The “Yeah Buts”

In my line of work, I often have the privilege of listening to people’s dreams. Their face lights up, their energy becomes vibrant, and the excitement is palpable.

Then, predictably, the “yeah buts” begin. The “yeah buts” are the limitations, our own fears we place around the manifestation of our dreams. “Yeah, but, I need life insurance.” “Yeah, but, it takes money to get it started.” “Yeah, but, I have no time to work on it.” (Guess what? The first one is the most common reason I hear for not following your dream! And, just so you know, I have been on self-pay health insurance for 15 years.) Truly, I can see their balloon of joy slowly, if not rapidly, deflate.

Okay, so stick with me here, what if our excitement is because we are listening to God’s plan for us! (Or, we are finding our life’s purpose.) When we resonate with messages our soul is giving us it feels good, really good! In fact, it feels inspired (“in spirit”).

One of my favorite quotes is, “If you feel far from God, who moved?” So, in incredibly simplistic terms, I feel good when I feel connected to God (or, when I let myself feel good, I am able to connect to God or my Higher Self). So, when I hear inspired ideas, I know that person is connecting deeply to her soul and is connected to God. When the “yeah buts” begin, she is slowly moving away...

So, what to do? Focus on the dream, on the excitement. Then stop. Your limited (very limited) human perspective will come up with all sorts of ways your plan wont work. Stick with the good!

Tell God Your Plans!

“God laughs hardest when you tell Him your plans.”

I have heard that quote so many times and never really understood it. What does that mean? God laughs when you get excited about something? Really? If you don’t believe in God and just see the Universe as responding to the thoughts you put out there, the quote still doesn’t make sense! I had to find out who gave us that toxic little gem – John Lennon. Now, with all due respect to all the Beetles fans out there, I tend to look to higher sources for my Truths, especially if the idea is going to affect my dreams.

Go ahead, tell God your plans. I am sure God is just as excited as you are...

A Video to Inspire You!

The Positive Power of Fear

Really, fear can be a positive thing. Or, at least, getting past a fear can be a positive thing. It propels you forward with incredible energy to move beyond other fears. Fears keep us stagnant, stuck in our current consciousness and moving past one takes us to a new level.

Recently, my seven year old daughter, Sierra, discovered the power of getting past her fears. She has always been afraid of feeding animals. Whether it was a treat to a friend’s dog or feed to an animal at a petting zoo. She would desperately want to feed the animal and try, only to pull her hand back in fear. Recently we visited a petting zoo. She was attempting to feed a sheep and was again pulling her hand back. I asked if she wanted to go, telling her it was okay to be afraid and she would be able to do it eventually. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Mommy, I promised myself I was going to do this. I am not leaving until I do.” (I was so proud of her!) I sat with her silently for twenty more minutes before she finally did it. Then I continued to supply her with sheep feed for another 45-mintes as she experienced the exhilaration of getting past a fear. (It was the best $5 I ever spent!) (Yes, this is actually her, feeding those fabulous sheep!)

A day later, she told me that her math class was going to be performing a play. Not all the children could be in the play because there weren’t enough characters. She asked her teacher if she could be in it. I asked her if she was excited and she said, “No, being on stage scares me. I am ready to get past the fear, though.”

Did the experience with the sheep affect her? Of course it did! It gave her strength, energy, and the consciousness to let go of more fears.

So, do you have a large fear you want to overcome? Start with some smaller ones, they will set you up for the bigger ones!

(By the way, I asked her if I could write about what happened and she agreed as long as she could help me write it. In retelling it, she had the same boost of power that she did when she was feeding the sheep! Interesting, isn’t it? Reliving situations that make us stronger, give us a boost of positive energy. Just think of what reminiscing about things that made us weak do...)

Related Posts:
My Response to Fear
monday morning musing (on fear)

Manifesting On the Mat in Costa Rica

Join us on a Costa Rican Yoga Retreat and
experience manifesting through your body.

Want to join us in Costa Rica for a fabulous yoga retreat? We will be at Samasati Yoga and Nature Retreat Center January 24-31st. You will enjoy 3 daily yoga sessions with Laura and assisted by Karen (an early morning wake up, a before dinner stretch, and an evening relaxation.)

The greatest challenge of manifesting is taking the first step into the freer, more open space that allows us to flow more freely with the Universe. The afternoon yoga session we will be doing will strengthen our ability to take what might be fearful steps to creating the life we dream of. In the evening we will focus on letting go, allowing the waves of possibility to flow to us.

You will also be able to enjoy eco-tours such as a waterfall trek:
A zipline ride through the canopy of the jungle:
Or spend an afternoon strolling on black or white sand beaches:
Or reading in the hammock on your veranda:
Or sitting in the hot tub overlooking the Caribbean sea:
You will also enjoy 3 gourmet, vegetarian meals daily in their open air restaurant and regular visits from toucans and monkeys!

Inspiring Beauty

Flowers for Pampered Chef Party, originally uploaded by tamantha.

Sometimes the most beautiful things are so inspiring...thanks, Tamantha.

Your Story

Your Story: One of the greatest gifts of learning about manifesting is you finally learn that you are the creator of your story, your life. You get to write it. Much of your life so far (and perhaps all) has been based on the stories others told you and you believed. Some stories were wonderful and therefore you thrive in those areas. Most of the stories were limiting and have only served us by keeping us small in those areas of our life.

I recently learned first hand of the power of our stories. It seems like it is such an insignificant story, but it represents something so much larger for me. I love coffee. I love the smell and the taste. I stopped drinking coffee the day I handed in my research thesis for my masters. (I was up to a pot a day.) I quit mostly because I was cutting out chemicals from my diet and the only way I could make the coffee sweet enough for my taste was with sweet-n-low. Anyway, I have told this story for years — I graduated in 1996 — you do the math. “I just can’t drink coffee without sweet-n-low”. (Feel free to add a whine and self-pity to that sentence — it was always full of it.) Whenever I tell the story, I also add that I miss it. I love the smell and my husband makes delicious coffee every morning so I smell it a lot. Finally, about a month ago, when I was telling this story for the umpteenth time, my husband said, “You have got to stop telling that story. You have changed so much who you are. Why don’t you try coffee today, right now, with your new consciousness.” I did and I loved it!! I put in a single teaspoon of sugar and I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor. I had told that story for years and it had truly affected me and how I was living.

Granted, the story is insignificant perhaps, but I really got in that moment the power of our stories. What do you tell yourself that is negative about your financial situation? Your job? Your marriage? Your weight? Your business? Your home? Your children? If it is negative or something you don’t like, then rewrite your story. We assume today will be just like yesterday. Today can be completely different if you allow it. You can change on a dime, really. Sometimes it takes longer, but it doesn’t have to. It is really as simple as saying, “I am ready for this to be different.” Then you need to decide what you want, or better yet, how you want to feel, and begin to strive for that feeling. Your story is only a story and it can be changed.

A great start to writing your new story comes from a great book I am reading called, Zero to Zillionaire by Chellie Campbell. She says to write the story of your life so far with only the highlights. Tell about all the wins in your life, all the silver linings. (She also recommends writing your story from the perspective of your losses, but I do not recommend spending any time there — although it is quite illuminating!) Start your day reading of your exploits and see how your day unfolds.

Aim For the Stars!

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

If you want to read the rest of this beautiful quote, I posted it here. Powerful, isn’t it? Is there some place in your life in which you feel you are not living up to your full potential? Here is another fabulous quote I love:

“The greater danger for most of you lies not in setting your aim too high and falling short;
but in setting your aim to low, and achieving your mark.”
--Michelangelo

I was reading something Wayne Dyer wrote a few years ago that sparked a deep, inspirational energy inside of me. He said, “I didn’t want to die with the music still in me.” (He was on his way to serve in the armed forces after being drafted.) It got me thinking about areas in my life in which I thought I had more in me to give than I had allowed so far. I wanted more. Are there areas in your life in which you want more because you know you are capable of much more; capable of even, dare I say it, greatness! Does thinking of yourself in the same place you are now in 10 years sadden you? Set your aim higher! You are absolutely capable of more and the world is waiting for you to reach your goal.

Let Your Light Shine

Call of the Raven (formerly Nature's Special Effects), originally uploaded by Walkabout Wolf.

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Never Answer a Question From Fear

Have you ever heard that there are only two true emotions: fear and Love and all other emotions are derivatives of those two? The closer we are to feeling pure love or joy, the closer you are to being connected directly to our Soul, Spirit, Intuitive side, Higher Self, whatever you decide to call it. And, of course, the corollary is the closer to fear we feel, the more disconnected we are from our Spirit. I think we all agree that we make better decisions when we are connected to our Intuitive side and when we are feeling good.

There is a line from a book series I have read to my daughter. It is such a great line and its wisdom continues to resonate with me months after reading it. “Never answer a question from fear.” Hmmm...what a great way to live your life! How about taking it further and never answer a question or make any decision from negativity (which, of course, comes from fear).

Judith Lasater has what she calls her “Duck Index”. (And, no, I can’t remember how she came up with that name!) Anyway, the Index has a rating that goes from one to ten in reference to how she is feeling (how connected or disconnected she is from her Spirit.) When she is feeling very connected she is a ten. She doesn’t make any big decisions when she is feeling below a seven. She pulls herself up and then considers the issue. If she is a five or below she puts herself in seclusion until she feels better. As I recall, she doesn’t want to affect people by her negative state when she feels so low. Such a powerful idea! When your consciousness is actually taking away from the consciousness of others, you no longer interact. What a fabulous technique for taking care of yourself and the world at the same time.

For your Inspiration

Control

Judith Lasater, an internationally renowned yoga teacher and author, defines control and impatience as, “resisting what is”. We all have that feeling someplace. We like “what is” somewhere in our lives and as change begins to creep in, as it inevitably does, we resist the changes. But, if we are truly connected to our inner selves, and on the path of growth, we need to trust that that change is what we need, it is something good, something we need to learn. One of my clients had a beautiful insight about the gentle changes that were coming into her life as she relaxed her control. She was beginning to understand how her attempting to control the areas of her life had caused her suffering. She hadn’t been allowing the changes the Universe had in store for her. “It is as if the Universe is subtlely righting itself.” I love that thought! How wonderful to view changes in your life in that light.

Beliefs: Do Your Open the Doors to the Possibilities or Keep You Stuck in a Limited World?

What are beliefs anyway? I looked up the definition “something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction”. I don’t see anywhere in the definition that says a belief has to be true. It is merely a firmly held opinion. They serve us by defining the world in a way our consciousness can comprehend.

They should be fluid, ever changing as we evolve and grow. Our tendency, though, is to keep living life the same as we always have, never changing (at least much) and just assuming what we have is what we should expect. Our beliefs are often outmoded, though, and don’t fit who we are becoming and can, in fact, keep us from becoming what we are ready to become — they hold us back. Our beliefs may come from our family, our culture, our religion, our society, from something someone said to us, or from an experience we had years back that has shaped how we think. The biggest challenge is these beliefs shape the way we see the world and, in effect, what we create in our world and if that belief is not what we want anymore, it continues to create a world that is less than fully satisfying.

Inspiration vs. Motivation

Do you need to motivate yourself to exercise? Eat well? Do your taxes? Clean your house? Find a new job? Get out and date? What if, instead you were inspired to do so? How does that feel?

I like Wayne Dyer’s distinction between inspiration and motivation. He says that motivation comes from a negative impetus; you want to do something so something negative won’t happen. (“I want to exercise so I don’t get fat.”) Inspiration comes from a positive impetus; you want to do something so something positive will happen. (“I want to exercise so I feel energy and vibrancy.”) When we are negatively motivated, it takes will-power to overcome the negative energy to get going. When we are positively inspired, we can’t wait to jump out of bed to do what we want to do.

How else can you think of it? Are you wanting something out of fear or love? Think about it in your own life. Not only does coming from love and inspiration feel better, the Universe will work with you to help you create what you want. When you come from fear, you are inviting whatever you fear into your life.

Living Fully in the Present

“Instead of goals, make the commitment to love joyfully in the moment. Stop dreaming about the future and get back to the only thing you have now. Decide to live fully in the present.” (Wayne Dyer)

I love this quote. It is incredibly inspired and brought to my mind immediately one of the biggest (and understandable) obstacles many people have around manifesting: “How can you be wanting changes in your life, whatever they are, and still be present with your now? Isn’t the very position of wanting a change mean you aren’t being present?” No! In fact, in one of the Universe’ greatest ironies, you can’t manifest until you are perfectly present and seeing your present as perfect.

We aren’t capable of not wanting or desiring something. Desiring goes along with our human consciousness. (If you want to read more on that thought, look here: Is Non-Greed Possible?) Where we run into suffering is wanting something (whether it is something we want to be, do or have) and not feeling we can have it. We feel envy, frustration, and self-pity. These thoughts are merely beliefs that are limiting what we receive. So, our goal is to live fully in the now, to love our life and to know we are open to more.

Inspirational Quote

"I will get rich according to the definiteness of my vision,
the fixity of my purpose,
the steadiness of my faith,
and the depth of my gratitude."
-Wallace Wattled, The Science of Getting Rich

Where are you in this quote? Do you have a strong vision and purpose? How is your faith? Do you feel very grateful? Which one of these do you do well? Which one could be holding you back?

Manifesting Story: My New Yoga Mat

I have needed a new yoga mat for some time now. The one I have is worn and, well, looks worn. Shopping for yoga mats is not my favorite activity. Styles are constantly changing and surfaces are so different, it is hard to know just what will work for you. Since there is no yoga mat store, all ordering is done online which means returning what doesn’t work and starting the process again. So, now you know why I have needed a new mat for some time – pure procrastination.

In comes Woyopracmo (World Yoga Practice Month). This website was started by a fellow yogini to encourage those who signed up to practice yoga daily for the month of January. Several of us also donated prizes to be given away in a random drawing of those who did complete the entire month.

Have you figured out what I won yet? You guessed it! A yoga mat. But not just any yoga mat, The Black Mat. Apparently it is the crème de la crème of yoga mats. (I admit, I had not heard of it. Even my husband, who does not practice yoga, exclaimed, “It’s THE BLACK MAT!” with such reverence, I had to be impressed.) Here’s what is so fabulous, the mat is perfect. It is amazing. I have never had a yoga mat like this one before. I didn’t know yoga mats could be this fabulous! The invoice said it cost $75. I would never have spent that much money on a mat. Yet again, the Universe provided me with more than I would have provided for myself. Thank you!

Letting in the Good

I have discovered a new step for me in receiving, accepting it in. I know, “duh”, but there it is. I am a doer. I can out-do the best of the best, and I am in the process of recovering from that syndrome! My big “aha” of the year is that all my doing doesn’t leave space for things to come in. I am like a hamster in a wheel, things are always going for me. Interestingly, I love what I do. I am truly inspired by my life, my marriage, my parenting, my work. It is all so good and so wonderful, I didn’t think the “doing” was harming me. Hmmm…”harming” is too strong of a word. Certainly doing things that inspire me doesn’t harm me, though, when done too much, with no space between the thoughts, it doesn’t leave room for the new, wonderful things to come in.

Surrender has been my focus for this year so far. Surrendering to the moment, to the control, to the flow of my life. In my yoga practice, I have focused on forward folds and restorative poses, all about surrender. In my breathing practice I have focused on exhalation, the surrender and letting go portion of the breath. I often struggled with my exhale, never fully letting it go completely. For the past week, my exhale has felt glorious. Now, I realize that it is time to do inhalation, bringing in the something new. I am ready to accept something new.

I have been reading a new book: Relax into Wealth by Alan Cohen. He has some good quotes for me that I would love to share with you:

“If what you are doing isn’t working, doing more of it will not work any better. Creative visualization requires far less effort than exasperated action, and sets you up to win. So quite spinning your wheels, shrug off the day’s difficulties, and take a set in the theater of your goals. Then you will be unbeatable.” (Alan Cohen)

“The game of success is less about getting good things to happen, and more about letting good things happen.” (Alan Cohen)

“I am fully and wholeheartedly willing to receive ____________ now.” (Alan Cohen)
“Leap, and the net will appear.” (Julia Cameron)

“The antidote to fear is not to push hard against it or buck your way through it. The answer is to tap into a deeper knowing than the level that fear is speaking from. That deep place always exists inside you; your role is to relax into it.” (Alan Cohen)

Everyone Wins

Here is a quote I came across today and wanted to share:

“When you manage to stay connected to your Energy stream, you always win.
And you know what, somebody else doesn't have to lose for you to win.
There is always enough.”
Abraham-Hicks

Let’s take the thought one step further, not only does no one else lose, everyone else gains when you are feeling inspired (e.g., connected to your energy stream). I often hear of people feeling selfish, working on finding their inspiration. It takes time from their family, time from their priorities, and, goodness, should I be focused on the hope of a dream? When you are inspired, everyone wins, everyone. You will be a kinder, more compassionate spouse, sibling, friend, employee, world citizen. "Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." (Howard Thurman)

Manifesting Story: Ants

I just have to share this manifesting story. It is definitely negative – what you don’t want to d – and amusing all at the same time. My husband, Ron, doesn’t like ants. I certainly don’t enjoy them, but his dislike plays with the edge of fear. Two years ago we realized the hill in our back yard had a lot of ants on it. Last year the ants were much closer to our house and he began to get nervous. In the summer, he saw them on our deck. Then, we were reading a book to our daughter. A character in the book left a donut out on the floor and the next day ants were swarming around it. Ron got visually disturbed by it (I think the term is “grossed out”!) Anyway, the next day we had about 200 ants just inside the door of our deck, swarming our breakfast table. Hmmmm...connection? He did see how he had manifested it and we haven’t had an infestation since!

Just. Feel. Good.

"If you had one goal, and that was to feel good, you would never again need to hear another word from anyone. You would live successfully and happily and in a way of fulfilling your life’s purpose ever after." ~ Abraham-Hicks

Hands In The Clay

"There are no happier people on this planet than those who decide
that they want something, define what they want, get hold of the
feeling of it even before its manifestation, and then joyously watch
the unfolding as piece by piece by piece it begins to unfold.
That’s the feeling of your hands in the clay." - Abraham-Hicks