The concept "you are responsible for creating your reality" has been around in various guises for ages. My father would say "the way you make your bed you will lie in it", and another expression "as ye sow, so ye shall reap", dates from biblical times.

These sayings relate to what degree we are in control of or create what goes on in our everyday lives, and there are huge variations in how we attribute our personal responsibility for what is happening externally.

At one stage, I was sincerely involved in "creating my own reality" and, in retrospect, I can see that I got massively carried away. If, on my way to a seminar or meeting, I got into a crowded train on the London underground, or the tube stopped, I would think "this is a sign that perhaps I shouldn't be going there". Or, if travelling on the Motorway, I arrived at a traffic jam, I would interpret this as a similar sign that I shouldn't really be heading for wherever I was going. Similarly, if I "asked" for a parking space and one became available, I would attribute this to my powers of creation. I have known people to claim to be able to clear away clouds and rain; one man, when the clutch on his car broke, blamed it on his "negativity".

From my present perspective, these types of magical thinking processes can be really big ego trips. If you run into problems, blocked motorways or similar obstacles, you can turn back or renege on a commitment, giving "the Universe" as an excuse. On the other hand, if all goes smoothly, then this is a confirmation in your power as a creator of your reality.

What helped to change my mind about events being mere accidents or coincidences as opposed to being created was a talk at Turning Point, St James Church, Piccadilly London, about 15 years ago. Following the talk by a Buddhist Rinpoche, I asked a question about whether there were ever any accidents, or if every disaster, every bombing, every case of childhood leukaemia or AIDS was a case of karma. The Rinpoche replied that there were never any accidents, that every event had a karmic link.

Despite my highest respect for Buddhist philosophy, I couldn't accept that every baby killed by a bomb or starvation or disease was down to their karma. Now if I get stuck on the M5, or the tube breaks down, I don't kid myself that I created the situation. I may be able to influence what happens to me, but my power to influence external realities is inevitably limited.

There are many potent and tangible techniques we can utilise which may have a profound effect upon our own lives. These include many of the psycho-spiritual practices such as meditation, visualisation, hypnosis and various cognitive and re-framing techniques.

And, within reason, what we do in our lives, how well we look after ourselves and how we behave with our loved ones and business colleagues, determines many of the things that happen in our lives – our health, our relationships, our careers. And if we really want to achieve a particular goal, work hard and are open to opportunities (and accidents) to make it happen, then we really can create our own realities.

But it is not necessary to invoke esoteric practices in order to achieve the majority of goals, such as better health, higher health care standards, less killing of innocent children, more research regarding natural healthcare approaches or more ethical behaviour. These, as well as greater happiness, are achievable within the real world, without invoking magical powers, by working hard, getting together with like-minded people and following the golden rule "do unto others as you would like done unto yourself".

There are several provocative features in this issue which deal with phenomena which are not yet fully understood, including Meditation, The Power of Thought Over the Physical Body, and Light and Colour Therapy (see pages 9, 21, 24 and 27). However, our lack of understanding does not preclude their validity in transforming people's health and their lives, as research evidence increasingly demonstrates.