From Figments to Reality

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

      Although the title and topic of our discussion this week is that "Thoughts are Things", we were also immediately asked to consider desire, being definite, having purpose, being persistent, even bordering upon obsession.

      Every chapter of this book lays out pieces of all of the secrets. Some chapters only focus on a few, or even try to focus on a single one, but every single chapter is woven with the strong fabric of knowledge. The knowledge that we are the most powerful creatures on this planet. The knowledge that our power can be positive or negative. The knowledge that when we combine the power of all of the positive, the total is far greater than the simple sum of the parts.

      I have been thinking heavily, lately, of the progress I've made and also where I haven't made any progress.

      I have been in similar states like this before. Finding myself on a road with a fork in it. Do I stay on the path I've been on? Do I continue much as I have so far? Or, do I take this turn?

      Once I decide, I know there are few if any roads back, and those are more difficult to travel, or worse yet, in a reverse direction back to that same fork.

      I know that it won't always be clear that I've made the correct choice along the way. There will be desire-threatening obstacles. But I have made these decisions before. I haven't always executed them perfectly. I even had to settle for good enough (very challenging for my personality). But I also know there will be an almost unconscious blur that can occur in the knowing it works, when it's working.

      To be in an excited state of not being able to go to sleep at night.

      To anticipate the dawn of the new day and awake, even before the alarm goes off, jumping out of bed to advance our cause.

      It is all found in this book. And the journey begins within our own minds. It begins with our thoughts. Thoughts become all manner of things.

with gratitude and in service,

Tony, Lisa, Michael and Amanda Koker

The Six Ghosts of Fear

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

        Fear can motivate us. Fear is negative. Napoleon Hills grouped all fears into one of six categories: POVERTY, CRITICISM, ILL HEALTH, LOSS OF LOVE OF SOMEONE, OLD AGE, and the fear of DEATH. In the second part of the chapter he discusses SUSCEPTIBILITY TO NEGATIVE INFLUENCES. He also listed the negative emotions, in an earlier chapter (12): The emotion of FEAR, JEALOUSY, HATRED, REVENGE, GREED, SUPERSTITION, and ANGER. After reading all of this it is clear that these fears, negative influences and negative emotions all form vicious circles of chains that bind and bound us down, keeping us hostage, if we let them. We must use the power of the positive emotions: DESIRE, FAITH, LOVE, SEX, ENTHUSIASM, ROMANCE and HOPE and the other techniques and principles we have learned.

        Knowing that a speeding car is not likely going to be able to turn or swerve in time, we could flee.

        I've read or listened to someone that the responses we demonstrate to various fears are always either FREEZE, FIGHT or FLIGHT. What happens when we freeze in front of that oncoming car? We certainly wouldn't consider, or at least not for very long, the notion that we might fight with it, right? Hopefully our mind is able to analyze the situation, using ALL of our SIX senses, and correctly motivates us to run, jump or dodge in plenty of time to avoid disaster or injury.

        Nature or nurture? Are we born with certain fears? Certainly most, if not all, have been learned, rather than having been built into us.

        Are we in a trance? Are we so bombarded that our brain rarely has a thought any more, that hasn't been planted by a text message, email, song, jingle, image, or worse, something that combines many of these, like television or a movie into one shotgun blast of blockage and damage? Even books, where our imagination is used to paint the pictures, sites and sounds we see provide either positives or negatives. Usually we are presented with both, at the same time. Luckily we can control the mechanism to reinforce the positive and reject the negative. If too much of the negative is passed through without being rejected, the pathways get clogged with obstructions, rerouted, or broken entirely. We then have to work all that much harder to clear the obstructions, reroute again, or even build from scratch, all over again. The great part of this, our incredible brain is resilient. As long as there remains one single glimmer of spark in our thoughts that is derived from OUR desires, we CAN build the paths again, one by one. Each building on the others until we fashion again a massive super highway network, working in concert and alignment for OUR desires.

        Critical thinking is essential for us to discern what messages we let in, but we also have to have the confidence to know, that should things we didn't desire sneak into our brain, which they always seem to do, that we have the abilities to reinforce our desires.

        It is being confident, yet humble, without being arrogant. We all still make mistakes and are not yet perfect in that regard. Also, it is participating to help others, thereby finding inspiration to solutions for our own challenges. Our physical and virtual mastermind groups are fertile oceans of energy that provide insight and inspiration to all those involved. We are alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic and find ourselves at higher and higher levels of positive emotional, mental, spiritual and physical vibrations of energy. We can achieve and overcome anything. We can evolve the whole ocean by remaining the perfect self, just the way we are, growing, together and individually.

 

with gratitude and in service,

Tony, Lisa, Michael and Amanda Koker

The Sixth Sense

Image credit: CanStockPhoto.com

A sixth sense, a portion of our subconscious mind, our "Creative Imagination", "a receiving set for ideas, plans and thoughts" are all phrases that Napoleon Hill uses to describe this week's topic. Intuition, gut feeling, instinct, knowing that we know, if you know what I mean are also phrases that could be used. Mental and spiritual ... Miracles ... Aha, eureka or epiphany moments ... these are the results we achieve or are achieved on our behalf.

Once we can relate to what it is, how do we endeavor to use it? The steps have been clearly outlined during our journey through the preceding chapters. We can then receive "without efforts or demands."

A virtual mastermind group is a solution that Napoleon Hill describes, perhaps to embarrassing detail (to himself), through much of the latter part of the chapter. Even this seems to have worked, for a time, then it didn't work so well, or he lost faith in it. It was then abandoned, only to return again in urnest but in a further evolved and more insistent form. The focal characters were always shifting and changing over time. A student of the characters he was able to leverage their gifts for his behalf.

Is this a form your Creative Imagination is suggesting you should use? If so, who are your Counselors? Are they your heroes? Are they real or fictitious? So often I have found myself focused upon someone who themselves are a creation of someone else's imagination. How do I stay focused in reality, yet avail myself of this enormously powerful ability? Growing up I admired Sherlock Holmes as an role model. I've even tried to focus on real people, but most that I look to, when scrutinized expose their flaws. We all have these. That's why we need so many on our committee. We have to be able to balance the positives and stay focused on our true desires as they further unfold. We are multifaceted diamonds, but still in-the-rough on many edges. We may believe we understand what our true desires are, but, as we grow, we learn that these too evolve into even greater places.

Of all of the characters who are on my committee, those who remain silent, in the dark recesses towards the back, step forward into the foreground, in the bright light to be heard again when the time is right. I call them characters, because, although they do start off as real as possible people, they always seem to become a little glamorized. I've found they tend to be flawless in their special attribute(s) and have managed to completely reduce any negative side effects to nearly imperceptible. But that, after all, is what we are really trying to do with ourselves, isn't it?

With all of the media that bombards us daily it is extremely difficult to stay focused in real role models. It has to be worked at. We have to eliminate those who let the distracting creep in, while we have to also work to surround ourselves as much as possible with those who are focused and taking action. We can meet with them on the phone, in person, or, by other means. Perhaps we can even arrange to sit down and have a meal with them, or travel and visit or even vacation with them. Even brief encounters can plant the seeds for a successful addition to the mastermind.

I could write volumes about my counselors. My dad, who passed away in 1989, is still a major and active participant in my committee. The epitome of self-sacrifice, he never wavers in his dedication to actively performing to be of benefit to all those around him. My wife, who has found and uses the secret of service to others as the means in indirectly achieving her own desires. Even my children, who have grown into critical thinking adults. They too provide me with constant council using the evolved fusion of the experiences they've had and are still having on their journeys, but from new perspectives. Many teachers as well as historical figures also play roles. I constantly read to explore for others who may have learned just one more special ingredient to be added to the recipe.

If you are not inspired to utilize Hill's process of a virtual mastermind what do you do? How vivid can this process become? Can you see images of places, people and things, much like a dream, but remaining fully conscious? Is it day dreaming? Such an intense state of deep focus of vibration and thought could be considered meditation. Yet it all seems to occur in an instant. And complex challenges are dealt with over many of these sessions over, possibly, a great deal of time.

The sum total of all that we have explored so far, this is certainly the master key with which to unlock all doors.

 

with gratitude and in service,

Tony, Lisa, Michael and Amanda Koker

The Brain - A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought

Image: http://http://www.canstockphoto.com/

      Having read, written and discussed the subconscious mind, last week I think I focused on myself and what is sent from the subconscious to the conscious mind. In doing so I skimmed over the creative imagination although that is the fuel for the subconscious; the connecting dots were not evident to me until this week.

      Like in a couple of other lesssons this time through the book, my first inkling was to write some more about self-talk, and how this programs our subconscious and conscious mind to work in concert to focus and act on our desires. However, although similar, the lesson I learned this week was significantly greater in size, power and importance.

      I was poking around in my marketing and advertising effort, after tonight's Coach's Corner Mastermind call, and then, as I was brushing my teeth before bed, I had another ah-haa moment. A crystal clear picture appeared in my mind. My pulse began to race as I realized just what Napoleon Hill is talking about in this chapter. I could actually see this principle in action although it initially was simply for the limited scope of my marketing and advertising effort. I then went back to my computer to capture what I saw in that picture, but as it applies to the much greater scope Napoleon Hill presents.

      While our self-talk permits us to personally program our thoughts to be in harmony with our desires, it is our creative imagination, which links us to Infinite Intelligence. Hill reminded us of sex transmutation as our strongest internal and emotional method to increasing the rate of vibrations, but here, in this chapter, he attempts to touch upon that which is significantly more powerful and without bounds.

      He talked about the 14 billion orderly nerve cells we have in our brain, with some discussion of telepathy and clairvoyance and then hinted some more at this awesome force and its intangible nature.

      We are all part of this invisible ocean of vibrations. When we program ourselves to produce a harmony of desire that is focused and able to be acted upon, we become a towering light house, shining our beacon throughout this ocean for all who are receptive to see and experience. When we further combine our efforts with others, through brainstorming and mastermind sessions, we create repeaters or harmonic sympathizers that amplify the vibrations, increasing the intensity of our light, and extending it's range well beyond the bounds of ourselves and our surroundings.

      Those that have better understanding than we do, pick up the signal, and send back suggestions for improvement. Infinite Intelligence, in tune with all of the waves as well as the existance or absence of light houses, further influences and directs the vibrations like a conductor of an orchestra. Those that are seeking improvement just need to be open and aware enough to see the changes. Maybe the light we see blinks, or changes color? Our creative imagination provides the channel into our subconscious.

      We need to constantly work to remain in harmonic sympathy within ourselves as well as with our mastermind group to continue to provide the energy and vibrations necessary to remain in that towering light house. As we constantly succumb to the distracting or even negative influences around us in our sensory world, we need to develop habits that help us to keep our lighthouse in superior working order.

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker

The Subconscious Mind

Image: (c) http://www.canstockphoto.com

My Subconscious Mind

      After reading this chapter again I was impressed upon to describe with detail what a walking tour of my subconscious mind might be like. I don't really have a view of what it might look like from the outside looking in, except for what we normally see as a grey, wrinkled yet large pea-shaped mass. Rather, I observe as though I am already inside.

      I feel dampness as I seem to be at the lowest levels. It is very dark here. The walls seem like those of a cave. There are sights, sounds and feelings here, but they seem very base and raw, yet very powerful. I feel intense fear and hunger, my heart is racing and I find myself focusing on my need to keep breathing. There actually seems to be writing on the walls, but the chill and anxiousness I feel here strongly encourages me to wander higher and beyond.

      As I move upward along one of the paths, I see all manner of flashing lights, like nearby rooms with displayed images, or strobes of colorful performance or party venues. Light and dark the lights pulse with various energies. Its a wonder of activity, yet it seems as though everything is contained, packaged neatly into compartments, yet readily available to be accessed. It almost seems like a library full of bookshelves, yet there are all manner of storage. Some containers seem to have sights, sounds, textures, heat and even odors, while others buzz alone with energy.

      There is just so much to experience, I cannot possibly explore everywhere. There seems to be activity. Containers appear to be in a constant process of being rearranged, reordered, called forward, and just as quickly dismissed in a rush into the echos of the cavernous beyond.

      At the highest level of my subconscious mind I hear this rhythmic repetition. It sounds like words, but they quickly vibrate into sensual collections. Collections of images, sounds, scents and vibrations of emotion combine into this song. There is no counterflow or resistance here. In comes the song. The package starts rather vague. As the song continues, the package is taking shape. Almost like a mist or fog it begins to resemble something more and more tangible. As the song is repeated, the process expands to influence all of the activity. The rearrangement of everything begins to vibrate to the rhythm and melody of the song.

      All at once, the song stops, but the activity continues long after. There are subtle signs that the activity is beginning to again become more random, but just as quickly as it stopped the words begin again and the song plays on and the activity continues stronger than ever.

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker

THE MYSTERY OF SEX TRANSMUTATION

Image: © http://www.mouserunner.com/index.html

“the changing, or transferring of one element, or form of energy, into another.” - Napoleon Hill

"The emotion of sex brings into being a state of mind." - Napoleon Hill

The emotion of sex is positive, intense, and powerful. It is a direct, driving and motivating influence. Usually we try to use as many of our senses, or use descriptions of sensual experience when we write or tell a story or lesson. But, that is what makes the emotion of sex such a challenge to transmute. We have to train ourselves to focus this emotion inwardly, away from our senses, and into vibrations of thought. Maybe we can feel this. Feel the increased vibrations of other positive emotions. Enthusiasm, desire, love, romance, faith, hope and even prosperity all can be derived from the channeled emotion of sex. It can cause adrenaline to be felt corsing through our veins, but not for other physical responses, but mental (thoughtful) and emotional ones.

Working backwards to thoughts are things, and even further, emotions become thoughts. Emotions are energy and vibrations. Thoughts are energy and vibrations. We must try to focus the emotion of sex and its tremendous energy. Our strongest emotion can best feed our creative imagination, if we channel it and link with Infinite Intelligence. Emotions become thoughts.

Do emotions have color? What color is the emotion of sex? Is it red, or is white hotter?

Society struggles with sex. The emotion often plants seeds of physical thoughts. Its appeal is used for marketing and advertising in the world around us. We can be pulled like a leashed animal by it when we allow those messages into our minds. Turn the tables and use it to thrive.

It can help us to overcome hardships, difficulties or obstacles.

It lets us lead an offensive (vs. defensive) posture. It can be aggressive, yet playful and uplifting.

 

with gratitude and in service,

Tony Koker