The Straightest Path to Life Without Stress

Lynne Hoft & Vivian Hildebrandt

The straightest path to life without stress is in the resolution of old beliefs and habits of thinking. Although we have been drawing this map for our readers for many years, we know that a large majority of the population is blind to this understanding.

There has always been a struggle between the old ways and the new. When we moved from horse and buggy days into travel by automobile, there were those who remained in the old ways because of their beliefs at that time. Today we are moving into a new world once again. We have seen the progression of technology in our lifetimes. Now we are in a shift of exponential proportions, to a higher dimensional way of being.

Whenever we experience personal or collective shifts, stress occurs. Our minds recycle the old thoughts and beliefs in the face of new situations we are confronted with. A struggle ensues leaving us in fear, worry, or at best, a case of total confusion.

We can move beyond the stress we experience during times of great change. The first step is moving beyond our mindsets. Our mindset is a collection of thoughts from the past. As each generation has moved into the present moment, they have opened to new ideas and creations, and made choices through their wholeness instead of from the mindset of the past.

Stress diminishes when we seat ourselves in the totality of who we are. We are not just mind machines.  We are creative, multidimensional beings who have access to the highest vibrations, to the bigger picture of our capacities and strengths. We can rest in and utilize our Brilliance connection to traverse the sea of changes that are coming into our awareness every day.

The New World we are creating and inhabiting cannot operate at its highest if we maintain our attachment to old thoughts, beliefs and solutions. We can only ascend into higher dimensions when spirit and Brilliance fill us with expanded awareness and higher powers.

There is a lot of focus on “Ascension” in the world today. Many are unclear as to what this means. Those who are Christian make a connection to the ascension into heaven of the risen Christ. This thought is accompanied by trumpets, and a robe-clad man rising into the clouds and disappearing into Heaven.

Are there any commonalities in these two diverse images? Is moving beyond old habits of thinking and old beliefs an “Ascension”?  We could view the ascending Christ as a metaphor for lifting ourselves out of the pit of mistaken beliefs, and moving into a state of Brilliance. It could be that Ascension in current terms identifies a movement from an old, worn-out, unproductive, stressful way of seeing life to an expanded view conceived out of innate Brilliance.

This Brilliance and expanded power is a gift from the Quantum Universe, and also a responsibility. The higher power we inhabit is the resource we use to create the New World, in which love, peace, and unity abound and flourish. In this world the mind’s attention does not align with the past, but gives life only to the present moment.  In this moment we relate to others, express our highest impulses, and co-create a life of meaning and beauty.

Stress is a habit of the past that we transcend through our awakening to the wholeness we embody today, in this very moment. We need look no further than ourselves: indeed, we are who we have been waiting for.

Back to Brilliance © 2011

Some of the thoughts she gets caught up in are: how she’ll come up with the money she needs when her classes don’t fill, or why her classes didn’t fill, or how she can stop worrying about money.

In our mindset program we discuss how important it is to stay connected with our natural Brilliance. It is our mindset that comes from our old patterns of thinking that gets in the way of recognizing our brilliance and living from this wisdom. Steering clear of these limiting thoughts allows us to experience our Brilliance thinking. It’s like we get out from under a cloud and the sun shines.

In the last year we’ve learned an exercise that clears our negative patterns of thinking more quickly and thoroughly than anything else we’ve tried. The exercise comes from the book Zero Limits, written by Joe Vitale and Ihaleakala Hew Len, PhD. “Ho’oponopono” is an ancient Hawaiian healing process.

There are five steps:

1.    I accept responsibility for creating this experience or situation that I want to clear. This come from understanding that we are all constantly creating our reality from our thinking and that it is our thoughts that have created this problem.

2.    I am sorry for this situation.

3.    Please forgive me. Here we ask for forgiveness from all those whom we’ve harmed; we forgive all those who have harmed us; and we forgive ourselves for all harm given and received (real or imagined).

4.    I love you. We ask Universal Source to transmute all of our old beliefs, thought patterns, and habits of thinking into Universal Love unlimited. It is Love that heals us and thereby heals the world.

5.    Thank you.

When we get caught up in worrying about where our money is going to come from, how we are going to fill our classes, or what we need to do to make more money, we have succumbed to our old habits of thinking. We are worrying about not having enough and are afraid that we won’t get enough. These thoughts have created our reality. Our collective thought system perpetuates this “reality” in the world we live in. When we use the “Ho’oponopono” process our old beliefs and thought systems are cleared from ourselves and the world around us and are replaced with Universal Love. In this way we heal ourselves and our world by healing our mindset.

Back to Brilliance, ©2008

Perhaps it’s time for a new mindset for the holidays. Some of the major holidays of the year celebrated by different religions have already passed. Thanksgiving is over as well. But no matter where we go we are surrounded by the trappings of Christmas, with Kwanza and Chanukah coming up for those who celebrate these days.  Gifts, decorations, food, and more can frazzle us while they dazzle us. It could be time to start some new traditions.

The real trick is knowing that our mindset is just a set of thoughts and beliefs inside of us, and we can change these if we choose. What is it we really want to accomplish in this holiday season? What is the true gift in our gift-giving? It seems that one reason we give gifts is to show appreciation to another person. When gifts are expected, and few thanks given, we wonder if appreciation is really the issue.  What message do you want your gifts to say this holiday season?

If you want to show appreciation and love to others, there are many types of gifts. Do you want to share more of yourself and less of Macy’s this year? What would happen if you chose a special object, possession, picture, or memory and wrote or shared its meaning as your gift to each loved one? While you might expect some to be disappointed, the gifts of your personal expression, hopes and insight would long be remembered.

What if you gave each person an empty jar and filled it with notes listing the talents, strengths or characteristics you most love or appreciate about that person? That gift is one that could keep on giving for a lifetime. And such a jar certainly would invite more notes over the year ahead. The gifts we give that are not expensive often create a wealth beyond compare in the hearts of those who receive them.

Now back to that holiday mindset.  We get to choose our thoughts, so will you see those twinkling lights on your neighbor’s house as something beautiful in the dark of the night, or as a reminder of what you haven’t gotten done yet? Will you see yourself as wise and discriminating if you choose a heart-filled gift from within to personally share with those you love, or as inadequate and disappointing if you don’t buy everything on your child’s wish list at Target?

At Back to Brilliance we focus attention on living from our Brilliance, that part of our mind that is connected to all life and the universe itself. We know that anyone can learn to live from this state of awareness and thereby create healthy, happy, fulfilling lives for themselves. The Mindset of Brilliance is like that Energizer Bunny who just keeps going, and going, and giving to enrich our lives.

We know that our mindset is ours to create and that the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and others is to live full out, and to express and share our true selves with those we love. Following our heart’s direction is primary, while the trappings of the holiday season are secondary. Give like you’ve never given before in this season of holidays. Risk giving a part of your true self to those you love this year.

Now that we are adults, we get to play at the same game. Often we are playing unaware that we are pulling to us the aspects of life that we focus our thoughts on. It is quite amazing and is equal in accuracy to our childhood pastimes.

Now, what are we saying?  Take a look at your day’s high points and low points.  Jot down a few of the strongest elements of your day. Then ask yourself: “What thoughts did I pay attention to today?” and “How do these thoughts relate to the most memorable incidents of my day?”

We create the flavor of our day through our thinking as surely as a magnet will always attract metal.  Our accumulated thoughts, our Mindset, can be put to good use to create our lives.  Check everything around you – what does it look like, sound like, feel like? The quickest way to discover where your attention has been is to look around you. You have created this with the magnet of your mind.

P.S. You can always shift your focus and put your attention on what you want the most. This will surely change the picture of your life.

Oprah has featured many writers over the years who have stressed the value of mindset. Her project with Eckhart Tolle stresses expanding one’s consciousness, which is moving from old beliefs and patterns of thinking to a broader mindset that encompasses much more. If you check Google for “mindset”, you’ll find over 15 million entries. Mindset is mainstream.

Many have looked to the workings of the mind to create a foundation for change. It is generally recognized that we have patterns of thinking and beliefs that have been developed over generations. Our minds try to hold on to these beliefs even in the face of new evidence that contradicts old beliefs.

With all the personal development programs and the focus on making your dreams come true, there is a whole body of information that suggests that by learning new habits of thinking, we can change our lives for the better.

There is a new and growing movement, exemplified by the movie “The Secret” and others like it, that demonstrates that our thoughts play an important role in creating our lives.

The times we are living in, with costs rising, wages falling, the need for both parents to work to make ends meet, little time for relaxation, and so on, are stretching the fabric of our lives. Many wonder, “Is this all there is?” and want so much more.

At Back to Brilliance we focus attention on living from our natural Brilliance, that part of our mind that is connected to all life and the universe itself. We know that anyone can learn to live from this state of awareness and thereby create healthy, happy, fulfilling lives for themselves.

To do this requires a new understanding of mind and how it operates. It requires the commitment and diligence to practice moving away from our thought patterns and outdated beliefs. Most importantly it requires moving to your brilliant point of view.

Our books, reports, programs and courses focus on how to activate one’s brilliant mindset. It is this brilliant mindset that generates the brilliant thoughts and feelings that recreate our lives. Having walked this way ourselves we provide the insights, road signs and strategies for making this shift as simply and easily as possible, knowing that this is the greatest and most profound change we’ve ever made.

Get OFF The Stress Train

It’s time to get out the word. In this crazy, upside-down world where everything is changing at the speed of sound, are you ready to get off the stress train and free yourself to travel to a new destination called stress relief?

• If you feel like you are running in circles most of the time, like a dog chasing its tail, your body is stressed.
• If you feel tired, maybe exhausted, and possibly irritable a lot of the time, your emotions are stressed.
• If you have problems sleeping and you can’t relax because your thoughts are running a mile a minute, your mind is stressed.

As a quick example, when you get caught in a traffic slow-down, do you immediately get angry and curse under your breath, or do you take a time-out and turn up the radio to your favorite station until the cars begin to move again?

Whichever way you reacted depends on what you were thinking at the time. “I hate this freeway, and I’ll never get to my meeting tonight” leads to frustration and other feelings related to stress. “I think I’ll flip to LOVE 101 or WCCO 850 and catch the latest song or news and breathe easy for a minute” will lead you to relaxation and enjoyment.

It’s pretty simple: our thinking is at the center of all of our responses to stress. An exception is environmental stressors to our bodies. Defensive responses experienced when we are physically or emotionally threatened is another. But in reality, most of our stress is linked to our thinking, to our mindset.

With this in mind, we can begin to get off those train tracks of stress. Although a real train ride can be relaxing, the tracks lead in one direction and you can’t get off until you can get off. In real life a ride on the stress train only leads to more of the same scenery—we begin to see stress everywhere. It’s time to learn the secrets to getting off the train and get moving toward a new mode of transportation—one that is truly stress free.