Can you Imagine something better?

Sometimes it's hard to imagine something BETTER when you've never experienced it....
This is THE huge reason why we allow ourselves to settle in life. 

In the past, when I dared to dream bigger, I would get overwhelmed with fearful thoughts of disappointment and being unappreciative; mostly the fear that better doesn't exist and/or that I would end up in a worse situation then what I was already experiencing.  Those are VERY powerful thoughts, and NOT in a good way.  They hold us back and keep us stuck and continuously disappointed. 

Truth is...we CAN have it as good as we want if we are not willing to settle.  If we put all of our time and effort into imaging and pursuing our ideal situation, we will be able to recognize it when we see it, feel it, have it!  

I could have never in a million years have imagined my life the way that it is now, back when I was too busy settling for my then current situation.  My whole life, relationship, career and whole mental outlook on life have changed completely, and it all started the day I decided to take a chance and dream bigger.

It all comes down to that one word... DECIDE. Decide to no longer settle.  Decide to be open and available to the relationship of your dreams.  Decide to start on a path to changing your career, or maybe your whole outlook on life.  The decision is yours...

What new decision will you make to stop settling???

You may just find the passion in life you've always been looking for.... 

Expanding your Imagination

When I first started attempting to utilize visualization, I'll admit I was not at all good at it.  In fact, I had pretty much decided that I wasn't able to do it!  Hearing people talk about using your third eye to imagine this or that frustrated me to no end.  How people were "seeing" thing with their eyes open, other than what was right in front of them, really confused me?! I had no idea ...but after talking with my best friend (who is a pro at visualization) I became determined to figure it out.  One day she gave me the biggest hint as to How to begin teaching myself the art of using my imagination, and I thought I would share that with you all today! Picturing what I knew...

First, picture something you know and see everyday, like your bedroom.  It might help to begin your visualization with your eyes closed.  From wherever you are, see your bedroom in as much detail as possible.  Imagine the room size, your furniture, the decorations on your walls and furniture.  Then expand into the other senses...what does your room feel like? What emotions come up when you picture your room? Also, what does it feel like when you touch things, your bedding, the flooring, the walls? How does it smell? Adding the other senses allows you to make what you're imagining more vivid and "real".   
 
Don't get frustrated if you can't see all the details at first. When I first started huge portions of what I was visualizing were cloudy or "grayed-out".  As I practiced more, the "fog" began to clear and I could see my room in more and more detail.  I also found that it helped to switch up what I was trying to visualize...the inside of my car, my kitchen...at first I kept to things in my present that I see everyday.  

Once I was getting good at visualizing with my eyes closed, I expanded my practice by starting to open my eyes and keep the image of my room in my "mind's eye".  You know how you can stare out into "space", not really seeing what you're looking at, because you're lost in thought? This is the same thing you can do with your images.  Find a calm spot that is not moving and quiet at which to stare while you focus on your mind on the image of your room.   Go through the same process of allowing yourself to practice "focusing" your sight.  Eventually you'll be able to do this no matter what is happening in your environment.

I then started trying to picture places from my past in the same way, first with my eyes closed, and then with them open.  You're tapping into your memory, but your imagination fills in the gaps of things you don't specifically remember. You can then start to focus on people or pets that are moving and living ... (and don't forget to add in all your senses!)

Once  you get good at "remembering"... start making changes.  Go back into your bedroom, change the wall color, change your bedding, move the furniture around and visualize what this will look like.  

Now you're ready to visualize your future!  What would you like your ideal bedroom to look like? Bigger? Smaller? What kind of window would you like? What colors? What lights? What furniture would you have and where would it be? Create in your mind the perfect bedroom and then focus on how you would feel in that amazing room! 

You can use this to create anything in your future...a great relationship, a new job, whatever it is you'd like in your future!  Using your imagination is a great way to transport yourself into the energy of already having what it is you desire! It serves to motivate and clarify you on your goals. When you imagine how you'll feel, it further clarifies by allowing you to decided if what you're visualizing is actually creating the desired emotional responses.  If not, change a few things you might think will make you feel better... 

This takes time and effort, but once you get the hang of it, it can be VERY fun to see what you've visualized actually come to you in real life!  When you've already imagined it, you'll be able to immediately recognize it when you encounter it in your present!

Now go get lost in your imagination!!! 

The Guilt Spreading Culprit

We spend our lives completely focused on, and obsessed with, the thoughts and feelings of others in relation to ourselves.  We give them all of our power by needing and wanting their approval and acceptance. We believe we just KNOW what they must be thinking and feeling, and therefore spend our whole lives behaving in a way we think they will find acceptable.  We spend hours, and sometimes sleepless nights, trying to determine what they're thinking, and how to respond.  Truth is, most of the time, we have NO idea what people are actually thinking...  We decide what they're thinking and then get angry, stressed, bitter, resentful, hurt, guilty and all of the other potential emotions that THEY'VE caused US!  Well, how dare they! 

In actuality, all of the emotions that come from our reactions to other people, don't ever tell us about the reality of the other person.  Our reactions can only serve to help us learn about and understand Ourselves!  How we react reflects our own feelings about ourselves right back to us.  We place blame on someone making us feel guilty, for example, when really it's You telling Yourself you SHOULD feel guilty...sometimes our beliefs agree with the idea we should feel guilty, and sometimes we are fighting this belief.  So for instance, we might get angry when we feel guilty because on a subconscious level we think we SHOULD feel guilty, but on a conscious level we don't agree, and therefore, it stirs up all kinds of emotions and confused feelings.  The conscious thought of disagreement makes us place the fault of our guilty emotions on the other person, when it was not really coming from them in the first place.  For this reason, one person can experience the same wrath of the "guilt spreading culprit" by taking on the guilt, and another person, without the subconscious expectation of guilt, would not feel one bit of guilt after the interaction.  

We're driven by our subconscious "programming", but once we realize that all of the people in our lives are placed there to help teach us what that programming is, we can look at them in an entirely different way!! People no longer have to be the Source of our frustrations or happiness, they are simply the KEY to self-understanding.  Every time we react emotionally to a person, we can choose to use the key and open the door to self-understanding information to which we previously had no access. This CHOICE of going within to figure out the source of our emotions is the key to changing them.  Not only will relationships improve, but what was subconscious becomes conscious and therefore no longer has any power over us!  What we become aware of, we can then change....change our belief, our perception, our situation or whatever is appropriate!  Sometimes it just helps us to love and accept ourselves more.  

So next time someone in your life "causes" you to react emotionally, take a step back, thank them for being your key, unlock the door and walk through it!! What you learn will always be invaluable <3