Are you afraid to be different?

Truth or Consequences time, best beloveds.

Are you willing to be different, original, authentic -- truly YOU?

Or is acceptance more important to you?

The thing about being authentic and expressing your true self is that it's likely to land you outside the mainstream, which may not always be a comfortable place. Especially if your private measure of success is acceptance. It's just too scary to leave the pack and venture outside it. Much safer to take cues from external sources that will tell you what to do and how to be.

Just know that you're making a huge tradeoff -- because your fear is the absolute opposite of love.

So this question is addressed to those who ARE willing to be different, original, and authentic. Do you wake up every morning and commit to being in the flow of giving and receiving that is specifically for you? Here's to your courage and boldness!

Go for it! Cut loose! Be creative! Make waves! Make a difference!

By being your authentic, divine self you will attract to you the circumstances and people that resonate with you. And yes, you're likely to offend some folks. But if you are listening to your own Inner Being rather than the herd, you'll be in the flow, and your reward will be great. It is far better to stand in strength than to sit in weakness. Let your light shine, for heaven's sake!

Luceat Lux Vestra. Let your light shine.

L'amour, l'amour -- and lots of humor please!

Last night some fabulous friends got together for a cinema soiree. We watched "The Women," the wonderfully star-studded 1939 film version of the successful Claire Booth Luce play of the same name.

Norma Shearer shines, as do Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine, Marjory Main, Hedda Hopper, Lucile Watson, and more!

And there's the delightful Countess DeLave (Mary Boland), who lavishly proclaims the fabulocity of love. To quote her: "Oh, l'amour, l'amour, how it can let you down. Hmm. How it can pick you up again."

The costuming is magnificent, so perfectly 1930s. And, while the film is in black and white, there is a fashion show sequence in Technicolor. Very effective.

The dialog is witty and fast paced, and we laughed ourselves silly.

That's the point. In the flow of life there's lots of fun and laughter. All of us felt uplifted and inspired -- energized, in fact. I think each one of us is 10 years younger today because of it.

Your #1 success factor

Who knew that your ability to conquer FEAR would be your single most important success factor?

My good friend Andrea Conway, a superb Law of Attraction Coach who works primarily with solopreneurs and small business owners, emphasized this in her newsletter yesterday.

She said that in his last book You Can Work Your Own Miracles Napoleon Hill asserts, "... the absence of fear, and not formal education or brilliance of mind, is the major cause of individual success."

Whoa! Did you get that? Your success is dependent NOT on how brilliant you are or how well educated you are, but on your willingness to step out of your fearful NoZone and get into downstream mode -- into the FlowZone.

Andrea says:

Not that it's easy to remove fear as a factor in your life. But how liberating to hear it's not the college you attended, not your IQ, not "who you know," not your heredity, not your astrological chart, and not how much money you start out with that ultimately determine your success.

We innately possess the ability to choose how we think, and with that innate ability comes the power to remove fear as a ruling emotion in our lives and businesses.

I highly recommend that you subscribe to Andrea's newsletter for her great wisdom on Law of Attraction, even if you don't think of yourself as a solopreneur or small business owner. You can learn how to tap into the strength of your Inner Being and release ancient patterns of resistance and struggle. Wouldn't that feel good?

I can testify that it does! You see, she's not only my friend, she's my coach. Andrea helps me immeasurably in my own quest to live more in the flow of life -- in downstream mode.

Dancing -- to help dodge the breast cancer bullet

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as a breast cancer "victoria" myself, I'm happy to offer you a few ideas on how to stay healthy -- and dodge the breast cancer bullet if you can -- by making some joyful Life-in-the-FlowZone choices.

Like choosing to dance, for instance. There's plenty of serious research that points to exercise as an excellent lifestyle choice for establishing and maintaining good health, including good breast health.

Dancing, of course is good exercise.

The trouble with the serious research is, well... it's serious! The most important thing about dancing is that it's FUN! It feels good!

And feeling joyful pleasure in life supports good health like nothing else. Anybody can do it, too, even alone. Dance like no one's watching. Dance for the sheer joy of it all.

Need some inspiration? Just watch Matt Harding do his goofy, fun-loving, light-hearted dance, and I'll bet you won't be able to sit still. He's totally irresistible! You'll feel good just watching him.

Here's to YOUR health -- and fun in the flow of life!

Choosing to live in the FlowZone

Jerry Clark of Club Rhino fame, is one of my all time favorite motivational speakers. He's funny, he's smart, and he uses dynamic examples with staying power.

Many years ago I heard him speak about the four zones that people choose to live in -- and I knew I'd heard something profound.

He said that some people live in the NoZone. They won't hear anything new and they won't budge from their cast-in-concrete opinions and beliefs, even if it means vast improvements in their lives.

Some live in the SlowZone. They'll move slowly but persistently to improve their lives.

Some people live in the GoZone, taking lots of action and working diligently, maybe even passionately to achieve their goals -- and they will prosper!

And then there are those who live in the FlowZone, in the flow of life, where all things line up in their favor, the traffic moves in their direction, and they will find prosperity with seeming effortlessness, without struggle.

Jerry said that except for the NoZone slugs, we typically move around between the zones, and when we are willing to understand what's really going on, and how universal laws work, we will spend increasing amounts of time in the joyful state of the FlowZone.

The message clearly stuck with me. Recalling what Jerry said helps to remind me that ife doesn't have to be a struggle. No, life is meant to be lived joyfully in the FlowZone.

The Secret Pleasures of Menopause

Christiane Northrup has done it again! She's way out in front with a book on a topic that USED to be taboo -- but no longer! It's front and center for all women on the fabulocity path, in the flow of life.



And she's said all my magic words: pleasure, prosperity, fulfillment, joy, passion, abundance.... The best really IS yet to be!

Here's the overview:

Learn to Experience Pleasure, Prosperity, and Fulfillment Beyond Your Wildest Dreams!

"How wonderful the world would be if we all had the courage to go forth and live pleasurably and joyfully! I hope you'll join me and treat yourself to an adventure of self-discovery, passion, abundance, and pleasure."

When you look in the mirror, do you see an old, unattractive person who wonders why anyone would give them a second glance?or an incredibly sexy and desirable woman ready to be embraced by the world? Today's leading women's health and wellness expert Dr. Christiane Northrup has someone she wants you to meet?the NEW YOU! Start your engines and discover that at midlife... life has just begun!

In The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, Dr. Northrup delivers a breakthrough message that will help millions of perimenopausal and menopausal women throughout the world understand that menopause is not "the beginning of the end" but rather the start of the best and most pleasurable years of your life!

Sounds like a must read to me! Be sure to let me know your thoughts/feelings on what she's saying.

Reveille -- set the tone for your day

This morning I awoke to the sound of Reveille being played at nearby Fort Devens. Why I haven't noticed it before I can't say, except that Devens, as it is now called, is no longer primarily an Army base. In fact, about 10 years ago my daughter and I ran our business from a building overlooking the beautiful parade grounds when Fort Devens was being transitioned to civilian use. The Army still maintains a presence, however, and they must be training Army Reserve personnel.

Not being in the military myself, I probably wouldn't choose Reveille as my personal wake up call. For military personnel it may be just the way to start a perfectly orderly day.

We all know from experience that starting our day out well influences how the rest of the day goes. That is to say, getting into the flow of life is way easier than pushing against it. And our assumptions about the day, right from the beginning, whether they are positive or negative, conscious or unconscious, harden into fact because that's what we project out into the day. Always. It can't be otherwise.

So take time when you are falling asleep at night to affirm peaceful, restful sleep and a gentle awakening in the morning. And when you wake up, consciously choose the highest outcome for your day. Get up in plenty of time to allow time for a morning ritual that supports your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being throughout the day. (And remember that if you get off track during the day you can choose at any moment to start your day over.)

I like this bit about "How to raise the odds that it's going to be a fantastic day." Very useful.

Oh, and by the way, back to Devens, if you're a golfer you'll be glad to know that the Red Tail Golf Course at Devens is #1 in Massachusetts according to GolfBoston Magazine. Set the intention to have some fun today!

The kissing booth

My friend June wowed the crowd that stopped by the kissing booth at the recent First Baptist Church, Littleton MA, rally day.

For just a dollar you could step up to the booth and ask for a kiss. June would draw back the curtain in the booth's window and give you her impish smile -- and a Hershey's kiss.

Her fun-loving ways are infectious, and believe me, she made many repeat sales. It was just so much fun to see her do the big reveal and reward a buyer with her playful delivery.

Notice how beautifully dressed she is. Nothing plain or stuffy here. June has a very high fabulocity factor.

One more terrific thing about June's approach to life: she says in her twinkling, sparkly way, "I always eat dessert."

The big takeaway? Live, love, laugh -- at every age! Thank you, June. You are a wonder-full inspiration.

The best is yet to be

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in his hand
Who saith, ``A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!"

Robert Browning, "Rabbi Ben Ezra"

My assumption is that every age has its beauty. Life's adventure continues as long as we are breathing, so let's enjoy every stage and every phase.

I also assume that everything is here to bless me. It's all an opportunity to live, love, and laugh.

So when I had lunch with a friend the other day who lamented that her husband (aka "hub") isn't available to do things with her as much as she'd like him to, I thought, "Oh, she thinks he should spend more time with her and be her playmate." Isn't that interesting. She's waiting for him to do things with her instead of finding things that she could do to please herself. She's holding back on developing her own interests and using him as the excuse not to live, love, and laugh. She's limiting her possibilities for living joyfully because she thinks he should be part of the picture.

But the best is yet to be! There's another whole dimension she could explore with a simple shift in her assumptions: the opportunity to find happiness doing things by herself and/or with others.

Benefits for her: The joy and upliftment of being engaged in something she finds truly pleasing. The healthful release of resentment that hub isn't doing things according to her expectations. (I know for myself that the times I get into the biggest jams is when I think people should do things according to "Queen Christine.")

Benefit for him: He's sure to appreciate the release of pressure on him to change according to her plan. What a relief!

Added bonus: Who knows? He might just find her absolutely irresistible because of her energy and enthusiasm for a particular topic or focus. After all, there's something mighty attractive about people who are happy.

Go ahead -- ask for something material

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives; everyone who seeks finds; and to those who knock it shall be opened." Luke 11:9-10

Here's a news flash: you already have all the love, peace, joy, and abundance that you could ever imagine! It's your birthright as a magnificent, divine child of God. All you have to do is choose these things. Just claim them. They are already yours. If you are not experiencing one or more of them, it's only because you're not choosing them. You don't have to ask for them.

So when it comes to asking, ask for something material. Why not? You have everything else!

Easy is always best

"Nothing you want is upstream." Abraham

I've been thinking about my assumption that it is easy to hold costs in line, expand your menus, and eat really well. For me, easy is always best. I've done my share of struggling in life, so I know what that's about. And it's just so much easier to relax into the flow of life. My assumption is that being in the flow of life is aligning with Spirit and my highest good. Life wasn't meant to be a struggle.

In my late teens I made the conscious decision NOT to pursue a career in music -- because music was easy! Music was my passion, and I thought that because it came easily to me that it couldn't possibly be my path. You see, my assumption was that anything worth doing required hard work and struggle. That's not to say that I didn't practice and study a lot. I did. But it wasn't hard work. It was challenging but it wasn't a struggle.

I have continued to study and to perform occasionally, and it is a joy for me. I've learned to allow that creative, expressive part of me to come forth in song, and in other modes of communication, such as writing, teaching, and speaking. And there's an incredible blessing in this. Looking through the eyes of Spirit I recognize that I am a communicator and that there are MANY ways to allow Spirit to pour forth through me.

In this knowing I find my divine purpose.

I love what Edwene Gaines says on the subject of finding your divine purpose in her terrific book The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity (page 198). Look at the ease in this!

"The easiest way to make a plan up is to ask yourself, "What would be the most fun thing I could do with my life?" And THAT is your divine purpose.

I'll say it again: Earth is the party planet. We are here to have fun. If you aren't having fun with your life, you're not doing it right. The era of the Christian martyr is over. And what I want you to know about me is that you can totally count on me to be part of the party."

And on the next page:

"There are some people in your life who don't know who you are. And you can't allow them to stop you from doing what you are here on Earth to do. You are on a divine mission, and you cannot be derailed."

And you? Have you found your divine purpose? Are you allowing it to be easy -- and fun? You ARE divine, you know, so of course you are on a divine mission.

How perfect! It's EZ!

Rattled by current economic turbulance?

"The winds of grace are always blowing; it is for us to raise our sails." Ramakrishna

Andrea Conway says, "Raising our sails = raising our consciousness and remembering our divine origin." Be sure to check out her brilliant post about seeing the blessing in the current economic situation, "Scared about Economic Meltdown? Here's Help."

Remember who you are and what's really going on. You are a divine being and nothing "out there" can disturb the Truth of your Being, which is always well, always whole, and always prosperous. Hold your focus on this Truth and raise your sails to prosper.

Strategy #1: Vegetables Center Stage

Welcome to the Church of the Holy Cabbage. Lettuce pray. ~Author Unknown

Little did I know that rising food prices would be such a super hot topic. Recently I said, "Change your assumptions, learn some new things about food, and I'll bet you'll be surprised at how easy it is to hold costs in line, expand your menus, and eat really well." Numerous people challenged me, saying, "Show me!"

So I'm going to start offering up some ideas for you to try. Test my assumption!

Strategy #1: Shift the focus of your meals to vegetables. Make them the main event. Of course this goes without saying if you are a vegetarian. For those of us who are omnivores, however, this strategy is both healthful and a budget pleaser.

And it's surprisingly easy to move in this direction. You can even do it gradually.

You can also start introducing tasty variations on some old themes to kind of spice things up.

For instance, cabbage is a terrific value. It's inexpensive, versatile, low-cal, and readily available.

According to www.nutritiondata.com, "This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Manganese."

Here is a very simple, crowd-pleasing variation on the venerable coleslaw.

Fresh Cabbage Slaw
4-5 C shredded cabbage (one medium-sized cabbage)
1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 TBS smoky sesame oil
1 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (instead of salt)

Prep hint: use a mandoline or a nice big Chinese cleaver to cut the cabbage by hand. It's simple, it's easy, and you'll like the results. Just watch your fingers. Blood tends to spoil the slaw.

Prep hint: Keep the proportions basically the same and this recipe will scale up or down very easily.

Serving hint: Line a big bowl with a bed of red leaf lettuce and lay the slaw on it. Garnish if you like with a few edible flowers if you have them, or with a bit of parsley.

Accompaniment hint: It goes well with all kinds of grilled meats.

Added bonus: Because there's no mayonnaise, it keeps well outdoors at picnics and tailgaiting events.

Test this assumption: I'll feel deprived

"I am blessed as the creator of my world. " Bijan

Recently a woman I know was complaining about rising food prices, and how much more it costs now to feed her family of four. She's upset and frustrated by having to pay so much at the checkout for her regular weekly groceries. I asked her a little about what she typically buys and what kinds of adjustments she's making to hold her budget in line with her family's plan. She gave some examples, such as buying less expensive cuts of meat. I said I thought I could cut her spending in half. "But I don't want to feel deprived!" she wailed.

"How interesting," I thought. She assumes that if she can't eat the way she currently does that she'll feel deprived. That's her truth. I told her that it's possible that she would never feel deprived. Just by expanding her sense of what's good and pleasing she could slash her grocery budget. And expanding her horizons to offer new experiences to her family could be a delightful pleasure for all of them.

Now, I acknowledge that if we compare food prices today to those of just a year ago we'll see the fact that food prices have risen. All I'm saying is that that's one of many bits of information in a much larger context. How about that idea this could be a fabulous opening into understanding that what we experience is directly related to our assumptions?

Imagine the joy of being a food adventurer!

Personally, I know that I can create delicious, appealing, nourishing, healthful meals for a fraction of what most people spend. And I never feel deprived! Neither do the people who eat meals I serve.

What's my secret? For starters, I assume that there is a great abundance of pleasing choices and that I will make something wonderful with them. I put great emphasis on fresh, colorful vegetables and delicious ways to flavor them -- and beautiful ways to present them. I love and appreciate food and the dining experience.

I also realize that I have a "kitchen orientation" by choice, and that I have thought about it and played with food for more than 30 years.

Many people, like my struggling friend, have not chosen this kitchen orientation. They've focused on other things. That's great! We live in an era in which we have tremendous freedom to choose.

And, as always, whenever we face a new challenge, we can be sure that it's a golden opportunity to change assumptions about how things have to be in order to thrive -- or even just to be okay.

Struggle you may, but you don't have to push against rising food prices. Change your assumptions, learn some new things about food, and I'll bet you'll be surprised at how easy it is to hold costs in line, expand your menus, and eat really well. Try it. See how much fun it can be!

You ARE blessed as the creator of your world.

Croak off the old. Give birth to the new

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

All of our experience is conditioned by what we think, believe, love, and expect. We live from the feelings and the ideas about all that we assume to be true for us. That's why thinking about what we want, what we desire, is really just wishful thinking. We're outside of it, looking at it from afar. We're longing -- and experiencing the distance between where we are and where we want to be.

When we life from the feeling and ideas of the change we want, we assume the new truth and manifest it into experience.

So if you're ready to transform some aspect of your life, croak off your old way of thinking, believing, being. Let it go. And begin giving birth to the new. Renovate, renew your thinking. Live from a new set of assumptions and expectations.

Test what I'm saying. Start small so you can prove it to yourself. Remember, you're responsible.

Keep the receiving channels open

God gives freely. It is for us to keep the receiving channels open.
Myrtle Fillmore

Myrtle Fillmore is one of the great lights who help us understand who we are as spiritual beings living in a spiritual universe having a spiritual experience here on earth. She was a wonderful power of example, demonstrating the Truth of the Christ presence in her life.

I recommend her to you. Start with her book How to Let God Help You.

You're responsible. Harsh? Not a bit!

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

I've heard loud protests from people over the years who challenge the idea that "If you don't like your life, you're responsible." "That's so harsh!" they say.

Is it? Or is it simply an expression of Divine Law, always present, always the same? It's just a very direct way to say that the cause of conditions in your life is not "out there" in the weather, the economy, or what other people do or don't do. It's within you, in your very own conscious awareness.

To create new circumstances or experiences in your life, change your consciousness. It's up to you. Nobody can do it for you.

Far from being harsh, "You're responsible" is the perfect order of the universe in which we live. And here is a wonderful secret: when we pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" we are calling forth our awareness of Divine Law and affirming our willingness to align with it in our own consciousness. With this understanding we take responsibility for living in harmony with fundamental Truth.

This Truth is no more harsh than gravity or magnetism or electricity. It just is. And when you realize this, you can see that you have the choice to align with it or to resist it. To get in the flow of life or to swim upstream against it. To let go and let God or assume that Divine Law doesn't apply to you.

So when I say, "If you don't like your life, you're responsible" I'm challenging you to put down the struggle, stop swimming against the current, and quit spinning your wheels making up your own rules to try to override Divine/Universal Law.

You're responsible. It's the easier, gentler way.

Check your assumptions

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7: 7-8

What have you been asking for? Consciously or unconsciously we're all asking all the time. What's showing up in your life is exactly what you've been asking for. Always. You're responsible. If you like it, great. If you don't, the good news is that you can change your assumptions and ask for something different.

Check your assumptions. It's easy.

If you don't like your job, you're responsible.
If you don't like your marriage, you're responsible.
If you don't like your bank balance, you're responsible.
If you don't like how people treat you, you're responsible.

Check your assumptions now. What are you calling forth?

You're responsible.

No more "push mode"

"I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Genesis 32:26

Your good already exists -- and it is just a shift in knowing that will reveal it. As hard as you try you cannot force it. All you can do is allow it. Allow it to be revealed to you. And receive it.

Several years ago when I was struggling to expand sales in my business, I consulted with a terrific coach in Albuquerque named Judy Katz. She gently coaxed me down off the wall I was climbing and asked me to consider an alternative to working more and working harder.

What? What about a strong work ethic? What about harder, faster, more-more-more? What about intense focus and burning the midnight oil? What about "no pain no gain"?

What she showed me was that I could stop pushing and start letting my good pull me through to it. How do we do this? Imagine the desired state or circumstance and assume the feeling of having already achieved it. This shift in perspective opens the way where there was no way. It guides the actions we take and pulls us through to our desired end state.

Actually, we do this all the time without realizing it. It's our assumptions that bring us all of our life experiences, without exception.

Recognize that it's easy to assume what those around us assume unless we consciously choose otherwise. It's easy to slip back into the push-hard-in-order-to-achieve framework. In fact, it's often quite challenging to choose a different direction from the rest of the world. But the funny thing is that when we release our grip on push mode and choose to allow ourselves to be pulled through, we find that we get right into the flow of our own good.

It's easy and it's way more fun! I know the truth of this now from personal experience.

As Law of Attraction Coach Andrea Conway says, this isn't about just sitting back practicing wishful thinking. Action is required. It's just that it's guided action

The hardest work, after choosing what you really want, is holding your vision in your imagination. Let Jacob be your model of persistence. He wouldn't let go until he received a blessing from God. Hold fast to the assumption of your desired state .

For the Joy of it All

Everything is here to bless me.

Imagine. Everything is here to bless me. It's just a simple shift in perception. Maybe not an easy one, but a simple one, nonetheless. And it's true for all of us. When we can see everything as a blessing we get in the flow of all good coming our way.

When we choose not to see everything as a blessing -- and we push against what we don't like or don't want -- we make life harder. We step out of the flow and say "no" to God's love pouring through us.

Try it as an experiment for the next 7 days. Be willing to everything as a blessing.

Let me know what you discover.