Monday, April 28, 2008

It Takes Courage to Live a Life of Hardship Or Happiness ... the Choice Is Ours

I was having dinner with friends and the conversation turned to Oprah and her global telecommunications class on Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth.” We agreed that there was incredible value in the fact that over a million people around the world are tuning in to Oprah each week seeking an expanded awareness of life. In view of all the world’s problems, this is a ray of hope and Oprah is to be commended for her unique and unprecedented ability to bring about such events.

What I also realized, however, is that just because we become aware of something intellectually and are excited about it, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we automatically benefit from the information. And therein lies the challenge for many of us.

No matter what valuable insights are presented to us to enhance our lives, unless and until we actually make them part of our lives there is little chance that our circumstances will change in any way.

Oh, once in a while – when we look up and see how fast life is passing us by – we might think about the concept of changing our thoughts and changing our lives, but that is as far as it goes. Without a game plan and the required discipline and commitment to make any needed changes a priority, no amount of wishing or pondering will ever make it so.

It takes courage to live a life of lack and hardship, and it takes courage to step forward and choose to live an abundant, joyous and meaningful life

Actually, it takes even more courage to live a rich, rewarding and purposeful life, which is probably why so many people fall short in their efforts, or don’t even begin the process. Why? Because in order to change our thoughts and change our lives, we need to take a deep and hard look within, something we resist, and figure out what we’ve been thinking and feeling that blocks our good. We also have to look at all the basic thoughts and feelings we hold around abundance, which includes not only money, but health, relationships and the kind of life we truly desire.

It isn’t easy. After we have courageously looked within, identified the core thoughts that sabotage our desires for a purposeful, abundant life, there is still more to do. We need to decide what we want in our lives, and it must resonate within all levels of our mental, emotional and physical being as being right for us, and also for the greater good. We then write out our positive desires and place copies where we can see and repeat them daily with strong resolve and intention. [Always phrase them in the present such as: Health is mine now! Abundance is mine now! A loving relationship is mine now! Remember, whatever you place in the future always remains in the future.]

Finally, we must have an unwavering commitment to monitor our thoughts so that we can positively support our desires. It is vital to keep replacing the old negative thoughts of lack and scarcity until they are neutralized and no longer active in our lives.

As we courageously step forward, set our intention and fulfill the necessary steps, we develop a proprietary feeling of owning-having our heart’s desire. This is the key to success, for we have then elevated our energy-consciousness beyond a state of lack and scarcity to a state of abundance and fulfillment. This is the way life is meant to be lived. The Universal Law of Attraction, which means like attracts like, then manifests our desire in our experience—it could not be otherwise.
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Copyright 2008 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s book THE HEART KNOWS THE WAY—How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within is available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Taking the Stress Out of Picking a President

At this pivotal time in our country’s history, I am feeling some stress about making the “right” decision in the upcoming presidential election. Many friends, family members and associates have expressed the same concern. We believe the emotionalism surrounding key issues brings out the worst in the political arena and clouds the issues.

Then there are the candidates’ gaffes, foot-in-the-mouth moments and memory lapses, which were enough to erode any trust and hope we had in the candidates at the outset. In addition, there are the no-longer-unusual dirty tricks, half-truths and double-talk perpetrated by those seeking to further the cause of their candidates, exacerbated by the media’s continuing failure to provide objective information to help us make an informed decision.

The situation is further complicated by the highly charged conflicting and prejudicial opinions spewed by all the talking heads on television, who are more concerned with sensationalism and entertainment than with substance. It seems impossible for an ordinary citizen to know the true character of any candidate, how they stand on important issues and what would actually be an intelligent and informed view on these issues.

The good news is that the critical problems in our country have jarred the citizenry out of its apathy and we are really beginning to pay attention to the direction in which our country is headed—which is long overdue. The very essence of democracy is based on citizen awareness and involvement.

The bad news is that a lack of honesty and integrity permeates every level of our culture. This cultural failing has yielded large numbers of people who have no scruples about deceiving the public in order to achieve their selfish goals. This includes some politicians, who have always played fast and loose with the truth.

The sad news is that this situation has become so pervasive in our society that separating the wheat from the chaff – truth from fiction – is an increasingly complex and challenging dilemma, especially for those of us seeking to be responsible citizens.

The Internet offers an overwhelming number of Web sites with information about the candidates’ views and records, but because so much of it is biased, conflicting and often unreliable, it requires time, effort and discernment to sift through them. You can also go to each candidate’s Web site and access their views directly instead of relying on what surrogates or opponents say.

By taking the time to seek out our own information, we can alleviate much of the frustration and stress caused by the partisan views that serve more to confuse than to enlighten. I suggest we ignore as much of the political rhetoric as possible. Then after the situation settles down somewhat, which it will after the national conventions, we can then turn our focus to the two nominees and their positions on key issues that are important to us.

I also believe we need to let go of our disappointment in and all the attendant emotions around our country’s current problems and our fears about what the future holds. This will defuse some of the pressure we have placed on ourselves to make the “right” decision, and create an atmosphere in which to make a clear and well-reasoned determination.

By giving ourselves some space, using commonsense and weighing the pros and cons, we can come to an informed decision. If, after living with the decision for a few days or weeks it continues to resonate within the core of our being, we can trust it implicitly. By performing due diligence, we have fulfilled our responsibility as a citizen, and done our best—there is nothing more anyone can ask of us.
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Copyright 2008 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s book THE HEART KNOWS THE WAY—How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within is available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Is It REALLY Possible to Change Our Thinking and Realize Our Heart's Desire?

Because I have written and talked about the fact that by changing our thinking we can change our lives – and also realize our heart’s desire – I am often asked the big question: Is it really possible to do that? The answer is yes. It is absolutely true.

But how to get us from that statement to changing our lives for the better and even realizing our heart’s desire requires some active participation on our part. Contrary to what you might have heard or read, it is not as simple as deciding what we want, making some random positive statements and expecting our good to be zapped on us. Life just doesn’t work like that.

In order to be successful, we must look at some of life’s basic truths and understand what is meant by Universal law and how it works. The first step in the process is accepting the reality that the events and situations of our lives are pretty much created by us, and are determined by every thought we’ve ever had, as well as our feelings and all our actions. This combination of thoughts, feelings and actions includes how we feel about ourselves. The image we have of ourselves, whether negative or positive, directly affects our ability to create and manifest our good. If we hold a positive image, our ability to manifest will be strong. If it is negative, our ability will be weak.

Whatever we think and feel about our lives and ourselves today is basically the foundation for what events will show up in our lives tomorrow, next week and in the future.

This is where Universal law comes in: As our thoughts and feelings meld with the universal life force-energy, which is in us and everything in the universe, the Law simply reflects back the fullness of what we are. Unless we change our thoughts and feelings, whatever we’ve been manifesting in our lives will just continue to show up.

While that may sound like a bummer, consider the good news. If we are surrounded by lack and scarcity it is time for us to get to work and change our thoughts and actions so that the core of us is not deprived and negative. This is the way to manifest a better quality of life. We hold the power to embrace new thoughts and feelings at any time we choose and to create the quality of life and future we desire.

Second, we have to accept total responsibility for our lives. Every event, situation in our lives is a reflection of who we are. Once we can accept this fact we reach a level of spiritual maturity that allows us to gain mastery of our lives. Many of us already recognize that there are no accidents in life; there is only weak or strong energy.

The third step is to be able to accept whatever we desire in our lives at a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual level. This means whatever we desire must resonate with the core of our being as something right for us. In this state of alignment, we are anchored to our desire and can imagine touching, tasting, feeling and accepting it as already manifested in our lives. When we reach that stage, the desire is already a part of our lives and only awaits manifestation in this dimension.

The truth is that the universal life force-energy that is within you, me and everything in the universe is totally and absolutely unbiased. Whatever we believe about ourselves and our lives will be delivered to us. It is entirely up to us. By simply changing our thoughts, we can control whether the order we place will arrive at our door as continued scarcity and an undesired quality of life—or as an abundant life filled with meaningful and joyous experiences.

My daily affirmation: I am one with all the love, wisdom, harmony, balance, wholeness, abundance in the universe. God-Good is everywhere present and all that I desire that is for my highest and best good and the good of others now manifests in my life. I release this statement with thanksgiving to Universal Law, which acts upon it at once peacefully, joyously, harmoniously with good for all concerned. And so it is!
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Copyright 2008 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s book THE HEART KNOWS THE WAY—How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within is available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Monday, April 7, 2008

A New Day, a New Life and a New World

I believe that one of the collective goals of humanity is and has always been to seek the sanctuary of love, support, guidance and wisdom within us that is the birthright and true heart’s desire of every human being.

If the promises of many of the world religions are correct, then oneness with the eternal and sublime energy – which is called by many names, including God, is the most normal condition one human being could have. Science has already proven that this energy is in us and everything in the universe.

And if our destiny is to grow into far more conscious and aware creatures than we are—which the world desperately needs now—this definitely means we must continue to grow spiritually. It has long been assumed by many people that this will happen automatically by belonging to a specific belief system and showing up on prescribed days. I do not believe that.

From my own experience and from observing the world at large it obviously takes more than following rote rituals and penances. It is also more than obvious that the bulk of humanity is still at odds with itself and with the spiritual side of our natures.

However, the people in today’s world who have made this connection with their inner selves have deemed it the most important event of their lives, and they have shared it with others through the spoken and written word. When something so wonderful occurs, it is surely the responsibility of any individual to let the rest of the world know about it. In this way, we are reminded that communion with God did not end in ancient times and it is not the property of any one religion or philosophy, but is meant to be part of the natural maturation process of humanity.

I know that this is truly the birthright of every human being and awaits only that flash of inspiration or desperation that moves us to make a conscious decision to open to the most incredible experience of our lives.

What I discovered in my seeking is very simple. I learned that it takes a true heart’s desire and an unwavering intention to connect with this energy-intelligence-love-wisdom within us. It requires discipline and the willingness to go within each day; to wait in the stillness, to listen—and to be willing to do this for as long as it takes.

In my journey I was led to open my mind and heart to the tender love and liberating wisdom that is everyone’s birthright. I discovered the sanctuary within each of us where in spite of the mental, emotional and physical events and traumas of our lives there is the unconditional love we all seek, as well as peace, guidance, joy, wisdom and trust in life.

In surrendering to this love, we connect with the truth of who we really are, touch the eternal and sublime something called God—and are born into a new day, a new life and a new world of possibilities.
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Copyright 2008 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s book THE HEART KNOWS THE WAY—How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within is available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.