The Power of Intention Part 5 of 10: Receptivity
March 6, 2009 by dr. lam · 8 Comments
This is a favorite of mine. The intention of receptivity is almost a summary of everything that we have talked about this week. Too often we are totally focused on how are we going to achieve something. In so doing, we oftentimes circumvent our ability to achieve it because we are focused on the negative thoughts of trying to accomplish it with all of the attendant frustrations that come with a mechanical view of “how am I going to do that?”
Instead, being open and receptive will make all the difference. God and the universe will provide for you if you just allow that chance to occur. When I am with my patients, I am totally open even when I deal with seemingly difficult patients. People become aligned with my positive energy and spirit of receptivity. I like to frame it in perhaps an easier way, BE OPEN.
When we are closed, we create walls all around us. We do not connect with others, and in the process we can’t connect with ourselves. By focusing on our own problems and limitations, we remain closed. Therefore, the opposite of receptivity is resistance. If you are feeling resistance, let it go and be open to receive. By helping others with their problems (see the series on the Art of Happiness for a better understanding), we become open and receptive vessels. Today, go out and be as open as possible. Be receptive to all of those around you. Work on the intention of being open. When you become open to those around you, you will see that the needs that you thought you needed will become manifest without even trying.
The Power of Intention Part 4 of 10: Abundance
March 5, 2009 by dr. lam · 8 Comments
I think living in these times of perceived scarcity, this blog will have some degrees of universal relevance. I am not necessarily the best exemplar of this, but I am working toward an intention of seeing only abundance and that God and the universe will provide everything that you need in times of difficulty. Believe in the power of abundance and you will begin to see that you have more than enough for your needs.
When we read the newspaper (which I still do every day to keep abreast of world events), we get immersed in negativity and are controlled with the ideas of scarcity. Today, you can’t escape the news that we don’t have enough and we are limited by those thoughts. I truly have been blessed by all of you in that I am still booked out for 3 months and have overflowing abundance. I feel as if all of you out there are connected with me and are connected in a fundamental way to my practice and my staff because we are all in an extended family. I thank you for your loyalty to LFP and to me. You are all part of my family, and I want to encourage all of you to see the abundance in the universe rather than the scarcity.
I hope that this blog serves as an antidote to the negative press out there, a small oasis and a tiny beacon to all those who have ears to hear it. I believe that the manifesto of LFP is to seek and attain all that life was meant for you and designed for you. Of course, for all of you that are in a perceived state of absence whether it be health or finances, look at what you have and attract abundance by focusing on it instead of what you don’t have.
Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret, is obviously famous for collectively putting many authors’ ideas under one cover and discussing the law of attraction and how we attract abundance or scarcity by our thoughts and intention. I would like all of you out there to take a day (always start with an easy unit of time) and begin to see abundance in front of you, intend it deeply and attain that abundance. Today, go out there and look for all signs of abundance. Help another person out there who is focused on scarcity see his or her own abundance and be thankful for it!
The Power of Intention Part 3 of 10: Beauty
March 4, 2009 by dr. lam · 26 Comments
Of course, as a plastic surgeon I must comment on this one. Obviously, Dyer was more focused on inner beauty than outer beauty but he does comment about how we should look at the creation around us as beautiful. He made reference to an encounter he had with the famed concentration camp survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl who during his time in the camps was given a bowl of filthy water with a fish head floating in it. Frankl saw the beauty in the food provided to him rather than the ugliness of it all. Frankl in fact states that the way that he was able to attain meaning in life is that he saw only beauty in everything. What a profound thought!
For me, I am fascinated with beauty in every facet. As you can see, my blogs focus more on attaining inner beauty whereas the rest of my website discusses how to attain outer beauty. To those who look at beauty as a vain, self-centered thing will not be in alignment with me since I have dedicated my life to creating outer beauty as much as inner beauty for others. I truly believe that when I create a beautiful result and especially when I fix an ugly one, I am able to help you co-create your future so that you have congruity between your inner and outer worlds.
Here are a few small examples of what I am talking about. I had a lady for whom I did fat grafting and a facelift 2 years ago and had not seen her for over a year. Her wrinkles had progressed despite a great result for her face. I asked her what had happened and she explained (without going into details here) that she had put herself in a bad relationship. I talked to her that perhaps my blogs would help her and gave her some of my thoughts on the subject. She said, “Wow, you really inspire me and I forgot about that.” I said, “There is no coincidence that you decided to come back into my life again, and Botox was only a small part of the reason.” I hope I made a difference in her life besides just wrinkles. However, I believe that her coming back to me more consistently will help me heal her skin while I heal her heart. I am filled with positive energy and I think I can make a difference in someone’s life both by affecting their spirit and their appearance. To me, they go hand in hand.
I had another lady that was going through a divorce and really wanted her nose fixed because it was a legacy that she carried of her past and her previous bad rhinoplasty. I knew that a few drops of silicone would restore her appearance. When I was done, she started to cry and said, “That is what I wanted for over 10 years.” I have now freed her from her past and given her the opportunity to move forward with her future. Now when she looks in the mirror she will see a beautiful nose and her heart will have been healed by her short time with me. I am very proud of helping people fulfill their objectives toward beauty, both inner and outer, so that they can become a glowing example of true beauty.
The Power of Intention Part 2 of 10: Kindness
March 3, 2009 by dr. lam · 27 Comments
I wanted to start with this one because it is how I am now seeing the world. At times my ego got in the way of seeing others with utter humility and kindness. Dyer explains what he calls the 7 faces of intention: creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, unlimited abundance, and receptivity. I will be covering some select topics regarding these 7 faces but will not necessarily cover all of the topics.
He argues that kindness must be a part of a universe of creation, as the Creator who made the world would not be making a malevolent one since it goes against the very nature of creation. Kindness is the energy that bonds all of us and keeps us as a unified whole, as I talked about in a previous blog on the art of happiness when I discussed compassion. You will find that I may repeat some areas through my blogs as far as topics go but there is a reason for that. First, I am exploring this topic from a different author’s perspective that in my opinion further deepens our understanding of a topic. A single blog is insufficient to make us understand AND REMEMBER what we need to know and to implement. At a fundamental core, I love teaching, always have and always will. I think teaching means giving to others information in a consistent and clear fashion so that the words and thoughts learned become integrated into life.
Okay, back to the subject. I was talking with a nurse who was frustrated about her experience in the ER and who voiced that someone threw money at her for a payment. I asked her what did she do in that circumstance. She said that she responded benevolently in giving the money back. I pushed deeper and asked, “Did you not harbor any hatred still deep in your heart, at least 10%?” She was quiet. I already knew the answer before asking because I could sense the tone in her voice carried anger and frustration.
I in turn responded that perhaps we could look at that person as an individual in pain and was calling out for help, stripped of all social rank, education, gender, age, etc., we just have a human in pain in front of us. I asked could we look at that human who treated us badly with open eyes seeing beyond all of those seemingly insurmountable trappings and get to the core of their humanity and just see them as someone who needed kindness? If we can do that we can radiate that kindness to those who really need it and we can then fill ourselves with that love and positivity that makes it easier for us to survive the day and to make it a more pleasurable experience.
I like this expression that Dyer says, “When we hurt others, we must hurt ourselves. When we help others, we will invariably also help ourselves.” (paraphrasing that a bit.) That is such a profound expression. I remember every time that I wanted to be malicious toward another, I felt sick inside and it literally hurt me to do it. It tore me apart. Whenever I have given generously to help someone else, I feel an exhilaration that strengthens me.
If we go into the world with a sense of hatred, anxiety, and fear in the morning, we will create that world as a manifest destiny. If we stop for a moment in the morning and see others with love, compassion, and kindness, we will be able to make a small but profound difference in all who come near us. When you go out today try to let go of all hatred toward humanity, negativity, and for a moment look at the person in front of you as a human being in pain and get to the core of their pain by offering them kindness. You will see that you can create your own world in a profoundly meaningful way and make your life and the life of those around you a meaningful and positive experience. Make a difference today.
Perform an act of kindness and don’t share that you did that with anyone. Keep it to yourself. See how you feel. Look at every human you encounter with love, compassion, and kindness. Open your heart today.
The Power of Intention Part 1 of 10: Defining Intention
March 2, 2009 by dr. lam · 6 Comments
I think we are naturally drawn to a subject by what might appear to be happenstance or in fact might reflect a need in our lives. I was talking with Carl Reynolds, a member in my EO forum group, a few months ago about an exercise in which his wife and he attained great meaning in their life called “Intentionality” and which we actually performed in my EO retreat last week (and I will present this exercise for your consideration at the conclusion of this series). It coincided with my reading Wayne Dyer’s book, The Power of Intention, and it got me to start understanding the power of intention and what it can do in our lives. My first reading of Dyer’s book (I have now covered the book 3 times) was a somewhat limited response, as the topic seemed simply too amorphous for me. The more I thought about it and started to implement it into my life and clinical practice, the more that I thought it was simply amazing. Accordingly, I shall be doing an extensive 2-week blog series on Dyer’s thoughts with a lot of my perceptions thrown in. As all my blogs, this is not a rehashing of his book. You need to read his book if you want all of his thoughts. This represents how I perceive the key elements of his book as it relates to me and perhaps that would rub off on you, the reader, as you explore your own ways for self development.
I like to think of an athlete whose pent-up energy can be pushed in one direction or another depending on which way his feet are planted and ready to be launched. If one’s feet are planted in one direction, it takes more energy to switch and move in an opposite direction. Similarly, if our intention is aimed toward a certain direction, we might more easily carry ourselves toward the path of least resistance and move toward that direction. For example, “I will certainly get sick this weekend because there is a flu going around.” Is that not a self-fulfilling prophecy? How about, “I am physically fit and will withstand all illnesses.” The power of intention allows us to create our world the way that we want to and not be dictated by external circumstances.
As Dyer opens his book, he uses the conventional definition of intention (just to get that out of the way): ”My research reveals a fairly common definition of intention as a strong purpose or aim, accompanied by a determination to produce a desired result.” He further imagines someone with great will and determination to overcome insurmountable obstacles. In short, an overachiever. In fact, this is not what he is talking about in his book. He is focused more on what Patanjali suggested more than 20 centuries ago: ”Dormant forces, faculties, and talents come alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” The idea is more focused on this concept that it is an energy state (more about that next week) than anything else. That energy state resides in you and resides all around you. I love his idea of energy states and it will be important to understand this idea in bringing to life one’s own power of intention.
Dyer aims to move ourselves out of being isolated life forces but into a connection through a larger life force, or “universal spirit” or “universal mind” of intention. Thanks Paul P last week for your insightful comments to my blogs. As promised, here is our “coincidence”, which does not mean happenstance, but a “fitting together perfectly”, i.e., we are harmonizing on the same wavelength or energy state. As the idea of intention unravels in front of you this week, repeat almost as a mantra the words “intention” and “intent” today to get you moving toward the spirit of intention. When you enter a state of anxiety or fear, repeat those words and start to connect with a universal life force and enter a peaceful state.