Changing Your Internal Playlist

We can shift how we experience the world by changing the internal playlist we are listening to. When we focus on what we are grateful for, even when we’re not feeling it (especially then), we can begin to experience the fullness of the blessings that are present. As we create from that consciousness of abundance, and give from that fullness inside of ourselves to others, we actually attract more of that into our lives. 

So focus on being the fullness, and giving of that fullness to others.

I’m going to share a recent story from my life about this.

Not too long ago, I woke up and was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. 

I have taken on a number of large projects which are going to require significant investment of time and money. At the same time, many of those financial resources I was counting on across the board were not panning out in the way I was hoping. I had been dealing with a health challenge (I’m fine now), and I also had just ended a relationship, which all added to the emotional stress I was dealing with. 

It was in this headspace that I went to my surf coaching session with my good friend and coach, Magnum, who is a pro surfer and surf coach including coaching at the recent Olympics in Japan. 

We started the session with some carver skateboarding to work on my posture and generating speed properly. It was taking a lot of energy and time to make small corrections, and I was getting frustrated with myself.

Then we moved to the water for the surfing portion, and it was a shocker. 

I couldn’t catch a wave to save my life. I was taking off in the wrong place, reading the waves completely wrong, getting worked, going over the falls, getting caught in the white water. And these were small waves as if to add to the insult.

It was a mess…I was a mess.

My internal dialogue was not very kind. I was so frustrated. I was telling myself I should just quit surfing all together. That, after all this time surfing, this is still where I’m at. That it was pointless, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

And it kept getting worse and worse. Magnum waved his arms and called me into the shore where he was videoing me.

I got out, and as he always does, he asked me about my session. Except this time, he asked me what was going on. 

I told him I was completely in my head, out of sync with the ocean and the waves, and I had a lot going on inside. 

He agreed and said I needed a reset, and to just let it all go. When he said I needed to let it go, I could feel this big ball of emotion welling up inside of me of all the weight I was carrying.

He had me sit down on the beach, close my eyes, and just guided me through some breathing practices. With my eyes still closed, he talked to me about being grateful: grateful that we were in this beautiful place, and grateful that I got to surf. Sure, we were working on a few things, but this is supposed to be fun. So let go of the pressure I’m putting on myself and just be grateful and have fun.

Then he had me imagine what I was going to do when I got back into the water. 

Afterwards, I felt much more centered. I definitely still felt funky, but my focus was now on letting go and being grateful. 

As I paddled out, the tape in my mind had changed. Even in the midst of still feeling the disturbance, I was consciously choosing to mentally say the things I was grateful for. I was telling myself to just let go of the stress and pressure. To just have some fun.

I immediately caught some waves, and even did a little turn or two. It was very far from my best surfing, but it was dramatically better than what I had been doing.

The waves hadn’t changed. None of the conditions were any different than before. The only thing that changed was my attitude.

How I surf a wave is directly correlated to my internal space. If I am centered and in tune with myself, I am going to surf drastically different than when I am out of balance. It is all reflected by the ocean.

This is the perfect metaphor for life.

How we relate to the world around us, and our experience of the world, is directly related to our inner state. Not only is our outer world a reflection of our inner environment, but our inner environment ends up defining the world around us. 

We create what we focus upon. If we focus on lack, we experience lack, and we attract more lack. If we focus on abundance, we experience abundance, and we attract more abundance. 

Our attitude defines our reality. Become a great-full person and your life will be full of greatness.

As we focus on the fullness of life, and on the abundance (even in the midst of contraction and what might appear as limitations), we exude that fullness. We become that. In reality, we always have been that fullness, and we are just becoming aware of that reality.

There is infinite supply of this energy, once you open yourself to it. It doesn’t work by just believing it, and it doesn’t work by thinking it, or saying it. It works when you can do it. When you can actually tap into that awareness, which is the awareness of the essence behind all creation that you are a part of. 

To do that you have to let go. You have to give it to receive it. Give of your fullness and you will receive that fullness back. Give value, and you receive value. Give love, and you will receive it back. This is the flow of creation.  

Ultimately, we are to recognize that we are the Beloved, the perfect extension of God, and in that awareness, we recognize all others as the same, and that we are all one. We are connected in awareness to the source of all things, and co-create into this world from that level of consciousness.

Until you have that awareness, you can start by being grateful. And if you’ve found the fullness, but then inevitably find yourself out of balance and seeing the lack once again (as in my story above), then go back to the beginning and focus on gratitude. Start by  breathing, listening, letting go, and changing your mental dialogue to what you’re grateful for. 

After that surf coaching session, I got busy working to get myself back into the awareness of the fullness, to become the fullness, and as I did, amazingly the things I was challenged with started to smooth out inside of me. I started moving with what was present from a place of greater inner fullness, versus struggling to change things ‘out there’ from a place of lack. It shifted my perspective, which uplifted my attitude, and that has changed how I am experiencing what is present. 

I started seeing the opportunities for greater wealth, because I was viewing the world from a place of my inner wealth rather than lack. I started seeing how I could give more value into the world, including starting writing these articles, which is part of sharing the fullness that I experience.

We are all destined to grow into God’s abundance, to create our success by becoming that fullness, and manifest the abundance in a way that is a blessing to all. It is just a matter of when we choose into that. There’s infinite opportunity. The blessings already are and all you have to do is awaken to them.