I recently heard a You tube video with Jim Rohn and he had a clip entitled, “The Day That Turns Your Life Around.”  For any of you that have not heard it, I will share his wisdom and the actual video.  Jim Rohn was mentor to Tony Robbins, inspirational speaker and motivator. 

Here are 4 words that can turn your life around:

1. DISGUST – I’ve had it!  E N O U G H – you have hit your you know what level.
2. DECISION MAKING – Time to clean up a list of decisions.  You make lists, you study the opportunities and now it’s time to actually take action.
3. DESIRE – Wanting something bad enough.  You hear a song, a sermon, a conversation with a friend that makes you think.  When we have our walls down, we can then welcome all experiences.  It starts with desire.
4. RESOLVE – Say I will do it and actually do it.  Promising yourself that you’ll never give up.  You don’t give up until it makes sense to give up.

When you don’t allow to let go of your past, it creates barriers and walls for your future.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.

Jim Rohn

Determination, Insight, encouragement, inspiration awakening, change, encouargement, insight, inspiration, positive thinking, Self love

Happy Valentine’s Day – I thought a blog post on love would be appropriate for this day of LOVE - Hugh Prather in his book, “The Quiet Answer” states……

 “Love should be as effortless as breathing and as indiscriminate as falling snow.  Love is a state of mind or a vision that handles all things equally.  There is only one kind of love, the uncalculated kind.”

The word alone – LOVE – sets our minds dancing.  It stirs emotions in us and brings us to a state of bliss.  People talk about falling in love or like I often say rising in love –(it’s a more positive way of stating an action).  I reflect on Hugh Prather’s quote as I earlier stated and one thing that resonates in me:

Love should be as effortless as breathing and as indiscriminate as falling snow. 

If we took this statement and really contemplated it –

Then why do we make love so hard?  Why does it have to be so complex? 

Love involves the heart – to me it’s like a heartbeat – never skips a beat and always constant – without it we would be dead.  It’s as profound as the ocean in depth and its currents ebbs and flows – ebbs and flows.  Love is a selfless act – so many books, poems, songs and articles are written on this subject. 

We are all curious about it and lucky the ones that have truly loved and felt loved.  I am happy to report that I have been one.

Love triggers endorphins in our brains – we can’t stop thinking of that person, we imagine ourselves in their presence even when we’re not together.  It makes you feel happy and giddy.  I would simply describe it as magical.  You want to be in each other’s daily lives. 

There are so many types of love – romantic love, agape love, love for a child, love for our families, love for a stranger, and love for our friends; each stirring up different emotions and feelings.  As I sit and write this, I am watching and admiring a vast ocean and I am in love with the beauty of nature;  with the sun and its rays twinkling like fairy dust upon its surface.  As each new day dawns the love of life that’s experienced.  I just told an old friend this morning – I believe in love and have so much love to give – my heart is filled with it…….

There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing two people in love. 

For those who want love in your lives, I suggest you start visualizing what it looks like to you.  Call it onto yourself – it’s magical – be patient – it will come!  One thing that I ask is that you don’t settle – you deserve exactly what you want.  Trust your heart and believe that he’s out there especially for you.  Call it what you wish – the Law of Attraction, the Power of the Universe or as simple as I BELIEVE in LOVE for we are made in the image of LOVE!

Sometimes you have to love yourself and that other person to let them go if you are in a toxic relationship.  At this point, it’s also love to let go…..

Before I end this blog on love – one most important thing – you MUST learn to love yourself before you can ever love another.  In the movie Jerry McGuire he tells Renee Zellweger – “You Complete Me” – I say, no one can complete you but certainly can strengthen you – so maybe a better line would be – “You Strengthen Me” – but you know Hollywood and completions sounds better than strengthening…..You must complete yourself before anyone else can complete you.   So like I often say my religion is love, love and more love.  You can never give enough love; so GIVE, GIVE and GIVE some more!

Remember, may the possibilities of love today excite us all!

encouragement, love encouargement, love

Quick tips for holding onto happiness in the new year!!!

So often women find themselves in my office because they have lost their “happy”.  We have all kinds of profound conversations about what triggered the deep sadness, or anxiety, and what is contributing to it now.  We often explore old patterns and look at toxic relationships.  We examine their give and receive ratio (how much they are giving out to others, and how much they are allowing themselves to receive).   However, when it comes to feeling better quickly, we always have to go back to the basics….

1. SMILE often and especially in the mirror!  Yes, you are going to feel ridiculous, so just get over itJ  Muscle memory is a powerful thing, and you have every happy, joyful feeling stored in your cheek muscles.  So every time you go to smile, even if you aren’t in a particularly happy mood, you are triggering JOY.  The same way watching a fast food commercial can trigger a terrible craving for a mountain of French fries, smiling will trigger happy feelings.   Even better if you do it while looking in the mirror.  When you see yourself smiling, you are sending a powerful message to your subconscious mind that you are happy!  Your subconscious receives this info and then acts accordingly by sending out the powerful happy chemicals like serotonin!  Who doesn’t want that?!

 

2. At the beginning of your day, intend to BE HAPPINESS.  Take a minute in the morning in the shower to picture yourself throughout your day HAPPY.  What does happiness today look like, sound like, feel like?  Intend for nothing to get in the way of your happiness.  Intend to spread this happiness everywhere you go today.  Choose to spread positivity and be intentional about not going to the dark side (no complaining, criticizing, or negative statements today)!

 

3. Dress in colors that make you feel HAPPY, JOYOUS, & BEAUTIFUL!  Colors are one of the fastest ways to invite in new and happy energy.  When you are getting dressed in the morning, if your priority is to be happy, you should choose colors that make you feel happy.

 

4. Take 2 minutes out of your day to have compassion for yourself.  Most women look at me with a confused look when I say this….it’s alright if you are feeling confused a bit about what this looks like.  Stay with me!  Take 2 minutes or more to sit down by yourself and think about all that you have accomplished or dealt with today.  Put your hand over your heart and intend to send yourself some love.  The same way you would put an arm around a friend to comfort them.  If you are a visual person, picture your love as a color.  Send yourself bright pink and breath in this love and compassion in and out, until you are surrounded completely in this color.

 

5. Give yourself reminders around your house, office, and car, of your intentions to be happy.  You might write, “Today, I choose to live in limitless JOY!” on the bathroom mirror.  A good rule of thumb for any affirmation is that you say it to yourself, and then you take a deep breath and breathe it in to the deepest part of your soul, and say it again after your exhalation.

 

6. GET MOVING!  It doesn’t matter how you choose to do it, but choose to do it for 30mins a day.  You can dance, do some yoga, go for a walk or run, but get your body moving.  When your body is getting some healthy movement once per day, it is physically healthier and is better equipped to hold onto that happy feeling!

Happiness is a vibration like anything else.  It is an unconditional friend that will always come back to you when it is invited.  Intend to live it today, and watch how quickly you enjoy the benefits of its presence.  You so deserve in every way to be happy!

LOVE, LOVE LOVE AND HAPPINESS TO YOU!

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHt

www.healingplacecounseling.com

Erin Williams encouargement, Happiness, insight, positive thinking, Self love

We set ourselves up for disappointment when we expect…….instead of accepting.

My Question is: 

“Why don’t we drop our expectations and open ourselves up to being pleasantly surprised by life and the people around us each day?”

Allowing your past and yourself to be proven wrong, while accepting and looking for new possibilities or behaviors that you like; can free you up to receive amazing results.

What’s normal and expected isn’t always what life delivers – these are the surprises, the AH-HA moments, the triumphants or the disappointments that come our way.

When there are expectations in life and these expectations are not met, resentment happens towards another and yourself.  When we expect to be the best and we don’t do our best in our perfect minds, then we disappoint ourselves; don’t get me wrong here, I am a proponent to strive for your best, but the key here is to not be so hard on yourself when you fall short of the best.  To live in expectations is so much more difficult then living in acceptance.  Think of the times that you’ve been in expectation.  Let’s take for example you have a new love in your life or even an existing love and your birthday is coming up.  He comes to you and says:

“I have a very special surprise planned for us for Saturday night for your birthday.”

Right away our surprise sensory goes off in our brain and we start to manufacture these great surprises, we envision, we know that he knows exactly what we want and thus it’s in the bag and we feel even more excited.  We can’t wait until Saturday night we may even go as far as asking a few times because we can’t stand it.

What is it about surprises that we love so much but yet can’t wait to hear what that surprise is?

Saturday rolls around and you are expecting to be surprised.  Remember the expectation has been building as each day goes by.  You get ready and you leave the house and what you expected and hoped to happen does not!

Disappointment fills your heart because your plan was for a romantic candlelight dinner for two, maybe even flowers thrown into the mix.  You are not happy – you expected something else and you got another!

How could all this have been different?

ONE WORD – ACCEPTANCE….

To accept a surprise was coming your way and being in gratitude from the first time you heard that something was being done for “YOU”; instead of creating expectations in our heads and later being disappointed.  Living life at it’s fullest - living in the spirt of the moment!

In optimism there is MAGIC

In pessimism there is NOTHING

In positive acceptance there is thrill of SUCCESS

So next time we are confronted with expectations versus acceptance which road will you choose?

Do you have a story to share where you expected and you were disappointed?

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite us all!

Expectations, encouragement, inspiration acceptance, awakening, encouargement, Expectations, insight, inspiration, motivation

David,  a very special man in my life, went to Guatemala in October on a mission trip with a team of 14 to build homes for widows and their children.  In a week’s time the team built 4 homes.  They gave these widows and their children a better place to live for their future.  I’m sure they ALL experienced the Spirit of Gratitude; the ones building the homes and the ones receiving this GIFT! 

So I thought this post would be appropriate for this “Thanks-Giving”…..A time when we reflect on our gratitude…..My desire for each one of you is that you relish in life’s banquet today…..

David took this photograph which I have named, the “Bubble of Hope.”  I reflected upon my childhood and how a bottle of bubbles would keep me occupied.  Oh, the simple joy of pulling the stick out of the bottle and forming that most perfect bubble.  I discovered as I would blow bubble after bubble that you had to calculate your breath in just the right rhythm to accomplish getting a magnificent bubble as shown in this picture.  It’s said that a picture holds a thousand words and this picture immediately spoke to me upon seeing it.

I haven’t blown a bubble in a while and I think it’s time to blow some bubbles!

As I look at this picture and ponder on my words stirring in my head ~ I see a little girl with her hands being raised to the sky ~ I’m sure in pure bliss of the moment.  I also see a beautiful little boy with captivating black eyes looking up to the circle of love as his eyes reveal the soul of his ancestry.  I see the iridescent bubble representing unbridled joy.  Joy is not lost; it floated away in the sunlight of his life.  Notice the colors in this picture.

The space between the eyes of the little boy and the weathered hands of the little girl is the gap.  The gap where the moment lies; where breath, air and love for that moment created this most fabulous bubble floating towards the heavens along with their prayers. 

What would the prayer be if a prayer was to be attached to this bubble of hope floating to heaven?

Would it be prayers of gratitude and love?  Would it be prayers of hope and joy? Would it be prayers of happiness and freedom?  What would your prayer be?

Notice the smile on the little boys face, he’s joyful and he is waiting patiently to have his turn at creating the most perfect bubble in time.

A simple bubble – and the joy it creates. 

A wonderful reminder of how grateful I am for my breath and the ability to love each moment  which is truly a GIFT to me.

How much breath will you put forth to create the most perfect of bubbles?  Will you put out with force, for those are the times that the bubble folds and resist the breath? Will you put out with a gentleness allowing the breath to build slow and easy, with patience?  To have patience with our breath and the desire to create that amazing bubble allows the bubble to form and gently move toward the sky.

So this Thanksgiving, I want to take this opportunity to allow my breath to tell you how grateful I am for your support, your encouraging words to me, and for being there to read my posts when they are published.  For allowing yourself to be inspired, and inspiring me at the same time.

You are each a GIFT and know that I am GRATEFUL!

Let’s remember that the only way to find happiness is not to expect
gratitude–but to give for the joy of giving.

Special thanks to you David for capturing with your eagle eye this portrait of unbridled bliss…..

THE PERFECT CIRCLE OF LOVE AND GRATITUDE

REMEMBER, MAY THE POSSIBILITIES OF TODAY EXCITE YOU!

Hope, gratitude, love encouargement, gratitude, inspiration, love

Unchained Melody ~ I invite you to watch the music video and feel the love….dedicated to each one of you that know love or have experienced love……

If one wishes to know love, one must live love, in action.  Leo Buscaglia

We are all born from Gods’ love – we die with Gods’ love and we do all we can do to find love in between our birth and our death.  Searching, seeking and longing for that true love……we were created to LOVE….

What is it about LOVE and why is it so hard to find?

I’m certain there are thousands upon thousands of stories written on the subject of ecstacy and longing.  Music galore about rising in love or falling out of love and many sonnets written about the heart connection.

We find love, we spend time with love, and know this must be LOVE, and then we do all we can to sabotage love, and walk away from it, in order to go find a more suitable love, for we think the grass is greener on the other side.    

I really don’t get it – Do you?

Is love an emotion, a feeling, a verb or noun?  The road to love can be long or not so long, can be lovely, can be adventurous, can be filled with joy or pain, can be a multitude of things.  I looked up the definition of love and this is what I found.  Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.  When I Googled, “What is it about love,” I found:  QUIZ: Is it Love?  WOW – now you can take a quiz to make sure it’s love! (I’m not sure if I want to do that)…..

Scientists say that the brain chemistry of infatuation is akin to mental illness – which gives new meaning to “madly in love.”

Love is about how the other person makes you feel.  The fact of the matter is that love involves non-verbal reactions – synaptic (chemical) connections within our brains.  Since I love to research, I did some research on LOVE. 

I discovered that the species that stick to one mate usually have a rich flow of another chemical called vasopressin, the “monogamy” chemical.  Experiments done with males injected with this chemical brought out all the evidence needed.  Isolating males before and after mating, he was indifferent to all females.  But 24 hours after mating, he is hooked for life.  The jealous husband syndrome sets in too.

Another chemical is oxytocin, the “cuddling” chemical.  It promotes the need to be physically held, have close contact with the mater, and makes the sexes more caring.  It can be released simply by a lover’s look, smell or even a fantasy.

When infatuation subsides, another chemical takes over which is responsible for intimate relationships, these chemicals are created by endorphins.  They make a relationship steadier, intimate, dependable, warm and a great sharing experience.  They do not induce a giddy high, but calmness and stability….hence the reason why people stay married.  This chemical is addictive so the longer a couple stays married, the longer two people stay together.  It is endorphins that trigger grief on a spouse’s death or long separation, those yearnings for togetherness.  Adrenaline love is being in love with the idea of being in love.  With endorphin love, we like loving someone. 

There are foods that can intensify love…..

We eat aphrodisiacs (named after the Greek Goddess of Love – Aphrodite) to enhance love:  chocolate, oysters, turtle eggs eaten raw with salt and lime (haven’t tried this one yet); asparagus, almonds, avocado, bananas, basil, figs, garlic and honey.  It was suggested by a very “special man” in my life – “Why not prepare a dinner to include each of these foods?”

Now that we know about the chemicals and foods involved in the “love” process:

What is it about love and the longing to have it in our lives?

There are so many dating sites to meet the “ONE” but yet we are lonelier and lonelier as a society.  Here are a few statistics from Match.com:  People over age 50 makes up Match.com’s fastest growing segment of users, with a 300% increase since 2000. 

WHAT is that all about?

Is it because our biological clocks of younger years is ticking away and we wake up one day with more wrinkles and the reality that we are not getting any younger and no one to share our golden years with…..

I WANT A PARTNER/MATE NOW SYNDROME?

 75% of women and 81% of men in their 50s experience a serious, exclusive relationship after a divorce.  (this to me is great news)

There really are a lot of fish in the sea:  According to the Census Bureau, 29% of adults age 45-59 are now single, compared with only 19% in 1980. 

I listen to so many single women and I hear, “Where are the men?” I listen to so many single men and they say, “Where are the women?”  They must “NOT” be out there since I’m hearing the same thing from both sexes; or are they and the real reason we haven’t found the ONE for us is because we have been so busy in dating so many men and men women, that it’s been a distraction in truly discovering ourselves out and working on US?  I read in Don Miguel Ruiz book, The Mastery of Love that we must be 100% complete in ourselves in order to attract that perfect one for you.   Once you accept yourself just the way you are, the next step is to accept your partner.

It makes sense to me, does it you?

If you have the eyes of love, you just see love wherever you are, even in the imperfect – Wabi Sabi.  When you perceive with the eyes of love, you can connect your will with the will of another dreamer, and the dream becomes ONE.  Then you can see with the eyes of an eagle or transform into any kind of life.  With your love you connect with the eagle and you become the wings.  But to do this, you need to clean the mind of fear and perceive with the eyes of love.  If you can open your heart completely to your partner, you can reach heaven through your love.

When we fulfill the needs of our mind and our body, our eyes see with love.  We see God everywhere.  I love what Don Miguel Ruiz says, “But when we know that our heart is a magical kitchen, we are always generous, and our love is completely unconditional.”  I love the anology of our heart being a magical kitchen…..

I believe we have this “Jerry McGuire” notion of love in the famous line from the movie where Tom Cruise tells Renee Zellweger , “You complete me.”  Are you kidding me – why did they not edit that line from the movie?  Hey, it’s Hollywood and they can say anything to make us say, “AWWWWWHHHHHH – why doesn’t anyone say that to me????”  So we look for someone that can say to us, “You complete me.”  I believe a better term may be – “You compliment me.”……. It truly is a beautiful gift to us when we compliment and not complete.  I much rather use the term from the movie, “As Good As It Gets” where Jack Nicholson tells Helen Hunt, “you make me want to be a better man.”

Once we awaken to self and clean up our houses (our temples -mind and body), then the awakening is like being at a party where there are hundreds of people and everyone is drunk except you.  You are the only sober person at the party.  Most humans see the world through their emotional wounds, through their emotional poison.  Here lies the problem of not being awake and aware.

When in the awakened state, your heart is an expression of the Spirit, an expression of Love, an expression of Life.  It’s being aware that you are Life.  When you are aware that you are the force that is Life, anything is possible.  Miracles happen all the time, because those miracles are performed by the heart.  The heart is in communion with the human soul, and when the heart speaks even with the resistance of the mind, something inside you changes; your heart opens another heart, and TRUE LOVE is possible.  It’s in opening another’s heart there lies the chemicals, the passion, the Love that we are ALL either trying to find or keep.

My girlfriend Giovanna stated it so eloquently to me this past week, “almost all relationships start with what can I “get” from it rather then what can I “bring” to it; I believe that we have to be selfless and selfishness abounds us these days….the other part is to choose wisely.  We tend to choose what is familiar to us whether it feels good or not because it is what we know…we change it by our thoughts about ourselves, our actions and constant vigilance of those thoughts…..BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

WE MUST FEEL WORTHY OF LOVE FOR LOVE TO COME…..

Love enables you to stand for yourself in an honorable and gracious way; with no hidden agendas; with no room for negativity.  In its purest form – UNCONDITIONAL!  My friend Jimmy has a website Life Architects and stated it this way on my guest blogger Angie’s comments on, “Only Time Can Reveal If It’s Real“:  “true love is attached to us with invisible ties. These ties connect our spirits and souls that only we can understand.”

For the MAGIC of love and the volumes written and sung about it; it continues to afflict us generation after generation.

So the bottom line in all this LOVE talk is we are put on this earth to experience LOVE in its purest form – to get closer to our GOD for HIS love is unconditional – and in so doing we discover that HE is LOVE, LIGHT and TRUTH – all the things that we search for in a lifetime are all wrapped up in our Divine.  We crave all these things in human form – so it is in acquiring the eyes of GOD and having your eyes fixed on HIM, then this should make the love process easier to find and keep, for love never fails…..  

Where there is GREAT LOVE, there are GREAT MIRACLES…..

L’amore vince tutto (Love conquers all)…. (Italian)

I invite you to share your thoughts on this?

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite us all!

inspiration, love encouargement, inspiration, love, motivation, Self love

Hello Friends – The GREAT news is that for the first time in two years Jonathan Griffin will be the first “guyfriend” post besides our beloved “Monogamy Doctor” Peter Kane…..I came across Jonathan’s inspiring post on Facebook and I was quite inspired by his dedication, responsibility and accountability to himself that I messaged him to write a post for MakeGirlfriends.com…..his story is inspirational and motivational full of compassion and forgiveness…..sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

http://vimeo.com/26692072 (A MUST SEE VIDEO – AMAZING)…..

It’s a quarter past midnight as I sit down to write.  Just got back from the gym a little bit ago. What a week it’s been! My mind has been processing everything that has happened. The news of being awarded Transformation Champion is slowing sinking in.

Having made so many attempts to get healthy over the years, I knew true change needed to come from within. I knew a “lifestyle” change was required. But more than just changing habits, I needed to change core beliefs.  Limiting beliefs about myself.  My perception of myself; of others.  I needed to transform from the inside out.

The past several years had taken it’s toll on my health and mindset. My existence felt like a foggy haze. I didn’t feel truly connected. It was like I was living from behind a glass. I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was fed up! I wanted to truly live again. I wanted to live “in the moment” and really be there for my family and friends. With a bit of anxiety, fear, doubt, and a whole lot of determination, I set out to change. To transform. I wasn’t exactly sure how but I was certain I would do it. I went full speed ahead.

So on January 11, 2011, I set out on this journey of transformation. I embraced Bill’s 18 Steps like they were my life support. In a lot of ways they actually were. The lifestyle I was living was a quick path to major health problems. At 35 years old, I didn’t want to wind up dead of a heart attack, stroke, or acquire some other life threatening ailment.

I worked through each step and learned so much about myself. I overcame those limiting beliefs. I got rid of those crazy monkey traps. I made slow, steady changes. I learned to forgive others. I learned to forgive myself. I began taking responsibility for my situation. I realized it was up to me, and noone else, to change. I stopped making excuses. I started making conscious daily decisions.

Today I feel like a whole new person. I have more energy than I have had in many years. I am more engaged with my kids. Getting outside and playing soccer with the girls, going to the park, these things are now fun! I just completed my 2nd 5K last Saturday. I would have never imagined doing any of this 9 months ago.

I’m 2/3 of the way to my goal weight. I’m so excited about the life ahead. Living healthy; being strong – what an amazing way to live. I have new focus. I have so much more determination. I spent the last 15 years losing myself. In 2011 I’m finding myself again. It feels so good!

I realize with that to whom much is given, of him much will be required. I am so humbled and honored to be awarded Transformation Champion. My desire is to take what I have learned and pay it forward. I want to help and inspire others by my example. Through this journey I have overcome adversity, experienced healing for past hurts, and truly transformed from the inside out. I want others to know that if I can do it, so can they!!!

Jonathan

Important Transformation.com Steps Blogs:

 Lifetime Intentions

The Big Forgive

Quick Bio:

Computer programmer for past 12 years.

Married with 3 children (2 girls, 1 baby boy).

B.A. in Accounting. Studied music first year.

Have home recording studio.

Play guitar, piano, drums, and sing. Write songs too.

Involved in music ministry and youth ministry at church.

Jonathan Griffin awakening, Challenges, change, courage, encouargement, inspiration, motivation, Self love, transformation, weight loss

by Alinka Rutkowska

So I was single again. This time I decided I was not going to settle for just an ok relationship. It either had to be Prince Charming or I am great on my own. After having studied a lot of the Law of Attraction material I knew that like attracts like so I made sure that I myself had all the qualities I was looking for in my partner. I wanted him to be loving. So I made sure I was expressing love wherever I could.

I wanted him to be positive. So I trained myself into thinking positive so that I could only attract a positive thinker.

I wanted him to be adventurous. So I decided to go on a trip to the end of the world (to me that is New Zealand).

I meditated daily. I made sure I was the one responsible for my dreams coming true. I made sure I was strong and balanced.

I made lists of the characteristics I was looking for in my lover, I imagined I would see him after work, I fantasized about doing things together and having so much fun.

I felt the feeling of being complete and happy even though he was not in my reality yet. I knew he was on the way. As I embarked on my lonely trip to New Zealand & Australia I trained myself to feel the feeling of being grateful to the universe for meeting such an amazing man. I felt confident it would have to happen sooner or later. Then I just decided to have fun on my trip and not worry about men. I so enjoyed myself, I made so many friends, I absolutely loved being single and before I knew it, I was in a loving relationship with an absolutely amazing man and my life with him is even better than I had imagined.

If your reality is better than your dreams – there must be some divine powers at work.

Now I see exactly what I was doing to attract him and I can spell the formula out.

First, express a desire and know that if you have the capacity to think it, then the universe has the capacity to deliver it.

Then get excited about it like a kid gets excited before Christmas.

Parents see that their child desires something, believes he will get it and gets excited about it. And the parents move mountains to deliver the gift to their kid. So does the universe. When you fill your mind with images – the universe delivers to you the matching reality. When those images are something you like – the universe delivers the things you like. When you fill your mind with images you don’t like (you worry), the universe again delivers to you the things that you most focus on. That’s why imagination is so crucial, from all our powers it’s probably the most divine. And then let go. The kid before Christmas doesn’t just sit in front of the Christmas tree waiting for the gift to come, he occupies himself with other pleasurable things and so should you!

I have a book in which I detail how to meditate, it’s a great formula that always leaves me centered and balanced – the exact same one I was doing when when I was creating my loving relationship. In the same book I show unusual ways of how to express gratitude. Did you know that you can bless slim poles to lose weight? “Read Me – I Am Magical” (https://www.createspace.com/3445296) will make your life truly magical when you read and apply it. And then contact me – I want to have you on my show (http://mayafilippo.wordpress.com/blog/) once you have created the life of your dreams!

Bio:  My name is Alinka Rutkowska and I’m the author the first subliminal personal development book on the market “Read Me – I Am Magical” and most recently, I am passionate about writing positive attitude books for children also known as the Maya & Filippo Series. The latter have been inspired by my travels and strong belief in the Law of Attraction. There is a story behind them: in December 2010 I left my corporate job to travel around the world and my first stop was Auckland, this is also why in the first book “Maya & Filippo Make Friends in Auckland”. In this story the main characters Maya and Filippo discover, just as I have, that what kind of people you meet depends heavily on your attitude. You can follow my travel blog featured at www.mayafilippo.com and guess what the following episodes will be about! I am convinced that the world you experience without is a result of your inner world and that to present this philosophy to children in their formative years can immensely enhance their lives as adults.

Here’s a more serious description of myself, you can tell that it is serious because it’s written in the third person!

Alinka holds a Master’s Degree from Warsaw School of Economics with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Psychological Studies. Since her graduation she has been working in highly challenging positions in big multinational corporations around Europe. She has also pursued independent psychological research. She is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt – Expert on Sequential Learning, Lean Thinking and Designed Experimentation.

Her true passion is the power of thought, the mechanism of transforming thought into reality and the consequences of this phenomenon.

Alinka Rutkowska encouargement, insight, inspiration, Law of attraction, positive thinking, relationships

Learning to derive power from taking responsibility for your life, while refusing to take responsibility for someone else’s

by Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHt

          “Who is responsible for this?”  The answers to the question will vary, and most certainly reflect our relationship with ourselves and others.  Some jump quickly to stoically answer, “Me, me!  I take full responsibility.”  Others may respond in a bit more slowly with, “No way.  I am certainly not responsible for THAT!”  Either way, how we decide what we are responsible for completely shapes our relationships, our work, family, and feelings about ourselves. 

We are going to simplify what seems to be a pretty complex topic!  It doesn’t have to be so messy!  So let’s clean it up!  First, ladies, I want you to set the intention right now that you are going to commit to having a healthy relationship with RESPONSIBILITY. 

Here is how it is done…..

STEP 1.  I,__________, commit to taking responsibility for my life, my emotions, thoughts, and actions.  

STEP 2.  I accept that I have control over my life and how I react to what’s happening in it, at any moment. 

STEP 3. I, ________,  REFUSE to take responsibility for anyone else’s feelings, thoughts, actions, or inactions.  WOW!  That’s powerful!!!  Now, we have a pretty solid starting off point!  The basics of responsibility are that we own our own thoughts and feelings, and how they shape our life, but we do not extend that responsibility to others. 

There are two extremes to watch out for…..  

1.  You never take responsibility for anything.   If this is the case, you are giving away the power you have to change your life for the better.  You are also living life hoping, more than acting.  You may feel powerless and angry that things are not going your way, but have not realized that YOU have the power to turn things around.  Start by learning about the “law of attraction”, then commit to a few mantras to increase your personal power.  You might try; “I embrace my personal power, good things are coming to me, and I intentionally follow my bliss now.  I am responsible for my own happiness and I choose happiness now.” 

2.  You take responsibility for everything and everyone.  If this is the case, your intentions may be good, but you most likely feel energetically depleted.  You may be giving off the impression that you can do it all, while feeling tired and resentful!  The first thing to do to correct this is to set the intention to STOP taking responsibility for everything and everyone.  You may then want to explore a bit about why you do this.  Get out a piece of paper and write down, “I SHOULD…”, then fill in everything that comes to mind.  Now write down “I WANT…,” and fill in everything.   Look at the different lists.  Ask yourself where all those shoulds come from?  Do you secretly feel not worthy of your wants?  Do you feel not deserving of them?  Are you feeling like you have to help everyone or else no one will?  Really sit with all the things that come up for you. 

Now, try this concept on for size; everyone is here on a journey to work out the things they need to work out.  If you take away their responsibility, you are taking away the gift that will surely come with learning that lesson.  Try these mantras; “I now release that situation completely with love.  Everyone is responsible for themselves equally.  We all make our own happiness and unhappiness.  I now take responsibility for myself, and detach from all others.  I live in bliss and attract limitless joy.”

As you examine your relationship with responsibility, be patient with yourself.  Developing a beautiful relationship takes time and nurturing.  The issue of responsibility can be a deep one, so if you feel so compelled to explore it further, sit down with a counselor and see what comes out!  I know I am biased, but I think it is such a cool and amazing process!  You will be amazed at the wonderful and interesting things you learn about yourself.  Choose to see yourself and all that you learn through clear and compassionate eyes.

Wishing you all the love, joy, and abundance in the world!

Erin Williams, LMSW, BCD, CHt

http://healingplacecounseling.com/

Erin Williams change, encouargement, insight, inspiration, Self love

Hello Girlfriends – This post was sparked by a random seat that I happened to take at a local restaurant bar counter.  As I took my seat, I noticed a young man in his 20′s sitting there with a stack of note cards in front of him.  I immediately thought he is studying for something and needs to memorize.  I later found out that he was a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corp.   I was there with my daughter and as my daughter got up to step outside for a few minutes, he turned to me and asked this question….

How do you live your life to the fullest?

At first I was taken by surprise and didn’t really think he was talking to me.  In fact, I glanced over my back to make sure there wasn’t anyone else there.  I thought pretty deep question for a bar counter discussion with a total stranger….I even asked him if he was talking to me?  Of course he was!

SO

I paused and allowed my heart to speak from my TRUTH.  I looked within for a moment and answered:

“By living in the moment……”

My girlfriend Marci Calantonio has an eloquent way to bring people back to the moment and realize we truly ONLY have the moment.  She states, “look down at your feet – where are they planted right now”?  They are right in front of you and since you can actually see them then you are in this moment.  This is the only place you can be right now.  If your mind is someplace else, bring it back to where your feet are – you must be aligned with your mind, body and spirit.

You are only living where your feet are.

By focusing in the PAST you bring the past to the moment and the past doesn’t serve the moment.  We learn and gain insight from the past and then we release it to the…..

Proverbial Past Abyss.  Ciao for now baby!

To live in the total fulfillment we must stay focused in the HERE AND NOW…..

To be focusing on the FUTURE – not such a good idea either, for the future is not right here and right now.  It has its fair amount of uncertainty  and why even go there unless you are into stressing about the future.  Of course, don’t get me wrong – we must plan for the future and have it in our peripheral vision – not the same as worrying about the future and living in the future.

I chose to live in joy and gratitude for all my experiences (good, bad or indifferent) and I meet each new day with a smile.  Look into each experience which comes to you for some grain of happiness.

Be your own best friend and let the world know you’re happy to be alive!

If you ever get asked the question:

“How Do You Live Your Life To The Fullest?”

How will you answer?

I invite you to share your thoughts on living your life at its fullest……….

Remember, may the possibilities of today excite you!

Living in the moment, inspiration, motivation change, encouargement, inspiration, moment living, motivation