"You cannot serve two masters. In any moment you are either moving TOWARDS or AWAY from the things you desire based on what you focus your attention on most of the time." – Dr. Robert Anthony
Some years ago I contemplated writing a blog, Musings of a Scattered Mind. At the time I felt and often still feel as if my mind is scattered about in a thousand different places at once—bouncing around from one thought or idea to the next one to the next one and back again. When I was very young, my parents and older siblings were constantly chiding me "Donna, be still, pay attention!"
As I grew older, I assumed it was just my nature to be unfocused, easily distracted and scattered in thought. Concentrating on a single thing at a time seemed hard work for me, if not impossible.That's the story I told myself. I'm realizing now it doesn't have to be my truth and, in fact, wasn't ever really.
Having invested several years now in studying the teachings of metaphysical and spiritual teachers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy and having gained a better understanding of the importance of developing focus, particularly on your aims, it's clear to me why I’ve often felt throughout much of my life that I’ve been bouncing all over the place. I have been—my life, my actions, my behavior have been following the bouncing balls that are my scattered thoughts, the ones I manage to hold fast to, and so many of them contradictory.
It's rather like dancing. In whatever direction I focus my attention (not my eyes, there's a subtlety of dance that requires you focus your attention independent of your physical vision), that’s the direction in which my body moves. If for even one half-second I lose focus on where it is I’m going or desiring to go, I will begin almost immediately moving in another direction entirely causing me to misstep or lose my footing completely and step or fall into my dance partner. Not fun for either one of us (not usually, LOL!).
To be fair to myself, my thoughts aren’t always scattered. There have been, and are, times when I’m able to maintain laser-like focus on a single thing—project, idea, aim—for an extended period without being diverted. There have been moments when I've set out to accomplish something and I'm like a pit bull with a bone. What I’ve noticed is that it is usually those times when I am my most successful and able to achieve precisely what I’ve set out to.
Just this past summer, I lost 20 lbs in just over two months because I was doggedly determined to do so. No matter what the scale read or what I perceived I saw in the mirror, I refused to entertain any thoughts other than "I easily and effortlessly maintain my ideal body weight."
Also to be fair to myself, I know that I’m not alone in entertaining a myriad of scattered thoughts. These days, the ability to multi-task is a highly praised skill. It shouldn’t be.
I used to brag about my multi-tasking prowess as it seemed I was able to accomplish quite a lot of different things at once. The belief being that I was getting more done in less time. However, the question remains: “how well was I, are you, accomplishing these tasks?” Is the end result of the same quality as it might be if we simply focused completing one thing before moving on to the next?
And what of scattered thoughts? Why does it make sense to us that we can scatter our thoughts and energy across even opposing ends and still achieve our desires?
I want to be slim and healthy, yet my mind bounces from being healthy and slim to being out-of-shape and unhealthy. (Exactly what I was doing before I decided to focus solely on slim and healthy, and then lost 20 lbs). I want to live an abundant, opulent life, yet my thoughts bounce from being abundant to "I can't afford" and “why is everything so expensive” and back again.
Other writers on the subject of mind and thoughts have suggested that we have somewhere between 30,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day, most of them random, covering not just recent events, fears, anxieties, joys, or pleasures, but events and non-events throughout the entirety of our lives. Ever have a moment when out of the nowhere you had thought of a song you hadn’t heard since you were five? Ever ask yourself "why"?
While I certainly don’t expect, nor would I attempt, to control 30,000-plus thoughts passing through my mind, I can absolutely choose the ones on which to fix my attention.
I can certainly choose to maintain laser-like focus on what I am wanting and disregard anything that doesn't align with that.
Scattered thoughts and attention equal a scattered life, which is why I’m willing to accept as my truth Dr. Robert’s quote about serving to masters that I included at the beginning of this post. Jesus said it this way:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.”
Which ever thoughts you choose to give your constant attention are the ones that you love and the ones that you will serve. Choose wisely.
As for me, I’m reigning in my scattered mind and expecting my external world to follow suit as I give primary attention to my dreams and aims.
Showing posts with label power of thought. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power of thought. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Friday, December 29, 2017
The Power of Intentions
Intentions are powerful. I realized earlier this week that I’ve been very lax in setting intentions for my day. As a result, I’ve felt like I’m on a ship drifting directionless in the ocean. I'm doing a bunch of stuff, yet I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. So, I’ve recommitted myself to get back into creating my day daily and recording my successes to build faith and trust in the power residing in this earthen vessel.
Today was a prime example. About a week ago I had thought it might be nice to again visit my dad’s grave site at Quantico on today—it was a year ago today that he died—however, I wasn’t sure whether I was up to it or how I might get there. To be honest, I’ve been a bit emotional in the days leading up to Christmas and today even, remembering and still not fully able to make sense of what happened a year ago.
When my younger sister mentioned over the weekend that she was thinking of going and that my older sister wanted to as well, I decided to make my "it might be nice to..." a "yes, I want to do this." I then thought it would be nice to make it a family outing of sorts, including my brother, so mentioned it to him and my sister-in-law, hoping we could make it work. Weather was a factor as snow was predicted. Another seeming challenge was how to make the hour drive easy for my older sister, yet I held fast to my intent/desire to go.
The transportation issue was solved when I realized that my older sister’s van was plenty big enough for all of us to ride in comfort, and I could drive. As for the weather, I received a message last night from my younger sister that the snow had kindly decided to wait until after midnight tonight, if it appears at all.
I awoke this morning not feeling my best and for a brief moment thought I might not be able to make the trip. But remembering I had set my intention, I remained confident it would work out. I had a chat with my body wherein I expressed how I wanted it to feel, and then went back to bed for another hour. I awoke feeling fine, just as my sister had arrived. I showered and dressed. Happily when I asked my brother about going, he said “yes.” So, off we went to Quantico with me driving my sister’s van.
It was the perfect moment: the four of us standing at our dad’s grave site, which had already been decorated with a fresh pine Christmas wreath. It was a beautiful and sobering site. My sister laid the silk flowers I’d provided and an American flag on the headstone. She and my brother took pictures while each of us took notice of the other soldiers' headstones all adorned with wreaths, and some with flags, flowers and other items of affection left by their loved ones. And each of us in our own way reminisced about our dad and the day, a year ago, we said goodbye to him.
The drive down and back gave us the opportunity to bond—we laughed and talked about our dad, our mom and an assortment of other things as well as expressed our frustration, anger, and confusion in dealing with some of the hospital and rehab staff and paid caregivers who provided care to our dad during the last six months of his life. It was very healing for me and for the first time I feel ready to move beyond it and get back to living the amazing life I know my dad would want for me.
I have every intention of doing just that as I believe that I deserve an amazing happy life. It is the birthright of every person born into this earth.
“Is anything too hard for God?” has become my daily meditation as there are some situations in my life that feel challenging, yet I, the real I, knows that there is nothing too hard or too wonderful for God to accomplish. In those moments when I feel myself letting go of my intention for an amazing, rich and wonderful life, I remind myself that the same God, Infinite Spirit who created the universe and all that is in it and has for millennia after millennia kept the planets, sun and stars in perfect alignment as they circle around in space is surely more than capable of managing my itty bitty situations (no matter how monumental they might appear to me). To believe otherwise is insulting and rather ridiculous if you seriously think about it.
I may never know why my dad’s life ended when it did—years before he had expressed that he’d wanted it to—yet I believe the possibility for him to have lived as long as he desired and the possibility for him to have been healed of dementia existed and still exists. As my father often sang, “Jesus [the Christ in us] never fails.”
Intentions are powerful when you are willing to believe that anything is possible and, like the woman who approached Jesus for healing for her daughter, refuse to take “no” for an answer.
Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Mark 11:23
Today was a prime example. About a week ago I had thought it might be nice to again visit my dad’s grave site at Quantico on today—it was a year ago today that he died—however, I wasn’t sure whether I was up to it or how I might get there. To be honest, I’ve been a bit emotional in the days leading up to Christmas and today even, remembering and still not fully able to make sense of what happened a year ago.
When my younger sister mentioned over the weekend that she was thinking of going and that my older sister wanted to as well, I decided to make my "it might be nice to..." a "yes, I want to do this." I then thought it would be nice to make it a family outing of sorts, including my brother, so mentioned it to him and my sister-in-law, hoping we could make it work. Weather was a factor as snow was predicted. Another seeming challenge was how to make the hour drive easy for my older sister, yet I held fast to my intent/desire to go.
The transportation issue was solved when I realized that my older sister’s van was plenty big enough for all of us to ride in comfort, and I could drive. As for the weather, I received a message last night from my younger sister that the snow had kindly decided to wait until after midnight tonight, if it appears at all.
I awoke this morning not feeling my best and for a brief moment thought I might not be able to make the trip. But remembering I had set my intention, I remained confident it would work out. I had a chat with my body wherein I expressed how I wanted it to feel, and then went back to bed for another hour. I awoke feeling fine, just as my sister had arrived. I showered and dressed. Happily when I asked my brother about going, he said “yes.” So, off we went to Quantico with me driving my sister’s van.
It was the perfect moment: the four of us standing at our dad’s grave site, which had already been decorated with a fresh pine Christmas wreath. It was a beautiful and sobering site. My sister laid the silk flowers I’d provided and an American flag on the headstone. She and my brother took pictures while each of us took notice of the other soldiers' headstones all adorned with wreaths, and some with flags, flowers and other items of affection left by their loved ones. And each of us in our own way reminisced about our dad and the day, a year ago, we said goodbye to him.
The drive down and back gave us the opportunity to bond—we laughed and talked about our dad, our mom and an assortment of other things as well as expressed our frustration, anger, and confusion in dealing with some of the hospital and rehab staff and paid caregivers who provided care to our dad during the last six months of his life. It was very healing for me and for the first time I feel ready to move beyond it and get back to living the amazing life I know my dad would want for me.
I have every intention of doing just that as I believe that I deserve an amazing happy life. It is the birthright of every person born into this earth.
“Is anything too hard for God?” has become my daily meditation as there are some situations in my life that feel challenging, yet I, the real I, knows that there is nothing too hard or too wonderful for God to accomplish. In those moments when I feel myself letting go of my intention for an amazing, rich and wonderful life, I remind myself that the same God, Infinite Spirit who created the universe and all that is in it and has for millennia after millennia kept the planets, sun and stars in perfect alignment as they circle around in space is surely more than capable of managing my itty bitty situations (no matter how monumental they might appear to me). To believe otherwise is insulting and rather ridiculous if you seriously think about it.
I may never know why my dad’s life ended when it did—years before he had expressed that he’d wanted it to—yet I believe the possibility for him to have lived as long as he desired and the possibility for him to have been healed of dementia existed and still exists. As my father often sang, “Jesus [the Christ in us] never fails.”
Intentions are powerful when you are willing to believe that anything is possible and, like the woman who approached Jesus for healing for her daughter, refuse to take “no” for an answer.
Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Mark 11:23
Monday, September 11, 2017
Experiencing Life from the Inside Out
"Whatever you want in your experience, hold it first of all, accept it first of all in your consciousness." Rev. Ike
I enjoyed a fun and refreshing three-mile walk again today. It’s surprising, although it shouldn’t be, how much my body has transformed over the past four months, and with ease and flow. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m liking, loving, the way it looks and feels.
“I easily and effortlessly maintain a healthy, fit and toned 137-pound body” has been my mantra, affirmation, assertion, belief since May following a disappointing weigh-in at my doctor’s office where after all of my effort to reduce my weight, I learned I had gained four pounds. About two years ago, I picked up 20 extra pounds that my body seemed determined to stubbornly hang onto despite my best efforts to release the extra. At least two doctors and some well-meaning friends had suggested that because I was nearing an age where women typically begin experiencing menopause, weight gain was to be expected as the body's hormonal levels shift.
That's one point of view. I didn't like it, so I made a conscious choice to reject it as I know a number of pre- and post-menopausal women for whom this so-called fact of aging doesn't hold true. Just as it doesn't hold true that all people once they reach a certain age will begin to experience memory loss or joint problems. (I know an 85-year old woman who can still do a full split. I couldn't do one when I was 16.)
When it was also suggested that I consider enrolling in a more stringent, and expensive, diet program, something clicked inside of me. “I am more powerful than that,” I’m sure of it. I realized in that moment, my body wasn't the issue; my mind was.
I declined the program and armed with the knowledge I had already acquired of how the body works as well as how the mind works, I set my aim and focused. I began journaling and affirming daily “I easily and effortlessly maintain a healthy, fit, and toned 137-pound body.” I began imagining myself wearing my favorite clothes again. I began seeing and feeling myself at my ideal body weight. I accepted it as a done deal.
I continued my daily walks, increasing the number of miles. I started a light combination yoga/ballet regime and tweaked my eating habits by learning to listen to my body to better distinguish between true hunger and emotional hunger—I’m bored, I’m sad, I’m upset, etc. Most days, I eat when I’m hungry and when I'm not hungry, I don’t eat. I also made a choice to not stress out over every morsel of food I put in my mouth as to its being good or bad for me. I haven't perfected this as there have been days or moments when I've stressed out a little, nobody’s perfect. More often than not, I feel at peace with whatever I am choosing to eat, and I enjoy it fully.
None of this was hard. In fact, it felt easy. It felt fun. It felt like a game at times. I even started secretly competing with my brother, who also likes to walk, to see if I could keep pace with his total steps/mileage per day.
A few days ago, I wore a pair of my favorite jeans that I hadn’t been able to fit into for months. I’m now logging an average of 3 to 5 miles or more on my daily walks, which I enjoy immensely because I find they also help to clear negative mind chatter. I added breath work into the mix. It helps with my singing and I'm finding it allows me achieve a deeper meditative state during my mini-meditations.
During the past month, I picked up an additional habit that I’ve found helpful: mirror work. It’s something I learned from author Louise Hay, the founder of Hay House publications which along with Oprah helped make Wayne Dyer famous. I’m inspired by her story of how she healed herself of a serious illness and later created Hay House in her 60s.
Anytime I pass by or look at myself in a mirror these days, I make it a point to say something loving to myself. “Hello, beautiful.” “Looking good!” “Hey, sexy!”
Narcissistic? Nah. Loving? Absolutely!
I firmly believe that I can only experience in my external world, what I’m willing to allow myself to experience in my internal world. I’ve spent years allowing myself to experience much crap internally. I’ve judged myself, and quite harshly, for not being smarter, or taller, or shorter, or thinner, or bigger, or for working too hard, or not working hard enough, for being too trusting or not trusting enough, too nice, not nice enough, the list goes on and on and on. I'd become quite skilled at beating myself up for the slightest failure, mistake or perceived shortcoming.
Honestly, if a friend said the things about me that I’ve sometimes said to and about myself, we would not be friends. It's also been my experience that shaming and harsh criticism is the least effective way to inspire long-term change in anyone. So, I've decided to be kinder and gentler to myself. Charity should always begin at home.
And, it’s paying off. I feel healthier. I feel stronger. Most of all, I feel empowered. If I can transform this one aspect of my life by simply changing my mindset—changing how I see myself—what else can I accomplish?
I enjoyed a fun and refreshing three-mile walk again today. It’s surprising, although it shouldn’t be, how much my body has transformed over the past four months, and with ease and flow. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m liking, loving, the way it looks and feels.
“I easily and effortlessly maintain a healthy, fit and toned 137-pound body” has been my mantra, affirmation, assertion, belief since May following a disappointing weigh-in at my doctor’s office where after all of my effort to reduce my weight, I learned I had gained four pounds. About two years ago, I picked up 20 extra pounds that my body seemed determined to stubbornly hang onto despite my best efforts to release the extra. At least two doctors and some well-meaning friends had suggested that because I was nearing an age where women typically begin experiencing menopause, weight gain was to be expected as the body's hormonal levels shift.
That's one point of view. I didn't like it, so I made a conscious choice to reject it as I know a number of pre- and post-menopausal women for whom this so-called fact of aging doesn't hold true. Just as it doesn't hold true that all people once they reach a certain age will begin to experience memory loss or joint problems. (I know an 85-year old woman who can still do a full split. I couldn't do one when I was 16.)
When it was also suggested that I consider enrolling in a more stringent, and expensive, diet program, something clicked inside of me. “I am more powerful than that,” I’m sure of it. I realized in that moment, my body wasn't the issue; my mind was.
I declined the program and armed with the knowledge I had already acquired of how the body works as well as how the mind works, I set my aim and focused. I began journaling and affirming daily “I easily and effortlessly maintain a healthy, fit, and toned 137-pound body.” I began imagining myself wearing my favorite clothes again. I began seeing and feeling myself at my ideal body weight. I accepted it as a done deal.
I continued my daily walks, increasing the number of miles. I started a light combination yoga/ballet regime and tweaked my eating habits by learning to listen to my body to better distinguish between true hunger and emotional hunger—I’m bored, I’m sad, I’m upset, etc. Most days, I eat when I’m hungry and when I'm not hungry, I don’t eat. I also made a choice to not stress out over every morsel of food I put in my mouth as to its being good or bad for me. I haven't perfected this as there have been days or moments when I've stressed out a little, nobody’s perfect. More often than not, I feel at peace with whatever I am choosing to eat, and I enjoy it fully.
None of this was hard. In fact, it felt easy. It felt fun. It felt like a game at times. I even started secretly competing with my brother, who also likes to walk, to see if I could keep pace with his total steps/mileage per day.
A few days ago, I wore a pair of my favorite jeans that I hadn’t been able to fit into for months. I’m now logging an average of 3 to 5 miles or more on my daily walks, which I enjoy immensely because I find they also help to clear negative mind chatter. I added breath work into the mix. It helps with my singing and I'm finding it allows me achieve a deeper meditative state during my mini-meditations.
During the past month, I picked up an additional habit that I’ve found helpful: mirror work. It’s something I learned from author Louise Hay, the founder of Hay House publications which along with Oprah helped make Wayne Dyer famous. I’m inspired by her story of how she healed herself of a serious illness and later created Hay House in her 60s.
Anytime I pass by or look at myself in a mirror these days, I make it a point to say something loving to myself. “Hello, beautiful.” “Looking good!” “Hey, sexy!”
Narcissistic? Nah. Loving? Absolutely!
I firmly believe that I can only experience in my external world, what I’m willing to allow myself to experience in my internal world. I’ve spent years allowing myself to experience much crap internally. I’ve judged myself, and quite harshly, for not being smarter, or taller, or shorter, or thinner, or bigger, or for working too hard, or not working hard enough, for being too trusting or not trusting enough, too nice, not nice enough, the list goes on and on and on. I'd become quite skilled at beating myself up for the slightest failure, mistake or perceived shortcoming.
Honestly, if a friend said the things about me that I’ve sometimes said to and about myself, we would not be friends. It's also been my experience that shaming and harsh criticism is the least effective way to inspire long-term change in anyone. So, I've decided to be kinder and gentler to myself. Charity should always begin at home.
And, it’s paying off. I feel healthier. I feel stronger. Most of all, I feel empowered. If I can transform this one aspect of my life by simply changing my mindset—changing how I see myself—what else can I accomplish?
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Set the Course of Your Day Before You Get out of Bed
Despite having experienced a nearly sleepless night, I am feeling inspired and energized today. Funny how that happens.
Admittedly, it took me a while to get going this morning and I had to give myself a serious pep talk about what an awesome day this was going to be. Once up, I was raring to go and got going. I walked my three miles, enjoyed a nice, healthy salad and even did some cleaning.
In every moment of every day, we are given the opportunity to choose our future. And our first thoughts upon waking can be the difference between experiencing a great day or the day seemingly from hell (We’ve all had those days, right?).
Are you waking up excited about the day, knowing it's going to be amazing?
Or, do you get up in dread and fear of what awaits and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you "need" to do?
I’m sharing (with permission) this video link I received today from CrackYourEgg.com to inspire you to begin each day on a high note.
http://www.flickspire.com/m/CrackYourE848/FirstThing
Enjoy, and have an awesome day!
Admittedly, it took me a while to get going this morning and I had to give myself a serious pep talk about what an awesome day this was going to be. Once up, I was raring to go and got going. I walked my three miles, enjoyed a nice, healthy salad and even did some cleaning.
In every moment of every day, we are given the opportunity to choose our future. And our first thoughts upon waking can be the difference between experiencing a great day or the day seemingly from hell (We’ve all had those days, right?).
Are you waking up excited about the day, knowing it's going to be amazing?
Or, do you get up in dread and fear of what awaits and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you "need" to do?
I’m sharing (with permission) this video link I received today from CrackYourEgg.com to inspire you to begin each day on a high note.
http://www.flickspire.com/m/CrackYourE848/FirstThing
Enjoy, and have an awesome day!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
A Word Received in Due Season—He Will Finish
"How good and delightful is a word spoken at the right moment," reads one of the Proverbs recorded in the Bible. A word received via email at the right moment is equally as good and delightful.
I find that often times just a little encouragement is all I need to get going whenever I feel stuck or confused as I navigate life's many twists and turns on the way to living my dreams. Could you use a little encouragement today?
I receive daily messages via email from Joel Osteen Ministries. I enjoy reading them as I find them to be very encouraging and faith building. I've twice had the opportunity to hear him speak in person, once at Lakewood and once in D.C., and both times I left feeling full of hope and re-energized.
Today's message from Joel was very timely and much needed by me, so I decided to share it. Be encouraged.
Are you believing for something that seems like it’s taking longer than you hoped? Maybe you’ve been praying for a loved one. Maybe you’ve believed for a situation to change for years. Don’t get discouraged. God is going to finish what He started! He is a faithful God, and He has something unmatched, unparalleled coming your way—favor, breakthroughs, restoration like you haven’t seen before!
God has been good to all of us in the past, but I believe we’re coming into a time where we will see greater anointing, greater power and greater victories! The key is that we have to stay in agreement with God. We should get up every morning and say, “Father, thank You for Your unprecedented favor. Thank You for the immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness of Your power.” If you keep standing in faith, I believe you’re going to come into more of those days where you stand in utter amazement and say, “Wow, God! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Remember, scripture says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” No, nothing is impossible when we put our faith and trust in Him. Today, keep standing, keep believing and keep hoping because God has something astounding in store for your future!
Joel Osteen Ministries
I find that often times just a little encouragement is all I need to get going whenever I feel stuck or confused as I navigate life's many twists and turns on the way to living my dreams. Could you use a little encouragement today?
I receive daily messages via email from Joel Osteen Ministries. I enjoy reading them as I find them to be very encouraging and faith building. I've twice had the opportunity to hear him speak in person, once at Lakewood and once in D.C., and both times I left feeling full of hope and re-energized.
Today's message from Joel was very timely and much needed by me, so I decided to share it. Be encouraged.
He Will Finish
Are you believing for something that seems like it’s taking longer than you hoped? Maybe you’ve been praying for a loved one. Maybe you’ve believed for a situation to change for years. Don’t get discouraged. God is going to finish what He started! He is a faithful God, and He has something unmatched, unparalleled coming your way—favor, breakthroughs, restoration like you haven’t seen before!
God has been good to all of us in the past, but I believe we’re coming into a time where we will see greater anointing, greater power and greater victories! The key is that we have to stay in agreement with God. We should get up every morning and say, “Father, thank You for Your unprecedented favor. Thank You for the immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness of Your power.” If you keep standing in faith, I believe you’re going to come into more of those days where you stand in utter amazement and say, “Wow, God! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Remember, scripture says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” No, nothing is impossible when we put our faith and trust in Him. Today, keep standing, keep believing and keep hoping because God has something astounding in store for your future!
Joel Osteen Ministries
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Learning to Ask the Right Questions
Never settle for less, don’t ever think it’s too late, and never, ever, ever compromise a dream. – Mike Dooley
I’ve spent the past six months wondering how did I get into the current hot mess of a situation that appears to be my current reality: How did I end up so far removed from my ideal life? Today as I asked the question, I realized I’ve been asking the wrong question. The more empowering question is how do I step into the life I am meant to live, that I aspire to and dream about—the life of joy, abundance, opulence, and beauty that I’ve imagined since I was a child?
Is it really as easy as just changing my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about myself? Is it really as easy as learning to ignore current conditions, circumstances, and appearances, knowing all of it is only the result of past thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and must pass as all things are temporary?
Is it really as simple as just drawing a line in the sand and making a freaking decision to “come out from among them,” meaning to let go of the low-level living and ideas that I’ve settled for and bought into as "truth" and simply step into the abundant, opulent life I’ve dreamed about?
Whenever I think of my dreams, whenever I take the slightest step toward them, feelings of insecurity, of fear, of anxiety, of “not good enoughness,” quickly emerge. They are real to me, they are palpable. I feel them now throughout my body. Yet, rather than believing they are intended to and allowing them to stop me from achieving my dreams, today I choose to see them as gifts telling me that there is more inner work to do. But just because I have more inner work to do to reach that place of feeling more secure and confident—the place of knowing that I have value simply because I am—that doesn’t have to mean that I don’t now get to experience, be, do, or have all the good I choose to experience, be, do, and have.
I am a work in progress; yet my good is mine to claim now.
"Beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be..." (1 John 3:2 - Young's Literal Translation)
I’ve spent the past six months wondering how did I get into the current hot mess of a situation that appears to be my current reality: How did I end up so far removed from my ideal life? Today as I asked the question, I realized I’ve been asking the wrong question. The more empowering question is how do I step into the life I am meant to live, that I aspire to and dream about—the life of joy, abundance, opulence, and beauty that I’ve imagined since I was a child?
Is it really as easy as just changing my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about myself? Is it really as easy as learning to ignore current conditions, circumstances, and appearances, knowing all of it is only the result of past thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and must pass as all things are temporary?
Is it really as simple as just drawing a line in the sand and making a freaking decision to “come out from among them,” meaning to let go of the low-level living and ideas that I’ve settled for and bought into as "truth" and simply step into the abundant, opulent life I’ve dreamed about?
Whenever I think of my dreams, whenever I take the slightest step toward them, feelings of insecurity, of fear, of anxiety, of “not good enoughness,” quickly emerge. They are real to me, they are palpable. I feel them now throughout my body. Yet, rather than believing they are intended to and allowing them to stop me from achieving my dreams, today I choose to see them as gifts telling me that there is more inner work to do. But just because I have more inner work to do to reach that place of feeling more secure and confident—the place of knowing that I have value simply because I am—that doesn’t have to mean that I don’t now get to experience, be, do, or have all the good I choose to experience, be, do, and have.
I am a work in progress; yet my good is mine to claim now.
"Beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be..." (1 John 3:2 - Young's Literal Translation)
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off, Start All Over Again
Nothing's impossible, I have found
For when my chin is on the ground.
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off
And start all over again.
Don't lose your confidence
If you slip
Be grateful for a pleasant trip
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off
And start all over again.
By Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, ©1936
I'm a big fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie musicals—I'm pretty certain that I've watched all of them, multiple times since childhood. I could easily and quite happily spend hours watching a marathon of their musicals. Watching Fred and Ginger movies with my mom and older sister, along with seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov in the Nutcracker, is what ignited my love of dance. Often after watching their movies as a child, I would retreat to the basement of our home and try to mimic their routines. In fact, several years later after I began taking ballroom lessons (another story for another time), I had someone design/make a gown for me to look like my absolute favorite Ginger Rogers' gown, which she wore in Follow the Fleet.
It's no wonder then that today when I was feeling a bit discouraged about recent events in my life and that of my family that the song "Pick Yourself Up," which Rogers sings in Swing Time to an awkward dancing Astaire, should suddenly pop into my head. I had only moments earlier been practicing a dance variation in between care giving duties for my parents. Curiously, it was during my quiet time while I was reading about Neville Goddard's method for "revising" unpleasant or negative events to help pick up my mood when I heard the song. The song along with Neville's revision method, which he taught as a way to help prevent negative patterns from repeating in your life by changing the way you perceive events, did a lot to help me pick myself up from what could have been an all-day funk.
Believing as I do that our thoughts, emotions, and words have creative power, I certainly don't want to spend an entire day in a funk and risk repeating more of the same experiences that I'm not enjoying. I appreciated and needed the reminder that I have the power within myself to choose my thoughts, feelings, and focus in the moment to create better experiences and outcomes for myself going forward.
I've been learning to do this when practicing my dancing. Even the best dancers occasionally stumble or misstep. I've been trained that when I do stumble or misstep (or God forbid, fall), sometimes the very best thing to do is keep dancing through to the end of the variation or routine. My instructor and I will, of course, pause afterward to assess what happened—did I lose my frame, were my feet or hands not in the right position, did I lose my focus. We will then make the necessary corrections and start all over again. However, I've learned that if I remain fixated on the problem or whatever it was that caused the mistake, I'll keep repeating it—usually to the frustration of my instructor. The key to success in my starting over is to focus on dancing the variation correctly, actually seeing and feeling myself dancing correctly over and over again in my mind until suddenly (sometimes to my surprise), I discover I'm actually doing it.
And so it is, I'm learning, in life. In the face of challenges, obstacles, setbacks, and disappointments that knock you on your butt, you can choose to let fear, frustration, and misplaced focus keep your butt on the ground and your goals and heart's desires out of reach, or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.
Did you know?
Fred Astaire, considered an icon of old Hollywood Glamour and whose name is practically synonymous with dance, failed early in his career to attract any interest in Hollywood. Regarding his initial screen test, at least one studio executive wrote, "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." (Source: Biography.com)
For when my chin is on the ground.
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off
And start all over again.
Don't lose your confidence
If you slip
Be grateful for a pleasant trip
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off
And start all over again.
By Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, ©1936
I'm a big fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie musicals—I'm pretty certain that I've watched all of them, multiple times since childhood. I could easily and quite happily spend hours watching a marathon of their musicals. Watching Fred and Ginger movies with my mom and older sister, along with seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov in the Nutcracker, is what ignited my love of dance. Often after watching their movies as a child, I would retreat to the basement of our home and try to mimic their routines. In fact, several years later after I began taking ballroom lessons (another story for another time), I had someone design/make a gown for me to look like my absolute favorite Ginger Rogers' gown, which she wore in Follow the Fleet.
It's no wonder then that today when I was feeling a bit discouraged about recent events in my life and that of my family that the song "Pick Yourself Up," which Rogers sings in Swing Time to an awkward dancing Astaire, should suddenly pop into my head. I had only moments earlier been practicing a dance variation in between care giving duties for my parents. Curiously, it was during my quiet time while I was reading about Neville Goddard's method for "revising" unpleasant or negative events to help pick up my mood when I heard the song. The song along with Neville's revision method, which he taught as a way to help prevent negative patterns from repeating in your life by changing the way you perceive events, did a lot to help me pick myself up from what could have been an all-day funk.
Believing as I do that our thoughts, emotions, and words have creative power, I certainly don't want to spend an entire day in a funk and risk repeating more of the same experiences that I'm not enjoying. I appreciated and needed the reminder that I have the power within myself to choose my thoughts, feelings, and focus in the moment to create better experiences and outcomes for myself going forward.
I've been learning to do this when practicing my dancing. Even the best dancers occasionally stumble or misstep. I've been trained that when I do stumble or misstep (or God forbid, fall), sometimes the very best thing to do is keep dancing through to the end of the variation or routine. My instructor and I will, of course, pause afterward to assess what happened—did I lose my frame, were my feet or hands not in the right position, did I lose my focus. We will then make the necessary corrections and start all over again. However, I've learned that if I remain fixated on the problem or whatever it was that caused the mistake, I'll keep repeating it—usually to the frustration of my instructor. The key to success in my starting over is to focus on dancing the variation correctly, actually seeing and feeling myself dancing correctly over and over again in my mind until suddenly (sometimes to my surprise), I discover I'm actually doing it.
And so it is, I'm learning, in life. In the face of challenges, obstacles, setbacks, and disappointments that knock you on your butt, you can choose to let fear, frustration, and misplaced focus keep your butt on the ground and your goals and heart's desires out of reach, or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.
Did you know?
Fred Astaire, considered an icon of old Hollywood Glamour and whose name is practically synonymous with dance, failed early in his career to attract any interest in Hollywood. Regarding his initial screen test, at least one studio executive wrote, "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." (Source: Biography.com)
Monday, August 1, 2016
How Neville Goddard Changed My Life
Let me begin my stating that I was going to call this post " An Ode to Neville Goddard," but that would have required me to actually write a poem, which I’m not in the mood to do. I did feel inspired today to pay tribute to this great teacher whom I’ve never met, yet consider a mentor—a very beloved mentor.
I discovered Neville Goddard’s teachings about four years ago while reading Wayne Dyer’s book, Wishes Fulfilled. Dyer makes several references to Neville Goddard and how his teachings helped to inform his philosophy of life. Intrigued by some of the quotes included in the book, I decided to learn more about Mr. Goddard and his teachings.
It didn't take very long as there was plenty of information readily available all over the Internet. He taught over 475 lectures and published 10 books beginning around the 1950s until his death in 1972. There are numerous websites devoted to sharing his teachings that were created by people who are/were influenced by him. He is in fact considered by many to be among the greatest New Thought leaders of his day, and even now.
Neville Goddard’s teachings have certainly for over four years informed my own transformation and my views about life and what is possible for me. Through his vast lectures, many of which can be heard on YouTube, I’ve come to understand a great deal about the powerful role my thoughts, imagination, and feelings have in shaping my circumstances. I have as a result learned to pay more attention to the thoughts I’m thinking, what I am feeling and what I am imagining at any given moment.
His teachings have helped me to create some pretty amazing experiences by shifting my thoughts, feelings and emotions away from what I’m not enjoying to what I would prefer. They have also helped me to release years of buried guilt and shame—emotions that will absolutely prevent you from living your best life. For better or worse, our thoughts create our feelings and beliefs, which determine our choices, which determine our actions, which determine our experiences. As Neville would put it: “Nothing comes from without; all things come from within.”
Among my favorite Neville quotes are the following:
The last one, which Wayne Dyer quotes specifically in Wishes Fulfilled, is one that I meditate on day and night and especially in those moments where I began to feel like life’s victim. It isn’t as some might conclude an invitation to ignore what is happening around me, like an ostrich with her head in the sand. It is an invitation to remain focused on my desired destination or outcome in spite of what I am seeing or experiencing. My current circumstances, problems, challenges may be real now, but reality isn’t static—it is constantly changing. Focusing on the problem only serves to keep me stuck in the problem, exactly where I don’t want to be. Maintaining laser-like focus on my aim will move me towards it.
I’ve read nearly all of Neville’s lectures, many of which you can access for free at realneville.com. (The PDFs only; the audios you'll need to buy.) In addition, I’ve purchased several of his books. Among them: Feeling is the Secret, Your Faith is Your Fortune, Power of Awareness, Awakened Imagination, Prayer: The Art of Believing, and At Your Command.
I recommend all of them with the caveat that you will 1) need to read through them multiple times to grasp the meaning of what he’s saying, yet it’s worth it, and 2) need to keep an open mind. If you think your way, or your parents’ way, or your pastor’s way of understanding scripture or the Bible is the only way it can be understood, or perhaps you aren’t Christian and not open to discussions of scripture, your mind will simply not allow you to glean from Neville’s work the valuable insight that he offers. It is my personal belief that his teachings can benefit anyone, regardless of religious affiliation or even if you don’t adhere to any.
Neville’s teachings offer the opportunity to stop playing victim and take responsibility for your life. If your life is a hot mess and you accept that you’re the one who created the mess, then that means you also have power to create something better and it doesn’t matter how the economy is doing, who gets elected president, or whether your boss is a jerk. Your “savior,” Neville would suggest, is within, not without. What could be more empowering than that?
Below are a couple of my favorite Neville Goddard videos. I sometimes listen to these as I’m going to sleep.
I discovered Neville Goddard’s teachings about four years ago while reading Wayne Dyer’s book, Wishes Fulfilled. Dyer makes several references to Neville Goddard and how his teachings helped to inform his philosophy of life. Intrigued by some of the quotes included in the book, I decided to learn more about Mr. Goddard and his teachings.
It didn't take very long as there was plenty of information readily available all over the Internet. He taught over 475 lectures and published 10 books beginning around the 1950s until his death in 1972. There are numerous websites devoted to sharing his teachings that were created by people who are/were influenced by him. He is in fact considered by many to be among the greatest New Thought leaders of his day, and even now.
Neville Goddard’s teachings have certainly for over four years informed my own transformation and my views about life and what is possible for me. Through his vast lectures, many of which can be heard on YouTube, I’ve come to understand a great deal about the powerful role my thoughts, imagination, and feelings have in shaping my circumstances. I have as a result learned to pay more attention to the thoughts I’m thinking, what I am feeling and what I am imagining at any given moment.
His teachings have helped me to create some pretty amazing experiences by shifting my thoughts, feelings and emotions away from what I’m not enjoying to what I would prefer. They have also helped me to release years of buried guilt and shame—emotions that will absolutely prevent you from living your best life. For better or worse, our thoughts create our feelings and beliefs, which determine our choices, which determine our actions, which determine our experiences. As Neville would put it: “Nothing comes from without; all things come from within.”
Among my favorite Neville quotes are the following:
“Man, if he is in control of his own imagination, is in control of the phenomena of his life. He is not the victim of circumstances; circumstances are the creatures of himself.”
"Do not compromise. Decide exactly what you want and assume you have it. If your world would change, determine what it would look like; then construct a scene which would imply you are there."
“Disregard appearances, conditions, in fact disregard all evidence of your senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you already are what you want to be. For in that determined assumption, you and your infinite being are merged in creative unity. And with your infinite being (God) all things are possible.”
The last one, which Wayne Dyer quotes specifically in Wishes Fulfilled, is one that I meditate on day and night and especially in those moments where I began to feel like life’s victim. It isn’t as some might conclude an invitation to ignore what is happening around me, like an ostrich with her head in the sand. It is an invitation to remain focused on my desired destination or outcome in spite of what I am seeing or experiencing. My current circumstances, problems, challenges may be real now, but reality isn’t static—it is constantly changing. Focusing on the problem only serves to keep me stuck in the problem, exactly where I don’t want to be. Maintaining laser-like focus on my aim will move me towards it.
I’ve read nearly all of Neville’s lectures, many of which you can access for free at realneville.com. (The PDFs only; the audios you'll need to buy.) In addition, I’ve purchased several of his books. Among them: Feeling is the Secret, Your Faith is Your Fortune, Power of Awareness, Awakened Imagination, Prayer: The Art of Believing, and At Your Command.
I recommend all of them with the caveat that you will 1) need to read through them multiple times to grasp the meaning of what he’s saying, yet it’s worth it, and 2) need to keep an open mind. If you think your way, or your parents’ way, or your pastor’s way of understanding scripture or the Bible is the only way it can be understood, or perhaps you aren’t Christian and not open to discussions of scripture, your mind will simply not allow you to glean from Neville’s work the valuable insight that he offers. It is my personal belief that his teachings can benefit anyone, regardless of religious affiliation or even if you don’t adhere to any.
Neville’s teachings offer the opportunity to stop playing victim and take responsibility for your life. If your life is a hot mess and you accept that you’re the one who created the mess, then that means you also have power to create something better and it doesn’t matter how the economy is doing, who gets elected president, or whether your boss is a jerk. Your “savior,” Neville would suggest, is within, not without. What could be more empowering than that?
Below are a couple of my favorite Neville Goddard videos. I sometimes listen to these as I’m going to sleep.
Facts Have Over Flowed the World
How Abdullah Taught the Law
Neville discusses what he learned from his mentor Abdullah, an Ethiopian Jew, about the power of imagination.
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