Manifesting Intentions Without Resistance (Blog)

[trekr5]

Originally Posted by rini17

When someone ruins my enjoyment, he makes me think much more deeper than I otherwise would. If the "ruining attempt" is completely unfounded, it isn't any problem for enjoyment to continue .... so in neither case bad thing happens and no need to fear.

Morale: Don't fear that your experience will be ruined by negative forum posts, unless you want it so.

rini17

Quite the sage I see...not

I have no fear over my enjoyment being ruined because regardless I would still read Steve's blog and participate in this forum. As I said before you don't have to accept anything without debate but I would like to think that this forum attracts people who are willing to question the status quo on the path to a form of self-actualization so cynics move on...

Anyway I'm bored with this now..

[trekr5]

Originally Posted by ImOpen

Otherwise, I really like what Holoscientist (although I don't like how he uses the word "science") said. I to think that it's hard to keep throwing out wisdom in that grueling pace, like Pavlina has done before. And I also think that he needs to "break out of the american box" in order to gain new perspective on things and thus more inspiration and things to write about.

Living in a Las Vegas suburb and getting life lessons from Zig Ziglar could be great, but there should be more.

oh and IMOpen...

In case you didn't get it the first time: "If you don't like what you see, don't read it"

right back at ya..

[Savage]

I know some people get bent out of shape when I write about topics that don't interest them. This happens every time I switch topics. It's like someone grabbed your TV remote and changed the channel. Probably the biggest outrage occurred when I stopped my polyphasic sleep experiment.

If you can't handle the topic switches, well... get used to disappointment. Unfortunately I'm just not interested in living a monophasic life.

In the meantime, let's return this thread to its original topic and keep it from getting any more derailed than it already has. If you want to discuss a topic other than the blog post about manifesting intentions w/o resistance, feel free to start a new thread.

As a reminder to our newest members, be sure to read the posted forum etiquette guidelines before you continue posting:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/forums/g...uncements.html

Thanks!

[wheelie]

I am here because this community fascinates me.

I read Steve's articles because they have in the past helped me be thoughtful about the parts of my life that are most mysterious to me and I like that feeling.

I like being shown a perspective that helps me tackle new problem solving techniques and I am grateful for the chance to so freely observe Steve's own process and growth.

I would be in error if I expected or required Steve to maintain in me a constant sense of awe or enlightenment by everything that he shares on his blog.

I would be in error if I felt that I was entitled to feel that my own personal development was being adequetly supported or corroborated by Steve's.

I would also be in error if I failed to remember that Steve is a human being just like me who sometimes makes mistakes, is trying his best to tap into his greatness and may at times miss the big picture. Afterall, personal development requires an intense level of self-absorbtion.

Mostly, I am grateful for the opportunity to lean on Steve's golden moments to help me find my own and I wish the same for you all.

[danas]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

Was it just the fact of writing your fears that allowed you to accept them or what did you do to accept/acknowledge them as consequences?

Well, I made a list of the fears, and next to each fear I showed myself that I really have nothing to fear. for example, I wrote "I want to start a family" well, a few days ago I met a friend I havent seen for 6 years. today she is a very sucessful artist, travels the world with her husband and 2 small children. It was amazing to see how, with all the chaos, she manages it all so harmoniously. Since shes married plus kids, she has actually become more sucessful.
I sure this meeting was the universe giving me "proof" that my desires dont have to contradict.
I made myself realize that I can actually handle all my fears if I look at them, as steve writes. The problem is when I dont really pinpoint the fears, I just become completely overwhelmed, and distract myself in a million ways.

[Nneka]

Danas, thank you for sharing your experience with this experiment.

Fears are like shadows, once you put the spotlight on them they disappear. Turn the lights off and they come back.

My fears are insidious. They take me in circular discussions when I try to face them. So now, when I find one, I just do the thing I fear anyway so it becomes less powerful. Works for me.

[helgi]

I had some realizations after reading the article, about the benefits of considering the 'whole package' of intentions, basically what Steve was saying but in slightly different terms.

A million dollars (or anything else we might want to manifest) as an abstract mental image is usually so distorted by social conditioning, that when thinking about it you automatically get with it all the baggage of the socially conditioned entity, the ego, which is fear and resistance.

So considering the whole package, all sorts of day-to-day details and implications, fills in the otherwise fear-filled blanks of the mental image and brings it into present moment awareness, as opposed to having it reside entirely in the realm of future projection and fantasy. A future projected idea of monetary wealth is such a conceptually burdened image in our society, that just by contemplating the mundane aspects of it like taxes and so on seems to bring it up a notch on levels of consciousness.

There's always this trap of future projection when planning something, and I think this must also be the function of 'feeling as if you already have it.' That is, to break the habitual and distorted mental images and bring the 'thing' into the context of the present moment.


edit: wow, I didn't realize this was already up to three pages long. Never made it through the first one because of all the negativity! Negative posts should be made one text size smaller than positive ones with some sort of kinesiology javascript.

[Michelle]

What does one do if they fear things they do not wish to accept? For example, I have a big audition in January where I want very much to be successful. Yet, I fear:

- I will be lonely being on the road
- My boyfriend will not understand my career, and leave me
- That I will used, sucked dry and thrown away by the "business"

[helgi]

Originally Posted by Michelle

- I will be lonely being on the road

What if you said, "I will enjoy solitude being on the road"?

This is a fear you could confront by going on a weekend trip alone, for example, and bring some books on solitude. (like this litte gem)

But realize that these three particular fears are simply manifestations of a larger and more general fear, that has to do with form-identification and ego. If you investigate your motivations for wanting to play music, replacing wanting "to make a living/to 'make it'" with wanting "to enrich the lives of others with music," could clear away all three fears at once.

[Michelle]

Originally Posted by helgi

What if you said, "I will enjoy solitude being on the road"?

This is a fear you could confront by going on a weekend trip alone, for example, and bring some books on solitude. (like this litte gem)

But realize that these three particular fears are simply manifestations of a larger and more general fear, that has to do with form-identification and ego. If you investigate your motivations for wanting to play music, replacing wanting "to make a living/to 'make it'" with wanting "to enrich the lives of others with music," could clear away all three fears at once.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts. Actually, I work in solitude much of the time, which I really enjoy. It is more the being away from home and feeling homesick which gets to me. I do travel to sing already, and I am never as happy being away as I am at home.

In terms of ego, etc. My purpose in life is clear to me, and it has little to do with "making it" or being some kind of weird American idol. Although I would like it if many people derived enjoyment from my singing. Still, there is part of me only willing to fulfill that purpose if she doesn't get the short end of the stick. I have to learn to satisfy my own needs first, before I can satisfy anyone elses. And I have a need now, to still my fears.

[Savage]

@Michelle: If you fear a side effect you're unwilling to accept, first step back and think about the side effect as a consequence. Accept is as a possible outcome, but not necessarily an outcome you'd be willing to have in your life.

Then consider whether you actually want that outcome if the side effect is going to be part of it.

Sometimes side effects are so strong and so likely, you'll decide the overall goal isn't something you'd want.

On the other hand, you may be able to re-engineer the goal to eliminate the unwanted side effect. What is it about the goal that most excites you? Is there another way to achieve that aspect without overly negative side effects?

One thing I love about the LoA is that I can focus on a goal I don't know how to accomplish and let the universe handle the details. If you know the parts of your goal you want, but the whole package seems undesirable, let go of that package and focus on just the parts you desire, asking the universe to bring you other options.

[Michelle]

Thank you for your reply, Steve. I like very much the idea of focusing on what I want, and letting the Universe handle the details. This makes so much sense. Perhaps I am being too specific in my goal setting?

What I love and find exciting about this opera studio is:

- The work there is done at a very high level. A level which I want to work at. The instruction in language, body work, acting etc. is all exciting to me.

- It is located only one hour from where I live.

- Getting into the studio would basically relieve many of my career worries. I would gain a ton of credibility as a singer/teacher, the agents would come listen to me (instead of me going to them), and it would bring money into my life.

So, how to acheive what I want without the negative side effects?

Okay, I am starting to formulate a plan ...

- Will talk today about lonliness/homesickness with my psychotherapist. Examine that topic and go from there.

- Will talk to my boyfriend about my worry that he won't be supportive of my career. If he is supportive and thinks my worries silly, it will relieve a worry from the list. If not, at least we will be able to talk about the situation and try to find a solution.

- Not sure about being sucked dry and "used". Except maybe I can make a contract with myself that I can stop singing at anytime should I feel sucked dry. Or since the opera studio lasts one year, I make the deal to try it, give it my all, and then decide if I want to continue down that road. By this point I feel resistence, only because one year is a long time (there are people who say "it's only a year", I am not one of them), and if I am unhappy or in the wrong place the time is lost which I could have spent with my boyfriend or in relaxation on a boat on the lake. Something tells me this fear has something to do with the part of me still trapped in Lightworker Syndrome.

[Goyis]

Wow!
What an amazing article (Manifesting Intentions Without Resistance)...

I believe I can help Steve and everyone else who holds the million dollar experiment intention.

I met Steve at the seminar he gave in Las Vegas, which was great, and I told him that I have a contact with a company that funds projects that are at least 50 million U.S. dollars and above. The catch is that the person or company that can have access/approval to this money must have at least 10% liquid assets (a.k.a 5 million dollars) and an awesome business or real estate plan.

So there are lots of possibilities... The first question might be, what can we do to generate 5 million bucks? The second question might be, what can we do to generate a return on investment for the bank that that is loaning the money? Another question might be, what can we do with 50 million bucks?

Any ideas?

This may sound unbelievable, however if anyone would like for me to fax them the non-disclosure, I would be glad to.

By the way the Million Dollar Experiment Intention is as follows:

In an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way, in its own perfect time, for the highest good of all, I intend $1,000,000 to come into my life and into the lives of everyone who holds this intention.

[demk]

Steve...After sincerely attempting this method I have come to some important conclusions.

I believe this activity to be counter productive. Instead of rooting out beliefs that are controlling your experience you are using your imagination to come up with excuses not to do something. This results in an exercise that demoralises the participant and effectively faces them with the overwhelming and unachievable task of rewiring their brain.

What I have discovered is that fears/internal blocks/whatever-you-call-them are not like lines of code in a program. Fear (irrational fear, not primal fear) is a process that your ego uses, in the moment, to control your behaviour and direct you towards behaviour it is used to. The ego will simply use which ever fear or excuse it knows will work best to get you to do what it wants, which is the continuation of your current situation.

The only way to fight fears is to deal with them in the moment. You have your intention or goal and as you try to act you will be bombarded with reasons not to do so. These reasons will be plucked from your belief system and the most effective belief will be used to control your behaviour. The removal of that belief will not remove the process and the next time you act your ego will simply choose another negative thought to control you.

Therefore, the only way to deal with fears is to develop the skill of acting on your commitments (goals/intentions) without being controlled by the thoughts that arise - Do this a few times and your ego stops trying. The only power is in the moment.

I personally wouldnt advise people to do this exercise as it is a waste of time and you spend your time focusing on negative thoughts that may or may not have been forgotten anyway.

[minnie]

You know, when you watch the movie The secret or you read anything about law of attraction, they always tell you to continuously focus on what you want... at the same time, if fear has such a grip on you, it can be difficult to do this. Sometimes we are not completely aware, and we have to actually look at what we are not aware of in order to get what we want in life.

For example, steve's previous post about lightworker syndrome, a lot of people didn't realize they had a fear of power or of responsibility, and when they read it, they realized that was what was holding them back.

So I guess there's a balance... you can't know what you want, without knowing what it's contrast is... But you need to identify the contrast in order to identify what is that you need.. but you shouldn't focus on the contrast to the point of feeding it with your emotions and intention.

I have issues with accepting the fear and turning it into a consequence in my mind... If I have a fear that something will happen, and then not fear it but realize it's a possible consequence... and then decide not to choose it... Source determines how things happen... we leave the how up to God, and just focus on "what" -- wouldn't I be trying to control the "how" if I decide against a consequence? I feel that if you focus yourself as positive as possible as possible, don't a lot of these fears just fall away?

[demk]

Originally Posted by minnie

I feel that if you focus yourself as positive as possible as possible, don't a lot of these fears just fall away?

Exactly what I'm saying!

I wonder whether the ritual of uncovering and overcoming a supposed hidden fear is what is actually helping people to realise that they can do anything. Its as if people think there has to be something in the way. It can't be as easy as just deciding to do it, can it? I personally think it is. The same thought may have arose as a way for the ego to direct your behavuiour away from the goal. Rationale is what some people use to battle their thoughts but its not necessary when you can simply stop allowing them to have power over you and what you create.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by minnie

I feel that if you focus yourself as positive as possible as possible, don't a lot of these fears just fall away?

Yes, that is correct. In principle that's all it takes. Fear, however, blocks us from applying this principle correctly, as simple as it may seem.

If you hold onto subconscious fears, what happens is that you don't actually focus on your goals and desires with positive intent. You may consciously set goals, but shortly thereafter you'll fall into a pattern of self-sabotage, getting distracted and sidetracked too easily.

This is a tough pattern to recognize in oneself. If you're honest with yourself though, you may see that there are certain goals you've set, but you just aren't getting anywhere with them, even though you seem physically and mentally capable of accomplishing them. It isn't for lack of time and resources but rather for lack of will. You never actually put the required energy behind them, and a common culprit is the fear of what might happen if you succeed.

[demk]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

If you hold onto subconscious fears, what happens is that you don't actually focus on your goals and desires with positive intent. You may consciously set goals, but shortly thereafter you'll fall into a pattern of self-sabotage, getting distracted and sidetracked too easily.

Surely these reasons that you arent focusing on what you want are not subconsious blocks then and are just the excuses that arise and therefore an ego process.

There is no point in rooting around inside your mind to find faulty beliefs. What the ego believes or presents you with always has the agenda of maintaining the situation that the ego is comfortable with. Instead, learn to act in spite of thoughts or beliefs. They are always going to be there and will only control you if you let them.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by demk

Surely these reasons that you arent focusing on what you want are not subconsious blocks then and are just the excuses that arise and therefore an ego process.

There is no point in rooting around inside your mind to find faulty beliefs. What the ego believes or presents you with always has the agenda of maintaining the situation that the ego is comfortable with. Instead, learn to act in spite of thoughts or beliefs. They are always going to be there and will only control you if you let them.

Feel the fear and do it anyway? I hope those thoughts and beliefs are not always going to be there trying to work against me - I'd rather train and unlearn things so I have the subconscious as my ally.

But, yeah, the subconscious and ego are good at trying to mantain comfort or patterns/learned behaviour and these are things we aren't aware of, or run as defaults when we aren't paying attention. And doing something that doens't jive with them might be part of the training. But how do you pay attention enough so they don't control you? Or rather, how does one feel sufficiently motivated to have a goal start making you act and perceive in alignment with it? You could use will power in spite of the subc/ego stuff but that usually isn't very motivated or is a tougher way to act with all the friction of possible lurking/unknown/unidentified conflicts, I'd say. Learning to act in spite of the rest of one's system is will power and probably works to some degree. However, if one can bring some light to the ego and subconscious stuff, you have a better chance of being flexible and to choose not to use those old patterns or, more able to act on your goals and actually feel motivated that it will work out, instead of having perculations of subconscious/ego stuff that you have to keep side stepping/trying to ignore.

Steve's: "a common culprit is the fear of what might happen if you succeed"
(I haven't mastered multiquotes here)
What about fears of what will happen if one fails? Fearing that one won't actually be able to pull it off? (that was in another thread but seemed to apply to that Steve quote here)

[demk]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

Feel the fear and do it anyway? I hope those thoughts and beliefs are not always going to be there trying to work against me - I'd rather train and unlearn things so I have the subconscious as my ally.

But, yeah, the subconscious and ego are good at trying to mantain comfort or patterns/learned behaviour and these are things we aren't aware of, or run as defaults when we aren't paying attention. And doing something that doens't jive with them might be part of the training. But how do you pay attention enough so they don't control you? Or rather, how does one feel sufficiently motivated to have a goal start making you act and perceive in alignment with it? You could use will power in spite of the subc/ego stuff but that usually isn't very motivated or is a tougher way to act with all the friction of possible lurking/unknown/unidentified conflicts, I'd say. Learning to act in spite of the rest of one's system is will power and probably works to some degree. However, if one can bring some light to the ego and subconscious stuff, you have a better chance of being flexible and to choose not to use those old patterns or, more able to act on your goals and actually feel motivated that it will work out, instead of having perculations of subconscious/ego stuff that you have to keep side stepping/trying to ignore.

Steve's: "a common culprit is the fear of what might happen if you succeed"
(I haven't mastered multiquotes here)
What about fears of what will happen if one fails? Fearing that one won't actually be able to pull it off? (that was in another thread but seemed to apply to that Steve quote here)

When you learn how to stay committed to your intentions it becomes effortless to ignore the ego and release those thoughts. It takes practice to get the trick to it down but then it gets easier. Your thoughts arent always going to be your enemy in that sense but those neural pathways are always there waiting to spring back into action if you let them.

The only thoughts that can stop manifesting your desires are ones that actually change your state of mind/consciousness. Trying to find subconscious blocks invokes your imagination and effectively creates blocks to having the feelings that connect you to source. You dont have to worry about any possible block if you are connected because you feel great and positive and expect good things. You only need to deal with a thought if it arises during visualising for instance and prevents you from being in vibrational harmony with your desires. When you think about what you want, negative thoughts sometimes arise and these are all you need to deal with (with rationalisation or by releasing or whatever works for you). As soon as they are gone from the moment you feel good and begin manifesting your desires again.

If the negative thoughts that prevent you from feeling connected are about you not being responsible enough, deal with them then and there because as long as you arent vibrating on the same wavelength as what you want you will never get it. They may rise again if your ego thinks it can use those thoughts to control you but if not dont think about them. Certainly dont root around and use your imagination to find supposed blocks - your just giving your ego ideas lol.

[demk]

Originally Posted by demk

Steve...After sincerely attempting this method I have come to some important conclusions.

I believe this activity to be counter productive.

Steve...After rereading your article properly (oops) I have come to the conclusion that it is in fact a valuable process.

Sorry about sending any negativity at you or possibly devaluing what you are doing

(I think my ego saw a massive opportunity to be right and went for it lol. Its always getting me in trouble)

I advise people not to do what I did and dont sit there writing out all the possible reasons you can think of why the achievement of your goals would not be a desirable situation. This is using your imagination to think of reasons not to do sommething. The act of visualising your ideal situation, carefully analysing negative emotions that arise and dealing with the connected thoughts that prevent you from being in vibrational harmony with your desires is a valuable one.

This has been a valuable lesson in many ways. It has helped me cement my knowledge of the LOA and also alerted me to another way my ego wastes energy with its need to be right.

[songwriter]

Well... I would wish I agreed with the post of Steve...
I already tried this in the past.
I thought... "Ok I'm self-sabotaging myself, not consciously but subsconsciously... what I am afraid of?... let's imagine I already have get it..." And I felt no fear at all. And that didn't change a thing. I don't think I self-sabotage myself in my two big intentions I have now, not even subconsciously. I already imagined the two things coming true many times and I don't see nothing wrong with them or at least I can't figure why I wouldn't want them to exist.

The only explanation I have is opposed intentions of other ones. "Battle of Intentions", etc... it's just my point of view.

[Savage]

This is where relationships come in. I know Erin and I have become really good at helping each other become aware of our subsurface fears.

Another thing you can do is to ask yourself what you're afraid of in general. What do you avoid? What have you avoided in the past? That will often point you to the element that's blocking you.

Example: Most people are afraid of public speaking, but not necessarily for the same reasons. If you fear public speaking and figure out why, you may notice similar fears getting in your way in other areas, such as the fear of embarassment, fear of failure, fear that your skills aren't adequate, fear of being unprepared, etc.

"Feel the fear and do it anyway" is a valid strategy on its own, but only if you're actually getting to the "do it anyway" part, not just ignoring the fear and standing still. This can work OK for something like giving a speech, but when it comes to embracing and following your overall life purpose, this tactic tends to be unsustainable.

[songwriter]

I already have the mindset of feeling the fear and do it anyway. Even more, doing just what I feared to do, to feel more confident about myself.

I think that now I don't fear a thing. I've never before had get to this situation thought.

I think that blaming our fears for intentions that can't manifest because other ones makes them not possible just makes us frustated. We need to know what we can do and what we can not. But many of you state that everything is possible, etc and if it's not possible it is because of fears or so...
I don't think so.

Thought, well... you could say we intend something because we want a change. And if we want a change we may fear that this change never will happen... so there you have a fear.
The more you intend there more you fear ("Desire is the cause of suffering" Buddisht say...).

Maybe my only fear would be these 2 intentions I have, NEVER coming true or so.
But how can you avoid that? If you intend something you may have the fear of it never coming true.

What a mess... Well, to take out that fear... I can stop intending... that would mean I don't mind if it happens or not... I may not have so much fear then of staying the same...

Maybe if you intend for some time and then you stop intending, it all work out better, I don't know.
From my personal experience, when I stopped intending (at least consciously) my two big intentions I didn't advanced at all to them.
Maybe I intended them subsconsciously... so I would have to stop subsconsciosly intending what I'm intending now to stop fearing subsconsciously...
I may think that it doesn't matter if those things happen or not... then... why trying to make them happen?
Yeah, I could intend them anyway to make my life a little better... but I don't think I FEAR the not-manifestation of my 2 big things....

If not when I stopped searching for them and I was OK, they would have manifested because of my subsconscious desire or so.

Well, courage is supposed to be my greatest virtue. I don't think fear could be my "mistake".


I just don't believe in this standard model. It may work for many, but not for me.

[helgi]

A key thing about these fears is that they are not real, and what you do by probing them and pulling them into present moment awareness is really just exposing them as illusions. You're not discovering them as objects within you, but rather discovering that they were never objects in the first place, so to speak.

When you're in a dark room, with socially conditioned thought patterns that tell you that there are monsters everywhere, and therefore make them 'real' to you, all that is needed is to turn on the lights; not to see the monsters illuminated properly, but to see that there were never any monsters to begin with.

I think it helps to look at it this way, because when you attempt to 'remove' or increase your resistance to fears, you've made them real.

[demk]

When you deal with a fear the Pavlina way you effectively create a system for dealing with the intruding thoughts in the moment. For example, when a certain repetitive negative thought arises I remind myself that my purpose and light is more important than my fears and it enables me to vibrate right again.

Exploring the outcomes of your success, investigating the related negative emotions and creating thoughts systems that allow you to continue feeling good and vibrating at the right level can work very well. What also works is treating all beliefs and thoughts as ego and developing the habit of recognising the ego’s attempts to control your experience.

These methods both work equally well and effectively enable you to remain aligned with your source and continue creating what you desire. One is the “Ynana yoga”/cognitive behavioural therapy/Huna style method. The other is more Zen. What matters is that you continue to be in alignment with what you want. Both ways work for me.

My concern is that it is possible to imagine and create unnecessary blocks when you explore your thoughts as Steve advises. My advice would be to simply focus on what you want and deal with the blocks as they arise in the moment in whatever way works best for you. Visualise only what you want and when you feel that resistance, identify the associated thought and deal with it.

If a thought isn’t bothering you right now don’t bother to think about it.

[helgi]

Originally Posted by demk

My concern is that it is possible to imagine and create unnecessary blocks when you explore your thoughts as Steve advises. My advice would be to simply focus on what you want and deal with the blocks as they arise in the moment in whatever way works best for you. Visualise only what you want and when you feel that resistance, identify the associated thought and deal with it.

I can see that being a problem if you don't go through the blocks fully, just identifying them and then letting them fester. If you are afraid of uncovering fears/blocks if you were to go through this process, you've already convinced yourself that there is something hidden in there that you are afraid of. If you push this feeling down back into your subconscious, it will still affect your thinking and give it a negative slant, and trying to maintain positive thinking will require effort.

When you explore all the aspects of whatever it is you're thinking about, continuing with the dark room analogy; you are walking from room to room in an unlit house in the middle of the night, turning on the light in each one and looking around, confirming to yourself that there aren't any monsters lurking somewhere in the house.

Or even a more relevant one: you could say to yourself, "okay, I'm not going to turn on the light in the room, but I'll keep a flashlight on and then deal with the monsters when I see them," instead of confirming once and for all that there weren't any monsters in the first place.

Isn't that what GTD is all about? Getting things out of your subconscious so that you have a full-picture perspective on what you're doing or thinking about. (haven't read the book yet)

[demk]

Originally Posted by helgi

I can see that being a problem if you don't go through the blocks fully, just identifying them and then letting them fester. If you are afraid of uncovering fears/blocks if you were to go through this process, you've already convinced yourself that there is something hidden in there that you are afraid of. If you push this feeling down back into your subconscious, it will still affect your thinking and give it a negative slant, and trying to maintain positive thinking will require effort.

When you explore all the aspects of whatever it is you're thinking about, continuing with the dark room analogy; you are walking from room to room in an unlit house in the middle of the night, turning on the light in each one and looking around, confirming to yourself that there aren't any monsters lurking somewhere in the house.

Or even a more relevant one: you could say to yourself, "okay, I'm not going to turn on the light in the room, but I'll keep a flashlight on and then deal with the monsters when I see them," instead of confirming once and for all that there weren't any monsters in the first place.

Isn't that what GTD is all about? Getting things out of your subconscious so that you have a full-picture perspective on what you're doing or thinking about. (haven't read the book yet)

Getting things done is more of a system to organise what you do and doesnt deal with any psychology or spirituality really. Basically, by getting all the things on your mind into the GTD system you free up mental RAM so your subconsiocus isnt dealing with what you have to physically do.

....

I think we are in agrement here but correct me if I am wrong.

When you deal with what shows up in the moment you are effectively shining the light of consciousness onto those thoughts and denying them power to affect you and your vibe.

My idea is that fear is a process your ego uses and the content of that fear will vary depending on whatever is most effective for its purposes. Say for instance the idea of responsibility is effective for the ego's pusposes and creates the inertia it requires. This will be the thought it presents to you. When you see this process for what it is you realise that you dont have to let these thoughts make you feel bad because they are just a faulty process in your mind. You ignore them because they dont serve you.

Seeing this process is what you refer to as turning the light on. Do you agree?

[helgi]

Yes, absolutely. And at whatever time in the process of manifesting whatever intention we might have, the ego will keep attempting to stir up fear.

But when you say that investigating what fears you may have in relation to say, having a million dollars, and really taking a look at the contents of the mental image you have of this concept of a million dollars, would have negative effects, are you not affirming then that there is something to be afraid of, and that you don't want to face it?

For example, I've been dealing with a heavy future-projected mental image of my graduation from university next year, and this has been haunting me for the entire three years I've been at that school. Just recently I started really investigating what it was that I was afraid of, by shifting the 'situation' into the present moment and walking through the imagined day-to-day reality of it. And sure enough, no monsters in the shadows, and a clear head with which to focus on what I want to manifest.

The ego manages to create these wildly distorted mental images of something in the future, and because they are so abstracted and far removed from reality; because they are entirely in the ego and of the ego, trying to think of them as a possible reality is going to bring lots and lots of fear. Especially the vague kind of background fear, the type that sabotages your thoughts without you noticing.

[demk]

Originally Posted by helgi

Yes, absolutely. And at whatever time in the process of manifesting whatever intention we might have, the ego will keep attempting to stir up fear.

But when you say that investigating what fears you may have in relation to say, having a million dollars, and really taking a look at the contents of the mental image you have of this concept of a million dollars, would have negative effects, are you not affirming then that there is something to be afraid of, and that you don't want to face it?

Its not about avoiding a fear but knowing that fear does not exist except in the moment and it only exists in the moment in order to serve your ego in guiding your behaviour. Fear is the process.

Originally Posted by helgi

For example, I've been dealing with a heavy future-projected mental image of my graduation from university next year, and this has been haunting me for the entire three years I've been at that school. Just recently I started really investigating what it was that I was afraid of, by shifting the 'situation' into the present moment and walking through the imagined day-to-day reality of it. And sure enough, no monsters in the shadows, and a clear head with which to focus on what I want to manifest.

The ego manages to create these wildly distorted mental images of something in the future, and because they are so abstracted and far removed from reality; because they are entirely in the ego and of the ego, trying to think of them as a possible reality is going to bring lots and lots of fear. Especially the vague kind of background fear, the type that sabotages your thoughts without you noticing.

When you manifest something you visualise it to essentially practice the vibration of having that thing. If you want a successful graduation then start visualising it. Only deal with a fear if it interupts your feeling of having that is necessary to allow what you want to come into your life.

(When you have that vague background anxiety you need to raise your overall level by dealing with the ascotiated thoughts and replacing them with better feeling thoughts until it goes. In fact, any negative feeling should be dealt with by thinking better.)

What Steve is saying to do in his post is the same thing. Think about what you want (which you should be doing anyway) and deal with the negative thoughts/feelings that arise. I personally don't believe that your thoughts and beliefs such as "my friend doesnt like rich people and will abandon me" (or whatever it was in Steve's post) are your actual beliefs. Well, they are but you only believe that because your ego presents you with that distorted view of reality to sabotage you. You dont have to believe your beliefs lol. You dont have to believe the ego. Trying to find these so-called beliefs creates them.

Good luck with graduation btw.