Category: Manifesting


If We Create Our Own Realities, Why Get Psychic Readings?

how the law of attraction and psychic readings mesh…
Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC.  All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I’ve been reading your column for years now, and there’s one thing I’m confused about. You obviously believe that we create our own realities, and yet at the same time, you’re a professional intuitive. So if we’re making up our lives as we go along, why try to predict the future through psychic readings?
– Brian

Dear Brian:

I do believe that we are ever creating our own realities and experiences in life, and yet at the same time, I believe that there are some things that are “destined” to happen. In my view, these are things that we set in motion before we even incarnated on the planet. They are the really big, important things like meeting up with soul mates, giving birth to certain souls/children, perhaps choosing a particular life’s work, etc.

The rest of the details we are free to make up as we go along. Whether we began to create something before we were born or after we got here, however (and how do we understand time if it’s not linear anyway?) we are still the ones manifesting our experiences. Of course, when more people are involved, then we are co-creating our experiences with those other people. While this is trickier (and also more powerful) than creating something on our own, we still manifest those relationships based on our own energy.

We do most of this unconsciously, simply by offering a vibration and a focus of intention as Abraham (of Abraham-Hicks) puts it. How we feel, what we believe, what we think about, what we expect, what we focus upon: all of these energies go into the melding pot of our “vibration,” which determines our experiences.

Psychics are super sensitive people who are able to perceive or “read” subtle energies – like people’s vibrations. They are also adept at altering their state of consciousness to transcend the laws of space and time. By disassociating with the here and now, they are able to tune into the there and then. Psychics can thus tell us where we’re heading vibrationally. This is very helpful, for the earlier we catch something in the process of manifesting, the more power we’ll have to change it before it actually shows up in our outer experience.

Psychics can’t tell us what is definitely going to happen; they can only offer us what is probable given our current trajectory. The things we create in our lives are like rocks and boulders that we’ve set rolling down a mountain. A psychic can rise up high and look down on our lives and describe where various aspects of it are heading. She can describe what is directly ahead, what we’ll encounter next, what barriers need to be transcended and the best way to go around them, etc. She can also tell us about things we haven’t yet set in motion that we long for. She might say that if we take new action – throw a new rock of this size and weight in this particular direction – then that aspect of our lives will most likely end up right where we want it to be.

For example, let’s say we consciously want happiness in love, but the path we’re on right now is really rocky, and there is a huge cliff ahead. Further, let’s say our vibration is full of beliefs and expectations that are negative or otherwise limiting. A psychic can tell us that we’re not heading where we really want to go, and that there is “danger” ahead and we’d better change our course. She can also gently lead us to consciously recognize the beliefs, fears, etc. that are out of sync with true fulfillment. With this awareness we can then begin to heal old wounds and choose more empowering beliefs. This changes our vibration, which changes the course of our experience. In this way, we can begin to consciously align with what we want in our lives.

Psychics are thus helpful when we can’t figure out how to get from where we are to where we want to be – especially if we’ve gotten stuck in a negative pattern of experience and can’t find our way out. We all do this sometimes: we unconsciously manifest something that is not what we want, and that brings us down, which disconnects us from our personal power and lowers our vibration. Then we get on a downward spiral where things just get worse and worse. A psychic can help us halt that downward spiral and turn things around.

During a good psychic reading, you’ll be lifted up above the temporal dramas you’re dealing with and shown a higher perspective on your experiences, which will help you to let go of all the fear and resistance you’re carrying that is preventing you from creating something better. This is often a difficult thing to do. Our friends and loved ones, even if they can attain that higher perspective, often can’t get past our ego issues. Spirit, however, always knows how to touch our hearts and souls in order to lift us up to that higher perspective where we are free of all the limitations of our own fears, attachments and blind spots. When we’re in this uplifted, self-aware state, we can then consciously work with the law of attraction to create something better in our lives.

So a really good psychic will not only be able to tell you where you’re going as well as how to get to where you WANT to go, she will also be adept at helping you to reconnect with a high vibrational state so you can consciously manifest what you want with ease. This is why readings are referred to as “verbal healing” – they help us to realign with our own personal power, our highest and best selves, and thus boost our potential to live our best lives. You should leave a reading experience feeling totally transformed: hopeful, positive, empowered and excited about the future.

With all of this in mind, it makes sense that if a psychic gives you good news, it will underscore your positive beliefs and expectations, and thus help you to get what you want. When a psychic confirms that you’re heading in the right direction, you’ll naturally relax and bask in your knowing that what you want will be yours.

If a psychic tells you that you are not currently heading where you really want to go, try to give thanks, for your money has been well spent! You now have information you need to become more conscious about creating what you really want. Sure, you may have to do some inner work to shift your vibration into harmony with fulfillment, but that’s better than continuing on a path to somewhere you don’t really want to go.

In summary, we do create our own experiences in life. While nothing is set in stone, everything we experience begins in the non-physical, and thus it’s very helpful to be able to tune in to what is happening at that level and predict where we are heading. If we didn’t create our own realities – if everything was out of our hands or predestined – THEN consulting a psychic would be pointless. Thus it is our ability to create our own realities that makes psychic information so valuable.

– Soul Arcanum

Can We Determine How the Food We Eat Will Affect Us?

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum: I had been eating organic chicken that is supposedly free of antibiotics and hormones, is able to run around happily, etc. But now I’m wondering, even with all its “good upbringing,” if the chicken is killed inhumanely (as they often are, according to what we’ve read in the news), would we absorb its fear vibrations into our systems when we eat it? How can we make sure we don’t pick up/absorb the animal’s fear, or is that just impossible? I contacted the company that packages the chicken, but I assume they will deny that their chickens are brutally slaughtered. What are your thoughts on this?
– Melissa

Dear Melissa:

As always, the following are just my own personal views. People get passionate about their beliefs, and vegetarianism (and the ethical treatment of animals) is a most provocative subject.

In a nutshell, YES – we can determine how the food we eat will affect us. I think that simply observing the different results people get from various diets demonstrates this. Someone can eat everything that is bad for you, smoke, drink, etc., and live to a ripe old age, while someone else can be super health-conscious and drop dead of a heart attack while out jogging one day.

At a metaphysical level, the difference between the two lies in their beliefs about health and diet, and the energy/emotions that those beliefs generate. I have observed a number of health nuts who were driven by fear of getting cancer or some other health problem develop exactly what they were afraid of. I have seen other people do whatever they wanted to do without one worry about how it would affect their health live to a ripe old age (and have a whole lot of fun doing it, too). We will manifest what we focus upon. Instead of worrying about how our food will affect our health/vibration, we’d be wiser to worry about our worrying! 😉

One who is fully aligned with well-being can do amazing things without suffering ill consequences. This is how fire walkers can walk across hot coals without getting burned; they fully align their energy with faith/well-being.

For example, doctors frequently point out how French people eat cheese and cream and drink wine all the time, yet they don’t have the health problems one would expect from this sort of diet. To me the reason for this is obvious: they eat with reverence and pleasure. They don’t worry about what they’re eating all the time, so they are free of guilt and fear. They approach eating very consciously; they put everything else aside, take their time, and really savor their food. They enter into eating with a high conscious intention of enjoying themselves on all levels, and thus regardless of what they eat, they are nourished. Americans, on the other hand, keep hearing how what they eat is going to create all these problems, and they keeping eating what they “shouldn’t” but obsessively worrying about it or feeling guilty.

Now, you might be wondering how all these health problems began in the first place if people didn’t use to worry about them. Basically, there ARE things that encourage health and things that challenge the body, and most folks tend to sleepwalk through life unaware of how their choices are creating their experiences. These are the folks who stumble into the hot coals and start jumping around screaming in pain. They run to their doctors and show them their burned feet, and then doctors urge the “surgeon general” to put out a warning: “Don’t walk on hot coals; you’ll get burned.”

So it is impractical to try to eat lower vibration foods on a regular basis if one desires a very high level of well-being, simply because it would take more conscious focus and intention than anyone I know would be capable of to override the natural vibration of those foods. (Imagine that instead of summoning the power to walk across hot coals once, you have to do this every time you eat something. It’s exhausting just thinking about it).

I don’t believe there is one diet that is right for all people. I do believe, however, that there is one approach to eating that will prove positive for everyone. It involves making a habit of eating foods that are easy for the body to usefully assimilate. This is like choosing a nice, smooth path in life, instead of hot coals. It also involves making a habit of approaching eating (and for that matter, everything in life) with an attitude of pleasure, reverence and gratitude. In this way, regardless of what one specifically chooses to eat, one’s vibration is aligned with well-being, and thus that is what one will experience. I can’t think of a single culture that historically has NOT had some prayer or ritual designed to consciously align with reverence and gratitude for the food about to be eaten. Sadly, in addition to surrounding us with highly processed, low vibration food, modern life has led us far from simple wisdom like this.

As for the controversial issue of vegetarianism, I feel that is also an individual decision. I honor your choice and I encourage everyone to listen to their bodies and their intuition in making their own choice as well. Personally I think Native Americans had the right balance. When they would kill an animal for food, they would offer a prayer of thanks to the animal’s spirit for giving its life so that they could live. The animal’s sacrifice was thus honored, and the act of eating was approached with reverence. By contrast, we have become totally disconnected from the source of our food. Instead of raising animals and slaughtering them ourselves, instead of watching the beauty and grace of a deer before we kill it for food, we go to the grocery store and buy plastic-wrapped packages of stuff that looks nothing like the animal it was a short time ago. It’s hard to feel reverence for an animal’s sacrifice when we’ve forgotten there was even an animal involved in our meal in the first place.

I recently heard a (vegetarian) Buddhist monk answer a question about eating meat, and he pointed out that for a vegetarian to refuse to eat meat based on principle is to dishonor the sacrifice the animal has made. The animal has died to become our food; if we refuse to eat it, then it has died for nothing. This seems even more poignant in the case of an animal that lived a miserable existence. He encouraged us all to choose with love and to remain flexible. After all, it is impossible to live without harming any living thing. We can’t even scratch an itch without obliterating microscopic organisms.

So in summary, there are food choices that are like smooth, easy paths for our bodies. The more whole, natural and fresh a food is, the more life force energy it contains, and the better it is for our health. I try to eat a lot of fresh raw fruits and vegetables and nuts. This is high vibration food, and thus it not only enhances physical health, but also spiritual growth. I limit or avoid sugar, white flour and other processed foods, beef, pork and alcohol. This does not mean I never eat them or that I never would. It does sadden me that animals are treated cruelly, and I am aware of the energy involved in eating those beings, so like you, I try to choose consciously.

Maintaining true health and well-being requires us to remain flexible and open and to constantly listen to our intuition, for when we become rigid and dogmatic in our beliefs, or when we worry and act from fear, we ultimately do more harm than we prevent.

Act with love. Eat with love. Give thanks for all that life sends your way. Listen to your body/intuition and honor your truth. Be humble and grateful. When you approach life this way, your vibration of well-being will override the energy of everything and everyone that enters your experience.

– Soul Arcanum

Kicking the Fear and Worry Habit

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I am having a hard time with negativity and fear. I can’t seem to feel anything else. How do I learn to vibrate at a higher level so that all the good things I know are out there will start to come to me, instead of all the things that I worry about? Where do you start?
– Michelle

Dear Michelle:

This is a great question, and one that I get in one form or another frequently. When we first wake up to the truth that our thoughts create our experiences and we begin to pay attention to our mental habits, it can be very unsettling, for suddenly, we realize just how much of our thoughts are negative.

This is actually a very good sign, however. It means that you’re moving out of harmony with this negative vibration. You’re no more negative than you ever were before; you’ve just become uncomfortable with that negativity. So right away, here is a plus for you to focus on: even though it may not feel like it, you’re making great progress already!

I remember my own awakening as a conscious creator. My head was constantly buzzing. Every other thought seemed negative or “dangerous” somehow, and I was constantly trying to “take back” or rework some negative thought. This is normal at this stage. The more you pay attention to your thoughts, the more you’ll develop the habit of thinking positively.

First, I recommend meditation. We all have a lot of old energies and issues that we’ve stuffed down, and these will keep running through the back of our minds until we heal or resolve them. They are sort of like mental clutter. We get busy doing this or that, and we don’t have time to really deal with “old stuff,” so we push much of it to the back and put new stuff in front of it, and there it sits, mucking up our vibration and experiences.

In the beginning, meditating is simply allowing mental clutter to rise up so we can let go of it. Many beginning meditators feel frustrated and inadequate because they can’t “quiet their minds.” Well, all that mental clutter has to be cleared first. There is usually a lifetime of it accumulated, so we can’t expect it all to just dissipate overnight. Just sit and allow whatever wants to come up to come up, and then just gently let it go. If it doesn’t want to go, just sit with it and ask it what it is trying to tell you that you need to do (and then do it). Over time, this approach will clear all the stuff you’ve been avoiding dealing with, and then you will have a nice clear inner space, and your meditation will deepen. By dealing with it this way, the negative thoughts won’t take you by surprise so much, and instead of pushing them back down, you’ll be able to release or transform them.

While you begin this meditation practice, I recommend you also surround yourself with positive influences. The simplest way to do this is at a physical level. While it may be hard to control our thoughts, it’s pretty easy to get rid of the junk cluttering up our lives. Clear out all the stuff in your environment that carries a negative vibration for you, especially anything that ties you to a past you’d like to leave behind. For example, if your closet is full of clothes you wore when you were three sizes larger, get rid of them! If your jewelry box still holds the engagement ring your first husband gave you, sell it or give it away while affirming that as you do so, you are making room in your life for new love and a new beginning.

While you’re at it, clean up your diet and exercise regimen. Our physical health has a huge impact on how we think and feel. Try to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods, and try to make at least 50% of them raw. I’m talking about fresh fruits and vegetables here. Drink water, get rid of sugar and white flour, or just pay conscious attention to your body and feed it the things that will truly boost your energy and well-being. The more you take concrete action to create positive change, the more empowered and positive you will feel.

Obviously, if you are surrounded by negative people, it’s going to be harder for you to become a positive thinker. Start weeding the people who are downers out of your life, and begin to seek new, positive influences. If you pray for these positive people to come into your life, they will! Also, strive to be this kind of person to others. If what you’re thinking is negative, don’t say anything until you have found something positive to say.

While doing all the above, I recommend you read about five pages of a positive book every day. By reading a bit every morning and every night, focusing on positive ideas will become a habit. If you are meditating morning and night as well, you will be clearing negative “junk” and replacing it with these books’ positive ideas.

Some positive, empowering books you might begin with: The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity and other works by Catherine Ponder, Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, The Game of Life and How to Play It and other books by Florence Scovel Shin, anything by Dr. Joseph Murphy, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, etc. These books will keep you mindful of the fact that you are constantly creating for better or worse via your thoughts. Additionally, try reading uplifting books in general. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is a good example. Other favorites include The Little Prince, all books by Sark, Susan Jeffers, Alan Cohen, Norman Vincent Peale. Keep reading Soul Arcanum as well! There is an endless abundance of positive teaching available.

Be choosy about everything you mentally ingest. Skip the news – nothing will bring you down faster. Make sure the music you listen to is upbeat, like New Age music, big band, etc. Watching TV on a regular basis will keep you STUCK. Some movies, however, can boost your vibration. A few to try: My Shirley Valentine, ET, The Wizard of Oz, Patch Adams, Field of Dreams, Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward, Powder, Phenomenon, the Harry Potter movies, Big Fish, School of Rock, Ghost, Enchanted April, The Whale Rider, Shrek 1 and 2, Big, The Terminal, Chocolat, Simon Birch, Under the Tuscan Sun, Secondhand Lions, etc.

These lists are just off the top of my head. Some people will say, “What? I thought ET was horribly sad. I have never gotten over Elliot crying his eyes out as ET went ‘home.'” This illustrates an important point: our interpretation of life will determine our experience of it. If you look for beauty, magic and wonder, you will find it. Everything can be seen in a negative light, but everything can also be seen in a positive light. You determine your experience when you choose which you will look for.

It does take tremendous mental effort to remain positive, even for people who have developed that habit of thought. Every time you find yourself focused on the negative, challenge yourself to find the positive. Spirit will help you with this; just close your eyes and mentally ask to be shown the situation in a spiritual light.

When this works, give thanks! Gratitude is the heart of positive thinking. Give thanks that you have been given the knowledge to create what you want in your life by changing what you think. Give thanks that I chose your question for publication. Give thanks that you’re already making progress. Give thanks that your eyes work, and you’ve been blessed with an education so you can read all of this. You’ll find endless things to be grateful for if you just look for them.

Finally, make a habit of uplifting others, for what you give is what you’ll get!

– Soul Arcanum


The Novel She Wrote Is Coming True in Real Life!

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I am writing a book on a relationship, and I have completed the manuscript. Something exciting is happening, and I don’t understand it: for the first time in my life, I am meeting people with the names of the characters I used in the book. I have been careful not use common names. Also, whenever I am watching TV shows or films, they seem to be somehow related to the theme I have written about, and they all point to my storyline and the characters in my book. This is so exciting and interesting, but sometimes I feel strange about the whole thing. Please tell me how I am supposed to interpret this. Am I manifesting this by focusing on my book and characters, or in writing the book, was I anticipating the future? Or is it just an unexplainable coincidence? (If it were one incident or if it was just one person, I would have accepted it as a coincidence). Please tell me what is happening to me!
Thanks and Regards!
– Muralidhar

Dear Muralidhar:

Wow! This strikes me as a very powerful demonstration of the law of attraction in action. When we write a book, we are basically creating a “world” in which its story is true. That “world” may not be physical in nature, but it exists on a mental plane. The same is true of all that we imagine and say. To put something in writing, however, is especially powerful, for in putting it down on paper (or even a computer screen), we begin to bring it into this dimension in a lasting form. No doubt you went back over the story again and again in editing it, so you have given a lot of energy to its creation.

We write a book or a story in the same way we create our own realities! Whatever we focus upon expands. Whatever we make a habit of thinking about becomes a habit of experience. This all reminds me of the tragic lesson that Christopher Reeves has demonstrated for us all. Remember, early in his career, Christopher Reeves was our Superman; he was as strong and virile as men get. Years later, in “Above Suspicion,” he played a man who had been paralyzed by a bullet wound to the spine, and was confined to a wheelchair. Just after that movie was released, he was paralyzed in real life by a spinal injury in a horseback riding accident, and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. As soon as I heard about this, it hit me like a ton of bricks: he was so good at getting into character that he manifested the condition of his character in his reality.

Another interesting question came to me as I read about your experiences. Which comes first? For example, did you draw the names of those characters from the future, or are you now attracting them into your experience because you focused on them in the past? I believe there is a quantum level where cause and effect can no longer be discerned as separate entities. They are so interdependent that one can not exist without the other. What happens in the future depends on the past, but what happens in the past is also dependent on the future. (At this level, time is not linear.)

This idea was illustrated in the most recent Harry Potter movie (Prisoner of Azkaban). In the film, two characters travel back through time about a day, to try to change the future. When they arrive back in the past, they realize that they were THERE the first time events took place, for as soon as they made the decision to travel back, it had already happened that way. In reliving those experiences with the “hindsight” of the future, however, they were able to make better, more informed choices in order to create what they wanted from there on out. (It’s mind boggling to me, too!)

So what we can learn from the tragic story of Christopher Reeves, as well as your very interesting description of how your book is coming true in your life? Whatever we imagine ourselves to be with power and focus is what we will become, so it’s very important for all of us to write happy stories and play happy characters. This is true not just for the actors, writers, and artists of the world, but at a figurative level for all of humankind. We should tell others happy stories as well, instead of complaining about our problems. We should imagine happy endings instead of worrying. We should visualize ourselves as healthy, strong, joyful and prosperous.

We should choose what we watch or read with care. We should also choose whom we spend time with or listen to with care. In a nutshell, we should make sure our minds are ever focused on what we DO want, for clearly our imagination is powerful, and can be used to create health or handicaps, wealth or poverty, happiness or misery.

If there is anything in your book that you don’t want to see manifest in your experience, I encourage you to rewrite it with a happy ending. Imagine a powerful, uplifting happy ending, and spend some time focusing your (considerable!) creative power on that. You can leave the finished product as it is for publication, though I do encourage everyone reading this to think about what others are likely to manifest as a result of focusing on your words, whether they’re written or spoken. This goes for books, articles, letters and emails, as well as spoken words in speeches, meetings, lectures and even casual conversations.

While awareness of how incredibly powerful our minds are may be unnerving to those whose mental habits are undisciplined, we should all give thanks for demonstrations of the power of imagination. Just think: the same forces that allow our negative thoughts to wreak havoc in our lives can be consciously harnessed to fulfill our highest dreams. I think your book coming true in real life is wonderful! It affirms our Divine power to create our own experiences.

Thank you for sharing your amazing story with us all.

– Soul Arcanum

Protecting Yourself from Fear and Negative Thinking

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

There has been a lot of discussion about economic trends for the past several years. I have heard quite a bit about an impending huge economic crash, and that it is unavoidable. The national debt, wars, etc., have thrown our world out of balance, and we will have to go through some dire times to regain balance. Maybe this is true – maybe not. Others believe that the economy is turning around. I truly believe we create our own realities, but how do you work within the realm of global thought? I believe even in dire times that beautiful things can happen, but how do you protect yourself from succumbing to fear? It feels as if global events are out of an individual’s realm of control, but is this really true? How much impact does each individual have on the unfoldment of harmony in our world?
– P.

Dear P.:

Personally, I’m more concerned about the global love market. I read that the world supply of love has been dwindling for the past decade, and that by 2010, we will be facing a crisis unlike anything humankind has known before unless we do something quick! Of course this report set off quite a panic, and love experts are now warning us that the more we hoard love, the worse things are going to get.

While I’m obviously being facetious, money IS just a tangible representation of energy, and just like love, the universe is alive and overflowing with energy. Money/ love/ abundance is everywhere, and it responds to the energy of our minds and hearts.

Our prosperity consciousness is not measured by how much wealth we have attained, but rather by the amount of wealth/blessings we are able to ENJOY. A rich man may be very poor in prosperity consciousness if he lives in fear of losing what he has, and a relatively poor man may be very rich in prosperity consciousness if he is happy with his blessings. As prosperity is a state of mind, you are wise to be asking how to be positive/ happy despite what is happening around you.

Everyone who is reading this is an extraordinary creator, including you. I know this, because one does not consciously encounter knowledge/wisdom until one is vibrationally in harmony with it and able to work with it. Thus, those who are consciously aware that we create our own realities are those who have awakened their power to do so consciously. These people also tend to have certain other traits, one of which is high sensitivity (which is what led them to conscious awareness of this subtle truth in the first place).

So you’re sensitive and you’re obviously still paying attention to “the news” – it’s no wonder you’re struggling to remain positive! I do not watch the news, for I am one of those hyper sensitive souls who can be upset for DAYS by something that happened to someone I will never meet. I empathize with people, which means I put myself in their shoes and imagine how I would feel if what happened to them happened to me or someone I love.

Being highly sensitive may be challenging, but it can also be a blessing. While we’re easily “upset,” we also blissfully cry at weddings and shed tears of joy when babies are born because we’re so good at stepping into others’ vibrations. So to answer your last question, some sensitive, powerful creators are going to have more power than most to consciously affect (for better OR worse) their own realities and the world around them. This is all a reflection of the basic truth that we are responsible (via natural spiritual law) for the knowledge/wisdom we attain.

Faith is another key element to include here, for it is through the power of believing that we work magic in our lives. When we have faith that everything happens for a good reason and that life is a learning journey, then we won’t want to wave our magic wands and make the global economy perfect for everyone. What fun would a life without any challenge or contrast be? It’s not our job to save the world, but rather to evolve through our own fears into a lighter, brighter expression of divine creation.

So while you’ve asked how we work within the realm of global thought, my answer is we DON’T. We make our own reality bright by shining our light, and surrender everyone else’s reality with faith that they are experiencing just what they most need to experience to learn what they need to learn. What folks need most is not a better economy, but the truth, power and wisdom to consciously create what they want in their own lives. So don’t worry about what is happening in other places to strangers. Worrying will not help them anyway. And instead of feeling guilty when you’re prospering and others are struggling, look upon manifesting abundance and happiness as being a good role model, which is the highest and best way to be of service.

To maintain a high vibration despite all the negativity of “global thought,” drop the notion that you have to protect yourself from fear. You can’t, for the very notion of protection is fear-based. Instead of trying to get rid of fear, we have to cultivate faith and positive expectation instead. Here are a few ideas designed to help you with that:

  • First, only watch, read and listen to things that feel good. The only TV show I watch is “Whose Line is it Anyway?” (This article was written in 2004.)This comedy improvisation always makes me laugh and marvel at how quickly some people can take whatever life sends their way and spin it into something delightful through the sheer power of their creativity. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to consciously choose your “input,” including the music you’re mindlessly absorbing as you drive in the car, which is programming your mind at a subconscious level. It’s like a hypnosis/self-help tape, except it’s often far from helpful. If “Love Stinks” is playing in the background of your life, turn the radio off! Similarly, carefully choose the people you associate with. The more sensitive (powerful) you are, the more important this becomes.
  • Don’t just cut out negative influences – add IN positive influences as well. Read uplifting and empowering books. Seek out positive shows, music and movies. Always focus on what you want. Every time you hear some negative story or prediction, make a point of seeking out a success story or some other uplifting and encouraging input to boost your faith, power and magic! Avoiding anything is impossible, for in just thinking about it/giving your attention to it, you are attracting it. It’s therefore wise to purposefully replace all negativity with empowering thoughts/energies. If you pull all the weeds from a garden, it will just be a lot of dirt unless you also plant flowers and luscious fruits and vegetables and then cultivate them.
  • Own your power! Money is just a tangible form of energy. Your thoughts and feelings are also energy. Visualize energy flowing through your life, and then visualize energy as money flowing through your life. It’s all just energy. Money is not some magical, scarce resource; it’s just pretty paper. It DOES grow on trees!
  • Study the Law of Attraction and actually work with all the (endless) exercises available. From writing affirmations to listening to self-hypnosis tapes to creating visual collages of your dreams, there are innumerable powerful tools to choose from, but you have to USE them.
  • Above all, follow your bliss and count your blessings. If you’re happy, you naturally feel blessed. This not only attracts more blessings, it’s downright satisfying in and of itself!

– Soul Arcanum


How Can Psychic Deal with “Difficult Clients?”

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

About a year and a half ago, I started giving readings professionally. I love my work with one exception: some of my clients are “difficult.” When I have a client like this scheduled, I just dread the whole reading. I’m nervous, on edge, and find my confidence wavering. My intuition tells me it’s not going to be worth it to work with them, but I often do it anyway, as I feel I have to rise above my negative feelings and find a way to use the gifts I’ve been given. I give great readings to clients who want to work with me, who are open and easy to connect with. How do you deal with “difficult” clients?
– Maria

Dear Maria:

Thanks for this wonderful question. I can relate!

I have a long-time client who is a kind, brilliant young man. He’s a research physicist, and he always has some heavy questions for me about his latest theories. Fortunately, he also has some brilliant scientists working with him from the other side. I usually don’t understand half of what I channel through for him, but he tells me that he does, and that he always finds my readings helpful.

Given his scientific mind, he tends to want to test me. He will request a reading with vague or confusing questions, such as, “What does Spirit have to say about the molecular gravity simulation thingamajig?” Now, I don’t really need to understand all the jargon, but “what does Spirit have to say about…” is wide open. So when pursuing his latest reading a few months ago, he threw some really vague, confusing questions at me, and when I wrote to tell him that he was going to have to formulate something clearer, he said, “Well, I trust you and I trust Spirit. It always works out. I want to see what you get with this.”

This is where I tripped up. It felt wrong to me, and I knew I was not going to be able to bring through the sort of clear, helpful, useful information that I insist upon in my work. Something in me decided to defer to his judgment, and I said I’d see what I could do. It was one of the worst readings I’ve ever done. I had to strain for every answer, and when I got it, it made no sense to me. I was exhausted when the reading was over, and I didn’t feel I’d even produced anything really valuable for all that effort. The worst part of it all was that I KNEW better than to go ahead with this reading, yet I did it anyway.

He was surprised at the disappointing quality of the reading as well. I then laughed and apologized to him, and told him that I had made a mistake and would do the whole thing over on one condition: that he provide me with clear questions. He agreed, and in the second reading, we accessed the clear, helpful information and insights he was looking for.

This whole experience made me realize anew that it is my job to stay “in charge” of the reading. After all, I am the one performing it! If my clients don’t want to work with what works for me, they can always go see someone else. Through many years of experience, I have learned that it’s never wise to ignore our intuition, and this includes pushing forward before the energy is fully aligned for the reading (which in my case means that both the client and I clearly understand what he or she wants to know).

As it is a huge honor and responsibility to read for someone, we must approach this work with great care. We hold our clients’ inner lives in our hands; they hang on our words. This is why it’s so important to always approach issues from a positive angle, and to make sure that our true meaning is understood, for people can have intense, life changing emotional responses to what they THINK we’re saying, whether that’s what we’re trying to communicate or not.

Young or novice readers often struggle with “difficult clients” because they’re unsure of asserting themselves as the authority in the reading process. I began reading when I was in my mid twenties. When delivering spiritual advice to people twice my age, I had to keep reminding myself that I was just a channel for Spirit, so my personal age and wisdom had little to do with it. Readers must be able to stand tall in their authority to maintain the energetic integrity of the reading process.

Further, regardless of our field of work, we are all wise to learn about the law of attraction and to consciously align the quality of people/experiences we desire. When I first started reading, I was foolishly thrilled to work with anyone who wanted to work with me. I quickly learned to be more discerning. I vividly remember the turning point: I had a young woman who got angry with me when Spirit gently informed her that her ex-boyfriend (who was now engaged to another woman and living in another country) was not going to be reuniting with her this lifetime, and that she had to let go of this attachment to tap the new love potential on the horizon. It just was not what she wanted to hear.

After this experience, I asked Spirit to send me only kind, sincere clients who are self-aware and honest both with me and with themselves, and from that point on, I began attracting the most wonderful clients in the world. They are warm, wonderful, appreciative people who have deep questions and issues at stake – not folks who just want winning lottery numbers or spells to make a lover return to them.

So while I never meet “difficult clients” anymore, I know they’re out there. As even great clients may need some clear boundaries and direction, we have to stay awake and keep listening to our intuition. Since our business is “being psychic,” this is especially important!

Also, while it’s great to be appreciative of your gifts, you’re not really serving Spirit if you’re hurting yourself. There are many valid reasons you might refuse to read for someone. I don’t recommend reading for people who are fooling themselves and seeking validation for their subjective perspective; who recently got a reading on the same subject but didn’t act on any of the advice given in that reading; are coming to you from another psychic in hopes of hearing a different answer; are rude, pushy, or trying to get something for nothing; are too close to you personally such as a very close friend or family member (because of how it could affect your relationship); have a closed and challenging attitude; have ill intentions such as revenge or selfish gain; want you to “save” them as opposed to wanting you to help them help themselves. Nothing good will come from working with such clients, so there is no need to feel obligated or guilty for deciding you deserve a higher quality of experience.

In summary, I highly recommend that all readers clarify and affirm what they want in terms of quality of experience. In return, promise Spirit that you will do your very best for clients who are open, friendly, kind and sincere, etc. Then embrace your authority as a reader by honoring what works for you, and by sending anyone who wants you to compromise your truth on with your full blessings. I firmly believe that this approach will greatly enhance your reading practice, both for you AND for your clients.

– Soul Arcanum


The Power of Prayer

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I’ve read your articles on how to use creative visualization, the law of attraction, etc. to manifest what you want in your life. Do you believe in the power of prayer? If so, then can’t we just pray for what we want? Also, to whom would you pray? My mother prays to different saints and angels for various different matters. Does it matter whom we pray to?
– Elena

Dear Elena:

“I believe that divine help is always available, and that it’s our right to have that help. We are powerful beings, with a natural magic of our own, but others stand ready. Angels will come to assist you if you need them, but usually come only if invited.” – Jonathan Dickau

I absolutely believe in the power of prayer. We have the power in and of ourselves to work magic in our lives WHEN we are connected to the stream of pure, positive energy. When we’re caught up in problems or confusion, it’s hard get into that powerful state of connection. We all need a little help from our friends sometimes, and prayer is calling upon our friends in Spirit, whether those friends are our personal angels, archangels, guides or God.

I turn to prayer to connect to a very high spiritual vibration when working with clients, and in order to shed anger or other negative thoughts or emotions. I will pray to be cleansed of all negativity and to be filled with light and peace. In the course of “praying” like this, I will also visualize myself as I want to be. I will summon the emotions I associate with the state of consciousness I desire, and I will call upon “Spirit” to help me. I personally don’t call upon specific entities such as angels, archangels, saints, etc., for I trust that if I set a clear, positive intention, help will come to me in whatever way and from whatever source is for the highest and the best.

I recently had a wonderful little experience of the power of prayer. I was traveling to Florida with my parents, husband and children. I had my cell phone in it’s rugged holster, which was tightly clipped inside an outer pocket of my purse. While on the plane, I stowed my purse under the seat. When we got to Florida, we took a shuttle to the rental car agency. While waiting in the long line there, I suddenly had a “feeling,” and I began to look for my cell phone. It was gone. I knew it had been there when the plane took off, for I’d had to turn it off. This was a brand-new, expensive cell phone. I had spent hours learning how to use it and programming in all the phone numbers from my old phone. The clip on the holster is so tight that you have to pry it open to secure it onto something, so I couldn’t understand how it had come loose.

I tried to tune in to “feel” where it might be, but I was too upset to really connect. I wanted to race back to the terminal before the plane left again, but it took ages to rent the car. When we finally got back to the airport, there was a family in front of us with five children under the age of eight trying to check in. They had three car seats and a mountain of luggage like nothing I have ever seen before. My mood was growing darker by the minute.

When I finally spoke to the woman at the counter, our plane had left for Atlantic City. We knew that the plane would have been thoroughly searched, so she called the gate, and was told that no cell phones had been found. She took my contact information and said she’d call if anything turned up.

I left the airport in a foul mood. This was no way to start a vacation. My children opted to ride with my parents (can’t blame them there), so we took all the luggage, backpacks, etc. and moved them from their car into our backseat. My lucky husband had my grumpy presence all to himself for the forty minute drive to our destination. As I stared out the window, it suddenly hit me that sinking into depression over a phone was silly. It would only ruin the day for all of us, and more importantly, it would keep the phone from coming back to me. The more I wallowed in my LACK of my phone, the more lack of phone I would get.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t snap out of it, so I decided to pray. I silently said, “Okay, Spirit. I know I have a LOT of friends up there. I need your help. I really want my phone back, but I recognize that it is just stuff. I want to feel happy with all I am blessed with: a wonderful family on a wonderful day, beginning a wonderful vacation. Please purify my heart and mind and help me reconnect with joy. I choose joy regardless of whether or not I get the phone back, though it would be lovely if that could be arranged!” I then let it go. I trusted that all would work out for the best.

When we got to the hotel about fifteen minutes later, my little girl came to get her backpack out of our car while the grown-ups checked in. We then drove around to our entrance, and everyone piled out to load the luggage onto a dolly. In the two-minute drive from the office to the entrance, something had happened in their vehicle. My parents and kids emerged with strange smiles on their faces. My daughter came up to me grinning, and from behind her back produced – my cell phone in its holster! I was just astounded.

She said that she had found it clinging to the excess strap that dangled below her backpack. You would have had to have been there to fully comprehend how impossible this was. Even my usually skeptical father was stunned speechless. I then blurted out how I had been praying in the car, and this divine feeling washed over everyone. It was like supercharged goose pimples. (This is the mark of Spirit!) Suddenly, I was more joyful and grateful than I had been for months! No one could explain how my phone could have come unclipped from my purse and then clipped ON to her backpack, when I hadn’t even touched her backpack nor her my purse. Further, she had lugged the backpack all over the place, and my husband had tossed it from one car to another. If the phone been attached all along, it would have been flopping around near her knees as she walked through the airport, and either noticed or lost. While everyone tried to find a “rational” explanation, I knew that my prayer had been answered.

Whenever you’re feeling low, just pray. The more we “travel the pathway” from low to high vibration, the better our souls know the way there. Instead of viewing visualization and similar exercises as separate from prayer, incorporate those practices into your prayers. When we pray wisely, instead of “begging for help,” we work WITH Spirit to shift our own energy. This generates powerful magic!

Prayer is powerful. I have a friend who made more than a million dollars in her business last year. This was a goal she had set for herself, and at the time she set it, most people would have said she was “dreaming.” She says she did it almost entirely by going to work every morning, lighting a candle, writing down her prayers, putting them in an angel box to turn them over to her angels, and then just going home.

If you’re skeptical, I encourage you to try it for yourself. You’ve got nothing to lose, and your highest dreams to gain!

– Soul Arcanum


Nasty Neighbor is Testing my Spiritual Character

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I consider myself to be a kind and compassionate person, and am generally tolerant of most people. My tolerance, however, has about run dry with my nasty neighbor next door. Without going through a litany of offenses, it takes every ounce of my being not to throttle her and/or perpetrate some delicious revenge for having to put up with her lack of decorum. Any time she’s nice, there’s always an ulterior motive. I know she’s a very troubled woman and has had a tough life. Her insecurity and self-hatred are painfully obvious. As a spiritual person, I try to be understanding and compassionate, knowing that deep down she’s miserable. I find it more and more difficult, however, to continue biting my tongue when I hear the dog endlessly barking, the trash piling up in her yard, and the unasked for advice on how to landscape my own yard. I’m planning on moving at some point, but until then, I’m stuck living next to her. What are some ways to put up with an obnoxious person who seems to test us at every turn? I’d love to launch her into the next solar system!
B.

Dear B.:

You’ve come to the right person, for I assure you that I too have had my own nemesis; I too have succumbed to anger and lost sight of my own spiritual values; I too have plotted wicked revenge. I have in fact amazed myself with my capacity for vengeance, and I now think the last person I’d want to have really mad at me would be ME.

I believe that you’re quite a bit like me, and what’s bothering you more than the neighbor herself is your own inability to remain “spiritual” in the midst of this conflict. If we are the sort of people who strive to do the right thing, to rise above ego to be kind, to give of ourselves in helping others, etc., it’s hard to accept and handle people who seem to be living at the other end of the spectrum, but it’s even harder to accept ourselves when we begin to sink to their level.

In our naivete, at first we may assume that our “enemies” couldn’t possibly know the harm they are inflicting, or else they’d change their behavior. When it becomes apparent that they just don’t care or are purposefully being negative or harmful, we sensitive souls can be shocked and disturbed. (As I was happily in denial myself for the first 30 years of my life or so, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but some people can be downright mean and nasty out of pure self-interest.)

It’s then further upsetting when we can’t seem to find a spiritual solution that works for everyone. Some people will try to use reason and persuasion to change the other person; others will pray or resort to spells or other efforts to affect the situation; some of us endlessly search for a “win/win” solution for everyone involved. If none of this seems to work, it’s easy to get caught up in confusion: Is the other person really wrong, or am I too sensitive and judgmental? Is this situation driven by my own bad karma? Am I to be a teacher here, or is the lesson for me? (And when did I become so ugly inside, anyway? Do my angels and guides know how wicked my thoughts can be? Gasp! Does GOD?)

As the Law of Attraction states that we draw people and experiences to us based on our own vibration, if we’re staring at something or someone really horrible, it’s natural to wonder if WE are horrible too. I don’t believe that all people and experiences in our lives reflect our own vibration – some are just secondary results of some primary manifestation. There are many ways/reasons such people may enter our experience. Sometimes the house we really want just happens to be next to theirs, as in your case. Sometimes we are related to such people, or were married to them in the past. Sometimes having a certain wonderful person in our lives means we have to deal with that person’s not so wonderful ex-wife, kids, spouse, etc. If someone irritating is in your experience, don’t assume you’ve done something wrong. If your inner world is festering with anger and revenge, however, the true “enemy” you’re battling is inside of you.

After much experimentation and frustration myself, I have learned that you can’t change a lion into a kitten, but you can either win the lion over or learn how to walk through the jungle without fear of attack. The lions are still there, but they’re no longer a threat to our well-being.

While enmeshed in my own similar lesson, I did at times lose my temper and engage in conflict, which of course only led to escalation. On the whole, however, when I began to “turn the other cheek,” to return mean acts with kind ones, things began to shift. They shifted even more when I realized how much inner time I’d started to devote to the situation, and decided that I needed to get a life again. (If you look back, you’ll realize you had a lot more important stuff going on in your mind and heart before this battle began.) When I stopped trying to force things to change because I had more important things to do, when I focused my mental and emotional energy on creating what I wanted in the rest of my life instead of pushing against the one thing I didn’t want, then the situation really relaxed and shifted. Before long, I was free from obsession, ugly thoughts and feelings. I still meet that lion now and then, and I still have to deal with the occasional drama, but it doesn’t pollute my soul anymore. In fact, much of the time the lion is downright friendly (though I’m not going to put my hand in its mouth or try to bring it home as a pet.) That is where you want to be.

I’m not saying you should be a doormat. I’m saying you should raise your vibration far above your neighbor’s, for then one way or another, she will fall out of your experience. So instead of focusing on getting rid of the neighbor problem, I recommend you focus on manifesting goodwill and harmony within you, regardless of what the neighbor does. This means that so long as you’re able to remain positive, you’re content. For every thing your neighbor does to disturb you, simply do something kind, either for her, yourself or someone else. Focus all your attention and energy on building big dreams and being the kind of person you most respect and admire. Look for people who are all the things you love: kind, polite, fun, respectful, courteous, etc.That is your challenge.

I know that my greatest “enemy” has been my greatest spiritual teacher. From that relationship I’ve learned the limits of my own compassion and tolerance, and I’ve stretched those limits. I’ve learned that even when we don’t understand others’ perspectives or opinions, that doesn’t mean we’re always right and they’re wrong. I’ve learned that even when I don’t like or trust someone, I can find the humanity in them, and I can continue to serve in many ways: by offering an example of someone who walks in Spirit; by overcoming my own ego and emotions to do the right thing; by remaining calm and speaking reasonably when others are yelling and angry. I’ve learned that the best way to “protect” myself is simply to focus on manifesting what I do want. The list is endless.

What I didn’t expect was to teach that person just as much as I learned. Recently she told me how much she has learned from how I’ve handled myself, and how much she admires and respects me. That was a great feeling.

Try to respond to your neighbor’s irritating issues with positive energy. You may just win her cooperation and admiration, but even if you don’t, you’ll have your soul back, and then what she does or doesn’t do won’t really matter to you anymore.

– Soul Arcanum

copyright Soul Arcanum LLC, 1998

Part I: Optimism and Pessimism

“Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul’s resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.” William James

Would you like to be able to create whatever you want in your life? Imagine for a moment that you have a magic genie in a bottle, or a magic potion or wand that, like some charming children’s movie, gives you the power to zap into being anything you wish. It also gives you the power, as so often happens in such movies, to “mess up” and create chaos and things you don’t want also. These whimsical movies reflect in a gross way the universal reality that our thoughts do create our experiences. That which we give our attention to, we attract. “Where thoughts go, energy flows.”

This means, of course, that optimists are confirmed in their optimism, and pessimists are confirmed in their habits of thought also. Optimists expect things to work out somehow, and because they give their attention to what they do want with expectancy, this is what manifests in their experience. Pessimists, on the other hand, generally also create what they habitually worry about. Of course, the Universe is a benevolent place, and everything does work out in the end. Often what this means, however, is that eventually, through difficult experiences, pessimists learn how to alter their expectations and beliefs to more deliberately create what they are wanting in life.

This dynamic is supported by quantum theory , which has shown that there is no such thing as an “objective” experience, even when supposed controls are applied. It’s been proven that the outcome of an experiment is influenced by the expectation of observers. There are no fixed laws, even when dealing with “physical” reality.

Part II: Thoughts are as Real as Actions and Things

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world. – Emerson

It is my understanding that everything we experience in “reality” has its beginnings in the non-physical. Every thought we think is a seed. Every time we think the same thought over again, we water that seed. When we think such a thought with emotion, we fertilize it. The more intense our desire or fear regarding such a thought, the more likely it is to come into our experience, and the faster it will manifest.

Thoughts are just as real as actions, but exist at a much higher and faster frequency. We may have a thought about wanting to kiss a companion, for example. This thought erupts from pure spirit or consciousness, like a spark. As we think it, it begins to slow, moving into the vibrational realm of feelings. We think the thought, then we have a feeling about it. We might feel excited or nervous. Depending on our feelings about it, we then have more thoughts and more feelings, while deciding what to do. As this process unfolds, the vibrations slow, and we eventually move into the realm of action (or no action, if that is the decided course of action). The same is true of things. We think of a butterfly, and eventually that thought slows until we experience/perceive/attract butterflies.

This can be compared to water, which at a high rate of vibration is steam, but which, as it cools, condenses into water, which we can perceive with our physical senses, and as it cools further, becomes apparently solid. Water is a great metaphor for all aspects of “physical” versus “non-physical.” It is difficult to communicate about anything spiritual or “psychic” without using the terms “physical” and “non-physical.” Here, “non-physical” refers to that which cannot be experienced through the five physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell). The “physical” in this case represents that which is made manifest (appears to the senses) on this vibrational plane of reality. When we are alive, we are like water (or perhaps some of us are like ice) but when we pass into spirit, we become like steam. We may then re-emerge into the physical (reincarnate) through a slowing of our vibration into another physical incarnation.

There is only one main law that must mastered in order to create what we want in our lives. It sounds simple, but it requires extraordinary conscious awareness of our thoughts. Of course, the more conscious and deliberate we are in choosing our thoughts, the more we are able to focus our experiences in desired directions. This is generally referred to as the Law of Attraction. I’m indebted to the Abraham Hicks material for the expansion of my understanding of the law of attraction over the past few years, though I’ve found the same law and principles in diverse teachings.

(For further information, explore the works of Florence Scovel Shin, the six book series The Lives and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East by Spalding, Creative Visualization by Gawain, The Conversation with God books by Walsch, and quantum theory. If one pays attention, this same law or principle can be found in perhaps all spiritual or esoteric teachings, even the Bible and Eastern philosophies.)

Part III: How to Pray

“Ask and ye shall receive” is a truth. We ask with our desire, with what we give our attention to. Our thoughts and feelings are magnetic, drawing that which is focused upon into our lives. Jack may really want a particular job that would involve a promotion at work, for example. He may say to himself (or the Universe), “Oh, I would really love to have that job. I hope I get that job.” While he’s thinking this, he’s picturing himself in that position, happy, fulfilled. He’s imagining the new office, sitting at the new desk, performing the new tasks. This is a powerful way to create what he’s seeking. The Universe responds to his desire impersonally, for it’s not about whether or not he deserves it, it’s about what he’s in harmony with receiving. The All That Is of pure potentiality responds to the energy of him wanting that job, and being happy and fulfilled in that job. By visualizing himself in that job, he is already in the process of creating this in his experience. He has only to allow his thoughts and imaginings to filter down to manifest into the “reality” of this plane.

The specifics of the job are also not as important as the feeling state he is desiring to create in his life. In his visualization, he is bringing himself into harmony with the feeling state he desires. He achieves the feeling literally in the moment of visualization simply through picturing himself gaining what he desires, and feeling happy in that position. By becoming it in his fantasy, he is led to the creation of more of the same feeling state in the future.

By contrast, Joe may desire the same job and promotion. He may say to himself, “Oh, I really want that job, but I’m worried I won’t get it. It would be so great to get it (he sees himself in the job), and if I don’t get it, I don’t know what I’ll do (pictures himself depressed and worrying over a stack of unpaid bills). If Jack gets it, (pictures Jack in the job), I’ll be so mad! I’m way more qualified than he is. Those yahoos upstairs don’t appreciate all the energy I put into my work, and my experience and skills. (Pictures a superior or set of superiors at work with anger).

This creates conflicted energy. He both summons desire for the job, and resistance to not getting it. Therefore, he sends a small amount of energy toward getting the job, but more energy toward creating depression, stress over bills, and anger between himself and superiors at work. He also sends energy toward Jack getting the job instead. Joe focuses on feeling unappreciated, and is likely to attract experiences that confirm this expectation.

Some people naturally speak and think in ways that are effective, while others have a habit of thinking in ineffective ways. One can often detect how deliberate a creator someone is by the way they express themselves. For example:

  • “I hope the weather stays nice like this. It’s so beautiful out!” (This is effective for it leads to more beautiful weather) “I hope it doesn’t rain! That would be a bummer!” (This is ineffective, for it leads to rain and feelings that are not wanted.)
  • “I want to create harmony and happiness in this relationship. I know we can do it if we try.” (This is effective, for it leads to harmony, happiness and empowerment.)
  • “I don’t want to fight with you. I hate it when we fight. I can’t take this anymore, this has to change!” (This is ineffective, leading to more fighting and frustration.)
  • “I’ve decided to move to San Francisco. There are lots and lots of people who have done this. There must be an infinite number of options for how I can make this happen. Let’s see, I could…” (This is effective, leading to positive visualization and creative problem solving.)
  • “I wish I could move to move to San Francisco, but I hear it’s so expensive out there. The job market is tight, and a tiny apartment costs what a nice house costs here. And what about those earth quakes?” (Clearly, this is ineffective, unless one is trying to talk oneself out of it! This train of thought leads to negative, pessimistic feelings, and if the move is undertaken, undesirable experiences with finances and perhaps even earth quakes.)

In this last example, the effective person thinking or speaking has opened themselves not only to creative problem solving, but to the limitless resources of the Universe. Their thoughts are “in line” with their desires. The ineffective thinker, however, sends energy in direct opposition to what is expressed as desired. Note also the difference in feeling between saying, “I wish…,” which is weak and implies it’s unlikely to happen, and “I’ve decided.” Saying “I’ve decided” sets things strongly into motion.

This leads us to the most effective way to pray. Many of us are taught that “God” is an angry, “jealous” paternal being whom we must beg for favors, and who will grant them to us if we are “good.” While this may be true of some human folks (especially parents), God is not limited by the ego issues of “man.” When we pray in supplication, we come from a place of lack. What we really say when we pray, “Please, please, God, let me find the money to pay my rent” is “I don’t have the money! Help! I don’t have the money!” We tell the Universe we don’t have the money, and we get more of not having the money in our experience.

The Bible says we are made “in the image of God.” This means we too are creators. God gives us free will in how we choose to create. It is said that God helps those who help themselves. We must learn how to create what we desire by developing faith (applied optimism) and focused thought. The best way to pray then, is to visualize what we desire as already having happened, and to give thanks in our knowing that what we need and desire is already coming to us. To pray is to appreciate. It is to express an attitude of gratitude. The more we count our blessings, the more blessings come to us. The more we worry and pray for help due to some suffering, fear or lack, the more suffering, lack and fearful experiences we will draw to us.

Part IV: Becoming a More Deliberate Creator

The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. – Charles Darwin

Following are some exercises or things to keep in mind as you begin to take more responsibility and control over what you attract into your life.

  • Pay attention to your fantasies. Daydreams (and night dreams) and the themes that run through our minds are like the trailers to movies. They show us what we’re in the process of manifesting. If we’re daydreaming about how we’re afraid we’re going to not make our sales quota, or how we may lose that important case in court, it’s time to shift gears and begin imagining ourselves creating what we do want. If we’re daydreaming about choking our neighbor because her dog barks all night long, and because when we request help with the matter she’s rude, it’s wise to know that we’re likely to experience more negativity from that neighbor, even if we’re polite on the surface. Thoughts are things!
  • Listen to yourself. Pay attention to your language. Especially watch yourself for phrases such as “I hope,” “I wish,” and “I’ve decided.” Also, watch for “buts.” The word “but” is used to contradict what was just expressed. Pay attention to how often you are talking about what you want, versus what you don’t want. Let go of what you don’t want, and shift to focusing on what you do.
  • Try starting small. Imagine a small thing that you’d like to come to you. You’re far less likely to have resistance to creating this in your experience, and your beliefs are likely to be less challenged by a smaller desire. As you get good at this, you can aim higher and higher, for your belief in your ability to create in your own experience will expand. You might try playing with this a bit by choosing something whimsical. Over the years, as I’ve played a lot with manifesting, I’ve had some funny and amazing experiences. A really enjoyable thing to try to manifest is friendly people. After a surprisingly negative experience with a Canadian customs official at the beginning of a trip, my girlfriend who is also a very conscious creator and I decided to manifest happy people from there on out. The two of us together created some intense synergy. The rest of our trip was almost like the Twilight Zone. People were literally hysterically friendly. Wherever we went, strangers joked with us, went out of their ways to help us, and practically rolled out red carpets. It was in no way subtle or mistakable. We found ourselves bursting out laughing time after time.
  • Try drawing a picture of what you’re wanting in your life. Really allow yourself to get into the flow of picturing yourself in the future with everything as you want it to be. Or you might try writing a story about how you got from where you now are to where you want to be, as if it’s already happened. The more you can suspend disbelief or resistance, the better. Writing and drawing allow us to get out of what is “practical” and dream our way into what we want. Remember that the potential is unlimited.

 

Your well-being does not come at the expense of others. Just as there is not a limited amount of “happiness” or “health” on the planet, there is no need to worry that you’ll attract more than your share of anything. Your being happy does not mean someone else must be depressed to balance things out. In fact, your being healthy, wealthy and wise makes it easier for others to follow in your footsteps.

It’s important to appreciate those things in our experiences that we don’t want, as well as the blessings we already have. Just as without darkness, we would not know light, so it is with contrast. When we experience something and we know we don’t like it, we suddenly know what we do want. Thank the contrast, and then pivot away from it with grace. Shoving away from it tends to ricochet us right back into it, for then we think of it with intense emotion. The more we can find peace with what we don’t want, the easier it is to flow with intense desire toward what is wanted.

Also, it’s good to embrace wanting. Desire is what keeps us alive. Without desire, we wouldn’t be here. It’s all about wanting to live, wanting to experience, wanting, wanting, wanting (not necessarily having, having, having!) Perhaps we’re very altruistic, and all we want to do is give, but this is still satisfying some desire in ourselves to give. I’m not saying we should do whatever we want without regard to others. I’m saying that if we are in harmony with our inner being’s desires, we will naturally want to do what is best for us, and this will naturally be what is also best for others. Sometimes, others may not see that at the time. We may want to end a relationship that another wants us to stay in. From a greater perspective, when we act in harmony with our own heart’s desire to move toward something else, we afford that other person the opportunity to work through their own fears and dependencies.

To want is a beautiful thing. It is wanting that birthed this world, and desire that draws us together to create new life, both physically and metaphysically.

One must not lose desires. They are mighty stimulants to creativeness, to love and to long life. – Alexander Bogomoletz

Weird, Wonderful Wicca

All rights reserved. :)
 

My teenage daughter has a good head on her shoulders. She’s a great student, never in trouble, and hangs out with good kids. She recently announced that she is going to become a “Wiccan,” and her father just flipped out. He started screaming at her, asking her if she knew this meant she would be a “pagan,” and if she was going to start having sex with children and animals. She was totally taken aback by this response, as was I, but she stood right up to him and told him she had been reading a great deal about it, and felt drawn to it regardless of what he thinks. I don’t think her father really knows anything about Wicca. I have known a few people who have been into it. Some have been weird, and some have been wonderful. Should we be concerned?

D.

Dear D.:

Your question itself is very illuminating, for modern Wicca can indeed be both weird and wonderful. I have met some very ungrounded, flaky and far out people via Wiccan channels, and I have also met beautiful, powerful, ethical and sincerely spiritual people the same way. This, however, is true of every religion. Just like priestly pedophiles get tons of press, weird pagans tend to hog the spotlight.

Wicca is unfortunately often confused with Satanism, which casts such a menacing shadow over it that most people turn and run without ever really looking at what is true. I don’t know of a single Wiccan who even believes that Satan exists, however, much less worships him. Wicca is in no way Satanic, and it sounds like her father is confusing the two.

Wicca has gained in popularity as more and more people have abandoned the rigid dogma of many organized religions in search of a more personal connection to Source. It’s now even officially recognized as a religion by the U.S. government, even though there is no central authority telling everyone what is true and what they “should” be doing. (Wiccans are known for their independent thinking.)

Modern Wicca is indeed a form of neo-paganism. Unfortunately, Christianity has lent the word “pagan” negative connotations. A pagan, through this lens, is uncivilized and uneducated. As pagan really means someone who sees God in all of nature, or someone who tolerates the existence of all gods, then given the revelations of quantum physics and the tragic role of religious intolerance in igniting wars, I think being “pagan” suggests a certain degree of spiritual maturity and sophistication. Wicca reveres the divinity in all of nature and seeks to harness universal creative energy for personal growth and humanitarian change. Wiccans share a deep respect for all living beings, and as a group, they assume more personal responsibility for their own choices than adherents of any other religion I’ve encountered. They also honor the free will of every living being – including themselves. They see God/Goddess/divinity in everything and everyone, and thus the number one “rule” in Wicca is “Do as ye will, but harm none.”

You didn’t mention what her father’s spiritual beliefs are, and if he adopted them part and parcel from his parents, as so many people do, or if he is so opinionated because he has been blessed by some direct revelation from God Him/Herself. I presume, however, that he either considers himself Christian or an atheist/ scientist. The cure for this conflict is not to prevent your daughter from exploring Wicca, but rather to get her father to learn more about it. A little research will reveal to him, for example, that almost all Christian traditions have their roots in pagan beliefs and rituals. Christians practice pagan rituals all the time – they just don’t know it. As mentioned above, Wicca’s pantheistic foundation is also very much in harmony with modern science and quantum physics.

Research may not completely resolve the problem, however, for there is a big difference between Christianity and Wicca: Wiccans honor both the feminine and the masculine forces in nature, where Christians, I’m sorry to say, tend to be a bit more patriarchal. A great deal of anti-Wiccan sentiment is thus simple misogyny, just like back during the witch-hunting days. If her father is uncomfortable with strong women in general, he may have a very hard time respecting your daughter’s right to make any decisions for herself, even in matters as profoundly personal as her spiritual beliefs.

By contrast, I have never heard of a Wiccan trying to convert anyone, or trying to impose their own beliefs on others. Most witches also have no problem with Christianity and other paths, aside from the efforts by people of those religions to deny others religious freedom. In this way, Wiccans tend to be far more “Christian” (loving their neighbors as themselves, and doing unto others as they would have done unto them) than many Christians. (I doubt her father, for example, would want anyone telling him what to believe or how to worship, so in this matter, she’s more “Christian” than he is). In fact, the “golden rule” is fundamental to Wiccans, who believe that everything that they do comes back to them threefold. It is thus considered foolish to harm others, and always wise to do good in the world. (Scientists have their own karmic theories, such as Newton’s law of physics: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”)

Most Wiccans strive to make the world a better place for everyone. They are often actively engaged in promoting environmental care, equal rights and religious tolerance. They believe that through proper application of one’s will (which is energy), one can affect physical reality (which is ultimately also energy). My own personal experience with Wicca confirmed that we can indeed use mental and emotional energy to generate positive physical change.

Some common Wiccan practices include energy healing, seeking divine guidance and manifesting positive goals. There is generally a great deal of emotional therapy involved, such as releasing negative emotions and embracing spiritual growth and positive change. This may be done in some dramatic ways with spells and rituals which incorporate meditation, drumming, chanting, dancing, singing, praying, divination, etc. Most Wiccans are grounded enough to know that the props, practices and other accoutrements of ritual work are simply tools they are employing to alter their state of consciousness in order to energetically affect reality. There are a few, however, who get caught up in the drama for the sake of the drama, and come across as “flaky” or out of touch with “reality.”

As Wicca attracts both weird and wonderful people, it is important that she chooses her teachers and fellow seekers with care. If she were Catholic, Buddhist or Muslim, you’d want to know she was safe and in good hands, and the same holds true here. She obviously has good judgment already, however. (How many teenagers are great students, never in trouble, etc.?) Continue to emphasize the values you’ve already taught her: honesty, courage, kindness, compassion, respect, etc., and tell her that you trust she will find her own best spiritual path.

Your daughter is strong enough to work things out with her father as she grows into the woman she is becoming. I feel that her father’s resistance here may even help her in the long run. As she steps into her own power as an adult, she may need someone to define herself against. Let her sharpen her edges against him. It’s good for her spirit, and over time, I feel he’ll grow to respect her judgment and strength!

– Soul Arcanum