Posts Tagged ‘change’

The desire to help others is a natural feeling because humans know that their well-being is dependent upon the health and strength of their “tribe.”  You can provide help by maintaining a hopeful, positive attitude towards yourself, your community, your country, and the planet.

Bottom line: love is the healer.

You and I are not separate beings, we are part of a whole. As part of that whole, our consciousness helps to define the nature of the whole. Although there are over 5 billion of us now (plus all other living things on the planet), and every single living being contributes to the makeup of the consciousness of the whole, each little bit is important.

Because of our interconnectedness, you can do service to the entire world by replacing fear with hope and faith, resentment with gratitude, self-pity with compassion, and judgement with acceptance. If enough people do this, the consciousness of the planet will reach a tipping point and move towards a harmonious state of being.

If we can see the goodness in others — and ourselves — and acknowledge and encourage that goodness to grow, we can all flourish. What a wonderful way to help others!

Here are some suggestions for adding to the love quotient on the planet.

• Everyday, take a few moments, perhaps before you get into bed, to think about five things for which you are grateful.
• If you are holding a grudge or resentment towards someone, imagine the person surrounded by a gentle, pink light, and repeat silently or aloud, “I forgive you.”
• At least 10 times a day, tell yourself that you are doing a good job and deserve all the joy that life has to offer.
• Whenever you are with someone, say something complimentary. It can be something as simple as, “You’re looking well today.”
• If you hear yourself judging yourself or others, stop yourself and say, “I am grateful for the gift of every moment.”
• If something is bothering you, rather than holding it all inside, find someone who you trust with whom you can share your concerns. Do this with the intention of finding a solution rather than just bemoaning your situation.
• Look in the mirror, look into your eyes and say, “(Your Name), I unconditionally love and accept you, just the way you are.”

Do you have some suggestions you’d like to add to this? Use the comment box for below.

Another way you can do service is by learning to move beyond fear. I’ll be talking about this at the upcoming seminar, Living Fear Free in the New Economy on August 24th. I hope you’ll join me. Learn more at www.LiveFearFreeNow.com

This teleclass will

• Help you make fear a creative rather than destructive force
• Discover marketable talents you have that you never realized can support you.
• Teach you techniques for activating your inner resources
• Lead you through your fear into a more peaceful place

For more information about this almost-free teleclass, visit www.LiveFearFreeNow.com

Recently someone asked me why I didn’t include fear in my book Build Your Money Muscles as one of the basic emotions that people act out through their money. I explained that fear is the cover-up emotion, the emotion that people default to when they are unsure of themselves and their future.

Fear is often used as an excuse for not moving forward. Yet those who are willing to work through their fear and risk what might seem like failure are the people who are most successful.

Fear in the Current Economy

There’s no doubt about the fact that we are living in uncertain times. The recession, unemployment, foreclosures,
lack of available credit, and debt problems in Europe all add to an environment of uncertainty.

Even though large companies are earning healthy profits, the uncertainty is keeping them from adding jobs or making big investments. Instead of hiring people, companies are buying machines that allow them to replace people.

The news is filled with fear-producing stories of people experiencing financial difficulties and dire predictions for our economic future. However, if you decide to live without fear, you can.

Is this really possible with so much fear in the air? Absolutely.

The Choice Is Yours

Fear is never a requirement. It is an option. You get to choose whether to live in fear or in peace.

This period in our history provides a great opportunity for you to make the choice between fear or peace. The fact is that fear is never a solution to any problem, but rather a mechanism for avoiding action.

I don’t believe that you can just wish or tap away fear. I think that you have to make specific changes in your habitual thoughts, beliefs, emotional responses, and behaviors in order to develop confidence in your ability to survive and thrive no matter what’s going on in the world.

Yes, economic times have changed, and few people can continue to behave the way they did a few years ago and remain financially healthy. Fortunately,a growing number of people are choosing to save instead of spending freely and are beginning to see the value of developing practical financial habits.

Awakening Your Inner Voice

Now more than ever, getting in touch with the part of you that can see (or sense) the bigger picture is important. That inner voice is part of your human equipment and, if you can hear it, can lead you to your true life’s purpose and a way of life that supports your true needs (not those stimulated for you by endless advertisements).

The problem is that fear muffles the sound of the inner voice, often in many subtle ways.

A few years ago, I invested a lot of time, money, and energy into a project that I thought would be profitable. Although I was encouraged by knowledgeable advisors to move forward with the project, and although I was passionate about the subject matter, I have to admit that I was motivated by my fear of my economic future. I thought the project could offer me a level of security I didn’t already have.

Instead of making a lot of money, I lost a lot. As I was putting the project together, there was a nagging, quiet voice that questioned what I was doing, but the voice was overridden by my desire to secure my future in order to allay my fears.

In other words, I defaulted to fear and lost much more than I could have imagined. If someone had said that I was motivated by fear, I would have denied it. Only now, as I look back, can I see it — and avoid the trap in the future. As I said, fear works in subtle ways.

I’ve lived long enough to know that no matter how much trouble I might get myself in to, I can get myself out, which serves to overcome fear. I feel blessed that I’ve reached a point of inner peace and would like to share some of the techniques I used to get here.

So I’m going to hold a teleclass on August 24th called Live Fear Free in the New Economy.

This teleclass will

• Help you make fear a creative rather than destructive force
• Discover marketable talents you have that you never realized can support you
• Teach you techniques for activating your inner resources
• Lead you through your fear into a more peaceful place

For more information about this almost-free teleclass, visit http://LiveFearFreeNow.com

Recently a woman was recounting her experience of going from having very little to being able to buy a house, something she thought would be impossible. “Before everything turned around,” she said, “my whole life fell apart and I thought I’d never recover.”

What she didn’t understand at the time was the life-falling-apart experience was an essential element on her path to prosperity. People don’t realize that in order to alter their lives significantly, there is often a period where the old crumbles in order to make way for the new.

That’s what’s happening in the world right now. We are going through a major transition that is causing lots of chaos as the old is replaced by a new paradigm.

You can feel and experience the chaos in our politics, finances, education system, and other areas of our lives as the entrenched economic and financial systems are falling apart.

For many, these changes are confusing and frightening as institutions and systems that gave an apparent sense of certainty are falling apart. In many cases they are not being replaced by anything that guarantees certainty. Manufacturing jobs, pensions, health insurance, and even city services such as police protection, can no longer be taken for granted.

As the chaos intensifies, our only choice is to learn how to deal with what’s happening in the moment and to work together to get through difficult times.

Here are five suggestions for dealing with the chaos of change.

1. Get out of the child position.
It’s a time to grow up and stop waiting for those in apparent power to provide you with solutions. Facing reality and taking responsibility for your own outcomes is a way through the darkness.

2. Stay focused in the moment
The future is entirely unknown. Whatever you are afraid of is a fairy tale that you are making up. Why not imagine a positive future and stay focused in the moment. Right now, do you have enough to eat, a place to stay, and people to support you? If any of those are missing, what can you do to improve your situation.

3. Meditate to find the answers inside of yourself
Quite time with yourself allows you to connect to the universal consciousness and your true creative powers. Fear and complaining prevent you from doing this. Even if you only sit quietly for a few minutes each day with your eyes closed, breathing deeply, you will begin to train yourself to quiet down. Mediation instructions are at http://ProsperityPlace.com/articles/gethigh.html

4. Pay attention to your numbers.
During tough financial times people tend to stop taking care of their money because looking at the numbers brings up all sorts of uncomfortable emotions. Yet during tough times, it’s especially important to keep track of everything and make sound financial decisions, even if it seems that there isn’t enough to work with. Basic money management instructions are available in Build Your Money Muscles. http://ProsperityPlace.com/bymm

5. Join with others to find solutions
The days of “me first” are coming to an end as we learn to develop systems that support “we” rather than “me.” Rugged individualism may have worked in the past, but the new paradigm requires cooperation and teamwork. You may need to develop communication skills and join groups in order to learn the new foundation for thriving.

Ongoing, affordable help is available for those who wish to rise above what looks like a bad economic environment and find ways to prosper. Read about the Peace of Mind & Prosperity Program.

Years ago, when I was attending a number of 12-Step programs, I learned the Serenity Prayer and repeated it often. The Serenity Prayer states:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Let’s look at the phrase, “accept the things I cannot change.”

During these tumultuous times acceptance can be an antidote to fear. Acceptance allows you to find solutions to your problems and to experience peace of mind, no matter what is going on the world. Non-acceptance leads to dissatisfaction and many forms of emotional discomfort as well as poor financial decisions.

Like it or not, economic conditions have changed for most people in many countries. You can’t alter the state of economic affairs, but you can accept what’s happening as neither good nor bad. It’s just what’s happening. And by being aware and realistic rather than staying in a state of longing for what was, you can adjust your behaviors and goals to realistically fit current conditions.

Acceptance is not the same as resignation because resignation usually means giving up. I see acceptance as a stimulus for new actions and behaviors, and this can be downright exciting.

No Judgements
Acceptance starts with taking the judgment out of any situation. These times are not good or bad, they are what they are. What’s happening to you is not good or bad, it’s just what’s happening. What matters is how you deal with what’s happening.

It would seem relatively safe to assume that economic conditions are not going to dramatically improve for an extended period of time. That’s not good or bad, it’s just what is. The question is what actions can you take to turn this into a time of opportunity, growth, and financial stability, which may be something you’ve never had before.

This is the perfect time to learn real-world financial skills. Unless you’ve got your head totally in the sand, then you know that frugality and saving for the future are definitely in style. Gross consumerism no longer is.

If you’ve been out of work for an extended period of time or have been earning less than you did before, accepting the situation allows you to examine new income-producing pathways that you may never have considered before. Once you accept that old methods aren’t working, you can look for new ones.

Of course moving in the direction may necessitate altering habitual behaviors and accepting the discomfort of change. Don’t fight it, just roll with it.

I understand this isn’t easy for people who like to be in control or who need certainty in their lives. Learning to accept what is and act within the reality of a constant change takes time, patience, understanding, and self-acceptance.

For the last 10 months, members of the Peace of Mind & Prosperity program have been discussing and developing ways of overcoming fear and accepting what’s going on in their world. The results have been measurable, with the many of the active participants finding financial stability now.

During the 40 years that I’ve been on a spiritual self-improvement path, I’ve developed many techniques for overcoming financial difficulties and developing the real-world skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

I consider it an honor to be able to share what I’ve learned with those on the Peace of Mind & Prosperity and prosperity program who are seriously looking for a new approach to life and finance. I hope you’ll consider joining me. Read more about the program.

If you have questions about the program, feel free to ask them via this the comment box below.

Last week as I was conducting the End Underearning teleclass, I realized how very difficult it is for most people to make the internal shifts and take the external actions necessary for permanently altering their financial position.

I can give people all the advice in the world with the most specific proven techniques, but they have to take that final step away from their past into a prosperous future.

I remember clearly, although it was way back in 1984, when an up-and-coming seminar leader who was rooming with a friend of mine invited me to his workshop. I had no idea that Tony Robbins’s workshop included a firewalk.

After a few hours of motivating the audience in his inimitable way, Tony had us all line up and get ready to walk over the coals, despite our fear of “bloody stumps” and other imagined horrors. I can still recall the dialogue in my head as I gradually moved myself to the end of the line and tried to talk myself out of walking over the coals.

There I was, next to last, when suddenly this voice boomed out from inside my being, “Joan, you can do it!” Read the rest of this entry »

Tap into the energy of a new year and new decade to move yourself rapidly in a positive direction by making small, easily-doable changes — starting today!

If you want to alter your financial position, then you must make changes in the way you think, feel, and behave. To avoid resitance to change, rather than focus on important parts of your life, make small, seemingly-insignificant changes and you can begin to shift your position in life.

The idea is to adapt your system to change while minimizing the disorientation that comes with change. It is this disorientation that stimulates resistance or backsliding.

Here are some suggestions: Read the rest of this entry »

Because of what is going on in the world, last week I did a teleclass with my Peace of Mind & Prosperity group on adapting to change. Our society is going through major shifts and people who are adept at changing are the ones who will thrive and prosper.

But for most people, any kind of change threatens their concept of who they are and their place in the world. Resistance to change is universal because of fear of the unknown and the unintended consequences of change.

If you want to thrive and prosper, adapting to change is a skill you will need to develop. Not changing means you’re going to stay stuck where you are and the positive momentum of the new economy will pass you by.

Here are some suggestions for learning how to make change a positive force in your life. Read the rest of this entry »

Moving to a new financial position, no matter what your starting point, is an ongoing process that happens over an extended period of time. Although people often dream of winning the lottery, inheriting a lot of money, or somehow being transported into a new economic reality, that happens only rarely.Those who do come into money suddenly often deal with a wide range of problems as they adjust to their new position, with some never fully making the adjustment as their new-found fortune dwindles away.

Building healthy financial habits and wealth is best accomplished gradually so you hardly even notice the change. By making small changes in how you think, feel, and behave, you can comfortably ease into a new position.

The key: Do at least one thing every day that you haven’t done before. This can include activities such as:

• Reading a new financial publication or paying more attention to the stories in one you have read before.
• Learning something new about financial markets
• Paying more attention to your own finances by either keeping better records or, if you already keep good records, learning how to use the data strategically
• Improving the energy flow through your life by gradually eliminating clutter, toxic people, junk foods, complaining, and anything else that can negatively affect your energy.
• Replacing negative energy with positive people, food, exercise, and entertainment.
• Noticing your internal dialog and phasing out the critical parent in your head.
• Spending a few minutes each day either meditating or doing nothing

Your financial position can only change if you change it and you can insure your success by doing it one small step at a time.

Need more ideas for actions you can take to alter your finances? You’ll find plenty of helpful suggestions in Build Your Money Muscles. Read more about BYMM now.