Someone commented on my recent blog post about believing in magic, wanting to know about ancient warriors who wore magic vests to protect themselves from arrows or bullets. He felt they were into “magical thinking” and not into reality.

I found that odd.

For one thing, if I were really going into battle, I’d wear anything at all that promised to protect me. I’d quickly put on a “magic vest.” I’d wear spaghetti strands on my head or a necklace of rabbit pellets if I thought it would help me.

After all, I’d be going into battle.

I think you’d be a little silly not to do whatever it took to feel stronger, from praying to rituals to ornaments to you name it. I mean, come on, anything that helps you get through such a terrifying experience as war should be acceptable.

But let’s look a little deeper at my friend’s comment.

When is magical thinking a problem?

My research in placebos — defined as “A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect” — confirms that when you believe in something, your belief tends to make it come true.

There are even shocking scientific studies that prove when many people with knee problems were led to believe they had knee surgery — but in fact did not have the surgery– they actually got better. (!) (See http://blogs.discovery.com/good_idea/2008/05/placebo-surgery.html)

There are even more recent studies that reveal a placebo will work even when you know it is a placebo. (!)  (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/22/placebo-effect-patients-sham-drug)

This isn’t news. I’ve known about the power of belief since the 1960s, when I first read Claude Bristol’s masterpiece, The Magic of Believing. Your belief molds reality. Believe something is true about yourself or your world and you’ll tend to attract the circumstances to match it.

You Attract What You Believe

This works with negative beliefs, as well.

The “nocebo” is a negative expectation and will just as easily create a match to it. In other words, if you believe things will go wrong, or something will have a harmful effect, you will tend to attract that expectation. (See http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2709-2002Apr29)

This leads to an interesting predicament:

If your belief influences your reality so dramatically, then when is your belief in conflict with reality?

• Is wearing a magic vest going into war just deluding yourself?
• Is believing in a positive outcome despite current reality a self delusion?
• Is believing in a negative outcome despite contrary evidence a mistake?

Probably.

Yes, you may be deluding yourself when you wear a magic vest or a blessed ring. But that very “delusion” is the belief that will help you go through your life with strength, and it may even be the extra edge you need to help you survive and prosper.

Put another way, what’s your alternative?

Go into battle with nothing?

Go through life with no power?

Since your belief is the controlling element here, you are free to believe in the positive, or the negative, or “nothing” at all. (I put the word “nothing” in quotes as even believing in nothing is believing in something. It’s still belief.)

Some think the great god called Science is the be-all and end-all of what’s “real.” Yet science is always coming to conclusions that conflict previous conclusions. And the current science behind placebos proves what you believe is more important than the so-called “reality” around you.

In fact, if science were the deciding factor on reality, why don’t all scientists agree?

Why are there scientists who believe in ESP, for example, and scientists who don’t believe in it?

Gee, I thought science was the final verdict.

I quit reading popular science magazines like Psychology Today because it was apparent they simply reported recent studies. Stick around long enough and you’ll find new studies to conflict with the old studies. And so it goes.

In short, what’s real?

Ever since I released my book and audio program titled The Awakening Course, I’ve stressed that reality is an illusion. This isn’t new, either. Buddha and others, especially non-duality teachers, say the same thing. When you come from the fourth stage of awakening, you see the illusion.

As Einstein said, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”

The goal is to awaken

Again, you are free to wear magic amulets or vests, or do nothing of the kind. You can put your faith in “magic” or you can put your faith in “reality.”

Both reflect your beliefs.

Both, at essence, are reality.

After all, the “reality” you see is viewed through your perceptions, and those perceptions are made from your beliefs.

If you’ve met me, heard me speak, viewed my pictures, or seen me on television or in movies, you know I wear rings and beads. I personally believe some of it is for branding, some of it has some real esoteric mojo in it, and I believe it helps me.

In fact, whenever I speak in public, I wear a special gem made in part from the Gibeon meteorite. That meteorite is older than planet Earth. Estimated about four billion years old. It’s beautiful, and I can feel extra energy when I wear it. It was also a gift from Nerissa a decade ago, so it has sentimental value, too. (You can see me wearing it on the cover of my book, Instant Manifestation.)

Wearing my Magic

What’s most important about it?

My belief in it.

That said, what’s actually real?

I’d rather believe in a magical universe and see my life blossom with miracles then walk through it fearing every turn of a leaf.

Rounding back to my friend who posted the comment about “magical thinking” possibly being bad for you, I want to remind him of the Sufi saying, “Trust in Allah, but tether your camel first.”

That means to trust in your “magical vest” but also do whatever it takes to take care of yourself.

This is what co-creating reality is all about. Yes, there’s magic, and yes, there’s your actions in the physical world. The wisest thing would be to blend the two.

The only real danger in magic is relying solely on it.

Shawn Achor, in his book The Happiness Advantage, suggests you wear rose tinted glasses as opposed to rose colored glasses. He put it this way:

“As the name implies, rose-tinted glasses let the really major problems into our field of vision, while still keeping our focus largely on the positive.”

I’ll end by quoting Bruce Barton, the subject of my book, The Seven Lost Secrets of Success. Barton wrote the following in 1927 in his own book, What Can a Man Believe:

“Faith in business, faith in the country, faith in one’s self, faith in other people – this is the power that moves the world. And why is it unreasonable to believe that this power, which is so much stronger than any other, is merely a fragment of the Great Power which operates the universe.”

In short, if I were going into battle, I’d definitely put on a magic vest and I’d do everything else possible to stay safe.

The magic vest may or may not have power in and of itself, but my believing in it will have power.

Said another way, a placebo isn’t actually real, but the placebo effect is.

Have faith and tether your camel.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — If you want help in understanding and applying this thinking, consider Miracles Coaching.

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I saw a so-so TV movie recently where a key character stated something profound:

“People want magic in their lives yet don’t believe magic actually exists.”

That made me sit up straight and ask myself —

Do I believe in magic?

If so, why don’t I look for more magical solutions to my life challenges?

What about you?

Do you believe in magic?

If so, why are you working so hard, and worrying so much?

If you really believed in magic, wouldn’t you be more trusting and more relaxed?

Think about it.

“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.” ― Paulo Coelho, Brida

I’ve discovered a key to attracting what you want in your life is learning to relax.

You do that by learning to trust; to have faith.

Worry, impatience and desperation actually slow down the Law of Attraction. Worry says you have faith things aren’t going to work out.

That’s not very helpful, is it?

It also causes stress which can lead to illness.

The real secret to attracting what you want, as well as staying healthy and sane, is to relax, get your energy aligned throughout your body and mind, and *allow* the magic to work in your life.

What’s the best way to get into the flow?

Easy.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”  ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Go see — http://www.aligningtozero.info

You’ll find the most serene music ever created there — music designed to soothe you while it aligns your energy centers  — and you can hear samples of it, too.

It’ll help you discover real magic.

Guaranteed.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS — The music was inspired by ho’oponopono and dedicated to Dr. Hew Len, my coauthor for the book, Zero Limits. There are so many levels of healing in the music that it would take too long to explain in this post, so please go to http://www.aligningtozero.info

Note: You can hear samples of the music by clicking on “Get the Instant download” on the site or by scrolling to near end of the website. Enjoy.

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I’m excited!

I’m not sure how to convey how important it is that you drop everything and go see — http://www.aligningtozero.info

You see, I’ve been working hard to find ways to help you release any hidden blocks to your own success, whether you want to attract better health, a relationship, money, or anything else — including spiritual advancement and even enlightenment.

With that help of a dear friend, I just created what may be the most serene, tranquil, easy and effortless way to do just that. It’s designed to align your energy centers. It was made with my Healing Guitar. It was inspired by ho’oponopono and my coauthored book (written with Dr. Hew Len), Zero Limits. The website for it begins…

Secrets of the Ancients Discovered And Adapted For The 21st Century…

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Finally, a true breakthrough designed to easily transform

your very being – And all you do is relax and listen while

doing (or not doing) whatever you want – Guaranteed!

Announcing Aligning to Zero by Mathew Dixon and Dr. Joe Vitale Here’s why this is so important to you:

If you would love to have any of these seemingly miraculous benefits…

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The  whole story is at … http://www.aligningtozero.info and

you can hear samples of the music at http://www.nimbitmusic.com/aligningtozero

The other day I stopped at the local gas station to fuel up my new all electric car.

No, that’s not a typo.

The Fisker Karma is all electric, but uses a gas generator to power the electric motor when the stored electricity runs out. So you have to put fuel in it sometimes. It’s possible to never use gas, if you drive locally (50 mile range per charge).

Don’t worry your head about it, though. That’s not the point of this post.

2012 Electric Fisker Karma

While there, a fellow asked me about the car. That’s not unusual, either.

Everywhere I drive the Karma, people stop and ask about it. I’ve had people film me on the highway while they were driving, follow me and ask me about the car, sit beside me at a traffic light and praise the car, and more. The Karma is a head turner. It was designed by the same fellow who designed the Aston Martin, so it has lines that turn heads.

But that’s not the point of this post, either.

This gentleman at the local petrol station said at one point he had fourteen cars and four airplanes.  He added, “You can’t take care of that many cars or planes, so I started giving them away.”

I could relate. I’ve given away four of my cars so far. And I didn’t start with as many as this stranger at the station.

The fellow added, “At some point you just stop buying so many things for yourself and you start helping other people.”

Exactly.

That’s the whole point. You have to take care of yourself first before you can help others in any big way.

Yes, of course you can help others right now, with whatever you have or can do. I’m talking about something greater than that, though. It’s one thing to help a neighbor move his outdoor grill. It’s quite another to give them a car.

I know a person who does volunteer work around the world. She said, “You have to have money to work for free.”

Exactly.

Money is essential to your ability to help others.

If you don’t have much right now, or always feel like you are just squeaking by, then it’s your beliefs about money and yourself that are causing the block.

Once you handle your money issues, you are free to attract money and direct it to where you feel it will do the most good.

You can call it Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but any way you look at it, until you take care of your own survival needs and move into prosperity, you won’t easily be able to think about let alone actually help anyone else in a big way.

I’m not suggesting that you own a fleet of cars before you start giving and helping others. But I am suggesting that you make yourself strong first. Then you will have the means and the strength to help others.

I’ve often said and written that if you want to make a difference in the world, begin with one person: yourself.

Once you’ve changed your own life, it’ll be far easier to help others.

If you want the world to be a happier, healthier and more prosperous place, begin by contributing one happy, healthy and prosperous person to it: you.

How do you accomplish this?

Be good to yourself. Admit what you want for yourself. Take action to attract it to you. Get yourself financially secure.

Click image to read book free

One resource is my book, Attract Money Now.  It’s still free to read online right here.  (There’s a beautiful hardcover edition, that comes with a DVD of a fiery presentation by me on attracting money, right here.)

The book contains seven steps for attracting money now. One of those steps is giving. Again, you don’t have to give away a car, but giving money opens you to receive money.

Have you read the book?

Have you done the steps in the book?

Are you giving money to where you receive inspiration?

I think right now might be a good time to start.

I’m beginning the helping process by giving you the book, entirely for free.

What will you do next?

Are you ready to help you?

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS –  Last year I gave a presentation at the offices of my Miracles Coaching team where I explained seven ways to get clear of inner blocks. The group loved the steps. The event was filmed and later turned into a free course you can watch online. Go here to see it right now: http://www.joevitalecoach.com/campaigns/sevensteps/ I’m offering you the steps to freedom — free. It’s up to you to do them. Well?

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