Mind Your Mindset

Which thoughts do you start your day with? Which thoughts do you repeat to yourself most often? How are your thoughts working for you, or do they work against you?

One of the best things we can do for ourselves is get our thoughts aligned with our desired experiences, primarily, how we feel about ourselves, life, and Source—our inner experience, which is the only one we have absolute control over. Catherine Ponder’s book, The Secret of Unlimited Prosperity, does, of course, focus on aligning thoughts with prosperity, but it does much more than that, because your mindset influences your Good—all of it. Your Good is all of your resources: mind, energy, talent, skill, health, money, relationships, information, and experiences.

As many spiritual seekers and practitioners have realized, abundance, prosperity, health, and every other effect in our life is always influenced by a particular cause: Our mindset. To help you with this, I’m going to share with you a mix of Ponder material from this book, sometimes slanted with my preferred lingo and some personal comments. What I’m offering to you is a “formula” of sorts that you can read every morning as part of setting your mindset at the start of each day. To this end, I’m not going to use quotation marks to indicate what’s quoted—that could become cumbersome. Just know that most of what you’re about to read is from her book, with some personal alterations of mine, such as using Source rather than God, and is written in article form. Here we go.

Begin now to open your mind to the unlimited supply of the universe that is yours by divine right. Affirm often: I do not depend on persons or conditions for my supply. The One Source of Infinite Love is the source of my supply, and Source is constantly opening new channels of abundance and prosperity to me. I am open and receptive to my highest good now. There is no numbering of the avenues through which supply may come to me. My resource is as far-reaching as the universe. I expect my supply through all avenues of contact with life. Not from one specified point, not from two or more specified points; but from all points of the universe, unlimited supply is crowding upon me now. Source, I thank you for my unlimited increase in mind, energy, money, and affairs.

Your supply can come to you through expected channels, in expected ways, and it should. But your supply can also come to you through unexpected channels, in unexpected ways. From all points of the universe, your good is constantly crowding upon you. Give thanks that the universal spirit of abundance and prosperity is providing richly for you now.

The simple formula to use if you are not receiving the good you want in life: Ask what you can give to make way to receive your good. Then freely and quickly give it. There are those pious souls who believe that when they give, they are not supposed to expect to receive. And so, of course, they do not receive. Their very attitude blocks their good. State thankfulness every day for the benefit you can provide to one or more others, in ways appropriate for them and you. Your abundance and prosperity is from Source. Your abundance and prosperity is omnipresent. You give, through tithes of money and or of yourself, so you have a right to receive immediate abundance and prosperity. You choose to now allow this and receive all the good Source has for you and wants to give to you.

When you LIVE (not just know) the law of attraction, you never need to go seeking—your own always comes to you. This has been my personal experience. When I relax, trust, and allow Source to work in my behalf, it’s a very different experience than when I struggle and strain, and it is or can be the same for you. This is a key point: It’s not about what you can get from the flow, but that you get into the flow. Dwell upon the goodness of Source in yourself and others. Think about and expect success, whatever that means to you, and for any or every area of your life and how you feel about yourself. Radiate the attracting mental atmosphere that draws success. As Emerson wrote, “Great hearts send forth steadily the secret forces that incessantly draw great events.”

Dr. Ernest C. Wilson said this about the law of mental attraction: “…when you dissolve the barriers of repellent thought and substitute a receptive attitude of mind, good things come to us in unexpected and wonderful ways, and sometimes with a promptness that is astonishing.” How do you clear up mental resistance which has repelled your good? You must begin by picturing the best for yourself and for others. Stop picturing yourself as weak or misunderstood. Stop dramatizing yourself as a martyr. If you want to be thought of as long-suffering, you will always have something to suffer about. Begin anew picturing the good and expecting it.

When we change what we think, we change what we attract. Although we cannot force good into our life, we can invite it by dwelling on it. When we do this, our good appears sometimes in amazing ways. Practice this statement: I invite the powerful, loving action of Source into my life, and every need is met. I expect the best and attract the best in every experience.

Psychologists say that when you think you have been rejected (by others, life, and even yourself), you have subconsciously rejected something. Your good never rejects you. If you cannot accept your promised land mentally, you cannot enter it. This explains why some people demonstrate Truth and some do not. Those who get results are those who have released the past and have accepted mentally the possibility of new good. Those who hang on to the past, reject their good, and reject Source’s help in trying to give it to them, never do get the good they seek.

Your good has not rejected you, but you may have rejected it by holding on to someone or something of the past or present. You may be holding on because of resentment, hate, un-forgiveness, criticism, or emotional attachment. That which you complain about keeps you out of your promised land; that which you possessively hold on to keeps you out of your promised land. If you continue to hold on to it, you will never realize the greater health, wealth, and happiness that are your divine right.

Are you so attached to old patterns of living that you cannot get along comfortably without them? Are you emotionally attached to lack and illness? If you truly want abundance, prosperity, and health, do you still gain satisfaction from self-pity over your financial or health problems? You must give up something to make way for health, abundance, and prosperity—probably self-pity and bitterness; probably the belief that you have had a hard time. Source can only do for you what Source can first do through your mental attitudes.

When we’ve reached the point where we take only the good in each experience and let the rest go, how swift and joyous will be our progress toward the realization of a happy, harmonious life. Start thinking about your life the way you want it to be. The way to accept mentally your promised land is simply to change your point of view. Recognize another set of circumstances or events as possible; then dwell upon that possibility. When you have accepted your good mentally, it will quickly appear. Suddenly it will all be done, and with one bold stroke you will find yourself in your promised land.

Realization precedes manifestation. A realization of Truth will banish every ill, and the prayer or affirmation through which realization comes is the prayer or affirmation that asserts the Truth, and is mentally accepted as Truth. Take only the good from each experience and let the rest go. Begin now to recognize another set of circumstances as possible, and refuse to be hypnotized by appearances. Mentally accept and claim your highest good now, and allow your progress to be swift and joyous. It’s a good practice, one you’ll appreciate.          

         

Practice makes progress.

© Joyce L. Shafer

Scarcity Mindset and the Hungry Soul

We are a planet of souls hungering for one thing and fruitlessly trying to feed that hunger with another. The only one who can change this for us is us, individually.

We can comment all we want to about the economy, but we need to look at our role played in it becoming the way it is. We played, and still play, our role from a scarcity mindset, which has led to all sorts of nonsense and discrepancies happening in our individual lives, our communities, and globally. And our souls continue to hunger as a result because we continue to try to quell this hunger with the incorrect sustenance. What can I possibly mean, you ask? I’ll explain by starting with a trend that amazed me when I learned about it.

One Sunday morning I went to the diner in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Annie (not her real name) had one job there and that was to make sure everyone who wanted coffee got it almost as soon as they sat down, and to keep it coming: definitely not a high-paying position, no matter how much we appreciated her service. That morning Annie looked upset. Since it was our routine to chat, I asked what was going on.

She explained that her daughter wanted a Sweet Sixteen birthday party and that to provide what she wanted, which they estimated to cost around $25,000, Annie and her husband were sweating out waiting for approval for a second mortgage on their home. The party date was getting close and she didn’t know what they’d do if they couldn’t get the money, and she wasn’t sure how they’d make the extra monthly payments, on their wages. According to TV episodes about these parties I paused to watch for a few minutes while channel surfing, Annie and her husband would be giving their daughter a party that might be considered a bit shabby, when compared to parents who could or would spend a hundred thousand dollars or more on such an event.

My thought then, and still, is: Since when?! Since when are parents obligated to provide a sixteenth birthday party that costs as much as a wedding might (or more), or spend as much as part of a college education (or an entire one); and perhaps go into debt to do so? Since someone gave such a party, and then others felt the need to match that or outdo it, which to me is a form of competing with no real useful purpose for doing so. What are we thinking?! What are we teaching the next generation about the value of money, self-worth, and fulfillment? What kind of economy and mindset (and burden) does this create in individual lives now and in the future?

We may say we want to be freed from money concerns, or feeling inauthentic, but do our beliefs and actions support this? Minister Joyce Meyer said, “You’re not free until you have nothing to prove and no need to impress anybody.”

Two weeks after I published an article about what I would call our not-enough syndrome (“I don’t have enough; I’m not enough) and how this impacts us every single day, and nearly every single experience we have, I got Lynne Twist’s book, The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources. There was a segment in there about our not-enough mindset. It was so close to what I’d written that I was relieved I had printed proof that I’d read it weeks after I’d written what I had. It was, also, affirming to learn that I was in good company on this thought path.

The topic of what is enough brings to mind a segment in a documentary about the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One man realized a need that members of his community had, abandoned together as they were until others entered their part of New Orleans with relief and resources: Diapers. He filled a shopping cart with a variety of packaged sizes then looked for mothers who might need them. A woman carrying her infant approached him and asked if he had the size she needed. He sorted through the stacks and asked her how many packages she wanted. She responded, “Just one for now. I know there are other mothers who need them for their babies.” Those may not be her exact words, but they are as close as I can recall.

The man had taken the diapers from an unmonitored store that had been broken into by some who greedily took items not necessary for survival (theirs or anyone else’s), and by some, like him, who took only what was needed for survival or assistance. He didn’t charge for the diapers. And even if the mother would have preferred to make sure she had several packages on hand for her baby or had asked for several then sold a few for money she might need, her understanding and empathy for other mothers trying to care for their infants and toddlers in such dire conditions was her compassionate moral compass. These two people fed their souls through this action, not their pockets. Their actions also fed the souls of others who were in the mental-emotional space to witness this and understand it.

Our souls hunger and we feel this keenly. This hunger is buried beneath the hunger for more money so we can have more, often mostly so we can be “judged” more by others, and therefore feel or “finally” believe we are more than others have influenced us to believe. It’s a vicious merry-go-round we’re on; but the thing about a merry-go-round is you can choose to get off that mind-spinning ride.

In the book, Twist writes: This book is entitled The Soul of Money, but it is really about our own soul and how and why we often eclipse it, dismiss it, or compromise it in our relationship with money: the way we get money, use money, give money, and or sometimes just try to avoid thinking about money…. Sufficiency isn’t an amount at all. It is an experience, a context we generate, a declaration, a knowing that there is enough, and that we are enough…. Sufficiency is not a message about simplicity or about cutting back and lowering expectations. Sufficiency doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive or aspire. Sufficiency is an act of generating, distinguishing, making known to ourselves the power and presence of our existing resources and our inner resources.

Another thing I greatly appreciate is that Twist devotes an entire chapter to the topic of appreciation and the power within it. My own perspective considers the appreciation mindset as the opposite of scarcity mindset. A scarcity mindset keeps you focused on problems, even if you falsely believe you’re focused on solutions; and this creates a most uncomfortable, frustrating circle that seems to have no end. An appreciation mindset lets you focus on the resources you have on hand and within you; and, sometimes these resources are all you have to get started or start over with. But a scarcity mindset will drag you down about this rather than lift you up. And it will attract more scarcity, whereas appreciation attracts more of what you need and want because you DO appreciate what you have and what you receive; and you put it to good use.

Pooling sentences from two paragraphs in the book, I offer this: "What you appreciate, and the way you direct your attention, determines the quality of your life…. In appreciation of all that we are and already have, we can resee the possibilities, identify a vision, make a commitment, and act on it."

When we focus on problems and scarcity, we can’t see the resources we are and have, resources that could help us move forward and feel and express our true strength and gifts. Except, we might tend to move forward to ease any financial strain we feel, which is understandable and perhaps needed, but what about the strain our soul feels from being so wrapped up in believing we’ll never be happy or fulfilled unless we have more money and stuff, in order to get nods of approval from others?

What about the fact that “more” is like the mathematical number Pi, a number that keeps going and we never find the end of it? At what point will enough money or stuff be enough so that we can feel the way our hungry soul wants to feel? The hungry soul will never be fed by money and stuff, only by fulfillment; fulfillment can be equated with meaning, meaningfulness. We have to figure out what fulfillment means to us, separate from money and stuff, separate from the opinions of those stuck on the scarcity, not-enough, gotta-have-more-to-feel-I’m-more merry-go-round. Please understand that there is nothing wrong with having more; the problem stems from what the motivation for more is about.

Our lack of understanding the soul of money, which Twist explains in the book, is one aspect of our hunger. I’d say another or the other aspect is self-love. Lack of appropriate love for our selves is another epidemic, just as scarcity mindset is; but I believe they tend to walk hand-in-hand. If we truly love and appreciate ourselves, and understand what creates fulfillment or meaning for us, what choices will we make about how we earn money, use or spend money, teach the next generations about money, and contribute or donate money and why and to achieve what result? One fact is that a soul can hunger in a person with great monetary wealth as readily as it can with someone struggling to pay basic monthly expenses. So, it isn’t necessarily or only about the money, but the hungering of the soul that needs addressing.

You know if you need to re-examine your relationship with money, and whether or not you have a scarcity or sufficiency mindset. You know if your self-love has fullness, and whether or not you know and consistently reassess what creates or would create fulfillment for you. If any of these are out of balance, your soul is hungering and you can find what satisfies it.

Perhaps it’s time for all of us to pause for just a moment from the incessant pursuit of more so that we can feel and know we are more, and recognize and appreciate what we have and who we are, including and especially our skills and talents that provide value to others and fulfillment for us; what we can do with what we have; and find our getting-off point from the scarcity-mindset merry-go-round. It’s a good practice, one you’ll appreciate.           

Practice makes progress.

© Joyce Shafer

The Flaw in How We Pray or Affirm

Whether we pray or affirm doesn’t matter; they’re just paths to one center. However, what we understand about how they are meant to work does matter.

One thing we need to be clear about either praying or affirming is that they don’t, as such, affect or influence the Creator or the Universe; they ARE meant to affect or influence US, starting with how we think (there’s more to this, in the following paragraphs). Provision of some result is always ours. And, if we believe in measuring more for ourselves, or less, that is responded to accordingly.

There’s a phrase in the bible: “As ye believe, it shall be done unto you,” which is the premise of the Law of Attraction. Many of us have been taught to pray or affirm in particular ways, which led us to believe that if we just craft our words a certain way, that makes the difference. No. Although word-crafting is important, relying on it solely makes it too easy to bypass the fact that the Universal Principle we call Law of Attraction is in effect. And this Principle or Law responds to “As ye believe,” not “As ye speak but don’t believe.” When a prayer or affirmation is fulfilled, it isn’t because we were convincing with our words, it’s because we aligned with, moved into, right relationship with how the Principle works, in alignment with The Bigger Picture.

The reminder that every thought is a prayer or affirmation came to me as the answer to my request to know what it was that I needed to learn… let me repeat that… that I needed to learn… about myself as it related to a situation I found difficult. There are circumstances that can feel difficult, but what often makes them more difficult is how we relate to them.

Understandably, we want a difficult circumstance to go away; the sooner the better. And we don’t really wish to look at the part we play in that dynamic. For me, I needed the reminder that the words we hear and believe the most are the ones we tell ourselves. And whether 100% true or not, we believe them; and then they become part of our story. Then we repeat our story to ourselves, and others. If our repetitions are supportive or constructive, there’s no problem. If they’re not supportive or are destructive, I call this “playing the broken record.”

For those of you too young to know about vinyl records played on a turntable, if there was a snag in the vinyl, the needle got stuck and you’d hear the same brief segment of music or lyrics played over and over and over, until you lifted the needle. Sometimes our mental-emotional needles get stuck in the same way, and we find ourselves dealing with a case of “As ye believe, it shall be done unto you” about the same matter or issue for years. How can any of us expect different results if our needle is stuck playing the same emotionally-charged thoughts about something over and over? We DISDAIN, when we could ORDAIN differently.

I realized my needle has been stuck about one particular matter for a long time. So, I know it’s going to take deliberation and a deliberate change in thinking for me to move the needle so I hear the song or symphony that’s on the other side of the bump… or I should say rut. If I truly desire this, how I think about this matter has to change FIRST. I must commit to the song, not the snag. I also must not expect myself, after years of playing this broken record, to be transformed instantly. I’m not saying that can’t happen, but I don’t want to add self-judgmental expectation into the mix. I just want to move forward.

I’m going to share how the first several hours of this new practice went for me. You may be able to relate to the first part: I caught myself repeating the old story in my head. I stopped. A few minutes later (maybe it was seconds later) I caught myself doing it again. Crikey! After the fifth time, I realized…

1. It’s a long-practiced habit; it’s going to take more than just a decision for that “pendulum” to swing to the other side.

2. I realized I didn’t have the absolute solution or resolution yet. I didn’t know when that would happen, or if it would happen all at once or in parts over time. But, I wanted to Do Something Constructive Now.

3. I decided to say “Broken record” each time I caught myself playing this particular one, or any one, and then picture a perfect, peaceful lotus blossom on still water.

4. I knew I was going to be face-to-face with this particular challenge later that day, which was the trigger for the replay moments. Broken record… peaceful lotus.

5. Once in that face-to-face place, despite all my prep work, I noticed I had an attitude. Whoa! That led me to realize something I already know: that negative anticipation influences me in a way I don’t like, and that if I experience the same type of challenge repeatedly, there’s one thing consistently present: Me!

6. I mulled over the idea that even if I wasn’t the originator of the challenge, I’ve been engaged in keeping it alive. Broken record… peaceful lotus. (So you know, this inner attention resulted in a harmonious experience.)

Will lifting this “needle” eliminate the challenge completely from my life? I don’t know . . . it might; it depends on what I need to learn about myself through this. But that outer change is not the one that’s more significant; my inner change is. If I keep that foremost in mind, I’ll stay on track better and I’ll experience this process (and my progress) differently than if I focus solely on what my ego wishes would happen (everything and everyone involved, BUT ME, changes). I have enough experiences I can recall to mind that prove that when I get into right relationship with the Principle, things shift, but especially, I shift. That’s really what every dynamic in my life (and yours) is ultimately about, anyway.

How can we hear or sing our desired NOW and therefore our desired future if all we listen to or play are broken records? In the case of “broken record, peaceful lotus,” each is a prayer and affirmation of what we believe and is what is, or can be, reflected in our life. Please keep in mind that there’s a huge difference between contemplating an old story in order to see it in a new light or to glean something from it to help us improve or release it, and in repetition out of anger or sadness or frustration, which makes us angrier or sadder or more frustrated.

We are to also pay attention to what Ernest Holmes calls the Mental Equivalent: Our perspective about anything outside us comes from within; and, we get back what we send out. This applies to the perspective we hold about ourselves, others, and life. This means the range of our possible or potential manifestations cannot exceed the mental equivalents of our beliefs. To expand results, we have to expand what we believe. We cannot pray or affirm for improvement AND play a broken record about it. That’s like always turning left at the corner and being miserable or complaining because we never leave the block. To experience something else requires US to change our path, even a bit.

Holmes wrote, “To desert the Truth in the hour of need is to prove that we do not know the Truth.” He actually wrote this in all capital letters to demonstrate its significance. So, you can say that the flaw in how we pray or affirm stems from lack of proper relationship (alignment) with the Law of Attraction Principle, which stems from not understanding the Truth of the Principle as we might. Every challenge, and blessing, is an opportunity to explore and integrate more of this aligned relationship and the Truth that “As ye believe, it shall be done unto you,” and put these into practice.

Practice makes progress.

© Joyce Shafer

Do You Genuinely Appreciate Your Gifts?

How many gifts from the Universe and the Earth do you have in your life right now? How many of them do you genuinely appreciate, and why does this matter?

That first question isn’t meant to be a trick question, but in essence it is… because everything is a gift from the Universe and/or the Earth. We do ourselves a huge disservice by not recognizing or acknowledging this Truth.

Almost two decades ago, a friend sent me a garment unlike any I’d ever worn before. I told her that, and that I wasn’t sure how to use it. Her reply was, “If you can’t figure out what to do with THAT, send it back!” Her statement may seem strong, but it was important to hear. How many gifts do we receive from the Universe, and the Earth, that we don’t, initially (or ever), figure out how to use properly and, therefore, we don’t fully appreciate them? Imagine the Universe or the Earth making the same statement my friend did regarding anything that comes to you or that you currently have. Kind of amps up the message, doesn’t it?

We love our conveniences; and though we may appreciate them, our familiarity with them (as well as, perhaps, lack of proper guidance and training) may cause us to disconnect from deeper, true appreciation. Let’s look at a meal as an example, whether you prepare it or someone else does. Even if you say a blessing before you eat, do you really mean it or do you say it because it’s expected? And, is it a thorough blessing that allows you to merge your personal empowerment with your appreciation?

Here’s an example you might test for yourself. While you cook or before you take the first bite of a meal or snack, say silently or aloud: I give thanks to everything and everyone that contributed to this food being available for me. I give thanks to the Earth for providing everything used in the preparation and in the serving and eating of it. I give thanks to the molecules of this food for the nourishment they give to my body, mind, and spirit. I give thanks to every molecule of my body for using every molecule of this food to support my optimum health, well-being, and energy, while helping me maintain my ideal weight of (number). If you happen to forget until after you eat, say or think it then.

That last part about the weight maintenance may have surprised you; but how often do we eat something and rather than enjoy and appreciate the food, and state our truest intention about the nourishment, do we do the opposite? Far too often. There is so much, everything, really, to appreciate every day, every moment; but our own disconnect to genuine appreciation causes us to USE without grace or, worse, Abuse without conscience or awareness.

When we feel appreciated, we feel fulfillment and joy about giving. When we appreciate what we receive or have, we create ripples of fulfillment and joy outward, including to the Earth and the Universe. This is an expansive energy that is responded to in kind. We feel larger when we’re in a state of appreciation because, in spirit and expression, we are. Lack of appreciation contracts our energy, makes us smaller in spirit, self-absorbed, cut off from more. More awaits us. But appreciation is the language we must feel, as well as speak, in order to keep that line of communication and receptive exchange open and flowing.

The meal example is an easy one to follow; but what about everything else in your life, especially anything or anyone so familiar or routine in your life that you “forget” to appreciate its or their presence? If you think you’re too busy to appreciate in this way, maybe you’re too much about busyness because you don’t appreciate in this way.

Look around your home, office, life, relationships. If there’s anything (or anyone) there you have no true appreciation for, remove or exchange it as soon as it’s reasonable to do so. If your life, inner or material, is cluttered with what you really don’t want and therefore don’t appreciate, you may not be able to readily appreciate what you do have that you do want.

Please be cautions not to insert self-judgment (convincing/fooling yourself) by believing if you don’t feel appreciation all the time, you’re failing, so why bother. You’re building a skill and way of being, as you might a set of muscles. To reach full development takes time and practice. Know that any moment you feel the opposite of appreciation can become an opportunity (as soon as you’re ready) to ask right questions and to learn something that can assist you as you continue forward. Keep in mind that sometimes what you learn is what to let go of. Knowing this is something to appreciate. "Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day." -Zen Proverb

As you take such assessment about anything and anyone in your life, which you can do in each moment, hear the Universe say to you, “If you can’t figure out how to put THIS into proper use and appreciate it, return it.” It’s an interesting thought and an interesting practice to follow.

Practice makes progress.

© Joyce Shafer

What Does Self Forgiveness Have to Do with Success?

The premise of Law of Attraction is actually simple. But, to reach this simplicity, you often have to travel through “layers.” Self forgiveness is one of those layers; and it influences use of Law and success results.

Do you ever wish you’d done something in the past differently, or think about how results of one or more mistakes caused you to feel pretty bad about yourself, or humiliated? Or how maybe you allowed things you wish you hadn’t. Maybe you had some rough patches in life and feel you could have handled such times better. Maybe… But, those times are over. It’s what you’re telling yourself now, in the present, about those past events that matters.

Ernest Holmes wrote what follows in all capital letters, but he wasn’t part of the electronic age where that would be considered rude; so just imagine this quoted part in all caps for emphasis: “No person whose entire time is spent in the contemplation of limitation can demonstrate freedom from such limitation!” I would add that you don’t have to do this the entire time for it to affect you, just enough of the time and with enough feeling. However, Holmes’ point is well taken.

There are many things we might need to forgive ourselves for, including thinking less of ourselves, believing we don’t deserve better, criticizing ourselves for not being perfect—whatever THAT is, or holding our past against us in some way. These are forms of non-forgiveness we practice on ourselves all too often, without realizing the full impact.

Carrying self-condemnation and condemnation of others is truly a burden. Because of how Law of Attraction works, we add to the weight of this by holding on to such thoughts, which multiplies their effect on us and our lives. This is a form of resistance… resistance to well-being for us and others. It resists the feeling of freedom we want and pursue.

Abraham-Hicks wrote, “If you are resisting anything, you are focused upon it, pushing against it, and activating the vibration of it—and therefore attracting that which is like it.” You might ask yourself in which ways you resist success in any area of your life—work, relationships, finances, harmony, serenity, health, etc.—with condemning or self-condemning thoughts. This can be a pretty revealing thing to do.

There are lots of writings about forgiveness of others you can access, so I’ll leave that to you, if that speaks to you at this time. It does influence your success-ability, though. But, I focus on self-forgiveness here because it’s the one we carry closest to us.

Forgiveness is really about putting what’s been an emotional burden to us down, about letting the story go and never repeating it again—and telling a new, better story or telling the old story in a new, better way, if telling it is truly beneficial to increase wisdom or do good in some way. The burden is all the thoughts and emotions you have about something that happened or what someone or you did, which you drag like boulders behind you through life. When you replay something in your mind, you relive it in your cells and glue it more firmly into what you perceive as “truth.” Positive or negative. And Law of Attraction is bound by its nature to supply you with whatever it takes to match “truth,” as you perceive it.

Perhaps you pull up memories of a relative telling you something negative about you, or your third grade teacher saying you weren’t smart—all just their opinions, of course. Perhaps you’ve made this your practice, without realizing what this does to you. When triggered emotionally, you may ask, What happened in the past?—which pulls up negative memories instead of asking, What can I tell myself that’s supportive and moves me in the direction of my desire… makes my feeling-vibration a greater match with my desire?

You can’t imagine of yourself as More if you see yourself as Less. Any negative self thoughts are a form of resistance to the truth of who you really are. One way to practice self-forgiveness is to stop allowing the opinions of others (past or present), or what you imagine their opinions are, to have more weight or merit or validity than what Source thinks. Source loves you, unconditionally, because you and It are one. It may be time to create a new concept of or for your Self, one that lets you see how much good there is about and in you. And let this new concept be the one you wake to each day.

The burden of any self-condemnation blocks success in any area that you desire to improve or create. The lightness of release allows you to more easily focus on creativity and desires and results than on condemnation and how bad such thoughts make you feel. Such thoughts cause you to resist success instead of allow it—because they cause you to believe you don’t deserve better.

Deserving is a man-made concept. Source doesn’t think this way, because you are an expression of IT, and all you are IS Source—there is no separation except in your thinking. Otherwise, Source would have to determine Itself as undeserving at times, as well, and that can and will never happen. Nor does Law of Attraction take deserving into consideration either. It’s an impartial, non-thinking “mechanism” that responds only to what you think/feel into it.

The “lighter” you are from release of self-condemnation the happier you’ll be. The happier you feel the more “attractive” of what you desire you’ll be. Stop feeding self-condemning thoughts and you can begin to believe success is as much your right as it is anyone’s—and it is! You can observe how you feel, to know whether your energy vibrates as a match with what you desire (manifestation) or matches its absence (resists manifestation). It’s far too easy to tell yourself negative stories about you—and worse!—to believe them. “A belief is only a practiced vibration.” (Abraham-Hicks)

Sometimes negative thoughts about the self happen so quickly, you notice them but not for what they are, much less their overall effect on you. This means a lot of practice happens with such thoughts. Begin to connect what you think and feel to what you experience and you’re on your way to understanding Law of Attraction and using it more in your favor, until you become so good at this, it becomes automatic to you.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer
Note: In this week's issue of State of Appreciation (week starting Mar. 16) Guy Finley advises us to leave painful thoughts and feelings behind. Gabriella Kortsch discusses what happens when we give up the need to be right. Poet Wendi Romero writes about gratitude and how simple, though grand, it can be. I also share the buzz about Eldon Taylor’s new book, I Believe: When What You Believe Matters, which was a hit on George Noory's Coast to Coast AM this week (you get access to many bonuses when you order the book through the link I provide). Also, I share links to an online course that starts Mar. 19 for writers and wanna-be’s, and how to get a free copy of You Can Attract It by Steve Jones and Frank Mangano. The SOA site’s Directory Listings—Global and Local—offer products and services to meet specific empowerment and healing needs, and the Documents page has numerous free downloads available for you and your friends. http://stateofappreciation.webs.com

How Doing This One Key Law of Attraction Principle Can Increase Happiness

One key to unhappiness is something you do, I do, and nearly everyone you know and don’t know does. Fortunately, we can choose not to do it, or at least not do as much of it, so we and others can be happier.

Increased happiness is no longer elusive just as soon as we realize it’s about attitude—though there’s more to this—SOMETHING SPECIFIC—that you need to know. Here it is.

Ernest Holmes wrote about this particular Law of Attraction KEY: “There is a direct law responding to condemnation and a direct law responding to praise and appreciation. It is, of course, the same law used in different ways… No man can be happy who lives in a continuous state of condemnation of people, conditions and things.” Yikes! That’s so powerful I bolded it. It’s also something we can easily get direct, if not personal, evidence of.

Let’s face it—we’re kind of addicted to criticizing. But, are we ever genuinely happier as a result of criticizing anyone, anything, or ourselves? No. In fact, it makes us unhappier more often than not, because it feeds our negative perspectives, and they grow. We are unaware that our tendency to criticize so freely is a root cause of unhappiness and discontent—ours and those whose lives we touch. Gandhi said, “Gossip is a form of violence.” So is being overly critical. So, why do we do it?

We criticize when we feel restricted. We criticize when we feel a need for validation, recognition, respect, or appreciation. The perceived or obvious absence of any of these can cause us to feel frustrated. When we’re frustrated, we get verbal—in our minds or out our mouths. If we didn’t feel restricted or infringed on in some way, we’d likely have no criticisms to make. All of this points to something in particular: frustration is a call for your attention to be focused inward first, before you focus your comments outward. Why?

Because… If you want to have fewer “opportunities” to be critical, you first have to let go of being so ready to criticize as a way of BEing. Then you can more readily come up with creative, constructive ideas about what to do or say, or how to understand something or someone better—especially you.

At times we do one or more silent run-throughs of something that ticks us off. I caught (still catch) myself doing this (I’m improving), and it is NOT the vibrational energy I want to transmit and attract more of. I wanted a way to stop it—fast! So an inspired idea came to me and I put it into practice. It’s something I forgot I learned around 17 years ago: I make the OM sound, several times if needed, to immediately shift myself out of such mind chatter. When I first started this, I did it for about a week before recalling where it came from: Wayne Dyer’s meditation CD (released in 1995) that uses the AH sound for creation and the OM sound for appreciation. My inner guidance (and subconscious memory) knew what it was doing, even if “I” didn’t, because…

Appreciation is one of the highest vibrational frequencies, one worth transmitting as much of the time as we can. It’s far more Law-of-Attraction favorable than satisfying the ego by complaining to the point where it begins to impact us negatively. Sometimes we just need to vent, but we also can overdo it and move beyond venting into gritching. (Feel free to replace the “gr” with a “b”.)

Sometimes we criticize or condemn before anything actually happens. We anticipate something unpleasant ahead of time—to (ugh!) prepare ourselves to “receive” what we anticipate. Train yourself to expect something good to happen, or to release unfavorable expectations, until you can shift into expecting something better, if your usual practice is to expect something bad before anything happens at all. “What we expect, that we find.” (Aristotle) Ernest Holmes would add, “Merely to abstain from wrong thinking is not enough; there must be active right thinking.”

You want to do what you can to ease up on a tendency to criticize so quickly. Otherwise, you’ll launch into criticism automatically—and keep at it!—which gets transmitted outward. Then, Law of Attraction will send you more reasons to be critical about life, others, or you. And, you’ll wonder how you can ever get off this (self) frustrating loop.

Along with easing up on criticism, another (foundational) way to be happier more consistently is to find and feel your joy in and from Source, not in and from your circumstances. Circumstances are ever-changing—because life and you are ever-evolving. There WILL be times when you wait for what you want, though you can shorten the wait by keeping your vibration higher. If you can’t be happy when you don’t have what you want, you won’t be happy when you do have what you want. Ouch!

Each of us can choose to be in battle (inner or outer) all or most of the time, or in joy and happiness as much as possible. It’s up to us to decide which to put into consistent or better practice: criticize or observe, judge or discern, feel frequent frustration or know everything has a reason and a season, anger or awareness, control or creativity.

What we choose results in our unhappiness or happiness. Conscious choice is a good practice. It’s also good practice not to expect to get this completely correct consistently right from the start. Find a better thought or feeling and choose to increase it. Allow this to be gradual, like moving up a scale on a piano or the way mercury moves upward on a temperature gauge. Tone down criticism and you’ll feel and see improvements. Then tone it down even more so you can attract what you really want more of… to feel happier. Use the fact of Law of Attraction as your motivator.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer

Do You Really Want to KNOW the Truth of Law of Attraction?

To really KNOW is to be in direct, even intimate relationship. Do you truly desire to have this with the Truth of Source and the Law of Attraction?

It’s tempting to be aware of this information, talk about it, wish about it yet never KNOW it to the point of living it. It seems so much easier this way than doing what might be required of us, but ultimately our experience is the opposite; life can feel more difficult and even chaotic without it.

All knowing starts with thought. Our conscious thoughts are what go into our subconscious memory bank. This means any thought in our subconscious can be changed by our conscious (deliberate) thought. The most direct method to do this, according to Ernest Holmes, is to KNOW we did not inherit spiritual limitations in any form. Learned and inherited them from others—yes; inherited them from Source—no. This means we can choose to step away from limiting beliefs we have, we can step away from limiting beliefs our families, friends, education systems, religions, races, cultures, and society have. This is only one step toward the Truth, and one that may take time, but it’s worth it.

Your thoughts become YOUR law, and the Law of Attraction matches them, however long it takes. The degree your subconscious thoughts are united with the Truth of Law of Attraction is the same degree you use it In Unity… meaning deliberately in your favor and based in the Truth.

“To learn how to think is to learn how to live,” wrote Holmes. “This is not done by holding thoughts, but by knowing the Truth.” Holding thought is the same as wishing or hoping, which is very different from knowing and being unified with the Truth. However, this is often the first way we begin to move along this path; but our goal is to KNOW and be in unity with the Truth. We learn the Truth through what we read or hear about it, but we come to know it through observation and practice.

Your sustained or prevalent emotions—in each moment—reveal your relationship with the Truth of Source and Law of Attraction—in each moment. This is why choosing to feel good or better is so important. This is easier to do when you know and trust the Truth of Source and Law of Attraction, and not based on your perceptions about how circumstances appear to be.

The thoughts you choose put you into or out of alignment with the Truth. Alignment results in the feelings you desire; misalignment results in the feelings you don’t want. Either of these ways of feeling produces outcomes and experiences that give you more of what you feel. Something I do when I notice I don’t feel the way I want to—have a feeling I don’t want to have as my vibration that gets matched (and choose to stop myself from doing this)—is to pull up a positive memory of genuine appreciation, one with no negatives attached to it. I match my vibration to that memory, and this causes me to recall that time as a blessing, to FEEL that blessing, which re-minds me there are many, many times to appreciate, possibly even to consider everything a blessing or worthy of appreciation, even if it’s not quite yet apparent.

If you feel negative, recognize you’re out of alignment with Source, Truth, and the Law; and that you can anticipate or expect to experience some or all of the results of this misalignment of your vibration with what you desire to feel. At the time you recognize this, it is YOUR choice to continue down that path—as Abraham-Hicks says, to “go against the stream of your well-being,” or to shift this so you’re back into flowing with it. Again, this is more easily, and deliberately, done when you know and identify with the Truth of Source and Law of Attraction.

This Spiritual Realization leads you to discern rather than decide based on emotional reactions; and to understand the TRUTH is that Source has divine wisdom applied to a divine evolving plan, and applies it in your favor despite some appearances. But, you are part of this evolution, so you can influence how smooth or rough your inner experiences are.

It also means you realize Source fulfills your feeling-based thoughts as requests—according to the Law put in place for you; and allows leeway for your thinking to guide you to empowered, enlightened relationship with the Truth of Source and the Law. This practice shortens the gap between an event and your choices that follow, as well as your choices before events, and about how to be, do, and have what you choose at the inner level, which eventually shows up in the outer one. Each time you have a realization, you KNOW a bit more. As you practice you’ll gain knowing; so, you’ll have a mix of current beliefs and knowing operating simultaneously. But, any KNOWING can help you during times when your beliefs take you away from well-being.

You can’t look at what others do who are not in relationship with the Truth, follow their example, and expect the results you desire—that is, how you desire to feel. This means you sometimes have to stand alone in the physical world, though never spiritually: Source is always with you. Nor do you have to talk about this with others in an infringing way, especially to bolster your belief… or theirs. Sometimes you have to practice Silent Power, and speak about your process only if others ask why you’re able to be calmer and happier no matter what appearances may be. Just be aware that not many will ask. They may even think something is wrong or off with you.

Knowing the Truth of Source and Law of Attraction doesn’t mean a completely “problem”-free life; though, you’ll likely, eventually, interpret “problems” differently, begin to notice that everything is a puzzle piece moving and fitting into position. It does mean deliberate choice of serenity and joy instead of inner turmoil. It means understanding you have create-ability, as well as a reNEWed responsibility over your choices. It means willingness to give up attachment to lack, self-doubt, worry, and any other belief and feeling that’s opposite of the stream of well-being… accomplished over time, as you grow into your knowing. This is part of your individualized evolution within the larger one you play a part in.

What are you doing to KNOW—be in an intimate relationship with—the Truth better, to trust it… to live it? No one can do it for you, only you. And you are fully equipped to do so, as soon as you allow yourself to do so. And allow that this will more likely unfold over time rather than burst into being… though, that could happen.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer

You are welcome to use this article in your newsletter or on your blog/website as long as you use my complete bio with it.

The Uncomfortable Law of Attraction Truth

Has your experience of using the Law of Attraction felt challenging or impossible? Maybe one particularly important truth hasn’t been clearly understood.

When you first learned about Law of Attraction, perhaps you felt excited about what this could mean for you, and you just had to know more. Then the bloom kind of left the rose when you learned that you’re already using it, because it’s a law of the Universe, like gravity is a law on our planet.

Perhaps your original hope was that you’d learn tools or tricks; in other words, you’d learn how to easily use this Law to easily change your life. Perhaps you didn’t expect that to use the Law deliberately in your favor, you’d have to change, as well; and that was uncomfortable for you. It may have felt uncomfortable to learn that if you observed your experiences and linked them to your feeling-based thoughts, past or present, and your thoughts to specific and even seemingly unrelated events, you’d see how you use Law of Attraction all the time, how you affect your experiences all the time.

Maybe you felt or feel about this as you do a car: you just want to drive it, not understand the mechanics of how and why it works. In some respects about this, you are completely right: you can know how it works or not—it will still work, but you BELIEVE a car will work… as long as everything required is in place. Everything IS in place regarding Law of Attraction, except, perhaps, your willingness to adjust in ways that make it work in your favor.

Earl Nightengale said, “You become (and get) what you think about most of the time.” Ernest Holmes wrote, “If man takes his images of thought only from his previous experiences, then he continues in the bondage which those previous experiences create. If we talk about discord, we shall become more discordant…. People who spend all their time talking about their unhappiness become more unhappy.” What do you think about, or how do your feeling-based thoughts run… most of the time?

It may seem too simplistic that how we use our thoughts and feelings—most especially how we feel—has this much bearing on our results and experiences, but they do. It’s a vital part of the Law, like gravity. However, large jets can fly. They defy gravity through the law of lift. You can defy the gravity of how you feel by choosing to lift how you feel, to feel even just a little better, until you can connect with or allow yourself to feel good or really good. This is so important for you to get, because like always attracts like. Always.

Let’s say there’s something you want. You can’t desire something AND doubt it can or will be yours. You also cannot focus on its absence, because… like always attracts like.

One LOA approach would be to complain to others and think, most of the time, about how and why what you want isn’t happening. This is the vibrational frequency you transmit and that gets matched. As it continues to not happen, your feeling-based thoughts increase in intensity and frequency. You dwell on this as though obsessed. Your wanting something but not allowing it, which is what this approach does, gets matched to the vibration of not allowing, and what you want stays just out of your reach.

The other approach would be to hold feelings of appreciation for what you have now and how good you’ll feel when you get what you desire, but feeling as much of that right now as you can, and expanding this feeling. You hold the thought, “I don’t know when or how it’ll happen; I only know it or something even better will.” Every day and often during the day, you hold this thought and the good or even-better feeling. The vibrational energy of that feeling is transmitted by you, picked up by the creative field and others, and gets matched, which pulls an experience to you… that matches the desired FEELING you’ve transmitted. This is why sometimes results are even better than you asked for.

Abraham-Hicks said, “…come to understand [that] to the degree you feel blessed and expect good things to flow to you, this indicates the level of your state of allowing; and to the degree that you do not feel blessed, where you do not expect good things to come to you, this indicates your degree of resistance.” Blessed, here, means you understand that nothing in your favor is ever withheld from you unless you hold it back from coming to you.

This is important: Your desire and your belief that you will receive your desire must match vibrationally. If your belief is lower, you need to look at this and ask what might have to happen to have them be equal. Maybe you need to work towards your desire in steps or stages because you find that your belief about accomplishing or receiving the first step or stage is more aligned than focusing on the end result. So, either adjust your desire or adjust your belief, initially, and look for what it takes within you to increase your belief. But, they must match.

In the second LOA approach described above, there’s a clear desire based on how you wish or choose to feel (really good, and always, ultimately what you really want anyway); belief it will happen (you have no doubt nor are you focused on the present, temporary absence of what you want); you aren’t struggling with how it will happen or contriving ways to make it happen; and you aren’t concerned about when it will happen. This puts the how and the when in the hands of the Universe, where it is anyway. What the Universe wants to feel from you is your Why. Why do you want what you say you do? You could travel through layers and layers of whys, but the final one is always about how you want to feel. Law of Attraction is clear: feel as much of that feeling as you can right now. If and when action is required on your part, you’ll know; and you’ll feel good or aligned about taking it.

Making these changes in yourself and your approach doesn’t have to be hard work. But, how easy is it for you right now to use your thoughts and feelings as described in the second LOA approach? Any time you learn a new skill, it takes consistent practice—practice doing it the right way—for it to become second nature for you. You can’t cross the finish line without first running the race, so to speak. You can’t be a master at this unless you first learn what this requires of you and put it into consistent practice.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that you are a transmitter of your own vibrations, as well as a receiver. Every single one of your 10,000-a-day thoughts is a vibration received by the creative field and others, and gets matched in some way and in some measure. Your predominant attitude is your dominant vibration. Like attracts like; always. If you criticize or worry, you get more reasons to be critical or worried sent your way. If you appreciate, especially deeply, and especially if you relax your energy and release attachments to how and when—while allowing that if what you want is in your highest good, it’s yours and will show up on time—you get more to appreciate sent to you. It’s the Law; and it’s always at work in your life.

It’s, likely, not the truth of the Law that’s uncomfortable, but the truth of what you need to change within that is… not that others have to change, not that the economy has to change… but how your use of your own thoughts and feelings as integral creative contributors to your experiences have to change—that is, have to align with the feeling you want. Give it time and consistent practice. You will improve. And, you’ll be learning even more, for as long as you live. Law of Attraction is not a tool; it’s a way of life.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer

How Many Ways Do You Pay Yourself?

How Many Ways Do You Pay Yourself?

A wise strategy is to pay yourself… first. But, are you aware there may be more than one way to do this?

You’ve heard that it makes a difference if you pay yourself first—not just in an increase in the amount in your checking or savings account but also in how you affirm that you value yourself, which gets conveyed to others through your energy.

You’ve also heard that, if oxygen masks are needed in flight, put yours on first because you’re no help to anyone if you’re unconscious… or worse. Let me explain how the oxygen mask ties in to ways you might pay yourself.

During a coaching call, my client—who’d recently heard the “pay yourself first” comment—said she feels our calls are a form of paying herself. I literally stopped moving for a moment when she said that… because her statement was profound and brilliant! It’s a valuable lesson to us all: It isn’t always about dollars and cents; it’s also about what makes sense for us—like putting your oxygen mask on first so you can keep breathing, and fulfill your purpose.

What are other ways you do or might pay yourself for meeting challenges (good ones, tricky ones, and more serious ones) every day—ways that feel like an oxygen mask in your life? What about…

You give yourself “you” time every morning (or at least once a day), whether it’s to meditate, read something inspirational or motivational, not think about anything and just be, get organized and feel on purpose about your day before you start it.
You get the rest and relaxation you need so you have energy for your life.
You trust your inner knowing about what’s fun and fulfilling for you and follow this.
You know and trust what’s appropriate and inappropriate for you and you honor this—guilt-free and with no need to explain yourself.
You value and honor your time.
You regularly clear clutter from your living and working spaces. NOTE: Creatives “do” clutter differently.
You take walks or walk in nature or engage in some activity or inactivity that helps you relax.
You give yourself a few moments, or longer, to celebrate and appreciate when you complete or accomplish something, rather than rush to the next task. You give yourself the “attaboy” or “attagirl” you’d love to get from someone else.
You turn the computer off and have a real evening (day off, weekend, or holiday), whether a quiet one in your own company or with family or friends.
If it fits your budget, you pay an appropriate someone (or barter) to take care of certain tasks like yard work, house cleaning, bookkeeping, or whatever—which may be long-term or once a month, when you want that time for self-care or self-nurturing or to focus on a project.
You plan and enjoy coffee and conversation with a friend, or some other type of outing.
You watch a favorite program or movie or read a novel—without apology.
You enjoy a SPA day at a salon or create your own at home.

Many more bullet points could be added, but you likely get the drift of what my client meant. For her, our calls and what their results are in and on her life not only bring rewards into her life but lets her feel rewarded for the energy she gives to her process—on her behalf—between the calls.

Give thought to what feels similar to you—something you really couldn’t put a price on because it provides something invaluable to you as the unique individual you are.

Maybe you might pick one thing you feel is like the oxygen mask but you’ve, perhaps, not been giving to yourself often enough or at all—and put it into practice this week.

Practice makes progress.
© Joyce Shafer
This week’s State of Appreciation is empowering! Gabriella Kortsch-“Do You Dance? Are Joy & Happiness Major Components of Your Life?”; Jeanna Gabellini-“Do You Believe in Easy?”; “On The Edge” By poet Wendi Romero: http://stateofappreciation.webs.com

Invite Miracles!

Let miracles of all sizes thrill you. This will cause you to attract and expand even more of them into your life.

We’re told to feel appreciation or gratitude if we want to shift into flow. Maybe you wonder how to do that at times, especially if you’re stressed.

When I need an easy re-connect with appreciation and flow these days, I think of how I followed my intuition about where to look for my new residence. It put me at the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons…and fulfilled other significant “rights.” I think about this and literally feel the thrill of that miracle in my cells.

Think of something in your own life that parallels this, something that will let you re-connect quickly, when you need or want to. (It reminds me of Harry Potter being told to think of and feel a happy memory in order to cast an effective Patronus Charm to protect him from energy-draining Dementors.)

Albert Einstein said: “There are two ways to live: You can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

Wishing you a wonderful day and a day filled with wonders… and, miracles!

Do You Practice Scarcity Thinking?

Scarcity . . . sounds like what it creates—Scare City—because this kind of thinking keeps you living in fear. Would you like to shift your thoughts about this?

Problem: You lose something you rely on (like steady income from a job, or a relationship). They’re important but are each only one funnel of money or love coming into your life. You’re always connected to Source, which is an infinite funnel of resources, not scarcity—it can create anything. Yes or no? Saying you believe this but not putting it into practice, not allowing it in your life, doesn’t bring you the results you want, does it? Labeling events as “problems” is directly related to scarcity thinking.

Joseph Sugarman said: "Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity."

Do you see only the “problem” or do you allow there may be and look for and act on opportunities available through the “problem”?

Do more of your thoughts and words support scarcity and lack, or abundance and prosperity—harmony or discord, stress or serenity?

Are you a news addict? Does what you listen to or read lift you into a positive state of mind (creativity, enthusiasm, appreciation, or even relaxation) or drag you down (affirms what’s “awful” in life)? How and what you feed your mind is what you “nurture” and grow in your life.

Scarcity thinking is rampant. Just notice how often scarcity, in its many forms, comes up in conversations. There is no scarcity—not really, just scarcity thinking.

I understand the challenge if you’re having a tough time, but it Can Be Temporary if you look for and move forward on opportunities, and get your thinking straight. Scarcity, lack, and problems may appear but are more often states of mind, and definitely have to be your states of mind before they continue to behave as your reality past when they happen. Instead of “I don’t have,” try “How might I attain”? Think of someone you know who has an abundant life. Is their state of mind scarcity or acting on opportunities?

You can try different strategies, but it’s your thinking that must change first in order to create real and lasting transformation, for any and every area of your life. Old thoughts do not create new results.

You may get caught up in worry, fear, and thoughts of lack—all forms of negative thinking. Even if you don’t pull to you all the experiences that match these thoughts (fortunately!), you manage to experience the emotions as though the experiences were real. That is just NOT fun or healthy. Kurt Wright was correct when he said commitment is a magnet. Scarcity thinking acts as a commitment to have less—and you get it. Choose the thoughts you would want to become your reality the same day you think them, and know that you fuel attainment of your desired results with your Determination to have them.

This kind of thinking takes commitment. Will this be easy to do? Perhaps not at first, if you’ve practiced scarcity thinking for a long time; but it will get easier with practice. Then it will feel more logical to do this than not. Your desired results may or may not be instant, but your right results will be yours if you stay with this. If scarcity thinking hasn’t improved your life so far, maybe it’s time to shift this.

You are what you practice.
© Joyce Shafer

Have You Thanked Your Money Today?

“It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” Great quote, but what does it have to do with thanking your money?

A while back I published an article titled “Set Them Free.” In it I wrote, “How can you expect your relationship with her to be anything other than what it’s been as long as you have her fixed in your mind as capable of only certain behaviors?”

I didn’t then envision the person the way I’d like her to be, I chose to just let her be…that is, be who she is. After all, she could surprise me in remarkable, positive ways; and indeed, since I made that choice, this person has. This also freed me to reflect on and appreciate all of the good moments we’ve shared during the years, and there have been many. Every time a good memory flashes in my mind, I give her a quiet, heartfelt Thank You.

It occurs to me we can do this with money as well. We can recognize that money is actually a form of energy we exchange; and though we enjoy it, use it, and seem to usually want more of it, we may never actually thank it for all it’s done and does for us. Sometimes we treat it like the quote and curse it (in a manner of speaking) however it shows up in our lives—generally by wanting more but holding a negative expectation of it showing up in the way we’d like. Better to light an inner candle to illuminate ourselves differently about it.

Try this: deliberately pull up money memories that are goods ones: A purchase that either made you feel really good or served a purpose; a gift chosen carefully, knowing how delighted the recipient would be; an enjoyable dining experience or form of entertainment; a donation that really made a difference; and of course the everyday exchanges that help us move through life. Take a moment to thank money for making these things possible since money exchange is what we use in our 3-D world.

Thank it for showing up consistently or as a surprise, in expected and unexpected amounts (including coins on the ground that I hope you pick up and then affirm abundance). Thank it for helping you learn a good deal about yourself and others. Apologize for ever restricting it because of learned negative or limiting beliefs.

Is it time for you to set money free from “behaviors” based on your beliefs and limited expectations? Start by genuinely feeling core-level appreciation for what it’s done, does, and will do to enhance your life experience.

You are what you practice.

Is Being Open to Receive Hard Work for You?

There’s a contrast in the idea that you have to work at allowing yourself to be open to receive what you desire. Without meaning to, you block or delay receiving if you “work” at allowing it.

A reader of my article, “The Give and Receive Confusion,” contacted me to say how much she resonated with the message and that she was working on allowing herself to receive, that she affirms often that she is open to receiving. I’m grateful she contacted me because it inspired me to revisit this.

You may think allowing yourself to be open to receive is about getting the desired outcome, but it is, in reality, more about how you explore and expand your Self Awareness and Attention through the dynamics or process of what it means to be open to receive—which can be either a smaller or larger “conversation” you have at the inner (and outer) level.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you have a particular expense you need to take care of and the money, anticipated or not, comes in (or is in your account) to help you meet it. There may be more than the two ways you can feel about this than will be considered here—but, how you feel is absolutely important to the experience before, during, and after.

One way might be to think, “Isn’t this just how it always seems to happen? Look at this money that came to me. I could really use it in so many ways—I could be ahead for once; but instead, I have to give it over to this expense. And then I’ll be back where I started or even behind. I can’t catch a break when it comes to money. As fast as it comes in, it goes out.”

Another way might be, “How perfect that I received what I needed when I needed it to take care of this! And, if it happened this time, it can happen again and again—after all, it really has happened before. I love how I feel about this. It definitely feels like my need was anticipated, (maybe) even before the need showed up; and, I’m able to meet it, even though for a while, I wondered how I’d be able to. It comes in so it can go out, which is the point of energy exchange, the give-and-receive circulation. It allows me to express appreciation for products and services. It even allows me to express appreciation that I appreciate this. And the more I appreciate, the more I receive to appreciate.”

If you notice you work on allowing yourself to receive—either in specific instances or nearly all the time, you want to put your attention on why you doubt this. If you’re open to allowing yourself to receive what’s in your best interest, you know it (best interest means whatever helps you grow and expand your attention and awareness, and supports self-empowerment in all areas of your life—received in its right time). If you feel a need to work at it, another conversation is going on and you want to listen in.

Effortless allowing walks hand in hand with genuine appreciation—and here’s the “tricky” part—for everything that comes to you. Such appreciation comes from a deeper understanding that a “bigger tapestry” is being woven all the time, and it’s never just about particular “threads.” Know that if you haven’t been living this all along, it’s beneficial if you allow this to open in your life in right timing, usually aligned with how and when you integrate this, and may be a step-by-step process instead of an “instant” flip. Small improvements are powerful. You learned the alphabet and small words first; then expanded your ability to read and use language to your advantage. The more you read, the better you get at it.

If you feel blocked or challenged about allowing yourself to receive, you are engaging a level of poverty consciousness. This may or may not be obvious to you; but it is a form of anti-prosperity thinking. And, it’s not just about your bank account; it likely touches more than one, if not every area of your life to some degree. This includes how you perceive yourself, others, and your life experiences. And, you may not have money issues, but block receiving your good in other areas of your life.

If you don’t feel enriched in a particular area of your life, you know it’s because you “affirm” that you aren’t, which creates more of the same. And, each experience brought about through this feeling-thinking asks for you to feel and think what WILL allow desired results. If you by-pass the programmed habit to self-judge, you can move forward faster.

Allowing yourself to receive is meant to be as natural as breathing—done without effort, without reminding yourself to inhale and exhale. What messes with this is all those limiting beliefs heaped on us and that we hold onto. This is influenced by outside opinions that say our lives have to look a certain way or we’re failures. That’s a “store” you might want to stop shopping in.

What if the way to remind yourself of the truth of your true inner power is a matter of putting your attention on what does and doesn’t support this truth? This means feelings, thoughts, beliefs, actions, and particularly self-talk and even what you say to others. Our “struggles” are more often caused by our doing what doesn’t work rather than doing what does. We may even feel too busy or frustrated to pause and look at this.

We also feel a contrast with being one with allowing ourselves to receive because of the “work hard” model vs. the “live on purpose” model. We carry this “work hard” mentality into everything we do—you have to work hard to succeed in business, finances, relationships, and the like. And, this is in direct contrast to a desire and even an inner knowing that being in flow and following inspirations is where the experiences and the joy we desire occur—in the way we know they can. There is a difference in taking actions that work and being aligned with and passionate about this vs. what we typically assume working hard means—it usually means we do a lot of busywork and worrying rather than what produces desired results and experiences.

Another contrast is that even if we’ve experienced that not everything we ask for is in our best interest or aligned with our life purpose, there is a philosophy that says if we do “this thing,” we can have everything we ask for—that if we don’t have everything we ask for, we’re not doing what we’re supposed to. Maybe what’s “wrong” is our believing the last part of that philosophy—that we’re supposed to be able to have/create/manifest everything we ask for—rather than questioning whether or not it strengthens our ability to connect with our inner power or makes us feel disconnected, less, or lacking. This causes you to try to measure up to expectations of others rather than attune to and tune up why you’re here, which is for your own soul purpose. The threads weave the tapestry, but it’s about the tapestry.

The belief that you lack inner power—or use of it—causes you to believe there’s something you need—rather than allowing that you have what you need, but it’s likely buried under beliefs and self-doubt.

This conversation can be paralleled to losing weight by dieting (losing old beliefs rather focusing on better ones). You can either view it from the perspective of the harder challenges that usually go with this process—what stands in the way of your desired result (often about what you have to give up), or a matter of doing what works to help you feel healthy, strong, happy with yourself, and fulfilled. The typical approach causes you to focus on what you believe you have to lose rather than on what you desire to gain.

You can expand how you allow yourself to receive if you pay attention to when you do anything that’s opposite that natural state—and let go of your attachment to it. Awareness of this will do more to get you on track faster than most techniques.
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Guest Article: Unwrap the Unimaginable Gift by Guy Finley

Empowerment Extras:
-Find out how to get Discovering Your Life Purpose free
-Reinvent Yourself ~ Start with where and who you are and expand this!
-Guy Finley’s profound (free) 6-minute audio message about meditation and attention
-Watch what happens before a water drop creates a ripple ~ a real surprise!
-Bill Harris of Centerpointe provides a free 28-minute audio well worth a listen, especially on how to deal with what triggers you
-Journal Your Way to Clarity and Creativity – Cindie Wilding
-Personal Life Readings by Leeya Brooke Thompson, author of The Wisdom of Sound and Number: Phonetic Chaldean Numerology
-Free Empowerment eBooks from Joyce Shafer (by various authors)