“As some persons begin to discover the relationship between thoughts and events, they begin to be afraid of thinking negative thoughts, worrying, “Oh, no! I just had a thought of something bad happening to me – that means I will attract it!” This anxiety comes from an incomplete understanding of how thoughts attract events. There is no need to be concerned about stray thoughts of disaster or failure. They have no power unless we feed them with fear.

We are thinking many, many thoughts per second (Buddha said trillions) and we are also catching the thoughts of those around us. Occasional thoughts of negativity or failure may creep into our consciousness, but if we “throw them off” before we indulge in them, they cannot harm us. It is thought HABITS that count. Continually dwelling on the same thoughts, feelings, and mental pictures begets conditions. Keep your thought PATTERNS positive, and little negativity shall have no power to penetrate your established force field of positivity.”

Alan Cohen in, “The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”

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Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“Why are millions of people ’round the world, who may normally have no interest in sport, mesmerized by the Olympic games? It’s because the vestiges of the old tribal mind, which has grown to become a national mind, is bolstered by even the slightest success. So, a bronze medal in Ping Pong creates a hero in some places, and makes the people of that nation feel better about themselves.

The remnants of the tribal mind are still very present. If your mind is global, you may watch the table tennis for the pleasure of it, but you wouldn’t care much who won or lost. You certainly wouldn’t go potty if a man or woman you have never met – who happens to have the citizenship as you – does well…

The international fervor over sporting events endorses the national ego, bolstering the illusion that the people of one country are special and separate from others. We won. The foreigners lost. We’re better…

By pumping national pride, the government tethers people inside the national mindset, where it can sell them on the idea that whatever the government says is good for the country must also be good for the individual.”

Stuart Wilde, in “Whispering Winds of Change”

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Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“When we “depreciate” something, we devalue or diminish its worth. We depreciate things or people by expressing disapproval or dislike. When we appreciate something or someone, we give value with approval and praise. When we appreciate things, we mean to increase their worth.

It is impossible to feel grateful for something or someone we do not value. Begin to see things and people as they truly are rather than your assessment of them, which is an inner judgment. Each person is a child of God. See the unfolding of God in each person you meet. Then you are able to appreciate them. When you fail to do this, you depreciate them.

Your experience of misery, emptiness and fear is related to your depreciation of what shows up in your life. Think of everything that you criticize regularly and you will see where you have failed to appreciate. If you find fault with blacks or whites, Muslims or Jews, Iraqis or Americans, the young or the old, what you are doing is devaluing groups of people. The moment you participate in the depreciation process, you block your ability to experience gratitude and, consequently, you obstruct your ability to manifest prosperity, love and joy.”

Wayne W. Dyer, in “Manifest Your Destiny”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“Many of you spend more time and energy worrying about doing things than doing them. How often have you put off doing something, thinking it might take too much work, only to find that once you were in the mood to do it and got started, it was easier than you thought? If there is something you keep putting off, let it go for a while and stop making yourself wrong for not doing it. Sometimes pressuring yourself to do something makes it harder to start.

To create more time, watch your words and thoughts about time. Do you say to yourself or others, “I never have enough time; I am so pressured, and I wonder how I’ll get all this done?” Your words, thoughts, and beliefs are creating your reality, so begin by telling yourself you have all the time you need. Start saying such things as, “I have all the time I need; I do things in a relaxed, focused way.” Even if you don’t believe this at first, your words and thoughts will soon create this as your reality.”

Sanaya Roman, in “Spiritual Growth”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.

“If you use your awareness, you will see everything you believe, and this is how you live your life. Your life is totally dominated by the system of beliefs that you learned. Whatever you believe is creating the story that you’re experiencing; whatever you believe is creating the emotions that you’re experiencing. And you may really want to believe that you are what you believe, but that image is completely false. It’s not you.

The real you is unique and it’s beyond everything that you know, because the real you is the truth. You, the human, are the truth. Your physical presence is real. What you believe about yourself is not real, and it’s not important unless you want to create a better story for yourself. Truth or fiction; either way, the story that you’re creating is a work of art. It’s a wonderful story, a beautiful story, but it’s just a story, and it’s as close to the truth as you can get by using symbols.”

Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz, in “The Fifth Agreement”

For more information about this book visit Amazon.

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified and Codi’s Journey, launched Pondercentral.com in April 2007 as a Web-based forum for “PONDER on THIS,” a series of weekday inspirational email messages he began sending to subscribers in March 1999. A FREE service since its inception, “PONDER on THIS” provides subscribers with meaningful content to assist them on their individual paths of spiritual growth. In addition, it benefits subscribers, authors, and publishers by including links to Amazon.com where subscribers can learn more about the book being quoted, and also purchase it.