Crochet Anxiety & Perfection

Something I’ve noticed lately is how the striving for Perfection and trying to project our own little piece of Perfection out to the world can cause suffering – like actually a lot. So I wanted to explore that.

What is Perfection?

To me: Perfection is seeking to control things in our life in order to alleviate one of our human animal birthrights: general anxiety which stems from the animal need to survive.

So Ultimately what we are seeking (at all times and in all we do) is the feeling of well-being – happiness, contentment, joy, peace, etc.

Human Based Perfection

But what we chase after is Human-Based-Perfection, thinking that somehow when things are perfect – our bodies, our home, our job, our relationships, our finances – when they are perfect THEN I can have those feelings of well-being.

We bring this seeking of Perfection into so much of our life. Lose weight, gain weight, tidy my home, renovate the bathroom, get a new car, paint the house, check off everything on my to-do list, and on and on…. Including our hobbies like crochet. If I can just make this crochet project perfectly, get this one more row done, this one more project done, etc. Let me share a picture of what I’ve made. But first I must clear a Perfect space, get Perfect lighting, make it look like all the other perfect Instagram and YouTube images out there.

Life is Always in Flux

But all these things are always in flux in our life. Nothing is ever Perfect the way us humans define perfection which is straight controlled lines. Nature doesn’t work that way. Nature is curvy, nature is fractal, nature is messy, and nature, truly, is so much more interesting and beautiful than straight lines.

The False Promise of Straight Lines

And what if we do get those straight lines? Perfectly lined up furniture, perfectly lined up education for our kids, perfectly lined up income, perfectly lined up progress on goals, perfectly lined up life – meet the boy/girl – fall in love – get married – buy the house – have kids – living happily ever after. 

Even when things line up perfectly (which they rarely do according to straight lines) our satisfaction is short-lived. Is our anxiety relieved? No, we are quickly onto thinking “when will the other shoe drop?” And we are back to not experiencing feelings of well-being, and instead experiencing feelings of worry, dread and anxiety.

What’s the Solution?

Now, I don’t know how much anxiety can be eliminated, but I do know that it can at the very Least be greatly reduced. How?

By not having Perfection serve as our personal permission slip to be happy and feel at peace.

See striving for a particular outcome is not in and of itself problematic. That’s the stuff of human life. The problem is when we tie it to our permission to be happy.

Granting ourselves permission to be happy or at least at peace right here right now in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the mess, in the middle of the chaos, in the middle of the project, in the middle of the struggle, this is what we should strive for.

How: To take quiet time, to take a break, to take a breath, to notice right here, right now, essentially everything is ok. It’s not Human-Perfect, but it is Nature- Perfect.

And nature perfect is so much more interesting, so much more true beauty. 

It’s only our definitions that rob us of seeing the True Perfection of this present moment.

Even in the worst moments, if we cultivate this practice daily of allowing ourselves to be at peace in the mundane times, then we can be at ease even in the most challenging moments.

A Personal Perspective

From my experience, when life throws me challenges, when I take the time to slow down and examine them calmly, I often, well, always, I find the message that life is trying to send me.

You see, the feelings of well-being, ease, peace, joy – these are our natural state. It’s when we put conditions on top of them that we cease to feel them. They are always there beneath the surface but we cover them up with worry about the future, regrets about the past, and the general pursuit of perfection in everything before we allow ourselves to be happy and at peace.

So you see our only real problem is Us wanting to control that which is already perfect before we ALLOW ourselves to be happy is.

Recognize This

Things are perfect right now. The things you think are not perfect are there for your growth. They each hold messages and teachings.  Look for the good lessons in each. 

Maybe those lessons are Patience, kindness, love, letting go of anger and other negative feelings. 

When you allow yourself to see the perfection that is already here, all the good that is already here, then you can allow yourself to be happy (or at least at ease) now no matter what is going on. 

Which is what we want from perfection anyway – to be happy, to feel at ease.

Try This

Next time you have an imperfection in your life see if you can let it be there. See if you can sit with it a while before trying to fix it. See if you can understand the root of why you feel compelled to control it. See if you can love the beauty of it. What could it’s message be for you?

Maybe we can even learn to love what we perceive as imperfections in ourselves both in our physical appearance, our creations and in our thoughts. 

Know this: All is perfect right now. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. All those “mistakes” – they are not roadbumps. They are On-Purpose. They are there For You. They are perfect learning opportunities. All that mess – it’s Nature’s Perfection. And your task is not to control it but to discover the highest good in it.

You have permission to rest in the feelings of happiness, joy, and ease at all times. I wish you peace and happiness and ease.

Crochet Podcast on Perfection

If you are interested, I discussed this topic last week in my crochet podcast. You can watch it below.

Join me in the conversation!

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below or by sharing this on FB or Twitter with your perspective!

Thanks for reading!

This is a guaranteed delicious homemade eggroll recipe. It’s a little work just as all homemade food is, but you’ll know exactly what is in it, you’ll know it’s healthy, and once you taste it, you will swear that you will never eat anyone’s eggrolls besides these ever again!!

Please enjoy and please share!

Egg Roll Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausages removed from casing (sweet or hot) (or chicken/turkey)
• 1 head cabbage
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 1/2 Inch of Ginger or 1T minced ginger
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 3 green onions
• 1-3 t sesame oil
• 2 T Soy Sauce – divided into 1T and 1 T
• 1-2 T Olive Oil
• Egg Roll Wrappers (I used Nasoya) usually in produce section of grocery store

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 425 F

In Food Processor (Or chop small by hand)

2. Chop Garlic and Ginger – set aside

3. Chop Carrot – set aside

4. Chop Onion and Cabbage – set aside

By hand:

5. Chop Green Onion – set aside

In Dutch oven pot or large fry pan:

6. Cook pork (REMOVED FROM CASINGS) until cooked (browned if you like, but not necessary) – place on a paper towel lined plate to drain some oil. Remove excess oil. Set Pork aside to cool a bit.

7. Cook cabbage, onion, and carrots with some olive oil and 1 T Soy Sauce until soft – or the level of cooked that you like. Anywhere from 5-15 minutes.  Some may like more or less crunchy/soft. – Remove from Pot and set aside in bowl.

8. Chop the Pork by hand or food processor until crumbly. Set aside.

9. Add pork back to the pot. Add Sesame Oil, Garlic, and Ginger. Cook on Med High for 1 min.

10. Add Green Onion Cook for 1 min.

11. Add back the Cabbage/Onion and 1 T Soy Sauce. Stir well until fully mixed and warm. Taste to see if it needs more soy sauce.

12. Use this mixture to fill and roll your eggrolls. The instructions will be on the package. All you need is to wet the final flap to secure.

13. Place eggrolls on a parchment paper lined cooking tray. Spray with oil sprayer or brush each eggroll with olive oil.

14. Cook eggrolls  in oven for 15-25 minutes, turning once about halfway through. If you have a convection oven use that feature to get nice brown/crispy effect. Keep an eye on them for how brown you like them.

Enjoy!

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Thank you for stopping by!

How I’m Dealing with Death of my Dog Maisy

My sweet little chihuahua Maisy died yesterday at age 11 very unexpectedly and suddenly. She was very healthy and by all accounts should have lived many more years. I believe she died of asphyxiation from a collapsed trachea. Chihuahua’s often have this physical condition as do many other small breed dogs. Unfortunately I didn’t realize it could be fatal and was not prepared.

I was with her when she died. I didn’t fully realize what was happening at first, but once I did I tried to give her doggy CPR to no avail. All day yesterday I kept replaying the scene in my head always coming back to the regretful place that I didn’t know enough about what to do exactly and so therefore I didn’t do enough. This left me feeling terrible with no way to ever feel better about it except to simply accept it. 

But I think I have come to a better, more true perspective of things, as I have meditated on it. This view of Maisy’s death leaves me feeling full, feeling love, feeling truly OK with what is. It’s my view of the experience of death and maybe it will help someone else. I’m sure not everyone would embrace my view, but if it helps just one other person, that’s why I write this today. That one person may only be me when I falter and return to regretful thinking. Click below to read more.

Non-Duality and Death

I believe in the teachings of non-duality. (Great resources listed below) In a nutshell Non-Duality states that we are all part of The One, the Absolute. We each stem from the Creative Manifestations and Love of The One. Non-dual means “not two,” that there is only One. It can be quite a heady concept to grasp, especially being so enmeshed in this physical reality with all it’s apparent diversity and separation. But, as Ram Dass taught, we live on many levels. We have the dream state, we have the physical state, and beyond this there are spiritual realms in which we live simultaneously but don’t have conscious awareness of, or at the very least they are designed to be forgotten in order to fully experience the physical reality. In the physical reality we each “interbe” with each other. This is a Buddhist concept that reveals the truth that no living thing could exist without all the other things in the universe. 

We Are All Connected

Consider a blade of grass. It could not exist without the sun, water, the soil, the ants aerating the soil, the pollinators, the wind to strengthen it as it grows. It can and does not exist on it’s own. It is dependent on all other conditions. In that way it is just a distinction within the whole, but never truly separate from the whole. This is similar to how waves in the ocean have distinctness, but are never separated from the whole of the ocean. Waves, like blades of grass, and like ourselves and our pets are patterns of energy that are ever moving and ever changing all contained within the whole. You are me. And I am you. We are All. And we are all connected.

Maisy and I Are Forever Connected

So in this context, I see that Maisy was always part of me. She had a distinct form for a while inside of her cute furry body. What she was thoughm at her essence, and what we all are at our essence, is true Love. This is what we are all made of. Love is the thread or yarn that is woven into many distinct yet connected parts of the Whole. When I take yarn, I can make almost anything out of it. I can make a sweater, a hat, a scarf. I can make things too. I can make things that look like people or houses or plants or animals. But they are all yarn. And in the physical world that yarn is unbroken from one distinct thing to another. The yarn in this example represents Love which is the Absolute from which and of which we are all made/exist.

The Love We Give is the Love We Get

Besides her body, the Yarn of Love from which Maisy was fashioned had many other qualities such as gentleness, innocence, and kindness. She was a content soul, happy to chill on the couch for hours. She was a minimalist. She only wanted love, food and rest in that order. And she got it and she was happy. With Maisy being in my life, I could “see” those qualities in her, seemingly as a distinct entity apart from me. By manifesting in Maisy seemingly “outside of me” they were on display for me as Kristin to observe and to emulate. This is the play of God. God is playing inside of each of us, enjoying the exploration of this physical realm and the forgetting of who We are. Maisy also embodied stubbornness and irrational fearfulness which brought up anger in me in the early days, when she wouldn’t do what I wanted. Luckily God was there in the form of my son John to urge me to summon my compassion and love. Over time I learned the lessons of love and compassion because of Maisy. I see now that the love, understanding, and compassion that I gave to her, I was giving to Myself as the Absolute dancing in this physical playground. Maisy and I were and are fully encased in the One. In that way any goodness I gave to her, I gave to myself.

Dealing with Guilt after Death

So today any guilt I hold because of wrongdoings against Maisy in the past were wrongdoings against myself. The hurt I feel for her is inside me too. The forgiveness and redemption I yearn for are also inside me. Maisy is me, in the sense that we are both of the same Yarn, Ocean, Love. In order to know if Maisy forgives me, all I have to do is ask myself “do you forgive me Kristin?” or better yet “will you forgive me Kristin?” And to get forgiveness all I have to do is give it, unconditionally and with love. When I do that I feel the love that Maisy would give me if I could ask her that. She didn’t have a vengeful bone in her body, only Love. In fact as much as she loved food (and she LOVED food!) she always wanted love more! 

Even though she is not in her little fur body, she is still fully with me. Her love and all her good and challenging qualities are still with and in me. My challenge is to work with them now inside of me and when I see them in others to meet them all with Love.

UPDATE: next day

Recent learnings – Note to Self from Self

Kristin, if you’re tired and have spiraling down thoughts, that’s the signal to stop thinking and get some rest.
In the morning you’ll be more open to this truth “Even when it’s bad, it’s not as bad as you think. We are always ok. Even, and probably especially, at the moment of death we are always OK.” Death is probably our greatest fear. Death is only a transition. Everything I’ve read about people who have glimpsed “the other side” say it’s beyond our greatest dreams. Everyone gets to go there especially the “wicked” who need the most healing. So there’s never anything to worry about.

Love Can’t Be Possessed. It’s Closer Than Possession.

You see, when she was in her little cute fur body, I could pet her and enjoy that loving interaction. I could hug her. But these actions could never be done in a way that fully expressed the infinite nature of Love. That infinite nature of Love just Is. It’s not something that you can hug so tight that you can hold on to it so as to never lose it. Those actions don’t make you never lose Love. The real Truth is that Love Never Can be lost. It can’t be grabbed enough, hugged enough, or petted enough into a state of possession. It is closer than possession. We Are that Love. It is inside of us. All we have to do is bathe in it, bask in it. How? Just think of it and it is there. Of course you can think of it while petting your dog, or while hugging your loved ones, or while looking into someone’s eyes. These are like “permission slips” in the physical world that say “love is happening now.” But truly for love to happen all you have to do is be aware of it because it always is there.

Wake Up Calls

Maisy’s death has been a wakeup call to me similar to the mini-death of losing my breasts to cancer a few years ago. I didn’t know I needed a wakeup call then or now. It just happens. I guess that’s how wake up calls work. They need to be abrupt at times to catch our attention. I was lucky at the time to have a great healer/teacher guide me back then to see that my breasts volunteered to take on the brunt of the wakeup call I needed at that time knowing that they were not essential to me continuing to live in the physical world. Both of these wake up calls summoned me to slow down for a moment and examine my life. What is working? What do I regret and want to be sure to include going forward? What changes will I make? These wake up calls also said “Kristin you are strong. You can handle this. Take time to assess your life and keep building on past lessons to make it better all the time.”

My belief is that on some level in the spiritual world Maisy said “I volunteer to transition today” in order for these lessons to be learned and experienced by our little family, and her decision was fine with all of us because on the spiritual level we know that she never really died. 

Dealing with the Physical Level Grief

Yesterday I was having trouble at the physical level of being, accepting her sudden departure. I kept asking all day “Where did you go Maisy? Where are you?” I remembered the story of Ramana Maharshi when he was dying and all his followers said, “Oh, please save yourself. Don’t die. Please don’t leave us.” And he said something like “Don’t be scared. I’m not going anywhere. Where could I go?” And what he meant is that he would forever be with them in their hearts, minds, and always connected by Universal Love. His “being with them” while in the physical realm is not different after he dropped his body.  “He would not go anywhere, that in the deepest sense he would always be with his devotees, in fact with anyone who would recognize Him for what he really is, their very Self, the Consciousness, which is prior to space and time.” The Self, Consciousness, and Love are all one and the same.

So for Maisy, when she left her physical body she just transitioned from her qualities being seemingly inside a little fur body apart from me to the realization that they were actually inside of me all along and always will be. To experience the seemingly unique feeling of Love for Maisy is the same as experiencing Love in any circumstance. And if I want to feel that Love with Maisy and if I want to know that she feels it too, all I have to do is put my awareness on it and feel it. It is always there. Yes, she is feeling it. She is eternal because she is part of the Eternal One. Knowing all this gives me great peace and a full feeling of Love.

What Will Life Look Like Now without Maisy in Physical Form?

Will I sometimes feel sad or shed a tear over missing Maisy? Definitely. I’m still in this human incarnation. I’m still learning these concepts. When I think of them, they feel true to me. When I miss Maisy I promise to think of loving moments and recognize that they are real in that moment. How do I know they are real? The same way I knew that they were real when she was in front of me in her body. I could feel the Love then. And I can feel the Love now. The distinctions and circumstances may be different, but the Love is the same. 

If I feel guilt I will remember that if Maisy asked me for forgiveness I know I would give it to her in a heartbeat. Likewise she wouldn’t hesitate for a second to give it to me with so much unconditional love. She gave love as freely as God him/herself would give it. So right there, there is no need for the bad feelings of guilt. I will use my learnings from my shortcomings to do better in the future with others.

Are You Listening to the Messages All Around You?

That pure Love we get from pets is from that part of Ourselves that is our Best Selves gently reminding us to do the same with everyone we meet in person or in our thoughts. For everyone, everything is Us. When we give Love, we get Love. Each loved one in our life offers us lessons to grow in our ability to love. We just need to listen.

Sending you so much love. Wishing you an opening to the Love that is always there for you, with you, is You. 

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Thank you!

Spiritual and Non-Duality Resources

If you would like to read more about non-duality and the books that lined my path to finding non-duality, check out these authors and resources:

Older Generation Teachers: (1960- Present)

Thich Nhat Hanh – This was the start of my spiritual journey. Beautiful loving writing to soothe emotional pain. I would start with “The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation”

Ram Dass – “Be Here Now” was the start of my non-dual journey. Also check out his podcasts/youtube channel. Listen to his whole life story and all he learned in life. You will be changed forever.

Original Non-Dual Teachers: (1879 – 1980)

Ramana Maharshi 

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj – “I Am That” or “Self-Love”

Current Generation Teachers: (Present Day)

Rupert Spira – see him also on Youtube

Mooji – see him also on Youtube

Michael A. Rodriguez 

Photo Credit: vineyardcolors.com

This is a tumultuous time in history, where the entire world is searching for real Truth. People are sick of the half truths, twisted truths and outright lies by authorities we are supposed to trust, that are supposed to be looking out for our best interest.

From govt officials, to gov’t agencies, to big pharma, to the chemical and petroleum industries, to the medical industry, to our cultural messages about what success is, to even our history lessons, heck even science….and so much more.

For too long many in these areas have to some degree or another:

– hidden truth

-twisted truth

-mislead

-lied

Examples:

GOVERNMENT and government agencies

are so infected by corporate money that policies are not made in the best interest “the people” – think deregulation of chemicals, the approvals of chemicals, the poisoning of water supplies….

MEDICINE & BIG PHARMA 

(yes some medicines help people) but the majority of people’s ailments could be completely fixed with diet and lifestyle changes. I understand some people don’t want to change. That’s fine. But, the “Standard of Care” should also include diet, nutrition, supplementation, and alternative therapies all of which have their own scientific basis in efficacy. Currently a doctor can ONLY recommend the Standard of Care without risk of losing their license.

And then there is the dishonesty in pharma drug research, taking select people out of trials when they are not responding. Or not publishing trials where no efficacy is shown.

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 

the money fighting against renewable energy options is horrible as well as the promotion of continuing this dead-end path of burning fossil fuels. Clean coal – likely a twisted truth – is still a dead end and is poisoning our environment, from the exhausts to the plastics. We need sustainable energy sources. A race of humans who put men on the moon can no doubt figure this out.

CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

they are in everything and they are making us all sick. Beauty and household chemicals are approved so easily you wouldn’t believe it. The amount of damage from chemical is so staggering as to be almost quantifiable because there is no one who is not affected to act as a control group.

SUCCESS

our culture, which stems from corporate consumerist marketing, would have you believe that you need lots of money, lots of things, lots of physical body perfection, the best schools, the highest ranking job, in order to be happy and successful. We eat that up. So many of us are so unhappy. Why? Because we are seeking something unattainable and missing out on what brings true happiness – quality connection with others, creative endeavors, meaningful service (what is now called work).

HISTORY 

history is written by the victors which means that the conquested peoples’ stories are squashed. The atrocities they experienced are written over by disney stories or minimized/erased by the conquering group. The fallout from these things are felt for GENERATIONS! Think of slavery in our country – this is a wound that is still not healed at many levels. Yes we’ve made progress, but I think our politics today shows that it is still not healed. Native Americans – similarly still experience the fallout from being dominated instead working together fairly.

SCIENCE

science is supposed to be the discipline of discover how our world works through exerimentation and observation, but even in this discipline we have many “scientists” who are actually religiously tied to old science when confronted with new scientific understandings. This has always happened.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

And another area  of dishonesty….  people who commit crimes are not monsters. They are humans who somewhere along the way: they didn’t get what they needed, were abused, had very bad luck, were never taught empowering & life affirming lessons, maybe have mental illness and so on. I’m not saying that their crimes are right or any less horrific in some instances, but as humans deciding policies for other humans who made mistakes, we should be finding ways to TRULY help rehabilitate, foster forgiveness and redemption, and work to prevent this in the first place through the best education and social services we can provide.

Now What?

SOOOooooo what?

What to do?

For me, I am seeking Truth that is guided by the principles of Fairness, Love, Kindness, Justice, Forgiveness, Transparency (Honesty!)

The institutions and policies and cultures of the world will only change when the masses change their outlook and then demand change in how our world works.

So I guess everyone has to do their own thing. But, I do believe that if we are aware of these corruptions, injustices, and dishonesty in our systems, we have an obligation, a duty to tell others and to speak up and take action to bring about change.

Giving up is not a moral option. Nor is being apathetic. If we all act, change will happen. In fact it IS happening. Look at the increase in acceptance of LGBTQ community and the approval of gay marriage. People are Rejecting discrimination and Embracing others outside of their social/cultural/national groups. Yes, there are those that desperately want to stay in the old ways. But I see Big Hope abounding. 

I also believe that we need to not be so quick to accidentally throw the baby out with the bath water. We do need to question everything and investigate what motivations and intentions drive things and information. And although we should approach things skeptically, we shouldn’t be so quick to become cynical and mistrusting of everything. Every person, institution, and printed information has a belief system, agenda, motivation or intention behind it. That’s by default and it’s not always sinister. Just because someone is making money from selling something doesn’t mean the product is bad, but it doesn’t mean that it is good either. We must dig a little deeper these days.

It will be tumultuous for a while as we transition from the old ways of intolerance, hate, violence to respect for others, kindness, fairness, and so on.

For me I will try to communicate where I see dishonesty to bring awareness. I will speak to ask those in charge to make changes to help our world. I will organize with others to further influence and bring about change.

What Will You Do?

What things do you do to bring about positive change in the world? What are some ways that you think can help?

Please Share

Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook.

Thanks for reading!

cheifyc / Pixabay

Where are you going in such a hurry?

Where ever you go you are always right here. Where ever you go you are always with yourself. Whether you are in your home, on the subway, or at the top of a the Himalayas, you are always right here with yourself. 

What about the hurry? You say, ” I have to do this by this time.” What time is that? The time is always now. Is your “hurry” mindset necessary in what you are doing? Does it get you there faster? Or does it slow you down?

How can we be more present? How can we eliminate “hurry” even if we happen to be moving fast?

And if you are always right here and the time is always now what should you be doing?

The simple answer to this question is “the only thing for us to do is our Dharma, our duty.”

But what does that mean and how do we know what that is?

Reality as Material Playground

Each one of us, every living being, and in fact every seemingly inanimate object in the universe, is an expression of God.

We are living in a material playground where each of us originates from the Singular Creative Source. Some call this God. In this playground we are often caught up in the “game.” We lose sight or forget that we are eternal and therefore we have all the time that we need, and that ultimately we don’t have anywhere that we “must” go.  Yes, within life we have our obligations of eating and shelter and helping others. But how many of our other obligations are just filler, unnecessary?

How many of our obligations are buying into rules that don’t serve us:

• I must have a neat house.
• I must be a certain size body.
• I must attend all social events.
• My children must be well-rounded with lots of activities.
• I must respond to all Facebook comments.

How many of our obligations are us trying to run away from ourselves? What’s the cost of running from ourselves? Can we make a change? 

The Witness

When we slow down we can observe ourselves and everything around us. We can observe our actions, our emotions, and our thoughts. Those are our conditioning. Those thoughts, emotions, actions, and bodily experiences stem from what we have learned to do, think and believe. It also stems materially from our habits such as our eating, sleeping and use of our bodies. Our body is ourself in one sense, but in another, we are so much more than that. The eternal witness is our true self and it can never be destroyed or harmed. The eternal witness, our true self is not limited. 

As we walk through life we may think that we have choice in our actions. There is a school of thought that says that God is playing his divine game through us. It says we get confused with the actions that were taking as being our choice when in reality it’s all God’s choice. This would lead to the conclusion that there are no mistakes. For many, including myself, this is hard to understand. But it is interesting and, I think, helpful to contemplate.

Here’s a way to think about it: God lives through us just as our breath breathes us. We can temporarily hold or control our breath but we can’t stop it for too long without extinguishing our material body. And just the same God is “playing life” through us. I don’t know where God’s plan ends and my plan begins. And perhaps they are one and the same. It’s a mind puzzle that is easier accepted than understood.

What the Heck is Dharma?

This brings us back to dharma. Dharma means many things but here in this chat, I am referring to dharma as duty. Your karma is your life circumstances that arise from your past actions and thoughts. It’s not a crime and punishment system. It’s simply a cause and effect system. Dharma is the duty you must do given the life (Karma) that is in front of you.

The life that is in front of us at any given moment will present you with your dharma. Sometimes that will be a child asking you for food. Sometimes that will be your boss asking you for a task to be completed. Often times there are things that come up in front of us that we don’t want to do. We reject the life circumstances that are at our front door.

The bell rings, we open it and upon seeing who is there, we slam the door shut. But the bell rings again. And again, and again until we accept our visitor, our Karma. When we reject our circumstances in the present moment, we experience frustration, anger, sadness, despair. The key to transforming these emotions into a peaceful heart is surrender to what is in front of you. This doesn’t mean you give up on life or that you stop striving for something better. It means you stop fighting the the river that you are standing in presently, the river that you walked into. You can eventually walk to a different river or path, but in this moment, you accept where you are and do what is in front of you.

The beautiful thing is that your duty is always serving God, is serving yourself as you are an extension of God and so is the person in front of you. Every person you meet is God meeting God.

The idea is that if you do your dharma, your duty, with the spirit of service to God then you can experience happiness in whatever you’re doing or not doing. Because sometimes our Dharma is to sit and be still in our mind and our body.

Again, you don’t have to worry if you can’t figure out which choice is your dharma. You can’t make a mistake. Isn’t that nice? Basically your Karma will keep showing up at your door until your dharma is done. It’s like an automatic reminder system. 

So where are you going in such a hurry? Do you need to be in a hurry? Maybe you go slow or maybe your dharma calls on you to move fast. Can you go slow and fast with equal amounts of peacefulness in your heart?

Let me know what you think!

Wishing you peace and joy. Namaste.

oohhsnapp / Pixabay

The truth is we are much closer together than we are apart. I’m not a democrat. You’re not a republican. We’re both humans who care deeply about certain issues. We probably have different and varied opinions about how to solve even the issues we agree are important.

It’s probably safe to say that the vast majority care about our family, friends, and preserving or improving our way of life. We probably all care about personal freedom.

Let us try to stay focused on those things we have in common and let’s try to be involved citizens. Let’s try to let go of hate of the “other” political party that is stirred up by the media. Let’s even let go of hate for the media, because the truth is each individual, each group whether it be a family, a business, a political party, or a nation is going to have their biases based on what they want or are trying to achieve. That includes you and me.

The media, for example, plays an important role in democracy. They are there to bring facts to light and inform the citizens of what is going on in their country, in their government, so that accountability can exist. At the same time, the media, whether it’s a national news network or even a small blog or even you as an individual reporting on Facebook, all have an agenda which is to get people to read or listen to your information. As a business, people whose job it is to report the news need to be paid for that work. So in addition to providing an important service, they have a need for people to take in their reporting. This causes media to want to make the news as “delicious” as possible for their audience. If the story is boring no one will read it, but the citizens need to be informed. So the media is forever walking the thin line of delivering straight facts, but serving them up in an appetizing way.

So let’s not hate the media. Look for facts, listen to multiple interpretations of those facts, but also form your own opinions, realizing that many subtle differences in opinion can all potentially be correct. It’s not always black and white. There are many shades of gray. Let’s be more open to being wrong and compromising with a spirit of “ok let’s try it your way. Let’s see how that goes.” The sky won’t fall in one day. And let’s be big enough to admit when our way didn’t work out and we need to try something else.

And similar to the media all other groups (businesses, political parties, charitable organizations, and on and on) have both their mission to do good, and their underbelly pressure to get their mission accomplished even at the cost of violating their core beliefs.

You don’t have to look far to see that this conflict exists for each one of us. Who among us is perfect in adhering to even our own personal ideals?

The most benign example is parents and Santa Clause. Our mission is to create a delightful Christmas experience for our children, but our conflict is that in order to do that we violate an ideal of not lying.

Let’s take a look at another example, let’s say you’re a real estate agent. Your mission is to sell your client’s home. You have certain legal obligations regarding disclosure to buyers. The discovery and revealing of these disclosures to buyers is at odds with your mission to sell houses. You perform the discovery of disclosures and you are prepared to reveal them if asked, but how proactively do you reveal little nitty gritty things about that house and how many do you leave for the buyer to figure out along with the inspection. Does this make you a bad person? It seems to me that it’s all wrapped up in the system you’re working in. There’s a balance that most people in this situation strive for and that seems reasonable. The other players in the situation have to be proactive in looking out for their interests.

No matter what your job is, if you examine it you will be able to find these places where you have both a noble mission and a conflict in executing that mission. Sometimes they are quite subtle and sometimes not subtle at all. Think about it this week as you go about your job. Where do you cut corners? Where does your boss either overtly or indirectly or by omission ask you to cut corners or break/bend rules in the name of achieving your mission? Where are the dark corners where you know “it won’t hurt anyone if I….” or “no one will notice this.” Often times there’s not even this conscious thought because it is so common to how business is done.

Another example can be very simple. You want to try out new restaurant X and your spouse wants to go to new restaurant Y. You’ve offered to research the restaurants ahead of time. So your mission is to find one that you will both like, but your conflict is that you already know which one you want. So what do you do? You might try to find the things about the restaurant you like that will be pleasing to your spouse and highlight those while omitting the information that wouldn’t be at the top of your spouse’s list. Does that make you a bad person? No it simply makes you a person who has both a mission and a conflict/bias.  (I realize that sometimes you may simply choose the one your spouse will like, but for many people in this mundane situation this is how it might go.)

And so the same is true for our political parties. They have a mission to bring good changes or maintain good things for their constituents, but they often will be tempted to break their own ideals in order to accomplish those good things.

As citizens, I think we should be less shocked about the biases and conflicts that exist because they exist for all groups and for ourselves. With this understanding we’ll be less likely to hate. When we are less focused on hating, then we can put our precious energy into solving issues creatively and with compromise when needed (which is pretty much always).

Instead of grumbling at the TV, we should write actual letters to our elected officials, letting them know what is important to us and the solutions we propose. Instead of always pointing out where others are wrong, where problems exist, we should look for ways to be involved in making solutions happen.

Democracy doesn’t work without involved citizens. Our elected officials can make laws, but the rubber really meets the road with all of us. Are we helping to make solutions come to life? Or do we only find problems and complain that “they” are not doing enough to solve it? “They” is us!

So maybe you feel like “what can I possibly do in this big world of many and complex problems?” If you know the starfish story, you can save the starfish that’s right in front of you.

You don’t have to save the world to make a difference. If everyone worked on just one issue that was most important to them, then we would start to really make the world a better place. Fit in what you can. What talents and skills do you have that you can lend? Whether its being an organizer, a worker-bee, a communicator, an inspirational rally-er, a heavy-lifter, an technical expert, if you do something, no matter how small, then you have made a difference. Don’t avoid getting involved just because you can only spare one day out of the whole year. Every bit helps. And when you help you reduce your anxiety about the world because you are taking action.

The truth is we are closer together in what we hold dear than we are apart. Let’s live with openness to compromise, looking for the good in each other, having compassion for the conflicts we all have, pushing each other and organizations with a spirit of kindness and understanding to rise above those conflicts to exert their mission as ethically as possible. And lastly when we see problems let’s personally take action to make the world a better place.

At our root we are not democrats or republicans. We are humans who care about other humans and our world. Let’s work together. We are all on a the same ship out in the middle of the ocean. We can’t get off the ship. We need to work together. And let’s make it enjoyable!

I could ask you if you ever suffer from some type of anxiety, but that would be like asking do you ever breathe.

It’s part of the human condition to have anxiety. It’s actually part of the animal life to have anxiety. It’s a survival feature.

But for us humans in modern life, we can sometimes take this to extremes experiencing anxiety in all sorts of situations – sometimes consciously (going for a job interview) and a lot of the time unconsciously (like being in an elevator with strangers).

Anxiety is normal, but we make it detrimental by the labels we use, the meaning we assign to things and situations, and the stories we tell ourselves about our life.

As an example:

If I have an ache somewhere in my body, it can be seen as good, neutral, or bad all depending on the meaning I assign to that sensation.

Do I see it as my body doing the job of healing, say a bruise – “good job body!”

Do I see it as I would a fly – just a mild nuisance to be ignored.

Or do I see it as something mysteriously sinister with eventual catastrophic consequences. “What if it’s some dread disease (insert the latest horrible one you’ve heard a story of recently) and I will eventually die from it??!! Ahh”

Sometimes we actually do have a disease. When this happens we often slip into thinking of it as a fixed thing.  But the truth is that our bodies are forever in a state of change, evolving, repairing, healing. Whatever disease we have is part of a large pattern in our body and mind. It takes maintaining to keep it as it is. But it is always possible for the pattern to be changed and for you to experience a different level of health.

There is nothing that is so fixed that it won’t change over time. (Even mountains crumble away and continents move over time) This also includes other aspects of your life beyond health – relationships, state of mind, quality of life experiences, career, etc.

Some things can take a fair amount of time to change, but it’s never too late to change your patterns.

Here’s how to begin to change your patterns and change your life.

What Do You Want to Be True?

We often get overly focused on what’s wrong. We think about it incessantly. In terms of stories, when we do this our problems become our main story. Our stories create our reality. Yes there are circumstances, people and life that intersect with that, but your story is very important to your life experience.

So the first step is to ask yourself:

“What do I want to be true?”

Write it down without any censorship as to what is realistic. And ask the follow up questions of

“Why”

and

“What does that give me?”

Write these things down. Five minutes may be all it takes, but more time on it is fine.

Write Your New Story

Now that you know what you want, start telling yourself that story in the present tense as if you have it already.

Tell yourself this story for at least 5-10 minutes upon waking and again before sleep. If you meditate, do it then as well. And if you think of it any other time of day, repeat that story again and again.

You may feel ridiculous. You may think “I don’t believe this.” You may think it’s pointless and doesn’t work.

I can tell you firsthand that it does work. It is remarkably effective.

What do you have to lose?

Insurance to Make Your Story Work

Before you judge whether it worked for you, give it a full 30 days of dedicated practice.

Write how you feel on day one and then on day 30.

Once you see how well this works you will want to add other things to your story.

Helpful Tips

1. Be patient with yourself.
2. Fake it til you make it.
3. Repetition is your friend.
4. Adding positive emotion such as joy, laughter, lightness, peacefulness, enthusiasm will turbo-boost your results.
5. Some results take longer to manifest, but the fact that life is a constant state of flux is your proof that anything can be changed.
6. Enjoy life as you go. Happiness is the magic ingredient to health and success. (And if you need to, remember tip #2 – Fake it til you make it!)

Please Share

If you found this helpful, please share on your fav social media site. And if you have an opinion or thoughts, I’d love to hear them in the comments below.

Thanks!

Latest Crochet Garment for Sale

My latest crochet item for sale over at Etsy is The Super Bulky “Mink Stole.”

[See image gallery at lifelearningtoday.com]  

Do you ever criticize yourself? That’s kind of a dumb question.

The better question is how much do you criticize yourself? I was at a store the other day and the cashier made an error ringing something in. It was no big deal, just a little typo. It was easily fixed. But I noticed she said out loud “I can’t do anything with these fat fingers,” and it instantly made me aware of all those little thoughts I/we say to ourselves all day.

It’s likely so prevalent, happening even just below our conscious thought that we barely notice it. You may notice it more when looking in a mirror though, when you are consciously reviewing your appearance.

The bottom line is that this is no way to live our lives. Our beauty is not our body. Our beauty is our love and our kindness. And regardless of our appearance in any given moment, we are deserving of the highest and most unconditional love all the time.

Here’s how to get that love, and how to really feel it in your life.

Take a Love Bath

This is not a bath of water, but it will be cleansing all the same. You’re going to wash away all of the negative self talk that streams through your mind each day.

The more often you take this bath, the cleaner your heart and mind will be, until you start radiating the true beauty that is inside you.

The beauty is there. It just happens to be covered up by our negative thinking.

Like washing windows in the spring, we are going to wipe away all the negative mindset grime that’s been keeping the light out and blocking our own light from shining forth.

How to Take a Love Bath

1. Stand in front of a mirror.
2. Look yourself in the eyes.
3. Smile at your vulnerable self, your original self, your precious soul.
4. Repeat “I love you  _________your name________.” (for several minutes)
5. Optional: Have music on and dance, as they say, “like no one is watching.”

This is easy to write, but can be very hard to do.

But go easy on yourself. It took years of societal and family conditioning to get your mind habits where they are today.

Here’s 2 important things to remember:

1. You Can Always Change Your Mind Habits- no matter your age or cirumstances.
2. You decide your worth. So choose the highest worth. The only true reality is what is in your mind. You have the power. Start using it Today!

Turn off your inner critic. 

• Yes, you’ve made mistakes, you have faults, but you also do great things. You work, you create, you love, you play, you care for others. Recognize all your goodness.
• Yes, you may have love handles, but those beautiful cells in there are caring for you tirelessly 24/7. Give them some gratitude and love!!
• Yes, you don’t look like Ken or Barbie, but you are beautiful in your uniqueness. No one is exactly like you. This makes you special beyond measure! Revel in that!

Focus on your good qualities. No matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, focus on your goodness.

Anytime you find yourself arguing with yourself, trying to prove your negative qualities or unworthiness, you are going to doggedly override those thoughts with “I love you _____your name____!!!” Over and over!

If you have a daily exercise routine, this is a great time to do this. Focus on your exercise progress, on the fact that you showed up, on how good you will feel afterwards, and so on.

If you can’t look in the mirror until you return from your workout that is fine. Say it all during your workout, especially when you start to judge yourself.

Do It Every Day

Be sure to take your Love Bath for at least 5 minutes or more each day.

Over time, you will become happier, more beautiful, more radiant, and more good will flow into your life! Guaranteed!

You deserve it!

Please Share

If you liked this post, please share on your favorite social media site and Thanks!!

Do you have thoughts on this topic? Please share your comments below! I’d love to hear from you!

Latest Crochet Garment For Sale

Sexy Chic Micro Poncho

You can view this item on Etsy here.

You can view this project on Ravelry here.

[See image gallery at lifelearningtoday.com]

5 Way Poncho Crocheted for sale. Details below.

Sometimes we are hit with sickness, a bad night’s sleep, a roadblock at work or maybe even an actual roadblock. Our first instinct is to get frustrated and think “ugh! Why?” But often we don’t truly listen for the answer. But if you slow down, you can get that answer.

Generally speaking when we hit a roadblock the Universe is telling us to slow down, but your situation may have additional instruction, additional details to pay attention to.

How do you know the answer?

How to Hear the Universe’s Message for You

• Become quiet.
• Take a deep breathe.
• Accept the reality of the current roadblock.
• Ask what the message is.
• Listen.

When you hear the answer, you may want to ask more questions. Sometimes you may not get the answer you like. You don’t want to rest. You don’t want to slow down. You want to move mountains and shake the trees. You have people to see, places to go, and things to create.

But roadblocks are a message to slow down, to take a breather, to assess our situation, to get off our treadmill.

How will you know if you are getting the right message?

It’s the one that is not based in fear. It is the one that is seeking to bring about your highest good.

Just listen and trust your higher self, your intuition, the universe, your guides, angels or whatever label feels right for you.

Message for You

Take care of you.

Slow down.

Think of your path. Are there any changes you want to make?

Use the gift of the roadblock and move forward stronger, smarter and with more joy!

Wishing you the right amount of forward progress and roadblocks to perfect your journey.

Please Share

If you found this valuable, please share on your favorite social media! Thank you!

And if you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear your comments below.

New Poncho for Sale

The 5-Way Poncho

[See image gallery at lifelearningtoday.com]  

What is reality? And is it malleable? Can you stretch and manipulate it to make your life better? I think so.

As Kids….

When we are kids we spend a lot of time in between two worlds: the outer exact material world and our inner imaginal fantastical world where everything is possible both the delightful and the terrifying. 

As kids we mix these two worlds and if you watch a child you’ll be reminded of how delightful the world can be.

In our young ages we believed in all sorts of possibilities and we acted them out in our play and we even tried to get grownups to go along with those visions.

As We Grow Up…

But then as we get older the grownups start imposing more of the outer world reality on us with responsibilities and rules and limitations and the holy grail of being a grownup: Seriousness!

So gradually we become less fanciful in our thinking and more realistic, more tied to the material world.

And if you notice, what goes hand in hand with all this seriousness about life is unhappiness. Limits, focus on the material world, focus on all the things to fear, focus on survival all strip away bit by bit our natural childhood happiness.

Invitation to Change Your Reality

I’d like to invite you to reboot your thoughts about reality if only for just a moment while you read this. Let’s take a look at why and how changing your reality is possible.

Proof that Your Reality is Adjustable

Simple example – Happy:

Imagine yourself in a miserable state of mind. Any number of disappointing factors exist in your life. You hate your job, your boss, your look, your finances, your relationship. And you don’t see any hope for change. Ugh. You’re bummed out!

Now, uneventfully, you happen to buy a lottery ticket and you actually win a sizable amount of money, say $50,000. Now your state of mind is changed. Your reality is changed.

Here’s the thing. Your state of mind is changed before you even get the money, before you even can use it. Technically nothing in your current environment is actually different, but yet you now see the world with more possibility.

What changed your reality? Was it the money? Or was it how you perceived that money?

Simple Example – Unhappy

You could have a situation where winning $50,000 wouldn’t make you happy. Let’s say you had a tax lien on your home and when you win that money it all has to go to pay off the tax lien. Instead of being happy, you are bummed because you don’t get to use any of it.

Did the money make you unhappy? Or did your perception of what it meant in your life make you unhappy?

Racy Example – Happy to Unhappy

You are making love with your partner. It is dark. You are relaxed and you allow yourself to drift into pure pleasure.  Because your partner’s desire for you is so evident you allow yourself believe in your mind you are attractive. Not just attractive, but maybe Verrry attractive. You are in delightful ecstasy, enjoying the moment, and living in the belief that you are desirable.

The next morning in the bright harsh light of day, you see yourself in the mirror as you get dressed. You focus in on all the socially unacceptable material things about yourself. Too much fat here. Not enough there. Wrinkles. Lack of muscle. And other features you critique yourself for. How do you feel now?

Why? What has changed from last night? Which image of yourself is true?

Answer: the one you believe at any given moment.

You say: Wait. No. Believing I am a hot sexy person doesn’t make it true.

Me. Ok then you’re not. But….. If you believe it is true then it will be true. Being sexy and attractive is in your mind.  Some of the most beautiful people in the world don’t feel beautiful or attractive and so that is what is true in their mind.

And the only place it really matters is in YOUR mind. Only YOU can experience the feeling of attractive or unattractive. And you can only experience that in your Inner World.

If you say I want certain physical attributes, I ask “why? for what purpose?” Focus on the purpose. If you want to feel attractive to get a partner, then why? Do you want love and affection? Then THAT is what you should focus on. You don’t need exact material specifications to EXPERIENCE what you really want.

So You See….

Reality is largely how we define it. Nothing has intrinsic meaning except for the meaning we assign to it.

How you label the things, people, and circumstances in your life determine the quality of your life.

This person is bad. My job is bad. My car is old. >>>My life= bad.

My husband is thoughtful. My old car is still so reliable. I’m grateful for my job. >>>My life=good.

The beliefs that you have determine the quality of your mind and your life.

How to Change Your Reality

Ask yourself this question in each area of your life:

What do I want to be true? Then believe that. Be grateful for that.

Example: I want to be attractive. Then believe you are attractive. Repeat it to yourself all the time instead of the opposite that you usually do. Everytime you judge yourself say, “I love you ____(your name)______. You are beautiful (handsome, attractive, hot, etc).”

Example: I want to be with (fill in the blank – my lost love, my deceased love one, my family/friend who lives far away.) At the core of this desire is you want to be loved. Believe that you are loved. Start by simply giving yourself the love you want. Close your eyes and imagine the greatest love you ever felt. Imagine perhaps being in the loving arms of your mother, father, grandmother, partner. Build up that feeling inside yourself. Imagine them telling you “I love you my darling.” Say to yourself, “I love you ___(your name)___.” Because you are loved. You simply need to allow yourself to receive it. It is there. Let it wash over you.

Example: I want to be healthy. My favorite saying by Jon Kabat-Zinn is “If you are still breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you.” If you are suffering from a health challenge, it likely takes up a lot of your thoughts. Switch gears for a bit and focus on all the things about you that are good. Can you walk? Can you talk? Can you think? Can you create? Can you give love, kindness, advice, help? Focus on wherever there is some light. Focus on that to the absolute exclusion of all other illness thoughts. Repeat to yourself “I am healthy. I trust my body. I am so grateful and thankful to all my trillions of cells. I am so grateful for my heart beating, my lungs breathing, my immune system, my capabilities.” Even if you have to fake it at first, I can report first hand how much this can increase your health and happiness.

Example: You have a big test tomorrow. You want to do well. Stop all thoughts of worry and instead repeat affirmations of your assured success:

“I am so grateful and thankful that I am completing my test easily.”

“I remember all information easily.”

“My thoughts flow easily and clearly.” and so on.

To Sum Up….

Life is but a dream…

Where ever you have a challenge, ask yourself “What do I want to be true?” and then work on that starting in your imagination first. Affirm it repeatedly. Believe it. Focus on it. Then it will happen.

Often we get caught up in the details of what we want and we miss out on getting what we really want.

We want happiness. We want love. We want comfort.  We need to be less caught up in the exact how and instead: Allow it to be true. Be more like a child. You get to define your reality.

What do you want to be true?

If you have any questions please ask me in the comments. I’d be happy to help you with applying this concept.

Please Share and Thank you!

Thank you for reading. Please Share if you found this valuable.

Latest Crochet Project

And here is my latest crochet project if you are interested:

You can buy the finished poncho here on Etsy:

You can buy the pattern (Ravelry)here:

Or buy the crochet pattern on Etsy:

[See image gallery at lifelearningtoday.com]  Also highly recommended for opening your mind:

Alan Watts “Out of Your Mind” Audio available through Audible.com.

This link brings you to Amazon but you can then click through to get to Audible.

All of life is creation. And your life is your creation. You create it every moment of every day with your thoughts. Like crocheting a shawl or creating anything you start with a vision, you maintain focus, and you do the work of creating.

Your life is no different. Do you want a different life?

Start with your vision. Change your vision, change what you think is possible, change your beliefs. You create your reality.

What do you want to be true?

How to Create Your Life

Define it. Envision it. Work on it with consistent mental focus.

Define it

What do you want to be true?

In each area of your life that you want to control, write down your wildest dreams.

It starts with a dream.

Envision It

What does your desired reality look like? See the movie. Be in the movie.

Engage and paint the picture for all the senses. Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste.

Who is there? Where are you? What is it like.

Write it all down.

It starts with a vision.

Mental Focus

What do you need to believe to make this come true?

What needs to be true about you, your mindset, your circumstances?

Create affirmations for these new beliefs and state them like they’ve already happened.

Adding “I am so thankful and grateful _____state your belief here_________” is a powerful way to add a power booster to your affirmations.

Show Up and Do the Work with Focus

Make a plan.

Do some of it each day.

Adjust when needed.

Be patient with progress. Slow and steady wins the race.

Celebrate your successes by acknowledging them at the end of each day.

Dream. Envison. Focus. Work. Celebrate.

You can do it!

Wishing you many blessings!

If you’re interested here are some of my recent listings on my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LightandJoyDesigns

Click here for —>>>Purple Virus Shawl listing.

Photos of Purple Crochet “Virus Shawl”

**this is a craft related post**

This is a handmade crocheted shawl I recently added to Etsy for sale.

It’s really cool because it can be worn so many different ways. Using a shawl pin or even without one you can create many different chic looks.

I’m posting additional pictures of this item here because Etsy limits you to 5 pictures.

If you are interested in this shawl, you can check it out here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/508029924/chic-colorful-crocheted-shawl-shawlette?ref=shop_home_active_1

Have a great day! Smile and think great thoughts! You create your reality!

Click to see the pictures…

[See image gallery at lifelearningtoday.com]  

TBIT / Pixabay

Are you getting paid for the money that YOU LOAN to your bank? AKA your deposits -checking/savings/money market accounts.

If not, why not?

Have you been brainwashed that “rates are low” and that the only rates you can get on a checking or savings account are the laughable rates like 0.05%, 0.03% and my favorite 0.01%?

(you’re not alone)

Why does this happen?

Because we all just accept it. The banks are counting on us serfs to be so busy toiling away in our lives that we just accept the LIE that they can’t pay us more.

Well, this is false!

They have plenty of revenue with which to pay you! And there are a few banks, good banks, that are paying 10 times as much as the average bank! (1% vs. 0.1%)

Why should YOU care?

• For every $1000 you have in the bank you are passing up at least $10 of interest per year.
• If you have $5,000 you’re passing up $50 or more per year.
• If you have $10,000 you’re passing up $100 or more per year.

Why should you leave that money on the table?

And guess what, there’s even more money that could be on the table if we can get a mass movement of people to wake up to what is owed to them.

If more people start moving their money to where reasonable rates are being paid, then the local banks will be forced to raise their rates too.

Why?

Because banks can’t operate without deposits. Your deposits, your neighbors, all of our deposits.

If we use our power (where we put our money) we can force the banks to make a change. If the local banks start paying reasonable rates, then the competitive banks will raise their rates too, expanding the potential earnings pie for people who are willing to look a little further than their corner bank for a better rate.

So are you with me? Do you want to get paid? Are you sick of big companies ripping you off? Do you want to be part of an EASY revolution that will put money in your pocket with very little effort? Then read on! We can do this!!

How Banks Operate

The original banking model is this.

• The bank borrows money from you, the customer, and they pay you (interest) for the use of your money.
• The bank then loans that money out to other customers at a higher rate than they pay you.
• The net is their gross revenue.

The Current Setup

Today banks operate like this.

• The borrow money from you, the customer, and pay you nothing or virtually nothing.
• The bank then loans that money out to other customers at a higher rate than they pay you.
• The bank also charges you Fees for the privilege of loaning them your money.
• The net plus fees is their gross revenue.

Do you see what this means? The banks have almost pure profit off of your money and then some if you consider the many types of fees they charge you.

(How are you feeling so far?)

Your Local Bank’s Argument Why Their Rates Are So Low

“Interest rates are low.”

Really? You don’t fall for that anymore! Let’s see how “low” they really are. Let’s look at the TRUTH!

Here’s what the banks are making today.

Currently banks loan out:

• personal loans at around 8-12%
• mortgage loans around 4.25%
• auto loans around 4.3%
• credit cards average 16.25%-18% and higher!
• home equity loans 5%

How much would YOU have to pay for the bank to loan you $1000? (Think of your credit card balance!!)

Think they would give it to you for free? Ha! You know the answer to that! Not a chance!

So Let’s Review

Banks use YOUR money.

You’re getting paid nothing! (I know that hurts. I’m sorry to rub it in, but pain is motivating!)

If you need to borrow from the bank, they charge you between 4-18% and more!

When the bank borrows from the Federal Reserve they currently have to pay 1.25%.

Hmmmm.

Why shouldn’t YOU also get paid for loaning YOUR money to the bank?

Do you think the banks could afford to pay you 1% or more out of all that pure profit?

Does it seem right that they don’t?

Would you like to get paid?

Well You Can Get Paid! And it only takes 15 minutes or so to set it up!

How To Get Paid on Your Bank Deposits

There are banks that pay a decent amount (1% and more).

You can search for one here:

https://www.depositaccounts.com/savings/

https://www.depositaccounts.com/checking/

If you need a place to transact CASH, then find a local bank for that, but don’t keep sizeable amounts unless they PAY YOU for the privilege of using YOUR MONEY. And make sure you will not get charged any fees.

Remember

If banks that pay low/no rates started seeing large amounts leave, what’s going to happen?

THEY WILL RAISE THEIR DEPOSIT RATES!

Why? Because they will need to lure you back. Remember they can’t operate without deposits!

Make Your New Year’s Resolution – to Not Get Ripped Off by Banks Anymore.

Remember you are loaning them YOUR money. They are using YOUR money for free currently.

If it’s only $10, that’s still $10. And it’s likely more money that’s being left on the table. These rates could be even higher if we act as a group!

Easy Way to Make this Revolution Happen

Share this article far and wide with your friends. Talk to people about it. And take action! Move your money today. Most of the banks with good rates allow you to set up your account online or over the phone and fund it the same way. It couldn’t be easier.

15 Minutes to Getting Paid

1. Go to
   1. https://www.depositaccounts.com/savings/
   2. https://www.depositaccounts.com/checking/
2. Pick a bank/rate.
3. Open account online.
4. Move your money electronically/online from your current bank to the new bank.

Boom! You’re done and now you’re set up to get paid!

Keep only the minimum amount in your current bank for cash transactions. If you don’t deposit cash, you might not need that account at all.

If we all do this, then interest rates will rise for depositor accounts.

Banks can only keep ripping us off if we let them.

Please Share

Let’s all get paid. Please share this idea with your friends and family! I’d love to hear your story and thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter.

Thank you for reading and sharing!

photo credit Josh Houghtelin

Are you trying to accomplish your goals, but, alas, you have a problem? Maybe you’re frustrated or angry about something. Perhaps motivation is nowhere to be found. Do you feel like you just can’t move forward? We all have those days (or months). For most of us we get tripped up by focusing on the problem, frustration, and feelings that are keeping us stuck in the mud. There’s a simple solution to get traction again. Ready for it? Click to read more.

The Real Problem: Focusing on the Roadblock

When we have a problem, where most of us go wrong is in our focus. We are focused on the problem. It’s like focusing on the mud when your car is stuck. Your focus needs to be on getting the wheels turning, getting traction, and getting back on the road.

The Solution: Focus on Where You Want to Go

So for any problem situation, the solution is simple:  Focus on What You Want to Be True. Focus on The Solution. Bring all your awareness to getting back on the road, not on the mud.

Once you figure out what you want to be true, then assume it mentally, live it out, and get on with your day.

Example Problems and Solutions

You may feel like this rule doesn’t apply to your situation. You may feel like “my problem is different.” But, if you read on, you may be surprised at how familiar these situations sound to you.

Let’s look at a few examples to help illustrate how problems can be fixed by changing our focus.

No Motivation

You’ve set some goals. Your steps for conquering the world begin with

• Wake at 5am
• Meditate to start the day right
• Write the Great American Novel, Create a Fortune 500 company, etc.

You wake, you meditate, but when it comes time to do your work, your brain feels like warm clam chowder. You feel mentally heavy, lethargic, and not-motivated.

So what do most of us do in this situation? We notice and investigate very closely this unmotivatedness. We dwell on it. We wallow in it. We wonder how to ever overcome it. Basically, we feed this little monster until it is big and powerful. And now we’ve spent the morning handing over our power to it.

The Solution

Your problem is no motivation. Your solution is to focus on what you want to be true. You think you want motivation. What you really want to be taking action on your goals. So stop worrying about having the Feeling of motivation and instead reconnect with your goal, why you want to accomplish it, what your best next step is, and then do it! Take action. Just focus on what your next step is and do it.

The truth is 90% of the time motivation comes after you take action. So get busy. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect or if you don’t know the next step after that. Just at least do the first step. When that’s done, figure out the next step. If you can’t figure it out, ASK for help either from a friend or even from your own intuition.

To tap into your intuition you can do one of two techniques:

1. Close your eyes for 3-5 minutes, quiet the mind, and ask the Universe, God, and Your Intuition for an answer to your question. “What should I do next?” Listen. Whatever comes to mind, that’s your next step. If you get a bunch of steps, write them down and put them in some rough order of priority.
2. Grab some paper or a journal and write down solutions to your question with whatever pops into your mind. Don’t edit yourself. Just write. After you’ve written uncensored for 3-5 minutes then analyze and organize your ideas into your next action step.

Fear as Procrastination

You have a list of items on your to-do list. You get ready to attack the list, and all of a sudden your brain conveniently dredges up a worry. Not just any worry, but a big juicy doozy of a worry. Something that spells potential catastrophe. You may not recognize that you are in fear, but you are.

• You may be thinking of a future problem in your relationship (that could end in a break-up).
• You might be thinking of a potential disaster at work (that could cause you to lose your job).
• You may be worried about a little health nuisance (that could be the beginning of a debilitating disease).

In each example, the focus is on the worries and the fears behind the worry. In doing so we waste a great deal of time worrying instead of living our lives as we want them to be.

The Solution

Worrying distracts us from living our lives, reaching our goals, and enjoying life. The mind says, “This is an urgent situation. This is so urgent I can’t afford to think about anything else until this is resolved.” The problem our fears are usually overblown. The potential situation is often unlikely to even happen. Even if it is likely to happen, the bottom line is we should be living in the present moment with what is in front of us.

Here again the solution is simple, focus on what you want to be true. What we all want at our core is to be OK so that you can get back to work, living, and enjoying life.

Fear is a sort of special situation in that you can never eliminate the potential for all your fears. (This is what makes it such a great procrastination strategy of the mind). But what you can do is recognize that in this very moment you are OK. And in all likelihood, in the next moment you will also be OK. Even up to our ultimate physical farewell, in a sense, you are always OK. (Read Fear by Thich Nhat Hahn for more on this.)

“There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt. No truer words have ever been spoken.

So it’s important to recognize that you are OK right now, that you will do your best on the things you can control, but that you will largely leave fear behind and get back to living and your goals.

So allow yourself to focus on your work, goals or enjoyment.  Let it be true that you are allowed to focus your mind on your work.

The best solution here is to:

• Focus your mind on what you want (not what you are afraid of)
• Expect the best to happen
• Be ok with whatever happens
• Know that you can handle anything that comes your way

You can use these as mantras for a few minutes and then get back to work.

Stuck in Anger

You’re driving to work, visualizing your perfect day that is coming up. You’re smiling and feeling like the world is your oyster today. Then you call your son to see if he completed the important favor you asked of him. He says he forgot and didn’t get to it. “I’m sorry mom. I’ll do it next time.” You’ve heard this excuse before. This is just another dropped-ball in a series of dropped-balls by him and your anger is ready to take over your mindset like quicksilver.

You flash back to the original vision of your day and your thoughts go something like this, “Just great! I’m pissed off now. How could he let me down again, especially when I do so much for him? I bet this day is going to suck.” And then you start to mentally bathe in the bio-chemicals of anger that your body is now producing at a furious pace.

Anger is your zone and it is building far, wide and deep in your mind. You’re prediction is probably accurate. If you keep your focus here, you likely will have a terrible day.

The Solution

Oh the sweet feeling of anger.

What? Sweet feeling? Anger is not sweet.

Is it not? Do you not find yourself really working up that anger, not wanting to let it go, in fact finding it almost impossible to let it go?

Don’t feel bad about this.

We all do this. It is a habit. Our bodies actually become so accustomed to the neuro-chemicals of our habitual feelings that we find it hard to stop the cascade once those feelings start bubbling up.

But you can stop it. It’s a matter of establishing a new habit. The hardest time is when you are first establishing this new habit. That’s when your body wants to go into its usual reaction to certain situations.

So how to do you change this habit?

Focus on what you want to be true.

You want to not be angry.

You want to actually feel good, happy, and peaceful (although in that moment of sweet anger, your body’s addiction to your habitual emotion chemicals is telling you to keep the anger brewing).

Instead focus your mind on this:

• I want to be happy.
• I’m allowed to go back to being happy even though this disappointment just happened.
• I don’t have to choose anger right now.
• I can choose any emotion I want. I choose peace and happiness.
• I choose to feel light in my heart.
• Being happy gives me more power to solve my problems, do my work, and enjoy life.
• I’m actually allowed to be happy at any and all times.

At first it will be hard to release the habit of anger (or frustration, sadness, disappointment, envy – whatever your go-to emotions are). But go with these new empowering thoughts. Repeat them for at least 5 minutes mentally or write them down.

Allow yourself to smile and to relax your body. Allow yourself to physically and mentally release your anger and tension. Go ahead and laugh at yourself even. Don’t take life so seriously, especially when it’s serious. Just laugh. Laugh a lot. Anger is way overrated.

Once you have started your mind journey back to being happy and peaceful, you can go ahead and get back to conquering the world.

Conclusion

To get out of the mud and get your bus moving again towards your goals, focus your vision on the road, not the mud. Focus on the good things you want. The more you do, the sooner you’ll be out of the mud!

Please Share

What do you think? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter. Thank you for sharing with your friends!

Sometimes, well, let’s face it, a lot of the time, things don’t go according to our master plan. It could be our plan for the day, for our long-awaited vacation, or simply in the parking lot looking for a place to park.

When things go wrong we have 2 basic choices:

Be calm or get upset.

We can laugh or cry.

We can see it as an interruption in our life or as something that was supposed to be in our life at that exact moment for reasons we may or may not know now or ever. The reason is not important. Let’s take a look at why the calm reaction is a good habit to form and how to do it.

Choosing Calm When Chaos Strikes

When we choose a calm reaction, what is important in the confident choice to TRUST that the universe has our back, that “all-that-is” is conspiring towards our highest good even if it seems like we’re on a bumpy back road in the middle of wild storm on a cold dark night. We trust and know that we will get to our destination and it will be good!

Everytime we choose to be calm during a calamity, whether gigantic or mildly inconvenient, we experience a multitude of good things. You prevent all the bio-chemicals that come along with the stress reaction. When you choose calm, you will likely notice that your body/mind breathes a sigh of relief that says something like, “Oh, thank goodness we don’t have to get upset and feel mad and horrible inside.”

Your circumstances are the same, but you can be calm, even happy. You may have clean-up work to do. You may have a situation that you don’t want, but being calm or happy is a choice that you ARE allowed to make.

When you choose calm and/or happy you experience the bio-chemicals of the relaxation response which allows your body to do it’s maintenance work, it’s digestive work, immune-system work, and so on. And you are able to feel good.

We’ve been programmed from an early age to get mad, maybe even really mad, when things go wrong. But, you are the boss of you! You can change that habit so that you can be calm at the very least and happy at best. This allows you to feel good more of the time. Because let’s face it, shiz comes down the pike all the time. So let’s surf that wave and choose the calm path. Practice makes perfect.

(This is not to deny that some very horrible things can happen in life. Even then, if sadness or frustration is an emotion that we will pass through, we can do it with calm and suffer less as a result. Most events, even though we may really really not like them, are not cataclysmic catastrophes. We can make it through and being calm will help!)

How to Choose Calm as Your Default Reaction to Chaos

Read this mantra narrative to yourself in the morning and evening each day for 30 days. This will help you re-program your subconscious default when things go wrong from automatic anger to the new habit of reacting calmly, confidently, and maybe even happily when things go wrong.

Remember, everything will work out in the end. If things haven’t worked out, well it’s just not the end yet. (quote from movie “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel“)

When Things Go Wrong Mantra

When things go wrong

I choose my default reaction: calm.

I choose clarity of mind.

I look for solutions. I take action if possible, one simple step at a time.

I accept what can’t be changed.

I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

I trust that the universe is bringing me everything I need.

This brings me peace of mind.

I say no to anger. I release frustration.

Anger clouds and poisons my mind and body.

It separates me from the good life and peace.

I choose calm always.

I benefit with happiness and steady energy in my body.

My calm choice cultivates peaceful content emotions.

My body experiences greater health with a calm reaction.

I am free to experience loving in my heart.

I am at peace and happy.

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. You can read more of my thoughts on life at LifeLearningToday.com.

To your happiness!

Most of us believe that we have no control over pain/discomfort in our body. If we feel pain we might use painkilling medicine or some type of ice or heat or other analgesic topical treatment. But most of us would not consider using our mind to control pain.

I’d like to share with you something I have learned that is very cool. You CAN in fact use your mind to reduce and in some cases eliminate pain, discomfort, and other body annoyances.

Let’s see how this works.

The Foundation of Efficacy : Belief

The first step in being able to use this natural tool of your mind for pain relief it is to believe that it’s possible. To give you evidence of this I present the classical birthing Lamaze method or the Calmbirth method, both of which leverage the relaxation response for reducing stress and pain. Countless women have employed this natural method to bring pain relief during one of the most painful experiences: childbirth. I’ve heard there have been some women who had such strong focus of mind they were able to deliver pain-free. That’s really pushing this concept to the max!

A second piece of evidence, although anecdotal, is my own personal experience of learning how to reduce pain using my mind. I have accidentally learned this through my meditation practice. This was never the goal of my meditation, but in the course of learning how to meditate more effectively I began to notice that I had more control over my mind and consequently more control over my body.

I noticed that my body was very sensitive to my thoughts and state of mind. I noticed that when I was able to calm my mind and direct my energy, I was able to affect my body in positive ways.

I have two recent examples where I used this very affectively. The first was with menstrual cramps. I was able to direct my energy to the area of pain and because of my meditation experience I was able to talk to that part of my body and ask it to relax. When I did this my pain went away. This type of pain for me used to take three Advil pills to make it go away.

A second example was a patch of itchy skin. I could not pinpoint the physical cause. The itchiness was intermittent but very irritating. I started to notice that when I was mentally irritated that patch of skin became irritated and itchy. The more irritated I was the itchier my skin was. I tried different kinds of creams and some of them worked temporarily, but then I decided to try using my mind.  I calmed my mind, sent my energy to that area and asked my body to be calm. And it worked!

Importance of State of Mind

In using your mind to reduce pain your state of mind is very important. If you are irritated, frustrated, angry, exhausted, fearful, doubtful, resentful, guilt-ridden etc. this will impact how successful this method will be for you. To be most effective you will want to cultivate a peaceful state of mind. (Mindfulness meditation is perfect for this.)

You will want to be well rested and nourished. If your body is depleted in anyway whether it’s from lack of sleep, dehydration, or lack of nutrition it will be most useful to take care of that first. If your circumstances are such that you can’t get yourself rested or rejuvenated you can still use these methods. However at your next opportunity be sure to get yourself rejuvenated.

Getting at Root Causes

When you have pain, that is your body communicating with you. It is telling you that something needs to change.

If you were banging your head against the wall and you felt pain the message from your body is to stop banging your head against the wall. In that case if you listen to your body the pain will stop.

Sometimes we know the cause of the pain. Menstrual cramps is a good example. A sports injury is another good example. Another example could be gas pain from something you ate. These are examples of physical causes.

Other times we have pain and we’re not really sure what the cause is. The cause could be physical or it could be mental or very often it could be both.

In any of these cases what should you do? You’ll want to employ both logic and intuition to cover all your bases. Logic can tell you about some of the likely physical and mental causes. Intuition can tell you about causes that you may have a blind spot to in your conscious awareness.

So, for instance, recently I had a shoulder injury. It came from shoveling snow, but it was taking a long time to heal so I felt that there was something else going on. I did a meditation and asked my guides/angels/ God/Universe (whatever you like to call it) what was the cause of my shoulder pain and what did I need to relieve it?

I sat very quietly and just waited for thoughts to come into my mind. I relaxed my mind tried not to think of an answer but just waited for answers to pop into my mind. The message that I received was that I have been approaching my life in too much of a task oriented way and not with enough joy. I was too concerned with time limitations and my level of productivity. The prescription was very simple: have some fun! Have a lot of fun! I’ve been working on this and my shoulder is getting better. I’ll keep you posted.

The funny thing about that message was I looked up shoulder issues in Louise Hayes book called You Can Heal Your Life and in her list of body ailments under “shoulder” was the description:

“shoulders represent our ability to carry our experiences in life joyously. We make life a burden by our attitude. ”

Louise Hayes affirmation for this affliction is “I choose to allow all my experiences to be joyous and loving.”

How’s that for accurate intuition? And that’s one of my main things I have to work on in life – slowing down and enJOYing life!

Why This Method is Better Than Popping a Pill

When you use your mind to reduce or eliminate pain you are communicating with your body and sending it healing energy. So unlike a pill that covers up your symptoms this method is designed to actually change the conditions in your body so that the pain is diminished or eliminated

The Method

Follow these steps to reduce or eliminate pain in your body using your mind:

1. Take care of the body first. If you need to and if you have the time, attend to any aspect of your physical body that may be depleted such as sleep hydration, nutrition, or detoxification. If you don’t have the time in the moment to address these areas you can still go forward with the next steps but at your earliest convenience attend to these other needs to rejuvenate your body. Pain is much more likely when you are depleted.
2. Relax your mind. It’s not necessary but preferable if you can sit in a quiet place with your eyes closed, but if you can’t, this can be done anytime anywhere. Use these affirmations to calm and settle your mind:
   1. “My mind is calm and relaxed.”
   2. “My mind is filled with peace and love.”
3. Believe. State this affirmation to yourself:
   1. “My mind is strong. I can reduce my pain using my mind.”
4. Ask yourself “what is bothering me?” If you can, write it down. Sometimes to get at what is really bothering you you must ask the question multiple times to get at the true root cause. (the cause behind the cause behind the cause…)Once you determine the Root Cause, create a statement that affirms that you trust yourself and the universe- that all will work out for your highest good and that you are safe and loved.
   1. I am always OK. I am right where I am supposed to be. The Universe is guiding me and supporting me to my highest good at all times. I trust that all is ok.
5. Send loving calming healing energy to the source of pain. This is the weirdest step because it’s difficult to put into words exactly how to do it. What I will tell you is if you just put your focus and intention to do this you will be doing it right. If you’re able to have your eyes closed it’s easiest to do but you can do it with your eyes open. Simply imagine sending this healing energy to the part of your body where it is needed. Imagine that part of your body melting into relaxation and calm. On the flipside, sometimes pain relief can come from removing energy and bringing it elsewhere in your body such as your heart or third eye (mind) in order to give relief to the pain. Play with both types of energy movement.
6. Talk to that area of your body with the same type of love that you would give to an infant. Tell that part of your body how much you love and appreciate it. Tell that part of your body that it is OK to relax and be calm. Tell that part of your body that you are safe and that it is OK to relax. Tell that part of your body that you will be patient with it as it heals, and that you will protect it like you would a precious child.
7. Repeat steps five and six while maintaining a calm state of mind. If you feel yourself becoming frustrated or irritated or upset do your best to calm your mind again.

Be patient with yourself. When you are first starting your mind may wander, fears and doubts may creep in, but just keep practicing and you will strengthen your skills. Recognize and celebrate small successes.

If you need to use other pain methods after you’ve tried this that’s OK. Don’t give up on the method. Practice will really improve your mental focus skills.

Over time you will likely find additional uses for this mental technology for positively impacting your body and your life. Have fun with that!

Strengthen Your Skills

If you would like to get better at this, establishing a daily meditation practice is a great way to strengthen your mind. For at least a portion of your meditation each day focus your mind on some physical aspect of your body.

You could focus on your heart rate- trying to slow it down. You could bring your attention to raising your body temperature or lowering it. You could focus your mind on discomforts you have, either physical or mental ,and calming those down.

Assume a state of confidence at all times. If doubt, fear or worry creep in, simply say, “no” or “not now” or “calm” or “focus” or “relax.” Calm confidence will grow as your practice. It’s a neat skill to grow.

The more you practice this the better you will get. I can attest to that from my experience.

(P.S. I had indigestion last night from a very rich meal that I’m not used to. When I mentioned this to my son, he said “mom, why don’t you try using your mind to move the food along.” So I did and very quickly I felt no more indigestion. It’s not scientific proof, but it works for me and you’ve got nothing to lose by trying it first before medical interventions.)

Here’s to your health!

If you found this valuable, please share it with your friends! I thank you!

At the first sign of a cold you can employ this easy and natural five prong attack to wipe out any cold before it gains any steam. To be most effective this strategy needs to be started as soon as you feel the first signs of a cold such as headache, sniffles, sneezing, or a sore throat.

In fact I just used this successfully yesterday. I had a cold coming on last night: headache, sneezing, tired. I followed this protocol and by the time I went to bed I already felt better! By the morning I was 100% healthy. Zero symptoms. This is amazingly effective. It’s effectiveness is directly proportional to how soon you get started on this. But, even if you have a cold already, this will shorten it. So either way go for it!

5 Alarm Cold Killing Protocol (Plus Bonus Step)

At the first sign of a cold take these steps.

1. Liposomal vitamin C. This is a liquid form of vitamin C that you keep in your fridge. You should take this each day for good health and detoxification, but if you feel a cold coming on take an extra dose. The brand I use is Aurora Liposomal Vitamin C 3000 mg.
2. Remedy. This is what I call my sore throat remedy. Mix the following in a blender then gargle and drink. I describe the taste like a sweet and spicy jambalaya broth. I like the taste, but you may need to get used to it. Just remember that it is Well Worth It! Each of these ingredients is anti-bacterial and anti-viral. (and with only good health side effects!)
   1. 1 cup very Warm (but not hot) water
   2. 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
   3. 1 tablespoon of raw honey
   4. One clove of garlic
   5. 1 to 3 shakes of Cayanne pepper
3. 1 Zinc lozenge such as Cold-Eeze or  (Zand Herbalozenge)
4. One dose each of the following : EHB-Immune Support Formula by Integrative Therapeutics and Andrographis by Soloray. I would recommend ordering these and having them on hand in your medicine cabinet. These have immune boosting herbs such as echinacea that have been shown to help fight a cold. (You can continue to take for a few days if needed.)
5. 1 or more cups of ginger turmeric tea with lemon juice. Brands I use and like are Rishi and Numi. I also put raw honey in mine. For super boost use Manuka honey from New Zealand which is know to be so anti-bacterial that it can kill MRSA strains.
6. BONUS STEP: Oil Pulling. Take 1 teaspoon or 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil (can use olive oil) and swish in your mouth for 5-20 minutes. At the end spit it into the garbage can. Do NOT swallow. Harmful bacteria will become attached to the oil, Pulling the germs out of your mouth. This is also good for teeth health too. (Key: don’t overthink it. Yeah, it’s oil, but it’s just another liquid. If you can swish mouthwash or water, you can do this. It’s only bad if you make it bad/icky in your MIND!! Your choice. This is powerful so you should try it! If you need to trick yourself you could add a couple drops of pure peppermint essential oil to make it seem like mouthwash.)

Additional Important Tips :

1. During the rest of the day drink lemon water.
2. Get extra sleep. If you can take a nap do so. If not make sure you get to bed early that night.
3. Take it easy. Put off or cancel nonessential difficult tasks and events until tomorrow.
4. Drink lots of fluids including warm tea and broth soups.
5. Eat fruits and vegetables. They take less energy for your body to digest and they give your body nutrition and natures healing phytochemicals!

Let me know how this works for you and please be sure to share it with your friends!

Thanks for reading!

Who says we can only love certain parts of our body?

Who says I can love some parts of my body because they are soft and giggly, but I shouldn’t love other parts because they are soft and giggly?

Who says I can only love parts of my body if they are skinny, flat, round, or muscular?

Who says I am too skinny, too voluptuous, too muscular, not muscular enough?

Who says I must have a certain face, certain skills, certain possessions to be allowed to experience happiness on a daily basis, on a moment by moment basis?

Who says I can only love myself when I achieve perfection, when I have no sins, when I operate at peak productive deficiency?

Who made these rules? And why do we subscribe to them?

Why do we allow them to dictate whether we’re happy or sad, feel good or bad about ourselves?

I cant think of any good reason. Can you?

Ultimately even if society made these rules, we each have the control to make our own rules.

I do know this: Life is short. We never know when our time might be up.

People who are faced with their own death usually realize with crystal clarity that rules that stifle our happiness are ridiculous and silly.

So why wait for the end of your life to realize that you wasted so much time worrying about your appearance or perfection in any area of your life? Why not decide today to love yourself and be happy. When you do this you are better able to love others and experience a rich life.

We have two basic choices when it comes to self acceptance: to accept ourselves unconditionally or to only accept parts of ourselves . Both choices are yours to make. But one of these will give you a good quality of life and the other will limit you and your happiness.

This is not to say that you won’t have times of challenge with regards to your self image, but that after you passed through those challenging emotions you are left with a simple choice.

Would you like to feel happy and good about yourself, or not?

So how do we choose unconditional self acceptance?

What are the action steps? Let’s take a look at that now.

Unconditional Self Acceptance

Whatever self-acceptance challenges you might have you CAN learn to love all of yourself. Try these simple steps.

1. Decide that you want to make your own rules about loving yourself.  Contemplate the ridiculous notion of following societies rules about self acceptance.
2. Decide that you are going to love yourself and all parts of your body unconditionally. You might want to write this down in a journal to cement it in your mind set. Consider not only how your judge your physical body, but also your thoughts and your actions. Realize with a sense of compassion that you are simply a human soul that is learning as you go, making mistakes and changing course. Sometimes making the same mistakes continuously. If you decide to love yourself unconditionally you have a better chance at making better choices going forward. Regarding productivity, we put way too much emphasis on this. Try this new belief: “I do what I can do each day with as much love as possible. That is enough.”
3. Establish a set of mantras that you are going to affirm in your mind on a frequent basis. Here are some examples: (write these and your own down in a journal
   1. I love myself unconditionally
   2. I love you (fill in your name here)
   3. I am good and perfect just the way I am.
   4. I deserve love no matter what (No conditions!)
4. Use these mantras at least three times a day for 5 minutes each:
   1. Upon waking
   2. Mid day
   3. Before sleep
5. Use these mantras when faced with challenging situations. Examples:
   1. You look in the mirror and see something about yourself that you don’t like. Say to yourself “I love you (fill in your name.)” Repeat this several times with a true feeling of love.
   2. You’re working out and you suddenly have the thought that this isn’t making any difference. Say to yourself “I love you (your name)” summoning up true feelings of love in your heart. Repeat mentally continually. (This actually has the side benefit of making your workout much easier! Don’t believe me, try it for yourself!)
   3. You miss a deadline, you fall short of your to-do list, you’re running late, etc. Say to yourself: “I do what I can do each day with as much love as possible. That is enough. I love you (your name.)”
6. Set up reminders:
   1. Visual reminders such as sticky notes or a bracelet.
   2. Alarm reminders on your smart phone or computer.

Repeat the steps for at least a whole month until it becomes a new habit.

The idea is to be kind to yourself. The idea is to recognize the love that your body gives to you on a daily basis and then giving it back in return. Everyone of your trillions of cells serves you tirelessly 24 /7, around the clock, year in and year out.

Recognize the service of your cells for what it is: they love you. And they want you to be happy. Nothing will make your little cells happier than if you are happy. And nothing will make you happier than accepting and loving yourself unconditionally.

So I’ll say it again:

I do know this: Life is short.  Love is the only thing that really matters.

Decide to be happy.

Decide to love yourself.

Establish your own rules to make this happen.

Anything less is just silly.

What you focus on determines your mood, the quality of your experiences, and the quality of your life. Our brains have a natural tendency to focus on negative things. This is a survival mechanism that’s left over from long ago, but for the most part we don’t need it today and we certainly overuse it.

Would you like to know how you can change your life for the better? See how easy it is to change your focus and make this happen.

Your New Car – Everywhere!

Did you ever notice that when you buy a new car, you start to see those types of cars everywhere. Are there more of your type of car suddenly? No. It’s just that your focus is now on that type of car so you tend to see it more. Or to be more precise, you are more aware of it.

Similarly, in your life if you want more goodness, more magical, more fun, look for these qualities and you will find them. They are already there, but we often miss them because we aren’t looking for them.

How to Focus on the Good

Each morning say to yourself, “there is so much good in the world. I will look for and find the good everywhere I look today.” Focus on that during the day. And then see what happens.

Now you may say, “well that’s cheating. There’s not really more good just because I’m looking for it. There’s still bad in this world.” That’s true. There’s still bad in the world. But it’s not “cheating” or unrealistic. It simply putting your mental focus on seeing the good before we see the bad, which is easy to see because it’s our habit and our biology.

Were not denying the bad. But we are acknowledging and giving credit to the good that is out there. And there is so much of it. We miss it all day long. But you can change  your focus, and in doing so change your life. You can make this a new empowering habit.

When you focus on looking for the good and the magical that will make all the difference in your day. When you find the good, recognize it and celebrate it, both in your mind and in your words. Say it out loud, mention it to friends.

When your focus is on the good you will be happier. When you are happier your body will be happier, which means it will be healthier. And when your body is healthier it stronger and better able to do the work of this world.

When you are happier, healthier and stronger you are able to put more good into this world and improve things that aren’t so great.

So not only will you be happier, but you’ll make the world a better place.

Are you ready to start today?

Please Share

Let us know where you found the good today and if you found this helpful please share with your friends.

Thank you!

DominikSchraudolf / Pixabay

Looking for simple guide to detox for one week or more? Well here it is. It’s pretty simple. Prepare some of the items ahead of time to make it easy to put your meals together quickly, such as the dressings, beans, quinoa, etc. You can read the plan below and also download the pdf version for easy printout. Click here to download the plan as a PDF file >>> 1 Week Detox Cleanse Plan

1 Week Detox Cleanse Plan

Key Ideas

1. Start day by cleaning and charging your mind.
   • Set your intention for the day.
   • Use positive affirmations all day long for the things you seek to be, do, and feel.
   • Look for the good all day.
2. Next jumpstart your body with 15-20 minutes of exercise that gets blood pumping and lungs breathing.  Do 50 seconds of each of these with 10 second rest in between. Do 3 sets. This is 15 minutes that will work your whole body and get your lymph moving for detoxing.
   • Jumping jacks or High Knees
   • Push Ups
   • Sit-ups
   • Lunges or Squats
   • Air Pull Ups
3. First thing to put in body morning: Juice of 1 lemon plus water.
4. Drink Infused water all day with any or all of these: Lemon, Cucumber, Ginger.
5. Shoot for as close to 100% organic on your produce to eliminate the burden of pesticides in your body.
6. Drink decaf Green and Herbal teas. Best:
   • Roasted Dandelion Tea
   • Ginger & Turmeric Tea
   • Decaf Green Tea
7. Eat at regular intervals. Wait to eat breakfast until you feel hungry. Don’t let yourself get too hungry so you will be set up for success for making good choices. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime.
8. Cut out: Sugar, Alcohol, processed foods
9. Eat: 60-70% mostly veg, much of it raw. 30-20% Seeds, nuts, good fats (coconut, flax, avocado) & healthy proteins: beans, tempeh, organic meats, eggs, greek yogurt.
10. Limit:

• Grains especially wheat
• Dairy – milk and cheese.  (organic Greek yogurt is ok)
• Meat (choose organic, grass-fed or wild meats/fish)

11. Don’t skip Fats. Your body needs these, but choose the healthiest:
    • Coconut oil
    • Olive Oil
    • Flax oil – do not heat. Use in salads, smoothies.

 Breakfast –

BEST: Mix & Match Smoothie.  Choose from Each category 1 or more items

(alternative to smoothie: organic oatmeat with fruit or eggs with veggies)

Lunch

Really Big Salad (Use very large bowl) It should take a while to eat.

Mix & Match Salad: Choose 1 or more from each category

Dressings:  Mix and Match 1 or more from each category

Dinner

Cooked or raw veg.

Mix & Match: Choose approx 70% Veg, 30% Protein/Fats

Snacks: If you’re hungry between meals choose 1 small snack.

• Hummus + Seed crackers or Raw Veggies
• Greek Yogurt + berries
• Hard Boiled Egg
• Peanut Butter & Apple slices
• “Caprese Sandwich”:Tomato/Balsamic//Basil/thin slice Mozzerella cheese/Olive Oil/ Salt  (I know its a little cheese)
• Quinoa salad (quinoa/sliced peppers/chick peas/olive & flax oil/celery/salt/pepper)

For great meal ideas (also snacks, drinks, etc for detox) go to this website:

http://www.loseweightbyeating.com/detox-diet-week-7-day-weight-loss-cleanse/

Please Share!

If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends or send us a comment below or on Facebook!

Thanks!

This is a guest post by Katleen Brown.

Healthy Diet

The widespread popularity of a healthy lifestyle has seen many experts formulate and publicize customized dietary plans to suit various health objectives. While all of these dietary plans may rely on different foods and their unique characteristics to aid in the process, they abide by an underlying universal principle. In each of these diets, the key to a successful implementation lies in its variety. Through consuming a diverse range of foods, it allows the body to absorb all the vital nutrients that it needs to function at its optimum capacity. Listed below are 20 superfoods that should be included in a weekly diet. Rather than restricting their freedom of choice, individuals are at liberty to formulate their own style of diet based on their preferences.

Foods to Include

• Spirulina

This superfood contains up to 60% protein and is known for its comprehensive supply of essential amino acids. Due to this characteristic, it is categorized as a supreme detoxifying food that helps to thoroughly cleanse the body system. Extensive scientific studies have also discovered that spirulina offers a certain degree of protection against cancer, aids in managing high cholesterol, and reducing symptoms of diabetes.

• Broccoli Sprouts

The younger generations are known to detest broccoli sprouts due to their appearance and taste. However, as individuals start to mature, the health benefits of broccoli are simply too hard to ignore. Some health conditions that can be aided by broccoli sprouts include hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and UV damage to the skin. To fully benefit from this dietary intake, individuals are strongly encouraged to consume organically grown broccoli sprouts.

• Sweet Potatoes

Health experts have shown undeniable evidence that supports the categorization of sweet potato as a superfood. The most compelling piece of evidence indicates that just a medium serving of sweet potatoes supplies more than 400% of the body’s daily requirement of vitamin A. Together with this impressive statistic, sweet potatoes are also packed with potassium and fiber content. While they contain more natural sugars than the regular potato, they boast a significantly lesser calorie value.

• Dark Leafy Greens

Vegetables such as kale, collards, beet greens, and chard are well-known dark leafy greens. They are loaded with an extensive list of vitamins, mineral, and carotenoids. The combinative effort of these elements in dark leafy greens establishes its antioxidant and anti-inflammation profile. Moreover, medical studies have shown that these compounds can help to inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells as well.

• Almonds / Almond Butter

One small serving of almonds or almond butter contains vital nutrients that include protein, vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, and manganese. They also contain smaller amounts of copper, phosphorus, and vitamin B2. As researchers from the University of California discovered, the extensive list of minerals that almonds provide pushes it to the forefront as one of the best antioxidants available. It also help make the body more alkaline, which is good for disease prevention and healing.

• Green Tea

Highly regarded as the healthiest beverage in the world, green tea offers a comprehensive list of health benefits. It is loaded with important nutrients that help the body reach its maximum functionality, offering individuals with the benefit of improved brain capacity, fat loss, and even a reduced risk of cancer. A clinical trial conducted in Italy also established green tea as an essential source of antioxidants.

Read for more information on Green tea:

• Flax Seeds

Flax seeds are also known as linseeds. They contain high levels of healthy fat in the form of Omega 3’s, fiber, and antioxidants. It can also help to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

• Chia Seeds

Similar to flax seeds and green tea, chia seeds are an essential source of antioxidants. The high protein and fiber contain found in this food source also help in the process of weight loss.

• Hemp Seeds

Hemp seeds are technically categorized as nuts. They are rich in linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid. Their protein and calorie content is almost identical with flax seeds and chia seeds. More importantly, they have been shown to reduce the risk of heart diseases significantly.

• Watermelon

More than 90% of this fruit is made of water. However, this does not prevent watermelons from providing important nutrients such as vitamin A, and vitamin C. Each bite is also loaded with amino acids and antioxidants. Watermelons are also known for their high lycopene content, which is responsible for triggering healthy reactions in the body. The bonus is this is a very high alkaline food, a great thing for your health.

• Ginger

A unique characteristic of ginger is its ability to treat the digestive system effectively. Regular consumption of ginger helps to ease signs of nausea, motion sickness, pain, and even a loss of appetite. Long-term benefits of this food include weight management, higher energy levels, healthier hair structure and better facial complexion.

• Turmeric

Extracted from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammation food. It has been widely used in the medical field as a treatment for conditions such as flatulence, menstrual difficulties, hemorrhage, chest pain, and toothaches. Nowadays, health professionals are advocating the intake of turmeric into regular diets to help individuals fully experience its benefits. Turmeric has even been shown to be as effective as Prozac for depression.

• Blueberries

Arguably the healthiest range of berries, blueberries superfoods has experienced an exponential rise in popularity over the last couple of years. Extensive medical studies have shown that consistent intake of blueberries can help to decrease the risk of excessive weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes. They are also greatly beneficial for mental health, digestion, and can even help to prevent wrinkles from developing.

• Legumes

Legumes are an essential source of protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. They are highly satiating food that allows its consumers to feel fuller from eating lesser. This unique trait means that it is a suitable food to encourage weight loss. At the same time, regular consumption helps to promote good bowel health and keeps blood sugar level in check.

• Garlic

Although it has been used widely for its medicinal properties, garlic is becoming a vital ingredient in food recipes. They have been shown to treat high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and heart diseases. As a preventive measure, high intake of garlic can help to lower the risk of developing several forms of cancer.

• Fermented Foods

Fermented foods offer good bacteria that are essential in maintaining the healthy functioning of the body. Known as probiotics, these elements ensure a healthy balance between the good and bad bacteria in the digestive gut. Making your own fermented foods can be fun too!

• Lemons

A healthy intake of lemons can lead to many health benefits. Some of the more prominent benefits include treatment of throat infections, constipation, fever, internal bleeding, obesity, rheumatism, high blood pressure, and even respiratory disorders. Nonetheless, consumers should note that only organic lemon can offer such an extensive list of health benefits. Like almonds and watermelon, this is a highly alkalizing food, one you should consider having every day.

• Coconut Oil

Another food that can help to prevent heart disease and high blood pressure is coconut oil. This is due to its high level of natural saturated fats which increases healthy cholesterol levels and converts LDL cholesterol into healthy elements. Moreover, the beauty benefits of coconut oil have propelled its status amongst beauty enthusiasts. They are greatly beneficial in promoting good hair health and offers essential anti-aging benefits as well.

• Cilantro / Parsley

Folate, vitamin A, and vitamin K are some of the nutrients that are offered by cilantro and parsley. Interestingly, both of these foods help to rid the body of heavy metals. The presence of these harmful elements in the body can lead to detrimental conditions which consequently promotes the formation of other diseases. More importantly, both cilantro and parsley can be easily incorporated into any meal.

• Avocados

It is undisputed that fruits are greatly advantageous for the human body. While avocados equally nutritious, they are unique in the sense that they help to improve mental capabilities. They increase blood flow and lower blood pressure which subsequently reduces the risk of hypertension and promotes brain functions.

Conclusion

Based on extensive medical and scientific studies, health professionals have identified different types of superfoods that are greatly beneficial in promoting a healthy lifestyle. To help health enthusiasts get a better idea of the superfood concept, the comprehensive list above will serve as an important source of information. At the same time, they are given the liberty of incorporating these foods into their daily diets based on their personal preferences.

References

1. http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/nutrition/nutrition-tips-spirulina-helps-cleanse-and-detox/
2. https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health/affordable-superfoods-you-should-buy.html
3. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/30/broccoli-sprout-detox.aspx

About the Author

Katleen Brown is a health, beauty and fitness writer. She loves to publish her articles on various health related websites. In her spare time, likes to do research to bring awareness. Recognizing the unity of body, mind, and outlook, she helps empower women to tune into their innate & inner wisdom to transform their health and truly flourish. Get in touch with her on Google+, Pinterest and Twitter.

Archbob / Pixabay

I don’t know about you, but I have a little tendency (or maybe a big tendency) to take a situation and then start making problems. For example, let’s say I have a friend comes with the problem and asks for my help. I give them my advice, but I make it into a problem for me. How? I become tied to their outcome. I start worrying about whether they will take my advice are not. Will they go off the deep end? Will their problems get worse? Will they continue to have this problem? And so on.

The answer is maybe yes and maybe no. The way to make it a Not-Problem is to realize it doesn’t matter. Each person is on their own path. You can give help, advice, and love, but they must walk their own path. And you must walk yours.

Worry over future negative outcomes = “creating problems.”

Do you ever do this?

Let’s examine the simple solution to make Not-Problems.

Example of Making Problems.

Let’s say you notice a physical symptom in your body – an ache, a pain, a rash, hair falling out, whatever. Making it a problem would be imagining all the different disastrous outcomes that could result from that one symptom.

Most of us can do this at lightning speed. And not only that, but we can imagine several possible disaster storylines stemming from any initial situation, even good ones!

For example, “Gee, everything is going my way today. I wonder when the other shoe will drop?”

It’s Natural

Don’t get down on yourself, though. Negative thinking is actually part of our survival tendency. The little mammals that were nervous, anxious, and paranoid about possible danger were the ones who survived long enough to procreate. We evolved from them. (For more on this topic check out: Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hanson.)

The happy-go-lucky little ones usually bit the dust sooner. So this instinct is a survival leftover from back when we were scurrying around trying to avoid being eaten.

But we don’t need to be thinking like this all the time anymore. In fact, most things we worry about are not an immediate threat, which is what that instinct was originally designed for.

The good news is we can learn to override this tendency with practice, building new habits.

Why Stop Worrying?

There’s a good reason to try to overcome this legacy tendency of negative thinking. When we think negatively all the time it creates chronic stress inside our bodies – making us unhappy and actually unhealthy too. When the body thinks it is in danger, it feels fear and produces the fight or flight hormones. At the same time it turns off other bodily processes “temporarily” until the danger is gone.

The problem is “temporarily” becomes “always” when we are always living in fear, rushing around on adrenaline, and stressed out about….everything!

Processes that are turned off during stress: the immune system, cellular maintenance, repair and growth, digestion, and many more. Over long periods of time, the body can’t keep up with repair, growth, and cleanup needs and consequently we develop these problems called diseases.

Avoiding the big diseases of our time should be reason enough to stop worrying about the future, but how about just being happy? Wouldn’t that be nice a nice thing to have also?

How To Make Not-Problems

So here’s the solution. It’s simple and easy in theory, but to make it really work you need to practice it every day as often as you can.

What To Do:

1. Any situation arises – could be bad or good.
2. You notice yourself thinking of potential disasters stemming from that situation.
3. Mentally say to yourself, “Aha! I see what you are doing! Let’s stop.”
4. Decide which positive outcome you would like to follow from the situation.
5. Mentally focus on that story line, and the action steps you might want to take to facilitate that happening.
6. Take action.
7. If there are no action steps be taken simply keep visualizing a positive future repeatedly. Any time your mind strays to a negative vision reinsert the positive vision that you want to happen.
8. Affirm to yourself repeatedly: “I can handle anything that comes my way. I’m okay now. I will be okay in the future.”

This Is Powerful

Thinking positive is not just a nice thing to do. It has power. Your thoughts are packets of energy and like a tuning fork they bring to you that which you focus on. And the more mental focus (energy) you give to your positive vision, the closer you will be to realizing it in the physical world.

I don’t ask you to believe me. Simply try it yourself for 30 days with an open mind, open to the technique working. Then see what your results are.

We find what we look for in this life.

Let’s look for Not-Problems!

Peace and love to you!

Thank You for Sharing!

Please share with your friends and share your thoughts. I’d love to hear from YOU!

You are never alone.

You are always in the company of your little “trillions.”

Your “trillions” are the 70 or so trillion cells that make up your entire body. And they are not only your constant companions and loving best friends, but they can also deliver many great things to you. And all you have to do is ask.

Your Constant Companions: Your Trillions!

I imagine my little “trillions” like the little minions from the “Minions” movie: happy, bouncy, full of energy, and just waiting to serve me all day long.

The thing about your trillions is they love you! And they want you to be happy just like a child wants their parent to be happy. You are their parent of sorts. They look to you for love, joy, and leadership in life. And in return they offer service, happiness, and comfort if you look for it and are open to it.

Ask your little trillions for what you need: energy, happiness, good health, clear thinking, you name it.

Ask for it and they will give it to you.

How to Connect with Your Trillions

Close your eyes, go inside yourself, and see your trillions. Be with them and talk to them. You will see them giggling and bouncing around waiting for you to give them love and direction. Tell them your thoughts and feelings. Tell them what you need.

Hear their enthusiastic loving replies.

They are there to serve you and to love you.

You are never alone.

Thank You for Sharing!

Please share with your friends and share your thoughts. I’d love to hear from YOU!

I have enough of everything to allow myself to be calm, content, and happy.

I have enough time. (I take care of each activity, one at a time. I prioritize my work so the most important things get done first.)

I have enough resources. (I have abundance in my life. Everything I truly need I have and will have as needed.)

I am protected. (I trust that I am protected and I release my fears of potential bad outcomes. I trust that all good things are coming my way and that I am strong enough to handle any storms of life.)

I am calm and confident. (I don’t worry about my to-do list because I take care of things with ease.)

Each thing I do is easy for me. (I take things at a reasonable pace and find ways to enjoy it all.)

Life is Good!

You have a problem. (How do I know this? We All have problems or at least we think we do!!!)

Let’s say your problem is your mood. You want to be happy, but you can’t get out of negative feelings – frustration, anger, sadness, etc. You wonder:

Is it lack of sleep? Bad food? My time of the month? Too much caffeine, right? That comment from my co-worker, spouse, friend, etc.?

No, no, no, no, and no.

These could have been triggers, but it’s not the reason why you’re in a pickle right now.

The reason is the habits of your mind. You can have the best of intentions and desires to change your mood (or attain whatever solution needed for your problem), but until you change your habit of mind, you just won’t get there.

But there is Great News! You can definitely overcome this! How? The power of your mind! Duh!

Truth of Reality

Before we get to the solution it’s important to know a little something about reality.

I’ve recently been reminded of some important truths about reality from the book “E-Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality Paperback” – by Pam Grout, which I highly recommend reading (or listening to via audible….both are at the link.)

Paraphrasing the teachings:

• E=MC^2 which means engery=matter and matter=energy.
• Matter is just potential energy. And all matter is totally energized and vibrating.
• All energy, including you, are connected to the field of potentiality, which means if there is something you want, the potential for that exists.
• Thoughts are energy.
• Where you focus your energy/thoughts creates your reality. (“Every thought is a step in one direction or another.”)

This is true whether you believe it or not. I’m not trying to convince you of any of this today (read Pam’s book for that. It’s good!), but rather I’m offering you some insight on HOW to harness this truth to get what you want.

How? Using the focus of your mind.

Patterns of Your Mind

The mind is a creature of habit. The good news is you can change those habits to serve you better, but you’ll have to put in a little work up front and then do some regular maintenance ongoing. Why is that?

To keep this simple, your mind has established some very strong patterns over your lifetime. You’ve spent a lifetime thinking the way you do. So you will need to replace your current negative limiting thought patterns/habits each time they come up with the thoughts that will bring the good stuff into your life.

How to Use Your Mind to Manifest What You Want

If you have done any mindfulness or concentration meditations you’ll know the basics of how to use your mind to get what you want. Simply, you focus on what you want and keep bringing the mind back to that over and over.

Steps:

1. You pick an intention. “I want ____________.”

Example: “I want to be happy and content and at peace. I want to be grounded in knowing that I am good enough. I am worthy of love. I always have enough time and my life at this moment is right where I should be. All speed bumps are lessons offered to me by the Universe.”

Example: “I want a new red car. Things will line up for me to have this car. I deserve it. I will take good care of it. I will enjoy it everyday. I can feel it.”

Example: “I want a good relationship. I have a good relationship. I love and respect him/her. And she/he loves and respects me. We find the good in each other. We refrain from judgments. We give love and always seek understanding instead of judging. We see the love in the way that it is shown, not in how we think it should be shown. We are happy.”

2. After you pick an intention, you focus on that all day. And as in meditation, when your mind wanders or tries to “sabotage” your intentions with ingrained negative patterns, notice those old patterns and then insert your intention again and again.

3. Bring all your senses to bear in your vision: how will you feel? what will it sound, smell, taste, feel and look like? what emotions and thought and experiences will you be having? The sharper and stronger your focus the more power it will have.

4. Keep bringing your mind back to your intention all day.

Pretty soon this will become your new thought habit.

And pretty soon you will see the fruits of your focus.

Common Problems and Solutions

Fixated on Past or Present Conditions or Events

You get a major fixation of wanting things to be different now or in the past. You get so attached to your anger over what has happened or is happening that you keep hating those circumstances over and over in your mind.

To fix this, remember that this itself is a thought habit/pattern. See this negative pattern for what it is. You are trying to change the past by being mad about it. That’s only going to perpetuate your situation and feelings.

You need to move on.

Again ask yourself what your goal is. Set your intention and focus on that instead. (Deep breathing while doing this is helpful.)

Forgetting to Think About Your Intention

To fix this try these:

1. Do a 5-20 minute mediation just on your intention a couple times a day.
2. Create physical reminders. A rubber band, a bracelet, notes in your office, car, bathroom, etc.
3. Create electronic reminders. Set a few daily alarms to think about your intention. And then bring your intention back into focus.

It’s Not Working!

Watch your thoughts in between your intention focus.

Do you hear things like

• “This won’t work.”
• “This is stupid.”
• “I bet this won’t work.”

Sometimes these thoughts are little whispers. Pay close attention to all your thoughts and make sure they are supporting your goal to manifest good things. If they are not, replace them with these types of thoughts:

• “I am open to this working.”
• “I believe this will work.”
• “I have nothing to lose. I’m willing to put in the work of focusing on my dreams.”
• “I’m willing to be patient as my intention brings me what I want.”

Not Exactly What I Wanted

When you’re not getting what you want ask yourself more specifically what you want and when you want it by. Sharpen your focus on what you want and when. Stick with it. Some things may take a little longer to manifest. That doesn’t mean they’re not coming though! Keep the faith and focus!

I’m Exhausted

Sometimes your body needs rest or nutrition or hydration in order to summon the energy needed to focus. Always take care of your energy needs first if you can. If you can’t get rest or sustenance right now, use the power of your mind to hold you over until you can get restoration. And then do that as soon as you can.

Get Started Right Now!

Where you focus your thoughts has great power!

Pick what you want. The world is your candy-store.

Focus your mind on what you want. (not on what you don’t want or like)

Keep bringing the mind back to this focus.

Stick with it until you realize your dream.

Remember, you have nothing to lose by trying!

Please Share!

Have you used these methods before? Start with something small. Let us know your experiences, results, thoughts in the questions below or on Facebook or Twitter!

If you have a friend you think would benefit, please send this along to them.

Thank you! Wishing all your dreams to come true!