Defy Your Limits Read online

  All you have to do it not give up.

  At this stage, doubt is no longer an obstacle and the path is clear. So, you sit patiently, applying the instructions. It’s now less about doing something than about doing nothing. There’s nothing to apply. You just look on with intention[*]. Everything else that needs to occur will happen effortlessly because of your training over previous weeks and months.

  Here comes the final moment. Your mind is brought into the proper state, your body is relaxed, your intention is steady and fixed. Energy imperceptibly flows across the quiet room. Unexpectedly, you perceive a fresh glint of light shining off a wrinkle in the foil. But you’re not quite sure. One millisecond later, you notice new shadows spreading across its surface. Your inner dialogue erupts.

  Is it shifting? What’s happening?

  Quiet! Keep steady! Wait…

  Just a few more moments before you lose your internal balance and lose it all.

  It begins to turn.

  1. Meet Your Coach

  There are things I must share with you from the outset because they will help you understand why this book is structured the way that it is, and why I decided to write it in the first place. You’ll be better able to understand the training method from my perspective.

  I am passionate about teaching. As a young adult, I became interested in meditation and joined a local Buddhist community. This group structured itself so that those interested could be trained to mentor the novice meditators. I had received so much benefit from my own instructor that it was out of a sense of gratitude and natural interest that I became a meditation instructor. Mentoring evolved to periodically leading small classes.

  Over time, and in various settings, I continued my development not only as an instructor, but as a teacher, eventually leading retreats ranging from a day to two weeks in length. I viewed this activity as part of my own spiritual development. At the same time, I was (and still am) a regular person with a regular job.

  I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and worked in the telecommunications industry for 6 years before needing heart surgery at age twenty-five. It was minor, but the event was enough of a stimulus for me to re-evaluate how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

  After recovering, I went on vacation in Peru, hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and exploring the natural and historical places of the area. The daily hiking helped me appreciate the gift of having a human body that can move, feel, and receive.

  Meeting new people and gaining new experiences every day brought a sense of discovery that had been missing at home, especially while at my cubicle. My recent heart surgery left me counting how many years I might have left in this life, and contemplating how many of them I might spend in that cubicle if I didn’t change something soon. This fresh perspective prompted an ultimate decision to quit my job and seek more meaningful work.

  In the decades since, I’ve worked with developmentally disable adults, as a car salesman, as a massage therapist. Today, I’m a real estate agent. The common thread of these jobs is their spirit of service and personal connection.

  Extending that spirit into my meditation teaching, I gradually fostered a local meditation group which went from meeting twice a month to twice per week.

  One day, while perusing the International Association of Near Death Studies (IANDS) video channel I watched a presentation by Cherylee Black. Cherylee is a Near Death Experiencer who also has telekinetic abilities. In this presentation I watched her turn a shaped piece of tinfoil on a needle which was enclosed in a jar. It stirred something inside of me.

  The timing was perfect for me to find this video. It was during a period when many in the meditation group were struggling to maintain a steady practice. I wanted to find a new way to inspire them. I thought that if I could do something special to show them how powerful their own minds were, and that they truly did have an influence on their external world, that it would be of immense help.

  I decided to teach myself telekinesis the way I saw Cherylee Black do it. It appeared far more legitimate to me than other examples I’d found online. I already knew the rigor of mind training, so it didn’t seem too unreasonable to test myself by applying everything I knew to see if I could do it.

  Interconnectedness is a common theme in Buddhism and other spiritual or religious traditions. If I could exhibit telekinesis to my students, I hoped it would illustrate our non-physical connection with our world, and with each other.

  Karma, simply defined as “cause and effect” is a notion tightly related to interconnectedness. Why can things or people affect others? Because they are inherently connected. They are in relationship to each other. If they weren’t, then the actions of one wouldn’t do anything to the other.

  Could telekinesis show that our minds and bodies, being subtly connected to the world, are profoundly sensitive to our thoughts, words, and deeds, and to those of others? Could this understanding then bolster my students’ interest and resolve to develop their own minds through meditation? Would it inspire them to practice more regularly and develop themselves further?

  The meditation tradition that I had been primarily trained in came with ancient proscriptions against showing any special abilities that might occur as a natural side-effect of spiritual development. Exhibiting any special abilities was traditionally viewed as a prideful activity, a waste of energy, and a cul-de-sac along the path to true spiritual advancement.

  Fortunately, I didn’t let that hold me back. Just as happens in classrooms, corporations, churches and temples everywhere, one of the communities I was involved with had been spoiled though psychological manipulation, abuse of power, narcissism, etc. by some of the leadership there.

  I left that situation, and began to review and challenge many of the spiritual and traditional assumptions I had picked up over the years. For example, I found it suspicious that it was acceptable to venerate authority figures for their special abilities, if they had any, yet if a common person exhibited any then he or she would be looked down upon as egotistical.

  This phase of my life included periods of grief, confusion, and resentment. But I emerged renewed, and inspired. It was more important than ever for me to teach in a way that truly empowered the students without promoting an artificial need for dependency from them. I didn’t want to recreate the harmful group dynamics of my former community. I was also willing to try something new.

  So, one day I placed a piece of folded tinfoil on a needle embedded in an eraser, which served as the base. I covered the setup with a plain glass vase to protect it from any wind in the room. I had seen videos of people doing it without a glass cover, but I already had doubts about those types of experiments. I inadvertently decided on a much more difficult way to begin. The level of difficulty naturally matched what would be my greatest obstacle: self-doubt.

  I tried moving the object for weeks, sometimes it was tin foil, sometimes paper, to no effect. I would sit in front of it anywhere from twenty minutes to nearly an hour at a time, at least five days a week. My wife Cierra, also a meditation teacher, is wonderfully open minded and deeply engaged in her own spiritual path. She knew what I was up to and offered only support and encouragement.

  My daily reports to her of disappointment, unmet (and unfair) expectations of myself, and impatience revealed some of the psychological factors that would accompany me even until today. Her patience, encouragement, and sense of humor helped me to not give up and throw everything into a waste basket.

  These first weeks were a time of broad experimentation. I felt like a sailor lost at sea without a compass or sextant. I would go in one direction for a period of time, then with no land in sight, choose another and try again, never knowing if I was closer or further away from my destination.

  I experimented with the meditative techniques I already knew. They involved specific breathing styles, energy movement, and mental quiescence. I also found what I considered legitimate telekinesis practitioners who had posted hel
pful tips online. I have immense gratitude for them today. Their guidance proved to be worthwhile.

  I eventually succeeded with what I refer to in this book as Level Two, using a glass cover, hands touching the sides. Ever pursued by my own doubts, I worked to prove to myself that it wasn’t just my hands heating the glass and moving the air inside. This became Level Three, hands nearby, but not touching it. I reached Level Four about one year after Level One. I was excited to introduce this to my meditation students.

  The response was disappointing, however. Most of them simply weren’t interested, or were too polite to tell me that they thought it wasn’t real.

  The mistake was mine. I quickly realized that this was the wrong audience. These meditators wanted to lessen their stress levels, understand their internal psychological experience better, and progress on their own spiritual path. They already had the techniques to do those things, so telekinesis was an unnecessary add-on.

  I still wanted to share what I had learned though, and I knew where I could find the right audience – on the internet. I began making videos, sharing what I had discovered and encouraging others to try. There were other telekinesis practitioners online who had superior telekinetic abilities. What I had to offer was the ability to communicate clearly with others and to share ideas about consciousness in a helpful way.

  Teaching via the internet introduced me to new challenges, though.

  Most internet viewers prefer short videos, ideally under two minutes. Intelligently describing, then demonstrating a telekinesis experiment under two minutes is nearly impossible. Fortunately, this book doesn’t have that limitation.

  People sometimes confuse the ease of watching something being done with the level of effort it takes to do it. Telekinesis, especially at Level One, can appear facile. Yet if some people are unable to succeed right away, they might give up too soon. Since you know that this book is a training system, you understand that this will take work and commitment. I have no doubt that you can do everything I can do, and that it’ll probably happen even faster for you because you now have this training method.

  When new practitioners email me saying that they’ve succeeded, it lights up my heart. I know the wonderful feeling of excitement and discovery that they’re experiencing, and I share in their joy. I look forward to your success as well.

  2. Motivation and Psychology in Telekinesis

  Motivation is everything. The word motivation means “to stimulate toward action.” Without a sense of motivation in mind, we go nowhere, accomplish nothing. At best, we maintain habitual routines and avoid the extra effort needed to try new things and take chances.

  Why do you want to learn telekinesis? If you don’t have a clear answer, or can’t find the right wording for it, perhaps some of the sample motivations below will help you look within and find those words.

  I want to be able to do something spectacular, something that few others can do.

  I believe in mind over matter, and want to turn that belief into actual experience. I want to see it with my own eyes.

  Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a Jedi.

  Normal meditation techniques are too boring for me. I want to find a more provocative way to be with my body and mind.

  I disagree with materialistic science, and I think that consciousness is something different than the physical brain. Moving an object from a distance is a possible way to illustrate that consciousness extends beyond physical boundaries.

  If I can do this, then I know I can do anything I put my mind to.

  In my own practice and study of Chi Kung, the movement of chi is a key principle. Since chi is everywhere, I’d like to explore that principle through telekinesis experiments.

  I’m an energy healer. I’d like to see if I can use my intention on things outside of the human bio-system. Can I affect something outside the body? Can I see that influence with my own eyes?

  I’m aware of concepts like those shared in the movies “The Secret,” “What the Bleep Do We Know,” and in books like “The Law of Attraction.”[*] However, I want an observable method to really show me the power of intention. If I can move a physical object with my mind, then I’ll be confident that I can change other aspects of my life by using my mind, particularly my intention, more effectively.

  I have other psi abilities, and want to learn firsthand how telekinesis relates to them, and how it can improve my personal development in other areas.

  I believe that we are all sacred beings, integral aspects of the conscious universe and as such, we can all experience these abilities to one degree or another. They are not something granted to you by an external authority. Experiencing this will remind me of my own spiritual sovereignty.

  I keep hearing that the human race is at the next stage of evolution, and that more and more people are showing these types of abilities. Maybe it’s just because technology allows us to exchange new ideas and methods faster than ever before, and what used to be rare knowledge is becoming well known. Whatever it is, I want to be part of our next stage in the evolution of consciousness.

  Do any of the above statements resonate with you? You might not have a solid sense of purpose for doing this yet. As you go along, your purpose should become clearer, and it needs to. Without a well-developed motivation, chances are higher that you’ll give up without immediate results. If you already know why you’re doing this and why it’s important to you, then you’re off to an excellent start.

  Even though you’re interested in doing this training, parts of your psyche might be in conflict. Think back to when you first considered getting this book. One part of you may have been excited, and another may have been filled with doubt. The emotional blend of hope, doubt, fear, inspiration and courage is normal for anyone beginning something new and strange. You, as a whole person, are about to change.

  I recommend making room for all your conflicting thoughts and emotions. Even today, my inner non-believer[*] watches everything I do with my telekinesis research. Its favorite tool is doubt. It doubts that any of this is real, and that what I’m doing is worthwhile.

  Luckily, I was able to express these doubts to my wife. Doing so brought my inner non-believer out of the shadows and into the light. I could acknowledge it when it appeared. With my wife’s help I could even laugh at its persistence, even as I proved it wrong over and over again.

  I can even extend some gratitude to my inner non-believer because it drove me to keep working harder, growing from Level Two to Level Three, then Level Four and beyond to further understand this phenomenon.

  My inner non-believer still remains a helpful companion. It seems that I can’t eradicate it. Since I’d rather be stuck with a friend than a foe, I’ve made room for it in my mind, and its presence helps me test my limits.

  There are generally four attitudes[*] we carry within ourselves. To put it more accurately, these are four default responses that we exhibit when approached by anything that challenges our accepted beliefs about reality.

  The non-believer I described above is one of them. The other three are the skeptic, the pseudo-skeptic, and the believer. It’s important for you to learn about them because it’s quite possible that all four will manifest out loud during your training.

  They will either help or hinder your progress. This is not only the case with telekinesis, but with any kind of risk-taking that challenges dominant social beliefs about reality and human potential.

  The word “skepticism” is overwhelmingly used for a particular one of its various definitions[*]: “an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity.” The dominant use of this definition has spread into the media and everyday use by the public.

  Unfortunately, then, when most people refer to themselves as a skeptic, they believe their own opinion, which they passively adopted through social conditioning. They take it to be correct even without considering the newest data or doing any research themselves.

  I prefer its other definition, “the method of suspende
d judgment,” which is better understood in scientific circles. A true skeptic is a person who is open minded, who will not take an idea on faith, but instead reviews the available data and forms a decision based on that. If new data becomes available which contradicts the old, the skeptic is willing to change his or her opinion based on that new information.

  I think of the skeptic as a cool-headed personality, slow to come to decisions and comfortable with uncertainty. The skeptic is in no hurry to come to conclusions because he or she has no personal agenda for the results to prove or disprove a theory. Of the four attitudes, the true skeptic is the minority. It’s constantly challenged by the believer, the non-believer, and the pseudo-skeptic (which is also a type of believer).

  The non-believer is unwilling and uninterested in considering any data that might support a change in the status quo. When I started finding telekinesis videos online, the non-believer was there in the back of my mind making remarks like, “Seriously? Are you kidding me? Why are you even watching this stuff? It’s not real!”