If a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one around, does it make a sound? Science would say yes, but if no human is present to verify what science is claiming, then maybe there isn’t a sound. The entire universe is only present when my mind is focusing on it. Therefore, is there a universe that dwells outside of my mind? Of course, there are buildings, people, the sky, flowers, and on and on. My reality is the thought created in my mind. Therefore, everything I think is real is only an illusion in my mind. When I sleep and dream, what I experience seems very real. In fact, sometimes, when I wake, I wonder if the dream is where my life is and what I call my awakened life is the dream.

Another example is when I am in physical or emotional pain. No one else can feel it but me. They can imagine what I’m feeling but can’t feel it themselves.

What if I could change the way I feel or look at something? Would the experience change as well? Wayne Dyer, who wrote and lectured on PBS for years, once said, “When I change the way I look at things, the things I look at change.” Is it possible to change the way I look at something? My answer is a resounding YES; the sooner I figure it out, the sooner I’ll reach enlightenment.

The next step in changing how I look at things is to get my mind off the thing I am obsessing on or causing my misery. I do this with prayer. I only need to place my focus on God for a few minutes. One way is by saying “Our Father” slowly, focusing on each of its parts. Only then can I slowly open the door to what is bothering me? I can start by asking myself, “What lesson is there for me to learn as I go through this?” There is always a lesson. Maybe in my prayer, I will ask to have the lesson shown. The pain slowly moves to the back burner when I focus on learning the lesson. I move my thoughts from negative to positive, which is the answer. The Course in Miracles says, “Life is a series of lessons. We do not get to choose the lesson, but we do get to choose how we react to it.” These are beautiful words to live by and follow if I want my life to be happy, joyful, and free.

This concept may be bizarre at first. Our minds or egos want to be in charge and not let our spiritual or authentic self into the driver’s seat. You will need to push out the Ego and replace it with you. It sounds easy but hard to do. All you need to do is recognize who is driving your bus. Once you, as the real self, see the Ego for what it is, it will step aside. The Ego likes operating in the dark, and it will dissolve once the light shines on it. The only way to get your life back under your control is to practice concepts like I just explained. Good luck, and remember, luck is what WE make of it.