Panic and Pandemonium in Paradise

Most people reading this email live in paradise.

At least, comparing you to the planetary presence of all humans, nothing much is amiss. You have running water, a bed to sleep in, friends who care, clothes to wear, food to eat.

At no time in the history of humanity have so many people been doing so well.

And a good many of you will want to challenge my assertion. Because of what you are feeling right now - and the thoughts that accompany those feelings. "These are incredible times." is the thought that keeps returning.

Now for a thought experiment – imagine I am there, and I ask you this question:

"How is your life these days?"

Actually, that's a difficult question to answer. 

First, it's not clear what period you ought to consider. A week? A month? A year? So first you must decide from what perspective you will answer this question.

Then, to answer it accurately, you need to make an inventory of what happened over that period. In your personal life, your professional life, your love life – if you even have one, or want one. Then - if you decided to consider only last week – you must consider each day. Consider the good things, the bad stuff - weigh them up against your personal objectives - then come to a comparatively balanced reply to truthfully and factually answer the question: "How-is-your-life-these-days?"

But that's not what people do.

Instead, they look up from reading the latest tweet about the irrational panic that is taking over the world right now, then answer a different question. 

They answer how they feel right now.

They substitute the original question for another question – which is not the question they were asked.

And don't even notice they did that.

Alexander was reported – I don't remember where I read it - for disliking the everyday question:

"How do you feel today?"

These days, I understand why. 

Your feelings are mercurial; they don't reflect your true state. 

Feelings have no reliable information contained within them. They can be capricious, misleading and harmful to your Self and others if you let them be.

Today's pandemonium is a good example. 

Feelings have overtaken reason. My daughter sneezed on a train – the man sitting next to her immediately jumped out of his seat - then fled to the other end of the train. 

Madness. Had she pulled out a pen-knife, would he have responded the same?

But back to the original question – "How-is-your-life-these-days?"

By answering how you feel – especially now - you are prompted to negate the information that you are living in paradise. That you have food, shelter and loved ones. 

Instead, your unconscious starts imagining a future which does not exist, then begins reacting to it as though it was real.

This is how our brains like being lazy.

Instead of remembering paradise, hell comes to mind. You are worried, confused, scared, apprehensive of the future, and those feelings slowly become the facts. 

They become your reality.

Alexander was right. 

You cannot answer the question - "How-is-your-life-these-days?" - without telling a lie to the person who asks. Because your answer will be based upon your feelings, and your emotions cannot reflect the true nature of your existence at any one moment of time.

Be careful. 

Don't believe the world is what you feel it to be, based on the latest bit of information you just received.

Bring your intelligence back into play. 

Pull out a piece of paper. Make two headings. 

A. All the good things in my life right now 
B. All the problems that COVID-19 makes for me.

If you do that, you will quickly see that COVID-19 is like vapour-wear. Most of what frightens you does not (yet) exist. It's all in the realm of imagination of the future. I am not saying it won't happen; I am saying it hasn't happened yet.

This is how you use your brain to help your Self. 

It's applied consciousness.

There's nothing magic or flighty about it. 

It's practical, concrete and effective. 

If you want some advice on how to use your brain in a way that supports your well-being, use Alexander's Discovery. Kidding.

But you can get some refresher lessons by joining other teaches for a monthly coaching session, and starting to study what makes sense for you now.

It may be time to pivot your practice and open your mind to new possibilities.

And for anyone who books by the end of this month, I've added free 30-Day access to my comprehensive BodyThinking Online course – on how to apply consciousness to cooperate with the original design of your nervous system.

I will add it manually, once you join.

Take a look here and use the spare time you have to create a constructive future.

https://atsuccess.com/foundations