Feeling Good

Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives. -Louise Hay

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2007 Hay House “I Can Do It” Tampa Conference. This was my first such conference but I know it definitely won’t be my last. I had an absolute blast and would recommend this to anyone interested in the topics covered by Hay House Publishing.

Over the course of three days, I attended presentations by 9 different authors covering a range of topics from an “unvarnished” version of Law of Attraction to Shamanism to Angel Therapy. The list of speakers was impressive to say the least. I was able to attend talks given by the following authors:

• Colette Baron-Reid – I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed her humor; she’s quite funny.
• Dr. Wayne W. Dyer – I love hearing Dr. Dyer speak; his PBS special that coincided with the book “The Power of Intention” was how I was first formally introduced to the concept of LOA and I’ve been a fan of his since.
• Caroline Myss – I had previously only heard her once or twice on Hay House Radio so being exposed to her material was something of a new experience for me.
• Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. – Prior to signing up for this conference I had never even heard of him. Since he was discussing Shamanism, a recent interest of mine, and I was very familiar with Dr. Stephen Farmer’s work, who was also covering this topic, I decided to attend his talk and felt good about his message.
• Esther and Jerry Hicks – This was an amazing experience! If you are able to attend nothing else at a conference where they are, be sure to attend this one! Awesome!
• Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. – Doreen’s readings of individuals from the audience were some of the most detailed of any that I’ve heard in person.
• Christiane Northrup, M.D. – Although much of her message was targeted toward women, I still found a lot of useful information in the talk.
• Dr. Darren R. Weissman – There was much buzz at the conference about this man and his healing technique called “The Lifeline Technique”. The end of his talk included a demonstration of the technique on an audience member and after watching this technique in action, I have to say, I have no doubt that it works.
• Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. – Dr. Oz has become a regular on Oprah and makes body processes relatively easy to understand.

So, which of these great authors/speakers represents the BEST reason to attend a Hay House Conference? Frankly, none of them.

You see, the best reason to attend a conference like this is not the speaker, although they are all fantastic in their own way, but is, without a doubt, the people you will inevitably sit down next to. I had the privilege to sit down next to several wonderful people:

• Earl from the Northeastern U.S. – Earl was a retired gentleman who had made a career in agriculture that had taken him all over the world. He was politically conservative and had grown accustomed to being thought of as being “out there” by his colleagues. His sincere and genuine nature made him a pleasure to spend time with.
• The lady from Crystal River, Florida – She knew that even though where she was did not represent everything she wanted, that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. She had learned that traveling companions didn’t always have to be dropped off at the first sign of a bumpy road.
• The lady from Illinois – Trying to be true to herself, this lady was still a bit nervous about all of this as much was outside of her Midwestern comfort zone. She had bravely taken her first steps into a new perspective and was on her way to a new understanding.
• Helene from Ottawa, Canada – Helene gave me a personal reading and shared with me tidbits that were right in line with both things I’ve desired for myself and things that others have said to me. She was a wonderful lady with a true sense of her own direction in this life.
• The lady who didn’t seem like she wanted to be there – This encounter reminded me that very often we just don’t know what others are going through at any given moment and, as such, we should simply not judge them. We do not know their circumstances and should not jump to conclusions.
• Last, but far from least, Nancy from Connecticut – I met Nancy at the very first session I attended and we very quickly became friends spending much of our time between sessions chatting and sharing stories. It was very much like meeting someone I had already known for a very long time. We were instantly comfortable with each other and I have no doubt we will be friends for the remainder of our time in this existence.

It’s great to meet and hear well known speakers and authors. But ultimately, they simply provide a convenient excuse for the real reason to attend a conference like this. There’s just nothing that can beat cultivating a new friendship or “finding” one that’s been waiting for you!

A shot glass of desire is greater than a pitcher of talent. -Andy Munthe

At times we’ve all been in employment situations that were less than what we wanted. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a bad situation, but it wasn’t everything you wanted either. That’s where I’ve been recently. Nothing horrible, just less than what I would really like.

So as I contemplated a job search, I purposefully decided to go about this search in a slightly different manner than those I’ve undertaken before. I was determined to go about this search keeping myself in alignment with the principles of Law of Attraction. I wanted to be grateful throughout the process and begin with the intention that I would end up exactly where I should be.

With that, I used the following five steps to attract myself a new employer:

1. I decided that I wanted more than what I had.

Basically, the contrast of my work situation gave birth to a new desire. As we all do, I wanted more than what I had. I wanted more variety to my work, increased input into not only my responsibilities but the overall work of the company, better benefits, and, of course, a higher salary. I wanted to feel like my work contributed to the overall picture and that I was the best Technical Writer that my company could have.

2. I put forth my intention to attract something new while remaining truly thankful for what I had.

Putting forth my intention (or “asking”) is, as you may know by now, something that we all do without too much difficulty. Simply wanting something is the genesis of asking or intending. Getting into a habit of being thankful can be a bit more of a challenge as it requires some effort in the beginning but does get easier with time.

So, following what has become my custom, I looked for aspects of my current employment that I enjoyed and could be thankful for. While commuting to and from work during those times when the traffic may have been less than desirable, I would offer thoughts such as, “I’m thankful for the time flexibility I’ve been given by my employer to allow for traffic congestion or the occasional personal item that needs addressing.”

3. I waited.

This is often the hardest part for those who are new to Law of Attraction. It’s easy in the beginning to get all foamy at the mouth with anticipation and excitement over what you’ve just learned (hey, I’ve been there). Then when you don’t see anything happening in the time frame you think it should, here you go, back down the emotional scale with thoughts of, “this stuff doesn’t work” or “I must be doing something wrong”, which, of course, is exactly what you get more of.

The best way I’ve found to deal with the wait is to “forget” about it. What I mean by that is I don’t go around trying to hold this thought in the front of my mind. I’ve asked and I believe that it has to come. This allows me to relax, get out of the way, and not worry about it (which is what’s often referred to as “allowing”).

4. I took action only when it “felt right”.

I believe this is the most misunderstood part of Law of Attraction. So many people seem to want to work extraordinarily hard for what LOA will bring them with very little effort. Since I believe that LOA works with extremely minimal effort on my part, I only have to wait for the “nudge” that cues me to what I should do next.

In this case, I set my intention to find a new employment situation around April. I took absolutely no action on it until one Sunday afternoon in the middle of June when a feeling came over me that directed me to take a look at an internet job board and apply for 4 positions that came up in the search. After of couple of near misses, the opening that ultimately culminated in an offer arrived in my email inbox.

5. I released any apprehension over the outcome.

This also speaks to “allowing” and has been one of the areas that’s taken me longer to truly integrate into my life. During the times I felt myself getting anxious about the outcome, I would purposefully stop for a moment, close my eyes, and release the tension. I could actually feel my muscles relax during these moments and this process allowed me to move on feeling better about where I was in the process.

So, how does my new situation compare? Well, I now have:

An extremely positive work environment
Additional responsibilities to stretch for
New skills that I’ll be developing
More paid vacation and sick time
Excellent benefits
A higher salary!

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired. –Franz Kafka

A friend recently emailed me asking about happiness and how to manifest his desires.  He said, “I really do want to be happy with my life. I wonder if the problem is that I want too much and am never satisfied ( I was up until 2am last night thinking about my future and where I can go from where I am currently at today. Is this the peak of my life/career? From here on out, it this as good as it’s going to get?)”

The following is an excerpt from my response to him:

Basically, Law of Attraction says that “thoughts become things” and everything in our physical experience begins as thought.  First we think it, and then as we live with that thought the Universe goes to work to bring you what you are thinking about.  There have been all kinds of examples of this throughout history and if you think about it you will find examples in your own life of the same principle at work.  It is this reason that so many people never see much change in the patterns of their lives.  They continually reflect on the way things exist for them in the moment and the Universe keeps bringing them more of what they have which may not be what they really want. 
 
So let’s apply this to your situation.  You want to be involved in a career that’s different from the one you are currently in.  You think to yourself, “I would really like to do X, but I’ve got it pretty good and there are so many people who don’t have as much as I do.” Following Law of Attraction, the Universe responds to “…I’ve got it pretty good…” and sends you more of what you have which leaves you right where you’ve been all along.
 
So then you think, “I wonder if the problem is that I want too much and am never satisfied.” In short, the answer is no.  It is our nature to want more than we have no matter what that may be.  And there’s nothing wrong with that.  That desire for more is what keeps us growing.  We don’t have to worry about getting more than our “share” because the Universe can supply an unlimited amount of resources.  In other words, just because we are getting more does not mean that someone else must get less.
 
The single biggest stumbling block for most people is that they can’t get past the way things “are” in the moment.  If you want the Universe to bring you something more than you have then you must “ignore” the way things are and focus on the way you want them to be!
 
The way to know if you are moving in the right direction is with your emotions.  If you feel good about whatever it is you are thinking about then you are moving in the right direction for you and what you are focusing on is making its way to you!  If, on the other hand, you are feeling bad when you think about something, then you are moving away from what you want.  It’s that simple. 
 
The key to all of this is something of a balancing act.  You must be happy (feel good) with what you have in order to move in the direction of what you want while not being completely satisfied and continually wanting more.  As far as being happy with what you have, the easiest way to move in that direction is to learn to be thankful for what you have.  Find something about your current situation that you can truly be thankful for and offer that up to the Universe.  Seek out more and more things to be thankful for and offer those up at every opportunity.  In the end, the ironic part is that the more you “hate” what you have, the more difficult it is to move on and this is true of any situation be it a job, a relationship, or whatever.  Conversely, the more thankful and appreciative you are for what you have, the easier it is to let it go and receive more of what you want!

Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia. –Alexis Carrel

Ok, so I’ve been feeling so good lately that I started to wonder just how to reach for something better when I couldn’t possibly have any way of knowing what “better than I’ve ever been” would feel like.

Now, stay with me for a minute, I realize you may not be at this point on your path. In fact, you may be wondering how you will ever feel anything other than bad. You may not be able to imagine anything close to what you think I’m talking about. But, I submit to you that where you are is not that much different than where I’ve been lately.

I’m moving in a particular direction and, as such, I experience the inertia, or “vibrational escrow”, of the direction I’m moving. You know, “A body in motion tends to stay in motion.” So the motion I’ve created keeps me moving in the direction I’ve been going (sound familiar?) so that more of that situation shows up in my experience.

So the question becomes, “How do I reach for something I don’t understand in the first place?”

The answer is nothing new. “Ask, Believe, Receive,” or however you want to say it. Simply put, it starts with your desire to want something more than what you have. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. You know what you don’t want. So just turn that around and state it as what you do want. Here’s the “difficult” part, assuming there is a difficult part (doesn’t the simple thought that it’s “difficult” make it so? –you should be shaking your head in the affirmative). Because we are moving in a particular direction that inertia (vibrational escrow) that we have built up will keep us moving in that direction and we will have to make deliberate attempts to keep our thoughts on what we want until the time arrives where we’ve “purged the buffers” and can begin to receive that which we are now creating!

So, we’ve started to focus on what we want and we’ve maintained that thought even in the face of the “reality” in front of us. So what happens now?

Something or someone shows up in your experience that demonstrates to you, without any doubt, what you need to think/feel/do in order to move to toward that new direction.

In my case, I met an individual who stirred something in me unlike anything I have felt before. This individual helped me understand what to reach for by providing the necessary contrast between the way I have been feeling and the way I could feel. And, interestingly, it wasn’t about anything that was said but simply about the feeling. In case you’re wondering what it felt like, the only word I can come up with to describe it was “awe” but this doesn’t seem adequate somehow.

Today I am grateful for the arrival of this individual in my experience for I now know how it will be possible to feel better than I currently do.

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee. -Marian Wright Edelman

I’d like to propose a question to you. If by spending only one hour out of your week, you could make a difference on a global scale, would you take that one hour to do so? Furthermore, if I said that you only had to make a firm commitment to do this just once, would that ease the decision for you?

Well, here’s your chance to do just that. Simply spend one hour of your time and help create global change.

For those of you in the Tampa area, this is a very special event taking place on 7/17/07 @ 7:11 AM EDT. Donna Moldovan, the proprietress of Mind, Body and Spirit located at 13141 N. Dale Mabry, is coordinating a local gathering for a group meditation that represents a “…global attempt by the inhabitants of this planet to send our Love to the center of mother earth to help her to restart her heart (so to speak) to counter act the effects of global warming, pollution, and many years of man’s neglect.”

Fire the Grid is the website that kicked this off and you can obtain more information there including where to seek out a gathering should you happen to live somewhere other than Tampa.

Laughter is an instant vacation.  ~Milton Berle

I recently came across an interesting blog by Alexander Kjerulf called Chief Happiness Officer where Alexander discusses the issues around the concept of being happy at work.  He has some thought provoking posts and one, “A question for ya: How do you find time for vacations?”, captured my attention.

As I thought about Alexander’s question, I remembered part of a conversation that I recently had with some of the members of the Tampa Law of Attraction Meetup Group that I organize.  We were discussing methods that we each used for maintaining our high vibrational levels and I shared my thoughts on how I’ve come to regard my daily life, including my work, as a vacation.

The following are my five easy steps to living a vacation rather than just taking one:  

1. Make an internal decision that life is one long vacation.

About two years ago I decided that I wanted to feel like I was on vacation all the time and not just during the one or two weeks a year that my wife and I go somewhere.  So I did just that.  I simply decided to feel this way.  At first it didn’t particularly feel true but, with a little time and focus on what I wanted to attract, I really did begin to feel more relaxed.

2. Believe that vacation is a state of mind, not a destination.

My wife has, on numerous occasions, told me, “You act like you’re on vacation,” to which I immediately respond, “I’m on permanent vacation!”  So what began as nothing more than a desire and decision to feel a particular way, has developed into a state of mind.  I can now feel like I’m “on vacation” even if I’m at work.

3. Surround yourself with things that you associate with vacation.

Throughout my preteen and teenage years, I had a huge affinity for both Hawaiian and Guayabera style shirts even though I was basically the only person I knew that wore them with any kind of consistency.  For whatever reason, I always associated those shirts with feeling relaxed and at ease.  Recently, I’ve incorporated that style of shirt back into my wardrobe and I’m wearing them on a regular basis once again.  After many years of wearing more traditional types of clothing, I’ve found these shirts once again help me feel relaxed.

4. Make a habit to set aside time to be “disconnected”.

It seems that with all the various forms of wired and wireless connections we have available today, we’ve lost touch with the fact that sometimes ignorance really is bliss.  It seems we’ve come to think that if we don’t know X within moments of it’s occurrence that we’ve somehow missed out of something.  One of the ways that I address my need for disconnection is through my choice of not watching, hearing, or reading the news.  Typically, anything that I really need to know, I will hear about through conversation with others and, as an added bonus, I don’t have to worry about which celebrity was caught shoplifting this week.

5. Choose not to worry about other people’s perceptions of your mindset.

I think this is a larger concern than most people would admit to.  We have such an overwhelming desire to belong that we will often stifle our own methods of self expression so that we conform to what’s considered “normal” for the culture we live in.  Peer pressure can be powerful but if we truly want to live to our highest potential we sometimes have no choice but to walk our own path and do things our own way.

Music is what feelings sound like. -Unknown

I suppose you could consider me something of an amateur musician as I’ve played guitar since about the age of 12.  A few years ago I decided to take piano lessons and kept those up for about a year.  One of the things that I’ve learned along this path is how powerfully music can influence (or reflect) how you feel. 

I have, on occasion, had the opportunity to demonstrate to friends of mine just how powerful the pull of music can be on how we feel.  I have been able to show this by providing a couple of musical examples and having my friends pay attention to the way they feel as they listen to the music.  I usually play a couple of songs that most people in my age bracket (I’m 37) would be only casually familiar with, if at all. 

I begin by playing “I’ve Got the World on a String” by Frank Sinatra.  I allow my friends to listen for a few moments and then I ask how they feel.  I’ve received responses ranging from, “good,” to “happy,” to “joyous”. 

On the heels of that, I immediately have my friends listen to Rachmaninoff’s Morceaux de fantaisies (5), Op. 3: no 2, Prélude in C sharp minor.  To my previous question, this selection elicits responses like, “mad,” or “angry,” or “frustrated”.

People who have never given much thought to the music they listen to seem quite surprised by how big the difference is in the way they feel when listening to these tracks.  Most have never paid any attention to how their musical choices make them feel or how those choices may be impacting their manifestations.  Many have reported that they often play the radio without even paying that much attention to what’s playing.  It becomes more like background noise for them.  On a personal note (pun intended), I’ve noticed that the music I grew up listening to and loving has lost much of its appeal to me as my vibrational level has increased.  I still occasionally listen to it here and there but I find that I just don’t resonate with it the same way I once did.

Today, I would encourage you to pay attention to how the music that you most often choose to listen to makes you feel.  Does it make you feel “good,” or “happy,” or “joyous”? If not, what impact might that be having on what you’re manifesting?

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. -Henry David Thoreau

I talked to a friend today who was concerned about the fact that he had attracted some of that lower vibrational “stuff” that occasionally shows up in our experience.  He shared with me some of the specifics to which I immediately responded, “Ah, you have bugs in your eyes!”  Since he hadn’t yet read my last post, I couldn’t help but laugh when he responded with, “HUH?”

I went on to share with my friend that even though he may not be where he would prefer to be at this moment that he was, in fact, exactly where he should be.  The fact that something less desirable shows up in our experience is nothing to worry about.  In fact, worrying about it is the last thing we should do as that will only attract more of it!  The best approach to handling these kinds of situations is to remove yourself from the equation by mentally seeing yourself as an uninvolved party observing the events of your life from the vantage point of one who can see the past, present, and future all at once. 

Here’s an example of how to get a mental picture of something like that.  Imagine yourself looking down on a busy street from the third floor.  You see someone walking down the street but because it’s so busy, you know that person can only see the people directly in front of them.  From your vantage point, however, you can see where he is, where he’s been and the events that are happening in his wake, as well as things taking place along his path that he can’t currently see.

That person you are watching is you.  You can watch the events you’ve been living without being attached to the feelings associated with them because you are now outside of those experiences.  Watch what that person does, how he reacts to the situation and see if you can pick up on what it is he can learn from all of this.  How can he apply the lessons of this experience in such a way that he no longer needs to experience it or anything like it?

Answering that question will help you clean the bugs from your eyes and, further, teach you more about attracting bug free experiences!

Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose. -Bo Bennett

After reading a couple of recent posts about visualization, I started thinking about the process and realized that I have never really given the mechanics of the process very much focused thought. Perhaps that’s because I have always had something of “visual thought process”. Long before I knew about Law of Attraction, I would describe myself as a visually oriented thinker and learner. Even now, when I am in a teaching mode, I have a strong urge to draw (even if that’s just boxes, circles, and arrows) in an attempt to illustrate what I’m saying in a given moment. I recognize, however, that some people don’t naturally think this way and can have a harder time with the process of visualization.

So today I’ve decided to offer a few links to content that contains additional information on the mechanics and process of visualization. Some of these are not related to Law of Attraction — well, at least not from the author’s point of view – but they speak to the process all the same.

I hope you find these beneficial!

Seeing is Believing
Creative Visualization and the Law of Attraction
Evolving Times – Guided Visualization
Visualization Exercise
More Visualization Exercises
Exercises: Visualization for Beginners
Visualize: How to improve your visualization skills

What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful. -Mother Teresa

For those of you that may not be aware, this blog was started as a companion to a group that I organize called the Tampa Law of Attraction Meetup Group.  This gathering has attracted a diverse group of people who have enriched not only my life but the lives of each other as well and I’m proud to be a part of this particular journey.  In the time since the group began we have seen the membership consistently grow and we are now looking forward with great expectation to the next step in our travels together. 

With that in mind, I’m extremely pleased to announce that the Tampa Law of Attraction Meetup Group is now an affiliate chapter of “The Gathering Project” founded by Andrew Adler.  “The Gathering Project” was created as a gathering place for those who share the common interest of self-improvement through spiritual growth, enlightenment, accessing spiritual and healing gifts, and making the world a more peaceful and better place to live.

Essentially, this group could be thought of as a network of like minded people who share similar goals of improving themselves and the lives of others by making themselves visible for others to locate.  Andrew was recently interviewed about “The Gathering Project” by Julie Johnson of LawOfAttractionTools.com and the show can be listened to or downloaded from her site.

You can learn more about “The Gathering Project” at the official Meetup site.