Time to say goodbye?

This is probably the last post on this blog for quite a while. We'll see how long it (the blog) remains on the WEB.

My visualizing hasn't stopped-you'll have to go back a few posts for THAT! Instead, it's working out. Things I thought were impossible are becoming a reality, but that means I live two lives:
1.) doing the day-to-day things that must be done, and
2.) planning and working toward the future.

That's a 16-18 hour day, 6 1/2 days a week. I'm working on my websites, blogs, and all the SEO and traffic related things that are associated with it. Too much to do to take time to keep this up. People have 'found' this blog -  wish I had more to say.

Hey, the future is coming up fast. Got to be there to meet it. Take care...

Market research and making money.

Humor me! You'll probably be bored by all of this, BUT, I've got to do it. See, I've

1. Got to get into the habit of writing something regularly, and

2. Got to trace the evolution of developing a niche website.

So, I've got to record the steps, not in great detail, but just enough to follow my progress.

The beauty of working in the Internet age is that the information we need is readily available.  There was a time when the research would have to be done by hand.  Now, using the Internet we're not only going to identify markets, we are able to test these markets to see if they are worth spending our time.

Think about this:  long before we worry about product creation we can eliminate the effort in developing that product until we know there is a need for the product or service.

The next item on our list is known as traffic. it is crucial, because we may have the best product in the world, the best service in the world, the best thing ever since sliced bread, but who will know unless they get to see it?

That is why we focus on determining if there is enough traffic to sustain our business in the Internet marketplace.  Remember this, without traffic, no one will purchase anything.  And we need to make sure there is enough of it too.  Because there is nothing more disheartening than doing a lot of work and have nothing to show for it.  Whether it is a retail store, a coffee shop, or an Internet marketplace, without traffic all of our efforts are wasted.

There was a time in the early days of the Internet that if you came up with an idea, and it was really working well, you could be copied very easily and other people could grab your traffic.  Now, building traffic takes time and effort, and the people who want to rip us off are basically lazy.  As a result they are not going to spend the time and effort and energy getting traffic to their websites.  So the difficulty of getting traffic acts as a way of protecting our business and makes our future websites all the more valuable.

The third thing we're going to talk about is known as conversion.  It is a fancy way of asking the question, how many people are taking action when they to come to our Internet  website?

Typically of course, we look at this as, “how many people who come to our page will buy our stuff”?  That is the ultimate conversion, but when you think about it there are many other things they could be doing; you could be getting them to sign up on a mailing list; they can be clicking on an ad; they could be filling in a survey. We have to measure our effectiveness at converting people from passive readers of whatever information we are providing to actively doing the thing we want them to.  And that is how conversion is measured.

Okay, my friends. Next time we'll look at how the 'right words' can get people to your website.

2nd blog in a row!

I know you're going to be bored with this, but "Hey", it's my blog!

This is my second using the blog the automatic dictation program.

Today we are going to talk about niche marketing, and I will try to explain the difference between a market, a niche, and a micro-niche.

A market is anything that a large group of people are interested in.  It could be something as wide as golf or fishing or as narrow as raising roses.  Even a narrow category such as roses can be broken down into much smaller groups.  There are people who are interested in the raising of roses, there are people who are interested in the selling of roses, there are people who want to find genetic differences in roses and there may be those who are looking for a thornless rose.  You can see the infinite number of possibilities.

Each of the above submarkets is what we call a niche.  But each of those is still too large for the kind of Internet marketing we seek to do.  What we are looking for is known as a micro-niche:  that sub category of interest.  For example, a seller of roses might be wanting to open a roadside stand, sell to flower shops or be interested in international marketing.  The key is to break down an Internet niche into smaller and smaller niches (micro-niches), concentrating on our effort on reaching a select group of purchasers.

I know that there are people who have made money on the Internet.  What I want to do is take advantage of the learning opportunities that are available.  What I am going to learn I intend to put down in an organized manner

I have given you a brief overview of marketing and niches, now I want to look at the areas of market research, traffic, conversion and product. What often happens when people start a business: they come up with an idea for a product believing that it is something that the public wants.  And they go off, and invest  an amazing amount of time effort and energy, write the book, make the product, only  to discover that there was never a market for that at all.

It is a tragedy and yet a large percentages of all businesses start out this way and the personal tragedy is that you've invested so much time and effort and emotion, even perhaps a great deal of money.  When there wasn't any need to do that at all. Using the Internet one can eliminate the majority of the risk.  That is why we do market research.

Market research is so important, but usually it is the thing that is glossed over or missed completely.  Hopefully online market research will provide us with the tools and information that we need to eliminate most of the risk. For example:  If I were to open up a coffee shop it would be great to know how many people each day  walked past the shop, how many people would stop in, know exactly what they would want to see on the menu, and know precisely how many of them are going to buy.  If that kind of information were available I would have no worries about whether or not to open a coffee shop. Well, that's enough for today.  You are probably bored already!

Tomorrow we will look at the concepts of traffic, conversion and product.  With hard work I am going to become an Internet marketer.  Who would have guessed?

1st Steps to freeing the mind-and resting the fingers!

What you are about to read is the first document that I have prepared using a dictation system.  I spent a number of hours working with this program, trying to learn its tricks. It has been very frustrating.  One of the things that I’ve discovered is that improper usage of the automatic commands can cause an entire document to disappear.

So, one of the things I’m going to do is dictate the entire document, save it, and then manually make any corrections.  That way I do not risk its entire destruction.  I have had to go to some sort of automatic dictation system because I’m not a fast typist.  The frustration that occurs when I’m trying to think and type and make corrections results in a “mind freeze”.

I believe that I am a creative person. I can go on for hours thinking about the possibilities yet when I try to put those things down on paper I am frozen. My fingers grow tired, the errors grow more frequent, and I give up in disgust.

I guess when you try to deliberately set upon a program that is when you run into your limitations.  Perhaps it is a touch of ADD, maybe I have a master’s degree in disorganization; whatever the cause I have a hard time dealing with the small details of life. I hate cleaning my office – I know where everything is!!

Okay I lied.  I haven’t a clue!!  So the first thing I’m going to do Monday morning is clean my office!

I said when I began this blog that it was a journey. From the outside looking in it may not seem I have come that far. But you would be wrong. It was a little over a year ago that I had come to the conclusion that life could not continue on as it was - that a change was necessary.   But change is slow and change is painful. It is hard work.

That is it for today, perhaps we will talk tomorrow.

A new beginning for the blog

It has been a long time, over 3 months, since I have done any blogging.  There were a couple reasons for this:

First, I recently found that I did not have time, that the various activities of life: work, taking care of a home and trying to build up a business, simply used up all of the moments in a 24-hour day.

The other reason was that I simply had nothing to say.  I had started out with the idea of sharing my experiences as I began positive thinking.  To be honest, I did have some positive results:

a.  My business has doubled over the last five months,

b.  And I have had an increase in confidence and self assurance.

Part of my frustration was that the changes in my life were hard to document.  I have come from a background of doubt - a sense of impending failure, most of which I attribute to my upbringing.  There are times in my life when I know I have deliberately worked to defeat any progress that I was making.  It was as though I could not handle the thought of success; perhaps it was the belief that I was not worthy of success; that even God himself would not allow me to rise above a certain level. 

Part of the problem was that my view of God was that he was not a caring and loving God. I've heard it said that your view of God is a reflection of your view of your own father.  In that case, my view of God was a very poor one. No details are necessary here.  Let us just say that I felt there were limits on the possibilities in my life.  More specifically, I didn't have sense of purpose.  There was no passion.  I was simply on a treadmill doing the daily routine.  It is hard to get excited about that!

And then something happened.  The hours of listening to a number of self-help and ‘visualization’  speakers suddenly opened my mind to a new possibility...  A way of gaining wealth!

Please understand, it is not wealth itself that I desire.  It is the fact that money provides opportunity.  It is money that allows one to live in a comfortable home.  It is money that allows children to get an education.  It is money that allows you to drive a vehicle that doesn't break down all the time.  It is money that allows leisure time for relaxation, travel, further education, the building of relationships.  And so, I now have a focus on my journey in life.  I will credit the use of visualization in helping make this a reality.  There is no magic here, no a quick fix, no silver bullet.  This will be hard work. In further postings I will share with you what I'm going to attempt to do,  and  the way in which I will do it.

A pragmatic view.

How do you tell if you're 'holding your own' or making 'progress' in life?

From a guy's point of view, money (as in more coming in than going out!) is a big factor. We still have that 'gotta leave the cave, kill something, and drag it back to the fire' to prove our manliness, need. It is a need, a real one - that defines our level of success. That's why the under-employed often have high levels of drug or alcohol abuse or increased domestic violence rates. (A little sociology lesson there!) For me, this has been a good summer: my business income has nearly doubled and my net income has gone up by 60% (before taxes, Thank you, Obama!!).

Why is this important. Follow me here: There were 16 million men and women who served in WW2. During that 5 year period birth rates dropped. After the war, these people came home, married and began making up for lost time. They produced an average of 10,000 babies a day for years, creating the baby boomers, of which I was born in the 2nd year of a 20 year population explosion. That's right, there are 50 million 'boomers' coming along demanding their share of increasingly scarce government revenues and natural resources.

Millions of these people are expecting Uncle Sam to provide for them. It isn't going to happen. Our bloated national debt (14 TRILLION) For any Democrats reading this: that's 14,000,000 million dollars! unfunded Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security obligations (99 TRILLION) plus all unfunded state and municipal pension and health funds leaves every American OWING a minimum of $400,000 that must be collected by  Federal, state, and local governments.

The result will be higher taxes, higher interest rates, and a devalued dollar that makes everyday items more expensive. To be honest folks, after 30 years of excessive government spending, the defecation is about to hit the rotary impeller.

I've doubled my income, now I must double it again, and again...... Kinda takes the fun out of it!

Visualization 'Scoreboard' Time!

For anyone who may have followed me (or stumbled over me) in this blog; you may remember my original purpose was to pursue, test, and try to explain the ideas behind what is commonly called positive thinking or using visualization techniques.

One principle is to spend time daily: 7 - 15 or more minutes, 1-3 times per day clearing the mind and getting in 'tune' with the 'universe' to receive ideas or concepts that lead to success in achieving one's goals. To be honest, I haven't done well in setting aside the time to visualize, BUT, I have been thinking along the lines that I WILL be successful in certain endeavors, rather than that I'd like to be successful or that I might be successful.

1.) In my business, this seems to be working: new accounts are being acquired - income will go up!

2.) In my real estate, I have sold one property and am working on a plan to sell the rest -  no longer 'overwhelmed' by all that needs to be done.

3.) In my life plans, confusion reigns...but that's okay for now. I've set a time frame of a little under three years to reach a certain point, a 'fork in the road' so to speak. If I try to force the decision making process, to rush it, maybe I'm not waiting for the 'universe' to sort it out, to 'mark the path'.

Score? 1 and 2 are looking better. 3 is on hold.

Let's see: Close the door to my office, put my feet up, close my eyes, breathe deeply, clear the mind.......

Time 'bandits' are stealing my life!

There was a movie called Time Bandits. Think I saw it - don't have a clue as to what it was about, BUT, I know a Time Bandit when I see one! It is all the things that add up, mount up, gang up to keep you from getting done what you want to do.

My screen saver is a sentence of three words: "Not Another Thing!" that I use to remind me to avoid adding additional responsibilities to my life. And yet they come: the heavy-duty, cast iron front axle on my lawn tractor breaks (6 hours to remove and replace), the air conditioner on my Suburban needs to be replaced and there is a persistant leak (4 trips to and from the shop), hours of paperwork fighting with my workman's compensation insurer about the premium, and a TO-DO list of at least 100 items covering my home, business, and rental properties.

Is there a solution? I think so: work on selling the rentals, build up the business so I have more income to hire out some of the things I am forced to do now, etc.

Change, the kind of change I dream of, is a process: remove those things that drag me down emotionally and financially (the rental properties), reinforce those things that build me up (adding to my business income).

Slow and steady wins the race. Right?

Money can be made. Time however, once you’ve spent it, it’s gone forever.”

I stole the above and reworded it slightly. It's from an interview on a podcast I listened to. It really refers to life and how we approach it. Do you use up your day casually (the average American watches 4-6 hours of TV per day!), or do you invest your time in activities that will enrich your life? It could be spending time with family, or pursuing 'learning' that will expand your financial opportunities.

I've set a time limit of three years. Actually 35 and 1/2 months until my son is 18 and graduated from high school. My daughter will be 22 and.....who knows, long gone from college and living life. My 'obligation' to
provide for them will be somewhat complete. I will have 'spent' 22 years...time well spent, I'd die for them if necessary, BUT I'll need to have a change in my life.

Kill the blog!!!!! (Or just put it in an Induced Coma?)

Yeah,

Maybe it's the result of visualizing sucess (Or maybe it's mental stress) but I'm really not interested in pursuing the visualizing theory right now. Which may mean the whole point of this blog is lost!

I'm focusing on the 4-hour work week, and how to get there. THAT will require a major shift in allocation of my time: learning to write a real blog, learning about internet marketing, etc. I spend HOURS each week listening to podcasts by people who really are changing the way they live by using the internet to sell a product, whether it is physical in nature or 'information'.

                                        To be honest, it is overwhelming!

I'm just an ordinary guy who'd like to not worry about the bills. I'd like to have a little fun - not go to bed tired, and then wake up more tired. But, as you may have discovered, life is not easy.

So, here we go: work hard now to make it possible to not work so hard later. I've got to learn to blog, to build a website, to study 'niche' marketing, etc. I'm going to try it all, step by step, share what I'm learning, try to do it in an organized manner,  AND live life day-by-day.

Kill the blog? Not a chance.

Torn between two lovers?

Got your attention, didn't I? 

A few years ago there was a song in which the artist lamented being torn between two lovers, each of whom met some need in her life. I wish it were that simple!

It's not lovers, it's life that's got me confused (although changes in life can certainly result in changes in lovers!!!). No, what I'm trying to figure out is how to make the changes happen in my life.  There are several areas with which I'm dealing.

1. First is income. I have a service business. I don't hate it, but I sure don't love it. It pays the bills.

I am (as are many people) tired of the 'grind', the routine, the day-to-day demands of this JOB (yes, I know I'm the owner of the business; but, if I take a month off there will be no business! I get to wear at least 7 'hats': sales, office manager, personnel manager, cleaner, equipment repair, purchasing agent, etc.).

So, I've got to create a new business model, one that will allow me to make money selling something - preferably over the internet using a website to present the product or idea, autoresponders to process leads, and paypal or some other method to collect payment. That all takes time, which is why this post has been started and edited 3 times over an 8 day period to get to this point.

More to come!

Overwhelmed!

I really need to go back and edit previous posts. Part of my search was to find out how to use the Law of Attraction (assuming it was useable at all) to find direction in one's search for the life you desire. I need to tie the fear factor, the 'busy-ness' of life, and the slowness of the process together.

And it IS slow! At times I wonder if the whole thing really works. I feel that I'm still on a treadmill.
However, I have learned something: A reference was made to a book Heaven is For Real, in which a young boy was put into an induced coma for medical reasons. Following his recovery, he refered back to things he had 'experienced' in 'heaven'. Many of these things were very detailed, and convinced his family to write the book. Of lesser importance was the fact that in Heaven there was no one very old, most likely only in their late teens or twenties. This supports my theory that in Heaven we'll all be in our 20's because inside our bodies, regardless of age, the majority of people I know 'FEEL' that age.

Here's my wrap-up. As this was being discussed, I looked at several of the younger guys in the group and I thought as follows: Even though years may separate us, we're really not much different. We want many of the same things (they may not know it yet!). And on a given day we might even want the same thing: but
 1.) if they get want they want - they'll think it is natural, deserved, entitled -  and may waste it!
but
2.) if I get what I want, I'll know it was won the hard way - and is to be treasured.

That is why I have to keep working at this. My eye is still on the PRIZE.

FEARBUSTERS! (2) steps to remove fear.

It‘s not easy to avoid absorbing these constant negative messages, especially when you

seem to be surrounded by endless examples of them every day.  However, there are a few things you can do to minimize the impact they have on your life.

1). Limit your exposure to news broadcasts; especially when they always seem to pertain to frightening events that are beyond your control... Listening to this fear programming only makes you feel more vulnerable. Certainly you can stay informed about world events but it is advisable to seek independent, unbiased news sources and then immediately start shifting your focus to something less fearsome. I haven’t watched a major news channel nightly news broadcast since 1992, and neither I nor the world have felt it a loss.

2). Gain strength by remembering that most of the things you fear will never come to pass. In fact, when you remember that giving your attention to anything only makes it seem bigger and more intimidating, you can see the wisdom in being more discerning about the things you think about. . Spend time each day thinking about the people you love, happy memories, and the great experiences that may be waiting just around the corner for you. It may not make the scary possibilities go away completely but it will lighten your mood, leave you feeling happier and less fearful.

3). Go outside. Natural settings like parks, forests, beaches, gardens, or even your own back yard are virtual treasure troves of positive feelings. Sitting quietly or strolling slowly as you gaze around at all of the beauty and abundance of nature can have a powerful restorative effect on your mind, body and spirit. Walk the dog, pet the cat, actually listen to the birds.

4). Use the What’s the Worst Thing that Could Happen? (Dale Carnegie Technique)

Fear often gets out of control because you worry about terrible consequences that may result, when those consequences may not be as bad as you think initially.  For example, you may find yourself in the grip of an anxiety attack when you think about doing something new, such as speaking in front of a group of people.

Writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie taught a powerful method to deal with these types of fears:

Ask yourself, ―What is the worst thing that could happen?‖  Using the public speaking example, you might answer, “I could make a fool of myself; the audience would laugh at me; I’d be so embarrassed and ashamed.”  Although these consequences wouldn‘t be fun to experience, you could certainly handle them if they did occur, right?  Accept the worst possible consequences you think could happen, and then decide to move forward anyway.  This technique can be incredibly empowering because you reduce the size and magnitude of your fear by realizing that you can handle the things from which you would otherwise shy away.

Conclusion?

Fear is an obstacle that can be overcome.

FEARBUSTERS! (1) knowing the source of your fear.

It‘s important to note that all of these fears are most often groundless. They are merely a perception that things could go wrong but that doesn‘t mean they will. Let’s explore the  ways that fear can be effectively released from your mind, emotions, and body. When you know how to release the fear, you simply handle it as you would any minor obstacle and then continue on your way to creating the best life you possibly can.

Review my post on Quantum Physics and Personal Achievement, Part 4. There, I offered a simplistic and somewhat sarcastic view of the world. One in which turning you into a “programmed’ individual is the goal of the educational system and media. In fact, one only has to turn to the nightly news, the cable news networks, or the newspaper headlines to see that ‘fear’, disaster, turmoil, etc. are the featured stories.  Worries about the economy, political upheaval, the ‘end times’, permeate much of our discussion.

Most of us have a set of unique fears that relate to our own lives, like concerns about loved ones, financial worries and so on; but many of the above are universal fears – or perhaps you might call them collective fears that are communicated to us through our environment. These fears often relate to situations and events that leave us feeling vulnerable and defenseless, such as worldwide 'pandemics', 'terrorist' attacks, economic and financial crises, and so on.

Not only do we see and hear constant references to these frightening scenarios in the media and from the people around us... but some would say that the energy of collective fears also seeps into the very fabric of our reality (the...quantum field). We can actually absorb this fear energy as we go about our daily lives - even if we don‘t pay attention to the media hype and mass hysteria.

Have you ever felt nervous, edgy, tense, or vulnerable for no apparent reason? Even when everything in your own life was going fine, you may still have been affected by these collective fears and felt uncomfortable as a result.

Next post: FEARBUSTERS! 2  steps to remove fear.

(limiting) The power of the mind

Before I deal with developing the power of the mind, I'd like to spend some time on things that hold us back. If not, it might be like trying to get a car up to top speed, but forgetting that the emergency brake was set. One 'brake' on developing the mind is FEAR.

Fear is undoubtedly one of the strongest and most influential emotional responses we have, and it can act as both a protective and destructive force depending on the situation. Obviously, fear can help us avoid dangerous situations, triggering the ”fight or flight” response when we feel threatened.  Unfortunately, this same response can also be triggered when no real threat exists. We simply find ourselves feeling overwhelmed and anxious even when we know logically that no harm will come to us.

Fear is one of the most common reasons that people hold back on living the life of their dreams. Even if they desire to create better circumstances, they may struggle with an overwhelming fear of failure, so they refuse to make changes because the ‘certainty’ of failure seems to outweigh the ‘possibility’ of success.  If you have ever held back on a goal or avoided taking action that would lead to a positive outcome, you may have been fearful that you might fail. Fear of failure can be subtle because our minds can come up with endless excuses why it‘s not a good time to take a risk right now, or how the odds don‘t seem to be in our favor, and so on.

Fear of success can be a powerful hindrance as well, making people feel stressed and

overwhelmed with the added responsibilities that would probably come with greater success. They may fear not being able to handle those responsibilities, or worry that they‘d feel pressured to keep attaining the same level of success in the future. These fears are often enough to cause people to sabotage their own efforts, even when they sincerely want to become more successful.

Some people suffer from a fear of rejection. This is often related to low self-esteem and may show up in subtle ways. You may lash out at others when a possible rejection is imminent; sabotage relationships so you can be the one who rejects the other person instead of them rejecting you; or you may simply withdraw from social interaction to avoid the possibility of being rejected at all.

Finally, there is the fear of not being good enough.  This is another fear that is connected to self-esteem, and it often affects everything you do in life. You may avoid making changes to improve your life; settle for a dissatisfying job that pays less money than you are capable of earning; or continuously sabotage your goals. If you don‘t believe you deserve to have better life circumstances you won‘t allow yourself to create them.

Fear is strong enough to paralyze most of us – whether the things we fear are real or imagined. 

Remember, the mindset you most often hold will be mirrored in your every experience and in every person you encounter.  When you live your life with a mindset of failure, you are bound to see that lurking everywhere.  Your opportunities will seem smaller, more restrictive, or even non-existent.  The people you interact with daily will probably seem more reserved, less generous, and less caring. 

On the other hand, when you begin living your life from a mindset of successful living, everything around you seems open and joyful.  The people you meet seem warmer, kinder and caring. Opportunities come rushing forth to meet YOU, rather than you having to chase after them.

Next Post: FEARBUSTERS! (1) knowing the source of your fear.

I digress, again!

I believe it was Henry Ford who said, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right"!

Here are some folks who thought they could:

Donald Trump, now a filthy-rich real estate investor, got his start collecting soda bottles for the deposit money.

Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers washed dishes at a Chinese restaurant before hitting it big with his computers.

Johnny Depp donned makeup for his gig in a KISS tribute band as a young performer. Back then he often made about $25 a night – today he makes about $25 million a year.

Chris Rock started his career as a busboy at a Red Lobster in Queens, N.Y. His first jokes included, “The thing about Red Lobster is that if you work there, you can’t afford to eat there. You’re making minimum wage. A shrimp cost minimum wage!”

Lucille Ball was reportedly fired from an ice-cream shop for not remembering to add bananas to banana splits. Her famous skit wrapping candies from the conveyor belt came out of those early days in food service.

Tom Hanks started out as a popcorn and peanuts vendor at the Oakland Coliseum in California. Then he worked his way up to a hotel bellhop, carrying bags for the “stars.”

Brad Pitt drove limos, moved refrigerators and dressed up as a chicken trying to convince customers to visit a Mexican restaurant.

Do you think you can?

Quantum physics and personal achievement. Part 5 The power of the mind.

The incredible power of the mind: From the book "Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot.

As an illustration of the power of the mind, let’s look at the phenomenon known as Multiple Personality Disorder:

“Another unusual feature of MPD is that each of a multiple's personalities possesses a different brain-wave pattern. In addition to possessing different brain-wave patterns, often each also has his own style of handwriting, artistic talents, foreign language fluency, and IQ.

Even more noteworthy are the biological changes that take place in a multiple's body when they switch personalities. Frequently a medical condition possessed by one personality will mysteriously vanish when another personality takes over. Dr. Bennet Braun of the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality, in Chicago, has documented a case in which all of a patient's sub personalities were allergic to orange juice, except one. If the man drank orange juice when one of his allergic personalities was in control, he would break out in a terrible rash. But if he switched to his non allergic personality, the rash would instantly start to fade and he could drink orange juice freely.

Allergies are not the only thing multiples can switch on and off. Other conditions that can vary from personality to personality include scars, burn marks, cysts, and left- and right-handedness. Visual acuity can differ, and some multiples have to carry two or three different pairs of eyeglasses to accommodate their alternating personalities. One personality can be color-blind and another not, and even eye color can change.” 

Or, if you want to see REAL mind power, ask a man whose been married 20-30 years how his love-life is going. "Okay, I guess, after all these years." might be his answer. Now, have a young secretary start working at his office. Let a romance blossom, THEN, ask her about his romantic prowess! Just kidding, ladies! Ahem.

Okay, here's a scientific proof of the power of the mind. NASA researchers had subjects wear special glasses that inverted the image seen by the eye. It was upside down, and the glasses were worn 24 hours a day. Needless to say, the subjects were having a hard time coping. But, after 28-30 days, the mind adjusted. The subjects suddenly saw the the world as they had before.

Here's my wrap up of this: The mind is a tool. It has been programmed by our experiences up to this point in life. You and I have the ability to re-program our minds to tap into the hidden power within us and to explore the resources that exist outside our physical world.

More to come.

Quantum physics and personal achievement. Part 4

Refresher from part 3: Let’s continue by looking at the thoughts within our mind. How did they get there?

First, we’ll take a simplistic and somewhat sarcastic overview. Depending on where you are in life, you may recognize this process affecting you, or may see some of your thoughts as a result of the process.

It begins with your parents who most often do have your best interests at heart, though they can only teach you what they have learned. It then continues with educational institutions whose main interest is in turning you into a socially-productive individual. There are those who believe that it is in their interest to keep you feeling slightly anxious, afraid, slightly inadequate, insecure, and helpless - feeling good enough to be socially productive, but not so good that you stop participating in a never-ending chain of purchasing pills, goodies, and entertainment that will at least for a few moments make you feel a little bit better. In this way you keep on fueling the economy, which is good for the country.

That's why, after you get sufficiently brainwashed through the schooling system, you get more helpings through daily newspapers, news and TV programs. In this way, your mind gets a new daily dose of programming with fresh disasters in the world, lest you forget that there is a possible danger lurking behind every corner. You get more helpings through flashy advertisements. They are all happily programming your subconscious mind, whether you are aware of it or not.

Companies are investing billions of dollars each year on advertising because it is a wonderful way of hypnotizing people - of influencing people's thoughts and emotions - and it works. When you keep on repeating an idea - whether through words, pictures, music, movies or any other form - day in and day out - it becomes so familiar to the people that they accept it as their own.

Think I’m kidding? What are YOUR fears and phobias? What makes you happy. Why do you feel so good when you buy that new shirt, TV, or car?

Even more important: How do you see your FUTURE?

Is it sucesssful, filled with the good things in life? Or will you just 'get by', never having quite enough? Will you acheive your dreams, find the life partner you desire, live where you want. Or will the 'system' cheat you?

Ask youself this question: What do I believe the future holds, and why? Who shaped my thoughts and what do (did) they believe?

The power of the mind (in part 5) next.

Quantum physics and personal achievement. Part 3

Remember the experiments in part 2? Here's a refresher course:  Cleve Baxter, “We took white cell samples, then sent the people home to watch television. I would have pre-selected a program that would elicit an emotional response from them--for example, showing a veteran of Pearl Harbor a documentary of West Pacific enemy aircraft attacks--and then I taped both the program and the response of their cells. What we found was that cells outside the body still react to the emotions you feel, even though you may be miles away. The greatest distance we've tested has been about three hundred miles.“

Before you scoff at this, ask yourself this question, “How many times in the Christian ‘world’ do we talk about how the Spirit led us to pray for someone, perhaps someone we haven’t talked to recently.” Only later do we find out that they were going through some sort of crisis or emergency.  Or, how often have you and someone you know suddenly changed mental ‘gears” and brought up a subject completely foreign to whatever conversation you had be having? Yet it was exactly the thought going through you mind. Coincidence?

If you, or a tree, or the chair you are sitting on are merely energy slowed down, what is thought? What is an idea? Where did the idea come from? When we realize that everything is make up of energy, then the boundaries between our so called “physical world” and our thoughts disappears. In fact, where did the design (or pattern), for you, or the tree, or the chair originate?

Many people use the argument that before anything can physically exist, it has to be thought of. An intelligent design requires an Intelligent Designer. Great starting point for a discussion of God, but we aren’t going there.

Let’s work instead with two points:

         

1. We know that thoughts exist within our mind,

and  

 

2. Science and our own experiences teach us that thoughts exist outside  our minds (Baxter’s experiments, shared ideas without ‘lead in’ from other conversation, Spiritual discernment of other’s needs, etc.)

Let’s continue by looking at the thoughts within our mind. How did they get there?  See part 4.

Entanglement (Part 2) , or How "much" do I love thee?

What a weird name for a post!

Let me lead with a couple of quotes:  As Vince Lombardi once said, "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

And from an online newsletter: "Creating a vision board one time, saying a few affirmations and meditating occasionally doesn't cut it. 80% of the effort doesn't produce 80% of the results - more like 20%. Consistency is key. Set and measure goals daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually."

The essence of successful 'entanglement' in quantum physics seems to be based on the level of "passion" one puts into the vision or dream.  Imagine this senario: A man is having lunch at a restaurant. Suddenly, at a table across from him, is seated the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He thinks to himself, "I'd give 10 years of my life to spend the remaining portion of my life with her."  So he develops a plan: "Maybe I'll have lunch here again in a few months and maybe she'll' be here, or, "maybe I'll walk the streets of the city and maybe I'll see her sometime.

Reasonable? Of course not! He's going to find a way to 'break the ice', get a name, a phone number, email address, physical address, work address, blood type, ANYTHING!!!! He wants this woman. And until he sees her again, her image will be with him till he goes to bed at night and first thing in the morning.   Been in love? You know I'm right!

Here's the point: We can have a wish or desire, a good idea, an interest in something, and it will never amount to something because it is only 'lightly held'. The attracting power of 'quanta' are made more powerful by the intensity of the desire. The acorn doesn't get to choose its level of desire, we do.

It is easy to accept the fact that we can become more successful in what we do by focusing on a task or desire. Applying ourselves to a pursuit generally has some reward for doing so. BUT, here is a story to make you think: her name was Mary. Raised during the Depression, she came from a very poor family. Her desire was to go to college, but there was no way her family could afford it. Yet, she dreamed of a college. One with solid stone buildings, spacious grounds, tree-lined streets and sidewalks. She could see it in her mind, and she was there, studying and getting her degree. But there was no money.

Upon graduation from high school, her parish priest asked to speak to her and her parents. There had been a bequest, in the will of a parishioner, that the priest select a worthy student, and arrange for them to be sent to a church related college at no expense to the student. The priest, knowing of their financial needs, wanted her to be that student.

Imagine her surprise that fall when she was sent away to college. The college, one she had never heard of, had never seen a brochure of, was the college she had seen in her mind!

Let me repeat the quote from above:  "Creating a vision board one time, saying a few affirmations and meditating occasionally doesn't cut it. 80% of the effort doesn't produce 80% of the results - more like 20%. Consistency is key. Set and measure goals daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually."

I must admit that I have fallen short in my intensity. How about you? What is your dream, wish, desire? Are you really serious, or just thinking it would be nice to have?

We'll be going back to the more 'technical' aspects of the law of attraction in the next post. See you there.

I digress!

Took some time and (with a little assistance) changed my color scheme -  blue: to soothe (my, your, our?) restless spirits: and the background to a wide expanse of unlimited opportunities. Needed that view of the endless mountains - life wears you down. Remember, "Life is what happens while you are making other plans!"

The greatest threat to the pursuit of dreams is the routine of daily living. It seems to go on-and-on without a break in sight. Hard to believe that you'll soar like an eagle when you feel like a bird in a cage. Not that cages are bad. They're safe and comfortable. If only that dream, that goal, that 'pearl of great price' that we seek, sometimes in desperation, could reach out and touch us or whisper in our ear, "Hey, I'm waiting for you. I'm worth everything you'll give up for me!"

An author, John Assaraf, had a 'vision board' (think of a poster board where one would put pictures of things one would want; such as a house, a car, a vacation, to remind him of goals in life). One of the pictures was of a luxury home selected at random from a real estate brochure. He did not even know the location of that home. When he moved from Ohio he put the vision board in a box and stored it. Some 5 years, and several work related moves later, he had his stored items shipped to him. He was now living in southern California and had purchased and remodeled a house. Upon opening one of the storage boxes, he discovered the 'vision board' and to his amazement realized he was living in the very house he had pictured on the board!

Another author maintains that we can (picture, imagine, image, visualize - pick the word you like) the perfect home, job, spouse, etc. I guess that is what causes me to take that next step each day. I have some pictures in my mind - will they become 'real'? Are they calling to me from my future, or did I make them up?

This is the deck of 'my' (vision board) condo on the gulf coast.

Manitou Springs, Colorado. Sort of a Eureka Springs, AR. with a western flavor, nestled at the base of Pikes Peak. Only minutes from Colorado Springs. Great place to spend the summers! (vision board)

Get the picture(s)?

Now we're talking!!!!

Entanglement?

acorn a photo by Marko_K on Flickr.

Let’s take a little break from the technical stuff and talk about entanglement, defined again as: ‘the tiny packets of energy “quanta’ exhibit strange behaviors, including the ability to influence one another.

Start with this simple illustration: An acorn falls to the ground and is buried by a squirrel. Moist earth surrounds it, breaks down the outer shell, and it begins to grow. Moisture and nutrients nourish it and a tree grows. Too little moisture and growth is stunted. The wrong nutrients for the tree and no growth, perhaps even death. A delicate balancing act occurs in which the ‘quanta’ of the tree are, in a very real sense, drawing toward them the ‘quanta’ of the nutrients. The nitrogen in the ground is just sitting there, until it responds to the ‘pull’ of the quanta in the tree.

Let’s bump it up a notch. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale relates the story of a woman who came to him, very concerned with her husband’s job. He was a bitter man, unhappy with his work, passed over for promotion several times. Dr. Peale suggested that she rise early in the morning (before he did) and sit by the bedside praying for him, and imagining that he was happy at work and liked by his superiors and co-workers. Within a few weeks his attitude changed and within three months was given a promotion.

May I suggest that the energy of her thoughts influenced the energy of his thoughts which in turn impacted the energy of the thoughts of his co-workers. Remember, he wasn’t using the How to Win Friends and Influence People program. He didn’t even know he was being prayed for.  It was not an intellectual process that changed things, it was, for lack of a better word, the energy of thought exerting an influence upon the thoughts of others

Next post: Entanglement continued, or, how do I love thee?

Quantum physics and personal achievement. Part 2

Let’s begin with the idea of quantum physics: what is it and how has it changed our understanding of the world.

I won’t use a lot of scientific jargon. That would bore both of us. Instead, do me a favor, take a look at yourself. What are you made of? Molecules, you might say. Well, what are molecules made of?

Atoms. What are atoms made of?     

Sub-atomic particles.

What are sub-atomic particles made of?   Energy!  In fact, if you could see yourself under a powerful electron microscope, you would see that you are made up of a cluster of ever-changing energy in the form of Photons, Leptons, Electrons, Neutrons, Quarks, etc.

Here is what quantum physicists tell us:

Until 1925 it was believed that all things just happened as a result of gravity. This belief was called Newtonian Physics.  Newtonian Physics was derived from Issac Newton's theory based on the late 17th century idea that the Universe was made up of what was believed at the time to be solid objects (atoms) which were attracted towards each other by gravity. This theory was extended in the 19th century to include the structures of atoms as being the fundamental building blocks of nature. According to Newtonian Physics it was believed that atoms were of a solid nature.

"The question is... How deep do you want to go through the rabbit hole?" a photo by Temari 09 on Flickr.

What Einstein's world changing discovery of 1925 (E=MC2) would prove was that these atoms could be broken down and analyzed further and that the subatomic particles which collectively formed the atoms were pure energy. Further research by Thomas Young and Niels Bohr was to show that energy could exist as both waves or particles.

Now it gets really exciting! To put it another way, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING which exists in the entire cosmos, when broken down and analyzed into it's purest and most basic form, is merely a vibrating frequency of energy which joins together with energies of the same harmonious frequency to form what we "perceive" to be reality and as a result determines what we experience in the physical world. In other words, matter is merely energy slowed down. You see the tree -you do not see the subatomic particles that make up the tree.

Stick with me- just a little bit further!!

Energy and matter are not only related, they can be transformed back and forth into each other. Enter the world of Quantum physics: the study of how the world works on the smallest scale. Amazingly, the deeper scientists went into ‘reality’ the more it seemed to dissolve from their view. The search for the smallest known particles of matter had revealed, instead, the smallest packets of energy, which Physicists now call Quanta. Everything around us, and we ourselves, are made up of vibrating packets of energy.

Research shows that the tiny packets of energy, 'quanta’, exhibit strange behaviors, including the ability to influence one another, a property called ENTANGLEMENT.

Think I’m making this up?  Cleve Baxter a former CIA and US Army scientist has performed several experiments in which he has developed DNA cultures from several individuals, hooked up sophisticated equipment, and discovered that the DNA responded and reacted immediately to the emotions of the man who it was taken from without ANY regard to space and time!

Follow this fascinating experiment: Cleve Baxter, “We took white cell samples, then sent the people home to watch television. I would have pre-selected a program that would elicit an emotional response from them--for example, showing a veteran of Pearl Harbor a documentary of West Pacific enemy aircraft attacks--and then I taped both the program and the response of their cells. What we found was that cells outside the body still react to the emotions you feel, even though you may be miles away. The greatest distance we've tested has been about three hundred miles.“

You've read this far. Now, take a moment, then read it again. The property of quanta, known as ENTANGLEMENT, will be explored further in part 3.

Quantum physics and personal achievement. Part 1

I've been making references to 'life changes' as I write. I thought I'd explain where I'm getting some of my ideas:

The following is an overview of material I’ve come across in my reading. It has ‘opened a door’ into new thought processes for me, and as I attempt to organize this new information, sharing it with others and getting their feedback may help clarify it in my mind.

In other words: If it doesn’t make sense when I share it, then I really don’t understand it!

Before I get into this, let me offer this thought: Modern science has come to recognize that many of great-grandma’s herbal “recipes” have great healing power. Along the path of such recognition, unfortunately, came the ‘medicine show’, selling it’s various elixirs to cure everything from hair loss to impotence. Because of the fakery, some have been slow to recognize the truth that real power exists in many of the herbal formulas. It takes time and research to differentiate between fact and fiction.

My purpose here is to separate the reality from the ‘hype’ in what is being taught regarding “The Law of Attraction.” Modern science is now recognizing that many of the older teachings about the nature of our world held truths only now being  ‘discovered’ with the latest high-tech instruments. Here is a quote from 1910, “There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe” 

Or, here is an example of knowing 'that’ something worked, without knowing much about 'why’ it worked: In 1883 Thomas Edison made a significant discovery in pure science, the Edison effect - that electrons flowed from incandescent filaments. With a metal-plate insert, the lamp could serve as a valve, admitting only negative electricity. Although "etheric force" had been recognized in 1875 and the Edison effect was patented in 1883, the phenomenon was little known outside the Edison laboratory. (At this time the existence of electrons was not generally accepted.) This "force" underlies radio broadcasting, long-distance telephone service, sound pictures, television, electric eyes, x-rays, high-frequency surgery, and electronic musical instruments.

How about this? Genesis 1:3  Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

          What is light? Isaac Newton thought that light was made of very small things that we would now call particles. Christiaan Huygens thought that light was made of waves. It was believed that a thing cannot be both a particle and a wave at the same time. Experiments proved that both ideas were right - light was somehow both waves and particles. Later, physicists found out that everything behaves both like a wave and like a particle, not just light.

Here is my point: You and I are used to thinking that things, people, ideas, etc., all exist as individual entities. We believe that we are interconnected with only a small finite group of people or resources. As Western, Rational Christians (I'm assuming you are one), we have been taught that we really are powerless; that we are dependant upon a Omnipotent God to move on our behalf in anything beyond the ordinary affairs of life.

And yet, Christians and non-Christians alike lay claim to miracles, healings, serendipitous events, a ’power’ beyond themselves that makes things happen.

As a believer, these ‘claims‘ lead me to a question: Did God make us weak, passive, impotent creatures, subject to the winds of fortune, or, as beings created in His image, do we have creative power to shape the world in which we live? In asking that question, I am not challenging  God’s role as CREATOR (I have no illusions!). I am merely wondering if He has ascribed some creative role to us in our existence on this finite world.

(More coming up in part 2) Comments invited!

One French Fry at a time?

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm stealing this from Dan Miller's 48Days blog:


"A better life – One french fry at a time
A couple of years ago a popular book called One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way was released. The author, psychologist Robert Maurer, described the process he used to lose weight. He didn’t count calories or carbs or get a personal trainer.

What he did was to throw away one French fry from his plate. Eventually, it became two, then three French fries, or portions of whatever he was eating. In this way, Maurer lost 45 pounds in 18 months – a living example of the premise in his book.

Taking tiny steps to achieve a seemingly impossible goal is the foundational premise of kaizen (pronounced “kay-zin”). This is a Japanese concept that means “continuous incremental improvement.” Kaizen has become a catchword in American industry leading to terms like Total Quality Control.

What could you do in your personal life with this principle? Losing weight is an obvious application -- but what if you wanted to read the Encyclopedia Americana? Learn a new language? Develop new career skills? Write a book? Eat an elephant? Build a new house? Double your income? How could you approach it as one French fry at a time?

If you read about 10 minutes a day, you’ll read an average book a month. If you write one page a day, you’ll have a book ready to print in six months. If you stop three negative comments a day from coming out of your mouth, in 90 days you will have saved the world from 270 negative blows. Start throwing away those French fries – you’ll see a brand new you appear."


Dan Miller is one of those "mentors" that makes you believe the 'impossible' IS possible. Small steps make a long journey easier.