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1. Welcome to Issue #132 (February 16, 2004) of MIND CHATTER
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2. If you would like to unsubscribe, you can manage your account via the links at the beginning and end of the newsletter. (But please don't. We like you and we want you to stay.)
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3. In This Issue:
* MindQuotes (scroll to #5)
* Questions and Answers (scroll to #7)
by Bill Harris, Director
* Glowing Testimonial of the Month (scroll to #8)
* BOOK REVIEW (scroll to #9)
For this issue, Marc Gilson, Centerpointe Director of Customer Service, asked me if he could write a review of the Centerpointe Retreat he attended last Spring!
* Important Announcements (scroll to #10)
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4. MIND CHATTER contains articles about:
*How you create your life--and how you can stop unconsciously creating experiences and outcomes you do not want, and instead begin to create exactly what you do want
*Personal and spiritual growth in general
*Meditation (high and low-tech)
*Recovery from emotional trauma
*Pretty much any other subject I get excited about and want to write about. After all, it's my company and my newsletter, and I can do whatever I want with it. So there.
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5. Mind Quotes
We more frequently fail to face the right problem than fail to solve the problem we face.
- unknown
How a man plays a game shows something of his character, how he loses shows all of it.
- unknown
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.
- Jim Rohn
The will to prepare is more important than the will to win.
- Levell Edwards
It's easier to prepare and prevent, than to repair and repent.
- unknown
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6. A very exciting event:
In the January issue I invited you to participate in a free relationship tele-seminar by internationally known relationship experts Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks. The response was (literally) overwhelming.
Over 7,000 people signed up! People were disappointedly turned away when the call became full, and though we scrambled to add more telephone lines, some people could not listen to the seminar that night.
So everyone could hear what turned out to be an amazing seminar, we repeated it (twice) the next evening, and twice on the following Saturday.
If you didn't hear this free relationship seminar, I've arranged for it to be repeated again. Here, then, is the original announcement. At the bottom, click on the link to register for the free teleseminar...
To thank you for being a member of the Centerpointe family, I've arranged for you to participate--at no charge--in a fantastic telephone seminar with internationally known relationship experts Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks.
This telephone seminar is FREE.
Gay and Kathlyn and I have become very good friends over the last year, and because their new book, Lasting Love (Rodale Publishers), is hitting the bookstores this month, I convinced Gay to do a free tele-seminar for Mind Chatter
subscribers about the new information they've discovered about how to create close, loving relationships that really work. (Yes, it is possible.)
You get first crack at hearing this new material before they appear on all the major talk shows in the coming months. And, of course, in this seminar, they'll go into much more detail than they ever could on any talk show.
Two kinds of people will greatly benefit from this free seminar:
1) Those who want to make their current relationship into a GREAT relationship...
2) Those who aren't in a relationship right now--or even those who may have "given up" on relationships--but really would like to to find Mr. or Ms. Right and create a relationship that really does have all the love, intimacy, and
companionship you've always wanted.
This is NOT the same old "Men are from Mars" stuff. This is practical, cutting edge information that the Hendricks have successfully taught to thousands of singles and couples who wanted to stop the merry-go-round of conflict, fighting,
and lack of closeness, and create relationships the way you really want them to be.
Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks have appeared on Oprah twice, they've been on Good Morning America, Larry King, and many other television and radio programs, and they've published many best-selling books, including the classic, Conscious
Loving.
Gay and Kathlyn are super teachers, and in this seminar they will explain some key concepts that really will make a huge difference in your current relationship (even if you're the only one in the relationship who uses them).
As you probably know by now, I'm not interested in fluff. What I teach is real rubber-meets-the-road practical information that really works and really creates fundamental positive change.
Gay and Kathlyn teach in the same way I do--their stuff isn't just a lot of "feel-good" material, but rather real-life, kitchen-tested principles and techniques that really will make a difference in your life. And, the way they teach is a
lot of fun, too, so I know you'll enjoy yourself.
Again, this seminar is 100% "no charge" to you, so there's no reason to not participate if you're even remotely interested in creating a close, loving relationship.
Here's how to participate:
1. Go to
http://www.therelationshipsolution.com
2. Type in your name and email address.
3. Click "submit."
You'll then receive the telephone number to call, along with the passcode to key in once you're connected to the call, by email.
Then, all you have to do is call in about 2 minutes before the seminar and enjoy listening to two of the world's top relationship experts in a private, no-cost seminar I've arrange for them to teach, especially for you.
The phone bridge they're using does limit the number of people who can participate, so please register right away to avoid missing this free relationship seminar.
Here's the link again to sign up:
http://www.therelationshipsolution.com/teleseminar
Remember, this great seminar by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks doesn't cost you anything--it's my gift to you. Enjoy! And please feel free to send the link to all your friends.
**
Another shameless promotion:
How to create exactly what you want, both inside and out...
Nine months ago, I started a series of teleconference lessons--three courses, of 12 calls each--collectively called The Life Principles Integration Process. Nearly 1200 people are now participating in these courses, and the feedback I'm
getting has been incredible--beyond my wildest dreams. People are experiencing huge positive changes, and the calls have been a ton of fun.
I've made these lessons, plus written notes of them, several very revealing self tests, the homework, plus direct personal access to me, via email, for any questions--and several other things I don't have room to describe here--available
to everyone who didn't sign up for the live calls...
......in an on-line form.
In this on-line version, you can take the courses on your computer, either by listening via audio-streaming, or by downloading the calls to listen to later or to burn them onto a CD. As in the live calls, I am making myself personally
available, by email, to answer any questions you have about anything during the course.
In these calls, we're digging very deeply into the exact, specific reasons why and how you may be unconsciously creating results in your life, both internally and externally, that you don't want--and how you can create EXACTLY what you do
want. (Yes, Virginia, it is possible.)
This on-line version is just waiting for you, to help you discover exactly how you're currently creating your life, and how you can create it in just the way you want. I hope you'll participate, since this is the most powerful and
effective material I've ever offered in the entire fourteen-year history of Centerpointe.
And, you do not need to already be a participant in The Holosync Solution to take these courses, by the way.
Here are a few emails I've received from people in the course:
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! The first lesson was worth the price of this course, and more. I have heard and read similar material before, but somehow you manage to present it so that it gets through in a
powerful way. I simply can't tell you how grateful I am to you-and you're plenty funny!
--Jean M.
*
Wow, you are not kidding when you say you really want to help. I knew that already though. Thank you so much. You, your program, and your teachings have changed my life completely-much needed.
--Lee
*
You really know your stuff! Razor sharp.
--Andrew
*
Wow! I'm impressed by all the time and energy you are putting into this course. Thank you!
--Ellen
*
I absolutely love your impeccable program. You've summed up just about everything that I've heard from many other tapes and books, but they did not hand you the formula for the answers the way in which you did. I feel that there are many
thousands of beings who are truly grateful for all that you have gone through to bring about such change for so many. May we all find the joy and blessings that you have come to live. Bright Blessings,
--Janet G.
*
So you can get a better idea what the course is like, I'm offering a FREE preview lesson, which is available now for you to listen to online. This free lesson contains some great stuff, so please go listen to it.
For more information about the course and the preview lesson, and to actually listen to the FREE preview lesson, click here
I'd love to get an email from you in a few weeks telling me how much YOU have benefited!
Be well.
Bill
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7. Feature Article
Because I've been teaching my Life Principles Integration Process courses, in which I offer unlimited email access to me with questions, I've been receiving and answering a lot of questions lately, as more and more people get involved in
these courses. Because these questions are often universal, even if the details of each person's situation is different, I'd like to share a few of them, and my answers, with you.
I hope you find them to be helpful as they apply to your situation.
Bill,
I am having difficulty motivating myself to exercise in a consistent manner. I have a lot of fatigue and pain and it makes doing exercise hard. Even though I've lost 35 pounds and eat in a consistently healthy manner, I haven't lost any
more (or gained any back) for the past 8 months. I am still carrying an extra 100 pounds which makes it hard to be active and do exercise. I know I have a very slow metabolism and I want to have some way to overcome the resistance and
look forward to the exercise. I currently have worked up to 35 minutes of aerobic 5 to 6 times a week, but need to increase that and add one to three sessions of strength building a week. Can you give me some idea of a good strategy to
achieve that. I mostly use away from when I do this. I want to have a strategy that consistently works.
I have been trying to see how I demotivate myself in this area and it seems to be:
Kinesthetic internal [and internal feeling]. I feel exhausted and depressed and discouraged.
Auditory internal dialogue. I say to myself "I don't want to do this. I'm too tired and it hurts too much, and it doesn't help anyway" Thinking "I haven't lost anymore weight for 8 months now. I'm doomed, I'll never conquer this -
what's wrong with me?"
Auditory digital to Kinesthetic [another feeling].
Then I just seem to stay in a loop of negative thoughts and finally decide to not do the strength building or extra aerobic and choose to meditate or do something else which is non- physical such as read or watch tv, etc.
The aerobic is difficult too, but I started with 5 minutes and gradually added time until I got to 35-40 minutes. I'm wondering if the same technique and just doing 5-10 minutes of strength building would work. I always feel that I have
to do a whole round, which takes about 30-45 minutes is the "only way" to make progress and get to overwhelmed and discouraged. I do force myself to do it a few times a month, but I need more consistency and I really want to have it be
fun and rewarding. Help!
If I am really needing encouragement, I sing the theme from "Rocky" and visualize me running up the steps as he did in the movie and that seems to help for the aerobic, but not for the strength building.
When I've motivated myself in other areas I usually talk in my head bout how I'll feel better when this chore is done. Of course it is always easier if this is something I can do, but just am not in the "mood" for it. I want to get in
and stay in the mood for exercise because I know it is a key component to my loosing weight and keeping it off and getting more healthy. How do I get from intellectual understanding to internal excitement and joy about exercise? Can I
really get to the point where I see myself as a person, who is healthy, active and enjoys exercise?
Thanks, S.
S.,
First, you're exercising more than I am! I don't think more exercise, necessarily, is the answer. If you're exercising 6x a week for 35 minutes, you're probably in the top 2% of people in the US.
That, however, was not your question.
The whole secret to everything in life is what you focus on. When you focus on what you want, it tends to happen (and you feel better). When you focus on what you don't want, what you don't want tends to happen, and you feel bad. In fact,
ALL bad feelings can be traced back to making internal representations of what you do not want.
If you focus on what you want, the positive end product, you tend to be motivated to do it. If you focus on the work involved, or visualize a negative end product ("it won't work, anyway") you lose motivation. Look back at your description
of what works and doesn't work. When you described what doesn't work, you were telling me that you were thinking about how it wouldn't work, and kinesthetically focusing on how bad you felt. When you were motivated, you were visualizing
yourself strong and fit and running up the steps. Can you see how what you focus on really does change your state?
Most people think their brain has a life of its own, and it just does these things. This is true, if you let your brain run on automatic, without conscious attention. But you really can decide what to focus on. I suggest focus on an
internal picture of you being slim and strong and healthy, and use internal dialog of "I can do this, and it will be well worth it." When you find yourself saying negative things, replace them with positive things. When you find yourself
picturing the hard work or a negative result, replace it with a picture of you enjoying the exercise, or the end result you want.
The fastest way to change the negative feeling, besides changing your focus (which you've already noticed does change how you feel) is to change your physiology. There a completely different way you hold your body and breath for lack of
energy or for being energized and motivated. So you can increase your energy by changing your physiology.
The main thing to get is that there is a direct relationship between what you focus on and how you feel, and you have control over what you focus on.
Be well.
Bill
**
I can sort of understand how beliefs determine my thoughts and reactions. But whenever a stimulus happens (very often from within) i am not able to look at it or think of it as a belief. When i try to witness my thoughts they disappear
almost instantly while very often the feeling stays.is a welcoming or watching the feeling (sedona method) at all useful. STRUGGLING. I have been doing Holosync for about one and a half years about to start cd#4 Awakening LeveL 2. When
does the junk start to fall away?
Bill
Bill,
I'm sure a lot of the junk has already fallen away. You may just not be aware of it yet.
Yes, it is a good thing to witness your emotions. If a thought disappears while you are watching it, so what? When you're witnessing, you have no agenda for what happens. You're just watching. If it disappears, watch it disappear.
There is only one way you can struggle or feel bad, and that is (this is a very key point, so really prepare to take this in) to focus on what you don't want. When you focus on what you don't want (which means to make pictures in your head
of it or think about it), you 1) create more of it, and 2) feel bad.
There is a big difference between making a picture of being rich, for instance, with the idea that you want it, and making a picture of being poor, with the idea that you don't want it. Many people think the two are the same, but they
aren't. Your brain takes every thought and every picture as something you want, even if it's of something you want to avoid. It cannot tell if your intention is to NOT have it.
So when you worry about something, you have to make pictures of what you are worried about, and think thoughts about what you are worried about. Your brain doesn't know you don't want it, and in fact thinks it should help you create it. So
it's not good at all to think about what you don't want. Instead, you want to think about what you DO want.
Any area of your life that doesn't work is an area where you have been focusing on what you don't want, and when you change that focus to what you do want, that area will start to work. Any time you feel bad, you are focusing on something
you don't want, and when you stop doing this and focus on what you want, the bad feeling will go away.
To make this change is not easy, because your mind has a habit of thinking about what you don't want. This thinking goes on automatically and unconsciously. You have to become aware of it, and when you notice you're thinking about what
you don't want, immediately change to thinking about what you DO want.
At first this is very tedious, because you're used to automatically and unconsciously thinking about what you don't want. Why? Because when you have some sort of negative emotional experience, you begin to think there's danger out there
that you have to avoid, and to do that you have to watch out for it, and to watch out for it you have to think about it and focus on it (all this happens unconsciously). But doing this doesn't help you avoid it, it creates more of it--and
it makes you feel bad.
So all those areas of your life that aren't working are areas where you are focusing on what you don't want, and all those times when you feel bad are times when you are focusing on what you don't want.
There will be a lot more about this as the course progresses. You'll get it.
Be well.
Bill
**
Dear Bill,
One of the things I found to be eye-opening in your answers to the questions in this lesson was the identification of the many instances in which people's wants were actually reactions to things they did not want. It made me see that's
what I've been doing in relation to a health problem. I'm quite healthy otherwise, and want to get past this problem, too.
Can you offer any further help with focusing on what I want when it is to overcome a negative? Also, how do I balance knowing the problem and acting responsibly to take care of it, and focusing my attention on the health I truly want?
Thank you for all that you're doing to help us move forward,
Pat H.
Pat,
If you find yourself focusing on what you don't want (focusing means thinking about, making pictures in your head about), immediately change to focusing on what you do want. The only value of focusing on what you don't want is to have it
trigger you into focusing on what you do want. Otherwise, it just tells your brain to create more of what you don't want--and, it causes you to feel bad.
Most people think they can't manifest what they want, but actually people are superb at manifesting whatever they focus on. It's the focusing that's the problem, not the ability to manifest something. Most people do their focusing
unconsciously and automatically. If their past experiences tend to lead to a lot of focusing on what they want, they'll usually get pretty good results. If their experiences were negative, they tend to think, "There's danger out there, and
I have to watch out for it." To do that, they have to focus on the danger (what they don't want, what they are worried about, etc.), which causes their brain to figure out how to make it happen.
So the only value of thinking about what you don't want is to trigger you into changing to focusing on what you do want.
There will be much more about this as we go along. The Internal Map of Reality is your focusing mechanism, and we're going to take it apart, piece by piece, so you see very clearly how you do your focusing, and so you can begin to do it
consciously and intentionally.
Be well.
Bill
**
Dear Bill,
I've listened to the first lesson of The Internal Map of Reality on-line course. I'm doing the exercises about the beliefs, but I have a hard time trying to figure out my beliefs, because it seems to me that I have different beliefs for
different situations.
An example: the beliefs about people. If I'm having a good day at work (which is 80% of the time), my belief would be: people are generally good. But if I'm having a hard day at work (20%), I'd say: people are mean and bad.
I know you said that we have to look at things we say to ourselves when things are bad, but is this the case even when for me "things are bad" are not so common?
Thanks a lot,
Matteo,
Italy
Matteo,
You're doing this to discover these things about yourself that were previously unconscious to you. Now you know that what you believe changes as circumstances change. Since what you believe shapes what happens, do you think it helps you to
believe that people are mean and bad? If you believe that, a couple of things happen. First, you're more likely to attract mean and bad people, you're more likely to be attracted to mean and bad people, you're more likely to see people as
mean and bad even if that's not really what is happening, and you are more likely to act in a way that gets people to act mean and bad toward you.
When you believe people are mean and bad on one of those days where you're having a bad day, you have to focus your mind on "people are mean and bad, and I want to avoid that." To do this, you make pictures in your mind of what you don't
want, and your brain interprets this as if you do want it. Even though a bad day makes you feel like moving away from what you don't want, the best strategy is to focus your mind on what you want--people being good. If you make pictures in
your mind of what you want, even when you feel differently, you will attract good people, you will act in such a way that people are more likely to be good to you, and you won't misinterpret what others do as being bad when it isn't.
This is a learning process, and by looking at these things, you are learning about yourself.
There will be much more to come, and a lot of your concerns will be addressed in future lessons.
Be well.
Bill
**
DEAR BILL,
I AM A REALIST, LOGICIAN AND A READER OF PHILOSOPHY. HOW DO I RECONCILE THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH WITH INSTALLING NEW BELIEFS THAT MIGHT NOT REALLY BE TRUE? I KNOW YOU SAID THAT A BELIEF IS WHAT YOU HOLD TO BE TRUE. AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIEVE
MYSELF TO BEGIN TO CHANGE MY BELIEFS? I UNDERSTAND IT IS BENEFICIAL TO MY PROGRESS IN THIS PROGRAM. HOW DO I BALANCE THE 2--PURE TRUTH AND BENEFICIAL BELIEFS?
MARK
Mark,
None of your beliefs are true now, anyway, nor are mine. In fact, belief comes from the old English root "lief" which means "a fervent wish."
If you follow what I've said about the fact that the first thing that happens when you take in information is that you delete, distort, and generalize it, and what makes it past these filters is what you THINK is reality, and what you use
to create your life, you'll realize that every belief you now have is really not accurate (and there are additional ways other than filtering through which you distort reality). All beliefs are inaccurate--they are all a distortion of
reality. If you see it through the mind, you're not seeing what really is.
Then, when you consider that everyone's beliefs, to them, are true, because of the fact that your brain deletes, distorts, and generalizes what comes in so as to either make them true (you either 1) draw to you the situations and people
that make them true, 2) interpret things so as to make them true, or 3) act in such a way that they come true), the "truth" of beliefs is very much relative. This is why for every belief, there is someone else who believes the
opposite.
Now of course there is a real "truth" but to perceive it requires a lot of special training (meditation, etc.) because the only way to really perceive things the way they are is to not see them through the filter of the mind. And I'm not
talking about beliefs such as "Cincinnati is in the midwest." I'm talking about what you believe about yourself, about the nature of people, about the nature of the world, about the meaning of life, about what is possible, and so on.
So what you're left with is realizing that you are distorting reality if you operate through the mind (which you are). That means the real decision is not what is true and what isn't, but rather "which way of distorting things servers me
best?" Or, "if I'm altering my perception of my reality as I process it through the brain, can I do it consciously, based on the outcome I want, rather than just having it run unconsciously and automatically?" And, finally, do you know you
are distorting reality, or do you just accept your distortion as if it is real--which is what most people are doing.
Even if you do the work required to be able to see reality without filtering it through the mind, your mind will still operate, and you will still perceive the result of whatever distortion it creates. At that point you would realize that
what the mind creates is not the pure reality, but it would still be there, and you would at that point have the option of just taking whatever your mind created, or exerting some effort to direct the way the brain created "its" reality.
Some enlightened people don't care, and some do.
Beliefs have consequences. The big question is "what consequences do you want?"
Be well.
Bill
[If you found this article helpful, please send a copy of this issue to a friend!]
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8. Glowing Testimonials and Letters
I recently met author Joe Vitale (I love Joe's books, and I urge you to visit his web site,
http://www.mrfire.com ). Joe asked me to speak at his Spiritual Marketing Super Summit in Texas, which I did in January. Joe also urged his newsletter subscribers to join The Holosync Solution. Here's a letter to Joe from someone who
did:
Hi Joe:
I've been listening to the Holosync Solution audio tapes for about 3 months now.
I've been meditating "off and on" for many years. When I do it consistently, I always feel better. But sticking with it has been a challenge.
With Holosync, I've noticed such marked improvement in my overall sense of well-being, that I am now compelled to meditate every day -- this system really works!
Here's an example of how Holosync has changed my life.
I'm more relaxed and less prone to get stressed out by the ups and downs of every day life.
I was driving home from the office a few weeks ago during a snow storm. Visibility suddenly dimished and the next thing I know, I'm the 5th car in a 5-car fender-bender.
Fortunately, no injuries to anyone. But some property damage, and my car had to be towed away from the scene of the accident.
I've been in car accidents before. And can remember vividly my reaction -- quite stressed out by the whole thing.
Even without any injuries, dealing with the police reports, the insurance claims, the wasted time getting the car repaired, on and on it goes.
Well, during the aftermath of this last accident, I can honestly say that somehow I remained calm through the whole thing. And even in the midst of it all, I remember saying to myself, "Wow, I'm not upset. This is ok. No big deal." I was
somehow both involved, yet emotionally detached -- it just didn't bother me at all. [What we at Centerpointe call "witnessing."--Ed.]
I couldn't believe I had such a calm reaction. And I believe Holosync had a lot to do with this.
This is how I am now in many situations that, prior to Holosync, would have "stressed me out".
I'm feeling a sense of inner tranquility that I've never had before.
And I love it!
People do need to realize that this program is not a quick path to nirvana. It takes time and commitment.
Here are the minimum time requirements: for the first 2 weeks, 30 minutes per day. Then after the first 2 weeks, 60 minutes per day.
Believe me, I now look forward to those 60 minutes! After a few weeks, the cumulative effect of listening to the tapes starts to kick in, and tremendous personal growth begins to happen.
I was just thrilled to see you mention this program in your Feb newsletter, I thought you'd like to hear how it's helped me.
Sincerely,
Wayne M. Davies
Author, The Ultimate Small Business Tax Reduction Guide
**
These CD's rule!! I've listened to this CD 4 times in 2 days time. The first time I listened to it, it felt like the sounds got ahold of my worry and sadness inside of me and made them melt away. The more I listen, the more I:
Sleep better
Find it easier to have fun and joke around
Have more control over my thoughts
Have better clarity of my mind
Think happier, better, and clearer thoughts
Become more calm and content
Am in more control and calm when something goes wrong or is unexpected
I am starting to feel like a part of the world again. I noticed this yesterday when I was on my way to work. I was in a happy mood and the sun was shining hard and warm. It felt welcoming like a spring time walk I always used to take. I
just can't wait til I master the demo completely and jump right into the next step. I'm pretty anxious to see what all happens next. I also had a problem with anxiety. I can see this is helping a lot! Like everytime I'd go into a public
place and have to stand in line I'd get really nervous and on-guard...after 2 days thats barely there anymore. I went from bad to really good and on my way to being GREAT!! I am starting to notice my interest level begin to rise,
excitement and the off the walls energy I used to have! I had a breathing problem, too, due to stress, where my breathing patterns would change every few minutes I noticed. This doesn't happen anymore. Now I am breathing normally and can
breathe fresh clean air again and can feel it's effect on me.
I'm starting to 'get into it' more too. When fun starts to happen or I make fun, I can notice I stay in that 'mode' more and keep it going more and more as I listen to the CD's. I am starting to like things more as time goes on. Expect me
to order the next level really soon!
This is the coolest product ever!
Thanks a ton!,
Brad
P.S. How did you get so damn cool and smart anyway?
;-)
**
Thank you Bill Harris for this powerful life changing program that you created. I'm starting to realize that I dodged a life of misery, pain and suffering, first by taking a chance and signing up for the sedona method course(out of the
blue) and then by honoring their suggestion and join centerpointe. I want you to know that I medidate with holosync religiously everyday and I read everything that comes from you, sometimes, more than once. Slowly I'm starting to wake up
and taking control of my life.
Thanks for throwing the ladder that it's going to allow me to get out of the pit.
Sincerely yours,
Pedro D.
**
Dear Bill
I too would like to add my sincere appreciation and thanks for this programm. It is the first anything I've tried has changed my life so profoundly.
Ever since I was a baby I have been afraid of things. When I was small it was ghost then in my adulthood I became very afraid of public speaking. The few times I had to speak publicly turned out to be a disaster. I got married on December
27, 2003 and I start using your programm on Dec1, 2003. Up until Dec 1, 2003 I have been dreading the fact that I had to give a speach at my wedding in front of 200 people. After I start listing to your soundtrack everything about me
change and I gave the best speach at the wedding that day.
The way I feel know Is how I'd always hope to feel and it is really encouraging to know that it can get better than this.
Many thanks!
Michael F.
**
Hi Bill,
As I write this I am high above the ground on my way back from an international trip - perfect place to be as I just had one of those experiences I call a "God-thing". It involves your teachings so I would like to share it with you.
This month marks the end of my first year listening to Holosync, I am on Awakening Level 1, Track 3 and just took advantage of your offer to order the next 3 levels and received as a bonus the Values Clarifier. I started working on the
trip over (I have found long flights are a great time to concentrate on activities such as these), and then on this flight listened to the Timeline process for a couple of "away-froms". One of those was not wanting to ask for help which
was also tied up with feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness.
Through the Timeline process I realized that this stems back to two traumatic events when I was 6 years old. I was hit by a car, spent a month in the hospital in traction, then after a month woke up from surgery in a full body cast. (I had
not been told I was going in to a body cast ahead of time; in fact, the night before I saw another child on the ward come back from surgery in a body cast and I remarked to a visiting relative how horrible that would be and how glad I was
it wasn't happening to me. I remember her looking uncomfortably away as she knew that WAS happening to me the very next morning).
That was the first event, the second occured after spending several months in the cast. I was so excited when it came time to remove the cast. I hadn't walked, stood, or sat up in several months. However, I was bitterly disappointed once
it was removed and I was then told I could not walk on my own, but had to rely on crutches for several weeks until my strength returned and I "re-learned" to walk. In both cases I am sure the adults around me were just trying to spare my
feelings for as long as possible; but the "surprises" just added to my feelings of powerless and vulnerability. What seemed to me to be counter-intuitive, however, is how this caused me NOT to want to get as much information as possible.
But, I decided just to trust that the process took care of it anyway.
Now for the "God-thing". After completing the Timeline, I decided to read some of your old newsletters to pass the time. (Several months ago I downloaded all of the archived newsletters off the website and have been slowly working through
them as time permits. ) I opened up the next newsletter in the folder (the 3-15-2001 issue) and immediately began reading "This Is Paducah (The Virtue of Asking for Directions)" By Marc Gilson. In it Marc says "Our culture prizes
self-reliance and independence. We equate these characteristics with strength. We don't want to need anyone's help. We don't want to have to rely on others for our happiness." I immediately knew that, at the time of these events, my brain
linked together lack-of-information = vulnerability = bitter disappointment and helplessness, along with all the feelings of these traumatic events as icing on top. If I admit I don't know something, then I am vulnerable and could get
hurt. Now I know. But it doesn't matter because the feelings are gone and I have instructed my brain to delete that mis-information and I have removed it from my values list.
My God is really Awesome and so are you, your staff, Holosync and all your other teachings. Thank you.
With love and gratitude,
Tracy
ps. I am just now beginning to master the amazingly easy process you always talk about. I just tell my subconscious what I want, then get out of the way and watch it happen. This is great!
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9. RETREAT REVIEW
What's a Centerpointe Retreat Really Like?
By Marc Gilson
Several times per week I am asked the following question: "Marc, what's a Centerpointe retreat like?" While it's easy to explain what happened on day 2 or day 5, I've found that just describing what we "did" at the retreat isn't the same
as explaining what the retreat is really like. On one hand, you really can't know what it's like until you've been to one. On the other, I want to see if I can provide an answer to the question, if only from a kind of "right-brained"
conceptual viewpoint. So here goes`
Let me first mention that I'm not a stranger to retreats. I've done meditation retreats, fasts, shamanic journeying, pranic workshops, poetry workshops, Reiki intensives, etc.; dozens of these things over the years. I have to admit that
I'm not naturally drawn to these kinds of events. I go only when I think there's really something valuable there for me, something pertinent to my path. If not, I don't bother.
When the opportunity to go to Glen Ivy came up last year, I really looked forward to it, although I admit that at first I viewed it as more "a part of my job" than something I might have signed up for had I not been directly involved with
Centerpointe. I say this because I've heard some of you tell me, "I'm not really one of those 'workshop-type' people." To that I usually say, "Me neither!" because despite attending a lot of workshops and classes, I have never honestly
gotten much out of them.
Part of why I don't like to go to many retreats anymore is because of what I call "false bliss." That's the feeling some retreats seem to foist upon you to put on a big smile, and walk around hoping others will notice your glowing halo.
Too often, retreats feel like a competition among those aspiring to such great spiritual heights you feel you should shade your eyes to gaze upon them. Maybe that sounds a little cynical, but after being around it enough I think it's
natural to look beyond this superficial "false bliss," and seek out something more genuine. I didn't want to end up sitting around a room with a lot of self-righteous, ego junkies for a week. (That definitely sounded cynical!) So it's fair
to say that I had a few reservations about going to this Glen Ivy retreat.
But in March 2003 I found myself driving south on Interstate 5, 1,000 miles from Centerpointe's doorstep to the scenic hills around the Glen Ivy retreat center. That long drive gave me some time to think. A few weeks before, Bill had asked
me a question: "What do you want to get from the retreat?" I had no answer at the time because I knew more about what I didn't want, than what I did want! But on my way to the retreat I thought a lot about that question. There were lots of
things I wanted in general: I wanted to meet other Participants. I wanted to have a break from my daily routine. I wanted to become more creative. I wanted to meditate with a group a lot. Basic stuff. And yet I knew there was something
deeper I wanted out of that retreat. It wasn't until the third day at Glen Ivy when I realized what that something was.
The Glen Ivy retreat center is one of the most comfortable, accommodating, beautiful places I've been. It's got "good energy," if you know what I mean. It's earthy without being too rustic, and lush without being uppity. Set against the
gently rolling Santa Ana hills Glen Ivy's walking paths are lined with beautiful palm, orange, and apricot trees, and dozens of colorful flowers and high desert foliage. The days are bright, the nights clear. For me, this was a welcome
respite from the rain-laden Springtime skies of my Oregon home.
On the first night of the retreat I found myself sitting in a big room, staring at a bunch of strangers who were, of course, also staring back. Although everyone seemed friendly, there was the normal feeling of apprehension among most of
us sitting there. The general mood was: "Ok, so here we all are. What's going to happen?" Enter Bill. Bill's role at retreats is, in my own terms, tour guide. I don't remember all the specifics of what Bill said that first night, but the
gist of it was: "What you get out of this experience has a lot to do with what you put into it," and, "Think of this week as a chance for you to try on a new set of ideas and see how they fit. If you don't like them, you can take them off
again at the end of the week." So, we went around the room and introduced ourselves, the ice was melting, everyone was smiling, and it began to feel good to be there. The tour had begun.
A lot of what happens at a retreat is determined by the people in attendance, and Bill and the retreat team are excellent at tuning-in to the dynamic of the people there, guiding and directing the events in an expert way. Bill works with
the understanding that every retreat is unique because each one is composed of a different group of individuals. So while there is a definite structure and schedule to the retreats, it's also a very organic process, one that seems
sometimes to evolve moment by moment.
It was clear to me from the first night that we had quite a diverse and interesting group of people. Some older, some young. Men, women. Single, married, including several couples. There is not, it would seem, a "typical" Centerpointe
retreat attendee. This diversity extends also to the reasons people gave for coming. Some said they came out of sheer curiosity. Others wanted to meet Bill and see what he was like. Some were clearly dealing with some heavy emotional
challenges and were seeking healing. Others were taking a break from their busy schedules and responsibilities at home and work. I asked one man why he decided to come to the retreat. He said, "Because I believe in myself and I believe in
this process." Great answer!
I mentioned that it was the third day when I realized what it was I wanted out of this retreat. It hit me while talking with a small group of people at the end of the day, eating copious amounts of popcorn and relaxing together. A lady who
had been to several retreats before said, "I love that feeling at a retreat when people become comfortable around one another, and then get comfortable with themselves." Hey! I said to myself, that's it! What I wanted was to feel
comfortable with myself. I wanted to reconnect to me, and it dawned on me that I was doing that by connecting with others at the retreat.
So often, the daily demands of life seem to have a way of creating a sense of disconnectedness. Whether you're an insurance agent, homemaker, airline pilot, or Centerpointe life coach, the busy-ness of our daily lives sometimes serves to
undermine the very intent of our personal growth work; to explore this amazing phenomenon of human life, and to become happier, healthier people. Instead we become distracted, detached, depersonalized. For me, the retreat was the perfect
arena within which I could truly reconnect.
My usual method of reconnecting is to go within, or more precisely, to withdraw into my own space, away from the "heave and sway" of daily business and social demands. But at the retreat I found myself reconnecting in a new way - through
the others I got to know and love during the week. Every individual I met offered me, in some way, a chance to open myself to love, and to engage, connect, plug-in to the dynamic flow of growth, healing, and discovery happening in
different ways for each of us there. There was such a deep sense of acceptance among the group there, that it became easy to become comfortable with myself again. And I didn't have to wonder whether others felt it. It was evident on the
faces of all. As I write this I can recall one woman in particular who exhibited the rejuvenating effects of the retreat in such a profound way that by the end of the retreat I could not believe I was looking at the same woman; she seemed
only half as old as when she arrived.
There may be many ways of describing a Centerpointe retreat. For me, the best way is to say that it's a week packed with opportunities to reconnect. Bill's informative talks, Dr. Beverlee Marks Taub's amazing and entertaining exercises,
Holosync meditation sessions, Michael Stillwater's powerful music and gentle presence, all of these things and much more are more to me than just "what happened at the retreat." They were all methods by which I retrieved myself and
reclaimed something of the path of growth and change I've committed to. There was not a hint of "false bliss," but rather a spirit of openness, humanity, and the connectedness I sought.
On the last day of the retreat we all had an opportunity to briefly mention what we got from the retreat. Just like the first night, we were all sitting around in a big circle. But this time, we were not apprehensive strangers, but a kind
of family. The smiles and hugs we gave and received were mixed with a little sadness as, somehow, the week had come and gone, and we were suddenly saying goodbye to one another. I left for home very early on the departure day, before most
people were awake. I would take the same route I had driven a few days earlier, but now with a clearer mind, a happier spirit, loving memories, and a more connected self.
A year has passed now, but I am still reaping the benefits of my week at Glen Ivy. Nothing of the sense of love, acceptance, and connection from that experience has faded for me. Life presents various opportunities for change and growth.
So often, we step right over them in a rush to get done what we need to do. If you've considered going to a Centerpointe retreat, don't step over this opportunity. If you don't like to go to retreats, go to this one. If you detest that
"false bliss" you've encountered at other such gatherings, you won't encounter it here. If you're ready to reconnect to yourself in a safe environment under the guidance of an amazing group of caring people, please make a point of
going.
("Club Mud" awaits! The upcoming Glen Ivy retreat is filling up fast, with only a few spots left. Contact Emily McDonald to reserve your spot by calling 800-945-2741, or email: emily@centepointe.com )
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10. Announcements
Marc told you about his retreat experience. What, I wonder, will yours be?
If you have a big issue you'd like to resolve, if you're in a transition period in your life and you just can't seem to complete it, or if you just want to takes things to a higher level--one where you understand more completely how you're
creating your life--please, do yourself a favor and come to our next retreat at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, beginning April 13th.
I promise that you'll have an incredible experience you'll never forget.
I tell people they'll receive six months of growth in just 5 days at these retreats, but they keep improving every time, and people now tell me they're received much more than that.
And, this time, I'll be sharing some new information I've never shared at any retreat.
This is your chance to make a big change, and to work with me personally.
So click on this link for more information, and then sign up. There are only a few spots left, so do it now!
http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats
And, I guarantee results!
If, at the end of the retreat, you don't think it was 'as advertised' -- and more -- we'll refund your money!
You do not need to be a program participant to attend (though most people who attend are). (And if you're not a program participant, why the heck aren't you? Quit procrastinating and join.)
Click here for more information:
http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats
Or, call us between 9:30 and 5:00 Pacific time, M-F, at 1-800-945-2741 or 503-672-7117.
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