“Dr. Staples has hit the major issues in personal performance head on. This book, In Search of Your True Self, opens your eyes to the critical determinant of happiness and success in life, and shows you how to develop everything you do.”
—Brian Tracy, author, Maximum Achievement
“Leaders are those who have a vision of excellence and have acquired the necessary skills to help themselves and others reach their full potential. By applying the principles in this book, Think Like a Winner, you are taking a major step in this direction.”
—Dr. Kenneth Blanchard,
coauthor, The One Minute Manager book series
“Think Like a Winner is a scholarly motivational book. It convincingly presents workable formulae for releasing potential.”
—Dr. Norman Vincent Peale,
author, The Power of Positive Thinking
“If you want to maximize your life’s potential and at the same time enhance the lives of others, Think Like a Winner is vital reading.”
—Dr. Robert H. Schuller,
former senior pastor, The Crystal Cathedral,
author, Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do
“Dr. Staples has pulled all the magic together from a myriad of sources and blended it in his own special style into a fascinating journey into our minds, hearts, and spirits. We’ll all be blessed and inspired by this book (In Search of Your True Self).”
—Les Brown, author, Live Your Dreams
“This book, In Search of Your True Self, has an important message: how to master the process of personal empowerment to help ourselves and others live fuller, more productive lives.”
—Denis Waitley, author, The Psychology of Winning
“You cannot help but be impressed by a book that, step-by-step and insight-by-insight, reveals to you who and what you are. In the process, you experience an awakening of profound proportions and a realization of your true potential. It’s truly life-changing.”
“A remarkable book written with clarity and compassion. It provides a perfect balance between theory and practical application. You need only read, understand, and apply the concepts to get optimum results.”
“I like the author’s comment, ‘You cannot hope to do great things until you know you have greatness within you.’ Okay, everyone, now that we all know this, we’d better get to work!”
“This ‘destined-to-be-classic’ shows you how to master your moods and take purposeful action. It will transform how you see yourself and your world, and bring new meaning, excitement, and joy into your life.”
“Very insightful! This book clearly shows that our species is at risk of self-destructing unless we find a way to transcend the ego. It then goes on to show how we as individuals can actually do this. An excellent piece of work.”
“Seldom does a book come along that has the potential to change so many people in so many positive ways. This is such a book. You are struck with wonder, awe, and sheer delight when you discover who you really are.”
“A real gem! This book could have been called Master Your Mind, Master Your World: Know That All Is Well. It’s a wonderful gift to all of us who want more peace, hope, happiness, and success in our everyday life.”
“A fascinating book about the awakening of the human spirit, about how to be fully aware and intensely alive, and fully appreciate who we are and what we can be.”
“Lucid, revealing, provocative, even disarming. This book challenges you to be courageous, to find your bliss, then commit to make your mark. You have that power. You need only go inside and access it.”
THREE SIMPLE, PROVEN WAYS TO
OVERCOME DEPRESSION AND FEEL CONTENT
ALMOST ALL OF THE TIME
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 2015 by Walter Doyle Staples
Edited by Jodi Brandon
Cover design by Brian Moore
978-1-5040-1992-7
The Career Press, Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
www.careerpress.com
Distributed by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
To my best friend and teacher,
Linda Hull.
A serious effort has been made to provide information in this book that is acceptable to the widest and most diverse group of readers as possible, regardless of race, color, creed, culture, ethnicity, or gender, as well as any particular religious or spiritual following. Any errors or omissions in this regard, whether large or small, are unintentional and remain the sole responsibility of the author. Your suggestions about how to better accommodate these and other aspects of our modern, diverse society in the text are welcome.
The author of this book does not provide professional medical advice, nor prescribe the use of any particular form of treatment, either directly or indirectly, for any specific medical condition. The primary intent of the author and publisher of this book is to offer insight and information of a general nature to people seeking personal growth and spiritual development. More specifically, it is intended to educate the general population regarding drug-free and clinically proven ways to treat stress, anxiety, and depression—indeed, general and systemic unhappiness—and other related challenges. It is not intended to replace diagnosis and treatment by a recognized healthcare professional of any serious mental condition. If you as a reader of this book choose to use any of the information contained herein, which is your right, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for your actions. If you have any concerns whatsoever about the state of your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health, you are advised to immediately seek the services of a qualified medical practitioner.
Question and Answer
Authentic Happiness
The Journey Home
Preface:
Knowing Where to Begin
Introduction:
Preparing for the Journey
Part 1:
Knowing About the Now
Part 2:
Knowing How to “Think”
Part 3:
Knowing How to “Not Think”
Part 4:
Knowing the Benefits of No-Mind
Part 5:
Knowing About Practical Spirituality
Exercise:
The Mind T.R.A.P
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
What does the music in stillness sound like?
I think it is part poetry, part lullaby, and part anthem.
It soars and it soothes; it heralds and it heals.
It is indicative of our Source.
Question: |
“Walter, how are you doing?” |
Answer: |
“I’m 95% happy, thank you.” |
Question: |
“Wow! That’s amazing… but why isn’t it 100%?” |
Answer: |
“Because, on occasion, I forget who I am. Besides, if I was 100% happy all of the time, I’d be locked up in a padded room with a straitjacket on!” |
The happiness that most people know is not the kind that is discussed in this book. We have all experienced happiness from a fortuitous occurrence, a joyous occasion, a successful effort, or a romantic relationship. But happiness from instances such as these is both fleeting and fabricated. It lasts only as long as the event or situation associated with it.
In other words, such happiness comes and goes, and we eagerly look forward to its return. Between these periodic occurrences, however, we often suffer—that is, we are disheartened, disillusioned, or discontent—because we know we are not in total control of our overall mood and state of affairs. We are at the mercy of chance and circumstance, and feel very much at risk.
Following is the definition of happiness—known as authentic happiness—that this book is talking about, the kind that is not associated with any aspect of the physical world in which we live. It is a radically different and generally misunderstood kind because of its unique nature: It is predictable, permanent, resplendent, and indestructible. Such happiness is what we all want yet seldom know how to have. But if we can discover a way, we can be happy 95 percent of the time without effort and without fear. Our life is then transformed forever.
Authentic happiness cannot be purposely created
nor is it a by-product of something else.
It is its own entity. It is spontaneous,
natural, enduring, and enriching.
It comes to the mind, it is not a product of the mind.
It is a clear reflection of our Source.
Enter Presence; be one with stillness; know you are that.
What is the one, most important question you have, knowing its answer would change your life in many wondrous and unpredictable ways? If one hundred people were asked this, it’s likely there would be one hundred different responses. That’s understandable; it’s not a question most people expect to be asked. First, let me give you my one, most important question, to be followed in this book by my heartfelt, earnest attempt to answer it:
At your core, you know you are not your perceptions, ideas, fantasies, emotions, beliefs, or experiences, because all these mental activities are constantly changing. Grateful one moment, ungrateful the next! Tolerant one moment, intolerant the next! Loving one moment, angry the next! Clearly you are not what is going on in your mind. So perhaps the following, more probing questions are in order:
Who is my impersonal, unblemished self?
Who is my non-thinking, non-physical self?
Who is my natural, authentic self?
Is there one, definitive answer to all of these questions that doesn’t change over time? And if so, is it possible to find it?
You, like most people, are overly concerned with living life, failing to realize that you are life. You are the one who is doing all the needless thinking, worrying, and suffering—all the watching and witnessing as you frantically engage with every aspect of the physical world. But who is watching the watcher? Is it possible to stand back, be totally detached, and see yourself do all the watching? If so, who or what is doing that? A final question: Could this also be who you are, your most basic, essential Self?
Once you realize you are not your perceptions, thoughts, mood, or feelings, you have to consider what precedes these often-confusing and hurtful activities. This will also tell you a good deal about the process you will have to follow—and what door to open—if you want to find a substantive answer to the one, key question I have just cited.
Thankfully, as a human being, you are unique and adaptive—indeed evolutionary. You can suspect, introspect, and ponder; you can choose to think or not think (i.e., meditate); and you can conceptualize, contemplate, and evaluate, all in search of truth. From a spiritual perspective, this means you can come to know the Divine and your relationship to it. The answer to my question is now within your grasp. The journey home awaits you.
It is always your mind—and only your mind—
that gets you into trouble; it follows that only your mind
can get you out of it.
The ego in you is destroying your life.
It does this through your mind’s compulsive addiction to form.
Simply put, your thoughts are driving you crazy.
Most people believe that the next moment
is more important—and will be more interesting—
than the present moment, the moment at hand.
This, it could be argued,
is the greatest curse of humankind.
“If you are easy on yourself, life will be hard on you; if you are hard on yourself, life will be easy on you.”
—Zig Ziglar,
motivational speaker;
author of See You at the Top (1974)
Consider the following comment by Carl Jung (1875–1961), one of the most respected psychiatrists and psychotherapists in the modern era: “It is often tragic to see how blatantly a man bungles his own life and the lives of others yet remains totally incapable of seeing how much the whole tragedy originates in himself, and how he continually feeds it and keeps it going.”
I am assuming you agree with this statement yet are also wondering what the solution is, knowing that practically everyone on the planet fits this description. Surely, in this modern age, when you can access all kinds of information with a simple click of a mouse, answers to this problem are self-evident and readily available to all. But, sadly, we know they are not.
At one time or another, you undoubtedly have wondered how you could better manage your thoughts, mood, and feelings—particularly the most hurtful ones—that keep coming your way. Alas, you probably gave up once you discovered the enormity and complexity of the task. And so the pain and suffering you knew in the past continue to be a part of your life today.
Many believe that pain and suffering are unavoidable and inevitable, that they are just part of the human condition. The headlines in the daily news seem to support this view. Yet I submit to you they are not. As proof, I invite you to explore with me several exciting options that are available to anyone who wants to escape from the trap that Jung notes we have set for ourselves. It seems only logical that if we are smart enough to set the trap and keep it going, we are also smart enough to dismantle it and shut it down.
Is it really possible to be happy 95 percent of the time? And if so, how, what is the process? The process involves critically analyzing, understanding, and learning from our past experiences, and finding specific and proven ways to overcome their potentially harmful and often-debilitating effects. What follows is a description of my efforts to deal with adversity and depression in my own life, including new research findings that confirm the efficacy of the top-three known cures for depression (listed on pages 36–37). While testing each of these approaches thoroughly over many months and years, I have found that they bear the desired fruit if properly cultivated and carefully nourished.
So here is my invitation: These are the steps I took. They worked for me. But will they work for you? You will have to try them yourself to find out. We know all Beings carry within them the seeds of their own enlightenment.
Was the process easy? No. Did all the pieces fall nicely together in a timely and orderly manner? No. Was there a lot of help available to me in my community? No. Was my immediate family able to help? No. Most lived far away, were all busy, and didn’t have any deep insight into the matter anyway. Not surprisingly, they were as ill-informed on the subject as I was.
Because I had just moved to where I was living at the time, I didn’t have a family doctor but was able to get a local hospital to put me on a nine-month waiting list to see a psychiatrist. (Geez, that was easy. It only required sitting and crying for six or seven hours in ER on three different occasions at three different hospitals!) Hence my only recourse was to proceed on my own to deal with the matter. And so I did. Necessarily, this made the whole process longer and more difficult, but it also had its own rewards.
The approaches described here to treat depression can bring relief in a relatively short period of time (i.e., a few weeks or months) but this requires your own active participation as well as some outside professional help. For your part, you will be asked to think and rethink in order to undo several of your habitual ways of thinking, adopt new lifestyle choices, and be much easier and kinder toward your “self.” Like most people, you are undoubtedly your own worst critic, and think you are undeserving and incapable of making major changes in your life. But as will be shown, you are wrong.
The material here does not include a discussion about the use of prescription drugs to treat various mood disorders and depression, although they can be useful in some cases. Such drugs have serious drawbacks. It often takes several attempts to find the right one. Drugs work for only about 50 percent of patients, and those who do experience improvement often have to stay on them indefinitely to avoid a relapse. Finally, drugs are not a viable option for many people because of serious side effects that can include lethargy, cognitive impairment, and sexual dysfunction.
My motivation for writing this book lies in having witnessed as well as having experienced depression in my own life, and wanting to find more effective and better ways to understand it and move beyond it. As a child in the 1950s, I witnessed my mother’s pain during periodic bouts of depression. As a husband, I have witnessed my wife’s ongoing struggle with bipolar disorder, first diagnosed in 1981. As a father, I have witnessed my daughter’s difficulties dealing with anxiety, claustrophobia, and panic attacks.
Later, specifically in 1999, it was my turn. I spent a full year in a deep clinical depression characterized by spontaneous fits of crying for several hours a day. Suicidal thoughts were my constant companion. At the time, I had no idea what had brought on the depression (although I had some strong hints), or any idea how to deal with it or get out of it. I was literally lost, out of control, trying to stay afloat in a vast sea of darkness, desolation, and deep despair. I didn’t know at the time that about one in five people experiences a major depression at some point in his life.
Once I had recovered and saw how difficult this process actually was, I knew I never wanted to go through such an experience again. As a result, I began an extensive and fruitful study that took me down many roads and in several directions. I ended up researching and writing about 1,000 hours a year for 15 years, or 15,000 hours. The result is this book and an earlier, related one, titled May the Healing Begin, which was published in 2010. For me, it has been an exciting and rewarding journey. I am grateful for having this opportunity to share my findings with you.
Wayne W. Dyer came out with a book and CD program in 2001 called There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. What an interesting title, I thought, as well as a powerful inspirational concept. It immediately attracted my attention. It helped me better understand what I needed to do and what path I needed to follow. Indeed, as my research progressed, I found that Dr. Dyer was right: There is a spiritual solution to every problem. That was one of several “a-ha!” moments for me.
In addition to Dr. Dyer, I am indebted to Aaron T. Beck, MD; Herbert Benson, MD; David D. Burns, MD; Deepak Chopra, MD; David Doidge, MD; Dr. Albert Ellis; Carl Jung, MD; Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn; Maxwell Maltz, MD; Dr. Jordan Peterson; Dr. Zindel Segal; Eckhart Tolle; Neale Donald Walsch; and Marianne Williamson for helping me on my own journey. The following comment by Canadian writer and philosopher Ronald Cole (1942–2009) was also helpful: “Few are those who walk on water; most of us are simply fortunate enough to find stones that someone else has placed in life’s pond and tread on them when the need arises.”
Yes, the world is hurting, our communities are hurting, our places of work are hurting, our friends and loved ones are hurting, and you and I are hurting, all to different degrees but certainly for similar reasons. And we know for a fact that this hurt (i.e., emotional pain and suffering) is deepening and growing, not diminishing. This is why I took the steps I did to learn what is described in this book. If you have similar challenges or want to help others with theirs, I suggest you need to do the same thing.
Here are some important facts and findings to consider:
Mental disorders of various kinds have become a world-wide phenomenon, a pandemic with no borders. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently states on its Website that anxiety is “the most prevalent mental health problem across the globe.”
Researchers today better understand the full impact of stress on the body. They know it can lead to depression, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and sexual dysfunction.
Everyday events that are novel, unpredictable, or threatening—either to the ego or your very survival—trigger a stress response. This is the primitive fight-or-flight response that in turn releases two powerful hormones, namely cortisol and adrenalin.
These hormones change the way the body stores fat, leading to higher rates of obesity and an increase in the production of cholesterol and insulin, which leads to heart disease and diabetes.
A recent study in Canada found that, on average, a person has 14 stressful episodes per week. Clearly your first order of business is to reduce your level of stress in both your personal and professional life.
The same study found that hypertension (high blood pressure) is the number-one reason why people go to see their doctor in the first place; in 2009, it accounted for 20.7 million medical appointments. Extrapolating based on population, the figure is probably close to 200 million in the United States.
Stress affects our places of work as well; there has been a 21-percent increase in absentee rates in the past decade. In 2009, stress-related absences from work cost employers in Canada more than $10 billion a year, with an additional $14 billion impact on the healthcare system. The U.S. figure is likely close to $250 billion.
Chronic stress reduces the size of your brain, namely the hippocampus. It’s the region responsible for memory formation and is linked directly to Alzheimer’s disease. In general, chronic stress negatively affects your immune system, thus allowing diseases to take hold that normally would be fended off.
(Source: Agrell, Siri. “Stress: How Your Busy Life is Killing You” (The Globe and Mail, October 30, 2010.)
Other findings regarding teens and young adults:
Out of 25 students in a classroom, one in five has seriously considered attempting suicide, more than one in six has made plans to attempt suicide, and more than one in 12 has made a suicide attempt in the past year.
Female teens are more likely to attempt suicide than males, but male teens are four times more likely to succeed.
More than 90% of teen suicide victims have a mental disorder such as depression or a history of substance abuse. Many mental illnesses, including depression, that contribute to suicide risk appear to have a genetic component.
In a study at Michigan State University reported in February 2011, the primary reason why students quit college was depression. The study involved a survey of 1,158 freshmen at 10 U.S. colleges and universities.
About 100 million Americans are taking prescription drugs of one kind or another. This is close to one-third of the total population.
There were 38,364 suicides in the United States in 2010, an average of 105 each day. Up to 20 percent of these were veterans of foreign wars. This resulted in $34.6 billion in combined medical and other related costs.
Worldwide, experts estimate there are about 2,500 suicides per day, or about 912,500 every year. In other words, every four or five years, there goes Philadelphia, there goes Chicago, or there goes Toronto. (Note: Countries vary widely in their ability and willingness to track and report suicides.)
(Sources: (1) www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens/suicide.sap. (2) National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (NYVPRC); (3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; (4) sciencedaily. com/releases/2011/02.)
Most people lack a detailed understanding of what “everyday” happiness actually is, its many sources, whether they are external or internal, and the amount in each case. True, we know it can come from at least eight different sources. They include: (1) loved ones in the immediate family (the couple, their children, their parents, and their siblings); (2) extended family; (3) friends and acquaintances; (4) career; (5) finances; (6) physical well-being; (7) mental well-being; and (8) spiritual well-being. All of these sources of happiness vary in depth, intensity, frequency, and duration (i.e., temporary versus permanent), and seldom is a person 100 percent happy 100 percent of the time. (Oops! This is one definition of insanity.)
Everyday happiness can also be categorized another way. There are extrinsic or materialistic, ego-based sources that include money, possessions, titles, positions, awards, etc.; and there are intrinsic or spiritual-based sources that are directly associated with unconditional, transcendent love. Intrinsic sources in turn help develop positive and enriching character traits that include acceptance, compassion, understanding, gratitude, kindness, joyfulness, humility, patience, tolerance, and deep peace. These traits, and others like them, represent authentic happiness because they reflect the essence and permanence of our actual Being.
As well, there is often only one source of happiness that is dominant at any one point in time. For example, this could be physical prowess/well-being for a young, attractive movie star or an accomplished athlete; mental prowess/well-being for a mathematician or an accomplished writer/artist; or spiritual prowess/well-being for an enlightened, perceptive person who has taken time to grow spiritually. As one source begins to fade, such as physical attractiveness or mental prowess, we promptly look for another one to take its place. Necessarily, this can be a difficult transition for many people.
It’s useful to look back and see what your sources of everyday happiness (which in turn directly affects your sense of “self”) actually were at various stages in your life, whether they were extrinsic or intrinsic, and the level in each case. I share with you my own assessment here: (In each case, the number has been rounded off to the nearest 5 percent.)
From this it’s clear that the major changes for me include “Immediate Family” going from an average of 30 to 10 percent; “Friends” decreasing substantially; “Career” going to absolute zero; and “Spiritual” going from zero for most of my life to fully 75 percent today. (P.S. At the time of my death, I predict “Spiritual” will be 100 percent, reflecting a deep and abiding love for all things.) I suggest you conduct this same exercise yourself, and see what levels and trends apply to you. Of particular interest would be whether there has been a significant decrease in extrinsic sources of everyday happiness and an offsetting increase in intrinsic sources.
I often wonder why people like to hang out in their comfort zone all the time—why they cling so strongly to repetition, regularity, and predictability, all aimed at avoiding change. Perhaps it’s because human nature always takes the path of least resistance. Most people are quite content with their present situation. They know where they live, where they work, they know their friends, their families, they know their strong points, their weak points, they know what makes them happy, what makes them sad; they have become addicted to the status quo, to the way things are. And so they just hunker down, avoid risk, and hope for the best. Then, when bad (meaning unwelcome) things happen, they are easy victims and find themselves lost in a morass of negativity, despair, and often total helplessness.
Why else might people be so afraid of change, including bringing about change in themselves? In part, it may simply be fear of the unknown. This is understandable, but you need to realize change will happen anyway—that it’s beyond your control. Change is simply what life is all about. Knowing this leads to another realization, namely that change in your life can occur in only one of two ways: First, it can and will happen to you, and you have no choice in the matter; and second, it can happen by you, and here you have total control over the way you go about it, what tools to use, and at what pace you wish to proceed.
The wise among us already know this. Such people bring about as much change as they can both in themselves and in their circumstances, knowing that change both good and bad will invariably show up all by itself and impose itself on them. Note that the world will not slow down, nor will change stop, just because you want to get off the train. Change is both constant and inevitable. It will go on and on, and often at a faster and faster pace. If you get in the way and don’t know how to deal with it, it will simply run you over. The result? You will end up as expendable roadkill, just another number in a non-descript statistics table.
Most people are hesitant about taking on a new, seemingly major challenge of any kind—including personal growth and spiritual development—one that is in addition to all the other challenges they already have. After all, it’s both a lot of hard work—that can’t be much fun—and they just might fail, and failure isn’t something most people look forward to. They know failure happens frequently enough. Do they really want another one to beat them up even more?
Yet failure is a wonderful teacher, perhaps even the very best one. That’s because it is through failure that you get one step closer to getting things right. This applies both to improved cognitive thinking skills as well as a deeper understanding of who and what you are—your true Nature. If you learn about and earnestly apply just one important new approach or principle, you are ahead of the game because now you can manage your circumstances and your life just a little bit better. As a result, you will end up making better decisions and these decisions, both big and small, determine how well your life unfolds. This, then, needs to be your perspective and it is how I suggest you should proceed.
Consider for a moment this comment by Dr. Jordan Peterson, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. In one of his lectures, he points out the many serious problems that the world is facing today—meaning the serious problems many people are facing today—and he says, “It’s important to make your conceptions of reality more sophisticated. You want to do that because you have to live in the world. And the more sophisticated your conceptions are, the less likely you’ll encounter tragic or harmful circumstances that you’ll be unable to deal with. And so it really matters what you’re thinking and you know how to think.” (author’s emphasis)
Here, Professor Peterson makes two important points. First, he says you should be aware of the thoughts you are having at any point in time (i.e., what you’re thinking), and second, he says you need to know the (two) very different ways how to think, namely the “active” and the “passive” modes of mind. The vast majority of people don’t meet either of these criteria, and as a result live lives filled with ongoing pain and suffering, often resulting in recurring bouts of depression and deep despair.
So what is the solution here? Everything you understand about your world—everything!—is a direct result of the workings of your mind. And we know your mind can do only two things: think and not think. Clearly it’s critical that you learn how to improve on—indeed master—these two important skills, for if you master your mind, you master your world. This, then, will be our focus—understanding and applying the two different ways to think that are available to you to make your life more magical, more memorable, and more meaningful.
There is a certain price you have to pay to become more informed and enlightened, namely some serious study over many months or even years. And yes, there are significant rewards, including an end to pain and suffering, although this is only one of the many rewards you will reap.
Ask yourself this: How much does the average book weigh? About 1 pound? Surely this is not too heavy a load to bear. Is a pound, the weight of the average book, very heavy compared to the weight of all the pain and suffering you are currently carrying around? Do you have an 800-pound gorilla strapped firmly to your back, representing all the simmering and debilitating hurts, fears, anger, guilt, and regret you have acquired over the years? Do you realize a single, 1-pound book can take them off?
My fervent hope is that this discussion will turn into a commitment by you to do some heavy lifting, so to speak—some serious work on your self. You see, when your little self (lowercase s), which is the ego, gets out of the way and allows your true Self (capital S), meaning your Source, to intercede and guide you, miracles both large and small begin to happen. And a life sprinkled with miracles here and there is surely one that is worth living.
Perhaps the greatest miracle you will ever experience in your life is this: a switch from ignorance to understanding, from doubt to certainty, and from fear to love. Indeed, if this happens—responding to situations with love when before you reacted to them with fear and trepidation, or even anger—things will be a lot better in your life regardless of what challenges you may face in the future.
We know what the future holds. This includes wars being waged, revolts being planned, riots being instigated, murders being committed, robberies being carried out, rapes being perpetrated, power being abused, frauds being conceived, lies being told, divorces being filed, alcohol being consumed, drugs being taken, and bribes being paid, all causing pain and suffering to be inflicted. All do their part to negatively impact the lives of average people regardless of race, color, creed, gender, age, education, income, or religious affiliation. Yes, pain and suffering, both individual and collective, are very much part of our modern world. But as will be shown, they are all—at their core—a direct result of illogical, irrational, or erroneous (i.e., faulty, selfish, and often callous) thinking.
Think about it. How many of the problems in the world today—indeed during the long course of human history—are a result of a few people wanting to feel important and willing to go to any extreme to achieve it? Is such an approach either logical and rational, or fair and reasonable? No. Rather it is a person’s over-sized ego on the rampage, out of control, oblivious, and unconcerned about the consequences of its actions. The ego is the consummate stealth weapon. Silently, secretly, without being noticed, it can—and often does—cause immense damage, severe pain, and deep suffering, both self-inflicted and otherwise.
Many believe that a majority of people in the world today are quite mad, meaning they are not aware of the two kinds of thinking that are available to them. This causes them to suffer from a “not-able-to-stop-thinking” impediment, a debilitating affliction, yet few of us realize this because we all have it! It’s really an all-consuming, self-inflicted, and self-limiting disease. Constant, compulsive thinking is what keeps us locked into the physical world, into the world of thought and form, one that’s of little substance and very often pure nonsense. In other words, if our actual being is hidden from us, we are living blind to the truth, blind and ignorant regarding who we are.
This book is a serious effort to deal with this important challenge. It represents a unique opportunity to begin healing yourself, as well as doing your part to help heal the world in which you live. I like the saying “If it is to be, it’s up to me.” Why? Because it puts the responsibility for your well-being and situation in life squarely on your shoulders, right where it should be. It’s your life, and it rests with you to make it as meaningful, joyful, and productive as possible.
So when should you get started? Well, you could wait and simply hope things will get better in your life all by themselves, with no effort on your part. Good luck with that! Instead, I suggest you take the initiative and start today. Why procrastinate and suffer yet another day, another week, another month, or another year? Let me applaud and commend you as you begin this journey. It may well be like no other you will ever have.
“I have been there—the lowest of the lows, and have suffered from that, the excruciating and debilitating pain. Now, after working very, very hard, I know I will never be in that position again.”
—The Author
“A psychological transformation is not possible without a spiritual awakening, and before a man can change his kind of thinking, it first is necessary that he alters his conception of self.”
—U.S. Andersen (1917–1986),
American author of Three Magic Words (1954)
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
—Galileo Galilei (1564–1642),
Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher
“Some men covet knowledge out of a natural curiosity and inquisitive temper;
some to entertain the mind with variety and delight;
some for ornament and reputation;
some for victory and contention; many for lucre and a livelihood;
and but few for employing the divine gift of reason to the use and benefit of mankind.”
—Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626),
English philosopher, scientist, essayist, and statesman;
author of New Atlantis (1624)
You cannot see the light until you begin to walk the path.
My commitment is to help you get to a new place—a place of lasting peace, inner joy, and serenity. This involves three steps. First, I will introduce you to the top three cures for depression known today that in turn lead to greater awareness, understanding, and self-realization. Both individually and collectively, these approaches help sufferers move from resignation to revelation, from superficiality to substance. In the order they are discussed in the text, they include:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), often called “talk” therapy or psychotherapy, with the critical thinking it involves.
Mindfulness-meditation therapy (MMT), and how it connects you to the serenity and solace of your Source.
Practical-spirituality therapy (PST), and its related self-image psychology component that in essence says: You become in your life the person you see yourself to be in your mind.
You need to know that you have an element of choice here. You don’t have to master all three of these approaches at the same time in order to achieve the results you desire. As has been stated, each one by itself is a known cure for depression, whether mild or severe. For example, perhaps practical spirituality doesn’t appeal to you at the present time. Fine. We all approach life and its many challenges differently and at our own pace. My advice? Focus on what interests you the most right now and where you think you can achieve the best results. Interest in other areas may follow later.
More importantly, you don’t even have to be suffering from depression—or any mental disorder—to benefit significantly from any or all of these practices. People in general, whether their life situation is currently positive or negative, find that they enjoy a higher quality of life if they improve on the way they think. This, then, as you entertain each thought and experience each moment, needs to be your main focus and top priority. As will be shown on many occasions, the way you think is the key to a new reality.
An explanation of each of these enabling tools comprises key segments in the text, and together necessarily make up the core of the book. By understanding and applying them, you will come to see how the mind works and in turn how it actually creates your reality, meaning how you see yourself and your world, and how you can prosper, grow, and excel in it.
Second, I will walk you through a series of exercises (Annexes 1 through 15) that are presented at various points. This gives you the opportunity to directly apply theoretical concepts to certain challenges you may now have. In the process, you will understand the concepts better and learn how to use them more effectively on a daily basis in order to move ahead.
Third, toward the end of the book, I will introduce the Mind T.R.A.P. and, through critical analysis, show you how your current way of thinking can be negatively impacting your mind and seriously limiting your progress. You are encouraged to repeat the same exercise described there for each and every hurtful issue you may currently be experiencing, whether there are three, four, or five of them. Naturally this will take some time and effort, and that’s fine. The result will be the same: knowing at your core that you are love—pure, resplendent, transcendent love.
This is the transformational process we will be exploring together, and it lies in utilizing the unlimited faculties of your mind to best advantage. More specifically, this requires knowing, first, how to think and second, and even more importantly, how to not think. The former involves practicing the key skill called critical thinking, and the latter involves tapping into the richness and vastness of universal mind through regular, daily meditation.
It has been known for centuries that if you tap into the stillness within, to the place of no thoughts, your mind moves beyond the “active” mode of thinking to the “passive” mode of not thinking. In the process, by spending time in stillness—in the moment, in Now—you will find many positive changes will come into your life that can be had no other way. Among these changes, many of which are described on page 146, you will find the lasting peace, inner joy, and serenity that we have been talking about.
As we begin to explore ways to bring about a meaningful—indeed transformational—change in consciousness, the word theosophy is of note. As a noun, theosophy is defined as any of various philosophies or religious systems that propose to establish direct contact with divine principle through contemplation, revelation, etc., and to gain thereby a spiritual insight superior to empirical knowledge. (Note: All definitions in the text are from Webster’s New World Dictionary.)
Mere thinking is not the highest state of mind.
The highest state of mind is no-mind.
Ironically, thinking often leads us no-where
and no-mind leads us very much some-where.
Sadly, most of us think too much too much of the time.
You need to better understand the process you use to think. The reason is simple:
.