Shifting Thoughts

It's easy to lose sight of what's important in life as well as failing to count one's blessings. I have been focusing more on what I already have rather than to lament about what's missing. In theory, this sounds great but it's a whole different ballgame when you're put to the test.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day, which was a more challenging day than normal for me. For those of you haven't read my previous posts, my Aunt passed away a few months ago and I have been trying to find ways to cope with that event (my mother passed away several years ago and my Aunt was like a 2nd mom to me). Needless to say, I was depressed and had a negative view about life. I had made a decision to change my outlook on life by learning more about the Law of Attraction and how to use it in more effective ways.

The day started out fine, but I could feel the emotions of sadness creeping upon me. The challenge for me was to stop focusing on how much I missed my Mom and Aunt because I knew that if I continued with those thoughts/feelings that it would result in a state of depression. Every time I thought about how much I missed them, I countered with a happy thought from the past when they were both alive. At first, doing this didn't seem to help, but as the day went on my thoughts seemed to automatically bring to rememberance all of the funny and happier times that I shared with both my Mom and Aunt. It wasn't a miraculous event, but rather a series of small shifts in thought throughout the day. What also helped was enjoying mother's day with my best friend and focusing on making the day a joyous occasion for her. I'm not a mother yet, so I wanted to seek a balance by celebrating other moms for what they do for their children's lives.

I realize that all of this is going to take a lot of work. I must admit that this can be overwhelming at times. However, I have to remind myself that my intentions will eventually manifest themselves in my life. I'm not the most patient person in the world and it seems to me that improving myself can be a life long process that will have its own rewards and challenges. I'm just thankful that I'm trying.

Thoughts and Feelings

One of the things I have been focusing on since learning about the law of attraction are my thoughts and feelings. For those of you who haven't enlightened yourselves on "the law" yet, your thoughts (be they positive or negative) eventually manifest themselves in your life. They are the architect of your future. Another popular way of expressing this is "like attracts like". For example, if you are always thinking about bills or being in debt, you will remain in this state of reality until you start focusing on financial abundance and living prosperously.

I was always under the impression that I had a positive attitude and a wonderful outlook on life. However, when I started looking at my current state of affairs, I realized that most of the thoughts that have been dominant in my mind were mainly negative. Even when I was thinking in a positive manner about a future event, I would always counter the thought with something negative. For example, I'm single and from time to time I imagine myself finding someone and getting married. But then I would follow that nice positive thought with a negative one such as "Oh I'm too fat", or "it's too late", or "it's difficult finding somebody". Hmmmmm.

Needless to say I was shocked when I came to the realization that I have been doing that to myself. Now I try to make a serious effort to clear any negative thoughts out of my mind when I am consciously aware of them. This is not an easy task. It takes a while to re-condition the mind and I do struggle with it everyday.

I also pay closer attention to my feelings. Feelings are the mirror to your thoughts. Usually if you are experiencing negative thoughts, your feelings will reflect that. The same can be said of positive thoughts evoking feelings of joy, contentment, etc. I try to figure out the source of a "bad mood" when I'm experiencing it. I remember watching the news earlier this week and heard something that was disturbing to me. Instead of letting go of the negative thought, I allowed it to remain in my head and eventually my mood changed from being in a state of joy to that of annoyance and anger. (Wow, what a shift!)

So pay close attention to your thoughts and feelings. Also be mindful of what you take in from your environment. It's good to be informed but not good to be bombarded by negative information that will alter your state of mind.

My Turning Point

Well, here goes the first post. I decided to start this blog to help me chronicle the positive changes that I expect to occur within my life. A couple of months ago, I lost a relative who was very precious to me. The courage that she exhibited during the course of her illness was both inspiring and heartbreaking all at once. When she passed away, I felt as though my life had been sucked away and that I was left with only misery and despair.
The first couple of weeks following her death were quite blurry. I finally decided to look for some type of inspiration beyond my family, circle of friends, and clergy. Although the aforementioned did their best to comfort me, I found no solace in their words. So one night, I decided to do a search on the computer and came across some inspirational literature that outlined the effects of universal laws.
Some days later, I started noticing listings for a dvd titled "The Secret". (I'm sure by now most of you have heard about it.) The following week I heard that Oprah was going to cover this topic on her show. I didn't get to watch the show (no, I don't have TiVo) since I was still at work. I decided to be impulsive for a change and ordered it online.
Even then, I didn't view it right away. It took a few more weeks before I sat down to watch it. I didn't have any high expectations. However, once I watched it, I was glad that I did. Since that time, I have been trying to practice what I learned, not just from the DVD, but everything that I had learned since delving into self-improvement way back when I was a teenager.
I've decided to start blogging so that I can incorporate this into what I consider to be my process of healing. I want to share my experiences with others, if for nothing else, to be of help to someone who has been feeling the way that I was before I started this journey with the Law of Attraction. I am by no means an expert, but I am a human being who has had her fair share of ups and downs. Therefore, if writing this can have a positive effect on others then it will be well worth my time to write it.
I could write on and on, but I'll save some for my next entry.