Gabriel Mandelblum

Annotated Bibliography

Bilican, F. Isil. The Relationship Between Focused Attention Meditation Practice Habits,

Psychological Symptoms, and Quality of Life. Journal of Religion and Health,

vol. 55, no. 6, 2016, pp. 19801995., doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0204-0.

In this article, the audience is taken through the various forms of meditation,

which is the ability of an individual to allow themselves to watch their own

thoughts instead of becoming attached to them. The reader learns about

mindfulness meditation, focused attention meditation (voluntary focusing

attention towards an object or thought/mantra), and transcendental meditation.

The article depicts a study where 30 adults are monitored and their bodily

functions are tested after meditation. After a prolonged state of meditation, the

blood pressure, and stress levels all decreased dramatically.

Although my paper is primarily focused on the power of thought, the use of

meditation, which is the absence of thought, is a tool that can be used to analyze

your current state of being and the state of your emotions. While in meditation,

one can take a back seat to the clutter of ones thoughts, creating a gap between

thoughts and the attachment to them. After this gap is created, a person can truly

start to concentrate on positive thinking. At this point, the fact that thoughts are

being focused in an intentional manner is where meditation will tie into my paper.
 The author Isil Bilican has a PhD in clinical psychology, specializing in Positive

Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Clinical Psychological. With these

specialties and the implementation of a peer-reviewed study on the benefits of

meditation, Bilican is a credible resource for my paper.

Filo, Gabor. The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter &

Miracles. Santa Rosa, CA: Elite Books. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,

vol. 50, no. 4, 2008, pp. 353353., doi:10.1080/00029157.2008.10404303.

In this scholarly article, Bruce Lipton shares with the audience the true power of

consciousness and new theories on the nature of cells. It was once believed that

every cell acts only based off of their genes, a written path once believed to be an

organisms fate. Lipton breaks this notion by stating that all cells act in reaction to

the environment that they find themselves in, not their DNA. He shares that an

accumulation of cells acts as a cooperative. So in the human theatre, we act only

off of the environmental signals. In addition, he states that our choices are based

on our beliefs, and any human being can change the course of their lives directly

by changing their beliefs.

In the succession of seven chapters and one epilogue, Bruce Lipton breaks down

the human belief system and teaches the audience how to make life work for them

rather than just letting life happen. To briefly summarize, he states there was a

scientific-based path that would take me from my job as perennial victim to my

 new job as co-creator of my destiny (Lipton 17). By immersing oneself in a

belief that is really a culmination of set thought patterns, like that you are the only

person in control of your own actions and reactions, you can change your whole

life around.

Bruce H. Lipton, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in bridging science

and spirit. He was awarded countless peace prizes, spoken at numerous spiritual

and psychological conferences, and helped millions repair their lives. This makes

Lipton an extremely credible resource, and a great addition to my paper.

Hecht, David. The Neural Basis of Optimism and Pessimism. Experimental

Neurobiology, vol. 22, no. 3, 2013, p. 173., doi:10.5607/en.2013.22.3.173.

In this article, the audience is immersed in the rift between optimism and

pessimism. Before reading the article, I thought these two points of views were

just outlooks on life. Yet, science shows that optimistic attitudes, high self-esteem,

and a cheerful attitude are associated with physiological signs in the left

hemisphere of the brain. A pessimistic point of view, negativity, and low self-

esteem are found to light up in the right hemisphere of the brain. The article states

that in order to have a fantastic life, one must have a solid balance between the

too. The only reason to have a slightly pessimistic attitude is to prevent oneself

from making rash decisions and risky actions due to over confidence. Yet one can

be selective in the information they linger on when it comes to the way they think.
 By focusing on the world in a positive light, one will tend to see a positive

attitude.

The last point that I made from the article is what I am going to pull from the

information learned. By focusing on only positive aspects of life, one will only

see positive occurrences happen in their day-to-day lives. After someone reads my

paper, I hope they find the time in their day to observe the way they think, and

slowly move towards a positive outlook.

David Hecht works out of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in the

University College London. He specializes in many areas, specifically

hemispheric asymmetries and multisensory integration. This makes Hecht a

credible resource in the subject.

Jouret, Jill. The Power of Positive Thinking. The Lancet Oncology, vol. 11, no. 3,

2010, p. 230., doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(10)70052-8.

In this article, we see the effect of positive thinking directed towards the affliction

of cancer and other illnesses. Although in the medical community, the argument

towards positive thinking and the curing of cancer have no correlation, in the eyes

of the patient it can make all the difference in their battle with the disease. This

article does not necessarily harp on the results between positive thinking and
 cancer remission, but how positive thinking changes the quality of life in cancer

patients.

This article fits into my paper mainly because I can use it as the contrary or other

side of my argument. The article mainly focuses on the fact that positive thinking

does not cure cancer but keeps the patient happy. In the long run, could still make

a difference but there is no tangible evidence that positive thinking can cure

cancer.

Jill Jouret, the author of the article is a biomedical engineer coming out of the

University of Missouri. Because of her scholarly status, she has the authority to

write about this topic. In addition, her article is found in an oncology journal.

McTaggart, Lynne. The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to

Change Your

Life and the World. New York, Atria Paperback, 2013.

In essence this book cites specific, scientific experiments where your thoughts and

intentions are tested. McTaggarts main focus was to inform the public about how

the power of intended thought has upon other people, yourself, and even

inanimate objects. Intended thought is a purposeful plan to perform an action, that

will lead to a desired outcome. From what I have absorbed from the book

holistically thus far, your thoughts are much more than just things floating around
 in your head, but wavelengths that have the immense power to affect everything

around you in either a positive or negative manner.

This source directly relates to my topic because the book goes into detail and uses

scientific proof to back the power of an individuals thoughts. For example, when

scientist Robert Jahn and Brenda Dunne ran a study placing participants in front

of computer screens and asked to try and influence the random image machine to

produce more of one image. Over the course of 2.5 million trials, the scientist

decisively demonstrated that human intention could influence electronic devices

in a specific direction. In addition, 68 individual investigators replicated the

results found in the original study, all conquering on the same conclusion.

Experiments like these are what compels me to write on the subject of the power

of thought. Lynne McTaggart is not a scientist, but in her book she bundles

countless published scientific experiments that prove the power of thought. She is

a veteran in the field, and has conducted the largest thought experiment in the

world. The experiment tests the power of positive intentions to accomplish things

like healing the violence in the world, Alzheimers, and global warming. It is an

ongoing experiment.

Murphy, Joseph, and Ian McMahan. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. New York,

Bantam Books, 2001.

This book, in its entirety, describes how your subconscious mind dictates your

whole entire life and future. It states that whatever you hold in your thoughts,

whether it that be negativity or positivity, a goal or a fear, after successive

 thinking habits are created, those thought patters are imprinted into your

subconscious. Without you even knowing, your subconscious mind uses these

imprints and is what dictates your emotions, interactions, and success.

This relates directly to my topic because it goes into great depth on how you can

train your mind and thoughts to benefit your lifestyle. An example of a training

method is continuous and relentless positive thinking. If someone tells themselves

200 times a day that they are unstoppable, after a month of this, they will believe

this despite any outside influences. Methods like this are what I hope to convey to

readers and with the expectation of a change in the audiences thinking by reading

my paper.

Jospeh Murphy is acclaimed as a major figure in the human potential movement,

and is an author of countless books. In addition, he also received his PhD in

psychology at the University of Southern California.

Opperman, M.C., and H.E. Roets. "The creation and manifestation of

reality through

the re-enactment of subconscious conclusions and decisions."

Journal of

Heart Centered Therapies, vol. 12, no. 1, 2009, p. 3+. General

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 In this article, the audience learns about how the reality they experience on a daily

basis was created, reoccurs in their life by attracting the reality they

subconsciously hold in their mind, and the ways to restructure these subconscious

inner worlds. M.C. Opperman explains that as a child, most people go through

some initial form of trauma that imprinted on their subconscious. Over time, other

forms of trauma reinforce the original trauma that occurred, bolstering the original

hypnotic blueprint. This attracts similar occurrences and people who best reenact

the original trauma. So by looking deeper in ones mind, the article shows that one

can rewrite their subconscious blueprint in a positive manner.

The ability for an individual to break free from past traumas, and creating a life

that they choose, liberated from the past, is what is so inspiring to me. This idea is

going to fit extremely well into the overall purpose of my paper of exploring the

power of ones thoughts and its ability to impact ones life.

Dr. M. C. Opperman is a Clinical Psychologist working from Bedfordview,

Johanesburg in his own private practice. He specializing in rehabilitating patients

with extensive past trauma, Hypnotherapy, among other treatments. Which makes

him a credible resource.

Positive Psychology. International Journal of Psychology, vol. 47, 2012, pp. 616640.
 In the scholarly article, Positive Psychology, the reader examines six studies

conducted by various authors and institutions around the world; all focusing on

the results from positive thinking or psychology. One of the six studies conducted

by Yoav Bergman at Bar-Ilan Univeristy in Israel examines the contribution of

attachment patterns, together with views regarding the aging process, for

understanding the aforementioned two dimensions of meaning in life across

different stages of adulthood (616).

This article directly pertains to my paper because by citing and explaining studies

like the one I just mentioned, the reader will have a deeper understanding of the

power of their own thoughts and how they effect their world and the universe. By

analyzing tangible experiments with real results, there is no defying the power of

consciousness. One cannot denounce scientific evidence.

The article is found in the International Journal of Psychology, a highly esteemed

and scientific journal. Anything appearing in a scholarly piece of literature such as

this has gone through extensive peer review and is deemed worthy of public

consumption.

Schmidt Wilk, Jane. Spiritual Dimensions of Entrepreneurship in

Transcendental

Meditation and TM Sidhi Program Practitioners. Journal of

Management,
Spirituality & Religion, vol. 6, no. 3, 2009, pp. 195208.,

doi:10.1080/14766080903069299.

In this article, we see the effects of Transcendental Meditation on entrepreneurs

whose businesses spanned the whole earth that have been practicing this

particular form of meditation for years. Transcendental meditation is the state of

inner awareness while detaching one from though. The result of the detachment

from all material objects, senses, and past experiences is pure consciousness and

radical alertness. Participants stated that this continuous meditation, two times a

day, led to enhanced intuition and broader awareness to the impact their

companies had on the world holistically. Results also included stated

improvements or founding of inner stability, increased worldview perspective,

energy, and pure consciousness.

As a finance major, and with the intention of double majoring in entrepreneurship

or professional sales, the proof that transcendental meditation and directed

thought can improve someone holistically, including the business they manage,

could be the key to where this paper ties in directly future of my business career

and business as a whole.

The authors of the article and conductors of the study are all extremely credible

resources because they are all doctorates in psychology. Also, the studies were

published in a journal of medicine, ensuring their validity.

Wolsko, Christopher. Transcribing and Transcending the Ego. Journal

of

Humanistic Psychology, vol. 52, no. 3, 2012, pp. 321349.,

doi:10.1177/0022167811407503.

In this article, the audience takes an intense view of the production and structure

of egoistic thinking. The ego is a complete attachment and identification with the

thoughts an individual has and repeats to himself. Over a prolonged time, and

without proper observation of the ego, this artificial thought structure can

immerse people into intense depressions or a false sense of self. This study shows

the effect of repetitive introspection and evaluation of the self. Man experienced

radical realizations, deeper levels of awareness, and ego transcendence.

The act of watching your thoughts and observing the internal conversation that is

had with your self is key in replacing old, unconscious thought patters, with

positive and constructive self-dialogue. The study shows that after consistent

meditation and reflection, the participants no longer compared themselves to

society, and acted as true individuals, liberated from outside influences to their

character and thoughts.

Christopher Wolsko, the conductor of the study, is an assistant professor at

Oregon State University. He also has a PhD in Social Psychology from the

University of Colorado, an M.A. in Social Psychology at the University of

Colorado, Boulder, and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois. This

makes Wolsko a credible resource.