Book SummaryBecoming Supernatural, by Joe Dispenza

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Becoming Supernatural

In Becoming Supernatural, Joe Dispenza outlines a plan for personal transformation. He says our subconscious mind is the most powerful aspect of our being, and we can use it to create the life we desire if we become aware of the power of our own thoughts. Dispenza uses anecdotal case studies and scientific data to explain how our thoughts and the resulting emotions create our reality and how we can use this knowledge to change our life to one of abundance and joy. He explains that this involves breaking free from old patterns of thinking by using meditation and visualization techniques to create a new reality and manifest your dreams.

He calls this “becoming supernatural” because you’re using the power of your thoughts alone to transform your physical reality. It’s a process of recognizing that you are more than your body and tapping into a power beyond what most people are able to access. This will make you appear to the average person to...

Becoming Supernatural Summary Your Thought-Feeling Patterns Create Your Life Experience

Dispenza begins by explaining that our whole experience of life is created by feedback loops between our thoughts and emotions—which we’ll call thought-feeling patterns. He says these thought-feeling patterns underlie all of your experiences and behaviors, so if you want to change your life, you must begin by changing your thoughts. This means you also need to get out of some of your habits and do things differently—which he describes as shifting to the “unknown.”

The thought-feeling pattern works like this:

1. Your brain processes information and experiences in the form of thoughts which generate an electrical charge.
2. That electrically-charged thought causes the brain to secrete chemicals.
3. Those chemicals create the emotions you feel.
4. The emotions become stored in your memories.
5. Those emotionally-laden memories then affect how you’ll perceive, interpret, and respond to every subsequent experience you have.
6. This means your thoughts will be influenced, and the cycle starts all over again.

(Shortform note: Because every emotion we feel is the result of electrical charges passing between neurons, researchers say that what we call “happiness” (or...

Becoming Supernatural Summary Shift From the Known to the Unknown

Because of this thought-feeling cycle that becomes ingrained in our memories and our neural circuitry, Dispenza says our brains are quite literally living in the past. Whether we have trauma or not, most of us are living in a state wherein our past constantly determines our present and our future. This means nothing in our life can change—the status quo is just reinforced day after day. He says in order to make any life change, we must shift from the known to the unknown, thereby allowing for new possibilities.

Think about your daily routines. It may go something like this: you wake up, have coffee, check your email and social media notifications, take a shower, get dressed, and head to work. At your job, you probably have a regular daily routine, and then you’ll go home and have your evening routine. Dispenza says that by doing things the same way every day, we train our brains to always expect the same things, so the same things will continue to happen.

For example, if you expect your commute to work to be stressful, you’ll create that stress by anticipating it. And your whole morning routine may be triggering that expectation in advance. By changing your morning...

Becoming Supernatural Summary Changing Your Brain Waves Changes Your Mind

Dispenza’s research includes monitoring the brainwave states of his meditation practitioners. In the book, he shares images from brain scans of his students to illustrate how dramatic the changes can be. He says that changing your life will mean changing your brain waves so that you have access to your subconscious mind.

(Shortform note: Although Dispenza’s biographical information includes mention that he has research interests in neuroscience and quantum physics, his formal training is as a doctor of chiropractic. The brain research he describes was done in partnership with researchers at universities in the US and Australia.)

Dispenza explains that brainwave frequencies include the following:

• Beta waves: In your regular, waking consciousness your brain tends to be in a beta wave state most of the time. This can include:
  • Low-range beta waves: when you’re relaxed and not perceiving any threat in your environment, but you’re still alert—for example, when you’re chatting with a friend or playing with your child.
  • Mid-range beta waves: a more alert state when you’re slightly aroused but not terribly...

Becoming Supernatural Summary The Heart Is Just as Important as the Brain

In addition to the brain, Dispenza says the heart is an essential piece of the puzzle because your heart is in constant communication with your brain and central nervous system. This means that, like your brain, your heart is also a source of knowledge and emotion, so it’s important that it’s in a coherent state.

Like our brain waves, our heartbeat can also be either inconsistent or coherent, Dispenza explains. A coherent heartbeat is more conducive to peaceful and positive emotions and raises your electromagnetic vibration. So your negative thought-feeling patterns are reflected in your heart as well. This means it’s important to activate your “heart center,” which means resting your attention on your heart in meditation in order to bring positive energy to it.

Dispenza illustrates the importance of the heart by describing some case studies of heart transplant patients who experienced subtle changes in their personalities after receiving a transplant. In one case, a woman who received a heart transplant from a young man developed cravings for specific foods that she had never craved before, and she later found out they were the favorite foods of the heart donor....

Becoming Supernatural Summary Understanding Your Energy Centers

A third component to transforming your thought-feeling patterns is what Dispenza calls the body’s “energy centers.” These are what is known in yogic philosophy as “chakras.” He says the body stores emotions in the form of energy in the chakras, and the way that energy is stored, and in which chakras, will affect your physical and mental health. He provides a breathing technique designed to move your energy through the chakras, clearing away the negativity and increasing the flow of positive energy. Let's look at how this works.

There are seven major chakras in the body, in a straight line from the base of your spine to the crown of your head:

• The lowest three chakras, which are located in the lower half of your torso, are associated with survival—they contain energy related to sexuality and reproduction, digestion and elimination, and competition for survival. Emotions like anger, frustration, and guilt tend to get stored in these lower centers, particularly the third center, known as the “solar plexus.” This is why you often feel these emotions in your gut.
• The fourth chakra is located in the middle of your chest and is associated with your heart. This center...

Becoming Supernatural Summary Kaleidoscopes and Mind Movies

Finally, Dispenza has developed some unique methods for reprogramming the subconscious mind to overwrite the existing patterns of negative thought and emotion, using kaleidoscope imagery and what he calls “mind movies.” He says these techniques will affect you on a subconscious level by putting you into a trance-like state to make your mind more susceptible to the messaging.

According to Dispenza, you’re constantly being programmed unconsciously by the messaging around you via television, advertising, social media, and other inputs you encounter throughout the day. This messaging can deeply embed negative thought-feeling patterns into your brain. To undo the damage of that, his technique involves consciously choosing what messaging to put into your brain.

(Shortform note: There’s plenty of scientific support for the idea that we’re being unconsciously programmed by the messaging around us all the time. For example, social media algorithms prioritize content that generates strong emotions, such as outrage or fear, as these emotions tend to keep users engaged for longer periods of time. Studies have shown that this creates [greater political...

Shortform Exercise: Begin Shifting to the Unknown

Dispenza says that in order to make any life change, we must shift from the known to the unknown. Start taking some steps in that direction by breaking out of your routines.

What daily routines or habits do you have that you go through on “auto-pilot?” Describe those parts of your day. Take particular note of any parts of this routine that might trigger stress or unpleasant feelings—for example, your commute to work, or sitting down at your desk.