Manifesting with the Law of Attraction

I can think of no greater encouragement than the self-evident Truth that there dwells in each of us the opportunity to explore and know the Extraordinary Life. The meaning of Extraordinary I wish to convey points to the immutable and inexhaustible source that is the secret center of each of us: a timeless resource open and available to anyone who would seek this Life that sits behind life as we know it. Will we spend our lives in mere dreams of winning a limitless life, or will we do the inner- work of awakening from this dream? Choosing the Extraordinary Life begins with our conscious work to realize it, which the following special practices help to ensure.

1. Let Nagging Questions Go Unanswered: In stressful moments, listen to what life is trying to tell you about you instead of searching anxiously for familiar answers to make life feel “right” again. All fearful, doubt-filled moments are secret reflections of what we have yet to understand about life and ourselves, not life’s rejection of us or our wish for happiness. Choose to go consciously quiet whenever there is a riot in you. Refuse to take part in the search to repair what you fear may be coming undone. Let go and watch what happens when you consciously sacrifice the fear-filled self. This new action allows the Extraordinary Life to enter into you where its presence alone proves that all is well.

2. Don’t Make the Rescue Call: In times of anxiety and fear, we almost always call upon someone or something to help us get through our stress. This dependency on others for strength not only weakens our soul, but also steals from it the possibility of being educated by the Extraordinary Life, which means we miss two major lessons. First, the crucial lesson that all our fears are based upon false evidence that appears real. With this revelation comes our second realization that the same frightened self that seeks rescue secretly confirms its imagined condition as being real each time it cries out for help. Refusing to rescue ourselves from inner states that scare us invites the Extraordinary Life that shows us that no such scared self exists that needs saving.

3. Take the Hard Way: Rut and routine are two sides of the same sad street. Repetitive patterns are the well-worn pavement that our spiritually asleep self loves to tread while it talks us to death with its empty promises of extraordinary times “just ahead.” We can learn to do much better let ourselves be betrayed in this way, but it takes inner work! Instead of caving into the demands of those slipshod parts of ourselves always looking for the easy way out, we must choose in favor of what our false nature wants us to see as being the “hard” way. But it’s not. In fact, once we learn that the only real way out of what we would rather avoid is to go through it, we discover another self-liberating truth: the only thing that’s hard on us is when we allow our unenlightened nature to convince us that getting around something is the same as rising above it.

4. Do the Thing You Fear Doing: There is a correct time and place for thinking through practical plans in the ordinary scheme of life’s events. But nothing that is founded in thought can serve to reveal the unthinkable plans that the Extraordinary holds in store for anyone willing to leap into the moment without a parachute. Never mind those old fears of falling. Just jump! Being willing to risk failing is a prerequisite for fearless living. If you will take the leap into what you are afraid of doing, the Extraordinary Life will prove to you that Its unshakable ground is everywhere beneath you at all times. Nothing compares with this discovery because, once realized, there’s nowhere to go but up! A note of caution: taking a spiritual leap is far different from taking a reckless physical risk. Never risk the well being of your physical body for the sake of a passing thrill: for what is possible to attain with a body, cannot be without one. The temporary rush of adrenalin has nothing in common with one’s awakening to the reality of a timeless, fearless life.

5. Take Time Out from Yourself Every Day: Unseen by the self that walks upon it, thought is a treadmill powered by the movement of our yesterdays as they produce our tomorrows. This is the real meaning of “doing time.” The domain of the Extraordinary Life is Timeless. To share Its life, we must enter into Its world. Here is a good way to begin this Work: Every day, as often as can be remembered, chose to break out of that gilded, but self-confining cage called “thinking about yourself.” We live under the power of these unconscious ponderings, for when they turn dark and stormy, it is we who are left out in the cold. Even if we can only collect ourselves to meditate, pray or contemplate a Higher Idea for a few minutes at a time, we must do it anyway. These small windows – opened by our work to remember the Extraordinary Life – grant us passage into its timeless domain.

6. Open Yourself to Life: Dare to see and experience yourself as you are without giving names to all the varied emotional sensations that present themselves before your watchful inner eyes. Allow the meaning of whatever states you see coming up in you to reveal their actual nature to you. Resist the temptation to interrupt their upwelling by explaining to yourself what you are experiencing. Have no intention toward these thoughts and feelings other than to be open to them and, in doing so, to permit them their uninterrupted passage through you. Why open up to life in this way? For one thing, this gives negative states the back door they need to depart. For another, the Extraordinary Life is very possessive. It will not enter any zone marked “occupied.”

7. Make No Campsites: The Extraordinary Life visits individuals, not groups or organizations. It strengthens the soul willing to be alone for its sake. Keep your distance from people who insist that you believe as they do, who hope to convince you that the reality they have satisfied themselves with should satisfy you as well. These deceivers want only to keep you in their unreal camp. Never mind who is walking with you and who isn’t. Be wary of any campsite – inner or outer – with its bright “welcome weary traveler” sign. Most of these campers desire your company so that they can forget they are going nowhere. Walk on! Your persistence is an open invitation to the Extraordinary Life to show you the Way back home.

(Excerpted from Let Go and Live in the Now, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004)

Resource Box:

Guy Finley is the acclaimed author of more than 30 books and audio programs on the subject of self-realization, several of which have become international best sellers. Among many others, his popular titles include: The Secret of Letting Go, Design Your Destiny, The Lost Secrets of Prayer, Apprentice of the Heart, Let Go and Live in the Now, and The Essential Laws of Fearless Living. Finley is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for self-study located in Southern Oregon where he gives talks four times each week. Visit www.GuyFinley.org for a wealth of free helpful information, free audio and video downloads, and to request your free Self-Improvement Starter Kit.

Tags: destiny, fears, happiness, intention, Letting Go, Life, meditate, stress, thought, thoughts and feelings

When the sea of life gets stormy, how can you stay shipshape and ride the waves? You’re the CAPTAIN of your ship. Being empowered means having a deep sense of confidence that you can take charge of your ship and handle whatever comes up. Use your personal power and intentionality to keep your ship on course through stormy waters.

And every good captain has a CREW. Who will you have with you on this voyage? A good mate – a life partner; a navigation officer – a coach or other expert who knows the ropes and provides vital information to help you chart your course; a purser – accountant or financial adviser; a medical officer – your personal healthcare team; and others to swab the deck, lower the anchor, and do routine maintenance – clening service, yard service, car repairman, baby sitters, etc.

You’ll need a MAP. There is a map to transitions, because there are certain things in common to all transitions. Take a Transitions course, and/or hire a coach or other expert in transitions.

All sailors have a BAROMETER. What barometers do is tell you a change is coming. This is crucial to a sailor at sea, or a sailor at life. Our intuition acts like a barometer. Wouldn’t you agree it would be good to be able to sense if you were about to be laid off, or if your daughter were experimenting with drugs? Everyone has intuition. Learn how to pump up the volume on yours and read its messages.

A ship takes on BALLAST when it’s too light to sail. Add extra sleep and nurturing in times of stress, a solid Personal Mission Statement, money-reserves, a good time management program. Shift ballast if your ship is weighted down — get rid of tolerations — negative people, time-eaters, bad habits.

Good STABILIZERS for your ship are essential. A good social support network with strong intimate relationships, people you can count on, your faith, expert help such as a coach, and a well-bolstered Resilience can stabilize you through rough times. You bolster Resilience by processing Transitions well and by growing through hard times, not just going through them.

What LIFE VESTS would you take with you in the lifeboat if your ship were sinking? Most people in my seminars mention specific people in their lives, and their faith. Some mention experts of various types. I’ve never heard anyone mention money. Life vests these days feature a light and a whistle. Your optimism is the light, guiding you to safety. Your personal power, your voice, is the whistle. Don’t forget to take these with you!

Don’t become a CORK BOBBING IN THE OCEAN. Did you know that a cork out in the middle of the ocean would bob eternally? Each wave rotates the cork slightly, but doesn’t move it anywhere. If you want to get through rough seas, you have to take action.

You have to be able to TENDER. When a ship can’t get up to a harbor, it anchors and then sends people ashore on smaller boats. It originally meant “sending out.” To tender in your own situation, you need to use creativity. How else can you get where you need to get when Plan A didn’t work out? What can you “send out” that will help the situation – requests for guidance and help?

Passing MUSTER is also essential. Muster is an emergency plan. It means putting on your life vest and reporting to your assigned muster station. This is practiced in calm times so you’ll ‘know the drill’. Having been through it in a calm and rational time, presumably in a state of panic your body will remember while your mind is flooded with emotion, and you’ll get where you need to get. Do you know where the muster station is? Practice in quiet times. You’ll need the knowledge in emergencies.

What ship doesn’t encounter WINDS OF CHANGE. Winds are always blowing in a transition. It’s typical to experience ambivalence, wanting the thing that’s gone, wanting to move forward, fear of the unknown, survivor guilt, confusion, joy, sadness, anticipation. Today you’re glad you got the promotion and ready to go, tomorrow you dread the new responsiblity, doubt you can handle it, and mourn the changed relationships. The winds can toss you about without the anchor of your Personal Power and your Stabilizers.

Stormy seas have WAVES. It matters the size of the adversity, and the succession of adverse events. One large wave can really knock you over. So can a rapid succession of smaller waves. 60′ waves routinely roll in slowly, one by one in the Pacific, causing no problem, but a rapid succession of 30′ waves sank the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. It had no time to recover, to right itself. Depending upon the relative size of your craft and the size of the wave, it’s best to turn and face the wave rather than taking it broadside. Turn and face your problems head-on; it will be easier in the long run. There’s nothing worse than getting side-swiped. The trench of the wave is how it effects you – it may look like just a house your leaving to someone else, but to you it’s your memories and your home. Learn about you, learn about the waves.

Study transitions. Processing one transition and learning good coping strategies builds resilience and helps you handle the next one, and the next one. Learn to ride the waves to fun and happiness!

Resource Box:

Susan Dunn, M.A., is a professional coach who helps her clients navigate rough waters. She is the author of “Resilience”. Visit her on the web at www.susandunn.cc.

Tags: good time management, happiness, intention, intuition, Life, personal mission statement, time management program

24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds—no matter how you express it, we only have so much time each day into which we cram work or school, cooking, cleaning, family time and a myriad of miscellaneous obligations and commitments, all clamoring
for our attention. In between these activities are unavoidable traffic jams, grocery lines and waiting rooms, etc., where we find ourselves stuck wasting time while we “hurry up and wait.” And so the concept of multitasking was born, and many of us are masters at it. We make lists, plan menus, balance checkbooks, read reports or write them, all in an effort to fill the void, to
close the doing-nothing gap, between our hectic, active hours.

But what if there was a way to create the life of your dreams in those “in betweens?” Rather than doing, doing, doing in those free moments, what if you could relax your body, quiet your
mind, and just “be” for a change? And while you are enjoying a little down time, use visualizations, mantras and affirmations to manifest your heart’s desires.

Einstein shared one of the keys to his genius when he said, “Imagination is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Visualization is the art of using your imagination to “preview your life” in your mind’s eye. But first, you must be clear about what you want and then imagine the perfect outcome of it. See yourself excelling at the work, lounging in the home, abounding in the abundance, or loving the relationships that you dream about. When you visualize something you want, you activate and energize your own vibration so that it can begin to resonate in harmony with your desire and set in motion the process of
drawing it to you. Get emotional about it though. Allow yourself the supreme joy of actually feeling what you are picturing to supercharge your visualizations.

While the word “mantra” may bring to mind deep meditation or melodic chanting, it can really be as simple as saying a word over and over, and infusing it with your intentions. Use energetic, powerful words, such as “Love,” “Believe,” “Joy,” “Peace,” or whatever mantra resonates with you. Choose a word and repeat it over and over in your mind with a subtle awareness of what it means to you. Internal mental repetition of a mantra may be used to quiet your thoughts or combined with visualization to manifest your intentions.

“But if you wish to enjoy more prosperity and success in life, you have to consciously, boldly and deliberately take hold of your thoughts and feelings and redirect them toward prosperity and success.” advises Catherine Ponder in her wonderful book, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity. And a very effective way to redirect your thoughts is through the use of affirmations. Affirmations are mini but mighty messages that speak directly to your subconscious mind. They are specific, positive statements of whatever you desire to be, do or have. Say affirmations to yourself (or out loud whenever possible) with authority, command, conviction, and especially, with feeling. Your subconscious mind is always working, and always attentive to the words that you feed it. It does not judge, edit or elaborate on your words. It merely produces what you say, think or feel. Joseph Murphy explains in one of the most powerful self-help guides ever written, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, “As you sow in your subconscious mind, so shall you reap in your body and environment. Begin now to sow thoughts of peace, happiness, right action, good will, and prosperity.”

Using these simple but powerful tools can help you transform so-called “wasted time” into precious contemplative moments that create, uplift and inspire you wherever you are. What a great way
to relieve the stress, hold down the frustration, or control the anger of being inconvenienced. But you do not always have to reserve the use of visualizations, mantras and affirmations for your down-time.

There are 86,400 seconds in a day. How many can you spare to create your heart’s desires?

Resource Box:

Mary Jo Shaffer is co-owner of Heart Projects, LLC, along with her twin daughters. Heart Projects offers Handcrafted Spiritual and Inspirational Gemstone Jewelry and Accessories including Manifesting Products inspired by the Law of Attraction and ChakraMid Chakra Products. Please visit their website at www.manifesting.us .

Tags: abundance, affirmations, happiness, imagination, Law of Attraction, Life, Love, Manifesting, Meditation, prosperity, subconscious mind, thoughts and feelings