How I Lost 50# Without Even Trying

How I Lost 50# Without Even Trying ©2015 Joan Newcomb

I stopped growing when I was twelve but kept eating. By the time I was 14, I weighed the same as I would when I was 9 months pregnant with each of my kids.

My parents sent me to see a psychologist. He was fat, with greasy hair and dandruff on his shoulders. He gave me a 200 question assessment.  Afterwards he told me I was depressed, because I was overweight.

I have to say I was a little put off. Who was this guy to say *I* was fat?!?! I refused to see him again.

However, I went home and started charting my food. I'd use the 8x11 cardboard inserts from my dad's drycleaned shirts, and with a rule made columns. I'd write down everything I ate, then I'd look up their calorie content.

After a while I developed a routine of eating. I would start the day with a cup of corn flakes and a half cup of skim milk.  In my school lunch bag I would have a large golden delicous apple, a half a head of lettuce, and a can of tab. At dinner I would have whatever the family was eating, I'd just measure it and look up how many calories it was.  Sometimes I'd have a candy bar in the afternoon on the way home from school.

About the same time, I started walking to and from school every day. It was 2 3/4 miles each way. Essentially,  I was walking 5 1/2 miles each day and keeping to a 1,200 calorie diet.

During that time, I had developed a habit of substitution. I'd eat a piece of fruit instead of a cookie. I'd eat toast dry, with no jam. I'd eat salad with no dressing, and vegetables with no butter. And I learned to only drink liquids with no calories, so it was diet soda or black tea or water.

In about six months, I'd lost 50 pounds.

It was so empowering, to have consciously accomplished this body transformation. I felt like I could create my reality any way I wanted to.  And it launched a series of decisions and actions that took me off on my own path, away from family patterns and expectations, to a whole new world of experiences.

Now, I have to say that it was sheer teenaged obsessiveness that gave me the singleminded determination to stay focused for so long.

Puberty and adolescence is such a powerful time. Your physical form is finally almost adult enough for you as Consciousness to fully embody it. You're suddenly flooded with additional awareness, including past life memories when you ruled countries and won wars. But you don't have a driver's license.

Kids need to be acknowledged as Consciousness, they are treasure chests of potential. As parents we just need to step back and let them reveal how capable they really are.

Adults need the same validation. As Consciousness, you are magnificent. What is it that you want to change or transform about yourself and your life? What are the baby steps you need to take to make that happen? Focus on the first steps and the rest will fall into place.

How NOT To Be Tossed and Turned By The Vortex

How NOT to be Tossed And Turned By The Vortex ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

I came across a video of a piece of fabric, dancing in the vortex of a circle of fans.  It looks human, in the way it twists and twirls.  It looks how we feel, as we engage with different energies in this physical realm.

Sometimes we feel buffered about by the varying influences, like a leaf reeling in the wind. We're affected by these circles, our family, our friends, our work environment. Those are the most noticeable ones. But we're also reacting to wider circles, our neighborhood, city, or region. And we resonate with even bigger ones, our religions, political parties, culture, and country.

These energy systems are multidimentional, not only spanning distance, around the globe, but also time. We engaging in historical patterns and responding to ones forming into the future.

But the thing that struck me, as I watched the fabric swirl around, is that it was missing Consciousness. It looked alive, but it wasn't.

When you are feeling tossed and turned by 'Life', your body/personality is the aspect that feels that way.  It's missing it's connection with You.

If that fabric were a dress worn by a dancer, she would be spinning and swaying, but you would notice that she's inwardly anchored, even when her feet aren't on the floor.

Dancers aren't performing random movements, they're enacting choreography. Even if it's improv, they are reflecting years of training.

Staying centered within yourself, You can dance through your various circles without having to participate in the denser emotional aspects of them. You can love your family and friends and not be driven crazy by them. You can maintain professionalism at work regardless of how dysfunctional the culture may be.

When you're grounded into your body, then you are in charge of actions. You can steer your kayak away from whirlpools, out of eddies and into the greater Flow of wellbeing.

You can do this in all sorts of ways. You can practise mindfulness. You can walk barefoot also called 'earthing'. You can visualize an energy connection to the center of the earth, and imagine earth energy flowing up through your feet into your body.

These are techniques that have been around for millennia, for as long as we've been manifesting into bodies on this planet. They are still very effective, but may require 'upgrading' as our Collective vibration increases.

I'm playing with the concept of connecting wirelessly to the planet, and anchoring into key points of the body.  It's a way of being in the planet and not of the planet. It's strong, light, and flexible. If you want to know more, go here.

Play with these ideas this week, see which ones fit for you, and notice how it transforms your experience in the world!

When Good Things Happen To Guilty People

When Good Things Happen To Guilty People ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

There's a book called 'When Bad Things Happen To Good People', which profoundly answers the 'why me' question when terrible things happen.

But I think we're all resolved to bad things happening. The economy's had recent downswings, people have lost their jobs and had to reinvent themselves, divorce statistics are high, and even if your life doesn't have any dramatic events happening in it, there's enough on the news and social media to keep you comfortably miserable.

What we aren't prepared to deal with is when good things happen. When you watch TV and people win the lottery or get a wonderful surprise, they burst into tears. It's painful when good things happen. 

I've seen people become successful in their businesses, hit the six (or seven) figure mark, and they are extremely uncomfortable. It's almost like survivor's guilt. Why me, when other people are struggling?

Why not you?

You can hear other's thoughts. Who are you to have success? Who are you to be happy? Who are you to be in love? Who are you to be rich?

We're no longer matching the crowd. We're stepping up and beyond the energy of deprivation and lack. 

However, these are the thoughts that hold you back, that keep you from breaking through.

If I become financially successful, no one will like me. I can't attract a life partner if I'm independent. I can't be happy if a friend or family member is suffering.

Here's another way of looking at it: you can provide the example for other's to experience fortune in their own lives. You're showing that it is possible.

When good things happen, it can be hard to enjoy it, because we're stepping out of our discomfort level.

We're expanding our ability to have joy and love and other good stuff.  That's a stretch, for most of us.

You are allowing your Self to be full sized. To be fully Present. To manifest more of your True Self.

As Essence we are infinite, joyous, and free. We are capable creators. We come into physical bodies and roll around in the mud.  It's equally creative to manifest terrible things happening, as having wonderful things happening. A shift of perspective is all it takes.

It's okay to have good things happen. It's your birthright to be happy, joyous, and free. It is all right to vibrate differently than the crowd.

Each person who breaks out of the limitations of their family, peers, culture, creates space for others to join them. You help Consciousness evolve by moving forward yourself.

This week, let yourself dance to your own drummer, let yourself be high on life. Appreciate the good things you already have, and you'll let yourself have more!

Manifesting In The Real World

Manifesting In The Real World ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

The other day I had a chat with someone who does similar work and we both had the same question for each other: how do you integrate your inner and outer realities?

We'd been through different journeys since we'd first met, but had similar derailments, when "real life" situations occurred and took the focus away from higher consciousness work.

Feeling Stuck?

For me, my mother's Alzheimer's and cancer took me off my main career path, but I held my higher focus that I was midwifing her back to Source through the roller coaster ride of the end of her life.

It's hard to be out in the world, in the work place, or in other 'real life' situations (for me it was hospitals and doctors and caregiver groups), and maintain a multidimensional perspective.

How do you deal with coworkers or family members from the perspective of Consciousness? How do you approach issues, challenges, conflicts, as your Expanded Self?

It may require slowing down and not reacting from habitual patterns. Making different choices, responding differently (neutrally) to situations that come up.

The other stumbling block we encounter is our own techniques. You aren't at the same level you were when you first connected with healing guides or learned certain transformational techniques. These relationships, and energy techniques, need upgrading.

Sometimes it's a matter of communicating with your guides and bringing your agreement into present time with them.  Sometimes it requires a change of personnel.  Upgrading your meditation practise and techniques may be disorienting, like the going from a typewriter to a computer.  You may not be used to such instantaneous results.

Or - it may be renewing your acquaintance with your guides and resuming your practice. Your spiritual muscles may have gotten flabby!

I have experienced profound, miraculous, transformation when I take the time to consistently focus on energy work.  The tools in my spiritual tool kit work when I work them - for myself and my creations.

They don't work when I'm scattered or paying attention outside of my own space.

This week, take some time to dust off your toolkit and upgrade your invisible helpers and see what happens!

If you want some new techniques, check out my upcoming webinar!

Effortless Inner Manifesting: Boots

Effortless Inner Manifesting: Boots ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

Ten days ago I was in Stockholm, for the first time since 1978.  My main focus was to take my Mom's ashes to the house my family lived in back then.  I didn't really have any other agenda.  It was the last part of a sixteen day trip, four countries, four languages, three currencies.

In the back of my head, though, I thought about Laplander boots.

Back in the late 70's, everyone here wore wooden clogs and these leather boots with curled toes.  The wooden soles would wear down with use, I remember seeing teenagers shuffle through snowy streets, their heels practically dragging on the ground.  I bought myself a pair of the boots, but not the women's style which had a smaller curl to the toe.  I purchased men's boots, which fit me just fine (I have big feet).

When I came back to Sweden, I wondered about the women's boots.  It wasn't really a fully formed desire.  I hadn't bought anything on this trip, I'm not really a shopper.  We mainly ate out and went to places where I'd lived.

We were only in town 72 hours, from Tuesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon.  On Wednesday we "dusted" my mother in Danderyd, and then rode the Tunnelbana back to Gamla Stan for lunch and walk back to the hotel before dinner.

I remember thinking that if I actually saw the boots in a store, I should seriously consider buying them.  It would be my only chance, as I don't have any plans to return to Sweden.  But we'd already done a considerable amount of walking around Stockholm and hadn't seen any boots of this style in any of the store windows.

On the way back to the hotel, I decided to walk around an open air market.  As we were leaving, the last stall we passed had a pair of women's Laplander boots hanging up over it's table of other (non shoe things).  It was the only pair the vender had. And it was in my size.

New and Old, Women's and Men's

He explained that back in the 1970's and 80's they'd been all the rage, but now they were out of style in Stockholm (but in the north of Sweden they still wear them).  He said he hadn't sold any for a very long time, which is why these were on sale - for half off.

So. I got the boots. And wore them home on the plane.

The thing that struck me about this experience was how I made these boots happen.  I didn't use any of my energy techniques.  It was a very quiet and internal process, while a lot of other things were going on.

It was a dialogue with my inner Self.  "I wonder about women's Laplander boots".  "If I see them, how much would I be willing to pay?" (I'll spend money on food and experiences, but can be kind of miserly on material things). And, "if I don't see them, that's ok".

As I'm recalling this, I can see that my focus was both in my head, and in my solar plexus.  Communication between my clear seeing and my area of Will (as in will power).  And I wasn't attached to the outcome.  If I didn't see them, that's ok. My manifestation had a time limit as well, since I was getting on a plane to Seattle the next day.

All of this ties into a greater growth experience going of for me around Consciousness, having a clearer connection between the little me and the greater I AM.  But that's for a future blog post.

I invite you to play with this yourself.  What is something you'd like to create? Have a conversation with your inner Being about it.  Ask open ended questions, be unattached to the outcome.  Try this for the next seven days (and let that be your time limit for it to manifest) and see what happens!

Dissolving Depression

Dissolving Depression ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb

For many people, February is a tough month.  In the northern hemisphere, Winter is dragging on, and the lack of warmth and sunshine has been taking it's toll.  The holidays are over, although Valentine's Day is coming up, which brings up relationship issues.  And many of us are mourning losses.  People seem to pass during the holidays, the "veil" is thinner, we feel and miss our deceased loved ones more.

Depression is a soggy, wet, blanket, blocking our body/personality's awareness and receptivity to Us as Consciousness.  When you are under it, you feel powerless.  People, places, things have more control over your reality than you do.

I struggled with depression from the time I was twelve until I was thirty-five. When I left my first marriage, I was suicidally depressed. As a single parent, I made decisions which resulted in 'staying small' and living in poverty, so I wouldn't tip over the edge.

During those years I tried a number of solutions.  I saw therapists,  I was given antidepressants, I went to support groups, and as an adult I medicated myself with St. John's Wort and Kava Kava.

What created the ultimate turnaround was noticing my thoughts.  I realized that I spent most of my day imaging myself talking to people about how terrible life was.  I started noticing when I was doing it (whenever I was driving, when I'd fall asleep at night) and I would figuratively grab my ears and redirect my thoughts.   I'd reframe it to all the good things that were happening, or set intentions for good things to happen!

It was challenging to do at first, but within two weeks I lifted out of that depression, that I hadn't known I was in, that had been going on for years.

Now, if you are deeply, darkly depressed, don't try to do this on your own.  Reach out, get help.  Depression affects (and is affected by) brain chemistry.  Although positive thinking rewires your brain, creates new neuropathways, you may need medical help to get to the point of treating yourself.

All of this is ground level stuff, body/personality issues.  It's the body/personality that feels depressed.  Consciousness is light.  Consciousness is always joyous.  YOU are Consciousness, therefore your Essential Self is always happy.

Your body/personality is how You experience life here on playground Earth.  When you're too bogged down in the mud, you feel disconnected to the Essence of who you really are.

Body/personalities are happier when You are in the driver's seat.  Meditation helps you clear, anchor and center, but if you're depressed or in emotional pain, it's impossible to sit still and focus.  I found walking and reciting affirmations helpful when I struggling.

Shift your perspective from being the body/personality, where things are happening to you, to being Consciousness, the Creator of your reality.

Notice I said 'creator' not 'controller'.  Controlling your reality implies an outside focus, trying to manipulate, change, or even keep your external reality the same.

We create our reality from within.  Our thoughts create our reality (you can think of them as projections, but I also find them energetic building blocks), but the impulses emanates from within.

Besides consciously changing your thoughts, here's a simple exercise for dissolving depression:
Part 1 is to imagine a Gold Sun above your head, bring it's sunlight into your body and surround yourself in a bubble of gold.  Part 2 is to imagine that same gold energy emanating from within you to outside you. Surround yourself with gold that generates from within.

You can visualize it as the color gold, or feel it as warm sunshine, or imagine it as solar energy to generate your system.

You can play with this in different ways.  You can imagine a gold grid dissolving depression patterns.   You can imagine this gold energy blessing your path.

Try this for the next 7 days and see what happens!

Easy Peasy Manifesting

Picture: Edenpics.com

We're coming up to a New Moon eclipse, so this is a powerful time for manifestation.  The energy is building for things to happen, new doors to open, sudden new beginnings.  Set intentions, visualize ideal outcome, and catch the wave!

How do you make something happen?  There are lots of ways.  The good old fashioned way is elbow grease.  You decide what you want, make a plan, take action, don't lose focus.  You use a lot of effort, and make it happen.

The New Age Woo-Woo way is to make a vision board, recite affirmations, journal about it, spend 17 seconds each day visualizing it, ask Source Energy and allow it to happen.  You use consistent focus and a lot of faith.

Other energy ways are, put it in a pink bubble (or balloon) and let it go, go to the parallel universe where you already have it, use a 'tractor beam' to bring it to you, see yourself with it and let your current energy match that.  You can also run energy of prosperity, abundance, miracles, etc.

All ways are valid.  So why isn't everyone walking around with their soul mates holding winning lottery tickets?  They may be (they just haven't stepped into the parallel universe where they realize it)!

There's an additional component, I think, that most people miss.  You have to be in your body.  If you're not home when the Universal Prosperity Service shows up, you miss receiving the delivery.

If you're out there in the realm of thoughts and dreams, whatever you want remains a concept or a fantasy.  Even if it does manifest, it doesn't last long, because you're not in your body to have it.

Reality needs an anchor point.  Actually, reality IS an anchor point.  You're bringing thought energy into physical form, it needs to become dense in order for it to show up.

There are some energy workers that are wonders in the level of light and love, but they can't change their own reality.  They struggle for material abundance, never find their soul mate, or remain physically unhealthy.

There are some creative artists that are tremendously talented, but they can't finish a piece of work.  They get wonderful ideas, they even start some, and are never able to finish anything.

We are *all* wonderful, creative, talented, infinitely capable manifestors. We manifested our individual body, we're manifesting all aspects of our lives, good and bad, down to the smallest detail.

For the stuff you want, are you keeping it from happening?  Do you dwell in the realm of ideas?  Is what you want remaining a thought form?  Have you confused intellect with energy (or Spirit)?

Theory takes action, otherwise it remains a concept.  Manifestation requires embodiment.  You have to be willing to show up in your body, in your life, to have what you want show up as well!

We don't like to come into our bodies when they're in pain.  But when we're not in our bodies, we feel uncomfortable!

So if there's something you want to manifest, start within yourself! Bring You into your body, enjoy physical reality.  Fill your body with Yourself, your magnificent Self, and watch (and feel) the miracles occur!

Past & Future Ghosts

Past & Future Ghosts ©2014 Joan M. Newcomb

[I will be talking about this on my radio show on Feb 26, 2014, click here to listen]

Someone asked me:
"Ghosts from the past appear to people so could it be possible for people to see ghosts from future?  We seem to dwell on communicating with our dead.  Do you think our unborn from future could be communicated with?"

My answer is: Yes

I wouldn't call them ghosts, maybe entities, but on the spirit level there is no time or space, so they're already in existence. 

You can communicate with your yet-to-be conceived grandchild.  You'll know exactly what to knit for their Xmas stockings.

Outside of our physical reality, everything is happening simultaneously.  It's too much for our body/personality to comprehend, we so locked into this world where things progress along a timeline.

Within this linear existence, time feels like layers of vibration.  The past is denser, slower moving, the future is faster and feels diffuse.  It feels like it is in the process of coming into form.

People from the past still exist, the 'Ghost' aspect may simply be a denser aspect of their personality still accessible from that previous layer of time.  People from the future exist as well, it's just harder to access something beyond our current vibration.

As I've said in previous articles, all of our past lives and all of our future lives are happening at once.  The pope is simultaneously having a lifetime as a prostitute in Jerusalem several thousand years ago and a dictator of a regime in the next millennium.

If that doesn't seem complex enough, there are parallel Universes, your past and future timelines split at every moment of decision, for every part of you that turned left, there's a part of you that turned right, and carried forward a new storyline.  You have infinite pasts to choose from, infinite futures to choose.

That includes babies born, babies not born, people who died, people who didn't die, etc.

If you step back to look, it's like colored threads of connections, intricate fibre optic lines running out and through everyone in existence, everyone who ever existed, anyone who will exist.  You can almost hear the humming of human lives.  If you step back from that, the colors weave into a multilayered tapestry, the humming becomes a chorus of bees.

And if you step back from that, it becomes one.  Again.  It started with an impulse, a thought, a creation of Consciousness.  It doesn't exactly end (just as it didn't exactly begin), but as you step back, the individuality blends back into Oneness.

An interesting and fun thing to do is to communicate with *your* future self.  For instance, if you're going through a difficult time, you can talk to the you that is 5 or 10 years in the future, who's already lived through what you're dealing with now.

I used to do that, when I was having tough times in my 40's, and now I will have these weird, reverse deja-vu's, when I will suddenly feel my past self.  I get to assure the past me that things are much better now.

Have fun with this, this week.  Tune into future Selves to help you make decisions, give you solutions, to whatever you're dealing with now.  Try this for 7 days and see what happens!