Monthly Mind Power Questions & Answers

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Stress comes from the thoughts we are thinking. One of the exercises I do with my students is to have them ask themselves two questions several times a day. First, how am I feeling? Then answer honestly. I'm feeling excited, bored, stressed, depressed, whatever. Then ask yourself the second question. What am I thinking? By doing this you will quickly realize that how we feel has a direct relationship to what we are thinking. If you find yourself feeling stressed, then look within, at your thoughts. Are you overreacting? Are you thinking negatively? Are you self-talking yourself into making a situation even more stressful than it is? Often it is not the situation but our reaction to it that causes the stress. Practice stepping aside from your situations and watching your reactions.

Some affirmations: I handle stressful situations well. I'm calm and relaxed. You can also visualize yourself handling your work situations easily, without stress. All this will help and gradually you will find yourself becoming what you visualize and affirm.

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As you have stated that, "For as long as I can remember I have never been able to apply myself to my studies, nor have I been able to achieve the marks I desire…" This being the case, you have undoubtedly formed a self-image of yourself as being this type of person. This image of yourself is what is hindering you. You need to change it. So rather than simply visualizing yourself getting good marks, you need to visualize yourself being someone who studies, who has the discipline and willpower to put in the needed effort.

You cannot motivate yourself to study because you see yourself as someone who cannot motivate himself. Work on your self-image. Re-read the chapter Self-Image in Mind Power into the 21st Century. Our self-image is created by repeated images that we entertain within our mind. With practice you will naturally change your self-image, and with a new self-image will come the ability to study and apply yourself easily.

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Dreams are the language of the subconscious and while not every dream is a message to us, every dream deserves to be looked at and pondered. "What is it trying to tell me?" you ask yourself. How did you feel during the dream? This is also a clue to its meaning. Were you relieved that you were not going to get the car, or disappointed? What part of you was saying, "There is no way I can do it?" You could re-enact the dream and ask the dream character why she is saying that.

The dream is probably (and I use the world probably, because dream interpretation is more a matter of feeling your way to an answer than an exact science) advising you that at this point in your life a new car is not your highest priority, or that something within you has reservations about it, and this something needs looking at before you will be able to manifest it.

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Thanks for the feedback. The first edition of Mind Power was written in 1987. It took three and a half months to write. The reason I was able to write it so quickly is that I had been teaching mind power for ten years prior. I re-wrote it and updated it in 1997, adding four new chapters. It has had over thirty reprints and sold over a million copies worldwide in numerous languages. I'm thrilled that it has reached so many people and changed so many lives. I'm devoted to teaching mind power to people, and have now taught full time for twenty-three years. I'm always looking at new ways to reach people with this message, and this Web site is one method.

Regarding your second question, affirmations are usually said internally to yourself, but they can also very effectively be said aloud if you're by yourself.

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That horrible nagging feeling that "I'm not good enough," is very common. Too common. I often refer to it as a "psychic wound" that we human beings carry around within us. There are very few people who do not possess it, although we seldom mention it to others. We believe we're the only one feeling it. It's relieving to know that we aren't the only one. It's like feeling ashamed you got sunburnt only to realize that everyone on the beach got sunburnt too. While it doesn't ease the burn, it does make us feel we're not alone.

You can get rid of this by making an acknowledging list (see the chapter on Acknowledging in Mind Power Into the 21st Century) of all your strong points, successes, things that make you feel good and successful about who and what you are NOW. The key is NOW. We all have things we like about ourselves and dislike about ourselves. By focusing on the things that make us feel good about ourselves for five minutes a day, we begin to create a vibration of success, and soon we realize that not only are we good enough, but actually there are many great qualities about ourselves. It is our constant responsibility to feed ourselves positive thoughts about ourselves.

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Life is an ebb and flow affair. Working with mind power is not being positive every moment of every day. Sometimes it is fully appropriate to be depressed, angry or negative according to the situation we find ourselves in. Mind power is being conscious of the fact that we have the ability to direct and control our thoughts. Forget being "fully positive," as you put it, and allow yourself the freedom to think whatever thoughts you choose.

As we grow and develop spiritually and emotionally, yin and yang will always be a part of our unique life path. Working on ourselves will not eliminate this; it will rather let us see yin and yang in action more clearly. Have fun.

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All of us have negative thoughts now and then. The key is how we choose to react to them. Always remember, "Negatives only have power over you if you react to them." The secret is to have techniques that help you eliminate your negatives when they come to you. Check my past topic of the month, Eliminating Negatives.

Regarding feeling jealous and ignored when others are encouraged, practice feeling happy for others. If you get into the habit of acknowledging others for their achievements, it makes it easier for you to acknowledge yourself. Conversely, if you criticize and feel jealous, this becomes your vibration and your subconscious will begin to criticize you. Acknowledge yourself and others daily for their achievements, and your feelings of being jealous and ignored will disappear.

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You are indeed on the right track. The key words in your question that let me know this are "every day." Persistence is the key to manifesting results in working with mind power.

You are not limited to one affirmation. You can use six in any given period, providing you feel comfortable with what you're doing, as you have indicated you do. Keep up the good work.