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The Power of Decision

The Power of Decision

by Raymond Charles Barker 1968 165 pages
4.22
100+ ratings
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Key Takeaways

1. You Are Intelligence, Capable of Right Decisions.

You are Intelligence, capable of knowing the right idea at the right time to make the right decision.

Inherent intelligence. The universe operates on a principle of Intelligence, order, and law, and you, as a creation of this Infinite Mind, are inherently intelligent. This means you are equipped with the capacity for right decisions, which is your individualized creative process. Problems like sickness, financial strain, and frustration arise not from a flawed universe, but from the unintelligent use of your own mind.

Unnecessary problems. Worry, fear, hate, and resentment are unintelligent factors introduced into your field of intelligent activity, leading to problems. These negative states are not your normal heritage but abnormal uses of mind and emotion. Recognizing yourself as pure Intelligence, always acting intelligently, is the first step to overcoming these self-imposed limitations and making correct decisions.

Awaken potential. To develop this self-awareness, affirm your identity as Intelligence in action. This spiritual treatment awakens dormant possibilities within you, activating ideas that are already present in your consciousness. You are not defined by past mistakes but by your present capacity to make right decisions guided by the Intelligence within.

2. Indecision Is Actually the Individual's Decision to Fail.

Indecision is actually the individual’s decision to fail.

Failure's root. Success stems from a decisive mind, while failure originates from indecision. Indecisive individuals often rely on others for direction, a pattern frequently established in childhood due to overprotection or domination. This dependency prevents them from tapping into their own inherent intelligence and self-determination.

Stop seeking advice. Constantly asking others what you should do is a sign of this indecision pattern, hindering your ability to use your own mental resources. Your consciousness contains all the intelligence you need to make your own decisions; the answer is always within you. Original thinking, crucial for success, arises from your own mind, not from external advice.

Universe is decisive. The originating Mind of the cosmos is decisive, orderly, and never hesitates. You are part of this decisive process. Giving direction to your subconscious mind through clear decisions is the only way to achieve desired results. Indecision robs your conscious mind's authority, preventing the subconscious from acting effectively.

3. Your Mind Is the Cause of Your Experience; Control Your Thought.

Your present mind is cause to your world of effects.

Internal causation. Everything you experience is a result of your own consciousness. Your mind is the field of causation, and your world of effects—your body, situations, and relationships—reacts precisely to your mental state. This is a fundamental law: an expanded consciousness expresses as an expanded experience, and vice versa.

Subconscious law. Your subconscious mind acts as a law of cause and effect, automatically producing experiences based on the thoughts and feelings you impress upon it. It is impersonal and cannot do otherwise. Negative thinking over time will inevitably lead to negative situations, just as positive thinking leads to positive outcomes.

Direct your life. Taking control of your life means consciously deciding what goes into your subconscious mind. You can select the ideas you want, think them consistently, and trust your subconscious to produce corresponding situations. This conscious direction of thought is the key to controlling your present and determining your future.

4. Decide to Be Happy; Happiness Is an Inside Job.

Happiness is genuine satisfaction with your present experience.

Inner state. Happiness is not dependent on external circumstances like money, job, home, or relationships; it is an internal state of satisfaction and fulfillment. While the material world can provide comfort, it cannot create true happiness. This inner state is a deep, underlying sense of well-being that allows creativity to flow.

Change consciousness. Unhappy people often focus on changing external events or other people, rather than changing their own consciousness. However, a changed experience can only happen to a changed individual. Your mind is equipped with the ideas needed for happiness; they await your recognition and practice.

Spiritual endowment. Happiness is a spiritual gift, an inherent potential within you, not something that comes and goes. To cultivate it, decide to be happy now, not in the future. Affirming your present happiness, even if it feels like a lie factually, is stating a spiritual truth that activates the creative ideas in your mind, leading to intuitive insights and new, joyful experiences.

5. Decide to Live Richly; Prosperity Is a State of Consciousness.

Prosperity is the ability to do what you want to do at the instant you want to do it.

Beyond money. Living richly is not merely about having money; it's a state of consciousness that allows you to act on your desires when you choose. Money is a means, not the end goal. True prosperity stems from an expanded consciousness and a fuller knowing within.

Divine extravagance. The Infinite Mind is a divine extravagance, constantly giving Itself away through expression. You are a recipient of this infinite bounty, meant to receive ideas and express them into form. This taking-giving process is essential for psychological health and abundant living.

Cultivate prosperity. Prosperity consciousness is generated by seeing money as God in action, a means of circulation and ease, rather than an end in itself. It's built on sound common sense, integrity, and intelligent use of resources. Discarding patterns of lack, fear, and unrealistic expectations through spiritual thinking allows you to live fully and freely.

6. Decide to Be Healthy; Health Is Normal and Spiritual.

Health is normal and sickness is abnormal.

Inherent well-being. Health is your normal state, an expression of the one Life (God) functioning freely within you. Sickness is an abnormality, an unintelligent use of the body's system. While medical practice is valuable, spiritual mind healing focuses on the mental-emotional causes of illness.

Authorize health. To heal through spiritual means, you must make a clear, authoritative decision to be well and expect health as normal. Hope is insufficient; the subconscious mind, which operates the body, requires a definite order from the conscious mind to reverse illness patterns. Your body responds directly to your beliefs about it.

Spiritual foundation. Health is spiritual, not merely physical. It is the Divine Intelligence at work in your body. Affirming this truth, praising your health, and visualizing yourself as a radiant, perfect being are vital steps. Maintaining a healthy mind—optimistic, constructive, and focused on solutions—is essential for maintaining a healthy body.

7. Decide to Be Creative; Inspiration Is Inherent.

An inspired mind is a creative mind.

Beyond the arts. Inspiration is not limited to artists; it is a function of the Spirit inherent in everyone's consciousness. It is your lifeline to creative living, which is essential for true happiness. Routined living, even if efficient, lacks this spiritual verve and can lead to inner failure despite outer success.

Curiosity's role. Self-satisfaction is a "sin" that stifles creativity. Curiosity is a creative action of the mind, necessary for exploring the vast, fascinating world of ideas and experiences available to you. The Infinite Mind is ceaselessly creative, expecting you to do the same by feeding new ideas into your consciousness.

Decongest your mind. Your consciousness acts as a filter between the infinite realm of ideas and the world of form. Negative thoughts and emotions—fear, worry, resentment—act as congestion, impeding the flow of creative ideas. Spiritual treatment helps clarify the mind, removing these obstructions and allowing inspiration to flow, making your "earth" (experience) reflect "heaven" (infinite potential).

8. Embrace New Ideas and Discard the Old.

New ideas are as essential for the mind as food and water are for the physical body.

Mental nourishment. Just as the body needs sustenance, the mind requires new ideas for growth and progress. Relying solely on old, familiar ideas leads to stagnation, monotony, and boredom, which are detrimental to your well-being and creativity. Old ideas cannot create new conditions.

Letting go. Deciding to release ideas and situations that have completed their course is crucial. Holding onto the past prevents new ideas from appearing and manifesting. The power of saying "no" mentally eliminates congestion and allows the subconscious mind to release outdated patterns.

Progressive revelation. New ideas are constantly pouring into your consciousness from the Infinite Mind. They are seeking you out, needing you as a means of self-expression. Welcoming these ideas, even if they make you uncomfortable initially, is vital for progressive revelation and living a dynamic, fulfilling life.

9. Accept Responsibility and Overcome Self-Blame and Guilt.

You and you alone are responsible for your life.

Self-causation. Your problems and experiences are caused by you, stemming from your own consciousness and the patterns within your subconscious mind. Accepting this truth, though potentially unpleasant, is necessary to find a correct way to change your life. Blaming the world, others, or God prevents you from taking control.

Guilt's burden. Self-guilt and remorse, often stemming from past mistakes or subconscious fears of not pleasing others, weigh down the mind and hinder decisive action. Unlike older beliefs about divine punishment, all guilt is self-imposed and stored in your own subconscious memory.

Release and move forward. Rationalizing away guilt by recognizing that mistakes are not consciously planned helps lessen its power. Releasing emotional power from guilt allows you to trust your abilities, make right decisions, and move forward without being stymied by the past. Spiritual treatment can help neutralize these patterns.

10. Direct Your Mental Attention and Expectations Towards Desired Outcomes.

Where your mental attention goes, your emotions follow.

Focus is power. Your mental attention is a powerful tool that directs your emotions and initiates the creative process in your subconscious mind. Focusing on negatives—worry, fear, problems—uses this power destructively, creating what you don't want. Focusing on positives—faith, solutions, desired outcomes—uses it constructively.

Cultivate healthy expectations. Your expectations act as a mental barometer, revealing your subconscious thought patterns. Negative expectations indicate potential trouble areas that need to be addressed. Healthy expectations, on the other hand, are necessary for a healthy mind and attract positive experiences.

Conscious direction. To achieve a richer, fuller life, consciously direct your attention and expectations towards the good you desire. This requires self-discipline to shift away from negative thoughts and deliberately focus on constructive, creative, and pleasant ideas. This consistent mental practice sustains the healthy atmosphere your subconscious needs to manifest your decisions.

11. True Freedom Comes from Knowing Yourself as Measureless Consciousness.

To say I am consciousness is to state what you are as individuality.

Beyond the physical. Your true self is not merely your physical body, emotions, or intellect; it is measureless, timeless, spaceless consciousness. This is your individuality, your being in God. Recognizing yourself as this pure awareness frees you from the limitations imposed by the five senses and the material world.

Intuition's guidance. Intuition is the process of self-awakening, revealing glimpses of this larger consciousness and the inherent ideas within it. It is not about predicting material outcomes but about becoming aware of yourself as the allness and fullness of Being. This intuitive perception leads to freedom from struggle, strain, and fear.

Limitless potential. As measureless consciousness, you are a continuous process of life, unconditioned by time or space. You are the purpose, not just a plan. This understanding allows you to place fewer limits on ideas and experience greater expansion. Deciding that this is who you truly are unlocks your potential to live a full, free, and abundant life.

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Review Summary

4.22 out of 5
Average of 100+ ratings from Goodreads and Amazon.

The Power of Decision received mostly positive reviews, with readers praising its life-changing impact and powerful message about decisive thinking. Many found it inspirational and transformative, highlighting its emphasis on taking control of one's life through decision-making. Some readers appreciated the author's bold, no-nonsense approach, while others found the writing style arrogant or repetitive. Critics noted an overreliance on religious references and pseudo-scientific claims. Despite mixed opinions on the delivery, many readers found valuable insights and practical advice for personal growth and success.

Your rating:
4.53
4 ratings

About the Author

Raymond Charles Barker was a prominent figure in the New Thought movement, a 20th-century spiritual and philosophical tradition. As a minister and author, he focused on the power of the mind to shape reality and achieve success. Barker's teachings emphasized the importance of decisive thinking and aligning one's consciousness with divine intelligence. His work drew from principles of Science of Mind, a philosophy developed by Ernest Holmes. Barker's writing style was characterized by bold, direct statements and a conviction in the power of positive thinking. He aimed to inspire readers to take control of their lives through conscious decision-making and spiritual alignment. Barker's ideas continue to influence modern self-help and personal development literature.

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