From his book
Changing Your Stripes

Quotes by Dr Matt

from Chapter 1
SITUATION: The Zoo that You Live In.


* * * * *

As bad things happen to me,
and I am Set Up by Situations beyond my control,
how will I respond to these trials and troubles
to further my greatest growth of character?

* * * * *

I am not completely free to choose any choice,
my choices are determined by my present disposition.
Neither am I free from the consequences of my choices.
Consequences will unfold according to Governing Principles.

* * * * *

While Constraints do "Cause" me to pay attention for a time,
they do not "Cause" my ultimate Response.

* * * * *

I begin to think outside of the box,
once I realize that I am living in a box
of continual constraint.
This is my Situation,
Life is a Set Up!

* * * * *

Effect is a word to describe necessary outcomes;
Causes create mechanical Effects.
Response is a word to describe chosen outcomes;
Constraints present real and perceived boundaries to Responses.
Cause & Effect occurs Mechanically,
Constraints invite and invoke Responses Meaningfully.

* * * * *

Bodily Pain is a necessary Effect Caused by forceful physical contact.
Whereas, Suffering of Heart and Soul is optional and chosen
according to the character of the person impacted,
within the meaningful boundaries of Constraint.

* * * * *

The very same intrusive impacts that Cause Effects
to my body, can only Constrain Responses
of Heart, Mind, and Soul. At the level of "Be-ing"
ALL impacts that confront me, both physical & communicative,
are Constraints and never Causes.

* * * * *

Even as physical injury and pain is Caused, still
You are Free to choose Responses of Heart and Soul.
You are able to "make use of" what a difficult situation can teach.

* * * * *

Character is tested at the Edge of Adversity;
The way you respond when the going gets tough,
Reveals the Core of your Character.

* * * * *

From the Oppression of Pain arises Opportunity:
As we keep Inner Liberty, there awaits the
Euphoric Energies of Love and Compassion;
Our Pain carves out a larger space for Love to fill.

* * * * *

Irritating behavior of others presents a Constraint to which you respond.
And while that bothersome behavior may necessarily capture your
Attention, the obnoxious actions of others cannot cause
the particular style or Character of your Response.
You are the author of your responses. Only
when you are Responsible for your
Actions can you change them.

* * * * *

You Need to Put your
Peepers on the Words in My Book.


You'll be so much Smarter and
Happier if you do!

* * * * *

The bitter truth for those that amplify and extend
Situational Suffering beyond the point of impact:
After the dust of yesterday's difficulties has long since settled,
any pain that you retain . . . is Self-Inflicted.

* * * * *

There are bad things that happen
and suffering that I experience because of bad situations.
Then, there are the bad things that I do
and suffering that I experience because I have not been True.

* * * * *

As pain is self-perpetuated, a paradox appears:
Because Continued Misery IS essential evidence in one's accusing case,
Having Evidence becomes more important . . . than Having Peace.

* * * * *

While some misery is inflicted in the moment
by others, or by accidents, beyond the "Point of Impact,"
after the dust of a difficulty has long since settled:
All further Misery is Self-Inflicted.

* * * * *

Self-Inflicted Suffering
Comes from my failure to honor my own sense of Truth,
My inability to hear and heed the whisperings of my Heart,
My inability . . . to keep Inner Liberty.

* * * * *

I need not wait for the dust of a difficulty to settle,
I can embrace Inner Liberty
even through an aggravating event.

* * * * *

"Sometimes men are the masters of fate:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

* * * * *

Life is Self-Correcting:
Whenever you make a mistake,
Life will make sure you are properly notified.

* * * * *

After the dust of a difficulty has long since settled,
Further sadness of soul is my clue,
that I have not been True.

* * * * *

In time, I will receive according to what I send out.
In direct proportion to the goodness I have
given, or the darkness I have done.

* * * * *

Ascending lofty mountaintops may be
exhilarating and motivating,
But it is the faithful and unfaltering trek through gloomy valleys
that is expanding and maturing.

* * * * *

Because Pure Integrity is Who You Are from your beginnings,
You don't need to learn Integrity, you need to Recover it.
When you are True, . . . it will flow from you.

* * * * *

One Conscious Choice at a time,
You choose your Propensity . . . to insanity.
You are Responsible for the Person that You become.
You are Response-able for both your "premeditated" acts,
and the "thoughtless" reactions that flow from You.

* * * * *

After the dust of a difficulty is well settled,
there is a junction of choice . . . a point of transition
where further misery becomes self-made.
Harboring Hateful Emotions IS
the self-inflicting Venom
that Poisons Peace.

* * * * *

I can seek Recovery and Renewal
and be Healed . . . OR
I can continue to Rationalize and Resent
and remain . . . a Heel!

* * * * *

Variable "Be-Causes"
happen within a Communicative and "Meaning-full" realm.
Necessary "Causes"
occur in a Physical and "Mechanical" realm.

* * * * *

All Behaviors are Enacted, Experienced, & Understood
Within a Cooperative Communicative Context
You Co-Author the Behavior of Others
If you want to know what you are sending out,
See what's coming back.
You help Create in Others the very Behaviors you Dislike!
The Behavior of Others always reflects:
What you are Saying
What you are Doing
How you are Being
Others Respond to your Emotional Tone & Intention.
Even though External Behaviors are Created Cooperatively,
Moral Responsibility for Intention & Emotional Tone
is Always Individual, thus
At the Level of Emotional Response-Ability
If It Comes Out of You, . . . It's ALL Yours !

* * * * *

 

from Chapter 2
SELF: The Animal that You Are .

* * * * *

Cause and Effect occurs within the "noun realm" of the world,
Whereas the "verb realm" operates according to
the Principle of Constraint and Choice.
Human Doings and Human Beings
are "verb realm" phenomena.

* * * * *

Human Beings are more
than the characteristics of Body,
and more than the activities of Doing
and more than the Self-Image they Imagine:

The Most Important Aspect of Self Is
Located In the Space Between Two Bodies

* * * * *

Words clarify and obscure in the same communicative stroke.
They allow certain meanings and disallow others.
Given any single word, there is always more than one interpretive meaning.
Redundancy is required to overcome the inherent limitations of language.

* * * * *

By virtue of mutually impactful relations,
the human world is inherently a moral context.

* * * * *

Every human act . . . has an impact:
By virtue of mutually impactful relations,
the human world is inherently a moral context.
We impact each other to our betterment or detriment.

* * * * *

As I face other human beings,
I can impact them to their growth and betterment,
in Bonds of Love, . . . "I-Thou."
Or I can "live" something less,
and impact others to their loss and detriment,
in Bonds of Anguish, . . . "I-It."
In every moment there is opportunity to Be-Loving,
and as I fail to embrace this Way-of-Being, by default
I choose something less . . . I "am" something less.

* * * * *

You See the World according to Who You Are,
Your Way of Seeing is inseparably tied to Your Way of Being.
A New World unfolds to view through Changing Your Stripes
and Becoming a New Kind of Creature.

* * * * *

You Need to Put your Peepers on the Words in My Book.

You'll be so much Smarter and Happier if you do!

* * * * *

I bring to my world, perceptions of dismay and darkness,
because of the darkness within me.
I see and experience my world with anxiousness
because of my own inner anguish;
I see falsely, . . . because I am false.
My worldview Changes . . . as I Change.
As I choose Love, I see a world that is only
seen and experienced through the eyes of Love.

* * * * *

You don't know who you are,
until somebody tells you!

* * * * *

How you think of yourself is really a Myth.
You are not who you "think" you are, rather Who You Are IS
Your Bodily Characteristics combined with
How You Are Being with Others.
This Tangible Being is directly discernible to others,
and available to You through secondary reflections in the Social Mirror.

* * * * *

If you want to know what you're sending out,
consider what's coming back.
You will see your Self
in the reflection of relations with others.

* * * * *

The most important attributes of Self and Self-Identity
are located outside our bodies within relational-unity,
the meaningful and expressive space between two bodies.

* * * * *

Obsessive thinking
about "how you come across,"
is self-defeating to the aims of self-worth.
A more fruitful focus, and a goal within your control:
Becoming Loving & True, and when you are True,
Self-Worth will naturally flow from You.

* * * * *

If you seek to find your self through self-attention, you will lose your true self, but if you lose, or discard, a self-absorbed search for self, and simply "be" and "do" in the compassionate pattern that the Savior set, then you will find your self.

* * * * *

In the Immaculate Mirror resides
Reflections to a Transcendent Purpose:
To Know as we are Known, and
To See as we are Seen.

* * * * *

Agendas to push, reputations to prove
always on the go . . . busy, hurried, harried.
There is another way to live, there can be calm and flowing ease
where layers of complexity peel away, . . . the pace relaxes.
For there is no other place to be but . . . Here
and no other time to live but . . . Now.
There is nothing more important
than savoring the moment
with the ones we love.
Living Simply, Simply Living!

* * * * *

A fundamental choice:
Hide it, or be Humble about it.
Maintain a Superficial Self-Image, or
Preserve the Integrity of the Soul.
Continue inner Confusion, or
Live in Peace & Clarity.

* * * * *

Aspects of Emotion can be "talked about" separately,
but they do not exist separately.
Emotion is expressed in wholistic unity:
Spirit, Mind, Body, & Being.

* * * * *

Because emotions follow you,
you should not follow your emotions.
If you are being untrue in an emotional moment,
then the emotions that flow from you
only amplify your falseness.

* * * * *

Simultaneous to your thinking, saying, doing, & being,
the word "emotion" represents those moments
when heightened bodily arousal augments
your total expression and experience.

* * * * *

Life is Self-Correcting, if you are not doing Life right,
Life will make sure you are properly notified.

* * * * *

You are the author of your emotions,
You should not follow, that which follows You.
For if you are false,
unreliable emotions, which should not be followed
will flow from your falseness.

* * * * *

You are the author of your emotions,
You should not follow, that which follows You.
For if you are false,
unreliable emotions, which should not be followed
will flow from your falseness.

* * * * *

 

from Chapter 3
SOLUTIONS: Recovering the True You .

* * * * *

The willingness to own
Response-Ability for your
thinkings, feelings, and doings
is a Foundation from which
Change can occur

* * * * *

If It comes out of You, . . . It is Yours!

* * * * *

You can Blame others for creating Constraints,
but you must Blame Yourself for
your responses to them.
Life is a Set Up.
Life is Constraining.
If you would live life well
you will Own all your Responses
and eventually Hone those Responses
towards Compassion, and away from Contempt.

* * * * *

If you pop a pill
to chase away emotional pain,
when you awake from a drug-induced stupor,
Life will be waiting for you, . . . right where you left off.

* * * * *

When you don't know that you've got a problem, . . . that's a problem!
You can't solve a problem that you don't "think" you have.
Blind, Oblivious, and in Betrayal . . . you're Stuck!


* * * * *

It's not what you don't know that makes you a fool;
but what you "think" you know, . . . that ain't so!

* * * * *

Within the Heart of all Humanity is an Innate Intuition:
To Know what is Good, and to Do what is Good.
All Human Beings Naturally Know how to
Fulfill the Measure of their Creation.

* * * * *

When you feel that something is good, and you are purely honest
in the experience of that impression, . . . no further evidence is needed.
The Truthful Feeling IS the Evidence.
There is no greater guide to Self-Refinement than the crystal clarity that speaks
as a whisper to your soul, . . . and you know that something is good.

* * * * *

The Voice of Light is heard in the Light.
I must move from the shadows and find
a place where warmth and peace caress me.
Walk in the Light and I am warmed by peaceful radiance.
Walk in the Light and I can clearly hear the Whisperings of the Light.

* * * * *

The Recovery I desire . . . requires no special skill,
No complicated knowledge or esoteric ideas,
The Way of Recovery is uncomplicated.
I have a plain and simple Intuition:
To know good, and to do good,
It is a Gift from the Creator.

* * * * *

I can travel the High-way
or I can traverse the Hard-way,
but either way . . . Life will teach me
"The Way" to go.

* * * * *

You Need to Put your
Peepers on the Words in My Book.


You'll be so much Smarter and
Happier if you do!

* * * * *

Agendas to push, reputations to prove
always on the go . . . busy, hurried, harried.
There is another way to live, there can be calm and flowing ease
where layers of complexity peel away, . . . the pace relaxes.
For there is no other place to be but . . . Here
and no other time to live but . . . Now.
There is nothing more important
than savoring the moment
with ones we love.

* * * * *

My Profit can be shared for the Blessing of Others,
My Pleasure can be the celebration of Loving Relations, and
My Promotion can be in personal Growth of Character;
expanding the Energy of Integrity
in the Service of Humanity.

* * * * *

Letting the Real Me Emerge is not something
I "make" happen, but something I "let" happen,
Recovery flows as I Un-Do darkness and deception.
The Whisperings of Light lead the way.
I must yield my will . . . to the Light.

* * * * *

I must focus on Un-Doing the NEXT thing, as the Light leads,
Un-Doing all that impedes . . . The Light of Innocence.
I am already fundamentally wonderful,
I must let the True Me emerge!
Because I was born purely innocent,
I need only Recover . . . my natural capacity.

* * * * *

 

From SOLUTIONS chapter
All Your Troubles are in the JAR .

* * * * *

Three Tell-Tale signs that YOU
are betraying your own sense of what is TRUE:
"All your troubles are in the J.A.R."

J = Justifying
A = Accusing  
R = Resenting

The patterns are predictable & observable,
they are signs central to the aim of Un-Doing!
Seeing these signs in yourself provides a huge clue
to what you need to Un-Do.

* * * * *

When I go against my own sense of Truth,
I go against myself, . . . I am false.
Being false, the way I experience the world is colored by my falseness:
I see darkness in my world, because of the darkness in me.
My thinking, my emotions, and how I behave
are all tainted by betrayal.
My search for solutions is skewed;
It is wrong, . . . . because I am wrong.

* * * * *

Life is Self-Correcting.
When you are not doing Life right,
Life will make sure you are properly notified.
Inner and outer conflict is a clear clue,
that you . . . have not been true.

* * * * *

Two types of Stories:
One indicates Truth, the other Betrayal:
The Anxious Story is self-excusing and accusing;
It harbors Resentment and oozes with Unsettled Emotions.
Because the story hides a lie, there is no peace or closure in it.
Many sequels arise from an Anxious Story;
It can become complex and sprawling.
It continues in a new day, . . . and does not go away.
Reruns to be told tomorrow.
The Honest Story, in contrast, Accuses no one,
Resents no one, is not Edgy or Irritated,
and goes away . . . the next day,
It has no reason to stay.

* * * * *

Because the Anxious Story
is inherently insecure . . . from its core,
It desperately clings to superficial facts and alluring logic.

* * * * *

People who have Nothing to Hide,
Hide Nothing.

* * * * *

In matters of Personal Peace,
the only Vote that counts
is the one registered
in the Ballot Box of the Heart.

* * * * *

If you have to try to convince yourself,
that means . . . you're not convinced!

* * * * *

Ask people Why
and you invite them to Lie!
When someone is in betrayal,
asking "Why" simply leads to
a Self-Justifying Lie.

* * * * *

There are bad things that happen to me,
and there are bad things that I do.
The bad that I do . . . IS my failure to Be True.
By Accusing others I Betray the Truth.

* * * * *

When I am False . . . I feel
Tension, Agitation . . . Disharmony.
My Resentful Emotions signal falseness.
When I am True, . . . I am at Peace;
the Peace that flows freely
signifies Harmony.

* * * * *

Resentment is the Poison that You Drink,
while expecting your offenders to die
from the Poison that You Drink.

* * * * *

Waiting for the dust of a difficulty to settle is unnecessary,
I can fully embrace Inner Liberty immediately,
even amid an aggravating event.

* * * * *

Harboring Resentment is a form of Self-Inflicted Suffering.
Self-Made Misery IS my inability to keep Inner Liberty.
I inflict myself with uncomfortable consequences
as I fail to hear and heed the whisperings of the Heart.

* * * * *

When I go against my own sense of Truth,
I go against myself, . . . I am false.
Being false, the way I experience the world is colored by my falseness:
I see darkness in my world, because of the darkness in me.
My thinking, my emotions, and how I behave
are all tainted by betrayal.
My search for solutions is skewed;
It is wrong, . . . . because I am wrong.

* * * * *

You Need to Put your Peepers on the Words in My Book.

You'll be so much Smarter and Happier if you do!

* * * * *

You can lie with your MOUTH or EMOTION:
When you're in the BRIAR, . . . You're a LIAR.

* * * * *

                                      The BRIAR represents Lies that we "tell" via Emotion.
                                      The BRIAR represents Lies that we Live!

                                       B =  Bothered Bitter or Blaming
                                       R =  Raging or Rancor .
                                     I  =  Irritated Impatient or Irate.
                                       A =  Angry Agitated Annoyed or Anxious.
                                       R =  Resistant or Rationalizing.

* * * * *

When I am False . . . I feel
Tension, Agitation . . . Disharmony.
My Unsettled Emotions signal falseness.
When I am True, I am at Peace;
the Peace that flows freely
signifies Harmony.

* * * * *

The Light of Innocence shines in the Heart of all Humanity;
It carries the Clarity and Purity of Bright White.
When I betray the Light of Innocence,
tense and agitated shades of black and gray
stand in stark contrast: Emotions Less-than-Love.
These Emotions signal my departure from Pure Light.

* * * * *

In your mind's eye, imagine that all loving words & deeds
possess the unsullied shine of bright white.
The purity of love would have
no hint of darkness,
not even the slightest shade of gray.
Every word, deed, thought, or emotion that
is less-than shining white, . . . is a shade of betrayal:

                                        Pure Love                                                         Less-than-Love
                          
Emotions of Bright White                                  Black & Gray Emotions

                           calm           approachable                                  impetuous               edgy
                           lovely           enthusiastic                                  suspicious            angry
                           amiable           nurturing                                  defensive            cranky
                           engaging             friendly                                  arrogant             forlorn
                           fascinating              happy                                  jealous              resentful
                           welcoming                sweet                                  galled                annoying
                           cherishing                giving                                  mean               impatient
                           animated            genuine                                  bitter              malicious
                           gracious           generous                                  bored               apathetic
                           cheery             passionate                                  listless                worried
                           lively           comfortable                                  irritated              fearful
                           real           warmhearted                                  conceited                tense

Pure White portrays Pure Love.
Anything less than Pure White is Less-than-Love."
All acts that are Less-than-Loving
are acts of Betrayal.

* * * * *

The Light always leads to Love.
Pure Love is an absence of Anxious Emotions.
Acts of Love I feel to do . . . bring Healing and Contentment.
As I choose Acts that are Less-than-Love,
I choose chaos and contention.
They come together
just as certain seeds
bring forth specific fruits;
confusion, clamor, and complexity
come with every act that is Less-than Love.
My Motive and Emotion of Heart defines the Acts I do.

* * * * *

You are the author of your emotions,
You should not follow, that which follows You,
for if you are false,
foulable feelings, which should not be followed,
will flow from your falseness.

* * * * *

Because physiological feelings occur in a morally-neutral way,
therefore, you should not derive moral guidance
from hopping hormones.

* * * * *

Emotions of Bright White flow from the Light.
There is no more Reliable Guide than the Heart-felt Whisper
that speak with Crystal Clarity, and you know that something is Good.

* * * * *

If we want to "know" what we're sending out
we must "see" what's coming back.
To know as we are known
and see as we are seen
we must learn from
the reflections in
the looking glass.

* * * * *

Looking in the Social Mirror
can be done for reasons of Self-Improvement,
and for reasons that "see" beyond yourself: Love of Others.
To lose your Self in the service of others
is the highest expression
of Self-Refinement.

* * * * *

Words are the "handles" by which we grasp our World

* * * * *

In matters of Personal Peace,
The only Vote that counts is the one registered
in the Ballot Box of the Heart.

* * * * *

Rationalizing defends . . . a stagnant position:
as I RATIONALIZE, I remain the same.
Recovery means:
Owning my Betrayals
and Un-Doing my Dark Deeds;
as I RECOVER, the pathway to Peace
unfolds, the Power to Change is my Possession.

* * * * *

What appears to be Pain in Prospect
is Peace in Practice.

* * * * *

It is Better to Be Kind . . . than Correct.

* * * * *

 

From SOLUTIONS chapter
The Myth of Emotional Scars .

* * * * *

Without changing any physical facts of the past,
one difficult misfortune can result in two very different memories.
A Re-Membering that is colored with Compassion versus
A Re-Membering that is tainted with Contempt.
As I am mired in today's Contempt,
I cannot access or even imagine Compassionate Possibilities.
The meaning of yesterday's facts Change, . . . as I Change in the present.

* * * * *

Who You Are determines how you perceive your world,
there is more than one Reality for you . . . to view.
One is seen through the eyes of innocence,
another view is tainted by contempt.
Bright White Reality comes to view
as your response to "the past"
is completely & purely True.

* * * * *

Emotion is a noun-word
that represents verb phenomena.
Emotion is a word to describe Human Activity
and not metaphysical Essence or Entity.

* * * * *

The term "Emotional Scar" . . . IS . . . literally
Today's scarred way of thinking about Yesterday.
It is a Re-Membering of the Past . . . done in the Present
that is tainted by the falseness of the person who Re-Members.
Scarred Thinking and Scarred Emotions flow . . . from Being False.

* * * * *

Tragic events do not cause emotional scars necessarily.
Different from physical scars, emotional scars are optional.
Emotional Scarring is a direct consequence of "Scarred Thinking,"
A kind of thinking that refuses to learn what past pain
and suffering is willing to teach.

* * * * *

The Goal within Your Control is becoming Loving and True.
As You put your Whole Soul into this Single Goal,
You will be Released and Relieved from
the Self-Made Misery called
Emotional Scars.

* * * * *

While there are Physical Realities
that exist independent of how you perceive them,
still, the only World you know is the one that you experience
through your Interpretations, from your Perspective.
As You Change, Your Perspective Changes.
As You Change, the Past Changes.

* * * * *

You Need to Put your Peepers on the Words in My Book.

You'll be so much Smarter and Happier if you do!

* * * * *

Memory . . . IS . . . Re-Membering!
It is You . . . that does the Re-Membering.
It is your Way of Being in the present that determines
your Way of Seeing and Re-Membering the Past.
As your Way of Being Changes in the Present,
Your Way of Seeing the Past also Changes.
When You Change the "Meaning" of
the Past, . . . You Change the Past.

* * * * *

Stuck in an orbit of dark thoughts & deeds,
an orbit that feeds . . . further dark thoughts and deeds.
Such contrary "motion" commences by permission & participation
with Unseen Evil. . . . . The Outside Force . . . . that knocks you Off Course.

* * * * *

What You "Do" . . . is explained by What You are Responding To,
but What You "Be" . . . is entirely up to Thee.


* * * * *                          * * * * *
Living Life Logically from the Head:
Satan's Best Lies are Lined with . . . Facts
Facts are about having accurate evidence
and  winning  arguments:  BEING  RIGHT.
The Facts often Blind you from the Truth.
Living Life Lovingly . . . from the Heart:
Truth is the Harmony and Integrity
of your Whole Way of Being:
Heart, Mind, & Soul:
.BEING TRUE.
.* * * *.

*

The Voice of Light is heard in the Light.
Walk in the Light and I am warmed by peaceful radiance.
Walk in the Light and I hear the Whisperings of Light.

* * * * *

The Greatest Prize
for Life's labors isn't
in material possessions
or impressive accomplishments,
but in the progress of personal character.
You labor for your own becoming, this is your richest reward.
Who You Become is your greatest possession . . . make it your Masterpiece!

* * * * *

Recovering the You that is True
begins to happen as you get out of your Head,
and consistently hear and heed the impression of the Heart.
The only Change that matters is A Change of Heart:
A Recovery and Redemption that happens
only with the Help of Heaven.

* * * * *

 

If you thoughtfully peruse the Table of Contents of "Changing Your Stripes," The Book,
you will find particular topics that will enrich your life.

Enjoy over 600 Quotes from the "Changing Your Stripes Manual"

 

 
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