Limiting Beliefs

Are there any limits on what you can achieve in this life?

The scientists among you will probably answer this with a resounding "Yes!".  Of course there are limits!  There are the laws of physics for starters!  If you are going to deny the laws of physics, then you clearly don't know what you are talking about!

The practitioners of the Law of Attraction will probably answer this with a resounding "No!".  There ARE no limits to what you can achieve!  Know that you can achieve it, know why you want to achieve it, and know that because of this the Universe has already achieved it for you!

Both are right, but also both are wrong.

I would remind the scientists that even the laws of physics themselves are a changing feast.  Nothing in this universe is immutable; everything, including even the basic scientific laws we have believed in for centuries, has the seeds of change within it.  Laws help us interpret what is happening around us.  They even help us predict what is likely to happen next.  But they are not cast in concrete, even though some charlatans who claim to be scientists may tell us they are.

I would remind the practitioners of the Law of Attraction that there ARE limits - the limits we ourselves create, our limiting beliefs.  If you believe you cannot achieve something you are absolutely correct in your belief!  And it is that belief which will ultimately prevent you from achieving it.

Limiting beliefs arise in many different ways and from many different sources.  But often they are linked to that first objection - the belief that the laws of the universe will prevent us from achieving what we want to achieve.

There is, actually, a very good evolutionary reason for this source of limiting beliefs.  There are, of course, actions you can take which place you in danger.  If you are tempted to take such actions you will find strong objections rising from within that prevent you following through.  If this did not happen you would be much more likely to die, perhaps before you had contributed to the gene pool.  By definition, those who lack this protective mechanism are therefore much less likely to have children, and whatever gene "malfunction" stripped away the protection is unlikely to be passed on to the next generation.  If you look up "Darwin Awards" online you will see many such examples.

If you are tempted to step off a skyscraper just to see whether you have developed the ability to fly, but find an inner fear of the likely consequences prevents you, this inherent limiting belief is certainly performing an essential function.  But if you are a well trained acrobat you will need to conquer that same fear.  The fear that stops someone else doing something stupid can not only limit you from achieving what you need to achieve, but can also appear at just the wrong moment and cause the very harm it is supposed to limit.

The trouble is, this underlying evolutionary protective mechanism has no way of knowing when it should and when it should not act.  If it senses a set of pre-defined circumstances it will swing into action and prevent you achieving what you are trying to achieve.  Unless you know how and when to switch it off.

I have focussed here on physical danger, as that is the most obvious example, and one everyone can follow.  But our inherent evolutionary limiting beliefs are by no means confined to physical danger.  In fact, they tend to try to prevent any change at all.  If you are alive and healthy, then (this internal security guard argues) whatever you have been doing up to now clearly works in your favour.  By extension, anything you may wish to do which could change the status quo could bring danger.  To be on the safe side your internal security guard will try to lock you into the status quo and block out anything that could change it.

This resistance to change is present within all of us.  It is not the only limiting belief by any means.  We have all collected hundreds or even thousands of limiting beliefs.  But an inherent resistance to change is probably the biggest limiting belief of all.

Being aware you have a limiting belief is always the first required step to remove it.  Be aware that you have a natural, innate resistance to change.  Don't try to remove the fear of stepping off a skyscraper (unless, of course, you are an acrobat and that is part of your act).  You will probably not be successful if you do try, and if you ARE successful it may well be your last success in life!  But do look carefully at whatever within you is resisting change, as you need to accept and even demand change if you want to achieve anything at all.

Why Worry?

Do you ever worry?  If so, why?  And should you?  If not, how can you stop worrying?

If I am asked the question "do you ever worry?" I always answer "no".  I will explain in a moment why I can say that and how you can too, but strictly speaking it is not 100% accurate.  I do worry - for a few seconds while the worry works its true purpose.  And what is that purpose?  Worry has the same purpose as pain - to make me aware that there is a problem and that I should try to do something about it.

Just like pain, when you are aware there is a problem and have done whatever you can to deal with it, the worry has served its purpose.  But also just like pain, the worry normally lasts until the problem has completely gone away - and sometimes even beyond this.  It makes no difference that you have responded to your body's signal and that continuation of the pain or the worry is no longer required.  Unless you have learned techniques to stop it, the pain or worry just goes on and on.

In the case of pain there are mental techniques you can use to reduce or even eliminate it, or rather to reduce or eliminate the unpleasant effects.  Most of us either don't know those techniques or find them too difficult to use when we are distracted by severe pain.  But there is medication we can use which can be very effective in numbing the pain.  Likewise for worry.

One problem with medication is that if you use it too much you become dependent on it, and at the same time it can become less and less effective.  It is much better if you can deal with the root of the problem, in this case the worry, rather than taking drugs to dull your reaction to it.

Once the worry has done its job of making you aware that "Houston, we have a problem!" the first thing you must do is address that problem.  It would have been very foolish of Jack Swigert, the Apollo 13 astronaut, simply to have ignored the problem, pretended it didn't exist, and hope it would go away.  He did the right thing and took action.  It would be very foolish of you, too, to ignore the problem when a worry arises.  You must focus on what the worry is warning you about.  Identify the problem, look at what action or actions you can take to address the problem, decide on the most appropriate actions, and take them.  This should always be the first step.

Having taken the appropriate actions you no longer need the worry.  But unless you do something about it that worry will remain.  At this point it is not only unnecessary but also usually counter-productive.  It can leave you like a rabbit caught in the headlights and stop you taking the necessary actions.  And remember what usually happens to that rabbit if it doesn't take immediate action!

The way I always deal with "post action" worry is a technique I have used since childhood, and I can guarantee it has always worked for me.

The technique, in a nutshell, is very simple.

First list the possible end results of whatever it is that is worrying you.  What are the most devastating possible results?  How likely are they?  Cross out any that are very unlikely.  Then focus on the most devastating of those that remain.

At this point you are now going to do something counter-intuitive, especially if, like me, you believe in and practise the Law of Attraction.  You are going to imagine that this has already happened.  What changes will that mean in your life?  Is there anything you can and should do to react to those changes and make your life a little better?  Don't skip past this step, worrying (see that word again?) that you will invoke the Law of Attraction and create the very problem you want to avoid.  Yes, if you stop there, like that rabbit, then you WILL invoke the Law of Attraction.  You are NOT going to stop there, but you do first have to experience this situation in your mind.

Now answer this question.  Just how bad is life for you now this bad thing has happened?  How does this compare with other bad experiences you have had previously?  How does it compare with the bad things you have seen around you or on the news that have happened to others less fortunate than you?  Once you have taken the actions you have thought about to limit the damage, then how bad is it?

Perhaps I have been fortunate, but in the 50 years I have been doing this I have never yet come across a problem that still seemed completely overpowering once I have analysed it in this way.  Not even when I was diagnosed with cancer.

Once you have accepted the possible consequences of whatever has been worrying you, go back to the action you have taken or have resolved to take which will probably make the problem go away anyway.  Recognize that because you have done this, the bad experience you have just analyzed will probably not happen anyway.  Focus on that action.  Make sure you do everything possible to help it counter the identified problem. 

Or if there is no action you can and should take, then focus anyway on the possible positive outcomes.  In my experience, most of the things we worry about never actually happen, or if they do they cause much less damage than we expect.  So focus on this.  Now you ARE using the Law of Attraction, so don't skip this step either, as it is making it far less likely that your life will be affected badly by the problem.

Once you have taken all these steps, you have done all you can.  The worry has done its job.  Thank it for making you aware of the problem, and then simply allow it to slip away.  Believe me, if you follow these step properly then slip away it will.

And that is it!  This is a complete strategy for dealing with worry.  Not something I just read about and thought it sounded like a nice idea, but a strategy I have used successfully for the past 50 years.  Use it properly, and watch your worries melt away!

World View

What is your world view, your "weltanschauung"?

Do you see the world as a hostile place in which you have to fight in order to survive?  Or do you see it as a nurturing place that wants you to achieve whatever you want to achieve and will work with you to get you there?

Whichever answer you gave is the correct answer.  Even though those two answers are complete opposites.  Why?  How can this be?

The reality is that the world in which you live is whatever you make it, however you perceive it.  For too many people that means it is indeed that hostile place even though it need not be this way.

So let me ask a slightly different question.  How would you like the world in which you live to be?  Think about this carefully, as you really do have the power to change it if you wish.  Not through any magical power, but simply because the world really is however you make it, however you perceive it.

If you believe the world is "conspiring" with you to help you achieve whatever it is you really want to achieve, then it will.  I happen to believe there is a universal law that the world around me is continually "re-shaped" by my beliefs and thoughts.  But you don't even need to believe this.  If you believe the world is working with you then you will be looking for and open to the positive things around you that will help you in whatever it is you want to do.  I personally do see the world around me as magical, and constantly wonder at the way this magic works for me.  But there is nothing really magical about the idea that there are things and people around you that will help you.  There ARE such things and people around you all the time and you simply have to open your eyes and see them.

But equally, if you believe the world is "conspiring" against you and working to put obstacles in the way of everything you want to do, then it will do that too.  Yes, because of the "Law of Attraction", certainly.  But also because if you believe the world is working against you then you will be looking for all the negative things and people around you that will get in the way and prevent you from achieving what you want to achieve.  Again, there is nothing magical about this.  Certainly there are such negatives out there.  Certainly there will be obstacles and setbacks.  But if all you can see is those negatives then that is simply the way your life will be.

So, I ask you again.  How would you like your world to be?  Do you want it to be hostile or helpful?  Hopefully, like me, you want it to be helpful.  Take it from me, if that is how you want it to be then that is exactly how it can be.

Yes, there will still be setbacks.  Yes, there will be disappointments.  I am no "Pollyanna" who believes that all that is required is to have a positive mindset and all will be right in the world.  I know that will not always be the case.  But my world view is still that ultimately everything around me can help me move in the direction I want to move if only I will let it.  Make sure you do the same and you can see an enormous and positive difference in your life.

Money is the root of all evil

Money is the root of all evil.  Isn't it?

Actually, no, it is not!  Most certainly not!

What actually is money?  What it should be is a measure of the value that you have given to society.  Sometimes that measure doesn't work very well, with society giving greater value to some things and lesser value to others than perhaps should be the case.  But, for all its faults and limitations, that is what money is supposed to be and what in principle it is.

If money is a measure of the value you have given, how can this be evil?  It may be faulty; it may not be as good a measure as we want it to be; but clearly it is not evil.  Not unless you believe giving value to others is evil!

So where does this idea that money is the root of all evil come from?

It actually comes from a misquote of something St Paul wrote to his young disciple Timothy.  What Paul wrote was "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."  That is quite different.   Paul was certainly not saying there was anything wrong with money itself, just with the way some people respond to it.  Money itself is not evil, nor is the possession of money evil.  What is evil is simply greed.

Unfortunately, the misconception that money is the root of evil is buried deep in almost all of us.  Consciously most of us know that money is neutral - it is how you view it and how you use it that can either be good or evil.  But unconsciously we have this deep-seated belief that money itself and the possession of wealth are both evil.

It is very important to try to unearth this deep-seated and quite wrong belief about money.  Until you do you will find you have two big problems.

Firstly, you will feel uncomfortable about any wealth you have now, be it very small or very large.  You may not recognize that this is the way you feel, so it will probably just express itself as a general feeling of dissatisfaction.  Don't allow this to happen.  Why feel uncomfortable for no reason whatsoever?

Secondly, your subconscious mind will "know" that as money makes you uncomfortable it is best not to let you have any.  That is a disastrous situation!  Your subconscious is extremely powerful, and if it has decided you should not have money, or at least should not increase your wealth, you will find it extremely difficult to become any wealthier than you already are.  And that is exactly the situation most people are in!

One way to begin countering this unwarranted prejudice is to start thinking about what I have said money is - a measure of the value you give.  Think about it very positively in this way.  Think about the value you give to your employer if you are an employee, and to your clients if you are in business for yourself.  If you feel you do not give much value, then maybe it is time to think more carefully about what you are doing and whether, in fact, you should be doing something different.

Think about other ways you can give value to society and to those around you.  As you do this, gradually you should find opportunities begin to arise for you to give that value and to receive money in return.  The more you focus on this the more such opportunities will arise.

The other way to counter it is to think about all the good you can do with any increase in your wealth you might achieve.  Good you can do for your family and friends.  Good you can do for others around you.  There is so much good you can achieve if only you have enough wealth to fund those plans.

Perform both these exercises regularly and you should find that your money "blocks" will gradually disappear.  As they disappear, opportunities to increase your wealth will arise.  Many of these opportunities have actually been there all the time, but you did not recognize them because you were restrained by your wrong inner belief that money is evil.  Other opportunties will also arise, gravitating to you by the Law of Attraction, which is another subject for another day.

Law of Attraction

I have often referred to the Law of Attraction in my blog posts.  But what exactly is it, what does it do, how does it do it, and how important is it to you and your own personal development?

First let me clarify.  The Law of Attraction is not something you can choose to use or to ignore.  Whether or not you like it you are "using" it all the time.  Whether or not you believe in it, the Law of Attraction is working right now and even as you read this it is bringing certain things into your sphere of influence.

The concept is actually very simple.  Like attracts like.  If you focus on certain things, those things are more likely to be attracted into your life.

Most of us, unfortunately, use the Law of Attraction in completely the wrong way, and that is why we get the wrong results.

Notice I said if you focus on certain things, those are the kinds of things the Law of Attraction will bring to you.  Not necessarily exactly the same things, but at least vaguely similar.  Also, maybe only indirectly.  Perhaps what will come into your sphere will be an opportunity to begin obtaining what it is you have focussed on.  But you have to recognize that opportunity.  Most people do not recognize it and therefore do not take advantage of it - and then they complain that the Law of Attraction did not work because it did not bring them the things they wanted.  That is a very lazy attitude, and if you are lazy you are unlikely to get very far in obtaining whatever it is you want.

Even worse, far too many people focus on what is wrong in their life rather than what is good and could be great in their life.  If you focus on what is wrong you will simply attract more of it.  The Law of Attraction will work.  It will respond properly to the instructions you are effectively giving it.  But those instructions are for completely the wrong things.

Take wealth, for example.  When you consider your own wealth do you focus on the fact that you are not wealthy enough?  That you don't have the money you need in order to achieve whatever you want to achieve?  If so, you are probably condemning yourself to losing even the wealth you currently have.  Certainly you are making it much more likely that you will lose it.

Jesus told his disciples "Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." (Matthew 13:12).  There are a number of different interpretations of this, but one is that if you are someone who "does not have" it means you are focussed on that lack rather than the abundance you could have.  Focus on what you do have, albeit so small, and be thankful for it, and you will find it will increase - maybe directly, or maybe indirectly, with the Universe putting you in the right place at the right time to create more of that good in your life.

So take away these three things:

1. Stop focussing on things you do not want to have in your life.
2. Be grateful for all the good things in your life, and express that gratitude
3. Recognize that the Universe brings opportunities to you all the time to increase those good things in your life - look for those opportunities and be ready to seize them.

Do this and you will find that little by little you are using the Law of Attraction properly, and more and more good things will begin to appear in your life.

Manifestation and the Supernal Triad

If you really want to manifest your desires you need to use the principles expressed in the Qabalah as the Supernal Triad.

I hope you haven't switched off at this point.  Yes, I know that unless you have studied the Tree of Life what I have just written is probably Double Dutch to you!  But bear with me - the concept is both important and easy to understand.

Before I go any further let me reassure you.  I am not saying you have to learn the basics of the Qabalah in order to manifest properly.  Rather, I am just saying that the Qabalah neatly outlines what you must do in order to manifest your desires, even if when you do so you do not realize what you are doing has a Qabalistic interpretation.

In Qabalah, the Supernal Triad is the top three "Sephiroth" of the Tree of Life.  It is the way the Supreme Being begins creation.  And used properly it is the way we, too, create reality from our inner dreams.

There are three points in the Supernal Triad, as you probably realize from the name.  They are "Kether", "Binah" and "Chokmah".  Some describe Kether as the Soul, Binah as the Womb into which the Soul enters, and Chokmah as the force of Creation that results when the Soul enters the Womb.  But there are also other names for these three Sephiroth, and those names show you what you need to do in order to manifest properly.

Kether, the Soul is also known as "Desire".  Binah, the Womb, is "Imagination".  Chokmah, Creation, is "Visualization".

In order to manifest you must have all three in balance.  Miss out any one of the three and you will have, at best, a very lukewarm power to turn your dreams into reality.  More likely nothing will happen at all and you will walk away from the whole concept of the Law of Attraction complaining it doesn't work.

The work of Manifestation begins with Desire.  If you do not really desire whatever it is you are dreaming of it will remain as just a dream.  Your desire has to be strong.  Like a flame in a furnace you can stoke up your desire as long as there is a spark of desire there in the first place.  But make sure you are focussed on a real dream.  Too many people think they really want to achieve something, but the desire is not strong enough simply because they have not truly identified their real dream.

Once you have fanned your Desire into a passion, it is ready to act - which it does by entering the womb of Imagination to create through Visualization.

Imagination is important.  Too many people go straight from Desire to Visualization and miss out the step of Imagination.  You need to use your Imagination to begin creating the right Visualization.  Stoke up your Desire, and then begin using your Imagination to create the right scene.  If you use your Imagination properly you will find it automatically leads to a powerful Visualization.

If you find you don't have enough Imagination to create a vivid Visualization, such that it seems, when you close your eyes, to be as solid as the "reality" you see around you when you open your eyes, you should work on improving your Imagination.  To some people this comes naturally.  Those are the people who find the Law of Attraction works for them the moment they hear about the need to Visualize, as long as they are Visualizing something they truly Desire.  But it can also be a learned skill.  Like any other skill, you need to study it and then practise it.  One way to build your imagination is to read voraciously.  Pick authors who write powerfully, whose books are filled with descriptive paragraphs.  Read those paragraphs and then picture the scenes in your mind.  After you put the book down, re-visit the scene.  Try to see it in detail.  And don't just see it - use all your other senses too.  Hear it.  What do you smell?  What do you feel?  If, for example, you are reading a Joseph Conrad book with the setting in a jungle in Southeast Asia, imagine yourself in that jungle.  You are so hot!  The sweat is pouring off you.  There are the smells of strange plants around you.  This really works!

I have mentioned Joseph Conrad.  Yes, his novels are now very dated.  But they are also very powerful and a great source of scenes to improve your skills of imagination.  Or try Ernest Hemingway - another now perhaps dated, but very powerful author.  John Steinbeck, perhaps.  If you are into science fiction (or maybe even if you are not!) try Ray Bradbury or Brian Aldiss.  There are very many authors who are really great at building a scene, where you can visualize what they are describing as you read.  Just remember to keep practising re-creating those scenes even when you are not reading.

Once you have gained the skill of re-creating in your mind the scenes from the books, use that same skill to Visualize whatever it is you desire.  Again, use all your senses.  As you do so, fill the scene you are Visualizing with your deep Desire to make this dream a reality.  By doing this properly you will be using the full Supernal Triad which is the Universal force of Creation, and you simply cannot fail.  You are using a Universal Law, and Universal Laws never fail.

If you wish to source any of the writers I have mentioned, try your local library.  Certainly Conrad, Hemingway and Steinbeck should be there as their works are absolute classics.  One disadvantage, though, is that you will have a limited time to practise your imagination skills.  Also, some people find it helps to highlight or underline the passages they want to visualize.  Don't do that to a library book!

An alternative is to buy the book from a reputable source.  I have listed the particular books I think you will find the best for this exercise, and given you quick links to the cheapest copies I have found on Amazon.  Just click the link and it will take you to the right page to order it.  The first list is if you wish to pay in US$ and the second if you wish to pay in UK£.

US Versions:

Joseph Conrad - "Heart of Darkness"

Joseph Conrad - "Lord Jim"

Ernest Hemingway - "The Old Man and the Sea"

John Steinbeck - "The Grapes of Wrath"

Ray Bradbury - "The Illustrated Man"

Brian Aldiss - "Hothouse"

UK Versions:

Joseph Conrad - "Heart of Darkness"

Joseph Conrad - "Lord Jim"

Ernest Hemingway - "The Old Man and the Sea"

John Steinbeck - "The Grapes of Wrath"

Ray Bradbury - "The Illustrated Man"

Brian Aldiss - "Hothouse"

Finally, if you would like some help in using words, sounds and images to improve your Creative Visualization techniques, try using Mind Movies.  This is a brilliant way of focusing your Desire through Imagination into Visualization, and therefore using the Universal Law of the Supernal Triangle to create reality out of your dreams.  Click here to find out more.

How to Expand your Sphere of Availability

In my last article I outlined the concept of the Law of the Sphere of Availability, which came as quite a shock to a number of readers.  Some Law of Attraction gurus view it as a kind of heresy.  If we have the power of the Universe behind us, then how can there be any limits on what we can achieve?  And if there are no limits, then surely the Sphere of Availability is infinite!  If you really want something, then it is available to you right now as long as you use the Law of Attraction properly.

Those who read my article carefully will know that I did state quite clearly that there are no limits on what the Universe can bring us, and that the reason we do not achieve all that we wish to achieve is because of limits we create ourselves.  But just because we have created those limits ourselves, it does not make them any the less real or penetrable.  I am a firm believer in the infinite power of the Universe, and am a great optimist, but I also know that I, for one, cannot simply suddenly decide I want my bank account to expand by a factor of a million, affirm and visualize properly for it, and then expect that to happen overnight.  As has been said many times (and accredited to many different people) "the difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer!"  So be ready to accomplish difficult challenges but don't immediately expect the impossible!

So, is there anything we can do to expand our Sphere of Availability, and expand it rapidly and substantially?

As I have already said in the earlier article, begin expanding your Sphere of Availability by taking full advantage of it, and manifesting the things you desire from within it rather than initially trying for things well outside it.  You could imagine the Sphere as something a bit like the horizon.  If you simply stay where you are, it does not move, but it expands as you move towards it.  Don't sit there saying there is no point in trying to move forward because you can see the limit ahead of you and what you want is beyond that limit.  Start moving towards your goal and watch the Sphere of Availability move and embrace that goal.

Do not underestimate the power of doing this.  Maybe start in a small way until you get used to it.  Even a few steps forward moves the horizon a few steps further forward.  After just those few steps you are unlikely to notice the effect, but believe me it is there!  Get into the habit of congratulating yourself for your small successes, and thanking the Universe for granting them to you.  This will encourage you and you will find you can make larger steps.  And as you make those larger steps the expansion of your Sphere of Availability becomes more and more obvious.

What else can you do?

Going back to the horizon metaphor, if you really want to see it expand more quickly, then ride a bicycle rather than walk, ride a car rather than cycle, fly an airplane rather than drive.  In other words, use the right tools.  If you don't yet have an airplane, use a car, and if you cannot afford a car get a bicycle.  This, too, is using the Law of the Sphere of Availability - use what is available to you now rather than sitting down in the middle of the road crying because you don't have something better and faster.  If you keep your eyes open you will see many tools available to you.  Some are very effective but maybe cost more than you can afford right now.  Some are completely free, but are more like bicycles than airplanes!  Use what you can now, but remain alert and "upgrade" your tools once you are in a position to do so.  Such tools include the use of a personal coach, webinars, courses, blog articles etc.

As well as moving towards your goal and seeing the Sphere expand, start trying to find about about your self-created limits.  What are they?  Why are they there?  How can you remove them?

Some of those limiting beliefs were created in you when you were a small child.  Some you picked up later in life when you fell at a hurdle and came to belief that it is impossible ever to jump over a hurdle.  They are reinforced by you and also often by the people surrounding you.  Initially just try to become aware of what they are and then try to find what is continuing to feed them and keep them strong.

Most of these "Abundance Blocks" are hidden deep inside you, so it can often be very difficult even to find them, let alone to get rid of them.  There is a free masterclass on finding and ridding yourself of abundance blocks which you can study online at a date and time convenient to you.  This is called "Unblock Your Abundance", and it is run by the world-renowned expert on removing Abundance Blocks, Christie Marie Sheldon.   Regard taking that masterclass as riding a bicycle rather than walking.  You can find that masterclass here:

http://mval.li/?a=84&c=1762&p=r&s1=

When you have completed the class you will find there are options for you to upgrade your bicycle to a car or a plane if you are ready and willing to do so.  Or just keep cycling for free - it is certainly a lot better than walking or, even worse, standing still and just moaning that the horizon hasn't moved!

Sphere of Availability

Have you ever tried to use the Law of Attraction and found it simply didn't work for you?  Have you ever tried visualizing really hard for what you want, used good, positive affirmations for it, and still found it never materialized?

There can be many different reasons for not being able to materialize a desire.  The problem is not with the Law of Attraction, which works, but with the way in which you are applying it.

I have covered some of those reasons in other blog articles, but here I am going to cover a Universal Law many Law of Attraction coaches do not mention at all, gloss over, or even downright deny it exists - the Law of the Sphere of Availability.

We are taught not to set limits to our desires, that the Universe has no limits and neither should we.  We are told that the only limits on what we can achieve are the limits we set ourselves.

This is all very true.  There ARE no limits to what the Universe can bring to us.  Universal power is unlimited power.  The limits appear only when that unlimited power tries to express itself through a limited being.

I do not disagree with any of this.  In fact, I teach this myself.  But it is still important to understand and apply the Law of the Sphere of Availability, which seems to contradict everything I have just said above.

First, what is the Law of the Sphere of Availability?  It is a Universal Law that defines what is readily available to you and what is not.

If the Universe is unlimited, how come there is a Universal Law that creates limits on what you can achieve?

One way of looking at this is as the exception that proves the rule.  The Universe has no limits, but we do.  Self-created limits.  Limits we could do something to remove or at least stretch further, but nevertheless real limits that we have to recognize exist.  As long as a limit is there, it is pointless trying to ignore it.

Let me give you an example.  Suppose you want a 5 bedroom house, but at the moment are living with your parents and have no capital or income.  Is the 5 bedroom house within your Sphere of Availability?  If you are like most people, I would say no, it is not within your Sphere of Availability.  It may be that you are so gifted in your use of the Law of Attraction that it IS within your Sphere of Availability, but this would be extremely unusual.  It would make sense in this case to go for something more realistic.

At this point there will probably be Law of Attraction coaches and practitioners screaming at me, telling me not to add to the problem by making people believe there are limits.  Well, there ARE limits!  As I have said, there are ways of removing some limits completely and expanding the Sphere of Availability for others.  But until that is done, those limits are there and we have to respect this.

Work within your own Sphere of Availability.  Have big dreams, and visualize and affirm for those big dreams.  But also work on dreams that are within your current Sphere of Availability.  These will be much easier to achieve, and those early successes will encourage you.  They will also expand your Sphere of Availability, so you can now begin manifesting bigger dreams.  This expansion of your Sphere of Availability happens in two ways. 

Firstly, having acquired or achieved something, this has hopefully brought you closer to your big dream.  For example, the person who was living with his parents and with no income uses the Law of Attraction to get a job.  He now has income, and so he starts to visualize for his own apartment.  When he gets that, then his dream of a 5 bedroom house is very much closer and may now even be within his Sphere of Availability.

Secondly, the small successes make you realize that the Law of Attraction really does work.  This now makes it easier for you to use it for bigger dreams than you could have used it for earlier.  Perhaps not your really big dream yet, but certainly bigger dreams.

Put both of these together and you will find you can expand your Sphere of Availability quicker than you might have thought possible.

Ultimately there ARE no limits.  You ARE worth far more than you give yourself credit for.  You CAN achieve your biggest dreams.  But use your knowledge of the Sphere of Availability properly so that you really CAN get there rather than trying to manifest only "unrealistic" goals and then complaining that the Law of Attraction doesn't work!  As the old adage goes "learn to walk before you run" - but notice it DOESN'T say "you can only walk, so don't ever bother trying to run"!

Luck or Skill?

I want you to imagine you are watching a group of people playing poker.  Don't worry - I am not encouraging you to gamble, but just using this to illustrate a very important point!

One of the players, Fred, keeps winning.  He shows top hand after top hand.  A Royal Straight Flush, which is the best hand you could possibly have in the game, comes up twice!  The probability of just having one Royal Straight Flush is 0.000154% and he has two, one after the other.  The next two hands he loses.  Then he wins again with four aces, which is also a very rare, powerful hand.  After another losing hand he wins with a Full House (a percentage chance of 2.6% for this).  That is 4 winning hands in a series of 7.  In the first 3 winning hands he gains a lot of chips.  Fewer players throw chips at him when he wins with his Full House, but he still leaves the table having gained around 10 times the amount of money he brought to the table.

Another player, Stephen, loses quite a lot of his "stack" of chips in the first couple of hands.  One of those hands was three kings, and he bet a lot of his "stack" on that hand.   He wins the third hand with a pair of 10s, gaining most of the chips he originally lost.  He wins again on the fourth hand, but as everyone folds to him we cannot see what his hand was.  His winnings now have increased his "stack" to around double what he brought to the table.  He doesn't enter the last three hands at all.

Fred walked away having increased his funds tenfold.  Stephen doubled his funds.  Which of these two players would you feel was the better poker player and is likely to end up with the most money if they keep on playing for many hundreds of games?

The poker players among you may say I have not given you enough information to be certain of the answer.  True.  But you probably have enough to make a fairly reasonable guess.

If you have answered "Stephen", then congratulations!  From the very limited evidence before us he is probably the better player and will probably eventually make more money.

Fred was just very lucky.  The only times he won he had extremely rare hands.  That was the reason he won so much, as other players could reasonably have assumed they had the best hand and were probably right to bet heavily against him.

The thing about luck is that you cannot rely on it.  Skill, on the other hand, you CAN rely on.

A good poker player knows that when he loses money at the table that doesn't necessarily mean he was playing badly.  He will try to learn from the experience, perhaps realizing after the event that there were some body language signals he could have picked up to tell him just how good a hand his opponent had.  But he will also recognize that the best poker player in the world does not win the majority of hands he (or she) plays.  Even the best players lose more hands than they win.  But those hands they DO win eventually ensure they win a lot more money than they lose.

Life is like this too.  No matter how experienced you are in using the Law of Attraction you will not always win every single "battle" in your life.  But if you remain positive and apply the Law of Attraction properly you will win the "war" itself.  Each of your failures is just another step towards success.

Be very thankful when you are lucky.  Make sure the Universe (or God, if you prefer) knows you are very grateful for that luck.  Believe yourself to be a very lucky person.  Know that "lady luck" is on your side.  But also accept your failures gracefully.  Look at them carefully to see what, if anything, you can learn from them, but never be discouraged.  Accept that sometimes luck works against you but that a series of unlucky events is not a pattern of bad luck that will continue.  Your next lucky event is only just around the corner.

Greylag Geese and Why You are Not Successful

Has your past influenced the way you are now?  Of course it has!  We all have free will, but the decisions we make when we use that free will are highly conditioned by things that happened to us in the past.

In many cases that is a good thing.  You have a bad experience because of something you did, and that teaches you not to do the same thing again.  If this were just a memory, from which you could then make a logical decision, this would in many cases not give you enough time to modify your behaviour before it caused the same problems.  So we are all equipped with a way to make the "right" response instantly, before we even have time to think about the response.  This is called "imprinting".

The 19th century biologist, Douglas Spalding, discovered the phenomenon of imprinting and published his results in "Nature" in 1872.  Konrad Lorenz popularised the concept, particularly in his books on the studies he did on the behaviour of greylag geese.  Lorenz found the geese bond with the first object they see after they had hatched.  Normally this is a good thing, as it will be older geese who will show the younger geese what they should and shouldn't do.  But sometimes the process goes wrong, and the geese are inappropriately imprinted.  When this happens, the badly imprinted geese behave inappropriately, even when that behaviour causes them problems and maybe is even very dangerous for them.

The same thing applies to all of us.  Except our imprinting is certainly not limited to the first thing we see after we are born.  Many things influence us in this way throughout our childhood and on into our adult life as well.

For example, imagine as a child you hear your parents having a big argument.  This makes you very unhappy.  You notice the argument is about money - which is one of the commonest reasons for a couple to argue.  This imprints on you the idea that money is bad because it causes arguments and makes people unhappy.  And that imprinting creates within you a block that will always try to stop you making money.  Unless you find a way of dealing with this block it will be almost impossible for you to make much money.  Even if you do manage to make some, the block will act to make sure you lose it quickly!

Very many people have at least one "money block" that was imprinted on them from early childhood.  I would go as far as to say the majority of people have "money blocks".  They also have many other blocks, which stop them from achieving anything they have set their heart on - success, a fabulous life partner, etc.  Which means the majority of people will find the manifestation techniques they learn simply don't seem to work for them.  They study all the books they can find on the Law of Attraction, try to put it into practice, and eventually give up in disgust.  They decide all this talk about affirmations and how you can attract all you wish for through the power of thought is nonsense.

Does this sound at all familiar?  Perhaps you have reached this phase and are ready to give up trying.  Or maybe you are not as far down that road, but are still getting frustrated that nothing seems to work for you.  It could even be that you have only just started, are full of enthusiasm, and have not yet realized how difficult the journey is going to be.

Whereever you are on your journey to your definition of success, you need to find and eliminate the many blocks you have which will either make it impossible or very difficult to reach your goal.

Manifesting

Law of Attraction.  Visualization.  Affirmation.  Vision Board.  Mind Movies.  Manifesting.

You have probably come across all these words and phrases at some point.  But which one is the odd one out?  The last one.  The first five are techniques you can use in order to be successful, in order to manifest whatever it is you really want.  Whether or not you use some or all of these techniques, one thing I can guarantee - you are manifesting something.  The question is - what?

For most people, what they are manifesting is not what they want.  But that does not mean they are not manifesting.  They are doing it all the time.  The universe is responding to the commands they are giving.  It is just that they do not realize what those commands are, or that they are giving them.

Myths and fairy tales contain a great deal of truth.  They are often a way of passing on a truth that we might miss if we were told it outright.  Do you recall, as a child, hearing the story of the genie who had to give three wishes to his "owner" (usually the person who rubbed a lamp that allowed the genie to escape)?  Inevitably, the person making the wishes didn't phrase those wishes correctly, with the result that they got exactly what they wished for but were unhappy with what that was.  I remember reading those stories and thinking how silly the "hero" of the story was.  Fancy having all that power and using it to make the wrong wish come true!  What I didn't realize as a child is that this fairy tale, like most, hides a true story which has meaning for every one of us.  The only real difference is that we are not limited to three wishes.  We can make as many wishes as we want, and our genie will make them come true.  That is the power of manifesting.  But just like the unfortunate people in the fairy tale, most of the wishes we make are not in our best interests at all.

Once you know that you are continually manifesting it is easier to decide that you will manifest what you really want.  It makes no difference to the universe.  If you ask it for something that is not what you really want, it will still give it to you.  And then you will complain that you never get what you want.  A fatal mistake!  Because of the way manifesting works, by making such a complaint you will be asking the universe for more of the same - and it will respond by giving you more of what you don't want.

The key to manifesting what you really want is to learn the language of the universe and then to use that language.  I don't mean "language" as in English, French, Chinese, Urdu etc.  It is a language without words.  Or, rather, the language hidden behind those words.  This language is positive, not negative.  It is free from guilt.  It knows, without question, that the universe will respond in the right way.  And it is thankful for what the universe has given - even before anyone can see that it has given it.

Now that you know you are always manifesting, start using those techniques I have listed.  Each one builds on all the others.  You will find plenty of material on each if you search for it.  A lot is right here in my blog.  For those of you who have subscribed to my e-mails, you will find plenty more, as I am constantly searching out the very best programs and letting my subscribers know about them, as well as giving links to free training.  If you have not already subscribed, do so now by going here:  www.beallican.com.

Bucket Lists and Personal Evolution Strategy

Let me begin this article with a confession.  I don't have a bucket list and I am probably not going to make one.

I have always seen the concept of a bucket list as rather a fad that started with the film of the same name, which was released in 2007.  A film about two old men dying of cancer and trying to complete a list of things they want to do before they die.  I don't think it is necessary to have a bucket list just because everyone else seems to have one.

But I do agree it is a good idea to have a list of things I would like to do, places I would like to visit etc.  A list that isn't set in stone.  On the contrary, one that will constantly change as I grow.  Yes, at the time of writing I may be 63 but I am certainly still growing, mentally, emotionally and spiritually even though not physically, and I hope you are too.

I also agree it is a good idea to write it down, so it is a proper list, rather than just have a vague idea of what I would like to achieve some day.  If you practice the Law of Attraction you should be doing this anyway, to help bring those things closer, but if for some reason you are not a believer in the Law of Attraction you should still write those things down or you are bound to have some you simply forget - especially if you are close to my age or older!

The reason the word "bucket" is used here is because of the euphemism "kick the bucket", meaning "die", hence a list of things to do before you die.  When I thought deeper about this recently I looked up what are the commonest expressed regrets of those who are dying.  What do the dying say they most wish they had done.  Here is the list I found:

• I wish I had lived a life true to myself, not to what was expected of me
• I wish I hadn't worked so hard
• I wish I had expressed my feelings more
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my family and friends
• I wish I had let myself be happier

Now THAT is a bucket list I can work with!  Not as the list itself, but as a starting point to produce a list.  As a list of areas to work on so I don't have any regrets when I die.  My Personal Evolution Strategy.

Take a look at each of these regrets in turn.  Make sure you do agree you would regret it if at the point of your death you had to say any of those things.  One good way to do this is to re-state each of the regrets as its opposite.

For example, "I wish I had done what was expected of me instead of living a life true to myself!"  Can you honestly say that?  I hope not!  If it feels absolutely wrong to you to say it, then you know "I wish I had lived a life true to myself, not to what was expected of me" would be a genuine regret.

Take 5 sheets of paper (or more if you have come up with some other broad concepts which don't fit into any of these 5) and, at the top of each sheet, write a positive statement reflecting the appropriate wish.  Make sure it is positive and written in the present tense so you are visualizing it as a reality, something which is a part of your essential being right now, not at some vague time in the future.  You have a birth certificate so you know the exact day you were born, but you don't yet have a death certificate, so you don't know the exact day you are going to die.  It could be tomorrow!  In fact, not wishing to be morbid, but with the number of people who regularly read my blog articles it is very likely it WILL be tomorrow for at least one or two!  So if you want to avoid having those regrets this needs to be a new "you" starting today, not next week or next year!

Here are my suggestions, although you may choose slightly different wordings:

• I live a life true to myself
• I take plenty of time off to spend with my loved ones doing the things we love
• I always express my feelings fully
• I spend lots of time with my family and friends
• I always allow myself to be as happy as I can be

Now reflect on each of them and tease out exactly what they mean to you.  You will need to spend quite a long time teasing some of them out, as they can be very broad.  Also it may be very difficult at first even to understand what this particular heading really means.  What is "a life true to myself" for example?  The answer to that may take a few hours of reflection rather than just a few minutes.

I suggest you do each of these as a form of meditation at first, and then when your brief meditation has finished you can write copious notes.

Once you have done this, use those notes to identify particular things you wish to achieve so you fulfill much better what you have written in the heading.

Finally, on another 5 sheets of paper, write each heading again, and underneath write the specifics, again in a positive manner in the present tense.  Staple the pages together and you have your Personal Evolution Strategy.  Resolve to yourself that this is your strategy and start doing the specifics you have written.  In the space of just one day you will probably find you have made an enormous jump forward in your personal evolution.  Keep making these quantum leaps and there will be one fewer people in the world who will have real regrets when he or she dies!

By all means create a traditional "bucket list" if you wish.  Certainly have your growing and evolving list of things you wish to achieve, places you wish to visit etc.  But far more powerful than these is your Personal Evolution Strategy which is now the starting point for what you really wish to and can accomplish in this life.

Be the Change

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”

This was written by Mahatma Gandhi in 1913, paraphrased on bumper stickers to "Be the change you wish to see in the world".

How true!  On so many levels!

The only thing you can change in human society directly is yourself.  You can encourage others to change, but you cannot change them; only they can do that.  But indirectly you most certainly can, and you do that by changing yourself.

Do you want world peace?  Guess what?  The way to begin creating world peace is to begin by making yourself peaceful.

But notice also the third sentence.  "As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him."  I believe this is one of the missing keys to Manifestation.

Thousands of people, perhaps even millions, have tried Manifestation, Affirmation, Creative Visualization, the Law of Attraction - it comes in many guises and with many different names, but the concept is the same.  They try it, but then give up because (they say) it doesn't work.  Are you one of those people?  I hope not!  It does work as long as you do it properly.

Does what you focus on materialize?  Perhaps.  But certainly not every time.  Not even most of the time.  The world would be completely chaotic if it did.  Just imagine it for one moment!  Think how many completely irreconcilable demands there would be on the universe!  There would be signs of the laws of physics being broken all the time.  After all, Jesus did tell his disciples "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Perhaps you think this makes me a sceptic.  Why am I saying something that appears to go against what all Law of Attraction coaches teach?

Well, firstly, if you really take the Law of Attraction very seriously and study properly under a good coach you will find that is not what the best coaches teach.  What has happened is that people have extracted "sound bites" from the pure teachings and then pass these little extracts on as though they are the entire story.  Is Christianity a religion that teaches its followers to uproot mountains?  Not a bit of it!  But if the only verse in the Bible you have read is Matthew 17:20 then you could be forgiven for thinking it was.

Secondly, and the best coaches will certainly teach you this, good practice of the Law of Attraction begins with you changing your own nature.  Change what you are to reflect what it is you want to achieve and the Universe will recognize that and will begin to reward you by returning to you the things that fit with that new nature.

Have you ever noticed that lottery winners tend to lose most of their money within a few years of receiving it, or even faster?  Also, have you ever noticed that people who have created a fortune themselves can lose it all but quite quickly get it all back again?  Here are just a few examples of the latter:

• Walt Disney's first film company went bust in 1922.  I don't think I need remind you that this was not the end of the Walt Disney empire!  Why?  Because he was Walt Disney!  It is who he was!


• Larry King filed for bankruptcy in 1978.  In 2015 he was estimated to be worth around $150 million.  Why?  Because he is Larry King!  It is who he is!


• Francis Ford Coppola filed for bankruptcy twice.  The latest information I could find on his net worth is $100 million.  Why?  Because he is Francis Ford Coppola!  It is who he is!


• Kim Basinger had $5.4 million in 1993.  She was sued for $8.1 million and went bankrupt.  In 2014 she was worth $36 million.  Why?  Because she is Kim Basinger!  It is who she is!

You are probably saying "I am not Walt Disney, Larry King, Francis Ford Coppola or Kim Bassinger".  But that is the point!  Each of these people have (or had) something within them that made them who they are.  Take away their wealth and it just comes back, because of who they are.  Believe it or not, you can and should also change your internal nature so that the Universe begins to provide you with what it is you really want.

This is only the first step.  Once you have taken it you must also do those things in the "sound bites" you have probably already read in articles on Manifesting and the Law of Attraction.  But take that step first.  Be the change you wish to see!

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!