Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Paraliminals, Paraliminal Resets, Paraliminal Walkabouts, Natural Brilliance, Sonic Access I need some advice on taking action.

It seems you have some pretty good advice here already. Especially about doing things gradually. But if you continue on and find you still can't get yourself motivated, you may want to see a doctor to be assessed for a low grade depression. You mentioned feeling dread and suffering, and how painful it was trying to change. I've been on antidepressants since 1990 for severe chronic depression, and though this takes care of the majority of my symptoms, my motivation is lacking for just about everything. I can so relate to your struggles with "I should. . ." I've used the Peak Performance Paraliminal with mixed results, and my doctor recently added another medication which seems to be working, but I'm waiting for the side effects (sleepiness and fatigue) to wear off. Definitely try the other suggestions here, but if you continue to feel like you're banging your head against a wall, by all means, get a consultation. There are many types and levels of depression. You don't have to be lying in bed all day and in tears to be afflicted. Nor do most people who go on medication need it for years. But, oh, what a difference it can make in your outlook! Best of luck!

This is a very good thread. I can really relate to the original problblem and it is probably my best thing! Avoiding that which I know is good for me and even sometimes what I really get the most and greatest fulfilment from (e.g. doing qigong, meditation, sleeping enough etc), is something I struggle with daily. But I must admit there is some great advice in this very thread that feels right.

I slighlty disagree with the depression medication suggestion though. I say slightly, because I did use depression medication for a short term help and I must admit it did help, as one of my teachers when he suggested it, "create a space inside to help me do the important work", i.e, meditation etc.

However, while I am not anti-modern medicine, I nevertheless, feel that we turn to it far to easily and too much. It may be necessary in many and maybe even in most cases where it is prescribed. Nevertheless, not in every case and there are other natural alternatives that can help with the same problems and symptoms that have a lot less impact on the body and other systems in the body. Kevin Trudeau talks about these in his natural cures books.

It might still be good to get the diagnosis and even the prescription, but then use your own intution, tools like meditation, Paraliminals and natural alternatives to see if it helps. Always ready to still use the medicine if these other "do no harm" things are not effective. But that's just me. Obviously, if you are concerned after reading the above response, go to a medical professional and see what they say. You might want to seek out an MD who practices Complimentary medicine or an Osteopathic doctor (DO) who can also prescribe pharmacological medicine, but those who really practice osteopathy (manipulation) tend to see the human being more as whole system and less as set of symptoms, as allopathy tends to do (especially since the end of the traditional family doctor who made house calls etc).

In any case, this is an awesome thread and one I will bookmark and turn back to multiple times. Thank you all!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I am reading a book called "A Guide To Rational Living" by Albert Ellis and Robert A. Harper. The book is about "Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy" (REBT):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_emotive_behavior_therapy

I highly recommend this book! I wanted to quote something I just read out of it that I think relates directly to my original post and might help people with similar situations (several such passages like this have hit home...):

"Historical approaches to therapy remain popular partly because people who devoutly buy them can avoid taking full responsibility for their present behavior and for working actively to change it. They think, wishfully, that when they begin to _feel_ like doing unpleasant things, they will easily handle their frustrations. Actually, the opposite often is true: The more you _uneasily_ force yourself to do many annoying but productive pursuits (such as studying), the more you _then_ find these pursuits easy and enjoyable."

So I purchased all the Paraliminals, SA, Natural Brilliance, etc. probably to avoid frustration and ended up frozen, not taking action! I think my original (irrational) belief was that I was supposed to just FEEL like taking action, and that by using the Paraliminals (or various other tools) this would magically happen, that I could easily and without frustration take whatever action I wished! But listen after listen and I never had the results other people seem to have had. I never felt like taking action, changing my diet, exercising more, working more on open projects. This is why I felt that something was "wrong" and felt very frustrated! So I think the answer to my original question:

"Should I FORCE myself to do Qigong and to practice Photoreading and to go to the gym and to eat a proper healthy diet (and do all the other things I know I need to do, but do not do)?"

is...yes, definitely, I have to "uneasily force" myself to do these somewhat unpleasant (new, unusual, disciplined) but productive tasks that move me towards my goals, until eventually they become more easy and enjoyable (and the process of doing so, perhaps my "self-discipline" will become more developed itself making the whole process easier). Perhaps a more appropriate belief appears "taking new actions and creating new healthy habits to replace unhealthy ones might be difficult and frustrating at first, but it does get easier if you continually take action, even if those actions seem uncomfortable and if you don't FEEL like doing them at first! Eventually you'll feel like taking action, after FIRST consistently taking action!" I had it backwards!

There were some other irrational beliefs surrounding my various goals as well. I think I believed that I MUST succeed perfectly at Photoreading and feared failing. I also feared missing something important (which Paul says is the number one cause of slow reading!). And because it's a new and different from how I've regular read almost all my life, I naturally didn't "feel" like practicing, and having to go through the initial confusion and frustration of learning something new!

So I think "forcefully disputing" my irrational beliefs and replacing them with rational beliefs has helped quite a bit so far. I just don't know where the Paraliminals will fit into my life after this paradigm shift. I might have had their purpose all wrong! I'd really be interested in hearing any one else's thoughts on this!

Brendon

Really a great thread!

I can SO relate to what you are struggling with Brendon, and it's really interesting to see how many folks struggle with this issue, and describe it like I'm talking about it myself!

When I read your last post Brendon...... 2 things came to mind.... 1 is that you connected with some palpable clarity about your inner struggle, and were probably "freshly" associated with this clarity, and

2. That I hope you can recognize how much of the solution you articulated in that last post, and when you have "cloudy moments", you'll come back and read your last post.

When we have patterns of embedded beliefs, that seem so ingrained as to be an actual part of us, but which cause us pain, despair, and fuel self dislike or even self hatred, we simply see them as something that is "really wrong with us". Makes sense, because in effect, there IS something wrong with us, even if what is wrong with us is based on "our story ("...and I'm stickin to it!")", and in no way based on whether we came into this world with all the greatest abilities as "standard equipment".

Folks who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who wash their hands to the point of them being red and chaffed, we will all agree, that that is a painful issue (no pun intended), and the range of OCD behaviors can get extreme and very dangerous, depending on the issue.

But, the driving force is centered in the thinking and beliefs. Repetitive and compulsive "inner" behaviors and beliefs, are not much of a stretch, from physical OCD symptoms, just more easily concealed. They can be just as debilitating. I'm saying all this, driving to another point....

I heard a snippet on NPR a few years back, discussing people with OCD and Phobias, and the effect of Behavior Modification on neuro-physiology. They were able to map some of the abnormalities in the brain physiology, in folks who were severely "phobic".

The researchers than worked with these folks, using "behavior modification", i.e., having them take actions they didn't want to take, they were phobic about, and then looking for "before and after" changes in their brain physiology. A person with "fear of leaving the house, or going outside" (in actuality, not agoraphobic, but similar), that person would go outside, and walk to the sidewalk or mailbox or back, despite the intense fear. They would do this every day, then a couple of times a day.

Then they would transition to walking to the corner, and back... and do this for a number of days, then halfway around the block..... then around the block...

You get the idea...... the fascinating thing about this, as they studied the brain physiology of these folks, who faced their phobia, and "did it anyway", their brain physiology started looking more and more like that of a typical person. It changed their brains!

This, is a rather lengthy post, just to say; "yes, I think you are on to something there Brendon".

When I heard this radio snippet, I was in awe of the way we are built, and the power of the human spirit.

Cool stuff....... great posts too....

question --- so what good are $450 worth of paraliminal CDs when they don't motivate you to "FEEL" differently? If the answer lies in rational thinking ie. challenging and changing your core beliefs and forcing yourself to do whatever it is that you don't feel like doing thereby creating neural pathways that help maintain change, why the CDs? I suspect most people believe these paraliminals, subliminals etc. will give them a boost. A kick start if you will... something to change their minds and cause them to FEEL like doing. Seems to me these CDs are a waste of money if the answer is all about forceing yourself to become productive. No doubt, inner conflict and not FEELING motivated is one of the most common problems for people. Just look at the amount of viewers and responses to this thread compared to the others. RET (Rational Emotive Therapy) is nothing new. Ellis was big in the 70s and has resurfaced. Damn those FEELINGS...

Have you done Holiday Cheer? That's about feeling differently.

Instantaneous Personal Magnetism, That changes how you feel about yourself and how you feel about the world.

Self-Esteem Supercharger how you feel about yourself and the good feelings that come with self confidence.

And if you've ever listened to one of the Paraliminals you will know that Paul ends them saying "you take these good feeling with you to our outer conscious awareness".

Paraliminals are all about Feeling better feeling anxiety Free, Feeling confident, feeling motivated.

Alex