The Power (21 page)

Make a written list of everything you love, which I urge you to do every month in the beginning, and then at least every three months. Include the places you love, the cities, the countries, the people you love, colors you love, styles you love, qualities in people you love, companies you love, services you love, sports you love, athletes you love, music you love, animals you love, flowers, plants, and trees you love. List all the material things you love, from all the different types of clothes you love, homes, furniture, books, magazines, newspapers, cars, appliances, to all the different foods you love. Think about the things you love to do and list them all, such as dancing, playing a sport, going to galleries, concerts, parties, shopping, list the movies you love, vacations and restaurants you love.

“When one has once fully entered the realm of love, the world – no matter how imperfect – becomes rich and beautiful – it consists solely of opportunities for love.”

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard
(1813-1855)
PHILOSOPHER

Your job is to love as much as possible every day. If you can just love and adore everything you possibly can today, look for and feel the things you love, and turn away from the things you don’t love, your tomorrows will overflow with the untold happiness of everything you want and love.

“Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes
(1809-1894)
DEAN OF HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL

Love Is Being Alert

You have to be alert to feel the love of everything around you. You have to be aware of everything that’s around you to love, otherwise you will miss things. You have to be alert to see the things that you love. You have to be alert to hear the sounds that you love. You have to be alert to catch the beautiful smells of flowers as you walk past them. You have to be alert to really taste the food you’re eating and feel the fullness of the flavors. If you are walking down the street listening to the thoughts in your head, you miss it all. And that’s what happens to people a lot of the time. They hypnotize themselves by listening to the thoughts in their head, and so they’re in a kind of trance, and they’re not aware of anything around them.

Have you ever been walking down the street and suddenly a good friend yelled out your name and you were startled because you hadn’t seen him? Or maybe you saw a friend, and you had to call out her name a couple of times, and suddenly she jumped with a start when she saw you? Your calling her name woke her up because she was not aware of being on the street, but was lost in a trance, listening to the thoughts in her head. Have you ever been in a car traveling, and suddenly you looked around and realized you were close to your destination, but you didn’t remember traveling a big part of the distance? You had hypnotized yourself by listening to your thoughts, and you were lost in a trance.

The good news is that the more you give love, the more alert and aware you will become! Love brings complete alertness. As you make a conscientious effort to notice as many things around you that you love as you can each day, you will become more aware and alert.

How to Keep Your Mind Focused on Love

“Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.”

Blaise Pascal
(1623-1662)
MATHEMATICIAN AND PHILOSOPHER

One way to stay alert is to trick your mind by asking questions such as “What can I see that I love?” “How many things can I see that I love?” “What else is there that I love?” “What can I see that thrills me?” “What can I see that excites me?” “What can I see that I’m passionate about?” “Are there more things I can see that I love?” “What can I hear that I love?” When you ask your mind questions, your mind can’t help itself and it gets busy right away to give you the answers. It stops other thoughts immediately so as to come up with the answers to your questions.

The secret is to keep asking your mind questions regularly. The more questions you can ask, the more you will be in control of your mind. Your mind will be working with you and doing what you want it to do, instead of working against you.

Sometimes your mind can take off like a freight train down a mountain without a driver, if you don’t stay in control of it. You are the driver of your mind, so take charge and keep it busy with your instructions by telling it where you want it to go. Your mind only takes off on its own if you’re not telling it what to do.

“The mind acts like an enemy for those who don’t control it.”

Bhagavad Gita
(5th century BC)
ANCIENT HINDU TEXT

Your mind is a powerful and magnificent tool you can use, but you must be in control of it. Rather than letting it distract you with out-of-control thoughts, you want your mind to help you give love. It doesn’t take long to train your mind to focus on love, and once you have just watch what happens to your life!

The Key of Gratitude