Monday, September 26, 2011

Stopping Thoughts Instantly

Photo credit: Shirley Booth
Stopping thoughts is what advanced yogis spend 20 or more years trying to attain. To this end, they meditate—daily—for hours at a time. Stopping thoughts is why Buddhist Monks chant for hours in their temples. (Chanting interrupts thought patterns).
Why are stopping thoughts—having a quiet mind—so important?





Because, say both ancient and modern spiritual gurus, you can only access your spirit through a quiet mind. Your spirit is found in silence. It cannot be accessed through your monkey—or incessantly chattering—mind.
But what if you don’t have hours a day for the next 20 or so years to devote to spiritual exercises, such as meditation, that are known to quiet your mind? No problem. I just learned a method of stopping thoughts instantly that is incredibly effective.

AN EASY WAY OF STOPPING THOUGHTS
Stopping thoughts is so easy that a beginner at meditation can do it. Follow these steps of stopping thoughts, and you will experience pure consciousness, perhaps for the first time.

Step 1: Sit down in a comfortable chair, eyes closed.
Step 2: Breathe slowly and deeply, in and out.

Step 3: Let your thoughts do what they will for 10 or 15 seconds. Don’t try to influence them or control them in any way.

Step 4: Now, stay very alert while you ask yourself this question: “Where is my next thought?”
Step 5: Did you notice the break in your thoughts as you waited for your next thought? That, my friend, was pure awareneness.

Step 6: Now ask the question again…and again…and again…(re-stating the question every 15 seconds) each time noticing the gap between your thoughts. By the way, you don’t have to always ask the same question. You could just tell yourself to catch your next thought as it’s developing. Conversely, you could ask yourself, “What will my next thought look like?” The question does not matter. All that matters is your attention to the GAP between your thoughts. Within just a few minutes, you should notice your mind becoming calmer and your body becoming relaxed without you doing anything more than being aware of this space between your thoughts.
You may not realize it instantly, but the value of stopping thoughts recharges your connection to Spirit. At this level of spirit, you can be, do, or have anything that you desire. Try it and see for yourself.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

“A Gifted Man” Pilot Episode – My Thoughts


The pilot episode of “A Gifted Man” aired Friday night, and I was watching. What? Did you expect me not to watch the first and—for all I know—the only new spiritual or supernatural-based series of 2011 Fall season?
“A Gifted Man” is about a top neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael Holt, who discovers that he has another, rather disconcerting gift—that of seeing and communicating with his dead ex-wife.

Dr. Holt, played by Patrick Wilson, would be the last person you would expect to develop such a gift. The first few minutes of the show really highlights how arrogant, cold, and downright mean Dr. Holt really is. For instance, the first scene shows Dr. Holt coldly barking orders to a slow moving intern in the operating room. (Upon completion of the surgery, Dr. Holt orders the offending intern to be fired). The next couple of scenes show him failing to wish his secretary a Happy Birthday and being mean to his sister.
But then he has a chance encounter with his ex-wife, Anna, with whom he has been divorced for the past ten-years. He seems very happy to see her, they enjoy dinner together, and then she leaves. Shortly thereafter, he finds out that she was killed in a traffic accident two weeks previously.

Before Dr. Holt can fully process this, Anna (played by Jennifer Ehle) asks him to go to her free medical clinic, input her password, and unlock her computer files for her coworkers. It’s really quite humorous to see this staunch neurologist enter a room full of “lower class” people. Nevertheless, his trip to unlock her computer files leads him to also help an Haitian earthquake survivor, a child.
Friday night’s pilot episode of “A Gifted Man” briefly shows Dr. Holt wrestling with the unbelievable fact that he is speaking to his dead ex-wife (he even has an MRI taken of his own brain to see if he might have a brain tumor) but he soon realizes that he likes having her around. I think that giving himself an MRI was a brilliant move, because the only thing that bothered me about this pilot episode is that there is no clue as to why he suddenly starts seeing Anna. Perhaps they will work the explanation into some future episodes?

And, yes, I do look forward to seeing future episodes. Judging by next week’s preview, Anna will be doing a lot of interfering in Dr. Holt’s life. But I “sense” that her interference will make him a better man.  Did you watch “A Gifted Man” and what did you think of it?

Friday, September 23, 2011

A Time of Awakening

Photo Credit: Adam Jackson


GUEST BLOGGER

DAVID BENNETT

In our existence we have experienced many transformations. Before we had a body, before we had asoul, before this expanding universe, from the mystery we emerged. First with a soul, then in this physical form, now connecting with our oneness and eventually we will return to pure consciousness.

Imagine a time of awakening, where truth, respect, integrity and love are the rule. Naturally we do what is right and balanced without the need to think about it. We simply flow with the universal consciousness.

We are at the cusp of that time. Increasingly, people are connecting to their True Being and beginning the transformation of consciousness process.

I dreamt I was giving a sermon in this vast chapel. I had no shoes and was sliding up and down the sanctuary in my socks as I gave a passionate service. I was guiding the congregation to touch the god within them. As I was instructing them I directed their gaze toward the ceiling.

The ceiling had a remarkable painting with the entire universe, and overlaid transparently over the universe was Michelangelo’s scenes of Genesis from the Sistine Chapel. The image of “Creation of Adam” where God is reaching out to touch Adam was aglow with the universe shining through. While the congregation and I were viewing this we had our spiritual connection to our higher consciousness. We then experienced the interconnection to all beings.

That dream illustrates the sense that God dwells in all, and through our spiritual connection we are opening to a sacred dimension of reality.  The sad thing is we have known this is coming for centuries. Bodhi a Sanskrit word frequently translates to "awakening" or "to know."  As more are connecting to our individual fragments of sacred oneness we are beginning to recall or to know.

One knowing Spirit is constantly reminding me of is; we need to heal the deep energetic wounds that create discord and hate in the world. Only through awakened unity my we begin to create a lasting harmony that will balm the scars and allow healing.

There is much to do and we are all needed to move forward. We need to develop ourselves so we may live balanced lives with Spirit and Self.  In that awakened state we can maintain steady resonances of love and compassion that tap into natural frequencies of the earth.

Imagine spending a few minutes a day focusing on your service to the world. Then going about your day with a calm center of being. Flowing with the universal consciousness. Fortunately we are moving toward that day.

David Bennett
VoyageofPurpose.com
DharmaTalks.com

Buy David Bennett's new book today!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Practicing Non-Resistance


Practicing non-resistance is something that is difficult for most of us. When something happens that we do not like, our first impulse is to fight against it. We resist it with all our might.

But this resistance makes us suffer. Moreover, it entrenches the undesirable condition.
If you would just accept the undesirable condition—practicing non-resistance—you will see that the undesirable condition will soon transform itself into something more acceptable (without any help from you). It’s really quite amazing.

This is why Jesus said:
But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any many will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. – Matthew 5:39-42

Try practicing non-resistance and see how easier life becomes for you!


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Acceptance Opens the Gateway to Miracles

It’s hard to accept something that doesn’t go according to our plans or something that is unpleasant in our lives. We tend to think that if we accept something, this means that we approve of it. Worse, it means that it will never change.

But acceptance does not mean that you are just a passive doormat to life. It simply means that you accept what has just happened because it has happened—it is reality—then you change what is within your power to change it. It is insanity to fight, deny, and struggle against reality.

I listened to a recent lecture by Eckhart Tolle on acceptance. Tolle says to accept everything that happens to you as if you had chosen it. He said, “First accept. Then change it.”

Bringing Yourself into Alignment with Unpleasant Events

Abraham, the nonphysical entity who speaks through Esther Hicks, says that we must bring ourselves into alignment with seeming misfortunes. Otherwise, we will be out of alignment with life and, by extension, with the object(s) of our desires.

But how do you bring yourself to accept the unacceptable?
One way to do this is to practice non-reaction. Just don’t react to a curve in your plans.

And for God’s sake don’t let your mind start chattering away. If you’re not careful, your mind will take control and really ruin any chance you ever had at serenity (and at manifesting your desires).
So before that happens, acknowledge that this is all part of God’s master plan. Then recite this Bible verse:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God—Romans 8:28

I believe that this Bible verse is speaking of being in alignment with all events of life. It means that by immediately accepting all that happens to you, everything—even what seems to be horrible incidents—will work out for good.
And what’s the alternative?

The alternative is being out of alignment with life, which will cause all things not to work out very well.  
It’s your choice.




Saturday, September 17, 2011

Becoming Conscious


I just watched this YouTube interview by Dr. Bruce Lipton where he states that 95 percent of our behavior is subconscious!
That makes sense, when you think about it. Once we learn certain behaviors, our subconscious minds take over so that we don’t have to think about it anymore. These behaviors and thought patterns become habitual, which is exactly the problem—most of us most of us just let our subconscious minds control our lives. We don’t realize that we have a choice!

Bruce Lipton, incidentally, is a Biologist. This video is almost 51 minutes long, but what Dr. Lipton has to say is fascinating.

You can make other choices. You can behave differently. You can wake up and change your beliefs thereby changing your destiny.
All you need to do is start being conscious of your every thought, your every impulse, and your every behavior. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll find when you start paying attention.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Not Manifesting your Desires? Be Specific!


Are you having trouble manifesting your desires? It could be because you’re not being specific enough in your goals.

Many of us want things to change for the better. But we just haven’t defined what that “better” looks like.

• Do you say “I want more money?”
• Do you say “I want another car?”
• Do you say “I want a better job?”

Well, these requests are way too vague.

Manifesting your desires involves being specific in those desires.

o Exactly how much money do you need?
o Exactly what year, make, model, and color of car do you want?
o Exactly what type of a job do you desire? What is your job title. Your salary?

Be specific in your desires and manifesting those desires will go a lot smoothly for you. I promise!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Manifesting your Desires

Manifesting our desires is something we’re hearing a lot about these days. It typically goes along with the Law of Attraction and bending the Universe to do your will. Except that this is the wrong way to look at manifesting your desires.
You see, manifesting your desires—in the way this term is typically used—means that you are separate from that which you desire. It means that you are creating something out of nothing. It means that you are pulling something toward you.

In spiritual reality, however, you are a part of everything in the Universe and everything is a part of you. Also, everything that can be created on this earth and in the universe has already been created.
So what you are really doing when you pray and believe that you receive is rearranging the atoms (in the case of a physical manifestation) into the form(s) that you desire. And even then, they are still a part of you.

So the next time you try to manifest your desires, don’t think of it as trying to get something that is far away from you. Think of it as something that you need to let flow out of you. You’ll see that it is far easier to manifest your desires from inside of yourself rather than to try to pull them to you from some distant, unknown place.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Power of Gratitude


The power of gratitude...

Most people do not know just how important it is. I used to look at every little gain as being too little to satisfy me.
Do you know what the result was? I always had very little.

Now I’m turning it around. I am consciously being thankful for everything, no matter how little. And I have already noticed an improvement.

A few days ago, I came across a YouTube video that describes an interesting way to write out a daily gratitude list. It involves not only writing out a list of things that you are grateful for right now, but also writing out a list of things you are grateful for that you do not yet have. Apparently, this brings about miraculous results in manifestation.

Having the attitude of gratitude really works! I’m making this gratitude list-making a daily morning ritual. Watch this video, try it yourself, and let me know if it works for you!


Sunday, September 11, 2011

Trusting in the Safety of the Universe


When things go wrong in your life, what is the first thing you do?
If you’re like most people, you try to fix it. Your mind runs a mile a minute (depending upon how desperate you are) trying to figure out how you can get yourself out of this mess. But the more you think, the more worried you get. The more worried you get, the worse things get.

So what is the alternative?

You should,
Let go and let God.

I know that’s not easy to do. It might help if you look at your seeming misfortune as God’s plan, which is opening the way for something better to come into your life. The truth is that we don’t know enough to be discouraged about anything. The Universe knows what it’s doing. Our job is to be open and accepting—and even grateful—for whatever comes into our lives.
At a Crossroads

I’m not just babbling things I know nothing about. I’m at a crossroads right now and I have absolutely no idea what the future holds. Nor am I necessarily setting plans. Instead, I am consciously letting God lead me.
Here’s what happened…

Last week, I took 6 weeks medical leave from work because of my migraine disorder. If I get short term disability, it will only be for 2 weeks at 100 percent of my pay plus 1 week of vacation. Then it will drop to 60 percent of my pay. If my migraine disorder doesn’t get better soon, this will be a big financial crunch.

Then, shortly after taking leave, the finance company repossessed my car. I had no idea my car, which I’ve had for over 6 years, was so close to being repossessed. So now I have no car and no money ($1400 to get my car back) or to buy an old used one.

What was my reaction to the repossession? Surprisingly, not what you’d think. I was shocked at first (of course) and then a curious sense of freedom came over me. Space opened up inside of me for something new, both in vehicles and possibly even in careers. I see this as a sign from God, as part of God’s greater plan for my life.
A week after the repossession, I am still relatively calm about the whole thing. But when fears start coming in or my mind starts chattering “what ifs” about every fearful scenario, I close my eyes and silently say my favorite bible verse:

Be still and know that I am God. – Psalm 46:10

Saturday, September 10, 2011

And Behold! Their Eyes Were Opened and They Became as God...

By Guest Blogger

Richard Kent Matthews

I was walking around heaven one day when I heard the Voice call to me. "Lou," it said. "I have a job for you." Again? I thought. I was beginning to get tired of constantly being bothered with Its staggeringly silly requests. I'm getting old. I want to retire. But, no! On it goes. What now? I headed toward the Office.

The Gateskeeper told me to wait a second. The, he said, "It will see you now." In I went. Before I could say a word, It bellowed, "Boy, do I have a good one for you this time. You get to be the star for a while. Haven't you wanted that? Haven't you wanted to 'go out on your own' and 'be your own boss?' Here's your chance."

It was on to me. Yikes.

"What did you have in mind, High One?"

"I just created a new game and you get to be the Bad Guy."

"Bad Guy? Is it safe?"

"Well, let's put it this way. Once you make an initial appearance, you get to retire. The players will make up all kinds of stuff about you, but you don't have to be there. You'll still get the credit without any of the work. They'll do it for you. Sound good?"

"So, what's the game?" I asked.

"Lou, you're smart, attractive, clever. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to go down to the new planet Earth and simply show yourself to the new humans I have created. They're still half asleep. You will wake them up, get their brains working, activate their consciousness. That's all you'll have to do. Believe me, they can take over after that."

"Will they know who I am?"

"Sort of. They'll get the Lou part right."

The actual name of the character in this little story is Lucid. Unfortunately, the world ended up calling him Lucifer.

When Lucifer entered the Garden of Eden as the Serpent, ancient symbol of wisdom, he was doing what the Voice had asked him to do: awaken the sleeping consciousness of the humans, stir up the Kundalini energy, as it were. He was indeed a bringer of light. But the light was quick to dim.

The world knew him not. He was declared the Arch Enemy, the Diabolical, the Uncontrollable. The Scapegoat, the Horned one, the Stealer of Souls.

In fact, Lucifer as Devil, Evil One, Beelzebub, never existed. He is a product of the frightened mind. He is as unreal as this story. Lucid, however, is still among us. Subtle, hidden, but here. He has only to be sincerely called. He is the true light of the Creator.

Awakening can be scary.

---

Bio: Richard Kent Matthews is a New Thought Minister of practical spirituality, writer and musician from Portland, Oregon. You can connect and share with Richard at his blog site: www.spiritfeast.blogspot.com.

You are free to use and share this article on your website, blog, or social media pages as long as author attribution and blog site is included.

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And Behold! They Shall Become As God by Richard Kent Matthews is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

9/11: A Short-Lived Spiritual Awakening?

Where were you on 9/11? How did you react when you saw the twin towers on fire, blackened and smoking? Did you gather your family and friends around you? Did you get on your knees and pray?
I, like people around the world, remember clearly where I was on 9/11. I think I was too shaken up to pray. But I remember how I felt—shocked, scared, and sickened at the suffering of all the victims of 9/11—and I was confused. How could this have happened?

But I also remember the sense of brotherhood (and sisterhood) that I felt from around the world (via memorial satellite broadcasts). For the first time in my life, the whole world was grieving. We were all part of the same family—the human family. We put our differences aside to grieve a tragedy that would define the decade.
And then it was back to business (and bickering, and prejudice, and differences) as usual. Was 9/11, then, just a short-lived spiritual awakening?

I hope not. We are still all part of the human family. I hope that all of the remembrances and memorial celebrations of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 will remind everyone of what we all felt that tragic day. I hope that we can again drop our differences and hatreds, not just for one day or one week, but for all time.
If the world can become spiritually awakened because of the events of 9/11, then the victims of 9/11 did not die in vain.






What we all Desire the Most?

Something GOOD is going to happen to you today!  Read this guest post by positivity website good2u2day and start reaping the benefits of positive thinking!
If one were to question what is the most prominent driving force within us that determines our almost every action, what do you think it is? May I humbly submit to you that what I believe and research has shown that that force we speak of is….. the overwhelming desire to be loved and accepted. We could spend a half of a century discussing the why’s but really what we want to perfect is the how’s, correct? So how do we do that? Well one way, that is so often overlooked is the overwhelming intuitive attraction that is felt among souls ( our real selves). We spend millions and trillions working on our outward appearance but if we really listen, it is the inner self that really determines long term attraction. So how do we dress up our inner self? Well I have great news, it can be done on an extremely limited budget. Make yourself attractive by creating an overwhelming desire for people to want to be around you!
So how do we do that? Be a positive uplifting force to all those you come in contact with! You may say, “I can’t do that!” but can’t you really do it? Isn’t it really a choice to be optimistic? Dale Carnegie said, “Don’t complain, condemn or criticize!” But you say its so hard. Well would you be surprised if I said, “I understand”?
Unfortunately, we are surrounded by negativity from so many sources everyday. But the good news is…… all we have to do is shut it off! Don’t listen to it. Don’t feed your brain with junk. I mean really would you drink acid for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Then why feed your brain with proverbial acid? Stop… stop it now!
So you say but how do I make my inner self more attractive? Well this is probably a first, but I am going to tell you that you need some BO! BO? “Are you crazy” you say! Yes, I said BO or rather …… Be Optimistic! “Ok”, you say! Here’s how you get started, and it can be done in 2 easy steps:
1. Feed your brain. Think about this if you ate unhealthy and fattening foods all the time what happens to your body? Isn’t the brain part of our body? So if we feed it junk, what is going to happen to it’s health? Exactly! It will be out of shape! So turn off and tune out the negativity as much as possible and fill your mind with positive thoughts from positive people as much as possible. At least 3 times a day, right? That’s probably how many times a day your eat, right? Click on the links on our home page or go to our Mind Nutrition Store to get some necessary nutrition. Remember…… Feed your brain at least as often as your stomach!
2. Share the Positivity! See this is when you start to become really attractive to others. Deep down inside everyone yearns for good things. We just lose focus of how to get them! So how do we start this new attractiveness? May we humbly suggest considering and trying the below exercise?
Remember you are your own best investment! If you won’t invest in yourself, no one else will for sure. Email us with your stories and best of all remember that you have 86,400 chances a day for something good to happen to you and ………. it will!!!!!
EXERCISE
Imagine the following as being your reality right now….
It’s 11:07 at night you had a tough day and you are wondering how in the world you even made it through it. Something broke, you got yelled at, the kids are fighting, you have no money or any number of things that just tie your gut in a knot. But then all of a sudden you remembered that something special is supposed to happen tomorrow. You are so excited, especially in light of today’s events. “Wow, you think! I can’t wait!” Now the question is how soon and how easily will you be able to go to sleep thinking about this really good, and special thing that is supposed to happen tomorrow? tick tock, tick tock…..
Now back to your current reality……
Well the truth is something good and exciting happens to us everyday!… Wait a minute, don’t click that X in the top right corner yet! Isn’t the truth that good things do happen to us everyday? But here is the question, why don’t we realize it? …….. One simple, common, ordinary, task that we do everyday…… FOCUS!
Now be honest with yourself, (I’m not in your head, so it doesn’t matter if you lie to me) but really be honest with yourself, didn’t you just highlight the bad things in your mind that happened today and set the good things to the back of the event list of your day?
So now that you have been honest with yourself, may I ask you to do a favor for yourself? Because you are your own best investment, right? But before I share with you what you should commit to, remember who you are doing it for. Who is it? It’s YOU, right? Great!
Here is the exercise:
Start with tomorrow and everyone that you meet before you bid them farewell, share with them that “Hey by the way, Something Good is Going to Happen to You Today!” Don’t want to share it with everyone? Just share it with one complete stranger and see and hear what happens. Not only will you brighten their day it will start birthing something within you. Go ahead, give it a try!
Now tomorrow night think about the good things that happened to you on this day. Then commit to doing it the next day as well. Just try it for a week. What have you got to lose? Nothing, but I can assure you will gain much. Just try it… but most importantly pass this message and website along to others. Not just so we can be a huge internet sensation, but because it will only help YOU and those YOU come in contact with! Just try it!!! You’ve tried more daring things, right? Just try it!!! I dare you!

How to Manifest Money

Steve Pavlina is a Personal Development Coach and creator of "The Lefkoe Method--Eliminating a limiting belief in about 20 minutes.

By Steve Pavlina
Republished by Steve's generous open permission to all that can benefit from his teachings.


I’ve written a lot about the Law of Attraction already, but in this article I’m going to focus specifically on the how-to aspects of manifesting money.

Playfulness


The most important aspect of manifesting money is to approach it from the right heartset. Think of your heartset as the overall vibe of your relationship to the activity of attracting money. How would you describe that relationship? Is it greedy, needy, excited, hopeful, etc?

If you approach this process from a place of neediness, clinginess, scarcity, or too much seriousness, you’ll most likely fail. That’s the right vibe for attracting nothing — or for making things worse by attracting unwanted expenses — but it’s not the right vibe for attracting money.

So if you come at this from a place of saying, “I really need $1000 to pay my rent next month, so I’m going to focus hard on manifesting it via the Law of Attraction,” well… good luck with that. But I’d bet against you.

A slightly better vibe is that of hope, but this is still a pretty weak vibe. Hope won’t get you very far.
A much better vibe is to come from a place of curiosity and experimentation. Go into a state of childlike wonder. With this vibe you may begin to generate some interesting results.

An even stronger vibe is to generate feelings of playfulness and excitement. This is a great vibe for manifesting money. In the next section, I’ll share a story to illustrate how I do this with my daughter.

Knowing


When you want to manifest money, it’s important to know that it’s already there. If it’s hidden at all, it’s hiding in plain sight, waiting for you to notice it and pick it up. This applies whether we’re talking about cash found on the ground or opportunities that will generate cash.

Know that the cash and the opportunities are right in front of your face. You just have to adjust your “eyes” to see them. You do this by shifting your vibe — your frequencies of thought and emotion — to one that’s capable of detecting the money.

It’s fun to think of this vibe-shifting process as shifting dimensions, as if you’re tuning in to a different perceptual frequency spectrum. That other reality was there all along. You just couldn’t see it before because you were tuned in to incompatible perceptual frequencies, frequencies that made the money invisible and undetectable by your senses. Maybe you were stuck on the red part of the spectrum, while the money was hanging out in the blue part.

Obviously your senses pick up a lot as you go about your day, but you only notice a puny fraction of all that input. In order to manifest money, you need to tune your senses to bring to your attention useful input that you’ve been subconsciously dismissing as irrelevant background noise. This tuning process takes some time, but you can definitely do it.

Lately I’ve been teaching my daughter Emily (age 10) how to manifest coins. I do this by turning it into a game. When we’re out walking together, I challenge her to see if she can find more coins than I can.

The first time I did this, she was really bad at it. I found several coins during our walk together, often coins that she walked right past without even noticing. Instead of finding coins, she didn’t notice anything. The coins didn’t register within her perceptual reality.

Later on she began noticing things that were close to coins, but not coins. She found bottle caps, paper clips, scraps of paper, and coin-like smudges on the floor — everything but coins. I kept pointing out to her that there are coins everywhere, but you have to tune in to the “coin abundance frequency” to see them. Each time I found a coin and showed it to her, I could tell it was gradually helping her tune in to the right perceptual frequency.

One reason she was bad at this game was that she was tuning out the possible existence of coins everywhere she walked. She just didn’t think there could be that many coins hiding in plain sight. By demonstrating to her that the coins were indeed there and that she was simply failing to notice them, I helped shift her beliefs. She stopped thinking of the game as something outside her control (relying on luck or chance), and she began thinking of what she could control (her open-mindedness and attentiveness).

At first when she would walk past a coin, and I’d pick it up and say, “Look at this, Emily. There was a nickel there, and you walked right past it! Your eyes definitely saw it because you were looking in that direction, but the coin didn’t register in your mind. You still need to adjust yourself to the right vibe. Remember — the coins are everywhere! You just have to command your eyes to notice them.”
Initially this surprised her. She could dismiss it as luck… or as some kind of trick… or as a momentary lapse of her part. Then when it kept happening, it began to frustrate her. I helped her shift that frustration to amusement by pointing out that she was really good at finding bottle caps and smudges, and we had some laughs about that. She just needed to adjust her mind a little bit more to notice the coins.

Finally she began to accept that yes, there really are coins everywhere, and she only has to notice them. It seemed like she was beginning to tell her eyes and her mind to get with the program and start noticing the coins.

Emily has a competitive side, so I played to that by challenging her to find more coins than me, which boosted her motivation and desire to get good at it. She knows that technically it’s a fair game, and she even gave herself an advantage by walking in front of me, so she could be the first to spot new coins. And since she’s only 4’9″ inches tall, she’s a lot closer to the ground than I am.

Gradually she got better at the game. We went out yesterday and played again. In an hour of walking around some hotels on the Vegas Strip, she found 46 cents: 1 quarter, 3 nickels, and 6 pennies. In that same time, I found only 6 cents. She won the game for the first time and was pretty excited about it. And of course I gave her lots of accolades for it, so as to encourage her to keep improving.

I dare say she’s probably better at finding coins than I am now. She now knows there are coins everywhere, but she also really gets into the playful and competitive spirit of the game, which is much more exciting for her than it is for me. I think partly she likes knowing that it’s a fair game that either of us can win, and there’s no reason she can’t be at least as skillful as I am.

When it comes to creating a vibe of playfulness and excitement, children can easily be more masterful than adults. This is the same vibe we need to recreate as adults in order to manifest whatever we desire.

It may sound silly to do this as an adult, but it’s a game worth playing. When you’re out with friends sometime, have a contest to see who can manifest the most money. You may not get too excited about finding coins, but you may generate some excitement about trying to best your friends in a silly contest. That silliness will actually help you get the right vibe, thereby improving your ability to manifest money.

Detachment


People often get confused about the relationship between desire and detachment. Aren’t they diametrically opposed? How can you have both at the same time? Isn’t desire a form of attachment?
No, these aren’t in conflict. They coexist perfectly.

Let me ‘splain.

Desire is about what you wish to create. You could describe this vibe as passion, excitement, or even lust. It’s a delicious pool of emotions you summon by focusing on a new target. The stronger your desire, the better, so amp it up!

Detachment, on the other hand, is about how those desires ultimately manifest for you. When you become too attached to when and how your desires show up, you screw up the manifesting process. Instead of holding the vibe of playfulness and abundance, you start sending out signals like concern, worry, and stress. Don’t do that!

Would you become stressed and worried if you couldn’t find enough coins on the ground? Would that vibe improve your performance? No, that would only lower your performance.

When you notice that you’re getting frustrated, pause, breathe, and go back to the desire side. Hold that vision of the creation you wish to experience, and wallow in the positive sensations of being there in your heart, mind, and spirit. Know that physical reality will soon catch up, as long as you keep holding the right vibe.

When you feel moved to take action from a place of passion and excitement, not stress, then go ahead and let those actions flow through you. It will seem to be more work to stop yourself — you’ll feel like you’re chickening out and holding back if you stay still. Follow your impulses. But don’t worry about the immediate results of those actions. There may be some twists and turns along the way.

Power


When manifesting money, it’s especially important that you don’t give your power away to money. This negates your creative ability, and the money probably won’t arrive if you do that. This is a VERY common mistake.

You can’t effectively wield the power of manifestation by believing that you can manifest something you desire (i.e. money) while simultaneously believing that something you desire has power over you (i.e. money).

If you want to manifest money, you CANNOT believe that money is a power source. Money cannot give you wealth or abundance or happiness. It really can’t give you anything. Money just sits there — all the power comes from you. If you believe that having more money will give you any additional power at all, then you’re actually holding the vibe that says, “I’m too weak to attract money.” You’ll have to get a job instead. ;)

Think of it like this. If you want to manifest money, but you believe that money is its own power source, then deep down you’re giving money the power to say no to you. If money has power, then it can refuse to show up.

Instead of this crazy wrong approach, in your mindset and heartset, you must KNOW that you’re completely 100% dominant over money and that money is completely 100% submissive to you. You’re in total command of it. If you order it to show up, it must obey you. It has no power of its own. It cannot refuse you.

When you manifest money, you are COMMANDING it to come into your reality. You’re the CREATOR. Money has no choice but to obey you, but only if you wield your true power. If you give your power away to money, then you empower money to deny your requests. Money will say, “Well, if you’re letting me decide, then no, I’m staying over here.”

If you approach money like a power source of its own, then by trying to manifest it, you’re really trying to overpower it, and in such a contest you’ll usually lose. That contest, however, is completely internal — and pretty much insane. It’s like trying to arm wrestle yourself. How can you win? It’s a false reality you’re projecting because you aren’t ready to fully wield your own power yet.
Remember that money is nothing but a number. Or it’s pieces of metal and paper. How could it possibly be more powerful than a conscious human being such as yourself?

If you think that once you have money, you will become stronger, you’re crazy. Absolutely deluded! More likely — if you actually did manifest money from that kind of vibe — you’d grow even weaker. This would be a bad outcome for you, even though it seems like what you want. You’d be a weak-minded, weak-hearted person with more money, and you’d still see the money as more powerful than you, even while it’s in your possession. You’d then become attached to it and afraid of losing it because you’d still mistakenly see it as a power source. It would become a source of security for you, a constantly vulnerable one. The more money you had, the more paranoid you’d become about losing it. This would really mess you up big time. So be very, very glad that you naturally attract less money when you think of money as a power source. If you invite money into your life from that crazy frame of giving away your power, then money will become your Master, and you will be forever its slave. Don’t even go there!

If money has no power, then why manifest it at all? In truth, you don’t need to. But if you wish to manifest money, then do it as a game. Money is a just toy you can play with. Get excited about the experience of manifesting money, but don’t put any attention into what you’d do with the money once you have it. It’s merely a number.

If you desire something you think money will give you, then focus on that desire directly, not on the money you think you need to get it. Money may or may not be part of the manifestation process.
Only focus on manifesting money directly if you’re capable of seeing the money as a plaything, like a video game score. It’s only something to manifest for fun, not something to get all worked up and stressed about.

Once again, do NOT give your power away to money. You must know that money is completely powerless. All the power is within you, never out there.

Upgrading


When manifesting money, start small and work up to larger amounts. See it as a score you’re aiming to increase, but don’t put larger amounts on a pedestal by assuming they’re more difficult to manifest.

I started with manifesting pennies in the Summer of 2006. Then I graduated to nickels, dimes, and quarters. I focused on quarters for several weeks. Then I progressed to dollars to $100 to $1000 to $10K to $50K. Overall it took less than a year to go from manifesting pennies to manifesting $50K. After that point I become more interested in non-monetary manifesting and had some especially fun times with manifesting in my social life — friends, mentors, and other yumminess. In fact, I honestly feel that manifesting money is a bit boring compared to all the other cool stuff you can manifest. It’s like playing a video game and obsessing over the score. That can be fun for a while, but eventually you want to focus on more interesting aspects of the game world.

If you can get good at manifesting coins, you can manifest larger sums too. The process is the same. Only some limiting beliefs of yours may stand in the way. But as you gradually upgrade to larger sums, you can collapse those false beliefs.

Once Emily gets good at manifesting coins and feels comfortable and confident with it, I’ll start challenging her to manifest larger sums. She may not find money on the ground as often, but it will show up in other ways.

Money comes to you through the filters of your beliefs, but you don’t have to change your beliefs radically. You just have to open enough of a portal in your beliefs to allow different sums to come to you.

Coins may be found on the ground while you’re walking around. Bills will sometimes be found on the ground too. Larger sums may manifest in the form of exchanges, business deals, inheritances, inspired action, and other ways. Assume that those larger sums are right in front of your face, staring at you and screaming at you to notice them. You just have to tune your vibe to the right frequency to pick them up.

I’ve noticed that as I’ve shifted my vibe to manifest larger sums of money and to manifest new experiences in other parts of my life, I seem to fall out of resonance with manifesting smaller sums. I’m not as good at manifesting coins as I was in 2006. That’s because my vibe isn’t tuned in to the coin manifesting frequency as much. These days I’m spending more time using the LoA to manifest cool social connections and travel experiences. I’ve tuned my vibe to focus on that part of the perceptual frequency. I also feel more excited and playful about manifesting in these other areas as opposed to adding to my financial score.

Congruency


Every relationship in your life contributes to the overall vibe you’re putting out. This includes all the different ways you relate to money.

For example, if your job sucks and doesn’t pay you very well, and you try to manifest money on the side, that probably won’t work so well because each time you go to work at your job, you risk re-triggering the vibe of feeling financially under-appreciated.

This is where lots of people get stuck with the LoA. They put out conflicting vibes every day. They may visualize having more money and feeling abundant and grateful, but then they go to the grocery store, and they buy cheap, low quality food because in the back of their mind, they’re saying to themselves that they can’t afford the good stuff. And that naturally cancels out the vibe of abundance, so the result is no change.

If your current circumstances cause you to emit conflicting vibes, then even as you go through the motions of acting in accordance with a scarcer financial situation than you’d like, keep your vibe focused on that of abundance. The best way to do that is by holding the heartset of gratitude. So even if you buy cheap, low-quality food, hold the vibe that you’re grateful for it and that you appreciate it. Feel appreciative that such food exists and that it’s within your budget. And then look at the high quality stuff, and emotionally invite it into your life. If possible, find one way in which you can splurge for higher quality items, like buying a few organic apples, and feel grateful that you can do that. And when you eat those apples, really enjoy them, and intend to receive more of the same.
But do NOT beat yourself up for not being able to afford what you desire. That will only lower your vibe.

Do like I did with Emily when she kept finding bottle caps and smudges. Praise yourself for succeeding at what you’re already manifesting, and then command your senses to adjust to a more abundant part of the spectrum of reality. Be patient with yourself — you’ll get it.

Whenever you start feeling bad about your financial situation, see that as a form of feedback. Let it become an immediate trigger to refocus on your desires. Say to yourself, “Okay, obviously I don’t want this. So what do I want instead?” Then think about happier alternatives; allow your mind to go there, and let the resulting new vibe flow through you.

Manifesting money is a fun challenge. It’s definitely doable if you approach it from a place of playfulness, knowing, and power. It does involve some discipline, but the discipline is mental and emotional, not physical.

You aren’t going to let a 10-year old girl kick your ass at this game, are you? ;)

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Labor Day 2011: The Power of Belief and the American Worker


Labor Day 2011 is going to be a gloomy one for many Americans. At least, that’s what all the news outlets say.
I pulled up the Internet edition of the Chicago Sun-Times this evening and read an article about Labor Day, 2011. Here’s the first paragraph:

Labor Day arrives in 2011 America as a somber mockery. With unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent, zero job growth in August and an economic downturn that has now lasted longer than America’s involvement in World War II, the nation seems divided between desperate jobless folks and those lucky enough to still have jobs but are increasingly worried about keeping them.”
This paragraph stopped me cold. Is it really that bad, I thought, or are news reports like this one part of the problem?

Power of Belief
I’m not disputing the economic downturn or the jobless rate. But I am saying that it is so easy to publish and broadcast reports like this, reports that can make the jobless in this country lose all hope.

And then, of course, it becomes a vicious circle. You believe that there are no jobs so you don’t find any job (and you’re not really looking real hard) which makes you believe that there are no jobs, etc….
Even worse, the Americans who are working are focused on the dire predictions from economists. There’s a Law of the Universe at play here that says your beliefs are powerful. What you believe—really believe, deep down—is what you will get. You will attract that which you focus on the most. Since Americans are focusing on the bleak economy, this virtually ensures that the economic downturn will continue and deepen.

Think Prosperity
So let’s do something different this Labor Day, 2011. Let’s think and visualize a prosperous America. Let’s visualize a good job for every American who wants to work. It takes as much effort to think positive thoughts as it does negative ones, so think positive thoughts—if just for this one day.

And one other thing…
TURN of the news and throw away the newspaper.






Thursday, September 1, 2011

Healing Breaths


I just learned a powerful way to take what I call “healing breaths” to soothe anything that ails me, and I wanted to share it with you.  This comes from spiritual teacher Matt Kahn, and it really does work (I have tried it a couple of times.)
Matt says that whenever you are bothered by anything—a physical pain, a bothersome thought, a problem, a judgmental attitude, whatever it is—take a deep breath.

Using your breath as a delivery truck, Matt says, direct your breath to your heart. Then pick up love from your open heart and deliver it (via the breath) to your point of awareness. Breathe into your problem, your blockage, your worry.  Then take a long, slow exhale which is the signal that the love has been delivered to your point of awareness.

These healing breaths will get your mind out of the way and put your problem in higher hands. You will no longer be burdened by that which is not yours to control.

Matt describes and goes into more detail about these healing breaths in this YouTube video. I suggest you watch it, because Matt’s explanation is so much better than mine!