Two kinds of change

If you and I want to change anything in our lives, it's invariably one of two things: either how we're feeling or our behaviors. Certainly we can learn how to change our emotions or feelings within a context. For example, if you feel fearful of being rejected as an actor, I can help you to condition yourself so that you no longer feel fearful. Or we can make the second kind of change: a global change. A metaphor for this might be that if we want to change the way your computer is processing data, I can change the software that you're using so that when you hit the keys what shows up on the screen is formatted differently. Or if I really want to make a change that will not only affect this type of file, but multiple environments, I can change the computer's operating system. By changing the Master System, we can change how you'll interact in a variety of circumstances.

So instead of just conditioning yourself to feel differently about rejection and eliminating the fearful behaviors, you can adopt a new global belief that says, " I am the source of all my emotions. Nothing and no one can change how I feel except me. If I find myself in reaction to anything, I can change it in a moment." If you truly adopt this belief, not intellectually, but emotionally where you feel it with absolute certainty, can you see how that would eliminate not only your fear of rejection, but also your feelings of anger or frustration or inadequacy?

Suddenly, you become the master of your fate. Or we could change your values, and make your highest value one of contributing. Then, if somebody rejected you, it wouldn't matter: you'd still want to contribute to them, and through constant contribution, you'd find yourself no longer being rejected by people. You'd also find yourself permeated with a sense of joy and connection that you may never have had before in other areas of your life. Or we can change your conditioned feelings toward smoking by getting you to move health and vitality to the top of your values list. Once that becomes the highest priority of your life, the smoking behavior will disappear, and more importantly, it can be replaced by other behaviors that will support your new value of health and vitality: eating differently, breathing differently, and so on. Both types of changes are valuable.

The focus of the second section of the book is how to create these global changes, where a single shift in one of the five elements of the Master System will powerfully affect the way you think, feel, and behave in multiple areas of your life simultaneously. If you change just one element in your Master System, there are certain evaluations you won't even consider anymore, certain questions you won't even ask, certain beliefs the computer won't even accept. This process of creating a global change can be a powerful force for shaping destiny.

" Take away the cause, and the effect ceases [111]. "