The Principles of

Successful Manifesting™




How to Live your Life Dreams in Abundance and Prosperity.

Revision 1.26


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© 2006-2008 Dream Manifesto – All rights reserved

Introduction

Dear Reader,

Thank you for your interest in this e-book about the principles of manifesting your life dreams.

In this e-book you will learn the foundations of the manifestation process and the built-in ability of your mind to create whatever reality you prefer. You will dive deeply into the exploration of your consciousness and discover that it is one of the most incredible and exciting arenas one can inhabit. Welcome to the endless potential that is You!

Everything in your life is a result of what you know, what you experience and how you interact with your consciousness. These elements make up the ultimate source from which everything else evolves.

Learning about yourself can be the most fascinating endeavor one can imagine. Manifesting is an ability of consciousness at the inner level, and is not determined by any outer circumstances. We all share the same inner source; no one gets more or less. The only difference is that some people are more aware of it than others. However, with this report and with a positive attitude to learn, you can go as deeply down into the rabbit hole as you wish. The rabbit hole is an analogy for your willingness to explore the unknown.

The more you know about the unknown the more you actually understand how little you know. It makes you humble and brings you back to the world of wonders, miracles and magic.

A world in which everything is possible.

Please read this e-book with an open mind. You don't have to believe everything that is written here – just explore as a scientist would do. When you arrive at a passage that is difficult to grasp, take a break and contemplate it awhile. Allow your mind to process this new information. Read this e-book a few times, take your time doing the exercises and create your own experiences.

The Power of Experiencing your own Knowledge

Life is all about experience. All your knowledge is worthless if you don't apply it in your life. Experience is created by applying what you know. It's the difference between knowing how an apple tastes and eating an apple. If you have never tasted an apple and someone tells you how it tastes, you will only have a limited knowledge of it. However when you actually taste an apple, you experience it for yourself. Nobody can take this experience away from you. Just imagine if you only had the knowledge of how an apple tastes and a few people came by to tell you that it really tastes differently. What would you do? You would have your own experience no longer being confused by others. This is the power of your own experience.

If you understand and follow the basics of what is outlined here, you will become the master of your life by manifesting it, exactly as you wish. Within yourself, you will create the ability to deal with any challenges you may face and find the answer to lasting happiness.

Enjoy reading . . .

Thomas Herold
Founder & CEO, Dream Manifesto

Table of Contents

Exploring the Source of Happiness

Every single person on this planet is striving to be happy. This is the state of being that we all know from the time of our birth. It is a state of being that we recognize as our true self – who we deeply are.

Now, for most of us, this happiness doesn't last. It gets replaced by a striving force to survive, which feels more like the opposite of being happy. The reason we are doing this is astonishingly simple – because we are told to do so.

• Our heritage tells us what to think and feel

• Our government tells us what to think and feel

• Our society tells us what to think and feel

Our current world view is determined by a centuries old paradigm – Newton's world view of the universe as a giant clock works is studied, as it has been for centuries, in our schools. This world-view teaches us that we humans operate similarly to a mechanical clock. This view teaches that everything is ruled by cause and effect, and almost everything can be replaced when it's damaged. In addition, we are taught the concept of the survival of the fittest. Together, these two ideas condition us to accept that people, like animals, must function in a state of mechanical perfection or be replaced by more perfectly functioning components in the system.

These old concepts have led to a society that is completely self-centered, ego-driven, irresponsible and environmentally destructive. They have led us to a cult of happiness seekers who get their adrenalin rush by buying more useless stuff on a daily basis – all in a subconscious attempt to maintain the illusion of perfection.

We have been conditioned to consume the world in an effort to attain this illusory perfection, and it shows in our day-to-day lives. Simply put, we work at places we don't like in order to buy stuff we don't need.

We have forgotten that the source of happiness lies within the center of our spiritual being, and we have replaced it by seeking it in the material world. We have things backward.

What is the Manifesting Process?

Where does it initially come from: Desire? Wanting something? Bettering ourselves?

Take a good look at your life right now. Where do you live? What does your furniture look like? What kind of car do you drive? How much money is in your bank account? Look in the mirror – how do you look? Everything has been manifested one way or the other, by you. You may not be aware of how far-reaching your ability to manifest truly is in all its aspects.

Have My Thoughts Created All This?

Yes! Whatever you see in the physical universe has been created in one way or the other by your thoughts. Your thoughts are the blueprints of what later becomes physical form. Everything starts with an idea, which is a thought. That's why it is crucial to pay attention to your thoughts.

If you worry about getting all those bills paid you will create more of the same thing, simply because you have thought about it. Your thoughts are nothing more than frequencies or vibrations that resonate with similar vibrations already existing. Place two guitars side by side and pluck a string on one. The string on the other guitar will start vibrating, even though you haven't touched it. It is the principle of resonance. Fascinating, isn't it?

You want to be able to control your thoughts, given that they create your reality. If you can control your thoughts, you can control what you want to create and manifest in your life. If you can't control your thoughts, things will manifest that seem random and unconnected to you – and they are – they are actually manifested from other people.

Your consciousness is like a radio station. You can send signals and programs and you can receive signals and programs. Sometimes you may want to receive and sometimes you may want to send. To know when to send and when to receive is one of the greatest success factors in life. It is the balance of knowing when to create and when to experience. You cannot constantly create for you would miss out on the other part of the experience. On the other hand, if you only experience things, you will never get to manifest anything.

Another way of putting it would be responsive responsibility – the ability to consciously respond. In every moment, you have a choice about what you want to do, and what you want to decide. If you don't exercise this power nothing happens in your life – at least not what you want. This brings us to the next topic.

In Summary Happiness is the state of being of our true self, which we have deeply recognized from birth. We lose sight of the source of our happiness through a variety of cultural, social, educational, environmental and relational conditioning. When we respond to life from our true selves rather than from our conditioned selves, we are able to manifest what we want.

The Importance of
Knowing What You Want From Life

Most people never think about what they want in their lives. They live without this knowledge or forethought and become victims of their own circumstance. Work is just about a job – to get by financially. Life becomes a series of issues like choosing to live somewhere because the rent is cheap, never understanding how to be in relationships or becoming ineffectual parents. The list goes on and on. Within yourself there is a craving for more. Is it substance, contact or a deeper understanding of life? No one has ever introduced such people to the concept of endless possibility. “As a man thinketh, so is he.”

A major key to manifesting the life you want is to ponder what you want out of life. What is it that you want to do with your life? A good exercise is to take a piece of paper and write down the answers to the following questions:

• What is my deepest desire?

• What would I like to accomplish in my life?

• What would I like to accomplish this year?

• Where would I like to be in 5 years?

• Where would I like to be in 20 years?

• What am I good at?

Look into all areas of your life:

• Your profession

• Your relationships

• Your health

• Your financial situation

• How you have fun (how you spend your holidays)

Do you Spend Enough Time with your Goals – Are they Important?

After you have written down a list of what you would like to accomplish in your life, you will want to set priorities for them. Just take the list that you wrote down and give each topic 1-5 points. 1 being the least important to 5 points being the most. Now you have priorities in your life, which will help you decide where you want your attention to be.

It is a simple equation: understand simply that you want to spend most of your time with the number one topic on your list. Spend slightly less time with the number two entry on your list – and so on for numbers three through five. There is no need to slice up the day in time slots. Simply by doing this exercise you are programming your consciousness to spend time according to your list.

Let's assume you would like to find your life partner in the next two years, and that this is your primary goal, at the very top of your list. When you check your thought process at the end of the day and you find that you have not spent most of your free time addressing this goal, you have a misalignment, and you may never reach your goal. When this happens simply recognize it and adjust accordingly.

Working all day only to sit on your couch and watch TV will not get you where you want to be. You must take action to manifest your goal(s), for example:

• Take action by signing up for a dance class

• Book a weekend seminar on a subject that intrigues you

• Attend a workshop that focuses on your interest

• Spend time at places where you can meet people
  
  

If your goal happens to be that you want to be a millionaire within five years, and you are spending only five minutes of your time each day to accomplish this goal, then don't be surprised if your financial situation never changes.

There is another important aspect of manifestation here that requires consistency. Let's assume you have made your priority list and everything on your list feels good so far. It is very important that you are in emotional agreement with your goals – they must feel right to you. If you simply create goals in your mind that are not of value to you then you will find yourself having a hard time working to achieve them.

What happens with most people's scenario is that they have a goal that feels right for them, then they start working on their goal. In other words, they put their attention into making their goal a reality. A few weeks pass by and nothing happens. Now discouragement sets in and the goal somehow seems unreachable, the motivation is down to zero.

This is the point where you must feel your discouragement. Don't just put it away or ignore it – face it as completely and consciously as you can. This might be unpleasant for you but it will help you get closer to your goal. How is this? When you want to change your reality you obviously need to do something differently than what you have done before. So this is where the reality check comes in. You look around and cannot see any change. But changes may have already occurred in your thinking and behavior. You may have set things in motion that you cannot yet see.
Discouragement sets in when you assume that things should be happening sooner than you are ready for them. Remember – there are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames. So feel your discouragement and let it dissolve. Look at what you have done and realign your strategies. If one way does not lead to success don't give up at that point – simply try another. If you stick to a goal you will reach it.

Sometimes you may push too hard when you just need to let go and take the pressure off. You doubt yourself at this point, believing there is nothing you can accomplish. Go to the place in your mind where you know you can't fail. Reading a book or watching a motivational movie may help to get you realigned with your powerful source.

In Summary Clearly identifying what you want out of life supports your ability to manifest from your true self. The process takes both a commitment in time and a sense of respect for your goals. Creating a priority list helps identify your goals and find ways to take action, two very important aspects of manifesting what you want.

Find Your Unique Strengths, Gifts And Talents

Most successful people have something in common. They love what they do. You won't find rich and successful people that hate what they do.

Each of us is unique, having specific talents and gifts. It is something innately inherent in all of us, a combination of energy patterns leading towards a natural affinity for certain subjects in life, certain ways of being. One of the most important tasks in your life is to find these talents and gifts within yourself, which is a recognition of what you have brought into your creation.

Let's assume that you are given a hammer without having any knowledge of how to utilize this tool. Stay with me now – this is a gross over-simplification of an extremely important aspect of your reality. You are given nails but you use the wrong end of the hammer. You can't see any success with accomplishing your task of hammering in the nails. You have the tool but not the knowledge of its correct application. Similarly, how can we manage our lives without understanding the many tools available and their practical applications? You might even have a moment of enlightened clarity. We can all relate to finally understanding something that had been tripping us up. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone had shared the necessary information beforehand – before experiencing frustration and possibly giving up?

Recognizing your own strengths and talents is absolutely essential for any further steps you take in life. Writing them down should make them more real to you if you’re not used to thinking about them. If you know your distinctive strengths and talents you should be able to write them down in a few sentences without having to think too much about the process.

If you are not sure, or you really have no clue, here are a few tips that will help you identify them:

Think back to your childhood:

• What were the toys you liked to play with?

• What were you interested in?

• What did you like best to play?

• What presents did you wish to receive for your birthday and Christmas?

• What did you dream of becoming in your future?
  
  

Ask your Closest Friends
Tell your friends that you want to re-evaluate your talents and you need an honest opinion from them. Make sure to ask your friends to be 100% honest with you. Allow them to take a fresh look at you and ask them to forget all about what you are doing professionally – keep it on a personal level.

• What do your friends think you are good at?

• What do they think your talents are?

• What do they recommend what you should do with your life?

Ask Yourself a Few Questions
Take a notebook and read through these questions. Make sure you open up your mind and allow these questions to solidify in your imagination. Don't take these questions too seriously, play with them and also write down what comes up spontaneously – these are sometimes the most profound answers.

These questions are designed to expand your consciousness out of the normal mindset. The best solutions are always found outside the normal realm of thinking. Remember, your mind is part of the collective consciousness; therefore you have access to all information. Your mind is connected to the infinite source of all existence.

• What would you do if you had enough money not to work ever again?

• What were your dreams when you were younger?

• What do you think is impossible for you to do?

• What would you do if you won five million dollars?

• What would you do if this was the last day of your life?

• What would you do if you couldn't fail?

• What are your strengths and talents?

• Do you have a wish but don't know how to fulfill it?

• What do you admire most about others?

• What would your ideal lifestyle look like?

• What does success mean for you?

• What makes you really happy?

• Is there anything that needs to be invented?

• What does a perfect day look like for you?

• What would you do if there were no restrictions?

• What really excites you?

• What would you be honored and recognized for?

• Where do you see your life in ten years?

• If you were immortal, what would you do with your life?

• What needs to change to make this a better world?

• What would you do if you were Superman?

• What are you proud of?

• What would you do if you were the President?

• What would you like to accomplish this year?

• What would you do differently if you could start over again?
  
  
  
  

Finding your strengths and talents is like first building the basement for your house. It is your foundation. It is like the soil from which a strong and beautiful tree can grow. It provides you with your unique potential. It is the unique gift that came with you when you were born. You are being asked here to nourish it until it is strong enough to guide you in your life.

Don't waste your time chasing someone else's dream or goal or anything that is not given to you that you cannot claim first as your own. Use the talents you came in with or the ones you developed along the way. You may become very good at something but you will never find true, lasting happiness with it if you can’t own it completely. You will always have to compensate with something else so as not to feel the void in your life – a void that is only filled by your own inherent strengths and talents. If you don't know your talents and strengths, make getting to know them your major task in life.

Use whatever tools you feel comfortable with. Try to find a way to dig deeper into yourself. This is your life – and you’re worth it! If you feel comfortable with astrology schedule a private session with a professional astrologer. You will be amazed how much you can find out about yourself in just an hour.

In Summary Recognize your unique blend of talents and gifts is the first step in discovering who you truly are. Think of your childhood dreams for clues about your early conditioning. Ask your friends to help you identify your gifts. Keep a journal of of questions and answers and refer to it often as a way of focusing on the specific characteristics of yourself and the dreams you hold dear. Learn to use any tool that helps you find a way to dig deeper into yourself.

Finding The Courage to Step Out of Normality

If you have found your talents and strengths, you know you are unique. It gives you confidence and a sense of stability. That doesn't mean that you go around telling people how different you are. It is just a recognition of what you brought into this lifetime.

Make a commitment to follow these gifts and talents; let them guide you. Don't let anybody tell you what you should do. Don't let anybody tell you that you are not good enough to fulfill your dreams. Identify as much as possible with your dreams, as they are the surest guides in your life. They will show you where to go.

There is no guarantee at all that everything will be fine and easy when you follow your dreams. It may be the opposite. You may find yourself alone in the world with the feeling that everyone else is doing the right thing but you.

Your gifts, talents and strengths are your ultimate potential, but they can also be your pitfalls. You will need to cultivate them over time. In the beginning they are also your weaknesses and you will be tested by them. The more you withstand them, the stronger they grow inside you, until they become your life force.

Contemplate: What if you have chosen your gifts in your last life?

A little story about this: A soul is ready to incarnate to earth and gets sent to the 'feelings' supermarket where it can chose what dominant feeling it wants to carry into its incarnation. The soul enters the store and finds that all feelings except one are sold out for today! Only one is left and it is labeled Betrayal. As a soul, all feelings are equal and there are no judgments or preferences. The soul takes Betrayal and enters its life on earth to experience this feeling in all its variations.

What's the point, you may ask? Knowing your purpose, even if it involves so-called negative experience at a fundamental level, will free you from becoming a victim. You will have the understanding that you chose this. Therefore, you can grow with the experience and ultimately get the teaching you need to learn, the understanding and wisdom you desired to attain. There are no mistakes, only opportunities. Every single person has a different path on earth. If you understand your path it doesn't matter what it is, and you will not be jealous that others have more – which, after all, are only just different paths. You will have a profound understanding that what you do is exactly the right thing – no matter what it is.

It doesn't matter if you have a small or a big house. It does not matter if you have more or less money than others. Being on your unique path is where you belong; it is the only way to get to your unique dreams.

In Summary: Identifying your own unique blend of dreams and personal talents helps break loose layers of conditioning and initiates deep changes in your life. Understand that all change, whether positive or negative, is necessary and will ultimately support you in ways that sustains your growth. Inner understanding is infinitely more important than external accumulation. Be nonjudgmental - do not impose artificial standards on yourself or on others.

Attention – The Infinite Source of Your Potential

Attention is probably the most important gift you possess. The word attention comes from the Latin attendere, which means, "to turn one's mind towards" – to turn one's mind or perhaps one's senses; the act or state of applying the mind to an object of sense or thought.

It is the act of taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one of several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.

Our faculty of attention affects us in countless ways. Our very perception of reality is tied closely to where we focus our attention. Only what we pay attention to seems real to us, whereas whatever we ignore – no matter how important it may be – seems to fade into insignificance.

Each of us chooses, by our way of attending to things, the universe we inhabit and the people we encounter. But for most of us, this “choice” is unconscious, so it’s not really a choice at all. When we think about who we are, we can’t possibly remember all the things we’ve experienced, all the behaviors and qualities we have exhibited. What comes to mind when we ask “Who am I?” Those things consist of what we have been paying attention to over the years. The same goes for our impressions of other people. The reality that appears to us is not so much what’s out there, as it is those aspects of the world we have focused on.

What we look at may not be what we attend to. It is possible to look in one direction but actually notice changes in another direction. Overt attention is the act of directing our eyes or ears towards a stimulus source. Covert attention is the act of mentally focusing on a particular stimulus. Basically, you can direct your attention towards the outside world or towards the world within. You can observe – attend to – your thoughts!

Mastering and controlling your attention gives you the freedom to choose what happens in your life. There are countless things happening at the same time all over the world, however, as long as your attention is not directed to any of it – nothing really happens for you.

Contemplate: When you close your eyes is the world still there? What evidence do you have to prove it on your own?

This is very important to understand. The more you can control your attention the more you attract only the things in your life that you really want. If you do not pay attention to the crime scene on your television it does not create this reality for you. If you don't pay attention to negative things in your life it will not create that reality. This doesn't mean you should ignore the parts of the world that do not produce peace and happiness for you; it simply means not to give them too much attention. Don't get absorbed in them – decide when enough is enough and move on to something you want your attention to be focused on, for example, the important goals and dreams of your life.

Life is not what you see on TV nor what you hear and read in the news!

An analogy for attention is the faucet in your garden. You open it and see an endless stream of water flowing. Now you connect to it a hose, and with this hose you are able to direct the flow of water anywhere you decide. You may decide to water your rosebush in the back. You take the hose and direct it toward the rosebush and water it. Now, what happens when your hose has holes and leaks? Let's assume for this analogy that your hose is really old and that there are many holes and leaks. The water is our analogy for the free attention you have in life. Taking a close look at the hose reveals that it is leaking in several places, and that the water is missing your rosebush entirely but plenty is flowing down into the earth to nourish the weeds that are dormant and only need a good drink to begin to sprout. If you look at the end of the hose you will notice there is not much water left for the rosebush.

Two things are happening here:

1. Your attention goes somewhere you would rather not have it go and things are happening that you don't want to have happen.

2. Your attention is not focused enough to have an effect on what you do want to accomplish.

Do you see how important it is to train your attention? There are many exercises you can do. One simple method is to simply observe your attention and to speak out loud where it is in the moment. You may do this when you are alone until you get comfortable with yourself. This is a funny exercise and you may find yourself laughing.

Here is what it might look like:

• I am thinking about tomorrow . . .

• There is a cat next to me . . .

• What I am doing here . . . ?

• So many thoughts . . .

• Am I crazy . . . ?

• The carpet is brown . . .

• It's dirty too . . .

• I should get it cleaned . . .

• Ah, just relax . . .

• How busy my mind is . . .

• What's next . . .

You may find yourself thinking about how crazy this is, but this exercise actually just happens in a short time span of your attention. You may have a few thousand of these each day . . . no wonder some people feel constantly stressed, overwhelmed and light years away from their goals (if they have any)!

Do this every day for about 15 minutes and you will observe that several things happen. First of all, your mind gets calmer but at the same time may also feel exhausted, especially after the first few times you do the exercise. Exhausting your attention is a very interesting occurrence that happens quite often and naturally in your daily life. Training your mind not to exhaust itself will sharpen your focus and free up your attention considerably.

The more free attention you have, the happier you feel and the more power you have to control what is happening in your life.

In Summary

You have infinite attention; however you can exhaust your attention to the degree that there isn't anything left. Be aware of how you use your attention. Learn to deliberately choose where you want to place your attention.

What Absorbs Your Attention?

We need to pay attention to things in our daily lives; everything we do requires that of us. Businesses vie for our attention. The ubiquitous backdrop of advertising that surrounds us is constantly trying to get our attention. The more aware we are of it the more we can deliberately decide not to give our attention away.

The following is a list of the most powerful attention suckers:

• Television, especially advertising and news channels

• Newspapers

• Billboards

• Shopping malls

• People telling you stories you are not interested in

• Arguments

• Large crowds

• Excessive and loud noises

• Self-criticism

• Driving on the freeway

• Email spam

• Junk mail
  
  

Contemplate: Where does (your) attention come from?

In Summary: Cultivate the habit of attending to your inner life as you would cultivate a beautiful garden. Where and how you place your attention should be your daily practice for enhancing your inner garden. Become aware of what draws you away from enjoying yourself here and now and gently come back to yourself in the present moment without judgment. Deliberate cultivation of attention, when practiced consistently, yields wonderful insights and creates a fertile ground for nurturing your dreams.

Imagination
Your Magic Virtual Reality World

The act of imagining is another wonderful ability of your consciousness. Even with open eyes you can imagine springtime in the fields, the fresh scents, the birds chirping, the warmth of the sun. You can even imagine that you are sitting in the grass and feel the wind blowing through your hair. You can imagine touching the soul, letting it rinse through your hands.

You are able to imagine objects that do not exist, and you can imagine that these objects do whatever you decide. They don't have to follow any physical rules. Many inventors have used the power of imagination to think up ideas for new products, machines and improvements.

The most interesting part is that these imaginings, once you have made them, become part of your memory! It's like a virtual world that does not follow any rules that currently exist – it is the ultimate playing field in cyber space.

Imagination is also very powerful in memorizing things that you normally could not remember. Here is a simple example. For now, just read it:

There is a red ball. On the left side of the red ball is a green ball and on the right side of the red ball is a blue ball. Next to the blue ball is a yellow ball and next to the green ball is a white ball. On the left side of the white ball is a black ball and on the right side of the yellow ball is an orange ball.

Now repeat what you just read without looking at it . . .

Without the use of your imagination you probably won't be able to memorize this. Now do it again, but this time you will use the power of your imagination. Just imagine that you are at a billiard table. Read the instructions again, but this time visualize each ball lying on the pool table.

There is a red ball. On the left side of the red ball is a green ball and on the right side of the red ball is a blue ball. Next to the blue ball is a yellow ball and next to the green ball is a white ball. On the left side of the white ball is a black ball and on the right side of the yellow ball is an orange ball.

Okay, now close your eyes and recall the picture of the billiard balls on the pool table. Without reading the instructions again you will probably remember every ball position.

By using your imagination you have expanded your brain capacity in terms of how your brain stores information. You have used the left and the right hemisphere of your brain together. One hemisphere is the more logical side the other half is the more artistic side. When both hemispheres work together the brain is able to store the information in its long-term memory. From there it is accessible at any time, even after many years have passed. If you only use one side of your brain the information takes a longer time to get to your long-term memory – usually only effectively by repeating the task. Most of the time the information gets stored only in short-term memory and is no longer available after a day or so.

There are basically only three methods to store information in your long-term memory:

1. Repetition
2. Intensity
3. Using both sides of the brain simultaneously

What Does Imagination have To Do With Manifesting?

If you can imagine it, it will not be difficult to create it. Let's assume you want $20,000 in your bank account by the end of this month. Start using your imagination:

• Visualize your bank statement reading your balance is $20,000

• Visualize making a withdrawal and you are holding $20,000 in your hand

• Visualize how you feel

• Visualize bringing the money home and spreading it all over your table

• Visualize what you can buy with this money

By doing this process you are already training your mind for the event of claiming $20,000. Your mind will start bringing up other pictures and stories when you do this exercise.
For example the following can happen:

• A thought comes up – Ah, how bogus this is!

• A thought comes up – I don't believe this will ever happen!

• A thought comes up – Why not go for $50,000 or $100,000?

• A feeling arises – you feel excited

• A feeling arises – you feel unmotivated

• A pictures arises – you only see $850 in your bank account

• A picture arises – you cannot see a number on your bank statement

These are all uncertainties of the mind that will vanish when you do the exercise several times. Do it often, until you see exactly what you desire as actually happening. Do it until there is no other thought, feeling or picture coming up that is not aligned with your goal.

How to Fire Walk over Chalk
I once participated in a fire walk ritual as part of a weekend self exploration course. The goal for the evening was to walk over a 30-foot long, 190-degree, hot pathway of chalk. I had only to put my hand over the chalk to immediately know “absolutely” that walking on this infernal path would be impossible without instantly and painfully burning my feet.

To prepare for this experience we were told to visualize the walk over the fire and use our imagination to eliminate any obstacles our minds could come up with. Somehow, I ended up visualizing a lava field that I was walking through. It took me four of five virtual walk-throughs until my mind no longer clung to the idea that my feet were burning.

It took me another two or three mental walk-throughs until I felt totally comfortable. In the last visualization I even ended up waking over the fire twice as I could not believe it the first time or two. Guess what happened on that evening? After watching about seven or eight other people do the walk, it was my turn. I positioned myself at the beginning, calmed my mind and started to walk slowly in little steps over the fire. At the end I couldn't believe what I just did and I walked all the way back over it again!

No burns, nothing! However, I could feel the energy of the fire on my feet. Needless to say, not all the people finished their walks successfully. Some were very badly burned indeed. I will never forget this experience as it helped me tremendously in understanding the power of visualization.

In Summary: Consciously directed imagination is the power behind all manifestation. It operates at the level where your brain stores information for recall and manifestation. The three elements of this process are: repetition, intensity and the simultaneous use of both hemispheres of the brain. You utilize the brain's capacity to work with information by seeing exactly what you desire and by clearing any blocks that come up around that desire.

Your Beliefs
Concepts That Create Your Experience

Beliefs are basically concepts that we either make up on our own or that we take over from someone else. The function of believing something is another great ability of your consciousness. The idea of belief that we talk about here has nothing to do with the kind of belief that is usually used in a religious context.

Belief is a built-in function of your consciousness. It is one of the most powerful instruments to shape your reality. It is so powerful that, when adaptively formulated from many people, it can shift mass consciousness and lead to profound changes in our society. It even has the power to shift the collective consciousness of the whole of civilization on this planet.

What is the Purpose of a Belief?

The purpose of a belief is to make an experience. How is this possible? A belief is basically a concept, something that you assume, but actually don't know as a concrete fact. You only know something for sure when you have experienced it. Everything else are concepts that we consider to comprise the basis of our knowledge. Our whole life is built around beliefs.

There are two different ways you can live your life. The first way is to observe nature and then construct a belief around it. This is still currently the way we receive information in school; it is what operates most prevalently in people's lives. The problem with this approach is that it leads to a form of living that convinces us that we are not responsible for anything that happens in our lives. This approach also leads to the idea that we cannot change things in our lives.

The second way is the opposite – you decide what you want to believe and later find the evidence of this belief in nature. Does this sound strange to you? Maybe not, maybe you already have shifted your consciousness into this new way of thinking.

What are the Benefits of Thinking this Way?

You are responsible for what is happening in your life. You could also say that you have created it one way or another. Either you are conscious of being your life’s creator or you are not. A lot of what we actually create happens unconsciously. Another benefit of thinking this way – i.e., consciously – is that you can change what you like to experience by simply changing your beliefs and the concepts around them. Understand how powerful this is! When you live your life as the master of your beliefs you can handle anything because you ultimately know that you have created it. And even if you are not aware, you will at some point accept it.

By the act of believing we form a unique structure in our consciousness, an energy pattern that acts like a blueprint for what we will experience in our life.

Let's look at a practical example to illustrate this point. Just imagine you are at home and your doorbell rings. You open the door and there is a man you have never seen before. He starts telling you his story about having lost his home and his job and how he needs money to survive. He asks you if you can spare a few dollars.

During the conversation your consciousness is automatically processing the information. There are probably thousands of things happening in your mind in a fraction of a second. Your mind looks into its memory banks to find similar experiences. A similar experience makes it easy to act on the current situation in the same way. Your mind will also find all kinds of stories that have to do with money. Your mind observes the man and tries to categorize the whole situation.

• Is this man trustworthy?

• Is this man telling the truth?

• Do I want to give him money?

• How much money do I want to give?
  
  

Finally you have to make up your mind. You have a choice of what to do – you always have a choice. You can simply react to the situation and let your mind tell you what to do, by calling on one of the thoughts that automatically came up to guide you. Or you can deliberately make a choice by either believing his story or not. At this point you have no evidence if his story is true or not. You may not even be interested in his story, or the decision to give him the money.

Reaction Versus Action
A reaction is an unconscious response to a given situation. Your consciousness is not involved and the outcome is random. Most of the time it is an answer that reflects what you have done in the past. It is a choice-less and powerless approach to handling a situation.

An action is a deliberate choice you make. It is a response to a situation that is based on the result of consciously analyzing and contemplating a given situation. It empowers you and moves your life further along the path you have chosen.

Your action and the outcome of this situation are completely separate from and different from the idea of whether you believe him or not. Beliefs are very powerful. One way to determine what beliefs you want to take on is simply by looking for what the reality would be, that this belief would create. Is this belief supporting what I would like to experience or not?

Many of our beliefs are carried forward from our parents, from school, from friends and from news sources like radio and television. You have a choice to make about taking these beliefs on unfiltered, or by evaluating them and either accepting or rejecting them.

You will also experience that it is more important to understand how you believe, than what your belief is. Understanding the process of how you believe gives you tremendous power in your life. You will find that different sources of news are more or less credible to your beliefs. If your best friend tells you something you may believe it instantly, as you have known your friend for years and, in the past, your friend’s information was always reliable. Getting information from strangers is a totally different story and the level of acceptance may be much lower. Take doctors, for example. Most people willingly adopt the beliefs of their doctors quite thoroughly as they may see their physicians as the ultimate truth givers.

If you hold a belief that you “know” to be true, you have assigned that belief the highest level of trustworthiness. However, understand that it is still a belief and not the truth. The truth-as-absolute does not exist, even if you find all the evidence in the world for it. You will discover this in one of the next chapters when we talk about quantum physics.

In Summary: Beliefs are concepts ó originating from yourself or from others ó that constitute a built-in function of your consciousness. Beliefs act as powerful filters that shape your experience. Beliefs usually come from observing an aspect of life and then forming an opinion about it. A more efficient way of working with beliefs involves first determining what you believe and then finding the evidence that supports your creation. This is how you create a conscious blueprint for your reality.

10 Impeding Beliefs
that Prevent You From Getting Rich

At one point in your life, you may ask yourself why other people are so successful with money when you are not. Depending on how closely you look, you will have several answers. Do these sound familiar?

• They're just luckier than I am

• They have a better education than I do

• They were born into a rich family

• They are white and have better opportunities than I do

• They already had the money to start a business

• They already had the money to invest in real estate

• They are smarter than I am

• They are younger than I am

• They look better than I do

• They probably work harder than I do

The list probably continues to fill several pages. Money is the topic that generates the most beliefs, followed by the topic of relationship. I once led a seminar where we investigated people's beliefs about money. After only 30 minutes we came up with three full pages!

You may not know this yet, but your beliefs are the blueprint for your reality. If you knew that, would you deliberately create one from the list above? Probably not, because these beliefs are not supportive at all. These beliefs create a reality that leaves you 'playing' the victim, and furthermore, keeps you right where you are. You are not improving your life one bit.

Why are we creating these beliefs in the first place, when we know that they are not constructive at all? The answer lies in the nature of our consciousness. Most of us were told that there is a universe out there and this universe shapes our reality. It is the basic belief that life happens to us. Most of us get these beliefs confirmed several times per day. The result is that our consciousness gets imprinted each day with the same message. The message with the same old belief.

Meanwhile, as adults, we are not even aware that our life, 'as it happens' is built around a belief. It becomes a profound reality that we prove to ourselves in each moment.

So how do we get out of this dilemma? We need to take a step back and look at our beliefs. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and write down all the beliefs you have around money. Don't think too much, be spontaneous. When you have run out of your own beliefs, think about what other people's beliefs are about money.

Then mark each belief with an 'I' or an 'S' depending if the belief is impeding or supportive. Impeding beliefs do not support creating wealth, supportive beliefs do. Now, look at your list and count each supportive and impeding belief. What is your score? How many impeding beliefs do you have, and how many supportive beliefs do you have?

Realize that all the impeding beliefs do not support the creation of fortune. Now, take a new piece of paper, and brainstorm beliefs that will exactly create the wealth you would like to have. When you are done with the list, go over each of your new beliefs and create a mental image. Hold this mental image for at least 10-20 seconds. You may need some practice, but every time you do it, you will get better at it. Do this exercise in a quiet, calm and relaxed environment, as this will help to imprint these beliefs into your consciousness.

Remember, beliefs are the blueprint of what will manifest in your life. With a little training, you will be able to move onto the next stage, which is feeling your beliefs. Feel as if these new beliefs, that foster what you really want to create, have actually been manifested.

• How does it feel to be a millionaire?

• How does it feel to have abundance in your life?

• How does it feel to have more money than you can spend?

• How does it feel to give to others?

• How does it feel to buy something without having to look at the price?

Whenever you catch yourself thinking or speaking an impeding belief about money, stop what you are doing. Go back to the place in your mind where you recall one of your deliberately created beliefs about money, and connect with it. The more you do this, the more you will train your mind to think in a new way, a way that leads to living an abundant and prosperous life.

In Summary: It is vitally important that you learn to identify the negative beliefs that play a role in the blueprint of your reality. Work with them by first identifying them as impeding your life in some fashion, and then by creating positive beliefs that support what you want to create. Use whatever tool works for you to do this, but do this frequently and consciously.

Quantum Physics -
The New 21st Century Life Paradigm

We are in the midst of one of the most significant paradigm shifts mankind has ever encountered. We are seeing the end of Newton’s mechanical world-view, which is being replaced by a new one that tells us we are nothing more then interconnected consciousness, and that matter is nothing more than a form of energy.

The Age of Newton’s Mechanical Clockwork

For more than two hundred years Newton’s ideas dictated our world view. Newton declared that everything operates mechanically and can be predicted like clockwork. Science in Newton’s view, being nothing more than the act of observing, meant that this world view was easily perpetuated by independent observers all over the world.

In the late 19th century, science entered into the era of subatomic physics, which changed everything. Scientists discovered that the so-called ‘subatomic particles’ were not particles at all. They behaved like particles when they were measured but they traveled like waves.

Quantum theory has changed everything, because what was once a mechanical, external universe has now become a web of intelligence. Science finally admits that the simple act of observing changes the result of any experiment, and by extension, that the observer and the observed are not separate.

What follows from this new understanding is a completely different way of dealing with the world we perceive. Our old model of an objective world view has to be replaced with a new model that states everything is subjective, the observer influencing the observed.

The Quantum Paradox – The Wave-Particle Duality

Wave-Particle Duality is perhaps the most notable concept of the quantum world; and by extension, it is also the philosophical basis of modern thought. It is the defining characteristic of elementary physical entities, such as electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, and molecules, which exist on the one hand in states which behave like waves when they are not observed, and on the other hand behave like particles when observed.

The key is in the observation. In its wave-like state, the physical structure is typically extended in space, but then contracts abruptly to localized events or point-like particles when an observation is made.

When unobserved, physical quantum systems behave in wave-like states and only represent tendencies or probabilities of actual events. On the other hand, when an observation is made, the wave-like state changes abruptly, discontinuously, and unpredictably, in a quantum leap. At the macro level, the process is seemingly ruled by chance alone, and thus there is the potential for a true choice to be made.

Perception and Reality from a Quantum Viewpoint

All that we see, hear, taste, touch, smell and feel has been created from the data received by our sensory organs. All we ever know of the world around us are the mental constructions we assemble from that data.

However real and external they may seem, these constructions are all phenomena within the mind. This simple fact is very hard to grasp; it goes against all our experience. If there is anything about which we feel certain, it is that the world we experience is real.

We can see, touch and hear it. It seems undeniable that out there, around us, independent and apart from us, exists as a physical world, utterly real, solid and tangible. But the world of our experience is no more out there than are our dreams. When we dream, we create a reality in which events happen around us, and in which we perceive other people as individuals separate from us. In the dream it all seems very real. But when we awaken we realize that everything in the dream was actually a creation of our own mind.

The same process of reality-generation occurs in waking consciousness. The difference is that now the reality that is created is based on sensory data, and bears a closer relationship to what is taking place in the real world. Nevertheless, however real it may seem, it is not actually, the real world. It is still an image of that world created in the mind.

The Fabric of Reality – Enter the Age of Conscious Science

The current meta-paradigm of the nature of reality assumes that space, time, and matter constitute the basic framework of reality and consciousness somehow arises from this reality. The truth, it now appears, is the very opposite. As far as the reality we experience is concerned – and this, remember, is the only reality we ever know – consciousness is primary.

Time, space, and matter are secondary; they are aspects of an image of reality manifesting in the mind. They exist within consciousness; not the other way around.

If we consider the reality we experience, then we have to accept that in the final analysis, the new physicists are correct:

Consciousness is the essence of everything – everything in the known universe.

It is the medium from which every aspect of our experience manifests. Every form and quality we ever experience in the world is a construction within consciousness.

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