Liberating Achievement Energy

The various blockages to the free flow of achievement energy prevent us from directing all our available energy toward our Dream. The energy is "damned" up inside ("damn this," "damn that").

We know the names of those blockages — they are our comfort-zone buddies: fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings and anger. Each of these limitations has two aspects — a psychological (or mental) one, and a physiological (or physical) one.

The psychological aspect — and how to reprogram it with visualizations, affirmations, etc. — we've explored in other chapters. In this chapter, we're going to suggest some ways in which this energy can be physiologically freed.

As we mentioned before, each of the comfort zone's limitations has a favorite place to gather in the body — fear and guilt prefer the stomach, unworthiness the solar plexus, hurt feelings and anger the chest. It was the mind and its thoughts, of course, that created these limitations in the first place. The limitations have, however, been "living" in a certain part of the body for so long, that that part of the body has physically taken on the attributes of that limitation.

We know, for example, that mental stress ("pressure") can create tension in the neck and shoulders. In some people, however, that mental stress has been so constant and unrelenting, that they have tension in the neck and shoulders all the time — even when they're not under stress. It's known as chronic tension.

The same is true of fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings and anger. We tend to have chronic limitations built into the structure of our body. This is why — even when everything is going great — we can feel "free floating" fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt or anger.

The comfort zone, then, is "built into" our body.

That is, of course, bad news. No matter how much "mental" work we do, there is the physical tension in our body that will counteract it. The good news is that, being physical, we can reduce these physical tensions through physical means.

The good news continued: The techniques for removing tensions in the body are varied, plentiful and, for the most part, pleasurable. The last thirty years have seen a rebirth of these techniques in the West. These include massage, stretching, breathing, exercise, touching ("laying on of hands") — and the old standby, hot baths. Entire schools are devoted to the study of just one form of tension relief — and there are dozens of these schools.

We are not going to explore all of them in this chapter. (We want this book to be the size of a regular book, not a telephone book.) We will, however, mention a few. Know that any technique that relieves physical tension can be used to reduce the chronic physical tension of fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings and anger.

Before suggesting any techniques, there is one thing to keep in mind about physical stress release: When the stress is released, it is usually reexperienced. If you've ever had your shoulders rubbed, you probably noticed that, for a while, they hurt more as they were being massaged. Along with this hurt was probably a good feeling — one of release. This is often referred to as, "It hurts so good."

The same is true of fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings and anger. As each is released, the feeling itself may intensify. But along with the intensity comes the good feeling of release. Often, that good feeling is the other quality of the limitation — excitement for fear, power of personal change for guilt, worthiness for unworthiness, caring for hurt feelings, and power for external change for anger.

In all cases, know that if the feeling you want to reduce, in fact, intensifies — that's part of the process. To the degree you can, focus on the good feeling that accompanies it.

Breathing and Stretching: It's hard to tell which of the techniques for removing physical tension is the oldest, but we'd put our chips on breathing and stretching. A great many animals further down the evolutionary ladder take deep breaths and stretch for the same reasons humans do — it relieves tension, and it feels good.

Breathing increases the supply of oxygen to the body. Stretching moves that oxygen around (through increased blood flow to the area being stretched). Fortunately, we can consciously breathe into, and, by breathing into it, stretch each of the comfort zone's strongholds — the stomach, the solar plexus and the chest.

Try breathing into each of these places, consciously expanding the area as you do so. If you like, as you breathe in, you can imagine a white light going to that area. As you breathe out, you can imagine any darkness (tension) that was in the area expelled with the exhale.

Breathing deeply into an area of tension can be done anywhere, anytime. You can practice it "formally," lying down (it's sometimes nice to place your hands over the area you're breathing into), or, it can be used whenever and wherever the comfort zone wishes to remind you that "you can't have what you want."

Stretching through movement is a great way to break up the comfort zone's patterning. Leaning back — supporting yourself with your hands on your lower back-stretches all the areas at once. So does lying on the floor, face down, and arching your back by pushing the top part of your body off the floor with your hands.

You probably cannot touch your elbows together behind your back, but if you attempt it, it stretches the heart center. If you lean slightly back while doing that, it stretches the solar plexus and stomach as well.

Physical Exercise: Using the muscles in the area of a limitation can help break up the limitation. Does this mean people with washboard stomachs have no fear? Not necessarily. (Although they obviously have no fear of exercise.) There is, however, a definite zone-busting effect to increasing blood flow into an area.

Hot Baths: Is all that exercise too strenuous for you? Here's a stress-reduction technique designed in heaven— the hot bath. Alas, many of us don't take hot baths very often. We live in a "shower power" culture. Maybe if you considered them therapeutic, you can find more time for them. There are few things that release general physical tension better.

Touch: Simply placing your hands on the areas of limitation can have profound results. It is usually best against bare skin, but through clothing works, too. You can imagine a white light flowing through your hands, into the area, releasing the tension. This is especially useful if combined with breathing. Touching yourself is something you can do almost anywhere. (Some people have become experts at doing it casually in public, as though it were the most natural thing in the world — which it is. Others pretend to be doing something else, such as gently scratching an itch.) A touch can send a message to a disturbed area, "Peace. Be still."

Massage: Not only can we breathe into each of the areas favored by the comfort zone, we can also reach each of them with both our hands. (Is this luck, or just good design? That might be a question for the Gap.) Physically manipulating the stomach, solar plexus and chest is an excellent way to break up the patterns of limitation residing there. The process is made even more effective (and, dare we say, enjoyable) with the addition of massage oil.

It's also good to get professionally massaged. Let the masseur or masseuse know the areas you'd like to work on in particular. You can also tell him or her which limitations you're seeking to reduce. He or she may have some additional techniques specific to a given school of massage.

Any of these techniques are made more powerful when combined with mental work. Imagining a Dream while eliminating a barrier to that Dream can have profound effects.

What you're doing in these situations is reducing a limitation in both its abodes — mentally and physically. When a limitation is tossed out of both its thriving places often enough, it might just move back to the Midwest where it came from. (Or, perhaps, New England. As Cleveland Amory pointed out, "The New England conscience doesn't keep you from doing what you shouldn't — it just keeps you from enjoying it.")

Speaking of enjoying it, all these techniques do have within them an element of physical pleasure. In addition to enjoying it, use it, too. Allow yourself to feel good — physically — about your Dream. So often our dreams have been accompanied by physically feeling bad (thanks to the comfort zone).

More on this in the next chapter. For now, know that time spent doing body work is time well invested. Both benefits are significant — less hold of the comfort zone, and more creative energy to pursue your Dream.

Redirecting Energies

When we discuss being passionate about a dream, many people think, "Passion? Passion is supposed to be for..." They then name the thing they happen to be passionate about (or feel guilty about doing all the time, which they do because of passion — passion is stronger than guilt).

Most people have their passion hard-wired (and often hot-wired) toward a particular thing. It might be a person, certain foods, a given TV program, sex, money, football, macrame — whatever. The list of things people feel passionate about is almost as long as a list of things.

What we feel passionate about is our choice. For most of us, however, the choice was made long ago, and we forgot that we chose. We know what the choice is — the thing we automatically feel passionate about — but we've forgotten having made the choice.

As we free the achievement energy within ourselves, it will naturally flow toward what we already feel passionate about. It's "wired" that way. It's the path of least resistance inside. If that's already your goal, great. If it is something other than your goal, that newly liberated energy can be redirected.

Notice we said "newly liberated." We're not suggesting you feel any less passionate about the things you currently feel passionate for — unless those things are not part of your Dream.

We're saying that most of us have a lot more passion than we currently allow ourselves to feel. As we feel this energy more, give of the overflow to your Dream. That overflow may be ten times what is currently felt, but give of it anyway. Your Dream requires — and deserves — a lot of energy.

In general, passion is "wired" to a particular thing through thoughts. We think about something, we feel passion; we feel passion, we think about something more; we think about something more, we feel more passion. It's an expanding cycle. Like the chicken-and-egg puzzlement, it's hard to tell which came first.

Also like the chicken-and-egg puzzlement, it doesn't matter. We have chickens, we have eggs — that's all that matters. We have passion, we have things we feel passionate about — that's what matters.

You can, then, redirect the passion from something you currently feel passionate about, to your Dream, at any point in the cycle. All it takes is (A) remembering to do it, and (B) a specific image to feel passionate about.

Specific images are important. A general image of a Dream ("I want to be a movie star") is too vague. It doesn't have enough, uh, fascination to pull the passion from the current object of desire.

For someone whose dream is being a movie star, a specific image might be winning an Oscar. What specifically about winning an Oscar turns you on the most? Is it the moment you hear your name announced? Is it the moment you are being patted on the back by all those around you, and giving an obligatory kiss to your companion, whoever that may be? Maybe it's standing at the podium, bright lights shining down on you, slightly out of breath, listening to the ovation, Oscar in your hand, remembering Barbra Streisand's comment on winning her Oscar, "Hello, gorgeous!"

These are specific images. If you are doing some of your body work and releasing one of the limiting emotions, if this also releases some passion, then direct that passion toward the specific image of your Big Dream. If you're thinking passionately about whatever you currently find passionating (as we said, what would a self-help book be without a coined word or two — this was number two), direct that passion toward the specific image.

As an exercise, find a specific image of your Dream. Say, winning the Oscar. Now, close your eyes and think about something — not directly related to your Dream — that you tend to feel passionate about. Let's say it's chocolate cake. Think about chocolate cake. Think about how good it tastes. In your imagination, see it, smell it, taste it — let the juices (and the passion) flow.

Then, snap, place in your mind the image of the Oscar. Let the passion built by and for chocolate cake be directed at golden Oscar. If cake comes back in (and it will), let it. ("Let them think cake.") Let the passion build again, then, snap, switch to Oscar.

At first, you probably won't be able to hold the specific image for long. The mind will go back to what it habitually feels passionate about. This is what we meant by "hard-wired." With practice, however, transferring passion from one object to another becomes easier and easier. Eventually, when you feel passion stirring in your body, it will automatically move toward your Dream.

As an advanced exercise, switch the thought from The Passionate Thing to the specific image while doing the passionate thing. No, this is not an excuse to go have some chocolate cake. ("I ate an entire chocolate cake last night — it's an exercise in a book I'm reading.") Although we couldn't imagine anything that would sell more copies of our book, we must suggest you don't do The Passionate Thing just for the purposes of this exercise.

The next time you are doing The Passionate Thing, however, from time to time, mentally switch to your specific image. (If it involves another person, do be discreet. "What are you doing?" "I'm sorry, dear, I was thinking about an Oscar." "Oscar who?!")

Yes, you can have your cake, and think about your next bestseller, too. We do it all the time!

 

 

Meditate, Contemplate or Just Sits

In addition to visualization, you might like to try any number of meditative and contemplative techniques available — or you might just want to sit quietly and relax.

Whenever you meditate, contemplate, pray, do spiritual exercises or "just sits," it's good to ask the white light to surround, fill and protect you, knowing only that which is for your highest good and the highest good of all concerned will take place during your meditation.

Before starting, prepare your physical environment. Arrange not to be disturbed. Unplug the phone. Put a note on the door. Wear ear plugs if noises might distract you. (We like the soft foam-rubber kind sold under such trade names as E.A.R., HUSHER and DECIDAMP.) Take care of your bodily needs. Have some water nearby if you get thirsty, and maybe some tissues, too.

Contemplation is thinking about something, often something of an uplifting nature. You could contemplate any of the hundreds of quotes or ideas in this book. Often, when we hear a new and potentially useful idea, we say, "I'll have to think about that." Contemplation is a good time to "think about that," to consider the truth of it, to imagine the changes and improvements it might make in your life.

Or, you could contemplate a nonverbal object, such as a flower, or a concept, such as God. The idea of contemplation is to set aside a certain amount of quiet time to think about just that, whatever you decide "that" will be.

Meditation. There are so many techniques of meditation, taught by so many organizations, that it's hard to define the word properly. We'll give a capsule summary of some techniques from John-Roger's book, Inner Worlds of Meditation. (For more complete descriptions, you can get the book for $7 postpaid, from Mandeville Press, Box 3935, Los Angeles, CA 90051.)

You might want to try various meditations to see what they're like. With meditation, please keep in mind that you'll never know until you do it. We may somehow like to think we know what the effects of a given meditation will be just by reading the description, and that, in fact, is exactly what happens. We think we know; we don't really know. We suggest you try it, gain the experience, and decide from that more stable base of knowledge what is best for you at this time. And please remember to "call in the light" before beginning. We suggest you do not do these meditations while driving a car, operating dangerous machinery or where you need to be alert.

Breathing Meditation. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and simply be aware of your breath. Follow it in and out. Don't "try" to breathe; don't consciously alter your rhythm of breathing; just follow the breath as it naturally flows in and out. If you get lost in thoughts, return to your breath. This can be a very refreshing meditation — twenty minutes can feel like a night's sleep. It's also especially effective when you're feeling emotionally upset.

Tones. Some people like to add a word or sound to help the mind focus as the breath goes in and out. Some people use "one" or God or AUM (OHM) or love. These — or any others — are fine. As you breathe in, say to yourself, mentally, "love." As you breathe out, "love." A few other tones you might want to try:

· HU. HU is an ancient sound for the higher power. One of the first names humans ever gave to a supreme being was HU. Some good words begin with HU: humor, human, hub (the center), hug, huge, hue, humus ("The Good Earth"), humble, and, of course, hula. HU is pronounced "Hugh." You can say it silently as you breathe in, and again as you breathe out. Or, you can pronounce the letter H on the inhale and the letter U on the exhale. You might also try saying HU out loud as you exhale, but don't do it out loud more than fifteen times in one sitting; the energies it produces can be powerful.

· ANI-HU. This tone brings with it compassion, empathy and unity. You can chant it silently (ANI on the inhale, HU on the exhale) or out loud (ANI-HU on the exhale). It makes a lovely group chant and tends to harmonize the group — in more ways than one.

· HOO. This can be used like the HU. Some people prefer it. It's one syllable, pronounced like the word who.

· RA. RA is a tone for bringing great amounts of physical energy into the body. You can do it standing or sitting. Standing tends to bring in more energy. Take a deep breath and, as you exhale, chant, out loud, "ERRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAA" until your air runs out. Take another deep breath and repeat it; then again. After three RAs, breathe normally for a few seconds. Then do another set of three, pause, then another set of three. We suggest you don't do more than three sets of three at any one time.

· SO-HAWNG. The SO-HAWNG meditation is a good one to use when your mind wants to do one thing and your emotions another. SO-HAWNG tends to unify the two, getting them on the same track. This tone is done silently. You breathe in on SO and out on HAWNG. Try it with your eyes closed for about five minutes and see how you feel. You may feel ready to accomplish some task you've been putting off for a long time.

· THO. THO is a tone of healing. The correct pronunciation of it is important. Take a deep breath, and as you breathe out say, "THooooo." The TH is accented; it's a sharp, percussive sound (and it may tickle your upper lip). It's followed by "ooooooo" as an extended version of the word oh. To do the THO meditation, sit comfortably, close your eyes, inhale and exhale twice, take a third deep breath, and on the third exhale, say, "THoooooo." Repeat three times this series of three breaths with THO aloud on the third breath. That's enough. It's powerful. Feel the healing energies move through your body. You can also chant THO inwardly as a formal meditation or any time during the day, even while doing something else. (But, again, as with all meditations, not while driving a car or operating potentially dangerous equipment.)

Flame Meditation. This uses the power of fire to dissolve negativity. Put a candle on a table and sit so you can look directly into the flame, not down on it. Allow your energy to flow up and out into the candle. You may feel negativity or have negative thoughts. Don't pay any attention to their content; just release them into the flame. If you feel your energy dropping back down inside of you as though you were going into a trance, blow out the candle and stop the meditation. The idea is to keep the energy flowing up and out and into the flame. Do it for no more than five minutes to start. See how you feel for a day or so afterward. You may have more vivid dreams. If you feel fine otherwise, you might try it for longer periods. Twenty minutes a day would be a lot.

Water Meditation. Take some water in a clear glass, hold it between your hands (without your hands touching each other), and simply look down into the glass. Observe whatever you observe. You may see colors. You may see energy emanating from your hands. You may just see yourself holding a glass of water. Observe the water for five minutes, gradually working up to fifteen. Drink the water at the end of the meditation. Your energies have made it a "tonic," giving you whatever you may need at that time. As an experiment, you can take two glasses, each half-filled with tap water. Set one aside, and do the water meditation with the other. Then taste each. Don't be surprised if the one you "charged" tastes different.

E. The E sound is chanted out loud after meditation to "ground" you and bring your focus back to the physical. It's a steady "Eeeeeeeeeeeee" as though you were pronouncing the letter E. It begins at the lower register of your voice, travels to the upper range, then back down again in one breath. You begin as a bass, go throughtenor, alto, onto soprano, and back to bass again. As you do this, imagine that the sound is in your, feet when you're in the lower register, gradually going higher in your body as your voice goes higher, finally reaching the top of your head at the highest note of the eeee, and then back down your body as the voice lowers. If you try it, you'll see that it's far easier to do than it is to explain. Do two or three E sounds after each meditation session.

¯

These tones and meditations have worked for many people. We don't ask you to believe they work. We simply ask you, if you like, to try them and see what happens. If they do work, you don't need belief; you've got knowledge. Your results will dictate whether you'll use them often, sometimes, seldom or never.

Some may work better for you than others; that's only natural. Use the ones that work best for you now and, every so often, return to the others to see if they will offer more.

Some people think meditation takes time away from physical accomplishment. Taken to extremes, of course, that's true. Most people, however, find that meditation creates more time than it takes.

Meditation is for rest, healing, balance and information. All these are helpful in the attainment of a goal. Here's an additional technique you might want to add to your meditation. It's designed to make both the meditation and the time outside of meditation more effective.

One of the primary complaints people have about meditating is, "My thoughts won't leave me alone." Perhaps the mind is trying to communicate something valuable. If the thought is something to do, write it down (or record it on a tape recorder). Then return to the meditation. This allows the mind to move onto something else — such as meditation, for example.

 

As the "to do" list fills, the mind empties. If the thought, "Call the bank," reappears, you need only tell the mind, "It's on the list. You can let that one go." And it will. (It is important, however, to do the things on the list — or at least to consider them from a nonmeditative state. If you don't, the mind will not pay any more attention to your writing it down than you do, and it will continue to bring it up, over and over.)

When finished meditating, not only will you have had a better meditation, you will also have a "to do" list that is very useful. One insight gleaned during meditation might save hours, perhaps days of unnecessary work. That's what we mean when we say — from a purely practical point of view — meditation can make more time than it takes.

Seeding and Tithing

Seeding and tithing are two important aspects of achievement. One is saying "please," the other is saying "thank you."

Seeding and tithing are acknowledging the source of our good, our abundance. The source is whatever we choose that source to be — whichever organization represents the highest good you know. The acknowledgement is in the form of money.

Money, yes, money. By giving away money, it shows we really mean it. Just whom does it show we really mean it? Why, ourselves, of course. And it shows the comfort zone, too. There's little the comfort zone has a tighter hold on than the purse strings. If you can give away money — in set amounts and at regular intervals — your mastery of the comfort zone is well under way.

Seeding is giving money away before you get something. As its name implies, it is planting a seed. What would it be worth to you — in terms of hard cash — for you to have your Dream? Seed from one to ten percent of that amount. How do you seed? Send a check to the organization that represents — in your estimation — the highest power for good, and let it go.

Don't tell anyone that you have seeded for something until after you have obtained it. With your Dream, it's OK to tell certain friends the Dream — but keep your seeding, like your purpose, entirely to yourself.

Tithing is giving away ten percent of your material increase. If you make $1,000, give $100 of it away. If someone gives you something worth $1,000, give $100 (in cash or valuable asset) away.

Why? By tithing, you make a statement of abundance to yourself. You are saying, "Thank you. I have more than I need." To consistently give away ten percent of your increase indicates — through action — that you are a conscientious user of energy. Those who waste energy, it seems, are given less and less. Those who make good use of it are given more and more. Tithing demonstrates you are a good manager of resources.

Where you give your money is not important. If you have no spiritual or religious affiliation (the traditional depository of seeding and tithing), you can give to your favorite charity or social cause. Just so it represents to you the highest and best work being done on the planet, any organization — or person — is fine.

In terms of seeding and tithing, you could just as well throw the money out the window. Where it goes is not as important as that it goes. It's the spirit with which you part with it that counts.

One more thought: if you give begrudgingly, it will be given unto you begrudgingly. If you give joyfully, it will be given unto you joyfully.

Don't wait to give, however, until you can do it joyfully. It's a mechanical process. Being given to begrudgingly is better than not being given to at all.

(More information on seeding and tithing is in John-Roger's book Wealth and Higher Consciousness which is available for $12.00 from Mandeville Press, Box 3935, Los Angeles, CA 90051. 213-737-4055).

⇐ Предыдущая15161718192021222324Следующая ⇒

Поделиться: