17 Seconds

Abraham says that a thought reaches a combustion point at 17 seconds of pure undiluted focus. It draws another thought to it and it is exponentially more powerful. At the end of another 17 seconds, 34 seconds total, the next thought combusts, and by Law of Attraction, evolves to a higher level of energy. Again another 17 seconds to 51 seconds continues the process, and finally, if you can continue a pure thought for 68 seconds on any given subject, it will be on its way to manifestation. The key word is pure, meaning positive focus, strong energy, no resistance; to not slip into lackful thinking.
Abraham says the average person rarely finishes a single sentence without contradicting their energy, as in "I want a new car, but it is too expensive." So they say most of us haven't had much experience with ever feeling the combustion of thought that comes from 17+ seconds of pure thought.
In talking about the leverage of 17+17+17+17=68 seconds of pure thought, Abraham offers the following information:

17 seconds is worth 2,000 manhours (about a year at 40 hours per week of action taken)

34 seconds is worth 20,000 manhours (or about 10 years...)

51 seconds is worth 200,000 manhours (or about 100 years...)

68 seconds is worth 2,000,000 manhours (or about 1000 years...)
That's two MILLION manhours (or womanhours!) If we can learn to offer pure thought energy for 68 seconds at a time, action becomes INCONSEQUENTIAL!

How to Get to 17 Seconds of Pure Thought:Getting to 17 seconds of pure thought purely mentally is harder for me than doing it either out loud or in writing. I find the discipline of speaking or writing helps keep other thoughts from being too distracting.

Abraham: "Focus on nothing is more important than you feel good. Period. it is not necessary to focus on feeling good about oneself, focus on feeling good; period. It is not necessary to feel good about your body, or about your financial situation; find thoughts that make you feel good. Period.
We would recommend that you spend the first week writing 68 seconds about things that you don't care much about, such as blue glass, butterflies, feathers. Because you will attract those things. This exercise will teach you two things: one that you can focus for 68 seconds; two, that the universe does respond to a pure vibration. When you have a level of confidence in the universe, then you can tackle your main issues.
We would every day, twice a day, write your 68 seconds about all areas in your life, relationship, abundance, house, job, etc. You will find it very easy to do. For instance, on your house, appreciate how convenient it is. Appreciate the thermostat that keeps the house at the perfect temperature. Appreciate the sewage system and the plumbing in your bathroom. Appreciate the comfort of it. Know that this house will be temporary, that you will have may others closer to the dream house you want, but meanwhile appreciate it. You see, there was 68 seconds.
So, all of you have major work to do in the next 30 days. Write as many 68 seconds as you can. And do it deliberately."
Abraham: "Realize that 68 seconds isn't hard to find. Throughout your day, you have thousands of opportunities to do your 68 seconds. Even if your work schedule doubled, you could still find plenty of 68 seconds? Now, Esther didn't believe us at first that 68 seconds were the equivalent of 2 million man-hours. She couldn't conceive it. But since there isn't anything that we have said over the years that wasn't true, Esther now believes it and uses it.
So, we want to ask you, do YOU REALLY BELIEVE when we say that 68 seconds is the equivalent of 2 million man-hours? Because if you did, YOU WOULD FIND THE TIME TO DO THEM!!!
Who would want to bang things into place, when they know that they can spend 68 seconds and have the universe do it for them? Nobody, yet it is what the majority of you do. You would rather jump into action than do your 68 seconds. You would rather jump into action than align up your energy."

"The Recipe for deliberate creation has 10 parts:

5 parts of appreciating what is

2 parts of imagining a little better than what is

2 parts of looking for things that would make you feel better

1 part of quieting your mind, relaxing and not trying so hard, being at ease at it"