Secrets behind The Secret
This article delves deeper into the method of The Secret and presents complementary strategies and techniques that can be used to multiply the effectiveness of the method exponentially.
Ask for capacity rather than results
It is true that we can ask the universe for results and get them, but there is a higher truth. We can ask the universe for the capacity to bring or create the results. When we do that, we acquire the capacity to create results over and over again, because it becomes a personal endowment. And, in the process, we also get the results which we did not specifically ask for.
Suppose you are in financial difficulty. You can ask the universe for money; it will be a one time achievement. But, you can also ask for the capacity to earn as much money as you want whenever you want it. Instead of asking for $1 million, ask for the capacity to earn $1 million. You will certainly earn it and never again want for money.
Suppose you very much want a house for the peace, security and satisfaction it will bring. Instead of asking for the house, ask the universe for the feeling of peace, security and satisfaction and for the capacity to always feel them. That opens up much greater options for the universe to act. It can meet your need in countless ways that are more lasting and fulfilling than a house would be. You'll get the house or something much better.
Suppose you love a person very much and want them to love you. By asking, you may get the person and later find out that they are not as lovable as you thought. Or, they may discover that you are not what they were really looking for. Instead of asking for the universe to give you the other person, ask it for the qualities that will make you more lovable. When you acquire those qualities, the right people will naturally come to you without you seeking them. Ask for the psychological endowment.
Calling energy, peace and joy
Energy is the fuel for all human accomplishment. The greater the energy we have, the greater our accomplishments. Peace is the foundation for all activity. The greater the peace we acquire, the more lasting and harmonious our lives. Cheerfulness and joy are the attitudes that make us receptive to what the future holds and open us up to the universal forces that are here to support our accomplishment and growth. The more intense and unshakeable our cheerfulness and joy, the higher and more continuously we will rise and the more we will enjoy the ride!
But what do I do if I do not have all the energy, peace and joy that I need or would like to have? Ask for it! The universe is Infinite Energy, Infinite Peace and Infinite Joy. Simply ask for them. Call for them. Imagine them descending as spiritual vibrations entering your mind, flowing through your nerves and filling your body to overflowing. The more intensely you aspire for them, the more they will come. Whenever you have a few moments to yourself while you are waiting for an appointment, riding in the car, standing in line or being alone with yourself, call the universe to increase your reserves of energy, peace and joy.
Changing our consciousness
According to The Secret whatever problems we suffer from are created by our consciousness. Changing our consciousness will eliminate the problems. If the problem is the result of our conscious thoughts and feelings, then we can easily solve it by consciously changing those thoughts and feelings -- by envisioning the goal, enthusiastically endorsing it with our emotions, and insisting on only positive thoughts and feelings.
But, often the source of the problem is subconscious -- in portions of our consciousness beneath the surface where we cannot easily observe or alter it. According to Eastern tradition, it can even be a form of consciousness created in a previous life or a decision of the soul before birth to seek a particular experience for its overall spiritual progress. What should we do then?
Even if the source of the problem is subconscious, our will is conscious and the decisions of our will are extremely powerful. Decide that you want to give up the element in your consciousness that has attracted or is attached to the problem. Then, ask the universe to change your consciousness. Instead of just asking for a positive result, ask for a change of consciousness. Then, that problem or a similar problem can never again come to you. If you have a health problem, ask the universe to fill your consciousness with energy, health and harmony.
Aspiration vs. Expectation
Consciousness is power. The time taken for accomplishment depends on the strength of our aspiration and the intensity with which we apply it. Sometimes we confuse aspiration with wishful thinking. Wishful thinking is a dream of achieving something without the intense will to achieve it. It is passive and satisfied, a pleasant thought. Aspiration is active and intense, a determined will.
Aspiration is also confused with expectation. Both express a will for accomplishment, one strong and the other weak. When we aspire, we send forth energy to bring a result. When we expect, we wait for something to come. Aspiration is active. Expectation is passive. In aspiration, we feel we can determine the results by the intensity of our will. In expectation, we depend on others or circumstances to accomplish the results for us. The more intense our aspiration, the faster and greater the results that come, whereas expectation can have the opposite result. Expectation has the power to postpone the results until we stop consciously looking for them to appear.
Goodwill and Self-giving
The best way to escape and transcend the limits of ego is to feel genuine, intense good will for others and to practice total self-giving. To feel joy in the joy of another is Good Will. The ego is highly competitive. It judges its own importance and success relative to the achievements of other people. When others accomplish more, it feels smaller and as if it had less than before. Therefore, generating intense goodwill that takes joy in the accomplishments of other people is a powerful means for transcending the ego. Those who can ardently aspire for others to succeed and prosper generate the maximum receptivity for success and prosperity in their own lives.
Self-giving is even more powerful than goodwill. To grow by giving is Self-giving. Moving from selfishness to selflessness helps a being expand and increases the energy of the personality. To give oneself in thought, feeling and action without calculation of return is the ultimate spiritual discipline and path to higher accomplishment. That giving may be to a person, an ideal, an organization or to God. It is most powerful when there is no thought, expectation or demand for recognition or return, only the joy of giving oneself.
Not everyone can practice self-giving, but everyone can raise their level of personal efficiency. This is a less powerful method that has a similar result because it gathers and concentrates our available energy to be more effectively utilized. Efficiency is a laborious physical method; Self-giving is an enjoyable spiritual method.
Rising above the ego through goodwill and self-giving can invoke the highest powers in the universe to act in our lives. When we do this, the universe invariably responds, bringing what we aspire for. Since, in this case, our aspiration is not selfish, the benefit comes not only to the one who aspires but to everyone.
Silent Will
Silence is one of several important issues that are not mentioned in The Secret. You learn as a child that when you make a wish, it is better not to speak about it to other people. This belief is based on a profound truth of life: speech is an act that consumes energy in the process of giving expression to a thought. Each time we speak about our goal to others, we are throwing out energy that can be better conserved as fuel for accomplishment. Silence is powerful. Silent will is more powerful than will expressed in words. This is especially true when we speak about our aspirations to others who may feel jealous or threatened by our accomplishment.
Furthermore, when we speak about our intention of a great accomplishment, it is very difficult to prevent the ego from deriving pleasure or a sense of importance from the communication. When we take pleasure merely in talking about an accomplishment, that sense of satisfaction saps our energy for the accomplishment and we end up only talking about it, never doing it. Pride, satisfaction and contentment with what we have or are is the enemy of higher accomplishment. Of course, there are times and people to whom speaking of our goal is appropriate or even essential. Speaking to those who have intense goodwill for us will magnify the power of aspiration. Speaking to those whose consent or cooperation is essential for accomplishment is necessary to avoid conflicts later on. Most spiritual disciplines advise practitioners not to speak about their experiences to other people, except to the guru whose guidance and support is essential for accomplishment.
Perfection in detail
Another very powerful, subtle strategy for accomplishment is based on the importance of the Infinitesimal. When we seek a great goal, we often disregard the small details as insignificant and unimportant when, in fact, the very opposite is true. The best way to progress toward a great accomplishment is to make every small act as perfect as possible. To us, the Infinitesimal and the Infinite seem like opposites. But spiritually, the Infinitesimal is a manifestation of the Infinite. That is why it is very difficult to perform even the simplest act perfectly. If you try to keep a room perfectly clear, you will constantly discover areas that have been missed or that cannot be maintained in that condition. If you try to make everything you write – even the most casual message - error-free, you discover that it requires enormous attention and effort.
The CEO of a small, local beverage company in South India wrote to one of the largest multinational soft drink companies applying for a distributorship in that area. He put enormous concentration into preparing the letter without a single error or imperfection. To his utter amazement his small company was selected over much larger firms. When he asked the VP of the multinational why his small company had been selected, the VP replied that he was extremely impressed by the letter the CEO had written.
High achievers know that perfection in small matters is powerful. Avoid clumsy movements, loud noises, spilling, breaking, tearing and every other form of disharmony with the environment. Avoiding small incidents of friction, dispute, quarreling and annoyance is even more important. When your goal is high accomplishment, the very best method is to make every small act as perfect and harmonious as possible. It is a method that brings a much greater result much sooner. As a senior executive of IBM put it, “God is in the details.”
The Complete Act
Every successful act is an act of accomplishment that applies the process of creation. Whether we walk, talk, write, read, compose, invent or play, we are directing our consciousness to achieve certain results. There are three essential ingredients in every successful act.
- Self-conception: A clear mental conception of the goal to be achieved.
- Emotional endorsement: Release of emotional energy to achieve the goal.
- Skilled execution: Action that expresses all the skills required for completion of the act.
When the action is physical and external, we rely on our own capacities to achieve the result. When it is inner and psychological, as The Secret advocates, we rely on the universe to act on our behalf.
Decision-making
The methodology of The Secret presupposes that you have already decided what it is you want to accomplish. But, in practice, it does not usually work that way. Our decision as to what we want to accomplish is strongly influenced by what we believe we can accomplish and what we are ready to commit our energies to seriously pursue. The Secret works in instances in which your decision – the choice of the goal – fulfills all the essential conditions.
There are four types of decisions:
- Decisions that are directly fulfilled.
- Decisions that are difficult to begin acting upon, but are ultimately accomplished.
- Decisions that get off to a good start, but ultimately fail to achieve.
- Decisions that are a failure from start to finish.
Quadrant II: This quadrant applies to instances in which all the essential inner requirements are met, but the outer requirements are lacking. Such decisions get off to a slow start and encounter many obstacles on the way, but ultimately end in success. This is in consonance with the teaching of The Secret that psychological conditions are of paramount importance, not external realities. When you chose a goal for which you are not outwardly prepared and qualified, it takes time for the inner aspiration to bring about the necessary conditions.
Quadrant III: This quadrant applies to instances in which all the essential external requirements are met, but the inner requirements are lacking. Such decisions usually get off to a good start, but ultimately end in failure. A person with sufficient knowledge, skill and experience in mountain-climbing; connections with people who organize treks; and sufficient funds to outfit themselves properly may find it relatively easy to commence preparations for the conquest of Mt. Everest. But if they do not also fulfill the inner conditions – if they lack the emotional fortitude, the self-confidence, the faith in other people, the patience to wait for suitable conditions, etc. – their enterprise is likely to stall in the formative stage and the attempt may never be made.
Quadrant IV: This quadrant applies to instances in which both the essential inner and outer requirements are lacking. There are situations where neither the outer nor the inner requirements is ready. It is like the longing for a house of one who is intimidated inwardly by that suggestion and outwardly can never complete all the requirements.
When The Secret says that anyone can achieve anything, it only means that whenever a person’s decision falls in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th quadrants, following the methodology of The Secret will enable the person to move into the first quadrant where failure is unknown. Mental concentration on the goal, releasing one’s emotional energy to achieve it, attuning oneself to the external environment, feeling cheerful, having faith and expressing gratitude are powerful methods for advancing from any of the lower quadrants by moving inwardly to make life respond.
Summary of Strategy
The following are the conditions by which we can attune ourselves with the creative universal energy in order to accomplish results in our lives:
1. Understand and comprehend the laws of the universe. 2. Intensely aspire for what you want until the aspiration becomes a physical sensation. 3. Try to convert the aspiration into gratitude. 4. Generate intense, happy inner emotions in support of your aspiration. 5. Ensure that your decisions are in the 1st quadrant of the decision-making matrix or take steps to move to the 1st quadrant as soon as possible. 6. Make sure your aspiration reaches the height of intensity and saturates your emotional being. The indication of this is that one feels as if he has already achieved results. 7. Be entirely positive and patient. 8. Shift away from the ego as far as possible. 9. Shift entirely to reliance on the inner consciousness or the universal forces rather than dependence on external circumstances and events. 10.Instead of seeking a personal goal, leave the goal to the universe.
Make the Impossible Possible
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