20Feb/13

What Is Virtue?

The word “virtue” has interesting connotations in modern society.   We tend to think of it as something that refers to moral goodness — for example, someone who demonstrates behavior that is true and upright.  If you were brought up in a religious household, you might associate it with sexual purity or chastity.   Or perhaps you’ve never thought much about the word at all: it isn’t a term you hear all that frequently anymore.

Would it surprise you to learn that virtue actually means strength?

It comes from the Latin word, virtus, which has connotations of excellence, courage, worth, and valor.

And in the work we do here at Quantum Emergence, it takes on even deeper meaning: Virtue is the term we use to describe your core identity.

What do I mean by that?

Consider the following…

Think about the word “strength.”  When we say that someone has “strengths,” what do we mean?  We often use the word strengths to contrast with the word weaknesses: “Joe has many strengths, but he has some weaknesses, too.”

Of course, when you get right down to it, often a person’s strengths and weaknesses are just two sides of the same coin.

Think about it: a person who is determined can be stubborn; a person who is gentle can be passive; a person who is energetic can be overwhelming.   In your own life, you could probably identify your greatest strength and flip it over to discover that it also carries your greatest weakness. Or if you have an easier time identifying your weakness, flip it over and there you’ll discover your greatest strength.

This has a lot of resonance with what we talked about recently on the blog — the process of discovering the truth behind your limiting beliefs.  By turning limiting beliefs on their head, you often find profound truths.

So what does all this have to do with Virtue?

Everything.

You see, your Virtue is your core strength: that which is the essence of you.  Many of the problems you’ve encountered in your life have arisen because you have neglected your Virtue and have not been living from that deepest and most essential aspect of who you are.  Quite literally, it is as if you have forgotten who you are and have been attempting to live someone else’s life.  When you understand and embrace your . true self  — who God made you to be — you will find that friction, frustration, and lackluster results melt away.  Knowing your Virtue helps you discover your strength, so that you unleash your best life possible.

There are 9 basic Virtues.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore each one, to help you get a sense for what’s possible when you understand this core aspect of your identity.

For now, here’s a question to consider in the comments below: how have you found that your greatest strengths are often your greatest weaknesses…and vice versa?

For a comprehensive look at how you can create real transformation in your life, download our FREE ebook, “Reveal Your Truth: How to Unlock Your Purpose in the 10 Major Areas of Life.” 

19Feb/13

Why Identity Is So Important

Are you having a personal identity crisis?  Do you know who you are, why you’re here, and God’s plan for you?  The knowledge of personal identity is vital to successful transformation and growth.  Here are three reasons why:

  1. It Helps You Learn the Truth about Yourself.  So often our identities are based on false beliefs or perceptions – who we think we are rather than who we actually are.  When you understand your true personal identity, it gives you purpose.
  1. It Empowers You.  Likewise, when you understand your true identity, you will discover great strength.  This strength and energy empowers you and enables you to achieve the things you want most in life.
  1. It Enables You to Live a Fuller, Richer Life.  When you discover your true essence and divinity, it helps you understand that you are a part of something greater than you imagined.  With this newfound knowledge, you can free yourself of the shackles of limiting beliefs and realize your true potential.

Knowing and understanding your true personal identity will enable you to tap into a strength and energy that will bring you greater happiness, joy, and fulfillment.  These are just three reasons why.

Many people discover that working with an experienced mentor or coach can speed the self-discovery and transformation process.  Request a FREE 30-minute Beyond Breakthrough Session with one of our qualified coaches today. 

01Feb/13

Why “Traditional” Approaches to Overcoming Limiting Beliefs Don’t Work

We’re nearing the end of our series on limiting beliefs.  I hope by now you have a solid sense for what they are, why it’s so important to overcome them, and how you can begin the process.

If you’ve been around the personal development world for any extended period of time, you’ve probably heard any number of “remedies” for limiting beliefs.  Maybe you’ve heard that you’re supposed to…

  • Stop identifying with the belief
  • Recite positive affirmations
  • Test your assumptions
  • Meditate
  • Create new habits
  • Reframe the belief
  • Go to therapy
  • Undergo hypnosis
  • Set goals
  • Create a vision board
  • Stop focusing on the past
  • Use brain entrainment technology and subliminal audios/videos

…or any number of techniques “guaranteed” to help you rid yourself of pesky limited beliefs once and for all.

There’s just one problem.

These techniques don’t work.

Don’t get me wrong.  Some of them are truly powerful thought- and behavior-modification strategies that, when implemented under the right circumstances, can be effective.

But the fundamental issue is that these techniques still operate from the faulty assumption that limiting beliefs are the root of your problem, as opposed to just a symptom

Remember: the root of your problem is an identity problem.  You haven’t discovered who you are at your very core — what I call your Virtue.  So you can work to change your limiting beliefs, but if you’re no closer to understanding this vital component of yourself, you’ll continue to struggle.

Until you go beyond your limiting beliefs and address the heart of the matter — coming to understand your Virtue, or your true identity — all the techniques in the world will merely scratch the surface.  It’s like painting over a crack in the wall, or putting a rug over a hole in the floor.   It might look better for a while, but ultimately, you need to dive in and repair what’s wrong.

Fortunately, at Quantum Emergence, we have an entire process devoted to helping you shine a light on your limiting beliefs and discover the truth behind them.  If this is a journey you’re interested in taking, I’d like to invite you to take advantage of a FREE Beyond Breakthrough Coaching Session with me or one of my certified coaches.  In this 30-minute session, you’ll begin the journey into understanding your true identity, so that you can step into the life you were made for.

29Jan/13

How to Ascertain the Truth Behind Limiting Beliefs

On our blog for the past couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about limiting beliefs: what they are, and why, surprisingly, they’re not the core source of your problems, unlike what so many personal development gurus might have you believe.

Instead, limiting beliefs are a symptom of a deeper problem.

In a previous post, I put it this way:

All limiting beliefs are the dark side of a profound truth about yourself; something that your subconscious is trying to protect.

The only thing that can truly heal, complete, and correct a limiting belief is for you to become aware of the light side of your truth — what I call your Virtue, or your true identity.  Then you can embrace what is real, and your limiting belief will melt away.

You see, there is a reason that the limiting beliefs that afflict you are present — and why the same limiting belief might not be a problem for another person.  Limiting beliefs are not chosen at random, formed by accident, or picked out of a hat by chance.

They are always created from a source of light.

Let me say that again: they are always created from a source of light.

Limiting beliefs, then, represent the “dark side” or negative aspects of your truth.  Otherwise, the limiting belief would have no “teeth,” no ability to be compelling or make you feel badly.

In other words: there is always truth lurking on the other side of a lie.

But how do you do it?  How do you discover the truth behind your limiting beliefs?

Quite frankly, this is an important process that is best undertaken with the help of a mentor or coach who understands this process well.  Otherwise, you might misidentify the lie, and end up exchanging one limiting belief for another!

At Quantum Emergence, we have an entire process devoted to helping you shine a light on your limiting beliefs and discover the truth behind them.  If this is a journey you’re interested in taking, I’d like to invite you to take advantage of a FREE Beyond Breakthrough Coaching Session with me or one of my certified coaches.  In this 30-minute session, you’ll begin the journey into understanding your true identity, so that you can step into the life you were made for.

18Jan/13

Why Limiting Beliefs Are NOT the Problem

In my last post “What Is a Limiting Belief?” we spent some time talking about limiting beliefs: what they are and how they affect our ability to live the life we want.

But did you know that limiting beliefs are NOT the real problem?

I know that sounds strange.  After all, most people — especially the so-called “gurus” in the personal development industry — tend to think that if they could just eliminate limiting beliefs, they’d never struggle again.  So they get to work, applying this technique or that strategy to minimize the effects of limiting beliefs.

But limiting beliefs are NOT the source of the core problem.

They are merely a symptom.

The core problem is that you have a distorted self-perception that is feeding all the limiting beliefs you’re experiencing.

Let me give you an example.

Say you’re struggling to stay physically fit.  You’re overweight, you’re tired.  And though you know you want to be healthier, you can’t quite bring yourself to get off the couch and throw away the potato chips.

Traditional personal development teachers might tell you that your root problem is that you subconsciously believe you are fat.

This isn’t wrong, but it only scratches the surface.

You can spend all the time in the world trying to convince yourself that you ARE someone who can be thin, fit, and active — trying to change, or replace your limiting belief — but if you don’t dig deeper, it probably won’t work very well.

Instead, you must recognize this fact: all limiting beliefs are the dark side  of a profound truth about yourself; something that your subconscious is trying to protect.

The only thing that can truly heal, complete, and correct a limiting belief is for you to become aware of the light side of your truth — what I call your Virtue, or your true identity.  Then you can embrace what is real, and your limiting belief will melt away.

In our example of someone who struggles with their weight,  realize that the belief system doesn’t even know that you’re overweight, or what weight is for that matter, but it DOES no how important it is for you to feel connected and have a sense of belonging with those who are important to you or who you love. So to add a few clichés here such as; “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” and “birds of a feather flock together”, there’s a good chance that the people you are closest to also have weight problems. Obviously, having a deep sense of connection and belonging with those you love is a good thing and thus the light side of who you are. However, conditioning says that you must maintain that connection at all costs and one way to be liked by them is to look like them. Thus, subconsciously speaking, being overweight is your ticket to fill the need of connection and belonging. Consequently, the subconscious fulfills this prime objective by maintaining a limiting belief that compels your dominant thoughts, feelings and behaviors to sabotage your efforts to lose weight whenever it might arise.

Do you see?

The real problem isn’t the limiting belief; it’s what’s behind the limiting belief.  The limiting belief is just a symptom of a more serious malady.

For help discovering your Virtue and ridding yourself of limiting beliefs, request a FREE 30-minute Beyond Breakthrough Coaching Session with one of Quantum Emergence’s qualified coaches today. 

15Jan/13

3 Elements of Limiting Beliefs

How can you tell a limiting belief from a supporting belief?  There are three elements that will help you determine that what you’re experiencing is a limiting belief that will hinder your transformation process.

1) Limiting beliefs carry negative emotions.  Limiting beliefs always come with negative emotions attached.

2) Limiting beliefs maintain a low self-image.  If the belief you’re investing in makes you feel badly about yourself, it is limiting.

3) Limiting beliefs always play on one of the three fears of man.  There are three universal fears that afflict humankind: the fear that we are not valuable, worthy, or significant; the fear that we are not loved nor lovable; the fear that we are alone and disconnected.  If the belief you’ve identified is associated with one of these three fears, you can be certain it is a limiting belief.

Understanding and identifying limiting beliefs is an important step on the road to transformation.

Many people discover that working with an experienced mentor or coach can speed the self-discovery and transformation process.  Request a FREE 30-minute Beyond Breakthrough Session with one of our qualified coaches today. 

11Jan/13

What Is a Limiting Belief?

If you’ve been around personal development circles for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the term “limiting belief.”

But what is a limiting belief?

Put succinctly, a limiting belief is a way you perceive yourself or the world around you that builds unnecessary obstacles to creating the life you want.

Limiting beliefs are often held so deeply in the subconscious mind that unless we take the time to examine them and bring them to the surface, we may not even be aware of them at all.  And yet, they are part of the “programming” that governs almost everything we do: the way we think about ourselves, how we interact with others, what we believe is possible for our lives.

All beliefs serve only one purpose: to establish and maintain one’s self-perception and identity (what we at Quantum Emergence call your “Virtue”).  Thus, a skewed, distorted, or otherwise inaccurate self-perception exists because of a limiting belief.

Here are some important things to understand about limiting beliefs…

1. Limiting beliefs tend to stem from traumatic and painful past experiences.  Because all beliefs establish and maintain your self-perception, these are experiences that altered or threatened your core sense of identity (or Virtue) in very negative ways.

2. Limiting beliefs don’t know they’re limiting.  Your subconscious mind doesn’t differentiate from “positive” or “negative” beliefs.  It simply knows how you perceive yourself, and will protect your Virtue at all costs — even if it’s damaging.

3. Limiting beliefs are grounded in important truth.  You don’t pick a limiting belief out of a hat.  A limiting belief is formed when something that is significant and important to you is being threatened — in other words, your Virtue.   The reason it as “teeth,” as it were, is because it’s biting into something very real and very true.

4. Limiting beliefs have four components…

  • Memory.  The past traumatic event that formed the limiting belief.
  • Energy.  The “fight or flight” response that was linked to the memory gets trapped within the body (cellular memory).
  • Meaning.  The interpretation of how the event defined you — usually as a bad or unworthy person.
  • Mechanism.  The unconscious ways of thinking and behaving throughout life in an attempt to hide, override or diminish the pain of the limiting belief.

Did you know that it’s possible to be free from the negative effects of limiting beliefs?  In my next few blog posts, I’ll reveal how.

In the meantime, sound off in the comments below: what do limiting beliefs mean to you?

For a comprehensive look at how you can create real transformation in your life, download our FREE ebook, “Reveal Your Truth: How to Unlock Your Purpose in the 10 Major Areas of Life.”

08Jan/13

Limiting vs. Supporting Beliefs

In the journey toward personal growth, you’ll probably encounter the terms “limiting beliefs” and “supporting beliefs” along the way.

But what is a limiting vs. a supporting belief?

In simplest terms, a limiting belief is something you hold to be true about yourself or the world around you that is creating obstacles in your path.  For example, if you are struggling financially, it could be because you have a limiting belief that you are not the type of person who would ever be wealthy.  Thus, you make decisions and live from that reality.

A supporting belief, on the other hand, is something you hold to be true about yourself or the world around you that is in alignment with the life you want to create.  Using the financial objective again, if one of your life objectives is wealth and prosperity, a supporting belief would be that you are the type of person who can create wealth and opportunity easily.

All beliefs exist to establish and maintain our self-perception.  Beliefs that represent the truth about who we really are can be referred to as “supporting beliefs,” while beliefs that represent a skewed, distorted, or otherwise inaccurate self-perception is a “limiting belief.”

As you continue your path to personal growth, it’s important to understand that the terms “limiting” and “supporting” are just names to describe whether or not our beliefs are producing positive or negative results — our subconscious mind doesn’t  distinguish between them this way, and will strive to protect whatever you actually, genuinely believe to be your true identity at your deepest level.

Join the Quantum Emergence Inner Circle — an exclusive Facebook group for transformation-minded people.  There is NO cost to become a member.  Request to join here

12Nov/12

Mind Your Life Teleconference

I’m so excited to be launching our new Mind Your Life Teleconference Series starting next Tuesday, November 27 at 7 PM Arizona time!

Each month my team and I will be bringing to you powerful strategies, techniques and insights on how you can truly master your life by mastering your mind!

The topics will be relevant and timely to your life today and will expose you to the latest in neuroscience breakthroughs to help you create immediate, significant and meaningful change in those areas of your life that are most important to you.

I’ll be discussing the things that you, our community, are most interested in including; business, finance, health, relationships and more.

Listen, the personal growth industry is expanding exponentially. Seeking out the latest and greatest in personal growth modalities and theories can be an overwhelming and daunting task and there’s no guarantee that after you find the “secret”, the “key”, the “one thing” that it will really work.

I have found most of the time it’s just the same old stuff being repackaged. Our monthly Mind Your Life calls will help you save time and money and still get you the accurate and effective help you desire.

This month’s topic: Mind Your Own Business

Call-in details:

Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 7:00 PM US Mountain Standard Time.
https://www4.gotomeeting.com/join/504247359

2. Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) – a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 (630) 869-1012
Access Code: 504-247-359
Meeting ID: 504-247-359

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Not at your computer? Click the link to join this meeting from your iPhone®, iPad® or Android® device via the GoToMeeting app.

 

So pencil me in! The last Tuesday of every month at 7 PM Arizona time (unless otherwise notified due to holidays)

I’m beyond excited to be bringing this new service to our community. You asked and I listened so see you on the call and as always spread the word!

In Purpose,

Dr. Matt

P.S. Special Bonus!! We will be offering a FR>EE Business Breakthrough Coaching Session to everyone on the call. This coaching session is designed to help you create immediate shifts in your business growth so make sure you attend!

P.S.S. Looking for some 1-on-1 help to create immediate results? Then go to www.quantumemergence.com ® and learn about our newest Quantum Emergence® coaching system and Life Mastery Mentoring program or call us at 480-497-3504 to learn more!

Check out these upcoming events:
November 27th – Mind Your Life Tele-Series
December 4th – The New You Preview – Gilbert/Skype
December 18th – Mind Your Life Tele-Series
for more information or to register please contact us at 480-497-3504
or email CustomerCare@SourceTrainings.com

12Nov/12

Are you being or doing?

Paying attention

How many times have you driven from one place to another and then realized when you got there that you couldn’t remember anything about the drive?

Or, you were talking on the phone but listening more to your own internal dialogue than what the other person was saying?

Well, you were certainly doing something but were you really being present in the task? The answer to that question would be a resounding NO!

There’s a line by a famous British comedy troupe from the 60’s that goes like this. How can you be two places at once when you’re really nowhere at all?

They were playing on the idea that most of us are not fully present in our lives in general and so miss our own life as it goes by.

Do a quick check in with yourself.

How often have you felt that way? Do you feel like your life is like a wild horse, taking you for a ride you can’t control? No wonder you close your eyes sometimes. The ride is too scary and you have no idea where it will end up.

This has especially accelerated with the age of technology when we check our phone, tablet, computer and answering machine, sometimes all at the same time trying to keep up with the speed of change.

For those of us who seek something more than the rat race writ large what can we do?

Well, there is another path.

There is a way to take control of your direction and destiny, to live the life you were truly meant to live, fully, completely and with joy.

People often think that means they need to make huge changes in their lives or become a completely different person. But that isn’t true.

A famous Buddhists saying is “Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water, after enlightenment chop wood carry water.” What does that mean?  Simply that the task doesn’t change, only your relationship to it does.

In order to have a more fulfilling relationship with your own life here are some starting points and things to think about.

1) The first thing you need to do is slow down! Take a breath. Notice what is around you and notice how you are relating to your world. The key word here is notice.

2) Until you become consciously aware of your thoughts and feelings you are doomed to a limited reality. A reality limited by your unconscious thoughts and feelings and closed down to the endless possibilities that exist for you.

3) Being fully present for your own life requires work and courage however it means the difference between living a life of quiet desperation and being the creator of your own reality. One path leads to sorrow, suffering and regret while the other leads to a rich, full life. The life you were put on this planet to live.

Ready for change? Take the next step by listening to a call I recorded called “UNLOCK YOUR MIND PRISON.” I look forward to your feedback.