Info for Your Potential

This LOA tip is one in a series of tips that will look at why LOA doesn’t work for some folks. In Tip #3, we’re going to look at self-limiting beliefs about having money and being rich and why being rich is good.

“Money will not make you happy.” How many times have you heard that statement? Did it give you the impression that doing without money and living in poverty would make you happy?  What it really means is…if you are unhappy, having money and being rich will not give you the happiness you seek. Seek happiness first, then becoming rich will be a benefit of your happiness. Having money and being rich is good! You can do whatever you want with your money and it should make your feel that you are doing the right thing.

Self-Limiting Beliefs About Money and Being Rich

• Having money and being rich is wrong.
• Rich people need to give their money to the poor.
• The poor are poor because the rich have all the money.
• The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

I was confronted by a lady who insisted that the rich were responsible for the condition of the poor and insisted that the rich had the responsibility to give their money to the poor. I was amazed at the irrational reasoning behind this statement.

I have personally seen what happens when I gave money to the poor, they just become more dependent on me giving them more money. Over 15 years ago, when I was working in town, several co-workers and I decided that we wanted to help poor street people by giving them money. We went to the local shelter and talked to the counselors.  To our disbelief, they recommended donating to the shelter or any other philanthropic organization and advised us not to give money directly to the poor.

Needless to say, we didn’t listen.  I think we all had been listening too much to those folks who condemned the rich and insisted they give to the poor. What we learned was a very valuable lesson. We discovered to our horror that word had gotten around that we were handing out money. The last day we went to the shelter, we were mobbed. The shelter counselors had warned us, but we found out for ourselves why it’s not a good idea to give money to the poor.

The money we gave out didn’t help the poor find a job and it certainly didn’t teach them how to handle money wisely. We became enablers. We enabled several people to continue to be poor. They simply waited for us to give them money and progressively needed more and more. They had no ambition to get out of poverty and improve their lot in life. Their only ambition was to wait for us to show up and hand out money.

Giving money directly to the poor doesn’t help them. They realize that it is much easier to have someone give them money, than to have ambition and earn it themselves. There are programs to help the poor, but they first need the ambition to use them and second, need to know they exist. It’s what counselors at the shelter called the “Too poor to care” syndrome.

The poor are poor because:

1. they have no ambition to rise above poverty

2. do not have the ambition to use programs provided to teach them how to get out of poverty or find out what it takes to get out of poverty

3. think that someone “owes” them something (welfare)

4. they were born poor, have been taught by generations of poor family members that since they were born poor, they will always be poor and need to depend on others for money or

5. simply prefer being poor.

No one “owes” anyone anything. This is irrational thinking at its worst. We owe it to ourselves to make our lives our reality. I love this quote, “If it is to be, it is up to me to do it!” I just wish I knew who said it. My research didn’t reveal the person who said it.

The rich do not owe the poor anything. We live in a nation of welfare babies who think they do not need to support themselves because their government “owes” them. That is one of the most self-limiting, self-defeating beliefs of the 21 Century and has given rise to generation after generation living on welfare. The elderly, disabled and mentally challenged are a totally different issue. Most need assistance and there are programs to help them pay utilities and buy food which is usually paid for by philanthropic organizations.

If you think you are too poor to become rich, let me give you an example of rags to riches. Some of the poorest people in the world rose above poverty to become very wealthy. Andrew Carnegie was very poor. He rose above his poverty, became very wealthy and gave most of his wealth to charity.

Then there are the wealthy who give generously to charities. John D. Rockefeller, although he was not poor, he most certainly was not born into a wealthy family. He started as a clerk and revolutionized the oil and gas industry by founding Standard Oil. He was known for handing out dimes to folks he met on the streets (at a time when a dime was considered a lot) and he tithed 10% to his church every payday. He was the United States’ first millionaire and went on to become a billionaire. The Rockefellers, even to this day, are known for their philanthropy.

Bill Gates, born into a wealthy family, gives generously to charity.

And the best for last, Christopher Gardner. His life became a movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. A homeless father who became a self-made millionaire. He is the model of ambition and rising above poverty. He is a philanthropist who sponsors Cara Program and the Methodist church where he and his son received shelter.

The argument that it is wrong to be rich because the rich make the poor poorer is a lame excuse most people make when they themselves lack ambition and/or money. It’s easier to blame someone else than to blame themselves for not having the ambition to attract their desires. The key to success and wealth lies in ambition, self-discipline, knowing what you want, the vehicle to get it and having the faith to achieve it. This is the exact idea behind the Law of Attraction.

If you want to be rich, then you deserve to be rich! Being rich has its responsibilities. It’s what you do with your money and your mind-set that makes being rich a good thing. Buy what you want and need when you want and need it, help family and friends in need, donate to charity, invest in quality investments, put money in a savings account for unexpected emergencies and have money left over.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Enjoy your life to the fullest. Be happy, be rich and be wise.

This LOA tip is one in a series of tips that will look at why LOA doesn’t work for some folks. In Tip #2, we’re going to look at how being happy will manifest your desires very quickly.

Happiness is a state of mind that you create with your actions, words, thoughts and feelings. You first need to find what makes you happy (Changing self-limiting beliefs is an excellent start!), get happy and stay happy, then attract your dreams and desires. It’s not the other way around, “I’ll be happy went I get what I want!”

This is true for anything you desire – a better job, the love of your life, that beautiful red sports car. If you are unhappy, attracting your desires will not make you happy. Only you can make you happy. If you are happy, attracting your desires are a complement to your happiness. If you are unhappy, then attracting your desires will clash with your unhappiness and you may find yourself even more unhappy when you realize that that beautiful, red sports car didn’t make you happy at all. You may have a few days of excitement, but you will not be truly happy.

Let’s get very clear on two ideas of being happy or happiness where getting what you want it concerned.

1. Contrived happiness.

2. Being naturally happy.

Contrived happiness

Contrived happiness is a thought process that says, “I will be happy when I get what I want!” This is a very negative, self-limiting belief. Remember, happiness is a state of mind. In other words, if you think you are unhappy, you can just as easily think you are happy. It’s all in your mind…your thoughts.

For some reason, today’s society has convinced people that it’s wrong to be happy. There is so much suffering and misery in the world; therefore, we all need to be unhappy. What a load of crap! Pardon my language. To make matters worse, it’s become such a materialistic world that social attitudes have taught people that in order to be happy, one must have everything they want and it has even gone so far as to tell us what we want that will make us happy – it’s called advertising.

What has actually happened is the fact that people have realized that they have become very good at getting what they do not want and that is what makes them unhappy. Let’s look at the opposite of these dilemma.

If more people would be grateful for what they have in their lives at this moment in time and be happy for it, then there would be less unhappiness and misery. Yes, there are they who suffer in abject poverty or misery at the hands of others, but even they can rise above their situation with help from others. For the whole world to feel pity and unhappiness at their dilemma only makes their plight worse and makes it seem as though we are responsible for their situation in life.

One of the 12 Universal Laws is called the Law of Polarity. The Law of Polarity states that everything has a range and an opposite. The opposite of unhappy is happy; therefore the opposite of lack is abundance and each has it degree (range) of unhappiness, happiness, lack and abundance. Another of the 12 Universal Laws called the Law of Vibration and it states that everything and everyone moves in a circular pattern and it applies to our actions, words, thoughts and feelings. What you give out, you will get in return. If you are unhappy, you’re sending out negative vibrations and you will get them sent right back to you in the form of what you do not want. What do you really want? Do you want to be happy? Do you want all your desires fulfilled? Then think yourself happy!

There is a literary work by James Allen, As a man thinketh (1902), based on a quote from the Bible. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” If you think you are happy, then you will be happy. LOA senses your happiness, which is a positive vibe, and you will get what you want. Is it that simple? Yes, fortunately, everything is that simple. It’s people that make things difficult.

Naturally happy!

When you are happy, you give off a very high positive vibration level (the Law of Vibration). High positive vibration levels attract your desires very quickly. Your desires manifest themselves much more quickly when you are happy, grateful and joyful.

Let’s go back and look at James Allen’s literary work from 1902. This man knew about LOA. He knew that if you think you are happy and have plenty, then you will get more of it in return.

His book opens with a poem…

Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:—
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.

Quotes from his book…

• A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
• Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built.
• The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.
• Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.
• Right thinking begins with the words we say to ourselves.
• If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.

LOA is not prejudice. It will give you the focus of your actions, words, thoughts and feelings. The old saying that money will not make you happy is true. The only problem with this saying is that it has been distorted to benefit those who are against having money and being wealthy. What the old saying is trying to point out is, if you are not happy before you become wealthy, then becoming wealthy will only clash with your unhappiness and may make you even more unhappy. Having money, being wealthy, finding the love of your life and having the car of your dreams are all positive and very good, but your life will lack meaning if you think getting those things will make you happy when you are unhappy to begin with.

So…how do you get happy? Change your thoughts, change your mind-set!

Tips for how to get happy!

1. On a piece of paper, make a list of all the things you have in your life that you think you are not grateful for. This is your Ungrateful List. [Pretty negative, huh?]

2. On another piece of paper, create a new list by taking each item on your Ungrateful List and find a good reason to be grateful for having it. Example: You’re driving an old car. You want a new car. Be grateful that you have a car at all. You could be riding the bus or walking. This is your Gratitude List. [Much more positive!]

3. Add to the Gratitude List those things for which you are currently grateful. Example: your spouse, your children, your friends, your pets, your clothes, your furniture, anything for which you are grateful. Gratitude is a very positive vibration and helps you realize that you have a lot to be thankful and happy for.

4. Look at your Gratitude List everyday to remind yourself that you have a lot to be grateful for. Feeling grateful creates happiness!

5. Listen to music that makes you feel good.

6. Dance to your favorite music. No one has to see you dance. Dance like it’s the most wonderful thing in the world to do!

7. Watch movies that make you feel good.

8. Watch funny movies and laugh out loud.

9. Do not dwell on things that make you fearful, doubtful, mad or unhappy. Give yourself 5 minutes to fret and fuss, then get over it and immediately get happy. Think of something that makes you happy. Example: Christmas with your family. Vacation with your family. A funny joke or story. Teach yourself that it is OK to let go of negative situations and return to being happy.

10. Forgive people who you think have done bad things to you. Did you know that 90% of the time, the person you blame for hurting you doesn’t even realize they did something wrong. Let go of the need to tell them they did something wrong. It will only make the situation worse for you. You may need to realize that you may have been overly sensitive to something they said or did, when they honestly meant nothing by it. This is called “getting over yourself.” Try it! It works!

11. Develop the enthusiasm of a child. Get excited about your dreams and desires. “I want one of those!!!!!!”

12. Dream big! Want a new car, instead of a two year old used car. This another reason LOA doesn’t work for some folks. They have forgotten how to dream or they let fear and doubt slip in and to keep from being disappointed, dream small.

13. Enjoy daydreaming! This is visualization at it’s best and will manifest your desires very quickly because it creates happiness.

14. Enjoy the simplest things. A spring day. Watch bees, birds, kittens or puppies play. Notice the details of a flower. Enjoy life!

15. Laugh often, laugh out loud and laugh at yourself!

16. Let go of trying to control and manipulate everything and everyone in your life.  Let people and things be who or what they are meant to be.

17. Learn to be a good listener. It will actually make you happier!

18. Dedicate three hours a day to doing something you really enjoy.

19. Learn to relax. Do yoga, meditate, daydream.

20. Make it a point to donate at least a dollar everyday to charity. That’s $365 a year.  Expect nothing in return.  Being charitable is a very positive action.  Remember the Law of Vibration?  Everything and everyone vibrates in a circular pattern.  It’s that old saying, “What goes around, comes around!”  When you give to others, it comes back to you.  Donating is convenient. McDonalds has Ronald McDonald House donation boxes in each restaurant. Firemen collect for MS (Fill the Boot) at major street intersections at certain times of the year.

21. Eliminate self-limiting beliefs. Remove don’t, can’t, won’t, no and not from your words and thoughts.

22. Add 8 more ideas to this list. Create your own ideas for things that will make you feel happy.

Remember, get happy, then attract your desires!

There are so many reasons the Law of Attraction (LOA) does not work for many people. They make the mistakes of interfering with the allowing process of LOA, don’t get clear on exactly what they desire, have doubts and fears and fail to be grateful for what they have at this time in their lives or they simply do not believe that there is a Universal Law that explains why we get what we get in our lives.

Many people have trouble with giving positive focus and attention to their desires. They let doubt slip in by means of their negative words and thought processes, otherwise known as Self-Limiting Beliefs. LOA is a multiple step process. Within each of these steps is an even more complicated process involving human nature. Each of us is different. We are nurtured differently; therefore, our cognitive abilities are just as varied.

Throughout our lives, we develop certain thought patterns that are formed from our positive and negative life experiences. It’s the negative experiences that give us negative thought patterns that keep us from achieving our potential. These self-limiting beliefs are irrational, self-defeating and given time, become so second nature, they no longer require conscious thought.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? If they do, then you will never get what you want. So, what do you do? You work at changing your thought patterns. It can be done, anyone at any age can do it. All it takes is simply making a conscious effort to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings.

Negative thoughts give off low level vibrations. Negative vibrations will not attract what you want. They will attract more of what you don’t want. Positive thoughts give off high level vibrations and can overcome negative vibrations. Positive, high level vibrations invoke LOA and attract your desires. Self-limiting beliefs are negative vibrations. Now you can understand why self-limiting beliefs will keep you from attracting your desires.

Steps for Changing Your Self-Limiting Thoughts

1. Take a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle making two columns.

2. In the left-hand column, make a list of your negative, self-limiting beliefs.

3. In the right-hand column, write a believable positive statement that is the opposite of each of your negative beliefs.

4. This is very important! Cross out all the negative, self-limiting beliefs in the left-hand column.

5. Carry this list with you, look at it several times a day and read the positive beliefs to yourself or out loud.

6. You are no longer concerned with the negative beliefs in the left-hand column. You will not read these.

7. Any time a self-limiting, negative thought or feeling enters you mind, gently push it away and then read and say to yourself the positive beliefs you wrote in the right-hand column.

It takes 3 weeks to become comfortable with a new habit and 6 weeks to 3 months for it to become permanent. Change is good, but change is excellent, if it is positive and builds confidence and self-esteem.

Examples of negative self-limiting beliefs and their opposites.

Change your words, change your thoughts (thoughts are just words), change your life and attract your dreams!

Law of Attraction Tip #2 - Get Happy!

Everyday, someone tells me that the Law of Attraction (LOA) doesn’t work. I had one lady tell me it was a scam. For something to be a scam, it would have to defraud you of your money. Fraudulent business schemes are a scam, so LOA itself is not a scam.

I had a gentleman tell me it was a sham. Actually, LOA is one of 12 Universal Laws that tells us why things happen in a predictable manner. LOA is not a sham. It’s quite real. Many folks simply fail to understand it fully and do not follow its rules in order to make work for them. Human natures says it’s much easier to blame someone or something for our failure instead of realizing that it’s what we have done that has actually caused the problem.

I’ll go over several areas of LOA that give most folks the most problems when using LOA to manifest their desires. My example, again, is money, since that’s what most folks are concerned with, but it applies to anything you desire that you want to manifest.

1. Watch your focus

Problem: The Law of Attraction responds to the subject or focus of your words and thoughts and the feelings they create. For example, if you say or think, “I don’t like being broke!” then LOA says, “OK! Be broke!” After all, LOA responds to your focus and in this case, the focus is “being broke.” The words don’t, not, can’t, won’t and no mean nothing to LOA. It’s your focus that LOA responds to.

Solution: Now let’s change your words and thoughts. “I want plenty of money!!!!!” LOA says, “OK! Plenty of money coming your way!” After all, the focus is “plenty of money.”

BTW, there is this idea that if you use the word “want” or “desire” that you are reminding yourself that you are still in a state of lack which is a negative vibration. Well, let’s set the record straight.

a. It’s all about the emotions your words create. Say and think your words with child-like enthusiasm, “I WANT THAT!!!!!” and, by golly, you will create the emotion you need to send out positive vibrations to LOA to attract what you desire. Let’s say you see a red sports car you’ve always wanted and you say, “I WANT THAT!!!!!” Say it with all the enthusiasm of a child who is excited about a new toy! What kind of vibration do you think you would be sending to LOA? Positive with a capital P!

b. Your words and thoughts must be believable to you.
My husband come home the other day saying, “I am a money magnet!” I asked him, “Do you believe what you’re saying?” He said, “Well, no. Not really.”

“Then why say something you do not believe?”

“Because that was what I was told to say.”

“By whom?”

He tells me about a book he read on how to attract money. So I said, “I see. Well, how about saying something you believe?”

“Like what?”

“Let see, how about ‘I am so happy to know that I’m in the process of having plenty of money!’”

I could tell by the look on his face that this was much more believable. I then said, “Why not just say, ‘I want plenty money!!!!’” and I said it like I knew without doubt that I would have plenty of money…with child-like enthusiasm!

He said, “The book says not to use the words “want” or “desire” because it implies lack and not having what you desire.”

“OK, but do you have what you want? No, but you are in the process of attracting it to you. It’s the emotion or feeling you create with your words that invokes LOA and attracts your wants and desires.”

I had him read my favorite book on the Law of Attraction by Michael Losier and he has changed how he talks about money.

c. There are only two kinds of vibration in LOA – positive and negative. Thoughts of lack create negative vibrations, but thoughts of abundance and plenty create positive vibrations. Negative vibrations vibrate on a lower level than positive vibrations. Higher level positive vibrations over-take and change negative vibrations. Now, if you said, “I want plenty money, but I know I’ll never get it.” then guess what? You will never get it! BUT…if you say, “I want plenty money!” with a ton of enthusiasm, then you will get it!

It’s all about the feelings and emotions you create with your words and thoughts. Change your words and thoughts, create deep, strong emotion and you will get what you desire.

2. Just allow it!

Problem: Just like with Nike’s ad campaign, Just do it! LOA has it’s own ad campaign, Just allow it! Many people think they need to find or fix the problem.  If they want money, they try to find a way to get more money or fix the problem that is causing them to need more money.  If they want the love of their life, they go to every bar, church group meeting or online dating service they can find.  They make it much harder than it actually is.

Solution: Do nothing!  Do not intervene in any way. Allowing is letting LOA handle the how, when, where and how much.  I will admit, this is very hard to do. You do not need to do anything. If you want more money, you do not need to get a better job, work more hours or start a business. LOA will do one of two things: (1) spontaneously send the money to you without you doing anything to get it OR (2) you will get an idea known as an inspired thought and then (and only then) do you need to take action.

How will you know it’s an inspired thought? You will feel it in your bones. You will get chill bumps.  It will just feel right!  It will be something you thoroughly enjoy and it will come to you easily and effortlessly. Also, the action you take to on this inspired thought will be just as easy and effortless. It will literally make you feel excited!

3. Do I need to visualize?

Problem: Many people cannot deliberately visualize something they have never experienced. How do you visualize a car you’ve never owned or driven or the love of your life? I personally found that deliberately trying to visualize what I wanted had no effect on getting what I wanted. It did nothing to create intense feelings of happiness and excitement. As a matter of fact, when I tried to deliberately visualize what I wanted, I was so focused on trying to visually see what I wanted, it was next to impossible to feel any intense emotion other than frustration. I had no problem visualizing the thing I wanted, it was getting the intense emotion needed from the visualization that simply didn’t happen.

Solution: For me, it was all about the strong emotions my words and thoughts created. I created affirmations that created strong feelings. I read them and either say them to myself or out loud everyday, twice a day!

“I am so excited that I will have plenty of money!”
“I am in the process of attracting plenty of money!”
“I love knowing that I will have an excess of money!”
These statements were true and created excitement and enthusiasm for me. I also found that looking at pictures and brochures of the things I wanted created feelings of excitement and happiness. Spontaneous daydreaming creates very strong feelings of excitement and happiness, so the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, enjoy it because you are invoking LOA and attracting what you want!

4. Gratitude for what you have at this time

Problem: Are you grateful for what you have at this very moment in time? So many folks are not grateful for what they have because it’s not what they want. Don’t forget to be grateful for what you have right now.

Solution: Make a list of everything you are grateful for. Even if you want a new car, you need to be grateful for the car you currently drive, because it gets you to work, takes you shopping and to do things you enjoy. Make a gratitude list. I think you will be surprised at how happy it will make you feel and LOA is all about feelings, remember? Feeling happy is a very high positive vibration.

5. Be Happy!

Problem: Something that amazed me when I first learned about LOA was the fact that I and everyone I knew seemed to wallow in unhappiness. Why is it human nature to remember only the bad instead of all the good? Who really knows, but I know one thing, it will get you nowhere fast. I was expected to wallow in self-pity over every failure in my life according to what I had been taught by parents, family and friends. I never really understood it. Why do some folks fail while others succeed? Why do some people spend days and years living in abject unhappiness and misery? I don’t honestly believe that this is what they want in their lives. It certainly doesn’t get them what they want. Life is not meant to be a lesson in self flagellation. Life is meant to be enjoyable and filled with happiness. Happiness is a state of mind. We can literally choose to be happy or unhappy. It is up to each one of us to create joy and happiness in our lives.

Solution: LOA responds very quickly to positive vibrations. Happiness and joy have very high vibrations, so the answer is to get happy! Listen to music that makes you feel good. Sing, dance and laugh. Watch movies that make you laugh or feel happy. Find something (anything) good in someone you don’t like. Forgive someone who has done something bad to you. Try to be happy and positive everyday, all day.

Yes, I know it is next to impossible to be constantly happy, but when something happens to make you feel sad or angry, think about it for 5 seconds and then forget it. I know certain things cannot be forgotten after 5 seconds. A death, a funeral, being hospitalized or cancer is definitely not going to fit this rule, but even in these situations, try to put yourself in a more positive state of mind as soon as possible. Immediately think of something makes you feel happy. Listen to your favorite CD, watch a funny movie. Do whatever it takes to get happy. Happiness has the highest positive vibration and LOA loves it!

6. Change your thought process

Problem: Let’s face it. This is the biggest problem where manifesting desires is concerned. Many of us are very negative. We learned it from our parents, peers and co-workers. We say negative words, we think negative thoughts and it all creates negative feelings. Feelings of lack, hopelessness and despair. Despair will get you nowhere.

Solution: As you have already learned, LOA responds to strong emotions created by your words and thoughts. To get what you want, you must focus on what you want, not what you do not want. LOA is not easy for many people. It requires changing their negative thought patterns to be more positive in order to change their lives.

The more effort you put into LOA, the more effective it will be. You will find your life will improve almost immediately. You will feel happier, less stressed, more centered and focused. You will pay attention to your words and thoughts and you will create strong emotions with them. Spontaneous daydreaming is an excellent way to create very strong emotion, so enjoy daydreaming every chance you get.

Eliminate the words don’t, won’t, not and no from your vocabulary and thoughts. Make a deliberate attempt to be very positive with your words and thoughts everyday all day long. The following statements are very positive. When you say them, say them out loud to yourself and say with a LOT of ENTHUSIASM!!! And…say them every day.

“I am in the process of having a plenty of money!”
“I have decided that I will have plenty of money!”
“I am so excited to know that it is OK to have plenty of money!”
“I love the idea that I will have plenty of money!”

Now it’s your turn. Make up some very positive statements for your desires that are true to you. It takes time to change old habits. It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks to feel comfortable with change and 3 to 6 months to make a 100% complete change in behavior. Negative or limiting thought patterns are learned, self-defeating and will never get you anywhere except nowhere.

I love the word nowhere. It’s made up of four words, yes, four! Now, here, no and where. See! I am nowhere, but I know when I arrive at my desire, I will be now here.

A two word sentence thought for the day: If it is to be, it is up to me!

If you want to manifest your desires, if you want LOA to work for you, then it is indeed up to you!

May all your desires be fulfilled!

There are 12 Universal Laws that state how our words, thoughts, feelings and actions relate to why things happen in a predictable manner. By learning these laws, we can improve our lives, our relationship to others and our relationship to everything around us. These laws tell us why we get what we get. If we literally change our words, thoughts, feelings and actions, we can change our lives. If we don’t change? Well, we will at least know why we got what we asked for.

The Law of Divine Oneness
I call this law the Law of Unity. The Law of Divine Oneness says we are all connected to everything and everyone. Everything we say, do, think and feel affects everything and everyone around us.

The Law of Vibration
This law involves how everything and everyone vibrates or moves in circular patterns. The idea of vibration in physics (for example: sound) applies to our words, actions, thoughts and feelings. You’ve heard the old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” It’s true! Everything you do, say, think and feel vibrates either positively or negatively. You send these vibrations out to the Universe and they will come back to you with the same vibration you sent out.

The Law of Action
Our words, thoughts and feelings are actions. We are speaking, thinking and feeling; therefore, action. By using our words, thoughts and feelings, we “allow” the Universe to attract our desires. If we effectively learn how to “allow,” we will in return either receive what we want with out taking any action whatsoever or we will receive intuitive inspiration in the form of an idea that we can take action on in order to attract our desires.

The Law of Correspondence
The Law of Correspondence relates to energy and how it corresponds to the result of that energy. It explains unhappiness, failure and lack. If you think you are unhappy, then you will be unhappy. If you think you are a failure, then you will be a failure. If you think you are poor, then you will be poor. Change your thoughts and you will change your life.

The Law of Cause and Effect
Nothing happens by chance. There is no fate, luck or coincidence. For every action, there is a reaction. If you push a ball, it will roll. Be-cause you pushed the ball, the effect was the ball rolled across the floor. Be-cause you think you are a failure, the effect is that you will be a failure. Be-cause you think your are a winner, the effect will be that you will be a winner. If you are positive, you will get positive; if you are negative, you will get negative.

The Law of Compensation
This is the physical reward of our words, thoughts, feelings and actions given to us in either abundance or lack. It relates to the vibrations we create. If your words, thoughts and feelings vibrate positively and match your actions, you will be compensated with the manifestation of your desires.

The Law of Attraction
Law of Attraction states that like attracts like. It relates to why we get what we want and what we do not want in our lives. It explains why we commit ourselves to the same mistakes over and over. Positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative. There is an old saying, “Keep doing what your doing and you will keep getting what your getting.” It certainly applies to the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy
Wow! All that just to say we all have the ability to effect change in our lives. In other words, we have the energy within us to change the circumstances in our lives. This law also refers to the effect of higher vibrations. Universal laws states that higher vibrations over-take and change lower level vibrations. Positive vibrations are at a much higher level than negative vibrations. In order to effect positive changes in our lives, we need to vibrate at a higher level. Positive vibrations over-take and change the negative vibrations; therefore, the effect is a change for the positive.

The Law of Relativity
This law refers to how someone relates themselves to something. Depression is a good example. Negative thoughts (limiting beliefs) create depression which leads to more negative thoughts which leads to more depression. We compare everything by how it relates to us.

The Law of Polarity
The Law of Polarity states that everything has a range and an opposite. The opposite of negative is positive. Good, bad. Lack, plenty. Very good, a little bad. You get the point.

The Law of Rhythm
Everything and everyone vibrates or moves to certain rhythms or patterns. Seasons, cycles, years, hours, days…

Law of Gender
This law states that everything has it’s opposing, yet complementary characteristics. Women have male characteristics and male hormones and men have feminine characteristics and female hormones. They are opposing, yet complementary.

First, an explanation. I am not a religious person, meaning I do not go to church or have an affiliation with any organized religion, but I do believe in the Divine spirit of God. I know the Bible for what it is: a book of God’s word, interpreted through the ages by man. This post is my opinion supported by Biblical quotes. It is my hope that anyone who wants a truly spiritual life will find the support and encouragement in this post that they need without religious bias.

New Age Spirituality

I am amazed at the number of folks who condemn and judge those who wish to become more spiritual by labeling them as New Age fanatics. Do you think the Romans walked around saying, “Hey, what do you think of all these New Age Christians?” Every new idea or concept is greeted with the same lack of openness and respect. Why would the so-called New Age Spirituality be treated any differently? It wouldn’t. Some folks, when they do not understand something or they fear it, seek to condemn it before they understand it.

I was reading a blog on New Age Spirituality. The author was obviously against the idea of being spiritual outside the realms of religion by expounding his opinion on the rise in mediums and communicating with the dead as part of spirituality. While his discussion was on one aspect of spirituality known as spiritualism, he failed to realize that for many people, including myself, spirituality also refers to those who practice a philosophy, doctrine or religion that teaches the spiritual aspect of “being.”

New Age Spirituality encompasses:

• the use of meditation to find balance, feel centered and as prayer,
• a means of closer relationship with God or the Divine Spirit,
• the use of listening to one’s intuition (from a Divine source) and
• the belief that we all believe in a single Divine Spirit.

While some critics think that New Age Spirituality revolves around the belief in being guided by ghost and space aliens, they need to realize that like all religions, New Age Spirituality has its extremists. These same critics of New Ageists state that there is no rationale, common book of reference or scientific basis for this type of spirituality, yet they would say the same thing about any new idea or religion that revolves around spirituality that is not within the confines of excepted standards of religion. New Age Spirituality draws its inspiration from most of the world’s major religions without being an organized religion itself. Therefore, I fail to see a problem with “being” truly spiritual with God without all the religious bias and prejudices.

When I was a girl, my family and I did not go to church and my mother and father never stopped me from exploring my curiosity of religion. They already knew what I was to discover over the course of the next few years of my young life, that religion or being religious offered no real answers to life’s questions, rarely had anything to do with being truly spiritual and lent itself to the behavior of judging others by their religious beliefs.

Many people do not take children seriously when it comes to any subject, but children are the prefect monitor. Their thoughts and ideas are unbiased since they have not been subjected to the bias of another person’s, mainly an adult, thoughts or ideas. Many children are confused by the Bible and any explanation they receive, even by a minister or priest, only serves to confuse them more. I remember thinking that Sunday School would answer my questions, but all we did was color and play. Questions were answered with the general, “In time, you will understand.”

If a family is devoutly religious, then over time, their child may develop the same religious doctrine of his parents; therefore, he may become biased that to be truly spiritual, one must have an association with an organized religion. Notice I say “may.” This same child may decide that his parent’s religious doctrines are not fulfilling his spiritual needs. This is the case for many people who are looking to become more spiritual in “being” and are finding that organized religion does not fulfill that need.

As a child, I discovered, much to my disappointment, that many people went to church only as a means of bettering their standing in the community. It had nothing to do with being more spiritual or communing (communicate) with God. I also noticed that several people parroted quotes from the Bible without so much as a single thought as to what it really meant. They also had no opinion of an interpretation of a quote from the Bible. They just believed that their religious instruction was right.

As I grew older, I found several ads in the Yellow Pages that stated, “Christian Owned and Operated.” Again, I was disappointed to realize that many people put these words on their ads to get business and had no idea of the Christian concept of morals or values. We were the victims of a few Christian Owned companies, one being a roofing company who charged my mother for work they never did. I saw this happen many times, not just with my family, but with others as well. I realize not all companies that state their Christian affiliation have criminal intent, but I will admit, if the ad states Christian company, I look elsewhere.

The Bible itself was very confusing to me as a child. Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, yet their children married other men and women not of their own family. How is that? When I asked about this, I was treated like a blasphemer. How dare I question the word of God? A good answer may have been that Adam and Eve were the first Jewish man and woman. Later, when I realized that the Bible (referring to the King James version) had been translated through the ages, I began thinking several things, all of which I arrived at by commonsense and free will.

Translation of the Bible

The word “fear” is a translation from the Jewish word “Yirah.” Yirah was translated into English as the word “fear,” but in this case, Yirah means immense respect of, faith in or overwhelming awe from being in the presence of great being or spirit. There is a quote from the Bible that to this day tells me that there are translation problems with the word “fear.”

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Exodus 1:21

The quote above, in my opinion, is a mistranslation of fear. It obviously refers to the midwives’ respect of and faith in God. Even as a child, I could not understand why any one would be paralyzed in fear of a loving and merciful God or angels. Why would a merciful God want his children to be paralyzed in fear of Him? It seems to me that this mistranslation has been used for centuries as a means to control and manipulate by fear. To fear someone or some thing does not create respect nor does it create love. Yet, Jesus taught that we should love one another since God is love. Why should anything that “is love” be feared? It shouldn’t. It should feel comforting and loving.

Interpretation of the Bible

I am very surprised how many people think it is wrong to pray for help. Somewhere along the way, this has to be a problem of misinterpretation. Whatever is needed will be given if you ask and have faith. Jesus in His sermon on the mount said this about prayer and the golden rule,

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8.

I love it when people quote back to me, “God helps them who help themselves” and they honestly believe it is a quote from the Bible. When I tell them that is a quote from Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1757, they look at me like I’m about to be struck by lightening. We all have free will and since we have free will, we must ask or pray for help when we need it.

Our lives are predestined by God

I have yet to understand this concept of predestination of our lives between the time of birth to our death. We all have free will. We are all in control of our thoughts, feelings, actions and our lives. Who or what we believe is our choice. Predestination, according to the Bible refers to the fate of they who do not have faith in God, then their fates are predestined. All that has ever been asked is that we have faith in God. Our everyday lives are of our choosing.

The concept of a predestined script for our lives makes me wonder why we are here at all if our lives are predestined. Since our lives would already be known, why bother putting on the play of life? I believe that in the case of predestination, it is another misinterpreted to mean that every choice we make, every thought we think, everything we feel has already been predetermined by God. It goes without saying that our birth is predestined and possibly our death, but the living of that life between birth and death is of our own free will.

There is a reason you are here…

I honestly believe that since each of us has free will, we need to discover our life’s purpose and act upon. This is where most folks have problems in their lives and with religion. Many religions do not teach how to find one’s purpose in life. They study and quote the Bible, taking many quotes out of context and distorting quotes to fit their own agendas and giving no real answers or guidance.

Many religions teach that our lives are predestined and we simply need to choose to live a virtuous life. If our lives are predestined, then why would we have the choice of whether or not to live a virtuous life? Having a choice implies free will. I think there is more to life than thinking God has preordained our lives. Each of us needs to find our purpose in life to be happy, fulfilled and to feel spiritually connected and we do it by our own free will.

Recommended Reading

I have read a few books on the New Age concept of spirituality. I like Doreen Virtue’s Angels 101 and Chakra Clearing. Both books are purely spiritual without religious bias, but her other books reflect her religious bias and stray from being purely spiritual. She interjects too much of her religious beliefs. Her psychology PhD is in question, but recently, I started a conversation with a lady and her husband at a restaurant. She is a psychologist and he an attorney.

In the late 1970s, the private college she attended for her PhD, lost its accreditation and her PhD was no longer valid and her licensed was revoked. Many of these private colleges, mostly in California, are referred to as degree mills. She was able to transfer a few of her credits and received her degree from an accredited state university.

The point here is that no matter Doreen Virtue’s (or anyone else’s for that matter) degree of education, the above mentioned books are very good, provide a point of view that is loving, kind and spiritual in nature. She teaches that angels love unconditionally, never tire of being of service, do not mind being called into service for even the smallest thing repeatedly, have no egotistical attitude and are omnipresent being able to help the multitudes all at one time. She also teaches that God is loving, compassionate and should not be feared.

If you look at her website, you will see she has workshops and seminars. The only problem I have with any workshop or seminar is the ridiculous prices some speakers charge. The price is a deterrent to those who really need help. I would like to think if someone was truly in need of spiritual counseling, that Doreen would be kind enough to provide her services without a fee.

The Secret by Rhoda Byrne. I was impress with the subject of The Secret, the Law of Attraction, but the more I looked into the contributors of The Secret, the more I became disappointed. Some of the contributors seem to have their own personal agendas and it’s called M-O-N-E-Y. They each have a website, they each promote, with a passion, their books, one to one coaching, seminars and programs. The one to one coaching is very expensive.

After reading The Secret, I looked at some of the contributors websites and was shocked at the cost of one of the contributors seminars; it was $3,200! I was floored. This wasn’t about helping people achieve their desires, this was about one contributor who was achieving his desire. I researched today and found that some of these contributors must have developed a conscience, because their seminar fees dropped to well within reason. If they’re going to speak at a college, church or hospital, they’re going to have to be much more reasonable than $3,200. I honestly do not recommend The Secret.

Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier, expands on the real subject of The Secret. Many people feel that the subject of The Secret is visualization and positive thinking. Visualization and positive thinking are integral parts of the Law of Attraction and if used independently, would not be as effective as the full process behind the Law of Attraction. Actually, Michael’s book is much better than The Secret. He has a website and yes, he has seminars, but you know what? They’re actually affordable! I found most events charged $35 to $65.

Another author that I like is Richard Webster. His book Spirit Guides and Angel Guardians is very good. He does discuss spiritualism in depth. Spiritualism is contact with spirits, actually ghosts. God and angels are spirits and we wish to have a closer communication with them, but spiritualism takes it one step further by communicating with spirit guides and ghosts. He discusses pendulums, table tipping and automatic writing, which is interesting, but it is an area in which I am not interested. His claims are supported with proof by the research that has been done in the area of spiritualism.

He doesn’t indicate that angels love unconditionally and being of service. He instead he says to ask angels for help only when it is truly needed, don’t waist their time and to thank each one personally. I have found I can ask for anything, at anytime, take all the time I need where angels are concerned and of course, I always give my thanks and gratitude. I think some folks put way too much negative, egotistical human behavior into the personality of God and the angels. Any person or spirit that loves unconditionally wouldn’t have an egotistical personality. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying about Richard’s book. It is very good and is purely spiritual in nature.

Like anything you read, you take the good with the bad. Every book has something good to offer. You simply filter out what doesn’t make sense to you and apply those ideas to your philosophy that do make sense. I personally prefer to believe, and it has been my personal experience, that God and the angels don’t seem to be bothered in the least by the simplest thing I ask. They seem to have no egotistical attitude and don’t seem to be perturbed in any way by the fact that I ask for their help. How do I know? I’ve had too many prayers answered lately that tells me I’m on the right path.

I hope this post has helped you and I hope you find your true spirituality.

Law of Attraction is spiritual in nature, so it was no surprise to me that the process of Law of Attraction (LOA) and asking Divine spirit (to whomever you pray or meditate) for what I want is one in the same. Many people do not realize this. Many believe they are different. One being religious (prayer), the other being some New Age, 21st Century fade (Law of Attraction). Honestly, there is no difference!

LOA is nondenominational and doesn’t care what religion you are or if you even believe in a Divine spirit, but the process for invoking LOA or praying for what you want is the same.

The process for both is that:

1. You clearly know what you want or need.
2. You ask for what you want or need.
3. You allow it to happen without forcing your influence upon it. Let LOA or to whomever you ask take care of the how and when. You just wait for it to come or get an inspired idea to take action.
4. You have faith (know without doubt) that you will get that for which you want or need.
5. You give what you want or need attention by expecting to receive it. Affirmation: “I expect to have…”
6. Show gratitude. Give thanks. Be thankful for what you currently have and what you expect to get.

Law of Attraction at work!

Pumpkin Has Asthma

Recently, my cat, Pumpkin, became very ill. She developed asthma and at several different times she could not get enough oxygen and would become cyanotic. Her tongue and gums would turn light blue. She would cough and deep belly breath. Any physical exercise was too much for her, so she became very lethargic. Asthma is very common in cats, usually Siamese, but all of this was new to me.

Pumpkin is a calico and like most calicoes, she is very energetic. To see her so ill was heartbreaking. Her condition over the next few days grew worse. I was beginning to think she was going to die. What was so amazing was the fact that I had just bought Doreen Virtue’s book Angels 101. I have always been amazed that things seem to happen for a reason and I believe I was led to this book for a very good reason. Without giving it a second thought, I asked the Angels to heal Pumpkin and return her to her healthy and energetic self and thanked them. For some reason, I knew she was going to get better, even though just a few seconds before I asked for help, I knew she may die.

The next morning she was better! She could breath easier and she was not cyanotic. Once again, I asked the Angels to help heal Pumpkin and return her to full health. Over the next 3 days, Pumpkin’s health improved very quickly. By the third day, there was no sign she ever had asthma. That was over two weeks ago and she is still her happy, healthy, energetic self. I am so grateful! She is a sweet, loving cat.

Health Club Membership Problems

My husband and I decided we were going to rejoin the local 24 Hour Fitness Center. We had had memberships there in 2004 and canceled. The trip to the Club was not fun. We were put through a hard sell similar to buying a car. The total upfront was more than our house payment. We decided we needed to talk about it, told the counselor we contact him with our decision and proceeded to get up to leave.

As we leaving, the counselor tells us, “Well, I’m trying to work with you, but you walking out on me.” I’m 48 and my husband is 50 and we’ve been around long enough to be “hip” to the hard sell tactics. I look at my husband and tell him, “Sorry, I’m not in the mood for a hard sell today” and leave. My husband is right behind me and we don’t say one word on the way to the car. We were both very disappointed.

We decide to eat lunch and as we pull into the restaurant, my husband’s cell phone rings. It’s the counselor at 24 Hour Fitness and he informs my husband that he is very offended that we walked out. The look on my husband’s face was total disbelief. He quietly hangs up the phone and tells me what the counselor said. I was surprised. Another hard sell tactic. Make the customer feel embarrassed so they will come back and close the deal. The counselor proceeds to call 3 more times, which starts to feel like harassment.

The next day, another counselor calls. He makes it a point to bring up the fact that we felt we had been hard sold. My husband tells him that we were hard sold and we didn’t appreciate it one bit. He makes an offer to let us renew our old contract and all we have to do is pay the first and last month’s membership fees and we will be all set. He tells my husband he can come in anytime to pay.

My husband tries to pay on two different occasions and the counselor is never there. At this point, I thought, why not ask the Angels for help. I asked, “Angels, please help us with this membership. The fees are still too high and we feel we are getting the run around. We would like lower fees and to feel like we matter as customers. Thank you.”

The next day I call the manager of the club. He was in a meeting, so I called back later. When I called back, he was available and I told him everything that happened. He apologized and told me that I am the customer and should never have been treat so badly. He offered us his special promotion which was $30 less than what we were told we would have to pay and it is ALL clubs membership as well! Our old membership was open to only one club. I knew immediately that my prayer had been answered.

Law of Attraction works! Follow the process and expect to get what you want, too.

One of the definitions of Spirituality is being spiritual. Spiritual is defined as pertaining to God. I define spirituality as being connected to Divine spirit. I am not a religious person, in that I do not follow the religious teaching of anyone one particular religion. I believe in Divine spirit – God, Buddha, Allah, Abraham, the Universe or to whomever you pray or meditate. I believe in Angels who are messengers of Divine spirit. I believe if there is ever anything I want or need, all I have to do is ask and it will be given, if I allow it and have faith that it will happen.

I meditate, which is just another word for prayer. I know I have Guardian Angels who are with me every day. All I have to do is call an Angel’s name and he or she will come to me. I ask my Angels for protection, help, guidance and healing for myself and others. I show my gratitude by giving thanks and I have faith that what I have asked for will be given.

I believe in free will. I do not believe that Divine spirit has a plan for me like some kind of script for a play. I believe that Divine spirit knows what I want and need well before I ask, but since I have free will, I must ask before Divine spirit will intercede.

I believe Divine spirit is kind, gentle, compassionate, understanding and loves everyone unconditionally as do his messengers, the angels. I believe that you do not have to be religious or believe in God to ask and get what you want. How do I know? It’s called Law of Attraction. Law of Attraction doesn’t care if you are religious or believe in God.

I believe that one way to fix a problem is to pray or meditate for it’s opposite. Focus on what we want, not on what we do not want. The opposite of war is peace. The opposite of lack is plenty. The opposite of famine is feast.

I know that no matter what religion you are, we both believe in the same Divine spirit. I believe that the truly faithful live in peace and harmony. Religions were created by mankind and the ensuing religious wars have nothing to do with faith in the Divine spirit or spirituality. It’s just one man forcing his will upon another’s free will in the name of religion.

I ask that we meditate or pray for peace, unconditional love for all of mankind and a world of harmony with plenty.

The best thing I have ever done for myself is learning to meditate. I love it! It quiets my mind, helps me to concentrate and relieves stress. Meditation is very simple in concept, yet it takes time to learn to focus and relax the mind.

The simple part of meditation is sitting and being quiet. I told you it was simple. The hard part is learning to quiet your mind. You brain is constantly thinking. It’s going over the events of the day. It’s thinking about what to cook for dinner, the meeting with the accountant, the noisy neighbors, the bills, money, work, the boss, the kids, the dog, the cat, who’s knocking at the door, the phone is ringing… See what I mean.

The hardest part of meditation for anyone just starting to meditate is learning to quiet the mind and ignore sound disturbances. At first, you will think that your mind just refuses to be quiet. You may find that when you meditate, your thoughts become loud, intrusive and flow rapidly. This is true only when first starting meditation. With practice, you will find that your brain will learn by repetitive patterns that you are getting ready to meditate and will automatically quiet the mind and relax the body. It will not run pell-mell through the day’s events. Thoughts will continue to pop up, but you will notice that your thoughts are softer, less intrusive and less frequent.

You may find that every time you sit down to meditate, everyone and everything in the world wants or needs your attention at that very moment. It seemed that way for me. I had to learn to ignore sound disturbances and realize that the only thing that required my immediate attention was a true emergency. Again, with practice, you will find that you will ignore sounds and other disturbances.

Catch the Wave

The best meditation is when your brain waves are at Alpha level. Brain waves are electrical impulses created by various states of arousal in the brain. You can literally put yourself into any brain wave level. Don’t think so? What do you think happens when you dream? See! Dreaming is delta brain waves, just as meditation is alpha brain wave.

When I first started meditation, I tried to meditate without music, just the ambient sound around my home, but then I stumbled upon an article on brain wave therapy for ADHD which I researched. I found that ambient music played over alpha waves helped people who meditate to reach alpha level brain waves and enjoy a deeper level of meditation. I bought a CD and tried it. It was great!

After three months of meditation, I realized that I could just sit down in my favorite place to meditation, take three deep breaths and say to myself, “Relax” and I would instantly go to alpha level. The process of sitting, breathing and saying “relax” were physical and mental cues to my brain that I was getting ready to meditate and it would instantly go alpha brain waves. I had trained my brain to learn to go to alpha level!

Meditation is a great way to relax, focus, concentrate and create contentment in your life. People who meditate every day have fewer problems, stay calm and focused in times of stress, sleep better, feel better and have more energy. Many people meditate with calm, peaceful music playing while burning incenses or candles. I say do whatever makes you comfortable and enhances the experience.

Diet and Meditation

There is a school of thought that in order to meditate, one must eat a vegetarian diet and fast. I don’t know of any proof that eating a vegetarian diet will help anyone meditate better. Several years ago, I went on a dietitian supervised vegetarian diet. I was very disappointed. I did not feel well from the beginning. I became very ill and it all pointed to the vegetarian diet. My cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure which all had been normal before the diet, had become alarmingly high.

A vegetarian diet was just not for me. I literally dropped vegetables and fruit from my diet for a month, eating only whole meats. I slowly added back certain veggies to my diet. I am a meat eater and my body functions very well on a protein diet. I know one thing for certain, when I eat too many carbs, I can’t focus and my meditation suffers.

You need to do what is right for you. If you find that your body and mind works well on a vegetarian diet, then that is what you need to do. There is not one diet in this world that is perfect for everyone. Each of us is different, our nutritional needs are different; therefore, our dietary needs are different.

Fasting

I have found that fasting is a great way to cleanse my body and it does bring about a wonderful sense of focus, concentration and awareness. Fasting is not for everyone. If you’ve never fasted, it could be a very bad experience. Fasting detoxifies the body and the detox process can cause headaches, muscle aches and flu like symptoms. These symptoms will subside in about five to ten days, but for most that is too long and too uncomfortable.

If you decide to fast, talk to your doctor, but I will tell you, most doctors are against it. I literally had to research it on the Internet. I took it very slowly and decided to do a juice fast on the first five days of every month. I bought V8 vegetable juice. I know every guru on fasting will probably have a fit over the fact that I use store bought juice, but buying a juicer and all the veggies is very expensive. I found V8 worked very well.

BTW, certain vegetables are said to be negative calorie, meaning it takes more calories to burn them than the calories they contain. I don’t know if it is true or not, but when I do a veggie juice fast and drink V8, I do seem to lose weight rather quickly. The main negative calorie veggies are tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, celery, chives, cilantro and beets and V8 has most of those veggies.

Beginners Fast

Day one: Breakfast – drink 8 oz V8, Lunch – eat normally, Dinner – eat normally, drink a total of 64 oz of water for the day. That is 8 – 8 oz glass of water a day.

Day two: Breakfast – drink 8 oz V8, Lunch – drink 8 oz V8, Dinner – eat normally, drink a total of 64 oz of water for the day. That is 8 – 8 oz glass of water a day.

Day three: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner – drink 8 oz V8, drink a total of 64 oz of water for the day. That is 8 – 8 oz glass of water a day.

Day four thru however long you wish to do the fast: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner – drink 8 oz V8, drink a total of 64 oz of water for the day. That is 8 – 8 oz glass of water a day.

Next time you fast, you may be able to go straight to a full fast without having to eating lunch and dinner. It all depends on how much junk you eat and drink.

Beginners Meditation

The best meditation for beginners is focusing on their breath.

1. Sit anywhere where you are comfortable and where it is quiet. On a chair, the couch or the floor. (I sit on the floor.)

2. Try to always sit in the same place.

3. If want to listen to music or use a brain wave CD, turn it on now.

4. Close your eyes.

5. Take three deep breaths very slowly. Inhale and exhale slowly.

6. When exhaling on the third breath say, “Relax.” Or you can use any word that helps you to calm your mind. You may want to say, “calm” or “peace.”

7. Focus on your breathing. Breath normally (no deep breathing). Inhale and on the exhale say, “One.” You are counting your breaths, so on the next exhale, you will say, “Two” and so forth until you reach “Ten.” Once you reach “Ten,” start over with the number “One.”

8. When thoughts or sounds interrupt your meditation, gently push them away and return your focus to your breathing.

9. Repeat numbers 7 and 8 above for fifteen to thirty minutes.

10. Slowly open your eyes, feeling refreshed, relaxed and calm.

Meditating for fifteen minutes once a day is good, twice a day is great and three times a day is excellent! Thirty minutes is even better!

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation is great for deep relaxation. You can use your own visualization or use a guided meditation on CD.

1. Sit anywhere where you are comfortable and where it is quiet. On a chair, the couch or the floor.

2. Try to always sit in the same place.

3. If want to listen to music or use a brain wave CD, turn it on now.

4. Close your eyes.

5. Take three deep breaths very slowly. Inhale and exhale slowly.

6. When exhaling on the third breath say, “Relax.”

7. This is my own personal guided meditation. As you visualize, you will, to yourself, talk slowly, pausing to feel what you are visualizing. The “…” are cues for you to pause to feel what you are visualizing.

Imagine you are on a beach. You are barefoot and are wearing your favorite loose comfortable clothes. You feel the cool sea breeze on your skin… hear the waves on the beach… the sound of the palm trees in the breeze… the sand beneath your feet is soft and warm.

The warmth of the sand warms and relaxes the muscles in your feet and toes. The warmth slowly moves up your ankles…calves…knees…and thighs… relaxing the muscles of your ankles…calves…knees…and thighs.

The warmth continues to move into your buttocks…lower back…stomach… spine…upper back…shoulder blades…and chest… relaxing the muscles of your buttocks…lower back…stomach…spine… upper back…shoulder blades…and chest.

The relaxing warmth moves into your upper arm…elbows…forearms…hands… and fingers… relaxing the muscles in your upper arm…elbows…forearms… han