You surely remember the old saying “It is better to give than it is to receive.” I heard that phrase very early in my life, and I have always been interested in giving to others when I can. I think we all occasionally struggle with how much giving and receiving we should do, and at times I have been better at one or the other while trying to balance both.

When you give freely, and when you feel good about your giving, you set up an expectation within your vibration that Law of Attraction matches: you feel worthy and ready to receive. When you understand this give-and-take of energy and see it play out a few times, it can be tempting to work to give a lot so that you can be worthy to receive a lot. The problem with this approach is twofold. First, you are already worthy to receive, and your worthiness is never in question. You can feel more worthy or less worthy, but you ARE worthy. Secondly, receiving (or allowing) Source Energy and wellbeing is natural and not dependent, necessarily, on how much you give. You don’t give to earn your right to receive, and no one keeps score in some far-away vibrational database. The energies of giving and receiving are intertwined, but not in a “weight and balances” type of equation. But there does seem to be, in my experience, a direct benefit to giving and receiving freely as the opportunities arise. The key is not to give to make something happen, but rather to give because it feels good to give. Law of Attraction works its best magic when you feel good…so timing your giving can be important. Feel good first, and then feel better through your giving.

When I take my morning walks along the beach, I usually visit a coffee shop about three miles into the walk. It’s a Starbucks in a grocery store, and sometimes there are some very needy people near the store. Occasionally they will ask for change, but other times they just keep to themselves. This situation represents a great opportunity to see how I feel in the moment about giving. If I feel resistance to giving money, I don’t. If I feel open and connected, I do. On several occasions I started my walk and decided that I would buy some food at the grocery and give it away to the first hungry person I encountered. On each occasion, I couldn’t find anyone to give it too, and one of those times, I swear, the guy vanished. I realized that I was trying to do something that was not a natural unfolding, and I felt worse walking home with the food in my arms. Now I wait to see what opportunities the day brings to give and receive, and I move ahead when I am inspired, knowing that I will be in the right place at the right time always.

Finally, giving is not just about money and food. Giving freely can include giving compliments, smiling, holding a door open for someone, noticing a kind gesture, leaving an uplifting note, singing a song, answering an email, and a million other possibilities. Receiving freely might include being grateful and appreciative for compliments, smiles, doors held open for you, kind gestures, uplifting notes, songs you hear, emails you receive, and a million other possibilities. Giving and receiving are ways you live, not things you do. Expand your vibration to give and receive freely and often today, and enjoy how great you will feel all day. Enjoy this most amazing day!  Chris-GP

1. What is prosperity, and how will you know when you have it?

2. Why do you want prosperity, and what will you do with it?

3. What will being prosperous feel like?

Question one has a simple answer on the surface: prosperity is money, and I’ll know by the bottom line on my bank statement. It is true that prosperous people are often monetarily rich, and it is also true that it is hard to think of prosperity apart from income. But haven’t you met some very rich people who feel poor? Haven’t you observed happy people who have next to nothing? It can be said, then, that feeling prosperous is a relative thing indeed: for some people, no amount of money will make them feel prosperous enough to be happy. Maybe prosperity comes in other forms as well, and perhaps prosperity can be better defined as being happy with what you have, while expecting more to flow to you. Maybe prosperity consciousness is all about being rich in thought, action and feeling, and allowing the riches to flow through many varied channels. You will know you have it because you will be living a life that is rich in gifts, and you will be open to happily receiving these gifts in each moment.

Why do you want to be prosperous, and what will you do with it? This is a harder question for many people to answer. Can you answer it off the top of your head? From a young age we have been conditioned to chase after money, and many of us can’t even say what we want the money for. Sure, you can pay bills, buy a better car, and live in a better house…but when all this is done, then what? Why do you want it? Will you help others with it? Will you give some away? Will you will it to your kids? There is no right answer, but what ever your answers are will give you insight into the motivation behind your pursuit of monetary prosperity. Focusing on the good that the money can ignite can help it flow to you more easily into your experience. Broadening your definition of “prosperity” to include any gift that makes your life richer can also help more of it flow to you effortlessly.

What does it feel like to be prosperous? I immediately think of the word “freedom.” I think many people want to be rich so that they can be free to live as they choose. But as I stated earlier, there are many “rich” people who do not feel free. In fact, big dollars often come with problems that are just as big. Some very wealthy people have no time to enjoy their money, and they constantly strive to arrive at a place in time where they can finally relax into their prosperity. There are also unhappy poor people, I know. But the saying that “money can’t buy love or happiness” does hold some truth. I believe that true prosperity feels like fun, excitement, richness, joy, love, passion, and bliss. If you are rich in thought, action and feeling, you are receiving prosperity in a multitude of ways: in the eyes of children…in the smiles of friends…in the job you do…in the beauty of music and art…and even in the majesty of a sunrise. A prosperous person feels rich and free, and they expect it to continue. A prosperous person knows that all is well, and if they want more green stuff too, the Law of Attraction can easily line them up with more money as well. It’s always about how you feel. Feel rich…become rich…in every area of your experience!

This post was inspired by the AMAZING sunrise I witnessed recently outside my house. I gave great thanks and appreciated the light show, and it felt like a living work of art was unfolding before my eyes. I wondered how many other people who were watching the sunrise were feeling as prosperous as I was. Just being there and receiving the gift of the moment, I felt like the richest man on the planet. It didn’t change my bank account necessarily, but it filled up my appreciation and gratitude tank to full for sure. I am grateful for the prosperity that allows me to live fully and love fully. What are the gifts of prosperity that are already in your life right now? Do you perceive them? Are you open to receive them? Do you give thanks for them? If you are, then you are rich indeed. Enjoy this most amazing day! Chris-GP

Think about the things you are wanting to attract into your life: health, wellbeing, a new relationship, prosperity, a new job…whatever it may be. You can’t get there from here. The reason you don’t have it is because you are vibrating (sending out a signal to the Universe) as a person without it. You may be confused at this point because of all our posts about being present and living in the NOW. You may ask “how can I live in the now and hold a vibration different than the one I have now?” Indeed, this is a paradox. The trick is letting yourself feel the feeling of being or achieving the new thing in this moment. This is different than seeing yourself achieving or being this thing in the future. Another way to think of this is to realize that you are not attracting something new to you, but you are instead changing into a new person who has the new thing. When you say “I’ll be different when I have money,” the implication (vibration) is “I have no money.” You can’t get there from here.  But you can allow yourself to feel prosperous NOW, and to feel like the new person NOW, and to take action like a prosperous person NOW, and to be in a new vibration of prosperity NOW. You will have moved from here to there, to a place where you can feel like the new person with the new and present vibration, and Law of Attraction can then bring the full manifestation into your awareness very quickly. Be willing to change, and be playful about your thoughts. Linger in feelings that feel good while you think them. Even a little shift from where you are, into a direction of where you would rather be, will harness the Law of Attraction in very powerful ways. Try this approach and let us know what you experienced. Enjoy this most amazing day. Chris-GP

Julian Roberts character brought this idea:  “Whenever you think of someone, send them love and light and move forward with your own life.” This resonated within me, because I had heard it many, many times before and have made it my practice to do so with everyone that I have come into contact with. Practicing this concept, interesting things have happened for me over the years.  For one, I began noticing that, for a while, I was feeling very good about the idea of sending someone love and light whenever I thought about them.  In practice, I would get a huge swelling in my breast whenever I did this practice as though I had just done something completely amazing, and that I [here’s the cue] was a better person for doing it.  How smug was I?  After a while, however, I started feeling more and more of a drain on my own energy.  I started thinking “it seems that I give and give and give, and everyone just takes and takes and takes.  Surely this isn’t the way it is supposed to be.”  I kept thinking “I must be doing something wrong, but what could it be?”  Then, this last week, the answer came.

I went on a retreat with a bunch of my colleagues in the San Bernardino Mountains for some workshops, and much needed bonding.  One night, after all the workshops were done, a group of people started playing a game.  Everyone sat in a circle, with one person standing in the center of the circle.  Each person in the circle had a specific gestural sign that they had come up to represent themself, such as pointing their index finger to their nose, smiling widely, touching the rim of their hat with their thumb, etc.  Everyone in the circle showed everyone else in the circle their chosen sign, so that everyone in the group would know everyone else’s sign.  The idea of the game was this:  One person was chosen to be “it.” Another way of saying this is that one person in the circle was chosen to be the person with the “hot potato.”  This was all done while a person standing in the center of the circle had his or her eyes closed.  After the person was selected, the person in the center was then allowed to open their eyes.  The person in the middle of the circle then had to determine who in the group was “it.”

Here’s how it worked:  The chosen person sitting in the circle who was “it” had to pass off “being it” to someone else in the circle without the person standing in the middle seeing them do it. If the person standing in the middle suspected who was “it” they simply could ask “is it YOU?” and if they were right, the caught person became the new person in standing in the middle and the game started over. So the game is all about discretely passing gestures while the person in the middle doesn’t see it. (for those who may want to play this, you pass being “it” to someone by flashing THEIR sign to them, and they accept being “it” by flashing THEIR OWN sign back to you. Then they are “it.”) It takes intense concentration and observational skills for all players to follow who exactly is “it.” I watched this game for several rounds, and even participated in a couple of rounds before retiring to my room for some much needed sleep.

I was drifting off to sleep when all of a sudden, the Universe spoke!!  I wasn’t doing anything wrong in the sending part of my practice of love and light……..I was failing to be a receiver! In this game that I saw, once your sign was shown to you, you needed to show you were receiving it by showing your sign back.  I was sending everyone that I knew, loved and respected, love and light, but I was failing to receive their love and light back in return. This realization took on a whole new perspective for me, as I saw the whole design of what the Universe and even the Law of Attraction was trying to tell me all along.  I saw that I was sending out my desires, requests, and wants, and then was not allowing myself to receive what I was wanting, requesting and desiring.

At that moment, I decided to let in all of the love and light and gifts that not only others were trying to send me all this time, but also that the Universe had been longing to give me for years.  I even discovered that a key important point is to let in the love and light and gifts that my own extension of Source Energy is wanting and desiring to give me.  Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night, but I arose the next morning completely renewed and ready to receive all of the signs, signals, light and love that we all have to give to each other, as well as receiving all the light and love I have to give to myself.  I decided to Eat, Pray, and Love in a more powerful way. I decided……..to be “it.” With love and light to you all, Lee

But does your life really depend on something for its existence? Aren’t we eternal beings? Surely we will all make a transition someday back into pure, positive energy. But that won’t be an end, it will just be another transition in an ever-unfolding Universe of expansion. So if we fear death as an end, it can certainly get our attention and give us focus and motivation…but it may cause us to chase our connection to Source from a disconnected, fear-based focus. So I don’t recommend creating focus through fear. So the phrase, “live as if your life depended on it” seems less helpful from this perspective.

So this morning I am using the following phrase to focus my attention to my wellbeing: “Today I live as if my love depends on it!” I am an eternal being. My life is assured. The only real question I have today, then, is whether or not I am allowing my full connection to Source Energy (Love) or not. When I live as if my love depends on it, I take a focused look at how I feel today, knowing that I can open in love, or I can turn from love and be closed off from it. When I choose thoughts that feel good as I think them…thoughts of gratitude, appreciation, wellbeing, etc., I open up my consciousness to higher and higher (better feeling) vibrations. I become a conduit of love and connection. I uplift everyone in my experience (even through cyberspace).

Choose today to pay attention to how you feel, and see if you can allow more love into your vibration. Love yourself first, and then let that love radiate out everywhere you go, into every interaction you have. Love your day, love your cup of coffee, love your job, and love everyone you come into contact with. Your life doesn’t depend on it, but your love does. Live in love today. Enjoy this most amazing day. Chris-GP

If you are unaware of the average vibration you are maintaining, just look to see how your life is unfolding. Are you excited about what has come and also about what is yet to come? Are you knowing that through your thoughts you are allowing the energy that will let the essence of what you want to flow easily to you? If you are, keep on doing what you are doing…it’s working for you. If not, consider looking at your patterns of giving, with this slight twist: Giving can be, but doesn’t have to be, about money.

Giving is a state of vibration where you give your love and appreciation freely to everyone and everything in your experience. You certainly can leave a bigger tip for a waitress, or buy something for a friend as a surprise, or donate money to a charity…this is all a form of giving. But if you are doing this and asking “why am I not receiving in proportion to my giving?’ you may be stuck in the way you give love, gratitude, and appreciation. The next time you notice someone who has the “stuff” you want, be it a job, a car, a relationship, a website, or whatever, pay attention to how you feel about them. Are you jealous? Do you feel afraid that they might be taking all the pieces of the pie and leaving you behind? Do you get nervous that they might keep you away from the stuff you are hoping to attract? Almost everyone has a tendency to do this, and you can decide right now to pay closer attention to these thoughts from now on. Just decide that when you see someone enjoying the very things you are wanting, you will stop, change the directions of your thoughts away from withholding gratitude and appreciation, to fully giving love, appreciation and gratitude to them.

When you give the best of your vibration, loving and appreciating these people, you become a match to what they have. You no longer vibrate as a person who can’t get these things, but rather as a person who is part of these things. You enjoy the things as if they were yours, and you give them every bit of your gratitude for letting you share, even from the sidelines, a little piece of their success. This is giving too. Do it today! Be.Love, Hannya-GP

Law of Attraction

snarky |ˈsnärkē|
adjective ( snarkier, snarkiest) informal
(of a person, words, or a mood) sharply critical; cutting; snide : the kid who makes snarky remarks in class.
• cranky; irritable : Bobby’s always a bit snarky before his nap.

So if you feel snarky most of the time, and you talk about things in terms of your disappointment with the present, it makes sense that Law of Attraction will line you up with more critical, cutting, snide, cranky, and irritable experiences for you to “enjoy,” even when you feel happy for a few moments at a time. The key to all of this is to turn the emotional corner and find a way to feel better more of the time.

Feeling better is the key, but changing your behavior is the goal. If your life is not thrilling you enough, you have to change the input that creates your point of attraction, and then Law of Attraction will also work for you in more pleasing ways. Here are a few tips for turning the emotional corner, and all of these ideas can make you think, act, and feel differently.

1. Exercise more. Take a walk, run in the woods, or get on a stationary bike. While you exercise, tell yourself: “I am opening to my greater health, and my body is very wise. I give myself love and health, and I receive love and health from the Universe.” Feel every cell in your body respond to your affirmations. You are turning the emotional corner.
2. Eat Better. No matter what you have been eating, change your diet a little. The phrase “you are what you eat” is a good rule of thumb, so if you want to feel differently, try eating differently. Do a juice fast, or a true fast. But a cook book and make some new meals that you haven’t made before. notice that the food makes you feel differently. You are turning the emotional corner.
3. Talk Less. That’s right. Talk less. If your point of attraction has you lining up with things you don’t like, you are probably in a habit of talking about things in a disconnected way. Talk less, and listen more. Even observe the way you talk to yourself in your own mind. Be kind to yourself, and love yourself more. Let whatever cognitive dissonance your have going melt into awareness of your perfect relationship to love and allowing. You are turning the emotional corner.
4. Practice Optimism. While you are talking less and observing your thoughts more, turn your thoughts into better-feeling, more positive statements. Make it a game, and enjoy the process. Fr example, if you are doing something and you are beating yourself up, do it a little less. If you say “I really suck at this,” notice, laugh to yourself, and think again. Say “do over” and tell yourself “now I may suck at this, but I am getting better and better with every try. Soon I will suck less at this.” minor change…big vibrational shift. You are turning the emotional corner.
5. Stop “should-ing” on yourself. Do you do things just because you “should?” Doing this can evolve into acting by default, and living out patterns of actions and thoughts that mess up your pint of attraction. Do everything because you choose to, and not because you feel you should do it. I would wager that at least 20% of the actions people choose are by default because they feel they are supposed to do it that way. Get your “should” together. You are turning the emotional corner.

See if doing all of this makes a difference to the way you feel. If it does, you are turning the emotional corner. When you think, feel and act differently then your life must change. I look forward to hearing about your successes. Enjoy this most amazing day!  Chris-GP

For all of our Gratitude Planet community located outside of the United States who might not know it, today is Independence Day in the US. It’s a day to reflect on all the gifts we have, all the people that we appreciate, and the freedoms we enjoy in an open society. People are generally off work and are gathering with friends and family for a cookout and a local parade. It’s the perfect day to whip up some Gratitude and Thanks, and now is the perfect moment to let the horses run on a rampage of appreciation and gratitude.

Start with Thanks. Wherever you are right now, take two minutes and mentally list everything you can think of that you are thankful for. Your inner monologue may be something like “Thank you for the weather today, thank you for the air I am breathing, thank you for the clothes I am wearing, thank you for the eyes I use to see, thank you for my mind that helps me think, thank you for the …..” You get to decide what feels best to you.

Next take two minutes to be Grateful. It might go something like this: “I am grateful for my job (or job prospects), and I am grateful for my amazing living space that feels so good to be in, and I am grateful for my interactions with others, both in person and in cyberspace, and I am grateful for my coffee maker that creates a perfect morning drink for me, and I am grateful for…” Again, the words you choose are the right ones for you. Next move to Appreciation. Appreciation feels a little more connected than Gratitude, which is why you should move through Thanks, to Gratitude, and then to Appreciation.

So now, take two minutes and mentally list everything you appreciate. Don’t worry if you repeat some things that you have already said. Your inner monologue may be something like “I appreciate my spouse who loves me so much, and I appreciate my body and all its health and wisdom, and I appreciate my dog who always seems connected and free, and I appreciate Source Energy and its consistent flow of well-being into my experience, and I appreciate…”

If you do these three simple exercises, you will feel a shift in your vibration. You will move up the Vibrational Scale. Your cork will begin to float again…and you will definitely feel an expansion in the way you feel. You will be able to move into love and bliss. You will have done the inner work required to change your world for the better. You will be able to carry this vibration into your whole day. Enjoy the freedom you have to feel better today, and as always, enjoy this most amazing day!  Chris-GP

Remember that the Law of Attraction matches you up with more of whatever you presently have as measured by your thoughts, feelings, and actions. So to change your life in a real and meaningful way, you first need to change your thinking and actions, and also reach for the best feelings you have access to. When you care about how you feel, and when you take inspired action, your connection to Source Energy becomes stronger, and you start attracting happiness and joy into your experience more and more of the time. As a connected being you now have an ability to remain in the Vortex of connection, and also to magnify and expand that connection in every direction of your life. You can “give away” your happiness everywhere you go.

When you are connected to who you are and are feeling good, you will uplift others with whom you come into contact. Law of Attraction will line you up with people who are ready to feel better, and you will be of great value to their experience. On the other hand, when you are not connected and not in line with who you really are, you can only bring out the same in others. Law of Attraction will put you face-to-face with other people who are struggling just like you are, and you will not be able to uplift in as powerful a way.

It is much more fun to notice your thoughts, feelings, and actions and make the best of where you are. Reach for feelings of relief, and follow the best thoughts that come to you. Once you feel good, picture your love and joy radiating out in all directions toward everything in the Universe. Picture Law of Attraction working like mad by inspiring others like yourself to be in certain places at certain times, all being guided to cross your path today. Make an intention to uplift these people when you see them, not by doing anything in particular, but just by being a joyful, connected, and loving person. Let the magic of each moment unfold perfectly. If you intend to attract these people to you, they will appear in your experience today. Picture your happiness and connection as a gift that you receive from Source Energy, and then pay it forward…all day, every day! Source will refill your cup every time you ask it to, and then you will have something to give away to others. Try this today and see if it makes your day go better. Receive, be grateful, and then give freely to others. It’s one of the secrets to living a rich and happy life. Enjoy this most amazing day! Chris-GP

habit |ˈhabit|
noun
1 a settled or regular tendency or practice, esp. one that is hard to give up : this can develop into a bad habit | we stayed together out of habit.
• informal an addictive practice, esp. one of taking drugs : a cocaine habit.
• Psychology an automatic reaction to a specific situation.
• general shape or mode of growth, esp. of a plant or a mineral : a shrub of spreading habit

We can see that having a habit or being “habitual” has a negative association according to the dictionary. If a behavior is hard to give up, it can turn into a “bad” habit. Addictions have been informally labeled as habits as well. Of course, we can have behaviors that are healthy and that promote wellness, such as exercising daily, or eating well. The main point here is that we all develop patterns of behavior that either serve us, or they don’t. Looking objectively at your habits can be a healthy exercise of awareness…so let’s look at this a little more today.

When you think something or do something, you send out a vibration to the Universe, and the Law of Attraction immediately matches the vibration and reinforces it. Another way to say this is that if you think a thought for a while, you starting thinking other similar thoughts. The easiest thoughts to think tend to match the ones you have already been thinking. If you do an action over and over, it becomes easier to keep doing it than it does to change the patterns of action. Law of Attraction reads your vibration and and determines where you are vibrationally, and then agrees and gives you more of the same. People, events, and circumstances reinforce your patterns of habit. The Universe does its best to keep you doing what ever you have been doing. It’s like an autopilot. You stay on course.

But what if you are tired of your direction? What if you are flying toward a mountain and you are on autopilot? You have two choices, really. You can change course or hit the mountain. If you decide to change course, and break a few habits of thinking, feeling, and acting, then you will need to put some deliberate energy toward making changes. If you decide to enjoy the ride until you hit the mountain, you will be provided with enough contrast to make you change after the impact. Notice that not changing is not an option here. You get to decide for yourself if you want your change little by little, or all at once.

I prefer to change little by little when I can. It’s hard at first, but it gets easier as you go. Decide to replace a thought today. Notice your thought about something, and tell yourself that you are changing the feeling of the thought. If you are irritated with the way your hair looks, decide to feel hopeful that you will be able to get it cut soon. Small change…big result over time. You can also move your body in new patterns as well. Do you sit to put your shoes on? Then stand today. It will feel awkward, but do it anyway. When is the last time you touched your toes? Touch them today. Just look for patterns of habitual thinking, feeling, and acting that you have taken for granted, and just make small changes. If you desire the changes, keep up the new behavior until Law of Attraction makes it easier for you to sustain it. A big habit may take 30 days to change, as long as you don’t keep repeating the old pattern as you go.

Think of all of this as presenting opportunities to change slowly. Be open to the idea of change, and above all, be willing to kick the habit of being habitual. Thank you so much…    Be Well, Marie-GP