Goal Setting and the Power of Autosuggestion

by

Gary Greenbank

Most people who read about goal setting take away the idea that thinking positively will help them achieve their goals. There is always a deeper message if you are ready for it.

You've probably also heard that 'we are all one' and that you are a 'spiritual being having a human experience'. An increasing amount of people believe that our minds are connected at some level in what could be called 'infinite intelligence' or the 'universal mind'.

Consider the idea that we actually change our life situation by using autosuggestion to tap into this 'infinite intelligence'. That is, if we can see and feel ourselves in possession of a goal, then this emotion of desire opens up the connecting link to 'infinite intelligence' through our subconscious.

To explain the idea of oneness in human terms think of your Higher Self as the ocean and your Limited Self level as a drop of water in that ocean. When you look at the ocean you know that it is made up of individual drops of water, however, all you see is one great expanse of water. This is the same as the relationship between you at your Limited Self and Higher Self level. Just as all the drops of water make up the ocean, you and every other living thing in the universe make up your Higher Self. You are the ocean having the experiences of each drop of water that is part of you. As your Limited Self, you are a drop while as your Higher Self, you are the entire ocean.

In our mind, at our Limited Self level, we have what is called our conscious faculty which is the guardhouse that helps us analyse and make judgments on the environment around us. Behind this lies our subconscious. We can tap into our subconscious in a variety of ways including meditation, prayer, hypnotism etc.

Many people believe that our subconscious is the connecting link between our finite brain and infinite intelligence. This is the basis for all manifestation theories involving positive thinking and goal setting. Many books have been written on this subject including 'The Secret', 'The Law of Attraction', 'The Power of Now', 'Think and Grow Rich' and many others.

What is often not understood is that when we want something to change in our life the change isn't actually manifested by us as our Limited Self. The actual process we use to change our situation, whether we know it or not, is to use autosuggestion to open the connecting link between our subconscious and our Higher Self or Infinite Intelligence where we are connected to everything else as one. It is at this level that we change our environment and therefore change our life situation.

Autosuggestion is where you have such a burning desire for something to change that you can actually see and feel yourself in possession of what you desire in your life - visualising and then adding the emotion of actually feeling yourself in possession of what you want.

This emotion and faith then stimulate your subconscious to link with the infinite intelligence to change your life situation. So how do you use this process to change your life? As mentioned earlier, the most effective way of tapping into your subconscious is through autosuggestion.

The following is an excerpt taken directly from the classic book, Think and Grow Rich. The example Napoleon Hill uses is making an amount of money however in reality your goal can be anything and you would just replace money in the excerpt below with your own goal.

'First. Go into some quiet spot (preferably in bed at night) where you will not be disturbed or interrupted, close your eyes, and repeat aloud, (so you may hear your own words) the written statement of the amount of money you intend to accumulate, the time limit for its accumulation, and a description of the service or merchandise you intend to give in return for the money. As you carry out these instructions, SEE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

For example:-Suppose that you intend to accumulate $500,000 by the first of January, five years hence, that you intend to give personal services in return for the money, in the capacity of a salesperson. Your written statement of your purpose should be similar to the following:

"By the first day of , I will have in my possession $500,000, which will come to me in various amounts from time to time during the interim.

In return for this money I will give the most efficient service of which I am capable, rendering the fullest possible quantity, and the best possible quality of service in the capacity of salesperson of (describe the service or merchandise you intend to sell).

I believe that I will have this money in my possession. My faith is so strong that I can now see this money before my eyes. I can touch it with my hands. It is now awaiting transfer to me at the time, and in the proportion that I deliver the service I intend to render in return for it. I am awaiting a plan by which to accumulate this money, and I will follow that plan, when it is received."

Second. Repeat this program night and morning until you can see, (in your imagination) the money you intend to accumulate.

Third. Place a written copy of your statement where you can see it night and morning and read it just before retiring, and upon arising until you have been memorized it.

Remember, as you carry out these instructions, that you are applying the principle of auto-suggestion, for the purpose of giving orders to your subconscious mind. Remember, also, that your subconscious mind will act ONLY upon instructions which are emotionalized, and handed over to it with "feeling." FAITH is the strongest, and most productive of the emotions. Follow the instructions given in the chapter on FAITH.

These instructions may, at first, seem abstract. Do not let this disturb you. Follow the instructions, no matter how abstract or impractical they may, at first, appear to be. The time will soon come, if you do as you have been instructed, in spirit as well as in act, when a whole new universe of power will unfold to you.

Scepticism, in connection with ALL new ideas, is characteristic of all human beings. But if you follow the instructions outlined, your scepticism will soon be replaced by belief, and this, in turn, will soon become crystallized into ABSOLUTE FAITH. Then you will have arrived at the point where you may truly say, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul!"

Many philosophers have made the statement that man is the master of his own earthly destiny, but most of them have failed to say why he is the master. The reason that man may be the master of his own earthly status, and especially his financial status, is thoroughly explained in this chapter. Man may become the master of himself, and of his environment, because he has the POWER TO INFLUENCE HIS OWN SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, and through it, gain the cooperation of Infinite Intelligence'.

The actual performance of transmuting DESIRE into money, involves the use of autosuggestion as an agency by which one may reach, and influence, the subconscious mind.

This same mechanism, where we connect with our Higher Self, has also been called Creative Genius and is the process behind intuition, imagination and instinct.

If you need any more proof read the biographies of people such as Einstein and Beethoven and you will realize that they were working with intelligence greater than that in their finite brain. Similarly with great inventors, this process of linking to the infinite intelligence allows them to operate at a higher creative plain than in their normal finite mind.

If you're interested in this idea that we are all one, and our minds are connected in some way we don't at this stage understand, I'd suggest you read my article on Internet of Minds and also watch a very interesting video presentation by Jill Bolte Taylor a brain scientist who documented her incredible experiences while she was having a stroke!

For more advice and answers to questions you won't find in a text book go to businessadvicecolumn.com

copyright Gary Greenbank 2012