One of my favorite concepts in Science of Mind is the connection that we all share. Because God is everything—including each of us, it means that we all connect on a spiritual level. It’s one of the reasons that we can be “in tune” with our friends and family. It’s one of the reasons that relationships are so important: we connect through our shared ideas, beliefs, experiences and history.
Occasionally this “connection” causes trouble. We just had a sink replaced at our house. While removing the sink the old faucet connection broke. While installing the new faucet a turn-off valve got stuck. While replacing the valve a rusty pipe broke.
They were all connected!
This “downside” to connectedness applies to our thinking, too. Old limiting beliefs aren’t released by themselves.
A common belief is “you have to work hard to get ahead.” This is worth releasing in order to get ahead while still enjoying your work at an easy pace. Such a belief, however, generally has its connections to other beliefs, such as:
- “no pain, no gain”
- “nothing comes for free”
- “you have to fight for what you want”
- “there’s no free lunch”
- “work is hard”
- “advancement/promotion defines success”
Releasing one idea or belief requires an examination of several related ones. Releasing them all is worth doing but it may be a bigger mental job than you anticipated. Here are some tips for releasing a set of connected ideas and beliefs:
Analyze the entire topic. In our example, you would write down your current beliefs about working and success. What does success mean to you? What would you like to experience while working? Are your current beliefs all true, or just some of them? Do prevailing beliefs about work have to reflect your beliefs?
Write out a new set of healthier beliefs in that topic. Because ideas and beliefs are all connected look for ones that don’t seem to match the others. Can they be re-written so that they are connected in a way that makes sense?
Think of ways that you can begin to “live” the new beliefs:
- Using affirmations
- Journaling to notice and bless new outcomes based on the new beliefs
- Prayer
- Reminders when you notice that you’ve slipped into an old belief
Don’t be discouraged. Like the plumbing job, there may be more remodeling to do beneath the surface of your thoughts. Your thoughts and ideas are connected and you may need to change your approach to a whole set of limiting concepts.
But also, like our completed plumbing job, you’ll appreciate the results. Your “improved” thinking will create a sense of freedom, newness and unlimited possibilities.