* 100% Responsibility and Universal Law*

[Indilwen]

* 100% Responsibility and Universal Law*

B Y W I L L I A M F R A N K D I E D R I C H
**

*ANYONE WHO HAS STUDIED* the Law of Attraction knows that we are the
creators of our own lives. We are each personally responsible for our own
thoughts, feelings, and the resulting physical reality. Our thoughts create
an energy field and people and situations that resonate with our thinking
are drawn to us. This is Universal Law 101. Like attracts like. We reap
what we sow. In his book, *Prosperity* , Charles Fillmore wrote:

*All true action is governed by law. Nothing just happens. There are no
miracles. There is no such thing as luck. Nothing comes by chance. All
happenings are the result of cause and can be explained under the Law of
Cause and Effect.*

At some point in time you come to realize that positive thinking and
affirmations are not the whole story. It isn't just your conscious
thoughts. In a later Fillmore quote he said: "You are a walking picture,
flashed into visible manifestation by the camera of your mind." In this new
realization you learn that you don't even know most of what you think. It's
unconscious. It is who you are being, the person you believe yourself to
be, that is reflected back to you in your life experience. You find that
you can no longer pile affirmations on top of guilt, shame, and self
hatred. You have to address the ideas in your mind that contradict your
well-being, your prosperity, and your desires for success. Instead of
denying your negative emotions in a quest to be positive, you accept your
thoughts, your emotions, and your self image. You become both honest and
unconditionally loving with yourself. This helps you to heal.

As you begin to establish dominion over your own mind, you come to realize
that it doesn't just affect you. The world is not made up of isolated
individuals each doing their own thing. We are connected. There is no
"them", only "us". Everything that happens is consciousness expressed in
physical reality. Physical reality is an actualization, or projection, of
your thoughts. Nothing in the physical reality that you witness happens
independent of you. In *A Course in Miracles* it is written: "Everything
you see is the result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact."

In earlier installments, we defined spiritual intelligence as choosing
between ego and spirit. The thoughts of the ego are thoughts of dis-ease.
If my thoughts are diseased (negative, hurtful, angry, judgmental, etc.),
they create a diseased physical reality. The thoughts of Spirit, your
Higher Self, are thoughts of love. They are life affirming thoughts. If my
thoughts are whole and well, they create a wholesome physical reality. Your
physical reality includes all of the people and places that surround you.
With this understanding you now know that you, as a leader, are incredibly
powerful. You are not merely influential. You are 100% responsible for
creating reality the way it is. Your way of being has a ripple effect.

You do not have the power to make others be different or to fix what seems
to be wrong. You have the power to change yourself. Whenever you witness
conflict or any lack of well-being you take ownership. You become 100%
responsible for correcting the diseased thoughts in you that create the
diseased reality that you see. You are either feeding the present reality
with your judgments and blame; or you are healing it through the
transformation of your mind.

100% responsibility means I am responsible for everything. If I am the
leader of an organization, I am responsible for the culture, the
productivity, quality and the performance of everyone in my organization.
If I am a spouse and parent, I am responsible for the well-being of
everyone in my family. If I am an athlete, I am responsible for the
performance of everyone on my team. This may sound like a heavy burden, but
it is not. 100% responsibility is the way to freedom and greater
effectiveness.

Responsibility is the ability to respond. It is not blame. I can respond to
any situation by changing my perception of it. I am accountable. I
recognize that my thinking, feeling, and behavior are causal to the
situation I see. My opinions of others form my vision for them. If I am
focused on problems and conflicts, I am perpetuating those problems and
conflicts with my attention. If I am focused on that which is highest and
best, my way of being will serve to draw out what is highest and best.

An excellent teacher I knew received a troubled boy into her sixth grade
class. On the first day of school every child, including the boy, walked
into the class convinced that this boy was trouble. Every previous teacher
passed him on although his skills were poor. They did their best, but they
could not help him. This teacher did not share the common perception. She
saw a boy who wanted to succeed; who wanted to learn; and who wanted to
enjoy friendship. She became a mirror for what was highest and best in that
child. The year was transformational. Her vision became reality. He
learned, and he grew to appreciate himself and others. The other students
learned to appreciate him.

Usually we are not aware of how our thoughts, our deeply held assumptions
are creating reality. In 100 % responsibility you ask yourself the
question: "What is going on in me that this problem is manifesting? " Next,
you are quiet. Contemplate this. Pray on it. Meditate on it. Honestly seek
an answer. You may be surprised at what you receive. Once you begin to see
how your thoughts and actions contribute, you can ask another question:
"What can I do to rectify this situation within me?" Again, contemplate,
meditate, and/or pray on this. Do what comes to you. Choose to perceive the
situation from the position of your Higher Self.

One of the major benefits of 100% responsibility is that you stop seeing
yourself as a victim. If you are responsible, you cannot be a victim.
Consider this: What if someone is doing or saying unkind things to you?
What if you stop being the victim and ask - "What is going on in me that
this person is feeling bitter or angry toward me?" You will begin to see
that what you thought was happening was not happening. Maybe the anger
being expressed is not about you. Or perhaps your anger or hurt feelings
are serving to draw more hostility your way. As you reflect on your own
internal reactions, you make a decision to let them go. You face the
emotion and create the intention to feel at peace instead. You release the
thoughts and feelings you have been holding.

When you practice this you begin to see other people differently. You make
different choices. The underperforming employee who you usually avoid, now
receives your interest and concern. You ask how he is doing and if there is
anything he needs. You offer honest feedback along with your willingness to
help. The spouse you saw as undeserving of your affection now gets a
sincere compliment. The "irresponsible" child receives an encouraging word.
The people around you at work who you saw as "against" you, now look
different. You now see them with compassion and find ways to support them.

In this new mindset you treat people differently because you see them
differently. And since we live in a connected world, your thoughts and
feelings affect them. The "energy" around your relationship becomes
different. For example, if you have hostile or critical feelings toward
someone, they can feel that "energy". If the "energy" changes to respect,
non judgment, and compassion, they will feel the shift. To do this you must
be willing to let go of all negative judgments and feelings toward the
person. You may ask: "What is my vision for this relationship? Would I
rather be right (angry, hurt, upset, etc.) or would I rather be free?
(whole, effective, happy, etc.)" What you want is your vision and it is
what you are creating.

100% responsibility doesn't mean you are carrying the world on your
shoulders. It does mean that you, like everyone else, are supporting the
current state. When you sincerely ask to see what is going on in you and
how you can rectify the situation in you, you take your focus off trying to
change others. Your work is to clear your mind of all judgments and
negative emotional reactions. As you clear yourself you can help and lead
others toward what can be.

To lead is to help bring into being what can be. We begin this process by
acknowledging that we are already bringing into being the current state. We
affect the current state by seeing it differently. This requires us to
release all judgments and conflicts about the current state from within our
minds. We choose to see a higher reality based on what our Higher Self
sees. When this higher reality becomes more real to us than the current
state, we become powerful creators. When we desire a higher reality more
than we want our conflicts and opinions, transformation begins.

*It is crucial in problem solving to realize that the body and the world
are not the problems in and of themselves but the effects, the
consequences, of memories replaying in the Subconscious Mind!*
*- the writings of Ihaleakala Hew Len, Ph.D <http://hooponopono. org/>*

*
*
**

*ABOUT THE AUTHOR*

*William Frank Diedrich* is a speaker, executive coach, and the author of
three books, including *Beyond Blaming: Unleashing Power and Passion in
People and Organizations* . Bill offers The Leaders’ Edge, an online
leadership development class. He also offers a free spiritual intelligence
assessment at both his web sites at http://intelligents pirit.com and
http://noblaming. com.