Monthly Mind Power Questions & Answers

A Thank you very much for your success story. I'm so happy that you have done so well with your affirmations. I also encourage any other readers that have success stories to send them in and let them be an inspiration for our wonderful readers. Once again, congratulations, well done.

A One does not have to have a large social circle in order to be happy. Each of us is different. Each of us has different needs and desires. There are some people with many friends and yet they are desperately unhappy. There are people such as yourself who have few, or even no friends, and yet are completely content, so really it's not a matter of how many friends one has, it's a matter of how one feels with oneself and with the life that one is living.

You must also look within yourself, and see why it is that you do have a few friends. Is it perhaps that you feel embarrassed about your poor hearing? Or maybe it is that you feel people will criticize you or make fun of you when you make mistakes. Because other people are such a wonderful source of nourishment for ourselves, I would suggest that you look within yourself to see the reason that you choose to be by yourself. And whatever the reasons are, then act upon that, but certainly one does not need many, many friends. I would suggest that having a few good friends is definitely a part of a full and enriching life, and you might want to challenge yourself to get out and meet more people, rather than being so reclusive. However, many, many people choose their lives in their own way, and your happiness is entirely of your own making.

A There is an old maxim in Mind Power that you crawl before you walk. You walk before you run. I always advise my students to start with one or two things at first and focus on them. After you have practiced mind power for a while and have gained both confidence and proficiency in the techniques, you can work on more goals. But it is always a mistake to try to work on twenty different things at once. It is too much to focus on and you'll end up achieving nothing.

Rome was not built in a day. Prioritize your goals and pick the ones that are most important to you.

A You will find that some areas of your life will be more difficult to get results in than others, and this will be different for each of us. The reason for this is that, on a subconscious level, we have beliefs and patterns that are hindering us in these areas of our lives. So any area of your life where you're having problems and difficulties, what you'll undoubtedly find if you look closely, is that there are a number of very limiting beliefs regarding that particular aspect of your life. Sometimes we're conscious of it. Sometimes we're not. That is why in some areas it seems to be so much easier than others. But certainly don't get discouraged by this. It just means that you need a bit more work in that area. And congratulations on having your own business.

A Thanks for your feedback. Each of us discovers Mind Powers at a different stage in our life. Some at 16, others at 60. I'm thrilled also that you have taken advantage of the books, tapes and videos available on this site. Too often people just log on and read the topic of the month and the questions and answers. While I'm happy to pass on information this way and will continue to do so, there is such a wealth of other information in these products that I sometimes feel the need to remind our readers of this fact. Your letter gives me an opportunity to do so. So readers - if you haven't clicked on to the books and tapes section, you're missing some incredible information.

A You may include close family members in your exercises as they have a very real connection with you, emotionally, spiritually, cosmically, and your life and thoughts will have an effect upon them. Having said that, however, it must also be clearly understood that each person is a law unto themselves, and what happens to them will depend upon their own choices of thoughts and beliefs.

Encourage your son and husband with your thoughts, expectations, and the words of encouragement and advise that you pass on. It all helps.

A You are trying too hard. Affirmations should be comfortable and reassuring not so intense. Eliminate the "always" - you can never be always at anything. Also pick maybe 3 or 4 affirmations rather than 8. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. I feel relaxed and confident around girls

2. I trust myself to say the right thing

3. I enjoy the company of girls and they enjoy my company
Also you might want to try some visualization - seeing yourself in the situation.

A You always lead by example. That is a wonderful revelation you have had about being in charge of your own life. If you haven't already, be sure to read the chapter "Follow the Call" from my book, The Practice of Happiness. It will further guide and inspire you on your path.

Following your own path, allowing it to lead you wherever it goes, is the key to happiness and personal fulfillment.

Let others around you choose their own paths even if that path is one of a follower. Each of us hears the call at different stages in our life. If you are true to your vision you will inspire many with your life. Action always speaks louder than words.

A Try to ignore other thoughts if they intrude when you are doing your affirmations, but actually it doesn't really matter if they come, as affirmations will naturally have their effect simply by saying them.

Quite often there may be other thoughts after the first few affirmations, but usually after nine or ten times your mind tends to focus on the thoughts that the affirmation is suggesting. You can say an affirmation fifty or more times in a five-minute period. So ignore other thoughts and have fun with your affirmations.

A The man who first used the affirmation, "Every day in every way I'm feeling better and better" was Emile Cou.

In the early nineteen hundreds, he had clinics devoted to healing practices all over Europe and several in the United States. As I mentioned in my Health and Healing tape (which, for other readers, is a live seminar), he found this affirmation extremely effective in healing illness. He wrote several books, but I believe they are now out of print. I have one of his original books and I treasure it.

A My instinct tells me this is something other than genetics. It is unusual that your mother's brothers and sisters should have the same experience, but this in itself perhaps offers a clue. Since you have a high IQ and do reasonably well academically, and I assume have no medical issues, i.e., dyslexia, I suspect the problem is psychological. Lack of self-esteem and a "failure consciousness" is something that can spread through a family like a flu, and it can be permanent if it is reinforced daily by parents and siblings.

Examine the thoughts, attitudes and expressions used by yourself and your mother's brother's and sisters. Would you consider yourself positive or negative? How were you raised? What beliefs do you have about yourself and life? I would work on my thoughts and beliefs, and begin a Mind Power program to see myself as competent, focused and effective at work. You might be astounded at the results.

A You can do lots. You can re-create yourself as whatever you choose. If you desire to be a disciplined person who gets all his assignments done, you can create that reality. The question you must ask yourself is what do I want? Once you have made this decision you are half way there. Set up a Mind Power program and focus daily on the person you intend to become. Visualize, seed and affirm to support this. Our daily thoughts create our habits and actions. Get your thoughts working for you.

On another note, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Ethiopia several years ago. We were treated very hospitably, and we especially loved the music, a unique hybrid of Arab and African sounds.

A Mind Power begins by having very clear guidelines on what to do and how to do it. Once you get the initial "feel" of it, you can experiment and improvise, much the same way a jazz musician works with music once he has mastered the notes and scales. Mind Power is as much art as it is science. So by all means combine exercises in ways that feel appropriate to you.