Secrets to turning your dreams into reality

I recently ran across a bit of fascinating information. In 1993, a scientifically validated study was undertaken in Washington, D.C., to determine if deliberate and concentrated meditation could have any effect on the city’s crime rate. Even the greatest optimists were floored by the results. During the weeks that just a few volunteers meditated, the crime rate fell by an astounding twenty-five percent.

Is meditation a form of prayer? How worthwhile is prayer? James 5:16–18 explains: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

Jesus taught, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). We are further told in 2 Corinthians 10:4–5: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Ephesians 6:18 declares, “Pray in the Spirit of all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints [people].”

The person praying, the passion behind the prayer, or the purpose of the prayer does not matter. The laws of the universe apply to all of us at all times and in all ways. If you don’t believe in the law of gravity, you will still fall if you step off the ledge.

So how should we engage in prayer? There are no right or wrong ways. It is not something that you need to be taught in order to get the desired results. No eloquence or wordiness is required in order to have your intentions known. In fact, Jesus warned against repetitiousness and rebuked those who were not sincere in their prayers. “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,” He said in Mark 6:7–8, “for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Such power of prayer was well demonstrated in Psalm 107:28–30: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the seas were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and He guided them to their desired haven.”

The power of prayer has overcome enemies (Psalm 6:9–10), conquered death (2 Kings 4:3–36), brought healing (James 5:14–15), and defeated demons (Mark 9:29). Through prayer, eyes are opened, hearts are changed, wounds are healed, and wisdom is granted.

What is your desired haven? How do you turn your dreams into reality? Start by understanding that your thoughts are the creators of all things. You alone are responsible for the energy you pull in. When you are the source of positive thought energy, the same will return to you. Likewise, negative energy will attract its own kind.

It is vital to realize that nothing stands still. It never did and it never will. While virtually all matter appears motionless to the naked eye, in reality there is no solid matter whatsoever. The hardest piece of steel is just a well-orchestrated mass of revolving particles. As we know, the unseen atom is nature’s building block, from which come trees, stones, my cat, and Christian Louboutin stilettos.

All matter is in a constant state of vibration — it literally moves nonstop. The molecule consists of fast-moving particles we call atoms, and the atoms are made up of fast-moving protons, neutrons, and electrons. Within every single particle of matter lies an unseen force that makes the atoms circle around each other at an unimaginable speed. A single rate of vibration produces sound. Our ears can only detect the sound that comes from twenty to twenty thousand cycles per second. As the cycles increase, they are manifested as heat. Further up the scale, vibrations or cycles register in the form of light. This includes the invisible ultraviolet rays and energy with a wavelength of an even higher order — it cannot be seen, but it sure can be felt!

Progressing up the scale, the vibrations create the power, many progressive-thinking individuals believe, with which people think. Whether you subscribe to biblical teachings or science—it is certain that thoughts are energy. To take a lesson from chemistry in this instance, we may conclude that the only differences between thought, sound, heat, and light are the number of vibrations per second. It also means that thought travels, imparts energy, and has consequences.

Perhaps Alexander Graham Bell posed the question best: “If the thought waves are similar to the wireless waves, they must pass from the brain and flow endlessly around the world and the universe. The body and the skull and other solid substances would form no obstruction to their passage, as they pass through the ether that surrounds the molecules of every substance, no matter how solid or dense. Thus, you ask if there would not be constant interference and confusion if other people’s thoughts were flowing through our brains and setting up thoughts in them that did not originate within ourselves?”

Many of us claim to be independent thinkers, but how often is that truly the case? In the course of any given day we are usually bombarded with negative thoughts, scenarios, and energies. Some originate within us, but many are absorbed from external sources. Friends, professional associations, casual encounters, the media in all its forms — they are all informing us of what is happening in the world, or they are entertaining us in such a way as to redirect our thoughts and alter the course of our intended thinking. They influence us by telling us what is worthy and what is not, who is hot and who is not, what is the best medical care, food to eat, clothing to wear, car to drive, and deodorant to use. Add to these the office phone, e-mail, cell phone, and text messages, and all become woven into reality. These thoughts are the metaphorical electrical currents that cannot be seen, but whose effects can certainly be felt.

All the external influences that we internalize cause us to become who we are. How much of a conscious hand have you had in creating who you are today? How many of us invest the time to raise our own consciousness enough to practice discernment, to distinguish what is required for success and happiness from what are merely effects of the outside influences, manipulations, and persuasions that engulf us? At stake may be your money, your vote, your action, or even your passivity as part of a desired mass consciousness designed to keep you low, quiet, and out of the way. Once you become a programmed worker ant or are locked into a predetermined mind-set, it becomes very challenging indeed to be self-sufficiently content and prosperous.

Of course, as you become more of an individual and more in command of your own thinking and actions, more people will direct their thoughts and their energies toward you. This is what Bell was talking about. The pendulum can swing in any direction — some people will admire you, some will be jealous or slanderous, some will hate you and plot against you, and some will love you and open doors for you. If you are a doctor, people will place a certain burden on you. If you are a politician, you will get the blame for all the ills of our nation. In any event, the ability to nurture your own sense of self and determine your own course of action will be tested. It is not enough to transform your mind and your actions. It is necessary to reaffirm this transformation at every turn. It is easy to be derailed, but the true test of consciousness, of awareness, and of your truly transformed self is how well you absorb these attempts at derailment and continue to assert your needs, your thoughts, and all the things you deserve.

Excerpted from “The Secret to Life Transformation” by Julie Chrystyn. Copyright (c) 2009. Reprinted with permission from Dove Books.

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