Dear Harry:

Your reply made my day. Seems it is more than coincidence that I, too, just finished reading The Power of Now... and share your interest (although I've never purchased the course) in The Sedona Method and similar practices (I have read Patricia Carrington's book, Releasing, which outlines the basic techniques--along with many other related books and articles).

This stuff DOES work; the difficulty is that the moment we lose present-moment awareness, the old conditioned patterns take over (think of it as going on auto-pilot). That conditioning has considerable momentum, due to all the practice we have given it (even if unconsciously and unwillingly), so it is reasonable to assume that we may need to devote substantial time and repetition to changing that behavioral momentum (to a direction which serves us better).

For me, the key (as Eckhart Tolle puts it so well) is this: as soon as you become conscious in the present, YOU ARE FREE. Conditioning only operates when you are not present. Keep taking yourself OFF "auto-pilot," and you will experience larger and larger intervals of freedom.

One gentle hint from LO-O-O-NG experience, regarding your statement that "Knowing that it has worked for others is essential for me to maintain the discipline it takes to follow this kind of thing through. I fully intend..." If you are like me, you already have a long history of beating yourself up over "failures" to perform up to your own standards, to exercise enough "discipline," and to do as you "intend." Therefore, this attitude (even though well-motivated) can trip you up--watch out!

Those negative associations can send you right back into unconsciousness (as Tolle defines it), thus setting you up for more "failure." That is likely to discourage you from continuing your practice.

Also, "intending" (as I continually remind myself) is projecting into the future and hence causes you to immediately lose your Presence! What a funny paradox: as soon as we resolve to "always stay present" or even to "practice being present," we've already LOST it! [This insight could be frustrating, but I recommend a good old "zen koan" type laugh at this point.]

When we catch ourselves not-present (having once again fallen asleep at the wheel, so to speak), let us be gentle, even humorous, in our approach to coming back into the Present. After all, even a few moments of self-berating are that many moments spent in the past instead of the Present! And, in the interests of good behavioral science, we should make "becoming conscious" (even of just having been UNconscious) as pleasant and reinforcing as possible. Think of it as a game, if you will--a game that is a lot more fun and self-honoring than most of the games you've been playing with your awareness up to this point.

One more note: often, when one is right on the brink of making a real inner change, a mysterious "wall" of resistance (to the practice that is causing the change) seems to appear. If this happens--often it takes the form of cynicism, malaise, apathy, etc.--I hope that you will remember to greet it as a sign of progress and persist in your practice despite a (possibly strong) disinclination to do so. But that's in the future; the best insurance that you will be Present THEN is to be here NOW. Have fun!

Again, best wishes to you in Waking Up!

[This message has been edited by shinsei (edited April 26, 2001).]