Tag Archives: law of attraction

Telling yourself a better story

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Image from Flickr – slightlyeverything

I really haven’t had that exciting of a life. There are a lot of things I wish I would have done, instead of just sitting around and complaining about having a boring life. So I pretty much like to make it up. I’d rather tell a story about somebody else.
Kurt Cobain

We all tell ourselves a story.  We often tell that story to others too. Our story is the way we see ourselves in the world, our view of what’s happened to us in the past, and who we are because of it.

Sometimes our story is sad, sometimes, it’s funny, sometimes it’s downright terrible.  And we trot that story out time after time; for ourselves, our families, our friends…

But what if that story doesn’t serve you? What if that story compounds low self-esteem, or failure, or loneliness? What if that story is a constant reminder to us of a painful time in our lives?

The Law of Attraction states that whatever we think about most and talk about most is what we draw to us.  That or things of a similar vibration.

You need to ask yourself if you want to keep living that story.

Because maybe it’s time to write a new one…

Tell yourself a different story – image from freedigitalimages.com

Journal Exercise:

Today, write yourself a new story.  Make it up, like any good writer would, but let it have a few bones that are real.

Tell yourself a story that is empowering and positive.

Look for examples from your life that illustrate a different truth for you – of times when things have worked out, when people have been kind or helpful, when you’ve known success, when miracles have happened.

Or, if you are feeling brave, or creative, just write a new and entirely ficticious account of your past, present or future.

What is the life you would like to live? Write about that AS IF IT IS ALREADY HAPPENING!!!

Here are a few prompts to get you started.  Choose whatever most appeals and then start writing:

  • My life is unfolding in the most exciting of ways…
  • The place I’m living now is so well suited to me.  It is…
  • You’ll never guess how it happened.  It all worked out perfectly in the end. One day…
  • So we’ve been together for…
  • And one day a letter came in the mail and it said…
  • The doctors couldn’t believe it…
  • My life is so blessed because…
  • It’s my dream life.  I have to pinch myself to remind me that it’s real. Now my world looks like…
  • I answered the phone and you’ll never believe who was on the other end…
  • OMG! This is exactly what happened, and it’s FABULOUS…
  • It feels so good to be able to…
  • My career is going from strength to strength.  Already I have…
  • I’ve planned the most amazing holiday.  It starts with…
  • Such wonderful relationships in my life.  Let me tell you a bit about them…
  • Now there’s no more money worries because…
  • My proudest moment is…
  • I finally achieved…

Words really do have a magical power in your life.  So choose them wisely – when you write them, speak them, think them… Expect magic and know that you are worthy and deserving of good in your life. NOW is your time to invite the future to look different to the past.  Believe! ♥

Image from favim.com

Doing Nothing is Productive!

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Image from wallpapers-biz.co.cc

Are you one of those people who needs to be productive?

I certainly am. Not from any external pressure –  I just LIKE getting stuff done, and I always have several projects on the go, a big fat to-do list, as well as a schedule that stretches out towards the horizon.  Life, and its possibilities, lights my fire!

But there is nothing like a good dose of burn-out to help you realise that less is more, and a dose of near-death really does help you to clarify your priorities.

Where one upon a time I worked endlessly, I now work in bursts, and then have some time out that is totally unscheduled.

Before my big cycles of crash and burn, repair, go full tilt, crash and burn, repair, go full tilt, crash and burn – okay, you get my drift – my life looked like this:

Image from freeicons.eu

I was a busy little robot working harder and harder, doing more and more, and somehow expecting that I could just carry on that way forever.

I actually thought that if I worked harder and harder I would achieve more and more, ad infinitum.  But of course you end up working with the Law of Diminishing Returns.  More does not make more.  More becomes less.

More work means less sleep. Less fun.  Less clarity.  Less inspiration.  Less connection.  Less well-being. Less healing capacity.  Less opportunity to be spontaneous. Less flexibility.  Less ability to cope with the unexpected. Less true creativity. Less chance of seeing new possibilities, meeting new people and expanding in new directions.

When you keep trying to fit more and more in, something will inevitably break, and that something might be you.

I know this, because I’ve been there.  More than once.  And most of it has been self-inflicted.

I’ve had to ask myself the big questions in life.

I am okay with diminished output if it means better quality of life, and a longer life. I mean, realistically, how much can you get done here if you’re dead? And in the end, does any of that stuff on your to-do list really matter?

So now my life looks much more like this:

Image by Lecsmile – Photobucket.com

I have periods of deep rest, relaxation and doing totally NOTHING.  And then I have periods of doing things, being active, connecting, learning and being crazy-mad infatuated with taking up all life has to offer!

Truth is, I’m more productive than I ever was, in the areas that matter to me.

I hadn’t expected that.

Oh my goodness I wish I’d know this important little nugget of wisdom years ago.

Less is more.

Image from msugradwellness.wordpress.com

That’s right.

Doing nothing is good for you.

If you don’t know how to do nothing, here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Naps.  Napping is awesome!
  • Curl up on the couch with a magazine.
  • Go to bed early or sleep in.  Sleep all day if you feel like it.
  • When something frees up in your schedule, don’t fill that spot with another task or expectation.  Let yourself luxuriate in that new spare time.
  • Dawdle. Potter along on a nice slow walk, amble through a park or shopping mall.
  • Go to the movies.
  • Read a book.
  • Nap.  Did I say that already?  Oh well.  Have another one!
  • Lose yourself in a book.
  • Hang out at the library.
  • Go for a surf.
  • Get a massage.
  • Take a bath.
  • Quit something so you can free up your schedule!
  • Say no to things you don’t want to do.
  • Have an early night and bunk down with some tasty treats and a good DVD.
  • Go on holidays.
  • Have a phone free, computer-free day.
  • Stay home and do… nothing! No housework, no odd jobs. Do what makes you happy. Maybe some craft, or cooking, or just hang out.
  • Spend time with the ones you love.
  • Sit in a coffee shop and read the weekend papers while having a long breakfast or an extended brunch/lunch.
  • Go window shopping, just to pass the time and fill yourself up with images, ideas and dreams.
  • Sunbake.
  • Sit by the ocean or the river.
  • Perch on top of a mountain.
  • Fluff around, not getting anything much done, but not minding that either.  Some people call this procrastination – I call it exploring my desk or kitchen drawers to see what’s really in there…
  • Spend time with the family pet – these guys really have relaxation down to an art!

Magic happens when we give ourselves down-time. And a magical life is definitely one worth living. You never know what might happen if you just create a little space in your day…

Image from The Fox and The Child, Hopscotch films, 2009

 

My Embarrassing Affirmation Confession

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Image from thebeginwithinblog.com

You affect your subconscious mind by verbal repetition ~ W. Clement Stone

Affirmations are a known powerful tool for change, and are used by many people for creating positive shift and personal growth.  Louise Hay has made affirmations a modern-day medicine for the soul. (You can sign up for her daily affirmations here)

An affirmation is a simple statement, said in the present tense, that affirms positively a fact or situation that is desirable in your life.  You state that thing as if it is already happening, and you repeat that statement many, many times, to imprint the message in your subconscious mind, so that this thing becomes true for you.

Here are some common examples:

Image from affirmart.blogspot

Image from affirmart.blogspot

Image from alexafalk.blogspot

I must admit that when I first heard about affirmations I was quite sceptical.

Stating something as a truth and then repeating that statement often, even if it hadn’t yet shown up in my life, seemed a little daft.  If nothing else, I felt  fake to be claiming things that weren’t actually true for me yet.

But the experts agreed that affirmations could change your life. What did I have to lose by a little positive thinking?

And this is where my embarrassment comes in…

I created a test affirmation.

I didn’t affirm that I choose health.  I didn’t affirm that every day in every way I am getting better and better.  I didn’t even affirm that great wealth is mine now.

No.  My affirmation was pretty much a deliberate act of ‘New-Age Thinking’ defiance.  There was nothing spiritual or enlightened about it at all. I chose it because I expected it to fail miserably.

This is what I chose:

Everything I want is always on special

That’s right. I affirmed that whenever I wanted to buy something, the Universe would provide it for me at a discounted rate.

Image from l3electronics.com

I thought this was hilarious when I made it up. It seemed like the silliest idea in the world. But I dedicatedly repeated my affirmation whenever I thought about it – which was often seeing it made me laugh so much, and seeing I was going through a pretty rotten time financially back then.

And here’s the second part of my embarrassing confession…

It worked!

If I needed chocolate, my favourite brand was on special. Pasta? Reduced to clear! Holiday? Stay ten nights, pay for five.

The more I affirmed, the more noticeable it became until one day I just accepted this statement as my new reality.  Everything I want is always on special.

I’m so well known for this affirmation now among my family and friends that they expect this miracle to roll out for me too! I recently went to the shop to buy some ice-cream for dessert, taking a friend with me. “I knew this would be on special,” she said as she took a tub of heavily discounted premium deliciousness. “I should come shopping with you more often!”

We needed a holiday. A few days ago my husband and I booked a cruise. Why a cruise? We got 78% off the advertised rack rate. And then got a room upgrade!

Image from maritimeheritage.org

When we went to book the airfares QANTAS was having a one day sale, and  a return ticket from Brisbane to LA was ridiculously discounted. The travel agent couldn’t believe our good timing. We just smiled, looked at each other and repeated Everything I want is always on special.

Affirmations work. I have plenty of others that I use now too, but my first ever affirmation is still my favourite.  It might not be ‘spiritual’ but it’s lots of fun, and it affirms to me that I live in an abundant and benevolent Universe.

Here are some others that I love:

Something wonderful will happen to me today (I love to affirm this when I first wake up – it sets the tone for my whole day!)

All good things come to me

I am surrounded with kind and helpful people

My creativity flows, and my good ideas are endless

My body is returning itself to health. Healing and well-being are my natural energies

If such simple thinking can change your life, and bring positivity and joy, maybe it might be worth you trying some affirmations for yourself. The video at the bottom of this post has some good ideas for affirmations too.

I’m holding you in that good space – wishing you well, wishing you love, joy, health and abundance.  Bless xx


Let the Teacher appear…

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Image from wallpaper.net.au

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ~ Henry David Thoreau

If you have a dream, chances are you’ll need help to get there. Whether you want to write a book, climb a mountain, win Olympic Gold, speak a new language or improve your health, your best bet will be to attract a good teacher into your life – one who will believe in you, and have the ability to help you to grow and to shine.

Sometimes the only thing that holds you back from success is not a lack of talent or good ideas, it’s a lack of knowledge, skills or techniques.  But that doesn’t have to be an obstacle – trust that there truly is someone or something out there in the Universe that can help you bridge that knowledge gap. Someone will have walked that road before you, and they’ll be willing to show you how to follow in their footsteps…

Image from personalexcellence.co

You might need a coach, a mentor or a teacher. Maybe a course or a book will help.  It might even be a job, a radio interview you just happen to tune in to, a magazine article or a useful suggestion from a stranger.

Know that the Universe is listening, and that it responds to your call.

Let the Universe know that you’re ready.  Ask for support.  Ask to be shown.  And then trust that the perfect person or information will show up in your life.

Image from thehiyL.com

I’ve created a short guided meditation to faciltate this process, and help you draw that teacher or resource to you.  All you need to do is listen, and stay open to the possibility of help turning up in your life:

Nicole Cody’s Guided Meditation for calling Teachers into your life

 Believe in yourself.  Believe in your dreams.  Allow yourself to be magnetic to change and growth.  Now is your time to shine! ♥ xx

Image from amandacollins.me

Protecting a Good Idea

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Delicate flower by Tyeise – innographx.com

We’ve all had them. Ideas that are special to us. Ideas that seem like they could turn into something good given enough time. It might be an idea about creating something or becoming something – but we sense that this idea is special, and has the power to be transformational for us.

A good idea is like a tiny seedling.  It is still young and delicate. It can be easily harmed, squashed, or damaged beyond repair.

Our job is to protect that idea until it has enough strength to stand alone.

So what are we protecting our idea from?

Image from typeanimals.blogspot.com.au

Elephants.

Well, that’s what I call them, anyway.

Ideas grow in a place in your mind that is much like a little garden. Your job is to keep the elephants out, because no matter whether it’s a well-meaning and friendly elephant, or an angry, rampaging, or just plain mean elephant , elephants have the capacity to stomp on your good ideas and cause irreparable damage.

Elephant foot ~ by Hoof_Lovers at flickr.com

An elephant might be a family member who says to you, “Honey, don’t be ridiculous, you’re not artistic. Didn’t we decided you were going to be a dentist? Stop being so dramatic and go finish your studies!” You deflate.  The idea is crushed beyond salvation. You cry a little when no-one is watching and then go dutifully study teeth and gums.

They might be a friend, who laughs or rolls their eyes when you share your idea with them. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard!” they might say as tears of laughter run down their face. You look at your idea after they’ve gone and it’s wilted and sad. Suddenly it seems hopeless to even try and revive it.

Or it might be a teacher, a room-mate, someone who you trust, a competitor, or even someone who in loving you and trying to support you still tramples on your dream. “Oh, that’s so interesting, but wouldn’t it be better if you…” Suddenly your good idea doesn’t look anything like the way it did when you started, and it just doesn’t make you feel the same way about it any more.

Worse still, they might steal it, and put it in their own garden! One day you come back to work on your idea only to find that someone else beat you to it and it’s thriving over there – and will never be yours again.

Image from pixabay.com

When an idea is tender and young you need to put a protective fence around it. Maybe you’ll need to keep it in a diary or a safe place. Maybe you’ll need to keep nurturing it in your mind. But respect this idea, cherish it, and help it to grow. Don’t invite elephants into your garden. Don’t even let them catch a glimpse.

If you love and nurture your idea it will grow. You may even find some people who can help you tend that idea, so that it strengthens and blossoms. As you get excited about it and clear about it, you’ll attract what you need to get your idea to thrive.

One day it will be strong enough and big enough that even an elephant can’t squash it. And then it will have the power to transform your life, and maybe even the lives of others.

Beautiful Tree by tomlinsonbomberger.com

Believe in your dreams. You are given them for a reason. Honour them, cherish them and trust that they have the capacity to grow into something beyond your most wondrous imagining. ♥ xx

Writing your way out of stuckness

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Image from the portableblender.info

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.  ~Swedish Proverb

Well it looks like Monday has become our regular journalling day! I’m sure most of you already know I have a love affair with journal writing. Can’t even begin to wonder how many millions of words I’ve clocked up longhand over the years.

So today we’re going to use our journals to help us move past a place of stuckness in our lives. This is a useful process that I’ve resorted to often in my journalling life. The technique was created by me deciding to define a problem in order to better manage it or determine a realistic scale on which to freak out….

This gorgeous image by Olly Moss

In all my years of journalling around stuckness, I’ve never ended up at the freaking out stage – in fact I’ve always found a way to keep calm, to carry on, and to dig myself out of the hole. I guess that’s why I keep using this technique.

Take out your journal and get comfortable.

You may be able to do this whole process in thirty minutes or less. Or it may take much longer.

If you’re stuck, it doesn’t matter. When you’re stuck there is no momentum.

When you begin to journal your stuckness it’s amazing how you begin to wiggle free from feeling trapped.

Defining the nature of your stuckness, and what it might mean for you

  • What is the nature of the stuckness? Is it an action you need to take, a problem you need to solve or a decision that needs to be made? (Sometimes a stuckness may involve two or even all three of these elements – if that’s the case, write about each of these aspects, in the order you think they would need to be taken.) Write as much as you need to to really define this situation. If you don’t have all the answers create a list of things you need to research or investigate.
  • Okay – here’s the scary bit. You need to ask yourself ‘What is the worst thing that can happen here?” Seriously. Go into as much detail as you can.  Write until you’ve exhausted all of the possibilities.  Really go to town and dump all your fears and worries onto the page. Once we’ve named them, we can much better deal with them. And it stops our minds racing off creating worst-case scenarios later on when we’d be better employed working towards solutions!

How do you feel about that?

  • Journals are places to download our feelings. Who can thing clearly with a head full of guff? Write down all those swirling emotions inside you that come up in relation to this place of stuckness. It clears the air.  It calms things down.  It calms YOU down. It can be a great relief to finally acknowledge how you truly feel about the thing you’re stuck with/on/in. Sometimes, we begin to find solutions right here in our feelings.  Maybe we’re scared to succeed. Maybe we’re frightened of responsibility.  Maybe we feel we have to do the thing to please someone else. Maybe we said yes when we wanted to say no. Whatever it is, journalling our feelings is the beginning of unravelling this mess!

Image from facebookemoticons.com

Okay – the hard part’s done.  Once we’ve identified the issue and how we feel about it, we have begun to move from stuckness to clarity. Use any or all of these questions and prompts to keep moving you forward:

  • From what you’ve written have you already reached a decision, conclusion or clarity that can get you out of stuckness? If so, write down your findings, and then chart a plan of action. Plans are great. They give us something solid to work from. If you like creating lists, then go for it!

Or, if you’re still not sure what to do next, explore these options on the page. Use the prompts to help you develop lists and strategies:

  • Is there an expert, resource, course or friend who could help us by giving us the guidance, support and techniques/skills we need to get unstuck? (For example, if you’re writing a book and having problems with the plot you could do a workshop, read a how-to book, or join a writing group.)
  • Can we hand the whole thing over to someone else to do or finish? ( Say you’ve been procrastinating over seven years of unfinished taxes – can you give everything to a book-keeper, or phone an accountant and ask their advice about what to do next? Can you pay your Mum or your best friend who loves paperwork, or the person from the advertisement in the paper?)

    It’s time for some help! Image from mylifescoop.com

  • Can we start at a different corner of the mess?  Often we keep approaching an issue in the same way, and from the same angle. Obviously when we don’t get anywhere we end up stuck. Is there another way you could approach this? Brainstorm as many alternatives as you can, writing them all down. When you’ve generated your list then you can choose a new approach and get started. (For example, you need to get your house ready for sale, and it’s overwhelming you. Instead of starting on a big job, tidy out your kitchen drawers, go through the linen cupboard, build momentum on the easy things or the small things.  Soon you’ll be powering through the problem areas. If you’re writing a book set in medieval England and you love the idea but it’s just not working can you make it sci-fi, or fantasy fiction?)
  • Instead of choosing Option A or Option B can we choose Option F, Q or Z? How many times has it come down to what we think is an extremely limited choice? We paint ourselves into a corner thinking we need to choose between A and B when actually we could have chosen both, none, or something else. Brainstorm some crazy alternatives to your current stuckness. Somewhere in that list will be the seeds of what will grow into your solution. (For example, you are living in a share house and you don’t like one of the new housemates. You obsess about how to get them to leave. You agonise about how you will cope if they stay. Well, could YOU move out? Could you go house-sitting, get a job or go back to study that supplies accommodation, use this as the push to move interstate or overseas, move in with friends or your folks for a while so you can save money to get a place of your own? Could you sell up and go back-packing around Europe for a year, or buy a campervan and hit the road?)

    Feeling inspired? This image from rickturban.hubpages.com

  • And the craziest part of all of this – could you choose to give up on the stuckness, bin the whole thing and move onto something else? Could you finally let this idea/ situation/issue die a good death so that you can start over on something new? (Maybe it’s time to put that half-finished manuscript in a bottom drawer and write something new. Or end the relationship and enjoying being single for a while. Go back to study and change your career direction rather than stay stuck in a dead-end job.)

When we write out our problems, our brain is encouraged to find a solution.  We let the Universe know that we are done with being stuck and that our intention is to get moving again. And more than once, when I’ve begun this process, a solution has come out of nowhere. That’s the Law of Attraction in action!  Think positive. Trust in good outcomes! ♥

 

Defining Your Priorities in Life

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This beautiful image by Kittisak

Life is short. Life is precious. And in our lives we need to be able to fit into a limited amount of time the things that will satisfy us, grow us, and make us happy.

So many people that I know have this terrible sense of never having enough time, and never getting around to the things that are important to them. Those dreams and desires keep getting relegated to ‘tomorrow’, and as we all know, tomorrow never comes.

If you’re in a place of overwhelm and exhaustion, you might find this post helpful to get you started: Simplicity is a Choice  You can also read about how I got my own personal priority act together here: The gift of impermanence OR live like you’re dying

So how do we work out what’s important to us? Journalling is one of the best ways I have found for clearing out the clutter in our minds and tidying our thoughts onto a page.  Today’s post will help you start that process of clarifying what matters to you, and how you want your life to look.

Journal Activity:

Image by nuttakit

It’s important to re-orient yourself back to your own internal priorities for this exercise, rather than the pressures of your life the way it is right now.

If possible, take yourself somewhere away from work or home – maybe a library, a coffee shop or a park, even the back yard or a veranda could work. Having surroundings that are not associated with chores, duties or your to-do-list will be very helpful for this process. Allocate at least ten minutes for this journal task, but note that if you haven’t been giving yourself much time lately you may need considerably longer.  The investment in yourself will be worth it!

Start by writing this passage into your journal or diary. Feel free to use coloured inks, stickers, doodles or anything else that makes your heart sing.

My life is precious to me, and I recognise that it’s a gift.  Before I was even born I was dreaming of the things I could do, experience and discover in this lifetime.

Inside me is a strong wisdom about what matters to me. My heart, my soul, my gut - they all have messages for my mind to hear and understand - and I’m really ready to listen.

More than that, I’m ready for change.  I‘m ready to act upon my priorities.  My life matters to me.  My time is now! 

Image by graur codrin

Choose any of the following journal starters and then begin writing:

  • This idea in the back of my mind is
  • I feel unbelievably pressured because
  • All I really want to be doing is
  • If I had more time I would
  • The thing that lights me up inside is
  • I know I need to
  • If I won a million dollars, suddenly I would be able to
  • My biggest regret is that
  • If I could find a way to support myself I would
  • Ever since I was little I have dreamed of
  • The secret hope inside me is
  • I get a huge surge of relief every time I think about
  • My whole world would change if
  • It makes me outrageously happy to think about
  • People have always said that I
  • When I look back on my life, I’d like to be able to say that
  • The things on my personal bucket list are

We never know what life has in store for us. You’ll never please everyone, but the one person we often forget to please is ourselves. You are worthy, valuable and you came to this life to live your dreams. Maybe it’s time to honour that in some small way. Live without regrets! Live each day not so that you can cross it off and breathe a sigh of weary relief, but so that it counts for you, so that it matters to you and to your dreams. ♥

PS – Nickelback says it so well… ↓

Attracting Inspiration and Opening to Abundance

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This image by imagerymajestic

 “Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.” – Buddha

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” - Confucius

 

I truly believe that for each of us there is an idea, matched perfectly to our talents and gifts, that can help us to shine our Light in the world, and from which we can manifest abundance for ourselves. Today’s blog is really a response to reader questions that have arisen from a previous post:  When the Muse Whispers in My Ear.

Each of us usually has a glimmer of what our heart’s desire is – that thing we want to be, do or have. ( And when we have achieved or satisfied that, there will come another desire, for that is the nature of humanity…)

It can be anything, but let’s work with just one example. Trust that this information will work as easily and effectively for you in manifesting that inspiration that leads to abundance, as for the person for whom I’m creating the example.

My friend Kathy had this to say about the Muse Whispering in your Ear blog post:

ohhhh….I would so like to hear that whispering in my ear….I’m open hearted and waiting for an idea or suggestion that might be matched with my talents, purpose and dreams…….I’m ready and I’m waiting….with a hope-filled heart 

I really don’t know how to open to this sense…I tend to put forth effort and try, but sense that right now, that’s not the way to go….and I can’t seem to access “trying” anyway….I’m sensing that a more intuitive path is opening, but don’t have experience with it ….any suggestions or ideas?…

Sound familiar to any of you?

Kathy thought on this some more and then added:

I’m sensing that maybe I’d like to combine teaching, which I love, (I’m retiring from the official job of teaching in June, after 40 years ) with creating pages or something like that..but I don’t know quite what, where, who…etc…but I love teaching and I really really love creating the pages that I share on my blog…and helping people who are having a hard time…helping them out of the struggle, in whatever small ways I can…

So what can Kathy do?  What can YOU do to get into that place of flow, where things begin to come together for you, and a path becomes illuminated for you to follow?

Light Path image by dan

To start with, don’t force it! Come at it from a different angle, rather than from ‘trying’. Find that *glimmer* within.  Perhaps it’s teaching, or healing or helping in some way.  Maybe you are passionate about art or music or writing. It could be food or fabric or french provincial furniture.

How do you recognise it?  It will light you up on the inside, and you’ll feel your resistance melt away as you contemplate and appreciate that thing.

For Kathy, she knows that she loves teaching, writing, creating resources, helping people. That’s a great start. And when we find what we love doing, we can usually find a way to make money from that thing too.

But no big idea yet?  No clarity?

That’s okay.  The *glimmer* gives us something to work with.

Image from ohbytheway.blogspot

Begin by BEing happy. Live with gratitude and appreciation for the things in your life that you enjoy, especially when they relate to that *glimmer*.  For example, if you want to be a writer, open to the joy of the wonderful books you have read and how they made you feel. Explore book stores, not to be overwhelmed by how many people are already in print, but because you LOVE books and stories, and shops full of delicious reading adventures.

Find more of what excites you and be grateful for that. Involve yourself with thoughts and activities that align you with the things you love and can happily spend time doing.

Kathy can start by appreciating and reflecting on what she has loved about teaching. That will also give her clarity about what she doesn’t want (no nine to five for me anymore! – or similar). She can get excited about pages and resources she loves, and the people who create them.

All of this positive energy begins to make you magnetic to more energy just like it!

Kathy can appreciate blogs, and use that to begin clarifying what she likes and wants more of, and what she doesn’t like. Whose blogs are helpful to her? What does she like about them? What is she drawn to?

The more we honour, appreciate and are grateful for things, and the more we deposit positive energy into the Universal Bank Account, the more attractive and magnetic we become to aligned thoughts, ideas and opportunities.

Piggy Bank image by kongsky

If the Muse hasn’t whispered in your ear yet, it doesn’t mean she won’t! It just means that you’re not charged up enough yet. You are responsible for building that energy and enthusiasm.  Stay open.  Expect ideas to start coming but don’t be anxious about it. Don’t force it, or push yourself into feelings of panic or lack.

Understand that ideas will come from left field, and may not be what you had originally expected. A friend of mine who loves to quilt now teaches quilting classes and is about to open a shop dedicated to quilting and fabrics. She’d planned to make quilts for a living but this new business suits her skills much better and gives her that vital people contact she so enjoys. Another friend who enjoyed computers and programming, and has a natural gift for explaining complicated things in simple ways, has now been inspired to create an IT business where people come to your home to give you tuition in software and hardware, tailored to meet your needs.

I’ve created a simple five-minute guided meditation to help you open up to your own inspiration, flow and abundance.  All you need to do is listen with an open heart, and an open mind, expecting and allowing all good things to come your way.

Nicole Cody’s Guided Meditation for Inspiration and Abundance

Soul Mates – How to Recognise One

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A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge.
Thomas Carlyle

You might wonder what a Soul Mate relationship feels like, what it looks like, and how you’ll know…

Let’s start by looking at what a Soul Mate relationship is not.

Image from perpetualkid.com

A Soul Mate will not share every view, feel as you do about everything in the Universe, or be your clone.

A Soul Mate relationship will not be about never arguing.

It will not be about perfection.

Image from geekologie.com

A Soul Mate is not some strange sort of parasitic or unhealthy dependency where you simply can’t survive without them in your life, or where they love you all up and suck you dry, before discarding you to move onto someone fresh.

A Soul Mate relationship won’t be categorised by fear, relentless pain, uncertainty, a feeling of being trapped, or a sense of impending doom.

It won’t be an abusive relationship.

It won’t be a relationship that belittles you, puts you down, discredits or dishonours you. It won’t be a relationship that puts doubts in your head until you begin to question your own judgement, and where your confidence and esteem erode, little by little, until you are weak and frail – a shell of who you were before. You won’t need to keep earning the other person’s love, or proving yourself.

Image from contentinacottage.blogspot

So what does a Soul Mate relationship look like?

First and foremost, it is always categorised by love.  Not vain love or showy love – but the sort of enduring and deepening love that allows you to grow, together, into something stronger, better and wiser than you were before.

Soul Mate relationships endure – they allow us to suffer the pain, and find a way, together, to move forward. In the presence of love we learn forgiveness, acceptance, compassion.

They bring out the best in us.  They give us comfort, friendship, support, and (often at the most unexpected times) fireworks in our bellies. They help us know laughter, and tears, they help us find the strength in ourselves and in each other.

With a Soul Mate we feel safe, and that safety gives us courage to wander far from home, creating and exploring and enacting our dreams.

Soul Mates believe in us, they’ll fight for us, and they’ll call us on it when we’re mistaken, or heading in the wrong direction. They love us when we have done nothing to deserve it, and when we feel totally unworthy of love, and they remind us to take care of ourselves, while caring for us when we can’t.

And at times, they’ll annoy us or frustrate us so much that we’ll wonder why we didn’t choose the other person. We’ll wish they’d just take a hike and leave us well alone. But in the next breathe we’ll know how miserable we’d be without them in our lives.

The relationship, like yourself, will always be a work in progress, ever changing, ever evolving, at times difficult, sometimes even strained to the point where you momentarily  find it hard to recognise yourself or each other. But it will also have the familiarity and comfort of home. And in the arms of this relationship you’ll know two things – love and safety. More importantly, you’ll get to know your true self.

A Soul Mate will spilt your heart open and you won’t even mind the pain because of all the love and joy you find there.

Can they really be your Soul Mate if you argue?

I grew up in a house where I never heard my parents fight. Sadly, their marriage didn’t last, but it made me certain that arguing was not a part of anything to do with love.

After I had my very first major and quite vocal disagreement (yep, some people would call that a fight…) with my husband, just weeks after we’d been married, I sat on the internal staircase of our house and cried, while my husband went outside to wash the car.

My beautiful Guide, Rollo, spoke to me, and asked, ‘Do you know what a Soul Mate relationship is?’

‘Obviously not!’ I snivelled, feeling totally pathetic and like I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life in getting married. I was sure Rollo was going to confirm that for me too.

Instead he showed me a picture of an oyster. ‘Do you know what happens when a tiny grain of sand gets into that oyster?’ he asked.

‘No,’ I sniffed.

‘It irritates the hell out of the oyster’ my Guide boomed, laughter in his voice.

Exactly, I thought. Irritates the hell out of it.

‘And in the presence of love, the oyster wraps that irritation in a special substance and after a while the pain goes away.’

I felt my Guide smiling at me. ‘Then the tide turns, and that annoying grain of sand moves somewhere else in the oyster, and do you know what happens?’

‘No,’ I replied, slow on the uptake.

‘That grain of sand causes more irritation in a different spot. But if love is present, love keeps wrapping itself around the irritation. The oyster grows, and over time the oyster transforms that grain of sand, in the presence of love, into something of great value and lasting beauty.  That oyster grows a pearl.  Without the irritation and the need to grow, nothing extraordinary would have ever happened.  But when love is present, magical transformation is possible.’

Image from freewallpaper4me.com

I could have hugged Rollo. My wise Guide was absolutely right.  I stopped crying and went into the kitchen to make my husband a cup of tea.

It’s true.  Love transforms.  It helps us weather many storms.  It grows us.  It improves us. It comforts us and delights us. And at some stage it causes us pain (usually BECAUSE we love), and love helps us bear that pain. The pain doesn’t weaken us – it strengthens us.  And from that pain we grow into something beautiful.

Rumi, the great poet says it best:

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” 

Double love hearts at sunset by Pink Sherbet Photography

When the Muse Whispers in Your Ear…

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This beautiful image from josephinewall.com.uk

O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
~ William Shakespeare

Inspiration comes to us in many ways, but there is one way almost all creative people have in common – the Muse comes and whispers in your ear.

The Muse knows you – she knows your talents and gifts – she knows what is written in your heart.

So she chooses you, and with Divine Timing she drops her tiny mouth to your ear and whispers an idea that is perfectly matched to your talents, your purpose, your dreams…

All you have to do is listen.

And you’ll know this is something out of the ordinary.  You’ll know you’ve just been given a gift.  Your heart will beat a little faster, you’ll feel a pull right down in your belly, your mind will snap to attention, and with your heart you’ll answer ‘Yes!’

The Muse will sigh contentedly. Then she’ll wait. She’ll wait for you to show her that her whispering is safe with you. All she wants is for this idea to be born. She’ll pour her own energy into it, hoping to co-create with you.

If you pull her idea deep into your heart, and if you nurture this whispering with thought and with action, she’ll happily whisper some more.

Try this, she’ll say.  This is the next part.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if…

But… if you ignore her… if you take her whispering and put it on the shelf, letting it become dusty and dessicated… if her whispered idea becomes a ‘someday’; or if, even worse, you begin to slowly kill the magic by coming up with all the justifications why it won’t work, and why you can’t do it…

She’ll fly off and whisper her idea in someone else’s ear!

And trust me – that won’t be good for you…

One day you’ll be at the markets and you’ll see the thing she whispered to you first, and you’ll think, ‘Hey! That’s MY product!’

You’ll read the book or watch the movie and think, ‘Hey! That’s MY plotline.’

You’ll walk past the shop, or open the newspaper and think, ‘What the? That was MY idea.’

The Muse is endlessly patient and encouraging as long as we honour her inspiration with a little perspiration – if we work at the ideas we’re given, the whole Universe will contrive to support and prosper us!

Her gift to us will be like magic in our hands.

We ignore the Muse at our peril.

So the next time she whispers in your ear, understand that she chose you for a reason.  She chose you because it’s written in your heart, it will make your soul sing, and you have what it takes to bring this idea to life and make it shine!

And isn’t that all you’ve ever wanted to do?

When Divine Inspiration comes calling, say YES. Take your new idea seriously. Nurture it and help it grow.  It might transform your entire life. ♥ It might transform ours too.