This self-help success story was contributed by Jenny Thorne.
There’s a fun spirituality book called Zero Limits by one of the speakers featured in the movie The Secret. It’s by law of attraction writer (and super nice guy–he once called my friend to tell her he liked her book) Joe Vitale. Maybe you’ve heard of it.
The book is autobiographical–more a memoir than a traditional self-help. I love a good memoir, and it’s an entertaining read. But even better, it’s practical; it gives an in-depth explanation of a New Age/New Thought-type process for altering your state of mind and your beliefs (and maybe your reality, too). I’ll get into that in a second, but first, a brief assessment for those of you who already know the book.
Does this spiritual practice work against depression?
Yes. As a technique to deal with depression, Zero Limits can be awesome. I’ve tried it with some decent results. But be warned: the process is very similar to just saying mantras, and personally I’m not convinced these mantras are particularly special.
Have you tried it? For how long?
Yes. Not for long, though. Just a few days.
What were your results?
The first time I read Zero Limits, I was super excited. I wrote about this already, in You’re Getting Closer. That first night, I said the phrase over and over, and as I did so, my mood lifted and my head cleared. I entered into the state of meditation and stayed there.
The next day, however, the effect lessened considerably, even though I continued the practice. I decided that my belief in the technique, rather than the technique itself, had been responsible for my results. Since then, I’ve used the method just a few times, and never with the same commitment.
Personally–and this is just my opinion–I’d be more inclined to use the Zero Limits method on a specific situation or physical need, rather than as a way to heal depression. When I repeat a mantra in order to break out of a bad mood, I often end up more frustrated than when I started.
Is this spiritual practice enjoyable, though? Is it easy?
Yes and yes.
How does it work? What do you do, exactly?
Though there are other aspects to the technique, the main activity is repeating four lovely statements as often as possible–continuously?–throughout the day. They are:
- I’m sorry.
- Please forgive me.
- Thank you.
- I love you.
I won’t go into the philosophy behind the choice of statements here; for that, you can read the book. (And I recommend that you do.) The basic idea is that the statements have a cleansing power and can help you resolve any undesirable situation–like depression. By using them and visualizing a cleansing action (such as an eraser erasing a chalkboard), you rid the program from your mind that created it or brought it into your experience.
What’s the up-side?
Like I said, it is enjoyable. And it’s easy. And if you stick with it, you’ll likely see results. I happen to prefer other practices, that’s all.
What’s the down-side?
The book claims that the method is a version of an old Hawaiian healing tradition called Ho’pononpono. However, it’s significantly different from that tradition–a spinoff created by a kahuna named Morna. I’m sure Morna is or was inspired and wonderful. But I would’ve preferred she give her method a different name from the original.
The legend of the book and part of what makes it so popular is that Hew Len, the co-author of the book and of the method, emptied a mental ward of patients by using this method–nothing else.
What’s the bottom line here?
My super scientific, soon-to-be-patented depression effectiveness rating for the Zero Limits method: 5 on a scale of 1-10.
Where can I find out more?
You can read my book summaries and takeaways here:
Best Spirituality Book for Depression: At Zero by Joe Vitale
Or you can find the book and info about Joe Vitale and co-author Hew Len here:
Hoʻoponopono and Hew Len on Wikipedia
Joe Vitale’s law of attraction success story: “I am rich”
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That thing about the effect lessening on the second day reminded me of a book I just read called Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile by Daniel Nettle. He explained the effect you just mentioned in terms of Evolutionary Psychology. Apparently we, as a race, are geared up to search for something better all the time (a bigger blackberry bush, a better carrot patch – that sort of thing). This is because of the scarcity of resources (in times of old – before malls were invented) and so our minds are designed to get used to something very quickly. Wikipedia has a helpful article on habituation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation) that explains it a bit more coherently than me.
Sorry – perhaps I should have led with hi – I’m Robert. 🙂 I found one of your comments in my Spam. Anyway – have a great day, Mollie.
Awesome. Glad to know someone found me in the rubbish pile! Ha! So, I have actually read that book. Yes, you’re right, that is part of our nature. We adapt and start taking stuff for granted … Our brains aren’t actually wired for happiness, unfortunately, are they? Interesting stuff. Should write a post about that sometime. Much love.