margonaut.com

Yesterday I posted a poem about staying “happy”

This morning I woke up grumpy and the feeling that I “should” be happy but wasn’t, was making me even unhappier. This is silly.

While it’s true that managing our moods is an important responsibility, we will not always be “happy” even if we are sincerely in the process of always adapting ourselves … making ourselves happier in terms of work, routines, habits, home life, social scenes, etc. on an ongoing and intentional basis.

Your life is how you spend your time!

Henceforth, I’ll go for “content” instead.

Last night I asked for dream guidance about why I’ve been having weird pain in my body for several years now. I’m a professional level researcher and have been examining this from many different angles for quite some time now. I had come to the conclusion that the root cause was mainly emotional/stress related though certain foods make it better or worse and that there is some level of physical damage that is in the process of healing.

Though I am obviously getting better and better every day (yay!) I find that the dream world often reflects direct lessons which can be helpful.

The dream I had involved a small deformed little girl who was pinching me HARD at my main source of pain and whining, “I don’t know if I’m making enough monnnnnnnney!!!!!”

Today giving the whiny girl a cuddle seems to be a useful visualization when the pain arises :)

Perhaps the increased awareness of this issue is a function of visiting Baltimore/DC suburbs in the USA this week, where everyone seems to be talking about “the economy” and more people are focused on the news’ version of reality. While it’s true many industries and systems are falling, there are always new opportunities (death=rebirth) and I *know* things turn out far better than most can imagine. Adaptability is key.

Though I’ve had my ups and downs financially, I believe it’s all been a perfect series of experiences full of diverse and blessed lessons for my spiritual growth (which is more important to me than my “career” though I know I’m being guided into beautiful new work directions) and I’ve noticed that every day, everything I need has been there. In the grand scope of life experiences on Earth today, I am truly rich.

Here’s a more useful belief system: All is love, everything is provided.

a related passage:

Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else.

The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit – even with those who help in the production. The also have a a very hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.

The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flow out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity. — Steven Covey

Here’s a wonderful passage from step 99 of the Intenders Bridge newsletter which helped me a lot today. I’ve been feeling frustrated with the general messyness of my life even though there is incredible potential amidst all of it if I can just keep going (and keep smiling!)

The times we live in could be likened to the baking of a cake. First, you break the eggs – that’s a violent act right there. Then, you take a bunch of different ingredients and you dump them all together in a bowl, and you whip the heck out of it. And while you’re whipping, when you look at the gooey mess that’s in front of you, it’s hard to imagine that anything good could ever come out of it. But after you pour it in a pan and add the heat and time in the oven, out comes a beautiful, delicious cake for you to enjoy.

It’s the same with what we’re going through in these times of great change. Almost everywhere you look, people are stressed. Our lives are filled with fear, suffering, scarcity, and deception, and, from the looks of it, you would hardly imagine that anything good could ever come out of the mess we’re in. But it can. Indeed, a wondrous new paradise on Earth is in the making, and it is up to us to bring it into manifestation.

A few years ago I wrote a piece on goal setting for a life coach and was encouraged to come up with 100 goals for my own life. I found this difficult to do and counterintuitive and like the advice below much better…

from
http://www.constructivescience.com/2008/10/how-many-lives-do-you-have.html

My advice is to forget about all this “main areas of life”, “many areas of life”, and “wheel of life” nonsense that’s been being continuously perpetuated and routinely regurgitated over and over and over again for years, many, many, many years, in self-help books, self-help audio programs, and self-help seminars by most of the so-called self-help “gurus” and, instead create *one* (the same number of “lives” you have) crystal clear, definite, overall, unified “vision” of what you want in your life.

Then…

And only then…

Will you begin making some *real* progress!

My overarching vision? Abundant organic food, clean water, love, friends, family, money, and music in a forested setting! It seems to be underway (coming faster & easier as I release resistance and let go of the “how” of how it happens!)

Here’s a selection from Andrea Conway’s Successful Self Employment newsletter that was helpful to me today.

She’s the person who first introduced me to “The Law of Attraction” and I recommend her career coaching services.

Impatience comes naturally to most business owners. We like taking action, being in charge, and feeling super productive.

Those are terrific traits that bring big visions into reality. But when you add impatience to the mix, it’s like cruising down the highway with your foot on the brakes.

Impatience says to the universe: I’m doing everything to make this happen, but it hasn’t happened yet. It hasn’t happened yet… it hasn’t happened yet… oh, damn — why isn’t it happening?

You can be right on the verge of a beautiful manifestation, but your attention to “it hasn’t happened yet” slows it down.

Impatience removes the possibility of a peaceful heart. Impatience stubbornly ignores all the work spirit does on your behalf. You start thinking that you and your mental willpower are the cause of your success. You work harder and harder, becoming more and more impatient, and the more you struggle, the fewer results you manifest.

Consider this. If you had faith in spirit, there would be no need for impatience. Yes, I know you have bills to pay and all kinds of pressures in your life. If I know it, you can be certain spirit — connected to you through your soul — knows it and knows exactly what to do about it.

If you have faith that it’s working for you, spirit delivers results quickly and in amazing ways.

I’m not saying the answer to impatience is to cease all work and stop desiring results. You must take action to manifest!

What I’m saying is that as you work, remember spirit is your partner. As you work, know that you are doing your best and that spirit never fails to do its best for you.

As you work, ask your soul to take care of the results. Know that your asking is answered. Work with a peaceful heart.

Till next time, here’s to your successful self employment!

Big thanks to the friend who sent me this link, I may order a set of bracelets as though I TOTALLY agree with what this site is saying, I seem to keep forgetting in various moments during this darkest time of the year…

A Complaint Free World
www.acomplaintfreeworld.org
Your thoughts create your world and your words indicate your thoughts. When you eliminate complaining from your life you will enjoy happier relationships, better health and greater prosperity. This simple program helps you set a trap for your own negativity and redirect your mind towards a more positive and rewarding life.

A gem from today’s Worldpuja.org newsletter:

For twenty-five years I have had a framed, playful picture in my office with words written by Sally Huss. It has long reminded me of the role I play in this Universal movie. It has often reminded me not to take my role too seriously and then again to take each aspect of my “character” and play her as brilliantly as possible. Sometimes I remember. Sometimes I forget. I sense now is the time to remember and so I share this and the following with you:

“My life is like a movie in which I get to play myself and I get to experience it one frame at a time. It is a foregone conclusion that the film has a happy ending; it’s in the script. I love this film. I love my part, and if I play my part just right, there’s a good chance I will get an Academy Award.”

So here we stand together, NOW facing the most important roles of our lives, the role of ascended human. There are many facets of this role, though not nearly as complex as the mere mortal experience to be sure.

How will we fare, brilliantly or otherwise? I choose brilliantly and I choose love and I choose clarity, not confusion and not fear. And….I choose to use every spiritual tool I have ever gathered to keep me on an unobstructed path!

How about you? Are you ready to stand tall and strong and excited and create like you’ve never created before? Are you ready to Un-create the conditions that have caused prolonged angst and depressions in your energy fields? Are you ready to let the world external do what it needs to do without getting caught up in the drama (and there will be drama)?

Are you willing to let the curtain fall on the final act in a very long movie, toss off your old costumes, stand naked for a moment or so and consciously decide what garb you will wear as you take your new role, your authentic role in the New World? Do you know what parts of your “make-up” serve you and which do not? Have you chosen your side of the stage yet where you will play the rest of this movie out on? FYI: Stage left, fear. Stage RIGHT, love.

- to express Divinity in JOY through all that I do
I REMEMBER WHO I AM

- time & inspiration to develop my skills as a flautist, drummer, singer and electronic music producer
I NEED MUSIC, MUSIC NEEDS ME

- time & inspiration to develop my online, writing, video, and other creative projects
I MAKE THE TIME AND INSPIRATION FLOWS

- loving friends (chosen family)
I CELEBRATE THAT I HAVE THIS ALREADY AND THEY INCREASE IN NUMBER AS I BECOME MORE AND MORE HOLISTICALLY IN LOVE WITH LIFE

- a loving partner who enriches my life & me his (the right person at the right time)
I CELEBRATE THAT THIS IS ON ITS WAY IN PERFECT TIMING

- work that pays me well that I can do with calm ease & grace with a lot of scheduling flexibility (or a better way of manifesting money!)
I CELEBRATE THAT THERE IS ALWAYS ENOUGH NOW

Here’s a quote from a printed out E-book a friend gave me over a year ago callled “But God” about getting in touch with the greater one-ness of Spirit. The book seems to not be online anymore…

The most dynamic manifestation of individuality in the Life Continuum is Free Will. There are no rules or limits to govern free will. Indeed, free will is completely free in every way. There is only cause and effect to define free will. However, the greater will rules the moment.

To me it means that while we are able to make choices about what realms we explore and what we “manifest” in the world, we are definitely not in full control of what will happen…

The current homepage on my browser is a little inspirational animation video about optimism featuring text from 1912 which I have duplicated below.

I am finding it useful to review each morning after I turn on my computer.

The Optimist’s Creed
http://thesecret.tv/optimists-creed
I promise myself:

To live in faith that the whole word is on my side , so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

This quote affected me today.

Again and again I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Don’t aim at success — the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run — in the long-run, I say! — success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.

~ Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search For Meaning

Oprah is featuring The Secret next Thursday!

I am so inspired by this movie, especially the way it was created as a family media business (and has become a very successful one!) It’s so smart!

The Secret: Company Bio
http://www.thesecret.tv/behind-the-secret-company.html
PRIME TIME PRODUCTIONS – is an independent television production company originally based in Melbourne, Australia. Company principal Rhonda Byrne started the company in 1994, having been a senior producer for Australia’s Nine Network with 20 years experience in commercial television production.
…
Under the direction and guidance of Rhonda Byrne, Prime Time Production’s focus is to continue to create film and television projects which will reach out through all forms of technology to touch, inspire, uplift and bring joy to millions around the world.

There seems to be a proliferation of “manifestation” gurus out there these days, especially since the movie The Secret has become popular.

I know I am approaching a more “successful” phase however I will reserve speaking about my views on this subject until after the material results become more obvious :)

Prosperity Place: Are you waiting for a miracle?
http://prosperityplace.com/nl/tips81.html
Let’s say that somehow a pile of money suddenly shows up and you can pay off all of your debts and still have money left over. What would you do with it? How would your money behavior be different from what it has been?

Planning for financial security means you need an action plan that will allow you to save a percentage of your income, to build up a reserve, and to take care of yourself financially.
Avoiding these things will not make the necessity of doing them go away.

Though 3D reality may be “all an illusion” this doesn’t mean consensus reality doesn’t matter or that we should just sit around meditating and attempting to be empty all of the time. Though contemplation and solitude are good, so is focused action!

I also like this quote, “forget trying to be spiritual, just be yourself.”

Today I went to Mike Dooley’s “World Tour” Seminar in Vancouver. He writes the daily Notes from the Universe list that I like.

Letting go of wanting something to be clear “by my birthday” was useful. It’s not time yet and patience is the answer right now. This lessened some tension and was useful for me.

He that can have patience can have what he will.
– Benjamin Franklin

Here’s a document I co-wrote with a life coach client for a workbook she’s creating for her clients about goal setting.

I now believe that though we can’t control everything that happens to us (and we shouldn’t be too attached to getting exact specific results) making choices about what to focus on is extremely powerful and fruitful.

Exercise Six: Goals
http://www.informationdistillery.com/goals.pdf
How would you create your life if you knew you could have anything? Think about your ideal home, work, travel, money, and romantic situation. Where do you want to go? Who do you want to see? How do you want to spend your time? What legacy do you want to leave behind for future generations?

This quote from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (a book that’s on my wishlist hint hint) really stuck with me when I encountered it yesterday.

I can definitely tell you from experience that it’s true.

When you are complaining you become a living, breathing crap magnet.

I am now hereby on a quest to stop complaining as my life is actually quite charmed and awesome (and becomes more so as I focus on that fact.)

Give it a try, it’s profound shit.

Here’s a gem from a favourite inspirational email list…

—– Original message —–
From: “The Universe” Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 03:25:18 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: TUT… A Note from the Universe

Did you know, Margo, that whenever someone says, “I think I’m on to something HUGE, I’m so excited, I love my life, I have total clarity…” it’s like hitting an “On” button that throws countless supernatural, invisible mechanisms into action that gradually begin physically rearranging the props and events of their life so that
they’ll soon yield something HUGE, generate excitement, inspire love and
provide clarity?

And that whenever someone says “I don’t know what to do, it’s all so hard, I hate my life, I don’t ever want to come back… ” it’s like hitting an “Off” button…

Of course you did.
The Universe

I’ve been involved with a project that is highly “anti” something and while I agree that what’s being complained about is criminal, I have decided to put FAR less focus on negative activism and FAR more focus on activism that seeks to provide hope & positive solutions, especially activism that involves art, theatre, music, and humour.

Buckminster Fuller quotes:

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

Don’t oppose forces, use them.

This film illustrates the fact that whatever we focus on in our lives grows. If we are constantly thinking about what we don’t want, it will simply send more energy to that and make it more likely to continue. This may sound crazy, but I guarantee it’s worth a try. This is sometimes called The Law of Attraction and it works.

I consider it a good reminder.

The Secret
http://www.thesecret.tv
In this astonishing program are ALL the resources you will ever need to understand and live The Secret. For the first time in history, the world’s leading scientists, authors, and philosophers will reveal The Secret that utterly transformed the lives of every person who ever knew it… Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein.

Now YOU will know The Secret. And it could change your life forever.

The book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People may sound cheesy (that’s what I thought before I read it anyway) but it’s a very wise book.

Sometimes there’s a good reason a title stays in print for years & years….

The imagination can be used to achieve the fleeting success that comes when a person is focused on material gain or “what’s in it for me.” But I believe the higher use of imagination is in harmony with the conscience to transcend self and create a life of contribution based on unique purpose and on the principles that govern interdependent reality.

Here’s an article I found the other day that explains a smart approach to solving problems that I’d like to see more of in this world.

This is a more sensible idea than the “our efforts aren’t working so let’s throw more money & time into doing the same thing we’ve always done” method.

Positive Deviant
http://fastcompany.com/magazine/41/sternin.html
Faced with a difficult task and an impossible time frame, Sternin reached for an unconventional solution: amplifying positive deviance. “We call conventional wisdom about malnutrition ‘true but useless,’ or ‘TBU,’ ” says Sternin, sitting high above White Pond, not far from Walden Pond, near Boston. Sternin is on one of his brief stays at his home in the United States before he returns to his work with Save the Children in Myanmar. “It’s all about poor sanitation, ignorance, food-distribution patterns, poverty, and a lack of access to good water. Millions of kids can’t wait for those issues to be addressed. While you are there, things improve, but as soon as you leave, things revert back to the baseline. Nothing has changed. The solutions are yours. The resources are yours. When you leave, everything else leaves with you.”

When Sternin and his wife first arrived in Vietnam, nearly half of the country’s children were malnourished. The TBU model simply wouldn’t work — not in the six months that they had to make a difference. Half in desperation, half in inspiration, Sternin turned to the theory of amplifying positive deviance: In every community, organization, or social group, there are individuals whose exceptional behaviors or practices enable them to get better results than their neighbors with the exact same resources. Without realizing it, these “positive deviants” have discovered the path to success for the entire group — that is, if their secrets can be analyzed, isolated, and then shared with the rest of the group.

A friend recently suggested I read the book Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting. I found it difficult to get into at first but am glad I gave it a 2nd chance because there are some real gems of insight within!

Here’s a quote I like:

But the greatest obstacle to living our potential comes from toddler days when we were trained to look for what’s wrong — with everything! With our jobs, our cars, our relationships, our clothes, our shapes, our health, our freeways, our planet, our faith, our entertainment, our children, our government , even our friends. Yet most of the world can’t even agree about what right or wrong is, so we war, and strike, and make laws, and go to psychiatrists.

How do we do it? Don’t laugh; it all comes from… how we’re vibrating!

The concepts in this article are not new or “original” on the part of this author, but the simple way in which they are expressed here makes this a powerful piece.

The One and Only Cause of Failure in Any Area of Your Life… and the One and Only Solution
http://www.mindpowernews.com/OneAndOnly.htm
Every day, and for no reason at all, unconsciously, we destroy our own efforts and then fail or suffer unnecessarily. When it comes to success, we are our own worst enemy and we don’t even know it. We take one step forward and two steps back, or more. Today we can all stop this unnecessary step backwards.

Do you know how much more your life, business, relationships and health would improve if you changed one little thing? Let us see how.

I’ve been experimenting with being more conscious about what I say and how I say it.

Though it takes time to change verbal habits (both in thought processes and conversation) it’s worth the effort.

Your Future Is In Your Mind and Mouth
http://www.mindpowernews.com/FutureInYourMind.htm
For example, some people say “I can’t lose weight. Nothing I do works, there is no use trying to lose weight, it just doesn’t work for me. Every time I don’t eat I get a headache and every time I exercise I get sore, this is just not going to work for me.”
Now you can substitute any topic you want in there — having money, finding a mate, getting a better job, whatever.

Now, some will say that they don’t want it to be that way and that may be true mentally or intellectually but if your heart and mind are still dwelling on that belief you have no other option than to receive it.

Here’s a piece of wisdom that really resonates with me today!

from
http://www.ryze.com/go/TheResourceGuy

“Mental Garden”

As with any form of plant life- A seed must be sown in order to blossom, bud, or reap any type of harvest. If you adopt this train of thought into your daily thinking you will soon have a flourishing mental garden in which you can reap the benefits.

IF you sow an inspiring article such as this one into your mental garden- you will reap Thoughts.

IF you sow Thoughts into your mental garden- you will reap Ideas.

IF you sow Ideas into your mental garden- you will reap Actions.

IF you sow Actions into your mental garden- you will reap Habits.

IF you sow Habits into your mental garden- you will reap a Character.

IF you sow a Character into your mental garden- you will reap a Lifestyle.

IF you sow a Lifestyle into your mental garden- you will reap a Legacy.

IF you sow a Legacy into your mental garden- you will reap a Culture.

IF you sow a Culture into your mental garden- you will reap an Era.

“TRg”

Resisiting negativity (or “evil”) actually fuels it. This is why when we’re depressed, life can seem to move in a downward spiral. Fortunately, developing a positive attitude can actually create amazing upward spirals in your life story.

Here’s an excerpt about how negativity propagates itself from a free e-book (which I am still in the process of fully digesting but really loving!) If you are interested in Reality and how it actually works, it’s worth reading!

No Time for Karma
http://www.notimeforkarma.com
I have several friends who are anti-nuke. One of them is so good at his anti-nuke campaign that he has collected posters of children with radiation burns and their skin falling off. The pictures are so graphic that no one could look at them without fulfilling every requirement for manifestation. What he helps to create is another child with radiation sickness. If someone is anti-murder because they believe that to be the most horrible of crimes, they are holding a mental image in mind backed by their emotional outrage. You can see what that creates – - one more murder on the planet because that is the law of the creation. Simply stated, whatever we are anti, we create. Just as the law of gravity is unbiased, so is the law of creation.

Here’s a passage I liked from the book The Invisible Path to Success. There are many books out there about the particulars of how we create our own realities, but this is one of the best I’ve read.

He talks about life like the creation of a movie (a metaphor that works really well in this context!)

To be successful during the Transition means becoming consciously aware of who you really are and what you really want, then consciously bringing all of your life — your career, relationships, lifestyle, everything — into alignment with the real you and your real purpose.

That process will look completely different for you than it will for me and everyone else, but that is what success means during this special time in history. It’s a very important part of your movie and the reason behind why you chose to film it now.

I’ve been enjoying the emails I get from Christopher Westra since I ordered his I Create Reality e-book. While I wish he would emphasize the importance of being careful what we wish for more (& the ethics of it all) he has some compelling insights on how reality works. Here’s a sample from the latest email:

Essence vs Absence – ICR 57

If you focus on an essence, it will grow. If you focus on an absence (a lack of something), that lack or absence will also grow in your life.

In these troubled times, it can cause a lot of stress and difficulty to be struggling against what’s going on out there in actual reality. We all deny the root causes of why things are the way they are in our lives to some degree, but an honest re-assessment of our real situation can often help lead us in the right direction.

The real art is learning how to truly relax with the knowledge that everything is temporary and fluid. In this relaxed state, we become more in touch with our intuitive guidance. The more we learn to hear & trust our intuition, the more we experience the magical effects of real, visceral Faith (no religious affiliation required!)