Foreword

Study guide section for this chapter →

Terms you must own

Transurfing — define it in one sentence and name what it is not.
Alternatives space — define it and say what it holds and whether it has an end.
Mirror of alternatives — say what is reflected, what the reflection is, and why pushing on the reflection fails.

Carried forward

None. This is the first section.

Objectives

0 of 5 ticked

0.1State the two faults he finds in self-help books, and what he asks of you in place of belief.
recall Evidence: write the two faults and the one request in three sentences. [0:00:00] [0:01:10] [0:01:48]
0.2Define Transurfing in one sentence, and say what he says it is not.
explain Evidence: write the sentence, then say what "a way of returning to self" rules out. [0:00:00] [0:03:49]
0.3Define the alternatives space in your own words: what it holds and whether it ends.
explain Evidence: write a two-sentence definition; he compares it to points on a graph, so give a comparison of your own. "Sector" and "thought energy" appear here undefined; mark them as Chapter I terms. [0:02:38]
0.4Use the mirror to explain why effort aimed at your circumstances fails, and what he says to change instead.
apply Evidence: take one frustration from your week; name the reflection and the image in two sentences. He does not say how to change the image yet. [0:02:38]
0.5List three claims the Foreword makes without support, and say which of them the book promises to explain.
analyse Evidence: write the three (the unnamed "certain conditions", the unnamed "certain rules", the "return to the past") and mark each as open or promised. [0:02:38] [0:04:34]

Readiness check

Answer these without looking anything up.

Why does he say self-help books fail most busy readers, and what does he say about anyone who tells you that you are imperfect?
What does he ask you to do with his claims, instead of believing them?
In one sentence, what is the alternatives space?
In the mirror picture, what is the reflection and what is the image? Which one does the mind try to change?
Which promise does he say will become clear toward the end of the book?

The next chapter assumes you hold one idea: physical reality is a reflection of a sector of the alternatives space, so influence belongs on what is reflected, not on the reflection.

I can answer all of these