"Don't be deceived," I replied. "It's simple, but not easy. You're learning to hold prediction errors, and that is a very uncomfortable thing to do. When your external reality tells you you're broke and worthless, but you choose to express a belief in your abundance and worth, that prediction error is tough to maintain day in and day out. Other people will call you delusional because they can't see what you can see in your own mind. If you listen to them, you're letting the world tell you Who You Are instead of unapologetically being Who You Are. If you can hold that prediction error long enough, reality will eventually rearrange to minimize the surprise. That's why God says this process is difficult until it becomes second nature. Once reality rearranges, it's no longer difficult to believe in your abundance because your external reality will confirm it."
"So if I'm broke, I should imagine that I'm a millionaire, then think, speak and act like one? Does that mean I should go out and buy expensive clothing on a credit card so I 'feel' rich?"
"Oh God, no. That's a bad idea."
"How come?"
"Because getting into debt makes most people feel poor and trapped, not abundant and free. It's not that going into debt is bad, per se. It's just that most people will succumb to fear when the bill turns up. If you buy fancy clothes on a credit card in an attempt to 'trick' the universe into thinking you're abundant, it won't work. You still subconsciously believe that you're broke and in debt, and that belief will control your reality."
"Okay. So what would I do in that situation?" Zac asked.
"Firstly, I wouldn't recommend you chart a journey from broke to millionaire in one step. Learning to hold prediction errors is like training a muscle. If you've never trained before and you start with the heaviest weight, you won't be able to hold it. Similarly, if you're broke and you try to believe you are a millionaire, you're holding a massive prediction error. Your life as a millionaire would be so far removed from your life as a broke person, so trying to feel like you're a millionaire would be quite difficult. It would be hard to get your mind on board with that plan because nothing in your outer reality reflects that expanded self-concept. Your logical mind will probably reject the prediction error, and go back to its old ways — just like your arms won't be able to hold the heaviest weight straight away."
"So, you're saying I should set my sights low at first?" Zac asked.
"Not quite. Let's say you begin weight-lifting, and your goal is to deadlift 200kg. But you don't start by lifting 200kg. You start by thinking, 'I can lift 40kg now. Who would I have to become to lift 80kg?' You realize that you'd have to become the kind of person who hits the gym every day. You begin to train like that person, eat like that person, sleep like that person. You assume the identity of a weightlifter. Pretty soon, you can lift 80kg like a weightlifter. Your consciousness now believes you can lift 80kg because you stepped up to that target incrementally. You continue this process until you're lifting 200kg. But you don't start by lifting 200kg.
It's the same process when learning to hold prediction errors. If you're broke and want to become a millionaire, you'll want to 'scale' your consciousness. That means designing a version of yourself that's, say, six months out in the future. He isn't a millionaire, but he's raised his self-worth and is managing his money as if he actually has money to manage. As you do this, reality will begin to rearrange and present you with opportunities. As you act on those opportunities, surprise will minimize in the system. Then you scale again. Before you know it, you're a completely different person with a completely different reality. The more you do this process consciously, the larger the prediction error you can hold. It's like building a muscle."
"So, are you an expert at this process?" Zac asked.
"Me? No." I giggled. "Even that answer proves I'm not an expert because that statement is self-creative. It's like any other skill — you have to train consistently if you want to improve. But I would say I'm much better at this than the average person. I mean, where do you think I get my creative ideas from? I've been hacking my consciousness and experimenting with these methods for years. It's hard to tell from the outside, though. I think my parents think I'm a bit hopeless-"
"I really doubt that."
"I know they worry about me."
"I still don't understand why that is. You're doing fine," Zac said.
"It's because I don't value security and money like they do. So, from the outside, my life path looks like perpetual creative chaos. I don't have any traditional markers of success. I just look like a child running around the world, refusing to grow up. No one feels the order in the chaos like I do. My choices don't make rational sense to anyone but me — and sometimes they don't even make rational sense to myself. It's like God says…"
Every heart which earnestly asks, Which is the path to God? is shown. Each is given a heartfelt Truth. Come to Me along the path of your heart, not through a journey of your mind. You will never find Me in your mind.
In order to truly know God, you have to be out of your mind.
Neale Donald Walsch
"It's a similar sentiment to this beautiful Rumi poem," I said. "I take these words to heart."
In love, ask for madness
give up reasoning, give up life
look for dangerous adventures
in deserts filled with blood and fire!
