How can it be a happy and joyful thing to work non-stop, hoard your holidays for when? I wonder if there ever comes a time that it is sweet to take those holidays.

Australians are also able to cash out all of their annual leave except two weeks, leaving little opportunity for a happy holiday. So now it is possible to work constantly and receive cash instead of the lovely break of the good old days.  Remember that time when families met up at the beach every year, year after year, to experience life in all of it’s glory.

I am here today to make it easy for you to dip into your pool of accumulated leave and join the “take leave, live life” group. Use the think, talk, act plan – the energy of thoughts, build the picture with words and take action.

That is, create your holiday and here are 4 easy steps to help you get your annual break organised:-

1. Think about having a holiday, where you would like to go and what you would like to do
2. Talk to people about doing it, who is coming with you and so on
3. Take action, book your leave, book your holiday
4. Then relax, enjoy the anticipation and get into the holiday attitude.

A final word to entice you away from your desk; people who spend some money on experiences rather than possessions are happier!!  And is that not what life is about.

The law of attraction is one such law. The law of attraction is the belief that anyone can determine their destiny through the power of their minds.

“The Law of Attraction attracts to you everything you need, according to the nature of your thoughts. Your environment and financial condition are the perfect reflection of your habitual thinking.”  Joseph Murphy

The History of the Law of Attraction

Before we go too deep into the modern applications of the law of attraction it is important that you understand that this is not simply New Age nonsense (most descriptions of the law of attraction refer to it as a product of a New Age Mentality).  The principles of the law of attraction date back far beyond the new found popularity of the New Age.

The immortal Buddha was actually one of the first to introduce man to the law  of attraction. He said, “What you have become is what you have thought.” This was a principle that the people of the east were acquainted with for centuries before it began to sweep into the western hemisphere.

The concept of karma also may have drawn its roots from the law of attraction. Karma states that you will eventually be revisited by that which you have sent out into the universe. If you have practiced kindness and compassion you will receive in kind. If you have been deliberately cruel to another you will receive back into your life that cruelty which you have sent out. Your actions and thoughts morph into physical entities, causing the universe to react in kind.

The law of attraction began to gain popularity in the western hemisphere in the 19^th century, as people began to appreciate the power of positive thinking and apply it to their life. This new concept was first introduced to the general public by William Walker Atkinson, the editor of New Thought magazine, who published a book called Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World in 1906.

As you can see, the law of attraction is not new. The concept that thought can have a predominate affect on the course of a man’s destiny has been taught by wise men  throughout the ages, and has given rise to a whole new era of beliefs.

What is the Premise of the Law of Attraction?

The theory behind the law of attraction is the belief that energy attracts like energy in the vast expanse of space and time that comprises our universe. Each person’s being is constantly radiating energy out into space; the type of energy being radiated is determined by the emotional state of the individual in question and may differ from day to day-sometimes even hour to hour!

This emotional energy is what is commonly known as a “vibe” and is referred to as a vibration by scientists studying the law of attraction. Chances are that you are familiar with the term. Have you ever been with someone who is so happy they seem to be radiating a “glow which inspires happiness in all those around them? By the same token, have you ever spent time with someone who was so critical and unhappy that they consistently gave off a “negative vibe” which seemed to suck the life and happiness out of all those around them?

You do not have to possess psychic powers to be able to feel the vibes that people emit; this energy is very real on a psychological plane and will affect anyone, anywhere at any time. Our vibrations are usually an unconscious response to some form of environmental stimulus; something has happened which has caused us to feel happy, or sad, or scared, or confused, or stressed, etc., and our subconscious response to this (because vibes are generated and projected from the subconscious rather than the conscious) is something that is beyond our control.

Chances are the person who is emitting a negative vibe does not choose to be unhappy, nor do they wish to inflict their unhappiness on all those around them by the simple fact of their presence. (Before you say what you are thinking, yes,  there are some exceptions to this rule. Misery does love company and there are many who take a great deal of delight in inflicting their pain on other people. It is important to understand that this is not usually done in a desire to cause others pain but out a desire to not feel so alone in their unhappiness. But we digress…)

There are a number of feelings which lead to positive and negative vibes being emitted, and it is important before we continue on any form of discussion about the law of attraction that you understand what each of these are (you’ll understand the reasons for this a little later).

Positive vibes Positive vibes are generated from good feelings, such as:

• Joy
• Love
• Excitement
• Abundance (of anything that causes a positive response)
• Pride
• Comfort
• Confidence
• Affection

Negative vibes Negative vibes are generated from negative feelings, such as:

• Disappointment
• Loneliness
• Lack (of any of life’s necessities or luxuries)
• Sadness
• Confusion
• Stress
• Anger
• Hurt

What do Vibes Have to With the Law of Attraction?

As we mentioned earlier the fundamental principle of the law of attraction is the belief that life energy attracts like energy. This means that if a person is emitting positive vibes they will draw good things to them and if they are emitting negative vibes they will draw bad things to them.

”You are a living magnet, attracting what you want.”

You have seen this principle in practice before. Have you ever known someone who was always upbeat and positive and seemed to be too lucky to be true? On the flip side, you have certainly known someone who loved to complain and look on the darker sides of life that always seemed to have something new to complain about because things were always going wrong in their life. These examples show people attracting the results of the energy they are giving off.

“Remember, you attract to your life whatever you give your attention, energy and focus to, whether wanted or unwanted.” Michael J. Losier

Does this mean that all of the bad things that happen to you in this life are because you subconsciously wanted them to? This is one of the most common arguments against the concept of the law of attraction and it often the hardest to refute because people have not yet recognized that the law of attraction is not a pipe dream or something that someone dreamed up while sitting on their porch one hot summer night. It is a fact of life, and its effects are far reaching.

In answer to your question, no, not everything bad that happens in your life is a result of you subconsciously wishing for it to happen. Sometimes it is a result of someone else wishing for it to happen. To quote an example from a website pertaining to the law of attraction a child or a spouse who is abused is not abused because they wished for this abuse to happen. This abuse happened because the abuser allowed their negative thoughts concerning their child or spouse to creep across their subconscious until they eventually began to dictate their actions.

The mind is a powerful thing, and where the mind goes the feet will soon follow. The foundation of any success you are going to encounter in lie is not the ability of your physical body to overcome the obstacles but of your mind to believe that a way lies around them. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Where your mind can believe that there is a way for the body to achieve its heart’s desire a way does exist.

Promise Yourself:

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticise others.
To be too large to worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Enjoy your optimism and share it with others.

Many people have allowed their intuition to recede into the background and even when it does pop up like a bright little light saying “see me, look at me, I have an idea”, they pass it over in favour of what seems to be sensible at the time. And yet intuition will offer up wonderfully creative ideas that will provide the very best solutions if only we will listen.

So how do we regenerate our intuition? Try the following tips:-

1. Type “develop intuition” into any search engine and do a bit of selective reading.  You will find a wealth of material and any number of creative ideas.  And this process will help you to know more for yourself, to be well informed.
2. Next, but only marginally behind knowing for yourself, is to create a new belief around intuition.  One that says it is highly valuable and worth looking out for in every decision that you make.
3. To help create that new belief, ask your intuition for help on every matter and then look for the response.  Be gentle, because it might take you a while to recognise the response.  And more than that, the intuitive response might be so creative that you will not give it any credit.  You might just ignore it!
4. Finding quiet space will increase the likelihood that you will get your intuitive messages.  Your intuition is not at all like your mind chatter, which starts the minute you open your eyes and will happily bombard you until you slip into a deep sleep.  Your mind chatter will overpower intuitive ideas at any time unless you still it and find space to let your intuition come through.
5. Meditation will help with that, as will any activity in which you still the mind and open yourself.  I call it dead brain activity and it includes ironing, cleaning, washing up and other repetitive things.  Repetition can be very soothing.  So when you are doing any of these things and you get a bright idea, chances are it has come through from your intuition.
6. Start to recognise your emotions.  Look for them and work out what they are; happiness, sadness, anxiety, contentment, fear, anger.  The reason that I say this is that some people mix up a feeling in their gut with their “gut feeling”, another term for intuition.  You need to know what your feelings feel like in a physical sense and then when you get a gut feeling, you can check it to see if you recognise a feeling that you are aware shows up in your gut.  Many people feel fear in their gut and this then confuses them that it may be a gut feeling.  Get in touch with your feelings.
7. Intuition feels good!!  It may make you go “whoa, what is that?  I am not doing that!!”  But I can assure you that if you know your feelings and how they effect you, you will find that intuition is entirely different.
8. You may experience your intuition as a bright light idea, or a whole of body experience that you just know is right.  Or it might be an idea that will not go away or one that comes to you out of the blue while your brain is quiet.  For some people, they get tingling or other physical sensations with their intuitive ideas.  Some people have no experience at all, they just use their intuition and enjoy great decision-making.
9. But the very best way to get your intuition back in the driving seat is to ask your higher self for answers.  In your quiet time or before you sleep, just pose the question that you have and ask for the answer.  The next morning, or after your meditation or any time over the next day or so, be alert to a response coming through.
10. For this reason, start to work with your dreams.  Dreams can be your intuition in action.  Again, there is plenty of material available on dreams.  Just pick a reputable source.

Your intuition is a lovely thing so go forth and play, have fun and enjoy giving it more life. You and our whole community can only benefit.

That alone can be difficult to interpret but the meaning is as simple as the words. You just start right now, from where you are, from what you are doing and who you are being and take a step to where you would like to be.  Just do one thing that will help you on that path and you can be sure that taking one step after another will open up a whole new world to you.

It does not matter what it is about self development that you would like to achieve. It may be that you want to have more money, get that amazing promotion that you have been after for so long or become a better person giving back as well as taking.  You will not make an almighty leap without making a start and that start comes right now from this place that you are in.

Lets say that one of your aims in life is to have money and the freedom to travel anywhere that you want to. Right now, you are surrounded by small children and a mortgage is big as the ocean.  How can you possibly see a time when you will have excess money and freedom.  So you pick up the latest best seller on making a million dollars and read it avidly but it does not give you any clear idea on how to get started.  My advice is to do something.  If you loved the book, read it again or go and get another by the same author or another author who takes your fancy.

Keep going, start to talk to people about what you want in life, listen to what they are saying about their dreams and before you know it, you will be thinking more about what you want than what you have. Now is the time to get really active about the Law of Attraction and I recommend “Law of Attraction – The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t Want” by Michael Losier.  It is a small and easy read filled with exercises that you can really use.  And it helps you to start from where you are at just as you would for any journey.

Key to getting started is to take action in the direction that you want to go.  So apart from learning more about how to get onto a self development plan of your own, you must also be prepared to do something yourself to get you there.  Dreaming helps and action is the vehicle for having the dream in your hands.  For more on getting started see my blog about working out your life path.

So just for fun, last night I commenced Ukulele lessons because in July this year the Uke Festival – an International Event is to be held right here in Cairns where I live. Wow, what fun that was, learning to play with around 30 other keen Uke fans.  Best play time that I have had in ages and I will be going back for more.

So, laugh, play, and enjoy your life my friends, I highly recommend it.

“When you are seeing the grand scheme,
the bigger picture of it all, you understand that
life is the funnest game you’ll ever get to play!
Seriousness is a disease to your soul.
Your overly serious self wants to be free,
so give yourself permission to have a big belly laugh today.
Let a little more lightness into your heart and drop whatever
weight you’ve been carrying on your shoulders right now.
Just take a glimpse of this infinite path your soul is on
and remember your only job is to enjoy your life.

A relaxed playful heart always serves as the best guide…”

reprinted from Enlightened Messages.

For those of you who would love to join us all here in Cairns for the Ukulele Festival, please get yourself a Uke and take some lessons because there is going to be a Guiness Book of Records attempt made for the largest group of Uke players. What a great time for laughing and playing that is going to be.

To give you an example, for years I have held on to the belief that my life is somewhat mapped out, a course over which I have some but not all control and that there is an inevitability to life. Over the later years of my life I have read enough, watched enough and heard enough to form the new belief that I am the master of my destiny.  I now decide what I will and will not do and how I will create my life to my personal desires and within my own integrity.  Well, that is what the life path is all about – deciding how you will live your life, what fits with what you want and knowing the action you will take to get what you desire.  Action is everything – see my blog of simple tips for more on taking action.

Sounds easy when I say it like that and I know from personal experience that getting in touch with your own beliefs, personal integrity and passions can take some time and can need some help. You can get started on your own goal setting using my following tips:-

1. Reflect on your childhood dreams (hopefully they are not that long ago that you can not remember), recall what you always thought as a child that you would be, do, have.
2. Reflect over all of your previous work, jobs, businesses.  Which did you enjoy the most and what was it that you enjoyed?
3. Ask your family and friends what they see as your special talents and write your own list of things that you like about yourself and what you do.
4. Read the business opportunities and jobs section of your newspaper – watch yourself carefully to see if there is any positive emotion attached to anything that you read.  That might give you a hint about what you would like to try.
5. Talk with lots of people about what they are doing and see if anything appeals to you.
6. Think about all areas of your life; employment, family, living, travel, loving, money, happiness, prosperity and ask yourself what you would like to have in each of those areas.
7. Explore yourself as a person.  Are you the kind of person you can like, be friends with, trust.  Is there some area that you would like to improve.

Use these ideas to guide you to a place where you start to just know yourself and your desires a little better and then start a list of what life success you want to achieve in this lifetime. And be prepared to change those goals because the more that you think about it the more you will get clear.  The more you have what you desire on your mind, the more opportunities you will see as they present themselves.  The more things that you try out, the clearer that you will be about what you do want and what you do not.

It is really helpful to be clear on what you do not want because the opposite to that is likely to be what you want. Start to focus on what you do want now that you have an idea.  And wait to see the passion.  Oh, and visit my Hot Tips For Success page to see the advice of other smart, sassy Australian women.  And if you like, talk to me about how you are going.

Use the Law of Attraction to attract success towards those things that you now know that you desire.

“There is in each of us so much goodness that if we could see it glow, it would light the world.”

Those words got me thinking about the path to enlightenment and the journey to becoming a better person. Often we take for granted the goodness that we have within and seek and seek for more and more.  Which is a good thing, I know, to be constantly learning and bettering ourselves.  And yet if we do not pause for a moment or two and celebrate the goodness that we already have within, let others see that and let our light shine, we lose the everyday opportunity to be the role model and teachers that we truly can be.  Every one of us has the capacity for that.

So take this moment to reflect on your own goodness within and let your light shine for all of those around you so that they too can be inspired.

So it came as a great surprise to me this week to discover that 6 days had passed since I had made an entry in my daily journal and 10 days had passed since I had written about my thankfulness, gratitude and appreciation for life. It happens that I had been feeling a bit low in mood and unmotivated over the last three days and yesterday I decided to explore that in my journal.  I opened up and noticed how many days since I had made an entry.  Well, I thought to myself, be your own coach!!

So I went through my daily habit, entering in my journal what was happening and working through how to move forward, going over my years goals and writing about how I was working towards them, listing my gratitude for what I have right now and what is coming to me in the future. Lo and behold, it worked, got me back on track and I decided on a couple of processes to help me through this low motivation phase.  My mood lifted almost immediately.

For the moment, my daily journal will consist of decisions on the actions that I am taking towards my life goals and I will check back over that each day to see my progress. With that inspiration, I completed 2 of my 3 tasks yesterday and one that was not on the list but the time was right.  Today I am well on the way with the 4 that I committed to for this day.

Learning? Sometimes it helps to just go back to the basics and I know that the daily journal is one of those basic but essential habits.  Oh and just for a bit of fun I had a look back to where I was this time last year.  Happily, much progress has been made and some of my big life decisions are coming to fruition right now.  Attract success – you betcha!!

So here are my ten reasons why I love blogging:-

1. It keeps me on my toes with what is currently of interest.
2. It is an opportunity for me to explore my own issues around the subject matter that I choose.
3. Researching the articles is great – I learn something every time.  How does it get any better than that?
4. My blog creates a link to others who offer comments and I find that very interesting.
5. Having a blog has caused me to be a blog surfer and I have all but given up TV watching in favour of all of the amazing things that I find on blogs.
6. I continue to have to learn about SEO and other interesting marketing strategies and that has only occurred because of my blog.
7. It is really nice to be part of a worldwide community of bloggers.
8. Old friends have found me and contacted me via my blog.
9. Blogs are more fun than facebook.
10. I get to keep polishing my writing skills in preparation for the book that I have in me.

So there you have it, ten reasons why I love blogging. What do you love so much that you can write ten reasons really easily?  Go on, have a go, have some fun and a positive experience.