New Years Eve...

Yesterday during church Rev. Nikki talked about New Years Eve and how it's a time to let go of the past; a time for change. She gave us 4 questions to ask ourselves today (and I hope I wrote them down correctly because I was writing pretty quickly. Jenn, if I got some wrong feel free to correct them!!!). :)

1. Look at this past year. Did you achieve the goals that you wanted to? And if not why?

2. Did you improve your position in life materially?

3. Did you apply yourself to spiritual truths that you know to be true? Did you add any new ideas?

4. What are your plans for the new year? What things would you like to complete or start in 2008?

I'm going to think about these questions in the next few days and then I'll be back to write my answers. I'd like to welcome anyone that reads this to answer on here as well. (And this goes for any of our posts).

I am almost done with my visualization board and I have my gratitude rock. The gratitude rock is a rock that I found a long time ago with my children. It's a white rock that we all found one day. I can't remember where we found it or the circumstances surrounding it but I had kept it in my jean jacket pocket because it was something to help kill time if we ever needed it (it's almost like chalk and writes on concrete). I hadn't worn this jacket in probably about a year and when I wore it a few weeks back and put my hand in the pocket, out came that rock. I thought it was very fitting to use as my gratitude object. (Now to just get it out of that jacket and into my pocket book - something I carry with me everyday).

I thought this week being it's the beginning of a new year we could try something to help us start out the new year in a positive way. It's a quote from Ernest Holmes on page 21 of his Creative Mind and Success book: "Refuse to see the negative in anyone. Refuse to let yourself misunderstand or be misunderstood. Know that everyone wants you to have the best. Then you will find things just as you wish them to be."

It's sometimes hard to always find the positive in things. It's sometimes hard to start a new habit, especially a good one. So don't go into it thinking it will happen over night because you will only be setting yourself up for failure. But, if you try and make that conscious effort to do what is said in the above quote, I guarantee it will eventually become something natural to you and you will find your days more fulfilled.

I found the following quote online this morning and because of the sermon yesterday in church and because it is New Years Eve, I found it very fitting. I hope you do as well:

"Never fade

Whatever you fully experience, you never need to leave behind. Whatever you worry about losing, you never did have to begin with.

Without change, life would not exist. With every change is the opportunity to become more fully alive.

The days and weeks and years come to an end. And yet it is always now.

The artifacts and remnants that you associate with the good times will fade and rust and decay, eventually to disappear. Yet the goodness and joy of the authentic experiences will grow ever stronger.

There is no reason to be sad about the fact that time has passed. There is every reason to find joy in the real treasures that you will always retain from that time.

Learn to quickly let go of the meaningless, superficial things that will soon be gone anyway. Invest your spirit and your experience in the timeless values that you know will never fade."

-- Ralph Marston

And so it is.....

Daily Motivator December 30, 2007

(I had put this on my own blog but it only seems fitting to be here on this one)

I got chills when I read this below. (I have a daily motivator on my homepage that changes every day - hence the word daily - lol). This is almost exactly what was said in church this morning (or what I at least got out of the sermon) and is so true! She talked about reflecting on the past year and how everyone makes mistakes. But we shouldn't dwell on them but rather move forward from them. Turn a negative into a positive. To keep moving forward - the past is just that, the past and is now history. We live in the today and the now.

Time to be your best
When things seem to be at their worst is the ideal time for you to be at your best. When the outlook is decidedly negative that's the time you need to be aggressively positive.

When the situation is difficult and getting worse, there's no need to deny reality or hide from the truth. Neither is there any need, however, to get pulled down with the negativity.

The greatest opportunities come from the most difficult problems. In times of great challenge, moving positively forward -- even if by just a little bit -- can dramatically alter the momentum for the better. And then that momentum can grow quickly.

Keep going. Keep moving steadily forward, especially when circumstances seem to be working against you. Remember -- that's when you can make the most meaningful positive difference.

-Kim

Caelie's Visualization Board...

I have a daughter who is 7 years old. The other day I was in her bedroom and I happened to look over by her bed and saw a $500 bill from the game Operation stuck to a hook in her wall with tape. I asked her why it was there and her words were "So that one day soon it will be real". I got chills. Since starting this journey with Jenn I haven't talked to my kids about any of it. I haven't even got my visualization board going yet (though I did start it this morning). When she told me this I just grabbed her and hugged her because I thought it was so cute and so cool. I took pictures of it below.

This is a close up of her $500 play bill taped to the hook by her bed.

In this picture you can see exactly where it is compared to her bed. She put it there so she can see it when she wakes up and see it when she goes to bed.

-Kim

Exercise #3

In light of it being the holiday season and everyone have very little time on their hands, Kim and I decided that we'd have a two-week exercise that is relatively easy to complete.

Borrowed again from The Secret, we've decided to get "gratitude rocks" to carry with us. They don't have to be ornate, so I'm going to use some of the rocks I have currently. The premise behind this exercise is easy: Every time you touch the gratitude rock you give "thanks" to the gifts you have in your life. You may choose to hold a rock when you're upset and need a reminder of the good, you may touch it by accident and have to call forth something spur-of-the-moment, but the idea is that you have a reminder with you; a tangible piece of matter that may very well change your mindset for the better! Remember: There is great power in being grateful!

Exercise #2 - Kim's Results

I sadly have no results today for exercise #2 which was to create my visualization board. It was yet another crazy week. It's the holidays so I guess that's to be expected! I'm hoping one day this week to set aside some time and pick out pictures. I have them in my head so I'm hoping that counts for something and I go through it every night before bed. There are some pressing matters though where I think I need to have it on that board to keep me on track. One of them revolves around money - especially now since we took Sean's car in to get fixed (took it to somewhere we have a credit card for since we don't have $1000 laying around) and that's just what it's costing us to fix - $1000. I feel ill. I actually started to resort back to the days where I'd get so worked up about money I felt I couldn't breathe. Then I reminded myself it's okay to feel the feelings, but feel them and then let them go and it worked. I'm still a tad bit panicky feeling but I'm working on us receiving money rather then sitting around worrying about it.

Once I get my board done (and I'm making it a task to be completed by this weekend) I will be back to post a picture of it and explain it all. Hopefully once I get that done, and write it all on here as well I'm hoping that goes towards the process of "getting it out there".

-Kim

First Sunday of Advent

Today we lit the first candle of the Advent Wreath: The candle of Hope- the hope of what is to come! In the Church of Religious Science they use the Advent Wreath as a symbolic way to remember some of the people who helped the world get ready for this new awakening of the God Light within us. Each week we will be lighting one candle in gratitude, acknowledging all of the people who allowed the Truth of God's Light to shine through them as willing servants of God life and love.

The discussion today was "Dissolve the Darkness of Discontent" and it was a pretty powerful message. As usual, the lead practitioner stated that we would hear the messages we were meant to hear and, as usual, she was right! I found a few things especially poignant for me due to some things that are going on in my personal life so I thought that I'd share them here in hopes that they may bring someone else some comfort as well.

A very important message today was the validation of peoples sadness around the holidays. Rev. Niki made a special point to remind us that the season holds underlying reminders of loss for a lot of people and that it's important to acknowledge the sadness during this time of year; especially because there is such a pressure from society to happy and full of joy! So, let us remember that when we come in to contact with people we don't know, or even those that we do; we have no way of knowing what sort of unhappiness their hearts may be experiencing.

There was also an interesting message about moving forward in life, that anything that hinders the current of life leaves us only with stagnation. I was thinking bout this a lot because I know many of us feel 'stuck' in our roles sometimes. Be it our role as mother or father, caretaker, workaholic, always cheerful friend, we sometimes feel smothered by the expectations we set forth for ourselves as well as by those that others set for us, be they real or imaginary. I believe that it's important, especially when we feel like this, to push forward as hard as we can. I think that it's these times that truly show us who we are and what we are capable of!

"In the darkness, the deep darkness that can sometimes come forth, lays the opportunity for some of the greatest light."

And so it is.

Exercise #2: Visualization

Neither of us got to make our visualization board last week so we decided that this week we would focus on that. I'm currently going through magazines, pictures online, and different positive affirmations I've collected over time. I have a piece of cardboard from a box that I'm going to use to mount the pictures on and I have the perfect place to hang it so I'll be reminded daily of what I can have and will be getting. I'll be able to put myself in the pictures and feel what it's like to live the way I want... now.

Remember: No want is too big or too small.

See you in a week!

My week...

My week was a week of ups and downs that's for sure. I can't tell if the week flew by or dragged. I do now know and understand the power of both the positive and the negative after this week.

After having watched The Secret at Jenn's last Tuesday, I told myself that every morning I would watch their inspirational video/visualization tool to get my day started. And that worked for only about two days. Those days that I did watch it were awesome though.

After I left Jenn's on Tuesday I felt so awesome and rejuvenated and just alive. I told myself that this past week I would focus on only the positive. And see how that went. My first project was to try and create a visualization board, but with having 3 kids and having to pack for our Thanksgiving weekend at my parents I didn't have the time. So I told myself every night I'd think of those things that I will have on that board and try and focus that way. It turns out, I need to make that board. So many things happen during the course of a day to help you stray from your focus.

Tuesday night I said my thanks for everyone in my life now or that has been in my life and for everyone I've yet to meet. Then I focused on what was going to happen the next day. I knew we had to take Knoxie (our 50 pound 1 1/2 year old Labradoodle) to the kennel on Wednesday morning. Anyone that knows Knoxie knows she's a very spirited, full of energy puppy. And I have always dreaded taking her to the vet or the kennel because I usually come out of there sweating! All night Tuesday night I kept saying that taking her to the kennel would be a breeze and go really well. All morning Wednesday morning I said the same thing. And guess what happened. Taking her to the kennel was an absolute breeze. I don't know if it was because I was much more relaxed just from repeating that in my head over and over or what exactly it was. I do know that dogs feed off of the energy of people so I know she was much more relaxed. And she actually listened to me. Sat when I told her to sit, didn't jump up on people as much as she usually does. I actually enjoyed taking her this time.

It was hard trying to always be positive this weekend up at my parents. It had nothing to do with them, just events that kept happening. My mom went to the ER Saturday morning because of a very high fever. My brothers dog had a tick on her which had to be removed by the vet because it was so embedded in her skin we weren't about to touch it. And then just some other small things here and there. It was an exhausting weekend for me because I cooked, cleaned, did laundry and made sure my parents were set before we left on Sunday. They are both in bad shape right now and living so far away doesn't give me any comfort, but doing what I could while I was there helped a little. I also got a glimpse of them for the first time as old and it's gripped my heart in such a way that I can't stop being sad.

On to what negativity can do to you: Saturday night Sean, the kids, my dad and I all piled in our car to go and see Christmas lights in a town about 30 minutes from my parents. My mom couldn't go with us because of her bad back - she's been in bed now for over a week. On the way there I started thinking about something that I haven't been directly involved in, but that last week turned personal for me because of some things said. It's very easy to be focused when you're not involved and to give others good advice. When it turns personal, it's not so easy anymore. And Saturday night, in the car ride there, I started thinking of what I would say to this person and what I really thought of them. It got so bad I had such a knot in my stomach that at one point Tristan was trying to talk to me and I didn't even hear him.

We saw the lights and got home around 8:30. I was still going through how mad I was in my head. I went into Caelie's bedroom to help her find an AR book from school that she had lost. I bent down to look under the dresser and my right thigh muscle felt like it was tearing in two. Any bad thoughts I had in my head at the time immediately disappeared. I was more focused on my leg and how I was going to stand up.

Sean got me to my mom's bed so I could just sit and relax and about 3 hours later, it hit me. All of the negativity I had been thinking of, somehow manifested into something physical - my muscle. And then I realized WHAT a waste of time I just spent on it. There will always be people and events that will bring negativity into your life. How we choose to deal with them is what makes up our character and our daily lives. I choose to NOT have that negativity in my life anymore. So every time I think of this person/event, instead of a bad picture in my head, I now have a good one. And, the actual picture in my head makes me laugh and giggle because it so far fetched. But the laugh and the giggle help me to steer away from the negative and focus on the positive.

So if you're with me in the future and you start talking about anything negative, don't be surprised if you see a haze come over my eyes. Don't be mad either, it's just my way of not letting it affect me.

-Kim

Results

Well. I have to say that I am a bit surprised by what happened this week! I focused on money because, let's face it, we can always use more. The hardest part of this exercise (for me) was truly believing what I thought vs. just thinking it. Money has always been a tough subject for me because my family just squeaks by every month. We were a paycheck-to-paycheck family as it was, and just recently I lost my job, so we ended up down a paycheck. The problem with that is that the bills don't stop, right?

My thoughts for this week were: "I have money. Money is flowing to me continuously. The mail is bringing me checks in the amount of $500 or more every week."

The first interesting thing that occurred was my husband's paycheck! Why is this so out of the norm? Because lately he hasn't gotten paid... At all! We can go a month without seeing a check (he owns his own business and sometimes can't afford to pay himself), and this is the first time in four years that he got paid the following Friday! That makes a true weekly paycheck for the first time in 1,460.9688 days!

The second great event was my invitation to participate in a vendor fair. That's great for me; a chance to make some money!

Thirdly, I got the notice from unemployment that I have been approved. This is huge because I've been fighting with them since the beginning of September. The final number is good, and I have a lot of back weeks that will be deposited soon.

Fourth: Some stocks I had got bought out by the new owner of the company. I got the final number from my broker and that number in my bank account will be helpful for the holiday season.

The fifth thing is a bunch of little things. I got a few $50 checks from people who owed me money for one reason or another. It's helps a lot since I was wondering how I was going to pay the electric bill!

So, that's my update on the weeks exercise. Now it's time for Kim to check in!

--- Jenn

Exercise #1: Power of Positive Thinking

Take a moment and think about your thoughts. I know that sounds redundant, but hear me out! Most of us have one or two thoughts that are constant and are negative in nature. For instance: "I have no money," or "I'm lonely." These are thoughts that are unconscious most times but affect us.

Take that thought (or thoughts) and reverse them. Make them positive! Write them down if you wish. For example: If your thought is about having a lack of money, start thinking about yourself with money. Feel it. Believe it! Imagine what you'll get with the money you have. Not when you have it, but as if you have it already. Visualize your bank balance at what you wish it would be. Feel what it's like to get checks in the mail. Don't think of it as "I want to get out of debt" but rather "I have what I need and this is what I have."

A great tool for this is to create a "Visualization Board". Just like they discuss in The Secret, cut out pictures of things that you want to obtain. Write out affirmations that you want to live by. Put this board up where you'll be able to see it, and experience it. Live it! Feel the wind as you sail on your yacht. See yourself in that new car.

Try this for a week. That's the goal. Be as real as you can and truly believe.

See you in a week!

Why We Started Soul Searching Sisters

We met through a local Mom's Group. It took a while for us to get to know each other, but when we did we knew that we had met a like-minded person.

From this discovery we began to search for answers. We talked about the Universe and energy. We discussed positive thinking and the laws of attraction. We thought about coincidences versus verification from the Universe. The question was: What to do with all of this? Where could we go to put these thoughts in motion and where could we see these same thoughts manifest?

We began to read. We began to talk. We began to learn. The result is this blog.

Welcome!