It`s not about the want
Transcription
It`s not about the want
It's not about the want: understanding how the Law of Attraction really works i Copyright © 2015 by Michelle Abrahmz All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever, without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review and certain other non-commercial uses, permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the address below. Printed in the Australia First Printing, 2015 P.O. Box 271 Ashgrove, QLD, 4060 Australia www.michelleabrahmz.com enquiries@michelleabrahmz.com ii Dedication I dedicate this book to my family and friends who nourish my soul and to you, the reader. It was your asking that called this book forth. iii Acknowledgement Throughout this book I have used a number of famous quotes, all but one have come from http://brainyquote.com. The one that doesn't has its attribution quoted along with it. I have attributed these quotes with the best of intentions and a clear conscience. If any should be found to be incorrectly accredited, I apologise and will rectify this in future updates to this work, upon notification. Some of the images or part thereof, has been taken from http://clker.com which allows free use of the images there. I offer my sincerest thanks to da Man for editing this book and offering much valued advice on styling and layout. iv Table of Contents Dedication........................................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgement................................................................................................................................4 Preface..................................................................................................................................................7 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................2 PART 1. WORKING WITH THE LAW OF ATTRACTION...............................................................5 What Is The Law Of Attraction...................................................................................................8 Working With The Law Of Attraction.........................................................................................9 Where Beliefs Come From........................................................................................................11 How Beliefs Are Formed..........................................................................................................13 Recap:........................................................................................................................................14 PART 2. YOUR PART OF THE STORY...........................................................................................16 The Mind...................................................................................................................................18 The Conscious...........................................................................................................................20 The Unconscious.......................................................................................................................21 Reticular Activating System......................................................................................................24 Feelings.....................................................................................................................................26 A Note On Icky Feelings...........................................................................................................28 Changing Your Default Thinking..............................................................................................29 What To Expect When A Belief Changes.................................................................................31 Recap:........................................................................................................................................32 PART 3. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.........................................................................................34 Where It All Begins...................................................................................................................39 The Real Work Behind Getting What You Want.......................................................................41 Inspired Thought.......................................................................................................................43 Let's Get The Party Started.......................................................................................................44 The Golden Rule.......................................................................................................................46 Taking It Up A Notch................................................................................................................47 The Game Plan..........................................................................................................................50 Inspired Thoughts And Actions.................................................................................................51 Start To Notice..........................................................................................................................54 Getting Into Asking For What You Want..................................................................................57 Recap:........................................................................................................................................59 PART 4. TOOL BOX..........................................................................................................................61 Affirmations..............................................................................................................................64 Appreciation Statements...........................................................................................................67 Bridge Building.........................................................................................................................68 Cheque......................................................................................................................................69 Contract.....................................................................................................................................69 Journalling.................................................................................................................................69 Logic Experience......................................................................................................................70 Media Purge..............................................................................................................................71 Meditation.................................................................................................................................72 Printed Statements.....................................................................................................................73 Remembering............................................................................................................................74 Stream of Consciousness..........................................................................................................74 Tapping......................................................................................................................................75 Vision Board..............................................................................................................................75 Visualisation..............................................................................................................................76 v WANT vs DESIRE.............................................................................................................................79 Want..........................................................................................................................................80 Desire........................................................................................................................................80 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................82 THE ASTRONAUT...........................................................................................................................83 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES.....................................................................................................85 NOTES...............................................................................................................................................89 ABOUT THE AUTHOR....................................................................................................................90 vi Preface “You can't always get what you want” is a song by the Rolling Stones, released in 1969. It is at the same time absolutely true and incorrect. We have evidence for both states: some people we hear about seem to magically and effortlessly attract into their life everything, while others (the rest of us) seem to struggle. When the Law of Attraction hit the main stream, mainly through the book and then movie The Secret, the idea 'you can have anything you want', became what most people gravitated toward and ended up being a sort of mantra for Law of Attraction movement. It's exciting! It's energising to think about having anything and everything you want. However, as time has passed many have found this isn't quite how it really is. I'm afraid many of the early proponents of the Law of Attraction have actually done a disservice in pushing this idea, though it was done with genuinely good intentions. The problem has chiefly been, the first wave of teachers taught it was easy, because for them it was. They would do the affirmations, the visualisations, any other techniques and hey presto! It worked for them, easily and every time. They were telling everyone how easy it was because for them it was that easy. The only problem with this is, a crucial piece was missing. Knowing deliberate manifestation is easy is one thing, showing others how to make it easy is quite another and if it's always been easy for you, you don't really know how to teach others – because you've never had to learn it. You always had it. So the rest of us have been left to try and work out how to get from where we are, to where we want to be and that hasn't always been easy. vii So yes, you can always have what you want – if you are a person who is balanced, at peace and fully integrated and congruent with what they want and what they feel. If, on the other hand, you are someone who grew up being taught beliefs about the world being competitive, limiting, not enough for everyone or that you had to be nice, play by the rules and not stand out: If you were taught money was evil or caused nothing but problems; that love was painful and hard; that health was a luxury and only those born with special genes or luck could be thin and attractive – then you have had a different experience. The truth is, you can have what you want, but you can't just start there. The universe doesn't listen to what we want anyway, it never has. The universe listens to what we feel. The true power is in our emotions on a given topic and we will never be able to have more than we feel we can have. It's the match between wanting something and feeling you can have it that is the real key to how the Law of Attraction works. This book is about explaining more fully the 'how' of it. What does the Law of Attraction actually do? How do my feelings and thoughts fit into the picture? And how do I get it all to come together so I can end up getting what I say I want? My sincerest desire is that after reading this book, you will finally understand how to get into alignment with what you desire, so you can start to see it showing up in your life. It will take a little work, but it's not hard. It's about understanding what you are doing now and what you need to adjust so you are working with the Law of Attraction to see those results. Michelle Abrahmz – QLD, Australia 1 June 2015 viii INTRODUCTION Have you heard about the Law of Attraction? It's safe to say you probably wouldn't be reading this book if you hadn't. Did you know the Law of Attraction is working every moment of every day? It works for everyone and everything in the universe. No exceptions. You might be thinking "but Michelle, I've read about it and I've tried it but I still don't have what I want." That's why I've written this book. Millions of people all over the world have tried to use the Law of Attraction and had some success or it seems, none at all. You can try until the cows come home and never really crack it. That's because most people are approaching the Law of Attraction from the wrong place. Imagine a cave on the beach. If you go around to the front of the cave and enter through the opening, you will not only get inside but it will be easy as well. Unfortunately, what most people do when they hear about the cave is start to dig immediately from where they are at the side or even on top of the cave. You might manage to get inside with a lot of hard work and sweat, but it won't be easy or fun. The Law of Attraction is like that cave, approach it the right way and it all falls into place and makes sense - and it's a lot of fun too. It's a process but not in the way you think. It's not about the want will show you how to go about accessing the Law of Attraction successfully so it is fun, easy and you do end up getting what you desire. The book is divided into four parts, explaining the Law of Attraction from both sides – you and the universe – and then putting it all together. Part one covers the foundations of the Law of Attraction; the information you need to understand how it discovers what you want, so it can be delivered. Part two looks at the mechanics from our side, explaining the process of thinking and how our thoughts interact with the world, through the Reticular Activating System. It also looks at our feedback system, that lets us know if we are aligned with what we want or not. Part three is a map to put it all together. This gets to the basics of how to get the Law of Attraction work for you. Part four is a reference section, listing exercises you can use to assist you to get clear with what you want and how you project that to the world in a clear, concise way so the universe can deliver what you want. There is an added chapter on want vs desire, what the difference is between them and why one is more aligned with successful results and not the other. I've put this at the end because the most value will be gained by reading it after you have read the first four parts. I hope you enjoy reading this book and do get a lot of 'aha' moments out of it. Before that, I have a little exercise I want you to try: 2 Stand on a chair and prepare to jump down. Before you jump, I want you to look at the ground and say, "Gravity, I know you exist and I believe in you. Now I'm going to jump and I want you to make sure my feet land on the ground safely and easily. I don't want to fly off into space, I want to land firmly on the ground." Then take a moment to visualise your feet arriving on the ground safely - and then jump. 3 PART 1. WORKING WITH THE LAW OF ATTRACTION 4 Ask and it is given to you. The Bible Attraction is the organising force of the universe. Everywhere, discrete elements come together, cohere and create new forms...Attraction has created the universe we know. Margaret J Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers First law of affinity: likes tend to attract to other likes. Plato I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, whether positive or negative. Michael Losier 5 Most people try to get the Law of Attraction to work for them. And most people fail. You do not get the Law of Attraction to work for you - it already is working! In fact, it can't NOT work for you because it is a Universal Law. It works the same way for everyone and everything that exists in this Universe - and if you are reading this, that means you too. It is not about getting the Law of Attraction to work for you - that's already happening. The answer to working with the Law of Attraction so you get what you want is in understanding how it works so you can work with it. It is going to keep working no matter what. Remember the gravity exercise in the introduction? Did you do it? What result did you get? Of course it's silly, right? We all know you don't ask gravity, you are just always going to land. Noone has ever jumped and gravity said "nope, I don't feel like it" then they fly off into space. It just doesn't happen. Now, birds can pull away from gravity and stay in the air. So can rockets and aeroplanes. That's because both birds and pilots understand how gravity works and they work with it to achieve their aims. Once you understand how something works, you understand how to get the results you want from it. The Law of Attraction is like gravity. You don't request or beg gravity to work with you and you don't request the Law of Attraction either. It is already working, remember? It is already bringing things to you. No matter what you have now, it has all been a result of working with the Law of Attraction, whether you like what you got or not. So before you go any further, please stop trying to get the Law of Attraction to work for you. Leave the Law of Attraction alone until you've read this book and then you will understand how to work with it the right way. Now, let's take a look at 6 what the Law of Attraction is. What Is The Law Of Attraction The Law of Attraction is a principle at work in the entire universe that causes objects that are a match to be drawn to each other. Every thing in the universe is made up of atoms. At the very centre of these atoms is a nucleus which is basically a powerhouse of energy. This energy causes the atoms to vibrate (move) at a specific rate. That rate is known as the frequency - how frequent (often) they move. Have you heard the expression 'birds of a feather flock together'? It means things that are similar like to hang out together. The Law of Attraction causes objects of a similar frequency to be brought together so they can hang out. It's also known as 'like attracts like'. How quickly they are brought together is determined not by distance from each other, but by the obstacles between them. The more obstacles, the longer it will take. However, it can also take just as long if there is only one obstacle but it's a large one. Look at it this way, you are going to run a race. Between you and the finish line are several hills you must go over. It is obviously going to take you longer to complete your task than if the ground was level all the way. If you are going to do the same race with only one hill, but it was a really big one, it would still take longer to complete than running on a level surface. 7 When you understand how to work with the Law of Attraction, you will instinctively know how to lessen and smooth out obstacles in your path and over time, you will see less and less of them. This will in turn lead to you having more success with the Law of Attraction, which is what we all want in the end. Working With The Law Of Attraction For centuries people have understood the way to get things done is, one person wants something and orders others to do it - we see this in the workplace today. In the workplace, it is understood the one who wants things done is the boss and they get to give orders to the employees. That's how it works. A bit simplified, but you get what I mean. It was quite natural then that people would approach the subject of the Law of Attraction the same way. Since I am the one who wants something and the Universe (through Law of Attraction) gives it to me, then that makes me the boss. However, it doesn't really work that way. To be successful at deliberate creation (the other name given to getting what you desire through the Law of Attraction), you need to have a different mindset. You need to see this as a co-operation, with you and the Law of Attraction working as a team for the same end - you getting what you desire. When you work as a team, respecting each other, it is amazing how easy and joyful the task then becomes. There is of course, just one little, teensy thing you need to keep in mind... 8 Everything works beautifully, provided you believe you really do deserve to have what you are asking for. And here's why. There really is no team, it's all just you. There is no 'you and the universe', there is only you. You are a physical manifestation of the universe in an attempt to understand itself. The sole aim of the universe is to expand and it does this by projecting physical beings into time/space to experience and to ask for things to be created. When you ask, the other part of you - the universe - creates it and in that act of creating something new, the universe expands. Now that might be hard to grasp - or not - just go with it. Every thing in the universe - every bird, dog, tree, drop of rain - every thing, is simply the universe projecting itself into this reality in an attempt to discover something new about itself. This is the meaning behind the ancient belief, All is One. The reason you ask for something and receive it is because the one asking and the one giving are the same thing. Every time you ask for something, the universe creates it from atoms. It is because everything is made from atoms that can come together; that you can have it. Remember how atoms are essentially energy at their core, which vibrates? This vibration can be changed, it can be slowed down or sped up, which is the change in frequency. When you ask the universe for something, you will receive it as soon as your vibration has changed its frequency to be a match to that of what you have asked for. Changing your frequency causes the desired object to start pulling toward you, until you are in resonance (vibrating at the same rate), with each other and then you receive it. You see this with sound. If you have two tuning forks of the same frequency, hitting one will create a sound wave, which will cause the second one to vibrate sympathetically. If the tuning forks are 9 not of the same frequency, the second one won't resonate. When you ask for something you desire, you are not of the same frequency as the thing you want so it can't resonate or respond. By adjusting your frequency so you start to be a match, you begin to attract its attention, so to speak, so it will begin to respond to you and show up in your life. Now the flip side to all of this - when you ask for something and you don't get it even when you have focused on changing your frequency to be a match to it, it is because you don't really believe you deserve to have it. A belief you don't deserve it or can't have it will prevent you actually being able to change your frequency, no matter how much you try. There is no way to get around this, since you are the universe in physical form, and the universe responds to what you believe, you can't fool it. Here's the exciting bit. When you ask for something you deep down believe you can't really have, the universe can't deliver it - yet. Remember those obstacles? Well your belief you don't really deserve it is an obstacle to the end goal. So the Law of Attraction starts to work on bringing to your attention those obstacles instead. You might not even be aware you have a belief that you don't deserve what you have asked for, that's why they get brought to your attention. Now they can be dealt with and cleared. Obstacles might be presented to you as a thought or situation and at their very basic, a situation is really just a result of a belief you hold. Where Beliefs Come From A belief is nothing more than an idea, statement or thought you have decided to accept as true. 10 There are no right or wrong beliefs, they are just beliefs. You get them from everywhere and most of your deeply held beliefs are acquired before the age of 7. It is around this age you start to develop critical thinking skills and begin to question what you are told. Before this age, the unconscious has no guard and is open to accepting as fact, everything that is presented. Beliefs are developed when you see something, hear something or experience something and you form a conclusion about it. If you constantly saw your parents argue about money, this can cause you to feel upset and develop a belief that money is trouble or causes pain. This can happen at an age you are too young to remember, but it all goes into the unconscious, which holds on to the belief. Then, as an adult you wonder why you never seem to have enough money. You may have an experience where you try to do something, like singing and get laughed at or mocked by your peers. You might feel embarrassed over this and conclude you are no good at singing, so never try again. As you get older, this could expand to include other creative ways to express yourself and you begin to erroneously believe you aren't creative. Beliefs become ingrained through two methods, either through repetition or an intense emotional reaction. Repetition is when you hear the same statement over and over, either from someone else or yourself. Do you constantly tell yourself "I'm no good at maths"? That's not a fact, it is simply a belief you have created through constantly telling yourself this. It might be the first time you tried a maths problem and found it challenging. Instead of just sticking with it, you gave up and decided you are no good at it. That set up a belief, which was repeated each time you are unsuccessful at solving a maths equation. The fact is, your brain can do anything any other brain can do. If one 11 person in the world is good at maths, you can be as well. Replace 'maths' with anything you tell yourself you aren't good at. An intense emotional reaction happens when an event takes place that causes you to have an overwhelming, strong reaction and it becomes imprinted on your brain. It can happen with an intensely joyful feeling or an intensely negative one, such as when a child burns their hand on the stove and won't go near it again. The most common example of this is of the negative kind, when it happens through trauma or very unpleasant experiences. This is the usual cause of a phobia developing. At around the age of 3, my grandmother was thrown into deep water and left to sink or swim. It was pretty much how a lot of children learnt to swim at that time. Of course, she would not have really been left to drown, but her 3 year old brain didn't know this. It scarred her so severely, she never went swimming again and she lived until she was 90. How Beliefs Are Formed You are presented with an event - you see, hear or experience something. You have a thought about that event, which creates a feeling. You notice the feeling and assume it is caused by the event you are witnessing and then connect them in your mind as a belief about that event. The time between seeing the event, having the thought about it and a feeling being produced can be literally fractions of a second. Add to that the fact you are probably not even aware of the thought you had in the first place and it is easy to see how a person can believe the event caused the feeling inside them. The truth is, no event ever causes the feeling to happen within you. It is impossible. Feelings are created by chemical reactions in the brain in response to a thought. It is only ever a 12 thought you have about that event that triggers your feelings, which then cause you to draw a conclusion and that creates the belief you have about the event. Throughout your life you will develop millions of beliefs about everything. As you grow and have new experiences, some of these beliefs will be strengthened, some added to and some replaced with new information. A 10 month old baby may believe they can't walk then change that belief a few months later when they start taking steps. A 12 year old might believe they will never be able to drive a car and replace that belief once they learn how. An 18 year old who has just started their first job, might look at their first pay slip and believe they will never be able to afford to move out of home. All your beliefs can be changed if you wish. Every experience that comes along offers you a choice about your beliefs. You can choose to accept the belief that will pop into your head as a thought, in which case nothing in your life around that issue will change, or you can decide it is no longer true and look for a new belief to replace it, which will in turn lead to new experiences. Later on in the book, you'll see how to become aware of your beliefs when they come up and steps you can take to change them if that's what you want. Recap: • The Law of Attraction is the principle by which objects of like frequency are brought together 13 • You get what you believe you deserve • You are the universe so you can't deceive or circumnavigate how this works • The Law of Attraction will keep bringing obstacles to your attention so you can clear them by changing your beliefs, until it can deliver what you have asked for That's the Law of Attraction part of the process. Now let's look at how things work from your side. 14 PART 2. YOUR PART OF THE STORY 15 Whatever we plant in our [un]conscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. Earl Nightingale Whatever you create in your life, you must first create in your imagination. Tycho Photiou A man is but a product of his thoughts, what he thinks he becomes. Gandhi Whether you think your can or think you can't, either way you are right. Henry Ford 16 Walk into any McDonalds restaurant in the world and you will be able to buy almost the same ® thing every time, with a few cultural exceptions. Not only that, but once you have been to one McDonalds® you will know the process for ordering and receiving your meal in every other of their restaurants. You will also know what to expect in terms of the meal delivered. This is because McDonalds has a system in place that is replicated at every outlet - and the system works. Just like McDonalds® you also have a system for working with the Law of Attraction - and it also works every time. It's a perfect feedback system that lets you know at any given moment if you are on track with what you want or if you have taken a detour. Detours are not really a problem, just like driving, as soon as you become aware you have entered one, you can simply adjust course and get back on track and the more you practice tuning into your feelings, the quicker you will make those course corrections, so the length of time on a detour, shortens. To understand properly how this system works, you need to look more closely at the two parts that make it up. The Mind Your mind is an amazing part of your being, it is solely responsible for your effective functioning in society and your very survival. It governs every thought you have had and is the initiator of every feeling you experience. The mind is very complex and science have only just started to scratch the surface of what is understood about the mind. So far, what is 17 known is pretty exciting. The mind operates in basically three parts: • the Conscious • Subconscious (also known as the preconscious) • Unconscious. They all have distinct functions, yet can work together, as in the case of new information passing from the Conscious to the Unconscious or information being recalled the reverse way. The Conscious holds the information that is in your immediate awareness, such as the chair you are sitting on or an answer to a question. The Subconscious holds information not needed right now, but could need to be accessed quickly, such as a phone number you are about to call or the directions to get from home to where you car is parked. Any information that needs to be recalled quickly is kept here instead of being filed away in the Unconscious, where all the bits of information you have collected over a life time, but don't need to focus on, are kept. I liken how the mind operates to a theatre. The audience is the outside world, the stage: the Conscious, the wings: the Subconscious and backstage: the Unconscious. In a performance, what is not needed on stage is kept in the backstage area so it won't be in the way, but it can be dragged out if needed. Actors who are performing right now are on the stage and those who aren't needed on stage just yet but will be soon, wait in the wings, prepared to move onto the stage when they hear their cue. 18 A Proscenium Stage The story isn't quite complete just yet, there is one part of the brain that needs to be included here, though strictly speaking it isn't part of the mind. The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is responsible for collecting all information about the world around you and filtering it before you become aware of it. There is simply too much information available at any one time for your Conscious to be able to focus on and still function sanely, so the RAS helps to make sure only the information that is necessary or pertinent gets your attention. Let's take a closer look at the Conscious, Unconscious and RAS. The Conscious The conscious mind is the part that is aware of what is going on around you. It observes events and develops thoughts based on what it sees. Although it might not be an active thought in your 19 mind, your conscious is aware of the chair you are sitting on right now and the amount of pressure felt by the skin. It is aware of the pages of the book you are holding and how heavy the book is, so the body knows how much effort to exert in holding it upright. It will also take in the temperature of the room and nudge you to get up and put on a jacket if you feel cold. The conscious is your awareness of the present moment. The conscious is also the problem solving part of your mind. You use your conscious to think through complex problems like maths equations or to take part in philosophical debates. Your conscious mind can accept or reject statements when presented based on previously held knowledge or beliefs on that subject. The Unconscious The unconscious stores your oldest memories and deepest beliefs on everything - usually without you being aware you have them. Every experience you have ever had is stored away and could be recalled at a future time. These experiences build up your understanding of how the world operates and how to effectively take part in it, which can be considered a behaviour map. Maps show the layout of where things are located and by following the map, you will successfully navigate the environment to your desired location. A behaviour map develops for a similar purpose, only instead of getting us to a place, it is our map of how to behave in given situations, a kind of short cut to interacting in the world, so you don't constantly have to think about how to do something, like using manners when requesting something 20 or how to use cutlery in a socially acceptable way. Most behaviours have become such a habit, you no longer really pay attention to them, like what you actually do when brushing your teeth. You only become aware of your behaviours when an event happens in an unexpected way and triggers them. Ever gone to get your keys and they were not where you expected them to be? Just as behaviours govern how we do things such as make a cup of coffee, our responses to a given situation are also a set of behaviours. If you grew up in the western culture, you would have been taught when watching a movie, it is perfectly acceptable to laugh out loud at the funny moments, but to keep crying quiet during the sad moments. When an event happens, whether it is a familiar one like a birthday or one that is rarely experienced, like a fire, how you react is based upon a complex set of beliefs and behaviours. You may not realise your reaction to the event is simply a behaviour or pattern of behaviours which developed from an earlier experience. or set of experiences. An example of this would be someone who keeps getting into unhealthy relationships and believing each new partner is the problem, instead of looking to what might have happened in their childhood that caused them to seek out this particular relationship in the first place. Although a behaviour map governs your interactions in the world, it is important to remember all behaviours develop because of your beliefs of how the world operates or your beliefs on how you should respond in a given circumstance. This is beautifully illustrated when you see a person from a different culture behaving in a way that is acceptable in their culture, yet completely at odds with your own. Unless you have been introduced to people and practices from other cultures, you are likely to think them just plain rude. 21 Beliefs held in the unconscious will override any belief held in the conscious mind, every time. A belief may start out in the conscious mind, where you made a conclusion about something that happened, but once it has been accepted as fact, it will be moved into the unconscious so you don't have to keep thinking about it. The next time a similar situation happens, that conclusion is brought up to your conscious mind again for you to accept or reject. The more you accept it as the right thought response, the more ingrained as a belief it becomes. This is why you can make a logical decision to change a habit (conscious brain) and end up giving it up within weeks. In order to create lasting change, you need to address the unconscious and change the beliefs you hold on that topic at this level. Let's take the example of a New Year's Resolution to lose weight. You have every intention of changing your eating habits to be healthier and exercise so you can successfully take off the desired amount of weight. You start on 1 January and everything goes well, but by 8 January, you are starting to slack off a bit. Perhaps an extra slice of cake - just this once - won't be so bad or you decide not to go for your walk today because it's too hot or cold, depending on where you live. In this case a conscious decision with all good intentions hasn't been able to take hold because of long held beliefs in the unconscious. To be successful, you need to work with both the conscious and the unconscious. One of the strangest facts about the unconscious is that it can store conflicting beliefs and present them at the same time, in such a way they won't make you think you are going crazy. You can hold at the same time the belief the universe gives everyone what they want and the belief it won't really do this for you. As you explore the Law of Attraction further, if you have these two conflicting beliefs, one will have to be let go - either the universe does give everyone what they want including you, or if you choose to believe you are not included, then the first statement cannot be 22 true for you. The wonderful news is, beliefs are not permanent. As I said earlier, you take up and drop beliefs throughout your whole life as a response to living. You can also choose to deliberately let go of a belief you no longer desire and replace it with one you do want. Your unconscious doesn't really like to change, though, so it will cling on to the old belief, but with a little patience and 'know how' it can - and does change. How will be explained later in the book. Reticular Activating System The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is located in the base of the brain. Of it's many functions, the one that you need to know about here is how it acts like a filter, sorting through all the information available around you - up to 2,000,000 bits of information at any one time. Your brain can only process so much at once, so the RAS will sort through it all and bring to your attention any information that you will think is important. 23 For the RAS to be aware of what that is, it connects with both the Conscious and Unconscious to match this information with what is going on in these parts of the mind. With the Conscious, this can be what you are focusing on at the time, like when you have a coffee with a friend in a noisy cafe and hear them perfectly, yet are unaware of other conversations. With the Unconscious, it will compare the information being gathered with the stored beliefs you have about the world. The RAS does this so it can give you evidence of what you believe about the world around you. Its job is to present to you a world that fits with your beliefs, to try to keep you happy. If there is an ant crawling up the kitchen wall, whether you notice it or not depends on your beliefs about ants inside your house. Seeing something is different to noticing it. The RAS sees it and takes it in, but that doesn't automatically mean you will become aware of it. If you don't really have a problem with ants inside your house, you are likely to walk past it several times and never even notice it. However, if you hate ants inside the house, as soon as your RAS has picked it up, it will shoot a message to your conscious mind, to get your attention on this, so you can take care of it! Once the ant is gone, you can go back to being happy. If at some point you decide you would like to acquire something, like a neat little, red sports car, your RAS will work as usual only this time, every time there is any mention of a red sports car, your attention will be drawn to it. You will suddenly notice red sports cars being driven everywhere, you will see them on TV and in newspapers. You might start thinking you're going crazy, that red sports cars have suddenly become the new hot trend, but there isn't a sudden rise in the number of red sports cars everywhere. They were always 24 there, you just never took any notice. When you tell yourself you are now interested in getting one, this puts the RAS 'on notice' that this is now important to you, so it will now let this information through. If you want to know what your beliefs are on any given topic, take a look at what is turning up in your life. Feelings The feedback part of the system, the part you are aware of, is your feelings. Feelings are sensations felt in the body. Some have been given names - these are called emotions - but you have hundreds which don't have names. Feelings are a wonderful and simple feedback system that works every time. Your feelings are a response to what you are thinking. As you have a thought, a chemical reaction takes place in the brain, which then signals a change in the body as a feeling. It is always the thought then the feeling. Without thought there are no feelings. Most people operate on the default setting of their thoughts and respond to their feelings as though they are caused by an event outside of themselves, however, it is their own thinking that gives rise to them. You have around 50,000 thoughts a day. As you can imagine, being aware of everyone of them would drive you batty! You would never be able to get anything done. So to let you know 25 what's going on up there, a feeling is created in response to your thoughts. You don't have to notice every feeling, a general feeling of being OK or happy lets you know the thoughts going on are positive, while a feeling of anxiety or sadness lets you know the thoughts are in a negative phase. As soon as the feeling has changed, you can be certain the thoughts have. It's a perfect system and works beautifully every time. So the feedback system goes thought - feelings - thought - feelings. For most people though, the initial thought is an unconscious one and they only become aware of the feeling so the experience goes: feeling - thought - feeling - thought. If you have a feeling you don't really like, say anxiety, you might try to 'talk yourself out of it'. Let's say you tell yourself there's nothing to be anxious about. What happens? You get more anxious. Then you tell yourself "I'm being silly, why am I anxious?" which results in more anxiety. It never works because you are trying to change things from the starting point of the feeling. The only way to address such a cycle is to ask yourself what caused the initial feeling - now of course it's a thought, but what event gave rise to that thought? It might be knowing you have a test the next day or it might be you are in a lift that is moving jerkily. Regardless of whether the feeling has a name or not, they can all be divided into two groups. The 'Yay' feelings and the 'Icky' feelings. Right away you will know what I mean by those terms. Yay feelings are they yummy ones; joy, happiness, excitement, giggliness, etc. You definitely want more of those because basically, they're fun. Icky feelings are all those you don't really like having; sadness, anxiety, anger, frustration, gloom, etc. You would prefer if you didn't have to have any of these thank you very much. There is one more feeling I want to mention here, it's the neutral or 'no feeling' feeling. If asked 26 how you are feeling, you can't really say. You have no words to describe it, but you know its definitely not icky. I class this as a yay feeling. If you can't put it in the icky group, then it's a yay feeling. Feelings are never 'good' or 'bad'. They are just feelings and are part of your feedback system to let us know how you are travelling. All yay feelings are a definite yes! It means you are going in the direction that is beneficial for you and in accordance with your life goals and beliefs. An icky feeling is a 'no' feeling. It's a warning you have taken a turn somewhere and are now on a detour. Icky feelings are necessary and to be respected, because without them you could get off track and end up in a whole pile of doo-doo. As soon as you become aware you are having an icky feeling, you have the opportunity to make a change and get back on track. Let's hear it for the icky feelings! A Note On Icky Feelings If you have decided to try something new that is outside of your comfort zone, this is going to cause you to grow as a person. Any time something is new, strange or just outside of your comfort zone, it is very possible to experience some icky feelings. Anxiety, fear, worry, etc. In this case, it is confirming you are in new territory and feeling out of place. In this situation, it means you do need to make a few changes, but not to what you are doing. You will need to make changes to your thinking. Remember, these feelings are a feedback to what you are thinking, so take a look. Perhaps you feel you can't do this, or you aren't really meant to be this. Know they are simply beliefs and can be changed to come into alignment with what you are doing now. And that is the beauty of your feelings. They let us know if something (your thoughts) need to change. 27 Another sort of feeling is the gut feeling or gut instinct. This is usually the first place a feeling is felt, then it can extend to other parts of the body. If you are tuned-in to your feelings, you might be able to pick up a change in this area. It's located between the breast bone and the navel. Have you ever been to a party when you met someone for the first time and you felt this instant "I don't like you" sensation in your gut? The logical brain usually kicks in and reminds you, you've never met them before, how do you know you don't like them? Why not give them a chance? Often, if you ignore the gut feeling and listen to the brain, you will find after a while something will happen and say to yourself "I knew I didn't like them". It's important to start paying attention to gut instinct. It is the best way to learn to tune-in to what your feedback system is telling you. If you can pick up on an icky feeling at this stage, you can make adjustments to what you are thinking/doing and get back on track with hardly any issues. You will save yourself a whole lot of time when you do. Changing Your Default Thinking Your life is always a perfect match for what your belief is on any topic. No matter what it is, your life will always be an exact match. If you want to know what you believe on a certain topic, just take a look at your life. What is your home environment like? Are you happy in your job? What are your finances like? How about your health? No matter what state any of these are in, it will be because of one of these two belief states: Either you think that is how it is in the world or you think that is what you deserve. 28 It doesn't matter what you tell yourself you believe or what you tell friends and family you believe, if what you see in your life doesn't match it, then it's not what you really believe deep in your unconscious - and it's what you believe here that matters. And that's good news! Once you know what you believe, you can change it if you want. You do not have to be stuck with 'the way things are' if you don't want to be. When you have decided you do want to change something, ask yourself what would you like to change it to? You must replace a current belief with a newer, preferred one. Have you heard the saying "The universe abhors a vacuum?" well, it's true and it's true for your beliefs as well. If you decide to no longer believe something to be true for you, the universe will seek the quickest and easiest way to fill that now vacant spot. If you haven't provided a handy replacement, your mind will simply put the old one back and nothing will change. The other thing to know is, it won't happen instantly. Nope, sorry. The unconscious is a creature of comfort, like most of us and it will try to hold on to its old, comfy beliefs. It takes approximately 30 days to change a habit - and a belief is simply a habit of a particular thought. If you want to change a belief, decide what you want to have replace it and write this down. This is commonly called an affirmation. Repeat this to yourself several times every morning when you get up and every night just before you go to bed, for 30 days. If you really want to have it sink in, get yourself into a joyful feeling place first and then repeat your affirmation while feeling it. Remember, repetition or intense emotional re cause beliefs to become ingrained - why not use both as a double whammy? If you want to know more about how to write a powerful affirmation, check the tool box section of this book. 29 What To Expect When A Belief Changes It's an interesting time when you decide you want to trade in an old, not-working-anymore belief for a shiny, new one. A lot is going to come up and if you aren't prepared for it, you might be one of the many who decide it's too hard and give up. Two things are happening during this time. On the one hand, you have given the Reticular Activating System (RAS) something new to look out for. It will seek out any and all things to bring to you, to show you that your mind is now focused on this new thought. The RAS will pass this information along to your conscious and unconscious. Your unconscious, which is quite happy as is, thank you very much!, will instantly find any and all beliefs that will repel this new belief. You have a kind of tennis match going on in your head. Let's say you decide you want to lose some weight. The RAS goes off to search for things to show you, losing weight is now on the agenda. The first thing you see is your reflection in the mirror. The RAS picks this up and in it goes. The conscious will notice the reflection, while the unconscious looks for the beliefs it holds about your weight. Since you are looking at losing fat, it will find all the beliefs you have about the weight you are right now. Things like 'Gees, I look fat' or 'I wish I was thinner' will come up. You might not necessarily be aware you are thinking them, but any feeling of not being happy with what you see in the mirror is your cue they are there. Later on, you see a slimmer person walk toward you in the street. The RAS picks that up and in it goes. Now, how you perceive this will depend on how far along with the new belief you are. You 30 may simply smile as you pass by or you may find yourself feeling jealous or dejected because you are not also slim. The real reason this all happens is because you have decided to change a belief and remember, when you do, it's basically the same as giving an order to the Universe that this is now what you want in your life. The universe will seek to give it to you, but if you have any obstacles in the way, they must first be dealt with. Every thought, excuse or situation you could possibly have come up, will come up at this time. This isn't a punishment or to tell you that you don't really deserve it. It's simply to clear up any beliefs that get between you and the thing you desire - beliefs you probably aren't even aware you have. Hang in there. Every time something like this comes up, know it's just to get you one step closer to the desired gaol. Smile and say a quiet 'thank you' to yourself. Recap: • you have a feedback system that works perfectly • your mind stores the beliefs which create the world you see around you • your feelings are created by your thoughts • your feelings let you know if you are on track or have detoured • you can always adjust your course • Icky feelings are important, they let you know when you are off track • you can change your thoughts easily • Changing your thoughts changes your world 31 Now you understand how it works, let's look at what it is you do to get things happening. 32 PART 3. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 33 Where there is joy there is creation. Where there is no joy there is no creation: Know the nature of joy. The Upanishads Joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. Rollo May Let your joy be in your journey - not in some distant goal. Tim Cook What you radiate outward in your thoughts, feelings, mental pictures and words, you attract into your life. Catherine Ponder Let there be more joy and laughter in your living. Eileen Caddy 34 Finally, here it is! The part you have been waiting for, what you do to put it all together so you start seeing the results you want. If you are like most people, when you first heard about the Law of Attraction you got excited. Perhaps you thought 'hm, I can have anything. I want a million dollars". You then got busy focussing on having 1 million dollars. You did everything the way you thought it should be done, you got clear about what you wanted to turn up - the million - and how. You visualised yourself with the money, you even wrote out a plan of what to do with the money - but it never showed up, or it does when you're 90! Remember the little story about the cave back in the introduction? Remember those people who heard about the existence of the cave and started digging for it from right where they were? Well that's what you've been doing. Instead, the real way to get into the cave is to walk around it to the entrance and just mosey on in. To really understand how it all works and get the desired outcome, you need to stop focussing on the Law of Attraction and what you desire and start focussing on the delivery system the Law of Attraction uses. It sounds counter intuitive I know. you've always been told if you want something, you need to focus on it. See yourself having it, see the end goal and put all your attention and effort there. Sure that works - if you want to effort your way to having something. However, the Law of Attraction is not about effort-ing your way to anything. It is about allowing it to come to you. Allowing the process to unfold in its own, natural way. And allowing it will make it all happen much faster. 35 Imagine you have decided to fly overseas. It is summer where you are now and you want to experience summer when you would normally have winter at home. So you visit your local travel agent, book your tickets, plan the hotel you want to stay at and start researching what activities you might want to do there. None of this is effort, it's all fun and exciting. You want to do these things. Now, at what point do you ring the travel agent to make sure the tickets have been booked? Trick question, you don't. Why would you? You have already booked them and paid for them - or will have them paid off soon. Why would you keep calling to make sure they have been booked when you know they already have? That is exactly what you are doing every time you ask the universe for the same thing or every time you focus on having it with an 'I'd like to have this' energy going on. So stop. That's not where your attention needs to be. As I said, your attention needs to be placed on the delivery system the Law of Attraction uses. What is that you ask? Good question; it's joy. Your joy, your being happy is how things are delivered to you. By putting all your attention on how you feel generally, on getting as happy as possible right now, you make the way clear for your desired outcome to be delivered. Just as with booking the plane ticket, your focus then goes on the fun part - planning the trip and not on calling the travel agent about the ticket - when you focus on having fun, on feeling joy and not on the thing you desire so slavishly, you are letting the universe know you trust it will be delivered. And when you let the universe know, you are really letting yourself know. Think about it for a minute, why do you want the thing you are asking for? There could be lots of reasons, but basically, isn't it because you think it will make you happier or your life better in some way? Nobody wants something because they think it will make their life worse! Even gamblers, when they win big money and keep gambling until it's gone, it's not the losing it that motivates them. It's the next big win. 36 Everyone wants to feel better and have a better life, even those who have an awesome life now still want it to be even better. Striving for 'better' is part of the reason you are here. It causes the universe to expand There is another reason you want the thing you desire. Can you guess what it is? Well it sounds silly but it's really obvious. You want it because you don't have it. Who wants what they already have? I mean you like it or love it, but you don't want to have it. It's right there, see? You can touch it. Why would you be wanting it when it's already there? You want what you don't have and the reason you don't have it yet is because you are not a vibrational match with it. That's cool, because the solution to that is easy. 1. You want something you don't currently have 2. Having it would make you feel happier than you do right now 3. Focusing on being happier creates a vibrational change 4. As you focus on being happy, your vibration rises. As your vibration rises you come into alignment with what you seek. 5. You get what you are desiring. Focussing on your own joy has two huge pay-offs. 1. It gets you into alignment so you meet up with the desired goal and 2. As obstacles in the way appear, you are able to smooth them out and remove them easily and with little effort. Remember that part that said your life is a perfect match to what you belief? Currently in your belief system, is a belief or set of beliefs about you having that thing you now want. Maybe you have always believed it was not for people 'like you' or it was 37 outside of your ability to get, or maybe you felt it was too much. Whatever it was, that belief is what stands between you and this item. It is the beliefs that need to go so you can have it. These beliefs are what will show up as you set your new intention to have that desired item. And the more joyful you are, the easier they will be removed. Why is joy so important? Being joyful opens you up to everything. When you are joyful you are more likely to try a new adventure, to give a new skill a go. You are also more open to receiving gifts, complements and what you have been desiring. It is far easier to give something to a person who has their arms open to receive than to someone who's arms are closed. Try this experiment, take a pillow and say 'catch' to someone. Do they open their arms to catch it or do they stand there and let it fall off them? You cannot give to someone who is closed. If you really do want to receive what you've been asking for, it's time to get your happy on. Where It All Begins Anything in life that comes to us, does so not on our wanting them, but on our being in a position to accept them - and by that I mean what we believe. There is not one person in this world who has something and will look at it and tell you they don't believe they can have it. How can you believe you can't have something when you already have it? Of course they believe they can have, it's right there. And they believed they could have it before they actually did have it. Shocking I know, believing you could have something before you have it. But then who would bother trying to have something if they think they can't have it? 38 Yet, you would be amazed at the number of people who approach the Law of Attraction and ask for things they don't really, deep down believe they can have. They think the Law of Attraction is a magical wand that will create for them regardless of how they feel or what they really believe. As you've discovered by now that isn't so. You can only receive what you believe in your heart of hearts, you can have. And the reason why is, the thing you Desire is created from your belief you can have it. Have you heard the expression "You don't get something for nothing"? well it's true, though when most people say it they mean you need to work hard to earn it. The universe is creating new things all the time, but it is not creating them out of nothing. The first Law of Thermodynamics states: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but can change form, for instance chemical energy can be converted to kinetic energy in the explosion of a stick of dynamite. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy) The universe can not 'magic up' more energy to make something new. It must get energy from somewhere so it can change it into what you have asked for. That 'somewhere' is your own feelings and belief in your being able to have it. If you believe you can have it, then yes you can. It will have been created out of your energy. So when someone asks for something they don't believe they can have, the universe twiddles it's virtual thumbs. It has been given nothing with which to make the asked for item! So, it all begins with you, specifically you believing you can have it. 39 The Real Work Behind Getting What You Want Work? yes. Hard? No. This is the easy and fun part. The reason you don't have what you want is because you are not in alignment with it yet, so your 'work' in all of this is to get yourself from where you are (person who doesn't have it) to where you need to be (person who does have it). Now, if all you do is focus on what you desire, you don't change. Focusing on the desired item only keeps you in the same place where you started. The more attention you put on 'wanting' something, the more energy you are feeding to your 'knowing' you don't have it yet. No change, no desired object. Simple. So focusing there doesn't work. Your 'work' if you choose to accept it, is on allowing the changes needed, to happen. You don't make them, you don't force them, you don't effort them. You allow them. And how do you allow them? Did you say by focusing on joy? You get a gold star! Focusing on joy helps you be open to new things. It helps you to deal with obstacles presented in an easy and relaxed way. Not only obstacle, but sudden flashes of insight (knowns as inspired thought) which help you get your desired goal. Imagine if you will, it is a lovely day outside and you are walking down the street admiring the flowers and the birds singing in the trees. Life is great and you are happy. You say to yourself, "You know, I'd really love an ice cream right now" as you keep on walking, enjoying the day. A bit further along, you think 'hey, I'll go and visit Jane' and off you go to Jane's house. When you arrive Jane is eating an ice cream and asks if you want one. 40 Have you noticed how easily things come when you aren't really focused on them? Being happy then making the desired statement of wanting the ice cream and then letting it go, allows the universe to do its stuff. Remaining in the happy space, allows the seemingly random thought of visiting a friend to come to you, which then results in your desire being met. It could just as easily happen that you kept walking and passed a shop that sells ice cream. The universe will seek out the easiest, fastest and best way to fulfil your desire - and it always does it taking all your desires into account. Walking past the shop and buying an ice cream certainly fulfils the stated desire, but isn't going to visit your friend a much more enjoyable way to have it fulfilled? It might be that just the day before you had been thinking how you'd like to visit Jane or it could be that you didn't have any money, so buying an ice cream would have been out of the question anyway. The universe is seeking every moment of every day to fulfil your desires or bring to your attention the obstacle in the way for you to eliminate, so it eventually can - and it's doing it for every living thing. Time and time again, as you focus on just being happy, you will be amazed how the universe manages to do this in ways you had never thought of. Each of us has only a very limited amount of information about the world around us, but the universe has way more - in fact, the universe has all the information. So, when you state your desire, don't be too hung up on how it will happen. Just state what you want, know you will have it and get on with being happy. Let the universe surprise you with how it achieves it all. Have you ever written a letter to a friend and not sent it, then when you see your friend and ask about the letter, you are surprised by them not having received it? Well, when you focus on the thing you want over and over, it's like you haven't sent the request in yet. You need to let it go in 41 order for it to be received by the universe. Time to let go. Inspired Thought In the example I just gave of desiring an ice cream, then suddenly thinking of visiting a friend, many people would simply put it out of their mind, wave it away as just a random thought. They may say "What has that got to do with what I'm talking about?" or "That's nice" then dismiss it. Random thoughts that pop into your head just after you've been stating your intention for something specific are the universe's way of giving you a short cut. You don't have to follow up on them, but if you do, you will not only considerably cut the time it takes to get what you've been asking for, you will find they are fun too. A lot of the time someone has an inspired thought but doesn't follow it through, then they wonder why the desired thing they've been asking for never shows up. It reminds me of the joke of the drowning man who asked God to save him. There was once a man who had been on a boat which capsized and he couldn't swim. As he clung to the side of the boat, he cried out to God to save him. Not long after a man in a power boat came by and offered to help the man on board "No, it's OK. I have faith God will save me", so the man in the power boat left. A little while later a passenger ship came by and offered to rescue the man. 'No, no" he said, "God will save me" and he waved them away. A little while after this, a helicopter appeared over head and lowered a ladder for the man to climb up, but he would not. "God will save me" he said. It was soon after this the man lost his grip and drowned. When he got up to heaven and saw God, he said "God, I asked you to save me. I had faith you would, why did you not save me?" God looked at him and said "I sent a man in a power boat, a passenger ship and a helicopter, 42 what more did you expect?" Your desires are going to be met more times than not, in ways you have never thought of. Don't be too narrow in thinking how it must happen. Leave the how to the universe. Let's Get The Party Started What would you say, if I told you there was a way to not only get the results you seek but to also speed up the process? Well there is, however, it's not quick, so don't get your hopes up just yet to have those millions by tomorrow. As I've shown and I hope by now you agree, your real task in all of this is focusing on your joy. Spending more time being happy, having happy thoughts and find things to do that make you happy is the key to getting the results you want. The great news is, the universe doesn't know if you have paid a fortune for your good time or if you've just sat on the beach and eaten a sandwich you brought from home. - it only knows the vibration you are giving off because of how you feel. Remember the saying "Time flies when you're having fun"? If you want to speed it up, then you are going to have to take a leap of faith here and give up asking for anything for at least a month. Yep, you heard me, give it all up. Right now, you have been asking and probably receiving in a hit or miss fashion. You've got an energy about that going on at 43 the moment. The best thing you can do is give yourself a reset. Put yourself on holiday from it all, so to speak. For at least 30 days, put all your focus and attention on being happy. Really get into it. Watch movies that make you happy. Read books that make you laugh. Do silly things. Check out websites that give you the warm fuzzies. Watch funny or uplifting clips on YouTube. Do whatever you can to get yourself happy and to stay there. If something does come up that causes you to worry or feel icky in anyway, then feel it, but as soon as you can get back to feeling happy. What do you have to lose by taking a time out for one month? Setting yourself a challenge of being as happy as you can be for the next 30 - 40 days and sticking to it, will raise your vibration to a whole new level - and it's the raised vibration that allows you to be a match to what you are seeking. This is probably one of the most enjoyable challenges you will ever be on. You are doing this for you because you deserve it. Anyway, the universe has already heard your requests. It won't forget what they are or that you asked for them, promise. Taking the time to just focus on being happy, will take the pressure off and the focus off of 'it's not here yet.' And it has the added bonus of allowing what you want to come to you faster. If you are not used to being happy most of the time, at first this might seem hard. You may think about being happy for 5 minutes then find some of those old beliefs popping up. "Who are you kidding?" "Really, do you think you could be happy?" "You know this being happy stuff isn't really going to work, right?" And then there are the situations which create anything but happy. The kids fighting again, an overdue bill in the mail, the car breaking down, a bad day a work. And the worse culprit of all - social media! That's Ok, because being happy is actually a skill. For many of us, it doesn't feel natural, but it can. It might take a while, but you will get there if you stick with it. And remember that part about obstacles? All these thoughts and experiences coming up are just those obstacles being brought to your attention so you can let them go. It's like having an Angel tap 44 you on the shoulder, saying "You're doing it again". As soon as you choose being happy in spite of what your inner voice tells you, you've won. Not only have you removed an obstacle, but you have chosen to be happy - and being happy is the goal, right? Something that can help everyone, but especially those who are not used to being happy is keeping a success journal. Every day fill it out, list all the times you are happy and all the times you had an unhappy moment but then chose to turn it around. Believe me, when those days come when nothing seems to make you feel happy - and everyone has those - having your journal to read over can really help. It won't take very long at all and you will find you are noticing more things to be happy about than not. Once you get it going, it becomes a self perpetuating habit. The Golden Rule There is a golden rule to working with the Law of Attraction and it's this - NEVER BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER ANYTHING. So you didn't know this before, so what? Now you do. So you are trying to catch your feelings when they are icky but you missed it for a while or even a few days, so what? You've caught it now and you can turn it around. Beating yourself up only gives you more icky feelings, which keeps what you desire away from you longer. Let it go. There's no harm done. Each time you have a hiccup and correct it without beating yourself up, you make it easier to catch it sooner next time. And you know, it's all part of the amazing ride called life. 45 Taking It Up A Notch So you've given yourself a time out and just focused on joy for 30 days, right? Good for you! Now what? How would you like to increase the results you get? Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Well you can and it's no harder than what you have already done. Keep focusing on having joy in your life. The universe delivers according to your feelings, using joy as the delivery system, so keep it up. While focusing on joy, spend the next 30 days or so focusing on abundance as well. Why? Abundance isn't just about money, abundance is about having plenty - of anything and everything. Abundance is the very fabric of the universe. In this case, because you are focusing on joy, you will get an abundance of things to be happy about, which will naturally increase your vibration even more. Abundance has a compounding effect on whatever else you focus on. If you put $10 into a compounding bank account and you make 20 cents in interest, the first month you will have $10.20 in total in your account. The next month your interest will be earned not on $10 but on $10.20. The month after that, your interest will be on the $10.40 and it will keep being added to what the total from the previous month was. Abundance does that with whatever you are focusing on. If you are focusing on joy (and right now I hope you are), then you will get the joy you are asking for plus extra and then you will get extra on your extra! It just keeps increasing until eventually, that's just about all you do feel most of the time. And the awesome part is, if something does come along to momentarily knock you out of a joyful state, you will quickly get back there because by now it has become a default setting. How cool is that? 46 The universe is built on a foundation of abundance. There are: 100 trillion or more cells in the human body • 2 million eggs in a human ovary (each capable of creating life when mature) • Between 40 million and 1.2 billion sperm in each ejaculation (each capable of creating a life) • Over 100, 000 known species of trees • Between 90, 000 and 140, 000 hairs on the human head • Between 200 and 400 billion stars in the milky way • Probably around 70 sextillion * stars in the entire galaxy • 8.74 million species of life on Earth (estimated) • 7 quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains of sand on Earth * *(70 sextillion is 70 thousand million, million million. I won't even try to work out what 7 quintillion, five hundred quadrillion is!) Are you as blown away by those numbers as I am? For most of us, those numbers are just too huge to wrap our brains around. Thankfully, you don't really need to, but are you starting to get the picture that the universe loves abundance? The universe loves to fulfil orders and it really out does itself with the big ones! On top of this, you wouldn't even be able to desire something if the universe couldn't deliver it. If you ever find yourself doubting whether you can have what you desire, just come back here and read those numbers again. Think about this, there are around 10,000 species of birds on Earth and within them who knows how many, so you end up with millions of individual birds at any one time. Every day, every one of those birds is fed and the 47 world still has not run out of seeds or worms! A universe that can do that can deliver to you what you've been asking for. Have you spent most of your time until now being aware of scarcity? When you were growing up, did you hear things like 'there isn't enough', 'money doesn't grow on trees', 'think of the starving children in Africa'? You are surrounded with all this information on how little there is of certain things in the world and how you must compete to get what you want or to not want too much, because there isn't enough for everyone and you shouldn't take more than your share. The fact is, these statements are simply not true. You live in a world that teaches there is only enough of any one thing for some, so you better get in quick! Not everyone wants everything the same way everyone else does. However, there are some things every living person on this planet wants and they are all supplied. Think of oxygen. We all need it and there is way more than enough for all of us to have as much as we need. Some people even get it in bottles to make sure they have enough. There is enough water for everyone in the world. You are shown stories of places that don't seem to have enough, but the water is still there. Same with food, there is enough food in this world to feed everyone. It might be there is not quite enough in some places and an over abundance in others, but the fact is there is more than enough. Even in the poorest places on earth, there are some people who have more than enough to drink, eat and spend. There is exactly as much of everything in the world as everyone is desiring to have. If you believe in scarcity, then that is what you will be shown. If you believe in more than enough, then that is what will be shown to you, that's the job of your RAS. It all comes down to what you believe. You can have everything you want. It's not a case of you only get some of it, so choose wisely - YOU GET ALL OF IT. If you want the money to pay off a bill, then that is the amount you will get. If you want $10,000 then that is the amount you will get. If you want $1 million then that is the 48 amount you get - as long as you believe you can have it. This is why I suggest focusing on abundance for a whole month - after focusing on joy. Focusing on abundance helps to reset the mind to look for and expect abundance. However, if you don't reset your mind to look for joy first, well - you are going to get an abundance of whatever you are set for and if that's misery - look out! The Game Plan 3 steps 1. Focus on joy for a month 2. Focus on joy + abundance for a month 3. 'Set & Forget' what you desire - and focus on joy and abundance That's all there really is to it. Let each step build you up to the point where you can ask for what you desire then put your focus back on joy, trusting it will be delivered at the right time. After all, who wants to be like the lottery winners who get what they ask for before they are ready - only for it to be all gone within a few years? I would much rather wait an extra 6 months or even 2 years and know I am in alignment with it, so it sticks around for the long haul. The added advantage to doing it this way is, during those months you are focusing on joy or joy + abundance only, many of your beliefs that would have been obstacles to what you desire are brought to your attention and more gently and easily cleared, without a lot of fuss. So when you do get around to asking for something you desire, there will be a lot less 'work' on your part. 49 Now when thoughts or situations are presented to you, you will understand they are simply obstacles being show to you so you can deal with them and get them gone! When this happens, you can view them as little gifts, after all if they aren't presented then they'd still be there working away, keeping what you desire from you. Now, instead, you are able to make the way clear to receive what you want. Having obstacles presented this way becomes exciting because you know, with each one gone, you are just that much closer to having what you desire! There really is nothing like working with the Law of Attraction this way, it's actually fun. I know I'm in the flow of joy when lyrics from songs randomly pop into my head during the day. Lines like "I feel good - I knew that I would now" or "Celebrate good times, come on". Even "When you're happy and you know it" Where I used to have a little voice in my head that would tell me I was silly for trying, or it knew I would fail anyway, now I have a church choir that says things like "You go, girl", "yes you can","You tell 'em" or "Yes!" It can get quite noisy at times with my cheerleaders! Inspired Thoughts And Actions One area around the whole issue of the Law of Attraction is to do with with thoughts and actions. There has been a lot of debate with some people saying you have to wait until you get an inspired thought before taking action and others saying, don't wait, you will only get results through action. Actually, they are both right. Where most people get caught up is, they see it as one or the other only. 50 The Law of Attraction is not about you asking for something, then sitting on your bed, holding your breath until an inspired thought hits you. I fear you will be hitting the floor before that happens. And it's not about asking for something, then jumping up and doing everything you can think of to make it happen. When you have asked the universe to deliver you something (and by ask I don't mean saying pretty please with an 'I don't deserve it' attitude), you wait for an inspired thought ON THAT PARTICULAR SUBJECT. If your desire is to have an extra $10,000 show up for a holiday and you ask in the morning, don't sit there. Get on with the rest of your day. You've asked, now forget about it. Just get on with being happy as you go about your day. Eat breakfast, go to work, keep your doctor's appointment, whatever your plans are for that day, do them. Life continues as normal, because change in any form can only happen when their is movement. If you desire that same $10,000 don't start planning how to get it. Don't decide to go to work and ask for a pay rise. Don't buy a lottery ticket thinking that might be how you get it. None of these actions are inspired. They are all coming from a place of you trying to figure out how to make it happen - and that's the universe’s job. Your only job is to ask and get happy. Don't how - allow. An inspired thought will always feel 'right', even if you have no idea how it fits in with what you have been desiring. It will always feel happy and you will feel more energised or expanded in some way. It will always lead you to an action. That action is the inspired action - now you move on your particular desire. Now you take action. So now you've stated your desire for the $10,000 so you can go on holiday and it's known to the universe, then you've got on with the rest of your day. 51 While on lunch break, you try out a new sandwich shop and think to yourself, "I could make better sandwiches than these. Why, I could write a whole book." Then suddenly an idea comes to you, write a speciality sandwich ebook! How is this an inspired thought related to the $10,000? well it could be you sell enough books to make the $10,000 or it could be that while writing it, you casually mention to a friend what you are doing and they just happen to know someone who wants to start up a speciality sandwich franchise and this person ends up buying the exclusive rights to your recipes and they pay you $10,000. An inspired thought could be subtle as well. You set your desire and go about your day. While at the doctor's office waiting, you see an entry form in a magazine, to win a holiday. You smile to yourself and think, why not? So you enter, just for a bit of fun and think no more about it. A month later you find out you have won - tickets, accommodation and spending money all supplied and it comes to $10,000. Now this isn't the $10,000 you asked for, but your energies were centred around WHY you wanted the money, not the money itself. That little 'why not' thought when you filled out the entry form was the inspired thought. You now get to have your holiday and all the trimmings to the exact value you asked for - and you get the thrill of having won it too! Action Inspired Action Actions that result from you trying to work out how something will happen are always hard work. Inspired actions will always have an element of fun to them and not seem like hard work at all. One of the things that can get in your way when you start to ask for what you want is your own 52 narrow thinking. You often get caught up in wanting something and thinking it can only come in one certain way, so you start to focus on how you can make that way happen. This is why you need to let go of the 'how'. There are so many ways things can come to us and we really only know a fraction of them. You just need to be open to all possible ways - like when you want more money and automatically think you have to go and find a second job. Money can come to you from a job or it can also come from gambling, a gift, a refund, found, an inheritance, winning the lottery, creating something to sell, doing a favour for someone and they appreciate what you did so much they pay you. That's just with direct money. As in my example above, it could come indirectly, in the form of a prize so you don't actually have to spend money to get what you want or as a discount on a purchased item. If you don't have to spend as much money as you thought you would, then the amount not spent is basically the same as spending it all and then being given that amount anyway. The universe is just really good at cutting through the red tape and going for the easiest option. An inspired thought will always lead you to an action toward your desire - just not always in the way you think. Start To Notice It is important as you go on this path, that you really start to notice the small steps along the way. We all have a tendency to say we want 'more' money and when 5c turns up on the street, we ignore it. That's not what you meant, but to the universe it's more money. The universe doesn't really distinguish Between 5c more and $5,000 more. It's just more. At this point, a lot of people leave the 5c thinking it's not worth their time to pick up, or they pick it up but aren't really all that excited. 53 It's only 5c sheesh. Well guess what? The Law of Attraction is listening to you all the time and you are asking ALL THE TIME. It's not just when you think you want something and actually say or write the words, it's all the time. Your thoughts never stop and neither do your vibrations. When you ask for more money, then 5c shows up and you ignored it, the universe hears loud and clear that you don't want more money after all. When you do bend down to pick it up, but aren't really all that happy - the universe hears that too as you not really wanting more money. And then you wonder why your big money isn't showing up. Be happy about all the money that shows up and bit by bit, you will build up to the bigger money you do want. Get happy about every little step along the way. Recognise them for what they are - signs the universe has heard and is bringing your delivery to you. Have you ever ordered something to be delivered and the driver is delayed, so they call to let you know they are running late, or it will be delivered the next day instead? Well all those little signs that crop up - the 5c on the footpath - are like those courtesy calls to let you know it's on it's way. Every time you get one, smile, say thank you and be really, really happy. That's your way of letting the universe know you've heard the message and 'more please'. When you start to see things this way, a strange thing happens. You start to get excited about each little step and getting excited is the same energy you radiate when you are expecting something you've ordered from a physical shop and are waiting for it to be delivered. And the universe can't tell the difference! All it knows is you are expecting something to be delivered and it figures it must be that thing you just asked about. You have now switched from wanting something - to knowing you can have it - to expecting it to be delivered. Know what else? Lot's of other things 54 start to show up. All those things you asked for ages ago but couldn't receive until now, start to appear - and even things you didn't know you were asking for! When you get really excited, you have created in yourself the state you want to feel when you do receive what you asked for. That means you are now putting yourself into a vibrational match with it. It cannot help but show up. I was once out with a friend for a fun day. While out we passed a house that was painted the exact same colour of a favourite lolly from my childhood, musk sticks. It brought to mind some fond memories of a game we used to play with them, where we'd roll them around in our mouth to form a pencil shape. Just a bit of childhood fun. We went to have lunch and then on the way back the car got a flat tyre, so we had to wait to get assistance as we were unable to remove it ourselves. While waiting I was thirsty, so I walked into a petrol station to get a drink and on the counter they were selling musk sticks. I hadn't actually requested the musk sticks, I'd just been in a really happy place when I mentioned them and the universe took that as a sign I wanted them. Be really open to whatever shows up. If you ask for a house then your two year old brings you a house token from the monopoly game - that is a sign your request has been heard and confirmed. Adverts on TV or in the newspaper about house and land packages are signs. When you have dreamt and planned the exact house you want, the colours, the decor even where the TV will go and suddenly a friend you've not seen for a long time invites you to their new house warming - and it's your house in every detail, this is the time to get really, really excited. This is a sign not only that the house you have desired can and does exist, but that yours is on its way to you. A lot of people would have this experience and get dejected. They have bought into limited thinking. They think if their friend's house is the one they have been dreaming of, then it must mean they can't have it. There is more than one of everything if more than one person wants it, there is plenty to go around. Just because someone else has one exactly as you want it, doesn't mean you can't have one as well. 55 Look at everything with new eyes. Be open to possibility. Not everything is going to be a sign, but when one does come, see it, acknowledge it and get excited. When you get into the flow of joy, a momentum builds up and things happen fast. The more you expect them to happen with no attachment to when or how, the faster they will go. Making joy your focus makes life just plain fun. Being in the feeling of what you want once you have it, is the beacon the universe locks on to, so your desire can be delivered. The feeling of having it when you've spent so much time dreaming and wanting, is joy. So get there now. When thoughts of what you desire do enter your mind once you are in the feeling of joy, they will be bathed in those joyful feelings. You will find it so much easier to spend time thinking of them with appreciation and thankfulness, you will be open to just allowing their existence. And it is in the allowing them to be, with joy, that you create the space in your life for them to enter. Getting Into Asking For What You Want Asking the universe to deliver what you want, isn't as hard as it might seem. The example I gave of the musk sticks, is basically all there is to it. Get the joy flowing, then ask for what you would like, staying in that joyful state and letting go of the outcome. Things like "Hey it would be nice if I had...." or "I would really love to have...." is all you really need to say. It's the feelings the universe listens to anyway, not the words. Words allow you to focus your mind on what you want, the feelings attached to that though, is what gets the universe's attention. If it's something general like an ice cream, then just asking for an ice cream is enough. However, if you are wanting something very specific, then get specific with detail. "Ooh, you know what I'd like? Shiny red 56 shoes with those blingy pink diamond buckles on the side, about 4 inches high - ooh yeah, they'd be perfect." The more specific you get when you ask, the more specific your result will be. There is no right or wrong way to go about the asking, it's all about your feelings when asking anyway. A casual, throw away statement works just as effectively as a formally typed up, 3 page document. The 'how' you ask is just a tool for helping you to get clear about what it is you want. Most people go through life never deliberately asking for anything, yet they still get what they have been asking for by default. It really is a simple, fun process, even children can do. Simply aim to keep your statements as positive as possible. 'I would like' works better than 'I wouldn't like' simply because 'would' is a more positive word and triggers positive feelings in us. In the 3 step plan, I said step 3 was 'set and forget'. Once you have asked for what you want (set it), you never need to ask again. You ask once and the universe hears, it then gets on with the business of delivery. You don't need to ask a second time, so forget about doing that again. Dreaming about and planning what you will do once it shows up is not asking for it again. You are now in a place of expectation of it turning up, a very different energy entirely. Now when your mind brings up thoughts about what you have asked for, turn your attention to what it will be like once you have it. What will you do with it? Where will you go with it? If it's a holiday, what will you do there? Let your mind dream about what happens after it has turned up. As long as it still feels joyful to think about, keep doing it. If at any point it stops being joyful - say your mind comes up with a doubt - stop thinking about it and get back to something that does feel joyful. Once you get back to the joyful place a thought or 57 experience will come up which will deal with the doubt you had. Remember, the doubt that shows up is simply an obstacle you aren't aware you have and it's being brought to your attention so it can be removed. Getting back to joy brings that solution and now you are closer to having the desire appear in the physical world. So now, the plan looks more like this: 1. Focus on joy 2. Focus on joy and abundance 3. Ask in an easy, joyful way for what you want 4. Forget about it and get on with the business of being joyful 5. When an obstacle appears, stay centred in joy and allow the answer to come 6. When you think about what you have asked for, think about it from a place of already having it. What fun it is to have it. What you will do now you have it. 7. Stay in the feeling of joy as much as you can. If you should be bumped from feeling joy, just allow what is to happen and get back to feeling joyful as soon as you can. 8. The asked for thing will be delivered. Recap: • Focus on joy • Set and forget your desires 58 • Listen to inspired thought • Obstacles show up to be cleared • Put attention on what happens after you receive • Stay in joy And that is all there is to it. 59 PART 4. TOOL BOX 60 Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event. Brian Tracy Live out of your imagination not your history. Stephen Covey We become what we behold. We shape our tools and afterwards our tools shape us. Marshall McLuhan True life is lived when tiny changes occur. Leo Tolstoy 61 Here you will find a list of activities, tips and techniques you can use to assist in your journey with the Law of Attraction. Not everything listed here will feel right for you and not everything will feel right every time. That's OK. Use what works, leave what doesn't. If you find a technique used to work spectacularly well and then seems to drop off, change to something else. Life is a process of change, be willing to change up tools with it. Tools are about helping you to sharpen your focus and clear any obstacles that get in the way of receiving what you desire. There is no right way or wrong way to do that, it is an individual journey that will change as you gain experience and learn more about yourself and the process. Read through the list and see what feels like fun or sounds interesting to try. Some, like the mirror exercise may make you feel uncomfortable or hokey, in that case, don't do them. The whole point of this book is about you tapping into a feeling of joy and anything that makes you feel uncomfortable will stop that process. This is your life, your journey. You are in control and get to make the rules. I wish you well on this amazing, exciting path. 62 Affirmations An affirmation is simply a statement that you believe something to be true. Essentially, you are affirming your belief in it. As a stand alone, an affirmation is not either positive or negative, it just is. You can make them either way by the words you use. 'I can't do it" is just as much an affirmation as "I can do it". It all comes down to what belief you are affirming. Affirmations have been used for centuries to change a behaviour or outcome because they work. In order to write effective affirmations, you need to follow a few simple guidelines. • Always write them toward what you want. Your unconscious just as the universe, will ignore a negative word and turn a statement such as "I no longer smoke" into the positive "I longer (or still) smoke. • Write affirmations in the present tense. The mind seeks to prove you correct, so the RAS will seek out what you say is important now. If you say you will be or you want, this is a cue not to bother as it's not important right now. When you make statements such as I am, I have or I now have, the mind is immediately kicked into action to make this new statement true. • Keep them short. Keeping statements short makes them much easier to remember and much easier to remember means they will take hold in the mind much more easily. • Use active or dynamic words. The mind works with symbols and pictures, the more 63 dynamic or 'full of life' the words are you use, the more it will sit up and take notice. Replace words like ; good, happy, fine with exhilarating, thrilling, fantastic, dynamic, perfect. • Focus on the outcome. What are you wanting to change? Once that change has happened, what lets you know it has happened? If you are wanting a new car, write an affirmation of you driving your new car, including how it feels to 'now' be driving it. • Repeat twice a day. Take a few minutes each morning and again at night before going to bed, to focus on your affirmations. If you want to really juice up your affirmations, here are a few suggestions: • Emphasise each word. Repeat an affirmation several times, each time emphasising a different word. Something like 'I am now joyful and relaxed' would look like this: I am now joyful and relaxed I am now joyful and relaxed I am now joyful and relaxed I am now joyful and relaxed I am now joyful and relaxed 64 I am now joyful and relaxed • Sing. Have you noticed how easily it seems to remember song lyrics when you hear the music? Rhythm and music cause different parts of the brain to light up when we hear them, which causes memory to work better. Repeat affirmations in the form of a ditty or tune to help your mind accept the new belief. • Action. One of the techniques actors you to learn lines, it to pair the line with an action. When performing, as they move into the action, the line will pop into their head naturally as a thought. It is about accessing more than one area of the brain at once. When saying affirmations, move your arms or body around as you say them. Touch your chest when you say I or me. When emphasising a word, punch the air. • 100x Repeat your affirmation 100 times in a row, This helps to speed up acceptance of a new belief. You can keep count by marking a piece of paper or you can use a system of finger positions when counting on your fingers. Each position lets you know how many rounds of 10 you have done and which number you are up to in each round. Why not get yourself some japa beads? These are used by Buddhists when reciting rounds of prayers. Each time you say the affirmation, you hold one bead then slide to the next. There are 108 on a string and you know when you get to the end, how many times you have repeated the prayer or affirmation. • If you use the 100x method, why not team it up with a few of the other methods? When introducing a new belief, you could emphasise each word on a different round, to help drive 65 it home. Change the way you say the affirmation to give it life or use rhythm and movement. We learn in basically 3 ways; by seeing, hearing or doing. If you read an affirmation out loud and use movement, you will be combining all 3 learning methods at once. • Mirror. Say affirmations to yourself in front of a mirror. When we say something to another person, our mind will be more likely to accept it as a true statement because someone else is listening. When you say affirmations to yourself in front of a mirror, essentially the same thing happens. Your unconscious doesn't know the difference between you watching yourself and another person watching you - it just knows you are being watched. Appreciation Statements As you are going to sleep, recite to yourself a list of all the things in your life you appreciate. As you are going to sleep, your mind begins to relax and drop it's resistance to what is being brought to its attention. Leave the hassles of the day. Instead, focus on everything you have to be thankful for and how much you appreciate it in your life. List the big things, but especially list the little things. This will help set you up for a better sleep, and help focus your mind on good things when you wake up, so you get a head start on a good day, without even having to try. 66 Bridge Building This is a visualisation technique to help you shift your thoughts, mood and vibration. Imagine you are standing on one side of a river and what you desire is on the other. Between the two sides is the frame of a bridge, but the planks have not been laid yet. They are stacked neatly on your side of the river. To get from where you are to where you want to be, you need to shift your vibration through progressive steps, making sure each is a comfortable fit before adding the next one. An example of this is trying to go from believing you can't really have something to being Ok with accepting it. You won't be able to do this in one move, it's too big a jump and will cause you to fall into the proverbial river. Instead, you move through feelings from not feeling worthy, to accepting you could possibly have it, to it would be nice to have it, to having it is possible, to you having it being possible, with a few more steps along the way. You build the bridge one plank at a time. In your imagination, place the first plank on the bridge and name it with whatever you are feeling right now. It should feel secure straight away because it's a match for how you are feeling right now. When it does feel secure, pick up the next one and place it on the bridge. Find the thought that feels slightly better than the previous one and when you have it, name the second plank this thought and move onto the next. If you try to move ahead too fast, you won't give the new stated thought time to feel a good fit and it won't resonate with you. This will case the plank to loosen and fall. It is OK to take your time. 67 Cheque Write yourself a cheque for the amount of money you desire and the date you want it by, then sign it. On the back, write what you want to use the money on. Place it where you will see it at least twice a day, in a wallet is a good place. Twice a day, hold it, read it and send your joyful energy into this cheque, knowing it will happen. If you have it in your wallet, your mind takes it in every time you go for money, even if you don't focus on it. Contract Write a contract between you and the universe. In the terms of the contact, list what you believe for sure about the universe's side of the deal - to support you in your experience, to ensure delivery of what you have asked for, etc. Then list your side of the deal - to request what you desire with clarity, to relax and allow, to trust the universe will take care of its side of the deal. Then date and sign. You can make this a general contract, to confirm what you believe about the Law of Attraction or you can make it specific to a stated request. Journalling Journalling is a great way to keep your mind focused on one topic for a set period of time. By journalling, I don't mean keeping a diary, which is what most people think of. In this case, you are 68 focusing your attention on a feeling like love, joy, appreciation, being thankful, etc. and you write statements based around that topic for 10 to 15 minutes. You let your mind know what topic to focus on, then let it bring to your attention any thoughts around it. You might need to start by making deliberate statements, but the energy will soon pick up. Journals can be kept for a specific topic, such as relationships, money, health, or the feelings mentioned above, so you might have an appreciation journal, where you write once a day on everything you appreciate in your life. Keeping a journal on appreciation, thankfulness or joy is a great way to get your mind on that topic and then it will keep thinking those thoughts long after you've put the pen down. For best results when journalling, write your thoughts with a pen on paper instead of typing. Different areas of the brain and more of it, light up when you write instead of typing - and the more brain you can get involved, the easier it will be for the mind to focus and accept what you are writing. If you have started to focus on finding things like yellow balloons or a 5 cent piece, keep a success journal so you can write down what you are wanting and the date when you start, then the date you received it. Success journals are fantastic for developing your belief as you look back over them and see all the little successes you've had. Logic Experience If you have decided to aim for something outside of your comfort zone and have really little experience of having - say $1million - it is probably going to bring up a whole host of reasons why 69 you can't have it, not so much beliefs of not being worthy, but things like 'well you only have a low paying job' or 'how will you get $1million, who will give it to you?' The logical mind wants to find answers, it will try to work out how to make something happen and if it can't see clearly how, it will come up with all the reasons why not. So knowing this, give your logical mind something to focus on as well. Set it the task of coming up with all the reasons why you should have what you want. Whatever reason it says, put it on the list. It's a form of brain storming and there are no silly or too way-out statements you can add here. The more reasons you come up with to write down, the more your unconscious is going to believe you really, really want this to happen and that it should happen. It will be much easier to get your beliefs switched over to being in line with what you want, than blocking you. Media Purge If you really want to ramp up your joy and abundance, think about a media purge. Television, radio, magazines, even social media focus intently on all the sad and bad in the world. Focusing on creating more joy in your life for 15 minutes a day, then going on to listen to crap and tragedy for 14 hours, it's going to take you a very long time to start seeing any serious amount of joy coming through. Do you really need to listen to that much news of the world? You will not be able to get very far without someone wanting to ask you if you heard the latest about [insert topic here]. You really will not become ignorant. 70 What you will find, is more time and energy is released to feel joy and just feel good about your world. How can you feel abundant when you hear on the news all the time how many people are starving or there's a sale on but only so many available so you better get in quick? Even your favourite television shows, ask yourself what are the story lines really being played out? Aren't most stories about who did who wrong, who got something over someone else, revenge, betrayal, subterfuge. With comedies, aren't they mostly based around embarrassment humour or seeing someone in a predicament that makes you feel so happy it's them and not you? All of these at their core, create icky feelings. By removing them completely, or if you can't do that, at least for a big chunk of the time, you will be amazed how easy it is to just feel good for no particular reason. Meditation I know you hear about how good meditation is all the time. Everyone goes on about the benefits of it to your health and stress levels, well here's a new one. Meditation will power charge your ability to work with the Law of Attraction. With so many thoughts racing through our mind all day, it can be hard to simply focus on one. Meditation helps to slow down the mind enough, to allow calmness to take hold and then the thought you wish to focus on can be given the attention you desire. This might be a simple mantra like 'Life is good' or 'I breathe in beauty'. It might be an affirmation you are currently focusing on or you might use the slowed down mind to then focus on your visualisation. 71 Many people are under the belief that meditation is hard and takes a life time to master. This is true if you follow an Eastern style of meditation where the aim is a state of 'no thought' or 'no mind'. However, this is not necessary to simply slow the mind or to use meditation for the purpose of deliberate creation. All you really need to do is find a few minutes to yourself and give your attention to one thing. It might be your breathing, a candle flame or a spot on the wall. As thoughts come up, don't try to stop them, just allow them to pass through your mind and keep your attention on what you have chosen to focus on. You will know when you have reached a state of relaxation because you will feel yourself naturally being slower, as though you are in time with nature. At this point, simply repeat the mantra, affirmation or visualisation to yourself until you feel you have given it enough attention but aim for at least 2 minutes. Printed Statements Write out what you would like to see turn up in your life, either by hand or printed up, and then stick it up in various places around the house. Perhaps on the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, the back of the toilet door is an excellent place! Every time you go past it, your mind will take it in even if you don't focus on it. If this is also an affirmation you are currently focusing on each day, it will intensify the effect on your mind that much more. 72 Remembering A similar technique to creating a visualisation of what you want to happen, except you are coming at it from the other side. Think back to your last birthday, remember what happened, who was there, what you were given, what you ate, how you felt? With remembering you place the thing you are desiring into a story of remembering how it felt when you got it - past tense. You are placing yourself further into the future, it could be anywhere from 6 months to a couple of years later and you are thinking back to how excited you were when it first came into your life. When you focus on the desired object as if it has already been received, you can make a space in your mind which is more accepting. Any resistance you might feel 'to' getting the item is not there because from this point of view, it has already taken place. Stream of Consciousness Part daydream, part talking, stream of consciousness utilises the Law of Attraction principle of like attracts like to raise your vibration through talking. Get comfortable and allow thoughts on a particular topic to come to your mind. As thoughts come, look for ones that make you feel slightly better or expanded than a previous thought, you will know you are successful when more and more thoughts come easily to mind. You are not trying to think of things to think about, rather you are allowing thoughts to come to mind. At first it might seem difficult, but with practice it becomes easier. For an example of this, search YouTube for 'Abraham-Hicks: rampage.' 73 Tapping Tapping or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a system of moving blocked emotional energy through the body so it can be released. You simply tap two fingers on a series of acupressure points around the face and upper body to get things moving and you repeat the sequences as often as you need to release all trapped emotional energy. Acupuncture points are along the meridians, believed to be energy pathways through the body, discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. If you are interested in learning tapping, there are numerous videos on YouTube or check the resource section of this book. Vision Board The mind works on symbols or images, so why not create a collage of the images that represent all the things you want in your life? Vision boards can be a general theme to cover many areas of your life or you can make specialist ones that cover one area - health, relationships, career. When you choose images focus on how you want to feel in that situation. What images represent how that will feel? If you want to focus on health, you could use images of a doctor smiling, but it would be much more meaningful for your unconscious it you used a picture of a person smiling and jumping with excitement, doing a sport you enjoy or with the body shape you desire. Vision boards aren't limited to images only. Find words that represent what you want to see in your 74 life - abundance, joy, inspiration - and if you can't find them, either print them from your computer or write them by hand. Use images from magazines, newspapers or printed from the internet. There are no rules as to how you attach them to your board. The board itself can be a pin board or cardboard. You might even attach the pictures to a wall in your office at home! Lay them out until you find an arrangement that feels right for you. Maybe you want to spread them out so each stands alone or maybe you want to overlap them all and fill up the whole board. Perhaps you want to make it all neat, or have bits spilling over the edge and at all angles. This is your project. Visualisation Visualisation is often described as pictures or images in your mind, but not everyone sees clear, movie-like images when they close their eyes. Try this: close your eyes and imagine yourself making your morning cup of coffee or tea. What are the steps you take? What cup do you use? Remember how you made it this morning. Or recall a memory of something really awesome that happened recently. Did you go to a party, receive a phone call from a distant loved one or were you given a flower? Recall as much of the event as you can; what you heard, saw, smelt and felt at the time. The way you see these happening in your mind, is the way you personally visualise. For some it is vague images with fuzzy lines, for others it's a collection of colours or thoughts and others still, it is just feelings they have in their body when they remember that event. However it happens for you, go with it. It's the right way for you. 75 The way to use visualisation is to think about what you want to have happen. Do you want to go on a holiday? Buy a car? Own a brand new house? Whatever it is, think about the steps involved. If it was going on a holiday, that would be deciding where to go, booking the ticket, researching the destination and then going. Now think about what you would do when you're there. Where will you stay? What will you see? Is it the beach or mountains? What will you eat? When you visualise, focus only on these last things - the things you will do when you are there. At the end of the day, what you really want is the experience of being in that place, how you get there really isn't the issue. As you focus on what these activities are in your visualisation, what are the feelings you think you will have? Do you imagine there will be lots of joy, ease, laughter? See yourself doing things that will create these feelings in your body and feel them now. Allow the feelings to grow and take over your body, so you are really experiencing it, as though you are actually there. If you are new to visualisation and can't really get your feelings involved or can but not a lot, don't worry. Over time, you will be able to flood your body with the emotion you desire. If you are visualising something you've never experienced before and can't think what it might feel like exactly, you can try leveraging past experiences. To leverage, you simply recall an experience from your past that makes you feel joyful. When you remember it, the feelings at the time will automatically come up with it. If you don't know what I mean, remember a time when something really embarrassing happened to you. Did you get a feeling of warmth in your cheeks from the memory? Now try it with something wonderful, a new baby or getting a job you really wanted. Remember how good it felt and the feelings will automatically come up with it. The next time you want to visualise your desired goal, just take a moment to recall a memory that will fill you with joy and while feeling that, visualise the new goal. 76 WANT vs DESIRE I left this section until last, as I felt it was important to have a solid understanding of how the Law of Attraction works before tackling one area of subtle vibration. The words we use have no effect on the Law of Attraction at all, that's true, but they do reflect where our thoughts currently are in relation to our vibration. And it is our thoughts that do effect the outcome. Words whether thought or spoken, carry a subtle vibrational energy which will always match where our vibration is at. This is why you will find people using the same words over and over, because they feel comfortable and a 'fit'. When you first start to focus on using positive language to help raise your vibration, any word that is more positive than what you have been using, will work. Once you are rocking along with a higher vibration, you will find there is room for improvement. This is where the subtle differences in word vibration comes in. Some words carry a more pure vibration than others and when we shift to using these words, we notice a corresponding shift in our vibration – which leads to a more consistent and positive outcome. One of these subtle differences is the word choice of 'want' or 'desire'. On the surface, they don't seem to be very different. Both express an interest in having something. However, there is a subtle vibrational difference in these two words. Want has a lower vibration than desire. 77 Want The word 'want' is used when we see or hear of something we don't currently have but would like. We 'want' it. When you use the word 'want' there are two vibrational energies engaged. Why do you want? Because you have noticed you do not have – and in noticing, a strong sense of how much better life would be if you did have is created. You suddenly see where your life is not as good as it could be because this thing is missing. Along with the strong feeling of how much better life would be with it, is the strong feeling of lack in your life right now. When you say you want something, you engage a vibration of the desire for it and the lack of it. Two vibrations going, means your energy is split and a mixed message is given to the universe. Now the universe needs to assess which vibration is stronger and which has similar vibrations going, that are a match. Chances are, you will have more 'lack' vibration resonating then 'having' vibration, which will pretty much leave you where you are right now – with wanting and not having. Desire 'Desire' has a very different vibration. Desire is the word we use when we see something that would be nice to have, but not essential. We like our life as it is, having the item would add to our life, but not getting it isn't an issue because life is OK. The word 'desire' does not trigger a vibration of lack because we aren't feeling any lack in our life. Desire is about feeling good and wanting more. 78 When we desire something, we only engage one vibration – that of having it. There is no sense of lack with desire. It comes from a very different emotional and vibrational space. When we 'desire' the message sent to the universe is of one vibration – that of having. There is no mixed message here, just one single vibration and single vibrations are pure. This makes the job of the universe so much easier. The word desire even feels different to say, 'desire' has a much softer feel to it than 'want'. 'Desire' ends in a soft sound while 'want' ends in a harder 'T' sound. Words that are softer always carry a higher vibration. Simply changing 'desire' for 'want' won't make any difference to the outcome if you haven't addressed the vibration going on inside you. Changing the words will only work to lift a vibration that is already fairly clear, it won't make your vibration clear for you. To do that, you need to do the work of getting clear yourself. I'm adding this section to show that words can have a subtle effect on clearing up our vibration when we are already on the way. Think of it this way, changing words is like having the key to a motel room. A room key won't get you into the motel but is only useful once already inside. 79 Conclusion I wrote this book out of a desire to help people better understand the process of working with the Law of Attraction. I came across too many people who were trying to make it work and trying too hard. It seemed many people felt there was a missing piece to the puzzle. I wanted to give insight to the process and also explain how it works – the mechanics so to speak – so people could have a better grasp of the subject. You don't make the Law of Attraction work for you because it already is. Instead, you get to know it and work with it. I wrote the book in sections to go into more detail of each aspect and also to help make it all clearer to understand. When you know each piece well, you get a better idea of what the whole would look like when they are slotted together. 80 THE ASTRONAUT When in space an astronaut is freed from gravity. They float about their environment effortlessly and its all fun. When they wish to go outside of their environment, they must cross a barrier that divides where they are now from where they are going. On the other side of that barrier is an environment they cannot be in and survive for very long, so they must put on a suit that is all encompassing. It is big, bulky, heavy and makes everything they do require more effort than they would be able to do in this environment, but it is essential for them to be able to move around and do what they need to do in that other environment. You are just like that astronaut. You are the universe, you are non physical, pure energy that is free, expanded and exists in a non time/space reality. When you decide to come into this plane of time/space existence, to experience what being here is like, you too must put on a suit in order to be able to move around and do what you need to do. You as you are cannot exist in time/space reality for very long without this suit. You call it a body. When you sleep, the you that is the real you - the part that thinks and feels, the essential core of all that you are, this you does not need rest. The body does, but you do not. You leave the body and enter back into this non physical time/space dimension. You remember once again how amazing it is to be free of the bulky, cumbersome suit you call a body. Because there is no time in this experience, you travel faster than the speed of light because even the speed of light needs time to reach its destination. You do not. You are there instantly. 81 Inside your body in your everyday, waking life, you become aware of something you want, you desire it and in the moment you desire it, the part of you that is YOU, your real essence shoots off and goes to meet this desire. As soon as YOU have met up with it, the body experiences a sensation of joy. That feeling of joy is the signal to let you know the desired object has been created and YOU are now there with it, playing with it, enjoying it. The feeling of joy comes from being with it. You are there instantly but the body is not there yet. You can travel at the speed of thought but the body is shackled to time/space reality, it can only travel at the speed of one step at a time. When you take your inner vision away from the desired object, when you turn your eyes to look at the reality around the body and you notice this desired object is not with your body yet, your joy evaporates. When you notice physical reality, you have taken your sight off the desired object and since that is where the essential YOU is, you have no access to that feeling of joy. It is like you have been looking for the TV remote and see it on a table across the room. You head toward it, but if you stop half way there and look around, you realise you do not have it yet because your body has not taken enough steps to get you there physically. At this point, you can either put your focus back on the remote and keep moving until you reach it or you can sit down and cry that you will never have it, so give up on your quest after all. Your desired object is there. Keep your eyes on that. Keep your attention focused on that and your joy will be your indication you are moving toward it - and move toward it you must. 82 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES BOOKS 365 Ways To Raise Your Frequency Melissa Alvarez Ask and it is Given - Learning to Manifest Your Desires Jerry & Ester Hicks Blissology: The Art and Science of Happiness Andy Baggott Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom Rick Hanson PH.D Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence Rick Hanson PH.D The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent Jerry & Ester Hicks 83 The Art of Bliss Tess Whitehurst Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill The Science of Getting Rich Wallace D. Wattles Creative Visualisation: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life Shakti Gawain E-Squared: Nine Do It Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality Pam Grout As A Man Thinketh James Allen Choose Them Wisely: Thoughts Become Things Mike Dooley 84 Becoming An Alchemist Lauren G Reliford YOU TUBE Anything by Abraham-hicks Anything by Rick Hanson, especially 'Take in the Good' Bashar - looks at the Law of Attraction and other principles from a different perspective. Law of Attraction videos by Michelle Abrahmz Tapping – Brad Yates has a series of tapping videos on specific issues. Also, look up fasterEFT or Robert Smith, who invented fasterEFT, a new form of tapping with great success. You can also find many meditation clips and mini affirmation clips made to assist you in focusing on a specific topic for a set period of time. Always go with what feels easy and joyful. 85 WEBSITES www.buddasbrain.com http://www.abraham-hicks.com/ www.michelleabrahmz.com http://ascensionto5d.com/law-of-attraction/ 86 NOTES 87 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michelle Abrahmz is an energetic therapist living in Queensland, Australia. She has been involved with and fascinated by, subtle energies since early childhood. At age 16, Michelle was introduced to meditation through an 8 week programme run by her high school, which lead to a life time love of this gentle art. Over the years, Michelle has explored crystals, tarot reading, metaphysics and quantum physics out of curiosity. She studied dream interpretation, which led to her writing a 3 part article on the subject, that was published in the Magicka School magazine. She has also appeared in the More Sh*t Abrahamsters Say video on YouTube. Today, Michelle works as a distant reiki practitioner. She also writes a blog on her website, michelleabrahmz.com and produces videos on her twin passions – the Law of Attraction and inspiring people to achieve their dreams. Michelle has been described as a clarity bringer and describes herself as an empath, lightworker, inspirer and uplifter. Michelle Abrahmz 88 You can have what you want is the mantra of the Law of Attraction movement. Is it true? If you can have what you want, then why are so many people all over the world finding it's not as easy as they've been led to believe? Is there a missing piece to the puzzle that hasn't been explained yet? In 'It's not about the want', Michelle Abrahmz explains how the Law of Attraction actually works and why focusing on it is the wrong way to go about getting what you want. She shows us that we can indeed have what we want, but only after we've changed our focus from the Law of Attraction and put it on the real way to get what we want – the delivery service the Law of Attraction uses. Understand this, and you unlock the puzzle of working with the Law of Attraction. 'It's not about the want' has been written in an easy to read and enjoyable style, that makes you feel like you are part of a conversation with the author. This book will give you a new perspective on deliberately manifesting your desires and makes it fun too. This is Michelle Abrahmz's first book.