The greatest challenge involved in the deliberate creation of reality is dealing with that "catch 22" of conflicting beliefs. Trying to believe you weigh 50 pounds less than you know you do, or attempting to convince yourself that you are fabulously rich when you can barely make your bills, simply won't work. You can not lie to yourself. Self deception always results in an eventual confrontation with the truth and the time between now and then will only be wasted. Looking for facts which support your desired belief, or acting in a purely practical manner in order to make use of your existing beliefs, will enable you to remain honest and change your beliefs accordingly.
Creative visualization is another way of dealing with conflicting beliefs -- by side-stepping them entirely. This is accomplished by placing emotional energy on a desired belief without any attention being given to the current situation. Eventually it will become necessary to connect your present moment with the desired conditions, but in the mean time "coincidental" opportunities will appear and change the apparent facts.
In terms of financial conditions, for example, let's say that you would like to hold a belief such as, "I have all the money I need and plenty more." You can repeat that phrase till all the cows in the world come home but it won't do any good if you are certain it is not true for you. One possible approach is to create a belief that the desired conditions are definitely true at some point in your
experience, then concentrate on how you feel when that is true, but
without separating now from then in your mind.
Creative visualization is an exercise where you mentally and emotionally imagine having the condition you desire. Abraham suggests spending fifteen to twenty minutes, three times a day, allowing your imagination to create what he calls a "virtual reality." While performing creative visualization, there should be absolutely no effort to connect the imagined conditions with your present circumstances. Nor should you consider that you are pretending the desired conditions exist. In my opinion, the best way to approach this sort of exercise is to imagine that you are "psychically perceiving" a reality that actually exists in your "probable future."
According to Seth, any strongly imagined experience becomes a "probable reality." It exists, right now, in the "spacious present," along with all other potential realities one can imagine.
The important thing here is capturing the feeling of what you imagine as being a reality rather than fantasy. It doesn't have to be a reality in your present to be a reality in your future. If we assume that Seth is correct, and probable realities do in fact exist, the act of imagining is at the same time the act of creating and perceiving a probable reality. In any case, the desired conditions are real, even if they only exist as real mental images and genuine feelings. The trick is to explore your desire while feeling that it has reality. That way you do not separate your imagined conditions from what you
consider reality, even when you go back to a world where those conditions do not yet exist. Believing the conditions honestly exist, either in your future or in some imagined dimension, avoids the problem of conflicting beliefs which otherwise negates all the creative visualization you could possibly do. Just be careful not to compare what you want with what you believe you have.
All of these "mental gymnastics" are simply meant to allow you to visualize desired conditions with the feeling that they actually exist.
Let's apply this to the idea of creating long term financial prosperity. Visualize the home you will live in, the clothes you will wear, the things you will do, etc. Be detailed. Imagine you are in that home and think about how you spend your days. Imagine what you might have for dinner, which friends you might entertain. Look at the kitchen, the living room, the yard, the vehicles in your garage. Be as detailed as possible, believing these conditions actually exist in your future. Then in your mind, believe you are peering into that someday right now.
For ten to twenty minutes, two or three times a day, sit with your eyes closed and picture yourself as you are then, with all the material possessions you honestly desire. Mentally describe the desired condition with a variety of different phrases that feel natural and comfortable, then stick with the phrase which feels best. “I love living in such a wonderful home,” is a possible phrase you might use. Repeat your selected phrase as you imaginatively poke about in all the nooks and crannies of your dream home. Do this not as a way of imagining your future, but of perceiving conditions that actually
exist, as if you were able to project your consciousness to another
location, observing events happening now in the "spacious present." As you stroll around in your dream home, allow yourself to be "pleasantly surprised" by features that just pop into your mind. The kitchen table may be glass rather than oak, or you may find a large tree in the yard which you hadn't expected. That sort of thing. Seth tells us, "Beliefs changed overnight can bring literally awesome results."
If you should find yourself comparing the desired situation with less desirable, present conditions, stop doing the exercise and start over again later.
I certainly don't want to put a damper on anyone's ability to believe whatever they please, but should you find yourself having difficulty believing that amazingly ideal conditions are in your near future, consider creating the best possible conditions you believe are likely to occur within, say, thirty days. Being "realistic" means working with your present beliefs, and success on a small scale can provide the evidence you may need to go for the whole banana. The key is to create what you honestly believe is possible. The fewer conflicting beliefs involved the greater your probability of success.
Any sort of specific condition can be created using creative visualization. If you are overweight, perceive yourself at your ideal weight. See yourself in new, well fitting clothes. Imagine how nice you look, and how confident you feel, as you socialize with friends and new acquaintances. Picture yourself standing proudly in front of a mirror, "naked" with the "heavy clothing" of your excess fat removed. Above all feel how happy you are to have achieved your goal, to feel confident and truly content with your appearance, and to have achieved all this so easily.
Of course it will be easy. Why create a reality where it is difficult? As you perform your creative visualization exercises you will not be comparing your desire with the present situation. You will mentally and emotionally experience the rewards you desire. This experience feels so nice and is so clearly appreciated that when you return to your daily activities you will be inspired to behave in ways which will result in the imagined experience becoming your present reality. Those wishing to lose weight will naturally become less hungry, develop appetites for less fattening foods and crave physical activity. The desire to experience the imagined conditions will produce a greater reward than indulging in behavior which does not lead to that reward. This happens naturally whenever anyone firmly commits to achieving a new goal, unless they insist on believing the goal requires self sacrifice.
Not smoking is another example. Anyone who has a difficult time quitting the habit does not want to be a non-smoker. Such
people feel they "should" quit for a variety of reasons, but have not visualized themselves being happy and content as non-smokers. If anyone truly believes they would be happier not smoking, they would find it difficult to continue the habit. The same thing applies to alcoholics, drug addicts and couch potatoes who spend most of their free time in front of a television. If such people truly believed they would be happier if they changed their behavior, nothing could stop them from changing it.
"How many psychotherapists does it take to change a light bulb?" "Only one, but the light bulb must really want to change" (anonymous).
Remember that one must eliminate conflicting beliefs. These are not always "facts" which seem forced upon us from the real world, but are sometimes deliberately accepted choices. For example, an overweight woman may place value in being fat because it prevents unwanted attention from men and causes less jealousy from other women. Some men may value being overweight because it keeps them from being pushed around, etc. Alcoholics, drug addicts and couch potatoes may have a belief that their behavior is better than being bored with a life otherwise devoid of reward. So long as one's problem feels like a solution, no amount of effort will cause the behavior to change. The real solution is to recognize that any sort of life one can imagine is actually possible. Imagine a better life, believe it is truly possible, then look for facts which indicate it is within one's reach. When more positive beliefs are accepted, behavior will alter accordingly.
The best way to improve overall conditions is to concentrate on feeling pleasant, optimistic vibrations. It isn't necessary to deliberately visualize specific events or conditions in order to affect "coincidences." The visualizations occur naturally as one imagines a happy future. Those with a strong belief in God can simply hand their desire over to the higher power and trust that it will become a reality. Abraham suggests that the ideal attitude to hold in regards to creating reality is, "satisfaction with the way things are and eagerness for more." I can't imagine a better way to put it.
In order to be satisfied with the way things are, one must appreciate the good things in one's experience. An attitude of
gratitude is possible when one considers how much one values being healthy, having a place to live, food to eat, good friends, eyes that see, and much more. Let go of your petty resentments. More than anything else, a feeling of gratitude can create the proper conditions for experiencing even more to be grateful for. A feeling of deep satisfaction with the way things are puts one's frame of reference in a positive place where expecting things to improve is not such a big leap from one's present position. Appreciation creates pleasant, optimistic vibrations, and it is that state of being which draws more things to appreciate into one's experience.
When coming from a place of true appreciation, it's simply a matter of imagining great things coming your way and having no concern at all for when they will happen -- because conditions are quite OK as it is. When things do improve, you may not even notice because one is used to life being just fine anyway. Frustrations may still develop, but they don't last as long if one remembers to pay attention and take responsibility for one's thoughts.
Limiting, negative vibrations such as anger, guilt, blame, stress, etc., automatically prevent more desirable conditions from manifesting in one's experience. Most negative vibrations require a belief in others having more control than you do, a belief in your own lack of control or responsibility. If you honestly believe you create your own reality you would not entertain such thoughts. Vibrations such as joy, enthusiasm, comfort and love open oneself to experiencing more pleasant future circumstances.
"Coincidences" often come in the form of chance encounters with other people. Don't be afraid to create new connections if it appears some positive possibility could come from it. Look for ways you and others can benefit each other mutually. Expand your network of association. You never know when someone might connect you to someone else where mutual benefits can be achieved. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude, believe amazing "coincidences" are possible, be alert to notice them when they occur, and follow through. That is really all there is to improving overall conditions in life.
The creative visualization or "virtual reality" exercises will enable you to create specific conditions. If, like myself, you do well
in some areas but seem to blow it in others, it means "invisible" conflicting beliefs still exist. These negative beliefs are not actually invisible, but are considered so “matter of fact” that we do not realized they are just ideas like any other. Experiencing difficulty in creating reality simply means we have more to learn, and learning is essentially what physical life is all about.
As you go about your day, try to capture the feeling of having what you desire. This can be done without comparing what you want with what you have, because a feeling is not the reality. You can feel like you have all the money you desire, for example, without having to spend any money. The feeling is just a sensation, not a statement of fact. Experiencing such a feeling, consistently, may be the best way to create the associated reality.
Seth tells us that we should not continuously look for results. When a desired belief is firmly in place, the results will certainly follow. Being prematurely concerned about seeing results will only undermine your intent by emphasizing conflicting evidence.
To fully understand the subject of creating your own reality it may be necessary to read the materials by Seth, Abraham or others, but the information presented here should be enough to get you started with some experiments, and results, of your own. Finding others who share an interest in these ideas can also be a great help. Perhaps you can experiment with creating the presence of such people in your life?
The next chapter deals with the apparent conflict between "predetermined life challenges" and the ability to deliberately alter conditions in the present.
Chapter Seven: