It’s hard to believe The Secret book and movie came out more than ten years ago.
They’re still cooking, still circulating, and still changing lives.
I’m forever grateful for The Secret, whether I was in it or not.
It triggered an awakening, a conversation, and hope.
But it also created confusion.
Many people watched the movie or read the book, tried what they learned, and felt “It didn’t work.”
And that’s the problem.
The Secret was only an introduction to a principle. It revealed the basics of the Law of Attraction to the masses.
But that’s all it did: introduce the idea.
It didn’t offer the depth you need to understand the law or use it to create a new reality.
Even today, ten years later, I see people not fully understand what I call “the missing secret.”
In short, you get what you unconsciously believe, not necessarily what you consciously say.
In other words, intentions are one thing, but you also need to know about counter-intentions.
Let me explain.
Intentions are what you consciously declare.
“I intend to increase my sales” is an intention.
“I intend to create a bigger business” is an intention.
“I intend to attract my soulmate,” is an intention.
Intentions are powerful; they engage the mind, rally the emotions, and help create momentum.
Intentions are good.
But.
Counter-intentions are in the subconscious/unconscious mind.
If you unconsciously believe “money is evil” or “money is bad” or “I don’t deserve good things,” then you will veto your intentions.
You will block them.
You will unconsciously sabotage your own success. You won’t even know it.
You’ll blame your lack of success on other people, or politicians, or the current economic climate, or even The Secret.
And that’s the missing secret.
You can sit and meditate, visualize, affirm and wear amulets all day long, but you won’t attract what you want while the limiting beliefs remain operating in your deeper mind.
The unconscious is far more powerful than the conscious. Numerous books on neuroscience prove this fact. So, in order to attract what you consciously want, you have to clean up your unconscious/subconscious beliefs.
The movie and book never addressed this issue. Again, they were only introducing an idea. We need the sequel to the The Secret to understand how to actually begin to manifest the reality we want on a consistent basis.
Since there’s never been a sequel to the movie (there have been numerous follow up books, such as The Magic and the recent, How the Secret Changed My Life), I’ll give you a formula to help you make better use of the Law of Attraction.
Ready?
Here’s The Formula:
First: State your intention.
What do you want to have, do, or be?
Be clear.
Be specific.
Declare it.
Own it.
Write it down.
That’s your goal/intention/outcome.
It should ignite the fire of desire in you.
Second: Note what objections surface.
What thoughts come to mind?
Do you have doubts?
Fears?
Concerns?
Be honest.
Really look within.
Stating your intention will trigger limiting thoughts about attracting it. Those are clues to your limiting beliefs. Welcome them.
Write those down, too.
Third: Clear the limiting beliefs.
Ask, “Do I believe this?”
Or, “Where’s the evidence for this belief?”
Act like a good detective and unearth the reasons you may have for the beliefs, doubts, fears, or concerns.
Then question the evidence.
Question the reasons.
What you are doing is dismantling your own belief system.
You will weaken it, and eventually clear it.
You will deprogram yourself.
You will rewire your own mind.
You will be free.
This last step is something you can use a wide variety of techniques to accomplish. I’ve written many books to help, such as my newest, The Miracle: Six Steps to Enlightenment. You can use EFT (the tapping method). You can use the Hawaiian spiritual tool called ho’oponopono, which I wrote about in Zero Limits and AT Zero. You basically say, “I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you” to your connection to the Universe, as a type of prayer for cleansing. You can get into my coaching program, you can work with another person, you can write out a dialogue with yourself, questioning your beliefs in writing.
Modern brain sciences prove that you can change your own mind.
Read books like Shad Helmstetter’s The Power of Neuroplasticity or Jeffrey Schwartz’s You Are Not Your Brain.
The ways and means to “get clear” of counter-intentions are readily available to you.
And proven to work.
But it’s essential to do this step in order to attract what you intend, or something even better.
Again, I’m grateful for The Secret, and you should be, too. It may not have revealed the “missing secret” but it paved the way for a whole new world of transformation, including your own.
Dr. Joe Vitale, a star in the movie The Secret, is a bestselling author, musician, speaker, coach and more. His latest book is The Miracle: Six Steps to Enlightenment. You can have his free e-book, Attract Money Now, at www.AttractMoneyNow.com His main website is www.MrFire.com
Elsie Lincoln Benedict – the forgotten wonder woman of self-help who I wrote about here on my February 15, 2015 blog post – taught me something profound.
I was reading her 1921 book, How to Unlock Your Subconscious Mind (sometimes called Mental Analysis: How to Unlock Your Subconscious Mind) when I came across this insight in the final chapter:
“Whatever your conscious mind affirms, visualizes and suggests to the subconscious, the subconscious will build into your life.”
For you and I today, that’s probably not news. But in 1921, it was a breakthrough new concept.
It basically said that you could choose what you want with your conscious mind, and with intention and imagery, you could get it into the subconscious, where it would take seed and begin to grow.
Why is this so important?
Because Elsie said something else right before revealing that concept that was even more insightful, and something so profound that I had to reread it a few times.
Elsie wrote –
“This newest, hitherto unpublished and most far-reaching of all the discoveries concerning the laws of human life is that every human being GETS his supreme subconscious wish.”
In short, there is a type of prime directive in your subconscious mind.
It is the secret guiding desire for your life.
You may not know what it is, but your subconscious is attracting into your life everything to make it real.
What you are getting right now is a match to the secret desire of your subconscious – your “supreme subconscious wish.”
In my own work, I talk a lot about counter-intentions.
A counter-intention is a hidden belief in contrast to what you consciously say you want.
You might consciously say you want a new job, but unconsciously believe you won’t get one due to the economy (or some other excuse/reason/belief), and your unconscious, being more powerful, will make the counter-intention come true.
Elsie would probably agree but her deeper insight is that the subconscious has one major intention and it will allow nothing to come about to contradict it.
Elsie explains –
“Let us repeat: Your supreme subconscious wish dictates your life. It permits nothing seriously to interfere with its materialization. It is automatic, implacable. What you want most of all, as a condition in your life, it will get for you.”
Now think about this.
If your conscious intent is to attract more money – for yourself or others or causes you believe in – but your secret subconscious wish is to avoid money so you consider yourself “spiritual,” then your subconscious mind will make sure that you get your chief hidden intention — and stay broke.
Your subconscious secret desire will win.
It’s the same scenario with anything you can name.
Want a relationship but secretly want to stay alone because it feels safer?
Then nothing you do will work because the secret intent of your subconscious will control the outcome. You will be alone but “safe.”
Want better health but secretly want to stay ill so you can avoid taking actions and risks in the world?
Then your overriding subconscious desire will make sure you stay ill. You will be sick but “risk free.”
Elsie goes on to explain that your secret desire is for a feeling or condition, not anything specific. She says –
“Our supreme subconscious wish is never for any specific thing or person but for a condition, a certain avenue of self-expression.”
Elsie’s insight, offered in 1921, is a mind opener.
Here’s why –
First, realizing you have a secret subconscious “prime directive” helps explain why you are attracting what you have in your life: your subconscious insists on it.
Second, realizing you can change your subconscious secret desire to something else – with your conscious mind affirming and visualizing a new outcome – is enlightening and empowering.
Once again, Elsie has rocked my world.
I trust you see the power of these insights from our dear woman of the 1920s.
But here’s a suggestion –
You can sit and reflect on what your subconscious might want for you, which will help explain what you are attracting into your life.
You can then use your conscious mind to offer new instructions to your subconscious, reprogramming it to help you attract more of what you consciously prefer.
Got it?
Elsie was pointing the way to the hidden operations in our mind, long before positive psychology and neuroscience came into play.
Thank you, Elsie.
I love you.
Ao Akua,
Joe
PS – Unraveling your own beliefs can be tricky, since you are the one wrapped up inside of them. The fastest way to expand your mind is with the help of your own Miracles Coach. Check out Miracles Coaching.
The secret to making 2014 better than any previous year is easy: do something different.
Don’t do just anything different, of course.
Be smart about your conscious change.
Here are three steps to help you make 2014 awesome:
1. Declare a Specific New Intention.
Intentions engage your body-mind-spirit and also alert the Universe to your desire. State a new intention, or a revised old one; one that inspires and delights you, but one that is also doable in baby steps. In other words, “I intend to earn a million dollars in 2014” might be too big a jump. It might engage limiting beliefs. But a goal such as, “I intend to attract 5% more income each month” may be more believable and doable to you. The idea is for the intention to be within reach while still a stretch; something you can get to with daily steps. I also think your intention should be inspired, meaning it feels like a directive from the Divine and not an indulgence of your ego. Again, your past intentions/goals/resolutions may have been too big, or not connected to your core passion. Reassess and restate. Today’s the day.
2. Take Daily Baby Step Actions.
The Law of Attraction requires action. Do daily steps toward the intention. Often people set such big goals that they don’t know where to start, so they get overwhelmed and don’t do anything. It’s far wiser to break down the intent into little things you can do every day. You may not be able to make 100 cold calls all at once, but you can make 2 or 3 a day. You may not be able to release excess weight in one week, but you can do something daily to move in that direction, such as walking, drinking more water, etc. You may not be able to write a book in a day or a week, but you can write a little every day, and in time you will see a book. The point is by doing something every day, you will move to your goal. This is a simple thing you can implement today. I mean, right now.
3. Get Support.
Get allies. You’ll have far greater success in 2014 if you surround yourself with people who believe in you, and cut ties with the critics and naysayers who don’t. Having your own Miracles Coach is the number one thing you can do to make the new year a true stand-out for you. The right coach can keep you accountable, motivated, inspired and informed. One of the reasons for my successes in so many areas, including most recently in music, is having a support team. I always have a coach to help me “get clear” of any limiting beliefs within myself. The more I clear out the internal blocks, the faster I tend to achieve and attract my goals. This is the secret to greatness: get a coach.
Obviously, there are lots of things we could talk about to help make 2014 a record breaker for you, but the above three steps are the keys to change.
Sooooo….
Let’s review —
1. Declare a specific new goal. What’s yours? Think believable but BIG.
2. Take daily actions. What will you do each day? Baby steps lead to adult results.
3. Get support. Who will be your allies and coach? Enroll in Miracles Coaching.
You can do it!
I believe in you!
Happy New Year!
Ao Akua,
PS – And be looking for this head spinning new book, the long awaited sequel to Zero Limits, coming out in just a few days…