To be able to work with mind power you don't have to understand the laws of physics or how reality manifests itself, just as you don't have to understand how an engine works in order to drive a car. (Mind Power Into the 21st Century), John Kehoe, (2005)).

In order to get an idea of what your mind is capable of, you need to at the least develop a cursory understanding of what we perceive as reality. We can start by examining the staggering new discoveries that have been made in physics over the last couple of decades. These breakthroughs have brought us closer to understanding how the mind creates its own reality. They help explain why visualizations are not just fantasies, but rather are a creative process which helps us control and direct the very same energies that hold matter together, change water into steam and causes a seed to sprout and grow.

Comprehending the nature of these energies assists us in understanding the mind, and shows us why inspiration, prayer and intuition are no more supernatural than thinking and breathing. They follow patterns and laws which we can discover and use as we will. Like everything else in the known universe, the powers of the mind are governed by laws which can be understood by everyone.

The new physics envisions the universe as a vast, inseparable web of dynamic activity. Not only is the universe alive, but everything in it affects everything else. At its most fundamental level, the universe seems to be a whole and undifferentiated sea of energy that permeates everything, every object, every act, everybody. Ironically, science is finally now catching up to, and confirming, what mystics, seers and occultists have been telling us for thousands of years.

Quantum physics has changed our concept of the world we live in. Particles are no longer thought to consist of basic "stuff"; rather they are seen as bundles of energy that can make sudden transitions, "quantum leaps," and start behaving more like waves of pure energy instead of bundles of connected units. This paradox confirms that reality is fluid and changing. Nothing is fixed. Everything, from the largest star to the smallest molecule is part of a pattern that's in constant motion

In this article, I'm not going to discuss the research and theories behind these principles and ideas. There are several great books on the subject. If you would like to learn more about quantum reality, I would suggest you read The Holographic Universe, by Michael Talbot (1992), Quantum Reality: Beyond The New Physics, by Nick Herbert (1985), and The Dreaming Universe, by Fred Alan Wolf (1994).

David Peat, a physicist at Queen's University in Canada, and author of the book, Synchronicity, The Bridge Between Matter and Mind, states that, "Our thought processes are much more intimately connected to the physical world than any of us would suspect."

In 1979, at Princeton University, Robert G. Jahn, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, established a research program to explore the "role of consciousness in the establishment of physical reality." After thousands of controlled experiments, Jahn and his associated published their finding, stating that there was now sufficient evidence to indicate unequivocally that the mind can and does directly affect physical reality.

We now understand that consciousness is energy, like everything else, but in its finest and most dynamic form. This insight helps to explain why events are affected by what we imagine, visualize, desire, want or fear, and why and how an image, held in the mind, can be made "real."

The first step to a new and more successful life is ridiculously simple. All you need to do is pay attention to your thoughts and direct them accordingly.

Your life's entirely of your own making, so look at the way you're living. You may claim you want financial abundance, yet you're constantly complaining about your lack of money and how expensive everything is. You brood over what you don't have and the bills you can't pay. You worry and wonder how you're going to make ends meet. You may want financial abundance, but because your consciousness (mindset) is of lack and worry, you'll never experience the abundance you desire.

Just wanting something desperately won't make it happen. Working hard, or harder, is not the way to your desires either. You'll always stay right where you are unless --and this is a huge unless-- you change what you're thinking.

If you want to change your circumstances, you need to change your thoughts. You need to develop the necessary consciousness that will bring about the change you desire. I can hear you all yelling, "Sure Terry, that's all fine and dandy, but it's easier said than done!" Or, "I've tried all this before and nothing changed."

Well, I never said that it would be easy. The principle is simple, but the actual process requires work, practice and commitment. Your reality will change only after you've developed a new consciousness. But not to worry, I'm going to give you three techniques that will aid you in the development of the proper consciousness and change your life.

Technique 1 - Visualization

What is it that makes a person a winner or a loser? What distinguishes those who succeed from those who fail? It's all in the mind says California Governor and five-time winner of the Mr. Universe Title, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is a very big advocate of visualization. "When I was very young," Schwarzenegger comments, "I visualized myself being and having what it was I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then when I moved on to the movies, the same thing. I visualized myself being a successful actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would all happen." Though this statement was made prior to his political aspirations, we can assume that he visualized being elected governor.

Visualization is using your imagination to see yourself in a situation that hasn't happened yet. It's picturing yourself having the thing you want, and successfully achieving the results you desire.

Here are the steps to successful visualization:

• Decide on exactly what it is you want. An example would be to pass your driver's test, get a promotion, be the most successful internet marketer, etc.
• Relax! If you have a difficult time getting yourself into a state of deep relaxation, try using self-hypnosis to accomplish this very quickly and effortlessly.
• Spend five to ten minutes visualizing the reality you want.

Try to keep your thoughts focused on having whatever it is you want now, not at some future time, or not as a possibility, but as a current, concrete reality. You have what it is you want, now!

Of course, on the conscious level you know it's not yet real. It's still just a visualization. However, the mental pictures we indulge in, the ones we regularly think about, become the blueprint for our goals, a mold into which we pour our energy. The imaginings are real forces that will and do work for us.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, there's no easy button. You need to work at and practice creating your desired reality. Visualizing something once or twice will have little or no effect. Results are achieved when the image is imprinted again and again and again. For a period of weeks or months until your desire manifests.

If doubt or contradictory thoughts slip into your head, and of course they will, just ignore them. Just keep repeating your visualization and the universe will look after the details.

There are two conditions you must meet for a successful visualization:

• Always visualize your goal as if it's happening to you right now. Make it as real as possible in your mind; make it detailed. How does it feel, smell, taste and sound? Enter the role and become it in your mind.
• Visualize your goal at least once a day, every day. There's power in repetition.

Any thought put into your mind and nourished regularly will produce results in your life.

Technique 2 - Seeding

If visualization is creating scenes or pictures in your own movie, then seeding is like adding the sound track, only instead of words you're adding the feelings that accompany the pictures. (Mind Power for the 21st Century, John Keyhoe (2005)).

To give you an example, let's say you have an important presentation to make. Your superiors will be there. If you do well there's an excellent chance you'll be promoted. You decide you're going to use the seeding technique. You spend five to ten minutes seeding the thought and feeling that you've just given the presentation and it was a huge success. Everyone was impressed. The meeting's all over and you pulled off an amazing presentation.

Unlike visualization, in seeding you're primarily concerned with the feelings of whatever it is you're visualizing. Imagine what it would be like to have delivered the "perfect" presentation. Would you be excited, overjoyed, relieved, thrilled, or proud of yourself? Feel these emotions in your gut and make the physical feeling a part of you. Live in the certainty that you already have the thing that you desire. Don't wish, wonder, worry or hope that it'll go well or come to be. Claim it in your mind as an already existing fact. Relace "It's going to go well, or it's going to happen," with "It has gone well, or it's happened perfectly." It's all over or has manifested, so enjoy the feeling of excitement, the sense of accomplishment, the joy you feel.

In the Bible, Jesus' disciples ask him to teach them how to pray. (You may or may not believe in the teachings of the Bible, but it does however, contain some very powerful insights into mind power techniques). Jesus replies, "Whatever things ye pray for and ask for believing that ye have received, ye shall receive them." Note that he says that you must believe you have received them, not that you will receive them.

Seeding is more than just hoping or wishing. You are claiming what you want in the inner world, the world of thought and creative energy. It is a very powerful process.

Repetition and consistency is what separates seeding from idle daydreaming. It's a mind power exercise that takes five to ten minutes a day, a five-minute burst of energy that you create regularly, without fail. The importance of repetition can't be emphasized strongly enough.

Technique 3 - Affirmations

Affirmations are probably the easiest and simplest technique for influencing and affecting the conscious mind. They've been used for centuries throughout the world in such spiritual and magical practices as prayers and mantras.

Affirmations are simple statements repeated to yourself silently or aloud. You can do them anywhere --in the car on the drive to work, sitting in a doctor's office, in bed before going to sleep. You decide on a statement that represents what you want and repeat it to yourself over and over and over again.

When you're stating an affirmation, you're actually influencing the thoughts that occur in your mind. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time, so an affirmation works by "filling" your mind with thoughts that support your goal. The words suggest to the mind what it should be thinking. If you're affirming, "I'm having an amazing day," your mind will naturally begin thinking related thoughts.Your mind effortlessly picks up the implications and messages. It sounds very simple, but this technique can be remarkably effective in helping you achieve the results you want.

Here are a few important things to remember when doing your affirmations:

• You don't necessarily have to believe your affirmations. Don't worry about it if you don't. Just keep repeating them. Don't try to force yourself to believe.
• Always phrase your affirmations in the positive --make a positive statement such as "I'm going to successfully market my book." Never state it as a negative, such as "I'm not going to fail at marketing my book." For some unknown reason the mind doesn't recognize "not" and you'll find you're programming "I'm going to fail at marketing my book."
• Keep your affirmations short. An affirmation should be like a mantra: short and simple, easy to say, and easy to repeat. Sometimes even just two words can be very effective: "tremendous success," or "record sales."

Singer-songwriter John Lennon will always be remembered for his music and his humanitarian beliefs. But, Lennon made no secret of his interest in magic and the powers of the mind, and his music reflected his interests. The lyrics for "Mind Games" shows these interests:

We're playing our mind games.... Creating the future out of the now...

Lennon knew and used both visualizations and affirmations. "My mind is what makes it all happen," he was often quoted as saying. In "Beautiful Boy," which he wrote for his son, Sean, he actually sings "Before you go to sleep --say this little prayer -- Every day, in every way, it's getting better and better."

John Lennon's songs beckon us to believe in ourselves and in our own power and ability. Our innate power to create is available to all who would look for it, and use it. Don't let your God-given power sit idle while your life falls apart. Embrace your gift of creation and create the life you want.

All the best,

Terry

About the Author

Terry Gillis has been researching and studying the mind for over two decades now. She continues to research and publish data on these topics and offer them to her readers. If you would like to read more about dreaming and the mind, visit her site at: http://www.the dreamlady-canada.com