"Putting Gratitude To Work For You" by Wes Hopper
"What upsets people is not the things themselves, but their judgements about the things." -- Epictetus
This month I have had the opportunity to review a book by psychologist Michael Edelstein titled "Three Minute Therapy:
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life". As you might guess, the title got my attention right away. The idea that
changing your life is accomplished by changing your thinking is central to everything that I teach.
He begins the book with the quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus shown above. You can see how this quote
states the same idea that you'll find on page 7 of the Gratitude ebook in the quote from Byron Katie, "All the
stress that we feel is caused by arguing with what is."
The essential point in nonresistance is that we don't argue with reality being what it is. We respond, we may
take action based on that reality, but we don't argue that it "shouldn't" be that way, or that it "must" be different.
Edelstein shows that when we get upset we like to believe that the event or person "made" us upset. We leave out
the important step between the event and the feeling, which is our thinking or beliefs about it. Usually this
thinking contains some version of the idea that someone or something (yourself, the universe, your spouse, your boss)
absolutely "must" be a certain way, or else.
He shows that this "musty" thinking can often cause serious psychological distress - including depression, phobias,
substance abuse, busted relationships and a host of other issues. For an extraordinary example, see Byron Katie's
personal story in her book, "Loving What Is."
Do you see why I have that chapter on nonresistance in the book? Your happiness is directly proportional to your
practice of nonresistance. Of course, it's impossible to feel grateful when you're arguing with reality, and it's
a life of gratitude that helps create a peaceful, happy state of mind.
Edelstein has developed a powerful set of exercises that you can use to tackle issues in your life that are being
created by "musty" thinking. He shows you how to differentiate the practical problem, which may be how to deal
with the person or event, from the emotional problem caused by your thinking. Just being able to separate those
two factors can be a major step forward.
If you combine Edelstein's exercises with the application of the law of polarity discussed in the ebook, you'll
be well on your way to a nonresistant life. And that'll give you a lot to be grateful for!
In a couple of weeks I'm going to be joining a promotion from the publisher for Edelstein's book and you'll be
able to get it along with a lot of bonuses.So be looking for the announcement.
Have a great month. I am grateful for each and every one of you!
Peace and love, Wes PS - Remember to go to dailygratitude.com and give us your comments.© 2005 Wes Hopper. All rights reserved.
Feel free to pass the above in its entirety to anyone you wish.
(From Daily Gratitude Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 10 - October 2005, www.dailygratitude.com/nl1005.html .)
MORE REVIEWS
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Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
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Dr. Michael R. Edelstein
Clinical Psychologist, San Francisco
415-673-2848 (24 hours)
DrEdelstein@ThreeMinuteTherapy.com
www.ThreeMinuteTherapy.com