THE BRIEF ABOUT OUR BREATH

 

                           WHY BOTHER WITH BREATH?

                         YOGA  AND THE BODY OF ENERGY

                       MANY READERS WILL BE SURPRISED TO FIND A WHOLE BOOK DEVOTED TO THE SUBJECT OF BREATHING, FOR THE STUDY OF BREATH HAS NOT RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION IN WESTERN MEDICINE. IN A LETTER TO THE EDITOR PRINTED IN A WELL-KNOWN MEDICAL JOURNAL, A PHYSICIAN WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE TIME AND MONEY WASTED ON RESEARCH IN TRIVIAL AREAS. "THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW", HE LAMENTED, SOMEONE WILL BE WRITING A BOOK LENGTH DISSERTATION ON "HOW TO BREATHE"! HE COULDN'T IMAGINE A SUBJECT MORE TRIFLING OR A PROCESS MORE OBVIOUS THAN BREATHING.

                    OF COURSE, BREATHING IS A VITAL PROCESS. IF YOU DON'T BREATHE, YOU DON'T LIVE, SO EVERYONE WILL AGREE IT'S IMPORTANT IN THAT SENSE. YET MOST OF US WOULD SAY, "EITHER YOU'RE BREATHING OR YOU'RE NOT. IF YOU'RE BREATHING, THERE'S NO PROBLEM. IF YOU'RE NOT BREATHING, YOU'RE DEAD, SO YOU'RE NOT HAVING ANY PROBLEMS EITHER".

                     PERHAPS IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE. IN THE EASTERN TRADITIONS THERE HAVE LONG BEEN THOSE WHO WOULD SPEND DECADES STUDYING THE BREATH. IN FACT, THERE ARE ENTIRE MONASTERIES WHERE MOST OF THE FOCUS CENTERS AROUND BREATHING, AND IT IS SAID THAT MANY OF THE SO-CALLED MIRACLES PERFORMED BY YOGIS ARE BASED PRIMARILY ON CONTROL OF THE BREATH. BUT WHY WOULD SO MUCH EMPHASIS BE PLACED ON AN ORDINARY, EVEYDAY  PROCESS LIKE BREATHING?

                             THE MIND/BODY PROBLEM

                  OUR  DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING WHY BREATHING NIGHT BE SO STRATEGIC TEMS IN PART FROM OUR WESTERN WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD. OUR PERSPECTIVE IS BASED PRIMARILY ON THE STUDY OF MATERIAL PHENOMENA. WE TAKE SOLID THINGS AND ANALYZE THEM PHYSICALLY AND CHEMICALLY. OUR LABORATORY SCIENCE IS BASED ON THE MEASUREMENT AND MANIPULATION OF MATTER. OUR PHYSICIANS ARE TRAINED IN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. OUR PHILOSOPHY IS BASICALLY MATERIALISTIC.

                   IN A SIMILAR WAY, OUR APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BEING A PRIMARILY PHYSICAL. IT'S ESSENTIALLY BASED ON THE STUDY OF THE BODY, THE PART WE CAN TOUCH, THE MEASURABLE ASPECT OF OUR BEING. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES WE FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE WITH ARE THOSE WHICH TREAT WHAT IS OBJECTIVELY OBSERVABLE.WHEN OUR RESEARCH STRAYS FROM THE WORLDOF MATERIAL OBJECTS AND ATTEMPTS THE STUDY OF FEEL A BIT LESS SURE OF OURSELVES, AND THE QUESTION INEVITABLY ARISES, IS THIS REALLY SCIENTIFIC.

             THESE DOUBTS ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC VALIDY OF NONPHYSICAL STUDIES ARE ESPECIALLY EVIDENT WITH RESPECT TO RESEARCH I PSYCHOLOGY, YET THE MIND IS OBVIOUSTLY ANOTHER REAL LEVEL OF OUR EXISTENCE - ON WITH WHICH WE CANNOT AVOID COMING TO TERMS. THE CONTEMPORARY WESTERNER'S INTEREST IN THE MIND IS EQUALED ONLY BY UNCERTAINLY ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH. IT CAN'T BE DISSECTED OR MEASURED OR PUT IN A BOX. IT CAN'T BE PUT ON SLIDES AND VIEWED UNDER A MICROSCOPE. IT CAN'T BE TESTED WITH ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS.

                 YET OUR SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE ASSURES US THAT THERE IS SUCH A THING OUR THOUGHTS, WE ARE AWARE THAT SOMETHING IS GOING ON INSIDE, AND WE ADMIT, HOWEVER GRUDGINGLY, THAT THE WORKINGS OR OUR MIND ARE IN SOME WAY BEHIND MOST OF WHAT WE DO WITH OUT PHYSICAL BODY AND HOW WE MANIPULATE THE PHYSICAL WORLD.

              YET IN THE WEST WE REMAIN CONFUSED ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MENTAL REALM AND THE TANGIBLE WORLD. HOW DOES THE PHYSICAL BODY INTERACT WITH THE MIND? THIS IS MORE THAN A THEORETICAL QUESTION. THE PROBLEM OF MIND/BODY INTERACTION IS ONE THAT PLAGUES OUR MEDICAL SCIENTIST AND BAFFLES OUR PSYCHOLOGISTS. WHEN PHYSICIANS FAIL TO ALTER THE PHYSICAL BODY TO THEIR PATIENTS" SATISFACTION, THEY THROW UP THEIR HANDS AND SAY THE PROBLEM MUST BE "PSYCHOLOGICAL". WHEN PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE UNABLE TO HELP PATIENTS REORGANIZE THEIR MENTAL WORLD, THEY SHRUG AND SAY, "PERHAPS YOU SHOULD SEE A MEDICAL DOCTOR TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOT SOME PHYSICAL PROBLEM HERE". PATIENTS SHUTTLE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN FRUSTRATED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS AND PUZZLED PHYSICIANS WHILE THE PSYCHOSOMATIC SPECIALISTS WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND THE INTEGRATION OF MIND AND BODY ARE YET TO APPEAR ON THE SCENE.

                 HOW DO THE MIND AND BODY  CONNECT? WESTERN SCIENCE SEEMS TO HAVE RUN INTO A DEAD AND END ON THE QUESTION. BUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE EAST, ESPECIALLY THAT OUT OF WHICH THE SCIENCE OF YOGA GREW, OFFER A CONTEXT WITHIN WHICH SOME ANSWERS MAY EMERGE, FOR YOGA INCLUDES THE STUDY OF BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL REALMS. AND THESE TWO LEVELS OF FUNCTIONING CONSTITUTE ONLY A SMALL PART OF THE TOTAL SPECTRUM OF PHENOMENA ENCOMPASSED IN THE STUDY OF YOGA. 

                     SINCE ANCIENT TIMES YOGA MASTERS HAVE SPENT MANY LONG HOURS GOING WITHIN THEMSELVES, STYDYING AND TRYING TO UNRAVEL THE CONNECTIONS EXISTING BETWEEN THEIR VARIOUS LEVELS OF EXISTENCE. THEY DISCOVERED THAT BESIDES THE PHYSICAL BODY AND THE MIND, THERE ARE HIGHER LEVELS OF FUNCTIONING WHICH ARE ALSO IMPORTANT. FOR INSTANCE, THEY UNCOVERED AND EXPLORED AN AREA OF CONSCIOUSNESS BEYOND THOUGHT, A NONCONCEPTUAL LEVEL OF HEIGHTENED AND BROADENED AWARENESS THAT COULD ONLY BE APPROACHED BY STEPPING OUTSIDE THE ARENA OF OUR EVERYDAY THINKING PROCESS. THE TECHNIQUE OF INWARD ATTENTION WHICH ALLOWS ONE TO EXPLORE THIS LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS CALLED MEDITATION.

                  MEDITATION IS A METHOD USED TO DEAL WITH THOSE LEVELS OF HUMAN FUNCTION OPERATING BEYOND THE MIND, WHAT WE MIGHT CALL "HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS". MEDITATION IS NOT, HOWEVER THE ONLY ASPECT OF YOGA, YOGA ALSO INCLUDES PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANAS) WHICH TEACH THE PRACTITIONER TO CONTROL, REGULATE, AND BE AWARE OF HIS OR HER PHYSICAL BODY. THEN THERE ARE PRACTICES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE MANIPULATION AND REGULATION OF PURELY MENTAL FUNCTIONS - CONCENTRATION, FOR INSTANCE. YOGA UNDERSTANDS THE HUMAN AS A MULTILEVELED BEING, ONE WITH A SERIES OF DISTINCT LEVELS OF EXISTENCE - THE PHYSICAL, THE MENTAL, AND WHAT LIES BEYOND THE MIND.

                 BUT IN OUR DISCUSSION SO FARWE HAVE ONMITTED MENTION OF ANOTHER IMPORTANT LEVEL WHICH LIES BETWEEN THE MIND AND THE BODY, FOR ACCORDING TO YOGA, THE MIND AND THE BODY DO NOT DIRECTLY INTERACT. RATHER, THEY RELATE TO EACH OTHER BY WAY OF AN IBTERMEDIATE LAYER OF FUNCTIONING. THE INDIFFERENCE OF WESTERN SCIENTIST TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH AN INTERMEDIATE STATE IS PERHAPS WHY, FOR THEM, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY AND MIND IS SO OBSCURE. THIS MAY BE WHY WE'VE BEEN STUCK WITH A "MIND /BODY DUALISM" WHICH SEEMS TO SPLIT OUR SCIENCE OF MAN ASUNDER, LEAVING IT IN TWO SEPERATE AND IRRECONCILABLE CAMPS, THAT OF THE PSYCHOLOGIST OR HUMANIST, AND THAT OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENTIST OR LABORATORY RESEARCHER.

                   ''HARD-NOSED" SCIENTIST ARE SURE THAT ANYTHING WORTHY OF STUDY OS PHYSICAL AND MATERIAL. IF THEY WISH TO DEAL WITH MAN'S ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR, THEY LIMIT THEMSELVES TO STUDYING AND MEASURING THE MOVEMENTS OF THE BODY, THE PRODUCTION OF SPEECH, OR AN INDIVIDUAL'S TEST PERFORMANCE. IF THEY THINK OF THEMSELVES PSYCHOLOGISTS, THEY PREFER TO LABEL THEMSELVES BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS. THE MIND ITSELT THEY DISMISS, CONCINCED THAT IT IS NOT AMERABLE TO STUDY. THIS SEEMS TO BE A TREND OF THE TIMES, THOUGH IN THE PAST DECADE OR TWO THE "HOLISTIC HEALTH" MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN TO PUSH OPEN THE DOOR TO BROADER AWARENESS - A PORTAL THROUGH WHICH  A HANDFUL OF PIONEERING PHYSICIANS AND RESEARCHERS HAVE BEGUN TO STEP.

 

                   FORTUNATELY IN THE EAST, AND IN PARTICULAR BETWEEN THE PRACTITIONERS OF MEDITATION, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY AND MIND HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY EXPLORED AND FOUND TO CONSTITUTE AN INTERMEDIATE LINK RELATING THE BODY AND THE MIND. IT HAS ITS OWN PROPERTIES AND ITS OWN TOPOGRAPHY. MOREOVER, IT IS EXPLICITY TAUGHT THAT THIS INTERMEDIATE LEVEL HAS TO DO PRIMARILY WITH ENERGY.

I DON'T AGREE THAT THE BODY NEEDS TO DIE

                                TOWARD A DIFFERENT 

                                       ORDER OF REALITY

                       I DON'T AGREE THAT THE BODY NEEEDS TO DIE. I AM CONVINCED THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE PHYSICAL IMMORTALITY. WE BELIEVE IN DEATH AND THAT'S WHY THE BODY DIES.

                       THE BODY DOES NOT DIE BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN DEATH. THE BODY EXISTS, OR SEEMS TO, BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN DEATH. BODY AND DEATH ARE PART OF THE SAME ILLUSION, CREATED BY THE EGOIC MODE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, WHICH HAS NO AWARENESS OF THE SOURCE OF LIFE AND SEES ITSELF AS SEPARATE AND CONSTANTLY UNDER THREAT. SO IT CREATES HE ILLUSION THAT YOU ARE A BODY, A DENSE, PHYSICAL VEHICLE THAT IS CONTANTLY UNDER THREAT.

                        TO PERCEIVE YOURSELF AS A VULNERABLE BODY THAT WAS BORN AND A LITTLE LATER DIES - THAT'S THE ILLUSION. BODY AND DEATH. ONE ILLUSION. YOU CANNOT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER. BUT THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. EITHER YOU KEEP ALL OF IT OR YOU RELINQUISH ALL OF IT.

                    HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM THE BODY, NOR DO YOU HAVE TO. THE BODY IS AN INCREDIBLE MISPERCEPTION OF YOUR TRUE NATURE. BUT YOUR TRUE NATURE IS CONCEALED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THAT ILLUSION, NOT OUTSIDE IT, SO THE BODY IS STILL THE ONLY POINT OF ACCESS TO IT.

                     IF YOU SAW AN ANGEL BUT MISTOOK IT FOR A STONE STATUE, ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IS ADJUST YOUR VISION AND LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE "STONE STATUE", NOT START LOOKING SOMEWHERE ELSE. YOU WOULD THEN FIND THAT THERE NEVER WAS A STONE STATUE.

                      IF BELIEF IN DEATH CREATES THE BODY, WHY DOES AN ANIMAL HAVE A BODY? AN ANIMAL DOESN'T HAVE AN EGO, AND IT DOESN'T BELIEVE IN DEATH...

                  BUT IT STILL DIES, OR SEEMS TO.

                     REMEMBER THAT YOUR PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS. YOU ARE NOT SEPARATE FROM IT, AND THERE IS NO OBJECTIVE WORLD OUT THERE. EVERY MOMENT, YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS CREATES THE WORLD THAT YOU INHABIT. ONE OF THE GREATEST INSIGHTS THAT HAS COME OUT OF MODERN PHYSICS IS THAT OF THE UNITY BETWEEN THE OBSERVING CONSCIOUSNESS - CANNOT BE SEPERATED FROM THE OBSERVED PHENOMENA, AND A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING CAUSES THE OBSERVED PHENOMENA TO BEHAVE DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING CAUSES THE OBSERVED PHENOMENA, TO BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY, IF YOU BELIEVE, ON A DEEP LEVEL, IN SEPARATION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL. THEN YOU SEE THAT BELIEF REFLECTED ALL AROUND YOU AND YOUR PERCEPTIONS ARE GOVERED BY FEAR. YOU  INHABIT A WORLD OF DEATH AND OF BODIES FIGHTING, KILLING, AND DEVORING EACH OTHER.

                  NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE. THE WORLD THAT YOU CREATE AND SEE THROUGH THE EGOIC MIND MAY SEEM A VERY IMPERFECT PLACE, EVEN A VALE OF TEARS. BUT WHATEVER YOU PERCEIVE IS ONLY A KIND OF SYMBOL, LIKE AN IMAGE IN A DREAM. IT IS HOW YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS INTERPRETS AND INTERACTS WITH THE MOLECULAR ENERGY DANCE OF THE UNIVERSE. THIS ENERGY IS THE RAW MATERIAL OF SO-CALLED PHYSICAL REALITY. YOU SEE IT IN TERMS OF BODIES AND BIRTH AND DEATH OR AS A STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL. AN INFINITE NUMBER OF COMPLETELY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLDS, IS POSSIBLE AND, IN FACT, EXISTS - ALL DEPENDING ON THE PERCEIVING CONSCIOUSNESS. EVERY BEING IS A FOCAL POINT OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND EVERY SUCH FOCAL POINT CREATES ITS OWN WORLD, ALTHOUGH ALL THOSE WORLDS ARE INTERCONNECTED. THERE IS A HUMAN WORLD, AND ANT WORLD A DOLPHIN WORLD, AND SO ON. THERE ARE COUNTLESS BEINGS WHOSE CONSCIOUSNESS FREQUENCY IS SO DIFFERENT FROM YOURS THAT YOU ARE PROBABLY UNAWARE OF THEIR EXISTENCE, AS THEY OF YOURS. HIGHLY CONSCIOUS BEINGS WHO ARE AWARE OF THEIR CONNECTEDNESS WITH THE SOURCE AND WITH EACH OTHER WOULD INHABIT A WORLD THAT TO YOU WOULD APPEAR AS A HEAVENLY REALM- AND YET ALL WORLDS ARE ULTIMATELY ONE.

                            OUR COLLECTIVE HUMAN WORLD IS LARGELY CREATED THROUGH THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS WE CALL MIND. EVEN WITHIN THE COLLECTIVE HUMAN WORLD CONSCIOUSNESS WE CALL MIND.  EVEN WITHOUT THE COLLECTIVE HUMAN WORLD THERE ARE VAST DIFFERENCE, MANY DIFFERENT "SUB-WORLDS", DEPENDING ON THE PERCEIVES OR CREATORS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE WORLDS. SINCE ALL WORLDS ARE INTERCONNECTED, WHEN COLLECTIVE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS BECOMES TRANSFORMED, NATURE AND THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WILL REFLECT THAT TRANSFORMATION. HENCE THE STATEMENT IN THE BIBLE THAT IN THE COMING AGE, THE LION SHALL LIE DOWN WITH THE LAMB". THIS POINTS TO THE POSSIBILITY  OF A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ORDER OF REALITY.

                       THE WORLD AS IT APPEARS TO US NOW IS, AS I SAID, LARGELY REFLECTION OF THE EGOIC MIND. FEAR BEING AN UNAVOIDABLE CONSEQUENCE OF EGOIC DELUSION, IT IS A WORLD DOMINATED BY FEAR. JUST AS THE IMAGES IN A DREAM ARE SYMBOLS OF INNER STATES AND FEELINGS, SO OUR COLLECTIVE REALITY IS LARGELY A SYMBOLIC EXPRESSION OF FEAR AND OF THE HEAVY LAYERS OF NEGATIVITY THAT HAVE ACCUMULATED IN THE COLLECTIVE HUMAN PSYCHE. WE ARE NOT SEPARATE FROM OUR WORLD, SO WHEN THE MAJORITY OF HUMANS BECOME FROM OF EGOIC DELUSION, THIS INNER CHANGE WILL AFFECT ALL OF CREATION. YOU WILL LITERALLY INHABIT A NEW WORLD. IT IS A SHIFT IN PLANETARY CONSCIOUSNESS. THE STRAGE BUDDHIST SAYING THAT EVERY TREE AND EVERY BLADE OF GRASS WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME ENLIGHTENED POINTS TO THE SAME TRUTH. ACCORDING TO ST.PAUL THE WHOLE OF CREATION IS WAITING FOR HUMANS TO BECOME ENLIGHTENED. THAT IS HOW I INTERPRET HIS SAYING THAT "THE CREATED UNIVERSE IS WAITING WITH EAGER EXPECTATIONS FOR GOD'S SONS TO BE REVEALED". ST. PAUL GOES ON TO SAY THAT ALL OF CREATION WILL  BECOME REDEEMED THROUGH THIS.

                    UP TO THE PRESENT... THE WHOLE CREATED UNIVERSE IN ALL ITS PARTS GROANS AS IF IN THE PANGS OF CHILDBIRTH".

                   

THINK AND VISUALIZE

 

                                         BODY AND SOUL (THE HEALING)

                                   A YOUNG MAN, WHO CAME TO MY LECTURES ON THE HEALING POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, HAD SEVERE EYE TROUBLE, WHICH HIS DOCTOR SAID NECESSITATED AN OPERATION. HE SAID TO HIMSELF," MY SUBCONSCIOUS MADE MY EYES, AND IT CAN HEAL ME".

                          EACH NIGHT, AS HE WENT TO SLEEP, HE ENTERED INTO A DROWSY, MEDITATIVE STATE, THE CONDITION AKIN TO SLEEP. HIS ATTENTION WAS IMMOBILIZED AND FOCUSED ON THE EYE DOCTOR. HE IMAGINED THE DOCTOR WAS IN FRONT OF HIM, AND HE PLAINLY HEARD, OR IMAGINED HE HEARD THE DOCTOR SAYING TO HIM, "A MIRACLE HAS HAPPENED" HE HEARD THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN EVERY NIGHT FOR PERHAPS FIVE MINUTES OR SO BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP. AT THE END OF THREE WEEKS HE AGAIN WENT EYES, AND THE PHYSICIAN SAID TO THIS MAN, "THIS IS A MIRACLE". WHAT HAPPENED" THIS MAN IMPRESSED HIS SUBCONSCIOUS MIND USING THE DOCTOR AS AN INSTRUMENT OR A MEANS OF CONVINCING IT OR CONVEYING THE IDEA. THROUGH REPETITION, FAITH, AND EXPECTANCY HE IMPREGNATED HIS SUBCONSCIOUS MIND. HIS SUBCONSCIOUS MIND MADE HIS EYE, WITHIN IT WAS THE PERFECT PATTERN, AND IMMEDIATELY IT PRECEEDED TO HEAL THE EYE. THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW FAITH IN THE HEALING POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS CAN MAKE YOU WHOLE.

                                                    POINTER TO REVIEW

                        * YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS IS THE BUILDER OF YOUR BODY AND IS  ON THE JOB 24 HOURS A DAY. YOU INTERFERE WITH ITS LIFE-GIVING PATTERNS BY NEGATIVE THINKING.

                       * CHARGE YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS WITH THE TASK OF EVOLVING AN ANSWER TO ANY PROBLEM, PRIOR TO SLEEP AND IT WILL ANSWER YOU.

                      * WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS. EVERY THOUGHT ACCEPTED AS TRUE IS SENT BY YOUR BRAIN TO YOUR SOLAR PLEXUS-YOUR ABNORMINAL BRAIN-AND IS BROUGHT INTO YOUR WORLD AS A REALITY.

                     * KNOW THAT YOU CAN REMAKE YOURSELF BY GIVING A NEW BLUE-PRINT TO YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.

                    * THE TENDENCY OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS IS ALWAYS LIFEWARD. YOUR JOB IS WITH YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND. FEED YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND WITH PREMISES, WHICH ARE TRUE. YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS IS ALWAYS REPRODUCING ACCORDING TO YOUR HABITUAL MENTAL PATTERNS.

  

                   * YOU BUILD A NEW BODY EVERY ELEVEN MONTHS. CHANGE YOUR BODY BY CHANGING YOUR THOUGHTS AND KEEPING THEM CHANGED.

                 * THOUGHTS OF JEALOUSY, FEAR, WORRY, AND ANXIETY TEAR DOWN AND DESTROY YOUR NERVES AND GLANDS BRINGING ABOUT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DISEASES OF ALL KINDS.

          

                 * WHAT  YOU AFFIRM CONSCIOUSLY AND FEEL AS TRUE WILL BE MADE MANIFEST IN YOUR MIND, BODY AND AFFAIRS. AFFIRM THE GOOD AND ENTER INTO THE JOY OF LIVING.

                     

                                     THE VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE

                           

                    THE EASIEST AND MOST OBVIOUS WAY TO FORMULATE AN IDEA IS TO VISUALIZE IT, TO SEE IT IN YOUR MIND'S EYE AS VIVIDLY AS IF IT WERE ALIVE. YOU CAN SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE ONLY WHAT ALREADY EXISTS IN THE EXTERNAL WORLD. IN A SIMILAR WAY, THAT WHICH YOU CAN VISUALIZE IN YOUR MIND'S EYE ALREADY EXISTS IN THE INVISIBLE REALMS OF YOUR MIND. ANY PICTURE, WHICH YOUHAVE IN YOUR MIND, IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. WHAT YOU FORM IN YOUR IMAGINATION IS AS REAL AS ANY PART OF YOUR BODY. THE IDEA AND THE THOUGHT ARE REAL AND WILL ONE DAY APPEAR IN YOUR OBJECTIVE WORLD IF YOU ARE FAITHFUL TO YOUR MENTAL IMAGE.

                   THIS PROCESS OF THINKING FORMS IMPRESSIONS IN YOUR MIND, THESE IMPRESSIONS IN TURN BECOME MANIFESTED AS FACTS AND EXPERIENCES IN YOUR LIFE. THE BUILDER VISUALIZES THE TYPE OF BUILDING HE WANTS, HE SEES IT AS HE DESIRES IT TO BE COMPLETED. HIS IMAGERY AND THOUGHT-PROCESSESS BECOME A PLASTIC MOLD FROM WHICH THE BUILDING WILL EMERGE-A BEAUTIFUL OR AN UGLY ONE, A SKYSCRAPER OR A VERY LOW ONE. HIS MENTAL IMAGERY IS PROJECTED AS IT IS DRAWN ON PAPER. EVENTUALLY, THE CONTRACTOR AND HIS WORKERS GATHER THE ESSENTIAL MATERIALS, AND THE BUILDING PROGRESSESS UNTIL IT STANDS FINISHED, CONFORMING PERFECTLY TO THE MENTAL PATTERNS OF THE ARCHITECT.

 

                 I USE THE VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE PRIOR TO SPEAKING FROM THE PLATFORM. I QUIET THE WHEELS OF MY MIND IN ORDER THAT I MAY PRESENT TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND MY IMAGES OF THOUGHT.

                THEN, I  PICTURE THE ENTIRE AUDITORIUM AND THE SEATS FILLED WITH MEN AND WOMEN, AND EACH OF THEM ILLUMINATED AND INSPIRED BY THE INGINITE HEALING PRESENCE WITHIN EACH ONE. I SEE THEM AS RADIANT, HAPPY, AND FREE.

               HAVING FIRST BUILT UP THE IDEA IN MY IMAGINATION, I QUIETLY SUSTAIN IT THERE AS A MENTAL PICTURE WHILE I IMAGINE. I HEAR MEN AND WOMEN SAYING, I AM HEALED, I FEEL WONDERFUL, I'VE KEEP THIS UP FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES OR MORE, KNOWING AND FEELING THAT EACH PERSON'S MIND AND BODY ARE SATURATED WITH LOVE, WHOLENESS, BEAUTY, AND PERFECTION. MY AWARENESS GROWS TO THE POINT WHERE IN MY MIND I CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE VOICES OF THE MULTITUDE PROCLAIMING THEIR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS, THEN I REALIZE THE WHOLE PICTURE AND GO INTO THE PLATFORM. ALMOST EVERY SUNDAY SOME PEOPLE STOP AND SAY THAT THEIR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED.

                                                                           👀👀👀