Don't Stop 5 Minutes Before The Miracle

(If you are looking for the Powerful Pivoting Opportunity, scroll down to the post from March 15th.)

From the book, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo:  "What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up."

I wish I knew who first said, "Don't stop 5 minutes before the miracle."  I'm sure there are many other ways people have conveyed this same message.  The point is, one never knows when everything will turn around and a miracle will happen.  

I decided years ago that I was going to live my life by simply being in The Flow. I'm glad I can say "I'm only human," for I am definitely not perfect at staying in The Flow.  But I've come to realize the value of the times when I'm bumping up against the banks of my river (my Flow) and the times when I must have climbed completely out and been standing on the shore, dripping wet and looking pathetic, like a fish on dry land, and asking, "What the heck am I doing here?"  For those are the times I really dig deeply into life.  Those are the times I really appreciate what The Flow feels like, how it enhances and blesses my life, and how much I love The Flow.  Without those times where I felt the LACK of The Flow, I wouldn't have come to appreciate The Flow as much as I now do.

And what it naturally makes me want to do is ... jump right back in!  Of course!  What fish out of water doesn't want to be right smack dab back in the middle of that wet and wild current?  

But how did I get out of The Flow in the first place?  Well, I think I've figured it out.  The water got too hot, or too wild, or too dangerous, or too scary, or too turbulent, or ... is there such a thing as water getting too wet?  Perhaps you'll understand what I mean by that.  Anyway, instead of riding out the current and sticking with The Flow and allowing it to do its magic and take me to the next great thing around the next bend (or 3 or 4), I baled!  

Thankfully I know the feeling of being out of water is not good and that "out of the water" is worse than "turbulent water," so I typically jump back in pretty quickly.  Oh, and I've noticed that some of the landscape along those wild stretches is pretty amazing!  Truly lovely.  And sometimes I find real treasures there.  And SOMETIMES, this delightful thing happens where the rapids push me into these really gentle sanctuaries, full of peace and joy, almost like the calm after a storm, or like ... magic.

For me, now it's not so much that I want life to be this calm, in-control thing that is only there to soothe and please me.  Rather, I now appreciate all the colors, textures, flavors and types of currents and obstacles along the way because they make life interesting and fascinating and exhilarating!  The variety and contrast are what make the JOurneY such a JOY.  

So, are you going to make your JOurneY a rich and glorious ride and let yourself see all the miracles that lie around the next bend in the river?  Oh, and are you going to do it white-knuckled and screaming?  Or basking and appreciating all the way?

Every moment IS a miracle. 

Celebrating the miracle of the JOurneY,

CJ

Embracing Change

(If you are looking for the Powerful Pivoting Opportunity, please scroll down to the March 15th post.)  

My life takes me so many interesting places. I just did my taxes and I was really aware of how many trips I took last year.  It occurred to me that even beyond the physical trips, I took journeys to the inner sanctuaries and tributaries of my soul, and to the peaks and valleys of my life, and to new ideas and creations, and new friendships and collaborations.  At times I traveled to my future, my destiny and my divinity.  At other times to my past, my history, my creation.  

And what I found is that the future is boundless and there really is no going back.  The past we go back to is never the same as the one that we experienced as we were shaped, created, grown. Nothing stays the same. People change. Places change. Even the memories we had ... change. 

It has been said that the only constant in life is change. So why then do so many resist change?  (Yes, I'm including myself.)

Perhaps it is a form of control.  Perhaps it is wishful thinking.  Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding.  But no matter what it is, there is a definite resistance that exists within a lot of us regarding change of one sort or another.

I believe that when people can really look at themselves, their own ever-changing selves, and embrace the fact that they can change and are not bound forever to the Who they once were, well, I believe they will find relief in this thought ... and a type of freedom.  I believe there is a hidden key within the enigma of change that if found could send individuals, and the world, into transformations of astronomical proportions.  I don't mean to scare anyone ... I'm seeing this as a really good thing!

I believe that these types of amazing transformations have to begin within each one of us and that then they will ooze out, slowly or quickly, to the world at large.  I believe that in order to make these shifts within that all we have to do is recognize that we have been changing in little, tiny increments all along, due to things beyond our control, and that it is all good.  And if we can see all the change that has taken place within us and be grateful for it, I think we will be able to find our way to trust the changes happening in the world at large are also innately good, despite appearances, and learn to love and welcome them, too.

And then I believe we will be just a few small steps away from a global peace that has not been seen on this planet in a very long time.

Well, these are just some thought that I believe, but I'll bet you agree that these are really good thoughts to think!

Putting my two cents out into the global consciousness,

CJ

Dancing With Angels

(If you are looking for the post regarding the Powerful Pivoting Program, scroll down to the post from March 15th.)

I have an exercise I do. It started one day when I was stressed.  I was inspired to stand in my bedroom in the most open space available, and to close my eyes.  I imagined an angel was beneath me, downstairs on the floor below, holding his hands up over his head, to the ceiling in fact, and that he could see me upstairs above him.  Then, as my imagining continued, I saw him moving his hands to the exact positions of my feet.  And then I started to dance.  I moved about my bedroom, eyes closed, and watched the angel move to match each of my steps.  Then the idea came to imagine the floor had disappeared and the angel’s hands could actually touch my feet … in fact they would have to support my feet … my whole body.  (Angels are strong; they can do that!)

In my mind I saw it.  I saw it all!  I saw me dancing, the angel moving, the hands connecting with my feet each move they made.  I tried to imagine how that would feel.  And I could do that too!  It was as if there was no floor and I was landing on soft hands instead!  I was barefoot and dancing on angel hands!  What bliss!  I felt so totally supported by Spirit and the Universe.  It was an incredible new thing for me; it seemed so tangible.

Now there are times when I wish to feel that feeling again.  I may get stressed, or need to feel again the feeling of total support from the Universe.  I find an open area in my home or somewhere that feels like sacred ground.  I close my eyes … and dance with angels once again.

It’s true!  Every step we take is "supported" by Angels ... not just in those moments when we focus on The Dance, but always.  They are supporting your every step too!

Law of Attraction & The Four Agreements, Part IV

(If you are looking for the Special Offer for the Powerful Pivoting Program, scroll down to the post from March 15th.)

The Fourth Agreement from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book called The Four Agreements is “Always do your best.”  Again, this doesn’t quite seem like a Law of Attraction principle, but if you read the chapter on the Fourth Agreement you find a very different message than at first you might expect.  Ruiz focuses on how you do what you do.  I was quite struck by the LOA-ishness (my newest word; like it?) of his definition of the Fourth Agreement, particularly in this excerpt:

“If you take action because you have to, then there is no way you are going to do your best.  Then it is better not to do it.  No, you do your best because doing your best all the time makes you so happy.  When you are doing your best just for the pleasure of doing it, you are taking action because you enjoy the action.” 

And later in the chapter he says, “If you’re doing your best, you will feel good about yourself,” which is so similar to Abraham saying, “You will know you are on the right track because you will feel good.”  It is no wonder that the very closing sequence of the movie The Secret is of Rhonda Byrne, creator of The Secret, writing the words FEEL GOOD in the sand on a beach.  This is the key to everything; your emotional guidance system will tell you, via your emotions, whether or not you are on track with your life, with your choices, with your Now Moment, by whether or not you feel good.  

So I’ll rewrite this last Agreement into my own words, okay?  It’s my blog so I’m entitled, right?  So how about this:  

Do your best to always feel good.

Now that’s what I’m talking about.

CJ

Law of Attraction & The Four Agreements, Part III

(If you are looking for the Special Offer for the Powerful Pivoting Program, scroll down to the March 15th post.)

To continue my comparison of the book The Four Agreements to Law of Attraction principles, my focus today is on Don Miguel Ruiz’s third agreement, which states, “Don’t make assumptions.”  This is the one that seems the most ambiguous in the law of attraction material with which I am familiar, but I’ll do my best.  

My mind goes first to the LOA (Law of Attraction) principle that no one else can know what is best for you, and the reciprocal, you cannot know what is best for others, so don’t assume that you do, or can.  No one person can know the full range of experiences and dreams that shape the fine details that comprise another’s experience.  We cannot know exactly how they perceive the universe around them, nor the levels of interest or yearning contained in their heart, so how could we possibly assume that we would then be able to know what they want or how they want it delivered.  It is our business to focus on our own journey.

This becomes very complicated when it comes to marriages, but relationships of any kind are packed with possibilities for misunderstandings and assumptions, so this is an excellent area around which to set intentions for the highest good.  We can only be as open and honest about who we are and what we want in any given relationship, and encourage the other party to do the same.  Amplifying communication channels is the best path to optimal relationships, and therefore harmony, but never a guarantee.  As Ruiz states in his book, over time, people in long term relationships begin to assume that the other party “knows” them.  Then if something does not go as desired they often assume the other party did this despite knowing them, thus a perceived infraction of the trust that is supposedly at the core of the bond.  

Perhaps a good thing to consider is that we are in an ever-changing world.  In such an environment, anything, or anyone, can change.  Abraham goes to the extent of discussing a new form of wedding vows that would go something like this, “I like you pretty well and I promise to be true to myself and work on staying connected to my own inner guidance and you do the same ... and we’ll just see how it goes.”  I’m not sure many would agree to have that kind of statement at the crux of a ceremony that is supposed to be the epitome of “commitment,” but in all honesty, I see their point.  In the end, this kind of wedding vow is not making any assumptions but clearly states, up front, that neither party is assuming the arrangement will work forever (allowing for the changing self in the changing universe), and is also admitting that the only way this arrangement can work is if both parties commit to being true to themselves and their connection to their inner selves.

Given this ever-changing environment of ours, perhaps it would be best not to allow one’s self to become complacent, but rather to make our intentions LIVING INTENTIONS.  If our level of commitment never drops and we LIVE our intentions full out every day, we run a better chance of harmony and fulfillment of our desires.  And might I add, it is what all those vows are about after all; we don’t make a vow that says, ‘I’ll do my best, when I think about it, to live up to this agreement we are making here today.”  No, typically the vows we make in life are intended to be deep commitments of our heart and core to another.

The one area I would particularly like to discuss before I close is where the Law of Attraction material says that we should absolutely expect the universe to deliver our desires to us.  One might say that expect = assumes, and if so, then how could this Third Agreement truly be similar to the Law of Attraction?  I would ask you to take a deeper look at this.  Every word has a vibration, just like every person.  If you look at the word “assumption” with your senses, I believe you will find that this word carries a bit of the vibration of doubt in it.  I kind of relate assuming to hoping, which is five notches down from knowing on the vibrational scale provided by Abraham.  In other words, I could say, “I assume, but I do not know, and that is why I am assuming.”  Whereas the word “expect” clearly carries the vibration of knowing, as in “I am expecting my desire to manifest at any moment.”

So don’t assume your desires will come to you.  EXPECT they are already yours.  Don’t assume anything.  EXPECT EVERYTHING.  

Doing your part to live your intentions will keep you resonating in alignment with them and the universe must deliver.  Expect the relationship to evolve harmoniously, the job to come, the money to be there when you need it, the book to be a huge sensation, the dinner to be your best ever ... every moment lived in this state of expectation is a moment in total alignment to your desire and this means the universe can deliver it to you toot sweet!  So what is the best vibration to stand in?

Don’t assume anything.  Expect it!

Toodles,

CJ

Law of Attraction & The Four Agreements, Part II

(If you are looking for the Special Offer for the Powerful Pivoting Program, please scroll down to the post on March 15th.)

Well, because of yesterday’s experience, I have committed myself to moving through all  four of the “agreements” in Don Miguel Ruiz’s book, The Four Agreements, as I see the mutual message in his book and some of the messages in the Law of Attraction material, with which I am familiar, are very similar.  I am comparing these two sources of material because I find these kinds of comparisons refreshing, confirmatory and inspirational as I seek to tweak my own emotional center on the many topics that fill my life.  The catchy phrases become my affirmations and different sources of this information contain different nuances that can keep the journey fresh and cater to the different subjects and phases of our lives.

"Don't take anything personally."  This is the Second Agreement.  Ruiz really emphasizes the aspect of not taking things personally in the form of not allowing the opinions of others to become one’s own beliefs.  (He mentions that the last 3 agreements are all part of the first agreement.)  I invite you to read again the comments about “being senior” from yesterday’s blog on the First Agreement, and then to take this information in even deeper.  Taking on the beliefs of others is a common occurrence in our world today.  It is so prevalent that we humans sometimes don’t even think about how many beliefs we take on as our own but aren’t really our personal truth.  The way we can test this regarding beliefs in our own lives is to check in with our feeling center.  If we have any sign of negative emotion within our being, we can conclude that the belief in question is not in alignment with our own truth.  Then it remains for us to find a way to release this belief.

The reverse scenario, of course, is when we try to influence others to believe as we believe.  The higher course is to allow them to discard our beliefs in favor of their own as that is truth for them.  As Eckhart Tolle has mentioned several times as he and Oprah review his book A New Earth with millions of viewers via the Web, humans often see a disagreement with their beliefs by another as a persona attack.  We all see the world differently and we are all here having our own unique journeys.  Best to be at peace about that, allowing others their beliefs and finding a way to happily allow all forms of truth to exist simultaneously.  As someone once said, “Would you rather be right, or happy?”  Trying to force our beliefs on others can always be seen as an attempt to be “right,” when what we really want in our hearts is to be happy.  

The Abraham teachings uses the analogy of minding your own pie, as in you being the baker and selecting the ingredients you want in your pie, while letting others decide what kind of pie they want to make and to choose their preferred ingredients.  This analogy takes the emotion out of the process with the realization that there are so many choices in the kitchen of life and we all have our own preferences of ingredients, content and context.  So one question we could ask ourselves is why do we place more importance on some topics and not as much on others?  If we dealt with this agreement at the level of its truest intention, we would realize that all issues have the same importance, or rather lack of importance.  

My favorite comparison other than pies and baking are religions.  I know we’ve been taught that it isn’t safe to talk about politics and religion, but give me a second here.  In my opinion, there is beauty and purpose in all religions and religions are just human vehicles mankind created to give like-minded people ways to experience and explore the divine together.  So, what do you think the world would look like if no one interfered in the religious or spiritual pursuits of another?  

Now, just some final thoughts on not taking anything personally.  I like the "What If" game so here are some quick questions to ponder:

What if you didn’t allow others to sway you but pursued your truth and only your truth?

What if you were able to hear the opinions of others but wade through them to draw your own conclusions?

What if you were clear on what resonated as truth to you?

What if you were an expert at stating your truth but in such a way as to also graciously allow the truths of others?

What if everyone in the world understood how this really worked and could remain at peace even when there was more than one opinion (belief) present?

What if you could make a shift on the planet by starting to live this enlightened reality of beliefs?

You can! !

Will you?

TTFN,

CJ

Law of Attraction & The Four Agreements, Part I

(If you are looking for the Special Offer, please scroll down to the post from March 15th.)

In the famous book by Don Miguel Ruiz called The Four Agreements, he shares ancient Toltec Wisdom passed down from generation to generation and finally entrusted to him.  He breaks the wisdom down into four simple statements by which one is to live his or her life.  This little book is small and I often take it out and put it beside my bed to read in small snippets before drifting off to dreamland.  

Just today I picked it up to start this process again.  Instead of just putting it there for later this evening, I cracked the book open to grab a few words to tumble around in my head today.  I actually opened it right to page 25, which is the first page of the chapter on the first statement, or what he calls “The First Agreement.”  It goes like this:

“Be impeccable with your word.”

Well, I put the book beside my bed and kept moving about my tasks for the day, but the statement was tumbling around in my mind very persistently.  When I sat down for lunch, I had the thought that this is an important aspect of the Law of Attraction, too.  We need to focus on our intentions so completely as to abandon all negative thought that runs counter to what we want.  We need to “tend to our vibration” and “clean up our vibration” as Abraham says over and over in books and lectures.  We need to be, do, say, and feel only those things that resonate positive vibrations regarding the topic of our intent, or desire.  

I thought of how very recently two wonderful friends had sat in my living room and, when I responded to their asking about what was happening in my life, pointed out the times I said something that wasn’t absolutely positive in my words about that which I was wanting to manifest.  There was plenty of acknowledgement of the good, but some skeptical words crept out between the positive ones.  They were not necessarily negative statements as the world might perceive, but there was definitely skepticism, or statements of the “fact” that my manifestations had not yet come into being.  

I realized how insidiously these little thoughts and words had crept into my mind and speaking and how they had slowly contributed to the corruption of my dream.  They had not destroyed it, but they had corrupted it, tainted it, weakened it in some way.

I have been accused more than once in my lifetime of being a Pollyanna, one who seems blinded to the flaws of life as they look through their rose-colored glasses.  While I pride myself in being grounded, it is clear to me that in order to get what you want in your life (and I’m not just referring to physical manifestations here) you must be totally focused, as if you have horse-blinders on.  You cannot let your focus be swayed in any way.  If you look back through history, this is how the greatest inventions and thoughts have come to us ... through those who held to their vision and relentlessly pursued their dreamsl

So, I went to my bedroom immediately after finishing lunch and read the whole chapter on the first agreement.  I have set a new intention to clean up my words about this dream and make them impeccable once more, or for the first time, and let this intention spill over from this dream to all the other dreams of my life.  I want to be FULLY impeccable with my words!

One more part of impeccability I want to share with you today is the part regarding with whom you choose to share your dreams as you are bringing them into your reality.  No one but you knows how delighted your dreams make you feel or how much you want them.  I am reminded of a scene in a movie I saw recently (Last Holiday) where Queen Latifah is talking to her sister who is excited because she believes she is about to become a country music singer.  Queen Latifah tells her there is no such thing as a black country music singer and her sister responds, “I am not asking you to comment on the validity of my dreams.”

This is the impeccability level you need for your own dreams.  You don’t need anyone else’s permission to have a dream, so why discuss them with others and open the proverbial floor to those who might (not very impeccably, I might add) try to mar or nay-say your dreams?  Not speaking them out loud is one way to preserve their impeccability, but you might also be able to find your way to your highest, purest thoughts by sharply honing your focus.  Then no matter what anyone else says or does you will not allow yourself to be derailed from your course.

One of my teachers describes this process as claiming your seniority ... or “being senior.”  This simply means that YOU are the best one to know what is good for you to think, feel or be and you assert your seniority in choosing to believe and be that which you know over that which others are trying to impose upon you.  In other words, you don’t surrender your personal power or your dreams to anyone or anything else.  

Thank you Jamberry for your loving nudges, and may all of you feel the love in my nudge, here in this blog post, to make your own commitment to impeccable words for your life and your dreams.  The power to make your dreams into reality lies in your hands, and in your mouth, and the level of your dedication to this aspect of your manifesting will determine how slowly or quickly your dreams arrive, and the level of incorruptibility with which they reach you.