How to Reprogram Your Subconscious Mind

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

"Once the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it begins to execute it. The conscious and subconscious are not two minds. They are merely two phases of activity within one mind."
~ Dr. Joseph Murphy

Self-Doubt - Like an Onion

Last week I talked about the importance of reprogramming your subconscious mind in order to successfully work the Law of Attraction. Old, deep-seated beliefs about how life works, and about your own potential, must be replaced with more truthful beliefs, the kind that support success.

There are a number of strategies a person can employ for doing this. All of them entail the conscious mind (the choosing part of us) impressing our desires and attitudes on subconscious mind (the receptive and creative part of us). To do that, the conscious mind must not only sow the seeds of new thoughts into the subconscious; it must also weed out any doubts that spring up based on old, deeply-held beliefs.

One strategy, I mentioned, is to have a little talk with ourselves when negative thoughts pop up about our ability to achieve our dreams. Sometimes this little talk involves really thinking through and resolving the subconscious objection the negative back-talk has brought to our awareness.

There may be layers to the onion: today you may find one doubt spring up, you think it through and get rid of it, then tomorrow a different doubt starts nagging you. This indicates you’ve reached a deeper level of subconscious resistance, and that’s a very good thing.

Patiently work through the new doubt and get in once piece about your desire again. This back-and-forth process of desiring and objecting will continue between the conscious and subconscious until you are in agreement with yourself about what’s possible and what’s good for you. At that point, both levels of your mind will work together to manifest your dream – no inner resistance.

You may also experience another scenario: you’re certain you’ve resolved the doubt, but the old thought pattern springs up again and again as negative mind chatter. In this case, the muttering doesn’t come from deep-seated hidden beliefs but from simple habit. When this occurs, you’ll know it, because you won’t feel an emotional tug, when the backtalk comes, that maybe the doubt is right. The mental chatter will just seem annoying.

When this happens, get conscious of the chatter, and replace it with a positive affirmation that directly corrects the negative thought. Repeat the new thought several times, with conscious focus, and get back to the business of your day. In time you’ll develop the new habit of thinking the positive thought rather than the negative one. But remember, this only works if you’ve first addressed the deep-seated emotional beliefs that caused that negative thought originally. If you don’t tend to that part of the process, it’s like trying to paste something new onto a dirty surface: the new addition just won’t stick.

Also, if you aren’t doing it already, make sure that when you fall asleep at night you drift into dreamland imagining your wishes coming true. This is another way of reprogramming the subconscious with your new intentions. The subconscious is most open and alert at the “twilight” junction between waking and sleeping (when you drift off at night and when you first stir to conscious awareness in the morning).

Use these times to communicate your vision to your powerful deeper mind. It responds to images, so imagine vividly. Pretend you’re experiencing your dream coming true. Any sights, sounds, smells, tactile images or emotions you conjure up will imprint themselves on your subconscious and start the inner machinery moving toward fulfillment of your dream.

It’s impossible in a newsletter to explain all the details of reprogramming the subconscious, but these are basic tools to get you started. To really get some traction, read Joseph Murphy’s book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, or check out one of the other products we’re featuring this week – they’re all about working with your subconscious. In the following article, we give you some specifics about this little book, and tell you why we found it so transformative.

Murphy’s Book: Reprogramming Specifics, with Stories

If you never read another book, you’ve got to read this one. In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Dr. Joseph Murphy tells how he healed himself of a cancerous sarcoma by reprogramming his deeply held beliefs, and shares all his strategies in detail. This book is not just inspiring, it is full of practical ideas, for how to get your subconscious to accept and manifest your desires.

Joseph Murphy was one of the renowned teachers of the “New Thought” movement of the early 20th Century. That movement taught the Law of Attraction in the language of our grandparents and great-grandparents. This read is like listening to a wise old person tell you the most important secrets for living a successful life. It’s packed with true stories of Dr. Murphy’s clients and students. One of the most helpful features is the prayers and long affirmations the book includes, and the more-than-a-dozen strategies for self-reprogramming.

The “Your Right to Be Rich” chapter addresses old subconscious objections we have to our own wealth, helping a person think through these and remove them. Other chapters address topics like how to use your subconscious mind to remove fear, to develop better relationships, and to overcome illness.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind is available in hardcover and in paperback. If you want to be a more successful creator, and don’t know why your dreams aren’t all manifesting yet, you can’t afford not to buy this book.

Wishing much success and abundance,

Richie. (Global Secrets)

Photo above courtesy of Darwin Bell.

Is This Mistake Sabotaging Your Manifesting?

We received the following e-mail last week from a questioning reader:

"You make it sound so simple. You have your dream, feel grateful for all that happens, etc. After a long while of feeling low because I couldn't make anything positive happen, I changed my attitude 180 degrees and felt great. I wrote down my goals, and when those didn't appear I wrote down a new set with a business plan to show how I was to progress things.

Reprogramming the Subconscious Mind Image Courtesy of Financial Aid Podcast

"Then – nothing. Not a whimper. But I tore my ligaments while skiing and I am still recovering after 8 weeks. I lost clients I could ill afford to lose. I then got the worst flu I’d had in 30 years. My husband blew up the car and we don't have the money for a new one.

"All the time it seems that whatever I dream of, whatever I try, fails. I look at myself in my current predicament and do believe that fortunes will change, but to write a story about a woman whose fortunes changed overnight because her attitude changes, I’m sorry but I don't think so. Believe you me, I have tried.

"I have never been afraid of hard work. I don't actually complain to anyone. I try techniques to change round my moods to embrace another set of thought patterns, but I am truly stuck.

"So if you have any suggestions I would be grateful. Perhaps it is because I don't have the money to buy your products, which I don't, but it would be nice for someone to make sense of this."

F.

First of all, we have been there, too. Maybe it’s a stage of manifestation that lots of us have to go through – “the awkward, acne-teenage phase” of personal development. A person gets the theory fine of how The Secret works, but applying it in real life turns out to be quite another story.

But attitudes are not changed in a day. If you have been thinking negatively about yourself, your life, or your future, the choice to stop those attitudes is only the first step. Just taking it makes you feel great, as our reader experienced. She felt she’d made a 180-degree turn. Then nothing changed in her life. But she didn’t allow herself to whimper. (Notice how negative judgments have already crept into her thinking on a subtle level: “Nothing’s happening. I need results faster. Maybe the Law of Attraction doesn’t work. Maybe I can’t work it. But I mustn’t whimper. I must think positive.”)

Then something bad happens, a skiing injury, and this confirms her fear that maybe nothing works. By now she has already slid far down the hill from feeling fantastic and believing in herself to great self-doubt. She’s still trying not to whimper, but in her heart she is full of hopelessness. More bad things happen, and this convinces her she is a failure and has no control over her life.

It’s Not Just About Not Complaining

What happened is that old, engrained beliefs and programming prevailed over the wonderful new attitude. Doubtful thoughts started emerging, but the reader pushed them down instead of addressing them and working her way through them. She thought if she just didn’t complain, that meant she had a manifesting, results-producing attitude. In fact she was burying part of herself, and that’s what sabotaged her. Now she’s lost faith in herself, saying “It seems whatever I dream of, whatever I try, fails.” So what’s manifesting in her life? That deeply held belief.

The friend we wrote about in our story last week did not suddenly turn her life around with the attitude change we reported. She had been working on taking charge of her life for some time. She would do well for a few weeks or months then slide into another bout of bad things happening. It was when she saw that every slide in fortune was preceded by an unconscious slide in attitude that our friend was able to really notice and route out her habit of dropping back into old thinking. Her success didn’t happen overnight. It happened through applying the Law of Attraction as she understood it, practicing it step by step, and learning through her own experience.

Addressing Old Beliefs

Before we reach the stage of complete personal empowerment, we have to encounter our old beliefs that stand in the way of living it. These are attitudes we harbor, often subconsciously, about our own worth and abilities, about how the world works, about “money being the root of all evil,” etc. Whenever we try to reach for something better, these old attitudes announce themselves in the form of doubtful thoughts. But this is a good thing! Such thoughts are calling cards from our subconscious, telling us about buried programming we didn’t know we had.

When it asserts itself, listen to it. Find a quiet corner and five or ten minutes to deal with the doubt. Let your negative mind-chatter tell you what you really are feeling on the subconscious level – that powerful level of mind that determines what happens in your life. Once you can identify the old belief you’re holding, contemplate it, then ask yourself why you know this former belief to not be true, the reasons why you know it to be false. Don’t grab at some superficial answer. Really ask yourself how your new understanding and life experience cause you on the conscious level to no longer hold that old belief.

Reprogramming the Subconscious

Then explain to your subconscious why that old belief isn’t true, and what is true for you now. Just have a little, sincere talk with yourself, at the time the doubt springs up. Your subconscious is active and aware in such moments and will hear what you tell it. That starts to reprogram your innermost self with your new, empowering beliefs. The subconscious attitude starts to be revised.

Every time you do this, the subconscious mind starts to align more with your current conscious beliefs, and your conscious control of your life becomes greater. You no longer are running on autopilot, victim to old programming that runs unnoticed beneath your conscious awareness and sabotages your success and happiness. Cognitive psychology is a new branch of therapy that applies this very principle. It suggests becoming aware of your negative thoughts, evaluating their truth, then re-stating the thoughts to yourself in a more truthful form.

Getting Yourself in One Piece

In our reader’s case, she might take “Whatever I dream of, whatever I try, fails,” consciously consider the validity of that a few moments, then turn it into a more truthful statement like: “In the past, some of what I tried and dreampt of didn’t turn out as I expected. But I’m learning how to accomplish my dreams, and now my success is growing.”

This is a message the subconscious will recognize as reasonable and be willing to accept. Because you’ve adopted the new belief that there is a Law of Attraction and you can have anything you put your mind to, you have jolted your subconscious to attention – so much so that doubtful, defeatist thoughts are springing up. This is your subconscious saying, “Hey, this doesn’t compute. Which do you want me to take as true: that we’re broke or that we’re abundant?” That’s when you explain to it that in the past, poverty was an experience, but that now good things are here and greater things are coming to you.

The Worst Kind of Poverty

Keep holding up the lantern of your dream, and the things you need to make it real will follow the light until they arrive safely on your doorstep. While you wait for them to show up, don’t be upset when your subconscious shows you a negative attitude. Be grateful for its revealing the infected old beliefs you need to clean out, because if it didn’t do that, those hidden attitudes would completely sabotage your dreams.

One last reference to our reader and her letter. We believe she was correct in thinking success may be harder for her because that she’s never taken a course or really studied the subject. Yes, it costs some money, typically, to really learn to apply The Law of Attraction. But to tell ourselves, “I can’t afford it” is to accept old negative thinking rather than addressing it, questioning it, and turning it into an attitude that’s healthier and more realistic. If we can’t afford to invest a little money in our own happiness, if we don’t think we’re worth some dollars being spent on learning how to achieve our own dreams, then we are poor in the very worst sense of the word. “I can’t afford it” is only an attitude, and it’s only true if we keep on letting it be.

For more information and products that can help you reprogram your subconscious mind go to http://www.the-secret-dvd.net/News/tss/20095.html

Richie (Global Secrets)

Visualization: How to Tweak It for Better Results

Have you tried practicing visualization and applying the Law of Attraction but with less than stellar results?
Don’t be discouraged, because you are not alone. While the principles are simple, the practice of visualization is a skill, and like most skills, it sometimes takes a little study and “tweaking” until you get it.

Neville Goddard (or just “Neville” as he preferred to be called) was a 20th Century teacher of visualization who wrote an outstanding primer on the subject called The Law and the Promise. It’s an excellent place to start your study of effective visualization.

Neville taught that the biggest mistake people make when they visualize is failing to imagine from the perspective of the wish fulfilled. Instead they imagine from the perspective of their longing. For example, if you want a gold necklace, it does no good to imagine it sitting in the store window. You need to imagine wearing it on your neck. Imagining the object as something apart from you, as something you don’t already have, keeps the object forever in your future!

When you imagine your wish, do so as if it already has come true in your life. Close your eyes and let yourself feel all the joy and sensations you expect to feel when your dream actually manifests. Imagining in this way, says Neville, builds a bridge between ourselves and the object of desire. You could call it a wormhole in time, a channel through which the object can travel to reach us.

Until your desire manifests, imagine on it daily from a dreamy, drowsy state. The most effective times to visualize are when drifting off to sleep or in the twilight state as you are waking up. That’s because the Subconscious is most alert when the conscious mind is least active. Visualizing is dropping a wish into the Subconscious, which then goes to work to make the wish come true in the world.

Don’t put deadlines on your dream, or decide the means and schemes through which it will manifest. Leave the universe free to work out those details. Fall asleep happily on your wish every night, and in time it will manifest in your life.

Sometimes deep-held attitudes (such as low self-esteem, the belief that money is evil, or the belief that a certain illness can’t be cured) can temporarily block our ability to manifest a desire. If you’re visualizing something when you go to sleep at night, feeling excited about your dream, then find yourself during the day thinking, “What am I doing? This can never happen,” you’re victim of a subconscious blocking attitude.

When that doubting thought arises, slip away to somewhere quiet and ask your subconscious mind to tell you precisely why it feels that way. If you listen, it will reveal to you (then or as the day progresses) the long-held, subconscious belief that holds your current attitude of lack in place. Listen to the objection, consider its merit, then explain to your Subconscious why this old belief is not true (or is no longer true). Then re-state your wish as an affirmation, repeating it three times with focus (aloud is best). After that, resume your daily routine.

If doubtful mind-chatter starts up again, get quiet once more and ask why. Another layer of the onion of doubt will surface. Patiently consider the objection, and explain to yourself why it no longer holds, just as you did before. Keep doing this until all the objections are cleared and you can be in one piece about your goal. This will dissolve any personal blocks in the path of your desire coming true. When your conscious and subconscious minds align in the belief that a wish is good and attainable, no doubtful mind-chatter is left to stop the wheels of creation from delivering your dream to your door.

The universe is a magical place, and mind is the magician. Learn to visualize skillfully, and nothing will stop you from actualizing any golden imagined thing you intend to make real.

Joy is Infectuous -- so is Misery

We're all familiar with the concept of an "infectuous disease."

But did you know that emotions are also infectuous? They are! When you're miserable and nourishing your negative state (or, as Eckhart Tolle would put it, "feeding your pain body"), you are also sending out those vibrations to those around you.

Similarly, when you're open and accepting, you're doing the same.

For the Law of Attraction to really work in your life, you must attract the right kind of energy and also emit the right kind of energy.

What kind of energy are you attracing?

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You Cannot use the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is very, very, very, very old. It's flat out ancient; and it goes by many names. However, it's largely because of The Secret that some places in the world -- such as the US -- are talking loudly and publicly about the Law of Attraction and its related/associated elements. This is, of course, good -- I mean, think of what people could be talking about? Hurting other people? Blowing things up? When you think of all of the ridiculous and potentially horrific things that folks can talk about, by all means, talking about The Law of Attraction is really a good idea.

However...(yes, there's usually a however, isn't there?)

The "appearance" of The Secret in the west -- again, particularly the US -- has brought with it what I'd call a rather US-Centric view of things; kind of like when you're on vacation and order a food that is native to your country of origin (whatver that country may be), and find that while it's somewhat the same, it has been interestingly transformed and "adopted" by the local culture. We can say without offending anyone that this has indeed happened with the Law of Attraction in the US.

Specifically, the cultural US approach to things is, typically, based on the concepts of achievement, initative -- of taking something and changing it. It's a very extroverted, active approach to living; and, naturally, to self-help too.

As a result, the US-based approach (and I don't mean this politically or in an offensive way -- it's just an observation) to The Secret is -- unsurprisingly -- one of invoking it; of somehow "using" the Law of Attraction. Of, in a way, "conquering reality" through the law of attraction, just as, say, one could conquer medical health through scientific laws or conquer poverty through economic (behavioral or sociological) laws.

I'm not here to criticize this at all -- criticism is the wrong word. But I am here to politely suggest that this approach to the Law of Attraction is fraught with fundamental errors; and many people who approach it this way -- this aggressively -- will find that it doesn't work for them.

The Law of Attraction is not a tool; it's not a piece of information that a person can use to their advantage -- like a hot stock tip. The Law of Attraction is a law; which means that it works all of the time regardless of whether you invoke it or not.

Think of the law of gravity. Do you need to "command" the law of gravity to work if you (unfortunately) fall off a ladder? Would your denial of the law of gravity somehow prevent you from falling? No. The law of gravity works for you, it works for your ladder, it works for anything you had in your pockets as you fell...it works. It more than works; it is. Even if you weren't there -- even if you weren't falling -- the law of gravity still is.

Many people simply don't have the right approach to the Law of Attraction -- because, again, in US culture (and yes, it's other places too), information like this is typically perceived as knowledge -- as tactical or strategic. In other places -- India, for example -- such laws are quite ordinary, really -- they're simply a part of everyday life. The idea of "doing something" with them is as absurd as trying to "do something" with the law of gravity. It just is.

Try to understand this on the deepest level of your being: the law of attraction is prior to your beliefs. It is. It doesn't need (or require, or want) you to invoke it -- it's not a skill. It's like a person knocking on your door all day long. You can simply open the door to let them in. You don't have to go and find them, manipualte them to come to your house, and pay them (or envision them) to knock on your door day after day. It's happening already.

Instead of "invoking" the Law of Attraction, start to receive it -- simply welcome it, just as you "welcome" the law of gravity -- you don't even think about the law of gravity, you simply know it's there. You don't even bother with it. You don't envision the law of gravity. You just accept it as part of reality.

The Law of Attraction is the same thing. Even if there were no people on earth (and who really knows what's going to happen), the Law of Attraction will still be in effect; just as the law of gravity will be. It's not about what YOU can do, it's about how you can actively and alertly RECEIVE the law of attraction in your life.

Try it. See what happens.

You're Searching for a Feeling...

The Secret isn't a single insight, such as the Law of Attraction or the importance of being grateful for something (instead of grateful from). The Secret is an array of interconnected insights that all work together in harmony.

And one of the key insights that some people may have overlooked -- because they didn't spend much time on this in The Secret -- was that this is not about thinking; this is about feeling.

Now, this is not the old "head vs. heart" thing -- and if you consider yourself to be a cool, rational, level-headed person, then if you don't clearly get what is being shared here, you may think that in order to benefit from The Secret you suddenly have to start hugging everyone and crying all day and that kind of thing.

It's not like that.

When I say that that this is about feeling, I mean it very simply. In all of your searching and seeking for various things -- success, fame, power, whatever -- what you're really searching for is a feeling. Or, to put it even simpler: you will only accept that you've found what you're looking for once you experience that feeling. If you don't experience that feeling, then even if you get what you thought you wanted, it won't satisfy you; instead, it will leave you more depressed than when you started, because back then you at least had the hope that getting this new thing would "make you happy" -- but now that you've got it and don't feel happy, you have to face the fact that your prediction -- your expectation -- was wrong.

This is what happens to MANY people who achieve some measure of worldly success; they get the dream job that they coveted, or they get the bigger house (the one that, you know, makes everyone else jealous), or they get the degree, or the whatever that they were CONVINCED was going to make them happy.

But...it doesn't.

Why not? It has nothing to do with money. If you're going to live on this planet, here's some good advice: having money is better than not having money.

It has to do with the feeling that you want -- the feeling that, deep inside, is at the core of your desire. That FEELING is what you expect to get from whatever it is you acquire or achieve -- be it a better job, a "better" partner, or whatever.

Please don't get me wrong. By all means, go and get those things if you want them -- why not? Get a better job, get a bigger house, find a better partner, do what you need to do. Don't just tune out of the world -- that doesn't work either (where will you go?)

Just be alert that, deep inside, what you're really searching for is a feeling -- a feeling of unity, of completeness, of peace. You're searching for an exit from the endless, chronic fear/greed movement that makes life infinitely more miserable than it needs to be. You're searching for home.

You're searching for you.

And guess where you are?

Right here. Right now. As you read this -- there you are. You can't find you anywhere else but right here, right now. You can find everything ELSE somewhere else. But you can only find you in one place. Here, now. And that's ultimately what you want to find -- you're just looking in the wrong places.

Once you find yourself in the here and now, you can do whatever you want and will enjoy it. Because you won't be looking for yourself in anything that happens to you (or anything you get/achieve/experience/etc.). You'll simply be enjoying reality as it is.

Strange, isn't it?

Saying Goodbye to IF, THEN

One of the most important teachings in The Secret -- I'd say, the most important -- is the basic fact that you have to participate in the Law of Attraction (LOA). That doesn't mean that you have to aggressively pursue your goals -- in fact, that doesn't work! As you must know from experience -- getting what you've wanted through aggression, manipulation, politics and other strategies has left you more miserable than before, with a shorter lifespan ahead to get it right...not a good deal.

What "participating in LOA" means is that you have to SHOW UP in your life; you have to actively decide, with the power of your intent, that you want to see a change in your life. As we've discussed in previous posts, perhaps that change will come from you; but more likely, it will come through and around you -- and you have to be ready for that change. You have to welcome it, embrace it, appreciate it, and indeed, be grateful for it.

And all of these things -- the welcoming, the embracing, the appreciation, and so on -- can only happen when you show up in your life. In other words, you can't play an "if-then" game with reality. You can't say:

• if life gives me a million dollars (or more), then I'll start being generous



• if life gives me good health, then I'll start enjoying my body



• if life gives me fame and recognition, then I'll start accepting myself



• if life gives me loyalty and security, then I'll start relaxing



• if life gives me approval, then I'll start having fun



• if life gives me success, then I'll start sharing and creating with others



• if life becomes more enjoyable, then I'll start focusing on things that matter



• if life becomes safer, then I'll start accepting other people as equals



• if life becomes more peaceful, then I'll start generating change and growth



• if life becomes more understandable, then I'll initiate and lead growth

And you can probably fill in your own "if, then" statement if you don't see one up there that, in some way, covers your current situation.

Today's lesson is simple (they're always simple!). Put aside the if-then statements; because the universe simply doesn't work that way...fortunately!

So...What Do You REALLY Want?

The Secret looks at three areas of life -- we might call them themes -- within which the Law of Attraction (LOA) can work: career, relationship and health. Now, obviously, LOA must, by definition, be able to work in other areas of life, too (it is a law after all, not a preference). But the folks behind The Secret decided -- probably after much discussion and reflection -- to focus on those three areas in the production: career, relationship and health.

Personally, I think they made a very wise decision in choosing these three areas, because they really do "cover" many of the areas within which we find ourselves searching for solutions or, more often, running into the same blocks and obstacles over and over.

However, as wise as The Secret is -- and without question, I'm a dedicated proponent of its teachings and I'm grateful for the contribution it continues to make in the world today -- there is a piece of the puzzle that really needs a little more exploration. Again, I'm not criticizing The Secret for missing out on this -- because I really think they had to make an "editorial decision" to either go deeply into it, or leave it out -- and so, really, they left it out (though they may indeed look at it in The Sequel to the Secret -- we'll see!).

What's the overlooked aspect? It's the title of today's post: what do you really want?

It sounds like a...well, maybe even kind of a dumb question, right? If you need money, you want money. If you're ill, you want health. If you're lonely, you want to find that special friend or life partner. Isn't it obvious? Well...no :) It's not.

You see, many people are actually confused about what they want. Or, to put it more pleasantly and in friendlier terms (because we are all about friendliness here :), they are not clear on what will actually lead them to the happiness that they seek.

Confusing? Let's look at a practical example.

Let's say that you're a self-admitted -- perhaps even proud -- "workaholic." You work at least 10 hours a day, including on the weekends, and a vacation for you is really not a vacation at all: the scenery changes, but you and your "workload" remains the same. And like most workaholics, you really don't see anything wrong or "unhealthy" about being a workaholic! In fact, you're amazed that more people aren't as focused on work, success, productivity, efficiency, and other things that are important priorities in your life. You wish the world would work as hard as YOU -- then things would improve!

Uhhh....(you know what I'm going to say, right?)

Hard work is good -- within reason, and if it's for the right things. But workaholism isn't good; in fact, it's a neurosis. It's pathological -- it is a mental illness. The fact that so many people these days share this illness simply makes it less overt; harder to see. But that doesn't mean that it's not a legitimate and potentially serious problem. People who cannot not work are not in control of their work anymore; they are simply trying to "keep up" with work. And eventually, energy levels fall...breakdowns occur...and things can get really, really ugly.

Now, this post today isn't about the dangers of workaholism; it's to help you understand that, in this example, if you are a workaholic, then guess what you're going to "ask" the universe for?

For peace?

For love?

For happiness?

No. You're going to ask for more efficiency! You're going to ask the universe to serve your neurosis somehow. You're going to ask the universe to help you sleep less, so that you can work even MORE. You're going to ask the universe to get rid of your inefficient, lazy co-workers so that you can work MORE. You're going to ask the universe to help give you more energy and stamina so that you can...yup, you guessed it: work MORE!

Basically, you're asking the universe to destroy you.

And, gladly, the universe is not really interested in doing that :)

And out of that fondness, the universe may not in fact give you what you claim that you want: more time, less sleep, more energy. Because deep down inside, the universe KNOWS -- even if YOU DON'T KNOW -- that what you really want is to be yourself; to be peaceful, loving, generous, and (yes) HAPPY.

And if the universe thinks that giving you less sleep and more energy is simply going to feed your ongoing campaign of unhappiness, it's not going to do it. And you should be VERY GLAD that it doesn't!

Imagine a child who loves ice cream (and who doesn't?). How "wonderful" a parent are you if you simply keep giving your child ice cream and nothing else? You're HARMING THE CHILD! Yes, a little ice cream is good. But entire meals of ice cream is beyond bad parenting; it's destructive.

The universe is not destructive. PEOPLE can be destructive, yes; but the universe as a whole is fundamentally creative (hence why creative people are the happiest people -- have you noticed?).

So here's today's advice :) Before you start asking the universe for stuff, sit back in a quiet space, relax, and deeply reflect on whether getting what you're asking for is REALLY going to make you happy -- or if it's simply going to add fuel to a neurosis or an ongoing sense of unhappiness.

Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and most recently A New Earth, said in one of his talks that there are two ways to be unhappy: not getting what you want, and getting what you want.

I think what he meant by this is precisely what we're talking about here today: when people get what they "think" they want, they're often profoundly unhappy...because what they thought they wanted isn't REALLY what they wanted. And so they start wanting something else...and then something else...and then something else..and even if they get it, it's always not what they thought.

The universe will give you what you want -- that is the nature of the universe: unending generosity. But what do you REALLY want? Sit back, relax, close your eyes, put your feet up, and reflect. Come to your inner center and start to see what you want.

You may be rather pleasantly surprised :)

More on LOA and Change

Hello again friends. Last time we met here, we asked "whether you were embracing change?" and looked at how life is change -- and therefore, that the Law of Attraction (LOA) is change, too. We looked at how a situation may be trying to change in ways that, deep down inside, we may be resisting simply because the change isn't what we expected, envisioned or even dreamed of.

Today, I'd like to elaborate a bit more on this, because I think this particular issue -- change -- is really the defining element (for lack of a better word) of whether LOA will work for you or won't. True, there are many other aspects to consider, but I think that this is the MAJOR roadblock for some: dealing with change.

You see, it's not that change can "occur" in ways that we didn't envision; it's that the change we're seeing may seem negative from our short-term, limited perspective. And that can really SCARE us from pursuing anything remotely connected to LOA; and ultimately, squash our dreams before they have a chance to manifest in our lives.

For example, let's say that you "hang around" with people who share with you a unifying common denominator: you complain about things that you don't like about life. Now, these complaints may not be very mean-spirited (or then again, they might be). And some of those complains may be quite valid, from a "common sense" point of view (or then again, they might not). But whatever the unique configuration of your complaint-based-relationship may be, it's enough to say that the glue that holds it together is a kind of chronic, ongoing, endless, aimless, rather dedicated effort to complain about something not being the way it should.

And this may have gone on for so long -- decades, perhaps -- that, oddly, there is a kind of...enjoyable tolerance of the misery of complaining. There is a kind of nourishment that comes from it; a kind of therapy, really, from complaining. It's kind of like scratching an itch; it feels GOOD to scratch an itch, but if you keep scratching it for years and years, not only will you do some really serious damage to whatever you happen to be scratching (your leg, your face, whatever), but you'll also never actually SOLVE the itch. You'll just scratch the symptom.

Complaining, in and of itself, unmotivated and without any actual purpose, is like scratching a mental itch. It feels good, but if you do it for the long term, it's kind of...well, it's really kind of insane, really. Of course, so many people do it, that it seems normal; or, at least, there are so many more abnormal things out there that are worthy of the term abnormal. I mean, with people getting out of their cars and beating each other up, or people doing all kinds of other mad things, mere complaint seems to be the least of our social or personal problems.

Be that as it may...

Now, let's say that you start bringing LOA principles into your life. You start finding things to be grateful for. You start seeing solutions instead of problems. You start seeing beneficial opportunities for creation (even if they're very small and minor). You start becoming friendly with life itself; in a way that, perhaps, you haven't done since you were a small child.

Guess what's going to happen to your chronic "complaint-based-relationship"? It's going to change. It has to change.

And for many people, that can be a big emotional problem -- because who wants relationships to change and crumble; even if those relationships aren't nourishing, helpful or positive? We all want to think that friendships are stronger than preferences; that there is something deep and abiding about them. This is, ideally, true.

But it's simply a question of balance: by adding LOA into your life, other things will change. You don't even have to change them; in fact, you almost certainly WON'T have to change anything. New people will simply enter your life -- that's the fun part. And existing people will EXIT YOUR LIFE or at least take a much reduced role in it; and THAT can be difficult. It can make you feel like a bad friend, a bad person, or even expose you to rather dreadful criticism from people who are offended that you have the audacity to change. Maybe in the past you complained as much as anyone else in the group, and now, you simply don't contribute. You don't PREACH your views of LOA or anything else (don't do that!), but you simply don't contribute in the ways that you used to.

This can, will, and does offend people who aren't on the same path as you.

Some will follow and be inspired by what is changing in you. That's wonderful.

Some...will resent you, ridicule you, maybe even attack you -- YOU can become the subject of that criticism, all of a sudden.

This can make you feel incredibly sad inside; and may shake your commitment to transforming your life.

The choice -- as it has always been -- is up to you.

Things will come to you -- things that you like. That is positive change. Things will LEAVE you -- things that you thought you liked -- and that can seem negative.

It's up to YOU to alertly, and with awareness, embrace the new, and gently let go of what has to go. It may be relationships. It may be habits and behavior patterns. It may be small things -- it may be big things.

Remember, some things will leave you WITHOUT first "asking you" if it's okay :) And this may seem very negative. A job may leave you. Something else that you valued may leave you.

Again: stay alert, be aware, and give yourself the chance to really SEE what is happening. Don't react to events; respond to them. Adjust to them. And embrace change -- change is LIFE.

Are You Embracing Change?

One of the enduring aspects of The Secret is, of course, it’s underlying reference to the Law of Attraction (LOA).

And while LOA is quite simple in and of itself – it’s essentially the principle of like attracts like – there are aspects about it that are a bit more sophisticated and quite elegant. Understanding this deeper level will likely help you understand why LOA is working for you or why it ISN’T working for you.

This deeper elegance of LOA is really about the most emotionally-loaded word in the language; and probably, the word most responsible for more creation, more destruction, more love, more hate, more peace, more war, and more everything than anything else.

This word, of course, is change.

Life is not merely “about change” – it is synonymous with change. If the word “life” were to somehow disappear altogether from the English language, it could (and perhaps even should) be replaced by the word ‘change.’

Life cannot be static. Even if it seems to be routine, ritualistic or just plain repetitive at times, this is a perception; not a reality. As old Hereclitis says: you cannot step in the same river twice. He’s right. Change is built into the very fabric of life. It is the raw ingredient from which life is created, expressed, and ultimately, transformed from one form to another.

Now, here’s the thing: since LOA is an aspect of life, this must mean that LOA is an aspect of change. In other words: if you want to benefit from LOA, you must – by definition – accept change as part of your life.

And that, for many people is…well, it’s a problem! Because change means opening up to something new; it means, fundamentally, surrendering yourself to unimagined possibilities. It means letting go of what you think you know, because what you don’t know may very well be the change that needs to come into your life for LOA to “work” in the way that you want.

Let’s look at a practical example to help illustrate this.

Imagine that you’re in a stressful corporate-type job and it’s just becoming an exhaustive, draining, depressing experience. Instead of looking forward to another day on the job, you’re dreading it. And worse, because you’re getting “older” each day, you find yourself with less energy to stay alive (or merely survive) in your unfriendly, political and “left-brain dominated” corporate landscape.

Now, let’s say that you watch The Secret (click the link to get a copy if you haven’t seen it yet) and accept that, yes, LOA could help you free yourself from this knot of corporate pain and start your own home-based business. You may even have a friend or family member who has started their own home-based business, or you may have seen an Internet site or been to a seminar, and so you have an “idea” of what a home-based business could be about: and you want it!

And so you start absorbing and expressing the LOA principles: ask, believe, receive. And you do this with sincere intensity for several weeks, but…nothing happens. Things at work may have even become worse (it’s possible).

What might be happening here?

Paradoxically, the belief that the ONLY way to change your negative work situation is to start a home-based business (of one kind or another) may, actually, be PREVENTING your solution from manifesting itself! In other words: because you are “locked into” solving your problem a certain way, you may be resisting the change that has to take place into your life. You’re basically trying to PRESCRIBE the universe on “how to help you.” You're directing; not accepting.

The universe, fortunately, doesn’t work that way. Can you imagine the tires on a car all “intent” on going in a different direction – even of those different directions were, in themselves, ethical and “good”? The car would come apart. It would be destroyed; and the tires would actually lose far, far more than they gain, because the very vehicle that “drove” them – the body of their being – would be broken and unable to move them anywhere at all.

The message for you today, is to accept that, maybe, the change that has to happen in your life ISN’T what you envision it to be. Yes, your work situation may be a kind of living hell right now (and many work situations certainly are!). But maybe a home-based business isn’t the kind of positive change that you need. Maybe what you need to do is take a class in the evening, or maybe volunteer some of your time, or let something ELSE come into your life that will, ultimately, create a better situation for you. Maybe your workplace will start letting you do more work at home through the Internet.

Or it may be something that you can’t even imagine right now.

Yes, LOA promises that a solution to your problem is “on the way.” Now it’s up to YOU to position yourself to receive that solution. If you become obsessed with receiving only a particular solution – one that “fits” with your vision of what it “should be,” then you will almost certainly miss out on what is meant for you.

Be open, be alert, be welcome, and be aware. Watch how the universe conspires (in the nice way) to CHANGE your situation to the better.

The universe is always – always – focused on positive change. Always.

Embrace change. And then see how LOA “works” FOR you!

A ‘Secret’ message to a friend.

After a wonderful break over the Christmas, New Year period I am back on board and ready to start the new wonderful year ahead.

What better way than to start with a new video that we have just made.

Inspired by The Secret movie, my partner Anneli has designed some beautiful e-cards that you can use to send a message to your friends. Pass on your love, friendship, happiness or say thank you to a friend or loved one. Show them that you are inspired or motivated by them, or let them know that they really can achieve their dreams by following their heart.

These e-cards are free to use, please enjoy them.

Check out the video below and then go to Free Secret e-cards.

Make someone smile today.

Here's to an awesome 2008.

Richie.

A ‘Secret’ message to a friend.

Thought and The Law of Attraction

The law of attraction has been one of my favorite topics for the last few years really. But it wasn’t until I saw “The Secret” for the first time in June last year (2006) that it really did hit home.

I started applying the law of attraction and reading more about it, and I was amazed by the results I was achieving. In just a couple of weeks of applying the law of attraction I was off back home to Sweden for a well deserved holiday. Of course it is not as easy as just thinking of something and you will get it. No, you will have to action your thoughts as well. But what do we do if we are not achieving the results we want to achieve?

We have all heard the expression, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again." But to carry on without thinking about why you failed only leads to more failure.

The ability to create is a God given gift. A gift given to everyone without exception. Thought is the first step to manifesting any creation. Thoughts are energy, they are real. Your thoughts act as magnets and attract other thoughts, people, and circumstances that harmonize with them.

Thoughts operate and adhere to certain universal laws. Without these laws there would be no order; the universe itself would sink into chaos.

The Law of Attraction states that like attracts like. Much of what was once considered metaphysical, esoteric knowledge in the past is now scientific fact. Physics has shown that the principles involved in the Law of Attraction are every bit as valid as those governing the Law of Gravity. So it should come as no surprise that dwelling only on your problems simply attracts more problems.

The idea of attracting success by thinking about it is very appealing. So appealing in fact, people often get the wrong impression that it's easy. Affirmations can be helpful, but mindless affirmations alone have no real value. On the other hand, once an affirmation becomes part of your belief system the subconscious goes to work attracting opportunities. It is not the success itself we attract, but the opportunity to succeed.

Our world is ruled by cause and effect, yet we often fail to see how this rule applies to the thoughts we think. This happens because the results of our thoughts are so far removed from the cause that we fail to see the connection.

The subconscious mind is working tirelessly 24 hours a day. It doesn't analyze, it doesn't judge, it simply accepts and attracts more of what the conscious mind is focused on. Are you attracting problems or solutions? By focusing on WHAT YOU desire and showing gratitude for what you already have, the subconscious mind is given the necessary material to provide a constant stream of opportunities. Whether we take advantage of these opportunities or not is another story.

It's impossible to operate outside the law of attraction. Consciously or unconsciously your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, determine if this law works for or against you. Stay focused on your success and reaching your goals. As one success leads to another, success becomes a habit. Problems and obstacles are seen as no more than stepping stones on the road to your ultimate goal.

Recommended “Law of attraction” reading:
(You can get these books on amazon pretty cheap)

Ask and it is given – Esther and Jerry Hicks
The Secret – Rhonda Byrne
Think and grow rich – Napoleon Hill
The science of getting rich – Wallace D Wattles
Rich dad poor dad – Robert Kiyosaki
You were born rich – Bob Proctor

Go for it!

Anneli
www.the-secret-dvd.net