Attitude ~ Attitude ~ Attitude

If you've ever searched for the perfect home to purchase, I'm sure you've heard this: "location, location, location."  You can change the home but you cannot change the location.  When you find yourself in a "place" less than desired, you may hear: "attitude, attitude, attitude."  The difference is you can change your attitude!

In 1989, I discovered a little book written by Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D. entitled "Love is Letting Go of Fear." A group was forming in St. Louis to assist those who were living with HIV. The St. Louis center was structured after the one Jampolsky began in California.  I decided I wanted to be a part of this and became a volunteer facilitator. For the facilitators and the participants, honesty could be tough when sharing.  It seems simpler to blame others for the predicaments in which we find ourselves or to just wallow in self-pity.

• A miserable marriage: why doesn't he or she change?  Not my fault.  I have done nothing to deserve this. Did you know he/she had a substance abuse problem before you married?
• Lung cancer: why did this happen to me?  I don't deserve this at age 40.  I'm going to die. Did you really smoke 1-2 packs of cigarettes for 20 years?  
• HIV positive: what caused this? Why, why, why? Did you have unprotected sex over and over again? 
• Bankrupt, homeless, unemployed: why did this happen to me? And sometimes there just is no good answer as to why but there are choices in how to deal with the situation.

Yes, a marriage can fail for no apparent reason, cancer can smack you down in your childhood or prime of life, and on and on.  Life happens.  How do we deal with this life we have been dealt? How can we make the best from what seems to be the worst:  Gerald Jampolsky had an idea.  From his website www.healingcenter.org/, we find this explanation:

"Jerry founded the International Center for Attitudinal Healing (ICAH) in 1975 in Tiburon, California. Through the ICAH, people of all ages, faiths, and cultures facing serious life threatening illness, catastrophic events, loss of loved ones, or just everyday challenges, have free support services and lots of unconditional love to help them through tough times."

"Love is Letting Go of Fear," based on the "Course in Miracles," was the guide for this Center. Written in a very simple style, it is filled with cartoons, affirmations and lessons that could be anything but simple.  For you see, the principles contradicted many of our beliefs and stretched our comfort zone.   Here is a list of the principles from the Attitudinal Healing website: http://www.healingcenter.org/.


THE PRINCIPLES OF ATTITUDINAL HEALING

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1. The essence of our being is love.
2. Health is inner peace. Healing is letting go of fear.
3. Giving and receiving are the same.
4. We can let go of the past and the future.
5. Now is the only time there is and each instant is for giving.
6. We can learn to love ourselves and others by forgiving rather than judging.
7. We can become love finders rather than fault finders.
8. We can choose and direct ourselves to be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside.
9. We are students and teachers to each other.
10. We can focus on the whole of life rather than the fragments.
11. Since love is eternal death need not be viewed as fearful.
12. We can always perceive ourselves and others as either extending love or giving a call for help.

There are Attitudinal Healing Groups active in various parts of the world.  Sadly to say, these groups are not as plentiful as they could be.  Many participants do not want to take responsibility and refuse to be part of a group that doesn't lay blame on others.  Other participants want a miracle cure for their dis-ease.  The actual work to reach that spiritual breakthrough can be difficult and painful.  It isn't for the weak in spirit or faint of heart. 

I remember when I was first  exposed to the "Course in Miracles," I was not a fan. The workbook that went along with the text was not fun.  I really did not like what it had to say. By the time I read Jampolsky's book, I guess I had evolved enough to really begin to "get it." Since that time, I have embraced the wisdom imparted through these books as well as other books by authors such as Marianne Williamson, Alan H. Cohen and Wayne Dyer. 

If each of us honestly looks at the challenges in our life and at our worries, I think we will see some type of fear back of the worry. A little self-inquiry goes a long way. 

I've discovered a website with a plethora of information on attitudinal healing:  http://www.ahinternational.org/. If fear is holding you back, you may want to explore this website and/or some of the books written by the above-mentioned authors.  

You might just change your life. 

Namaste,

Mareda