Week 9 … and visualization

In the past, I’ve tried using affirmations with limited success. It sounded false or unauthentic when said aloud. And the obvious reason is because it was a version of my future self that I had no connection with. This week’s lesson in the Master Keys encourages us to use the affirmation “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious, and happy”. On the surface, this could be just another of those less than helpful affirmations. Except … Haanel also states that this statement is true – for the part of us that is connected with the Universal. I find it easier to believe, to say this with authenticity, when I know that it is connected with my better self. Even if that version hasn’t completed manifested yet.

During my sits over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been visualizing a day in the life of my future self – right down to the details of where I’m living, what I’m doing to stay healthy, and what I’m doing in my business. And because of this practice, I’ve been making small changes to move toward that life. Things like: purchasing the domain name of a new business that I want to start; committing to a daily workout; and getting some new clothing that my future self is wearing. Small changes … but one step closer to manifesting my future.

Have a great week (and a happy thanksgiving to friends in the USA)

Week 6 … and small wins

It’s been an interesting week. Early in the week I was enjoying completing the set of services that I’ve set for myself. And that, in itself, has been a difference in my journey this year from previous ones. For example, my new POA step this week was to do a Facebook live once a week. I’ve been out of practice for the past couple of months and woke up trying to figure out a way to avoid it while not breaking a promise. But since I wrote it down and it was my choice to include in my list and I had signed my name to the promise … well, there was no honorable way out of it. And then something interesting happened. The anticipation of completing this one task energized me. And this energy had me anticipating doing the task and not just completing it. A win!

Later in the week I came one step closer to achieving a couple of my goals. One of the tasks on my November to-do list was to hire a VA to handle the promotion of a new project. Out of nowhere (seemingly), I was offered the opportunity to hire a VA full-time for a couple of months. Instead of focusing on just one project, this person will handle all of my social media, website development and all of the other things that just suck the energy from me and send me into overwhelm. It was a solution that I didn’t know that I needed but certainly provides a better ‘how’ to achieve my ‘what’.

So I end my week with strengthened resolve that this is the right path (and continue to play all in).

Have a great week!

Week 5 … and (not) being opinionated*

One of the hardest challenges for me this week was to keep my opinions to myself (or even better, forgo opinions altogether). On a superficial level, this seems like an easy task – just stick to the facts. And there are a lot of benefits. I can conserve a lot of energy by not getting hot and bothered about a topic. I can eliminate a lot of stress by not posting a comment (ie opinion) on facebook and potentially being the target of abuse, if not death threats. But most importantly, I’m free to spend my time building that wall of positivity that guards my world within. By keeping to the facts, I have the time and the necessary attitude to build that world within which will, ultimately, be reflected in my outer world.

But it’s not easy. To avoid being baited into offering opinions, I’m avoiding a lot of ‘news’ reporting because so much of it is other peoples interpretation and is designed to elicit comment (the tyranny of the ‘click’) . And the opinion circus begins. This also means that most of social media is now out as well. Am I less informed? Perhaps. Can I see other perspectives? Definitely. I’m also calmer and have the time and energy to focus on what I want to achieve.

I’ve had some time to reflect on why I’m always so eager to offer my viewpoint. And the short answer is that I need to be right. It’s been part of my identity of being the smartest person in the room. Being wrong really dents my self-confidence. Not a very flattering picture and I’m hoping that I’ll have time and energy to develop more humility.

Have a great week!

* I realize the irony in posting this comes close to having an opinion.

Week 4 – Random Thoughts and Neurons Firing

Have you ever noticed that when re-experiencing a familiar book or video that you pick up something entirely new or unexpected? It happens to me from time to time and it happened again while watching the video during this week’s webcast. For the first time, I was able to see the forest and not just the trees. I could see the overall game plan – repetition, habits, shapes, colours, linkages, and feeling. How to expedite the conversation with subby.

And I get Mark’s comment about how this week is the gamechanger – you’ll either leave or commit to being all in. For me, this means forgetting about ‘checking the box’ actions and actively participating because I truly want to and to act with enthusiasm. If I catch myself with less than optimal feeling then I know that I have the responsibility and the capability to change that feeling (ie ‘Do It Now, and I can Be what I will to Be’ are particularly helpful with this).

Some Random Thoughts

I participated in a business/abundance workshop this week and discovered some interesting things about my money mindset and its relationship to abundance in my life. I am the first person in my family (and in generations) that has broken away from being an employee to run my own business. But I’ve ‘inherited’ some ideas about money: it doesn’t grow on trees, it’s scarce, and most worryingly – if it’s a gift (ie I didn’t earn it) then I don’t deserve it. What a way to stuff up abundance and the law of attraction.

Some ways I’m trying to correct this (and I’m happy to accept suggestions!):

• reading the Law of Giving and Receiving daily
• keeping a daily abundance log where I record the gifts that I receive, regardless of size and source
• asking myself – How Can I be of Service Today?

Have a great week!

Week 3 Discovering Fear (and aiming for Courage)

I have been updating and reading my DMP for about 3 years now and it wasn’t until this week’s webinar that I realized how much I’ve been sabotaging myself. Over the last couple of years I had removed all references to explicit amounts of income that I want to enjoy – a pretty major omission when one of my needs is liberty. It took about a microsecond to understand why – fear. Fear of failure, or not meeting that goal. And using past experience to set the goalposts of my future. So I had very firmly planted my head in the sand (and blocked my subconscious from helping me!)

I’ve just completed re-writing my DMP with numbers and dates and it is unsettling. Pit of the stomach discomfort. So how do I overcome fear and develop the self-confidence that I need to move forward? The only first step that I know requires me to guard my thoughts and focus on the positive. I know that the inner voice that constantly tries to undermine me is a liar and I’m working to shut it down and develop the focus to embrace the creativity that will provide me with the ‘how’ to my ‘what’.

The journey begins ….

Week 2 Beginner’s Mind

As I noted in my previous post, this isn’t my first rodeo with MasterKeys and while some things are easier this time around (already have some established good habits), there is one obstacle that keeps cropping up. And that is a lack of humility, of thinking that I know it all – ‘all’ being what the scrolls, readings mean, etc. And this it holding me back. I need to embrace a beginner’s mind and look at everything with freshness and with excitement that I still have a lot to learn and a lot to implement in order to create the life that I want.

This week, I’ve been focusing on building a better gate between my conscious and subconscious mind – trying to keep out the negativity and focus on bringing more light into my life. Being more conscious of my role as guardian.

I tend to be a visual learner and had trouble understanding the relationships between the universal, conscious and subconscious. Here’s my latest attempt at putting it all together.

Have a great week!

Week 1 Getting Started Again

I have completed the MasterKeys program twice before and both times made huge strides forward in reaching my goals through changing my mindset and developing more self-confidence. I am no longer looking at the world with a ‘glass half full’ mindset. I am happier. But I need a re-tweak. The last year has been challenging. I need to regain the belief – the utter certainty – that whatever goal I set will be met. To start a project knowing that I will succeed. I miss the feeling of joyful anticipation when I wake up in the morning that today will be the best day of my life.

So, I’m starting the program again – playing full out, all in – because that’s the only way.

Have a great day!

Week 23 (2020) and some thoughts on distractions

Last week I decided to do one of the suggested exercises — the one where we remove all distractions and disengage to listen to our own thoughts.  I had planned on doing this at a later, more convenient, time but I had just experienced a week of overwhelm and I needed some clarity.   So, last Sunday, with some unease about how I was going to get through the next several hours , I started my day of disengagement.  I began with a 3-hour walk – training for an upcoming half-marathon.  And that part was easy – just walking, observing, thinking – and totally enjoyable.  A great start.

Back at home, things got a bit more difficult.  I can sit still and think/meditate for about an hour at a time.  Between times, I was a flurry of activity, getting a lot of household chores done.

So, this is what I learned:

• the reason for my lack of progress in my goals isn’t laziness, it’s how easily I’m distracted.   Which is valuable information because I can learn to limit my distractions.
• when not distracted, I want to do my chores/work/dharma.  Knowing this is fueling my engagement with my dharma and making it easier to eliminate distractions.
• that my clarity improved and, most importantly, I was able to recognize and appreciate the small miracles happening in my life daily
• my energy improved
• that I need to set aside regular times during my week to disengage, even if it’s only for a couple of hours at a time

I am so grateful for the challenge of this exercise!  Thank you.

Have a great week.

Week 18 (2020) … and some thoughts on Law of Attraction

Two things have been uppermost in my mind this week – one each inspired from our Hanel reading and the latest scroll.

I’ve been having trouble with the concept of living each day as if it were my last and making every minute count.  I’ve been flicking between being inspired to feelings of guilt and exhaustion.  Mostly the latter.  At the end of each day, I’ve been asking myself (while looking at the gal in the mirror) ‘have I done enough today?’  And the answer is, invariably, no.  Cue onset of guilt.  And promise to do better tomorrow.  But how much is enough if living each day as your last?

I brought it up with my mastermind partners (Gary and Kim – thank you, you’re great!) and we talked about living with intention.  And perhaps that’s the answer – set my intentions at the beginning of the day and work towards achieving them.  And instead of asking the gal in the mirror ‘have I done enough today?’, I need to ask ‘have you fulfilled your intentions today?’.  And maybe that’s enough.

My other thoughts this week were on Hanel’s chapter that considered the Law of Attraction, especially the part that stated that affluence within creates affluence without.  I know that I’ve been focusing on the affluence without part without giving as much consideration to the affluence within.  And that has been the topic of most of my sits this week.

How does one create affluence within?  Well, given what we’ve been learning over the past several weeks, it should be obvious – focus, creativity, gratitude, joy, service.  And then add in the rest of the makeover qualities.  And because I tend to be a visual person, I created a image to help keep me on track to create and develop my affluence within.

Have a great week!

Week 17 (2019 – 2020) … and some thoughts on engagement

I watched the webinar featuring Andrea Waltz on thriving with social media.  The big take-home for me was the emphasis on engagement (ie actually taking part in online conversations).  Her suggestion is that we should be spending 50% of our social media time on engaging with others.  On one hand, I was thrilled – means that I don’t need to spend so much time on content creation.  On the other hand, it means that I should be spending heaps more time engaging.  So how much engagement do I normally do?  Maybe 1- 2%, higher on a good day.  Which means I’m pretty good at promoting my expertise, less so on the other social niceties.  Next I wondered if this type of behaviour is limited to my social media activities.  And I realized, that no, my lack of engagement carries over onto other parts of my life as well.  This shows up in my marco polo activity, although I’m getting better (big shout-out to my mastermind partners Kim and Gary who make it so easy!)  So where is the fear coming from (and this is just another version of ‘what am I pretending not to know?’.  But at this stage, I no longer care about that – it’s time to change.  So small steps forward: new entry on my POA – 15mins/day on being engaging.

And now for something totally different ….

This week we were given the option of reading Hanel lessons of our choice.  I went back to lesson one;  I suspected that I missed some keys points while I adjusted to his language.

In lesson one, Hanel first describes our relationship with our subconscious mind, the Universal mind, the outside world and harmony.  During my sit after this reading, a thought entered my mind: I am not alone.  Actually, this thought wasn’t a whisper – it seemed like a shout. This wasn’t about being physically alone as I’m surrounded by family and friends.  It’s the sense of being alone that comes from not being able to share your essential self with another.  But, when I can connect with the Universal mind, in harmony, I’m not alone – I’m part of something so much greater!

I realize that my words are failing to explain this well.  All I know now is that I approach my ‘sits’ with so much more enthusiasm because it’s my time to belong and to share.