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You shape your life through the power of your own attention. Whatever you pay attention to, grows stronger in your life.

How is this possible?

Where your attention goes, the energy of life flows – and this is a scientific fact. Scientists have determined that the attention of an observer affects the movement of quantum particles. Your thoughts, emotions and feelings are energetic particles as well, and your attention draws closer to you the particles that resonate with what you focus on.

Whatever you pay attention to (whether by thinking about it, talking about it, worrying about it or fearing it) will increase and multiply until it absolutely affects your life and what you become.

•    If you constantly think about what frightens you, you will become more fearful.
•    If you constantly think about how unfair life is, you will see more and more evidence around you to support this viewpoint.
•    If you believe your life is worthless, your choices and behavior will reflect that.

On the other hand, when you play close,  purposeful attention to what is positive, hopeful, supportive, uplifting and encouraging, your life will inevitably express that also.

This doesn’t mean that every factor in your life is the manifestation of an inner thought. There are always other crucial factors involved as well: social issues, genetic factors, cultural influences and economic issues, for instance, over which you have little or no control. 

Nevertheless, you do have the power to control your response to life!  You have the power to choose what you focus on.  And whatever your circumstances, you can direct your attention to what will most positively support your attitudes and actions.

You can shift your focus – and your mood – in a number of ways:

•    Think about something else entirely: Switch you attention to something that engages and stimulates you.
•    Engage in demanding physical activity: Dance, walk, listen to music, exercise, play, or engage in absorbing activities that minimize negative thoughts.
•    Challenge unhelpful thoughts: Ask yourself whether they represent the absolute facts or whether they are simply your own negative projections, fears and assumptions.
•    List your worries: Consciously write down all your worries, fears and negative thoughts. Then crumple the paper and toss it, burn it or tear it up, visualizing yourself getting rid of the worry thought and negativity as well.
•    Make a gratitude list: List all the positive things in your life that you are grateful for, give thanks for those things, and feel the positive energy shifting you into a positive mindset

Take positive action to direct your focus to things that hold positive meaning and impact for you.  It will change your energy levels, your mood and, ultimately, your life.

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com
This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

The teenager at the drive-thru repeated my order: one medium coffee with two creams, no sugar.

At the pick-up window, I confirmed:  “Two creams and no sugar, right?”

“Yes,” she assured me as she handed me the cup.  After pulling into the busy traffic, I took a sip and… you guessed it: no cream and at least two sugars!
 
Now, if you’re used to eating a lot of sugar you may not notice, but I’m not and I did notice. It was annoying – even more so because this was not the first time it happened.

I was on my way to an early morning appointment and could not turn back without running late, so I had a choice to make: was I going to become grumpy about the incidence and let it ruin my day, or was I going to look at it differently?

I decided to focus on what was going right instead: the rush hour traffic was flowing, the sun was shining, and there were many things in my life to be grateful for. I chose to give thanks for all the blessings in my life instead.  Soon I felt my spirits shift from irritation at missing that first cup of java, to feeling happy and at peace.

Forty minutes later, I approached my destination and noticed another fast-food outlet belonging to the same chain. I pulled up to order a drinkable cup of coffee.  When I explained the bungled order to the attendant, she smiled and said: “I’d hate for us to spoil your day – let me get you another cup on us.” 

Wow, what a concept, I thought. She is not getting defensive – she’s choosing to make amends instead! When I thanked her, she said: “I know you’ve got a right to be grumpy about the mistake, and I appreciate it that you weren’t. Have a wonderful day!”

In the span of less than an hour, my emotions had shifted from feeling annoyed to being grateful to feeling great!  And my state of mind had a positive effect on the attendant as well!

What happened here?  I’d be the first to tell you that I’m not a saint, so something else was going on here.

That something was the power of gratitude.

My sincere gratitude had activated the law of attraction to draw to me circumstances that resonated with the vibrational frequencies of what I was focused on, including this pleasant encounter.

You see, everything in the universe consists of energy with a vibrating mass of atoms and subatomic particles at its core. You and I also consist of energy, and each one of us projects into the universe energy vibrations based on our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. This frequency attracts to it resonant vibrational frequencies that determine the events, situations, and circumstances we eventually see manifest in our lives.

So what does this have to do with gratitude?  Everything!

When you are in a sincere state of gratitude, your vibrational resonance is one of acceptance and harmony. That vibrational frequency attracts to you events and circumstances that are harmonious with the high, positive state you are in.

To understand how this works, you can think of yourself as a giant magnet. Whatever emotions you are feeling - be it love, fear, anger, happiness, joy, or gratitude – the emotions you hold in mind create a magnetic force that draws to you events, conditions and circumstances in direct correlation to what you are feeling. Fear of something creates a magnetic force that ultimately attracts more of what you fear. Gratitude for any situation sets up a magnetic force that draws to you more of what you’re expressing gratitude for.  Like attracts like – just like that.

Whenever you’re not grateful for an aspect of your life, you are in essence resisting that aspect.  Your focus shifts to what you don’t want.  That focus on what you DON’T want, creates a vibrational field that draws to you more of what you don’t want or resist! That’s why whatever you resist, persists in showing up.

Gratitude, on the other hand, moves you into acceptance of whatever IS.  It is a powerful springboard that can catapult you into a positive frame of mind, because it focuses on what you appreciate instead of on what appears to be lacking. It is one of the most powerful antidotes to the narcissistic self-absorption and entitlement so prevalent in western society.

How in the world can you be in a state of gratitude when everything seems to be going wrong?

Perhaps the things that appear to be going wrong, are actually going very right… from a Higher perspective!  Here’s why:

The first step to personal freedom always starts with self-responsibility. To lose weight, for instance, you need to first accept the fact of what your current weight is; you have to accept the fact that whatever you have been doing up until now, has been your responsibility - even when it didn’t work. Acknowledging where we’re at is the first step toward change – both in twelve-step groups and in life.

The conditions and circumstances you're currently experiencing are manifestations based on thoughts and emotions you chose at some point in the past. There’s no blame or judgment here, there’s simply the need to accept responsibility for what you have manifested so far, whether consciously or unconsciously.  Remember, you are the one that thinks your thoughts - your thoughts do not think you!

In fact, you created everything you currently experience in your life. You may well consider how it has worked for you.  Not great?  Then don’t despair, because your powers of creation does not stop here…

Since you can (or perhaps did) create and attract undesirable outcomes, you can also create positive results by changing your thoughts and focus. You have tremendous creative potential and when you start consciously working with these principles instead of resisting them, your life will make a dramatic turn for the better.

Current experiences are merely guideposts showing whether you are creating the desired outcomes or whether you need to make some adjustments in your thought processes. Once you see this, you have a choice to make:  are you going to blame yourself or others for what shows up in your life, or are you going to acknowledge what doesn’t work, and choose differently than you did before? 

Before you get mad, please hold off a moment and consider what energy you are resonating through that choice: anger and negative self-talk is NOT the kind of energy that will attract the outcomes you desire!

Your perception of something going ‘wrong’ is only your perception, that is all.  Most often, it is a limited perception based on fear, false beliefs and limited understanding that lacks the Higher perspective to see how EVERYTHING unfolds in your life in perfect order for your personal growth and evolution.
 
From a Higher perspective, nothing EVER goes "wrong." Everything is continuously unfolding in perfect order for the purpose of your growth. Simplistic notions of right and wrong are based on a limited perspective, looking at life through the lens of duality where there are only two sides to a coin.  This is a limited Cartesian perspective that was disproved more than a century ago by the more advanced quantum physic understanding that we actually live in a holographic universe.  In this holographic universe, there are multiple points of view, all forming part of a perfectly evolving universe. 

Whatever point of view you adopt simply reflects your position in cosmic consciousness, and in no way reflects the whole. What you regard as ‘wrong,’ is actually a perfect expression of potentialities emerging from the energies you have put out there.

Everything in your life is a miracle you created, an expression of the potentialities you set in motion. When you learn to recognize that and express gratitude for everything, you will begin to see the life-changing power of gratitude at work, creating much more to be grateful for!

To see this at work, let’s return to the coffee experience. When my coffee order was botched, I was disappointed but I had a choice. 

Had my negative self-talk kicked in with something along the lines of “Oh no, they messed up again. Why do things like that always happen to me? I never get a break!" I would have acted on a negative perception that everything went wrong and my day was ruined. Based on that perception, I would have been correct, because that would have been the outcome I eventually created! Unless I’d been able to change that perception, I would have allowed myself to have a miserable day. In fact, my grumpy mood would have literally attracted events, conditions, and circumstances to ensure my day goes less than stellar.

On the other hand, I chose to not let the experience ruin my day.  Instead, I felt the initial disappointment, and then chose not to blame or indulge in self-pity. Instead, I acknowledged that I did not know all the reasons why the order got botched, and I chose to focus on more positive and productive thoughts instead. The end result was a harmonious vibrational frequency that soon attracted a positive outcome.

Do you see what I mean about perception? Same situation, same actor, different perception, different outcome.

The universe operates in holographic perfection; it doesn't perceive anything from the limited dualistic perspective of good or bad that you and I see; it simply creates outcomes based on your vibrational resonance. Your attitudinal response to everything in your life determines what shows up next. The biblical text expresses it this way, "As you sow, so shall you reap."

We cannot possibly control everything going on around us in the world; but we can and must control our responses to life if we are to bring about positive change. Developing an attitude of gratitude is one of the most important things that you can do to bring about meaningful change.

A powerful way to cultivate gratitude is to focus on what is REALLY happening in your life, rather than falling into the trap of drama and complaining. The basic practice of Naikan, the Japanese art of self-reflection, consists of asking oneself three questions every day:

“What have I received today?
What have I given?
What trouble have I caused?"

List the responses in three columns each night.  You’ll find that there are invariably much more in the receiving column than in the giving column!  We are indeed blessed despite the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Use these questions to cultivate gratitude for what is showing up in your life, forgive yourself for trouble you have caused, and make new choices from a place of gratitude.  You may just find your attitude changing from grumpy… to grateful… to great!

©Copyright Ada Porat.
This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached. To sign up for Ada's inspirational monthly newsletter, visit www.AdaPorat.com

Did the past year deliver what you wanted? Did you attract the outcomes you really desired?

If life did not meet your expectations, perhaps it is time to prime the pump first!  Let me explain.

Most of us are looking for similar things in life: more time, love, joy, and quality of life.  What we sometimes forget, is that we first need to prime the pump in order to get what we want.

On my grandfather’s farm was a creaky old water pump.  Before it would start drawing water from the well, it had to be primed with a cup of water.  As a child, I used to marvel at the mystery of it all – first pouring a cup of water down the pump and then pumping the squeaky lever up and down, up and down… until a small stream of water would start running from the spout.  Once the stream started flowing, one could fill up as many buckets with water as needed, and it all started with the simple act of priming the pump with water first.

That water pump would not yield water unless it was primed with water – the very same substance that I desired from it.  I had to first contribute to the process the same substance that I desired to receive from it. In life it works the same way: we prime the pump of life with that which we contribute, and we attract that which we emanate. 

If we emanate lack, we cannot attract abundance and if we emanate anger, we cannot attract love.  Because like attracts like, we therefore need to first prime the pump by giving of that which we desire.

In the process, the very quality we focus on giving out becomes an integral part of our being. Just as that old water pump on the farm yielded as much water as desired after it was primed, a life that exudes love, abundance and joy, draws to it the same qualities in abundance.  

This New Year, instead of wishing for success, how about priming the pump instead with the very qualities you would like to see more of in your life!

Here are some ideas to get you started.  By practicing even just one of these principles consistently over time, you will find that life returns to you a bountiful measure of the same.

   1. I treat everyone in my life with the love and respect that I would receive from them.
   2. I believe it is more important to be loving than to be right, and I apply this in my life daily.
   3. I look for the beauty in every person and everything that crosses my path.
   4. I practice lovingkindness toward all sentient beings.
   5. I take steps to simplify my life so I can enjoy more with less.
   6. I find time to nurture my body, mind and soul, even if it is only a few minutes each day.
   7. I focus on what is right rather than what is wrong.
   8. I forgive those who have hurt me and let go of old wrongs so there may be peace on earth.
   9. I look for solutions, not for scapegoats.
  10. I find and express gratitude in my life each day.

©Copyright Ada Porat.
This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached. To sign up for Ada's inspirational monthly newsletter, visit www.AdaPorat.com

by Ada Porat

What is holding you back from life’s best today? Could it be fear of leaving your comfort zone?

How are you doing on your journey of growth and transformation? Are you moving forward at a rewarding rate or have things been slowing down recently? Is your life aligning with your dreams or are you still stuck with the same problems?

Perhaps you’ve made good progress earlier, only to find yourself stuck now.

That can be a very frustrating place because you’ve dreamed about how your life will be when you’ve reached your goals. You can see the benefits: a healthier lifestyle, a larger income, more satisfying relationships, more fulfilling work, and the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing exactly what you’ve always wanted to do.

Yet, although you can see the finish line, you are standing still.  You have put in lots of time and effort to develop new skills and change your habits. You have taken courses, embarked on new ventures, only to find yourself stuck now. 

So what happened?

I can't say I know the answer for you.  There could be many reasons, but I always suspect one factor when this happens. Up to now, you might have coped with change comfortably, making great strides without having had to stretch yourself too much.  But from here on, any new step forward requires a step out of your comfort zone.

To change your life for the better, you have to accept the fact that you can no longer do things the same old way.

Making a commitment to change is a big step.  During the early stages of growth, the excitement about the new process may energize you to read a book, take a course, or go through the details of setting up a new business or lifestyle.

All those preparations are necessary and good - but they amount to nothing unless you are able to follow through on your dream.  Creating your dream means venturing into new territory – new, unknown, and often uncomfortable terrain.  And that is where the rub lies. 

You may be spinning your wheels with all kinds of ‘keeping busy’ projects, yet not tackling the core issue because that would require stepping out of your comfort zone.

If you feel that you've made pretty good progress but are currently stalled, you’ll need to address the old habits, beliefs or fears that are holding you back.   Only by clearing out these limitations, can we free ourselves up to move forward into new ways of being without sabotaging our progress in some way.

Some of the biggest agents of sabotage in our lives are those subconscious belief systems that we inherited from our families, communities, the media or from peers.  These limiting beliefs will defeat our best efforts of willpower and intellect with their insidious messages of fear, lack, limitation, failure, shame, guilt and judgment.  Just as a weak foundation cannot support a tall structure built on it, so we are not able to successfully build positive outcomes in our lives when there are conflicting patterns at the core of our being. 

Limiting beliefs and patterns in the subconscious set up a low vibrational attractor field that will attract similar, low vibrational outcomes no matter how hard you try to accomplish optimal outcomes.  So instead of beating yourself up because of feeling stuck or because of your inability to venture out of your comfort zone (and thus adding to the problem), how about clearing those limiting patterns instead so you can set up high vibration attractor fields for optimal outcomes?

You don’t have to be the victim of your past conditioning or limiting beliefs any longer – unless you choose to remain there!  Today, there are wonderful techniques available that can help you to identify the root causes and triggers that cause energy blocks and stagnation in your life. 

As soon as you clear these low vibrations out of your energy field, your vibrational frequency will rise to higher levels and you will attract higher outcomes with grace and ease.

You are the captain of your ship, and you can change the course of your life for the better.  Make a commitment today, and in a few short weeks you will find that you are able to operate comfortably in areas you previously regarded as a discomfort zone.

As you clear out the causes of fear, confusion and insecurity, you will be able to access and radiate more peace, assurance, trust, faith, confidence and joy.

 

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com

This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.

There's More To Life Than This

By Ada Porat

We all dream of improving our lives – and so often we want to see results now! This makes us vulnerable to schemes that promise that we can lose lots of weight without proper diet or exercise, or that us we can become millionaires while working no more than two hours a day.

Why do we do that? The inner child always believes in magical fantasy and instant miracles. And as long as we indulge in its fairy tale, we may spend our time and energy looking for easy solutions, believing that all our problems will be solved if we could just find that magical person, situation or cure. This approach looks for getting what we want without having to do anything.

If you have been looking for that magic fix to the problems of your life, perhaps it is time to ask yourself how this approach to life has worked for you.  Perhaps it is time to make different choices? To see how that works, let’s look at the world of energy.

Quantum physics has shown how everything in the universe consists of energy. This energy works a lot like electricity. It is always there, yet we control access to it by flipping the switch on or off. And we flip the switch through the choices we make.

When we make a choice to do something – anything! -  our intention sends out a specific energy pattern that draws to us similar frequencies in the form of resonant situations or opportunities. In the world of quantum physics, this is known as an attractor field. If we do not like the results we are getting in life, perhaps it is time to make different choices.

To make better choices, we need to choose from our inner adult. The inner adult is that part within that allows us to take an honest look at where we are, to take responsibility for ourselves and be willing to do what is required for different outcomes.  At an energy level, choosing from our inner adult enables us to align with more optimal energy fields.

Any habitual response to life that doesn’t nourish your life force energy, is a choice that will deplete your energy field. Over time, it causes blockages in the energy flow of the etheric body, which carries the blueprint for the physical body.  Once this happens, the imbalance becomes reflected in your physical body. Your knee may go out, your sleep patterns may become disrupted, or your muscles hurt.

When this happens, the inner child often wants a magic cure or quick fix without taking responsibility for the mess we find ourselves in.  When we align with the inner adult, on the other hand, we will find within us the willingness to review our choices that led to the disturbance. By clearing the hidden beliefs and fears that led to the choices we have made, we can choose differently. And when we make different choices, the outcomes also change.

No matter where we are in life, the journey to greater well-being can start from where we are by being willing to do something about it. It is the critical first step toward feeling better and living better.

In all my years of working with people, I have found this willingness to be the most important ingredient for positive change. It fosters a strong partnership between the client and professional so they can work together toward optimal outcomes.

©Copyright Ada Porat.

This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached. Ada Porat is a kinesiologist and life balance coach who uses body/mind/spirit techniques to help clients make optimal choices. For more information, visit www.AdaPorat.com

Attracting More Love In Life

by Ada Porat

Through the centuries, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated as the day for love and we mark it with flowers, gestures of appreciation and gifts wrapped in red to symbolize passion.  It is a day celebrating relationships, whether you are single or committed.

Stephen Levine, the coauthor of Embracing the Beloved, suggests that we “use relationships as a means for profound inner growth.”  How true – our friends, families and partners offer us incredible opportunities to elevate our spiritual and emotional lives.

At times, these interactions can confuse, frustrated, and even hurt us, but when we acknowledge their importance and make a commitment to enhance them, we receive rich rewards.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share a ritual with you that you can use to enrich your relationships with those who matter to you - whether you are single, committed or married - by helping you gain insight into your own needs and expectations.  Sharing this ritual with someone can also be a way to strengthen the bond between you.

When you get a few quiet moments, I invite you to take a look at yourself from this perspective in order to enrich your life with more love in every way.

Step 1:  Explore Within

The first step in this ritual involves exploring your own heart and mind to find out what you have to offer.  What are the qualities you have to offer your partner, your friends, or in relationships? What are the qualities that you have that makes being with you fun and rewarding for others? What are the unique gifts within that you long to share with others? Make a list of the things you have to offer others – whether they be your co-workers, your friends, your family or your partner. 

Step 2: Make Your Wish List

Take a few moments now to reflect on what it is that you look for or want in relationships to feel fulfilled.  Do you desire companionship, acceptance, respect, caring or fun?  Perhaps it is important for you to have people in your life who are committed to the same goals and values.  Perhaps you really wish for one specific individual who can play with or coach you.  Simply list all the qualities in relationships that are important to you in your life right now, and that you wish to attract more of.  Perhaps you wish for someone to join you on a new adventure or you have a desire to be able to share freely from the heart.  Or perhaps you would love to explore new places, see a certain movie, learn a new skill, go to a concert, learn to play an instrument or take up a new hobby.

Step 3:  Pick A Few Items To Focus On 

Select a few items on from your wish list in Step 2 that will really make you happy, and MAKE PLANS TO DO THAT FOR YOURSELF!  When you start treating yourself the way you wish for others to treat you, magic happens.  Go to that movie you’ve been wanting to see; sign up for the class you’ve been wanting to do; buy yourself that CD that you’ve been dreaming about… because you are the person that knows best how to make yourself happy and you’re worth it! 

Step 4:  Learn To Appreciate Your Virtues

As you start taking action to living a rich and rewarding life, something exciting happens. When you start meeting the very qualities that you listed on your wish list in Step 2, you start becoming whole.  You start seeing yourself as a lovable, interesting, deserving and fascinating individual.  By honoring, nurturing and developing yourself, you develop an aura that radiates your sense of vitality.  This joyful energy starts drawing others to you – not because of need, but because of the inner beauty that you radiate!

Step 5:  Welcome Others Into Your Life

When you engage in your own life fully, your partner and loved ones will notice the change in you because you will be operating from a place of fullness instead of running on empty.  This is a fabulous gift you have to offer others – coming from that place of self-fulfillment and joy, instead of from a place of inner neediness.  Investing in and treating yourself as you would your very best friend, pay off wonderful dividends.  It raises your vibrational frequency from that of a lonely, needy person to that of an interesting, self-actualizing individual.  This higher vibration sets up an attractor field that will attract like vibrations, and you will find others attracted to you magnetically.  With new people drawn into your life, you will have your pick of friends with whom you can continue the journey of discovery and growth!

©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit www.adaporat.com

This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.