How to Create the Ideal Life | Inspirational Podcasts

Podcast Transcript: Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast, brought to you in part by Book of Zen, makers of wearable inspiration for a better world. Today’s podcast has been edited and adapted from the book Joy Philosophy by Elizabeth Towne, published in 1903″¦

You and I are artists. But we are prone to look too long and often at our canvas (the results of our efforts) and too little at our Ideals, which are the source of all effort and accomplishment.

Let us take special times every day for gazing upon our Ideals. The first thing in the morning, and the last thing at night, should be daily given to special gazing upon what we desire. Then several times a day, we should pause in our efforts, for a few moments’ study of the Ideal.

Choose for these sittings the same hour, the same place, and even the same chair facing the same way. Let the chair be an easy one, but with a straight back. Keep your appointments with your Ideal to the minute, as nearly as possible. But if at any time you are unavoidably hindered, take the earliest moment possible.

And always remember that the matter of first importance is to stay relaxed. To let a change upset you simply necessitates extra time and effort to get settled again.

Sit bolt upright, resting against the back of your chair, and in an easy position. Keep absolutely still, with eyes resting (not fixed) always on the same spot, straight ahead, and slightly above level. Do not get into a rigid state, but see that you are still. Aim not to move even once during the entire sitting, which should be about half an hour long. Perhaps less to begin with.

Now having disposed of your body, rise mentally to the highest heights you can picture. For instance, take your highest business ideal; picture it in rosy colors and definite outline. Stretch it. Make your ideal just as large and fine as possible. Picture out the details as plainly as possible. Make it definite. Decide just what you mean to work for and to realize.

Let us suppose that you are parent with a family of small children whom you wish to educate. You don’t want just barely enough money to send them to college, leaving yourself broke and struggling in retirement, during your golden years. You want to be successful and financially comfortable, so valuable to the world that you can receive plenty of money in return for your service.

You want to GROW in wisdom and knowledge until more lucrative and enjoyable work is successfully achieved. You want, say $100,000 a year, to come easily to you as a result of your own positive and skillful effort.

Keep filling in the details of your Ideal and get just as enthused over it as you possibly can. But keep your muscles relaxed. Rise above the body and revel in your Ideal.

There is a reason for this—when muscles are relaxed they are in condition to be filled with power from the Ideal that is held. Tensed muscles keep out the mental energy. Mind has a positive impact upon muscle, and relaxed muscles are receptive to mental power.

So loosen the body and get enthused over your Ideal. Let your mental picture wake as much emotion as possible; for emotion is a real creative force, and creates after the pattern held in mind.

If you hold a fearful picture in mind, emotion creates it. In the Bible, Job says “I feared a great fear and it came upon me.” If you hold a beautiful picture, emotion creates that too. Fear and joy, and all intermediate shades of feeling, are the same force—the soul-force out of which all creation is made.

So I tell you to do your best to get enthused and exalted over your Ideal. Keep telling yourself that your Ideal is you, and that in due time you will prove it in terms of matter. If it is not you, what is it? Your Ideal exists within you, does it not? And therefore it must be you. And your financial hurdles, your work, your “conditions,” exist outside of you, do they not? Then they are not you. What exists within is you.

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