The Tools

The Tools Plot Summary

Introduction

Life presents us with challenges that often feel overwhelming. We face moments of pain, anger, insecurity, and negativity that can paralyze us and prevent us from living fully. Many of us have tried various self-improvement methods only to find ourselves stuck in the same patterns, wondering why lasting change seems so elusive. What if these challenges weren't obstacles but gateways to accessing extraordinary powers within yourself? The truth is that we all possess untapped potential connected to forces greater than ourselves. These higher forces aren't mystical fantasies but practical energies that can transform how we handle life's difficulties. Through specific techniques that anyone can learn, you can access these forces to overcome pain, transform anger into love, express yourself authentically, replace negativity with gratitude, and develop unshakable willpower. The journey begins not with changing your circumstances, but with learning how to connect to the powers already available to you.

Chapter 1: Embrace Pain to Move Forward

Pain avoidance is perhaps our most fundamental human instinct. We build elaborate comfort zones to shield ourselves from discomfort, creating invisible walls that keep our lives small and limited. Vinny, a talented stand-up comic, demonstrated this perfectly. Despite his natural gift for comedy, he remained stuck in small clubs for over a decade because he sabotaged every opportunity for advancement. When his manager arranged meetings with influential club owners or industry executives, Vinny would either not show up or deliberately offend them. During one charity event at a large amphitheater, he started strong but then deliberately told offensive jokes until he was booed off stage. At a Hollywood party where he could have networked with television executives, he arrived drunk and disheveled. His explanation was always the same: he refused to "sell out" or "kiss anyone's ass." But the truth was simpler and more profound - he was terrified of being vulnerable. The real issue wasn't Vinny's talent but his inability to face the pain of potential rejection. Like most of us, he had created a comfort zone where he felt safe - small clubs with guaranteed gigs, high school friends who laughed at all his jokes, and a girlfriend who would never leave him. Anything outside this zone represented pain he wasn't willing to face. To overcome this limitation, Vinny needed to connect with the Force of Forward Motion - a higher energy that drives all life to evolve and expand. This force enables us to move relentlessly forward despite obstacles. The tool that accesses this force is called the Reversal of Desire, which transforms our relationship with pain. The Reversal of Desire works through three simple steps: First, visualize the pain you're avoiding as a cloud in front of you and silently scream "BRING IT ON!" as you move toward it. Second, as you enter the cloud, silently scream "I LOVE PAIN!" going deeply into the discomfort. Finally, feel yourself emerging through the other side as you affirm "PAIN SETS ME FREE!" This process doesn't just help you tolerate pain - it actually shrinks pain's power over you. When you practice this tool regularly, you'll discover something remarkable: pain is not absolute. When you move toward it, pain diminishes; when you flee, it grows. By using the Reversal of Desire whenever you feel resistance or fear, you develop the courage to face anything life presents. This isn't about masochism but about freedom - freedom to pursue your highest aspirations without being limited by avoidance. Remember, the cue to use this tool comes in two forms: right before taking an action you've been avoiding, and whenever you catch yourself thinking about something difficult rather than doing it. By responding to these cues consistently, you'll build the momentum needed to break through your comfort zone and access your full potential.

Chapter 2: Transform Anger into Loving Energy

When someone wrongs us, our natural reaction is to withdraw into hurt and anger. We replay the offense endlessly in our minds, plot revenge, or obsess about how unfair the situation is. This mental state is what we call "the Maze" - a prison where the person who wronged you becomes your jailor, trapping you in repetitive thoughts that prevent you from moving forward. Amanda, an ambitious fashion designer in her twenties, exemplified this pattern. When her boyfriend Blake spent an evening chatting with another woman at a business party instead of supporting Amanda, she became consumed with rage. Despite Blake's attempts to make amends the next morning with breakfast in bed and flowers, Amanda couldn't let go. "When he was near me, my skin would crawl. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with him," she explained. This wasn't an isolated incident - Amanda had a history of reaching what she called the "point of no return" in relationships, after which reconciliation became impossible. The real damage of the Maze isn't just to our relationships but to our entire lives. While we're trapped in hurt and anger, life passes us by. We miss opportunities, waste precious time, and sacrifice joy on the altar of our grievances. Amanda had missed her goddaughter's first birthday because of a minor disagreement with her friend - something she deeply regretted. What keeps us trapped in the Maze is our childish expectation that life will treat us fairly. When this expectation is violated, we demand immediate justice, refusing to move on until the scales are balanced. But this stance gives tremendous power to those who've wronged us, allowing them to control our emotional state long after the original offense. The higher force that frees us from this trap is called "Outflow" - an infinite spiritual energy that gives without restraint, like sunlight shining equally on everything. To access this force, we use the tool called Active Love, which has three steps: First, imagine yourself surrounded by warm, liquid light of infinite love, concentrating this energy in your heart. Second, send this love directly from your heart to the person who triggered your anger. Third, feel the love entering them at their solar plexus, creating a sense of oneness, then relax as infinite love returns to fill you up. This tool doesn't mean you're giving in or being passive. In fact, by freeing yourself from the need for the other person to make things right, you gain more power to confront them effectively if needed. When Amanda practiced Active Love consistently, she discovered she could maintain her boundaries without becoming trapped in resentment. The cues to use Active Love are straightforward: use it the moment someone does something that angers you, when you find yourself reliving past injustices, and to prepare yourself for confronting difficult people. With practice, you'll find yourself living with less hurt and resentment, free from the power others have to push your buttons. Remember, you're not using this tool because it's morally right but because it's in your self-interest. No one wants to live in a state of rage - it's painful and debilitating. By generating Outflow through Active Love, you become unstoppable, no longer held back by the actions of others.

Chapter 3: Connect with Your Shadow for Authentic Expression

We all experience moments when we want to express ourselves but suddenly freeze up. Our mouth dries, our voice shakes, our mind goes blank - all because we feel insecure in front of others. This "freezing" happens because deep down, we're afraid of revealing something about ourselves that we're ashamed of. Jennifer, a former model turned college guidance counselor, experienced this paralyzing insecurity when her son joined an elite soccer team. Despite her striking beauty and professional success, she felt like an outsider among the other parents. "They'll never accept me. They already think I'm trash," she told her therapist, even though she'd never actually spoken to them. At a parents' meeting, her anxiety was so overwhelming that she could barely introduce herself before fleeing the scene. This insecurity wasn't just uncomfortable - it was destroying Jennifer's ability to connect with others. By focusing so intensely on how she was being perceived, she became stiff, uninteresting, and ungiving. Ironically, the other parents later admitted they thought she was "stuck-up and uninterested" in them, when in reality she was terrified of rejection. The root of this insecurity lies in what psychologist Carl Jung called the "Shadow" - everything we don't want to be but fear we are, represented in a single image. When Jennifer was asked to visualize her insecurity, she saw "a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, overweight, unwashed. Her face was pasty and covered with zits... a complete loser." This Shadow follows us everywhere, making us feel ashamed and inferior whenever we look inward. Our culture teaches us to seek validation from others to compensate for this inner shame. We treat audiences (whether one person or many) as authority figures who define our value. This gives them tremendous power over us, causing us to freeze in their presence. But this approach never works because no amount of external approval can eliminate our Shadow. The surprising solution is to embrace your Shadow rather than hide it. The Shadow is actually a conduit for a higher force called the "Force of Self-Expression" - the energy that allows children to express themselves freely and exuberantly. This force enables you to reveal yourself in a truthful, genuine way without caring about others' reactions. The tool that connects you to this force is called "Inner Authority." It works in two steps: First, imagine your Shadow off to one side, facing you, and feel an unbreakable bond between you - as a unit, you're fearless. Second, together with your Shadow, forcefully turn toward your audience and silently command them to "LISTEN!" Feel the authority that comes when you and your Shadow speak with one voice. When Jennifer practiced Inner Authority at soccer practices, she gradually overcame her paralysis and began speaking to the other parents. To her surprise, they welcomed her warmly once she stopped avoiding them. Later, when asked to substitute for a friend at a fundraising meeting with an important donor, she used Inner Authority and spoke from her heart with remarkable results - the donor doubled his commitment. Use Inner Authority whenever you feel performance anxiety - before and during social events, confrontations, or public speaking. Start with low-pressure situations and gradually work up to more challenging ones. With practice, you'll develop a genuine authority that comes not from impressing others but from expressing your authentic self. Remember, connecting to your Shadow doesn't mean becoming it - it means making it your partner. This partnership allows you to tap into the Force of Self-Expression, giving you the freedom to be yourself in any situation.

Chapter 4: Practice Gratitude to Overcome Negativity

Negative thinking can take over our minds like a dark cloud, blocking out everything positive and creating a sense of impending doom. Elizabeth, a college guidance counselor, lived under this cloud constantly. Whether worrying about Thanksgiving dinner, a rash on her leg, or her daughter's college applications, her mind churned with anxieties that felt overwhelming and inescapable. "I can't remember the last time anything gave me real joy," Elizabeth admitted. The constant state of crisis left her feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Her husband grew frustrated with her exaggerated fears, and even her daughter accused her of being a "selfish nag" whose concern was more about managing her own anxiety than helping her daughter. The Black Cloud had twisted Elizabeth's strongest impulse as a parent into something burdensome. What makes negative thinking so powerful? Elizabeth discovered the answer when she tried to relax her worried mind: "I felt myself relaxing for a second, then... it felt like I lost control of everything." Worry had become a powerful superstition - a magical ritual that gave her the illusion of control over an unpredictable future. Like a rabbit's foot, it provided no real benefit but felt impossible to give up. This need for control stems from a basic assumption most of us never question: that the universe is indifferent to us. Based on what science tells us, this seems reasonable. But what if, on a level we can't see, the universe is actually interested in our welfare, supporting us in countless ways? Our bodies extract oxygen from air, digest complex foods, and perform countless miracles without our understanding how. The earth supplies us with food, air, and materials to build with. These are just a few examples of how our existence is sustained by the universe. To experience this beneficence directly, we need to develop gratefulness as an organ of perception. Gratefulness isn't just an emotion - it's a means of perceiving the spiritual world as clearly as your eyes perceive the physical world. Through gratefulness, you can appreciate a fundamental truth: the universe works mysteriously, and you're the constant beneficiary of its generosity. The tool that awakens this organ of perception is called the "Grateful Flow." It works in three steps: First, silently name specific things you're grateful for, particularly things you normally take for granted. Second, feel the gratefulness flowing upward directly from your heart. Third, as your chest softens and opens, feel yourself approaching an overwhelming presence filled with infinite giving - what we call "the Source." Elizabeth practiced the Grateful Flow diligently, using it whenever negative thoughts arose. One day, she had lunch with an old friend and realized two hours had passed without worry or stress. "I was happy for the first time since I could remember," she reported. When her daughter wasn't admitted to her first-choice college, Elizabeth used the Grateful Flow and found a calm, clear place within herself. From there, she was able to reassure her daughter with genuine confidence rather than needing reassurance herself. The cues to use the Grateful Flow are straightforward: use it immediately whenever negative thoughts attack, when your mind becomes undirected (during idle moments), and at specific daily times like waking, meals, and bedtime. With practice, you'll develop peace of mind that doesn't depend on external circumstances but on your ongoing connection to the Source. Remember, gratefulness isn't about ignoring problems - it's about seeing them as blemishes in a field of light rather than all-consuming darkness. By practicing the Grateful Flow consistently, you'll experience the infinite energy of the Source, replacing anxiety with clarity and perspective.

Chapter 5: Build Willpower Through Facing Mortality

The tools you've learned so far have tremendous power to change your life - but only if you use them consistently. This is where most people fail. They try the tools, love the results, and then mysteriously stop using them. Why does this happen? Because deep down, we all harbor a fantasy that someday we'll find a "magical something" - fame, money, the perfect relationship - that will remove us from life's endless struggles. Vinny, the stand-up comic, fell into this trap when he finally got a part on a sitcom. "I'm gonna be a star," he declared. "I'm on easy street from now on." With this belief, he immediately stopped using the Reversal of Desire tool that had helped him overcome his fear of vulnerability. Without the tool, his newfound adult habits slipped away. He started showing up late to work, refused to memorize his lines, and became nasty and uncooperative. Within months, he was fired and fell into a black pit of demoralization. This pattern is so common because our entire culture has an unreal view of what it means to be human. We like to think of ourselves as finished products, complete on our own. We're not. To be whole, we need to stay connected to something beyond ourselves, and that requires constant effort. Using tools to connect with higher forces is a task without end - something we'll need to do for the rest of our lives. The fantasy that we can escape this ongoing effort is called "exoneration." It's the ultimate wish to be excused from the struggle of life. Consumerism feeds this fantasy by convincing us that higher forces exist inside magical objects or achievements we can acquire. But this search for magic always ends in demoralization when the fantasy inevitably collapses. To overcome this tendency to quit, we need a fifth tool that generates unwavering willpower. This tool is called "Jeopardy," and it works by creating a sense of urgency about using the other tools. The process is simple: Imagine yourself lying on your deathbed. This older self knows how crucial the present moment is because he's run out of them. You see him rouse himself and scream at you not to waste the present moment. You feel a deep fear that you've been squandering your life, creating urgent pressure to use the tools right now. This deathbed perspective reminds us that time is limited, making each present moment priceless. The eighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson observed, "When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully." Jeopardy creates this same concentration, generating the spark of willpower needed to use the tools consistently. Use Jeopardy in two key situations: when you want to use the tools but can't get yourself to do it, and when you feel you've grown beyond needing the tools. The tool works equally well for other areas where you tend to quit, from exercise programs to creative projects. The secret benefit of developing willpower through Jeopardy is that you become a "creator" rather than a "consumer." Consumers expect rewards for minimal effort and make no real impact on the world. Creators bring new things into existence, set their own course regardless of others' reactions, and remain focused on their goals even when it requires sacrifice. By using Jeopardy to generate willpower, you join the ranks of creators who leave a lasting mark on the world. Remember, willpower isn't just about forcing yourself to do things - it's about creating something from nothing, bringing light into darkness. When you use Jeopardy to generate willpower in your darkest moments, you're exercising a godlike creativity that no one can take from you.

Chapter 6: Develop Faith in Higher Forces

The tools you've learned provide access to higher forces that can transform your life. But to fully benefit from these forces, you need to develop faith that they're real and available when you need them. This faith doesn't come from logical arguments or proof - it emerges from direct experience. Barry, one of the authors, struggled with this issue. Raised by atheist parents who believed only in science, he was deeply skeptical about higher forces, even as he saw the tools working for his patients. Though he used the tools effectively, he felt something was missing. His patients seemed to connect to something much bigger than themselves, while he remained limited by his rationalism. This changed dramatically after a profound dream. On January 17, 1993, Barry dreamed of being alone in his office during a massive earthquake. Knowing he was about to die, he decided to use the Active Love tool one last time. When he did, he was flooded with a love greater than any he'd ever felt, expanding him from inside as if the sun were radiating from his heart. For weeks after this dream, Barry felt more alive and loving. He began to see the world differently, perceiving connections between events that previously seemed random. He wondered if certain events in his life - quitting his law career, meeting Phil - had been planned by a higher intelligence to guide his evolution. Then, exactly one year after the dream, on January 17, 1994, a devastating earthquake struck Los Angeles, collapsing the building that housed Barry's office. This coincidence shattered his rationalistic worldview. It seemed as if a cosmic intelligence had anticipated the disaster and used it to break through his skepticism. With his old belief system destroyed, Barry turned to Phil, who introduced him to a "spiritual system" that connects every human being to the universe. In this system, problems aren't random hardships but challenges designed to help us evolve by connecting to higher forces. The system has three components: problems sent by the force of evolution, tools that resolve these problems, and our free will to use these tools. To test this system, Barry applied it to his insecurity around his brilliant physicist friend Steve. Whenever he felt anxiety about an upcoming lunch with Steve, he used Active Love. Gradually, his fear diminished. During the lunch, instead of freezing up, Barry spoke passionately about his spiritual approach to therapy. To his surprise, Steve responded positively: "You've found something you really believe in, and I bet you've helped a lot of people with it." This experience transformed Barry's understanding of faith. He realized that faith isn't blind acceptance of unprovable ideas but confidence that higher forces are always available when needed. This confidence comes not from logical arguments but from experiencing these forces working in your life. Phil's faith came from a different kind of challenge - a mysterious illness that left him exhausted and isolated. Cut off from the outer world, he was forced to enter an inner world he never would have chosen. There, he discovered that answers to his patients' problems seemed to come from nowhere, as if he were a spokesperson for some other force. This experience convinced him that we live in a deeply caring universe with a purpose for each of us. Whether through dramatic events like Barry's earthquake or through persistent challenges like Phil's illness, faith develops when we experience higher forces working in our lives. By using the tools consistently, you create opportunities for these experiences, building a faith that sustains you through life's darkest moments.

Summary

Throughout this journey, we've explored how connecting to higher forces can transform our relationship with life's challenges. Rather than seeing pain, anger, insecurity, and negativity as obstacles to avoid, we can use them as gateways to extraordinary powers within ourselves. The tools - Reversal of Desire, Active Love, Inner Authority, Grateful Flow, and Jeopardy - provide practical methods for accessing these powers in everyday situations. As Phil Stutz observed, "The universe is so respectful of human freedom that it refuses to compel you to evolve against your will." This profound insight reveals both the challenge and the opportunity before us. No one can force you to use these tools, but when you choose to do so consistently, you step into a new identity as a creator rather than a consumer. You become someone who brings new things into the world, sets your own course regardless of others' reactions, and remains focused on meaningful goals even when it requires sacrifice. Your next step is simple but powerful: choose one tool that resonated most strongly with you and commit to using it daily for the next week. Notice how it affects your relationship with challenges and observe any shifts in your energy, perspective, or sense of possibility. Remember that true happiness isn't found in external achievements but in the constant presence of higher forces in your life - forces that are available every moment if you simply use the tools to connect with them.

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Barry Michels

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