Tip#1164: What You Focus On Expands, Part 2 - Somewhere In Time - Reticular Activating System (RAS)

It still blows my mind whenever a goal magically manifests right in front of me after I’ve focused on words related to this goal! I recently had a co-working day meeting with my friend and colleague Tammy Cunningham in Pape Village, Toronto that led to my recent experience. Part of the process was the positive feel-good feelings of the bright sunshine lit space and delicious foods of Café Serano and Tzaziki Restaurant!

We brainstormed ideas of how I could repackage my online content and movie blog of lived-experiences and solutions for depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and I identified keywords (mental health, wellness, depression, self care). I then made lots of enthusiastic notes of how to research this online to find more contacts for help and advice.

The very next day I was requested unexpectedly to have a meeting in a Toronto building I’d been to many times over the years. When I arrived I suddenly noticed on the lobby directory the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) was in the building. I got an amazing chill up my spine as if it magically appeared!

I felt that this CMHA listing suddenly showed up because of something I wrote about in Tip#831 for the 2015 film Focus starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie. I wrote about the reticular activating system (RAS) and the technique called priming and how repetitive words and images can program this part of the brain to reveal and unearth these specific topics that have been right in front of you the whole time. RAS also connects to the power of affirmations, prayer, creative visualization and the law of attraction.

CMHA was always in this familiar building all along but the repetition of the mental health words the day before (and even weeks before) helped my brain focus and see the CMHA listing for the first time. This immediately made me think of a classic 80’s romantic film and watched it again for inspiration about the reticular activating system (RAS).

Somewhere In Time (1980)

The romantic science fiction drama film, Somewhere In Time, is about playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) in 1972 traveling back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour) while Elise's jealous manager, William Fawcett Robinson (Christopher Plummer) attempts to keep them apart. This romantic classic features wonderful performances by the three leads and a sweeping memorable music soundtrack by John Barry.
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I remember loving this film when it was first released and saw it again in stunning Bluray quality. I was astounded how deeply moving and entertaining it still is almost 30 years later! The music was still achingly beautiful and the chemistry between actors Reeve and Seymour was so real and heartfelt. And even though the time travel aspect is science fiction it was portrayed in a way that, I felt, believable. It’s this part that relates to the reticular activating system.

In the story Richard time travels back by priming his mind and focusing keenly on the day and year he wanted to go to. Through verbal and recorded repetition he programmed his mind for countless hours. But there had to be zero doubt in his mind so he also dressed in clothes of his targeted year and removed anything in his hotel room that reminded him of his present year. His mission is accomplished and the basics of his process is how RAS works. I highly recommend this film as an inspirational learning tool to applying methods for keen focus on goals, RAS and perseverance.

The term “what you focus on expands” is quoted by many motivational speakers such as Oprah Winfrey, Robin Sharma and T. Harv Eker. Be open and embrace this powerful and empowering concept and look around in your life and work now and see if you’ve manifested the thoughts you’ve been focused on whether they’ve been positive or negative. And then choose to prime your mind and focus on positive thoughts. And always remember there are inspiring movies to help accomplish your goals today!

Related Tips:
Tip#831: Creative Visualization, Part 1 - Reticular Activating System (RAS) – Focus 
Tip#890: Creative Visualization, Part 2 - Mental Health - Pawn Sacrifice
Tip#980: Creative Visualization, Part 3 – Mental Imagery - Rio Olympics 2016 – 4 Inspiring Movies
Tip#304: What You Focus On Expands – 2012 Movie 

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Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
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