HURRY UP!!!!….and wait…..

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Why is it that sometimes when we feel like we are late or behind on something, and we rush to catch up, we find that life makes us wait?  Like when we are late for a train and we try to run to catch it only to find out it is running 15 minutes behind?  Or traffic makes us super late no matter how fast we try to get somewhere?  This isn’t counting the times we are hurrying to meet someone and they are late or you have a deadline which you spend all night working on and find out the deadline has been moved the next day…

We are so ready sometimes to have something happen that we rush and push to get to the front of our line, but sometimes our timing may not be the best timing for us.  Spirit has a different path for you.  And sometimes it is just time to stop, breathe and let the worry and rushing go.

Hmmmm.  Have you ever tried that?  Letting the angst and the tightness of “hurry up” just…go?  It is amazing what happens if you can possibly do that.  The blood pressure drops, the fight or flight mode disappears and we can find at least momentary peace.  In those moments sometimes we can get inspiration on how to get from here to there in a better, quicker or just more fun way.  It’s almost like we can reconnect and get into a different gear altogether.

And if the timing isn’t quite right and maybe there is a different path that spirit is trying to show you, if you over-focus on getting “there”, you may miss it entirely.  So the next time you are hurrying somewhere or to get something accomplished, if you can, take that moment and see where it takes you.

How Much Joy Do You Allow Yourself?

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When you stop long enough to take a breath, do you look around and say, YES!  This is it! Exactly how I pictured my life – OR better yet, this is even BETTER than I imagined my life could be!  Could you stay in that feeling of joy you were feeling for any length of time before circumstances distracted you into being worried, depressed, guilty, angry…

Have you found a time when something was going great, you felt amazing joy, but your next thought was, uh oh, what’s going to happen next to screw this up?  Will you have a huge bill so that the cash windfall is gone; you get laid off at the office, or your spouse/partner cheats on you?

Why do we do this?  It seems like we will only allow ourselves just so much joy before we hit our limit, and some people’s joy ceiling is awfully low.  It’s like too much joy is illegal – we expect the worst after we reach our joy limit – like the happy police will arrest us.

Can you see that these are just past insecurities showing up?  If as a child you were playing with a favorite toy and it was taken away or the ice cream cone you were enjoying suddenly fell on the ground, your joy was interrupted.  If it happens enough, you understand that there is only so much joy you are allowed before something bad will happen. 

So what can we do?  Our first step is deciding how much of the time you feel joy. On a scale of 1 to 100%.  What percentage of your life do you feel joy?  Feel into it.  Are you joyful 5% of the time? Or maybe 10 or 15%?  Once you are satisfied that the percentage feels right, close your eyes and feel what it feels like having 5% or 10% (or whatever % it is) of joy in your life – that means 95% or 90% of no joy.  Do not judge yourself. Just feel into that feeling. Adjust your percentage until it feels right for you.  Once you are there, just imagine what just 1% of more joy a week would do for you. If you can choose joy just 1% more of the time every week from where you were, by the end of a year you will be more than 50% more joyful, grateful and satisfied with your life.  Even if you only increase your joy 1% a month, you will be surprised how different you feel in a year’s time. Interrupt your cycle of fear, doubt, blame, worry, etc., and take a moment to find again that space of joy inside of you.  Don’t limit your joy – Choose to allow in just 1% more!

Loving Yourself, Step 1…

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How many times do we look in the mirror every day?  And when we do are we looking for how great we look, or do the flaws catch our attention much more often?  I have to admit to only looking in the mirror when I’m putting on makeup – what to cover up or how to make a part of me stand out that doesn’t look good enough.  And also after I’m dressed to make sure everything is in place and I don’t need to add or subtract something.  How many mirrors are in your house?  I just counted and I have four, including the ones in the bathrooms.  And you know, I think I almost never really looked.  I only saw the negative most of the time and not the fully lovely spiritual being I am.  How about you?  What do you see when you look in the mirror?

I started something that made me very uncomfortable at first but really grew on me and made me feel much better about myself. Will you join me?  I started looking in the mirror on purpose even when I didn’t need to. I would catch my eye in the mirror and say, “good work today”, “you look good”, “I’m proud of you”.  Then when that felt good I graduated myself by changing the pronoun to, “I” and “me”… “I look really good”, “I’m so smart”, “I did a really great job today”.  And then I moved to the harder one for me – looking in my eyes – “Hello gorgeous”, “I look marvelous”, “I am amazing”.  And finally I moved onto the hardest of all – from looking in my eyes to looking at my entire body and repeating all of the above.

I recommend the book “Mirror Work” by Louise Hay, a trailblazing author.

Before you get the wrong idea – this doesn’t mean you don’t want to change certain things about yourself.  But in order to make lasting changes in your mind, body and emotions, the first step is to accept who and what you are right now.  Stop resisting your reality. Embrace it, love where and who you are right now, and then decide if you wish to change.  Dare I say it…love yourself.  Mirror work is a great first step.

Is Your Dream Falling into Place Yet?

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So here you are.  Now what??  Do you know your next steps toward your dream? Do you even have a dream?

For me, most of my life I just went along with whatever happened with a vague idea I wanted to enjoy my job and find my “perfect” man to marry.  That was pretty much it.  No clear dream or plan that I could really taste because it was so real to me.  Life has shifted hugely, and now I have big dreams.

If you already know what you want in life, you are farther along than at least 90% of the people out there who are just reacting to life instead of creating it.  But, do you know how to get to the goal posts?  Is the dream just that currently, a dream, because you can’t figure out how to get from here to there?  Here’s the surprise.  You don’t have to know!  Wait, what did she just say?? YES, it’s true!!  Forget the how! “But I don’t know how” felt like my biggest stumbling block most of my life.  I kept thinking – if someone would just tell me how, I could have and be anything!  And now due to Mr. Google and Ms. YouTube, I feel guilty if I can’t figure out how to do something, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still use that excuse!

So, let’s all relax!  We got this!!

Let’s work on seeing, feeling, and tasting what it would be like to have one of our big dreams come true.  What would it feel like if you were already there a couple of years down the road?  Pause for a second and really feel it….Now who would you be then; how happy; how fulfilled?…Feel that?  Are you smiling?  Do you feel energized?

Now BE that person as much as you can right now.  Practice having those feelings.  Because by doing that; staying in that feeling; you will raise your vibration so that the frequency your dream is at which may seem so very far away right now, will come closer and closer to where you are currently.  In fact, the closer you get in frequency to your dream, the more incredible “coincidences” will occur to bring you nearer to that dream.

But pay attention, because you can’t assume the dream will miraculously appear without you doing your part.  It may; just don’t assume it will.  You need to be ready to ask what the next step you can do to get you closer to your dreams; and if the spirit hits you to do something, do it!  Play your part in your creation.  Take those baby steps that occur to you.

I would love to hear from you of the kind of things that start falling into place.  It is so exciting when the incredible seems to start happening.  You will feel amazed and truly blessed.

I Have to Work Hard for My Money…Don’t I?

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The quick answer to this is NO!  You don’t.

No Donna Summer, you don’t have to work hard for the money.  You have to work smart!

So many of us were raised by parents who “had a great work ethic” and who thought they had to “work really hard” to get anywhere.  Or perhaps your parents were the opposite, teaching you that since they didn’t work hard and had nothing, you better.

While being dependable and reliable at your job is definitely a good thing, you honestly don’t have to work hard if it feels like you are going in circles or banging your head on the wall and not getting very far.  Let’s look at what might be holding you back from working smart instead and getting in your flow; panning for gold so to speak.

I realize this is a big subject with lots of levels and I actually have a 5 hour intensive on changing your money karma, so let’s try in this blog to have you become aware of at least one belief you have that could be holding you back since becoming aware is always the first step to change.

Start with taking a good look at your parents.  What do/did they say about working – do/did they have a good “work ethic”, generally working hard to make their money?  Or maybe they have a lack mentality because they thought there was never enough money to go around?  Have you adopted their beliefs?  If so, just becoming aware of that may stop those old beliefs in their tracks.  If you do see those old thought patterns emerging just become aware that it is not your belief – it is simply one adopted from a parent.  See that parent in your mind’s eye; thank them very much for their teaching you; and then say – this is your belief and not mine.  I release those patterns back to you.  And each time something like that comes up, let it go the same way. You will find that less and less you have these types of patterns in your life.

It seems like once you start releasing one limiting belief, another one shows up. Don’t get discouraged!  It is a sure sign that you are learning, growing and heading in the right direction.

Divine Order? What the heck!??@@!#$%@!$#??

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So you know how people say “if things were meant to happen they will”? Did you ever feel that was a cop out like I did when I was younger?  I mean, we want something and maybe pray for it or about it and then say that?  It felt like I was giving my faith a loop hole or a cop out.  I asked for it, I prayed about it, I should get it, right?  And of course exactly the way I asked for it.  Seemed simple enough.  Uh huh.  SEEMED simple!  But what happens when you don’t “get it”? Or it doesn’t happen the way you think it should?  Do you give up, freak out or hang in there when things don’t quite go right?

I am constantly reminded to stay in the flow of my good and recognize that it doesn’t always show up in my time and exactly the way I think it will.  This especially happens for me with money.  Just a couple of days ago I decided to sell my old car and shop around for a new one.  I wanted $5,000 for my old car or more so that it would help with buying my new one.  I thought I had a sale in the bag and so didn’t advertise at all.  Turns out my hoped for buyer could only pay me $3,000 total due to other issues.  I somehow knew I didn’t need to freak out and that all would be well.  I have to admit after many (many) years, I’m finally able to shift pretty quickly from disappointment to a knowingness that all will be well.

Turns out that I got the exact car I wanted for a smoking deal saving me $3,000 from what I had saved for my new car.  I got an intuitive hit when I was done signing papers that I should pass my good fortune on to my prospective buyer and give them my old car for the $3,000; this is someone I know’s daughter whom I’ve never met; someone who I know will love the car and take good care of my girl.  They were over the moon and had been praying for a good outcome on the car issue, with the thought that if it was supposed to happen it will.  Sound familiar?  I might have been able to get more if I sold my car on Craig’s List, but this felt right and good; and I actually came out ahead thanks to the great deal at the dealership.

So know that the next time things don’t look like things are in divine order.  Hang in there a little longer.  Trust that the story isn’t over.  If you freak out, you may stop the rest of your story from unfolding, the part where it becomes obvious that everything truly is in divine order.

The Power of Choice…Will Change Your Life!!

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I started at Unity Church when I was in junior high.  Like most kids, I ended up at church because my parents went there first. I won’t say they dragged me there, but it wasn’t my first choice. It was a small church and there weren’t any other kids my age – I was in between the teenagers and the younger kids and they wouldn’t let me hang with either group, so the teacher spoke to me separately.  I made the choice to stay even though I didn’t fit in because I enjoyed the teacher. That one choice sparked a lifetime of spiritual interest – taking classes, trying different churches, and getting certified in numerous different modalities as you can tell from my educational page.  I admit it; I was addicted to spiritual growth all because of a choice I made.

The power of choice did and still does fuel all my growth.  We went thru a few different ministers during my 20+ years there and I remember somewhere in the middle when I was in church the minister, Eve,  would ask how everyone was, and the congregation would respond in various ways at first.  She would ask us again, “no, I said, how are you doing!” Then she would say, “Remember to fake it until you make it!”  (The bolding is her being very enthusiastic.)

Sometimes she would go on to say that we make our own reality by how we respond to people. Things will be as they are, but how we react and let them into our being is what makes us who we are and what we become.  I’ve always remembered that, although at first it was easier in hindsight to see what I could have done!

So how do you get into the “habit” of making the best choice for you without “getting in your head” or acting out in fear or rage?  Practice my friend.  First, realize that you have all the power to make those choices and it WILL change your life.  No matter what anyone else says or does they only have the power if you give it to them.  You are a sovereign being and you are all you need to be already.  So if you react in a way you later wish you hadn’t, or have pain because of what someone said or did, just know that you can choose.  Chose to stay in your own power.  Practice staying centered and calm so that you don’t get angry, act out, be rude right back, or stew about it and hold it in.  Practice will help you stay calm and curious about what they are saying.  Most of the time when they see you aren’t reacting, they get annoyed and walk away.  It gets easier, trust me!  Although, I will admit, sometimes it still takes me a minute or two to get there, but the choice is always worth it!

Are We There Yet?????

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I remember as a kid waking up really early to take a car trip, usually to see my grandmother in Seattle; over a day’s drive.  My parents would wake my sister and I up around 3 a.m., if memory serves, and I’d sleep for a couple of hours in the car.  After I’d wake up, I would play with the one bag of toys I would be allowed in the car. We went past Mt. Shasta and other beautiful mountain ranges. Was I interested in the trip? No………Mommmmmm, are we almost there???  And probably five minutes later……Are we there yet???? I’d whine…or at least I’m sure I sounded that way.

How many times are we on our life’s journey and not paying any attention to what is happening right now?  Are we enjoying our life, or are we asking constantly, “are we there yet??”  or maybe “when will I be happy…or get what I want…or when will I get that perfect job, that perfect mate…”  When all along, we have already arrived because our life is happening NOW, not at some mythical time when we finally GET somewhere. We don’t have to wait to find our dream, or meet our mate, or finish school, or get that big job…the saying goes, life is a journey, NOT life is what happens when you get to the END of your journey…

Are you just waiting to be happy until something specific happens; some goal or dream you have set for yourself???  Don’t be like me as a child….don’t wait for your destination before you let yourself enjoy your life …..Don’t ask yourself….Are you there yet? – Try asking yourself…Do I love my life right now?   And if not, take that moment, that very moment and find something that brings you joy.  Every time you find yourself being unhappy or impatient for the future to arrive, take that moment of time again.  The more fully present in each “now” moment you can be, the more you will stop resisting the journey and enjoy the most interesting roller coaster ride that is your life.

Get Out of My Space!!!??!!!

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Do you ever get that really strange feeling when someone gets close to you?  You know, the one where you need to back up or leave the room?  We used to say he or she got in our “space”.  Now science says when someone moves into our energy field (aka our aura) and their vibration is too different from ours, that is when we get that negative, got to get out of here feeling.  Pretty cool.

So we know what it feels like when someone is of a lower vibration – the I’m not comfortable feeling – Or maybe we simply can’t take their negative talk or self-talk.  In any event, we are soooo out of there, which could be a little difficult if it’s Aunt Sally or Uncle Ned at a family gathering.  Resisting seeing people or hiding from them may work with someone who is barely a friend so you don’t have to see them often,  but what happens if you can’t get away or have to be repeatedly around people whose energy makes you uncomfortable (perhaps at work)?  What can you do to protect yourself?

I’ve tried a couple of things – some that work and some that haven’t.  One really good one is throwing a lot of gold light into the space we are going to be at together before I get there (or if at my house, before they get there).  My intention is to have it be a clear space that will only bring the highest good.

Another tool I use is putting myself in a bubble of a high vibration.  I swear when I do either one of these, the “offending” person either avoids me all together, or their entire energy shifts into one closer to my vibration (entrainment) that is easier for me to deal with.  Maybe that difficult person starts acting nice to me and the rest of the office is shocked that I am the one person they aren’t rude to, or Uncle Ned stops complaining about his latest illness and talks about a favorite hobby or something he loved doing as a boy.  In any event, it is so much easier to be in their presence!

The next time you get that trapped feeling, feel free to try one of those tools.  And if you’ve tried something that has worked for you, please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you!

 

Watch What You Ask For!!!

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Have you ever been in a situation and wonder, how in the heck did this happen?  Maybe you got married and wondered, who IS this person?  Or you bought a house and things constantly went wrong.  You might have even prayed and prayed for something to work out or to show up in your life and you think it does.  And then….hmmmm.  Maybe not so much?

Okay, so you made a list for the house you wanted and you got everything on the list, except you forgot to mention that the roof should be new, the plumbing worked perfectly and the electrical was up to grade and pretty new; also working perfectly.  Maybe you mentioned that you wanted an upgraded kitchen, which you got, but the bathrooms are a nightmare.

Yes, as the saying goes, be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it!  Which is good, right???!?  Well, yes and no.  When I was out condo shopping a few years ago I asked for a specific type of condo and I got it.  One with great bones (and closets!), a garage with a place for storage, a fireplace and the ability to renovate it for pretty much everything I wanted for a specific amount of money.  The kicker, and not on my list?  Well, the garage is shared and a number of people can get to my stuff if they want to, so I can’t leave just anything out there, and the fireplace damper is stuck open which the inspection didn’t show, so not only does it let cold air in, but it’s pretty much useless until I get someone out here to fix it (2 years and still not done). A minor inconvenience, but still, it goes to show, be specific!

An example for watching what we say…after my divorce I kept focusing on wanting more love and joy in my life, and so what happens?  I get pulled over for using a non-hands free device while totally stopped in traffic and asking it for directions…and after actually getting a ticket from the highway patrolman, I looked down at my ticket.  And guess what the name of the officer was?  Did you guess?  Officer Lovejoy!!!  I pretty much fell over laughing and the ticket didn’t hurt nearly as much as it would have.

Yes indeed.  Be careful what you ask for.  Be as specific as possible.  If you want to travel first class for a change and you haven’t before, don’t just say you want to travel because you could end up on a bus instead of flying business class or taking that cruise with a suite.  And always, always say “this or something better” because I believe there is a higher power that wants you to have amazing things and sometimes our imagination only stretches to good or great, and not to the amazing and fabulous, which we deserve!

So ask for exactly what you think you want even if you have no idea how to get it, and then get out of your own way while the world shifts around you to hand it to you.  And if it isn’t exactly what you wanted?  Look again at that list and refocus it!