Q:
The following questions were forwarded to John Kehoe from a student newspaper in Bulgaria. We thought we would share them with you this month.
Mr. Kehoe, can you please tell us about yourself?
A:
I like to travel (I've been to over 100 countries). I like to have fun. I like new adventures and new projects, and I believe passionately in the human potential. I have devoted myself to the pursuit of fun, adventure and success, and in all three areas I have excelled. I have always followed my passion and it has led me well.
Q:
When was the first time you approached auto-suggestion as mentioned in Mind Power Into the 21st Century?
A:
Within the first few months of my research I began applying many different techniques that appealed to me or showed promise. Some were excellent; others proved to be of little use. I used myself and my life as the litmus test.
Q:
What is your attitude towards holotropic transpersonal psychotherapy (rebirthing?), and towards hypnosis?
A:
I have found the holotropic transpersonal psychology (rebirthing) to be a very powerful and beneficial process. I don't like the name "rebirthing," as I feel it misrepresents what the process is. Interestingly many different cultures use a form of this process, and its effects on clarity and insight are there for anyone to experience.
Somewhat strangely, I have avoided working with hypnosis. Perhaps I feel uncomfortable with someone else making suggestions to my subconscious. I prefer to reprogram my subconscious myself, and the methods I have developed work effectively. However, many people seem to get results from hypnosis, and I always respect results. You should always insist that whatever system or method you are using produces demonstrable results for you. If it does not, then move on to something else that does work. I trust results. They are more real to me than concepts.
Q:
It is said that you led a secluded life in a cave before you wrote the book Mind Power Into the 21st Century. Is that true?
A:
In my late twenties I left the city and went into the woods, built myself a cabin, and spent three years doing research. It was there I put together the Mind Power system that I now teach. The cabin was isolated and about a twenty-minute walk from the end of a dead end road. So I had total privacy to do my work and learn the secrets of
nature. However, once a week or so I would drive into the nearest town and shoot billiards with friends, or just hang out or go to parties, so it wasn't like I never saw anyone for those three years.
Q:
How did you come you to have the idea for the methodology of auto-suggestion and activating the subconscious?
A:
The methodology came via trial and error, by experimenting with many different concepts and techniques. Early on I knew I had found my calling and so I was passionate about it. At a certain point my subconscious began kicking in and delivered to me information that was not in any books, and as I tried these new insights and saw that they worked, they too were incorporated into the system. At this point I was doing it only for my own interest. I had no idea that I would teach it or write books that would sell millions of copies. I did it because it interested me. I was simply following my passion, which is one of the secrets of a successful life.
Q:
Is it true that everything can be controlled only with the power of thoughts?
A:
"Everything" is an absolute term and does not allow for the dynamics of life to unfold in their own mysterious way. Nothing is black and white. Life is filled with contradictions and exceptions and things we do not understand. Mind Power is a tool, and a very powerful tool, but it is not the magic key to controlling all the events in the universe.
Q:
If we can direct our thoughts according to our wishes, does it mean there is no destiny? What do you think about destiny?
A:
We create our own destiny by the thoughts we think, the choices we make, and our daily actions. These three things unfold as destiny. You create your destiny.
Q:
How long did it take you to reach harmony with yourself?
A:
Personal growth is an ever-continuing process. It never stops. I am sixty-one and still growing and changing and becoming. It would be a terrible thing if it were different. Imagine becoming enlightened where there was nothing more to know or become. How boring. How frightening. Fortunately that never happens.
Q:
The Russian professor Earnest Muldashev claims that the Atlantes, people from past civilizations, were skillful at telepathy and psychic energy, and thus, according to him, the pyramids were built. Do you believe that ancient civilizations had deep knowledge of psychic energy?
A:
Some of them did; some of them didn't. There is no question that some ancient civilizations had a far greater understanding of the mind than we do now, and had very sophisticated systems for performing incredible
feats. Every culture produces its own seers and wisdom keepers. Regarding the pyramids, I do not know how they were built, but ancient Egypt was one of the civilizations that held a mysterious wisdom.
Q:
How do you see the future of the power of thought?
A:
Mind Power may transform the planet. We have the potential of evolving into a super species where what now seems extraordinary will one day be commonplace. I truly believe that the next evolutionary leap will be a leap of consciousness. Our planet is currently faced with many problems, and in many ways it seems hopeless, but this too could be part of a master plan to awaken us. Times of great crisis may well "awaken" many to live their potential, and through these individuals consciousness could shift. The laser beam, for example, works on the principle of harmonizing packets of light waves into the same frequency. Each light wave vibrates at a slightly different frequency
than the one beside it. But if you can get one tenth of one percent of these light waves vibrating at the same frequency, the whole beam transforms into a powerful light source which becomes a laser beam. I believe that consciousness may quite possibly work the same way. If we get one tenth of one percent of the people on this planet thinking in a new more powerful way (assuming the population is eight billion, that would be eight million people) we could see a shift in consciousness which transforms all consciousness. I used to think it will be impossible to get everyone to think in these new ways, but if we only need one tenth of one percent to step up and be their very best, that's doable. It gives me great hope. Maybe someone reading this article will be one of them.
Q:
Would you like to share something with our readers?
A:
Yes. I want all of you to take responsibility for your lives and dream of doing great things. I want to encourage you to follow your passion and let it lead you in whatever direction it goes. Never be ashamed of who you are or what struggles you are going through. Believe in yourself and your visions and be assured from someone many years older than you that this life is a magnificent adventure filled with numerous opportunities to fulfill yourself. And finally, be true to yourself and honor yourself. Trust your feelings, trust your instincts, and never be afraid to be uniquely, one hundred percent you. Do these things and you will have a fun, exciting life.