Joy Connection » Law of Attraction

What Brings You Joy?

Cathy — Sun, 16 May 2010 02:47:01 +0000

Most people would love to feel more delight, more connection. But where is it?

It’s hard to find the time to do things we enjoy, there are bills to pay, work, kids, commitments. It can feel like you never quite get caught up enough to tune into the wonder of life. Or to take care of the blocks and fears that may get in the way of experiencing life the way you want to.

For a long time, I lived a waiting game. I knew I would be able to enjoy life when I was slender and in perfect shape, my house was clean, and all my bills were paid. When I didn’t feel so rushed and out of sorts. When I fell in love. My life was far from miserable, but I wasn’t really being in the moment because I was so focused on that future time when everything would fall in place and I would LIKE my life.

There are still days when I get caught up in my to-do list. When I don’t have time to catch my breath. But I’ve been allowing more joy in my life, finding myself more present and really, much happier!

How? I learned about tapping and I started releasing some unhelpful decisions I made years ago. Like the one that said I could be happy when I was perfect. And the one that said enjoying activities took too much time.

If you would like to be more present, and enjoy even routine tasks (it makes them fun and lots easier!), let’s do some tapping!

Karate chop: Even though I’ve been too busy to enjoy what I’m doing, I’m open to being more present and noticing the small joys in life.

Even though life doesn’t seem very joyful, and I feel disappointed and cheated, what if enjoyment is all around me?

Even though I decided I had to earn my enjoyment by getting things done, what if joy is all around, just like air and sunshine, and I just need to tune in?

Top of the Head: Where is my enjoyment?!
Eyebrow: I’ve been working so hard to be worthy.
Side of the Eye: And I’m tired!
Under the Eye: I never get what I want.
Under the Nose: When is it my turn?
Chin: When do I get to feel good?
Collarbone: Do I deserve it?
Under the Arm: What do I need to do?

Top of the Head: Maybe I don’t need to do anything…
Eyebrow: Except allow it?
Side of the Eye: That would be too easy.
Under the Eye: And really hard!
Under the Nose: I haven’t practiced that.
Chin: Can I let it in?
Collarbone: What if I can?
Under the Arm: What if I don’t have to wait?

Top of the Head: What if I could notice my breathing,
Eyebrow: and enjoy the feeling of air moving in and out of my body?
Side of the Eye: Could I find delight in washing a dish,
Under the Eye: with warm soapy water?
Under the Nose: Notice my capable hands taking care of this for me?
Chin: It needs to be done anyway.
Collarbone: Why can’t I enjoy it?
Under the Arm: What if I can start feeling joy now?

Take a deep breath, and notice what you’re feeling. If you feel tension or fear in any part of your body, you may have just found a block to joy. Congratulations! I know blocks aren’t fun, but until we know they’re there, it’s hard to release them!

You may find it helpful to write down the sensation, and any emotions or beliefs that are associated with it (Just ask yourself, what is this feeling about, and listen for an answer), so you can tap on it. Or tap with this again to bring up those feelings when you have time to spend a few more minutes helping yourself.

I don’t know about you, but when I enjoy what I’m doing, I have more energy, I’m more creative, and I feel free.

Finding a Way to Feel Joy…

Cathy — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:56:37 +0000

By Carol Look, EFT Master

The Law of Attraction works all the time. To oversimplify this principle: if you focus on lack, you will get more lack, if you focus on abundance, you will open the door to attracting more abundance. The easy part for us is that this “law” leaves us with one simple job — to find a way to focus on joy, regardless of negative situations that may be circulating through our lives. The more we focus on joy, the higher our vibration; the higher our vibration, the more abundance we attract into our lives.

Does this mean we should be in denial about reality? No, it just means that it is within our power to decide how much time we spend focusing on challenges that bother us, situations we are powerless over, or issues that make us optimistic and happy. We get to choose…

Perhaps like many people these days, you may be worried about your financial situation, the mortgage payments or how you will be able to afford your children’s education. The worries may all be valid…but it’s up to you to make time to focus on what is going well.

Perhaps you have some troubles at home with your kids or in your relationship. It may seem factual to you – your teenager is getting into trouble and you should do something about it… but it’s also up to you to find time to write your gratitude list and focus on joy in your life.

We can’t control other people or our government, we can’t control our friends or adversaries, so why don’t we start controlling what we can — our focus on joy — and use this as a way to invite the Law of Attraction to partner with us to bring us what we want in our lives? Remember, the higher your vibration, the more clear and pure your positive signal is to the Universe. When your signal is clear, the Universe can ”hear” you and deliver what you want into your life.

Try the EFT setup phrases below to refocus your energy…

EFT SETUP PHRASES:

The EFT SETUP Phrases for this topic are as follows:

While tapping the karate chop spot on either hand, repeat these phrases out loud, (or change the words to fit your exact situation).

“Even though I can’t help focusing on my problems, I deeply and completely accept all of me and my feelings.”

“Even though I have a bad habit of worrying about what’s wrong, I choose to make some new positive habits.”

“Even though I seem pulled towards my problems, I’m willing to start focusing on joy now.”

I have indicated where to tap while saying each of the phrases below. You may repeat the positive round more than once if you wish.

***Now for the phrases that focus on the problem***

Eyebrow: “I keep focusing on my problems.”
Side of Eye: “It’s one of my bad habits.”
Under Eye: “I want to focus on joy but I can’t.”
Nose: “I have this habit of focusing on negativity.”
Chin: “I have a lot of troubles right now.”
Collarbone: “I don’t know how to change my focus.”
Under Arm: “There is so much to worry about.”
Head: “All my worries…”

***Now for the positive focus on the solution***

Eyebrow: “I choose to focus on joy.”
Side of Eye: “I want to feel joyful.”
Under Eye: “But shouldn’t I focus on reality?”
Nose: “I appreciate so much joy in my life.”
Chin: “I love being more positive.”
Collarbone: “I want to focus on joy in my life.”
Under Arm: “I choose to feel joyful.”
Head: “I know just what to focus on to feel joyful…”

Then tap on the following phrases as you complete one more round:

Eyebrow: “I love knowing we all deserve abundance…”
Side of Eye: “I choose to tune into the guidance I am receiving…”
Under Eye: “I appreciate the prosperity in my life…”
Nose: “I love appreciating myself, my friends, my opportunities…”
Chin: “I’m grateful for all the new channels for abundance…”
Collarbone: “I appreciate exactly who I am…”
Under Arm: “I appreciate all the lessons I have learned…”
Head: “I am so grateful for all the prosperity in my life.”

Now focus on the joy you are feeling, and really let it in!

Carol Look is the author of many popular products using the Law of Attraction and EFT. Sign up for her Abundance Newsletter and get her free e-book, Top Ten Tapping Scripts with EFT and Law of Attraction: http://www.attractingabundance.com

What Is The Law of Attraction?

Cathy — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:30:56 +0000

We find the teachings of Abraham (www.Abraham-Hicks.com) a wonderful source of learning and inspiration.

The Law of Attraction states “That which is like unto itself is drawn.” Basically, that means what you focus on, you get more of. What you pay attention to gets bigger… and plays bigger in your life experience. Your conscious and unconscious beliefs determine what joy, abundance, suffering and lack you find in your life.

One of the basic tenets of the Law of Attraction (LoA) is that the universe is a wonderful, abundant, loving place. Any lack we experience is because of our perceptions. If we are open to allowing abundance in our lives, we can receive it. Many of us were raised with beliefs that we must deserve it, work hard for it, there is only a little bit, only other people get good things, etc. As we shift those limiting beliefs, we find our lives becoming richer and full of possibilities. A wonderful resource for shifting those beliefs is Carol Look’s Book on Attracting Financial Abundance.

How do we activate the Law of Attraction?

We don’t need to activate the LoA, that’s really a misnomer. The Law of Attraction is always at work, just like gravity. If we become conscious of the law and understand how it works, as Newton helped us understand why things fall, we can use it much more easily, send a rocket ship to the moon!

We’re talking about being conscious of the Law of Attraction. If we accept that this really is a vibrational universe that responds to the energy and desires we are sending out, then improving our lives is about activating the LoA CONSCIOUSLY with CHOICE. This leads us to purposely improving our vibration and intentionally removing blocks so we can attract what we want in our lives… including the emotional experience of financial abundance. Energy Tapping is a powerful way to change our vibration and release the blocks that keep us from living the life we choose.

So how do I consciously use the Law of Attraction?

As we change our vibration, even slightly, we start attracting different things into our lives. Energy Tapping consciously uses energy. It helps us change our vibration by identifying what is in our way, and releasing it. We can also choose our focus, and be open to seeing things in a more positive light

We can also start noticing the thoughts and beliefs that direct our actions, rather than operating on autopilot. What fears and negative beliefs cause us to reject a friend’s offer of help? Or make us stumble at a job interview we’d really like to go smoothly. As we identify the blocks, some tapping will often shift them out of our way.

What are the steps for Law of Attraction?

Abraham says that there are 3 steps involved in abundance.

1. Asking (and he says we’re already really good at that, we generally know how to wish and dream well).

2. The universe providing (this is not our job, and it happens without any effort on our part, it is done).

3. Allowing what we’ve asked for.

The last step, Allowing, is where people generally have the most trouble. Fears, beliefs about scarcity, and self judgments get in the way. So the biggest problem is allowing what we’ve asked for to come to us. We can change our beliefs and focus so we can receive what we’ve been asking for. We can tap on our beliefs around Scarcity, and Self-Judgments we have about abundance.

One of the misconceptions about LoA is that we must never look at anything bad. While, it’s true that focusing what is going good in our lives helps our vibration, it’s okay to acknowledge “I am where I am“. Especially since looking at ourselves objectively allows us to notice what we’d like to change.

In other words, it is not so helpful to dwell on everything “wrong” or possibly bad in your life. When we focus on all the things that are bad, we lower our vibration, and the universe sends us more to match what we’re sending out. Notice where you are, and what you’d like to change. Then tap on the issues that are holding you back, and move your focus to what is going right in your life.

I remember one person sharing, that when she first started this process she was so sick and miserable, the only good thing she could find in her life was the pretty color of her bedspread. By focusing on the color, how it made her feel and her gratitude for that one positive aspect, she shifted her vibration. As we move old negative blocks out of the way, it becomes easier and easier to notice the beauty and joy all around us. Tapping on the positive can help that trend.

Denial of what is going on doesn’t work. The more we resist a thought or feeling, the more energy we give it. And denial is frightening- if you can’t even look at what you fear, your mind thinks that it’s too big to deal with. If a fear or belief is in your way, stop, look and shift it. And continue practicing noticing the good things that are going on.

What will happen when I start intentionally using LoA?

Your deliberate effort to tell a new story will establish a new pattern of thought, providing you with a new point of attraction from your present, about your past, and into your future. The simple effort of looking for positive aspects will set a new vibrational tone that will begin the immediate attraction of thoughts, people, circumstances, and things that are pleasing to you.

Am I bad if bad things happen?

Accepting that we are the prime creators in our own lives is very empowering. But some people use this as a reason to beat themselves up if they have a negative experience. What you are manifesting is SIMPLY a vibrational indicator… not blame or something to beat yourself up about. If the gas gauge on your car were empty, you wouldn’t ignore it, or beat yourself up about it. You wouldn’t plaster a smiley face sticker over it and hope that everything will be ok. You would notice it, and do something about it (go to the gas station and fill it up). If you find less pleasing events occurring in your life, stop and notice what might be attracting them, and do some tapping!

How do I change my focus?

There are different levels of changing focus and our direction of vibration for Law of Attraction.

The first one doesn’t really work, but many people who watch “The Secret” try this. It’s called resisting. Don’t think about the bad stuff, ignore it with all your might!!! It doesn’t actually work. If someone tells you, “don’t think of pink elephant in center of room”, you would immediately be very aware of it. If you try not to think about your right knee, you immediately focus on it. Whatever we are resisting, we are still focusing on. We are still vibrating at the lower energy.

We can change focus. This is a shorter term fix, but it keeps us from wallowing in the mud. Something like, “Even though I missed my flight (acknowledging what happened), I was able to get another in an hour, and I can relax and talk to my friend on the phone in the meantime. It’s not the end of the world!” Even when something is going “wrong” we can focus on what is going right, appreciate, radiate love for someone, to someone. Or at least switch to NEUTRAL with a simple tapping-breathing exercise. And then as soon as possible, stop beating the drum of the negative experience. How do we tell the difference between processing negative experiences and beating the drum? Notice if the negative energy getting more intense with the retelling? Or less? If it’s intensifying, we’re probably dwelling on it, rather than processing it out.

The last way to change our focus involves changing our conscious and unconscious beliefs using tapping or other techniques. Our focus will naturally change as we release blocks and old beliefs. To do this, we identify the belief or fear that is coming up and drawing our attention to the negative. It often helps to think back to where we learned that energy, perhaps it was a parent or teacher telling us the “rule” or an incident that we interpreted to mean that. Then we can tap on it, and reframe the believe into something more useful and productive for our wellbeing.

Depending on the situation you’re in when you notice a limiting belief (if you’re in the middle of meeting, you probably can’t start tapping on an intense issue) choose which level of change is appropriate. Take notes on what’s coming up if possible, and tap when you can.

Why don’t we manifest our desires immediately?

If this is an abundant universe that is responsive to what I want, why do I have to wait to get what I’m asking for? Abraham mentions that there is a delay in manifesting, with good reason. If we were manifesting every thought and passing desire, it would be a strange life. Very discontinuous. We’d be eating a bowl of ice cream and it would start changing from chocolate to strawberry to mint.

The universe seems to give us time to “try things on” in our minds, and if we keep asking, then it can arrive in our lives. Our tastes, our preferences, change ALL the time. Manifesting slows down the flow IN PHYSICAL, yet we can savor the vibrational essence of our desires immediately. Once we manifest something (like a relationship that is a match to us at the time), we want to explore that, and it can slow down our movement toward who we want to be.

How do we claim abundance NOW?

At some point, we make a decision. We decide that abundance exists. That there is evidence that the universe is abundant. We make a choice to claim joint ownership in the abundance in the world AS IT IS.

“I acknowledge those things that are abundant, right here, right now.”

By tuning our focus to what is good in our lives, we can shift VIBRATIONALLY from miserable to okay, then from okay to pretty good. And when we’re in a vibrational place of “okay,” we’re much more open to other options that we couldn’t remotely see when we were miserable. It’s much harder to notice ways we can improve our lives when we’re spending all our energy and time complaining and noticing what’s going wrong.

Birds don’t own the seeds in the field, and they don’t have a bank account with money to buy more, but they sing and celebrate and really enjoy the seeds and worms that are a part of their life! If we can appreciate something we spent a few dollars on, that someone created for us, or we created for ourselves, that is abundance.

Practice celebrating! And tap on any fears that come up about not having enough security or safety. If we are fearful, we will not feel safe even if we have lots of money in the bank, a wonderful partner, a healthy body or a great house. Instead, we’ll be fearing, “What if the bank crashes!!?!?”, “What if I get sick and need more money?”, “What if he leaves me”, “What if it’s not enough???” Many people say “I will allow myself to feel abundant when ____.” (When I have a million dollars, for example). If you haven’t practiced feeling abundant along the way, you probably won’t find the FEELING of ABUNDANCE when the million dollars shows up, or it will be a fleeting experience. You might suddenly realize you need 10 million to really feel secure.

What do I do?

To allow more abundance in your life,
- Notice what is blocking you (fears, beliefs, rules) and tap on them.
- Spend time appreciating and feeling grateful for what is in your life that feels good.
- Be gentle with yourself, realize this is a process, and you will get better and better at it as you practice!

Mining the moment for something that feels good, something to appreciate, something to savor, something to take in, that’s what your moments are about. They’re not about justifying your existence. It’s justified. You exist. It’s not about proving your worthiness. It’s done. You’re worthy. It’s not about achieving success. You never get it done. It’s about “How much can this moment deliver to me”? And some of you like them fast, some of you like them slow. No one’s taking score. You get to choose. The only measurement is between my desire and my allowing. And your emotions tell you everything about that.
Abraham-Hicks, April 20th, 2002

Law of Attraction

Cathy — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:18:24 +0000

Finding a balance: being positive does not mean ignoring reality

Abe uses an analogy of a gas gauge. Slapping a smiley face sticker over the gas gauge when it’s pointing to empty will not help us flow to abundance. Activating the Law of Attraction to bring us abundance of any kind (love, money, sucess) is not about ignoring reality. That’s rather like holding a beach ball under water- it takes time, focus and energy, and it gets tiring after awhile!

Sticking with Abe’s analogy of the gas gauge, let’s explore this:

Say we’re stuck on the side of the road, out of gas. Slapping a happy sticker over the gas gauge is not going to get us anywhere. It isn’t going to get the tank filled or get us a ride. Pretending with all our might that we’re at our destination already won’t force that to happen. If someone stopped and offered a ride, would you say “no thanks, I am focusing on the tank being full and I’m going to sit here until it fills up”??

Getting out of the car and stomping and swearing and kicking the car won’t do much to help either (though it might entertain someone passing by, they may decide it isn’t safe to stop and help an insane person…).

We’re blessed because we have tapping. We can tap on any panic or anger or blame that’s coming up, acknowlege them and release them, so we can make calm and connected decisions. We can ask for and listen to what guidance comes.

We can make a phone call to AAA or a friend if we have a cell phone. We can look around to see if there is someplace we can get help. If neither is an option (say we’re out of cell range and there aren’t any houses or businesses nearby), we can put the hood up so people know we need help. We can decide if it feels right to try walking forward or going back. So we are looking at the current reality – but not DWELLING on the negative. We are looking for openings, for solutions.

Say that the best decision seems to be to wait until someone sends help. We can do some tapping asking the universe to help us, and to remove whatever stress might be coming up. At this point, staying focused on the problem isn’t really helpful. We have looked squarely at the issue, tapped to get to a calm centered place and to ask for guidance and help. We’ve taken what actions we can reasonably take. So instead of staying focused on the problem, we can draw our attention to the positive around us. We can feel how helpful it is that we have tapping to help with the emotions, be grateful that we remembered to tap, notice how comfy the car seat is (much better than sitting in a rocky dusty anthill on the side of the road). The breeze might be nice, getting some sun and being outdoors can be enjoyable. We can contemplate possible good solutions to help arriving, notice how we feel when we connect with the energy of it happening, without requiring that the universe deliver it just in that manner. Our vibration is at least neutral, and maybe even calmly content?! We have some nice down time to be by ourselves, enjoying the day and our own company. The universe can feel that openness and happiness. And our intention and willingness that a wonderful easy solution manifest. We are also willing to do what feels right to help that along.

Compare that to a person who is stuck in the negative. Reacting out of panic. Anger. Gloom and doom. 1) It is much harder to make good decisions from that place, and 2) we aren’t enjoying life or very open to possibilities. Even if both people had to wait the same amount of time for a tow truck, whose body feels light and relaxed, and whose is stressed, exhausted and ill? Who has energy to complete the journey in a safe and fun way? And feels pretty good about themselves?

This applies to emotional and physical pain as well. We don’t have to do it all at once- either. When the pain is long standing and based on deeply held beliefs and traumas, we often can’t tap it away in a few rounds. So if we set aside some time for us, each day or as feels right to our body, to look squarely at where we are. Then tap on the emotions around it and any underlying memories and traumas. We can tap for guidance and take the actions we feel drawn to do- get a massage, get a coaching session, take a nap, journal, mediate- whatever. Then we can turn it over to the universe and appreciate what is going good in our life rather than dwelling on the pain. (We do know that can be very difficult when the pain is intense- we’re not saying you have to walk around with a smile on your face all the time, but most people have something they can appreciate, even if it’s that the pain is a bit less right now, and the color of the curtains in the sun is rather pretty.) Finding that balance is not always graceful or smooth- but following body guidance and taking things in baby steps makes it easier. And practice helps a lot. Sometimes it can help to ask “is there anything I can do in this moment to help?”. It might be as simple as taking a deep breath, noticing source energy around you loving you, or just tuning into your body.

If you want help with this process, the group coaching program at Thriving Now may be a good fit. For more information: