Go there first - why your state of being matters

The first real encounter with the concept of states of being was from reading the "My big TOE" by Thomas Campbell, a physicist. He discovered in the lab he was working, how to manipulate states of consciousness. He used at first binaural beats and meditation to alter it but he realised that intentional focus for a trained person is enough.

Consciousness is the fundamental reality, and the physical matter is just the result of information processing.

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are units of consciousness having a virtual experience called physical reality.

Fear contracts and isolates you. Love expands you and connects you to everything that exists.

What this adds to the answer: consciousness is the fundamental layer — the state sits upstream of everything physical.

Then came hypnosis, another way to alter our consciousness.

My first encounter with hypnosis was Dolores Cannon. One of her books, "The Custodians", fell into my hands and I couldn't stop reading until the end. She spent decades doing regression hypnosis, and in the deepest state she could reach, her clients stopped speaking as themselves — something else spoke. She called it the Subconscious, or Higher Self: the part of us that knew everything about the person's life, and could heal, instantly, conditions the person had carried for decades.

Two of her lines stayed with me:

"Anything can be cured if the person is willing to let go of it. They create their own illnesses, and they can un-create them just as easily."

"There are no limitations, unless you create them yourselves. Anything is possible. You are only limited by your own imagination."

Read those slowly. Willingness to let go — that is a state. Limitation created by the self — that is a belief. Her whole craft rested on one move: hypnosis put people into a very specific state, and in that state, wisdom spoke that the waking mind had no access to.

What this adds to the answer: in the deepest state, the healing intelligence is already there — it heals exactly what the person is willing to let go of.

This book sparked my interest for hypnosis as she was using hypnosis to put people in a very specific state. And then by coincidence (or the tracking cookies on my pc) an ad about a hypnotherapy course with Paul McKenna appeared, so I took it.

When I was training with Paul McKenna on hypnotherapy there was one thing he said that stuck with me.

If you want to put a client into a specific state, you need to go there first.

Without knowing he answered a question that was bugging me for years:
"Why do I feel so good, feeling healed after, when I take a walk with people in this HOP work? It's easy, I'm just taking a walk with people, every word comes by itself and there literally nothing to do." More on this later.

What this adds to the answer: the practitioner's craft in one sentence — the state you want someone else to reach, you wear first.

In Power vs. Force, Dr. David R. Hawkins introduces the premise that human consciousness is mapped on a logarithmic scale from 1 to 1000. His central thesis is that true "Power" arises from alignment with truth, life-supportive principles, and higher consciousness, whereas "Force" relies on the ego, control, coercion, and lower-vibrational energy fields.

The core concepts of the book are illustrated below:

1. The Core Distinction: Power vs. Force

Force always moves against something, whereas power does not move against anything. Power stands still. It is like a standing field that does not move.

2. The Map of Consciousness

Hawkins calibrates states of being on a numeric scale where 200 (Courage) marks the critical turning point. Levels below 200 operate on Force and drain energy, while levels at or above 200 operate on Power and enhance life.

The Courage to face truth leads eventually to Acceptance, where greater power arises at the level of 350... This, in turn, leads to the yet greater power available at 500, the level of Love.

3. Personal Evolution and Global Impact

Because the scale is logarithmic, a single high-power individual counterbalances masses operating in lower force fields. Consequently, personal spiritual growth profoundly affects the world.

We change the world not by what we say or do, but as a consequence of what we have become.

4. Health and Attractor Patterns

Alignment with high-energy attractor patterns results in health; alignment with weak ones results in disease. This syndrome is specific and predictable.

What this adds to the answer: states are measurable — and power, the high end of the scale, does not push.

Then I was recommended to listen to Bashar. Bashar is an entity channeled by Darryl Anka (I know... very strange). When I first saw him I immediately rejected him. It was way too weird for my analytical mind. But then after a few months someone else recommended him again. I opened the website and at first I didn't even remember that it was recommended to me before. I had the same reaction to reject. I was about to close the browser tab when that voice in my head said, what if you just listen for 10 seconds, just for curiosity... After only a few seconds I said to myself... Wait a minute... This strange guy is saying things that I believe and priceless to me... And so I listened more and the more I listened, except some things that are too strange, mostly it was deeply resonating with me. Bashar is talking a lot about beliefs. The core of HOP is beliefs. So I started to be curious what exactly does it say and how does he see it. I've read the book "The masters of limitation: An ET's Observations of Earth". This book was filled with gems like:

Ironically, mechanically positive states can also be used for negative reasons, just as mechanically negative states can be used for positive ones. For example, imposing certain limitations on one's greater being allows for a focused, physical experience. Thus, a "negative" act is used to create a physical experience for the "positive" reason of gaining a new perspective that allows the soul to grow. Conversely, a "positive" belief can be used in a "negative" way, as when an individual negatively attempts to force their belief system on another for what they falsely assume to be "positive" reasons.

He also repeated this:

Circumstances do not matter. Only state of being matters.

If you look closely at the sentence above it says that only the state of being matters, so the state of being is literally creating reality.

Bashar explains that these 5 rules are the absolute constants of the universe, they are structural facts of reality that you cannot change, avoid, or break. Everything else is just an opinion or a localized rule.

The 5 laws are:

1. You Exist

2. The All is One, and the One is All

3. What You Put Out is What You Get Back

4. Everything is Here and Now

5. Everything Changes, Except the First Four Laws

What this adds to the answer: beliefs are the machinery that sets the state — and only the state of being matters.

And this brings me to Abraham — a group of non-physical teachers channeled by the author and speaker Esther Hicks. Here are a few of the core concepts

On Your True State of Being

"You are a Non-Physical Extension of that which is Source Energy."

"The standard of success in life isn't the things. The standard of success is absolutely the amount of joy you feel."

"You are loved. You are good. You are loved."

On Consciousness & Thought

"Every thought you think is vibrating at a very specific frequency. And by the Law of Attraction, that thought is now attracting another thought that is a vibrational match to it."

"If you can hold a thought for just 17 seconds, the Law of Attraction kicks in, and another thought like it will join it, increasing the vibrational energy."

"You cannot watch things that are not as you want them to be without vibrating with them and becoming a match to them."

On Emotions & Guidance

"Your emotions are your indicators of the vibrational relationship between your physical self and your Non-Physical Self."

"Nothing is more important than that you feel good."

"If you are not feeling joy, you are not in alignment with who you really are."

On Creating Your Reality

"You are the creator of your own reality, and so, you cannot blame anyone else for what is coming into your experience."

"As you think, you vibrate. As you vibrate, you attract."

"Look for reasons to feel good, and the universe will yield to you more reasons to feel good."

What this adds to the answer: emotions are the instruments — the dial, reading your alignment in real time.

Then I studied Seth, the entity channeled by Jane Roberts starting from 1963.

Here are the core concepts.

On the Nature of Being and Consciousness

"You are a multidimensional personality. Trust the miracle of your own being."

"Your soul is not something that you possess. It is what you are."

"Consciousness is not a byproduct of matter. Matter is a byproduct of consciousness."

On Reality Creation

"You create your own reality. There is no other rule."

"You are given the gift of gods: your thoughts are alive, and they become physical matter."

"The physical world is the materialization of your own thoughts, expectations, and beliefs."

On the Present Moment

"The point of power is in the present. It is not in the past or the future."

"You are not at the mercy of past events. You can change your present by changing your current beliefs."

Again very similar ideas present themselves without contradicting.

What this adds to the answer: the point of power is in the present — the only place a state can be changed.

Then it came Donald Walsh. He wrote the Conversations with God (CwG) series after experiencing a low point in his life, which led him to write an angry letter to God.

To his surprise, he felt an internal voice answer him, leading to a dialogue that spanned several books.

In this philosophy, God is not a judgmental ruler, but the interconnected energy of All That Is, and life is a process of self-remembering and self-recreation rather than a test.

Core Concepts and Quotes from Conversations with God

1. The True Nature of Being

We are not separate from the divine; we are individual expressions of God experiencing physical reality to know ourselves experientially.

"There is only One of us."

"You are a part of the Whole... You are the Creator, creating Yourself anew in every single moment."

"Your soul is the sum total of every feeling you have ever had (created)."

2. The Mechanics of Reality Creation

Everything in life is created through three levels of manifestation: Thought, Word, and Deed. Fear and Love are the two driving forces behind every human action.

"Your life is a reflection of what you believe you deserve."

"Fear is the energy which contracts, closes down, draws in, runs, hides, hoards, harms. Love is the energy which expands, opens up, sends out, stays, reveals, shares, heals."

"The master understands that it is what one thinks, not what one does, that produces the result."

3. Purpose and Divine Will

God has no expectations, no demands, and does not require worship. The purpose of life is not to please God to get into heaven, but to remember who you truly are.

"The purpose of life is not to get anywhere—it is to notice that you are already there, and always have been."

"I have never set down a 'Right' or 'Wrong,' a 'Do' or 'Don't.' To do so would be to strip you completely of your greatest gift—the opportunity to do as you please, and experience the results of that."

"Your ultimate function on Earth is to decide who you are, and then live that."

4. The Illusion of Time and Space

Time and space are constructs of the physical world designed to give us a framework to experience ourselves. In reality, everything happens simultaneously.

"Time is not a thing that passes. It is a dimension through which you pass."

"There is no past, present, and future. All things exist at once, in the Eternal Now."

What this adds to the answer: you decide who you are — and then live that.

Then it came A Course in Miracles (ACIM), a spiritual text scribed by psychologist Dr. Helen Schucman between 1965 and 1972 through a process of inner dictation, similar to Donald Walsh, but here Jesus is being channeled.

The Course presents a system of radical spiritual psychology. Its core premise is that the physical world is an illusion born of the ego's belief in separation, and the only true reality is God and Love. Healing comes from practicing a unique form of "forgiveness" that recognizes the illusion never truly changed your divine reality.

The core concepts of the Course, summarized by its famous opening, are outlined below.

---

1. The Core Premise of Reality

The foundation of ACIM rests on distinguishing between what is real (eternal, unchangeable, created by God) and what is unreal (temporary, changing, projected by the ego).

"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."

2. The Nature of the Ego and the World

The world we see is not a physical reality created by God, but an elaborate projection—a defense mechanism designed by the ego to maintain the illusion of separation and guilt.

"The world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for what He creates must be eternal as Himself."

"Projection makes perception. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less. Therefore, to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of an inward condition."

3. Love vs. Fear

The Course states that there are only two fundamental emotions: Love and Fear. Love is our natural inheritance, while fear is an artificial creation of the ego. All expressions of anger, attack, or grievance are actually distorted cries for love.

"The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-compassing can have no opposite."

"Every response you make is rooted in either fear or love. Fear is the witness to separation; love is the witness to oneness."

4. Radical Forgiveness (The Miracle)

In ACIM, a "miracle" is simply a shift in perception from fear to love. Traditional forgiveness means letting someone off the hook for a wrong they did. ACIM forgiveness means recognizing that the separation never actually happened, so there is ultimately nothing to condemn.

"A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false."

"Forgiveness... is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not."

5. The Holy Spirit and the Present Moment

The Holy Spirit is the voice for God within the mind, acting as a bridge to translate our perceptions from the ego's framework of guilt and time into the framework of love and the "Holy Instant."

"The Holy Instant is the time in which you receive and give perfect forgiveness... It is the only time that is now."

"Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world."

---

What this adds to the answer: projection makes perception — the world you see is the witness to your state of mind.

This brought me back to my initial training in LearningMethods, years before, where David Gorman was saying, as if it was something obvious that you need to live what you want first.

You, the conscious choosing you, need to lead the way by living what you want first. You cannot "get" the experience and then live in it once you have it That is, you must inhibit the habitual tendency to try to "fix" the moment (under the mistaken idea that it is somehow "broken" or a "bad use" moment and therefore needs fixing by you). Instead, learn from that yummy experience and follow the path by starting to live, right now, what your own system just showed you about the way it works.

That means choosing to live the whole you just as you are in the moment of choice, whether you like how you currently feel or not — in other words, start being whole RIGHT NOW. -- I Once Was Lost... but Now Am Found

Unlike the channeled entities or metaphysical systems discussed previously, David Gorman's LearningMethods (and its offshoot, the Anatomy of Wholeness) is a deeply practical, secular, and educational approach to human design and problem-solving.

Gorman, a former prominent teacher of the Alexander Technique, shifted away from traditional bodywork to map how our constructs, beliefs, and interpretations directly manifest as physical tension, stress, and anxiety. In this method, physical reactions are not malfunctions to be fixed by an outside expert, but rather the perfect somatic feedback of how we are perceiving a situation.

Here are the core concepts:

1. You Do Not "Have" a Body, You ARE Your Body

Gorman rejects the mind-body split. He points out that what we call "muscle tension" or a "tight body" is actually just the physical feeling of our ongoing habits, judgments, and ways of reacting.

You cannot feel your 'body'. You do not have a body. You are your body. You are yourself all the way from bottom to top and out into the world. What you are feeling is what it feels like to be doing what you are doing...

2. Symptoms Are Logical Feedback, Not Faults

If you experience performance anxiety, throat constriction, or back pain, LearningMethods asserts that your system is working perfectly. Your physical tension is a direct, logical response to an underlying belief or a misinterpretation of a situation. The goal is to trace the symptom back to the moment you made a "construct" that triggered the survival response.

The work is there to help somebody understand how their problem works. So that they can connect that when they get into those situation which they see from their usual point of view, those are the reactions they have and those are the emotions they...

3. Innate Wholeness and the Illusion of Effort

Gorman notes that when people are deeply immersed in an activity they love (like a musician "in the zone" or someone watching a sunset), they experience an effortless state of unity. Traditional methods teach people to "try" to relax or manipulate their posture, but Gorman argues that this just adds a new habit on top of an old one. Wholeness returns naturally the moment we stop interfering with our inherent human design.

You recall those moments and you'll note that most or all of the following things are happening, and they are happening all together all at once: — You experience a wholeness and unity such that you have no parts; — You experience ease and freedom such that...

4. The Loop of Habit

When we experience discomfort, our immediate habit is to make ourselves "wrong" and try to forcefully fix our posture or calm our minds. Gorman calls this a circular trap where the act of trying to fix yourself actually perpetuates the stress.

...in this case what it feels like to be that split and that reacting; that much making yourself wrong and that much trying to manipulate yourself. And when this is a repetitive, consistent habit, the feelings will be consistent and repeated, therefore it...

What this adds to the answer: the secular floor — symptoms are the logical feedback of belief, not faults to be fixed.

And then — HOP

This brings me home, because this list is also my own lineage. HOP — Heart's Open Power — is the practice I ended up building from everything above.

If Campbell says consciousness is fundamental, if Bashar says only state of being matters, if Gorman says live what you want first — then the practical question becomes: how does a person actually move their own state, on purpose, today?

HOP is my answer. Nine doors — Awareness, Appreciation, Allowing, three times through at different depths — and each door is itself a state of being: the contrast of the gift, receiving it, dreaming as far as you can go, noticing what resists, the healing seat, peace, the guidance, allowing the inspiration. A walk through the doors is not a talk about states — for a couple of minutes at a time, you are vibrating in each one. The greatest power requires the lightest touch.

And the deeper discovery: the steps are the teaser. The practice that matters is the one the walk trains — the awareness of your own state of being, tended right now, because right now is the only moment there is. And beliefs are the machinery underneath: what you believe generates the state you vibrate in — and a belief can be examined and replaced. Which is why this work walks beliefs, not symptoms.

What this adds to the answer: a designed practice — the states are not left to chance; they are walked, door by door, on purpose.

Across the Frameworks

1. State Precedes Circumstance: Across the points of view above, physical reality, physical tension, and life events are downstream consequences of one's internal state—never the primary cause.
2. The Love vs. Fear Polarity: Campbell, Walsch, and ACIM explicitly converge on the definition of Love as expansion/connection and Fear as contraction/isolation.
3. The "Live It First" Principle: McKenna ("go there first"), Gorman ("live what you want first"), and Bashar ("only state of being matters") establish that you cannot wait for external conditions to change before adopting the target state.
4. The Present as the Only Access Point: Seth ("point of power is in the present"), Walsch ("Eternal Now"), Bashar ("Everything is Here and Now"), and ACIM ("Holy Instant") emphasize that shifting state can only occur in the immediate present moment.

And now to get back to my initial question... why do I feel so good when I walk with people? The answer became obvious, it's simply because, for some reason, I choose when I walk with people in HOP practice to simply see them as bright, beautiful, full of love, perfect beings. For some reason I choose a state of being that is healing everyone in the room, including me. I don't know exactly why I chose this, nor how this works exactly, but I do know that in other areas of my life I don't always choose this by default. But again this creates a contrast that is a priceless gift. It's because of the contrast that I am aware how valuable choosing my state of being is. Because it's a choice, it's always been a choice.
And even more, when someone is focusing on someone that is unconditionally loving, free, peaceful it's going to be easy for them to mirror that positive state of being. The reverse of this, as you probably know, is when you focus on someone that is in a lower state, it's going to drag you down too.
In the great scheme of the universe we're all mirrors to each other. When you see beauty, the beauty must exist in you first, when you see wrongness, the wrongness exists in you at the moment... when you see love, the love is you!

And one more thing arrived this morning, reading this back — the piece the mirror was missing.

Fear is unreal. Only love exists — and the truth is what is real. Fear is the result of separation, and separation is the result of trying to hide the truth. Fear is the feeling of separation — the feeling where I am trying to hide something, to put a shadow on it. Fear is what happens when we hide.

And love is everything all-encompassing — love is what actually exists, like light. Fear is when we hide from the light. As the Course itself puts it: "Fear is really nothing and love is everything. Whenever light enters darkness, the darkness is abolished."

Which means I can see how the pure state of love arrives: it is when I allow everything to just be in the open. The state of love is transparency — truth. Literally not trying to hide anything anymore. And this state we can all choose right now, by simply being true to ourselves.

And right now, at the end of the article, to be completely true and transparent, I clearly see the source of inspiration as it's flowing to me as I wander, as I'm being curious. This article and these words could not have existed without the unconditional love and guidance that we are all receiving in each and every moment from who we truly are. It's when we have our hearts open that we can receive the gift behind every contrast.

These words and inspiration came because of a contrast in my life happening right now. As we see and allow truth to be out in the open, then and only then we can fully let go to what is not serving us anymore and choose with a fresh and open heart what is valuable to us.

"Are in love with the contrast yet?" Abraham