heres some notes I found today stuck away. this was posted by Bruce August 14, 2001 here on the board in reply to someone I'll use the letter M. I think this post was lost due to a crash we had, and I thought it was too good to be lost that way.
Bruce says:
M, the passage you've quoted reminds me of the section in my workshop on Placing Intent. Perhaps "Placing Intent" and Faith mean similar things.  As I teach it Placing Intent is an area of consciousness tht has a specific feeling and if one experiences this feeling while expressing a desire theres a lot more power behind fulfillment of that desire.

I use the "silly little finger bending exercise" to teach about placing intent. the concept is that everything we do requires that we place intent. so even bending one's finger must be preceded by the feeling of placing intent. we normally do this so seamlessly that we don't consciously experience the feeling. by focusing our attention the act of bending our finger we can "capture" that feeling. Many describe this feeling as a strong knowing that the finger is going to bend. sounds a little like faith doesn't it?

Doubt was a problem for me too until I discovered how to use it to learn more aabout placing intent. I came to the understanding that if I was feeling doubt as I placed intent for something I desire I am actually placing the intent for both my desire and my doubt to manifest. before I understood this I let the manifestation of my doubt cancel the intent for fulfillment of my desired thing.

lets say I place intent to get a loan to buy a new car. as I'm placing that intent I think, who am I kidding? with my low income no one in their right mind is going to lend me that much money.

I walk into a car dealership and sure enough the guy says no way would we loan you money with your low income.   at that point I have a choice.
I can say to myself, see, I knew this was never going to happen!  and making that statement cancelled my intent to get the loan. no matter how many dealerships I go to they'll all say no. If I say to myself instead GREAT! I just remembered feeling doubt as I placed my intent for the loan and my doubt just Manifested! this means the process of placing intent is working. Now I know the loan is coming. I just need to keep going to dealerships and one of them is going to give me the loan.

thats how I'd suggest dealing with doubt. just understand that if I feel doubt while placing intention, I'm placing intention for both to happen.

I also describe another area of consciousness I call Pure Doubtless Intent.  in my view if one learns to experience this feeling and can cause themselves to feel it while expressing a desire, moving mountains would be no big trick.  walking on water would be no big trick either.

how does one learn to do this? in my view its done by practicing placing intent. being aware of what you're feeling as you express your desire and paying attention to how your desire manifests. its a process that builds confidence or faith if you like. I believe that if one practices that practice will lead to experiencing the feeling of Pure Doubtless Intent. from that point its just a matter of learning to re-experience that feeling while expressing a desire.
Bruce

Good re-read.  It pays to go over this stuff and be reminded of it again.  Thanks!  :)

I just copy and past this whole thing about Intent..it need ..for me anyway ..to be re-read very carefully.
As Vicky said it's nice to re-read/refresh our memory.

Thank Alysia,
with love, Romain

well then cool! I was amazed I still had this paper, traveling with it to 3 different states, so I was supposed to keep it for you guys! :)

I always understood faith. I did not understand intention, so when I re-read this I start to see the relationship.
in my words which are certainly not better than Bruces, I think about intention setting, with the desire behind that, as making a decision. a feeling of decisiveness occurs, like a clear spot in the mind. it might be like an aha moment. to tell the truth I can't find much desire in me left to practice the desire part, but the intention setting, to me thats strickly a mental exercise. what I do see is a kind of yearning to be done with this life and move on..which I'm sure some folks might see as unhealthy, its more of a joyful yearning which teaches me faith and patience and staying in the now. most times I forget about this deep yearning to return to spirit, as if I didn't I wouldn't be able to function too well.
The Course in Miracles is my bible in this life. its true what it says, that most of us pass up the chance to gladden ourselves...we just don't see the opportunity for that when we get caught up in the wheel turning..I've found its other people who gladden me, actually surprises me!  I think I'd like to start writing human interest stories about the little things in life that gladden us...lol...guess I won't be writing for the newspaper, now will I? well, things will change! ;)

Greetings,
do you ever try to track your thoughts in your brain? Like a conscious self-MRI ?
When I say "I'm going to place my intent to..." the placing intent part makes an area activate just left of the back center line near the surface. But if I say 'I'm going to do...', the activation area is lower and further in, altho' still left of center.  (Contrast with if I say I love someone, the active area is much more like a crown area.)  My doubt area is way to the front of my left ear, so it's easy to tell the difference.
The reason I bring this up is that it's handy to use instead of the little finger exercise, as a test to see if I'm really setting my intent.
Betson :)

:) thanks Bets, I never thought of using a visual or, I visualized a football field when you said "line" and center, left and right.
I think I will try this because it seems you are watching the circuits in your head or u are aware of the way your thought moves in your brain..this is interesting to consider.
(hey, just noticed the reply field is enhanced with added features, thanks Allen!)

http://library.ust.hk/clip-art/mozilla/juggle.gif

I’ve spent a fair amount of time over the past few months on the funny little finger exercise.  At best I’ve had a sense of release as the feeling I associate with the intent to bend my finger.  After reading the last two posts here and the a little exercising, I’m happy to say that I did notice a feeling or sensation just left of center and just below the middle of the centerline going down the back of my head.  Now I’m wondering whether it’s just suggestion from reading Betson’s post or whether, as I sincerely hope, that I’ll be able to duplicate the experience when I do the exercise in the future.  It makes sense that if I had some kind of feeling of release that I should be able to associate a location with that feeling.  I like this mental MRI idea.  Thanks.

I have another question relating to his interpreter-receiver balancing exercise.  Should I ask it here or start it on a new thread?  I didn’t see an existing thread.

Thanks. Rob

ask it here RC, its too easy to lose a thread somewhere else, personally speaking of course.  
somebody explain MRI to me. I see wires when I think of it.  practiced to see if I could detect any sublte energies while placing intent.
1) when I looked at my little finger just before it bent I felt my energy bunch up, lol, grunting I think.
when I said "I am going to place an intention" energy back of head, below ears
when I said I" I am going to" energy rose between the ears
when I said I love you, energy went to throat chakra and connected to the heart

have to observes this further. :)

Hi all.  Nice to meet you Rob.

Rob, why don't you start a new thread for the Perceiver/Interpreter question?  That way it will be easy to find.  

I have always had a hard time with the Finger Bending exercise.  I'm sure my problem is that I have zero patience.  And waiting for my finger to bend is not going to be all that exciting.  I think it's a great exercise but for me it is also teaching me to remember patience!  

Bets, that's very interesting about you picturing where in your brain you feel these sensations.  I myself like to feel the sensation right behind my eyes when I place intent.  I get a different feeling there and when I have it I know I'm in the right place.  This is a good point you bring up because we should all recognize how we experience it differently as this makes a lot of sense.

Alysia, MRI means magnetic resonance imaging.  It allows for 3-D pictures of inside the body.

ok, good idea, I agree a new thread, but please keep it here on the book forum under the guidebook thread, maybe we can get up a good conversation going. thanks Vicki

Thank you for explaining the meaning of :
MRI means magnetic resonance imaging.  It allows for 3-D pictures of inside the body Vicky.

As soon as i read this was already lost in thoughts, wondering what on earth this is..lol

Betson, what a concept, i like it, and will have to pay more attention to it.
That little finger bending exercise gave me a lot of problem at the beginning, took me a while to figure it out, not sure if i have it all as of now, but will practice it again.

As for placing intent myself i just say. I will go to.....and just forget about it.
It work for me, make it a positive thought, and let it happen.
But the back of head/left/right field/center..get a bit confusing...lol..i like things simple.

Thanks for sharing, with love
Romain

Hi folks.  It’s nice to meet you.  I will start a new thread on the Perceiver/Interpreter right after I post this.  I have to say you are a wonderful bunch of people. I’ve enjoyed this Board for a number of months.  I want to thank Bruce and you all for making it possible.

Alysia – let me add one thing on the MRIs.  Brain researchers are using MRIs of the brain to study our thought processes.  Often particular types of thought will be associated with particular locations in the brain.

Like a number of you the funny finger exercise is something I keep working on.  Part of the challenge is that makes me more sensitive to what is going on in my mind and brain when I try to sense what it is that happens just before I bend that finger.  As I recall Bruce said he spent lots and lots of time working on it whenever he got a chance.  I just need to keep working on it.  

My best - Rob