My guess is that you want to say “yes” to these questions, but you are actually answering “no”. Why is this? Because institutions are deciding these answers for us. Yes it’s true! In all four of these areas of your life you have not and do not choose. You disagree? Let us explore.

When it comes to your health are you choosing what you put into your body or are you allowing the media, the supermarkets and even your family determine what you eat, or allowing your doctor decide what medications you should be taking? How many of those choices have you truly made yourself. In most cases I am sure you would agree you have taken the common route, the path of least resistance, and allowed society to tell you what to eat and what to do when you get a headache. And most likely if you were eating healthier you would not be having any headaches in the first place.

Making your own conscious choices about what you put into your body can have a positive affect on your health. Observe your body. How does it react and feel after certain foods? Avoid those foods that leave you feeling slack and without energy and choose the food that makes you feel good an hour after you eat it.

What about your time? Are you the master of your own time? Or are you the slave of circumstances and habit? How often do we conform to what others want just to keep the peace? It’s bad enough having an employer where we give our time for the money we earn, but what about the rest of our time? How much time do you take for yourself? It is important to pursue your own desires and dreams and satisfy your own pleasures. This is not to say you ought to ignore everyone else around you, particularly those depending on you. But it is important to get a balance and have time that is only for you.

I bet you think you have control of your money. Well apart from taxes (we’ll leave that one as we all enjoy the benefits of roads, transport and trade etc.) how much of your hard earned money do you spend voluntarily on things you actually want or need? Observe again how often you will buy something because the advertisement appealed to you, or the display in the store attracted you, or even because your friend said this is a must. After you buy it you wonder why or it lies around unused. How much food do you throw away becuase you fell for the big sales and specials and ended up buying much too much food?

So are you really in control of your money? Is your money serving you as it ought to? Are you treating your money with respect, because if you do it will return to you. Setting money aside for later is a big plus and a must. Small amounts mount up and you will be grateful for that years from now. I’m not saying to spend sparingly, that could stifle the flow, but spend wisely, and most of all, make your own choices.

One more thing – have you chosen what you believe in? Now when it comes to religious belief the answer is most likely not. You have accepted the beliefs handed down to you. The same is true about how you are currently looking at life, you got educated and got a job and pay into your pension fund because that’s what you were taught and what you subsequently believe in. But these things are nothing more than belief systems passed down to us. But are they the right things and are they serving us today? We need to take a close look at why we believe things and why we do things in certain ways today. Could it be that you are not meeting with success and not fulfilling your dreams because of restricting and limiting beliefs from the past?

We need to take control of our beliefs and choose what is beneficial and profitable for life and discard all that isn’t.

So are you free? Or do you need to make a few adjustments. Remember, everyone around faces the same challenge, so be gentle.

By Mabel Katz

In Ho’oponopono we learn that the intellect was not created to know, it was created to choose. That is the only function of the intellect. We are to let go or not to let go, to be

Mabel Katz

right or not to be right, to have the last word or not. We have a choice, to do it the intellect’s way or God’s way.

This trip to Israel made me more aware of how our ancestors knew that the only way to see and experience miracles was through faith, and that by staying united they would find the strength to confront whatever challenges came their way. They knew that the solution to their problems was going to come from the heavens. The answer was not on the Earth.

Unfortunately, as we evolved and became more educated, we separated more and more from the source and decided that we know better and that we are going to resolve it.

Somehow we have become confused. We believe we are supposed to fill our intellect with knowledge, but the intellect was given to us to choose between thinking and engaging or letting go.

We have become so entrenched in the belief that the intellect’s purpose is storing and understanding information, that we base our sense of identity on this idea. Our intellect thus tries to become something that it is not and is always pushing us to be something that we are not meant to be.

In order to break this cycle we need to realize that we are wise by nature, and that our wisdom does not reside in the intellect. Our creativity is not in our intellect either. Creativity is our natural state. It comes and works in ways that we cannot explain. In reality, our ideas and actions come only from Inspiration or memories.

Now, Inspiration can only come when you are empty and open. It cannot come when you are talking, thinking or worrying. In order to achieve your maximum potential, you must become like children again, wise children. You must trust that you are guided and protected when you are not thinking or worrying and be open to all possibilities. You need to go back to your roots, to the time before you became so educated that you lost track of who you really are.

We are the ones complicating our existence. We are the ones thinking we know what is good for us and we make lists of what we want to attract, how much and when, when in fact we don’t have a clue of what is good for us, and on top of that, who are we making the list for? We actually make lists for the Creator, who knows us better than anyone and knows what we need and when we need it. We are very arrogant, indeed.

Anthony De Mello puts it simply, “When you become conscious and aware, you become wiser. That is what you call real self-growth. Understand your pride and it will drop – what results will be humility. Understand your unhappiness and it will disappear – what results is the state of happiness. Understand your fears and they will melt – the resultant state is love. Understand your attachments and they will vanish – the consequence is freedom.”

Think of nature. Look at the flowers for example. There is no way we humans can create such beauty. We need to admit there is a Divine intelligence. Think of your body. You do not need to think how to breathe or how to make your heart pump. We are surrounded by Divine miracles.

Return to the wonder and awe of your childhood. Use the intellect for its intended purpose instead of allowing it to drive you mad. Once you open your heart and cease trying to control reality, wonderful things will begin to pop up all around, and you will recover your sense of joy and freedom.

The truth shall set you free!

You’ll find more about practicing Ho’oponopono to improve your life at http://hooponoponoway.com Be sure to leave a comment on the blog. And while you’re there, you’ll want to sign up for my newsletter. You’ll get the “money” chapter from my book, “The Easiest Way,” too. Mabel Katz, Empowering you to live the life of your dreams with Ho’oponopono – http://mabelkatz.com.

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We have been told that we live in a box.
We’re told that the sides of this box are the end of our existence.
Outside the box is God, and if we live good lives we will see him.

We’re told not to go near the sides of the box, for that is evil and makes God angry.
So we live happily in our box, until one day
someone comes in and says there’s a whole new life out there, outside the box.
He is immediately condemned and put to death.

Then years later someone ventures to the sides and breaks out.
Everyone is alarmed and shocked.
They patch up the hole and pretend it was never there.

But then he calls back to those inside the box and tells of the wonderful free life outside.
But most close their ears and say it is esoteric, hidden evil knowledge from the devil who wants to keep us away from God.

Oh, by the way, the devil also lives outside the box.
So hopefully we’ll meet the right one when the time comes to leave the box, at death.

But then our friend outside keeps sending messages, until one day we find ourselves at the side of the box.
It looks frightening, only because we fear what God would do if we went outside.
But there we see the covered up hole, so they were lying!
There is a way, there is a life outside!
We get angry and tear away at the patch and run out.
Our friends cry after us warning us of the wrath of God and the devil – oh dear, now we’ve got both of them after us!

But once outside, all looks so peaceful, so colourful, so full of life, unlike the dull existence in the box, full of restrictions and fear and condemnation.
We realize that people out here are happy and cheerful and kind (not all of course, but many).
No one condemns, no one judges, and some say that God smiles on us no matter what.

Inside the box the hole is patched up again and the story is told of how we have left God’s grace and made ourselves to receive the wrath and punishment of God.

But we know nothing of that. Life is such a joy.