I’m just posting here for those who might not have found their way to the new location of my various blogs, my own Gazehound.com website.
We’ve begun to run “Challenge Games” every month! Test your intuitive skills, and play along with our fun and easy games each month. Our current intuitive skills challenge game is called “Who Am I?”
You’re more than welcome to check in here at any time and read older posts. However, all new updates will be posted at
I’ve just done a major overhaul of the website, and am moving all assorted blogs under one roof.
Come on by, leave your thoughts as Replies, and enjoy!
This is liable to become a more “personal” post than I normally write. You see, I have this little … thing. It’s called pyoderma gangrenosum, and it ate my leg in September and has totally changed and taken over my life. Despite the fact that I truly believe in the Law of Attraction, this little “thing” has turned the game into a battle in many ways, and keeping my emotions under control can be a major challenge.
It doesn’t help that after eight months, I still can’t walk, still have a fragile scar that hurts and requires constant care, and my supportive tissues are still so weak that they continually pop and snap and set me back two steps for every three I take forward.
My mind knows this is all illusion. My heart believes this is just a picture that I’ve allowed “perception” to paint and that I can be, and am, in control. But some days are still … tough … you know?
I had a bad day yesterday. In fact, I’ve had a bad couple, because I thought the latest setback was healing but when I went to put weight, just a little, on the foot, there went that snap again, pain again, and my butt landed back in the wheel chair.
How many times have I cried out, “What is it I’m supposed to be learning?!” to the Universe in the last eight months? How many times, “Why ME? What did I do to deserve this?”
And how many times have I smacked myself upside the head and said, “You dork, it’s not about that, it’s about moving forward despite the apparent circumstances and believing in the reality inside your heart.”
Last night was one of those nights. I went to bed having hit rock bottom. The foot was hurting, the scar had been mush when I changed bandages earlier, and I’d been feeling way too sorry for my sorry self. The last thing I remember before falling asleep, though, was calling out to my Mom: “Please, can’t you help?”
Mom passed away in 2006.
Then, this morning, my eyes opened, I rolled to the potty, went out and set up my coffee, fed the pets, and realized that something had changed. I laughed at our starlings and echoed their, “Who’s a pretty bird?”. I pet the cat and giggled about how absolutely starving he always is (even though he gets more than his share of good food every day). I teased the dog about how that squirrel always knows he’s coming and times his escape through the fence for maximum tease value.
I was … happy!
So, you’re asking, “What’s her point? And why should I care?”
The point is that our emotions are, indeed under our control — even when they aren’t. I recently heard Rhonda Byrne, of The Secret, say that it’s not circumstances that make us happy, but our happiness that defines our circumstances.
Sometimes, happiness seems to be a whole Universe away. And yet, all it takes, when we feel like life has spun out of control and things can’t possibly get worse, is just “letting go”.
Last night, when I went to bed, I really was at the point that I was feeling like I couldn’t get it back. So, I let it go. I just gave it to my Mom.
You know, Mom. The one who always managed to clean up the skinned knees, kiss away the fevers, and hug the tears till they dried. Mom.
Could I have given it to the Universe, to God, to Jesus, to the Goddess, to … fill in the blanks here. Sure, I could have. But for me, in that state, at that moment, I simply wanted my Mom….
…And I woke up happy. There is no reason, logically, for my happiness. I’m still in the wheel chair, my foot still hurts (though not as much as yesterday), and there is a good chance when I change dressing later that the scar will still be mush. None of that matters.
I’m happy. I know that if I can focus on that, maintain it, and use it to energize my visualizations, eventually I’ll be able to let go of what “circumstances” do to me (or what I allow them to do to me over and over again!), and the circumstances will rotate around, and begin to follow the emotion.
Will that be easy? No, I’ve given up on the idea that this “law of attraction” thing is the easy way out. It takes more persistence and emotional discipline than just about any other way of approaching life. It is, however, a universal law that will work for us if we can get to the point that the discipline comes naturally. Part of what I believe, what I wish to create, is that it will get easier with time.
In another post, I talked about how Love and Fear are our two primary, instinctual human emotions, and all others are offsets of those two. Happiness is an offset of Love, and it was Love that launched this Universe into the act of Creation in the first place.
It is Love that energizes all creation, and our happiness is an indicator, a meter, a monitor of the level of our creative Love.
Happiness is a choice. I know that many people don’t believe this, nor do they believe that Love is a choice. I, however, have found it to be true, and that good things happen to those who can generate happiness. It is hard at times to keep that happiness going. In our “day and time”, especially, when so many people are facing financial stresses that they’ve never faced before, it can seem impossible to latch onto happiness. It is there, though: waiting for us to return our thoughts to the light, and make the decision to be happy despite the circumstances.
It’s easy to allow our emotions to turn dark, and sit back and watch helplessly as they cause the negatives to escalate. It’s much harder to claim our fate, to make a tough decision, and to laugh in the face of fear. That is, however, what it takes to overcome.
On the days that overcoming seems impossible, that we feel like the world is sinking into a great black hole and pulling us in with it, it’s even harder. Those are the days that it’s imperative to call out for help, to turn the situation over to the hands of someone we know can kiss our boo-boos away, and let go. During those times when we simply do not have enough faith in ourselves to make things better, there is always someone else we do have faith in. Someone stronger, wiser, more trustworthy.
Is it really that this person or force takes over and we wake up happy? Or is it just that we have so much more faith in them, that our own minds kick our emotions back into gear and fix the problem for us?
And does it really matter?
What matters is, I’m happy today. Whatever the circumstances in your life … you can be, too. Make the choice and, if the choice seems impossible, let it go.
It’s all gonna be alright.
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Observation is a skill that is developed, and not something we human beings are able to do well without practice. How often do we walk down the street and not even notice what is going on around us?
The ability to visualize and bring our dreams into reality is also a skill we need to work on. Keen observation of our surroundings, and of the details in our lives, is a key tool in the development of our capacity to manifest change.
When we create our new reality, it will occasionally come in with trumpets blaring, drum corps drumming, and in full parade regalia. That, however, is relatively rare. More often, our manifestation sneaks in through the back door like a shy child, and sits in the corner, giggling softly and wiggling fingertips, waiting to be noticed. Dreams arrive in increments: the first tiny segment waits for the go-ahead to open the back door and let in the drum majorette, who lets in the band members one by one, who open the door wider to admit the gleaming palomino horses in their black leather saddles with shiny silver trappings, and then come the giant balloons and at the very end … it’s Santa!
That, dear friends, is what we call an over-done metaphor, but you get the drift, right?
If we don’t notice and acknowledge that small, quiet child with the laughing eyes, the door stays shut, and we tell ourselves, “The law of attraction doesn’t work!”
One key to the fulfillment of our dreams is the acknowledgment of the little blessings. We must keep our eyes open, and be ready to welcome the small things with open arms. Not all dreams show up in full form as soon as we begin to visualize faithfully. When the small child shows up, be ready to welcome her, nourish her, continue to visualize, move forward in action, and above all, express your heart-felt gratitude.
Gratitude is a major tool for manifesting positive change. Be thankful in a huge way for the small blessings. We often fall into the trap of expressing our thanks in proportion to what our senses perceive rather than what our heart is believing for. When you see a small blessing, recognize and accept it as the first step toward your greatest dreams, and give thanks in proportion to the entire picture, the ultimate goal. Envision the destination, and be as enthusiastic in your thankfulness as if that parade had landed full-volume in your lap, even though all you may see right now is the quiet child in the corner.
We humans have a bad tendency to rationalize. We are handed something good, something that is a step toward our dreams, and we brush it away. “It’s just coincidence”, we say, or “That isn’t the way I was imagining things would happen.” We “focus on the hows” too much, as Mike Dooley would put it, rather than keeping the big picture in mind. When we envision a nice shiny new computer with all the bells and whistles and suddenly discover, to our surprise, that our credit limit has been doubled on a card we were paying down, we don’t see that as a step toward the goal, but we negate it as a potential burden.
Of course, there is the possibility that a bigger credit card bill isn’t in our best interest, and most financial advisers would tell you “don’t do it”. But how do we know that the money to pay off that bill in full won’t be following the shy child through the door?
We don’t, of course, until we wave back at the child, feel the full blown gratitude for our shiny new computer system (paid for and debt free, of course), and take action on what we’ve been given.
“But, it could be a trap!”
Well, yes, it could, if that is what your thoughts are pulling toward you. Examine that fear closely, look for the underlying beliefs that are causing it. Then examine, even more closely, the fact that there was really no reason for your credit card company to suddenly up your limit, just in time for your old computer to kick the bucket and the need arise to have your dream system right now.
Look carefully at coincidences, because, in truth, there really are no such things. Accept that coincidence doesn’t happen, and that what you are seeing, instead, are signs that the Universe has taken a small step toward bringing your thoughts, your dreams, into physical reality.
Let those small blessings inspire you, rather than allowing them to generate worries. Recognize them as tangible evidence that things are moving in the right direction. Express full-blown gratitude, not just for that tiny step, but for its representation of your big dreams having already been fulfilled.
And bundle up! Santa’s right around the corner, and you’d better be ready for an outrageous trip to the North Pole!
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Someone once said, and it’s been oft repeated, that “FEAR” stands for “False Evidence Appearing Real”.
Fear can stop a person in their tracks, it can kill dreams, it can cause the manifestation of every reality to falter and fade before it takes solid form.
Fear, however, is not necessarily “false” evidence. Since emotions empower our thoughts, fear can, in fact, be very real … because it is what you are projecting into your universal space.
Of all human emotions, there really are only two which cover all others. Love, and Fear. When you are in the space of fear, you are reacting rather than acting. When fear has a grip on you, there is no space for love, and it is love which energizes the creation of the good things you wish to manifest.
Fear, on the other hand, blocks that creation.
Our emotions, even the negative ones, are not necessarily a bad thing. Emotions are both power sources and markers as we attempt move forward. When you experience a strong emotion, examine it, and find the belief systems generating those feelings.
Beliefs are energizers, they lend force to our thoughts. They are deeply ingrained thought processes that reinforce our reality, and are often difficult to counter when they are holding us back. Whenever we are not moving forward toward our desires, there is some belief deep down which is blocking us, and lending energy to our doubts and fears.
When you experience fear, don’t consider it an enemy, consider it a tool. Examine your fear, and look beneath its surface. What thoughts, what energizing beliefs, what old habits or experiences, are creating your fear? Not only that, look into the emotion carefully and decide just what it is that you are really afraid of.
Whenever you attempt to manifest a goal, and find that you are being blocked, or you experience setbacks, take a careful look at your emotions. In there, somewhere, you will find fear. It may not take the surface guise of what you usually think of as fear, but it’s there. Once you’ve located it, explore it, and find the truth that lies beneath the surface.
Often, the quick answer to the question, “What am I afraid of”, will be “failure”. But is it really the possibility of failure that sparks your fear and blocks you? Or is it, as many discover when they honestly examine the situation, the fear of success? Is your goal what you really want, or are you afraid you are focusing on a branch of your goal that might become burdensome? Are you afraid that, once your dreams are achieved, you might not be good enough, smart enough, skilled enough, energetic enough, to keep those dreams going and make the most of them?
Once fears are examined honestly, we find the underlying limiting beliefs that empower them. “I’ve never carried anything through to completion, I always give up before I succeed.” “I don’t think I’m good enough to really make the most out of this if I achieve it.” “I’m too lazy to really put the work into keeping this going.”
There are so many similar thoughts that drift through our minds. They come unbidden, and lurk like shadows beneath all we do. We think them and can feel that fear building — but it doesn’t have to build. If we remember that our fear is an alarm system, an indicator that we’ve got some belief deep down that needs to be weeded out, we can make the most of fear. Once we’ve found the belief that is causing our fear, we can deal with it in a methodical way.
After all, a belief is really only a thought that has taken deep root and begun to control us, instead of us controlling it. Often, beliefs are good, and based on truth. But when a belief is based on lies (because you can carry your dreams through to fruition, you really are good enough to make the most of it, and you are only lazy if you want to be), we can demote that belief back to the realm of “just a thought” … and change our minds.
Good bye, fear. Hello, success.
When things aren’t going your way, take a careful look at the situation. Dig through your emotions. Find the fear that is standing in your way. It’s there, I promise … you just need to search with honesty.
Once you find that fear, scrutinize it. Somewhere in its depths will be a belief (or three): something negative, usually something that you have been carrying with you and applying to many different situations without even realizing it.
Force that belief into the light, demote it back to simple thought (this takes practice, and persistence — those beliefs can be sneaky and drift back in when you’re not paying attention).
And change your mind.
FEAR? Let’s not think of it as “False Evidence Appearing Real” any more. Instead, we can manage the emotion, and use it as a tool for success. When we find ourselves facing fear, we can:
Find the Energizer … And Revise.
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For a fun way to apply the law of attraction in your life, join me in the adventure on tut.com!
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Today, the message comes from Raven.
A short while ago, I posted a rewrite of one of my animal communication newsletter articles on PodBlogging:
The original had focused on herons and foxes, and the rewrite explored the fact that an enormously traumatic change in my life occurred the day after the article was written, casting a whole new light upon the messages these animal spirits were revealing.
Today, my path has been crossed, no fewer than four times, by Raven (five if you include a friend who goes by Raven, actually). I heard a raven croak from the woods behind the house this morning, I stumbled across two raven-oriented pieces on the web, and, on Twitter, a favorite TV show, Paranormal State, announced that tonight’s new episode is entitled “The Raven”.
Raven Medicine, according to Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards, is all about magic. Raven peers into the void and returns with deep wisdom. He has the talents to take thought-and-dream energy and transmute it to solid form. Raven is also a master of trickery, a shape-shifter, akin to Coyote in many ways.
Ravens, though in the crow family, are very different from their more common relations. They are heavier in build than crows, scruffier, often with a ragged plume of feathers, like a beard, below their bills. Their beaks are thicker and much more coarse. Where the crow “caws”, the raven’s call is more of a hoarse “croak”. Ravens are less numerous, though where they are found, it’s not all that unusual to see them mingling with crows and competing for food sources and nesting space.
Ravens are incredibly intelligent, in this way much like their cousins the crows. They are so intelligent, in fact, that much raven folklore has to do with these dark birds outsmarting, and humbling, mankind.
Raven folklore finds a place in almost every culture The Japanese Shinto Goddess, Amaterasu took a raven form. Odin’s pet ravens, Huginn and Muninn, figured in Norse mythology. The Celtic Morrigan flew over battle fields in the guise of a raven to protect soldiers.
For most of us in English-speaking western cultures, however, our first association with Raven often comes in the form of:
Once upon a midnight dreary
While I pondered, weak and weary
Over many a quaint and curious
Volume of forgotten lore….
(from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, of course )
Did you know that, like the bird in Poe’s famous poem, ravens can indeed mimic human speech? Their crow-brothers can as well, and neither, to squelch the old wive’s tale, need to have their tongues cut to do so.
Although my last encounter with repeat totems and spirit animal messages, or rather the last one I wrote about, didn’t exactly have a happy ending, I’m by no means of the mind that all such messages are negative: not even with a messenger as black and deep as Raven. The message of magic, of secrets revealed, of sifting through the shadows for wisdom, can be a blessing. In fact, “seek light and wisdom in the midst of darkness” is a very good message for me right now.
When I was in fifth grade, my teacher had our class all memorize a poem a week and recite it out loud. I still remember the first poem I memorized (“I saw a star slide down the sky, blinding the earth as it went by. Too burning and too quick to hold, too lovely to be bought or sold. Good only to make wishes on, and then, forever, to be gone.”) I was criticized by the teacher for choosing a poem that was too simple.
The following week, I recited “The Raven”. I made it through nine of the eighteen stanzas before my teacher said, “That’s enough. You’ve made your point,” and made me sit down.
Raven’s still a friend of mine, and always welcome to peer into my darkness and help me find the light.
For your enjoyment:
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The law of attraction.
It’s a major buzzword ever since “The Secret” came out in 2006. The idea is, of course, that with your thoughts and emotions, you can attract good things to you.
The idea, to be honest, is a sound one. It is the way the Universe works. We all have seen it in action, both positively and negatively, even if we may not have been paying much attention at the time. Everyone can think of examples from their pasts of how events and things were attracted to them, and how the power of thought came into play.
There are many people who consciously use this law to improve their lives. They attract wealth, health, people, and many types of abundance simply by focusing their thoughts and controlling their feelings. There are also many people who struggle with the concept only to have their dreams fall short.
What’s the difference? There may be many differences, but one big possibility is that the first type adds Action to their plan, while the other doesn’t understand the need.
The first type, those who are successful, begin to act on their dreams even before the Universe has a chance to fulfill them. They take steps, even though they do not see the results yet, toward their goals. This does not necessarily mean that they are making plans and hunting down the “how-tos” of their desires. It does mean, though, that they act as if those desires have already been realized.
Then, when the Universe cannot help but respond, the successful recognize that response. They don’t second-guess, they don’t say “maybe this isn’t it”. They grab that response, they don’t let it slide by them. Then, they act on it. This action, though similar to the pre-response action, is more concrete. It is a matter of recognizing the new tools they have been handed, and putting them to use.
Many people are drawn to the Law of Attraction concepts because they think of it as an easy … and maybe lazy … way of getting things done. While it is easy, it’s certainly not for the lazy. Even the thinking part can be hard for many. There are many people who have a hard time even keeping their mind focused long enough each day to send their thoughts out into the Universe in the first place.
Mike Dooley, one of the teachers in The Secret, in his audio course “Infinite Possibilities“, recommends using focused visualization for no more than five minutes per day. The truth is, that most people can’t hold those thoughts for more than that. They begin to vacillate, to doubt, to let their minds wander. For many, even five minutes is too long.
We are a species with attention span issues!
This is not an insurmountable problem, however. If you can’t focus for five minutes, try two at first. Work your way up to five.
The really important thing is that you act as if you already have your desires fulfilled, no matter how long you are able to keep those thoughts focused each day. If you are hoping for a new car, clean out the garage so you have a place to store it. If your dreams are about finding a certain new job, act like you’re already going to that job every day. Buy clothes that are appropriate, clean out your old brief case and polish it up with some nice saddle soap, get a new desktop organizer because you know you’ll be blissfully busy being successful.
Then, when the opportunities come rushing at you, be careful not to bat them away. Often, the means the Universe uses to fulfill our dreams will surprise us. Rarely do the best things in life come to us in ways that we would expect them. Keep your eyes and ears, and your heart, open. If your instincts say, “This is it!”, don’t tell them no. Reach out and grasp that opportunity, examine it closely, embrace it, and move forward!
Put the Action in the Law of AttrAction. The more you do this, the more you will see new opportunities pouring in, and old dreams becoming reality.
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