Day 6~It's All About Love by Abraham-Hicks

Self Reflection 

1. What easy thing can you focus on today to practice being loving?

2.  Can you remember a time when you were absolutely feeling radiating love despite outer circumstances?

3.  Find  a thing that you can focus on for 17 seconds that brings on a loving feeling and then hold the thought.  What happens for you?

I would love to know what you have experienced as a result of this exercise.  Please feel free to leave your comment below!

Day 4~Keep Your Fork

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. One of her requests was to be buried with her favorite Bible.

Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply. "This is very important," the woman continued.. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.

The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say,"keep your fork." It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: "Keep Your Fork. The best is yet to come"

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over the pastor heard the question "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.

May God Bless you and keep you safe!

Author Unknown

Lent Day 3~The Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. 

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said..... "Then I thank you from my heart." 

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. 

Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly ! was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. 

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words..... "Paid in full with one glass of milk" 

Signed Dr. Howard Kelly. Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."

The "I DID IT!' List

This is a time for slowing down and contemplation for me.  To that end, there have been no newsletters mailings, blogposts or even status updates.  I just need this time to reflect and renew and most of all rest. 

I did have the pleasure of reading from one of my favorite bloggers and fellow goddess Jo Crawford.  She has a wonderful blog and in it she shared her I did it list for 2011 and that inspired me to do one of my own.  I encourage you to reflect on what worked for you in the past year and bring the joy of accomplishment into the present to create more of that for 2012.

I created the Wise Woman's Guide to Soulful Success.  It started out as a free 7 day ecourse and evolved into a workbook and planner.

 I rebuilt my website to reflect a lighter more inspiring tone.  You can check it out here.

 I joined the gym and started going consistently.

 I completed 13 days of a 21 day community juice feast. I met some wonderful encouraging women through that process that I still communicate with today and there are still a great source of inspiration.  One in particular is Roni who helps me get my local fresh food on.

 I met a wonderful soul sister and fellow coach Naila at the Girls Rock Columbus program.  Although we became facebook friends first, when we met in person I felt instantly drawn to her beautiful energy.

 I met one of my favorite authors, Iyanla Vanzant and had my picture taken with her! Teehee!(Pic coming soon)

 I began making jewelry again, this time with the focus on bracelets of intention.  Which happen to be beautiful in my humble opinion.(pic coming soon)

 In my quest to become a true Warrior of the Light, I started a pilot program and asked women to join me on a 12 week quest to conquer our adversarial thoughts and move ahead to play a bigger game in life.

 I joined the Goddess Guidebook Circle and met some wonderful women.  Oh my gosh! That is one inspiring place to be. Oh, and I created my first ebook for that Circle entitled,Permission Granted.  A mini course in saying yes to your greatness.

 I helped one client end limited thinking which kept her from playing a bigger game in her relationships and her business.  She is now married and poised to take her business to the next level.

 I was able to help another client remove some of her fears related to job loss and creating a sustainable income.

 I kareoke'd, I Zumba'd.

 I laughed alot, I cried some, I practiced radical appreciation daily, even to the dismay of some.

 I loved more openly, I reconnected with my creativity.  I was more truthful about my feelings and practiced forgiveness on a deeper, more soulful level.

 I also learned to connect with Source through writing with a wonderful author by the name of Janet Conner and soul writing.

 I took the leap and worked with a wonderful business consultant.  She helped me create products, she listened to me whine when I was too afraid to move foward and after all of that, she is still my friend! Thank you Jo for inspiring to reflect on what was good. 

Now that was momentum that I didn't realize that I had! It kicks me in the pants and gets me going into the next year strong and confident that my path is filled with passion.

 Happy New Year!!!!!

A Divine Truth Telling:The Art of the Enlightened NO!

I realized as I was going through my calender, there were some engagements and appointments that just left me feeling "yucky".  Now the occasional pap smear or dental appointment doesn't really apply here because although there are things that I would rather be doing, those are must do's in my opinion for maintaining health.
But those are not the kind of appointments I am speaking of here.  I am talking about the engagements and people that I just don't feel good being around.
Example, I belong to a start-up group and I had done a lot of work helping with the promotion, creating blogs, and websites at the expense of my own entrepreneurial pursuits.  That was a choice I made, I totally get that. However, I became resentful because I felt the work I'd done wasn't even being utilized.  I decided that I needed to take a step back and really figure out what really, and I mean really resonated with me.
I remembered reading in Gay Hendricks book, "The Big Leap",  where he talked about staying in your zone of genius. He describes the zone of genius as a place where you have transcended time and space and you are totally connected to Source and you are doing the work you love.  There is a spirit of synchronicity where things just flow and that is where most of us creatives want to be right?
Gay recommends that if you want to stay in your zone of genius, then you have to say no to the things that are not congruent with your values.  In comes the Enlightened No.  It basically means you are saying no to people and appointments that leave you feeling yucky but you are doing it from a place of love. For example, he gave this response for declining a request asked of you very lovingly.
"No, I cant at this time AND thank you for asking me."
He says by using the word AND, you are continuing to include(which is what love does) rather than using the word "but" which is used to exclude. Interesting huh?
I do believe it is important to offer selfless service to the world and I also believe that you can do it in a way that serves you as well.  You can give of yourself without giving up yourself.  Just use the Enlightened NO!

Taking A Soul Rest

Life has been a whirl-wind of activity lately always.  After moving into a new home, closing-not closing-closing on the previous home, project deadlines, working a full time job, writing, taking care of family, and everything else that we do, I need to sit down!

I wanted to rest.  I wanted to just sit and revel in the nothingness of the moment when I was reminded by Daniel Laporte with a wonderful post she wrote.  She reminded me of sivasana or corpse pose.

In yoga, after you have finished with your session of deep stretches and breathing and sweating, you complete with sivasana or corpse pose.(Which is greatly needed I might add.)

This is the position I was in "off the mat".  Yoga is a practice where the lessons are taken "off the mat" and into life such as balance, strength, awareness of the moment etc. I was taking the practice of sivasana off the mat and into life.  I was in a neutral position and completely relaxed and my spirit was soothed. My stress was reduced and my body's healing process was supported.  I was non-doing.  That is what the essence of sivasana is.

I will not rush to the next project, I will not force myself into positions that my body is not yet ready to maintain.  Instead, I will ease myself into the next agenda and gently notice how I feel while I am there but until then, I will remain in corpse pose for as long as my soul requires it.

Design vs. Default

Do you tend to let your outer circumstances set the tone for each day?  Do you allow other people and events to trigger feelings of anger, frustration, impatience and more?
When you do this, you are not using the power you have available to you!  By using the Law of Attraction, you can turn every day into a great day.  One way to do that is by using intentions and visualization to create your day.
When you first wake up in the morning, spend 10 minutes or so thinking about the types of things you’d like to experience that day.  How would you like your workday to go?  What kind of people would you like to meet?  Would you like to receive some great opportunities to advance your career or financial situation?  How would you like to feel for the majority of your day?
Grab a blank journal or notebook and jot these details down!  Once you’ve gotten all the details written down, spend a few minutes vividly imagining each scenario in your mind, exactly as you would like it to happen.  Pretend you’re watching a movie in your mind, seeing it all play out exactly as you’d like it to.
Most importantly, allow yourself to feel as if they were actually happening now.  Immerse yourself in feelings of excitement, joy, happiness and gratitude as you enjoy one great experience after another.  Use this same process for every experience you’d like to have that day.
By the time you’re finished you should be feeling fantastic; buzzing with good spirits and high expectations!
Then continue with your normal routine, taking special care not to be “attached” to any specific events or experiences, just simply staying open to whatever comes.  Keep affirming that great things are going to happen to you that day, and you feel great about all of the blessings and abundance in your life.
At the same time, avoid getting entangled in feelings of worry, anxiety, frustration, and anger as much as possible throughout the day because those feelings will interfere with the positive energy you’ve already put out.
As often as you can remember, call to mind images of the things you visualized earlier and allow good feelings to flow over you again.  Affirm and know that wonderful things are happening, even if you don’t see them quite yet.
By using this process on a daily basis, you’ll eventually start to notice that good things are starting to happen.  You’ll find yourself being in the “right place at the right time” and generally enjoying greater opportunities and abundance.
 

My Empowerment Playlist

Oh so inspired by Jo over at Crafting The Sacred with her Self Love Mix Tape, I thought I would share my own empowering playlist.  Enjoy!

Brand New Heavies~You Are The Universe

Pure Gold~Earth Wind & Fire

Raul Midon~Sunshine

I AM~Guru Signh

Become a Magnificent Manifester

One of the most common goals people set when first learning about the Law of Attraction is to attract more money into their lives.  They're sick of struggling, sick of not having enough, and they're eager to find relief.  Unfortunately, attracting money is often one of the most difficult objectives, simply because money carries such heavy emotional weight in our lives.  There's a lot riding on the success (or failure) of our goal to attract more money!  Namely, our peace of mind, happiness, security - and much more.
Unfortunately, placing such strong emphasis on the outcome of money attraction only creates more blockages.  The more you think you desperately "need" more money; the more you believe you can't be happy without it; the more frustrated you get when it isn't showing up - the longer it's going to take to attract it.
The good news is that there are a few simple things you can do to make the process easier:
1)  Lighten up!
The more tense and serious you are about attracting money, the harder it's going to be.  If you instead look at it like a fun game, you'll be devoting a perfect mixture of light, positive energy to the process - which is a natural prosperity attractor!  In fact, make it your mission to be lighthearted and easygoing about money and everything else in your life from now on.  Not only will you end up attracting more money, but also more love, joy, peace, fun and passion in all areas of your life.
2)  Be what you want to attract.
Another common blockage is the perception of "here and there."  You believe you are HERE, in the midst of lack and struggle, and you are trying to get over THERE, where there is peace and abundance aplenty.  What you'll eventually realize is that there is no "here or there."  There is only right now, and whatever you are communicating to the universe right now is what you are creating in your physical reality.  Rather than focusing on trying to ATTRACT more money, BECOME a person who has all the money they could ever need.  Think, feel and act as if your goal is already achieved, and the universe will make it so!  Focus daily on feeling happy, abundant, peaceful, secure, and grateful and you will attract life circumstances that correspond with those feelings.
3)  Let go.
Don't worry about "how" your money will come.  Don't focus obsessively on winning the lottery, receiving an inheritance or anything else specific.  Let the universe decide how it will come.  Keep your eyes open for opportunities to receive more money and act on them if you see them, but otherwise detach and know that it's on the way!  This is easier said than done, but the more you try to control "how" your abundance comes, the more blockages you create. 
Additionally, be sure to let go of WHEN money comes into your life.  You might be tempted to set a deadline, but the universe has its own timing and wisdom.  Be willing to trust and let go, and you open a gateway for immense blessings to flow into your life.

Have You Heard Yourself Lately??

Did you know that you talk to yourself all day long?  No, not the mental chatter about activities and chores that you need to remember throughout the day.  That’s a form of self-talk too, but I’m referring more to the things you say to yourself on a regular basis; and more importantly, the tone in which you say them.

When you make a mistake, do you berate yourself angrily?  Do you put yourself down or call yourself derogatory names?  When you have a hard time making positive changes in your life, do you bemoan what a “worthless” person you are and conclude that you’ll never do anything right?

Negative self-talk can be incredibly damaging to your self-esteem, especially if it’s a big part of your daily life.  When you keep saying things like that to yourself, eventually you begin to believe them!

Most often these messages begin as statements uttered by the adults in your life when you were a child.  They may have said something negative about you when your actions displeased them, or perhaps they had a habit of saying unkind things even when you didn’t deserve it.  As painful as these experiences can be, even worse is when you pick up where they left off and keep repeating the same negative messages to yourself over and over!

The good news is that you can change your self-talk any time you want.  You just have to know how to become aware of the tone of your messages and consciously replace them with more encouraging ones.

Try these simple steps for starters:

1) Develop awareness of your self-talk.  It may take practice, but if you keep “listening” in to your inner voice, you’ll begin to notice when you talk negatively to yourself.

2) Challenge the negative messages.  When you notice yourself saying something negative such as, “You’re such a screw-up, you can’t do anything right” – stop yourself and challenge that belief.  Is that really true?  Maybe you mess up sometimes, but do you ALWAYS mess up?  Probably not.

3) Replace the negative messages with positive messages.  When you realize you’re saying unkind and untrue things to yourself, simply turn it around in your mind.  Using the above example, you might say, “Wow, that’s not true at all!  I do plenty of things right.  It’s true I make mistakes, but so does everyone.  I’m a good person and I try my best.  That’s good enough for me.”

Over time, your efforts will pay off in the form of stronger self-esteem and respect for yourself and your capabilities.  It probably won’t happen overnight, but the more you work at turning your self-talk in a more positive direction, the better you’ll feel about yourself.


 

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Some Will, Some Won't, So What!

Sitting here wondering what did I think was going to happen when I finally decided to unstrap my status quo leash and run free with who I really am and what I believe.

Apparently, there have been some questions to a colleague of mine who began helping me promote my services.  She began receiving feedback regarding the Law of Attraction application on the front page of my website.Her questions were coming from fellow colleagues who were wondering how could she promote the Law of Attraction?  I have to admit, it did strike a nerve but I stand strongly in what I believe which is...

That is a story for later. 

A series of God Winks lead me to this very point. To be able to withstand the criticism that goes along with being percieved differently. As I explained to her, I knew that as soon as I started opening my big mouth, this was going to happen.  I say this light heartedly.  I understand the need for some to feel safe and comfortable and stand in judgement of someone who has a different belief system than the one they hold dear.  I am not a threat to that.  I honor and repect the lives of others and what they believe.  I only ask for the same treatment.

In my own mind though, I sometimes struggle with the fear of saying something that may not go over so well.  What does that boil down to really?  Fear of rejection.  We have all experienced this at various times in our lives.  So who are we really living for when we do this?  Are we living for others as they dictate to us the name of the God we serve, the gender of the people we love, even the shape of our bodies.  When we walk and talk in a way that is not in harmony with who we really are, we die a little every second. 

You get one shot at this, make it yours, make it count and be a light the way God(not man) says you should.  Only you really know what that looks like for you.

Unconditional Love, Blossoming & Transformation

The End of an Era

The beginning of my healing and personal development started partially because of Oprah.  When I was about 20 years old she became part of my daily routine.  This was the first experience in thinking differently and doing more than just the status quo.
She showed me through her stories that no matter what has happened, you can gain strength and rebuild a new life.  I learned that if it was possible for the guests of her show, it was surely possible for me.

I learned that I can forgive.  Not the false letting go of the past and still believing someone owed me something type of forgiveness.  A deeper, more divine forgiveness that allows me to free myself and others from a bondage that holds us both down.  I was able to silently offer forgiveness to my parents, for example.  Understanding that they made their own choices and did the best they could with what they have and the outcome was me.

I learned that no matter what your age, wage, or stage in life, you have something to offer the world.  We have been given plenty, despite the appearance.  There is so much that we can pay forward in this life to help someone else in this world.  It creates such a tremendous ripple effect and the light we shine is truly a bright one.

It's a work in progress.  These transformations don't take place overnight.  It works only if you work it.  It takes self-awareness and  to make the decision of how you will serve humanity each day.

I choose to be a blessing by sharing my stories, my triumphs and my challenges.  I choose to give back to the world by helping women answer the call of their vision.  I hope you have been moved to do the same.

Who has been a catalyst for your growth and improvment of living?  I would love to know.

The Storms of Life

The Midwest has been getting rocked by storms these past couple of weeks.  It is not uncommon to hear tornado sirens ring through out the day and night in the spring and summer.  Unfortunately, sometimes we become immune to the sound of the sirens and do not take heed to the warning to head for cover.  This can have some tragic consequenses.

In daily living we have personal storms and we also have a warning system that we also unconsciously ignore. When we have entered a danger zone we may feel a flutter in our chest, tension in the back of our neck, or flushing in the face just to name a few.  We must reconnect with the Inner Teacher and pay attention when we are in relationships that are not harmonious, lack of self-care, or not living your true purpose.

Just as Jesus the Christ was awakened to calm the storms on the sea, we too can awaken the Christ within to calm the stormy parts of our life.  Just as the storm survivors gain wisdom from the challenges that come from not taking notice, we can also learn from our inner alert system.

In what ways are you signaled when you are in the danger zone?  I would love to hear about it.

The Unfolding

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.  Here is the first step in stripping it all away.  No editing, no filters or trying to find the politically correct way of stating it.  This is who I AM.  In the Spirit and Love of the Creator.  I have discovered my path, my purpose, my vision and some understanding.  I invite you to go to the depths along with me and when we meet fear we can hold on to each other.

What, Me Worry?

There is song by Kanye West on his 808 and Heartbreak CD in which the song says "You're worried about the wrong thing." I connected with that song instantly because a lot of times in my life, I was worried about the wrong thing and that worry increased the very essence of what I was worrying about in my life.

So what is worry? Dictionary.com defines worry as verb:to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret or as a noun: a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.

For many years I was worried about not having enough money and I attracted into my experience the condition of not having enough money. Here is where the paradigm shift comes in. There is a very subtle difference between needing and wanting. Simply speaking, wanting is a focus on that which you want to experience, needing comes from a feeling of lack.

The book Law of Attraction by Jerry and Esther Hicks states it this way, "Focusing on a solution(wanting) makes you feel a positive emotion. Focusing on problem(worry) makes you feel negative emotion, and while the differences may be subtle, they are very important, for when you are feeling positive emotion, you are attracting into your experience that which you want. When you are feeling negative emotion, you are attracting into your experience that which you do not want.
So I ask the question, are you focused or worried?

Healing vs Cure

In Eric Butterworth's Book entitled: The Universe is Calling-Opening to the Divine Through Prayer, he challenges the reader to think differently about a  prayer and really letting go and letting God work.
He writes,"Traditional medicine may do a pretty good job of curing your symptoms, but you can only be healed causally by making a concerted effort at a mental house cleaning...then consciously letting go, and letting God."
He goes on to state,"An aspirin may cure a headache.  But healing can only come through the release of tension and by dissolving the attitudes or emotions that are responsible for the tension."


The mental housecleaning is the daily "renewing of your mind" as stated biblically in Romans 12:2.  Working with your thoughts and attitudes daily can increase the healing power within you to overcome conditions in your life that challenge you.  It consists of tossing out limiting beliefs that are not serving your highest good and replacing them with the Spiritual Truth that God can do no more for you than He can do through you.  


Journaling Exercise:
What could be possible for you if all of your hurts were healed?
What beliefs about myself are keeping me from living the life I truly desire?
Am I willing to release the beliefs and attitudes that are not serving my highest good?


Sharonda
www.lightofinspirationcoach.com