1. Welcome to Issue #158 (March 2006) of MIND CHATTER, the e-mail newsletter of Centerpointe Research Institute: http://www.centerpointe.com. Mind Chatter is published once a month, on or about the 16th of each month. Please send Mind Chatter to a friend, and please send us your questions, comments, and suggestions. ................................................................................ 2. If you would like to unsubscribe, you can manage your account via the link at the end of this newsletter. (But please don't. We like you and we want you to stay.) ................................................................................ 3. In This Issue // MindQuotes (scroll to #5) // A few recommendations that may benefit you (scroll to item #6) // Feature Article Do You Believe In Magic? -- Part 3 by Bill Harris, Director (scroll to item #7) // Glowing Testimonials of the Month (scroll to #8) // Book Review (scroll to #9) Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen Review by Marc Gilson // Important Announcements (scroll to #10) ................................................................................ 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. ................................................................................ 5. Mind Quotes What we see depends mainly on what we look for. - John Lubbock Now is the time. Needs are great, but your possibilities are greater. - Bill Blackman No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big. - unknown Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. - Japanese Proverb ................................................................................ 6. Live long and prosper! Unless you've been living in a cave lately, you must have seen some of the recent news about the health benefits of meditation. It's everywhere... * An article published in the American Heart Association journal, Stroke, recently reported that meditation can reduce cholesterol buildup and the associated risk of heart attack and stroke. * And another study found that meditation reduces the death rate among the elderly. * The National Institutes of Health reports that regular meditation reduces chronic pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and cortisol (sometimes called "the stress hormone") production. * A University of Wisconsin-Madison study discovered meditation boosts brain function and the immune system. * A recent issue of the American Journal of Hypertension featured the results of a study showing a significant lowering of blood pressure in a group of meditators compared to a control group of people who didn't meditate. The study also reported a 23% decrease in usage of antihypertensive drugs between the group of meditators and the other group. * A Harvard study also concluded that regular meditation can reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and cut production of the stress hormone, cortisol. * The most recent study by The American Heart Association shows heart and artery health improved 69 percent in test groups practicing meditation. And this is just the beginning. Practically every time you turn around there's another study documenting and supporting fantastic health and wellness benefits of meditation. So, what's the quickest way to actually achieve these amazing benefits? If there's a downside to meditation it's this... Traditional meditation can take years, even decades to master. The Holosync Solution changes all that. Holosync uses advanced scientific technology to induce deep states of meditation virtually at the push of a button. Most regular users of Holosync report fabulous results in weeks rather than years. Try Holosync for yourself-for FREE! Click visit http://www.centerpointe.com/demo/ to get a FREE Holosync demo CD so you can see for yourself how this powerful technology can improve your life. Here's an even better idea. Go ahead and order Awakening Prologue (the first level of The Holosync Solution) and get started with the real thing. With our One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can do so with no risk whatsoever. Use Holosync for up to a full year and enjoy all the powerful and lasting benefits this kind of meditation brings you. And if you decide that Holosync isn't everything we promise, simple let us know and you can return it for a full refund. It's just that simple. If you have any interest at all in increased health and vigor, increased longevity, lower blood pressure, peace of mind, and all the other great benefits of meditation, at least give Holosync a try. Remember you can get a FREE demo CD by going to +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.centerpointe.com/demo/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And to learn all about the science behind Holosync, check out our extensive articles section here: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.centerpointe.com/about/articles.php ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ** // ** It's impressive to see your brainwaves, but when you learn to make them dance... I recently experienced something so incredible--something that affected me in such an amazing way--that I just had to tell you about it. If you're at all serious about your emotional and spiritual growth, this is going to absolutely blow your mind! Here's what it's all about: I recently had the good fortune to meet an amazing man. Dr. James Hardt is probably the world's greatest expert on human brain waves, their connection to various beneficial states (especially all kinds of spiritual states), and--this is the best part!--how, using a very sophisticated form of brain wave biofeedback tested over 30 years, you can learn to create states of happiness, joy, feelings of connection and love, and many other beneficial mental, emotional, and spiritual states, at will. A couple of months ago, I traveled to San Jose, California to attend one of Dr. Hardt's alpha brain wave trainings. The purpose of the training is to use feedback from your own brain to learn how to intentionally make lots and lots of alpha waves, associated with... ...meditation, creativity, emotional healing, incredible joyfulness, and a lot more! The first morning, electrodes were gently attached to certain key locations on my head. I entered a sound-proof booth and sank into a comfortable chair. Speakers on either side of my head played back special tones, one for each electrode location. These tones, and the music they created, came from alpha waves... ...created by my own brain! When I made more alpha waves, the tones became louder. When I created less alpha, the tones became quieter. Over the seven days of the training, this feedback allowed me to create more and more alpha waves, and as I did so... ...I began to feel more and more joy...more inner peace...and more and more connection to the universe! It was amazing. All the training participants had profound meditative and spiritual experiences, which Dr. Hardt helped us understand. Emotional and spiritual issues needing resolution came to the surface, and Dr. Hardt showed us how to resolve them (which is much easier when you're making a lot of alpha waves). As issues were resolved, we were able to make more and more alpha, and our experience of joy and connection... ...increased and increased and increased! By the end of the week, everyone was transformed (more about that below). Dr. Hardt, over 30 years, has trained Zen masters (who told him his training was better than Zen because, unlike with a Zen master, your brain can give you feedback every second!) and other advanced spiritual seekers. He's also trained high-level Special Forces troops...business and artistic geniuses...and people like you and me who are interested in rapid spiritual and emotional growth. Dr. Hardt has published his findings in peer-review journals and is considered to be the world's most respected authority on brain wave biofeedback training. As you know, I already know a lot about brain waves and spiritual states, but Dr. Hardt had a lot to teach even me! Here's something that I found to be particularly amazing: The Alpha I brain wave training I attended teaches you how to make the same brain waves made by those who have practiced Zen meditation (or something comparable) for 21 to 40 years or more--but it does so in just seven days! Dr. Hardt's brainwave training is a huge shortcut! Sounds good, but do the changes last, you ask? Yes, they do. Studies show that those who have taken this training are making even more alpha waves a year later! Just as with Holosync, this training creates a momentum for growth that continues long after you stop. The trainings are small, with lots of personal attention--a maximum of 5 students per training. Two people in my training arrived depressed and confused about their lives, and with a significant amount of emotional baggage (in one case, quite severe emotional baggage). At the end of seven days, though, these two looked and behaved like the long-time Holosync users I see at Centerpointe retreats. They were happy, bubbly, focused, joyful, and radiant. They smiled. Their posture was more confident and their attitude upbeat. They looked you in the eye when they talked to you, whereas before the training... ...they could not do so. I've kept in touch with both of these people, and the positive changes they experienced have definitely lasted--even accelerated--in the couple of months since the training. Would you like to know what happened for me? I thought you would! When I arrived at the training, I was coming out of a period where I had been working 16-hour-days (working on the lessons for my three online courses) for over a year and a half. I was, quite frankly, pretty wiped out. I handle stress very well, but even so, I was pretty worn down. I left the training renewed and uplifted, and with even more awareness about how I create certain parts of my life. As you may know, I already have a very high awareness of these things, but this training accentuated that awareness--a lot. In a word, it was remarkable. But something even more amazing happened for me at the training. Check this out: On Day 5 of the training, I began making huge amounts of a very unique type of brain waves Dr. Hardt identified as those signifying... ...huge amounts of kundalini energy! You may know that in traditional yoga and meditation schools, kundalini is the spiritual energy lying dormant (in most people) at the base of the spine, and a "kundalini awakening" is an incredible spiritual event. When awakened by spiritual practices such as meditation, this energy travels up the spine, moving through and awakening each of the chakras--awakening various spiritual energies and abilities. Based on Dr. Hardt's 30 years of research, it turns out that kundalini energy has a very specific brain wave signature! And, on Day 5, I began to make LOTS of it! (I was supposed to be making alpha waves, but who cares!) As I experienced the brain waves of kundalini, I also experienced incredible bliss! Dr. Hardt also told me that the small number of people he has studied who were able to create such kundalini brain waves all seem to have the ability... ...to manifest anything they want in life! If you'd like to see what the brain waves of kundalini energy looks like, click here to view a portion of my EEG record from Day 5: http://www.centerpointe.com/kundalini All spiritual states have brain wave signatures! In fact, Dr. Hardt has identified the brain wave signatures corresponding to many spiritual states and stages of increasingly advanced meditation, including states of egolessness, out of body experiences, profound visionary experiences, and even the brain wave signature of the ability to make halos! But that not all! It's what Dr. Hardt has done with these "spiritual brain wave signatures" that really has me excited! Here's what he did: Once Dr. Hardt observed certain high spiritual states in the brain waves of Zen masters and other advanced meditators, he was then able to design specific biofeedback training programs to teach others how to create these same states--often in as little as seven days! (It often takes several decades to learn to experience these high states!) Once you complete the Alpha I training I attended, you can take Dr. Hardt's Alpha II training. In this more advanced training you gain the ability to exercise even more control over which part of the brain is generating alpha (yes, it makes a difference), while also further increasing your ability to create more. After Alpha II, you can take Dr. Hardt's Theta I training where you learn to make what he calls mystical theta (very different from sleep theta). I'm told that in the Theta training trainees experience some very profound spiritual states. Then, you can take the more advanced Theta II training. There are also Delta brain wave trainings (this is where you get into learning how to make the kundalini brain waves I was making) and Dr. Hardt even has trainings where... ...you and a partner learn to make brain waves together (what Dr. Hardt calls Shared Feedback)! As you can probably tell,I'm very excited about all of this. In fact, along with Holosync, I consider Dr. Hardt's work to be perhaps the most ground-breaking work in spiritual growth on this planet. Here's why biofeedback is so powerful: From the time you were an infant, everything you've learned has involved your ability to receive feedback about your progress. When you first learned to walk, or pick up an object with your hand, you could see and feel what was going on. This feedback allowed you to refine your technique until you could do the task perfectly. Can you guess which part of you does NOT receive feedback about how it is doing? That's right. It's your brain wave activity. But what if you could receive feedback about your brain wave activity? What if you could receive direct feedback telling you when you were making the beginnings of high spiritual states, happiness, joy, heightened creativity--or any other state? With that feedback, you could also quickly master these abilities, too. And that's exactly what happens in these trainings. In fact, Dr. Hardt is fond of saying, "The introduction of feedback to any system will elevate that system to a higher level of functioning." Do you see how exciting this is? Dr. Hardt has spent the last 30 years creating the most sophisticated technological methods for giving the brain direct and accurate feedback about its electrical activity. Since that electrical activity is directly related to your happiness, the amount of joy you experience, and the level of spiritual connection you feel in any given moment... ...Dr. Hardt's trainings will dramatically accelerate your ability to create all of these things, and a lot more! And, in my opinion, when used in conjunction with Holosync, these trainings are even more powerful! If you aren't super-excited about this by now, you probably just don't care that much about your spiritual growth. But if you are excited--as I certainly am--you'll want to check out Dr. Hardt's website and then give him a call to find out when his next training will be. When you visit his website (www.biocybernaut.com) be sure to read his description of his own first experience with biofeedback, where he had an incredibly profound spiritual experience. This description is called "A Tale of Self-Discovery", you can find it through the Site Map link on his site--and, I guarantee you... ...it will blow your mind. There is one drawback to these trainings (other than having to deal with the fact that your life will change dramatically in just seven days). First, because the trainings involve incredibly expensive and proprietary computer and equipment systems developed by Dr. Hardt and his colleagues over 30 years of research, and because Dr. Hardt can train only five people at one time, the costs of delivering these trainings are unfortunately fairly high. On the other hand, what price can you place on the ability to learn, in just seven days, how to make the same brain waves as a Zen master--and to deeply feel the happiness and joy I believe are your birthright as a human being? Not to worry, though, because I figured out a way for you to save 20% on your tuition. Here's how: Dr. Hardt would pay me a 20% affiliate fee for each person who takes his Alpha I training because of my recommendation. However, to help you take advantage of this incredible training and everything it will do for your happiness and your spiritual growth, I'm going to give you the 20% fee if you take Dr. Hardt's Alpha I training during July, August, or September of this year. That means you get 20% off the regular tuition. Please, right now, visit Dr. Hardt's website (www.biocybernaut.com). There's a ton of fascinating information about biofeedback, brain waves and how they relate to spiritual states, and a lot more. After you educate yourself, give Dr. Hardt a call (use the Training Center phone number listed in the "Contact" section) with any questions and to find out about training dates (the phone number is on his website). When you call, be sure to tell him you are from Centerpointe and that I sent you, as this will save you a significant amount of money. (I want to be clear that I'm taking no money for recommending this--I'm doing it solely because I strongly believe in it.) Here's another way to make it financially easier to participate: Dr. Hardt has arranged a special program with Wells Fargo Bank, specifically created for those who attend his trainings. This program will allow you to finance the entire amount of the training at very reasonable terms. You can ask Dr. Hardt about this program when you speak to him. Or, try the 2-Day Sample... Finally, if you're not sure about the 7-day training, and want a "taste" before you decide, there is also a 2-day "sample" you can take at a much-reduced cost. And, at the conclusion of these two days, you can opt to continue with the full training if you want to and apply the entire 2-day fee to the full training. Finally, Dr. Hardt fully guarantees the 7-day training. If, at the end of the 7th day you don't think it delivered everything you were promised, and a lot more, just tell Dr. Hardt before you leave the training facility, and he'll give you a full refund. Even if you're unsure, please visit www.biocybernaut..com. At the very least, I want you to have the education you'll get from this website. When you get there, I suggest that you read the whole site (though there's a lot to read). I did. At least be sure to read "A Tale of Self-Discovery", Dr. Hardt's description of his first experience with brain wave biofeedback. Then, call Dr. Hardt (again, use the Training Center phone number listed in the "Contact" section of the website) with any questions. Be sure to tell him you heard about this from Bill Harris and Centerpointe. If you're at all interested, please move quickly, though. Because the trainings are small, and because many spots in upcoming trainings are already taken--and because I'm telling a LOT of people about this--act now before the trainings are booked up beyond the three months during which you can receive the 20% discount. And finally, after you take the training, please write to Centerpointe and tell us about your experience at the training! So, go visit www.biocybernaut.com right now, while you're thinking about it! Be well. Bill Harris PS: Don't forget, I believe in this so much I've arranged to give you a 20% scholarship if you decide to take Dr. Hardt's Alpha I training during July, August, or September of this year. Don't wait. Go check out www.biocybernaut.com right now, and when you call be sure to tell him that you heard about it from me, so you can get your scholarship. ** // ** Moment by moment, you create exactly how you feel, what happens to you, and what you attract into your life... Unfortunately, you're probably doing all of this on autopilot... I want to show you how to create the exact life you want-- inside and out! Here's how to experience a FREE preview... I know that many people may have promised that they can teach you how to create the life you want. I promise you that I really can--and have for thousands of people. I've also arranged for you to be able to experience a sample of how I do it, FREE. So, here's a very special opportunity for you...something that can totally turn your life around. And, it could be worth a considerable amount of money to you, as well. Just for a moment, imagine: WHAT IF you could be IN CHARGE of what happens to you--including your feelings and emotions and other internal states, as well as your external results?... Wouldn't that be a lot better than waiting for life to "just happen," where you sometimes get what you want, and sometimes you get what you don't want? Are you willing to learn exactly HOW you can do this? For the last year and a half, I've been teaching three 12-lesson online courses called the Life Principles Integration Process, or LPIP, that teach you all of this, and more. I've received thousands of emails and letters from the people in these courses telling me how what they've learned has transformed their lives, even saved their lives. (You can see some of the comments people have made below.) So more people could afford the LPIP courses, and as an introductory offer, I'm offering them for an incredibly low $249 per course. And, if you sign up for all three, I'll give you the third course for FREE. This actually made each course $166 each, about $13.83 per lesson. If I taught the LPIP material in seminar form, it would probably take at least ten long intense days to teach each course. And with all the personal follow-up I include I'd have to charge several thousand dollars per course for you to attend. And even at that lofty price, it would be worth it, I promise you. Not only that, there is an iron-clad money back guarantee on these courses. Take the course and do the homework, and if you don't think this is the most transformational experience you've ever had, I'll immediately refund your entire tuition. In other words, you have nothing to lose but whatever ways you have been automatically creating what you don't want in life. I will warn you, though. These LPIP courses are not your typical pablum-filled feel-good seminars where you feel high at the end but realize three weeks later that little if anything really changed. If you take these three courses, EVERYTHING will change--and, for the better. Your life will be transformed. You will have all the tools you need to be in direct control of your life--your feelings, your internal state, your external results, your behavior. And, you will gain a huge insight into who you really are, why you're here, and what life is all about. Plus you'll learn, step-by-step, the exact strategies, internal and external, used by the most successful people in the world to get anything they want. And, I'll show you how to make sure you use them and make them work for you. And, as I said, if you don't get what you want from these courses, for any reason, you can get a refund. I'm taking all the risk, other than your time investment in actually doing the lessons. If you're not serious about changing your life, if you aren't willing to do what it takes to operate at the highest level and really be happy, peaceful, and successful ALL THE TIME, this isn't for you. But if you're serious, if you're sincere, these three courses will utterly and completely change your life. Here's a huge and very unique benefit you'll get from these LPIP online courses: In addition to everything else, all LPIP course participants get unlimited email access to me for any questions they have about course content. I answer every one of these emails personally--no staff members are involved--and some of my answers, when necessary, are sometimes three, five, even seven pages long. I put everything into this course, because I really, sincerely want you to get everything I'm promising. You though, have a part in the success of these courses--in fact, a big part. I don't wave a magic want over you and change you into a happy, peaceful, successful person in complete control of his or her life. I just tell you how to do it, and give you an easy way to make the change. Because I have such a huge personal time investment in answering all your questions, I want to make one thing very clear, though. Please DO NOT take these courses unless you're willing to do your part. I do not have the time to waste on those who aren't sincere and aren't willing to pay the price to create the internal changes they want. But if you ARE sincere, and you really do want to change your life, I want to show you how to do it, and I will take you, step by step, through everything you need to know. You CAN create an entirely new life for yourself, regardless of your past or present circumstances. You can read more about each course and what it includes, and even listen to a free preview lesson, just by visiting the url below: http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview So please, go listen to the free preview lesson, and if you really are ready to change your life, enroll in this amazing courses risk-free. I look forward to having you in these courses and showing you that the possibilities for what your life can be really are limitless...regardless of your present or past circumstances. Just visit http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview to listen to the free preview lesson and to take advantage of the old low price before we're forced to raise it on March 1st: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Be well. Bill ................................................................................ 7. Feature Article Do You Believe in Magic? Part III by Bill Harris, Director In the last two issues I've made the point that thinking alone cannot magically create prosperity, success, or any other outcome. To create prosperity or success you must also take action, and that action must somehow create some sort of value for others. I called the idea that thinking, believing, visualizing, and putting it out to the universe by itself could create success believing in magic because this sort of thinking assumes that you don't need to actually do anything to achieve success in the world. If you haven't read the first two articles in this series, I strongly suggest that you read them. You can do so by clicking here: http://www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/mindchatter_06_01.pdf (for Part 1), http://www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/mindchatter_06_02.pdf (for Part 2). I've given this topic considerable emphasis because I see so many people trying to create what they want without taking action and without paying the necessary price, whatever that might be, to have or create what they want. These people write to me about their affirmations and visualizations for creating prosperity, wondering "how long will it take?" They completely leave out the fact that no successful person became that way without taking purposeful action and without creating something of value for others. In this article I want to talk about this sort of magical thinking from a developmental perspective. Developmental psychologists know that as human beings grow and evolve, they move through a number of developmental stages, which must be experienced in order. There are a number of ways to describe these stages, and we won't be able to discuss all of them here. I'm going to pick a couple of them in order to illustrate my point. If you are interested in looking more deeply into this subject I suggest reading Ken Wilber's Integral Psychology, or perhaps A Theory of Everything. In this article I will use the categories used in one such developmental theory, Spiral Dynamics, since I have written about that subject before in Mind Chatter, and many of you have at least some knowledge about the levels of Spiral Dynamics. For more information, please read my three articles on Spiral Dynamics: http://www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/edition_143.php http://www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/edition_144.php http://www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/edition_145.php My overview of these developmental stages will be purposely sketchy and brief, so please read these articles for a more complete treatment of the subject. My purpose here is to give you the framework to understand where magical thinking fits in the developmental process, not to give a comprehensive explanation of human development. Pre-conventional stages Humans are helpless at birth, and must be taken care of. The first developmental stage, then, is one of survival and the experience of the world directly through the senses, with no interpretation of what is being experienced. Though we experience this stage in infancy, and then develop into more advanced stages, there was a time when all humans were at this stage. The movie Quest for Fire, or Jean Auel's book The Clan of the Cave Bear, describe humans at this stage of development. At this stage there is a very immediate sensory connection with the environment, and the focus is on food, warmth, shelter, and survival. In Spiral Dynamics this level is termed Beige. There are no human groupings at this stage in the world today, but there are, here and there, some people at this stage: homeless people, Alzheimer's patients, and others who are helpless and whose focus is on survival alone. At the next state, people aggregate into tribes with a chief who makes the decisions. At this tribal level thinking is magical. The environment seems mysterious, superstitions prevail, the Gods must be propitiated, and the ancient traditions must be honored. There are quite a few places in the world where such societal groups still exist, and aspects of this sort of thinking remain even in First World societies. When you make a wish, keep a lucky charm, throw salt over your shoulder, say "bless you" when someone sneezes--or think that you are going to influence the world by your thoughts alone--you are operating from this second developmental level. Spiral Dynamics calls this level Purple. In terms of human development, the infant is at Beige, and the child is at Purple. His tribe is his immediate nuclear family, with dad and mom as the chiefs or elders. Notice also that children have a very magical type of thinking, where monsters under the bed explain noises in the night, and mom and dad seem to be able to do many magical things. At this stage we are followers. Individual decision making is almost non-existent. We have no vote because the elders of the tribe know what to do, and we don't. A third level emerges when certain members of the tribe realize that they could be better off outside the group, without cooperating with the group and going along with the elders in order to meet their needs. When certain people in the group realize that they are strong enough and clever enough to go outside the group's ways and grab what they want, some of them decide to do so. This is the Red level in Spiral Dynamics. At this level a person says, "Screw everyone else, I'm going to take what I want, and I'm going to take it now." This type of thinking exists today in prisons, in motorcycle gangs, in organized crime. But it also exists in teenagers, who developmentally break away from the family tribe and begin to create their own individuality by rebelling against the family. Any parent knows how selfish and unthinking teenagers can be as they pass through this stage. Red and Purple are both magical in their thinking, and are termed pre-conventional stages of development by developmental psychologists. Conventional stages In the next stage the excesses and anarchy of Red develop into order, organized around some sort of "truth". This is the Blue stage of Spiral Dynamics. Examples of "truths" around which Blue could organize could include The America Way, Communism, Unionism, the Catholic Church--or any set of rules that are adhered to. Blue sees the world in very clear-cut, black and white, right and wrong terms. There is a lot of Blue energy, for instance, in both fundamental Christianity and fundamental Islam. If you've read Alex Haley's amazing book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, you know that Malcolm X (then named Malcolm Little) was in prison for burglary, developmentally a Red activity. While in prison he learned about the Nation of Islam (also known as "the Black Muslims"). He became a member, and ultimately became the group's chief public spokesman. The Muslims often took Red prisoners and criminals and helped move them from Red to Blue, teaching them a set of truths around which their group was organized, and a set of rules for living that brought order to their lives. This moved these Red criminals out of the chaos of criminal activities and into a more stable life typical of Blue. This same thing happens developmentally to our wild and rebellious teenager, who eventually (we hope) settles down, finds a job, and begins to follow societal rules. Blue is often described by developmental psychologists as a conventional stage of development, as distinct from the pre-conventional stages of Purple and Red. Pre-conventional thinking is very ego-centered, where decisions are made based on the consequences for self. Conventional thinking is group-centered, and decisions are based on the rules and the needs of the group--those who are fellow followers of the "truth" around which the group has been formed. Just as Red broke away from the group-oriented thinking of Purple, some individuals break way from group-oriented Blue thinking, creating the next stage of development, called Orange in the Spiral Dynamics model. Orange is the stage characterized by entrepreneurial thinking and one's individual initiative to make things better for self and the group. In the West, most people (though not all) develop through Beige, Purple, and Red to Blue (this is because the center of gravity of Western society is approximately at the Blue level). Many people, however, never develop to the Orange level, as a certain amount of courage and personal initiative are needed in order to move away from rules and to live in a more self-directed manner--something I have termed sorting by possibility in my online courses (as opposed to sorting by necessity, which is living based on rules). Orange is also characterized by a strong reliance on science and technology and the solving of societal problems through modern, scientific thinking and ingenuity. Let's get back to our teenager (now probably in his early 20s), who has settled down into a Blue way of thinking and living. At a certain point, he might decide that being a cog in the societal wheel isn't for him, and that by individual action and initiative he could do better. He might, then, start his own company, or become a professional, or in some way take personal initiative to make his life better, rather than settling for the pre-set structure of working for someone else and following someone else's rules. If he does this, he moves to the Orange developmental level, which is considered to be a higher level of conventional thinking. Post-conventional stages Sometimes, though, a person at the Orange level notices that those operating from the Orange perspective can, in some cases, run roughshod over other people in order to achieve their goals, or that they might foul the environment in the process of the creating something new. From these conditions and the concerns they create, the next level emerges, the Green stage of Spiral Dynamics. To Greens, the human element, human connection, and the spiritual element are more important than achievement or the creation of wealth. If there is a choice between people on one hand and creative achievements or wealth creation on the other, Greens will choose people and relationships. In Green, every person and every contribution is seen as equally valid and equally valuable. This is personified in New Age thinking, environmentalism, and the idea that we are "all one big system," where every part affects every other part. To Greens, we're all in this together. Green is the first stage termed post-conventional by developmental psychologists. The next stage is Yellow. Where Green was very group-oriented, Yellow is again more individualistic, just as were Red and Orange. Yellow, though, being another post-conventional level, takes the regard for the human element to a higher level. Where Green often tossed the baby with the bathwater, Yellow has a more practical view that we can have achievement and use planetary resources, while still seeing the world as an interconnected system where we have regard for and take care of the human element and the environment. Yellows, however, are former Greens who became frustrated with some of the ineffective methods used by Greens (consensus decision-making, for instance), and believed they could accomplish more by working on their own instead of trying to work in what they saw as a confining group environment. The next stage is Turquoise (and there are stages after that, as proposed by Ken Wilber and others). Turquoise is the second post-conventional stage, and develops when individualistic Yellows realize that their effectiveness is limited when they work alone. Turquoise also sees the world in a systemic and spiritual manner, but from a group, rather than an individualistic, perspective. So we have Beige, followed by Purple and Red, which are termed pre-conventional; then Blue and Orange, termed conventional (Orange is a bridge between conventional and post-conventional); and finally Green, Yellow, and Turquoise, which are termed post-conventional. The stages in terms of prosperity and success I want to look more closely, then, at these three categories, pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional, and see if we can correlate different approaches to trying to achieve success in the world with these three broad developmental categories. The type of magical thinking I've been discussing in the two previous articles--where thinking, visualizing, "aligning yourself with the universe," and other such approaches are relied upon, without action, without any "paying of the price" and without any creation of value for others--is an example of pre-conventional thinking. This type of thinking is ego-centered, in the sense that the pre-conventional person is thinking mostly of self. Compared to future developmental stages they are egocentric, selfish, and narcissistic--they are centered on their own impulses and psychological needs. Their ability to take the perspective of others is limited, so they don't see how their actions and ways of thinking appear in a larger perspective. Such a person has not yet learned conventional rules and roles, the typical ways that most people create prosperity in the world. The idea of the abundant universe When they think about achieving something, or creating prosperity, they think solely about how they can acquire money or other goods, without considering where the money or goods will come from. It just doesn't enter their mind that it has to come from someplace. If they want it, and utter the right incantations, or do the correct mental work, it will come--from somewhere, as if by magic. A typical pre-conventional thought might be, "This is an abundant universe"--meaning that there is an unlimited amount of abundance, and if I just knew the right magic formula I could get some of it. In one sense this is true--it IS an abundant universe. But the reason it is an abundant universe is that many people are busy creating value, and the amount of value that can be created is only limited by the bounds of human ingenuity. The pre-conventional person, however, wants his or her "share" of this abundance, but without doing any work, paying any price, or necessarily creating any value. This is why they believe that they can get something just by thinking about it in the "proper" way. "I don't want to work to get ahead," they say--which would be the conventional method--"I want it just because I want it!" To the pre-conventional person there are certain magic rules that if correctly followed are supposed to yield the wanted result. The logic (or lack thereof) of how these methods might actually work doesn't matter. In fact, it isn't considered. That's what makes it magical. It just works or so the pre-conventional person thinks. Pre-conventional thinking is characterized by adherence to a certain method, regardless of whether or not it makes sense. Often, in fact, the less sense it makes the more attractive it is. If someone who seems to have authority (they appear to be a "chief" or "elder"--as many of the teachers who push this nonsense make themselves out to be--what they suggest is accepted uncritically. This is really no different from a spell used by a Purple tribal person to attract game during the hunt, or create rain, or attract a mate. There is no logic behind it, and nothing is given in return, except perhaps gratitude to the Gods who make it happen. Unfortunately, there are just enough coincidences in the universe that the pre-conventional person will now and then receive a check in the mail from dear Aunt Sally's estate right after they wished for enough money to take that vacation or pay their rent. This is just enough reinforcement to keep the pre-conventional person believing that magical methods work. The fact that they only work now and then is attributed to the fact that the method might not always be performed in the exact correct manner, or that mysterious powers in the universe might be intervening--sometimes--to alter the results. A cog in the machine The person with conventional thinking takes a different approach. Such a person follows the rules of the group, has a certain role in the group, and generally waits for time to pass and seniority to accumulate before they reap certain rewards. In conventional thinking, if a person sacrifices for the group, plays his role and does his job, he will eventually receive his reward, even if in many cases the reward may be modest. The conventional thinker plays their assigned role, and assumes that what they get will be fair, since the group is more important than any individual. In conventional thinking there is a definite right way to do things, and a definite wrong way, and the individual doesn't determine what it is. Good things come to those who comply with the group. The conventional person, then, is conformist and ethnocentric (as opposed to egocentric). In the words of researcher Carol Gilligan, in moving from pre-conventional to conventional, a person moves from selfish to care. Unlike the pre-conventional, the conventional person can sometimes step aside from their own perspective, but they cannot easily step aside from the perspective of the group. They have moved from me to us, from personal narcissism to narcissism for the group. What you give is what you get Post-conventional thinking breaks away from this type of approach, by adopting a more individualistic approach, but this new approach includes a dramatically increased ability to take the perspective of others. The conventional thinker could take the perspective of the group, and was in fact willing to sacrifice himself for the group. The post-conventional thinker not only sees the group perspective, but also sees outside the group. He has moved from thinking about "us" to thinking about "all of us." He sees his own needs, the needs of the group, and the needs of those outside the group. When he thinks about such things as visualization, affirmations, hoping, wishing, and "putting it out to the universe" he see these practices in perspective. He realizes that to get something there must be some sort of exchange. The magical idea of getting something for nothing--just by doing the right visualization or by thinking in a certain way--seems logically ridiculous to him. He sees that such things as visualization and other mental efforts do have an effect, though they create motivation to act, they generate ideas about how to act, and they alert one to both internal and external resources. Acting, however, is the key, and the action taken must create value in some way if there is to be a corresponding reward. Above all, the post-conventional thinker sees the whole. He sees that what he gets is balanced by what he gives or creates. For this reason, he spends a lot of time considering how he can be of service to society as a whole. Though he does think of himself, he sees the relationship between himself and the whole. Therefore he feeds the whole to feed himself. He sees the inherent balance in the universe, and knows that what he puts out comes back, and that nothing is created out of nothing. Wealth can come to him by one of two ways. He can either exchange something of value for it, or he can act on something to increase its worth, as a carpenter works on a house to increase its value. The pre-post fallacy Many people confuse pre-conventional and post-conventional thinking. This happens because these two ways of thinking do have something in common: both reject conventional thinking. Conventional thinking, you will remember, is rule- and role-bound. A conventional thinker follows the rules, plays his part in society, and sacrifices for the group. Pre-conventional thinkers don't see the value in adhering to the group because they have a certain immaturity, a certain egocentricity. They want what they want, and they haven't developed the ability to see perspectives other than their own. Post-conventional thinkers see the group perspective, but they also see beyond it to include more than just the immediate group. They see a bigger perspective. They, too, reject the conventional approach, but in a very different way than the pre-conventional thinker. Superficially the two look similar, but they are very different. Ken Wilber speaks of what he and other developmental experts call "the pre-post fallacy"--the confusion of pre-conventional with post-conventional just because neither are conventional. In the Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s, those against the war were against anything conventional, which represented those who were in favor of the war. It was difficult to tell the difference, at first glance, between those who were against the war for egocentric, pre-conventional reasons ("I'm not going to go and die in a war for the establishment. No on tells me what to do!") and those who were against the war for post-conventional reasons ("The war is morally wrong."). Pre-conventional magic-believers don't want to be conventional, but they haven't developed to the point where they can adopt a post-conventional approach (and, to become post-conventional, they would first need go through the conventional stage, since the stages are sequential). Why, then, would someone adopt pre-conventional methods in an attempt to create prosperity and success? Many people who use certain pre-conventional (magic) methods (and write to me wondering why they aren't working) are at the conventional or even post-conventional stage in many other areas of their lives. In the area of prosperity and success, however, they cling to pre-conventional methods. Why? One reason is that they don't see how they can get what they want with conventional or post-conventional methods. Conventional methods, they think, would tie them down to being a mere cog in society. Pre-conventional people don't yet see the benefit of taking the group perspective over their own individual, egocentric perspective. And post-conventional methods are even more difficult for them to understand. Not only do post-conventional methods require an even broader perspective than that of conventional thinking, they also require that someone seeking prosperity give value to others in order to create prosperity or success. And, most important, they require that the person move through the conventional stage before the potential arises of becoming post-conventional. Thus, if a person doesn't see how they could create value for others ("I have no skills, I'm not creative, I don't really have anything very valuable to offer"), post-conventional methods seem impossible. If someone comes along and promises prosperity and success through praying, visualizing, hoping, wishing, affirming, or "putting it out to the universe" alone (without action and creating value) and the pre-conventional person has already decided that conventional methods don't appeal to them and post-conventional methods aren't possible, the magic approach seems very appealing. The approach of creating value is doable, however, for anyone, though a person would not see that possibility as long as they are at the pre-conventional stage. Assuming that the possibility is seen, to create enough value to become prosperous you must develop skills or in some way gain the ability do something of value to others. Few people are born with such abilities, but these abilities can be developed. The post-conventional person is willing to pay the price to develop these skills and abilities, and as a result they reap the rewards of having done so. There is one additional reason why a person might be stuck in the pre-conventional stage in regard to prosperity and success, even while they might be conventional or post-conventional in other areas of life. If a person experiences trauma around the ability to perform in the world during the pre-conventional stage (in other words, during early childhood), aspects of the pre-conventional impulsive and magic self may become split off from the self and, as Ken Wilber says, "set up shop in the basement." Because of the trauma, this person would be "stuck" at this level of development in this one area, and would continue to think and reason pre-conventionally--that is, magically. In that case, the reasoning behind the idea that you can think your way to prosperity would make perfect sense, because it would be the reasoning of a child. I have spent a great deal of time discussing this topic because I want you to be able to manifest the wealth, prosperity, and success you want. The pre-conventional method just flat-out doesn't work. If you're at that level, you must find a way to move to the conventional level, where a certain degree of prosperity is available, and then to the post-conventional level where a great deal of prosperity can be created. As always, be well. Bill Harris, Director Centerpointe Research Institute ................................................................................ 8. Glowing Testimonials and Letters I have been meditating using H/S for about four months now. Yesterday, I listened to the DIVE soundtrack of my newly acquired AL 1 for the first time and I must say, I was really amazed. VA definitely improves the sound quality of the soundtracks a great deal and makes meditation feel much more natural. My time with this program has been rather hard (with times of extreme resistance and upheaval) but it has also made a great difference to my life. In the final few weeks of AP my experience became really smooth and I noticed that my intellectual abilities have improved quite a bit (I am a university student)....I am delighted with your program, your commitment to it and the amount of information materials you give to participants. I am so happy that I accidentally clicked on a link to the Centerpointe website last year. This program is the greatest thing I have ever experienced and I now have so much more time to focus on the really important things in my life, instead of always checking out and spending money on new therapies or personal growth tools only to find out after a while that they cannot really help me come to terms with the problems I have. I look forward to personally meeting you at a retreat sometime. Thank you for creating this wonderful program and giving me new hope for my future life. --Alex ** I thought I would take this opportunity to say a few things that have rumbled around in my brain since the last time I wrote to you. Just so we're both starting on the same page, I first wrote to you after I discovered Centerpointe and was desperately hoping your program could help me. I am the woman who is recovering form a series of strokes and, until The End Program, had been unable to resume my long-term meditation practice. You counseled that the technology used in your program obviated the need for focusing which was my problem. I decided to take a chance and began Awakening Prologue at the end of July. The path to today has not been a smooth one. There have been ups and downs and days when I felt creepy crawly in my own skin and would have given most anything to climb out of it. But there have also been days of such complete and total euphoria that I thought I would surely just float away. Those days have been few and far between. My previous meditation experience of 25 years duration had prepared my for some of this. Your written and spoken words prepared me for much of the rest of it. As much as I have been able to recognize and release the resistance, I have been able to move forward...I have read and reread the support letters, the newsletter, the reports you've written and all the other material you have so freely given us students access to. You have made your website a huge natural resource for those who are willing and able to delve into it and to read and absorb the information and follow through with the info and with other websites, etc. I know not everyone can do that, but I can and do. I also want to thank you for all the additional material that came with Awakening Prologue. I have probably come close to wearing out the CDs of your seminar talks, but I'm grateful for them. I also thank you for the surprise gift, the Making Changes tape which has been so helpful. Wen I first found Centerpointe, I spent some time looking around and thinking about it. My first impression was that it and you were too good to be true. No one is that nice, I thought. Then I pondered some more and thought---well, if the principles of unity that I espouse were put into action by someone, then this is how it might look. Hmmm. After all of that, I decided to take a chance that you were what you seemed to be. I have not been disappointed. Thank you. --Rebecca ................................................................................ 9. Book Review By Marc Gilson Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. Riverhead Books (c) 1996 Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. To order this book, click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573226106/centerpointer-20 We all know the power of story. Stories can inspire, inform, disturb, enlighten, and frighten. Perhaps the most powerful stories are those that are rooted in the shared experiences of the readers. When we as readers find ourselves affected and touched in some way by the story of another's experiences, we have, in a way, shared the emotions of joy and sorrow which often shape our lives as human beings. Stories that convey such emotional meaning carry with them the potential for healing to those who read and allow themselves to be touched by them. Such is the case with Kitchen Table Wisdom, a collection of stories about healing, loving, and growing by Rachel Naomi Remen. Remen has been active in the area of mind/body healing work for many years. She is perhaps best known as a co-founder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program which was featured on Bill Moyer's PBS special, "Healing and the Mind." Remen is known for her direct and humane approach to the process of healing and has received many accolades for her work with the terminally ill. Few people could be said to have a better grasp of the concept of healing than Remen. As a physician, professor of medicine, therapist, and long-time survivor of chronic illness, Remen knows the good, the bad, and the ugly of healing on virtually every level of human experience. Kitchen Table Wisdom is a superb collection of stories compiled by Remen which highlight, in a very personal way, the common language of healing. By this I mean healing as a process of "making whole again;" the desire so many of us share to be happier, healthier, whole human beings. These stories are poignant, inspirational, sometimes painful, but always honest and humane. Although some of the stories pull at the heart strings, the overall message of the book is one that inspires a certain faith in the human spirit, and in the sometimes mysterious aspects of healing which ultimately touch us all. As Jon Kabat-Zinn said of the book, "I laughed and cried my way through it from beginning to end." As told by Remen, these remarkable stories take on a meaning far deeper than mere "human interest" journalism. Her insights into the experiences she describes provide the reader with a depth of understanding which is often understood emotionally more than intellectually. In the process, Remen teaches lesson after lesson about healing in a natural, direct, and compassionate way that speaks to the heart of the reader. These are not merely stories "about healing," but are stories that heal through their own telling. Remen clearly views healing as a kind of journey of the spirit. She makes no real distinction between physical, psychological, or emotional healing because she recognizes the inherent connectedness between all these aspects of life. Her commentary throughout the book is graceful, yet to the point. She displays her knowledge of healing as a physician. But more importantly, she shows that healing isn't as much about doctors, surgeries, and medicine as much as it is about meaning, faith, and courage. From the Foreword by Dean Ornish, M.D: "Suffering - whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or as often the case, all three - can be a doorway to transformation. As we move to the end of the century and millennium, our personal suffering is sometimes worsened by the lack of communication and community. Illness often intensifies these feelings of isolation. Telling stories can be healing. We all have within us access to a greater wisdom, and we may not even know that until we speak out loud." Kitchen Table Wisdom will allow you access to this "greater wisdom" Ornish mentions, through the eyes of one of the most authentic and compassionate healers of our time. To order this book, click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573226106/centerpointer-20 ................................................................................ 10. Announcements 1. April retreat filled quickly; space still available for September retreat. Though spaces filled quickly for Centerpointe's spring retreat, there are still spots open for the fall retreat. The retreat is held at The Omega Institute at the Crossings in Austin, Texas from September 16-22, 2006. 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 take things to a higher level--one where you understand more completely how you're creating your life--please, do yourself a favor and come spend a week with me at The Omega Institute. 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've received much more than that. I tailor each retreat to the needs of the specific people who attend (which means YOU). My goal is to help you see the ways you may be unconsciously and unintentionally creating your internal and external reality, and how easy it actually is to consciously and intentionally create the life you want, both inside and out. This is your chance to make a big change, and to work with me personally. So click on this link for more information: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.centerpointe.com/retreats +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And, I guarantee results! Here's the guarantee: Attend the entire retreat. If by the end of the retreat you don't think it was the most incredible growth experience you've ever had, just see me before you leave, and I'll refund your tuition. 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: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ www.centerpointe.com/retreats +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Or, you can call retreat coordinator Katie Sparks at 503-906-6027 to learn more about Centerpointe's retreats. =//=