Getting Results from Inner Work

A reader writes:
It seems like I only get results from visualizing when I say what I want in an angry or forceful way. If I try to use positive emotions like gratitude or happiness, it just doesn't work.

I've heard that powerful emotions make the process go faster. Are we such slaves to our old thoughts that there's no other way to tunnel through to our inner mind?

It's absolutely true that intense negative emotions can seem to produce results more quickly. That's because inner work always responds very promptly to emotion and intensity.

Emotion and intensity, yes. But be aware that every emotion leaves its footprints in your inner work. And it colors indelibly the results you receive. It's the raw materials your results are made from.

It may seem that anger and bitter resentment are working more powerfully than the positive emotions... (can you say "Come to the dark side of the force, Luke".)

But that's only because we have had years more practice generating the negative emotions. This means we've gotten really good at firing up and firing off in response to a situation we don't like. We've become so expert at anger or resentment, that we don't even consider other choices. We just do what's easiest for us.

But it is possible to learn how to generate truly strong positive emotions. Gratitude, joy, love. Done properly, these can be just as enormously moving and intense as their opposite counterparts, plus they "bring," they don't "take away." And they're far easier to live with.

If we try to take a shortcut and use what we're already expert at - the negatives - the results will always be filled with more of those emotions. And if your life is already filled with anger, frustration and resentment, do you really want more?

Let's say you're in the kitchen cooking. The only spice on your rack is chili powder. No salt, no pepper, no oregano. You could stop and run down to the corner store for some more spices, but you figure that'd just take too much effort: "I can do it faster with what I've already got handy."

Yes, you can do that, and everything on your table is going to reek of chili. That might be okay for the beans. But what about the tossed salad, the spaghetti, the garlic toast, the flan and the apple cobbler?

The whole point of doing inner work is to change to something that's going to be more comfortable, not just getting fast results. That's the difference between long-term thinking versus short-term. Diligence versus laziness. And above all, patience.

If you feel yourself being tempted to go for the easy results, just remember that this will always drag you back into the same old circle. Can I assume that you really want better than what you're stuck with now?

If your positive emotions are not yet strong enough to bring noticeable results, that doesn't mean they don't work. It just means you need to find ways to train yourself in cranking up the intensity of the positives.

One way to do this is to use what NLP calls "sub-modalities." You imagine a positive scene that you want to happen for you. Then, as you're imagining it, you also imagine that you have a big knob that lets you turn up the lights in that scene. Another knob will move the scene closer, so you can "see" it better, or reach out and touch it. Still other knobs will crank up the intensity of the emotions associated with the scene.

That's one way, and it's excellent. In fact, it has proven extremely successful over the years for many people. One thing - don't do it once and figure that's enough. This is like learning to play the piano or to skateboard.

You practice it over and over, gradually developing conscious control over your mental and emotional processes till it becomes a strong, repeatable skill.

On the subject of modalities and sub-modalities, it may also be that your primary mode of processing is through your feelings and physical senses, rather than visualizing.

There are three primary modes. One is the visual, and some people do most of their thought processing in the visual pathways. A second mode is hearing, or auditory. The third is called "kinesthetic." This is a fancy word meaning that some people process their thinking in terms of senses, feelings and emotions. I tend to be a mix of auditory and kenesthetic, so that's what I concentrate on with my inner work.

I don't know if kinesthetic is your primary mode, but if it is, you'd find it easier to deal in emotions and physical tactile experiences than in visualizing or imagining conversations. Your primary mode always produces the most power for you - at least until you train the other modes to become stronger.

Another very powerful technique is called EFT. If you'll go to Gary Craig's website at http://www.EmoFree.com you'll find a free 80-page manual that tells you exactly how to dissolve away negative emotions, mental blocks, resistances to prosperity and success, and any negative thing that has been riding you. It uses a simple process of tapping on a few acupuncture points.

Very, VERY powerful stuff. This is the most effective way I've ever found of chiseling through the old blockages and getting rid of them. Best of all, it's generally permanent.

Charles Burke is the author of Command More Luck , the book that shows you why all those things keep happening to you. Learn why "luck" doesn't work the way you've always been told. Not even close.

The bad news -- There's no such thing as luck.
The good news -- There's something even better.
Go to http://www.moreluck.com and learn how you can take command of what people call luck. Start today.

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