The Principle of Giving and The
Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon

By Mike Litman

Many years ago I discovered the Principle of Giving almost by accident.

Initially, around 1994, I noticed that several business clients sent me markedly more referrals after I sent them a huge box of Godiva Chocolates as a thank-you for their business. I noticed that the clients who received chocolates referred around 40% more clients to me than the clients who did not receive my tasty gifts. Actually, in earlier years prior to my chocolateering endeavors most of my clients gave me "no referrals" whatsoever--and I might add, in those days quite regularly.

One day upon receiving a swarm of referrals I decided to deepen my commitment to giving. Initially, honestly, it was for self-serving reasons. I was simply blown away by what appeared to be a strong causal relationship between giving and receiving. At that time all I knew was that I had to learn more because I recognized a new, almost mysteriously powerful, aspect of giving at work behind the scenes here.

For the first time I understood clearly that somehow in the vast scheme of life we are rewarded in direct proportion to the value we create for others. I had heard once that the secret to abundant wealth was in creating massive value for others. But, based on my newfound experiences, I was now discovering with renewed white heat fervor that the Principle of Giving was the "gold-rush flume-ride" to expedite that flow of wealth into my life.

My self-serving commitment to discover more about giving soon led to a way of life that I later realized would continue to fuel me much more spiritually than it ever would economically. Little did I realize that my seemingly rare flowering rose-like discovery would soon open up into an entire inner garden paradise for me.

I conducted several very powerful experiments on the subject of how giving leads to receiving. I made a deeper, less self-interested, but more self-enlightened commitment. It was out of my simple curiosity to see how I could change others' lives through profound value-sharing as a regular business and life practice.

I began giving more than merely chocolate candies -- although Godiva certainly soothes the deepest recesses of my own soul. I gave valuable advice. There were bonus hours spent with clients, e-books, and article clippings sent to friends about their favorite hobbies. I gave as much as I could to those with whom I had a regular influence.

If someone crossed my pathway, I figured it was for a higher- causal purpose and I just shared the most appropriate level of value I could with that person. I did it everyday, one person at a time. I did it with my lists of exclusive business mastermind participants. I did it with my e-list recipients.

For me, it felt like magic. It flowed effortlessly. It transformed my soul. It replaced expensive marketing in my businesses. Best of all, my interior castle would soar into the highest heaven with each person whose life I had the privilege of touching.

Soon my hidden objective was to cause everyone I met to think of me as a value creator. My goal was to become a selfless abundant resource. You see, I had a hunch that if focused more on opening the doorway of my heart to the needs of other people by giving, that this would cause the doorway of my recipients' hearts to open back up to me.

So acting on the Principle of Giving first induces openness in others. This is a powerful precursor for relationship-building ---  business, personal and otherwise.

I then discovered that as a value creator I must give sincerely, selflessly, abundantly, effortlessly, with absolutely no expectation of a direct immediate reward. I also realized that I must be balanced in giving in order to respect the true value of the gifts I gave. Gifts are not only reflections of us, but actual experiential portions of ourselves embodied in external expressions.

The same goes for you, too. Every gift that you give which has exceptional meaning and value for your recipient is actually a portion of yourself.

The gift is a part of you that reaches out, makes a connection point and creates a powerful relationship-building bond to your recipient.

The act of bestowing value on others exerts a positive supernatural influence upon any recipient who understands and values your gift.

Shortly after committing to the Principle of Giving as a philosophy of life, I began to notice the occurrence of quite a remarkable spin-off phenomenon occurring.

As a disciple of Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Mindset and Principles, I named my unique observation "the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon" because it describes a result of giving that is so subtle it flies under the radar of most people's conscious "rejection detection."

The Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon is this:

The recipient of my valuable gift unknowingly enters into an implied equal psychological exchange with me instantly upon receiving what I give them.

That's right. By receiving what I had freely given them, my recipients were becoming programmed to look for every way possible to give something of equal value back to me. At times it would be through a kind word they said about me to a friend. Often it would be a referral to two or three other business partners.

Often I would contact someone to ask him or her if they received a gift I had sent to them, and they would usually overflow with gratitude. It was at those times I realized that my gifts were like planted seeds that would produce a good harvest in a very reasonable time.

It is vital to remind ourselves of the importance of giving something that has a true, high-perceived value for those you choose to lavish your gifts upon.

The psychology of human behavior is relatively timeless. Master philosophers of past centuries share incredible secrets about the Principle of Giving. Here is a small sample:

Eric Hoffer, of the 20th century, a profound U.S. philosopher, said, "Someone gives us all he has and we are his."

20th-Century German philosopher Walter Benjamin said, "Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock."

Jean de La Bruyere, 17th-century French writer, said, "Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment."

6th-Century Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tsu, said, "The sage does not hoard. Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more. Having given all he has to others, he is richer still."

My most recent life work, over two years in the making, has expanded to spurring others to give extreme levels of value. I have been working hard to successfully funnel-influence my dearest friends who are famous writers and authors to give massive value through me.

These are people who have earned the right to be called rich and famous because they have sold millions of books using the Principle of Giving. They are profound master contributors in our modern world. Now they are freely sharing their secrets with you.

These master contributors include Joe Vitale (Spiritual Marketing), James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy), Dick Bolles (What Color Is Your Parachute?), Dave Chilton (The Wealthy Barber), and many others.

In keeping with my commitment to becoming an extreme value creator, we are lavishing on anyone who visits http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com over $468 worth of valuable book publishing, e-book, and infopreneur marketing insights from masters who have made millions and have given away a lot. They include the best minds I have ever known or worked with in over 14 years of publishing, marketing and consulting.

Most of all, when you visit TotalBookMarketing.com you'll be encouraged, uplifted and overwhelmed to see that there are people who truly want to help others - who take action to give by putting the needs of others before their own needs. That alone is a testimony to giving--that it works and works well.

Interestingly, Joe Vitale was one of the very first friends to jump at the chance to contribute to "TotalBookMarketing.com." Joe is the greatest value creator I know --- because he puts his heart into giving and he is always sharing all the value he's got.

Learn and do.

To see a great example of the Principle of Giving and the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon at work on the Internet, visit Allen's website at http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com.

"A gift with reservations is not a gift; it is a bribe. There is no promise of increase unless we give freely. Let go of the gift entirely. Recognize the universal scope of the law. Then the gift has a chance to go out and to come back multiplied. There is no telling how far the blessing may travel before it comes back. It is a beautiful and encouraging fact that the longer it is in returning, the more hands it is passing through and the more hearts it is blessing. All these hands and hearts add something to it in substance. It is increased all the more when it does return."

-- Charles Fillmore, Dynamics for Living

布施定律和催眠互换现象

By Mike Litman

多年以前，我几乎是纯属意外地发现了“布施定律”的运作。

最初，大约是在1994年，我注意到，我曾经送给他们一大盒子 Godiva 巧克力作为致谢礼物的那些客户，经他们介绍来的新客户的数量，要比其他人多得多。接受过我的巧克力的客户，比没有接受过我的美味礼物的客户，介绍的过来人要多出40%以上。实际上，早年在我的“巧克力行动”之前，我的大部分客户压根不会给我介绍任何新客户 —— 我还要说，这种情况在当时是很正常的事情。

一天，在又接到一大群经介绍而来的新客户后，我决定将我的“布施”行动进一步深化。老实说，刚开始时，这纯粹是出于利己的目的。但我被这种布施与获得直接的强大的因果关系所震撼了。那时，我开始认识到，在这一切的背后，布施的神秘而强大的力量在运作，而这正是需要我进一步学习和了解的。    我第一次清醒地认识到，在伟大的生命构架中，我们所获得的奖赏，直接与我们为他人所创造的价值成比例。我以前就已经听说过，富裕的秘密，在于为他人创造巨大的财富。但是，根据我的最新经验，我热切地发现，“布施定律”才是真正加速财富之流的黄金水道。

我基于自利而进行的对布施研究，不久就将我引入一个全新的生活境界，它给我的精神带来的益处，甚至要远远超过它在经济上对我的影响。我几乎没有认识到， 我的“稀有开放的玫瑰”式的发现，很快长成我内在的繁茂的花园天堂。

我进行了几次非常有力的实验，来验证“布施导致获得”的原理。我让自己更加深入、更少自利、但更注重于自我觉悟的来实践这一原理。我原本只是出于个人的好奇，想看看我是否能够在我的日常业务和生活中，通过深层价值共享，来改变他人的生活。

我开始布施巧克力以外的东西 —— 虽然巧克力最能宽慰我的心 —— 我开始布施我宝贵的建议。我化更多的时间和客户交流，给朋友赠送与他们的爱好相关的电子书和文章。我尽我的一切力量以此种方式向我能够影响到的人布施。

每当我遇到一个人，我都将其看成是冥冥中的天意，并与其分享我认为最恰当层次的价值观念。我每天都如此分享，一次一人。我与我的商务策划伙伴分享，也与我的电子邮件列表上的接收者分享。

对我来说，这种分享如同魔力，它毫不费力的进行着，转变着我的心灵，并替代了原本昂贵的商务营销活动。更妙的是，伴随着我所触及每一位人生，都让我 内在的城堡驰入心灵的最高天堂。

不久，我将自己的目标暗自定为“让任何一个遇到我的人都认为我是一个‘价值创造者’”。我的目的是成为一个富足的源泉。你看，我有一个灵感：如果我更多的通过布施为他人的需求打开我的心灵之门，必将导致受施者为我打开他们的心灵之门。

因此，对布施法则的实践，首先就会导致他人对你的开放，而这正是建立良好关系的强力先驱 —— 不论是用于商务、个人关系还是其他方面。

我后来发现，作为一个“价值创造者”，我必须真诚地、无私地、富足地、毫不勉强地去布施，且丝毫不希求立即的和直接的回报。我还认识到，我必须在布施时保持心灵的平衡，以尊重我 所施出的礼物的真正价值。这些礼物不仅是我们自身的反映，也是我们生活经验的外在体现。

对你来说也同样如此。你施出的每一件对受施者来说具有特定意义和价值的礼物，都实际上是你自己的一部分。

你的礼物，作为你自身的一部分，伸展出去，成为你和受施者之间强力关系的纽带。

向他人赠与价值的这种行为，会给接受者施加一种正向的超自然影响力——只要这位受施者能够理解并尊重您的礼物的价值。

（译者注：这句话似乎是说，只有当受施者尊重你的礼物的价值，布施才是有效的。当然，这也很容易理解，因为如果你给出的东西，不是受施者需要的，那么你的行为很难称之为布施 。所以佛教上说，布施要布施倒“福田”，才能有最大的收获。福田之一就是“贫穷福田”，因为贫穷的人一般尊重和需要你的布施；另外的福田有报恩福田（父母师长等）和功德福田（修行有成就者）等）。

在我将“布施法则”作为自己的生活哲学身体力行以后不久，我开始注意到，一个不同寻常的“附带现象”的发生。

因为我曾是 Joe Vitale 的“催眠意识法则”的学生，我将自己的发现命名为“催眠互换现象”，这种现象表明“布施”的结果是一种人的显意识“雷达”难以侦测到 、从而也难以引起通常的“拒绝反应”的微细现象。

更清楚的定义为：

当受施者接受我的礼物的时候，他会无意识的立即进入一种对等的心理互换状态。

确实如此。当受施者接受我无条件的礼赠后，他会立即像被编了程序的机器人一样，迫切的去寻找一种可以等价的回报与我的途径。有时，这可能只是对他们自己的朋友们宣扬我的“功德”，但更多的，是为我介绍两三个客户。

有时我会联系某人，询问他是否收到了我的礼物。他们的反应往往是非常强烈的表示感谢。每当这种时候，我可以清晰地意识到，我的礼物就像是我种下的种子一样，在适当的时候一定会有丰硕的收获的。

有一个重要的细节我们一定要注意，那就是：我们所布施的礼物，一定要是对受施者有真正的、可以被对方意识到的价值。

人类行为的精神规律基本上是不随时间而变化的。早期的哲学大师们都已经洞悉“布施法则”的惊人秘密。下面是一个例子：

Eric Hoffer，20世纪美国著名哲学家，曾说：“如果有人向我们奉献了他自己所拥有的一切，则最终我们将为他所拥有”。

20世纪德国哲学家 Walter Benjamin 说：“赠品能至深的影响受者”。

Jean de La Bruyere (17世纪法国作家）说：“慷慨不仅仅在于布施，更在于在恰当的时候布施”。

6世纪中国圣人老子说：“圣人为而不恃，功成而不居；...夫唯弗居， 是以不去；...是以圣人后其身而身先，外其身而身存”。

作为我人生中最重要的工作，我的努力方向，在历经两年多的琢磨和进化之后，现在是：激励他人奋发布施。我尽力的说服我最亲近的作家朋友们，通过我进行大量的布施。

这些人是当之无愧的富人和名人，他们运用“布施法则”销售了数以百万的书。他们也是这个社会的重要贡献者。现在他们毫不保留的将他们的秘密与你共享。

这些奉献大师们包括：Joe Vitale (《精神营销》), James Redfield (《塞莉斯廷预言》), Dick Bolles (《你的降落伞是什么颜色？》), Dave Chilton (《富有的理发师》)，以及其他许多人。

作为我努力成为一个超级“价值创造者”的活动之一，就是在我们的网站 http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com 上为任何访问我们网站的人提供价值超过 $468 的图书、电子书和信息营销深层技术文章，它们来自众多大师级百万富翁的贡献，这些人中包括我14年的出版、营销和咨询生涯中接触到的最为出色的头脑。

最重要的是，当你访问 TotalBookMarketing.com 的时候，你会感到振奋、激动和鼓舞，因为你可以看到有如此多的人，他们真心地致力于帮助别人，并把他人的需要放在自己的需要之前。这本身就是布施法则的明证：布施法则不仅真实地在运作，而且运作良好。

有趣的是，Joe Vitale 是我的朋友当中踊跃为这个网站作贡献的第一人。Joe 本人是我所知最伟大的“价值创造者”，他一直在无私地布施，无私地分享他的所得。

我们应该向他学习。

想看看一个“布施法则”和“催眠互换现象”实际运作的一个极好例子吗？欢迎访问 Allen 的网站：http://www.TotalBookMarketing.com.

“附带有条件的礼物不是礼物，是贿赂。无条件的布施是超值回报的前提。要彻底放弃对礼物的执著。要在整个宇宙的大尺度上体证布施法则。只有这样，你布施的礼物才能有机会周流、倍增、循环并最终回归于你 —— 虽然我们不知道你的福德要走多远才能再回来，但其中最为美妙和令人鼓舞的是：它周游得越远，经历和利益的众生也越多，所因此而获得的附加值也越多，其最终回归时候的增值也越多。”

Charles Fillmore，《生活动力学》