One of the things I explain in my new and upcoming book (current program owners will receive this free as an upgrade) is the organic cycle within us all, the name I give to the process by which we are kept in our comfort zones. I realized how the process was almost a mirror image of the machine.

In summary, the organic cycle involves three main systems, the brain, the body and the senses and how they interact through the use of smaller systems within each of these main three. The machine is the same in that it involves three main systems, the fuel, the mechanical process or purpose and the operations.

If we look at each of the three main systems for people and machines we can draw some interesting parallels.

First of all, we can look at the mechanical purpose of a machine. It doesn’t matter what machine you use, whether it’s a coffee machine or a crane, it has a primary purpose that is mechanical in nature. This mechanical process however must be put in motion by some sort of trigger, whether it is by humans using switches and levers or from senses that sense that a mechanical process needs to be put in motion (i.e. the air conditioner and the thermostat). Then we have the fuel that all machines need in order to run be it electricity, gas, oil etc.

So let’s look at the human being and the organic cycle.

We are almost purely mechanical by nature. That is, we react to things in life with behaviours where the behaviour itself (the reaction) is triggered by the event, and the same events always cause the same reactions. This in itself makes it very hard to deny our mechanical nature. But don’t be alarmed, it is a survival mechanism built into us.

Then we have our senses which we can clearly see are part of the triggering process (although not all of it which you’ll learn shortly). Through our eyes, ears, nose etc, we process the environment and react accordingly.

So the difference here between a coffee machine and us, is simply that a coffee machine has one mechanical process, and we have many, and the coffee machine has switches and we have senses.

So let’s look at the fuel.

Well for us the fuel is emotions. Some may think that motivation and drive etc are the fuel but not from the point of view of organic cycle, it is emotions that fuel the organic cycle, the comfort zone, for emotions are simply chemical reactions involving the brain (the producer) and the body (the receiver), and this completes the organic cycle.

When we curse at someone in traffic (just as an example) we are reacting in a mechanical way to an event picked up through our senses that triggers the emotions to fuel the behaviour, and we do this all day every day.

Now let me go one step deeper. If we return to the machine, the machine only operates for as long as it is needed to operate, and what I ask you determines this? Motivation and drive! Machines are operated for the purpose of creating a benefit to the user, and that is us. Whether it is for the satisfaction of a great cup of coffee or from the profits made from building a skyscraper, it is all the same. There is a benefit to be had and the more a machine is run, the more benefit is being had.

And where is the parallel here for us beings? It is addiction! For our organic cycle, our comfort zone, our personalities, our beliefs, our results in life, our reactions and our behaviours are all motivated by addiction, and the addictions are to our emotions, or to be more precise, the chemicals produced in the brain that create these emotions and hence feelings (the feelings are the product of the body receiving the chemicals).

Now a machine does not become addicted to its fuel, so there the similarity ends, but the operator of the machine has a very real motive, and so do our addictions to our emotions. I said earlier that the senses are only part of the triggering process, because our addictions are a major factor in triggering reactions. For example, someone who always appears irate is subconsciously and constantly seeking events to fuel the addiction to the chemicals produced from being irate. If the senses can’t find it in the immediate environment, the next step is to trigger memories that will do the same job as memories will trigger emotions.

If we want to create a more fulfilling life we have to step back and observe our reactions and see them for what they are, simply addictions. We are running around trying to make a cup of coffee using a crane or a photocopier and it simply will not work. We are using the wrong mechanical processes and emotions in our everyday lives because we are not aware of what is motivating them in the first place. If you want to have an enjoyable day, does it really serve you to curse all and sundry when you stub your toe as soon as you get out of bed?

Visit our home page at www.reprogrammingthemind.com if you haven’t already and get our free ebook, video and 6 part series on the science behind the law of attraction. If you have already gone through this then you might want to consider purchasing our program at www.reprogrammingthemind.com/Course.html. Our program and online group and forum are two major tools to help you use the right processes to creating a more successful life rather than being run like a machine.

To your success

Dean

The complete step by step guide to Reprogramming your Mind for Success

One of my daughters has a turtle, and one day while watching her swim around the aquarium, I noticed her want to get out or to go beyond the glass walls. The back glass wall has a picture of green underwater plants, however the picture only takes up some of the wall, and as the turtle reached the edge of the picture, I could sense her desire to go around the edge and beyond, as if the edge of the picture was actually a corner.

It got me thinking about the other animals we have. One of my other daughters has a blue fish; we have a dog and also three chickens. All of these pets live within physical boundaries, from which they can’t really escape. The chickens have the ability to fly out if they really wanted to, and on two occasions one of them has, only to want to get back in to the pen knowing that this is where its food is. Our dog has also had many chances to run away (thanks to kids leaving gates open etc), and every time she has come back.

With all of our pets, it is our duty to keep their needs met, with food, water, a clean environment and tending loving care. I realized that when given the chance, although some of them could leave permanently, their ‘needs’ and the security of always having those needs met, was the main driver behind their actions.

But watching the turtle made me also realize, that we have effectively domesticated what are essentially wild creatures, and regardless of their need for security, there is still that part of them that craves just that little bit more freedom to explore. Wild creatures do not have physical boundaries, only mental ones. In the wild, and I mean complete wild where no human intervention exists, the boundaries of creatures are created by their own instincts, not those of some other force.

It pains me to say this, but we humans are trapped within a mental boundary that is not of an instinctual nature, but of a conditioned need for security. Just as we have conditioned our own pets to accept smaller boundaries in exchange for security, we as humans have accepted a life of mediocrity and monotony in exchange for security and having our needs met.

We do not bump our heads into a glass wall thinking that what we just saw was a corner we could go around; instead we live within a mental boundary that is our comfort zone, and any attempts to move out are met with anxiety, doubt and fear of the unknown, ridicule, and a fear that our security may not be there tomorrow if we venture too far out. There are people who are happy with this, there are those who are not happy but accept it, and there are those who do not accept it. The majority of people are those that are not happy with it, but accept it, not really knowing what it is or why it is this way.

Some people believe that there are people in higher positions of power who control the rest of the population, that they know how to create this mental boundary through education, TV, news, laws and politics. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant, for all you have to do is ask yourself this question. ‘Is my current life based on needs or wants?’ Do you need your job, your TV, the News at 6, the mortgage payment, the car payments, the gossip at work, the arguments, the drugs, the computer games, entertainment and so on? Are many of these needs things you do to escape life, not realizing that they are the reason you are trapped? Are many of these needs the reason why you can’t spare your self the time and motivation to do anything else with your life, to do what you really should be doing to get out of your comfort zone and really live life like the wild, curious, explorer you really are?

There are many reasons why most people will continue to live within this mental conditioned cage because they know no better, the answers to breaking free are not readily available, they fear the unknown, they fear ridicule, they fear losing their security, or they believe these needs are helping them escape reality. For many who may have even been presented with some of the answers, their needs have become all too powerful that they are too time strapped or mentally drained to do anything about it.

All it takes is a small amount of your time a day to explore your own inner and outer world, and as you start to do this you open the door to many things such as opportunity, awareness and knowledge, all of which go hand in hand with freedom, and you find your addictions to your needs and security lose their grip on you and you break free from the confines of the conditioned mental cage.

To your success

Dean

The complete step by step guide to Reprogramming your Mind for Success

Imagine yourself; quietly sitting somewhere in a nice park, relaxing and watching a stream of ants do their thing, also noticing a sense of urgency in them, the sort of urgency that usually precedes a storm or rain. You watch in wonder, their strength, their knowingness, their loyalty, their co-operation and co-ordination, wondering how on earth such simple creatures create the cohesion they do.

Then you think of how the ability to sense rain or a storm serves such a grand purpose, not only for the ants but for the keen observer too, and in this case, you. If you had been wondering what you were going to do this weekend, the mere observation of the urgent ants will make you think twice about taking the boat out for a spot of fishing, or playing a round of golf with your buddies, or taking the family out for a picnic.

But then you decide to become on of the ants. All of sudden you are in a new world, a world of urgency, order and fear. You must serve the queen and her lava, you must perform your tasks, constantly communicating with other ants; you must be weary of any prey, and then attack anything that stands in your way. Phew! what it must be like to be an ant!

It may not be like that for the ant at all. They just do what they do, and maybe they have no awareness of this way of living for they have nothing to compare it to. But we do, we always have the ability to compare, to assess and to choose based on what we experience.

We all know we are emotional creatures; however what we may not understand is that our emotions serve a purpose, the purpose of allowing us to assess and make decisions based on what we are feeling, but from the observers point of view, not from the point of view of the ant; and this is exactly what most of us are doing. We live our lives, reacting to our emotions from the ants’ point of view and not the observers’ point of view.

To illustrate this, one of my pet emotional reactions is my reaction to arguing children. I don’t mind sharing this with you because I want you to feel as if we are all friends here. When children argue, especially my own, it can raise the hair on my neck! Why, because it is a reaction. At that moment in time I am the ant, thinking I have to defend myself from the noise or hysterics. But in reality, when I am able to distance myself and observe, all I am really experiencing is noise, and although I don’t like it, because it is irritating, I am able to deal with it more calmly and offer solutions.

The key difference here, and this difference can only be determined once someone becomes an observer, is that one is an automatic reaction, and the other is a calculated response. The ant reacts to its stimulus automatically, it never questions for it has no ability to, only doing what it is created to do. Humans on the other hand have the ability to choose a response to a stimulus, but only if they become aware that an emotion has become triggered within them.

Emotions therefore serve a very important purpose for people. They alert us to the fact that something is happening that is offering us a chance to question what is going on, and to choose our response. Much like the observer noticing the urgency in the ants, decides what may be and what may not be an appropriate activity in the next day or two, the person who notices an emotion he or she does not like can choose if the normal reaction is appropriate for all involved; and in most cases, if the normal reaction is automatic, it will not, and a new and more beneficial response can be employed. When this occurs and the person chooses a new and more beneficial response, much against the inner urge to react their normal way, the person would have moved out of their current comfort zone…..and this is called ‘growth’.

To succeed in anything in life you must grow!

To your success

Dean Whittingham

The complete step by step guide to Reprogramming your Mind for Success

As you attempt to venture into a new world such as success, a world that has so far eluded you but a world that you know exists because you see other’s living it; at some point you are going to have to experience a significant Ah-ha moment; a moment when you become aware of something that is going on within you.

To help explain this I am going to tell you of one of my Ah-ha moments, a moment back in time when I realized I was addicted to negative thinking. That’s right, I realized I was ‘addicted’ to negative thinking and knew there and then that this was something occurring from within which meant I could change it, at the time though I just didn’t know how.

I was in my early stages of learning techniques such as meditation and visualization, and in fact was using an aid called ‘guided visualization’ where you are listening to an instructor guide you through the process of visualizing the things you want in life. It was really great at times, but I also noticed at other times some really shocking pictures or scenes would appear in my mind.

To give you a graphic example, one of the scenes I was visualizing was me sitting in my nice big boat, a cross between a luxury boat and a fishing boat, as I love to fish, anchored in a really nice bay where the fish are plentiful, the sun is warm, the breeze is slight but cool and the sea is calm.

As my mouth widens to a smile, I all of a sudden start seeing other images which seem to come from nowhere; images of my son falling overboard, a shark bumping into the boat, a big wave coming out of nowhere and capsizing us! And I’m thinking to myself, what on earth is going on here? Why am I seeing these horrific pictures?

It wasn’t isolated to just the boat either. Another of my visualizations was I’d be waiting in the bank to speak to my bank manager, and then she would call me in where I’d sit down in front of her and we’d discuss all the new found wealth I had and not only how I made it but what I planned to do with it.

But some of the times I wouldn’t even get into her office, instead while I was waiting some bank robber would come running in and start wielding a knife or a gun! (Do you notice how the negative scenes are very similar to the sorts of things that happen in the movies or on the news?) It only took me a few days of going through this each and every time to realize that somehow I was addicted to these negative thoughts; I knew this because they seemed and ‘felt’ very real.

My brain did not like the new positive thoughts, not because they were positive as such but because the thoughts were themselves releasing new chemicals which the body was not used to. To counteract this, the body needed to command the brain to release chemicals it ‘was’ used to.

Negative thinking releases the same chemicals; it doesn’t matter what the thoughts are about, if they are negative the same cocktail of chemicals are being created in your brains pharmacy and pumped through the blood into every living cell in your body. The more this happens, the more addicted the body becomes to these chemicals and the more displeasure it experiences when you try and replace them with a new chemical, i.e. a chemical associated with success.

So how can you tell if you are addicted to negative thinking?

This is very simple. Close your eyes and visualize something you really want but believe you can not have, and do this for as long as you possibly can. You may not see graphic scenes like I did, it may be that I watched too much TV as a kid; but even subtle feelings and inner voices of doubt will creep in. It doesn’t matter, either way, whether you see things that you don’t like, feel feelings of doubt, or hear your inner voice saying ‘no’ to you, all of these are addictions to negative thinking and beliefs.

So how do you stop being addicted to negative thinking?

Part of the reprogramming of the mind process is the need for you to become aware of yourself. This may sound odd to some, but it’s not. If you did the exercise above than you have already started this process. Becoming aware of your thoughts is the first step in understanding how your whole mind works, and once you understand how it works, you can then change it for the better.

I’ll give you an exercise. The next time you have a shower commentate to yourself the whole time, as if you are broadcasting to the world and explain every single thing you are doing as you shower. This will show you how automated we have become with such things as showering because you’ll find commentating every action very strange to do.

This will also demonstrate how the same automation processes are going on throughout our whole day with almost everything we do from driving a car, to reacting to something we see! This is one of our biggest problems; we are running on autopilot and are not aware of our own thoughts or reactions most of the time.

The more you do this exercise, not just for showering but for many of things you do throughout the day, the more conditioned you’ll become at being aware. Awareness is the first and probably the most significant step to reprogramming your mind for success because awareness alerts you to the negative thought or reaction as it is just starting to happen giving you the ideal time in which to stop it in its tracks!

Habits are formed by the mapping of neural-nets in our brain. The neural-nets join certain associations together to create a belief, habit, idea, thought etc. An example is a basketball, where by in order for you to know that you are looking at a basketball, at some time in your past the associations of orange, round, ball, skin, etc were joined together to create a neural-net map, and this map processes the input from your senses and tells you it’s a basketball.

Habits as we know them, are automatic behaviours and thought processes. For example, smoking is a habit, and so is shaking your head at something you don’t like. The more automated the habit, i.e. the more you do it without conscious awareness, which for most people is most of the time, the stronger the neural-net mapping (or programming as I like to call it) of that habit.

However contrary to popular belief, a habit can be broken in an instant, it just needs a jolt. For example, a smoker who tries to quit may struggle for an eternity without success and then one day something happens that jolts him in such a way that he quits on the spot. I’m sure you know of people who have done this. I know I did. This can also occur for negative habits such as bad spending habits, putting yourself down, negative thoughts and so on.

To demonstrate this, I am going to go back in time to 1966 when The Beatles wrote and recorded Strawberry Fields Forever. It was such a great song that it is still well known today 40 plus years later. However most people, including those that were young back in 1966 are unaware that the song was recorded in two styles and the two styles were then merged.

The story goes like this. The Beatles recorded the song first with guitars and drums, and then second without guitars and drums but rather with stringed instruments like cellos and violins with the help of the producer George Martin. Not knowing which he liked best John Lennon went away and later came back to George and said, “I like both songs, can you merge the two together, can you make the first part guitars and the second part strings?”

The point at which the song splits from guitars to strings is during the second time John sings, ‘Let me take you down ‘cause I’m going to….’. I need to warn you now; once you listen for the point where the song splits from guitars to strings, you will never hear the song the same way again.

And this is my point, and this is what I refer to as a jolt. If you have ever listened to this song before and even liked it, your whole neural net map will be completely rewired in an instant, and you will forever know Strawberry Fields Forever as the song with two parts.

So how about our undesirable habits? In order to remove a bad habit you must in fact replace it with a good habit, this is how the process of neural-net programming works.

The secret then to changing is to be completely aware of the bad habit when it occurs (just like you are now aware of the two parts to Strawberry Fields). When you are aware you are open. Being open is what allows you to change. People with closed minds are unable to change because their Reticular Formation (an organ that is part of the brain), will filter out any information that is not inline with their belief systems.

So if you want to change a bad habit to a good habit, such as negative reactions, negative thoughts, bad spending habits etc, be aware of the bad habit occurring, be open to the possibility you can change it to something far more desirable, and like a jolt the answer or method that will reprogram your neural-nets in an instant will come to you. The level at which the jolt will come will be a direct result of your awareness to your bad habits and the openness of your mind.

Sometimes something as simple as becoming aware that you even have an undesirable habit or behaviour is all the jolt you need……