Category: spiritual

Let’s Make Sure Your Vote Counts

Remembering The Law of Attraction is of utmost importance. The results of our election depends on all of us understanding how energy in voting makes a difference.

The Law of Attraction says that you will attract into your life whatever you focus on, and that like attracts like. But the way to manifest what we want hinges on our making sure we are focusing on what we really want.

Let me explain. Most people in our country are focusing on what they don’t want. So many Americans have stated they are voting for Joe Biden because we can’t let President Trump win again. Their fear is directing their choices, not what they’re wanting.

By focusing on keeping Trump from winning, we are focusing on Trump. All of our attention goes to what we don’t want. Can you see that all the energy being sent on to Trump is going to be a powerful draw to an outcome most of us don’t want?

There’s a solution to this dilemma, and it is simple. If we, as a nation in peril, take our focus off the candidates, and on to what we want, we can’t lose. With all the people’s attention all over the country focusing on what they want, they can’t help but receive what they’re wanting, and that’s what we want, isn’t it?

Take President Trump out of the equation. He doesn’t matter except for all the reasons he’s given us for wanting to vote.

Now, to manifest what we want, we have to focus on what we want. We have to clarify what we want our vote to mean. If like attracts like, you want to make sure that your vote will shape the world of your desires, not what you don’t want. And then you need to elaborate. Your beliefs shape your thoughts, your thoughts shape your actions, and your actions shape your reality.

For me, my belief that our country needs to come back to a way where we may differ in our opinions, but we should be able to compromise might lead me to think about having a president who listens instead of rules. The next thought helps me decide about the vote I’m going to make because I also want a loving a caring democracy. Now that I’m clear to take action, I can make my vote from a place of the love and peace and caring for what I want for our country.

This is not the only issue where I want change, so I shall take out a new notebook and begin writing the changes I’d like to see in our new administration. The more clarity I receive, the more positive energy I can bring to what I write. Visualizing the black community celebrating the end of police brutality, I feel their relief and sense of freedom from abuse. A raise in the living wage is helping families have enough money for all of their needs and less dependence on a government that doesn’t always keep its promises. It’s comforting to have confidence in an administration that’s always honest and prepares me for anything I should know. I’m beyond excited that the energy in our country is uplifting and that we are all eager to help.

I don’t know about you, but I want whoever wins the election to lead us to a sense of unity. I want to feel confident our next president will help us get through this pandemic in ease with less and fewer people being affected until we’re all vaccinated and safe. 

I could go on and on, but I hope you understand with the information I’ve given you, you’re not only going to vote, but you’re going to make that vote count for something you want.

I’ll answer questions you want to ask in the comments section. To learn more about the Law of Attraction, google Law of Attraction on the internet. There are many books on the Law on Amazon and other bookstores or at any library.

Writing a Book About Writing a Book

There are many books about writing a book. The book I’m writing isn’t one. Let me explain.

Twenty or more years ago I set out to write a memoir. I’d majored in writing in college. I’d been a voracious writer all my life. But none of those years acquainting myself with writing and books had prepared me to understand what to write about or how to start.

Heck, I knew nothing about writing a book.

So I went to a guru. Stay with me. This gets interesting.

This guru had written a book, but her knowledge about writing was of no interest to me. What I needed was an answer to what I should write about. I didn’t want to just write any book. My intuition was guiding me to create a book using my experiences to help me and help others.

These were issues I was grappling with. How best can I help others with the experiences I’ve had? What should the focal point of the book be? 

Abraham describes itself in the plural as “a group consciousness from the non-physical dimension.” There are other names for this dimension; Muhammad, Source energy, the Universe, God, Jesus, and many others.

Before these concepts about spirituality throw you, you’re questioning my sanity or you think I’m from another planet, please rest assured.

Now here comes the good part.

This information from Abraham is available through other spiritual sources. I mentioned a few above, but other best-selling contemporary authors and spiritual leaders are also sharing this information. Esther Hicks was also featured in the movie, “The Secret”.

Abraham is channeled through Esther Hicks. Abraham’s answers, spoken through Esther, pertain to “your joyous deliberate creation and control of every event and condition of your life.” To translate; we’re always creating. The trick is to learn how to create what we would like. 

I’d been to several workshops where Abraham answers questions from the audience. Each time I went, what Abraham said about subjects affecting me resonated. The information I received was always enlightening. I would see problems I’d been having with more clarity, and I’d know the truth of what Abraham shared because their interpretation made me feel good.

The question I asked Abraham was a question about what kind of book to write. The answer I received from Abraham was, “Write a Book About Writing a Book.”

What kind of answer is this?, I thought. I didn’t want to put all my time and effort in what I perceived to be a silly attempt. But now I’ve written three books, and now that those three books are flip/flops—(flip) an instance of flipping; (flop) to be a complete failure—I understand why writing a book about writing a book might have been the better option.

According to Abraham, “You only hear what you are ready to hear.” That was true for me writing those three books. I realize now that guilt drove my first memoir. I wanted to defend all I had done. All that explaining, defending and justifying made for some boring reading. That book flopped.

Ten years later, I lightened up in the second book I wrote. I flipped from making my story be about me and instead my story became about a woman I imagined to be. That book flopped because it couldn’t decide who I was.

Another ten years went by before my third attempt. This would be the perfect time to write about myself. I had forgiven everyone I’d blamed and had forgiven myself about my past. This time it would be easy. And it was easy, but not good. Something was wrong.

I tried to sell it and got a lot of interest because of the premise, but one reading after another led to more disinterest. The truth revealed: the writing sucked and it wasn’t the truth.

I wouldn’t give up.

I still believed that I had a destiny, and that I was to write a book that would help me and others. I’d trusted the way to do this would come.

Giving up now meant giving up on myself. It would be tantamount to forsaking my faith in my vision. It would mean what I’d done didn’t count for anything.

All the signs, the serendipitous events, the times I’d come in contact with what I needed at the perfect time, were they all just phantoms?

Then it hit me!

Maybe this is the test. Maybe if I hold on to faith, success is right around the next corner. I know now what’s wrong. Maybe now I can do it right.

I’ve already learned a lot more about writing. I am seeing/hearing/feeling the truth more and more. I can do this now.

This is what I shall share with you on my blog. I’ll be posting about writing this book. And this will be in real-time. Stay tuned and sign up for info on new installments.

To access Abraham, go to https://www.abraham-hicks.com/

Podcasts from Abraham available on youtube.com

Why You Have to Change Your Mind

flower - 1“Whatever is lovely, true, noble, right, pure, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, think on such things.”

Philippians: 4.8

Recently, I descended into my ego again.  You know…..that arrogant, conceited, pompous state of mind that criticizes and deprecates everything and everyone around her.  That braggart who knows more, is better than, who gets pulled into convincing herself she’s superior to those around her.

Why do we do that?  It’s obvious, isn’t it?  Well, something or someone caused me to doubt myself, so my ego was on the watch for  ways to convince me that I am more than I fear I might not be.

I remember, in the past, how I would stay in that frame of mind for days, weeks, months.  I’ve even been there for years.  My disparaging thoughts would shift from thinking about other people to judging myself, depending on my vantage point.

Now that I know better, it’s hard to conceive how I could allow that pac man invasion to continue.  But I didn’t know better.

When I was in the midst of that mindset, I couldn’t sleep.  I didn’t get much accomplished.  I kept looking for something outside of myself to make me feel better.  And some things helped for awhile.  But not for long…..ever.

It wasn’t until that mentality began to not just attack my mind but began to assault my body, too, that I finally asked for help.  My need to prove to myself that I was good enough and I was worthy was now causing me to have not just thoughts to deal with, but real bodily concerns.

I surrendered and looked for help.  Some books provided insight into what was happening to me.  Some suggested using positive affirmations. Others gave me new ways to see my circumstances in a more positive way.  Again they helped for awhile, but not in the long run.

Negativity entrenches itself into your mind because we fear we’re not okay.  This is a part of a natural fight or flight response our bodies uses to help us stay safe.  In the midst of an onslaught of negativity, it’s impossible to change your mind.  The voice in your mind is just too loud.  But there is a process you might do to find happiness and peace once again:

  • Don’t react to the thoughts as you listen to them.
  • Instead, observe the thoughts.  You’re not the one thinking them.
  • Something magical happens when you acknowledge and disassociate with the negativity.  Negativity loses it’s hold in your mind.
  • Once the  thoughts lose momentum, replace those thoughts with some thoughts that make you happy, like the ones in the quote above.

As you keep practicing this, you’ll begin to notice that it’s getting easier and easier to know when you need to stop thinking the thoughts that make you suffer.  You’ll be able to turn around the negativity quicker.

Appreciation of what you see around you, all that which makes you feel good, is a higher vibration.  The vibration of Love is where Happiness resides.  Embrace happiness and help yourself and the world heal.

 

How to Be a Child Again

Version 2

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

Picasso

Do you sometimes question whether you’re good enough, qualified, or worthy enough?

Are you sometimes at a loss of what to say, and do you struggle trying to have ideas come to you?

When we creatives grow up, we “think” that, in order to excel at whatever we love to do, we must designate ourselves as an artist. After all, when we are older everyone asks us what we do. However, labeling a name to what we do is fraught with problems.

The title, Artist, to us, connotes that we are now fully qualified to be equal or better than other artists in our field. We now have expectations of what being an artist implies to us. If we “fail” in our estimation to meet an expectation we have, we label ourselves a failure.

We “think” that in order to live up to our expectations, we have to be perfect.  Perfection is impossible, and actually keeps us from experimenting and growing as artists.  So how could we deal with the dilemmas we face as Artists?

We could go back to being a child again.  A child is not just open to learning, a child is consumed with curiosity.  A child can’t wait to experiment to see what each action they take will produce.  A child lives in the moment, and what they love to do each moment is play.

What would happen if, instead of judging ourselves by past successes, we move into this moment and allow our inner child to play?  What would happen is that we would be opening ourselves up to receiving ideas and inspiration from Source, from God, from our higher selves.  When we let go to receive, as opposed to some agenda our thinking mind has conjured up, we are surprised, thrilled and delighted with what comes to us.  We are now the artist we have always been.

In the middle of writing this blog, my daughter, Tracy, texted me a picture of some of her students playing.  I asked her if she would teach me how to be a kid again, and if she had some wise words to share with me.  This is her answer,

“Just be yourself.  No one else can do it any better than you.”

3 Ways to Let Go

floating flowers - 1Woman with Orchids

In order to create a visionary interpretation of an object, an artist or writer or dancer or other creative must dig deeper.  Our eyes only see what we think of as reality, so in order to really be creative, we need to go past our five senses to get in touch with our sixth sense, our intuitive power.  How do we do that?

1.  Get in touch with our feelings about the subject.  Our feelings come from a nonobjective place.  They describe how we feel about the object.  When we are open to “seeing” in this way, we bring vividly to mind what is significant about the object to us.

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance.”

Aristotle

2.  Open our hearts to Love.  Love is one of the highest vibrations of the human spirit.  Love is consuming and allows us to let go of fear, meaning we receive total focus without any of the “should’s” or “cant’s” interfering.  We are free to easily and effortlessly receive ideas and inspiration.

“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

Vincent Van Gogh

3.  Let Go for the Flow.  So, what is Flow?  It’s what you’re feeling when you are fully alive.  It’s when you’re involved with what you do and in harmony with the environment around you.  Flow happens when you are carried by a force outside of you.  Self-consciousness Disappears, and we become One with God.  You are only in the flow when the experience is the only reward, is the only outcome you’re focused on while you’re loving what you’re doing.

All artists know that those paintings that are created freely and effortlessly are the best – let it flow !

Dianne Middleton

For more information on how I used flow for a painting see:

https://dorettab.com/2016/12/01/flow/3 Ways to Let Go

 

 

Why Beautiful Paintings Capture the Imagination

Version 3

In my last post, Painting a Picture, I shared that I want to paint from my imagination instead of copying a photograph already produced from reality.  The painting above is an example of allowing 1/2 to flow from my imagination, and copying 1/2 from a photograph.

After posting my last blog post, I asked myself what constitutes art.  That’s a subject I took in college and there’s no easy answer.  There are no guidelines.  It’s more visceral.  Art can be copying (it’s allowed) or visionary (distinctive).

What I did realize is what I’ve always tried to achieve in every painting I do.  Regardless of whether it’s coming from my imagination or some picture I want to reproduce, I need to paint beauty.

Why do I think beauty is essential?  Without a doubt, beauty is a higher vibration than ugliness.  It’s more uplifting than something less attractive.  Beauty is more inviting, less disenchanting.  Beauty is Love.  Ugliness is Fear.

When we’re feeling the surge of Love, we’re connected to the sensation of pleasure.  It’s not difficult to look at ugliness.  It’s all around us.  We see it every day.  But all that ugliness serves for me is a reminder that I have a choice.  Do I choose Love or Fear?

Of course, if I tried, I could find the beauty in what others perceive as ugly.  But in that instance, I am still choosing Beauty and not allowing the fear to enter the painting.