You really don’t!

You think you do … but you don’t. You’re wrong! You see the world through a series of filters, but you don’t know how the filters work (chances are you didn’t even know they existed). You’ve heard this again and again, that this is a world of illusion. It’s true! We literally don’t know what we’re talking about. And one of the biggest mistakes we can make is assuming we have the full facts. We don’t. None of us does. And each one of us has a different story, because each one of us is wearing glasses with different coloured lenses.

We’re totally convinced we’re right … because, as we all know, it’s very, very important to be right … right? Wrong! All we know, all we experience, comes to us as a series of impulses, which we process as thoughts, and develop into beliefs, and perceptions … but they all come to us through our own personal filters.

We see the world through a series of filters

If we’ve been brought up to believe that foreigners are dangerous and untrustworthy and should be avoided, we will believe that. It will seem self-evident. Everywhere we look we will see proof of it. It will be difficult to see the contradictory evidence. Because what we see is what gets through our filter. And the colour of that filter is the colour that we’ve absorbed from our parents, our siblings, our peers, the TV programmes we watch, the books we read, the experiences we live through. And we tend to associate only with those whose beliefs tally with our own (which, of course, backs them up!). And we only really ‘see’ the ones that fit in with our beliefs, and so we naturally ignore the rest. Oh yes, our filters are very effective – they stop everything else getting through, so our beliefs are always supported! 

WHETHER THEY’RE RIGHT OR WRONG!

And they ensure we only mix with people who support them even further, so we’re always right … or appear to be.

If you’ve been brought up in a family where money was hard to come by, that thinking has coloured your filters. You will believe that money is indeed hard to come by. You will think the only way to make money is through hard work and by the sweat of your brow, and if you ever do manage to make any real money you’ll have trouble hanging onto it. Because your belief system doesn’t support that. So, one way or another, you’ll find ways to sabotage your own success. Money will slip through your fingers. Not only will it not be attracted to you in the first place, if it ever does find its way into your hands it will be slippy. It won’t stick. You’ll lose it, or waste it, or have ‘bad luck’ with it, or squander it in some way. Because your filters make it almost impossible for you to believe that you’re worthy of being wealthy.

So you’ll find ways to lose the money you make, and once it’s gone that will support your beliefs! The whole system is self-replicating! Because that’s what they’re there for – to prop up your self-image, and if that is of a person who can’t make money, or can’t hold onto money, then it’s vitally important that the facts fit in with the image you have created. So something, no matter how contrived, will always happen to make the reality fit in with your perceptions. Wow … those filters … they really do have you in a corner!

And all the time you think you’re thinking rationally, and you think you’re right (and everyone who thinks differently is wrong, naturally) … but in reality you’re just reacting to what you ‘see’ … and you only see what your programming, your filters, allow you to see.

If it doesn’t match your filter, it doesn’t get through!

Anything that contradicts your beliefs is filtered out! But you don’t know that. You’re so convinced you’re right, it’s beyond question. Your beliefs have made you react automatically, and there’s very little real thinking involved. Most of the time, the thinking that’s going on is really just a matter of falling in line with the self-image you’ve created, and that’s been the product of the filters through which you see the world.

And if you become aware of the trance that you’re effectively in, and you start to talk to people about it (to family, friends, whatever), even though you’re enthusiastic about this discovery, you’ll find most of them will react as though you’re talking nonsense. Because they’re still in that same trance state! Because, remember, birds of a feather flock together, and you are with these people because you all share the same beliefs. You all see through similar filters (although each one is unique). And they can’t see what you are starting to see. As much as they might want to support you, and believe in your ideas, they simply cannot see what you see. Because they’re still viewing life through their filters!

Nobody will understand you!

You might have found this. You are becoming aware of the possibilities of changing your lifestyle. You realise it’s actually possible to become successful. To become wealthy. To release resistance and allow wealth to flow into your life. To raise yourself from your self-induced low level to a higher, more prosperous level. But the moment you mention it to your partner, or spouse, or friend … you meet with opposition. Sometimes very strident opposition. You’re met with a wall of the strongest imaginable resistance. They act as though you’re not just wrong, but dangerously misguided! In fact, they respond to you as though you’ve lost your mind.

They don’t mean any harm, of course. It’s just that they’re still locked into that trance state, the one that determines that they are effectively consigned to a very low position and unable to escape from it. So when they are confronted by one of their own who is suddenly spouting all this ‘nonsense’ about prosperity and success, they really think you’ve lost all sense of reality.

Tread carefully, you’re stepping into undiscovered territory

So tread carefully. Make progress gently, careful to not disturb your family and friends. Don’t expect them to rush to congratulate you on escaping your trance. They’re still in it, so they can’t conceive of escaping it! Be aware that they will be suspicious of your new-found freedom. To them it will seem wrong and misguided, and you will appear to them to be crazy.

Be patient with them. Don’t expect them to tag along, they’re not going to do that. Don’t expect them to understand. They won’t. Just go ahead and make steady progress … but move forward gently, careful not to disturb the undergrowth any more than necessary. Tread lightly, and be content with your own discoveries and your own newly-clear vision. Later on, when your success become undeniable, it might be possible to hold out your hand and lead them into the light. But right now, just settle for moving along softly, and alone. You’ll get there, just don’t expect to lead all your friends and neighbours along for the ride!