The Science of Getting What You Want Dr N K Srinivasan

Introduction This article is about the Science of getting what you want. By "science' I do not mean hard sciences like physics or chemistry where you perform experiments and find proofs for results. By 'science' I mean a definite procedure to follow and get results as a consequence-more in the nature of 'cause and effect'. The science of getting results had been described by

different persons earlier using 'new thought' or new age philosophies,sometimes called 'metaphysics'. You may be already familiar with 'The Secret"--a book and a

movie by Rhonda Bryne which became immensely popular, and her later book " The Power". She seemed to have derived her inspiration from the famous book " The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles ,written in 1910. We shall examine this book in this article. I have read and followed some the the great books of self-help genre over the years from my younger days-authors like: Florence Scovell Shinn, Norman Vincent Peale,Napoloean Hill,James Allen, Joseph Murphy, R H Jarrett, George Cleason, Maxwell Maltz, Claude Bristol, Shakti Gawain--among others. I have also read and liked reading modern " new Age" authors like Wayne Dyer , Marianne Willamson and "A Course in followers. They all have Miracles"

sound messages to boost your

self-esteem,self image , develop faith in your subconscious mind and in a Higher Power, God or the Supreme Being, with or without angels to help you along the way and attain the goals. Some have used mental conditioning methods such as affirmations --for

instance, the highly respected Louise Hays

for

healing process. Many authors and new age philosophers have been influenced by 'modified' Christian theologians like Ernest Holmes and Charles Fillmore and their Church, rooted in Christian faith and theology.

There has been and will always be several writers and preachers of "laws of Prosperity" ,based on the concepts given above,with or without Christian roots or metaphors, to show the way to make money: Catherine Ponder for instance. At one time I was greatly influenced by her writings.My earliest inspiration came from Norman Vincent Peale's " Power of Positive

Thinking". The present article is in fact a " max and match" of all these but without any direct reference to Christian faith; If you have faith in God, that will do. In whatever manner you worship God, based on Old or New Testament or other sacred texts---Talmud or the Gita or Buddhist teachings --it does not matter. The Higher

Power is guiding you and supporting you ---that faith is important. This article is based on the author's experiences in hard life. I may also hasten to add that in almost all cases, the Higher Power is guiding you through a human agency--may be a friend, a teacher , a guru or an unknown person

on the road. The support often comes in an unexpected way under strange circumstances. Such is the inscrutable way of God or the Higher Power. Anyone who

had been involved in social service will testify to this unseen hand of God. The Stroy of getting rich The book by Willaim Wattles -- " The Science of getting rich" was highly influential in affecting so many people with its message. This book is a slim volume ,64 pages, available even now in reprints. Wattles based his entire book on the view that getting rich in pure monetary terms is the first thing to do---

to take care of your body, mind and soul.In his message he did not go into other aspects like mental peace,self-esteem and so on or even about serving society; but he did emphasize making money in an honest way and not in competition with others since there is abundance everywhere and you are not competing with others for limited resources. [These concepts may not appeal to modern readers who are bombarded with the limited resources of a world with nearly 7 billion persons. But in a broad sense , he was correct in that the resources are indeed unlimited if we think of abundant things in untapped areas. He also wrote about new opportunities like new industries at that time like aviation industry [in 1910] which would provide sources of employment and wealth at that time.] Wattles inspired Rhonda Byrne to write 'the Secret' and help millions with her approach. What she did may be to revisit the same concepts in a new language. She

focused on the "Law of Attraction" like many new age writers. There are critics out there who cast doubts on the "Wattle's theory" and also Bryne's " Secret". In the first place, these concepts are no 'secret' at all-they are as old as the hills. One writer told that they are already in the Bible: Mark 11:24 " Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye

pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them". Wattles only rephrased them in more easy to read language with examples. Have we not heard that prayers will work miracles and faith will move mountains ? Secondly it is a moot point how rich Wattles became, though some accounts state that he was a highly respected figure in his town. Many who have reviewed the book state that it was life-changing but very few have given the details how many millions they have made by following the book. The same doubt is cast on the readers of 'the Secret' also. Rhonda Byrne appeared in 'Oprah Winfrey Show' and apparently influenced millions

of viewers and also got the book into best seller list for nearly three years.!Three Cheers. Some wags state that all that these books have done is to help the authors to become rich anyways. This remark is often told with reference to all authors

of "self-help" books that they indeed help the authors to help themselves.![ Apparently there is a need for such books and the books sell well bringing millions to the authors who may after all write "good stuff" --pointing to certain values. Though I may not agree with all that Wayne Dyer has written, I consider him as one

who has done lot of good by writing about great truths and great persons.] In third place, there is another doubt that what Wattles wrote may not be infallible at all. For instance, Wattles wrote a book on "The science of getting well", but he himself died at a young age of 51. So , the science may work in a statistical sense, say 99.9 % of the time, but not always.

With these things in mind, one may approach Wattles work and 'The Secret' with some reservations. But remember, these methods or "science' work only if you have faith in the methods as such. One can always say: "It worked for the authors, so it should work for others too." This argument fails in that it may not work for all. Shall we say that it would work for most of the people who apply it? { I am not writing about healing processes in this article.]

The science of getting what you want: Principles

Basic

There are Six (6) basic principles to follow to get what you want: 1 Have intense desire to get what you want:

You must have a burning desire to get what you want. If you are in deep love with someone, you intensely want to have romance with that person. A true devotee has intense love for God or chosen deity. If you want to become an industry leader or get a high position, you have a burning desire. Without a burning desire, you may not get anything at all or settle for mediocre things. [ A 'passion' may extend over several years, over whole career, but a desire is a burning emotion over much shorter period.]

I presume that your desire is morally pure or correct and you have no intentions of cheating or harming others. If your thoughts are altruistic, the results would be faster. 2 Write down the things you want and read it often:

It is important that you write down what you want in short sentences and read them at least three times a day.This is to help concretise your wants and keep them uppermost in your mind...Do this as a routine practice.You may slightly alter the sentences but they should remain as they are.Read it aloud a few times every day. You should think big but write down smaller steps on the way.[For instance when I wanted to build a school for visually challenged children in India, I started to support a school in a

backyard shack, later would move to a rented apartment , then a large building with two floors of space and then a campus with one acre

area in about 10 years .]

3 Believe in abundance --never think of lack or limited resources: Think of nature---how many millions of leaves are there in any tree! Think of billions of stars in the sky. Think of millions of petals of roses in any rose garden. Your mind should never brook thoughts of 'lack of this' ,'lack of that'...Think always what you can do with what you know and what you have. 4 Visualize what you want to get ---Picture this in your mind's eye. If you can draw this on a paper, it is good or make a collage of a picture with cut out pieces. Do this as a craft but keep in mind this is going to get you that stuff in real life pretty soon. Imagine that you already have what you want, believe in this "make-belief". As children

we all played "pretend' games; why not now for higher purpose. Those who have faith in this science will believe so...others wait saying that they will believe after it materialsies in their life. In fact this is the basic difference between what the believers do and what non-achievers do. Imagine that you have already what you want to get.Act as if you have the thing you want.

5 Give " thanks" or show gratitude for what you will get in advance! You must show gratitude for all the wonderful things God has already provided you with.List them . Further thank Him in advance as things you want will materialize soon.

6 Be Relaxed! Do not fret and fume or feel restless. You know about the gardener who planted a sapling and lifted the sampling everyday to check whether the roots are growing...let the thoughts grow in your mind and in your

environment. Soon you will get what you want ,but be relaxed in the thought that positive results will come. Most often, you get what you want much sooner than you think. If you expect the results in 30 days, you may get it in 20 days even.! Dear Readers, These are the Six principles you will apply repeatedly to get what you want. Be sure to give

thanks for what you will get in advance because there is nothing that helps you more than 'the spirit of gratitude". As for myself, I have received good amount of wealth by these methods or by this science. I

have also built several institutions with very little initial money or capital I could invest on my own, but with faith and following these methods, without any help from large charity groups or foundations--- to help disadvantaged children in India.The joy I have experienced due to this social service is immeasurable and cannot be reckoned with millions of dollars. Hence my faith in " The science of getting what you want". [P S :

For details or discussion contact : nksrinivasan@hotmail.com. You are encouraged to read as many books as you wish from the authors mentioned here. Do give feedback how this article helped you or relates to you. Share this article with your friends as a free

gift from someone who had experimented with this 'science'.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------