Why is our society fascinated with people who have a “big” life? Headlines in every supermarket line shriek about the lives of entertainers, royalty, and the privileged as though our own lives aren’t quite good enough.
While I’m deeply concerned that we are encouraged to subscribe to this value system, it is true there is always a healthy “bigger life” each of us can live.
Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter, II (Rev. Ike) was a wildly successful minister in New York City. He flaunted his wealth with his Rolls Royces, and when he talked about green he was talking about money. He told stories about his childhood when he was always getting into things, trying something outlandish, opening up possibilities, and asking too many questions. He was quite a handful for his parents. Exasperated, one day his mother said to him, “Son, the problem with you is you’ve got a big mind!”
Indeed, you can have a “bigger life” if you have a bigger mind. This “bigger life” can mean more prosperity, success, and creative self-expression—more love, friends, laughter, and fun. Whatever you imagine as your ultimate possibility for good is yours when you acquire the “consciousness” that creates it. (Oh dear—have I said this before?)
You wouldn’t deliberately seek out a small life or an unhappy one. It’s only when you believe you can’t have more that you’ll settle for so little. Rev. Ike had a big mind that wouldn’t be dissuaded. How do the rest of us get one?
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
If we’d known from birth the effect our thinking has on our lives, I’m sure we would have figured out how to apply it to make a better life. But we didn’t know and just fell into limited thought habits.
That’s the irony of it. We look and look “out there” for what will make us happy, and all the time the secret isn’t in what we’re looking at—it’s what we’re looking with (our minds).
Make the Shift to Thinking that Expands Your Life.
Limited thinking comes from a belief in “not enough.” You’ve probably had plenty of role models to learn from—your immediate family, neighbors, leaders, or just your surrounding conditions. Limited thinking fosters pessimism and dead ends.
Expansive thinking believes there’s more than enough. You recognize the limitless source of all things— and endless possibilities for creation. The spiritual part of you knows you are connected to an infinite creative power waiting for you to open your mind, your heart, and your life to it.
All creativity comes from expansive thinking. The more you discard old concepts and open your mind to a broader range of possibilities, the greater the life you can create for yourself.
Consider these mental approaches to life in the area of money or supply:
Limiting thinking tells us that money’s hard to get, that we don’t deserve better. It promotes the idea of shortages and resents “those who have,” as though they are depriving the rest of us of our due. Let’s face it—if we resent wealthy people, we probably won’t be among them. Do we think the world needs more poor people?
On the other hand, expansive thinking knows there’s always enough and there’s always a way. An open mind will tune in to ideas and opportunity, follow through on them and act with generosity. Thought without limits creates a brighter future.
And that’s just one aspect of life. Take a look at love or creativity from both approaches and see what you notice in your own life. Are you limited by fear of loss, narrow-mindedness, or past experiences?
Do you have a stake in your point of view that keeps you from living a bigger life?
Whether or not we completely approve of our materialistic society, there are obvious signs of progress all around us. We no longer live in caves. We enjoy many comforts and advantages. And while people may boycott stores, products, or TV shows for various reasons, very few of us want to return to the cave lifestyle.
Once exposed to progress, people don’t really want to go back to a life of limited thinking. Expansive thinking is creative. It’s filled with possibilities. It costs nothing, needs no props, and it’s available to everyone.
The Infinite Source of positive possibility always responds to us when we shift our thinking. Again, practice, practice, practice.
Think good thoughts and you will get good results.
Got something better to do?
In the next few articles, we’ll explore other mindsets for creating a bigger life. Not someone else’s life – your big, beautiful, perfect life.
by Marla Sanderson
