1-Day Atheist LoA test in progress!

[Angela]

This morning I dug a copy of the Hicks' Ask and It is Given out of my "gifts that needed re-gifting" box, because of all you zealots. I read the first couple of chapters before work, and although I was yucked out by the 'channeling of Abraham' crock, I was struck by this sentence:

"Pay attention to the way you feel, and deliberately choose thoughts -- about everything -- that feel good to you when you think them."

OK, that resonates for me, so let's give it a test. I started thinking everything I desire, and what I would like to think about in order to feel good. First on my list are vitality, well-being, and joyful energy. How about that -- I actually did feel good just thinking about those things. My breakfast smoothie tasted like vitality juice, and my spine stretched skyward, endorphins from my a.m. workout surged through me. I could see where paying close attention to thoughts that made me feel good was having an immediate effect. It's something I'd like to continue.

Next, what would I like to manifest today? I thought I'd start with something easy: I am creating delightful surprises today. Here's what's happened so far:
I walked out to my car - 8 am, gorgeous morning -- the roller coaster on the pier is running! Someone is riding the roller coaster at 8 o'clock in the morning. Ok, I'll take that as a delightful surprise.
The 405 was unbelievably clear and flowing. Yes, it is the kid's holiday vacation; there is a reasonable explanation, but hello?! Good traffic on the 405 is a delightful surprise!
I became irritated by a slow truck ahead of me. My normal reaction is to think "you schmuck, get outta my way!" This did not feel good. I surrendered that and instead thought, "After you!" My irritation subsided and I made it to work in plenty of time.

It's 9:08am. I am scientifically looking for delightful surprises today. Will check back with you later.

[Angela]

My boss's associate just came in and dropped "a little picture of Ben Franklin" on my desk. Whooo-hoooo! Now THAT is a delightful surprise.

[Cassie]

Oooh, your calm and soothing aura is attracting loads of good energy. Keep it up! I can't wait to hear how the rest of your day turns out.

[Angela]

My calm and soothing aura is ON FIRE!!!!

Here's the latest Delightful Surprise!
ANOTHER of my boss's associates, for whom I do minimal stuff now and then but certainly never expected any gift, just delivered to me:
A Burke Williams spa certificate for massage, facial, and therapy bath!!!!
AND a $200 gift certificate for dinner at a luxurious local restaurant!!!

Amazing. Amazing. I am stunned. yay.

[JJH]

Effortless manifestation... awesome stuff!

[daveangeles]

Fantastic 'work' Angela.

Looks like the universe is pulling some serious stops to win you over to the LoA way of thinking.

And yeah, I agree with the Abraham thing. It feels manipulative -- I don't really know if she's 'channeling' a wise group of spirits named Abraham or not. I mean, nothing they write is really any 'wiser' than what a decent self-help author would be able to accomplish with his/her own conscious mind. Why not take the credit instead of attributing it to some vague team of cosmic ghostwriters?

Angeles

[Angela]

As I reached home, my landlord stopped me in the parking lot and told me he was arranging for new stylish blinds to be installed in my apartment. Yet another delightful surprise.

I've always sensed that you tend to find what you're looking for. Today's test was more dynamic, though: I was actively seeking out things I could interpret as Delightful Surprises, and was delightfully surprised at how many delightful surprises there were to find. Just plain fun. As I got home, I saw the ferris wheel and xmas tree all lit up on the pier and thought, "well, it's delightful, but not really a surprise" and realized I was shutting down my magic. But in fact, it is a surprise to notice each time how pretty those lights are, and how lucky I am to live so close to the sea, and how glad I am to be alive. My new intention is to be alert to my gratitude.

Cassie, I'm sorry that I was not alert enough today to see that you were a heavenly messenger: calm and soothing were ingredients that would have been delicious in today's pie. Instead, I got a little worked up and forgot about deliberately choosing thoughts that feel good when I think them. That led to a bit of a clash, which needs some cleaning up. Tomorrow I will add calm and soothing to my mix. Thank you for your angelic effect.

daveangeles (david + angels? hmmm) Thank you for the encouragement. Have you tried the little exercises at the end of the book? The 1st one: Rampage of Appreciation, was very fun, gave me the shivers, and as you can see, has made me all schmoopy. geesh.

Technically I have another 11 hours of delightful surprises, even though I'll be asleep for most of it. Here I go!

[Markus74]

Originally Posted by daveangeles

Why not take the credit instead of attributing it to some vague team of cosmic ghostwriters?

Why did Moses say the commandments were from God and not from himself?
Divine/cosmic origin gives the texts more authority (to believers) and adds to the mystery.

Besides that: Interesting post, angela. Sounds like a really great day you had

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Markus74

Why did Moses say the commandments were from God and not from himself?

I guess there are two possibilities:

(1) The Commandments WERE from God; or

(2) Divine/cosmic origin gives the texts more authority (to believers) and adds to the mystery.

[Markus74]

Acting: Of course. As for the probability of this, I won't debate that now since this would be off-topic and I'm not in a debating mood.

Have a nice day.

[danas]

the easiest road to making "miracles" is appriciation. thats why so many happened to you in one day
congradultions!

[Angela]

For the last few months I've been focusing on asserting to myself and to others that there is no god. It has been a valuable time for me. I believe there is no god. (I'm talking: personal, interventionist god.)

This 1-day test was really enlightening for me. I see that consciously directing my thoughts is not at all supernatural; that feeling good is instantly, immediately available at my will. It's becoming clear now that growth requires letting go of focus on the "not" (god) and focus on the "YES!" in life. You know why? Because it feels better. I've been practicing being "not" for so long that it will take some practice and awareness to constantly, deliberately shift my thoughts in the direction of "YES!" so please bear with me if I go all atheist on your ass.

This end-of-year, winter solstice, everybody-celebrating-something time seems like an invitation to me to think about and declare some "YES!" possibilities to create for my life, the people I love, and the world. I'll also be thinking about what I can let go of (argumentativeness maybe?) to make more room for what I really want. A whole lot of heaven* in 2007!

(*but with no personal, interventionist god inside of it.) OOPS! I did it again.

[Lucas]

I agree with the Abraham part of Ask and it is Given, though I find "Abrahams Thoughts" in the book, to be more profound and interesting than Hicks' ideas on it, so maybe there is something to ole Abe. The book is chock full of repetition, so I am glad I photoread it. Try some of the exercises too.

Even if LoA isnt real (which it is ), its an excellent tool to keep your mood positive, and focused on the good.

[Reyv]

Me, a year ago:
God exists? Get real, that's ludicrous. You're being manipulated.
Channeling? Bwahaha. ROFL.
Psychics? Frauds and charlatans.
Life after death? Yeah right.
Thoughts influence reality? Whenever they cause action.
Organized religion? Power-hungry bastards.

Me, now:
God exists? Well, duh! He's my best friend.
Channeling? Beyond reasonable doubt.
Psychics? Some great people out there, with real abilities.
Life after death? My soul is living dozens of lives right now. I am eternal.
Thoughts influence reality? Thoughts literally create reality.
Organized religion? Power-hungry bastards. (well, the leadership anyway)

Conclusion?
I'm not sure if I'm going anywhere with this, but I found describing the transition rather funny. And I'm serious about it. Still, I think atheism was an important stepping stone for me, especially from the mumbo-jumbo that is organized religion. It made me a lot less gullible.

Anyway, the remark I actually wanted to make was this: The single most important lesson I've learned along my way is that there is nothing that matters more than to feel good. And right about now, I'm wondering when I've begun to sound like Abraham.

But really, regardless of your beliefs about reality, this still applies. Even without the LoA, feeling good makes it easier to take action, and it has always equaled significantly better results for me.

Plus, I'd go so far as to say that happiness is the only reason most people strive for success during their lives, which is pretty much going at it in reverse. If you become happy first (which is nothing more than an inner choice), everything else becomes a lot easier.

I could say that my entire belief system is currently geared towards making me happy. I positively adore the notion of Guardian Angels watching over me, Spirit Guides always offering me their guidance, God being made of perfect Love, the Moon being made of yummy Green Cheese, oops, too much? But you get the picture. Plus, my model of reality is (to me) a lot more accurate, and just makes too much sense.

Alrighty then, that's about enough infinite wisdom from me.

[Angela]

Very amusing, Reyv! You brought tears to my eyes. Thanks.
angela

[Lil Chris]

"Moon being made of yummy Green Cheese"

Ha! This made me laugh... Thanks Reyv

[dorothy hanna]

I look forward to your posts. Good attitude of gratitude will do it everytime, no matter ones beliefs.

I went through that same thing with the old god thing, as I had begun to call it. I really enjoyed letting go of god, and finding out what really works, and whether or not one believes in LOA, the steps, so simple, and pure, do, indeed work.
Want more joy, and happiness in your life? Think of joyous, and happy things, and things that make you feel good, and it's surprising just how fast things work inside of you.

I don't really care if Hicks can really channel an Abraham or not. This person does seem to be very good at, on the spot, advising a person on a better way to look at what they are experiencing, and say, quite simply, a good way of looking at the situation. Like an really good therapist, or advisor will be able to do. See things, and point them out to you, very quickly.
I'm rading the book too, but I heard a CD of some sessions, and the advice was very good.

I'm all for FEELING GOOD!!!

[dorothy hanna]

Angela,
Have you seen the movie, "The Secret"? It's very good. Well put together, and doesn't have a lot of psychic, channeling etc...stuff in it. It discribes the LOA, in a whole different way. It really makes you on fire, feel good.

I was already on a good place of being more appreciative, and feeling good, and this movie just shot me off like a rocket, and such a boost, I had not anticpated. It's halped my daughter so very, very much.

She had been struggling with a sick child, born with Biliary Artresia, as well as dealing with her own severe case of dystonia. After her watching the movie, she has had fantastic experiences. Now, even when she is having a particularly tough day with the dystonia, she goes through her physical therapy (very painful) with so many good feelings etc...

The doctors were very excited to see that her automatic reflex for movement of certain muscles in her neck, were active, and usuable. She can now move when she is in certain positions. These particular reflexes disappear after infancy, but hers have re-activated. Doctors were very surprised, but very excited to discover this in her. It's something they feel they can work with, and holds good promise.

If feeling good, and being able to control ones feelings does this for her, I care not from what source/belief it is derived. I'm going with it.
One of the reasons the good feelings work is it is a tremendous reliever of stress, and stress kills.

So, everybody. Feel good. Go for that. Think of good things. Think of wonderful things. Delight! Shere delight for the highest good of all.

[TheColonel]

Originally Posted by Angela

For the last few months I've been focusing on asserting to...others that there is no god.

Great thread, Angela, and thanks for the inspiring report. But I don't understand the quote above.

Why would you be so concerned what other people believe?

I've never understood why people would be so passionate about this assertion. With organized religion, you've got a built-in 'call' to evangelize. At its most base level, you could explain that in pure business terms.

But for you atheists, why is it so important to convince anyone that God does not exist? What is your motivation?

What is your REAL motivation?

[Angela]

Dorothy, no, I haven't seen The Secret yet, but I'll make a point of checking it out. Thanks, and thanks for the kind words.

TheColonel: well, it's not that I have wanted to convince anyone that god does not exist. I know darn well that that's not going to happen, any more than anyone's going to convince me to believe in god. I think my stridency in asserting that there is no god (not the same as trying to convince) comes from a feeling of shrugging off the bullying I've felt from various religious entities. I'm a recovering catholic, and the church and my family are extremely fierce and diligent, like a little dog protecting its bone, about my maintaining a belief in god. The workings of the current political administration, too, as well as the powerful religious right, have made me aware that I had been silent for too long about this issue, and that my rights had been trampled as a result. These, and more, have made me mad! I had an awakening that it was NOT necessary for me to respect religious faith, by keeping quiet about its faults and inconsistencies, or in any other way. And you know there's no convert like a new convert -- I had been feeling like the Norma Rae of atheists. In fact, my outspokenness has led to several people awakening in much the same way -- letting go of the need to mollycoddle religious people. That is, to some extent, because there are quite a few Faithheads who are more than willing to express and instill their beliefs violently, and I never had the desire to be a martyr. Everybody has the drive to be fully self-expressed, and atheists have long been "underground" due to societal forces of disapproval and oppression. It can be very empowering to come out of the closet. You asked about "for you atheists", and I wouldn't deign to answer for anyone else, but I reckon some other atheists might agree. Others have other motives.

That said, now that I've had my time of strident expression, I now feel done, for the most part. I'm ready to move in a direction that I believe will be one of growth: the YES direction. For myself, my loverman, my other beloveds, and my world. It feels right to me. Thanks for inquiring, it felt good to outline all of this.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Cassie

Oooh, your calm and soothing aura is attracting loads of good energy. Keep it up! I can't wait to hear how the rest of your day turns out.

Cassie, being my new intention today of "calm and soothing" was of HUGE value to me today in several ways. It really made a difference, and I thank you again.
A

[Markus74]

Originally Posted by TheColonel

But for you atheists, why is it so important to convince anyone that God does not exist? What is your motivation?
What is your REAL motivation?

Most active atheists probably feel very annoyed by religious people (and I guess especially Christians) since they often want to impose their ways (in the US) and spread harmful non-sense like creationism. I guess atheists are the counter-balance to christian/muslim/whatever fundamentalists.

[David Hausladen]

Originally Posted by Reyv

I think atheism was an important stepping stone for me, especially from the mumbo-jumbo that is organized religion.

Same here--I don't think I could have got to where I am now without the step through atheism. Going atheist is the choice that subjects your most essential beliefs to reason. Once you've subjected the idea of God and Hell to reason, doing the same to conventional science is easy.

Which is how I ended up at:

God exists? God is just the sum of everything and everyone.
Channeling? I've seen enough evidence that it would be hard for me to believe this is not real.
Psychics? See "Channeling".
Life after death? And before birth.
Thoughts influence reality? See "Psychics".
Organized religion? Jesus (who was a cool guy, but don't believe everything you hear about him) had a word for strict religious leaders back in the day; the word was "Pharisees".

[ÜberDan]

I think when people say they don't beleive in God what they mean is they don't beleive in other peoples ideas, interpretations and beleifs of what/who God is.

It's interesting to read that a lot of people have also first gone through the rejection of a relegious God before finding they're own God which is what i've done

[TheColonel]

Originally Posted by Angela

Dorothy, no, I haven't seen The Secret yet, but I'll make a point of checking it out. Thanks, and thanks for the kind words.

TheColonel: well, it's not that I have wanted to convince anyone that god does not exist. I know darn well that that's not going to happen, any more than anyone's going to convince me to believe in god. I think my stridency in asserting that there is no god (not the same as trying to convince) comes from a feeling of shrugging off the bullying I've felt from various religious entities. I'm a recovering catholic, and the church and my family are extremely fierce and diligent, like a little dog protecting its bone, about my maintaining a belief in god. The workings of the current political administration, too, as well as the powerful religious right, have made me aware that I had been silent for too long about this issue, and that my rights had been trampled as a result. These, and more, have made me mad! I had an awakening that it was NOT necessary for me to respect religious faith, by keeping quiet about its faults and inconsistencies, or in any other way. And you know there's no convert like a new convert -- I had been feeling like the Norma Rae of atheists. In fact, my outspokenness has led to several people awakening in much the same way -- letting go of the need to mollycoddle religious people. That is, to some extent, because there are quite a few Faithheads who are more than willing to express and instill their beliefs violently, and I never had the desire to be a martyr. Everybody has the drive to be fully self-expressed, and atheists have long been "underground" due to societal forces of disapproval and oppression. It can be very empowering to come out of the closet. You asked about "for you atheists", and I wouldn't deign to answer for anyone else, but I reckon some other atheists might agree. Others have other motives.

That said, now that I've had my time of strident expression, I now feel done, for the most part. I'm ready to move in a direction that I believe will be one of growth: the YES direction. For myself, my loverman, my other beloveds, and my world. It feels right to me. Thanks for inquiring, it felt good to outline all of this.

Hm. Okay.

[cylon]

Some interesting things in this thread I can relate to.

I have defined myself as a flat-out atheist, a weak atheist, an agnostic... it's tough to say "hey that's me: that's my label." The question was asked about why atheists can be very vigilant about talking people out of their beliefs.

Everyone has a different story, like many I was raised Christian as well. And like many it was not fun, hearing about going to hell from your family all the time. Especially from a young age, when you get these messages that you are a dirty sinner, that all natural thoughts and impulses are not yours, but come from the devil, it can seriously screw you up. For me, it was a blessing and a curse. I have always been fascinated by religion, spirituality, philosophy, probably because I desperately needed to find a belief system that could make me feel good and was NOT the evil, terrifying picture of reality I was raised on.

When you step away from that, and start to see it as something that may not be real, there is tremendous freedom in that. Slowly your own sense of self starts to emerge, and it can be a liberating experience once you have given yourself permission to think for yourself. This happened for me about six years ago. And just like believers who feel something good and want to share it with others, what the atheist can feel is so good too, and they want to share it with others as well. Two sides of the same coin.

Atheism is just a word, but that word to me and many others means freedom to live your life, to make your own choices, and realize you can be a moral person and love others without the fear of hell hanging over you.
In a way it's like being born again.

I'm glad I went through that experience. I needed it. I accept myself now, and others in a way that was impossible when life is viewed through a judgmental lens. I think many atheists see themselves in believers, and genuinely want to help other people break away from a destructive mindset (or what they assume is a destructive mindset--they want to save others pain). There's also that added advantage of feeling superior to other people.

Now I'm at the point where I don't care what other people think about god. It's their business. And it's my business too. I don't believe in "god". That's just a word for something bigger. The fact that much of the LOA is supposedly rooted in science helps me to be more open to new experiences with it. I would hate to think that at 30 years old I have shut my mind off to new experiences. I like the fact that I'm more accepting and I like the fact that I'm more skeptical too.

One of the great things about the LOA, to me, is that it works no matter what you believe. It doesn't work for you because you're good, or against you because you're bad. I like the impartiality of it. I like the fact that buddhists and muslims and jews and taoists and atheists alike all get the benefits of it, because everyone deserves the good stuff from life, no matter what club they are a member of.

Quite a long post, just wanted to get that off my chest as I expand my own mind.

[impaul99]

Angela, I have to say that this is by far the best thread I have read since these forums were launched. If there's one thing I could contribute to your success, it's to ask you whether or not you keep a personal journal? If not, i highly recommend that you start keeping a personal journal where you can write about days like this and write down your most intimate thoughts that you wouldn't share in a blog or forum. Journaling, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful self-development tools out there. Combine it with what you learned on this day and you'll exponentially expand your success in the future.

You might have a bad day one day and reading what you wrote in there will inspire you. I have journal entries I've read that I totally forgot about and my thoughts when reading them were "I wrote this? Wow!" etc.

Here's an article I wrote on journaling: An overlooked success secret?

Great thread!

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

I reckon the stages that people have described of being brought up with a negative religion, moving into atheism then finding a positive version of a spiritual belief is like the levels of consciousness described in David Hawkins' Power vs Force book. I've listed them here:
Level Log
Enlightenment 700-1,000
Peace 600
Joy 540
Love 500
Reason 400
Acceptance 350
Willingness 310
Neutrality 250
Courage 200
Pride 175
Anger 150
Desire 125
Fear 100
Grief 75
Apathy 50
Guilt 30
Shame 20

The thing is, the people who make up the hierarchy of these religions that you've escaped from have issues (don't we all? ), but instead of owning them and processing them, they've projected them onto the religion and created dramas for everyone else to follow.

So many religions linger around the levels of guilt(30), shame(20), and with luck may move up to fear(100) then anger(150). To move upward through the levels of consciousness you need to have courage (200) which is where you turn around, and cause a positive feedback loop. You can become atheist, and have enough courage to say so.

With the openness you develop from that you can become neutral, see 2 sides of the coin for what they are, then develop willingness and accept other's point of view. You are limited by reason(400), because reason keeps you looking for evidence before you can love and accept things.

Our sceptics may be limited at reason, or may continue to linger at the much lower levels of pride or anger. I've seen many people who are able to project their anger into all their beliefs. We are at different levels for differetn things, so we could "average at 200" but show love for one thing, and fear for another.

Once we are able to move beyond reason we can embrace love, joy and ultimately peace! Ahhh..

i found this list resonated really well for me, I've been able to track how people move through the levels as their level of PD grows.

Just a thought

Joy to you
Hazel

[Angela]

Paul, thanks for the nice words and especially for reminding me of the power of journaling. Last year I downloaded The Journal, the computer journal that was recommended in Steve Pavlina's blog. It looked very interesting and valuable so I bought it, but haven't used it. I will! As I read back throught this thread I was reminded of some stuff and can see how keeping a journal would be a great way to keep good thoughts going in a resolute manner. I will also read the article you linked to as soon as I can.

if anyone's interested, the website for that product is The Journal v4.1 - Journal Software / Diary Software - Free Download - For your life, for your work, for you! and you can search Steve's site for his article on using it.

Hazel, thanks for your thoughts on levels of consciousness. Sounds like your thinking in this area is very organized! I'll think about it.

[cbreeze]

Angela, I, too, started to journal the many "coincidences" I used to think were just that! I was so jazzed that I posted my LoA experiences. Yes! It doesn't matter if one believes or not - I, today had the opposite happen as opposed to the good things from last week. But know how to think better and stay on page of feeling good even if I didn't in the past. I'm thinkin' of good vibrations.......