Valid vibrational advice.

There’s a huge wave building right now across the internet asking us to say NO to something important.

I’m not a huge fan of saying no to things I don’t want.
I’d prefer to say yes…to what I want, rather than no, to what I don’t want.

Some may pose, what’s the diff??
There’s a huge difference when we consider that everything is energy…or vibration.  And that’s all.  …that’s everything.

Stop SOPA!

Across the internet, big presences such as Google and Wikipedia, among many others are ‘Going Dark today (Jan. 18) to Protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and its sibling the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

This article explains more and offers a list of big players on the net who’ve chosen to ‘go dark’ today.

The Crux

Which brings me to the crux of my JOY of Brilliance vantage point.

While I feel very strongly about FREEDOM…and Freedom of Speech and Expression, I feel less than enthused by any thing that is ‘protest-y’ or ‘against’.  (Which tends to be the angle of most things political, from my perspective.)

It feels upstream, full of effort and resistance to me.

Look at the statement…  “Going Dark to Protest SOPA (Stop…)”

That statement is filled with all sorts of resistance and stuff we don’t want.

And yet, I know that those in favor of stopping SOPA want what I want…they’re just not expressing it from a Law of Attraction vibrationally based vantage point.

They’re expressing it in a way that will give power to exactly what they’re ‘against’.

Can you see it?

In order for me to participate in this wave at all…  My focus has to be in a brighter direction.  If it’s not, I’m giving my power away and actually encouraging that which I don’t want.

Because I do feel this is an important wave of potential change, I am choosing this vantage point for my participation and I invite you to as well:

Shining LIGHT to Encourage and Allow Continued JOYous FREEdom of Speech and Expression.

• Instead of “Stop!”, “Allow.”
• Instead of “Dark”, “Light”.
• Instead of “Protest”, “Encourage/Support”.

Can you imagine how much relief there would be if we would all focus our attention in a more vibrationally positive, supportive direction?

Can you imagine what we could create?

• We are limitless loving beings.
• We are potentiality in human bodies.
• We are Pure Light radiating in all directions.
• We are Infinite Power beyond measure.
• We have a choice in how we catalyze that power and harness it for good.
• We are positive change agents.
• We are FREE thinkers.
• We are FREE BE-ers.
• We choose the direction of our thoughts.
• We choose our reality.
• We create our reality.
• WE are.

…and WE make a difference.

What will you choose your difference to be? 
Where will you focus to make a difference?

Today, say YES! to Freedom of Speech.

Say YES! to allowing the internet to be the inspiring, content rich resource that is has always been…

• A place for us to explore.  A place for us to travel to uncharted territory.  A place for us to erase boundaries and borders.
• A place for us to get to know each other, our brothers and sisters in one united global family.  A place for us to share our hearts, minds and spirits.
• A place for us to birth new thought.
• A place for us to be with each other, out on the leading edge.
• A place for us to feel connected.  A place for us to feel supported.
• A place that brings us joy.  A place where we can relate.  A place that brings us hope.
• A place that now feels like home.  A place we’ve grown accustomed to.
• A place we appreciate.  A place we respect and cherish.
• A place that represents freedom in a global sense.

We are the internet.  We are the WEB of this thing called life!

Say YES! to Freedom of Speech.  Allow FREE Expression.

 Raise Your Vibrationally Aligned Voice!

Today, with this higher vibe vantage point…  Let your congress people know that the power of the people is in our hands and we support FREEDOM on the internet.  (And until our wave of vibrationally aligned positive flow of change catches on, today…say no to SOPA…knowing that you’re saying YES! to Liberty, YES! to Freedom.)

Abraham’s talked a lot lately about staying general, until the vibe is so high that you’re amply prepared to get specific.

In this case, it feels good to stay general…  (I know there are specifics within this topic…and I know they’ll take most of us upstream.  Choosing general feels better, to me.)

It Feels Good!

It feels good to Support Freedom.

All the rest feels encumbered and upstream.  (That’s not my path.)

Some may call it PollyAnna.  I’m cool with that.  I like my rose colored glasses.  Always have.  Always will.

Seems to be working for me.

Better and better.  All the time.

What I’m Seeing ~

Seeing FREEDOM as our pathway.

Seeing humanity awake to our brightest potential.

Seeing being deliberately, inspiringly, vibrationally aligned as the grooviest way to BE.

Seeing LIGHT illuminating all.

What are you seeing?  Share with me in the comments!  SEE you there…

Photo Credit ~ From Google & Mashable, a photo (I embellished), likely to be censored if SOPA is passed.  This is as radical as I get!

To save you all from a little TMI (too much information), I’ll skip the details and just say I was ‘taking care of my morning business’.  ;)

…as I was sitting…finding a still point, after just running through my long list of to-do’s and wondering how possible it was that they’d all turn into ta-da’s today, an amazingly fun and ticklish thing happened.  (in my mind, silly!  …TMI, remember?)

Does This Ever Happen to You?

All of a sudden, in a more than random way, I realized some song lyrics were floating through my mind…

“Oh what a wonderful feeling…  Oh what a wonderful day.  I’ve got a wonderful feeeeeeeeeling…every thing’s going my way!!!”

Hah!  How cool is that?!?  In the midst of gearing up for a full on day…in the stillness of some quiet business I was tending to…right there, the Universe and my Joy of Brilliance Self conspired to inspire me.  And I was listening!

I have not thought of that song in eons!  I can’t remember the last time I heard it, sang it…or thought about it.  No logical explanation for its sudden arrival, and yet, there it was.  The perfect vortexy bit of lyrics to take me ‘zip a dee doo dah’ skipping through my day.

I mean, come on!   It’s our FEELINGS that lead the way to where ever it is we’re going.  Metaphorically and literally.  …and manifesting-ly!  (Love making up new words, take the opportunity every chance I get.)

We’ve talked about this lots before.

• Our feelings are our indicators.
• Our feelings are our barometers.
• Our feelings point the way, they are our best informers, they tell us what we’re vibrating energetically, and where any potential kinks of resistance lie.

According to Abraham (and I concur!), this whole deliberate creation thing gets super easy when we break it down to the fundamental foundation of FEELINGS.

Follow the Feel Good and you’re on your way to all that your heart desires…and more!…’cause the Universe has a way better imagination than we do.

Where is that Wonderful Feeling?!?

Just find the WONDER FULL FEELING…and know that everything’s going your way.  The rest is covered.  In delightful GOODness!!!  (Just like a pretzel covered in white chocolate and sprinkles!)

Believe me?  …give it a try…

• Especially in this season when everything seems to amp up a notch, or a million.  
• Especially now, when we seem to chase time…or try to buy it like it’s a commodity.
• Especially now, when you need it most.

Find the wonder-full-ness and bask in that.  Feel into the nature of “Oh, what a wonderful feeling…oh what a wonder-full day.  I’ve got a wonderful feeeeeeling…everything’s going my way.”  …and you know what?  It WILL !!!

enJOY your holidays, My Beloveds!

Your faithful JOYfully Feel Good Friend, DebSoul

PS~

Just in case you need further inspiration (Just love a good rabbit hole, don’t you?!)…I was curious about the origin of this sweet, feel good song…brings back such great memories…  Here’s some history on Zip a Dee Doo Dah.

Time for a Sing Along!

And why not sing along!?!  Here’s the original…Stay ’til the end!  How can it get better than this?!?  Zip a Dee Doo Dah, Zip a Dee Ay!

Psst!!  There’s a bluebird on my shoulder saying… Meet me in the comments and tell me what you’re feeling as soon as you’re done watching the video!!!  See you there!  XO

‘Go ahead, Jump!’ Photo Credit

Please join me in sending all love and appreciation to Esther, Jerry, Abraham and the entire Abraham-Hicks family during this time of transition and always.

Jerry and Esther Hicks

Jerry has been a most JOYous spark of enthusiastic passion and curiosity, always asking the ‘right’ questions…always posing the ‘best’ stories and the most unique vantage points to Abraham.  He has been and will surely continue to be a brilliant source of inspiration and love to all who witness his vibrant energy.

Jerry is one of the amazing ones.  We are forever grateful for his presence in our experience!

The following is an email sent by Esther, shared by Jeannette…

Dear, dear Friends,

Our sweet Jerry made his transition into Nonphysical last Friday. How sweet the Vortex is feeling to him today!

Jerry said to me when we came together over 30 years ago that given the difference in our ages that it was likely “that I will cut out on you early,” to which I replied, “I don’t mind.” His joy of life and continual new discovery of purpose kept his life feeling fresh and we shared such joyous eagerness for life.

Over the years, Abraham has consistently insisted that there is no death. Again and again they have reminded us that there is only life and more life and more life. It has taken me some time to understand this, and I honestly must say I have not yet fully come to terms with it, but I do believe that in what we are calling Jerry’s death he is discovering the next logical step of life that Abraham has always been talking about. And at times I am catching a glimpse of the bigness of what Jerry is feeling and while I am still pretty mad at him for not sticking around longer to surprise and delight me in all the ways he has been doing throughout our 30 years together I accept fully that the next logical step of joyous life for Jerry was to be found in his re-emergence into Nonphysical.

Since 1985 it has been Jerry and Esther and Abraham and I believe with everything that I am that that has not changed. I know that Jerry will continue to be the third powerful point of the triad of Energy that makes up the Abraham experience and I am certain that his new vantage point will be, as it has always been, of advantage to us all.

I know for sure that Jerry will help me, in time, release my own personal resistance to physical death, because I will not be able to maintain that resistance and also play easily with him. And my desire to continue not only my Abraham experience but also my Jerry experience I am certain he will be the catalyst to help me do what Abraham has been trying to help us all do all along.

Once again, Jerry is out there leading the way for me. But the difference this time is that I must find the way. I am not there yet, but it is my absolute promise to myself that I will find the way, because it is the most natural thing in the world to do and because Jerry has provided for me the reason to do it.

I am eager about what is ahead and while I cannot begin to explain or even imagine the details of how it is all going to play out, I am certain that it will be fun.

I am such a fortunate girl, to have been able to play with Jerry and Abraham and all of you for so many wonderful years and I am so eager to continue doing more of the same for many more years to come. I feel certain right now that not only has nothing gone wrong, but things are going especially right. It will be different, for sure, but it will also be very, very good.

I’m feeling such love for you all, and for Abraham and most of all for Jerry. And as I have said to him a thousand or more times through the years, “Well isn’t life just a kick in the pants?”

Love,
Esther

Rememberance…

Last week Tuesday morning, as I was making our bed, Jerry popped into my awareness. I realized I was thinking about him and his physicalness…my mind wondered if Jerry’s body was well again, and if he would be continuing on…and then, I had a clear feeling that Jerry would soon be re-emerging into the non-physical.

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear/feel…and I thought it was a strange impression. I rested into the feeling again and I heard, all is well…no worries…all is well.

I imagined both Jerry and Esther happy and vibrant in their soul-full-ness… And I went about my day.

Today, upon hearing this news, I was reminded of last weeks impression. And now, in this moment, I am again imagining both Jerry and Esther happy and vibrant in their soul-full-ness. No separation. No physical/non-physical…just pure consciousness…pure BEingness…pure JOY…pure ONEness.

Love and Appreciation…

What an amazing feeling to know that Jerry now shines FULL ON, free of any small bits of resistance he may have tangled with while here. It feels so amazing to tune into the broader perspective now…feeling his brilliance in the mix, even more potent than before…a most-fullness.

At the same time…from the physical, from this humaness that I am…I feel a void, a space…a sweet spot that Jerry’s physicalness once solidly filled. No, I never met him. But, I felt him. And that space feels different now. A sort of vaporization, from form to formless. …challenging to put into words, but strong, palpable.

Deep, sweet nurturing blessings to Esther. Walk in the LIGHT of pure knowing, sweet sister. We are blessed by your presence and your willingness to bring Abraham into the hearts and homes of all of us. We are eternally grateful for the triad that is, and continues to be, Esther, Jerry and Abraham. I too am eager and excited to witness what next unfolds on your continued co-creative journey of expression. I agree, it’s going to be GOOD!

I love you, Esther, Jerry and Abraham. I love life. I celebrate the cycles. I appreciate all that you have re-awakened and enkindled in me. My soul dances & my heart sings in your LIGHT. Blessed Be!

There is GREAT LOVE for you here… every single here…in every forward looking, JOY abounding direction I turn… GREAT LOVE!!!

Vortex Photo Credit

She zeroed in on my word choice, ‘inspired’, and posed this observation and question…

“I felt a stirring of curiosity.  Is that the same as inspiration?”

Wow!  …have YOU ever pondered this distinction?

Thanks to this brilliant question, I did…and I discovered some pretty cool stuff!  See if it leaves you curious…inspired…or perhaps curiously inspired!  ;`)

Curiosity & Inspiration Just May Be BFF’s!

According to my MacBookPro dictionary, curiosity = a strong desire to know or learn something. 

And inspiration = the process of being stimulated, a sudden brilliant creative idea, THE DIVINE INFLUENCE that created the Bible (how’s that for awesome!?!)

Curiously Inspired

In my book curiosity and inspiration often go hand in hand.  You might even see them as BFF’s!  

It’s like, curiosity poses the possibility, peaks an option, an interest… and inspiration opens the door and carries me through.

• Curiosity points at something and says, hey, that could be cool, interesting, crazy, awesome, bizarre, fun, odd, etc… I COULD be interested in knowing or learning more about that.
• Inspiration feels it and says, oh yeah…this thought, this idea feels good, I feel good about moving in this direction, something inside me says this is a good idea, the right path in this moment, a good thing for me to try/experience.
• Curiosity feels more mental, in my head…more intellectual and thus more open to my questioning, my analyzing (perhaps even doubting) before I’ve even given it a chance or experienced it.
• Inspiration is pure, positive energy and is resistance free. Inspiration feels good, every time. Inspiration stirs from the heart, not the mind…it’s energy is fueled by the heart & intuition/Source (God’s) Guidance. Inspiration is me, tapped in, tuned in, turned on.
• Curiosity feels limited in it’s motion and movement. I can feel curious about something, but not feel any inspiration or desire to actually act on it. Inspiration is the carrier.
• Inspiration feels limitless, boundless, open, free and full of vitality…it’s the ultimate spark that ignites all.

What exactly does it FEEL like?

If curiosity is accompanied by flutters in the heart or stomach area, some kind of sensation stirring below the head area…inspiration is there, too!

Sometimes, (for me) curiosity stirs when I know I want to step out & try something new…but I’ve not experienced it before…and so sometimes it’s mixed with a wee bit of fear or anxiety of the unknown.

So, I look at that. And I know that any fear I have isn’t my Joy of Brilliance Self talking, it’s that part of me that isn’t sure she can step out of comfort just a little bit to try something new…and I know that the bigger part of me feels and knows that it’s going to be A-OK…(’cause I’m not a thrill seeker, so it’s not like I’d be curious about jumping off a building, or anything else that could bring me real harm! hehe)

After enough times of stepping up to the edge and trying something new, I find more stepping stones along a path that feels more alive and aligned (resonant) with what my heart and soul yearn for (what my Joy of Brilliance, God Given Self yearns for) and inspiration accompanies (and often over-rides) my curiosity.

Can you relate?

I just feel inspired to do it. I love the feeling of inspiration. It’s like a loving propulsion forward. Propulsion without resistance. The kind that carries me forward with JOYful motion.

Whoa!  Did You Feel That?!?

I love noticing even the smallest stirrings of inspiration. Listening for the still voice inside that beckons my attention in one particular direction at just the right moment…

Like… Wow! If I wouldn’t have listened to my inner voice saying, Stop! Look to the left! I would have missed seeing the most beautiful little bird sitting in the bush, hidden completely from one who may have continued on with some other purpose, not listening to the sweet voice of direction from within.

Heart First, Mind in Tandem as Faithful Second

It’s about dropping into the heart space and listening from there. Our culture teaches us out of our heart and into our heads.

• Our heads are wonderful. Our intellect is necessary. And…
• Our heart needs to be in the driver’s seat, giving direction and guidance.
• Our mind/intellect listens and is directed by our heart. Our mind works for us.
• Our hearts (our Divine Selves) give our mind a job to do and our mind acts as the faithful servant to the heart with eager willingness to be guided.

We forget that this is the way it is meant to be.

What is your heart/head relationship?  Have you considered it?  Who’s in charge within you?  Are you heart centered?

When we come into our hearts, everything becomes EASE-ier. Everything begins to make more sense. Isn’t that funny? Our hearts are what helps us get clear…not our minds. Brilliant! 

So, I say…

• Embrace curiosity. 
• And trust inspiration. 

Together, they’ll take you to a more blissfully JOYful experience!

What recent curiosity stirs within you?  Have you experienced inspiration’s invitation lately?  Which of the two leads you to respond more desirably…curiosity or inspiration?  Let’s meet in the comments to further discuss!

In the Flow of JOYful Inspiration…

DebSoul ~ Your Joy of Brilliance Inspired Friend and Guide

Photo:  ’Curiously Inspired’ by ME!  …thanks to my sissy, Deann for modeling, even if she didn’t exactly know that’s what she was doing.  Ahhh…JOY in the moment generally leads to further inspired moments.

Thanks to Lori for inspiring this post and for courageously committing to following her JOY.  Shine On, Brilliant One!

“How do you know when it’s done?

Of course, it’s not done. It’s never done.

That’s not the right question.

The question is: when is it good enough?

Good enough, for those that seek perfection, is what we call it when it’s sufficient to surpass the standards we’ve set. Anything beyond good enough is called stalling and a waste of time.

If you don’t like your definition of ‘good enough’, then feel free to change that, but the goal before shipping is merely that. Not perfect.”

*This post is chuck full of Juicy Links…for added inspired deliciousness that expands this magical rabbit hole, check them out!

When is it Good Enough? and Perfection!

I appreciate Seth’s perspective here.  That the question may be ‘when is it good enough?’.

I appreciate the point he makes and agree that many times we hold ourselves back from our inspired expression because we’re waiting…waiting for the perfection.

Perfection can be a tricky one.  Perfection, in it’s purest form is innately within us.

Like the great Oak tree, we are born with the promise of all we will be within us.  In this sense of perfection, by definition, we are absolute, complete.  We have everything we’ll ever need inside of us.

Share YOU!

We are perfection.  Everything about our process, our journey is perfect.  Perfect in the sense that each nuance, each moment on the curve is relevant and pertinent to the whole of our experience, our growth.

When we ease up on the rigidity of perfection as an obscure, potentially unattainable goal and relax into the perfection of every moment’s discovery that’s when genius (the Genie-in-us) is set free. That’s when we are as on purpose as we can get.

And when we’re on purpose, that’s the ticket!

Good Enough and Not Good Enough

We ARE good enough.  When we create from an inspired space, it’s beyond good enough.  Seth says not sharing due to waiting ’til it’s good enough is ‘stalling or a waste of time’.  I agree.  He’s right.  It’s usually us setting the standard for ‘what’s good enough’.

• What’s NOT good enough is us holding ourselves apart from the us we really are in our Joy of Brilliance awesomeness.
• What’s NOT good enough is us waiting to be something more, when we’re already more than we’ve ever been, and we’ll continue to be-come more and more every day…until forever.

We’re good enough.  Right now. What we’ve come to share is good enough.  Right now.

I’m not waiting any more.  Are you?

Get it Done!

We’re not here to ‘get it done’.  So many of us walk through life with a list of to-do’s…with the intent to get it done.  And then, when things continually find their way to being added to the list we allow a sense of frustration to enter, as if there’s ever really a chance (or even a reason!) to get it ALL done.

Life’s not about getting it done.
If that’s our vantage point, I invite us to move over until we can see it another way.

Abraham often says, “You’ll never get it done, and you can’t get it wrong.”  Words to recall often.

The moral of this story?

• Feel into the GOOD-ENOUGH-ness of YOU.  Feel into the Joy of Brilliance YOU that you are perfectly born to be.
• Know that any time we create from an inspired flow it is MORE than GOOD ENOUGH!  (It IS perfection)
• Know the perfection IN the process.
• Forget perfection in the sense of flawless or free of defect and…
• FEEL INTO the PERFECTION BEing YOU, Absolutely Whole, Complete…PERFECT…just the way you are…and getting better and better every moment within that commitment, within that knowing.
• Ease up on any rigidity.  Soften.  Release.  Trust.  Flow.
• Allow your expression to make its way in the world.

Ship, as Seth says.

The dock is FULL.  Get it out there, already!

Where in the World Have You Been?

I’ve got to tell you…

These last couple of months have been one crazy ride for me.  (On the inside.)

All is well…and was all along.  And the me of ME took me on quite an inner journey. More on that another time…or not.  It’s an old story now and you know how I feel about continuing to tell old stories.  I’m creating forward. New stories. It’s a New Day…  And I’m feeling good.

And I’m feeling inspired.  And that’s perfect.  That’s good enough.

(And it was perfect and good enough when I was feeling less than good and less than inspired, too.
It’s ALL good.)

Questions of the Day~

1. What have you been waiting to ship, because you’re waiting for it to get more perfect?
2. What have you been waiting to ship, because you’re concerned it’s not good enough?
3. Where could you ease up on yourself to allow more space to feel good, to be inspired & to create/ship?

Appreciating Seth Godin for offering inspired thoughts that continually keep me humming…and especially for this post today that got me to SHIP!  First post in way too long.  (no judgment.  yes relief.  that’s good stuff.)  Back in the saddle…

Happy Trails…and see YOU in the comments!  (I miss you!)

Photo Foundation Credit (Before My Added Inspiration)

It’s the kind of song that’s guaranteed to amp your vibe higher, put you right smack dab in the middle of  your vortex where you really rock your Joy of Brilliance….where all the juicy, delicious GOOD stuff is that you so desire in life.

It’s the kind of song to play if you’re feeling blue…or any other shade of YOU.

It’s the kind of song to play if you just want to FEEL GOOD, from the inside out.

It’s the kind of song that’s got a hidden treasure encoded within the words, and it’s even sweeter than finding the awesome prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box!

Shift Perspectives~

There’s a certain something that really sings to me in this song.  You know how there’s always more than one way to perceive things?  There’s a twist I hear in the lyrics that broaden my perspective in a super groovy way and I’m so excited for you to hear and feel it!

The lyrics say, “Love will always find a way.  If you want love, you have to give love away”.  That makes good sense.  And.  What strikes me is the hidden treasure within the words.

If you want love, you have to give love A WAY.

A WAY, as in…

• a direction, a space, an avenue to express itself.
• Give LOVE a WAY to BE present in your experience.
• Give Love SPACE to expand, to grow, to breathe into your experience.
• Give ever expanding, ever infinite, ever sustainably available LOVE a WAY to bloom in your life like the most brilliant flowers of spring.
• as in, MAKE WAY!

When we open our hearts and allow LOVE, we give it a way…and when we give it a way, we are poised to give it away like never before.

Are you feeling it?

Can you feel the palpable difference inside your body, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually with this awareness?

Can you feel your heart opening more and more…allowing LOVE to flow through, to embrace you, to fill you up…until the LOVE within cannot be contained and must bubble up and flow forth?

That’s what Joy of Brilliance is for me.  It’s LOVE. It’s LOVE that cannot and will not be contained.  It’s LOVE that expresses itself JOYfully and creatively and WHOLE-HEARTedly within my life experience.

I dig that!  …wanna join me?

Get Your Groove On!

Here’s the video and the lyrics…

EnJOY. And…  GIVE LOVE A WAY!

Give Love – MC Yogi

Hush little darlin’, don’t you cry
Every little thing’s gonna be alright
Don’t worry, don’t be afraid…
Every little thing’s gonna be OK.

Open up your heart, unlock the cage, turn the key and break the chains.

Love will always find a way. If you want love, you gotta give love away.

Give Love – Give Your Love Away

Give Love Don’t be Afraid!
Give Your Love Away
Give Your Love Away Now!
Give Love
Love is life and life is living
Living is love and love is giving
What we live for – love, it gives life meaning
We live to give love, there’s no way of feeling
this feeling of kindness
as when love’s inside us
Nobody can sell this
so try to buy this, coz love is priceless
and it guides us, lifts us up, and ignites us
Love can bind us and remind us
Love has no limit, coz love is timeless
Hate & fear will try to blind us, but love unites us
Nobody can fight this, coz love is righteous
and it might just save the whole world from this global crisis
Throw your hands up if you know what the time is
Open up your heart and let it shine the brightest!

I believe the very best philosophy
is when we live to give love with generosity
Give it consciously, and constantly
When we all give love, there’s no stopping we!
Just open up the door and let your love pour
When we open up to LOVE we can never be poor
Inside the core, way more in store than you can bargain for
An infinite supply for us to share
Just throw your hands up in the air
Wave ‘em all around the atmosphere
Show the whole world how much you care
Give everybody love and respect ’cause what we give is what we get!
Come on, always remember, never forget…
What we give is what we get

Give LOVE.  Give your Love a WAY
Give LOVE, don’t be afraid
Give LOVE, give your love away, now!

For forever, I’ve LOVED the word inspiration.

• I love the FEELING of being inspired.
• I love the feeling of creating from an inspired place within me.
• I love the rush of JOYful elation and creativity I feel when inspiration floods through me.
• Inspiration feels LIGHT, connected, Source sourced.
• Inspiration feels LIMITLESS.

When I hear phrases like, “are you motivated?”, “what motivates you?”, “what is your motivation?”… I feel less than enthused.

• Motivation can feel a little sticky,
• kind of heavy
• and a little hard…
• like something I have to do, more than something I want to do.
• I feel a sense of agenda and a certain LIMITEDness.

Feelings Matter!

I’ve known forever that my feelings matter; that they are the ultimate indicators and messengers of what’s really going on for me.  I began referring to this as my Resonance Barometer a long while back.  I know, without a doubt that my feelings (and the physical sensations they register) inform me of how closely (or not so closely) I’m currently aligned with my Joy of Brilliance Me…the ME I am born to be.

Inspired Brilliance!

I talk a lot about Inspired Action (which leads to Deliberate Creation) and how that’s the only kind worth taking…when we’re talking about creating the reality we desire.

Sure, sometimes there are things we’ve just got to do.  We may not always feel exactly inspired to clean the house or do the laundry or grocery shop.  So…we may look to motivation to get that job done, and that’s OK.

The point is, knowing the difference, and knowing that rocking your Joy of Brilliance, or being in the Vortex as Abraham calls it, and grooving to your own unique rhythm and flow is sure to induce plenty of inspiration for you to channel in to a myriad of potentials.  Isn’t that exciting?  I feel SO inspired by that!

Abraham on Motivation and Inspiration~

Here’s what Abraham had to say about Motivation and Inspiration that totally rocked my world…

“(We’ll talk about) the difference between motivation and inspiration.

Motivation is an outside the vortex (Abraham’s word for ‘being in the zone’, in your Joy of Brilliance, where everything lines up & your manifested reality is as you dream/create it to be) stance.  Where, I’m aware that if I don’t do such and such that there will be negative repercussions.  So, I’m going to make myself do it, I’m going to motivate myself, I’m going to remind myself that if I don’t do this then something bad or worse will happen.  And so, I motivate myself to go to work because I don’t want to make anyone upset there and I don’t want to lose my job, and I don’t want money to stop coming.  That sort of thing.

“Motivation is action that I am compelled to from outside the vortex; while inspiration from our point of view is being close enough to this vortex that’s already assembled.

I put everything there, bit by bit by bit, it is amassed and it has become this reality that the larger part of me literally is…and if I get close enough to the vibrational frequency of it, meaning  I have little resistance within me, then I’m going to be called in by the powerful Law of Attraction.

It’s not going to require me doing something.  I’m not going to have to make myself do it.  It’s like the stars align.

It’s like the difference between being in a hurry and trying to get somewhere and having every light be red, and people get in your way, and then suddenly you realize you’re behind somebody who’s got their flashers on because their car isn’t operating and then when you try to pull around somebody else is in your way.

In other words it’s like things going wrong as you try to push your way through it.  That’s sort of what motivation is.

Where, inspiration is being so close to the frequency of everything that I’ve put into my vortex that Law of Attraction is calling me and I’m following…because I care about the way I feel…to this nice flowing, nicely unfolding, very blissful experience.”

Abraham says, “as long as you’re feeling inspiration when moving toward it, then you’re moving in the right direction.”

 

Dear Dictionary…

Love what my Mac Dictionary says for Inspiration,

“a sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea.  …divine influence…  the process of being mentally stimulated to do or FEEL something.”

No wonder I like inspiration!

And even the dictionary is less enthusiastic about Motivation!  It simply says,

“the reason(s) one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.  The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.”

See, motivation is more about a simple willingness.  And it sure feels sourced more from obligation than anything more…inspired.

What’s the Difference?!

You’re willing to do the dishes, but not necessarily inspired.  Although, I’ve found that while doing dishes, cooking, cleaning, showering, etc…some amazingly inspired thoughts and ideas tend to flow in.  So, appreciating those things we motivate ourselves to do…seems to allow space for inspiration to flow in.  Seems like a win/win to me!

So, that’s it!

Inspiration = IN your Joy of Brilliance. IN the flow of everything that’s aligned.  In the flow of the energy that creates worlds.

Motivation = OUTside of who you really are. It’s about willingness, it’s about doing, but it’s not as juicy, because it’s doing just for the sake of doing.  It’s not so much something that flows from INside…as it’s something that tends to be sourced outside.  There’s just never as much JUICE there.

I’m Going to PUMP YOU UP!

I grew up in the age of “motivational speakers” and there are still many who call themselves that.  It (they) never appealed to me. Somehow, I always felt the motivation was coming AT me…from outside me.  Now, I understand it was.

Now that I’m a speaker, I’ve never used the word motivational to describe me, though some have reflected back to me…  “You’ve motivated me to make a change.”  “Your message is so motivational.”  I appreciate this, and I know what they mean…

And yet, for this word-vibration-loving-girl, I have to say I LOVE these responses so much more,  “I feel so inspired listening to your message.”, “You inspired me to be more of who I really am.”, “The inspiration I felt inside me while listening to you was like bubbles of JOY multiplying a million times over.”  (Yeah, I LOVE that one!)

Why?  Because I know what inspiration energy creates.  I know where feeling inspired takes you.  I know the gift of inspired creation…and it’s living a reality beyond your wildest dreams.

Which do you choose?  Motivation?  Or…  Inspiration?

Have you felt a difference in them in your reality?

Come tell me about it in the comments.  I’ll meet you there!

Home Page Photo Source , Inside Post Photo Source

Joy of Brilliance ~ SHINE On!

Joy of Brilliance.

This is a flash mob I haven’t seen, until today.  It felt so powerful, just watching the video…I can only imagine what it felt like to be physically present in its witnessing.

Watch this video of yogis from the Austin, Texas area taking over the state capitol building with their OM and prayer.

What do you think the unsuspecting crowd will respond with?  OM-ing in the capitol building isn’t exactly a routine occurrence.  Yet.

• Can you feel the heart opening expansiveness?
• Are you getting tingles (truth bumps) of resonating knowing and love flowing through you as you take it in?

I think something profoundly transformative is shaping up, deep in the heart of Texas!  …and BEYOND… Can you feel it?

Together, we can take part in a global flash mob of sorts, with Jonathan Goldman and World Sound Healing Day on February 14th…a wonderful day to share LOVE!

Here’s a video with all the details…  Can’t wait to feel our collective voices…connecting in LOVE!

Click HERE for more information on World Sound Healing Day.

This year we (in PackerLand…home of the Green Bay Packers!) were just given another HUGE reason to celebrate…we won (well, the guys in the green and gold, on the field) won Super Bowl XLV!!!!  Can I get a wOOt?!?  Now, I’m not even a big ol’ football fan.  I’ll tell you what I am, though.  I’m the BIGGEST FAN EVER of FEELING JOY and BASKING IN JOY…and MILKING it for all it’s worth. Yup.  I’m a FAN of Celebrating all things that induce uninhibited, free flowing, juicy, wild and crazy JOY…from the inside, out.

What’s to Celebrate?!

Celebrate BIG! Your JOY is Waiting

Not sure?  Nothing immediately screaming to be celebrated?  Look closer.
The thing is…I’m pretty darn good at finding things to celebrate, even if there’s not a biggie like a birthday or an anniversary on the calendar. How about you?

• Do you easily find reasons to jump up and down, hooting and hollering in ecstatic, blissful JOY?

Excitement is contagious.  Let it flow…Celebrate BIG…and SHARE the JOY!  Without further ado…here’s my~

Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate RIGHT NOW!

1. SUNRISE! (In case you haven’t noticed, it does it EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Without question.  It rises.  Gifting us a new day, a new beginning, a new life.  Now *that’s reason to celebrate…don’t you think?!?)
2. BREATH! (Yeah!  Cool right?  If you’re reading this, you’re breathing. That’s HUGE reason to celebrate, in my opinion.  Breath = LIFE.)
3. PRESENCE! (No, not the wrapped kind.  The ‘here I AM‘ kind.  The I exist, I BE…kind.  Can you feel how remarkable that is? Holla!!)
4. LOVE! (Seriously.  There’s a whole lot of it.  Look around.  Look within.  FEEL it. Tap into it.  Celebrate it.  LOVE, just for the sake of loving…love what ever feels good to LOVE.  Just LOVE.  …and celebrate it!)
5. LIGHT! (OK…so I know we already celebrated the sunrise…this one’s about the LIGHT that is within.  Your BRILLIANCE. The very essence that breathes through you…from the heart, from your soul…the Source Energy that you are.  SHINE On, Brilliant One…and celebrate your luminescence! )
6. HEART! (Yours.  Different than Love…and very much the same.  It’s a gift.  It pulses LIFE through your very being-ness. You are alive, thanks to your heart.  Put your hand there…feel your heart beating…connect to the rhythm of you.  Can you feel it?  It’s a party…going non-stop, 24/7…until it doesn’t anymore and then a whole ‘nother party starts!  Celebrate it!)
7. INSPIRATION! (…and don’t tell me you’re not feeling it.  Do you know that every single time you feel moved to do something, from your own accord…from your own creation…not based on someone else telling you to, not based on self-imposed obligation, that it’s inspiration leading the way?  YOUR INspiration! Get in touch w/the smallest of inspiring moments that move you throughout your day…celebrate them and give yourself permission to tap the inspiring aspects of YOU more often.  Now *that’s* a party!)
8. FREEDOM! (Freedom to choose.  EVERYthing! Freedom to choose your thoughts and your moods, most wonderfully amazing!  In the choosing, we create our entire reality…and if we’re utilizing our freedom, and choosing deliberately, intentionally, on purpose, well…heck!…there’s gonna be a LOT MORE reason to celebrate!  Can I get a YES!?!)
9. NATURE! (Because Mother Nature rocks! Well yes…her rocks, trees, flowers, grass, sand between your toes, ocean water lapping the shores, snow covered majestic peaks, lush green valleys with flowing rivers…gently guiding us downstream, winged & feathered ones, gilled and scaly ones, flippers waving, leaping from the water ones, 4-legged ones, great and small, domestic and wild, …come on, who’s with me…celebrate the puppy breath, the purring vibration of kitty on your lap, the soft nuzzle of your horse’s warm breath embracing you, the excited chirping of your feathered friend…the wind harmonizing with the birds in the trees, the call of the lone wolf, the owl hooting in the night, the silly chippies and squirrels frolicking as they work, the whale mamas birthing their young in warm ocean waters, the sea turtles basking in the sun…  Mmmm.  Nature.  Nurtures us. Roots.  Leaves.  Wind.  Water.   Soil.  Flesh and Blood. All reasons to connect.  All reasons to celebrate!  Let NATURE keep your party going, NOW.)
10. YOU! (OK, so some of the other ‘things’ on this list are already about or in you…I know.  And…this one’s about celebrating the WHOLEness of YOU.  The Divine Brilliance of YOU.  The JOY of YOU…just for the JOY of it.  Do you know how AWESOME you are?  I do!  And I’m celebrating YOU right now.  And now.  And NOW. …Still celebrating…

Coolest List EVER!

Wanna know why?  This is the coolest list ever because it is CELEBRATION WORTHY at ALL TIMES!!!

• It’s not dependent on a birthday, anniversary, superbowl winning, or any other sort of click on the calendar.
• This list is reason to celebrate every moment of every day.
• This list, when celebrated makes your inner JOY bubble forth like nobody’s business!  And that’s the heart of the whole thing.

Your JOY is nobody’s business…but, your own!  Your JOY is YOURS.  It’s not something anyone else can give you…and it’s nothing anyone else can take from you.  It’s YOURS!!!

Hmm…  It would seem that would be a bonus thing to add to our list.  Make that…

**BONUS:  JOY! (It’s nobody’s business but yours.  It’s YOURS.  It’s inside.  Always.  YOURS to FEEL!  YOURS to INDUCE.  YOURS to REVEL in, BASK in…MILK that JOY…and know that it’s infinite…never depleting, never ending…a continuously self-replenishing resource that resides within YOU.  *Holy Hannah, LIFE is GOOD!* Celebrate JOY…feel more JOY!  Talk about a win-win!

JOY~It’s inside each one of us.  It’s up to us to give ourselves permission to SING IT!  …or dance it, shout it, paint it, drive it, walk it, shout it, write it…heck…all out REVEL in IT (JOY)!

What are you celebrating today?  Let’s add to this list…there are endless things to celebrate, right here, right now…in this awesomely brilliant moment!

I’ll meet you in the comments, let’s get this party started continued!

Photo Credit

However, every now and again, I come across something from the scientific research realm that screams, “See, I told you so!”…and I just have to share it as further evidence and confirmation of what my own life experience confirms daily.

Vulnerability

Here’s what I found, thanks to my friend Sarah’s blog pointing to this TED Talk from Brene Brown (video below).  Brene’s a researcher/storyteller (heavy on the researcher, easy on the storyteller, so she says).

A true academic at heart, Brene loved the idea that a real life researcher/professor told her in the beginning of her studies as a social worker: “If you can’t measure it, it doesn’t exist.” She also appreciated the saying common amongst social workers, “lean into the discomfort”…although Brene’s natural tendency was the desire to clean it up real quick.

I begin with this basis because Brene’s outlook could not be more distant from mine at this point.  Lean into the discomfort? Are you kidding me?  Why would we do that?!?

I say lean as heavily as possible in the direction of comfort, relief, etc…run if you have to…MOVE in the direction of feeling better, NOW. Why?  Because feeling better leads to feeling good and feeling good always brings more feel good.

Connection: Easy or Queazy?

Brene set out to research why people experienced discomfort with connection.  It boiled down to some things that weren’t surprising to me at all. Basically, shame and fear.  Fear of not belonging.  Fear of unworthiness.

And then, suddenly…Brene’s research discoveries were singing my song.  This new evidence made perfect sense to me, made my heart swell and my body tingle.

She made the discovery of people who experience connection without challenge (or, even in spite of it)…and their experience with connection was based on them feeling authentically aligned with their REALness, (their Joy of Brilliance, some may say).

Their positive experience with connection was tied to their willingness to be vulnerable…and that very vulnerability led them to their greatest Joy, Creativity and Sense of Belonging. ~Go figure!~

Brene’s research revealed that people who were willing to be vulnerable held three important values,

1. Courage (Which she tells us is much different than bravery when defined from its original root meaning, “tell the story of who you are with your whole heart”.
2. Compassion (…to treat themselves kindly.  Sounds like Self Love to me!)
3. Connection (willingness to be who they really are, authentically, which allows true connection.)

These same people reported that they believed that what made them vulnerable, made them beautiful. How sweet is that?!  Can I get an AMEN?!

For Brene, this idea of vulnerability was excruciatingly uncomfortable.  This was also true for many of her 1000′s of data entries from real live people who had taken part in her 6 years of research.

• How could something that seemed so fundamentally obvious and easy for some, be so detrimentally difficult, and even painful for others?
• How could one person feel blissfully vulnerable, leading to JOY…while another felt completely stifled by vulnerability, leading to numbing and shrinking from their very being-ness?

JOYful Discovery

What Brene continued to discover was what I’ve known forever…what I’ve been blabbing on about to you beloveds that read my heartfelt words…what I’m deeply, ever so appreciative of; Brene discovered that it’s just best if we:

Be authentic.  Be real.

Let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen.

Love with our whole hearts.

Practice gratitude and JOY.

To feel this vulnerable means, I’m alive.

To believe, I am enough.
When we know this, we stop screaming and start listening…

We become gentler with ourselves.

Photo Credit

It’s funny, isn’t it?  The importance we place on the shedding of the old…and the birthing of the new, more so on this one particular day of the year, than ever.

In my experience, I’ve observed this experience in the tide, in the moon and in the changing of the seasons.  The gentle waxing and waning of nature…she moves, shifts, retreats and renews again.  In this way, so it is with the new year.  It’s a cycle.  A reminder of the retreat, the waning, the death of the old and the waxing, renewal, and birthing of the new.

Turn, Turn, Turn~

This cycle is not only available to us at certain times of the year.  These beautifully influential times of the year serve as examples of the power of cycle that is available to us in every moment.  One of the shortest examples is that of the sun rising and falling each day…and while it rises on us here in the Northern Hemisphere…it sets on our brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere, demonstrating the LIGHT that continually shines.

JOY Jumping New Story!

The very shortest cycle I can think of in this moment, that is not directly related to linear time, is that of our breath.  I love the significance of breathing.  The rise, the fall.  The breath in, the breath out.  Steady.  Sure.  Natural.  Each breath a beginning and end unto itself.  We breathe in these physical bodies, until we don’t any more…and then re-member ourselves with the Oneness of All…and we breathe forever more.

My point in bringing our awareness to these cycles of old and new is purely to soften the importance (and sometimes the stress, or obligation to responsibility) we place on this one night…and following morning of the year.

Tabula Rasa!

After all…  Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end!  The book is yet unwritten!  Tabula Rasa!  Clean Slate!

…Feels like a continuously refreshing invitation to me!  **And that FEELS GOOD!**

Some of us make resolutions.
(I’ve never found them to work as well as I’d have liked.  They feel like empty ideas, much to staunch in their DOing or NOT DOing, based on lack, that I may or may not believe will even happen. They have induced feelings of unworthiness, desperation, restrictedness…and the list goes on.  These are not feelings I cherish.  Resolutions get set…but rarely from an inspired, aligned space.  Which in turn, sets us up for short lived success or possibly even failure.)

Some of us set intentions.
(Perhaps a softer approach.  It feels more like a plan, and can take some of the foreboding pressure that we feel with resolutions off.  Intentions feel more open-ended, more promising, more hopeful.  These feelings are at least a wee bit more palatable…and pleasing to our experience.  Intentions allow us the space for shifting and can be more aligned with the outcome we desire.  In my opinion, if we’re still not lined up with what it is that we really want, they still fall short from their…well, intentions.)

The Power of Our Story. More and more, I’m recognizing the power of our story.  How the story we tell…and the thoughts and feelings that go along with it, are what creates our world.  I’ve known this for a very long time…and I’m coming more and more into owning it every day.  When we bring our attention to every active story in our life experience, we realize there is lots of content…many chapters to focus on.  In the telling of our story, we can make the empowered choice to give our attention to the positive aspects.

Abraham says, on card #15 of their Money and the Law of Attraction deck:

“Make a decision to look for the best feeling aspects of whatever you must give your attention to, and otherwise look only for good-feeling things to give your attention to—and your life will become one of increasingly good-feeling aspects.”

So…here we are, on the brink of a SHINY NEW YEAR.
As we step across the threshold…

• Which stories will you take with you?
• Which ones will you leave at the door?
• And most importantly, which NEW STORIES will you bask in the creating of?

A Continuously Renewable Invitation~

• I invite that every moment is a new beginning…our very own Tabula Rasa, clean slate!  …and that, my friends, is reason to celebrate!
• I invite the notion that every day is the beginning of a New Year.  It is, of course.  The year that stretches from today…one day less than exactly a year from now.
• (I invite that every day we choose to place our attention not on the old, not on some aspects of our story that aren’t working, not on more of what we don’t want.)
• I invite that we begin, again and again, we begin to focus our brilliance, our attention on the new, on the positive aspects of the story we desire to live…thereby creating that very experience ahead of ourselves.
• I invite that we focus on what’s working, and on what we truly want.  And as we do, we watch our world magically and purposefully unfold before us, meeting us in an experience of better and better all the time.
• I invite us to celebrate each and every new beginning, moment by moment…writing the story as it is inspired to be written!

The blank page is before us.

New Year.  New Story.

A continuously renewing invitation…  Moment to Moment.

Brand. New. Story.

What will you write?

Feel it!  Breathe with it!  Live it!
Let it COME ALIVE!
Let it SHINE!

***HAPPY NEW STORY!!!!***

Here’s a little inspiration to guide your way on…

JOYful creating!!  Have FUN!

Love to hear some of your New Year. New Story in the comment section!  XO

Photo Credit Woman JOY Jumping

I’ve been a very, very good girl.  How do I know?  Because I feel good, happy, awake, vibrant, alive and well.  And I like feeling like that.  So I just keep on reminding myself how good it feels…and the feelings keep renewing!

Have there been any days that weren’t ‘all that’?  Maybe.  But Santa, you know as well as I do that where we focus, magically creates more of the same.

So Santa…

I’m choosing to focus on the Feel Good.  (Which is why I’m writing this letter to you…)

Dear Santa…

I’ve been a very, very good girl.

I believe in abundance.  I believe in dreams come true.  I believe that JOY is my merry purpose.  (Pretty sure it’s yours, too! ) I believe that SHINING is my Birthright.

Me and my BIG heart appreciate all that life has delivered to me over the last year.

What I appreciate most are the FEELINGS I’ve felt…

Feelings like~

• Wonder
• Passion
• Exhilaration
• Peace
• Feisty Friskiness
• JOY (and all it’s Happy Cousins, including GLEE, Euphoric & Bliss!)
• Uplift-ment
• Appreciation (yes, I can appreciate feeling appreciation!)
• Loving
• Hopefulness
• Creativity
• Curios
• Guided
• Energized
• Inspired
• Safe
• Balanced
• Focused
• In Awe
• BRILLIANT!
• …just to name a few.  :)

Hey Santa…

Know what’s cool?  Now that I’ve experienced all of these nifty feelings, they’re mine.  And because they’re mine…I can feel them again.  And again.  Cool, right?

What do I want?  More of the same and better, of course!

But, don’t sweat it, Santa.  I know it’s all up to me.

I know it’s not your responsibility to bring me happiness or JOY…or anything else for that matter.

I also know that everything I want is available to me…all I have to do is enJOY life, line up with the feel good…have FUN…and allow…and open my heart and my arms to receive.  And I can DO that!  Easy Peasy!

So all I’m asking Santa, is that you keep shining.  You know, your eyes how they twinkle, your dimples how merry…a right jolly, (b)old elf.

Because clearly, you’ve got JOY and a whole lot of other feel good vibes fully covered.

You’re an inspiration, Santa.

I know this letter is somewhat unorthodox.  You won’t mind; you like it like that.

After all, anyone who lives at the North Pole with hundreds of elves, eating cookies all day and playing with reindeer while you get ready to fly across the sky one night a year to deliver good vibes to good little boys and girls, GETS unorthodox!

You GET it, Santa.  And I just wanted you to know that I get it, too.  I like magic.  Heck, if the North Pole wasn’t so darn cold all year, I’d probably come move in with you like Buddy the Elf did!

Have a blessed and abundantly JOYful Holiday and New Year, Santa!  (If that’s what you want, of course.  It’s your story, you get to write it as you desire it to be!  As do I…and the way I see it…it’s ALL looking pretty magnificently brilliant!)

Here’s to all the New Stories we create for ourselves in the approaching New Year!

And Santa?

My gift to you…  Loads of LOVE, Laughs and Photos of my doggie niece and nephew.  Rosie and Faron.  I’m pretty sure they’ve got visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.  Faron’s on the floor, dazed with amazement and Rosie’s eager, forward looking and totally ready for all the GOOD that awaits her.  I hope you enjoy their pictures, Rosie and Faron’s person (my sis!) took them.

With Love and Appreciation, Santa!
And by the way…
You ROCK the Red Suit!  Keep flying high!
One JOYful GOOD Feeling Girl…

XO ~ Debra

A BIG PS~

Just in case Santa’s not the only one reading this…  Here’s a FEEL GOOD way to start your New Story for 2011…

You’re a FIREWORK!  It’s TRUE!  I SEE YOU!
Let your LIGHT SHINE…Brilliant Ones!  All the BEST, just exactly as you dream it to be.  FEEL it!  BE it!  REST into it!

Breathe.  Believe.  Receive.  It’s ALL Happening!

Any NEW Stories you’re creating for 2011?

Any FEELINGS you’re intending to feel more of?

As always, LOVE to hear from you!!
Happy Holidays…I’m envisioning all the BEST for each and every one of you.  Shine on!!

When we reach for the place of appreciation for these moments and see them as inspiration and opportunity (—not scary, mean old monsters—), we can re-align and close the gap…coming ever closer to our most authentic expression, that’s when even feeling sideways (left or right of our center) can lead us downstream, back in sync with our Joy of Brilliance where every thing flows in harmony with our heart’s desires.

Recognizing Sideways & Doing Something About It:

It’s all about feelings.  When we notice we’re feeling afraid, angry, frustrated, unworthy, etc., the feeling is an indicator…and we can recognize that we’re misaligned on some level.  We can stay in that space, wallowing and wondering why oh why…

Or we can immediately start to switch up the vibe.  We can lessen the resistance…and offer ourselves some relief.

But how, you ask?

• First, we can accept what is.  We can say thanks for the feeling space we’re in now.  We can honor it…after all, there’s nothing wrong with it.  It is what it is.  It has meaning.  If only to inform us that we’re out of sync with our Joy of Brilliance.
  

  Feeling Sideways?

Best part?  There’s no real need to know the why’s and how’s of it all.  There’s really no point to that.  Remember…it just is.  Knowing that means there’s only one thing left to do.  And that’s move in the direction of something that feels better.

• We can choose to stay in this place for as long as we want.  Just recognize that it IS a choice.  When you’re ready to shift, ready to recognize that feeling better is an option…the shift begins.
• We can gently, with grace and ease begin to move our feelings (and energy) in the direction of feel better feelings like hope, appreciation, love, optimism, beauty, joy, fun, excitement…even abundance!

If you’re thinking nothing at all feels better…just breathe; that alone brings some relief.  If you can, dig deep…give yourself a well deserved self-love hug.  The Joy of Brilliance YOU inside is ALWAYS there for you.  (Need a refresher on why Self-Love makes all the difference to being in your power and feeling good?  Check this out when you’re finished here…)

And, what if those feelings are just too hard to tap into when you’re feeling Sideways?  Sometimes it just feels too darn challenging to focus on a better feeling thought, emotion or vibe.

You can rest into it…and just let it be.  Let it express.  Let it soften.

You can choose to bring happy, feel good memories onto your internal movie screen…memories that invoke the feel good feelings mentioned above.  We’ve all got them.  Which ones evoke a better feeling place in you?  Close your eyes and play the happy memory movie over and over again.

But…Really?

I recognize that there are times where we just feel so stuck and yuck that it can seem there’s no way out.

I also know there is ALWAYS a way out.

If you got in…you can get out.  Maybe not through the same opening; you can always create a new one; in fact…creating a new opening works better than any other!

Most important is the commitment you make to yourself to change something…no matter how small…do something that will make you feel better, right then and there in the moment.  You make a commitment to yourself that you will find your way to a better feeling vibe.  In ease and grace.  No worries.  **Less Resistance = More Relief** Be gentle with yourself.

It honestly doesn’t take much to set the switch up in motion once you’ve committed to shifting the vibe to a feel better one.  Feeling better leads to more feeling better and feeling good always leads to more feel good.

You could~

• Do some yoga stretches,
• do some breathing exercises,
• crank up your favorite tune on your iPod,
• run around the block,
• play the Abraham inspired ABC Game,
• do 25 jumping jacks,
• enjoy a piece of chocolate,
• watch your favorite video…
• absolutely ANYTHING to engage a FEEL GOOD vibe!  :0)

The bottom line is, when sideways strikes…the only thing we can do is look for an opening.  ANY opening.  ANY thing that lessens the resistance we feel, any relief points…and celebrate those!

Notice what they are.

• Where did those points of light come from?
• What are they about?
• Can you tap into them often?
• Do they lend clues or insight into finding more of the same?

Go in that direction! Build on the pieces that come to you that help you feel better and better until you’re feeling GREAT!

Soon the path becomes wider and wider…clearer and clearer.
The journey is freeing, filled with grace and ease once more.
Follow the flow downstream…

In the spirit of lessening resistance, finding relief and flowing downstream…you’re going to enjoy this video from a presentation I shared last winter.  EnJOY!

Deep appreciation to Abraham, Esther and Jerry Hicks for continuously confirming what my Joy of Brilliance filled heart knows and for eternally inspiring me to lead my life in JOY, from my Heart…in tune with Spirit.

Meet me Downstream in the Comment Section…
What are some Feel Good boosters that spring you back to center when you’re feeling sideways?

Photo Credit ~ Left Hand

It’s that time of year again.  Thanksgiving time.  Time to draw those near and dear close and sup on feasts extraordinaire while giving thanks for the bountiful blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

Certain tried and true recipes become requested favorites.  This year is no exception.  My sisters and I are in charge of appetizers (you know, the food we really, really need before eating one of the richest, heaviest meals of the year!)…and I’ll be bringing a few of the family faves.

Other types of recipes are also tried and true.  When I pondered what to share in a Thanksgiving post I thought about the Recipe for Appreciation that I created last year.  I searched for it…found it.  Read it.  And discovered it’s still a perfectly delicious treat…that bears repeating.

From my heart to yours…  May Happy Thanksgiving Blessings Abundantly Be Yours, today and always.

I Love and Appreciate YOU.  I love your passion for life, your sense of wonder, your love of JOY and your commitment to shine in your brilliance in all you do.  I SEE YOU.  I LOVE YOU.  Thank you for being here.

And now…  A Taste of Appreciation  ~ It gets even better with age.  :)

Having just celebrated Thanksgiving here in the U.S. I’ve found myself contemplating the essence of giving thanks…and where it takes me.

In my world giving thanks leads me to a feeling...a feeling of immense JOY and appreciation for whom ever or what ever it is that I’m recognizing I’m thankful for.

I’ve been playing with the vibration that surrounds saying thank you…just the words…and then really tuning in to the appreciation factor and feeling the words as I say them with appreciation.

Let’s walk beyond thanksgiving together…

Most of us when asked what we’re thankful for will say family…or perhaps one or two significant others in the form of close friends, partners, etc.

On the Road to Appreciation

Now if we simply say, “I’m thankful for my family.” The words alone may not conjure much vibrationally.  But, if we allow ourselves to enter into the feeling realm of why we’re thankful for our family (or a special friend, etc.) we begin to see and feel within ourselves all the wonderful aspects that we love about them and it sends amazing ripples of love and appreciation through us.

From this place, we are beyond thankful.
We are in the essence of appreciation, we are in the essence of love and the vibration here is so high…we feel high!
Elated even.  We are moved.  Our hearts and souls are engaged.

Mother Nature leads us to Appreciation

When we surround ourselves with nature and we gaze out into her beauty it’s easy to find at least one thing we see that we’re thankful for.  We may be grateful for the blue sky, the soft, gentle breeze, the trees that offer shade on a hot summer day, or the way the sun glistens on the new fallen snow.

We could just say we’re thankful for these things…
and I don’t know about you, but for me…I can’t stop there.  I am easily taken in by the beauty that surrounds me…and suddenly I’m over come with immense appreciation for Mother Nature, for her grace, her steadfastness, her power, her magnificence.

What might shift?

Can you imagine how things might shift to the highest positive if we were willing to look at all of life through the eyes of love and appreciation?

What would happen if every where we looked we could only see something positive, something that we loved, something that made us feel good?

It reminds me of the post I wrote months back about Seeing Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses.

What if our eyes were equipped with a special filter that heightened our awareness to the good that surrounds us in every situation…even those situations that seem entirely dire and dim?

What if I told you that we ARE equipped with that special filter?  What if I suggested that each and every one of us have that filter alive and well within us? What if I said the only thing necessary to turn it on, to activate it is our own willingness, our own conscious choice to do so?

Would you turn yours on?  Would you turn it up, full throttle, and allow the world that surrounds you to be filled with things you feel good about?  Things you love, things that make you feel better than ever?

Do you believe it’s possible?

I do.  I’m living proof.  I see the good stuff.  I feel good in my life.  Joy is mine.

Do I sometimes have to have my filter re-adjusted?  No, my filter is made of perfection and can not be broken and it never loses it’s power.  It’s me who sometimes needs adjusting.

It’s me who sometimes needs a tune-up.  And all that takes is me noticing that I’m seeing things that don’t make me feel good, things that bring me down, things I don’t like.  When I notice I’m seeing some of these things I know it’s time for a tune up.

3 Steps to a Quick & Easy Appreciation Tune Up~

1. Think of and write down as many things as you can that make you feel good…keep writing until no more things come in right now.
   
2. Think of and write down at least 5 things/people/places you love and allow yourself to move into the feeling place of why you love them…what do you love about them…how does all of it make you feel.
   
3. Take yourself into nature and look for as many things as you can that look beautiful, things that bring out the wonder and appreciation in you.

If we’ve managed to block the flow of our special appreciation filter and there isn’t much we’re seeing that looks or feels good, it may feel challenging at best to do these 3 easy steps.

If you find yourself feeling that way, here’s a question to ask yourself.  It’s one that when I ask it of myself, it gets me on track every time:

Do I love the way I’m feeling, do I want to continue feeling this way…or is there something better I’d like to be feeling?

OK…so technically that’s 3 questions.  Bear with me.

As soon as we ask ourselves if we’d like to feel better…as soon as we glimpse the idea that we can…we’ve shifted into an opening that allows the feel better to come in.

Abraham says, “Look for the thing you like the best even if there’s only one thing in all of it that you like, give it your undivided attention and use IT as your excuse to be who you are.  And as you use those things that shine bright and make you feel good as your excuse to give your attention, and as your excuse to be who you are, you’ll tune to who you are…and the whole world will begin to transform before your eyes.
It’s not your job to transform it for others, but it is your job to transform it for YOU.”

From this place we can begin our tune up…and get that special filter activated…leading us to the most amazing life experiences we could ever hope for…with ample amounts of Feel Good and JOY along the way.

I’ve said it before.  I’ll say it again.  Life is meant to be JOYful, to be enJOYed.  And one of the clearest, most easily travelled paths to experiencing that is the Road of Appreciation.

This quote from Abraham sums it up nicely~

“Appreciation is me being in sync with the whole of that which I am.  
Appreciation is seeing what ever I’m looking at through the eyes of Source.
A state of appreciation is a state of godliness;
A state of appreciation is being who you really are.”

So go Beyond Thanksgiving.  Find yourself in a State of Appreciation.  It feels good.

• How do you activate your special appreciation filter?
• How has living in a State of Appreciation made a difference in your life?
• …or if this road is new to you…  How do you imagine being in a State of Appreciation may support the Feel Good in your life?  *Remember, imagining makes it so!

You’ll enJOY this YouTube video from Abraham-Hicks on Appreciation vs. Gratitude.  Fitting, huh?  The Abraham quotes in my post came from this video…listen for them!

Road to Appreciation “Thank You” Photo

I’m talking about Hair Shine (in the purest sense of the term, and in the ‘get your shine on, let that beauty shine sense, too!)  And of course, I’m talking about Joy of Brilliance Shine!

Express Yourself!

Doing hair is one of the many ways I choose to shine and express my creativity.

Fabulous Fall on Living with Amy ~ Fox 11

I love that I get to help others get their shine on, from the inside-out with my Joy of Brilliance sessions and that I can carry right through to their outer brilliance by accentuating their outer beauty as well.  What an awesome J.O.B., huh?  LOVE it!!

Facebook Friends Have GORGEOUS Hair!

My friend, Barb from Facebook met me at the salon last week to let my play with her immense multitude of gorgeous locks.  I got so mesmerized by the beauty and shine I almost got lost in it…  LOL  :)  Kind of like Alice going down the rabbit hole…!

Want to join me?  Watch the video for some inspiring ways to add spice, texture and play to your fall look…

Fabulous Fall on Fox 11′s Living with Amy Show

Thanks to Amy and her fantastic crew for playing with me at Grassroots.  We have SO much fun creating these segments!!

In this aspect, I also feel I may be like most.  I often felt like a square peg being stuffed into a round hole.

Really rather, I felt like a uniquely-me-shaped-me who didn’t necessarily fit the rigid containers seemingly designed as one-size-fits-all.

Did I suffer as a result of this experience?  No.  Not really.  Well, OK…by definition, maybe.
Were there times I tolerated?  Yes.
Were there times I felt subjected to situations or things less than pleasant?  Yes.
And did I choose to observe the qualities inherent in the toleration that led me to a brighter awareness of who I was in my greatest, most purest sense? Absolutely.

Through out our life experience, we’re given the opportunity to grow, to expand and to breathe into all that is possible within us.  We are limitless.  We are truly our own Genie inside the bottle…just waiting to give birth to our potential.

Parenting Woke Up Sleeping Aspects Within Me

When I became a parent, something new was ignited in me.

You Are Your Own Genie Inside the Bottle!

There was an aspect of my passion that was lit that day that has fueled my path well.

As I watched our son, Destin grow I could see his Brilliance, I could feel his JOY.  It was easy to see what he was passionate about.  And even if it wasn’t always exactly my passion, it turned me on to know I could nurture, encourage and foster those passions within him.  I knew that if I did that, I was doing well by him.

When he reached school age, we sent him to school.  The conventional way.  The way his father and I had experienced.  After all, we turned out OK. This would work for him too.

And it would have worked fine, I’m sure.

But there was something deep down within me that knew that for Destin, there was a better (different) way.

Guided by Passion

We chose to home school Destin after he finished first grade and we’ve been enthusiastically following that path ever since.  He’s now an excelling, passionate Sophomore who loves his life and enjoys creating his experience (with guidance from his passionate, committed parents) his own way.  He knows who he is. He’s confident and assured.  He’s sensitive.  He’s kind.  He’s funny.  Is he doing everything exactly as I wish he would? No. Am I confident that he’s doing it all in harmony with his becoming?  Yes. And that’s enough.

Best of all?  Destin gets that HE creates his reality, his experience, his Joy.  And he knows he’s fully supported in doing so.

I came across this quote from Resa Steindel Brown this morning in an interview she did when CBS News did a recent story on Home Schooling~

Each child is born with the seeds of their own brilliance. ~Resa Steindel Brown, Author of The Call to Brilliance, A True Story to Inspire Parents & Educators

I agree with Resa wholeheartedly!  And where ever we are in our journey through life, we owe it to ourselves to nurture those seeds of Brilliance within.  We are blessed and born to shine!

The Greatest Blessing

More than anything, what being a home schooling parent has afforded me is my

• steadfast commitment to following my passion,
• leading my life with JOY from the inside out,
• continually tapping ever more deliciously deeper into my own unique brilliance,
• and expressing that more fully day by day.

By committing to home schooling Destin, I’ve committed to my own lifelong expression of my Brilliance.

Home schooling gives me permission to follow my bliss and holds me accountable to being a walking example of what I hold to be true.

This path has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

What do I know for sure?

I know that it’s never too late to follow your passions.  It’s never too late to write a new story, to dream a new dream, to create a new reality…one that you cherish, adore, thrive on and find magically delicious in every way.

Your book is yet unwritten.  What will you fill your pages with?

Every day upon waking, ask yourself…

• What JOY will bubble forth today?
• What do I choose to create today?
• What will I engage in today that makes my heart sing?

Creating your day in this way is bound to bring you exactly where you want to be.

Is it that easy? I believe it is.

(Beliefs are just thoughts we keep on thinking.)

Here are a few I repeat often:

• Life is Good…and getting GREATer all the time.
• JOY is mine.  Always.  All ways.
• Ease and Flow as my guides, JOY my true north, Life amazes me with its goodness.
• I’m awesome.  :)  (…like that one?)

What are some thoughts you keep thinking that have turned into Happy Power Beliefs in your life?

Shine on, Brilliant Ones!

Photo Credit

Last night, while scrubbing the pasta kettle,

Abraham mentioned

a new way that Esther is choosing to play with the ABC game.

Since Esther

Up Level Your ABC Feel Good

loves how the ABC game puts her joyfully right into the vortex, she thought she’d see if she could amp up the stakes.  She’s now playing to string a sentence together using her favorite ABC words in alphabetical order.

What fun, I thought…and I thought it would pose to be a bit of a challenge.  Surprisingly, it didn’t!

I thought surely I’d have to add some prepositions or something in between words; I didn’t!
Very cool how easily this flowed.
It must have had something to do with being in the vortex!!  :0)

Here’s what I came up with…

(OK, so I had to cheat just a little for X…Abraham said it was OK.  ;~)

Attention Brilliant Creators!

Deliberately ease flow.  Great happiness invites joyful, kind, loving, manifestors now.  Open purpose…quiet relief…simply terrific understanding…veritably welcomes eXuberantly, your zeal.

Cool, huh?  :)  Anyone else want to play?

I’d love to hear your string of high vibe ABC’s in the comments below!!

Photo Credit