When he was just a boy, the old man heard a story of a woman who found a corked bottle on the beach. When she pulled the cork from the bottle, she imagined a genie came out. The genie granted the women all her wishes. The old man spent his life searching for his own bottle with a genie in it. He combed the beaches of every continent. Because of his obsession, he never made lasting relationships or held a job for long. He was an unhappy man.

One day on a beach near his home, he found the bottle he had been looking for. For a reason unknown to him, he felt there was a genie inside. Corks in other bottles were hard to pull out, but this one slipped out easily. Out of nowhere a genie appeared. The genie said to the old man, “I am here to grant you whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” replied the old man.

“Well,” said the genie, “almost anything. Since you are old and have never been in politics, it’s unlikely that you can become President of the United States, nor do I think it wise to wish for a spot on the Olympic basketball team. And I do not think you want anything taken at someone else’s expense. So, no, not everything. Still, more than you have dreamed of. Certainly enough to make you happy and peaceful.”

The old man was ecstatic but then he became angry. “Why has it taken me so long to find you? I could have accomplished so much had I found you when I was young.”

“Ah, master,” said the genie, “but I have been with you all along. I was not in that bottle. I have been with you and granting your wishes all of your life. Remember when you were six and you wished your father would pay more attention to you? You cut your finger. That was no accident. Your father washed the cut and held you. Remember? There was the time you took the CPA exam. You kept telling me you were not smart enough to be a CPA and that you were not worthy to make as much money as a CPA. Remember how you froze during the exam? You got your wish.

“Because you were not aware I was granting wishes,” continued his genie, “your wishes often hurt you. Sometimes the wishes were not even yours. They came from parents, teachers, friends, and, yes, often from TV ads.

“I am glad you found me. Now you will make wishes that are thoughtful and good. Now we can work together. Together we can stay healthy, find peace, and enjoy the richness of life. But first, I must give you this book. Read it carefully. If you follow these instructions, I will grant you peace, prosperity, and happiness.”

“Your son will probably die, and if by some miracle he lives, he will not be strong enough to get out of bed.” I cannot imagine more devastating news for late-in-life parents with only one child. What must have gone through my mom and dad’s minds? I was nine years old, in fourth grade, and had been active and athletic.It started one normal afternoon in the fall. I did not feel well but I did not think much of it. I felt worse the next day so my parents took me to our family doctor. He could not determine what was wrong other than it was my heart. I deteriorated so fast that I was sent to the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago where the top cardiologists examined me. The diagnosis was a rare heart condition and there was no cure. That’s when they gave my parents the dire news. My mom and dad took me home. Over the next year, I languished in bed at home in and out of consciousness. I was weak and emaciated.

My parents were not religious. They never went to church. But fortunately for me, my maternal grandmother, who had died long before this, was a Christian Science practitioner so my mother and father knew about healing with the mind. They decided there was nothing to lose; they hired a practitioner.

I do not remember specifically what the practitioner talked about, but he drummed into my young mind that anything is possible and I would be healed. And I was! Completely. It did not happen overnight but over the next few months I gained weight, strength, and my heart returned to normal. The doctors were astounded. One specialist wrote a medical paper and made a presentation at the hospital on the “miracle” of my recovery. I remember this because he took me to the hospital and I sat on the podium as proof of my recovery while he gave the talk.

The impression made on me was that this healing power was exclusively in my subconscious mind. It was probably due to my nonreligious background that I did not give enough credit to prayer. I did not pursue religion at that young age (I did later), but ever since that episode I have had a passion for finding out all I could about the subconscious mind—how it works and how to use it.

I found my genie and learned how to use it. Now I want to help you find and use your genie. The good news is that you do not have to look for it. You already have it—it is your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind, like any benevolent genie, will grant your wishes. It will help you achieve goals, replace undesirable habits, and more. All you have to do is learn to be its master, not its puppet.
Learning to use more of your subconscious mind is easy and in this book, you will learn to:

• Change undesirable habits
• Transform your personality
• Learn faster and retain more
• Ace tests
• Improve your memory (actually, your recall)
• Be more creative
• Improve your mental and physical health
• Communicate with your subconscious mind to verify hunches, interpret dreams, etc.
• Teach your subconscious mind to work with your conscious mind rather that against it
• Motivate yourself and improve work habits
• Control the input to your subconscious mind
• Relax more completely and sleep better
• How to instantly transform a gloomy mood into a joyous one

A paradigm on how your subconscious mind works is described, and based on the way it works, ten methods are given for using your subconscious mind to achieve your goals. The paradigm and the methods are logical and simple. Do not be fooled into thinking that because the methods are easy that they are not powerful. Occham’s razor, a principle taught in philosophy class, states that when many theories are available to explain a phenomenon, the simplest one is most likely the correct one. Nature seeks the simplest way.

I could give you complex methods with the simple, basic principles woven in. You would achieve the same results but it would take more time. But if they were more complex you would probably lose interest and not bother doing them. So just be grateful that these methods are easy.

Is this paradigm absolutely correct in every aspect? Probably not. Is it an over-simplification? Probably so. The brain is too complex for anyone to say they understand exactly how it works. James Watson, of the National Academy of Sciences stated that, “The human brain is the most complex thing we have uncovered in the universe.” Until recently, the live brain has been difficult to study. Brain research has increased because new noninvasive tests and powerful computers are available. After reading the first part of The Genie Within, you will see the paradigm is logical and serves as a map that shows how to use your subconscious mind and make it your personal genie.

Lesson One lists examples demonstrating how powerful our subconscious minds are. The four states of mind and their roles are also discussed.

The basic differences between the conscious mind and subconscious mind, in layman terms, are discussed in Lesson Two.

The subconscious mind as a goal-seeking biocomputer is discussed in Lesson Three. It is essential to understand how your computer works to use it effectively.

A few subtle, but critical, laws of the subconscious mind are covered in Lesson Four.

The importance of communication between the conscious mind and subconscious mind is discussed in Lesson Five and five methods of communicating with your subconscious mind are described. Communicating with your subconscious mind is necessary to get your conscious mind and subconscious mind working together in harmony. It is also convenient for deciphering dreams, verifying hunches, determining the cause of a malady, etc.

Ten easy methods for using your subconscious mind productively and efficiently are presented in Lessons Six, Seven, and Eight. A technique for going into a state of complete happiness is also presented.

The last lesson, referred to as the Sequel Lesson, shows how to use what you have learned in Lessons One through Eight to make your prayers a thousand times more powerful.

You have a genie that will grant your wishes. But your genie will not grant wishes simply by rubbing a lamp or uncorking a magical bottle. The genie is your subconscious mind and you must know how it works and how to use it before it will be your powerful servant. This book is your instruction manual.
The Genie Within is not “feel-good” stories and “have-faith” platitudes. Rather, it explains in layman terms what you need to know to use your magnificent, powerful subconscious mind.

People tend to underestimate the power in their subconscious mind because of their egos. Ego, conscious mind, thinks it knows best and can do anything better than their subconscious mind can. Yes, conscious mind is more intelligent, but it is nowhere near as powerful or capable as your genie. Allow yourself to read The Genie Within with an open (conscious) mind. Do not let your ego keep you from learning how to put your genie to use.