When we recognize the simplicity of living in the now, following our wisdom as things come to mind, we live at peace.  We benefit from a flow of insight which allows us to see more clearly our own power to think and create our experience of reality and understand life.  We learn as we go, finding the lessons and blessings in disappointment as well as in great outcomes.  We are inspired by fresh thought, and we start to see that we can't figure things out or force a plan to work out; but we always get the thought we need when it's needed and we are guided through life.  When we ruminate about the past or worry about the future, we accidentally abandon our natural peace of mind to things outside our control.

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The definition of changing our minds is "having a new thought."  It is natural to allow thoughts to come and go, responsive to the moment, without attachment to any thought.  If we get stuck on a thought, though, we hold onto it.  We think some things so often for so long that they seem more "real" to us.  We all have ideas we assume are true because we've always thought them.  We easily let go of passing thoughts and we change our minds all day long without even realizing it.  In the face of habitual thoughts, though, it takes an insight to change.  As we understand the true nature of thought, we increasingly lose attachment to our thoughts and live in the moment, easily changing our minds.

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Each one of us is always creating our own experience of reality with our unique power to think.  So there really is no such thing as objective reality.  We all see what we see; someone looking at the same situation will see it differently.  Indeed, in a different state of mind, WE may see it entirely differently.  So our experience of life is unique to each of us, and what we see for ourselves looks compelling and true to us.  The Principles explain this.  Seeing the truth of this reveals why disagreement and conflict occur and why they are understandable and forgivable.  We're all acting on what appears to be true or right to us; no one else sees it exactly as we do.

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A lot of people talk about "doing the Principles," or "using the Principles," or "combining the Principles with other 'approaches,'" or thinking the Principles are a "really interesting method."  That downplays the power of Principles as words that stand for and describe formless power, the essential energy, from which all creation takes form.  We use words to represent the idea of what that energy means.  But the Principles are the understanding of how life works that wisdom brings us when we look away from the form and deeper within our own soul or consciousness to gain "insight."  Long before we had words for them, before we "knew them," the Principles were the eternal laws of creation. 

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When you hear about the Principles, you hear of "Levels of Consciousness."  What does this mean?  Our ever-changing "level" is the degree to which we have insights that lead us to realize that all thought is illusion, merely what we make up in the moment.  All of it, even though early on, much of it seemed "real."  The more we realize that the power to think is what sets us free and the content is variable and transitory, the higher our level of consciousness.  The level is our ability to live at peace, knowing that everyone's thoughts are unique.  It allows us to find love and understanding for all people because we are all the same before we create the illusion, just thinkers making up our experience of what we see.

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Listening to others in neutral is difficult until we understand how thinking works in all of us.  Everyone is creating their own experience of every moment in life.  No two people see anything exactly alike; we all think our own thoughts and draw information from our own memory and see things in our own way.  And we express what we see to each other.  Knowing how the power of thought works allows us not to take things personally, but to listen to each other without judgment.  We can learn from others' ideas when we can truly listen; and we find compassion for others who may appear to be harsh or critical or emotional because we understand it is their state of mind and thinking we are hearing, not anything about us.

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Many people ask us whether encouraging people to find a calm state of mind and contentment isn't just positive thinking.  Our state of mind is BEFORE what we think; when we are at peace and our minds are quiet, the quality of thoughts we produce is a much higher level than the thoughts we produce from a negative or upset state of mind.  The problem with the technique of Positive Thinking is that is doesn't come from our own level of Consciousness; it's a technique we impose on ourselves to try to feel better.  We don't truly SEE or believe those thoughts.  When we address our state of mind and quiet down, more positive thoughts naturally come to mind; we don't need to read them from a list.

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The Principles describe the way the formless energy behind life manifests in the creation of form.  They describe the way creation works.  Divine Mind, formless intelligent energy, is the force behind all of creation.  Divine Thought is what allows us to bring ideas and images to life within our own minds.  Divine Consciousness, the energy behind awareness, allows us to see our thoughts as true, as the reality we experience.  The Principles are descriptive of what it means to be alive and how we navigate our way through the world in which we live.  They are not a Theory.  They are the true explanation of the inside-out nature of our experience of life; we are living what we think and thus see as real. 

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Discernment is not judgement.  We can speak up if we see a friend heading down a dangerous path, or if we notice a client shading the truth, etc.  The difference between the negativity of "judgement" and exercising our common sense with good will and a loving feeling is the difference between harboring negative opinions and speaking from wisdom when we see something of concern.  It would not be an act of love or a responsible service to others to fail to reprimand a child for stealing, or try to stop a friend from entering a bad deal.  As long as we are coming from a good feeling and sincerity, we should be true to wisdom and be able to express concerns without harm to others.

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Not being judgmental does not mean not using common sense to speak up or act honestly when we see people we care about or people we serve doing things that are contrary to living at peace, in harmony with life.  Syd says "a non-judgmental mind is a mind at peace."  That refers to things like personal judgments -- resentments, attitudes towards certain types of people or negativity, things that carry a bad feeling.  But, for example, if you know someone you love is using dangerous drugs, the loving thing to do is to exercise your judgment that you will not encourage drug use or overlook it.  It would make no sense to support the person's drug use to avoid looking judgmental.

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