What do you want?

What do you want in this life?  What do you want to become?  What do you want to achieve?  What do you want to acquire?  Where are you headed, and should you be headed there?

These are very important questions.  If you don't know what you want, if you get it then it will be by accident.  More likely, you will simply not get it.  If you DO know what you  want, what you REALLY want, then you have every chance of getting it.  You can start working towards it.  No matter how distant it might seem right now, every step you take can be a step closer to achieving it.  Also, if you know what you really want you can send signals to the universe that you want it, and the universe will start working with you so you can get it.

The most important step you can take in your personal development is to find out what it is you really want.  The most important step, but often the biggest and most difficult step.

Most of us think we know what we want.  We think that because we think it must be silly not to know.  Everyone knows don't they?  Actually, no.  I would say far fewer than 50% of the population really know what they want.  In fact, based on in depth interviews I would probably say only a very small percentage really know the answer to this.  That is why so few people achieve it.

Even if you think you feel quite strongly about what you want to achieve, you may be wrong.  Have you ever sat in silence and questioned yourself about your goals, about what you really want?  I strongly suggest you do that, and do it soon, even if you think you know.  If you are wrong, then every day you delay is another day of moving in the wrong direction.

Why might you think you know what you want, and yet be completely wrong?  This is far more common than you may think.  We are all impressionable beings, especially when we are young.  Perhaps your parents wanted you to achieve something and you imbibed this and then took it for your own idea.  This could be a career decision for example.  I wonder how many doctors or lawyers there are who wish they had become train drivers!  Perhaps your spouse wants you to become someone that isn't really you.  Or your friends have convinced you that you want to have something that you don't necessarily really want to have.  Maybe your employer has made you think you want to be a really good ... (fill in the gap here, depending on your job).

It is very important to cut through all this "noise" and get to the real truth.  The question "why" is a very good way to do this.

Just as an example, let's say you have decided you want to become a millionaire.  Begin by asking yourself why you want to become a millionaire.  Don't be satisfied by just the first answer, but keep digging.  For example, you may say "because I want to buy a big house".  Ask yourself why you want a big house.  How will you feel when you own it?  What will you do with it?  When you answer those questions, ask yourself "why" again.  Keep asking it.  Keep digging deeper and deeper to find out exactly why you have this desire.

You might be surprised with some of the answers you get.  Sometimes the answers will reveal that you were wishing for the wrong thing.  Maybe not completely wrong, but still not quite right.  Perhaps the reason you wanted to become a millionaire is that you want to live in a nice house by the sea.  But do you need to be a millionaire to achieve that?  Do you even need to be at all wealthy to achieve it?  I am not saying that a desire to be very wealthy is wrong, but just that you should know, in depth, exactly why you want this.  By doing this you will be able to think laterally and achieve some of those things without needing to wait to become wealthy.

I like to think of this process as peeling to the core of our being.  In our outer layer we have the things that everyone around us can see.  Peel that back and there are the things that our friends and family see.  Peel that back again and there are the things that only our closest friends and family can see - perhaps just our spouse or life partner.  Peel that layer back and you will find things that not even your closest friends and family know about - just the things we alone know.  Then peel that layer back and find the things even you didn't know about yourself.  That is when the real work is done.

Bear in mind as you do this that you are not looking to be purely selfish about things.  You are not saying "I am going to be what I want to be, do what I want to do, acquire what I want to acquire, and never mind anyone else!".  You are just trying to get to the bottom of what it is you really want.  Having done that, you may decide that one of the things you really want is to please your spouse.  So whatever that thing is your spouse wants you to achieve you will work on achieving.  Not necessarily because you want that per se but because you do really want to please your spouse.  It would be a good idea, though, at that point to include your spouse in the exercise.  Get your spouse to ask the same questions about what they want.  If they realize the dream they had for you is not a shared dream but that you are ready and willing to make it so, that should strengthen your relationship with them.  But at the same time they may now change their own ideas about what they want for you.  You will be sharing your dreams together instead of trying to make each other live a dream that may not be the right thing for either of you.

Don't expect, though, that all of your initial beliefs about what you want will be wrong.  Some most certainly will be.  But others may not.  The exercise is equally valuable for those things that you do really want.  By asking "why" and keeping on asking it as you go deeper and deeper you will awaken inner powers that will align with the universe and help you achieve those things.  This is an exercise that is vital if you really want to be all that you can be and achieve all that you can achieve.

Don't try to become what others want you to be.  Don't change just to make others like you.  Change because you want to change.  Find out what you really want to be and then become that.  Do that, and the right people will love you for it.  Those who don't are people who should not be in your circle anyway.

Beginning Meditation

Do you regularly meditate?  If so I am sure you are already aware of the advantages of meditation.  If not, perhaps it is about time you started.

As a quick reminder, meditation can bring you so many benefits.  It can significantly improve your mental and physical health.  It can slow the aging process.  It can make you happier.  It can make you far more productive.  It can help you see where you are going wrong, perhaps in your work, perhaps in your relationships, perhaps in one or more of your hobbies, and how to put right whatever it is that is going wrong.  It can make you calmer and less stressed.  It can help you concentrate better.  It can help you work better.  It can lead you to much greater self-awareness.  Combine it with the techniques of affirmation and manifestation and it can greatly accelerate your progress towards your goals.  Need I go on?

Some people argue that they don't have time to meditate.  If this is you, forgive me but I have to tell you that is complete rubbish!  Whatever tasks you have to complete, I can pretty much guarantee that regular meditation will help you complete them better and faster.  Just 10 or 15 minutes of meditation every day will save you more than the 10 or 15 minutes you spend doing it.  If you are too busy, that is not a reason not to meditate - it is a very good reason why you SHOULD meditate!

Another reason people often give for not meditating is that their mind quickly wanders off and therefore there is no point.  If that is the way you feel, rather than "there is no point" you are actually completely missing the point!  One of the really good benefits of regular meditation practice is that it helps you to train your mind not to wander off.  If, when you first start meditating, you find your mind is difficult to control, don't regard that as a reason not to meditate - it is a very good reason why you SHOULD meditate.

"But if my mind wanders off the moment I start trying to meditate, then I will be sitting there just wasting my time won't I?"  This is a very common question.

The answer to this question is "no, you will not be wasting your time - as long as you have the desire to improve your meditation technique".

How can you bring your wandering mind under your control?  You do this by not worrying about the fact that it is NOT under your control - yet!  Do not try to rein it in.  Do not get cross with yourself.  The more you attempt to rein it the wilder it will become, and the crosser you will get.  You will be setting yourself up for failure.

Just try this little exercise for a moment.  When was the last time you thought about a pink elephant?  A few minutes ago?  I am pretty sure that is not the case!  A few days ago?  Maybe, but probably not even then.  Probably at least a few months ago.  So if you haven't thought about a pink elephant for weeks or months, how difficult should it be not to think about one for the next two minutes?  Ridiculously easy, surely!  Try it now.  Sit quietly and for the next two minutes do not think about a pink elephant.

Have you tried this?  How did it go?  Let me guess - for the past two minutes thoughts of pink elephants have been popping in and out of your mind.  Not just once or twice, but throughout most or all of the two minutes!  Am I right?  If I am wrong, then congratulations - go to the front of the class!  But certainly most of my readers will have found this exercise simply impossible.

When the thought of a pink elephant came into your mind, what did you do about it?  Did you try to stop it?  If so, that was your big mistake.  What you should have done was simply notice it was there but not thought any more about it.  By trying to stop it you had to think about it, so that is a self-defeating exercise.  Again, be aware the thought was there, but don't get cross, don't try to stop it, just recognise it is there and allow it to move on.  You still won't win the prize for not thinking about a pink elephant, but nobody will.  What you will have done is reduce thoughts of pink elephants to a minimum, with no fuss, no mental anguish, no anger at your wayward mind.

Why did I introduce this silly exercise?

Because this is exactly the way you will handle all the obstacles your mind tries to put in the way of your meditation practice.  Do not try to stop them, to block them, to make them go away.  If you try to do any of this they will have won.  Instead of focusing on your meditation you will be focused on the interruptions.  Simply acknowledge the interruption is there but do not react to it at all.  Don't feel guilty either.  Recognize that as you start meditating this is bound to happen and that your responsibility is simply to be aware it has happened, and nothing more.  That is the only way to bring your mind under your control.

What you will find when you do this is that gradually those interrupting thoughts and feelings will seem to recede into the distance.  They will still be there, but because you are not reacting to them they will become less and less noticeable.

At this point, though, there is a big danger.  Well, two big dangers!

The first danger is you may want to congratulate yourself on controlling your wayward mind.  Don't!  The urge to congratulate yourself is, itself, an interruption of your meditation!  It may seem obvious now, but it is not so obvious when you are in the middle of your meditation.  So when you feel this urge, just acknowledge it is there but do not react to it.  Allow it to enter your mind but just notice it is there without acting on it.

The second danger is a false sense of security.  Meditation is a technique that brings your very powerful mind under your control.  Your mind does not like that and will do anything it can to stop you controlling it.  One technique it will use is to appear to have backed down, giving you that false sense of security.  Once you are settled into that state it will then return, appearing even more wayward than it did in the first place.  Many people give up at this point.  Don't give up.  The fact that it is using this technique shows it is running scared.  It can see you are succeeding and therefore it is trying even harder to make you fail.  Just keep doing what you have done from the beginning - be aware of the new attack but do not react to it.  Do not try to stop it.  Do not get angry with it.  Just be aware and continue your meditation.

Use this technique and you will find it easier and easier to meditate.  You may never completely stop the interruptions your mind tries to throw into your meditation, but they will no longer disturb you, and that attitude robs them of all their power.

If you already meditate but are frequently irritated by mental interruptions, you should find this technique of very great help.  If you do not meditate yet, and have not started because you are afraid you won't be able to maintain a "clear" mind, you should now realize that is nothing to worry about at all.  Start meditating regularly from now on and reap all the benefits I have listed and more!

Burdens

Most of us recognize that there are hurdles to cross if we want to obtain anything worthwhile.  Sometimes they are massive hurdles, but if we want it enough we will find a way over them.

What is less well known is the "burdens" each of us carries.  Before you say "I have no burdens" let me say that you would be a pretty unique person if you had none at all.  Well, you ARE unique - we all are.  But there are very few people in the world who have no burdens making it more difficult than it should be to reach their goals.

I first came across the concept of this kind of burden in John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress".  The pilgrim, struggling to reach his goal, is carrying a massive pack on his back.  A bit like a soldier doing a "yomp" - you know the kind of exercise I mean, where some poor guy is struggling across difficult terrain with a bergen on his back containing 40 kilos of probably completely unnecessary equipment.  Sometimes there may even be bricks in the bergen just to increase the weight.  At least the soldier knows he is carrying this and he is doing so for a purpose - particularly to increase his endurance.  In the case of pilgrim, he wanted to get rid of his burden but had no idea how to do so.  He knew he had to get rid of it or he would never reach his goal.

We are all carrying burdens like this.  Unlike Pilgrim, most of us do not even know they are there, but that doesn't make the burden any lighter.

Some of those burdens are doubts.  We are ready to achieve our goal and believe we can do so.  But deep within us is a hidden doubt that we will ever get there.  The "doubt" burden is very heavy.  It is a bit like a new recruit putting 50 kilos in his bergen when he hasn't even practised with 20 kilos.  You must dissolve this burden by affirming daily that you have already achieved your goal, and knowing it is now simply waiting there for you to recognize it.

Other burdens are beliefs that what we are trying to achieve is wrong, or sinful in some way.  Again, this is usually a hidden burden.  As I have indicated in other blogs, you must work on this one by first meditating on your goal.  As you do so, see what feelings arise.  It could be that the inner feeling you had was right.  Perhaps this is not something for you.  But you may also find that those feelings are illogical.  They may have been planted there many years ago, perhaps when you were a child.  In fact there is strong evidence that some of them could have been planted there even further back than that.  When you identify a false belief of this kind I suggest you follow a ritual to get rid of it.  Begin by affirming your goal and associating it with a good feeling.  Then visualize the wrong belief as a chain tying your hands.  But it is really a weak chain.  Feel yourself breaking the chain by moving your hands upwards and outwards.  See the broken links of that chain falling to the ground, and then feel so grateful that this false belief has been destroyed.  Finish your meditation (for that is what it is) with an affirmation again.

I believe there are also other burdens preventing you from reaching your goals.  These burdens are what Franz Bardon called "astral larvae" in his book "Initiation into Hermetics".  You could also think of them as evil spirits.  Personally I do not see them as evil as such, but rather fairly unintelligent entities in the astral realm.  Whether or not you view them as evil spirits or astral entities that are neither good nor evil they are still something you don't want around you.  There are rituals you can use to protect yourself from astral larvae, some of which are largely based on Paul's letter to the Ephesians in chapter 6, verses 10 to 18.  You may also find Dion Fortune's book, "Psychic Self-Defence" helpful.  Alternatively, use exactly the same technique as I have suggested in the previous paragraph.

Work on removing your burdens and you will be surprised how much easier it is to reach your goals.

I have given links above to buy "Pilgrim's Progress", "Psychic Self-Defence" and "Initiation into Hermetics" if you feel any of these could be helpful.  The links are for payment in US dollars.  If you prefer to pay in £ sterling, use this link to "Pilgrim's Progress", this one to "Psychic Self-Defence" and this one to "Initiation into Hermetics".

Mindstate

Positive or Negative?

What is your prevailing mindstate?  Is it primarily positive or negative?

I believe it is important to maintain a positive mindstate as much as possible, for three different reasons.

Firstly, I believe that everything that happens to me originates from within.  If I constantly think negative thoughts, negative things will happen to me.  In other words, I strongly believe in the Law of Attraction.  Whatever I focus on most will be attracted to me, be it good or bad.  Why attract bad things when, if you choose, you can attract good things instead?

Secondly, I believe my state of mind spreads to those around me.  You don't have to believe in magic (which, personally, I do anyway) or any of the "new thought" philosophies (again, I do), to believe you "infect" those around you with your moods.  Imagine being in a room of people who are all in a bad mood and are showing this, for example, through their facial expressions.  How does that make you feel?  I would be most surprised if it made you feel happy!  Wouldn't you want to get out of that room as quickly as possible so you didn't become miserable?  Now imagine being in a room where everyone is happy.  True, some people do react badly to this, so it is not quite as simple as it seems.  But as long as there is not something deep within you that resents the happiness (for example if you have just lost a loved one) you will probably find the happiness is infectious too.

Lastly, if you have the choice of being happy or sad, which would you choose?  Surely you would wish to be happy wouldn't you?  If you have a positive state of mind you are much more likely to be happy than sad.  Happiness is not something external but rather comes from inside you.  The things that happen to you do not, of themselves, make you happy or sad.  They may trigger a happy or sad state of mind, but the key word here is "trigger".  It is not what happens itself that causes you to be happy or sad, but your state of mind.  So why not choose to have a positive state of mind that makes you happy.

Realistic Optimism

Recently I heard a so-called expert on the radio assert that the "normal" mindstate of British people is pessimism.  He berated those who are optimistic and said they should just accept the "normal" pessimistic state of mind which is the heritage of the British.

Why?  I am British, and I certainly do not accept this point of view.  I do accept that many are pessimists, and this is not restricted to the British.  Indeed, some sales trainers tell us that the way to motivate British buyers is to get them to move away from the things they fear rather than towards the things they want.  That may be true, but it doesn't have to be.

We can choose to be optimistic if we wish.  By all means realistic, but still optimistic.  By "realistic" I mean not always so expecting the best outcome that we are shocked and disappointed when it doesn't happen.  But by "optimistic" I mean knowing that good things will happen, even if there are sometimes some less pleasant interludes on the way.  Be prepared for the worst, but expect the best!

Victim Mindset

Many people have what is called a "victim mindstate".  They are always asking "why does this happen to me?"  They view themselves as always being the victim of unfortunate circumstances.  If you believe you are a victim you will interpret everything that happens to you in this way.

Notice the choice of words here - "happens to you".  Victims have a grandiose sense of their own importance.  Everything that happens is something happening to them.  Not impersonal.  Not just one of those things.  But a part of a universal conspiracy to make them miserable.  They are the centre of the universe.  Not a kind universe but an evil, threatening universe.

Guess what?  If that is the way you think you will start attracting those bad situations to you.  Even when you are in a good situation, though, you will manage to find something bad within it.  You will find the elements that support your view that you are a victim.

If you are a victim, escaping from this mindset is not easy.  But it is something you must do unless you want to stay miserable all your life.

The universe is not conspiring against you.  It wants nothing more than to give you all the good things you want and deserve.  But as long as you keep asking it for the bad things (which is what you are doing when you fall into the trap of the victim mindstate) it will give them to you.  As it says in Matthew 7:7 - "Ask and it shall be given to you".  That applies just as much, unfortunately, to the bad things in life as well as the good things.

I Make It Happen

Most of us fall into the victim trap from time to time, even if we do not generally have the victim mindset personality.  When it happens to you do NOT ask the question "why me?", or you are in danger of falling deeper and deeper into the victim mindset.  Instead, ask an empowering question.  Ask "what can I do to ...." - and fill in the gap depending on the circumstances.  "What can I do to make more money?"  "What can I do to attract a lovely partner?"  "What can I do to be happier?".  I am sure you can add many more examples.  The universe always answers your questions eventually, so by asking such questions you will be finding the ways to a better life.

Move from the state of "it happens to me" (the victim state) to that of "I make it happen".  Ask the right questions, and then make it happen by following the answers to those questions.

It Happens Through Me

Ultimately, you can then move again from "it happens to me" to "it happens through me".  This is the state in which you are allowing universal power to flow through you and bring good things to those around you.  By doing this you will find you are doubly blessed.  You will certainly feel good being the instrument of the universe in bringing all that is good to others.  But also you will find that as you give, so you will receive.  This is a universal law which cannot be broken.

For most of us, our mindset is not a permanent fixture but a fluctuating state.  Sometimes most of us will fall into the victim mindset unless we notice it starting to happen and take action to reverse it.  Try as much as possible to be in the "it happens through me" mindset.

Don't be taken in by those around you who try to tell you it is silly to be optimistic and the more realistic state of mind is the pessimistic one.  This is only true if you let it be true.  Don't become a victim, but become the one who creates happiness all around and luxuriates in that happiness!

Hypnosis

What do you think about hypnosis?

Does it work?  Is it just a party trick?  Is it safe?  Is it good or evil?  What should I use it for?

These are questions some of my subscribers have put to me when I have mentioned hypnosis.

There are, of course, many forms of hypnosis.  Some techniques you can use to hypnotize yourself.  Others are to hypnotize others.  Many can be used both on yourself and on others.  The answers to most of those questions depends on which forms of hypnosis you are using and particularly how you are using them.

Does it work?

"Does it work" is perhaps the easiest to answer.  In a word, YES!

The sub question "will it work for me?" is also quite easy to answer.  Yes, it will, as long as it is done properly.

Of course, whether it will achieve the results you intend is yet another question.  There is absolutely no doubt that hypnosis works.  But if you go into hypnosis in the expectation there will be instant dramatic results you may be disappointed.  There are certainly many documented cases of instant dramatic results, but you cannot rely on this being the case.  It is better to view hypnosis as a tool you can use in order to improve your own personal development, or that of others.  A tool you should use regularly, and which will gradually bring you closer to your objective.  If you DO get an immediate, dramatic result then that is a bonus.

Is it just a party trick?

A party trick?  Yes, some people use hypnosis that way.  Personally I do not like this use of what should be a very effective improvement technique.  But yes, there are some people who use it to manipulate other people on stage, getting them to do silly things, getting them to forget immediately something that has just been said to them, etc.  But this is not the form of hypnosis I am talking about here.

Is it safe?

Is hypnosis safe?  To be honest, that depends.

As I have already said many times, hypnosis is a tool.  A very useful and powerful tool.  Are tools safe?  If they are properly made and then used properly, yes they are.  But if you have a faulty tool, or use it inappropriately it can cause a lot of damage.

Before undergoing any form of hypnosis, whether it is self-hypnosis or conducted by a qualified hypnotherapist, you should be fully aware of the end goal and ideally should also be aware of the steps that will be used to reach that goal.  You should also be able to trust the person who is going to use it on you, or the person who has taught you to use it on yourself.  Follow these rules and hypnosis is safe.

Is it good or evil?

Is hypnosis good or evil?  Let me be clear about something right away.  Hypnosis is not a dark art practised by devil worshippers or some other evil cult.  Or perhaps I should rephrase that - it doesn't have to be a dark art.  As I said previously, it is simply a tool.  A tool is not, of itself, good or evil.  What is good or evil is the way in which it is used.

If you are particularly religious you should not worry about the practice of hypnosis in some way conflicting with or being against the precepts of your religion.  Does your religion tell you that it is evil to use a screwdriver?  I hope not!  But it probably does tell you that you should not use it to poke someone's eyes out!  Likewise, there is no reason why it should tell you that using hypnosis is wrong per se.  What is really key here is HOW you use it, what you are using it FOR.

How should hypnosis be used?

Which brings us to the final question.  What SHOULD you use hypnosis for?

Hypnosis can be used for many good purposes.  You can cure many different maladies with it, especially but not exclusively those that are concerned with your mental state.  For example many people use hypnosis to remove irrational phobias.  You can use it to strengthen positive aspects of your personality.  You can use it to remove mental and emotional blocks which are preventing you achieve what you want to achieve in life - and all of us have such blocks, so hypnosis can be useful for all of us!

The number 1 rule is that the purpose itself should be the right purpose.  Never, under any circumstances or for any reason, use hypnosis to make someone do something they do not want to do.  This applies whether or not you believe that purpose is a good purpose.  For example, if your partner smokes and you want them to stop smoking because it is bad for their health, do not start using hypnotic techniques to wean them off their cigarettes without their knowledge and permission.  To do so would be an evil act even if it is done with a good motive.  The same applies when using hypnosis on yourself.  Do not try to use hypnosis to achieve a certain result unless you are sure that is a result you really want to achieve.  I believe before you use self hypnosis you should meditate, focussing on whatever it is you want to achieve with the hypnotic techniques.  Use your intuition to determine whether or not this is the right thing for you.  Only proceed if it really is.

Hopefully I have put your mind at ease if you had any doubts about the value or morality of hypnosis, but also given you pointers to avoid using it in the wrong way.  Add hypnosis to your toolkit for self-improvement and I believe you will be amazed by the progress you can make.

How intuitive are you?

Stop a moment, without reading any more, and try to answer this question honestly.  Do you have any intuitive ability at all?  Is there even such a thing as intuition?  Answer these questions and then return to this article.

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Let me guess.  If you are male, did you answer that intuition is more of a female trait?  Wrong!  Intuition is not gender specific!  That is as incorrect as saying that females can multi-task and males cannot.  You believed that old wive's tale too?  Well, more on that in another blog!

Did you perhaps say that you do not have the gift of intuition?  Wrong again!  True some people seem to have the gift of being intuitive naturally and others don't.  But all actually have the gift - it is just more carefully hidden in some than in others.

Did you say that you are more of a left brain than a right brain person?  Well that really has nothing to do with intuition and creativity, no matter how often you may read online that it does.  If one side of your brain is more dominant than the other, that has very little to do with whether you are more rational or more intuitive.  Different abilities do tend to be associated with different sides of the brain, but this can vary from person to person, and also if someone suffers damage in one brain hemisphere it has been found they can transfer some of the functions associated with that side to the undamaged side.

Whatever reason you may have given to show why you are not really intuitive is actually totally wrong.  You are intuitive.  All of us are intuitive.

The definition of intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without the use of reason.  This is a skill we need as a species.  If we had to reason every issue to the Nth degree we could not survive as a species - we would be killed by every major danger that arose before we had decided what to do about it.

Intuition is a very powerful ability when you use it properly.

If you run a business you may already be aware of this.  It is usually the first thought that comes to you that is the right one.  Especially when trying to assess people.  Most of us then spend the next few hours or days trying to justify logically, with the power of reason, what we already knew without any reason at all.  That is the power of intuition in action.

Have you ever noticed that you just have a feeling that something is not right?  You don't know why you have that feeling, but it is there deep within and it is very powerful.  When you ignore it, then something seems to go wrong.  Has that ever happened to you?  The next time you get that feeling, just walk away.  The feeling is right.  Something within you has recognized the danger even though there is no apparent logical reason for it.

Trust me in this.  You DO have the power of intuition.  You CAN use it, and use it very effectively.  But just like a muscle, you need to keep using it to make it more powerful, to take it to the point where you can gain great benefit from it.

Now that you know this, start listening for that inner voice.  Take note of what your intuition is telling you.  Use it to find what you should really be doing, what your true desires are, how you can develop yourself and become a better person.  All that knowledge is already there inside you, ready to come to the surface through the process we call intuition.

Money

Money is the root of all evil.  Right?  Wrong!

It is surprising how many people seem to believe this though.  Where does this belief come from?

Well, first it comes from a misquote from the Bible.  Yes, I did say "misquote".  Nowhere in the Bible does it say that money is the root of all evil.  What it does say is "For the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10).  Note the difference.  It is not money that the Bible says is evil, but the love of money.  Note also that it does not say something like "the love of things that money can buy".  Just "the love of money".

These days, though, there is perhaps another reason so many people believe money is evil.  If you are a banker please forgive what I am about to say.  There are now very many people in the world who blame all our economic problems on bankers and the money systems we have.

Finally, there is the myth of King Midas, who asked the god Dionyssus for the gift of turning everything he touched into gold.  Dionyssus told Midas to think very carefully about this request, but Midas insisted and Dionyssus granted his wish.  The gift, of course, was a curse.  It was not gold that could bring Midas happiness but rather the things that gold could bring him.  He found that he did not want everything he touched to turn into gold.  Especially not when he found he could not eat, as the food he touched turned into gold.  And very especially not when he hugged his beloved daughter and she turned into a golden statue.  There is a happy ending to the story of King Midas though.  He very quickly realised how foolish he had been and begged Dionyssus to take away this "gift".  Dionyssus told King Midas to wash his hands in the river.  This he did, and then he found that everything he had turned into gold had become normal again, including his lovely daughter.  For the rest of his life King Midas remembered that it was not wealth that was important but what wealth could bring, and so he distributed much of his wealth to the people in his country, who loved their generous king.

As with most myths and fables, the story of King Midas contains universal truths which we ignore to our peril.

The truth is that it is foolish simply to have money as a goal.  Why would you want money itself?  What is the point?  When searching for the goals that are most meaningful to you find those things that you really want, the things that you would buy if you had enough money.  It may well be that the way to get those things is to get more money, but not necessarily.  You could find, for example, that somebody simply gifts them to you.  A shortcut to obtaining your desire, rather than going the longer route of getting the money and then using that to buy what you want.

Also, if you look carefully at the story of King Midas you will see that he didn't give away all his money and live as a pauper when he saw the error of his ways.  He shared what he had, very generously, and made everyone around him wealthier, but he still had enough money to continue living his dreams.  Hopefully that is what you want to do too.

I love the story of King Midas, as it epitomises for me how I should be using the Law of Attraction.  I do have a certain amount of money as one of my goals on my vision board and in my "mind movies".  But it is not the money that I really focus on.  It is the other things.  The lifestyle I want.  The ability to help others.  The sense of security.  These are things that improve as my money base improves, but it is them that I focus on, not the money itself.

Do you want more money?  Good!  You can get it if you apply the Law of Attraction properly.  But one of the first steps you should take, an essential step which will lead to more money, is to clarify exactly what you want that money for.  Your desire should not be for the money, but for what it can give you.  Work on that and you can become very wealthy indeed!

How to Avoid Goal Traps

You may wonder why I am talking about "goal traps".  What exactly is a "goal trap" and why is it so important to avoid it?

Giving Up

I know of many people who have given up on goals for a number of different reasons.

Some have found they set goals in the past which they were never able to achieve.  This has happened to them so often that they have decided there is no point in having any goals.

Some have decided that having goals saps their energy and is tiring.  Far better, they argue, to have no goals and just lazily coast through life.

Some believe there is nothing they particularly want in life, so there is therefore no need for them to have any goals.

Hopefully you do not fall into any of these categories.  But even if you don't now it is possible you will fall into the trap of adopting one of these views at some point in the future, so I want to give you the ammunition now to stop this from ever happening.

Unrealistic Goals

Have you ever had any unrealistic goals?

This is really quite a difficult issue.  I strongly believe in the infinite power of the universe.  This power can achieve literally anything we want.  So how can any goal be unrealistic?

I would suggest the term "unrealistic" is relative rather than absolute.  Yes, it is true you can achieve anything you want if you really want it enough.  But there are two golden rules you must follow if you are going to achieve that goal.

First you must REALLY want to achieve it.  Not simply think it would be quite nice - if your desire is that wishy-washy you are unlikely to achieve anything at all unless it is very easy to achieve in the first place.  You must have a strong desire to achieve it.

Second you cannot have any negative thoughts about it.  This is perhaps the most difficult to achieve.  Say, for example, you are in a wheelchair and your goal is to become the first seriously disabled person to climb Everest.  Certainly that would be classified in most people's minds as an unrealistic goal.  It is not impossible, but the difficulties involved would probably make it seem so to even the most optimistic among us.  If you have chosen that as your goal, then very likely a little voice inside you will keep telling you it is unrealistic and that you have no hope of achieving it.  What makes it unrealistic is not so much the goal itself, but that voice which tells it IS unrealistic.  Unless you are able to avoid any such negative thoughts it is unlikely you will achieve the goal.

Goals Sap Your Energy

Do you find working towards goals is tiring?  Do you sometimes wish you didn't have to work so hard trying to reach goals?  If so, you could be in danger of slipping into the trap of feeling it is better simply not to have any goals in the first place.

This is a trap you simply MUST avoid.  Do anything and everything you can to avoid it.  Once you start on the slippery slope of feeling that goals sap your energy it is very difficult to escape from the trap.

The reality is living a life without goals saps far more energy from you than will the toughest goal.  Read this sentence again, as it is extremely important.  If you take nothing else away from this article, please at least remember this.  Living a life without goals saps far more energy from you than will the toughest goal.

Now you can see why I have called it a slippery slope.  In a goal-less life your energy is dissipated.  The more energy you lose the more difficult it becomes to change direction and start working towards goals again.

The truth is that the right goals do not sap your energy.  The wrong ones can though.  The ones that don't really inspire you and fill you with hopeful energy.  If you find yourself slipping into the "goals are so tiring" mode, you have to look again at the goals you are setting yourself, replacing them with ones that excite you.  As long as you do this you will find your goals energize you rather than sapping your energy.

Nothing You Want

This can be one of the most difficult traps to climb out of if you ever fall into it.  Saying "there is nothing I want in life".  It really is not true, but sometimes it can deceptively seem so.

There are a number of different reasons you might fall into this "goal trap".

Often people fall into it because of one of the earlier traps I have discussed.  They have given up on goals, found their goals were too unrealistic, found their goals sapped too much energy from them, and so they find it easier simply to say they simply don't have any goals.

Feeling there is nothing you want out of life can also be a symptom of depression.  This is a very dangerous condition, and if you believe it possible you are falling into it you really must do something about it.  Go and see a medical professional.  Also, you may find one of my earlier articles helpful.  Try reading my article on how to avoid sadness (http://iwanttoimprovemyself.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/avoiding-sadness-five-point-plan.html), or the one on using music to ease depression (http://iwanttoimprovemyself.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/using-music-to-ease-depression.html).

If you do believe there is nothing you want in life, then you should take some time to think about all the things that have made you happy in the past.  Think about the things that gave you a sense of achievement.  Dig beneath them and you will find other things that can inspire you and which could be realistic goals for you to target.

Avoiding Goal Traps

Try not to allow yourself to fall into any of these goal traps.  If you do fall into one, make sure you work on getting out.  Now you know what goal traps are it should be easier for you to recognize them when they arise, and easier for you to find a way out if you inadvertently do fall into one.

You can be anything you wish

According to many scientists we do not live in just one universe, but in many.

One concept I have believed since my early teens is that those universes are parallel universes, and that every decision we take moves us into one of an infinite number of parallel universes.  I thought I was alone in believing this, but quite recently a number of physicists have come up with the same concept.  This is perhaps still not quite mainstream science, but it is certainly no longer considered the loony fringe, and some scientists believe this is the only way they can explain some of the apparently contradictory evidence they have collected.

If you will excuse the pun, there is a parallel between the "multiverse" concept and the Schrödinger's cat concept which I explored in an earlier article (http://iwanttoimprovemyself.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/schrodingers-cat-and-law-of-attraction.html).

What does this mean in practice?

What it means is that somewhere there really is a "you" who has achieved what you hope to achieve.  That "you" already exists.  If you are trying to get slimmer and lose five pounds, you have genuinely already done so.  It is just that at the moment you do not recognize the fact.  You cannot think it is impossible, as it has already happened anyway.  You just need to catch up with the fact.  If you are trying to develop into such a good, loveable person that you attract a really good and loveable partner, again just recognize that this has already happened.  Not yet in this universe, but in another parallel universe.  You simply need to recognize this person already exists and it can happen.

Imagine life is like a very large building with lots of rooms.  As you travel through life you open different doors and enter different rooms.  Each room you enter has lots of other doors which will lead you into lots of other rooms.  If you think this sounds familiar, then perhaps it should.  "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3, New International Version)

Some people might take this as an excuse not to do anything good in their life, taking the view that there will always be both good and bad futures no matter what they do.  That is a bit like saying if you believe in reincarnation rather than in heaven and hell it doesn't matter what you do, as you can always come back another time and correct it.  In both cases you would be missing the point.  This "multiverse" has a lot of good in it, but also a lot of bad.  You should want to open doors that lead to good futures not to bad ones.  Why would you deliberately choose unhappiness in a bad future rather than happiness in a good one?

Notice how Jesus, in the quote above, says you can be where he is.  I know most Christians would interpret that differently from me, but I interpret that as saying if we listen to our inner voice we will choose to open the right doors which will put us in exactly the right future for us.

The next time you are depressed with the lack of progress you have made, the next time you are pessimistic about what the future holds for you, remember this concept of "many rooms" in our "multiverse".  Remember that a future exists where you have achieved all you ever wanted to achieve, and there is nothing to stop you opening the right doors to reach that wonderful future!

The beginning of the universe

Recently I watched a documentary about the latest scientific studies of the beginning of the universe.  So many things the scientists said struck a chord that I read the relevant section of my Bible again.  Take a look at the two different versions:

Big Bang

The Big Bang theory is not universally accepted by scientists, but still has a large and respectable following.  Here, more or less, is what the proponents of Big Bang say happened:
 

1. In the beginning of space and time was the Big Bang.  The Big Bang resulted in a hydrogen fog.
    
2. Now the hydrogen fog was a formless, empty cloud.  Darkness covered the universe.
    
3. After millions of years, atoms of hydrogen coalesced and began fusion reactions forming the first stars.  And the stars gave out light.
    
4. There were bubbles of light in the primordial universe, separated from each other by the darkness of the hydrogen fog.
    
5. When the bubbles of light burst through the hydrogen fog, this was Cosmic Dawn, which came after the dark ages of the universe.

Genesis

Now here is Genesis 1: 1-5 (New International Version):
 

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
    
2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
    
3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
    
4. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
    
5. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Comparing Big Bang and Genesis

These two versions are so close!  The only major difference between the two is the word "God", and there is absolutely nothing in Big Bang theory that says it could not have been planned and co-ordinated by God.  The purpose of science is not to prove or disprove the existence and role of God, but merely to discover the rules of the universe which those of us who believe in God believe He created.

When I realised just how close these two versions of the creation of the universe are, it sent a shiver down my spine.  It is almost as though the author of Genesis 1 was a gifted astrophysicist thousands of years before the first astrophysicist was born!

So much of the Bible is not intended to be taken literally as scientific fact, but should be read for its inner meaning just like the many parables Jesus told.  It is good to know, though, that many scientists now at least agree that the first 5 verses of the Bible are indeed scientific fact, stating in a matter of fact way what scientists have only in very recent years been able to piece together as the most likely way in which our universe was created.  I will never again read Genesis 1 without feeling that shiver; a good, comforting shiver.

I believe adherents of Hinduism will find something similar in their own holy writings.  Probably other religions too.  I would be really interested to hear from my non-Christian friends of any similarities they can find in their own religion.  Please feel free to get back to me on this, or with any thoughts of your own, in the comments section.

What This Should Mean to Us

Our distant ancestors knew so much about the basic truths of this universe.  Not from conducting scientific experiments, but by listening to what something other than a cold and logical mind told them.  We can still see this when we look, for example, at some of the beliefs of Australian aborigines.

I hope my readers will take time to meditate, study their own religious writings (of whichever religion that may be), and listen to that small, still voice within - the voice that wants us all to develop ourselves, know the Truth, and grow into better human beings.

The Elixir of Life

219 years before Christ a Chinese alchemist, Xu Fu, took 1,000 young people on a trip to discover the secret of immortality.  He never returned.

In 1567, Ming Dynasty Emperor JiaJing is believed to have died from an overdose of the poison mercury.  Jiajing believed that mercury was the elixir of life and would enable him to live forever; instead he died aged 45.

In 18th century Europe, the Count of St Germain claimed to have found the elixir of life and to be 500 years old.  He is believed to have died in 1784, probably in his 70's rather than 500 or more, although some Theosophists and Rosicrucians claim he never died and is still living even today.

Throughout history people have been searching for the mystical elixir of life, for the magical anti ageing secrets that will help them to live forever.  I may not have quite found that magical elixir, but I do have perhaps the next best thing - knowledge of changes you can make in your lifestyle which could significantly extend your life.  And you can relax in the sure knowledge that my anti ageing medicine is not going to give you mercury poisoning!

According to Rose Anne Kenny, Professor of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, the three most important factors that will help you extend life and live longer (obviously subject to you not having a fatal accident, suffering a terminal illness etc) are:

1 Properly managing your health;

2 Working on your personal development, continuing to develop your skills and abilities no matter what age you may be;

3 Getting involved in your community, doing things that are a real contribution, helping those around you.

Managing Your Health

I guess everyone knows they should do this and that if they do they have a greater chance of living longer.

"Eat and drink healthily" is important if you want to live to a ripe old age.  But I do not mean you have to be extreme about this.  To me, moderation is the key here.  If you enjoy certain foods that you have been told are not healthy, then I think you should continue to eat them, but only now and again rather than all the time.

Many people get confused by the concept of eating healthily and think this means you have to pick "healthy foods" and only eat those.  The reality is that there is no such thing as "healthy foods".  Yes, read that again!  The concepts of "healthy foods" and "unhealthy foods" don't really exist.  Any food would be unhealthy for you if you ate it to excess.  There is no such thing as a "healthy food", but there is such a thing as a healthy diet.  Try to maintain a good mix of foods that will provide you with all the nutrients you need, and keep a good balance of those different types of food.

Although I have just said you cannot talk about healthy and unhealthy foods, there are, of course, some foods that are not particularly good for you.  Processed foods come into this category.  Especially the packs of "TV dinners" you can buy in supermarkets.  Fresh food is far better for you.  But again, if you are particularly fond of something that is processed (perhaps a fast food hamburger or hot dog) then by all means eat it - just not too often!

Likewise with what you drink.  Don't drink an excess of coffee for example, filling yourself with caffeine.  But unless your doctor has told you to avoid caffeine I do not suggest you drink decaffeinated coffee, and nor am I recommending you give up coffee altogether.  Again, moderation is the key.

Drinking alcohol is exactly the same.  Yes, alcohol is a poison, so you certainly do not want to drink too much.  But there is nothing wrong with drinking moderately.  In fact it is believed that very moderate drinking can keep you healthier and extend your life.

Try not to be a "couch potato".  Find something you enjoy doing that doesn't involve sitting or lying down.  In my case, that hobby is Ballroom and Latin dancing, which for me combines pleasure, exercise, and a social activity.  It also sometimes stretches my mind, forcing me to remember long combinations of steps.  All this is good for maintaining youth!  In your case, maybe it is a sport.  Or going for a nice long swim, run, or cycle ride.  Perhaps a combination of these.  I certainly enjoy cycling from time to time as well as dancing.  Whatever it is you choose, make sure it involves a good bit of exercise.

Be aware of your body and the signals it may be giving you.  This is a wide category.

For example you should remain alert for any signs that could indicate cancer.  If you are female that particularly means regularly checking your breasts.  If you are male you should check your testicles.  For both sexes, stay alert for any lumps anywhere in the body that start to change shape or size, or that start to bleed.  Also stay alert for any changes in the way in which you urinate and pass stools.  Be particularly alert for any blood in your stools or urine.  I have really only touched the surface here, and I suggest you do some research yourself on ways to detect signs of cancer early on.  If you spot anything that disturbs you, contact your doctor.  Doing this can identify a cancer at an early enough stage for it to be stopped in its tracks.  I am speaking with experience, as I suffered from prostate cancer, but recognized the symptoms before it had progressed far and received treatment that completely eliminated it.

These are not the only signals your body gives you.  If you start to overdo something that could impact badly on your health, your body will often tell you.  Perhaps you will start getting more frequent and more painful headaches than you would normally expect.  If so, this is almost certainly your body trying to tell you something.  Slow down and try to listen to what it is saying.

Personal Development

If you want to stay young, then you should do all you can to develop your personal skills and abilities.  This will really make a huge difference to the way you age.  The more you do this, the slower you will age.

This is a very wide field.  It certainly includes doing things that will help you challenge and expand your intellect, even if they are as simple as crosswords and other word games.  But it also includes finding what makes you really happy, and focusing on and developing that.

This entire site is devoted to personal development.  Browse through it and read or re-read articles that strike a bell with you.  If you are not already one of my subscribers, take the time to subscribe now - in just a few seconds you can ensure I will keep in touch with you giving you many different ways of improving your own personal development.  You can do this at www.beallican.com.

Getting Involved

The more you get involved, whether this is with family or the wider community, the slower you will age.  Give of yourself.  Spend time helping others less fortunate than you.

There are many reasons for this.  Firstly, it has been shown that this type of activity automatically makes you happier.  Secondly, the more you are involved, the less lonely you will be.  Thirdly, there is a real sense of fulfilment when you get heavily involved.  And finally, I believe the law of karma is operating here too - by helping others you find good things come to you.  Those good things include a slowing of the ageing process.

You Are as Young as You Feel

This really is true.  Do not be taken in by all the stereotypes about ageing.  If somebody says "You are too old for that!", don't believe them!  In fact, take that as a challenge to do whatever it was you were thinking about doing!  If you do believe the stereotypes you will tend to live down to them.  You may stop doing things you enjoy doing simply because you think older people cannot do them.  Do not allow this to happen to you!

This is not just me saying this.  "The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing" proved that the more people believe they will lose their abilities as they got older, the more this actually happens.  The reverse is also true - the more you believe you can continue to do what you enjoy, the longer you will physically be able to do so.  There was also a study by researchers at Yale University which found that a group of elderly people who had a really positive attitude were able to function physically as well as another group that had undertaken a six month exercise programme.

The Irish study also found that people who had positive expectations about the future as they got older lived on average 7 years longer than those who had negative expectations!  Read that again - it is very important!  What are your expectations about your future as you get older?  Are you resigned to dying younger than really need be the case or are you ready to enjoy that future to the full?

Positive thinking really works.  This is just as true about ageing as it is about such things as getting more money, finding love etc.  Start thinking more positively now about your age.  Change how you feel about ageing and you will actually change how you age!

None of us can avoid getting older.  Every day you are older - you are one day older.  That is a simple fact, and nothing can change that unless you have some way of travelling at or close to the speed of light, in which case Einstein tells us you will age slower.  But we can all delay the onset of "old age".  Use the anti-aging techniques I have outlined above.  Don't just do exactly what I have said, and nothing else, but rather use this article as a springboard to research all the ways you can stay young and healthy.  That is the real elixir of life.  Use it well, have fun, and live long!

The Power of the Unconscious

Just how powerful is your unconscious mind?

Perhaps before I try to answer this I should clarify what I mean by "unconscious".  It is everything in your mind of which you are not conscious.  Some people try to call this the subconscious mind, but that is not the true term.  "Subconscious" is a part of the mind which is accessible, but of which you are not aware at the time.  Another way of putting this is that it is the "non-mindfulness" part of your mind (if you are not familiar with this term, I will be producing an article about Mindfulness later this year).  For example you may be so used to walking from your home to your office that you do so automatically, without being aware of the journey at all.  This is the subconscious mind controlling your journey.  The unconscious mind includes this, but also includes parts of your mind that are not normally accessible at all.  You may be completely unaware of what is happening in your unconscious mind, but it is still happening.

To a degree, I tend to follow Jung's view of the unconscious mind.  That is, we have both a personal and a collective unconscious.  In our personal unconscious are our personal memories.  Things we have thought about and that are now permanently a part of us but of which we are no longer consciously aware.  In our collective unconscious are what you might think of as cultural "memories" and even memories going right back to the origin of mankind.

But the unconscious is more than just memories.  It is a real force.  Restricting it to just memories is missing the real power of the unconscious.  It includes what Hindus and some Buddhists refer to as "Atman", an absolute and essential "self".  The true self.  What Paul Brunton referred to in his works as the "Overself".  Almost God-like.  In fact, I believe it IS God expressing Himself through us.  When we sit in silence, listening for the voice of God, we hear that voice.  It comes from within, and yet it is all powerful and not really "within" at all.  It is not restricted to the "archetypes" of the collective unconscious, as Jung called them, but is really the power of the entire universe.

The Overself is the perfect being you are intended to be.  Somewhere along the road you lost that perfection, but it is still there within you waiting to be found again.  Hidden in your unconscious mind.  All the personal development work you do is really one small step in that journey to finding and releasing the Overself that is right there waiting to be released.

So how powerful is your unconscious mind?  The answer is, it is all-powerful!  There is absolutely no limit to its power - or rather the only limits are the limits you place on it yourself.  Keep going on your personal development journey, knowing that the power of the universe, or the power of God, is waiting for you and helping you to reach your goal!

Vision Board

Do you have a vision board, or what I personally call my treasure map?

If you have followed many of the free webinars and ready many of the free e-books I have sent to my subscribers then you probably have your own vision board.  Hopefully you also use it regularly.

But if you are not one of my subscribers, and have not studied much material on manifesting then perhaps you do not know what a vision board is.

A properly created vision board is a way of really motivating and exciting you about whatever it is you want to achieve.  It is also a way of communicating that desire to the Universe, which makes it far more likely you really will achieve it.

Actually, there is something even more fundamental than this happening when you create your vision board.  So many people do not really understand what it is they want to achieve in life.  They have never thought about it properly.  But when you start to create your vision board this forces you to focus on what you want.  Sometimes when you do that you realize that what you thought you wanted is not really something you want at all.  Perhaps it is something your parents, friends or partner told you that you should want.  Or you have been taken in by the commercialism that surrounds most of us every day, and believe the adverts that tell you this is what you want.

If you already have a vision board I want you now to focus on it.  Does it excite you?  Does it make you feel really happy knowing what is on there is coming your way?  It should.  If it doesn't, then I suggest you go right back to the drawing board and start over.  Create a brand new one that does excite you, and that does make you really happy.

If you don't already have a vision board, and if there is anything at all that you want to achieve, then take some time right now to make one.

Begin by deciding exactly what it is you really want, and write down what that is.  This can be anything at all.  Maybe true love?  Perhaps a career that really excites you?  The chance to make a real difference in the world?  It can also be a collection of objectives that are linked.  For example a lovely house right on the beach in a hot climate, plus a lamborghini car, plus your own private jet ... that list might go on for a bit, but don't stop it.  As long as these are things you really want, then list them.

Make sure whatever it is you have listed really does excite you.  Does it feel right to you?  Is it really what you want?  In other articles in this blog I have written about the importance of making sure you are properly aligned with your inner purpose.  This really is key, so do not leave this step out.

Once you are certain you have the right goals listed, the next step is to state them in a single phrase set in the present tense, showing you have already achieved them.  In other words, do not say something like "I want to have a lovely house right on the beach in a hot climate, a lamborghini car, and my own private jet!".  Instead, in this specific example you would say "I have a lovely house right on the beach in a hot climate, a Lamborghini car, and my own private jet!".  If these really were your goals you would be even more specific than this.  You would probably say how many rooms that house has and exactly where it is.  You would say the make and model of the private jet you want.  If your response to this is "I don't really know!" then go away and do some research.  Make sure you DO know!

Now find the right pictures illustrating those goals.  Look far and wide for these.  Cut them out and arrange them on your vision board.  If there is not enough space to fit them all on, then get a bigger sheet of paper, write your goals at the top again, and arrange your pictures on this new vision board.  When the arrangement feels right, get some glue and stick those pictures down.

Don't just use pictures though.  Write down some other things about each goal that really excite you.

Now at the bottom of your vision board, write this, or something similar:

"I choose to create all this or something better!"

Finally, draw a thick line all around the edges of your vision board.  This is the limit line.  It tells your subconscious mind, or the Universe, that once it has given you what you desire, it doesn't need to keep giving you more of it.  If you have entered a "Cessna Citation Hemisphere" as something you really want, then I imagine you don't actually need or want a whole fleet of Cessnas.  If you do, then that is what you should put anyway!  So you put the limit line to clarify that you don't want to keep adding that particular thing.  Why is this necessary?  Because of the power of a vision board!  It really is that powerful!  Some people have put "money" as their goal, and not limited it on their vision board.  The power of the vision board brings them money.  Lots of it.  Far more than they need or want.  But it brings them no enjoyment as they keep wanting more and more money and are never satisfied.  The limit line can stop this happening.

Now that you have your vision board, use it properly.  Every day, in fact several times a day, look at it and allow the warm feeling of achieving everything on it to flow through you.

Create and use your vision board properly and you can achieve everything you really wish to achieve.