Increasing Life in '08

My keyword for 2008 is Rich. I love this word because it's all about increasing life and this is what I intend my life to be about in the New Year - increasing life for myself and for others. Studying The Science of Getting Rich has given me an expanded view of what being rich really means.

"You want to get rich in order that you may eat, drink and be merry when it is time to do these things; in order that you may surround yourself with beautiful things, see distant lands, feed your mind, and develop you intellect in order that you may love men and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world to find truth."

I can think of no better way to spend my new year. Here's to a rich, full life experience for us all in 2008.

Abraham on The Astonishing Power of Emotions

Feeling = Attracting

I have been writing in my journal for most of the day today but suddenly I felt the need to write this blog post on the importance of feelings and what it means to flow downstream.

It’s so important to reach for thoughts that feel good or help us feel better because our feelings equal our point of attraction. In other words what we are feeling is also what we are attracting. Choosing thoughts that feel better/provide relief cause us to flow downstream toward the fulfillment of our desires. By thinking thoughts that cause us to feel worse, we turn and head upstream away from the fulfillment of our desires. The stream I’m referring to is the Stream of Life.

Here are some excerpts from “The Astonishing Power of Emotions” by Jerry & Esther Hicks explaining the upstream/downstream analogy.

“The Stream of Life was in motion before you came forth into your body.”

From your Non-Physical perspective you added to the current (momentum) of the Stream of Life as you set forth you intentions to be here on this planet in this body.

While in your body, you continue to add to the current of the Stream of Life by deciding what you don’t want; this then produces the natural asking for what you do want.

With every asking you add to the speed of the current (momentum) of the Stream of Life.

“Whenever your life causes you to ask for something beyond what you are living – the Non-Physical part of you rides that rocket of desire and becomes the vibrational fulfillment of your request.

“The Stream of Life will carry you downstream to the fulfillment of everything your life has caused you to create – it’s all there waiting for you to flow to it.

The Non-Physical part of you (your Inner Being) has already become the vibrational equivalent of what you are asking for.

“The Current is the momentum that is caused by the Law of Attraction’s response to the vibration of your Inner Being.”

Allow yourself to be the You that life has caused you to become. (What your Inner Being has become).

The emotions you feel are indicators of the vibrational relationship between you and your Inner Being or Non-Physical part of you.

Feeling good takes you downstream and feeling bad takes you upstream.

Go with the flow and allow the Current to carry you forward to all that you desire.

“You can tell, thought by thought, if you are pointed upstream or downstream; and whether you are closing the gap between you and You or if you are holding yourself unnaturally apart.”

I have listed some Abraham Hicks processes I use for getting to a better feeling place. These processes include Moving Up the Emotional Scale, Which Thought Feels Better and Finding the Feeling Place.

The Emotional Scale from Abraham Hicks
Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation
Passion
Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
Positive Expectation/Belief
Optimism
Hopefulness
Contentment
Boredom
Pessimism
Frustration/Irritation/Impatience
Overwhelmed
Disappointment
Doubt
Worry
Blame
Discouragement
Anger
Revenge
Hatred/Rage
Jealousy
Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness

My thoughts and experiences on using the Emotional Scale
I use this scale only as a guide. I don’t work up the scale emotion by emotion but if you do and it helps you then by all means keep doing it. I find that I can easily get to hopefulness just by asking if I believe the situation can improve. Not will it improve but is it possible that it can improve.

Since I believe that anything is possible this provides an easy way for me to move to the better feeling place of hopefulness. And from a feeling of hopefulness the situation is bound to improve since the Law of Attraction must match my feeling of hopefulness with things that give me hope.

Which Thought Feels Better?
I love to feel good, it’s important to me that I feel good and I’m very sensitive to when I don’t feel good so I’m always reaching for a better feeling thought which also naturally moves me up the Emotional Scale. When we feel better, circumstances around us change to match our new emotional set point. It also provides an indication that we are heading towards the manifestation of our desires.

Finding the Feeling Place
This process is fun. I like to use it because the Universe doesn’t know if we are currently experiencing our desires or if we are just thinking about them; it just matches what we are feeling. I can mentally and emotionally experience the highest and best life I can imagine.

And when I experience the feeling, whether real or imagined, the manifestation is sure to follow.

Going Upstream or Flowing Downstream

I have received several requests to elaborate on the upstream / downstream analogy. As I began writing this post it occurred to me that several months back I had linked a video of Abraham explaining this very concept. Please check out the link and let me know your thoughts.

Here it is http://illuminatedminds.blogspot.com/2007/07/abraham-hicks-abraham-on-going-with.html

I found this video to be incredibly helpful in gaining a deeper understanding between an upstream thought and a downstream thought. Simply put, an upstream thought doesn't feel very good and a downstream thought feels better and provides relief.

I noticed that I began making different choices after I was introduced to this whole upstream / downstream concept. I started to pay attention to whether or not I felt like I was heading upstream or downstream and based any decision I made on my desire to keep flowing downstream - feeling good, flowing towards my desires, feeling relief, etc. I must say this has made a huge difference in what I'm now experiencing in my life. My experiences now are more in alignment with my desires in life.

Sometimes the feeling is all you have to go on but in my experience the feeling tells me everything I need to know about whether I'm moving in the direction of my desires (downstream - feels good) or moving away from my desires (upstream - feels bad).

How to Raise Your Money Vibe

Today, I had a very, very brief experience with some feelings of scarcity. This little encounter didn’t last very long thanks to some quick thinking on my part. As soon as the feelings started to surface I knew something was wrong and I used some of the tools and processes I've learned over the years to help change my money vibe. I’ve listed a few of my favorites below, all of them tried and tested by yours truly.

1. Go within and ask for insight
Close your eyes and go within. Ask to be given a visual representation of your current way of thinking about the situation and then to be given a new focus. If you ask you will be shown. Be open and pay attention and don’t disregard what comes to you. I get amazing insights when I do this. I’ve linked one of my experiences with this process http://believeitspossible.blogspot.com/2007/07/my-cup-runneth-over.html if you would like more detail.

2. What for?
Think about why you want the money. If you have a dollar amount in mind, start thinking about what you will be doing with the money. Get as detailed as you need to be in order to get to the feeling place of experiencing what the money is flowing to.

3. Distraction
Do something you enjoy - take a nap, watch a funny movie, read, write in your journal, listen to your favorite music, etc. Get your mind off your current difficulty. As soon as you can get your mind off the problem the situation will begin to turn around.

4. Make a list (11 Things)
Make a list of at least 11 things that are going well in your life. You’ll find there are more things going right than going wrong. It’s easy to lose sight of this fact when you’re experiencing difficulties and that’s why this list is so helpful. The last time I made this list I was feeling better by 3 and forgot the problem by 11. Take some time and really appreciate all the wonderful things in your life.

Why 11 things? Well, I love the number 11 so I like using that number. Feel free to change it if you want. The point is to get you feeling good and focused on what’s working because we always get more of what we focus on. Thinking about lack brings more lack. Thinking about abundance and what’s working in your life brings more of the same. The choice is up to you.

5. Count the ways
Think about all the ways the money can come to you and/or the situation can remedy itself. Do this as long as you can stay in a good feeling place. Remember, when your current difficulty came forth so did the solution. Allow the Universe to reveal the solution to you. It can bring the perfect people, the perfect dollar amount, the perfect situation, etc., to turn your situation around. It’s your thinking that limits you not the Universe.

6. Play the penny game
I recently started doing this and it has brought some incredible results plus it’s just fun to do. Playing the game instantly raises my money vibe.

In the past when I would find a penny I would say to myself thank you Universe for this symbol of my abundance and I meant it but it got me thinking. If the penny is a symbol of abundance than why couldn’t the penny symbolize say $100? A couple of days ago I found two pennies in one day. Each time I found one I said to myself thank you for this symbol of my abundance and I thought WOW I’m getting $100!

I went home and put both pennies in a wine glass and put it on my windowsill in my kitchen. It provided such a wonderful visual representation of the $200 that I knew was coming to me plus when the money came I would use the wine glass to toast its arrival. Well when I was sorting through my mail today guess what? I received notification of a payment being sent to me in the amount of $250 and I found another penny.

7. Trust
When you start to feel better, when you feel relief – trust that feeling even if everything around you looks like it's falling apart. That feeling of relief is letting you know that things are turning around. The situation is getting better even if, for the moment, you can't yet see it. Start trusting those good feeling vibes.

Since the Universe matches our feelings, it doesn’t know the difference between actually living an experience and just imagining it so why not have some fun and imagine it the way you want it to be.

Living Out Loud

On my other blog, Believe It's Possible, I have a list of things I want to be, do and have.

What I want to be:
• an empowering writer
• authentic
• financially free

What I want to do:
• bring fresh new ways to approach our life experience
• empower people
• stimulate thought

What I want to have:
• a rich, full life experience

This past week I provided myself an opportunity to be, do and have everything on this list by making two important decisions.

1). Live authentically
2.) Pursue my writing

The teachings of Abraham-Hicks have profoundly influenced my life and something I heard recently on an Abraham CD prompted me to make these two decisions. Abraham said it was important to make a decision and then line up with your decision. I’ve heard this before on other workshop tapes but when I heard it this time I heard it on a whole new level.

I saw clearly how in the past I would make a decision and then allow the majority of my thoughts to contradict the decision. I would talk about living authentically but I was too afraid of being laughed at, criticized, and misrepresented, etc. to actually do it.

What prompted me to finally make the decisions? My desire to live a big life became greater than my fear of being criticized. By living a big life I mean living in the fullness of who I am and not shrinking so that others will approve of me but instead to live out loud, embracing my life, mistakes and all.

I realized that I wasn’t really living as long as I cared more about what people might think instead of actually sharing my gifts with the world. I have a unique perspective on the world because I’m living it and it’s something that no one else can share because it comes from me; just like you have a unique expression to bring forth that only you can do.

So, how are these decisions allowing me to be, do and have everything on my list?

I can be authentic by living the life I desire and embracing my own beliefs and unique way of seeing the world while allowing others to do the same.

I can be an empowering writer by living authentically and sharing my experiences with all of you.

I can be financially free by following my inner guidance to pursue my writing and other opportunities that are being presented to me.

I can bring fresh new ways to approach our life experience by living my own life authentically and by pursuing my writing.

I can empower people by living a big life and by sharing my insights and experiences.

I can stimulate thought by exploring my own questions and sharing my insights through my writing.

I can have a rich, full life experience by living authentically and by consciously creating my ideal life.

Some interesting developments have occurred since I made these decisions and decided to line up with them. A documentary film crew showed up at our Law of Attraction meeting and asked if they could film the group as part of a documentary they are doing on the Law of Attraction phenomenon. They taped portions of our group discussion, interviewed several of our group members along with all of the group organizers.

The interesting thing is if I was asked to participate even two weeks ago I would have said no but this occurred two days after deciding that I was going to live authentically. I decided to speak from my heart and not to think about how it would be received. I only thought about what I had to contribute to the conversation. We may not even make it into the documentary but it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I made a decision to speak honestly about my beliefs and I was authentic.

I will point out that this documentary will probably air on a religious network and it has been told to me that the documentary is aiming to debunk the Law of Attraction. Do I care? No. What they do with the documentary is up to them. I feel my role was to give my thoughts on the subject and that is exactly what I did and I did it on camera for the whole world to see. Not allowing that experience would have been out of alignment with my decision to be authentic.

More to come....

The Gentle Art of Blessing

My friend Robin sent me this video on the art of blessing. I found it to be so beautiful and inspiring. I hope it inspires you as much as it has me.