Energy

Energy is the substance that lies beneath the surface of the material world, it is the ever fluid consciousness that animates the myriad forms of life. In our physical bodies this energy in the world is perceived through the filter of our brains. The level of energy we see and hear creates the physical reality of the world we live in. This established range was determined over years of evolution and is set at what most greatly promoted our survival as a species during the past 10,000 years…yet there is far more out there than what we have as of yet been able to perceive.

We can in fact learn to see, hear and think outside of this normal range. Many people do and many more are developing their abilities as we speak. The way I see it, our survival as a species now depends on pushing our abilities beyond the biological set point of our inherited survival range…which leads me to the evolving human brain, the nature of thoughts and how thoughts and energy correspond.

The Evolution of the Brain

Obviously our brains are wonderful tools that serve us very well in the physical plane on the practical levels of getting things done. But there is another function that has mostly gone by unnoticed even though it has been evolving right along side the physical brain’s accomplishments…the visual image side.

Why is it that we can create pictures in our minds? Or that faces are so immensely important to our development when it is maybe a sense of smell for other creatures?

The answer lies within our ability to see ourselves in relation to the world. We are capable of becoming conscious. This consciousness is the purpose of all developing life on the planet starting with the simplest life forms and ending so far with the only species that as of yet has this ability…the human being.

Human beings are capable of visualizing something and then creating it physically but this act that we often call art is merely a reflection of a ongoing process that is always in motion. We can visualize because we can create…we can create because we are aware of ourselves…and we are aware of ourselves to learn about who and what we truly are.

The Mind is a Tool Not an Identity

Thinking is vastly misunderstood. Many of us share a common perception about the nature of our minds…we think we are our thoughts. Thoughts are an automatic function of the human brain…the longer it is left unmonitored the more chaotic and unreliable the thinking becomes. Most of us buy into the false belief that we have no control over our own minds and that we are at the mercy of this automatic and often very reactive thought process but nothing could be further from the truth.

The Mind is Not Meant to Run Your Life…You Are

The mind is tool that is meant to be used consciously…it is not capable of managing your life, this is outside of the design of its purpose and would be the equivalent of setting the cruise control on your car and then going to sleep. It is a communication, storage and projection facility…designed to catch and filter information, display it for you and send messages to source. Source then translates these messages and they appear as manifestations in your physical reality.

Think of it like television reception. The mind is the station sending out the signal…the universe is the antennae or cable box that receives the signal and translates it into an image for your television (the metaphor we are using for your experience of reality).

Every thought is like a wave going out and emitting a frequency…each one is capable of manifesting physically. Obviously, the stronger the signal the more intense the focus…the more likely this is to happen. Think about which thoughts get the strongest emotional reaction, which ones you can’t seem to put down and you will have a good idea of what thoughts are currently the strongest and most likely to come and meet you in your life.

Visualization: Controlling the Signal

Visualization is one of the best tools we have for consciously sending signals out to the universe. Random thoughts and even thoughts of worry can not compare to the focused attention that visualization creates.

It works because you are consciously engaging your internal vision, your focused attention, your emotions and your thinking mind all in the same direction for a period of time. This creates an intensely clear, focused far reaching signal that is easy for the universe to respond to…allowing you to design your communications with the divine even if you have not yet gained control over your thoughts on a regular basis.

The brain makes no distinction between imagined and projected images and actual images from the events in your life. It does its job which is to filter, display and transmit regardless of the content. It is up to you to control the content and thereby control what comes into your experience.

Methods

I use a combination of methods in creating the content I want my mind use. Mantra’s (or repeated phrases) are wonderful for keeping it on track. Visualization is a key component as well which can include imagining as well as remembering. Feeling is the final peace that pulls it all together. If you can hear it, see it and feel it clearly than you are in control of the signal that is designing your life

This post is all about the mess. The mess hiding behind your desk, in your closets and drawers, bookshelves, cabinets and any visible space that you can put something. I’m suggesting that you get rid of it all…and create spaciousness in your living environment. I am not suggesting that you become obsessive-compulsive. No, far from it as this involves a very conscious approach to clearing the clutter from your life, mind and spirit.

You and Your Environment

You may wonder what any of this has to do with you…I mean, how can the drawers in your house possibly affect you other than mild inconvenience right? This view point could not be more wrong. What happens to you when you can’t find something you need? What is the first thought that comes to mind when you walk into a crowded space? If you answered not enough, you are correct and that is a thought you do not want your living environment provoking 20 times a day. Not enough leads to dissatisfaction and an unconscious assumption that your life is not fulfilled.

Perhaps you’re thinking that I am taking this a little too far, so my closet is a little stuffed and it is struggle to get dressed every morning…doesn’t all that stuff remind me of how much I actually have? No it doesn’t because it is the nature of the human mind to focus on lack…you will only be thinking that there is too much stuff or not enough space…neither thought creates the mindset that will connect you with the proper energy for personal growth.

That lack of space and lack of ease is what you will feel every morning and you will take that feeling with you into each and every day…so what I am suggesting is that you go through your living spaces and relinquish everything that you don’t use, doesn’t please you or that you already have more than enough of. Pair it done to your absolute favorites and organize things in a way that makes everything accessible and leaves you with a sense of how much room you have. When you finish organizing a space you want to leave it with thoughts of how much, how easy, how great everything is…once you accomplish that feeling when entering and exiting your living space you will feel a lot more balanced at home and that ease and balance will transfer to everything else in life.

When you enter the process of physically organizing your life to enhance your feelings of abundance you also reorganize your thoughts, feelings and energy as well. This puts you in a place of consciously creating and this is a place of power, of owning your internal and physical states, of knowing what you want and of placing your focus in that direction. By consciously creating a physical environment that is in alignment with your personal growth goals, you surround yourself with their vibration, thereby moving forward with much less resistance.

Reconnecting

Recently, I have been focused on re-opening my channels to divine guidance. Many of us, whether we are conscious of it or not shut down our natural channels of communication to the divine often because we have misunderstood the messages, been hurt by others during the process of receiving messages or we are angry at God. I had at one point questioned the validity of my natural guidance to such a degree that I could no longer take it very seriously.

Over time I had managed to push it so far into the background that I was rarely aware of it anymore. When I began to realize that I could not hold my purpose in this lifetime without it, I got serious about clearing out all the old judgments, pains and difficulties I had associated with consciously receiving messages from God.

Promptings

Since opening myself to the process I have received more promptings than ever before. Things like knowing a certain person would call that day even though there was no real reason that they should, being led to information, feeling another person’s pain or discomfort and sensing the presence of ethereal beings.

My real reason for opening these channels however was to receive direction about my own growth…and this is perhaps the most difficult guidance to receive because it challenges you on all levels to remain present as the old antagonistic voices stir with messages that are in opposition to what you are being prompted to do.

Higher Self Verses Ego

You can always tell the difference between higher self communications and those of your ego. Your higher self does not paint grandiose mental pictures in which you are loved by all for your accomplishments…its promptings are of a more wholesome nature in which you are simply acting in a way that supports what is already there. Your higher self may show you an image of further education or a direction of service but rather than the image of being loved by all for your special abilities it will simply show you contributing in a balanced way out of your own center of being. The higher self is only interested in your happiness and growth, it is always gentle and loving and will only give you guidance that brings you more fully into your own true nature.

Holding the Space

There have been times that I received divine guidance only to realize that I had a lot of fears around what it was telling me to do. One of the messages I have only recently received clearly is one I have misinterpreted many times in my life…but as is the way with divine guidance, your higher self will continue to send it until you finally understand. Knowing this did not make the fact that I had developed deep fears surrounding the disappointment of the past promptings much easier to face…but because I understood that my ego had gotten a hold of the situation and that was the reason I ended up disconnecting from the guidance in the past, I knew what to do.

I held the space around the guidance I had received. I looked at the fears and asked my higher self to lift them from me. I used mantras to positively reinforce that I have the courage to use the guidance I was given. By holding the space and not allowing judgments to come into play I had the presence to take the next step, and the next…with my higher self offering gentle support throughout the entire process.

Deep Connections

It challenges us down to our very depths to have close communications with the divine because it shakes every fear, negative belief and unprocessed pain that we’ve ever had to the surface. It reaches into our very being and extracts the beautiful essence of what we truly are from the cocoon of all the thoughts we have about who we think we are. Trust me on this if you can though…it is worth the work to be free of that old, disconnected, fearful way of living…and be able to trust life.

The Meme

No it’s not Stars Wars and the end of the Empire…it’s the end of the blogosphere!!! Or at least we are pretending it is for the meme that I was tagged with by Albert Foong aka The Urban Monk. Albert’s Blog Apocalypse is asking bloggers to dig deep for a post that would be worthy of the closing chapter of their blogs and the final thought that they would want to leave with their readers. In return he is donating a dollar to charity for every article written on the meme

Happy to contribute, I knew that if I had one last message to send to people, it would come directly from my soul…so here it goes.

Be Courageous Because You are More Powerful than You Know

I have absolute belief in your inherent wisdom, resourcefulness and wholeness. The sense of knowing that lies under the surface of your life is the love that your Higher Self is sending toward you always.

Unlimited Growth Potential

The developing human consciousness is a lot like the acorns that house the potential to become mighty oaks. We are perfectly made and each and every one of us has this inborn potential even though many of us have been lying dormant through the long sleep of winter. Some of us however, are awakening in the slowly lengthening days of the coming spring. Something within us stirs and we become more lucid and gain an increasing awareness of the unfolding growth, potential and strength that is hidden within our very natures. We begin to approach our world through an understanding of our own connectedness which brings our thoughts and actions into alignment with the whispers of our souls resulting in living powerful, intentional, balanced and fulfilled lives.

Distinguished Voices

Everyone has an inborn communication channel with divine guidance. All people are in fact worthy contributors, capable of changing everything they touch from the inside out and experiencing life from a place of internal peace, divine guidance and the authority that comes from the fulfillment of our spiritual natures.

Seeking Spiritual Connection

Looking for something that is already within you is symbolic of the belief that it is not there. You simply need to listen, until you know that it is there.

Unfoldment

Jesus said it in his parable about the lilies and how they do not struggle to grow. Unfoldment is the key is to growth…it is allowing yourself to change naturally, you need only give it space and stillness for it to happen and something that is more authentically you will arise from that deep stillness within.

The Tag Goes On…

So now in true meme fashion I would like to tag Erin Pavlina, Hueina Su and Christine Kane

I used to think of gratitude as the giving thanks I did once a year at Thanksgiving and outside of this holiday I never really thought about it much. I didn’t come from a family that said grace or felt very thankful for much of anything in life. To my family life was burdensome, difficult and full of lack…what was there to be grateful for?

It wasn’t until much later in life when I started to listen to my inner voice that I understood the power of gratitude. It is not an emotion that is limited to the outer circumstances of our lives as I was brought up to believe…no, gratitude is a highway to God. We experience the divine through our subtle inner body (through our energy), through our thoughts and feelings. Our God-connection lies within our intangibles.

In order to connect with God-energy you must create a vibrational match between your internal state and the abundant nature of Source. Your energy must be full, abundant and clear of the dark clouds of lack, worry or fear. When you raise your vibration, the complaining fearful voices of your lower self (your ego) disintegrate as the light shines into all the shadowy places within you. This frees up your mind, your body and energy from unhealthy and distracting pursuits and allows you to communicate directly with your Higher Self for guidance. Now that you know what gratitude does…let’s explore how to use it.

Developing an Abundant Mindset

Spending time in nature is a sure path to developing an abundant mindset. You don’t have to go far, even just studying the flowerbeds or gardens in your own yard can be enough. When we study a flower, or beautiful scene in nature we see how everything is interlaced and equally cared for within the whole. The flowers have all they need to bloom, which attracts insects, and birds…the insects and birds cross-pollinate creating more abundant plant life. It all happens with the greatest of ease. A tree does not try to grow, seeds put forth no effort into sprouting, flowers do not toil (as Jesus pointed out)…yet they are all cared for and they all have their place. When you can feel the aliveness and abundance evident in all of nature, you will feel it within yourself. Your vibration will become higher as you concentrate on this state of ease…and joy will rise up within you.

So often our minds focus on what’s missing from the cup instead of what its holding…so another powerful practice to shut down the complaining voices is to turn the tables on them. They will look around you and complain about everything that is not in your experience that should be there. Often times, these voices complain about things that are not even correct. Play a game with yourself every time they complain and immediately look for something that is the opposite of their complaints. Lets say the voice singles out your spouse and complains that he never helps around the house just because he happens to be running late this night. You know full well that he did the dishes just last night and the voice simply wants to gain control over the fact that he is not where you want him to be, so it attacks. Mentally take a look at your husband and scroll through every nice, thoughtful and helpful thing he has done that you can think of. It does not have to be related to the house, it could be his job, how he plays with the kids or the pets, maybe he takes care of the cars…whatever it is, think of everything you can that is wonderful about your spouse and watch that complaining voice disappear. This has the added benefit of placing you in a wonderful state in which you are happy to see your spouse when he finally does arrive home, ensuring that you’ll enjoy each other instead of setting yourself up for an argument.

Play this game at every opportunity you can, as soon as the voice complains ask yourself…oh really…is that so? See it as a mischievous child trying to play a trick on you. Don’t take it all that seriously and you’ll bring a lightness and ease into the game that immediately shows you just how unimportant the complaints really are.

Reluctant giving equals resistance and complaining. How many of us grumble when we pay our bills or when we are in the check out line of our local grocery store? Ever encounter the voice that says what makes them think they deserve this…I was married for five years before I got one of these when you go to buy something off a friend’s wedding registry? Pay careful attention to voices in your head when you are making purchases and do not make your purchase if you can at all help it from this place. Lets say that you know the voices really pipe up every time you go to fill your gas tank. So on your way to the pump you start the mantra of…I’m so grateful that I can purchase the gas I need today. Do not focus on the price…focus only on that you are grateful that you can make this purchase. Keep this going until you pull away from the pump. If you make it a habit…going to the gas pumps will cease to challenge you. Tackle one situation at a time and replace the complaining habit with one that supports the abundance not the scarcity of your life. Soon you will start to view your life as having much more available then you did before. Without the lower self’s constant reminders of lack…you will feel the truth of the abundant life you are already living and it will just keep getting better from there.

Moving Toward Abundance

Gratitude opens us up to abundance…since there is no lack in God…it opens us up to the divine as well. It fills us with the feeling that all is well in life and allows a sense of joy to rise up into our daily activities. When we joy in our precious gift of life we draw the divine toward us like a magnet…and a thousand unseen hands help us on our path each and every day. That is the power of gratitude!

The Movie

The Secret is a collection of interviews on the subject of the law of attraction put together in a style that is similar to What the Bleep Do We Know? The movie starts out with a string of historical images implying in DaVinci Code fashion that there is a secret that has been lost and rediscovered many times over that is the key to achieving anything you want in life.

Despite its DaVinci Code beginnings, this film has a lot to offer to anyone who is interested in the law of attraction regardless of their experience level. What I found most interesting however, is the incredible amount of synchronicity between its teachings and my own experiences many of which I have shared with you through this web site. It really shows just how universal it is…because anyone working with it successfully learns the same thing regardless of where they live, how they were exposed, what they used it to manifest, their spiritual background or life history.

The Secret’s Teachings on the Law of Attraction and My Own Experiences

Having watched the movie for the first time last night, I was surprised by how much the material of the film overlapped my own experiences…even some of the headings they used were nearly identical to the titles of some of the articles I have written and posted on this site…such as the film’s Energy Flows Where Attention Goes segment and my Energy Flows Watch Where it Goes article .

Other articles that I found had strong ties to the film are some I wrote on using our emotions and feelings to assist us in noticing our thoughts:

And an article that teaches shifting from mentally playing movies of undesired outcomes to what we would actually like to experience called:

The movie ends with a concept that is very close to my heart and which I have expressed in many of my articles that can be found on the getting started page about the reason we are here.

Each and every one of us has something of value to contribute to our world. We are immensely powerful, spiritual beings designed to create and when we understand our true natures…life is a beautiful experience. For some of you a glimpse of that power may come from watching The Secret; others have already started to experiment…regardless of where you are on the path, know that you are unfolding in this very moment…and the seed of knowing that lives within you stirs.