Wednesday, November 28, 2007

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!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

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

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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!