Worry = Focus

Recently, I've been reading Maxwell Maltz' 1960s classic "Psycho-Cybernetics" (there is an updated version published in 2002) and came across a very important LOA concept:

What you focus on becomes the goal.

Makes sense, right? Let's explore it a bit further.

What you focus on—consciously or otherwise—becomes the goal.

Read that again.

Note the "consciously OR OTHERWISE" part.

I allowed this concept to float around in my brain for the better part of a week while I attended to mundane tasks such as vehicle shopping, attending the closing on Lot #2, and enduring a bout with bronchitis.

Because my parents died, I will soon be receiving an inheritance. In addition, I have a personal home on the market. Together, the proceeds form one big chunk of cash coming in and it gives me a pretty big financial boost. There is enough money to boost me firmly into whatever career I want to pursue and help me along the way up to get me to the point where I'll be able to "take it from there".

But that's IT. As far as I know in the "natural", that is, based on the physical known evidence in front of me, I have one chunk and that's it.

Of course, for all I know, I could be on the verge of a major lottery win. Or another unexpected chunk from somewhere. Plus I keep forgetting I really DID inherit a very sizeable amount, but because I chose to take the primary chunk of that in house rather than liquid cash, it doesn't feel like that much, and I'd have to sell the house to transfer it into cash.

Really, I am—on paper—quite well off, better than I think. I just keep forgetting that—probably because I'm not accustomed to BEING well-off (my parents were the ones who were well-off; all I did was benefit secondarily from their abundance). And I keep forgetting that this isn't the only money in the world I'll ever get. I'm not a vegetable. I can work. I can sell off stuff. I can make more money in the days to come.

But my brain keeps focusing on:

"Only one chunk and that's IT".
"Only one chance to boost yourself up and that's IT".

My brain seems to have an issue.

This manner of thinking leads to worrying that I might make the wrong choice. I've made wrong choices before. But I've always been able to get out of them, thanks largely to help from my now-dead parents, and I've always been able to take another chance.

But if I make the wrong choice NOW... that's IT. They're dead. My "rescuers" are gone. I have one chunk of cash to help me "make it". If I make the wrong choice, and halfway to "there" I realize it, I'm either going to have to keep going regardless (stuck) or if I find out the hard way because at the important crossroads of proving myself, I fail—then I fail, and I'm f***ed (rhymes with "stuck").

Make the wrong choice, and I'm stuck or f***ed.

Which leads to the realization that I've ALWAYS worried that I'll make the wrong choice (in careers, men, lifestyles, etc—we're talking major choices, not what's for dinner).

Boi-oi-oi-oinnnnngggggggg. Suddenly, I had an insight.

What is worry?

WORRY is SUBCONSCIOUS FOCUS.

Read that about 20 more times and let it sink in firmly like I had to. Because it didn't sink in when I realized initially that what we focus on consciously or OTHERWISE becomes the goal. Nope. It had to play out a bit further.

OTHERWISE = other than consciously, as in SUBconsciously or UNconsciously.

WORRY = consistent concerned focus on a negative outcome.

WORRY is SUBCONSCIOUS FOCUS on a NEGATIVE OUTCOME.

What we FOCUS on, consciously OR OTHERWISE, becomes the GOAL.

So... when we worry, we are subconsciously focusing on a negative outcome and that negative outcome becomes the goal. And our subconscious engages us in actions and behaviors to ensure that the goal is achieved!

The laughable thing is that I'm REALLY GOOD at manifesting stuff. Oh, there is plenty of evidence, plenty of proof of what I've "successfully" failed to do with my life, LOL! The trick is to learn to use my power for good, not evil.

When I worry, I am subconsciously allowing my brain to focus on something, and that thing unconsciously becomes my goal.

How scary is that?

So... what if I can't get into music school? I thought, when I was eighteen and applying to the College of Musical Arts. (I passed the auditions, the theory exams, and was practically a shoe-in, but I blew my entrance interview. Totally. So I studied art instead. Much, much later.)

What if I never get married?

What if I never find a guy to have children with? (or never get that baby lust desire to have a child?)

What if I never make it in music? What if I wind up one of those washed-up overweight former rockers who had to metaphorically cut off her hair and get a real job that I hate at 40?

What if my parents die before I get my manure together?

Just pull the "what if" part off, and there's the goal.

Can't get into music school. Never get married. Never have children. Never make it in music. Wind up a washed-up overweight former rocker who had to cut off her hair so to speak and get a real job I truly dislike at 40. Parents will die before I get my manure together.

Oy vey.

What if I make the wrong career choice and I wind up stuck or f***ed?

Make the wrong career choice and wind up stuck or f***ed.

Fascinating, isn't it? Objectively speaking, that is.

And there I am, unwittingly hurtling closer and closer to achieving a goal I wasn't even aware that I had.

The trick, I suppose, is to closely monitor what flitters through my subconscious, notice what it is specifically that I worry about, and then really work to revise it so that it works FOR me rather than AGAINST me. Such as:

Make the right career choice and wind up happy and successful.

I know that from this moment forward, I'm making the right career choice, the choice that brings me ever-increasing happiness and success.

Granted, it doesn't cover my previous or most recent choices necessarily. But that's OK. As long as I can forgive myself for any choices I made that weren't right, knowing now what I didn't know then, and move forward... and take comfort in the fact that despite their being the "wrong" choices, at least I was really successful in achieving the goals... I'll be OK.

I made a minor revision, then I output it in huge letters. It's taped to my bathroom mirror, it's printed on a business-card-sized slip for tucking in my wallet, and it's printed on a strip I taped to the bottom of my computer monitor:

I know… that from this moment forward, I'm making all the right choices. The choices that I'm now making bring me ever-increasing happiness and success.

(It could be revised even further to past tense: I've made all the right choices... your call.)

That ought to do it. :-)

Shooting Down Missiles

It is said that one cannot unthink a thought or unspeak a word. True, a word once spoken is out there. But is it really true that a thought cannot be unthought?

What has troubled me most about the LOA is the concept that thought energy manifests itself physically in time, and that the stuff I'm experiencing now is the result of thoughts I had un- or sub-consciously—or even consciously—long ago. Well, how the heck do I know what I might have thought myself into years ago? It's terrifying when you really consider the potential consequences.

It sent me to a miserable place for awhile, pondering what might be up ahead, all because I stupidly mis-thought something but had no idea what that mis-thought might have been. What have I done to myself? What horrors await me? I felt helpless. I've gone and done something to myself that I never intended to do and I have no way to stop it because I wasn't aware enough to know what I was doing at the time, so now all I can do is sit here and brace myself for the onslaught.

Does that make sense?

Well, maybe it doesn't have to be that way.

If the enemy shoots a missile into space, aiming at a target here on Earth, it doesn't mean we're done for. Because we can shoot a missile into space, aimed at the oncoming missile, to intercept it and destroy it before it hits.

Why couldn't we also do this with thought energy?

OK, so you made the mistake of sending out all sorts of negative financial energy. You're awaiting certain ruin. Why? Why not launch a missile of positive financial energy, and intercept the negative energy that is on its way back to you? Followers of Abraham (Esther and Jerry Hicks) call this a "rocket of desire".

Rather than sit back and wait for your own personal apocalypse, send up a rocket of desire. Shoot down the mis-fired thought missiles that are freefalling towards you and blast them full of positive opposite energy.

That's what I'm doing, anyway.

One thing I'm finding VERY useful in my progress is The Clearing Audio, produced by Dr. Joe Vitale ("The Attractor Factor", "Zero Limits", "The Key") and Pat O'Bryan ("Portable Empire"). It's about 20 minutes of soothing new-age music composed by Pat with binaural beats and your choice of a version that is music only, music with subliminal affirmations embedded below the conscious level, or audible affirmations read by Joe. You get all three for one low price. They just released an Advanced Clearing Audio with seven variations, but you must have been using the original Clearing Audio for 30 days straight before you're allowed to download it.

Well, I've been using it for about 10 days now and it is amazing. At first, I played it constantly while being online. Then I downloaded it to my cell phone. Every night, I go to bed and fall asleep to the following sequence:

Clearing Audio (audible affirmations)
Stin's Meditations*
Clearing Audio (subliminal affirmations)

I'm usually out halfway through the first Clearing Audio and wake up to silence. I sleep great. I have pleasant, educational dreams. I no longer experience the 3 AM panic attacks (where you wake up suddenly, panicking, not sure why, thoughts racing)—nope, all gone! I awake refreshed. I feel more confident. Motivated. And the surprising thing is, my storehouse of limiting beliefs is surfacing. This really does work!

I downloaded it March 29th. All my LBs related to the sale of my Grandma's house emerged. I analyzed and addressed them. On April 3rd, we got an offer on the house. It took a week. That's a bit longer than most people experience with this meditation between clearing beliefs and manifesting change, but I figure it's because I had some particularly big blocks to clear. Things ARE unblocking. This is amazing. I advise you to head over there and download it and see for yourself. Then you, too, can clear out your counter intentions and start sending out wondrous rockets of desire, and launch anti-counter-intention missiles into your personal universe.

*Stin Meditations: Stin is the host of My Thought Coach. She offers free podcasts of affirmations as well as deeper meditations available through a paid membership. Being the musically-adept person that I am, and having Cubase Studio 4 on my Mac, I imported my three favorite podcast MP3s into Cubase, put them in the order I wanted, and saved as a new MP3—for my own personal use only. That way I could drop it on my cell phone and play it all at once. (My three faves deal with financial abundance, health and weight control, and being happy.)

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.

Together We Can Uni-Fest Great Things

Have you set an intention, but it seems to be stuck on pause? Perhaps all it would take to get it moving again is a little extra energy. But not YOUR energy. Maybe you're still harboring a few persnickety limiting beliefs that are gumming up the works. Maybe your energy is miring it in the mud.

Maybe what you need is some outside energy; a little help from your friends.

Or complete strangers who have your best interests in mind, who are on the Positive Thinking/LOA bandwagon, who have experience manifesting good things and who are unbiased enough to put out pure, unadulterated positive vibes in your favor.

Maybe you need a little UNI-FESTATION.

What the heck is that, you ask? Venture on over to my new blog and find out more. It's an offshoot of this blog and I think you'll like the idea.

Unknowingness

What is happening to television all of a sudden? Everywhere I turn, I'm finding inspirational viewing choices for a change! Last night, PBS (a channel I rarely watch) featured a program by Dr. Wayne Dyer "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life"; tonight, it was Deepak Chopra with "The Happiness Prescription". I sware, it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain an unenlightened state around here. ;-)

One thing Chopra said resonated with me so profoundly I had to rewind to make sure I'd heard it right. It was like someone whacked me over the head with an awareness stick when he said it. The subject of fear was being discussed (relevant, much?) and he delivered a concept that blew my mind.

Basically, the concept is this: People fear the unknown: the future, death, uncertainty, and so on. But what we consider to be the "known" Universe is just the past, programming from the past. It's known because it's already happened.

The unknown, however, is everything else. The future, that is, every moment from this present moment forward, IS UNKNOWN. This is why we fear it. But we shouldn't, because if the past is known and based on what has happened already, the unknown future is full of infinite possibility.

Yeah, yeah. Sounds like a bunch of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo right?

Unknown = Infinite Possibility. Let that roll around in your head for a minute.

The future is not set in stone. No matter what has happened in the past, even if circumstances are similar, it doesn't automatically mean that the outcome will be the same! It's unknown! It still has a chance to be altered!

Even in a situation where 9 times out of 10 the end result from that set of circumstances was X, on some occasions it was Y. But since the outcome has not happened yet... it is still UNKNOWN. Or maybe it's always been X for as long as anyone can remember... until someone decides to choose Y anyway—and Y happens instead. It doesn't matter. The outcome is still "out there", unknown. Possible. Even if the possibility is so microscopically remote that it's nearly impossible to believe in. The point is, it's wide open territory for choice.

Get it?

That means you have the chance to make a choice RIGHT NOW that can alter the outcome. You can be the Y instead of the X!

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone else, but it's gone another level beyond where I was earlier. NOW I understand how people can have so much faith and belief even in seemingly impossible situations: it's because they know this instinctively, or have learned it, and they know that if it hasn't happened yet, it can still be changed. Regardless.

That, my friends, is profound.

Waiting Faster

I can relate to this comic—can you?

There is a timespace between Point A (setting the intention) and Point B (manifestation of the outcome). It is a limbo land where nothing appears to be different or happening. Sometimes things even appear to be getting worse or moving in the opposite direction.

Deepak Chopra calls it the Law of Uncertainty. Others refer to this as the Allowing Phase.

I call it the In-Between Time.

And it sucks.

Sometimes it passes without much notice. Sometimes it goes by quick—almost immediately.

Then there are the times when it seems to be dragging on forever, and ever, and ever.

Or the times when, like I mentioned earlier, things seem to be going the wrong way.

It can even get scary.

Ask me how I know.

Someday, when this is all over with, I'll tell you.

Because I'm in the In-Between Time right now on a couple of major issues. They involve properties, inheritances, and estate matters. Eventually they will all resolve. When they do, there will be a very nice impact on my finances. I've been very patient.

But dudes, I really gotta wait faster. Because the waiting has had the opposite effect on my finances, and other things in that direction weren't moving so well, either. And frankly, it's been moving toward a very scary place.

Last weekend, I had some of the most GINORMOUS epiphanies about money, about the limiting beliefs and counter intentions surrounding these issues, and it didn't stop there. I tell ya, it has been an extremely profound few weeks for me. The insights I've gained could fill a book.

Actually, they probably will, not too far in the future.

But I digress.

Possibly the most profound insight I've had relates to FEAR versus FAITH. I've experienced so much fear along with my hyperactive limiting beliefs that I've almost had panic attacks. Until a couple of days ago, when I realized that FEAR is a signal to me that I feel I'm lacking something important—and there is a solution.

So simple, in fact, that I don't know why I didn't realize it before. I've heard it from a gazillion sources, Christian, LOA, Zen, you name it—but it never sank in.

All you gotta do is ASK.

First of all, FEAR and FAITH cannot co-exist within the same moment. You have to choose to experience one or the other. That helped some.

Next, you've probably heard things like "Let go and Let God", or you've been told to "send all your needs up to God" or similar. "Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find." Then there is that line about believing it to be already there. Well, it suddenly makes sense.

ASK.

What brought this home in a big way was an exercise in which I listed every limiting belief I had about the outcome of the issues. I won't bore you with the details, but money was just the surface issue. The core issue was:

I am deathly afraid that once this last obstacle standing in the way of my dreams is lifted, I'll find out I don't really HAVE a dream to follow. Then where will I be?

Heavy, right?

Well, what do you do about that? I wondered.

A little voice in my head cleared its throat and said, "Well... you could always ask for a new one."

OH.

I thought about that for a bit, and I realized:

• If I'm afraid of not having a dream, ask for the courage to accept it; then, ask for a new one, even better and more attainable than any previous dead dreams.
• If I'm afraid my old house won't sell, ask for a new owner to come along.
• If I'm afraid I don't have the guts to try something, ask for the courage.
• If I'm afraid I'll fail, ask for assistance in achieving success.

Whatever it is that you lack that causes you to experience fear, ASK for the opposite.

Then, of course, express gratitude for receiving it, and believe it is there. See yourself as the person you would be IF you had that.

This is helping me "wait faster" and get through the In-Between Time (which, by the way, feels like it's just about over).

Sometime over the weekend, I realized that:

1. I have nothing to fear because I can ask for what I lack and trust the Universe (God, Tao, Deity of Choice) to provide it
2. As Deepak says, if you're experiencing the uncertainty it is a sure sign you are getting closer to its manifestation
3. What I see in front of me today is the shadow of what I attracted in the past; but it doesn't represent what my more recent thoughts are manifesting. So I need to look past what's in front of me to what's ahead.
   
4. It very well MIGHT look "worse" before it looks better, but that's where I'll just have to stay in faith and peace even more deeply

I made a definite, profound shift in consciousness this weekend. Not just this, but also related to money. But I'll save that epiphany for another day. Odd that I'm feeling such peace about life in a situation where many people would be feeling the exact opposite. (No sign of the men in the white coats so far... LOL!)

If you feel moved to send out a little positive energy towards the quick and profitable sale of the properties involved and imminent resolution of the related matters, I'd certainly be moved to gratitude and ask that you be blessed as well.

For Just a Dollar A Day

I encourage you to visit my new friend Todd at his website and learn about his wonderful idea—Give Away a Dollar A Day. I've already joined the campaign.

There are many fun ways in which we can give away a dollar a day to promote the positive flow of abundance energy out into the Universe, and by default attract more of that energy back to us, because that's how it works—what we put out, we get back in Spades (or Aces, depending on the kind of energy we're putting out).

As I was reading Todd's list, a memory returned. I have a friend who has unknowingly been participating in this already, and I witnessed it first-hand. I emailed the story to Todd—you can read it by following this link.

If you are up for the challenge, go for it! If, as Todd says, the idea of giving away a whole dollar unnerves you, give away a quarter. Or even a penny. It's not the dollar amount that counts—it's the attitude that is put into the coin or bill that counts. This is all about the energy.

Give it a shot. Really. It's "only" a dollar. I know—you're saying, "What if it doesn't work? I'll have lost a dollar and I might need that someday". OK, sure.

But... what if it DOES?