In 2012, JD Messinger released his first novel, 11 Days in May: The Conversation That Will Change Your Life. Messinger broke his neck in 2000, which prompted him to quit his job as a CEO and spend a decade on a journey of self-discovery and the exploration of the fundamental truths of the universe. This journey included extensive reading, travelling, the creation of a radio show and television show, as well as writing this book. I had a chance to talk with Messinger about his book and related topics.
11 Days in May follows the form of a Socratic dialogue, with Messinger’s soul taking on a teacher’s role, as Socrates did, and his material self taking on the role of the student. Messinger puts forward the idea that there’s a material world, plus a world of ideas which must be accessed through the soul; a similar idea was endorsed by Socrates’ student Plato through his Theory of Forms and his Allegory of the Cave.
Messinger believes humans cannot handle all the data coming into our brains at one time. If we were to understand everything within the world of ideas, which Messinger calls the World of Light (as opposed to the material World of Form), our material bodies would explode from information overload. The filters we have in our brains create FLOPS, Messinger’s acronym for “faulty” or “outdated” programs. These are like software programs which filter out information they deem unnecessary and therefore control the way we think and act.
In 11 Days in May, Messinger discusses two significant examples of FLOPS. He got angry one time when seeing his wife outside, where she would possibly be seen by his driver, wearing pyjamas. When he was a kid, his mother once wore pyjamas in front of his friends in the middle of the afternoon, which had embarrassed him. Consequently, he created a faulty program in his mind which deemed that one of his family members being seen in pyjamas was a negative, humiliating thing.
A faulty program is not quite the same as an outdated program, which was rational at one point in time, but is still being used even though it’s no longer logical. As an example, Messinger tells the story of a woman who cut the ends off her pot roast before putting it in the pan. She did this because her mother did it, and her mother did it because her grandmother did it. She and her mother erroneously believed that this made the meat somehow taste better, but it turns out that the grandmother cut the ends off the meat because she was using a pot which was too small. The grandmother’s choice to cut the ends off the meat was logical, but her daughter and her granddaughter’s decisions to follow suit were not. Outdated programs are a fitting example of how information can get distorted when passed along over time.
Messinger believes the most important thing that human beings are given by God is love, and he states that God is love. This is not a passionate, sexual love, but a calmer, more thoughtful love of God, the world and humankind. Messinger refers to an $8,000,000 study done by The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, which had proven that love can create positive changes in human lives.
The study pointed out the scientific fact that the energy flowing from the human heart is far more powerful than that which flows from the human mind. Secondly, evidence from the study proves that love is an attractive force; if you transmit love from yourself to the rest of the universe, you will receive love from the universe in return. Similarly, if you offer no love to the universe, you will not receive anything positive from it.
At first, this idea seemed like a catch-22. What if someone is stuck in a negative mindset, but cannot get out of it because nothing positive happens, due to the fact that they need to get out of the negative mindset in order for positive things to start happening?
Messinger offers three practical solutions to shed a negative mindset.
- There is the “snap out of it” technique. Messinger wears a rubber band on his wrist, and when his thoughts start to drift towards the negative, he snaps the rubber band in order to remind himself to switch to a positive train of thought. He does not use this technique to punish himself for thinking negatively, but simply as a reminder to switch to his focus.
- If trapped in a negative environment, you can use water to relieve yourself. It has been scientifically proven that water acts as a purifier and is capable of blocking negative energy. Taking a shower or going for a swim, especially if you put your head under the water, can relieve negative feelings, at least temporarily.
- Writing positive affirmations. If he’s worried about money, he will write something such as “I am abundant,” over and over on a piece of paper. This serves as a reminder to himself that he has unique talents that he can use to obtain money if needed, so he realizes his fears about not having enough money are unfounded.
According to Messinger, any situation you perceive as negative can be turned around and perceived in a more positive manner. For example, if you believe that someone is judging you and criticizing your ideas, your first thought may be that they are doing it to put you down. However, if you think about this from a different angle, you may realize that the person is trying to help you by offering a different perspective and addressing things you did not think of. Messinger believed for years that his wife was being cruelly judgmental when she criticized his creative ideas, but after many years he realized she was just trying to help him attend to some practical concerns he had not considered.
Messinger writes that many human disagreements are caused by individuals making assumptions—assuming that others are against them is a common assumption individuals make. Your ego encourages you to consider things only from your own perspective; once you silence it and consider the perspectives of others, you may realize that humans are not in opposition to each other as much as you originally thought.
In 11 Days in May, Messinger comes to some profound truths about the world that make sense from a scientific standpoint. He managed to combine his knowledge of science and engineering with his spiritual faith to arrive at those truths; he believes science and religion are not as different as most people think since they’re both based on beliefs that are unproven (in science, what happens is proven, but not why).
In January 2013, Messinger was awarded a Digital Book World Publishing Innovation Award for 11 Days in May, the best non-fiction ebook of the year. Within Messinger’s ebook, readers are able to discuss its themes with both Messinger and other readers. If you are interested in learning more about Messinger, you can visit his website at www.jdmessinger.com where you can read current press releases and find out about his upcoming speaking engagements. 11 Days in May is currently for sale on Amazon.com and iTunes.com.
