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March 29, 2007

Yet another “Secret”.

I recently received several emails about The Secret. I’m glad to see that so many people have either read the book or watched the movie. And yes, I realize it is very hard to change how you think and feel to get into The Secret “mindset”. It was hard for me too. And believe me it was hard to think that I drew some of the things I didn’t like about my life, to myself. Even though I did it totally unknowingly, as most of us usually do. Why? Because I was dwelling on those things, and angry at the people who I felt caused them. I was frustrated because I didn’t think I had any power over what happened. I thought about them with very passionate feelings. That mindset was not where I needed to be. Those feelings were entirely negative and often drew more anger and frustration to me.

The good part is when I realized what I was doing (about the 3rd time I watched the movie !) I was really upset with myself. I have had fabulous things come into my life by being focused and committed to what I was doing, and being excited about it. It seemed that I always found exactly what I needed to get things done and accomplish my goals. And yet I allowed the negative feelings I was having about other situations pull me down and keep me from reaching other goals. I had to learn to “let it go” or forgive the very people I felt had hurt me. Once I did, everything about the situations I was complaining about changed.

First and foremost, you have to let go of any and all anger that you feel about people and things in your past. Yes, it’s a very hard thing to do, because it is much easier to blame someone else for the things that have happened to us, than to realize that what happens in our lives is often the very thing we fear, worry and think about the most.

Why does that happen? Probably because those are the things we have the deepest feelings about and also the things we think about the most. The hardest thing to grasp is that we really are the ones in control. No one wants to feel like they draw bad things into their life. However, if you feel anger towards someone for what you feel they did to you, or caused you to do, then you need to find forgiveness. Until you release it, and learn from it, it will always block you from the joy and happiness you can intentionally bring into your life.

Try thinking about it like this . . . If you are in a restaurant, are you going to order something from the menu that you hate, that you know you can’t stand? That you absolutely wouldn’t even think of taking a bite of? No, you will order what sounds wonderful to you. Something you can hardly wait to taste or try. That’s what you should be doing in your life, ordering up the things you most want. But too often our focus is on what we don’t want. That can be just about anything from how we don’t want our children to behave, to someone we can’t stand, to an argument with a friend or loved one, to work, and on and on. And that is exactly what we get … our kids are horrid, work is someplace we don’t want to be, we are angry or frustrated with family members or friends, nothing seems to be going right. And then we say … what else is going to go wrong! And we open the door for even more stuff we don’t want. Actually, we are getting just what we ordered, exactly what we don’t really want. Those are the vibes or feelings we are putting out there. And that’s what we get back, exactly what we put out.

Feel good about you, feel good about who you are. Every experience in your life has helped make you who you are today, even the bad ones. If you want expanded experiences and feelings then bring them into your lives. It may sound crazy, but it really works.

I received an email from Karen, who told me that the hardest thing she ever did was to forgive a former friend for causing her to lose a large sum of money she had invested in his company. The company, which had great promise, didn’t make it. Due in large part to some bad decisions made by her friend, and Karen, recently divorced, had a very hard time dealing with the loss of the money she invested. She was very angry and resentful towards her friend for causing her that loss.

After she watched The Secret, she worked very hard to let go of her anger and forgive him. Every time she thought about it, she would turn her thoughts around and start thinking about things that made her happy or she would do something physical and totally focus on things she was thankful for. It finally worked. She told me that it took her several weeks, but she learned how to forgive and let go and that has made her a much happier person. In fact she now has a new love in her life and she doesn’t think she would have ever even met him if her mind set had stayed in anger. He is a very positive and upbeat person according to her, and probably wouldn’t even have given her a second look, let alone been attracted to her while she was in what she called her “anger mode”. Today she is a very, very happy woman looking forward to a lovely future.

Take a few moments and see if you have situations like that in your life. Can you turn them around? Can you forgive? Even if it’s hard to do? If you do, you may find your entire life changes. Isn’t that worth working on?

Until Later, Have A Beautiful Day,
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie

March 28, 2007

The Government doesn’t accept emails for petitions … really.

Have you ever gotten one of those emails that requests you to sign a petition? You were so strongly in favor of the issue that you immediately put your name on it, and sent it to everyone on your email list? How about “send this to 10 people and it will bring you good luck?" I have. I rarely forward anything but once in a while one gets through to me and I do it, because I feel it speaks to something that is important to me.

Well I’ve just discovered they don’t do any good. In fact “they” are in reality, marketing companies who are trying to verify emails so they can use your address for --- you guessed it more spam. This is also true of many prayer chains, so be very careful of anything you ad your name to and that you forward to your email addresses. Chances are your friends won’t be saying thank you.

Here’s a tip my good friend Barb suggested and I have adopted myself when I find something I really, really want to send along. Just highlight it, copy it, and paste it, in to a separate file and delete the part that says if you don’t send this to X number of people in the next 10 minutes your left ear will fall off ... you know the ones. You can also just copy it directly on to your email and send it along to who ever you think will benefit from it.

Another thing you can do that stops the passing along of your friends email addresses … if it comes on an attachment to your email. Just click on the attachment itself and paste it on to a new email. If you just hold it over the actual body of your email it will go where it needs to. (This works well if pictures are involved because sometimes the pictures don’t transfer if you try to paste them directly onto a new email), and it’s perfect for all those video’s that are so funny to watch. Instantly you have eliminated sending all those forwards. They will get the document or video, without hundreds of other peoples email addresses appearing in the sent part of every forward you have to click on before you get to the actual video or message.

This suggestion came from my husband. He had me adopt it years ago when I first learned how to “send” things to people. And for a totally non-techy person like me it was a very big help. Don’t put your list of email addresses in the “send” category of your email for the world and all those snoopy marketers and spam people to see. Put them in the Blind Carbon Copy or the BCC section. You can actually “send” the email to yourself, by putting your address in the send box. That way no one gets to see the addresses you are sending to. It protects the privacy of your friend’s emails, and keeps you from being the one that helps to get them on spam lists everywhere, and believe me, they will be very grateful. Especially if they get a couple of hundred emails a day like I do.

And last but not least, after doing some checking I found out that the government doesn’t accept emails for petitions. In fact without your signature it isn’t even considered a petition. So don’t forward any more “petitions” to anyone when they come in the form of an email. Instead go to http://www.snopes.com and check it out. You can find the history of many of those emails. It’s a wonderful way to find out if what you are forwarding along is real, or if it’s just a hoax. Bookmark that address, it could help save you a great deal of spam in the future.

Have a Beautiful Day, Until later …
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie

March 22, 2007

What Does A Concussion Have To Do With “The Secret”?

I know that sounds like an insane question since “The Secret” is supposed to bring good things to you. But one thing I learned this week is that whatever you focus on, you get! Last week while I was with my Youth Group at a skating rink, I decided to go for it and get out there on the ice with the kids. Since I haven’t been on skates in a “few” years, I thought about how embarrassing it would be if I fell. Actually, I did that several times during the evening. Well guess what, that’s exactly what I did. About 45 minutes into it I decided to take some pictures of the kids racing around the rink. They were having such a great time and I was thoroughly enjoying them. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of turning around in the center of the rink and trying to focus a camera and you guessed it, my feet went out from under me and my head managed to connect with the ice and give me a whopping concussion. It put me out of service for over a week and gave me an unforgettable headache. However, it also taught me something too. Don’t focus on what you don’t want to happen.

I have been avidly studying “The Secret” for the last 6 months and just like many of you, I realized that I have unknowingly actually used the principles of The Law Of Attraction quite a few times in my life …in many different ways. Fortunately the ones I remember the most are the good ones. I manifested my husband, my daughter, the home we live in, and even 3 very successful businesses. I didn’t understand, at the time, exactly what I was doing. Not until I watched the movie (over 20 times) and read the book. Not to mention all the numerous TV shows and Tele-seminars I’ve watched and listened to, and still do.

I realized that there were quite a few times in my life when I can remember being passionate, excited and exceptionally focused on something that was really important to me. I literally drew those things to me.

I’m very sure most of you have done the same thing. Think back to a time in your life when everything was going perfectly and all your thoughts, feelings and focus were on one particular thing. You were actually practicing the “Law of Attraction”. At the same time, we draw the not so good things to us too, once again by what we focus on. Have you ever thought about being in an accident and then had it happen (like me on the ice!)? Or how about taking a trip and wondering what is going to go wrong? And wrong shows up. Worrying about being late to an important appointment and there you are, late. It’s the same thing.

Knowing what we know now with the introduction of the movie “The Secret” wouldn’t you like to bring only good things into your life? Think back to a time when everything was in perfect harmony and all your thoughts, feelings and actions were focused on what you were doing or wanting to accomplish. Perhaps it was something you did as a child in school or in sports. Or perhaps another time in your life, when you were really excited and passionate about what you were doing, like getting a certain job you wanted, or finding the right boyfriend or even the right husband. When everything felt just right and you were feeling great about everything and everyone and nothing could go wrong.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to duplicate those feelings and those actions so you could live in that kind of harmony every day? It is possible, more than most of us realize. In fact you can literally change your life by changing how you think and feel about things. Just be sure you are focusing on the “good” things you want in your life. Remember that old adage, “what you think about, comes about” or “be careful what you think about for you will surely get it”. Now we finally know why that happens. So think good thoughts, put those thoughts into feelings, ask for what you want, be grateful for what you already have and make way for new and wonderful things to start coming to you. And if you haven’t seen “The Secret” by all means put it on your list of things you absolutely MUST do. www.thesecret.tv

Have a Beautiful Day, Until Later …
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie

March 20, 2007

Sleep … Your Friend or Your Elusive Enemy?

So many people have said how elusive sleep is to them; at times I have been in this category myself. Especially if I am over excited, stressed or don’t feel well. It seems like my mind will go on forever and since I don’t have an automatic shut off (wouldn’t that be nice!), I will often lay there for hours thinking about all the things I haven’t gotten accomplished.

I started researching sleep and what people like you and I can do about it, short of going to a sleep clinic or getting a prescription for it. Here are several suggestions that I’ve personally tried that actually worked quite well for me and for some of my friends. Now mind you, nothing seems to work all of the time. We have found that alternating several “good” ideas that help you attain that blissful state of restful sleep, works the best. And rotating the ideas, keeps you from losing the effect of trying just one over and over again. I’ll start out with my old fashioned tried and true ones and go from there.
There is the old standby ...
1. A glass of warm milk, or decaffeinated herbal tea, or even hot chocolate, but I like to couple that with a good book. However not one that is too heavy into intrigue or mystery because then I don’t want to put it down. Something else I have discovered, don’t read self-help or intense “learning” books right before bed because your brain doesn’t turn off. And the result you are looking for is to calm your brain not get it working.
2. A warm bath, but not a hot one. A hot bath stimulates you while a warm one relaxes you. If you have some essential oils to add to your bath all the better. My favorites are Lavender or Jasmine. A few candles, especially in a corresponding scent add to the ambiance as well. Sometimes I put on soft music, Pachebel Cannon is one of my favorite relaxing pieces, I also enjoy Enya. Just be ready to fall right into bed immediately after, don’t answer emails, get on the phone or start doing things around the house. That ruins your relaxed state.
3. A little massage to relax your neck, shoulder or back muscles and even your feet, is a big help as well. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other to help you out with this one, Hometics makes a wonderful line of home massage items. You can get them at bed and bath stores for your neck and your back and even for your feet. Try using these for 10 or 15 minutes before you go to bed. They help relieve the tension we often don’t even realize we have built up during the day.
4. Sore and achy feet can ruin a good night’s sleep. If you have that problem, try a foot massage. You will be amazed at what it will do to help you relax. Don’t have a foot massager? No problem. Just get yourself a tennis ball or even one of those little balls your dog probably has for a toy. (Just make sure he isn’t chewing on it!) and roll your foot around on the ball. Put some pressure on it until you can feel the tendons and muscles in your foot relaxing, it may hurt when you first try it, but don’t stop. You will be surprised at how much better you feel when you relive the pressure and tightness in your feet. Because this helps stretch the muscles and tendons it helps keep your feet feeling much better and keeps them more flexible. This is great if you are on your feet all day. (I carry a tennis ball whenever I travel, and use it every night, what a difference!)

Now that I’ve shared a few of the ideas that work for me, I’d like to invite you to share your great ideas too. So please email me at livingbeautifully@sbcglobal.net put “Sleep Ideas” in the subject line and let me know what they are so we can share them.

Have a Beautiful Day, Until Later …
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie

March 9, 2007

Heart Hugs and The Secret

Hello again. Several of you asked what is a Heart Hug? Actually it has become my very favorite kind of hug. I learned it from Mark Victor Hansen, of Chicken Soup fame, about 10 years ago. Kenny and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend 10 days with Mark and his lovely wife Patty, and their daughters along with Jack Canfield and his lovely wife and son Chris, in Maui, Hawaii. During our time together, one of the things Mark taught us was the meaning and the power of what he called a “Heart Hug” It was one of those rare moments you never forget and it has stayed with me since then and most likely always will.

A “Heart Hug” is simply hugging someone from your left (or heart side) to his or her left (or heart side). Mark explained, (and he is the king of hugs!) that when your hearts touch there is an uplifting and wonderful strengthening both you and your hugee get from that hug. It literally connects people. We have been using and teaching “Heart Hugs” ever since. I can honestly say that when someone gives me a hug other than heart to heart, I can actually tell the difference. Try it out on the next person you hug and see if you can tell the difference too. I’d love to know what you think, so send me an email at livingbeautifully@sbcglobal.net or leave me a comment.

Speaking of Mark and Jack, they are two people who have knowingly or unknowingly played a huge part in teaching me about attitude and the law of attraction, and what it does to your future and your life. Jack is a major contributor to the movie The Secret, which everyone is talking about. If you haven’t seen the movie (“The Secret”) make sure you find time to do it. It definitely caries a huge WOW factor. It will help open your eyes to what you are or are not doing to yourself, every single day, by your actions, thoughts and feelings, and it can turn your life around. We suggest that you watch it over and over again. The Secret is also a book, which I keep on my nightstand and read part of every night before I go to bed, and there is an audio version of it as well. I highly recommend any or all of them. Over the next few weeks we will be discussing the principles of “ The Law of Attraction” and “The Secret” and I would love to get your feedback on it. For more information on The Secret and the Law of Attraction go to www.thesecret.tv

Have a Beautiful Day, Until Later …
Heart Hugs,
Susan Marie