GreatDecisions_Comps_7.3.14.indd 1 7/3/14 2:34 PM Copyright © 2015 Paul O’Brien. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission of the author. Divination Foundation Press, February 2015 0455 SW Hamilton Ct. Suite 601 Portland, OR 97239 Foreword by John Gray, PhD Cover and interior by The Book Designers Author photo by Miri Stebivka www.Divination.com EBook ISBN: 978-0-9884942-2-0 Print ISBN: 978-0-9884942-3-7 For my grandson, Bryce, and all future decision-makers. CONTENTS ix Foreword by John Gray, PhD. 1 Introduction PART I — Context and Resources 15 CHAPTER 1: Decisions, Decisions Making decisions, especially important ones, can be stressful or even debilitat- ing. Decision-making is becoming increasingly di!cult, yet it is ever more cru- cial to do it creatively and e"ectively. 25 CHAPTER 2: What Fascinates You Avoid the pitfalls of premature commitment and all-or-nothing thinking. Learn techniques for better self-knowledge and base your sense of direction on what naturally fascinates you. 45 CHAPTER 3: The Psychology of Perfect Timing Carl Jung’s Synchronicity Principle is a theory of relativity in the dimension of time, according to his friend, Albert Einstein. Consider how leveraging synchro- nicities to ride waves of change gives you a strategic advantage. 57 CHAPTER 4: The Resource of Infinite Intelligence Jung’s concept of the “collective unconscious” – also known as Infinite Intelligence – is our source of inspiration, energy, great ideas, and synchronic- ities. Learn how to access this reservoir of creative power any time you want. PART II — The Visionary Decision Making (VDM) Process 69 CHAPTER 5: Your Strategic Vision The first two questions of Visionary Decision Making are “What is the vision that is motivating me to make a move?” and, thinking like a chess player, “What is the best next move, if any, for me to make?” Explore simple but e"ective logic techniques that help bring any problem or dilemma into focus. 85 CHAPTER 6: Intuitive Intelligence Awakening the innate intuitive intelligence is the central lever of the Visionary Decision Making process. This chapter presents new ways to understand intuition by exploring the triune brain, along with meditation techniques to activate it. 109 CHAPTER 7: Invoking Archetypes Archetypes are a psychic blueprint for how humans perceive, interpret, and respond to experiences. The conscious mind can use archetypes of mythology and dreams to receive and make better sense of intuitive impressions. 125 CHAPTER 8: Divination and the Book of Changes The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is a revered tool that stimulates the intuition to think outside the box around problems that logic can’t handle, by producing synchronistic readings that reflect on situations and relationships with timeless but relevant wisdom. 143 CHAPTER 9: Execution and Timing The four steps involved in making and implementing a visionary decision with great timing are: 1) determining the best action you can take, 2) committing to that action, 3) deciding when to make your move and 4) executing your decision with confidence. 155 CHAPTER 10: Perseverance and Mastery Bring the inner resources of fierce determination, patience, and emotional intel- ligence to manifest the results you want. The I Ching reminds us, “Perseverance furthers.” PART III — The VDM Philosophy and Lifestyle 179 CHAPTER 11: Belief Engineering Your operating assumptions support everything that you think and do. Learn how you can revisit, question, and upgrade your beliefs to better access your creative powers. 199 CHAPTER 12: The Synchronistic Lifestyle Create a miracle-minded way of life as you traverse your version of the Hero’s Journey. Knowing who you are and what you want makes success possible. Knowing that you are making a di"erence in the world makes life worth living. 215 Acknowledgements 217 Appendix A: Visionary Decision Making Practices 231 Appendix B: Visionary Beliefs 233 Endnotes FOREWORD by JOHN GR AY, author of Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus ynchronicity is a term that the psychologist Carl Jung coined to describe the phenomenon of meaningful coincidence. We Sintuitively sense that events are more than just a coincidence when they serve as amazing twists of destiny that provide turn- ing points in our lives. A common fruit of synchronicity is how we meet the right people at the right time. The term provides extra irony for me with regards to Paul O’Brien, because it describes our first meeting in more ways than one. It was 1992 and I was on a book tour after Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus was published. Paul had just taped an interview with me for his Pathways radio show in Portland, Oregon. I thought he was an excellent interviewer and asked if radio was what he did for a living. He smiled and told me that he was a vol- unteer host for the community radio station (a public service he has continued for 30 years). He also shared that he had recently left a position as a software executive to start a “quirky” Macintosh software company. Being an early Mac user, this intrigued me, and I inquired as to the type of software he was producing. When I learned that his first product was an interactive version of the I Ching for the Macintosh named Synchronicity, I almost fell out of my chair. “You developed the Synchronicity program?” Surprised by my reaction, he replied, “You’ve heard of it?” I said, “Yes, I own it, and my wife and I love it. I can hardly believe that ix GREAT DECISIONS, PERFECT TIMING I am meeting the guy who developed the Synchronicity program for my Mac!” Paul replied, “Well, it’s amazing for me to realize that I have been listening to your cassettes on relationships for years – not knowing who you were… and now I discover that you are one of my first customers ... this is almost too much synchronicity!” We shared a good laugh over it. My wife Bonnie and I had used di"erent versions of the I Ching as an aid to decision-making since the 1970s and found the Taoist divination system to be a source of wisdom. Around 1991, we tried out Paul’s new software as a possibly engaging new way to consult it. In addition to taking all the busy work out of casting an I Ching reading (the recording and calculating of lines, etc.), the program contained an elegant, modern, and non-sexist version of the ancient text, which was composed by Paul. The program’s combination of poetic text and multimedia was groundbreaking in 1990, but Synchronicity would only prove to be the opening act in Paul’s entrepreneurial adventure. Focusing on a mission to provide universal access to authentic divination systems, he eventually gave the world do-it-yourself I Ching and Tarot readings via the Internet. In the process he also created what turned into the largest astrology and numerology website, which became the exclusive provider of horoscopes and divination features for AOL, Google, Beliefnet, and other large websites. Great Decisions, Perfect Timing: Cultivating Intuitive Intelligence includes the story of how Paul made the strange but strategic decisions that led to a fascinating business success that was based on staying true to his unique creative vision against all odds. Beyond the highly entertaining personal anecdotes, the book provides an unconventional toolkit that is grounded in time- less wisdom, designed to help you improve your odds at finding success in your own way by upgrading your decision-making and improving your timing. His visionary approach to decision-mak- ing revolves around Jung’s Synchronicity Principle, which Jung had discovered based on his own fascination with the I Ching, and which describes the essence of perfect timing. I have long noticed how synchronicity plays a huge role in rela- tionships, especially for people who are destined to become part- ners. It certainly played a prominent part in my connecting with x Foreword my wife, Bonnie, over 35 years ago. In an amazing twist of fate that occurred a couple of years before we even met, I was assigned the task of taking care of her needs – specifically some health needs – under the direction of our spiritual teacher. She was pregnant and needed special things to be procured, errands to be run, etc. I was a monk at the time and had not even met her. But as a result of synchronicity, I was helping provide for my future wife’s needs years before we met! If life is elegant, synchronicity explains why. As Paul puts it, from the synchronistic point of view, there are no accidents. The way Bonnie and I came together is just one example of the mystical ways that people who are destined to be together can and do find each other. In 30 years of relationship counseling, I have heard so many simply amazing stories of how long-term partners have met. More often than not, a meaningful coincidence – or synchronicity – is at the start of it. Timing has also played a major role in my career as an author and teacher, but as this book explains, synchronicity doesn’t oper- ate in a linear fashion. This is where two key components of his “Visionary Decision Making” system – self-discovery and intuitive intelligence – come to the forefront. In 1983 I was a relationship counselor and starting to speak about the ideas that would later coalesce in Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus. I wrote my first book in 1989, entitled Men, Women and Relationships.