part0002

It is such a wonderful privilege to be back here, holding this imaginary conversation with my readers once again. When I set out to write “Come and Sit with Me” (Book 1), I had no idea that it would lead to the sequel you’re now holding in your hands. All I intended to do when writing the first book was to discuss the finer points of manifestation in a candid way and share the pitfalls I had fallen into and taken a long time to get out of. Hopefully, by reading about some of my personal experiences, readers can identify similar situations in their own lives and figure out ways to work around them.

I am humbled and heartened by the response to the first book of this series (Book 1: How to Desire Nothing and Manifest Everything). The enthusiastic response to the first book confirms my hunch that even in this modern age, many of us seek to find a higher sense of purpose and direction in our lives. We do not just want to manifest more stuff. Instead, readers around the world have asked for ways in which they could be of greater service and love to others. Readers have wanted to know how to fulfill their dreams of becoming better teachers, writers, parents, lovers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to those around them.

When I first started studying Abraham-Hicks many years ago, I could not understand why they placed so much emphasis on the self and on feeling good . Part of me wondered about the question, “What about serving others?” It was only years later after I reached a new place of understanding that I finally realized the significance of their teachings: If an individual does not first place the emphasis on himself and ensure his own well-being, then he can be of very little help to others. If one is constantly living in a state of lack and limitation (and therefore manifesting lack and limitation), he is of very little use to the world. He is constantly taking from the world. On the other hand, when one lives from a state of flow and abundance, so much flows to / from him that he naturally feels compelled to be of service to others.

Once I realized this, my whole perception changed. I was no longer resistant to my own good. I no longer played small just so that I could fit in and appear to be sensitive to the needs of others. I no longer brought myself down to the level of those I was perceiving to help so as to make them feel better. I realized that by doing so, I was really helping no one at all. I finally understood that I could be of much greater service to others by becoming an inspiration and living from that place of inspiration… rather than acknowledging and sympathizing with their lack.

Living in this manner requires that you turn your attention inwards and place your undivided attention on your inner state. It requires that you (at least in the beginning) ignore what people around you have to say and tune out their reactions to your newfound success. This is perhaps one of the most difficult things for us to do. The fear of being judged is one of the most pervasive fears that keeps us trapped at our current level of achievements. This is the reason why most people find it difficult to break through to a whole new level of desired success, because they are so afraid of rocking the boat, or ostracizing their friends and family members who have become accustomed to their “old” selves.

But understand that thinking in this manner would be falling into the same trap that we have talked about so many times in these books — that of allowing yourself to be affected by outer evidence, circumstances and perspectives. In order to create a truly desired reality, you must cultivate your own inner state such that you become imperturbable and impervious to the judgments of others. This is not to say that you develop a callous or arrogant personality, but rather one in which you are not swayed by the words and actions of others. The more you live this way, the more your good will flow to you, and the more you can be of service to others.

One of the questions I’m often asked is, “What happens after you manifest everything and get all that you want?” This question stems from an incomplete understanding of the creative process because as Abraham-Hicks puts it, we will never be done. We will never be done with manifestations and creations not because we are greedy and constantly want more “stuff”, but because we are always engaged in the sacred process of creation. There will be new desires and projects that excite us. There will always be new goals that we strive towards, and there will always be new ideas that we want to bring into this world. We will continue to receive these desires and impulses because we are all creative beings.

The focus of this book moves beyond just the simple manifestation techniques that allow you to get more shiny toys and “stuff” in your life. In this book, we go beyond manifestations to talk about how you can manifest some of the intangibles in your life. For example, how does one manifest a more fulfilling career? How does one manifest a more fulfilling relationship with friends and loved ones? How does one deal with perceived health issues? All of these require “advanced” manifestation techniques because they are dealing with non-physical circumstances and end states. This requires that we look at manifestations in a whole new way so as to apply these principles and techniques to these non-physical and intangible goals.

As we become more adept at the manifestation process, we will find our focus slowly shifting from the tangibles in our lives (such as money, toys and gadgets) to the more ethereal stuff in our lives. Of course, you can still have all the gadgets you want, but they would not excite you as much. You now know what is truly possible. Instead of being excited about the acquisition of a new car, we may perhaps be energized by a project that changes the lives of others while bringing fulfillment to ourselves at the same time. As our manifestation goals broaden and become more intangible, we need new ways to visualize and bring them into form. This means that we must change the way we perceive the whole process of manifestation. Instead of looking at manifestations with a narrow view (that of asking for and attracting physical objects into our lives), we must broaden our perspective to look at manifestations as something that happens all the time in our lives. Our life therefore is a series of never-ending, always unfolding manifestations, one after another. If you recognize the series of manifestations that is constantly unfolding in your life, you develop a greater awareness of the amazing power that you have been bestowed with. When you finally realize that every thought, feeling, word and action of yours is creative and has a say in creating your future reality… you become more aware of how you live out each moment of your life.

All of us have equal access to the great Universal energy that flows through everything. In each moment, we can either allow 100% of this energy to flow through us or very little of this energy to flow through us. When we allow very little of this energy to flow through us, we feel frustrated, angry, depressed and mad at the world. We feel sad and discouraged, as if the whole world is turning its back on us. We see problems everywhere we turn. It seems as if we are in a deep abyss with no way out and no light at the end of the tunnel. It seems as if there are no logical solutions to our physical problems. We have hit a dead end and nothing seems to be happening. This is a state that some people have inadvertently found themselves trapped in. I was once in this state myself for several years!

What most people do not realize is that it takes tremendous energy to remain in this stuck state. It takes tremendous energy to deny ourselves of the Universal flow and to push against the Universal flow. This is the reason why it wears us out and why we feel so awful! We are constantly pushing against self-imposed limitations and obstacles that really aren’t there in the first place! We are spending inordinate amounts of energy trying to maintain the illusions that we have built for ourselves, not realizing the energy we are expending to perpetuate them in the first place. Have you ever visited Universal Studios or Disneyworld and looked at all the fake street fronts or castles they have built? It takes enormous amounts of money and electricity just to perpetuate that illusion, just to give you the feeling that you are on an actual street! But when you finally go “behind the scenes” and take a look at what is behind those buildings… you realize there is really nothing there in the first place. Everything was just a facade designed to keep you in the grand illusion.

If only an individual in this position will let go, let loose and stop pushing against all the perceived obstacles and problems that are out there… everything will straighten itself out. This is why I have always placed strong emphasis on taking a light touch. When you take a light touch , you stop pushing against your problems so hard. You stop insisting that they’re there. You reduce your focus on them. When you successfully change the way you think about these issues, the issues change right before your eyes . They literally dissolve and become non-issues. I come back to this point over-and-over again in my books because the act of not-doing is something especially counterintuitive for us and our culture. We have been taught all through our lives to strive towards our goals and to engage ourselves in physical action. We have always been told to go out there and do something. Therefore, the feeling of no-action and not-doing feels very foreign to most people, so much so that we are not even able to sit still in our chairs for more than five minutes at a time!

The state of no-action and not-doing is an extremely powerful inner state. It is one which is highly conducive to our manifestations and one that has been advocated by every spiritual or religious master that has ever walked the planet. Accomplished athletes, musicians, artists and authors talk about being in a state of flow, in which everything happens spontaneously through them without their active involvement. But it takes considerable practice to reach that state of flow in the first place because it goes against what we have been conditioned to do. That’s why so few in each field ever reach it. Our culture is one that is predicated on action instead of non-action. Spiritual Universal truths have always been about non-action and getting into the flow of things. Hence, a new way of thinking and acting in this world is needed contrary to how we have conventionally been taught.

Before we delve right into the conversation, I would like to suggest a few shifts to gradually ease you into your new desired reality. First, give up the need to constantly remind the Universe of your highest desires. The Universe already knows all of them and has picked up upon them the first time you held your intentions purely. Therefore, read this book not with the mindset of “getting things done” but with the mindset of gently relaxing into your highest good. Ease into it!

Second, if you have not read the first book of this series, it is recommended that you do so before moving on to this book as I will be building upon many of the concepts covered in the first book. Many of the concepts here will be extensions of what we have discussed earlier.

Third, read this book in a quiet place that you find yourself drawn to. I made this suggestion in the first book and it is worth repeating it here. There will be certain places which you find yourself drawn to without really knowing why. This is your inner self’s way of telling you to relax, let go, and ease into your natural goodness. When you read this book and absorb its message in these settings, you’ll be relaxing and easing yourself into the natural flow of the Universe.

Finally, read this book with an open mind. There will be questions you have asked and questions you have not yet asked but will do so in the future. I’ve often found questions coming to me when I was “right” for them, and with them, a full appreciation of the answers I’ve read earlier. So in a certain way, when the student (mindset) is ready, the teacher (question) appears. And with that, let’s get started…