The Bliss Book Read online

  I remember when I first began studying natural magic. As woo-woo as I might seem, deep down I’m a skeptic. I had cast my first magic circle, a way of creating sacred space. A more experienced Wiccan walked around the area, looking at my work, which was invisible, and nodding in approval. Even then, my little voice was saying, “Bullcookies!” Later though, I used divining rods to detect the energy in a room before casting a circle, and again after casting it. And the rods left no room for doubt. The energy of the invisible circle moved them in a powerful way. It was real. But I hadn’t really believed it until those rods proved it to me.

  My very first actual “spell” was little bit of money magic. I wasn’t in desperate need, I just wanted see if it would really work, or if I was going to have to call bullcookies again. The rite involved silver coins, a silver dish, a mirror, a full moon, and some holy water, as I recall. I performed the ritual as per the instructions, and then I waited. And it worked! Unexpected money arrived within a couple of days.

  My inner skeptic has been pretty quiet ever since. I proved to myself that these things worked by working with my skeptic, trying them out. I hadn’t yet learned that believing is seeing, rather than the other way ‘round, and the method helped eliminate a skepticism that could have slowed my progress.

  What I’m saying is, put these practices to work just to see if they’re for real. Do the assignments, and do them with an open mind, even if you have an inner skeptic like I do. And as you lean more and more in the direction of being happy in your life as it is right now, things are going to happen for you. Good things are going to happen for you. And that’s the best boost your faith could get.

  But remember, there’s a deeper truth here. If you make these your new habits, even if nothing ever comes to you—it absolutely will, but even if it doesn’t—you will have become a happier, calmer, deeper-thinking person. You’re going to be in tune with and in touch with your Higher Self. And that’s worth more than all the gold in the Iron Bank.

  Health Tips and When to Follow Them

  Q. If everything in our reality is simply a projection, then why aren’t people re-growing limbs or livers or hearts?

  A. Because we don’t believe it’s possible.

  In a nutshell, the only time to follow any tip for good health, or weight loss, or hair growth or any other physical “improvement” is when you truly believe in it. Here’s why:

  Reality is a projection of consciousness. It’s created by and for us. It can be anything we want it to be, however, it cannot be anything we don’t truly believe is possible. Because if we believe it’s impossible, we create that impossibility. And the instant someone has a strong enough belief to achieve something the rest of us thought was impossible—it becomes possible for the rest of us too.

  The most often cited example of this is the 4-minute mile. It was considered impossible for a human to run faster, until Roger Bannister did, and as soon as that happened, it was broken over and over and over.

  But I think an even better example is demonstrated by the placebo effect, where subjects given drugs that have no medicine in them at all are spontaneously healed. And the reason those patients healed is because they believed the drug would heal them. But it wasn’t the medicine that cured them, because there wasn’t any medicine. It was their own belief.

  This is why faith-healing works for those who believe strongly—it’s not the healer who is healing them. The healer’s job is simply to convince the patient to believe. It’s their own belief in the power of the healer that brings about the healing.

  This is why old men, who spent just five days in a monastery surrounded by things from their youth, music, clothes, photos, TV shows, and so on, came out with vastly improved health and vitality than they went in with. They grew younger in every measurable way.

  You can read more about that experiment and others like it here.

  We are doing all of this ourselves. And even as we speak, our scientists are finding ways to grow new organs from our own DNA and making vast advances in spinal cord repair.

  We’re doing these things through science because it’s a little easier for us to believe in a scientific breakthrough, than it is for us to believe we can just spontaneously regrow spinal cords and organs. It’s coming to us by the path of least resistance—by the avenues we can most easily accept as valid.

  This, by the way, is how the things we desire will always come to us. Through the path of least resistance.

  Imagine we’re walking through a garden maze with hedges twenty feet high, with our goal at the other side. All the thinking and plotting and planning in the universe isn’t going to help us get to that goal any faster.

  Now imagine we have a teammate, hovering above the maze in a hot air balloon, with a radio in hand. She can see the entire maze, every spot where there’s an obstacle, and the fastest way for us to navigate through it, and she’s giving us steady, calm, accurate direction. All we have to do is turn on our receiver and tune to the right frequency to hear her gentle instruction.

  Our friend in the hot air balloon is our Higher Self. Whatever the goal, be it a cure, a lover, a home, a job, it’s right there at the end of the maze. And our Higher Self is our teammate. She can see every spot where we have an obstacle—our own resistance, doubts, skepticism—and she’ll guide us around them if we only listen. And we listen by staying aligned with Her.

  Remember, our Higher Self vibrates at a high and rapid rate. Adjusting ourselves to the frequency of joy, appreciation, love, bliss, are the ways we stay attuned to her. And also through meditation.

  But it also helps to work on changing our limiting beliefs, because that removes obstacles and provides even more paths to our goal.

  How to Apply This to Everyday Health and Wellness

  Doing things according to the way that it’s easiest for us to believe in is a powerful tool for us to use when choosing the lifestyles, habits, and cures that will work best for each of us.

  The same “cure” isn’t going to work for every patient any more than the same diet and exercise plan works for every person. We have to go with what we believe in.

  If I believe becoming vegan will keep me healthy, then I will feel healthier on a vegan diet. If I believe meat is essential for proper nutrition, but refuse to eat it on some other grounds, then a vegan diet is going to make me sick.

  If I believe in the newest diet plan, I’ll lose weight on it. If I don’t believe in it, it can’t work for me.

  If I believe Grandma’s chicken soup will cure my cold, then it will cure my cold.

  Now we have to take this notion down to the deepest levels, because our beliefs and biases are far more embedded than we can possibly realize. They’re subconscious, and they have a powerful grip on us.

  In the 1970s, the top five orchestras in the United States had fewer than 5% female musicians. By 1997, that number had risen to 25% with some well into the 30s. That’s a five to seven-fold increase. What changed? The orchestras began using blind auditions to eliminate any potential gender bias. Our beliefs run deep. Even if we don’t think we have hidden biases, we do.

  Changing our deep-seated, hidden beliefs is not easy.

  So let’s apply this understanding to our beliefs about our health and fitness. Take the simple act of eating a donut. As soon as we take a bite, we’re already thinking 800 Calories straight to my ass. This is so bad for me.

  If that’s what’s going on inside our heads, then there’s no way to fight the unwanted result. On the other hand, if we’re one of those people who are always saying, “I can eat all I want and never gain weight. I just have good genes,” then we’re going to be fine with that donut.

  We Can’t Get There Just by Saying I Believe

  Changing what we believe, way down deep, is a much more challenging process, (probably because we expect it to be) than simply working with the beliefs we already have.

  There are times when we need to change our beliefs. If I believe I’m going to get
cancer because my mother did, for example, that’s a belief worth changing. It’s a big, powerful scary one and I have time to work on it.

  An easier thing is this: If I believe drinking more water and doing yoga will keep me healthy, then the easiest path to health for me, is to drink more water and do yoga.

  If we think sitting on the couch all day will make us get fat and die young, then the easiest path to longevity is to not sit on the couch all day.

  So for the things we already have beliefs about, and all other things being equal, we should work with the beliefs we already have. Do the things you naturally think will result in the outcome you desire. But when it comes to beliefs that can harm us, beliefs in poverty or chronic illness or allergies, or that all men cheat, it’s a really great idea to work on gently changing those beliefs.

  How to Change a Belief

  It just takes time and practice. Abraham says, “A belief is just a thought you keep on thinking.” And that’s great, but sometimes it takes more. If I’m thinking, “I’m healthy, I’m healthy, I’m healthy,” while knowing I’m sick, then my belief isn’t going to change.

  Over the years, I’ve discovered a few tricks that work for me, and the best one of those is this. I look for evidence that what I would rather believe is actually true.

  We do this every day of our lives. Here in the U.S.A., if we would rather believe in a liberal political philosophy, we tune our televisions to MSNBC, where they constantly reaffirm for us that what we believe is true. Every story is designed to prove to us that we are right. And soon we see our belief as fact. On the other hand, if we prefer to believe in a mostly conservative political approach, we tune into Fox News, where they provide the same service, proving us right to ourselves over and over again with every story they run.

  As humans, we most frequently choose to view and experience things that match what we already believe. We do this in our lives, too.

  If I believe I have bad luck, I’ll prove it to myself over and over again. I’ll never win the door prize at a convention, or a few bucks on a scratch-off lottery ticket. I’ll never win party games or any bet I place on any horse race. I’ll have trouble even winning a coin toss. This is because it’s more comfortable to keep seeing the proof that my beliefs are true. I am tuned in to the wavelength of never winning. It’s familiar and comfortable to me. So I never win.

  What we have to do to is trick ourselves into believing something better, something more positive, by opening to the possibility and then looking for evidence of it.

  Opening to the Possibility…

  This means taking a step back from those things we’ve always said about ourselves. I’m bad with money. I never win anything. I’m the most unhealthy person I know. I ’m clumsy. Things like those.

  Just pick one harmful belief and take a step back from it. Let’s use bad luck as an example. If I think I’m unlucky, I need to ask myself, am I really unlucky? What if I’m actually very lucky, and I’ve just been blocking all my luck by not believing in it? Is that any more farfetched than believing in luck at all, really? Why don’t I try wondering if maybe I’m luckier than I’ve always thought I was?

  The second step is to start thinking back over my life, in search of times when my luck was good. I’d write down every single example I could remember.

  At first try, it’s going to look something like this:

  Well, I did win $2 on that scratch-off ticket last month. But the ticket cost two bucks, so I didn’t really win anything.

  And the other day when I was going 40 in a 35 and got pulled over, the cop let me off with a warning. That was probably lucky. Unless you consider that it made me twenty minutes late for the appointment I was rushing to make, that is.

  I suppose I could consider it good luck that last month ’s nor ’easter missed us entirely. But I ’d rather have had the snow days.

  Maybe you’ve noticed the problem with all those statements. I’m warning you about this trap, so you can avoid it. If we’re not accustomed to a positive mindset, then every time we notice a bit of good luck and acknowledge it, we’ll immediately negate it by inserting a negative spin. We can find something bad to say about anything. We can also find something good. Our goal here is to create a habit in our minds of always finding good, rather than the other way around. So, as I make my list of moments when I actually experienced good luck, I’ll need to stop myself from adding any negative spin. The above list should look like this.

  I won $2 on that scratch-off ticket!

  I got off with a warning instead of a speeding ticket!

  The snowstorm missed me!

  You see the difference?

  So try this. Pick a damaging belief you hold that you want to change, and then make your list of every time you’ve experienced the opposite. Start with something not too big. Something like I’m unlucky or I’m bad with money or nobody likes me. Make that list of every single time the opposite has happened.

  Now you have actual evidence that supports the new, preferred belief. That makes it far easier to accept as your new truth. Evidence makes it easier for our habit-loving minds to entertain the notion that maybe our old belief was flawed and this new one might be more valid.

  The second step is to greet every day with our mind revved and ready for further evidence that supports the new belief, the one we want to be true. That we’re lucky, since that’s the example we’ve been using. All day long, watch for signs of good luck. Pay attention. Look for them. And they’ll be there.

  Within a few weeks of practicing this, maybe sooner, you’ll be amazed to have realized that you weren’t unlucky at all! You only thought you were. But you’ve suddenly realized how very lucky you are. Good fortune is falling on you every day. You wonder how you ever thought otherwise.

  This is how to change beliefs. And some will change more easily than others.

  What’s Really Happening?

  We create what we look for. That’s all. The act of going out and looking for something tunes our inner radio dial to the station playing what we’re looking for. So when we expect our luck to be bad, we tune to the station playing bad luck. And when we expect our luck to be good, we tune to the station playing good luck.

  This is how everything in this universe works. The things we see and experience in our lives are nothing more than the songs playing on the channel we’re tuned in to. If I want to change my life, I just have to change the station. And I do that by putting my attention on what I want, and not on what I don’t.

  A Final Note on Illness

  It’s true that we all have a limited time in our physical bodies. But what’s not true is that we all have to die of something. We don’t have to get sick, and decline, and weaken, and suffer, and die. We can live a long, vibrant, healthy life, and die peacefully in our sleep when it’s time. There is no need for suffering and decline.

  A lot of us have such fear and loathing of that thing we call death, that life has to get really unbearable before we can let go of it.

  Sometimes, an illness comes for the same reasons any unpleasant situation comes—to nudge us out of complacency and force us to grow past it. Sometimes we grow past it by letting go and leaving our bodies behind. And other times, we grow past it by rising to a new vibrational level, where well-being abounds.

  * * *

  Assignment 9

  Blissing Up Yourself

  * * *

  Choose a limiting belief about yourself that you think is true. Something personal like I’m clumsy or I’m a bad driver. And follow these steps to change it.

  Step 1: In your journal, list all the times you can remember when you experienced the opposite of that belief.

  Step 2: Begin every day determined to look for evidence that the opposite of your belief is actually true. That you’re graceful, that you’re a good driver. If you want to add fuel to your creating-a-new-belief fire, take a ballet or yoga class so you feel more graceful, or a driving course so you feel like a better driver. At
any rate, look for evidence, and you’ll find it.

  In your journal, you must write down 3 examples of evidence that the new belief is true every night before bed.

  The Goddess Speaks

  The two most powerful words in any language are the words “I AM. ”

  So powerful, these words, that when Moses met me in the form of a burning bush, and asked “What is your name? ” I answered, “I AM that I AM. ”

  This is a message. This is a powerful clue to the force of all creation. The words I AM are magic. And whatever follows them is created within the speaker.

  Use the power of I AM to create the you, you want to be.

  I AM powerful. I AM beautiful. I AM healthy. I AM wealthy. I AM excellent at everything I do. I AM smart. I AM perfect. I AM Goddess.

  * * *

  Chapter Eight

  Jobs, Careers, Streams of Income

  * * *

  We didn’t come to earth to work.

  And yet, that seems to be the goal drummed into our heads from birth. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” They start asking us that question way early and talking about college and trade schools and careers. What do you want to be?

  Here’s a great story purported to be from John Lennon:

  “When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

  Important note: there’s absolutely no evidence John Lennon ever said this. But it doesn’t detract from the statement’s profundity.

  Our goal in life should be to be happy. If we follow our heart of hearts toward what feels like happiness to us, we’ll be successful in whatever we do.