Inspiration for Big Manifestation

The chart for the "Star of David" formation on Monday,
August 26th. (This chart is in Pacific Time, for Seattle)

I am not an astrologer, however I have several astrologer friends and colleagues.  NEXT Monday, August 26th there will be the second of two double-sextile formations, creating an auspicious Star of David formation on the chart.

This is a very powerful event, and very rare, and is heralding an excellent time to manifest things.  As one of my astro colleagues, Eileen Grimes, put it in her video blog, this is all about bringing spirit into matter.

Astrological events do not create our reality, rather, the astrology indicates the "time" to do things.  The Star of David formation coming up indicates that the time is right to do work to bring our spiritual and mental intentions into physical reality.  It's a great TIME to MANIFEST!

And it's not just the astrology that we can look to.  Notice that today, August 20th, is also a full moon, a time that is associated with fulfillment and fruition.  It is also late summer, when all of the produce in our world is really coming into ripeness and fecundity.  Everywhere we look all around us there is abundance.  This all adds up to making it easier for us to access abundance too!

Wondering what you can DO to be in the groove of manifestation?  Here are some ideas that can inspire you: this week, but also any time, regardless of the astrology!  (new to this kind of thing? please read the disclaimer at the bottom of the page)

Gratitude Exercise:  Take a moment to presence to all of the amazing things that are going RIGHT in your life. Spend time being thankful for these blessings, big and small.  Gratitude is the foundation of prosperity.

My Manifestation Candle.

Intention Work: There are so many ways to put your intention for what you want out into the world. One easy method is something I did just last night. Obtain a 7-day glass candle. Find a quiet place to work, and you can imagine infusing this candle with your intentions. You can anoint it with oil or perfume, you can draw images on the glass with a permanent marker, or you can paste photos or images to the glass.  Once you feel satisfied with your work, place the candle in a spot where you will see it all the time, and burn it over the week.  Spend time each day focusing on your intention.  Also, spend time each day working toward your intention.

Meditation:  Spend time each day meditating on what you envision for yourself.  Imagine not just wanting it, imagine having it.  Feel yourself as being the thing that you desire to be, as if it has already happened.  Allow yourself to feel success in your manifestation, and happy about it!  After meditating, as you walk through your day, you will be more inspired to take action toward your goals.

Giving:  Deepak Chopra, in his book, "Creating Affluence" talks about how giving gets us into the flow of energy.  Sometimes when we are in a mindset of lack, we tend to save or hoard, which can further alienate us from the rest of the world, and the flow of abundance.  So, to engage with that endless river of affluence, consider giving to others.  I believe that you can give of your time, energy, food, or money - where ever you would like to see change in your life.

Change Your Luck: Your luck is a function of the way you live your life! In the book, "Change Your Luck" by Richard Wiseman, he offers many different ways to change your luck.  Some examples include making new friends, going to new places, and expanding your network of connections.

Feel Love: Take time to manage your mood.  Happiness supports success!  You can allow yourself to feel the love from the Divine presence - the adoration of you as the Divine's perfect child.  Taking time to care for yourself in this way is a wonderful method to access joy and motivation!

I hope these ideas inspire you!  Many blessings, Jim.

Disclaimer: Intention and Manifestation of specific material objects, or for specific outcomes outside of yourself is tricky business.  Better to focus on self improvement when doing this type of work.  For example, I would not advise attempting to manifest a specific person to fall in love with you.  Rather, I would advise you to manifest love, of yourself, and that you will feel worthy of love from another person.  

Gratitude: a doorway to enlightenment?

I thought I would share an interesting idea I came up with during a reading yesterday. "Gratitude is a doorway to enlightenment."

I have heard gratitude being associated with abundance, especially by using the 'gratitude exercise' where one lists things to be thankful for in their life, no matter how small.  In the context of my client's reading, however, being grateful was bigger than just abundance or focusing on the positive. We used gratitude to transform her past.

When my client looked at her past, she was overwhelmed with an enormous sense of suffering and failure. This can lend to the idea that "all has been for naught." So, we did some re-framing of her past - and looked at each of the difficult and painful life experiences as a pathway through learning, healing, growing, and experience. Life lessons are gleaned through difficulty - just like muscle is built by lifting weights. It's the resistance in the world that strengthens us. I asked her to consider being grateful for her past. Grateful for the break up. Grateful for the suffering and death of a loved one. Grateful for the learning, the experience, the crying, the laughter - grateful for all of it.

Gratitude is a doorway to enlightenment.  It isn't enlightenment itself, rather, it is an opening to understanding, healing, acceptance, and re-framing.  By practicing gratefulness, we allow ourselves to be present to the things we love about our life, but we can also use gratitude to consider the positive aspects of the difficult experiences in life.

I would appreciate your ideas and opinions on this idea.

Epiphany: Healthy Fantasy

Fantasizing about winning the lottery is like junk food for the soul.

I do this as much as anybody - "What would I do if I won 50 million dollars?" This is often my morning ritual in the shower... fantasizing about winning the jackpot. I imagine how the lottery win would solve all my problems. I know how I would manage the cash - the mutual funds and type of investments I would make. I imagine the lawyer and financial advisor I would retain. I imagine the house and cars and vacations; the yacht, the jet, the property I would own. I could spend an hour doing this (and have!).

Not so bad of a habit... is it?

Upon reflection, I often muse upon this idea when I am worried about finances; meaning, when I am in a place of fear or lack. I created the subhead for this post intentionally: Junk food needs to be consumed in moderation. Junk food should not be confused with snacks - as we all know there are lots of yummy snacks that are healthy for us.

Before I go any further I want to make a distinction between imagination (snack) and fantasy (junk food). And - for THIS post, I am using the word fantasy to indicate those train of thoughts that have a strong longing for, or have a strong lust for results, rooted in lack that leave you feeling longing and lacking. The train of thoughts that are inspiring I will call imagination.

Using our imagination is a powerful way to create our reality. But it can be tricky also. The more attached we are to the result, the more we are operating out of lack, so the less likely it will come to pass in the way our higher self intends. For more on the basics of this principle please read about the Law of Attraction (you can Google it).

When I fantasize about winning the lottery, I am being passive, hoping this will happen. I am powerless in this fantasy. So, what is the alternative? Well, I tried something else this past week. I consciously stopped myself from the lottery fantasy, and started saying the mantra - If I could have One Wish, what would it be? It would be for nothing - because I am complete and whole and amazing already.

This has been very powerful for me. I am no longer giving my power away - I am affirming my own divinely inspired creative ability. I imagine how to grow my palmistry work. I imagine how to continue to have "right livelihood". I imagine the next painting I could create. I imagine the next fun date I could take my partner on. And from this the ideas flood in! I think I need to invest in a waterproof whiteboard for the shower!

I shared this idea with my mom today - she called to thank me for the tulips I had sent her for Mother's Day, and we had a wonderful conversation about life. I thank my mom for being so willing to share herself with me - her successes and mistakes, her wisdom and her learning. I really owe my ability of introspection and deconstruction to her. Thanks for teaching me "Step Four" so well. (more about "Step Four" here)

Deconstructing Lack

Are you haunted by a pervasive sense of lack? I know I am sometimes. For a while I really came down on myself for this; after all, I'm supposed to be the palm reader, the one with the answers, right? Right. So, I decided to do some deconstruction on the idea of lack. Here are some of my thoughts on the topic.

Lack is a pandemic in our society. There is a simple reason for this: capitalism. The law of supply and demand is all about lack, and what drives up this process is a perceived sense of lack. Would people really want Louis Vuitton if there was not an artificial lack of them? Or even more unsettling, would they be desired if there was not a marketing scheme that had people feel as though they were lacking if they don't have one.

We won't really be motivated to buy anything unless we are fed information that we are lacking in some way. We lack the latest car, the latest home, the latest electronic gadget. For me, the voice in my head says, "I need... a blackberry, a new car, etc".

Okay - here is the big Truth: We lack nothing. We are whole and complete as we are. There is incredible abundance all around us. Here we are in the wealthiest nation in the world and we all have this strong sense of lack. Most of us have never gone hungry, never been homeless, never experienced desperate poverty as is common in other places in the world.

The lack we feel is completely made up. It is an artificial sentiment caused as a byproduct of our materialistic society.

So - what to do? Here is one idea, feel free to add a comment with your own ideas.

First, realize that you are not lacking - it's just your society trying to convince you that you are lacking. But forgive society - it's human too. We can choose the thing we wish to participate in, and we don't have to participate in this insidious sense of lack.

Second, bask in abundance! Take a few minutes to be silent, and feel the abundance of your life all around you. Physical abundance of your home, your possessions, your money, but also emotional abundance: the love that you have for those around you, and the love they have for you.

Third - repeat often! We easily forget about abundance, and fall back into the throes of society and it's control over us. No big deal, just take time to remember abundance. It's a lifelong process.

Blessings,
Jim