breaking the habit of being yourself how to lose your mind and create a new one by Dr Joe dispenza New York Times best-selling author of you are the placebo dedicated to Roby read by Adam Boyce copyright 2012 by Joe dispenza introduction the greatest habit you can ever break is the habit of being yourself when I think about all the books on creating the life we desire I realize that many of us are still looking for approaches that are grounded in sound scientific evidence methods that truly work but already new Research into the brain and body the mind and consciousness and a Quantum Leap in our understanding of physics is suggesting expanded possibilities on how to move toward what we innately know is our real potential as a practicing chiropractor who runs a busy Integrated Health clinic and as an educator in the fields of Neuroscience brain function biology and brain chemistry I have been privileged to be on the Forefront of some of this research not just by studying the fields mentioned above but also by observing the effects of this new science once applied by common people like you and me that's the moment when the possibilities of this new science become reality as a consequence I have witnessed some remarkable changes in individuals health and quality of life when they truly change their minds over the last several years I've had the opportunity to interview a host of people who overcame significant health conditions that were considered either terminal or permanent per the Contemporary model of medicine these recoveries were labeled spontaneous remissions however upon my extensive examination of their inner Journeys it became apparent to me that there was a strong element of Mind involved and their physical changes weren't so spontaneous after all this discovery furthered my postgraduate studies in brain Imaging neuroplasticity epigenetics and psychoneuroimmunology I simply figured that something had to be happening in the brain and body that could be zeroed in on and then replicated in this book I want to share some of what I learned along the way and show you by exploring how mind and matter are interrelated how you can apply these principles not only to your body but to any aspect of your life many readers of my first book evolve your brain the science of changing your mind voiced the same honest and heartfelt request along with a fair amount of positive feedback such as the person who wrote I really liked your book I read it twice it had lots of science and was very thorough and inspiring but can you tell me how to do it how do I evolve my brain in response I began teaching a workshop series on the Practical steps anyone can take to make changes at the level of mind and body that will lead to Lasting results consequently I have seen people experience unexplainable healings release old mental and emotional wounds resolve so-called impossible difficulties create new opportunities and experience wonderful wealth just to name a few you will meet some of those people in these pages it's not necessary that you read my first book to digest the material in this one but if you have been exposed to my work I wrote Breaking the Habit of being yourself to serve as a practical how-to companion to evolve your brain It Is by Earnest objective to make this new book simple and easy to understand there will be times though that I will have to give you bits of knowledge to act as the Forerunner to a concept I want to develop the purpose is to build a realistic working model of personal transformation that will help you understand how we can change breaking the habit of being yourself is a product of one of my passions a sincere effort to demystify the mystical so that every person understands that we have within our reach all we need to make significant changes in our lives this is a time when not only do we want to know but we want to know how how do we apply and personalize both emerging scientific Concepts and age-old wisdom to succeed at Living a more enriched life when you and I can connect the dots of what science is discovering about the nature of reality and when we give ourselves permission to apply those principles in our day-to-day existence then each of us becomes both a Mystic and a scientist in our own life so I invite you to experiment with everything that you learn in this book and to objectively observe the results what I mean is that if you make the effort to change your inner world of thoughts and feelings your external environment should begin to give you feedback to show you that your mind has had an effect on your outer world why else would you do it if you take intellectual information that you learn as a philosophy and then initiate that knowledge into your life by applying it enough times until you master it you will ultimately move from being a philosopher to an initiate to a Master stay tuned there is sound to Scientific evidence that this is possible I do ask you up front to keep an open mind so that we can build step by step the concepts I outline in this book all of this information is for you to do something with otherwise it's just good dinner conversation isn't it once you can open your mind to the way things really are and let go of your conditioned beliefs with which you are accustomed to framing reality you should see the fruits of your efforts that is my wish for you the information in these pages is there to inspire you to prove to yourself that you are a Divine creator we should never wait for science to give us permission to do the uncommon if we do then we are turning science into another religion we should be brave enough to contemplate our lives do what we thought was outside the box and do it repeatedly when we do that we are on our way to a greater level of personal power true empowerment comes when we start to look deeply at our beliefs we may find their roots in the conditioning of religion culture Society education family the media and even our genes the latter being imprinted by the sensory experiences of our current lives as well as Untold Generations then we weigh those old ideas against some new paradigms that may serve us better times are changing as individuals awakened to a greater reality we are part of a much larger sea change our current systems and models of reality are breaking down and it is time for something new to emerge across the board our models for politics economics religion Science Education medicine and our relationship with the environment are all showing a different landscape than just 10 years ago letting go of the outmoded and embracing the news sounds easy but as I pointed out in evolve your brain much of what we have learned and experienced has been incorporated into our biological self and we wear it like a garment but we also know that what is true today might not be true tomorrow just as we have come to question our perception of atoms as solid pieces of matter reality and our interaction with it is a progression of ideas and beliefs we also know that to leave the familiar life that we have grown accustomed to and Waltz into something new is like a salmon swimming Upstream it takes effort and frankly it's uncomfortable and to top it off ridicule marginalization opposition and denigration from those who cling to what they think they know greet us along the way who was such an unconventional bent is willing to meet such adversity in the name of some concept they cannot Embrace with their senses yet which is alive in their minds how many times in history have individuals who are considered Heretics and fools and thus took the abuse of the unexceptional emerged as Geniuses Saints or Masters will you dare to be an original it seems that human nature is such that we balk at changing until things get really bad and was so uncomfortable that we can no longer go on with business as usual this is as true for an individual as it is for a society we wait for crisis trauma loss disease and tragedy before we get down to looking at who we are what we are doing how we're living what we're feeling and what we believe or know in order to embrace true change often it takes a worst case scenario for us to begin making changes that support our health relationships career family and Future my message is why wait we can learn and change in a state of pain and suffering or we can evolve in a state of joy and inspiration most embrace the former to go with the latter we just have to make up our minds that change will probably entail a bit of discomfort some inconvenience a break from a predictable routine and a period of not knowing most of us are already familiar with the temporary discomfort of not knowing we stumbled through our early efforts to read until this skill became second nature when we first practiced the violin or the drums our parents wished they could send us to a soundproof room Petty the hapless patient who has his blood drawn by a medical student who has the requisite knowledge but still lacks the finesse that she will only gain through practice absorbing knowledge knowing and then gaining practical experience by applying what you learned until a particular skill becomes ingrained in you knowing how is probably how you acquired most of the abilities that now feel like part of your being knowingness in much the same way learning how to change your life involves knowledge and the application of that knowledge that is why this book is divided into three overarching sections throughout Parts one and two I will build ideas in sequence forming a bigger and broader model of understanding for you to personalize if some ideas seem repetitive they are there to remind you about something I don't want you to forget repetition reinforces the circuits in your brain and forms more neural connections so that in your weakest hour you don't talk yourself out of greatness when you ease into part three of the book with the sound knowledge base you can experience for yourself the truth of what you learned earlier part one the science of you our exploration will start with an overview of philosophical and scientific paradigms related to the latest research about the nature of reality who you are why change has been so difficult for so many and what is possible for you as a human being part one will be an easy read I promise chapter one The quantum U introduces you to a bit of quantum physics but don't be alarmed I start there because it is important that you begin to embrace the concept that your subjective mind has an effect on your objective world the observer effect in quantum physics states that where you direct your attention is where you place your energy as a consequence you affect the material world which by the way is made mostly of energy if you entertain that idea even for a moment you might start focusing on what you want instead of what you don't want and you might even find yourself thinking if an atom is 99.9999999 energy and .0001 physical substance then I'm actually more nothing than something so why do I keep my attention on that small percentage of the physical world when I'm so much more is defining my present Reality by what I perceive with my senses the biggest limitation I have in Chapter 2 through 4 we will look at what it means to change to become greater than the environment the body and time you've probably entertained the idea that your thoughts create your life but in Chapter 2 overcoming the environment I discuss how if you allow the outer world to control how you think and feel your external environment is patterning circuits in your brain to make you think equal to everything familiar to you the result is that you create more of the same you hardwire your brain to reflect the problems personal conditions and circumstances in your life so to change you must be greater than all the things in your physical life chapter 3 overcoming the body continues to look at how we unconsciously live by a set of memorized behaviors thoughts and emotional reactions all running like computer programs behind the scenes of our conscious awareness that's why it is not enough to think positive because most of who we are might reside subconsciously as negativity in the body by the end of this book you will know how to enter into the operating system of the subconscious mind and make permanent changes where those programs exist chapter 4 overcoming time examines how we either live in the anticipation of future events or repeatedly revisit past memories or both until the body begins to believe it is living in a time other than the present moment the latest research supports the notion that we have a natural ability to change the brain and body by thought alone so that it looks biologically like some future event has already happened because you can make thought more real than anything else you can change who you are from brain cell to Gene given the right understanding when you learn how to use your attention and access the present you will enter through the door to the quantum field where all potentials exist chapter 5 survival verse creation illustrates the distinction between living and survival and living in creation living in survival entails living in stress and functioning as a materialist believing that the outer world is more real than the inner world when you are under the gun of the fight or flight nervous system being run by its cocktail of intoxicating chemicals you are programmed to be concerned only about your body the things or people in your environment and your obsession with time your brain and body are out of balance you are living a predictable life however when you are truly living in the elegant state of creation you are nobody no thing no time you forget about yourself you become pure Consciousness free from the chains of the identity that needs the outer reality to remember who it thinks it is part two your brain and meditation in chapter 6 three brains thinking to doing to being you will embrace the concept that you have three brains that allow you to move from thinking to doing to being even better when you focus your attention to the exclusion of your environment your body and time you can easily move from thinking to being without having to do anything in that state of mind your brain does not distinguish between what is happening in the outer world of reality and what is happening in the inner world of your mind thus if you can mentally rehearse a desired experience via thought alone you will experience the emotions of that event before it is physically manifested now you are moving into a new state of being because your mind and body are working as one when you begin to feel like some potential future reality is happening to you in the moment that you are focusing on it you are rewriting your automatic habits attitudes and other unwanted subconscious programs chapter 7 The Gap explores how to break free from the emotions that you've memorized which have become your personality and how to close the gap between who you really are in your inner private world and how you appear in the outer social world we all reach a certain point when we stop learning and realize that nothing external can take away those feelings from our past if you can predict the feeling of every experience in your life there is no room for anything new to occur because you are viewing your life from the past instead of the future this is the juncture point where the soul either breaks free or falls into Oblivion you will learn to liberate your energy in the form of emotions and thus narrow the gap between how you appear and who you are ultimately you will create transparency when how you appear is who you are you are truly free part 2 concludes with chapter 8 meditation demystifying the mystical and waves of your future in which my purpose is to demystify meditation so that you know what you're doing and why discussing brainwave technology Made Simple I show you how your brain changes electromagnetically when you are focused versus when you are in an aroused State due to stresses in your life you will learn that the true purpose of meditation is to get beyond the analytical mind and enter into the subconscious mind so that you can make real and permanent changes if you get up from meditation as the same person who sat down nothing has happened to you on any level when you meditate and connect to something greater you can create and then memorize such coherence between your thoughts and feelings that nothing in your outer reality no thing no person no condition at any time or place could move you from that level of energy now you are mastering your environment your body and time foreign stepping towards your new destiny all the information in Parts one and two is provided in order to equip you with the necessary knowledge so that when you demonstrate apply this information in part three which supplies the how to you will have a direct experience of what you've been taught part three is all about applying yourself in an actual discipline a mindful exercise to use in your daily life it's a step-by-step meditation process created so that you can actually do something with the theories given to you by the way did your mind balk when I mentioned that multi-step process if so it's not what you think yes you will learn a sequence of actions but soon you will experience them as one or two simple steps after all you probably perform multiple actions every time you prepare to drive your car for example you adjust the seat put on your seat belt check the mirrors start the car turn on the headlights look around use a turn signal apply the brake put the car in drive or reverse apply pressure to the gas pedal and so on ever since you learned to drive you have executed this procedure easily and automatically I assure you the same will be true once you learn each step in part three you may be asking yourself why do I need to read Parts one and two I'll just jump to part three I know I'd probably be thinking the same I decided to offer the relevant knowledge in the first two parts of the text so that when you get to the third section nothing will be left to conjecture Dogma or speculation when you begin the steps of the meditation you'll know exactly what you're doing and why when you comprehend the what and the why the more you will know and thus the more you will know how when the time comes therefore you will have more power and intention behind the Practical experience of truly changing your mind by using the steps in part three you may be more prone to accept your innate ability to change so-called impossible situations in your life you might even give yourself permission to entertain potential realities you never considered prior to your exposure to these new Concepts you might just begin to do the uncommon that is my aim for you by the time you finish this book so if you can resist the temptation to jump ahead to part three I promise that when you get there you'll be quite empowered by what you learn I've seen this approach work throughout the world in the series of three workshops I lead when people gain the right knowledge in such a way that they understand it completely and then have the opportunity for Effective instruction to apply what they comprehend then like magic they can see the fruits of their efforts in the form of changes that serve as feedback in their lives part three will give you the meditative skills to change something within your mind and body and to produce an effect outside of you once you can notice what you did inside of you that produced an outcome outside of you you'll do it again when a new experience manifests in your life you'll embrace the energy you feel in the form of an elevated emotion such as empowerment or or immense gratitude and that energy will drive you to do it again and again now you are on the path to True evolution each meditation step delineated in part three is associated with a piece of meaningful information presented earlier in the book because you will have cultivated the meaning behind exactly what you're doing there should be no ambiguity that might cause you to lose your vision like many skills you've learned in the beginning it may take all of your conscious effort to stay focused as you learn how to meditate to evolve your brain in the process you must restrain yourself from the typical behaviors and maintain your thoughts on what you're doing without wandering to extraneous stimuli so your actions are aligned with your intention just as you might have experienced when you first learned to cook Thai food play golf dance the salsa or drive a stick shift the newness of the Endeavor will require you to practice this ability continually training both mind and body to memorize each step remember most types of instruction are formatted in bite-sized chunks so that the mind and body can begin to work together once you get it all of the individual steps you kept reviewing merge into one smooth process the methodical linear approach seamlessly flows into a holistic effortless unified demonstration this is the point of personal ownership times the effort this takes can be tedious but if you persist with a certain amount of Will and energy in time you'll enjoy the results when you know that you know how to do something you're on your way to mastering it I'm Overjoyed to say that many people around the world are already using the knowledge in this book to make demonstratable changes in their lives it is my sincere passion that you too break the habit of being yourself and create the new life you desire let's get started part one the science of you chapter one The quantum you early physicists divided the world into matter and thought and later matter and energy each member of those pairs was considered to be entirely separate from the other but they're not nevertheless this mind matter Duality shaped our early worldview the reality was essentially predetermined and that people could do little to change things through their own actions let alone their thoughts fast forward to our current understanding that we are part of a vast invisible field of energy which contains all possible realities and responds to our thoughts and our feelings just as today's scientists are exploring the relationship between thought and matter we're eager to do the same in our own lives and so we ask ourselves can I use my mind to create my reality if so is that a skill that we can learn and use to become who we want to be and to create the life we want to experience let's face it none of us is perfect whether we'd like to make some change to our physical self Emotional Self or spiritual self we all have the same desire we want to live life as an idealized version of who we think and believe we can be when we stand in front of the mirror and look at our love handles we don't just see that slightly too pudgy Vision reflected in the glass we also see depending on our mood that day a Slimmer fitter version of ourselves or a heavier chunkier version which of our images is real when we lie in bed at night reviewing our day and our efforts to be a more tolerant less reactive person we don't just see the parent who lashed out at our child for failing to quietly and quickly submit to a simple request we envision either an Angelic self whose patience was stretched like an innocent victim on the rack or a hideous ogre laying waste to a child's self-esteem which of those images is real the answer is all of them are real and not just those extremes but an infinite spectrum of images ranging from positive to negative how can that be for you to better understand why none of those versions of self is more or less real than the others I'm going to have to shatter the outmoded understanding about the fundamental nature of reality and replace it with a new one that sounds like a major undertaking and in some ways it is but I also know this the most likely reason why you were drawn to this book is that your past efforts to make any lasting change in your life physical emotional or spiritual have fallen short of the ideal of yourself that you imagined and why those efforts failed has more to do with your beliefs about why your life is the way it is than anything else including a perceived lack of will time courage or imagination always in order to change we have to come to a new understanding of self and the world so that we can Embrace new knowledge and have new experiences that's what reading this book will do for you your past shortfalls can be traced at their route to one major oversight you haven't committed yourself to living by the truth that your thoughts have consequences so great that they create your reality the fact is that we are all blessed we can all reap the benefits of our constructive efforts we don't have to settle for our present reality we can create a new one whenever we choose to we all have that ability because For Better or Worse our thoughts do influence our lives I'm sure you've heard that before but I wonder whether most people really believe the statement on a gut level if we truly embrace the notion that our thoughts produce tangible effects in our lives wouldn't we strive to never let one thought slip by us that we didn't want to experience and wouldn't we focus our attention on what we want instead of continually obsessing about our problems think about it if you really knew that this principle were true would you ever miss a day in intentionally creating your desired destiny I hope this book will shift your view on how our world operates convince you that you are more powerful than you knew and inspire you to demonstrate the understanding that what you think and believe has a profound effect on your world until you break from the way you see your present reality any change in your life will always be haphazard and transitory you have to overhaul your thinking about why things happen in order to produce enduring and desired outcomes to do that you need to be open to a new interpretation of what is Real and True to help you shift into this mode of thought and begin to create a life of your choosing I have to begin with a bit of cosmology the study of the structure and dynamics of the universe but don't be alarmed we're merely going to skim through the nature reality 101 and how some of our views about it have evolved to reach our present understanding all of this is to explain of necessity in a brief and simple way how it is possible that your thoughts shape your destiny this chapter might test your willingness to abandon ideas that have in a sense been programmed into you for many years on a conscious and subconscious level once you gain a new conception of the fundamental forces and elements that constitute reality it won't fit into that old perception in which the linear and the orderly ruled the day be prepared to experience some fundamental shifts in understanding in fact as you begin to embrace this new outlook your very makeup as a human being will change it's my wish that you will no longer be the same person that you were when you began obviously I'm about to challenge you but I want you to know that I'm entirely empathetic because I too have had to let go of what I thought was true and leap into the unknown to ease into this new way of thinking about the nature of our world let's see how our world view was shaped by the early belief that mind and matter were separate things connecting the dots between the outer physical world of the observable and the inner mental world of thought has always presented quite a challenge to scientists and philosophers to many of us even today mind appears to have little or no measurable effects on the world of matter although we'd probably agree that the world of matter creates consequences affecting our minds how can our minds possibly produce any physical changes affecting the solid things in our lives mind and matter appear to be separate that is unless there's a shift in our understanding about the way physical solid things actually exist well there has been such a shift and to trace its Beginnings we don't have to go back very far for much of what historians consider modern times Humanity believed that the nature of the universe was orderly and thus predictable and explainable consider 17th century mathematician and philosopher Renee Descartes who developed many Concepts that still have great relevance to mathematics and other fields does I think therefore I am ring any bells in retrospect however one of his theories ultimately did more harm than good Descartes was a proponent of the mechanistic model of the universe a view that the universe is controlled by predictable laws when it came to human thought Descartes faced a real challenge the human mind possessed too many variables to neatly fit into any laws since he couldn't unify his understanding of the physical world with that of the mind but he had to account for the presence of both Descartes played a Nifty mind game hun intended he said that the mind was not subject to the laws of the objective physical world so it was completely outside the bounds of scientific inquiry the study of matter was the jurisdiction of science always matter never mind whereas the mind was God's instrument so the study of it fell to religion always mind never matter essentially Descartes started a belief system that imposed a duality between the concepts of mind and matter for centuries that division stood as the accepted understanding of the nature of reality helping to perpetuate Descartes beliefs were the experiments and theories of Sir Isaac Newton the English mathematician and scientist not only solidified the concept of the universe as a machine but he produced a set of laws stating that human beings could precisely determine calculate and predict the orderly ways in which the physical world would operate according to the classical Newtonian physics model all things were considered solid for example energy could be explained as a force to move objects or to change the physical state of matter but as you will see energy is much more than an outside force exerted on material things energy is the very fabric of all things material and is responsive to mind by extension the work of Descartes to Newton established a mindset that if reality operated on mechanistic principles then Humanity had little influence on outcomes all of reality was predetermined given that Outlook is it any wonder that human beings struggle with the idea that their actions mattered let alone entertain the Notions that their thoughts mattered or that Free Will played any part in the grand scheme of things don't many of us still labor today subconsciously or consciously under the assumption that we human beings are often little more than victims considering that these cherished beliefs held sway for centuries it took some revolutionary thought to counter Descartes and Newton about 200 years after Newton Albert Einstein produced his famous equation E equals m c squared demonstrating that energy and matter are so fundamentally related that they are one and the same essentially his work showed that matter and energy are completely interchangeable this directly contradicted Newton and Descartes and ushered in a new understanding of how the universe functions Einstein didn't single-handedly crumble our previous view of the nature of reality but he did undermine its foundation and then eventually led to the collapse of some of our narrow rigid ways of thinking his theories set off an exploration of the puzzling behavior of light scientists then observed that light sometimes behaves like a wave when it bends around a corner for example and at other times it behaves like a particle how could life be both a wave and a particle according to the Outlook of Descartes and Newton it couldn't a phenomena had to be either one or the other quickly it became clear that the dualistic Cartesian Newtonian model was flawed at the most basic level of all the subatomic subatomic refers to the parts electrons protons neutrons and so on the make up atoms which are the building blocks of all things physical the most fundamental components of our so-called physical world are both waves energy and particles physical matter depending on the mind of the Observer and we'll come back to that to understand how the world works we had to look to its tiniest components thus out of these particular experiments a new field of science was born called quantum physics this change was a complete reimagining of the world we thought we'd lived in and it led to the proverbial rug being pulled out from under our feet fate we used to think were planted on Solid Ground how so well think back to those old toothpick and Styrofoam ball models of the atom before quantum physics came along people believed that an atom was made of a relatively solid nucleus with smaller less substantial objects either located in or around it the very idea that with a powerful enough instrument we could measure calculate the mass of and count number the subatomic particles that make up an atom made them seem as inert as cows Grazing In a pasture atoms seem to be made of solid stuff right refer to Figure 1 a the classical atom well nothing could be further from the truth as revealed by the quantum model atoms are mostly empty space atoms are energy think about this everything physical in your life is not solid matter rather it's all fields of energy or frequency patterns of information all matter is more no thing energy then something particles refer to figure 1B the quantum atom refer to figure 1C the real Quantum atom but this alone wasn't enough to explain the nature of reality Einstein and others had another puzzle to solve Mata didn't always seem to behave in the same ways when physicists began observing and measuring the tiny world of the atom they noticed that at the subatomic level the fundamental elements of the atom didn't obey the laws of classical physics the way that larger objects did events involving objects in the large world were predictable reproducible and consistent when that legendary Apple fell from a tree and moved towards the center of the earth until it collided with Newton's head its mass accelerated with a consistent Force but electrons as particles behaved in unpredictable unusual ways when they interacted with the nucleus of the atom and moved towards its Center they gained and lost energy appeared and disappeared and seemed to show up all over the place without regard to the boundaries of time and space did the world of the small and the world of the large operate under very different sets of rules since subatomic particles like electrons were the building blocks of everything in nature how could they be subject to one set of rules and the things they made up behave according to another set of rules at the level of the electron scientists can measure energy dependent characteristics such as wavelength voltage potentials and the like but these particles have a mass that is so infinitesimally small and exists so temporarily as to be almost non-existent this is what makes the subatomic World unique it possesses not just physical qualities but also energetic qualities in truth matter on a subatomic level exists as a momentary phenomenon it's so elusive that it constantly appears and disappears appearing into three dimensions and disappearing into nothing into the quantum field in no space No Time transforming from particle matter to wave energy and vice versa but where do particles go when they vanish Into Thin Air refer Figure 1 D collapsing the wave function consider again that old school toothpick and Styrofoam ball model on how atoms were constructed back then weren't we led to believe that electrons orbited about the nucleus-like planets around the Sun if so we could pinpoint their location couldn't we the answer is yes in a manner of speaking but the reason is not at all what we used to think what Quantum physicists discovered was that the person observing or measuring the tiny particles that make up atoms affects the behavior of energy and matter Quantum experiments demonstrated that electrons exist simultaneously in an infinite array of possibilities or probabilities in an invisible field of energy but only when an observer focuses attention on any location of any one electron does that electron appear in other words a particle cannot manifest in reality that is ordinary time space as we know it until we observe it quantum physics calls this phenomena collapse of the wave function or the observer effect we now know that the moment the observer looks for an electron there is a specific point in time and space when all probabilities of the electron collapse into a physical event with this discovery mind and matter can no longer be considered separate they are intrinsically related because subjective mind produces measurable changes on the objective physical world are you beginning to see why this chapter is titled the quantum U at the subatomic level energy responds to your mindful attention and becomes matter how would your life change if you learn to direct the observer effect and to collapse infinite waves of probability into the reality that you choose could you get better at observing the life you want so Ponder this everything in the physical universe is made up of subatomic particles such as electrons by their very nature these particles when they exist as pure potential are in their wave state while they are not being observed they are potentially everything and no thing until they are observed they exist everywhere and nowhere until they are observed does everything in our physical reality exists as pure potential if subatomic particles can exist in an infinite number of possible places simultaneously we are potentially capable of collapsing into existence an infinite number of possible realities in other words if you can imagine a future event in your life based on any one of your personal desires that reality already exists as a possibility in the quantum field waiting to be observed by you if your mind can influence the appearance of an electron then theoretically it can influence the appearance of any possibility this means that the quantum field contains a reality in which you are healthy wealthy and happy and possesses all of the qualities and capabilities of the idealized self that you hold in your thoughts stay with me and you'll see that with willful attention sincere application and a new knowledge and repeated daily efforts you can use your mind as the Observer to collapse Quantum particles and organize a vast number of subatomic waves of probability into a desired physical event called an experience in your life like clay the energy of infinite possibilities is shaped by Consciousness your mind and if all matter is made of energy it makes sense that Consciousness mind in this case is Newton and Descartes called it and energy matter according to the quantum model are so intimately related that they are one mind and matter are completely entangled your Consciousness mind has effects on energy matter because your Consciousness is energy and energy has consciousness you are powerful enough to influence matter because at the most Elementary level you are energy with a consciousness you are mindful matter in the quantum model the physical universe is an immaterial interconnected unified field of information potentially everything but physically no thing the quantum universe is just waiting for a conscious Observer you or me to come along and influence energy in the form of potential matter by using the mind and Consciousness which are themselves energy to make ways of energetic probabilities coalesce into physical matter just as the wave of possibility of the electron manifests as a particle within a specific momentary event we observers cause a particle or groups of particles to manifest physical experiences in the form of events in our lives this is crucial to understanding how you can cause and effect or make a change in your life when you learn how to sharpen your skills of observation to intentionally affect your destiny you are well on your way towards living the ideal version of your life by becoming the idealized version of yourself like everything else in the universe we are in a sense connected to a sea of information in a dimension Beyond physical space and time we don't need to be touching or even close proximity to any physical elements in the quantum field to affect or be affected by them the physical body is organized patterns of energy and information which is Unified with everything in the quantum field you like all of us broadcast a distinct energy pattern or signature in fact everything material is always emitting specific patterns of energy and this energy carries information your fluctuating states of Mind consciously or unconsciously change that signature on a moment-to-moment basis because you are more than just a physical body you are a Consciousness using a body and a brain to express different levels of mind another way to look at how we humans in the quantum field are interconnected is through the concept of quantum entanglement or Quantum non-local connection essentially once two particles can be initially linked in some way they will always be bonded together beyond space and time as a result anything that is done to one will be done to the other even though they are spatially separated from one another this means that since we too are made up of particles we are all implicitly connected beyond space and time think about the applications of this if you can wrap your mind around this concept then you'd have to agree that the you that exists in a probable future is already connected to the U in this now in a dimension Beyond this time and space stay tuned by the end of this book that idea might just seem normal to you since we're all interconnected across distance and time does this suggest that our thoughts and feelings can influence events in our past as well as those we desire in our future in July 2000 Israeli Doctor Leonard libovici conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial involving 3393 hospital patients divided into a control group and an intercession group you set out to see whether prayer could have an effect on their condition prayer experiments are great examples of Mind affecting matter at a distance but stay with me here because everything is not always what it seems Liberty selected patients who had suffered sepsis an infection while hospitalized he randomly designated half the patients to have prayers said for them while the other half were not prayed for he compared the results in three categories how long fever lasted length of Hospital stay and how many died as a result of the infection the prayed for benefited from an earlier decrease in fever and a shorter hospitalization time the difference in the number of deaths amongst the prayed for and not prayed for groups was not statistically significant although better in the prayed for group that's a powerful demonstration of the benefits of prayer and how we can send an intention out into the quantum field through our thoughts and feelings however there's one additional element to the story that you should know about did it strike you as slightly odd that in July 2000 a hospital would have more than 3 000 cases of infection at once was it a very poorly sterilized place or was some kind of contagion running rampant actually those who were praying weren't praying for patients who were infected in 2000. instead unbeknownst to them they were praying for lists of people who had been in the hospital from 1990 to 1996. four to ten years prior to the experiment the prayed for patients actually got better during the 1990s from the experiment conducted years later let me say this another way the patients who were prayed for in 2000 all showed measurable changes in health but those changes took effect years before a statistical analysis of this experiment proved that these effects were far beyond coincidence this demonstrates that our intentions our thoughts and feelings and our prayers not only affect our present or future but they can actually affect our past as well now this leads to the question if you were to pray or focus on an intention for a better life for yourself could it affect your past present and future a Quantum law says that all potentials exist simultaneously our thinking and our feeling affects all aspects of Life Beyond both space and time please note throughout this book I will refer interchangeably to your having and creating a state of being or a state of mind for example we could say that how you think and how you feel create a state of being I want you to understand that when I use the terms state of being and state of mind your physical body is a part of that state in fact as you'll see later on many people exist in a state in which the body has become the mind when they are ruled almost exclusively by the body and how it feels so when I talk about the Observer having an effect it's not just the brain that is at work influencing matter but the body as well it is your state of being when mind and body are one as an observer which has effects on the external world we communicate with the quantum field primarily through our thoughts and feelings since our thoughts are themselves energy as you know the electrical impulses the brain generates can easily be measured by devices such as an EEG before I go into greater detail on how this works I want to share with you a remarkable study that demonstrates how our thoughts and feelings influence matter cellular biologists Glenn Rayne PhD conceived a series of experiments to test healer's ability to affect biological systems since DNA is more stable than substances such as cells or bacterial cultures he decided to have healers hold test tubes containing DNA this study took place at the half math Research Center in California the folks there have conducted extraordinary Research into the physiology of emotions heart brain interactions and much more essentially they and others have documented a specific link between our emotional states and our heart rhythms when we have negative emotions such as anger and fear our heart rhythms become erratic and disorganized in contrast positive emotions love and joy for instance reduce highly ordered coherent patterns that the half math researchers refer to as heart coherence in Dr Reigns experiment he first studied a group of 10 individuals who were well practiced in using techniques that heart math teaches to build heart-focused coherence they applied the techniques to produce strong elevated feelings such as love and appreciation then for two minutes they held vials containing DNA samples suspended in deionized water when those samples were analyzed no statistically significant changes had occurred a second group of trained participants did the same thing but instead of just creating positive emotions a feeling of love and appreciation they simultaneously held an intention a thought to either wind or unwind the strands of DNA this group produced statistically significant changes in the conformation shape of the DNA samples in some cases the DNA was wound or Unwound as much as 25 percent a third group of trained subjects held a clear intent to change the DNA but they were instructed not to enter into a positive emotional state in other words they were only using thought intention to affect matter the result no changes to the DNA samples the positive emotional state that the first group entered did nothing by itself to the DNA another groups clearly held intentional thought unaccompanied by emotion also had no impact only when subjects held both heightened emotions and clear objectives in alignment were they able to produce the intended effect an intentional thought needs an Energizer a catalyst and that energy is an elevated emotion heart and mind working together feelings and thoughts unified into a state of being if a state of being can wind and unwind strands of DNA in two minutes what does this say about our ability to create reality what the heart math experiment demonstrates is that the quantum field doesn't respond simply to our wishes our emotional requests it doesn't just respond to our aims our thoughts it only responds when those two are aligned or coherent that is when they are broadcasting the same signal when we combined an elevated emotion with an open heart and a conscious intention with a clear thought we signal the field to respond in amazing ways the quantum field responds not to what we want it responds to who we are being since every potential in the universe is a wave of probability that has an electromagnetic field and is energetic in nature it makes sense that our thoughts and feelings are no exception I find it a useful model to think of thoughts as the electrical charge in the quantum field and feelings as the magnetic charge in the field the thoughts we think send an electrical signal out into the field the feelings we generate magnetically draw events back to us together how we think and how we feel reduces a state of being which generates an electromagnetic signature that influences every atom in our world this should prompt us to ask what am I broadcasting consciously or unconsciously on a daily basis all potential experiences exist as electromagnetic signatures in the quantum field there are an infinite number of potential electromagnetic signatures for genius for wealth for freedom for health that already exist as a frequency pattern of energy if you could create a new electromagnetic field by changing your state of being which matches that potential in the quantum field of information is it possible that your body would be drawn to that event or that event would find you refer Figure 1 E electromagnetic Potentials in the quantum field quite simply our routine known thoughts and feelings perpetuate the same state of being which creates the same behaviors and creates the same reality so if we want to change some aspect of our reality we have to think feel and act in new ways we have to be different in terms of our responses to experiences we have to become someone else we have to create a new state of mind we need to observe a new outcome with that new mind from a Quantum standpoint we have to create a different state of being as an observer and generate a new electromagnetic signature when we do we will match a potential reality in the field that exists only as an electromagnetic potential once that match exists between who we are being what we are broadcasting and the electromagnetic potential in the field we will be pulled towards that potential reality or it will find us I know that it's frustrating when life seems to produce an endless succession of minor variations on the same negative outcomes but as long as you stay the same person as long as your electromagnetic signature Remains the Same you can't expect a new outcome to change your life is to change your energy to make an elemental change in your mind and emotions if you want a new outcome you'll have to break the habit of being yourself and reinvent a new self what do your state of being and a laser have in common I'll make this connection to illustrate another thing you need to know if you want to change your life a laser is an example of a very coherent signal when physicists talk about a coherent signal they are referring to a signal made up of waves that are in Phase their troughs low points and crests high points are parallel when those waves are coherent they are much more powerful refer to figure 1f wave patterns waves in a signal are either aligned or unaligned coherent or incoherent the same goes for your thoughts and feelings how many times have you tried to create something thinking in your mind that the end result was possible but feeling in your heart that it wasn't what was the result of that incoherent out of phase signal that you were sending why is it that nothing manifested as you just saw with the heart Math study Quantum creating only works when your thoughts and feelings are aligned just as the waves in a signal are much more powerful when they are coherent the same is true of when your thoughts and feelings are aligned when you hold clear focused thoughts about your purpose accompanied by your passionate emotional engagement you broadcast a stronger electromagnetic signal that pulls you towards a potential reality that matches what you want I frequently talk to my workshop audiences about my grandmother a woman I adored she was old school Italian steeped in Catholic guilt as she was in the tradition of making tomato gravy or spoon on pasta she prayed constantly for things and deliberately thought about a new life but the guilt that had been instilled in her throughout her upbringing confused the signal she was sending she only manifested more reasons to feel guilty if your intentions and desires haven't produced consistent results you've probably been sending an incoherent mixed message into the field you may want wealth you may think wealthy thoughts but if you feel poor you aren't going to attract Financial abundance to yourself why not because thoughts are the language of the brain feelings of the language of the body you're thinking one way and feeling another way and when the mind is in opposition to the body or vice versa the field won't respond in any consistent way instead when mind and body are working together when our thoughts and feelings are aligned when we are in a new state of being then we are sending a coherent signal on the airwaves of the invisible now let's fill in another piece of the puzzle to change our reality those outcomes that we attract to ourselves have to surprise even astonish Us in the way in which they came about we should never be able to predict how our New Creations will manifest they must catch us off guard they have to wake us up from the dream of the routine reality that we've grown accustomed to these manifestations should leave us with no doubt but our Consciousness made contact with the quantum field of intelligence so we're inspired to do this again that is the joy of the creative process why should you want a Quantum surprise if you can predict an event it's nothing new it's routine automatic and you have experienced it many times before if you can predict it the same you produce the same familiar outcome in fact if you're trying to control how an outcome will occur you just went Newtonian Newtonian classical physics was about trying to anticipate and predict events it was all about cause and effect what is going Newtonian mean when applied to your ability to create it's when the external environment is controlling your internal environment thinking and feeling that's cause and effect instead change your internal environment the way you think and feel and then see how the external environment is altered by your efforts strive to create an unknown new future experience then when an unforeseen event occurs in your favor you'll be pleasantly surprised you just became a Quantum creator you just went from cause and effect to causing an effect hold a clear intention of what you want but leave the how details to the unpredictable Quantum field let it orchestrate an event in your life in a way that is just right for you if you're going to expect anything expect the unexpected surrender trust and let go of how a desired event will unfold this is the biggest hurdle for most to overcome because we human beings always want to control a future Reality by trying to recreate how it occurred in a past reality I've just talked about aligning our thoughts and feelings to produce the result we want yet in the process letting go of the details surrounding how that event will come about that's a leap of faith and it's necessary if we are to exchange a life of humdrum predictable outcomes for a joyful life of new experiences and Quantum surprises but we'll need to make yet another leap of faith to bring what we want into reality under what circumstances are you typically grateful you may answer I'm grateful for my family the nice home I have my friends and my job what those things have in common is that they're already in your life generally we are grateful for something that already happened or is already present in our lives you and I have been conditioned into believing that we need a reason for Joy a motivation to feel gratitude grounds to be in a state of love that's relying on external reality to make us feel differently internally it's Newton's model the new model of reality challenges us as Quantum creators to change something within us in mind and body in our thoughts and feelings before we can experience the physical evidence with our senses can you give thanks and feel the elevated emotions associated with a desired event before it occurs can you imagine that reality so completely that you begin to be in that future life now in terms of quantum creating can you give thanks for something that exists as a potential in the quantum field but has not yet happened in your reality if so you are moving from cause and effect waiting for something outside of you to make a change inside of you to causing an effect changing something inside of you to reduce the effect outside of you when you are in a state of gratitude you transmit a signal into the field that an event has already occurred gratitude is more than an intellectual thought process you have to feel as though whatever you want is in your reality at this very moment thus your body which only understands feelings must be convinced that it has the emotional quotient of the future experience happening to you now I hope by now you agree on some basic underlying concepts of the quantum model that all physical reality is primarily energy existing in a vast web that is interconnected across space and time that web the quantum field holds all probabilities which we can collapse into reality through our thoughts Consciousness observation feelings and state of being but is reality nothing but indifferent electromagnetic forces acting on and in response to one another is the animating Spirit within us simply a function of biology and randomness I've had conversations with people who hold this View ultimately the discussion leads to a dialogue that goes something like this where does the intelligence that keeps our heart beating come from well that's a part of the autonomic nervous system where is that system located the the brain the brain's limbic system is part of the autonomic nervous system and within the brain Are there specific tissues that are responsible for keeping the heart beating yes what are those tissues made of cells and what are those cells made of molecules what are those molecules made of atoms and what are those atoms made of subatomic particles and what are those subatomic particles primarily composed of energy When we arrive at the conclusion that our physiological vehicle is made up of the same stuff as the rest of the universe and these folks bump up against the notion that what animates the body is a form of energy the same 99.999 nothing that constitutes the physical universe they either shrug and walk away or come to realize that there is something to this notion that a unifying principle pervades all of physical reality isn't it ironic then that we keep all of our attention on the point zero zero zero zero one percent of reality that is physical are we missing something if there's nothing consists of energy waves that carry information and this Force organizes our physical structures and their functioning then it certainly makes sense to refer to the quantum field as an invisible intelligence and since energy is at the basis of all physical reality that intelligence I've just described to you has organized itself into matter think of the preceding conversation as a kind of template for how this intelligence is constructed reality the quantum field is invisible potential energy that is able to organize itself from energy to subatomic particles to atoms to molecules and on up the line to everything from a physiological perspective it organizes molecules into cells into tissues into organs into systems and finally into the body as a whole but another way this potential energy lowers itself as a frequency of wave patterns until it appears as solid it is this Universal intelligence that gives life to that field and everything in it including you and me this power is the same universal mind that animates every aspect of the material universe this intelligence keeps our hearts beating and our stomachs digesting food an overseas an incalculable number of chemical reactions per second that take place in every cell moreover the same Consciousness prompts trees to grow fruit and causes distant galaxies to form and collapse because it exists in all places and times and exerts its power within us and all around us this intelligence is both personal and Universal understand that this Universal intelligence possesses the same awareness that makes us individuals Consciousness or mindfulness even though this power is universal and objective it does possess a Consciousness an awareness of self and its own ability to move and act within the material universe it is also completely mindful on all levels not just of itself but of you and me because this Consciousness notices everything it observes and pays attention to us it is aware of our thoughts our dreams our behaviors and our desires it observes everything into physical form how can a Consciousness that has created all of life that expends the energy and will to consistently regulate every function of our bodies to Keep Us Alive that has expressed such a deep and abiding interest in US be anything but pure love we've talked about two aspects of Consciousness the objective conscious intelligence of the field and the subjective Consciousness that is the free willed self-aware individual when we emulate the properties of this awareness We are Becoming creators when we feel resonance with this loving intelligence we become like it this intelligence will orchestrate an event an energetic response to match whatever the subjective mind puts out into the quantum field when our will matches its will when our mind matches its mind when our love for Life matches its love for life we are enacting this Universal consciousness we become the elevated power that transcends the past heals the present and opens the door to the Future here's how this orchestration of events Works in our lives if we have experienced suffering and within our minds and bodies we hold that suffering and express it through our thoughts and feelings we broadcast that energetic signature into the field the universal intelligence responds by sending into our lives another event that will reproduce the same intellectual and emotional response our thoughts send the signal out I am suffering and our emotions I am suffering draw into our lives an event to match that emotional frequency that is a good reason to suffer in a very real sense we are asking for proof of the existence of universal intelligence at all times and it sends us feedback in our external environment at all times that's how powerful we are the question at the heart of this book is this why don't we send out a signal that will produce a positive outcome for us how can we change so that the signal we send out matches what we intend to produce in our lives we will change when we fully commit to the belief that by choosing the thought signal we send out we will produce an effect that is observable and unexpected with this objective intelligence we are not punished for our sins that is our thoughts feelings and actions but buy them when we project into the field a signal based on the thoughts and feelings such as suffering produced by some undesirable experiences in our past is it any wonder that the field responds in the same negative way how many times have you uttered these words or very similar ones can't believe it why does this always happen to me based on your new understanding of the nature of reality do you now see that those statements reflect your acceptance of the Newtonian Cartesian model in which you are a victim of cause and effect do you see that you are fully capable of causing an effect yourself do you see that instead of responding in the manner above you could be asking yourself how can I think feel and behave differently to produce the effect result that I want our mission then is to willfully move into the State of Consciousness that allows us to connect to Universal intelligence make direct contact with the field of possibilities and send out a clear signal that we truly expect to change and to see the results that we want in the form of feedback reduced in our lives when you do create purposefully request a sign from the quantum Consciousness that you have made contact with it dare to ask for synchronicities related to your specific desired outcomes when you do you are being bold enough to want to know that this Consciousness is real and that it's aware of your efforts once you accept this then you could create in a state of joy and inspiration this principle asks us to lay down what we think we know surrender to the unknown then observe the effects in the form of feedback in our lives and that is the best way we learn when we get positive indications when we see our external circumstances shift in a favorable Direction we know that whatever we did inside of us was right naturally we'll remember what we did so we can do it again so when feedback begins to occur in your life you can choose to be like a scientist in a process of discovery why not monitor any changes to see that the universe is favorable to your efforts and prove to yourself that you are that powerful so how can we connect with that state of consciousness Newtonian physics postulated that there is always a linear series of interactions that are predictable and repeatable you know if a plus b equals c then C plus d plus E equals f but in the Wacky World of the quantum model of reality everything is intercommunicating within a higher dimensional field of information that is holistically entangled beyond space and time as we know it one reason why quantum physics is so elusive is that for years we have been accustomed to thinking based on our senses if we measure and reaffirm reality with our senses we are stuck in the Newtonian paradigm instead the quantum model demands that our understanding of reality not be based on our senses quantum physics is nonsense in the process of creating future reality via the quantum model our senses should be the last to experience what the mind has created the very last thing we experience is the sensory feedback why the quantum is a multi-dimensional reality that exists beyond your senses in a realm where there is no body no thing no time thus to move into that domain and create from that Paradigm you'll need to forget about your body for a little while you'll also have to temporarily shift your awareness away from your external environment all those things that you identify with in your life your spouse your kids your possessions and your problems are all part of your identity through them you identify with the outer world and finally you'll have to lose track of linear time that is in the moment when you are intentionally observing a potential future experience you will have to be so present that your mind no longer vacillates between memories of the past and expectations are the same as usual future isn't it ironic that to influence your reality environment heal your body or change some event in your future time you have to completely let go of your external world no thing you have to release your awareness of your body nobody you have to lose track of time no time in effect you have to become pure consciousness do that and you'll have dominion over the environment your body and time I affectionately call these The Big Three and since the subatomic world of the field is made purely of Consciousness you cannot enter any other way than via pure Consciousness yourself you cannot walk through the door into the quantum field as a somebody you must enter as a nobody your brain has the innate ability to harness this skill stay tuned for more when you understand that you are fully equipped to do all this leave this world behind and enter a new reality beyond space and time you'll be naturally inspired to apply it in your life what does it mean to go beyond space and time these are constructs that humans created to explain physical phenomena involving location and our sense of the temporal when we talk about a glass sitting on a table we reference it in terms of location where it is in space how long it is occupied that location as humans we're obsessed with these two conceptions Where We Are how long we've been there how long we will remain where we'll go next even though time is not something that we can actually sense we feel it passing in much the same way that we sense our location in space we feel the seconds minutes and hours passing by just as we feel our bodies pressed against our chairs and our feet planted on the ground in the quantum field the infinite probabilities for materializing reality are Beyond time and space because potential doesn't yet exist if it doesn't exist it doesn't have a location or occupy a position temporarily anything that doesn't have material existence that hasn't had its waves of probability collapsed into particle reality exists beyond space and time since the quantum field is nothing but immaterial probability it is outside of space and time as soon as we observe one of those infinite probabilities and give it material reality it acquires those two characteristics great we have the power to make material a reality of our own choosing by selecting it from the quantum field but we have to somehow access that field we're always connected to it but how do we get the field to respond to us if we're constantly admitting energy and therefore sending information to the field and receiving information from it how do we communicate more effectively with it in upcoming chapters I will talk at length about how to enter the field for now what you need to know is that to enter the field which exists beyond space and time you have to enter a similar state do you ever have any experiences when time and space seem to disappear think of some of those moments when you're driving and your thoughts are focused on some concern you have when that happens you forget about your body you are no longer aware of how you feel in space you forget about your environment the external World disappears and you forget about time you have no idea how long you've been tranced out at moments like these you've been at the threshold of the door that allows you to enter the quantum field and gain access to working with universal intelligence in essence you've already made thought more real than anything else later on I will provide instruction on how to move into that State of Consciousness regularly to access the field and to communicate more directly with the universal intelligence that animates all things as this chapter has progressed I've LED you from the notion that mind and matter are fully separable to the quantum model which states that they are inseparable mind is matter and matter is mind so all those times in the past when you tried to change maybe your thinking was fundamentally limited you likely believe that it was always circumstances outside of you that needed to change if I didn't have so many other commitments I could lose the excess weight and then I'd be happy we've all stated some variation on that theme if this then that cause an effect what if you could change your mind your thoughts your feelings and your way of being outside the bounds of time and space what if you could change ahead of time and see the effects of those internal changes in your external world well you can what has profoundly and positively changed my life and the lives of so many others is the understanding that changing one's mind and thereby having new experiences and gaining new insights is simply a matter of breaking the habit of being oneself when you overcome your senses when you understand that you are not bound by the chains of your past when you live a life that is greater than your body your environment's time all things are possible the universal intelligence that animates the existence of all things will both surprise and Delight you it wants nothing more than to provide you with access to all you want in short when you change your mind you change your life before we move on I'd like to share a story that illustrates just how powerful and effective being in contact with the greater intelligence can be in making change an integral part of your life my children now young adults have used a meditation similar to the process I will describe to you in part three of this book as a result of practicing these techniques they've manifested some remarkable Adventures since their childhood we've had an agreement that they work on creating material things or events that they want to experience however our rule is that I don't interfere or assist with producing the outcome they have to create intended realities on their own using their minds and interacting with the quantum field my 20-something daughter studies art in college it was Springtime and I asked what she wanted to manifest during an upcoming summer break she had a laundry list instead of the typical college student home for the summer job she wanted to work in Italy learn and experience new things visit at least six Italian cities and spend one week in Florence since she had friends there she wanted to work for the first six weeks of the summer making a decent wage then spend the rest of the break at home I commended my daughter for her Clear Vision of what she wanted and reminded her that Universal intelligence would orchestrate the way her dream summer would manifest she would take care of the what a greater Consciousness would take care of the Hal since my daughter is practiced in the art of thinking and feeling ahead of the actual experience I merely reminded her to not only set an intention every day with regard to what that summer would look like what people she would see what events would transpire what places she would visit but also to feel what it would be like to experience these things I asked her to create the vision in her mind until it was so clear and so real that the thought she was thinking became the experience and her brain synapsis began to wire that information as if it were reality if she was still being the young woman in the dorm room with a dream of going to Italy then she was still the same person living the same reality so while it was still march she had to begin being that young woman who'd been in Italy for half the summer no problem she said she had had experiences like this before when she'd wanted to be in a music video and when she'd wanted to experience an unlimited shopping spree both of these transpired in perfect Elegance I then reminded my daughter you can't get up from your mental creation of this experience as the same person you were when you sat down you have to get up from your seat as if you just had the most amazing summer of your life no I got it she said she understood my reminder that each day she had to change to a new state of being and after every mental creation she was to go about her day living in the elevated mood of gratitude generated by having that experience my daughter called a few weeks later dad the university is offering an art history summer course in Italy I can get the cost of the program and all expenses down from seven thousand to four thousand can you help pay for that well it's not that I'm an unsupportive parent but this didn't strike me as what she had originally stated as her Target she was trying to control the outcome of this possible Destiny instead of allowing the quantum field to orchestrate the events I advised her to really inhabit that Italian trip and to think feel speak and dream in Italian until she got lost in the experience a few weeks later when she called again her excitement was palpable she had been in the library chatting with her art history teacher and they eventually slipped into speaking Italian both spoke the language fluidly at that point her teacher said I just remembered one of my colleagues needs someone to teach level one Italian to some American students who will be studying in Italy this summer of course my daughter was hired get this Not only would she be paid to teach all expenses covered but she would be in six different cities in Italy for six weeks spend the last week in Florence and be able to be home for the second half of the summer she manifested her dream job and every aspect of her original vision this wasn't a case of a young woman pursuing this opportunity with the traditional dogged determination to find a program searching the internet hounding professors and so forth instead of following cause and effect my daughter changed her state of being to the extent that she was causing an effect she was living by the quantum law as she electromagnetically connected to an intended destiny that existed in the quantum her body was then drawn to the Future event The Experience found her the outcome was unpredictable it came in a way that she in no way expected it was synchronistic and there was no doubt that it was the result of her internal efforts think about that for a moment what opportunities are out there waiting to find you who are you being in this moment and in every other moment is your being that way going to attract to you all that you desire can you change your state of being and once you inhabit a new mind can You observe a new destiny the answers are what the rest of this book is all about chapter two overcoming your environment by now I trust you're beginning to accept the idea that the subjective mind has an effect on the objective world you might even be Keen to acknowledge that an observer can affect the subatomic world and influence a specific event just by collapsing a single electron from a wave of energy into a particle at this point you may also believe the scientific experiments in quantum mechanics I've discussed which prove Consciousness directly controls the tiny world of atoms because those elements fundamentally are made of Consciousness and energy that's quantum physics in action right but perhaps you're still on the fence about the concept that your mind has real measurable effects in your life you may be asking yourself how can my mind influence bigger events in order to change my life how can I Collapse electrons into a specific event called a new experience that I want to embrace in some future time I wouldn't be surprised if you're wondering about your ability to create life-size experiences in the larger world of reality my goal is that you understand and can see in action how there might be a scientific basis for accepting that your thoughts can create your reality for the doubter though I'd like you to entertain the possibility that the way you think directly affects your life if you can accept this Paradigm as a possibility then by pure reason you would have to agree that the following is possible to create something different from what you've grown accustomed to in your personal world you have to change the way you routinely think and feel each day otherwise by repeatedly thinking and feeling the same way you did the day before and the day before that you will continue to create the same circumstances in your life which will cause you to experience the same emotions which will influence you to think equal to those emotions going out on a limb here permit me to compare this situation to the proverbial hamster in the wheel as you continually think about your problems consciously or unconsciously you will only create more of the same type of difficulties for yourself and maybe you think about your problems so much because it was your thinking that created them in the first place perhaps your troubles feel so real because you constantly revisit those familiar feelings that initially created the problem if you insist on thinking and feeling equal to the circumstances in your life you will reaffirm that particular reality so in the next few chapters I want to focus on what you need to understand in order to change most people focus on three things in life their environment their bodies and time they don't just focus on those three elements they think equal to them but to break the habit of being yourself you have to think greater than the circumstances of your life be greater than the feelings that you have memorized in your body and live in a new line of time if you want to change you must have in your thoughts and idealized self a model that you can emulate which is different from and better than the you that exists today in your particular environment body and time every great person in history knew how to do this and you can attain greatness in your own life once you master the concepts and techniques to come in this chapter we'll focus on how you can overcome your environment and lay some groundwork for the two chapters that follow in which we'll discuss how to overcome your body and time before we begin talking about how you can break the habit of being yourself I want to appeal to your common sense for a few moments how did this habit of thinking and feeling in the same way over and over begin I can only answer that by talking about the brain the starting point of our thoughts and feelings current neuroscientific theory tells us that the brain is organized to reflect everything we know in our environment all of the information we have been exposed to throughout our lives in the form of knowledge and experiences is stored in the brain's synaptic connections the relationships with people we've known the variety of things we own and are familiar with the places where we're visited and lived at different times in our lives and the Myriad experiences we've embraced throughout our years are all configured in the structures of the brain even the vast array of actions and behaviors that we've memorized and repeatedly performed throughout our lifetimes are imprinted in the intricate folds of our gray matter hence all of our personal experiences with people and things at specific times and places are literally reflected within the networks of neurons nerve cells that make up our brains what do we collectively call these memories of people and things that we experience at different times and places in our lives that's our external environment for the most part our brains are equal to our environment a record of our personal past a reflection of the life we've lived during our waking hours as we routinely interact with the diverse stimuli in our world our external environment activates various brain circuits as a consequence of that nearly automatic response we begin to think and react equal to our environment as the environment causes us to think familiar networks of nerve cells fire that reflect previous experiences already wired in the brain essentially we automatically think in familiar ways derived from past memories if your thoughts determine your reality and you keep thinking the same thoughts which are a product and reflection of the environment then you will continue to produce the same reality day after day does your internal thoughts and feelings exactly match your external life because it is your outer reality with all of its problems conditions and circumstances that is influencing how you're thinking and feeling in your inner reality every day as you see the same people your boss for example and your spouse and kids do the same things drive to work perform your daily tasks and do the same workout go to the same places your favorite coffee shop the grocery store you frequent and your place of employment and look at the same objects your car your house your toothbrush even your own body your familiar memories related to your Known World remind you to reproduce the same experiences we could say that the environment is actually controlling your mind since the neuroscientific definition of mind is the brain in action you repeatedly reproduce the same level of Mind by reminding yourself who you think you are in reference to the outer world your identity becomes defined by everything outside of you because you identify with all of the elements that make up your external world thus you are observing your reality with a mind that is equal to it so you collapse the infinite waves of probabilities of the quantum field into events that reflect the mind you use to experience your life you create more of the same you may not think that your environment and your thoughts are that rigidly similar and your reality so easily reproduced but when you consider that your brain is a complete record of your past and your mind is the product of your Consciousness in one sense you might always be thinking in the past by responding with the same brain Hardware that matches what you remember you're creating a level of mind that is identical to the Past because your brain is automatically firing existing circuits to reflect everything you already know have experienced and thus can predict according to the quantum law which by the way is still working for you your past is now becoming your future reason this when you think from your past memories you can only create past experiences as all of the knowns in your life cause your brain to think and feel in familiar ways thus creating Noble outcomes you continually reaffirm your life as you know it and since your brain is equal to your environment then each morning your senses plug you into the same reality and initiate the same stream of consciousness all of the sensory input that your brain processes from the external world that is seeing smelling hearing feeling and tasting turns your brain on to think equal to everything familiar in your reality you open your eyes and you know the person lying next to you is your spouse because of your past experiences together you hear barking outside your door and you know it's your dog wanting to go out there's a pain in your back and you remember it's the same pain you felt yesterday you associate your outer familiar world with who you think you are by remembering yourself in this Dimension this particular time and space what do most of us do each morning after we've been plugged into our reality by these sensory reminders of who we are where we are and so forth while we remain plugged into this past self by following a highly routine unconscious set of automatic behaviors for example you probably wake up on the same side of the bed slip into your robe the same way as always look into the mirror to remember who you are and shower following an automatic routine then you groom yourself to look like everyone expects you to look brush your teeth in your usual memorized fashion you drink your coffee out of your favorite mug and eat your customary breakfast cereal you put on the jacket you always wear and unconsciously zip it up next you automatically drive to work along your accustomed convenient route work you do the familiar things that you've memorized how to do so well you see the same people who push your same emotional buttons which causes you to think the same thoughts about those people and your work and your life later you hurry up and go home so you can hurry up and eat so you can hurry up and watch your favorite TV shows so you can hurry up and go to bed so you can hurry up and do it all over again has your brain changed at all that day why are you secretly expecting something different to show up in your life when you think the same thoughts perform the same actions and experience the same emotions every single day isn't that the definition of insanity all of us have fallen prey to this type of limited life one time or another by now you understand the reason why in the preceding example it's safe to say that you're reproducing the same level of mind every day and that if the quantum World shows that the environment is an extension of your mind and that mind in matter of one then as long as your mind Remains the Same your life will stay status quo thus if your environment Remains the Same and you react by thinking in the same way then according to the quantum model of reality shouldn't you create more of the same think of it this way the input Remains the Same so the output has to remain the same how then can you ever create anything new there is another possible consequence that I should mention if you keep firing the same neural patterns by living your life the same way each day every time you respond to your familiar Reality by recreating the same mind that is turning on the same nerve cells to make the brain work in the same way you hardwire your brain to match the customary conditions in your personal reality be they good or bad there is a principle in Neuroscience called hebb's law it basically states that nerve cells that fire together wire together hebbs Credo demonstrates that if you repeatedly activate the same nerve cells then each time they turn on it will be easier for them to fire in unison again eventually those neurons will develop a long-term relationship so when I use the word hardwired it means that clusters of neurons have fired so many times in the same ways that they have organized themselves into specific patterns with long lasting connections the more these networks of neurons fire the more they wire into static routes of activity in time whatever the oft repeated thought Behavior or feeling is it will become an automatic unconscious habit when your environment is influencing your mind to that extent your habitat becomes your habit so if you keep thinking the same thoughts doing the same things and feeling the same emotions you'll begin to hardwire your brain into a finite pattern that is the direct reflection of your finite reality consequently it will become easier and more natural for you to reproduce the same mind on a moment-to-moment basis this innocent response cycle causes your brain and then your mind to reinforce even further the particular reality that is your external world the more you fire the same circuits by reacting to your external life the more you'll wire your brain to be equal to your personal World you'll become neurochemically attached to the conditions in your life in time you'll begin to think in the Box because your brain will fire a finite set of circuits that then creates a very specific mental signature the signature is called your personality as an effect of this neural habitation the two realities of the inner mind and the outer World seem to become almost inseparable for instance if you can never stop thinking about your problems then your mind and your life will merge together as one the objective world is now colored by the perceptions of your subjective mind and thus reality continuously conforms you become lost in the illusion of the dream you could call this a rat and we fall into them but it goes much deeper than that not just your actions but also your attitudes and your feelings become repetitive you have formed the habit of Being Yourself by becoming in a sense enslaved to your environment your thinking has become equal to the conditions in your life and thus you as the quantum Observer are creating a mind that only reinfirms those circumstances into your specific reality all you are doing is reacting to your external known unchanging world in a very real way you have become an effect of circumstances outside of yourself you have allowed yourself to give up control of your destiny unlike Bill Murray's character in the movie Groundhog Day you're not even fighting against the ceaseless monotony of what you're like and what your life has become worse you aren't the victim of some mysterious and unseen force that has placed you in this repetitive Loop you are the creator of the loop the good news is that since you created this Loop you can choose to end it the quantum model of reality tells us that to change our lives we must fundamentally change the ways we think act and feel we must change our state of being because how we think feel and behave is in essence our personality it is our personality that creates our personal reality so to create a new personal reality a new life we must create a new personality we must become someone else to change then is to think and act greater than our present circumstances greater than our environment before I begin to explore the ways in which you can think greater than your environment and thus break the habit of being yourself I want to remind you of something it is possible to think greater than your present reality and history books are filled with names of people who have done so men and women such as Martin Luther King Jr William Wallace Marie Curie Mahatma Gandhi Thomas Edison and Joan of Arc every one of these individuals had a concept in his or her mind of a future reality that existed as a potential in the quantum field this Vision was alive in the inner world of possibilities beyond the senses and in time each of these people made those ideas a reality as a Common Thread they all had a dream Vision or objective that was much larger than they were they all believed in a future destiny that was so real in their minds that they began to live as if that dream were already happening they couldn't see it hear taste spell or feel it but they were so possessed in their dream that they acted in a way that corresponded to this potential reality ahead of time in other words they behaved as if what they envisioned was already a reality for example the imperialist dictum that had India and a colonial rule in the early 1900s was demoralizing to Indians despite that Gandhi believed in a reality that wasn't yet present in his people's lives he wholeheartedly endorsed the concepts of equality freedom and non-violence with undying conviction even though Gandhi endorsed Liberty for all the reality of tyranny and British control at that time was quite different the conventional beliefs of that era were in contrast to his hopes and aspirations although the experience of Liberty was not a reality while he was initially engaged in changing India he did not let outward evidence of adversity sway him to give up this ideal for a long time much of the feedback from the external world didn't show Gandhi that he was making a difference but seldom did he allow the conditions in his environment to control his way of being he believed in a future that he could not yet see or experience with his senses but which was so alive in his mind that he could not live any other way he embraced a new future life while physically living his present life he understood that the way he was thinking acting and feeling would change the current conditions in his environment and eventually reality began to change as a result of his efforts when our behaviors match our intentions when our actions are equal to our thoughts when our minds and our bodies are working together when our words and our Deeds are aligned there's an immense power behind any individual the greatest individuals in history were unwaverly committed to a future Destiny without any need for immediate feedback from the environment didn't matter to them if they hadn't yet received any sensory indication or physical evidence that the change they wanted they must have reminded themselves daily of the reality they were focused upon their minds were ahead of their present environment because their environment no longer controlled their thinking truly they were ahead of their time another fundamental element shared by each of these celebrated beings was that they were clear in their minds about exactly what they wanted to happen remember we leave the how to a greater mind and they must have all known this now some in their day might have called them unrealistic in fact they were completely unrealistic and so were their dreams the event they were embracing in thought action and emotion was not realistic because the reality had not yet occurred the ignorant and the cynical might also have said their Vision was nonsense and such naysayers would have been right a vision of future reality was nonsense it existed in a reality beyond the senses as another example Joan of Arc was considered foolhardy even insane her ideas challenged the beliefs of her time and made her a threat to the present political system but once her vision was made manifest she was considered profoundly virtuous when one holds a dream independent of the environment that's greatness coming up we'll see that overcoming the environment is inextricably linked with overcoming the body and time in Gandhi's case he was not swayed by what was happening in his outer World environment he didn't worry about how he felt and what would happen to him body and he didn't care how long it would take to realize the dream of Freedom time he simply knew that all these elements would sooner or later blend to his intentions for all of the Giants in history is it possible that their ideas were thriving in the laboratory of their minds to such an extent that to their brains it was as though the experience had already happened can you too change who you are by thought alone Neuroscience has proven that we can change our brains and therefore our behaviors attitudes and beliefs just by thinking differently in other words without changing anything in our environment through mental rehearsal repeatedly Imaging performing an action the circuits in the brain can reorganize themselves to reflect our objectives we can make our thoughts so real that the brain changes to look like the event has already become a physical reality we can change it to be ahead of any actual experience in our external world here's an example in evolve your brain I discussed how research subjects who mentally rehearsed one-handed piano exercises for two hours a day for five days never actually touching any piano keys demonstrate at almost the same brain changes as people who physically perform the identical finger movements on a piano keyboard for the same length of time functional brain scans showed that all the participants activated and expanded clusters of neurons in the same specific area of the brain in essence the group who mentally rehearsed practicing the scales and chords grew nearly the same number of brain circuits as the group who physically engaged in the activity the study demonstrates two important points not only can we change our brains just by thinking differently but when we are truly focused and single-minded the brain does not know the difference between the internal world of the mind and what we experience in the external environment our thoughts can become our experience this notion is critical to your success or failure and your Endeavor to replace old habits prune old neural connections with new ones Sprout new neural connections so let's look more closely at how the same learning sequence took place in those people who mentally practiced but never physically played any notes whether we physically or mentally acquire skill there are four elements that we all use to change our brains learning knowledge receiving Hands-On instruction paying attention and repetition learning is making synaptic connections instruction gets the body involved in order to have a new experience which further enriches the brain when we also pay attention and repeat our new skill over and over again our brains will change the group who physically played the scales and chords grew new brain circuits because they followed this formula the participants who mentally rehearsed also followed this formula except they never got their bodies physically involved in their minds they were easily able to conceive of themselves playing the piano remember after these subjects repeatedly mentally practiced their brains showed the same neurological changes as the participants who actually played the piano new networks of neurons neural networks were forged demonstrating that in effect they had already engaged in practicing the piano scales and chords without actually having that physical experience we could say that their brains existed in the future ahead of the physical event of playing the piano because of our enlarged human frontal lobe and our unique ability to make thought more real than anything else the forebrain can naturally lower the volume from the external environment so that nothing else is being processed but a single-minded thought this type of internal processing allows us to become so involved in our mental Imaging that the brain will modify its wiring without having experienced the actual event when we can change our minds independent of the environment and then steadfastly Embrace an ideal with sustained concentration the brain will be ahead of the environment that is mental rehearsal an important tool in Breaking the Habit of being ourselves if we repeatedly think about something to the exclusion of everything else we encounter a moment when the thought becomes the experience when this occurs the neural Hardware is rewired to reflect the thought as the experience this is the moment that our thinking changes our brains and thus our minds to understand that neurological change can take place in the absence of physical interactions in the environment is crucial to our success in Breaking the Habit of being ourselves consider the larger implications of the finger exercise experiment if we apply the same process mental rehearsal to anything that we want to do we can change our brains ahead of any concrete experience if you can influence your brain to change before you experience a desired future event you will create the appropriate neural circuits that will enable you to behave in alignment with your intention before it becomes a reality in your life through your own repeated mental rehearsal of a better way to think act or be you will install the neural hardware needed to physiologically prepare you for the new event in fact you'll do more than that the brain's Hardware as I use the analogy in this book refers to its physical structures its Anatomy right down to its neurons if you keep installing reinforcing and refining your neurological Hardware the end result of that repetition is a neural network in effect a new software program just like computer software this program for example a behavior an attitude or an emotional state now runs automatically now you've cultivated the brain to be ready for your new experience and frankly you have the mind in place so that you can handle the challenge when you change your mind your brain changes and when you change your brain your mind changes so when the time comes to demonstrate a vision contrary to the environmental conditions at hand it is quite possible for you to be already prepared to think and act with a conviction that is steadfast and unwavering in fact the more you formulate an image of your behavior in a future event the easier it will be for you to execute a new way of being so can you believe in a future you cannot yet see your experience with your senses but have thought about enough times in your mind that your brain is actually changed to look like the experiences happen ahead of the physical event in your external environment if so then your brain is no longer a record of the past but has become a map to the Future now that you know you can change your brain by thinking differently is it possible to change your body to look like it too has had an experience ahead of the actual intended circumstances is your mind that powerful stay tuned chapter 3 overcoming your body you do not think in a vacuum every time you have a thought there is a biochemical reaction in the brain you make a chemical and as you'll learn the brain then releases specific chemical signals to the body where they act as messengers of the thought when the body gets these chemical messages from the brain it complies instantly by initiating a matching set of reactions directly in alignment with what the brain is thinking then the body immediately sends a confirming message back up to the brain that it's now feeling exactly the way the brain is thinking to understand this process how you typically think equal to your body and how you form a new mind you first need to appreciate the role that your brain and its chemistry plays in your life in the last few decades we've discovered that the brain and the rest of the body interact by a powerful electrochemical signals there is an extensive chemical Factory between our ears that orchestrates a myriad of bodily functions but relax this is going to be brain chemistry 101 and a few terms are all that you need to know all cells have receptor sites on their exterior surface that receive information from outside their boundaries when there is a match in chemistry frequency and electrical charge between a receptor site and an incoming signal from the outside the cell gets turned on to perform certain tasks refer figure 3A cell activities neurotransmitters neuropeptides and hormones are the cause and effect chemicals for brain activity and bodily functioning these three different types of chemicals called ligands the word liguere means to bind in Latin connect to interact with or influence the cell in a matter of milliseconds neurotransmitters are chemical Messengers that primarily send signals between nerve cells allowing the brain and nervous system to communicate there are different types of neurotransmitters and each is responsible for a particular activity some excite the brain others slow it down while still others make us sleepy or awake they can tell a neuron to unhook from its current connection or make it stick better to its present connection they can even change the message as it's been sent to a neuron rewriting it so that a different message is delivered to all of the connected nerve cells neuropeptides the second type of ligand make up the majority of these Messengers most are manufactured in a structure of the brain called the hypothalamus recent studies show that our immune system also makes them these chemicals are passed through the pituitary gland which then releases a chemical message to the body with specific instructions as neuropeptides make their way through the bloodstream they attach to the cells of various tissues primarily glands and then turn on the third type of ligand hormones which further influence us to feel certain ways neuropeptides and hormones are the chemicals responsible for our feelings for our purposes think of neurotransmitters as chemical Messengers primarily from the brain and mind neuropeptides as chemical signalers that serve as a bridge between the brain and the body to make us feel the way we think and hormones as the chemicals related to feelings primarily in the body refer figure 3B overview of the role of legans in the brain and body for example when you have a sexual fantasy all three of these factors are called to action first as you start to think a few thoughts your brain whips up some neurotransmitters that turn on a network of neurons which creates pictures in your mind these chemicals then stimulate the release of specific neuropeptides into your bloodstream once they reach your sexual glands those peptides bind to the cells of those tissues they turn on your hormonal system and Presto things start happening you've made your fantasy thoughts so real in your mind that your body starts to get prepared for an actual sexual experience ahead of the event that's how powerfully mind and body are related but the same means if you start to think about confronting your teenager over the new dent in the car your neurotransmitters would start the thought process in your brain to produce a specific level of mind your neuropeptides were chemically signal your body in a specific way and you would begin to feel a bit riled up as the peptides find their way to your adrenal glands they would then be prompted to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol and now you are definitely feeling fired up chemically your body is ready for battle as you think different thoughts your brain circuits fire in corresponding sequences patterns and combinations which then produce levels of Mind equal to those thoughts once these specific networks of neurons are activated the brain produces specific chemicals with the exact signature to match those thoughts so that you can feel the way you were just thinking then when you have great thoughts or Loving Thoughts or joyous thoughts you produce chemicals that make you feel great or loving or joyful the same holds true if you have negative fearful or impatient thoughts in a matter of seconds you begin to feel negative or anxious or impatient there's a certain synchronicity that takes place Moment by moment between the brain and the body in fact as we begin to feel the way we are thinking because the brain is in constant communication with the body we begin to think the way we are feeling the brain constantly monitors the way the body is feeling based on the chemical feedback it receives it will generate more thoughts that produce chemicals corresponding to the way the body is feeling so that we first begin to feel the way we think and then to think the way we feel refer figure 3C ycle of thinking and feeling we will delve deeper into this idea throughout the book but consider that thoughts are primarily related to the mind and the Brain and feelings are connected to the body therefore as the feelings of the body align to thoughts from a particular State of Mind mind and body are now working together as one and as you'll recall when the mind and body are in unison the end product is called a state of being we could also say that the process of continuously thinking and feeling and feeling and thinking creates a state of being which produces effects on our reality a state of being means that we have become familiar with a mental emotional state a way of thinking and a way of feeling which is become an integral part of our self-identity and so we describe Who We Are by how we are thinking and thus feeling or being in the present moment I am angry I am suffering I am inspired I am insecure I am negative but years of thinking certain thoughts and then feeling the same way and then thinking equal to those feelings the hamster in the wheel creates a memorized state of being in which we can empathetically declare our I am statement as an absolute that means we're now at the point when we Define ourselves as this state of being our thoughts and feelings have merged for example we say I have always been lazy I am an anxious person I'm typically uncertain of myself I have worthiness issues I'm short-tempered and impatient I'm really not that smart and so on and those particular memorized feelings contribute to our personality traits warning when feelings become the means of thinking or if we cannot think greater than how we feel we can never change to change is to think greater than how we feel to change is to act greater than the familiar feelings of the memorized self as a practical example let's say you're driving to work this morning and you begin to think about the heated encounter you had a few days ago with a co-worker as you think the thoughts associated with that person and that particular experience your brain starts releasing chemicals that circulate throughout your body very quickly you begin to feel exactly the way you are thinking you probably become angry your body sends a message back to your brain saying yup I'm feeling really ticked off course your brain which constantly communicates with the body and monitors its internal chemical order is influenced by the sudden change in the way you're feeling as a result you begin to think differently the moment you begin to feel the way you think then you begin to think the way you feel you unconsciously reinforce the same feeling by continuing to think angry and frustrated thoughts which then makes you feel more angry and frustrated in effect your feelings are now controlling your thinking your body is now driving your mind as the cycle goes on your angry thoughts produce more chemical signals to the body which activate the adrenal chemicals associated with your angry feelings now you become enraged and aggressive you feel flushed your stomach is Twisted into a knot your head pounds and your muscles start to clench as all those heightened feelings flood the body and change its physiology this chemical cocktail fires up a set of circuits in the brain causing you to think equal to those emotions now you're telling your associate of 10 different ways in the privacy of your own mind you indignantly conjure up a Litany of past events that validate your present upset brainstorming through a letter accounting all those complaints you've always wanted to Lodge in your mind you've already forwarded it to your boss before you can even arrive at work you exit the card dazed and crazed and breath away from homicidal hello a walking talking model of an angry person and all of this started with a single thought in this moment it seems impossible to think greater than you feel and that's why it's so hard to change the result of this cyclic communication between your brain and body is that you tend to react predictably to these kinds of situations you create patterns of the same familiar thoughts and feelings you unconsciously behave in automatic ways and you are mired in these routines this is how the chemical U functions why is it so hard to change imagine that your mother loved to suffer and through long observation you unconsciously saw that this Behavior pattern enabled her to get what she wanted in life let's also say that you've had a few tough experiences in your own life which created quite a bit of suffering for you those memories still elicit an emotional reaction centered around a specific person at a particular place at a certain time in your life you've thought about the past often enough and somehow those memories are easy to recall even automatic now imagine that for more than 20 years you have practiced thinking and feeling feeling and thinking about suffering actually you no longer need to think about the past event to create the feeling you can't seem to think or act any other way than how you always feel you've memorized suffering by your current thoughts and feelings those related to that incident as well as other events in your life your thoughts about yourself and your life tend to be colored by feelings of victimization and self-pity repeating the same thoughts and feelings you've courted for more than 20 years has conditioned your body to remember the feeling of suffering without much conscious thought this seems so natural and normal now it's who you are and anytime you try to change anything about yourself it's like the road turns back on you you're right back to your old self what most people don't know is that when they think about a highly charged emotional experience they make the brain fire in the exact sequences and patterns as before they are firing and wiring their brains to the Past by reinforcing those circuits into ever more hard-wired Networks they also duplicate the same chemicals in the brain and body in varying degrees as if they were experiencing the event again in that moment those chemicals begin to train the body to further memorize that emotion both the chemical results of thinking and feeling feeling and thinking as well as the neurons firing and wiring together condition the mind and the body into a finite set of automatic programs we are capable of reliving a past event over and over perhaps thousands of times in one lifetime it's this unconscious repetition that trains the body to remember that emotional state equal to or better than the conscious mind does when the body remembers better than the conscious mind that is when the body is the mind that is called a habit psychologists tell us that by the time we're in our mid-30s our Identity or personality will be completely formed this means that for those of us over 35 we have memorized a select set of behaviors attitudes beliefs emotional reactions habits skills associative memories conditioned responses and perceptions that are now subconsciously programmed within us those programs are running us because the body has become the mind this means that we will think the same thoughts feel the same feelings react in identical ways behave in the same manner believe the same dogmas and perceive reality the same ways about 95 of Who We Are by midlife is a series of subconscious programs that have become automatic driving a car brushing our teeth overeating when we're stressed worrying about our future judging our friends complaining about our lives blaming our parents not believing in ourselves and insisting on being chronically unhappy just to name a few since the body becomes the subconscious mind it's easy to see that in situations when the body becomes the mind the conscious mind no longer has much to do with our Behavior the instant we have a thought feeling or reaction the body runs on automatic Pilot We Go unconscious take for example a mother driving a minivan to drop her kids off at school how is she able to navigate traffic break up arguments drink her coffee shift gears and help her son blow his nose and all at once much like a computer program these actions have become automatic functions that can run very fluidly and easily mum's body is skillfully doing everything because it has memorized how to do all these Deeds through much repetition she no longer has any conscious thought about how she does them they are habitual think about that five percent of the mind is conscious struggling against 95 percent that is running subconscious automatic programs we've memorized a set of behaviors so well that we have become an automatic habitual Body Mind in fact when the body has memorized a thought action or feeling to the extent that the body is the mind when the mind and body are one we are in a state of being the memory of ourselves and if 95 of Who We Are by age 35 is a set of involuntary programs memorize behaviors and habitual emotional reactions it follows that 95 of our day we are unconscious we only appear to be awake yikes so a person may consciously want to be happy healthy and free with the experience of Hosting 20 years of suffering and the repeated cycling of those chemicals of pain and pity have subconsciously conditioned the body to be in a habitual State we live by habit when we are no longer aware of what we're thinking doing or feeling we become unconscious the greatest habit we must break is the habit of being ourselves example when the body is running the show here are some practical illustrations of the body being in a habitual state have you ever been unable to consciously remember a phone number try as you may you can't even recall three digits out of the string of numbers required to make the call and yet you can pick up the phone and watch as your fingers dial the number your conscious thinking brain can't remember the numbers but you've practiced this action so many times with your fingers that your body now knows and remembers better than your brain that example was for those of us who grew up before speed dial or cell phones came along perhaps you've had the same experience with typing your PIN into an ATM or entering a password online similarly I can recall times when I worked out at a gym and had a locker with a combination lock I was so tired after the workout that I couldn't remember the combination I stare at the dial trying to recall the sequence of three numbers and they wouldn't surface however when I started to twirl the dial the combination would come back to me almost as if by Magic again this happens because we practice something so many times that our bodies knew better than our conscious Minds the body subconsciously has become the mind remember that 95 percent of Who We Are by age 35 sits in the same subconscious memory system in which the body automatically runs a program set of behaviors and emotional reactions in other words the body is running the show in truth the body is the servant of the Mind it follows that if the body has become the mind the servant has become the master and the former Master the conscious mind has gone to sleep the Mind might think it's still in charge but the body is influencing decisions equal to its memorized emotions now let's say that the Mind wants to get back in control what do you think the body is going to say where have you been go back to sleep I've got it together here you don't have the will the persistence or the awareness to do what I've been doing all this time while you are unconsciously following my orders I even modified my receptor sites over the years in order to serve you better you thought you were running things while I've been influencing you all along and urging you to make all your decisions equal to what feels right and familiar and when the five percent that is conscious is going against 95 percent that is running subconscious automatic programs the 95 percent is so reflexive that it only takes one stray thought or a single stimulus from the environment to turn on the automatic program again then we're back to the same old same old thinking the same thoughts performing the same actions but expecting something different to happen in our lives when we try to regain control this is when the body signals the brain to begin talking us out of our conscious goals our internal chatter comes up with a battery of reasons why we should not attempt to do anything out of the ordinary not break out of the habituated state of being that we're used to it will pick up all of our weaknesses which it knows and fosters and hurl them at us one by one we create worst case scenarios in our minds so that we don't have to rise above those familiar feelings because when we try to break the internal chemical order we have made so second nature the body goes into chaos it's internal badgering feels nearly irresistible and plenty of times we succumb the subconscious mind only knows what you have programmed it to do have you ever been typing along on your laptop and all of a sudden your computer starts running automatic programs that you have no control over when you try to use the conscious mind to stop the automatic subconscious program stored in your body it's like yelling at a computer that's gone Rogue with several programs running while windows are popping up and showing more than you can handle hey stop that computer isn't even going to register that it's going to keep doing what it does until there is some sort of intervention till you get into its operating system and change some settings in this book you will learn how to get into the subconscious and reprogram it with a new set of strategies in effect you have to unlearn or unwire your old thinking and feeling patterns and then relearn or rewire your brain with new patterns of thinking and feeling based on who you want to be instead when you condition the body with a new mind the two can no longer work in opposition but must be in harmony this is the point of change self-creation let's use a real life situation to illustrate what happens when we decide to break from some memorized emotional state and change our minds I think we can all relate to one common state of being guilt so I'm going to use that to illustrate in Practical terms how this cycle of thinking and feeling works against us then we'll Identify some of the efforts the brain body system is going to make to remain in control and preserve that negative state of being imagine that you frequently feel guilty about one thing or another something goes wrong in a relationship a simple miscommunication someone unreasonably misplacing his or her anger on you or whatever you wind up taking the blame and feeling bad picture yourself as one of those people who repeatedly say or think it was my fault after 20 years of doing this to yourself you feel guilty and think guilty thoughts automatically you have created an environment of guilt for yourself other factors have contributed to this but for now let's stay with this notion on how you're thinking and feeling have created your state of being and your environment every time you think a guilty thought you've signaled your body to produce the specific chemicals that make up the feeling of guilt you've done this so often that your cells are swimming in a sea of guilt chemicals the receptor sites on your cells adapt so that they can better take in and process this particular chemical expression that of guilt the enormous amount of guilt bathing the cells begins to feel normal to them and eventually what the body perceives as normal starts to be interpreted as pleasurable it's like living for years near an airport you get so used to the noise that you no longer hear it consciously unless one jet flies lower than usual in the Roar of its engines is so much louder that it gets your attention the same thing happens to yourselves as a result they literally become desensitized to the chemical feelings of guilt they will require a stronger more powerful emotion from you a higher threshold of stimuli to turn on the next time and when that stronger hit of guilt chemicals gets the body's attention your cells perk up at that stimulation much like that first cup of java feels to a coffee drinker and when each cell divides at the end of its life and makes a daughter cell the receptor sites on the outside of the new cell will require a higher threshold of guilt to turn them on now the body Demands a stronger emotional Rush of feeling bad in order to feel alive you become addicted to guilt by your own doing when anything goes wrong or is awry in your life you automatically assume that you're the guilty party but that seems normal to you now you don't even have to think about feeling guilty you just are that way not only is your mind not conscious of how you express your guilty state by way of the things you say and do but your body wants to feel it's a custom level of guilt because that's what you have trained it to do you have become unconsciously guilty most of the time your body has become the mind of guilt only when say a friend points out that you needn't have apologized to the store clerk for giving you the wrong change do you realize how pervasive this aspect of your personality has become let's say that this triggers one of those moments of Enlightenment an epiphany and you think she's right why do I apologize all the time why do I take responsibility for everyone else's missteps after you reflect on your history of constantly pleading guilty you say to yourself today I'm going to stop blaming myself making excuses for other people's bad behavior I'm going to change because of your decision you're no longer going to think the same thoughts that produce the same feelings and vice versa and if you falter you've made a deal with yourself that you're going to stop and remember your intention two hours go by and you feel really good about yourself you think wow this is actually working unfortunately your body's cells aren't feeling so good over the years you've trained them to demand more molecules of emotion guilt in this case in order to fulfill their chemical needs you had trained your body to live as a memorized chemical continuity but now you're interrupting that denying its chemical needs and going contrary to its subconscious programs the body becomes addicted to guilt or any emotion in the same way that it would get addicted to drugs at first you only need a little of the emotion drug in order to feel it then your body becomes desensitized and your cells require more and more of it just to feel the same again trying to change your emotional pattern is like going through drug withdrawal once your cells are no longer getting the usual signals from the brain about feeling guilty they begin to express concern before the body and the mind were working together to produce this state of being called guilt now you are no longer thinking and feeling feeling and thinking in the same way your intention is to produce more positive thoughts but the body is still all revved up to produce feelings of guilt based on guilty thoughts think of this as a kind of Highly specialized assembly line your brain has programmed the body to expect one part that will fit into this larger assembly all of a sudden you've centered another part that doesn't fit into the space where the old guilty part once did an alarm goes off and the whole operation comes to a standstill your cells are always spying on what is happening in the brain and the mind your body is the best mind reader ever so they all stop what they're doing look up towards the brain and think what are you doing up there you insisted on being guilty and we loyally followed your commands for years we subconsciously memorized a program of guilt from your repetitive thoughts and feelings we changed our receptor size to reflect your mind modified our chemistry so that you could automatically feel guilty we have maintained your internal chemical order independent of any external circumstances in your life we are so used to the same chemical order that your new state of being feels uncomfortable unfamiliar we want the familiar the predictable and what feels natural all of a sudden you're gonna change we can't have that so the cells huddle up and say let's send a protest message to the brain but we have to be sneaky because we don't want her to think she's actually responsible for these thoughts we don't want her to know they came from us so now the cells send a message marked urgent right up the spinal cord to the surface of the thinking brain I call that the fast track because the message goes straight up the central nervous system in a matter of seconds at the same time this is happening the chemistry of the body the chemistry of guilt is now at a lower level because you're not thinking and feeling the same way but this drop does not go unnoticed a thermostat in the brain called the hypothalamus also sends out an alarm that says chemical values are going down we've got to make more so the hypothalamus signals the thinking brain to revert back to its old habitual ways this is the slow track because it takes longer for the chemicals to circulate through the bloodstream the body wants you to return to your memorized chemical self so it influences you to think in familiar routine ways these Fast Track and slow track cellular responses occur simultaneously and the next thing you know you start to hear the chatter of thoughts like these in your head oh you're too tired today and start tomorrow tomorrow is about a day really you can do it later and my favorite now this doesn't feel right if that doesn't work a second sneak attack occurs the body mind wants to be in control again so it starts picking on you a bit it's okay for you to feel a little bit bad right now it's your father's fault don't you feel bad about what he did to you in the past in fact let's take a look at your past so we can remember why you are this way look at you you're a mess a loser you're pathetic and weak your life is a failure you'll never change you're too much like your mother why don't you just quit as you continue this awfulizing the body is tempting the mind to return to the state it has unconsciously memorized on a rational level that's absurd but obviously on some level it feels good to feel bad the moment we listen to those sub-vocalizations believe those thoughts and respond by feeling the same familiar feelings mental Amnesia sets in and we forget our original aim the funny thing is that we actually begin to believe what the body is telling the brain to say to us we immerse ourselves back into that automatic program and return to being our old self most of us can relate to this little scenario is no different from any habit we've tried to break whether we're addicted to cigarettes chocolate alcohol shopping gambling or biting our nails the moment we cease the habitual action chaos rages between the body and the mind the thoughts we Embrace are intimately identified with the feelings of what it would be like to experience the Indulgence when we give in to the Cravings we will keep producing the same outcomes in our lives because the mind and body are in opposition our thoughts and feelings are working against each other and if the body has become the mind we will always fall prey to how we feel as long as we use familiar feelings as a barometer as feedback on our efforts to change we'll always talk ourselves out of greatness we will never be able to think greater than our internal environment we will never be able to see a world of possible outcomes other than the negative ones from our past our thoughts and feelings have that much power over us the next step in Breaking the Habit of being ourselves is understanding how important it is to get the mind and body working together and to break the chemical continuity of our guilty ashamed angry depressed state of being resisting the body's demand to restore that old unhealthy order isn't easy but help is only a thought away you will learn in the following pages that for True change to occur it is essential to unmemorize an emotion that has become part of your personality and then to recondition the body to a new mind it's easy to feel hopeless when we realize that the chemistry of our emotions has habituated our bodies to a state of being that is too often a product of anger jealousy resentment sadness and so forth after all I've said that these programs these propensities are buried in our subconscious the good news is that we can become consciously aware of these tendencies I'll deal more with this concept in the pages ahead for now I hope you can accept that to change your personality you need to change your state of being which is intimately connected to feelings that you've memorized just as negative emotions can become embedded in the operating system of your subconscious so can positive ones at one time or another we've all consciously declared I want to be happy but until the body is instructed otherwise it's going to continue expressing those programs of guilt or sadness or anxiety the conscious intellectual mind May reason that it wants Joy but the body has been programmed to feel otherwise for years we stand on a soapbox proclaiming change to be in our best interests but on a visceral level we can't seem to bring up the feeling of true happiness that's because mind and body aren't working together the conscious mind wants one thing but the body wants another if you've been devoted to feeling negatively for years those feelings have created an automatic state of being we could say that you are subconsciously unhappy right your body is being conditioned to be negative knows how to be unhappy better than your conscious mind knows otherwise you don't even have to think about how to be negative you just know that it's how you are how can your conscious mind control this attitude in the subconscious Body Mind some maintain that positive thinking is the answer I want to be clear that by itself positive thinking never works many so-called positive thinkers have felt negative most of their lives and now they're trying to think positively they are in a polarized state in which they are trying to think one way in order to override how they feel inside of them they consciously think one way but they are being the opposite when the mind and body are in opposition change will never happen by definition emotions are the end products of past experiences in life when you're in the midst of an experience the brain receives Vital Information from the external environment through five different sensory pathways sight smell sound taste and touch as that cumulative sensory data reaches the brain and is processed networks of neurons arrange themselves into specific patterns reflecting the external event the moment those nerve cells string into place the brain releases chemicals those chemicals are called an emotion or a Feeling in this book I use the words feeling and emotion interchangeably because they are close enough for our understanding when those emotions begin to chemically flood your body you detect a change in your internal order your thinking and feeling differently than you were moments before naturally when you notice this change in your internal State you'll pay attention to whatever it was in your external environment that caused the change when you can identify whatever it was in your outer world that caused your internal change that event in and of itself is called a memory neurologically and chemically you encode that environmental information into your brain and your body thus you can remember experiences better because you recall how they felt at the time they happened feelings and emotions are a chemical record of past experiences for example your boss arrives for your performance review you noticed immediately that he looks red-faced even irritated as he starts speaking in a loud voice you smell garlic on his breath he accuses you of undermining him in front of other employees and says he has passed you over for a promotion in this moment you feel jittery weak in the knees and Queasy and your heart is racing you feel fearful betrayed and angry all of the cumulative sensory information everything you're smelling seeing feeling and hearing is changing your internal state you associate that external experience with a change in how you're feeling internally and at Brands you emotionally you go home and repeatedly review this experience in your mind every time you do you remind yourself of the accusing intimidating look on your employer's face how he yelled at you what he said and even how he smelled then you once again feel fearful and angry you produce the same chemistry in your brain and body as if the performance review is still happening because your body believes it is experiencing the same event again and again you are conditioning it to live in the past let's reason this a bit further think of your body as the unconscious mind or as an objective servant that takes orders from your consciousness it is so objective that it doesn't know the difference between the emotions that are created from experiences in your external world and those you fabricate in your internal World by thought alone to the body they are the same what if this cycle of thinking and feeling that you were betrayed continues for years on end if you keep dwelling on that experience with your boss or reliving those familiar feelings day in and day out you continually signal your body with chemical feelings that it Associates with the past this chemical continuity fools the body into believing that it is still re-experiencing the past so the body keeps reliving the same emotional experience when your memorized thoughts and feelings consistently force your body to be in the past we could say that the body becomes the memory of the past if those memorized feelings of betrayal have been driving your thoughts for years then your body has been living in the past 24 hours a day seven days a week 52 weeks a year in time your body is anchored in the past you know that when you repeatedly recreate the same emotions until you cannot think any greater than how you feel your feelings are now the means of your thinking and since your feelings are a record of previous experiences you're thinking in the past and by Quantum law you create more of the past bottom line most of us live in the past and resist living in a new future why the body is so habituated to memorizing the chemical records of our past experiences but it grows attached to these emotions in a very real sense we become addicted to those familiar feelings so when we want to look to the Future and dream of new Vistas and bold landscapes in our not too distant reality the body whose currency is feelings resists the sudden change in Direction accomplishing this about face is a great Labor of personal change so many people struggle to create a new Destiny but find themselves unable to overcome the past memory of who they feel they are Even If We crave unknown adventures and dream of new possibilities ahead in the future we seem to be compelled to revisit the past feelings and emotions are not bad they are the end products of experience but if we always relive the same ones we can't Embrace any new experiences have you known people who always seem to talk about the good old days what they're really saying is nothing new is happening in my life to stimulate my feelings therefore I'll have to reaffirm myself from some glorious moments in the past if we believe that our thoughts have something to do with our destiny then as creators most of us are only going in circles so far in discussing how the quantum model of reality relates to change I spent most of the time talking about our emotions the brain and the body we've seen that overcoming the recurring thoughts and feelings that the body memorizes is a must if we are to break the habit of being ourselves another major aspect of breaking this habit has to do with our physical health certainly in the hierarchy of things that most of us want to change about our lives health issues rank way up there and when it comes to what we'd like to change about our health there is one set of dogmas that we're going to have to examine and dispel the myth that genes create disease and the fallacy of genetic determinism we will also look at a scientific understanding that may be new to you called epigenetics the control of genes from outside the cell or more precisely the study of changes in gene function that occur without a change in DNA sequence just as we can create new experiences for ourselves like my daughter did we can also gain control of a very important part of our Lives what we commonly think of as our genetic destiny as we go along you will see that knowing something about your genes and what signals them to be expressed or not is crucial to understanding why you have to change from the inside out scientific dictum used to declare that our genes were responsible for most diseases and a couple of decades ago the scientific Community casually mentioned that they had been in error and announced that the environment by activating or deactivating particular genes is the most causative factor in producing disease we now know that less than five percent of all diseases today stem from single Gene disorders such as Tay Sachs and Huntington's Courier whereas around 95 percent of all illnesses are related to lifestyle choices chronic stress and toxic factors in the environment yet factors in our outer environment are only part of the picture what explains why two people can be exposed to the same toxic environmental conditions and one gets sick or diseased while the other doesn't how is it that when someone has multiple personality disorder one personality can demonstrate a severe allergy to something while another personality in that same body can be immune to the same antigen or stimulus why when most health care providers are exposed to pathogens on a daily basis aren't doctors and others in the medical community continually ill there are also numerous case studies documenting identical twins who share the same genes who have had very different experiences when it came to their Health and Longevity for example if both shared a family history of a particular disease that illness often manifested in one twin but not the other same genes different outcomes in all of these cases could the person who remains healthy have such a coherent balanced vital internal order the but even when his or her body is exposed to the same hazardous environmental conditions the external world does nothing to his or her gene expression and so doesn't signal the genes to create disease it's true that the external environment influences our internal environment however by changing our internal state of being we can overcome the effects of a stressful or toxic environment so that certain genes do not become activated we may not be able to control all the conditions in our external environment but certainly we have a choice in controlling our inner environment to explain how we can control our inner environment I need to talk a bit about the nature of genes which are expressed in the body when cells manufacture specific proteins the building blocks of life the body is a protein-producing factory muscle cells make Muscle proteins that are called actin and myosin skin cells make skin proteins called collagen and elastin and stomach cells make stomach proteins called enzymes most of the cells of the body make proteins and genes are the way we make them we express particular genes via certain cells making particular proteins the way most organisms adapt to conditions in their environment is through gradual genetic modifications for example when an organism is faced with tough environmental conditions such as temperature extremes dangerous predators fast prey destructive winds strong currents and so on it is forced to overcome the adverse aspects of its World in order to survive as organisms record those experiences in the wiring in their brains and the emotions in their bodies they will change over time if lions are chasing prey that can outrun them then by actively engaging the same experience with Generations they will develop longer legs sharper teeth or bigger hearts all of these changes are the result of genes making proteins that modify the body to adapt to its environment let's stay with the animal world to look at how this works in terms of adaptation or evolution a hypothetical group of mammals migrated to an environment in which the temperature ranged from -15 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit the genes in those mammals over many generations of living under extremely cold conditions would eventually be triggered to produce a new protein which would produce thicker and greater amounts of fur air inferior proteins numerous insect species have evolved the ability to camouflage themselves some that live in trees or other foliage have adapted to look like Twigs or Thorns enabling them to escape the notice of birds the chameleon is probably the best known of the camouflages and it owes its color-changing abilities to the genetic expression of proteins in these processes genes encode the conditions of the external world that's Evolution right our genes are as changeable as our brains the latest research in genetics shows that different genes are activated at different times they are always in flux and being influenced there are experience dependent genes that are activated where there is growth healing or learning and there are behavioral State dependent genes that are influenced during stress emotional arousal or dreaming one of the most active areas of research today is epigenetics literally above genetics the study of how the environment controls gene activity epigenetics flies in the face of the conventional genetic model which stated that DNA controls all of life and that all gene expression takes place inside the cell this old understanding doomed us to a predictable future in which our destiny fell prey to our genetic inheritance and all cellular life was predetermined like an automatic ghost in the machine in fact epigenetic changes in DNA expression can be passed on to Future Generations but how do they get passed on if the DNA code stays the same while a scientific explanation is beyond the scope of this book we can use an analogy let's compare a genetic sequence to a blueprint imagine that you start with a blueprint for a house and scan it into your computer then using Photoshop you could alter its appearance on the screen changing a number of characteristics without changing the blueprint for example you could change the expression of variables such as color size scale Dimensions materials and so on thousands of people representing environmental variables could produce different images but they would all be expressions of the same blueprint epigenetics empowers us to think about change more profoundly the epigenetic Paradigm Shift gives us free will to activate our own gene activity and modify our genetic destiny for the sake of example and simplification when I talk about activating a gene by expressing it in different ways I will refer to turning it on in reality genes don't turn on or off they are activated by chemical signals and they express themselves in specific Ways by making various proteins just by changing our thoughts feelings emotional reactions and behaviors for example making healthier lifestyle choices with regard to nutrition and stress level we send ourselves new signals and they express new proteins without changing the genetic blueprint so while the DNA code stays the same once a cell is activated in a new way by new information the cell can create thousands of variations of the same gene we can signal our genes to rewrite our future just as certain areas of the brain are hardwired whereas other areas are more plastic able to be changed by learning and experience I believe genes are the same way there are certain parts of our genetics that are more easily turned on while other genetic sequences are somewhat more hardwired which means they are harder to activate because they have been around longer in our genetic history at least that's what science says right now how do we keep certain genes turned on and others turned off if we stay in the same toxic state of anger the same Melancholy state of depression the same Vigilant state of anxiety or the same low state of unworthiness those redundant chemical signals we have talked about keep pushing the same genetic buttons which ultimately cause the activation of certain diseases stressful emotions as you will learn actually pull the genetic trigger dysregulating the cells dysregulation refers to impairment of a physiological regulatory mechanism and creating disease when we think and feel in the same ways for most of our lives and memorize familiar states of being our internal chemical State keeps activating the same genes meaning that we keep making the same proteins but the body cannot adapt to these repeated demands and it begins to break down if we do that for 10 or 20 years the genes begin to wear out and they start making cheaper proteins what do I mean think about what happens when we age our skin sags because it's collagen and elastin come to be made of Cheaper proteins what happens to our muscles they atrophy well no surprises there actin and myosin too are proteins is an analogy when a metal part for your car is manufactured it is produced in a die or a mold each time that mold or Dye is used it is subjected to certain forces including heat and friction which begin to wear it down as you can guess car parts are built to very close tolerances referring to the permitted variations in a workpieces dimensions over time that dye or mold wears to the point that it produces parts that won't fit properly to other parts this is similar to what happens to the body as a result of stress or a habit of being repeatedly and consistently angry fearful sad and so on the DNA that the peptide uses to produce proteins will start to malfunction what is the genetic impact if we stay in routine familiar conditions creating the same emotional reactions by doing the same things thinking the same thoughts seeing the same people and memorizing Our Lives into a predictable pattern we are now headed for an undesirable genetic destiny we are locked into the same patterns as Generations before us which confronted the same or similar situations and if we are only reliving our emotional memories of the past then we are headed for a predictable end our bodies will begin to create the same genetic conditions the previous generations faced thus the body will stay the same as long as we are feeling the same way day in and day out and if science tells us that it is the environment that signals the genes involved in evolution what if our environment never changes what if we've memorized the same conditions in our outer world and we're living by the same thoughts behaviors and feelings what if everything in our lives stays the same you just learned that the external environment chemically signals genes through the emotions of an experience so if the experiences in your life aren't changing the chemical signals going to your genes aren't changing no new information from the outer world is reaching your cells the quantum model asserts that we can signal the body emotionally and begin to alter a chain of genetic events without first having any actual physical experience that correlates to that emotion we don't need to win the race the lottery or the promotion before we experience the emotions of those events remember we can create an emotion by thought alone we can experience Joy or gratitude ahead of the environment to such an extent that the body begins to believe that it is already in that event as a result we can signal our genes to make new proteins to change our bodies to be ahead of the present environment here's an example of how we can signal new genes in new ways when we begin to emotionally Embrace an event in the future before it is made manifest in Japan a study was conducted to find out what effect one State of Mind might have on disease the subjects were two groups of patients with type 2 diabetes all of whom were dependent on insulin keep in mind that most diabetics medicate with insulin to remove sugar glucose out of the bloodstream and deposit it in the cells where it can be used for energy at the time of this study the people involved were being treated with insulin pills or injections to help control their elevated blood sugar levels each group had their fasting blood sugar level tested to establish a Baseline next one set of subjects watched a comedy show for an hour while the control group watched a boring lecture the test subjects then ate a delicious meal after which their blood glucose levels were checked again there was a significant discrepancy between the subjects who enjoyed the comedy show and those who viewed the uneventful lecture on average those who watched the lecture had their blood sugar levels rise 123 milligrams per deciliter high enough that they would need to take insulin to keep themselves out of the danger zone in the joyful group who had laughed for one hour thereafter dinner blood sugar values Rose about half that amount slightly outside of normal range initially the researchers who performed the experiment thought that the light-hearted subjects had lowered their sugar levels by Contracting their abdominal and diaphragm muscles when they laughed they reasoned that when a muscle contracts it uses energy and circulating energy is glucose but the research went further they examined the gene sequences of the jovial individuals and discovered that these diabetics had altered 23 different Gene Expressions just by laughing at the comedy show they'd seen their elevated state of mind apparently triggered their brains to send new signals to their cells which turned on those genetic variations that allowed their bodies to naturally begin to regulate the genes responsible for processing blood sugar our emotions can turn on some Gene sequences and turn off others this study clearly showed just by signaling the body with a new emotion The Laughing subjects altered their internal chemistry to change the expression of their genes sometimes a change in genetic expression can be sudden and dramatic have you ever heard of people after being subjected to extremely stressful conditions whose hair turned gray overnight that's an example of genes at work they experience such a strong emotional reaction that their altered body chemistry both turned on the gene for the expression of gray hair and shut off the genetic expression for their normal hair color within a matter of hours they signaled new genes in new ways by emotionally and thus chemically altering their internal environment as I discussed in the last chapter when you've experienced an event numerous times by mentally rehearsing every aspect of it in your mind you feel what that event would feel like before it unfolds then as you change the circuitry in your brain by thinking in new ways and you embrace the emotions of an event ahead of its physical manifestation it's possible that you can change your body genetically can you pick a potential from the quantum field every potential already exists by the way an emotionally Embrace a future event before the actual experience can you do this so many times that you emotionally condition the body to a new mind thus signaling new genes in new ways if you can it is highly possible that you will begin to shape and mold your brain and body into a new expression so that they physically change before the desired potential reality is made manifest we may believe that we can change our brains by thinking but what affects if any will this have on the body through the simple process of mentally rehearsing an activity we can derive great benefits without lifting a finger here's an example of how that literally happens as described in an article published in the 1992 Journal of neurophysiology subjects were divided into three groups the first group was asked to exercise by Contracting and relaxing one figure of their left hand for five one-hour training sessions per week for four weeks a second group mentally rehearsed the same exercises on the same timetable without physically activating any muscle in their finger people in a control group exercise neither their fingers nor their minds at the end of the study the scientists compared the findings the first set of participants had their finger strength tested against the control group a no-brainer right the group who did the actual exercises exhibited 30 greater finger strength than those in the control group we all know that if we repeatedly put a load on a muscle we will increase the strength of that muscle what we probably wouldn't anticipate is that the group who mentally rehearsed the exercises demonstrated a 22 percent increase in muscle strength the mind then produced a quantifiable physical effect on the body in other words the body changed without having an actual physical experience just as researchers have worked with test subjects who mentally rehearsed finger exercises and others who imagined playing piano scales experiments have compared practical experience versus mental rehearsal for individuals doing bicep curls the results were the same whether the participants physically performed bicep curls or mentally rehearse those activities they all increase their bicep strength the mental exercises though demonstrated physiological changes without ever having the physical experience when the body has changed physically biologically to look like an experience has happened just by thought or mental efforts alone then from a Quantum perspective this offers evidence that the event has already transpired in our reality if the brain upgrades its Hardware to look like the experience physically occurred and the body has changed genetically or biologically it's showing evidence that it's happened and both are different without our doing anything in three dimensions then the event has occurred both in the quantum World Of Consciousness and in the world of physical reality when you have thoughtfully rehearsed a future reality until your brain has physically changed to look like it has had the experience and when you have emotionally embraced a new intention so many times that your body is altered to reflect that it has had the experience hang on because this is the moment the event finds you and it will arrive in a way that you least expect which leaves no doubt that it came from your relationship to a greater consciousness so that it inspires you to do it again and again and again chapter 4. overcoming time so much has been written about the importance of staying present I could cite statistics on everything from distracted driving to divorce to support the notion that people have a really hard time staying in the present moment let me add to that body of knowledge by expressing this concept in Quantum terms in the present all potentials exist simultaneously in the field when we stay present we are in the moment we can move beyond space and time and we can make any one of those potentials a reality when we are mired in the past however none of those new potentials exist you've learned that when human beings try to change we react much like addicts because we become addicted to our familiar chemical states of being you know that when you have an addiction it's almost as if your body has a mind of its own as past events trigger the same chemical responses the original incident your body thinks it's re-experiencing the same event once conditioned to be the subconscious mind through this process the body has taken over for the mind it has become the mind and therefore can in a sense think I just touched upon how the body becomes the Mind by the cycle of thinking and feeling feeling and thinking but there's another way in which this occurs based on past memories here is how it works you have an experience which has an emotional charge then you have a thought about that particular past event the thought becomes a memory which then reflexively reproduces the emotion of the experience if you keep thinking about that memory repeatedly the thought the memory and the emotion merges one and you memorize the emotion now living in the past becomes less of a conscious process and more of a subconscious one refer figure 4A memorizing emotions the subconscious comprises most physical and mental processes that take place below our conscious awareness much of its activity is involved in keeping the body functioning scientists refer to this regulatory system as the autonomic nervous system we don't have to consciously think about breathing keeping our hearts beating raising and lowering our body temperature or any other of the millions of processes that help the body maintain order and heal itself I think that you can see how potentially dangerous it is for us to seed control over our daily emotional responses to our memories and environment to this automatic system this subconscious set of routine responses has been variously compared to an autopilot system and to programs running in the background of a computer what those analogies are trying to convey is the sense that there is something below the surface of our awareness that is in control of how we behave is an example to reinforce these points imagine that in your youth you came home one day and discovered your favorite pet lying dead on the floor every sensory impression of that experience would be as the expression goes burned into your brain that experience would scar you with traumatic experiences like that it's easy to understand how those emotions can become unconscious memorized responses to reminders from your environment that you lost a loved one you know by now that when you think of that experience you create the same emotions in your brain and body as if the event was occurring all over again all it takes is one stray thought or one reaction to some event in the external world to activate that program and you start feeling the emotion of your past grief the trigger could be seeing a dog that looks like yours or visiting a place you once took him as a puppy regardless of the sensory input it activates an emotion those emotional triggers can be obvious or subtle but they all affect you at a subconscious level and before you can process what has happened you're back in that emotional chemical state of grief anger and sadness once that happens the body runs the mind you can use your conscious mind to try to get out of that emotional state but invariably you feel like you're out of control think of Pavlov and his dogs in the 1890s the young Russian scientists strapped a few dogs to a table rang a bell and then fed the canines a hearty meal over time after repeatedly exposing the dogs to the same stimulus he simply rang the bell and the dogs automatically salivated in anticipation this is called a conditioned response and the process occurs automatically why because the body begins to respond autonomically think of your autonomic nervous system the Cascade of chemical reactions that is triggered within moments changes the body physiologically and it happens quite subconsciously with little or no conscious effort this is one of the reasons why it's so hard to change the conscious mind may be in the present but the subconscious body mind is living in the past if we begin to expect a predictable future event to occur in reference to a memory of the past we are just like those canines one experience of a particular person or thing at a specific time and place from the past automatically or autonomically causes us to respond physiologically once we break the emotional addictions rooted in our past there will no longer be any pull to cause us to return to the same automatic programs of the old self it begins to make sense that although we think or believe we are living in the present there is a good possibility that our bodies are in the past unfortunately for most of us because the brain always works by repetition and Association it doesn't take a major trauma to produce the effects of the body becoming the mind the most minor triggers can produce emotional responses that feel as though they are beyond our control for instance you're driving to work and you stop at your usual coffee shop which is all out of your favorite hazelnut coffee disappointed you grumbled to yourself by a major Enterprise like this one can't keep in stock such a very popular flavor at work you're irritated to see another car in your preferred parking spot stepping into an empty elevator you're exasperated to discover that someone ahead of you pushed all the buttons when you finally walk into the office someone comments what's up you seem kinda down you tell your story and the person sympathizes you sum it up I'm in a bad mood I'll get over it the thing is you don't a mood is a chemical state of being generally short term that is an expression of a prolonged emotional reaction something in your environment in this case the failure of your Barista to meet your needs followed by a few other minor annoyances sets off an emotional response the chemicals of that emotion don't get used up instantly so their effect lingers for a while I call that the refractory period the time after their initial release until the effect diminishes the longer the refractory period obviously the longer you experience those feelings when the chemical refractory period of an emotional reaction lasts for hours to days that's a mood what happens when that recently triggered mood lingers you've been in a bit of a funk since that day and now you look around the room during a staff meeting and all you can think of is that this person's tire is hideous and the nasally tone of your boss is worse than Nails on a chalkboard at this point you're not just in a mood you're reflecting a temperament a tendency towards the habitual expression of an emotion through certain behaviors a temperament is an emotional reaction with a refractory period that lasts from weeks to months eventually if you keep the refractory period of an emotion going for months and years that tendency turns into a personality trait at that point others will describe you as bitter or resentful or angry or judgmental our personality traits then are frequently based on our past emotions most of the time personality how we think act and feel is anchored in the past so to change our personalities we have to change the emotions that we memorize we have to move out of the past refer figure 4 B create different states of being there is yet another way that we get stuck and keep ourselves from changing we may also train the body to be the mind in order to live in a predictable future based on the memory of a known past and thus we miss the precious now moment again as you know we can condition the body to live in the future of course that can be a means to change our lives for the better when we make a conscious choice to focus on a desired new experience as my daughter did when she created her summer job in Italy as her story demonstrates if we focus on an intended future event and then plan how we will prepare or behave there will be a moment when we are so clear and focused on that possible future that the thoughts we are thinking will begin to become the experience itself once the thought becomes the experience its end product is an emotion when we begin to experience the emotion of that event ahead of its possible occurrence the body as the unconscious mind begins to respond as though the event is actually unfolding on the other hand what happens if we begin to anticipate some unwanted future experience or even obsess about a worst case scenario based on a memory from our past we are still programming the body to experience a future event before it occurs now the body is no longer in the moment or in the past it's living in the future but a future based on some construct of the past when this occurs the body does not know the difference between the actual event transpiring in reality and what we are entertaining mentally because we are priming it to be Juiced up for whatever we think might be coming the body begins to get ready and in a very real way the body is in the event here's an example of living in the future based on the past imagine that you've been asked to give a lecture in front of 350 people that you fear being on stage based on memories of previous public speaking disasters from your distant past whenever you think about the coming talk you envision yourself standing there stammering and losing your train of thought your body begins to respond as if the future event is unfolding now your shoulders tents your heart races and you perspire heavily as you anticipate that dreaded day you cause your body to already be living in that stressful reality caught up in and obsessed by the possibility of failing again you are so intent on that expected reality that you can't concentrate on anything else your mind and body are polarized moving from the past to the Future and Back Again as a result you deny yourself the novelty of a wonderful future outcome as a more Universal example of living in a predictable future let's say that for many years you wake up each new day only to slide automatically into the same old set of unconscious actions the body is so used to anticipating performing your daily behaviors that it goes almost mechanically from one task to the next as feeding the dog brushing your teeth putting on your clothes making tea taking the garbage out getting the mail you get the idea although you may wake up with a thought to do something different somehow you find yourself doing those same old same old things as if you are just along for the ride after you've memorized these types of actions for a decade or two your body has been trained to continuously look forward to doing these things in fact it's been subconsciously programmed to live in the future and thus allow you to go to sleep behind the wheel we could even say that you're no longer even driving the car now your body cannot exist in the present moment it is primed to control you by running a host of unconscious programs while you sit back and allow it to head towards some humdrum known destiny overcoming your nearly automatic habits are no longer anticipating the future requires the ability to live greater than time more on that to come here's another example that demonstrates how familiar emotions create a corresponding future you are invited to a co-worker's Fourth of July barbecue everyone from your department is expected to attend you don't like the host he's always number one and he doesn't mind letting everyone know it every time he's hosted an event before you've wound up having a miserable time with this guy pushing every single one of your buttons as you're driving to his place now all you can think about is how at the last party he interrupted everyone's meal so he could present his wife with a new BMW you're certain as you told your partner the whole week leading up to this cookout that this is going to be one miserable day and it becomes exactly that you run a stop sign and get a ticket one of your co-workers spills a beer on your pants and shirt the hamburger that you requested be done medium well comes to you barely Beyond Raw given your attitude your state of being going in how could you have expected things to turn out any other way you woke up anticipating that this day was slated to be a horror show and it turned out that way you alternated between obsessing about an unwanted future anticipating what would come next and living in the past comparing stimuli you were receiving to what you received previously so you created more of the same if you start keeping track of your thoughts and write them down you'll find that most of the time you're either thinking ahead or looking back so here's another of those big questions if you know that by staying present and severing or pruning your connections with the past you can have access to all the possible outcomes in the quantum field why would you choose to live in the past and keep creating the same future for yourself why wouldn't you do what is already in your power to do to mentally alter the physical makeup of your brain and body so that you can be changed ahead of any actual desired experience why wouldn't you opt for living in the future of your choice now ahead of time instead of obsessing about some traumatic or stressful event that you fear is in your future based on your experience of the past obsess about a new desired experience that you haven't yet embraced emotionally allow yourself to live in that potential new future now to the extent that your body begins to accept or believe that you're experiencing the elevated motions of that new future outcome in the present moment and you're going to learn how to do this remember when I said that my daughter needed to live her present life like she'd already had the experiences of the great summer in Italy by doing that she was broadcasting into the quantum field that the event had already physically occurred the greatest people in the world have demonstrated this thousands of so-called ordinary people have done it and you can as well you have all of the neurological Machinery to transcend time to make this a skill what some might call Miracles I describe as cases of individuals working toward changing their state of being so that their bodies and minds are no longer merely a record of their past but become active Partners taking steps to a new and better future at this point you understand that the main obstacle to Breaking the Habit of being yourself is think and feeling equal to your environment your body and time obviously then learning to think and feel be greater than the big three is your first goal as you prepare for the meditation process that you will learn in this book I'd bet that at some point in your life perhaps even frequently you've already been able to think greater than your environment your body and time these moments when you transcend The Big Three are what some people call being in the flow there are a number of ways to describe what happens when our surroundings our bodies and our sense of times passage disappear and we are lost to the world in speaking to groups across the globe I've asked audience members to describe creative moments when they were so consumed by what they were doing or was so relaxed and at ease that they seem to enter an altered state of consciousness these experiences generally fall into two categories the first of these are the so-called Peak experiences what we think of as Transcendent moments when we attain a state of being that we associate with monks and Mystics compared to those highly spiritual events the others may be more mundane ordinary and prosaic but that doesn't mean that they are any less important these ordinary moments happen to me many times although not as often as I would like while in the process of writing this book when I first sit down to write I often have many other things on my mind my busy travel schedule my patients my kids my staff how hungry sleepy happy I am on good days when the words seem to flow out of me it's as though my hands and my keyboard are an extension of my mind I'm not consciously aware of my fingers moving or my back resting against the chair the trees swaying and the breeze outside my office disappear that bit of stiffness in my neck no longer nudges for my attention and I'm completely focused on and absorbed by the words on my computer screen at some point I realized that an hour or more has gone by in what seemed like an instant this kind of thing has likely happened to you perhaps while you were driving watching a movie enjoying a dinner with good company reading knitting practicing piano or simply sitting in a quiet spot in nature I don't know about you but I often feel amazingly refreshed After experiencing one of those moments when my environment my body and time seemed to disappear I don't always happen when I'm writing but after completing my second book I find that they occur with greater frequency with practice I've been able to take control so that these experiences of being in the flow are not as accidental or serendipitous as they were at first overcoming The Big Three to facilitate the occurrence of such moments is essential for losing your mind and creating a new one chapter five survival verse creation in the last chapter I purposely use the example of my writing to illustrate my point about transcending The Big Three because when you write you are creating words whether on the physical page or in a digital document the same creativity is operating when you paint play a musical instrument turn wood on a lathe or engage in any other activity that has the effect of breaking the bonds that the big three hold over you why is it so hard to live in these creative moments if we focus on an unwanted past or a dreaded future that means we lived mostly in stress in survival mode whether we're obsessing over our health the survival of the body paying our mortgage the survival need for a shelter from our external environment or having enough time to do what we need to do to survive most of us are much more familiar with the addictive state of mind we'll call survival than we are with living as creators in my first book I went into great detail about the difference between living in survival both living in creation so for a fuller explanation of this difference you may want to read chapters 8 through 11 and evolve your brain in the pages that follow I'm going to briefly outline the difference between the two think of life in survival mode by picturing an animal such as a deer contentedly grazing in the forest let's assume that it is in homeostasis in perfect balance but if it perceives some danger in the outside world say a predator is fight or flight nervous system gets turned on this sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system which maintains the body's automatic functions such as digestion temperature regulation blood sugar levels and the like to prepare the animal to deal with the emergency it has detected the body is chemically altered the sympathetic nervous system automatically activates the adrenal glands to mobilize enormous amounts of energy if the deer is chased by a pack of coyotes it utilizes that energy to flee if it is Nimble enough to get away unharmed then perhaps after 15 to 20 minutes when the threat is no longer present the animal resumes grazing its internal balance restored we humans have the same system in place when we perceive danger our sympathetic nervous system is turned on energy is mobilized and so on in much the same way as the deer during early human history this wonderfully adaptive response helped us to confront threats from predators and other risks to our survival those animal qualities served us well for our Evolution as a species unfortunately there are several differences between Homo sapiens and our planetary cohabitants in the animal kingdom that don't serve us well every time we knock the body out of chemical balance that's called stress the stress response is how the body innately responds when it's knocked out of balance and what it does to return back to equilibrium whether we see a lion in the Serengeti bump into our not so friendly EX at the grocery store or freak out in freeway traffic because we're late for a meeting we turn on the stress response because we are reacting to our external environment unlike animals we have the ability to turn on the fight or flight response by thought alone and that thought doesn't have to be about anything in our present circumstances we can turn on that response in anticipation of some future event even more disadvantageous we can produce the same stress response by revisiting an unhappy memory that is stitched into the fabric of our gray matter so either we anticipate stress response producing experiences or we recollect them our bodies are either existing in the future or in the past to our detriment we turn short-term stressful situations into long-term ones on the other hand as far as we can tell animals don't have the ability or should I say disability to turn on the stress response so frequently and so easily that they can't turn it off that deer back to happily grazing isn't consumed with thoughts about what just happened a few minutes ago let alone the time a coyote chased it two months ago this kind of repetitive stress is harmful to us because no organism was designed with a mechanism to deal with negative effects on the body when the stress response is turned on with great frequency and for long duration in other words no creature can avoid the consequences of living in long-term emergency situations when we turn on the stress response and can't turn it off we're headed for some type of breakdown in the body let's say you keep turning on the fight or flight system due to some threatening circumstance in your life real or imagined as your racing heart pumps enormous amounts of blood to your extremities and your body is knocked out of homeostasis you're becoming prepared by the nervous system to run or fight but let's face it you can't flee to the Bahamas nor can you throttle your fellow employee that would be primitive so as a consequence you condition your heart to race all the time and you may be headed for high blood pressure arrhythmias and so on and what's in store when you keep mobilizing all that energy for some emergency situation if you're putting the bulk of your energy towards some issue in your external environment there will be little left for your body's internal environment your immune system which monitors your inner world can't keep up with the lack of energy for growth and repair therefore you get sick whether it be from a cold cancer or rheumatoid arthritis all are immune mediated conditions when you think about it the real difference between animals and ourselves is that although we both experience stress humans re-experience and pre-experience traumatic situations what is so harmful about having our stress response triggered by pressures from the past present and future when we get knocked out of chemical balance so often eventually that out of balance state becomes the norm as a result we are destined to live our genetic Destiny and in most cases that means suffering from some illness the reason is clear the domino effect from the Cascade of hormones and other chemicals we release in response to stress can dysregulate some of our genes and that may create disease in other words repeated stress pushes the genetic buttons that cause us to begin to head towards our genetic destiny so what was once very adaptive behavior and a beneficial biochemical response fight or flight has become a highly maladaptive and harmful set of circumstances for instance when a lion was chasing your ancestors the stress response was doing what it was designed to do protect them from their outer environment that's adaptive but if for days on end you fret about your promotion over focus on your presentation to upper management or worry about your mother being in the hospital these situations create the same chemicals as though you were being chased by a lion now that's maladaptive you're staying too long in emergency mode fight or flight is using up the energy your internal environment needs your body is stealing this vital energy from your immune Digestive and endocrine systems among others and directing it to the muscles that you'd use to fight a predator or run from danger but in your situation that's only working against you from a psychological perspective overproduction of stress hormones creates the human emotions of anger fear envy and hatred incites feelings of aggression frustration anxiety and insecurity and causes us to experience pain suffering sadness hopelessness and depression most people spend the majority of their time preoccupied with negative thoughts and feelings is it likely that most of the things that are happening in our present circumstances are negative obviously not negativity runs so high because we are either living in anticipation of stress or re-experiencing it through a memory so most of our thoughts and feelings are driven by those strong hormones of stress and survival when our stress response is triggered we focus on three things and they are of highest importance one the body it must be taken care of two the environment where can I go to escape this threat three time how much of it do I have to use in order to evade this threat living in survival is the reason why we human beings are so dominated by The Big Three the stress response and the hormones that it triggers Force us to focus on and obsess about the body the environment and time as a result we begin to Define our self within the confines of the Physical Realm we become less spiritual less conscious less aware and less mindful put another way we grow to be materialists that is habitually consumed by thoughts of things in the external environment our identity becomes wrapped up in our bodies we are absorbed by the outer world because that is what those chemicals Force us to pay attention to things we own people we know places we have to go problems we Face hairstyles we dislike our body parts our weight our looks in comparison to others how much time we have or don't have you get the picture and we remember who we are based primarily on what we know and the things we do living in survival causes us to focus on the .0001 percent instead of the 99.999999 percent of reality most of us embrace the traditional notion of ourselves as a somebody but who we are has nothing to do with the big three who we are is consciousness connected to a Quantum field of intelligence when we become this somebody this materialistic physical self living in survival we forget who we truly are we become disconnected and feel separate from the universal field of intelligence the more we live impacted by stress hormones the more their chemical Rush becomes our identity if we fancy ourselves solely physical beings we limit ourselves to perceiving only without physical senses the more we use our sensors to Define our reality the more we allow our senses to determine our reality we slip into that Newtonian mode of thinking which locks us into trying to predict the future based on some past experience if you recall the Newtonian model of reality is all about predicting an outcome now we are trying to control our reality instead of surrendering to something greater all we're doing is trying to survive if the quantum model of reality ultimately defines everything as energy why do we experience ourselves more as physical beings than as beings of energy we could say that the survival orientated emotions emotions are energy and motion our lower frequency or lower energy emotions they vibrate at a slower wavelength and therefore ground us into being physical we become denser heavier and more corporeal because that energy causes us to vibrate more slowly the body quite literally becomes composed of more mass and less energy more matter less mind refer to figure 5A survival emotions versus elevated emotions so it might make sense that if we inhibit our more primitive survival emotions and begin to break our addiction to them our energy will be higher in frequency and less likely to root us to the body in a way we can liberate energy from the body when the body has become the Mind into the quantum field as our emotions become more elevated we will naturally Ascend to a higher level of consciousness closer to source and feel more connected to Universal intelligence when the stress response is turned on whether in response to a real or conjured up threat a powerful Cascade of chemicals rushes into our system and gives us a strong jolt of energy momentarily waking up our bodies and certain parts of the brain to put all of our attention on The Big Three this is very addictive to us because it's like drinking a Triple Espresso we get turned on for a few moments in time we unconsciously become addicted to our problems our unfavorable circumstances our unhealthy relationships we keep these situations in our lives to feed our addiction to survival orientated emotions so that we can remember who we think we are as somebody we just love the rush of energy we get from our troubles moreover we also associate this emotional high with every person thing place and experience in our outer world that is known and familiar we become addicted to these elements in our environment as well we embrace our environment as our identity if you agree that we can turn on the stress response just by thinking then it stands to reason that we can get the same Rush of addictive stress chemicals as if we were being chased by a predator as a consequence we become addicted to our very thoughts they begin to give us an unconscious adrenaline high and we find it very hard to think differently to think greater than how we feel or to think outside of the proverbial box becomes just too uncomfortable the moment we begin to deny ourselves the substance we're addicted to in this case The Familiar thoughts and feelings associated with our emotional addiction there are Cravings withdrawal pains and a host of inner sub-vocalizations urging us not to change and so we remain chained to our familiar reality thus our thoughts and feelings which are predominantly self-limiting hook us back to all the problems conditions stresses and bad choices that produce the fight or flight effect in the first place we keep all these negative stimuli around us so that we can reduce the stress response because that addiction reinforces the idea of who we are only serving to reaffirm our own personal identity simply put most of us are addicted to the problems and conditions of Our Lives that produce stress no matter whether we're in a bad job or a bad relationship we hold our troubles close to us because they help reinforce who we are as a somebody they feed our addictions to lower frequency emotions most harmful of all we live in fear that if those problems were taken away we wouldn't know what to think how to feel and we wouldn't get to experience the rush of energy that causes us to remember who we are for most of us God forbid we not be a somebody how awful would it be to be a nobody to not have an identity as you can see what we identify as ourself exists within the context of our Collective emotional association with our thoughts and feelings our problems and all those elements of The Big Three is it any wonder that people find it so hard to go within and leave this self-produced reality behind how would we know who we are if it weren't for our environment our bodies in time that's why we are so dependent upon the external world we limit ourselves to using our senses to Define and cultivate emotions so that we can receive the physiological feedback that reaffirms our own personal addictions we do all this to feel human when our survival response is way out of proportion to what is happening in our outer world that excess of stress response hormones causes us to become fixated within the parameters of self so we become overly selfish we obsess about our bodies or a particular aspect of our environment and we live enslaved to time we're trapped in this particular reality and we feel powerless to change to break the habit of being ourselves these excessive survival emotions tip the scales of a healthy ego the self we consciously refer to when we say I when the ego is in check its natural job is to make sure we are protected and safe in the outer world as an example the ego makes sure we stay far away from a bonfire or a few steps away from the Cliff's Edge when the ego is balanced its natural instinct is self-preservation there's a healthy balance between its needs and those of others its attention to itself and to others when we're in survival mode in an emergency situation it makes sense that the self should take priority but when chronic long-term stress chemicals push the body and brain out of balance the ego becomes over focused on survival and puts the self first to the exclusion of anything else we're selfish all the time thus we become self-indulgent self-centered and self-important full of self-pity and self-loathing when the ego is under constant stress it's got a me first priority under those circumstances the ego is primarily concerned with predicting every outcome of every situation because it is overly focused on the outer world and feels completely separated from the 99.99999 of reality in fact the more we Define reality through our senses the more this reality becomes our law and material reality as law is the very opposite of the quantum law whatever we place our Awareness on is our reality consequently if our attention is focused on the body and our Physical Realm and if we become locked into particular line of linear time then this becomes our reality to forget about the people we know the problems we have the things we own and the places we go to lose track of time to go beyond the body and its need to feed its habituations to give up the high from emotionally familiar experiences that reaffirm the identity to detach from trying to predict a future condition or review a past memory to lay down the selfish ego that is only concerned with its needs to think or dream greater than how we feel and crave the unknown this is the beginning of freedom from our present lives let's go one step further I explained earlier that we can turn on the stress response by thought alone I also mentioned the scientific fact that the chemicals associated with stress pull the genetic trigger by creating a very harsh environment outside of ourselves and thus creating disease so by pure reason our thoughts can actually make us sick if our thoughts can make us sick might they also make us well let's say that a person has had some experiences within a short time frame that caused him to feel resentful as a result of his unconscious reactions to those occurrences he held on to his bitterness chemicals corresponding to this emotion flooded his cells over weeks his emotion turned into a mood which continued for months and changed into a temperament which was sustained for years and formed a strong personality trait called resentment in fact he memorized this emotion so well that the body knew resentment better than the conscious mind because he remained in a cycle of thinking and feeling feeling and thinking that way for years based on what you learned about emotions as being the chemical signature of an experience wouldn't you agree that as long as this person clings to resentment his body will react as though it is still experiencing the long ago events that first caused him to embrace this emotion moreover if the body's reaction to those chemicals of resentment disrupted the functions of certain genes and this sustained reaction kept signaling the same genes to respond in the same way might the body eventually develop a physical condition such as cancer if so is it possible that once he unmemorized the emotion of continuous resentment by no longer thinking the thoughts that created the feelings of resentment and vice versa his body as the unconscious mind would be free from that emotional enslavement in time Woody stop signaling the genes the same way and finally let's say he began thinking and feeling in new ways to such a degree that he invented a new ideal for himself related to a new personality as he moved into a new state of being Mighty signal his genes in beneficial ways and conditioned the body into an elevated emotional state ahead of the actual experience of good health could he do this to the extent that the body would begin to change by thought alone what I just described in simple terms happened to a student in one of my seminars who overcame cancer Bell 57 was a roofing contractor a lesion had appeared on his face and a dermatologist diagnosed malignant melanoma although Bill underwent surgery radiation and chemotherapy the cancer recurred in his neck and his side and finally his calf each time he underwent a similar course of treatment naturally Bill experienced why me moments he understood that his excessive sun exposure was a risk factor but he knew others who had been similarly exposed and didn't develop cancer he fixated on that unfairness after treatment for the same cancer on his Left Flank Bill pondered whether his own thoughts emotions and behaviors had contributed to his condition in a moment of self-reflection he realized that for more than 30 years he had been stuck in resentment thinking and feeling that he always had to give up what he wanted for the sake of others for example he had wanted to become a professional musician After High School but when a injury left his father unable to work Bill had to join his family's roofing company he habitually re-experienced his feelings upon being told he had to give up his aspirations to the extent that his body still lived in that past this also set up a pattern of Dreams Deferred whenever something didn't go his way such as the housing market collapsing just after he expanded the business he always found someone or something to blame Billard so memorized the emotional response pattern of bitterness that it dominated his personality and became an unconscious program his state of being has signaled the same genes for so long that they had created the disease that now Afflicted him no longer could bill allow his environment to control him the people places and influences in his life had always dictated how he thought felt and behaved he sensed that to break the bonds with his old self and reinvent a new one he would have to leave his familiar environment so for two weeks in Baja Mexico he retreated from his familiar life the first five mornings Bill contemplated how he thought when he felt resentment he became a Quantum Observer of his thoughts and feelings he became conscious of his unconscious mind next he paid attention to his previously unconscious behaviors and actions he decided to Halt any thought Behavior or emotion that was unloving towards himself after the first week of this vigilance Bill felt free because he had liberated his body from its emotional addiction to resentment by inhibiting The Familiar thoughts and feelings that had driven his behaviors in a sense he impeded the signals of the survival emotions from conditioning his body to the same mind his body then released energy which was available to use to design a new Destiny for himself for the next week Bill became so uplifted that he thought about the new self he wanted to be and how he would respond to the people places and influences that previously controlled him for instance he decided that whenever his wife and kids expressed their wish or need he would respond with kindness and generosity instead of making them feel like a burden in short he focused on how he wanted to think act and feel when presented with situations that had challenged him in the past he was creating a new personality a new mind and a new state of being Bill began to put into practice what he'd placed in his mind while sitting on that Baja Beach shortly after his return he noticed that the tumor on his calf had fallen off in a week or so when he went to his doctor he was cancer free he has remained that way by firing his brain in new ways Bill changed biologically and chemically from his previous self as a result he signaled new genes in new ways and those cancer cells couldn't coexist with his new mind new internal chemistry and new self once trapped by the emotions of the past he now lives in a new future at the end of the previous chapter I briefly described what it is like to live in creative mode those are the moments of being fully engaged and in flow so that the environment the body and time all seem immaterial and don't invade our conscious thoughts living in creation is living as a nobody ever notice that when you're truly in the midst of creating anything you forget about yourself you disassociate from your known world you are no longer a somebody who Associates your identity with certain things you own particular people you know certain tasks you do and different places you lived at specific times you could say that when you are in a creative state you forget about the habit of being you you lay down your selfish ego and become selfless you have moved beyond space and time and become pure immaterial awareness once you're no longer connected to a body no longer focused on people places or things in your external environment and Beyond linear time you're entering the door of the quantum field you cannot enter as a somebody you must do so as a nobody you have to leave the self-centered ego at the door and enter the realm of Consciousness as pure consciousness and as I said in chapter one in order to change your body to Foster Better Health something in your external circumstances a new job or relationship perhaps or your timeline toward a possible future reality you have to become nobody no thing no time thus here is the grand hint to change any aspect of your life body environment or time you must transcend it you must leave behind the big three in order to control the big three when we are in creation we are activating the brain's creative Center the frontal lobe part of the forebrain and comprising the prefrontal cortex this is the newest most evolved part of our human nervous system and the most adaptable part of the brain tends to be the creative Center of Who We Are and the brain's CEO or decision-making apparatus the frontal lobe is the seat of our attention Focus concentration awareness observation and consciousness it is where we speculate on possibilities demonstrate firm intention make conscious decisions control impulsive and emotional behaviors and learn new things for the sake of our understanding the frontal lobe performs three essential functions these will all come into play as you learn and practice the how-to meditative steps for breaking the habit of being yourself in part three of this book number one metacognition becoming self-aware to inhibit unwanted states of mind and body if you want to create a new self you first have to stop being the old self in the process of creation the first function of the frontal lobe is to become self-aware because we have metacognitive capabilities the power to observe our own thoughts and self we can decide how we no longer want to be to think act and feel this ability to self-reflect allows us to scrutinize ourselves and then make a plan to modify our behaviors so that we can produce more enlightened or desirable outcomes your attention is where you place your energy to use attention to empower your life you will have to examine what you've already created this is where you begin to know thyself you look at your beliefs about life yourself and others you are what you are you are where you are and you are who you are because of what you believe about yourself your beliefs are the thoughts you keep consciously or unconsciously accepting as the law in your life whether you are aware of them or not they still affect your reality so if you truly want a new personal reality start observing all aspects of your present personality since they primarily operate below the level of conscious awareness much like automatic software programs you'll have to go within and look at these elements you probably haven't been aware of before given that your personality comprises how you think act and feel you must pay attention to your unconscious thoughts reflexive behaviors an automatic emotional reactions put them under observation to determine if they are true and whether you want to continue to endorse them with your energy to become familiar with your unconscious states of mind and body takes an act of will intention and heightened awareness if you become more aware you will become more attentive if you become more attentive you will become more conscious if you grow to be more conscious you will notice more if you notice more you will have a greater ability to observe self and others both inner and outer elements of your reality ultimately The More You observe the more you awaken from the state of the unconscious mind into conscious awareness the purpose of becoming self-aware is so that you no longer allow any thought action or emotion you don't want to experience to pass by your awareness thus in time your ability to consciously inhibit those states of being will stop the same firing and wiring of the old Euro networks that are related to the old personality and as a result of no longer recreating the same mind on a daily basis you prune away the hardware that is related to the old self in addition by interrupting the feelings that are associated with those thoughts you are no longer signaling genes in the same way you are stopping the body from reaffirming itself as the same mind this process is whereby you quite simply begin to lose your mind so as you develop the skill of becoming familiar with all aspects of your old self you will ultimately become more conscious your goal here is to unlearn who you used to be so that you can free up energy to create a new life a new personality you can't create a new personal reality as the same personality you have to become someone else metacognition is your first task in moving from your past to creating a new future two creating a new mind to think about new ways of being the second function of the frontal lobe is to create a new mind to break out of the neural networks produced by the ways that your brain has been firing for years on end and influence it to rewire in new ways when we set aside time and private space to think about a new way of being that is when the frontal lobe engages in creation we can imagine fresh possibilities and ask ourselves important questions about what we really want how and who we want to be and what we want to change about ourselves and our circumstances because the frontal lobe has connections to all other parts of the brain it is able to scan across all the neural circuits to seamlessly piece together stored bits of information in the form of networks of knowledge and experience then it picks and chooses among those neural circuits combining them in a variety of ways to create a new mind in doing that it creates a model or internal representation that we see as a picture of our intended result it makes sense then that the more knowledge we have the greater the variety of neural networks we've wired and the more capable we are of dreaming of more complex and detailed models to initiate this step of creation it's always good to move into a state of Wonder contemplation possibility reflection or speculation by asking yourself some important questions open-ended inquiries are the most provocative approach to producing a fluent stream of consciousness what would it be like to what is a better way to be what if I was this person living in this reality who in history do I admire and what were his her admirable traits the answers that come will naturally form a new mind because as you sincerely respond to them your brain will begin to work in new ways by beginning to mentally rehearse new ways of being you start rewiring yourself neurologically to a new mind and the more you can remind yourself the more you'll change your brain and your life whether you want to be wealthy or a better parent or a great wizard for that matter it might not be a bad idea to fill your brain with knowledge on your chosen subject so that you have more building blocks to make a new model of reality you want to embrace every time you acquire information you're adding new synaptic connections that will serve as the raw materials to break the pattern of your brain firing the same way the more you learn the more ammo you have to unseat the old personality refer figure 5B the frontal lobe as creator three making thought more real than anything else during the creative process the frontal lobe's third vital role is to make thought more real than anything else stay tuned for how to in part three when we're in a creative state the frontal lobe becomes highly activated and lowers the volume on the circuits in the rest of the brain so that little else is being processed but a single-minded thought since the frontal lobe is the executive that mediates the rest of the brain it can monitor all of the geography so it lowers the volume on the century centers responsible for feeling the body motor sensors responsible for moving the body Association centers where our identity exists and the circuits that process time in order to quiet them all down with very little neural activity we could say that there is no mind to process sensory input remember that the mind is the brain in action no mind to activate movement within the environment and no mind to associate activities with time then we have nobody we have become no thing we are no time we are in that moment pure consciousness with the noise shut off in those areas of the brain the state of creativity is one in which there is no ego or self as we have known it when you are in creation mode the frontal lobe is in control it becomes so engaged that your thoughts become your reality and your experience whatever you're thinking about in those moments is all there is for the frontal lobe to process as it lowers the volume from other areas of the brain it shuts out distractions the inner world of thought becomes as real as the outer world of reality your thoughts are captured neurologically and branded into your brain's architecture as an experience if you effectively execute the creative process this experience produces an emotion as you know and you begin to feel like that event is actually happening to you in the present you are one with the thoughts and feelings associated with your desired reality you are now in a new state of being you could say that in that moment you are now rewriting the subconscious programs by reconditioning the body to a new mind refer figure 5c the frontal lobe as the volume control in the Act of Creation when we become that nobody or no thing in no time we no longer create our customary chemical signature because we are not the same identity we don't think and feel in the same way those neural networks our survival thinking had wired are turned off and the personality that was addicted to continually signaling the body to produce stress hormones is gone in short The Emotional Self that lived in survival mode is no longer functioning the moment that happens our former identity the state of being bound by survival-based thinking and feeling is no more since we are no longer being the same being emotional energy that had been bound to the body is now free to move so where does the energy go that once fed that Emotional Self has to go somewhere so it moves to a new place that energy in the form of emotion moves up the body from the hormonal centers to the heart area on its way up to the brain and all of a sudden we feel great joyful expanded we fall in love with our creation that's when we experience our natural state of being once we stop energizing that emotional self powered by the stress response we have moved from being selfish to selfless without old energy transmuted into a higher frequency emotion the body is liberated from its emotional bondage we are lifted above the Horizon to Behold a whole new landscape no longer perceiving reality through the lenses of those past survival emotions we see new possibilities we are now Quantum observers of a new destiny and that release heals the body and frees the mind let's revisit the chart of energy and frequencies from the survival emotions to the elevated emotions see figure 5A when anger or shame or lust are released from the body they will be transmuted into Joy love or gratitude on this journey to broadcasting higher energy the body which we condition to be the Mind becomes less of the mind and becomes more coherent energy the matter that makes up the body expresses a higher vibratory rate and we feel more connected to something greater in short we are demonstrating more of our divine nature when you're living in survival you're trying to control or Force an outcome that's what the ego does when you're living in the elevated emotion of creation you feel so lifted that you would never try to analyze how or when a chosen Destiny will arrive you trust that it will happen because you have already experienced it in mind and body in thought and feeling you know that it will because you feel connected to something greater you are in a state of gratitude because you feel like it's already happened you may not know all the specifics of your desired outcome when it will take place where and under what circumstances but you trust in a future that you can't see or otherwise perceive with your senses to you it has already occurred in no space no time no place from which all things materials bring forth you are in a state of knowingness you can relax into the present and no longer live in survival to anticipate or analyze when where or how the event will occur would only cause you to return to your old identity you are in such joy that it's impossible to try and figure it out that's only what human beings do when they are living in limited states of survival as you linger in this creative state where you are no longer your identity the nerve cells that once fired together to form that old self are no longer wiring together that's when the old personality is being biologically dismantled those feelings connected to that identity which conditioned the body to the same mind and no longer signaling the same genes in the same ways and the more you overcome your ego the more the physical evidence of the old personality is changed the old you is gone refer figure 5D the two states of the mind and body by completing part one of this book you have intentionally acquired a knowledge base that will help you create your new self now let's build on that base we've covered a lot of possibilities the concept that your subjective mind can affect your objective world your potential to change your brain and body by becoming greater than your environment your body and time and the prospect that you can move out of the reactive stressful mode of living in survival as though only the outer world is real and enter the inner world of the creator it is my hope that you can now view these possibilities as possible realities if you can then I invite you to continue on to part two where you will gain specific information about the role of your brain and the meditative process that will prepare you to create real and Lasting changes in your life part two your brain and meditation chapter six three brains thinking to doing to being it's often useful to compare one's brain to a computer and it's true that yours already has all the hardware you'll need to change yourself and your life but do you know how best to use that Hardware to install new software picture two computers with identical hardware and software one in the hands of a tech novice and the other being used by an experienced computer operator the beginner knows little about what kinds of things a computer can do let alone how to do them the intention behind part 2 simply put is to provide pertinent information about the brain so that when you as its operator begin to use the meditative process to change your life you will know what needs to happen in your brain and in your meditations and why if you know how to drive a car then you've already experienced probably the most Elementary example of thinking doing and being at first you had to think about every action you took and about all those rules of the road later you became fairly proficient at driving as long as you paid conscious attention to what you were doing eventually you were being a driver your conscious mind slid over and became a passenger and ever since your subconscious mind has probably occupied the driver's seat most of the time driving has become automatic and second nature to you much of what you learn is via this progression from thinking to doing to being and three areas of the brain facilitate this mode of learning but did you know that you can go directly from thinking to being and it's likely that you have already experienced this in your life through the meditation that is at the heart of this book this chapter will give you a Prelude you can go from thinking about the ideal self you want to become straight to being that new self that is the key to Quantum creating change all begins with thinking we can immediately form new neurological connections and circuits that reflect our new thoughts and nothing gets the brain more excited than when it's learning assimilating knowledge and experiences these are aphrodisiacs for the brain it fondles every signal it receives from our five sensors every second it processes billions of bits of data it analyzes examines identifies extrapolates classifies and files information which it can retrieve for us on an as needed basis truly the human brain is this planet's ultimate supercomputer as you recall the basis for understanding how you can actually change your mind is the concept of hard wiring how neurons engage in long-term habitual relationships I've talked about hebian learning which states nerve cells that fire together wire together neuroscientists used to think that after childhood brain structure was relatively immutable but new findings reveal that many aspects of the brain and nervous system can change structurally and functionally including learning memory and recovery from brain damage throughout adulthood but the opposite is also true nerve cells are no longer fire together no longer wire together if you don't use it you lose it you can even focus conscious thought to disconnect or unwire unwanted connections thus it is possible to let go of some of the stuff you've been holding on to that colors the way you think act and feel the rewired brain will no longer fire according to the circuitry of the past the gift of neuroplasticity the brain's ability to rewire and create new circuits at any age as a result of input from the environment or our conscious intentions is that we can create a new level of mind there's a sort of neurological outward the old in with the new a process that neuroscientists call pruning and sprouting is what I call unlearning and learning and it creates the opportunity for us to rise above our current limitations and to be greater than our conditioning or circumstances in creating a new habit of being ourselves we are essentially taking conscious control over what has become an unconscious process of being instead of the mind working toward one goal I'm not going to be an angry person and the body working toward another let's stay angry and keep bathing in those familiar chemicals we want to unify the mind's intent with the body's responses to do this we must create a new way of thinking doing and being given that to change our lives we first have to change our thoughts and feelings then do something change our actions or behaviors to have a new experience which in turn produces a new feeling and then we must memorize that feeling until we move into a state of being when mind and body A1 at least we've got a few things going for us along with the brain being neuroplastic we could say that we have more than one brain to work with in effect we have three of them for our purposes this chapter will limit its focus to those functions of the three brains that relate specifically to Breaking the Habit of being ourselves on a personal note I find studying what the brain and other components of the nervous system do for us is an endlessly fascinating exploration my first book evolve your brain covered this topic in more detail than would serve our purposes here there are additional resources for study on my website www.drjodispenza.com and of course many other excellent Publications and websites are available for those who want to learn more about the brain the mind and the body refer figure 6A the three brains our thinking brain is the neocortex the brain's walnut-like outer covering Humanity's newest most advanced neurological Hardware the neocortex is the seat of the conscious mind our identity and other higher brain functions the frontal lobe discussed in earlier chapters is one of four parts of the neocortex essentially the neocortex is the brain's architect or designer it allows you to learn remember reason analyze plan create speculate on possibilities invent and communicate since this area is where you log sensory data such as what you see in here the neocortex plugs you into external reality in general the neocortex processes knowledge and experience first you gather knowledge in the form of facts or semantic information philosophical or theoretical Concepts or ideas that you learn intellectually prompting the neocortex to add new synaptic connections and circuits second once you decide to personalize or apply knowledge you have acquired to demonstrate what you learned you will invariably create a new experience this causes patterns of neurons called neural networks to form in the neocortex these networks reinforce the circuitry of what you learned intellectually if the neocortex had a motto it might be knowledge is for the mind simply put knowledge is the precursor to experience your neocortex is responsible for processing ideas that you have not yet experienced which exists as a potential for you to embrace at some future time as you entertain new thoughts you begin to think about modifying your behavior so that you can do something differently when the opportunity presents itself in order to have a new outcome as you then alter your routine actions and typical behaviors something different from the norm should happen which will produce a new event for you to experience the limbic brain also known as the mammalian brain located under the neocortex is the most highly developed and specialized area of the brain in mammals other than humans dolphins and higher primates just think of the limbic brain as the chemical brain or the emotional brain when you're in the midst of that new experience and your senses send a rush of corresponding information from your external world to your neocortex its neural networks organize themselves to reflect the event thus experience enriches the brain even further than new knowledge the moment those networks of neurons fire with a pattern specific to that new experience the emotional brain manufactures and releases chemicals in the form of peptides this chemical cocktail has a specific signature that reflects the emotions you are experiencing in the moment as you now know emotions are the end products of experience a new experience creates a new emotion which signals new genes in new ways thus emotion signaled the body to record the event chemically and you begin to embody what you are learning in the process the limbic brain assists in forming long-term memories you can remember any experience better because you can recall how you felt emotionally while the event was occurring the neocortex and limbic brain together enable us to form declarative memories meaning that we can declare what we've learned or experienced see Figure 6 b 1 for more information on declarative and non-declarative memories you can see then how we are marked emotionally by highly charged experiences all people who have been married can tell you where they were and what they were doing when they or their beloved proposed perhaps they were eating a great meal on the patio of their favorite restaurant feeling the balmy breezes of that summer night and enjoying the sunset while the strains of Mozart played softly in the background when their dinner partner got down on one knee and held out that little black box the combination of everything that they were experiencing in that moment made them feel very different from their normal self the typical internal chemical balance that their identity self had memorized got knocked out of order by what they saw heard and felt in a sense they woke up from The Familiar routine environmental stimuli that typically bombard the brain and caused us to think and feel in predictable ways novel events surprise us to the point that we become more aware in the present moment if the limbic brain had a motto it might be experience is for the body if knowledge is for the mind and experiences for the body then when you apply knowledge and create a new experience you teach the body what the mind has intellectually learned knowledge without experience is merely philosophy experience without knowledge is ignorance there's a progression that has to take place you have to take knowledge and live it embrace it emotionally if you're still with me as I've been discussing how to change your life then you've learned about gaining knowledge and then taking action to have a new experience which produces a new feeling next you have to memorize that feeling and move what you've learned from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind you've already got the hardware to do that in the third brain area we'll discuss do you remember my talking about the common experience when we can't consciously remember a phone number ATM pin or lock combination but we've practiced it so often that the body knows better than the brain and our fingers automatically get the job done that may seem like a small thing but when the body knows equal to or better than the conscious mind when you can repeat an experience at will without much conscious effort then you have memorized the action Behavior attitude or emotional reaction until it has become a skill or a habit When You Reach This level of ability you have moved into a state of being in the process you've activated the third brain area that plays a major role in changing your life the cerebellum seat of the subconscious the most active part of the brain the cerebellum is located at the back of the skull think of it as the brain's microprocessor and Memory Center every neuron in the cerebellum has the potential to connect with at least two hundred thousand and up to a million other cells to process balance coordination awareness of the spatial relation of body parts an execution of controlled movements the cerebellum stores certain types of simple actions and skills along with hardwired attitudes emotional reactions repeated actions habits conditioned behaviors and unconscious reflexes and skills that we have mastered and memorized processing amazing memory storage it easily downloads various forms of learned information into program states of mind and body when you are in a state of being you begin to memorize a new neurochemical self that's when the cerebellum takes over making that new state an implicit part of your subconscious programming the cerebellum is the site of non-declarative memories meaning that you've done or practiced something so many times that it's become second nature and you don't have to think about it it's become so automatic that it's hard to declare or describe how you do it when that happens you will arrive at a point when happiness or whatever attitude Behavior skill or traits you've been focusing on and rehearsing mentally or physically will become an innately memorized program of the new self let's use a true to life example to take a practical look at how these three brains take us from thinking to doing to being first we'll see how through conscious mental rehearsal the thinking brain neocortex uses knowledge to activate new circuits in new ways to make a new mind then our thought creates an experience and via the emotional limbic brain that produces a new emotion our thinking and feeling brains condition the body to a new mind finally if we reach the point where mind and body are working as one the cerebellum enables us to memorize a new neurochemical self and our new state of being is now an innate program in our subconscious as a practical look into these ideas suppose that you recently read a few thought-provoking books about compassion including one written by the Dalai Lama a biography of Mother Teresa and an account of the work of Saint Francis of Assisi this knowledge allowed you to think outside the box reading this material would have forged new synaptic Connections in your thinking brain essentially you learned about the philosophy of compassion through other people's experiences not yours moreover you've sustained those neural connections by reviewing what you learned on a daily basis you're so enthusiastic that you are solving all of your friends Problems by offering advice and holding Court you have become the great philosopher intellectually you know your stuff as you're driving home from work your spouse calls to say that you've been invited to dinner with your mother-in-law in three days you pull off the road and already you're thinking about how you have disliked your mother-in-law intensely ever since she hurt your feelings 10 years ago soon you've got a mental laundry list you never liked her opinionated way of talking how she interrupts others how she smells even how she cooks whenever you're around her your heart races your jaw tightens and your face and body are tense you feel jittery and you just want to jump up and leave still sitting in your car you remember those books on the philosophy of compassion and you think about what you learned theoretically it occurs to you maybe if I try to apply what I read in those books I might have a new experience of my mother-in-law what did I learn that I can personalize to change the outcome of this dinner when you contemplate applying that understanding with your mother-in-law something wonderful begins to happen you decide not to react to her with your typical set of automatic programs instead you begin to think about who you no longer want to be and who you want to be instead you ask yourself how do I not want to feel and how am I not going to act when I see her your frontal lobe begins to cool off the neural circuits that are connected to the old you you're starting to unwire or prune away that old you from functioning as an identity you could say that because your brain isn't firing in the same way you're no longer creating the same mind then you review what those books said to help you plan how you want to think feel and act towards your mother-in-law you ask yourself how can I modify my behavior my actions and my reaction so my new experience leads to a new feeling so you picture yourself greeting and hugging her asking her questions about things you know she's interested in complimenting her on her new hairdo or glasses over the next few days as you mentally rehearse your new ideal of self you continue to install more neurological Hardware so you'll have the proper circuits in place in effect a new software program when you actually interact with your mother-in-law for most of us to go from thinking to doing is like inspiring snails to pick up the pace we want to stay in the intellectual philosophical realm of our reality we like to identify with the memorized recognizable feeling of our familiar self instead by surrendering old thought patterns interrupting habitual emotional reactions and foregoing knee-jerk behaviors then planning and rehearsing new ways of being you are putting yourself into the equation of that knowledge you learned and beginning to create a new mind you are reminding yourself who you want to be but there is another step that we must address here what happened as you began to observe your old personality self related to The Familiar thoughts habitual behaviors and memorized emotions that you previously connected with your mother-in-law in a way you were going into the operating system of the subconscious mind where those programs exist and where you were the Observer of those programs when you can become aware of or notice who you are being you are becoming conscious of your unconscious self as you began to psychologically project yourself into a potential situation ahead of the actual experience the impending dinner you began to rewire your neural circuitry to look as though the event being compassionate towards your mother-in-law had already taken place once those new neural networks began to fire in unison your brain created a picture Vision model or what I will call a hologram a multi-dimensional image representing the ideal self that you were focused on being the instant this happened you made what you were thinking more real than anything else your brain captured the thought as the experience and upscaled its gray matter to look as though the experience had already occurred soon it's game time and you find yourself sitting at dinner face to face with good old mum instead of knee-jerking when her typical behaviors manifest you stay conscious remember what you learned and decide to try it out rather than judging attacking or feeling animosity towards her you do something completely different for you like the books encouraged you stay in the present moment open your heart and really listen to what she's saying you no longer hold her to her past lo and behold you modify your behavior and restrain your impulsive emotional reactions thereby creating a new experience with your mother-in-law that activates the limbic brain to cook up a new blend of chemicals which generates a new emotion and all of a sudden you truly start to feel compassion for her you see her for who she is you can even see aspects of yourself in her your muscles relax you feel your heart opening and you breathe deeply and freely you had such a great feeling that day that it lingers now you're inspired and open-minded and you find that you truly love your mother-in-law as you couple your new internal feeling of Good Will and love for this person in your external reality you connect compassion with your mother-in-law you form an associative memory once you began to feel the emotion of compassion in a sense you chemically instructed your body what your mind philosophically knew and that activated and modified some of your genes now you've gone from thinking to doing your behaviors match your conscious intentions your actions are equal to your thoughts mind and body are aligned and working together you did exactly what those people did in those books so by intellectually learning compassion with your brain and mind then demonstrating this ideal in your environment through experience you embodied this elevated feeling you just conditioned your body to a new mind of compassion your mind and body were working together you embodied compassion in a sense the word has become flesh from your efforts to embody compassion you now have your neocortex and limbic brain working together you're out of the box of the familiar habitual memorized self which operates within a set of automatic programs and you're in a new thinking and feeling cycle you've experienced how compassion feels and you like it better than the covert hostility rejection and suppressed anger hold on though you are not yet ready for sainthood it's not enough to have mind and body working together one time that got you from thinking to doing but can you reproduce that feeling of compassion at will can you repeatedly embody compassion independent of conditions in your environment so that no personal situation could ever create that old state of being in you again if not you haven't yet mastered compassion my definition of Mastery is that our internal chemical state is greater than anything in our external world you are a master when you've conditioned yourself with chosen thoughts and feelings you've memorized desired emotional chemical States and nothing in your external life deters you from your aims no person no thing and no experience at any time or place should disrupt your internal chemical coherence you can think act and feel differently whenever you choose here's an example if you can Master suffering you can just as easily Master Joy you probably know someone who's mastered suffering right so you call her and ask how are you so so listen I'm gonna go out with some friends to a new art gallery and then eat at this restaurant that has really healthy desserts afterwards we're going to listen to some live music would you like to come with us no I don't feel like it but if she said what she actually meant she'd say I've memorized this emotional state and nothing in my environment no person no experience no condition no thing is going to move me from my internal chemical state of suffering it feels better to be in pain than to let go and be happy I'm enjoying my addiction for now and all these things that you want to do might distract me from my emotional dependency but guess what we can just as easily Master an internal chemical State such as Joy or compassion in the preceding example with your mother-in-law if you practiced your thoughts behaviors and feelings enough times being compassionate would become rather natural you would evolve from just thinking about it to doing something about it to being it being means that it's easy natural second nature routine and unconscious compassion and love would be as automatic and familiar to you as those self-limiting emotions you just changed so now you need to replicate this experience of thinking feeling and acting out of compassion if you do you will break the addiction of your past emotional state and neurochemically condition your body and mind to memorize the internal chemical State called compassion better than your conscious mind ultimately if you repeatedly recreate the experience of compassion at will practicing it independent of any circumstance in your life your body would become the mind of compassion you would memorize compassion so well that nothing from your outside world would move you from this state of being now all three brains are working together and you are biologically neurochemically and genetically in a state of compassion when compassion becomes unconditionally ordinary and familiar to you you have progressed from knowledge to experience to wisdom refer Figure 6 B1 memory systems of the brain wisdom is accumulated knowledge that has been gained through repeated experience and when being compassionate is as natural as suffering judging blaming or being frustrated negative or insecure now we are wise we are liberated to seize New Opportunities because somehow life seems to organize itself equal to how or who we are being refer Figure 6 C evolving your being going from thinking to doing to being is a progression that we've all experienced many times whether it was when we learned to be a driver a skier a Knitter or a person to whom speaking a second language has become second nature now let's talk about one of Evolution's great gifts to us as humans the ability to go from thinking to being without taking any physical action said another way we can create a new state of being ahead of having an actual material experience we do this all the time and it's not a case of fake it till you make it for example you have a sexual fantasy in which you inwardly experience all the thoughts feelings and actions you look forward to when your partner returns from a trip you're so present with your internal experience that your body is chemically altered and responds as if that future event is already upon you in that exact moment you have moved into a new state of being similarly whether you're mentally rehearsing the speech you're going to give reminding yourself how you're going to handle the confrontation that you need to have with your co-worker or imagining what you want to eat when you're really hungry but stuck in traffic and in each case you're thinking about that to the exclusion of everything else your body will begin to move into a state of being just by thought alone okay but how far can you take this through thinking and feeling alone can you finally be the person you want to be can you create and live a chosen reality as my daughter did when she experienced the summer job of her dreams that's where meditation comes in people use meditative techniques for a lot of reasons as you know in this book you will learn a special meditation designed for a specific purpose to help you overcome the habit of being yourself and become that ideal self you desire through the remainder of this chapter we'll connect some of the knowledge we've covered up till now with the meditation you will soon learn whenever I discuss meditation or the meditative process I will be referring to the process that will be our focus in part three meditation allows us to change our brains bodies and state of being most important we can make these changes without having to take any physical action or have any interaction with the external environment through meditation we can install the necessary neurological Hardware just as those piano players and finger exercises made changes through mental rehearsal those research subjects used mental rehearsal alone but for our purposes it is one component of the meditative process albeit a very important one if I asked you to think about the qualities that your ideal self would possess or if I suggested that you contemplate what it would feel like to be a person of greatness such as Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela then just by contemplating a new way of being you would begin firing your brain in new ways and making a new mind that's mental rehearsal in action I'm now asking you to reflect on what it would feel like to be happy content satisfied and at peace what would you envision for yourself if you were to create a new ideal of you essentially the meditative process allows you to answer this question by bringing together all of the information learned and wired synaptically into your brain about what it means to be happy content satisfied and at peace in meditation you take that knowledge and then Place yourself in the equation instead of merely asking what it would mean to be happy you put yourself in the position of practicing and thus living in a state of happiness after all you know what happiness looks and feels like you've had past experiences with it yourself you've seen other people's versions of it now you get to pick and choose from that knowledge and experience to create a new ideal of yourself I've talked about how through the frontal lobe you activate new circuits in new ways to create a new mind once you experience that new mind your brain creates a kind of holographic image that gives you a model to follow in creating your future reality because you've installed new neural circuits ahead of any real experience you don't have to carry out a non-violent Revolution as Gandhi did you don't have to lead your people and be burned at the stake as Joan of Arc was you simply have to use your knowledge and experience of those qualities of courage and conviction to produce an emotional effect within you the result will be a state of mind by repeatedly reducing that state of mind it will become familiar to you and you'll be wiring new circuits the more often you produce that state of mind the more those thoughts will become the experience once that thought experience transformation takes place the end product of that experience will be a feeling an emotion when this occurs your body as the unconscious mind does not know the difference between an event that takes place in physical reality and the emotions you created by thought alone as someone who is conditioning the body to a new mind you'll find that your thinking brain and the emotional brain are now working in concert remember the thoughts are for the brain and feelings are for the body when you are both thinking and feeling in a specific way as a part of the meditative process you are different from when you started out the newly installed circuits the neurological and chemical changes that have been produced by those thoughts and emotions have altered you in such a way that there is physical evidence in the brain and body that shows those changes at that point you've moved into a state of being you're no longer just practicing happiness or gratitude or whatever you are being grateful or happy you can produce that State of Mind and Body every day you can continually re-experience an event and produce the emotional response to that experience of how you would feel if you are that new ideal self if you can get up from your meditative session and be in that new state of being altered neurologically biologically chemically and genetically you have activated those changes ahead of any experience and you'll be more prone to acting and thinking in ways equal to who you are being you have broken the habit of being yourself refer figure 6D thinking to being as a reminder when you are in a new state of being a new personality you also create a new personal reality let me repeat that a new state of being creates a new personality a new personality produces a new personal reality how will you know whether this meditative practice has activated your three brains to produce the intended effect simple you will feel different as a result of investing in the process if you feel exactly as you did before if the same catalysts produce the same reactions at you then nothing has happened in the quantum field your same thoughts and feelings are reproducing the same electromagnetic signal in the field you haven't changed chemically neurologically genetically or in any other way but if you eventually get up after your meditation sessions and feel different from when you began them and if you can maintain that modified State of Mind and Body then you have changed what you've changed inside of you the new state of being that you created should now produce an effect outside of you you have moved beyond the cause and effect model of the universe that old Newtonian concept of something external to you controlling your thoughts actions and emotions I'll return to this point in a bit you will also know that your meditation has been fruitful if something unexpected and new shows up in your life as a result of your efforts remember the quantum model tells us that if you have created a new mind and a new state of being you have an altered electromagnetic signature because you are thinking and feeling differently you are changing reality together thoughts and feelings can do this separately they cannot let me remind you again you can't think one way and feel another and expect anything in your life to change the combination of your thoughts and feelings is your state of being change your state of being and change your reality here's where coherent signals really come into play if you can send into the quantum field a signal coherent in thought and feeling state of being independent of the external world then something different will show up in your life when it does you'll no doubt experience a powerful emotional response which will inspire you to create a new reality once again and you can use that emotion to generate an even more wonderful experience let me get back to Newton we are all conditioned by the Newtonian notion that life is dominated by cause and effect when something good happens to us we Express gratitude or joy so we go through life wanting for someone or something outside of ourselves to regulate our feelings instead I'm asking you to take control and to invert the process rather than waiting for an occasion to cause you to feel a certain way create the feeling ahead of any experience in the Physical Realm convince your body emotionally that a gratitude generating experience has already taken place to do this you can pick a potential in the quantum field and get in touch with how it would feel if you were experiencing it I'm asking you to use your thought and feeling to put yourself in the shoes of that future self that possible you so vividly that you begin to emotionally condition your body to believe that you are the person now when you open your eyes after your meditative session who do you want to be what would it feel like to be this ideal self or to have this desired experience to fully break the habit of being yourself say goodbye to cause and effect and embrace the quantum model of reality choose a potential reality that you want live it in your thoughts and feelings and give thanks ahead of the actual event can you accept the notion that once you change your internal State you don't need the external world to provide you with a reason to feel Joy gratitude appreciation or any other elevated emotion when your body experiences that the event is occurring in that moment and it feels real to you based solely on what you're focused on mentally and feeling emotionally then you are experiencing the future now the moment you are in the state of being in that now moment and present in that experience that's when you're connected to all possible realities that exist in the quantum field remember that if you are in the past or the future based on your familiar emotions or anticipation of some effect you don't have access to all possibilities the quantum field holds the only way to access the quantum field is by being in the now keep in mind that this concept cannot just be an intellectual process thoughts and feelings must be coherent in other words this meditation requires that you drop down about 10 inches out of your head and move into your heart open your heart and think about how would feel if you embodied a combination of all the traits that you admire and that make up your ideal self you may object that you can't know how it would feel because you've never experienced what it's like to have those traits and to be that ideal self my response is that your body can experience this before you have any physical evidence ahead of your senses if a future desire that you've never experienced actually does manifest in your life you'd have to agree that you would experience an elevated emotion such as Joy excitement or gratitude so those emotions are what you can naturally focus on instead of being enslaved to emotions that are only the residue of the past you are now using elevated emotions to create the future the elevated emotions of gratitude love and so forth all have a higher frequency that will help you to move into a state of being where you can feel as though the desired events have actually occurred if you are in a state of greatness then the signal you send into the quantum field is that the events have already come to pass giving thanks allows you to emotionally condition your body to believe that what is producing your gratitude has already happened by activating and coordinating your three brains meditation allows you to move from thinking to being and once you are in a new state of being you are more prone to act and think equal to who you are being perhaps you've wondered why it may be so hard to move into a state of gratitude or to give thanks ahead of the actual experience is it possible that you've been living by a memorized emotion that has become so much a part of your identity on a subconscious level that now you cannot feel any other way than you're accustomed to if so maybe your identity has become a matter of how you appear to the World on the outside to distract you and change how you feel on the inside in the next chapter we're going to examine how to close that Gap and to bring about true liberation when you can readily feel gratitude or Joy or fall in love with the future without needing any person thing or experience to cause you to feel that way then these elevated emotions will be available to fuel your Creations chapter 7. the gap I was sitting on my couch one day thinking about what it means to be happy as I contemplated my utter lack of joy I thought about how most people who were important to me would have given me a pep talk right on the spot I imagined at verbatim you're so incredibly lucky you have a wonderful family which includes beautiful kids you are a successful chiropractor you lecture to thousands of people you travel the world going to unusual places you are featured in what the bleep do we know and many people loved your message you even wrote a book and it's doing well they would have hit all of the right emotional and logical notes but to me something wasn't right I was at a point in my life where I was traveling from City to City every weekend doing lectures sometimes I was in Two Cities within three days it occurred to me that I was so busy that I had no time to actually practice what I was teaching this was an unnerving moment because I began to see that all of my happiness was created from outside of me and that the joy I experienced when I was traveling and lecturing had nothing to do with real Joy it appeared to me that I needed everyone everything and every place outside of me in order to feel good this image that I was projecting to the world was dependent on external factors and when I was not out lecturing or doing interviews or treating patients and I was home I felt empty don't get me wrong in some ways those things outside of me were great if you had asked anyone who saw me lecturing deeply engrossed in working on a presentation during a flight or answering dozens of emails while in an airport or hotel lounge such an observer would have said that I appeared to be pretty happy sad truth is that if you had asked me at one of those moments I would have probably responded in much the same way yes things are great I'm doing well I'm a lucky guy but if you had caught me in a quiet moment when all of those other stimuli weren't bombarding me I would have responded in a completely different manner some things not right I feel unsettled Everything feels like the same old same old something is missing on the day I recognized the core reason for my unhappiness I also realized that I needed the external world to remember who I was my identity had become the people I talked to the cities I visited the things I did while I was traveling and the experiences I needed in order to reaffirm myself as this person called Joe dispenza and when I wasn't around anyone who could help me recall this personality that the world might know as me I wasn't sure who I was anymore in fact I saw that all my perceived happiness was really just a reaction to stimuli in the external world that made me feel certain ways I then understood that I was totally addicted to my environment and I was dependent on external cues to reinforce my emotional addiction what a moment for me I had heard a million times that happiness comes from within but it never hit me like this before as I sat on the couch in my house that day I looked out the window and an image came to me I envisioned my two hands one above the other separated by a gap refer figure 7A the identity Gap the Top Hand represented how I appeared on the outside and the bottom was how I knew myself to be on the inside in my self-reflection it dawned on me that we human beings live in a duality as two separate entities how we appear and who we really are how we appear is the image or the facade that we project to the world that self is everything we do in order to show up looking a certain way and to present to others a consistent exterior reality this first aspect of the self is a veneer of how we want everyone to see us how we really are represented by the bottom hand is how we feel especially when we are not distracted by the external environment it is our familiar emotions when we are not preoccupied by life it's what we hide about ourselves when we memorize addictive emotional states such as guilt shame anger fear anxiety judgment depression self-importance or hatred we develop a gap between the way we appear and the way we really are the former is how we want other people to see us balata is our state of being when we are not interacting with all of the different experiences diverse things and assorted people at various times and places in our lives if we sit long enough without doing anything we begin to feel something that something is who we really are refer figure 7B the layers of emotion we memorize that create the gap layer by layer we wear various emotions which form our identity in order to remember who we think we are we have to recreate the same experiences to reaffirm our personality and the corresponding emotions as an identity we become attached to our external World by identifying with everyone and everything in order to remind us how we want to project ourselves to the world how we appear becomes the facade of the personality which relies on the external world to remember who it is as a somebody its identity is completely attached to the environment the personality does everything it can to hide how it really feels or to make that feeling of emptiness go away I own these cars I know these people I've been to these places I can do these things I've had these experiences I work for this company I am successful it is who we think we are in relation to everything around us but that is different from Who We Are how we feel without the stimulation of our outer reality feelings of Shame and anger about a failed marriage fear of death and uncertainty about the afterlife related to the loss of a loved one or even a pet a sense of inadequacy due to a parent's insistence on perfectionism and achievement at all costs a sense of stifled entitlement from having grown up in circumstances barely above poverty a preoccupation with thoughts of not having the right body type in order to look a certain way to the world these kinds of feelings are what we want to conceal this is who we truly are the real self hiding behind the image we are projecting we can't face exposing that self to the world so we pretend to be someone else we create a set of memorized automatic programs that work to cover the vulnerable parts of us essentially we lie about who we are because we know that societal mores do not have room for that person that is the nobody that is the person whom we doubt others will like and accept particularly when we are younger and forming our identity we are more likely to engage in this type of masquerade we see young people trying on identities like they try on clothes and in truth what teens wear is often a reflection of who they want to be more than it reflects who they really are ask any mental health professional who specializes in working with young people and she will tell you that one word defines what it is like to be an adolescent insecurity as a result teens and pre-teens seek comfort in Conformity and in numbers rather than let the world know what you are really like adopt and adapt because everyone knows what happens to those who are perceived to be different the world is complex and scary but make it less frightening and much simpler by lumping everyone into groups pick your group pick your poison eventually that identity fits you grow into it or at least that's what you tell yourself along with the insecurity comes a great deal of self-consciousness questions abound is this who I really am is this who I really want to be but it's so much easier to ignore those questions than to answer them all of us have been emotionally scarred from traumatic or difficult experiences as young people early in life we experience defining events the emotions of which contributed layer by layer to who we became let's face it we all have been branded by emotionally charged events as we mentally reviewed the experience repeatedly the body began to relive the event over and over just by thought alone we kept the refractory period of emotional running for so long that we journeyed from a mere emotional reaction to a mood to a temperament and ultimately to a personality trait while we are young we keep busy doing things that for a while Stave off those old Deep Emotions sweeping them under the rug it is intoxicating to make new friends travel to unknown Places work hard and achieve a promotion learn a new skill or take up a new sport we seldom suspect that many of these actions are motivated by feelings left over from certain earlier events in life then we really get busy we go to school and possibly College we buy a car we move to a new town state or country we begin a career we meet new people we get married we buy a house we have kids we adopt pets we may get divorced we work out we start a new relationship we practice a skill or a hobby we use everything that we know in the external world to Define our identity and to distract us from how we really feel inside and since all of these unique experiences produce Myriad emotions we notice that those emotions seem to take away any feelings that we are hiding and it works for a while don't get me wrong we all reach Greater Heights from applying ourselves throughout different periods in our growing years in order to accomplish many things in our lifetimes we have to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones and go beyond familiar feelings that wants to find us I am certainly aware of this dynamic in life but when we never overcome our limitations and continue carrying the baggage from our past it will always catch up with us and this usually happens starting around our mid-30s this can vary greatly from one person to another by our mid-30s or 40s when the personality is complete we have experienced much of what life has to offer and as a result we can pretty much anticipate the outcome of most experiences we already know how they're going to feel before we engage in them because we've had several good and bad relationships we've competed in business or settled into our career we've suffered loss and encountered success or we know what we like and dislike we know the nuances of life since we can predict the likely emotions ahead of an actual experience we determine whether we want to experience that known event before it actually occurs of course all of this is happening behind the scenes of our awareness here is where it gets sticky because we can predict the feelings that most events will bring we already know what will make our feelings about who we really are go away however when we reach mid-life nothing can completely take away that feeling of emptiness you wake up every morning and you feel like the same person your environment which you relied on so heavily to remove your pain or guilt or suffering is no longer taking away those feelings how could it you already know that when the emotions derive from the external World wear off you will return to being the same leopard who hasn't changed Its Spots this is the midlife crisis that most people know about some try really hard to make buried feelings stay buried by diving further into their external world they buy the new sports car thing others lease the boat another thing some go on a long vacation place yet others join the new Social Club to meet new contacts or make new friends people some get plastic surgery body many completely redecorate or remodel their homes acquire things and experience a new environment all of these are futile efforts to do or try something new so that they can feel better or different but emotionally when the novelty wears off they are still stuck with the same identity they return to who they really are that is the bottom hand they are drawn back to the same reality that they have been living for years just to keep the feeling of who they think they are as an identity the truth is the more they do the more they buy and then consume the more noticeable the feeling of who they really are becomes when we're trying to escape this emptiness or when we're running from any emotion whatsoever that is painful it is because to look at it is too uncomfortable so when the feeling starts to get a bit out of control most people turn on the TV surf the Internet or call or text someone in a matter of moments we can alter our emotions so many times we can view a sitcom or a YouTube video and laugh hysterically then watch a football game and feel competitive then watch the news and be angered or fearful all of these outer stimuli can easily distract us from those unwanted feelings inside technology is a great distraction and a powerful addiction think about it you can immediately change your internal chemistry and make a feeling go away by changing something outside of you and whatever it was outside of you that made you feel better inside of you you will rely on that thing in order to Sidetrack yourself over and over again but this strategy doesn't have to involve technology anything momentarily thrilling will do the trick when we keep that diversion up guess what eventually happens we grow more dependent on something outside of us to change us internally some people unconsciously delve deeper and deeper into this bottomless pit using different aspects of their world to keep themselves preoccupied in an effort to recreate the original feeling from the very first experience that helped them Escape they become over stimulated so that they can feel different from how they really are but sooner or later everyone realizes that they need more and more of the same to make them feel better this becomes an all-consuming search for pleasure and ways to avoid pain at all costs a hedonistic life unconsciously driven by some feeling that won't seem to go away at this time of life other people who don't strive to keep their feelings buried ask some big questions who am I what is my purpose in life where am I going who am I doing all this for what is God where do I go when I die is there more to life than success what is happiness what does this all mean What is love do I love myself do I love anyone else and the Soul begins to wake up these types of questions begin to occupy the mind because we see through the illusion and suspect that nothing outside of us can ever make us happy some of us ultimately realize that nothing in our environment is going to fix the way we feel we also recognize the enormous amount of energy it takes to keep up this projection of self as an image to the world and how exhausting it is to keep the mind and body constantly preoccupied eventually we come to see that our futile attempt to maintain an ideal for others is really a strategy to make sure that those impending feelings we've been running from never capture us how long can we juggle keeping so many balls in the air just so our lives don't come Crashing Down instead of buying a bigger TV or the latest smartphone these people stop running from the feeling that they've been trying to make go away for so long face it head-on and intently look at it when this happens the individual begins to wake up after some self-reflection she discovers who she really is what she has been hiding and what no longer is working for her so she lets go of the facade the games and the illusions she is honest about who she really is at all costs and she is not afraid to lose it all this person stops expanding the energy she has been putting into keeping an illusory image intact she gets in touch with her feelings and then turns to the people in her life and says you know what it doesn't matter if I don't make you happy any longer I'm through obsessing about how I look or what other people think about me I'm finished living for everyone else I want to be free from these chains this is a profound moment in a person's life the soul is waking up and nudging her to tell the truth about who she really is the LIE is over most relationships are based on what you have in common with others think about this you meet a person and immediately the two of you compare your experiences as if you both are checking to see whether your neural networks and emotional memories are aligned you say something like this I know these people I am from this place and I lived in these places at these different times in my life I went to this school and studied this subject I own and do these things and most important I've had these experiences then the other person responds I know those people I've lived in those places during those times I do these things too I've had those same experiences thus you can relate to each other a relationship is then formed based on neurochemical states of being because if you share the same experiences you share the same emotions think of emotions as energy in motion if you share the same emotions you share the same energy and just like two atoms of oxygen that share an invisible field of energy beyond space and time in order to bond together in a relationship to form air you are bonded in an invisible field of energy to everything person and place in your external life bonds between people are the strongest though because emotions hold the strongest energy as long as either party doesn't change things will be just fine refer figure 7 C emotional bonds so when our friend in the example in the last section begins to tell the truth about how she really feels things begin to get very uncomfortable if her friendships have been based upon complaining about life then she is bonded energetically to her Relationships by the emotions of victimization if in a moment of Enlightenment she now decides to break from that habit of being herself she is no longer showing up as that familiar person to whom everyone could relate people in her life are using her to remind themselves of who they are emotionally as well friends and family respond what is wrong with you today you've hurt my feelings which translates to I thought we had a good thing going on here I used you to reaffirm my emotional detection in order to remember who I think I am as a somebody I liked you better the other way when it comes to change our energy is connected to everything that we've ever had and experience with in our outer world when we break the addiction of emotion we've memorized or when we tell the truth about who we really are doing that takes some real energy just as it takes energy to separate two atoms of oxygen that are bonded together it takes energy to break the bonds with the people in our lives so the individuals in this person's life who have shared the same emotional bonds with her rally together and say she hasn't been herself lately maybe she's lost her mind let's get her to a doctor now remember that they have been the people she shared the same experiences with hence they shared the same emotions but now she's breaking the energetic bonds with everyone and everything and even every place familiar this is a threatening moment for everyone who has been playing the same game with her for years she's getting off the train so they bring her to the doctor who gives her Prozac or some other drug and in a short time the person's former personality returns and there she is rejecting her old image to the world right back to shaking hands on others emotional agreements once more she's numb and smiling anything to take the feeling away the lesson goes unlearned yes the person wasn't being herself not the Top Hand self that everyone had grown accustomed to instead briefly she was the bottom hand self the one with the past and the pain and who can blame those loved ones who insisted on the return to her former numbered self that went along to get along that new self-emerged as unpredictable even radical who wants to be around that person who wants to be around the truth if you need the environment in order to remember who you are as a somebody what happens when you die and the environment rolls up and disappears do you know what goes with it the somebody the identity the image the personality Top Hand that is identified with all of the known and predictable elements in life who is addicted to the environment you could have been the most successful popular or beautiful person and you could have had all of the wealth you ever needed but when your life ends and your external reality is taken away everything outside of you can no longer Define you it all goes what you're left with is who you really are bottom hand not how you appear when your life is over and you cannot rely on your external world to Define you you will be left with that feeling you never addressed you would not have evolved as a soul in that lifetime for instance if you had certain experiences 50 years prior that marked you as insecure or weak and you felt that way about yourself ever since then you stopped growing emotionally 50 years ago if the Soul's purpose is to learn from experience and gain wisdom but you stayed stuck in that particular emotion you never turned your experience into a lesson you didn't transcend that emotion and exchange it for any understanding while that feeling still anchors your mind and body to those past events you are never free to move into the future and if a similar experience shows up in your present life that event will trigger the same emotion and you will act as that person you were 50 years ago so your soul says pay attention I'm letting you know that nothing is bringing you Joy I'm sending you urges if you keep playing this game I'm gonna stop trying to get your attention and you'll go back to sleep then I'll see you when this life is over most people who do not know how to change think how can I make this feeling go away and if the novelty of accumulating new things wears off and stops working what do they do they look to bigger things a whole other layer above where they were and their avoidant strategies become addictions if I take a drug or drink enough alcohol that's going to make this feeling go away this external thing will produce an internal chemical change and make me feel great I'll shop a lot because shopping even if I don't have the money makes that emptiness go away I'll watch pornography I'll play video games I'll gamble I'll overeat refer figure 7D the midlife crisis an attempt to create a new identity from the outside whatever the addiction people are still thinking that some external thing is going to take that internal feeling away and remember we have this natural propensity to associate an external thing that's making that feeling go away with our internal chemical change and we like that external thing if it makes us feel good so we run away from what feels bad or painful and we move towards what feels good and comfortable or brings us pleasure as the excitement people get from their addiction continually stimulates the pleasure centers in the brain they get a flood of chemicals from The Thrill of the experience the problem is that each time they gamble binge or stay up late playing online games they need a little more the next time the reason why people need more drugs or more shopping or more affairs is that the chemical Rush that's created from those activities activates the receptor sites on the outside of their cells which turns on the cells but if receptor sites are continually stimulated they get desensitized and shut off so they need a stronger signal a bit more stimulation to turn them on the next time it takes a bigger chemical High to produce the same effects so now you've got about 25 000 instead of ten thousand because otherwise there's no thrill once a five thousand dollar shopping spree does nothing for you you've got to max out two credit cards so that you can feel that same Rush again all of this is to make the feeling of who you are really go away everything you do to get the same high you have to keep doing more of with increasing intensity more drugs more alcohol more sex more gambling more shopping more TV you get the idea over time we become addicted to something in order to ease the pain or anxiety or depression we live by on a daily basis is this wrong not really most people do these things because they just don't know how to change from the inside they're only following at the innate drive to get relief from their feelings and unconsciously they think their salvation comes from the outside world it has never been explained to them that using the outer World to Change the inner world makes things worse it only widens the gap and let's say that our ambition in life is to become successful and to accumulate more things when we do we reinforce who we are without ever addressing how we really feel I call this being possessed by our possessions we become possessed by material objects and those objects reinforce the ego which needs the environment to remind itself of who it is if we wait for anything outside of us to make us happy then we are not following the quantum law we are relying on the outer to change the inner if we are thinking that once we have the wealth to buy more things then we'll become overjoyed we've got it backward we have to become happy before our abundance shows up and what happens if addicts can't get more they feel even angrier more frustrated more bitter more empty they may try other methods add gambling to drinking add shopping to TV and movie escapism eventually though nothing is ever enough the pleasure centers have recalibrated to such a high level that when there is no chemical change from the outer World it seems the addict now cannot find joy in the simplest things the point is true happiness has nothing to do with pleasure because the Reliance on Feeling Good from such intensely stimulating things only moves us further from real Joy I don't intend to diminish the severity of the damage caused by what I'll Loosely refer to here as material addictions to drugs alcohol sex gambling consumerism and so forth those problems cause great harm to the numerous people who suffer from them and to those who love and work with such addicts while many people who experience these and other addictions can use the steps in these pages to overcome them since they are a part of the big three is beyond the scope of this book to deal with these kinds of addictions specifically but it is imperative to realize that behind every addiction there is some memorized emotion that is driving the behavior what is not beyond the scope of this book and is in fact its Central purpose is helping people break the habit of being themselves whether they view that self as being an alcoholic a sexaholic a gambler a Shopaholic or someone who is chronically lonely depressed angry bitter or physically unwell in thinking about the Gap possibly you said to yourself well of course we hide from other people our fears insecurities weaknesses and dark side if we gave those things free reign to be fully expressed we'd likely be Beyond anyone else's caring about us let alone caring about ourselves in a sense that's true but if we are to break free it means we have to confront that true self and bring out into the light that shadow side of our personality the advantage of the system I employ is that you can confront those darker aspects of yourself without bringing them into the light of your everyday reality you don't have to walk into your place of work or a family gathering and announce Hey listen up everyone I'm a bad person because for a long time I resented my parents for having to spend a lot of time with my younger sibling while I felt my needs were being neglected so now I'm a really selfish person who craves attention and needs instant gratification in order to stop feeling unloved and inadequate instead in the privacy of your own home and your own mind you can work on extinguishing negative aspects of self and replacing those characteristics or at least metaphorically cutting away back on the role they play and allowing them only an occasional brief appearance with more positive and productive ones I want you to forget about past events validating the emotions you've memorized that have become part of your personality your problems will never be resolved by analyzing them while you are still caught up in the emotions of the past looking at the experience or reliving the event that created the problem in the first place will only bring up the old emotions and a reason to feel the same way when you try to figure out your life within the same Consciousness that created it you will analyze your life away and excuse yourself from Ever Changing instead let's just unmerize our self-limiting emotions a memory without the emotional charge is called wisdom then we can look back objectively upon the event and see it and who we were being without the filter of that emotion if we take care of unmerizing the emotional state or eliminating it to the best of our ability then we gain the freedom to live and think and act independent of the restraints or constraints of that feeling so if a person relinquished unhappiness and got on with his life entered into a new relationship got a new job moved to a new place and made new friends and then he looked at that past event he would see that it provided the adversity he needed in order to overcome who he was and become this new person his perspective would change just by seeing that he could actually overcome the problem closing and even eliminating the gap between who we are and who we present to the world is likely the greatest challenge we will all face in life whether we term this living authentically conquering ourselves or having people get us or accept us for Who We Are this is something that most of us desire changing closing the Gap must begin from within yet far too often most of us change only when we are faced with a crisis trauma or discouraging diagnosis of some sort that crisis commonly comes in the form of a challenge which may be physical an accident say or an illness emotional the loss of someone we love for example spiritual for instance an accumulation of setbacks that has us questioning our worth and how the universe operates or financial a job loss perhaps note that all of the above are about losing something why wait for trauma or loss to occur and have your ego get knocked off balance due to that negative emotional state clearly when a Calamity befalls you you have to act you can't take care of business as usual when you've been knocked as the expression goes to your knees at those critical moments when we're really really grown tired of being beaten down by circumstances we'll say this can't go on I don't care what it takes or how I feel body I don't care how long it takes time no matter what's going on in my life environment I'm going to change I have to we can learn and change in the state of pain and suffering or we can do it in a state of joy and inspiration we don't have to wait until we are so uncomfortable that we feel forced to move out of our resting state as you know one of the key skills you need to develop is self-awareness self-observation that's a shortcut definition of what I mean when I talk about meditation in the next chapter in meditation you're going to look at the negative emotional state that has had such an impact on your life you're going to recognize the primary state of your personality that drives your thoughts and behaviors so that you become intimately familiar with every Nuance of them over time you're going to use those powers of observation to help you unmerize that negative emotional state by doing so you will surrender that emotion to a greater mind closing the gap between who you are and who you have presented to the world in the past picture yourself standing in a room with arms outstretched pushing the opposite walls apart do you have any idea how much energy you would consume if you were trying to keep those walls from crushing you instead of doing that what if you release those two walls took a couple of steps forward after all that Gap is kind of like a door isn't it and walked out of that room and into a completely new one what about that other room you left behind well the walls have come together in such a way that you can't ever get back inside it that Gap has closed and the separate parts of you have become Unified and what's going to happen to all that energy you were expending physics states that energy can't be created or destroyed it can only be transferred or transformed that's exactly what's going to happen to you when you get to the point that no thought no emotion no subconscious Behavior goes unnoticed you can think of this another way you'll be going into the operating system of the subconscious and bringing all that data and those instructions into your conscious awareness to truly see where those urges and proclivities that have taken control of your life are located you become conscious of your unconscious self when we break the chains of that Bond we Liberate the body it is no longer the mind living in the same past day after day when we Liberate the body emotionally we close the gap when we close the gap we release the energy that was once used to produce it with that energy we now have the raw material we can use to create a new life refer figure 7e closing the gap another side effect of breaking the bonds of your emotional addictions is that this release of energy is like a healthy shot of some wonderful elixir not only are you energized but you feel something you likely haven't felt in quite a while Joy when you liberate the body from the chains of an emotional dependency you will feel uplifted and inspired have you ever taken a long car trip when you get out of your vehicle and finally stretch a bit and breathe fresh air and the sound of the car's tires on the pavement or the heater's fan or the air conditioners were Falls silent that's a great feeling imagine how much better those New Sensations would feel if you'd been locked in the trunk for two thousand miles for a lot of us that's exactly how we've been feeling for a significant stretch of time keep in mind that it's not enough merely to notice how you've been thinking feeling and behaving meditation requires you to be more active than that you also have to tell the truth about yourself you have to come clean and reveal what you've been hiding in that shadow part of the gap you have to drag those things out in the bright light of day and when you really see what you've been doing to yourself you have to look at that mess and say this is no longer serving my best interests this is no longer serving me this has never been loving to myself then you can make a decision and be free one person who reaped the rewards of facing a life with the courage of a Quantum Observer is Pamela a participant in one of my seminars Pamela struggled financially because for two years her unemployed ex-husband hadn't paid the mandated child support frustrated angry and feeling victimized she even reacted negatively to unrelated situations the meditation we did that day was about how the end product of any experience is an emotion because so many of our experiences involve family and friends we share the resultant emotions with them that's usually a good thing bonds related to places we've been things we've done even objects we've shared can strengthen our connection with people but the flip side is that we also share the emotions associated with negative experiences we bond energetically with one another in a place beyond time and space because we are entangled with others to use quantum terms and frequently Bond through survival orientated emotions it is almost impossible for us to change when we are still connected by negative experiences and emotions thus reality stays the same in Pamela's case her ex-husband's anxiety guilt and feelings of inferiority about not being able to support his children were interwoven into the fabric of her state of being along with her own emotions of victimization resentment and lack whenever opportunity knocked her victimhood reared its ugly head and produced an undesirable outcome her destructive emotions and the energy associated with them had virtually Frozen her in a stagnant state of thinking doing and being no matter what she did to try to change the situation she and her ex-husband were bonded together by their Mutual negative experiences emotions and Energies and thus none of her efforts ever changed her circumstances with him the workshop helped Pamela realize that she had to break this Bond she had to let go of the emotions that defined her in her present reality she also learned how a cycle of thinking feeling and acting in the same way for years could produce a Cascade of effects that might trigger genes for disease and she didn't want that to happen something had to give I like that phrase because as Pamela told me afterward during the meditation she recognized the injurious emotions that her victimization had set in motion impatience with her kids complaining and blaming and feelings of desperation and lack she let go of those emotions associated with past experiences simultaneously releasing her self-involved state of being and gave them up to the greater mind in so doing Pamela released all of that Frozen energy into the quantum Field closing the gap between who she thought she was and who she presented to the world she did this so well she started to feel so overjoyed and grateful that she wanted abundance for everyone not just herself she moved from selfish emotions to selfless emotions she got up from that meditation a different person from who she was before it Pamela's energy release signaled the field to begin organizing outcomes that were just right for the new self she was in the process of becoming almost immediately she received evidence of this in two forms the first involved her internet business when she had previously tried a promotion she fretted about the response to it constantly checking her website and saw only mediocre results she initiated her second promotion the morning of the workshop but was too busy to think about the results during the day that evening she was feeling the positive effects of having let go of the past she felt even better when she discovered that she had earned nearly ten thousand dollars that day from the promotion she'd run Pamela received the second piece of evidence three days later when her caseworker called to report that her ex had sent a check not just for that month but for the full twelve thousand dollars in back support payments that he owed she was beyond pleased to have made nearly 22 thousand dollars after doing that meditation she did nothing in the Physical Realm to bring about those results and couldn't have predicted how the money would find its way to her but she was enormously grateful that it had what Pamela's story illustrates is the power of letting go of negative emotions when we are mired in our time-worn mindset and habitual behaviors and perceptions there's no way for us to find solutions to problems rooted in the past and those problems experiences really reduce powerful energetic emotions once we relinquish those we experience an enormous release of energy and reality magically rearranges itself think about how much of your creative energy is tied up in guilt judgment fear or anxiety related to people and experiences from your past imagine how much good you could do by converting any destructive energy to productive energy contemplate what you could accomplish if you weren't focused on Survival a selfish emotion but instead worked to create out of positive intentions a selfless emotion ask yourself what energy from past experiences in the form of limited emotions am I holding on to that reinforces my past identity an emotionally attaches me to my current circumstances could I use this same energy and transform it into an elevated state for which to create a new and different outcome meditating will help you peel away some of the layers remove some of the masks you've worn both of those things have blocked the flow of that grand intelligence within you as a result of shedding those layers you will become transparent you are transparent when how you appear is who you are and when you live your life that way you will experience a state of gratitude of elevated Joy which I believe is our natural state of being as you do this you begin to move out of the past so that you can set your sights on the future as you remove the veils that block the flow of this intelligence within you you'll become more like it you become more loving more giving more conscious more willful because that is its mind the Gap closes at this stage you feel happy and whole you no longer rely on the external world to Define you the elevated emotions you are feeling are unconditional nobody else and no event can make you feel that way you are happy and feel inspired Just Because of Who You Are you no longer live in a state of lack or want and do you know the funny thing about not wanting or lacking for anything that's when you can really begin to manifest things naturally most people try to create in a state of lack unworthiness separation or some other limited emotion rather than from a state of gratitude enthusiasm or wholeness that's when the field responds most favorably to you all of this starts with recognizing that the Gap exists and meditating on the negative emotional states that have produced that Gap and dominated your personality unless you are prepared to look closely at yourself and assess your propensities with tender honesty not beating yourself up for your failings you will forever be mired in some past event and the negative emotions It produced see it understand it release it create with the energy available to you by taking the mind out of the body and releasing it into the field the advertising connection please understand that advertising agencies and their corporate clients fully understand the notion of lack and how it plays a commanding role in our Behavior they want us to believe that they have the answers to take away that emptiness by our identifying with their product advertisers even put famous faces into their ads to subconsciously plant the seed that the consumer can surely relate to this person as the new you feeling bad about yourself buy something don't fit in socially buy something feeling a negative emotion because of some sense of loss separation or logging this microwave big screen TV car cell phone whatever is just the ticket you'll feel better about yourself be accepted by society and have 40 fewer cavities as well we're all controlled emotionally by this notion of lack I started this chapter by telling you of that moment when I was sitting on my couch and realized that there was quite a gap between who I really was and the identity I presented to the world so I'd like to close this chapter by telling you the rest of the story around the time this happened I was traveling frequently lecturing to people who had seen me in the movie what the bleep do we know when I was speaking in front of groups I felt really alive and I'm sure I came across as happy but in that moment I was feeling numb that's when it hit me I had to show up being how everybody expected me to be based on how I appeared in the movie I started believing I was somebody else and I needed the world to remind me of who I thought I was I was actually living two different lives no longer did I want to be trapped by that as I sat alone that morning I felt my heart beating and I started thinking about who was beating my heart I realized in one instant that I had distanced myself from this innate intelligence I closed my eyes and put all of my attention on it I started to admit who I'd been what I'd been hiding and how unhappy I was I began to surrender some aspects of myself to a greater mind I then reminded myself of who I no longer wanted to be I decided how I no longer wanted to live based on that same personality next I observe my unconscious behaviors thoughts and feelings that reinforced my old self and reviewed them until they became familiar to me then I thought about who I did want to be as a new personality until I became it suddenly I began to feel different joyful this had nothing to do with all of those things outside of me it was part of an identity that was independent of any of that external stuff I knew that I was on to something I had an immediate reaction after that first meditation on the couch and it caught my attention because I didn't get up as the same person who had sat down I stood up and I felt so aware and so alive it was like I was seeing so many things for the first time some mask was removed from me and I wanted more of that so I retreated from my life for about six months I kept up my clinical practice to some degree but I canceled all of my lectures my friends thought I was losing my mind I was because what the bleep was at its height and they reminded me about how much money I could have been making but I said I would never walk on stage again until I was no longer living an ideal for the world but one for myself I didn't want to lecture again until I was the living example of everything that I was talking about I needed to take time for my meditations and to make true change in my life and I wanted to have joy from within me and not from outside of me and I wanted that to come across when I lectured my transformation wasn't immediate I meditated every day looking at my unwanted emotions and one by one I began to unmerize them I started my meditative process of unlearning and relearning and they worked for months to change myself in the process I was intentionally dismantling my old identity and breaking the habit of being myself that's when I began to feel joyful for no reason I became happier and happier and it had nothing to do with anything outside of me today I make time to meditate every morning because I want more of that state of being whatever has drawn you to this book when you make up your mind to change you have to move to a new consciousness you must become very clear about what you're doing how you thinking how you're living how you're feeling and how you're being to the point that it isn't you and you don't want to be it any longer and that shift has to reach you on a gut level what you're about to learn is what I did the steps I took in making my own personal changes but take heart you very well may have done something similar in your life already there's just a little more knowledge to come related to the meditative process in order for you to make this method of change a skill so let's get to it chapter 8. meditation demystifying the mystical and waves of your future in the previous chapter I wrote about the need to bridge the space between who we really are and the image we present to the world when we're able to do that we can take steps towards freeing up the necessary energy to become that ideal self modeled after some of the great people in history of the world such as Gandhi and Joan of Arc and as I've said one of the keys to Breaking the Habit of being yourself is working towards being more observant whether that entails being more metacognitive monitoring your thoughts embracing Stillness or focusing more attention on your behaviors and how elements in your environment might trigger emotional responses so the big question here is how do you do all this in other words how do you become more observant break your emotional bonds with the body the environment and time and close the gap the answer is simple meditation you may have noticed that up to this point in the book I have teased you with brief allusions to meditation as the way to break the habit of being yourself and begin to create a new life as your ideal self I told you that the information in Parts one and two of this book would prepare you to understand what you will be doing when you apply the meditative steps you will practice in part three now it's time to explain the inner workings of the process that I refer to as meditation when I use the term meditation an image of a person seated cross-legged in front of a shrine at home a bearded and gowned Yogi sitting in a secluded cave in the Himalayas or some other visual may come to mind that individual may be a representation of what you understand is the way to go quiet empty the Mind Focus all of one's attention on a thought or engage in any of the other variations of the practice of meditation there are a lot of meditative techniques but in this book my wish is to help you produce the most desirable benefit of meditation being able to access and enter the operating system of the subconscious mind so that you will move away from Simply being yourself and your thoughts beliefs actions and emotions to observing those things and then once you're there to subconsciously reprogram your brain and body to a new mind when you move from unconsciously producing thoughts beliefs actions and emotions and take control of them through the conscious application of your will you can unlock the chains of being your old self to become a new self how you get to the point at which you are able to access that operating system and bring the unconscious into your Consciousness is the subject we'll cover through the rest of this book in the Tibetan language to meditate means to become familiar with accordingly I use the term meditation as a synonym for self-observation as well as self-development after all to become familiar with anything we have to spend some time observing it again the key moment in making any change is going from being it to observing it another way to think of this transition is when you go from being a doer to a do a watcher an easy analogy I can use is that when athletes or performers golfers skiers swimmers dancers singers or actors want to change something about their technique most coaches have them watch videotape of themselves how can you change from an old mode of operation to a new one unless you see what old and new look like it's the same with your old and new self how can you stop doing things one way without knowing what that way looks like I frequently use the term unlearning to describe this phase of changing this process of becoming familiar with the self works both ways you need to see the old and the new self you have to observe yourself so precisely and vigilantly as I've described that you won't allow any unconscious thought emotion or behavior to go unnoticed since you have the equipment to do this because of the size of your frontal lobe you can look at yourself and decide what you want to change in order to do a better job in life when you can become conscious of those unconscious aspects of the old habituated self rooted in the operating system of the subconscious you are beginning the process of changing anything about yourself what steps do you normally take when you get serious about doing something differently you separate yourself from your external World long enough to think about what to do and not do you start becoming aware of many aspects of the old self and you begin to plan a course of action related to a new self for example if you want to become happy the first step is to stop being unhappy that is stop thinking the thoughts that make you unhappy and stop feeling the emotions of pain sorrow and bitterness if you desire to become wealthy you probably decide to stop doing the things that make you poor if you want to be healthy you have to stop living an unhealthy lifestyle these examples are to show you that first you have to make the decision to stop being the old you to such a degree that you make room for a new personality thinking acting and doing therefore If you eliminate stimuli from your external World by closing your eyes and becoming quiet decreasing your essentiary input Ting your body in a state of Stillness and no longer focusing on linear time you could become aware solely of how you are thinking and feeling and if you began to pay attention to your unconscious states of mind and body and become familiar with your automatic unconscious programs until they become conscious would you be meditating the answer is yes to know thyself is to meditate if you are no longer being that old personality but instead a noticing different aspects of it wouldn't you agree that you are the Consciousness observing the programs of that past identity in other words if you consciously observe the old self you are no longer being it as you go from being unaware of being aware you are beginning to objectify your subjective mind that is by your paying attention to the old habit of being you your conscious participation begins to separate you from those unconscious programs and gives you more control over them by the way if you are successful in consciously restraining those routine states of mind and body the nerve cells that no longer fire together no longer wire together as you prune away the neurological Hardware of the old self you also no longer signal the same genes in identical ways you are breaking the habit of being you now let's take it one step further once you have become familiar with the old self to the extent that no thought no behavior and no feeling will cause you to fall unconsciously into previous patterns you might agree that it would be a good idea to begin to become familiar with a new self accordingly you may ask yourself what is the greatest expression of myself that I would like to be if you turn on your frontal lobe and contemplate those aspects of self you'll begin to make your brain work differently than your past self as your frontal lobe the CEO entertains that new question it looks out over the landscape of the rest of the brain and seamlessly combines all of your stored knowledge and experiences into a new model of thought it helps create an internal representation for you to begin to focus on this contemplation process builds new neurological Networks as you Ponder the fundamental question above your neurons will begin to Fire and wire in new sequences patterns and combinations because you are thinking differently and whenever you make your brain work differently you're changing your mind as you plan your actions speculate on novel possibilities conjure up innovative ways of being and dream of new states of mind and body there will be a moment that the frontal lobe will turn on and lower the volume to The Big Three when this happens the thoughts you are thinking will become an internal experience you will install new software and Hardware programs into your nervous system and it will appear that the experience of being your new self has already been realized in your brain and if you repeat this process every day your ideal will become a familiar State of Mind one more Point here if you attend so well to the thought you are focusing on that it literally becomes an experience then the end product of that is an emotion once that emotion is created you begin to feel like you're new ideal and that new feeling will start to become familiar remember that when your body begins to respond as if the experience is already a present reality you will signal your genes in new ways and your body will commence to change now ahead of the physical event in your life now you are ahead of time and most important you move into a state of being mind and body working together and if you repeat this process consistently this state of being will become familiar to you as well if you can maintain that modified State of Mind and Body independent of the external environment and the body's emotional needs and greater than time something should show up differently in your world that's the quantum law let's summarize here according to our working model of meditation all you have to do is remind yourself who you no longer want to be until this becomes so familiar that you know your old self the thoughts behaviors and emotions connected to the old you that you want to change to the extent that you on fire and unwire the old mind away and no longer signal the same genes in the same ways then you repeatedly contemplate who you do want to be as a result you will fire and wire new levels of mind to which you will emotionally condition the body until they become familiar and second nature to you that's change besides its meaning in tibetan to meditate in Sanskrit means to cultivate self I especially like this definition because of the metaphorical possibilities it offers for example gardening or agriculture when you cultivate the soil you take the pack down Earth that has been lying fallow for a while and you Churn it up with a spade or other implement you expose new dirt and nutrients making it easier for seeds to germinate and for tender shoots to take root cultivation may also require you to remove plants from the previous season attend to weeds that went unnoticed and remove any rocks that Rose to the surface by natural sifting thus last season's plants might represent your past Creations derived from the thoughts actions and emotions that Define the old familiar you weeds could signify long-standing attitudes beliefs or perceptions about yourself that are subconsciously undermining your efforts which you hadn't noticed because you were too distracted by other things and the rocks can symbolize your many levels of personal blocks and limitations which naturally rise to the surface over time and block your growth all these need tending so that you can make room to plant a new Garden in your mind otherwise if you planted a new Garden or crop without proper preparation it would yield little fruit the other key thing is to ensure that this doesn't happen haphazardly we're not talking about plants in the wild which scatter seeds roughshod over the ground with some tiny percentage of them eventually coming to fruition instead to cultivate requires making conscious decisions when to till the soil when to plant what to plant how each of the items planted will work in harmony with the others how much water and fertilizer to mix in and so forth planning and preparation are essential to the success of the Endeavor this requires our daily mindful attention similarly when we talk about someone cultivating an interest in a particular subject we mean that he has thoughtfully researched that area of Interest also a cultivated person is someone who is carefully chosen what to expose herself to and who is amassed a breadth of knowledge and experience again none of this is done on a whim and little is left to chance when you cultivate anything you are seeking to be in control and that's what is required when you change any part of yourself instead of allowing things to develop naturally you intervene and consciously take steps to reduce the likelihood of failure the purpose behind all of this effort is to Reaper Harvest when you cultivate a new personality in meditation the Abundant yield you seek to create is a new reality creating a new mind is like cultivating a garden the manifestations you produce from the garden of your mind will be just like crops from the Earth's soil tend well to sum up the meditative process you have to break the habit of being yourself and reinvent a new self lose your mind and create a new one prune synaptic connections and nurture new ones unmerized past emotions and recondition the body to a new mind and emotions and let go of the past and create a new future refer figure 8A the biological model of change let's look a bit more closely at a few elements of this process obviously to avoid letting any thought or feeling you don't want to experience get past you unchecked you have to develop powerful skills of observation and focus we humans have a limited ability to focus and to absorb input but we can be much better at it than we normally are in our more unconscious state to break the habit of being yourself you would be wise to select one trait propensity or characteristic and focus your attention on that single aspect of your old self that you want to change for example you might Begin by asking yourself when I feel angry what are my thought patterns what do I say to others and myself how do I act what other emotions bring forth from my being angry what does anger feel like in my body how can I become conscious of what triggers my anger and how can I change my reaction the process of change requires unlearning first then learning the latter is a function of firing and wiring in the brain the former means that circuits are trimmed when you stop thinking the same way when you inhibit your habituations and interrupt those emotional addictions the old self begins to be neurologically pruned away And if every connection between nerve cells constitutes a memory then as those circuits are dismantled memories of your old self will go with them when you think about your former life and who you used to be it will be like looking at another lifetime where are those memories now stored they will be given to the soul as wisdom when those thoughts and feelings that used to Signal their body are stopped by your conscious efforts the liberated energy from those limited emotions is released into the field you now have energy with which to design and create a new destiny when we use meditation as a means to change when we become conscious and aware familiar with and willing to do what is necessary to eradicate an undesirable trait and cultivate a desired one we're doing what Mystics have been doing for centuries although I take a clearly biological approach to change so did the mystics they just use different terminology to describe the process the end result is the same breaking the addiction to the body the environment and time only when we make that separation can we change only when we think greater than the big three can we truly live independent of them and re-establish dominion over how we think and feel on a daily basis for too long we've been running unconscious programs that have been controlling us meditation allows us to reassert control awareness comes first recognizing when and how those programmed responses take over is essential when you move from the unconscious to the conscious you begin to close the gap between how you appear and who you are since knowledge is as we've seen the precursor to experience having a basic understanding of what happens in the brain during meditation will serve you well when you begin to learn and experience the meditative process coming up shortly in part three you probably know that the brain is electrochemical in nature when nerve cells fire they exchange charged elements that then produce electromagnetic fields because the brain's diverse electrical activity can be measured these effects can provide important information about what we're thinking feeling learning dreaming and creating and how we are processing information the most common technology scientists use to record the brain's changing electrical activity is an electroencephalograph EEG research has discovered a wide scope of brainwave frequencies in humans ranging from the very low levels of activity found in deep Sleep delta waves to a Twilight State between deep sleep and wakefulness Theta to the creative imaginative State Alpha to higher frequencies seen during conscious thought beta waves to the highest frequencies recorded gamma waves seen in elevated states of consciousness to help you better understand your journey into meditation I'm going to give you an overview of how each of these states relates to you once you know what all of these domains are you will be more Adept at knowing when you are in the brainwave state where the ego tries in vain to change the ego God knows I've been there and when you are in the brainwave state that is the Fertile ground of true change as children grow the frequencies that predominate in their brains progress from Delta to Theta to Alpha and then to Beta our job in meditation is to become like a child moving from beta to Alpha to Theta to for the Adept or Mystic Delta so understanding the progression of brainwave changes during human development can help demystify the process of how we experience meditation Delta between birth and two years old the human brain functions primarily in the lowest brain wave levels from 0.5 to 4 cycles per second this range of electromagnetic activity is known as delta waves adults in deep Sleep are in Delta this explains why a newborn usually can't remain awake for more than a few minutes at a time and why even with their eyes open young babies can be asleep when one-year-olds are awake they're still primarily in Delta because they function principally from their subconscious information from the outside world enters their brains with little editing critical thinking or judgment taking place the thinking brain the neocortex or conscious mind is operating at very low levels at this point Theta from about ages 2 to 5 or 6 a child begins to demonstrate slightly higher EEG patterns these Theta wave frequencies measure four to eight cycles per second children functioning in Theta tend to be trance-like and primarily connected to their inner world they live in the abstract and in the realm of imagination an exhibit few of the nuances of critical rational thinking thus young children are likely to accept what you tell them PS Santa is real at this stage phrases such as the following have a huge impact Big Boys Don't Cry girls should be seen and not heard your sister is smarter than you if you get cold you'll catch a cold these types of statements go straight to the subconscious mind because these slow brainwave states are the realm of the subconscious hint hint Alpha between ages 5 and 8 brain waves change again to an alpha frequency 8 to 13 cycles per second the analytical mind begins to form at this point in childhood development children start to interpret and draw conclusions about the laws of external life at the same time the inner world of imagination tends to be as real as the outer world of reality children in this age group typically have a foot in both worlds that's why they pretend so well for instance you may ask a child to pretend that he is a dolphin in the sea a snowflake in the wind or a superhero coming to the rescue and hours later he is still in character ask an adult to do the same and well you already know the answer beta from ages 8 to 12 and onwards brain activity increases to even higher frequencies anything above 13 cycles per second in children is the frontier for beta waves beta goes on and up to varying degrees from there throughout adulthood and is representative of conscious analytical thinking after age 12 the door between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind usually closes beta is actually divided into low mid and high range beta waves as children progress into their teens they tend to move from low range beta up into mid and high range beta waves as seen in most adults refer Figure 8 B brainwave development later as you're reading this chapter most likely you're in the everyday waking state of beta brainwave activity your brain is processing sensory data and trying to create meaning between your outer and inner worlds while you're engaged in this book's material you may feel the weight of your body on your seat you may hear music in the background you may glance up and see out a window all of this data is being processed by your thinking neocortex Alpha now let's say that you close your eyes eighty percent of our sensory information derives from sight and purposefully go inward since you are greatly reducing sensory data from the environment less information is entering your nervous system your brain waves naturally slow down into the alpha state you relax you become less preoccupied with the elements of your outer world and the inner world begins to consume your attention you tend to think and analyze less in Alpha the brain is in a light meditative state when you practice the meditation in part three you'll go into an even deeper Alpha state on a daily basis your brain moves into Alpha without much effort on your part for example when you're learning something new in a lecture generally your brain is functioning in low to mid-range beta you're listening to the message and analyzing the concepts being presented then when you've heard enough or you particularly like something interesting that applies to you you naturally pause and your brain slips into Alpha you do this because that information is being Consolidated in your gray matter and as you stare into space you are attending to your thoughts and making them more real than the external world the moment that happens your frontal lobe is now wiring that information into your cerebral architecture and like magic you can remember what you just learned Theta in adults theta waves emerge in the Twilight state or Lucid State during which some people find themselves half awake and half asleep the conscious mind is awake while the body is somewhat asleep this is the state when a hypnotherapist can access the subconscious mind in Theta we are more programmable because there is no Veil between the conscious and subconscious Minds Delta for most of us delta waves are representative of deep sleep in this realm there is very little conscious awareness and the body is restoring itself as this overview demonstrates when we move into slower brainwave States we move deeper into the inner world of the subconscious mind the reverse is also true as we move into higher brainwave States the more we become conscious and attend to the external world with repeated practice these terrains of the mind will begin to become familiar to you just like anything else you persist at you will come to notice what each brainwave pattern feels like you'll know when you are analyzing or thinking too much in beta you'll observe when you are not present because you're swinging from the emotions of the past trying to anticipate a known future you'll also sense when you are in alpha or Theta since you'll feel its coherence in time you will know when you are there and when you are not refer Figure 8 C brain waves since we spend most of our conscious waking day with our attention on the external environment and functioning in beta let's talk about the three levels of these brainwave patterns this understanding will facilitate moving from beta to Alpha and ultimately to Theta in the meditative state 1. low range beta is defined as relaxed interested attention ranging from 13 to 15 Hertz or cycles per second if you are enjoying reading a book and are familiar with the material your brain would probably be firing in low beta because you are paying a certain degree of attention without any vigilance 2. mid-range beta is produced during focused attention on sustained external stimuli learning is a good example if I were to test you on what you read while enjoying that book in lobata you would have to perk up a bit and thus there would be more neocortical activity such as analytical thinking mid beta operates between 16 and 22 Hertz with mid-range beta or even low range beta to some extent these frequencies reflect our conscious or rational thinking and our alertness they are a result of the neocortex taking in stimuli from the environment through all of our senses and assembling the information into a package to create a level of mind as you can imagine with this focus on what we're seeing hearing tasting feeling and spelling comes a great deal of complexity an activity within the brain to produce that level of stimulation three high range beta is characterized by any brainwave pattern from 22 to 50 hertz High beta patterns are observed during stressful situations where those nasty survival chemicals are produced in the body maintaining the sustained focused and such a high arousal state is not the type of focused attention we use to learn create dream problem solve or even heal in truth we could say that the brain in high beta is functioning with too much focused concentration the mind is too amped up and the body is too stimulated to be in any semblance of order when you're in high beta just know for now that you are probably focusing on something too much and it's hard to stop emergencies always create a considerable need for increased electrical activity in the brain Nature has gifted us with the fight or flight response to help us quickly focus in potentially dangerous situations the strong physiological arousal of the heart lungs and sympathetic nervous system leads to a dramatic change in psychological States our perception behaviors attitudes and emotions are all altered this type of attention is very different from what we normally use it causes us to act like a revved up animal with a big memory bank the scales of attention become tipped towards the external environment causing an over-focused State of Mind anxiety worry anger pain suffering frustration fear and even competitive states of Mind induced high range beta waves to predominate during the crisis in the short term this serves all organisms well there is nothing wrong with this narrow over-focused range of attention we get the job done because it affords us the ability to accomplish so many things however if we remain in emergency mode for a long time high beta knocks us far out of balance because maintaining it requires an immense amount of energy and because this is the most reactive unstable and volatile of brain patterns when high beta becomes chronic and uncontrolled the brain gets Juiced up beyond the healthy range unfortunately High beta is terribly over utilized by the majority of the population we are obsessive or compulsive Insomniac or chronically fatigued anxious or depressed forcibly pushing in all directions to be all-powerful or hopelessly holding onto our pain to feel utterly powerless competing to get ahead or victimized by our circumstances to put this into perspective think about the normal functioning of the brain as part of the central nervous system which controls and coordinates all other systems of the body it keeps your heart beating digests your food regulates your immune system maintains your respiratory rate balances your hormones controls your metabolism and eliminates waste to name a few as long as the mind is coherent and orderly messages that travel from the brain to the body through the spinal cord will produce synchronized signals for a balanced healthy body however many people spend their waking days in a sustained high frequency beta state to them everything is an emergency the brain stays constantly on a very fast cycle which taxes the entire system living in this thin margin of brain waves is like driving a car in first gear while simultaneously stepping on the gas these people drive through their lives without ever stopping to consider shifting gears into other brain States their continual repetition of survival-based thoughts creates feelings of anger fear sadness anxiety depression competition aggression insecurity and frustration among others people become so caught up in these intoxicating emotions that they try to analyze their problems from Within These familiar feelings which only perpetuates more thoughts over focused on survival also recall that we can turn on the stress response by thought alone the way we are thinking reinforces the very state of the brain and body which then causes us to think the same way and the loop goes on it's the serpent eating its tail long-term High beta produces an unhealthy cocktail of stress chemicals which can tip the brain out of balance like a symphony orchestra Out Of Tune parts of the brain may stop coordinating effectively with other areas entire regions work separately and in opposition Like A house divided against itself the brain no longer communicates in an organized holistic fashion as stress chemicals Force the thinking brain neocortex to become more segregated we may function like someone with multiple personality disorder only we're experiencing it all at once instead of one personality at a time of course when disorderly incoherent signals from the brain relay erratic mixed electrochemical Messengers through the central nervous system to the rest of the physiological systems this puts the body out of balance upsetting its homeostasis or equilibrium and setting the stage for disease if we live in this high stress mode of chaotic brain function for extended periods the heart is impacted leading to arrhythmias or high blood pressure digestion begins to fail causing indigestion reflux and related symptoms an immune function weakens resulting in colds allergies cancer rheumatoid arthritis and more all of these consequences stem from an unbalanced nervous system that is operating incoherently due to the action of stress chemicals and high range beta brain waves reaffirming the outer world is the only reality the stress I've been discussing is a product of our addiction to The Big Three the problem isn't that we are conscious and aware but that our focus in high beta is almost exclusively on our environment people things places our bodies parts and functions I'm hungry I'm too weak I want a better nose I'm fat compared to her and time hurry up the clock is winding down in high beta the outer World appears to be more real than the inner world our attention and conscious awareness primarily focus on everything that makes up the external environment thus we identify more readily with those material elements we criticize everyone we know we judge the way our bodies look we're over focused on our problems we cling to things we own out of fear that we might lose them we busy ourselves with places we have to go and we're preoccupied with time that leaves us little processing power to pay attention to the changes that we truly want to make to go inward to observe and monitor our thoughts behaviors and emotions it's difficult for us to focus on our inner reality when we are over fixated on our outer world in general we can't concentrate on anything other than the big three we can't open our minds beyond the boundaries of our narrow focus and we obsess about problems rather than thinking about Solutions why does it take such effort to let go of the external and go Within the brain in high beta can't easily shift gears into the imaginary Realms of alpha our brainwave patterns keep us locked into all of those elements of our outer world as if they are real when you are stuck in high beta it's hard to learn very little new information can enter into your nervous system that's not equal to the emotion you are experiencing the truth is the problems you're so busy analyzing can't be resolved within the emotion you are analyzing them in why not well your analysis is creating higher and higher frequencies of beta thinking in this mode causes your brain to overreact you reason poorly and think without clarity in view of the emotions that grip you you're thinking in the past and trying to predict the next moment based on the past and your brain can't process the present moment there's no room for the unknown to show up in your world you're feeling separate from the quantum field and can't even entertain new possibilities for your circumstances your brain isn't in creative mode it's fixated on Survival preoccupied with possible worst case scenarios again not much information will be encoded into the system that is not equal to the emergency state When Everything feels like a crisis your brain makes survival the priority not learning the answer lies outside the emotions you're wrestling with and the thoughts you're over analyzing because they keep you connected to your past the familiar and the known solving your problems begins with getting Beyond those familiar feelings and replacing your scattered focus on the big three with a more orderly mode of thinking as you can imagine when the brain is in high beta and you're processing sensory information involving the environment your body and time that activity can create a bit of Chaos along with understanding that the electrical impulses in your brain occur in a certain quantity cycles per second it's also important to be aware of the quality of the signal just as the discussion of quantum creating showed how vital it is to send a coherent signal into the field to indicate your intended future outcome the same coherence is essential to your thinking and your brain waves at any one time when you're in the beta range of frequencies one of the big three will have more of your attention if you're thinking about being late your emphasis is on time that thought is sending a higher frequency wave through your neocortex of course you're also aware of and therefore sending electromagnetic impulses related to your body and the environment is just that in the case of the latter two you're sending different wave patterns with a lower frequency through the neocortex your time focused brain waves might look like this your environment focused brain waves might look like this your body focused brain waves might look like this your fractured attention caused by trying to focus simultaneously on all of the big three then would produce a brainwave pattern that might look like this as you can see those three different patterns together during stress produce an incoherent signal in high beta mode if you're anything like me you've had experiences when the last drawing represents how your thoughts felt scattered when we are plugged into all three dimensions the environment the body and time the brain tries to integrate their varied frequencies and wave patterns that takes up an enormous amount of processor time and space if we can eliminate our focus on any one of those the patterns that emerge will be more coherent and will be better able to process them refer figure 8D the difference between a coherent and an incoherent signal here is a way for you to know if you're in beta state if you're constantly analyzing I call this being in analytical mind you are in beta and you're not able to enter into the subconscious mind the expression paralysis by analysis is an apt one here well that's what's happening to us when we live most of our lives in that beta range the only time we aren't there is when we're sleeping then we're in the Delta range of brainwave activity now you might be thinking but you said that we needed to be aware we need to become familiar with our thoughts feelings patterns of responses and so forth doesn't that require analysis actually awareness can exist outside of analysis when you are aware you may think I'm feeling angry when you are analyzing you go beyond that simple observation to add why is this page taking so long to load who designed this stupid website why is it that whenever I'm in a hurry like now when I'm trying to get a movie listing the internet connection is so slow awareness as I mean it to be practiced here is simply noting watching a thought or feeling and moving on now that we've covered some Basics about brain waves in children and adults this foundation will provide a working model see the next five figures to help you understand the meditative process let's start with figure 8e on the next page thanks to the research into children's brainwave patterns we know that when we are born we are completely in the realm of the subconscious refer Figure 8 e the early mind next take a look at figure 8f those plus and minus signs represent how the developing child's mind learns from positive and negative identifications and associations that give rise to habits and behaviors here's an example of a positive identification when an infant is hungry or uncomfortable she cries out making an effort to communicate in order to get her mother's attention as the nurturing parent responds by feeding the child or changing her diaper the infant makes an important connection between her inner and outer worlds it only takes a few repetitions before she learns to associate crying out with being fed or becoming comfortable it becomes a behavior a good example of a negative association is when a two-year-old puts his finger on a hot stove he learns very quickly to identify the object he sees externally the stove with the pain he is feeling internally and after a few tries he learns a valuable lesson refer Figure 8 f the developing mind in both examples we could say that the moment that the child notices an internal chemical change in the body the brain perks up and pays attention to whatever it was in the outer environment that caused this alteration be it pleasure or pain these types of identifications and associations begin to slowly develop many habits skills and behaviors as you learned somewhere around the age of six or seven as brain waves change into Alpha the child begins to develop the analytical or critical mind for most children the analytical mind usually finishes developing between ages 7 and 12. in figure 8G the line that runs across the top of the circle is the analytical mind which acts as a barrier to separate the conscious from the subconscious mind in adults this critical mind loves to reason evaluate anticipate forecast compare what it knows to what it's learning or contrast knowns and unknowns for the most part when adults are conscious their analytical minds are always working and thus they are functioning in some realm of beta waves refer figure 8G analytical mind now take a look at Figure 8 h above the line representing the analytical mind is the conscious mind which is five percent of the total mind this is the seed of logic and reasoning which contributes to our will our faith our intentions and our creative abilities the subconscious mind which makes up about 95 of who we are consists of those positive and negative identifications and associations that give rise to habits and behaviors refer Figure 8 h the conscious mind and the subconscious mind Figure 8 I illustrates the most fundamental purpose of meditation represented by the arrow to get beyond the analytical mind when we are in this mind we cannot truly change we can analyze our old self but we cannot uninstall the old programs and install new ones meditation opens the door between the conscious and subconscious Minds we meditate to enter the operating system of the subconscious where all those unwanted habits and behaviors reside and change them to more productive modes to support us in our lives refer to Figure 8 I meditation getting beyond the analytical mind let's examine how you can learn to change gears and access other brainwave States so you can go beyond your association with the body the environment and time you can naturally slow down the high-speed vigilance of the brain and body into a more relaxed orderly systemized pattern of brain waves thus it is quite possible to consciously alter your brain waves from that higher frequency beta State into Alpha and Theta you can train yourself to move up and down the scale of brain waves as you do you will open doors to True personal change you trespass beyond the common type of thinking that is fueled by reactions to being in survival mode you are entering the realm of the subconscious mind during meditation you transcend the feelings of the body are no longer at the mercy of the environment and lose track of time you forget about you as an identity As You Close Your Eyes the input from the outside world is reduced and your neocortex has less to think about and analyze as a result the analytical mind begins to become subdued an electrical activity in the neocortex quiets down then when you restfully pay attention concentrate and focus in a relaxed manner you automatically activate the frontal lobe which reduces synaptic firing in the rest of the neocortex therefore you lower the volume to the circuits in the brain that process time and space this allows your brain waves to naturally slow down to Alpha now you are moving from a state of survival into a more creative state and your brain naturally recalibrates itself to a more orderly coherent brainwave pattern one of the latest steps of meditation if you keep practicing is to move into the Theta wave frequency when your body is asleep but your mind is awake this is a magical land you are now in a deeper system of the subconscious and are able to immediately change those negative associations to more positive ones it's important to remember that if you have conditioned the body to become the mind and your body is somewhat asleep while your mind is awake you could say that there is no more resistance from the body mind in Theta the body is no longer in control and you are free to dream change subconscious programs and finally create from a totally unobstructed place once the body is no longer running the mind the servant is no longer the master and you are working in a realm of true power you are like a child again entering the kingdom of heaven to sleep a chance to go down then up the ladder naturally when you go to sleep you pass through the spectrum of brainwave States from beta to Alpha to Theta to Delta likewise when you wake up in the morning you naturally rise from Delta to Theta to Alpha to Beta returning to conscious awareness when you come to your senses from the Netherworld you remember who you are the problems in your life the person sleeping next to you the house you own where you live and Presto by association you're back in beta as the same you some people fall very quickly through these levels like a steel ball dropping from the top of a building their bodies are so fatigued that their natural progression down the ladder to the subconscious States happens too rapidly others cannot shift gears to naturally progress down the ladder into sleep they are hyper focused on the cues in their lives that reinforce their addictive mental and emotional states they become insomniacs may take drugs to chemically alter the brain and sedate the body either way sleep problems May indicate that the brain and the mind are out of sync as a result of normal daily changes in brain chemistry alternatively the brain produces serotonin primarily a daytime neurotransmitter that makes you alert and melatonin the nighttime neurotransmitter that begins to relax you for sleep there are two times when the door to the subconscious mind opens when you go to bed at night and when you wake up in the morning so it is a good idea to meditate in the morning or evening because it will be easier to slip into a state of alpha or Theta I like to wake up early to begin the process because while I'm still a bit dreamy I'm still in Alpha I personally like to create from a clean slate others prefer the late evening they know that the body which was in control during the day is now too tired to be the mind they can create without any effort by drawing out the alpha phase and even entering into Theta while they are still awake meditation during the middle of the day might be difficult especially if you work in a busy office manage a house full of kids who demand your undivided attention or are involved in activities that require heightened concentration at such times you might be in a middle to high beta and it may take more effort to slip through the door refer Figure 8 J brainwave function inward contemplative practices retrain the Mind Body and brain to become present instead of being stressed in anticipation of some future event you're obsessing about meditation also lifts the anchor of the body mind out of the past and frees you from the emotions that keep you hooked to the same familiar life the object in meditation is to fall like a feather down from the top of a building slowly and steadily you first train yourself to let your body initially relax but keep your mind focused once you begin to master the skill the ultimate goal is to let your body fall asleep while your mind stays awake or active here is the progression if waking consciousness is beta from low to high depending on your levels of stress once you sit up straight to keep your spine erect close your eyes take a series of conscious breaths and go inward you will naturally switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system you will change your physiology from the emergency protection system fight fright flight to the internal protection system for long-term building projects growth and repair as the body relaxes your brainwave patterns will naturally begin to move to Alpha if done properly meditation will shift your brain to a more coherent and orderly wave pattern you will go from focusing on the big three to becoming nobody no thing and no time now you begin to feel connected whole and balanced and you experience healthier elevated emotions of trust joy and inspiration if our definition of mind is the brain in action or the brain's activity when it processes different streams of consciousness then meditation naturally produces more synchronized coherent states of mind on the other hand when the brain is stressed its electrical activity will be like the entire Orchestra of musical instruments playing badly the mind will be out of rhythm out of balance and Out Of Tune your job is to play a masterpiece if you persist with this band of disorderly egocentric self-important members who think that their individual musical instruments need to be heard above all others and if you insist that they work together and follow your lead there will come a moment when they will surrender to you as their leader and will act as a team this is the moment when brain waves become more synchronized moving from beta into Alpha and Theta more individual circuits start communicating in an orderly fashion and process a more coherent mind your awareness shifts from narrow-minded over-focused obsessive compartmentalized survival thinking to thoughts that are more open relaxed holistic present orderly creative and simple this is the natural state of being we are supposed to live by take a look at coherence or what is also called synchrony the state where the brain is working in harmony refer figure 8K the difference between coherent and incoherent brain waves this orderly new synchronized signal to the body from the brain organizes all of the diverse systems into homeostasis the cardiovascular system digestive system immune system and so on all move into coherence as well as the nervous system recalibrates itself all of the enormous energy that was needed for survival can now be used for creation the body begins to heal for example Jose a man at one of my lectures told me about one of his first times doing a meditation back in his twenties in those days he'd had 10 Olive sized warts on his left hand he was so embarrassed by them that he often hid that hand in his pocket one day someone gave Jose a book on meditation the book instructed him to Simply focused on his breath and allow his mind to expand beyond the barriers of his body one night before bed he decided to try the process in a matter of moments he went from an over-focused contracted state to a more expanded open focused state as he vacated his familiar personality and became something other than his typical thoughts and feelings he went from the habitual random thought patterns driven by The Familiar ego to a more expanded sense of self when this occurred something shifted the next morning when Jose woke up all ten warts had completely vanished shocked and Overjoyed he looked under the sheets for evidence of them but found nothing he explained that he didn't know where the warts went I told him that they returned to the quantum field where they came from I suggested to him that the universal intelligence that keeps order in his body naturally had done what it always does create more order to reflect a more coherent mind when his new subjective coherent mind matched the objective coherent higher mind that greater power within did the healing for him all of this happened because when he got out of the way and became no body no thing outside time when he forgot about himself his Focus went from sustained disorder to sustained order survival to Creation contraction to expansion incoherence to coherence then the unlimited Consciousness restored order in his body and he was healed at my workshops I frequently Asked participants to share their surprising stories of Life Changes Monique a therapist from Montreal Quebec recently described her own remarkable experience for most of her adult life Monique had lived unconsciously in a near-constant state of lack not enough money not enough energy not enough time to do the things she wanted now she was going through a particularly rough patch her office rant had risen considerably her house couldn't accommodate an office she and her husband couldn't afford to send their son to the College of his choice now washer needed replacing and the shaky economy had forced several clients to stop seeing her one day while doing the meditation you will learn in this book and pondering her life choices Monique realized that she couldn't keep doing what she normally did hunker down and weather the storm with a pseudo-positive woe is me but things could be worse mentality she recognized that she'd always made decisions or sought solutions to problems from a perspective of lack lack of time of money and of energy she had memorized that state of being lack became her personality the epitome of inertia she tended to let the chips fall where they may ironically Monique had worked with her clients to overcome these very traits and to be more proactive and less reactive with great resolve she decided to change her personality no longer would she let life trample her and allow things to just happen to her next Bonnie created a template of who she wanted to be how she wanted to think and what she wanted to feel she imagined herself as a woman who made all of her choices with an abundance of energy time and money most important a goal to become this person was as firm as her vision was precise she knew who she no longer wanted to be and she had definitive plans for how her new self would think feel and behave when we make a decision that strongly and have a clear intention for what our new reality will be like the clarity and coherence of those thoughts produces corresponding emotions as a result our internal chemistry changes our neurological makeup is altered we prune old synaptic connections and Sprout new ones and we even express our genetic code differently Monique began to live her life from the perspective of someone who had plenty of money who had abundant energy and whose every need was met she felt wonderful certainly not all the problems from her catalog of worries went away but she was becoming better at Living from a different mindset several weeks after making that firm decision Monique was working with her last client of the day this woman who had grown up in France reminisced how every month her parents had purchased a ticket in the French Lottery a tradition that she had continued as Monique drove home that evening she wasn't thinking about the lottery she'd never played it leaving that with her limited Financial Resources such an expenditure was frivolous stopping for gas she went inside to pay and there on the counter were lottery cards for various games on impulse recognizing that the new Monique who lived in abundance could afford to take a chance on winning she purchased a ticket by the time Monique had stopped at a local pizzeria for a carry-out dinner and arrived home the lottery had slipped her mind grabbing the pizza she discovered that some grease had soaked through the box stuck to the lottery card and stay in the passenger seat she set the Box on the dining table with the ticket alongside it she told her family to start eating without her and that she'd be in the garage tending to the grease stain while she was scrubbing away her husband came running out you won't believe it your lottery ticket was a winner now you recall that when the quantum field responds it does so in a way that one couldn't predict perhaps you're thinking of course she won millions and lived happily ever after not exactly Monique won fifty three thousand dollars was she happy astounded is more like it the couple owed exactly fifty three thousand dollars in credit card and auto loan debt Monique relayed her excitement in telling us that story but she slyly admitted that next time instead of holding the intention that all her needs were met she'd choose to imagine that they were met and then some what Monique's story illustrates is the power of creating a new state of being she couldn't do that just by imagining that she was a new person she had to put that new self into action the old Monique would never have bought a lottery ticket a new personality aligned her behavior to match her objective and the field responded in an entirely unexpected yet perfectly appropriate way because Monique developed a new personality who seized opportunities and acted differently she experienced new and better results in her life new personality new personal reality you don't have to win the lottery to change your life of course but you do have to make the decision to stop being your old self enter into the operating system where those unconscious programs exist and then formulate a clear design for a new one before I wrap up this chapter I want to bring up a subject I referenced in evolve your brain namely Buddhist monks who were studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison these super meditators could go into a state of coherent brain waves well beyond what most of us are capable of when they meditated on thoughts of loving kindness and compassion the coherence the signals they were putting out was nearly off the charts every morning during the study they meditated while researchers monitored their brainwave activity after that they were sent out onto the campus and into the town to do what they wished visit museums go to shops or what have you after they returned to the research center they underwent brain scans again without first going back into meditation amazingly despite not meditating throughout the day and being subjected to the incoherent chaotic signals that the external World exposes us all to they maintain the same coherent brainwave patterns they had achieved in meditation most of us when faced with the profusion and confusion of stimuli that the external World produces Retreat into survival mode and manufacture the chemicals of stress those stress reactions are like disruptors that scramble the brain's signals instead our goal is to become more like those monks if we can produce coherent signal patterns those synchronous waves every day we'll find that this coherence of signal manifests into something tangible in time if you can repeatedly create internal coherence like those monks did you too may walk into the external environment and no longer suffer the self-limiting effects of its disruptive stimuli and because of that you won't experience the knee-jerk reactions that formally forced you to return to the old familiar self that you are so eager to change by persisting with meditation and creating coherence within you will not only remove a lot of the negative physical conditions that plague your body but you can also progress towards that ideal self you've envisioned your inner coherence can counteract negative reactionary emotional states and allow you to unmemorize the behaviors thoughts and feelings that make them up once you've gotten to a neutral empty state it is far easier to engage a heightened one like compassion it is easier to bring in pure joy or love or gratitude or any of the elevated emotional states that's true because those emotions are already profoundly coherent and when you're moved through the meditative process and produce a brainwave state that reflects this Purity then you will begin to overcome the body the environment and time which once produced your self-limiting emotional states they will no longer control you instead you will control them you have now equipped yourself with the knowledge necessary to move on to the meditation discussed in part three with full understanding of what you'll be doing and why remember that knowledge is the Forerunner to experience all the information you have read has been put there to prepare you for an experience once you learn to meditate and apply this to your life you should begin to see feedback in the following section you will learn how to put all of this into practice and begin to make measurable changes in any area of your life I'm reminded of the two-stage Journey that many climbers make when they ascend Washington States and Mount Rainier the highest volcano in the contagious U.S 14 410 feet leaving their car at the paradise Jackson Visitor Center 5400 feet they first track to Camp Muir ten thousand and eighty feet stopping at this base camp affords them the opportunity to look back at all the ground they've covered assess what they've learned from the preparation and experience of that hike receive additional practical training and rest overnight this overview can make all the difference when they continue on to undertake The Climb to Rainier's Majestic Peak the knowledge you've gained has allowed you to send to this point now you're ready to apply everything you've learned and your newfound wisdom should inspire you to forge your head to part three where you can master the skills to change your mind and thus your life so I invite you to pause briefly take a look back with appreciation for the information you required in Parts one and two and if you need to review any areas you may feel are important then join me as you make your final preparation for the meditative journey to your own personal Summit part three stepping towards your new destiny chapter nine the meditative process introduction and preparation as I stated earlier the main purpose of meditating is to remove your attention from the environment your body and the passage of time so that what you intend what you think becomes your focus instead of these externals you can then change your internal State independent of the outside world meditating is also a means for you to move beyond your analytical mind so that you can access your subconscious mind that's crucial since the subconscious is where all of your bad habits and behaviors that you want to change reside introduction all of the information you have received up to this point has been intended to help you understand what you will be doing in this section as you learn to use the meditative process to create a new reality and once you comprehend and repeatedly execute the how-to steps presented here you can then work on anything that you want to change in your life remind yourself often that in taking these steps to change you are pruning away the habit of being yourself so that you can create a new mind for your new future when I do the process you're about to learn I want to lose myself in Consciousness disassociate from my known reality and be devoid of the thoughts and feelings that Define me as the old self in the beginning the newness of the task you are undertaking might cause you to feel unsettled or uncomfortable that's okay it's just your body which has become your mind resisting the new training process understand this before you initiate your discipline and relax each step is designed to be easy to understand and simple to follow personally I look forward to my meditation practice as much as anything I do I find such order peace Clarity and inspiration that I really miss a day it took some time for me to arrive at this relationship so please be patient with yourself turning small steps into one easy habit whenever you've learned anything new that required your full attention and commitment to practice you probably followed specific steps during your initial instruction this makes it easier to break down the complexities of the skill or task at hand so that the mind can stay focused without being overwhelmed in any Endeavor of course your goal is to memorize what you're learning so that eventually you can do it naturally effortlessly and subconsciously essentially you want to make this new skill a habit it's easier to comprehend and execute any new skill when by repetition you master one small task or procedure at a time and then move on to the next over time you string each step together as part of one coordinated process the sign that you're on your way is when all of the steps start to look like one easy fluid motion and you produce the intended result that's your aim in learning this meditation as a step-by-step process for example in learning to hit a golf ball there are a host of cues that your mind has to process in order to have your actions match your intention imagine that while you're preparing to tee off for the first time your best friend shouts keep your head down bend your knees shoulders square and back erect keep your front arms straight but loosen your grip shift your weight when you swing hit behind the ball and follow through and my favorite relax all these instructions at once could throw you into a state of paralysis What If instead you worked on one thing at a time following a methodical order in time it seems logical that your swing would look like one motion similarly if you were learning to cook a French recipe you would start by following its individual steps do that enough times and there would come a moment when you no longer would prepare the recipe as separate steps but as one continuous process you would integrate the instructions into your body mind merge many steps into just a few and eventually cook the meal in half the time you'd go from thinking to doing your body memorizes what you were doing as well as your mind that's what a procedural memory is this phenomena occurs when you do anything long enough you begin to know that you know how building a neural network for meditation remember that the more knowledge you have the better prepared you are for a new experience every meditation step you practice will have a meaning to you based on what you learned earlier in this book each one is based on a scientific or philosophical understanding so that nothing is left to conjecture the steps are presented in a specific order designed to help you memorize this process for personal change although I have mapped out a suggested four-week program for you to learn the entire process please take as much time as you need to practice each step until it becomes familiar the best Pace to set is one that is comfortable so you never feel overwhelmed you will begin every session by doing the previous steps you learned then practice the new material for that week because it's more effective to learn some steps together some weeks will call for you to practice two or more new steps also I recommend that you practice each new mindful step or group of steps for at least a week before you move on to the next ones in a few weeks you'll build quite a neural network for meditation here's the suggested four-week program week one chapter 10. every day do step one induction week 2 chapter 11. start every daily session by once again practicing the first step then add step two recognizing step 3 admitting and declaring and step four surrendering week 3 chapter 12. start every daily session by practicing steps one through four then add step 5 observing and reminding and step 6 redirecting week 4 chapter 13. start every daily session by practicing steps one through six then add step 7 creating and rehearsing please take your time and build a strong Foundation if you are already an experienced meditator and want to do more at once that's fine but work at following all of the instructions and committing to what you will be doing to memory when you can concentrate on what you're doing without letting your thoughts wander to any extraneous stimuli you will come to the point when your body actually aligns with your mind now your new skill will become easier and easier to do thanks to hebb's law of firing and wiring ingredients of learning attention instruction and practice will develop an Associated neural network to reflect your intentions two approaches to the meditation meditation option one whenever you see this headphone icon a guided induction or meditation is available meditation option two alternatively scripts for these guided sessions are included in the appendices so that you can read them until you memorize the sequence or dictate them into a recording device appendices A and B provide two techniques for the induction appendix C is the script for the entire meditation encompassing all of the steps you will learn in part three if you decide to use the appendix C script to guide your meditation then each week please start with the steps you learned in previous weeks then build on them by doing that week's meditation preparation preparing your tools the right stuff separately from your meditation sessions you will read some descriptive text about each step often accompanied by questions and prompts Under The Heading opportunity to write I recommend that you keep a notebook handy to write down your answers then review your responses before you go into each day's meditation that way your written thoughts can serve as a road map to prepare you to navigate through the meditative procedures in which you will access the operating system of your subconscious listen up when you are first learning the meditation steps you may want to listen to pre-recorded guided sessions for example you will learn an induction technique that you will use in every one of your daily sessions to help you reach the highly coherent Alpha brainwave state in preparation for the approach that is the focus of chapters 11 to 13. in addition the steps you are to learn each week are available for you to follow in a series of guided meditations preparing your environment location location location you have learned that overcoming your environment is a critical step in Breaking the Habit of being yourself finding the right environment in which to meditate one with a minimum of distractions will really give you a leg up on defeating the first of the big three we'll cover the other two the body and time in a moment pick a comfortable place where you can be alone and not seduced by the addiction of the external world make it secluded private and easily accessible go to this place every day and make it your special location you will form a strong connection with this setting it will represent where you frequent to tame the distracted ego overcome the old self create a new self and Forge a new destiny in time you will truly look forward to being there a participant in one event I led told me that she always fell asleep when she meditated our conversation went like this where do you practice your mindfulness training in bed what does the law of Association say about your bed and sleep I associate my bed with sleep what does the law of repetition demonstrate about sleeping in your bed every night if I sleep in the same place nightly I'm hardwiring an association of bed with sleep given the fact that neural networks are formed by combining the law of association with the law of repetition might you have formed a neural network to a fact that dead means sleep and since neural networks are automatic programs that we unconsciously use every day does it stand to reason that when you are on your bed your body as the mind will tell you to automatically and unconsciously fall into Oblivion yep I guess I need a better place to meditate not only did I suggest that you stay out of bed when she meditates but did she find a different place separate from her bedroom when you want to build a new neural network it makes good sense to do your mindfulness practices in a setting that represents growth regeneration and a new future and please do not see this location as a torture chamber in which you have to meditate this type of attitude will undermine your efforts preventing distractions from your environment make sure you won't be interrupted or distracted by people or pets a do not disturb sign can help as much as possible eliminate sensory stimuli that could force your mind back to your old personality or to awareness of the external World especially to elements of your familiar environment turn off your phone and computer I know it's hard but those calls texts tweets IMS and emails can wait you also don't want the aroma of coffee brewing or food cooking to waft into your meditation setting ensure that the room is a comfortable temperature with no drafts I usually use a blindfold music can be useful as long as you don't play selections that will bring to mind distracting associations if I play music I typically use soft relaxing trans-inducing instrumentals or chants without lyrics when not listening to music I often put in earplugs preparing your body position position I sit up very straight my back is totally vertical my neck is erect my arms and legs are resting poised and still and my body is relaxed what about using a recliner just as with sitting in bed many people fall asleep in recliners sitting upright in a regular chair limbs uncrossed is best if you prefer to sit on the ground and cross your legs Indian style that's fine too preventing bodily distractions in effect you want to put the body away so that you can focus without needing to pay it any attention for example use the restroom dress in loose clothes remove your watch drink a little water and have more Within Reach take care of any hunger pangs before you begin head knotting versus knotting off since we're talking about the body let me address an issue that may come up in your own meditation practice although you are sitting upright you may find your head nodding as though you're about to fall asleep this is a good sign you are moving into the alpha and Theta brainwave States your body is used to lying down when your brain waves slow down when you suddenly nod like this your body wants to doze off with continued practice you'll become accustomed to your brain slowing down while you sit upright the head knotting will eventually stop and your body won't tend to fall asleep making time to meditate when to meditate as you know daily changes in brain chemistry result in easier access to the subconscious mind just after you wake in the morning and before you go to bed at night these are the best times to meditate because you can more readily slip into the alpha or Theta States I prefer to meditate around the same time every morning if you are really enthusiastic and would like to meditate at both of these times of day go for it however I would suggest that folks just starting out do so once daily how long to meditate take a few minutes before each day's meditation session to review any writing you have done in connection with the steps you're about to practice as I said think of these notes as your road map to the journey you are about to take you may also find it helpful to pre-read portions of the text to remind you of what you're about to do before you go into meditation while you're learning the process every session will start with 10 to 20 minutes for induction as you add steps your time frame should lengthen by about 10 to 15 minutes per step over time you will move more rapidly through the steps with which you are already familiar by the time you learn how to do all of those in this process your daily meditation including induction will generally take 40 to 50 minutes if you need to finish by a certain time set a timer to go off 10 minutes before you must end your session that will give you a heads up to complete the session rather than having to stop abruptly without bringing what you are doing to a close and set aside enough time to meditate so that the clock doesn't become a concern after all if you are meditating and find yourself thinking about your watch you have an overcome time essentially you may have to wake up earlier or go to bed later in order to carve out a slot in your day preparing your state of mind mastering the ego to be honest I do have those days where I battle my ego tooth and nail since it wants to be in control some mornings as I begin the process my analytical mind starts thinking about flights to catch meetings with staff injured patients reports and articles I need to write my kids and their complexities phone calls I have to make and random thoughts from nowhere that pop into my head I'm obsessing about everything predictable in my external life typically my mind like most people's is either anticipating the future or remembering the past when that occurs I have to settle down and realize that those are all known associations that have nothing to do with creating something new in the present moment if this happens to you it is your job to go beyond the tedium of normal thinking and enter into the creative moment mastering the body if your body backs like an unbridled stallion because it wants to be the mind to get up and do something think about some place it has to go in the future or remember a past emotional experience with some person in your life you must settle it down into the present moment and relax it every time you do you are reconditioning your body to a new mind and in time it will acquiesce it was conditioned by an unconscious mind and it has to be restrained by you so love it work with it and be kind to it it will ultimately surrender to you as its master remember to be determined persistent excited joyful flexible and inspired when you do so you are reaching for the hand of the Divine now let's begin chapter 10. open the door to your creative state week one at an early point in my professional career I learned about and eventually taught hypnosis and self-hypnosis one of the techniques that hypnosis experts use to get individuals into a so-called trance is called induction simply put we teach people how to change their brain waves all someone has to do in order to be hypnotized or to hypnotize him or herself is to move down from the high or mid-range beta waves into a more relaxed alpha or Theta state does meditation and self-hypnosis are similar I could have included induction with the Preparatory information in the last chapter because induction prepares you to enter a coherent brainwave state that is conducive to meditation by mastering induction you will build a solid foundation for the meditative practices you will learn in upcoming steps however unlike those arrangements that you will make before you begin each day's meditation such as turning off your phone and putting your dog or cat in another room induction is a step you will include during the session in fact it must be the first step you master and it will lead off every session just to head off any confusion after opening each meditative session with induction you will not be in what the entertainment industry misleadingly depicts as a hypnotic trance you'll be perfectly primed and able to complete all steps in the process that follows in the next three chapters Step 1 induction induction open the door to your creative state I urge you to spend at least a week of daily sessions or more if needed devoted to practicing induction remember that this process will take up to the first 20 minutes of each meditation session you'll want this to become a familiar and comfortable habit so don't rush through it your objective is to stay present preparation for induction in addition to the aspects of preparation I discussed earlier here are some further tips first sit up straight and close your eyes as soon as you do so blocking some sensory environmental input from coming in your brain waves lessen in frequency moving toward that desirable Alpha state then surrender stay present and love yourself enough to move through this process you may find that soothing music AIDS in the progression from high beta to Alpha although it isn't necessary to use sounds induction techniques there are many similar variations on induction techniques whether you use either the body part or Water Rising induction alternate them on different days employ some other method you've used in the past or devise a different one altogether isn't important what is important is that you move from the analytical beta state to the sensory state of alpha and focus on the body which is the subconscious mind and the operating system where you can then make the changes you want overview body part induction one induction technique may at first seem contradictory you'll Focus your attention on your body and the environment those are two of The Big Three that you have to overcome but in this case you're in control of your thoughts about them why is it desirable to focus on the body remember it and the subconscious mind are merged so when we become acutely aware of the body and Sensations related to it we enter the subconscious mind we're in that operating system I've mentioned often induction is a tool that can be used to get into that system the cerebellum plays a role in proprioception awareness of how our bodies are positioned in space so in this induction as you rest your awareness on different parts of your body in space and the space around your body in space you're using your cerebellum to perform this function and since the cerebellum is the seed of the subconscious mind as you place your Consciousness on where your body is orientated in space you access your subconscious mind and bypass your thinking brain moreover induction shuts down the analytical mind by forcing you into a sensing feeling mode feelings are the language of the body which in turn is the subconscious mind so induction allows you to use the body's natural language to interpret and change the language of the operating system in other words if you're sensing or putting your awareness on different aspects of your body you would be thinking less shifting your analytical thoughts from past to Future less and broadening your focus more to Encompass a very different scope not narrowly obsessive but rather creative and open and you would move from beta to Alpha all of this happens as you move from that narrow-minded range of attention to an expanded focus on the body and the space around it Buddhists refer to this as open Focus occurring when the brain waves naturally become orderly and synchronized open Focus produces a new powerfully coherent signal that allows parts of the brain that we're not communicating with other parts to now do so that enables you to produce an extremely coherent signal while you can measure that on a brain scan more important is that you can feel the difference in the clarity and focus of your thoughts intentions and feelings body part induction specifically you will focus on the location or orientation of your body in space for example think about the location of your head starting at its top and gradually moving down as the induction progresses from body part to body part sense and become aware of the space that each occupies also sense the density the weight or heaviness or the volume of space that it occupies by focusing your attention on your scalp then next on your nose then your ears and so on moving down the body until you've focused on the bottoms of your feet you will notice some changes there's movement from part to part and the emphasis on the spaces within the spaces is the key to this next become aware of the teardrop shaped area surrounding your body and the space it takes up when you can sense that area of space around your body your attention now is no longer on your body now you are not your body but something grander this is how you become less body and more mind finally become aware of the area that the room you're in occupies in space since the volume that it fills When You Reach this point this is when the brain begins to change its disorderly wave patterns to more balanced and orderly ones we can measure these differences in how you are thinking we can view your thought patterns on an EEG and see how you've moved from beta to Alpha wave activity we're not interested in just getting you into an alpha state of any kind though you want to be in a highly coherent organized Alpha that's why you will concentrate first on your body and its orientation in space then move from those individual parts for the volume or perimeter of space surrounding the body and eventually Focus your observation on the entire room if you can sense that density of space if you can notice it and pay attention to it you will naturally move from a state of thinking to feeling when that happens it's impossible to maintain the high beta state that characterizes the emergency mode of survival and an over-focused condition Water Rising induction another similar induction technique you can use is to imagine water moving into the room where you are sitting then gradually Rising observe sense the space in which the room is situated and the space that the water occupies at first the water would rise to cover your feet move up The Shins to the knees spill over them and into your lap move up your abdomen and chest covering your arms rising to your neck up past your chin lips and head until the water fills the entire room while some people may not like the idea of being covered completely by water others find it soothing warm and inviting as a reminder during your week one meditations your job is to practice the induction technique if you record this induction yourself make certain that you repeat the same questions that I have provided in my guided induction instructions in the appendices with their emphasis on words and phrases such as sense notice feel become aware of become conscious of and attend to also words such as volume density perimeter of space weight of space and so forth will help you focus your observation instead of moving quickly from one part to another allow some time to pass a good 20 to 30 seconds or more for those sensory inputs and the feelings of those parts in space to really settle in roughly allow about 20 minutes to do the body part induction from head to toe or in the case of the water immersion from toe to head if you have meditated before you will no doubt understand that eventually you lose any sense of time passing as your brain waves diminish in frequency and you move into that calm and relaxed Alpha state where the inner world is more real than the outer world chapter 11. prune away the habit of being yourself week two during week two it's time to add three steps in pruning away the habit of being yourself recognizing then admitting and declaring followed by surrendering first read through all these steps and answer the related questions then devote at least a week to daily meditation sessions in which you first go into induction then move through the three steps of course if you need more than one week to feel competent at all this that's fine step two recognizing identify the problem the first move necessary in fixing anything is to understand what is presently not working you have to know what the problem is and then name it in order to have power over it many people who have had a near-death experience report that they underwent a Life review in which they saw as if watching a movie all of their covert and overt actions they're expressed and suppressed sentiments their public and private thoughts and their conscious and unconscious attitudes they saw who they were and how their thoughts words and deeds affected everyone and everything in their lives afterward they typically describe having a greater understanding about themselves and a desire to do a better job of living from then on as a result they perceived new possibilities and better ways to be in any opportunity having seen themselves from a truly objective point of view they clearly know what they want to change recognition is like having a Life review every day since you have all of the equipment in your brain to notice who you are being why not do this before you die and in effect be reborn in the same life with practice this type of awareness can help you override what would otherwise be the predetermined Destiny of your brain and body the automatic enslaving hardwired programs of the mind and the memorized emotions that have chemically conditioned the body only when you are truly conscious and aware do you begin to wake up from the dream to become still quiet patient and relaxed and then be attentive to the habits of the old personality self disengages your subjective Consciousness from over utilized attitudes and extreme emotional states you no longer are the same mind because you are now freeing yourself from the chains of the self-centered nature of the ego lost in itself and when you see who you have been by means of the observer's watchful eye you will crave life more because you will truly desire to make a greater difference the next day as you develop the skills of contemplation and self-observation you are cultivating the ability to separate your Consciousness from the subconscious programs that have defined the old self to move your Consciousness from being the old self to being the Observer of the old self loosens the connection to the old you energy recognize who you have been through the skill of metacognition the ability via the frontal load to observe who you are being for the first time your Consciousness is no longer immersed in unconscious programs you are becoming conscious of what was once unconscious this is making the first strides towards personal change begin your own life review in order to discover and explore aspects of the old self that you want to change it is necessary to pose some frontal lobe questions opportunity to write take some time to ask yourself questions such as these or any others that occur to you and write down your answers 1. what kind of person have I been two what type of person do I present to the world what is one side of my Gap like three what kind of person am I really like inside what is the other side of my Gap like four is there a feeling that I experience even struggle with over and over again every day five how would my closest friends and family describe me six is there something about myself that I hide from others seven what part of my personality do I need to work on improving eight what is one thing I want to change about myself choose an emotion to unmerize next choose one of your afflictive emotional states and limited states of mind one of the habits of being yourself that you want to relinquish since memorize feelings condition the body to be the Mind these self-limiting emotions are responsible for your automatic thought processes which creates your attitudes which influence your limited beliefs about self in relationship to everyone or everything which contribute to your personal perceptions every one of the emotions listed below originates from the chemicals of survival which strengthen the ego's control the following examples can help you get started opportunity to write pick one emotion that is a big part of who you are and that you want to unmerize your chosen emotion may be one that's not listed below remember that this word has meaning to you because it is a feeling that is familiar to you it is one aspect of the self that you want to change I recommend that you write down the emotion you came up with because you will be working with it throughout this and later steps examples of survival emotions insecurity hatred judgment victimization worry guilt depression shame anxiety regret suffering frustration fear greed sadness disgust Envy anger resentment unworthiness and lack most people see these examples and say can I pick more than one it is important in the beginning to work with one emotion at a time in any case they are all linked together neurologically and chemically for example have you ever noticed that when you're angry you're frustrated when you're frustrated you hate when you hate you judge when you judge you're envious when you're envious you're insecure when you're insecure you're competitive when you're competitive you're selfish all of these emotions are run by the same combined survival chemicals which then stimulate related states of mind on the other hand the same is true for elevated states of mind and emotion when you're joyous you love when you love you feel free when you're free you're inspired when you're inspired you're creative when you're creative you're adventurous and so on all of these feelings are driven by different chemicals that then influence how you think and act let's use anger as an example of a recurring emotion you might choose to work with as you unmerize anger all of the other self-limiting emotions will incrementally decrease within you as well if you become less angry you'll be less frustrated hateful judgmental envious and so on the good news is that you are actually taming the body to no longer run unconsciously as the mind consequently as you change one of these destructive emotional states the body will be less prone to live out of control and you will change many other personality traits observe how The Unwanted emotion feels in your body next close your eyes and think about how you feel when you experience that particular emotion if you can observe yourself overcome by that emotion pay attention to how it feels in your body there are different Sensations that correlate to different emotions I want you to become aware of all of those physical signs do you become hot irritated jittery weak flushed deflated tight scan your body with your mind and notice in what area you feel that emotion if you do not feel anything in your body that's okay just remember what you want to change about yourself your observation is changing it Moment by moment now become familiar with your body's present state does your breathing change do you feel impatient are you physically in pain and if so if that pain had an emotion what would it be just notice what physiologically is happening in the moment and don't try to run from it be with it the host of different feelings in your body become an emotion when you name it as anger fear sadness or whatever the case may be so let's get down to all of those feelings and physical Sensations that create the emotion you want to unmemorize allow yourself to feel that emotion without being distracted by anything or anyone don't do anything to try to make it go away almost everything you have done in your life has been to run from this feeling you used everything outside of you to try to make it go away be present with your emotion and feel it as energy in your body this emotion has motivated you to appropriate everything you know in your environment to fashion and identity because of this feeling you create an ideal for the world instead of an ideal for yourself this feeling is who you really are acknowledge it it is one of the many masks of your personality that you have memorized he started from an emotional reaction to an event in your life which lingered into a mood which developed into a temperament which created your personality this emotion has become the memory of yourself it speaks nothing about your future your attachment to it means that you are mentally and physically Bound by your past if emotions are the end product of experiences then by embracing the same emotion every day the body is being fooled into believing that your external world is staying the same and if your body is being conditioned to re-experience the same circumstances in your environment you can never evolve and change as long as you live by this emotion daily you can only think in the past Define the State of Mind associated with the emotion next ask yourself this simple question how do I think when I feel this way let's say that you want to change anger as one of your personality traits ask yourself what is my attitude when I feel anger the answer might be controlling or hateful or it might be self-important by the same means if you want to overcome fear you might have to address the state of mind or feeling overwhelmed anxious or desperate suffering might lead to feeling victimized depressed lazy resentful or needy now become aware of or remember your thinking when you feel this way what is the state of mind that is powered by this emotion this feeling influences everything you do states of Mind represent an attitude that is driven by the memorized feelings subconsciously anchored in the body an attitude is a series of thoughts that are connected to a feeling or vice versa it is the repetitive cycle of thinking and feeling feeling and thinking therefore you need to Define your neural habit that is influenced by your particular emotional addiction opportunity to write become aware of how you think your state of mind when you are feeling the emotion you want to change you may pick from the list below or add any that are not listed your selection will be based on The Unwanted emotion you identified previously but it's natural to be in one or more limiting states of Mind relating to that emotion so write down one or two that resonate with you because you'll work with these in upcoming steps examples of limiting states of mind competitive overwhelmed complaining blaming confused distracted self-pitying desperate lacking overly intellectual self-important shy timid introverted needing recognition under overconfident lazy dishonest controlling deceptive conceited dramatic rushing needy self-involved sensitive insensitive most of your behaviors choices and deeds are equal to this feeling therefore you will think and act in predictable routine ways there can be no new future just more of the same past it's time to remove the colored lenses and no longer see life through the filter of the past your job is to be with that emotional attitude without doing anything but observing it you've just identified an unwanted emotion and its corresponding state of mind that you want to unmerize but remember that you still have a couple of steps to read through before you integrate them all into your daily meditation step 3. admitting and declaring admitting acknowledge your true self rather than the self you show to other people allowing yourself to be vulnerable you move beyond the realm of your senses and begin to introduce yourself to the universal Consciousness that is The Giver of your life you develop a relationship with this greater intelligence telling it who you have been and what you want to change about yourself and admitting what you have been hiding owning up to who we really are and what our past mistakes have been and asking to be accepted are among the most challenging things for us to do as humans think of how you felt as a child when you had to fess up to your parents a teacher or a friend have those feelings of guilt shame and anger changed now that you're an adult most likely you still experience them but maybe not as strongly what makes achieving step three possible is knowing that we are admitting our faults and failures to our higher power and not to another similarly flawed human as a result when we admit to ourselves and to that Universal Power there is no punishment no judgment no manipulation no emotional abandonment no blame no score keeping no rejection no loss of love no damnation no separation and no banishment all of the preceding acts are derived from the old Paradigm of God which has been shrunk to the likeness of an insecure man completely self-absorbed steeped in the concepts of good and bad right and wrong positive and negative success and failure Love and Hate Heaven and Hell pain and pleasure and fear and more fear this traditional model must be addressed because one must enter this Consciousness with a new consciousness this Enigma can be called innate intelligence Chi Divine mind Spirit the quantum the life force the infinite mind the Observer Universal intelligence the quantum field invisible power mother father life cosmic energy or higher power regardless of what name you give it you must see this energy as an unlimited source of power within you and around you which you utilize and create from throughout your life it is the consciousness of intent and the energy of unconditional love it is impossible for it to judge punish threaten or banish anyone or anything because it would be doing those very things to itself it only gives in love compassion and understanding it already knows everything about you it's you who have to make an effort to know and develop a relationship with it it has been observing you from the moment you were created you are an extension of it it only waits in hope in admiration and in patience it only wants you to be happy and if you are a happy being unhappy that's fine too that's how much it loves you this self-organizing invisible field is wise beyond comprehension because it exists through an interconnected Matrix of energy that extends in all dimensions in space and time past present and future it records the thoughts desires dreams experiences wisdom Evolution and knowledge from all of eternity it is an immense immaterial multi-dimensional field of information it knows much more than you and I do even though we think we know it all its energy can be likened to many levels of frequency and like radio waves every frequency carries information all of life on a molecular level vibrates breathes dances shimmers and is alive it is completely receptive and malleable to our willful intentions let's suppose you want joy in your life so you ask the universe for it every day however you've memorized suffering into such a state of being that you whine all day long you hold everyone responsible for the way you feel you make excuses for yourself and you mope around constantly feeling sorry for yourself can you see that you can declare Joy or you want but you are demonstrating being a victim your mind and body are in opposition you are thinking a certain way one moment then you are being something else the remainder of the day hence can you humbly and sincerely admit who you have been what you've been hiding and what you want to change about yourself so that you eliminate unnecessary pain and suffering before you create the related experiences in your reality to vacate and lay down your familiar personality for a brief period of time and knock on the door of the infinite in a state of joy and reverence is so much more conducive to change than allowing your personality to be fractured by your insistent course of Destiny created by who you were repeatedly being let's change in Joy instead of changing in pain opportunity to write now close your eyes and become still look into the vastness of this mind and into yourself and begin to tell it who you have been develop a relationship with the greater Consciousness that is giving you Life by honestly and inwardly talking to it share with it the details of those stories that you have carried around with you writing down what comes to you will be useful in later steps examples of what you might admit to your higher power I am afraid of falling in love because it hurts too much I pretend I'm happy but I'm really suffering because I'm lonely I do not want anyone to know that I feel so guilty so I lie about myself I lie to people so that they like me and so I won't feel so unloved and unworthy I can't stop feeling self-pity I think act and feel this way all day long because I do not know how else I can feel I have felt like a failure most of my life so I try extra hard to be a success now take a moment and review what you have written and what you want to admit to this power declaring outwardly acknowledge your self-limiting emotion in this part of the meditation process you actually speak out loud who you have been and what you've been hiding about yourself you tell the truth about yourself put the past to rest and close the gap between how you appear and who you really are you give up your facade and the constant effort of being someone else by declaring the truth about yourself out loud you are breaking the emotional ties agreements dependencies attachments bonds and addictions to all those external cues in your life in the workshops that I conduct around the world this is the most difficult part of the steps no one really wants anyone to know who they really are they want to maintain how they appear however as you have learned it takes an enormous amount of energy to keep up this ongoing image this is the point where you want to release that energy and remember since emotions are energy in motion everything that you've experienced and interacted with in your external life has had an energetic emotion attached to it essentially you are bonded to some person thing or place by an energy that exists Beyond time and space this is how you continually remember yourself as an ego with a personality identifying emotionally with and being tied to everything in your life for example if you hate someone that hate keeps you emotionally attached to the other person your emotional bond is the energy that keeps this individual in your life so that you can feel hate and thus reinforce one aspect of your personality in other words you use that person to stay addicted to hatred by the way it should be obvious by now that your hatred is primarily hurting you as you release chemicals from your brain to your body you truly hate yourself to speak the truth about yourself out loud in this step empowers you to become free from hatred unless connected to the person or thing in your external reality that reminds you of who you have been if you recall the Gap discussed earlier you know that most people rely on the environment to remember themselves as a somebody therefore if you have memorized an emotion as part of your personality and you are addicted to it then when you declare who you have been emotionally you are calling energy back releasing it to you from your emotional bonds with everything and everyone in your life this conscious statement by you will free you from the old self in addition by claiming your limitations and consciously revealing what you have been hiding you are freeing the body from being the mind and for that reason you are closing the gap between how you appear and who you really are when you verbalize who you have been you also liberate energy stored in your body this will become free energy for you to use later on in the meditation to create a new self and life bear in mind that your body will not want to do this very readily your ego automatically hides this emotion because it doesn't want anyone to know the truth about itself it wants to remain in control the servant has become the master but the master now must let the servant know that he or she has been delinquent unconscious and absent so it makes sense that your body will not want to relinquish control because it does not trust you but if you just open your mouth and speak out in spite of the body's control it will begin to feel lighter and relieved and you will begin to be back in command this is how you define who you really are without any associations to your external environment you are severing your energetic bond to the emotional attachment of all the elements in the outer world if admitting is an inner acknowledgment then declaration is an outward one what is it that you want to declare it's time to merge this part of step three with the previous part remember that you're building this section into one fluid process using the example of anger you might say aloud I have been an angry person my whole life remember the general aim of what you want to declare in this part of the meditation for the week while you are sitting up with eyes closed you'll open your mouth and softly say the emotion that you are declaring anger while you prepare yourself to do this and while you are engaged in verbalizing your declaration it probably will not feel good to you do it anyway that's your body talking to you your end result is that you are inspired uplifted and energized make this step simple easy and light-hearted do not over analyze what you've done just know that the truth shall set you free remember that you're not ready to start your week two meditations yet in this section you have recognized an unwanted emotion and its corresponding state of mind that you want to unmemorize then you admitted it inwardly and declared it outwardly there's one more step to read after which you can put all four together in your week two meditation step four surrendering yield to a greater power allow it to resolve your limitations or blocks surrendering is the final step in this section in which you are pruning away the habit of being yourself most of us struggle with the idea of letting go of allowing someone or something else to have control keeping in mind whom you are surrendering to the source Infinite Wisdom should make this process go much easier Einstein said that no problem could be solved from the same level of Consciousness that created it The Limited State of Mind of your personality is responsible for creating your limitations and the answer has not come to you so why not go to a grander more resourceful Consciousness to help you overcome this facet of yourself since all potentials exist in this infinite sea of possibilities you are humbly asking it to take your limitations from you in a different way than the mode in which you have been trying to resolve this issue since the best way to transform yourself has not occurred to you and what you've been doing up to this point to overcome the problems in your life has not worked out yet it's time to contact a greater resource the consciousness of the ego could never see the solution it is steeped in the emotional energy of the dilemma and therefore it only thinks acts and feels equal to that mind it only creates more of the same your change will be executed in a way that is unlimited from the objective mind's perspective it sees you from the perspective of not being you it perceives potentials that you have not even thought of because you were too busy being lost in the dream by responding to life in predictable ways however if you say that you have surrendered to the objective consciousnesses assistance yet still try to do things your own way can you see that it is impossible for it to assist you in changing anything in your life by your own free will you would thwart its efforts most of us obstruct this mind because we go back to trying to resolve our problems by living within the same unconscious habitual lifestyle we get in our own way in fact most of us wait until the ego is driven into the ground to the point that we can no longer continue business as usual this is when we usually surrender and receive some type of aid you can't both surrender and try to control the outcome surrender requires that you give up what you think you know from your limited mind especially your belief about how this problem in your life should be taken care of to truly surrender is to let go of the ego's control trust in an outcome that you haven't thought of yet and allow this all-knowing loving intelligence to take over and provide the best solution for you you must come to the understanding that this invisible power is real is fully conscious of you and can completely take care of any aspect of the personality when you do it will organize your life in a way that is just right for you when you ask for help by simply releasing to a greater mind the emotion you have admitted and declared you won't have to bargain beg make deals or promises commit halfway manipulate weasel ask for forgiveness feel guilty or shameful live with regrets suffer from Fear provide excuses moreover you won't have to give your higher mind conditions like you should and it would be better if you can't tell this unlimited Grand Essence how to go about anything if you do you are back to trying to do things your way and naturally it will stop helping you so as to allow you your own free will instead can your free will be thy will be done Just Surrender in sincerity humility honesty certainty Clarity passion Trust and then get out of the way joyously give up the emotion you want to let go of to a more expanded mind and know that it will do this for you when your will matches its will when your mind matches its mind and when your love of self matches its love for you it answers the call the side effects of surrendering include inspiration Joy love freedom gratitude exuberance when you feel Joy or live in a state of joy you have already accepted the future outcome that you want as a reality when you live as if your prayers have already been answered this greater mind can do what it does best by organizing your life in new and unusual ways what if you knew that some issue facing you had been completely taken care of what if he was certain that something exciting or great was about to happen to you if you knew it without a doubt there would be no worry no sadness no fear and no stress you would be lifted you'd be looking forward to your future if I told you that I was taking you to Hawaii in a week and you knew that I was serious wouldn't you start to get happy in anticipation your body would begin to physiologically respond ahead of the actual experience well the quantum mind is like a big mirror it reflects back to you what you accept and believe is true so your outer world is a reflection of your inner world the most important synaptic connection you can make when it comes to this mind is to know that it is real think about how a placebo works you know by now that we have three brains that allow us to evolve from thinking to doing to being often subjects with health issues who are given a sugar pill that they think is medicine except the thought that they are going to get better begin to act as if they are better begin to feel better and finally are being better and as a result the subconscious mind within them which is connected to the universal mind all around them begins to change their internal chemistry to mirror their new belief about their restored health the same principle applies here believe that the Quantum Mind will answer your call and help you if you begin to doubt become anxious worry get discouraged or over analyze how this assistance might happen you have undone everything that you originally accomplished you got in your own way you blocked something greater from helping you your emotions demonstrated that you disbelieved in Quantum possibilities and therefore you lost your connection to the Future that the Divine mind was orchestrating for you this is when you have to go back and reinstate a more powerful frame of mind talk to the Quantum Mind as if it knows you very well and loves and cares for you because it does opportunity to write in anticipation of this conversation write down some things you would like to say in your surrender statement examples of surrender statements Universal Mind within me I forgive my worries my anxieties and my small-minded concerns and I give them to you I trust that you have the mind to resolve them much better than I could arrange the players in my world so that doors open for me innate intelligence I release my suffering and my self-pity to you I have mismanaged my inner thoughts and actions for long enough I allow you to intervene and provide a greater life in a way that is just right for me prepare to surrender now close your eyes and begin to become familiar with what you want to say to this greater mind review what you've written so that you can take your limitations to it the more present you are the more focused you can become as you begin to inwardly recite your prayer remember that this invisible Consciousness is watchful and aware of you it notices everything that you think do and feel ask for help and turn over your unwanted State of Mind next ask the universal Consciousness to take this part of you and reorganize it into something greater once you do then hand it over to this higher mind some people mentally open a door and pass it through others handed over in a note while some place it in a beautiful box then let it dissolve into the higher mind doesn't matter what you imagine I just simply let go what matters is your intention that you feel connected to a very loving Universal Consciousness and that you begin to become free from your old self with its help the more purposefully you're able to manage your thoughts and the more you can feel the joy of being free from this condition the more you are matching a greater will its mind and its love give thanks once you have completed your prayer remember to give thanks ahead of the manifestation when you do you are sending a signal into the quantum field that your intention has already come to fruition thankfulness is the Supreme state of receivership week two guide to meditation now you're ready to do your week two meditation here's a suggested way to move through all the steps you've learned if you feel that you already did any of these actions while you were reading and journaling just go ahead and repeat them during your meditations you may be surprised by the results step one first go through your induction technique and continue to become more and more used to this process to enter the subconscious mind step two next by becoming aware of what you want to change about yourself in mind and body recognize your own limitations that is Define a specific emotion that you want to unmemorize and look at the associated attitude that is driven by that feeling step three continuing on inwardly admit to a higher power within you who you have been what you want to change about yourself and what you have been hiding then outwardly declare what emotion you are releasing so as to free the body from the mind and break the bonds to the elements in your environment step four finally surrender this self-limiting state to a greater mind and ask that it be resolved in a way that is right for you practice these individual steps regularly during your sessions until they begin to become familiar to you that they merge into one smooth step then you'll be ready to proceed on keep in mind that as you continue to add steps to your meditation process you will always start by doing the series of four intentional actions you just learned chapter 12. dismantling the memory of the old you week three once again you will read through and perform your writing on steps five and six before you do your week three meditation sessions step 5 observing and reminding in this step You observe the old self and remind yourself who you no longer want to be just like our working definition of meditation in part two of the book to observe and remember is to become familiar with to cultivate the self and to make known what is in some way unknown here you will become completely conscious of by observing the specific unconscious or habitual thoughts and actions that make up that state of mind and body that you named earlier in step two recognizing then you will remind yourself about by remembering all of the aspects of the old self that you no longer want to be you'll become familiar with yourself being the old personality the precise thoughts you no longer want to give power to and the exact behaviors you no longer want to engage in so you'll never fall back into being that old self this frees you from the past what you mentally rehearse and what you physically demonstrate is who you are on a neurological level the neurological you is made up of the combination of your thinking and actions on a moment-to-moment basis this step is designed to create greater awareness and a better observation of who you have been metacognition as you reflect and review your old self you will get clear on who you no longer want to be in Step 2 recognizing you have already observed the emotion that drives you now I want you to become so familiar with your specific thoughts and actions derived from the old Sensations that you catch yourself while you live your life with repeated practice you can become so aware of the old patterns that you never allow them to manifest to fruition the end result is that you stay ahead of the old self so that you have control over it so when you start to notice the beginnings of the feeling that normally drives your unconscious thoughts and habits unfolding in your day it has become so familiar to you that the slightest inkling is now brought to your awareness as an example if you are overcoming a dependency on some substance such as sugar or tobacco the more you are able to sense when the pangs and tugs of the body's chemical addiction begin the sooner you'll be able to do battle against them everyone knows when the Cravings start to occur you begin to notice impulses urges and sometimes loud screams which sound like just do it submit give in go ahead just this one time as you continuously Forge onward and upward in time you can notice when these Cravings come up and you will be better equipped to handle them the same is true with personal change except the substance is not something that exists outside of you in reality it is you your feelings and thoughts are actually a part of you nevertheless your real objective here is to be so aware of the self-limiting state of being that you would never let one thought or behavior go unnoticed by you almost all of what we demonstrate starts with a thought but just because you have a thought doesn't necessarily mean it is true most thoughts are just old circuits in your brain that have become hardwired by your repetitive volition thus you have to ask yourself is this thought true or is it just what I think and believe while I'm feeling this way if I act on this impulse will it lead me to the same result in my life the truth is these are echoes from your past that are connected to strong feelings which activate old circuits in your brain and cause you to react in predictable ways opportunity to write what automatic thoughts do you think when you feel that emotion you identified in step two it is important to write them down and memorize the list to help you recognize your own unique set of self-limiting thoughts you may find the following examples helpful examples of limiting automatic thoughts your daily unconscious mental rehearsal I'll never get a new job no one ever listens to me he always makes me feel angry everyone uses me I want to call it quits today is a bad day for me so why bother trying to change it it's her fault that my life is this way I'm really not that smart I honestly can't change maybe it would be better to start another time I don't feel like it my life sucks I hate my situation with dot dot dot I'll never make a difference I can't dot dot dot does not like me I have to work harder than most people it's by genetics I am just like my mother just as with habitual thoughts habitual actions also make up your own unique undesirable states of mind you are influenced to behave in memorized Ways by the very emotion that has conditioned your body to be your mind this is who you are when you go unconscious you start off with good intentions and then you find yourself sitting on the couch eating potato chips with the remote control in one hand and a cigarette in the other however just a few hours before you Proclaim that you are going to get in shape and stop all self-destructive behaviors most unconscious actions are taken to emotionally reinforce the personality and fulfill an addiction in order to feel more of the same way for example people who feel guilty on a daily basis will have to perform certain actions to fulfill their emotional destiny most certainly they will get in trouble in life to feel more guilt many unconscious actions match and thus satisfy who we are emotionally on the other hand many people exhibit certain habits in order to temporarily make the feeling they have memorized go away they look for instant gratification from something outside of them to momentarily free them from their pain and emptiness being addicted to computer games drugs alcohol food gambling or shopping is used to resolve one's inner pain and emptiness your addictions create your habits since nothing that exists outside of you could ever resolve your emptiness on a permanent basis invariably you will have to do more of the same activity over again after the thrill or the rush wears off a few hours later you will have to return to the same addictive tendency once more but do it longer however when you unmemorize the negative emotion of your personality you eliminate the destructive unconscious Behavior opportunity to write think about The Unwanted emotion you identified how do you habitually act when you are feeling this way you may recognize your own patterns among the examples below But be sure to add those behaviors that are specific to you now write down the unique ways you behave when you feel that emotion examples of limiting actions behaviors your daily unconscious physical rehearsal sulking feeling sorry for yourself by sitting alone eating away depression calling someone to complain about how you feel playing obsessively on the computer picking a fight with someone you love drinking too much and making a fool out of yourself shopping and spending more than you have procrastinating gossiping or spreading rumors lying about yourself throwing a temper tantrum treating fellow employees with disrespect flirting with other people when you are married bragging yelling at everyone gambling too much driving aggressively trying to be the center of attention sleeping in every day talking too much about the past if you are having difficulty coming up with answers ask yourself what you think about during various situations in your life and inwardly watch how you think and respond you can also inwardly look through the eyes of other people how would they say they see you how do you act reminding recall the aspects of the old self you no longer want to be now review and memorize your list this is an essential part of meditation your goal is to become familiar with how you think and act when this specific emotion is driving you it is to remind you how you no longer want to be and how you were making yourself so unhappy this step helps you become aware of how you unconsciously behave and what you say to yourself while you're thinking and feeling feeling and thinking so that you have more conscious control in your waking day executing this step is a work in progress in other words if you sit down every day for a week to focus on this you will probably find that you continue to modify and refine your list that's good when you do this step you enter the operating system of the computer programs in the subconscious mind and throw the spotlight on them for your review you ultimately want to become so familiar with these cognitions that you inhibit them from firing in the first place you will prune away the synaptic connections that made up the old self and if everywhere that a neurological connection is formed constitutes a memory then you are in fact dismantling the memory of the old you throughout this next week continue to review the list again so that you know even better who you no longer want to be if you can memorize all these aspects of the old self you will separate your Consciousness even further from the old self when you're habitual automatic thoughts and reactions are completely familiar to you they will never slip by unnoticed or unrecognized and you will be able to anticipate them before they are initiated this is when you are free in this step remember awareness is your goal you know the drill by now read step six and do your writing then you will be ready to start your week three meditations step 6 redirecting here's what happens when you use the tools of redirecting you prevent yourself from behaving unconsciously you stop yourself from activating your old programs and you biologically change causing unfiring and unwiring of nerve cells similarly you stop the same genes from being signaled in the same ways if you have struggled with the idea of surrendering control this step allows you to more consciously and judiciously take back the reins in order to break the habit of being yourself when you become masterful at being able to redirect yourself you're building a solid foundation on which to create your new and improved self redirecting play the change game during your meditations this week take some of the situations you came up with in the step just before and as you picture them or observe yourself in your mind tell yourself out loud change it's simple one imagine a situation where you are thinking and feeling in an unconscious way say change two become aware of a scenario where the person for example or a thing where you could easily fall into an old Behavior pattern say change three picture yourself in an event in your life where there is a good reason to fall short on your ideal say change after you remind yourself to stay conscious throughout your day as you learned in the previous step you can now use a tool to change right in the moment whenever you catch yourself in real life thinking a limited thought or engaging in a limited Behavior just say change out loud over time your own voice will become the new voice in your head and the loudest one it will become the voice of redirection as you repeatedly interrupt the old program your efforts will begin to further weaken the connections between those neural networks that make up your personality by the principle of heavy and learning you will unhook the circuits connected to the old self during your daily life at the same time you are no longer epigenetically signaling the same genes in the same ways this is another step so that you'll become more conscious it is developing conscious control of yourself when you can stop and need your commotional reaction to something or person in your life you are choosing to save yourself from returning to the old you that thinks and acts in such limited ways by the same idea as you gain conscious control over your thoughts that may be initiated from some stray memory or Association connected with some environmental cue you will move away from the predictable Destiny in which you think the same thoughts and perform the same actions which will create the same reality it is a reminder placed by you in your own mind as you become aware redirect your familiar thoughts and feelings and recognize your unconscious states of being you are also no longer using up your valuable energy when you are living in a state of survival you are signaling your body into emergency status by knocking it out of homeostasis and thus mobilizing a lot of energy those emotions and thoughts represent a low frequency of energy that is consumed by the body so when you are conscious and change them before they make it to the body then every time you notice or redirect them you are conserving vital energy you may use for creating a new life since staying conscious is crucial to creating that new life it is important to understand how associative memories have made it so difficult for you to stay conscious in the past and how practicing redirection can help free you from your old self earlier in this book we saw that Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment with dogs beautifully illustrates why it can be so hard for us to change the dog's reaction in that experiment learning to salivate in response to a bell is an example of a conditioned response based on an associative memory your associative memories exist in the subconscious mind they are formed over time when the repeated exposure to an external condition reduces an automatic internal response in the body which then elicits an automatic Behavior as one or two of the sensors respond to the same cue the body reacts without much of the conscious mind's involvement it turns on by a thought or a memory alone by the same token we live by numerous similar associative memories in our lives triggered by so many known identifications derived from our environment for instance if you see someone you know well chances are that you are going to respond in automatic ways without ever consciously knowing it seeing that individual will create an Associated memory from some past experience that is connected to some emotion which then triggers an automatic Behavior the chemistry of your body changes the moment you think about him or her in the past memory a program runs from the repeated conditioning that you memorized about that person into your subconscious mind and just like Pavlov's dogs in moments you are physiologically responding unconsciously your body takes over and begins to run you subconsciously based on some past memory your body is now predominantly in control your out of the driver's seat consciously because your subconscious Body Mind Is Now controlling you what are the cues that cause this to occur so quickly with you they can be anything or everything in your external world their source is your relationship to your known environment it is your life which is connected to all of the people at things you experienced at different times and places this is why it is so difficult to stay conscious in the process of change you see a person hear a song visit a place remember an experience and your body begins to immediately turn on from a past memory and your Associated thought about how to identify with someone or something activates a Cascade of reactions below the conscious mind that then returns you back to the same personality self you think act and feel unpredictable automatic memorized ways you subconsciously re-identify with your past known environment which then returns you to your known self living in the past when Pavlov continued to ring the bell without the reward of food being present in time the dog's automatic response lessened because they no longer maintain the same Association we could say that the dogs repeated exposure to the Bell without the food dwindled their neuro-emotional response they stopped salivating because the Bell became a sound without an associative memory as you run through a series of situations in your mind's eye in which you stop yourself from being the old self emotionally your repeated exposure to the same stimuli mentally will over time weaken your emotional response to that condition and as you consistently present yourself to the same motives of the old identity and notice how you automatically responded you will become conscious enough in your life that you can catch yourself from going unconscious in time all of those associations that turned on the old program will become just like the dog's experience of the Bell without the food you no longer need jerk back physiologically to the neurochemical you connected to familiar people or things thus your thought about a person who makes you angry or your interaction with the ex-boyfriend can no longer tug on you because you've mindfully stopped yourself enough times as you break the addiction to the emotion there can be no automatic response it is your conscious awareness in this step that then frees you from the associated emotion or thought process in your daily life most of the time these reflexive reactions go by unchecked by you because you're too busy being the old you it is important that you rationalize beyond the barometer of your feelings to understand that these survival emotions are affecting your cells in adverse Ways by pushing the same genetic buttons and breaking down your body erases the question is this feeling Behavior or attitude loving to myself after I say change I like to say this is not loving to me the rewards of being healthy happy and free are so much more important than being stuck in the same self-destructive pattern I don't want to emotionally signal the same genes in the same way and affect my body so adversely nothing is worth it week three guide to meditation during your week three meditations your aim is now to add step five observing and reminding then step 6 redirecting to the previous steps so that you are doing all six steps five and six will ultimately merge to become one step throughout your day as limiting thoughts and feelings come up observe yourself and automatically say change out loud or hear this instead of the old voices as the loudest voice in your head when that happens you will be ready for the creation process step one as usual Begin by doing the induction steps two to five after you recognize admit declare and surrender it's time to continue to address the specific thoughts and actions that naturally slip past your awareness observe the old you until you become completely familiar with those programs step six then as you are observing the old you while you're in your meditation pick a few scenarios in your life and say change out loud chapter 13. create a new mind for your new future week four step 7 creating and rehearsing week four will be a bit different from previous weeks first as you read and write for step seven you will receive knowledge about creating an instruction on the how-to process of using mental rehearsal then you'll read the guided mental rehearsal meditation to follow to familiarize you with this new process next it's time to do what you have learned every day this week you will practice the week 4 meditation which includes steps one through seven as you listen you will apply the focused attention and repetition you have employed to create the new you and your new destiny before you begin the final series of steps I want to point out that the preceding steps were all designed to help you break the habit of being yourself so that you could make room both consciously and energetically for Reinventing a new self up until this point you've worked at pruning away old synaptic connections now it's time to sprout new ones so that the new mind you create will become the platform of who you will be in your future your previous efforts have facilitated unlearning some things about your old self you've weeded out many aspects of the old you 've become familiar with your unconscious states of mind that represent how you thought behaved and felt through the practice of metacognition you've consciously observed the routine habitual ways your brain fired within the box of your former personality the skill of self-reflection has allowed you to separate your free willed Consciousness from the automatic programs that cause your brain to fire in the exact same sequences patterns and combinations you've examined how your brain has probably been working for years now and since the working definition of mind is the brain in action you've objectively looked at your limited mind now that you are beginning to lose your mind it's time to create a new one let's begin to plant a new you your daily meditations contemplations and rehearsals will be like tending to a garden to yield a greater expression of you learning new information and reading about great people in history who represent your new ideal is like sowing the seeds the more creative you are in Reinventing a new identity the more diverse the fruits you will experience in your future your firm intention and conscious attention will be like water and sunlight for your dreams in your garden as you emotionally rejoice in your new future before it is made manifest you cast a safety net and fence protecting your vulnerable potential Destiny from pests and difficult climatic conditions because your elevated energy Shields your creation and by falling in love with the vision of who you are becoming you are nurturing the potential plants and fruits with a miracle fertilizer love is a higher frequency emotion than those survival emotions that allowed the weeds and pests to come in the first place to eliminate the old and make way for the new is the process of transformation next it's time to practice creating a new mind over and over again until it becomes familiar to you as you know the more you fire circuits together the more you wire them into lasting relationships and if you fire a series of thoughts related to a particular stream of Consciousness it will be easier to produce that same level of mind the time after that therefore as you repeat the same frame of mind every day of my mentally rehearsing a new ideal of self over time it will become more routine more familiar more natural more automatic and more subconscious you will begin to remember you as someone else in the previous steps you also unmemorized an emotion that was stored in your body mind now it's time to recondition your body to a new mind and Signal your genes in new ways your goal in this final step is to master a new mind in the brain as well as the body thus it becomes so familiar to you that you are able to reproduce that same level of being at will and make it look natural and easy it's important that you memorize this new State of Mind by thinking in new ways equally relevant is to then memorize a new feeling in the body so that nothing in your outer world can move you from it this is when you are ready to create a new future and then live in it when you rehearse you bring the new you out of nothing repeatedly and consistently so that you know how to call it up at will in this step you'll start by asking yourself some open-ended questions as you pose questions that cause you to speculate to think in different ways than you typically think and to entertain new possibilities this turns on your frontal lobe this entire contemplation process is the building method for making a new mind you are creating the platform of the new self by forcing the brain to fire in novel ways you're beginning to change your mind opportunity to write please take time to write down your answers to the following questions then review them reflect on them analyze them and think about all of the possibilities your answers raise questions to turn on your frontal lobe what is the greatest ideal of myself what would it be like to be dot dot dot who in history do I admire and how did they act who in my life do I know who is feels dot dot dot what would it take to think like dot dot dot whom do I want to model how would I be if I were dot dot dot what would I say to myself if I were this person how would I talk to others if I were changed how and whom do I want to remind myself to be your personality consists of how you think act and feel so I've grouped some questions to help you determine more specifically how you want your new self to conduct itself remember when you come up with your own answers then contemplate them you are installing new Hardware in your brain and signaling your genes to activate in new ways in your body feel free to continue to list your answers in your Journal if you don't think you can mentally keep track of them how do I want to think how would this new person my ideal think what thoughts do I want to put my energy behind what is my new attitude what do I want to believe about me how do I want to be perceived what would I say to myself if I were this person how do I want to act how would this person Act what would he or she do how do I see myself behaving how would I speak as this new expression of self how do I want to feel how would this new self be what would I feel what would my energy be like as this new ideal when you meditate to create the new you your job is to reproduce the same level of mind every day to think and feel differently than you usually do you should be able to repeat that same frame of mind at will and make it commonplace furthermore you have to allow your body to feel that new feeling until you actually are that new person in other words you cannot get up as the same person who sat down transformation must occur in the here and now and your energy should be different from when you started if you get up as the same person feeling just as you did when you started nothing has really happened you are still the same identity therefore if you say to yourself I didn't feel like it today I'm too tired I have too much to do I'm busy I have a headache I'm too much like my mother I can't change I want to get something to eat I can start tomorrow this doesn't feel good I should turn on the TV and watch the news and so on and if you allow those sub vocalizations to take the stage of the frontal lobe you will invariably get up as the same personality you must use your will intention and sincerity to go beyond these urges of the body you must recognize this banter and chatter as a fight by the old self for control you must allow it to Rebel but then bring it back to the present moment relax it and then start over again and over time it will begin to trust you to be the master again now that you've contemplated your answers it's time to rehearse them review how you will think act and feel as your new ideal let's be clear here I don't want you to become too mechanistic or rigid this is a creative process allow yourself to be imaginative free and spontaneous Don't force your answers to be one way or another don't try to go through your list in the same exact way during each meditative session there are many different means to arrive at your end just think about the greatest expression of yourself and then remind yourself how you will act what will you say how will you walk how will you breathe and how will you feel if you become that person what will you say to others and to yourself your goal is to move into a state of being and become this ideal for instance think back to those piano players who mentally rehearsed piano exercises without touching any keys and how they achieved almost the same brain changes as people who physically play at the same scales and chords for the same length of time the mental players daily rehearsal changed their brains to look like they had already had the experience of physically executing the activity their thoughts became their experience if you recall the finger exercise experiment involving mental rehearsal there were also significant physical changes demonstrated in the body without the subjects Ever Lifting a finger in this step your daily rehearsals would change your brain and your body to be ahead of time that's why it's so important to rehearse to bring up again how you will act as your new self this is how you biologically change the brain and body to no longer live in the past but rather to chart a map to the Future if the body and brain are changed then there is physical evidence that you are changed this part of Step seven is about making the leap to get to the unconsciously skilled level of expertise when you are unconsciously skilled at something that means you just do it without having to place a great deal of conscious thought or attention on the activity it's like going from a novice driver to an experienced one is like being able to knit without having to consciously will each of the actions into motion it's like the old Nike ad slogan you are just doing it if you're getting bored around this point in the exercise take that as a good sign it means that your new mode of operation is beginning to become familiar common and automatic you have to get to this juncture in order to hardwire and embody this information into long-term memory you must make an effort to go beyond your boredom because each time you engage in your new ideal you manage to be more of the new you with less effort you engrave your new model of you into a memory system that then becomes more subconscious and natural if you keep practicing it you won't have to think about being it you will have become it bottom line practice makes perfect you are training yourself in this process like any sport if you're doing rehearsal correctly then each time you practice it should be easier for you to accomplish why because you're primed you already have those circuits firing in tandem in your brain and it's already warmed up you also manufactured the right chemistry and it's circulating in your body selecting a new genetic expression your body is naturally in the right state in addition you have restrained and quieted down other brain regions connected to the old you consequently the feelings that were associated with the old you are less likely to stimulate your body in the same inherent ways bear in mind that most of the mental rehearsal exercises that activate and grow new circuits in the brain involve learning knowledge getting instruction paying attention and repeating the skill over and over as you know learning is making new connections instruction is teaching the body how to in order to create a new experience paying attention to what you are doing is absolutely necessary to rewire your brain because it involves you being present to the stimuli both physical and mental and last repetition fires and wires long-term relationships between nerve cells these are all the ingredients that it takes to grow new circuits and make a new mind and this is exactly what you're doing in your meditations repetition is what I want to emphasize here Kathy's story illustrates every facet of mental rehearsal a massive stroke had damaged The Language Center in her brain's left hemisphere leaving her unable to talk for months doctors told Kathy a corporate trainer that she would probably never speak again having read my book and completed one of my workshops Kathy refused to accept this devastating prognosis instead based on knowledge he had learned in instructions she received and applying focused attention and repetition Kathy mentally rehearsed speaking in front of groups of people every day she practiced this in her mind over a period of several months she demonstrated physical changes in her brain and body to the extent that she repaired The Language Center in her brain and completely regained her ability to speak today Kathy once again addresses audiences fluently and flawlessly with no hesitation in your own study of this material you made some important synaptic connections as the precursor for you to have new experiences both of these elements studying information and having experiences evolve your brain you are also being given the proper instruction in the unlearning and relearning process of change you understand the importance of focus in attending to both mental and physical activity to mold your brain and change your body to reflect your efforts and finally it is your repeated efforts to rehearse your new ideal that will produce the same level of Mind and Body over and over again repetition will seal long-lasting circuits and activate new genes for you to revisit the next day with greater ease this step is for you to practice reproducing the same state of being so it gets simpler the keys for you to focus on are frequency intensity and duration that is the more you do it the easier it gets the better your focus and concentration are the easier it is for you to tap into that particular mind the next time the longer you can linger in the thoughts and emotions of your new ideal without letting your mind wander to extraneous stimuli the more you will memorize this new state of being this step is all about getting into becoming your new ideal in your waking day your goal in this step is to become a new personality a new state of being so if you are a new personality you are being somebody else right your old personality based on how you thought felt and acted has created the reality that you presently are experiencing in short how you are as a personality is how you are in your personal reality remember also that your personal reality is made up of how you think feel and act by doing each of those in a new way you are creating both a new self and a new reality your new personality should produce a new reality in other words when you are being someone else you naturally will have a different life if you suddenly changed your identity you would be another person and therefore you would certainly live as someone else if the personality called John became the personality known as Steve we could say that John's life will change because he is no longer Being John but is now thinking acting and feeling like Steve here is another example one time while I was lecturing in California a woman approached me in front of the audience with her hands on her hips intensely focused angrily exclaiming how come I'm not living in Santa Fe I calmly replied because the person who was just talking to me is the personality who is living in Los Angeles the personality who would be living and is already in Santa Fe looks nothing like that thus from a Quantum perspective this new personality is the perfect place to create from the new identity is no longer emotionally anchored to known situations in your life they keep recycling the same circumstances therefore it is the perfect place from which to Envision a new destiny this is the place you want to be to call out a new life the reason why your prayers were hardly ever answered in the past is that you are trying to hold a mindful intention while being lost in lower emotions such as guilt shame sadness unworthiness anger or fear connected to the old self it was those feelings that were governing your thoughts and attitudes the five percent of your mind that is conscious was fighting against the 95 percent that is the subconscious Body Mind thinking one way and feeling another cannot produce anything tangible energetically that broadcasts a mixed signal to the invisible web that orchestrates reality thus if you were being guilty because your body memorized the mind of guilt then you probably received what you were being situations in your life that evoked more reasons to feel guilty your conscious aim could not stand up to your being that memorized emotion as this new identity however you are thinking and feeling differently than the old identity you are in a state of mind and body that is now sending a perfect signal free from your past memories for the first time the lens of your mind is now lifted above the present landscape to see a new horizon you are looking to the Future not your past simply said you can't create a new personal reality while you are still being the old personality you have to become someone else once you are in a new state of being now is the time to create a new destiny this part of the step is where you as the new state of being this new personality create a new reality the energy that you release from the body earlier is now the raw ingredient to create a new future with so what do you want do you want healing in some area of your body or your life do you want a loving relationship a more satisfying career a new car a paid up mortgage do you want the solution to overcoming an obstacle in your life is your dream to write a book to send your kids to college or go back to school yourself to climb a mountain to learn to fly to be free from an addiction in all of these examples your brain automatically creates an image of what you want from an elevated State of Mind and Body in love joy self-empowerment and gratitude in a greater more coherent energy here is where you see those images in your mind of what you want to create in your new life as this new personality craft the specific future events you want to experience by observing them into physical reality Let Yourself Go and begin to free associate without analysis the pictures you see in your mind are the vibrational blueprints of your new destiny you as the quantum Observer are commanding Mata to conform to your intentions with Clarity you will hold the image of each manifestation in your mind for a few seconds and then let it go into the quantum to be executed by a greater mind just like the observer in quantum physics who looks for an electron and it collapses from a wave of probabilities into an event called a particle the physical manifestation of matter you are doing the same on a much larger scale but you are using your free energy to collapse waves of probability into an event called a new experience in your life your energy is now entangled with that future reality and it belongs to you finally give up trying to figure out how or when or where or with whom leave those details to a mind that knows so much more than you do and know that your creation will come in a way that you least expect that will surprise you and leave no doubt that it came from a higher order trust that the events in your life will be tailored to your conscious intentions now you are developing a two-way communication with this invisible consciousness it shows you that it noticed you emulating it as a creator it speaks to you directly it demonstrates that it is responding to you how does it do all this it creates and organizes unusual events in your life these signify direct messages from the Quantum Mind now you have a relationship with a supreme loving consciousness it's time to reinvent A New You by moving into a new state of being that reflects your new expression of self after you do so by priming a new mind and body then you rehearse that state of being again your efforts to recreate the same familiar state will biologically change your brain and body ahead of the new experience then once you are a new being in your meditation a new being is a new personality and a new personality creates a new personal reality here is where you from an elevated energy create the specific events in your life as the quantum Observer of Destiny although this guided mental rehearsal meditation has three parts when it is incorporated into your week 4 meditation as the guided meditation and appendix C the parts blend seamlessly together guided mental rehearsal meditation creating the new you now close your eyes eliminate the environment and Let Yourself Go by creating how you want to live your life your job is to move into a new state of being it's time to change your mind and think in new ways when you do you will emotionally recondition your body to a new Mind by signaling new genes in new ways let the thought become the experience and live that future reality now open your heart and give thanks ahead of the actual experience so much so that you convince your body to believe that future event is unfolding now pick a potential in the quantum field and live it completely it is time to change your energy from living in the emotions of the past to living in the emotions of a new future you cannot get up as the same person you were when you sat down remind yourself who you will be when you open your eyes plan your actions with regard to how you will be in your new reality imagine the new you and how you will speak and what you will say to yourself think about what it will feel like to be this ideal conceive of yourself as a new person doing certain things thinking certain ways and feeling the emotions of Joy inspiration love empowerment gratitude and Power becomes so attentive to your intention that your thoughts of a new ideal become the experience internally and as you feel the emotion from that experience you go from thinking to being remember who and what you really are in your new future now relax for a few seconds then review recreate and rehearse what you just did do it over again let go and see if you can do it repeatedly and consistently can you initiate being that new ideal with greater ease than the last time can you bring it out of nothing one more time you should naturally be able to recall who you are becoming so that you know how to call it up at will your repeated efforts will mean doing it so many times that you'll just know how to when you move into this new state of being memorize the feeling this is a great place to be now it's time to command matter from this elevated State of Mind and Body what do you want in your future life as you unfold the new self remember to move into that state of mind and body that feels Invincible powerful absolute inspired and overjoyed let the pictures come see them with certainty with a knowingness that unifies you to those events or things bond with your future as if it is yours without any concern other than expectancy and celebration Let Yourself Go and begin to free associate without concern become empowered by your new sense of self with Clarity hold the image of each manifestation in your mind for a few seconds and then let it go into the quantum to be executed by a greater mind then go to the next one keep going this is your new destiny allow yourself to experience that future reality in the present moment until you convince your body to emotionally believe that the event is coming to pass now open your heart and experience the joy of your new life before it actually manifests know that where you place your attention is where you place your energy the energy that you release from the body earlier has become the raw materials for you to use to create a new future in a state of divinity true greatness and gratitude create by blessing your life with your own energy and be the quantum Observer of your future become entangled to your new reality as you see the images of what you want to experience in the energy of this new personality know that those pictures will become the blueprints of your destiny you are commanding Mata to conform to your intentions when you finish simply let go and know that your future will unfold in a way that is perfect for you week 4 guide to meditation now that you have read the text and journaled for step seven you are ready to practice your week four meditations every day listen to or do from memory before week 4 meditation a helpful hint during the guided meditation you may find yourself feeling so good that you naturally make statements like these to yourself or out loud I am wealthy I am healthy I am a genius because you feel like that in a very real way that's great it means mind and body are aligned it's important for you not to analyze what you are dreaming if you do you will leave the fertile ground of the alpha wave patterns and return back to beta wave patterns and separate yourself from your subconscious mind just create a new you without any judgment guide to continuing your meditation you've just devoted the past several weeks to learning a meditation practice that can become a lifelong means to help you evolve and create the life you choose you also use that new skill to start pruning away a particular aspect of the old you and to begin creating a new self and a new destiny at this point many people ask questions such as these how can I continue to get better at the steps and skills of meditating once I have mastered this process should I keep doing it the same way indefinitely how long should I keep working on the same aspect of self that I've focused on up till now How will I know when I'm ready to peel away another layer of the onion as I keep using this process how can I decide which part of my old self to change next can I use this process to work on more than one aspect of my personality at a time if you continue to do all of the steps every day what used to feel like seven steps will begin to feel simpler with more of a flow from step to step like anything you have mastered in your life you will only get better if you continue to meditate daily as for the guided meditation and induction techniques you might think of them like training wheels on a bicycle if using them helped you while you were learning this process continue to listen to them for as long as they assist you to move ahead but once you're so familiar with the process that you've made at your own and you feel that listening to guided instructions is holding you back then let them go making periodic adjustments to your meditations is natural and to be expected because you aren't the same person you were when you began if you keep up the daily sessions your state of being will continue to evolve and thus you will continue to recognize aspects of your old self that you want to change only you can determine when and how quickly you are ready to move ahead and as I'll talk about in the next chapter your progress will depend not just on your meditations but on making change an integral part of your daily life but in general working on one particular aspect of yourself in your sessions for four to six weeks will likely bring enough results that you feel an inner prompting to begin removing another layer of self so approximately every month do some self-reflection look to your life for feedback on what you're creating and how you're doing you might revisit the questions in part three and notice any that you would now answer differently re-evaluate how you're feeling who you've been being in your life and whether you still have the attitude you were working on if that attitude feels like it has diminished have you noticed other unwanted emotions states of mind or habits that feel more prominent now if so one approach might be to focus on that aspect of your personality and redo the entire process you just completed alternatively you may want to keep working on one area while adding another once you've mastered the basic template for how to meditate you can combine the emotions you're working on in a more unified way addressing several aspects of yourself at the same time after a lot of practice I now work on my whole self at once taking what I think of as a holistic non-linear approach of course elements of the new Destiny you want to create will surely change as well when that new relationship or career change comes into your life you won't want to stop there and every so often you may also opt to vary your meditation just to shake things up a bit trust your instincts if you haven't already done so I invite you to visit my website at www.drjodispenzo.com whenever you feel the need for new inspiration here you will find an array of practical tools and techniques to reprogram your thoughts and remove self-destructive habits to empower you to change from the inside out your next steps might be to read my first book and the companion to this one evolve your brain the science of changing your mind to deepen the knowledge that as you now know is the precursor to experience this book will walk you through the structure of your brain teach you how your thoughts and emotions become hardwired and give you the understanding to not only change your life but to change you into the person you've always wanted to be attend one two or all three of the workshops I personally conduct around the world on breaking the habit of being yourself participate in a series of live teleclasses including q a sessions broaden the foundation of your knowledge through the DVDs and audio CDs described on my website chapter 14. demonstrating and being transparent living your new reality when you demonstrate change you've memorized an internal order that is greater than any environmental cue it's keeping your energy up staying conscious in a new reality independent of your body independent of the environment and independent of time how are you going to be when you walk into your life remind yourself with your family at your job with your children at lunch tomorrow can you maintain this modified state of being if you can live your life in the same energy that you created with then something different should show up in your world that's the law when your behaviors match your intentions when your actions are equal to your thoughts when you're being someone else then you're ahead of your time your environment is no longer controlling how you think and feel how you think and feel is controlling your environment that's greatness and it's always been within you when how you appear is who you are you are free from the enslavement of your past and when all of that energy now is liberated the side effect of that freedom is called Joy when your internal neurochemical state is so orderly and coherent but no stimulus in your incoherent external world can disrupt who you are being then your mind and body are now working in harmony you are now a new being and by memorizing that state of being a new personality your world and your personal reality will begin to reflect your internal changes when your outward expression of self is equal to your inner self you are headed to a new destiny can you maintain the change in your life so that your body does not return to the same mind since emotions are stored in the subconscious memory system it is your job to consciously keep your body aligned to your new mind so that nothing in your environment emotionally hooks you back to the old reality you must memorize your new self and insist on being it so that nothing in your present reality can move you from it remember that when you get up from your meditation if you did it properly you will advance from thinking to being once you're in that state of being you are more prone to do and think equal to who you are being in a nutshell demonstration is living as if your prayers have already been answered it is rejoicing in your new life with a new level of expectation and excitement it is reminding yourself that you must be in that same state of mind and body that you're in when you created your new ideal you cannot create a new personality in your meditation and then live as the old self for the rest of the day it would be like eating a really healthy meal in the morning and then spending the rest of the day snacking on junk food in order for a new experience in reality to happen to you you have to match your behavior with your goal you align your thoughts and your Deeds you must make choices that are consistent with your new state of being when you demonstrate you physically apply what you have mentally rehearsed getting the body involved and making it do what the mind has learned therefore in order for you to see the signals unfolding in your life you must live and be in the same energy that you created from simply put if you want the universe to begin to talk back to you in New and unusual ways the energy and the mind that you demonstrate in your life must be the same as the energy and mind of your meditation as that new ideal this is when you are connected with or entangled to the energy you created in a dimension beyond space and time and this is how you attract the new event into your life when both aspects of the self are aligned the you living in the now life is the same being you constructed during your meditation you are being the future you that existed as a potential in the quantum field and when the new self that you created in your meditation is the exact same electromagnetic signature as the future you that you are being in your life you are unified to that new destiny when you are physically being one with the future you in the now moment that you dreamed about you will experience the Bounty of a new reality there will be a response from a greater order the feedback you experience in your life is the result of matching the state of being energy of your creative process to the state of being energy of your demonstrative process it is being that being you invented in this particular plane of demonstration you have to live in that line of time in present physical reality thus if you maintain that modified State of Mind and Body the entire day something different should show up in your life and what type of feedback should you begin to witness look forward to synchronicities Opportunities coincidences flow effortless change Better Health insights Revelations mystical experiences and new relationships to name a few new feedback then will inspire you to keep doing what you have been doing when external feedback occurs as a result of your internal efforts you will naturally correlate whatever you are doing inside of you with whatever happened outside of you this is a novel moment in and of itself it basically shows you evidence that you are now living by the quantum law you become astonished that the feedback that you are experiencing is the direct result of the internal workings of your mind and emotions when you correlate what you did in the implicit world with the explicit manifestation you will pay attention and remember whatever you did earlier to produce that effect and you will do it again and when you can connect your inner world with the effects of the outer world you are now causing an effect instead of living by cause and effect you are creating reality here is the test can you be the same person in your external environment that you are being in your internal one while you were meditating can you be greater than your present environment which is connected to your past personality memories and associations are you able to cease your routine reactions to the same situations have you conditioned your body and molded your mind to be ahead of the present reality in front of you this is the reason why we meditate to become someone else in our lives remind yourself during the day that you will keep your energy up as the new you here you are to prompt yourself to stay conscious at different times in your waking hours you can prime yourself to place little notes in Consciousness on the canvas of your life for example I want to give thanks for different aspects of my life while I take my morning shower I have to stay on track while I drive to work so I'm going to be joyous during the whole trip how will I be as this new ideal when I see my boss let me remind myself to take a moment at lunch and remember who I want to be when I see my kids this evening I will be elevated and have abundant energy and will truly connect I want to take a minute while I get ready for bed and remind myself who I am being end of the day questions these questions are a simple way to review your display of the new self when the day is over how did I do today when did I fall from grace and why who was it I reacted to and where did I go unconscious how can I do better the next time that happens before you go to bed it might be a nice idea to contemplate where it was during your day that you lost your new ideal once you can see the obvious place in your life that stimulated you to fall into Oblivion ask yourself these simple questions if this situation happened again how would I do it differently and what piece of knowledge or philosophical understanding could I apply to this circumstance if it arose again once you can come up with a solid answer and attend to it with a bit of thoughtfulness you will be mentally rehearsing a new element that rounds out another part of you you will be putting the new neural network into your brain to prepare you for the event at some future time this little move will assist you in upgrading and refining the model of the new and improved you you can then add that into your morning or evening meditation when you are transparent how you appear is who you are and your internal thoughts and feelings are reflected in your external environment having achieved this state your life and your mind are synonymous it is your final relationship between you and all of your outward creations this means that your life reflects your mind in all arenas you are your life and your life is a reflection of you if a quantum physics suggests the environment is an extension of the Mind this is when your life reorganizes itself to reflect your new mind transparency is a state of true empowerment in which you have realized made real your dream of personal transformation you have gained wisdom from experience and are greater than the environment in your past reality The Telltale sign of becoming transparent is that you do not have many overly analytical or critical thoughts you wouldn't want to think that way it would take you away from your present state since the side effect of transparency is true Joy more energy and freedom of expression any thought that is connected to an ego drive would lower the elevated feeling within you when your life begins to unfold with new and wonderful events there will come a moment that you will be in awe wonder and utter wakefulness when you realize it was your mind that created them in your rapture you will look back from this vantage point at your entire life and you will not want to change anything you will not regret any action or feel bad about whatever has happened to you because in that moment of your manifestation it will all make sense to you you will see how your past got you to this great state as a result of your efforts the consciousness of the greater mind has begun to be your conscious mind its nature is becoming your nature you naturally become more divine this is who you really are this is your natural state of being equally as the invisible Giver of Life begins to move through you you will feel more like yourself than you have in a long time those traumas that produced emotional scars knocked your true personality from its Center you became more complicated more polarized more divided more inconsistent and more predictable when you unmerize those survival emotions that naturally lower the frequency of the mind and the body you are lifted to a higher electromagnetic expression and a greater frequency is now turning you on and You Free Yourself by unlocking the doors to make room for a greater power to become you finally it is you and you are it you are one and you feel a coherent energy called love it is the within that then manifests an unconditional state once you connect two and drink from The Well of Consciousness you might experience a real paradox it is quite possible that there will come such a sense of personal wholeness that you will find it difficult to want anything this dichotomy was a veritable realization for me wants and desires come from lacking something someone some place or some time in being truly connected to this Consciousness I have had moments that it was hard to think about anything else because I felt so great I felt so complete that by thought that would take me away from it would not be worth my moving from this place so the irony is that once you arrive at this space to create from you no longer need anything because the lack and emptiness from which you desired those things has been eliminated replaced by a feeling of wholeness as a result you just want to linger in the feeling of balance love and coherence this I feel is the beginning of true unconditional love feeling a sense of love and awe for life without needing anything from outside of us is freedom it is no longer being attached to external elements it is a feeling that is so coherent that to judge another or to emotionally react to life and change from the state is compromising self this is when the greater Consciousness that we are all connected to begins to move out of us and we begin to express this through us we move from Human toward Divine we become more like it we become more loving more mindful more powerful more generous more intentional more kind and healthier that's its mind something else amazing begins to occur as well when you feel elevated and joyful you will feel so wonderful that you will want to share the feeling of what you're experiencing with someone and how do you share such great feelings you give you think I feel so superb and uplifted that I want you to feel the way I feel so here is a gift and you will begin to give so that others can feel the gift that you're expressing from within you are selfless imagine a world like that if however you can fashion a new reality from this internal order of wholeness you must know that you'll be creating from a state of being in Consciousness that is no longer separate from whatever it is that you desire you are in absolute Oneness with your creation and if you can slip into it naturally and forget about everything that is tied to the old you you will feel such a sense of exuberance that you will begin to know that the creation you are focusing on is yours it will feel like hitting a tennis ball in The Sweet Spot or parallel parking without mirrors within inches of the curb it feels right you somehow know this is how I end my daily meditation and I offer it to you as a suggestion now close your eyes become aware that there is an intelligence that is within you and all around you remember that it is real contemplate that this Consciousness is noticing you and is aware of your intentions recall that it is a creator that exists beyond space and time in your journey past the Cravings of the body and the nuances of the ego mind you have made it to this final step so if in fact this Consciousness is real and it exists ask for a sign to let you know that you made contact with it say to the Creator if I emulated you in any way as a Creator today send me a signal in the form of feedback in my world to let me know that you are noticing my efforts and bring it in a way that I least expect that wakes me up from this dream and leaves no doubt that it has come from you so that I am inspired to do this again tomorrow let me remind you of what I stated in the chapter on the quantum if the feedback comes to you in a way that you could have expected or predicted then it is nothing new resist the temptation to ascribe novelty and unpredictability to what you know deep in your soul to be the familiar in your new life you must be startled and in a sense taken unaware not by what came to you but by how it came about when you experience surprise you wake up from the dream and the novelty of whatever is happening to you is now so thrilling that it captures all of your attention you are lifted out of your normal feelings to leave no doubt means it has to be so cool and fun that you know that what you are doing is actually working you want to know that this unusual event is coming from this greater mind and that it can't be anything else you now have a relationship with a higher Consciousness because it's talking back to you and only you know that what you are doing within is affecting the without once you know this you should be inspired to do it again the next day in essence you can now use the emotion of the new experience as new energy of which to create your next outcome you become like a scientist or an Explorer experimenting with your life and measuring the results of your efforts our purpose and life is not to be good to please God to be beautiful to be popular or to be successful our purpose rather is to remove the masks and the facades that block the flow of this intelligence and express this greater Mind through us to become empowered by our efforts of creativity and to ask greater questions that will inevitably lead us to a more enriched destiny to expect the miraculous instead of the worst case scenario and to live as if this power is in favor of us to ponder The Uncommon to contemplate our achievements in utilizing this unseen power and to open our minds to more expanded possibilities challenges us to evolve our being to let more of this mind come through us for instance by your truly healing yourself of some type of malady then it should naturally lead to more evolved questions like can I heal someone else with a touch and if I accomplish that feat is it possible to heal a loved one from a distance and once you master that possibility because you change the physical matter in that person you might ask can I create something out of nothing how much further can we go there is no end to this adventure we are only limited by the questions we ask the knowledge we Embrace and our ability to keep an open mind and heart afterward inhabit self one of the biggest lies we have come to believe about ourselves and our true nature is that we are nothing more than physical beings defined by a material reality devoid of Dimension and vital energy and separate from God which I trust you know by now is within us and all around us to keep the truth about our real identity from us is not only enslaving but it asserts that we are finite beings living a linear life that likes real meaning the dictum that there are no Realms and no life beyond our physical world and that we have no control over our destiny is not a truth that you and I should ever believe in it is my desire that you have become empowered by a bit of knowledge in this work to help you see who you really are you are a multi-dimensional being who creates your reality helping you accept this idea as your law and new belief has been my labor in this book breaking the habit of being yourself means that you are going to have to lose your mind and create a new one but when we fully lay down the old familiar life or mind and start creating the new there is a moment between the two worlds that is bereft of anything we know and most rush back from this void to the familiar that place of uncertainty the unknown is what the Maverick the Mystic and the saint know to be fertile ground to live in the realm of the unpredictable is to be all potentials at once can you become comfortable in this empty space if you can you are at the Nexus of a great creative power the I am to biologically energetically physically emotionally chemically neurobiologically and genetically change ourselves and to stop living by the unconscious affirmation that competition Strife success Fame physical Beauty sexuality possessions and power are the be all and end-all in life is when we break from the chains of the mundane I fear that this so-called recipe for ultimate success in life has kept us looking outside of ourselves for answers and true happiness when the real answers and true Joy have always been within so where and how do we find our true self do we create a Persona that is shaped by associations with the outer environment which perpetrates the LIE or do we identify with something within us that is as real as everything outside of us and create a unique identity which has awareness and a mind that we can emulate that's right it is that infinite resource of information and intelligence personal and Universal that is intrinsic to all human beings it is an energetic Consciousness that is filled with such coherence that when it moves through us we can only call it love when the door opens its frequency carries such Vital Information that it changes who we are from within this is an experience that I have humbly learned to live for it is my hope that you know that you have always had access to it if you choose but if you live life as a materialist then you will struggle with its existence why well realists will use their senses to Define reality and if they can't see it taste it smell it touch it or hear it then it doesn't exist right this Duality is a perfect scheme for keeping people lost in the illusion just keep their attention on an outer reality that is ultimately so sensually pleasurable or chaotic and going within will seem too difficult your attention is where your energy is put all of your attention on the external material world and that becomes your investment in reality on the contrary command your mindfulness to unfold a deeper aspect of yourself and your energy will expand that reality you as a human being have the freedom to place your awareness on anything to develop your ability to manage and properly use this abundance of power is the gift wherever you put your thoughts and your awareness becomes your reality if you stop believing that thought is real you will fall back into materialism and stop doing the work you'll simply choose some emotional addiction or habit for immediate gratification and then talk yourself out of possibility herein lies The Dilemma the future reality we create in our minds does not yet have any sensory feedback and by the quantum model our senses should be the last to experience what we create for this reason many of us make materialism our law once again and we go unconscious I want to remind you that all things material come from the invisible field of the immaterial beyond space and time simply said by planting seeds in this world you see that in time they bear fruit if you can experience a dream so completely in mind and emotion within the inner world of potentials then it has already happened so Just Surrender it has to sprout into your outer life it is the law but here is the hardest part of the whole process making or taking the time for your precious self to actually do it that's it we are Divine creators it is what we do when we are inspired and pressed to know more but you and I are also creatures of habit we develop habits for everything we possess three brains that allow us to evolve from knowledge to experience to wisdom to make whatever we learn implicit through the repetition of experience we can teach the body to become the mind that is our definition of a habit the problem is that we have developed habits that limit our true greatness the survival emotions which are so addictive cause us to live with limitation feeling separate from the source and forget that we are creators in fact the corresponding states of mind that correlate with stress truly are the reasons why we are controlled by our emotions live by a lower denomination of energy and are enslaved by a set of beliefs rooted in fear these so-called normal psychological states have been accepted by most as ordinary and common they are the real Altered States of consciousness hence I want to emphasize that anxiety depression frustration anger guilt pain worry and sadness the emotions regularly expressed by billions of people are why the masses live life knocked out of balance and altered from the true self and maybe the supposed Altered States Of Consciousness achieved in meditation during true mystical moments are actually natural human States Of Consciousness that we should strive to live by on a regular basis I accept that contention as my truth it's time to wake up and to be the living example of the truth it's not enough to espouse these understandings it's time to live them demonstrate them and be at cause in all areas of Our Lives when you and I in body such ideals as truth and make them a habit then they innately become part of us since we are wired to create habits why not make true greatness compassion genius Ingenuity empowerment love awareness generosity healing Quantum manifestation and Divinity our new habits to remove the layers of personal emotions we decided to memorize as our identity to shed our selfish limitations that we have given such power to to abandon false beliefs and perceptions about the nature of reality and self to overcome our neural habituations of destructive traits that repeatedly undermine our evolution and to relinquish the attitudes that have kept us from knowing who we really are are all part of finding the true self there is an aspect of the self that is a benevolent being who Waits beyond all of those veils this is who we are when we are not feeling threatened fearing loss trying to please everyone racing to succeed and scrambling to get to the top at any cost regretting the past or feeling inferior hopeless desperate or greedy just to name a few when we overcome and remove whatever stands in the way of our infinite power and self we are demonstrating a noble deed not only for ourselves but for all of humanity so the greatest habit you will ever break is the habit of being yourself and the greatest habit you will ever create is the habit of expressing the Divine through you that is when you inhabit your true nature and identity it is to inhabit self