Stop Fearing What You Truly Want

Image courtesy of thepathtraveler, published on 23 May 2012, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of thepathtraveler, published on 23 May 2012, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

A lady I know repeatedly told herself (and everyone around her) she doesn’t want kids, yet, that’s what she focuses on in many conversations. She has been telling the story of how she’s scared to become a mom and she’s received just that – no child or family to call her own. Her closest friends could see the pangs of jealousy cross her face when yet another one of her friends got married or had a new baby. Yet, she was so comfortable telling her story and too prideful to change it, that she’d rather hang on to that old fear rather than explore the possibilities of what her dreams could mean for her.

I used  to fear to dream because I was scared of let down. I wanted to inoculate myself from the pain of not receiving what I really wanted in my life. I was limited in my understanding that what I want has already been created and I just needed to be awakened and to allow it to manifest through me. I failed to realize that when I focused on my fears, rather than my dreams, all I was getting was more of what I truly feared and less of what I wanted.

In the case of the lady, she feared being let down and alone, more than she feared becoming a mother, but she is not honest about where her fear is stemming from, and until she is, she will remain in a holding pattern, not able to reach the life she truly wants.

When it comes to your dreams, are you being honest with yourself on a) having a dream? b) are you wearing other people’s desires for your life, instead of wearing and embodying your own? c) are you moving through your fears, taking faithful, measured and even small steps towards your dream?

The answers will tell you whether or not you’re allowing fear to run your life and whether that fear is an accurate out picturing of what you really are afraid of. It’s okay to have and recognize when you’re afraid, but do not confuse that with trying to head off disappointment if your dreams don’t come true. Hedging your dreams all the time, fearing they will never come true will manifest exactly what you fear – not having your dream. Instead, shift your focus, envision and feel what it would be like to already have your dream fulfilled. Then, let go of the worry over the outcome.

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

Doorway to your Soul: What are You Called To Do?

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti, published on 20 October 2009 Stock Image - image ID: 1008922, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti, published on 20 October 2009 Stock Image – image ID: 1008922, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Have you thought about what it is that moves and inspires you to be all you can and want to be? What feels like a natural extension of yourself? What is the one thing you could do that no one would have to pay to motivate you?

When you answer these questions, you become clearer on what is your divine purpose. For some, we are divinely called to do many things, and for others, maybe just one or two things.

As you start to think about your Divine Calling, you will intuitively be guided to the next step, and the next step, and the next…to what you are here to do. Your Inner Guide or intuition is always there, and you will never be separated from it. You are One with God. You have the free will and choice to listen to the inner voice inside you. You don’t have to listen to it, but you will bumble around in the dark. It’s really your choice!

Exercising your intuition muscles, especially when bringing forth the gifts you have to offer the world, is all about asking questions, and having an expectant, trusting and faithful heart that you will receive the answers. When I say questioning, I am not talking about questioning with cynical questions, although you can do that, too.  You are not questioning God’s authority with questions, you are clarifying what you want. Sifting through the unwanted to get closer to the wanted. The wanted is the everlasting joy, gratitude and love that flows in and through this world. It is about embodying love that abundance bears fruit as an effect to the cause of being Love.

Ask the questions you want answered and let go of worry on how and when the answers will come. If the answers aren’t easy to see in that moment, don’t get discouraged. Trust the answers will be revealed in the most beautiful and timely way, specific to you and where you are in your journey.

I am now at a point in my journey where I can ask the Universe in a moment’s time to guide me to the path of least resistance, and the route I take is generally the easiest. I am divinely led and I stop and listen for the answers. I am also at a point where the answers move more quickly and with ease. There are areas in my life that is moving big mountains, so it takes times for difficult, more dense things to shift and change. But, I have already received Divine Guidance and  know that I am on the road of least resistance.

Over time, your intuitive voice will be louder than the outside voices that tell you should do this or do that. It will become easier to strip away other people’s desires for your life, allowing your own divine desire to shine through.

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

What’s Your Choice?

Image courtesy of Master isolated images, published on 23 May 2011 Stock Image - image ID: 10042798, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of Master isolated images, published on 23 May 2011 Stock Image – image ID: 10042798, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

I had a conversation with a friend of mine, upset over her new boss. She just knew her boss hated her. We spent a good part of the conversation discussing how she can’t stand the lady and how she, herself was cold and distant when her supervisor asked how she was doing. She replied with a curt, “I’m fine.” But, she wasn’t fine. She was fired up and pissed. And, she was focused on the negative aspects of the situation.

I wanted to hear about what she did like about her boss and her job. She actually works at an awesome workplace, enviable for most. Instead, she focused on her disdain for this woman.

What we focus our conscious and subconscious on is what will come to pass. It has no choice but to align to what you are focusing on – not what you desire, not what you wish. Faith + Focus = Alignment with the Universe. A sure way to slow down momentum for greater things is lack of faith and lack of focus. A clear, defined focus set in your mind has to take place.

I know people who fret over the beginnings of a cold or an achy stomach. They focused and complain so much about the undesirable symptoms, they never focus on the seconds and moments they had relief.

It’s really a choice on what we choose to focus on and direct our energy to. 

Yesterday morning I was feeling a little queasy. Instead of focusing on my turning stomach and increasingly moist mouth, I shifted my focus to the parts of my body that actually felt good – really good. My lungs – breathing in and out, my legs carried me, my head and my nasal passages clear. I said aloud, “I AM feeling awesome right now.” I turned away from the small and focused on the big. The “big” was my overall good health. As soon as my attention and focus shifted, I instantly started to feel better and I wasn’t nauseous for the rest of the day.

So, to my friend – I offer you this. Focus on the aspects of your boss that you do like. What is it about her that makes her special? Despite what you may believe, there are likely redeeming qualities about her that you could appreciate. Can you find a way to celebrate the good, while shifting away from what feels bad? And, most importantly, how can YOU infuse love into the situation?

My friend may say that I’m always being positive when certain situations or pains don’t always allow for it. And, yes, there is a season for feelings that are less desirable, but let those feelings be your guide back to what it is you truly want. Don’t wallow in the less desirable, but be empowered to feel differently. Ultimately, the Universe will conspire to bring higher vibrational energy and your focus will be aligned to receive it.

I’ve had my share of bad bosses. Each time, I shifted my lower frequency vibrational thoughts (such as lack, depression and anger) to feelings I wanted to feel towards my boss, and over time, the physical experience matched the emotional signals I was sending out and calling the Universe to bring forth. Those undesirable bosses were promoted, got fired, laid off, died, joined a cruise line, or literally took a hike. But, that’s not the best part.

The best part is not the loss of an incompatible boss, but gaining an awesome one, or for some, becoming your own boss. How will you get to an awesome boss when all your energy and emotions are geared towards what you don’t want? It’s okay to be in that place for a moment, but over time, you have to shift gears and move towards solutions, resolutions and love. You will not get there if you are constantly focusing on what you don’t want instead of what you do want. Exercise your power of choice.

Today, challenge yourself to look at the other side of the coin of a difficult person or situation. The power of choice, having faith and focus will guide you back to your highest desires.   

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

Fellowship with Humanity

Image courtesy of smarnad, published on 19 October 2013 Stock Image - image ID: 100211250, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of smarnad, published on 19 October 2013 Stock Image – image ID: 100211250, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

I had a lovely early dinner, dessert with friends Saturday evening. It started out as a late lunch and with all our talking, stretched from lunch to 9PM dessert. I was enjoying time with friends, and recognized I missed these marathon chat sessions. Remembering to “stay in the moment,” I realized why it felt so good to be amongst friends. What we were having was connection and fellowship – but not always of the church variety (we talked about everything; oftentimes, not sanctified).

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could be in fellowship in every aspect of our life? Like at the post office, at the deli, or while waiting in a long line in an amusement park.

I bet it makes for a fun time, no matter who you’re with or where you go. I’m talking about fellowship with humanity, and letting it begin with you, your friends and spreading to all of humankind.

Last Thanksgiving Eve, I found myself, last-minute, picking up a ham at the Honey Baked Ham store – like hundreds of other people found themselves at 4:00 PM. The line wrapped around the building, snaking around the parking lot and doubling into itself. I groaned inwardly, and stared at the line, not sure if the ham was worth it. A business woman in a nice, black suit could see me thinking about leaving and she called out, “might as well join us!” I shrugged and walked over.

Soon, I was laughing with about five or six other folks in the line and by the time we reached the doors to enter the store, we seemed like old, best friends. In addition to the business woman, there were construction workers, a Comcast cable installer, a teenager who sagged his pants, and a couple of hipsters, too. Not one was glued to their cell phones, all was living in the moment. 

We laughed when we saw an unsuspecting shopper come around the corner and to see the expressions turn from smiles to “what the hell?” We chuckled and teased when a car had a hard time maneuvering about the throngs of people, and then finally having to help the driver back out of the parking space without hitting something or someone. We helped a lady find a missing earring. We collectively felt and showed empathy for the family who unwittingly brought their five children to this “boring” errand, entertaining them with our jokes.

It turned out to be one of the highlights of my 2013 Thanksgiving holiday as opposed to a memory of when I had to spend an hour and a half in a line with strangers. Having fellowship in what seemed as an unlikely place – a Honey Baked Ham store.

Imagine having fellowship all the time. What would that feel like to be present in the moment and in the company of others, all feeling good and happy to be there?

Next time you’re around a group of people, allow yourself to fellowship and see the opportunities for happiness to unfold.

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

Synchronicity of the Universe

Image courtesy of fotographic1980, published on 18 July 2013, Stock Image - image ID: 100185203, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of fotographic1980, published on 18 July 2013, Stock Image – image ID: 100185203, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Wikipedia definition of Synchronicity:

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, where they are unlikely to be causally related. The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence, although the events need not be exactly simultaneous in time…The concept does not question, or compete with, the notion of causality. Instead, it maintains that just as events may be connected by a causal line, they may also be connected by meaning. A grouping of events by meaning need not have an explanation in terms of cause and effect.

Look around. See all the ways we connect? Amazing isn’t it? The Universe has the power to reach out to us and us to It, synchronized for manifesting connections. If it’s too far fetched for you to look for miracles, try, instead to look for the synchronicities in your life, those coincidences that speak to you and inform you that you’re headed in the right or wrong direction.

The virtual world is one of the endless ways we experience synchronicities. Bloggers, how does it feel to be a part of a movement? Internet surfers, how does it feel to receive all the information you could ever want instantaneously? On your terms, creating virtual connections.

In our thoughts and experiences, notice how certain themes come up at the same time, again and again. It is no coincidence – we are all connected to Divine Spirit and it is through this connection that we find we are all experiencing similar thoughts and occurrences, almost at the same time.

The phenomenon of one person writing a piece on alignment then seeing evidence of their beliefs in other written pieces, or their favorite Podcast host is talking about that very subject, or the Reverend has a sermon on it, or someone gives a book on alignment. Some would say all of that is coincidence, but I say it is much bigger – synchronicity – evidence of our connection to the Universal flow of life.  

The Universal Flow sends us synchronicities to show us we’re on a Divine Path and in sync with the Universe and its Inhabitants. 

Have you ever noticed coincidences around a particular experience? Did you choose to ignore those synchronicities? Or, did you recognize a pattern, that caused you to look outside and within?

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

Just Be and Let Others Be

– exploring ways to be present and non-judgmental in every circumstance and situation.

Happy balls

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles, published on 04 November 2013, Stock Image – image ID: 100215277, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

When you remove the worry of the future and stop fretting and focusing on the past, you allow yourself and/or the person in your presence to grow up to a higher level of being, just by focusing on the present. Remember, our power lies in the Now. It is what we do and feel in the present that creates the future. Why hold on to past pains and hurts, just to carry it into the future?

When you remain focused on one’s less desirable qualities and the past hurts they’ve afflicted, you are placing your energy to that which you don’t want and living in the past.

Fundamentally, there is a loss of faith when one engages in not letting others be where they are in their journey. Or, not accepting where you are in your own journey.

Allow faith into your heart and trust that all things work out for the Greater Good. That state of being will wash over you and all who come into contact with you.

From a Law of Attraction standpoint, what you focus on is what you receive. If you are focusing on the negative in a person, then more of that will manifest on the physical plane. If you celebrate even the slightest of a positive attribute, more of that positivity will unfold into your experience.

People can change, moment to moment, but it will not be because you’re nagging, begging or fighting them into transition. People change when they are ready to change. That change can happen overnight, or it can take a lifetime or two.

You can always set the space and distance between you and that person, even if you’re married (or divorced and broken up). The space and distance I am referring to is not physical, but instead spiritual and emotional. No longer will you be the instigator of fights over change because you will accept them for who they are and where they are in their journey right now. Or, you will get to a point in your own journey where it’s time to grow on and upward.

If you find you can’t be around a person because their present state is not in alignment with where you want them to be, remember, they have a journey to walk, too. Your focus must ALWAYS be on where YOU want to be. All you can do is hold on to your peace and not lower your vibrational energy to the less desirable, but to maintain the knowing that you and all around you is rising up.

We hear the saying, “live and let live,” but are we doing this with our spouses, children, parents, exes, friends and co-workers? Or, are we sticking our judgmental noses in everyone’s business or up in the air in judgment? Let judgment go – it serves no one and it most certainly will not elevate. It only keeps the energy surrounding that relationship stagnant.

To be in the present means to focus on the very moment that is before you – not the past, not the future.

Infuse love in any and every situation. When you’re having a difficult time with a person or situation, ask yourself, “how can I bring love into this situation?” Love is the cooling salve that heals us all. Self love and Universal love has to be the center of your heart and your experience.

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

22 Ways to Manifest More Money in Your Life

All of the outlined tips in this post will bring you closer to experiencing an abundant life today. Cheers to raising our wealth consciousness higher and higher!

Weathering the Storms – Bonus Blog Post on Being in the Flow

Image courtesy of Vlado, published on 08 April 2013  Stock Image - image ID: 100156365, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of Vlado, published on 08 April 2013
Stock Image – image ID: 100156365, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

You have to be like the tall and mighty palm tree in a storm – rooted in the earth and flexible enough to sway with the wind and weather the storm.

I listened to a Podcast where an author said we should not over analyze what we’re feeling and to just go through the emotions. She said not to over study spiritual books and to let the information land where it may. For the most part I agree, as being in this human existence one will experience all levels of emotions. But, if you find that your reaction is always filled with dread, anger, or depression then you must take some time to evaluate where the source of angst is coming from before you can move easily, joyfully and peacefully through this life. Life happens, but again, if your first reaction is always a negative emotion, that needs to be self-examined.

Here’s an example: A woman cursed out a driver that cuts her off. She is ticked at her boss, pissed at her husband, angry with her children, and every time the phone rings at work, she answers it with a sense of dread. She is always reacting in a negative way. Now, to tell this woman she should just feel the emotions is not serving her. She needs to look at the source of her anger. Is it at her husband because he is not pulling his weight? Or, is it because she is feeling unfulfilled? Or, is she chronically depressed? As you can see, it can be a myriad of “whys” as to the true source of her pain, but unless she does a little detective work and discover what the underlying issue is, she will not be able to flow through life with ease and grace. Ultimately, whatever the reason she’s angry, it begins and ends with her.

If you are angry, allow that emotion to run its course, but don’t wallow in that feeling for hours and days on end. If you are grieving, by all means, allow yourself to feel it through to the other side. If you’re sad, let it run its course. But, overall, you should still have a pervading sense of joy, peace and the knowing that you are taken care of by the Universe. You should still be able to be present in the moment and not always be living in your head and analyzing past hurts and pains or over protecting yourself from potential future hurts.

It is your perspective or how you look at life’s circumstances and situations that help you quickly shift from lower frequency, negative thoughts to helpful, healing thoughts. Every thought and situation you find yourself in has the power to clarify and expose how to get closer to what you really want in your life experience. Be grateful for the awareness of the message you’ve received. Now you know something you did not know before and that alone is worth going through something that is less desirable to get to the most desirable life imaginable.

Your life will be colored with all sorts of shades of emotion: happiness, sadness, and every emotion in between – that’s what makes a beautiful life portrait. By no means am I telling you to slap a happy band-aid on your life or to go to the other extreme of over analyzing your emotions. There is a balance and it is up to you, the steward of your life’s journey, to find that balance.

Going with the flow is two-fold – you are the captain of your ship and steering it in the direction you wish to go, but allowing the storms to come and go, with an inner peace and knowing that all is truly well. Even if you get off course, it is not the end of the world to get back to the flow, in fact, I encourage you to try to enjoy the journey of getting off and on course again.

~Your Curator of All Things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

In the Flow of Life Part 5 of the Alignment Series

I am studying Eric Butterworth’s In the Flow of Life and thought I’d share wisdom found in this book.

I am studying this great text on being in alignment with the flow of life, by Eric Butterworth. You can get this in digital or paperback form on amazon.com or barnesandnobles.com.

Whether you’re feeling good or bad, ask yourself whether or not you’re in the flow of life. Taking a quick moment to gauge where your heart and mental space is will help guide you back to the flow of life. You will begin to recognize your Inner Knowing and be able to discern the difference between outside voices and the still, small voice of your intuition speaking to you.

The Inner Knowing is the same innate knowing birds have when it’s time to fly north or south – they just know. The same innate knowing is in you. You know your authentic self and that you’re in an ever abundant Universe, but sometimes that Divine Wisdom is covered by lies and limiting beliefs that dull that light inside you.

Keep a small journal you can carry with you to notate the blessings you encounter each day, which can be scribed evidence of your alignment with Source.

Use a recorder to capture thoughts, feelings, blog ideas, and passages for the novel I’m writing. Cell phones have app recorders, so the next time you have a moment you want to remember, record it.  

We have to deconstruct old limiting belief structures and rebuild with new beliefs that serve us. Whenever there is a diminishing thought, there is an old belief structure that needs to be torn down. When you find yourself out of alignment with the flow of life, remember all you have to do is take a moment, step back enough to see the situation for what it is – a blessing that is guiding you back to the direction you want to go in. Become the observer of you and your situation.

Here is what Eric Butterworth had to say:

“…If we do not build on the consciousness of our source in the universal flow of life, we try to make the law work for us in the form of the good we desire. Actually, there is no way we can make divine law work for us or for any one. Can we influence gravity to work for us or the sun to shine on us? All we can do or need to do is get into a right relationship with them.

“What is called the “law of healing” is simply the eternal flow of life that is present as an allness even within an illness. The “law of success” is simply the flow of ideas and creativity that can turn failure into productivity and lack into abundance. We do not make the law work through prayer or treatment. Divine law is always working, even if we may be frustrating its flow through our attitudes and actions.”

Divine Law is indiscriminate and it is you or I that has to align to the flow of life – not the Universal Laws bending and changing for an individual person. Just as we’re aligned with the Law of Gravity, we can get our internal navigational system aligned with Law of Attracting, the Law of Allowing, or the Law of Healing.

Prayer transforms our mind, heart and spirit so we can easily align with the Flow of Life. The Flow of Life will continue to move regardless of whether we believe or not and whether we pray or not.

Focus on what it is you that you do want. If it’s world peace, you can’t serve two Gods – peace and war, by wishing (lacking) for peace, while all you are focusing on is the strife in the world. You have to align to peace, to become the peace you desire. On a less grander scale than world peace, you can get into the flow of what you want in your own life and to steer your focus on what you don’t want to what you do want – it is really that simple.

God wants us to recognize our power, because it is then we are able to truly shine His light through our gifts and talents to share with others, so we all can benefit, grow and be utterly happy.

~Your Curator of All Things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley

Being in Alignment Hasten Your Blessings Part 4

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono, published on 04 May 2010 Stock Image - image ID: 10016066, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono, published on 04 May 2010 Stock Image – image ID: 10016066, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Life is easier when you’re in alignment than when you’re not. Not only is it easier for you, it becomes easier for the Universe to be in alignment in providing for you and answering your prayers. When your conduit to God is flowing, then it is easy for you to be an inlet and outlet to all that you are manifesting.

There is a Universal flow and it is moving, no matter what you’re focusing on. Picture yourself standing next to a fast flowing river and all the things you want and don’t want swirl about. When you focus on what you want to glean from that river’s flow, you will become a magnet to it and have aligned with the Universal Mind. What you don’t want is also floating in your flow, and if you’ve aligned to it, it will come to pass in your life.

Be careful not to wish for something, for wishing is only focusing on the lack of not having it already. Instead, know what you’ve prayed and desired is created, waiting for you, just as you are waiting for it. Allow things to come to you in its own time, and trust that it will. It is that trust, faith and knowing that will HASTEN your blessing. That is a powerful distinction between wishing and manifesting.

What you’re manifesting is being created moment, by moment, all trying to get to you as soon as possible.

Imagine a cluttered, clogged conduit – probably difficult for things to move in and out of. Now, imagine a conduit open, pure and clear and how much easier it is for things to move to and through you.

You’ve built momentum going down stream. Now, picture yourself trying to go upstream, against the river’s flow, momentum is slowed to a crawl. Which is easier? You could choose to go upstream (the flow of least desire), or choose to go downstream (the flow of high desire).

Build momentum in the direction you want your life to go. Momentum is like an avalanche – it starts out a small pebble and rolls into a gigantic ball, rolling and collecting everything in its path. Take baby steps toward your desires. Eventually, your baby steps avalanche into something big.  

Ever wonder why celebrities or the wealthy seem to get more and more of what they want? It’s not because they are lucky, it’s because they’ve built momentum in the direction they wanted their life to go. They’ve exercised their faith muscles to the tenth power. That is also why it can be catastrophic for a celebrity on a downward spiral because their momentum is used to moving at a fast rate of speed.

A personal example: I’ve been very distracted at work lately. I kept focusing on the distractions and how I wasn’t getting anything done. I decided to change my focus onto being successful in increasing my productivity. I spent a few moments just feeling what it would feel like to be successful in increasing my work output. The next day, I increased my productivity, even with an occasional distraction. I took the focus away from what I don’t want and shifted it to what I do want.

In matters of the heart, alignment helps you to attract and retain loved ones in your life.  All you have to do is be the love you wish to have and align to feelings of love. When you’re out of alignment, all you can think about are the obstacles in attracting, being compatible and retaining a mate. When you’re in alignment with the flow of life, love (in all forms!) comes easily to you. The solutions to making a relationship work come effortlessly – it becomes easier to go with the flow in relationships.

Your mind is a receptor and effector, receiving information and sending it back out to the Universe. When you’re out of alignment, your thoughts begin to send mixed messages to the Universe, resulting in mixed or undesirable results manifested on the physical plane.

Take a few moments each day to focus in on whether or not you’re in the flow of your life, living out your highest good. If you’re not, then ask yourself “what have I been focusing on?” Shift your focus to the desire and away from the distraction. Have faith your blessings are on their way to you. From there, you are well on your way to experiencing alignment in your flow of life and be ready to see instant results.

~Your Curator of all things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley