You may think you know everything there is to know about the will.
But there’s so much more to it than meets the eye.
Most people think of the will as a mental strength that forces things to happen, but that’s not how it works at all.
The will is a mental faculty that gives you the ability to hold one idea on the screen of your mind to the exclusion of all outside distraction.
The will is not…
Reacting out of emotion or instinct.
Doing things on autopilot, like overeating or smoking.
Or trying to exert power over something or someone.
Using our will is exercising discipline when you reach a crossroad or disrupter and making a conscious choice to stay on the right path.
Here’s an example of what I mean.
How to turn a bad situation around
Let’s suppose that you’re at a point in your life where the conditions or circumstances are anything but positive. It may seem that there’s a strong force outside of you wanting you to lose or go in the wrong direction.
You can counter this force with a highly-developed will.
Start by using your imagination to build a picture of what you want—an ideal image of what you want to be, do, or have.
Then, use your will to hold that image on the screen of your mind. By holding that picture and getting emotionally involved with it, it is eventually deposited in the treasury of the subconscious mind.
Finally, the spiritual power that is always flowing to and through you begins to express itself in actions and vibrations that attract everything that is necessary to bring your desire into physical form.
This is a mouthful
What you’re really doing when you use your will properly is going to spirit or Universal Intelligence for the power to create the image of what you desire. By holding that image in your mind, you create a passageway (or a highway) for that power to flow into your subconscious mind.
In other words, you’re creating a channel for pure unadulterated spirit to move to and through you to first build the image and then turn it back over to spirit to give it back to you in physical form.
I understand that‘s a lot to take in, particularly if you’re a new student of this material. But it’s also a truth.
The difference between willpower and the will
When you use willpower to accomplish something, you can force it to happen for a short amount of time.
For example, when you set a New Year’s Resolution, you might get better results for a while, but after a few weeks you revert to the way you were.
Why?
Because you’re trying to force yourself to change instead of allowing it to happen.
However, when you use your will to hold the image of what you want in a concentrated way (as I described above), you allow that spiritual power to move through you. That’s a completely different level of power.
Now, when you use your will in this way, there’s no force involved. The image you’re holding in your mind pulls you forward because you love it. You actually want to dwell inside the image because it’s so appealing to you.
Of course, there will always be circumstances in your life that are unlike the images in your mind. But you want to remember something…
You can never get to where you want to get from where you are right now. You can’t get to your dream—you must come from your dream.
In other words, if you have a problem, if you’re struggling with something, the solution won’t come from focusing on the problem. It will come by using your will to focus on the perfected image of you. Always put your attention on what you want.
Tether the jumping monkey
We live in a very fast-moving world. Things are flying at us faster now than they ever have before.
With all that’s going on around us, if we don’t learn how to center our mind and hold an image of the good that we desire, we are automatically going to become the plaything of outside forces.
And when that starts happening, you start losing.
The function of the will, however, is to keep the imagination centered in the right direction.
You may be wondering, “How do I hold one idea on the screen of my mind and block out all these outside distractions?”
The answer is: You must practice concentrating.
At our seminars, we often tell people to put a candle in a candle holder and place it opposite their favorite chair. Then, at night, turn off the TV, the lights and eliminate all other distractions, and focus on the flame.
After a few seconds, your mind will start to wander. All kinds of thoughts will run through your mind, and they will take you to another place. When you notice that happening, simply bring your mind back to the flame.
Every time your mind wanders, bring it right back to the flame. Don’t worry about the fact that your mind is wandering. Just keep gently bringing your attention back to the flame, until you have become one with the flame.
This exercise—and the 11 additional exercises we provide in the free download below—will help you develop the ability to concentrate. If you keep practicing, you will learn to concentrate for relatively long periods.
As you’re developing the ability to concentrate, you will also develop the ability to make proper use of the will.
The most potent form of energy ever
Thought energy is the most potent form of energy in the universe. It’s cosmic energy that penetrates all time and space. And as you begin to concentrate, you make a connection with the universe that you are one with.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The only thing that can grow is the thing you’re giving energy to.”
The more you can concentrate on what you’re doing and what you want, the shorter the period it will take to get to where you’re going.
That’s because if you’re concentrating on your goal, your energy is not scattered. Instead of it being like a spray nozzle on a garden hose, it flows in a straight, powerful stream like a fire hose. So, the power inside you flows into your consciousness, and it goes out in only one direction, which is toward your exciting goal.
Isn’t that beautiful?
To more and better,
Sandy Gallagher
