Let Go to Grow Your Business (and Your Life)

Looking forward to your insights today, Kimberly! Very honored to have you here.

Good morning soul-filled people! I'm delighted to be blogging with you today. I just finished my morning meditation/prayer rituals…will be heading out soon to take my girls to school. One of the things I'll be focusing on letting go of this morning is control (when I try to hold on to that illusion, it complicates my life to no end!) Where do YOU need to let go to grow? How can I help you? Post your question below by clicking on “comments.” And by the way, Heather Gray, the author of this blog, is at the hospital today with her Dad, Evan. He's having heart valve replacement this morning. So please send prayers and healing to Evan, Heather & their whole family! Blessings, Kimberly

(((({Prays))))) and (((((HUGS)))) for Heather and her family.

Kimberly,
There are events, feeling and emotions from the past that I'm having to let go of everyday as I restart a new life after a marriage of 20+ years. A new business, relocating, new friends and dating. All which are welcomed and exciting.
I feel like I”m living in a gap – inbetween, what was and what is to come. The possibilities ahead feel so great, that I feel like I'd like to fastfoward that a bit! However when that happens I realize that I'm missing a lesson. The now. Been working on slowing the process down and being patience with myself.

The Law of Least Effort has been very helpful. Thanks for the tips on mediation and mantrams – that has really helped. I'm learning to stay in the present and not move ahead to quickly. Business can progress, me personally need to slow down.

Thanks for hosting today.
Patty

Hello Kim (and Heather) – your message and post in my inbox today is rather timely. I was planning to sit down today and get focused on what among the many rivulets I've poured water into will be the one to divert my efforts into. But perhaps I need a new vessel? As you know, I love water imagery and actual.

It really is clear that I need to let go of what has gone before. Actually, it does seem that I recognize this since I took an action towards it yesterday by ordering a Release Thought Forms flower remedies blend. The description itself was a good summary:

Five single flower essences for getting unattached to old habits and moving in the flow of the here-and-now, including Buckwheat (breaking old habits), Crimson Rose (being in the here and now), Pussytoes (surrender), Clover (acceptance of what IS), and Fireweed (releasing stuck vitality).

And yet, it will take more than flower remedies … responding to the vibration of them and allowing that to move me forward … your thoughts?

I just lost my job and am starting into something very new to me that is a leap of faith. I have found I cannot seem to get the resume redone and make calls for interviews at all. I am so resistant to this idea that I am very scared for my future. This company recommends working a full time job before going out on your own. I have not had that choice. The new company will allow me to help others in a positive way. It may take a while to build up, however. Any words of encouragement?

Patty I am really excited for you…living in the GAP–that is a very powerful place to be. Your word choice is interesting because the gap is also the place of magic. When you can step into the Gap moment to moment…the Gap between who you've been and who you're becoming; the Gap between thoughts; the Gap between the worlds, that is where you have the power to consciously create.

I am also in the process of letting go and creating something new on many levels myself…in my business, the ways I create income and also in regard to my daughter Bridget, who will be undergoing heart surgery in a few weeks. Recently I was meditating on future possibilities for Bridget and I saw the possibility leading to huge transformation in her health being tied to a thread that I could only access through SLOWING DOWN (like you!)

So I'm doing a lot of breathing, stopping, retraining my brain. What I already know is how to be a super efficient multi-tasker…so slowing down and waiting for moment to moment inspiration involves becoming someone entirely different than I've been.

And I think that's really the key to letting go and creating a magnificent new reality: actually becoming a new person, breath by breath, moment by moment.

Time is an illusion, so remember as you're tapping into those “future” possibilities that they already exist for you on a vibrational level. Let yourself enjoy them and revel in how conscious you're being in creating your reality!

Blessings,

Sulis so wonderful to connect with you here!

I appreciate your reference to releasing old thought forms. I just finished reading the book “Evolving Your Brain,” which explains in great detail how our reality is created via the interaction between our consciousness, our neural pathways and our internal chemical reactions…it really is all about releasing the thought forms that keep us locked in neural pathways that don't serve us anymore! So…the bigger question….how to do it?

Love that you're using flower remedies. I've found those very helpful and I also draw upon essential oils every day. Both of these are helpful in actually shifting the feeling state, which is critical to creating a new reality. It's not enough to visualize or think a new thought…you've got to feel it…your mind needs some sort of feedback to reinforce the new thought patterns (and this is why so many people get stuck in their efforts to release old thought forms…they do affirmations/visualizations/take a new action…and then when they don't get immediate feedback in the physical environment to support the new thoughts & behaviors, they feel badly and decide it “doesn't work.”

So it's critical do raise your vibration by getting your body into the process…take your new thought forms on a walk, swing with them, dance with them, sing with them, swim with them. Pat Tuholske, one of my teachers in Celtic shamanism, talks about “dancing your power animals.” What she means is that getting a message from the Otherworld is only the first step. In order to bring a new reality into being in the physical world, we have to move it through our own bodies and bring our vibrations into alignment with what we've seen.

So I invite you today to begin “dancing” those flower remedies into life. Ask yourself “What is the essence of breaking old habits?” Then, “what is the essence of being in the here and
now?” “What is the essence of surrender?” “What is the essence of accepting what IS?” “What is the essence of releasing stuck vitality?”

As you hold those questions in your field, let each breath, heartbeat, word and step be an answer to those questions. When you don't know the answer, just sit with the question…or, literally, dance with it. Feel how your body answers the question.

You might wish to pick a different question to dance with each day for 5 days, then start over and repeat the process until it feels complete for you.

Thanks for your question Sulis! Blessings, Kimberly

Hi Kim -

What a great format and topic!

Here's my question about letting go: I have an opportunity that is feeling really good and it is unfolding beautifully. (Interestingly enough, this opportunity popped up after a period of really releasing a need to have a specific outcome). However, the more positive signs I receive that the opportunity is going to become a tangible, physical presence in my life, the harder it is to let go. And, when I do let go and just go back to the feeling place, there's this small voice that hangs around and says, “if you don't visualize the specifics, the Universe isn't going to think you're interested anymore.”

As I write that out, I can feel the prick of fear and the sense that I HAVE to have a hand in the control of the outcome, otherwise it will turn out badly.

Can you speak to some ideas or techniques that can be helpful as something specific hovers on the horizon?

Jennifer first let me say congratulations on this new opportunity! And even more importantly, congratulations on dipping into the FEELING that the opportunity is creating for you (which, incidentally, is much more important than the opportunity itself).

Your question is fantastic and as serious as it feels (and I definitely empathize!) I almost laughed when I saw your post because I've seen this exact same pattern in myself over the last couple of days.

What is hitting home for me, more than ever, is that becoming a conscious manifester doesn't mean I have no struggle, resistance or disappointment. Quite the opposite (it seems the deeper I move into this work the more visibility I have on how entrenched some of my old thought patterns are, and sometimes I have to let go again and again and again in one minute!) And I think it's because the ego realizes I'm on to its game, and it is totally freaking out.

On Friday I got a call from my daughter Bridget's heart surgeon's office to move the date of her surgery…again. (it's now May 27). This is the 2nd time the date has been changed, due to some circumstances out of my, or the surgeon's, control.

When the secretary called me, I literally couldn't speak. For a few moments, perhaps she thought I'd hung up the phone. Anyone who knows me probably has difficulty imagining me at a loss for words. After I pulled myself together enough to fumble through the conversation, I completely fell apart.

Several minutes, deep breaths and tears later I began to reflect on what was really happening. Why was I so upset? I've been chanting Sanskrit, praying in Latin, singing in Irish and reading in Hebrew about Bridget's surgery, intensely, for weeks. People all over the world are praying for her. So intellectually I can trust the date change…it feels right.

BUT…my ego was reminded that it is not in control. And frankly, it is pissed. And terrified.

Control is one of the 5 Illusions (the other 4 being Separation, Form, Time and Duality…I'm finishing a book on this right now). And the closer you get to dancing your dreams into reality by letting go, the more your ego is going to intensify its hold on that illusion. The fact that it feels so hard right now means you are on the right path for a big breakthrough. (I know…so what in the world to do in the meantime?)

One of the most common confusions around conscious manifestation is a failure to distinguish between ego desires (and the ego's methods of getting there) with authentic desires (which always materalize via letting go). The desires of the ego and your authentic self MAY be in sync, but if the ego tries to force them into being, they can't take form.

Yes you are creating your own reality…via the design of your SOUL/ESSENTIAL SELF, not your ego. The ego just likes to pretend that it is in control…and who can blame it, because the ego is clueless about the soul. It doesn't see anyone else in charge so it figures it had better take over.

As a conscious manifester, you need to mediate between your Essential Self and your ego.

Imagine your ego as a child. Give her a name. Every time you see her attempting to be the force that brings your vision into being, give her something else to do. Remember how you used to distract your kids when they were toddlers? It's the same thing. Give her a mantram, a breath, a poem, a prayer. Dance around with her. And when that doesn't work, hold her close and tell her you know she's scared. And ask her to trust you that Something much bigger and beautiful than either of you can imagine is in charge of this situation.

Your ego doesn't remember your Source. And she can't see it. It's your job as a conscious adult to gain her trust and ask her to surrender to you (after, of course, you've surrendered to your Source. Again.).

A small child who trusts her Mom would follow her anywhere when she's really scared. So gain the trust of your ego by befriending her. She may never believe that it's ok to let go. But if you show her, again and again, that she can trust you, she'll do it anyway.

Keep breathing! And remember to keep bringing your awareness back to the FEELING that this opportunity is creating in your body. Swim around in it all day!

Blessings, Kimberly

Talking at the boundaries. I love it. And I love your write-up.

I love that the heart of a poet, the mind of a scholar, the soul of a healer turned trial lawyer who had an Existential crisis and more graduate school went out and communed with enough souls and listened and talked with them long enough to embrace becoming an innovative thinking coach. Now that's an innovative path to manifest.

I seem to have taken the poet's heart and dragged it threw the mud. The scholar recorded the characteristics of the mud and debated the quality of it. The business owner went into the wrong field with the wrong ground to raise her green and wondered lost for decades until a raging fire forced her out into the open. But the skies are still grey with the clouds of smoke and my lungs are filled with the soot. . . .And even as I stand coughing and trying to catch my breath, I can see that the field needed to burn because I was too stubborn to follow the map I had been given. As I rest in recovery and my cares have been surrendered to the rainmakers, I seek to be grateful for still being able to breathe. . . .And I can still talk at the boundaries.

Hi Marsha thanks for posting!
My sense is that your difficulty in making calls for the interviews and getting the resume done is coming from the place inside you that has NO INTEREST in working for someone else anymore.

While it is certainly possible that it will take some time to build your new business, don't let that stop you. Time is one of the 5 Illusions (along with Separation, Form, Duality and Control). Your fears around starting this business have to do with it taking to long to bring in money. Let's turn that around.

Go into a possible future where your business is flourishing. Imagine that you are telling someone, or maybe even a large group, the inspirational story of your business. You want to give them hope that a bleak looking situation is not the end. In fact, for you, it was just the beginning! Now, you look back on that day you lost your job as the best thing that ever happened for you. Because, if you hadn't, you wouldn't have started this new business!

Look at all the people you've helped through your business. Some of them have benefitted financially through this new venture (vendors, independent contractors and perhaps employees). Others have benefitted from your products and services. And look at this group of people who've benefitted from hearing the story…they are so inspired, they are going to invest themselves in ventures of their own! And how many people will that benefit?

Flesh out this vision so that it matches the idea you have for your business. How do you feel when you imagine this?

OK. Now, bring that feeling back into this moment. There is only now. This breath. This present. What is that feeling inviting you to do, right now?

Let your best possible future self be your guide and your inspiration, moment to moment.

And please, keep in touch! I'd love to hear about what you create! Blessings, Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,
I have two issues I'd like to hear your comments on:
1) I have some great ideas, but lack the funds/connections to make them happen.
What are your thoughts about balancing surrender/letting go with taking appropriate action–when you're not sure what the best course of action might be?
I look for serendipity and opening doors – but most of the time they don't seem to lead anywhere. Thoughts on getting beyond “stuck”??
2) How to be your “authentic” self when working within a gossipy, judgmental group of people in a small office environment (none of whom ascribe to more universal concepts).
Thanks!

Hi, Kimberly,

LOVE that you're doing this blog day with Heather…you are both amazing!

I have a question for you (and it comes up from a thought-provoking conversation I had with Heather yesterday, so the timing is perfect).

As you know, I'm deep in the BLMG work…so I'm living in reactive mode, moment by moment, and following what I'm being guided to do. Well, what I am feeling guided to do at the moment is totally in the realm of the practical: take specific actions, put a plan together, and figure stuff out (after a period of being in that complete space of unknowing). Heather then asked me if I was trying to fix the hologram…and I immediately started questioning my own guidance.

So I decided to go deeper and see what was there. :- )

I mean, most of what I love about life involves challenges and then taking specific actions based on what I feel moved to do around those challenges. Whether it means figuring out how to set up my kitchen after I move into a new place (which I absolutely LOVE to do), or figuring out how to create a new page on my website (again, love it), or pushing myself past what I think I can do while I'm hiking up a mountain (love it even while I’m gasping for breath), or figuring out how I'm going to fit everything I need into a small RV so I can go travel all over the place (again, love it), or figuring out how to walk again after having a major accident a dozen years ago (didn't love every minute of the pain, but it was one of the major turning points in my life and I'm incredibly grateful – I learned more about myself during that time period than anything prior to that point)…in the end, I was surprised to recognize that I really LIKE having a challenge to 'solve' or work through. It pushes me to be creative and inventive and dig deep into myself.

So here’s my question…how can I live in reactive mode, not focus on ‘fixing’ anything, and still have the experience of working through challenges that come up (or that I create)? Because in the end, it seems to me that everything we do here in our human experience is about ‘fixing’ something, or at least creating something new or simply experiencing the experience, whether it’s taking a shower because we want to be clean, or baking a cake because we want to eat it, or dusting the shelf because it’s dusty and we want it to be clean.

Is it simply about enjoying the process, regardless of the ‘outcome?’

Is that the letting go part? Letting go of how it happens, because sometimes the cake falls, or the shower runs cold water, or the shelf gets dusty again, or someone gets sick, or the business loses money, or the grade isn’t an ‘A’…and enjoying it anyway?

And the same with letting go of the ‘bigger’ things? Like creating a new business you’re excited about, whether it’s wildly successful or falls flat on its face? Or falling in love, even though the relationship doesn’t work out? Simply go through the experience and let go of how it appears to ‘turn out?’

And then start all over again?

Love to hear your thoughts, Kim!

Thanks again, both of you!

Hugs to you both,
Sue

Dear Robin even in your post to me your poet's soul shines through!

I don't know about you, but for me, trying to be grateful doesn't work very well. It comes from a place of thinking I “should” feel a certain way, that other people have been hurt more than me, etc. (and that never makes me feel very good at all…)

Yet when I can let go of how I'm supposed to feel, and surrender to the moment, notice whatever I really am feeling, it brings me into the power of the present. Once there, I can begin releasing the stories that have me feeling stuck and powerless. I can be gentle with myself, think about how I'd like to feel, and then take one small step toward that feeling. Sometimes that step is just one more breath.

Start where you are. Keep breathing. And offer compassion to all the parts of who you are, even the parts that aren't feeling grateful at all.

I appreciate your beauty and brilliance. Blessings, Kimberly

Sulis so wonderful to connect with you here!

I appreciate your reference to releasing old thought forms. I just finished reading the book “Evolving Your Brain,” which explains in great detail how our reality is created via the interaction between our consciousness, our neural pathways and our internal chemical reactions…it really is all about releasing the thought forms that keep us locked in neural pathways that don't serve us anymore! So…the bigger question….how to do it?

Love that you're using flower remedies. I've found those very helpful and I also draw upon essential oils every day. Both of these are helpful in actually shifting the feeling state, which is critical to creating a new reality. It's not enough to visualize or think a new thought…you've got to feel it…your mind needs some sort of feedback to reinforce the new thought patterns (and this is why so many people get stuck in their efforts to release old thought forms…they do affirmations/visualizations/take a new action…and then when they don't get immediate feedback in the physical environment to support the new thoughts & behaviors, they feel badly and decide it “doesn't work.”

So it's critical do raise your vibration by getting your body into the process…take your new thought forms on a walk, swing with them, dance with them, sing with them, swim with them. Pat Tuholske, one of my teachers in Celtic shamanism, talks about “dancing your power animals.” What she means is that getting a message from the Otherworld is only the first step. In order to bring a new reality into being in the physical world, we have to move it through our own bodies and bring our vibrations into alignment with what we've seen.

So I invite you today to begin “dancing” those flower remedies into life. Ask yourself “What is the essence of breaking old habits?” Then, “what is the essence of being in the here and
now?” “What is the essence of surrender?” “What is the essence of accepting what IS?” “What is the essence of releasing stuck vitality?”

As you hold those questions in your field, let each breath, heartbeat, word and step be an answer to those questions. When you don't know the answer, just sit with the question…or, literally, dance with it. Feel how your body answers the question.

You might wish to pick a different question to dance with each day for 5 days, then start over and repeat the process until it feels complete for you.

Thanks for your question Sulis! Blessings, Kimberly

I love what I do, communicating with animals and nature for over 20 years. It has totally transformed my life! It has also taken me this long on my spiritual path to recognize my own beauty and brilliance and I do so more and more every day. I realize I have played small forever and I have a much larger role to play. I need to value myself more and the work I do! Like I coaching others ! Yet I gave away a service in my business for free or donations and am now transforming this into a full time business, because it offers people more than I had ever imagined. I give people assistance with end of life issues with their animal friends. People often spend years and even decades carrying around guilt, wondering if they made the right decisions. Did they wait too long, did they assist them too early, did their animal friend want assistance or want to go on their own. Did they dog want more surgery or not? Were they in pain.

With my work I offer peace of mind in all those areas. The person can know what their beloved animal friend is feeling, if they are in pain, do they want assistance or not, and the the time is right, etc.. Yet I told Heather I find it difficult to just step out now and charge what my services are worth to people. It is time to honor the work I do and ask a much higher fee than I have done before. Especially when some clients are used to receiving for free. Any suggestions on how to do this? Thanks in advance for the gift of your wisdom! ! Hugs of Love & Appreciation! Morgine

Gillian these are both great questions.

Let's deal with #2 first…how to be your “authentic” self when working with “gossipy, judgmental people.”

This is a GREAT (and sometimes very challenging!) opportunity for transformation because your reactions to the people around you can pull you right out of where you want to be. Notice I said that it is your reactions to those folks…THEY actually can't shift your energy at all. It is your stories about what being around them means that pushes you into uncomfortable territory.

Up until now you've had a story that you can't grow the way you want to, when surrounded by these people. Your ego is telling you that they are holding you down, holding your back, constricting your energy. That's just a story.

You brought these people into your life to give you visibility on what you want. So make a list of all the feelings you've been having in your current work environment (perhaps irritated, depressed, stuck, angry, frustrated, judged, judgmental, attacked, negative…you get the idea). Now, make a list of how you'd LIKE to feel in your work environment (try: supported, connected, excited, energized, creative, part of a community, enlightened, enlivened, accepted….)

NOW here's the really important part. Take one small step every day toward being the person who is having the experiences you'd like to have. Turn it into a game. Before you go to bed at night, make yourself laugh by running little movies in your mind where you say something enlightening at work, do something unexpected or even have some sort of secret way of celebrating your newfound inner freedom at work.

One of my favorite tools for dealing with challenging situations of any kind is a mantram. Pick a sacred word or phrase and say it silently in your mind, over and over and over. Do it anytime your mind is free….washing dishes, walking to the bathroom at work, standing in the elevator. Then, when you encounter some negativity at the office, repeat it in your mind. No one has to know you are doing it. Go back to your desk and write the mantram over and over on paper. Pages and pages. Take a walk down the hall or around the block, all the while repeating the mantram in your head.

I once worked in an environment that felt really toxic to me. I think that, if I had stayed, I would have developed a serious illness. And yet, something told me that if I didn't get some understanding about what had brought me there, while I was still there, I would just bring that difficult reality with me, wherever I went. So I stopped complaining about how awful it was and started listening to uplifting music all the time. I usually head headphones on while I was working (back then it was a Walkman!) People teased me about it, but I just laughed along with them, knowing all the while that I was creating a protective energy for myself that would allow me to raise my vibration. And I did my best to be the person I wanted to be, regardless of what was happening around me. When I did leave, several people, all of whom I'd experienced as dour, negative, even hostile at times, told me separately that they were sad to see me leaving, that I'd been a light in their darkness. I was really surprised (I NEVER would have guessed it) but it was an important lesson for me. In letting go of my ego's attachment to impressing these people, getting them to like me or even have some understanding of me, and just doing what I needed to do to survive, I actually earned some respect from them (interestingly, they never confessed it until I was leaving!)

Trust that this situation is an important crucible for your inner growth and get everything out of it you can. I always say that pain sucks, and yet, when you're in it, you may as well use it to create something good.

OK, now back to #1. Let go of the story that you lack the funds/connections to make your dreams a reality. You just don't know HOW yet. And the HOW doesn't matter. You don't even need to look for opening doors. Just make time every day to be in the feeling state of your vision. When you do that, consistently, you'll start to notice things happening that feel in alignment with the way you feel when you are imagining your vision. Those are the invitations to move forward. You won't always know where those steps will lead. Trust them anyway. There is no guarantee of the outcome, and you don't need one. Your goals, your visions, are only invitations to become the person you came here to be.

Blessings, Kimberly

Here's to releasing the story! I appreciate the power of your words and thoughts. Blessings, Robin

Oh WOW Sue this is a huge question…but of course it is, with you asking!

OK…here we go.

Just to let people know what we're talking about BLMG stands for “Busting Loose from the Money Game,” a book about how the law of attraction works and a powerful process for being a conscious part of it. I interviewed the author on my radio show, Conscious Manifesting http://www.WebTalkRadio.net/shows/conscious-manifesting.

If I distill your questions to their essence, I them as: How can I release resistance to what IS while still creating what I want? And, if I'm engaged in “problem solving,” is that, by its very nature, a form of resistance? Aren't we here to solve problems and innovate new things because of them? And does releasing attachment to outcome mean that I'm forever “starting over” because I'll never really get what I want?

As I'm writing this I find myself wondering if perhaps not everyone enjoys problem solving as much as you and I do Sue? Are we, perhaps, always creating big problems to solve because we think it is so much fun to have that sort of challenge? Hmmmm…..something to ponder.

So, about whether you were “trying to fix the hologram” I think it's more about your motivation than your actions.

As you describe “fixing the hologram” I think you're talking about an ego reaction of resistance to what is (which is never helpful). So if you were coming from a place of fear and desperation, trying to solve a problem, then I think that's what you'd call fixing the hologram.

If, however, you were dancing with the perceived “problem” as an invitation to create something fun and new, if you were truly responding to an inner prompting, without attachment to outcome, than I'd say you weren't. Only you know how you were feeling inside but based on the languaging you chose I'd guess you were mostly responding to your inner guidance.

I think what is confusing is that most of the time it's not clearly one or the other…usually our feelings are a tangled mix of authentic inner direction and ego freaking out. So the fun (?) is in pulling the threads and figuring out which ones you want to follow.

And I DO think it is all about enjoying the process. We tend to focus on how happy we are going to feel when we are somewhere other than here (we have more money, a better relationship, the problem is solved)…so we forget that the only reason our Essential Selves ever put the “problem” into the hologram in the first place was to invite us to become who we wanted to become.

I find it helpful to ask 2 questions, in any situation:

1) Who do I want to be in this moment?

2) What would that person do, right now?

The answers guide your next step. And if you don't know the answers, you make friends with the uncertainty, and keep breathing.

Blessings, Kimberly PS For anyone else reading this, Sue was a guest on my radio show recently and part 2 of my interview of her is up this week at http://www.WebTalkRadio.net/shows/conscious-manifesting. You can look in the archived shows for part one. We talked about the energy of clutter…it was really powerful!

Thank you for your insightful comments!
Regarding the work environment – I had breast cancer over two years ago, and feel that a supportive environment is critical for me. I am constantly exhausted by dealing with the energies – plus I have a very stressful job! I did decide recently to look for all the good I could find, and act “as if” they were supportive and kind, and to try not to be in a defensive posture (a tightrope, as I tend to be an empath). It has helped, for sure.
Thanks for sharing your own story – and it was great to hear that some of your coworkers actually appreciated you and who you are in the end! I think I'm making great strides with not wanting them to like me, but it can still be very hard to not have the teamwork/cooperation necessary to make my job not only easier, but more fun!

I'll try the mantras – although I am generally too busy to have time to focus on much more than the immediacy of the work at hand. I have been silently blessing them lately – and I also silently acknowledge the perfection that is within them. It's odd, because I don't “dislike” any of them – there's not really any friction – just a general non-acceptance and judgment, more than any other place I have experienced.

Blessings, Gillian

This is more of a comment than question. Just wanted to note how refreshing it is to see this kind of productive dialogue about manifesting good in your life v. the more typical human tendency to complain. Thanks to Kimberly and Heather for their commitment to improving people's lives.

Wishing everyone great insight today,
Susan

Gillian you raise a really important point re: being an empath (I too pick up a lot in my body and it supports me to be very mindful about releasing energy that's not mine!) So, you probably already know these things but a few tips to create energetic/physical support in your environment…

Fill a small beautiful bowl with saltwater in the morning and put it somewhere on your desk or in your office. No one need know what it is for. It will absorb emotional content all day….at day's end, carry it to a sink (or put it in a plastic pitcher if that's easier) and then dump the water down the drain or directly on to the ground, visualizing the water going all the way into the ground and then thanking the earth for transforming that energy.

Also, a few times a day, and definitely before you go inside your own home, release any energy from your body that is not yours into the earth. You might want to put something at your doorway to remind you to do this.

Before you leave the house in the am, pull your energy field close into your body and then check it periodically.

And finally, when you feel others' “stuff” coming at you, no need to defend or resist. Just feel your field becoming like mesh, and their emotions and thought forms as water, flowing right through you.

Blessings and continued health to you, Kimberly

Susan thanks so much! Very nice of you to notice and mirror that back to us! Blessings to you, this day and always, Kimberly

Hi Morgine! What a beautiful gift of loving service you give to the world.

When my beloved feline friend Dante was dying 9 1/2 years ago I consulted an animal psychic and I was so grateful to have done so. She was a real blessing to our family during the time of his transition. So I want to say that what you do IS valuable…I did pay for the work and it was worth every penny.

One thing you can do is send out a letter to your clients about the new way you're structuring your work. Include some testimonials and also describe exactly how it is valuable, as you've done so beautifully above.

Set out your new fee schedule and services in the letter, and have it be for a date sometime in the near future. Offer a great price for anyone who schedules a consultation before that date…it gives people an opportunity to get more of you at a good price, and will create some cash flow. Then STICK to your new fees. You may lose some of your current clients who have been used to getting the work for free…you'll probably also be surprised at how many are delighted to pay you.

If you like, you can write a short personal note or a separate letter to the people you've been servicing for free, explaining that you have realized you can't be the support you want to be in the world if you don't support yourself!

We're not currently living in a world where the village will bring you chickens or soup or beautiful beads for your work, nor is the “village” set up to take care of you during times when you need to devote your energy to personal concerns. It is up to you to create an income for yourself. Most people will understand and appreciate that. Some may not. That's ok.

Be gentle with yourself, bless those who have difficulty adjusting to your new way of being in the world and offer blessings now for all the new clients you will be attracting as you value yourself more! Kimberly

Hello, Kimberly – what I want to ask doesn't seem to want to come out properly. I've been pondering on it a good part of the morning and finally decided to just start typing. So this may get a bit wordy but I will do my best to keep it short. I've seen others here with similar situations to what I am working through at the moment but somehow I still feel the need to ask.

In December of last year my marriage of 14 years ended. I became the sole supporter of my 3 children for reasons more detailed than would probably be useful here, but I felt secure in that role because I had a good paying job with full benefits that I had done for over 10 years, so my life seemed fairly stable. I should have known better, because I was in the process of transforming my life and had known for several years that while my job was a good one, it didn't make me happy.

So in February I manifested the opportunity to redefine myself – I was part of a massive workforce reduction for my company, they deemed my job “unnecessary” even though I was single point of contact for at least 2 clients. I had some fear show up to be cleared and worked through that, and thought I was well on my way. I worked to redo my resume and send it out (with a similar problem to another who posted – I had NO desire at all to redo my resume, I would draw a blank every time I sat to do it…) to find another job, looking more for something to “bridge” the gap between doing what I had been doing for years and defining my own path. I was excited and felt things were really moving finally.

Then about a week ago was my last “steady” paycheck given as part of my severance. I had some issues come up with a friend (this too is part of my “letting go” lesson I'm apparently still working through) and my ex is trying to plan his first visit with the kids, another “letting go” for me. I had a job offer that seemed perfect (so perfect that 4 different recruiters called me abotu the same opportunity) except for the fact that it requires me to drive over an hour each way to get to/from the office – but that is a minor downside for the opportunity it presented. Then Saturday I was about to sign up for a class that would help launch the career I really want for myself, when I looked at my bank account and realized an automatic payment that I thought had been set up hadn't been taken out like it was supposed to be, so my balance was actually lower than what I had thought was there and the funds for the class don't seem to exist any more if I want to pay my other bills right now.

So my question is, after such a quick reversal of the positive energy that was coming in, how do I reverse it back again so I'm once again heading in the direction I was going? I know this is old programs and fear, and some of my life challenge popping up in my face but I feel strongly that I need some support and guidance to get past it, even though I know it isn't as big as it looks from where I'm standing.

I hope that makes sense?

Thank you!
-Amy

Kimberly,

Thank you so much for this. The reminder of the distinction between the Ego and the Essential Self is so helpful. There is a part of me, my Ego no doubt (going to have to discover her name!), that doesn't want to listen to this answer. I want to receive what I want to receive, Essential Self be darned! But even within that declaration is the resistance that keeps what my Essential Self wants at bay.

This was a great reminder to gently hold my Ego with the words of a poem I memorized just for this purpose several months ago. It's out of Eknath Easwaran's book God Makes the Rivers to Flow and originally from Ortha Nan Gaidheal. I've changed Lord to Goddess:

I weave a silence onto my lips.
I weave a silence into my mind.
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions.
I close my eyes to attractions.
I close my heart to temptations.

Calm me, Goddess, as you stilled the storm.
Still me, Goddess, keep me from harm.
Let all tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, Goddess, in your peace.

Blessings to Bridget – I see her perfect heart wrapped in golden light – and I see her dancing her way through Ireland with you this summer!

Much love to you and your whole family,

Jennifer

I really want to sell my business – but so far no takers. Should I expand it instead, into nutrition? I'm trying to live outside my box!
Cindy

Amy thanks for taking time to write it all out…very helpful to see the specifics because I know a LOT of people can relate!

And I'm sitting here wondering….have I EVER confronted an entrenched old pattern without a big apparent challenge right before I thought I'd let it go?

I feel fairly safe in saying: No. Not to my knowledge (or, perhaps the easy ones aren't as memorable?)

It is my experience, and Napoleon Hill, Florence Scovel Shinn write about this as well, that often when we make an internal shift it takes some time for manifested reality to catch up. In fact, it's often more like an intense challenge to see if we are serious about changing. And if you think about it, that makes sense, doesn't it? Because the only way for you to prove to yourself that you are this new person you say you want to become…is to ACT AS IF YOU ARE THAT PERSON…even when appearances that are resulting from your past actions are coming up to challenge you.

Now…here's where a lot of people get confused. What is most important here is the FEELING. So you've got to do whatever you can to get yourself in a place of feeling good when confronted with the manifestations of an old pattern.

Let's get specific now: the money for your class.

The answer is going to be different for you depending on what sorts of feelings come up as you move forward.

For some people, the answer might be: sign up for the class and trust the money to show up. If you can do this in alignment with a belief that all is well, and all is well, and all manner of thing is well…then you're good to go.

But….for a lot of folks, what happens when they act this way is that they are still very scared the money won't show up, so they are unconsciously projecting fear and lack while they've just spent their last money…not a good combo.

So, where does that leave you, if you would be in group #2? With an opportunity to create a new approach to an apparent problem.

Spend some time meditating with the feelings you were going for when you decided to sign up for the class. What's happening in your body? What visions is your mind producing? Now, as you sit in that feeling, ask yourself: what's my next step?

The answer that appears may not make a lot of sense to you. It may or may not have anything to do with the class. It will almost certainly be creative.

Perhaps you'll come up with a way to barter your way into the class. Or something even better will present itself to you as you persevere, day after day, in the FEELINGS that you were aspiring to when you were attracted to that class. Or money will come to you in a totally unexpected way. But you probably won't see the whole solution…just the next step. And you've got to be willing to take it, and learn from it, whether or not it makes any sense.

Blessings, Kimberly

Dear Jennifer, now you have given me a great gift…in reminding me of the prayer from the Eknath Easwaran book. I did not remember that one, and it is exactly what I needed to hear, right now, today. I love how you've adapted it too.

Thanks so much for your prayers and blessings, my dear friend. Love, Kim

Cindy…if you are who I think you are (and I believe you are!!!) then I think you already have your own answer! You told me you kept getting guidance to talk to nutritionists about your biz…perhaps you have done that? My sense is that you won't get any further guidance until you act on the first step you've been given…that is usually how it works.

I know. The ego hates this answer.

Love to you, Kimberly

Thanks Susan! :^)

Wow — great conversation everyone. Kimberly I am loving reading through your amazing advice. And thank you everyone for positive thoughts for my father. He is doing well! In the recovery room and on the mend. They were able to repair instead of replace the heart valve, and though the recovery from surgery won't be fun, it's looking good.

much appreciation to all of you.

Keep the great questions and share's coming!!

love, Heather

LOL – yes, it's me:) I have been talking to nutritionists and there is lots
of potential out there…I'm just not sure it's MY potential. Shouldn't I
have some sort of passion or serious desire to do this?

Heather that is such wonderful news about your Dad! I'm rejoicing with you! Thanks so much for letting us know. And thanks for inviting me to do this today. I'm really enjoying connecting with people here. Love, Kim

Hi everyone I'm heading out soon to pick Bridget up from school and later we'll be going to the gym (she loves the child center there that we call the “play place”) I will definitely be checking in a few more times later today so keep posting! I'll reply later. Thanks to all who have posted such great questions. You help me grow by pushing me to dig deep for answers. Blessings

Excellent thought here, Kimberly, I have some quick reversals as Amy mentioned and it is SO easy to fall into fear in that moment. You speak about focusing on the feeling of the positive energy and bringing THAT to the forefront when a situation is shifting in directions you did not choose. It helps me to physically move around (getting energy flowing) as I embody the positive, if I am sitting down or even lying down, my body feels stagnant, but that's just me. And, sometimes I can't quite get to those positive thoughts right away, leading me to the next thought …

In your response to Robin, earlier, this was very valuable statement for me: “…trying to be grateful doesn't work very well. It comes from a place of thinking I “should” feel a certain way, that other people have been hurt more than me, etc….Yet when I can let go of how I'm supposed to feel, and surrender to the moment, notice whatever I really am feeling, it brings me into the power of the present. Once there, I can begin releasing the stories that have me feeling stuck and powerless. I can be gentle with myself, think about how I'd like to feel, and then take one small step toward that feeling. Sometimes that step is just one more breath.”

That's just it, sometimes all I can give it is one breath, and then another, and then in the relaxation that starts to flow into my body, I eventually start being able to “feel” that positive energy of the dream that I want to create.

Thank you, Kim and thanks to all who have openly shared their questions, I get value from it all!

Liz

So glad to hear that the surgery on your dad was a bit less intrusive, Heather.

Hi Kim and Heather!

Wow, what great posts today! Kim, I'm loving your advice and where you're coming from with your responses and comments. All of your suggestions are such excellent reminders for every situation life presents. Thanks so much for taking your time to share your extraordinary insights!

Heather, such great news about your Dad's surgery today. Thoughts and prayers are with you!

Love, Cherry

Hi Kimberly!

I recently completed a Dale Carnegie Training Course geared for career transitioners and it was terrific and most helpful. But I am trying to decide on which career field I want to concentrate on, as I am no longer very keen on my old career field, financial services.
Also, I am working in a PT seasonal job but am having trouble manifesting the money
I need to conquer debt and also have money to print up new business cards.
Meditation has been more difficult for me in recent weeks, although I have been in good
spirits of late, especially because of my Dale Carnegie course. I need the cards so I can
go to job networking functions. What should I do, and how should I do it?

I feel that my energy and focus are scattering.

Jennifer, thank you for sharing the poem!

Kim, XXOXOOOXOOX to Bridget.

Heather: What a fabulous idea! Thank you.

Thank you! I love your ideas, things I had not considered. Sadly I have about 2000 names in my data base and very very few email addresses. So I assume I can send snail mail to some of my most recent clients and perhaps post something on my blog about the change in fees. I thank you for offering me some New Perspectives. I also enjoy that you have received such help and understand how valuable it can be. Thanks for taking time out today to INSPIRE us as we read through all this wisdom you are sharing!! Endless Appreciation, Morgine

Heather, glad to hear things are looking good for your father. That has been in my thoughts all day since I read about it this morning!

Wow, reading through these posts and Kim's amazing advice, insights and wisdom has my mind spinning (in a good way). There are so many questions here that I resonate with, and so much of what you're saying, Kimberly, feels like it's directed to me personally:)
I especially loved what you said (I am totally paraphrasing) about making friends with our ego – giving her a name, inviting her into a conversation, getting to know her. My ego, I know, just tries to protect me…she really is not TRYING to hold me back. If I don't acknowledge that (and her fears) then I find she takes a stronger hold on my life.
This comes up all the time for me in my work and it's so challenging sometimes to BE the person I want to be and work with the ego who is terrified of what might happen if I allow myself to do that…
On another note (or maybe the same note?), I bought a new car yesterday – a car I've wanted so badly for over a year and a half. This may sound shallow, but it's really not. I wanted this car but because I didn't trust that I could “afford” it (and maybe “deserve” it?), I continued to drive around in a beat up, falling apart car that I neglected completely. Last week, she gave out on me – out of nowhere, the windshield wipers started going and wouldn't stop — ALL DAY, on a bright, beautiful, sunny day. I had to laugh (this was after the front mirror broke off several months ago), because I realized that I had to “let go.” This was really a sign that the more I travelled around in this piece of “crap” (sorry for the language), the more I would convince myself that I “couldn't” make the payments, couldn't afford a new car, and couldn't trust myself to take the next step in my business. (It was also reinforcing an old belief that I “can't” make money and that if I do and if I have “nice things,” something bad would happen).
ANyway, suddenly as I was laughing at the windshield wipers, I just KNEW that I could do it. That I could let go of this old car and these old beliefs. It wasn't even a question or a concern. As we made a decision to buy the car yesterday, my husband expressed concern (“are you sure you can bring in enough to make the payments every month?”) and I was so pleased to FEEL in my gut, absolutely no doubt.
It's not about the car, it's not about the money – it's about my experience of trust in myself. Trust that I will ALLOW myself to take the next steps in my work that have been calling to me; trust that I will let go of some of the old beliefs that have held me back.
I am not sure if this makes sense – I have children fighting over superhero's and swords here…
Thanks Kimberly! Big hug to you and to Bridgett.
And Heather – I am so glad your dad went through the surgery well. My thoughts are with you.

Hi Mark! First off, congratulations on completing that course. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Save the money you're thinking you need to spend on biz cards. You're not sure what you want to do yet, so you don't need them. If you want to go to networking functions, focus on meeting people and establishing relationships with them. Look for ways to help the people you really connect with. Hang on to their info and check in with them. Then, when you are ready to move forward with whatever biz you choose, you'll have their contact info and you can let them know what you are doing.

Set clarity as your manifestation goal for the moment. When you meditate, tap into a feelings of joy, creativity and abundance that comes from sharing your gifts. Then look for opportunities that take you in the direction of those feelings. And enjoy that seasonal job while you're there! You never know what connections you'll make, or skills you'll develop, that will lead to something else. But the real point is: be here now. Enjoy the ride. Blessings, Kimberly

Hello Cherry thanks for the kind words! Hey I just realized I think we are doing an interview sometime in the next week? Was I supposed to be getting you some more information, or all we set? I really look forward to talking to your audience about attracting the relationship they desire! Love to you, Kim

I think your question is a good one…here's what I'd say. The guidance you're getting, from what you've told me, is YOUR inner guidance. So I wouldn't question it. It's not saying that you have to fall in love with nutrition, or even that it will become your business…just to start talking to nutritionists about possibilities for partnering. Take it step by step and see where it takes you. Follow the signs. My sense about this is that there are some fun surprises in store, and you just need to take the first steps and then keep checking in for more guidance. Keep me posted!

Liz thanks so much for your responses. I really like what you said about surrendering to the breath…sometimes it's all you can do…and yet, there is so much power in it! Anything can happen in an instant, and it all starts with being fully present. The breath is a great vehicle, probably the best, for taking us into the moment.

Thank you for the reply. I especially liked this comment of yours “it's often more like an intense challenge to see if we are serious about changing” – that thought shifted my focus, rather than thinking “maybe that wasn't the path I was really supposed to be on” it's more like someone/something wanted to find out if I could be swayed from my path by being “tempted” by familiar old patterns. No matter how non-beneficial those patterns were, they were still comfortable because I already KNOW how it works.

Interesting. Now I have some tools to help me determine if this new path is really where I want to head. Thank you so much for your time and comments!

-Amy

Morgine I would definitely send snail mail, that's actually what I was suggesting, believe it or not. I think it is the most appropriate vehicle for announcing this sort of change, especially for people you've seen in the last 6 months to a year. There is nothing sad at all about 2,000 names! That's an amazing opportunity and you might consider sending at least a postcard to all 2,000. You would be surprised at how little that costs, and if you create a well thought out campaign that highlights the value of what you are doing it could be very fruitful. I would work with Heather though or whoever you are using for business coaching to do a systematic mailing that is tied to a website where they can get more info, and do some sort of follow up, including phone calls to clients you've seen most often and most recently. It is wonderful to connect with clients on the phone (wow…a real live voice…on a phone…what a concept!) I would love to watch what happens for you Morgine please put ME on your mailing list 1324 Clarkson/Clayton Center, Ste. 177, Ellisville MO 63011 and my email is schneider.kimberly@gmail.com Many blessings as you step into your purpose.

Robin and Jennifer hugs to you both! I love you, amazing women!

Karen thanks so much for sharing this story! I can picture the mirror falling off and then the windshield wipers that just keep going on the sunny day (sort of like the monkey minds we can't turn off) and you laughing and I can see your beautiful smile and hear your laughter.

I had a similar experience with a computer….had so much of my money invested in my business and kept putting off getting a new laptop even though I spend such a large percentage of my biz time on my computer and I was lusting after a mac to support some new creative ideas….especially with video…same with an iPhone…

Long story short…found a way to get out of my old phone contract without paying a penalty (that was sweet) and then my old laptop literally fell apart…and I was about to lose all the data so I just had to get the new one! And even tho the mac was a little more, I knew, I just knew, that I needed to get the best tool to support where my business was going. It felt so good! And…I AM creating some new videos and learning great new things with the new technology. It was absolutely the right thing to do.

Congratulations on the new car…and even more…on the deep knowing that you are worth it. Xo ps thanks for the prayers!

Great to have you hear Morgine! I am doing a happy, celebration seeing you write about stepping into a larger role for yourself and valuing your worth (yipee). And as we discussed you can also continue to offer a diversity of prices by offering some lower priced products and even giving away great information too via articles, free reports, etc. All will be part of your amazing Legacy. xoxo

Thank you Liz! He's healing wonderfully. Came out groggy and said “my chest hurts” (LOL) but is now in the 'step down' area and may be home as early as Wed.

woohoo Sue. So glad you are in such a great inquiry (and that I got to be part of instigating it…;^) ) thanks for sharing w/ the community. xox

Thanks so much Amy. He's healing amazingly well. I appreciate your kind words and thoughts. hugs to you.

Ok — I have to ask. What kind of car did you get Karen?!
Can't wait to see what big things this new 'baby' ushers in! oolaala :^)

Thank you Cherry!

Hello dear community! Thank you for the great input and questions today. Without you this event is not possible. So thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation.

Thank you also for so many kind words and thoughts for my father. He is doing great. He's healing well (as well as you can after open heart, valve repair surgery) He's already been moved to the “step down” area a lot sooner than they predicted. And my step mother says he was awake, a bit groggy and commented that “My chest hurts” (LOL) It will be a road of recovery ahead, but very happy that it went as well as it possibly could.

Kimberly — It has been a complete blessing to have you here at the blog today with your amazing advice!! I am very grateful for having you in my life and looking forward to more adventure with you ahead. Maybe Ireland? (http://kimberlyschneider.com/trips )

Heather I am so happy about your Dad! So great to get the update that he is already in the stepdown unit…wow is that fast!

And there are very few things I would love more than to have you with us in Ireland in July! What fun we will have!

Thanks again for this opportunity. It has blessed me in so many ways. xo, K

It is 8:30 central time now and I'm heading for the bedtime ritual with my daughter (which at the moment includes putting our friend Rachel on speaker phone to read Hebrew from the Zohar, focusing on the book of healing…Bridget loves it!)

I think I've responded to all the comments here…if I missed anyone or you get on here after I've unplugged for the night please feel free to email me at schneider.kimberly@gmail.com. You can also find me on facebook at http://facebook.com/kimberlyvschneider And you could always join me (and Heather too?) in Ireland http://www.kimberlyschneider.com/trips

I would love to continue to connecting with all of the new people I've met here today. And thanks to all of my friends from email, Conscious Manifesting radio, FB and LIFE who joined us here! It has been a profound pleasure to respond to these well thought out and profound questions. You've called out the best in me, truly.

Finally, Heather, thanks so much for welcoming me so warmly into your community. What a wonderful group of people you know via Soul Filled Life…a beautiful reflection of you!

Love & Abundant Blessings to all,

Kimberly Schneider
http://www.TheManifestationMaven.com

I got a Toyota Highlander – earth friendly and everything! (Plus it carts around loads of kids:). I love it – it's got a GPS too which is very key to helping me find my way through life

Awesome post and I read right when I needed to hear these words most. The following totally resonated for me:

“Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful vessels for personal growth I’ve ever encountered. It will push you to the limits of who you know yourself to be.”

I've done things in my life that I thought pushed me to my limits but it's nothing compared to being an entrepreneur. It brings up all, and I mean ALL, my stuff. Going to go back and re read this again and again and slowly digest the advice – and then I'll go for a run and I'll breath and exhale and let go.
thank you.