Rediscovering Your JOY

Keep it simple. That statement says it all when you consider every area of life. Opening up to simplicity is a powerful step toward expanding your personal life experience.

Here are seven simple steps for living from your JOY center:

1. Love (always begin with self-love)
2. Appreciation (recognizing through love)
3. Responsibility (acknowledging your role)
4. Desire (knowing what you want)
5. Focus (directing your point of attraction)
6. Allowing (opening to change; receiving what you desire)
7. Being (your natural state; path of least resistance)

Change begins with one simple step. I just gave you seven.

Mags

GET UNSTUCK AND GET GOING

We all have a little "procrastinator" in us-- putting off those things we just don't want to do. But what about the things we DO want to get done and yet, we still find ourselves not doing them.

If that sounds like you, perhaps it's time to get unstuck. Here are 10 things you can do to encourage positive growth:

1. Deciding To Do 'It' And The Willingness To Take Action
2. Purging/Cleansing/Releasing Physical, Mental & Emotional Baggage
3. Daily Meditation And Prayer
4. Balanced Nutrition/Supplements/Herbs
5. Physical Exercise/Yoga/Breath work
6. Goal Setting
7. Personal Accountability Plan
8. Psychological Therapy
9. Personal Development or Success Coaching
10. Books, Cd's, Workshops & Seminars relating to the above

Change can often be difficult. However, with the right tools, change can not only be easy, it can feel really good...and maybe even be fun!

It all starts with step number 1 -- then you can pick and choose which steps suits you next!

Keeping the light on,

Mags

Living a Life of Authenticity

For the past few years, every week or so, I have been going to a bible fellowship with several ladies in my community. It has become a place of comfort for me, as my fellow students and teacher are also my dear friends. We gather with great intentions to open our hearts to God, to seek out personal healing and to, perhaps, marvel in a moment of peace from our all too hectic lives.

Prayer may begin our gathering or end us as we depart; both are equally a blessing. Sometimes we chatter for an hour about life, our kids, our husbands…even political subjects, of which, we all do not agree. Nevertheless, our fellowship is always a treasured joy simply because we unite as one in friendship and Light.

Kathleen--who graciously opens her home, offers warming tea on cold days and a spectacular view of Northport’s harbor on warm days--is always prepared with a new tidbit of insight or higher Truth. Even if she did not formally prepare, she spontaneously follows the lead of Spirit by gracing us with her soft, passionate voice as loving words gently flow from her lips. We always leave feeling uplifted; changed from when we arrived. We come with open hearts and leave with them filled.

This year we decided to follow a teaching from a book called “The Life Model, Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You”. As we began reading, it occurred to me that it may be the most important lesson of the year; especially in these changing times.

The introduction reads, “The Life Model is not just a theory, it is a model...it does not just talk about growing, it gives you practical steps on how to mature...it does not just promote recovery, it identifies specific ways to heal traumas. And lastly, it does not offer casual reading, it challenges you to change and grow and be the person that God designed you to be.”

And who are we designed to be? Simply stated, “We are to be whole.”

Over the next few months, we will be taking our time reading each chapter. Not just to digest its words of wisdom, but more importantly, to deliberately apply this wisdom to our daily lives. For me, as a student who is also a teacher, I will joyfully share its profound message with those who are willing to open their hearts and live a life of authenticity.

In light, always,

Mags

Recognizing Life Purpose

As we kick off 2009, I thought I would share an affirmation meditation written by one of my favorite spiritual well-being teachers, Orin and DaBen:

Recognizing Life Purpose

With each breath in I affirm I have a life purpose.

With each breath out I send my purpose out to the world,

where it may manifest in my life.

This continues automatically, as I breathe in and out.

I now release other people's pictures

of what I should do or accomplish with my life.

I know what I love to do.

I affirm that I can do what I love,

knowing that as I do I am living my life purpose.

I now know what to do that brings me joy.

I affirm that I can do what brings me joy,

knowing that as I do I am living my life purpose.

I decide to do what is for my highest good,

knowing that as I do it serves the higher good of others

and is part of living my life purpose.

I fulfill my life purpose in every action I take.

I follow my heart and my joy.

I release everything in my life that is not part of my life purpose.

Today I take the time to listen to what my heart is telling me.

I ask myself,"What would I love to do today,

that will bring me joy, that will serve my higher good?"

I think of one thing I can do today that is my life purpose

because it fills my heart with joy and love,

and because it serves my higher good.

I make a picture of doing it and carry out this thought with action.
I am the captain of my ship,

and I am guiding my ship exactly where I want it to go.

I am now creating my ideal life

as I find and live my higher purpose.

As we take responsiblility for our own joy, as we live life from a place of purpose, may we all find the peace and harmony that is our divine right.

Blessings for the New Year and beyond,

Mags

Keep the CHANGE!

"If you want something to change, change something!"

If change is possible, why does it seem like one of those insurmountable obstacles? We dream our dreams. We imagine the possibilities of what could be. Yet, we stay in the same place, doing the same things, and wonder why change seems so impossible.

Is it fear? Is it complacency? Is it laziness? Or is it something more? What keeps us in a place of discomfort instead choosing something comfortable? Maybe it is because we get comfortable with the discomfort. The same old, same old feels more comfortable than the different new, different new. Change, even if it is what we want, feels strange. The numb sensation of the unknown can stop us in our tracks like a deer in headlights. We want to move; actually every part of our being is screaming MOVE! Only the body, and our life, stays in the same place, stiff and rigid.

In choosing 'no action', we suddenly realize that change is happening whether we do something about it or not. Most times, it is not the change we would have intended. Like the deer frozen in the road before being pummeled by the tractor trailer, life is moving at you fast so you need to be ready to move swiftly. It's about being flexible and being willing to 'take action'.

KEEP THE CHANGE... DUMP THE EXCUSES!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Do something different. Alter your course. Shift your mind. See a new perspective. Become transformed. Take a leap of faith!

Change something. Who knows? You might just save your life!

Keeping the light on,

Mags

Attitude ISN'T Everything!

Hey! Is anyone out there? Not a creature was stirring, not even my "mouse"! Forgive me, but it has been nearly 5 months since my last blog. I am happy to share once again...

In finally getting to one of John Maxwell's books, The Difference Maker, I was surprised when I read him saying that "attitude isn't everything." Maxwell admits that there was a time in his life that he truly believed it was. "If you believe, you can achieve!" In his subsequent years of experience, however, what he realized was that one needed a bit more than just a dream to succeed. An positive attitude of perseverance was certainly a difference maker, but what he discovered was the real clincher for reaching your goals --"SKILLS." It was concrete know-how, along with wishful thinking that was the key to success.

Your attitude is like Chef Emeril Lagasse secret "BAM!" spice up; your attitude may be the difference maker in bumping up your outcome, but first you need a solid recipe, all the right ingredients, formative training, a bit of talent along with practice, practice, practice before you can achieve stardom!

We are eternal beings ever expanding... From a spiritual perspective "if you believe, you CAN achieve!" But in a physical reality, you need to do the WORK! LEARN as you go. Your life becomes the vision only by participating in the unfolding of it. Do what you love, love what you do. Your attitude isn't everything, but I do believe, like Maxwell, it is "the difference maker!"

Make everyday an opportunity to master your unique skills and gifts! Then "BAM" them up a notch with an attitude of faith and optimism!

MagsJOY

Humanity Ascending

I am sharing with you here the beginning of something wonderful that will bring you into a new state of understanding about who you are and where you are going. Not alone, but together with all of humankind. Watch the first espisode:

Humanity Ascending

HUMANITY ASCENDING:
A New Way Through Together

Humanity Ascending is a groundbreaking documentary series featuring author, futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard. In this transformational series each DVD presents vital elements to awaken the codes for our own conscious evolution and offers direction, meaning and a vision toward our birth as a new humanity.

OUR STORY: The Untold History of Humanity As Seen Through Evolutionary Eyes, the first DVD in the Humanity Ascending Series, spans the history of the evolutionary journey of our species from the big bang to current times, where we find ourselves precariously standing at the edge of conscious evolution or self-destruction. Our story is seen through evolutionary eyes as the unfoldment of a fourteen billion year journey of transformation, now pressing us forward to give birth within ourselves to a universal human and a universal humanity capable of coevolving with nature and cocreating with spirit. Our storyteller, Barbara Marx Hubbard, provides the unique perspective of viewing our history through what she terms as “evolutionary eyes” as the unfoldment of a fourteen billion year journey of transformation that is now pressing us forward to give birth to a new, never before seen, universal humanity. This compelling vision of hope sees us at an evolutionary edge where the old world is dying and the new world is being born.

The Humanity Ascending Series consists of 7 episodes that will be released over the span of 2 years. The 6 remaining episode themes will range from THE EVOLUTION OF SPIRITUALITY and THE EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRACY to VISIONS OF THE FUTURE.

Keeping the light on,
Maggie

No Time or Space

Imagine that you blink and suddenly you are in a different place. In your perspective, time has passed and you have aged, or have at least changed somehow. Perhaps, circumstances have taken place beyond your control and life transpired without your awareness to every detail.

That is where I am at. It may be that the winter months have brought me deep into the root, like a polar bear hibernating until spring. What does the bear dream during the many months as the cold plummets and the winds blow? Does he experience the warmth of the sun in some faraway galaxy? I can only imagine that he would choose the most delicious and joyous experience while he slumbers time away.

It is not that I am sleeping all day. On the contrary, I am a night owl and stay up late and then in the morning I awake by 7am. I do mediate sometime between 8:15 and 10:00 am. There is definitely a period in which I choose to drift to another reality. One that is sometimes void, with no recall. Other times, it is filled with color or even a dramatic storyline.The point is, sometimes it is necessary to slip away into the blissful world of no time and space. Just being. No agenda. Maybe it's for 10 minutes out of the "American" way of doing. Or you might allow the connection to the past or the future leave you for what seems like forever as you slip into a state of stillness that is unexplainable, but utterly refreshing. Being in the now!

In the world of time and space, my last blog was December 11, 2007. As my mind cleared from the lifting of a blinding fog that had swept over me, it is now February 14, 2008. It is the day for love. I am awaking from my transformational nap, if only for brief stint, on the day for love. It comes after the death of my sister, and the loss of several dear souls that brought joy to this earth. They, like me in my dreams, now live in no time or space. Or, as some call it, heaven.

And that, I am discovering, is where the power is. The ability to be free. Unlimited to the boundaries of this physical plain. Creating nothing but heavenly delights! Ahhh! But the wonderful secret is this: we can do it without leaving our human reality. It is coming to a time when millions around the globe are awakening to this truth; not from a winter escape, but from an unconscious cloud of darkness. We are reaching for the silver lining and suddenly it is there for us to grab hold of. It is not wishful thinking, but a fact that we are capable of making our dreams come true.

In reading The Field, by Lynne McTaggart, it is now becoming accepted from the scientific community (not that that determines a definative perspective) that we are finally discovering there is truly a source of infinite potential. It is not new, but ancient. Oh, we know it by many names. It should be more accurately described as "eternal ."

The truth is, we are, at every moment, creating our reality, all from a field of unlimited possibilities.

If you ever wondered if there is more, there is. And it is revealed to you when you consider life through a window of light.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's to love,

Mags