Joe Vitale

I spent most of the other day at the hospital, supporting my best friend as she had surgery.

Surgery is no fun, but the real problem is all the stress before it: Worry.  Signing living wills. Worst case sceaniros played out in your head.

Once you’re in the hospital, though, the procedure happens pretty fast (depending on your needs, of course).

I was amazed to see so many people come in and go out the same day. I was beginning to think I was sitting at a fast food place, watching people drive up, place their order, drive around back to get it, and then go home.

I asked one of the staff how many surgeries they did that day. I was astonished to hear sixty-four.

Sixty-four surgeries in one day?

In just one little hospital?

I’d call that drive-thru surgery.

What a wild, wonderful time we live in.

But what I am really curious about is the experience of having anesthesia.

I had it last January when I went through an emergency appendectomy.

I wondered about it then.

When they knock you out, where do you go?

It’s not sleep, as you don’t wake up refreshed.

It’s not unconsciousness, like when you’re blacked out from a fall, because you don’t recall anything at all; not even “blackness”.

It’s not a near-death experience, as there aren’t any white lights or ghostly beings, and you don’t recall a single thing.

I asked the anesthesiologist what happened during anesthesia.

“No one knows,” he said. “There have been numerous studies done but all we know is the mind disengages from the body.”

Rightly so, too.

The mind doesn’t need to be there.

But why?

How?

And where does the mind go?

I asked one medical doctor and he said:

“This is truly one of the hottest topics in academic consciousness 
studies. This very question is what has obsessed a couple of 
academics in this area, and led to one of the most interesting 
theories of ‘consciousness’, which relates to microtubules in the 
brain, which seem to be affected by anesthesia.

“It may be that *only* the witness is *awake* under anesthesia, and that the witness experiences only silence and *the void* under deep anesthesia, but there may be much more that happens, that we are not privy to, because it is too deep.

“This is one of the interesting correspondences with the ‘divided mind’ theory, or ‘division theory,’  which is well presented in what I consider one of the most important books of the 20th century, The Lost Secret of Death, by Peter Novak.”

Fascinating.

I still don’t know where the mind goes during surgery.

I’m just glad it goes someplace.

I’m going to fish for that book and see what it unfolds.

Meanwhile, stay healthy.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS —  In Zero Limits my coauthor and I talk about the “zero state.” Maybe that’s where the mind goes? It just dissolves into zero? It reaches the blank state of nothingness and “you” aren’t there? Hmmmmm.  

A few weeks ago I was tag team interviewed by two men for a new DVD series on how to become a millionaire.

Everything was going fine until one of the interviewers asked me, “Is guilt necessary?’

I almost spit out my teeth, which aren’t false.

I was surprised by the question.

It seemed to come out of nowhere.

He went on to say, “You have a rare car, so do you feel guilty driving it?”

That really made my head turn like a confused puppy looking at a foreign object for the first time.

“I don’t feel guilty at all,” I said. “I love my Francine and love people seeing me drive her. I’m hoping people get inspired when they see me drive my Panoz. They can go for their dreams, too.”

As I asked a few questions of my own, I learned the man with the guilt question owns a brand new Porsche 911 luxury sports car and only drives it at night, when the neighbors can’t see him.

Turns out he felt guilty about owning such an expensive car.

I wasn’t sure why he felt guilty about it.

Did he steal it?

Did he flaunt it?

No and no.

I chewed on the subject of guilt for some time, though, not knowing how to answer this man with his sincere question. I asked if I could get back to him.

I reflected on it all that night. It seemed to me that anyone who had to hide his wealth didn’t feel guilt but shame.

He somehow felt he didn’t deserve it.

He somehow felt others opinions of him were more important than his own.

He somehow felt out of alignment with his own desires.

What about guilt?

Was guilt even necessary?

I went to my friend Mandy Evans, author of Emotional Options and Travelling Free. She’s a belief clearing expert. I asked her what she felt about guilt. She wrote —

“I do NOT think guilt is necessary. In fact eventually it usually leads to resentment and justification of whatever people feel guilty about as often as it works for whatever they brought it into play for in the first place. You really have to want to correct your ways already to be willing to feel guilty in the hope that it will help you to do that. Awareness and desire are stronger by far than guilt — which feels really awful and rarely works. When it does, the price is too high.”

In other words, awareness of what you are doing and desire to do something different are far better and healtheir than guilt or shame.

But does having a really nice car require any change at all?

Randy Gage (who owns a very expensive car and is proud of it) is a prosperity guru who says watching television and movies programs us to think rich people are bad. A nice car might push your buttons about wealth. He writes — 

“Is it any wonder that you grow up hating rich people and unconsciously not wanting to be like them? Once this is ingrained in you, the guilt starts. And it is that guilt that can stop you from accepting the abundance you are meant to have!”

Anyone who feels guilt or shame hasn’t gotten clear within themselves. There’s still a tug of war inside.

The part of them in touch with their pure desire is saying “drive the car” but the part of them feeling beliefs of lack or deservingness is saying “hide the car.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, once you get clear inside, you can have, do, or be virtually anything.

The Divine may be offering you a new car.

Who’s to say It isn’t?

It’s your beliefs that make it right or wrong.

Walk, take the bus, or drive your Porsche 911.

It doesn’t matter.

Just do whatever you do with clairity and love.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — For help in getting clear, which I regard as the missing secret to success, consider Miracles Coaching. I always use a Miracles Coach. Mandy is one of mine, but she no longer takes clients. That’s why you might consider www.miraclescoaching.com

PPS – A great article by Randy Gage on prosperity thinking is at www.prosperityuniverse.com/lack_program.html Anything by Randy or Mandy is worth reading.

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 There’s a new country in America.

It’s a country within a country.

No passports are needed.

No membership cards to fill out.

But it’s a secret country and it takes great wealth to get inside.

I didn’t know of it before the other day.

I’m talking about Richistan.

Richistan is the title of a new book by Wall Street Journal reporter Robert Frank. It documents the new wealth in the good old USA. These are people making vast fortunes (I’m talking huge) from the oddest things, whether selling ceramic towns or timber or services on the Internet.

Richistan is the story of these people, how they got and are getting wealthy, and how they are handling their colossal wealth. It’s fascinating reading.

When I was researching books and writing styles to develop Hypnotic Writing as a concept, I quickly learned that the feature stories on the front page of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) were some of the most riveting available.

So when I learned Robert Frank is a WSJ reporter who wrote a book based on his popular column (see The Wealth Report blog link on the left), I had to have it, like right now.

I’m loving Richistan.

For one thing, the writing style is, well, hypnotic.

Frank knows how to tell a story to communicate a message. His sentences are tight. His paragraphs are descriptive. The passages are engaging.

The book is worth reading for that reason alone.

But there’s a real education to be gained from learning about the new wealth in America and how people just like you and me are entering the secret world of Richistan.

While people still struggle with having money, in Richistan there seems to be a purer attitude to money.

Yes, people still spend it on jets and fancy cars and more than one mansion, but they also support worthy causes and create foundations to help change the world.

They seem to know money is a powerful tool for doing good in the world.

I’m endorsing Richistan and urging you to read it. It’s in book stores and of course at www.Amazon.com and www.bn.com.

Happy reading.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS –In Richistan, BMW is bumped for Bentley, Rolex is passed up for a Frank Muller watch, and first class flights are left behind for Gulfstream Jet ownership. The wealthy of Richistan are creating jobs for tens of thousands of people, and some of the wealthiest are using their resources to end poverty in Ethiopia. Read Richistan.

Reminder: If you like this blog post, be sure to “Digg It” using the link on the right. Thank you.

In one of my powerful encounters with Dr. Hew Len — my coauthor for Zero Limits — we discussed some of my books and projects that had not succeeded.

That’s right. Not everything I touch turns to gold.

I talked of my frustrations and confusion about why some of my books were best sellers and some didn’t do so well.

His reply came in the form of a question. 

He asked me if I had three children and one of them was slow in school, would I tell the child I was disappointed in them?

I realized, of course I wouldn’t.

Dr. Hew Len told me to love my books and projects like I would love a child.

I then decided to always love all of my “children” and never again treat one like it was less than the other.

In short, I quickly reviewed all of my projects that had succeeded and all that had not and, guess what – I realized that when I felt love for a project, success followed.

If you want your projects to succeed, love them like they’re your own children and love them with all your heart.

One way to love your projects is to use the most powerful cleaning method I know of – Self I-dentity Ho’oponopono, described in the bestselling book Zero Limits. (It’s in book stores, and of course at www.Amazon.com and www.bn.com. Also, see www.zerolimits.info)

Love heals all.

Bill Hibbler, coauthor with me of the book Meet and Grow Rich, was skeptical about this “love thing.”

But he borrowed a pre-publication copy of my book, Zero Limits, read it, and started loving his products and his list of  subscribers.

Here’s what he said:

“Sales for Jan 1-4 were 41.39% higher than Dec 1-4. During the four day period in January, I didn’t mail my list or launch any new promotion during that time. All I did was clean while reading your book and throughout the day.”

Bill went on to tell me he saw sales increase from sites like http://create-ultimate-ebooks.com/ — which he wasn’t promoting at all.

Say “I love you” to all your projects.

That’s the key to health, wealth, and happiness.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

P.S. — Through love and cleaning, one of my slower projects has taken off in a new exciting direction. You can see it at —
http://viral.internet-marketing-matrix.com

Reminder: If you like this post, please “Digg It” using the link on the right. Thank you.

You’ll note that as of today there is a “Digg It” link to the right of every blog post here.

If you really like a post, please click there. Your vote will help others realize this is a post worth looking into.

It might be something you want to add to your own articles and posts, as well. Google seems to like posts with high Digg It ratings.

Seth Godin was the first to tell me about Digg It long ago. I should have listened back then. Any time Seth Godin says something, take note. He’s brilliant.

I didn’t take action until Pat O’Bryan told me once he added Digg It to his blog, his site went higher on Google.

Live and learn.

Hint: Now is a good time to take action.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Please take a moment to locate the past blog posts here that you really liked and then “Digg It”. Thank you.

PS — Here are some popular blog posts (based on the number of comments posted to each) you might want to Digg:

http://blog.mrfire.com/secret/patterns-keep-happening/

http://blog.mrfire.com/marketing/contesting-a-true-story/

http://blog.mrfire.com/secret/kirks-gift/

http://blog.mrfire.com/health/food-sensitivities/

http://blog.mrfire.com/story/racing-fear/

http://blog.mrfire.com/uncategorized/getting-something-off-my-chest/