Today Is the Day To Feel Proud Of Yourself

Today is the day to claim war on your ego -- today is the day to feel proud of yourself.

Too often we focus on the negatives about ourselves. Too often that little voice inside our heads takes over and tells us about all the things we are doing wrong - all the things we could be doing better.

But where is the voice telling us about the good stuff we do as well? Where are the compliments? The pats on the back?

If we make the mistake of not letting that voice come through then we usually also make the mistake of waiting for those compliments to come from outside sources. In other words, the other people in our life.

We wait around for our bosses to tell us we are doing a good job or to be recognized for the promotion or bonus that we are wanting. We wait for our spouses or children to appreciate all that we do for them. We keep waiting for our parents to say just once that they are proud of us.

And when those compliments do not come through we usually experience one of two things. Anger at them or self loathing of ourselves that we must be doing "it" wrong.

Well guess what? You are not doing it wrong! You are doing it perfectly! The only thing you are doing wrong is focusing your attention on the wrong things. And luckily you do have complete control over that.

Instead of being frustrated over others not recognizing all of the wonderful things that your do, ask yourself this question When was the last time I have truly appreciated all that I do?

Well…today is that day. Grab a piece of paper or a word processor page and start writing down all the things that you accomplish during the day.

Note: This list is not to be used as a weapon.

Don't write this list in anger or in the hopes of shoving it under so and so's face to show them all that you do for them that they do not appreciate. We are not concerned about what others think about us anymore (because chances are they are wrong about us anyway.)

We are working on making ourselves feel better. We are giving ourselves the pat on the back that we so hugely deserve.

This is simply a battle against our own egos - a way to say "Yeah… O.K… maybe I didn't start that diet yet, but I did feed the neighbor's cat while they were away and I deserve credit for that."

So let’s get started:

Imagine that this is a to-do list but only backwards. Don't write what you have to do - but write down what you have just accomplished.

- I stayed late to finish that project at work and got it completed.
- I made the family dinner last night or I bought the family dinner last night
- I agreed to change shifts as a favor to a co-worker.
- I went to a party that I really didn't want to go to just to make another person feel good.
- I took the kids to the dentist
- I didn't buy that item I wanted so I could save money
- I made that tough phone call to solve a problem with that bill
- I took an hour out of my day to help the kids with their homework
- I raked the leaves
- I drove someone somewhere
- I helped someone move
- I took in the mail or watered the grass for a neighbor who was away
- I took in so and so's garbage cans for them
- I had company to my house and entertained them
- I picked up my spouses' or my dry cleaning
- I found a way to pay that bill
- I went on an interview for that job
- I made sure everything was in place for that meeting
- I ate healthy today
- I exercised today
- I meditated today
- I took my parent to the doctors
- I made my child feel better when their feelings got hurt
- I made that phone call to that friend I had been putting off
Etc.

Here's the deal. Every day we do stuff…all day long. Things that we don't HAVE to do. But we do it. Sometimes we don't like it - but yet we still do it. Be it something for ourselves or for others.

Now it is time to give yourself the credit for that "stuff" you do.

Everyday start a new page with the words: "I am proud of myself for doing…."

And then start your list.

It is an awesome way to start or end your day. Trust me after you have pages and pages of all the things you DO accomplish in your life it will be harder and harder for you to take that nagging little ego voice seriously when it tries to make you feel bad.

Happy Creating!

See A Penny - Pick It Up!

See A Penny - Pick It Up - All Day Long - You'll have good luck.

I used to love that saying when I was younger and I guess I was always looking for the "magic" even back then. The same way that even today I can't pass up a dandelion that has turned into a "wish" or blowing on a stray eyelash.

But when it comes to picking up pennies nowadays I see it as much more than just a token of "good luck." I now see it as a direct message from Universe of the unlimited abundance that it is being delivered to me constantly.

When I see a penny on the ground I pick it up every time, regardless of how inconvenient it may be to get it. It doesn't matter if I am fully dressed ready to attend a special function or if it is peeping out of a hard-to-reach floorboard.

You see I've learned that Universe doesn't see money in actual amounts the way that we tend to. It will just as soon give us a thousand dollars as it will a penny. It doesn't judge us worthy or deserving. It simply delivers in every way possible when we request it to. Like the law of gravity, the law of attraction works the same way. Gravity doesn't care what object is thrown off a building it is still going to fall and the Law of Attraction doesn't care who or what is requested, it simply delivers based on the vibration it is receiving in regard to the request.

With that being the case, if we would like our abundance to continue to arrive in all forms, it is our job to accept the gift, be grateful for it and encourage Universe to deliver more of it. It is important for us to maintain our vibrational momentum when it comes to abundance.

Any time I find coins on the ground the first thing I say is "Thank you Universe and more of that please!" It is my personal way of acknowledging Universe's generosity as well as confirming that it should keep on delivering.

So if I find a penny I get excited. Universe is listening! Yeah - More of that please!! A couple of hours later I find a dime! I get more excited. Universe is now delivering ten-fold in as little as a couple of hours. Yes! I'm loving it - more of that please!

I go over to a girlfriend's house and she gives me a great blouse that she no longer wants but that I love! Now Universe is now granting me abundance in gifts! Thank you -- thank you! Next I look in an old jacket pocket and find $20 I forgot about from last season!

Momentum is growing, I am getting more excited and Universe is delivering faster and faster! How awesome!

But now think about what message you are sending out if you don't accept that penny? If you immediately deem it as "not enough" or not worth your time or effort to pick it up? What vibration do you think you are sending out then? If your thoughts are "What the heck is a penny going to do for me? It's worthless. That is not going to help me!"

Your vibration goes down, your energy goes down, and Universe again responds to the messages you are sending it. Not enough, worthless, this is not going to help?…oh well then …moving on…"

So the next time even the smallest gift is delivered to you, a free gift, a small prize or even a penny on the sidewalk…appreciate it…be grateful for it…and ask for more of it!

Get excited over the little things that Universe delivers, encourage it to bring you more..get in the flow of abundance and watch what happens! You will be amazed at what Universe will continue to deliver when you let your abundance muscles grow!

Happy Creating!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July Everyone! Today is just a natural day for appreciation if you are an American.

Gratitude and appreciation are two of the most powerful influences to having the Law of Attraction work for you and it just seems natural to me to want to be grateful for this awesome country we are living in today!

Sometimes we forget that our country is a living growing organism in its own right just as we are individually. We forget that the love of it and appreciation of it will bring out its best qualities, just as nuturing ourselves does for us.

It does not serve our country's good to spend so much time focusing on the negatives. The arguments over the best presidential candidates, the economy, etc. I'm sure you too have felt the overall effect of that negativity.

It makes us all feel more frightened, more insecure, unsure of our country's future. But guess what? Our country has been through these kind of trials before; probably more times than we can possibly count, and it has always come through with flying colors! (Quite literally if you think of that red, white and blue blowing in the breeze!)

So starting today let us appreciate its true beauty.

Let us appreciate those brilliant men who 232 years ago came up with the idea for this independent nation. Who were so ahead of their time that the ground rules they put into place are still applicable in what would appear to be a totally different world today, but whose core basics are still the same.

Let us appreciate every man and women who ever fought for this country in all those years and continue to do so today.

Let us appreciate the fresh food, the clean water, the electicity, the heat, the air-conditioning, the medical facilities, the police departments, the fire departments, the armed services and the countless volunteers.

Let us appreciate the literally unlimited opportunities that are available to us all.

Let us appeciate that any man, woman or child can do or be anything they chose to be.

Let us appreciate the lack of a "class" system. That it does not matter what circumstances you might have been born, that you can choose where you want to end up.

Let us simply remember that we truly are the greatest country in the world and that even though the road may get a little bumpy once in awhile we will get through it as we always do.

That the more we stand by and send loving gratitude to this awesome creation, the more healthy and powerful we make it.

So truly enjoy today. If you are going to be with friends and family remember to truly celebrate what this day means. Really enjoy the food that you eat, the drinks that you drink, the people that you are with. If you see fireworks tonight, appreciate their beauty; remember to truly think of them as "the bombs bursting in air".

If you do not have plans today, enjoy the day just as much. Really take the day off to celebrate today. The chores will be there another day. Enjoy the yard, the pool, even the freedom of watching television or playing on the internet all day. Celebrate and truly enjoy the ammenities this country has to offer. Appreciate how many other countries do not even have the luxuries that sit in front of you right now.

Have a great 4th everyone!

Having A Bad Day? Learn To Turn It Around NOW!

We've all had those kind of days. You know the one where the alarm doesn't go off, you stub your toe as you get out of bed, there's no hot water, you're out of coffee, and you just know it is going to be a horrible day.

So now that your day has started like this, how much worse are you going to allow it to get? That's right. I'm asking you what you are going to do about it?

Many people bristle at the thought that they have any responsibility towards it at all. I mean after all "everyone has a bad day once in awhile." You just do your best to get through it, How many times have you thought to yourself "I just wish this day was over already so I could start over again tomorrow."

What a horrible waste of today that would be! You have the ability to turn it around right this moment!

So often we fall into the mistaken belief that "fate" has its own agenda in our lives and that we do not have any control over the way it goes sometimes. To learn how to create the big things you are wanting in your life, you need to start learning how to control the little ones.

If you have a day that starts out badly, it is your job to say "O.K. That's enough! I've already had 3 bad things happen today - that's enough bad things to last me for a week. From here on it - only good comes my way!"

Then take notice of all the small indications that your "luck" is indeed turning around.

For instance, in the past I've had mornings where I've overslept, looked outside to find it was pouring rain and was not going to make me and my son's 5 block walk to school very pleasant, my son informed me that he forgot to complete an assignment that was due that day, I had no milk for my coffee or his breakfast, the dog whined at the thought of having to go out in the rain...whatever the annoyances might have been.

In the old days, I would have taken these things as a horrible "sign" that things were just going to keep being that bad, if not worse the rest of the day. For some reason, like so many other people, I thought that somehow "fate" had dictated this and there was nothing I could do about it except struggle through it.

Then as I read more and learned more about the Law of Attraction, I realized how silly it was to believe that just because a few bad things had happened in the morning that the rest of the day had to be that way too. I realized how "brainwashed" I had unconsciously become that I never stopped to ask myself "Who says? Who says it has to be this way all day? Where did I get this silly idea, and why do I let it play out again and again?"

That's when I started using the saying that I mentioned a few paragraphs above. "Enough already! I'm turning this around now!"

The reason I am dedicating a whole article to this is because I feel it is really important for people to notice if they have these unconscious beliefs themselves. Because unfortunately people can play out this "bad luck thing" for far longer than just one day. I've heard people say "this is the worst week ever, the worst month, the worst year; I've even heard people say it is the worst decade of their lives!

Well what can you expect to happen if you get that belief in your head? The worst year or even decade?!

Once you have that kind of belief in your mind, you can be sure that you are going to look at and experience one bad thing after another. Worse than that, you will completely ignore any good things that happen and deliberately "focus" on only the negative things, just to prove that you are, in fact, correct and that this is indeed the worst possible week, month or year in your life!

It is amazing sometimes how our minds only see what we direct them to. You can have 3 bad things happen and 4 good things, yet you will find yourself only focusing on the bad to prove your own point to yourself and anyone around you who will listen, that you were right all along. But that is such a waste of precious time that you can be creating wonderful experiences in your life.

Maybe you do it for unconscious sympathy from yourself and from others. Maybe the whole "fate" thing was just something you picked up along the way like I had. It doesn't matter which way these thoughts came about. All that matters is that it is time to regain control over your own destiny and decide to turn it around now!

So the next time you feel like your day is "cursed" take notice and consciously decide to turn it around. You are in control here and you decide to put an end to it right now! You decide that a ton of good things are coming your way today to more than make up for the rough start, and more importantly decide that you are going to notice each and every positive one of them.

Before you know it, the positive will far outweigh the negative and you can turn the worst day of your life into the best one ever!

Happy Creating!

Law of Attraction Manifestation Exercise #9 - List of 100 Things

O.K. So in learning how to use the Law of Attraction you have realized the basics. Think positively - not negatively. Positive brings good results -- negative brings bad. I'm pretty sure we all have that part clear.

So the next question is...How do I think positively when many things in my life are negative right now?

The answer is purposeful mental distraction.

I have written some articles previously about using Mental Distraction but hadn't put them in exercise forms so I will do so now.

It is almost impossible to go from a very negative vibration to a very positive one. It is simply too big a jump. As you have probably also discovered for yourself, it is much harder and it takes a lot longer to accomplish any task you might need to when you are in a negative state as opposed to a strong positive one.

Therefore, it is reasonable to say that it is in your best interest to put yourself in a more positive place mentally before trying to tackle any important task. For the good of you and for the good of the task.

While there are many different ways to accomplish this mental transition, I am going to offer a quick and easy one that you can do in as little as 15 minutes.

You can either grab a pencil or paper or go right to your computer and open a word processing sheet.

The exercise is to write down 100 things that you enjoy doing. That's right enjoy doing. Not a list of what you would like to accomplish in the future (that is another exercise), but simply write down things you have enjoyed in the past and currently.

For instance:

1. Going to your favorite restaurant and enjoying your favorite meal.

2. Having a night to yourself to read a great book

3. A large snowstorm that gives you no choice but to cuddle on the couch and watch television all day.

4. A walk on the beach at sunset.

5. Bowling a great game with your teammates cheering you on

6. Winning even the smallest amount of money in a casino

7. Having a great laugh with your friends

8. Cheering on your favorite sports team when they make an unbelievable play

9. Singing and dancing around the room when no one is watching to your favorite song

10. Spending a solid hour on YouTube watching people do things you would never attempt doing


11. Getting into a warm bed on a cold night.

12. The first night with newly laundered sheets on the bed

13. Enjoying relaxing in a spotlessly clean house

14. The first taste of that hot cup of coffee in the morning

15. The refreshing taste of that tropical drink on the beach, or that cold beer after a hard days physical work

Anyway, you get the gist of it. The point is to write down things that cause you to say "Ummm, yes I do love that."

You will be surprised how much calmer and appreciative you will feel after you have mentally relived this feeling 100 times over in a 15 minute period.

The next steps are to:

1. Save the list so you can go back to it anytime you need a mental boost or when you remember something that you would like to add

2. Pick one or two that you will do in the next few days as a reward to yourself for the tasks you will accomplish today.

If you can't think of 100 things at this moment, even better. Because that means you can spend all your mental time coming up with more. Instead of thinking about upcoming bills on your ride home tonight, come up with more things you love to do. Instead of thinking about being angry at the kids for leaving their jacket in the middle of the floor, come up with more things you love to do.

The most important part of this exercise is not the actual list mind you, but the exercise of consciously redirecting your thoughts to positive things as opposed to negative. Retraining your brain, if you will.

So go now and write your list. Change your negative thoughts and thereby your negative vibrations right now. You might be surprised at the difference in the way that you feel from such a simple process.

Happy Creating!

My Grateful List - June 2008

I decided this morning as I emptied my awesome dishwasher that it is time again for me to do my grateful list.

If you have studied the Law of Attraction for any length of time you have probably realized that gratefulness and thankfulness are two of the strongest emotions you can use to get into a higher vibrational level for what you are wanting to create in the future.

I started using it on a regular basis anytime I found myself wanting to create something new. Doing the list always raised my vibration and put me in a much better place to attract what I was wanting.

Quite by accident however, I found out that not only does it help bring me what I want easier and faster, it simply made me feel good during and after I did it.

If this is the first time you are hearing of the Grateful List there is an article that explains it in more detail here.

So while there isn’t anything material I am particularly wanting at this moment, I am in the mood for a spiritual boost; so here I go.

1. I am grateful to be alive and give this life thing another shot today. Who knows what surprises are in store for me today?

2. I am SO grateful for my mother’s feeling better. She was in the hospital with pneumonia but is healing perfectly and will be going home today.

3. I am very grateful for my husband, who understands me and works hard so we can live in this awesome place.

4. I am so grateful for my gorgeous, healthy son, who makes me laugh at the same time he is driving me crazy.

5. I am so grateful for my health. I can walk today, talk today, see today, hear today and am completely pain free. What an awesome vehicle I have to help me accomplish whatever I choose to do today.

6. I am grateful for the weather today. It is the first 70 degree day in New York this Spring -- Perfect day to wash down the backyard furniture.

7. I am grateful for my dishwasher. After years of living without one I love how it saves me an hour a day in washing and drying. I love how efficiently it works and the soothing sound of it doing all the work while I sit here peacefully typing this list.

8. I am just as grateful for my washer and dryer in the house. No more quarters! No more lugging my laundry out of the house. I can do my laundry anytime I want - how cool is that?

9. I am grateful for my coffee maker. What an awesome way to start the morning with the smell and taste of that addictive brew and I don‘t even have to leave my house to get it.


10. I am grateful for my wonderful shower with plenty of clean, hot water.

11. I am grateful for water itself. I consider it “liquid health” when I drink it. It makes my body run more efficiently and tastes awesome when it is cold and I am lucky enough to be able to simply turn a tap to get it.

12. I am grateful for the bed I just got out of that gave me a great nights sleep last night on fresh sheets I just put on it yesterday.

13. I am grateful for all the neighbors and friends who have been calling regarding my mother. It’s awesome to know that people care.

14. I am grateful for this computer and the internet. There are so many things I use it for everyday. What did I ever do without it?

15. I am grateful that my son has school today. As much as I enjoy him, I also enjoy the time alone I have to wash the backyard furniture listening to music I like!!!

16. I am grateful for my awesome running truck. I love how comfortable and reliable it is and realize how difficult life could be if I didn’t have it.

17. I am grateful for the electricity in my house today. I can use this computer, run my dishwasher, and my son can watch television before school all at the same time.

18. I am even grateful for occasional blackouts - because they help me to appreciate my electricity when I have it.

19. I am grateful for my cable television and my great working T.V. Over 300 channels! Wow! What did I do in the old days when there was only 7 channels and no remote control?

20. I am grateful for cell phones! I can talk to anyone I need to anytime I need to because they all have cell phones too! How cool is that?

Well, I have reached my spiritual high for today - and also my time limit to get the little one ready for school! Life is just so cool nowadays. There are so many things we have that our relatives and ancestors didn’t have that make life so much easier. I could probably write another 50 things right now effortlessly, but seeing as I am short on time, I will just think about them mentally as I go through the day.

If you would like to experience your own “spiritual high” today I can’t think of a faster way to do it than by doing your own grateful list. It is quick, easy, and costs nothing but a few minutes of your time. But the difference it can make in your mood is incredible.

Until tomorrow….Happy Creating

Manifestation Exercise # 1 - The Gratitude List

I guess it was about 10 years ago when I had hit one of the greatest "funks" in my lifetime.

It was right after Thanksgiving. My husband had been let go from his job because of an untrue rumor someone had spread about him, and we lost a major Christmas bonus we had been counting on. My online business was doing poorly because people were saving their money for holiday purchases. We were behind in all of our bills, creditors were calling constantly and of coarse Christmas was on its way and we didn’t have an extra dollar to spend on it. My husband and I were taking the stress we were both going through out on each other, and the guilt we felt over our sons growing Christmas list made us feel even worse.

It was about this time that I came across the Gratitude List suggestion.

I had already been studying the Law of Attraction principles for quite some time, but hadn’t quite mastered it yet. I was still at a point where my current “reality” problems took up more of my thoughts than the new reality I wanted to focus on. I had learned, however, about synchronicity (the coincidences Universe or your higher self keeps bringing to you when it really wants you to notice something.)

In one weeks time I had come across the Gratitude list idea in three different places. In an online article, in a book I was reading and then I heard it on television.

Anyway I got the hint. Obviously, this was something I was supposed to do.

Like I said, this was a really bad time for me. So trying to focus on good things at this point was extremely difficult. But then I figured who am I to argue with what the Universe was clearly trying to tell me? I decided to follow some of the examples I had heard in the three places mentioned above; and regardless of my current circumstances at the time, tried to look for things to be grateful for.

It seemed tough at first. My negative thoughts kept trying to come through - but I was determined. I would find even the smallest things to be grateful for.

I found it to be much easier than I ever thought it could be.

While I can’t find my original list (I believe it was on my old computer) I do remember most of what I wrote those first couple of days.

Things I Am Grateful For:

I am grateful I am alive today to give this life thing another shot (that is still one of my favorites)

I am grateful I am healthy and pain free

I am grateful I have my freedom (I mean I could’ve been in jail or a hospital bed - so things weren’t that bad)

I am grateful for my healthy family and friends.

Even though I don’t have a lot of money right now- I am grateful I will spend the holidays with all of my friends and family. It was my favorite time of year.

I am grateful that we live in a nice, safe, clean apartment.

I am grateful we have enough money to eat today.

I am grateful that while behind in my utilities, I still have my heat and electricity and cable today.

I am grateful for my clean water to drink and shower with (think how many people in the world don’t have even those basic things)


I am grateful for my pets who love me so much

I am grateful for the funny emails my friends who care about me send to me.

I am grateful for this computer to receive them on.

I am grateful for the internet that brings me all the answers I want in less than 5 minutes time (remember how long it used to take just to try to find information before the internet?)

Anyway I came up with a bunch of other things in those first few days. I would spend my first 15 minutes of the morning with my cup of coffee typing out my list.

While at first I was just going through the motions I found I did feel a little better each morning after I was done. What was more surprising to me however, was the lasting effects it was having without my even being aware of it.

Around the third day, I remember waking up feeling “lighter“ somehow. Before I started my lists I had been waking every morning with a knot in my stomach and a feeling of dread about all of the things I was going to have to unwillingly deal with that day. By the third day however, I found myself waking feeling a little calmer. A little happier. A little bit more confident that I could deal with whatever came my way, even though none of my outside circumstances had changed yet.

Seeing as that I wasn’t doing anything different other than my grateful list I realized that it had to be the reason. This got me excited and I decided to really go to town on my list.

I started looking for even the smallest things to be grateful for.

The laugh I had the day before hearing a funny story.

An unexpected gift from a neighbor.

My mom’s chocolate chip cookies

Decorating my apartment with my well loved holiday decorations that I kept in storage (and it didn’t cost me a cent).

The wonderful cards arriving in the mail from my friends and family with pictures of their healthy growing children.

The holiday decorations going up around the neighborhood making everything more festive.

Sure enough I found the more I did the list every day, the better I felt right after I did it as well as generally throughout the day. I also found myself taking note of little things to be grateful for all day long so I could add them to the next mornings list.

With Law of Attraction being what it is, sure enough my outside circumstances started to change as well. My husband found another job through an unexpected connection, we received a check from his old company from an account that we had forgotten he had, my mother surprised us by purchasing almost all of the items on my sons Christmas list as a gift to us and I found myself having one of the warmest Christmas’ I could ever remembering having. Simply because for the first time I truly appreciated all that I had.

If you want to attract wonderful things into your life, one of the fastest ways to do it is to start being grateful for what you have right now. And I don’t mean by just giving it lip service. I mean really feel the gratefulness as you write your list. Truly imagine what it would be like to not have so many of those things you take for granted in your life.

The Law of Attraction brings to you what you focus on, think about and the vibrational frequency you are working from. If you are spending your time thinking about all of the wonderful things you can be happy about - the universe will naturally respond to that vibration and bring you even more.

It is a simple 15 minute exercise that costs you nothing but can make an incredible difference in your entire life!

So start today! You have absolutely nothing to lose but everything to gain!

Happy Creating!