Wisdom | Back To Brilliance Personal Growth

A New Life is Waiting

Written by Lynne & Vivian on January 12, 2010 – 2:31 pm -

When Lynne was writing her doctoral dissertation, she interviewed a social worker who told her this story. The social worker was doing a special weekly project at a local juvenile corrections facility. She was sharing the foundational principles we have incorporated into our Brilliance Formula with a group of their residents.

One of the boys was from a really rough public housing area on the south side of Chicago. He was telling his story in a matter-of-fact way. He talked about being 10 years old and coming home one day to discover his Mom and all of his brothers and sisters gone. The apartment was empty. He’d never seen them since that day. He explained his understanding of what had happened when he said, “But, you know, I was a bad kid, and I was always out running with my friends. I didn’t go to school.” He wasn’t sad or blaming anyone; this was just the way he saw it.

Another boy in the group, looked at him and said, “Robbie, your Momma didn’t leave you ‘cause you was no bad kid. Your Momma left you ‘cause she just didn’t know how to be no good Momma.” The social worker commented that it took her breath away. Robbie, who was generally a big talker, was just stunned and couldn’t think of anything to say. It had never occurred to him that he was left behind because his Mother didn’t know better. Instead he had been seeing himself as a bad kid and had been living that out. He had not been to school since he was ten.

He started going to classes at the corrections facility and now he runs a service station. He has a wife and a little boy, and he hasn’t been in trouble since that group with the social worker several years ago. His new life started the moment his friend told him that his family’s leaving him was not his fault.

What old thoughts and messages are you living from? Who are you seeing yourself being in life? You may not be seeing a bad kid, but if you didn’t do well in school, you may see yourself as someone who always has trouble learning. If you come from a family with limited income, you may see yourself as always having limited financial resources. If you are an oversized individual, you may be seeing yourself as fat and ugly and not measuring up to society’s dictates about how a body should look. These patterns of thinking make us feel less-than, unworthy, broken, and heart-sick. We could go on and on with the mistaken beliefs that we are constructing our lives from.

It’s time to create our lives from who we really are. That means getting in touch with that innate wisdom that links us to all life. In our Back to Brilliance programs, we call this natural Brilliance. It is the foundation of the human package that each of us has. Our Brilliance gives us an instant connection to the infinite wisdom of the Universe. In any moment, we can choose to access our best and highest thoughts. When you are upset, sad, or disappointed, your feelings are telling you that you are activating your old social records and programming. When you become aware of this you have already tapped your Brilliance and can see your situation from the truth of who you are. Choosing to focus on your Brilliant thoughts puts you back on course for the life you were meant to live.

What will your life look like when you aren’t focusing on these limited beliefs? What are your biggest dreams? What ideas light you up? It’s your choice. You can stick with your “old stuff” that is making you miserable, or you can open your life to your Brilliant possibilities. Take the challenge to make a new reality.

Tags: Natural Brilliance, Thinking, wisdom
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Brilliance A Gift From Life

Written by Lynne on December 22, 2009 – 8:00 am -

Learning that we all have a core of brilliance was the greatest discovery of our lives. It is our connection to the Universe, to the Source of all that is. Learning that we have direct access to this brilliance at all times was a part of that great discovery. Being able to tap our brilliance for direction, guidance, and understanding is truly a gift from Life. It is our safety net.

This week we decided to share some of our favorite quotes about brilliance. You will notice that several of these quotes come from our book, Activate Your Brilliance: 12 Keys to the Art of Living Happy.

“Happiness is really inside of us, always there as a part of our brilliance.” – Activate Your Brilliance.

“Thinking requires effort, however small. Happiness requires no effort at all. In fact, it’s more of a letting go of unhappiness than it is a striving for happiness.” – Richard Carlson, You Can Be Happy No Matter What.

“When we understand that we can live from our brilliance, the pressures, expectations, and limitations of the external world lose their power.” – Activate Your Brilliance.

“Happiness allows you to see information in new and creative ways, and allows you to make rational, productive decisions in a timely manner; it allows you to enjoy, rather than struggle with the ebbs and flows of life, and it encourages your wisdom and common sense to surface.” – Richard Carlson, You Can Be Happy No Matter What.

“We all have the power to choose. In a world where we seem to have so little control, we often forget that we have choices.” - Activate Your Brilliance.

“Pretty much, in all battles of the heart over the mind, go with your heart. Because, truly, it’s a lot easier for your mind to catch up with your heart, than for your heart to catch up with your mind. A whole lot. – Michael Dooley, TUT… A Note from the Universe.

“A Key to happiness is listening to your inner wisdom until understanding sneaks past your thought system.” – Jane Nelsen, Understandiing.

“The more we are able to live from the inside out, the more beauty, joy, and fulfillment we experience.” – Activate Your Brilliance.

“Life is magical. When we become masters of brilliance we experience that magic much more often.” – Activate Your Brilliance.

Tags: Brilliance, Happiness, Thinking, wisdom
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Brilliance Relieves Stress

Written by Lynne & Vivian on September 1, 2009 – 2:09 am -

Brilliance Relieves Stress

We all love going to the bank or using our debit cards when our accounts are full and overflowing. Lucky for us, we all have an overflowing bank of wisdom, which we call natural Brilliance. It has nothing to do with our IQ or our academic history. Natural Brilliance is the essence of the life force that flows through us every second of the day. Some call it wisdom, Higher Power or the force field of the Universe. Others experience it as intuition, a gut feeling, a hunch, or common sense. It is ours and it is always overflowing and abundant.

Brilliance is a natural part of the human condition. We are all born with it; it cannot be broken, or lost or destroyed. It is always there, available to us. It’s like a buoy in a lake. It can be pushed down, but always pops back up. We can ignore it, or forget about it, but it’s always inside of us, containing the answers we need in every moment.