Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Abundance for Life, Effortless Success What is really behind AFL?

Hi, I have just "forum surfed" from SFQ. I was therefore wondering if someone could tell me a bit more about AFL.

I'm afraid that it seems quite commercialised from the little I've looked into it on this site. I'm afraid that statements such as "The secrets to having what you want miraculously appear" make me instantly suspicious. Particularly, when the implication is that the principles behind this successful programme stem from Eastern philosophy.

A programme that emphasises the fulfilment of desires rather than one that tries instead to call the very nature of desire into question in the first place surely comes from a very different way of thinking.

As far as I have understood it, true abundance is "attained", when one actually becomes free of the desire to attain (on every level), not when one becomes particularly successful at attaining things one has decided one wants.
Perhaps my queries are arising from me not having seen what AFL is in greater detail. Perhaps someone could enlighten me? (pardon the pun!)
Kind regards :0)
Ingrid

Ingrid,

I'm working my way through the course now. The course is a joy to experience, but it does take time.

In a nutshell, Paul Sheele, the creator of the course and its narrator, was once a stage hypnotist. Early in that career, he realized that just as he could instruct someone under hypnosis that they could not remember their name, or impose some other limiting command, life experiences have put us into self-limiting trances as well.

Mr. Sheele has spent his life exploring how the mind works and developing practical tools to help us learn to use our mind more affectivelly.

Apparently the same mental function that limits someone under hypnosis also works to limit us to fail or otherwise neglect our full potential.

The Abundance for Life course teaches us how to reverse our self-imposed trances and access our full mental capacity.

While it may sound like magic. The course clearly explains the science behind it.

The course is on the expensive side, but well worth it. It delivers everything it promises.

Thanks for giving me more of an insight HenryDavid. Sounds a bit like self-hypnosis, which I do have some experience of - the whole give up smoking / lose weight / overcome your fear of heights/death/flying/success/failure etc. is also available through registered/qualified hypnotherapists here in Northern Ireland. Paul McKenna, a particularly well-publicised hynoptherapist in England is now also promoting energetic healing in combination with hypnosis, which is an interesting idea for healing practice that is clearly also being explored by Learning Strategies.
I suppose the AFL PR smacked a bit to me of extended ego gratification (you can get whatever you want and influence other people to go along with what you want too!) rather than real growth/healing. But perhaps I just picked up the wrong end of the stick.
I suppose anything which really does seek to help heal the mind and body by enabling individuals to access their capacity to do the healing for themselves is a real plus. As long as this doesn't involve imposing your will on others or actually reinforcing your own egotism, then that can only be a good thing.
I really hope the course goes well for you.
best wishes
Ingrid

Ingrid,

No, the techniques in AFL are not mystical or manipulative. They're actually quite practical and beneficial overall, geared toward the western mindset of goal-planning and communication, but with the added ingredient of opening up awareness to OTC guidance. The "web-ad" for AFL is much more hyped-up and colorful than the actual course, whether for good or bad, but I notice that to be true about all advertising efforts. Bait-and-switch exists everywhere in this world

The communication skills taught in AFL are not manipulative at all. Just the opposite, they teach you to genuinely focus on what the other person really wants, and by doing so, he will naturally give you what you want. It's just the application of the Golden Rule, or, as clever marketers have reinvented it, "The Law of Attraction."

As you no doubt have gathered from reading my earlier posts, I'm very left-brained critical and analytical about every idea that passes my way, and I'm more than willing to give it a try, but also willing to shred it to pieces in the process. Perhaps that is why AFL has fundamentally not "worked" with resounding success for me as it has others in this forum.

Paul Scheele did make an interesting challenge at the beginning of the AFL program. He challenged the listener (in so many words), "Would you be willing to go through the course and have it do nothing at all for you?" Well, he said that if you weren't willing for that to happen, that may be the very reason why it won't work for you. But that if you were willing, then the doors to abundance may be ready to swing wide open. (I'm paraphrasing heavily, here, as I've forgotten the actual words.)

Anyway, I did learn a lot from the course, and I did appreciate the spirit from which it was presented. No doubt, I've gotten in the way of my own manifestation of material things, but in my mind, I've rationalized that perhaps it is because I'm not meant to have these things in the first place. LIke you said, there is another perspective on abundance, and it comes from the absence of material desire. I'm not saying that perspective has to be the right one for everyone, but perhaps for some, it is the only way. After all, if the Universe makes it easy for me to detach myself from this realm, I should be very, very grateful, because very few get to enjoy this esteemed blessing!

Anyway, I would encourage you to get AFL and give it a "test-ride". You will definitely learn something in the process, as it is quite a professional production.

I wish you the very best in your own path toward abundance!

Hi hartreefoch,
Many thanks for your thoughts. I suppose I am veering more in the direction of cultivating a letting go of material desire in the sense that for the moment I feel that for me, deprogramming (ie stepping outside of the programme) is possibly more fundamental then reprogramming (which would imply that I am still caught in the programme) - although perhaps this is too abstract and idealistic a notion - when can I really know that I am not still in the trance/dream? But I suppose cultivating a lucid dreaming state would at least come a close second to being fully awake...
I can imagine that AFL would really help to enhance awareness of the cyclical cause/effect dynamic that we live in and how to work best within that on its own terms. I suppose I am instead drawn to the "emptiness" or "suchness" aspect of Chinese/Japanese thought which is drawing focus instead to the sense of essence behind the material, an essence which nonetheless also permeates the material. As I said already, perhaps this is too abstract/idealistic, but I'm going with it for now. I've been particularly interested in this area from a healing perspective and have come across some interesting writing linking quantum physics with Eastern thought (such as Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics). What brought me to this forum in the first place was of course Chunyi Lin's book. I think I will move forward with that for now. I have begun looking into some translations of the Tao Te Ching and I Ching and have also just managed to locate a Tai Chi Chuan school in my local area.
I think that forums like these are really great - as they bring so many insights and perspectives together in one place. For the record, I have found your criticisms/contributions so far (at least those I've read) to be very insightful - particularly into the "realities" of human nature and its various tendencies. Rather than being in any way negative, I think it shows that you are aware and considerate of the wide and diverse fabric of the "material", and are able to keep that in mind when applying some of the (sometimes quite abstract) concepts put forward at this forum.
You've also got a great sense of humour! (irony does betray a sensitive soul at the end of the day, though it is often lost on many!)
Thanks again.
best wishes
Ingrid

I think AFL is an attitude of abundace. Our attitudes are filled with energy and vibrations, and we communicate with the Universe through our vibrations. When our attitude is one of abundance and plenty, our lives seem to reflect prosperity. When we have an attitude of there isn't enough, conditions that match this vibration continue to show up for us!

When you catch yourself feeling the vibration of scarcity, start focusing on the abundance of birds in the sky, how many wonderful people you know, the wonder of our being alive, or even the abundance of information in this forum on the internet now. This will refocus your vibration and get your energy moving in the right direction immediately. I think AFL is setting an intention to notice prosperity, and your life will reflect abundance and wealth back to you in surprisingly simple, quick, and delightful ways. Wealth is not always measured in dollars. Is it woo woo, or a new application of quantum physics being discoverd? As the new saying goes, "What the bleep do we know", a fantastic book by that very title!.

Thanks raleigh199 for the uplifting message. Openness really does seem to be the key. It creates flow and flow then begins the realisation of inherent abundance - the abundance that was always there in the first place if we had only opened ourselves up to it.
And as you say, realising that we actually know "bleep" all when it comes down to it really is an adventurous and exciting way to embrace life, isn't it?
lots of love
Ingrid :0)

Ingrid
If you have not taken the leap into AFL my advice is to save your money.
Not saying there is no benefit here, for there is much and cost and value received are certainly subjective.
But, this is a hodgepodge and you can receive much more for much less elsewhere.

Hi Eagle,
I haven't made the leap yet - I wouldn't have the money for it anyway at the moment - and even if I did, I'm not sure if I would be spending it on this. I have always said that I regard Spring Forest Qigong as the most powerful practice promoted by LSC. I would say that this is mainly due to Chunyi Lin. (though I have noted that they've stepped up the SFQ hype recently!). Hopefully it will stay true to its roots (which seem the very embodiment of simplicity) and will not evolve into the same heights of marketing mania as other strands of LSC activity. Don't know why - maybe it's just because I'm not from the US, but I find over-enthusiastic and aggressive marketing strategies completely off-putting. My bias, I suppose!
Thanks for your comments - much appreciated.
best wishes
Ingrid

Ingrid,

As an American, I'm also put off by marketing hype, so you're definitely
not alone. I have to admit, I've lost some respect for LSC after
regarding the tone of their advertisements in recent years. I know
they're well-meaning, and they do put out some good quality products,
especially their foundational products on which their company has been
based. But they now seem to have really ramped up their appeal to human
greeds ... prosperity, romance, success, easy living, eternal youth, and
even superstitions ... at the expense of realistic rationality. Well,
it's not just LSC ... it's everywhere nowadays. I can only trust that the
Universe will take care of its own, and create good from every effort.
After all, it does seem like some people are receiving genuine blessings,
and if through their successes, they can help make this world a better
place, then we're all blessed by them.

Best,

HF