The purpose of the following chapters is to empower you with new ways of thinking and new reasons to think differently about yourself and the relationships in your life: the relationships that you have with other people, the relationship that you have with the earth and the world around you, the relationship that you have with yourself, and ultimately, the relationship you have with God / Spirit / Universal Source / the One. Before you discover these empowering implications, however, it helps first to establish what you believe right now—a baseline for the way you think about yourself and your place in the world.

The following exercise is not intended to judge you or criticize any existing thinking, feelings, or beliefs. It’s simply a point of reference to identify beliefs that you may not be aware of, or to clarify beliefs that you may have only suspected in the past.

EXERCISE

Establishing a Baseline for Your Beliefs

Using your answers to the following questions as a place to begin, by the end of the book you will easily see where and how the new information you’ve learned has transformed the way you think of yourself and your potential. For this exercise, you’ll need paper and pen.

The Technique. Using single words or brief phrases, please write down your answers to the following questions as honestly as you can. For yes-or-no questions, circle your answer.

• Questions about Your Origins.

1. Do you believe that the origin of life, in general, is the result of a chance event that happened long ago, as conventional science suggests?

Yes​ No

2. Do you believe that human life in particular is the result of a chance event that happened long ago, as evolution theory suggests?

Yes​ No

• Questions about Your Potential.

3. Do you believe that you’re designed to consciously influence the events of your life, the quality of your life, and how long you live?

Yes​ No

If you answered no, continue to “Defining Your Beliefs” below.

If you answered yes, please answer questions 4 through 6:

4. Do you trust your ability to trigger self-healing in your body on demand when you need it?

Yes​ No

5. Do you trust your ability to trigger your deepest states of intuition when you need them, on demand?

Yes​ No

6. Do you trust your ability to self-regulate your immune system, your longevity hormones, and your overall health?

Yes​ No

• Defining Your Beliefs. Finish the following sentences.

7. When I notice something unusual happening with my body (sudden aches or pains, an unexplained rash, a rapid heartbeat for no apparent reason, and so forth) I find myself feeling ____________________.

8. When I notice something out of the ordinary happening with my body, the first thing I will do is __________________.