The Confidence Doc

Memory Can Be Re-Membered As Empowering

Empowerment is a key to developing the confidence to live a life that is fulfilling and happy.  The way that we assemble our memory is based on our perception. 

Our memories are our stories stored in our bodies at a cellular level.  There was a story online in Live Science, June 26, 2009, by Clara Moskowitz, (Photo courtesy this site) entitled “First Image of Memory Being Made” (Click Here Live Science)

In this article is a photo of the imaging of the chemical reaction of memories being made at the cellular level in the body. 

The way you remember something is based on how you viewed yourself in relating to the facts of the event at the time.  Based on these emotions, a given set of feeling “chemicals” are made and stored in your body’s cells. 

Now remember, thoughts and feelings are ultimately electromagnetic energy.  Here’s the take home to begin to empower yourself – YOU, the real essence of you, your spirit – is not the story, the memory that you recall and “Re-Member” every time you put that old story together again (Get it?  Re-member; to put together again). 

I used to ruminate over all of the “you done me wrong” stories that I wired into my brain which created a sense of victim consciousness in me.  I used to create guilt stories, shame stories, angry stories, and occasionally happy stories – all stories however. 

The point is, once I began to realize that these memories where ways of looking at my situation at a given point in time and that they were not really ME, I could begin to separate my sense of identity from the stories and reframe the story! I can "Re-Member" them differently, with a new meaning, as a life lesson that empowers me to grow!

Personal Empowerment: Would You Rather Be Happy or Right?

Personal empowerment cannot occur if you keep doing the same thing and using the same information that got you where you are today.  How are you ever going to expand into a bigger role in life if you keep closing your mind to new information? 

Einstein is credited with saying that it is insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.  How true! 

If you want to stop struggling and feeling like life is one big survival of the fittest contest, you have to be willing to release your old beliefs and paradigms that no longer work for you.  Why is this so hard? 

There can be many reasons, but one is that from a science standpoint, once you wire into your nervous system what you believe to be true, you will only tend to notice what aligns with your “reality”.  Reality is relative; my reality is not your reality. 

Once you start to unconsciously believe what you do, your conscious choice shuts down and you “fall asleep”.  If you are not aware or paying attention you will live your life on autopilot.  If your life is working very well for you, this is fine, but if it is not, your suffering will tend to only increase with time, like a growing cancer. 

There was an article written in Science Daily.com July 2, 2009, entitled “People Sometimes Seek the Truth, but Prefer Like-Minded Views”.  In other words, birds of a feather flock together.  In this article, done as a collaborative effort of several universities, it was shown that most people prefer to select information that supports their existing views. 

Core Confidence: True Creativity Requires Authenticity!

Confidence and empowerment is about acting from your center, the courage to be YOU.  In order to be truly creative, you have to walk off of the beaten path.  Otherwise your life is just a copycat of the next person. 

You are a unique expression of Divine Love.   There is no one like you and this is a great thing.  I am a gardener and I can imagine how boring my garden would look if it only contained one type of flower. 

Gone would be the explosive, colorful array of violets, reds, yellows and various shades of pink.  It would look all the same!  Again, how boring is that? 

Then why is it us humans, want to look and act like the next person.  It seems that most people want to be everyone but himself or herself!  Why is this? 

I say it is purely due to conditioning and the fact that our nervous systems are wired to survive and we have as a whole bought into the belief that conformity is synonymous with safety.  Granted, at one time in our evolution there was truth to this. 

Managing Stress From the Inside Out

Stress seems to be ubiquitous these days, judging from how often I hear the word used.  I see people who look anxious and being “busy” is epidemic.  I no longer buy into the idea that being busy is a badge of honor or affirming to my self-worth.

In fact, it was not until I re-ordered my life and created more balance and time for myself and other things that are important to me, that I started to feel more self-acceptance.

For one thing, I was able to actually feel again, and get out of my head.  What a treat!  The issue though, is that first I had to free myself from the negative self-talk that was provoking the negative feelings that I was running away from in my busyness in the first place.

What most people do not realize,is that the negative self-talk going on in your head is contributing to your stress levels – and there is scientific evidence to prove this now. About ten years ago, I started meditating for many reasons, and one of them was specifically to slow down my busy mind.  I wanted to learn how to deal with and release the negative self-talk.  

Confidence Cures: Make Peace With Yourself

Confidence that is truly empowering is not something that comes from externals.  While you may have the will to push yourself into situations that are out of your comfort zone, the old “sink or swim” tactic, if you want to operate your life from a truly empowered place, starting from your core is the place to begin. 

What I mean by “core”, is to start from the premise of your Inner Spirit being, your True Self.  As a spiritual being having a human experience, you can live your life from an integrated fashion – spirit, mind and body. 

When I lived with a lot of inner turmoil, while I managed to go to work everyday and function, I was not living a life I loved.  It was a life of struggle, “life is tough”.  Since this was my focus, this was my experience. 

I had confidence to perform in my role of physician and surgeon, but I had much insecurity that my spirit self, from my heart, wanted to face.  I wanted to feel better about my self and live more adventurously.  I have an artist heart, yet I had long forsaken this part of myself.