Archive for June, 2006
Friday, June 30th, 2006
Diane had a great question: Okay, I’m trying to read up on the LOA, and I have yet to see the movie [The Secret] (but I will!),so forgive me if this question is answered in the movie. Can we attract situations into others’ lives? For instance, if someone is sick, can we attract healing vibes for them, or only to ourselves? Thanks!
Yes, and no. I think we can certainly call in healing energy for someone else through the act of prayer or positive thoughts. But I also think that they have to be willing to receive that healing. If they’re not, we can’t interfere with their free will. Just like no one else can force their will on us. Does that make sense?
What I usually do is pray and visualize healing energy to a person, with the intention that if they don’t want it, it will move on to someone else in the world who DOES want it. That way the energy isn’t floating around out there with no destination in mind. It sounds silly, but I think it works. 
Now, as far as attracting things to ourselves, there is one aspect that seems hard to grasp. And that is, according to what is said in that movie, we attract EVERYTHING that happens to us in our lives. I do believe that, but it seems so impossible in certain scenarios.
Why on earth would we attract a car accident, or cancer, or the loss of a job, or a divorce? In my opinion, it works like this: we’re not attracting those things on purpose; they are the result of our underlying beliefs. A simple example would be, if we don’t believe we deserve health and love and happiness, we’ll do things to sabotage it when it arrives in our life.
At the same time, I truly believe that we attract certain experiences in order to grow from them. I think this process is mostly on a spiritual level, and NOT part of our conscious awareness. Anyone who has gone through extremely difficult circumstances can attest to the fact that it was a worthwhile experience, simply because it strengthened them and helped them to grow more into themselves.
On a conscious level, we don’t want these experiences because they’re painful, but on a spiritual level, we see only the amazing benefits at the end of it all.
I hope this makes sense. I’m certainly no expert on the Law of Attraction, but I’ve been studying and working with these principles for years in varying forms in my own life, and the more I focus on them, the more amazing changes I see in my own life. And even better, the more I learn about myself and what I’m capable of.
Feel free to post other questions, or differing opinions, etc! It’s a fascinating topic to think about and talk about.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Energy, Intentions, Law of Attraction, The Secret | No Comments »
Monday, June 26th, 2006
I’m reading through a new book I bought recently, Creating a Charmed Life by Victoria Moran. It features a collection of 75 short essays about how to bring more joy, meaning, and simplicity into your life.
One of my favorite essays from the book (so far) is called, “Give Up Your Mountain.” By “mountain” she means the foreboding issue that stands between you and the life you want to be living. Everyone’s mountains are different. For one person, it might be haunting memories of an abusive childhood, for another it could be an addiction, for someone else it could be financial struggle. She mentions the necessity of surrendering to situations you can’t change, and continuing on to create a meaningful life in spite of them. Wonderful advice, and this essay holds a lot of truth.
But something else occurred to me as I was reading, and that is, the mountain behind the mountain. Sometimes what we think is our biggest mountain is simply an anthill at the base of the true mountain lurking behind the clouds.
Some people think that financial lack is their mountain. Then, by some miracle, they win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money. But their problems don’t vanish, do they? If anything, they experience more stress, family problems intensify, and everything seems to get worse. If their mountain was caused by lack, the money should have dissolved it. Yet, a surprisingly large percentage of people who win the lottery are broke again with a few years.
Another good example is people who are overweight and believe that everything in their lives would be better if they could just lose the weight. Once they do lose it, what happens? They feel vulnerable and insecure, turn to food for comfort and regain the weight. In situations like these, we can see clearly that there was something else behind the immediate struggles, something that wasn’t addressed in order to resolve the issues completely.
There are exceptions to these examples, of course, but my point is that our mountains usually exist for a reason. Most often, they are based on a fear, thought, or belief about ourselves or our lives. Once we break down the initial mountain, we see the bigger mountain looming large in the background, and we realize that our work has just begun.
Or worse, we break down the initial mountain, and we DON’T see the bigger mountain, and we wonder why we’re still not happy.
So, how do we conquer the bigger mountain? How can we even tell why it’s there? In my own experience, it requires a lot of self-discovery. We must be willing to explore ourselves fully, question our beliefs, dig into our past, work through any unresolved issues, and make better choices.
Even more challenging, we must overcome the fear of facing the hidden parts of ourselves. Our fear could accurately be called the mountain behind the mountain behind the mountain!
But the beauty of this process is that once we face our fear, it doesn’t seem so big anymore. We can chip away at our mountains a piece at a time, keep the momentum going, and our lives will begin to transform.
It’s important to point out also that there’s no end to this process. We are never really done with learning and growing into ourselves more deeply. Our lives will always have room for improvement. We may also have periods of time where we feel uncomfortable with the work we’re doing, and start backsliding with our efforts. New mountains could spring up in our path, seemingly overnight.
But if we continue our efforts, day by day, week by week, and even year by year, we will make progress. We will learn how to love our mountains because of the way they strengthen us, and what they teach us. And we will realize that even though it wasn’t an easy journey, it was definitely worthwhile in the end.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Beliefs & Expectations, Personal Development | No Comments »
Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
I have been struggling hard the past few days on trying to do the stuff I know I need to do. (cue whiney voice) But I don’t wanna! I feel rundown and tired, and my bed keeps calling to me. I haven’t even felt like watching TV, and you KNOW there’s something wrong when my favorite programs don’t interest me. I’ve felt achey and headachey and weak, maybe I caught a smidge of a bug or something.
But - on to the point of this post, sometimes we just HAVE TO get something done, even when we don’t feel like it. Today is that day for me. I have a truckload of work to catch up on, and I’m far behind on housecleaning and my landlord is coming up to look at a leaky toilet tonight, so I HAVE to get this place looking halfway decent. I also have to make a few phone calls, because yesterday I spaced and didn’t realize it was my brother & sis-in-law’s anniversary, AND my best friend and her husband’s anniversary too! They got married on the same day but different years. And I didn’t even call either of them to say Happy Anniversary. So I MUST do that today.
So, what do we do to motivate ourselves into action on days like this? Here’s what I’ve been doing since morning, and it’s working. Hope it works for you too, the next time you’re sitting there groaning about something you absolutely have to do, but don’t wanna!
- No excuses. Don’t let yourself contemplate putting it off longer. I’m great at that. I start thinking about the next few days and what I’ll have going on, and then thinking, “Well, if I stay up all night Saturday to do this, I can do this other stuff on Sunday morning, and then I won’t have to do it today.” NO! Don’t even go there. All it does is cause more stress later when you’re moving 100mph to catch up on what you didn’t do today. Don’t let your mind play tricks, just commit to doing what you know needs to be done.
- Dive in and start. Don’t procrastinate on getting started. Don’t say, “Oh, I’ll wait till 4:00pm, because Oprah will be on and I won’t mind cleaning while watching her show.” At 4:00, I guarantee you’ll have another excuse ready.
- Work in bursts. This one works like a charm for me! Instead of spending an hour cleaning, I’ll spend 15-20 minutes cleaning, then come back to my desk and write an article, then go back to cleaning, then go wash some dishes, then go back to cleaning, check emails, back to cleaning, etc. The job doesn’t seem so big if you do a little at a time.
- Hang a juicy carrot. You know how they put a carrot on a long pole in front of a horse to get him to move? He keeps going because he’s trying to get a tasty treat, and doesn’t notice that he’d rather be grazing somewhere. All he sees is that nice, juicy carrot, and he wants it bad, so he goes full steam ahead! We can give ourselves the same motivation by setting up rewards for when our work is done. It doesn’t have to be anything big or exciting. For example, I’ve promised myself that if I get all my work done by 6:00pm tonight, I can spend the rest of the evening curled up, reading a good book. Maybe reading wouldn’t do it for you, and you’d rather buy yourself a new purse or go out in the yard to play with the kids, or visit a local park. But choose something that you’ll really enjoy and look forward to. Keep it in mind as you do your work to keep yourself motivated.
And then - most importantly about the reward, keep your word! Don’t cheat yourself out of it because it seems too frivolous or expensive or selfish. You deserve it, so be kind to yourself.
There. I hope that will give you some good ideas to keep in mind for when you’re having a day of procrastination because you just don’t feel like doing anything else.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Motivation | No Comments »
Sunday, June 18th, 2006
Yesterday I had my second Reiki session and it was even more powerful than the first, except in a quieter sort of way.
The first session was intense, and the second seemed gentler — but the energy seemed to penetrate more deeply into me also. Afterwards I felt so incredibly BALANCED. Balanced from within. It’s hard to describe, but I felt calmer, more centered, and more grounded.
During the session, my thoughts were drifting lazily along, and I suddenly remembered a time in my life when I used to meditate regularly. I used to spend about 20 minutes in the morning and again in the evening just sitting quietly and emptying my mind. I miss that!
Over the past few years, I’ve let my external demands take over my need for quiet time alone. Oh sure, I spend time relaxing, reading, watching TV, writing in my journal, etc. But lately it’s rare for me to meditate, and I’m finally noticing what a difference it makes in my life.
When I was meditating regularly, I was so in tune with myself. Not only did I feel more alert mentally, and more energetic physically, I also seemed more connected with the world around me. My intuition was stronger and I had more confidence. More inner peace too, which is something I’ve been sorely lacking lately.
So I’m going to resume that practice again. Just a few minutes in the morning and again in the evening before bed, sitting quietly, breathing, listening to the silence. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?
You can join me if you want!
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Energy, Meditation | 1 Comment »
Sunday, June 18th, 2006
My husband and I have an ongoing battle about the “stuff” we accumulate in our home. While I do admit to some packrat tendencies of my own, I also like things nice and clean and simple. I go through periods of time when I’m gathering and storing up stuff (like books, clothing, office supplies, and other miscellaneous items) — but then I also get into moods when I realize I don’t need all this stuff hanging around and I either sell it or give it away. I love those “purging” phases because my surroundings feel so much calmer and more open, rather than crammed full of clutter and chaos.
My darling husband, on the other hand, feels that it’s a sin to get rid of something that has the remotest possibility of usefulness, now or in the future. He still has clothing he wore when he was in high school. He saves every scrap of wire, every stray screw or nut, every magazine he’s ever read. Even worse (in my mind) is that he isn’t satisfied with the stuff he’s already got, he needs to add to it consistently. And on goes our daily battle - me trying to clear out stuff, and him trying to cram even more in to replace it. 
It’s not just my husband though. Our societal conditioning encourages excess. Just look at the portion sizes of restaurant meals, or all the nifty electronic gadgets that we supposedly can’t live without. While I’m not necessarily opposed to these things, I also think that focusing too much on ever increasing amounts of “stuff” can distance us from our inner selves. We become distracted and disconnected, and that can lead to feelings of stress and emptiness.
So, how do we simplify our lives with all this “stuff” in the way? Do we need to donate all our possessions to charity and move to the Himalayas? Thankfully, no. But we do need to take a look at what we are filling our lives with, and develop a simpler way to live.
Whether you or someone you live with has the packrat mindset, here are some very simple tips to simplify your life:
1) Clear out the unnecessary. I know, that’s really subjective, and what seems unnecessary to one might not seem unnecessary to another. That’s my dilemma with my husband and all his stuff. He feels strongly that he needs all that stuff, and it’s not excessive in the least. I would love to have a dumpster party and get rid of 90% of it, but I know that wouldn’t go over too well. So, just do your best. Go through your own stuff and be honest about whether you really need something, or not. Get rid of what you can. If your spouse is the packrat and he or she refuses to let go of their stuff, then move on to the next step.
2) Organize what’s left. In my own situation, I think my husband’s packrat tendencies wouldn’t bother me so much if he was at least well-organized. Unfortunately, he’s not. His stuff is strewn throughout various areas of our home, all jumbled and chaotic. Even when he needs one of the precious items he can’t live without, he can’t find it! So I’ve decided to compromise on the *amount* of stuff and instead focus on the *placement* of the stuff. Nowadays it’s really easy to stay organized with all the handy, affordable organizers available. I’ve already begun sorting the stuff in our home and grouping like items together, and I will be purchasing some of those nifty plastic drawer storage units. With everything packed neatly away, our surroundings will at least look and feel simpler.
3) Make time for simplicity. Even if we can’t completely simplify our lives, we can definitely make time to connect with ourselves in quiet, simple ways. Things like meditation, prayer, quiet reading time, or even sitting in a park for a few minutes can refresh us and make us feel more relaxed. The important thing to remember is: chaos outside encourages chaos within; and peacefulness within will promote peacefulness in our surroundings. Spending time honoring our connection with our inner selves is a far more powerful solution than anything we do externally.
In the end, living a simpler life is really a choice we make moment to moment. Simplicity is a state of mind. It’s about learning how to let “stuff” enhance our lives, without relying on it for our happiness. Rather than seeking fulfillment from the latest greatest gadgets, we simply need to turn within and notice that it’s already there, waiting for us.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
Saturday, June 17th, 2006
Yesterday I had my first ever Reiki healing session done.
We have a few cousins on my husband’s side visiting from Colombia right now, and they are staying with my inlaws. Last weekend we went to meet them. One of them is a woman around my age named Adriana. Though she speaks limited English and I speak almost no Spanish, we did manage to communicate pretty well, and discovered that we have a lot of the same interests.
When she learned that I read tarot cards, she was excited and asked if I would give her a reading. I was glad to, but I didn’t have my cards with me that day, so we made arrangements for me to return on Friday (yesterday) and give her a reading. During our conversation, I also learned that she is a veterinarian in Colombia, and she’s also a Reiki Master! I was very interested in that, having an attraction to spiritual healing in any form.
Friday morning I went back to my inlaws and gave her a tarot reading. It ended up being a very long reading, maybe 2 hours, because she had a lot of questions about various things in her life. Afterwards, she insisted that she wanted to pay me for the reading, but I didn’t want to take her money.
Instead, I asked if she would give me a Reiki healing session in exchange for the reading. Bartering at its best! LOL She happily agreed.
Let me tell you something - I don’t care what skeptics say, that type of spiritual work is incredibly powerful! I’m pretty sensitive to spiritual energy anyway, but WOW I was not prepared for how strongly I would feel what she was doing. As she moved her hands over my chakras, I could feel this incredible heat and vibration. It was amazing.
Especially when she worked on my throat and heart chakras, I felt intense pressure in those areas. It was so strong that it felt like someone was SITTING on my chest and throat areas. At first I thought she was pushing down on me with her hands, but when I peeked open my eyes, I saw that she wasn’t even touching me, she was just holding her hands a few inches over me. That’s some strong energy! It wasn’t really painful, just a bit uncomfortable. But somewhere in my mind, I knew that the intense pressure was a sign that she had reached some blockages, so I just let her continue without saying a word.
Afterwards, she asked me two questions: First, did I have a thyroid condition? And secondly, were my emotions fluctuating strongly? She couldn’t have surprised me more with this, because she knew nothing about me, she picked up on this stuff during the session. What she didn’t know was that I had indeed had my thyroid checked by an endocrinologist late last year, and the tests all came back normal. However, I suspect there IS a problem there, even if it’s not strong enough to show up on blood tests. As for the emotions, she was right on with that too. I’ve been working through some older emotional baggage and it’s not an easy process. It does make me feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster.
After explaining this to her, she gave me some exercises to do and other things that would help me balance those chakras. I was very happy about that, because I know I need to do that! And of course, I will still continue seeing the regular doctor, because Reiki isn’t meant to diagnose or treat any condition. I was also glad that she picked up on problems in those areas, because it convinces me that I’m not crazy, it is not all in my head. As wonderful as modern medicine is today, it still has its limitations. In my opinion, it’s because they look only at the body, rather than the mind/body/spirit connection. It’s all tied in together.
Anyway, Adriana wants to do another session on me today, and then she will do some distance sessions when she gets back to Colombia. I’m so thankful for her help, because I feel like the combination of my own efforts and her spiritual work can be just the thing to help me regain my physical and emotional health. I have high hopes.
Even putting aside all the talk about chakras and spiritual healing, I would recommend a Reiki session just for the simple fact that it makes you feel SO relaxed and refreshed! I felt reborn afterwards, it was just wonderful. So if you’ve ever considered getting one and had doubts about whether they really work, you’ve got a thumbs up from me!
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Energy | No Comments »
Monday, June 12th, 2006
Decision-making seems like it should be a simple process, but sometimes we can find ourselves vacillating back and forth between one or more choices, truly unable to make a solid decision.
One of the things that makes decision-making so unnerving is the fear of making a wrong move. We may hesitate about making any kind of decision because we’re not sure of what the outcome will be. We get mired in “what ifs,” paralyzed by fears of what could go wrong. We worry that choosing wrong will cause an avalanche of bad luck to tumble onto our heads, or even worse, our decision will be wrong AND irreversible.
However, even worse than making the wrong decision is letting our fear prevent us from making any decision at all. This, in itself, is a choice, and not always one that serves our highest good. Rather than allowing ourselves to feel confused and paralyzed with fear, it can be useful to have a simple decision-making process to fall back on when we just can’t seem to make up our minds.
Following are techniques that can help you gain the clarity to make wiser decisions for yourself:
1) Clear your mind. First take a few minutes to get into a relaxed state of mind and release all fears and worries. This will help you to think more logically, rather than getting stuck on emotional responses.
2) Listen for signals. Bring each choice to mind individually, and pay attention to the responses from your body. Does one choice make your gut tighten up in apprehension? Does another choice make you feel a bit giddy or hopeful? Do you get a sense of dread from any options? Your intuition is a powerful tool that is always speaking to you. You just need to get quiet, tune in, and listen to what it says.
3) Consider the pros and cons. This is an old trick that is still quite effective. Rather than relying on your emotional impulses, you can look logically at the benefits and downfalls of each choice. Writing them down on paper is even better, because it can help you to see clearly which choice seems most beneficial. Sometimes this technique alone is enough to help you decide one way or another.
4) Consider the consequences. Though few of us have the ability to see the future in great detail, we can imagine a likely outcome to any choice we make. By thinking about these potential consequences, we stand a better chance of understanding which choice would be better for us in the long run. Two good questions to ask during this process are: “What could possibly happen if I make this decision?” and “Is it likely to happen?” Sometimes you’ll discover that your fears are out of proportion to the likely consequences, and once you realize the likelihood is small, you will be more confident in finally making a decision.
5) Choose. That’s the hardest part, I know. But again, even NOT making a decision is a choice in itself. Wouldn’t you rather have control of your choices, rather than letting your inaction bring about its own consequences? After using the techniques above, you should have a pretty solid idea of which choice is best for you.
Most importantly, remember that truly “wrong” decisions in life are rare. Rather, each choice has a corresponding consequence. Some of these consequences may seem positive, some may seem negative, but ultimately none of them are really “wrong” for us. (Except destructive choices that result in harm to yourself or another. Those I would consider definitely bad or wrong choices.)
But in a general sense, every decision we make simply moves us down a particular path in life. If we later decide we don’t like that path, we do have the power to choose another direction. But even the paths we decide we don’t like have something positive to offer us. We learn and grow in wisdom with every decision. We get to know ourselves better and better, and each decision we make later will be more in line with who we truly are, and the lives we want to create for ourselves.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
I wanted to expand on my last post about journaling, because a couple of interesting things have come up recently on the same topic.
First, a nice lady named Cate emailed to ask a question about my article on releasing the past. She wanted to know if holding on to old journals can keep us mired in old stagnant patterns. What an excellent question! Honestly, it’s something I never thought of, even though I’ve been keeping written journals since 1993. Since I’m also a big fan of clearing out the old to make way for the new, I had to think about that for a moment.
I don’t believe that our old journals can hold us back. I see them as a testament to the hard work we’ve done (and continue to do) on ourselves. It’s a record of how far we’ve come. In addition, looking back through old journals can be incredibly helpful in spotting repetitive patterns in our lives, especially if we keep getting “stuck” in the same types of negative situations. It’s so eye-opening to go back and read entries you wrote years ago. Half the time I’d swear that someone else wrote my earlier journals. It’s amazing how much we grow and change over the years.
I still have all of my old journals, and I’m fanatical about protecting them. That’s how important they are to me. I imagine I will keep them forever, and if I end up living a really long life (God willing), I’ll have trunkloads of them to pass on to my kids, grandkids, great grandkids, great great grandkids, etc.
Anyway, as I was composing my response to Cate, I guess she was browsing through her old journals, and after reading my answer, she said she felt exactly the same way. So she didn’t need my input after all. Still, I’m glad she posed the question because I don’t know if it ever would have occurred to me.
Then today, I saw an article in the New York Times about a doctor who died in the Vietnam war, and the man who kept and preserved her journal for more than 30 years. He finally located the doctor’s mother, and returned the journal to her. I can only imagine how grateful the mother is to have this small piece of her daughter again! She said in the article, “For me the information in the diary is not the important thing. What is important is that when I have the diary in my hands, I feel I am holding the soul of my daughter.”
How powerful! I often wonder about the people who will read my journals later, after I’m gone. Will they feel connected to me in some way? Will my words have an impact on their lives? I sure hope so. Not to mention that future generations will get a chance to laugh at how archaic we were, driving gas-powered automobiles instead of zipping around on solar-powered hovercrafts! LOL
Same thing with our online journals, I wonder if these posts will still be around 100 years from now. Someone could create a great content site with links to old-fashioned blogs. Shoot, the internet as we know it probably won’t even exist by then. Instead people will have a direct link-up in their brains, connecting them to all other people on the planet. Who needs computers anyway?
In the meantime, keeping a written (or online) journal is a powerful tool for self-growth, not just for us, but for anyone who reads it later! Keep your journals. Treasure them. Honor them, because they are a part of you, now and forever.
Wendy
CreationThoughts.com
WingsfortheHeart.com
VisualizeProsperityBook.com
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »
