John McGrail - The Synthesis Effect: Your Direct Path to Personal Power and Transformation

THE SYNTHESIS EFFECT

YOUR DIRECT PATH TO PERSONAL POWER AND TRANSFORMATION

JOHN McGRAIL, PhD

Copyright 2012 by John McGrail

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.

THE SYNTHESIS EFFECT
EDITED AND TYPESET BY KARA KUMPEL
Cover design by Howard Grossman/12E Design
Printed in the U.S.A.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McGrail, John, 1952

The synthesis effect : your direct path to personal power and transformation / by John McGrail.
p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-60163-205-0 -- ISBN 978-1-60163-612-6 (ebook) 1.

Change (Psychology) 2. Self-realization. I. Title.

BF637.C4M336 2012
158.1--dc23

2011045925

I joyfully dedicate this book to my wife, Lynne-Anne. Fifteen years ago, under our tree, we took our wedding vows and pledged to live our life together with love, friendship, humor, and spirit; it has been all of that and more. I value and appreciate your constant support, encouragement, and inspiration throughout the project more than I can ever express. You are one of my luminaries; truly the light of my life, and I love you forever.

Most stories logically flow from beginning to end, but to best tell the story of my appreciation and thanks for making The Synthesis Effect possible, I think I need to go from the end to the beginning, as it helps me keep things in order. Before I begin, I apologize in advance to anyone who should be included here but isnt; I assure you it is not intentional, but there are just so many people I owe thanks to, I am sure I will forget some by pure accident.

First, I gratefully thank the entire team at Career Press for their tremendous support and guidance throughout the process of getting my baby to press. Of course we couldnt have met had it not been for my incredible agent, Maryann Karinch, principle owner of the Rudy Agency. Your enthusiasm for my writing, my vision, and my message has been eclipsed only by your knowledge of the business and expert guidance throughout the process of finding the right home for the book. Thank you, forever!

My profuse thanks and appreciation go out to my illustrator and friend, Dariela Cruz. Your artistry and talent gave life and spirit to my scrawny little diagrams; they look better than I imagined they could.

To my cousin, good friend, and big sister, Professor Pat Henriquezweve come a long way from eating 70-cent pizzas and drinking 10-cent Cokes at Zuppardis on Friday nights with the proceeds from your paper route so many years agomy undying thanks for oh-so-casually mentioning that I ought to meet your friend Maryann. What a great idea!

To all my clients, everyone I have had the privilege and honor to work with all these years, I offer undying and eternal thanks. Every session with every one of you helps me grow and evolve, both as a healer and as a human being; you inspire me to be the very best person I can be. Had it not been for your trust in me, and especially for those of you who said, Dr. John, you need to write a book about this stuff, there likely would be no book.

Had it not been for the excellent initial training I received at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Los Angelesone of the finest colleges of hypnotherapy anywhereI wouldnt be doing what Im doing; Im forever grateful that I found you. And to my dear mentor and friend, Wendy Glenn, wherever you are, my eternal thanks and blessings for helping me rediscover my power and my path so many years ago. You also inspired me to accept the calling to help others heal their lives; there are no words that can express my appreciation for that gift.

To members of my familyUncle Bud, Jud, Judy, Dean, Justin, Vico, and my mother-in-law, Ruthmy thanks for your love, support, and interest in what I do. Our after-dinner chats during the two-year process of researching, organizing, and writing the book were invaluable in helping me figure out how it ought to flow and what I ought to saynot an insignificant challenge.

Then there is a special member of the family, our matriarch, Aunt Irene (Aunt I, as we called her). She was living in physical, emotional, and spiritual balance, in essence doing the process of Synthesis, many years ago, long before it was popular to even mention such things. I sometimes think that perhaps it was my exposure to her indomitable spirit and hyper-positive outlook on life during all those idyllic summers I spent in New Hampshire that subconsciously planted the seed that would lead to finding my spirituality, my career, and learning to live my passion.

Finally, and most importantly, to my mom, Irene McGrail, you literally and figuratively represent the beginning of the story. I couldnt have had a better parent and role model than you. It was through your example and parenting (in very challenging times) that I developed many of my most important core values and personal attributes. You taught me much of what I know about honesty, integrity, and honor; understanding and compassion for others; and the value of working hard for something that you want. Perhaps most important, you let me find my own way and walk my own path, even when Im sure it looked to you as though I was headed for disaster. I couldnt and wouldnt be who I am today without you, mom, and although there are no adequate words, I thank you and appreciate you from the bottom of my heart and with all my love.

The information, methods, and techniques presented in this book are meant to be used for vocational and avocational self-improvement. They are in no way intended to replace appropriate medical and/or psychological treatment. Always consult a qualified and licensed medical and/or mental health professional before undergoing any treatment for a medical or serious psychological condition or disorder.

Greek, from syntithenai to put together, from syn- + tithenai to put, place.

1a: the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole.

1c: the combining of often diverse conceptions into a coherent whole.

Merriam Websters Online Dictionary

...in philosophy, the combination of parts, or elements, in order to form a more complete view or system. The coherent whole that results is considered to show the truth more completely than would a mere collection of parts.

Encyclopedia Britannica

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right