Minding Our Mind

Keeping positive thoughts flowing in our life is one of the most powerful things we can do. And sometimes there are twists and turns to making progress and staying open to those developments can cause some of us to lose focus.

How so? For example, when we are looking for a new job, we usually have something specific in mind. If we focus so tightly that we only see one option as the solution, then we may or may not get exactly that. But if we open our mind to other possible opportunities, we may find that something we were not even thinking about may pop up on the horizon because we kept our eyes and ears open and communicated with people who know and love us, as well as friends and acquaintances. That lets energy flow to us from every direction and in that flow, someone may present us with an opportunity that is different than what we were looking for, but might suit us very well. Taking a different kind of work that we planned on will probably require us to learn new skills and see things from a different perspective. And if we embrace this, rather than resist it, we gain a whole new perspective on life.

You see, as we talk about sewing new seeds for growth, the growth that spirit presents us with may challenge us to grow in ways that we had not planned on. It is precisely the challenges that new opportunities present us that cause us to learn and reach new levels of accomplishment and understanding.

Similarly, when we are looking for a new relationship, we might find that the next one may be different than what we were searching for, but it might be very satisfying in that difference. A new relationship, if we are willing to consider new developments, could enable that new person to teach us new ways of eating, or introduce us to a new hobby, a new activity, new music and new people and events that we would never have discovered on our own, or at least we had not before now.

Of course, just like in a job search we have something in mind that we want. There are always qualities and characteristics that are important to us, the things we consider essential.

So we meet someone we like, who has the qualities and characteristics we consider essential, then in addition to that, we discover that they introduce something new into our life and our relationship. Lights go on in our mind as we embrace this deeper level of connection. If we have too strict a list, we would miss the opportunity, so being open to new ideas or activities lets the gift of a new development into our relationship.

Remember that expressing gratitude is one of the best things you can do every day to keep your alignment with positive new developments in your life.

Try this. Say to your spirit guides, "Please help me get a good new job." Then say "Thank you for helping me get a good new job." What do you notice? Thank you feels much better, doesn't it? That is because you are aligning with the energy of achieving your goal, and you are inviting your spirit guides to help you stay in that alignment and trusting that they will. Their job is to help us and protect us, so you are simply communicating clearly with them. And that gets results. Try it.

Jose Silva, the founder of The Silva Method, originally called his program Silva Mind Control, but people freaked out because they thought he was talking about controlling other people's minds. But that was never his intent. He was teaching people how to control their own mind. He died a number of year ago but his methods are still used by many people and his son and daughter continue teaching the methods. This is one of the seminal self improvement courses. I wanted to share this bit with you because it is so pertinent to all of us. There are a lot of things we cannot control, but we do control our own mind.

In tarot, the suit of swords is the one that has the most strife and struggle depicted. That is because swords is usually interpreted as the suit of the mind, and our mind is often the place where difficulty begins for us.

When I am doing reiki healing for a person, the first placement of the hands is on the head. We open the energy channels there to start the flow connecting them to the energy of divine spiritual healing, and that, of course, flows through their entire being, to help heal asll aspects that need it, physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. Once again, starting with the head begins to bring peace of mind, which allows the greater flow of healing.

Minding our mind is something each of us can do every day to help us achieve what we really desire in life.

If we focus on staying in the flow of positive energy and minding our mind, we will have a good effect on those around us, and if they pick up these habits from us, we are helping to make the world a better place one person at a time.

Any time any one of you contacts me, it really helps make my day whether you want to make an appointment or just to keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. I like hearing your stories of what has been happening since the last time we met. And of course, I am always ready to help with what is next. Sometimes people come to visit and have a cup of coffee or tea or we go get something to eat or go for a walk, and I love those visits too. Let this note help make your day. I love you.

Our Self and Our Life as Gardens

Some people say that the human body is a marvelous machine, but I prefer to thing of us as a garden.

If we were to view our self and our life metaphorically as a garden, how would we treat it? In the spring we would turn the soil and loosen it up and decide what seeds we want to plant in our garden that we want to see grow this year. Then we would water and fertilize them so that they will grow. Then throughout the summer, we will weed and prune the plants in the garden, harvest fruits, vegetables and herbs as they grow into ripeness and appreciate the miracle of watching those seeds put up their first sprouts, then become stems which sprout leaves, then flowers and edible parts.

Our life is like that, isn't it? Just like a garden, we have to condition the soil and plant seeds if we want to see something grow. Then we have to nurture those plantings.

Now since we are speaking in metaphors, our nurturing consists of keeping our vision in focus, taking action in order to create progress, and set priorities, in other words deciding what are the most important factors that will help us achieve our goals and visions. Pruning is cutting off what is dead, damaged or not needed. So when someone or something is tempting to pull us off track, we cut off those distractions to stay focused.

Sometimes as we are waiting for the seeds to sprout, it may look like nothing is happening, but that is because we only see what is on the surface. Under the surface, in the dark, energy is gathering to open the shell of the seed and release its life force. Persistence and focus are needed. Some processes simply take a certain amount of time.

Every time we restate our vision clearly, that is building energy toward achieving it. Like watering the ground where we planted the seeds. Every time we affirm our vision clearly, we are promoting the seeds growth and evolution. And as we keep our focus, growth and evolution toward achieving those goals are ours as well.

There is another principle that helps us have a successful garden, and that is working with the cycles of nature. So we plant root crops when the moon is waning (growing smaller) so that those seeds grow down into the earth, and on the waxing moon (when it is getting bigger) the plants that grow what we are consuming above ground.

So on the new moon, when it is dark, we delve into our inner work, our instrospective, reflective work. In the light of the full moon, we are celebrating all the visible growth and progress that we are enjoying.

What are the natural energies we are tuning into when we want to make changes in our life? Get in touch with the energies you want to cultivate. What times of day, week, month and year are best for making big public moves and what times are best for going within, being quiet and withdrawing to devote more time to study, practice and research?

Proper placement makes all the difference. Knowing which plants like more light and which ones like more shade gives us direction as to where they will do best. And knowing which ones are the best companions is another indication of where things should go.

Same for our life. Knowing the best place to make our move and who are the best companions for these efforts contribute to beautiful and abundant growth.

Looking at your self and your life as gardens, how do you see the best way to go about it this spring?

I love all of you and love to help you to find your way into your alignment. I will always do my best for all of you with the assistance of my spirit guides.

Any time any one of you contacts me, it really helps make my day whether you want to make an appointment or just to keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. I like hearing your stories of what has been happening since the last time we met. And of course, I am always ready to help with what is next. Sometimes people come to visit and have a cup of coffee or tea or we go get something to eat or go for a walk, and I love those visits too. Let this note help make your day. I love you.

How All Our Choices Arise Out of Love or Fear

An important axiom is that all of our choices arise from either love or fear. When I first heard that, I thought it was wrong. I thought that the opposites must be love and hate. However, if we think about all the poor choices we make they arise from fear while the good ones all come from love.

For example, when we say that we are settling for a certain partner because we are afraid we won't get a better choice, or we are taking a job we really don't like because we are afraid we won't get a better choice. How much better is it when we can say "I really want to be with this person, or I would love to do this work"?

Who we will love and what we will do for a living are two of the biggest choices we get to make in life.

Health choices are another. How many of us have thought of starting an exercise program as a way to simply work off calories, rather than enjoying the feeling of healthy movement and staying limber and raising our energy? How many of us view a healthy eating plan as depriving ourselves of sweets or alcohol or other things, rather than developing tastes and patterns that will help us get healthier so that we can enjoy life more?

When we act from love, we see and do things differently. For example, when I participate in fairs, I always bring fresh roses to give to my clients, and I make bath salts to give to clients who see me at my home office. Why? I enjoy seeing people smile. Advertising specialty companies used to call on me to suggest that I get ball point pens, key chains and other trinkets to give my clients, but I know that you like getting roses and bath salts much better.

Need a few more examples of love and fear? Bad behavior such as greed comes from a fear of not having enough. Jealousy comes from fear that we are not enough. Good behavior, such as kindness and generosity comes from humanitarian love for others. We are hardwired to help other people. It is part of our heart, our spirit, our nature. Why else would we help victims of disasters when we do not even know them? Because it is in our nature.

I also like to give clients CDs of music they can use for healing and meditation, but increasing numbers of people say they no longer have a CD player, that all they use are streaming sources. That is just the rapid change in technology, and I use them too. I stream music and movies, but I am still old fashioned when it comes to books. My eyes feel good about reading ink on paper rather than always being on the computer or an e-reader. Back when I started, everyone used to make cassette tapes for people. Evolution. I store all my work on the cloud now. Last week my hard drive died and I did not lose a thing. Years past, I had experiences where when my hard drive died, I lost tremendous amounts of work because technicians were unable to recover it.

One of the great rewards and validations I get from my work is when I can witness people getting better. When people get up off my table saying that they feel lighter, that pains and stresses they had are much less or gone, this is how I know I have done good work. When people tell me that a reading or consultation has helped them gain new insights or ideas, that confirms that spirit has really helped me provide help for that person.

I make myself available for client appointments days, evenings and weekends. If people tell me that they are having a hard time financially, I offer flexibility in my fees. I take care of all my clients first, then I go to the gym, or go shopping or go out to have fun. Why? Because I love what I do. I believe that everyone who calls on me is sent by spirit and I promised spirit that I would take good care of everyone who calls on me.

What other choices do we make in life that come from love or fear?

Sometimes, it is about taking those projects that keep coming to mind off the back burner. If it keeps coming to mind that we should read certain books, take a class, take up a musical instrument or some kind of hobby or sport, then maybe it is time to move that to the front burner.

Remember that any time spirit wants us to notice something, they bring it to our attention three times. So when we find ourselves saying "I would love to do that but I am afraid I do not have enough time" take another look at your schedule and your priorities and interestingly, you may find time to do that thing that keeps coming to mind and I bet that you find joy and satisfaction by making that change.

Being conscious of this choice has certainly changed me over the years, not just what I do, but also the way I feel.

Every morning, my first thought upon waking is to thank spirit for giving me another day. And then I find more things to be grateful for, and build on that loving energy of appreciation.

Every breath, every decision, every day, choose love over fear and see how much your life improves.

With every choice you face, ask yourself if you are choosing from love or fear. How do you act and feel when you choose from love rather than fear?

I love all of you and love to help you to find your way into your alignment. I will always do my best for all of you with the assistance of my spirit guides. Any time any one of you contacts me, it really helps make my day whether you want to make an appointment or just to keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. Sometimes people come to visit and have a cup of coffee or tea or we go get something to eat and I love those visits too. Let this note help make your day. I love you.

How Gratitude Leads to Success

Gratitude is powerful. Notice how it feels to say Thank you for sending me more clients as compared to how you feel when you say Please send me more clients. Thank you is more powerful because it brings your rhythms into alignment with the state of receiving and being and doing. You act as if things are in process, not a wishing well away.

What we discover when we are expressing gratitude every day is that things keep getting better. Our spirit guides keep sending good developments and good people our way. By keeping our mind open to receiving what spirit is sending us, we get comfortable with the fact that things may not always turn out the way we pictured, but they do turn out well. This is because they may have the ability to see things that we do not, and so we must simply trust that we are proceeding toward our goals.

There are times when the reasons for our gratitude are obvious and things are falling into place exactly as expected. Then there are other times when we find ourselves wondering why we met this person, or why we were offered an opportunity to do this unexpected thing. We just need to trust. Remember, there are no accidents. Every person we meet, we meet for a reason. As a result, we sometimes are prompted into a reflective mood and others, we may be propelled into a huge change.

Notice how natural it is that when we are in a state of gratitude that we are also happy. We feel full when the universe is conspiring to aid us in our quest, our journey. It is like how you feel after a good meal, when you are comfortably full and do not wish for anything else. Just happy to be.

Gratitude is a key for helping us let go of jealousy. When we are happy with how things are going for us, we do not waste energy worrying about what others are getting. Gratitude gives us peace.

Sometimes we may feel as if we are not making much progress on our goals, but notice how when we express gratitude even for small favors, bigger ones soon follow. Our spirit guides appreciate when we express gratitude and then open the door to more for us.

How good do you feel when you are on the right track? When we express gratitude we feel like we are on the right track even if nothing is happening right now. Our shift in attitude stimulates a better response. So consider for a moment how we view our world.

Are we viewing ourselves from a position of lack? In other words, we fell short or we are not enough, we do not have what we need or really want? Or do we view ourselves as having what we need to enjoy our life today and what we need to make progress on our goals? Our attitude makes all the difference in what happens next.

How good does it feel to simply quiet your mind while you pause and reflect on how good life is and the positive developments that are happening. Then notice what happens after you do that. Make it part of every day and life will get more beautiful and happy by the moment.

Every day is a blessing. That is why my first thought every day is "thank you for giving me another day." When we start off this way, we open the way for everything to get even better. With this attitude, even something as small as someone smiling at us becomes a gift. And one good thing opens the way for another.

When we are in a state of gratitude, everything is good, everything is successful, we are full of joy. Use your feelings to lead into the actions. Shift from worrying about if we are worthy to seeing how we will succeed. Gratitude moves us from self sabotage to self confidence.

Expressing gratitude is the one thing you can do today that will cost you nothing and improve everything.

I love all of you and love to help you to find your way into your alignment. I will always do my best for all of you with the assistance of my spirit guides. Any time any one of you contacts me, it really helps make my day. Let this note help make your day. I love you.