two categories: I don’t deserve it and I’m not capable of it. These categories then subdivide into more insidious beliefs, including: it’s not fair to others who have less if I have more – I’ll be depriving them of theirs; this world is hostile and unforgiving and won’t give me what I want; others will be envious and hate (even destroy) me if I get what I want; and even if I get what I want I’ll still be miserable.
our innate nature is to cling to and love what is, no matter how turgid it may be.
And while you may be tempted to examine your own reasons in depth, in faux-psychotherapeutic fashion, I wouldn’t advise it right now, as what we’re concerned with here is not how you got into gaol, but how to get out. The door is open, and the first step is to look around you (literally and metaphorically) and accept (fully, with all your heart, soul and might) that …
you’ve got exactly what you want here and now
If you buy the original premise that you create your own reality, that your external conditions are a direct result of the beliefs in your mind, then it’s fairly obvious that what you’ve got here and now is precisely what you want, even if it sucks. If you don’t accept that, then you don’t believe you create your own reality and if you don’t believe that then you won’t be able to use wu wei to get what you want from here on in, because you’ll not be in a position of power. So you have to accept that what you’ve got is what you want in order for it to be changed or improved from this point on, according to your changing wants.
So there you are, that’s it, you’ve already got exactly what you want. Sorted. So stop reading, put the book down and go and enjoy yourself. However, before you do, there are just one or two little things I should tell you.
Well, quite a lot actually, starting with the idea of having an …
empty mind
According to the precepts of the wu wei way, once you’ve relaxed yourself enough to dance with the Dinner Lady, you then have to empty your mind. So go on, empty your mind now. Done? No, of course not, because emptying the mind is one of the trickiest things a person can attempt on this planet. However, don’t be deterred by that. Indeed, take it up as a challenge and go to it with gusto, because until you manage to achieve an occasional fleeting moment of silence in there, your wu simply won’t wei. This is because to manifest what you want you first have to have a clear picture of what it is, and you can’t have that if your mind is full of interference. That would be like listening to the cacophonous sound of two tunes playing at the same volume at the same time. I say emptying the mind is tricky, but it’s not impossible and is, once you get the knack, actually extremely simple.
to manifest what you want you have to first have a clear picture of what it is and you can’t have that if your mind is full of interference.
To start with you have to believe that you can control your own mind, rather than the other way round. Now there are a thousand and eight different techniques from a plethora of spiritual disciplines to help you do this, including, for example, the following.
Imagine yourself standing by a river and throwing each thought, as it arises, into the current to be swept away.
Simply watch each thought arise from the nothingness and disperse again, making sure you catch the dispersal in case you lose yourself in the thought and get carried away.
Count your in and out breaths from one to nine and start again, or one to one thousand and eighty if you like, starting again at the beginning every time you get lost in a thought, visualize an extremely deep, dark hole, repeat, silently or aloud a mantra (sacred sound), such as:
Om (approximately, the sound of the Universal Dinner Lady’s belly rumbling)
imagine yourself standing by a river and throwing each thought, as it arises, into the current to be swept away.
Om mane padme hum (approximately, I surrender to the thunderbolt in the void)
Om shanti (approximately, peace)
Nam yoho renge kyo (approximately, I surrender to the law of cause and effect)
Gaté, gaté, paragaté, parasamgaté, bodhisvaha (approximately, go, go, go beyond, go beyond the beyond – to you (inside) who goes, I bow down)
Fortuna, Fortuna, give me my sweetcorn and tuna (approximately, goddess of good fortune, give me sustenance), or whatever you like really, as long as when you repeat it over and over, it cancels out the thoughts in your forebrain.
Or you can simply say to your mind with utmost authority, compassion and firmness, ‘Shut the f*** up!’ (which is approximately how I do it).
Whichever way you choose, and it really doesn’t matter which, as long as you achieve even brief moments of emptiness, start practising immediately and continue till you die, if you really want to …
form a clear picture now in order to get what you want
Come on, let’s do it. But let’s do it methodically, using the (carefully considered) aforementioned template. Let’s conjure up a complete internal experience of what you want to manifest now, in full Technicolor, sensaround, 7.1 Dolby surroundsound, complete with smell, feel and taste, starting with:
clean air
Picture yourself always breathing clean air now – feel it thrill your lungs and oxygenate your brain – and picture it following you wherever you go. We have to start here with the basics and nothing is quite as basic, not only to your surviving but to your thriving, than breathing clean (or relatively clean) air, at least while you’re on the planet. Moreover, by visualizing yourself breathing clean air, it’s more likely you’ll manifest realtime locations at which you’ll be able so to breathe.
pure water
Picture yourself always drinking and having easy, uninhibited access to pure, or relatively pure, drinking water now – feel it caress your oesophagus as it slides down. While this may have not yet been something you actively craved, there is every likelihood, without wishing to alarm you, that before very long, relatively pure water for drinking and cooking will become more and more scarce on the planet, so visualize well, my friend, and you may even manifest a pure water spring in your own backyard.
uncontaminated food
Picture yourself always eating the finest (uncontaminated) food, your
