Law of Attraction Manifestation Exercise #29 - The Self Appreciation List

So, you want the Law of Attraction to work for you. You ask Universe (or your higher self, if your prefer) for a list of things that you would like to attract into your life, but time and time again they don't seem to be forthcoming.

You have probably already tried working on your thoughts, said a ton of affirmations, created a vision board and a bunch of other exercises. And while you see miracles happen once in awhile, they don't seem to happen nearly often enough or last long enough to make a permanent change in your life.

If this is true for you, then it is time to ask yourself this one serious question: What makes you think you deserve it?

What makes you think you deserve the perfect job, perfect relationship, perfect friendships, an abundance of money, a peaceful spiritual life? Can you answer that question?

If not, then this is the exercise is for you!

You see, in the eyes of Universe you are entitled to all of those things simply by existing. Simply by BEING. Since the day you were delivered on this planet you have been naturally entitled to enjoy every single thing this planet has to offer. No one has more of a right to it than you do.

So if it is not Universe that is keeping it from you (and it really isn't) than what is preventing these things from happening?

I'll ask you the question again. What makes you think you deserve it?

You see too often we do not give ourselves nearly enough credit for all that we do. We put things in the "have to" category and forget that all the wonderful things we do everyday for others are actually "choices" we choose to make.

For instance:

I "have to" go to work to pay the bills. No, actually you don't "have to" - you choose to keep your family safe and comfortable.

I "have to" take care of my kids. No you don't "have to". Technically you could skip out tomorrow. The fact of the matter is you choose to because you love them.

I "have to" clean the house, "have to" visit my parents, "have to" go food shopping, etc.

The truth is you don't "have to" do any of those things. There is no one standing over you with a gun to your head. These are choices you are making for the benefit of yourself and others.

So the question now is, why aren't you giving yourself credit for them?.

Why are you letting this pesky little critter called "ego" go on and on about all the reasons you should feel bad or guilty or undeserving and not give you credit for the 100 or so things you do every day that are positive?

That is where this exercise comes in. It is time to beat "ego" at its own game. It is time to override all those negatives with hundred of positives every week. And you're going do it again and again and again until it finally gets the message that you are not a bad person but an awesome one who works hard and it entitled to anything it asks for.

So how are you going to do this.? Simple. You are going to write an I Am Proud Of Myself List.

And you are going to do this every day until your ego finally gets it.

For instance:

I am proud of myself for going to work today even though I would have rather slept in.
I am proud of myself for getting my kids ready for school, even if I wasn't in the mood.
I am proud of myself for cleaning the house, even though I would have rather read a book.
I am proud of myself for going to the PTA meeting for my children's benefit even though I would have rather have stayed in and watched T.V.

And so on and so on.

I am proud of myself that I paid that bill, I am proud of myself I gave my friend that ride, I am proud of myself for thinking of my parents and going for a visit.

You will not believe how quickly this will start to make you feel better and more deserving all the way to your core!.

Now you might ask "what if I can't come up with things to be proud of?" Piece of cake!

Use your to-do list. If you don't normally keep a to-do list - start one now!

And everyday write out a list of what you do all day long. Such as:

Wake the kids
Make them breakfast
Get them to school
Ger ready for work
Start this project
Make those copies
Mail those bills
Call this friend
Run this errand
Call this bank
Pick up dinner
Cook dinner
Do homework with the kids, etc.

Mark off these things as you go along your day. (Extra benefit is that you will be much more organized as well as feel more accomplished.)

But now you will have your whole list in front of you of things you should be proud of. Choices you have made and followed through on, even if you didn't really feel like doing them.

Now the important part of this exercise is to write or type out the entire sentence of I Am Proud Of Myself for __________.

Don't just write that once and then list things underneath. Make sure you write out the complete sentence for every line. You are going to get this into your subconscious if it likes it or not! It is time for ego to learn its lesson!! And every day you are going to tell it "I am proud of myself for… I am proud of myself for…I am proud of myself for…". And you are going to start feeling as deserving as you naturally are.

Then watch how quickly your desires will manifest!. When you prove to yourself how deserving you really are - there will then be no resistance or pushing away when Universe naturally delivers what you have asked for.

Plus there is also the immediate benefit of simply making yourself feel good, giving yourself credit for jobs well done. You will find that even doing this exercise only once or twice will immediately make you feel better and more deserving.

So go for it today! You do deserve whatever you want to create in this life. Now prove it to your self.

Happy Creating!

What is EFT and Does It Work?

When I first heard about EFT (The Emotional Freedom Technique) a few years ago, I was a little skeptical. The idea of being able to “tap-out” negative energy seemed a little too far fetched even to me, who is pretty much open to trying any spiritual practice at least once.

But not wanting to dismiss anything out of hand, I decided to give it a try. Six years later I am still using the technique for everything from a headache to any kind of fear that might occasionally arise.

It is an amazingly simple process that works wonders on anything from physical pain to fears and phobias to simply helping one to break a bad habit. It can even help you with weight loss, feelings about lack of money, sports performance or relationship issues.

The founder of the technique, Gary Craig, explains the process of EFT as based on “a new discovery regarding the body's subtle energies. Simply stated, it is an emotional version of acupuncture, except needles aren't necessary. Instead, you stimulate well established energy meridian points on your body by tapping on them with your fingertips. The process is easy to memorize and is portable so you can do it anywhere.”

In a typical session there are 8 different meridian points on your body that need to be tapped while you mentally address whatever your issue might be.

So a typical session would go something like this.

Say your issue is a fear of driving over bridges. You have had this fear for awhile. Every time you have ever gone over a bridge you can feel yourself tense up, you hold your breath, your heart feels like it leaps into your throat. So this is the issue you will obviously want to be healing.

So the first question you ask yourself is on a scale of 1 to 10 how much negative energy do I feel around this subject? Say your answer is 8. So now you create a statement for yourself such as “Even though I have this intense fear of driving over bridges, I completely love and accept myself.” (There are different end phrases you can use but I have found “I completely love and accept myself” at the end of statements work surprisingly well regardless of what you are trying to fix.)

As you keep repeating your sentence again and again you will tap on the 8 places described on the EFT video or website (more information on that later). You will do these series of taps through 2 cycles.

Then you are to re-ask yourself the original question. On a scale of 1 to 10 how much fear do I feel around this subject? You will be absolutely amazed at how much your fear level will have decreased. And I am not talking about a “Yeah, well maybe there is a little difference,” I am talking about a major “Holy Canoli! I cannot believe that this worked!” kind of feeling.

The only trick (if you want to call it that) is finding exactly what the “blockage” is.

For instance when I first heard about this technique my biggest problem at the time was creating money. So I ran through a whole bunch of statements regarding money. Such as:

Even though I don’t have a lot of money right now, I love and accept myself completely. (I felt a little better.)
Even though I haven’t done as well financially as I expected to yet, I love and accept myself completely ( I felt a little more relief)

I went through a bunch more. But then I hit on the big one.

“Even though I don’t think I am deserving of a lot of money, I love and accept myself completely.” All of a sudden, I felt like a 20 pound weight had been lifted off my chest! As in physically lifted off of me! I was stunned because I hadn‘t expected a feeling like that at all. It suddenly felt as if my chest has opened up and expanded!

You see, I didn’t even know that feeling “deserving” was one of the things holding me back from making money. I was just following advice I had found at the EFT website.

In looking back now, I can see many ways I might have unconsciously picked up that vibration in my lifetime and how somehow that idea had gotten trapped up inside of me.

By tapping on those physical release points I hit it dead on and the feeling was let go immediately.

It was my first experience of going from an 8 in anxiety down to a 0 in a matter of seconds.

I was so excited I started immediately tapping out other things. My fear of driving at the time, anxiety about unpaid bills, lack of self esteem, a constant nagging stomach pain, that I had. And I was able to bring relief to all those areas (though admittedly not as quickly or as dramatically as the money one) but with another round or two of tapping was able to eliminate them.

The greatest things about this exercise is:

1. You can do it yourself so you do not need help from others (though there are trained people who can help you take it to a deeper level if you desire)
2. It is free and easy to learn! You can be doing it for yourself in as little as 10 minutes
3. You can do it anywhere - because it even works if you do it mentally. (Because of coarse there may be times when tapping yourself in public would look a little strange)
4. You can even use it to help others. My young son was amazed when I did it on him to get rid of a headache. He thought it was like "magic". (The downside is he now asks me to do it in lieu of taking medicine for the bigger things. Sorry buddy - but nice try!)
5. It also works in ways and on issues you have never even considered.

The following video is one is one of many that can be found on YouTube. This first one explains EFT in more detail and the different ways you can use it and why.


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Or if you would just like to jump right to the technique see this video:

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Also be sure to visit this site. It is a link to the original EFT site that has tons of different ways you can use it and even gives you the different sentences you should try when applying the process.

Again, if you look around a little you will see ways to deal with:

Quitting Smoking (or other bad habits)
Fear of bills or Lack of Money
Anger at Loved Ones
Physical Pains
Major Fears or Traumas

So many people contribute to this site with excellent ideas they have tried.

So give it a shot today! You might find like I did that you will end up using it all the time for instant relief!

Happy Creating!

Law of Attraction: The Two Most Important Things My Father Ever Taught Me

There are two things my father taught me growing up that I will be forever grateful for. And while neither of them had anything to do with The Law of Attraction directly, both pieces of advice helped me immensely in my spiritual growth.

You see my father didn't believe in the Law of Attraction. He believed that the people who succeeded in life definitely had to have the drive to succeed, but he also believed that success had a lot to do with who you know, God's will and sometimes just plain dumb luck. He didn't believe in the energy based concept of the Law of Attraction, the part where your belief and thoughts can directly affect the outcome of any situation. He didn't get the part about vibrational alignment or that the universe was totally neutral in who it responded to or what it brought them - that it simply matched like-energy to like-energy.

I was really close to my dad and we are very similar in personalities. There's a very good chance I might have followed in his slightly cynical footsteps if it were not for these two pieces of advice that he himself gave me:

1. Read everything and anything you can ever get your hands on and;
2. There is no such thing as a stupid question

My father was not an angry or bitter man by any means. He considered himself and was considered by others to simply be an extremely practical one.

So when it came to the advice about reading he explained it to me in this way. "At least half of the people that you are talking to have no idea what they are talking about." In other words, "Take nothing you hear from another as fact. Read anything and everything you can about the subject and then draw your own conclusions." One of the things my father couldn't stand was when someone would simply repeat something they heard from someone else without having any idea how much of it was based on fact. He told me this even applied to him as well. He would say "I know I am your father, but I do not have all the answers. Go out and find your own answers and discover what you believe to be true."

It's not so hard to see what a major impact this has on my spiritual development. Here was this man who I looked up to more than anyone in my life telling me not to even take his word on anything as fact. He was teaching me that just because someone says that "this is the way it is and always has been" does not make it so.

It is also now a lesson I teach my own son. Do not take even "my" word as fact. Go out and read, play and experiment with ideas, then draw your own conclusions.

The second piece of advice "There is no such thing as a stupid question" probably had an even greater impact on me than the reading one because my father explained it to me this way.

"The stupid person is the one who didn't ask the question and walks out of the room still not knowing the answer."

Granted when I was younger this was definitely the harder one to put into practice. Being naturally on the shy side I hated drawing attention to myself or having others looking at me like I was an idiot. But thanks to Dad's advice and the mental picture he drew for me it was more important for me to not be "the stupid person walking out of the room still not knowing the answer."

Nowadays I think nothing of interrupting someone for clarification on what they are talking about when I don't understand and I will tell you why.

I truly cannot tell you how many times I have been the one to ask the "stupid" question and found out how many others in the room also didn't know the answer but were too afraid to ask. How many times they would come up to me and said "I am so glad you asked that, because I didn't have a clue either."

Secondly, sometimes when someone goes into further detail you will get a better sense of the subject and find that maybe you disagree. Maybe it doesn’t' sit right for you. So instead of leaving the room just taking what they said as gospel, you now have more information to make a better informed decision.

And if by any chance you are worried about the persons reaction when asking the question…don't.

I have found that 99% of the people you will ask for clarification on something will have no problem going into further details on the subject, especially if it is something they feel passionate about. Most people love to talk about what they love.

If you do get the oddball who looks at you stunned and says "You mean to tell me you really don't know the answer to that?" blow it off with a "No sorry. I've been too involved studying nuclear fission to keep up on the latest football scores (or whatever the subject happens to be about)."

So as you move along in your own spiritual development you may be wise to take my fathers advice.

Read any and every thing you can get your hands on and remember there is no such thing as a stupid question.

You'll be surprised at what you learn.

Happy Creating!

P.S. In case any of you were wondering how my weekend in Atlantic City went, I wanted to let you know it was awesome! When all was said and done I only came home winning $200 but what fun it was to earn! I had a full out batlle with a poker machine down there. I was on it for over 5 hours! It would have gone on longer but I had a buffet with my name on it. Oh, I just love that place!

Till Tomorrow!

Get Outta My Pie!

If you are a fan of Abraham-Hicks you may have heard them mention the idea of "getting out of someone else's pie" and focusing on your own.

Their basic premise behind the thought is that this Earth (actually the entire Universe for that matter) is like the most fully stocked kitchen that ever existed.

Every ingredient that can be had is available for each person to create whatever pie they are wanting.

Every person has the same access to each of these ingredients and each person is naturally entitled to all of these ingredients in any way they see fit.

No one is more or less entitled to these ingredients than anybody else.

All of these ingredients constantly replenish themselves so there is always enough for everyone - and sometimes even new ingredients are created "out of thin air" for the good of all to partake.

It is such a simple concept. So easy to understand. Now if we can only apply it to human nature.

You see, if you like Cherry pie - you are entitled to Cherry Pie simply because you desire it. You have all of the ingredients at your fingertips to make your Cherry pie, and it is none of anyone else's business if that is the pie you decide to create.

But now imagine that someone else (even a very close loved one) likes Pumpkin pie. And because they like Pumpkin pie, they think you should like Pumpkin Pie as well. And it doesn't matter to them if you don't like like the taste of it or have no desire for it. They like it and that is all that counts as far as they are concerned!

Imagine if that were an argument that were really to happen around your Thanksgiving table this year.

You would be tempted to throw that Pumpkin Pie right in their face.

"Good for you!" You would tell them. "You like Pumpkin pie! Eat all the pie you want! But no amount of yelling or browbeating is going to make me ever want it or like it so leave me alone and go eat your pie! I'm in the mood for Cherry!"

And there you go.

So simple…but not.

Does this sound familiar to you in your life? Do you constantly have others telling you what "pie" you should eat as if you don't know your own desires? Telling you that there is only one "pie" that is the right "pie" and that there must be something wrong with you if you don't agree with them?

When it comes to political discussions, religious beliefs, how to raise your children, where you live, your career, your dreams, your desires?

Do they make you feel guilty simply because you desire Cherry instead of Pumpkin? Who says that Pumpkin is the only way to go?

Now how about you? Do you find yourself trying to shove your "pie" down someone else's throat? Do you find yourself spending your days upset or uptight about the personal decisions that others are making, because you believe they are doing "it" wrong?

If so, it is time to get your fingers out of that person's pie and gently slap their fingers away from yours.

All the "ingredients" are available for everyone to use exactly as they see fit to create whatever they desire.

Also remember that every single ingredient you can ever need to create your fantasy dessert sits in directly in front of you now. You are as naturally entitled to them as anyone else.

So if you would like to live a more peaceful and easy going life - go into your "kitchen" and work on creating your own "dream pie" and let others do the same.

It is the instant recipe for more peace in your life.

Happy Creating!

Manifestation Exercise #24 - Going After Your Goal With All Of Your Heart

So what is it you are wanting in your life? If the Law of Attraction were really to work as easily as a genie popping out of a bottle, what would be on your list of desires?

The first thing you need to do is write these goals down on a list. To be more successful in your career? To make more money? To become healthier? To lose weight? To attract that perfect relationship?

After your list has been made - put them in the order of importance. Start by putting a one next to the most important one and then work your way down.

Now that you have it clear in your head what your first most important goal is, remember it and forget everything else. Put the rest of the list away for another day to go back to.

Now pull out another piece of paper. Write down that thing that you are wanting at the top of the page.

For example:

I want my internet business to be more successful.

Look at this sentence for a moment. Now decide that you are going to put your entire heart and soul into accomplishing this one task. Decide that absolutely nothing is going to stop you from achieving it! Decide to give it your full attention every single day - every spare minute of every single day until it is accomplished.

Imagine your focus is like a laser beam. Everything else on that list gently fades into the background as you think about this one thing. Do not worry if you have failed in the past - THIS time it is going to be different! This time you will let no thought and no thing stand in your way of accomplishing it!

You are entitled to this one thing, deserving of this one thing, and absolutely powerful enough to create this one thing!

On the next line write what your ultimate goal for this desire is going to be. For instance:

- This business is going to be earning me at least $100,000 a year.
- I am going to have at least 15,000 visitors per day.
- I am going to have at least 4 different websites that are popular and flourishing.

(If it is weight loss - put down your goal weight or clothes size, if it is health put down how you are going to feel when you reach it - what physical goals you will be able to accomplish, etc.)

Now break it down even more.

In the first six months I am going to:

- Be earning at least $2,000 a month
- Having all 4 sites up and running
- Having at least 500 visitors per month

Then break it down even more

In the next month I am going to:

- Be earning at least $100 a month
- Having at least 2 of the sites up and running
- having at least 100 visitors a month.

In the next week I am going to:

- Learn how to build a website
- Do Research on others peoples successful websites
- Get more ideas about what I want on my website

Now write a daily to do list

- Sign up with a web host
- Go through a basic html tutorial online


You get the idea.

O.K. now you have your plan of action. Make sure you dedicate every spare minute you have to thinking about this goal. Come up with fresh and unique ideas of how you might accomplish it. Check off your to-do list everyday as you accomplish each minor task.

If you come across any kind of road block, figure out a way around it. Think outside the box.

If you have those days where you can seem to find the motivation - spend your time finding things to motivate you! Go online and find stories of people who have succeeded in what you are trying to accomplish. Print out their stories and their pictures. Put it into a motivation file - so anytime you might feel your spirit lagging, you have a reminder of why you want to accomplish this goal. If you have a Vision Board take everything else off of it and put up only things that pertain to this particular goal.

You see, this single-minded focus is the only difference between people who succeed and people who do not. If you take a look at any of the people who have become successful in their fields you will realize that they weren't smarter than you are, richer than you are, or more entitled than you are. The only difference is that if they somehow stumbled along the way, "they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and started all over again". They never gave up. They kept that laser beam of attention on the ultimate goal.

It is time to understand that there is no one and no thing out there that can stop you from creating what you desire. The only things that can stop you are your past mistaken beliefs that you can't accomplish it or your distraction of trying to achieve a thousand different things at once.

Do not worry about the rest of the goals that were on your original list. Once you have gotten this first one accomplished you can then redirect your laser beam attention to another goal. (Otherwise you will find that, as has happened in the past, you are dividing your attention amongst a million things and none of them are getting done to completion or your satisfaction.)

Now you might ask, what on Earth does this have to do with the Law of Attraction?

The answer? Everything!

You see for the Law of Attraction to work it requires:

Knowing exactly what you want to create (which you now know from your list)
Your motivation behind it (which you now know from your list)
Your undivided attention (which you now have with your laser beam focus)
Taking Specific Action Towards Your Goal (which you will now accomplish as you do your daily to-do list)
Your belief that it can be done (which will grow as you accomplish each new step)
And lastly, your positive thoughts (that come from your motivation file and your enthusiasm as each day you get one step closer to your goal.)

That is all the Law of Attraction needs to kick into gear. Remember it is a law. Whatever you keep your focus on - more is drawn to you.

As you take more positive action towards what you are wanting, Universe responds in kind and sends its attention to the same place.

That is when you will begin to see amazing things happen! You will find that the right people will contact you at exactly the right time, the right program will show up just when you need it, the right website or the exact amount of money you might need for the next step you have to take.

If all of your positive intentions and emotions, your heart and soul, are involved in your endeavor, Universe can't help but respond with the same matching energy.

So go decide what it is right now that you are wanting to create. Take that one thing and embrace it with all of your heart and determination.

You will be amazed at how quickly the Universe will respond when you are working from this empowered vibration.

Happy Creating!

You Can Never Get It Wrong And You Can Never Get It Done

“You can never get it wrong and you can never get it done.” - Abraham-Hicks

This is another great quote of Abraham-Hicks that really clicked for me the first time I heard it and it still does today.

The quote pretty much says it all. No matter what choices you make in your life, you can never get it "wrong" and no matter how many tasks you have accomplished you can never get it all "done".

Once you really get the true beauty of this quote you will be able to relax and maybe for the first time in your life just simply “be”.

Why You Can't Get It Wrong

It's important to realize that every decision that you make is the “right” one according to the time and the circumstances that you make it as well as the person you are in that moment. The only "mistake" that we make is when we attempt to look back and say to ourselves well if only I had done such and such things would be so different.

And yes they probably would be different, but it still doesn’t mean it was the choice you should have made at that moment.

As you have probably realized by now, everything “happens” for a reason. Every road we choose leads us to a new experience which births a new desire and that is exactly as it should be.

The problem begins if we find ourselves in circumstances that we are less than thrilled at and we make the mistake of looking back and saying “it is only due to this mistake that I am here now” as opposed to saying to ourselves “O.K. - This is where I am. Where do I want to go from here?“

For example, if you had a choice between two jobs. And you chose one that you eventually end up disliking. Do you make the mistake of saying “I knew I should have taken the other one!“ Well, my question to you is how do you know? There is obviously a “higher reason” you took this one, even if at the moment you are unaware of what it is.

So, instead of spending your time having regrets, figure out now what that reason is. Maybe you ended up making a life long friend out of a co-worker you wouldn‘t have met otherwise, maybe you will be making a connection with someone you will end up doing business with in the future, maybe you simply just needed to “kill some time here” as the perfect job is being set up for you and the day you decide to quit this one - the new perfect one will be ready.

If you start realizing that you can’t get it wrong, and start realizing there is no rule book that you are supposed to follow, you start to understand that where you are right now is exactly where you are supposed to be and the pressure is off. Which leads us to part 2 of the quote.

Why You Can Never Get It Done.

It is very simple. You don’t ever get it all done. The day you do not have a goal you would like to accomplish or a manifestation that you wish to create, is the day you are ready to leave this planet. But even then it is not done. Because even when you are in the non-physical you will be getting busy planning your next lifetime.

We are creative beings. We can only know all that we are capable of by every new creation we create. And as we accomplish one creation we just naturally birth a desire for a better and greater one. And that is what existence is all about and it goes on eternally.

We learn, we discover, we create which teaches us more to learn and discover and create.

So if that is the case…then where is your finish line? The answer: There simply isn’t one.

You have probably already noticed this for yourself. For years you have kept telling yourself things such as "when I accomplish this…then I will be happy." When you are in high school then you will be happy, when you graduate then you will be happy, when you are in college, then when you graduate, when you get your first job, then when you get your promotion, when you get married, then buy a house, then have kids, then have the kids old enough to be out of the house, when you retire…

If you keep waiting for all of these things to be accomplished in order for you to be happy…then you are completely missing it! Missing Life! Missing the joy of the process of creating! Missing some of the best moments of your life that I can promise you will look back some day on and wish you had appreciated more.

So start now! Appreciate now! Get excited when a new idea pops into your head. Love the process - the inspiration that comes as you go along creating. Even love the so-called mistakes that will then point you in the right direction. Don’t wait to be happy - be happy now! Remember…

"You can never get it wrong and you never get it done."

Happy Creating!

Today Is The Day You Should Conquer a Fear

Every once in awhile we need to stretch ourselves out beyond our normal boundries and feel proud of ourselves.

Every once in awhile we need to take a noticeable step that makes us grow.

So today is that day. Today is the day you should conquer a fear.

So what fear will it be? What have you been putting off that you have not wanted to face?

A bill or creditor that you need to deal with?
A loan you need to ask for?
A phone call to a friend or relative that you had a disagreement with and have been putting off making up with?
A relationship that you need to end?
Maybe a relationship that you would like to start?
Vacation time or a raise you haven't wanted to ask for?
Going someplace by yourself?
Seriously starting that diet or quitting smoking?
Riding a horse, driving a car?
Dealing with your finances?

Whatever your fears might be (and you obviously know what they are) it is time to pick one and deal with it. TODAY!

Consider this a message from Universe. Meant directly for you today. It doesn't even matter what this post is dated. If you are reading it right now - it is meant personally for you at this moment.

So Just Do It! -Take a deep breath and jump in!

And it doesn't matter if you fail. And it doesn't matter if it doesn't work out. Your world won't end. The only thing that matters is that You conquered a fear today and you should be proud of yourself.

You deserve to give yourself a pat on the back for your bravery and you deserve to feel good about yourself because you did the one thing that most others wouldn't. You looked at something that scared you and didn't let it stop you!

And you grew. And you are one step closer to your goal.

So stop looking for reasons to put it off, don't wait until a later date or until the "timing" is right.

The time is right Now! - Go for it!

Happy Creating!

Law of Attraction Manifestation Exercise #13- Find Out How Much You Truly Value Yourself

One of the most exciting things I enjoy about constantly studying new books about the Law of Attraction and Spirituality is that I literally learn something new everyday.

Even something I may have heard 100 times before can take on a new meaning to me, depending on the new place I am currently standing.

I have been studying the Law of Attraction now for almost 20 years, and there have been quite a few shockers along the way that have stood out in my mind.

The following exercise is one of them.

I had been studying for almost 10 years when I came across this simple exercise whose outcome quite surprised me.

After all those years of reading I had convinced myself I had a pretty good grasp on things.

I had started to learn that we all have the same exact right to be on this planet and that not one single one of us were better or worse than anyone else. We were all equal, we were all part of the I AM, the ONE and each of our presences on this Earth is just as important as the next persons.

I had started to learn not to take criticism others directed towards me personally because I realized they were coming from a different place than I was. Their opinion was just that -- their opinion, and had no bearing on the life I was creating for myself.

I was even starting to realize that we are simply here to create whatever lives we desire to create and that whatever we created was perfect. There was no blueprint. No one hanging over us saying what is right and what is wrong.

In other words, if you would have asked me then if I loved myself exactly as I was and valued myself as a person, I would have answered with a unequivocal yes! Or at least… so I thought.

Because then I came across this simple exercise…and realized I had a lot more to learn.

Here is the exercise. Go up to a mirror, look at your reflection, tell yourself “I Love You“ and see what your immediate gut reaction is.

A little corny…I agree. But a piece of cake, right?

That’s what I thought too when I first read about it. I even considered just blowing it off because it sounded like such a sappy exercise, but “something” told me to stop what I was doing and try it anyway.

So I did.

I went up to the mirror, looked at my reflection and said “I Love You.” The words were not even completely out of my mouth when suddenly I deeply felt “No, I don’t!“ I tried it again. “I Love You” -- “No!… I don’t!“

“Your hair is a mess, when are you getting it cut? Look at those circles under your eyes, you look horrible! You are so lazy. I am not proud of you at all! When do you plan on paying those bills piled on your desk, what about the phone calls you were supposed to make? How can I love that?!”


My ego voice came through so loud, clear and nastily that I was stunned. Here I was, all “Miss Spiritual Awareness“ and I couldn‘t even say these three simple most basic words to myself in the mirror without a barrage of insults coming back at me.

And they weren’t very important ones at that! I was supposed to be seeing the bigger picture here, not “not loving myself” due to my haircut!

And that was when I realized how far I really still had to go regarding self-acceptance. Take about a lesson in humility! Here I was thinking that I was “mastering” this new outlook on life and then realized I had barely even begun to scratch the surface.

I still do this exercise every once in awhile to gauge how far I have come. And while I admit it has gotten a lot easier to say these words to myself and I can feel a much more loving feeling behind them, I am still not at 100% acceptance yet.

So if you want to discover how far you might still have to go, try this exercise for yourself. Remember it has to be in front of a mirror, you can’t just say it in your head -- that‘s cheating.

You will see a major difference when you are “facing yourself” with these words. After all, you can’t lie to yourself at the same time you are actually facing yourself.

And if anything negative pops into your mind like it did in mine, pay attention to it! It will give you some clues on what you need to address to love yourself more.

Also very important. If you feel a lot of resistance at even the thought of doing this exercise because it feels silly or uncomfortable to you - than that is all the more reason for you do it immediately. It means something is seriously hiding there that does not want to be looked at and the only way to begin to conquer it is head on.

It is said that you truly can’t love another unless you truly love yourself first, and I believe that to be absolutely true. And just think…you probably say these words to friends and family all the time. Don’t you deserve to hear it from the most important person in your life….You?!

Happy Creating!

Manifestation Exercise # 12: How To Attract And Create A Happier Love Relationship

Ahhh…Relationships. They can provide the highest of highs or the lowest of lows. They can be so addicting…contain so much emotion…and sometimes cause you so many problems you want to scream!

Everyone knows how it is at the beginning of a relationship. The incredible surge of energy you send each others way!

When a relationship first begins you are each giving 100% of your energy to the other person. 100% of your energy surges with those first kisses, 100% of energy surges when you hear their voice on the answering machine, the butterflies start flying in your stomach as they are on their way to see you! The other person is all you think about and vice versa. It is one of the most incredible highs in the world and it feels like nothing can bring you down! Until one day something does.

You see, the problems begin when you get addicted to that initial energy. Because it feels so great in the beginning you want that feeling to go on forever. When it doesn‘t however, you start to feel as if someone let the air out of your balloon.

If you were able to look at the situation clearly (i.e., without emotion) you would be able to see that nobody can maintain that kind of energy flow forever.

Yes, while at the beginning of the relationship the relationship itself is getting 100% of each of your attention and energies, eventually “real life” has got to come back into the picture. Eventually problems at work are going to need both of your attentions as well. So will money matters, family matters, car repair matters, etc.

And this is where many of the problems begin.

Another pitfall that occurs due to this initial energy surge is you start to believe that your partner now somehow holds your future happiness in their hands. Seeing as they were the ones responsible for making you feel so good in the beginning, you now subconsciously or unconsciously believe it is their responsibility to continue to make you feel good in the future; and if for some reason you do not feel good, than it must somehow be their fault.

The following exercise is designed for anyone who is currently in a relationship that might be having problems or for anyone who might be looking to enter a new relationship. It is an exercise to help you regain your personal power and shows you how to make yourself feel better regardless of what is happening in your relationship.

Grab a piece of paper or open up a word document and write down an answer to the following questions. It is probably better to copy the questions and keep them in a word document so you can easily refer back to them during any weaker relationship moments.
Questions:

1. Do I put the responsibility of my happiness or unhappiness in my partners hands?

2. When something goes wrong in my life or I am unhappy, do I go out of my way to blame the person I am with and somehow make it their fault?

3. Why have I given this person so much control over my happiness?

4. Do I see our relationship as two emotionally healthy people deciding to share our lives together or do I see this person as part of my own identity?

5. Do I try to make this person do anything they don’t want to do?

6. Do they try to make me do anything I don’t want to do?

7. Why do we do that?

8. Didn’t I have a life before they were in it?

9. Have I stopped doing anything I used to enjoy doing since I have been with this person?

10. Why have I allowed myself to do that?

11. Isn’t it possible that this person really does love me - but just doesn’t have the time or ability to see to 100% of all my needs all the time?

12. Do I really think it should be their responsibility to think about me and only me all of the time?

13. If I do…why do I think that?

14. Didn’t I come down to this planet to create the best life for my “self” that I can create?

15. Didn’t they come down to do the same?

16. Where did we get the idea that it is either of our responsibilities to make the other person happy?

17. Is it even possible to make someone else happy if deep down they are not?

18. Is there anything I can do to make myself feel better regardless of what they do or do not do?

19. If this person was not in my life right now, would I be doing anything different to make myself happy (other than dating other people of coarse)?

20. What about this relationship is keeping me from doing that now?

The point of this exercise is to remember that you are indeed your OWN person.

Only you have the ability to make yourself happy or unhappy. Only you have the ability to control how and what you think.

You came down to this Earth to create your own life experience. If you choose to include someone to enjoy that experience with you - great. But if suddenly the life


you are trying to create is dependent on what the other person says or does, than you have some tweaking to do.

It is simply a bad habit you have let yourself fall into if you let your happiness depend on another and it is simply time to reclaim your own happiness creating abilities.

So how do you do this?

The first thing to do is remember that believe it or not you DID used to have a life of your own before this person was in it. Now I don’t mean that in a negative way as if you should get rid of the person, but I mean it as a simple fact.

Yes there were actually times in your life that you laughed before they were there. There were times you felt good about yourself, felt confident, felt competent, felt happy.
Yes, once upon a time you did attend parties, celebrate holidays, have friends, worked at jobs and even ate meals before this person was in your life so you obviously do not need this person to survive or to make you happy.

The second thing to remember is that you have chosen this person to be in your life and they have done the same. It is not an obligation on either or your parts. Forget any ridiculous outside pressure that makes you feel you need to do or be a certain way in a relationship or that once in a relationship you are “too far in” to get out of it.

You came here to create the life you desire and other people have the same responsibility to create theirs. Not only are neither of you responsible for each others happiness, it is impossible to deliver it even if you wanted to. As you may have discovered, no matter what you can do for someone or what they do for you “it just never seems to be enough.” This is simply because you can’t find happiness outside of yourself. Only you can bring yourself complete fulfillment.

The last thing to remember is that if you have made the mistake of losing yourself in past relationships, your current one or are even thinking about entering a new one, you need to remember to keep your own identity. Remember what you want in life, what you enjoy doing, what your interests are.

If you find that you are losing yourself in the relationship, start reclaiming yourself by making a conscious effort to do things you enjoy doing -- and yes -- you can do them on your own if your partner is not interested. Go alone or call a friend. Actually doing things apart from each other is healthy. It helps you to maintain your own independence and identity and gives you interesting things to talk about.

Not to mention if the worst does happen and the relationship does end, you still have a life to go back to.

Relationships can be awesome. When you are with someone you can laugh and share with, someone you can respect and have fun with and yes someone you can depend on at times to help you get through some of the rougher spots in life.

As long as you don’t lose yourself along the way or forget who is really responsible for your happiness you can be together for many happy years to come.

Happy Creating!

Law of Attraction Manifestation Exercise #10 - Eliminating The Feeling of Guilt

As most of us know, the feeling of Guilt is probably one of the hardest emotions to deal with. It is a kind of a punch-in-the-gut feeling you would do just about anything to rid yourself of. It can sometimes make you cringe, want to run away, or do anything humanly possible you can do to make it better.

So is there any benefit to the emotion at all? Actually it depends. Is it a “healthy guilt” or an “unhealthy guilt.”

Now some people might ask what on earth is a “healthy guilt”? A “healthy guilt” can be simply a sign post from your higher self or Universe, if you prefer, that there are some things you might like to do differently in the future than you have been doing.

For instance, if you haven’t given your children the attention they deserve lately because you have been so busy and you feel that little guilt nudge, it is simply a sign that you need to change the situation a little.

If you haven’t been eating properly or taking as good care of yourself as you should be, you can use the nudge to start to change things.

So what then is an “unhealthy guilt”? An unhealthy guilt is normally a feeling you get from outsiders who tell you that you are doing “it” wrong or that you are somehow not living up to “their” standards.

Unfortunately, it is this guilt that can do the most damage to your self-esteem and well-being and the one that needs to be dealt with quickly if you want to start feeling better.

The following story is an example:

A girlfriend of mine goes to her family’s house every Christmas Eve and then has Christmas Day at her house. Her 8 year old son is currently the only child in the family at the moment and her entire family looks forward to his delight and excitement during the holidays.

But, because he is the only child, quite often she finds that everyone else wants to give him the presents he wants most on his list, leaving her to the task of trying to divide what favorite things he will open on Christmas Eve and what he will receive on Christmas Day.

Last year the big gift was going to be the Wii system. His grandmother had managed to get her hands on it (which most people know was almost an impossibility last year) and the rest of the family were thrilled to buy some of the games that went with it.

My friends son had already been told not to expect the game because of its limited availability, so everyone couldn’t wait to see the excitement on his face when he opened it.

Sure enough on Christmas Eve he opens the Wii system and is super excited! He is jumping around eagerly as his father takes the ½ hour it takes to set the whole system up. However, once the game is set up, the adults practically pounce on it, because they too, can’t wait to try it out after hearing so much about it.

So while my friends son got to try it out first the first few minutes - he had a bunch of adults who kept asking him for the controller so they could give it a shot. They playfully argued with each other “No! You have to twist your arm this way to hit it” or “No, you have to step closer to the T.V., ” etc. as they all tried to figure it out.

After about 10 minutes my girlfriend noticed her son had left the room and she went to look for him. She found him sitting quietly in another room by himself playing his regular Nintendo DS game. He wasn’t angry or upset, but just seemed to accept the situation and was keeping himself entertained. She, however, did feel bad because not only was he not able to play his new game, but judging from the laughter inside, she knew he also wasn’t getting his hands back on the game anytime soon. So she went into her pocketbook and pulled out one of the new DS games she was saving to give him Christmas morning. She figured he was being such a good sport and she knew how excited he was going to be about this game as well because he had been asking for it for so long.

Sure enough he was thrilled and couldn’t wait for her to open it. Everything was great until her mother walked in the room and flipped out. “I cannot believe how much you spoil him!“ she fumed. “Here he just got this new game inside that any kid would be thrilled to have and you feel you just have to give him more.“

“But Mom” my girlfriend replied “no one is letting him play it”

“That’s too bad” she said. “He can wait a few minutes while others try it. But no, he comes running to you and you give him whatever he wants.”

“Mom, he didn‘t come running to me, I had to go find him. And he wasn’t complaining at all, which was one of the reasons I gave it to him.”

“Well, that is just ridiculous!” her mother huffed. “I would have never spoiled you or your brother or sister like that. You never received a single gift before Christmas morning when you were kids and we made sure you appreciated every single thing you got. And now here he is, getting such a great gift on Christmas Eve, but that’s not enough, you have to give him more.“

Now my girlfriends’ poor son, who had been sitting there quietly and hadn’t done anything wrong to begin with, voluntarily handed the new game back to his mother. “It’s O.K., Mom. I can wait to play this tomorrow,” which melted my friend’s heart even more - but also made her even angrier with her own mother.

She gave her son the DS game back and told him to go inside and play it. Meanwhile the guilt trip her mother had just given dampened both her and hers sons enjoyment of the rest of the evening.

You see, it is these kinds of guilt trips you need to watch for. When someone tries to make you feel guilty for doing something that goes against their own personal belief system, but that you might feel differently about.

Now I know my girlfriends mother truly had only good intentions when she said what she said. I know it was only her concern for her grandson’s well-being that made her


upset with her daughter. And spoiling children was something she had always been dead set against. But the truth was, no matter how long the two of them could have argued their own point of view, neither was going to be able to make the other understand.

When I got concerned however, was when I saw the guilt my girlfriend was started to put herself through when she started doubting her own decision. She started wondering if maybe she was spoiling her son too much. Maybe the Wii should have been enough on Christmas Eve. Not to mention the guilt her son was feeling because he felt it was somehow his fault that his grandmother was upset -- even though he hadn‘t done anything wrong.

This is the kind of guilt which does not serve your higher good. Guilt that is inflicted by others because it is their way of trying to get you to act the way they want you to act or act the way, they themselves, would act.

And this is fine as long as you recognize it for what it is and do not let yourself carry it around with you.

Understand it is perfectly O.K. to have a difference of opinion but do not condemn yourself for the difference. Do not label yourself “a bad parent” because someone thinks you should do something differently.

So now for the Exercise that you can use. It is quick, simple, and can be surprisingly insightful.

The easiest way to find out if the guilt you are experiencing is “healthy guilt” or “unhealthy guilt” you simply need to ask yourself these two simple questions:

“Does this feeling make me truly want to act in a different way?”
“And will acting in a different way make me feel better?”

For instance, say you feel guilty about neglecting your best friend lately. Ask yourself the above questions. Does this feeling make me truly want to act in a different way? You might find yourself answering “Yes, I do want to call her more and spend more time with her. Will acting a different way make me feel better? You might say “Yes, seeing her more often and reconnecting will make me feel better.“ Than you can realize that this is a “healthy guilt” that is merely a sign post for you to follow and do things better in the future.

However, if you already talk to your friend 5 days a week and she is trying to make you feel bad for not being there all 7 days, you might find yourself answering “No, I think we talk more than enough and it will only make me feel resentful if I have to call her more often.“

These two simple questions can work wonders. I had my girlfriend ask herself these questions regarding the “Christmas incident”.

If she could do the situation over again would she want to act in a different way and would it make her feel better if she had? And her answer was a clear no. She would still want to give her son the gift and it would not have made her feel better if she hadn’t. So it was clearly an “unhealthy guilt” based on someone else’s expectations.

So start using this little exercise as of today. Anytime the feeling of guilt rears its ugly head, ask yourself the questions above and get clearer on any move you should or shouldn’t make. If you feel that you want to do something differently than start doing something differently as of NOW. Do not waste your time or emotion feeling bad that you didn’t do it yesterday. Simply start now. Thank your higher self for the sign post and do what will make you feel better going forward.

And if you find that the guilt is unwarranted then recognize this and throw it away immediately because it obviously serves no purpose to you.

You will be amazed how easy it is to get rid of a guilty feeling when you deal with it head on instead of burying it inside you somewhere.

By asking yourself these questions you will either decide you want to do something about it - or you are happy doing things exactly the way that you are. Either way, the matter is settled and you can move on.

Happy Creating!

Freedom From The Opinion Of Others

As if it isn't stressful enough dealing with the critical voices we hear in our own minds all the time, we also find we have to deal with the criticism and opinions of others on almost a daily basis.

While we can sometimes benefit from the advice of others, we can also make the mistake of letting their opinions carry far too much weight in the decisions we make and how we decide to live our lives. It is necessary to take a step back once in awhile and ask ourselves the reasons behind so much of what we do.

For instance:

Why do you have the job or career that you have? Is it something you always wanted to do? Or is it a job or career that others such as your parents, spouse or friends think is the right job for you?

I have a friend who always wanted to be a writer. After she graduated high school she intended to look for a job in the publishing industry. Her parents however had a different idea. They didn't think the writing field was solid enough. Jobs were hard to come by and easy to lose. Newspapers and magazines paid very little. Getting a book published was a one in a million shot. (This was all before the internet by the way.)

They convinced her that taking a job as a writer would be irresponsible on her part and that she should work as an administrative assistant on Wall Street instead. Plenty of positions available, good solid income, security. After enough pressure she caved and took their advice and became an administrative assistant for over 15 years. And hated every minute of it. The ironic part was when years later she decided to give her writing career another shot, it was now her spouse who didn't want her to give up the steady income she was making as an assistant.

Even though they all knew she was miserable doing what she was doing, they wouldn't or couldn't, look past their own opinions of how she should live her life.

Luckily she finally came to the realization that this was in fact, her life, and not theirs. She started writing and submitting pieces in her spare time and eventually started earning enough to make it her full time job. She is now very successful and happy! But it was only when she realized that she had been sacrificing her desires because of the opinion of others that she was able to make the move.

So how about you?

Are you in the career you want to be in? Or have you been convinced by others that it is the best thing for you?

Are you getting married or trying to have a baby because others are telling you "it is time" or because you really want to?

Are you single because you want to be? Or is it because your friends are single and do not want to see you in a permanent relationship?

How about the person you are dating or married to? Is it a person you want to be with or is it a person others are telling you is "perfect for you."

The clothes in your closet. Are they clothes you enjoy and are comfortable in, or is your closet filled with what others are saying are the "must-have" item of the season?

How about where you live?

Your religious affiliation?

Your political party?

How and what you eat?

How you look or how much you weigh?

It is important to take stock once in awhile and notice why you are making the decisions you have been making in your life. You need to remember that you came down to this Earth to live your life and to create what you want and to make yourself happy.


It is your natural entitlement to create your life any way you want to just by your being here! It is not only something we are all naturally entitled to - it is our reason for being in the first place. To create whatever we desire!

It is not your job or responsibility to live your life to please others. It is not your job to make others happy. It is their job to make themselves happy and to create the life they are desiring.
It is also very important to remember they other people do not live the consequences



of the decisions that they want you to make. Only you do. Just like the example of my friend up above. Her parents wanted her to be an assistant. And she became one. And then they went off nice and happy and didn't give it another thought, while she ended up being miserable every day for 15 years!

If you want true freedom in your life you need to remember that other people opinions are just that. Their opinions. It doesn't matter if it comes from your enemies or most loving friends and family members. They base their beliefs on their own personal experiences which could be completely opposite of what you have experienced in your past or what you believe. What decision might be right for them could be the absolute wrong thing for you.

Another thing to remember is to start trusting your own opinion more. You are an intelligent person. You've had enough life experience to know what you are wanting or do not want. And refuse to accept any guilt about it. If someone tries to make you feel bad or guilty for not following their advice, it is more important than ever for you to remember who has to live with the consequences - you or them.

With practice you will find that making your decisions based on your own happiness will bring you an incredible feeling of freedom. And after awhile others will also start to know you as a person with your own mind who can not be swayed to do anything you do not want to do. And they will either respect you for it and stop trying to change you, or move on and find someone else they can try to mold in their image. Either way, you end up living the life you truly desire to create.

Happy Creating!