Pausing With A Thankful Heart

Written By Don Shetterly

I've been through some challenging moments lately.  In fact, it was getting to the point where I was beginning to question my own existence and if I wanted to continue in that arena.  I can take many things, but after a while when layers build upon layers, the weight gets to be almost too much.


In the past few months, I've had body memories of past abuse surface and cause me terrible physical pain, including a rash that would not go away for months.  I struggled to figure out how to let go of it and heal.  Normal methods that once worked were no longer working, and I was left feeling helpless and lost.

The next thing I knew, some healing work started to shift the rash and my life, just as dental pain came front and center.  I had been neglecting it, but then it got so bad that the pain got my attention.  I'm addressing these situations now, but as a result, I can see that it has been holding me back.  Here I have been asking the universe for help while ignoring it at the same time.

It Leaves Me Standing In Awe...

This brings me to why I'm pausing with a thankful heart.  I had a couple of things gifted to me out of the blue, and the timing of them could not be more perfect or more complex.  Even if I tried to tell the story, I would not know how to weave it together.  It all came together in a way that leaves me standing in awe with a thankful heart.

Both of these gifts feel a little suspicious to me (in a good way).  They feel suspicious because I'm not sure why they are entering my life at the time they are and in the way that they are.  All I know is that the universe has my attention.  No need to put any more flashing neon lights up.  I see what is behind it.

In fact, an angel card that I pulled yesterday and today signaled that there is more to this than just something being gifted to me.  I'm so thankful for what the universe has done, and I'm not going to squander it in any way.  I'm not going to discount it.  I will embrace the possibility of these things to help me see further than I can see.

I had to be reminded once again that sometimes we ask for things in a certain way, but they often show up differently.  I am pausing today with a thankful heart full of possibility and awe.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

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My Journey with Kabbalah

Note:  Links have been removed from this post because payment by Emily Olsen of Perennial Relations was not made and emails requesting fulfillment of their obligations were not answered.  

If emily@perennialrelations.com does respond and pay for this blog post as promised, I'll gladly restore the links and remove this notice.  I made this agreement with Emily in good faith and expected it to be honored.  It has not been honored. 

I did like the content of this blog post and have great respect for the Kabbalah Center even though I lost a tremendous amount of followers for posting it.

(Sponsored post by Kabbalah Center)

Kabbalah means different things to various students, but it has been nothing short of a total life transformation for me. I have practiced as an attorney in New York for more than a decade now, and I have been fortunate to have all the financial security that I need to provide a comfortable life for my two children.

However, it only took about three years of practicing law at a major law firm to find myself completely underwhelmed with my circumstances. Even though I had landed a prestigious career and had all of the comforts of an impressive salary, my life felt empty and almost meaningless. The birth of my children forever changed my life for the better, but outside of my interactions with them, I was a shell of a human.

In my neighborhood and surrounding community, there are actually a large number of people who study Kabbalah. I actually first learned about it from a friend who had been practicing Kabbalah for about seven years before introducing it to me.

Even though I felt overwhelmed at first with the magnitude of some of the initial teachings, I came to embrace the reality that this type of study would take years to fully immerse myself in. I approached it with serious vigor and a commitment to uncovering at least the broad scope of the hidden secrets of the universe.

Although I did not fully understand everything that I was reading and learning, I knew that this was only the beginning of opening my eyes, ears and brain to the spiritual knowledge that could fulfill my life in the way that I had been yearning for.

After just six months of study, I felt my body start to react to the spiritual knowledge it was receiving. I even started to stand taller because it felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. I was more present in all of my interactions with my children, and I found myself less stressed about my position at work. I even found the inner peace to rekindle some strained relationships with family members.

All of this would not have been possible for me without the sound teachings of the Kabbalah Centre. This wonderful center has been teaching Kabbalah to all kinds of students since 1965. I was concerned that my lack of knowledge about the Jewish religion and Hebrew would make the studies too advanced for me, but this was not the case at all. In fact, my lack of hardly any religious knowledge was not an impediment to my learning at the Kabbalah Centre. I found that I was embraced just as I was and received instruction that was specifically tailored to my circumstances.

One of the things that the Kabbalah Centre emphasizes in its teachings is that they are not incompatible with religion. Instead, these teachings are more of a supplement to religion and serve to help connect us with the unknown universe. The Kabbalah Centre allows students to explore all of the mysteries of the universe without having to arrive at a precise answer for all of the larger and incomprehensible things around us.

The universal principles taught at the Kabbalah Centre apply for all types of people throughout all walks of life. I have connected with a diverse and welcoming community of students, which has allowed me to pursue my studies at an even deeper level and appreciate the all-encompassing nature of the principles taught at the Kabbalah Centre. The openness of the students at the Kabbalah Centre to engage in meaningful discussions has certainly augmented my personal growth.

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This has been a sponsored post by the Kabbalah Centre (click here).

Please visit their site for more information. https://www.youtube.com/user/kabbalah

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Manifesting – the Aladdin’s Lamp of our Earth Existence

(by A Happy Medium, Amanda)

We all remember the story of Aladdin, the poor boy who finds a lamp with a genie inside, ready and waiting to grant his every wish. I’m sure a lot of us have even lamented about not having our own genie. What would you pay for a force that would grant your every whim and wish?

What if I told you that you already have it?

You do. It’s the Universe.

“Wait a second, Amanda,” you might be saying, “if I had access to a genie that granted my every wish, I wouldn’t be living this life. Get off the crazy train.”

The Universe is a field of infinite possibilities, and you have the power to manifest anything you would like by your own intention and attention.

I offer you two lessons that are easy to remember:

1. Where your attention goes, energy flows; and,
2. What you resist persists.

Have you ever noticed that when someone buys a new car, or you decide that you want a certain make of car, you start to see them absolutely everywhere? That’s a great example of manifestation.  I still remember when my Aunt bought a new Jeep. I hadn’t seen it, I’d only heard about it and all of a sudden I was seeing Jeeps everywhere!

I read a really interesting book on manifestation by Pam Grout called E2 in it, she lays out a number of experiments for playing with this field of infinite possibilities and your own ability to manifest the things you want in your life.

You can test this theory in a lot of ways. You can decide today you are going to see green cars. Make the intention in your mind when you wake up tomorrow and see how many green cars manifest.  For me,  I find the most effective manifestation comes when I either journal or I talk to the Universe when I am driving.

When you are driving, your literal mind is busy driving and your creative mind is open to send and receive information between you and the Universe. January has been a really quiet month for readings. I think that this is because people are paying their Christmas bills and maybe don’t have the money right now for readings. Anyway, I was having this conversation with the Universe last week asking where my clients are. I literally said, “Okay Universe. I want to be doing more readings, more writing and more speaking. BUT HOW?!!?”

That afternoon I received an email about two psychic fairs, and the following day, my mentor referred me to another medium that is hosting a third psychic fair. I had five emails in my inbox from five new  potential clients as well. I actually thought to myself, “wow! The universe sure works fast when your intentions are clear.” I had another event like this this week, where I asked the Universe for exactly what I wanted and it put what I wanted directly in my path.

According to the Law of Attraction, when you put yourself in the vibration of having what you want, your desires cannot resist you.  Focus on the things you want as if you have them. A good tip for doing this is with journaling. You can journal about that awesome new job you have in the field of your choice. What does your office look like? Does it have windows? What’s hanging on the wall? What type of company is it? Be as specific and detailed as possible. As you write, you are going to find yourself feeling great!

BAM! You are in the vibration of having what you desire. Keep yourself here.

Remember – where your attention goes, energy flows.

The opposite is also true. You could say to me, “Amanda, I am always thinking about my desires. They are not getting any closer to me.” Here’s where the tricky part comes in. It’s important when working on manifesting your desires that you are focusing on having the thing you want, not focusing on the lack of it. When we focus on lack (not having something, being stuck etc) we become more stuck and attract more lack.

A major worry for a lot of people is finances. There may be more month than money and maybe instead of focusing on how abundant your life is and how you always manage to pay your bills and take care of business, you focus on the end of the month and the dilemma you are going to face when you don’t have enough money. You’re going to attract more money troubles in this vibration. Sometimes, you can be in the right place vibrationally, but your beliefs need to change. You may think that you are not worthy or deserving of that great job or that abundant flow of money.  Even when you are doing things absolutely right with manifesting, if your vibration and your beliefs are stuck in patterns that aren’t in alignment with abundance, you will end up with more of the same.

Let’s say you’re working a job you hate. Every day, you lament about how much your job doesn’t serve you, and how you think you should be doing something better, but nothing good is coming along. You’re convinced that you are doing everything right, but wait a minute… you are in a position of resistance and lack. When we resist, we block the flow of life so things are unable to come to us and inspire change.

Remember – what you resist persists.

Once you accept your situation for what it is now (maybe the job isn’t great, but it’s an income and it isn’t permanent. There’s hope for change), you’ll find that the right opportunity just falls right into your lap!

Try this principle out with something small, like seeing green cars today and check out how quickly it works!

The world really is your oyster. Once your attention and intention are in alignment, your desires won’t be able to resist you. Step into the flow of infinite possibility!


-    Amanda

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Amanda is a regular columnist on Mind Body Thoughts.  She writes A Happy Medium monthly column.  This article is written by Amanda.

To learn more about her and see all her other articles, go to Amanda's Page, A Happy Medium.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Amanda

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Fears And Conspiracy Theories

I've never seen this quite so bad as I'm seeing it now.  Almost every day there is a new fear or conspiracy theory about someone or something floating on the internet.  While most of it cannot be fully backed up with hard evidence, there are always the pieces that give just enough spark to the fire.

I'm not here to debate if all these theories are true or not.  I doubt that even if we spent the next year discussing many of them, we would still not be at the outcome which is provable beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Some of these things are pointless in my humble opinion because of that statement.

What bothers me more though, is that we are succumbing to our own fears and projecting that on to things that are totally unrelated.  We don't realize how much we are doing this, but an open eye can see it quickly and without much effort.  Fear is driving us.  Fear is controlling us.  Fear is making us believe things that are just not necessarily true.

It is okay to question and observe and learn.  There is no doubt in my mind that these are good things for all of us.  However, when we do them without being grounded, we lose so much of our self, our truth, and we chip away at what little of humanity is left.

We need to find balance...

We need to find balance, rather than chasing our fears.  We need to stop and notice what it is that we are feeding our own fears, rather than pointing the finger of alarm at all those we can get to listen to us.

Yesterday I started watching and reading some stuff on a website and it was rather disturbing to say the least.  Not that it was disturbing and frightening to me, but that it felt like the conversation and words were very dark and fear-based.  They were of a lower vibration.  In fact, it was more than annoying to try and continue to read and watch the various videos.

Fear is being propagated...

I know there is dark and scary stuff out there in the world.  I know there is fear that is being propagated at every turn in our day.  I know that we as a human civilization swallow up all the fear-based news of the day, chomping on it as if it is the last morsel of nutrition for our life.

There will always be things that take us away from our peace and safety.  It is a sad fact of life and the universe from what I have grown to understand.  However, if we allow the dark and scary stuff to latch on to the fears we have in our own life, we are only holding back ourselves and the collective consciousness of the world.

When we walk in fear, we destroy the universe and all the inhabitants.  When we walk in the darkness that permeates civilizations, we will not find peace.  It is only when we go deep within and clean out our own closets, that we will have taken fear by the hand and kicked it out the door.

May we all rise to greater heights and instead of chasing fears and conspiracy theories, let us find the good in one another, the peace deep within our own mind and body and the love that connects us as humans.  May we all rise to meet the challenges of the days, not wallow in the mud pits of fear, darkness, and things that ultimately will bring us down.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Signs From The Universe

As you read this, it is probably long past the point of what happened, but I still have to share it.  I made a major decision a couple of weeks ago and if you've been following this blog, you probably have already seen it.  If not, then by the time you read this, I will be gone from the job that I worked in and was killing me physically and mentally and spiritually.

Today as I had a major shift the other day during the Free Unlimited Abundance Webinar, I am noticing many different signs from the universe.  They are showing up in different ways, forms, shapes and sizes.  In fact, it is almost amusing watching what is transpiring since the shift the other night.

From people coming up to me and wanting to talk to me, to sitting in a deserted place and all of the sudden being swarmed by various individuals to just seeing people react different to me.  In addition, there have been emails that came at the right time and other little things I've noticed.  Some of the messages have been straight forward and very obvious, others just fit in with what is going on.

Opposing Forces

Every day, I see headlines and hear things that make me cringe.  Yes, I realize the media is about sensationalism because if they were not, no one would watch their reporting or read their news.  They are just the medium to highlight the opposing forces in this world.  It isn't just confined to the media either, but people who I interact with in my day.

I'd like to say that this is the worst it has ever been, but that might be nothing more than a sensational statement.  People who have lived much longer than me have most likely seen things much worse.  Yet, in my life span, this does feel like we are nothing more some days than opposing forces.

It almost feels like no matter what one person says, another will completely and vehemently disagree with them, calling them names and questioning their very nature of existence.  It doesn't matter what the issue is or what side of the issue anyone is on.  It just continues day after day after day.

For the most part, I don't watch much news reporting because of this.  I do read headlines and to be honest, that's often more than enough to see.  Not only is the reporting done so poorly these days, but bias runs as deep as it can.  Facts are interspersed in the bias to make it appear that it has substance.

Life Happens In Unexpected Ways

Sometimes we go through life looking for a solution that fits our current mindset.  In all reality, we often find that the lenses which we are viewing through is not how things necessarily work out for our life.  Life happens in unexpected ways and is usually a surprise to our day.

Many times we try to fit life into what we want it to be and we beg the universe to help us.  It isn’t until we realize that we if we impose our thoughts upon our future moments, that we are actually hindering what is possible.  By our very act of trying to force the creation of possibility, we are standing in the way of it uncovering in the way that it needs to happen.

Lately I have seen that as I step out of the problem and allow the universe to unfold in the way that it needs to, life happens in unexpected ways.  I have been surprised so much at how the answers I was seeking all of the sudden showed up.  For me, I just decided to ask for help and step out of the way. 

Observe Your Amusing Life In The Universe

Observe Your Amusing Life

I'm learning more and more to just live life in this moment and stop the worrying about the things I just can't do anything about.  Yes, it is easy to give lip service to these things, but it is now becoming more mainstream in my life.  You see, I 'm learning to be amused by the world around me and what the universe offers to me.

Now, I don't mean that I am laughing at everything in a joking or sarcastic manner.  In fact, that is the opposite of what I mean.  Yes, I do try to find the joy and laughter in life, but not at the expense of living in realistic terms.  After all, if life does not mean something to us, than how does that play into our every day?

By making life amusing, I am really referring to observing life through the eyes of an observer, not just willfully participating in events that I feel as if they are out of my control.  It is far too easy to go through life, thinking that things cannot change or improve, rather than realizing that I have so much power and influence in my life.

Observing Synchronicity In The Universe

Observing Synchronicity In
The Universe At The Park

Lately, I've been noticing some things taking place in life.  I enjoy sitting back every now and then and just observing life.  Often, we miss the little things because we are just too busy and unfocused.  Observing synchronicity in the universe gives us deeper insight into our life.

Events have happened lately with little random pieces of life falling together at the exact moment they needed to happen.  If they would have happened a moment sooner, it would have thrown off the complete order of succeeding events.  In the moment of each event, I was not able to tell how it was connected.  It was not until the events came together as one, that I could look back and see the progression of what happened.

As I look back now and observe the synchronicity in the universe, it is a little amusing.  When I say amusing, I am not making fun of the way the universe has put things together, but I am seeing just how wonderful it is.  Of course, some could say that the universe (or life force or whatever you call it) has nothing to do with these things and they are all random.  However, the more I observe it, the more I see that there is some force operating within us that leads us forward.

Beliefs Often Are Regurgitated Rhetoric

For more background information on this post, please read the previous post, Beliefs Are More Than We've Been Taught posted on 6/02/11

Let’s go a little further with our, what if scenarios. What if someone came along and said for one million dollars, I will teach you all the secrets of the universe. When you know this, you will be the most powerful person in the world and not lack anything you so desire. Would you jump at this? Of course, I’m sure many would if they could find the million dollars.

All of these things sound far-fetched or hopefully they do, but they are actually real. Sure some may title it as dooms-dayers, Doomsayers or unlimited abundance but if you break these things down, you really need to ask yourself if they pass the sniff test. I’m sure you could think of many examples in your day as well as I have only touched on very few.

The thing that saddens me though is how we as a human species accept that which others tell us to be the truth. We spout off regurgitated rhetoric as proof that we know what we are saying. We have our cue cards and our points of order already made up. We have our ears closed and we are proud of these things because it shows others that we truly have something they don’t have.

Yet, in the end, who are we fooling? We are not only fooling ourselves but we are fooling many that listen to us and follow us either giving millions of dollars in donations or $999 to buy into a program that promises to have all the answers. At the end of the day, is any one better off than anyone else for buying into these programs?

Sure, it makes us feel better to believe our own belief system and promote it, but one of these days, I think we will be forced to answer for what we do unto others in our life.


Further Reading:
1) Beliefs Are More Than We've Been Taught
2) What Do You Believe?


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Step Of Trust Into Faith

Life has its synchronized moments where everything comes together at the right time, in the right place, and with the right people. When something that has been virtually impossible unfolds in a manner of seconds without any effort, this is a direct reminder of synchronicity.

For the past year or more, I have been trying to make something happen that I feel called to do. it seemed like every door had not just been shut in my face but slammed shut. Nothing was working and my income was not there. I felt pressured by people in my professional life when things were not happening. Most of all, I was just existing in life, not only financially but in life as a whole. I tried hard not to give up.

Finally after my moment of screaming out that I could not take this anymore, I vowed to the universe that no matter what my fears were, I would take a step of trust into faith that my path would illuminate before me. I knew that would be difficult for me but I also knew that if I was on the journey that I thought I was, all things would be there for me when I needed them.

This moment led to new things in my life and further self discovery. I took steps to learn something I was not normally open to previously. Through that learning moment, several new possibilities are unfolding. There was no way I could have seen or touched these possibilities.

And then, last night, the one thing I had give up on finally worked out in a matter of seconds. Of course, it is coming together in a different way than I imagined but again I will take a step of trust into faith that all things will work out as planned. For all we can do is show up, offer our evolving self and let the unknowns of the universe bring it all together.



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/28/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Turning Points and Manifesting Change

In reading the book "Manifesting Change" by Mike Dooley, I read a part that at first I thought didn't apply to me. As I went through the exercise on page 69, I realized that yes, it does apply. In fact, I did not realize it was a turning point for me. The events were personal and I'd rather not share them publicly but until I sat down and did this exercise, I had almost missed the significance of them.

In the exercise, you start by listing the turning point in your life, hopefully one that has recently taken place. Then, you list the circumstances that led you to this turning point. Lastly, you write down all the ways that this has affected your life. It is a rather simple exercise that shows you a great deal about a turning point in your life that you might otherwise miss. In fact, it helps you see other things that may very likely give you more insight into the future of your life and how you manifest change.

On page 71, I liked his quote "Settle for nothing less and behave as if you knew your success was inevitable." This is such a profound quote and yet it is so simple.

Continuing on page 71, he also states, "the only other thing required of you is that you show up, taking action in the general direction of your dreams so that you can meet with "accidents" and "serendipities" that will allow the Universe's plan to unfold without a hitch."

Wow.. one of those ah ha moments in life! Sometimes it is not easy to follow one's dreams and inner prompting of where you are going. Sometimes it takes forever to get there and there are challenges along the way. If we show up, take action towards the general directions of our dreams, things will unfold. We do not need to know the steps we have to take, we just need to be willing to walk the path.

For Further Reading (More Blog Posts About Manifesting Change)
1) Using A GPS To Find Your Path In Life
2) Understanding How Life Works
3) Ask Questions Within




Blog Post & Images (c) 1/24/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only

My Journey In This Universe

Written by Don Shetterly

Dear Universe,

I come today with all my fears, my perceived shortcomings, and my questions to offer myself up to do what I came here to do. Often, I do not fully understand all that this entails nor do I always see clearly just where the path is that I am walking on.

Please help me to see the guidance around me and the love that engulfs me.  Help me have the patience along with the courage to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Help me to never forget why I came into this world.

Let me never forget that my journey is not about one single moment but about all moments combined together bringing me a greater awareness and consciousness of who I am.

Using a GPS To Find Your Path In Life

Have you ever thought of how using a GPS is a great example of finding your path in life? I had not considered this thought until I was reading Chapter 3 of Manifesting Change by Mike Dooley. After all, the GPS gives us an insight to the way our journey in life unfolds or how we think our journey will unfold.

If you have a GPS, you know that in order for it to be of help, you have to put in your destination. In the GPS I have, you can also just display a map as you are driving which is nice because you can see from a bird's eye viewpoint all that is around you as you drive down the road. Without entering the destination, the GPS cannot help you find the location to where you desire to go.

So you put in the destination using the steps of the GPS by entering the city/town or zipcode. Then you enter the street and house or building number and if you have entered information that the GPS understands, it comes up with the correct address. Next, you have to tap the button, "GO" because until you do that, it is just an address showing on the screen. Once you do this, you will most likely hear proceed to designated route.

It is at this point that you have to put your car in motion to the proceed to the designated route and begin following the path the GPS is laying out before you. Most of the time, it just visually shows you the immediate upcoming turns guiding you to turn here or there or within so many feet. If you follow what it says, the GPS will guide you to your destination. At times though, the path it has laid out for you to get there will seem uncertain or strange or illogical but if you continue to follow the directions, most of the time you will end up at your destination.

Now, consider how this parallels life. Many of us know where we want to go or what we desire in life and so we enter it in the GPS of our life. We do this through the thoughts, actions, words and ways we spend our energy. It is like what you put in, you get out. Then once we've filled our world with what we are currently aware or conscious of (the address or destination) that goes into our life's GPS), than we proceed to our destination.

However, we often set our GPS up (with things that will help us get there or with things that may take us on a scenic route) and then we say - that's it - that's all I have to do. What a wonderful life (or a wonderful GPS) and that all I have done will just get me where I need to do. I'll just keep doing the thoughts, words, actions and spending my energy like I have. I'll keep repeating mantras, positive thoughts and hanging out with the junkies from the Secret. Of course, there is nothing wrong with any of that. It is all good stuff but here's the catch.

When I was reading this in Mike Dooley's book, it hit me like a 2x4 upside my head. The thing that most of us fail to do is to put the car in gear and let the GPS take us to our destination. We get so hung up on entering our destination and trying to figure out where we are going that we forget to engage the car (ourselves) in a forward motion. How can we expect the GPS (universe) to get us where we are going if we just stand still in life.

Wait though - there's another point in his book that just hit me a little harder. Often if we are headed to a destination that we have never been to before, we have no idea what roads the GPS (universe) will bring up in the display to get us there. It will most likely not be a familiar path we need to travel. Again, if we follow the GPS (universe) along with the roads that show up before us, we will get there. That is, if we trust that the GPS (universe) knows what is the best route for us and that it understands how to get us to our destination.

The point he makes in his book is that we may not often know what is coming up in our travel to the destination but we have to follow the road along. If we stop and analyze every mile and if this road is the right one or if it is turning the wrong direction or if it is too steep or long, we may be throwing ourselves off our path with unnecessary worry. If we stop and worry about whether there will be gas stations along the way or places to eat and rest or if we will be all alone or stuck in traffic, we may be focusing on things that most likely will appear just when we need them.

Let the GPS (universe) of life help guide you along your path because there is something much greater than ourselves that sees the best path ahead for us in our life. This is something that is located within each of us and if we search within the deepest parts of our consciousness and awareness we will find it. It is our connection to the path ahead. Don't worry about the roads may come before us but allow them to unfold as the miles progress. Keep following the GPS and keep trusting that it knows where it is taking you. Most of all, put your life in forward motion because if your life is at a stand still waiting to get to your destination, until you engage the forward motion, you won't get there.

For me personally, I have an idea of where I am going and where I need to go. It is something deep within me that keeps finding ways to prompt me and let me know when I'm headed in the right direction or when I need to take a U-Turn on my journey and recalculate my route. However, the part that is difficult for me is trusting this process. All too often, I want to know every step ahead and have it planned out. I'm sure this is part of the left over remnants from the days where life was out of control and I had no say in what was taking place. While that was something that was was part of my survival, it is no longer that useful to me in my daily journey. In fact, it takes me off my journey forward and keeps me from heading to my destination.

Yes, I've watched the movie, "The Secret" and "What The Bleep" and many other things. They are all great movies but in the end, our journey forward is not located in a movie or other new age concept or any one that says they have the answers for us. Some of these things can help us discover these moments of clarity within ourselves but to find your way, you must look within yourself for the answers. By cleaning out the cobwebs and clutter of your life, life will become more real, sincere and full of answers. Standing in the shadows of your life may be the necessary part to help you begin moving forward but at some point, you have to emerge from the shadows to walk on your journey.

I'm not going to write that any of this is easy to do. In my life, it has been anything but easy. It has been downright difficult. Often I have had to travel by faith that the GPS knew something I did not understand in that moment. There were times that I followed my gut instincts and intuition because it seemed right when in fact, I could not explain why I was doing this. I now understand more that all experiences we have had in life get us to the point where we are now at. At one time not long ago, I had no way to understand this.

If we put our destination into the GPS of our life and put ourselves in a forward motion, we will get where we are going. Yes, we may not even fully understand where that destination is but we can always adjust our route and make a U-Turn if we need to. We can always travel a scenic route while the GPS will recalculate to bring us back to our intended path. The best thing we can do is just keep moving forward and opening ourselves up to the roads that come our way. Knowing that everything we will need is going to show up when we need it is the key to allowing ourselves to move along our path. It may not be easy but if you look back at your life, you will see much of this in action and if it worked for you all these years, it will continue to work for you in the days ahead.

Further Reading: Manifesting Change by Mike Dooley


(c) 12/5/10 by Don Shetterly - use by permission only.

The Path We Take

Each of us in this society, the world and the universe have a role to play. It is up to each one of to realize and understand what our role is and become intimately acquainted. There is a time of searching in our life that brings us to the moment we are at and if we do not heed that call, than we are not living up to our full potential.

This path of each individual impacts all of us in one way or another. All too often in our community, we tend to follow the lead of the person with the biggest megaphone instead of listening to our internal self which is illuminating our path. We give up reason and logic for the hope of someone telling us what we should do, how we should think and where we should go.

We sit ourselves in front of reality shows and non-stop commercials as mind numbed humans hoping to find something meaningful for our life in that moment. In all reality, we are longing for an illusion of what fictitiously is out there for us rather than opening up to that which is within our minds and our bodies.

For much of my life, I was taught to follow those in authority without questioning what they said. Whether it was in the church, in school or at home, I was not "allowed" to question all that was being shoved down my throats. If I dared question things, it was met with quick rebuke and condemnation. My path became that of following blindly what was fed to me because I knew that if I did not do this, life would be difficult at best.

As I grew up and went to college, I struggled with people that were different than me. In my mind, anyone that did not conform to the way I was taught to think was the person that was wrong or misinformed or considered in some cases to be evil and sinful. Some of this may sound very harsh but it was what I experienced. Most of my life was very difficult in connecting with people because even though I would never say it to anyone, I often looked down upon others because they did not believe, act and feel as I did in my life. This is what I was taught from an early age and I knew no different.

It was not until I started into college that I began questioning things more and seeing others act in ways that although they were different than what I would do, I did not see any harm arise from their their views. As I began to evaluate some of the things I grew up with, I started to learn that I did not have all the answers. My way was not the only way and just because I thought I was right, it did not mean that I was the king of my domain. In fact, I began to learn in life that often it is not about who is right or wrong but about what you learn along the way that matters. It is the unfolding of the process and walking the journey that moves us from being a person to becoming a conscious human.

To me, I see our current society doing so much that reminds me of my past. There are groups that are screaming at the top of their lungs trying to proclaim they are right. They use various adjectives and descriptions of the people who do not agree with them. It is not just one side of various issues as it is both sides. It dominates our society and our world.

Everyone is so busy screaming that they have no way to actually hear and listen to the other person. Through our screaming we fail to see the worth and value of each other. It is sad that we are becoming a society that gives little value to who each other is because everything has been replaced with judging what is right or wrong about the other person. Our opinions have become fact and our judgments have become the law of the land.

If we continue down this road we are on, we will wake up one of these days with swords in our hand while we continue to out scream one another. As I found out during my college years, there is much more to be learned and realized by opening ourselves up to all that is around us. Listening to our fellow humans is the way forward. Accepting all that we are taught on the TV and in the media is nothing more than following the masses and closing our minds. We have much more potential than this as humans. We do not need to pull ourselves up to what is being thrown out as the truth and accept it as if it is the only morsel we will ever eat.

We need to open our eyes and question everything we do. We need to search for what life really means and what it means to be human. It is much more than going to a job every day, coming home to a routine and then absorbing all that the media tells us is good and true. It is much more than pushing our minds and bodies so hard that we make ourselves sick as we succumb to what the medical ads and doctors dictate is the most healthiest thing for our ailing body. It is much more than just following some new age line of thinking or sitting in a church pew and agreeing with everything being taught.

No, it isn't easy to stand up and say, "I don't think I quite agree with you." When people are all on one bandwagon, it is not easy to stand alone and say, I see a different way through this. Often it is difficult for us to even convince ourselves that we truly need to go in and examine our innermost thoughts and our own awareness. Much of the time, it feels easier to just go with the flow, not rock the boat and follow that which you've always followed.

As humans, we are meant to evolve and we are meant to be more than we currently are in our life. Trials, difficulties, pains and ailments are meant to get our attention and keep us going inward. These things are difficult beyond measure but without them around us, we may not grow like we are meant to grow in our lives.

If you get only one thing out of what I have written, please go in and search that which is within yourself. What about you makes sense and what doesn't? What ideals do you follow and why? Question yourself extensively and do not accept easy answers when you ask yourself these questions. Make yourself uncomfortable when you search yourself and find out why you truly feel the way you do about life. Look and find that which is a higher truth rather than that which is based upon fears, opinions and jumping on the bandwagon of judgment by others.

For if we all do this, we not only improve ourselves as people, but we evolve ourselves into a higher level of consciousness. By doing this individually, we are then able to offer up much more to those around us and to the world as a whole. We become contributing humans rather than one of the masses and the entire universe benefits. There is so much more out there for each one of us but if we keep our eye sights fixated on that which is comfortable, than we are missing some of the greatest wonders of the universe.

(Above Picture (c) 1/10/07, Miami, Florida)

That Which We Cannot See

I wonder if all cultures of humans are like the one I live in where if you can't prove it and see it, it doesn't exist. I come from a science background and so I am very skeptical of what I cannot prove. Yet, I experience things that seem to be out of the realm of possibility.

As a country and a world, many of our inhabitants believe in some unknown force that is only seen by having faith. We look to them as our creator, our life force and the entity responsible for all that happens. We often call them God, the universe, source energy or we give them a name that represents this word. Yet, has anyone seen this entity of faith with their own physical eyes?

Many claim to see this force of all existence and spirituality all around them. In fact, if you're trying to win an argument as to its existence, the one without faith would appear to be the loser. And in many new age alternative circles of thought, they subscribe to the same thinking but do so in a much different way with a different language.

Maybe as humans, these experiences are real and are needed for our lives. It may be that we all just have different concepts and views for this all encompassing force within us. For each one of us is different and unique in our own way, so why could our central force of our life not be different?

I'm sure each one of us would admit that there is something within us that gives a sense of something greater in our lives. This part of us that helps us strive to be more than we can be and connects each one of us together in profound ways. Down through the ages, so much has been written and passed on. This has attempted to allow each person to understand concepts that were beyond comprehension.

Often things happen and we as humans find no way to make sense of them. Tragedies, trauma and natural disasters give us little hope as we wrestle with our fears. When we can't find a way to hold life together in our minds, we look to the unseen forces to give us meaning. Many times we blame the unseen force because it is the only thing that makes sense to our lives.

My mind though begins to question that what happens in our lives and our world, is it no part of what is supposed to happen? Is it not normal experiences that occur just as the sunrise and sunset in any given day? It may be. None of us can say for sure.

Throughout history though, many texts and stories full of tradition and ritual have been used to give a sense of balance. They have become spiritual traditions to help us explain that which we cannot see. In fact, these spiritual rituals are so much a part of our society that we are barely able to truly see them for what they are.

There is a part of us, a consciousness if you will, that keeps moving us to greater awareness. We all move towards it at a pace that is appropriate for our lives. Sometimes we claim some casualties along the way. And for each person, we need to determine what this consciousness is within us.

In the process of our discovery, may we not define this spirituality as others proclaim to us, but by that which seems to resonate within us. Let our minds, bodies, and hearts guide us as we consciously become more aware of what we do not currently see in our lives. For the more we become aware, the more we truly become humans in spiritual bodies.


Photo by NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Listening To The Universe

How much do we miss in our day? It is most likely much more than any one of us want to admit. The messages are there but in our culture and society, we've been well trained to just go on in our daily life and sort of ignore them. It is like getting a cell phone call, and then dropping the call. The universe is then saying to us, can you hear me now?

While there may be some very gifted people that are meant to connect with the universe in a special way, I believe that anyone can do this. I believe we all can get messages if we are open to them and allow them to come in. All too often, we close our lives off through fear and shutting down that stream of information we so long for.

Isn't it amazing that there is no shortage of people in this world asking questions of what they should do in life. The questions include finances, abundance, relationships, jobs, careers and purpose in their lives. They often seek out others to tell them what they should be doing in life. While others may help them discover some of their truths, they often give their power up to those people. At the same time, they fail to connect with their own internal message stream.

Things like not trusting one's self, fear and past experience can muffle the message or block it out all together. Staying so busy in our lives or chasing the wrong rainbow gives us little opportunity to connect. Having low self confidence, leaves us doubting all that we experience, wondering if we are trusting a thief in the night or a good Samaritan. Past trauma and even current day stress can distort all that we view and pick up in our days even with the best of intentions.

This information is so valuable to us. It shows up through heart tugs, feelings of ease or difficulty, abundance or lack, body pain and illness and many other ways. How we feel in our lives is the prompt to evaluate our direction. If we attempt to hide from the things we need to face, can we expect a good outcome for our daily lives?

Yes, often we are not sure what the next step is. I have been at the point of being physically paralyzed from a conversion disorder and quite literally did not know how to take the next step. I had to trust that the physical therapist and doctors knew how to help me. I had to have the courage and determination to keep trying no matter how tough it got, to function once again. I had to allow myself to focus in the moment, and on my body, so that I could recover. Sometimes we do not know what to do, but inaction or doing nothing will get us no further than we are in the moment.

It all starts with quieting our minds, connecting to our bodies and allowing ourselves to open up and listen. Acknowledge the fears so that you are able to let them go. Let the energy of the fears and pain, help motivate the change instead of allowing it to pull you under. Spend time regularly allowing yourself to stop, rest and be open. Allow yourself the opportunity to listen. Give yourself the permission.

Then, just observe what thoughts, patterns or yearnings you notice. See what thoughts pop into your mind and prompt you to take action. See how different events make you feel and move towards the ones you are passionate about. Let yourself be in the moment, giving yourself the permission to just open up and listen and connect with all that you are.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

It Took A Miracle

Several days back, I was at the point of wishing life would really stop. Life as I know it had given me a lot to deal with and culminated in an episode of vomiting and complete exhaustion of my body. One could make a claim that I had a 24 hour flu bug or that I had eaten something that didn't agree with myself but the facts would not support these theories and hypothesis. However, there was one factor that played a significant role in this entire night of horrible anguish.

Leading up to this night, I was full of anger that seemed to just replenish itself every moment that I drew from its well. There was no end to its supply. On top of that, my neck muscles, back muscles and overall body were in a state of tension from stress with pains radiating from many different parts. It included the creep crawly feeling on my legs along with the muscles twitching that drives me nuts! Headaches were coming and going and my eating diet was so far off with wild mood swings from one extreme to another. I felt like a pendulum going back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth.

Than when the fury of the night unleashed its gigantic storm on me, I sat on the bathroom floor wishing this would stop but knowing if I continued to resist it, things could and most likely would get worse. By the time, the vomiting had stopped; I could barely stand up on my two feet or make it to my bed to just go to sleep for the night. Every internal organ inside of my body was twisting and turning and I could feel every movement which was not enjoyable. I just wanted the night to be over and all of this to end. I had reached my end point. I had reached the point of saying enough was enough and did not have the ability to even begin fighting this in the moment. I had reached fatigue. I had reached exhaustion. There was no going back at this moment. The only way beyond was to accept the current state I was in and worry about the next moment when it arrived.

The next day, I still felt horrible as far as abdominal pains from the night of vomiting. I was weak and had little desire to eat anything at that point. I was extremely tired and desired sleep. However, my body felt much more relaxed than it had felt in some time. The tension was remarkably less. The headaches were gone. It felt as if my body had gone through a big release as if I had been through a bodywork session on a table. You could argue and probably would be correct that the night of vomiting was point that built up to the release in my body. However, my body was not the same as it was the previous day and even though my mind was still tired and exhausted, I knew there was a change.

As I regained my strength throughout the day, I finally broke down and said, "Universe - you win". I continued speaking to the universe that what I had been given in life to deal with was more than I could take. I needed a break. I needed a reprieve from it. I just could only deal with so much and it seemed as if I had been given more than my fair share. I remember uttering the words "I really need a miracle" and I was not going to share that point with anyone. I wanted the miracle to come my way totally unsuspected and in a way that I knew I was not creating it. I just left it at that. By this point, I felt strong enough to start doing some yard work and so I spent a couple of days outside in the sun not worrying about any of the stresses I had to deal with in life at that moment.

Then on Monday morning bright and early, I was awakened by a phone call. While that was annoying, I stepped back and saw that what this person had to share with me was a prompting to pick up a project that I had almost given up on. I was sitting there thinking - wow.. that's amazing! Later that day, I found out about an opportunity to sell some music through a national retailer website that just had not connected in my mind and so that process started. On Tuesday, I had sent an email to someone and so wanted to be able to attend an event coming up but knew there was no possible way. Out of that email, came a response that completely changed every aspect of that particular situation. In the process of this time, I was able to connect with an online friend who up until this point, I was too shy to talk to on the phone and that single act of speaking on the phone was a big moment for me. The possibilities of that single phone call are out of this world.

Tuesday morning of course was met by another phone call for a 5 day contract job. While the pay was less than normal, it was 5 full days of work which was a welcomed relief. Things had been getting pretty dire with income and so after going many weeks without any phone calls, this contact meant so much. Later Tuesday afternoon, I was working hard on a project when a call came through from a friend on the Yanni Fan Club message board. I missed the call initially but then check the messages and knew I needed to call her back right away. She had initially bought tickets for her family to see Yanni in Orlando next but her husband just had pace maker surgery and was advised not to travel to Orlando. That meant, she had an extra ticket and she just wanted someone to be able to use it. While she had called others about this, I was the first one to return her call and I’m so happy I was. The ticket is in the 4th row and I've never been to a concert where I sat in the 4th row before. She gave me the ticket and wanted nothing for it. Without this act of her kindness and generosity, I would not have been able to go see Yanni. I never expected something like this to happen when I woke up yesterday.

My mind is drifting back to the statement I made to the universe just a couple days ago "I need a miracle". I didn't get "ONE" miracle. Instead, I received several miracles. And I wrote the following, "I love it when the Universe and the Angels let me know they are there and today, it has been in some very dramatic ways. I asked for a miracle and I'm amazed at how quickly things happened. Wow... Why did I ever doubt this? That's the lesson I still haven't fully learned."

Yes, I still struggle with the issue of knowing I'm not alone in this world. My upbringing led me to the point of not ever relying or asking for or accepting any help whatsoever. I was taught that if you did, than the people who were giving these things to you could and most definitely would demand how you ran your life and what decisions you made and every little thing you would do. I was taught by example that once you accept help, than you give up all freedom. When I look back at the previous week, it is obvious that I'm not alone and it is very obvious that there is something out there listening to me. You may want to call it the Universe, God, The Angels, The Spirits or a host of other identifiers. To me, it doesn't matter what I call it, because I know they exist. However, I usually refer to them as my Angels or as the Universe. It is what fits for me.

My heart is filled with joy at this time because of all that has transpired for me. I can see that if we drop our guard down and allow ourselves to connect with all that is around us, than we truly are not alone and we are blessed beyond imagination. I realize that we don't have to go any further than what is right around us. It isn't something that we need to look to others for the answers but is something that is right within us. Others may help us discover what is within ourselves, but we can access it at any time.

Of course, like many others, I fail to remember this. That just gives me the opportunity for further growth and continued steps on down my journey. So once again, I'm reminded of all that I am part of and all that is a part of me. May I remember this as I draw on the strength I need to fulfill the purpose that is before me.