Set Intentions, Not Resolutions

One Intention is Worth a Thousand Resolutions

Photo-Amanda Slater via Flikr

Let’s face it. Resolutions are meant to be broken. Intentions are not. Perhaps it’s because resolutions come from the brain without any real, emotional attachment, while intentions come from the heart, and perhaps even the soul, where your passion lies waiting for something to ignite it.

To be honest, I haven’t bothered with New Year’s resolutions in decades because I never took them seriously enough to alter my behavior. When I did make them, it was the usual stuff: lose x pounds (before I learned using the word “lose” implied I’d want to find them later, which I did, and then some), get a better job, find Mr. Right…the usual meaningless twaddle. I never put my heart and soul behind any of it, so none of it manifested.

Now that I’m older, and hopefully a little wiser, I manifest a lot, but it isn’t because I make resolutions. It’s because I set intentions, and super-charge them by imagining my world when they’ve already manifested. I’ve also learned when manifestation is delayed, it’s usually because I’m getting in my own way with a counter-intention.

Getting Out of Your Own Way

For example, I was having a tough time getting my career as a freelancer moving at more than a snail’s pace. The clients I did attract were anything but my ideal clients. In fact, we fit about as well as a shoe that’s 5 sizes too big, leaving lots of room to shift, and chafe.

I realized my biggest problem lay in denying the skill set I’d spent over 30 years studying, learning, building and growing. I was so focused on making it as a writer, I lost sight of what already worked.

Somehow, I’d gotten it into my head I had to toss the accounting skills out the window in order to attract writing clients I’d love working with. Once I accepted, and even embraced the special niche I have in managing accounting for Government contractors, and small businesses, the road blocks slipped away almost magically. In their place came clients who either utilized my skills in Government contract, or small business accounting, or needed a writer with accounting knowledge.

Manifesting Smoothly, and Easily

Photo-BLM via Flikr

That doesn’t mean I don’t still write for people who help others like coaches, therapists, authors, and more. It simply means I’ve stopped self-sabotaging by blocking out the ones who want and need the accounting side of my brain too. The beauty of it all is I can work on one or the other until I get stuck, frustrated, or finished with a task, then switch to the other side of my brain to work on something else. My ADD brain has never been happier, or more fulfilled.

The best part is, all the intentions I’ve been setting, and feeling frustrated over how slowly they were manifesting have now moved into a place where they flow easily and smoothly. All along, I knew that’s how it was supposed to work. I watched it happening for many of my fellow freelancers and entrepreneurs, but couldn’t engage the magic for myself until I identified the clog, and removed it.

Another aspect of manifesting your intentions is when and where you make them. Speaking them aloud, or silently is all well and fine, and it certainly works. But nothing gives an intention more power than writing it down long hand. Doing so engages the connection between your mind and heart, so they’re on the same page, so to speak. It may also show you where you’re getting in your own way, and blocking the flow.

Changing Your Intentions as You Learn and Grow

It’s important to understand your wants and desires can change as you go along. What you believe with all your heart you want today can, and will change as you learn more about what it is you think you want, what’s out there for the attracting, and what will still fulfill you as you learn and grow.

Some of it is as simple as maturity; your 15-year-old self couldn’t possibly know what would fulfill your 30-, 50- or 60-year-old self. Some of it has to do with an ever-changing world. The rest has to do with an ever-changing you. A career path that looked great in your 20s might lose its luster as the years go by. You might find something you love more than the path your originally chose, or discover aspects of your choice which smother rather than feed you.

What many don’t realize is you don’t have to choose a single path for your entire life. You’re allowed to change your mind. Just beware of shiny object syndrome. Do your homework before you leap, unless, like me, the original path is sucking your soul dry. I’ll be the first to admit there is a time and a place to take the leap, even if you don’t know how you’re going to stay aloft. Sometimes, you have to trust your own wings, which in many are driven by stubbornness, and tenacity.

Feel Free to Experiment

It’s no coincidence I was guided to write this post for New Year’s Eve Day. I want you to know you have choices. The biggest, and one of the most important as far as I’m concerned is whether to set intentions when your heart is full of joy and passion, or make resolutions based on a date on the calendar. Which do you think has a greater chance of success?

You have the choice of whether to stay the course no matter what, or allow yourself to test, evaluate, and tweak your intentions as new information becomes available (and it always does!).

Life is a science experiment. Sometimes, you get the results you want, and proceed accordingly. You can continue doing the same thing, even when you begin to lose enthusiasm or interest for the project like so many people do, or when you lose ground to others who are evolving with the industry. Or you can choose to look into other options, whether it’s expanding on your current knowledge, skills and talents, or taking them in an entirely new direction.

Choices and Risk Tolerance

Whether you realize it or not, staying stuck in something that no longer makes you feel excited is a choice. Granted, it may be the safe choice, which is why so many choose it. If you’re change-, or risk averse, it’s probably the right choice for you. In essence, you’ve chosen security over a life filled with joy and excitement.

As for me, I’m willing to take a few risks, and even fall flat on my face a hundred times if it means I get to live the life of my dreams, and best of all, keep the afore-mentioned ADD brain happy by giving it lots of variety, and a few puzzles to solve.

Grateful for Choices and Intentions

My gratitudes today are:

1. I’m grateful for learning I could set intentions.
2. I’m grateful for the ability to test, revise, tweak, and even change direction entirely.
3. I’m grateful for choices.
4. I’m grateful for the ability to visualize what I want to manifest.
5. I’m grateful for abundance; choices, opportunities, amazing clients, happiness, joy, fulfillment, options, diversity, love, peace, harmony, balance, health, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Namaste

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.

If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author.

Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.

Revisiting Intentions to Focus My Efforts

Disconnecting to Re-Set Intentions

Over the last few weeks, I’ve taken the opportunity to disconnect more frequently than I had in the past. I don’t know if it’s a need for more solitude, or simply a desire to focus more on my writing and less on outside distractions like social media, text messages, and TV. For all my talk, I hadn’t taken advantage of the DND function on my phone as frequently as I might, nor avoided being passively entertained for long periods of time.

I re-visited something I’d temporarily forgotten: the more I have on my plate, the more focused I become on tackling the tasks before me. More importantly, I reduced the amount of time spent interacting with people frivolously, and turned interactions into something which were more likely to benefit me both personally and professionally. To me, that part is huge.

It’s not that I don’t jump on Facebook and share inspirational quotes and posts, or the occasional pun or joke any more. I’ve started focusing my time more so it’s not an all-day affair, and instead, open a blog page and start typing even if I have nothing to say.

Constantly Improving Habits

In a conversation with a fellow writer who assumed I was having trouble writing, I explained my issue isn’t finding something to say. It’s sitting down in front of the computer with my fingers on the keys. If I sit here long enough, and pound out enough words from deep in the bowels of my subconscious, a topic will always form itself, and in so doing, will dump a thousand words or more onto the screen before I know it. Which makes the last couple of years without another NaNoWriMo pretty disturbing. It wasn’t that I lacked the ability or even the tenacity to see the project through. I lacked enough on my plate to motivate me to do more.

In the last year or two, I’ve made significant changes which proved to myself I could stay as busy as I wanted to. I only needed to set an intention for more ideas, motivation, and client work, and it would all manifest.

I know that sounds oversimplified, but I’ve proven it time and again on little things. When I start ignoring my alarm and sleeping too late, I re-set my intention to wake up by 8. The intention is enough so I don’t even need the alarm screaming in my ear. I wake up when I want to, ready to get up and start my day. When I want to write more and screw around less, I set an intention, and revisit my Trello board.

Is It Time for Time Blocks?

Granted, I’m still having trouble working in time blocks like some people do. My mind has trouble wrapping itself around the idea of doing X from 9 to 10, Y from 10:15 to 12:15, and so on. Yet I’m toying with the idea now. Putting myself on a tighter schedule will ultimately make it easier to:

• Finish the re-write of  Rebuilding After Suicide
• Thoroughly research publishing options
• Finish editing and uploading Sasha’s Journey to ChapterBuzz
• Finish and implement the lessons from LeadsLab
• Map out my work schedule for the next 12 months to include blocks for client work, research, and personal projects.
• Spend time reading and commenting on authors I’m following

I find if I start listing things out like what you see above, it gets me into the right frame of mind to start making time for the projects that somehow keep getting pushed to the back burner under “stuff I want to do regularly at some point”. Have you noticed when you do it that way that “some point” never quite comes into view? It is truly the albatross of procrastinators.

Progress Has Been Slow, But Steady

I had a boss years ago whose favorite phrase was “shit or get off the pot”. As I look at the progress I’ve made since I quit my day job 6 years ago, there’s a very definite pattern. The first couple of years, I futzed around, trying this course and that, but giving up, probably too soon in some cases. All of those courses are languishing in my DropBox account, some of them, still unopened.

I spent another year lackadaisically working on the 3 NaNo’s I managed to finish. One of them actually got to the re-write stage a couple of times. In the meantime, I joined a writers’ critique group, but ultimately realized it wasn’t the right one for me. I’ve yet to find another. To be honest, I haven’t even tried.

The last couple of years have seen the greatest changes; mentally, physically, and emotionally. I’ve written a great deal more, and with a higher degree of consistency. I’ve completed a couple of projects and gone on to re-write them. I’ve also attended a writer’s conference, and had my first dubiously helpful experience with an editor. And I’ve learned not to take my meat suit for granted.

Stronger in Mind, Body, Spirit, and Productivity

Overall, I’ve seen huge progress. Physically, I’m stronger and healthier. Mentally, I’m more focused. My writing is starting to gain more traction. I attribute a lot of that to publishing on Medium, and ultimately being invited to write for a publication called “The Startup”. I’ve connected with other writers and found not only great information for making changes myself, but an audience that’s beginning to expand as well. Writers do support other writers, but you have to show you’re willing to give as well as take.

Which is the primary reason I’m setting an intention to establish regular blocks of time to read and comment on the work of others. Not only is it a great way to learn from the successes and failures of others and avoid making the same ones (heaven knows there are plenty of others I can make), but it’s a way to connect with a community of like-minded folks who can and will help me wade through reams of material when I’m trying to figure out the best way to jump into the publishing pool.

Recognizing What’s Most Important

As I reflect back upon the lessons I’ve already learned since I left Corporate America to become a full-time writer, I’d boil it down to three main ones:

1. Write every single day whether you want to or not; whether you think you have anything to say or not.
2. Build a community and interact with them regularly and consistently.
3. Make time for self-care. If mind or body fail, making the first two work will be nearly impossible.

Everything else follows from these three. Everything I’ve accomplished in the last couple of years is related in some way. I’ve managed a certain level of consistency with #1, if only by writing my morning pages almost every day. #3 has been, to my surprise, the easiest to manage, though every so often I have a week where I let myself slide. Nevertheless, I am always back to full throttle the following week.

The hardest thing for me has been consistency in building and maintaining a community, but like the others, the more I exercise that muscle, the easier it gets. As it gets easier, consistency will become automatic as well. With improved consistency, I expect to see another upsurge in my successes as well. It is the natural progression I’ve seen in everything I do.

Always Finding Things To Be Grateful For, No Matter What

My gratitudes today are:

1. I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned in the last 6 years, and look forward to many more.
2. I am grateful for friendships I’ve made both on- and off-line.
3. I am grateful for the love, kindness, and compassion which are constantly building in my life, and for the lessons I’ve learned in both giving and receiving.
4. I am grateful for personal evolution. I am not the woman I was 5 years ago, much less, 10 or 20. She served her purpose, but she’s gone now.
5. I am grateful for abundance; love, joy, inspiration, motivation, new skills, stronger old skills, mentors and mentees, healthy mind, body, and spirit, compassion, peace, balance, harmony, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward

Intention and Inspiration

The Universe Gives Inspiration

I started writing this post at 11:11 which is the number for synchronicity, when things seem to fall together almost effortlessly. I had a day like that yesterday when I set an intention to see opportunities. I need to remember to set that intention every day, perhaps a big note on the wall.

I read a post on Facebook about how the world matches our expectations. So if we expect to have a rough day, chances are we will. If we expect to incur more debt, we’ll do that as well. But if we expect to see opportunities, guess what? We’ll see opportunities. So I set my intention one morning to see opportunities, then left the house to go to the gym and run errands.

Setting An Intention To Notice Opportunities

What happened was nothing short of miraculous. In fact, opportunities came ever before I set the intention. I woke to a message from an old acquaintance who’d read my post on Medium and liked it so much, she invited me to be a guest on her podcast.

When I got to the gym it was pretty empty and I got everything I needed to do my workout. Then, I drove to Costco where I found the perfect parking spot. Not only that, I found a perfect rug for my bathroom at a great price, and when I got to the check stands, I was in line behind a man with a large piece of furniture, and while he was being checked out, the check stand next to him opened and the cashier called me over.

As if that wasn’t enough, I had managed to just beat the rush at Trader Joe’s so I walked right up to a cashier and checked out. Seeing so many opportunities put me in an extraordinary mood, so I found myself smiling and sharing my joy with everyone I encountered. By the time I lay my head on my pillow, I’d accomplished everything I’d set out to do, and maybe even more.

Creating the Right Habits For Personal Power

I’ve decided to make myself reminders to look for opportunities every day as I’ve already proven it’s powerful stuff. Sure, I’ve known it for awhile, but I don’t always exercise my own personal power. Having reminders posted on walls and my vision board help. I have one I see when I wake up every morning. Sometimes it registers, and sometimes, I don’t even stop to pay attention. I realize now, I need to become more aware of the thoughts and sayings on the vision board on the wall beside my bed.

I find myself sharing positive affirmations for everyone else nowadays. I subscribe to sites like Positively Positive, Tiny Buddha, and Contagious Optimism. How many of us do that? Share for others, but don’t think about ourselves? I have a whole slew of inspirational graphics in my media queue which find their way into my posts over and over again. I realize I don’t always internalize them for myself though. I’m so busy trying to uplift and inspire others, I forget to uplift and inspire myself. Today, I’m making a change. I will uplift and inspire myself first.

Putting Ourselves First: Selfless, Not Selfish

This may sound selfish, but my experiences with simply intending to see opportunities would belie the selfish factor. When I’m feeling positive and uplifted, I pass that feeling on to others; not just by sharing a graphic, but by being the Joy. As easy as it is to be brought down by someone who radiates gloom and doom, it’s even easier to be uplifted by someone who’s happy, smiling, and at peace with their world. Heaven knows my vibration goes up when I see someone wearing a broad smile and exuding pure joy.

I’m challenging myself to be the joy every day. To bring sunshine even when the sky is grey and weeping. There are plenty who proliferate sadness and lack these days, and though some may attribute it to circumstances, we all have the ability to raise our own vibration by refusing to wallow in those things we believe to be out of our control. Maybe they are, and maybe they’re not, but whining and complaining about our lack; our miserable circumstances only attracts more of the same.

Positively Positive

My life isn’t perfect. It never has been. There have been times when I believed things were going better than other times. Yet in reality, they were going as well as I expected, no more, no less. When I worked in a job I hated and spent a lot of time complaining about it, things didn’t get better. If anything, they got worse. When I believed people treated me differently because I was a single parent, they accommodated me by doing just that.

This may sound pretty pie in the sky to many. However, I’ve learned no matter how bad things look from the outside, we can find at least a glimmer of light to hang onto until the storm passes. We can find something in our lives which radiates positivity and hope. I know from personal experience as long as I hang onto that glimmer, for dear life if necessary, things do get better.

Things are going fairly well right now. I have my health, I’m strong, independent, capable, and have the most amazing group of friends ever. I stay active, though admittedly, I could move more, and I never run out of ideas for my writing.

I have a phenomenal coach who has gotten me over the hump of my memoir re-write. I’ve found a supportive community who will help me get my first book published. Sure, there are things I might lack right now, but I know the lack is temporary and in fact, may simply be a breathing space before my life gets back on the roller coaster it’s ridden for decades, and the wild ride continues. As long as I focus on the things I have while accepting what may seem to be a temporary lack, I know the moment will pass and I’ll soon be back on track.

Inspiring Ourselves to Inspire Others

Let’s give ourselves a few minutes a day to recognize and appreciate all the things we have. Maybe write a list or start a daily practice. I had one awhile back which has fallen into disuse, but I think needs to be reinstated. At the end of each day, I’ll write down five to ten things I accomplished that day. Not only does it focus my attention on what I have, but like gratitude, pulls my attention away from what I lack, or what may not have worked out so well that day.

Who’s with me on this? Are you ready to break through your blocks and start thriving? It really does start, not just with attitude, but with believing in yourself and all you have.

Letting Gratitude Pave Our Way

My gratitudes today are:

1. I am grateful for opportunities which seem to be falling from the sky like rain lately.
2. I am grateful for examples I’m seeing of both the right and wrong way to attract and exude joy.
3. I am grateful for practices I’ve used and discarded in the past which I know elevated my vibration and brought me closer to joy and bliss simply by taking a few moments a day to express my gratitude.
4. I am grateful for friends who share their own inspirational messages which uplift me. It reminds me I need to uplift myself first, then go out and spread the joy wherever I can.
5. I am grateful for abundance; joy, love, opportunities, friendship, comfort, my solitary work space, kitty love, rainy days and sunny ones, purrs, affection, hugs, dancing, health, peace, harmony, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, ghostwriter, and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws , of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward

How Do You Re-focus When Intentions Go Awry?

Untangling Our Mixed Signals

I keep setting intentions to attract clients and money, and release weight but somehow I get my wires crossed. Lately it’s become a real struggle to avoid self-sabotaging by eating too late and snacking on the wrong things. Meanwhile, every time I attract more money, something happens and I attract more expenses as well. I’m stuck trying to figure out how to uncross my wires and get back on track in all area of my life.

It reminds me of a conversation I had years ago with someone who said: Every time I ask for abundance, I put on weight!

So how do we clarify our signals? How do we re-focus our intentions so the Universe (or whichever force you happen to look to for guidance) understands where we want the changes in our life to occur, and in which direction?

Those Negative Voices Again

I believe it comes down to the stories we tell ourselves without realizing it. Too many times, we’re unconsciously telling ourselves we don’t deserve what we’re asking to find or attract. Every time we tell ourselves things like “you’re too fat”, or “you’re no expert. Others are smarter/better/more talented than you”, or simply “what makes you so special that you deserve this more than someone else?” we’re sending mixed messages to the Laws of Attraction.

Recently I was tasked to create 3 tips I could post various places on Social Media. I found every reason/excuse in the book to avoid the task. My coach finally asked me point-blank, Why are you really avoiding this?  Without thinking about it, I said: Because so many people in the audience (groups, pages, etc.) are smarter and better at this than I am.

She pointed out to me where I was unique and why I could honestly put myself out there as an expert. Not THE Expert, but an expert. The world I’m in is broad enough to allow many of us to be experts in our own area; our own niche. Mine happens to be both my age and experience with life, and my ability to write from someone else’s heartfelt voice. She said she’s worked with a number of copywriters, but none have been able to match her voice. Some came close, but no one really nailed it.

We’re Shaped by the Decades We’ve Lived Through, the World Events We’ve Experienced

Part of that is where they’re coming from. A 30-year-old will find it difficult to write from the point-of-view of a 60-year-old. It has nothing to do with their talent and skill. They simply haven’t seen some of the things the 60-year-old has seen in their lifetime. They haven’t lived in an era of dial phones, no computers, and actually being unreachable for hours a day because you couldn’t take a phone or even a pager with you. And they haven’t failed as many times, nor picked themselves up and reinvented the person they were to become as many times either.

That isn’t to say people of different ages and generations can’t relate on a deep level. But it does pose a challenge if you’re trying to write as if you were someone whose experiences with life are vastly different from your own. In order to do that, you have to be able to put yourself in their shoes, and if you lack key experiences, that’s a tall order.

Sending the Right Messages to Attract What You Desire

But returning to the topic at hand, how do you tell the Universe you want the numbers on the scale to go down while your bank balance goes up?

Once you’ve gotten the subconscious voices under control (and you have to constantly be on the alert, as they’re sneaky little devils), you can try being a little more specific, but leaving it open for a bigger improvement than you’re asking for.

For example, you might say: I want to add at least one $3000 client in the next two weeks, or better. Or I want to release 10 pounds in the next 30 days, or better.

In both cases, you’ve set a specific goal instead of something nebulous and you’ve left the door open for improvements on your request. Now the Laws of Attraction know exactly what you intend to increase, and what you intend to decrease. No confusion.

For me, I might also add: I would like the will power to avoid salty and sugary snacks. I also want to avoid eating after 7PM. For the attraction of money and clients, I could say: I want my expenses to decrease by 10% or better in order to keep the outflow from rising to match the new inflow. Again, specificity not only affects what you attract, but helps you keep your mindset in the green, so to speak.

Stopping the Negative Thoughts in Their Tracks

The negative thoughts aren’t going to stop flowing in. The trick is to catch them when they’re still a seedling and pluck them out before they’ve had a chance to establish a strong root system inside your head.

Not as easy as it sounds sometimes. I go to the gym 3 times a week, and while there, I see a lot of people of all ages who wear the spandex pants and sports bras and look great in them. I show up in a baggy men’s t-shirt and shorts that are now a size too big (that’s a good thing!), my hair yanked into a messy bun with a twisty, and a good deal rounder than they probably ever were. BUT, there are also people who are a good deal heavier than me, and who can barely lift 5 or 10 pound weights.

Because I’ve been consistent (yay me!) I’ve worked my way up to weights that even surprise me! I’m doing chest presses and flys with 32.5 pound free weights (though I’m about to increase that to 35), I use a 50 pound bar for tricep work. Six months ago, I was using a 20. And I’m doing leg work with weights I’d never have imagined would feel remotely comfortable back in February when I first started getting regular with my workouts.

Looking at How Far We’ve Come Instead of Comparing Ourselves to Others

The point is, I may not look as strong and healthy as some of the people at the gym, but I’m stronger than many, and look better than enough. Yet the real point is, I’m not them, and have no business comparing myself. Where I need to shift my focus is to how much I’ve accomplished, and ignore any outside stimuli. Whenever we allow ourselves to compare unfavorably with someone else, we let those voices out of the corral where they run amok. When they run amok, they scramble our message and cross our wires. That’s where what we truly want gets confused in the execution.

When it comes to physical fitness, look at how much more you can do than you could x number of months ago, or what size you’re wearing now vs. then. With your financial abundance, look at your earnings, or if that hasn’t manifested yet, look at how much you’re putting yourself out there or how many people are starting to ask you to connect, or something else that’s changed for the better as you’ve been working on bettering yourself.

In the end, it’s about celebrating your wins, and minimizing the time you spend thinking about your losses. As I’ve told my kids for years, take the lesson and leave the pain behind.

Show Gratitude for the Wins, Both Large and Small

My gratitudes today are:

1. I am grateful for the progress I’ve made in all areas of my life.
2. I am grateful for the free flow of words I get from a mere glimmer of an idea.
3. I am grateful for being able to get up earlier these days.
4. I am grateful for more productive days and less that leave me feeling guilty about what I haven’t done.
5. I am grateful for abundance; high-ticket clients, increased strength (you should see me fling a 5-gallon bottle of water around like it weighs a lot less), a strong, unforgiving mentor, my supportive community, connection, growth, lessons, challenges, opportunities, joy, laughter, love, health, peace, harmony, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, ghostwriter, and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws , of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.

Organize, Intend, Resolve, Oh My!

Organize, Intend, Resolve: Which Will You Do as the Year Begins?

Everyone has their own routine for ringing out the old year and ringing in the new. Like many, part of mine involves cleaning out the old year’s files and setting up new ones for my financial records. (yes, I still maintain files for hard copies despite the availability of paperless records. Old habits die hard.) Some years, it doesn’t happen until I’ve done my taxes (typically as close to the due date as possible).

This year, however, I’m endeavoring to start things off on a stronger note, and that means getting organized sooner rather than later. That being said, my 2017 files have been moved to the file cabinet, 2018 folders have been created, and I have a stack of paperwork to be shredded as I’m no longer holding things for 20 years before deciding it’s time to let it go. OK, so what remains to be shredded is from 2007, but 10 years back is better than 20, right?

In keeping with this mad desire to organize, I’ve cleared my desk of most of the extraneous paraphernalia and created a “To Do” folder to help solve the accumulation of papers on the corner of my desk problem. (Though as far as the cats are concerned, I simply cleared space for them to sprawl while I’m working to keep their bellies full and their bodies warm and cozy!) Here’s hoping I remember to use the folder, and, more importantly, look at it once in awhile!

Resolutions Are Made to be Broken

By now, many of you have compiled a list of New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions, especially made on a specific date and solely for the sake of making resolutions has never been my thing. I see it in the same way I see losing weight. If you lose something, it means you intend to find it, and if you resolve something, it means you’ll break those resolutions.

Enjoying the Flexibility of Intentions

Instead, I continue my practice of setting intentions whenever and wherever the mood strikes. It happens the mood struck on the last day of the year, merely by coincidence. I was mentally reviewing the year’s accomplishments as I wrote my morning pages on December 31st, and found I wanted to up the ante, so to speak, on what I could do with what I’d already done. Here are a few of the intentions I made:

• Publish “Forgotten Victims”.
• Write something besides my morning pages each and every day. (so far, I have not managed to get this one going, but setting intentions doesn’t imply we’ll achieve all of them at the same time).
• Have more healthy eating days.
• Get back to my 3 days a week gym routine (again, still working on getting this one going).
• Forgive more and take less things personally. Everyone has their stuff and oftentimes, they are reacting to their stuff and not to anything I’ve said or done.
• Have more “no sugar” days. (so far, so good. 4 days and counting).
• Keep up with the habit of making my bed every day I set a couple of years ago. (we all need a gimme in our intentions. This is mine.)
• Use the notes I’ve accumulated for books and stories in progress to actually create something new or improve on my works-in-progress.
• Take the steps I need to move closer to the life I have been envisioning. (took a step closer when I signed up to beta test Josh Koerpel’s Fire Builders accountability program)
• Deep clean my house more often than at the holidays.
• Pull up the rest of the old, disgusting carpet in my bedroom.
• Continue de-cluttering my space.
• Devote more hours per day working on my career and less on wasting time/procrastinating.
• Acquire and read more books on self-improvement and business success.
• Resume the WTGOWL program and release the rest of the weight I need to divest myself of in order to reach my health and fitness goals.
• Work on getting to bed earlier and rising by 8 AM more frequently.

In the last 5 years as I’ve gotten more consistent about setting intentions, I’ve learned that writing them down and putting them where I can see them every day is one of the best motivators, not only for manifesting my intentions, but improving upon them as I get closer, or even occasionally hitting one out of the park.

Planting Our Own “Carrots”

I’ve always been a proponent of baby steps; small steps taken on a regular basis to reach our goals, but in the process of following my own advice, I’ve learned we all need something to reach for; something which is not quite attainable at this moment in time. As I get closer to a goal, or achieve an intention, I am compelled to raise the bar and create something new to reach for.

Sometimes it seems like a mere blink of the eye to get past a block which kept me from fulfilling an intention, while others can and do take years. It took me 9 of them to finish the first draft of “Forgotten Victims”, and 4 to finally act on the one I set to attend a writer’s conference. Yet I know the timing for both was exactly right. There are goals we set which have steps we may not even see, but despite our lack of vision, we must take those steps before realizing the prize at the end. It may be frustrating at times, and we may fall into the trap of beating ourselves up about it. As self-flagellation is one of my many sins, I created a sort of mantra around it: Everything happens in its right and proper time.

Feeling the Energy of a “Life” Year

I can’t speak for everyone, but I feel an energy this year which wasn’t present in the past. A kind of cattle prod to the back, spurring me to move forward faster. It should come as no surprise, really, as the Hebrew symbol for “Chai” or “Life” is also the symbol for the number 18. Last year was, for me, more of a “ducks in a row” kind of year; a time for finishing old projects, self-care, and relationship-building.

Looking back on the year, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing I could have done more had I been less scattered and lazy. Yet, my mantra says it all. Just as “Forgotten Victims” took 9 years to write, those lazy, scattered, motivationless times are necessary too.

Last year, I found a book on my shelf I didn’t remember buying: Sue Monk Kidd’s “When the Heart Waits”. It sums up not only 2017 for me, but the years since I quit my day job. We have to allow those periods of waiting; of hibernation so to speak. That’s when our bodies, minds and spirits are going through huge transformations. Those transformations can’t be rushed or short-cutted. If we try to do either, we’ll only set the process back, causing it to take longer than it should. But even then, when we do feel like we’ve sabotaged the process, we’ve only done what needed to be done. There’s always a reason and a time, though we don’t always recognize it during the process, or even long after we’ve completed it and moved on to other things. Learning to trust in the process is, by far the greatest lesson I’ve learned while following my own path these last 4 years.

Making the Most of Our Time on the Planet

Whether you choose to resolve or intend, or maybe you simply go with the flow, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself and not judge. Trust that you’ll know when to move and when to sit still and listen if you let your heart and gut be your guide rather than you overactive, and overcritical mind. May 2018 be our best year yet.

Gratitude: The Ultimate Motivator

My gratitudes today are:

1. I am grateful for the connections I’ve made or renewed over the last few years.
2. I am grateful I’m able to learn new things all the time, and embrace life’s changes with less and less fear every day.
3. I am grateful I finally completed “Forgotten Victims” and am looking forward to earning a publishing contract this year.
4. I am grateful for the courage to step outside my comfort zone with larger and larger steps.
5. I am grateful for the years of hibernation in which I learned to trust my heart, shut down my inner critic (at least for a minute or two), and attract the support I need to turn my baby steps into giant leaps.
6. I am grateful for abundance: love, encouragement, courage, friendships old and new, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, peace, harmony, health, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, Virtual Assistant and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. She is available for article writing and ghost writing to help your website and the business it supports grow and thrive. Her specialties are finding and expressing your authentic self. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author

May 3, 2015 In the Light of the Silvery, Full Moon

Today, I Take a Cue from Doreen Virtue

Doreen Virtue posted a lovely graphic today, but since it isn’t mine, I hesitate to share it. Instead, I’ll just share the message:

Sometimes, you just have to stand underneath the full moon and let go of everything that’s painful, heavy or distracting.

Although I saw this after I spent some time sitting in my front yard, feet on what’s left of my lawn (lack of water has caused it to dry up) and visiting with my outdoor cats, it fit in with my thoughts and feelings while I was out there, basking in the moon’s glow. For the last few days, I’ve been managing pain and tightness in my back and shoulders, but with greater intensity in my left shoulder. I’ve found that a combination of homeopathics and heat have been the best solution as I don’t like to take OTC pain medication any more than absolutely necessary. Fortunately, regular applications of both have resulted in significant improvement by tonight.

You might wonder why I mention pain and letting go in the same paragraph, so I’ll tell you. When we hold onto feelings, emotions, past issues, etc., it often manifests physically. There are many who believe, and I am one of them, that all illness is a result of something we’re doing to ourselves emotionally and energetically. That being said, by releasing whatever I might be hanging onto, the pain in my shoulder and back should begin to pass.

So tonight, I sat under the light of the full moon, petting Cinders, who is black as night, and for the first time ever, she jumped into my lap. I’m not sure who was more surprised, but she sat there for a few seconds, accepting my pets and skritches before jumping down to alternately investigate bugs in the lawn and throw herself against my legs. While she wandered, I did a bit of meditating, and focused on releasing whatever is bothering me.

There is no Right or Wrong Way to Let Go

At some point in our journey, we all see fit to hold onto pain in the form of past hurts, worry, perceived mistreatments and the like. Just as we hold these things uniquely and feel the effects in our own particular way, we also let them go in ways which work for us. (admittedly some fail to release these toxic feelings, and suffer the very real, physical consequences). For me, it has always been writing. From a pretty young age, I would pour my feelings out on whatever paper or notebook was handy until computers became a fixture in my house. Then, I learned to enjoy the speed with which I could put the feelings down since I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire rather impressive typing skills. Nowadays, it’s nothing for me to pour a couple of thousand words out onto the screen in just a few minutes. I guess my blog posts are proof of that!

Whatever way might work for you, pouring out those feelings and giving yourself permission to release them is incredibly therapeutic. Even if you don’t really know why you’re sad or hurt or just feeling blue, you can still allow yourself to release whatever is bringing you down. Many times, I just say or think I give myself permission to let go of whatever is not serving my best interests now. It doesn’t have to be a complicated incantation, that is, of course, unless you want it to be.

Giving My Intentions that Extra Push

I’ve learned over the years that setting intentions, especially publicly and where I can see them often is very effective in manifesting what I want. Today, I did so by putting a few things up on the white board in my office. As the board is also magnetic, I figured I can always put things over it as the need arises, but I’ll always know what is behind all of the paraphernalia which accumulates as I write, revise, and have other ideas popping into my head.  Hopefully, you can read my childish scrawl.

As you can see, it doesn’t really matter what you say, as long as your words are strong and they elicit feelings within you, preferably happy, joyful ones. For me, freedom from worrying about material things like money is at the top of my list because without those worries, I am free to just create and love and give wherever I see fit. Thus, I am reminding myself to be grateful every day that it is true and that I am creating and sharing and realizing my dreams with every step I take and every word I write.

I’ve yet to master my tendency to bemoan the fact that everything I’ve written is crap, but at least I’m in good company. It also gives me a reason to study and learn and seek the guidance and alternate viewpoints of others rather than hiding in my little hermit hole all the time, just pounding away at the keyboard.

As I’ve said before, we’re all works in progress, so we’re never going to fix everything about ourselves or release every hurt feeling or abuse we believe we’ve suffered, if for no other reason than we continue to live our lives and evolve. Things continue to happen and we, despite our best intentions, continue to react. Hopefully, as we go along, we learn to be less hard on ourselves and to take things less personally so we don’t have quite as much baggage to release whenever we do our personal house cleaning.

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for the opportunity to clean my mental, emotional and energetic house.
2. I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned which make the housekeeping a bit easier.
3. I am grateful for beautiful nights spent moon gazing, kitty cuddling and even counting airplanes.
4. I am grateful for the many opportunities I’m given to learn new things, chart new roads and exchange ideas with other people.
5. I am grateful for abundance: words, ideas, feelings, love, friendship, joy, peace, harmony, health, prosperity and philanthropy.

Blessed Be

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel and my website, http://www.shericonaway.com. I’ve created these pages as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” them or leave a comment! Thank you!

April 27, 2015 A Different POV

What if Everything We Consider Normal Was Reversed?

An article I read today about George Takai’s guest appearance on The Big Bang Theory got me thinking. Apparently, one of the stars of the show blurted out to Mr. Takai something to the effect of “did you know you’re gay?” It led me to think about his ardent support of the LGBT movement and further, what those letters signify. At the risk of oversimplifying, it occurred to me that those letters represent labels which our society gives to people who don’t adhere to what is “normal” in their selection of sexual and life partners.

Given that so many of our social mores came into play when the Catholic church rose to power, I had to ask myself, what if the world changed such that heterosexuals were now the minority (perhaps to curb overpopulation?). How would it feel for those who now assign labels to others to be the ones assigned a label and to have that label used in a derogatory fashion?

Judging people by their sexual preferences is a fairly modern concept anyway. In ancient Greece and Rome, nobody really thought twice about it. The only consideration was that the nobility produce heirs. What they did beyond keeping the line going was their own business and not subject to public scrutiny. If you ask me, this is one of many areas in which we’ve gone backwards. If two people are happy together, why is society entitled to judge? (Please note, I’m not condoning pedophilia here. I will always believe that the term “consenting adults” must be part of the equation.)

Speaking of Point of View, I’ve Been Giving Some Thought to My Career Path This Week

Although I am doing what I would do if money were no object, the fact of the matter is, I’m starting to be concerned with outflow exceeding income. I’ve been looking at various ways to monetize some of what I do to allow myself time to do what I would do for nothing (and frankly, for the moment, I am). I went through a course about making money freelancing, and put so many of the things into practice, if I hadn’t already done so, but am still coming up mostly empty handed. Part of the problem is my own confidence in what I know. I limit myself to what I’ll even consider pitching because I think I don’t know enough about the subject.

Granted, I don’t know real estate or law which seem to be overly represented on the job boards seeking writers. But after exchanging thoughts with fellow freelancers, I see that I know about a lot more things than I realize. Though I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, I can talk intelligently about natural remedies, healthy eating, single parenting, divorced moms, accounting, government contract accounting, bookkeeping for small businesses, Quickbooks, pet therapy, ailments affecting cats(more from having experienced a lot of things with my own fur-kids than anything else), solo spirituality, meditation…the list goes on a lot further than I would have thought. Through my own healing process, I have also become fairly well-read on the subject of suicide, both gaining an understanding of what can motivate someone to take their life as well as the healing process and challenges the surviving family faces.

Since many sites want a conversational style in the writing, I can truly say that my own voice and style are very conversational. So, what’s the problem? Why am I not getting this going?

Insecurity: The Biggest Killer of Inspiration and Creativity

That’s right, folks. It’s my very own, personal lack of confidence. In other words, I, myself am shooting me in the foot. Pretty stupid, huh?

I tried the Elance route but found that the jobs consistently went to people who had been on the site for awhile. That, alone killed my confidence as I felt I couldn’t compete against those who already knew how to play the game. So, how do I go about developing the skills to play with the big boys?

It all comes down to one thing, and something I’ve inadvertently been practicing by blogging and novel writing for the last few years. Practice. The only thing that will help me play in the big leagues and start getting paid for at least some of my writing is to suck it up and start pitching; to keep writing and building my portfolio; to listen to what others have learned as they followed a similar path to mine. But most of all, I need to stop stressing over how fast my nest egg is dwindling because I’m focusing on lack.

I know it on a conscious level, but seem to have been doing a lot of backsliding lately. So I am setting a new intention today. I am going to remind myself every day that I am grateful for everything I have and that what I have will always be enough. Plain, simple and to the point. I will close the door on feeling envious of anyone else’s life, stuff or anything else. As I said to a friend recently, so and so has a lovely figure but I wouldn’t trade my more round shape for what she’s gone through in her life. What that is doesn’t matter. I’m simply saying that we only see the outside of people’s lives. We don’t really know what challenges they’ve had to face. We are given our own challenges and develop our own strengths. Heaven knows, I’ve had enough lean years to have learned how to get by until things ease up again.

I am following a conversation in a Facebook group called The Careful Cents Club. A woman voiced what I’ve been thinking about insecurities and making my freelance gig work. I said that I’ve even considered looking for another accounting job, but when I think about it, I get sick to my stomach. She echoed those feelings. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my studies of spirituality and healing, it is that our emotions tell us what is good for us and what isn’t. A sick feeling in the stomach is the first sign that we need to turn around and reassess. For me, gut reactions are very clear, even when I’m drawing Tarot cards. When I come to the one I need to pull, I’ll feel a little twinge in my stomach. It’s not a sick feeling like the one I get when I consider going back to an accounting job, but more of a pull of excitement that says Yes! That’s the one!

What do you do when insecurity and fear of doing the wrong thing plague you? Do you have rituals? Do you talk to a certain person? Do you make lists of pros and cons? I’d love to hear how you work through those feelings and come out the other side with renewed resolve.

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for everything I have. I am blessed with a roof over my head, food to eat, cats and friends to love and the best daughter a mother could ask for.
2. I am grateful for the bouts of insecurity which force me to step back, reassess and recognize when I’m being too hard on myself.
3. I am grateful for the ability to recognize that I alone am stopping my forward progress and I alone can fix it.
4. I am grateful for all of the words I’ve put on pages over the last few years and, in fact, through my entire life. Some may eventually reach publication while others are simply there to help me find focus or healing.
5. I am grateful for abundance: love, inspiration, like-minded souls, meditation, kitty love, friends, persistence, the ability to see the positive in everything, harmony, peace, health, prosperity and philanthropy.

Blessed Be

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel and my website, http://www.shericonaway.com. I’ve created these pages as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” them or leave a comment! Thank you!

October 28, 2014 All good intentions got flushed today. #shericonaway #blogboost

The best of intentions aren’t worth a tinker’s damn if you don’t go to bed until 3:00 AM!

I really did have the best of intentions today: Get up early, go to the gym, pick up my Harvest box, and do some more reading on plot development. But around 11:30 last night, an email came in notifying me that the ebook I’d pre-ordered which completed Nora Roberts’ O’Dwyer series was available. What was I to do but start reading it immediately?

Needless to say, I finally put it down at 3 AM and woke later than I’d planned. So the gym got skipped and after picking up my Harvest box and chatting with the young man who’d put me in touch with his mother, who manages the website, I came home, fixed one of the artichokes which was in the box, heated up some leftover chicken, and returned to my book.

Sure, I finished it by about 4PM, but by then, I wasn’t inclined to do anything productive with the rest of my day, so I did my daily meditation, hours late, instead.

It’s too darned easy to get engrossed in something and lose track of the time!

After watching some of the shows I DVR on Tuesday nights and having a couple of phone conversations with my daughter on her way to and from Wine and Paint (or something like that), I did my evening chores and promptly became engrossed in a computer game. So now it’s 3AM again!

The difference is, two-fold. First, I didn’t have the foresight to write my blog post before I lost sight of time, space and responsibilities, and second, I fully intend to go to the gym tomorrow, regardless of what time I wake up. To ensure that I don’t oversleep, I will allow Mr. Scrappy Doo of the lousy manners to remain free to roam the house. He can be counted on to start being obnoxious sufficiently early to render all efforts to talk myself out of going to the gym, pointless. In this regard, Dylan is absolutely no help. Not only does he have no interest in the morning wet food, but he is quite content to snuggle in bed for as long as I’ll stay put.

So the plan is made, the blog post is written, the book is finished and no longer a distraction. Life should return to normal…for at least a day.

What distracts you to the point that you lose all track of time and turn your entire schedule upside down for a day or two? Do you give yourself permission to just let it all go for a bit, or do you feel guilty about it, or worse, beat yourself up?

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for days that go awry, and the fact that I can and do catch back up.
2. I am grateful for my loosey goosey schedule.
3. I am grateful for more goodies and new things to try in my Harvest Box. (tomorrow’s treat will be mashed cauliflower and kolrabi.)
4. I am grateful for my furry bed warmers who sometimes double as alarm clocks.
5. I am grateful for abundance: time, love, joy, friendship, imagination, motivation, harmony, peace, health and prosperity.

Namaste

September 15, 2014 I wrote, I edited…now what?

There was a time when I would write and write, keeping my precious babe safe within my own arms, and perhaps, those of a select few. That moment has passed.

So I wrote the first 50,000 words of the novel in less than 30 days. I wrote the next 18,000 words in the next couple of months, then spent about 6 months editing, fleshing out, and reworking the rough draft into about 98,000 words. Now what?

In truth, I took a few weeks off, visited my daughter a couple of times, read a number of books by some of my favorite authors, and just took time to breathe. But one can only sit and breathe for so long before it’s time to get back onto that superhighway we call life and make something amazing happen!

Movin’ on with a little help from my friends.

Very gently, I began soliciting readers who might give me constructive criticism, not so much on grammatical issues, but on content, flow and whether I have something going for me, or need to return to the drawing board. Slowly; possibly due to my own hesitancy about baring my baby’s soul; I found people who were willing to read and critique my work. But I think the real turning point has come in the last few days. First, I found a friend of my daughter’s who has been doing some editing and was willing to take on my “child”. But the real opportunity to get the heck out of my comfortable, safe, rejection-free mausoleum came tonight when I finally bit the bullet and attended a Read and Critique with a local writer’s group. They had some great advice while refraining from ripping the whole first chapter to shreds. I also got a taste of what each of them was working on, and definitely felt like the new kid on the block! But as I tell new dancers, we were all beginners once! One lady offered to read the first three chapters and be brutal, if need be, which, right now, I really do need!

As I know that this is the right direction for me to take at this point, I’ve already RSVP’d for next week’s session, and am going to block it out on my calendar for awhile. This is a group of people who were once where I am, and who are encouraging not only the experienced, published writers, but those like me who are just starting out. Not that I haven’t written for most of my life, but until my blog, the bulk of it was for my eyes only.

Fledglings must learn to fly, and the first step is usually pretty frightening!

I know that if I’m really going to make a go of this massive career change, I have to leave the nest, the comfort zone behind, gather my courage, leave my ego, and just take those first stumbling steps which will ultimately send me airborne! Surprisingly, it wasn’t as nerve-wracking as I’d suspected, sharing even a small piece of my “baby” with strangers. I realized that they’re not out to smother her or my desire to write, but to help me make her stronger, better and above all, more marketable. I’m sure they’ve all certainly made their share of false starts, and are willing to share what they’ve learned with others. Heck, I may even learn that I’ve categorized it incorrectly, and that will also be helpful. I will be the first to admit that there’s far more about the publishing industry that I don’t know than that I do. (Although I did get a very nice complement about my editing skills). Now, I have the opportunity to learn what works, what doesn’t, how to find a publisher for my particular type of work, and who knows what else?

If it sounds like I’m very excited about this next phase, I admit, I am. But I’ll also have to admit that I’m very pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight, but it was an excellent beginning to a new learning experience. Even better, at least three of the people who where there have published, and I will be able to read what they’ve written and sold! How great is that?

Even more amazing than my experience tonight is that I managed to stay on topic for quite a long spell before the ADHD kicked in. It does happen occasionally, when I’m really excited about something. The hyperactive energy is channeled into my excitement, I guess.

As one thing led to another, I mentioned that I was an Empath, because it was an explanation as to why a particular piece resonated with me. Speaking with the author of the piece afterwards, she revealed that she, too, is an Empath, and asked me what I’m doing with it. I had to admit that my one foray into healing wasn’t entirely successful (though it did give me the courage to quit doing work that was sucking me dry in favor of work I loved, even if it wasn’t fiscally responsible in the short term). I realize that the place, the time and the question were put before me intentionally, and will end up devoting considerable to finding a better answer to the question, even if it means leaving my comfort zone in yet another direction.

Both information from my daily Tarot readings and just gut feelings lately have indicated rapid and massive changes. I think what I’m seeing right now is just the tip of the iceberg as to what those changes will be and more, where they’ll be taking me. If only my memory and my fingers can keep up with my imagination. In fact, I’ve already decided to do the NaNoWriMo challenge again in November!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for opportunities which turn out even better than I would have imagined.
2. I am grateful for successful people who are willing to help others find that success.
3. I am grateful for new learning experiences.
4. I am grateful to have found people to edit my first work.
5. I am grateful for abundance: health, happiness, love, motivation, imagination, guidance, hope, health, harmony, peace, meaningful work and prosperity.

Namaste

September 14, 2014 Catching up

Living in a vortex

Have you ever heard the term “spiraling out of control”? Have you ever lived it? Or, the better question is, have you ever not lived it? I just watched a video about how the solar system isn’t really just a bunch of planets circling the sun, but rather, a sun which is moving through space, dragging the planets behind it. Thus, the orbits are really spirals as the planets circle the sun while chasing it across the sky.

Life is rather like that. We rarely stand in one place and just go around and around. We move, ever forward, our orbit, if you will, following that forward progression, stretching out, from birth do death, in an ever evolving spiral. Even though we may repeat certain lessons endlessly, the actual delivery of that lesson changes over time, partly because we might actually assimilate part of the lesson after a few dozen iterations, but also because the format of the lesson must be appropriate to where we are in life if we’re even expected to recognize it, much less, learn the darn thing! (I am reminded, at this point, of the lessons in both patience and kindness which haunt me like a specter as I continue to be gifted the opportunity to finally nail those suckers…yet, still the lessons come.) I won’t call the yet-to-be-learned lessons failures as there truly are no failures, just lessons in what doesn’t work!

Getting back to my original point: catching up.

As the ADHD once again redirected my thoughts, I left my original point before I’d even started to type tonight. That point? Catching up. The week got away from me as the celebration of my daughter’s birth was uppermost in my mind. She arrived here Thursday night, and if you were watching, posts for the last couple of days were noticeably absent. But overdancing on an already sore foot (if you can show me a dance addict who hasn’t done that a time or two, I’ll kiss their shoes!) gave me an unexpected day of little activity as I paid the price by needing to stay off of it entirely for awhile. I even had to decline the opportunity to start learning a new kind of dancing, much to my disgust! But I promised myself and my friend, Dezi that I will soon accept the challenge of learning Casino Rueda while taking another step out of my cozy little comfort zone.

However, the day was not a total bust. I finally got my computer checked out and was assured that most of my problem was the accumulation of dust inside the case. I am also relieved to learn that my hard drive is healthy and not facing imminent demise. The best news is that my printer and all of its functions are now fully–functional again. This is especially helpful as I prepare to take Chapter 1 of “Sasha’s Journey” to my very first read and critique. The activity requires hard copies of the material I’m presenting, so having a working relationship between printer and computer is somewhat important to the cause. I just need to get some sort of heat goo which my technical person assures me he will apply for me. (I admit, I don’t exactly know what the stuff is, much less where on the computer it should be applied! The little knowledge I have carries the very real risk of putting my electronics in jeopardy; a risk I’m not willing to take as my work load is starting to increase, and my schedule of tasks requiring my computer grows exponentially.

So a day spent reading, snuggling with the cats and completing tasks which were temporarily abandoned (like daily blog posts) leaves me feeling rather pleased and accomplished. The week ahead, filled with doctor visits, meeting with another editor for my book, working with a new client and of course, dancing, will give me a great start towards getting back on task with all of the things I’ve set aside lately. There is a lot of truth to the saying “If you want something done, ask a busy person”. The busier I am, the more efficient I become, and the more tasks I’m able to accomplish. Lately, my accomplishment rate has settled into one of the lowest places ever, and I can no longer tolerate such sloth. A temporary hiatus on either traveling or having a house guest will be helpful as well.

My goal for the next few weeks is to get some of the longer term tasks off of my to-do list and to revise the format a bit so that I can generate graphical data from the weekly progress. If I were writing a spell to ensure success, I would, at this point add: “As I will, so mote it be.”

In fact, let me take a stab at it!

Completion of the tasks at hand
Be they exciting or rather bland
Motivation is what I seek
Triggered by the words I speak
To trim my list by one, two or three
As I will, so mote it be!

Inspiration is definitely flowing more freely this week, and tasks I’ve left hanging are seeming less daunting now. I’m getting encouragement from many directions, and stepping out into opportunities which have recently begun appearing (or more likely, I’ve finally just opened my eyes to see what was already there, awaiting my notice). So may things swirling in this vortex of my life, that make it impossible to avoid feeling and joining the pace as it speeds up once again. It’s been awhile since my life was a wild roller coaster ride, and it feels as if that wheel is about to turn and the wonder and excitement is being turned up a few notches. Stay tuned as the ride will be interesting, exciting and sometimes frustrating, but never, ever boring!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for new insights.
2. I am grateful for encouragement from new and old directions.
3. I am grateful for synchronicity which brought me another editor.
4. I am grateful for the fun, busy weeks which have come to an end for awhile so I can really get down to business.
5. I am grateful for abundance: projects, prosperity, enthusiasm, motivation, creativity, tenacity, love, friendship,harmony, peace, kindness, patience and love.

Namaste