Avalon: The Retreat (21 page)

“I’m not getting enough exercise and I’ve been getting a little bored, but it’s so damn cold out there. I mean, who wants to be out there freezing your butt off?”

“How come you aren’t exercising in your cabin?” Mike asked, “Do you not have adequate room?”

“I can’t get motivated to do it,” Crystal replied. “It’s so boring! I guess I don’t have the will power to stay with it once I start and then one thing leads to another. And I get pissed at the small stuff.”

“I think that’s it in a nutshell,” Ginger offered. “We just can’t get motivated and stay that way because we are bored to tears. Sure, we’re safe up here, but there isn’t anything to keep us entertained either. No TV, no movies, you know… zip?”

Most of the women agreed, and some of the men did, as well. The consensus was that the boredom and enclosed atmosphere the winter months presented was getting everyone down, and it wasn’t something they were able to easily overcome.

“Here take these,” Mike began as he offered his solution. “I wrote it many years ago for some students of mine who were having a similar problem and what I am giving you applies to any situation. It’s laid out for menstrual pains or for the lack of exercising… whatever.” He handed the stack in his hand to Caroline, who already knew what to do.

“Put simply, it’s a way for you to control your inner most switches. Study, practice, and learn. Tomorrow, we’ll organize a workout program for the males and another for the females.”

Caroline passed out the handwritten sheets of paper to each one of them, and Mike read what was written on the sheets.

“At times you may need a little help to develop the discipline and the ‘stick-to-it’ necessary to get things done. Sometimes you face little challenges that are difficult to accomplish, and working them to a conclusion can be tough. If you are the sort of person who needs that little something extra, the following system will help. I have taught this to many people, and they were able to persevere when all else failed by using the simple method outlined here.

This is a way to train yourself. If you’re sincere about what you want to know or get done, it can be as simple as strengthening your personal resolve; just do the following every night and keep practicing. The more you do it, the easier it will become. It’s simply a matter of repeating it over and over until it connects. It may take some follow through, but it will come if you keep at it. This system can even be used to slow down your heart rate and diminish pain. It really works once you master it. People have undergone surgery without anesthesia by doing what’s on these sheets of paper.

This is how and why it works.

You are two beings in one body, with one level your sub-conscious and the other your conscious. When you’re awake, you work in the conscious level, and when you’re asleep, you work in the sub-conscious. It is difficult for the conscious level to communicate with the sub-conscious level without getting into a relaxed but self-aware state.

You can connect to your inner being, or sub-conscious, by simply talking to yourself once you’re relaxed and comfortable. To do that and connect, you have to be in a frame of mind whereby your sub-conscious and conscious thoughts are connected, and only then will your sub-conscious get the message.

It works best when you’re comfortable, relaxed, and in an atmosphere that’s calm and quiet. You can best achieve this just as you are preparing to go to sleep. Make yourself comfortable and relaxed by clearing your mind and telling yourself this is what you are going to do. Be specific when you tell yourself what it is that you want your sub-conscious to do. Never make statements such as…

One of these days I’m going to…

Your sub-conscious is lazy and will answer you in the way it performs something along these lines,

Oh great, you don’t really want me to do it now so I won’t do anything at all.

When you make statements such as ‘One of these days’ it’s not specific enough, so your sub-conscious will simply ignore it.

It’s as simple as that. You have to be specific as to what you expect the sub-conscious to do, and it will start working on that particular problem right away. If you’re nebulous about what it is you want it to do, it will not do it at all.

Remember, you’re in control of your own mind, and your mind and its thoughts are the messenger to your brain. Think in terms of your thought processes as being the ‘keyboard’ and your thoughts as being the ‘send button’ to the computer hard drive, which is your brain. You make the connection by telling yourself this is what you want. Part of what you are going to do is send commands to your inner self via the outer self or the conscious level.

Once you’re comfortable, lie down, make sure your clothes are loose, and block out noise by closing the door and darkening the surrounding area. Tell your conscious level that you will relax and release all the stress of the day as you count backward from ten to one.

Take five big deep breaths, hold each to the count of ten, exhale long and slow, and empty your lungs. The conversation you have now between your conscious self and your sub-conscious could go something like this,

In this segment, you will want to set a time limit that is reasonable, perhaps ten days from today, and don’t suggest stupid things for instance; I’m going to win the Lotto, or something similar.

It has to be reasonable, direct to the point, given in a distinct manner, and as positive as you can be about it. My sub-conscious is already working on finding a solution to the problem(s). It understands my needs. I am comfortable and I feel relaxed.

Please remember this because it’s very important - if you really want something, you can channel your thoughts to make it happen. A very central factor to always remember is that, once the sub-conscious does go to work and finds the solutions you seek to your problems, you must reward yourself by getting yourself something special. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or elaborate, just something you have wanted for a long time. Once you get it, the sub-conscious will react by doing something such as…

Never ask your sub-conscious to work on any problem that is nebulous or totally out of the question. It must be possible, realistic, and within an achievable time frame. This exercise will work to help you stop smoking, drinking, or biting your finger nails, lose weight, exercise more, improve your memory, and the list is endless.

Always start your morning just as you wake up with these words, and your life will change for the better. I guarantee it.

“
Each and every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”

The group was excused, and several people stood around talking; some of them hugged each other, and there were many apologies given and accepted. The next day the classes started, and things began to return to normal at Avalon. Everyone seemed happier and more upbeat than the days leading up to what they referred to as, ‘the talk.’ It was snowing again, and Sam was busy spreading ashes on the walkways between the cabins and the main entry.

The puppies grew and as Christmas fast approached, Caroline knew what she was going to have under their tree. She counted seven puppies, and the other pregnant dog was going to whelp in another week.

The group decided months ago that they wanted Australian Cattle Dogs for the retreat. The two males and three females they found were loyal to a fault, and they were intelligent and had boundless energy. Rounding up the sheep, cattle, and horses would be a perfect job for them.

Sam and Roger decided to get the still for the beer started and misjudged something… nobody knows for sure what went wrong… but it blew up, sending mash and goo everywhere.

Not one for failure, Sam said, “Well Partner, I guess we have to start all over.” He wiped some off the wall with his finger and tasted it, cringing, “Man was I looking forward to some home brew!”

“I was thinking about it the other day,” Roger replied, “And I thought just how good a brew would go down at the moment. We were shoveling cow manure out of the barn, and I got mighty thirsty and dry.”

He paused for a second, “In fact, it was so dry I started fartin’ dust.”

He laughed and so did Sam. That home brew was going to be mighty tasty alright, if they could find out what went wrong with that first batch.