What Am I Really Saying?

When we have challenges manifesting things in our lives, particularly when we are first learning to apply affirmative thought, the natural tendency is to give up hope and assume that affirmative thought doesn't work, that it is just another hoax. The second tendency, which is common amongst those raised with the traditional view of God, is that somehow God is punishing us or withhold from us. This provokes a variety of responses, from anger to fear to depression and usually back to anger. Both assumptions, that affirmative thought is ineffectual or that God is a withholding God are incorrect. Affirmative thought is a proven method that uses the scientifically validated laws of the Universe to effect change. And the idea of a withholding God is contrary to the nature of God. God's nature is infinite givingness, infinite abundance. Only in living life to the utmost can we truly demonstrate the true nature, the abundance, the bliss, the joy of God's reality. So, where does the “failure” come from? The lack of results is the product of our improper utilization of the Law.

I once did a treatment, an affirmative prayer session, for a woman named Karen for whom life proved a series of misfortunes and catastrophes. The moment one crisis ran its course, another began. Often, she found herself in the midst of crisis simultaneously. Karen came to mental science with the sincere desire to change her life and worked diligently with the meditations, the affirmations, and the treatments. Despite this, she failed to materialize proper results. When she came to me, I began by asking her what it is that she wanted. Her response came in a familiar form; she listed everything she didn't want. As we continued to talk, she told me her feelings about her life at present.

“So much has happened that I go through my day with this constant feeling of panic. It's like I just can't even imagine what else is going to go wrong!”

I smiled as she said it because in that moment, the answer became even clearer. Karen kept making two mistakes which in and of themselves negated her results. The first is that in focusing on all the things she didn't want, she failed to realize that she kept inadvertently drawing these things to her. The second mistake is that her affirmation, both on a conscious level and unconscious level was “go wrong.” As we know, the Creative Medium is not a subjective force, but instead a purely objective principle. It gives us what we ask for, whether we perceive it as good or bad. What Karen kept feeding into the Creative Medium, what she kept asking for was “go wrong,” followed by all the things she didn't want. Not surprisingly these are exactly what she received.

At a certain point in the session, we moved on to doing an exercise. I asked Karen to list what it is she really wanted in her life. Not what she didn't want, but what she did want. After this was completed, I asked her to list what it is that she really believed about the good for which she asked.

For example, one of her requests was that she meet a loving husband. So I asked her to check in with herself, to go deep into her subconscious mind and identify what it is she really felt about relationships, marriage and the possibility of her being in a successful relationship. After spending a long time in thought, she began to cry. She confessed to me then that she had grown up in a household with a father that was abusive and controlling and, she discovered years later, had fathered several illegitimate children while married to her mother. What Karen carried in her subconscious was something her mother always told her; that men are not to be trusted, followed by her own belief that having a man would severely restrict her freedom, as her father had restricted her mother's freedom. In order for Karen to have a successful relationship, we needed to first treat her fear of being in a relationship followed by her distrust of men.

Another thing on Karen's list was a career she loved that paid what she felt she was worth. In getting down to her hidden beliefs, we discovered that growing up Karen wanted to be a painter, but her parents constantly discouraged her because in their minds, painting is not a respectable profession. Taking this belief to heart, Karen subsequently entered the work world taking one unfulfilling job after another and no matter what it paid, she always felt that it was not enough. Furthermore, no matter how simple or potentially satisfying the job she held, she would always grow to loathe it. In digging deep, we discovered that Karen's career issues stemmed from the fact that she was not fulfilling her purpose and until she made some step towards being a painter, she would always end up in the same type of situations. So, her first step was to treat for the confidence to fulfill her purpose and then to treat for the perfect job for her.

Finally, after we addressed all of her hidden beliefs—of which there were many—we addressed one of the largest obstacles to Karen's progression, being her primary mantra: What else can go wrong? I suggested to her that first, she start looking each day for the good, any little piece of good no matter how trite or mundane it may seem. And when she identified that good, she could say to herself: “What else can go right?” Further, I suggested that even in the midst of a crisis or a stressful situation, she continuously affirm to herself “What else can go right?” It was vital to her success that she first address any hidden paradigms by which she operated and then consciously move towards a place of right-thought. Even more important, it became vital that she recognize the power she held to manifest her greatest good or her largest obstacle based solely on where she chose to place her mind.

So, for those times we find ourselves unable to manifest what it is we ask for, let us not assume that affirmative thought is a sham or that the Universe is withholding from us, or punishing us in some way. Let us instead discover how our conscious thoughts may be blocking us. Then, let us closely and honestly look at what it is we believe in regards to what it is we're asking for. Let us look at our conscious and our subconscious beliefs. We must identify any area in which we may be holding ourselves back in order to move ourselves forward. And above all, let us remember that in the Divine kingdom there is no lack, no heartache, no limitation. And the Divine kingdom is all there is.

Exercise: Hidden Beliefs

In each of the following areas, ask yourself what it is you truly believe. Be as honest as you can. If need be, include former beliefs you may have had as a way of identifying whether there may still be a part of you that believes it. We can always tell what we have in our subconscious mind by what it is that has materialized in our lives. So if we want a blooming garden, we must first root out the weeds.

1. My beliefs about my career are:

2: My beliefs about money are:

3. My beliefs about relationships are:

4: My beliefs about my health are:

5: My beliefs about God's givingness are:

6: My beliefs about my body are:

7: My beliefs about what I truly desire in life are:

When you have answered each question, wherever you find a limiting belief, formulate a treatment for each. If you feel you aren't ready for treatment, begin by simply thinking of an affirmation. Recite these affirmations every day, several times a day until you have moved into a different consciousness. You will know that you have by the results that manifest in your life.