Brown house in sun - An attitude of newness

EMBRACE NEWNESS: 2 exercises to break up old patterns and adopt an attitude of newness

Last updated: April 9th, 2019

[su_panel background=”#d5c38b” color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]The following has been excerpted from The Infinite View: A Guidebook for Life on Earth by clairvoyant counselor Ellen Tadd, who aims to help readers attune themselves to their spiritual, intuitive sides, a process she’s assisted many students with throughout her career.

Breaking up patterns that no longer serve us

Cultivating the attitude of newness is a simple but extremely effective way to break up patterns that no longer serve us—and perhaps never have. It frees us from seeing life through the lens of our past experiences, enabling us to perceive what’s really going on.

One of my clients, for example, is a woman who has felt hurt by a number of men in her life: her father, brother and her former husband. When she clings to this way of seeing her relationships, she concludes that all men are emotionally dangerous to her; but when she looks at those relationships from the perspective of newness, she’s able to see men as individuals, some cruel and others kind.

Two exercises for embracing newness

In my classes I offer two simple exercises, which you can easily try on your own as a way to explore the benefits of newness. Each involves envisioning a familiar aspect of your life as you habitually see and experience it, and then envisioning it from the perspective of newness.

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Visualization exercise – A new home

For the first exercise, imagine yourself arriving at your home. You may be driving there, walking from a bus or train stop, or even riding a bicycle. As you approach your home, see it as you normally do. Then imagine approaching your home again, this time affirming, “I am filled with newness, and I see my home anew.”

This exercise may sound too simple to be effective, but it demonstrates that our perception is based on our frame of mind and can change from moment to moment. Take the time to repeat the affirmation until you sense a genuine shift in perspective. Is there a difference in the way you perceive your home normally and how you see it from the attitude of newness?

If you’re like many of my students, in the first visualization, you’re likely to see problems—details that seem wrong or need to be cleaned or fixed. You may feel worried or annoyed about these particulars.

The second time, when you see your home anew, you’re likely to see a more complete picture. The specifics needing to be addressed, cleaned or fixed are all part of a larger whole, which also might encompass pleasure and appreciation.

Through the perspective of newness, you’ll likely come to see your home with enhanced clarity. You may experience more gratitude, without denying that there’s still work to be done. You might realize that it’s time to move!

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Reflection exercise – Relationships

For the second exercise, look at a familiar relationship with someone: a romantic partner, a family member or a friend. In your mind, review how you typically look at the relationship. Then look at it from the attitude of newness and see if there’s a difference.

Again, if you’re like my students, you’ll experience an emotional shift and a change in perspective. My students initially tend to see drawbacks and difficulties when they look at a relationship through the lens of habit, fixating on areas where things aren’t going well. Newness broadens their scope, enabling them to see difficulties as challenges that can lead to positive change if resolved creatively.

Their view often undergoes some adjustment. Someone riddled with shortcomings is seen as a person who holds potential and qualities yet to be discovered. What was closed becomes open. Where once there was only criticism, now there is also appreciation, as well as greater clarity about of how to proceed—that is, whether to continue working to solve problems or to let go of the relationship and move on.

Looking at yourself with newness

You’ll discover that a shift in perception also occurs when you look at yourself with newness. One student remarked that when she looked at herself as she normally does, she saw the “same ole, same ole, same ole”—a feeling of being “sort of dense, weighted.” When she looked at herself while affirming, “I am filled with newness and I see myself anew,” she felt “free,” as if she “had wings.”

In fact, quite a number of my students use terms related to lightness when they describe the difference they experience once they shift from habitual perception to the attitude of newness. As one of my students observed, “When I looked at my ‘regular’ self, I felt like there were weights on my eyelids and my cheeks.” But when he looked at himself through the perspective of newness, the weights disappeared.

Clearing away distorted perceptions

It’s important to keep in mind that the attitude of newness doesn’t necessarily show things in a “better” light, but rather in a more accurate light.

When I recently looked at myself in the mirror in an ordinary way, for example, I felt capable, expanded, and productive—all good things, obviously. But when I affirmed that I was filled with newness, I noticed that I hadn’t completely recovered from a recent head cold, so I needed to slow my pace, take care of myself, and accept my limitations.

Perceiving from newness clears away our distorted perceptions, whether they cause us to see only our weaknesses or only our unlimited Spirit. The perception of newness offers a more complete picture.

«RELATED READ» GO WITH THE FLOW: Alter your perception and move through the situation»

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Ellen Tadd is an internationally known clairvoyant counselor who has been teaching and counselling for more than 30 years. She is widely respected for the integrity of her work, the accuracy of her perceptions and guidance, and the clarity and usefulness of her teaching. Her first book, Death and Letting Go, appeared on the Boston Globe bestseller list.


the infinite view Excerpted from THE INFINITE VIEW by Ellen Tadd with the permission of TarcherPerigee, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2017 by Ellen Tadd.
image: Pexels
  1. Thank you Ellen for this new view i will use it in my day to day life . I hope it will help me to be positive in every aspect.
    thanks for such a beautiful sharing…. I am appreciating your writing.

  2. Uplifting excerpt that put a new perspective on how I will look at myself and others. Thank you 🙂

  3. Besides the book that this was excerpted from (The Infinite View), I’d also recommend another book by Ellen Tadd, The Wisdom of the Chakras, which I was inspired to read after enjoying this one.

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