Apply Your Oxygen First

It's time to apply the oxygen mask to my own face before assisting others.

That's right, 2011 is the year that JB of MM comes first. The year JB moves from the bottom of the list to the top of the list, the head of the line.

No more putting everyone else ahead of me. I've done this for decades, and it has to stop.

Does this sound as if it goes against the "give to receive" basis of the Law of Attraction (or the Bible)? Does it sound as if JB has suddenly become a selfish monster?

No. The truth is, there is a point at which one gives too much of themselves to where it becomes detrimental. There is validity in the phrase used by the flight attendants when they instruct you to apply the oxygen mask to yourself first, before assisting others. If you have no oxygen, you are soon rendered ineffective (because you are unconscious or dead).

Let's face it—dead men tell no tales, nor do they help others survive the flight. It's understood that the one who grabs the mask the fastest is best-equipped to assist those who are slower, infirm, too young, or too terrified to grab a mask for themselves. It is imperative that the strongest help the weakest, but they must practice self-preservation in order to do so.

I've been reflecting on a lot this past year, and I find it interesting to note that the people with the strongest negative reaction to my idea of putting myself first have always been the ones for whom I have done the most: the ones who asked more of me than anybody else, the ones who in many respects took advantage, the ones who demanded their needs be met even when it harmed me in the process. These are the people most likely to snort in disgust and call you selfish, self-centered, spoiled, and claim that you don't deserve anything more because you already got yours (even as they are enjoying rewards beyond compare while you're struggling to make ends meet).

Ironically, the ones who support the Me First mandate are the people that have not required my help, that may have even helped me on occasion, and that I've generously offered to help many a time whether they took me up on it or not.

People are mirrors; sometimes they mirror back what they believe about themselves.

But they also sometimes mirror back what we believe about ourselves. Discerning the difference takes practice and careful self-analysis.

Remember also that the Universe mirrors whatever energy we put out there.

With that in mind, please take a moment and think carefully about the concept of mirroring.

When you stand in front of a mirror, it reflects back to you what you show it.

Try this exercise. Imagine that you have a friend, Fred, with you. Fred's job is to agree wholeheartedly with you, and then parrot back whatever you say exactly as you said it. This means the pronouns remain the same; he doesn't flip it and substitute "you" for "I", for example.

Look at Fred and say, "I come first this year."

What does Fred say in return?

(Did you just say, "Yes, YOU come first this year"?) Uh-huh. I thought so.

Well, that's not what I said he'd do, is it? I said he would agree (Yes) and repeat back to you EXACTLY what you said, without changing a single word.

The correct response from Fred, according to what you said, is, "Yes. I come first this year."

OK. Now you're thinking, what is this, the Three Stooges? Who's on first? No, what's on second?

"No, my friend," you say, frustrated. "YOU don't come first, I come first. Get it right."

"Right," says Fred, "I come first."

"No, Fred... I come first, I am at the top of the list, I, meaning me, JB—oh crap, I GIVE UP!!!"

(Fred says, "Yes, I give up!!!")

THIS is a correctly mirrored conversation. Make note of this, because this is also how the Universe functions. The Universe in this example is represented by your agreeable, doofus of a friend.

What you really meant was that YOU come first. Again, tricky. If you say "you come first", it might yield bizarre results. Who in this instance is the focus of "you"? You meaning the person in the mirror? You meaning the Universe? Do you really want the Universe to misinterpret and potentially put itself before you? Wait. This is getting a little too confusing.

The best way to handle this is to specify exactly who comes first, by your given name, nickname, or other identifying moniker.

Now. Try the exercise again, substituting your name for the words in the brackets.

"OK, my friend," you say, "this year, [JB at MM] comes first. [JB at MM] gets helped first before anyone else does, then [JB at MM] can help others."

Your ever helpful parrot of a friend replies: "Yes indeedie, this year, [JB at MM] comes first. [JB at MM] gets helped first before anyone else does, then [JB at MM] can help others."

Now everyone is in agreement about exactly who comes first. There is no confusion, there is no potential for error—unless of course there is another [Your Name] in your social circle, but I believe if you hold a firm vision of your own face in your mind as you identify it as being [Whomever You Are], the loophole will close securely.

I hope this post has helped clarify one of the stickier points of the Law of Attraction, which is how to phrase intentions in a way that closes the bigger loopholes that cause mis-manifestations. Your homework is to think about this and see how it might have applied to previous manifestations.

Happy New Year, and may all of our best dreams come true!

Assumptions

In the early morning "revelation" hours, I woke up after a really bizarre but good dream. As I came out of the dream, Brain (yes, I consider that to be its proper name) began working overtime trying to figure out, like usual, how to address the various situations in my life that need solutions, such as how to pay bills, how to pay for grad school, how to survive another month, and so on. Brain was working furiously to come up with yet another feasible possibility, when...

A Voice (which is likely God or my Higher Self) spoke up and drowned out Brain's worrisome chatter.

The Voice said:

“The problem isn’t that you need a job, or cheaper board, or even money to pay bills or go to grad school. In fact, these are just symptoms.”

Brain stopped "solutionizing" mid-thought.

My Conscious Self chimed in to the debate.

Oh? Symptoms? Of what? What IS the problem, then?

“The problem is that every solution and decision that you make is based on the assumption of continued poverty.”

Well, that stopped me short. I thought, well, duh, yeah, I mean, I gotta figure out how to survive until I’m flush again—

The Voice cut me off. “NO. Listen. YOU ASSUME POVERTY WILL CONTINUE.”

Uh, yeah, it probably will—for awhile, anyway...

“NO. You see? THAT’S THE PROBLEM RIGHT THERE.”

Huh?

“You are assuming that you’ll probably still be poor for awhile. So you are FOCUSING on the probability of being poor for a while longer.”

Oh for goodness’ sake.

The Voice is right.

Focus means manifestation; focus leads to actions that support the manifestation of that reality of probably being poor a while longer. DUH DUH DUH.

If every decision I’m seeking arises out of the assumption that it’s gonna be awhile before I can afford _________, then I’m attracting exactly that situation to myself!

I’ve been mulling this over and journalizing, exploring this concept in depth. As I thought about all the "problems" I've been facing, and all of the potential "solutions" that really aren't very good answers at all, it began to make sense.

I had already been creating this "probably poor awhile longer" situation, simply by assuming—or expecting—I'd still be in it.

The sticky part is, it's easy to maintain this assumption, when the circumstances around me seem to point in that direction. When I look at my bank balance, or the rejection letters from jobs to which I've applied (and not even being granted an interview before they decide I couldn't possibly have anything to offer them), the bills piling up, the unpaid things... it's very easy to see that should things continue this way, poverty is a given. With or without the added panic from the Media, who cry out about the state of the economy and housing market in such a fearful manner.

The Voice asked another question or two.

“How would your life change, if you lived under the assumption of wealth? Or assumed/expected that things are turning around? What would change in how you approached everything in your life?”

Wow.

I'd never thought of it that way. I came up with a whole list (which I won’t bore you with) of things that would change. It’s amazing how much different I would be living and thinking right now IF I assumed that it is all turning around, or rather WHEN I EXPECT that things are turning around and that there IS money and prosperity and success on its way to me now.

The point is, I must change my overall expectation from one of continuing poverty “for awhile” to one of renewed, impending, immediate prosperity and success.

That overall expectation is the foundation that drives and informs absolutely every single thought, action, and decision I make, and every solution I seek. Once I shift my overall expectation, everything changes in a trickle-down effect.

All my decisions, all the solutions I seek, every thought and action I have or make shifts to conform to my EXPECTATION. And I’ll get what I EXPECT to get.

One of these days, I’ll have this DOWN, baby. I will.

Once upon a time, I held the expectation of prosperity and success. I hadn't realized that the expectation had changed somewhere along the line to one of not expecting—rather, expecting the opposite of prosperity and success.

I'm not sure if I need to pinpoint when it changed and what caused it to change in order to change back. If I can rewind to a point before it shifted, reset my expectations to what they once were, and live in that mindset again, I'll be all right. But maybe all it takes is simply recognizing that there has been a negative shift, then shifting it back to positive.

And because miracles DO happen, I can expect things to fall into place for me right away—once I’ve adjusted it so I BELIEVE it is happening.

There is one question unanswered: Despite MY shift in expectations, there are still those who require explanations from me and specifics about WHEN I expect to discharge my debts, WHEN I plan to pay off that bill, WHEN I anticipate having money for X. They are less likely to accept the vague answer of "oh, soon—it's turning around, I can feel it, because I've shifted my overall expectation to one of prosperity and wealth." Mortgage companies want deadlines, realistic or not. Utility companies also want to know WHEN.

I'd love to be able to promise "when", and meet it... yet that little seed of doubt emerges and says, "But it depends on a lot of things falling miraculously into place—and you cannot predict when that is going to happen".

Hmm. Maybe THAT is the limiting belief preventing manifestation?

Thoughts?

Why Do Some Things Manifest More Easily?

Question.

Why is it so easy to manifest some things than others?

For example, I quit smoking 10 years ago simply by changing my mind. Seriously! I'd just purchased and moved into my first home, and I didn't want to mar the cleanliness with my smoking habit. I considered insisting that all smoking take place outside, but realized I'd enjoyed smoking inside, so that wouldn't work.

I'd been suffering on and off with persistent bronchitis that fall, and the doctor told me I was pre-asthmatic. Having grown up with a serious asthmatic and being well aware of the progression, I decided maybe I should try to quit.

So I started declaring every chance I got that I was a non-smoker, and, well, here I am, a very happy non-smoker for ten years without a single slip or craving. And not asthmatic, either.

At first, it was a tad bit of a challenge. I had to be on top of reminding myself I was a non-smoker. I had to catch myself a few times before the new habit of NOT reaching for the pack when I got in the car became more natural. But as time wore on, I didn't have to be so diligent. Now, I don't even think about it. In fact, I often forget I ever was a smoker.

Try that with "I'm a multimillionaire". Not sure why, but it doesn't seem to be working quite as effectively...

Yet.

Want, or Allow?

There is an excellent post over at Attraction Mind Map about Intentions. The process of setting a good intention is outlined well, with entertaining anecdotes to illustrate concepts.

On rare occasions, I find a gem within the comments, and this was no exception. Christopher, who did not link to a URL, pointed out the importance of using the right words:

For myself, I prefer to use the terms “I allow” rather than “I want”, as “I want” typically implies “I lack”. For example, “I want more money” implies “I don’t have enough money”. The focus is on lack. Instead, I might ask myself: could I let go of “wanting” [this or that] and just allow myself to have it?

I have been aware for some time now that words like "want", "need", "desire" and "wish for" imply lack. While "I am/have/do" is the most powerful affirmation there is, anyone who has been playing with this for awhile knows that sometimes the brain/Ego refuses to agree and puts up resistance ("No, you're not" or "Yeah, but").

In those instances, I'd use "I prefer" instead, which seemed to cause the Ego to relent.

However, I think I like Christopher's suggestion better: "I allow". Here's why.

When I say "I prefer" something, it's indicating I'd rather have it my way. But it's almost like I'm asking for permission to receive it—like the Universe asks me "Which would you like?" and I say "I prefer this..." and the Universe says, "That's nice, but you're getting that instead."

"I allow", on the other hand, reverses the roles. In order for me to allow something, I must have some control over its allowance. It's more like the Universe is asking me which one to provide, and I say, "I allow this, thank you". No questions asked.

I'll switch to this for now and let you know how it goes. Thanks, Christopher, for the suggestion, and thank you to Attraction Mind Map for leading me there.

PS: We sold Lot #3 in October. All that remains is to sell the house in the estate and my own personal house, and we can finally close the estate and I can move on.

Post-Election Thoughts

DISCLAIMER: Please understand that while I respect, admire and am inspired by Barack Obama, I do not in any way worship him or idolize him or put him above God and Jesus. If it comes off as such, it is simply because I am utterly amazed that for the first time in 2000-some years, one man has come along who has been able to do the impossible—shift the attitude of an entire world. He's not the Second Coming, as far as I know—but should we be surprised that he is being idolized by some? Jesus himself said "Far greater works than mine shall you do". I'd like to think Jesus would be pleased by this, not offended. That said, let's go.

Despite the overall excitement being felt worldwide about our recent Presidential election, there remains a surprising amount of vitriol from the dissenters. I find it appalling that the "losing" side can be so vehemently opposed to the choice that was made, and feel that they are merely reacting without thinking; focusing on issues and the "sky-is-falling" supposedly horrendous and painful changes that Obama's administration may foist upon them.

IMHO, they are missing the point.

It isn't about who is in the White House, or what color s/he may be. It isn't even about the policies they bring in with them.

Yes, Barack Obama has a laundry list of policies and changes he's proposed. But they are proposals only at this stage. Nothing is set in stone yet. Until it is, it can always be changed if it is discovered that it isn't working as is. Meaning, let's not freak out about high taxes when high taxes haven't been approved yet.

Obama still has to get past the House of Representatives, the Senate, and whomever else is in the chain of decision-making. These are just the philosophies and ideas that Obama presented to introduce who he is and what he stands for, so that we would be able to decide in which direction we might want to go as a nation.

The most important point, the one we all seem to be overlooking, isn't what he's proposing or who he is—it is the profound attitude shift that HE inspired in not just the American public, but throughout the entire world—AND that he inspired it to occur collectively in our minds at exactly the same moment!

Never mind his policy!

Those of us who are familiar with the Law of Attraction understand how profound it is that this has occurred.

Practitioners of the LOA such as myself, as well as many charismatic preachers and prayer groups around the world, are fully aware that circumstances are an illusion and that we as individuals are 100% responsible for attracting to us the circumstances we are experiencing. The situations are what they are—it is our reaction to them that decides whether they are "good" or "bad".

We are also fully aware that change WILL occur regardless of and in spite of what we do or don't do about it. Good AND bad.

In addition, we understand that the type of change that manifests is wholly dependent upon three things:

• our attitude about it
• our thoughts about it
• the energy we put into it as we think it

When a person is trying to manifest a positive change, it does her no good to dwell on what appear to be unpleasant circumstances; to wallow in negative thinking; to speak it into being; or to get upset about it. To make the change, she must change her thoughts first, then her attitude. Then when she envisions her changed world, she must do so with an uplifted, positive energy.

She has to think and shout, "Yes I Can!"

It works. It's been proven through time immemorial. It even says it works in the Bible. "As a man thinketh, so shall he be." When you "think" happy, you'll be happy, even if circumstances appear to be otherwise. Because you're emitting "happy", you'll attract back more "happy", and eventually the circumstances will have no choice BUT to change and comply with your vibration.

What you focus on, expands.

What you put out, you receive back or attract.

If you focus on negative situations and put out negative energy, you get back more of the same.

If you focus on positive situations and put out positive energy, you get back more of the same.

This is why things can go from good to bad or bad to worse, or bad to not so bad to good to great.

It's all about the 'Tude.

It's all about having a "Yes I Can" energy about you.

Because we LOAers understand this, we accept 100% responsibility for what we experience in our own lives... and must, as a world, accept 100% collective responsibility for what we, as a world, experience. Yes, WE created the high gas prices. WE created the economic crisis. Not by our physical actions so much, but by our thoughts.

I avoid complaining whenever possible, because when I complain, I must first think the thought, then I must speak it, then I add in the emotions surrounding it (attitude/energy). Then, if I'm whining to a friend, they add their emotions, energies and thoughts into the mix. Whammo. Instant manifestation. You shouldn't be surprised when, shortly after pitching a bitch about whatever is bothering you, another similar experience comes around again. Why me? Why does this always happen to me?

I'll tell you why and yes, it's redundant but bears repeating. What you focus on, expands. What you put out, you receive back or attract. It's all about the Tude. It's all about having a "Yes I Can" energy about you.

If you want to complain, complain about the annoying amount of blessings you've been receiving. Focus on POSITIVE changes.

Why am I saying this? Think about it! If ONE PERSON can make dramatic changes in their life simply by shifting their energies, thoughts and attitudes to a "Yes I Can" frame of mind...

...what do you suppose a group of 10 people, such as a Prayer Chain, can do with the same energies, thoughts and attitude going out at the same time?

...what do you suppose a group of 100 people, or 1,000, or 10,000, can do with the same energies, thoughts and attitude going out at the same time?

...what do you suppose can happen when 52.4% of a nation the size of America—that is more than half of us, people—can do, if the energies, thoughts and attitude of each one of those 63.7 million people are attuned to the VERY SAME VISION of relief, happiness, better jobs, improved economy, and positive change?

What if they're all attuned to that thought AT THE VERY SAME MOMENT?

Now add in the majority of the WORLD who was watching this election. Add THEIR energies of positivity, peace on earth, change for the better.

Obama has done what nobody has yet been able to do. He has managed to COLLECTIVELY inspire nearly the entire world with visions of better days, to infuse us with hope, and to raise our collective vibration to a higher level. (Sure, a large percent of ya feel otherwise, but, friends, majority rules. Those who choose to remain wallowing in negativity and who'd rather complain than do anything about it? That's fine. But know that 52.4% trumps 46.3%, so... looks like you'd all just better get ready for positive change!)

Before the election took place, we were in a collective funk. We were bemoaning the state of our economy, predicting dire future events, panicking about our 401Ks. We were criticizing the current administration and wallowing in a stagnant sea of negative energy.

Then we made our choice, and everything shifted.

This entire world has had a positive energy hyper infusion! At the moment Obama's election was announced on Tuesday night, the vast majority—MAJORITY—of the world rejoiced! There was dancing in the streets, fireworks were being shot off, people were crying happy tears, they were dancing and singing and holding in their minds visions of the wonderful future ahead of us and they were doing so with an enormous amount of positive energy. They were stomping and shouting joyfully,

YES! WE! CAN! YES! WE! CAN! YES! WE! CAN! YES! WE! CAN!

If one can manifest positive change in their own little life by doing this, what can a world majority do?

Hold onto your hats, people, because I'm happy to say, we are about to find out. :-D

What Happens When You Give Away Money?

That's what David, aka the "Bald Guy in a Blue House", intends to find out.

Bald Guy In A Blue House has created the world's first-ever free lottery, based on the Law of Attraction. It's called the Lawterry of Attraction Contest.

After viewing the Secret and learning to use the LOA, Bald Guy has been inspired to try an LOA experiment to see what happens when "a bald guy in a blue house gives away money".

Bald Guy (David) intends to give away a million dollars, $50 at a time, once per week.

No strings attached.

He'll be doing this for five years or until a million has been given away, whichever comes first. It is based on the principle that all abundance comes through us, rather than to or because of us.

The contest is open to anyone in the world. Doesn't matter if you're in Kenya or Antarctica, if you have computer access and an email address and a first name, you are eligible.

To enter, visit

http://www.iwannagivenow.com/

or just click on this link to go straight to the contest. Be sure to visit his blog as well,

http://www.blog.baldguyinabluehouse.com/

One caveat: when entering, if you have an email address such as blank.blank.com, you may get an error message telling you your email is invalid. I was able to sign up using a Yahoo address. GMail will also work.

The Shift

Do you want to be on the leading edge of manifesting the greatest social transformation in human history?

Then click on this link right now and watch this six-minute trailer for The Shift Movie.

These are just a few of the individuals appearing in this movie. Other notables such as Dr. Joe Vitale will also be appearing.

It is time to CHOOSE CHANGE.

Deciding

There is a theme continuing in these entries. I feel I'm getting closer and closer to The Answer that will permanently and positively change my life. First, I thought it was about asking for things, like you're placing an order with God/Universe/Source (let's just call it God for simplicity's sake). Then I thought it was about what we focus on.

Then it came to me in the last post that we decide. It's not up to anyone else what we become—no one else can stop us or make it work—each of us is solely responsible for making life work out. Everyone, including God, just subconsciously "agrees" with what we've already decided is true for ourselves, and "becomes" an obstacle, a hindrance or a helper to us.

This morning, the concept of deciding expanded further.

I have been trying in vain to turn myself into a morning person because I feel I'll be more productive, and with the waning daylight and the fall heat, morning seems like a great time to play with my horses. It would also allow me to treat the horse thing more like a job.

For the 9,000th time, I failed to rise at 7:00 AM. Same old situation. To bed too late, tired, unexplained sore/stiff neck, bleaghhhhh... when my eyes finally did pry themselves opened, I asked God:

"Why it is so damned hard for me to manifest this stuff? Why can't I seem to get stuff to change?"

I got an answer.

Because you’ve DECIDED it is.

Well. That launched a conversation with God that I won’t go into blow-by-blow lest we be here all night, but I'll sum up the more pertinent points.

Not only do we decide who/what we want to be/do/have/experience.

We decide EVERYTHING. Every word out of our mouth is a decision we’ve made.

In addition I was told that Prayer = Deciding; Faith = Expecting Deliverance of the Decision (manifestation).

Here’s an example. I was complaining about the morning rising issue. I said:

But, I hate getting up in the morning. I’m not a morning person. If I do get up, it’s only because I HAVE to, like for a job. And I usually feel really tired and draggy all day, because I didn’t get enough sleep the night before, because I went to bed too late. So... that makes a lot of options (careers) not possible for me.

I said, “How do I change THAT?”

The answer:

DECIDE to.

Very long debate with God about how I can’t just decide to change all that, it’s just who I am, yadda yadda... with His countering me at every turn.

He pointed out how I’d surprised myself with how much I’d enjoyed getting up before dawn for the PNH clinics, loved the morning light, the air, the way it smelled, the barn at first light, the fog, the crispness in the air... but always felt like I wasn’t supposed to be enjoying it.

I said, “Yeah, because it went against every belief I had about morning.”

God just smiled (it felt that way). Suddenly, I got it.

It went against every belief I had about morning!

Read my paragraph of whining again. Now, tell me. How many beliefs can you count?

YES! Every single one is a BELIEF. Rather... it’s what I DECIDED to believe about me and mornings. (I counted seven total.) That’s when it dawned on me (no pun intended) that when I greet someone and they say “how are you today” and I say “I’m OK, but I'm tired, I got up too early today”, I’m basically saying, “I have decided to feel tired today, and I’ve decided that I got up too early and that I don’t like it.” Then, of course, life lines up to present circumstances that underscore just how tired I am today and reminders of how early I got up.

I could have decided that I feel GREAT! I feel more alive than I have in years! But most of us don’t do that automatically. If I’ve decided that’s just how I am, that’s how I’ll BE.

Look at how differently it reads when I add I’ve decided to it:

But, I’ve decided that I hate getting up in the morning. I’ve decided that I’m not a morning person. I’ve decided that if I do get up, it’s only because I HAVE to, like for a job. And I’ve decided that I usually feel really tired and draggy all day, because I’ve decided that I didn’t get enough sleep the night before, because I’ve decided that I went to bed too late. So... I’ve decided that that makes a lot of options (careers) not possible for me.

Wow, huh? Certainly shifts MY perspective.

God said, if I just decide to enjoy rising at 7:00 AM and decide to enjoy going to bed by midnight, and decide to fall right into a sound, peaceful sleep, I WILL.

He also said that every other action/behavior and subsequent related belief will fall into place and align with it.

Decide the root belief, and the others line up.

God said:

This will feel a little strange at first—(Me: heh heh, or it will if I’ve decided that it will) because it’s new and unfamiliar. But if you decide that it feels just right, it will.

He said:

Watch what you say out loud, to others and to yourself, as well as what you think. If you can’t comfortably proclaim how great everything is because of how it might offend the people who are on perma-downers, then just respond neutrally but THINK it to yourself.

Say: “Oh, I’m good”

but think: “I’m fantastic!!!” (and try to surreptitiously lift their beliefs/decisions as well if you can)—

Me: or... HA HA HA decide to. (I love me...) I think I’m really beginning to get it. No. Wait. I’ve decided that I’m beginning to get it. HAHAHAHAHA I have to stop laughing at the absurdity of this but it’s so true! And we don’t even realize it! Or, we decide not to! AGH make it stop—

~~~

As the full force of understanding of this concept sunk in, I found myself laughing. It's so simple, yet so difficult! (Or, as I said, it is if we decide... let's not go there again. It's an endless loop. Or could be. If...)

My challenge for today is to try this exercise: Add the phrase I’ve decided that to everything thought and said throughout the day.

So if I’m thinking to myself and I slip and say “Gosh, I’m tired today”, I have to catch it and say “Wait—so I’ve decided that I’m tired today? NO WAY! I’ve decided that I am full of energy today and well-rested!”

or

"I gotta clean the kitchen" becomes "I've decided to clean the kitchen"

"I'll never lose weight" becomes "I've decided I'll never lose weight... no, wait! I've decided I'm in the process of thinning down!"

I challenge YOU to try this as well. Get some paper. Mentally divide it into thirds. Make two columns: the left is one third of the page and the right is two-thirds wide. In the right (wider) column, write down every complaint, every "this is just how I am" that you have.

• I hate vacuuming.
• God, my house is a mess.
• People are annoying and they cannot drive.
• This TV show sucks.
• It'd be nice if the neighbor would leave my lawn darts alone, but he never does.
• I love cats and chocolate!
• My boyfriend irritates me, he thinks I'm daft.
• Crap, I'm going to be late again.
• I'll never find a parking space in this lot.
• Don't drink all that soda pop, it'll make you fat!
• That woman is just never going to get a good job unless she learns to dress better.

When your list is complete (and it will be—should be—far longer than this), add the words "I've decided that" to the front of every single line, in the left-hand column. Then read it out loud.

• I've decided that I hate vacuuming.
• I've decided that God, my house is a mess.
• I've decided that people are annoying and I've decided that they cannot drive.
• I've decided that this TV show sucks.
• I've decided that it'd be nice if the neighbor would leave my lawn darts alone, but I've decided that he never does.
• I've decided that I love cats and chocolate!
• I've decided that my boyfriend irritates me, he's decided that he thinks I'm daft.
• I've decided that crap, I'm going to be late again.
• I've decided that I'll never find a parking space in this lot.
• I've decided that if you drink all that soda pop, it'll make you fat!
• I've decided that that woman is just never going to get a good job unless she learns to dress better.

Does it sound as absurd to you as it does to me? They are all just beliefs, not truths! :-)

You can't change the current circumstances because they are the product of past decisions (or... have I just decided that you can't?), but you CAN change what you decide to bring into your life from now on. The second part of the exercise would be to go back and turn the negatives into positive opposites.

So far, I've decided that I'm happy—not that I'm going to be happy, but that I am right now; I've decided some other things pertaining to the house sales; and I've done a LOT of EFT tapping on other issues, unearthing some core issues I wasn't aware I had.

Life, I've decided, is great.

Tithes

Tithing.

Some have issues with the concept. I'll admit I did at first. When I'd see a televangelist declaring that it says in the Bible to plant your seed against your need, make sure it's 10% of your income, and be sure to send it to our ministry, I took offense. I saw it as a blatant begging for money.

It took a long time before the offensiveness wore off and I began to see that tithing is not just a Biblical concept, nor is there any rule that says you MUST tithe 10% or give it to the church. Tithing is merely paying God first—or paying into the flow first, whichever you prefer.

Tithing activates the flow of money TO you. Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive when someone says "I was down to my last few dollars, rent was due, but I gave the money to the church..." You think, well now we know why they can't afford rent, right? Because they are wasting their money giving it to the church instead of to their landlord.

Then you hear the second part:

"...and the very next day, I received a check out of the blue for twice the rent amount!!!"

And the Hoo-Boy! mechanism activates within us. Hoo-Boy, is this for real?

Yes, my friends, it is for real.

The other day I was cleaning out some boxes. I came across a couple of long-forgotten no-expiration-date coupons for a free entree at a favorite restaurant. I called. They said "sure, we'll accept it". I made sure to be extra diligent with my Thank You's to the Lord for the free meal (or two, because the portion size feeds me twice). I was so excited.

On the drive home, I was suddenly inspired to tithe. But all I had on me was a pocketful of change. Remembering that in lean times, it's OK to tithe with a dime rather than a dollar, I opted for the dimes. It's not the AMOUNT that matters—it's the INTENTION. If you're really hard up, even a penny will do, because it's not the value of the coin... the coin is a container for your intentions and gratitude, and it is limited only by the size of your heart and mind.

I filled up that dime with thanks, praise and gratitude. Then I flung it from the car onto the sidewalk of a back street. But one wasn't enough. I filled up another dime and flung it. Then a nickel. Then I went home and ate the first half of my free meal.

About an hour later, I got a call. A woman was answering one of my ads. I currently have a LOT of stuff on Craigslist and posted around town as being for sale. This woman wanted the vacuum cleaner I had for sale. I sold it in the easiest transaction ever. She met me at the storage unit, I handed it to her, and she handed me the money, no questions, no nothing.

Yes, it was only 25 cents. And yes, the price for that vacuum wasn't very high. But it bought milk, eggs, and a few other necessities. It was a small tithe to me, but a big tithe to the Universe.

It works.

Emergency Manifestation Energy Request

The subject of inheritances has come up before as I am in the middle—no, toward the end—of settling my Mother's estate, which has resulted in sibling battles between me and my sister.

To assist with this, I went to Uni-Festation and requested good energy be sent toward a fast resolution to the estate. It worked—the date I had in mind was the date I received an email from the lawyer regarding this. However... I goofed. Because what he said and how I envisioned it are two entirely polar opposite things, and it's NOT good. It was, in fact, EXTREMELY upsetting to me.

Yes, I know, great opportunity to practice peace and to try to find the lesson in it and figure out why on earth I attracted it.

I believe I attracted it to myself because I focused on the wrong thing.

I focused on settling the estate, quickly and fairly. Truth be told, the latest proposal has validity as being A logical and fair method of settling. But it is not nearly ideal nor is it mutually beneficial.

There is only ONE solution that fits this. There is only ONE obstacle.

The two unsold lots.

My Mother's estate consists of a large sum of cash and two properties. One is my childhood home, the other was Grandma's house in another part of the state. The Will allowed me to choose to take either house as my primary residence. I chose my childhood home. That meant Grandma's house on 9 acres would be sold and the profits split accordingly. We'll just foregoe the discussions of the 10,000 ways to balance distribution that we've had, none of which my sister found agreeable for one reason or another.

Grandma's house didn't market well as one property due to two factors: zoning restrictions preventing more than one livestock on the property means it's not appealing to horse or cow people so it's just land; and the house itself was built in 1880 and needs serious TLC. So we subdivided. The land perc'd and was surveyed into three lots.

I put out a call for energy earlier this month on my hobby blog and within three days, Lot #2 sold. We're closing mid-April. But that's not enough to move my sister to settle amicably—she is still fighting to get an extraordinary amount of cash up front and "make me wait" (despite both of us needing the assistance the cash could bring) OR, as ludicrous as this sounds, allow her to take all the cash in the accounts and if I take any right now, it's considered a loan from her which I would pay back at 6% interest because this is the amount she's paying on the mortgage she can't pay down because she hasn't yet received her inheritance.

I'll pause for a moment to allow that to sink in.

Yes, the lawyer actually thought this sounded reasonable, to pay interest on my own inheritance. You can see why I was upset (understatement).

After working it out that I understand she must be in hell to have suggested the settlement she did (without condoning it), I came to the understanding that the only real obstacle here is NOT her unwillingness to settle "my" way or my unwillingness to allow her to railroad me. The real obstacle to our lives' progress is the two unsold lots.

So I'm shifting my focus. The estate CAN be settled without the lots being sold, but it will be awful. It would involve partial distribution of the cash (if we could ever agree on the split) and the estate would remain open until the other lots are sold.

However, with the two lots sold, the estate automatically settles without further need for discussion or negotiation. All the money is in one place, it's done, and we split and move on.

So this is what I'm asking of my manifestation friends. Let's all focus on news that Lots #1 and #3 have SOLD. Visualize my next post reading something like this:

OMG THANK YOU!!!!! The two remaining lots SOLD today!!! We got close to our asking price on both!!! We close in 30 days (or less)! Sister dropped all the nonsense because we're dividing ALL the money in a month or less! OMG IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!!!

As always, thank you all in advance, and let me know over on Unifestation if you have any needs to which YOU need energy sent. Many blessings, have a spectacular weekend.