg. 377)
  14. The Law of Higher Will - "From the viewpoint of our separate self and smaller will, it's normal to act on the basis of our own desires and preferences; when we surrender our smaller self and will to the guidance of a higher will and dedicate our actions for the highest good of all concerned, we feel an inspired glow at the center of our life." (pg. 381)
  15. The Law of Intuition - "We can only get in touch with our own source of intuition and wisdom when we no longer depend upon others' opinions for our sense of identity or worth; we all tend to worship something; the question is, will we worship the god of opinion, or the god of our heart?" (pg. 385)
  16. The Law of Action - "No matter what we feel or know, no matter what our potential gifts or talents, only action brings them to life. Those of us who only think we understand concepts, such as commitment, courage, and love, one day discover than we only know when we act; doing becomes understanding." (pg. 390)
  17. The Law of Cycles - "The world of nature exists within a larger pattern of cycles, such as day and night and the passing of the seasons. The seasons do nor push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky; all things happen in good time; everything has a time to rise, and a time to fall. Whatever rises, falls, and whatever falls shall rise again; that is the principle of cycles." (pg. 394)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

For easy access, I’ve listed more T-13 links along with the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll to the bottom of my sidebar.

24 comments:

Karen said...

Oooh...this is a good one! The Law of Patterns is resonating this morning. I've been reading through old journals and finally noticing that I keep complaining/obessing about the same things OVER AND OVER! The surrounding circumstances/cast of characters may change, but the essential problem/issue (pattern) remains the same. And if I don't like those patterns, I need to do something different--yes, yes, YES! It's Karma all over again--the same lessons keep appearing, and will continue to appear, until we finally learn them!

Karen said...

And I just noticed I misspelled "obsess"--but I'm not going to obsess over it...

Mia Celeste said...

Interesting. I'll look for this book.

Kristina Knight said...

Love this! It really made me think...

Have a great day and Happy TT! :)

Melissa said...

Great list! I especially like #5. I soo need to keep that in mind as I start my new ventures...

Lori said...

Hmmmm, interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by. Happy TT:)

Karla Porter Archer said...

I think most of us have forgotten most of these!

Blessings,
Karla

cindy kay said...

I am saving this list! It looks very useful.

Akelamalu said...

That's interesting food for thought!

Kara said...

I've always liked that book of Millman's. It's nice to see the law's in a list like this and it's a good reminder for this time of year.

storyteller said...

Karen – I’m glad you’re not obsessing (chuckling here) … and ‘tis good to recognize our habits (patterns, issues, etc.) in order to move through and beyond them. One thing I’ve learned it that the best way to do that is to put a new behavior in place of what we want to change.

Brenda – I’ll bet you can find a copy at a used bookstore. I found one not long ago for a friend of mine that way. Mine is hardback and falling apart from excessive use. There’s lots of interesting info in it.

Kristi – Great … the (happily retired) teacher in me is glad I generated thought in you (and perhaps others).

Melissa – I know what you mean. Shortcuts can be so tempting, but often lead me astray.

Lori – Visiting was my pleasure. I enjoy meeting new bloggers and seeing what they’re doing to get ideas to play with myself.

Karla – So true … if we ever knew :)

Mom H – Great! That makes it worth my while. I do that often with T-13s when they seem like something I’ll want to revisit.

Akelamalu – I do my best :)
Your story cracked me up today! Thanks for sharing.

Kara – I return to it time and again and that’s why the pages are falling out. After returning from Taos, I looked up my numbers (I’m a 26/8 working abundance and power – fits, huh) and what I read seemed uncanny all over again. I’m certainly closer to my goals now than I when I first found this book in the mid-90s, but like Karen says … some patterns persist.

Thanks to all of you for visiting today and sharing your responses.
Hugs and blessings,

Deb said...

This is a really interesting list! :)

Thanks for the visit and comment - I answered your question here: http://debmomof3.blogspot.com/2008/01/seeing-where-your-readers-come-from.html

Hope that helps!

pussreboots said...

Happy TT. Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful TT to kick off the new year. Thanks for the effort and time, I appreciate it and bookmarked the page. :)

Happy Thursday

~X

storyteller said...

Deb – I’m glad you found it so. Thanks for responding to the question I left on your T-13 so thoroughly. I’ll be returning to read it and experiment repeatedly until I get Google Analytics figured out … whenever time permits.

Pussreboots – The pleasure was mine. Happy T-13 back at you.

Xakara – Thanks for visiting a second week in a row. I wish I could access your blog, but just like last week … I wasn’t able to do so. I’m glad you feel it worth returning. As I reviewed these a few days ago, I decided others might find the information timely as 2008 begins.

May this year bring peace, joy, wonder and whatever else you’re seeking.
Hugs and blessings,

Anonymous said...

I have just scribbled that book down on my "read this year" list *grin*

thanks for visiting my TT :)

Linda

Grandy said...

Great list lady!! I'm not sure I could come up with lists every Thursday. Did I mention I have commitment issues? Nope, not committed...ok, well maybe a little. ;)

Gattina said...

Usually I prefer my own laws, lol ! but some of the listed once here are acceptable !
Thanks for your kind comments. I am happy to meet you ! Just scrolled a little through your blog as I am very curious by nature !
Hope to see you again !

Anonymous said...

Another might be the "law of attraction," which means what we think about we can draw to us.

I just wanted to let you know those are not necessarily my kids in the game playing photos. My sons are 25 and 28. I celebrate Thanksgiving at a community farm and we were having game with a large group of family friends in the second photo. I try to include embedded links when I use names that go to a further explanation for new readers.

Take care!

storyteller said...

Linda – Watch it. Seems to me your list is long enough as is. This isn’t a book to read cover to cover (unless you’re obsessive), so it might work out.

Grandy – I only “committed” to do this on one, not both, of my blogs … but I have done one on Sacred Ruminations a few weeks back … and may do it again from time to time. I’ll be watching YOUR new commitment to take your blog “commercial” ya know, and if those men in white coats show up at YOUR door, don’t blame me.

Gattina – Thanks for visiting here and taking time to say “howdy” … actually I prefer MY laws too, but find it helpful occasionally to inform myself about what others think about “how things work” in the Universe so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.

Colleen – Thanks for the clarification about the kids. Methinks "attraction" may be another word for “expectations” or “choices” in Millman’s terminology. One of the reasons I return to this book periodically is that it’s quite thorough … and I need reminders to get me back on track when I “forget” or lose focus.

Thanks to all of you for taking time to visit and leave your comments.
Hugs and blessings,

Momisodes said...

This is a great first T-13 post for the New Year! I definitely need to keep these all in mind in the new year...I'll have to seek out this book.

storyteller said...

Sandy - Thanks, but may I humbly suggest that keeping them ALL in mind just might push you over the edge. I tend to choose one at a time to consider in light of what's going on within and around me ... and revisit the list periodically when troubles occur or I need a gentle nudge to change something.
Hugs and blessings,

damozel said...

I love this list. I will be linking to it in the very near future!

storyteller said...

Damozel - Thank you. We all appreciate link-love :)

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