Joyous Life Works- April 1, 2008

Hi,

I've been in Ireland now for five days, with my husband and his family. We've rented a place that's the old schoolhouse in the town of Clifden in Galway, near the western coast of Ireland, and we're all staying here.

It's a bit of a challenge being with people you aren't accustomed to living with, who have distinctly different ways of looking at and doing things, than you do. What I'm noticing is that I have incredible opportunities to practice some of the lessons I'm working on from the Abraham-Hicks work, Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires. I am consistently looking for what I can be happy or grateful about - and there are so many things! For one thing, I am very grateful that my great grandparents left Ireland for San Francisco in the late 1800's. Ireland is so beautiful, the people are really delightful, AND I prefer warmer temperatures, my fruit trees, and fewer rocks. To live here truly requires you be of hearty stock!

We've had some wonderful day trips, so I have lots of stories to tell - and pictures, too, eventually!

Blessings and peace to all of you!

One of the indicators of a person's mental status is whether or not they hear voices. But, if we're paying attention, we'll find that most of us are listening to voices, although we may consider them to be thoughts, rather than "voices." Our self-talk is going on most of the time, so much so, that if we start to pay attention, we'll be amazed.

Supportive vs. Unsupportive "Voices"

Some of the thoughts/voices are helpful and supportive. Some are most definitely not. Some of us have learned to ignore those that aren't supportive; most of us have not...not even realizing we have a choice in the matter.

We have a choice?

Sometimes it's hard to believe we actually have a choice. Most of the time, it doesn't seem that way, does it? There's a reason for that...not only do we listen to the voices, we begin to believe them, and then they become our Truth. Once they become our Truth, or the Truth about us, the fact that we can choose no longer seems possible. That voice is me and I know me, so this must be true.

But, thankfully, what we think is True about us or our situation might not be. We can learn to question the thoughts and voices that come to us that don't help us live with more joy, peace, and fulfillment. Jerry and Esther Hicks write that joy is our nature and that any feeling of unease is an indicator that we are not allowing the abundance of well-being flow to us. So, questioning our negative thinking is a great way to open up the pipes to let the joy flow!

Changing our thinking

There are ways to retrain ourselves, so that we can count on ourselves for support. Noticing the thoughts and voices as early as possible, questioning the thinking, and choosing more supportive thoughts are among them.

Noticing your thoughts and voices. Although it takes some practice, we can become more aware of our thinking, particularly the negative thinking, much more quickly. At first, it may be helpful to have a small notebook to keep track, jotting down your thoughts at the first signs of unease.

Question your thinking. Byron Katie has done some great work in this area (www.thework.com). Using four basic questions and some turnarounds, we can undo a lot of tangled thinking! E.g., My father-in-law should be more considerate. Is it true? Well, duh, yes.

Choose your thinking. When you do notice unproductive, unsupportive thoughts or voices, investigate them a bit, see if there isn't a thought that you can "take hold of" that will be more helpful to you. It's best if the new thought isn't too far a leap for you. For example, if I hear a thought about being "so out of shape," (doesn't feel supportive) I can still hold on to being grateful that my health is really quite good and that everything works pretty well (gratitude is a helpful thought).

Practice

This week take more notice of your thoughts and voices. Keep a notebook of them, if that works for you. Once you get the hang of this practice, and see how quickly you can nip bad feelings "in the bud" it can become almost a game! Ah! Caught one!

Talk Back: I love to hear from you, and I read every email personally, even when I can't reply to all of them. Send your thoughts to shawn@joyouslifeworks.com. And if you prefer not to be quoted in a future article, just let me know.

Please feel free to pass it on or to reprint this article on your Web site or in your own e-zine. I ask is that you forward the newsletter in its entirety and/or that you include the following paragraph and copyright line with live link if you reprint the article.

This article originally appeared in the Joyous Life e-zine and is reprinted with permission from the author. Shawn Murphey is owner of Joyous LifeWorks. <http://www.joyouslifeworks.com/>

For more information, visit Joyous LifeWorks.

Saturday, April 19 - Spring Cleaning for Heart and Soul - Let your heart and soul get the fluffing up, dusting off and airing out they need to thrive in this 1/2 day class.
9:30 am - 1:00 pm

Tuesday, April 22nd - Introduction to Speaking Circles

Contact me, or phone me at 916-369-2077, for more information on either event or to register.

I now have space for 2 clients who want to receive Law of Attraction-specific coaching over the next three months! This work is exciting and the potential for growth is amazing. Please contact me if you want to overcome the inner obstacles keeping you from attracting the life you deserve.