Aristotle once said, “The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” And author Roy T. Bennett said, “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
Throughout the day, we experience thousands upon thousands of negative thoughts.
I’m not good enough to get that job. My girlfriend is going to break up with me. I don’t have enough money to pay this month’s rent. I don’t like how my body looks. Why can’t I be like _____?
These are just a few examples of the types of negative thoughts we may think. But there’s something that all those thoughts have in common — a negative view of one’s self.
Oftentimes, our minds are the harshest critics. When something doesn’t happen the way we want it to, we usually put some of that blame on ourselves. Maybe you didn’t get the job you wanted, but that doesn’t mean you’re less of a person — it just means it wasn’t the right job for you! We’re constantly telling ourselves lies — and those lies shape our reality.
Bad news, right? Well, thankfully, I have good news, too! When you think positively about yourself and embrace self-love, those thoughts also have an effect on your reality — a positive one! You can literally manifest your desires by thinking you’re worthy of them. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true, and today, I’m bringing back Dr. Joe Dispenza to show you how.
Dr. Joe’s interest lies in demystifying the mystical so that people have all the tools within their reach to make measurable changes in their lives. This is actually the second part of our powerful conversation, so make sure to check out Part One as well, where we talk about how to find true, lasting love!
Who Is Dr. Joe Dispenza?
Dr. Joe Dispenza is an international speaker, researcher, author, and educator who is passionate about the findings from the fields of neuroscience, epigenetics, and quantum physics to explore the science behind spontaneous remissions (when you suddenly recover from an illness, injury, etc). He uses that knowledge to help people heal themselves of illness, chronic conditions, and even terminal diseases so they can enjoy a more fulfilled and happy life as well as evolve their consciousness.
Dr. Joe is the New York Times bestselling author of You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter, which explores our ability to heal without drugs or surgery, but rather by thought alone. His most recent book, Becoming Supernatural, talks about how we can intentionally change our brain chemistry to initiate profoundly mystical, transcendental experiences and develop a more healthy body, mind, and spiritual life.
Dr. Joe didn’t always work in the field of neuroscience. He started out as a chiropractor, earning his doctor of chiropractic degree from Life University in Atlanta, GA. He had a successful chiropractic practice, but one day he had a dangerous accident. In 1986, while cycling in a triathlon, Dr. Joe was hit by a truck. He broke six vertebrae in his spine, and his doctors told him he would never walk again.
Dr. Joe asked four different surgeons what he should do, and all four of them prescribed a complicated surgery. The surgery would relieve some of his pain but nearly guarantee he would never walk again. But that wasn’t good enough. He refused to have the surgery and instead began to imagine himself totally healed. He visualized each vertebrae healing and reconstructed his spine in his mind. In just ten and a half weeks, Dr. Joe was back on his feet, and in twelve weeks, he was training again and back at work at his chiropractic clinic. He fully healed himself with just his mind.
I’ve had Dr. Joe a few times on the podcast now (Episode #826, Episode #679, and Episode #933), and in the past, we’ve talked about unlocking the power of the mind and breaking the addiction of negative thoughts. We continue that conversation today, but we focus specifically on the power of self-love and detaching your identity from the past.
In this second part of the interview, we talk about how to break out of the past and embrace the future, how to detach your identity from the three-dimensional world, and how gratitude and self-love can protect you against COVID-19. This is an interview that everyone needs to hear right now, so let’s get into it!
Breaking Out of the Past and Creating a Brighter Future
When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you think of?
Do you think to yourself, “Today’s going to be a great, productive day — full of possibility!” Or maybe you think, “I hope today isn’t like yesterday.”
You can see the striking difference between those two statements. One is focused on the positive and a happy future. The other is focused on a negative record of the past.
“The first thing [people] do is think about the problems. Those problems are memories that are etched in the brain that are connected to certain people, certain objects, [and] certain things at a certain time and place. … So then, all of a sudden, they start feeling unhappy. … Now the body’s in the past because thoughts are the language of the brain and feelings are the language of the body.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
When your body and mind are both living in the past, then your thoughts and emotions are rooted in negativity and impossibility. And when this mindset becomes a habit, your mind and body are both stuck in a loop — of negative thoughts and emotions. These loops can be debilitating at times and keep you from achieving your goals, feeling happy, and making good decisions. So the question is, how do we break out of negative loops?
“If you are truly in the business of change or creating your life, that’s a big responsibility, right? So if something happens to you, you can’t blame anybody because of that — it’s your responsibility to take care of you, right? So then the fundamental question is, … ‘At what point [did] I stop believing that I create my life?’” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
I encourage you to ask yourself that question right now — at what moment did you become a victim to the circumstances of your past? The first step to breaking out of negative emotions and thoughts is awareness. Maybe you went through a traumatic experience, a bad breakup, or a tragedy that turned your world upside down. Since that moment, your body and mind has been operating in that limited space. Once you’re aware of that experience and what it’s doing to you, you can begin to manifest a better future for yourself. Here’s what Dr. Joe does every day:
“I condition [myself] to the emotions of the future, and I get a very clear image of who I’m going to be this day, and I’m not going to get up until I feel that way. [When you do that,] I guarantee you [that] you’re going to come up against all those unconscious thoughts. … [When you rewire them], you’re breaking down the old personality. … You’re executing a will that’s greater than an unconscious program.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Simply put, mindful meditation will start to rewire those negative thought patterns in your brain. You’ll take responsibility back over your body and mind, and you’ll begin making executive decisions on what your future is going to look like. Every day, remind yourself of who you no longer want to be and who you want to become, and you’ll start breaking out of your old programming.
Let Go of Your Identity in the 3D World
Our personality is always changing and adapting as we grow, learn new things, and experience the world around us. While this isn’t a bad thing, sometimes we get locked into an identity that’s rooted in the 3D world of materialism. Let me explain a little bit:
I live in a fancy condo building that’s near the Greatness studio — it’s super convenient and close to my office space — but I think I’m probably the least fancy person in the building. Every day, I take my $200 scooter to work, past the Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and I’m just smiling. My scooter isn’t even electric — it’s very basic. I have nothing against new, fancy cars, but they aren’t something that I need to be happy. Happiness isn’t rooted in material possessions — and neither is your identity. The problem is, many people construct their identity around the stuff they own.
“[Some] people build an identity by becoming some type of [person], having some type of body, knowing someone, … owning some things. … [They are] identifying with everything material in the three-dimensional world, and all their attention is out there. … And when you become possessed by your possessions, and you can’t get beyond them to create because your identity is so steeped in the three-dimensional world, it’s going to take crisis. It’s going to take trauma. It’s going to take disease.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
When those 3D possessions are taken away or lost, then you’re left picking up the pieces of your disjointed identity. I’ve seen this happen first hand — and it’s not pretty. Take a second and reflect on whether or not your identity is rooted in the 3D world. Do you base your self-worth on your bank account, your body type, or the connections you have in the business world? Do those things truly define who you are?
“[Those in an elevated state] are just in love with themselves. They’re satisfied with themselves. Now, when they’re in love with themselves, … they can allow others to be however they want. Then the side effect of that is called ‘joy.’ … So a scooter would bring you just as much joy as a sports car because you don’t need either one of them to be happy.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Rather than basing your identity on physical objects, Dr. Joe recommended that you rely on experiences and moments to inform who you are and who you’re becoming.
“I’ve had all those [physical] things, and none of that means anything to me. … We take memories with us. I want to experience experiences. I want to have moments that I’ll never forget my entire life, and I don’t care if it’s the most amazing meal with great friends and great wine … or [if] it’s a mystical moment that’s so profound and so transformative. Those are the ones you take with you.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Remember that meditation practice we talked about in the previous section? You can use this same meditation to let go of your identity that’s tied to the physical world. Remind yourself every day of who you want to become, and as Dr. Joe says, “believe in your future more than your past.”
How Love and Gratitude Boost Your Immune System
When we embrace the future and trade negative emotions for positive ones, we not only improve our mental and spiritual health, but we also improve our physical health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this is more important than ever. We need ways to improve our immune system against the virus, and Dr. Joe has two methods that you’ve probably never heard of before!
“Just ten minutes [or] 20 minutes of gratitude a day. … [Don’t] just think about the things that you’re grateful for, but … embrace them emotionally. Why? … The emotional signature of gratitude means something amazing just happened to you.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Dr. Joe explained that when you practice gratitude daily, you’re releasing healing chemicals in your body. As a result, you’re also building your immune system to fight against harmful bacteria and viruses, such as COVID-19.
The second thing that will improve your immune system is self-love. Now, you may be thinking, ‘What’s the science behind this? How can we measure this in data?’ Dr. Joe had an amazing story to share on the subject from one of his events that I think will blow your mind.
“We had 32 people that we were measuring there. … We measured their brains before the event … [and] after the event, and we had them wearing heart rate monitors to measure heart rate variability. We partnered with a research team at the University of California, San Diego, and we started measuring these things called exosomes with cellular vesicles that released genetic materials that tell you if the cells are healthy. … We drew a lot of blood, … [but] COVID happened, and the lab closed.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
However, before the lab closed, the senior researcher gave Dr. Joe a call, saying that they had found some really compelling data. There was one person in particular who came into the event feeling very sick. His blood showed that he had a great amount of cellular imbalance and that his body was not functioning properly. But after a week of mindful meditation and self-love practices, he completely changed for the better.
“We got this crazy idea because we were writing a grant to the NIH in the last couple of weeks. … What if we took his blood because it [had such a] dramatic [change]? … And let’s subject his blood to COVID. … So the COVID [was] in both blood samples [the before and after]. … And when we put the COVID in his blood before … the event, … all the cells and plasma absorbed the COVID, … and the microscopic field show[ed] that there [was] an infection. But when we subjected his blood [post-event] to COVID, … there was hardly any infection at all in his blood.” – Dr. Joe Dispenza
Literally, this man had received so much love and put out so much gratitude that he healed himself and strengthened his immune system against COVID-19. Friends, when you act from a place of love and gratitude, your body is much less susceptible to the conditions of your environment.
Why You Should Listen to This Dr. Joe Dispenza Podcast Episode Right Now…
I am grateful for every second I get to interview Dr. Joe Dispenza. He shares so much wisdom on how to overcome pain and suffering and embrace the life you were meant to live. We need to be reminded daily that we are responsible for our happiness and have the power to transform our lives.
If you’re ready to learn more from Dr. Joe, check out his guided meditation CDs and audio downloads. He has multiple books, and one of my favorites is Becoming Supernatural. You can find more resources on Dr. Joe’s website, and don’t forget to connect with him on Instagram and Twitter. And if you haven’t checked out Part One of our conversation, please do so — he gave so many tips on how to find true love and build lasting relationships.
We’d also love to know how this interview inspired you! You can take a screenshot of this and post it on Instagram/tag us both — Dr. Joe, @drjoedispenza, and myself, @lewishowes — and let us know what you learned today. Better yet — share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it. You could change someone’s life!
Friends, you can either stay in the negative patterns or create a more powerful, loving future. The choice is yours. I know I’ve made mine.
To Greatness,
Some Questions I Ask:
- What’s the formula for breaking out of the constant cycle of thinking and feeling the same things?
- What happens in our brain and body when we learn to truly love ourselves?
- What happens if we don’t remind ourselves of the future we want to create for ourselves?
- Do emotions create thoughts or do thoughts create emotions?
- Should we suppress our emotions?
- How important is it to heal our inner child?
- What happens if we don’t remind ourselves of the future we want to create for ourselves?
- What is brain and heart coherence?
In this episode, you will learn:
- How to set yourself up for success every morning.
- How to begin letting go of your identity.
- Why overcoming emotions is the most important thing you can do.
- The difference between creating from the quantum field and creating from matter.
- How overcoming our emotions helps us pay attention more to ourselves versus distractions.
- The difference between brain states and how we can manipulate them.
- Plus much more…
Connect with:
Dr. Joe Dispenza
