Ever told yourself you were too fat or too thin?  Or too tall or too short?  Or any of the multitude of mean things people say behind others’ backs?

I was browsing through 43 Things  and found this little comment from a user named FlutterbyD that really touched a nerve:

Dear Body,

I am so sorry for putting you through six years of abuse. I never told you I loved you even when you were thin. Even then I said you were fat and not as pretty and attractive as the other girls in school. I am so sorry. By telling you that every day, every time I looked in the mirror I made you become that. I am so sorry. And I shoved food into you to compensate for aching emotions and that is not your burden to carry.

I would never tell a friend, a lover or a family member, or even a stranger, every day that they are fat and ugly. Yet I did it to you.

So, to my dear body, which still functions in all five bodily ways, I say sorry. I love you. I appreciate you. You ARE beautiful. I now choose to see you as that. I give you permission to work with me in letting go old negativity and in so doing, letting go of the unnecassary weight. To my body, I love you. You are gorgeous and perfect.

It was a great reminder how unfairly mean and critical we can be of ourselves at times.  Can you imagine telling your daughter how fat and ugly her body is every single day?  Or how dumb and stupid your kid brother is and if he keeps acting this way, he’ll never amount to anything?

You will never imagine shaming and verbally abusing a child that way, even another adult.  Yet so often we talk this way to ourselves.  It’s horrible and hurtful.  If someone came up to you and said that, don’t you feel like punching them in the nose?

If your lover came to you and spoke that way, would you still see them in the same light?  Will you still feel the same way for them the way you do now?

Think about how you are making yourself feel when you speak to yourself that way.  You can punch yourself in the nose but I doubt you’re compelled to go that route.  Unlike a lover, you can’t leave yourself either.  You’re stuck with same person you are for the rest of your life.  Choose to live it with the compassionate and understanding version of you.

It’s hard to count our blessings sometimes. We often get wrapped up in the desire for more achievement that we fail to appreciate how much we already have in our lives.

We always want something bigger, something better, something new.

It’s hard to appreciate from a mindset motivated by desire. Our focus is often driven towards that which we want to have, not on those that we already do.

But appreciation, like many have pointed out before, is the single greatest key towards manifesting more in our lives. The more we appreciate something, the more we seem to attact of the same things.

Furthermore, when we are in a mindset of appreciation, we move into a space of plenty. There is no scarcity in the universe when we are appreciating. There is no lack. Everything feels within reach.

So how do we reach this place? How do we move from our present thinking, whether we feel lack, envy or lust, to a place of gratitude and thankfulness?

1. Recognize that you are enough. You are enough. When you look inside you and search for what’s missing for you right here at this moment, you will find nothing. When the bible said we are all perfect, the bible meant it. Right at this moment, this very second, right exactly where you are now, what is lacking in your life? Not tomorrow, not someplace else, but right here right now, what is missing in that second? Nothing.

Scarcity seems to be created when we move into a space other than the moment. Lack happens from a projected reality, not in the present.

2. Notice good things that happen to you throughout the day, no matter how small.

3. Choose an area of your life you have been working on for the last year. Write down how you were in that area one year ago. Write down how you are now. Celebrate any improvement and express thankfulness for them.

4. Say “Thank you!” to everyone you deal with whenever appropriate.

5. Share your blessings.

6. Look at different areas of your life. Inventory them. Start with your relationships, your financial standing, you career down to any area you can think of. Then, list down all the good things about them. Let this activity inform you of how many good things you truly have in your life right now.

Technorati Tags: blessing, appreciation

When I was a teenager, I hung out with a couple of guys who studied magick and occult. I studied wih them and did many rituals of my own. One of the first things you do when beginning any invocation or ceremony, and this seemed true for almost all the magickal systems I looked at during the time, is to clear the environment around you to ward off any elements that may interfere with your intent.

While I have stopped doing magick for many years now, the habit of clearing the environment before any undertaking has stuck with me. I think it is one of the most useful things anyone trying to manifest results can ever do.

In the old rituals, clearing is usually performed for a specific area - usually a pentagram - where you will perform your ritual. It followed specific steps like putting guardians or invoking angels (or demons lol!) to guard every corner of the area and remove any negative energy present in your ritual space.

Looking back at it now, the rituals were a great way to clear the mind. The whole ritualistic clearing seemed like a methapor for what actually goes on in the mind during the ritual. Imagine warding off all negativity present in your head, then having angels guard it from any negativity that tries to make its way to you.

I do a lot of things now that pretty much took the place of these rituals - a lot of small stuff that clears negative thoughts and helps me stay on track throughout the day. Maybe you do some yourself. If you don’t, maybe it’s time you start your own little rituals - just things that help you remove negativity and clear your focus.

Some of the things I do include:

1. Screaming “I Feel Great!” and “Life is Fabulous!” everytime I wake up in the morning

2. Meditating

3. Staying away from negative subjects and aligning myself with positive work (it’s like having guardians)

4. Being thankful for small things

5. Exercising or doing something physically demanding when my mind is under stress (it clears my head in a great way)

I’m sure we all have things that clear negativity and promote positive things in our life. For most of us, it’s all a matter of consciously doing more of them instead and less of the things that do the opposite for us. Think of that process as being your own guardian angel, protecting your mind from things that will not serve you.