“You can blame Star Wars for that.”
I was talking to Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon, explaining that I see far too many people focusing on mind power and not realizing they need body power, too.
When I post pictures on Facebook or on this blog of me bending nails, bolts, steel rods and horseshoes, people often assume I’m doing it with just my mind.
I bent this horseshoe with mind directing body
While the process starts and continues with my mind, I am using my will power and mind power to direct my body to an end result: bending steel.
But why do so many people assume you can accomplish things with mind power alone?
Why do so many “New Age” types want to sit and visualize but not get up and act?
Why do so many people deceive themselves with magical thinking?
“You can blame it on Star Wars,” Mathew said.
Well, I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie.
None of them.
Or read any of the books.
To bring myself current, I watched the first film from 1977.
I nodded off several times during it.
While lines like “May the Force be with you” stood out, they were inaccurate to me.
Since “The Force” is always with you, a more accurate line would be, “May you be with the Force.”
The latter quote would remind you to align yourself with The Force.
But George Lucas didn’t ask my opinion.
“The second movie is the culprit,” Mathew explained.
The second one was the 1980 The Empire Strikes Back.
Apparently that’s the movie where a lot of things are accomplished with “Jedi mind tricks” and thought alone.
And apparently a lot of people assumed they could do the same if their mind were only stronger.
Yoda taught Jedi mind control for 800 years?
Good luck with that.
I don’t want to blame the movies, though.
The theme of “mind over matter” appears everywhere, in metaphysical literature as well as popular culture.
You’ll find it in comic books as well as bestselling books.
You’ll find it in Richard Bach’s Illusions and The Messiah’s Handbook and on television shows such as Flash and Super Girl.
Who doesn’t want to have the ability to create out of thought alone, or make things appear with a few magic words?
Who doesn’t want to have super powers?
Who doesn’t want to be Superman?
Or Superwoman?
The thing is, life doesn’t work like that.
You were given a body and a mind, and the ability to use both.
We are not brains in jars.
We are brains in bodies.
When we use both, then we can attract miracles.
But the miracles “appear” through natural means.
Even Wallace Wattles said those exact words — natural means — in his famous 1915 book, The Science of Getting Rich.
He stated that it’s the combination of mind and action that leads to attracting results.
It’s not just mind.
It’s not just body.
It’s both.
Slides of Einstein's brain. Without the body, it's just a curiosity.
If I pick up a horseshoe and “will” it to bend but not actually try to bend it, I’ll just be holding a horseshoe.
Nothing will happen.
I have to add my mind – mind power, will power, belief – and direct my body to actually bend the shoe.
It’s the same with anything you want.
If you want to attract a new car (or job, or spouse, or you-name-it), you want to begin with your visualization and affirmation. You won’t even try if you don’t kick start the process with your belief.
So, it begins with mind.
But if that’s all you do, you probably won’t attract anything.
You might even become skeptical or critical.
You’ll say “This mind stuff doesn’t work!”
Of course it doesn’t – if you are only using your mind.
But add your literal action, and you begin to co-create what you want into being.
It’s still not likely that what you want will just “appear” like in a Star Wars or Harry Potter movie.
I’m not ruling magic out. I believe in magic and miracles. I also believe that we live in a “no limit” universe, where we can probably do what some would say is impossible with the right mindset and proper action.
I’m just reminding you that you have a body for a reason.
Use it to aid in the attraction of your goal.
Use it for action.
There is real magic in the world: it’s using your mind and your body to achieve a specific end goal.
For example, if I want to write a book, I don’t sit and “think it” into reality.
Instead, I use every “mind trick” I know – from visualizing to Nevillizing to The Remembering Process and more – to get my mind around the idea of what I want.
And then I start writing.
I do something.
And it’s the combination of both mind and action that leads to me being an author.
None of this is a slam against Star Wars. I’m not blaming the movies at all. I’m told the latest installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is spectacular.
Just remember that movies and television shows program you, usually unconsciously and subconsciously.
Focus on solutions you can act on
Recently I watched the movie The Martian and came away from it realizing the focus was always on solutions.
It taught an “Anything can be solved” attitude.
I liked it.
And I recently saw the movie The Walk, the true story of a young man with the “impossible” dream of walking a tightrope across the World Trade towers in New York City.
And he did it.
The movie conveyed the message that virtually “anything is possible.”
I liked it, too.
Star Wars is great entertainment and it’s great fun to imagine having no limits due to mind power alone.
Just don’t think you can pay the bills with a Jedi Mind Trick.
Ao Akua,
Happy New Year!
PS – Happy New Year!!
Member BBB 2003 - 2016
31 Comments
Funny, I just had a conversation about this with a new friend I just met. I was talking to her how I was able to quickly move from Kumamoto, Japan to Fukuoka and start school, move into a new apartment and get my Visa renewed in record time.
It certainly started with the mind, but I had to pound the pavement and call and research and then finally pull the trigger for all this to happen.
Reminds me of what KT talked about in Your Wish is Your Command.
-Elli Sanders
Well said, Elli. and congrats on your fast action accomplishments. Happy New Year, too! 🙂
So something Joe stresses is that you are the creator of your own life and how things interact within your life. This holds true for other people and those people that create movies from books also are creating. However, what we have is a person spinning a movie based on their basic teachings and thoughts. This becomes a powerful media because it can guide others who watch it in directions they might not otherwise entertain. Year ago it was illegal to use subliminal suggestion in advertising to guide a person to buying items, however that doesn’t mean the power of suggestion isn’t still used. Be Careful what you invest your time into seeing or reading, people are out there hoping they can influence you to vote a specifically way or get their ideals into mainstream.
Agreed, Cam. Thank you.
Thank you Joe for this important reminder!!! This will inspire many of us to keep the balance between mind and body!
What about a course on nail-horseshoe-bending?
Light and Love to you and Nerissa!
Happy new Cycle of exciting adventures.
Thank you, Hector 🙂
The star war needs cleaning….
I am sorry…
Please forgive me…
Thank you…
I love you…
I’m cleaning, too 🙂
From Thinking to Doing to Being….couldn’t agree more Joe.
Best year yet, Best year to come!
Cheers!
Robby
Agreed 🙂
I’ve followed you + Abraham Hicks for some years. It’s about aligning mind, body & spirit & acting on your passion. Just takes practice & perseverance. I expect you rarely watch tv, or read papers, it’s about caring more about how you feel, (by not watching rubbish on tv!) and the above. Like learning anything. Affirmations don’t work unless you add feeling, but if you have contrary feelings, this’ll be harder. You always said follow your passion, that always stuck.I guess it’s easier for many not to take action, but for me, it’s harder. I won’t stand still! 🙂
I’ve been preaching and practicing the same thing for years, even before I’d heard of the Secret.
When I wanted to write a book, I had to pound the keyboard for months on end to get everything right. It’s published and now I’m working on three more. Those books didn’t/won’t get published by sitting around and thinking about them. It takes skull work, blood, sweat and tears (well, not actual blood, but you know what I mean).
And making mistakes and learning from them. If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t discover that there are better ways of doing things.
Lots of love to you and yours, and I hope we all have a much more successful and loving year this year.
Stephen
Great timing!! I have had a plan to get a new desk, and your blog post is a great reminder that I will not only need to do the mental work (decide on a type and size), I will also need to do the physical work (go out to look for the desk and possibly even assemble it). I’ve been taking a long time to find a desk…dragging my feet really…and I think I’m ready to put both parts into action now. Thanks!
people are like high powered computers… and if you think they are going to DO the obvious… they wont…. because they follow the teachings word by word…and then the teachers are criticized and have to explain more in detail…
Im sorry, please forgive me Joe but may have been the doco the secret that did that to the masses as opposed to star wars. If it wasnt for it though, there would be little me not realizing my resistance. Im doing so much with just my mind but i was put on this earth to experience all senses. Before we all return to source energy we would be wise to enjoy those. It feels great to be here. Thank you. I love you.
I have attracted things to myself using only my mind, yet your point about action is still a valid one. Someone once said, action and knowing are one in the same. In other words, we act to the degree that we believe it is possible. That being said, taking action is what fires up the entire mind because the mind is in every cell of our bodies. When we are taking action, we are sending out the signal of what we want and putting ourselves in the position to fully receive it. Since you love cars, Joe, allow me to a quote Elvis Presley: “Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.” Our bodies are the V8 engines. If we get every cylinder(cell) firing for our dreams, and they will manifest the right people and circumstances in fun and surprising ways!
When I need an event I visualize it , ask, and I AM sure it will be mine, expecting, and there are many ways the universe can give me it to me, what actions must I take?
The actions you must take depend on you and the moment. I can’t predict them but you’ll need to do something.
Dear Joe,
May I ask for a practical inquiry:
I love your work, specially all thats in kindle with audio mode, for the convenience on listening.
Were may I find a list of your books that are on audio ? Hopefully on future you will have them all on audio.
Thanks,
Daniel
Hi Daniel. Thank you for asking. Almost all my books are on audio. You can begin your quest at https://www.mrfire.com/hypnotic-products/dvd-audio.html
Hi Mr. Joe! Does your “Hypnotic Coaching Program” stills active? If not do you have any “advanced” Marketing program?
Thank You!
Hi Mike. Please see http://www.joevitalecoach.com/campaigns/vitale-marketing/index.php
Joe, I’ve already subscribed a few months ago, but didn’t got any reply. Any suggestion? I would really like to have access to “Advanced” Marketing. Thanks.
I’ll look into it for you…
Thank You, I have already talked with Suzanne too look further this. The point is:
– You are the only “Marketing Guru”i feel that walks it talks as only a “one-man-show Marketing guy”, a proof of that what you teach works. Even you launch your own products like Fit-a-Rita outside of “Marketing Guru Products”. And I admire a lot of you for that.
Please prove that your Teaching works on a single young guy living in Portugal that is trying to promote his own services (Graphic Designer).
I believe and trust You.
Dont let me down Dr.Joe.
Thank You.
Hi Joe, thank you for this article which brought me into thinking. Of course I absolutely agree that mind+actions are great partners….but one question comes across my mind-Wasn´t that Dr.Ihaleakala Hew Len who brought the prisoners into healing while sitting and just cleaning? He was not taking any action…Aren´t we changing our world by cleaning which means using our minds and erasing programmes? This cleaning does not include “body actions”, does it?
And a funny thing for the end-I saw Star Wars Episodes for the 1st time in summer 2015 when my boyfriend pushed me into seeing it…and do you know what? You would´t believe it but seeing these films brought me back to YOU! I followed you some 5 years ago but then from some reason (I do not actually know the reason) I stopped. And seeing Star Wars “pushed” some button inside myself and I was told “get back to Joe Vitale´s books, he knows how to work with The Force”. And I did…since then I have read Beyond Zero Limits and now I am in the middle of The Attractor Factor and also I would like to participate in your Miracles Coaching Prog.
So to summarize all this: I am grateful fo Star Wars because they directed me back to you.
I´m sorry, I love you, Please forgive me, Thank you!
Hi Andy. As you clean, you get inspired to do things – actions. I wrote about this in my books, Zero Limits and At Zero. Cleaning often leads to action. Dr. Hew Len took lots of action at the hospital – he had to or he wouldn’t get paid – but he let inspiration guide the way.
Thank you for that.
I think that the same thing is with movie “The Secret” because I talked to SO many People who said that this is fake because they understood only that they need to think and that somehow they will attract what they want.
In other words I agree with You that in this World and with our bodies we need to TAKE ACTION to get results.
YES everything starts in our minds but we are responsible for doing something with ideas that we have.
And for me the best way to get what we want is the one that You shared in “Zero Limits” book:
Inspiration + Action = Miracles 🙂
Thank you Joe!
This is a important reminder!!!
I will follow your blog!
I agree, we all have to use our subconscious minds to change our lives but it has to be accompanied with planned action.