Know thyself.

These words were inscribed in the vestibule of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

For centuries, petitioners seeking advice from the oracle at Delphi would view the inscription. Philosophers throughout the ages offered this same advice to their students. These words are as valuable today as they were almost three thousand years earlier.

Part of "knowing yourself" is understanding your beliefs. The difficulty is that most beliefs are subconscious. They have been accepted without ever having been critically examined.

As was described in last month's newsletter, the Law of Attraction states that you will attract to yourself those experiences that match your beliefs. These beliefs create your experience of reality. What if these beliefs are in opposition to what you're actually trying to accomplish? What if they no longer serve you? Wouldn't it be useful to eliminate these limiting beliefs?

There are a number of techniques to identify unconscious beliefs: taking a battery of psychological tests or tapping into your inner wisdom via meditation are two of them. There is a shortcut that can predict with 99% accuracy what your beliefs are. It is so simple that people usually overlook it. Even when it is clearly stated, they frequently ignore it.

After all, most people have accepted these beliefs as true and don't want to hear anything that might contradict what they believe is true. Remember, you are not your beliefs. You are a divine spiritual being, so why hold onto anything that is preventing you from realizing this truth?

So here's the secret.

Look around. Whenever you have a repeating problem in some area of your life, then that is where you have a false or limiting belief. This doesn't mean that just because you're in between relationships or jobs, you necessarily have a false belief. But if the problem constantly reappears, then you can be 99% certain a false belief is involved.

Avoid the temptation to blame someone for inserting this false belief into your belief system. After all, you could easily point fingers at your parents, teachers, friends, TV, etc., as well as yourself. It's not important where it came from, you just want to be rid of it, so you can experience your ideal life.

You have two choices here. You can 1) identify your unconscious beliefs and release them, or 2) learn to recognize the symptoms of accepting this limiting belief and change your thoughts. You can also do a combination of the two.

Choice 1) Use your attitudes to identify your false beliefs. Let's say you want more money. What is your impression of wealthy people? Are you happy for them or resentful? If you're resentful, then what signal do you think you're sending out to the universe? You don't want anything to do with those "rich people!" Consequently, the Law of Attraction states that you won't attract wealth into your life.

One way to free yourself of a negative belief is to write it on a piece of paper and burn it while telling yourself it is forever banished from your being. Write a positive affirmation on another piece of paper such as "Good people can have money." You can add other affirmations, such as "I am worthy of prosperity" and "Money flows easily to me." Repeat these affirmations aloud 9 times a day for 21 days. This is the length of time it takes to reprogram your instinctive mind, where these beliefs are stored.

Choice 2) Make sure you are always sending out the proper vibration. Remember that your goal is make sure that you are sending the right vibration to attract to yourself the experience you desire. The best barometer of whether you are sending out the proper signals is to MONITOR YOUR EMOTIONS. If you're not feeling good, then you need to change your thoughts, because the emotions that are being felt, indicate your thoughts are sending the wrong message.

Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones. The book, "Ask and It is Given" identifies and ranks 22 emotions. Understanding that most people can't go from despair to joy in one step, they advise you to simply keep moving up the ladder. Eventually, you'll get to feel joy more and more frequently and for longer periods of time.

In both cases, you have substituted positive thoughts and feelings for negative ones. You may recognize this involves a degree of self-observation. As was inscribed on the Temple at Delphi, "Know Thyself."

Incidentally, this process of substituting thoughts will work for any thought, including a memory. If you have any unpleasant memories, you can substitute positive experiences for them. Mystics call this Mental Alchemy, after the old alchemists that transformed lead into gold.

So, manifest your ideal life, the mystic's way.

Edwin Harkness Spina is the author of the award-winning spiritual novel Mystic Warrior. Receive a free copy of Mystic Secrets Revealed when you sign up for the Mystic Warrior Newsletter with mystical techniques to improve your life and expand your mind.