How to Enjoy the Journey?

We hear Abraham advise us over and over again to enjoy the journey; not to suspend our "feel good" for when this that or the other happens, but rather find a way to feel good NOW. To appreciate the unfolding of the manifestation, and enjoy the desire we're feeling for something that hasn't unfolded yet.

That sounds great, and from an LOA perspective it makes good sense - but practicing it can be a whole 'nuther story.

I mean, how do we enjoy being single while we'd rather be in love? How do we appreciate our bodies when we desperately want to drop 20 pounds? How do we feel good about our jobs that we're dying (sometimes literally) to leave behind?

Although enjoying the unmanifested desire is easier said than done, it is a skill worth cultivating.

Because when we learn to enjoy NOW .. when we don't lose hold of our "feel good" just because a big new desire reveals itself, we stay in vibrational alignment with that new desire which allows it to manifest more swiftly. Plus it just plain feels good!

So how do we do it? How do we stop hinging our joy and happiness on something happening (or not happening) and learn to be joyful and happy no matter what, right now?

The answer may be right under your nose.

... if you're a dog lover, that is.

Dogs have this skill mastered, as any dog lover knows. They know all about joy in THIS present immediate moment. For them, there is no "feel good when ... " Rather, it's ALL good, all the time. 24/7, they are good to go.

It's time for a walk? Yay!! Time for a nap? Lovely!! We're eating next? Woo hoo!! The mail is here? Ruff ruff! It's time to play? OMG!! Going for a ride? wag wag wag

These guys are ridiculously easy to please. Sadie thumped her tail on the floor last night just because I looked at her.

What if we could adopt their attitude? Ed Mills' said in a recent post that he uses the phrase "it's all good" to remind himself that everying is right. I like that, and I like even more that a dog never has to remind himself that it's all good. He gets it. That's all he knows. What a blessing!

"Think like your dog."

In fact, those were Martha Beck's parting instructions to me on my call with her this week.

She meant it in terms of don't hold it against your boyfriend that he is a callous meat eater who refuses to acknowledge his role in the misery and suffering of millions of animals. Well, she didn't say it exactly like that, but you can probably tell the part that was her and the part that was me. (My part didn't sound very much like my dog.)

This came up because I told Martha my current point of suffering was that Russ refused to watch Earthlings when I asked him to. I was frustrated not only because he denied my request without consideration, but also because he's choosing willful ignorance. I know it doesn't sound very good vibe of me, but there I was. Frustrated. Resentful. Going from sunny to cloudy & gray in an instant.

She asked, "What good are you doing anyone by suffering?" Is it helping the animals? Nope. Is it helping your relationship? Definitely not. Is it helping you? Uh, big no.

"Then let go of the suffering," she said. Stop torturing yourself. You'll make a better contribution when you're not miserable.

Shoot, I know all this. It's a little embarrassing to have to be told.

But it is what it is. I'm letting myself off the hook and getting back on track.

And frontloading my schedule with dog time. Knowing that not only will it be good for me, but more time with them teaches me even better how to enjoy the journey.

Enjoying the journey. It's all good now. Everything is perfect. We are not here to fix a broken world. The world is not broken. We are not broken. We are perfect, whole and complete eternal beings of love, light and joy. Completely worthy and deserving of all happiness, right now, just as is.

(Repeat if necessary.)

Let's have a good time, huh? Ed's right. It IS all good. Let's enjoy the journey, and if you need help, look to your dog. As Doug Autenrieth told me at the international coach conference last month, dogs are the original coaches.

And hats off to whoever had the idea of dogs. That has to be one of the most brilliant manifestations ever!

Expecting Perfect or Problem?

Last weekend Gregg Braden asked us whether we're following doctors' instruction to do breast exams and check moles regularly, that sort of thing. Conventional wisdom says we're remiss if we don't, you know!

I ignore conventional wisdom all the time, so my answer to was his question was of course NOT I don't go looking for lumps or growths or anything that I don't want! Are you kidding me?! Who would do THAT??

Gregg went on to say that "reality exists only where we create focus." So as we look for something, we create it. He thinks (as do I) that it's ridiculous to look for problems with our bodies. Most people reading this blog will understand that perspective, I'm pretty sure.

But does that mean we shouldn't be paying attention to what's going on with our bodies? Gregg says most certainly not. He said the important distinction is that you can conduct an examination with the expectation of perfection rather than a problem. And that makes all the difference in the world.

So rather than checking that mole every week to see if it's changed in color or growing in size, instead we could notice our mole and thank it for being perfect. We could look at it with the expectation that it is serving us beautifully, and that it's an indicator of what fabulous health we have. I made that example up, but I think that's what Gregg had in mind.

This was a new perspective for me, because I've done the "don't look" at all routine. Not the "look with expectation of perfection" routine.

I mean, if I HAD to look at something, especially something that I knew would potentially take a toll on my good vibe, I'd set myself up to see what I wanted. But I preferred not to look if I didn't have to.

Like when I take a foster kitty's temperature ... sometimes it feels better not to take a temp and just let them heal without intervention, but sometimes there are symptoms present that make me feel neglectful if I don't. So when I take that temp, I'm running feelings of "ahh, that's perfect sweetie. Right where we want you." Rather than "What will I do if it's high?" worries while waiting for the thermometer to beep.

Or, sometimes I wanted a high temp so that it could fit in with an easily fixed illness. In that case the vibe I'd run was, "Ok, good, that makes perfect sense kitty. Just a little bug you're working on. No big deal."

What Gregg taught me was how not to be afraid to look. Not just bury my head in the sand and hope for the best, but be a conscious creator of what I want.

Having said all that, am I really going to start doing regular breast exams? Hmm. I'll let my higher self decide on that one.

But I do know that the next time I see an ad in some magazine trying to scare me about cancerous moles, I'll repeat to myself - or shoot, maybe out loud to everyone in the room - "I love my perfect moles. They are so cute and healthy!" Ha ha!

My New Hero

As I told the Good News group tonight, I just got back from Disney's latest movie ("Enchanted") that connected me with so much joy and delight that I was laughing louder than any of the kids in the theater, cried twice, and at one point was literally on the edge of my seat. I was expecting a good show, but man, did Universe deliver!!

The scene I wanted to share was when Gisele was provoked to anger for the first time in her fairy tale life by her McDreamy lead who has a habit of saying no. The way she handles it ... well, she's my new hero!

I watched a Byron Katie clip on You Tube that included a brief bit about anger last week. (I wish I could remember which one it was so I could post it here, but maybe someone will know it and post it in comments.)

Anyway, Katie said something along the lines of how lovely it is to be angry, which would sound ridiculous to most and probably only Katie can really get away with saying something like that. But she said something like, "You never know, this might be the last time you're ever angry - so you better enjoy it!"

And then in the movie tonight there was Gisele giddy with delight over "anger"! I mean, she comes from a fairy tale world where everything is ALL GOOD.

I often suggest to clients how boring it would be if we didn't have the ups and downs of life, and feel a complete range of emotions. That suggestion might sound kind of fabricated, but Gisele couldn't have provided a better example of its truth!

Not that I'm promoting anger .. but when we go there, let's not miss out on the deliciousness of it! Being able to appreciate it for what it is makes the ride much more enjoyable.

Thank you, Gisele!

Uncommon Gratitude

This morning I wondered how to do gratitude different since it was Thanksgiving. I wanted it to be more outstanding today. I thought about my plan to ask everyone at Russ' family dinner table to share something they're grateful for. That's nice, but I wanted something more.

My mind took me to all the things I haven't been grateful for because I just take them for granted. Like being grateful that:

- I've never had to quit smoking
- I've never regretted my divorce
- I've experienced what it feels like to be in the minority

- I get to choose whether to be married or not; a parent or not

- I have blue eyes

- I've never had a boyfriend's parole officer stop by on a holiday

And then my mind took me to the things I used to be grateful for, but have taken for granted the last few years. Like:

- that I get to choose when I wake up

- that I choose my own dress code

- that I decide how and if I want to answer my phone

- that I don't have to commute in traffic

- that I get to spend my day with my dogs

- that I'm debt-free with financial cushions in place

- that someone right now is reading this (thank you!)

And then I thought of things I used to be grateful for when life was different that I probably didn't properly acknowledge back then. Like:

- having co-workers to swap stories with each day

- having an abundance of restaurants within walking distance to choose from

- being able to run errands on the way home from work

- having extensive professional relationships with other colleagues in town (I miss those guys)

I see things Russ experiences that he might not be as grateful for because he takes them for granted. Like:

- having kids he can visit any time he cares to pick up the phone

- having employer sponsored health insurance

- living in a city that offers a variety of entertainment and life enjoyment

- that cats are drawn to him

I wondered if my dogs and cats were grateful for things different than I was. It seems to me they're most grateful for:

- a warm spot to sleep

- a friend to sleep with

- food

- play

- visitors

and rolling on their back. Especially in the sun or in front of the heater.

Then I wondered whether I could find gratitude within for the things that I wouldn't normally be grateful for. Like

- that I can't figure out how to do bullets on this stupid program

- that I won't get to see my nieces and nephews this year

- that I don't have any client sessions today (I did last year, with my UK folks!)

- that my front lawn is hammered from having two young dogs on it

That's where my stretch is. Finding a way to be grateful for ALL of it, not just the nice and easy parts. The good news is I've got all day to get there. Well, all my lifetime, actually.

Whether you're celebrating Thanksgiving or not, my wish for you is that you find your way more easily to Gratitude than ever before. Namaste.

Good Time With Gregg

I learned SO much from Gregg Braden's workshop in Salt Lake this weekend that I'm not sure where to start! I'll hit the highlights and post more during the rest of the week.

One of Gregg's key points was his explanation of the language of the Field (aka Matrix, ethers, Universe, God) and how we can best interact with this Field to turn quantum possibilities into our physical reality. (PS - he said the Field is not a theory, it's a fact. And scientists have known about it a lot longer than I thought they did.)

He says we would do well to learn the language the Field speaks in order to live life the way we'd like. That language is the one of feelings and beliefs.

Gregg went on to explain that thought originates from our top three chakras, emotion from the bottom three, and feelings come from the meeting of thought with emotion in the heart (the fourth) chakra. So the top three combine with the bottom three in the middle chakra - to create feelings. In the heart.

Feelings. In the heart.

This is where the action is!

Gregg said emotion is pretty simple; it's usually one of two. Either love or whatever we think of as the absence of love (fear). When we combine a thought with emotion we create feelings. And feeling is the language of the Matrix. (Or Field. Universe. Whatever you call yours.)

So our thoughts combine with our emotions to create feelings, and those feelings program our Field. You could say it's our "order up." We get what we feel.

You know me, I'm Abraham-trained and thus talk about all this in terms of Vibration. I think that fits in nicely with what Gregg says.

Which is why, as I've mentioned before in the Pray Rain Journal posts, when we ask/want/pray FOR something, we can't get it because we're acknowledging the absence of it. We have to FEEL IT (can anyone say Lynn Grabhorn?) in order to manifest it.

No news there; you know this. (But do you practice it?)

Gregg talked about a woman who had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. Her ultrasound revealed a three inch inoperable tumor. Western doctors told her to prepare for death. She then went to a medicine-less hospital in Beijing (okay - "medicine-less hospital" - how cool is that?) and had three healers work on her. They felt what it would feel like for this woman to be healed.

They didn't wish the tumor away, they didn't make it wrong, they didn't fight against it. Tumor wasn't part of their gig. Let me repeat: they didn't have judgment about it and they didn't try to make it disappear. They just felt what it would feel like for her to be a healed woman.

(This is where many of us get tripped up in our own manifestations. We get caught up in tumor energies, if you know what I mean.)

While these three healers intensely felt feelings of her healing, the ultrasound machine showed that three inch tumor disappearing in two minutes and 40 seconds. It happened before our very eyes!

Gregg's point was that this manifesting stuff doesn't have to take a long time! It doesn't have be a gradual progression ... atoms can rearrange INSTANTLY in the presence of the right feelings and beliefs!

He also pointed out that we're conditioned to look at what's wrong and try to fix it. But looking at the tumor won't make it go away. Rather, feel the feeling of healing (if we're doing this for ourselves, then we can acknowledge where we ARE healed and healthy) and give thanks for it.

Basically, we just feel as if it's already happened - whatever it is we're wanting. He suggested asking the question: "What is your life like in the presence of your ______(healing/abundance/relationship/whatever)?" Feel that now.

Two more quick things before I sign off:

Gregg said he's shown that two minute 40 second tumor clip in hundreds of presentations, and told the story many more times than that in the last three years.

Guess what he got diagnosed with recently?

Something funky in his bladder. In hindsight, it didn't surprise him. I mean, here he is talking about this woman's bladder cancer over and over; not a surprise that he'd be a match to a bladder problem. And it gave him the opportunity to practice what he preaches. Which he did. Successfully.

Here's something else he said that hit home: once we really get that we're empowered to change our reality, the irony is that we feel less of a need to do so. It's our ego that wants to make changes. Once we accept that we are powerful creators, all of a sudden the desire to change things decreases.

I know what he's talking about and suspect some of you can relate too, huh?

All right, I'm off to try to make sense of 40 pages of notes and exciting new ideas and understandings from my good time with Gregg!

PS - at the workshop I picked up one of his books: "Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer." I thought about "2012," but also picked up Neville's "Power of Awareness" and "The Lost Books of the Bible" based on his recommendation. I'll keep you posted!

Manifesting Space

Last week between client sessions I had a quick minute to post an article online (it was on Thought Vs. Action, if you'd like a look-see) before I ran to a couple different stores for people food, dog food, cat food and paper. As I was driving along trying to decide what I had time for, what was most important and thinking of the article that didn't get properly edited, I felt tension creeping in.

Awareness of the tension was my red flag to release it and remember all is well. No need to be tense. But it kept creeping back in. Three times I remember consciously releasing tension, before I finally checked in as to where it was coming from. A general feeling of being rushed was behind it.

By then I'd kind of lost patience with myself. After all, I had work to do.

So we get to the first store (the dogs came with), pick up the dog and cat food along with a couple treats, no time to chat with the owner, barely time to pet the store chihuauhua on the way out.

We're on the road again and I'm deciding what I have time for next. Paper or people food, I don't have time for both. It probably has to be paper cause that'll be quicker. And I better not get distracted by any fun colored stuff - because I know I have a tendency to be drawn to colored paper, pens, folders .. it's like a magnet. No time for fun, though. We have to be efficient!

Which is the thought I was holding when my cute little car got slammed in the rear end by a woman who didn't know the rest of us were stopped.

Now, I haven't been in an accident since I was 18 (when I was also rear-ended by a girl watching cute boys on the corner). That's over 20 years of a virtually perfect driving record. This is something that simply doesn't happen to me.

And here it was happening to me. Deep breath. New priorities. Everyone okay? Yeah. Two sheriffs and a tow truck driver saw it happen and were on the scene immediately. The woman who hit us was very nice. Luckily enough I didn't hit the car in front of me, and no one hit her. Both cars were driveable (after cute tow truck guy pulled my bumper off the rear tire).

We took care of business and I headed home late for my next client session. Before my next one started, I had 15 minutes to reflect.

What had I been feeling that put me in alignment with a wreck? Albeit a very minor wreck that actually wasn't that bad an experience, it still isn't the sort of thing I thought I was lined up with.

I remember feeling tension on the drive and trying to release it several times. I realized the tension came from trying to do too much in too little time, and the thought came up that I "need more space in my life."

More space, indeed. That's exactly what the other driver got cited for not allowing between our cars. I need more space. More breathing room. I'm cramming too much in. I need to relax in lots of ways - errands, client work, in myself.

So that was my "thank you, Universe" moment where I could see the gift of my fender bender. A message that I couldn't ignore to take this space thing seriously. I've been talking to my coach about it for a while now, and only made superficial improvements. Time to show I mean business.

You better believe next time I walk through the dog food store I'm going to hear all about the owner's fun weekend, pet the store dog AND store cat before I go. I'm indulging my "feel good" at the office supply store next time, shopping for whatever I'm drawn to. I'll remember there's always plenty of time for everything important, and I'll also appreciate all the drivers who keep their safe distance.

I'm also newly committed to keeping a smaller client roster and booking more "me" time in every day - not just every week.

I share that here because I know as I say so, I'm much more likely to live up to it. Thank you for hearing me.

If anyone has any messages from the Universe you care to share with the rest of us so we don't have to get slammed in our own rear end, I welcome hearing them!

Lessons from Storm Chasing

Oh my gosh, I just got hooked into watching four straight hours of Storm Chasers on Discovery Channel, where three teams of experts spent six weeks of prime time tornado season trying to place themselves in harm's way to gather data and capture never before seen footage of tornadoes.

Although the researchers were able to gather data here and there in narrow misses with various storms, the filmmaker needed to experience a direct tornado "intercept" in order to get the shot he wanted.

You can imagine how tricky it is to predict where a tornado will travel, in order to place your reinforced tank on a road in perfect timing to get in the middle of the action.

Day after day these teams chase various promising storm systems, and day after day they come up empty. After six weeks of narrow misses, their morale is taking a big toll. On the LAST day of storm season, they head out with little energy for the project that they were once so enthusiastic about.

What really got my attention was on the start of their last desperate morning, the filmmaker walks his crew through a visualization of encountering a tornado. He asks them to imagine a beautifully forming storm system, dark clouds, a nice funnel, debris collecting underneath, winds picking up speed ... all indications of conditions for the much-anticipated tornado interception.

(I was wondering when they would use their creative powers to get what they wanted!)

Long story short, they FINALLY, after six weeks of chasing storms, actually experience a direct intercept. They got their very cool TIV (tornado intercept vehicle) in the right place at the right time and the tornado passes directly over them.

Mission accomplished? Almost. Although they intercepted the tornado (actually two in one day, after six weeks of NOTHING!), it wasn't the dramatic film experience they were after.

Their story offered a couple learning opportunities:

1 - PERSISTENCE. These guys didn't quit. Without a lot to go on, and even though they were running on fumes at the end, they stayed committed to their dream. The filmmaker had been chasing storms for over eight years, and this was the closest he'd been. Although he didn't get his "money shot," he said he'll gear up for next year, and the year after that, and the year after that if he has to.

How often do we give up before we get what we want? Universe rewards commitment.

2 - ACCURATE TARGET. Their visualization was great for conjuring up a tornado and putting them in the right place at the right time. But what they really wanted, apparently, was to also get impressive film footage of it. All they got on this last day was dusty frames of a lot of debris being blown about. Not exactly what they wanted. Maybe their next visualization will include THAT last part, I hope.

How often have we done the same thing? Thinking we're locked on exactly what we want, only to discover after getting it that we left something key out. I know I have.

So here's what my four hours of goofing off with Discovery Channel lent me tonight. Let's make sure we're clear about what we truly want up front, call in our manifesting powers early on in our endeavor (rather than after we get desperate), and remember our commitment throughout the journey.

With that being said, I'm dedicating the rest of my weekend to a review of my business and personal goals, just to make sure they're complete and on target, and renewing my commitment if I find it's lapsed at all.

Happy weekend, everyone!

How to Get Paid Using Law of Attraction

Someone owes you money or is slow to pay? While it's easy to blame the other for the situation, that energy isn't likely to help you get the money you're due. Use the Law of Attraction to let the payday in.

First of all, it couldn't have happened if you weren't aligned to it. You played a role in this co-creation. That doesn't make you bad or wrong, it just is what it is. Don't use it as a reason to feel bad, but rather as a way to lift resentment that might be present toward the debtor. After all, they're the ones that got sucked into your "I didn't get paid" or "I got shafted" vibe. (Maybe they deserve some sympathy too, huh?)

How to remedy the circumstances so the money's flowing in? Simple: shift the energy. Specifically, shift YOUR energy. You've got to change how you feel before you can get what you want.

There are a variety of ways we feel when someone's not giving us what we think we earned: upset, angry, resentful, fearful, victimized, resigned, ungrateful, etc. And we know what that energy attracts, right? More reason to feel that way. So that doesn't work.

We've all been down that road to know it.

Before someone can pay us, we have to feel a way that's aligned to that result. Which could be a variety of feelings - different for each of us. For me personally, getting paid what someone owes feels like relief. Relief of those bad feelings I was trying not to flow while they owed me money!

The work is to feel this way BEFORE they pay you. I know it can be tricky, but think of it as good deliberate creation practice. They're giving you an opportunity to flex your manifesting muscle! It helps to find new thoughts that allow for new feelings. Get creative in finding which ones work for you.

While I'm noticing someone still owes me money, and growing more irritated with every week that passes without payment, or even word from them that they intend to pay, I'm flowing energy that keeps that payday in the future. In this way I'm responsible for the delayed payment.

To bring that payday to the present, I have to feel NOW how I would feel then. So I can practice feelings of relief; that "FINALLY!" feeling. I imagine the feeling of a clean slate again. Maybe running "It's about TIME!" through my head or "Thank GOD" I can give this up now.

As I give this up NOW, I open the door to getting paid.

Also, as you flow this newly aligned vibration, check in on whether it feels good to take any particular action. Like sending a reminder invoice, making a call, or asking them to sign a promissory note.

If you take any action, make sure it feels good and do it with the feel good "I just got paid" or at least "I'm on way to being paid" energy - not the "pissed off I'm still not paid" energy. It makes all the difference in the world!

It also helps to release your attachment to receiving the money. If you find your way to knowing you'll be fine either way, that helps let the money in too. Easier said than done, I know, but it works if you can get there. (You have to really mean it for it to work, not just saying the words. The Universe knows the difference.)

I've had luck in the past with this forgiveness exercise that Connie Domino's "Develop Irresistible Attraction" offered from Catherine Ponder:

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” - Catherine Ponder

Holding the person you wish to forgive in your mind, state your affirmation of forgiveness something like this:

“I forgive you completely and freely, I loose you and let you go. So, as far as I’m concerned, the incident that happened between us is finished forever. I wish the best for you, I wish for you your highest good, and I hold you in the light. I am free and you are free, and all again is well between us. Peace be with you.”

You might have to read it a time or two before you feel a shift, but stick with it. That shift is what releases your attachment to getting paid, which is very likely exactly what allows you to let the money in.

I myself am having a hard time on releasing attachment to a particularly large sum that I'm owed (not by a client), so I know getting to forgiveness is easier said than done. And if it doesn't feel good to go there, don't! We know how this works ... find your feel good wherever it is, and that's what'll let the money in.

Here's to a happy payday for us all!

Liberate from Limiting Beliefs

How many of us are carrying limiting beliefs? In my experience, virtually everyone. (Hey, is that another one? They're everywhere!)

The more important question is not so much do you have limiting beliefs (since we all do), but do you know what they are? What are the thoughts that keep you from getting what you want? And what are you doing with those thoughts/beliefs?

Last week Martha Beck shared with me her belief that the reason most western approaches fail (whether in medicine or therapeutic counseling) is that we try to add in the solution before we subtract out the problem.

Not everyone would agree on that; but when you're talking to Oprah's life coach who pretty much only works with royalty and celebrities, you don't argue. (At $350 an hour, you just pay attention!)

Martha tells me that our work is to identify and dissolve the "crap" beliefs (her technical term). She walked me through her process to show how it works. It was such a simple and cool procedure I wanted to share it so you could do the same:

1. Look at an area of dissatisfaction in your personal life. Underneath every dissatisfaction is a false belief. If something's making us unhappy, it's because we're believing a lie.

Here was my dissatisfaction: my boyfriend doesn't like it when Joe sits on the couch. (Joe being my 74 pound pit bull sweetheart.)

2. Ask why that's a problem. And then repeat that question four more times or so. Eventually you'll get to a core belief that's the source of your struggle. (Coaches come in handy here, because if you get slippery on yourself a coach won't let you squirm or get away with an "I don't know.")

My answers to the "whys" went something like: if we have animal conflict, this relationship is in trouble. Why is that a problem? Because I don't want my relationship to be in trouble. Why is that a problem? Because if I can't make it work with him, I can't make it work with anyone.

That's when Martha called my thinking "retarded" (I love her!) and asked if I could see my false belief. "If I can't make it work with him, I can't make it work with anyone."

Yeah, I could see the problems that thought could create. Well, were creating. The choices that belief gave me were to either make it work or resign myself to being single. And what good can come from having that kind of pressure? Not a lot.

Your limiting beliefs are likely just as entertaining and ridiculous, and you know I'd love to hear them! Please post them as comments here if you care to share!

Now you know your limiting belief, how do you liberate yourself from it? If you've got a tough one I recommend Byron Katie's Work.

Katie's inquiry process can be a bit long, so here's a shortcut that can also be very effective: simply name 3 reasons why you know it's not true.

As you name those reasons you know it's not true, you're creating new neural pathways and rewiring your brain. Literally breaking the bonds that old thought had on your grey matter!

Three reasons I know it's not true that if I can't make it work with Russ I can't make work with anyone? Martha actually made me name nine because I hesitated - so I won't repeat them here. But naming the reasons (I actually would love you to say them out loud) is crucial to liberating yourself from that old stinker of a belief.

Here's to your new found freedom from whatever's standing in the way of what you want!

PS - when you're ready to "add in the solution" - try Psych-K for rewriting new beliefs. I love this technique for its immediacy!

Got Bad Feelings?

One of the most asked questions I get from LOA savvy folks are what to do with negative feelings. We know we get what we vibrate, so if we're immersed in something negative, how do we get out of it?

Answer: stop trying to get out of it.

Feel your feelings.

They're not as scary as they might seem.

I'm not saying revel in them, or stay stuck in them. I'm just saying we aren't going to be able to avoid feeling them by ignoring them or wishing them away. It's okay to feel them. That's actually a rich part of the human experience, don't you think?

You're irritated at your sister for changing the family's holiday plans? That's okay. Be irritated. So what? Once you let yourself be irritated, it's much easier to get over it. It's trying NOT to be irritated that keeps you stuck in it.

You're mad at the boss for shortchanging you on the raise he promised? It is what it is. If you're mad, be mad. And then you'll be able to leave mad behind sooner rather than later.

It's not that you approach your less-than-fabulous feelings with the AGENDA of ridding yourself of them, rather that's just a beautiful side benefit that those negative feelings are more easily released after you accept them.

Weird, huh?

Well, it's not that weird. What we resist, persists. So don't be afraid of your negative emotions.

When I let myself entertain thoughts of revenge against that neighbor I struggled for weeks with, that actually felt better. (A LOT better. It feels awful to feel powerless, but revenge - now that gave me access to feelings of power again.) That feeling of revenge eventually gave me access to choose other feelings, like peace and appreciation. But if I had sworn off all negative feelings - oh man, I hate to think where I'd still be with him.

Where does deliberate creation fit in all this? In our conscious choice to feel what we feel. And then making deliberate movement up the emotional scale as we're ready to.

When I had Shadow euthanized, I felt sad. I didn't try talking myself out of it, although I did remind myself I didn't need to be sad for him. I let myself be sad for me. It's amazing how much more quickly I move through grief now that I know to let myself feel it. Instead of trying to pretend it's okay or wishing the pain away or doing everything possible to avoid thoughts of my favorite cat, I just feel sad.

So I felt sad.

And then ... I didn't.

Instead of dealing with buried grief that I'm afraid would just bring me more things to grieve over, I honored what I felt. That allowed me to move on to appreciation and love for what great company he was for those 18.5 years. As I find my way to thoughts that feel better, I welcome those. No need to dwell in something that doesn't feel great when there are other options available.

But until those other options become available - in fact, what ALLOWS them to become available - is feeling what's up for you now.

So here's to your fabulous feelings, including the revenge and anger and despair and all the other wicked ones. Let go of your judgment and fear of them, and enjoy playing with the full deck.

(Unless of course judgment or fear is what's up for you. ha In that case, enjoy them too!)

Cool Money Class

Is it just me, or does this look like one of the coolest teleclasses on Money you've ever seen?

Make Peace With Your Finances (4 week telecourse)

Here's the course summary:

You will learn techniques to release your old beliefs about money (i.e. money is scarce) and open up to your true abundance. Simply by changing your old patterns, you will begin to remove the fear, greed, and anger that contaminate the energy of money and replace them with love, joy, abundance and goodwill. In so doing you will find peace in your finances and joy in your life.

I am NOT receiving referral fees or commissions for promoting the class (I'm a paid participant myself); I don't even know Barbara Wilder. It's also rare for me to promote someone else's work. I just thought it sounded like a good time to get in the energy of someone who sees money for what it is: ENERGY!

I don't hear too many people talking about money like this, and I firmly believe this kind of shift in thinking about money is what allows it to flow in abundance, so I wanted to share this opportunity with those who might be interested.

Since I won't be offering my "Change Your Money Vibe" course until early next year (and it's much more expensive than this one), I thought I'd let those who want immediate financial help know about this call. Here's the link one more time: http://joyandsuccess.com/seminars/BWilder_class.html

Happy November, everyone!