Successful Living Through Self-Awareness
By Frank and Martha Giudici
Lesson Three
Tools
Downloads
Download MP3 audio file of this talk
Audio
Lesson
14 Successful living and Self awareness
Martha and I do want to welcome all of you to our workshop on Successful Living Through Self-Awareness, and what we are going to be doing today in really six different periods is dealing with this whole idea that we are meant for success, that we are here in life to live life fully, and successfully, and completely, because this is what God wants for us. No matter what the world might be saying to us at times, no matter what it is that we have been conditioned by, the important thing that we all have to know and realize is that we are meant for success, and this is something that we can all achieve.
Granted that success in life might mean different things to different people, but the main point is that we are all meant for success, and what success will mean to each and every individual is determined by that person, by that individual and his or her Lord of their being. In other words, however God speaks to you and tells you that this is what success means to you in life, then that establishes for you your criterion of success.
What I’m really saying here to begin with is that success in living is a divine right. We were born to be successes in this life experience. I think that the first step that we can all take toward living a successful life is realizing that deep down within us, we have this potential for success, and we find this potential within us as the Christ indwelling, as God individualized within ourselves. This, as I say, is the first step towards success. When you know that you are a child of God, when you know that you are an individualized expression of God and all that God is, then you have taken the first step really in successful living.
What does “being an individualized expression of God and all that God is” mean? Well, what is God? God is the fullness of life, love, joy, wisdom and peace. God doesn’t simply give us these things. God is these very qualities themselves, and we have within us the potential for expressing these to the fullest. This is what it means really to be “an individualized expression of God and all that God is”, to know that you have the capacity and the capability of expressing the fullness of God, and once we do this, then we are living successfully in life.
The key to all of this successful living and to achieving successful living, as I said in one sense, is realizing that the Christ indwells us all, that we are all individualized expressions of Christ or of God, is really though beyond that, the key is the idea of self-awareness. What we have to do is become aware of our own God self.
I would suppose that most people realize this or feel it somewhat intuitively, that in the way of saying to oneself, “I always have the feeling that I’m really more than I’m expressing right now. I have the capability of being more than I am right now.” And in this way, we sense that we are more than we are really expressing, and that we have the capability to do so. We sense that maybe there is more to us than we have been taught to believe, and this is the idea of self-awareness, when you really become consciously and unconsciously aware of yourself and of your own God self, then this is one big step toward living a successful life.
We build a successful life through a firm realization of the fact that we are individualized expressions of God, and through greater self-awareness, becoming aware of who and what we are. This is what we want to deal with today in this workshop, this whole aspect of self-awareness, becoming more aware of ourselves.
15 Four areas of consciousness
In order to do this and to facilitate the workshop, what we have done is to sort of compartmentalize ourselves into four different parts, and this will be familiar to students. What we’re going to work with are four basic areas of consciousness, and those four basic areas of consciousness have to do with prosperity, health, human relationships, which carries the idea of love, and eternal life. In other words, in order to achieve greater self-awareness, what we are saying is this, that we want to become aware, more aware, of these four basic areas of the life experience.
Martha and I feel that if we were to take everything that we go through in life, all of the experiences that we undertake, we would probably find that all of them fall into one or a combination of these four basic areas, the areas of prosperity, health of mind and body, human relationships, which carries the idea of love, and then, also, eternal life.
In a sense, what we’re trying to do in life is to get these four areas of consciousness to work in perfect balance, in perfect harmony. It’s hard to be working on four areas at once. Have you ever tried to do two or three things at the same time? Usually when we try that we make a mess of things. Trying to bake a cake and sweep the floor at the same time doesn’t seem to work, or hang a picture and run the vacuum cleaner at the same time, or whatever. It just doesn’t seem to work, does it?
What we want to do then is to concentrate on that particular area of consciousness that we need to concentrate on at any given moment, so that we can achieve a greater balance in our total consciousness. And let me illustrate this further.
Haven’t you heard it said at times of a certain person, “Well, he has no problems as far as money is concerned. He has all of the money that he needs. Prosperity just doesn’t seem to be a problem. But it’s sort of a sad thing, because he doesn’t seem to have many friends. With all that money, he just doesn’t seem to have many friends.”
What might we say of that particular individual? [inaudible] this without criticism and without condemnation. We might that say, “He has achieved a good consciousness of prosperity, but what he needs to work on is that area of consciousness that has to do with human relationships and with love, so that he can balance his total consciousness, and then through that balanced consciousness, really achieve success in life, successful living in all areas of life.”
You might hear of another person, too, that he or she has all the money, once again, that they need, but they’re always sick, always having a physical challenge, a health challenge. We might say the same thing of that particular individual. A good prosperity consciousness, but work needs to be done on the health consciousness, or how about the idea of the person who has a lot of friends, no problems in human relationships, so to speak. Everybody loves her and she loves everyone. However, she always seems to be having trouble meeting bills. There never seems to be enough money and that sort of thing. Of that person, we can say that she has worked to a significant degree on her love consciousness, which effects her human relationships, but she might have a little bit more work to do in the area of what? Prosperity.
What we’re proposing is that all of us have some work to do on these four basic areas. Maybe at the moment we might feel that we’re doing pretty well in one or more of these areas, but it’s the other areas that we are concerned with, and so we might want to emphasize working on the other areas of consciousness at this moment.
Which one should you be working on? Well, I guess you can take a look at the results that you’re having in your life right now. What about prosperity? How are you doing financially and so forth? What about health of mind and body? How are you doing in that area? What about your personal relationships? Do you have all the friends that you feel you should have at this time? Are you really experiencing love to the degree that you want to experience love, both in the area of giving love and receiving love in return? Then the fourth area, eternal life. How about your consciousness of eternal life? Do you really believe that as a child of God you’re going to live forever, and that you have been living forever, or do we have some apprehension about this whole area of eternal life?
16 Eternal Life
Let’s talk about it just a little more for a moment here now. When we speak of eternal life, we’re not talking about working our way into eternal life. In so much of traditional religion, this is the idea that people try to get across, the idea that if you’re good here in this life experience, that when you make the transition, when you die, then you can go to heaven and that sort of thing, and then you will have eternal life.
But this is not what we’re talking about here. As students of truth, we believe that we have eternal life here and now, that you and I are living in eternity right now. That spiritual part of us, that indestructible God-self of us has always existed, but do I really believe this? Am I really tuned in fully to this idea, or do I still feel that I have to run around in life and get everything done this time, be good in this life, because there still is a feeling within me that says, “When I meet that experience called death, I might go to heaven or hell, and I want to be sure and be in heaven. I want ‘to be counted in that number,’ as the old song says.”
This is something that we might want to take a look at, because I believe that if we have a good consciousness of eternal life, if we really believe that we are eternal beings, then, folks, this takes a lot of the pressure off of living today, off of living today. It tells you then that you have time to accomplish every good thing that you want to accomplish. You have time to work out whatever areas of consciousness need to be worked out, and purified, and that sort of thing.
Of course, it doesn’t really give us license to keep putting things off forever and saying, “I can do it tomorrow or in the next lifetime, if I believe in reincarnation.” We can cop out on life and say, “Well, I’m an eternal being, so I don’t have to work so hard today.” That’s not what we’re talking about. When we say that believing in eternal life takes a lot of the pressure off of living, what we’re saying is that we can then begin to relax, and put ourselves more in tune with the orderly flow of life, and just very simply know that everything will get done in God’s good time.
I know in my own personal case, this had a great deal of meaning for me when I could finally believe that eternal life was a reality. I guess I always knew it intuitively, and felt that no matter what my religion is teaching me about gaining eternal life and that sort of thing, there’s just something deep down within me that says, “Frank, you have lived now and you have always lived,” but there was no way that I could substantiate that, and certainly there was no way that it could be substantiated by my religious training, because my religious training just did not get that idea across.
The consciousness of eternal life, really believing more deeply in the fact that we are eternal beings. Maybe we have to do some work in that area of consciousness, and this is what we want to do today.
17 Agenda for this workshop
As the workshop progresses, we’re going to take these four basic areas, and we’re going to deal with them more in depth. We’re going to take a look at where we are now in consciousness in relationship to these four areas, and then we’re going to take a look at what we want to put into those areas of consciousness, what types of thoughts do we want to hold about prosperity, about health of mind and body, about personal relationships, and then, also, about eternal life.
Once again, these are the four basic areas of the life concern into which you will probably find fall just about every life experience that we have. Each life experience will fall into one or a combination of these four areas.
Now to talk just a little bit more about the mechanics and how we’re really going to accomplish this this morning, Martha is going to give us some input.
18 Method 1 - Covenant
The tools by which we can begin to effect changes in our lives and the way in which we can become aware is through working with definite methods. We can work with self-awareness right where are, just as we are right now.
One of the methods of a covenant. You’ll find on the white sheet, a covenant, which was very meaningful to the Unity movement. The Unity movement’s co-founders were Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, and it wasn’t until very late in the fifties, I believe it was, at Unity School, that they discovered this covenant, which Charles and Myrtle Fillmore had written back in 1892, and this covenant was an agreement that they had made with God, an agreement that each of them signed with God saying what they were going to do to accomplish the things that they wanted. What it says, and I’ll just read it for you, and you can follow along. It says,
"We, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, husband and wife, hereby dedicate ourselves, our time, our money, all that we have and all that we expect to have, to the spirit of truth, and through it, to the Society of Silent Unity. It being understood and agreed that said spirit of truth shall render unto us an equivalent for the dedication and peace of mind, health of body, wisdom, understanding, love, life, and abundant supply of all things necessary to meet every want without our making any of these things the object of our existence. In the presence of the conscious mind of Christ Jesus, the seventh day of December, AD 1892,"
and it's signed Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.
On the back of your yellow sheet, you will find a covenant which we have prepared for this workshop. You will, also, find an affirmation and some instruction for your own private time. Our personal covenant for this workshop deals with similar ideas. In other words, what we're going to be doing is agreeing to do certain things. We're going to take certain actions in our thinking and feeling nature. We're going to begin to change our thinking, and as we change our thinking, we begin to recognize that the spirit of truth, the spirit of God moving and flowing in and through each and every one of us will bring about the successful fulfillment. God always does His part. He has always made the provision. It is when we prepare the perfect channel that the flow of spirit comes through easily and quickly.
You can see on this yellow sheet that there is a personal covenant. We're going to allow you to sign this at your own leisure, at your own time, in your own quiet time. You will see at the bottom of the yellow sheet, there are some words which say,
“Prayerfully consider the covenant before you sign it. This is a commitment between you and God. God will always fulfill His part. You are agreeing to do your part. When you feel you agree with the covenant, sign it and begin your part by spending five minutes upon rising and five minutes before retiring in communion with God, and, also, at any other time during the day as you feel guided.
You will use your creative imagination to see yourself radiating the attitudes of mind, body and affairs that you desire.
Then let God bring about the fulfillment of the promise given in the covenant.”
We can see here is a covenant that you’re going to be making with God, a covenant in which you are agreeing to do certain things. What we’re going to be doing today is finding a way of starting in self-awareness, and then preparing it so that you in your own time can do things on your own. At the top of the page, you will see an item that says, “My real self.” This section we will not be using today, but are those things which we will ... That area which we will leave open for you to fill in after you have worked on your covenant, and after we have gone through all of the items today you will have a better idea of what it is that you want to see expressed in your life as your real self.
We’ve, also, prepared an affirmative thought, and this affirmative thought that we’re going to be using for our time together, is “I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally and emotionally.” It’s kind of short and it’s kind of sweet.
I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally and emotionally.
Let’s affirm that together now. Together, “I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally, emotionally.” Let’s just feel that for a moment. I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally, emotionally, and let’s say it together again. “I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally, emotionally.”
Now let’s take it even deeper into our being. Let it become a part of our consciousness, and let’s repeat it one more time together. “I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally, emotionally.”
That is the truth. This is a positive statement of truth for each and every one of us have this positive mental energy working through us physically to heal our bodies, mentally to bring light and understanding to our minds, and emotionally to bring calmness of spirit, peace of mind, freedom from fear and anxiety, and every good thing that we could possibly desire. Where do these come from? From the one source, the one presence, the one power within all of us, God, and that is freed when we work correctly.
We need to spend time daily in meditation, and for this purpose, we have established a time in the covenant of setting aside in the morning hours when you first rise, this idea of dedicating your day to God. This is a good way to start the day, because it sets the tone of the day. It, also, establishes a mental attitude.
Upon rising, it would be a good idea to have your yellow sheet beside the bed, and while you’re working on this particular idea of success, to use your covenant, and each morning, repeat it, repeat it, and then use the affirmation that “I have positive mental energy working for me physically, mentally and emotionally,” over and get in touch with the words, what it means to have this positive mental energy of Spirit, for there is but one mind in the universe, the mind of God, and it is this mind that is the source of all that we need in our daily living.
As we draw from within ourselves this mental positive energy, that it does revitalize us physically. It revitalizes and quickens our awareness, and it gives us emotional stability and peace of mind.
Into your daily meditation, you take these ideas. Also, you take the ideas that you are working on in building a new consciousness into the time of meditation, and these will be the ideas that we will be working on today. Also, the ideas that you will be writing on the top of your sheet at your own leisure.
19 Method 2 - Writing and releasing
There is a process by which we can change our thinking. There is a definite process by which we can change our thinking. The way we can change our thinking is by, first of all, becoming aware of the areas that need changing, and you know, from the very beginning, the Father provided the perfect way of finding out what needs changing. For the law is, “as in mind, so in manifestation, as in heaven, so in earth.” We can find what we need to change in our thinking by first taking a look at the effects, by first taking a look at what is out-picturing in our life. This is a beautiful way. You know, if we had no way of telling what was happening in our thinking, then we would be subject to everything that came along.
But because we have this beautiful law given to us from the beginning, that the thoughts that we are holding in our mind are producing after their kind in our world, then we have complete dominion, because the one thing that we have been given dominion over from the very beginning is the right to choose the thoughts that we will hold in our mind. That is true freedom. No one can tell you what thoughts you are going to hold. It’s your choice. You have complete dominion there.
Also, if you have thought the thoughts, you can unthink them. No one thought them for you. You have taken them into your consciousness and made them a part of your consciousness. Now you can agree to let them go. You can agree to give up those thoughts, and to replace them with the desired thoughts that you want for the future. This is a very simple process that we call in Unity denials and affirmations. It sounds like a very simple phrase, denials and affirmations. Denials being that action of releasing, cleansing, letting go, giving up, eliminating from our consciousness all of those things which we no longer want to see manifesting in our life and in our world. The same thing holds true then of affirmation. Affirmations are the way of making firm in consciousness through our thought processes those things which we want to manifest.
20 Method 3 - Affirming new patterns
Now we can do this through a very simple process of using this yellow sheet. If you will turn to the side where you have the four categories listed, and it has “Successful Living Through Self-Awareness” at the top. You will see that we have provided space, and at this time, nothing has been written in, except the categories in which we will be working. We’ll be working on prosperity first. Then we will be working on human relationships, healing, and eternal life. We’ll consider each of these in 40 minute segments.
What we will be doing, we’ll be working with prosperity for two 40 minute segments, because very often when we get in touch with the areas of prosperity needs in our life, it manages to take care of some of the other areas very nicely, so we do have the establishment of some ideas in prosperity that will help us in our human relationships, in healing, for very often our healing needs are directly related to our prosperity needs, and, also, eternal life. Somehow or another, this idea of God’s providing abundance, the substance of the universe is an idea that we really need to get in touch with, so that we could truly understand how it affects all of the areas of our life.
The procedure that we’re going to be using is that during the ensuing periods, we will be going down each of these columns. The very first column to the left has a large P over it, and that stands for the physical areas of life. The center columns have an M over it, and those refer to those mental areas of life, our thinking processes. The final column to the right has an E, and those refer to our emotional areas of life, our feelings, where we are dealing with our feelings. You could see we’re going to be dealing with our self as a physical, mental and emotional being, so we can see where it is in our physical areas that we need to effect changes. We can, also, discover those mental areas in our thinking processes that need changing, and, also, the areas of feeling, which we must begin to work on in our change through self-awareness.
We all have the opportunity to select new thought patterns, and it is through selecting new thought patterns through this activity of self-awareness that we can really live successfully as we were intended to live, as a spirit of God within us can then flow through us freely and easily.
I like to call these states of thought which we want to release and let go of in our mind, the refuse, the refuse. I call it refuse, because it refuses, R-E-F-U-S-E, it refuses to let the Spirit flow through us freely. Therefore, if we want to be free with the freedom of spirit, we can do this by changing our thinking.
21 Method 4 - Meditation and alignment
A very important part of the process, too, is meditation, so during each of these 40 minute segments that we’re going to be working in, we’re going to be working with a meditation, so we will not be waiting until you get your alone times to work on meditation. We will be meditating as we go along on those areas that need changing, and in bringing about whole new states of consciousness now.
You know, the pattern of our days have been set by the thoughts that we’re holding in mind. Our thoughts are things. Charles Fillmore, the co-founder of Unity, in all of his writings, emphasized this one idea over and over and over, thoughts are things. Thoughts are things, and they are literally permeating our world. The pattern of our thoughts are like a road, a path that has gone out before us, and as this pathway unfolds before us and we walk it, we walk along those established thought patterns.
The important thing to know is when is the time to change the pattern if you do not want to come to that given effect in the future? Now. Now is the time. Don’t wait until you get to the situation or into the thing which you’re thinking has brought about to try to get out of it, because that is what is known as pushing the panic button. All of a sudden, “that which I greatly fear has come upon me,” and then I’m trying to get myself out of it, and we are really praying and meditating in desperation.
Rather then waiting until that happens, if we start now to change our thinking, then we set the pattern of our days in a whole new flow, a whole new flow, so that we do not have to reap the effect of the old causes, but rather that we have set into motion new causes within our thinking that are going to bring about the richness, the fullness of life that we all desire.
When is the acceptable time? Now. Today. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Today is the day that you can make the needed changes that you need to bring about in your consciousness, so that you will be experiencing the good that God has prepared for you.
22 Summary of Methods
We’re going to use the tools of the covenant. We’re going to use the tools of writing and releasing, and we’re going to use the tools of affirming and setting new patterns, and then meditating upon them, and by aligning our mind with God mind, we’re going to bring out the new changes that we desire, so that we may live as we were created to live as successful living, abundant, enjoying life to the fullest. Children of God expressing all the good that is ours.
