While being interviewed by David Letterman in 2018, Former President Barack Obama talked about how algorithms can play a potentially harmful part in driving the content we are served by social media and search engines. He shared this example.
“Somebody took a liberal, a conservative and a moderate and sent them on a Google search for Egypt. For the conservative, it came up “Muslim Brotherhood,” and for the liberal it came up “Tahrir Square” [the site of mass public protests in Cairo] and for the moderate it came up “Vacation Spots on the Nile.” ...whatever your biases were, that’s where you were being sent." — Barack Obama
The point is we all live in a bubble composed of our friends and colleagues who tend to share our views and reinforce our biases.
The same concept is true of our brains. We can spin the same old story thousands of times and see life through our own limited viewpoint. That is why it is so important to change our thinking so we can change our lives.
I love this technique that I heard the Rev Mary Beth Speer share at a Unity Service last week.
1. When you hear yourself saying an old limiting belief like “it is too hard”, “I don’t know how to move out of this situation”, “I’m not creative enough”, “I’m too old (too young)” just say :
UP UNTIL NOW it was too hard,
Up until now I didn’t know how to move forward
Up until now I wasn’t aware of how creative I can be
Up until now I let my age run my life
2. Then put in a new thought like:
“I have overcome challenges in the past and can do the same now.”
“I am getting more creative every day.”
“I am learning new skills to move forward.”
“I no longer allow my age to influence what I can or cannot do.”
Try this for at least 40 days and see what happens. Remember it takes at least 40-66 days to change a habitual thought and reprogram your brain. At times it can seem overwhelming, however the end results are worth the effort.
Be gentle with yourself as you move forward. As we enter this new season, set your intention to live an awakened life and open to spiritual solutions that you may not have thought of before.
Until next time,
Barbara