THE HALL OF MIRRORS
Author: John Watson

When we were young, our parents introduced us to the concepts of right & wrong and good & bad. In effect, we ended up inheriting a lot of their judgments about the world. When we complied with their view of what was appropriate, they applauded us and we were rewarded - when we veered off course they pronounced us wrong and punished us. The work of indoctrinating us continued at school.

Over time, most of us decided that applause and reward was preferable to criticism and punishment so we unwittingly became programmed into behaving in a certain way and developed the need for approval from those around us. Whether we realize it or not most of us want desperately to be liked and approved of by our teachers, our class mates, our work colleagues, our friends and of course our families.

We have become 'hooked' on a approval rather like we would do a drug; and provided we continue to get our supply from the people around us, we are happy! But if someone disapproves of us then ... Yes you have it - we upset ourselves! We upset ourselves because we have been programmed to do so when someone disapproves of us, leaves us, divorces us, fires us and of course dies on us!

People have been taught to depend on others for their self worth and not to not value themselves unless they are valued by others.

But there is method in this madness; we live in a culture that is based on consumerism and the need for approval is what drives us to succeed. To succeed (to be approved of in the eyes of society), you need to keep up with the fashions, to be the best, to have the latest, the largest, the prettiest, the most expensive, the most exclusive - this is what drives a society based on consumerism! Of course those that cannot afford to participate in this 'mental construct' otherwise known as 'Social Consciousness' are not approved of and therefore judged to be losers!

Take responsibility; think about your life, the relationships you have with you loved ones, your friends, your work colleagues. Are you able to be yourself with these people or are you manipulating yourself and them to get what you want from them, be it sympathy, a job or love & affection? Until you stop needing approval from others you will never be free to be yourself.

I would like us to dwell for a moment on another curious quality that is built into our larger reality.

'What goes around comes around.' 'As you sow - so shall you reap.' These metaphors hint at a powerful underlying truth which, like The Law of Attraction, acts to shape and influence the quality our life experience. I call it the 'Hall of Mirrors' effect!

I do not want to get too deeply into metaphysics here - the further study that I am going to recommend at the end of this recording will explain some of these concepts more deeply, if you are interested - for now I want to give you simple ideas that you can grasp and use immediately.

Imagine standing in the center of a room whose walls were covered with mirrors. This would mean that wherever you looked all that you would see is your own reflection.

It would also mean that every time you made a movement or a gesture it would be reflected back at you. It seems that reality too, is set up in this way - that is to say - what you do 'out there' to others, is reflected back to you, and what you do for your self, is reflected outward to others.

This quality of reality is what Jesus was alluding to when he said "What you do for another you do for yourself" and "What you do for yourself you do for another." And more subtly "in as much as you have done for the least of these my brethren - you have also done for me!"

The underlying truth that I was referring to just a moment ago is - "We are all One!" And the 'One' is made up of myriad aspects which are 'Us.' The feeling of separation (from each other) is a big and powerful illusion which causes us to believe that we are disconnected from each other. This disconnection allows us as individuals to decide who we want to be in relationship to each other.

YOU cannot define who you are in a vacuum; you are only taller, thinner, fatter, shorter than - someone else. In other words, you need other people so that you can decide who and what you want to be - in relation to them! It's through your relationships with them that you get to be who you are.

Beneath the illusion of separation we are all very much interconnected, which is why you cannot 'do for another without doing for yourself,' which is why 'what you do for your self you do for another.' Or 'what goes around comes around' and 'as you sow so shall you reap.'

To get back to our 'Hall of Mirrors' analogy everything is about YOU and all that you do, think and believe is reflected back to you. You may believe that the twenty or so people that you regularly interact with are completely separate from you and superficially they are but fundamentally we are all very much connected.

If you know that reality behaves like a 'hall of mirrors' then you are in possession of another immensely powerful tool with which to fashion your life experience. Because in any given moment if you want to own and experience a feeling, be it love, generosity, compassion etc all you have to do is cause that particular quality to appear in another. Believe me this actually works!






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John Watson was a successful financial consultant and owner/CEO of a large service company. He has spent over 25 years in business. In 1996 he decided to teach personal development with special focus on the aim of eliminating stress from people's lives. John was born in London, England but now resides in Montana, USA with his wife, Lisa. The above article is an excerpt from his audio CD entitled 'Reclaiming Your Power' which can be purchased from his website www.themastersjourney.com also available are individual telephone counseling sessions.

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