The face you see in the mirror tells you a lot about what you can expect from your outer reality.

If you look in the mirror and grumble, criticize yourself or yikes! – even snarl then you can bet your outer reality will reflect that by bringing grumbling, snarling critical people right to you.

In addition, if you see the person in the mirror as ugly, imperfect or “not good enough” then chances are there will be a lot of things in your world that also fit that description.

A perfect example of this from my own life was when I went on vacation many years ago.  At that time I really didn’t like that gal in the mirror.  So when I went on vacation what did I see?  Bugs to swat at and terrible traffic and rude people and bad food and all sorts of other atrocities.  In short it was a very bad trip and I swore I’d never go back there!

Fast forward a few years and I did indeed go back.  By this time however I had learned to not only accept but love that gal in the mirror.  We went to the same place at almost the same time of year and saw some of the same sights and ate at the same restaurants.  And guess what….I loved it!  The food was amazing and the people were so friendly and the facilities were superb!

Did the vacation spot change?  Not really.  What changed was ME.  I was finally able to see beauty inside of me, which reflected in my outside experience too.

So take a moment and go look in the mirror….and if you don’t like what you see resolve to change your perception starting right now.  You’re outer world will follow suit and in no time everything in your life will be looking rosy :)

Being positive is actually a symptom – not a cause of what you are experiencing in life.

The real cause is your inner feelings and the vibes you’re sending out to the Universe.  If you are sending out positive vibes then this will be reflected in positive thoughts and words on the outside.  And if you’re sending out negative vibes your thoughts and words will reflect that too.

This is excellent news because it means that you can now monitor your inner vibes and make changes if necessary to steer you toward your goals.  If you find that your thoughts and words about a certain subject are negative for example, you can examine your inner vibe and see what needs to shift.  And you will know when that shift has taken place because you’ll begin to feel sunnier, say brighter things and walk a little taller :)

Need a few pointers on how to do this?  These tips will help you get in touch with your inner motivations so you can shift to a more productive state of being:

• Follow your thoughts – Instead of trying to change your thoughts, follow them back to their origin.  Approach this with curiosity, looking at your thought from different angles to see what it’s made of.  When you know why you think what you think things will make much more sense and you’ll be able to shift into a different place much easier.
• Look at physical causes – We are spiritual beings having a human experience and part of that experience is that we have to deal with our physical bodies.  So if we don’t get enough sleep or don’t eat right or work ourselves to the point of exhaustion it will have a negative effect on our energy levels, vibes and thoughts.
• Ask yourself how you’d like to feel instead – In the midst of negativity stop and ask yourself if this feels good to you and if not then how you’d rather feel instead.  Believe it or not there are times when it feels good to feel bad.  The thing is to be honest about it.  And if you’re ok with how you feel then go with it (for now).  If not then set an intent to make a shift and start exploring those underlying causes.

So I was all on board with this…had the post-its in my car and everything when my Twitter friend  @WAHwithJL sent me this picture, which opened my eyes to a whole new level of possibility for this!

First, I immediately realized this can be extended to ALL people……not just women (yeah, guys need a little encouragement too sometimes).  Second I love that it’s a quote.  For some reason people love quotes and it puts a smile on their face when they read them :D

Ok so how does this benefit you?  First, you get a little emotional charge out of doing it.  It’s so cool to see the expression on other people’s faces when they read the little notes!  Second by doing this it’s a reminder to you that you are also all these things.  Yes YOU!  Everything you offer to others also applies to you.

So smile people….you ARE beautiful!

Have a great weekend :)

I’m not making excuses for not posting.  Instead this is a good example of taking inspired action and following the flow.

More than once I sat down to write something on this blog but the words weren’t there.  And as a manifester I know that trying to force action isn’t a good idea.  Had I done that  my posts would have been dry and not at all helpful.  And that’s what this blog is about…helping YOU to be better manifesters and creators of your reality!

I wanted to share this with you to let you know that even I have little dry spells from time to time.  And when I do I honor that, intending that the energy will start moving again and in the mean time allowing my actions to follow my inspiration.

What about you?  Are there areas in your life that could use a little less force and more flow?  And are you ready to allow that?

Think about it and get back to me :)

As I was scrubbing away yesterday it occurred to me that now is also a good time to clear out those mental cobwebs and eliminate old, dusty thought patterns in favor of something a little more fresh and new.

But one of the hardest things about doing that (at least for me) is deciding what needs to go.

So the rule of thumb I use is that anything that makes me heavy, tired, stifled, dusty, old, or just plain yucky needs to be booted right out the door.  That includes things, people, situations, and most importantly attitudes.

Now of course I know I can’t just boot certain people out of my life on a whim.  And I also know that certain situations may not change on a dime (although I’ve seen it happen – never say never :p).  But I do KNOW, without a doubt that I can always change my attitude.  And experience has taught me that once I do that then outer change is always right behind.

This is why I list “attitudes” as the most important factor.  I KNOW that attitude is the one thing I can always change and I also know that it’s one of the fastest way to seeing results in those other areas.

What about you?  Do you have a few cobwebs lurking in the corners of your mind that need a little clearing out?

I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to get to the grocery store…as evidenced by 1 crust of bread and shockingly empty refrigerator shelves.  On the bright side….I have been meaning to clean out that fridge!

About the middle of the week I realized that I had moved from being busy and productive to spinning my wheels – running around without really knowing what I was doing.  This left me feeling frazzled, unfocused and very restless.

So what did I do about that?

Well…………..after becoming aware of where I was mentally & emotionally (which isn’t as easy as it may seem when you’re in the thick of things), I took an afternoon and did absolutely nothing.  That’s right, despite “needing” to do tons of stuff I just stopped.

I took a nap, went for a walk, goofed off with my daughter – absolutely refused to do anything that even resembled a “should.”

Afternoon spilled into evening and I ended up going to bed early, leaving what seemed like A LOT undone.

Guess what happened?

I woke up refreshed, clear headed and ready to zoom into action.  I got more done by noon that day than I had in the previous 2 days!

Of course there’s a lesson here.  If I had been paying attention all along I would have known that I was trying to push things instead of waiting for inspiration to take action.

This is such an important concept – wait for inspiration to take action!

Intend that it comes, follow your bliss and let the rest go.  When inspiration hits – and it will – you’ll get so much done in such an easy and stress free way you will know that down time was well worth it!

Happy Manifesting!

Simple Pleasure Weekend!

What this means is that all weekend I’m going to magnify my experience of simple pleasures and delight in the mundane, everyday things of life.

Want to join me?  Here are some examples to get you started…

• Deeply inhale, slowly taking in and delighting in the aroma of that fresh cup of coffee in your hand.  Really feel the warmth of the cup and how comforting it feels
• Put fresh sheets on the bed and experience, with every inch of your skin how wonderful that feels.  Heck go to bed a little early or get up a little later just to savor the sensation
• Treat your next meal like it’s a gourmet delicacy (even if it’s a peanut butter sandwich).  Eat slowly and fully taste every single bite, saying mmmmm as you appreciate all the different tastes and textures
• Even if you have nowhere to go, get a little more dressed up than usual and admire yourself in the mirror for a few minutes
• If you’re cleaning, pretend that you’re at the gym doing the brand new “rubber glove workout program!”  Throw yourself totally into it, stretching those muscles and allowing your entire body to experience the rhythm and motion.  I did this last week and my body was so happy it kept looking for more stuff to clean, lol.
• When traveling (whether it’s across town or around the corner), put your attention outside of windshield to the world around you.  Notice that funny mailbox, weird colored paint job on those shutters, cool saying that church signboard.  Point out cool cloud shapes and interesting bumper stickers.  Often we go to the same places so often we never really notice what’s along the way.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the focus during this weekend of simple pleasures is on physical sensations.  Concentrating on feeling physical sensations completely and deeply  helps connect our bodies to the world around us which helps us be more grounded and also more comfortable in our own skin.

Plus it just feels sooooo good!!!

Personally, I recommend at least 20 hugs or more a day to keep you brimming over with love and smiles.  If you’re not normally a huggy person (which I’m not) it’s perfectly fine to fill that quota on family members and yes….even pets.  My poor cat goes running every time he sees that “huggy look” in my eye :P

So how about you? Are you getting your daily dose?  And if not can you think of some ways to kick it up a notch?

{{hugs}}

Maria the Muse

PS Here are a few great resources on hug therapy.  Life Positive did a cool blog post on the subject.  Associated Content also did a cool blog post and Kathleen Keating wrote a very well done book called The Hug Therapy Book.