Love is in all the answers. Check-in your heart to feel the higher vibrations of all your decisions. Feeling your heart will be an indicator that you are making good decisions. Understanding what you value through the love connections seems to be the genius connection too!
As part of my series about “authors who are making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Keith Reginald Thompson.
Keith Thompson is a clinical hypnotherapist who received his certification in 1981. He has researched and studied effective thinking processes, the roles emotions play in our lives, and the ways our beliefs affect our physical realities. He seeks to help others solve their challenges and discover their purpose.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up in our home learning values between my mother and father, but as an adult, I could tell no one knew what those values were. Their value systems were controlled by career / personal development, financial, and emotional values. Also, their value systems didn’t match anywhere except for physical attractions, and they thought getting married was the thing to do in the fifties. My parents were an attractive couple. I don’t remember ever seeing my parents kiss or show affection to each other. The marriage lasted six years.
My parents worked at a major airline manufacturing company in Washington State. They went to work every day, and both parents made good money during that period. They both retired from this company. I learned very early about working for a significant company and retiring from that company to get a retirement check. That was part of their value system. Even after my mother and father divorced, both parents continued their careers and personal development at this one company. My father had about forty years of service, and my mother had thirty-two years of service before they retired.
I remember watching the paperboy come by the house daily to deliver the newspaper. I remember once a month, he would come by and ask for payment for the newspapers. I was impressed with this because he received money and had it in his hand. When I turned thirteen, I had my first paper route.
The next fun job I had, was in my early teens. I worked with my next-door neighbors on Saturdays and Sundays at the bowling alley from three to nine in the mornings. That was the most incredible job for a teen. When we arrived, we would spend about three hours cleaning, vacuuming floors, cleaning ashtrays, and putting bowling balls back in their place. After that, it was snack time.
At this bowling alley, they served a buffet to their customers; the leftover foods were ours. They had roast beef, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cakes, pies, and pastries. After having a nice meal, we would make our choices of shooting pool or going bowling. On top of that, they paid me thirty-five cents an hour. Candy bars were about a nickel back in those days.
I worked a lot as a teenager while going to high school. I worked at a burger joint for three years before graduating high school.
Financial values were dysfunctional during my early childhood. Scores of arguments around money because mother and father values did not match around finances. My father had monetary values based on gambling to make more money, and my mother’s economic values were based on family and household needs. My mother took the time to teach me how to save money. I had a savings bank with slots for fifty-cent pieces, quarters, dimes, and nickels. I didn’t know how much money I had in my bank, but that bank was full.
One day father and mother had their not seeing eye to eye discussions about money. My father grabbed my bank and threw it into the basement, busted the bank all to pieces, and took the money. I was in total tears. Back then, I did not understand. This story happened to pop up as I was writing this article. Reliving this experience exposed some emotions and fears I buried long ago.
I was empathetic as a child. I would be able to feel others’ feelings and know their emotions. I was a friendly kid and sometimes scared of other kids because of what I sensed in them.
The best time I was happy was when in my room playing by myself. I would always turn soldier toys, fire trucks, cars, and other toys into fun games. I had a great imagination even after being told imagination is not real. I was the only child. As I got older, I would often play sports games. I liked shooting basketball and playing tennis by myself for excitement and entertainment.
A few years after the divorce, we lived in a good neighborhood. We lived across the street from an elementary school. Within a three-block radius, many of us kids were all in the same age group. Many of us went to school together from elementary school through high school. The school across the street had a covered play court and a vast playground.
We played kickball, baseball, basketball, dodgeball, and tennis. Many times we had to climb the school roof to chase after balls. That was a little bit dangerous. A girl did fall through the dome ceiling and died. Most of the guys I grew up with and living, we are still friends today. Some of us are very successful in life.
Mostly, I loved my mom’s cooking except for liver and chitlins. I gagged every time she tried to get me to eat that stuff. There was always food to eat in the house. However, neighborhood grocery stores were always near, which made junk food readily available. I loved barbeque potato chips, any Hostess cupcakes, Snickers and Paydays were my favorite candy bars. And my favorite salty treat was sourballs (salty plums). My favorite junk food snack of all was cinnamon rolls in high school. They can’t make cinnamon rolls like this anymore.
I was a skinny kid. I was always playing sports over at school. Exercising was typical behavior for me.
Sometimes, I define physical values as the environment you hang out in. My mother kept a clean home. Every room in my house was clean except for my bedroom. I was comfortable throwing everything I owned on the floor. It took a while to break that throwing things on the floor habit.
As far as appearance, I was a good dresser. I love nice clothes. I got haircuts regularly and kept myself well groomed.
I grew up with the Motown sounds in the 1960s. Smokey Robinson, Four Tops, Supremes, and Temptations were the messaging inside my head.
My mother made several attempts to create a Christian belief system in my subconscious mind. Some beliefs turned me off. The major turn-off in Christianity is the belief: that we are sinners! I never liked that message. At the age of nineteen was when my spiritual beliefs started to develop.
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life? Can you share a story about that?
Power of Your Subconscious Mind
Throughout my years in school, I read but didn’t read much. I can look back throughout my school years and tell I wasn’t interested in the materials.
I was about nineteen years old when I found a couple of books in the garage. My mother attempted to get into some positive thinking. So, I took the books and read them. That was the first time I read a book from cover to cover. Thanks, mom!
The name of the book was The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy. I read Dr. Murphy’s book three times in a row. That was the beginning point of making significant changes in my life. I have read books continuously for years. The subconscious mind was very interesting to me, and in 1981 I became a clinical hypnotherapist.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I remember doing my radio program. It was with three other people, and we all were promoting the same products. We had a lot of fun talking about our favorite products on the radio. I did the radio show twice. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, “What if I did my radio show with this station?” I talked with a representative and got signed up. I had a show called, Designing your Mind with Keith Thompson.
On the first day of the show, I was feeling pretty good. But when I got to the studio, the soundboard technician and I were the only people in the room. I was used to seeing six people in the room. My representative did come into the studio a couple of minutes before my show started. He showed me a few things and made sure I was set up, then left. Oh, man! Well, it was my time to start the show. I introduced myself to the audience, and things appeared to be going okay. When you are in a studio with a group of people at the microphones, you will usually get feedback from other people. Those other people weren’t there. About fifteen minutes into the show, I froze.
My representative came out of a backroom, where he must have been listening, and said, “Keith take a break.” So, I announced that we were going to take a short break. I kept hearing the words, “relax and take deep breaths.” I had two minutes to pull myself back together. The show was one hour. I did pull myself back together and talked the rest of the show without any panic moments.
I did about ninety shows with no more panic moments. I had a pretty good rating. It was the period when Apple started podcasting. For a while, I was showing up on the first page in the Spirituality section.
Nowadays, I do Zoom calls with guests and solo talks occasionally. I make sure that when I’m on Zoom, I am focused and calm to present my information. With the understanding, it might just be me doing the talking.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
I believe in the power of understanding your value systems and understanding that everyone has a genius mind. The choice now becomes to use the brilliance we have. I plan to get the genius and value system information to our youths and teenagers. Ideally, the school systems would be the place to deliver this message. I am developing a program to help teens transition into adulthood using the value systems and cracking their genius code.
Helping young men and women transition using their value systems on career / personal development, financial, social, spiritual, emotional, and other values will give them a great start in adulthood.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
I remember standing on the street corner near my home one day when I was thirteen years old. A voice came into my head and asked me, “Do you want to live as a good person or a bad person?” Even then, I thought what a strange question was to pop into my head. Well, I announced I wanted to live as a good person.
Looking back to that time now that I’m an adult, I remember childhood experiences before I heard the good-life-or-bad-life question. When I was twelve years old, my mom wanted to search for a new life. She divorced my father when I was six years old. Our new life involved moving from Seattle, Washington, to Hampton, Virginia. My mother’s family lived in Hampton. Upon arriving, we moved in with my Aunt Ester. She lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the projects called Pleasant Manor, a low-income residential area predominantly occupied by black American residents.
In doing a life review, I realized I was at an impressionable age. In the 1960s, Virginia was a deep Southern state. I remember a stranger telling me I couldn’t go down a certain street because KKK members lived down there. I remembered wondering, What’s a KKK? I knew by the way the guy shared this information that it wasn’t something good for me.
When it was time for me to attend school, my mom and Aunt Ester decided I would go to a predominantly white American school instead of a predominantly black American school. Four black kids went to Thorpe Junior High that year. It was a culture shock for me, and I’m sure it was for the white kids too! I don’t know about the other black kids who went to Thorpe, but I wasn’t treated nicely at all! I knew it had something to do with the color of my skin. I remember thinking why, because I had come from a diverse area in Seattle, even during that period in the 1960s.
I didn’t connect with the school, the teachers, or my classmates. I didn’t want to go to school, and my grades showed my unhappiness. I was in the school marching band and played the alto saxophone. To this day, I still love the sax!
Pleasant Manor was an interesting training ground for me. The first girl I was very interested in lived in Pleasant Manor. We were friends and always happy to see each other. I developed the art of playing marbles, which I enjoyed. I also honed my skills at playing basketball and was a much-improved player when I returned to Seattle.
On the flip side, Pleasant Manor was a war zone. There were lots of fights. It seemed as if 7 everyone was fighting. I saw a man get shot; he was bleeding from his chest. That was the first time I had seen a man get shot. He was laboring for his life as he sat in a police car. They didn’t have a medic on duty in those days. During one of the fights I witnessed, a boy was sliced across his left eye with a razor blade. That was going to make a permanent scar; you could tell by the way the injury would heal. I was always getting my butt kicked and felt disadvantaged because I wore glasses and had to take them off before they broke in the fight.
It was less than a year before my mom decided to move out of Hampton and back to Seattle. I asked her why she decided to move back to Seattle; she said, “Because I got tired of living in poverty.
” When you are removing your ego emotions out of your past, you see a much clearer picture of your life. — Keith Thompson
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
When I was doing my talk show radio program, what I discovered was my voice. I realized then that I had a message to give and what that message sounded like. While on the radio, I developed a program called Designing your Mind for Health. I was taking courses to become a professional health coach as well. The course worked well and helped students lose up to eight pounds with slight modifications in their thinking and to see to whom they were giving their power away.
I was working at the Wellness Center at the time, and a group of us professionals developed a wellness giveaway program. The professionals included: Hypnotherapists, doctors, massage therapists, herbalists, and a few others. The doctor and I had radio shows and announced the winner.
The winner had the opportunity to meet with each of the professionals. When I met with the winner, we did a couple of therapy sessions, and I gave her a Designing your Mind for Health workbook in a three-ring binder. She loved it and announced, I should have been the first person she saw. She would carry her workbook everywhere and fill it with valuable insights.
This was about the time I decided to write a book and decided to include all of the value systems instead of only health values. The workbook today is a collectible insight into one’s life.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
In the early stages of my teaching of the course A Journey into Value Systems- Cracking the Genius Code, there was one woman in particular who stood out in her story. When we were working on the health value systems, she announced that she had cancer. We continued when we started looking at family values, she had some breakthroughs about her mother when she was seven years old.
In the Olympia, Washington area, about sixty miles from where I live, there was a doctor scientist that was on fire. Meditation was his method for profound healing. I suggested she go see him. She agreed and went to one of his weekend seminars. I have been to several of his seminars myself. About a couple of weeks later, we had a class, and she announced that her cancer was gone! She cracked a genius code!
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
We are seeing changes in our society concerning what we value. The police killings and the Black Lives Matter have been a huge movement regarding what we value. Women’s rights and freedom of choice deal with what we value.
What we value starts right in the home of families. There needs to be more education on this subject. I have watched the value systems topic increase over the last ten years. But, we have a long ways to go.
Everyone, especially our children, would benefit greatly if they knew when teenagers what their values were: health, financial, emotional, career, social, spiritual, physical, and family. I would love to see this information in our school systems to help our teens become adults with solid values and an understanding of how society works. What a great gift to tell a child they have a genius mind. In the right environment, I saw kids and parents change immediately.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
I define leadership as a person or a group of people that can lead to meeting a certain objective or outcome.
In the series Star Trek — The Next Generation, I like Captain Jean Luc Picard’s leadership. He surrounded himself with a crew that was the best in their field. He had a Ship Counselor sitting next to his Captain’s chair. A number one officer to execute any of his commands and an AI android, Data, to provide valued information and keep track of accurate history when needed. Captain Picard gave a command, and his team was quick to execute his decisions. Their mission was to boldly go where no man or woman had gone before!
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started,” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Our thoughts have the power to create. Learning that we are creators was something I was never taught and something that flat was not talked about in churches or public schools. Our thoughts are associated with our choices, which bring the things we want to experience in this world. Believing in a duality world is why we have so much confusion. When we move into the genius mind, the world we see will have a clearer picture. And the choices we make will be in alignment with Oneness.
- We have an ego and a genius mind. The ego and genius mind are the duality. We can operate from both levels of mind, but not simultaneously. Knowing when you are in your genius or ego mind has huge benefits. How do you tell which level of mind you are using? You tell by your emotions. Genius and ego emotions are completely different from each other. Genius emotions are associated with joy and happiness and similar emotions. Ego emotions are associated with anger and hatred, and similar emotions.
- Be mindful of your emotions that will determine your moods and feelings. Our emotions become the energy in how we interpret our experiences. Always display your best emotions to keep your energy and vibration high and loving. This will decrease your chances of being a miserable person.
- Be mindful of what your beliefs are. What we believe seems to be the command of what the spirit will experience. I would have loved to have learned that the spirit was more in charge than the body. Many people operate from what the body wants to experience. Many times, the body is not in connection with the heart. If you are spiritually aware, you will know that the heart of the body is connected to the spirit of the soul.
- Love is in all the answers. Check-in your heart to feel the higher vibrations of all your decisions. Feeling your heart will be an indicator that you are making good decisions. Understanding what you value through the love connections seems to be the genius connection too!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
You are greater than you think you are! -Mark Hughes
The message is an excellent pattern to follow. I begin asking how I tap into my greatness! You must ask the question to get the answer. This is a humbling statement for me because I know there are greater versions of me than the one I am experiencing now.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would have to say Oprah Winfrey would be my first choice. One of the things that turned me around about Oprah was a video she did about what the one percent don’t want you to know. I saw the brilliance in Oprah throughout the years, but after watching that video, her knowledge went well into other realms. They have since taken that video off YouTube. I would love to talk with her about the Universe.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Currently, I am most active on Facebook, with our group Cracking the Genius Code: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingthegeniuscodegroup. The group is private and you are welcome to join by answering a few questions.
To purchase the workbook A Journey into Value Systems -Cracking the Genius Code: https://www.ajourneyintovaluesystems.com/
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Author Keith Reginald Thompson Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.