Inside-out

Shifting from Outside-in to Inside-out: Peak Experiences
Experiences of wholeness, congruence, alignment, flow, and timelessness

This is the first in a series about having a better life and a better community by taking responsibility for what we feel and think; for learning to go from the inside-out, instead of the outside-in. Most of us think, if I get the job or house or more money, I'll be happy. Actually, it's the other way around; if I'm happy, I'll get the job or house or more money. Most of what manifests in our lives, is the result of our inner states. By taking responsibility for my inner state, I retain the power and can change how I feel and what I think, then change what manifests. To have a better, healthier, more satisfying life, focus on what’s best and good, not what’s wrong - pathology. FYI - it was Abraham Maslow who started shifting the focus from pathology when he founded the Assn for Humanistic Psychology in late 1950’s.

Shifting from the outside-in to the inside-out is a process; it’s not something you do once and it’s done; it takes time and continuous effort. It’s not difficult, it just takes self awareness and self acceptance. To begin, start a list of your peak experiences. Keep it handy so that you can add to it as you feel things. The goal is to have the list be really long. Remembering, re-experiencing, and dwelling on peak experiences anchors you in what’s best about you, your strengths and joys. As you write an item down, re-experience it, get in touch with its power and feel your desire to have more of that in your life. You don’t have to write a detailed description, just enough for you to remember and re-experience it. Please feel free to share these with me at drSteve@WisdomAtWorkUSA.com

Here are some ways to think about your ‘peak’ experiences:
• Time flew for you, or stopped, when you were outside it….

• Just knew, without evidence or reason, just felt sure and certain, calm and blessed

• Totally at ease and at peace in an unlikely situation like traffic;

• Felt connected; part of something greater; eternal, everlasting; filled with wonder

• Guided, guarded and protected, like you could not fail

• Heightened sense of control over the body and emotions

• Accompanied by a loss of fear, anxiety, doubts, and inhibitions

• A sense of being lucky or graced