1. Welcome to Issue #160 (May 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 What Does it Mean to be Conscious? by Bill Harris, Director (scroll to item #7) // Glowing Testimonials of the Month (scroll to #8) // Book Review (scroll to #9) The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford Review by Kate Sparks // 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 Many of us spend half of our time wishing for things we could have, if we didn't spend half of our time wishing. - unknown Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny. - David O. McKay Existence is no more than the precarious attainment of relevance in an intensely mobile flux of past, present, and future. -Susan Sontag The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. -Alice Walker ................................................................................ 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 of the elderly found that meditation actually added years to their lives. * 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, simply 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's 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 wand 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 June 1st: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Be well. Bill ................................................................................ 7. Feature Article What Does It Mean to "Be Conscious"? by Bill Harris, Director Centerpointe Research Institute The word "conscious" is used a lot in personal and spiritual growth circles. I've noticed that there are almost as many definitions of "conscious" as there are people using the word. And, quite frankly, I don't think a lot of the people using the word really know what it means, why it is so important, or how to actually live consciously. Here is the description of being conscious that I gave in my book, Thresholds of the Mind: "The awake person is not at odds with the world. He is a part of it, but not attached to the outcome. Like Jesus, he is "in the world but not of it." He watches as it all goes by, but he is also a participant. He knows most people are caught in the world but unaware of being caught, so he is compassionate, and does what he can to help others with their suffering. To him, the world is a play, and life is like playing a part in that play. He knows it's just a role, but he plays it to the hilt, and enjoys every moment. But he also realizes that the script is just a script, and from the highest perspective it doesn't matter what part has been written for him. He exerts a certain amount of control over his part, but ultimately has only limited influence over what is, because his effort is just one of an infinite number of other efforts, all with their own ends in mind. Instead of being an automatic response mechanism, responding to the world based on unconscious rules, beliefs, fears, and limitations, he is able to consciously evaluate each situation, in the moment, and instantly and instinctively know exactly what to do and how to respond in order to gain the most resourceful outcome, both for himself and for others. Mainly, he watches as he plays his part and marvels at the complexity, the infinite permutations, the surprises, the certainties, and the uncertainties. He is calm most of the time, but sometimes his part requires him to be upset or to have some other emotion or reaction. That is being human. But whatever his mood, there is an underlying peace of mind, an underlying, effortless happiness. You can be this way, too. It doesn't happen overnight, but it can happen. Using the Centerpointe program isn't the only way it can happen, but it's a very good and very fast way." In the book, this description is given in a larger context that makes it easier (I think) to understand exactly what I mean, so I want to supply some of that context here. In addition, as I'm always thinking about these concepts and principles, and trying to come up with better ways to communicate them to you, I'll add some other comments that will, hopefully, shed further light on this very important concept and how to apply it to your life. Let's start by looking at what "being conscious" does NOT mean. First of all (and I hate to even have to say this, but some people misunderstand, so I have to mention this), I'm not talking about the difference between sleeping and waking states. Second, being conscious does not mean being anti-war, or helping the poor, and saving the rain forest (though a conscious person might be or do any or all of these things--but then again, they might not). It also doesn't mean that you're "beyond," or in some way not subject to, experiencing normal human emotions, such as anger, fear, being down, and so on. And, it doesn't mean that you're immune to getting sick, or that you can't die some dread disease (there are many instances of famous saints who die of heart disease or cancer or other terminal illnesses). It also doesn't mean you'll magically be prosperous, or powerful, or that you'll always find a parking space when you need one, or that you'll win the lottery or receive other potentially synchronous karmic goodies. And, trust me, it doesn't mean that you don't experience the normal, everyday problems of being human. Your toilet will still overflow occasionally, your car may break down, the power may go off, the cable company might still screw up your bill and then blame you, your dog may roll in something that smells terrible...and on and on. Such is life. On the other hand, by being conscious, you certainly have a greater ability to influence all of these outer--and, to an even greater degree--inner circumstances in your life. But since six billion other people are also doing their best to gain the outcomes they want, which often will conflict with what you want, and because many non-human natural forces are also occurring (think hurricanes, for instance, or just everyday weather, for that matter), you do not have total control over what happens around you. Being conscious also does not necessarily mean you are in constant experiential and ecstatic union with God or whatever other heavenly entities happen to be your personal favorites. Despite what you may have read in spiritual books, being conscious is not some fairy tale where you get everything you want and all your problems are solved. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's just the way it is. However, in my opinion, being conscious is, in many ways, better than all of these things. So, then, what IS "being conscious"? In my opinion, one of the most important distinctions between being conscious and being unconscious is that the UNconscious person is creating whatever happens in their life -- whether it is an inner experience or an outer result -- automatically and unconsciously...while the conscious person is in total control of what their mind does to create their life and circumstances. As you know if you've been reading these articles for a while, each person has what I call an Internal Map of Reality. It is important that you realize that this map of reality generates all your internal experience of life, and has a huge effect (though not total control) over your external circumstances. You might say that your internal map of reality is the software that generates your life. A number of things combine and interact to make up your internal map of reality: beliefs, values, decisions, strategies, the language you speak, the ways you perceive and sort incoming information, the way you store and remember information, and a few other things. I have written extensively about each of these, so I won't go into any of the details here, but you can find those articles in the archives of the newsletter section of www.centerpointe.com/newsletter/archives.php. You can also learn more about your Internal Map of Reality in my online course by the same name. The important thing is that all of these different aspects of this internal map of reality combine to create your life. In the unconscious person (which is almost everyone), the results created seem as if they just happen, because the unconscious person does not see the creative part of the process. They do not see the link between these various parts of the internal map and the results they create. The conscious person, on the other hand, DOES see this creative process. She sees the entire process of how a certain belief, for instance, attracts the people and events that make it come true, or how the belief leads to distortions in perception that make it at least appear to be true, even if it isn't. If you are unconscious, it appears that life is just happening, and, as a result you tend to feel like a victim, especially in situations where what happens is unpleasant. A victim is someone who 1) feels as if they have little or no control over what is happening, 2) thinks that whatever is happening is coming from something outside of themselves, and 3) experiences whatever is happening as unpleasant. This puts the unconscious person in the position of (seemingly) not being able to do anything about what is happening. Since what happens seems to come from something outside of themselves, they think they can only change things by changing the (supposed) outside source--something that is usually very difficult to do (have you ever tried to get your husband or wife to change something about themselves?). Now, let's look at what happens to the conscious person when they experience an unpleasant result. The conscious person, because they see the entire chain of events that generated the result, knows that it originated from something in them--not from something external--despite any external appearance to the contrary. Knowing this, and having watched the actual creative process from start to finish, they find it very difficult to continue to create something that does not serve them. A person can only continue to create results that do not serve them, whether internal or external, if they are blind to how the results are created--that is, if they are creating them unconsciously. So it comes down to this: the unconscious person is pretty much an automatic response mechanism, whereas the conscious person creates things they way they want them (either that, or they allow them to be created in whatever way they happen to be created, but don't care what the result is). In fact, they have to create them in a way that is resourceful, because they cannot do otherwise AND be conscious. You just cannot create unresourceful results while you are consciously seeing yourself create them. This means that "being conscious" is NOT the same as cognitively knowing that you do something. You may know very well that you continue to be attracted to people who mistreat you, or that you continually get angry when someone disagrees with you, or that you tend to get involved in business deals that never turn out (or whatever). Most people who've been in personal growth a while could write a book on their "stuff." Knowing about your stuff is not the same as being conscious. So what is the difference? When you are conscious, you are WATCHING the creative process, all the time--which is different than just knowing that you do it (you could know that you create something, but not watch the process, but you can't watch the process without knowing that you create the result). So how can you do this watching? Doesn't watching take attention and effort, and if you're watching the creative process generated by your internal map of reality (thousands of examples of which are going on at any given moment), won't that keep you from attending to whatever else you're doing? You would think so, but that's not the case. Conscious awareness is not the same as noticing, or really even the same as paying attention to something (now I'm really confusing you, aren't I?). The kind of conscious awareness I'm talking about is effortless, and can go on in the background while your mind carries out whatever other cognitive duties it needs to perform. It is a kind of meta-awareness that rides along above it all, just watching. And, it can handle watching an infinitely complex matrix of creations, all at the same time. So here's the $64,000 question: How do you develop this kind of conscious awareness? Here are three ways: 1) meditate, especially with Holosync (MUCH faster and easier), 2) go through every part of your internal map of reality and examine it, piece by piece (in other words, look at all your beliefs and determine what results they create and how they are created, look at all your values and determine what results they create and how they are created, etc., etc.), and 3) relentlessly practice watching your feelings and thoughts and internal and external results until you begin to do it automatically. Of these three, meditation is by far the most powerful. Meditating AND doing the other two is the fastest method. This is, in fact, what I'm trying to help you do: first, get you to use Holosync to make you more consciously aware...Then, use the support materials, including these articles in Mind Chatter, and my online courses, to help you to examine your current internal map of reality. Finally, help you learn how to be the witness. People have a way of trying to make the process of becoming increasingly conscious much more difficult, and more exotic, than it really is. They think there must be some secret formula that, if they can only discover it, will make it all clear to them. In actual fact, the whole thing is super-simple. It just seems complicated and difficult, until you get it--kind of like riding a bike seemed hard until you did it, and then it seemed easy and you did it without having to think about it at all. So keep listening to those Holosync soundtracks (or begin, if you haven't done so yet!), keep exploring your internal map of reality, and keep practicing watching your thoughts, your feelings, and your results. Though it may not seem so now, if you do these things, you will get it, I promise. If you feel stuck, and you are a Centerpointe program participant, call the Telephone Hotline and get some help. Consider attending a Centerpointe retreat (which you can do even if you are not in the program), which is guaranteed to give you a huge boost in your progress. Once you do get it, everything in your life will come together. Your problems won't disappear, but when there are problems, you know just what to do, you'll be unattached to the outcome in any case, and you will not suffer over them, no matter what happens--unless for some reason you choose to create it that way. It's the only way to live, and I highly recommend it. Be well. Bill Harris, Director ................................................................................ 8. Glowing Testimonials and Letters I never write these kinds of testimonials! ...Since the day I received my demo CD I've been hooked... It felt like coming home... I told all my friends, and they told their friends and the network continues to gain momentum. Your support materials and unexpected deliveries in the mail exceed expectation--and that says a lot about who you are. Holosync--What a Godsend you are! The results have been terrific. I tried meditation every day along with my practice of Reiki Master. I tell my friends and clients to just try your demo CD and save themselves a lot of time and money! They all end up loving the demo and purchasing the program. ....Thanks for your wonderful helpful attitude and down to earth style. --Julie ** I am generally a paranoid untrusting person. I would never go for a program like this. However, your line that I would be able to meditate like a Zen Monk in a short period of time was a hook for me. I am trusting the process, following the directions; and I am a testimony that Holosync works! I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict of numerous years but, I am also a nice person that needs the peace that is coming through working or should I say relaxing the Holosync way. The unity I have in my life today is a measureable difference from before and after Holosync. One thing I have let fall by the wayside is prayer, because of the peace of mind I am "feeling" or experiencing since holosyncing. I see now God is only a thought away and He is pretty much running the show now and I am enjoying the production. I find I smile alot now (no, I am not on antidepressants! Ha Ha) Thank you and God bless you. I know God will bless and prosper you for an excellent program of peace. --Robin ** I just wanted to tell you how much Centerpointe has done for me in the past 3 years. I just finished the LPIP course (Truly Awesome)and nearly finished Awakening Level 4. In the beginning and throughout most of my meditations until now have been relatively calm and uneventful (not overtly mystical or stressful) Since it felt so good and I enjoyed relaxing and knowing I was doing something good for myself and it was so easy to do, I stayed with it pretty consistantly. The LPIP Course really opened my eyes and then ...all of a sudden things from my past started bubbling up to the surface, and painful feelings I was not even aware I had been suppressing have been coming up in my meditations and real physical pains in various spots in my body that seem related to the feelings. I let whatever happened be okay, I just ackowledged them and allowed myself to cry as long as I felt like until I no longer felt like crying and then I allowed myself to release them when I was ready. After that I just felt beautiful and peaceful, and somehow more powerful and connected to the Universe. I truly feel like a new person. I AM a new person. The old me looks like an empty cocoon, the process I had to go through to allow the real me to find my wings. And now that I no longer need the protection and boundaries of the limiting beliefs, I can just leave them behind and experience the joy of life right here and now! Wow! You made it so easy! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!!! I am so happy! MmmmMmmmaah! (That is my version of an E-Hug!) You have truly delivered everything you promised and more! You are my mentor in creating a life's work that makes a significant possitive difference in people's lives. Thank you for sharing so much. I plan to review the LPIP again and again and I hope to come to a retreat in the next year and to bring as many of my kids as I can. Bill, again...Thank you! --Denise ................................................................................ 9. Book Review By Kate Sparks Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming Your Power, Creativity, Brilliance, and Dreams By Debbie Ford ***If you would like to read more about or order this book click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573227358/centerpointer-20/103-2240139-8 775804 Personal growth is generally regarded as a method to maximize our positive attributes, those qualities held by people we enjoy and want to be more like--successful, kind, balanced, strong, loving, etc. However, in the search for just one end of the spectrum of human experience, is it possible that we lose our power? In The Dark Side of the Light Chasers Debbie Ford explores more deeply the impact on our lives of what Carl Jung called the shadow. Jung described the shadow as the "dark" parts of our personality that we reject out of fear, shame or lack of love. When we disown them, however, they actually become very powerful. Because it requires a great deal of energy to resist these qualities we don't like, we end up projecting them onto other people or they come out in other subtle ways, having a strong influence on our behavior and our choices in life. While the idea of the shadow is not new, what is unique about Ford's shadow work is the depth to which she explores the influence of these disowned parts of the self. Ford takes the shadow from a simple concept most of us are quite familiar with to a complete path to wholeness. Her book is filled with exercises geared to help the reader see what qualities--"good" and "bad"--he or she may have disowned. In fact, Ford teaches a simple way to see your shadow--start noticing what really makes you angry about another person. Those qualities we strongly judge in others are often the ones we've disowned in ourselves. The fact that they still affect us is evidenced by the strong charge we get when we have to relate to the people who hold that quality. What was particularly interesting was Ford's discussion about the disowned positive qualities of the self. These are the qualities we revere in others but don't imagine ourselves having or attaining--success, power, fame, creativity, or attractiveness. Ford explains that often in our society we project such qualities onto our cultural "heroes"--movie stars, models, artists, government and religious leaders, and athletes. Ford's skill is in showing the reader what is lost by continuing to suppress a certain attribute, and in pointing out the gifts available by reclaiming it. For example, take a person who works all the time, missing out on time with loved ones and driving themselves to illness. This person might be working really hard to avoid being considered "lazy". But disowning laziness and spending life running from it caused more problems than occasionally lying on the sofa all weekend. Ford gives an example from her own life where at a workshop the leader told her she was a "bitch." Ford describes how that one interaction affected her more than the eleven years of therapy she'd done to that point. Because she'd been trying so hard to get rid of this part of herself by being sweet and generous, the trait owned her. She worried about it all the time, and she didn't have the flexibility to be bitchy on those occasions where it was warranted. The group leader told her "what you don't own, owns you." So Ford takes the reader on a journey of uncovering and owning these disowned and rejected, but still very much influential, parts of the self. To own these parts may require the courage to work through a lot of anger, Ford warns, but in the end, the disowned quality always has a gift for you. And Ford demonstrates the gifts of this work in people's lives with example after example. The work Ford is promoting is always in an effort toward being whole. We are capable of all of human experience, she tells readers, whether or not we've actually lived it. The popular saying "what you resist, persists" is applicable in this work. We are constantly resisting these disowned part of ourselves. "We need to learn how to live in the full range of human capacity, and to not feel bad about doing it. Every emotion and impulse is perfectly human," says Ford. Opening to all of human experience frees us to make whatever choice needs to be made in the moment rather than being stuck in our resistance. In The Dark Side of the Light Chasers Ford uses a metaphor of a human being as a magnificent castle and each room in this castle is unique and perfect. At first you are free to roam around and experience each of these rooms, which represent different aspects of yourself. But after time people tell you which rooms they like and don't like and there are so many different people telling you different things that you start shutting off certain rooms to be safer and appease those around you. But before long, you have only a couple of rooms you can use and you've actually forgotten that you are a castle instead of a two-bedroom home. And so it is with shadow work. Ford's book reminds us of a powerful tool to reclaim our full capacity as humans. Although "to do this we are obliged to struggle with evil, confront the shadow, to integrate the devil," as Carl Jung wrote. "There is no other choice." ***If you would like to read more about or order this book click here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573227358/centerpointer-20/103-2240139-8 775804 ................................................................................ 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 September retreat at The Crossings in Austin, Texas. 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. What recent attendies had to say: The greatest benefit I got from the retreat was feeling safe in such a big group. Connecting with so many people. A huge shift in knowing I am wanted and loved. Anne-Marie Being in the flow with the rest of the participants and especially Bill and the facilitators was instrumental in my experience and growth. This experience will expand your awareness of who you are beyond your expectations. Rick I got clarity and empowerment to make my decisionsÉan incredible powerful blend of techniques. Go for it! ItŐs a lifetime experience. Axel =//=