Respond-Ability

Respond-Ability ©2015 Joan M. Newcomb, CPC

Responsibility is such a heavy word. Being responsible can mean taking the blame or being at fault when things go wrong.  Being responsible can mean that you're the only one being accountable for the success or failure an endeavor.

Suck it up. Put on your big girl panties.

Responsibility sounds like no fun at all.

Responsibility is the ability to respond. When something happens, you are at choice to respond or react.

When you're responding, you're taking clear headed action.  When you're reacting, you're most likely emotionally engaging in other's dramas or projecting your own.

Reactions are usually unconscious.  You can train yourself to stop and take a breath when triggered.  Almost nothing needs to be responded to right away, you can take your time before choosing to respond.

Healers, coaches, and counselors can get stuck taking responsibility for others results.  You can be the most caring and capable person in the world, but your client's outcomes are their responsibility.  My most successful clients actually did the work, used the techniques, took powerful actions. They manifested their own miracles (with me cheering on the sidelines)!

Parents are prone to this as well, it's their fault if their children aren't living up to their expectations. I find the bigger the expectations, the more kids will underachieve.  When you can step back and see your child as the capable creator of their own reality,  you will be awed by what they can do.

The world won't come to an end when it's not on your shoulders any more.

In fact, when you stop taking responsibility for people and things outside your space, and start responding to what is within your own 'sphere of influence', your own life starts working so much better.

When you bring your energy back within your own boundaries, you become clear about your own dreams and desires, and have the energy to achieve them.

Respond-ability not only gives you energy and space, but also validates others as well.

It doesn't mean that you drop everything that you're doing, and dishes pile up in the sink. But you're able to do whatever you're doing from your own free will and without effort.

Try this for a week and see what happens!

Foundation and Freedom

©2011 Joan M. Newcomb

This is a pretty big topic, on many different levels.  We have this physical world, which to all appearances, requires structure in order to create form.  We have the non-physical world, the realm of Spirit or Energy, which is limitless, and yet is it what manifests form.

From the physical world perspective, manifestation requires effort.  It takes work to make something.  It requires time and materials to create anything, biological or technological or any other form.

From the non-physical perspective, it's instantaneous.  Reality takes place in the blink of an eye (and disappears as rapidly, as well).  In order to create from Spirit, it requires non-attachment, and no-effort (effortlessness).

A simplistic explanation is that 'thoughts become things'.  We have an idea, we give energy to it, and it shows up in our lives.  We think of something we don't want, and it shows up, too.  We view the world through our thought-perspectives, so that colors what we manifest as well.

Often when you let go of trying to attract something or someone into your life, it comes to you.  Why is that?  Because you've let go of effort and you've allowed the Universe to bring it.

When you focus on creating something, put all your thoughts and attention on it, and it doesn't come about, it's probably because you're holding on to it energetically, which keeps it as a desire rather than a reality.

Some people flop over to the other side in terms of letting go.  They release *completely* and just do whatever comes to mind.  Somethings things manifest, sometimes nothing does, they don't care because they're just enjoying the ride of life.  That works, too.  Or not.

Sometimes you need to create *inner* space for what you want to manifest.  You do all the above suggestions for creating wealth or a soul mate, but your inner life is 'a mess'.  You're up to your ears in credit card debt, or you're carrying resentments about your ex, those are indicators that you don't have room in your life for something different.

The non-physical realm is limitless and joyous, and represents freedom to us.  When we desire prosperity, we're really desiring freedom (freedom from worry, freedom from working at a job we don't love, etc.).  But when we think of what it would take to provide a foundation for that, it feels like restriction.  Why have a budget? Why keep track of a checkbook balance? If I win the lotto and am fantastically wealthy, I won't need any of that!  (Which is why most lottery winners are bankrupt within five years).  In actuality, structure brings freedom.  Being aware of spending opens up spaces for income to flow.  It's indicating to the Universe that you can handle more!

There's a difference between inner structure, where your inner life is organized, and external control.   One comes from Essence, and allows the real you to flow through, and the other comes from fear, which is a body-level experience.  Notice the difference as you navigate.

People feel the same way about commitment and relationships.  They get scared of committing because they think they'll be trapped.  In reality you are committing to *yourself*, and to being in integrity with your values.  Being faithful to your inner Essence can shift all of your relationships.  Those that are in alignment with you show up, those that aren't either transform or fade away.

All it takes is making a decision in the present moment, and taking the next indicated steps.  Becoming aware of your spending habits, making time to meditate, to spend enjoyable time with yourself, all you need to do is the first baby step, and go from there. 

Foundation leads to freedom.  What can you do (shift, let go of, take action on) today to get there?

Nothing Is Ever Stuck

©2010 Joan M. Newcomb

About twelve years ago I took a class with David Spangler, and he said in New Age circles there is much judgement for being 'stuck', that you have to keep growing and changing in overt ways.  He said 'nothing is ever stuck'.  I recall he used physics or biology as examples.  When something looks like it isn't moving, the atoms and molecules actually are.  Even something that has physically died is undergoing change as it breaks down and transforms into something else. 
 
This time of year (in the Northern Hemisphere) it seems like everything has gone dormant, and yet under the surface there's a lot of activity!  Seeds are germinating, getting ready to generate new life, which won't be evident until Spring.
 
A professional author I knew once explained how hard it was to time-clock the creative process.  So much writing gets done in one's imagination, prior to coming out one's fingertips and onto the keyboard.  You can be mulling about your garden, seemingly doing nothing, but work is going on.
 
In terms of personal growth, we judge ourselves for being stuck or feeling stuck, when in actuality all our issues are coming to the surface to be worked on.  Sometimes it may seem like an issue we've struggled with or thought we'd resolved before, and we feel discouraged that it's come up again.  In reality we're dealing with it at a deeper level.
 
Often we feel most logjammed just before we experience tremendous breakthrough.
 
What to do when you feel this way?  Sometimes nothing is the best answer.  Part of feeling stuck is when we go into effort and try very hard to get unstuck!  Effort blocks spiritual creativity.  Taking a break, letting go, allows the Universe to bring to us the change we're trying to manifest.
 
Resistance is another aspect of Effort and will magnetically attract what we don't want.  If we're resisting an issue, sure enough it will show up.  Releasing resistance, not fighting what is, can make it have less power over us and even disappear completely.
 
If you're feeling stuck over achieving a positive outcome, baby steps may be the solution.  We'll get overwhelmed imagining the end result and not even start.  Losing weight is a great example.  It involves changing eating and exercise habits and also your self image.  Trying to do that all at once is too much.  Breaking it down into - literally- bite sized pieces, substituting fruit for sugar, drinking only liquids with no calories, taking walks, can bring success as you grow into the new You.
 
Increasing prosperity and abundance has similar steps as well. It can require awareness of spending habits, being able to see or feel yourself at an increased income level, and letting go of old (sometimes family) patterns.
 
Usually, however, the only thing that is stuck is the voice recording in your head, telling you that you aren't or can't move forward.  When you recognize and dismiss your Inner Gremlin, you'll suddenly see how productive you actually are, and have the energy to take great leaps forward.  http://www.tamingyourgremlin.com/ has excellent suggestions for how to do this!
 
This week, should you feel motivated, try any of the above.  Do nothing, or do baby steps, and see what happens!

Work Can Be Fun!

(c)2010  Joan M. Newcomb

This morning I had a to-do list as long as my arm, and I decided to walk my dogs first.  As I was heading out the driveway with them, I realized I was thinking of the list with dread.  Which was interesting because it had a lot of fun things on it!

Because I'd labeled all the to-do's as "work", I was approaching the list with effort!  Because work has to be hard, right?  It's not work if you're having fun!

It's interesting that I still have that concept floating in my space, since my work is so unusual!  I host a radio show, I do psychic readings, I "mystic mentor" coach, and I give Matrix Energetics sessions.  Occasionally I officiate weddings, a business I've retired from but still attract via word of mouth.

There have been times in the past where I experience invalidation, because I don't have an 8 to 6 job.  Because it's unstructured, I've had to acknowledge when I'm working.  If I'm answering client emails on a Sunday morning, writing a radio script on Monday evening, reading a book that an upcoming guest has written sitting on the ferry Wednesday night, it's work.

Recently I decided to get more focused about "work", devoting chunks of days to catching up with my radio show archives, sending out PRs to get myself on other's shows, consciously marketing on a daily basis, etc. None of this is brain surgery, all of this is self-motivated, and all of it is very creative.

Focusing helps bring things into form.  What I noticed is that my income flow has increased, and so has requests on my time!

The energy of Effort contracts you and restricts your creativity.  So working "hard" can actually slow you down!  If you can make a game of it, or at the very least approach it with a sense of playfulness, you may find yourself being much more efficient and effective!

I discovered that most of my 'to-do' list got done in the first 30 minutes of my day this morning.  Had I stayed in effort, it could have take most of the day.

Take a look at your own work, or the things in your life that you label work.  How much fun are they?  How much fun *could* they be, if you didn't take them so seriously?  Take a second look at the things on your to-do list and imagine a different way of approaching them.

Doing your taxes can be fun with numbers, a chance to play on your computer, to let Turbo Tax do all the work!  Cleaning your house, you can take a cue from Mary Poppins and give it a 'spoonful of imaginary sugar'!  Set an egg timer and see how much you can get done in 15 minutes, and stop when the bell goes off (unless you feel like continuing).  At your job and dealing with a difficult co-worker?  Imagine you're in a spinoff of "The Office".

You can do this in baby steps.  Take one "to-do" a day and make it fun, and see what happens in a week!

Mystic Musings on Money

(c) 2009 Joan M. Newcomb

Money is always a hot topic, regardless of the economy. However, there was a joke circulating recently about an E-book titled "How To Make Money in This Economy" and when you opened it, all it said was "Write an E-Book about How To Make Money In This Economy".

For years I used to work for a mystery school that never paid very much. Yet I had everything I needed. I felt that I was 'working for God', so God was supporting me by providing from sources other than my paycheck.

Think about the difference in being paid minimum wage versus $200 an hour. Notice what it feels like to earn whatever your present yearly income is. Then imagine what it would feel like if your yearly income was your *monthly* income. When I play with this, I notice I go from feeling contracted to feeling light, airy, expanded. One thing I've noticed over the years is that the least paying jobs require the most effort. The larger your hourly wage is, it seems, the less effort you expend doing it. I think that's due to a couple spiritual principles: Effortlessness and Havingness.

Havingness is the ability to have. Everything you create in your life reflects your spiritual Havingness. If you have limitations, some aspect of your Havingness is contracted. Often this is mental stuff, ideas and concepts, family history, personal story. We've all heard about people who win the lottery and later end up broke. Their havingness didn't expand to their new fortune. And people who manifested their perfect partner but ended up divorcing. Creating something new in your life requires expansion, requires creating internal space to 'have' the new creation.

Effortlessness is a spiritual principle (I've written about it before as the concept of 'No Effort'). To paraphrase Yoda, "Do not try -- do ". Effort is a body level energy, but it destroys spiritual creativity. That's why things often come into your life when you stop trying to have them. You've let go, energetically, so they can come into form.

My newest awareness of money that I've been playing with is based on Robert Scheinfeld's book, Busting Loose From The Money Game. Scheinfeld says that money is really an 'expression of appreciation'. When you have a nice meal in a restaurant, when you pay the bill you're really expressing appreciation for the food and the service. When someone pays you for your services, they're expressing appreciation for you and your gifts.

When you shift your perspective to expressing appreciation, suddenly paying your taxes is no big deal. Your expressing appreciation for the income that you've got, and for all the things you want your taxes to go towards.

When you shift from expressing appreciation only for things you pay for and are paid for to everything about your life, suddenly money starts coming in from left field, from unexpected sources, even appearing in your bank account.

I have a student who's business went from operating at a loss to making millions in a short period of time. Her clients pay her by automatic deposit, and she's always meticulous about entering the numbers in her Quickbooks whenever she receives an email from her bank that a deposit has gone in. However, at the end of every month when reconciling her balance, there's always several *more* deposits into her account than she received notification for!!

When you let go of focusing on money and start focusing on appreciation, these things happen.

I've been self-employed for most of my life and have learned that it's important to stay out of survival in order to attract clients. Whenever I've worried about not having money, that's what I create temporarily. But usually I've worried about money and then discover that an automatic deposit came in or a client sent their check early. I end up feeling a little sheepish that I fretted in the first place!

The bigger picture about money is the bigger picture about reality - it's all an illusion, it's all made up, it's a creation of our consciousness. I am Spirit enjoying a full immersion holographic game; I'm the one that programs the computer! Money is just a pattern in the morphic field. It's as real as you want to make it. Same with reality.

When you're in effort and struggle for survival, then you're seeing things from your body's viewpoint. It's mortal, so it's worried about life and death. When you step back and view it as Spirit, as Source, you can see the bigger picture. Suddenly more options appear to you, more opportunities come your way, energy flows.

I know, I've had a really interesting roller coaster ride concerning money. When I was 22 I was confident that I could go anywhere in the world, land on my feet and support myself. I was working as a secretary for $5 an hour and after taxes brought in $10,000 a year. I was happy that I could pay all my bills each month. Then I became involved with someone who was independently wealthy who freaked if they didn't have enough in the bank for a year's expenses. It turned out they had a cocaine habit that cost them $10,000 a year (this was 1981).

Thus began a turbulent ride of extreme abundance and extreme poverty. There was one time I couldn't even afford toilet paper! I became really familiar with the energy of contraction.

When you see things *as* your Expanded Self, you're no longer afraid about paying your bills. You know that everything will come in when and as you need it. It's not exactly being fearless, because fear isn't in the picture. It's about being relaxed and at ease with playing the Game in this world. The Game isn't about making a buck, or accumulating numbers, or things that symbolize wealth. The Game is about creation, actually it's about creating.

What delights You is the act of manifestation. You are the Creator of your reality and it's really, really fun to make things. And make things up (such as story lines).

Patterns in the morphic field are the structure around and through which our energy flows. We can deenergize or reclaim power from our personal patterns (old story lines, family history, etc.) and it changes our hologram. Our life stops seeming like a soap opera or tragedy and becomes a hilarious improvisation - kind of like 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' meets 'Second Life'.

So here's some baby steps to get you started. Every time you pay for something, think of it as expressing appreciation (and really feel the appreciation). Every time you're paid, experience of being appreciated. Then start appreciating all aspects of your life, down to the smallest detail. It's easiest to appreciate nature, so you can start there. How blue the sky is (when it's blue) or how warm the sun is (when it's out). What an amazing creation birds are, flying and hopping about. Then you can appreciation other parts of your life, your home, your relationships, your belongings. All of these are reflections of your Havingness, your ability to create and manifest.

Pretty soon you can start appreciating your story line, even the really challenging parts. Because you can see how juicy an acting job you've created!

Start by appreciating, and notice what starts showing up in your life!

Just do it!

(c) 2009 Joan M. Newcomb

I just entered into an agreement to host a radio show for Contact Talk Radio, but man, you would not believe the sh*t that came up prior to making the leap to do it!

It reminded me of a previous period of extreme expansion - I was teaching psychic classes, my wedding business had accelerated, I'd committed to going to Findhorn that Fall, and I wrote two books in three months!

I remember feeling a bit off-balance because in my head I was working on the story plot, yet teaching classes require you to be very grounded, present and focused. Oh, and I just recalled, I also was co-creating a garden with Nature using the Perelandra techniques and doing a self-directed course called 'Bringing More Love Into Your Life' in preparation for going to Findhorn.

The growth period was huge, and what came to me during one of my weekly 'staff meetings' with my Devas (I have non-physical staff for all my businesses) was to -- Just Do It.

And that's how everything got done.

Anytime you make a move forward, energy will come up. If you're walking through the ocean at the beach, you can feel the resistance from the water. It's dense and it's visible, but you don't take it personally. You don't say "oh the ocean doesn't want me to walk, so I'm just going to sit down, get my pants wet, and wait for the tide to go out'!

When you walk *anywhere* you are moving through oxygen, but the molecules are lighter than water, so you don't feel the resistance, the effort it takes is different, perhaps from within your own body and muscles. You don't stop walking because it's too hard to lift up one foot and put it in front of the other - you just do it!

Anytime you make a step forward on your spiritual path, energy comes up. Sometimes it's in the form of external resistance -- critical friends, demanding relatives, for instance. Sometimes it's internal resistance -- inner doubts, fears or other negative thoughts.

Energetically all these are seen as patterns in your morphic field. There are techniques you can use to dissipate or transform them, which are great if you are operating at a high awareness level each moment of your day, or have time to sit down in meditation whenever things come up. Or just plough right through, and clear it later (if it still needs clearing).

So, back to the radio show. I've been looking at the Contact Talk Radio website for a couple weeks, listening to different shows and toying with the idea of co-hosting one time with one of the existing hosts just to get my toes wet. Really, to start safe. Then yesterday I came across another host's website and listened to their audio, and realized they were offering techniques that I've been teaching for 28 years! This morning I listened to a podcast by one of their recent guests who said something to the effect of 'go ahead and do it, imagine looking back at your life regretting *not* doing it'. And while I was still listening to the podcast, I sent the email to the Radio's owner. And got an immediate response.

Suddenly it was attack of the killer gremlins in my head. Who am I to do a radio show? I have no experience? (I've been interviewed on radio shows, so why can't I be on the other side of the mic)? I'm small and insignificant and don't know anything. (Please look at my website, and my blog and tell me if this is so).

At the same time, inspiration of friends who could support me, or who had done radio themselves, came up. I called them all for practice before calling the Radio guy.

It's all totally doable. And I'm totally capable of doing it. I could sit down and meditate for several more days, weeks or years so that I *feel* clear and ready, but imagine the opportunities that will slip by if I do.

Take a look at things you've been wanting to do in your own life, changes you're desiring or risks you've been hesitant to take. How will you feel in five years if you still haven't done them? Take one and - just do it!

And after that - do another!

(I'm off to do another myself; I'll write about it next week)!

Nothing is ever stuck

©2008 Joan M. Newcomb

Today a friend of mine said that she had a growing fascination with glass. Did you know, she said, that glass is considered a liquid? It's just moving very slowly!

It reminded me of something David Spangler remarked in a class I was in some years ago - that nothing is ever stuck, there is always movement. In many New Age/Personal Growth belief systems there is judgment if someone seems to not be changing. There's great validation if one is constantly on a roller-coaster ride of overt transformation.

In physics there is always movement, as in nature there is always change. A tree falls and dies and immediately starts becoming support for new living things. This time of year in this hemisphere it seems like everything has gone dormant. And yet beneath the surface, roots are strengthening and seeds are germinating. In ourselves, in our lives, there is always growth, even if the external seems stagnant.

Sometimes we may feel we're spinning our wheels, or that no matter how hard we try, we're making no progress. However, on the unseen levels much is being created. We're sending out rockets of desire for future manifestations. And our Expanded Self is enjoying the experience of being the opposite of it's Infinite Beingness.

Often at the moment we stop trying, when we surrender into the 'stuckness', we make a quantum leap forward. It's when we let go of effort, a body energy that blocks creativity, that our spiritual intentions can take form.

This has been a challenging winter for most of us. Harsh weather and lack of sunlight makes the best of us want to hibernate. My suggestion for the next week is to let go of trying to improve your situation, or resisting whatever limitations may be facing you. Give yourself a break for an hour or a day or the next week. Zone out in front of the boob tube or do something non-productively entertaining. And notice what gets unplugged and starts changing without any active effort on your part!

Morphic Fields

©2008 Joan M. Newcomb

Recently I’ve been seeing things as patterns, patterns in the morphic field. We are all energy, our physical bodies are dense energy, our personalities and emotions are less dense but still detectable, our spiritual/essence energy is more diffuse, but if you imagine seeing everything as electrons, or simply ’energy’, that’s what it all is.

We exist in morphic fields, which are unseen but definitely felt. Energy patterns will waft through our reality, affecting our feelings and behavior as well.

Groups have morphic fields, which will include different roles. People within groups have the option (note I said ‘option') of stepping into these roles - although they usually find themselves doing so unconsciously. If you have a matching resonance (experience) with the role, you’ll find yourself playing it within the group. When you start to be more conscious in the world, you realize you have the option of *not* playing that role, and can watch with amusement as someone else takes it on.

Recently I visited my mother, and noticed the energy within her house as very distinct and slow moving. She’s rented her place for at least twenty years, and retired about eleven years ago. Any place that’s been occupied for a long time will have a settled energy, and it’s even more so in my mother’s house.

Diseases have morphic fields, and dysfunctional families do, too. Western medicine has a morphic field. Years ago I was diagnosed with a uterine fibroid. The standard procedure at the time was a hysterectomy. I felt like I was being railroaded to a having one, and it took quite a bit of effort to step out of the energy flow. When I did, new possibilities appeared, my symptoms stopped and now everything is normal, all without surgery or medication.

Family patterns are morphic fields(also known as miasms). People from certain backgrounds will keep finding family patterns arising in new relationships or in the workplace as they haven't completely cleared themselves of the energy of their history.

The acceleration of energy at this time is lighting up these denser patterns, making them more obvious. Having just been in Washington DC, it was interesting to notice and learn, from talking to people who work and live there, how the impending changes have been effecting them.

If you’re strongly attached to your patterns, if you believe them to be real, it’s going to be more painful and difficult to let them go. Seeing them simply as patterns makes it much easier.

I was talking to a fellow Matrix practitioner who is also a local government worker in Virginia. She kept saying how "bad" the energy is there exhibiting a definite lack of neutrality! So I looked at the government energy around DC and saw it as white and metallic shapes. Not comfortable to me but not “bad”.

Non resistance helps you drop these energy patterns within you and also keeps you from magnetically attracting them into your life! When you are in a space of non-resistance and no-effort, it's as if your molecules separate and theses energies pass through you as easily as wind through a screen door!

As we approach the holidays, morphic fields around family, and traditions will arise. I invite you to practice neutrality by finding a way to be detached and amused, as if it's all a movie. See how different your experience is this year!

Being In Receptive Mode

©2008 Joan M. Newcomb

One of the things that happens when people start practicing the Law of Attraction is that they put all their focus onto what they want to attract. They get the idea that they create their reality through their thoughts and immediately start thinking of prosperity, and all the goodies that go with it.

This may work a little bit at first, but usually what happens is they get frustrated their stuff isn't getting here fast enough. So they try harder, making their vision boards, saying their affirmations, staring at their mind maps. Then finally decide it's all a bunch of horseradish and quit.

That's not how Law of Attraction works. In fact, it's the opposite. It's using body-level exertions to work a spiritual-energetic tool. It's like using a chisel and hammer to work on your internet connection.

When you try hard at anything, you're using the body-level energy of effort. Effort is required by your muscles to get your body out of a chair, and works fine to push-start a car, but has the opposite effect when applied to high vibrational techniques. It stops them from happening.

That's why many of your manifestations happen when you no longer need or want them. You've taken your attention off them and the Universe finally has a chance to release them to you.

When you focus intently on something, your point of awareness goes into that item, and out of yourself. You're no longer 'home' in your body or your life. So the Universal Parcel Service doesn't have the address to send your desires to you! And if they're left at your doorstep, you're not home to receive them.

That's what happens when you actually get what you want, but you can't have it. You finally manifest Mr. Right, but your life is such a shambles he doesn't stick around. You win the lotto but haven't handled your shopping addiction or learned about investing, so it's gone within the year.

The trick (and it isn't really a trick) is to know what you want (the thought alone is an email request to the Universe via the Cosmic Internet). Then focus within yourself to prepare to have it.

I call it being in receiving mode. Generating an energy of receptivity, of drawing in that which you desire. Abraham-Hicks calls it delicious anticipation. I've called it 'raising your havingness'. Ultimately you don't have to do anything, and your life rearranges itself so that things fall into place, including what you've asked for.

People find this happening automatically when they get off the fast track. When they consciously slow down to enjoy life. Choosing to start the day with meditation or a cup of herbal tea and journalling instead of espresso and the news, brings this about. Turns out much of what you desire you already have in some form or another, but you've been too busy to enjoy it!

So try these suggestions -
Stop thinking about what you don't have.
Stop focusing on all the terrible things happening in the world today.
Start enjoying the present moment - even in tiny increments
("the leaves are so pretty right now", "this tea tastes so good", etc.)
Let yourself Know that the Universe is on your side and supporting you beautifully.

Taking pleasure in what you do have attracts more pleasurable things to you. And that's what Law of Attraction is all about.

Playing In Density without Effort

(c) copyright 2008 Joan M. Newcomb
Everyone seeks a magic technique to manifest in this reality. People swarm to seminars about Prosperity, make instant gurus out of people who've created a formula for instant wealth, and gobble up books on ancient techniques on attracting Abundance. And some actually do increase their net worth, and some actually do become happier, but many people either continue with their compulsive seeking, or sink back to their ordinary lives in resignation and defeat.

It's not that manifestation techniques don't work, it's the attitude and mindset around manifesting that's self-defeating. If you believe there's power outside of you to give you what you want, if you believe you have to try hard to get it, if you believe that your manifestations will give you value, then you're kinda missing the point of being here.

Don't get me wrong, this world *is* about manifestation. I believe our whole purpose here is to create in this physical reality, whether it's creating experiences or material things. However there's a difference in awareness of Who is doing the creating.

We are Spirit/Source/Consciousness - whatever you want to title it - who has created this total immersion playground to experience being the opposite who who we are. We are total joy, total light, total energy, total oneness, total neutrality, total creativity, total expansiveness. And, for fun, we created this world of duality that is the complete opposite of all of that.

From that perspective, *anything* we create, be it uncomfortable or wonderful, is great. Our expanded self is totally enjoying it, no matter how disastrous it may seem from our body's point of view.

However, when we try to manifest our reality from a place of lack or need, it's not going to work. It's like being on a ride at Disneyland and the container you're riding in trying to deviate from the track. You're not the part of you that believes it needs something or is without something. You're the designer and the builder. You are infinitely powerful and limitless. You don't "need" anything. You desire new experiences, you desire to create and to express your creativity, but from your inner Source.

Effort is a physical energy which helps bodies move but blocks the flow of Source. That is why we often get what we want at the moment of not wanting it any more, or the thing we seek when we stop trying to seek it. It's the secret within the Secret of the Law of Attraction. It's what Abraham Hicks is saying at every seminar. It's Yoda is talking about when he says 'Do not try, *do*'. Except, more accurately expressed, it's 'Do not try, *be*'.

There's an essence of Truth in all spiritual teachings, and what makes them all work is when You stop trying as a physical body and start Being.

Suddenly it's not about money any more, it's not about accumulation, it's not even about seeking happiness, because you *are* Happiness. The Truth about the first step "Admitted we are Powerless Over..." is that it has you stop trying, has you letting go of the physical chase, of the body level control game. When you do, then miracles happen. When you stop identifying with that level of things and start identifying with your Essence, then *everything* is a miracle.

Sit back and watch what happens when you try (um, not-try) this. Your whole reality shifts, and outer circumstances start falling into place in ways more perfect than if you'd go out there and tried to manipulate them into shape. Don't try anything, and see what comes to you!