Oops I did it again

I've always wanted a mentor. Someone to guide me and help me. I've always been a reader. When I was a kid, I carried around an big Lego box full of books. Yesterday when I was reading Wishes Fulfilled I realized that I have always had the most amazing mentors. That's probably one of the reasons I know so much ;) If there was a subject I was interested in or some area of my life I needed help or wasn't sure about something, I would go straight to the experts, a book. And not just one book, I'd buy at least 5 on the subject. It's good to have other view point on the same subject.

As I was visiting with my mentor, Dr. Wayne Dyer, who I'm not even sure if he's a real doctor cause these days it seems that if Oprah feels you should be a doctor, then you are a doctor. Talk about some power! Too bad Dr. Phil got there before me, Dr. Philly would've been cool.

Anyway, I'm reading his book Wishes Fulfilled. I can't put it down, it is so far the most powerful book I've ever read. The book is about mastering the art of manifesting. I feel like I've been talking the talk but I haven't really been walking the walk. That's why I haven't written in awhile, I've been trying to absorb and practice what I preach.

When it comes to manifesting something, you have to say it in the present tense, as if it has already happened. It caused me to look at my own life and see what I have been affirming. Let's start with my blog: my introduction explains it all. "Hi I'm Felicia and I'm a fat vegetarian". Really? What the heck was I thinking?! My boyfriend aslo pointed that out to me awhile back (he's so smart.) And in one of my first posts I think I even state that I'll probably change the name of my blog. Well guess what, oops I did it again, I manifested what I say, think and affirm. I'm renaming my blog, and I'm still a fat vegetarian.

But don't cry for me Argentina, I'm not that upset about it. We'll talk more about that in another episode. Oh and I also had a disclaimer on my first post I think. To be completely honest, the reason why I put it was because I was a people pleaser and didn't want to offend or leave anyone out. Here's a little pearl of wisdom, YOU CAN'T BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE. For those of you that are people pleasers too, don't worry, it'll get easier the more you stop worrying about everyone else. It's such an exhilarating experience. I feel like I'm a rebel again. And no one wants you to be their everything. That's why there are so many people, so we can help each other. There's people that I can reach that you can't and vice versa. You don't have to save the world by yourself. We're in this together. As I write this paragraph, Ziggy Marley's True To Myself just came on Pandora.


Life has come a long way since yesterday, I say
And its not the same old thing over again, I say
Just do what you feel and don't you fool yourself, I say
Cause I can't make you happy unless I am, I say, I say 

Got to be true to myself, got to be true to myself

Day in day out I've asked many questions, I say
Only to find the truth it never changes, I say
If you don't deal with it it keeps killing you a little by little, I say
call me selfish if you will my life I alone can live, I say, I say 

Got to be true to myself, got to be true to myself

I don't care if it hurts, I'm tired of lies and all these games
I've reached a point in life, no longer can I be this way
Don't come crying to me, I too have shed my share of tears
I'm moving on, yes, I'm grooving on ,well I'm finally free I've

Got to be true to myself, got to be true to myself

So today is about change. Change is good, to me change equals growth (that's what it should be about). Bye bye fat vegetarian girl, you didn't even craft that much anyway.

Hello Soul Rebel.

CURE FOR CANCER, DIABETES, ETC...

WE INTERRUPT YOUR POINTLESS WEB BROWSING TO SHARE THIS BREAKING NEWS: There IS a cure for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Awhile back, I ready The China Study and thanks to  Brian Wendel, you can watch a movie that sums up The China Study. The movie is called Forks Over Knives and I urge you to check it out if you don't believe me, or even if you do, so you can really see for yourself the importance of good eating. It's on netflix, or just buy it. I promise it's worth it.

For those of you who don't know, I'm a vegetarian. A sometimes struggling vegetarian (which is why I'm a chubby vegetarian). But this movie just gave me the boost I needed to really end my twenty-something year relationship with cheese and bbq. I hope you've read my other post explaining how all of this started. You can read it here. Anyway, I switched to a vegetarian diet about 7 months ago. To be honest, while health was a goal, it wasn't my number one. Number one for me was vanity, just like most american women. I haven't weighed myself, I don't own a scale but this week I'll see how my No-Diet Diet went. I'll have a post on that later, but for now lets focus on the real issue, health. 

As much as I don't like math, I LOVE statistics. They really help me grasp the facts. Here are some facts from The China Study.

Leading Causes of Death in the United States:

Heart Disease...................710,760

Cancer..........................553,091

Medical Care....................225,400

Stroke..........................167,661

Respiratory Disease.............122,009

Accidents........................97,900

If you're confused about the deaths by medical care, this is where it really gets good. Lets break down that number:

Number of Americans Per Year Who Die From-

Medication Errors. ................7,400

Unnecessary Surgery...............12,000

Other Preventable Errors in Hospitals........20,000

Hospital Borne Infections.........80,000

Adverse Drug Effects.............106,000     

note: The 106,000 deaths by drug effects is by people who are taking medication as directed!!!

Now that I have your attention, please stay with me on this. 

"We pay more for our health care than any other country in the world. We spent over a trillion dollars on health care in 1997. In fact, the cost of our "health" is spiraling so far out of control that the Health Care Financing Administration predicted that our system would cost 16 trillion dollars by 2030."- Dr. Campbell, The China Study

So for those of you who think that you can't afford to eat healthy, here's an idea, stop paying for health insurance and buy some vegetables. (I am in no way liable if you decide to do that and then try and sue me for something that happens.!)

Let me tell you that I know exactly how hard it is to eat healthy. I love food, all kinds of food, and thanks to american scientists, I am addicted to bad foods. You are too. Do you even wonder why you can't stay on that diet, or you can't stop drinking cokes? Don't be to hard on yourself, it's not your fault. We are addicted to these foods because the food companies like it that way. Watch this

We've heard it before but we don't seem to care, myself included. The worst thing about all of this is that we know better, we know that we're fatter and sicker than ever but we don't do anything about it because our priorities are so messed up. The whole system is corrupt. Multi-billion dollar companies are doing what's best for their wallets and 99% of us fall for it. 

They tell us we need to have nice cars, houses, clothes, tv's, ipods, etc which means that we work ourselves into the ground so we can spoil ourselves and our children with material things but we are killing ourselves in the process. Literally killing ourselves. Just by what we eat. If we all could slow down and really examine our priorities, we could change the course of this dead end road. Buy healthy food, take time to cook good, healthy meals. Look at your finances and see where you could possibly cut back in order to afford healthy food. Teach your kids the importance of eating good. Share this blog with your friends and family. 

I know most of us have already lost loved ones to these preventable diseases. Please, take the time to watch this movie. How much more unhealthy food are we going to inhale before the only weight we can lose is by the cancer in our stomachs?

Obstacles vs Opportunities

Earlier this week I was listening to Dr. Kimberely's Manifestation Moments and she made a comment that stuck with me. When I listen or read something, I like to stop, reflect, and re-read or listen to it again, just to keep the wheels turning. She was talking about perception, how we perceive the things in our lives. What she said was "change the way you look at things and the things you look at change". 


Society these days likes the victim mentality. That life is happening to us, that we have no control or power. And though it's true that you can't always change the circumstances, you can always change your perception of that circumstance. 


Sometimes it takes a few times for me to really let these ideas sink in. I can't seem to apply it to my life until I really get it. I watched a movie called Another Earth and one of the main characters told a story and it made me really get the idea about our perception. I want to share it with you. Don't worry, it doesn't spoil the movie.

“You know the story of the Russian cosmonaut? So the cosmonaut, he’s the first man ever to go into space, right? The Russians beat the Americans. So he goes up in this big spaceship, but the only habitable part of it is very small. So the cosmonaut is in there, and he’s got this portal window, and he’s looking out of it, and he sees the curvature of the earth for the first time. The first man to ever look at the planet he’s from. And he’s lost in the moment, and all of a sudden this strange ticking begins coming out of the dashboard.

He rips out the control panel right? Takes out his tools trying to find the sound, trying to stop this sound, but he can’t find it. He can’t stop it. It keeps going. A few hours into this begins to feel like torture. A few days go by with this sound, and he knows: this small sound will break him. He’ll lose his mind. What’s he gonna do? He’s up in space, alone, in a space closet. He’s got twenty five days left to go! With this sound!

So the cosmonaut decides the only way to save his sanity is to fall in love with this sound.

So he closes his eyes. And he goes into his imagination. And then he opens them. He doesn’t hear ticking anymore. He hears music. And he spends the remainder of his time, sailing through space in total bliss, and peace.”

Isn't that a great way to help you visualize the idea? We can't control people, situations, etc., but we can control ourselves. We have the power to choose! Everyday! You might be stuck in a situation, relationship, job, city, whatever, but in the meantime, choose peace. Choose happiness. Choose to see the situation differently. Change your mind about how the story is going, don't just go along with it if you don't like it.  

Every time we're faced with "obstacles", see them as opportunities to learn, and to grow. Choose peace, even if it's only in your head.

LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is my FAVORITE holiday. I love the hearts and flowers everywhere, the colors, the candies (especially the chocolates), I love it all! I was at the store earlier and I wished the cashier a happy valentine's day and she said she was sad because she didn't have a valentine and I said "of course you do, you have yourself!". She just stared at me like I was crazy. But it's true! You always have yourself.

Maybe you're in a relationship and it's not the best, or maybe you're single, or you might be blessed to be with an amazing person, but you always need to love yourself. You are the most important person in your life. You have to love yourself and in order to love your self, you need to know yourself. How are you going to share yourself with another person if you don't even know who you are?

What makes you happy? What kinds of foods do you like? What are your morals and values? If you don't know those things, how do you expect to express them to someone else? Communication is so important in a relationship and you need to be able to ask for what you want. You have to know yourself so you can effectively communicate what you need from your partner. A lot of the time, we get into arguments over dumb stuff, but what's really happening is we aren't getting what we need from them; affection, attention, appreciation.
You need to know yourself so when you notice you aren't getting those things you need, you can ask for them. And by loving yourself and putting yourself at the top of YOUR list, you are teaching people they need to love you the way you love yourself.

Look in the mirror and love the person you see. We aren't perfect, we all have things we don't like about ourselves, but don't beat yourself up. Take those things and learn and grow. Love yourself in the process. Treat everyday like it's Valentine's day. (But don't go overboard with the chocolate).  xoxo

What should you do with your life?

What do you really want to do with your life? Are you doing what makes your heart sing? Or do you have a job that just pays the bills. Life happens so fast that a job that you took "in the meantime" has now turned into your full-time job. I know it's hard to spend time doing anything when you're just making it, or barely getting by. I'm just trying to plant some seeds here. 


First of all, you are in that job because YOU chose to be there. You got an interview or maybe someone got the job for you, either way, YOU chose to be there and you choose every day to go. You also have the power to chose to find another job. 

My job is to make people feel good. To help them with the aches and pains. To help ease stress and tension. I see people all the time who are stressed and grumpy and tired. Miserable with their jobs and just going through the motions. It breaks my heart that there are so many people who hate waking up every day to go to the job they hate, or maybe they love their job but hate their co-workers. You can read about that here. For now, let's talk about the person who hates going to work.

This is a bigger deal than most of us think. You might think "how can my miserable job be that big of a deal" or that you don't make a difference. I'm here to tell you that YOU DO. One person alone might not make that much of a difference but guess what, you don't live on the earth alone! We each have a part to play. And guess what else, we all know what we're supposed to be doing. (That little passion you have that you hid away when you were told to "grow up", that's a good start.) 


I used to think that we all had major things we had to do to change the world until I read another book that changed my life, "The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity". In this book, the author, Edwene Gaines talks about how we have these desires in our hearts that are a guide to what we should be doing. It doesn't mean you have to quit your job and go help build shelters in a 3rd world country. It might be something as simple as baking cakes,working with animals or building furniture. Here's an excerpt from here book about finding your divine purpose:


      "At one time or another you've probably asked yourself, "What is the purpose of my life? What is it's meaning? Why am I here on Earth, and what am I supposed to be doing?" Chances are, you work hard, whether you take care of a household or have a job outside of the home. Your days are filled with seemingly endless chores and tasks. Perhaps sometimes, when you get tired and stressed out, life can seem like just one long and meaningless "to-do" list with bland retirement and a gold-plated watch at the end of it.
       You may have a sense that given the right circumstances, you could do much more than you are doing now. Perhaps you long to make a real difference in the world, to assign meaning to your life, and to listen to the yearnings of your very soul. 
      All of the great and wise people who ever made a difference on planet Earth heard their soul's yearnings and chose a purpose for their lives. People such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela seem to have been driven by a self-defined purpose that they chose for themselves. Now, we often think of such people with a sense of awe and respect as if they were somehow different from us- better, smarter, more saintly or more courageous. Sometimes they hardly seem human.
     But the truth is that the only real difference between you and those people is that they all seemed to have a clearly defined life purpose that they selected for themselves and then embraced with steadfast dedication and unshakable determination.
    You have that very same opportunity as well. Every single one of us has some special gift, some special interest, some special talent, some special way of impacting this world, so that it becomes a better place for everyone. You have the potential to live at the level of Gandhi or Mother Teresa. 
      The question you must ask yourself is, "Am I willing to define, embrace, and hold fast to my divine purpose, prayerfully, persistently, and patiently?" If the answer is yes, than the impossible truly can become possible in your life."


Please tell me that gave you chills?! If not, you better get to a hospital right away because you need to be revived. Her book is so incredible and I am so thankful for it to have been place in my life. You really should check it out, it's a great, easy read. I've also made it easier by giving you this link so you can buy it right now. 


The reason why I feel it's so important to be doing what you love, whatever that may be, is because of this: We're supposed to do a job that makes us happy, that we love, because when we do we spread joy. We are fulfilled. When we have a job we hate, we spread negativity. We are empty. And we try so hard to fill that void with stuff. When we do what we love, our words are encouraging and uplifting. When we aren't doing what we love, our words are hurtful and draining. We each have a job to do. And we won't be happy until we do it. 

It really is simple. Think about all the people who tell you you can't do ______. That it's not a real job. Don't listen. That is their own fear talking. And if they were doing a job they loved, I bet they'd be singing a different tune. If no one has ever told you that you can do whatever your heart is telling you to do, I'm telling you now. YOU CAN. 


Spend some time figuring out what you would love to do. A good place to start is, "If you didn't get paid for what you're doing, would you still do it?"  Next step is to have faith. When you take that leap of faith, the universe (God) will do the rest. 


Think about how different the world would be if we all were doing  jobs we loved? There would be a lot less complaining! And I bet all the Wal-marts in the world would have even less people at the registers they have now.

3 easy steps to manifesting

Have you ever had someone you hadn't seen in awhile tell you you look like you've lost weight but you know that you spent all morning trying to find a shirt that made you look the least fat but it still made you feel good when they said it, right? I'm sure you've bought things before too, that someone said would make you or your life better. If not, go to the mall and talk to those people selling junk in those kiosks. The point is, if you belief that something works, it will. All I'm asking is you stay open and hang in there while I share these ideas about manifesting.

man·i·fes·ta·tion: the act of seeing or visualizing something


You might have heard the word manifestation before, or heard of the Law of Attraction. I'm not going to get all new-agey and explain all about the law of attraction, I'm gonna sum it up and move on. The law of attraction is a theory or belief that we can attract anything into our lives. When you manifest something, that means that you are consciously attracting some thing or situation into your life. I'm not going to get into the details of manifesting or a detailed explanation right now, I'm going to get right to the good stuff.

This article is to help you understand the power of our minds and to hopefully expand your current beliefs.

Here are some examples from Psychology Today.


In 2006, Harvard Professor Ellen Langer solicited the help of 84 Boston hotel housekeepers. Dr. Langer told the workers at four of the hotels that their work provided good exercise and "met the guidelines for a healthy, active lifestyle." To the housekeepers at the other three hotels, Langer said nothing. Four weeks later, she compared the two groups. The women who hadn't heard about the health benefits of their work showed no change in weight, body fat, or blood pressure. The housekeepers who heard that their work was good exercise, by contrast, lost an average of two pounds and 0.5 percent of their body fat--and experienced a 10 percent drop in their systolic blood pressure.


In 2008, Dr. Lysann Damisch asked some research subjects to see how many putts they could make in ten tries. For half of the putts, her researchers handed the golfers a ball that "turned out be the lucky one" in previous trials. In the other cases, researchers told participants that their ball was the one "everyone has used so far. "What happened? Participants putting the "lucky" ball made two more putts out of ten then they made putting the ordinary ball.


On April 2, The New York Times reported on a Cornell University discovery about Cheetos without their flavorless artificial orange coloring:They don't taste cheesy. Kantha Shelke, a food chemist with the Institute of Food Technologists, reminded the Times reporters of previous tests in which tasteless yellow coloring was added to vanilla pudding. How did the vanilla pudding taste to the tasters?

"Banana" and "lemon" were the most popular answers.


Our minds are pretty incredible! Why not use that power to have the life you always dreamed of? There are tons of books and articles out there about the best ways to manifest but I'm going to share my experiences with manifesting things into my life. We are all different and things happen differently, try a few, learn other ones, do what works for you.


Here are the steps to manifesting:

1. Know what you want! Sounds simple, right? WRONG. How many people know what they want? Successful people know exactly what they want. It's not important to figure out all the details on how it's going to happen, but you need to know what you want! And be specific. Don't just say "I want a job". There are tons of jobs out there that I guarantee you don't want. You have to know what you want in order to get it. The universe is waiting to give it to you. Matt 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you"


2. Be grateful. Be grateful for what you already have. For example, let's say you want to manifest a new car. How are you treating the car you currently have? Same for houses, clothes, other material things. If you want a bigger/nicer house, how does your house look right now? Is it a disaster? What makes you think that a bigger house will solve that? Be thankful for the house you do have. Don't be discouraged, be thankful! Sometimes it's easier to dream of nicer things when the things we have don't look so nice. Clean your little house/ old busted car. Part of manifesting is being able to spend some time imagining and creating. If your living space looks like a war zone, you won't be able to relax and imagine the life you want. Wake up, clean your space, and be thankful!!

3. Make room for the life you want. We are very visual creatures. So use visuals to help you believe something. If you want to manifest a better job but you have a closet full clothes that say "I'm lazy and don't want to work", go buy a couple things to wear to an interview. Also, do you have a resume for that dream job? If you want new things, get rid of some of the crap that you have. Prepare yourself for the life you want. Do you want a great relationship? That's going to be hard if you have some dead beat boyfriend/ girlfriend hanging around. Now don't go breaking up with someone because they aren't exactly what you want, that's not what I'm saying. What I mean is, if you know that the person you are with is not what's best for you, let it go. How are you going to have the person of your dreams when you are spending your time with a nightmare. Sometimes manifestations happen very quickly so you need to be ready!


Be open and try it. It couldn't hurt to try.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all- Dale Carnegie

Brave Girls Club

 I receive emails from Brave Girls Club. It's a website created by sisters Melody and Kathy. Their work is dedicated to empowering women to find themselves through journaling, art, and other creative means. I could write all day about the fun, beautiful stuff they're doing but you should check it out for yourself. Visit their website to check out all the amazing stuff they're doing. 

I get their daily email called "the daily truth". It's a short paragraph full of love and encouragement, like getting a little note from your best friend and they just make you feel good. Anyway, today's email says:

 

I believe that everything does happen when it's supposed to. People come in and out of our lives right on time. I think it's safe to say that we all have had experiences in our lives that make us stop and realize that there is a higher power at work. And the best part is that if we are open and trusting and always remember that things will be okay, they will work out for the best, we can feel peace. Just knowing that we are being taken care of ALL the time is a great, incredible, peaceful feeling. 


It's easy to remember that when things are going good, when things are going the way we want. But it's especially important to remember that when things are tough, when they aren't going our way. When God closes one door, another is always opened. And it's always better than what we thought or had planned. Even if we can't see it at that moment, we can always look back and see that it was always going to be okay. Everything in life is a lesson. Life is a lesson and people and situations are our teachers. Learn and grow and be thankful.