The Serenity Solution: How to Use Quiet Contemplation to Solve Life's Problems (18 page)

In reporting her awakening experience, one client said: “Everything seemed to stand still and I was not conscious of time. Nothing existed but quiet fulfillment. I had no worry, fear, or apprehension. It was just total peace. It felt as if I awoke from a dream and everything made sense for the first time. I could see clearly now what I needed to do.”

Words often fail to adequately describe an awakening experience because it transcends normal experience. These moments of transcendence tend to be so pronounced and life-changing that several of my clients have said that they are the best experiences of their lives.

We all have the potential to make contact with this larger intelligence and experience an awakening. It is just that few of us are even aware of our connection. The reason: We are cut off. Too often, many of us spend our
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time in a relatively narrow range of awareness focused exclusively on our busy external lives. As a result, we filter out much of the awareness around and in us; except maybe for an occasional intuition or insight. What is needed is to spend a little more time in deep meditation, prayer, or self-reflection. If so, we just may find more than we realized, including some of the answers to our most pressing problems. We will explore how to connect and derive wisdom and guidance from this universal intelligence in the exercises at the end of this chapter and the section
Accessing Broader
Mind through Meditation and Prayer
.

Thought Transmission

If our brains can act as receiving stations, can they also act as transmitting stations? That is, instead of receiving thoughts from the universe, what would happen if we held a dominant thought in mind and sustained it?

Could we transmit this thought to the universe? Might our thoughts, as waves of quantum information, interact with other waves to create new possibilities (i.e., new natural holograms)?

To answer these questions we turn to another quirk of the quantum

world called the
observer effect
. The observer effect refers to the ability of conscious intention to affect subatomic behavior. Yes, according to quantum physics, it is possible that our thoughts can affect the universe on its tiniest level; this is not science fiction. It has been supported by over 80 years of experiments in quantum physics starting with the first experiments conducted by the physicist Neils Bohr in the early part of the twentieth century.

What these experiments have shown is that the simple act of looking for a subatomic particle, such as an electron or photon, with the intent to measure that particle can actually cause the particle to appear where it was intended to be found. The particle didn’t exist as a single object before it was observed. It existed as only as a multiple-state possibility. It was the act of observing or measuring it that converted it to a single object.

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You may ask: “How does simply looking for or thinking about a par-

ticle make it come into existence? Good question. Scientists have been debating this for years. One theory refers us back to quantum entanglement; that is, if everything in the universe shares quantum information, then our minds—as combined waves of quantum information—must be

transmitting to the universe the desired state for the particle.

As we discussed earlier, matter waves are not defined objects in our space-time. They are spread-out energy across nonlocal space in what is known as a state of
superposition
. A super-positioned state is one in which matter is virtual. In this state, matter has no defined existence but lives only in potential. What makes it real is its interaction with another wave.

Recall that when two waves interact, they create a combined pattern. It is this pattern that holds the information about the particle and defines the particle’s state in this space-time. Thus, when our thought waves interact with a wave of a potential electron or photon, they define the state and location for that particle.

The observer effect so astounded early pioneers of quantum phys-

ics that one British cosmologist, Sir Arthur Eddington, once wrote:
“The
mind has the power to affect groups of atoms and even tamper with the odds of
atomic behavior, and that even the course of the world is not predetermined by
the physical laws but may be altered by the uncaused volition of human beings.”

This sentiment was echoed by a fellow cosmologist, Sir James Jean, who added:
“Mind no longer appears as an accidental intruder into the realms
of matter; we are beginning to suspect that we ought rather to hail it as the cre-ator and governor of the realm of matter.”

The observer effect refers to the ability of our thoughts to affect the small-scale world, but how effective can our thoughts be on the large-scale world? After all, the universe is a very big place and there is quite a bit of “cross talk.” Moreover, large-scale objects and events are comprised of many waves and particles. How are our thoughts going to make a ripple in this vast sea of interaction?

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Obviously, a random thought here or there is not going to do it. For instance, we’re not going to suddenly manifest a shiny new car out of thin air with a simple wish. The universe tends towards an overall stable balance as a result of its multiple source interactions and this is the reason it adheres to statistical rules of probability.

But, a single dominant thought repeated over and over again is much more likely to make a difference simply because it is being transmitted louder and clearer and continuously into the universe. Broadcasted long enough, its chances of interacting with other waves and creating a new possibility are enhanced.

Therefore, by focusing unwavering on a single outcome, we may hope for tiny, gradual changes over time, especially in those things that are small and already in a state of flux, such as minor events and ongoing mental and physical processes. Within limits, we may set in motion a series of micro events that may lead to a desired outcome and our fervent prayers being answered. For example, we might be able to “nudge” innate self-healing tendencies. After all, if chronic worry can make us sick and depressed then chronic focusing on a positive outcome should make us happy and well.

That we have some influence on the unfolding of outcomes was be-

lieved by David Bohm. According to Bohm, the future—like fluid waves of a flowing hologram—is not yet crystallized. Though broad trends may become established in the implicate order small, individual events (emerging wave patterns) are yet to settle. Bohm’s view is expressed in his following words: “When people dream of accidents correctly and do not take the plane or ship, it is not the actual future that they were seeing. It was merely something in the present which is implicate and moving toward making that future. In fact, the future they saw differed from the actual future because they altered it.”

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Factors that Enhance Thought Transmission

There are several things, however, we should do to enhance our chances for a desired outcome (see also:
Factors that Enhance a Solution State
in the concentrating awareness chapter):

Specify the Outcome

The first thing we can do to enhance our chances of manifesting a desired outcome is to concentrate solely on those thoughts that are most relevant to the outcome and quiet down all other extraneous thoughts; this increases the strength of the signal we broadcast to the universe. Too many competing thoughts invites mental noise and dilutes our focused intentions. The key is to focus on those thoughts that are central and that will have the most impact on the manifestation of the outcome. For example, if our desire is to heal the body, then we focus on those thoughts most related to the specific area of the body needing healing and not on peripheral thoughts, such as those associated with other body areas or issues like work or relationships.

Focus on Factors in Flux

Recall Bohm’s representation of the future as a fluid hologram. We’ll have a better chance of realizing a desired outcome if we focus early on those actions and events that are still unfolding rather than on those that have already been crystallized. Before crystallization, events are fluid, and therefore, open to influence. For example, we’ll have a better chance of healing the body by focusing early on innate, ongoing repair processes rather than after internal states that have become too disorganized.

Focus on a Vivid Outcome

We’ve all heard the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” What this saying means is that a detailed image carries much more information
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than a single thought or word. In terms of manifesting outcomes, this means that when we visualize a desired outcome in vivid detail, we in fact broadcast much more information to the universe than we would with a simple thought or wish.

For example, if we desire to increase the odds of manifesting the body healing, we don’t simply wish for it. Instead, we mentally picture it healing with most of our imaginary senses, such as sight, sound, and hearing.

For instance, we might see cells realign, hear the free-flowing movement of circulation, and feel energy recharging the body.

Moreover, when visualizing a vivid outcome, we see in it in our mind’s eye as if it is happening at the moment. Recall that at the level of the deeper, universal mind there is no time as we know it. In the quantum field of possibility everything is happening all at once and not in a linear time-frame. What we envision in our session will be the possibility we trigger. So, we don’t wish for the outcome to happen in the future, or otherwise, that is what we will most likely get: an outcome that is always in a state of becoming. Instead, by envisioning the outcome as if it is already present, we trigger the outcome happening now.

Focus on Closely-Entangled Factors

Though the entire universe is interconnected, subsets of it are more closely entangled than other parts of it. For example, each of our bodies arose from the same DNA molecule, so we are more entangled with our bodies than external people and things. This is supported by research. One such study conducted by Dr. William Braud is of particular interest. Dr. Braud had subjects sit and meditate on preventing blood cells from breaking down in a test tube and found that subjects were able to sustain the integrity of their own cells longer than the cells of others. (See his book Distant Mental Influence for details of this research)

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For this reason, if we want to increase our chances of manifesting a desired outcome, we should focus more on our own actions and body

processes than on external factors, such as other people and processes. For example, when healing the body, we might spend more time visualizing innate healing processes leading to a desired outcome more than visualizing an external therapy leading to a desired outcome.

Moreover, similar research has shown that those with a strong emo-

tional bond are more likely to influence each other at a distance than strangers or those in the general public. Thus, we’re more likely to realize an outcome that involves praying for the healing of or the support of those whom we feel emotionally connected.

Focus Repeatedly on an Outcome

Recall that repeated focus builds up tiny changes over time. Therefore, for the success of an outcome, we should focus on and visualize it unfolding repeatedly on a regular basis until it does manifest. But, remember, we always end each session seeing the outcome happening at the moment.

Monitor Focus

Finally, to realize the success of a desired outcome, we should monitor our thoughts from time-to-time to be sure we remain focused on our desired outcome. Otherwise, left to our own devices, we are likely to slip back into doubt and negative thinking. Since it takes sustained thought to produce quantum effects we don’t have to police every thought we have just the thoughts we dwell on. If we should find ourselves dwelling on doubt or negative thoughts, we simply shift them back to our desired outcome.

The more time we can stay here the better.

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Enhancing Thought Reception and Transmission

As we have seen, as a result of our connection with the universal field, we can both receive and exert influence on in it while in a calm, prayerful or meditative state. Both receiving and exerting influence can be helpful to reaching desired outcomes. For one, we may receive insight from the field that may point us to our next step towards our target objective. For example, we may glean insight on the best places or actions to take to obtain a desired job. Or, we may exert influence on the field by concentrating in detail on the outcome and triggering waves of its possibility. For instance, we might receive a call for a job after vividly imagining receiving that call.

However, it is important to mention that receiving and exerting influence are not equal in their ability to obtain desired outcomes. In general, receiving information from the field offers a better chance of obtaining desired outcomes than exerting intentions on it. This is for two main reasons.

For one, the universal field holds much more information than our

conscious minds, and therefore, knows much more about what outcomes are best for us and how to obtain them. Too often, the outcomes we desire consciously are selected from the ego.

Second, our conscious intentions tend to be limited due to many influences present in the field which tend to cancel each other out. Recall that the universal field tends towards an overall balance as a result of its many competing sources of information much like a thermostat attempts to maintain a set point in response to fluctuations in ambient temperature.

For these reasons, it is best to check first with the larger field of information when determining our objective and the best course of action in attaining it. Then, after doing so, we may visualize this objective and its associated actions to increase the odds of its manifestation. Together, then, this two-step process should guide us through a series of events that eventually bring us to our desired outcome. We, in effect, co-create the outcome with the larger field.