You are smack in the middle of inventing your life every moment... for some, that idea makes you all tingly with excitement, but for others it may spark a reaction similar to, "Another thing to do?? I don't have time to invent anything; I'm too busy reacting to this, putting out that fire, going hither and yon."

Maybe you'd never say, "Hither and yon," but you get my drift. My point is attitude is so central to our experience of "reality."

Have you ever noticed how your attitude can affect not just your conversations, but also how long a meeting feels, how food tastes, what smells you sense, what level of ideas pop into your mind, or your internal rhythm?

It is real. Your attitude or the way you observe the world creates the filter you see and experience everything through.

You might find yourself saying "I would never choose to have my child seriously ill or watch my beloved suffer from depression or get a cold right as I need to finish a big project or keep choosing men who leave me.

My attitude won't change the reality of these things!" That's true -- our attitude doesn't change reality Here's where most of us stop being curious and slip right back into reactivity.

But, if you close your eyes for a minute and imagine yourself in a situation in your life that feels stuck and awful and seeing it as say, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. And then as your best friend.

And then as your mother. And then as President Bush (okay, that's hard but try). What other ways of seeing occur to you?

By playing with how we see the situations that we feel powerless in, by remembering we are always observing and shaping our observations, based on our history, our biology, our mood, our beliefs, and much more -- brings us to the ultimate creative place -- we get to choose.

Make a shift, see a shimmer, move your body, enjoy a belly laugh , don't take it personally, see where you can reach out with gratitude: all of these things remind you that you the creator, the chooser, the powerful beautiful one.

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From Jennifer Louden's Self Care Minder newsletter, August 2, 2006

Jennifer Louden is a best-selling author of five books, including her classic, The Woman's Comfort Book, and her newest, Comfort Secrets for Busy Women. She's also a creativity and life coach, creator of the Inner Organizer, and a columnist for Body + Soul Magazine.

She leads retreats on self-care and creativity around the country. Hear her live on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius Channel 112 every Sunday at 8 am Pacific, 11 am Eastern.

Visit her world at: ComfortQueen.com

Also see her articles on SelfGrowth.com
 

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