Tag Archives: Meditation

Life’s Garden Manifestation Toolkit

Posted in Affirmations, Goals, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Manifestation, New Thought, Spirituality by
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Image courtesy of “Young Plant” by amenic181, from freedigitalimages.net

We stay spiritually connected and at the helm of our manifestational process by carving out a little time each day for spiritual practice.

My own spiritual practices ground me, purges mind clutter, and helps me to get in the flow of gratitude, receiving, and co-creating with the Universe. Here’s a list of some of my manifestation tools:

Thoughts: This is the most accessible and most important manifestation tool you could ever have or hope for. Your thoughts are like a vehicle that gets you from point A, to point B. How you maintain your vehicle is how smooth or bumpy your ride will be in life. Look around at your life – all here because of your thoughts.

There’s special handling when it comes to your thoughts. Lazy handling leads to negativity permeating your daily experience. Even in the midst of hard times, we can train our mind to see the good in a situation and to focus on what we do want, versus what we don’t want. Even if we receive a negative thought, replace it with a positive equivalent. Stop staying in a complaining continuum. Complaining leaves us in a state of victimhood.

Daily Meditation: There are countless reasons to meditate, but in terms of manifestation, your mind needs quiet time so you can become acquainted with that small voice that is lovingly guiding you. I utilize YouTube for guided meditations, binaural beat videos, and nature sounds to meditate each day. Other times, I rely on silence and allow my thoughts to drift away. I meditate first thing in the morning for 10 to 20 minutes each day and it helps shape my day in a positive way.

Clear Quartz Crystal ball as a meditation tool: I use my crystal quartz crystal ball to gaze into and drift into to a trance-like meditative state. During this meditative state, I focus on what I want to manifest.

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Affirmative Prayer: Any form of prayer can be powerful, but affirmative prayer multiplies the power tenfold. I practice a form of affirmative prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatments (https://csl.org/build-a-prayer). Although my spiritual affiliation is Centers for Spiritual Living, our Sister organization is Unity, and I love their definition of affirmative prayer, which is affirmative prayer “reflects the certainty that we are each being led to our highest good, despite any temporary appearances”(http://www.unity.org/prayer/what-affirmative-prayer). Spiritual mind treatments takes the begging and pleading out of prayer and compels us to act as if we already have what we desire, bringing our desires into our physical experience.

Gratitude: To be thankful for what we have signals to the Universe to send more of that which we are thankful for. Gracious thoughts easily push out negative thoughts, which is why it is a powerful and necessary tool in the manifestation toolkit.

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Journal System: I now journal in a more systematic way, by taking a gorgeous floral binder and dividing it in the following sections: Daily log; Wins; Meditative Insights; Gratitude Log; Dialogue; and Dream Log. Some entries are two lines, while others are pages long. My dreams find their way on the pages and eventually manifested into reality.

Brain Food: I fill my YouTube and iTunes Podcast subscriptions with Law of Attraction and Inspirational shows and keep them in heavy rotation on my smart phone or iPod.

Vision board book: I took a sketchbook with thick, 80 lb pages to hold my life’s visions. There’s something so satisfying about turning the pages of my vision board book. When you need a life pick me up, a vision board is like an old friend who reminds you of all that you are capable of being and becoming.

Mini abundance crystal grid: On my desk is a little plate that holds healing crystals and stones. I will do a future blog post on how and why I use crystals in my healing and manifesting. I saw this grid for abundance on Pinterest. Featured below are two tiger’s eye stones, fool’s gold in the middle of the glass plate, two green aventurine stones, and a citrine point.

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My mini abudance crystal grid, palo santo sticks and essential oil.

Affirmations:  There are millions of affirmations everywhere, but the ones that work best are specific, home grown from your own conscience, and placed in plane view to see everyday. I place mine on my bathroom mirrors and when it is time for a new affirmation, I remove the old ones and add a new Post It with new, inspirational words I’ve created.

My altar: Anyone, of any faith, can have an altar. An altar is a physical representation of what stirs the soul of the altar keeper (you). My altar sits in a corner of my bedroom and includes family photos, a dreamcatcher that has deep sentimental value, my healing crystals and hand-made totem poles, oracle cards, selenite and himilayan salt crystal candle holders. Inside the altar is painted rose-gold and stores my divination tools (sage, incense, lighters, cards, journals, etc.). 2017-04-23_20.52.01_resized (1)

Exercise: I meditate as I exercise and I visualize all my organs working beautifully, blood flowing effortlessly, muscles responding, and my body is shaping and becoming all I dreamed it could be. Exercising brings the mental and the physical together, to bring about a physical manifestation that we all desire for ourselves. It is a physical action that, if aligned with the right thoughts, can yield wonderful results.

What are some tools in your personal Manifestation toolbox?

~Your Curator of All Things Abundant, Kimberly Jo Cooley

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Is My Visualization Projector Broken?

Posted in Goals, Inspiration, Manifestation by
Image courtesy of Empty Seat on Row In Theater With Movie Screen Stock Photo by kittijaroon, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Image courtesy of Empty Seat on Row In Theater With Movie Screen Stock Photo by kittijaroon, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

In a recent conversation with a friend, I asked, “I know you will manifest many things next year, but what are one or two things you deeply desire to manifest in 2016?” She expressed her desire for a good job and a loving relationship. We then started discussing how she could manifest a great job and an even greater love life. I suggested visualization and to act “as if” she already had what she wished to have. She then said her “visualization projector” was broken. “It stopped working a few months ago,” she complained. Whenever she attempted to visualize, nothing appeared in her mind to focus on – she was receiving a blank screen.

She asked if this was normal. I assured her that her visualization projector was not broken, rather, it was waiting for her to switch it back on and feed it with new images.

You can visualize anytime, anywhere. Oftentimes, we fall out of practice, but it is easy to get back on track. You can do the following:

  • Meditate: My seventeen year old son meditates almost everyday and he offered this suggestion to share with my friend on rebooting a visualizing mind. When we meditate, we allow space in our mind, clearing out needless cluttered thoughts, while making room for visions that serve us.
  • Imagine: My four year old inspired me to sit and imagine. She can play with almost anything for hours! Two forks become two people in her imaginative world. I advised my friend to imagine what it would feel like driving to her dream job, or sitting at her new work desk. She could imagine getting her paycheck and feeling a strong sense of satisfaction. She could even link her job image to her love image and envision herself driving home to her new husband. He’s prepared a lovely meal for her and and her son and he’s waiting to hear all about how her day went. Human beings were meant to imagine their whole lives, not just during childhood.
  • Draw or clip pictures: I suggested to my friend she can create a vision board or keep a folder of clipped magazine photos showing what she wants to bring forth into her existence. Whenever she needs to remember what to focus on, she can pull out her board or folder.
  • Journaling: Write, write, and write some more. Your written words on what you wish to manifest has magical power. Your thoughts become things when they are written down. From the written word, a transformation occurs and manifestation into the physical form takes place.

Visualization is a fun and easy way to feel what we want to have, before we actually have it in physical form. A manifesting practitioner knows visualization is a tool worth using on a frequent basis, if they wish to hasten their blessings. Are you visualizing the life of your dreams? If not, what are you waiting for?

~Your Curator of All Things Inspirational, Kimberly Jo Cooley 

Are Your Health Goals in Alignment with Your Values?

Posted in Fitness, Goals, Health, New Year's Resolutions, Weight loss by
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles, 2013, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles, 2013, from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

I and many others are embarking on a health and wellbeing journey. It has not been easy, but it has already reaped rewards and it’s because my resolutions are in alignment with my values (finally!).

Weight Management: I am not particularly interested in calorie counting or counting pounds. In fact, I am not going to weigh myself until my biometric screening in June. Counting lost or gained pounds are counterproductive – especially when one is building muscle mass as they work out.

Others find solace in seeing lost pounds, whereas I find solace in feeling great, having tons of energy and sleeping well at night. I want overall wellbeing – few to no colds, a general sense of great health, and a knowing that my body is thriving.

There’s no right or wrong way to look at weight management. What’s most important is whether or not your weight management styles are in alignment with your true values.

Nutritious Diet: I value consuming lots of fruits and vegetables. My mother gifted me a NutriBullet for Christmas and I now I am cultishly juicing/extracting everyday. I’m hooked. Now I crave fruits and vegetables over chips and cookies. Juicing assists with my value of consuming a large amount of fruits, vegetables and nuts. I don’t beat myself up over having a meal at a diner or a dessert. I know I am in the land of the living and sometimes I want to indulge. I make all the conditions in my life to allow me to easily eat or drink when and what I want.

Moderation is key. Because I am on blood thinners, I can only consume a small amount of alcohol, so I save drinking for special occasions. I eat everything in moderation and never feel compelled to finish everything on my plate. I am a lifelong naturally slow eater, which I’m told is a good thing (a pain for my friends and family, but a good digestive/metabolic thing for me).

Exercise: I was the biggest gym rat ten years ago – going five to six times a week. Before that, I would rally up friends to take belly dancing classes with me. I do not have a gym membership presently, but I do have my beloved elliptical machine in my garage, some great 1980s ab workout videos and YouTube exercise How-tos. I also have my sneakers and long, suburban blocks to walk. There are several parks in walking distance that I can jog to. I may get a gym membership, but I have exercise at my fingertips right now, free of charge.

So many of us think we have to go to the gym and that there’s one way to fitness. Fortunately, there are many paths to great physical fitness that can be aligned to our personal values – not just what’s the latest fitness fad or what others are doing to stay fit.

Meditation: My relationship with meditation has strengthened over the last year. I carve out ten to fifteen minutes of my lunch break most work days to meditate. I book an empty conference room, turn down the lights, tune in to my YouTube meditation channels on my cellphone and I meditate. Sometimes, it feels like I’ve left my body, the building, the planet, only to become aware of reentry into my physical being when the music or chants stop. Meditation is what grounds us and at the same time releases us from the clutches of worry, anxiety, and earthly issues. I am most proud of myself for continuing to meditate on a regular basis, even at work.

Singing: I don’t sing for others, I sing for myself. I sing when I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m driving, and when I’m feeling silly or serious. Singing is a form of exercise and meditation for me, all mixed into one. After losing my breath during my pulmonary embolism episode, I value feeling good and breathing. I can breathe, damn it!

What makes us beautifully human is our ability to sing, dance and be merry. Love your body, this earthly vessel that carries you. When we forget to love ourselves, our body communicates to us what is needed to get back into alignment. Sometimes that communication is illness, injury, or depression.

When we start to recognize and honor our values, our goals naturally flow and align to and from them, effecting lasting, positive changes in our lives.

~Your Curator of All Things Abundant, Kimberly Jo Cooley