Manifest Miracles in Your Life and Create Yourself

Recently, an especially challenging moment had me lamenting in my mind, resentment over a lack I was experiencing. I immediately changed the negative self-talk tape playing over and over in my head to a favorite Shakti Gawain affirmation, visualizing a positive outcome: "This or something better is now manifesting in my life in totally harmonious and satisfying ways for the greatest good of all concerned." Two hours later, I found myself in a store, purchasing the item I needed--and it was on sale!

How often does it happen that we think about someone and they call? Coincidence or manifestation? The mind is a powerful vehicle! When we allow the chatter to rule, it is our mind controlling us. Yet, we can make this self-talk work to our advantage. Miracles unfold when we take control of our mind and tell it what to tell us.

How might we do this? The words we use reflect an inner subconscious perception. And we often behave according to our perceptions. So if our perceptions are inaccurate and negative, they have the potential to create a negative outcome. Our perceptions and beliefs, as relayed through the messages we tell ourselves, can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, something that comes true because we believe it. Therefore, we must take care what we tell ourselves.

Think of it this way: a little child is told that they are stupid, and they grow up believing they are. This affects how they see themselves (negatively) and potentially how they interact with the world (unsuccessfully). We know that saying such messages to a young child is damaging and do not intentionally set out to do this, yet we may continually do this to ourselves, from the moment we awaken to the time we fall asleep--play negative mental self-talk tapes in our mind.

By harnessing the power of the mind, we create our perceptions and thus our realities. Feed your mind good food for thought, the same way you fuel your body with healthful foods that help it feel good and move better. This is one important way in which we can create miracles in our lives and ultimately create ourselves.

What positive messages do you tell yourself to manifest miracles in your life?

Are you parked?

Last summer when I pulled into a church parking lot in New Hampshire to turn the car around, I found myself in front of this sign. I love it!

This has me thinking about where I might be parked in my life at any given time...not moving backward, nor moving forward. Still. Sometimes stillness is good. It gives me the space to contemplate that move forward. Sometimes the stillness feels like being frozen in my tracks: parked. And sometimes being parked feels like forever as I wait to move on. Maybe it's not time to move. Or maybe I see this sign and know in my soul that thou shalt not park here.

Where are you parked in your life?

Nothing is Everything

It's that time again...time to make those New Year's resolutions that, come somewhere mid-January we either forgot we made or forgot why we made them. Oh, and if we do remember, we wonder how to keep them! How about trying something different this year? Don't make any resolutions!

Coach U's The Zen of Attraction aptly says, "If less is more, then nothing is everything." This handy reminder hanging on the bulletin board above my desk goes on to say, among other things: "Promise nothing. Just do what you most enjoy doing...Expect nothing. Just enjoy what you already have; it's plenty...Need nothing. Just build up your reserves, and your needs will disappear...Change nothing. Just tell the truth, and things will change by themselves" (Coach U's Essential Coaching Tools, CoachInc.com, 2005).

When you finish doing the above, and if you still choose to make New Year's resolutions, remember to be grateful and express that gratitude to the Universe. Gratitude goes a long way toward attaining more of the good things life provides.

Happy New Year Everyone--may all your goals and wishes for 2012 manifest for you in totally harmonious and satisfying ways!

Meet Carlee--my lesson in letting go

I rarely share such personal stories here on my blog, but this spiritual tome bears telling as Christmas and all the miracles of the season approach.


Meet Carlee. This little gem, the runt of the litter, came into my life as the lesson of letting go was unfolding around me. While facilitating a workshop in New Carlisle, Gaspe, I was dealing with a difficult personal situation occupying my thoughts. After completing the workshop, a particularly unpleasant e-mail threatened to shatter the enjoyment of what would be a day to tour the coast and see Perce Rock with my colleague. So I asked the Universe to get me through the challenge of my emotions and let me enjoy exploring this coastal region. One hour later, I came upon a litter of four furry ball kittens along a dirt road leading up to Black Lake. It seemed they were hitching a ride, having been abandoned as I later learned commonly happens with the local population of unwanted cats. My colleague and I stopped the rental car and the sparse traffic, not knowing quite what to do. It was clear to me: I could not, after asking the Universe for a miracle, bypass these animals whose situation made them far more vulnerable and helpless than mine.

Herding cats is no easy feat; we finally got them all settled into the car, and then the adventure of finding them homes began! I had only one day to place these treasures or locate a refuge that would care for them until good homes could be found. Harbored in the bathroom of my hotel, along with litter, food and water, they ate voraciously and slept in the bathtub while I worked the phones in a networking frenzy that had one little black male placed with a family and the three remaining kittens going to a wonderful refuge called Amis-Zoo run by Andree. Andree and her partner, Michel came to my hotel room the night before I was to leave by plane the next morning. She would take two kittens as I had told her I would take one home with me. Unfortunately, the small private airline's administration told me their policy of not allowing animals on the plane. I couldn't take the chance of not being allowed on-board if I tried to smuggle this little angel in my sweater.

I had to let it all go...let my personal situation and the things I cannot change go, let these beautiful good-natured kittens go, and I had to let go, the little one I wanted to keep, again telling the Universe my wish to have her if a way could be found.

Andree entered my hotel room and got right down on the floor with all of the kittens, now running loose and getting ready for their transfer. I told Andree it would be three rather than two as I could not take Carlee on the plane to Montreal. Then she looked up at me and said: "I'm coming to Montreal in early December. I'll bring her to you." Wow! I let go and the Universe provided!

Carlee is now home, adapting to my existing two cats who’ve accepted her into the fray. She is independent, gentle, affectionate and fearless--an interesting mix of characteristics that resonate with me. Carlee is exactly where she needs to be. So am I. And all this just because of my willingness to LET GO!

What is your story about letting go?

Staying Clear with the Universe

Last week a good friend showed me a gorgeous tablecloth someone had made. It's beaded trim and quality material complement its solid craftsmanship and artistry. My friend considered buying it, but wanted it in a different bolder color. I loved the tablecloth and brought it home to see how it would look on my table, thinking that I, too, would have one made in another brighter color.

The tablecloth fits beautifully and the colors blend so well with my decor! So I decided it was mine. And when my friend left I realized I had forgotten to give her the money to pay the creator of this beautiful cloth. Now my check sits written and ready to be mailed or dropped off.

You see...this is about more than the money and paying for what I purchase. This is about keeping my debts clean and clear with the universe. I want this money intentioned for the creator of my tablecloth, set aside and ready because I want the universe to let me keep this tablecloth. It is about integrity--paying what is due so that the universe continues to provide. This is one of the ways abundance shows up in my life.

What debts do you need to clear with the universe?

Just say "thank you"

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. -Meister Eckhardt

We often hear the phrase "Forgive and forget." It's a tall order. We might think that if only we could forgive and forget, then perhaps we can move on and move past the hurt. In an ideal world, we could do this easily and effortlessly. But we are in a world where hurts resurface and the reminders stay fresh. So I'm proposing another way...

Don't forgive--just do nothing around forgiveness, except for forgiving yourself (see Forgiveness Starts with the Self), then, instead of forgetting, remember. Yes, remember. And finally, say "thank you." What?! Say thank you? Someone has hurt me and I must thank them??? Yes. Be grateful for what you have learned through the hurt. Thank that person either directly or indirectly for they have helped you along life's journey. We are all here to learn lessons, which are often repeated until we do.

Thank you means not resisting. Thank you means accepting that the hurt happened. Thank you means recognizing the good that comes out of the hurt. And thank you means you won't go there again. It's done, the hurt is over, the lesson is complete.

What lesson are you thankful for?

Failure is the Key to Success

I once read somewhere that if you never try something you cannot fail.
 
What's a success you've had that's been shaped by failure?

Creatively Visualize your Reality

Imagine yourself lying in this hammock (Photo courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons Free Images)

I love creative visualization and how it has the potential to shape my reality. While traditionally this might mean visualizing or seeing something in your mind's eye, I believe visualization can happen on a more sensual level, which ultimately makes it creative. We can creatively visualize using all of our senses--seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, touching and even intuiting--to attain a desired outcome.

What might this look like? You dream of taking a trip somewhere...perhaps the tropical south, an exotic sandy oasis bathed in sunshine. You close your eyes and see yourself there, hearing the sounds of it, smelling the smells and tasting the salt of the sea, touching the textures, feeling at peace in this environment, and intuiting what that means for you.

This simple act can create our reality. The mind is a powerful vehicle. According to W. Clement Stone, "Whatever the mind...can conceive or believe, it can achieve."

Now you try it: think of something you'd like to do, be, or have. What does that look like when you close your eyes and imagine your goal and its result, using all of your senses?

The 10-10-10 Principle and Letting Go

How important is it? When I am dealing with a huge decision, I stop and ask myself this: What will be the outcome of my decision...in 10 minutes...in 10 months...in 10 years? And then it is easy to decide because the answer usually tells me what I need to know. Then I can let it go, knowing that the universe will take care of the rest. There is much grace in letting go, like a balloon floating up into the sky.

Self-Awareness Through Conversation

How do I know what I am thinking until I say it? I like this Einstein quote someone once applied to adult learning because it zeros right in on why we need conversation. That space allowing us to verbalize our thoughts also lets us become aware of what we are thinking. It is essential for self-awareness and our learning about the self.

Perhaps this is what makes journal writing so effective. We pen our thoughts, conversing with ourselves. This gets these thoughts out of our heads and into the open for our own examination and learning.

My new experience with personal (life) coaching is that the coaching conversation seamlessly allows this. You achieve this space through the coach's presence and listening. Life coaching is a powerful way to know what you are thinking because you get to say it and have it heard. The bonus is that you get to co-examine your thoughts in a meaningful way.