PDF.comChapter 5
SURRENDER
In this chapter, we move beyon d specific spiritual obstacles to perhaps
the greatest challenge that faces any spiritual seeker: the willingness to
surrender everything, including the payoffs to the ego, to God.
This sounds like it would be easy. After all, to surrender means to let go
and not have to do anything. What could be easier? In truth, the process of
surrendering is one of the most difficult steps along the path to
enlightenment because the tentacles of the ego, even among the most
spiritually inclined, are deep and firmly entrenched. However, after reading
this chapter, you’ll see why a commitment to this surrendering process is
more than commensurate with the demands.
The willingness  to surrender the payof f of the ego allows you to let
everything go experientially as it arises. This includes the payoff of grief,
anger, resentment, or hatred. With surrender, you have to choo se. What do
you surrender to God in the way of surrender? What does devotion mean? I
love thee, oh Lord, greater than. I love the glee I get out of my hatreds, my
wickedness, my shame, my guilt, my revenge. Either you love God or you
love revenge. You can’t have them both. Either you love God or you love
self-pity. It’s always really a choice. Am I willing to surrender this for the
love of God, or not? To become enlightened, that power has to be strong.
You have to be willing to give up everything  for God. And I mean
everything. This is because at the last moment before that ultimateexperience revea ls itself (or condition takes over, rather), you will be asked
to surrender your life.
The core of what you think is your life—the core of the ego, the self, the
real you—you lay that down for God. It’s scary because you need to let go
of all this payof f, and you look at all this stuff. Now suddenly, there’ s an
infinite presence that is like yourself, what you think is yourself. And this
one, too, lies down, and there’ s a moment of terror and you experience
death. There’ s only one death. You never experience it again. But there is
one death you’l l live through. You don’t know that you’re going to live
through it.
The ego has the notion that it’s going to be the same, only enlightened.
“I’ll still be me, but I’ll be the enlightened  me.” No, you aren’t going to be
you. It’s my responsibility to prepare you for the last moment, because
everybody here is going to be headed for the last moment. Unle ss you hear
the truth, you won’ t know what to do. Therefore, karmically I am laying
down that I have spoken the truth. At that last moment you will get, “Walk
straight ahead no matter what.” Die for God. And as you lay down your life,
the agony of death arises (and it is agonizing and you do die). And then,
before you stands the splendor. That what you thought was life was not life
anyway. But because it is so real, you see why you’ve guarded  it all these
lifetimes. It’ s so convincingly real, that it is your life. That it is the source to
your life. The ego is very, very strong or it wouldn’ t have surviv ed all these
lifetimes. At this last moment, it tells you, or you feel that it’s the very
source of your life that you’re laying down. At that point, I’m telling you, it
is safe to surren der. It is safe, but you have to have a knowingn ess that it’s
safe. You have to have heard it, you have to know it. You have to have it in
your aura. And then out of nowhere, it comes to you, and you walk right
through. The Zen saying to walk into fear no matter what got me through it.
“No matter what” means without limitation, even to death itself, no matter
what. I repeat the words of the master, who I followed at that moment: no
matter what.
• • •
As you surrende r, as you’re willing to let go, you’ll see the ego hangs on
because it’s getting something out of it. Now, everybody’ s ego is going to
resist this. Expe ct it to. The old ego says, “This hatred is justified.” To giveup self-pity, to give up anger, to give up resentment, to surrender them
through forgiveness. The power  of A Course in Miracles  is the willingness
to for give all and get out of the lower fields of consciousness.
In the beginning, the ego identifies with form. How does the ego know
that? Because it registers form through recognition. You’ll notice that there
isn’t any me that’s thinking anyway. There is a watcher -experiencer. In
meditation or in contemplation, if you focus on the field, you’ll notice that
witnessing is happening of its own accord.
The first thing you notice about consciousness is it’s automatic. The light
of consciousness is automatic. It expresses as the watcher or the experiencer
through awareness, the observer; you get to the source of that faculty, and
you’ll see that’s an impersonal faculty. There isn’t any personal you that
decided to be consciously aware. Witnessing is happening of its own
accord. In meditation you pull back from identifying with the content of
meditation. I am this, I did that, and all that. That’ s all fallacious story. You
realize that, that which I am is the witness of all those though ts, feelings,
and that panorama. I call it a phantasmagoria.
My great-aunt used to have something that was really special for my
birthday. She called it a monster polypheme. I said, “What’ s that under
there?” She said, “That’ s a monster polypheme.” It would be something like
a whole  croquet set or somet hing: a monster polypheme. This whole
phantasmagoria that goes throug h the mind, everybody who has meditated
knows that. Memories, thoughts, fantasies, imaginations. You realize that
what you are is the involuntary witness. You don’t voluntee r to be the
witness; you are the witness. No point to take credit for it, no point to feel
ashamed about it because it’s automatic. Consciousness automatically is
conscious becau se that’s its nature, and it’s impersonal. That’ s part of your
karmic inheritance, to be conscious.
One begins to identify with the witness, the observer, then with
consciousness. Then one stops identifying that consciousness is personal,
and one even goes beyond the manifest and realizes the ultimate is beyond
all form, beyond manifest... out of which consciousness arises and that
makes you a buddha.
• • •The willingness  to surrender positionality out of humility to God means
that one is then ready to accep t the possibility that intrinsically, men are
innocent and that they’re suffering from a profound ignorance and that the
only way out of suffering, then, is to transcend that ignorance to your
spiritual truth. Then one beco mes a student of spiritual truth in their
personal life, or even eventually in their professional life. The relief for
human suffering  then is what medicine is about, psychiatry is about—it’ s
why I went into psychoanalysis. Each of those things was to sharpen the
capacity to assist in the relief of human suffering and all of its forms,
whether it’s psychopharmacology or understanding unconscious conflicts.
If you’re dedicated to that ende avor, one eventually ends up with spiritual
truth and spiritual programs, because to many human dilemmas, there is no
other answer. Just like there’ s no other answer to the death of a loved one,
except to surren der to God and the will of God in the knowingness that
eventually spiritual truth will heal all pain. The way we transcend all of that
again goes back to humility, and the willingness to let go of the way we see
things, and allow a spiritual truth which comes in of its own. People don’t
realize that when one becomes  silent, out of that silence, all of a sudden
arises a realization.
We try to force  an answer, or force God to give us an answer with a
demand. Many prayers are nothing but demands. We try to force God to
respond to our demand, which is disguised as a prayer. “I prayed to such
and such.” No, you were trying to force God to give you a new Ford. When
we actually surrender to God’ s will, suddenly, we see it differently. And
when we see it differently, we realize there is no loss. The source of the
pain disappears.  And when the source of the pain disappears, the source
came out of ignorance and came out of the way you were seeing it. By
constant surrender to God, all things resolve themselves—even very
advanced and complicated, spiritually difficult issues. The best way to
handle a prayer for a Ford is to surrender your desire for a Ford. Why did
you want the Ford? Because you think that happiness is something outside
of yourself. If I


 a whip.
“All together—move!”
Both armies rushed screaming into the breach like opposing oceans.
Violence brought contentment to Suddhodana. His sword whirled as he split
a man’ s head with a single blow. His wall was advancing, and if the gods
willed it, as they had to will it, the enemy forces would open, one corpse ata time, until Suddhodana’ s infantry moved in, a tight wedge gliding forward
on enemy blood. The king would have scof fed at anyone who denied that he
was at the very center of the world.

AT THA T HOUR  Suddhodana’ s queen was being carried in a litter through the
depths of the forest. She was ten months pregnant, a sign, the astrologers
said, that the baby would be extraordinary. But in Queen Maya’ s mind
nothing was extraordinary except the anxiety that surrounded her. She had
decided, much too impetuously, to travel back to her mother ’s home to have
her baby.
Suddhodana hadn’ t wanted to let her go. It was the custom for new
mothers to go home to deliver, but he and Maya were inseparable. He was
tempted to refuse, until in her guileless way Maya asked his permission in
front of the assembled court. The king couldn’ t refuse his queen publicly,
despite the dangers involved.
“Who will accompany you?” he asked with an edge of harshness,
hoping to frighten her away from this foolhardy plan.
“My women.”
“Women?”
He raised his hand in grudging assent. “Y ou’ll have some men, whoever
can be spared.” Maya smiled and withdrew. Suddhodana didn’ t want to
argue, because in truth his wife mystified him. Making her afraid of danger
was futile. The physical world was like a thin membrane she glided over, as
a midge glides over the surface of a pond without breaking the water ’s skin.
Therefore, the world could touch Maya, move her, hurt her, but never
change her.
The queen departed from Kapilavastu a day before the army. Kumbira,
the eldest court lady, rode at the head of the procession as it moved through
the forest. It was a meager company, consisting of six soldiers too old to
serve in the war astride six nags too weak to char ge the enemy. After themcame four litter bearers, who had taken of f their shoes to negotiate the stony
path, shouldering the tasseled and beaded palanquin bearing the young
queen. Maya made no sound hidden behind the swaying silk drapes, except
for a stifled moan whenever a bearer stumbled and the litter took a sharp
jolt. Three young ladies-in-waiting, who grumbled in low voices about
having to walk, brought up the rear.
Gray-haired Kumbira kept her gaze moving, aware of the dangers that
lurked on both sides. This road, which was just a narrow cut in the granite
slope, had begun as a smuggler ’s trail when poached deer hides, spices, and
other contraband were traf ficked to Nepal; it was still favored by bandits.
Tigers were known to snatch their prey from terrified bands of travelers in
this area, even in the brightest hour of the day. To ward them of f, the
bearers wore masks facing backward on their heads, believing that a tiger
will only leap from the rear, never directly at a person who is looking at it.
Kumbira rode up the trail until she was abreast of Balgangadhar, the
head guard. The warrior regarded her stoically, wincing a little when the
queen cried out again.
“She can’ t hold out much longer,” Kumbira said.
“And I can’ t make the road any shorter,” Balgangadhar grumbled.
“What you can do is hurry,” she snapped. Kumbira knew he was
ashamed at not being with the king in battle, but Suddhodana wanted one
elite guard to honor his wife.
With the slightest bow from the shoulders that etiquette permitted, the
guard said, “I’ll scout up ahead for camp. The locals say there’ s a
woodcutter ’s clearing with some huts in it.”
“No, we move together,” Kumbira protested.
“There are other men here to protect you while I’m gone.”
“Really?” Kumbira cast a critical eye over her shoulder at the ragged
band. “And who will protect them, do you suppose?”
THEY WILL TELL YOU  that Maya Devi—the goddess Maya, as she became
known—arrived by moonlight in Lumbini Grove, one of the most sacred
sites in the kingdom. They will tell you that she did not give birth in the
forest by accident. Destiny guided her there. She expressly wanted to visit
the sacred grove because a huge tree stood there like a pillar to the mother
goddess. Maya’ s premonition had told her that this birth would be sacred.
In reality she was a frightened, fragile young woman who barely
escaped being lost in the wilderness. And the sacred tree? Maya clung to
the trunk of a lar ge sal tree because it was the closest and most common
tree in the clearing. Balgangadhar had found a sheltered place beside the
trail, and the royal palanquin arrived there only moments before Maya went
into the final stages of labor. The court ladies formed a close circle around
her. She held on tight, and deep in the night she was delivered of the son her
husband the king so desperately wanted.
Kumbira died long before the legends grew, so she is not pictured in
them, barking commands to the scurrying women, shooing away the men,
nearly scalding herself to bring a kettle of water on the run from the bonfire.
It was she who first held the baby. Tenderly she scrubbed the blood from his
tiny body, making the squalling newborn ready to show to Maya. The queen
lay quietly on the ground, almost listless. The first nursing, an important
ritual in the native custom, would come in the morning. Despite the baby’ s
apparent good health, Kumbira was worried, made anxious by every
nocturnal sound but most of all by Maya’ s labor, which had been too long
and painful.
“Now my husband can die happy,” Maya whispered in a tired, weak
voice. “And I will not be cursed when I am gone.” Kumbira started. How
could Maya think about death at that moment? Kumbira’ s eyes searched the
darkness surrounding their stranded camp. The younger court ladies were
full of praise for the brave new mother, relieved that the ordeal had come to
an end, buoyant at the prospect of returning home to their soft beds and
paramours. Their happiness increased when the full moon, an auspicious
omen, rose over the treetops.“Here, Y our Highness,” said Utpatti, one of the handmaidens, leaning
close. “There is something you must do.”
Before anyone could stop her, Utpatti opened Maya’ s robe and exposed
her breasts. Embarrassed and confused, Maya quickly pulled her robe
together again with one hand.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
Utpatti drew back. “It will help with the milk, Y our Highness,” she
whispered, looking unsure of herself. She gave sidelong glances at the other
women. “Having moonlight on your breasts. Country women all know
that.”
“Are you from the country?” Maya asked.
The others tittered. Making a show of not being bothered by them,
Utpatti said, “Once.”
Maya leaned back again and exposed her full breasts to the moon. They
were heavy with milk already.
“I feel something,” she murmured. Her mood had changed; a note of
ecstasy was in her voice, clearing away the pain. If she wasn’ t a goddess
herself, she exulted in being touched by a goddess, the moon. She took her
infant and held him up.
“See how quiet he is now? He feels it too.” At that moment Maya
believed in her heart that her wishes had been fulfilled. There is a name in
Sanskrit that expresses this idea. She lifted the baby higher.
“Siddhartha,” she said. He who has attained all desir es. Recognizing
the solemnity of the moment, the court ladies bowed their heads, even the
ever-wary Kumbira.
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The gray rain blanketed Suddhodana and his men as the towers of home
loomed over them. The sentry shouted from his post, and the great wooden
gates of the capital opened. “Look sharp!” ser geants shouted down the line.
Few citizens had turned out to greet them. Suddhodana knew that the
huddled clumps of women lining the street were there to search the army
with anxious faces, praying that their husbands and sons were still among
the living.
That morning the queen had awakened at dawn in case her husband
returned early, but then the rains set in, slowing everything. The trip down
from the mountains had passed in a kind of blurred ecstasy, which grew
stronger even as Maya’ s body began to fail. There was much whispering at
court


 love she experienced as a result.
We tapped on the fact that she gave much of this candy away to the kids
in her dance studio and to strang ers on the street. We tapped on how good it
felt to give these presents away to others, how “sweet” it was. We tapped on
her need to please others and then how she couldn’ t just eat one but had to
eat a whole bag. We tapped on how bad all this sugar actually was for her.
We tapped on every sensual aspect of the candy that gave her intensity.
Then we tapped on her own self-talk/inner critic related to the candy: “I
am a pig. I am a glutton. I am not honoring my body. This is disgusting. I
am ashamed. What’ s wrong with me?”
You might think  that because I was a friend of hers, I would have said
something to quickly reassure her: “No, you’re not disgusting and you’re
not a pig! I really admire you.” But that’s exactly what she didn’ t need—
one more person to not listen to her. I needed to validate her feelings and
listen to her without being judgmental to support her as she moved through
her craving addiction. She needed to work through all the negative aspects
first. I knew she wasn’ t those things she was calling herself, but I needed to
meet her at the point where she was standing, not where I wanted her to be.
Throughout this round of tapping, I continually checked and rechecked
how she was feeling about wanting the candy in the moment. Zoe’s need
was subsiding as we tapped down all the aspects relating to the craving.
Sometime durin g this process, it came to mind that her father had
especially given  her approval when she was giving love away to others
(which later led us to another core issue that was resolved). She came to
understand that by purchasing the candy, she was trying to recreate that
loving, safe relationship she had as a child with her father. “I wanted to be
loved in that same way, and the candy was helping me recreate the feeling.”
Her craving disappeared, never to return. We asked her brain networking
to rewire so that she no longer needed to access the loving mem ories of herfather through these candies—she could have the love and good memories
with her all the time. This is a variation of Gold Standard EFT. (As you
know, even Gold Standard founder Gary Craig is, as of this writing,
exploring a form of EFT—Opt imal EFT—that doesn’ t involve tapping at
all.) Zoe and I tapped for letting candy be candy and love be an emotion,
two separate and distinct things, not mixed together anymore.
Here are a few paraphrases of our setups for tapping rounds:
Even though I love this candy, I am choosing to let candy be candy and
love be love. Even though I have associated candy with love, I now
know candy is just a piece of colored sugar and has nothing to do with
the love I feel for my father and the love he shared with me.
Even though Dad isn’t with me now, I can feel this good feeling
anytime I think of him; I no longer need candy to experience this deep
love.
I’m asking my brain circuitry to redo and reboot so all parts of me
know and live from the space that love and candy are no longer
connnected. I no longer need candy to experience the love. I can
experience that at anytime.
After about forty-five minutes, she had no desire for the candy. In fact,
when she did taste it (I requeste d that she taste it—you always need to test
or how will you really know?), she didn’ t want it. It no longer even tasted
good to her! She never looked back, either, and the craving never
resurfaced.
Exercise: Getting Curious about Cravings
We’re going to focus on cravings for food (the ones you can’t control),
although the directions can apply to any type of addiction. Use the craved
object as your tar get when you review the questions in the exercise below.Step 1. Start tapping now as you work. Why harbor unnecessary upset?
As you read, tap down the points, from the top of the head through the
under arm point. You can also tap on your fingertips or hold the palm of
your hand against a particular point and massage that area as you read.
Step 2. In your EFT journal create a heading: “Cravings.”  List any
cravings that come to mind. Choose just one to start.
If just writing your list you feel yourself getting upset or falling into a
crave hole, stop right there. As Buddhist teacher Tara Brach says, “soften”
around the upset, rather than shun it. And start tapping, of course. Use the
Tarzan tap, the fingertip taps, or any other point you like. You can also tap a
Gold Standard EFT basic recipe on the feelings  that have been stimulated,
allowing the intensity to subside before moving on. As I have indicated
before, use your judgment about accessing additional support as you
navigate the exercises.
What if you were curious about your craving, instead of angry, ashamed,
or some other challenging emotion?
What benefits are you receiving from the craving? For example: It’ s my
pacifier. It makes me feel better. I love it. It helps me feel connected. It
soothes me. I get distracted so I don’ t have to think about all my
problems.
What don’ t you want to see, feel, experience, or think abo ut that results
in the craving? Is it to soothe, cover up, or distract yourself from
another issue? For example: It tastes good. It takes my attention away
from my loneliness. It distracts me from how much I hate my job. It
helps me for get how miserable my life is. I don’ t have to think about  …
.
Are there specific times of day when cravings rise? After work, once the
kids are in bed, after a stressful encounter? What about at bedtime when
the house is quiet? Perhaps it’ s at the gym when you see skinny people
and compare yourself unfavorably. Or are there physical triggers, like
the smell of fresh pastries at your favorite store, or the aroma of cof fee?Consider visual triggers too: driving by the candy store, the pastry shop,
even the gas station.
Are there certain situations, past events, or people who seem to trigger
your craving?
What memories are associated with the craving? They can be positive or
negative. For example, someone with a carb and bread craving
remembers that her grandmother used to bake fresh bread. She
remembers her grandma’ s kindness and the safety she felt, and she
associates both with the smell of the bread. She craves that feeling, that
comfort. Someone else might associate a bad memory with their crave
object. He may remember the time his father used to knock him around
calling him a dummy; the food displaced the emotional pain.
When’ s the first time you felt this craving feeling? What was happening
in your life or the life of your family when you first experienced the
craving? What does this crave feeling remind you of?
Allow yourself to imagine how would your life be different if you were
craving-free and had power over the craving. Write down how your life
would be different. Imagine a day in your new life if you can. And
remember, no one is making you give it up until you are good and ready. If
this part is too painful, let it be for now and return to it once you have
tapped on more crave aspects.
The answ ers to the previous questions are fodder for your tapping. What
are the drivers of your cravings? If they are helping you hold up a part of
your life that you are otherwise extremely unhappy with, you may need to
experience some uncomfortable feelings. Tapping will help you uncover
this.
The idea is that once the feeling s underneath that craving are neutralized,
the disturbance in the body’ s energy system will also be resolved. The
cravings then disappear. In fact, many clients often say the same thing: “I
don’t even like that food/drink/ snack now! It doesn’ t even taste good.” Be
prepared. I didn’ t think I had an unhealthy attitude toward dark chocolate,but after tapping with clients on clearing their cravings, I lost my desire for
it!
Step 3. Please note that if you are feeling overwhelmed, like you are
doing something wrong and that it’s impossible for you to ever get over
this, or you’v e tapped on these feelings but are still feeling negative
thoughts and feelings, or comp lete dissociation, all this means is that you
have brought up big stuff. You likely need help navigating through it.
Congratulate yourself instead of beating yourself up, and then take the next
step of getting the support of an EFT expert or a mental health professional
to help you through it. All you need are compassion and care as you touch
on old, deep hurts.
Exercise: Clearing Specific Food Cravings
As you read instructions, please start tapping on one of your favorite
tapping points. Do this continuously until it’s time for a whole round of
EFT basic recipe. You can also use the exercises and questions in this
chapter to apply to other addictive substances, obsessions, behaviors, and
the like. And you can return to these exercises again and again, getting
something new each time from them.
Step 1


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r i g h t  n o w.  R e g a r d l e s s  o f  w h e r e  w e ’ r e  g o i n g  t o m o r r o w,  i t ’ s
i m p o r t a n t  t o  b l e s s  w h e r e  w e  a r e  a n d  e n j o y  t h e  f r u i t s  o f
t o d a y.  T h e  t r u t h  i s,  a l m o s t  a n y  e x p e r i e n c e  c a n  b e  m i s e r a b l e
i f  y o u ’ r e  g o o d  e n o u g h  a t  m a k i n g  y o u r s e l f  m i s e r a b l e.  A n d
a l m o s t  a n y  e x p e r i e n c e  c a n  b e  e n j o y a b l e  i f  y o u ’ r e  g o o d
e n o u g h  a t  p r a c t i c i n g  j o y.
S o m e t i m e s  p e o p l e  t h i n k  t h e y  c a n ’ t  r e l a x  a b o u t  t h e  f u t u r e
b e c a u s e  t h e y  n e e d  t o  k n o w  w h a t  i t  w i l l  b e  f i r s t.  I ’ v e  k n o w n
p e o p l e  w h o  s e e m e d  t o  t h i n k  G o d  s h o u l d  s e n d  a  l e t t e r,
t e l l i n g  t h e m  e x a c t l y  w h e r e  t o  g o  a n d  w h a t  t o  d o.  “ D e a r
G l o r i a,  t h i s  i s  G o d.  I ’ v e  c h o s e n  K a n s a s  C i t y  f o r  y o u,  w h e r e
y o u  w i l l  l i v e  f o r  s i x  m o n t h s  s t a r t i n g  t h i s  N o v e m b e r  a n d
w o r k  a t  C a r t e r  a n d  A s s o c i a t e s.  F r o m  t h e r e  y o u  w i l l  m o v e  t o
N e w p o r t  B e a c h,  w h e r e  y o u  w i l l  m e e t  y o u r  s o u l  m a t e.
Y o u ’ l l  b e  r i c h  a n d  s u c c e s s f u l  a n d  h a


 implicit in
increased after encountering the material;
understand himself finally produces a
This is the first time the anatomy of
the viewpoints of the questioner. Slight
it appears that mere exposure to the data
semantic morass in which, in the end,
consciousness itself has been delineated
errors in the formation of questions result
"raised" the subjects' level of
anything one might say is probably true
in pure form in its entirety, without
in gross errors in the answers that follow.
consciousness.) Because the implicationsto some degree. Because of uncertainty
attenuation to the interests of a specific
and practical applications of the work ate
Understanding does not proceed simply
about the exact nature of (19) causality,
audience.
so varied, and any aspect of the material
from examining data; it comes from
even when measurable results are
can be expanded and focused to suit the
examining data in a particular context.
obtained they are subject to being
interests of a given audience, portions of
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph. D.
Data is useless until we know what it
ascribed to factitious causes.
it have lent themselves clinically to
means. T o understand its meaning we
The Institute for Advanced Theoretical
The fatal faults of all thought systems
need not only to ask the right questions;
Researchhave been, primarily: (1) failure to
9
10
dif ferentiate between subjective and (20) What is the human prognosis?
Is Man's two basic types of operational
makes choices based on millions of
objective; (2) disregard of the limitation
society by virtue of its own chaotic
faculties, reason and feeling, are both
pieces of data and their correlations and
of context inherent in basic design and
subsystems a runaway juggernaut,
inherently unreliable, as his history of
projections, far beyond conscious
terminology; (3) ignorance of the nature
inherently doomed? This prospect
precarious individual and collective comprehension. This is a global
function of consciousness itself; and (4) underlies a general social
apprehension survival attests. Although we ascribe our
dominated by the ener gy patterns which
misunderstanding of the nature of about the future. International polls
actions to reason, in fact, man operates
the new science of nonlinear dynamicscausality. The consequences of these
indicate a high level of unhappiness
primarily gut of pattern recognition; the
terms attractors.4
shortcomings will become obvious as we
everywhere on the globe, even in the
logical arrangement of data serves mainly
Consciousness automatically chooses
explore the major areas of human most advanced countries.2 While the
to enhance a pattern-recognition system
what it deems best from instant to instant
experience from a new perspective with
majority resign themselves to a
which (21) then becomes "truth."3 But
because that is, ultimately, the only
new tools.
pessimistic view and gray for a better life
nothing is ever "true" except under function of which it is capable. The
Society constantly expends its ef forts to
"hereafter," the few visionaries who
certain circumstances and then only from
relative weight and merit given to certaincorrect ef fects instead of causes, which is
foresee a utopian future are unable to
a particular viewpoint, characteristically
data are determined by a predominant
one reason why the evolution of human
describe the means necessary to bring it
unstated.
attractor pattern operating in the
consciousness proceeds so slowly. about. Society needs visionaries of
As a result, thoughtful man deduces that
individual or in a collective group (22) of
Mankind is barely on the first rung of the
means, not dreamers of ends. Once we
all his problems arise from the dif ficulty
minds. These patterns can be identified,
ladder; we haven't yet solved even such
have the means, the ends will reveal
of "knowing." Ultimately, the mind described and calibrated; out of that
primitive problems as world hunger. The
themselves.
arrives at epistemology, that branch of
information arises a totally newaccomplishments of mankind thus far, in
The dif ficulty in finding ef fective means
philosophy which examines the question
understanding of human behavior, history
fact, are most impressive for having been
reduces itself, on examination, to our
of how and to what degree man really
and the destiny of mankind.
achieved, almost blindly, through trial
inability to discriminate the essential
knows anything. Such philosophical The present volume, result of
twenty and error. While this random search for
from the nonessential. Thus far there has
disquisitions may seem either erudite or
years of intensive research involving
solutions has resulted in a maze of
been no system af fording a method by
irrelevant, but the questions they pace are
millions of calibrations, can make such
baf fling complexity, true answers always
which to distinguish powerful and
at the very core of human experience. Nounderstanding available to anyone. That
have the hallmark of simplicity. The
ef fective solutions from weak, inef fective
matter where we start in an examination
this revelation proceeds from a fortuitous
basic law of the universe is economy.
ones. Our means of evaluation
of human knowledge, we always end up
connection between the physiology of
The universe does not waste a single
themselves have been inherently
looking at the phenomena of awareness
consciousness, the function of the human
quark; all serves a purpose and fits into a
incapable of performing realistic
and the nature of human consciousness.
nervous system and the physics of the
balance-there are no extraneous events.
appraisal.
And we eventually come to the same
universe is not surprising when we
Man is stuck with his lack of knowledgeSocietal choices, mare often than not, are
realization: any further advance in man's
remind ourselves that we are, after all,
about himself until he can learn to look
the result of expediency, statistical
condition requires a verifiable basis for
part of a universe in which everything is
beyond apparent causes. From the human
fallacy, sentiment, political or media
knowing, upon which we may place our
connected to everything; all its secrets
record we may note that answers never
pressure, or personal prejudice and
trust.
axe thus, theoretically, at least, available
arise from identifying "causes" in the
vested interest. Crucial decisions
The main obstacle to man's development,
to us if we know where and how.
world. Instead, it is necessary to identify
af fecting the lives of everyone an the
then, is his lack of knowledge about theCan man lift himself by his bootstraps?
the conditions that underlie ostensible
planet are made under conditions that
nature of consciousness itself. If we look
Why not? All he has to do is increase his
causes; and these conditions exist only
virtually guarantee failure. Because
within ourselves at the instant-by-instant
buoyancy and he will ef fortlessly rise to a
within man's consciousness itself. No
societies lack the necessary reality base
processes of cur minds, we will soon
higher state. Force cannot accomplish
definitive answer to any problem can be
for formulation of ef fective problem
notice that the mind acts much more
that feat; power not only can, but
found by isolating sequences of events
resolutions, they fall back, over and over,
rapidly than it would acknowledge. It
constantly does.
and projecting upon them a mental notionon a resort to force (in its various
becomes apparent that the notion that our
Man thinks he lives by virtue of the
of "causality." There are no causes within
expressions such as law, taxation, war,
actions are based on thoughtful decisions
forces he can control, but in fact he is
the observable world. As we shall rules and regulations) which is
extremely is a grand illusion. The decision-making
governed by power from unrevealed
demonstrate, the observable world is a
costly, instead of employing power,
process is a function of consciousness
sources, power over which he has no
world of ef fects.
which is very economical.
itself; with enormous rapidity, the mind
control. Because power is ef fortless it
1 1
12
dif ferentiate between subjective and (20) What is the human prognosis?
Is Man's two basic types of operational
makes choices based on millions ofobjective; (2) disregard of the limitation
society by virtue of its own chaotic
faculties, reason and feeling, are both
pieces of data and their correlations and
of context inherent in basic design and
subsystems a runaway juggernaut,
inherently unreliable, as his history of
projections, far beyond conscious
terminology; (3) ignorance of the nature
inherently doomed? This prospect
precarious individual and collective comprehension. This is a global
function of consciousness itself; and (4) underlies a general social
apprehension survival attests. Although we ascribe our
dominated by the ener gy patterns which
misunderstanding of the nature of about the future. International polls
actions to reason, in fact, man operates
the new science of nonlinear


 This, too,
adds to the cost of medicine. Teaching hospitals and research institutions depend heavily on funding from the
industrial side of the health care system. Thus, research in medicine has traditionally been directed accor ding to the
wishe s of health care industrialists w ho release funds for their own profit-generating projects.
Now comes a moment of great rejoicing. It has been discov ered that the human body possesses a variety of
sophisticated indicators whe n it runs short of water—emergency indicators of dehydration and thirst. The body has
many more than the one "dry mouth" indicator of water shortage. Equally obvious, the greatest tragedy in medical
history is the fact that medical professio nals have not understood the human body's v ariety of cal ls for water. They
have traditionally resorted to using chemicals and "procedures" to deal with chronic dehydration of the body. A
monumental mistake, but a blatant fact!
The unkindest cut of all is the way the mainstream medical community still prefers to adhere to business as usual
and ignores the good news. Fundamentally, this basic ig norance of the manifestations of the water needs of the
human body is the primary reason for the high cost of health care in our society, without a hope of Improvement in
the way it is presently designed—a very bad design that only serves its operators and not the health-care-needing
public.
If you will look at the letters exchanged with the American Medical Association (AMA), printed at the end of the
book, you will realize that well before the publication of this book, the AMA was invited to become the harbinger of
the good news, "you are not sick, you are thirsty," to the public. Their ultimate silence clearly exposes their flagrant
violation of public trust.
The National Institute of Health (NIH),  the most advanced center of medical research in the world, has fai led society
even more miserably. Firstly, why has it not studied the medicinal effects of water? Why has it not separated the
possible positive impact of water taken to swallow a  pill from the "medication" itself? Why has it not studied what
happens to a person who does not regularly drink water? These are their initial mistakes. Why do you think the NIH
converted these mistakes into a sting operation?
In May of 1989,1 wrote to Dr. James Mason, Assistant Secre tary of Health and Human Services, explaining that a
paradigm change that looked at water needs of the body would expose many solutions to the health problems of our
society. I sent him much supportive material which he referred to Dr. John T. Kalberer, NIH Coordinator for Health
Promotion and Disease Prevention, to review and discuss w ith me; obviously the right Office for the evaluation of
my physiology-based revolutionary views.
Not so! I was invited to visit with Dr. Kalberer. After one hour's discussio n, Dr. Kalberer informed me that the NIH
was n ot in a position to handle my "broad" medical views. He explained that the NIH could not fund research in
other than university settings. I indicated that the reason for my contact with Dr. Mason and himself was to explain
dehydration as the cause of so many degenerative diseases of the human body, so  that the NIH could begin its
study and take the result to the public. He then told me that the NIH was only interested in molecular aspects o f
biological and pharmaceutical research. He indicated my views wer e so broad based that they did not fit into the
way th e research institution functioned. When he realized I was unhappy with his pronouncement, he advised me to
continue my work and publish my v iews. He told me this would be the only way they would get heard.
I did not give up. Every time a health article appeared in the newspapers based on pronouncements from someone
at the NIH, I wro te a letter and explained the basic problem. I even wrote to the Office of Scientific Integrity at the
NIH and com plained about some pieces of misinformation that would have established only a particular product on
the medical market. I did not hear from them, but the issue  appears to have died and the photogenic spo kesman
seems n ot to hold court as often as before.
For a while, I became excited when Dr. Bernadine Healy became the director of the NIH.  She appeared to be the
right type of person who wou ld change the NIH. As a n MD/sc ientist, she obviously understood what I was saying.
She referred me to Stephen Groft, Ph.D., who had just become a temporary director of the newly established Office
of Alternative Medicine until a permanent MD director could be found.
He seemed a very sincere person. After a long meeting and having provided him with some of my published
materials, he invited me to make a short presentation at the first Al ternative Medicine Conference to be convened bythe NIH. His t emporary position was too temporary to do any good. Dr. Joseph Jacobs took over. He is a doctor of
medicine with Native Indian culture and influence. I am positive that Dr. Groft had passed my information and
materials to him.
The next Alternative Med icine Conference was con vened by Dr.  Jacobs and his second in command, and I was at
that time to be introduced to them by Dr. Groft. Naturally, at that moment, Dr. Jacobs did not have the time to
conduct a serious discussion. It was agreed that he take a look at what I had sent the Office and for us to meet at a
time soon. At our meeting in his office, I asked him if he had looked at what I had previously sent to their Office. He
began to make the excuse that he was sh ort of time, and at the same time, they were changing office location and
he had not had the opportunity to see what I had sent. I told him if he were not awar e of the content of the materials
I had sent, this meeting was a waste  of his time and mine and we should defer our discussion until he had read the
information I had provided. I got up to leave. I had to cut through his "pr ima donna" stance.
He told me he wou ld take a look at what I had sent, but since we were both intelligent professionals, there was not
much that could not be clarified in one hour's discussion. He invited me to sit down and explain my views. I did.
Before I left, he asked me for another set of supportive materials. I had them in my case and gave them to him.
Among the materials supplied was a copy of the first edition of this book. I explained to him that this information is
becoming public knowledge. I invited him for the sake of socie ty and advancement of medical science to begin the
study of its topic through his Office.
I did not hear from Dr. Jaco bs or see him until the next Alternative Medicine Conference. Nothing about chronic
dehydration was on the agenda. Even when Col. Robert Sanders, who is very well versed with the topic, made a
five-minute philosophic presentation on dehydration, no steps were taken to put the issue before the Advisory
Board. It became clear that the Office of Alternative Medicine had its own agenda, and serving the public was not on
its list of priorities.
Accor ding to Rita Mae Brown, "The definition of insanity is d oing the same tiling over and over again and expecting
the results to be different." One would assume that accor ding to this definition, I am one of the insane ones. I often
think myself to be a simpleton. I question myself: Why do I spend time and personal resources to bring about a
science-based transformation of medicine in, of all places, America? In the next breath I console myself by th inking I
am privy to vital health and wellness information that has to reach the innocent and trusting people who become
sick and do not know they are only thirsty for water. With this thought I go the next str etch of my weary way.
In the meantime, Dr. Bernadine Healy left the NIH. Sh e is a medical doctor. The NTH i s a "science" institution.
Obviously there must have been a conflict of purpose; she had to leave. Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus took over.
Once again, on the 23rd of November 1993,1 wrote to him. I started my le tter, "Welco me to the position th at you
can now make a greater contribution to advancemen t of medical science and our society. Today's Washington Post
article on you prompted me to write this letter and bring a breakthrough of significance in med ical science to your
attention. 'It is chronic dehydration that is the root cause of most major diseases.' I have in the past tried to get the
NIH to take a serious look at this sim ple 'paradigm shift' and make  the future practice of med icine patient-friendly!" I
sent him one of my books and som e supportive materials. To tins date, February 1995, I have not heard from this
gentleman, not even a letter of thank you.
Obviously, the only way to take the message of "dehydration" to the public was t o write. That I did. After sending
letters to various journals and newspapers and not hearing from them, I decided, in 1989 to create
our own journal at the Foundation for the Simple in Medicine. We called it Scienc e in Me dicine Simpl ified. A special
issue and a regular issue


 read about this
phenomenal experiment. May we all learn to appreciate
our live s in this amazing universe—a little bit more each
day.S e c t i o n  I
Waking UpT h e  P r e m i s e
Sitting alone in a six-seater private jet at forty
thousand feet is a very peaceful place. I fell into
meditation and my mind became very still.
When I opened my eyes, I absorbed the
tremendous difference in my environment
from w hen I had first moved out to the woods
to b e al one and  meditate. Though I still lived in
those s ame woods, my place of solitude had
grown into a t hriving yoga community, and I
had bec ome CEO of the publi c corporation that
life had somehow magically manifested
around me. It was now perfectly clear to me
that all of these life experiences, including
running a business at this level, were doing as
much to free me spiritually as my years of
solitary medit ation. Just as Hercules used the
flow of rivers to clean out the Augean stables,
so the powerful flow of life was cleaning out
whatever was  left of me. I j ust kept letting go
and practicing  nonresistance, whether I liked
what was happening or not. It was in this
frame o f mind that I was flying off to Texas to
discuss the billion-dollar merger offer for my
company from a powerful CEO whom I had
never even met.
My Reflections, May 1999
L ife rarely unfolds exactly as we want it to. And if we
stop an d think  about it, tha t makes perfect sense. The
scope of life is universal, and the fact that we are not
actually in control of life’s events should be self-evident.
The uni verse h as been around for 13.8 bil lion yea rs, and
the processes that determine the flow of life around usdid not begin w hen we were born, nor will they end when
we die. What manifests in front of us at any given
moment is actually something truly extraordinary—it is
the end result of all the force s that have been interacting
together for billions of years. We are not responsible for
even the tiniest fraction of what is manifesting around
us. Nonetheles s, we walk a round constantly trying to
control and determine what will happen in our lives. No
wonder there’s so much tension, anxiety, and fear. Each
of u s actually b elieves that things should be the way we
want them, instead of being the natural result of all the
forces of creation.
Every day, we give precedence to our mind’s thoughts
over the reality unfolding before us. We regularly say
things l ike, “It  better not ra in today because I’m going
camping” or “I better get that raise because I really need
the money.” Notice that these bold claims about what
should and shouldn’t be happening are not based on
scientific evid ence; they’re based solely on personal
preferences made up in our minds. Without realizing it,
we do this with  everything in our lives—it’s as though we
actually believe  that the world around us is supposed to
manifest in accordance to our  own likes and dislikes. If it
doesn’t, surely something is very wrong. This is an
extremely diffi cult way to live, and it is the reason we feel
that we are always struggling with life.
Nonetheless, it  is also true that we are not powerless in
the face  of the events unfoldin g around us. We have been
gifted with the power of will. From deep inside, we can
determine how we want something to be and apply the
power of our minds, hearts, and bodies in an attempt to
make th e outside world conform. But this puts us in a
constant battle of our way versus the way it would be
without our intervention. This battle between individual
will and  the reality of life unfolding around us ends up
consuming ou r lives. When we win the battle, we are
happy a nd relaxed; when we don’t, we are disturbed andstressed. Since  most of us only feel good when things are
going our way, we are constantly attempting to control
everything in our lives.
The que stion is, does it have to be this way? There is so
much evidence that life does quite well on its own. The
planets stay in orbit, tiny se eds grow into giant trees,
weather patterns have kept forests across the globe
watered for millions of years, and a single fertilized cell
grows into a b eautiful baby. We are not doing any of
these th ings as conscious acts of will; they are all being
done by the incomprehensible perfection of life itself. All
these a mazing events, and countless more, are being
carried out by forces of life that have been around for
billions of years—the very same forces of life that we are
consciously pit ting our will against on a daily basis. If the
natural unfolding of the process of life can create and
take care of the  entire universe, is it really reasonable for
us t o assume that nothing g ood will happen unless we
force it  to? It is to the exp loration of this intriguing
question that this book is devoted.
How can there possibly be a more important question?
If li fe can manifest the DNA molecule on its own, not to
mention create  the human brain, how is it that we feel
that we have t o control everything on our own? There
must b e another, more sane way to approach life. For
example, what would happen  if we respected the flow of
life and  used  our free wil l to participate in what’s
unfolding, instead of fighting it? What would be the
quality of the life that unfolds? Would it just be random
events with no order or meaning, or would the same
perfection of order and meaning that manifests in the
rest of the universe manifest in the everyday life around
us?
What we have here is the  basis for an amazing
experiment. At  the heart of the experiment is a simple
question: Am I better off making up an alternate reality
in my mind and then fighting with reality to make it bemy way, or am  I better off letting go of what I want and
serving the same forces of reality that managed to create
the entire perfection of the universe around me? This
experiment would not be about dropping out of life; it
would b e about leaping into life to live in a place where
we are no longer controlled  by our personal fears and
desires. For lack of a better n ame, I have called this “the
surrender expe riment,” and to the best of my ability, I
have devoted the last forty years of my life to seeing
where the flow of life’s event s would naturally take me.
What happene d over the course of these four decades is
nothing short of phenomenal. Not only did things not fall
apart, quite the opposite happened. As one thing
naturally followed the other, the flow of life’s events led
me on a journey that wou ld have been beyond my
comprehension. This book shares that journey with you
so that you can experience what happened when
someone dared to let go and trust the flow of life.
Let it be clear right from the  start, however, that this
type of surren der does not mean living life without the
assertion of will. My story of  these forty years is simply
the stor y of what happened when the assertion of will
was guided by what life wa s doing instead of what I
wanted it to be doing. My personal experience is that
aligning one’s will with the natural forces unfolding
around us leads to some surprisingly powerful results.
The onl y effective way to shar e the results of this great
experiment is to allow you to see how I got pulled into
living this way and then al low you to experience the
journey as I did. In what follows, you are about to
encounter a set of life experi ences that are bound to be
very different from your own.  I share these with you only
because as human beings w e have the extraordinary
ability to learn from one another’s experiences. You don’t
have to live a s I did in order to be affected by what
happened to me. The unexpected events that unfolded
before me not only changed my life, they changed myentire view of life and left me with a sense of deep inner
peace. Hopefully, sharing my surrender experiment with
you will encourage you to find a more peaceful and
harmonious wa y to live your life and to better appreciate
the amazing perfection that unfolds around us.1.
N o t  w i t h  a  S h o u t — B u t  w i t h  a  W h i s p e r
M y giv en name i s Michael Alan Singer. From as far back
as I can remem ber, everyone has called me Mickey. I was
born M ay 6, 1947, and lived a fairly ordinary life until the
winter of 1970. Then something happened to me that
was so profoun d that it forev er changed the direction of
my life.
Life-changing events can be very dramatic and, by
their very nature,


tion from which we would normally turn away. We allow the frog into the
palace, albeit somewhat reluctantly!
     This may evoke some initial resistance in us, and therefore some courage
may be required not to escape from it into thinking, activities, objects and
so on. When this first wave of resistance subsides in our allowing presence,
we invite the experience closer. We do not simply tolerate or allow it;
we positively welcome it. The frog is eating from our plate!
     Again, we may pause, allowing the habitual and familiar tendency to turn
away from uncomfortable feelings, first to be exposed and then neutralised
in our welcoming. Our resistance is diminishing, and with it the afflictive
quality of the emotion. The frog is sleeping on our pillow!
     Finally, we bring the feeling so close that we can no longer separate ourself
from it and label it fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, sorrow, and so on, let alone con -
sider it unpleasant. The subject and the object – the feeler and the felt, the
knower and the known – have merged. In the absence of a separate feeler or
knower – the apparently separate subject of experience from whose perspective
the feeling is labelled and resisted – there is just the raw experience itself, pure
feeling. It is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong, pleasant nor unpleasant.
     We know when we have reached this stage when we can genuinely say to
the feeling, ‘You are welcome inside me forever’. At that point, our suffering,
that is, our resistance to experience, has come to an end, not because we have
successfully found a way to avoid it but because we have had the courage to
fully turn towards and embrace it. We have taken the experience so deeply
into our self that it has dissolved in our openness.
     We have, as they say in the tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, devoured
our emotion. We have kissed the frog! In this way we find, at the very heart
of our most painful feelings, the happiness we previously sought by turning
away from them. The frog has turned into a handsome prince.
141you are the happiness you seek
*     *     *

Most of the time my suffering is simply too intense to face and I find myself doing
anything I can to avoid it. I’m currently dealing with the end of a relationship and
the fact that my ex-partner is already in a new relationship only four days after we
split up. I’m just stuck in that suffering. Can you give me one thing to do?

Close your eyes and, referring only to your direct, immediate experience, that is,
without referring to thought or memory, tell us about your current experience.

Well, I’m just sitting here.

Without reference to thought or memory, how do you know you are sitting
here? If your eyes are closed, all there is to the experience of sitting is the
current sensation. T ell us about that sensation without adding any interpre -
tation from your past.

It’s a sensation of my body sitting on a chair.

With your eyes closed and without reference to thought or memory, how
do you know that the current sensation is a sensation ‘of a body’, let alone
‘sitting on a chair’? ‘Body’, ‘sitting’ and ‘chair’ are concepts, based on mem -
ory, that are overlaid onto the raw, unnameable sensation itself. They are the
subtitles on the movie, not the movie itself. In fact, even to label it a sensation
is too much. There is just a vibration of a certain intensity appearing in the
field of experience. T ell us about that vibration.

It’s…(long pause)…I can’t say anything about it.

Do you like it or dislike it?

It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant. It just is what it is.

Now take the image of your ex-boyfriend with his new partner, but don’t
refer to any thoughts about the image. Just experience the raw image without
commentary. T ell us about it.
142attending to painful emotions
It’s…(long pause)…again, I can’t say anything about it.

Do you like it or dislike it?

Again, it just is what it is. Anything I feel or say about it would be added to the
raw experience.

Perfect! Is there any suffering present in your current experience?

No!

What is the common name for this absence of suffering?

Peace or happiness.

Where did you go to find this peace and happiness?

I didn’t go anywhere.

Exactly! You didn’t escape from your current experience.

No, actually, I stayed with my current experience!

That is the great secret! People normally believe that their suffering takes
place now and that relief from suffering is to be found in the future or past.
However, our suffering begins the moment we try to escape from our current
experience into an imagined future or a remembered past. If you want relief
from your suffering – that is, if you want peace and happiness – simply stay
with your current experience.
     There is a practice in the Theravada Buddhist text the Satipatthana
Sutta in which students are asked to focus on a ‘bloated, livid and festering’
corpse.*  The student is asked to sit with the experience for as long as it
takes for their repulsion to be neutralised in their disinterested contem -
plation.
143* As translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu ( 2008 ).you are the happiness you seek
Visualising my ex making love with his partner is much worse than imagining
a rotting corpse!

Well, you are a mature student! However, a mature student is not necessarily
one who has been on the path for a long time, but rather one who has the
courage, the love and the clarity to go for the truth of their experience irre -
spective of the cost to their personal life.

But I forget that it’s here when I’m so stuck in my feelings.

Keep reminding yourself until it becomes natural to simply live in the now.
Most people live in the past or future and only visit the now briefly on the
fulfilment of a desire, in the pause between thoughts or in the peace of
deep sleep. Make the now your home and only visit the past or the future
when required to do so for practical, celebratory or investigative purposes.
Everything you have ever truly longed for lives there.

But I can’t stop my thoughts about my past relationship.

It is only possible to entertain one thought at a time. The whole weight of your
suffering is contained in a single thought. Cease investing that thought with the
power to make you miserable. At any moment of suffering, just ask yourself the
question, ‘Without reference to thought or memory, where is my suffering?’ All
suffering is contained in the imaginary space between what I have and what I
want. Make what you have what you want and there will be no room for suffering.

There’s a part of me that feels that I need to be doing a little suffering.

That is your freedom! But why do you feel you need to suffer?

I think it’s partly because I’ve created this story: I’m a woman whose relationship
has ended. All my friends and family are in this with me, like, ‘Oh, you poor
thing, this is really terrible.’

Yes, the suffering is in the story, not the situation itself. Who is telling you
that story?
144attending to painful emotions
I am telling it to myself!

Yes, simply stop telling yourself that story.

It’s kind of added to by the people around me. I think it’s society as well that does
that.

Don’t blame others for your suffering. No person or situation imposes suffer -
ing on you. Your suffering is your own activity. All suffering is resistance,
and all resistance is contained in the thought ‘I don’t like what is present;
I want what is not present’. Have the courage and the clarity to see that.

It feels quite hard. There’s a justified part of me that wants to say, ‘Well, no, what
he did was wrong and unkind’. I hear what you’re saying, but there’s that going
on as well. Even when I just talk to people, they’re like, ‘Oh my God, that must
be really awful’.

Choose carefully whom you speak to. Seek truth, not consolation. It is truth
alone that will liberate you. Have the courage and the clarity to face your
experience without turning away from it. The heavy burden of suffering that
you have been carrying around with you, not just this last week but all your
life, is contained in a single thought. Can you taste the peace and freedom
that is available to you if you don’t refer to that single thought?

Yes.

You are like someone in prison with the door wide open. Just walk through it.

I think I’m just a professional sufferer.

Retire!

Yes, I look forward to retiring.

Don’t look forward to it! Hand in your notice and leave! You are already free.
145chapter eighteen
The Unity of Being
The Kingdom of God is within you and it is outside of you.
jesus

If we were to distil the contents of this book thus


these	people	don’t	have	any	evidence	to	support	their	position;	they	just	have
a	feeling	that	milk	is	good.	They’ve	always	known	it	to	be	that	way,	and	they
like	it	that	way.	You	can	trace	some	of	their	opinions	back	to	their	school
days,	when	they	learned	that	there	are	seven	continents,	two	plus	two	equals
four,	and	milk	is	healthy.	If	you	think	about	it	this	way,	you	will	understand
why	the	dairy	industry	has	had	such	exceptional	influence	in	this	country	by
using	education	for	its	marketing	purposes.
If	this	marketing	program	weren’t	such	a	widespread	threat	to	our
children’s	health,	it	would	be	downright	laughable	that	an	industry	group
would	try	to	peddle	its	food	product	under	such	a	thinly-veiled	“education”
plan.	Don’t	people	wonder	what’s	going	on	when	almost	every	single
children’s	book	advertised	in	the	“Nutrition	Bookshelf”	portion	of	this	Web
site	revolved	around	either	milk,	cheese	or	ice	cream,	with	such	titles	as
Ice
Cream:	Great	Moments	in	Ice	Cream	History
?
9
	After	all,	during	July	2003
there	were	no	vegetable	books	anywhere	to	be	found	on	this	“Nutrition
Bookshelf”!	Aren’t	they	healthy?
At	least	when	the	dairy	industry	describes	all	of	these	school-related
activities	in	the	official	reports	to	Congress	and	in	industry	press	releases,	it
rightly	refers	to	them	as	“marketing”	activities.CONJUGATED	LINOLEIC	ACID
The	dairy	industry	doesn’t	stop	with	kids.	For	adults,	the	industry	puts	a
heavy	emphasis	on	“science”	and	the	communication	of	research	results	that
might	be	construed	as	showing	health	benefits	from	eating	dairy	foods.	The
dairy	industry	spends	$4	to	$5	million	a	year	to	fund	research	towards	the
goal	of	finding	something	healthy	to	talk	about.
7,	10
	In	addition,	the	dairy
industry	promoters	employ	a	Medical	Advisory	Board	made	up	of	doctors,
academics	and	other	health	professionals.	These	scientists	are	the	ones	who
appear	as	medical	professionals	in	the	media,	providing	science-based
statements	supporting	the	health	benefits	of	milk.
The	Airport	Club	was	a	good	example	of	industry	efforts	to	maintain
favorable	product	image	and	“confidence.”	In	addition	to	keeping	an	eye	on
potentially	damaging	projects,	the	Club	was	trying	to	generate	research	that
might	show	that	cancer	could	be	prevented	by	drinking	cow’s	milk.	What	a
coup	that	would	be!	At	that	time,	the	industry	was	getting	quite	edgy	about
the	growing	evidence	showing	that	the	consumption	of	animal-based	foods	is
associated	with	cancer	and	related	ailments.
Their	hook	for	this	research	was	an	unusual	group	of	fatty	acids	produced
by	bacteria	in	the	cow’s	rumen	(the	biggest	of	the	four	stomachs).	These	fatty
acids	were	collectively	called	conjugated	linoleic	acid	(CLA),	which	is
produced	from	the	linoleic	acid	commonly	found	in	corn	that	the	cow	eats.
From	the	cow’s	rumen,	CLA	is	then	absorbed	and	gets	stored	in	the	meat	and
milk	of	the	animal,	eventually	to	be	consumed	by	humans.
The	big	payday	for	The	Airport	Club	was	when	initial	tests	on
experimental	mice	suggested	that	CLA	might	help	to	block	the	formation	of
stomach	tumors	produced	by	a	weak	chemical	carcinogen	called
benzo(a)pyrene.
11,	12
	But	there	was	a	catch	in	this	research.	The	catch	was
that	researchers	gave	CLA	to	the	mice	first,	and	then	gave	the	carcinogen
benzo(a)pyrene.	The	ordering	of	these	chemical	feedings	was	backwards.	In
the	body	there	is	an	enzyme	system	that	works	to	minimize	the	amount	of
cancer	caused	by	a	carcinogen.	When	a	chemical	such	as	CLA	is	initially
consumed,	it	“excites”	that	enzyme	system	so	that	it	has	increased	activity.	So
the	trick	was	to	administer	CLA	first,	to	excite	the	enzyme	system,	and	then
administer	the	carcinogen.	In	this	order,	the	enzyme	system	excited	by	CLA
would	be	more	effective	at	getting	rid	of	the	carcinogen.	As	a	result,	CLA
could	be	called	an	anticarcinogen.
Let	me	give	you	an	analogous	situation.	Let’s	say	you	have	a	bag	of	a
potent	pesticide	in	your	garage.	The	pesticide	bag	says,	“Do	not	swallow!	In
case	of	ingestion,	contact	your	local	poison	control	health	authorities,”	orsome	such	warning.	But	let’s	say	you’re	hungry	and	you	eat	a	handful	of
pesticide	anyway.	That	pesticide	in	your	body	will	“rev	up”	the	enzyme
systems	in	all	of	your	cells	that	are	responsible	for	eliminating	nasty	things.	If
you	then	go	inside	and	eat	a	handful	of	peanuts	dripping	with	aflatoxin,	your
body’s	enzyme	systems	will	be	primed	to	deal	with	the	aflatoxin,	and	you’ll
end	up	with	fewer	aflatoxin-induced	tumors.	So,	the	pesticide,	which	will
ultimately	do	all	sorts	of	nasty	things	in	your	body,	is	an	anticarcinogen!	This
scenario	is	obviously	absurd,	and	the	research	on	mice	that	initially	showed
CLA	to	be	an
anticarcinogen	was	similarly	absurd.	However,	the	end	results
of	the	mice	research	sounded	pretty	good	to	people	who	don’t	know	this
methodology	(including	most	scientists).
Airport	Club	member	Michael	Pariza	headed	the	research	that	studied
CLA	in	some	detail.
13–15
	Later,	at	Roswell	Park	Memorial	Institute	for	Cancer
Research	in	Buffalo,	a	very	good	researcher	and	his	group	extended	the
research	still	further	and	demonstrated	that	it	did	more	than	merely	block	the
first	step	in	the	formation	of	tumors.	CLA	also	appeared	to	slow	down
subsequent	tumor	growth
16,	17
	when	fed	after	the	carcinogen.	This	was	a	more
convincing	finding	of	the	anticancer	properties	of	CLA	than	the	initial
studies,
11,	12
	which	showed	only	an	inhibition	of	tumor	initiation.
Regardless	of	how	promising	these	mouse	and	cow	studies	were
becoming,	this	research	remained	two	major	steps	removed	from	human
cancer.	First,	it	had	not	been	shown	that	cow’s	milk	containing	CLA,	as	a
whole	food	(as	opposed	to	the	isolated	chemical	CLA),	prevents	cancer	in
mice.	Second,	even	if	such	an	effect	existed	in	mice,	it	would	need	to	be
confirmed	in	humans.	In	fact,	as	has	been	discussed	earlier	in	this	book,	if
cow’s	milk	has	any	effect	at	all,	it	has	been	shown	to	increase,	not	decrease,
cancer.	The	far	more	significant	nutrient	in	milk	is	protein,	whose	potent
cancer-promoting	properties	are	consistent	with	the	human	data.
In	other	words,	to	make	any	health	claims	regarding	CLA	in	milk	and	its
effect	on	human	cancer	would	require	unreasonably	large	leaps	of	faith.	But
never	doubt	the	ten


 grudges, distorted
interpretations of society, and ‘injustice’ collecting. When this
psychological mechanism operates in a charismatic leader, thousands or
even millions of people perio dically die. This syndrome is termed
‘malignant messianic narcissism’ and is described in detail in T ruth vs.
Falsehood (see Chapter 15). The extreme pathology of such leaders is
obvious from the willing slaughter of their own countrymen who are
hated and seen as ‘dogs’, cannon fodder, or ‘deserving of death’. Such
distorted person alities despise love (therefore, women), seeing it as weak
and displaying internally feared vulnerability. When these projected
mechanisms cannot be acted out, there are inner conflicts in
consciousness, and the end of such messianic leaders is often by suicide.
These sa me me chanisms opera te unconsciously, but to a mor e limited
and attenuated degree, in publicity-seeking, hostile personalities who
publicly make poisonous remarks and slander public figures through
false accusations and distortions of events.
In psychoanalytical terms, intense negativity is disowned by projection
in o rder to kee p the illusion o f the innocent ‘good me’, de spite the
transparency of  the camouflage to the public. The consequence of
dishonesty is often pomposity and seeing oneself as superior to others.
The ego also incorporates spiritual images and concepts to bulwark its
defenses that thereby become distorted into their exact opposites in order
to justify the slaughter of infidels, nonbelievers, heretics, etc., who
therefore ‘deserv e’ to die. The projection of self-contempt for perceived
inner w eakness was dramatic ally acted out by the Japan ese with
American prisoners and in Manchuria and China when they su mmarily
executed enemy soldiers who surrendered.
The very low ener gy fields ma y be rationalized by the intellec t, which
then see s pseudo religious distortions as truth and bizarrely praises
martyrdom and suicide. Hari-k ari is a classic example of externalized
acting o ut and dramatization of what would be repressed as internalized
conflict in ordinary, healthy people.
Intrapsychic repression of una cceptable drives and conflicts depletes
psychic ener gy that is unavailable for normal adaptational operations.
This res ults in apathy expressed as exhaustion, feeling tired and below
par, and the lack of pleasure in living (anhedonia). Lack of pleasure  through normal means may be artificially com pensated
through various addictions. When escapism is blocked or unobtainable,
the inner depression returns, which may result in acting out and
desperate measures of avoidance. Many actually choose to die rather
than fac e the inner conflicts an d own the responsibility for either the
conflict itself or for seeking help and resolution.
The progressive downward spiral often eventually leads to a
confrontational social crisis, such as arrest, divorce, losing one’ s job,
bankruptcy, hospitalization, and homelessness. Therefore, conf rontation
is on e of the positive consequences that arise from seeming c alamities
that are frequently lifesaving and rescues in disguise.
Statistically, the most successfu l resolutions to these types of recoveries
from pathological life patterns are through faith-based groups, as self-
honesty is a dif f icult, if not impossible, process for most people  without
strong promptin g. Recovery requires strong support plus exp erienced
know-how, and the example of recovered members tends to di scourage
denial as do th e insistence on moral integrity and the adm ission of
character defects without wallow ing in guilt. In addition, helping others
is beneficial and increases self-esteem.
Although strictly psychological measures may sometimes be temporarily
beneficial, these disorders are usually chronic, and the recovery requires
programs that are intrinsically spiritual in nature, as they address  the core
of th e issue and see psychological and behavioral problems as se condary.
The underlying and deep-seated  self-hatred requires a therapy of a very
high con sciousness calibration level, such as that of Unconditional Love
at 540. Psychological measu res that calibrate in the 400s have
insuf ficient power to actually bring about an inner healing. The healing
process requires an advisor, sponsor, or counselor to provide guidance
and serve as an example to identify with, love, and respect. In the
decades-long experience of suc h groups, only a recovered member has
the requisite authority that inst ills respect and therefore a therapeutic
transference or identification. Through this mechanism, love returns in
an acce ptable form, and its acceptance is facilitated by realistic,
spiritually integrous humility.
Spiritual humility should not be confused with its social interpretation as
‘humiliation’. Paradoxically, the spiritually humble cannot be humiliated,and therefore, faults can be acce pted without loss of self-esteem. Owning
one’ s ow n inner flaws allows f or nonjudgmental respect for others and
opens the door to compassion for all humanity.

Apathy versus Motivation.
Human behaviors can result from being instinctually driven or,
alternately, from  being attracted to or motivated by positive, idealized
goals. The Freudian ‘ego ideal’ is the internalization of admired
qualities, achievements, or heroic figures that are inspirational and
represent possibilities for growth and development. The admired figures
are sele cted in  accord with the individual’ s prevailing level of
consciousness so that each level characteristically tends to have its
commensurate inspirational leaders. Lack of such an internalized figure
can stem  from poor or absent p arenting, or lack of self-esteem or sense
of perso nal worth that leads to  expectations of failure, pessimism, and
the ‘amotivational syndrome’.
The buil ding of self-confidence  is usually best done step-wise in small
increments, aide d by motivational encouragement. A negative se lf-image
may be compounded by past failures or criticism by peers or parental
figures, resulting  in attitudes of  “I can’ t” or “I’m not worth it.” The old
adage, “If at first you don’ t succeed, try, try again,” falls on deaf ears as
apathy is usually defended with many rationalized excuses and
justifications in order to avoid shame. In some expressions, apathy may
be conse quent to clinical depression due to faulty brain chemistry that
requires antidepressants to correct the imbalance, at least temporarily, in
order to reor ganize the psyche.
The clas sic coun terbalances to apathy and negative self-image are ‘faith,
hope, a nd charity’. The benefit of helping others is very well
demonstrated throughout society, whether it comes about through choice,
inspiration, or even coercion. Often, for those who have fallen very low,
even just caring for animals can serve as a very good start, as is
demonstrated by the seeing-eye-dog training programs that have been
very successful in populations of chronic recidivist prison inmates, some
of whom  even choose to stay o n past their dischar ge date to complete
their wo rk with their assigned d ogs. Apathetic geriatric patients perk up
if th e nursing ho me provides pet dogs. Current research indicate s that the
mere owning of a pet decreases the levels of depression and hypertensionand has a positi ve ef fect on health overall. Therefore, caring for other
living be ings is therapeutic as i s exhibited by hopeless alcoholics when
they beg in to help newcomers and dejected athletes recover from a
defeatist attitude by the sheer act of encouraging other team members.
In sp iritual work also, group pa rticipation remotivates as a consequence
of the group’ s intrinsic spiritual ener gy. Thus, ministerial or ganizations
serve a great purpose, as do m entors, trainers, motivational speakers,
humanitarian or ganizations, the  cler gy, and inspirational teachers. The
average person usually has some limited areas of apathy, at least for
periods of time, that are areas of neglect due to economy of available
time and ener gy or interest.
Spiritual apathy is also quite common as an expression of avoidance and
reluctance to face inner confli cts that thereby become a det errent to
progress and growth. These dela ys can be expected and also traversed by
prayer a nd the inspiration innate to active spiritual groups. Motivation is
aided and augmented in almost any human endeavor by having a mentor,
confidant, or trusted friend. Ap athy is often the result of isolation and
cured by  involvement in and th e activity of positive relationships that
provide a source of caringness. Apathy is indicative of the absence of
love, wh ich is its most powerful antidote. This may be situational or the
consequence of rejecting love due to egocentricity or very low self-
esteem resulting from lack of love and nurturance in early life.
T o c hoose love for God activates the love of God by prayer and worship.
Therefore, despo ndency may be the very trigger that opens the door to
the eme r gence of spiritual interest and progress. Many have found God
only in the pits of hopelessness  and despair. The ego is so strong that
sometimes only severe ‘hitting bottom’ is a strong enough stimulus to
activate the willingness to surrender allegiance to


 people (sometimes lar ge numbers or almost everyone) are
plotting against me, or are conspiring to control or kill me. The story
often has an inner consistency and logic so that it sometimes fools others
into believing it too. Sometimes or ganizations or entire nations have
paranoid belief systems at their very basis. The ego's fear and distrust of
other people, its tendency to emphasize the otherness of others by
focusing on their perceived faults and make those faults into their
identity, is taken a little further and makes others into inhuman monsters.
The ego needs others, but its dilemma is that deep down it hates andfears them. Jean?Paul Sartre's statement Hell is other people is the voice
of the ego. The person suf fering from paranoia experiences that hell most
acutely, but everyone in whom the egoic patterns still operate will feel it
to some degree. The stronger the ego in you, the more likely it is that in
your perception other people are the main source of problems in your
life. It is also more than likely that you will make life dif ficult for others.
But, of course, you won't be able to see that. It is always others who
seem to be doing it to you.
The mental illness we call paranoia also manifests another symptom that
is an element of every ego, although in paranoia it takes on a more
extreme form. The more the suf ferer sees himself persecuted, spied on,
or threatened by others, the more pronounced becomes his sense of being
the center of the universe around whom everything revolves, and the
more special and important he feels as the imagined focal point of so
many people's attention. His sense of being a victim, of being wronged
by so many people, makes him feel very special. In the story that forms
the basis of his delusional system, he often assigns to himself the role of
both victim and potential hero who is going to save the world or defeat
the forces of evil.
The collective ego of tribes, nations, and religious or ganizations also
frequently contains a strong element of paranoia: us against the evil
others. It is the cause of much human suf fering. Th Spanish Inquisition,
the persecution and burning of heretics and witches, the relations
between nations leading up to the First and Second W orld wars,
Communism throughout its history, the Cold W ar, McCarthyism in
America in the 1950's, prolonged violent conflict in the Middle East are
all painful episodes in human history dominated by extreme collective
paranoia.
The more unconscious individuals, groups, or nations are, the more
likely it is that egoic pathology will assume the form of physical
violence. V iolence is a primitive but still very widespread way in which
the ego attempts to assert itself, to prove itself right and another wrong.
W ith very unconscious people, ar guments can easily lead to physical
violence. What is an ar gument? T wo or more people express their
opinions and those opinions dif fer. Each person is so identified with the
thoughts that make up their opinion, that those thoughts harden into
mental positions which are invested with a sense of self. In other words:Identity and thought mer ge. Once this has happened, when I defend my
opinions (thoughts), I feel and act as if I were defending my very self.
Unconsciously, I feel and act as if I were fighting for survival and so my
emotions will reflect this unconscious belief. they become turbulent. I
am upset, angry, defensive, or aggressive. I need to win at all costs lest I
become annihilated. That's the illusion. The ego doesn't know that mind
and mental positions have nothing to do with who you are because the
ego is he unobserved mind itself.
In Zen they say: Don't seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions.
What does that mean? Let go of identification with your mind. Who you
are beyond the mind then emer ges by itself.A New Earth
W O R K  W I T H  A N D  W I T H O U T  E G O
Most people have moments when they are free of ego. Those who are
exceptionally good at what they do may be completely or lar gely free of
ego while performing their work. They may not know it, but their work
has become a spiritual practice. Most of them are present while they do
their work and fall back into relative unconsciousness in their private
life. This means their state of Presence is for the time being confined to
one area of their life. I have met teachers, artists, nurses, doctors,
scientists, social
workers, waiters, hairdressers, business owners, and salespeople who
perform their work admirably without any self?seeking, fully responding
to whatever the moment requires of them. They are one with what they
do, one with the Now, one with the people or the task they serve. The
influence such people have upon others goes far beyond the function
they perform. They bring about a lessening of the ego in everyone who
comes into contact with them. Even people with heavy egos sometimes
begin to relax, let down their guard, and stop playing their roles when
they interact with them. It comes as no surprise that those people who
work without ego are extraordinarily successful at what they do.
Anybody who is one with what he or she does is building the new earth.
I have also met many others who may be technically good at what they
do but whose ego constantly sabotages their work. Only part of their
attention is on the work they perform; the other part is on themselves.
Their ego demands personal recognition and wastes ener gy in resentment
if it doesn't get enough and it's never enough. Is someone else getting
more recognition than me? Or their main focus of attention is profit or
power, and their work is no more than a means to that end. When work is
no more than a means to an end, it cannot be of high quality. When
obstacles or dif ficulties arise in their work, when things don't go
according to expectation, when other people or circumstances are not
helpful or cooperative, instead of immediately becoming one with the
new situation and responding to the requirements of the present moment,they react against the situation and so separate themselves from it. There
is a me that feels personally of fended or resentful, and a huge amount of
ener gy is burned up in useless protest or anger, ener gy that could be used
for solving the situation if it were not being misused by the ego. What is
more, this anti?ener gy creates new obstacles, new opposition. Many
people are truly their own worst enemy.
People unknowingly sabotage their own work when they withhold help
or information from others or try to undermine them lest they become
more successful or get more credit than me. Cooperation is alien to the
ego, except when there is a secondary motive. The ego doesn't know that
the more you include others, the more smoothly things flow and the
more easily things come to you. When you give little or no help to others
or put obstacles in their path, the universe in the form of people and
circumstances gives little or no help to you because you have cut
yourself of f from the whole.
The ego's unconscious core feeling of not enough causes it to react to
someone else's success as if that success had taken something away from
me. It doesn't know that your resentment of another person's success
curtails your own chances of success. In order to attract success, you
need to welcome it wherever you see it.A New Earth
T H E  E G O  I N  I L L N E S S
An illness can either strengthen or weaken the ego. If you complain, feel
self?pity, or resent being ill, your ego becomes stronger. It also becomes
stronger if you make the illness art of your conceptual identity: I am a
suf ferer of such and such a disease. Ah, so now we know who you are.
Some people, on the other hand, who in normal life have a big ego,
suddenly become gentle and kind and much nicer people when they are
ill. They may gain insights they may never have had in their normal life.
They may access their inner knowing and contentment and speak words
of wisdom. Then, when they get better, ener gy returns and so does the
ego.
When you are ill, your ener gy level is quite low, and the intelligence of
the or ganism may take over and use the remaining ener gy for the healing
of the body, and so there is not enough left for the mind, that is to say,
egoic thinking and emotion. The ego burns up considerable amounts of
ener gy. In some cases, however, the ego retains the little ener gy that
remains and uses it for its own purposes. Needless to say, those people
who experience a strengthening of the ego in illness take much longer to
recover. Some never do, and so the illness becomes chronic and a
permanent part of their false sense of self.A New Earth
T H E  C O L L E C T I V E  E G O
How hard it is to live with yourself! One of the ways in which the ego
attempts to escape the unsatisfactoriness of personal self?hood is to
enlar ge and strengthen its sense of self by identifying with a group a
nation, a political party, corporation, institution, sect, club, gang, football
team.


.
As you feel bad, and don't make any effort to change your thoughts
and feel better, you are in effect saying, "Bring me more circum-
stances that will make me feel bad. Bring it on!"
LISA NICHOLS
The flipside to that is that you have good emotions and good
feelings. You know when they come because they make you
feel good. Excitement, joy, gratitude, love. Imagine if we could 32 The Secret
feel that way every day. When you celebrate the good feelings,
you'll draw to you more good feelings, and things that make
you feel good.
BOB DOYLE
It's really so simple. "What am I attracting right now? " Well,
how do you feel? "I feel good." Well good, keep doing that.
It is impossible to feel good and at the same time be having nega-
tive thoughts. If you are feeling good, it is because you are thinking
good thoughts. You see, you can have whatever you want in your
life, no limits. But there's one catch: You have to feel good. And
when you think about it, isn't that all you ever want? The law is
indeed perfect.
MARCLSHIMOFF
If you're feeling good, then you're creating a future that's on
track with your desires. If you're feeling bad, you're creating
a future that's off track with your desires. As you go about
your day, the law of attraction is working in every second.
Everything we think and feel is creating our future. If you're
worried or in fear, then you're bringing more of that into your
life throughout the day.
When you are feeling good, you must be thinking good thoughts.
So you are on track and you are emitting a powerful frequency that
is attracting back to you more good things that will make you feel
good. Seize those moments when you are feeling good, and milk The Secret Made Simple 33
them. Be aware that as you are feeling good, you are powerfully
attracting more good things to you.
Let's go one step further. What if your feelings are actually commu-
nication from the Universe to let you know what you're thinking?
JACKCANFIELD
Our feelings are a feedback mechanism to us about whether
we're on track or not, whether we're on course or off course.
Remember that your thoughts are the primary cause of everything.
So when you think a sustained thought it is immediately sent out
into the Universe. That thought magnetically attaches itself to the
like frequency and then within seconds sends the reading of that
frequency back to you through your feelings. Put another way,
your feelings are communication back to you from the Universe,
telling you what frequency you are currently on. Your feelings are
your frequency feedback mechanism!
When you are feeling good feelings, it is communication back from
the Universe saying, "You are thinking good thoughts" Likewise,
when you are feeling bad, you are receiving communication back
from the Universe saying, "You are thinking bad thoughts."
So when you are feeling bad it is communication from the Uni-
verse, and in effect it is saying, "Warning! Change thinking now.
Negative frequency recording. Change frequency. Counting down
to manifestation. Warning!" 34 The Secret
The next time you are feeling bad or feeling any negative emotion,
listen to the signal you are receiving from the Universe. In that
moment you are blocking your own good from coming to you be-
cause you are on a negative frequency. Change your thoughts and
think about something good, and when the good feelings start
to come you will know it was because You shifted yourself on to
a new frequency, and the Universe has confirmed it with better
feelings.
BOB DOYLE
You're getting exactly what you're feeling about, not so much
what you're thinking about.
That's why people tend to spiral if they stub their toe getting
out of bed. Their whole day goes like that. They have no clue
that a simple shifting of their emotions can change their entire
day—and life.
If you start out having a good day and you're in that particular
happy feeling, as long as you don't allow something to change
your mood, you're going to continue to attract, by the law of
attraction, more situations and people that sustain that happy
feeling.
We all have experienced those days or times when one thing after
another goes wrong. The chain reaction began with one thought,
whether you were aware of it or not. The one bad thought attracted
more bad thoughts, the frequency locked in, and eventually some-
thing went wrong. Then as you reacted to that one thing going The Secret Made Simple 35
wrong, you attracted more things going wrong. Reactions just at-
tract more of the same, and the chain reaction must keep occurring
until you move yourself off that frequency by intentionally chang-
ing your thoughts.
You can shift your thoughts to what you want receive confirma-
tion through your feelings that you changed your frequency, and
the law of attraction will grab hold of that new frequency and send
it back to you as the new pictures of your life.
Now here is where you can harness your feelings and use them to
turbo-charge what you want in your life.
You can purposefully use your feelings to transmit an even more
powerful frequency, by adding feeling to what you are wanting.
MICHAEL BERNARD BECKWITH
You can begin right now to feel healthy. You can begin to feel
prosperous. You can begin to feet the love that's surrounding
you, even if it's not there. And what will happen is the
universe will correspond to the nature of your song. The
universe will correspond to the nature of that inner feeling
and manifest, because that's the way you feel.
So what are you feeling now? Take a few moments to think about
how you feel. If you're not feeling as good as you'd like to, focus
on feeling your feelings inside and purposefully lift them. As you
focus intensely on your feelings, with the intention to lift yourself,
you can powerfully elevate them. One way is to close your eyes 36 The Secret
(shutting out distractions), focus on your feelings inside, and smile
for one minute.
LISA NICHOLS
Your thoughts and your feelings create your life. It will
always be that way. Guaranteed!
Just like the law of gravity, the law of attraction never slips up.
You don't see pigs flying because the law of gravity made a mis-
take and forgot to apply gravity to pigs that day. Likewise, there
are no exclusions to the law of attraction. If something came to
you, you drew it, with prolonged thought. The law of attraction
is precise.
MICHAEL BERNARD BECKWITH
It's hard to swallow, but when we can begin to open ourselves
up to that, the ramifications are awesome. It means that
whatever thought has done in your life, it can be undone
through a shift in your awareness.
You have the power to change anything, because you are the one
who chooses your thoughts and you are the one who feels your
feelings.
'You create your own universe as you go along." The Secret Made Simple
DR. JOE VITALE
It's really important that you feel good, because this feeling
good is what goes out as a signal into the Universe and starts
to attract more of itself to you. So the more you can feel good,
the more you will attract the things that help you feel good,
and are able to keep bringing you up higher and higher.
BOB PROCTOR
When you're feeling down, did you know that you can change
it in an instant? Put on a beautiful piece of music, or start
singing—that'll change your emotion. Or think of something
beautiful. Think of a baby or somebody that you truly love,
and dwell on it. Really keep that thought in your mind. Block
every thing out but that thought. I guarantee you'll start to
feel good.
Make a list of some Secret Shifters to have up your sleeve. By
Secret Shifters, I mean things that can change your feelings in a
snap. It might be beautiful memories, future events, funny mo-
ments, nature, a person you love, your favorite music. Then if you
find yourself angry or frustrated or not feeling good, turn to your
Secret Shifters list and focus on one of them. Different things will
shift you at different times, so if one doesn't work, go to another. It
only takes a minute or two of changing focus to shift yourself and
shift your frequency. 38 The Secret
pets, for instance. Animals are wonderful, because they put
you in a great emotional state. When you feel love for your
pet, that great state of love will bring goodness into your life.
And what a gift that is.
"It is the combination of thought and love
which forms the irresistible force of the law of
attraction."
There is no greater power in the Universe than the power of love.
The feeling of love is the highest frequency you can emit. If you
could wrap every thought in love, if you could love everything and
everyone, your life would be transformed.
In fact, some of the great thinkers of the past referred to the law
of attraction as the law of love. And if you think about it, you will
understand