The principle that gives The Partners Within its authority is the use of partnerships between the left and right hemispheres of your brain. They are called "partners" because they represent two potentially harmonious aspects of human nature that should be working together in order for you to be functioning at your best. They are "within" because they are unique to you, and you are the only one that could possibly understand their unique characteristics.
From mainstream psychiatric practice to the cutting edge of empowerment theory, the two-brain theory of human nature has now been widely accepted. When two opposing forces stop competing for self-gratification, and agree to support and enable each other, these partners work together, helping you to make more balanced decisions and your motives wiser and more insightful. Whenever the dual talents and abilities of your total human nature are "partnered" together, the result will be the growth of more harmonious, mutually supportive skills.
The left side of your brain is predominately the logical/verbal aspects of your human nature. The right side of your brain is primarily the emotional/creative side. The first step to using the Partners Within technique is to "partner together" the thoughts of your rational left-brain with the feelings of your emotional right-brain. Think about how many times you feel like you are of "two minds" about some of the dilemmas you face in your daily life. We commonly recognize the conflict in ourselves as the divide between the logic of the "head" and the feelings of the "heart."
The Partners Within practice was designed to bridge this gap. This book offers a two-step process called Three Word Meditation that fosters a stronger partnership between the left and the right brain. There are ten Three Word Meditations in all. Here is how the method works: The first two words of each Three Word Meditation are designed to stimulate self-introspection, i.e. the method by which you gain insight into how you are influenced by the dual aspects of your left and right brain. In the second step, the third word is used as a meditative appeal to the Highest Power. This is where you will find the compromises and solutions to your inner conflicts. The results are the answers that help you solve problems, make better decisions and assist you with going forward with your life.
In the first step of this process, you want to let the conversations and feelings flow freely between both sides of your brain. This is where you will explore the different aspects of your dualistic nature through personal introspection. Where you might commonly find conflicts at this stage is in the discovery of how your perception of reality is often influenced by the experiences in your past. Other times you may uncover conflicts between your logic and emotions.
Or sometimes concerns arise from an imbalance between your needs and wants. Upon occasion you will discover disturbances between yourself and the other people that are involved in your life. They may be your family, friends, coworkers and/or community members. After you have discovered a source of conflict between one of your dualities, do not judge, just accept the difference as part of your human journey. Then you are ready for the next step in this method-simply offer the conflict up to the solutions of God's Pure Love through the use of meditation.
Meditation evolved in the Eastern hemisphere of our planet out of a goal to become quiet and to tune in to the more subtle energies of your brain (or the universe). It was thought that this might bring a path to enlightenment, and for thousands of years the practice has brought countless generations to the holistic/creative aspects of the right hemisphere of the human brain. Eastern meditation techniques stem from many sources across the continent, and entire religions have been founded on subtle differences of meditation goals and practices.
There is, however, an overall emphasis on excluding the "mind" from meditation, by which is meant the mental-verbal "voice," the inner monologue by which we "hear ourselves" thinking. The limitation of this method for many Westerners is that few have the time to train themselves to meditate in the deep subliminal manner that many Easterners, trained from birth, are able to achieve. But the popularity of many gurus and self-help masters testify to the Western public's thirst for the self-knowledge that seems to be within the grasp of meditation.
The "partners within" method is, in its most basic form, a partnership between prayer and meditation. We can easily recognize the role of the talk/listen or thought/feeling dualities (two separate, yet equal forces) in prayer and meditation. Prayer has long been associated with the religious traditions of the Western hemisphere of the world. It is the talking aspect of human nature and its traditional goal is to talk to a Higher Source. Talking has been shown to be a function of the verbal/analytical left hemisphere of the human brain. Here, the talking aspect is used as a guide to an introspection process that helps you uncover the unique aspects of your personality. Some of the areas where it fosters greater communication are the differences between your analytical and intuitive skills, your private and social worlds, your realities and your dreams and your human and higher powers.
In the modern, global marketplace of the 21st century, the time is ripe for combining these practices in order to create new, more effective practices. This book offers an easy method called Three Word Meditation that shows you how to bring the best of prayer together with the best of meditation. The result is a powerful combination of personal introspection with Divine Love.
When prayer and meditation are partnered together, a bridge is built between the left and right aspects of your brain. This is the partnership that brings the power of your thoughts and the power of your feelings together for the benefit of each. Whenever you use your Partners Within, your thoughts enter into the realm of prayer, stimulating your ability to analyze the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Then your feelings enter into the subtle universe of meditation, inspiring your ability to intuit the difference between love and fear, yes and no.
This is the partnership that helps you choose what is best for both yourself and others. And whenever your thoughts and feelings work together for the benefit of all involved, you will find a pathway to the Highest Power of all, the Pure Love and Pure Spirit of the universe.
© Robert C. Felix 1994-2004 All rights reserved. Please visit Partners Within where you'll find more information and an audio presentation.
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