NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS - worth the effort?

Resolutions, to make or not to make . . .

This time of year the talk turns to new years resolutions. And each year there seem to be more and more nay-sayers of "ye ole new years resolution". We are told that most people have given up by sometime in March, so why bother. We are told that new years resolutions simply do not work.

True - they don't work.

New years resolutions don't work any more than a brand new, top of the line luxury car sitting in the driveway. They only work when someone gets behind the wheel, starts the engine and puts it in gear.
You may not be reading this at the start of the new year, but that's OK because you can (and we all do) make resolutions at anytime. So I want to give you some powerful tips on how to create effective resolutions and stick to them.

After you have made your resolution, create vivid, clear pictures of what you desire. See it strongly in your minds eye. Use tools to help you make this vision more real to you. Some of your tools may be:

• A vision board
• Affirmations
• Journaling
• Your mastermind team

Remember, we are creatures of imagination - everything we have ever created or accomplished, began in the imagination.

The next step is to create a plan of attack. Your plan may not have all the answers in place right away, but that is not your purpose. Your purpose is sitting down and saying; "These are the things that I can accomplish." And "This is what I will do on a daily, weekly, monthly, etc. basis towards achieving my goal."

From there you'll want to have a state of mind that will accommodate reaching your goals. Start off each day in a state of gratitude and thanksgiving. This is where it gets tricky for some; many people are not used to being thankful or grateful for what they (believe they) do not yet have.
But that is exactly the way it works. Everything begins at the quantum (energetic) level. You have to recognize that what you desire, already exists - otherwise you could not imagine it. The more you recognize that and are thankful for it; several things happen:

1. You create and carry and energy that aligns with the energy of your desires, (remember, this is quantum science - not simply metaphysics).
2. You put yourself in a frame of mind that facilitates taking appropriate action.
3. You become more open to and see more clearly ideas, resources, solutions, etc. that help you co-create that which you desire.

The next step: Stay in the now moment. This does not mean that you cannot look ahead to the future. After all, the future is where we will see the physical reality of what is already present in the quantum reality. So looking ahead for planning and visioning purposes has its place. But to stay in the now moment is to recognize the existence of these things already.
Which takes us back to being grateful.

And finally, take it day by day. Much of the frustration and giving up comes about because we want it all now, and forget the most powerful principle to getting it all:
Do the little things, (as outlined above), day-by-day.

I want to wish you well in the upcoming new year. (Even if you're reading this in August). Anytime is the best time to begin again. Right now is the best moment to start fresh. Today is the first day of the best of your life.

Until next time,
Peace and richest blessings to you and yours,

Jack Roberts
"The Dean of Affirmations"

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

AWAKENING

Each day holds infinite possibilities.

Therefore,

Each day I am open to the best, the grandest, greatest, richest, most opulent, most wonderful, most fun, sweetest, most prosperous, most joyful life possible.

When I stop to recognize the truth about myself and my life,

I know that I AM wonderful and magnificent, richly blessed,
and highly favored.

And I AM, the Master of my life.

I call the shots with my feelings, beliefs, attitude and actions.

So I walk with deep passion, unbound faith, blissful joy, unlimited possibilities.

I see all good – and tremendous greatness flowing to me.

I call forth the best outcome of every circumstance always.

And step up to the plate as my ultimate self daily.

My life as offers constant opportunities to recognize my truth.

The more often I recognize the truth about myself and about my life,
the more I become aware of unfoldment.
I recognize that unfoldment of truth.
I recognize ideas and possibilities constantly occurring all around me.

Awareness is an opportunity for me to step into that truth,
to embrace it,
to embody it,
to expand my consciousness about these truths, ideas and possibilities.

In this space and awareness, I now release fears, habits, responses, excuses, limitations, beliefs and all else that does not serve me.
I create new thoughts and thought patterns.
Re-engineer responses.
Re-imagine possibilities.
Re-work attitudes.
Break free what what I've accepted as truth.
And remember and create what I know to be reality.

THIS IS THE POWER THAT I HAVE. THE POWER OF TRUTH,
THE POWER OF GOD OPERATING IN, AS, AND THROUGH ME.

AND THIS POWER INTENSIFIES :

When I open myself fully to allowing all that is,
to flow through me,
moment by moment.

When I recognize the grace and the peace,
the joy and abundance,
the clarity and the love of God,
activating within me.

When I allow the Spirit of God,
to run my life.

And now, as I recognize this power intensifying in my life,
and as I allow all that I need to flow through me,
it energizes and awakens my consciousness to the God in me.

These truths, these powers, become the core of my being, my operating system.
The touchstone of my faith.
The activity of my life.
The beating of my heart.
The breath I draw.
The life that I live.

All that I AM.
AND SO IT IS.

Jack

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

THE INCREDIBLE LIGHTNESS

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

Our emotions and feelings could be looked at as running on a scale, from light to dark. The lighter emotions being things like joy, passion, enthusiasm, and on the darker end of the scale we find things like fear, depression anger. The lighter the emotions you play in, the more life you experience. The darker the emotions you dwell in, the closer you are to death. (So did the proclamation “let there be light” actually mean “let there be life”? Hmmm. . .).

So here are some interesting things I've noticed:

When you are in those lighter emotions:

• You feel better.

• People respond to you more positively.

• Ideas and solutions flow to you more easily.

• Insight and inspiration is more frequent and clear.

• Opportunities and rewards show up more quickly and abundantly.

I'm sure you could add many more benefits to that list. But the idea is to play at those higher, lighter levels on a regular basis.

It's unfortunate that we live in a society that frowns upon being happy, playful, imaginative – we are taught as young people that we have to be serious about life. And I've heard many people say over the years, “Well you can't be happy (or positive) all the time”. Technically you can, but I agree; life does challenge the gamut of our emotions. And really, it is a part of the fabric of the human condition to experience those emotions. The point is to not spend too much time in those darker places.

Make it your resolve to wake up each morning with a positive, joyful attitude. Make it your intention to go through each day with a happy, upbeat spirit. You're not trying for 100% happiness, but to practice living this way daily. The more you do so, the more you will find yourself reaping all the benefits of a life lived - in the light.

Jack

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

WHAT ARE YOU FEELING?

Somethings been keeping me up for a few nights . . . feelings.

It's becoming more clear to me how powerful feelings really are, and how truly, they are at the core of everything. Our feelings determine who we are, what we create and how we operate. Extrapolate that on a global and historical scale and you'll see that feelings are at the root of our entire human existence.

Feelings are also at the root of any kind of change or achievement you may desire. I want to attempt to, in this post, help you understand the power of feelings and how to use them most effectively to accomplish and have what you want in life.

Take time to create a powerful, positive feeling around whatever it is you desire.
You want the feelings to be so strong that they actually change your physiology. So strong that you feel more energized, excited, happy, uplifted, motivated, etc. When you do this, you change the flow of energy. You put yourself in another state of consciousness that is probably different from what you normally walk around in every day.

From this "higher" state, you make yourself available to greater insights, awarenesses, ideas, clarity (the list goes on). In other words, this is a state of enlightenment, where anything is possible because this is really the state from which everything originates.

Now, you're in a perfect place to change your thoughts about whatever you are desiring.
You want your thoughts to be clear, powerful, positive and so on. If you pay attention, you'll notice that when you change your thoughts about something, you are also able to change your thought processes. This is how you can access new ideas, approaches and strategies.

Changing your feelings also puts you in a better place to change your actions.
Your actions can now be more effective, because you have better clarity. And if you were not taking action previously, changing your feelings can motivate or inspire you to do so.

Finally changing your feelings helps you to change your philosophy.
Your philosophy being your belief, your ideas, your faith. Your philosophy needs to be totally congruent with your desires - this is critical.

Now, the final step; create a grand and powerful vision around what it is you desire. Incorporate the thoughts, actions and philosophy that you have created into that vision. And infuse the whole thing with the highest level of feeling, power, passion, enthusiasm, joy, excitement that you can muster up.

Write all of this down in a journal. (Write by hand, not by computer - it engages the physiology and the senses at a deeper level and is much more powerful). Re-visit this vision a few times (at least 3 times) every week. Record it so that you can play it back and listen to it the other 3 or 4 days out of the week. Twice a month, sit down with this vision and see how you can make it clearer, more effective, more focused, more powerful.

And most important - forget about how - how something is going to occur is not important. (I'll be talking about that in my next post - subscribe so you don't miss it).

Understand the ability you have to access, change and utilize the power of feelings. Use these powers for transforming your self, your life and your world.

Peace and be wonderfully well.

Jack

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

SHIT HAPPENS

"THINGS MAY HAPPEN AROUND YOU OR TO YOU, BUT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS WHAT HAPPENS WITHIN YOU AND BECAUSE OF YOU."

Allow me to tell you a tale of two women. They lived similar lives as housewives. They came from similar backgrounds, experiences and educations. And they were happy, fulfilled and living comfortably in the suburbs.

Flash forward five years. One woman, let's call her Mary, is struggling. She's in debt, 50 pounds heavier, her health is suffering, she no longer feels happy or fulfilled. An old friend sees her and asks her what happened. She responds “well, my husband left me”, and then goes on to spin her tale of how her life went downhill from there.

Let's visit our other housewife, we'll call her Jane. She's even better off financially than she was 5 years ago having started her own business. She's healthier, happier and more fulfilled than ever. An old friend sees her and asks her what has happened. Jane responds by saying she wanted a better life for herself and decided to do some things differently. When the friend asks about her husband she says, “Oh, him? He walked out five years ago”.

Both women had the same circumstance occur in their lives. Mary saw it as something that “happened to me” Jane made a different choice; she chose to look at it as an event that took place in her life, but not necessarily directed at her. In other words, Jane chose not to be a victim of circumstances.

Circumstances occur in all our lives. Sometimes they set us back, they can be painful, even devastating.

But it's all about how we choose to respond.

What we decide to do about it.

What we allow to happen or what we create as a result of it.

And most of all, it's about how we look at it.

We may not understand why something happened, but to go into victim-hood is the worst 'hood we could go into. In victim-hood, it's easy to get trapped while recalling all of the other injustices that have occurred in your life. It's easy to get into blame games and pity parties. Nothing good ever comes out of any of those neighborhoods.

Things that happen in our lives only have as much reality, power and impact as we choose to give them. That's why two people can respond totally differently to a similar event. One person may go into a lifetime of mourning over the loss of a loved one, whereas another person spends a lifetime raising awareness and money to help find a cure.

Look at unwanted circumstances as an opportunity to grow, to bounce back, to become stronger.

Look at un-welcomed events as a chance to make changes, make better decisions, learn lessons.
Overall, when “shit happens”, see it as a chance for shift to happen in your life. And by doing so you will create a shift in the world around you.

Peace and be well

Jack

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing

HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE BORED?

WHEN EVERY DAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO:

Be a bright shining light.
Explore the wonders of nature.
Experience the miracle of living.

Hold a hand.
Make a child laugh.
Touch a life.
Bring good news.
Praise God.

Sing.
Dance.
Let tears flow.
Commune with Nature.
Be at one with all that there is.

Have an impact.
Make a difference.
Be a blessing.

Be open to the surprise,
the magic and wonder,
the sweetness and joy,
the goodness and grandure,
of all that life has to offer.

Jack Roberts
The Dean of Affirmations

Copyright 2007 - Affirmative Power Publishing