Dr Joe Vitale’s Daughter
I’ll tell you a story about my daughter. She was seven years old (she’s 32 now), so she was seven when she first took the class. And she slept through the whole thing. She was snoring away. I have to kind of gently paint it, but she slept through the whole thing. One day, we were home, and I was about to get in the swimming pool, so I had to gently coax her to join me. She said, “Dad, remember what that old lady said?” I replied, “What did the old lady say?” And she said, “The old lady said before you get into any body of water, you mentally put in an alcoholic pill, just mentally put it in. That way, you can enjoy the water without worrying about getting in too deep.” So, the story is even when you’re sleeping, you’re going to get it. Even when you’re not paying attention, you can learn something.
Returning to the Origin
The other thing is you can take this course as an absentee, but if you do, we won’t have any questions. So let’s go over it again. In the beginning, there was nothing. You need to know this, nothing. No wars, no thinking, no coping, no managing, no intention, no goal, no nothing. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. And this is where we want to go. We want to go back to the origin. This is the origin of your being, zero. And so I’m going to take the board and turn it around sideways now so you get to see the mind sideways. Here’s the mind sideways, and this is a zero. So, I’ve taken the board and put it this way, so this is zero, this is you. I want you to be clear. You, as zero, do nothing. Can we say that again? You, as zero, just are like this. And then when God goes, “Hello,” you go.
Data and Consciousness
When the data plays called memory, I don’t know. But when the data plays, I want you to know, data is king. Data is queen. Data governs. You are not in charge. When the data plays, you follow. So, I’m going to give you a reference if you want to take a look at it. It’s called “The User Illusion” by Joe Vitale. The consensus, the summary of this work on consciousness is, you don’t decide anything. You don’t decide to get sick. You don’t decide to get cancer. You don’t decide a lot. It’s decided for you. So, maybe Joe can tell us a little bit about it.
The Illusion of Intention
“I’ll try. This is a fantastic book. Can I hold it up for a second? I do reference it in ‘Zero Limits,’ so some of you may have already read it. It’s absolutely fascinating because it’s pointing out that what you think is in control, your conscious mind, your intellect, your personality, is not really in control at all. And in fact, there have been some tests, one of them by Benjamin Levitt, who did a test that pointed out that when you have a decision to reach for something, like I’m now reaching for this Pepsi can, that conscious decision actually began on a below conscious level. When it entered my mind, I took credit for it and said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to reach for the can because right now, it feels like a great example of how I’m consciously controlling my circumstances, and it seems like this is a good thing to do.’ All of that took place before it was in my conscious mind. First of all, that’s pretty eye-opening in itself that what you think is your intention, I’m a guy who’s taught about the intention. I’m in the movie ‘The Secret’ talking about the power of intention. I’ve written books about the power of intention. I now think intentions are old news. I now think intentions are a fool’s game, and intentions, in many ways, are limitations.”
Observing Thoughts and Cleaning
So, if I have an intention for something, it bubbled up out of something deeper than my conscious mind. If I take credit for it, that’s the user illusion. If I sit there and wonder where they’re coming from, which is where I think is a good place to be, then you end up wondering, did it come from memory programs, data, or did it come from the divine of inspiration? And at that point, the only thing to do, and believe me, this is all I’m left to do with, is the clean. I give an example. I was going to be on Steve’s TV show. We rented a car,Observing Thoughts and Cleaning
So, if I have an intention for something, it bubbled up out of something deeper than my conscious mind. If I take credit for it, that’s the user illusion. If I sit there and wonder where they’re coming from, which is where I think is a good place to be, then you end up wondering, did it come from memory programs, data, or did it come from the divine of inspiration? And at that point, the only thing to do, and believe me, this is all I’m left to do with, is the clean. I give an example. I was going to be on Steve’s TV show. We rented a car, we were driving to the show, we get into a little fender bender, and it was our fault. So, we’re sitting there looking at the damage, and I said, “I’m sorry.” And I heard in my head, “Never apologize.” And I thought, “Whoa, where did that come from?” It’s kind of like my daughter’s story. Where did that come from? So, I said, “Tell me more.” And what came out of my mouth was cleaning. “I’m sorry, please forgive me for whatever program is in me that caused this accident.” And I said it over and over again. We went to the show, the show was great, we came back, and the rental car company looked at the car and said, “There’s no damage.” So, when you clean, you’re cleaning data, you’re not cleaning results. You’re not trying to change anything that’s happening out in the world. You’re cleaning the data that’s creating the world.
Being Present in the Moment
And finally, I want to emphasize the importance of being present in the moment. The past is gone, and the future is not yet here. All we have is the present moment. So, don’t waste it by dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Just be here now, fully present, and enjoy the beauty of life as it unfolds before you.
In conclusion, this piece contains a variety of teachings related to mindfulness, consciousness, and the nature of reality. It encourages us to let go of our attachments to thoughts and intentions, to be present in the moment, and to approach life with a sense of openness and curiosity.