Choosing a Good-Time Filter

Every week the dogs and I go hiking with my dear dad. His favorite trail (Mueller Park - shown here) has crazy bushes along the way that create nasty stickers for dogs. My ex won't even walk it. He says it's not worth the trouble of pulling out stickers from coats for several days.

Plus there's an abundance of deer and rabbits the dogs love to chase. And (I imagine) it'd be easy for them to get lost on this mountain.

So when Sadie or Joe launch an off-trail adventure, I'm not super encouraging of it. (That's my indirect way of saying I yell at them to get their butts back here.)

Last week Joe went off trail for quite a while. So long that I thought I lost him. There was a lot of hollering that day. I was unusually hot. He jeopardized our good time by risking getting lost?! What a Stinker with a capital S! (Indeed it was an s-word I used, but it might not have been "stinker.")

Anyway, as we're wrapping up this morning's hike, dad says, "I noticed Joe didn't get in any trouble today."

I realized he was right. There was no yelling, no hollering, no waiting. Joe was a very good boy today.

As I start to acknowledge agreement, dad says, "And it didn't seem like he did anything different."

Wait, what does he mean by THAT?

Of course Joe was different, because there wasn't any trouble or hollering or MIA dogs.

I think about it, and realize Joe did go on an off trail adventure today. He was gone for a while - twice even! But I didn't worry about him this time. I trusted he'd find his way back to us and all would be well. No yelling today.

Dad is not a master of subtlety. However, I realize today he is making a gentle point that we went on the same hike we always go on, this time there was no trouble. The difference was me.

Same Joe, same off trail adventures. No trouble.

Different Jeannette.

So the trick for a more enjoyable walk with the dogs doesn't have to do with dogs listening better. It has to do with ME and my CHOICES of how to be on this walk.

I can worry, or I can trust and enjoy. It's so much nicer for everyone when I trust and enjoy. I know this stuff - why aren't I practicing it more?!

Tonight I wonder where else I might spoil my potential good time by worrying instead of trusting and enjoying.

Well, I see it a lot more of it than I would have guessed. I thought I was the Good Time Queen! And now I see how I spoil my Friday night with Russ by fretting that he's not off the golf course till 8, which is too late for dinner, too late for a movie, too late for fun.

Uh huh.

I see that instead of being able to laugh at watching my ex and his dad try to re-trap nine feral bunnies (seriously, two Elmer Fudds lurking behind bushes with fishing nets and traps with carrots set on the trigger - classic humor!), I worry what fate might befall the bunnies if they're not relocated.

I see that I could have more purposefully enjoyed four kitties growing up in my house if I wasn't carrying the tendency to notice the absence of the two who didn't make it.

No change in situation. Just a change in my perception, my response, my vibration. Makes all the difference in the world.

Wow!! What ELSE can I change??

Okay, I'm liking this ... instead of being regretful about all the work that didn't get done this week, I could relax and know the important stuff got done and enjoy my accomplishments. Maybe even look forward to the next week, instead of feeling behind for it.

Instead of being annoyed with dad for pointing out that I'm the only good time spoiler on the hike, I could be grateful for seeing it myself now.

My perception. That's the difference.

The good time is always there. The only question is which filter am I using? Am I filtering for a good time, or filtering for a bad time? I'll find either one I look for. Universe is very accommodating that way.

Here's to a good time filter for all of us who desire it this (stateside Labor Day) weekend! Namaste.

My LOA Heroes

Wow - I just realized yesterday's Vibe Upgrade is post #111 for the blog! That has to be significant! Be sure to check it out before Wednesday (9/5) in case you're inspired for a personal Vibration Overhaul.

Today I'm passing along a super cool resource you might have missed if you haven't spent time in my sidebar. Ed Mills' LOA Carnival Blog is listed as one of my favorite turn ons, not only because Ed is a brilliantly unique writer on the topic of deliberate creation (not to mention super hot), but also because he consistently introduces me to wonderful new LOA resources.

I was fortunate enough to be featured as one of those new resources in his most recent carnival, when he included my dog pee story. (Of all the things to be known for ... sheesh! Everyone else writes about love and light and possibility, and here I am talking about dog urine, toilet time, sick kitties, and ex's who don't follow through with their LOA experiments! Oh well, this blog is about LOA in the Real World!)

Anyway, I'm a regular fan of Aaron, Dean and Lyman (great guys - give them a read!), but it was in Ed's most recent carnival that I learned about Patricia. Her carnival contribution is the biggest key to successful manifesting - well, a successful LIFE for that matter - I've ever come across. It's big. And she says it well. Read it if you haven't already.

Now that you've got great reading material for the day, I'll sign off and intend to think of a more pleasant topic than urine and death to write about tomorrow.

Love & Miracles -
Jeannette

PS - I'd love to hear who YOUR LOA heroes are! Please post a comment with a link if you can. As my Dutch Oma would say, "dank u!"

Time for an Upgrade?

Okay, I overmanifested having a quiet free coach call this month. Last month we had a couple disruptions that I intended we overcome this time. Sheesh, was it quiet! Thanks Carla and Julia for piping up! (Amy might think I have an imaginary audience if you hadn't said something.)

Luckily I said hello to a handful of folks before I started the recording, I so I know we weren't talking to ourselves! It was only my second free call, so third time's a charm, right?

For those wanting to hear what Amy said about Carla's experience of setting intentions that never manifest, you can listen here. (There's also a link in the sidebar under archived calls.) Her emphatic response to Julia's question about practicing with small stuff was also not what you'll hear from all the LOA experts.

When you listen in, you'll also hear my true love for both these girls.

Together they perfectly reflect why I was inspired to conduct a Vibration Overhaul group course with Amy. For anyone who ever thought one on one work with me wasn't in the budget, this course offers you TWO fabulous coaches (Amy even knocks MY socks off!) for six weeks at a cost that's less than half of what I charge for one month of individual work.

And wait'll you see the line-up of who's joining! We've got some powerhouses on board for this course!

Find your feel good on it, and if it says "Yes!" - please sign up before the discount expires. ($227 until next week.) I'd rather not see late-comers paying almost $300, especially since I'm pretty sure it'll be full before then anyway.

As I'm off to potentially have my third sick foster kitty euthanized this afternoon, I have to say I've had much practice with deliberately managing emotions this last week. The result? I'm getting pretty good at this. On today's call I shared the thought that offered me relief as my second little guy was getting his goodbye shot.

Doesn't matter where they come from or how much sense it doesn't make to anyone else - when we reach for thoughts that offer relief, we are headed in the right direction and making serious upgrades to our vibe. Let's keep going in that direction and let the good stuff in!

Shoot, I might even be able to experience perpetual marital bliss if I keep this up.

Namaste, friends!

Conquering My Nemesis

Dog pee on the rug.

That was my old nemesis.

For reasons I won't elaborate on (to not attract more of it), one of my biggest challenges was learning to walk in the front room to check for wet spots from inappropriate canine elimination, while holding the expectation of "nice dry rug."

If the dogs had been left in quite a while, or there was a suspicious smell, or the cats were acting funny near a particular corner, or the rug looked wet for some reason, I used to march over exclaiming, "This better not be what I think it is!" I would hold thoughts of a damp smelly rug, with the only question being whether it was still warm or had been there a while.

That dog pee situation was a big charge for me. No surprise it happened often, huh?

Yeah, a lot. (My carpet cleaner used to be on speed dial, and I used to buy two rugs, with one on standby when it was time to call it quits on the first.) All those wet rug opportunities gave me plenty of practice at changing my thoughts as I conducted rug sweeps.

When I would walk to the suspicious corner I would catch myself expecting to blame somebody (usually the boyfriend who made us late getting home, or the ex-boyfriend who didn't come over to give them a break), and anticipating that familiar feeling of wet rug under hand or foot.

So I learned to test the rug while saying "Ah, nice dry rug." "What good dogs. Thanks for holding it, everyone! That's right, nice dry rug!"

There wasn't a single time I expected dry rug that I was met with disappointment.

It's been a while since I've dealt with that.

Today I met my nemesis again.

My ex asked me to check on his dogs while he was out of town for a day and a half. Morning check-in revealed his mastiff foster escaped his kennel. And the house showed it. That guy wreaked HAVOC! I won't even describe the destruction I witnessed. Whew. It was bad.

Dining room chairs chewed up, couches on their backs, cushions missing, blankets in the kitchen, poopy paw prints everywhere, trails of urine in the hallway.

All right, I lied. That pretty much describes it. The poor cats looked like they were in shell shock.

My first thought was, "I'm not cleaning this up."

My second thought confirmed the first one. I didn't have time to, even if I wanted to. Which I definitely didn't.

My next thought was "I can't leave these guys here." It was a hazard zone! I only had 20 minutes before my next client session, so I loaded everyone in the car and took them to my house.

Notice what happened? Reactivation of my nemesis vibe, and lots of "good" reason to worry about what would happen at my place.

After all, I'm on the phone with each client for over an hour, and I had two sessions in a row. No time for supervising; seven dogs (his four and my three) were left to their own devices for a good three hours.

After my last session I walked out of the office to survey. Yeah, to survey damage. That's what I was expecting. What did they get into? What could be fixed? What was ruined?

I caught that familiar feeling. "Hey, I'm looking for trouble."

Maybe I should look for confirmation of what good dogs I have instead?

Looks like they rustled the garbage, but didn't remove anything. Cool. Cats look okay. Plants upright. Good. Couch cushions in place. Fabulous. Next the rug.

I immediately thought of "wet rug." That's what I didn't want. What did I want? Nice dry rug. I made a barefoot sweep across the rug, while repeating to self "nice dry rug." Sure enough, dry rug! Yay! My nemesis defeated! I truly have conquered my (former) biggest manifesting challenge!

That's when I noticed the slobber. On the chair, the couch, blanket, stereo, my favorite buddha statue. Lots of slobber.

Well, at least slobber doesn't smell.

No One Wants to Win the Lottery

This weekend my sweetie participated in two events at his employer's Corporate Games. As regular readers know, my boyfriend likes to win - not just play, not just compete - he wants to be #1.

His experience reminded me of the question people often ask in terms of how law of attraction works when people want the same thing but only one can win. Like a lottery, a job or even a girl.

If each competitor wants to win and they're each vibrating "win," how could everyone get what they want?

This could be a long post, but I'm shooting for short & sweet.

Whoever is in closest vibrational alignment to winning will do so. But just because you're competing to win doesn't necessarily mean you're vibrating "win." Your energy could be "want to win" or "wish I could win" or "what if I don't win" or "hope I don't lose" or even just "do my best."

Vibrating "win" with clarity and confidence is easier said than done. And truly, Universe is pretty creative in delivering to us exactly what we're vibrating, as Russ experienced.

Before I continue, though, let me say it's important to drill down to what we really want. It isn't usually as simple as "win."

Example: I don't think anyone truly wants to win the lottery. I suspect what they really want is a higher quality of life, to be free from financial worries, support loved ones better, etc. And sometimes that happens as a lottery winner; sometimes it doesn't. Getting clear on what you genuinely desire is crucial to achieving it.

Someone who thinks he wants to "win over" a particular person probably isn't seeing things clearly either. What he really wants is more likely the feelings he thinks being in relationship with that person would give him.

We often miss the real target.

Back to my sweetie's story: for these corporate games there were many competitors who wanted to take home the gold, Russ included.

When he came home Saturday with a gold medal for bowling, he was pleased but nonchalant. Turns out what he really wanted was TWO gold medals. Especially the one for golf, where the competition was steep. That would mean more to him.

He just phoned to report that he also won the gold in the golf competition. Was he satisfied with his two gold medals now? Not remotely.

Turns out there was a three way tie on the golf course. Instead of conducting a playoff, they awarded gold medals to all three four-person teams. So 11 other guys are carrying around the same gold medal my sweetie is. He felt a little ripped off.

Not at all what he imagined having two gold medals would feel like.

What he really wanted was probably something more like acknowledgement that he's the best. I'm sure if he'd walked away with the gold by default because no one else showed up or were disqualified due to violation of stupid rules, he wouldn't have been satisfied.

Aren't we funny?!

Last night I watched a portion of the girls gymnastic national competition trials on tv. One competitor wanted to defend her title as champion; another just wanted to make the national team; another was quite pleased at evidence she was the national favorite; another wanted to do her best and make her parents proud, another young one wanted to gain experience for future high level competitions.

It was easy to see how each of them could get what they wanted, and still not be the "winner."

In fact, the girl who scored the highest was talked about as being very relaxed, having a good time and clearly enjoying her performances. Not a surprise, huh?

My point: 1) it's worth getting clear about what you really want and vibrating that, and 2) don't underestimate the Universe's ability to deliver on it. Apparently they make extra gold medals just in case. :)

Vibrational Recovery

How many disappointing web designers does it take for me to realize that it's ME and not them that's challenged?

(Big sigh.)

Well, there was the Seattle designer who used a template that couldn't do what I wanted to do. Rather than say so, she just stopped responding to me. Then there was the nice Park City guy, who had amazing technical expertise but no time for the little fish in his big pond. Then my local girl, after a couple of months together, seemed to lose interest in web work. At least mine. My marketing guy is dying to redo my site (which he hates), but I'm afraid he'll follow all the "rules" and lose "me" in the process.

So I guess it's taken a couple go-rounds before I realized that until I clean up MY vibe, I'll continue to have less than satisfactory experiences with web designers. I see that hiring another service provider before I upgrade my vibration will be a waste of time and only lead to a repeat experience.

Today I posted to The Good News yahoo group that I was manifesting a perfect new web person. I imagined people might email me with referrals. I imagined having to explain that I couldn't work with just ANYONE; it had to be someone I felt REALLY good about, because I have this vibrational handicap about web designers.

And I realized that I perpetuate my "handicap" by talking about it.

I needed to find a new way to think about my situation. So in that moment I chose new language to give me a new perspective and new vibration as to what's up. Here's what I came up with: I'm in "Vibrational Recovery."

(That's my Marine Corps Vibrational Recovery team pictured above. Heavy duty, huh?)

I'm now expecting wonderful service from web designers. I know I deserve it, and so does my web site. I know my past experiences might not have been what I'd preferred, but my future ones surely will be. I'm finding my way towards the feeling of elation (Marines are breaking the trail for me!) at having a perfect partner on board, who has wonderful ideas, a passion for their work, plenty of time for me, lovely rates, and why not some marketing expertise?! He/she gets what I'm about and works wonderfully with me. Maybe they even have a partner or staff, so their vacations still allow for consistent service to their perfect clients.

No more need to explain the past, or lay out "what is." I'm in Vibrational Recovery. Those past experiences are old news. What I'm up to now is bigger and better and more satisfying. It's a lovely turn of events, if I don't say so myself.

As I speak (type) it, so shall it be.

Anyone else in recovery? (Or know a good web person? lol)

Hope for the Ex

My ex-fiance and good friend just phoned to ask why he's such a powerful manifestor of negative things, but not positive ones.

(There's a belief worth turning around. But we'll get to that later.)

Rob's story is interesting, and probably not uncommon. So I've challenged him to change it, and thinking some of us might be inspired to join him.

He told about driving a customer's car down the highway (he does custom remodel work on priceless classics), noticed a big work truck ahead of him, and started thinking, "You know, the last thing I need is a rock chip. I should probably change ... " and BAM! Before he was even done thinking the thought to change lanes, the windshield took a hit, leaving a lovely chip.

When he gets to the shop, he thinks, "I should call Todd to arrange for that repair today. But what if Todd's out? Thursday's his day off. Today's Tuesday. But what if he's not in?" Sure enough, Todd's out, even though it's not his regular day off.

Rob asks if he had fleeting thoughts of a million dollars spilling through the streets, would it suddenly appear?

I suggested he try it sometime. After he laughed, I asked if he has as strong a belief in free money in the streets as he does rock chips and bad timing for repairs.

Admittedly, and he's not alone in this, it's sometimes easier to believe in bad things than it is in really good things.

The good news is he/we can change that. Belief is just a strong thought. And we can change our thoughts. We humans are pretty cool that way.

So Rob's going to try it. He's going to practice thinking good thoughts and see how quickly they manifest. I ask him to report back.

Before he hangs up, he tells me how he's really good at reading people, too. He can tell in advance what they're going to do. He might think he's psychic. I think he doesn't yet realize the powerful effect his thoughts have on others.

For example, he says when his son comes over he knows it's to ask for money, rather than lend a hand around the house. He can tell when the neighborhood homeless guy is going to drop by his shop asking for a loan. He's got lots of examples of how he predicts people's behavior.

Is he predicting? Or creating? (And what if they were the same?)

I suggest he practice his good thoughts on people, too. I told him people live up to and down to our expectations all day long, and suggest he practice holding new expectations.

I got a funny feeling his world is about to get brighter. : )

Time Well Spent

"Why didn't I think of that?" That was my immediate thought after a delightful new client shared with me her strategy for incorporating self love every day.

She does it on the toilet.

Ha!

That's right - for those couple minutes she's sitting down every day, she uses her time productively. She thinks good thoughts about herself. Congratulates herself on accomplishments. Thanks herself for being her. In general, she lavishes doting attention on herself. For three minutes.

Badda bing, badda boom. Fits in her self-love every day; in fact, a couple of times.

Don't you love it?!

Now, I'm not normally a fan of multi-tasking, but some things naturally lend themselves to a higher use of our time.

So I'm now inspired to use my toilet time in a better way. I think I might remind my body what we're up to. I might remind her that we're thriving, getting younger, feeling better, more energy, more fit, more fabulous - every day.

I might congratulate my toe nails on a job well done. I might comment on those two beautiful elbows - how no matter how neglected they are, they keep doing their job so well every day! I might remind hips and butt that we're keeping things nice and firm. And I might congratulate all systems on a job well done.

Huh. Toilet time.

Just when I thought life couldn't get any better!! lol

PS - thanks, dearfriend, for letting me share your self-love strategy with my readers! We're going to create a whole new appreciation for potty breaks!