Want Something Big in Your Life? You Have To Believe It To See It
It’s the most powerful success tool available
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It is the way to get what you want and need.
It is an absolute truth.
It is the way our brains are wired to keep us alive and to succeed.
It even pulls in the power of God or the universe or whatever if you believe in those things.
You have already achieved, attained and obtained in the past because of it without you even knowing it or using it to its full power.
All of us can attest to its existence and its power for success.
All of that and yet hardly anyone really knows about it, let alone uses it…to the max.
Instead, we often have it backward.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
No. No. No. No.
“I’ll SEE it when I BELIEVE it.”
Yes! It’s the other way around.
Simply juxtaposing two words enables you to achieve just about anything.
If you’re seeking something big, meaningful, significant, important, or life-changing, you must believe it and then you will see it.
You may have heard of this. Yep. It’s the Power of Intention. The Law of Attraction.
Call it whatever you want, even rutabaga. It doesn’t matter because it works.
It has been passed down and used by spiritual leaders, thinkers and highly successful people in all walks of life for thousands of years and at this very moment.
Now, neuroscience has discovered why this works which is because of the way our brains work.
It is the secret that’s not a secret (and there’s a lot more to it than is in the book or documentary The Secret, so forgo that as a source).
Known to the enlightened throughout human history
“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Jesus Mark 11:24
“You are what your deepest desire is. As your desire is, so is your intention. As your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” - Upanishads (Classic Vedic text)
“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think.” – Buddha
“In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.” – Carlos Castaneda
Personally, I believe a spiritual, metaphysical, universal alignment thing is a big part of it.
But that’s only part of it.
The other part (the only part if you’re not into the spiritual thing) is pure neurological physiology.
Power of Intention from your brain
Let’s see how simple I can make this.
In the front of our brains is our prefrontal cortex. It is essentially our Intel processor.
It takes all of the knowledge, data and sensory input, sorts through it based on our thinking, needs, wants or situations, and processes it into action, reactions, thoughts and ideas.
It developed as a survival mechanism. Let’s say one of your primal ancestors is standing before a giant savannah of tall grass 50,000 years ago. It’s windy.
Somehow, without trying, they happen to notice that an area of the tall grass isn’t moving as it should be. They are alerted. Either that’s a small animal (dinner) or a saber tooth tiger (run!).
Their reticular activating system in their prefrontal cortex (operating system & processor respectively) delivered to them what they needed to know, see, realize and how to act for their survival.
The same goes for today. Let’s say you want to change your life. You put in the time and effort to discover a New Way Forward that’s ideal for you. But it’s a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and you don’t know how to pull it off.
You set an intention.
You begin to envision exactly what it’s like to have it.
Seriously. You daydream, meditate, cogitate and fully envision what it’s going to taste, smell, sound and look like.
Most importantly, you do this often enough and deeply enough that you feel what it’s going to be like. The emotional part is key.
You focus intentionally. You don’t think “I want or need this” because if you think that way your brain and/or a higher power will respond in a way to keep you wanting and needing instead of having.
Just like a computer, the commands you put in are what you get back.
You do this every day. Even several times a day until you build strong new neural pathways.
Your brain literally cannot tell the difference between what you have strongly imagined and emotionally felt and those things that really did happen.
Now your brain starts realizing and processing things to support this intention. You get ideas, realizations and notice things you wouldn’t have otherwise.
“Quite simply, when you do allow your brain to be conscious of and focus on what you want in life, the raised awareness that results will work in your favor to automatically bring opportunities into your life.”
― Tara Swart
Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, medical doctor, executive advisor and author of The Source: The Secrets of the Universe and the Science of the Brain. She dives into all I have mentioned here in greater detail and offers even more.
Swart says the key is imaging the outcome you are seeking strongly and often. It’s like walking in a giant meadow with tall grass. At first, you leave a vague rough path. When you follow it every day it becomes a bigger, well-defined and solid trail.
You’ve created prominent neural pathways aligned with your intention that your reticular activating system prioritizes.
We’ve all kinda used it – Now you can really use it
I discovered this 17 years ago. I was in a dark place coming out of a toxic business relationship.
Sitting right where I am now working on my computer on a Saturday morning, I had the PBS pledge week on the TV in the background for some “noise” (I’m one of those).
Wayne Dyer was on, and he said something (I wish I could remember what it was) that my subconscious brain picked up on.
It was a mega epiphany. A billion thoughts and observations from my life suddenly aligned.
His presentation was on the Power of Intention.
I realized I had unknowingly applied the Power of Attention to get out of my toxic situation.
I realized that everything I had attained, obtained or accomplished in my life was through the Power of Intention (albeit at a low level of application).
Since then, I have learned how to wield it as an advanced powerful tool and method to get what I want and need.
“The power of intention is the power to manifest, to create, to live a life of unlimited abundance, and to attract into your life the right people at the right moments.” – Wayne Dyer
How to apply the Power of Intention
First, very, very clearly determine what it is you want. Get as specific as you can. Even the process of getting specific feeds the intention.
BTW, if you’re not exactly sure of what it is (e.g., “I need to change my life, but to what?”) then set an intention to put your attention on it (and check out New Way Forward which is all about that).
Start very basic and, since where attention goes focus flows, what you’re thinking about will become more specific while also getting deeper and broader.
Start writing down what it is. Start imagining what it will be like, look like and most importantly feel like. Get in touch with the emotion you will feel when it becomes real and really feel it now.
Put together a vision/action board. Find images in magazines or online that connect you with what you want and need.
Look at that board in the morning and at night every day. Build that trail in the meadow. Feel the joy of pursuing and attaining your intention.
It’s been proven time and time again that Action/vision boards work.
Feel free to daydream it, consider it, plan it and think it through at any time such as on a walk or in the shower.
Then act on it.
The problem I have with some proponents of this is they seem to say, “Make a strong clear intention and then sit back and wait for it to plop in your lap.”
IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.
You must put in the effort and time. You must pursue it by doing what I listed above and then executing the tasks necessary to make it happen.
Duh.
But you will want to anyway.
I and others can attest there is joy in the journey. You nail down your intention and you get excited. You feel it. You want it even more. You go after it.
Then your brain and a higher power conspire with you to get it.
“Whatever it is you invest energy into will start to grow and manifest in your life.” – Dandapani
All because when you believe it, you will see it.