With a Marine Corps father who put meat on the table as a hunter, I grew up learning gun safety.  Not just to leave the guns alone, but also how to safely carry and use one once I joined hunting trips. 

Which required that I get a hunter's permit from gun safety school.  In fact, my first "real" job was a puller at the gun club and for a couple years I was a young competitor at the annual "turkey shoot" (trap shooting contest). 

... now that I think of it, one of my favorite first dates ever was with a guy who took me to the shooting range. 

(Kinda cool, if you ask me, that for a girl who spent that much time with guns I never shot a single animal.)

Suffice it to say it was drilled into my head to be careful about where the guns are pointed!  Something I've learned to be aware and respectful of all these years later.

Which has actually helped with deliberate creation work, too.  The habit of awareness and respect for our power is what creating our reality is all about, right?

So just a few minutes ago when Russ said, "No doubt about it, it takes work to look good,"  I almost ducked!

We had just finished a joint workout session in the exercise room while watching some tv countdown on best "celebrity slimdowns."  (He got there first, so he picked the entertainment.)

Although I generally prefer music or Abraham cds, it was actually inspiring to see the parade of gorgeous bodies and hear trainers talk about what works and what doesn't. 

It reinforced that there is no single "secret" to being fit, and I enjoyed picking out the thoughts that inspired me.  (Favorites included "it doesn't matter what you eat, just how much" and someone saying Demi Moore, after three kids and over 40, just "looks better with age.")

Anyway, we're having breakfast afterwards when Russ lets that one fly: "It takes work to look good."

My eyebrows shot up and I practically took cover behind the fridge door (putting away rice milk), to get out of the way of that thought. 

("That's his, you do it different," I reminded myself.  No one's sucking ME into their "hard work to look good routine.")

To reinforce a good connection to my truth, not so much to correct my sweetie, I said out loud: "YOU can make it hard work if you want, but I guarantee it's easier than that for me."

He laughed, not because of how ridiculous he was being, but because he thinks I am.  I suspect he thinks it's cute or naive that I ascribe so much power to thoughts.  No doubt we approach this topic differently.

Thank God.

I would not enjoy the (victim) role of thinking something I didn't enjoy was required to get what I want!

If he had any idea that it's our subscription to certain thoughts and beliefs that create our individual realities, I think he'd be more selective about the thoughts he bought into.  If he had any clue how powerful our focused attention was, he'd be more careful about where he pointed that thing (his conscious awareness).

And now that he has a new laptop, he can read my blog.  So I will say for the record here that YES, sweetie, you do get credit for acknowledging that attitude makes a difference.  (He did say that and it's actually one of his resolutions this year - to improve his attitude.)

But, like many of us, he has yet to truly understand and embrace the power of our personal energy (via our conscious awareness) to arrange the atoms that make up the "real world" around us.  (Myself included at times!)

When we learn to get consistently deliberate about where we point that thing - our focused awareness  - !!  Well, let's just say we'll be in for quite the party!

And with that, here's to 2009 being our best party ever!  You can pitch in, too, by being very purposeful and aware of where you point the power of your attention.

Shall we start now by formally sharing where we're directing our thoughts?  What a great way to launch the new year!

From the title alone regular readers might guess what I'm gonna say next, huh?

You probably think I'll admonish the futility of "working" toward what we want; point out the ridiculousness of taking the "action" route to make things happen - versus enjoying our way there, or knowing that whatever feels good is the quickest ticket to success.

Which is definitely true.  And that is my trademark message.

But that's not what I wanted to remind us with this post.

This post is inspired by something Gregg Braden said in Spontaneous Healing of Belief (which is the foundation for my GoodVibe MasterMind Groups starting this week).

Braden quotes Neville saying we must "enter the image" of what we want and "think from it" rather than work towards it.  Because if we're working towards it, we're outside of it.  We're "on our way" to it, rather than in the experience of it now.

And those are two different vibrations.

Can you feel the difference?

For example, say I wanted to experience a dream come true romance.  How I might feel as I met new people, posted profiles online, and looked for signs of my new guy - that would feel different than if I were in the throes of being in the presence of Mr. Right Here Right Now. 

The first feeling (for me) would be more "anticipatory," more like holding my breath than what it would feel like if I were jumping in the car for our first road trip together or surprising him with his favorite coffee from Starbucks.

Very different vibes.  One is "almost there" (or for some people, it's more like "got a long way to go") and the other is more like "ahhh, yes, this is it."

Since we get what we vibrate, when we shoot for a goal and walk the path of progress to it, we're not vibrating IT.  We're vibrating outside of it or "on our way" to it.  That feels different than what we'd feel when we arrive. 

Know what I mean?

Braden puts it this way: "There's a subtle yet powerful difference between working toward a result and thinking & feeling from it."  (He advises we think & feel as if we had already achieved what we want.) 

He continues: "When we place our focus on what our lives would be like if our dreams were already fulfilled, what we're actually doing is creating the conditions within us that allow our fulfilled dream to surround us."

When you truly understand the power of your conscious attention to rearrange the atoms of reality, this makes perfect sense!

So the key is to experience what we want as if it were already with us, already manifested.  And that is different than "working towards it."

19th century philospher William James says "if you want a quality or trait, act as if you already had it."  Neville says "make your future dream a present fact."

Which is why it's folly to work toward your goals.

Get yourself there first. 

Be there, feel it now, do what feels good, and they'll catch up with you. 

They have to.  It's the Law of Attraction.  ;)

PS - If you're interested in the GoodVibe MasterMind Groups starting this week to propel yourself to any dream you dare hold, email me now at jmaw@goodvibecoach.com & I'll send details.  (I've got a last minute opening in the Wednesday 8 pm est group.)  Thanks!

Much of the recent Abraham material focuses on reminding us to not get stuck in Step 1 energy.

You remember the steps, right?

• Step 1 is Ask.
• Step 2 is It's Given. (Which is Universe's job, not ours. It happens automatically and immediately every time.)
• Step 3 is Allow. That's basically us letting ourselves in on the party we launched (when we had the original desire in Step 1).

Pretty cool system when you think about it.  I mean, honestly, we've got the easy part!  All we gotta do is live our life and let the good stuff come as we learn more and better about what we want.

And yet ... not all of us experience it that way.

First off, we were trained to believe life works very different than that, so that didn't help. 

But even depsite knowing better now, many people find themselves slipping into vibrational patterns that keep them locked out of their party.  (I call it "party;" Abe calls it "vibrational escrow" or the "vortex.")

Yesterday I listened to Abraham refer to Step 1 as "Don't Want" energy. That "don't want" energy is from the contrast we bump into throughout daily life.  It's knowing we want friendly neighbors when they aren't; safe travels when the road is hazardous; healthy & fit bodies when they're sluggish or uncomfortable. 

Anyway, it seems this is the part that many of us know to do - the ALLOWING of our desires to manifest in our physical reality - and yet we don't always easily practice it.  (Especially when we think it really counts!)

How can we shorten the distance between desire and the realization of that desire?  How can we make sure WE'RE the ones benefiting from our experiences of contrast, not just future generations?

Lots of ways, some of which listed here will sound familiar if you've read my material for a while:

• take your attention off the "don't want"
• dwell on the "wouldn't it be nice if ...?"
• focus on other positive aspects of life
• remember who they really are, and who YOU really are (divine source energy)
• make your feeling good more important than whatever is taking you away from it
• be happy anyway

Abraham tells us to "bless them for what they birth in you" and then don't look back (at the "don't want) or you use them as your excuse not to get to your party.  So you want to look forward - towards where you want to go, not where you are.

In the Seattle (July 2008) workshop, Abe also said the difference between fast & slow manifesting is that having a positive focus puts you in the vortex of your escrow (or puts you right smack in the middle of your party, as I would say).  When you're in vibrational range of what you want, your manifestations unfold much easier and swifter.  That's allowing.

In fact, we're reminded by Abraham that we can't think or act our way to success.  All we have to do is just get happy and let the expansion come.  When we're doing hard work instead of getting happy, we are NOT in our vortex.  Instead of trying to figure out how to get in there (which we do whenever we look over our shoulder at the "don't want"), we can get happy by answering questions like: 

• What do I want and why do I want it? 
• What does it feel like? 
• What does it look like? 

I think that's one reason why the pray rain journaling technique is so effective for so many - that it takes us to the heart of what we want and all the delicious details about it.

Regardless of how we get there, it helps when we stop thinking of all this as difficult or challenging, and just relax about it.  It really is easier than we think, and when you reflect on all the ways you naturally DO allow, instead of thinking of all the times you're not able to, you give yourself a big leg up.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic!

My boyfriend picked the movie last weekend, which is how I came to be sitting in front of Adam Sandler on the big screen.  It surprises me that a week later I'm still thinking about the show Bedtime Stories.

In the show Adam is asked to babysit his young niece and nephew for a week.  He quickly learns the kids prefer a bedtime story before going to sleep.  

On the first night, Adam tells a lame story (correlating to his own life) about a guy who fails at work and lives unhappily ever after.

But the kids don't let him get away with such an awful story.  They jazz it up with raining gumballs and such, reminding Adam that it's a story, you can have fun with it!  There's nothing off limits and it's okay to detach from reality when you're telling a story.

The kids teach him that your story doesn't have to make sense or be believable.  The purpose of it is simply to have fun and be entertained.

Seems an important lesson to some of us adults who may have lost the gift for fantastical imagination, and have trouble detaching from "reality."  

After all, it's our ability to imagine and conjure up that our tomorrows rely on.  If we get stuck in what's possible, likely or even acceptable, we dramatically limit the experience of our lives.

Since our life unfolds according to the stories we keep and tell, storytelling seems an important skill for a deliberate creator!

So I don't know about you, but I'm going to channel some no-rules "children" energy in my adult life to reconnect with crazy magic and fun ideas that lead to completely senseless and delicious unfoldings.  

Thank you, Russ and Bedtime Stories, for providing inspiration that helps us get even more free and easy with our expectations of life!  :)

Just finished reading Maureen Moss's  January 16th newsletter, in which she shares the Decree of Abundance.  After reading it, you'll see why I felt inspired to share it with you. 

Also included is Maureen's explanation of how she learned it:

Below is a powerful "Decree of Abundance" to utilize as a tool while the shift is on. It was given to me 17 years ago (author was unknown.) I added unto it to inflame its power and deepen its meaning.

Quick explanation:

Seventeen years ago a friend of mine handed the "Decree of Abundance" to me (in part) while I was in the midst of being paralyzed by life circumstances.

I read it and said I didn't believe a word of it. Her response, "I know, look at your life." As she walked out the door she glanced over her shoulder and said, "say it every day until you believe it, and the day you believe it, watch what happens."

Here is the "Decree Of Abundance" that changed my life, once I truly believed it. It stripped away a veil of forgetfulness and had me shoring up my relationship with God, which in turn changed my external circumstances. (Amazing how that happens.)

Beloveds, if you refuse to play out this cycle of Life with sweaty palms your life circumstances will change no matter what the economy is doing.

DECREE OF ABUNDANCE

From The Light of God that I Am.
From The Love of God that I Am.
From The Power of God that I Am.
From The Heart of God that I Am.

I Decree-

I dwell in the midst of Infinite Abundance. The Abundance of God is my Infinite Source.

The River of Life never stops flowing. It flows through me into lavish expression. Good comes to me through unexpected avenues and God works in a myriad of ways to bless me.

I now open my mind to receive my good. Nothing is too good to be true. Nothing is too wonderful to have happen. With God as my Source, Nothing amazes me.

I Am not burdened by thoughts of past or future. One is gone. The other is yet to come.

By the power of my belief, coupled with my purposeful fearless actions and my deep rapport with God, my future is created and my abundance made manifest.

I ask and accept that I am lifted in this and every moment into Higher Truth. My mind is quiet.

From this day forward I give freely and fearlessly into life and Life gives back to me with magnificent increase. Blessings come in expected and unexpected ways. God provides for me in wondrous ways.

I AM indeed grateful. And I let it be so.

Know you are LOVED.

Maureen Moss
Steward of The World Puja Network
http://www.worldpuja.org
http://www.maureenmoss.com
E-Mail: Maureen@worldpuja.org

There are some things we know just don't go together, right?  Like fire and water.  Love and fear.  Democrats and Republicans.  (ha!)

Yet sometimes what we KNOW is exactly what limits us from experiencing what we WANT. 

Which is a good time to recognize when we're buying into a limiting belief that doesn't serve us.

Of course, I'm talking about myself again.  (I'd rahter tell clients' stories, but that confidentiality thing makes me reveal my own hand instead.  tsk)

The other day I realized that while I want business to (continue to) THRIVE, I also want to RELAX more.  And these two vibes - THRIVE and RELAX - didn't seem to join up together too well in my head.  There was something inside telling me that if I relaxed, my ambitious business goals would suffer.  Like, if I slowed down, so would my career success.

That surprised me since in the past I've deliberately combined goofing off and making money.  But for some reason, Thriving and Relaxing seemed to not fit together.

Which shows me where my opportunity is. 

Because if I believe those two things don't go together, that's the way it is (for me).  I'd have to choose one or the other.  Which is NOT the mark of a deliberate creator!  Deliberate creators know we can have whatever we dare imagine! 

So all I have to do is resolve this incongruency in my belief system, and then I get to have my cake and eat it too.

Relax AND Thrive ... relaxing and thriving ... I've been trying those two on for size lately and seeing how well they complement each other. 

Makes perfect sense when I think about it, since a thriving business would feel good, and relaxing also feels good - so really, they're vibrational cousins, these Relax and Thrive energies. 

What would that look like, relaxing and thriving?  It would look like good things happening with the business even though I'm not - and this is easy to see now - ESPECIALLY because I'm not "worrying" over it night and day.  The more relaxed I am, the more opportunities I see, inspiration I feel, the better energy I flow ... the better business gets.

Of COURSE they go hand in hand, now that I think about it differently.  The more I relax, the more my business thrives.  And as I think, so shall it be.

So while I'm getting the hang of this, I'm really curious about what you might be holding yourself back from ... 

What would you combine if you could have your cake and eat it too?  Maybe ... long term relationship and a red hot sex life?  Oreos and a healthy trim body?  Corporate employment and nourishment for your soul?  Divorce and a happy relationship?

I'd love to hear what you're combining that others might not think is the natural way of things.  It'll not only help the rest of us see the limits we've unconsciously bought into, but also reinforce your liberation from old limits too.  :)

Do you know three little words that when uttered out loud serve as screeching brakes on dreams come true, powerfully reinforcing a reality you don't want?

Three innocent words that - when you notice you're using them - can reveal a thought obstacle that prevents forward movement and stymies positive change?

We hear this combination of words regularly, from ourselves and those around us:

"The Problem Is ... "

Sound familiar?  I run across them a lot as a coach. 

• "Sure I could get a job that I like better.  The problem is ... " 
• "Yeah, I know I should talk to my girlfriend about how differently I see our future.  The problem with that is ..."
• "The doctor wants me to exercise more.  The problem for me is ... "

And every time we speak this magical combination of words, we argue for our limitations and cut ourselves off from positive possibilities.  Talk about misdirection of our creative power!

But these words are also a gift, in that they show us where we're attached to energy and thought patterns that don't serve us.  They can reveal where we're grappling for a stronghold in the old, and not allowing in new desires we've launched.

These words can show where you're believing in limits.  They point the way to freedom to experience more of what you want and less of what you don't want.

When these words cross my lips, it's either as an excuse for something I'm feeling pressure to do:  "Sure, sweetie, I'd love to go grocery shopping, but the problem is I'm expecting a call." 

... or as an excuse for something that feels out of reach: "It would be nice to expand my material and availability to my audience, but the problem is that's more work than I'm up for." 

Recognizing the "problem" vibe is my chance to get clean and straight with my energy, and to withdraw power from problems.  It also shows me where I've invested belief in obstacles and impossibilities.  That awareness is what allows me to channel creative power toward solutions, possibilities and good times!

The next time you hear yourself saying "the problem is .. "  I invite you to take notice, smile about it, and set yourself free by either stepping over the obstacles or redirecting toward a more appealing path. 

You're a powerful creator who can have, be and do whatever you choose.  Have fun with it!  :)

"Does it really work??"

That's the question a first date asked in disbelief (years ago) when I explained what law of attraction coaching was.  He'd never heard of the law of attraction, let alone life coaching. 

Suffice it to say, hearing about the power of our thoughts, the effects feelings have on our lives, and that we all have a vibration - it was very strange stuff to white collar MBA graduate business owner.

But it was a first date, and he was polite about expressing his skepticism. 

(Remember, this was before The Secret was out, and before Oprah and Larry King brought the concepts of manifesting to mainstream media.  So I probably sounded pretty "out there.")

Anyway, I explained that the process of segment intending (aka pre-paving) was an easy way to start building manifesting muscle. 

Simply hold in mind the outcome you want, imagine it happening, feel the feelings you would feel as it's unfolding, and then relax and go about your activity.  It's that simple.

Since he was wasn't talking, I changed the topic as we drove back to my car.  Less than two minutes later his cell phone rang. 

When he saw who it was, his jaw dropped.  He stared at me in disbelief.  Since he was speechless, all he could do was show me his caller ID - as if that would explain everything.

I didn't understand what the big deal was.  (But I did know if he answered his phone while on a date with me, this would also be our last date.) 

It turns out that while I was explaining segment intending - and talking about our power to create whatever we want in life - he wasn't wondering what kind of crackpot he was at lunch with.  Rather, he was already starting his first manifesting project: hearing back from his ex-girlfriend. 

Apparently he was still hung up on this fabulous girl, and had tried everything to reconnect with her.  But she wouldn't answer letters, texts, emails, phone calls, nada. 

Until that day.  Two minutes after he imagined how thrilling it was to be in touch with her again, to hear her voice, to have another chance to talk with her - that's when she called.  After months of no communication.

Needless to say, he was sold on LOA.  (And he DID answer his phone!  Stinkerhead.  Although we didn't date again, he did retain me to help turn his business around and we're friends to this day.)

I marveled at my powers to manifest myself right out of a new date while successfully teaching LOA to a disbeliever, and thought maybe I should practice what I preach and segment intend my first dates a little better than THIS!

That's one example I share with clients when they ask how long it takes for deliberate creation efforts to pay off, and how much they have to practice it before it works.

It doesn't take long and you don't have to be an expert.  (Or even believe in it, for that matter!)

If it's been a while since you played with segment intending, I invite you to pick it up again and impress yourself with your manifesting prowess. 

(And if you need a professional reminder about how easy all this manifesting stuff really is, you can be sure that working with an LOA expert will greatly increase your own confidence in the LOA process.)

Would love to hear some of your favorite pre-paving experiences!