Julian said, “Enlightened thinkers know that their thoughts form their world and the quality of one’s life comes down to the richness of one’s thoughts. If you want to live a more peaceful, meaningful life, you must think more peaceful, meaningful thoughts.”
“Hit me with the quick-fix, Julian.”
“What do you mean?” Julian asked gently, running his bronzed fingers along the front of his brilliantly textured robe. “I’m excited about what you are telling me. But I’m an impatient guy. Don’t you have any exercises or techniques that I can use right now, here in my own living room, to change the way I run my mind?”
“Quick-fixes do not work. All lasting inner change requires time and effort. Persistence is the mother of personal change.”
“I’m not saying that it will take years to make profound changes in your life. If you diligently apply the strategies I am sharing with you every day for only one month, you will be astonished at the results. You will begin to tap into the highest levels of your own capacity and enter the realm of the miraculous. But to reach this destination, you must not get hung up on the outcome. Instead, enjoy the process of personal expansion and growth. Ironically, the less you focus on the end result, the quicker it will come.”
“How so?”
“It’s like that classic story of the young boy who travelled far from his home to study under a great teacher. When he met the wise old man, his first question was, ‘How long will it take me before I am as wise as you?’
“The response came swiftly, ‘Five years.’
“’This is a very long time,’ the boy replied. ‘How about if I work twice as hard?’
‘”Then it will take ten,’ said the master.
‘”Ten! That’s far too long. How about if I studied all day and well into the night, every night?’
‘”Fifteen years,’ said the sage.
“’I don’t understand,’ replied the boy. ‘Every time I promise to devote more energy to my goal, you tell me that it will take longer. Why?”
‘”The answer is simple. With one eye fixed on the destination, there is only one left to guide you along the journey’”
“Point well taken, counsellor,” I conceded graciously. “Sounds like the story of my life.”
“Be patient and live with the knowledge that all you are searching for is certain to come if you prepare for it and expect it.”
“But I’ve never been the lucky sort, Julian. All that I have ever received has come through sheer persistence.”
“What is luck, my friend?” Julian replied kindly. “It is nothing more than the marriage of preparation with opportunity.”
Julian added softly: “Before I give you the precise methods passed on to me by the Sages of Sivana, I must first share a couple of key principles. First, always remember that concentration is at the root of mental mastery.”
“Seriously?”
“I know. It surprised me too. But it is true. The mind can accomplish extraordinary things, you have learned this. The very fact that you have a desire or a dream means that you have the corresponding capacity to realize it. This is one of the great universal truths known to the Sages of Sivana. However, to liberate the power of the mind, you must first be able to harness it and direct its focus only to the task at hand. The moment you concentrate the focus of your mind on a singular purpose, extraordinary gifts will appear within your life.”