You may recall that last week’s Your Turn from Peggy Lane O’Rourke was a response to my column called “The Let-Down.” Well, her contribution has gone on to inspire feedback from another reader, Jay Prichard. It’s a long one, but well worth the read!
After reading your column “The Let-Down” and Peggy Lane O’Rourke’s great feedback in her Your Turn response, which she wonderfully called “The Let Go,” I wanted to take it to the next level.
I will continue with the example used in Peggy’s response — that is, going on an audition but not booking the job. You had a great column on how actors should not beat themselves up, and that they need to maintain a positive outlook and keep going. And Peggy did a great job of taking it to an even higher level of consciousness by being able to let it go by taking the belief that “it wasn’t meant to be” or “there must be something else better for me” or “I am being protected from something.” All of which are exceptional positive outlooks.
Learning to let it go and acknowledge a higher power outside of your physical senses that knows that there is something better and that this job wasn’t right for you is superb. However, blindly accepting that this is the case can have the result of keeping you right where you are instead of moving forward.
Our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions are the directions that we give to God/Universe (or whatever your perspective is) as to what will eventually be manifested into our lives. We direct, and the Universe manifests.
So with that in mind, the “it wasn’t right for me” approach is what I will call a “passive” positive thinking approach. Yes, it is optimistic. However, when you say “I didn’t book the job, because it wasn’t right for me,” what are you TRULY saying to the Universe? You are saying and affirming: “I go on auditions that are not right for me.” And because that is what you believe, think, and hold in your consciousness, you will keep getting MORE AUDITIONS THAT ARE NOT RIGHT FOR YOU! — YUK!
And even worse, what if the audition was right for you? What I mean is, maybe you didn’t book that job, but the Universe put you in that audition because the Universe knows that the casting director for this project will also be casting something better in six months that they will call you in for because of your fabulous performance on this audition, and you ARE going to book that fantastic job! BUT, just because you didn’t book this job, you told the Universe: “This wasn’t right for me,” and you put the brakes on what the Universe had already lined up for you. You couldn’t see the longer-term benefit and declared the entire audition useless, and the Universe responds in kind. Hopefully there was enough momentum to still get you the follow-up job, but you just made it that much more difficult to allow it to happen.
Or maybe it was right for you because you learned something during the audition experience that will make you audition better when that great job does come along. Yet by declaring that this wasn’t right for you, you might be intrinsically diminishing the growth that you experienced, because you believe there was no benefit and your mind blocks what you actually learned.
If you say, “I didn’t book the job because it wasn’t meant to be,” then you are really telling the Universe: “I go on auditions that were never meant to be mine before I even attended.” And the Universe will respond be manifesting audition after audition for you that are not meant for you.
If you say, “I didn’t book the job because I am being protected from something,” then you are really telling the Universe: “There are threatening things in my life from which I need protection, so go ahead and take up my time doing things that are getting me nowhere, for my protection.” And the Universe responds by creating threatening things to come upon you, and either you get the protection by means that could slow your progress elsewhere, or, you don’t get the protection, and those threatening things do get to you and harm you. And what is ironic is that those threatening things were possibly not even there until you decided, and believed, that there were things from which you needed protection, and the Universe responded by manifesting them into your reality.
And although all of these positive statements might be exactly true — that maybe there is something better for you — be careful, because this “passive” positive thinking approach is like having blind faith and not recognizing your power of creation through your thoughts nor your responsibility for what manifests into your life. It’s good to be positive, but we want to have the best life possible and live the life of our dreams!
So how do you turn things around so you are not wasting time on auditions that are not right for you? Well, if you think (there’s a hint) about it for a moment, I bet you will figure that out for yourself. The answer: You hold the thoughts in your mind that you do go on auditions that are right for you. Now how simple was that, huh?
What is needed here is an “active” positive thinking approach. With the understanding that our thoughts create what manifests into our reality, there are two approaches:
1) ANALYZING: Look at what happened that you want to change and look into your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions to see what is supporting the creation of these things into your life.
2) BULLDOZING: Focus on what it is that you really want to happen and proactively hold those thoughts in your consciousness in a very focused manner, like through five minutes of daily visualization while FEELING THE EMOTIONS AS IF IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED!
Okay, first to elaborate on ANALYZING: Let’s say you didn’t book that job. It might be because it wasn’t right for you in the first place, or because it wasn’t meant to be, or because you are being protected from something, or whatever reason you come up with. Take some time to analyze your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions — TRUTHFULLY — with yourself. Do you feel you need more experience at mastering the audition process or becoming a better actor before you are worthy of landing that big role? Do you feel insecure in some aspect of your life, and you feel the need for security and “protection”? Or maybe it could be something that you haven’t even thought of. If you can identify it, then you can work on fixing that internal issue.
The risky part about ANALYZING is that if you go looking for problems in your thoughts, beliefs, and actions, you will start to create problems in your thoughts, beliefs, and actions, whether or not they existed before you started looking for them or not. Why? Because you were holding in your consciousness that you must have some thoughts, beliefs, or actions that need fixing, so that is what manifested. And now you have this whole bag full of new negative stuff to counter against. So be careful doing this. If something doesn’t become obvious pretty easily, go on to BULLDOZING. You might even go on to BULLDOZING anyway, and it is much more fun.
So what is BULLDOZING? Quite simply, sit down for five to ten minutes each day and focus on the END RESULT of what you want through visualization. Visualize auditioning for and booking a great job. FEEL the emotions of auditioning and booking a great job. FEELINGS amplify the message to the Universe.
Always BULLDOZE and visualize using the END RESULT. So really, should you be visualizing about auditioning for and booking a great job? NO! Visualize DOING a great job, because that is the end result. If you visualize yourself auditioning for and then booking a great job, then you are now telling the Universe that you MUST audition and book before you can be doing a great job. But what if the Universe had introduced you to someone two years ago, who has followed your career and is very impressed, and they had a role for you that they wanted to just offer to you? Well, by telling the Universe HOW you had to get the job, you just forced the Universe to arrange an audition and booking process — thereby making it harder for a great job to land in your lap. In short, never focus on the HOWS. Focus on the END RESULT.
And notice, I didn’t say to visualize “THE” great job, I said to visualize “A” great job. If you are stuck on getting a specific job, and that is what you visualize on, then you might be preventing the Universe from bringing you the job of your dreams because you demanded that this other job happen. So this is when the “there must be something better for me” approach applies greatly. When you visualize — or whatever your thoughts are — let them be the feelings and emotions of an end result WITHOUT SPECIFICS!
So if you didn’t book the job that you auditioned for — and especially if this seems to be a trend in your career — guess what? It was right for you, because you are bringing into your life what you asked for by the thoughts you hold in consciousness. It might not be what you wanted, but it is what you asked for through your thoughts on some level.
And always include yourself in the visualization picture. See YOURSELF up on that big screen with the entire audience clapping for you (which might be an even better end result visualization than seeing yourself doing the job). If you include your feelings in the visualization, you will automatically be including yourself.
If you want to take this to an extreme, consider what you really want out of life. The answer ultimately is to be happy. So feel free sometimes to visualize for five minutes a day simply seeing and feeling yourself being HAPPY! Joyously happy! Everything goes your way. You love your life. And you had such a fun, happy time getting here, and it just keeps getting better. And then, during the other 23 hours and 55 minutes of each day, pay attention to what happens in your life, to who enters into your life, to the circumstances that occur in your life, and take action doing those things that feel in alignment with your joy and happiness. GET OUT THERE and give the Universe the opportunities to put you in the right places. Give yourself the opportunities to serendipitously find yourself meeting people and being in circumstances that carry you further.
And along the way, remember that happiness comes from within. It is a state that you can choose to be in at any time. And the happier you are, the easier it is for you to direct the Universe to manifest your desires into your reality. Be open to change, because the people and events in your life that can support your happiness — the ultimate goal — can come from an infinite amount of ways that you might have never thought of… but the Universe has!
Friends, there is more than enough for all of us. The Universe is infinite and never-ending in its resources. If you take the attitude that “it will be hard, and I MUST pay my dues before achieving success and being happy,” then that is what will tend to happen. So you might as well pave your path with roses and think: “It’s EASY.” At a minimum, it will make things better. And I am not saying to sit around on your tush all day doing nothing because you are holding positive thoughts of happiness and success and trusting the Universe that it will all just happen. Do your part in working with the Universe. Not only CAN anything you want be yours, but it IS ALREADY THERE and waiting for you to receive it!
Be active in your positive thinking. And may all your dreams come true!
I could go on and on making clarifications, or elaborating on things that might seem contradictory if you think deeply enough, but this little email has turned into a mini-handbook, and I hope that it increases the happiness for anyone who reads it.
Bonnie, let me take this opportunity to express my infinite gratitude to you for your articles. I read your message every week. Know that from LA, you have touched me and improved my life all the way over here in Dallas, Texas!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000785.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.