What Does It Mean To Be Yourself?

In a society driven by image and success, learning how to be yourself is one of the most difficult things you'll ever do. Sharing personal challenges and insights from her book "Illusion," Carly Sotas explores how the fear of not being good enough prevents us from making an impact and achieving our dreams.

Carly Sotas is the author of Illusion, a non-fiction book that explores questions of identity, happiness, and success. As a teenager, Carly read magazines for advice on how to be successful and confident but was left feeling discouraged and inadequate, because the lifestyle presented seemed unattainable. Motivated by a desire to start a more relatable and authentic conversation, Carly wrote Illusion, sharing her struggles in hopes of letting other young people know that they are not alone in the challenges they face and in their desire to pursue their dreams. With a passion for youth development and education, Carly serves as the co-program director of Vancouver’s Heart of the City Piano Program, a music education program that provides accessible music lessons to underserved youth. She is also the co-founder of the Pencils of Promise chapter at The University of British Columbia, the global education organization to which she is donating the proceeds from Illusion.

Sylvester Stallone - Why I Succeed

Aligning For Wealth

Someone asked me recently if I could articulate some easy and basic “steps” that a person could do every day that would help them be in alignment with wealth, meaning be “inline” to attract wellbeing, goodness, and prosperity. So, that prosperity would flow easier in life. That where they stood emotionally was a reflection of what they wanted to create in life, versus standing in fear and scarcity.

My answer to that question was yes! Yes, you certainly create some basic “steps” to do each and every day that would align you with wealth, joy, and goodness. Now, before I go there, I want you to realize that these steps, or perhaps a better word would be “keys”, to alignment are not set in stone. But, they are indeed good building blocks for beginning the journey, your journey, that sets your “keys to alignment” apart from everyone else’s.

1. I would begin with a heaping dose of self-care. What I mean by this – choose at least 10 things to do for yourself each day that isn’t a should or a have-to. This is one of the most essential things. It builds your sense of self-worth and you will begin to love yourself in a new way, and this in turn, lines you up with love, wellbeing, and prosperity.

2. Meditate. Every day for at least 5-15 minutes, begin to intentionally quiet your mind. Increase this time as you are able. Close your eyes, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth 3 times. Then gently focus on your heart and your connection with God. Let fleeting thoughts pass by, without resistance. Stay focused on your love for God, your appreciation, and your joy. This is a Tibetan form of meditation that I have found to be excellent.

Why is meditation important? Connection to All That Is and All That Is a far cry from scarcity isn’t it?! It is good to experience truth and love on a daily basis and move away from the many illusions of life. Meditation also quiets your mind so that you can raise your vibration to it’s the most natural and abundant state. In this state, you are a powerful attractor of wealth and wellbeing. Treat your self to this each day.

3. Be in charge of your thoughts and feelings. Choose thoughts and feelings that make you feel better, and help you to ease any resistance to wellbeing in your life. If you can jump into joy this is great! But, if joy is too big of a stretch, then take your time and ease your way there. Make the topic of “feeling good” or “feeling better” at the top of your life’s list.

Here is an example. I have this little health issue. I could, if I chose, stand here: “This health issue is the worst, I can’t handle it, I have no control over this, my doctors don’t care, feel angry ..etc etc. ”

OR, I could stand here, and ease my resistance to it: “Well, I am here. It is better than where I was last week, and I can really feel myself improving a bit. I love my new naturopath and I believe in her. I know I will heal, and I know it will be soon, I can feel it coming. I trust I will have learned something from this, and that my body will be healthier because of it in the end. This thing won’t get me. It’s MY life.”

Help yourself move UP the wellbeing scale, versus spiraling down and around, creating more of the same situation you are in. You will be amazed how your connection to wealth and wellbeing seems to just happen…as if it was there all along. Imagine that! Here it comes.

Increasing Prosperity With Positive Thinking

 

Increasing prosperity in our lives can be accomplished by having the right frame of mind. The truth is, our thoughts are very powerful. They are capable of influencing every aspect of our daily lives, from our physical health to our social behaviors. I’m sure you’ve heard the adage, “As you think, so shall you be.”

If we want to improve our lives, we must first improve our thoughts. Harnessing the power of thought in a positive way has the ability to create great change in our lives, including our financial well-being and prosperity. But how? How do we take something as intangible as thoughts, and manifest them into a physical reality?

We must first understand that being prosperous is more than having a lot of money. Prosperity is a mindset, a way of interacting in our lives, and a way of thinking. Mastering this train of thought is not easy, but it is simple enough if we keep working on it consistently.

Following are some ideas to help you improve your thoughts, and ultimately attract more prosperity into your life:

Be grateful for the blessings in your life right now. Take a few minutes each day to express heartfelt gratitude for the good things in your life. Even more powerful, write a few of these blessings down each day. This helps to put your focus in the right direction — on abundance, not lack.

Use positive affirmations to begin training yourself to think positively. Use “I am” statements such as “I am worthy of all that is good.” Write the statements down and repeat them nightly before bed. Over time, this will implant these thoughts into your subconscious mind, and you will begin to naturally believe them.

Creative visualization can help you achieve prosperity by determining what it is you wish to achieve and then thoroughly creating that image in your mind. This works in the same way affirmations do. Our subconscious will fill with images of prosperity, and eventually, these subconscious “truths” will manifest in the physical. “See” yourself as being prosperous, and you will become so.

Encourage yourself with the belief that you can achieve great things. This could also be one of your affirmations but expand on it. If you know you can earn a certain salary, tell yourself you can earn more. Allow yourself to believe all things are possible, and you will gain the confidence needed to reach higher than you ever imagined you could. If you believe you can do it, you are more likely to take the risks associated with people who are highly successful. Prosperity and success go hand in hand, so take risks and aim higher.

Start a savings account. As strange as it sounds, think about this: Like Attracts Like. Even if you can only afford to put a few dollars into your account every month, it will begin to build up and attract more money.

Finally, believe you are already wealthy. The creative ability of our thoughts is such that we lend more power and energy to whatever we consistently focus on. Focusing on lack will create more lack. Focusing on wealth and prosperity will create . . . guess what?

Remember that this is a process. You likely won’t change your circumstances in one day. But over time, with consistent focus, your thoughts will begin to attract what you want. Once you master this power of thought, there are truly no limits to what you can create!

Dream - Motivational Video

Thought as a Vibration Toward Manifestation

 

THE Universe is governed by Law – one great Law. Its manifestations are multiform, but viewed from the Ultimate there is but one Law. We are familiar with some of its manifestations but are almost totally ignorant of certain others. Still, we are learning a little more every day – the veil is being gradually lifted.

We speak learnedly of the Law of Gravitation but ignore that equally wonderful manifestation, THE LAW OF ATTRACTION IN THE THOUGHT WORLD.

We are familiar with that wonderful manifestation of Law which draws and holds together the atoms of which matter is composed – we recognize the power of the law that attracts bodies to the earth, that holds the circling worlds in their places, but we close our eyes to the mighty law that draws to us the things we desire or fear, that makes or mars our lives.

When we come to see that Thought is a force – a manifestation of energy – having a magnet-like power of attraction, we will begin to understand the why and wherefore of many things that have heretofore seemed dark to us. There is no study that will so well repay the student for his time and trouble as the study of the workings of this mighty law of the world of Thought – the Law of Attraction.

When we think we send out vibrations of a fine ethereal substance, which are as real as the vibrations manifesting light, heat, electricity, magnetism. That these vibrations are not evident to our five senses is no proof that they do not exist. A powerful magnet will send out vibrations and exert a force sufficient to attract to itself a piece of steel weighing a hundred pounds, but we can neither see, taste, smell, hear nor feel the mighty force.

These thought vibrations, likewise, cannot be seen, tasted, smelled, heard nor felt in an ordinary way; although it is true there are on record cases of persons peculiarly sensitive to psychic impressions who have perceived powerful thought-waves, and very many of us can testify that we have distinctly felt the thought vibrations of others, both whilst in the presence of the sender and at a distance. Telepathy and its kindred phenomena are not idle dreams.

Light and heat are manifested by vibrations of a far lower intensity than those of Thought, but the difference is solely in the rate of vibration. The annals of science throw an interesting light upon this question. Prof. Elisha Gray, an eminent scientist, says in his little book, “The Miracles of Nature”:

“There is much food for speculation in the thought that there exist sound-waves that no human ear can hear, and color-waves of light that no eye can see. The long, dark, soundless space between 40,000 and 400,000,000,000,000 vibrations per second, and the infinity of range beyond 700,000,000,000,000 vibrations per second, where light ceases, in the universe of motion, makes it possible to indulge in speculation.”

M. M. Williams, in his work entitled “Short Chapters in Science,” says:

“There is no gradation between the most rapid undulations or tremblings that produce our sensation of sound, and the slowest of those which give rise to our sensations of gentlest warmth.

There is a huge gap between them, wide enough to include another world of motion, all lying between our world of sound and our world of heat and light; and there is no good reason whatever for supposing that matter is incapable of such intermediate activity, or that such activity may not give rise to intermediate sensations, provided there are organs for taking up and sensifying their movements.”

I cite the above authorities merely to give you food for thought, not to attempt to demonstrate to you the fact that thought vibrations exist.

The last-named fact has been fully established to the satisfaction of numerous investigators of the subject, and a little reflection will show you that it coincides with your own experiences.

If you want to know more, go to www.5starsprosperity.com or go to free.5starsprosperity.com.

And remember ...

Miracles Are Normal!

Ingrid

Manifestation – Your Gateway to the Life You Want

Are you stuck in a rut? Do you ever feel that you are being perpetually driven; that life is a never-ending round of rushing from here to there, or from one chore to another, with no time for relaxation? That money worries how to pay those rising bills, or where the next payment is coming from for your children's education, your family's healthcare, your house mortgage occupy your mind much of the time, or that relationships with your family or spouse suffer because you haven't got time to spend with them you're working all the hours there are to pay the bills, after all, aren't you. 

Things never seem to go right, no matter how hard you try, and feeling frustration and discontent has become a part of what you are. You long for the day when you can get just a little time for yourself, and do some of those things you always wanted. Without knowing it, you may have programmed yourself for unhappiness and failure.

But what if there is a way to say goodbye to fear, anger, worry, and all those other negative emotions? What if you can transform your life so that you can obtain all the things you ever wanted? You can you know. 

The powerful and secret techniques taught by manifestation can do just that. Learning to become a Master Manifestor is your blueprint to success, prosperity, and personal fulfilment. Using the inside knowledge of manifestation, you can discover how to implement your ideas and dreams in a simple and stress-free way to dramatically change your life for the better.

Manifesting is an ancient science (over 1500 years old), and although the manifestation techniques are largely unknown to the modern world, the tried and trusted methods have proven to work and are needed now, more than ever. 

By manifestation, you can attract good fortune to yourself, financial and personal, and work magic in your life. Radically different from any other self-help program, in fact, you can really throw away 90% of every self-help book you've ever collected this Manifesting Mindset will transform the way you think on all levels. 

A new departure in self-improvement, it will harness the physical laws of the universe to create anything you desire: attract love and romance, make your perfect job appear, eliminate stress and low esteem, lose weight, find abundance and financial freedom. Consciously draw life-affirming experiences to yourself.

Anyone can learn the art of manifestation. Regardless of what you've been conditioned to believe, it is available to ALL of us. Why not give it a try and see where it takes you.

If you want to know more, go to www.5starsprosperity.com or go to free.5starsprosperity.com.

And remember ...

Miracles Are Normal!

Ingrid

Introduction to Manifestation

Have you ever thought of who you are? Are you the body you see every day in a mirror? Of course, you are not. Your body is constantly changing. It is different now than ten or twenty years ago. According to some scientists cells in our bodies are constantly replaced by the new ones. Although scientists differ in their opinions, most of them agree that every seven years we have a completely new body. Not even one cell is the same.

Anyway, most people intuitionally feel that they are not their bodies. When someone dies they say he has left. So, what has left? The body it's still there.

Are you your mind? You can observe your own mind. You can notice what you are thinking about now. Maybe you are reading this article now, but you are thinking about something else? Doesn't it happen often? You can observe how your mind works, so you are not your mind.

But most of the time we don't observe it. It's just the opposite, our minds constantly play different films in front of us, and it is not easy to stop them from doing it.

Have you ever tried to control your mind? Try for five minutes to concentrate on something. Let's say visualize a yellow triangle. Do not think about anything else. Just concentrate on the yellow triangle. Can you do it? Notice how many times you have thought about something else than the yellow triangle. It's very difficult to control a mind. Usually, our minds control us.

What do you mostly think about every day? If you are like most people you think about your past or your future.

Our past reminiscences can be happy or sad, but the past is the past. It's gone. The future is unknown, but we are creating our future now. Whatever we are thinking about now will manifest in the future. So if we think about our problems, lack of money, difficult situations, our future will be like this. If we think about how to make ends meet, it will happen. We will just make ends meet.

What if you started to live now? What if you stopped thinking about your past and stopped worrying about your future. You could think now that your life is happy. You could think that NOW you and your family have everything that you want and desire. Try it. Try to really visualize your perfect life. Don't think about the future. Think that it's now and be grateful for it. If your visualization is good, you will feel happy and excited. You will feel good, but most important is that you have just started making it really happen in the future.

Of course, you need to train your mind to do it every day. You need to learn the science of manifestation and practice. Great things don't come easily. That's why so many people don't live the lives of their dreams. They don't control their lives. They live their lives automatically. But you can change it. You can be happy, healthy, and wealthy. You just need to make some effort.

If you want to learn more about Manifestation go to free.5starsprosperity.com or go to www.5starsprosperity.com.

And remember...

 

Miracles Are Normal!

Ingrid

Abundance

It is delicious to come together with those like you who are coming to know who you are. It is our desire that you take away from this interaction the predominant understanding of the value of that which is you.

Of the value that you add in this leading-edge perspective. And that your dominant intent is to relax and allow all of the goodness that you have queued up for you. And all that Source is tending for you to begin to flow at a more abundant rate into your experience.

There isn't anything that you are supposed to do. There is nothing that you should be doing that you're not. There's nothing that you've done that is holding you apart from anything. Everything about that which you are is in your power now. Managing this gap between who you really are and who you're allowing yourself to be at any moment in time is the joy and the task of life.

You are the creator of your experience. But we mean that in a much bigger way than you know because you are tied to the eternalness of that which we all are. You are tied to the Source of that which you are.

We give this to you, not because we're trying to evoke a sense of responsibility. We give this to you because we want you to feel the immense value of your leading-edge perspective. Be lighter about it. Be freer about it. Be more playful about it. Look for more things that feel good. Have more fun. Tend to yourself more. Pamper yourself more. Take more time for yourself. Reach for thoughts that feel better. Identify the thoughts that do feel better. Pat yourself on the back more often. Give yourself more the benefit of the doubt. And as you ease up just a little bit, so much that you've queued up for yourself will begin to flow into your experience.

You will know from your own personal validation the truth of these words. You are Source in physical bodies and it is right that things go well for you. There is great love here for you, and for now, and always, we remain eternally and blissfully incomplete. 

~ Abraham (Esther Hicks), England and Ireland tour, 2008 (CD 1)

Chase Your Greatness | Ultimate Motivational Film (HD)

WATCH THIS EVERYDAY AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE - Denzel Washington Motivationa...

These 12 Habits Will Help You Reach Financial Freedom

Achieving financial freedom is a goal for many people. It generally means having enough savings, investments, and cash on hand to afford the lifestyle we want for ourselves and our families—and a growing nest egg that will allow us to retire or pursue the career we want without being driven by earning a certain amount each year.

Unfortunately, too many of us fail to achieve it. We are burdened with increasing debt, financial emergencies, profligate spending, and other issues that thwart us from reaching our goals. And we encounter unexpected events, such as the pandemic, that overturn our plans and reveal holes in the safety nets we tried to weave for ourselves and our families.

Trouble happens to nearly everyone, but these 12 habits can put you on the right path.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Set life goals, both big and small, financial and lifestyle, and create a blueprint for achieving those goals.
Make a budget to cover all your financial needs and stick to it.
Pay off credit cards in full, so you carry as little debt as possible, and keep an eye on your credit.
Create automatic savings via your employer’s retirement plan and by setting up an emergency fund.
Take care of your belongings, as maintenance is cheaper than replacement, but, more important, take care of yourself and stay healthy.

1. Set Life Goals
What is financial freedom to you? A general desire for it is too vague a goal, so get specific. Write down how much you should have in your bank account, what the lifestyle entails, and at what age this should be achieved. The more specific your goals, the higher the likelihood of achieving them.

Next, count backward to your current age and establish financial mileposts at regular intervals. Write it all down neatly and put the goal sheet at the very beginning of your financial binder.

2. Make a Budget
Making a monthly household budget—and sticking to it—is the best way to guarantee that all bills are paid and savings are on track. It’s also a regular routine that reinforces your goals and bolsters resolve against the temptation to splurge.

3. Pay Off Credit Cards in Full
Credit cards and similar high-interest consumer loans are toxic to wealth-building. Make it a point to pay off the full balance each month. Student loans, mortgages, and similar loans typically have much lower interest rates; paying them off is not an emergency. Paying on time is and will build a good credit rating.

4. Create Automatic Savings
Pay yourself first. Enroll in your employer’s retirement plan and make full use of any matching contribution benefit. It’s also wise to have an automatic withdrawal for an emergency fund, which can be tapped for unexpected expenses, and an automatic contribution to a brokerage account or something similar.

Ideally, the money should be pulled the same day you receive your paycheck, so it never even touches your hands, avoiding temptation entirely. However, keep in mind that the recommended amount to save is highly debated. In some cases the feasibility of such a fund can be a question.

5. Start Investing Now
Bad stock markets can make people question this, but historically there has been no better way to grow your money than through investing. The magic of compound interest will help it increase exponentially over time, but you need a lot of time to achieve meaningful growth. Don’t try to be a stock picker or trick yourself into thinking you can be the next Warren Buffett. There can only be one.

Instead, open an online brokerage account that makes it easy for you to learn how to invest, create a manageable portfolio, and make weekly or monthly contributions to it automatically. 

Achieving financial freedom can be very difficult in the face of growing debt, cash emergencies, medical issues, and overspending, but it is possible with discipline and careful planning.

6. Watch Your Credit
Your credit score determines what interest rate you are offered when buying a new car or refinancing a home. It also impacts seemingly unrelated things, such as car insurance and life insurance premiums.

The reasoning is that someone with reckless financial habits is also likely to be reckless in other aspects of life, such as driving and drinking. This is why it’s important to get a credit report at regular intervals to make sure that there are no erroneous black marks ruining your good name.

7. Negotiate
Many people are hesitant to negotiate for goods and services, worrying that it makes them seem cheap. Overcome this cultural handicap and you could save thousands each year. Small businesses, in particular, tend to be open to negotiation, where buying in bulk or repeat business can open the door to good discounts.

8. Continuous Education
Review all applicable changes in the tax laws each year to ensure that all adjustments and deductions are maximized. Keep up with financial news and developments in the stock market and do not hesitate to adjust your investment portfolio accordingly. Knowledge is also the best defense against those who prey on unsophisticated investors to turn a quick buck.

9. Proper Maintenance
Taking good care of property makes everything from cars and lawnmowers to shoes and clothes last longer. As the cost of maintenance is a fraction of the cost of replacement, it’s an investment not to be missed.

Learn to know the difference between the things you want and the things you need.

10. Live Below Your Means
Mastering a frugal lifestyle by having a mindset of living life to the fullest with less is not so hard. Indeed, many wealthy individuals developed a habit of living below their means before rising to affluence.

This isn’t a challenge to adopt a minimalist lifestyle or a call to action to head to the dumpster with things you’ve hoarded over the years. Making small adjustments by distinguishing between the things you need and the things you want is a financially helpful habit to put into practice.

11. Get a Financial Advisor
Once you’ve gotten to a point where you’ve amassed a decent amount of wealth—be it liquid investments or tangible assets that aren’t as readily available to convert to cash—get a financial advisor to educate you and help make decisions.

12. Take Care of Your Health
The principle of proper maintenance also applies to the body. Invest in good health with regular visits to doctors and dentists, and follow health advice about any problems you encounter. Many problems can be helped—or even prevented—with lifestyle changes such as more exercise and a healthier diet. Some companies have limited sick days, making it a notable loss of income once those days are used up. Obesity and ailments make insurance premiums skyrocket, and poor health may force earlier retirement with lower monthly income.

The Bottom Line

These 12 steps won’t solve all of your money problems, but they will help you develop healthy habits that can get you on the path to financial freedom—whatever that means for you.

From my friend Matt Danielsson

Secret to Energy for Life