To put mind manipulation techniques in proper perspective, you need to realize that your entire existence is about accomplishing Someone Else’s agenda. If you want to experience a positive existence, you need to get in touch with that Someone Else, ask Him why He made you, and find out what He wants from you. It is through absolute submission to our Creators that we thrive, and yet many self-improvement theories lead you in quite the opposite direction. Many who promote themselves as healers will encourage you to view yourself as an autonomous being who can learn to greatly control the circumstances of your life. Yet this “be the captain of your own ship” mentality is only going to land you into trouble, for you are not the captain of anything. Your life is being run by your Creators, and nothing you do will be able to lessen your dependency on Them. So before you waste countless hours chanting some useless mantra about your internal greatness, and before you surrender yourself into the hands of some irreverent fool who can’t wait to toy with your subconscious, you need to seek the wisdom of the Ones who created you. You need to accept the fact that They created you for purposes that please Them, and until you choose to embrace those purposes, you are not going to thrive.