Monthly Mind Power Questions & Answers

January 2001

Recently I have been on something of a personal quest to better understand myself. I am in my mid-thirties, married with two small children. All of my life I have been what my teachers called "an underachiever." I always scored very highly in the various aptitude and intelligence tests that I received in school, but my grades were always in the lower 3rd of the class. I was shy, introverted and awkward. I wasn't a good student or an athlete, had few friends and was often a target for bullies.

I always seemed to struggle in everything I did and I was often frustrated and angry with myself and the world around me. Now that I am an adult, I find that I still have the same feelings (although, for the most part, they are less intense). I am struggling in my career and I feel guilty that I am not a better provider for my family and that my wife is forced to work because I don't earn enough for us to make ends meet. I went back to school at night for training in a different career, but I am having difficulty there as well.

In analyzing this pattern of failure, I have noticed that I often do things that are deliberately self-destructive. If I am getting A's in my class, it suddenly becomes extremely difficult for me to continue studying and doing the things that are necessary to be successful in my schooling, and I begin rationalizing and skipping classes. If I have a good opportunity for advancement at work, I'll find myself doing things that are counterproductive, if not downright destructive to my success and job security.

So here's my theory as to why I may be doing these things, and I'd like your opinion as to whether I'm on the right track: I feel that I am deliberately holding myself back from achieving my true potential because, deep in my subconscious, I have an inherently poor self-image and I do not feel worthy of success. Failure is what I've always done, so in a sense, it is what I am familiar and comfortable with. To become successful and financially secure would be contradicting what my subconscious holds to be true - that I am still that same, awkward, under-confident, underachieving adolescent - despite the fact that I am a 36-year-old married homeowner with two children. I think I need to change the way I feel about myself and how I view the world around me.

Does any of this sound reasonable and plausible to you? Do you have any specific suggestions or techniques that I can use to break free of this cycle of despair and frustration? I just finished reading Mind Power Into the 21st Century and I thought it was wonderful. I have already begun incorporating your concepts and exercises into my daily routine. I am determined to break free and realize my true potential.

Thanks so much for your excellent book and for any additional advice that you can offer.

New Jersey, USA

Anytime we see recurring patterns in our life we can be well assured that they are caused by subconscious beliefs that we hold within us. And it is very easy to see the pattern that is happening in your life. You have mentioned that you have always been what your teachers call "an underachiever." Unfortunately, this has been imprinted into you from a very early age and it has taken hold and, as a result, it is manifesting in all areas of your life.

You can change your subconscious beliefs by working with Mind Powers and being diligent in doing a daily program. Your subconscious will accept whatever you repeat to it, over and over again. Re-readMind Power Into the 21st Century and begin applying the techniques. Your determination to break free of these old patterns has come through very clearly in your letter to me. And I can offer you complete assurance that if you practice the techniques daily and regularly, you will see the patterns within change. It will not happen overnight, because many of these things are ingrained very deeply. However, neither will it take years and years. You will start seeing results literally within months of beginning this new program.

I wish you all the success in your new life, and isn't it wonderful to discover that these things can be changed working with our thoughts? You have been introduced to some powerful new information that will dramatically change your life.

All the best and keep us informed.

When looking for change in your life do you do it one step at a time or can you focus on other areas at the same time. Will this confuse the subconscious mind?

Las Vegas, NV

A There's a little maxim in Mind Powers, and that is that you crawl before you walk, and you walk before you run. If you try to do a dozen things all at once, in working with Mind Powers, you will probably find it very difficult to achieve much. Having said that, you are not limited to working on just one thing at a time. The subconscious mind can pick up many images and impressions, and so work with whatever number you feel comfortable with. I always suggest that, in the beginning, you limit yourself to several things that you can focus effectively on. But once you gain dexterity in working with Mind Powers, you can certainly work on more than that simultaneously. You can't work on twenty-five or fifty things all at once. You'll end up gaining nothing. But the subconscious is very, very powerful and can certainly handle a number of things simultaneously.

I just wanted to share with you a personal experience. When I was 9 years old in grade 4, I had a crush on a classmate that developed into a deep love. I would go to sleep every night and think about her. I would say to God that I wished this girl and I could be together. I have always been the type to save the best things for last. In the same vein, I would think "God, please let this girl and I be together. Not now, but when we are in grade 8." I would feel a response and I would say, "Not grade 8? Okay, how about when we are 18 years old? No? Okay, how about when we are 25? No? 26? No? 27? No? 28? No? 29? No? 30? OK. When we are 30 years old we will be together." This went on
for quite some time, every night as I lay in bed.

After elementary school, this girl and I went to separate high schools and we lost touch. Every once in a while I would think about her and wonder how she was. Twenty years after grade 4, I started seeing people from those early days of my life. This girl's name would come up and I would enquire about her and hear that she had asked about me. It happened so much within such a short period of time that I said to myself I am going to call this girl myself and say hello. On this girl's 30th birthday, which occurs one day after my birthday, I called her and we made a date. After the date, as I was driving home, I repeated three words over and over. They were "Oh My God" ... "O My God." My childhood memories came flooding back to me as I realized something very special had happened, and was about to happen

This girl and I are now happily married with two beautiful boys of our own. Mind Power has no age or time restriction. Without knowing it, I was using your principles when I was a young boy. They worked!

Canada

A Thank you very much for your letter. It never fails to amaze me the different ways that our consciousness helps to manifest our reality. All the best to you, and my congratulations on your happy marriage.

I have an important question. What can I do, it seems it's always the same pattern. It's happened to me now for the third time. I meet someone female from my country or the neighbouring country, Switzerland, and we come in contact because she speaks German. Actually I'm not really interested in them; I don't like to speak to them in German; I prefer to speak English. Anyway, we get connected and I give them directions, maybe to where they can find a course for free, a good pub; I help them in English, introduce them to people, and even help them sometimes if they have a little emergency with money. But afterwards I feel used because it's only me who is giving; they come to me only when they need me. I break off every time with these people as soon I realise my mistake and their use for it. I'm so fed up with this, how can I get rid myself of this old pattern in the near future, so that I don't attract these people anymore?

Dublin, Ireland

Once again, anytime that you see patterns happening in your life, you can be assured that the cause is something within your subconscious. Why are you attracting these types of people to you? Is there a lack of positive self-image? Are you an incessant giver that feels the need to always help other people? Are you someone who feels that you have to save other people? These are things that you have to ask yourself. If you want to draw different people into your life, then why not begin projecting the type of people who you want to attract to you.

And I would suggest thinking about being a good receiver. We're always taught that it is better to give than receive. But actually that is wrong. It is better to give and receive. Give and receive. So start working on your receiving and start projecting to attract people to you who are going to be more compatible.

You might also want to try these affirmations: "I attract loving wonderful people into my life." "I attract people that support me in my life," "I attract people that give me energy." Things like this. If you start working on these affirmations, you will begin changing those old patterns.

I've always had an understanding that our mind is a powerful tool which could help us achieve all our goals and dreams, if only we could understand the mechanics of our mind. I am a very creative person, and people always tell me that I am a very talented, and that I have so much potential to achieve great things. And I can see that, but something always holds me back. I always seem to use excuses like, "It's not the right time for me," or, "I'm not good enough yet." It seems that I've made up so many reasons and excuses not to go through with something when confronted with options. Maybe I'm scared. Of what? Success, power, maybe failing, or maybe I'm scared of my true potential? I haven't found all the answers yet, but I am finding your book very helpful and insightful. I am starting to see what it is I need to change, and how to change it.
I am my own mind mechanic.

New Zealand

Let me share a secret with you. It is never the right time. And we always feel that we are not good enough, or that we need to change something first, or that we should wait for the appropriate time. This is human nature, it is very easy for us to procrastinate, far easier to do nothing than to forge off towards our goals. So you're not alone in this. You are very fortunate in that you have discovered Mind Powers, and you can feel comfortable knowing that you are not alone in this problem.

I like your analogy of being your own mind mechanic It's an excellent description, because in each of our minds there are things that always need to be repaired and changed. I would start working on my confidence, start visualizing myself going towards the goals that I desire, heading off doing the things that I need to do, making the decisions, following through with action and seeing a successful result from it. As the Russian mystic Gurdjieff once said, "Never think of results, just do." In other words, action has its own dynamics to it. And when you follow through with action on your dreams, doors start opening. I wish you all the success.

Just recently a friend who had your book, Mind Power into the 21st Century, gave it to me to read. So far I have read the first 14 chapters. I cannot believe it, but you are right. All the things I am going through are my own doing. I have been feeling very depressed and suffering from anxiety attacks since my beloved father became ill around 6 years ago. It got worse when he passed away almost 2 years ago. I just don't seem to find any pleasure in anything these days. I do not go out, as I feel inadequate around people. I don't want to feel this way any more but I do not know how to break through the negative feelings I have. I keep feeling for no reason at all that I am not worthy of happiness.

I should be happy in my life. I have a lovely home and car, which I own. I have very minimal debt, which I am concentrating on paying off a.s.a.p. I have a good job. And yet nothing makes me happy.

How can I turn my depressing thoughts into happy ones? I have been feeling so bad for so long, is it possible to change?

I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice and point me in the right direction, such that I feel like really living again. I await with much anticipation.

Unknown

Our mind is our best friend and our worst enemy all in one. Unfortunately, right now, in your circumstances, it is your worst enemy. It is very easy to fall into a rut and feel sorry for oneself. It is very easy to fall into bad thinking patterns without even realizing what's happening. I do not doubt that you have endured a very unfortunate circumstance with your father's death, and that there are probably many things in your life that, when you look at them, make you feel sad and unhappy. However, the opposite is true as well.

When we look at our life we find that there are many things that can make us happy, many things that make us feel worthy. However, if our mind is in a pattern of only putting ourselves down and finding the worst in our life, then we never see the other side. What I would suggest is that you make an acknowledging list of all the things that make you feel good and successful about who and what you are now. Spend time every day looking at this list.

Also have a gratitude list and think about all the things that you have to be grateful for. You mention some of them in your letter already. So there are signs that your mind wants to cooperate. However, our mind becomes very lazy and must be disciplined to think about these things. I would resolve that I'm not going to allow my mind to rule me in these old negative ways.

You might also want to check Eliminating Negatives from our past monthly topics. I think there is much there that could help you. And I would also strongly suggest that you get a copy of my book,The Practice of Happiness, which seems to be very, very appropriate to your particular situation. You will see some of the chapters, such as Trusting Life and Follow the Call, in past Monthly Topics on this website.

Don't give up hope. We all go through times of depression, and we all go through hard times. However, I think it is time for you to take action and move out of the rut that you seem to be in.

When visualising money, do you visualise an actual stack of money? Also, many books state that you must know exactly what you want. Would you visualise a specific amount of money? This is not clear.

Toronto, Canada

When you're visualizing yourself having money, it's not a stack of money that you visualize, as we rarely have a stack of money in front of us, but rather it is the abundance of having money. The security of having money. The joy and wonder of having money. It is visualizing yourself being in that state, having the things that you want, whether it's an apartment or a car or the ability to travel. So you visualize all the things that money will bring to you, feeling the vibration of having this happen to you.

Regarding the exact amount that you want. There are two schools of thought. Some people feel that you should have an exact amount. I personally think that if you work for abundance, then the amount will naturally come to you. So start visualizing yourself in an abundant situation, having and doing exactly what it is that you want.

Q Theoretically, if one could only apply Mind Powers for 5 minutes per day, what would be the most effective method? Would it take longer to manifest the outcome doing Mind Powers for only 5 minutes?

Mind Power works when done regularly and consistently. There is a misconception that the more I do it and the longer I do it, the better my results. For example, if I do one hour a day, then this will be twice as effective as a half hour a day, and four times as effective as fifteen minutes a day. But that is not true. The most important thing is the consistency.

So decide how much time it is that you want to spend working on Mind Powers. I suggest somewhere between ten to twenty minutes done regularly and consistently on a daily basis. And within that time frame, what you do is you assign yourself various exercises. I would also suggest that you consider the tape on Setting Up A Mind Power Program. This tape has been an excellent source of guidance for my students. This tape, as well as my tapes, videos and books, can be purchased through our website. Just click on the Books, Tapes and Videos icon.