This Thought Counts

Well, my friends. The Summer of Change is now over, but I do hope that you have embraced at least a part of what I've shared with you. Taken it into your heart and mind and tested it out, finding what works for you and what doesn't. I've used all the hints I have given you. I studied Neville Goddard and Florence Scovel Shinn. I took what worked and cast off what didn't. And I'm now living the life I wished for. To use a quote from one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Live Long and Prosper Namaste Since some of you have asked, I have compiled the entire Summer of Change into a book you can have on your eReader at all times if you'd like. It is available from:       Smashwords       Amazon       Barnes and Noble

When we start down the path of enlightenment, we get on a roll. Every issue from our past that we fix, we see a direct and positive change in our future. We go “wow!” look at that. And don’t get me wrong. That’s a GOOD thing. Unfortunately, many get into the trap of thinking they need to have everything ‘fixed’ before their goal/dream/imagination comes true. So, they start looking for things to fix. “Well, my dream hasn’t shown up, so I must have other issues I need to deal with. I’ll deal with those first.” This does two things: It changes our focus from our dreams to our problems, which is the exact opposite to what we should be focused on. It tells the universe we want more problems to fix. And the universe, in all its nicety says, “Okay, if that’s what you want…” And hands us more problems, more issues, more nightmares to fix. So stop looking. If something comes up? If intuition says “cough! You need to let that go” then listen and let ‘that’ go. But don’t go searchi...

And now the time has come. The Summer of Change is almost up, but your change has just begun. You have read and studied the gurus and worked at raising your vibration so that you are in more alignment with what you want and who you want to be. Now it is time to become your own guru. It’s a simple and easy thing to do. First off, you must understand that teachers are only telling you that which works for them. They come from different backgrounds, have had different experiences from you. So what works for them, may or may not work for you. And you may find by tweaking their suggestions that you can get them to really work for you. Listen to your intuition. Let it guide you. If something doesn’t work? Either move on to something else, or tweak it until it does. This is, in essence, becoming your own guru. Trusting in you to know what you need. Nobody else knows as much as you (And the I AM’ness inside) what you need. So it is time to take charge of your own life. Make deci...

All right. Today’s the day. Break out the baskets, garbage pails, and gloves. It’s time to de-clutter. Why de-clutter? Because our physical lives do tend to mirror our emotional ones. If our physical space is cluttered, it shows how much our emotional space is muddled as well. Plus, if you are trying to attract some ‘thing’ and there is some other ‘thing’ sitting where the new one will go…how will it ever arrive? Clear out a spot for it. Now, the general rule of thumb is to look at everything and think “Have I used this in the last year?” If not? It goes. Stuff in good shape can go to the library, hospital, good will, church bazaar… Stuff in bad shape goes into the garbage pail. Do it fast. Don’t try and feel. If you feel, memories come back and then…it’s a case of “Oh, I can’t get rid of this now!” I have issues with dumping stuffed animals. They’ve been in boxes for years, haven’t seen the light of day in who knows how long, but I open up those tubs and it’s like “ooh! I r...

Today is the day to love your partner. Or child. Or parent. Or…well, choose one. Now, I’m not talking about loving them the way you think they should be loved, as in “I feel loved when someone puts the bloody toilet seat down so he had better do so.” That isn’t loving. That’s controlling. What’s loving? Ask the person what makes them feel loved. Do they want you to go with them to a local basketball game? Go fishing with them? Head out for a 2-day campout? Walk hand-in-hand with them around the mall for no apparent reason? Try a new sexual position? Find out what you can do to give them that feeling. And then figure out a way to do it. Not grudgingly, not with an attitude. But just doing it because you want them to feel loved. You want to truly love your partner and by doing it in the way they need, it can bring you incredibly close together. And yes, this is a two-way street. Sit down with this person, ask them what makes them feel loved. Do said item. (if said item is truly ...

Let it go. Stop obsessing. Stop worrying. It wasn’t yours in the first place. As humans, we tend to worry or stress about a lot of inconsequential things that we have absolutely no control over. Well, the fact is, we do have some control, we just don’t know how to wield it. And our control is not over the circumstance as much as the end result. And our worries, obsessions and other harmful emotions just push our goals further away from us. If you worry you'll get sick? Chances are you will. If you worry your significant other will leave you? Chances are you will push them away. So let it go. It no longer matters that your neighbor gossiped about you and said some nasty things. Stop thinking about it, let the anger go. As long as you concentrate on it, you will just attract more of that kind of negativity into your life. The more you let it go, the less you’ll see. Stop obsessing. No. Obsessing just brings out the kind of vibration you truly do not want. Because if we o...

Today I want you to do something for you. Just for you. To help reenergize that amazing body and mind you have. Take a walk. Read a book. Relax in a bubble bath. As the spouse/partner to watch the kids while you go out with the girls or guys. (as long as that isn’t something you do all the time.) This isn't about escapism. This is about filling yourself up with what you need. Remember this is about rebuilding your spent reserves. Meditate Pray Channel Play with a puppy Get a facial Get your nails done Research vacations and see yourself taking one. Get waxed (yes, that is a pampering thing) Buy a new lipstick Get your hair cut …and the options are endless. The main thing is you want to do something that makes you come out feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, and excited for the next event in your life. Never forget to pamper yourself from time to time.

Time is a human construct. It doesn’t actually exist. As a human that is one of the hardest things to grasp. We learned linear time from the time we were children. We know there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and so forth. And yet…time doesn’t actually exist. We made it up. We believe in it, so in a way it exists for as long as we believe it is true, it will appear to be so. But when we step out of time, refusing it to run out lives, and realize the universe does not work in a timely manner because there is no time ‘out there’, it opens up a whole new avenue of possibilities. For instance, there is no waiting. Since time does not exist, if we ask for something, the universe could give it to us literally within moments of asking. (I’ve had this happen before.) Of course, that always is the worst part when you have to wait for something to come to pass. But it isn’t that the universe needs the ‘time’ to prepare your goal. More than likely, the...

Now that you’ve practiced helping someone you know, it’s time to test out this good samaritanism on a stranger. Let someone change lanes in front of you. Allow the person standing behind you at the checkout line to go in front of you because they only have three items and you have twenty. Or how about purchasing a few carnations, having them wrapped in paper and handing them out throughout your day? As always, follow your intuition. It will point you in the direction of the person who could get the most from your kindness. And soak and revel in that joy. Yes, it is okay to feel good for doing something nice. It is absolutely all right. The only time to stop is if ego steps in and starts strutting around.

Let’s step out of ego today and do something for another. It’s always easier to do so for someone you know. So give a friend a ride to the doctor’s office. Send a neighbor a carnation just because. Help someone you know move into their new apartment. Only you can know what your friend, co-workers, neighbors, or family need. Step out and make someone’s day today. And don’t expect anything back. Just do it because you want to. Many times the things we do for the least selfish reasons make us feel the best. 

Need some unconditional love? Find an animal. They give it back in huge amounts. I find puppies and kittens are the most receptive. They just want to be held and loved. And instantly give that love back. Don’t have one? Check out the local pet shelter. Spend a few minutes with a new friend. Who knows? Maybe you’ve found a lifetime friend.

Today’s extra is all about the “how”. So, you have a dream, a goal, and you’ve read and studied from several gurus and you know you are on the right path. You have visualized the attained goal and you're there enjoying it. But then, your mind whispers, “how’s it gonna happen?” You don’t mean to think about it, but you can’t quite help it. You imagine how that goal may be achieved. And that isn’t a bad thing. If you do it once. The problem is, once you start to concentrate on the how, you not only can’t NOT concentrate on it, you began to fill in the details until you’ve mapped out the how in your head. Bad move. By mapping out the how, by concentrating on it, you have just taken from the universe its plan. You’ve taken control – whether or not you intended to – and have basically said “This is how I see it happening”. Which has ground everything to a halt. Now, it may happen like that, or it may not. The universe has ways in which we know not. Better ways. Quicker ...

Okay, you’re probably thinking, 'It’s what?' Today is the day to do something you wouldn’t do, or wear something you’ve always wanted to but was ‘out of your comfort zone’. No, I’m not talking about wearing a color will make you look dreadful (for example, I cannot wear yellow. Ugh.). I’m talking about wearing or putting on something you have always wanted to but were afraid of other people’s reaction. Today’s your day! Wear a hat you like, the bright red blouse your mother would call ‘too ostentatious’, the boots that would make your friend’s mouth drop open. Or how about trying a drink you’ve always wondered about, or a meal that sounds exotic but you’ve been afraid to try. Time to get out of that comfort zone and do something a little fun and crazy. For me? I think today I will wear my three-inch bright red heels. Yep, pray for my feet ;)

For me this was the hardest part. I didn't trust myself. After years of being told my decisions were always wrong, I believed that about myself. And I kept saying "I don't know if this is intuition or just my brain spewing off whatever..." Of course, I realized after a certain amount of time that I was writing myself another self-fulfilling prophecy. "I don't understand intuition" so of course, "I didn't understand intuition." And then one day, I came across a unique point of view. It said there are two ways to deal with intuition in trying to learn and trust it. The first was to meditate about the idea and ask for a strong lead. And believe me, if you do that, the universe/god/I AM/all that is'ness will give you a definitive lead. The second is to follow the feeling you got. It may turn out to just be a strand, a message you were meant to follow for another reason. Or it may lead you to exactly what you were looking for. Eac...

Find yourself stuck? Maybe it’s time to stretch your thoughts. Push those boundaries. See what you are made of. I’ve been doing that a lot over the last 10 months and the difference it has made has been amazing. I’ve studied new philosophies and meditation techniques, tried out new writing genres, learned to channel, and went from a size 18 to a size 7 in that time. (With no dieting.) I’ve communed with people I never would have given notice to before and have learned much from them. I’ve run a project from start to finish and am seeing the fruits of that labor. And it started with a stretching of my thought process. I was already a student of the Law of Attraction and last summer I bought the book E-Squared. Some of those experiments worked, others didn’t. But I had stretched my mind again. And as it stretched, I found Neville Goddard and I stretched my thought processes even more. Found new ways to make my dreams a reality, some that worked for me, others that didn’t. And ...

When was the last time you learned something new? No, I’m not talking about the new computer program at work that you swear at every three seconds because it doesn’t work like you think it should. I’m talking about learning something for you. A spiritual path. Learn to meditate. Do Yoga. Something that helps to calm the soul and opens you up to the divine. In a very short amount of time, you can learn so much. And there are so many things to learn. More than we could ever take on in our life time. So what are you waiting for? Choose something you’ve always been interested in and dig in.

When you hear the term ‘divine design’ what does it bring to mind? Foreordination? Strict lines? No choice because the choice was already made for you? What if it was something different? I believe divine design is simply this: that we are all meant to have everything there is to offer. We are meant to have health, wealth, happiness, and love. Consider them the four corners of your world. And each one of us can have that. There is no lack in the universe. Lack is a human invention. We keep thinking there isn’t enough: Not enough time. Not enough money. Not enough food. Not enough drugs. Not enough… Get my point? Much of that is a control issue. Either us trying to control our environment or someone trying to control us. When the fact is, there has always been and will always be enough. For every human on earth. Every single one of us. Not everyone wants the same thing, true, but our divine design, the plan to bring us those four corners, has already been laid out. The th...

Life is a game. And no, I’m not talking about business deals where you have to cheat someone to get what you want. I’m talking about a game. It should be fun. F.U.N. Life is not supposed to be a chore. It should be filled with so much joy you can hardly stand it. Every morning you should wake up excited to play again. Feel that something is missing? Turn life back into a game. Figure out what you want, learn how to attract that into your life, and then receive it. Play the game. It’s worth it.

Children are overlooked far too often. They see the world through a unique view, one adults the world over need to re-learn. Anything is possible. Absolutely anything. Ask questions. Laugh and play. Let things go. Cry when you need to, hug a stuffed (or real) animal, and then eat a cookie. Go out and be a child today. Look at everything with awe and wonder. See everything about you with new eyes. I think you’ll be surprised at what you see.

Notice the beauty around you. The mountains outside of your bedroom window, the trees in the park on your way to work, the elderly barista who makes coffee slower than anyone but always has a smile for you and adds a dose of love to every latte she makes. The flowers in bloom? The fresh coat of paint on what used to be an old, rundown building? The cute dog fresh from the groomer rolling in the mud? Yes, you’ve seen all of these, but did you recognize them for the beauty they were. Stop. Pay attention. Beauty is everywhere. Go indulge in looking at it. Be the beauty.