How you think and how you feel determines your life. So, by changing your thoughts and emotions, you can change the material reality. This is a key point in Dr. Joe Dispenza’s theory. A lecturer in demand in different countries, a researcher in the field of personal transformation, spoke in an exclusive interview about what inspires him to change and why discomfort is needed.
On a sunny April day in 1986, 23-year-old aspiring chiropractor Joe Dispenza was running a triathlete in Palm Springs, Southern California, when he was hit by an SUV. The result of the accident was a fracture of six vertebrae and loss of sensation in the legs.
Doctors insisted on a complex operation to implant a steel rod and warned of complete paralysis if the operation was refused. But Joe Dispenza did it his own way. He refused surgery and decided to put the idea of the body’s ability to heal itself into practice.
For two hours twice a day, he retreated into himself and began to mentally create a picture of the desired result — a completely cured spine. And he tried to think not about what he did not want, but only about what he wanted. Nine and a half weeks after the accident, he was back on his feet and back to a normal life — without a cast or surgery.
The fact that each person can apply these principles in life, give up destructive habits, rebuild their personality and their being, Dispenza talks at trainings, seminars and in books, three of which have been translated into Russian by the Eksmo publishing house: “Develop your brain” , «The Power of the Subconscious», «Yourself a Placebo». The results of the work, which the author himself describes, are amazing.
On the eve of his master class in Moscow, Joe Dispenza gave an exclusive interview to Psychologies.
Psychologies: At the center of your approach is the idea of transformation, cardinal changes in character, personality, life. Many facts confirm the soundness of your theory. But you must admit, there are things in this world that we cannot change. Let me remind you the words of the famous medieval prayer: “Lord, give me the strength to change in my life what I can change, give me courage and peace of mind to accept what is not in my power to change, and give me the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.” Are you able to accept what you cannot change?
Joe Dispenza: Good question. My goal is to help people. And I focus my attention primarily on this. Talking about the scientific model of transformation and the latest data from the field of neurobiology, neuroendocrinology, epigenetics, I am trying to convey to people that they are not wired with the same program for life and are not doomed to follow their genes.
Each person is a miracle, we are active and changing. I have been studying these concepts for quite some time. And I know that there is a connection between mind and body. You may not be able to change everything in the outer world, but you will certainly change something in the inner world. You can improve your health.
We have research and a lot of evidence that it works. By changing the way you think and feel, by acting differently, you form a new personality. And she creates a new reality for herself. Does all this have limits? Of course! But at the same time, we become a little better, developing our level of understanding and enriching life experience. We are changing the consciousness of how we live.
A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking over and over until it becomes a hardcoded program in your brain.
It turns out that you seem to be ignoring what is not in our power? What are you saying to yourself?
I spend quite a lot of time alone, in self-observation and meditation. It seems to me that people can change a lot of what directly surrounds them, from what they directly interact with. Of course, when we talk about politics, about the decisions of leaders and governments, about wars and events associated with big money, everything does not immediately depend on my personal achievements, all this requires changes in entire groups of people, entire communities.
But I am an optimist and I want to believe that it is possible. I tell myself what Einstein once said: you can’t solve a problem from the level of thinking at which you created it. You need to move to a higher level of consciousness.
Let’s say you decide to change something in your own life. You work with your body and emotions, tune in to a new state of your mind. As a result, you become more patient, less frustrated, less fearful, less judgmental of yourself and others. Who benefits from these changes? First to you, then to your family, to the people you work with, and then to the wider community. And if everyone did this work, we would really change the world.
If I can convey practical tools to people, if I can move this “needle”, I will consider that I did a great job.
In Your Placebo Yourself, you write that “to change your beliefs and perceptions, you need to combine a clear desire with emotional excitement.” But is it possible to maintain this state of inspiration permanently?
A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking over and over until it becomes a hardcoded program in your brain. After that, it goes into the subconscious and you are no longer aware of it. Absolutely all beliefs are based on the past experience of people. The stronger the emotion that you experienced at any particular moment in the past, the more attention you pay to the cause of that event.
Where you direct your attention is where your energy goes. And you give your power to that feeling. The brain seems to take a screenshot of this event, and it gets into long-term memory. Constantly maintaining the contours of past experience, you continue to think and feel the same things, so your habits and beliefs are formed.
In order to change them, you need to get out of this state of suspension and make a decision with such firm intention, with such enthusiasm that will surpass in strength the emotions associated with the moment that became the starting point in this chain.
My mission is to change specific people, one by one. And it helps me get up in the morning
Can you explain with your example? Which of your own beliefs have you been able to change?
I had an unconscious belief that there was not enough time for anything. I didn’t put it that way, but I lived in that state. And when you think you don’t have time for anything, two things happen: you can’t be in the present moment, and you’re constantly rushing somewhere else.
People who are close to you are uncomfortable: your condition is very annoying for everyone. After all, you are not with them, you are somewhere in the future. If I were asked why you have such a belief, I could give hundreds of reasons for how this has formed in my past experience: I am a busy person, I have three companies, I travel a lot, I write articles, books, manage … Actually these are excuses.
And I finally realized that I needed to create a new belief for myself. Which will work specifically for Joe Dispenza. I had a couple of days to think about it. And I found it: I like the idea that I live outside of time altogether. And I succeed. I liked this belief. For two weeks, going to meditation, I said to myself: I will not get out of this meditation until I definitely feel that this belief has become a part of my body. It has to get inside me, become me.
And every day I remembered this conviction and fell in love with it, I was inspired by this idea and gave strength to this very conviction. I began to feel that time is limitless. Every day I felt invincible and felt the love of this new life. I redefined the state of my body every day.
But here’s the cool thing: With this mindset, I not only changed my lifestyle, but also began to attract many other people. They were even more competent, proactive and reliable, they shared our common goal, and I could entrust them with all those things that I did not want to do myself. So I freed myself by changing my beliefs.
What became your motivation?
I know what I can bring to the world. My mission is to change specific people, one by one. And it helps me get up in the morning. This goal is so much bigger than me! Perhaps this is the highest form of motivation — goal motivation. When you have a vision, a dream that is bigger than yourself: to change something in the world, to create something.
In general, I distinguish five types of motivation. The second form is motivation based on personal conviction. This is the motivation of the entrepreneur: I decided so, so I will do it. The third form of motivation is based on ethics and moral principles, on the knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You feel bad and want to be good. Or maybe you want to get a little better. The fourth motivation is the desire to expand one’s power — self-promotion, self-exaltation. This is the need for acceptance, recognition, popularity. Finally, the fifth is money motivation.
For most people, it is built in this order: first money, then self-realization.
Doesn’t that make you sad?
No, it’s an evolutionary process. I know the stories of people who went bankrupt, lost everything, lived in the back seat of their car, and then became a multimillionaire. And you know what they want now? Now that you’ve made all that money again? They want to give away all this money. Give to improve something in this world. This is the way we are — when we have everything we need, we begin to give. We are created to give, care, educate, nurture. It is in our nature.
You write that the moment of transition from the old state of consciousness to the new is associated with discomfort.
With a lot of discomfort.
Yes, I can’t control what other people think and do. But I will never give up the power I have gained over my own emotions.
But a person who has already changed, according to you, feels joy and gratitude. Have you personally put an end to your transformation?
Are joy and gratitude your defining emotions? Every day I have thousands of reasons why I could feel unhappy. You know, in general, the feeling of being a victim — this unconscious program is embedded in many of us.
When you ask a friend: why are you so unhappy? And he answers about bad news, about the illness of a relative or the bad character of the boss, then what does this mean? About the fact that something in the outside world completely controls him, controls his feelings and thoughts.
Yes, I can’t control what other people think and do. But I will never give up the power that I have gained over my own emotions and body, and I will not direct my attention to others, holding them responsible for my happiness or unhappiness. And it is important for me to apply my mind-heart alignment formula precisely in those moments when I feel discomfort. Because it is in these moments that the most important thing that affects our lives happens.
And here’s what happens. In a situation where a person feels discomfort, fear, guilt, hatred, impatience, condemnation, he tries to get rid of these unpleasant emotions as soon as possible. And as a result, they go into the unconscious. And here the most important thing is to be able to change your internal state at this very moment and become more than the event in the external environment that caused this emotion. Rise above it. This is the moment of true greatness.
So you are still in the process of change?
I am the same person as you, and I am also following this path of development. But I know for sure that in those moments when I apply this formula, I become less a victim and more a creator of my own life. Because how you think and feel creates your future.
Joe Dispenza’s one-day seminar «The Power of the Subconscious» took place on May 28 at the Moscow Youth Palace with the participation of VEDA.