Magic, Myth and Metaphysics

Meaningful Living

“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” --William James

In order to have meaning in your life, it is important to look beyond your own self-interests. It is your love for people and things outside of yourself that brings happiness. Acting on this love to do something that helps the world in some way brings even greater happiness into your life.

I recently went through a training to volunteer to be a visitor for patients on Hospice care. When I went to my first visit the woman, who is in a nursing home, didn’t really seem to want a visitor. She talked a little bit as I asked questions to draw her out, but she didn’t want to be taken outside, or practice walking, or get a hand or shoulder massage, or a foot soak, or be read to. After a couple of visits like this, I began to wonder if my presence was helping her in any way. So I decided to ask—lo and behold, she said she did appreciate my coming, and this revelation sparked a whole new depth of relationship for us! I came away with tremendous happiness that I was making a difference in someone’s life; however small that difference was. The joy of being able to give her some companionship, bring her library books and small gifts of food far outweighs any consideration about the amount of time it takes to drive over to the nursing home and spend a half hour a couple of times a week. As I get to know her and find out more about her life, I am also enriched.

What is it that turns you on? Is it gardening, animals, children, the environment, nature, helping people in need, doing creative crafts, writing, dance, theater, art, sports, airplanes, or some other activity? No matter what you love, there is a way to turn it, at least a bit of time each week, into something that gives to life. If you already do this, you will understand the satisfaction that it gives—it is beyond the activity itself. It gives a sense of self-worth, of belonging, and purpose.

And as William James says, stretching beyond your life to contribute to something that will go on when you are gone gives an even greater depth of purpose. There are thousands of ways to contribute to the future. Finding ways to do so not only with money, but with some of your time will transform your life.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Millionaire Mind, Part 3

As I’ve mentioned, the Millionaire Mind book and intensive teach how to move beyond the mental and emotional barriers you’ve had about money. Whatever your attitudes are about money, there are six things to realize:

 

1.)    Your outer circumstances always exactly mirror your beliefs.

2.)    In this culture, money is a fundamental medium through which we live. In other words, your beliefs about money represent some of the most powerful beliefs you have that are running your entire life. These beliefs have to do with security; the ability to give and receive; your own self-worth; the supportiveness or non-supportiveness of the world around you; and whether you can succeed in being, doing and having what you truly want in life. This is BIG. It’s about your core stuff.

3.)    Everything in the world (including money and including your beliefs) is energy. Money itself is a neutral form of energy.

4.)    The whole story you have about yourself and money is in your head. It is the sum total of the conclusions you’ve drawn about life, usually done at a very early age, with incomplete and often misunderstood information.

5.)    At your deepest level, you are no different than others in your ability to achieve. Since there are people who have lots of money and are using it for good, you have the capacity to do this as well, by moving beyond your current limitations.

6.)    Moving beyond your limitations by definition means moving out of your comfort zone. It takes courage, dedication to learn and grow, and commitment to yourself to stretch and follow through. It may take time, but it can be done. It’s up to you.

 

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Millionaire Mind, Part 2

Going back to thoughts on the Millionaire Mind:

 

One thing that happens over and over in the Millionaire Mind Intensive is that the trainer gives long, energetic pitches for other, much more expensive intensives that Peak Potentials offers. The MMI intensive is their wide funnel-mouth to get people into the seminars that actually make them money. Again, they invite you to look at your beliefs and reactions about being promoted to. Whether or not you choose to attend any of the other intensives, whether you do or don’t have the money, whatever comes up is useful grist for the mill of uncovering your inner mindset.

 

Because I was playing all out, I got a lot of mileage out of this part as well. I saw and felt my resistances, I let myself be open and accepting, I saw the patterns with which I respond. I appreciated the trainer’s transparency—the fact that he stated right up front that he wanted us to hear about and come to the other seminars, which he passionately believes continue to help people grow. He asked “is it OK that I talk about this?” If it isn’t, guess what. You get to look at what’s going on with you. There are other ways (such as keeping the energy high as mentioned in the last post) that induce people to buy—but my reaction to all of the techniques and the selling was, “go ahead.” Their intensives give good value to people; they’re promoting them because they believe in them and they sincerely want to help people move into their own power around money and wealth.

 

One caveat: when they say “intensive,” they mean it. The seminar went from 9 AM-11 PM on days 1 and 2, and from 8 AM to 7 PM on day 3. There were times when, if someone left the room, they weren’t allowed back in until a process was complete. They challenged us over and over to go deep, stretch out of our comfort zone and face our negative emotions of fear, anger, grief—whatever was holding us back. This is what it takes to grow; it takes facing what we have been avoiding. This is part of playing at 100%, and doing this is so empowering.

 

Thanksgiving Gratitude

I’ve been writing on the topic of wealth as it relates to the inner mindset. It occurs to me that all of our wealth comes from the Earth. Everything. Food and water, clothes, shelter, air, dollars, coins, jewelry, cars—you name it, it all begins with the planet. We humans take the raw materials and make them into something.

Since today is Thanksgiving, let’s take some more time to be grateful. Rather than focusing on what you don’t have that you want, please take another moment to feel true, heart gratitude for what you do have, and for the planet that provides it all. Here is a partial list of things that everyone can be grateful for:

·         The beauty of nature: trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, sunrises and sunsets, blue sky, flowers, sun, moon and stars.

·         Food such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, chocolate, coffee, vitamins and protein in all forms

·         Minerals from which we make metal products; gems, microchips, picture frames, CD players, suspension bridges, airplanes, you name it....

·         Materials from organic sources, such as paper, cloth, building materials, plastic products of all sorts, fuel, inks and dyes, rubber products, and so on....

·         Water in the form of rain that allows plants to grow, and all other sources, including the incredible convenience of hot running showers

·         Air that we breathe effortlessly and mostly unconsciously, but which is the most critical substance to keep us alive

·         Fire and warmth, from the sun, from the energy of the sun stored in the plants, from our own bodies, fueled by the food we eat; from oil and natural gas, from alternative energy sources

·         The animals who inhabit the world with us; the bees that pollinate the flowers; the fish, birds, insects, furry animals, lovable pets, strange animals, animals whose realities are vastly different than ours

·         Our precious human bodies that effortlessly sense, feel and think, move and speak, and respond to our thoughts without our even noticing

·         Our own creativity and imagination as a species that allows us to come up with solutions, to invent new and useful things, to create beauty and put systems into place; to create cultures, to stretch our knowledge and imagine new futures

·         Our essential freedom to think whatever we choose, which no one can take away from us

·         Our limitless, divine nature expressing through and as us at all times

We live in a culture that mostly takes life and all that we have for granted. Let’s not do that. It’s too important that we appreciate this wonderful Earth and the many blessings that we have.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Millionaire Mind, Part 1

Things always happen at the perfect time, right? Well, this last weekend was apparently the perfect time for me to attend T. Harv Ecker’s Millionaire Mind Intensive, which I knew about but put off attending for a year and a half. If I didn’t know that things happen at the right time, I’d be kicking myself for not going sooner. Apparently I had other inner work to do first.

 

Millionaire Mind Intensive (MMI) is nothing short of phenomenal—if you allow it to be. That is the crux of the whole matter. They do a great deal of high-energy, LOUD rah-rah scream, cheer and clap activities, and the reason is obviously to keep the audience in a high positive state. But right at the beginning they warn you that doing the intensive is going to take “playing at 100%,” and ask you to commit to doing so. They acknowledge that some of the activities may seem hokey, but ask you to genuinely give that 100% and stay with it. So I made the decision to do so.

 

The program, 3 days long, costs only $97, not counting your travel and food expenses. The founder, T. Harv Ecker, has written a bestselling book, “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,” on which the MMI is based. It takes you through many different processes to uncover your negative programming about money and wealth. And guess what I found out: if you sincerely give it your all, it can make a huge shift.

 

Part of my programming had always said that being wealthy is polluted; that it’s the greedy rich people who are destroying the planet and crushing the masses underfoot. Now, while I realize that many rich people are indeed doing extremely life-destroying things and that the society is set up in a way that allows this to happen, the trouble with this belief is that it isn’t the wealth or money that’s the problem; it’s the mindset of the people who are misusing it. There are many wealthy people who are doing amazing, life-affirming, planet and society-healing things with their money.

 

I was personally stuck because I also want to make a lot of difference in the world, and in order to make this difference, I am going to need money to grow the structures and do the outreach (aka “marketing,” a word I’ve hated and resisted). I’ve been on a spiritual path for 40 years and have a huge desire to do my part to save the world! But given my beliefs about wealth, I haven’t been willing to make lots of money; not only that, I haven’t had a clue how to do it. Even though I’ve known for decades that “your beliefs create your reality,” it took this intensive for me to put together the pieces of my inner mindset and really see how this double bind—and other limiting beliefs—which are just thought habits not reality, have held me back from realizing my beautiful, generous, life-affirming dreams. And I shifted. Now I’m writing about MMI because I want more positive people to know that they can shift too. The world needs us!

 

Tomorrow I have a Thanksgiving post, but after that I’ll go into more about the intensive and the impact it can have. In the meanwhile, if you want to check out Peak Potentials, the people who put the seminar on, you can go to www.peakpotentials.com to find out more.

 

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

A Group Manifestation Technique

This technique combines being in sacred space with doing role playing. I encourage you to try it out at a party, in a women’s or men’s group, or just with some friends. It works on the principle of “acting-as-if.”

·         In a circle, open sacred space in whatever way you do this.

·         Sit with your group for a few minutes, so that each person can attune to their higher self.

·         Go around the circle, having each person speak an intention that they want to manifest.

• When everyone has spoken, have a group socializing time, as if you are at a cocktail party in the future.
• Each person talks about their own intentions as if they have come true (“I loved my trip to Ireland!”) as well as the other people’s (“How did your art show go?” “Are you enjoying being a business owner?” “What’s it like to be cooking in your remodeled kitchen?”  “I really got a lot out of your book signing event!” “I hear you’re getting quite well-known as a relationship coach.” etc). Pretend for each other, in sacred space.
• Use all of your imagination to conjure up the sense of your own intention having been manifested. Think and speak of how it now “is” in the future. And support the others with questions that will help them think and speak about their intention.
• After at least 20 minutes of this, come back into the circle, take a few minutes of silence to integrate the experience. If you want to, you can also then talk about the process, but you may want to just let it rest.
• Close sacred space and return to other activities.

 

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Healing the Land, Part 2

To energy cleanse a space in nature, you must connect with the spirit beings of the place. Energy cleansing is done in partnership: the intention has to come from humans, since the energies came from humans originally. Just as our trash doesn't automatically disappear from the side of the road, it is up to us to decide to clean up our vibrational mess as well. The nature intelligences won't override our inherent free will as humans and energy cleanse places on their own. But they will be glad, grateful, and usually surprised if you contact them in an area, with the intention of doing an energy cleansing. Once you intend it and hold the space, they can release the inappropriate energies and recycle them back into the neutral energy bank, or move them to whatever their next phase might be.

Follow these seven steps:

1.      State your intention to connect with the spirits of the place for the purpose of conducting vibrational healing. You will be connected whether or not you feel it.

2.      Tell them clearly what area you are talking about—avoid being vague. Let them know the boundaries.

3.      Ask that the unhelpful energies be collected, and that you stay protected during the process.

4.      Then allow time for those energies to be collected. Inwardly feel, sense and see this happening. It can take anywhere for 5 minutes to a half hour.

5.      When this part feels complete, ask that any energies collected now be moved on to a more productive state. Give this about half a minute.

6.      Visualize positive energies coming into the whole area for several minutes. You can move your attention deep down to the radiant core of the planet, and invite the regenerative power of the Earth--the mysterious power that enables the seeds to sprout and grow--to move up through the realms and flow into our outer world, to bless everyone, everything, everywhere. This is what healing the land is about; it's done for the benefit of all, unconditionally.

7.      Thank the spirits and ask to be disconnected from them. Don’t forget this part! You must always close the connection.

Healing the Land, Part 1

Earth healing is both physical and energetic. There are the obvious tasks of cleaning up litter, removing invasive plant species, and planting indigenous shrubs, trees, grasses and wildflowers. We can try to restore insect and animal balance when these have gotten out of whack. And we can clean up pollution, and work to prevent it from reoccurring. But what many people don't realize is that the emotional energy of humans gets absorbed into the land as well, and is a different, unseen form of pollution.

Many of us can recognize easily that this is so. We walk into a building and don't like the feel of the place. Or we notice that there's one store location where no business ever seems to survive. But even out in nature, the trees, rocks, soil and plants are subject to the ever-changing vibrations of human emotion. It's the not-good feeling emotions that are the problem for the land. Energy goes out from people all the time, and doesn't just go away; it soaks into the world around us. This is true in your house as well. Fights, grief, anger, envy, depression; your pets feel and respond to them and the walls soak them up.

If our whole society could learn just this one thing, and take action to energy cleanse our living and working spaces, it would transform our lives. Homes, businesses, government buildings, schools, hospitals and public spaces would all support balanced, harmonious living. It doesn't mean that everyone would always be balanced and harmonious, but it does mean that our environment would feel better, and support a quicker return to a higher state of awareness.

Although the best way to learn how to conduct Earth healing is in person with someone who can teach it, it’s possible to get started on your own. Tomorrow’s post will describe more about how Earth healing is done.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Your Thought Is Your Life, Part 3

Your feelings can lead you to your thoughts. It's easy. Bad feelings lead to unhelpful thoughts. Good feelings lead to thoughts that serve you well. And the golden key is that all you really have to do is notice the thoughts, and realize that they aren't you. They are just thoughts. Thoughts can be dropped. It may take time to get out of habitual thoughts, but as soon as you notice them, you have the choice to let them go, in the moment. This is your power. You created the thoughts, the pictures, the story in the first place; it is your power to do with it as you wish.

All you need to do is notice what's working in your thinking and what isn't, by noticing the results you have in life and the emotions you are feeling. Just knowing that you are the one creating the thoughts helps you to detach a bit from them, and allows your common sense to kick in. You can ask, what would a person in my situation (say, broke, or feeling depressed, or in a job or relationship you don't like) have to be thinking in order to allow this situation?

Be willing to look at the contents of your mind. Be willing to notice your thinking. It determines the quality of your life. You can take charge, not by forcing yourself to think different thoughts, but by simply being aware. Learn to stop taking your thoughts so seriously. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true. Your best clue is how you feel. The better you feel, the more sane your accompanying thoughts are. The worse you feel--well, learn to avoid acting when you feel bad, because your judgment isn't good at that point. See for yourself if this is so. I salute your magnificent creative thought power! You're using it at all times, whether or not you're liking the current results. Changing your mind is just a thought away, and it's all in the present moment.

For excellent information on thought, I recommend you visit www.healthrealization.com, www.pandacc.com/counseling.html and www.sydneybanks.org.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com

Your Thought Is Your Life, Part 2

Sometimes we don't have a lot of attachment to a thought. We can let it go. Say we like the color blue best, but we aren't attached. Red is good too, and yellow is fine. If we held onto this thought a little more strongly we might say, "Blue is my favorite color. I have lots of blue clothes." And stronger still, we might say, "People should wear more blue, it's such a soothing color. Red and yellow are ugly." Getting a bit obsessed? Holding on more tightly, someone might say "Blue is the best color. It's the only color that's OK to wear. People who don't wear blue are wrong." And a blue maniac might say "There's no such thing as red and yellow. It's all blue."

There are people everywhere, every day who do this, not perhaps with blue, but with many other aspects of the world. A thought, tightly held, becomes a lens through which people see themselves and the world:. "I am smart. I am fat. I am a winner. People are stupid. People are amazing! The universe supports me. ESP is a hoax. Satan is out to get you. It's a dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest rat race out there. People who aren't of my race are less--or more--than me. God is dead. The Goddess is alive. Nobody cares. No I can't. Yes I can. They are...we have...you shouldn't....money is....war is.... it's OK to....the best...the worst....nobody does...everybody is meant to...I need...." hundreds of times a day. It's all thought. This isn't to say that any of it is bad or wrong. Some of it helps, some of it isn't so helpful to self or others.

We go through how tightly we hold a thought, from "just a thought" to preferences, to strong preferences, to needs, to obsessions. The tightest holding on to thought is what we call "reality." Here, the thoughts are so ingrained that we think our story is the way things are. In the blue maniac example, we would actually perceive no red or yellow, we would block them out; that's how much power our thoughts have. They shape our life. They determine what we set out to accomplish, how we expect to be treated, what we expect to own, how we react to other people, how we feel about everything and anything--especially ourselves.

I encourage you to take a serious look at what you are thinking every day, and to notice how this affects your life. This noticing can be done all throughout the day. Tomorrow’s post will go into how feelings can help with this process.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@awakeability.com