***Your Thoughts Can Change the World

Imagine I am the speaker before a large audience. I ask for a volunteer from the audience to come alongside me and help with a demonstration. I suggest that some people present may already be familiar with what I am about to demonstrate and that those for whom my exercise is new should know that it will demonstrate the power of thought.

I ask my volunteer to stretch out their arm perpendicular to their body. Then I ask them to resist the pressure that I am about to put on their forearm as I press it downwards. I perform this test and let everyone know that this is what I call my volunteer's neutral position.

Now I face my audience with my back to the volunteer. I open a folder that displays one word and I ask the audience to send this emotion to my volunteer with every fiber of their being. The folder is showing the audience the word HATE. I ask that the audience be very serious and intense as they think, feel and send this thought to my volunteer.

I turn now to face my volunteer and ask that once again they stretch out their arm and resist the pressure that I put on the arm. The volunteer observes in stunned surprise that their arm has no resistance and I am effortlessly able to push it down towards the ground.

Once again, I turn my back to my volunteer and turn to face my audience and once again request that the audience send the emotion I am displaying, from my open folder, to the volunteer. The folder is now displaying the word LOVE. I petition the audience to be very serious and intense and keep thinking, feeling and sending this thought.

For the last time I ask my volunteer to stretch out their arm and resist the pressure that I put on the arm. This time my volunteer is confused because their arm is stronger than even the very first time it was tested. I explain to my volunteer that what the group was sending the first time was HATE and what they were asked to send the second time was LOVE. I thank my volunteer for their assistance and ask them to return to the audience so that I may continue. I now address all of my words to the entire audience.

I explain that we have just seen there is power in what we think and this energy has an effect on those with whom we interact. If you have negative thoughts about someone, this can weaken them and their instinctual response is to defend and strengthen by resisting... like when my volunteer tried to compensate for weakness. Positive thoughts about someone strengthen and support them and their instinctual response is to relax and be peaceful.

Now I ask the entire audience to participate in the next exercise. I ask that they each close their eyes and take a deep breath. I ask them to recall a time in their lives when they felt unconditional love from a parent, child, spouse, other relative, friend or even a pet. I ask them to recall a time when they gave love expecting nothing in return. I request that they sink into their recollections. I guide them to recall when love was given to them by someone who openly accepted them for who they are. I ask them to think of when they gave love to someone without expecting anything. I ask that they allow themselves a moment "to be" with these thoughts of love. Then I suggest that as they become ready, they open their eyes.

To my audience I now make these points:

When you think of love your whole vibration changes. Love changes the chemistry of the body and when you feel or think love, you know peace. Is everyone feeling peaceful? To be at peace, all we had to do was Think Love.

How often have we become impatient with the driver in front of us who is taking "forever" to merge into traffic? I'll bet that none of you thought of sending this person love. I never used to. I had to have a bull moose come through my windshield and cause me weeks of anxiety driving before I considered I should be sending love and support to folks having difficulty in traffic.

How often have we become impatient with the person who is slowly crossing the street? Did we think they had no consideration for us and our schedule? It may be that they didn't. However, there have been times in my life when walking anywhere required all of my strength let alone crossing the street before the light changed. How do you think I would have felt if the folks who were waiting for me had sent me loving thoughts instead of harsh impatient ones? How do you think they would have felt?

If you can, think of a person with whom you are engaged in a drama, someone with whom you are having some discord and send them love. Think Love now. Remember the exercises: sending love only requires a thought and your love is available anytime you think of it.

We have heard it said that people forget what we say and do but never how we make them feel. How could we make people feel if we would Think Love?

What a wonderful way to disarm folks we find difficult or challenging. Think Love.

What a wonderful way to promote peacefulness for ourselves and others. Think Love.

What a wonderful way to improve our world, even a little - if we would all Think Love.

Please... choose to Think Love. Your thoughts can change the world.