Please don’t vex the animals

“Nothing needs fixing; everything desires A Celebration. You were made to bend so that you could discover all of the many Miracles at your feet. You were made to stretch so that you could find Your Own Beautiful Face of Heaven just above all that you think you must shoulder.”

– Happier Than God, Neale Donald Walsch

I have been wading through some naaaaaasty shit this week, dang! I have been challenged by two specific people and each time I bring myself back to peace and love and appreciation, it’s rejected and another piece of nastiness is tossed at me … or so it seems, in this silly human experience I am having on this planet called earth!

 I do realize- all of this is my story about it.

And I know that, in truth, each is a gift … an opportunity to learn. Puh-leeeeease God, do I have to learn SO MUCH?!!! 😉 “Are we there yet?”

Ok so learning, learning, what did I learn? I realize each person is a mirror at best so when I’m ready, I will look at my judgment of what they’re doing to hurt me and see what truths lie therein for myself.

When have I been hurtful in that same way and what can I do to repair that?

I’m not quite ready to go there yet, still in pain mode. The closest to looking in the mirror that I can come at this moment is the acknowledgement of this all being a big fat Schoolhouse-Rock lesson to me and the knowledge that I need to not let the craziness of others affect me.

A friend of mine once sent me a sign, “Don’t feed the animals” … reminding me to be careful … sometimes when you respond and respond and respond to craziness and negativity, even in an endeavor to be kind and loving, you may be feeding into it.

Rich pointed out to me that, in an effort to not hurt the other, I keep replying and attempting to explain. But when you’re explaining into the void of someone else’s disease, you can talk until kingdom come and they’re not gonna hear you.

We’ll call that Lesson Number One.

One of the animals pointed out to me that I may throw in the towel on men too quickly. Aaaah, yes, the ring of truth. In this instance, I was not doing that but it is certainly worth noting … I do *definitely* do that and will be on the lookout for it in myself. Cool what you can learn from the animals.

You always need to look at what they’re saying to you, even the most heinous one, and ask, “Is this true?”

Therein lies Lesson Number Two.

And as for lessons three through twenty-three, I know that they will unfold all in due time. I celebrate the lessons and thank the teachers, maddening as they may be at times! Bring it on!

At the very same time that this madness was occurring, I received this e-mail from one of my clients:

“I am learning much from you! I really mean that. You are truly a role model for me, your clarity is honorable and I respect that so much … You are a power of example for me and I LOVE working with you!!!”

And so I remember …

“There is only one way to experience yourself as The Light, and that would be to find yourself in darkness. There is power in opposites. Endeavor to see the appearance of the ‘opposite’ as your first indication that Personal Creation is working flawlessly.

At every moment of difficulty and challenge in your life you have a choice: opposition or composition. To repeat: You can either oppose that which you are experiencing, or compose that which you choose. Compose what you choose.

Now, thanks to the Law of Opposites, you have a context within which to experience it. And that is the greatest thing the universe could ever give you.”

– Happier Than God, Neale Donald Walsch

 

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Workin’ on stuff, the right way

A super-long time ago, I would always notice what was wrong and try, try, try to “fix” it. I was a worker. I thought that was good. Always “workin’ on” stuff!

Then, in an attempt to be a positive person, I began focusing on the good things. I tried to ignore, ignore, ignore the so-called “bad” stuff.

Ok so I was half way there.

Tony Robbins says, “If you go to your garden and say, ‘There are no weeds, there are no weeds, there are no weeds’ … They’re gonna take your garden!” He recommends looking at what is, but *exactly* as it is … without blowing it up in your head or overreacting … and from that place, you decide what you want to do.

We all know Law of Attraction, right? I wondered, “If I give a voice to something I don’t want, am I actually attracting it into my world?” If something not-the-greatest comes up for me, should I only look at good stuff?

I forgot all about what Abraham says about contrast. I got myself all confused! Look at it, don’t look at it, look at it, don’t look at it … ?

Scott Lewis clarified, “When a challenge arises, focus on what you don’t want BRIEFLY, using the contrast in order to find what you do want, with the purpose being to move through it.”

Aah, sweet! This finally feels right!

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Being with the monster

Once upon a time there was a girl who had depression. And it was baaaaaaad. He was a big, hairy monster that slept over every night and ate all her food.

RRRRrrraaAAWRH!

Ooh! y’scared me!

And he would not go away, no matter how hard she tried. I’ll tell you a secret. It hurt so much she wished she could die.

Craigie told me:

There are two ways of “doing” in life and they look the same but couldn’t be more different.

One is running away from the monster and the other is moving towards the light.

When you’re thinking, “I have to pay the bills, I have to do this, I have to do that” and that is pushing you and you’re going, going, going … that’s running from the monster. When you feel pain and you try to run from it, that’s running from the monster.

You’re running so it seems like you must be going somewhere but in truth you’re not getting anywhere. When you’re working at your computer and you begin to feel that stress in your belly … STOP.

Stop and do something. Go for a walk. Take a nap. Pick up the phone. Something which nurtures you.

Am I feeling …

Hungry?

Angry?

Lonely?

Tired?

If so, HALT … stop and go take care of that. Nurturing yourself is on the first floor and you can’t go rushing up to the thirty-eighth floor, you need to begin on the first floor.

When you haven’t taken care of *you*, the monster starts whispering things in your ear and he’s a liar.

He may tell you that you can’t deal with this. He may tell you you’re not good at living. The monster is lying to you, he wants you dead, the f*cker!

So there are bills to pay. There are very few truly *big* things in life. Are you going to bed hungry? No. Are you living without a roof over your head? No. You’re safe. You’re ok. And if you’re not, then call me.

When the pain and fear comes up, sit and meditate on it. Be with it. Don’t escape it, face it head on. It hurts but if you FEEL what the pain is like, you’ll realize that the FEAR of it was much worse and longer than the actual “labor pain” of hurt … it passes in about 30 minutes, I find, truly.

At the end of the day, put a line down the middle of the piece of paper and ask yourself, “how much of this day was spent with the monster winning and how much of the day was spent moving towards the light?” and hopefully more than half will be the latter. That is your goal.

Moving towards the light looks like doing things which feel right and good in your soul. Moving towards the light means taking care of *you*. Because if you don’t do that, you’re no good for anyone. You need to begin on the first floor.

Feed, clothe, rest and comfort your mind and body the way you would an 8 year old you found in the rain in front of your house who had no memory where he/she belonged.

Craigie wakes up in the morning and goes right down on his knees and thanks God in advance that more time is going to be spent today in moving towards the light. Then he reads something nurturing to line up how he wants his day to go. Before e-mail, before turning the phone on, before anything. Frame your day.

When I hear the monster, it helps even just to recognize it as the monster and to know that the monster lies. When I hear, “there is so much to do, I can’t do it all, I can’t handle this” I know that there is only one thing to do and that is the one thing I am doing right now. Each moment there is only one thing. And everything is ok and everything will continue to *be* ok.

 

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Warm hugs and a huge “thank you” to Craigie for requesting the *long* version of my story, for taking the time to listen and to care and for showering me with such strong language and empowering words of wisdom.

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On feeling first

“Most people believe that if they ‘have’ a thing (more time, money, love – whatever) then they can finally ‘do’ a thing (write a book, take up a hobby, go on vacation, buy a home, undertake a relationship), which will enable them to ‘be’ a thing (happy, peaceful, content, or in love).

In actuality, they are reversing the Be-Do-Have paradigm. In the Universe as it really is (as opposed to how you think it is), ‘havingness’ does not produce ‘beingness’, but the other way around. First you ‘be’ the thing called ‘happy’ (or ‘knowing’, or ‘wise’, or ‘compassionate’, or whatever) then you start ‘doing’ things from this place of beingness- and soon you discover that what you are doing winds up bringing you the things you’ve always wanted to ‘have.’

The way to set this creative process (and that’s what this is… the process of creation) into motion is to look at what it is you want to ‘have,’ ask yourself what you think you would ‘be’ if you ‘had’ that, then go right straight to being. In this way you reverse the way you’ve been using the Be-Do-Have paradigm-in actuality, set it right-and work with, rather than against, the creative power of the universe.

Here is a short way of stating this principle: In life, you do not have to do anything. It is all a question of what you are being.”

– Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God (Vol. 3)

Revelation! Wonderfully shocking, shockingly wonderful revelation!

1. Question One: What would you like to *HAVE*?

I would like to have abundance. (Duh 😉 ) You too?

2. Question Two: If you had that, what would you *DO*?

If I was abundant and prosperous, I would be generous with family and friends. I would go out for sushi absolutely *all* the time! I would eat all the yummy, healthy foods which I love. I would do what I wanted when I wanted to do it. How about you?

3. Question Three: If you did that, how would you *FEEL*?

If I was generous, ate my favorite healthy foods and did what I wanted when I wanted … I would feel free! Wow, if I as abundant and generous, my father would be so proud of me! I would feel sooooo proud, free and loved!

Ok, so my key is: proud, free and loved.

We typically don’t want things for any reason other than how we *think* we would feel once we get them. Now, bypass the need to know how it’s going to happen. Bypass the need for the “thing” … and become a vibrational match to the feeling. That is your key.

Today, ask yourself, “What would a (proud, free, loved, fill in the blanks) person do?”

Once I discovered this, I began taking inspired action according to the feeling state I was desiring. Yearning for, really. When I asked, “What can I do today that would make me feel proud?” it was so very simple and clear what action I wanted to take, what action called to me and what action would bring me that feeling right now. Today.

Now, if Neale Donald Walsch and my new friend Elyse are right, the “stuff” will begin to show up … but by then, it’s icing on the cake.

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A very special thanks to Elyse Hope Killoran for eliciting this light bulb moment! One little Prosperity Partnership call and >poof!< it all began beautifully and perfectly falling into place. Hugs and kisses, you are a gift, Elyse!
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Tapping your way to abundance?

ABOVE :: EFT FOR ABUNDANCE, PART ONE
(Would I leave you hanging? Scroll down for parts two and three.)
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Yup, it’s true! Thanks to the cool guy with the funky hair … (thank you British-guy!) … I’ve finally tried something I’ve been hearing about (and have been completely dismissing) for yeeeears … EFT … Emotional Freedom Technique.

One’a those “this seems too easy, it couldn’t be true”-type scenarios, you know the ones! 🙂

What an interesting experience this was. Some physical thing was going on because I kept yawning and experiencing energetic sensations throughout the session … a session which, cool-ly enough, you can do yourself. No need to hire a guru or support person. British-guy guides you through the whole process in a super-clear, super-easy manner.

Niiiice!

At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, I have to say … it did work. I tapped on the sad emotions I had been experiencing about my lost relationship and in doing this, the upset subsided.

Interesting!

Was it the tapping or the distraction? I don’t know but whatever it was, nice to have a tool to pull out when needed.

Would like to try again when a super-duper-intense emotion comes up … like an end-of-my-rope type thing. *NOT* that I’m tryin’ to attract such a thing but if it ever does recur, I’d like to try this.

They say you can use it for pain, depression, food cravings and many other things … that these issues will subside with this technique. The book Energy Tapping shows how to apply the technique to specific areas and guides you through.

BELOW :: EFT FOR ABUNDANCE, PART TWO

BELOW :: EFT FOR ABUNDANCE, PART THREE

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Sunshine in Your Pocket

“YOU create your own reality and the universe is simply reflecting back to you the essence of how you’re feeling about it! Joseph Campbell said, ‘Follow your bliss.’ Abraham shows you where you left your compass. Your compass? Your emotions. They are your guide.

And, as such, no one—no institution, ‘movement,’ family or friends—not even Abraham—is better qualified to direct you. Your emotions are your very own GPS (Global Positioning System), a rock-steady, unfailing and unerring ‘personal navigational device’ to get you where you want to go.”

-Abraham-Hicks

We are all constantly creating everything that we experience. And we can consciously design what we want by looking for and surrounding ourselves whenever possible with whatever makes us feel *good*. The point is to stay in positive energy.

Looking for a relationship? Who would you rather go out with … the person who’s constantly complaining or someone who is smiling? Who would you rather do business with … the miserable person stuck in the daily grind or the guy who radiates natural enthusiasm for what he does? Who would you rather partner with? Who would you rather befriend? Who would you rather *be*?

Immerse yourself in whatever makes you feel good and while you’re going about your business in a positive state, stuff starts happening. Good stuff.

Keeping yourself in positive vibration aligns you with the things you want to bring into your world. Make a list: What makes you smile? What makes you feel good? What brings you emotional sunshine?

Think sights, sounds, tastes, sensations …

• Uptempo music
• Apples and peanut butter
• Funny movies
• The doll that looks just like me
• Bearhugs
• Pretty colors
• Mermaids
• The beach
• Birds chirping
• Soft blankets
• Sushi
• Music from India
• Making art
• Drinks with friends
• Dancing like a rock star
• Singing when nobody is around
• New flavors
• Your inner goddess
• Laughing
• Open minded people
• Taking pictures
• Fairies
• Angels in the flesh
• Pretty blue skies
• Learning
• Teaming up with someone
• Birthday cake
• Candles
• Collage
• Moroccan style
• Experiencing new adventures
• Stars
• Bunny rabbits
• The sun on my face

Keep a list of “sunshine in your pocket” readily accessible at any given moment … and make sure to include something from your list into each and every day.

There’s a place that I go
That nobody knows
Where the rivers flow
And I call it home
And there’s no more lies
And the darkness is light
And nobody cries
there’s only butterflies

The sun is on my side
Take me for a ride
I smile up to the sky
I know I’ll be alright

– Natasha Bedingfield, “Pocketful Of Sunshine”

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Pivoting: the gift of “bad” emotions

Any emotion which feels “bad” is actually really a super-juicy opportunity! Like a flag on the play, it’s a signal to me that there is something to look at here. It means my emotional guidance system is working. Yaay, me!

When I feel a so-called “negative” emotion, it’s usually a sure sign that I’m running off in a direction *opposite* to what I want … perhaps thinking a thought about what I do *not* want … putting the focus in the wrong place.

I find myself mulling over an old relationship, reliving some of the yukky, not-so-fun things that occurred. I’m putting on a little mock theater experience in my mind, acting all the roles, saying all the lines.

Flag on the play! Stop for a minute. Take a look. What was I just doing? What was I just thinking? What is at the root of this pesky little emotion? And the big question …

What do I *really* want?

So now I can pivot and turn towards the thing that I desire. Looking at the play, I notice that I was remembering how someone had gotten angry over a tiny blip. Wow, how great is that … in this “bad” emotion is a signal showing me what I *do* want: I would love to be in a relationship with someone who is easygoing, loving and supportive.

Have I ever experienced something like that? Absolutely! Let’s relive *that* experience. There is the proof that it is possible.

Have *I* myself ever been easygoing? Absolutely! I can be really great at that. Wonderful! More proof!

What can I do in my own life right now to *be* the thing that I desire? I want an easygoing person in my life … how can I fully *live* that easygoing spirit myself? Let me be on the lookout today for opportunities to embrace and fully exude “easygoing.”

Let’s start building the scenery for a play like *that*!

It’s not bad that I feel a painful emotion. It’s like experiencing pain when you touch the fire and your hand jerks back. It’s helping you. You want to feel that. It’s a signal … “Look out! Pivot and go the other way!”

And if I take it as that, as information, as my emotional guidance system doing it’s job perfectly and beautifully and completely serving me, then I can move through this with ease and grace, appreciating the gift.

You cannot feel joy while you are focusing upon something not wanted, or the lack of something wanted … By reaching for the best-feeling thought you can find, you reconnect with that perspective, and you shiver with exhilaration as you reconnect with your purpose, with your zest for life— and with You!

— Law of Attraction, Esther and Jerry Hicks

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Rampage of Appreciation

“Every time you appreciate something, every time you praise something, every time you feel good about something, you are telling the Universe: ‘More of this, please.’ You need never make another verbal statement of this intent, and if you are mostly in a state of appreciation, all good things will flow to you.A desire to appreciate is a very good first step, and then as you find more things that you would like to say ‘thank you’ about, it quickly gains momentum. And as you want to feel appreciation, you attract something to appreciate. And as you appreciate it, then you attract something else to appreciate, until, in time, you are experiencing a “Rampage of Appreciation.”

Ask and It Is Given, The Processes – Esther and Jerry Hicks

Creating a Rampage of Appreciation is a nice, quick, down-n-dirty way to shift your emotions and your state of mind to a good, good place. The other day, I found myself experiencing some pretty nasty little emotions around my ex-boyfriend no longer being here. I decided to try this on for size … to flex my appreciation muscle.

Someone said, “He showed you his inner schmuck and now by no longer being around, he is protecting you from all of his schmuckiness.”

Aah yes, sounds EXACTLY right to me! (wink-wink!) What? But that thought feels so goooood!

… which is a wonderful transition from my upset state. Laughter often does this.

Ok, so now I’m ready … on to the things I truly appreciate about the time we spent together. Let the Rampage begin!

• Safe and secure: He was the FIRST guy I truly, truly, from the depth of my being, felt safe and secure with. I’ve actually never felt that with ANYTHING or ANYONE in my life. So now that I know what that feels like, I’m focused on giving it to MYSELF.
• Abundance: He would always pay for everything, think of me when he was out shopping and fully support me. It felt great! I’ve come to realize that I’d like to take care of MYSELF financially and to bring myself up to the level where I feel secure and abundant. Not because someone else is giving that to me but because *I* am doing it.
• Aligning: Witnessing his anger, it came into super-clear focus that I’m almost always misaligned with the people I date … sweet as they are, they almost never share my beliefs / my view of the world. I’ve come to see that I want to be with someone who is more in alignment with my values and my way of “being” in the world … I desire a relationship with someone who mainly operates from his higher self.
• Cooking!: He always cooked for me, which was WONDERFUL and as my food-needs changed, he began cooking healthy foods for me, yaay! Just this week I cooked healthy food for MYSELF, remembering him and thanking him for this gift. In the past, I always chose the quickest option but soon I began appreciating fresh new foods and loved the trying of unique things and the cooked foods … Now I’m embracing the idea of cooking new things for MYSELF!
• Responsible and capable: He was wonderfully responsible and had a schedule of things he’d take care of each day like clockwork. I was able to see how GOOD it felt to have these everyday things taken care of consistently.
• Focus: He didn’t have a gazillion things in his life, he had certain responsibilities which he faithfully took care of and then he was freed up to completely and clearly and with ease focus on the select other things he chose to add. This felt like a breath of fresh air. I have not yet mastered this but I saw how good it felt and I look forward to the day when this will come into play for me in my own world.
• The power of NOW: He took care of things right away. You would mention something to him and >boom!< he had addressed it, WOW! That felt amazing. He could do that because of the clearing-of-the-schedule and the focusing-on-the-most-important things. Putting things on a to-do list / the back burner / “things hanging over your head” was NOT his style and I saw clearly and beautifully how wonderful it felt to take care of something in the moment.
• Loving Friends: I rediscovered my friends post-relationship and came to realize how powerful of an effect they have on my life and how much I need that connection in order to stay healthy. They are a wonderful support system for me.
• Col’s Spirit: Post-relationship, I am fully aware of WHO I AM in this world and what is special about me. There are certain things he reacted to which are so wonderfully a part of me like how I treat others … these things I am not willing to lose! I want to celebrate who I am!
• Healthy in Relationship: With him I was able to practice in a big way staying in peace and love while someone I adore is majorly not being how I would prefer for them to be. I was able to see that I am capable of keeping my standards and not giving back the negativity that it seemed I was receiving. I saw so clearly that I am sooooo totally and overwhelmingly capable of having a great relationship with a healthy-ish person. (What about the “ish”? Most people are capable of being a tad unhealthy from time to time … so I’m referring to someone who is for the most part healthy in spirit!)

Thank you, precious, for these gifts.

The main thing when doing a Rampage of Appreciation is how you FEEL about what you are saying. Are you truly and fully in a state of gratitude? You will KNOW it if you are because it FEELS soooo good.

And I can truly say, “I am.”

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How to Meditate Badly

Here’s a meditation using the word “One” as your mantra. Listen in and tell me if it sounds familiar:

“One … oh, I feel my body relaxing already … it’s almost like I can feel a warm energy moving down over my shoulders … isn’t that amazing … I wonder why I like this so much and I actually hardly ever sit down to do it … it’s because life is so busy … I can’t believe how many phone calls there were on my voice mail … sometimes I wonder … why even have voice mail … why even have an answering machine … drives me crazy it would be better off not to have anything and either I’m home or I’m not home … and this e-mail, people think you’re gonna return their e-mail in an hour as if there’s nothing else to do every morning at the computer, two hours at the computer with the damn e-mail all of this to save time time time I’m supposed to be meditating … One.”

– example of an average meditation,
as described by Joan Borysenko in 
The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation

If you’re like me, this is EXACTLY what your meditation looks like. It may even be EXACTLY why you do NOT meditate!

But here’s the thing:

We’re all in the same boat and it’s OK. The main thing is your intention. The fact that you have intended this is where the magic lies.

You can reap the benefits of meditation simply by setting aside ten minutes a few days a week and TRYING. And being easy on yourself. If your mind wanders off, don’t judge, simply bring yourself back to your mantra.

Know that thoughts will appear. It’s natural. It doesn’t mean you stink at this and should give up.

Lighten up! Meditate wonderfully badly. If you do this, I promise, some day you will meditate wonderfully well.

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In The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation CD program, world-renowned author and lecturer Joan Borysenko leads you through the specifics of three distinct forms of meditation (concentration, mindfulness, and a centering prayer) and discusses the common pitfalls that sabotage these practices.

With depth and humor, Joan shows you which form of meditation is best for you, and points out that by making it a daily part of your life, better health and peace of mind are just a few breaths away.

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Flexing the prosperity muscle

In honor of flexing my prosperity muscle, I’m entering Hoto’s Win $25 Contest. You can too! If you win, come back ‘n celebrate with a “yaay me!” comment.