Monday, September 22, 2014

How to Have the Abundant Life That is Your Birthright

Eric Butterworth, A popular Unity minister and author once said, "Prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts the things. Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things." 
     Prosperity.  We all want it.  What is it? It changes based on your values. For one person, it may be having the freedom and time to do what they love.   For someone else it might mean having material possessions such as a car, or a house, or a lot of money. For another, it may mean having many people in their life who are spiritually evolved.  It doesn’t matter what your definition is.  The important thing to ask yourself is, “Does my life contain all the elements of prosperity according to my definition of Prosperity?”  If it does, congratulations!  If it doesn’t, that’s okay.  You just have more work to do, which will cause you to grow and prosper.  So either way you win.
     Just like the quote at the beginning says, our abundance and prosperity is a result of the thoughts and feelings we have about life.  Form follows thought.  Think of everything we have in the world – cars, roads, buildings, cities, amusement parks.  All of these things were first a thought in someone’s mind with an underlying passion and motivation for creating it. The concept is simple, but not easy.  We manifest things all the time using thoughts and feelings without even realizing it.  Manifestation is a process of bringing ideas, concepts, visions and dreams from our inner world into the outer physical world.  By thinking new thoughts about prosperity, new realities are created about prosperity.  By collaborating with God, engaging in prayer and through His strength, the Lord is the source of our riches, not a job, money, a spouse or parents or anything or anyone outside of us.  By opening your connection to the higher forces (Source, God, Higher Power or whatever you call it), and by radiating the higher qualities of inner peace, joy, love, and aliveness, abundance will be yours. The bible says in Job 22:21 - "Submit to God and be at peace with him; In this way prosperity will come to you." 
     Another aspect of abundance is devotion to a personal life purpose. These people who are committed to a life purpose embody an abundant heart that naturally results in abundance and prosperity and naturally attract resources, people and situations to fulfill that purpose.  Where we focus our energy, time, talents and skills in doing what we love, we get rewarded, as long as they are in line with God's will for us.   Wayne Dyer, a popular inspirational author and speaker says, "There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there's only scarcity of resolve to make it happen."
     Focus on your purpose like a laser point of light.  Write it down as a daily reminder.  Take the actions you are guided to take.  The gifts may not always look the way you expect them to, but they will always be for our highest and best.  God's plan is always better than what we can conceive of ourselves.
     The final aspect of abundance is gratitude.  Prosperous people who experience abundance know the importance of being thankful for everything in their life.  When attention is focused on the blessings in life, regardless of how small they seem, they can't help but multiply. Be grateful for your life right now in this moment.  Not only will it make you happier to focus on what you have instead of what you don't, but it will put you in a position of being a blessing receiver!

I would like you to understand that by asking the right questions you can increase your abundance and prosperity.  Here are a few to ask yourself:

What lights me up and inspires me? 
What am I good at? 
What gives me the most significance and meaning? 
What are the actions I can take toward fulfilling my purpose today? 
How can I major in what I love, minor in what I need to, let others worry about what I should do, delegate what I have to, and dump what is not necessary? 

Now, as you take a closer look at these questions and ponder them, you will find yourself starting to experience new thoughts and feelings, which will lead to new actions, more positive directions, more fulfillment, and you will be rewarded abundantly beyond your wildest dreams.  If you have a hard time answering these questions, there may be underlying past issues preventing you from experiencing the joy and abundance that is your birthright.  Get the help you need to get to the root of what is blocking abundance.  Feel free to contact me and I can discuss further how to help you live the life you were meant to live, free from past pain, hurts and trauma.

Blessings and prosperity always,

Jill

Monday, August 25, 2014

Letting Go of the Past

Letting go is the process of releasing people, situations, thoughts, habits and patterns that no longer serve us and cause us pain. Letting go means surrendering our ego and self-will and trusting that our highest good and greatest joy will be given to us.  Many of us tend to want to remain in control and refuse to let go even when we know it is in our best interests to.  Letting go is realizing that even when we really want something to occur in our lives, that sometimes it isn’t the right time and trusting that if it's God's will, then it will come to us in His time and His way.  His plans are better than our plans and His ways are higher than our ways.  (I will be using the word “God” from now on for consistency).  Know that timing is perfect.  Something so wonderful, so incredible, beyond our wildest dreams is in store for us.  We have to BELIEVE it in order for it to happen.  The key is getting out of our own way and making space for something bigger and better to happen.  We are the only one limiting our good.  Get out of the way and stop trying so hard to control everything.  LET GO, SURRENDER!

Many of us need to let go of negative past belief systems that are controlling our lives today. Some of our belief systems that we formed at a young age are faulty and don’t work to our benefit, but we cling to these beliefs because, although they don’t work for us, they are familiar. We may find ourselves in situations that repeatedly lead to unhappiness and frustration.  We don’t realize that there is something better and different available to us because we are blinded by our current reality.  As long as we remain stuck in these patterns, we don’t have to change. Change can be scary.  When the pain of staying the same is greater than that of change and growth, we make a change.  We don't need to wait until life gets so painful to change. This may include releasing drama and stress from our lives by changing jobs, friendships, moving to a new place.  All of this suffering can be avoided if we let go on a daily basis to the will of God and take the necessary actions He guides us to take.    
The first step in letting go is becoming aware that some aspect of our lives is not working. Once this is acknowledged, we can take some time to just observe whatever feelings, thoughts, body sensations arise. As we are present in the moment, we can see the issue more clearly in order to know what to do next.

Next, we need to decide if we are ready to release whatever it is. Until we are really open to change, nothing will budge. Letting go is up to us.  It is an action.  Letting go doesn't mean defeat.  It is an act of courage and strength to admit some aspect of our lives isn't working.  Once this is acknowledged, the next thing is finding new ways of being. This step may take some time. We usually need to try new things and fail at times to see what truly works and what doesn't.  Starting individual therapy, reading books, meditation, prayer, acupuncture, etc. are excellent ways to find answers.  Once you realize what the negative belief is, replace it with more self-affirming one.  Consciously practice this new belief when the old one creeps in because it will until the new belief take hold.  Once practiced over and over, the new one will become second nature.  As we heal ourselves we break old patterns and find new, more effective ways of living. This is the path of letting go. When we release what no longer works, we are making room for something amazing to occur. 

Letting go is a continuous process. We may surrender something only to latch back onto it.  It's important to remain present in the moment and continuously monitor ourselves. When we fear letting go, we don’t trust in God to provide the best for us.  Trust and faith is a necessary part of letting go.  Breathe through the fear and discomfort of new situations and ways of being.  Letting go,and releasing that which doesn’t serve us is a process that takes time, gentleness, flexibility and forgiveness.  May you walk gently on your path with God beside you every minute of every day and be guided to a life of greatness.  Don’t live another day in suffering and pain.  It’s a simple choice you can make.  Let go and let God!

Affirmation – I am letting go and releasing people, situations, thoughts, habits and patterns that no longer serve me.  I am open and receptive to all the good that my Higher Power has in store for me.  I live joyously, with love, peace, and prosperity always.


P.S. If you know someone who would like to learn more about letting go of what isn’t working and allowing in what will, please have them contact me.

Peace and Blessings,

Jill

Monday, July 28, 2014

Transforming Fear into Courage

Did you know that over 87% of the world's population lives their lives ruled by FEAR?  That’s an ungodly number!  The research done by Dr. David Hawkins for his best selling book Power vs. Force shows us that this is a reality of not only the times in which we are now living, but a representation of the whole of human existence.  It comes down to how we THINK about fear that has to power to destroy us or lift us up to the highest heights.
Fear is something we all deal with.  Fear holds us back and stops us from doing what we know we need and want to do to live a joy-filled life.  Fear paralyzes us.  It steals our life right out from under us.  Worry and fear beget worry and fear and our lives mirror this negative belief system.  Fear is a real emotion from a real or perceived threat.  A real threat is when a lion is about to attack you or when a car is about to collide head on into you.  It causes all kinds of biological changes in the body that help you to make quick decisions and take quick actions based on survival.  This type of fear benefits you.  It helps you to react and take care of yourself, if there is time.   There are other fears that are perceived, ones that may or may not happen, usually future fears of some sort.  Fear of going broke and living on the streets, fear of losing your job, etc.  This unreal fear is based on past experiences and has nothing to do with the present situation, but we believe it does.  It’s your ego protecting you from something that reminds your subconscious mind of a past negative outcome or of someone who has projected their fears onto you.  Just because it happened in the past doesn’t mean it will happen in the future.  Most likely it WON’T happen again.  Many of us live with fear and are not even aware of it because it’s become a way of life.  Now if you were aware of your fears and faced them consciously, you would actually see them as a great opportunity to grow and become a more courageous person.  Future outcomes are imagined images that we have made up in our heads.  When considering a certain course of action, you can't know what the outcome will be.  You can only make your best decision with the knowledge you have in the moment.  Be true to your intuition and trust in your own abilities.  The future will be revealed and it usually is nothing like you imagined it, or if it is, it has happened for the best, for us to grow, to learn and to become better, more loving and compassionate people.
Here is a quick checklist of how to identify what your fears are and to discover if they are actually YOUR fears and not just the residual effect of someone else's fears you happened to have taken as your own.  Finally, a few steps to start overcoming them.
Overcoming Fear:
·         Acknowledge it. Become conscious of how it feels in your body.  Become fully aware of what is stopping you from moving forward.
·         Identify what's behind the fear.  Is it real or perceived?
·         Talk yourself through the “what if's.”  If you can accept the worst that can happen, fear won’t control you.
·         Be objective, the fear is only there to test you

The feeling that you have when you break through fear, is utter joy.
You Can Do It!
Don’t live another minute of your life in fear.  It’s up to you to change your mind about fear and live a life of courage, adventure, excitement, love, trust and joy!  Take your life back into your own hands and trust that your Higher Power, God, Source or whatever you call it, has a great plan for you.  


If you or someone you know would like to delve deeper into becoming free of fear, please call me at (805)279-4686.  

Blessings,

Jill

Thursday, June 5, 2014

The Benefits of Living in the Moment

“Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the is-ness of the NOW. You can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you will suffer.”
 – Eckhart Tolle

Learn to live in the moment.  Your life depends on it...LITERALLY, to avoid life passing you by. The present moment is truly all we have.  The past is gone and the future is but a thought in our minds that may or may not happen the way we plan it.  Accepting the present moment allows us to actually live our lives, to experience our lives, to get to know ourselves - our wants, needs, desires and values.  It may be a time of celebration, of grieving, of peace, of fear, of boredom, of joy, etc.  Why don’t more people live in this place more of the time?  Mostly because we are a society of more, more, more, constantly striving for something better in the future.  We aren’t satisfied within our hearts and souls, not happy with what is and therefore are obsessed with acquiring and achieving because that’s what we have been taught to do, thinking this is going to lead to lasting happiness and fulfillment.  By not being satisfied with what is, we will never be satisfied, period!  Material desires are great to have as long as we aren't dependent on them for our happiness and are balancing other areas of our lives with our values and purpose for living.  Pain from unresolved hurts and traumas can also be a barrier to living in the present by causing addictions of all kinds.  Alcohol, drugs, food, sex, gambling, work, obsessing, money, power, fame, control, are just a few.  We spend so much time and energy avoiding the moment that we are exhausted.  The energy that we are using up can be channeled into more positive, fulfilling tasks and activities that will bring us joy. and give us a life we can be proud of.  Get the support you need.  The only way out is through, so start to open up to the pain.  It may last a while, but most likely, won't be as scary as you thought it would be.  Freedom and peace are on the other side.  Don't let pain control you another day.  Take charge of it. 

In order to start to cultivate presence, become aware of your senses.  Throughout the day, stop and ask yourself, what am I feeling right now, what do I see right now, what am I listening to right now? Go through your five senses one at a time.  Becoming aware of your senses brings you in touch with the moment.  It takes you out of your head, and into your body and environment.  

Another thing you can do to get in touch with the moment is to listen to the voice within you.  Some people call it God, intuition, higher force, higher power.  You’ve all heard the voice before.  What is it telling you?  That is the force that guides us to our highest and best. It's called the still, small voice because it is only heard in the present and quiet moments.

You are worthy and deserving of a life filled with more joy, fulfillment, peace, success, prosperity and love, where life flows easily and effortlessly and miracles happen on a daily basis.  An extraordinary life is your birthright.  Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift.  That’s why they call it the present.


Affirmation: I lovingly accept and embrace each and every moment of my life.  I peacefully handle anything that comes my way and trust the guidance of my intuition, knowing that my life is unfolding perfectly, exactly as it is supposed to.