Divine Audacity

Everyone in my life coaching class & everyone reading this - please go to tut.com & sign up if you haven't. It's free. What I want you to do after signing up is go to the "resources" page & sign up for "notes from the universe" to get them 5 days a week. I know we all get too many forwards & emails. Personally, I've put out the word to my email buddies not to send me any but the best forwards - cute cats or inspirational. I also don't forward most things sent to me no matter what they are. That too gives the message that I'm not going to bother with forwards. So I seldom get clutter but I do subscribe to spiritual sites that send me stuff so my inbox is clogged too. However, this one is soooooo worth it! These messages are so inspirational & after awhile they seem to almost always pertain to exactly what's happening in your (& my) life at the time. They help you dream big & feel so good about yourself. They are also very humorous, so they make me laugh, sometimes even make me cry when they hit home. Sometimes they make very serious subjects funny, & that's really good because you don't have to take serious subjects as seriously as we usually do - they too can be fun! If you have any money to spend on yourself at all, I also want you to go to the "shop" tab. Under "best seller" is a "Thoughts Become Things" DVD that I recommend to everyone. I knew all this, yet this DVD presented it in do-able form for the very first time. Mike Dooley is the tut.com guy & he has a gift for teaching - putting things in terms that we'll remember & that will absolutely bring the message home for you in a new way. He helps you make it your own, & understand often taught ideas for the very first time.

I turned a friend onto tut.com many months ago & it helped her immensely. Sometimes we talk about the "notes from the universe" that we receive & how wonderful they are, how well they fit with what's going on. This particular friend has a court date coming up soon for her divorce & she's started getting those nerves that come with the pending date with a nasty spouse. Anyone who's been through a divorce where the guy's (or woman's) been a big jerk will know what I'm talking about. You begin fearing what you're going to have to go through, seeing his face, what he's going to say, anticipating the unpleasantness, the outcome, what the judge will say, etc. She's been trying positive manifestations & "I am" statements but her reactions to what's coming are very common & normal. However, you can rise above such negative anticipation with help. I was led to suggest she write down each individual fear. For example, that he'll say something cutting to her. He's been telling lies about her all over town so that's a valid thought - that he'll be derisive or something. But it's vital that she stay as positive as possible rather than letting this eat her alive. So I've asked her to face & verbalize every fear as it arises, to write them down. The next step is to write a positive manifestation statement along the lines of the tut.com messages. I want her to be funny & almost over the top with this, because it will kind of ridicule the fear itself & diffuse it. A positive statement will also help counter it. One suggestion, off the top of my head, was that he not appear in court at all. Or he arrive in his undershorts & the judge kicks him out, grants the divorce, & she walks out laughing. I want her to really have some fun with this. The final step is to have one for every day between now & the court date, on separate pieces of paper. I want her to put them in a jar & draw one out every day to read aloud first thing in the morning & throughout the day whenever she gets that feeling of tension. This is a very creative & irreverent way to handle that stress. I believe it's what's needed since she was already doing all the right things but still needed a boost.

When you have a spiritual based life you can count on divine audacity & indulge in it. As long as your heart & intent is pure, there are no limits to what you can do, imagine, make happen. So have divine audacity & truly achieve outcomes "beyond your wildest dreams."

Creating a Happy Place, Oasis, & Nest

I don't like using common catch phrases but if I say "happy place" you know what I mean. I've heard is described as mentally going to your favorite place in the world during meditations. Once I pictured myself on an Atlantic Ocean beach. I love the sound, smell, & sight of the waves any time of year. I can conjure up all but the smell in my mind pretty well, & I've almost got the smell. Once I pictured myself in the pool at the bottom of Horsetail Falls near Portland, Oregon, playing behind the waterfall. I did that once when I was 13 & felt like a fair Indian maiden or water nymph. The last time I pictured myself standing in the living room at my beloved grandparents' house in Dayton, Ohio. That was the only home I ever knew, & still is the home of my heart. That one was best of all, & I'll use that again. The others were really good too so I'll probably go to whichever feels right at the time. This is the place of joy that you can go to in your mind any time you wish, for renewal, to shed stress, to meditate, meet your self & meet God.

We also each need an oasis & a nest, on the earthly plane. If possible, where we live or nearby. The oasis is like the "happy place" in character. In my new home, it will be in my back yard. This spring I'll create a garden paradise like I had when I last owned a home. I'll be renting here but the woman who owns the home is also a gardener & created her own oasis here. She's renting to me because I'm like-minded & she knew I needed a place where I could create my oasis & nest. My oasis has to contain a flowing water element - some kind of fountain. It needs a bird bath & bird feeders, roses, other flowers. Over the years I've collected some very special garden statues including St. Francis, some adorable cats of course, & angels. And of course it has to have comfortable seating. My oasis will again be a place to commune with nature, God, & myself. In this new place, I'll also be able to share it with those who can benefit & enjoy it. I haven't had that before & it's very exciting. In my mind & in subtle ways, I also use this space to honor beloved people & pets who have crossed over & are ever present in my heart.

My nest will be inside my home. Because I live alone & have such a huge need for a nest (which is why I need to live alone), my whole home will be my nest. The nest for us is as it is for baby birds - a place of safety & rest, a cozy home for our hearts. All along while I was working on manifesting a home, the word "cozy" was in there because that's what I need to thrive. If you live with others, you need a room or a niche in a room for your nest. When I had a husband & 2 kids, I had to create my nest in a corner of the basement. I used a tall metal cabinet & enclosed shelving unit to wall off my area. Everyone in the house knew they needed my permission to go into my area & not to disturb me when I was there unless necessary. That was my craft area, because at the time that was the thing that brought me peace. You hear all about "man caves" these days & that's a variation on this theme - a place of retreat all your own. We all need that to varying degrees.

If you have trouble figuring out how & where to create your nest, I can help as a consultant. This is something I feel very strongly about & have given tons of thought. I've also created one in 4 different houses now. This is something I'm very good at. I can also help with your oasis or "happy place" but these are usually much more individual & less about logistics (like how to do this living with others) & more from the heart. These places are vitally important. The reason why this is the blog for today is that my day started in an unexpected way, with a deep disturbance. You can imagine my plate is full with the suddenness of my impending move, so I had a full schedule set up for today. But my day started with a call from my beloved daughter. My grandcat is seriously ill & she has to make that decision today. It's changed my schedule, so I can do some Reiki sessions & be here for her as much as she needs. But it also nearly fully occupies my conscious mind & was pushing aside things really necessary for me to do today. As I retreated to my oasis to pray & gather my mind, I realized I could actually write a blog for today, & this was it. That retreat (place & utilizing it) made it possible for me to think clearly enough to function enough to decide what I can postpone for today, what to do in what order, how to reschedule to be available. These 3 "places" & using them, are vital for those who wish & need to operate at the highest levels, as well as for those who are still struggling daily. We all need to retreat & regroup at times.

Self Abuse

Self abuse comes in many forms & we abuse ourselves for a variety of reasons. Some of us abuse ourselves to punish ourselves for mistakes. I've punished myself in the past for betraying myself, using myself, trading my body for my needs. In the marriage that just ended, my ex was sexually abusive to me & I allowed it. Over & over I gave sexual favors when I didn't want to, just to keep the peace. It was humiliating, & afterwards I would add to the abuse by doing things to myself. That's why some young people indulge in "cutting." They're replacing the pain from abuse or self hate with physical pain, as I did.

Other forms of self abuse are so subtle that we miss them, don't realize what we're doing. Some of us gain excessive weight, eat inappropriate things (remember that series on addictions with people consuming things like powdered cleanser?), drink, smoke, take drugs, or do other things to harm ourselves. Or we simply neglect our bodies - don't bathe, or exercise, don't take our prescribed medicines, or more subtle yet, dress down & do other things to hide ourselves & our beauty. Another example is simply neglecting to get enough sleep or rest, or ignoring the clues to our needs that our bodies give us.

The most subtle of all comes from our own bodies without our knowledge - disease, illnesses, ulcers, aches & pains. When we don't deal fairly with ourselves or don't face issues of concern to us, the least thing that can happen is sleeplessness, neck or back aches or headaches. If we don't pay attention at that point, the body is forced to move into illness or disease to get our attention. If it's only that we keep pushing ourselves too hard, we're liable to get nothing worse than a bad cold that forces us to rest. But the true consequences of self abuse can be crippling or deadly, such as cancer.

Reiki is great for stress reduction & does wonders for dis-ease. It can really help with the cause & effect of our self abuse or neglect. Facing your fears head-on & being true to yourself is also a great answer. Thing is, nothing ever gets better from any kind of self abuse - it only makes things worse. So if there's something you aren't getting or facing, some pain that's causing you to see yourself in any of the above, please contact me. I can help.

For Those Doing "I Am" & Manifestation Statements

Pamela posted a comment on 2 of last week's blogs. I believe they're the ones on "I Am" statements & on manifestation statements. For some reason, my computer isn't letting me view them. Anyway, please read them. She makes an important point about concentrating when she reads her statements, & the intent. Please read her comments. In one of the blogs I say that I pretty much know mine by heart & often my mind isn't fully present when I read them. In the beginning, I used to concentrate fully, which is what I want you to do. My message is, if for some reason one day you can't fully concentrate, it's ok. It works anyway. Just do it. If your mind isn't fully present one time, or a few times, your subconscious still is there & absorbs the messages. What you're doing is reprogramming your brain, your feelings, & setting your intent. It helps if the conscious mind is present during this, especially in the beginning, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Some people are "scatter brained," especially those with ADD. You can still do this & transform your life. I recommend trying to clear your head ahead of time & concentrate - be present in the moment.

I'll admit that these days my conscious mind isn't there when I read my "I Am" & manifestation statements because all my manifestation statements are now coming true!!! The move to Pittsburgh is the answer to the first ones & will lead to the rest manifesting. When I try to concentrate on them or just about anything else that's become routine, my brain works on the move instead. After the move, it will be time to rewrite some of my manifestation statements & set new manifestation goals. That may also lead to rewriting some of my "I Am" statements. I believe I need to change them up some, if nothing else, than to bring my mind entirely back into them. Since the purpose of all this is reprogramming your mind, beliefs about yourself & your life, & setting goals for manifesting what you want in life, the ones you write now are not permanent. You'll need to change them once you're reprogrammed. I'll change or eliminate the ones that have completely reprogrammed & probably add some in. But I'll keep all the most important ones as daily positive reinforcement. That's especially important for anything that's about changing deep-seated pain patterns & issues from the past. We all have them. If you were always told you'd never be this or never be or do that, your counter-statement is something you want to keep in there.

Some people comment on these blogs on Facebook. A few comment under the blog itself, which allows others to read them & think further. That's what I prefer. All you have to do is click where it says "comments" under any given blog & it will take you to a box to write in. If you haven't clicked on the right top of the page to "follow" me you'll have to write one of those "type what you see" things to post your comment. Anyway, when you see that there are 1 or more comments for a blog, please read those also.

Virtually Free Ideas To Do With Or For Your Children

These days most people don't have extra money & many people are single parenting. I did that for 10 years & I want to share some of the things I did without spending a lot. I had an 8 year old daughter & 3 year old son when I separated from their father.

One idea is to have a "night out" at least once a month with each of your kids - just you & the one child. This focuses individual attention on the child. Do something that's special to you & that child. I used to do this with my daughter when I was able. With the 5 year age difference, it was important. My son didn't need it because of his age but my daugther did. Once we just went to a doughnut shop. Once we went to a play. It doesn't matter so much what you do but that you do.

I also read to my children at bedtime, even after they were quite able to & into reading on their own. I picked books that would interest us both, books they weren't necessarily choosing for themselves. I read the "Ann of Green Gables" series to my daughter, for example. I missed out on those as a child, so we shared them together. She turns 30 this month & quoted one of those books the other day. That tells you what a big impression our reading sessions had on her. I read all the "Chronicals of Narnia" books to my son since I'd only read the first one myself. I also read a little known boy detective series to him called "The Three Investigators" I think. He was reading "Goosebumps" books at the time. We created wonderful, lasting memories during those reading times.

You can also journal & scrapbook for them. I started a journal for each child shortly before they were born, & took it to the hospital with me. I wrote about the first time I held them, their early days, months, years. I wrote to them as if I was writing a letter. One of my favorite possessions is a scrapbook my father cared enough to make for me before I was 5. He filled it with nothing but interesting pictures from magazines - kittens, puppies, airplanes (because I was fascinated with them), Santa - all kinds of wonders. Because of that, I did the same for each of my kids - filled them with pictures of all their favorite things. It just tells the depth of your love when you spend time creating it.

The other thing I did was have lots of slumber parties with my kids - just us. We'd pull out the hide-a-bed in the living room, watch movies & then TV, have popcorn, soda, & a candy like at the movies. After the movies (usually 2 that they'd choose), we'd switch to TV & go to sleep together. It was very cozy & we did it almost every weekend they were home (every other with their father). If the kids had an athletic event the next morning, we'd skip the slumber party, but skipping it was rare. We usually had them to look forward to & it was wonderfully bonding. I also did a variation of that every New Years Eve they were home. Instead of our popcorn & candy, I'd make nice party snacks & that would be our dinner & out for snacking during the evening. We'd then watch the ball come down, hug & kiss, go outside & ring bells & yell. It was a wonderful way to start each new year together.

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

Blessedly, I no longer feel like life is a struggle. I seldom have frustration, doubts or fears. I can feel them when I get tired or I only have a dollar left & I don't know how & when more money is coming, but those feelings are very temporary. I do truly have faith so I'm able to remind myself of the reality of things (the blessings God is bestowing) rather than live with how things appear at the time. I understand that what others call reality is actually the physical illusion of now & doesn't take into consideration the "all things" that exist at once in the Universe. In reality, whether I see it yet or not, abundance is already there waiting for me, as is my past & future. I've learned to perceive more than what's in front of my face & to know that there's so much more that's more real than that. Does that make any sense to you? I've felt this way, functioned this way for awhile now, thanks to the things I'm teaching in my life coaching class. I've been working on my beliefs in myself with "I am" statements, working with specific angels for the things I want to fulfill in my life, & working with statements about the things I want to manifest - all toward the intent of becoming, believing, & bringing to life all I want for my self & my life. And now I'm seeing the way it's all going to rapidly unfold from here, can see it all right in front of me. Finally I'm moving to Pittsburgh, which is the key. I want to help you get to your Pittsburgh & open the door to what awaits you as a result.

The first time I remember praying "beyond my wildest dreams" is in my early adulthood. I knew within me that there was everything out there much greater than I'd experienced or could even imagine. I would pray for love, fulfillment, contentment, peace, serenity & such, "beyond my wildest dreams." I knew that God knew my heart well enough to know what I meant by that. My heart has always longed for that, for the promise of goodness beyond my imagination that was stored in my heart. Only my heart & God knew what that was like, & my heart only gave me a vague "remembering." I wonder if you've felt that, if you know what I mean. I knew that what was present before me, in my life, whether it was greater than I'd ever had, was a shadow of what could be. And I so longed for that "could be."

If you haven't felt that, I want you to try to get in touch with your heart & soul & discover that feeling. That feeling is an aspect of faith & hope. It's a belief that whatever is in your life, something greater is waiting for you ahead. If you need help getting there, one way is to pray to God & ask Him to open your heart to that. He's just waiting. Take quiet time with Him & yourself. If you don't get it the first time, do it again later that day or the next. I believe if you earnestly seek this, it will come to you within 3 days. If you need help, message me or call me & I'll help. I want you to fully be in touch with that feeling. If you've had it before, resurrect it. Because once you firmly believe it's possible, I can help you make it come true in your life.

Life Coaching - "I Am" List

Ok, final assignment for now - writing your "I am" list. I'm going to be totally open & share my private list with you by example. Many of these things I already know & believe about myself but I used to get insecure & have doubts. Most people do. We've listened to old messages from those who haven't had our best interests at heart & the messages stuck. This is how you come to believe in yourself, & manifest the traits you want. I no longer have doubts because I've been reciting this list daily for nearly 2 months now. It's beautiful to live with confidence rather than having those doubts creep in & plague me.

Here are my statements. The first 5 are part of a special mantra of great power that I learned, so I start with them. I am the Soul. I am the Light Divine. I am Love. I am Will. I am Fixed Design. I am Healthy. I am Capable. I am Beautiful Feminine Strength, healthy & whole. I am passionate & sensual. I am Courageous. I am a Strong Woman with great power within me & to call upon. I am able to call upon all the power & energy I need, at will. I am spiritually & physically protected. I only see, hear, feel, & receive what’s right & perfect & useful for me. I am rescripted & recoded to fit my work for God & my new life. I am called. I am chosen. I am Loved & guided. I am Special, Beloved Child of God. I am good friends, close friends with Jesus, my Lord, Savior, & Beloved Brother. I am in touch with & in tune with God, my Creator. I am awakened to & aware of the presence of all my angels, guides, & teachers, & those who have crossed over who are present around me. I am in touch with & master of my emotions. I am in control of my thoughts & what I manifest. I am compassionate toward myself & others. I am an effective & creative time-manager. I am always co-creating the next, more enjoyable energy with every aspect of the Universe I encounter. I am Healer & helper for animals & people. I am Teacher. I am Guide. I am Intuitive, Empath, Psychic. I am a successful business woman. I am an achiever. I am an effective animal communicator & a cat whisperer. I am an accomplished & productive, Spirit guided artist & artisan. I am an accomplished, productive, Spirit guided published writer/author. I am spiritually whole. I am balanced in my self, body, spirit, emotions, & life. I am one who lives in the flow of abundance, with plenty to share & give, & financial freedom. I am living “beyond my wildest dreams.” I am living & working my passions, using my talents fully in my daily life. I am awakening my talents & creativity. I am greatly blessed.
I am a playful, joyous child who knows how & when to play, incorporates play with work & life.

The things that I'm having you do work. They open your life to all the possibilities, miracles, & power available to you. They can transform you & your circumstances. I'm very excited because I have to rewrite my own manifestation statements because most of them are manifesting this very moment! Today I found out that I'm definitely the beneficiary of a complete miracle, a huge gift from God. A woman who once faced adversity & had people help her out & take a chance on her decided to rent me her home in Pittsburgh, right next door to one of my best friend, whom I will be in business with! I don't "look good on paper" & I have 6 cats. Most people told her not to rent to me but God told her to take the chance & "pay it forward." From the start her heart responded to mine, as did her soul. This house is perfect for helping me manifest the rest of my statements regarding working from home, having balance & a social life, safety & comfort, a home for me & that cats together. This is my opportunity to free myself from the last of the painful memories I've mentioned in previous blogs, to get free of the mess left for me, & make a fresh start. Now get this - the way God works. I get the key to the new place exactly a year after my ex started his jail sentence for his crimes against my mother & me! Exactly a year later, I get to begin moving out of the house he & I shared, & start my new life to the fullest. Then this evening God sent me a couple who offered to help me move things into the garage & sell them! I was giving away 2 TVs & some other things & the man kept refusing to take things, saying I could sell them. I kept saying I had my hands full, they'd be doing me a favor, & after hearing that several times he offered to tell his friends & advertise what I'm selling & come over & help me stage & do the sale, including the heavy lifting. I just can't begin to tell you how good our God is! Miracles of timing like this - the day I get the key, the couple this evening - & miracles the magnitude of someone renting to me & 6 cats - only God makes things like that happen. This is your first dose of "beyond my wildest dreams." More next week.

Life Coaching - Manifestation Statements

Yesterday I mentioned the things I'll have you doing for this class. One is setting goals for what you want in your life & the next step is to write your manifestation statements. After that, you need to write your "I Am" statements. By example, the following are the manifestation statements I wrote for myself a few months ago.

I am manifesting: A cozy home of my own with the cats that suits us entirely, with room inside or a separate building on the property to accommodate all my work, current interests, & passions. It includes a studio, treatment room, gathering room, yarn & spa shop, the Cattitude shop, & my spinning wheel. People come to my home for visits, classes, Reiki or other treatments & help as needed, & knitting gatherings - people are drawn to me at this home. I am manifesting: Full time work for God & using my talents. Living in the flow of abundance. A balanced life based on God's work for me, living the creative & spiritual life. I am manifesting: The ability to travel at will to visit family & friends, participate in events, go where led & drawn for growth, opportunity, & service. The health, strength, renewal, & means to do these things. I live in harmony with a harmonious family of contented cats. I live in a clean, peaceful environment with physical comfort for me & the cats. I live with physical & spiritual safety for me & the cats. So be it!

By home of my own I mean no roommate, not whether I rent or own. The second sentence combines all my dreams over the years that I still have. These things are necessary to my heart, since they've been dreams throughout my adulthood. The sentence about a clean, peaceful environment & physical comfort are because I've learned that I need all of that to function properly, & have had to do without often in my life. I've learned what I need to thrive rather than just survive. Most of my life has been about managing to survive & I'm working to manifest the environment where I can thrive instead. I deserve to thrive, not just survive. I deserve it because I am, quite simply. You deserve the same, which is what this class is about. I don't deserve it because it will provide the means to help others or work for God, although that's what I am & will be doing. I deserve it simply because I am. We all deserve that. I hope you know that. If not, you're definitely in the right place with this class.

Now, write your own. I'm here to help you if you need it. I read my statements every day, first thing after thanking God, praying for others, greeting my angels & guides, asking for protection, & reading my "I am" statements. Once you write your manifestation statements, you may have insight into what you need your "I am" statements to be. If so, go ahead & begin. Otherwise, that's tomorrow's topic. I can tell you that I could just about recite my manifestation statements without the paper & that my mind is no longer fully present when I read them. My mind works on multiple tracks at once, especially when on totally familiar ground like something I've memorized. But still I do it, because that's what manifestation is all about - steady effort to your goals. Renewing my intent this way every day has made all the difference in how I handled things here in my current home. I was working to make all that manifest here even though I wanted to move to Pittsburgh. I have gone through this house & cleared out the mess left for me room by room & created an atmosphere of beauty & peace. I'm not done yet but now things seem to be manifesting for my move to finally come about, & the work I've done has set me up to be able to do that. If it continues to manifest as it is appearing now, it's the answer to the rest of those manifestations, a huge breakthrough! I'll keep you posted, but already I can tell you that setting your intent toward manifesting your heart's true desires works, as long as your desires follow your highest good. That's where I come in, as your helper just in case yours needs some tweaking. And to help you stay steadfast in your intent until your dreams manifest.

Life Coaching Notes for Wednesday, October 19

Initially this will be a 21 day commitment because anyone can discipline themselves to do something for 21 days. In total, it will be a 90 day program & we'll take time out for the holidays. I'm willing to give you a 21/90 day investment of my time & care. Are you willing to do that for yourself?

If so, the first thing you need to do is set a goal for us. What would you like to manifest or change within 90 days? I suggest 1-5 goals. What I want you to do is decide what those are & send me a private message no later than Saturday, October 22 via Facebook with those goals. The sooner you send them to me the sooner you'll get a private response. If you send me a message today with those goals, you'll get a response by tomorrow & be ready for the next step. I'll either acknowledge those goals or need to discuss them with you. One of the things I'll do for you (once you set your goals & make a commitment to the class) is I'll pray for you & those goals every day during our class time. By class time I mean 21-90 days or as long as you hang in there with me. Hanging in there means that you're accountable, tell me you're doing your part at least once a week. I don't wish to sound hard, but I'm not interested in dragging anyone along. I'm not going to give your wishes the time you won't. Wishes mean nothing, because they're nothing but air until you put action behind them. Then they become intent, & something I can help with.

Once you set those goals, they can become your positive manifestation statements. We'll work with those statements, "I Am" statements, & prayer every day. I can also guide you in working with specific angels toward achieving your goals. I also work with lists. If you don't know exactly what you want to manifest, only that you want change, lists really help. Often people want to change jobs, careers, or life paths but don't know what's possible for them. For those people, I have them create 2 lists. One is a list of their talents, whether developed or not. This is not the time to limit yourself! The other is their interests or things they've done in the past that interested them, or skills they used on other jobs. It all depends, & if you need to make lists & don't know which ones, just ask. Pro/con lists are also helpful. I also recommend you all journal during the 21/90 days. It will help you get in touch with what's going on inside of you during this time.

An example of goals to set from my life - when given an opportunity to participate in something like this, I wanted to manifest the flow of abundance in my life. I already knew my mission, talents, & calling. If you already know what you want in life, today I'd like you to write your manifestations list after messaging me your goals. I did mine after that class was over & I'll share mine with you by example, tomorrow. I want you to have a chance to think on your own first, not be influenced by mine. What you're doing with this exercise is setting your intent for your life, & you'll be reading this list daily, putting it out to God (or whatever you call your Higher Power) & the Universe. So be specific, but not too specific. If you're vague, you won't manifest anything & if you're too specific, you limit what can come to you. It's that old saying "be careful what you wish for." If your manifestation requests are too specific you limit God & the Universe. Don't put a time limit on it or limit how the changes will come about. If you look only to the finished "product" rather than how to "make" the thing, you'll be on solid ground. For example, I want to move to Pittsburgh & need to be able to work from home. I don't want a roommate, want to accommodate my cats & not have to give them away in order to keep a roof over my head. (Yes, these are all valid issues I've had for face for more than a year now.) So my manifestation statements don't mention Pittsburgh or a time limit. They do mention a home of my own (meaning not shared) with safety for me & the cats, & that the home is able to accommodate my work needs. I don't mention whether I'd rent or buy, where it is, what kind of house. I only mention the specifics I know I need. More on this later.

The only other rule I have, besides doing your assignments faithfully & checking in, is courtesy toward others. If someone posts on the Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment Facebook page & you want to comment, do so only with grace & loving support. And I'd like you all to adopt the class mantra, to begin living beyond your wildest dreams (next week, what that phrase means to me). Do all you can every day that you can to manifest the life you want.

Starting Saturday - Transformational Life Coaching Class, Virtually Free

This is for you if your life isn't 100% in the process of becoming all you want it to be. This is for you if you aren't in the process of living "beyond your wildest dreams." This is for you if you are feeling restless in your life, want to find your purpose or mission or bliss, want to change jobs or anything else about your life. If you need help believing in yourself, knowing yourself, reaching your full potential, connecting with your higher self or higher power, or healing from past events, this class is for you.

My credentials are Former Difficult Life 101-1001. Notice I said "former." First I used to overcome, triumph, move on. Now I've found the way to entirely transform my life & have used a formula I'm able to pass on to you. I'm a teacher & guide for people with a lot of tools at my disposal & I'm willing to invest my time to help you achieve the life you want & were meant to have. The question is, are you now willing to invest in yourself?

Most people, especially women, give away all their time to others & put themselves last. The problem with that is, everyone & everything else benefits & you're left with very little in the end. Also, no one is a limitless commodity - we all have to invest in & renew ourselves regularly to keep functioning. Most people give their time to family, friends, a job, & others. At that point you're building others but not giving yourself the same care. This is your chance to invest in yourself. For a minimal investment you'll get maximum return. Your commitment would total an average of 10 hours per week. The monetary commitment is negotiable. I will gratefully accept any donations of any amount any time along the way, as you're able & led. Also, one class requirement will be calling in once a week (of course, you can call more often if you need to). This call is about accountability. If you aren't willing to give yourself the time to participate in this class & make a commitment to yourself & me to check in, then I'm not willing to give my time away because you aren't ready. There will be a "call button" on this blog site & the call will cost you 25 cents a minute, after the initial greeting. I estimate that a check-in call can be done in under 5 minutes unless you have questions or concerns you'd like help with. If you absolutely can't pay for the call, you can message me privately on Facebook & I'll find another way for you to participate. God's been sending me people who need this life coaching & told me to do this class. I work for God & we don't exclude anyone who truly needs us.

What you'll get from me is the blueprint & one-on-one help & coaching as needed, via phone or email. Short things can be handled via email but specifics need to be done over the phone. That's more interactive, personal, & nothing is lost in the translation. We'll be using multimedia options for this class. You'll be able to post & interact with other classmates via the Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment Facebook page. You'll be able to contact me via phone or email. Part of the class will be reading this blog 5 days a week. Another will be tuning into Oprah's Life Class for 1 hour a day 5 days a week. For those of you who are serious about changing your life, I recommend you start that part now with viewing last night's program. You can access them from oprah.com. Please sign in to participate in her Life Class, answer the question(s) that pertain to the program, & participate. This is your chance to invest in yourself to build the life you want & have your dreams come true! More tomorrow.

More on Clean Living - Having a Positive Impact

Truly clean living is about more than doing no harm - to yourself, others, the environment. The best living is to improve all those things, everything you touch & everyone you encounter. That's actually always been one of my heart's highest goals. So I was brought to tears on October 3 at my regular Reiki Exchange during the guided meditation. I'm mentioned before that my Reiki Master channels angels when she does them - the words don't come from her. In fact, she doesn't remember the words afterwards, because I referred to them 2 days later & she didn't know what had come out of her mouth. It's nothing like her voice changes like you see in TV seances, she simply steps out of her conscious mind & allows Spirit to flow & speak through her. What had me in tears was that the angel or Spirit said that we now (speaking to all of the energy workers in the room) have a positive impact on all who encounter us, including the person in line behind us at the store & those involved in financial transactions. Our energetic sphere of influence has shifted with the upward shifts in our energies. I had it confirmed for me before & after, in stops at Walmart. Beforehand, I ended up somehow talking with the woman behind me in line & we were telling the cashier that it's not hard at all to love everyone no matter what, when you live in Spirit. We weren't preaching by any means, only agreeing with each other, so that cashier got the message & confirmation all in one. Afterward that meditation, the cashier I encountered recognized the man in line behind me & he & I ended up talking. He looks like Morgan Freeman when he played God & he's so Spirit filled that just being near him made my heart soar. He felt the same about me, told me he felt my energy before he even spoke to me.

It thrills me to no end to have actually achieved one of my heart's greatest desires of all time. But what a waste it would be if I stopped now, rested in my journey. There's so much more to do, so many more people to help, reach, touch, not to mention animals & the earth. There's a lot I can do to help the earth & animals, including getting the word out about Shaklee products. The company has a negative carbon footprint unlike the major manufacturers who advertise on TV. The cleaning products alone are much safer for the environment, you, your children, & pets. By simply switching to Shaklee products you do great things for yourself, your family, & the environment, which is all of why I sell them. You also help your pocket book because they're highly concentrated & save you money overall.

I help animals also by communicating with them & helping their people with behavior problems. I also do Reiki treatments on pets, & when I see injured wildlife. Another way I help the environment is with organic gardening. How you live your life has the biggest impact on you, others, & the environment. You've heard of living large. I'm going to add my own phrases - living small & living free. I was living small for years. Living small is worrying about everything & every penny spent. Living small is being stingy with yourself & others, going without, penny pinching, saying no. Living large is over-consumerism & not the real opposite of living small. Living large is very selfish & doesn't take into account the needs of others & the environment. I've been working on not living small any more but don't want to turn around & live large either, that's not in me. So that's when I came up with living free. To me, that's the opposite of living small. To me, that's when you're no longer fearful & deny yourself & others simple pleasures. Because when you're living small, you don't even take advantage of the free or nearly free opportunities out there - you're too busy "keeping a lid" on everything. When you live free you aren't into denying yourself or others, but you're aware of what you're doing & your impact. You pay attention to the effects on yourself, others, your budget, the environment. So maybe a better term for it would be living responsibly, with joy & an attitude of gratitude. Living that way, you'll have the greatest possible beneficial impact on yourself, others, & the earth. Part of living responsibly is to be as self-sustaining as possible, & that's what I'm working toward. Gardening, canning, making your own clothing, knitting, cooking at home, candle making, spinning yarn - all these things are things I love to do & plan to do more of & teach. I hope you join me for classes & activities!

One final thought on clean living - do it now. Don't leave things undone or unsaid. If you feel you've been rude or hurtful to someone, apologize now. If you love & appreciate someone, tell them now. If there's an area of your life you want to heal or change, do it now. If you're in the wrong job or need to clean up your environment at work or home, do it now. "Do it now" takes away the pain! It no longer is on your mind or hanging over you & it doesn't become a worse problem. If it isn't something you can immediately solve or handle, set your intent, pray, ask the angels for help, & start working toward the intent. If you haven't read it, please now read my blog entitled, "The Power of Intent with Follow Through."

The Power of Intent with Follow Through

Intent without follow through is just a wish. Lack of follow through is what trips most people up, not lack of intent. Follow through is the hardest thing for people to do & sustain but exactly what matters after setting your intent. Then you have to follow through every day. I highly recommend for all of you Oprah Winfrey's new life classes on OWN network. You can sign up to be a part of the process on oprah.com, as I have. Even if you think you're where you want to be & on the right path, you can learn from this. I chose this topic Wednesday & started my notes for it after writing Wednesday's blog. As things would have it, the life class that night was on just this subject. She showed an old interview with Jim Carrey where he talked about setting his intent to be an accomplished actor in 1987, when he was flat broke. One of the things he did was write himself a $10,000 check & dated it for Thanksgiving of 1997. Just before Thanksgiving 1997 he found out he was going to make $10,000 for his role in "Dumb & Dumber." He said just setting your intent is not enough - you also have to take regular action toward making that goal a reality. He said you can't just set your intent & then go eat a sandwich. I loved that. As I'm sure you know, Oprah has a way with words, & in the final year of her show especially, got to where she hit the nail on the head every time. She presents the ideas in her own words & therefore in a way we haven't heard before. Each time you hear something it sinks in deeper, negative or positive. So every chance you get to listen to the positive helps undo the negatives we receive. Also, you can hear the same thing over & over & not get it - either until the time is right for you to receive that message &/or until it's said in the way that really speaks to you. So I recommend reading this blog daily & catching Oprah Winfrey's life classes. I believe they're just during the week, & they're on every night but you can also view them at her website as above.

I set my intent about 2 months ago now, in writing, in 3 forms, & I read them aloud every morning at the start of my day. The first are my "I Am" statements, that speak to me about believing in myself & my gifts. I affirm my abilities, both known & developing. I use them to manifest the things I wish to further develop within myself & my relationships with God, Jesus, the angels, & others. Then I read my page of specifics I wish to manifest in my life. This would be what Jim Carrey was talking about. One of the things is that I have the ability to travel at will to visit family & friends, participate in events as lead & drawn. Reading that aloud every day enabled me to say yes immediately to my BFF who asked me to come to Maryland to visit. The final thing I do is call on specific angels for help in all the areas I still need to develop. I also work on my goals 6-7 days a week with activity. I write these blogs 5 days a week, social network through Facebook for the contacts, read messages from spiritual sites, read spiritual books, help others through Reiki & counseling, pray daily in gratitude & for others, maintain & improve my home, maintain relationships. Right now those are my jobs & I handle most of them daily. But when I need to, I take as much of a day off as I can & still maintain the daily chores of life, house, pets. On my day off I do as little as possible of my normal routine except for prayer & the 3 intent exercises. When I take a day off I do the things for myself that I've postponed, like make a sundress or paint, or at this time of year, watch pro football on TV.

The last time I was this disciplined was when I worked full time & was a single parent. Then it was self-preservation & to provide the best life for my kids. Back then I didn't really know about intent or I could have done so much more for all of us! This time I'm truly disciplined because I understand the power of intent with follow through & I'm working for myself alone & what I want. That said, what I want has everything to do with being in total alignment with God's mission for my life so my intent is pure. If your intent is selfish & would have you gain at the expense of others, you won't be successful no matter what you do. One of the things I do to start every day, even before my affirmations, is give my day, life, & self to God to guide, lead, & direct through the day, to do with as He will. I always say it that way because that reaffirms to Him that I'm open for any interruption due to someone else's need that He wishes me to help with. When I say I'm working for myself alone, I mean that my work is completely self-centered in that it's exactly what I want to be doing & I'm self-employed. Since my self is God-centered, my work is entirely God-centered. So I've been able to achieve a phenominal amount in less than a year because I back up pure intent with daily action. I believe that we all should do all we can do every day that we can. However, I also believe in balance in life. Without balance, you can't sustain activity or have a whole life so what good is the work. You have to be sure to incorporate play time, whatever that is for you. You may like to dance or listen to music, watch certain shows on TV, play games, go out with friends, watch movies - whatever brings you joy & a time apart from routine. As I've said before, almost every single night I have decompress time, alone time with the cats & my knitting. Knitting is part of my play, or at least my relaxation & I seldom miss giving myself that time. Be sure you include your needs in your intent & how you set up your life - don't skip the fun & joy!

Reflections on a Million Changes

I don't remember what last year at this time felt like. I can put it into words but can't recall the feelings. That emotional vault is still closed. That's what abuse survivors do, among other things, to cope. I know I feared for my life & was stuck living with the man I feared would/could kill me. I was playing a chess game & he knows how & I don't. I was trying to make him think I was on his side, while figuring out how to stay in the house with him long enough to deliver him to jail when he went to court in Maryland on October 20 of last year.

Now I really fear nothing & no one. I don't fear tasks ahead of me. I don't dread them either. I'm moving into what I believe is going to be a period of rapid changes resulting in apparent manifestation of the affirmations, prayers, & manifestation work I've been doing. So far I go on faith, without the apparency. I wondered how I would deal with this period because I knew it would get to the point of rapid change. So far, I'm doing it with total grace. Up to this point I've been moving into a state of grace & an attitude of gratitude, which prepared me for this. My normal tendency would be anxiety, frenzy, & chomping at the bit.

The vault to my feelings this time a year ago & the 6 months after is closed for now but the rest of my ability to feel it coming back rapidly now. When it started a few weeks ago it was moving slowly, but in the last week there has been rapid opening. Feeling again is bringing feelings of pain but they aren't overwhelming. I'm able to handle them & welcome them, sit with them. I also have been able to move on from each one, with healing. I've been given some great opportunities to heal recently, including my first trip to Maryland since the flight for our lives. First I drove through the area where I used to live with my ex. It was nerve racking, but not as bad coming back so I know I made progress. I handled it on the way by listening to the song of my life now, "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind, & Fire. I went directly to my BFF's house, where I stayed a year ago. The trip itself was healing - it was a beautiful day & I was all alone, driving there in my own car that I love, because I wanted to go. I didn't have 5 cats in the car to worry about or my mother's constant sighs, complaints, & side-seat driving. I went to my friend's house for a party & time together & it erased the negative feeling I didn't even realize I had about the place where she lives. Now that's forever gone & I have newer, beautiful memories. I also did Reiki on her for the first time & it was amazing! She was skeptical of what she'd actually feel & she felt the energy pulsing through her as soon as I called it down, before I even touched her. She received the strongest treatments I've ever channeled & gave me perfect feedback, so I knew just what she was feeling. Now she fully understands why I'm so excited to be able to do this for people, & why it's so changed my life. That's important to me. No one needs to believe in me for me to believe in myself, but there are a few people that I want to totally understand because of how close they are to me. One down, two to go. The other 2 that matter already believe, including my daughter, whom I attuned to Reiki I on Saturday. That was amazing too, & I had her do a treatment on me after I attuned her so we could see how it would work through her. Some practitioners' hands get very hot while touching a person where the energy is most needed. Mine do, & so did hers, so she was able to see right away that the attunement "took" & that she can channel the energy effectively. She was marvelous as I stumbled through the attunement, since it was my first time & I hadn't had time to practice doing them first. So now I get the added fun of watching her journey.

I walk through my house & see nothing but changes & progress. I wish I'd taken "before" photos! There's nothing but change these days. Friends ask me about something I intended to do, like the B&B or other aspects of my business, & the answers always involve change. I'm so changed - reminded every time I put on clothes, look in the mirror - a million times a day reminded of how much weight I've lost. Even my cats are different. For example, my 11 year old who was slow & sedate often plays & climbs the cat tree like a kitten. I'm not sure what the message is here today. All I can think about is this past weekend with my closest friends & family, with passing thoughts of what all I have to do this week. My heart is so full of my experiences lately that everything else has kind of receded, except God of course. He is in all for me. I'm not going to edit this post this time so please ignore if any of the words are slightly wrong. You'll get my meaning I'm sure.

Clean Living - Part I of II Today

As I've said, I started reflecting last month on what life was like this time last year. It was the end of a long period of living with my ex while coming to see that he really had committed a terrible crime against my mother & me. I had to open my eyes to the abuse I suffered & the fear I'd lived with, while he was still in the home & the fear grew to include fear for my life. I had to decide to put him in jail, despite my love & respect for the rest of his family. I had to make it all end & that was the only way to put a stop to him. I had to face that we had no viable business, I had no viable income, & that the life I thought I had was an entire lie. Over the weekend I made my first trip back to Maryland since last year, when my family & friends took in my mother, my cats, & me for nearly 2 weeks. It was very healing to go back on my own terms, just because I was asked to come for a visit. The cats stayed home as usual, & my only concern was the little one I've been keeping. I want her to stay with me because we love each other, but she's not supposed to be my cat. She came to earth to enrich the life of another & I couldn't find that home for her. It's been a thorn in my side since March that my other cats won't accept her or allow her to live here in peace. Remember, I'm an animal communicator so I've tried everything. Finally, I just forced the issue & told them they owe me because of the home & care I give them. We were making some progress until I went away for 3 days & they were in charge. Getting away from a situation always gives you perspective & when I got home & found the young cat cornered, I finally gave up. I was ready to send her to a shelter if I had to but was no longer going to allow this to sap my energy. I can't save them all - at least not at this time. Fortunately, the next day the guy I thought she was supposed to go to called & asked about her. He was cleaning out emails & found the one I sent him in March about her, knew it was a sign! So she goes to her new home on Saturday. Part of living clean is getting rid of the obstacles that drain you, one way or another. Sometimes it's people in our lives. Sometimes it's pets, or papers, projects, excessive possessions. Sometimes it's old relationships or hurts or experiences we haven't let go of. Sometimes it's old patterns of thinking, or old insecurities. Another reason my trip was healing was that my mother wasn't with me. That's clearing I achieved months ago & now I've healed from having her as my sole responsibility. Again, I gave up the burden of care because burden is the right word.

Getting away from a situation, anniversaries of events, & holidays can be great times of reflection that allow us to gain perspective. So can earthquake-like events in our lives, but those are fortunately rare. I've had a lot going on in my head lately about how I'm living & I realize it's time to finish making the changes, one way or another. I've been working at clearing this house exclusively for months now, & for nearly a year. Now I'm going to kick into high gear & quit being so careful of what I'm doing. I'm done being the keeper of other people's trash that they consider to be treasures but not enough to care for themselves. I'm done playing out other people's karma. None of this fits my needs & it all holds me back. That's true for all of us. Stuff truly does hold you back, especially holding on to your own. I can't paint or draw & I have all the creative juices trying to flow with nowhere to go. I can't do anything about it right now because my studio is so bad that it entirely puts me off. I can barely walk in the door. I've been putting so much effort into clearing out the junk left behind by my mother & my ex that I've neglected 1 of the 2 most important rooms in my house in terms of functioning. (The other is my bedroom, vital because we all need restful sleep, & that was the first one I cleared.) Every time I've found something that needed repair, it's gone into my studio. Every time I've found a box of stuff related to what I do there, it's gone in that room. But I haven't taken the time to put these things away or clear out, & it just gets worse every day. That's the natural way of things when you don't take care of something immediately. That's why I'm always preaching about doing that. In my defense, I couldn't do that along with the other clearing. When you're doing a whole house, you truly do have to do one room at a time. My mistake was in making that room wait until the end.

Clean Living - Part II

For truly clean living we need to clear & clean our environment inside & out. We have to take care with all we put into our bodies & minds, & clean out that which no longer serves us. The same is true of our homes. I have a friend who's trying to move forward with healing & spiritual growth, become a true healer. She's just given up caffeine, so she's starting to take care with what she puts into her body. But she hasn't entirely cleared out her old ways of thinking. Although she's only been separated for just over a year & is not divorced, she's dating one man & seeking more through personals. Without giving herself time to heal from being used & abused, while still tied to the old & his energy, she's seeking validation from others. It's taken her away from her spiritual path & put her squarely into the old energy of want & need. It is so easy to be overcome by the old when we're lured off our path of growth. Whatever hasn't been healed yet becomes a trap. The man she's dating came into her life & became her focus instead of her spiritual path. It was subtle, because he appears to support her path. Whether he truly does or not doesn't matter right now because the effect was a diversion that allowed all the old, unhealed insecurities to flood back in.

One of the benefits of my weekend away was healing - replacing bad memories from my last trip to Maryland with new ones. Another was it gave me a chance to confront my current feelings & see what healing is still needed. I was very nervous & upset while in the Hagerstown area, where I believe my ex is staying. It's also where I had most of my life with him. So I see the need for further healing, & also got to see how much healing I still need before I'm ready for a relationship with a man. I had a lovely date with a man who's been my BFF for about 23 years. Since this was a date I was dealing with him as a man as well as my BFF & the man part was very hard for me. It was a great start though - going out with the one man on earth I know for sure would never hurt me, intentionally or not. I knew going into it that it was part of the next step to healing for me, & of course he knew it too. When you're in the healing process, total honesty with significant others or potentials is a must. We were both clear with each other beforehand that neither of us is willing to relocate or be in a committed relationship. Part of the safety factor is that ours is an entirely established relationship full of total honesty & mutual respect. You have to be very careful while healing because often you don't know your own true needs & weaknesses, & can therefore easily but unintentionally hurt others. That only leads to further hurt for yourself too, & definitely sets up more messes to clean up. More on my weekend tomorrow.

How to Achieve Priorities Management

I touched on this subject in one of my blogs last week, described what life is like somewhat, as a priorities manager. I never quite made it as a time manager because I'm too much of a free spirit & too responsive to needs as they arise. I once had a job where I had to be a very effective priorities manager & I think of that often. I was Director of Education for a national educational association, a position I earned & excelled at without a college degree. As such I supervised employees, managed both the home study & the lecture divisions. The true priorities management came from the lecture division because seminars had to be scheduled in advance & I was responsible for every single thing that had to be done, & getting it done on time. I also had to manage the work of the home study division, work that into the flow. 

One of the biggest ways to achieve priorities management is to quit thinking in terms of time management & instead think of how to manage daily happenings. One of the best tools is a good & fully usable day planner, which I've mentioned before. Plannerpads.com puts out the best one I've ever used, & I've used so many! This planner allows me to truly prioritize without missing anything. I put everything in my planner, including future plans & dates. It allows me to keep track of things that are eventually important but not today or this week, or even this month. Although honestly, if it's not important this month, how important can it really be? Having a great planner has helped me determine that too. I used to drive myself nuts with lists of things I thought were important & never got to them. Eventually I realized I wasn't getting to them because they didn't really matter. Putting everything in a planner & assigning it a week or day by priority helps make you aware of what is & isn't important.

The other key to priorities management is know thyself. You need to learn how you work best, your personal work & priorities & management styles, then live it. Most of us don't need to change the way we do things or at least not drastically. Most of us can be trusted to meet deadlines & act responsibly. One of the things I had to learn about myself in the early 90s was my style & that I can trust myself. I thought I was a procrastinator & was afraid of myself. I was afraid to let myself rest when I needed to for fear I'd miss a deadline like the cut off notice on a past due bill (lots of them back then). I was afraid if I gave myself any kind of break I'd take too much of one & not get vital things done. A wise & wonderful counselor taught me about me, that I can absolutely trust myself. She helped me see the truth rather than what I'd been taught about myself. Some people thrive on deadline stress & create chaos so the adrenalin kicks in & they function best. Some have to have calm & quiet. That's part of what I mean by style. Most of us have a time of day when our energy is higher & lower, that old "morning person" vs. "night person" thing. Also, what you eat for your meals & caffeine & such can contribute to low or high energy periods. The better you figure yourself out & how & when you work best, the better you function.

I'm not a morning person (ha, just ask anyone who knows me - I dare you!). I'm a night person, as are a lot of fully creative spirits. But I also get tired at night since I work during the day. I've learned not to wait until the end of my day to do Reiki because by then I just don't have the right energy or mind set. I don't want to be doing it when I feel it's another chore to be gotten through, like litter boxes. I've found the way I work best & handle most days is to start with coffee & computer time after I set my intent & protections for the day, as posted yesterday. By then I've fed & talked with the cats & been outside to greet God & the day. I have quiet, contemplative time & social time. Then I do anything I have to regarding personal business & phone calls, which is what I like doing least. So I start with quiet time the way I want it, with my coffee, then move to getting the nasties out of the way so they're over for the day. I only assign a certain amount of them to any one day - no more than 3, usually 1 or less. That way I'm never overwhelmed & don't just put them off. Then I get into the physical part of the day - chores, then dinner, then Reiki. In the evenings I'm available to talk to whoever wants to touch base or needs me. It's the building or feeding relationships & service time. If I've done all that in my day, I need the last 1-3 hours to be uninterrupted me time. Notice I said need. I've learned over the years that it's a need, not a desire. I can go without it even 1-2 nights a week if necessary, but not regularly. Sometimes I read a novel. More often, I watch TV & knit. Some of the time I'm really watching TV, depending on what's on. Other times I just have it on for the company & distraction. This allows my mind time to dump thoughts & emotions while I work out my nervous energy by knitting. No, I'm not nervous - I just don't know another term for it. Some of us swing our feet & wiggle our legs & do other things because of excess, unharnessed energy, & I'm one. It doesn't seem to be usable energy for getting any more done in the day & I truly don't understand it. If someone else does, please clue me in. But knitting helps me work it out along with any troubling thoughts or emotions. It calms & relaxes me, prepares me for bed. The TV allows the thoughts & feelings to come out gradually, from my subconscious. When my days aren't going according to formula, I have to work extra hard with the tricks I've learned to keep myself on track. If I know ahead of time, I preplan. If I'm going out all day, I have everything I can ready & in or at my purse & tote the night before. If needed, it includes a note of whatever else I need before I leave. That's staging, & I also use it all the time to make sure things get to where they need to go. I have specific places I put things so I'll see them & remember. Again, it's knowing how you need to work with yourself to achieve what you want & need.

Don't Stand Still

I wish I could really remember the saying about how God doesn't move immovable objects, or something to that effect. God doesn't direct you while you're standing still. Some people stand still waiting for God to tell them what to do next. Some stand still because they have so many choices they don't know which direction to move in. Lightworkers can often fall into that category once they decide to make major life changes like leaving a job to work for God.

God truly doesn't care about most of those choices that we make. He doesn't care often about what house we buy or where, what job we take. He can use us, direct us, or guide us no matter what choices we make if we're open to Him & listening. If not, then it truly doesn't matter because we're not listening anyway. In these choices you can't make a major mistake. At most, you can make a choice that doesn't really suit you. If you do, you have the same options to get out & make a different choice that you have now. The bigger mistake is in waiting, doing nothing.

I'm sure I can appear almost schizophrenic to some. One minute I'm talking about moving to Pittsburgh. The next minute I'm talking about turning my home into a metaphysical B&B. Next, I'm again talking about moving to Pittsburgh. Don't even try to keep up with the latest thing in my mind! There are constants though - I serve God & am responsive to every lead & idea. I'm open & willing, & therefore totally in transition. I've actually learned to enjoy being in constant transition, when once I was one who really had to be able to plan & nest. The other constant is that I keep moving forward no matter what I encounter. The B&B idea was in response to the appearance that I'd be living here at least until Spring. I needed a way to manifest others coming to me for treatments, learning, & guidance while living so far away from the biggest local community I serve. I'm forever making lemonade out of every lemon I see. New business ideas & opportunities are being presented in Pittsburgh at this time, so suddenly I'm open to the idea of moving again. Each day I'm open to new ideas & opportunities in all areas - healing others, self-healing, learning, heavenly messages, business ideas. Most of all I'm always open to opportunities to serve others as presented each day. I'm given multiple opportunities to serve because I'm very active & willing. I put myself out there all the time, so I'm available. I'm also given multiple heavenly messages & ideas, sometimes all in one day or at one time. God rewards activity! I never know what I'll be doing from one day to the next. I do what needs to be done, from the grunge like litter boxes & clearing out moldy boxes hunk left for me to handle, to the sublime like helping those brought to me. One day I'm helping a cat cross over or helping to communicate with lost dogs to bring them home. Another day I'm gently speaking with a victim of childhood incest, telling someone how to have conversations with God, or encouraging my daughter. By the way, none of this is really draining because I channel Father Love whenever I help another. The only ones I find draining are the ones who want me to just fix everything for them while they go on their merry ways without making necessary changes or doing any of the work. I will only give just so much to them. I can't help someone who won't meet me half way & there are others who need my help who will. Again, it's that "don't stand still." Most of our work in life is how I once viewed housework - tedious, never ending, usually not very noticeable, & quickly undone. In any job or relationship, in every life, there's always more to do that we don't especially like doing. Thing is, those are the very things we need to do, for every reason in the world. When you do so, you order your world. You free your mind in 2 ways. One, you no longer have it hanging over your head & have the satisfaction of having it done. Also, most times it's something rather mindless that allows you time to reflect. And often, you'll get messages or blessing through these simple tasks. God blesses activity & guides those who are active. It's like the Bible story of the talents. The guy who buried his got into trouble. The guy who just saved his got very little reward. The guy who doubled his got that amount doubled. When we are faithful to the work before us, no matter how trivial or tedious it may seem, God is able to present us with opportunities. He only opens doors for those who are already walking forward!

Humbled Again By Monumental Changes - I'm Now a Reiki Master/Teacher - This Contains an Important Message

This week has been about change & progress, & that was majorly boosted yesterday when I received my instruction & attunement to become a Reiki Master/teacher. One of my first awarenesses later that day was an even greater connection to God & His messages. At the end, our Reiki Master had us draw a card from Doreen Virtue's Angel Therapy deck, our message for that profound moment. I was pretty disturbed by the card I drew, which was the "Cancel, Clear, Delete" card. I've gotten this card before & knew what it means. It's about negative energy or thoughts. When I drew it 6 weeks ago or so, I took immediate action & wrote my "I Am" statements & started working on only positive thoughts & statements, as per my previous blogs. Yet Monday, someone from my soul group called me on negative joking. I've been fond of saying, "If I only had a brain," ala "The Wizard of Oz." It's just a joke, but I use it whenever my mind is scattered. I really appreciated her pointing out that it's still negative about myself & therefore not a good thing. She's right & it takes real love to say that to someone. I need to guard my joking too! I know so well from my past that we say things in jest that we really feel or believe. In fact, that's how I've discovered at times what was really in my heart - by becoming aware of my words as I joked about myself. Yet here was another area I hadn't noticed, a current behavior that no longer served me.

Still, I didn't see why I drew that card. I'm spirit filled enough to know it wasn't a mistake, & the occasion was sacred so that reinforced that for me. So on the way home I asked God why, what I was missing. He immediately supplied the answer, & it was that negativity had been gradually creeping up on me. It was a bunch of little things mostly, so I hadn't realized it. I was annoyed at a friend over something trivial. I'd been setting some boundaries & perhaps I need to set a few more. I'd also been pretty wishy washy in setting them because I don't want to hurt my friend, therefore don't want to be seen setting them. Next week there will be more on this subject. Boundaries are hard for me because of my background but in my work I must learn to set them firmly, & to always do it in unconditional love for myself & the person. Simply doing that keeps the negative out. I'd allowed it in by not facing the issue squarely, & was completely unaware. That might have been the whole basis for allowing negativity to creep in. Then everything started adding to it, including normal stressors that I usually handle with grace. Then I found myself getting angry at the kitten I'm trying to integrate into my home for scratching me when I tried to help her, impatient with other drivers & people not doing things when I wanted them done. Then I found myself worried about money all over again. The very things I said I no longer do, the things I guard against daily, had found a way in & I didn't realize it. I was back to stressing & worrying, anger & impatience. It all built back up very quickly - not to the old degree, but still. And I don't want to be that person.

I was very grateful for the card & the answer, & that's really all I needed to solve the problem. I still have to deal with the boundary issue but I know what the problem was now so I can do that. Since then I've been in another space, one of grace, love, a full attitude of gratitude, & beauty. I now understand that "attitude of gratitude" even more. The further you get into the Spirit, the more meaning given to everything good you've ever heard about or learned. Nothing & everything has changed since yesterday. What's changed is my heart, not my circumstances. But I have more faith than ever that I will be taken care of, will receive all I need, am living in a state of grace. I can see the way ahead again. I can see avenues for God to provide solutions to granting me what I want & need. Once I received the message, everything started moving forward again, clearing the cause of some of my frustrations & negative energy. Today, when I was hit with another deep problem to solve, I simply assigned it to next week when I will have time to work on it. I did this without worry or fear & it didn't disturb my energy because I'm back to the position of faith & gratitude. Glory be to God in the Highest!

The Answer to All Fear

One way to eliminate fear in your life is to be right with God & within yourself. Part of how to be right with yourself is to balance your own needs & care, to be a whole person within yourself. In many ways I'm entirely self-sufficient, & totally not. I don't need any one person on this earth, so I'm self-sufficient in that way - whole. No one person can make me or break me. Therefore I don't fear losing someone. It would crush my heart if someone I love dearly died, but I'd be able to triumphantly survive it. I know because I already have, & because I have faith in myself & my spirit. I lived in fear of various things until recently, when faith in myself & the rightness of all, of God, took over. That's when I finally became whole, & in that way, self-sufficient. That said, self-sufficiency, like all else, is a matter of perception. I don't meet all my needs. For example, I don't produce all my own clothes, food, & utensils, or supply all the love I need. But I directly attract all that, so in a way I do supply or produce it all. I attract those who need my services or products & those who supply me with love & spiritual guidance. I also directly communicate with God, our Creator, & His angels, & they supply a lot of what I need.

Another way I've eliminated fear is by doing all I can on a regular basis. I take the best care of myself I can, physically, spiritually, & mentally. I'm far from perfect on any of it, but I always do my best. That doesn't mean that I've eliminated every food I like, exercise as recommended, or live a rigid or restricted life in any way. In fact, it's the opposite. I just keep on doing whatever needs to be done most in response to what comes at me or from within me. I go with the flow & handle whatever arises, when it does. My life is therefore very fluid & varied. I never know what I'll be doing from one day to the next, to a large extent. One of the causes of fear is the feeling that you have to control all that happens or it's going to be bad. I expect the unexpected & welcome it. I trust myself to handle it, & I trust God & the angels to help me if I need it. This being in the flow & being fluid in response leads to balance. So I get exercise by doing what needs to be done each week. I achieve greater physical, spiritual, & mental health by handling things as they arise. This helps eliminate guilt & regrets, which are draining & lead to fear. Doing my best doesn't ever mean perfection - it means doing MY best. I sleep better for it, & sleep is vital. I no longer go to bed worrying about what will happen next or feeling guilty as I did when I lived with my ex. Then I knew I wasn't facing the problems, didn't even know just what they were. So I lived in total fear & guilt. Earlier in life I lived in fear because I wasn't facing the unhealed issues within me.

The way I start my day reinforces all this. It puts me in the right place at the start. First I thank God sincerely for what I know for sure He's doing for me. I thank Him for the abundance & financial freedom He's bringing me. I thank Him for the healings & heath, the balance, wholeness, & wellbeing He's bringing me. I also thank Him for other things based on the day before, dreams, or a gorgeous day. I also give Him myself, my life, & my day to guide & direct, & do with as He wishes. Then I pray for the needs of others. Then I greet Archangel Michael & thank him for his protection each & every day. Then I call on him again for protection for the day. I ask him to protect my energy & to protect my body, mind & spirit. I ask him to protect the cats, my friends & family, my home & property. To cover my innate fear of bees, I ask for specific protection against them during the summer. Then I'm not afraid of them! I also ask him to cut the cords of fear & pain that have blocked & drained me in the past, in regard to specific people or things I've done. I greet my angels, teachers, & guides & departed loved ones who watch over me, & open myself to any & all messages they have for me. Then I read my "I Am" statements (there's a blog on file about this) & what I'm manifesting. Then I ask the angels to surround my heart with healing & protective pink light. I call on other Archangels & Ascended Masters that I've learned about from a book of that title by Doreen Virtue. It all takes about 15 minutes & is so worth that little bit of time because I set my intent for my day, & set up my protections. I've been doing this for more than a month now - I forget how long. I've never had the discipline before to start my day with any kind of "devotions" but I'm sold because I see the difference the days I don't get to start that way. Those days tend to involve some stress or chaos, & I often am too scattered to be as effective as usual. I cover all the bases so that my intent controls my days. I don't control what will arise, this puts me in control of how I deal with it. So I call on Archangels Raguel & Chamuel to help me deal with the changes in my life with grace, compassion, & integrity, especially toward others. That's ended my fear & guilt over accidentally saying or doing the wrong thing toward another. I care so much that it used to haunt me, even imagined wrongs done to another. I call on others for help with my appetites & cravings so I'll make healthy choices, for help with my writing & other work & creativity. I call in help within my home & in my domestic efforts, for peace, harmony, & love, & for abundance. And I call on help "to smooth my path, with harmony & peacefulness reigning supreme, that all obstructions that could impede my progress be cleared & that I see the blessings within everything today." If you want to know who I ask for these things, message me. That last one helps me go with the flow & not get upset over the interruptions or demands in the day, those actually little things that build up. We tend to magnify life's little problems & not be able to deal with them, & therefore be less able to deal with the big ones. The key is to see it all as solvable & to see them all as little, & practice daily taking all the little ones in stride without letting yourself get derailed. So that last request reinforces my intent in this.

Yesterday Was Phenomenal

Yesterday started with one of the greatest compliments I've ever gotten. Someone I greatly admire in my spiritual group said she's proud of me, that I'm such a good person full of compassion & love for all, & more, & thanked me for being in her life. This someone has been on her spiritual path as a leader, guide, & teacher for many years, is one of my major mentors, one of the most gentle, loving, & giving spirits I know. She's surrounded by beautiful spirits, earthly & not, so the compliments meant so very much! That started the tone for my day. It also again started me reflecting on a year ago. I'd actually written yesterday's blog the night before, as that's when I'd first started thinking of the contrast of a year ago.

In times past, if I got my hopes up in anticipation of a special day, it often would leave me wanting. I know you all know what I mean. Now my life is ever changing & always getting better. Yesterday ended up to be way more special than I anticipated, & I'm still processing it. After reading that sweet email, I went shopping, then to my regular Reiki Exchange with my soul group. At Walmart, I ended up talking with the cashier & the woman in line behind me about miracles & living in the Spirit. Both the woman in line & I assured the cashier that no, it's not hard at all to love everyone no matter what. When you live in the Spirit, it's easy. At the Reiki Exchange, I was immediately given an opportunity to purchase a crystal to help in the physical healing I still need due to my ex-husband's abuse - it drew my attention & when I found out what it was for, I understood why. While talking about it, I was also given an opportunity to offer counseling to someone who hasn't been able to deal with her memories of abuse. That's a large part of what I'm being called to do these days & I recognized it a few weeks ago. It's a great honor to be chosen to help these people, & to have them brought to me through "chance" encounters. It's very exciting to me, to be called to serve. The whole time I was bogged down in clearing up the mess left for me, that's all I wanted. I was so eager to get that over with so I would be free to serve God in these ways, although at the time I didn't know what the ways were.

I got to thank my soul group for their support over the past year & that was an important & teary time for me. Then came our guided meditation channeled by our Reiki Master, a truly gifted channel. The angel who spoke through her talked about our mission on earth & how we're helping all those who come in contact with us. I definitely teared up then, because that's been my biggest life goal! The confirmation came to me a moment later, although no longer needed. In my past, I would have discounted that the special message was really meant for me, would have figured it was for everyone else in the room but me. The angel then elaborated on those we encounter who we help - the person behind you in line, & when you have a money transaction - it had just happened. As usual, the channeled meditation included emotional healing & raising our vibration level, & I could feel it working. I attend every Reiki Exchange & guided meditation my Reiki Master does because each one increases my effectiveness as a healer, guide, & teacher, & because of the opportunity to give back. This is my "job" & the guided meditations are like mini training blitzes. Afterwards, I went back to Walmart for a book.  I'd again forgotten to bring one & wanted a bite to eat. Eating alone is fine, but only if I can read. In line, the man behind me commented that I must be a reader, said he is too. I asked him what he likes to read & found out he likes books on spirituality. He pulled out a business card & told me about the spiritual book his daugher had just published. As we walked together, I found out that she can help me get my works published & that we all have a lot in common. I so fell in love with this man's spirit immediately, & we ended up hugging twice & exchanging kisses on the cheek there in the parking lot. I have his card & info on his daughter's book, & they each have my card. One of the things he told me is that he felt my energy & spirit, & my openness, while standing in line with me. Again, it was a confirmation of that channeled meditation message, & such an unexpected joy to cap my night. Meeting him felt like meeting an angel posing on earth as human. He has such an incredibly beautiful spirit that even today as I write this, my heart is soaring & so full it almost hurts. Yep, I can see I'm back to being myself, healed & feeling again way more than most people do. I came home & found a message from my daughter - her paternal grandmother had just died. Still in the spirit, I was able to comfort her with a special message. It feels so good to be in the Spirit & to have these messages to help others come to me. I am so greatly blessed!

Reflections on the Last 11 Months

I arrived back in Pennsylvania about 6 p.m. on November 2, 2010. I'd been away for nearly 2 weeks, with my cats & my mother. We'd run to safety because my now ex had threatened to kill her, couldn't return until we knew he'd reported to jail on November 1. That night all I got done was to settle everyone back in & get our water restored. I had to call my landlord to find out how to work the lever on the side of the well pump, necessary when the electricity goes off for awhile or a toilet is left running. So I also had to tell my landlord what had happened, knowing he'd be concerned about how this would affect my ability to buy this house. (What happened was my ex stole all my mother's life savings. He left me with no income, no assets, no money in the bank, & past due bills.)

So 11 months ago was the first day of the rest of my life, & I had my hands full. I had a large house full of boxes of papers, his junk, my mother's junk, & perhaps evidence of his theft. He was only charged with stealing $9000, the original amount discovered missing, & it was up to me to see if he left behind any evidence of the other $491,000 he'd stolen. There were floor to ceiling boxes in the basement & garage to go through - so much that it was hard to walk around. Soon I also discovered that I had to file taxes for her from 2004 on & that to the IRS, it looked like she'd cashed in all her assets & not paid taxes.

Sometimes it seems like this is never ending. I still have 4 stacks of floor to ceiling boxes in the garage & you can still barely walk. The basement is still full of stuff, & 3 rooms in my house are a total mess still. That's when it's necessary for me to step back & realize that I've gotten a lot done in 11 months. Yes, there are certain areas that are still a terrible mess but when I look around I realize that most of them are nearly completed, can be finished with concentrated effort on just that. I've completely transformed & cleared 3 rooms, with only 3 left to do. One of them will be finished this week. When you're in the process of, there's usually a period where things look worse before you see the results. I didn't prove the rest of his theft. I can see it but can't prove it. But I did manage to get the IRS satisfied & mostly get her affairs in order. I also took physical care of her for many months, then got her into a nursing home when her health deteriorated. I've managed to do a seemingly impossible amount of clearing. My mother & ex were hoarders. My mother was so bad she could have been on that TV show, my ex wasn't nearly that bad. I've been dealing with their messes - try to imagine!

While still dealing with all that, which is at first about all I did, I managed to start my own business, start this blog, be attuned to Reiki I & II, & become a regularly practicing Reiki healer. I've been able to help many animals & people so far, through Reiki & in other ways, things I do. I've also made a lot of new friends that are so valuable to me they feel like family. I myself have healed a lot physically, spiritually, & emotionally. I've lost a bunch of weight & gained a bunch of muscle & am now healthier than I've been in many years. I went from taking way over the limit of 2 different kinds of insulin to barely taking any of either. I've eliminated supplements I used to need to take, & some medications. But the biggest change & what I want you to know about, is in my life. Despite dealing with all the pain & mess I was left with, my life has been entirely transformed. A year ago I feared for my life, was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from living most of my life with abusers, could barely sleep, eat, or function. Yet I found the strength to put my abuser in jail, take on my other abuser & take her to safety, take on the whole burden of care for her & myself & the problems left to be solved. I now live in grace, peace, joy, love, & harmony. I've healed from the PTSD & much else. In less than 11 months I went from being scared every minute of every day to writing a blog about how to eliminate fear from your life entirely. That's the blog I'd actually written for today, so will post it tomorrow. Now I wake up every day, for the first time ever in my life, eager to see what the day will bring, ready for the adventure, welcoming each interruption as opportunity. The contrast goes much further back than 11 months ago. I'm 55 & this is the first time I've ever lived free in my entire life. I tell you all this because it's the power of God at work! The weight loss (I wasn't trying), the healings & health, all the progress, the total transformation, is God at work. Now yes, I had a large hand in it. I keep saying that you have to do whatever is in front of you to do, because I've done it. I've worked very, very hard over the last 11 months. But I know what I'm capable of on my own & have accomplished in the past with my best efforts vs. what I've accomplished in the last 11 months, & have to give the real credit to God.