VISIONING

Believing Your Dreams Into Reality

Introduction

Flashback: In the late 1960s when I was living in New York, I became fascinated with Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, the novel that George Lucas credits with inspiring Yoda, the Jedi, etc. in Star Wars. The hero, Valentine Michael Smith, is born on Mars, sole survivor of Earth’s First Mars Expedition. He’s raised by the impossibly wise and powerful Martian Old Ones, who allow the Second Mars Expedition to take him, a young man with superhuman abilities and ignorant of sex, back to Earth with them. He starts teaching his fellow humans how to become as honorable and powerful and loving as he is.

Besides inspiring Star Wars, the book is also credited with starting the new age movement, with encounter groups, etc. I experimented a little bit in New York and continued in San Francisco.

In the mid-1970s my roommate Chris took me to a new age Wingsong workshop, held in a private home in the East Bay and led by his friend, Lisa de Longchamps. It changed my life and massages for the better.

"The only purpose of Wingsong is the total expansion of love in the universe." — Lisa de Longchamps

Lisa led us in a number of different exerciser to help us get in touch with our higher selves and find our spiritual power. In the most interesting one we would close our eyes and breathe love and healing up our spines and into the parts of our bodies that needed it. We’d imagine our tensions and troubles flowing out on every exhale. When we felt ourselves calm and open, we’d make a wish. If it involved other people, we’d add, “If it’s the will of their souls.” We wanted to be friends with other people, not conquer them or take advantage of them.

Then we’d use our brains to think of the regular practical things we could do to reach our goal. We’d picture what the world would look like if our wish came true. Then we’d breathe more love and healing up our spines and BELIEVE our wish into reality. It was both fun and a very loving way to look at the world, wanting everyone to win, rather than wanting to win at others’ expense. Lisa called it Manifesting.

What I really liked was that, even if it was all hooey, the best way to figure out how to reach a goal is to become very relaxed, get a clear picture of what you want, and then believe you can attain it. The more you believe in it, the harder you’ll be willing to work for it; and your belief will lead others to help you. In other words, even false belief can bring true success.

But was it all hooey? The last thing we’d do each week was to tell what our wish was. The next week we’d report whether it had come true. Of course there’s no way of knowing if the wishes would have come true anyway, but we did seem to have a very encouraging success rate.

The most interesting exercise for me was when we were asked to close our eyes and try to get in touch with our spirit guides and ask them to grant a wish. I knew this at least was a lot of hooey; so I just imagined a being with magical powers, sort of like Merlin the Magician. I called him Ash-Kar, Last Godking of Atlantis, Retired, who lived in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights, just a block or two from the Getty mansion. My wish? “I want to meet some movie stars.”

The next day at lunch a friend introduced me to a noted psychedelic artist Satty and his girlfriend. They invited me to a party at their studio that Friday. When I arrived, movie director Francis Ford Coppola was checking names off the guest list. He told me he loved my quips in Herb Caen’s column. Then to get to the party I climbed down a ladder into a huge basement, with several interestingly decorated rooms down one side. I was in the last one when movie star Jack Nicholson walked up and introduced himself and Michael Douglas. On 1/5/76 Herb Caen printed, “It was at artist Satty’s party for Jack Nicholson that Strange said to the star, ‘I saw you in Gone With the Wind and you were just great.’ Jack, very straight: ‘That was Clark Gable.’ Strange: ‘Same difference.’ (Nicholson is not ready for Strange de Jim, but who is?)”

I also added Manifesting into my regular massages and the Strange Experiences. When my partners were lying relaxed on their backs at the end, I’d have them make a wish and believe it into reality. Most people really enjoyed it.

Lisa also had us experiment with balancing our seven chakras or energy centers. They’re located from the base or our spines to the tops of our heads. Each of them is connected to a different aspect of our being. The bottom one is basic survival, for instance. The one in the center of our chests has to do with love from the heart. The one in our throats concerns what we are born to say. Religious and martial arts practitioners around the world have used them for centuries.

I often added them to my massages. When I was finished massaging I’d cup each pair of chakras in turn for one or two deep breaths and exhales, telling my partners what two things to balance. Usually it was nice and interesting, but with some people the results would always be fantastic. I traded massages regularly with one friend, and afterwards the whole world would feel fresh and new and wonderful. If you’d like to investigate them, you might just DuckDuckGoogle “Chakras”.

I enjoyed Wingsong so much I asked Lisa if I could publish her exercises for everyone to use, and she said sure. By this time I’d moved, and my new roommate Jeff just happened to be a wonderful graphic artist who designed the book. A fellow Wingsinger David was an excellent editor, and Jeff knew Bob, a printing consultant who found the perfect printer.

Visioning went through 4 printings of 5,000 copies each. I got a whole drawerful of letters from readers thanking me. Now you’re welcome to read Visioning yourself.

PART 1: THE WINGSONG TEACHINGS

Back to Earth and Beyond and Back Again

Although I have been involved in the human potential movement for about ten years, it was only recently that I fell under the spell of Lisa de Longchamps, the ethereal lady whose picture you enjoyed above. Lisa leads a happy assortment of beings called Wingsong, following the teachings of her inner guides (or higher self, if you want to get technical about it). Lisa actually does the things about which I had been saying, "Oh, sure, I believe in that absolutely—but not in practice." So far the Wingsong Teachings have improved my life several thousand per cent; so, while remaining properly skeptical, I intend to continue to take part in Lisa's experiment in opulence and joy.

I attended the first few Manifesting Workshops mainly for the entertainment value (manifesting, by the way, is the art of bringing into reality whatever you think you want). I thought it was fun watching people delude themselves into believing they could create houses and cars and fur coats just by wishing for them. My opinion of Lisa at that time was, "A spiritual leader seems to be, basically, a crazy person who can convince enough people that she isn't."

It was about the third workshop, when I was listening once more to something like, "You remember that ruby ring I drew a picture of last week? Well, an aunt I never heard of died and left it to me, and here it is," that I began to suspect that there might be something to these irrational theories Lisa and her inner guides were teaching after all.

These theories are irrational. Let there be no doubt about that. Just how far-reaching they are, and the effect they can have on the unwary, was brought home to me a few nights ago in a Wingsong Dreamshop. When I met her several months ago, Iris Jackson was an "ordinary person" who wanted to manifest nothing more than "a thousand dollars to pay off my bills." Then Lisa taught her how to get in touch with her own inner guides; and now Iris talks with them on a daily basis.

For a couple of months Iris kept reporting that the guides wanted her to "reincarnicat" a cat which they claimed was buried with her in one of her past lives in ancient Egypt. They gave her an image of the cat, which she described to the group several times. Now this morning her guides had told Iris to go to the Pound. Sure enough, there was the cat. The guides told Iris to tell the attendant that the cat was hers.

"How long has your cat been missing?" the attendant asked.

"Oh, a long time, Iris replied.

"Yeah, try about six thousand years," Iris's son muttered under his breath.

The attendant reported that the cat had been dropped into the night depository only a few hours before. Iris nodded politely and took her cat home. She wasn't surprised that she had been told to go to the Pound at exactly the right moment. That's the way Guidance works. None of the other Wingsingers was surprised either when Iris related her story. These things have been happening to all of us lately. A different measure of the success of the Wingsong Teachings is the comment which was made by a newcomer a couple of weeks ago in Introduction to Manifesting. When she was asked what she intended to manifest, she looked around the room and declared, "All I want is that glow—that you have and you have and you have and you have. That glow is freely available. All you have to do is manifest it. 

Manifesting: Discovering Your Magic Wand

My first impression of the process of manifesting was mostly a negative one. I watched people asking for houses and money and jewels, and I felt very frustrated. In the first place I didn't think I'd ever be able to do it myself; and in the second place I felt guilty about even trying. I thought these sorts of things weren't supposed to be worth bothering with in the first place.

What the truth now seems to me is that the way to feel light, to become enlightened, is to believe that the universe is a warm, safe, comfortable place which would like nothing better than to provide you with your heart's desire. Luckily that happens to be the case. The universe would like nothing better than to see you reach the top of the Rainbow Stairs where growth and learning and unfolding are purely through joy rather than through trial and pain.

The catch is that you can't get to that place until you know (not just wish) that it exists. The only way to know it exists is to experience it, and the first place to experience it is on the physical plane. It isn't at all necessary to become a millionaire. What is necessary is to know you can have millions whenever you want them. The emphasis isn't on gathering and hoarding material things. Just the opposite, in fact. The emphasis is on giving. What is important is learning that the universe is a loving place which is quite willing, if you will let it, to surround you completely with joy and opulence.

I observed an interesting thing in the Wingsong Manifesting Workshops. Most people started out with small material things and then went on to larger material things. Before too long, however, all this changed. I watched people start asking for such things as loving relationships and then go on to manifest getting in touch with their inner guides. opening up their heart and throat and third eye centers and preparing for the steps beyond.

In other words, there's nothing at all wrong with manifesting material goods. It's simply the first step you have to take before you can climb on to better things. The only thing to realize is that it is only a step. Once you've mastered it, don't forget to look up to the much more marvelous things above. 

The Wild Theory

Manifesting is the wild theory that you can create your own universe; or, to put it another way, that faith can move mountains. I would like to propose that your beliefs act like magnets to draw people, material objects and experiences to you. What you believe not only comes true; what you believe already is true. Everything around you is there because you believe in it. Do you want to know what you believe about your body? Look at your body. Do you want to know what you believe about the types of places in which you deserve to work and live? Look at the places in which you work and live. You are what you believe. Change your beliefs, and you can change your universe.

In other words, we aren't talking about learning to manifest. You already do that perfectly. All we are talking about is learning to bring more of the process under conscious control. I'm sure you've heard all this before, and maybe your reaction was the same as mine reported earlier: "Oh, yes, I believe in it absolutely—but not in practice." In this book we're going to talk about putting it into practice. 

Ordinary Conscious Manifesting

Let's look at the part of the process that is already under your conscious control. How do you usually go about getting the things that you want? Probably you first get a picture of what you want and then devote your attention to bringing that picture into reality. If you already know you want a certain type of Mercedes, you simply go to one car dealer and then decide on the minor details after you're there. If the picture isn't that clear to begin with, however, the first thing you do is work on making it clear. If you only know that you want a car of some type, you go to several dealers to try to find something in the real world that satisfies the picture or feeling you have about what kind of car is appropriate for you. While you are still in the middle of the process, you become attuned to anything that will help you in your search. You notice car ads that you wouldn't have noticed before. Your ears perk up when you hear about someone wanting to sell his or her car. In other words, the way you find the object you want is by focusing your attention on it.

The other question is whether the object is within your means. Actually this just means whether you want to focus enough attention on the object to get it; because, given your degree of cleverness, I can't think of any physical object you couldn't beg, buy, borrow or steal if you devoted your entire life to the single-minded pursuit of it. Or, to put it another way, anything in the material world is already yours if you just want to go to the trouble of collecting it. What I've just described is the normal rational nonmagical method of manifesting material objects. But did you ever notice something peculiar, that often after you have spent a lotof energy trying to obtain something, when you finally do actually end up getting it, it turns out to be through some sort of "accident"? 

Manifesting Ideas

What about when you're working on a problem, when what you're trying to manifest is not a material object, but some kind of idea? I'm sure you've also had this experience yourself; but studies on the creative process have shown that the way it usually works is this. You work and work and work and work on a problem; and then one day, when you're doing something completely different, not thinking about the problem at all, the answer suddenly comes to you. Sometimes, in fact, it comes to you in a dream.

There are two points to be made here. The first is that you wouldn't have gotten the answer if you hadn't done the work. It was the attention that you paid to the problem that eventually manifested the answer. The pattern of hard work followed by sudden illumination is too common to permit the belief that the hard work wasn't necessary (although later in the book we'll discover how to make the work much much easier).

The second point is that, although we have no way of knowing where the answer did come from, from the subconscious or whatever, the one thing we do know is that it didn't come from the rational mind. The rational mind was either thinking about something completely different or was asleep at the time. 

Belief—The Aura of Success

Even in ordinary manifesting your belief in your ability to obtain what you want is a major factor in whether you can turn your fantasy into a reality. Let's say that you want to start your own business. If you are absolutely sure of yourself, you will exude confidence. Bankers will be more likely to lend you the money you need. Capable employees and prospective suppliers and customers will be more likely to take a chance on you than on someone with identical objective qualifications but without your air of success. Just as importantly, you will be more likely to take a chance on yourself. You will risk the money time and energy that are required to make a go of the new business.

So even in purely rational ordinary manifesting, belief in your success makes a difference. In higher-order manifesting, belief is the difference. Let me state it again. The difference between fantasy and reality is belief. Whoever is in charge of magic in the universe seems just as impressed as anyone else by an aura of success. 

Hypnosis as a Means of Believing in the Impossible

If you hypnotize me and tell me that the pencil with which you are touching my arm is a cigarette, I will believe you. I will experience all the same sensations I would feel if the pencil actually were a lighted cigarette. So far so good. The interesting thing, however, is that if you hold the pencil against my arm long enough, an actual burn blister will appear. Whatever anyone truly believes is real.

Any benefit you derive from this book can be increased by your acceptance of that statement; and the results which can be produced under hypnosis are an exceptionally striking illustration of the truth of it; so I would suggest that, if you don't accept it already, you obtain a copy of the most reputable, most scientific study of hypnosis that you can find and read it. Check it out for yourself. You're the one who has to accept it. And you might widen your reading to cover other types of trance states and meditative states as well. It's hard to venture even a little way into these subjects without becoming willing to expand your notions of what is and what is not possible.

Imagine that you want to remove some moles from your skin, and your friend recommends a good hypnotist. You think the whole thing is crazy, but you agree to one visit. The hypnotist tells you he can only remove one mole per session. You know then that he is just trying to milk you for as much as he can get; but you figure that since you're already there, you'll try one session. You select the first mole, and he puts you into a trance. When you wake up, the mole is still there. You're about to make some caustic remark when the hypnotist blandly assures you that it often takes a day or two for the process to work. You leave his office definitely unconvinced. The next morning when you wake up, you find that the mole is gone. Or, wait a minute, was it that one over there? Damn.

On the second visit you circle the target mole in indelible ink. The next morning the circle is empty. The third, fourth and fifth visits are also successful. Now, however, you sit down and take stock. You count up the number of moles you have left, multiply the total by the cost per visit to the hypnotist and arrive at a rather distressing figure. You also realize that some of the moles you are most interested in having removed are in an area you don't want the hypnotist to be looking at while you're not there to keep an eye on him.

Suddenly it hits you. "Hell," you say. "I'm the one who's really been doing all the work. He just tells me to make the mole disappear, and then I'm the one who does it. Why do I need that turkey hypnotist?" You know now that it can be done; so you sit down and believe real hard and get one more mole to vanish. There you are. You've just done your first higher-order manifestation. 

Sandy's Dream

Sandy Eichorn related a dream at the last Wingsong Dreamshop which ought to be mentioned here. Sandy found herself in a magnificent modern five- or six-story house owned by a wise old Native American. As she toured his home, she was especially struck by the glittering crystal chandeliers, which were covered with precious jewels. When she commented on them, the ancient sage told her that she was the first person to notice the gems and that she could have as many as she wanted. She then had an exhilarating time skipping around the house plucking handfuls of diamonds and rubies and pearls.

The glittering jewels are right there in plain sight; and most people do fail to see them; and they are yours for the asking. All you have to do is see them, simply know that they are there. 

Why Do Most People Miss the Jewels?

The heart's game is, "Seek and ye shall find." The ego's game, as we'll see in a minute, is, "Seek and don't find." And most of us most of the time are controlled by our egos. We act from the survival, sex and power centers, the frightened insecure places. That's why we don't find what we're looking for. We're controlled by the part of us that wants to keep us in the dark simply because it's afraid to venture out into the light.

Imagine your ego as the president of your company. By considering following the suggestions in this book what you are doing is contemplating merging your little company with a much larger Corporation. Naturally your ego is scared. It's afraid of being fired or being swallowed up or shunted off to one side. And, since your ego at the moment controls the majority of your voting shares, you aren't going to get anywhere by fighting it or ignoring its wishes. What you have to do is let your ego into your heart center where it can see that you really do honor and love and respect it and that it will play a role in the new Company that will be much more interesting and exciting and rewarding than its old job ever was. If it still isn't convinced, let it read over a copy of the new incredibly generous Retirement Plan. 

The Secret of Higher-Order Manifesting

All right. I've done my share. Now it's time for you to take over. I've already told you everything I came up with when I went back and tried to reason out why this thing works. And, unless you're extremely perceptive or extremely gullible, I doubt whether it's sufficient to turn you into an expert conscious manifestor. If you're anything like me, you have to experience something like this in order to start believing that it's true.

There. That's the secret. You have to gain the experience of believing in things and having them come true; so, if it's the will of your soul, that's what I'd like you to do. Go out and believe a few things and have them come true. That's the whole secret. Finis. End of book.

What's that? How can you believe in something in which you don't believe? Oh yes, I see what you mean. You need results before you can start to believe, and you need to believe before you can get results. It's quite a problem isn't it? Maybe that's why more people don't discover how to do it.

I know. Why don't you start with the belief that you already have and then treat it just as you would any newborn creature, try to strike a balance between protecting it and leaving it free to expand and grow? Luckily Lisa's guides have shown her several techniques for doing this. They seem so simpleminded I'm almost ashamed to give them to you, but I suppose the fact that they seem to be extremely powerful makes up for their lack of complexity.

What they depend on is your own feeling for the types of projects you're ready to tackle. If you pick projects that are too easy, the successes won't mean too much. If you're too ambitious to start with, on the other hand, you may experience failure and possibly decide to abandon the whole thing. If you do get discouraged, you may think of the sign Sandy put on the coffeepot at one of the Wingsong Workshops. The sign read, "Cold, Manifesting Hot." Often, when you seem to be making no progress, real significant changes are taking place inside that soon will start to bubble their way to the surface. True reality is a process. The concrete is only what is apparent at the moment.

Talking about what you are trying to do in front of people who will be more than willing to tell you that you are crazy is one of the best ways to lose the confidence you already have. One of the best ways to gain confidence, conversely, is to have the support of a sympathetic group. Every success by any member provides inspiration for everyone else. The support of a group is such a powerful aid, in fact, that I would recommend that a group itself be the first thing you manifest. Find one or form one. It isn't absolutely necessary, but it is an immense help.

Always keep in mind the purpose of what you are doing. You are not trying to manifest material things in order to hoard them. What you are doing is learning to deal with the material world from the heart, learning to know it as a loving, joyful, opulent place in which to be.

Don't expect it to be a sudden complete change (although that is, of course, possible). The next word after your latest triumphant, "Hooray, at last I have it all under control!" may very well turn out to be, "Oops!"

Most of us don't immediately become masters of the art. We become good at manifesting some types of things, while remaining weak in other areas. Over-all our success rate gradually begins to improve until we reach the critical point where we really begin to believe. Then progress is extremely rapid. How long should this take? It can vary all over the lot. With the support of a group it took me about six months to convince myself that my successes (such as $6,000 on my first attempt after Introduction to Manifesting) weren't just coincidences. That's how long it took me to think of asking for Inspiration, direction and joy in my writing. What I had in mind was the novel on which I was working, but luckily I didn't limit it to that. A few nights later I woke up in the middle of the night with an entire book called How to See With Your Third Eye "there." For an hour or two I scribbled notes and wrote brief sections and then went back to sleep.

The next morning I was so sure of the idea that, before I wrote any more of the book, I placed the following classified ad in four New Age publications: "See With Your Third Eye. Moneyback guarantee. Send $10 to ... "

Since it was now only April I was sure I could have the book ready by the time the orders started arriving. It also demonstrates one of the principles of manifesting. By committing myself to the undertaking in this way I was proving to the world and to myself that I believed in it.

That evening, when I actually started writing How to See With Your Third Eye, I suddenly thought to ask myself, "Why stop with seeing with your third eye? Why not go all the way' I had no good answer to that; so the book expanded even further and became Visioning.

The next day it took a whole hour to arrange for the cover design and printing of the book. That night I took Lisa the first draft of the first ten pages. The following morning she called to tell me about the first newspaper article that would appear very shortly to warn the public of the book's imminent arrival.

I went through a "three-day high" where I seemed to be leading a charmed existence, not just in relation to the book, but in all areas of my life. For example, the only material object Lisa's guides specifically recommend that we manifest is a jewel, since jewels are the objects on the physical plane which are closest to the Light (being an incurable romantic, I prefer to think of gems as "warts on angels' skins" to give myself an idea of how wonderful the rest of the higher planes must be). Anyway, the guides asked us to get a picture of the jewel that was exactly right for us and then manifest it and wear it.

Some people pictured their jewel right away, but I had no idea what mine was. I had a helpless feeling. How could I do something when I had no idea how to go about doing it? Lisa suggested that I simply manifest (ask for) clarity.

While I was still in my "charmed" period I had an incredibly vivid dream of a ring on my right ring finger. The next day I went into a single gem store and immediately found the stone, an opal. Then I went to a single jewelry store and said I wanted a gold setting for the stone. Before I could describe it the clerk asked, "Something like this? She held up a ring that was exactly like the one I had seen in my dream. I've looked in a number of stores since then just out of curiosity and haven't found the same ring.

That night I had a dream that my car engine was getting very hot and was on the verge of burning up. I went out the next morning and checked my car. The oil level was below the dipstick.

Two points might be made here. One is that buying something is a perfectly acceptable method of manifesting it. If your inner sense guides you to something that is right for you, you'd be silly to insist that you take possession of it only by "magic." We're learning to open up all the avenues through which we can receive things, not close some of them off. I've already had some vivid higher-plane experiences in connection with the opal that are far more magical than merely having obtained it without using money.

The second point is in connection with my car's low oil level. A skeptic might very well argue that there was nothing magical about that occurrence either. Subconsciously I probably already knew that my oil was low. That might very well be. The point is that my dream took it out of my subconscious and put it into my consciousness. I don't care whether the dream was putting me in touch with my own subconscious or with my "inner guides." I'm just happy that my engine didn't burn up; and I know that I never had dreams that gave me information like this before I started working with dreams in the manner described later in this book.

But let's get back to the waking world and the specific methods that can be used to bring about conscious manifesting. Only two things are necessary to make the process work: clarity and acceptance (belief). 

Clarity

The first thing you need is clarity, a picture of exactly what it is that you want. You wouldn't say, "I want a new car," for instance. You would say, "I want a blue Pinto hatchback with black upholstery and a luggage rack," or "a silver Mercedes 450-SL with red leather seats," or whatever feels most appropriate for you.

Then you would visualize yourself driving the car. You might even plan a trip you would take in it, down to the people you would take with you, the places you would stay and the things you would see. You'd buy some road maps and a chain on which to keep the car keys. You would make the picture of yourself already owning the car as vivid and as real as possible. Eventually the car could become so real you might find yourself telling people about your trip next week to Arizona and then remembering, "Oh yeah, as soon as I get my new car." And you will get your new car.

Usually achieving clarity is relatively easy. It isn't too hard to visualize what you want. If not, make clarity the thing that you manifest before you manifest the object itself (just as I did with my opal ring). Get a picture of yourself being happy at receiving a clear picture of the object you want to manifest.

One important thing to remember is that it is probably the use of something which is really important, not the "ownership" of it. For example, for several years I was welcome to take whatever friends I wanted for weekends at the home of Arthur Hailey, author of Hotel, Airport, Overload, etc. (and the interesting part is that, although I have exchanged letters with his wife Sheila, I have never met either of them to date). Take it from me, you wouldn't believe the places you can honorably go and the things you can honorably do once you realize that using something occasionally is often not only easier but much more satisfactory than owning it. So as part of the picture of what you intend to manifest, you might want to think a minute about what it is you really desire, full-time ownership or part-time use. And it's all right to be willing to accept either or both. Just keep yourself as open as possible to all possibilities.

There's one other thing about clarity which we should probably mention. Especially above the level of material goods the kind of picture you get may be different. For example, I was ready to sell the condominium I had bought as an investment; so I decided to manifest "a joyous living situation." I knew I wanted a place where I could write and give massages; and I knew I wanted to be surrounded by warm, loving, creative, happy people; but I didn't care that much about whether it was a house or an apartment, about the style of architecture, etc. Therefore, my "picture" was of a feeling rather than a physical building. A few days later, "completely by accident," the ideal living situation was offered to me, one far better than I had imagined.

The very highest level of clarity is when you become clear that if you trust yourself to the universe, what you will receive will be immeasurably better than anything you could have pictured on your own. This is what Lisa refers to as "asking for your divine plan. 

Acceptance

In order to manifest something, you need to accept the fact that you already have it.. This is the hard part; because it is in direct opposition to what your rational mind views as "the facts." The apparent fact is that the coffeepot is cold now. The truth is that it is plugged in and manifesting hot.

The nice part is that you do already have the thing you are trying to manifest. Your subconscious or your higher self or whatever you want to call it does have the power to bring into physical reality whatever your heart desires. The trick is to convince your rational mind that belief is both a more powerful tool than it had suspected and a tool which can be brought under conscious control.

As I said before, the best way to convince your rational mind of the truth of that last statement is to give it the actual experience of success in "real life." It needs both to experience the power of the subconscious and also to experience the truth that this power is not going to overwhelm it. If you want to look at it this way, you need your rational mind's cooperation in hypnotizing itself so you can tap the vast resources which are available to you right under the surface (or perhaps right above your head).

At first you may feel very foolish and be convinced you are just engaging in wishful thinking. Even your first few successes may not remove all your doubts; because you'll have no way of proving whether the results came about because of your manifesting or just by accident. You probably won't become convinced until there have been too many coincidences to be just coincidence.

Let me also repeat that it isn't "illegal" to exert effort to bring whatever you want to manifest into fact. We are told that "faith without works is dead." (On the other hand, as Hemingway said, "Don't confuse movement with action.") What you are aiming for is self-confidence, the feeling that the universe is a friendly supportive place; and a success you created consciously, "entirely by your own efforts," supports that viewpoint and helps bring about other "magical" manifestations.

Failures and discouragement are especially likely in the beginning. All you can do is keep practicing. Keep a record of your results, acknowledge every success (this is very important) and keep on trying. Eventually you will have breakthroughs. Everyone who has continued in the Wingsong workshops has gotten results. 

Framing the Request

Get a clear picture of what you want, and then ask to receive it by a certain date. When you expect to receive something is definitely a major factor in forming a clear picture; so specifying a date helps the process work smoothly. You should be aware, however, that, especially in the beginning, timing is the most variable factor in terms of actual results. If you haven't manifested what you wanted by the target date, keep working on it. Set a new target date that seems right (that you can accept), and go on from there. Eventually you will conquer the twin illusions of both space and time.

There is only one other point of major importance before we get into the actual techniques for manifesting. If the request involves another person, be sure to preface it with, "If it is the will of his (or her) soul." The difference between white magic and black magic is that the black magician tries to manipulate other people; while the white magician realizes that he himself is the one who is harmed if he doesn't absolutely respect the integrity of everyone else's being.

A black magician would say, "I will Rita Mae Brown to fall in love with me.

A white magician would say, "If it is the will of her soul, I would like Rita Mae Brown to fall in love with me.

A wiser white magician would know what he really wants and would say, "I would like to find my twin flame, my soulmate, whoever that might turn out to be."

The wisest white magician would really know what he really wants and would ask, "Let me experience the wonders which are beyond my imagination. Show me my divine plan."

Even (and especially) if you think this is all a lot of nonsense, trust me on this one point. If your request involves another being, always preface it with, "If it is the will of his (or her) soul." By doing that, you'll save yourself at least a couple of extra incarnations. 

A Technique

You need to approach the manifesting process in some manner; and this technique is a good one; so I would recommend that you use it unless your inner feeling designs a better one for you.

1. List Your Goals. Find a beautiful greeting card whose cover illustration seems to symbolize your aspirations. Write inside the card the three things you intend to manifest, along with the date by which you intend to manifest them. Three is not a magic number, but it's a manageable one with which to start.

Remember, you're trying to make the tasks easy enough so that you'll experience as many successes as possible, while making them difficult enough so that there is room for "magic" to occur. They need to be hard enough so that successes feel like successes. Therefore, try to keep a good mix on your card. Have some easy tasks, some hard, some whose target date is immediate, some a little further away, some which are very important to you, some which don't mean as much, some purely involving material objects, some on a higher plane.

Cross out every one you achieve or on which you definitely fail and note the date and results. This will be the record your rational mind will later use to convince itself that the impossible is possible.

If you change your mind about an item before you have manifested it, feel free to reword it or remove it entirely. This is your real life you're playing with; so you want to make it as perfect as possible. Which brings up another point. Don't manifest something "not too tacky" because that's all you think you're capable of or deserve. Manifest only things which you feel are perfect for you.

Tally up the score occasionally and see how you're doing. Besides the overall results, notice the individual types of items in which you seem to be better than others. Also notice whether any of the failures are things you are now glad you didn't get. This often happens. Our higher selves are usually better at taking care of us than we are. And here I might note that, anytime your inner voice is in conflict with anything in this book, always go with your inner voice.

2. Manifest Your Items. The actual technique itself is this. Take out your card at least three times a day and look at it. In the morning simply observe what you have listed and be sure it's still what you want to bring about. Don't try to do anything about the items.

During the day look at the list and believe the items are already yours and are just waiting for you to collect them. Make it as real as possible. Do the same thing just before you go to bed, and try to keep the items in your mind when you are in that incredibly powerful state halfway between waking and sleep.

Even if you think this whole idea is nonsense, the technique is a good one. Giving attention to your list several times a day makes it likely that you will come up with a normal rational method of getting what you want. Once you know this whole idea isn't nonsense, the magic starts. 

Extra Tools

1. Gifts. What you are trying to gain is the realization of the truth of the abundant nature of the universe. Therefore, take some action that strengthens this belief. Pretend that you are surrounded by opulence and give gifts out of your abundance. Give to those you love, to those who have helped you (your gift is tangible proof to them that they are on the right track, that what they did for you was valuable). But also give to strangers and to those who don't need or appear to deserve it. Give to the rich, a perfect way to drop the "need" and "deserve" ideas. It is especially helpful to give anonymously. I am perfectly serious when I say that when you learn to give from your heart, your gift will always be repaid at least tenfold.

Giving can be frightening; so don't go too far outside your present acceptance limit at first; but do stretch it as much as you can. Tip an extra dime. Give a dollar instead of a quarter to the beggar on the street. And smile at him and give him a cheery greeting as well. Recognize his humanity. Let him get a glimpse of the abundance of the universe too. Don't worry about his not "deserving" it. If he has deserved to see only one sunset in his entire life or smelled just one flower in bloom, he is worthy of anything you might give him. If we could see the whole picture of forces at work, we might fall on our knees before some of those from whom we now avert our eyes.

Give nonmaterial gifts too. Moan when you are being touched in a way that you appreciate.

Giving gifts is especially helpful in times when you are having doubts; because then you won't be expecting any return. And gifts given without expectation of return are the best gifts. They always return tenfold or more.

Try it. Simply make a point of giving one gift, no matter how small, each day. When your unconscious sees that you really can afford to give so much, it begins to realize and accept the truth about the opulence with which you really are surrounded. It's a good technique. You will find that you can literally give your doubts away.

2. The Rose of Pink Light. What you are really aiming for with manifesting is the opening of the heart center, the higher place where you know you are safe and warm and generous and secure. The "Rose of Pink Light" meditation is a very powerful one which can help you to start getting in touch with your higher self. You can do it either alone or in a group setting.

If you are in a chair, sit with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor. If you are sitting on the floor, your legs may be crossed. Rest your hands open and palms up on your knees. Loosen your clothing so that you can breathe easily. Close your eyes, take four deep breaths and then breathe quietly. Allow the tension to flow out of your body, the iron jacket to drop from around your shoulders.

Envision in your heart an exquisite rosebud made out of pink light. Allow the rose to open gently and fill your body with warm, safe, healing pink light. Let this light of love expand even more, go out from your body and bathe the room and everyone in it in a beautiful roseate glow.

Experience this glow to the fullest; and then, when you are ready, slowly and gently, recreate the room around you, come back to your body and open your eyes.

Later, as you gain more practice, it may become appropriate for you to expand the rose light to include your entire city, the country, the planet and, finally, the universe.

3. Other Approaches. Of course other approaches are valid. The jewel of enlightenment is beautiful when viewed from any angle. Simply ask yourself whether the teaching leads to the expansion of total love in the universe. If it does, give it your support. Just ask, ''Will 1 love myself and others more if I do this?" 

Group Manifesting

As mentioned previously, group support can be immensely helpful in speeding up the process. Anywhere up to about twenty people can take part in the procedure outlined below.

Sit in a circle if possible. Ask each person to try to find the place in the circle that feels most "right" for him or her. Don't make a big deal about it. but do do it. If one of your group members has already developed the skill of being consciously aware of the flow of group energy, ask this person to direct people to their appropriate spots. Notice the changes that occur as people switch places.

Select a leader to sit in the northernmost position. Have the leader lead the entire group in the "Rose of Pink Light" meditation. Then, starting with the person on the leaders left, go around the circle. Have each person state the one thing he or she wishes to manifest (or else state that he or she doesn't want to share what it is, but that it is a positive harmless request which respects the integrity of all other beings).

If anyone in the group cannot support the request, it is his or her responsibility to say so; and then the request should be changed or reworded until everyone is comfortable with it.

Then have the leader direct everyone to close his or her eyes and direct the pink light to the person making the request, visualizing that person receiving what he or she is asking for. At the end of the session the group may want to do a final meditation in which the pink light is again directed into the center of the room. Into the light may be spoken (aloud or silently) the name of anyone to whom, if it be the will of his or her soul, the group member would like to bring happiness and healing.

At the start of the second and subsequent sessions, before the first meditation, it is valuable to have the members report the results they have experienced during the week. It is very important in manifesting to acknowledge all your successes. Complaint creates a mold for lack and poverty. Gratitude creates a mold for riches and causes your desires to come into being stronger and sooner. 

Dreams

As Lisa puts it, "Dreams are letters from the soul, and most people never open their mail."

Since ancient times dreams have been regarded as an excellent way of getting in touch with Whatever-It-Is. Unfortunately, most of the people who have held this view have been, well, dreamers.

I was not. I could never remember my dreams and had little interest in doing so. Then I started attending the Wingsong Tuesday Night Dreamshop and Giggling Fit because everyone told me it was so much fun. Now I remember maybe one to three dreams a week; and, as I related earlier (the "Opal Dream" and the "Smoldering Car Dream"), some of them seem to be important. 

Obtaining Dreams

Intense expectation manifests always; so just start expecting to remember your dreams; and soon you will (I'11 send some of mine to you for a dollar apiece until that happens if you'll just state that you're over twenty-one).

Simply keep a notebook by the bed to make it easy to record your dreams as soon as you wake up (they tend to vanish rather quickly if you don't). Then, as you are dropping off to sleep, use the techniques described in the "Manifesting" chapter to manifest remembering your dreams. If you wake up in the middle of the night, record whatever you remember, assure as many of the other people in your bed as you've awakened that everything is all right, and then go back to sleep.

You may catch only snatches at first. Don't be discouraged. Remember to acknowledge each success, no matter how small. It actually doesn't matter whether you remember a whole romantic novel or just a single scene with no "plot" at all. As Rembrandt once remarked to me (Clarence Rembrandt: no relation), "a single picture can tell a whole story. Whatever you remember is the thing your subconscious wants you to know. 

Interpreting the Dreams

Don't worry about, "Dreaming about snakes always means such-and-such,' or, "Horses always represent so-and-so." These interpretations can undoubtedly prove valuable, but your own feelings and knowings about your dreams are even more so.

A dream is a world you created entirely inside your own head. Everything in it represents an aspect of you. Take whatever people, plants, animals and objects that seem especially vivid and try to "become" them. What is happening in your own life will probably be illustrated by the way you feel when you adopt these fantasy roles.

For example, two people might dream about a polished hardwood floor. In pretending to "become" the floor, one might say, "I am beautiful and cold and polished, and people walk all over me." The other might say, "I am firm and solid and provide support for others.'' Dream images, in other words, can serve the same purpose as inkblots in a Rorschach test.

Don't get all heavy about it, however. Just have fun playing with the images. You might try doing free association on any names of people or places in the dream or on the names of any of the objects. For example, "Illinois, hmm, what can that mean? Noise is making me ill? No, that doesn't sound right. Hey! Could you turn that stereo down! I'm trying to interpret my dream. I SAID, HEY, CAN YOU TURN THAT STEREO DOWN! I'M TRYING..." 

Dream Analysis with a Friend

By listening to your dream and asking whatever questions occur to him or her, a friend can often help you draw out the meaning that has been hiding from you. For example:

1. "How did you feel about the Eskimo man? I couldn't tell whether you were frightened of him or not."

2. "How did the tomato get from the top of the Countess's head to your back pocket?"

3. "What part of yourself does the tiger seem to represent?

4. "Didn't the wise old man do something significant that was really a hidden message to you? How did I know? Well, I just figured that was what wise old men did in dreams."

5. "With which of the two did you identify? OK, now identify with the other one.

6. "Do you react to some situations the way the midget did?

7. "How did you get them to take off their clothes? (This is always a good thing to ask.) And, as a last resort, there's the simple high-powered question: "How interesting. What do you think the dream was trying to tell you?" 

Dream Groups

I never dreamed a group could be so much fun (except for massage school, of course) until I joined the Wingsong Dreamgroup. Let me give you the technique first, and then I'll describe a typical meeting.

Group support is just as valuable in dreaming as in manifesting. You won't believe the things that will begin to happen.

It's a good idea to open the group with sharing of the results of last week's Dreamshop and then perform the "Rose of Pink Light" meditation to open up your hearts. Then play with two to five dreams, depending on length. It isn't necessary to do a dream from everyone every time. Just do the ones the dreamers feel still have energy and are still important. Make sure shy members of the group don't get overlooked.

Here's a good technique. One person tells his or her dream; and then you go around the group; and everyone else retells the same dream as though he or she were having it him- or herself (remember how two people saw the same hardwood floor completely differently from their own individual viewpoints?).

For example, "I was in a car with Fred Jones; and we were driving across a river of hot chocolate, when my Aunt Clara, who is dead in real life, suddenly appeared in the back seat, etc., etc." The "actual" dreamer just tells what happened in the dream with little or no interpretation.

Then the next person "has" the same dream (making it very clear that it is his or her own dream) and interprets it. For example, "In my dream I was driving across a river of chocolate, which seemed to represent some dark sweet secret which I was now willing to savor one more time and then let flow out of my life. Then I noticed that my Aunt Clara, who represents a dead thing from my past which I'm still dragging along behind me, etc."

It's quite all right for each person to change as many of the details as he or she wants. For example, "In my case we were in a yacht floating across a river of gold." Just do whatever images popped into your mind when you listened to the first person telling the dream.

When it comes your turn to "do" someone else's dream, you'll be amazed to discover that the dream seems to apply to your own life just as much as to the life of the "real" dreamer. This shouldn't be too surprising; since it is your interpretation of the dream. You'll also show the "real" dreamer new ways of looking at the scene he or she created. This can allow him or her to become "unstuck" in an instant from an old inhibiting point of view.

After everyone has "had" the dream, the original dreamer may then want to comment on what he or she has learned. Others in the group may also have additional thoughts or ideas to contribute.

Lisa is planning on putting together a book called Dreamsongs of dreams done in the Dreamshops, having each person write about his or her own. In the meantime, the following dream may help illustrate the process. 

A Typical Wingsong Dreamshop

Iris Jackson has just finished telling the group about a frightening dream she had the night before. She went into her garage and found a spaceman and his spaceship. When he took off, he left behind a metal oilcan, a clipboard with a work order attached to it and three ordinary yellow wooden pencils, two used and one brand new.

Iris became terrified that someone might find this "evidence." She felt terribly guilty without knowing what she had done wrong. An Inspector came into the garage looking for the evidence. With him was a little brown man (the same one who was in the bathtub with her in last week's dream) who, lris somehow knew, was accused of having beaten his wife. Iris, all the time being careful to stand between the Inspector and the evidence, told the Inspector the little brown man hadn't beaten his wife. She didn't know how she knew this either. To her surprise, the two men left.

Iris then drove around Pleasant Hills trying to get rid of the evidence. A police car was watching the first trashcan; so she drove to another. A little old lady, who was going to call the police, was watching this one. Nevertheless, Iris threw the oilcan and clipboard into the trashcan, but tossed the three pencils into the glove compartment of the car. Then she woke up.

Now it is time for another member of the Dreamshop to "have" Iris's dream, to tell the group about it as though it were his own. Other members break in whenever they can't help themselves.

"OK, when I had Iris's dream, I went out into my garage, the place where I keep my ordinary vehicle for moving around on the earth; and there was a great silver spaceship and a spaceman. At the time I found it immensely exciting and beautiful.

"That's right, Iris. When you were first telling us about the spaceship, you did sound like you liked it. You didn't get frightened until later."

"Oh, that's right!  I wonder why that was?"

"Ahem, if you'll just wait a minute, I happen to have the answer to that one in my dream." (General laughter. )

"The spaceship introduced me to whole new worlds. It opened me up incredibly. I had glimpses of wonderful realities I'd never even imagined before. I saw in front of me things I had always believed to be impossible."

"Oh, I see! The dream is really about the work we're doing in Lisa's workshops."

"Perhaps. Unless it's about that exciting new retirement community they've been advertising on t.v. Dream symbolism, as I don't need to remind you, can be very tricky. Anyway, what I saw fascinated and excited me; but when the spaceman left, I became frightened; because without his support I didn't think I could take my new knowledge out into the world. I was afraid people would think I was crazy; and I felt guilty because something had happened to me that was only supposed to happen to "kooks."

''Yes, that's exactly what I feel like when I try to tell my friends about what we do in the Manifesting Workshops."

"In any event, when the spaceman left, thinking quickly, I immediately panicked and tried to hide the evidence.

"Then when the Investigator came with the little man, my inner guide told me what the little man was accused of and that he wasn't guilty. Logically I couldn't know either of these things, but I did have enough faith in my intuition to dare to defend the little man against the Inspector. And by following my inner voice I remained protected. Not only did I keep the Inspector from punishing the little man, I kept myself safe as well; because the inspector left without arresting me either.

"Oh, this is incredible! This describes exactly the whole Wingsong Teachings"

"Ahem, if someone will calm Iris down, this happens to still be my dream. However, I see time, even though it doesn't really exist, is getting short; so I'll skip over the deepest secrets of the universe which are contained in the middle of the dream and just say that I then threw away the things the spaceman had left which I didn't need anymore and kept only the tools I would still require for the task ahead of me. As always, my dream told me exactly what I needed to know at this point in my life. If it's of some benefit to Iris, I'm happy to share it with her. The end. Ta dum."

There is general laughter and applause, fortunately followed by coffee and cake. 

Energy

In The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge Carlos Castaneda tells how don Juan instructed him to find his "spot" in a room. Carlos had no idea what don Juan was talking about. He wandered around the room for hours knowing the whole thing was ridiculous until suddenly he found his spot and knew it was right. Then his apprenticeship into the Yaqui teachings could begin.

Energy or prana or chi or life-force or Whatever-It-Is is one of the things with which it helps to get in touch if you would like a speedy ascent up the Rainbow Stairs. Energy can't really be described. It can only be experienced; and it is experienced in different ways by different people. The following are some situations in which energy flow is especially noticeable.

1. Energy is easily felt passing through a group of people sitting in a circle, especially if they are holding hands. One way to notice it is to have people switch places and notice the difference it makes.

2. After you've meditated for five or ten minutes, you can probably hold your hands a few inches apart and feel the energy between them.

3. You might notice that in your own home there are certain spots where it feels most natural to you to perform certain tasks. You might have one spot which is best for eating, another for reading, another for writing, etc.

4. One of the best ways to experience energy is by resting your hands on someone else's body when both of you are very relaxed. After a minute or two you should be able to detect warmth and energy. Good spots to look are the base of the spine, the middle of the stomach, the middle of the chest, throat, the center of the forehead and the top of the head.

Not only can you feel the other person's energy, you can send your partner soothing and healing energy through your hands, as discussed later in the book. A truly enlightened being can simply touch you on the top of your head and fill you with Light.

Notice, notice, notice. And find others who can already experience energy and ask them to help you.

The First Taste of True Freedom: The Opening of the Heart Chakra

Most of us identify most of the time with our egos. This means that we operate from our lower centers, the ones connected with survival, sex and power. Excuse me for sounding like a sermon you've already heard a thousand times, but the most common feature of the rewards we receive for our usual actions is that they are never enough. We always think that more money, more sex, more power will be enough to make us feel secure; but then we get more and find that that doesn't work. So we try for a little more still. There was a story in last Sunday's San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle about Bay Area millionaires. The one thing they had in common was that they were all terribly afraid of going broke. None of them felt rich.

When we operate from the lower centers we see ourselves as separate, apart from everyone else. When the heart center opens we see ourselves connected to other beings and to nature. We are lifted above ourselves. For the first time in our lives we feel truly warm and loved and safe. Wonderful seemingly miraculous things begin happening. We start manifesting miracles. The things we ask for begin appearing without our having to do anything to bring them about.

Again, it usually isn't an all or nothing thing. Your heart opens for a brief instant and then closes again. The next time it stays open a little longer. That first time is enough, though. Once it begins to happen, nothing will stop you from trying to experience it again. 

My Own Experience

I've related how I asked for "inspiration, determination and joy" in my writing and, within a week, received this book. Before that happened, however (and perhaps as a necessary prelude to its happening), I received something else as well. During the manifesting workshop Lisa announced that her inner guides had instructed her to call us together for a special workshop Saturday afternoon but had refused to tell her what it was about. "How interesting," I thought. "Lisa is certainly going way out there." I found the whole thing intriguing; so I rearranged my schedule so that I could attend.

It turned out that what the guides wanted was for us to talk about whatever we considered to be our main problem at the moment so we could receive group energy toward solving it. When it came my turn I said that I was going through a crisis of doubt. I couldn't deny that an unbelievable number of incredible things were happening to the people attending the Wingsong workshops, myself included; but the whole thing was still crazy. I had the awful feeling that we were just fooling ourselves, living in a dream world.

The guides, through Lisa, told me to close my eyes and experience the loving energy of the group directed to me. I felt relatively comfortable but simultaneously terribly uncomfortable; because I really wanted (but really feared for) an image, an answer, to well up out of my soul and bathe me in its glittering soothing brilliance. I wanted one of those higher-plane experiences Charlie kept reporting happened to him while he was lying in his bathtub.

When this didn't happen, I felt helpless and pressured. The protocol in the manifesting groups is for the person receiving the energy to burst involuntarily into a beatific smile and go, "Oh wow, I got it!" and then glow for a period ranging from the rest of the evening to the rest of his or her life (depending on whether and when he or she finally gets scared of things that are "too good to be true").

In the manifesting groups I usually did "get it, but this time I didn't. I wasn't going to pretend that I had; so what I did was experience the group energy long enough to feel that the answer would come to me if I just went off alone and thought about it. Then I thanked the group and said that I could take it from there.

Sunday night my friend Bob and I were massaging a beautiful passerby who just happened to have fallen onto my massage table when I had what did seem to be a flash from a higher plane.

Trial and error had already convinced me that it is better to massage from the heart rather than from one of the lower centers. Therefore I always try to put myself into a selfless, loving, self-confident, detached but caring state of mind before beginning the massage. Tonight, however, I saw that "massaging from the heart" could be done physically as well. All I had to do was feel my heart energy in my chest and then follow the physical connection between my heart and the heart of the person being massaged. My mind didn't have to do anything at all. My heart was right there in the physical universe waiting for me to feel it and its connection to the heart of anyone else.

I can't put it into words, but somehow feeling this physical connection made everything Lisa had been talking about real for me. I couldn't deny what I was actually experiencing. All at once I was absolutely sure that the universe does take care of you once you begin acting from the heart. I could see it. A couple of nights later this book was given to me in the middle of the night.

What can I tell you? That's what happened to me. 

How to Open Your Own Heart Center

Manifest it, and let it be your most wonderful miracle. When you reach the point where it feels possible, write, "Opening of my heart center by Tuesday," on your card, just like anything else.

The "Rose of Pink Light" meditation is designed specifically to aid the opening of the heart center. Also helpful are the giving of gifts and simply consciously attempting to act from your heart.

The prerequisite, and it's a biggie, is granting forgiveness to anyone against whom you think you have a grievance. The test is very simple. When you can feel love for everyone, you're ready to manifest the opening of your heart center. This isn't an impossible dream. I've been watching people do it and transform their lives. I'm sure you can do it too. If you're having any trouble, you might read the next chapter and then ask your inner guides for help. 

Visualizing vs Visioning: Getting in Touch with Your Higher Self

"Visualizing" refers to getting a clear picture of something and then accepting it into manifest reality. "Visioning" is concerned with getting in touch with Whatever-It-Is and asking to be guided toward fulfilling the divine plan for your life. Some people think of Whatever-It-Is as God, some as the subconscious, some as Pure Bad Luck, some as The Universe, some as Intuition, Knowing, "The Force:' etc. Some, like Lisa, think of Whatever-It-Is as their inner guides. Whoever or Whatever they are, since I've been Wingsonging I've felt them peeking over my shoulder; so I've been working on building an imaginary rear-view mirror to let me get a closer look at them. Here's what I've seen so far.

Perhaps you've read Life After Life by Raymond A. Moody, Jr., M.D., which reports the findings of a study of the experiences of people pronounced clinically dead but then revived. Almost all of them reported very similar experiences, which paralleled, incidentally, the descriptions of the afterlife contained in the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Most of the people said they went down a long tunnel of some sort and then had an experience of Light. Many of them were aided by "guides." If the person were Christian, the guide tended to be Christ. If Buddhist, Buddha, etc. I won't argue about whether these people "really" saw Christ and Buddha or just imagined them. I'm not even too sure .it makes a difference. If your whole universe has suddenly become imaginary, then whatever you imagine is real (and any suspicion you might have that the reason that manifesting works is that that's exactly the way the "real" world comes into being is something you would do well to meditate upon).

Let's just say that when you die you come into contact with Whatever-It-Is, and you perceive Whatever-It-Is in the way that fits in most naturally with your beliefs. The contention of this chapter is that we can also have direct experience of Whatever-It-Is while still fully alive and that we will experience it in the way that is most natural and comfortable for us.

Whatever-It-Is is beyond words and beyond images; but when we begin to experience it, we have to translate it into symbols we can understand. Therefore different people experience their higher self in different ways. Some people "see" other ordinary looking people. Some see angels. Some conjure up people who lived thousands of years ago. Some get beings from other galaxies. Many don't get a picture at all, but a Voice or a Feeling or a flash of Intuition. However the connection is made, the things that come through are powerful and marvelous. They are also very gentle and loving. That loving tone, in fact, is one of the best ways for telling whether you've gotten in touch with the Real Thing.

The important thing for me is that I've watched a number of other people and myself get in touch with Whatever-It-Is using the Wingsong Teachings. Below are specific suggestions for reaching your higher self. The Wingsong Visioning workshop is especially designed to help participants get in touch with their inner guides and develop true Vision. 

Convince Yourself That It Is Possible

You need belief to manifest experiencing your inner guides; so look into your own past and talk with other people about their experiences to convince yourself that such things are possible. You might also look at Seth Speaks or The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts, two books written by an inner guide. The Magic of Findhorn by Paul Hawken is an account of a community which exists today in Scotland and which has produced incredible results in its garden using Guidance. A number of other books have also been written about this remarkable community.

But the important thing is your own experience and that of others you know and trust. Remember times in your own life when you have felt a great sureness and rightness about what you were doing. Perhaps you felt for a time that you were leading a charmed life. Maybe you had a strong sense of being guided or companioned. Obstacles seemed to fall away as if by magic. It seemed as though you were being watched over by a guardian angel.

In my own case two such incidents stick out. One was when I suddenly knew 1 should move from New York to San Francisco. Within a couple of days everything fell into place. The other case was when this book leapt into my head and then arranged all the details of getting itself published.

Remember the times when you had dreams which turned out to be significant, the times when you might have known things you couldn't possibly have known. Think of the imaginary friends you had as a child (or thought you had). Remember any Visions you might have had, any Voices you might have heard. Ask other people about their experiences. You'll be amazed at how many will have something to tell you.

Below are specific techniques for establishing contact with your higher self. Always perform the "Rose of Pink Light" meditation or use some other method of opening your heart center before you attempt contact. If you manifest Guidance from a lower center you may get (or at least be convinced that you are getting) ghosts or other frightening astral beings. If this should happen, simply surround yourself with white light and love the beings who are frightening you and allow them to vanish. 

Yes or No Questions

Asking your inner guides simple yes or no questions is a good way to establish contact. After closing your eyes and opening your heart center, imagine two boxes, one for "yes" and one for "no." Ask your question, and then wait quietly for one of the boxes to become brighter or distinguish itself in some way. If the results aren't clear, ask again. 

Written Questions

Write any question (not just one requiring a yes or no answer) on a sheet of paper, and then wait quietly. When the answer starts coming to you, simply write it down without thinking about it or editing it. It will be in a very loving almost poetic style which you will easily come to recognize.

Far be it from me to brag; but an example seems called for here; and I just happen to have in front of me the sheet of paper on which Iris did some channeling for me about this book. Iris wrote, "What does Strange need to know about this book? Are there any changes that need to be made in the way it is being written, printed or sold?"

The answer says, "Strange is to know that all is well with the book. Lisa may want to make a few minor changes. At this time the whole project is 100% on purpose. We are well pleased with your work, Strange, and congratulate you on your efforts. You are truly an Instrument of Light and a joy to us. That is all."

They certainly sound like a perceptive bunch of Beings to me. 

The Forest Path

Close your eyes and open your heart center and imagine yourself walking along a sunny forest path. Let the image become very pleasant and very real. Imagine yourself coming to a stream. See your guide appear to you on a large sunlit boulder in the middle of the stream.

You may not see a figure (or anything else). Remember, what you get is whatever is most appropriate for you. You may just notice a fleeting pleasant fragrance, for instance. But check over all your senses and notice what is happening. If you still aren't clear, perform the exercise again another day. And be sure to acknowledge and give thanks for whatever you did receive. It is impossible to ask sincerely for Guidance and not receive it. 

Love Your Doubter

The obstacle in using any of the methods in this book is your doubt that they will work. Therefore, close your eyes and open your heart and imagine the doubting part of you as a timid little person, well-meaning but afraid. Show this person that you love him or her. 

Ask for Others

Especially in the beginning it is often easier to ask for Guidance for others rather than for ourselves. Therefore, find a partner who would be willing to attempt this with you. Sit opposite each other and close your eyes and open your hearts. Then you can ask silently in turn for each other whatever it is that you want to know. An excellent question when you are just starting out is, "What is needed for (name of partner) to have greater Vision?" You may receive an answer in words, or you may get an image. The words or images may seem meaningless to you, but your partner will understand them. For example, Lisa once "saw" an oak leaf floating in a gentle breeze. This meant nothing to her; but the oak leaf was the symbol in the center of the family crest of the lady for whom she was channeling; and the image had great significance for her. 

Remake Your Past

One seeming obstacle to Vision (or to manifesting in general, for that matter) is the feeling that you don't deserve it. You may think of your past as full of failure and thus not feel worthy of this wonderful gift. Here is an exercise to help deal with that nonsense.

Close your eyes and open your heart and think about your past successes. Think about the times when you were strong and capable and sensitive and loving. Remember how it felt. Then, one by one, review your failures, only this time imagine yourself doing something to turn them into successes. Remember times when you felt poor and deprived and imagine your present self going back in time and handing your former self bags full of money. Continue until your past is a source of complete strength and joy. 

Ask and Ask and Ask

The only way to develop any skill is to practice. Ask and ask and ask until the answers start coming in loud and clear. It does work, especially if you are able to approach Vision lightly and playfully, as a marvelous gift rather than as something dreadfully serious. The Wingsong members do have very clear and remarkable experiences of their inner guides. And again, don't forget to acknowledge and appreciate whatever you do receive at each successive stage. 

Mandalas

Mandalas are circular designs such as the one shown on the back cover of this book. They have been used all over the world for thousands of years as devices for getting in touch with the higher self. To be exact, they are a device for opening the creative center located in the throat. A mandala is a doorway through which you can let your hidden creativity sneak out.

Buy yourself a set of fine-point felt-tip pens. Don't skimp. Get lots of colors. Then try to express a dream or a feeling you have in a mandala. Start from the center and work out, stopping when you feel complete. Also note the date and time and circumstances. Drawing a mandala is a way of working out problems rapidly using your inner powers. For instance, if you are angry, the center of your mandala might be red flames; but by the time you get to the outside, this may have changed to flowers and leaves. And the next time you are angry, looking at the mandala in which you've already worked out anger will probably help you get through it almost immediately.

Place your finished mandalas somewhere where it will be natural for you to contemplate them frequently. Notice the unusual sense of pleasure which naturally occurs. Don't bother your head about trying to explain this. Just experience the joy. 

The Third Eye

The heart center is what your inner or higher self thinks, and at some points it touches God. The third eye or center of Vision (in the middle of your forehead) is what God thinks, and at some point It touches you.

In quiet moments close your eyes and open your heart and just calmly focus your awareness on the point in the middle of your forehead just slightly above your eyebrows. Don't try to make something happen. Instead try to become aware of whatever already is happening. You may have flashes of outer space or the tunnel leading to the Light or a romantic scene from the Italian Renaissance or anything else which is perfectly appropriate for you. Ask your guides for help in tuning your receiver to the highest level possible.

Your third eye will open fully when you are ready to surrender your ego to the All, when you are ready to accept Initiation into the Light.

PART TWO: SUMMARY

Manifesting Acceptance of Manifesting: An Actual Wingsong Session

What Lisa herself often manifests is the art of passing on the art of manifesting to others. Naturally she follows the rules of manifesting. She has a clear picture of us manifesting; and she knows that, if it is the will of our souls, we can do it. The workshops just seem to flow. The excerpts below are from an actual Introduction to Manifesting workshop I attended just to soak up a little extra flavor while finishing Visioning.

We were all sitting in a circle in the living room of the Wingsong Center, a gracious old mansion in Oakland. Lisa pulled up in the mint-condition white 1962 Thunderbird she had manifested during the week. When she entered the living room, she gently asked various people to switch places to improve the flow of energy in the room. When she was satisfied, she began explaining what manifesting was.

There were about twenty-five people there. For the majority this was their first exposure to Lisa and her fanciful ideas; yet she believed in the process so completely that, as far as I could tell, no serious skepticism even arose. Certainly none was expressed. It was when I noticed that I realized, "My God, Lisa is manifesting the acceptance of manifesting, and it works!

Those of us who had been Wingsinging for awhile were asked to share the results of our own manifesting. One lady, for instance, described the perfect little cottage surrounded by woods which she had found right in the middle of the city and bought at a ridiculously low price. Others reported their own successes. When it came my turn all I could think of that I'd really gotten in the past week (besides this book) was a free roundtrip airline ticket to Australia. Later, of course, I remembered the really important things I should have mentioned.

In any case, we performed the "Rose of Pink Light" meditation and then went around the room, having the members of the group focus their loving energy to further each person in turn obtaining his or her hearts desire. We were about halfway around the room before I realized that what was happening was too good not to record. Here are excerpts from the remainder of the session, as nearly verbatim as my notes and memory will permit. In order to respect the participants' privacy, I'll simply give the request, along with Lisa's comments before the group focused its energy.

A Perfect Relationship

"I want a perfect relationship with my husband."

"Are you willing to grant him total amnesty for anything he may have done in the past?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to accept him as he really is and allow him to become whatever his inner self leads him to become?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to make his happiness more important to you than your own?"

Hesitation, producing general laughter. "You don't mean I have to be unhappy myself?"

"No, of course not. Sacrifice is not a viable concept when you are reaching for the Light. The most wonderful way to make yourself happy is to make someone else happy."

"All right then. Sure."

Eliminate Resistance

"I want to eliminate my resistance to the things we're trying to learn."

"All right. What you have to do is quit resisting resistance. Attention feeds, whether it's positive or negative. Here, I'll show you. For the next minute don't any of you think about the Bay Bridge. You see? Quit being convinced that you have a problem called resistance. Forget about it."

"Forget about what?" General laughter.

Image of Jewel

"You recommend that we manifest a precious stone, but I haven't been able to get a picture of what jewel is right for me. 1 just have no idea."

"Aha. This is the same thing again. Are you willing to let go of not being able to get an image? Are you willing just to let that go?"

"Yes."

"All right. What do you know about your jewel?"

"Well, 1 know it looks both primitive and expensive. It...Oh, I see it! General laughter.

Experience of Guides

"I want to have a clear experience of my spirit guides."

"All right. What we're talking about here is phenomena on the psychic level versus Vision. We're talking about learning to tune your radio, to tune it to the very highest level. The way you can tell if you're getting something from the psychic level is that things from that level come in below the belt. In fact, psychics, people who have psychic powers without being visionaries, receive this energy in their stomachs and hold it. And if they don't know how to get rid of it, they often end up with very fat stomachs.

"If you are receiving Vision, on the other hand, it comes in on a very loving angelic level. You'll feel it in your heart or above. If you're coming from Vision, your heart will feel open. Otherwise it will feel tight.

"Also, it will come in a universal language, different from that you would use yourself in everyday conversation. It's very loving, almost like poetry. If it isn't loving, you'll know it isn't Vision. If you get a message, and you're not sure of it, just ask yourself, 'Will I love myself and others more if I do this?'

"Vision is what allows you to find your way along the Path. As soon as you get in touch with Vision, you'll know which door leads to the lady and which leads to the tiger. Without it you feel hopeless and confused and lost. With Vision you feel protected and guided and loved.

A Car

“The thing that would make me feel really happy right now is a new car."

"All right. First you need to be very clear about exactly the kind of car you want."

"Oh, I know exactly. In fact, I got to take a ride in one just last Friday. It was great."

"Ah, I'm glad you mentioned that; because it illustrates an important point. Sometimes before we get what we really want, we get harbingers, little signs that it's on its way. In your case the harbinger was being offered a ride in the car that was just right for you. If you're manifesting an emerald, for example, you might find a piece of green glass in some unusual place. If the harbinger is a little thing, you might want to keep it as a sign that the real thing is on the way. If it's a big thing, like a piano or a husband, just notice that it's there and pass it by.

Consume Imperfections

"I want to remove all the imperfections from my life."

"That's perfectly possible; because if you have enough light to see a blemish, an imperfection, you have enough light to consume it. And if you have brought it up, you should consume it. Finish it. Don't leave it hanging around. What you have to do is allow yourself to accept the beautiful perfection of the universe.

"We're like petulant little children. Our parents are giving us a marvelous birthday party with clowns and jugglers and presents and birthday cake and all our friends; and we're huddled in the fetal position under the sink, refusing to come out and enjoy it. Or, to look at it another way, it's as though it's raining hundred dollar bills; and we're saying, 'I'll only take the ones that fall through this one tiny little crack.'

"Whenever people ask me whether the universe really is that wonderful, I always think of what Ethel Waters once said when someone asked her whether the program of hymns she was going to sing would be a success. 'Honey,' she replied, 'God don't sponsor no flops.'"

A Healed Wrist

"I sprained my wrist a couple of days ago, and I would like that healed."

"All right. First of all you need to know that any illness or injury in the body is something you manifested. For example, you're a college student who's afraid to take an important exam; so you get the flu. That's an obvious one, but all illnesses and accidents are brought about by you as a means of solving some problem. So are you willing to give up what you get from having that injury?"

"I don't know. I don't see anything I'm getting out of it."

"When you don't see the reason, the thing to do is to go inside and ask your inner being what you would have to give up to be healed. You'll either get the answer or get the feeling that you are willing to give it up."

"All right. I'm ready."

A Healing of Brain Cancer

"I would like to ask for energy in two parts. One is for me, and I would describe it as a feeling of joy. What would bring it about for me is the second part. The son of a friend of mine, a little boy, has given himself cancer of the brain."

"So you want healing energy for him?

"Yes."

"All right. There nothing hopeless or inaccessible that can't be gotten in touch with and healed, if it is the will of his soul. We have to respect his feelings in the matter."

"Oh, yes. He wants to be healed. I checked it out with him this afternoon, and he's willing to have us send him energy. He'd like that very much."

Lisa asked us to close our eyes and see the little boy bathed in a healing light, whole and well and happy again. Then, a couple of times at least, she asked us to intensify the energy. Something incredible surged around the group. Shivers ran up and down our spines (and are running up and down mine right now just from remembering it). One woman, who was attending for the first time, said she experienced the energy as being green. Lisa replied that that was correct. Green was the color of healing. This was what she had told others of us in earlier Wingsong workshops, where she had also mentioned that for her shivers up and down her spine were a sign that something miraculous was taking place.

Once again let me suggest that, just as with the powers which can be released under hypnosis, you search out the reports of the scientifically controlled studies on the use of healing energy if you don't already know that it is real. Healing is one of the greatest gifts you can share with anyone and one of the best ways to speed your ascent up the Rainbow Stairs.

Clear Relationships

"I want to clear everything out of the way in my relationships—with my boyfriend, with my family and my friends, everyone."

"So what you're saying is that you want to dissolve your ego."

"Is that what I'm saying?' (Laughter)

"Yes. You're saying you want your lower self consumed in divine perfection so that you will always be acting from your heart center and above. Is that what you want?"

"Yes."

"All right. Everyone close your eyes, please; and let's send her energy."

"Oh. Wow!"

On Second Thought, A Sound System

"Well, when we started out, and you said we should ask for whatever we wanted, the first thing that sprang to my mind was that I'd like an incredible sound system, with giant speakers, reel-to-reel tape, cassette, amplifier, turntable, the whole works. But now that I've been listening to everybody and seeing what's been happening, I've become convinced that this thing really works; and I want to be able to do it; but I don't want my ego to get in the way. I mean, if I go out and manifest a few things, I know I'll start thinking, 'Hey, aren't I wonderful. Look at these miracles I can do,'"

"So you want to dissolve your ego too?"

Long pause. "Uh, on second thought, let's go for the sound system." Wonderful general laughter.

"All right. And the important thing, when you get your sound system, is to acknowledge the divine perfection that gave it to you."

Dissolve Fear

"I changed my mind too. Remember how 1 told that in an earlier manifesting workshop I asked for 'inspiration, determination and joy in my writing.' and then a few nights later 1 woke up with the third eye book which turned into the Visioning book right there in my head? Well, I love what's come through so far; but I feel like I need something more for the end of the book; so what I had intended to ask for was additional inspiration to allow me to complete the book.

"But while everyone was talking, I started taking notes; and now I already have everything I need right here on this piece of paper."

"That's wonderful, Strange. It really is true that whatever you need is already right there. So you have the book. What else do you want?"

"I want to dissolve the rest of my fear." "All right. That's what the whole game is about, casting out fear. Let's close our eyes and send Strange some energy."

"Oh, wow!"

Postscript

Once again I was mistaken in thinking that I had already received all of my gift. Two nights after the above manifesting session I was just sitting around at home with my two new friends Barry and Steve when a third eye exercise suddenly came to me and other things happened with Barry and Steve which belonged in the book. Then I remembered some other incidents with other people that would be just perfect. Now I figure I'd better hurry up and publish the sucker before it gets completely out of hand. I'm not sure the whole universe will fit into one perfectly elegant little book.

A Review of the Stages of Manifesting

The Normal Method

1. "I'm poor and helpless."

2. "Well, my head is above the water; but I'm still at the mercy of the world."

3. "Hmm, I'm starting to get on top of things.

4. "Sure I've made my first million, but I could still lose it. I'd hire another security guard, but they're so expensive.

5. "Damn money-hungry relatives. Damn government. Damn foreigners. Damn radicals.

The Wingsong Method

1. Any number of the above steps.

2. "Manifesting? What's that?"

3. "Wow, this thing works!"

4. ''Could you have someone come over and cart some of this stuff away without letting the IRS see you? My God, I don't see how they expect me to bring in another $10 million to pay their stupid gift tax I'd never even heard of if they won't let me give even one million away."

5. "This is getting ridiculous. Help!"

6. "Am I rich? Yes, I'm very happy. Material possessions? Oh, I travel light. The universe provides me with anything 1 need. What? Well, it's sort of hard to explain. There's a book called Visioning that tells all about it if you're interested. What? Oh, some fellow called Strange de Jim. Yeah, that's what I thought too at first. Well, gotta go catch the sunset. Nice talking with you."

 PART THREE: THE UNCOLLECTED SUBCONSCIOUS

Manifesting in Action: My Own Strange Story

A couple of years ago, for perfectly plausible reasons much too complicated to go into here, I developed three hobbies. One was blindfolding unwary strangers, taking them home and giving them massages. The second was tricking young people of exceptional physical and spiritual beauty into regarding me as their guru; while the third was doing very peculiar things with movie stars.

What I was doing, although I wasn't aware of it until I met Lisa, was applying the principles of manifesting. The realization that this was what I was doing led me, the night Steve and Barry came over, into the following conversation with myself.

"Say, Strange, why don't you put your own story in the book as proof of what you can do once you believe it's possible?"

"Nah, it's much too bizarre. No one would believe it."

"Sure they would. I mean, they can read page 20 of the February 1977 issue of Playgirl, for instance, and find out what you did with Jack Nicholson and Michael Douglas and those other movie and rock stars in Satty's basement. And there are the stories about you in New West, New Age, San Francisco, California Living and those other magazines."

Now then, what I'd like to do in Part Three is ramble on a little bit about things I've noticed in my own checkered career which seem somehow to fit. (At least they've sent some people into one.)

Inner Knowledge for Skeptics

My friend Steve told me that he wanted to be a writer but that he didn't know what he wanted to write. It occurred to me that in this situation Lisa would have asked her inner guides for advice. I wondered if this would work for someone who didn't necessarily even believe in such things; so I asked Steve's permission to try an experiment with him.

All I did was ask him questions about the book—whether it was fiction or non-fiction, the ratio of the number of pages of photographs to the number of printed pages, etc. Whenever he didn't know the answer, he just "guessed." What was interesting was that although he had felt as though he were just guessing the whole way along, the picture we ended up with felt right to him. If he had wanted to, he could have gone out the next day and started bringing the book into reality.

It's like Lisa says, "Your inner being does already have the answers. All you have to do is ask."

Manifesting Perfect Friends

A friend I'll call Ken was having problems in several major areas of his life, and he was making frequent long-distance calls to ask my advice. I did the best I could, but I didn't feel it was helping much.

After one such call I sat down and closed my eyes and opened my heart and asked for Guidance. The first thing I got was that Ken's only real problem was that he had lost sight of himself as a strong, capable, generous, loving, perfect being. Obviously that was true.

"Well then, how can I get him to regain his image of himself as perfect?" I wondered.

Then I saw that I too had lost that image of him. I was pretending that he was someone who needed my advice. I corrected this error by simply thinking about him until I knew he was perfect and perfectly capable of handling his own problems.

This sounds too goody-goody to be true; but the next time Ken came for a visit, all I had to do was speak directly to the capable him I knew existed; and he responded. It was as simple as that. I've tried it on three or four more people since, and it works. If it's the will of their souls, you can actually achieve clarity and acceptance and manifest perfect friends. And though I probably shouldn't mention this until you've bought four or five more books of advice from me, you can also manifest the perfect you. I call it Metasexual Exercise #100.

Metasexual Exercise #100

Sit down. Close your eyes. See yourself as a perfect being in a perfect universe. Open your eyes. Get up. Have fun.

Money

Getting back to earth for a minute, one way to handle the monetary part of the material universe (if you want to limit your thinking by focusing on this as a problem) is to do in your own life what more and more Wingsingers are demonstrating in ours. Figure out what you most enjoy doing, what unleashes the most creative forces from within you, and then let people pay you to do it.

Lisa enjoys leading workshops. Iris runs a business where she consults with individuals and organizations on how they can put more enjoyment into their lives. I like writing and massaging, etc.

Life is just so effortless once you give up the notion that it's easier to be safe and "practical," to do something you hate eight hours a day. Your own creative powers will take care of you. Sound too good to be true? Since I've discovered how manifesting works, I refuse to believe anything that isn't.

Health

The truth is that there are people today who are using their higher powers to cure themselves of cancer. The truth is that there are people today who are using their higher powers to prevent themselves from even getting cancer in the first place. The truth is that there are people today who are using their higher powers to keep themselves in a state of radiant well-being. The truth is that you can be one of those people.

Here are two Wingsong healing methods. It's a good idea to calm your breathing, close your eyes and open your heart before performing either of them. They are both easier to perform on someone else, but you may use them on yourself as well.

1. Place your hands, one on top of the other, gently on the spot to be healed. If the source of the problem appears to be "physical:' place your right hand next to the skin. If the problem appears to be "emotional," place your left hand next to the skin. If you're not sure, do whichever feels more natural. See the person as whole and allow healing energy to come in through the top of your head and flow out through your hands.

2. Place your hands on either side of the spot which is to receive the healing. Simply let your hands rest there until they and the spot have heated up and then cooled down again. This shouldn't take more than a minute or two at most.

Another excellent exercise is to close your eyes and open your heart and see your perfect body in front of you. Then actually reach out your hands and use them to shape and sculpt your perfect body. Know that it is in the process of coming into being.

PART FOUR: FREEZE-DRIED ENLIGHTENMENT - A VISIT TO THE COSMIC ABBEY

An Overview: Fred’s Letter

One of the many edifices that may be imagined as existing inside the multi-faceted crystal on our cover is the Cosmic Abbey. Fred Jones's four letters (see below) are displayed in a glass case inside the main doors to illustrate the truth that acceptance is all that stands between anyone and Everything.

Letter #1

Dear Cosmic Abbey,
I just want you to know that I find your ads extremely misleading. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Reality is reality is reality.

Sincerely,
Fred Jones, Honest Citizen

Letter #2

Dear Cosmic Abbey,
At first I thought you were just dishonest, but now I know you're downright dangerous as well. My best friend Myron signed up for one of your courses, and now he claims that last night he "astral projected." He claims he left his body and flew to the moon. I just want to warn you that I'm going to do everything in my power to stop you before you do any more damage to innocent victims.

I mean business,
Fred Jones

Letter #3

Dear Cosmic Abbey,
Myron insisted that I write you and tell you what I told him last night. It's just that when he and I are sitting side by side, and he thinks his mind is off roaming around the universe, I mean if he real]y experiences that, I just sort of wonder whether that's what's really happening. I don't even know what real is anymore. I hate to say this; but even if he is crazy, Myron's a lot more fun than he used to be. Sometimes I even wish I could go along with him.

I don't know why I'm writing you all this. Myron said something nice "would happen if I did.

Sincerely,
Fred Jones

Letter #4

Dear Cosmic Abbey,
I greatly enjoyed my visit last night. Thank you for the roses of pink light. I'll always keep them in my heart, like you said, so they won't wilt. Next time I'll try to bring you some orchids. Anyway, I really enjoyed meeting all of you; and I hope you'll let me come see you again real soon.

Love,
Fred

A big scrapbook in the Oh Those Humans Room of the Abbey contains additional correspondence from earthlings along with the answers sent by the Abbot or Abbess [who, incidentally, is one person). Ash-Kar, who is explained later, helped me pick a few representative examples to give you some idea of whether you'd like to visit the Abbey yourself and view the entire collection.

How Can I Manifest Social Acceptance?

When you are surrounded by four or five people of exceptional physical and spiritual beauty who love you, you are welcome anywhere.

When you yourself have become a person of exceptional physical and spiritual beauty, you may dispense with your retinue.

These are the first two stages. Write again when you have completed them.

What Is the Truth?

The truth is that, regardless of anything, moment by moment you are free to choose to see and to speak directly to the divinity in the other person(s) and yourself. And the truth is that, if you do that, miracles will occur. 

What Never Hurts?

It never hurts to love anyone, ever. 

Who Am I?

You are an advantage, waiting to be taken. 

How Can I Discover My Higher Self?

The ego shouts. The higher self whispers.

The easiest way to pick out the sound of a flute in the middle of a brass band is to be playing it yourself. 

But What Can I Do Specifically?

Allow yourself to become a window through which others may peer into the heart of the universe long enough to realize that the window is really a mirror. Remain a mirror until you see yourself. 

How Far Can I Go?

The sky is not the limit. 

What Is the Goal?

The goal is to be able to report, "And then Light filled the entire universe." 

What Is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is not what you think. 

How Can I Reach Enlightenment?

Whatever-It-Is is everywhere. You can hear or smell or taste of touch or see anything and choose to reach enlightenment or not. Why, that's what you're already doing with everything you hear or smell or taste or touch or see. 

What Kind of Fool Am I?

In the tarot the Fool is shown walking off a cliff, a blissful smile on his face. The Fool is considered both the highest and the lowest card in the deck. To walk on air, you need only trust the universe completely. Close your eyes and get an image of yourself as a leaf floating in the wind. Now let another image emerge which feels even better to you. Do you see yet that an image is the most powerful force in the universe?

What Is the Most Powerful Force in the Univers?

I repeat. The most powerful force in the universe is an image which you know to be real. And the most powerful of all images is Love.

What Is the Real Secret of Manifesting?

The most advanced approach to manifesting may be described as "dreaming perfection into reality." 

So Is Self-Hypnosis the Answer?

You're asking me? 

What Do the Highest Authorities Say?

"Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened.

"For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Don’t You Have Any Questions for Me?

Yes. Are you ready to discover your own divine plan, to devote your life to the total expansion of love in the universe?

PART FIVE: GOING OFF THE SHALLOW END

Warning, Warning, Warning

I've had yet another dream. I was flying in a plane, and I ordered the passengers to jump. I had meant "with parachutes"; but as the fourth person was leaping out the door, I noticed that all she had with her was a little pillow. "Oops," I thought.

I landed the plane to get parachutes for the remaining passengers; and I figured that, as long as we were on the ground, I might as well bury the four people who had already jumped. I gathered up the bodies and drove to several funeral homes, but they were all closed. Not at all dismayed, I drove to a pizza parlor and put the bodies in the oven.

Obviously this dream was food for thought. The meaning soon became very clear to me. In this book I have been blithely giving you suggestions about learning to trust the universe. Once you've become a big enough Fool to trust the universe completely, you can walk on air. In the meantime, however, you'd better use a parachute. I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating.

The possibilities being discussed in this book are very powerful and very real. If you approach them from your lower centers (survival, sex and power), without your heart center being open, you can find yourself involved in some very frightening psychic phenomena. If this happens, surround yourself with white light and send love to whatever it is that is frightening you. I would suggest that you read this paragraph over several times to be sure you remember the instructions in the event that you ever need them.

Metasexual Exercise #48: Opening Your Third Eye

Remember I said earlier that while I was talking with Steve and Barry a third eye exercise just came to me? Here it is.

In each Islamic mosque there is a spot on the floor to which anyone who has ever entered the mosque has pressed the middle of his forehead while prostrating himself. Allowing oneself to fall into a trance while doing this is thought to be one of the most-likely-to-be -successful methods for producing instant enlightenment.

To save the expense of a trip to the Mid-East, surround yourself with love and white light (a very important step) and then imagine such a spot on the floor in front of you. Actually press (or imagine that you are pressing) your own third eye against this spot. Do whatever you usually do to induce a trance state. Experience those countless generations of third eyes smiling back at you and welcoming you into the All. Remember what we said earlier, that when your third eye opens, you are getting in touch with what God thinks. Whew!

Lisa's comment on the exercise was that it might be even more effective if you drew the eye in the center of a mandala. You could use the one on the back cover, but I would suggest drawing one of your own.

The House of Light

I see a house built around a courtyard. In the center of the courtyard is a pot of gold, filled with jewels of every description. Lasers produce a rainbow which the local residents point to at night in much the same way Chicagoans used to point at the beacon atop the Playboy Tower.

The house is open and spacious, although it does contain a few tiny hidden rooms (no one is quite sure how many). The lighting and sound systems are first-rate. Walking through the rooms one gets the feeling of ancient Egypt, of Tibet, of Paris, of the twenty-fifth century, of...

''Why this is marvelous!" visitors always exclaim. "How in the world did it ever come to be?"

"Oh," the guide replies, "the readers of a certain book somehow envisioned it. It's a pity you haven't received the training yet that would allow you to see the parts of the house that exist on other than the physical plane.

The visitors always assume the guide is crazy; yet there is the house, the physical evidence, sitting there right before their very eyes. It is always amusing to hear the way they explain the house to their friends when they get back home.

Who Is Ash-Kar?

I thought you'd never ask. Astrologer Hank Friedman, who did some channeling for me using the method described earlier in the "Visualizing vs. Visioning" chapter, told me that my guide lives in another galaxy and has no physical body; so I'll probably never be able to see him. Therefore, just for convenience's sake, I've decided to see my guide as Ash-Kar, an imaginary man I've known for some time. Ash-Kar claims to be (or to have been) the last Godking of Atlantis; and he explains his present somewhat demeaning living situation by saying that when Atlantis exploded, he didn't have time to plan his trajectory and so landed inside my head.

Ash-Kar showed me the Cosmic Abbey and selected the letters for Part Four. You don't have to worry about Ash-Kar for the present, but I thought I should at least mention him to you. He tells me that he is featured quite prominently in some of my future literary efforts.

Approaching the Door

Saturday I finished typing the first draft of this book. Sunday afternoon fellow Wingsinger Chris Baxter and I were lying beside the pool soaking up the sun on the roof of the San Francisco Hilton when I noticed a woman with a camera stalking a man lying face down on a chaise lounge.

"What's that lady taking a picture of?" I asked.

"That guy's buns, I guess," Chris replied.

"Are they together?" I wondered.

"His buns?" Chris inquired in surprise.

It was as though a spell had been broken. "Hooray!" I thought. "I've finished the book. All this weird spiritual stuff is over for awhile. I can relax and get back to normal."

I started discussing with Chris whether I should buy some opals while I'm in Australia, and he asked my advice about the best way to get paid to travel around the world with a rock band.

When we left the Hilton, however, we decided to go to a health food bar for a bite to drink. There our vibration level (according to her) attracted a clear-eyed, relaxed, intelligent and very centered young woman named Pat who turned out to hold a very interesting and responsible executive position with a large local corporation. Chris and I both felt at home with her immediately.

Pat said that she had been taking a course in self-hypnosis for over a year, that you could hypnotize yourself into believing anything, and anything you truly believed was real. That was all very fine, but then she very calmly proceeded to prove it. When she left, Chris turned to me and asked, "Do you think Lisa's guides sent her here just to show us that this stuff really works?" I confessed that I didn't know.

When we left the restaurant, we were approached by a young man drinking beer out of a can in a paper bag. Chris and I had both met him, but neither of us had ever talked to him. He looked me straight in the eye (his were remarkably penetrating) and asked, "Have you ever achieved satori?"

"What?" I answered.

"Aha," he laughed. "You're not supposed to tell, are you?" He reeled on down the street.

When I got home I found that Ken from our earlier example had sent me a copy of Illusions by Richard Bach. It turned out to be the best fictional account I have read to date of the theory that whatever you believe is real, that your beliefs act like magnets to draw people, material objects and experiences to you. I was beginning to suspect that somebody might be trying to tell me something.

I sat down and tried to get an image of what was happening to me. I saw an impossible-to-describe picture of a third eye which was also a door which was both open and shut and which led into infinity. The words that went with it were from Ash-Kar: "Although there is no door, the door does have a key.

When we both remember where we left ours, I guess we'll see each other on the other side. In the meantime, namaste.

Love,
Strange de Jim