Personal Growth

The key to self improvement, self development and personal growth is the ability to utilize both of your minds at the same time. While we only have one body, we have two minds. One mind, the conscious or Brain Mind, is a mind of words and sounds and pictures, ruled by reasoning and will power. The other mind, the subconscious or Heart Mind, is a mind of emotion and sensation, ruled by imagination and inspiration. The Brain Mind uses analysis and deduction to solve problems. It uses a process of elimination, "take apart", kind of thinking. As we look at the menu a complete dinner, I think I'll have a sandwich. But I don't want roast beef, and I don't want corned beef, and I don't want grilled cheese, ahh, I think I'll have turkey. The Brain Mind is the one that fits the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together by trial and error.

The other mind, the Heart Mind, is not deductive but inductive. Your Heart Mind intuitively possesses all the information that you have ever known, including information about yourself, about food, and about restaurants. This is the mind of imagination that would never need to look at the menu. This is the mind that would tune into whatever feelings you might have, such as, what am I in the mood for? What do I feel I want? What do I imagine would taste good right now? Based on all these factors, the subconscious mind just might come up with ten different things on ten different days, including perhaps chicken and waffles.

This Heart Mind is the mind that upon seeing a partially assembled jigsaw puzzle, can go beyond what it knows, and suddenly realize what the picture of the fully assembled puzzle will eventually look like. The Brain Mind uses deductive logic, or "take apart" thinking. The subconscious mind uses inductive logic, or "put together" thinking.

There is a wonderful reason that explains why human beings have developed two different minds. It is because in the whole world there are really only two problems. I've always found that to be a comforting thought, only two problems in the whole world.

One problem is, "you know what you want but you don't know how to get it", and the only other problem is, "you don't know what you want".

The conscious rational mind has developed many methods to deduce the solution to the problem of "you know what you want, but you don't know how to get it. If you know that what you want is food, you can keep narrowing down the choices on the menu until you decide. However if "you don't know what you want", then you don't know where to go to see if there are any choices to choose from. With deductive logic you could solve the problem of what you think you are supposed to want, by selecting from among those things other people have suggested. But not the problem of "what do you want" because you don't know what to choose from. Determining what you feel you really want calls for something like imagination, inspiration, insight, intuition, or illumination. When you have no idea what you want you can not use deduction or process of elimination. There is nothing to eliminate or deduct from.

If you are going to use any form of logic when you don't know what you want, you must stretch beyond the known and into the possible. You must use inductive, or "put together" thinking.

However sometimes the way we answer the question "What do you want" isn't by using any kind of logic at all.. Sometimes your subconscious mind comes to the answer purely through your emotions. You just want it. You have an intuition that it would feel good. You imagine that it would make you happy. All of our earliest problems were solved this way. When we were newly born, we are totally subconscious. We have no logic and just about all there is, is creativity. Each time we would awaken from one of our frequent sleeps, we had no plans, we didn't know what we were supposed to do. There was nothing logical to base it on. There were no habits, no automatic responses beyond our survival needs. We would basically make it up as we went along.

We saw something moving, or brightly colored, and our attention was instantly drawn to it. We created a whole universe inside of this one specific thing existing for the entire duration of our short attention spans.

We faced problems with invention and ingenuity. At first there was no preconceived methods for sitting up. We creatively experimented with many different methods. It wasn't long before we began to reason. We began to use rudimentary logic and deduction to eliminate those sitting up methods that didn't seem to work. Ultimately we discover a "right combination" that does. There are a lot of different movements that we could do that could lead to sitting up. We find those "right combinations" of movements that are easier than the others until we get a "right combination" that works pretty good. We then do this one over and over again, and before long it is a habit. We can then relegate sitting up to automatic pilot, and put our minds on other things. Early childhood is made up to a great extent of daydreaming, pretending, and figuring things out. Our creativity flourishes in a structure were there are so few rules, and where it is relatively okay to be wrong. Curiosity is the driving force, and fascination is the reward for the experience. At a time when our creativity and problem solving skills are peaking, we run head on into a very sobering experience called school.

The Industrial Age, process of schooling children utilized a system that blocked much of their imagination and therefore their creativity. School was perfect for creating students to meet the needs of an assembly line technology, where being the same (conformity) is more effective than being different (creativity). The result of schooling for many, has been the acceptance of averageness, blocking many members of our society from experiencing the creativity (the specialness and uniqueness) that is their birthright.

The Information Age has very different needs than the Industrial Age had. We have moved from the factories to the offices. We have moved from a work culture where most everyone did much the same job, to a work culture with much more diversity.

Assembly line jobs are handled more and more by robots and computer assisted engineering, while humans are freed up to do jobs where they must solve problems and creatively think. The primary thinking skills that one needs in our modern day culture is knowing how to make things up, and how to figure things out; innovation and problem solving

An important function of the Alpha State the state of Focused Passion is that it allows us access to both of our minds at the same time. This allows the minds to most effectively think. The kind of thinking that will be needed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing corporate technology and an even more rapidly changing marketplace. Using the Alpha Brainwave State allows us to think beyond the boundaries of what is known. With Focused passion you make use of the particular brainwaves that provides access to both conscious and subconscious minds and allows for enhanced creativity and problem solving skills.

As we leave the Industrial Age there is a need to develop different skills. In this Information Age, the two most important skills become making things up, and figuring things out. In the past, many people did much the same jobs, as in the factories on the assembly line. In the future, specialization is becoming more and more prevalent; and, in the office, everyone is doing something different. We can no longer depend on the same old answers, because we are creating brand new problems.

How we experience our problems is a more significant factor in our happiness than are the specific problems that we experience. Life is not about becoming free of problems, rather it is about becoming a better and better problem solver. Instead of complaining and worrying, we can learn to see our problems as creative opportunities that give us the chance to grow and improve. We can take on our problems as puzzles to be solved, or as challenges to be enthusiastically faced. When we get into stressful beta states, we move into fight or flight syndrome, where the only problem we are prepared to solve is survival. The filter or reticular activating system between the conscious and subconscious minds closes down, denying us access to memory and creativity. By utilizing the alpha state you get in touch with your problem solving capabilities. With the filter open, you can use your imagination to go beyond what you know into all that could be.

Often it is difficult to solve our problems because we can't clearly see the problem for what it truly is. This is the "you can't see the forest for the trees" syndrome. We get caught up in the emotions and sometimes seem to blow the problem all out of proportion. Sometimes it serves to take an alternate perception and see the problem in a different way. Step outside of the problem, and change your perception, and the problem seems to change .

You could imagine that the problem belongs to someone else. If this were true, what kind of advice would you give them? What would you say that their first step could be? How would you help to motivate them and get them going? What resources would you suggest that they utilize? How can you help them be confident of their process and their ultimate success?

You could pretend that the problem is already solved. Think backwards from the solution back to the first step. Imagine that you are remembering how you did it. Where you were when you figured it out and what were you doing? Realize how good it feels to have it solved. Be proud of yourself. Sometimes we can solve a problem, simply by realizing that it is not really a problem at all. Many problems can be seen in a positive light, as creative opportunities to exercise our minds and our talents to create some positive change. For every problem there are solutions. Some are better than others.

One of the most limiting forms of thinking is to assume that there is only one right answer to your problem. This rigid and restrictive thinking process comes from the rigid and restrictive experience of school. One right answer and anything else is wrong. We must break out of that mold in order to truly be effective problem solvers.

If you relax your mind and use your imagination and your creativity you will find unlimited resources at your disposal. Almost all of the great problems that have ever been solved or inventions invented, have had their solutions begin in some woman's or some man's daydream. It is the daydream-like Alpha State where most great ideas are born. One little clue or creative idea is all that it takes to begin solving the most perplexing problems.

Alpha is a great tool to get in touch with your memory and imagination. It is a wonderful technique to improve your capacity for problem solving and to enhance your creativity. You can program your mind to help you solve your problems. You can program your mind to open up to a very powerful channel of creative energy, enhance your insight, intuition, and inspiration., and inspire your mind into feats of genius. You can empower your conscious and subconscious minds together to create almost any outcome you choose.

An important function of the Alpha State is to foster the initiative to think beyond the boundaries of what is. The purpose is to promote the kind of thinking that will be needed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing corporate technology and an even more rapidly changing marketplace. In Alpha you make use of those particular states of mind that provide access to the power of creativity

As we leave the Industrial Age and move into the Information Age there is a need to develop different skills. We can no longer depend on the same old answers, because we are creating brand new problems. The key to the future involves creativity and problem solving. How we experience our problems is a more significant factor in our happiness than are the specific problems that we experience. As we said, life is not about becoming free of problems, rather it is about becoming a better problem solver. Instead of complaining and worrying, we can learn to see our problems as creative opportunities that give us the chance to grow and improve. We can take on our problems as puzzles to be solved, or as challenges to be overcome.

When we get into stressful beta states, the filter or reticular activating system closes down, denying us access to memory and creativity. By utilizing the alpha state you get in touch with your problem solving capabilities. With the filter open, you can use your imagination to go beyond what you know into all that could be. Often it is difficult to solve problems because we can't clearly see the problem for what it truly is. This is the "you can't see the forest for the trees" syndrome. We get caught up in the emotions and sometimes seem to blow the problem all out of proportion. Sometimes we need an alternate perception in order to see the problem in a different way. Step outside of the problem, and change our perception, and the problem seems to change .

Imagine that the problem belongs to someone else. If this were true, what kind of advice would we give them? What would we say that their first step could be? How would we help to motivate them and get them going? What resources would we suggest that they utilize? How can we help them be confident of their process and their ultimate success? Pretend that the problem is already solved. Think backwards from the solution back to the first step. Remember how we did it. Where we were when we figured it out ,what we were doing? Realize how good it feels to have it solved. Be proud.

Sometimes we can solve a problem simply by realizing that it is not really a problem at all. Many problems can be seen in a positive light, as creative opportunities to exercise our minds and our talents to create some positive change. For every problem there are solutions. Some are better than others. One of the most limiting forms of thinking is to assume that there is only one right answer to your problem. This rigid and restrictive thinking process comes from the rigid and restrictive experiences we had in school. One right answer to each problem and anything else is wrong. We must break out of that mold in order to truly be effective problem solvers. If you relax your mind and use your imagination and your creativity you will find unlimited resources at your disposal. Almost all of the great problems that have ever been solved have had their solutions begin in some woman's or some man's daydream.

We can program our minds to open up to a very powerful channel of creative energy. We can program our minds to enhance our insight, intuition, and inspiration. We can inspire our mind to reach levels of genius. Practice with all these Alpha Exercises, and invent some of your own. The secret to success is not only knowing what to use but also using what you know, and using it over and over again with great passion. Persistence and passion are the keys.

Changing the way you read is a metaphor for life. With the same techniques, you can reprogram any habit, attitude, or behavior you choose. Remember, change can often bring up doubt and fear. Realize that if getting some assistance would be of service to you as you experience your changes, then you deserve it. With Alpha, you know you have the power to manage change, and knowing you can, will let you realize that you must.

Focus brings to bear the power of the conscious mind, and Passion brings to bear the power of the subconscious mind. When the two minds come together in harmony, something magical happens. They create a third mind; a higher consciousness. This is literally a second level of thinking. With Focused Passion, all the power is in the second level of thinking. You get to think about your individual thoughts and feelings, and choose to empower the positive ones, and choose to release the negative ones. In this way you come to enjoy all of your thoughts and all of your feelings. Do this and you will discover that there is a side effect. It is called happiness. Happiness is not about your particular circumstances. Happiness is not about your initial thoughts. Happiness comes from what you think, about what you think.

Here is a simple and powerful technique for creating the state of Focused Passion. Focus comes when you move away from stress, just a little of the way toward sleep. Passion comes when you enjoy what you are doing.

Focus Passion is moving from divided attention (multi-tasking) to paying attention to just one special thing. Do this and you slow down your mind. You move toward stress when you feel endangered. To move into Focused Passion you need to feel safe.

Close your eyes.

Most of the input that comes in through your five senses comes in through your eyes. Close your eyes and you slow down your mind. It's the first thing you do when you want to fall asleep. Focused Passion can be reached with your eyes open, but closing your eyes cuts out many of the potential distractions.

Take a deep breath and imagine that you are in a very safe and peaceful place.

By making this safe place, a place that you love to be, you add passion to your state of focus. When you feel stressed you tighten your muscles and hold your breath. Release your muscle tension and let go of your breath and you will begin to feel safe. Choose this place with your intuition. Let it be the first safe place that comes in to your mind. Imagine that you can see this place, or that you can hear the surrounding sounds. Simply pretend and get the feeling that you are there. If your mind goes off to a different place, just notice this and then bring yourself back to your first place. Always return to this same place each time you wish to re-create this state of Focused Passion.

With Focused Passion you can solve the only two problems that you face. One problem is that you know what you want, but you don't know how to get it, and the only other problem is that you don't know what you want.

When you don't know what you want, you go to your place of Focused Passion and you ask. Then you listen for the answer. This is called meditation, introspection, reflection, or prayer. If you believe in a higher power then you might believe that the answer comes through you. If you don't believe in a higher power then you might believe that the answer comes from you. Either way the process is the same. You ask, and then you listen for the answer.

If you do know what you want, then you tell. You imagine what you do want, as if you already have it, over and over again, with GREAT PASSION! This is called mental programming, visualization, self-hypnosis, or auto-suggestion. It is an application of the amazingly powerful law of attraction.

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