In part one of Consciousness Operating System we looked at how your brain is similar to the hardware in a computer and how your beliefs and conceptions about reality are your software or operating system. This set of belief sets up how you will view reality and the limitations you will live your life by. It defines how you see the world and decides how you will react in a given situation.

Once we have awareness that we are being guided by these beliefs the following steps are very easy to achieve with just a small amount of time spent reflecting on how we see things.

Get yourself some paper or open a notepad on your computer.

Step 1 is to become aware of what your current beliefs are. How do you see the world. Writing this down is a great exercise. What are your views/beliefs on money? Love? Relationships? Parenting? Spirituality? Fast Food? Morality? Religion? Politics?The more questions you can ask yourself the better idea you will have what you believe. You may even be amazed at some of the things you write down.

Step 2 is to go back through your list and figure out WHY you believe those things. Where did you learn these beliefs? Everyone is born without any knowledge and we learn the majority of our ideas about reality by mimicking those around us. Knowing where you picked up a particular belief, especially one that may not be resourceful, gives you much more power to control the direction your life. Maybe you want more money but when you were growing up you were told that only people with lots of money are crooks. So you adopted this belief without knowing it. Now as an adult you want more money but you also don't want to be a crook. Can you see how this might cause you problems when trying to make more money?

You can can use open ended statements to find your beliefs also. Things such as:

Rich people are ________. And then you fill in the blank with the first thing that comes to your mind. It is important that don't analyze what pops into your head first. It is a good idea to write all your open ended statements down first and then answer them in succession without stopping to think about them. Just jot down the first thing that comes to mind. This is a key component of this process working effectively.

Some other good open ended statements are:

If someone loves me they will____________.

Money is_________.

I admire people who__________.

I see _________________ as inappropriate because _______________.

_______________ makes me uncomfortable.

I wish I would be more _____________________.

Some of my bad habits are _________________.

Things I would like to change about my personality are ______________.

Step 3 is to do an honest review of these beliefs and decide if they are serving you. Are they helping or hindering in becoming the kind of person you desire to be? Are they limiting you and causing you pain? Self honesty is very important when doing self examination and self work. Without it you will not get very far. We all have a tendency to sugar coat reality to make it less harsh to our mind. When we do this, we are simply sweeping the dirt under the rug. Imagine if your "check engine" light came on in your car because you were low on oil? Do you think it would be a good idea to take the light bulb out and just keep driving? This is what the majority of people are doing in their lives. They have no concept of where they are going and when you don't choose a destination before you set out, you have no idea where you will end up.

Conscious living is always the way to obtain the best results from your life. All it takes is a little effort and a lot of of honesty. Here's to your better future!

To learn more about your thoughts, how they are shaped, and how you can better direct them to a more positive life experience, I recommend Thought Reflection from the Higher Balance Institute. Thought reflection contains nearly 2 hours of in depth step by step breakdowns of how we think and why we think the way that we do. It is a must have for anyone serious about spiritual or personal growth.

Higher Balance Institute offers a variety of convenient audio courses on a variety of spiritual and metaphysical topics.