How to Get from Where you are to Where you Want to Be!

How to get from where you are to where you want to be - health, abundance, and success! Or Are you Programmed for Success? The television blares. There is a commercial about antacids. The advertisement describes the stomach of a person with acid indigestion. “The tight, uncomfortable feeling, the accompanying headache and nausea…” Across the screen flashes the picture of an upset stomach. Little acid particles eating the lining of the stomach. It is graphic and compelling. You observe the discomfort of the sufferer – you relate to the animation and squirm with discomfort. The idea of acid indigestion has been properly implanted in the your mind and the antacid product flies off the shelf of the nearest drugstore. This scene captures an event taking place in millions of homes across the United States and the world, every night. People glued to their television screen being informed repeatedly that they could be the victims of indigestion, tooth decay, bad breath, or social exclusion because they don’t wear the correct deodorant, drink the right beer, or drive the coolest car. Television, radio, newspapers, billboards, and junk mail contribute to the bombardment on our psyche with the same mental, verbal, emotional, and pictoral suggestions. This on-slaught of negativity exemplifies misuse of mental energy or thought power. The advertiser’s insistent, often dramatic tone, creates an urgency to purchase the products that consumer had not previously contemplated. In some cultures this process would be considered “black magic.” That means it plants in your mind a condition or consequence, and because your guard is down, you succumb and make it your own. That is what mental suggestion is and why it works. People are most easily entrained into a thought condition when relaxing unconsciously as they listen and watch television. Of course that is not the only time, we let others take over and dominate our thoughts. Whenever our reasoning faculties are turned off, we are in a kind-of trance. Generally a person parks in front of the TV to relax and be entertained. They are tired, and don’t want to think, solve problems, or make plans. It is a great way to “tune out” for a while. Perfect! This fatigued state places the viewer in a beautifully vulnerable condition. The cute little advertisements flash on the screen with their catchy tunes and jingles. You mentally sing along. As you do, you have accepted their message into your mind. “You deserve a break today…” The cleverness of the lyrics determines how memorable the product is. “Have a Coke and a smile.” You grin a little. You wouldn’t dare have a party without it. The uniqueness of a commercial sets it more firmly in your mind. Frogs selling beer (that looks like fun). Skimpily clad models demonstrating exercise equipment (I want to look like that). Children looking like holocaust victims (their scary appearance grabs your attention). “You have got to help them.” Perhaps it is puppies with sad eyes. For the purpose of analysis, dissect a commercial. A typical advertisement for a “pain reliever” goes something like this. It begins with a detailed description of headache symptoms coupled with a human sufferer. You recognize and feel their pain as messages flash acrosss the screen. The graphics are followed by illustrations of the interior workings of the body. The messages portray how various areas are affected - the brain, nervous system, stomach, energy level, ability to enjoy life. Thus the initial problem, in this case a headache, becomes all inclusive. Your life is ruined. By the time the presentation concludes, the viewer is all in. He has engaged all physical senses – seeing, hearing, feeling, sensing. He has identified with (remembered) the pain. Depending on the vividness of imagination, he could also have touched, tasted, and smelled the malady. Because his guard is down and he is receptive to being entertained or informed, the viewer is vulnerable. “You say flu season is upon us. Excuse me, I’m not feeling too good right now. I believe my stomach is queasy and my head hurts!” Black magic….is the negative version of a shaman or medicine man repeating, “You are well” while he moves around with drums beating rhythmically. In other words, you can program the mind with negative or positive suggestions. Black magic is negative programming. White magic is positive. What magic are you using? It may not think that much of an impression can occur in the space of 30 or 60 seconds, but, multiply this by the number of repetitions throughout the day, the week, multiply by 52 weeks in a year, and by the various sources this type of information comes to you and you begin to grasp the magnitude of this type of mental programming. Of course, this type of sensory involvement is not limited to the media because we are inundated with similar negative ideas from the people who love us most. The process takes place every day with friends, family and coworkers as we listen to and empathize with their stories of victimhood and powerlessness. They drank the kool aid and they are passing it along to you. Mental programming is everywhere. Everyone has their ideas of what to be afraid of and how one can become a victim of something. Its on the evening news. You know the saying, “If it bleeds, it leads.” (This is how the lead story is chosen for the nightly news.) Thus drama, pain, suffering dominate our nightly update of current events. And it happens right before we go to bed at night allowing the subconscious mind time to gestate the pictures and information. And, then there is everyday conversation, “Did you know the virus is going around; everyone is getting it.” “That person is a pain in the neck (or some other part of the anatomy).” “That pisses me off (a nice set up for a urinary tract infection).” “That breaks my heart” leading to heart problems or “That burns me up (good for stomach aches)”. “He/she makes me sick”. What is your mental program? Does is sound similar to this? We are constant receptors of mental suggestions – media, friends, books, school, relatives, etc. It reminds me of the iconic movie, Manchurian Candidate, about an American soldier captured by the communists and programmed day and night with a hypnotic technique until all his defenses are broken and he functioned totally from outside control/suggestion. His assignment is to kill the presidential candidate. He attempted to do this with robot-like precision until; of course, the hero of the story discerned the plot and saved the day (and the movie). Perhaps your worldly experience is not as intense as the Manchurian Candidate, yet it could be. Victims succumb to their victimizers as a way of surviving. The recent “Me too” movement is an illustration. To get work in Hollywood you must succumb to the whims of the big dogs. (And I do mean “big dogs.”) That ruse is now being exposed for what it is – a way to victimize and intimiate fledgling actors and actresses. The same things happens in homes and businesses everywhere. In most cases, we do not realize that we are being programmed, and we often accept suggestions that are not in our best interest. Our defense in preventing the same robot-like state as the Manchurian Candidate is to become conscious, completely awake and fully aware of what is going on around us. We must engage our critical faculty. We must decide what is correct and appropriate for ourselves. We must reject ideas that are harmful and detrimental. Murdering someone may never be a suggestion given us. Yet we are continually offered opportunities to destroy our capabilities, our potential for success, and our state of health. Allowing others to dominate your thoughts and actions is not beneficial. When you give in to other’s ideas of reality, you are relinquishing your own. You have dominion over yourself and you will never fully evolve until you have accepted that. Lisa Nichols, a world renown motivational speaker tells her story of going from a struggling single mom on public assistance to a millionaire entrepreneur. She explains that her path to success started when she was broke, out of work, and had an infant son to care for. Her defining moment was when she decided that “no matter what she was going to make it.” It was at that instant that all the past negative programs of what she couldn’t do and why she wouldn’t be successful were trashed. She decided to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix. It was through clarity, focus, and determination that she moved forward grasping opportunities to grow and thrive and build a business called Motivating the Masses Inc. which ultimately went public. She set her own mental program in place and defined her future to become an industry giant, an acclaimed speaker, and media star. And she was awake and aware when she did it. The point is that you can do this too. It means making your own decisions and setting your own course. You will have to discontinue letting media marketing tell you want to think, feel, and buy. And you may have to dismiss “friends” who cannot support a picture of your success. And when you do this, you will begin to see without blinders what possibilties exist, and just like Lisa Nichols walk through the dark times to build your dream and success. It all starts with being positive. I am talented and able. I can and will build my natural abilities to become the success I choose to be. I am continually expanding in joy, abundance, love and expression. Each day new opportunities are offered to be more of what I truly am…. successful, beautiful, appreciated, loved, talented, expressive and abundant. Bottom line…become successful based on your interactions, personality, and disposition, not because you use a certain toothpaste, have the right hair style or wear designer jeans. Buying into false standards leads to developing a phony value system that complicates your life and keeps you powerless. Roger Crawford was born with rare birth defects that included a thumb-like projecction extending diretly out of righ forearem and a thumb and one finger out of his left forearm. He had no palms. His arms and legs were shortened. He had only three toes on his shrunken right foot and a withered left leg, which was later amputated. The doctor said that Roger would never walk or be able to take care of himself. Fortunately, his parents did not accept this. They taught their son that he was ony as handicapped as he wanted to be and never allowed him to feel sorry for himself or take advantage of people because of his handicap. Thus to complete his homework, Roger had to hold his pencil with both hands, writing very slowly. As a result, he regularly got into trouble because his school papers were late. To remedy the situation, Roger asked his dad to write a note to his teachers requesting a two-day extension. Instead, his dad made Roger start writing the papers two days earlier. Again, his parents instructions: you are only as handicapped as you want to be. As a result of this mental, physical programming Roger got into sports. First football where one day the ball landed in his hands and as he was running for the goal post, another player tackled him by grabbing his left leg. His prostetic leg pulled off into the player’s hands and Roger hopped acrosss the finish line carrying the ball and making a touchdown. Crawford went on to become a tennis player and the first physically handicapped player to be certified as a teaching professional by the United Stated Professsional tennis Association. He currently tours the country speaking to groups about being a winner. Crawford lives by the mantra, you are only as handicapped as you want to be. Can you compare your life to Roger’s? He says everyone has handicaps. You can see his but others are not so visible. What’s yours? Is it time to dump mental programs and beliefs that keep you limited and small. Crawford was not allowed to feel sorry for himself. Is it time for you to give up victimhood as well. You design your mental program and you also design your potential for success just like Lisa and Roger. Consider the ideas and beliefs you have been tutored with. Are any of these harmful or limiting. The issue is whether or not you allow other people – writers, public relations people, smiley girls in media ads, the president, your mother, best friend, or anyone – dictate your mental, emotional, or physical well being. Discrimination has to be practiced daily. That includes being selective in defining your state of health. How do you picture yourself? Can you identify with vibrant health? If you surrender control over your health, the consequences are negative because you have given up self-determination. I have offered examples of mental misuse, which incorporates fear techniques to motivate people to achieve specific outcomes, namely, buy a product. Now, consider the fear that is programmed into the other areas of your life. “If you give yourself credit, people won’t like you.” “You must worry about what the neighbors think of you.” “Be afraid of strangers.” “If you don’t have a college degree, you will fail in life.” “Put your desires aside to please others.” “Don’t make waves or create conflict.” These are typical beliefs handed to most of us during our domestication process. All of them undermine personal power. They affect the mental state (producing confusion and insecurity) the emotional condition (creating fear and anxiety) and your physical health. If you choose to live harmonious, healthy lives, you must develop healthy attitudes and beliefs. Discrimination is the key. Eliminate exposure to negative suggestions. Learn to manage stressful emotions. Make up your own mind including what you will accept as truth. To do this identify how you have achieved your present state and then replace fear-based beliefs with the truth of your Divine Identity -- that you exist as the vibrant energy of the Universe. We have all been designed with the potential and capacity for health, wealth, self-esteem and success. Decide what these things mean to you. Set your own goals and never relinquish the right of choice to anyone or anything outside yourself. To accept the limitations that we are confronted with daily is nothing less than blasphemy. And to allow small, fear-based ideas to define your expression, identity and state of health is wrong. Jean Walters is a Amazon Best Selling Author of Be Outrageous: Do the Impossible. She has also written Set Yourself Free: Live the Life you Were meant to Live! and Dreams and the Symbology of Life by Jean Walters-Lucy. All available on Amazon. You can reach her at jean@spiritualtransformation.com