If you’ve read my blog and my “about the blog” page, you already know that I’m in a state of transition.

Here’s the summary: I’ve been on disability since October 2009, and now it’s up for review.  I’m afraid I might lose it, so I’ve decided to start a freelance writing business, just in case.

And starting a freelance writing business is hard work.  The fact that I can’t seem to stop oversleeping makes it even harder.  It seems like I’ve hit a wall.

I keep running out of time.

The Homily

In his homily at St. Luke’s two Sundays ago, Rev. Dr. Randall R. Warren shared some insight into times of transition.

He preached on the story in Luke 17:11-19 in which Jesus heals ten lepers on his way to Jerusalem.  One of the lepers, a Samaritan, comes back to say thank you when he sees he is clean.

According to Rev. Randall, Jesus was in a place of transition, between Samaria and Galilee.  And this story gives us “clues” about handling transitions.

About Samaritans

One of the clues comes from the fact that the healed leper who said thank you was a Samaritan, said Rev. Randall.  First century Jews hated Samaritans.  But in Luke, the Samaritans are often the heroes or examples.

This teaches us, said Rev. Randall, that in times of transition we need to look for God to work through people we don’t expect in places we don’t expect.

Praising God

A second clue comes from the fact that the Samaritan returned to Jesus “praising God,” said Rev. Randall.  That phrase is used to describe the shepherds coming back from seeing the newborn Jesus.  It’s also used to describe the disciples returning from Jesus’ ascension.

As we go through transitions, we need to praise God for the ways he has worked in our lives, said Rev. Randall.

Get Up and Go

The third clue comes from the fact that Jesus told the Samaritan to “get up and go.”  Rev. Randall observed, this phrase is used several times in Luke and Acts.

Mary gets up and goes to see Elizabeth after the annunciation. Ananias gets up and goes to wash Saul’s eyes and restore his sight.  Peter gets up and goes to meet the men from the centurion Cornelius. These are all key events in the story of Christianity.

The point is: we need to keep going in times of transition.  And also, Rev. Randall pointed out, when we get up and go, remember, God goes with us.

Two things hit home: practice gratitude and don’t give up.  Practicing gratitude is an excellent spiritual practice.  But there’s another reason.  According to David Bayer, it creates the energy.

David Bayer

Who is David Bayer? He’s an entrepreneur who teaches other entrepreneurs how to develop a winning mindset.  He has a book called Mind Hack and four Mind Hack videos which introduce some basic principles for developing that winning mindset.

One of the questions he asks is: what if your biggest ally, your biggest cheerleader, was your own brain?

The Real Situation

If you’re anything like me, your brain is not your biggest ally.  It’s a big conflicted mess.

Oh, how I long for a mind that works for me and not against me.  Don’t you?

Limiting Beliefs

David Bayer says that we see the world and our lives through the lens of limiting beliefs, or unconscious decisions, that are built into the structure of our brains.  These beliefs came from our earliest childhood.  And they can be changed.

But the first step is to determine what those limiting beliefs are.

Ah-hah!

Hearing him discuss limiting beliefs was an ah-hah moment for me.  I realized what has been holding me back, making me depressed.

On a deep level, I see myself as a failure.  And I think I can’t do anything challenging.  And I think I can’t have what I want in life.

These are just three of my limiting beliefs.  And they’re major downers.

Back to David Bayer

According to David Bayer, we interpret every experience as evidence supporting our limiting beliefs.  But once we know what those limiting beliefs are, we can simply decide to believe something different, something congruent with the future we want to create.

And then, we pay attention to the voice in our head, and every time we catch ourselves interpreting the world through a limiting belief, we notice it, acknowledge where it came from, and shift our attention to our new decision.

Seems simple.  But it’s not easy.

Changing Reality

But the more we do it, as Bayer says, the more we will restructure our brains to see the world through the lens of our new decisions.  And this will change what ideas we attract, shift what we pay attention to, and activate the power of beneficial coincidences.  This changes our reality.

And one things that helps us to do all this is to focus on gratitude, Bayer also says.  Give thanks for every little positive thing in your life that you can think of.  This will give you the energy to think clearly, come up with intelligent objectives, ask the right questions, and take the most appropriate action.

You will do less work, and get more done.

Sounds great!

New Commitments

Based on what I’ve learned from David Bayer, I’ve made two new commitments.

One, every morning, write a prayer in my journal thanking God for everything I can think of.

Two, as I go through my day, every day, pay attention to when I’m operating according to a limiting belief and shift my focus to a more empowering decision.  If I’m feeling a negative emotion, that’s a clue that a limiting belief is driving me, so then I can to ask myself what thoughts my emotions are coming from to find the limiting belief.

I’m hoping these commitments will give me the will to keep going.  I’m not giving up.

How About You?

What are your limiting beliefs? What new empowering decisions could you make to replace them?  Share in the comments.