Finding a better-feeling thought . . .on the way to feeling GOOD

"There is always an even-happier thought than the happy thought you're thinking now. There is always even a better feeling--your capacity to achieve a better feeling is unlimited." ~ Abraham

So today I spent most of my day really reaching for a better-feeling thought. This was the day that I put these words to the test. And I mean, I started doing it this morning, from the minute I woke up until right about now as I type these words. I usually wake up and say an internal "Thank You" to the Universe as I take a peek at my vision board and pick out a word or phrase for my day. This morning's word was OM (the Universal symbol of Creation). Right when I looked at the word and proceeded to step off the bed, (our bed is quite high and I'm short so I sort of jump off of it every morning), I had a small pang of "not-quite-rightness" which I immediately followed with another big "Thank YOU" to the Universe for another day.

I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the IRS. Yes, I truly believe that we live in an abundant world and I know that I am alright and on the right path, but when you have to deal with the IRS, some times it can become overwhelming. Without going into details, being a freelancer has put me in a position where I owe back taxes. It's all being taken care of but it can be a little stressful. Ha! So, I knew that today was the day I had to take care of the matter and I was determined to continue loving what is no matter what.

Luckily, it was Day-Dreaming Tuesday and I made it my intention to really concentrate on my dreams and focus as much of my attention as possible on the dreams I want to make reality. This helped immensely. Although I knew I had to make the phone call, being involved in a wonderful and magical daydream of things to come was just what I needed. This kept me reaching for a better-feeling thought every step of the way up to the dreaded phone call. Right before I picked up the phone to dial, I made it my intention to have a pleasant conversation and a solution to the matter. I was determined to feel good about the whole thing.

Well, I have to admit that even though the conversation went quite well, after I hung up the phone, I did have a good cry. I allowed myself to cry over the events and decisions in the past that landed me in this situation. But, surprisingly enough, the cry only lasted about two minutes or so. It was abundant but short. I immediately reached for a better-feeling thought to pull me from any kind of "woe is me" mentality. I brought my attention to the present moment and all of the things I have to be grateful for. I also broke the IRS issue down into smaller pieces. When you break down a "problem" or challenge into smaller pieces, it is much easier to handle. For example, if you have 100 lbs to lose, thinking of the 100 lbs can be quite overwhelming. But, if you break it down to losing one pound or five pounds at a time, that's much easier to comprehend and not as insurmountable. That's what I did with my problem. I can only do what I can do at this very moment. One step at a time.

I spent most of my day doing things that made me feel good. I listened to music that I love. I worked on my art and designed some products. On my walk home I created a game to occupy my time and keep me in a constant state of appreciation and yes, feeling good. I'm not saying there aren't times when I break down and feel low. It happens to us all. But, nothing productive can come from that low point. At least, it's never helped me. The answer to our problems or challenges is not found at the deepest levels of despair. But, if we can move one level up from depression or that feeling of despair to maybe anger, we'll be moving in the right direction. There's energy in anger and if we continue to move up, slowly, we can get to those better-feeling thoughts all the way to optimism and hope and ultimately JOY!

I never made it all the way down to depression today and for that I am so grateful. In fact, I can honestly say that I wasn't too far from joy for any long period of time. I took each moment as it came my way and always made the decision to feel good. Everything I did today had the intention of making me feel good. Come to think of it, even making the phone call was an act of reaching for a better feeling. With the phone call out of the way, I didn't have to think about it anymore, and once you get something unpleasant out of the way, you always . . . feel GOOD.

I'll be writing more about how we are all hereon Earth to basically feel our best all the time. Every single decision we make is usually with the intention to, you know it: feel good. For now, I'm going back to my new whirling dervish piece since spending time doing what I love is always the quickest way to BLISS. Aaaahhhhh

Peace and Light to you and KEEP DREAMING!

Gene-Manuel

A boulder in the road . . .

In the wonderful DVD, You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay speaks about our spiritual paths and how we never stop learning. How when we start out on our individual journey, at first, there are all these boulders in our path. As we continue the journey, we start getting the boulders out of our way, up to the point where the path is just gravel. She says, "gravel you can handle . . .you can do things. . . and then occasionally, there's an old boulder." And you think, "hmmm, I thought I had taken care of that one" or "I thought I had learned all the lessons this boulder had to teach", "I did this one already." Louise then asks, "Well, how do you know you've done it, (learned the lesson) unless it comes by once more and see how you react? Have you really learned it? Or are you going to go right back to the same old reaction?"

I was speaking to a dear friend today and this topic came up. The one about knowing better, or thinking that the lesson was learned way back in the day, and all of a sudden, you're back to what feels like your old behaviour. That boulder in the road, blocking your progress.

I was recently greeted with a boulder I know well: depression. I thought I had conquered it, done it, lived in, out and through it so many times in the past. I thought that finally, I really had come out the other side. But there it was. Faced with situations that made me feel uncomfortable, helpless and hopeless, I once again felt the grip of depression take hold. Even the things in my life that were bringing me so much joy, such as my art, seemed to lose their power to bring me joy and peace. In fact, a piece I had started prior to this depression bout, has taken me longer than any other piece I've ever done. My heart was just not in it.

But, this time, things were a little different. Although there was the day where all I did was sit in my recliner and play solitaire on my iPhone, I was able to at least for an hour or two, rise above the misery. Even though the next day I cried on and off for two hours before leaving the house, I was able to reach for a better feeling thought and spend a few hours in what I call mind-relief. I was able to focus on something else that wasn't my depressed emotional state. In the past, I would've marinated in the feelings of despair and would've come up with every single reason why I was justfied in feeling this way.

This time around, I was able to face the depression head-on and instead of it blocking my progress on my life journey, I only stayed put for a couple of weeks. And even while I was there, temporarily stuck in the road, I was still able to look around the boulder and see that the path was clear. Behind this boulder of depression, there was only gravel. And, yeah, gravel I can handle.

And you know what, I was also able to appreciate how much I loved and enjoyed my life prior to the depression kicking in. I realized that the only thing that had changed, was the way I was thinking about things. I missed that new me that had emerged from the years of self-inflicted pain, despair, anger and rage.

As it turns out, I guess I have been paying attention. All the wonderful teachers that I've attracted to me, and their words of wisdom and hope, had given me something I lacked before. Eckhart Tolle taught me to be as present as possible. Byron Katie's work allowed me to do The Work on the issues that were causing me such pain and rage and suffering. The messages and rampages of Abraham-Hicks were a blessing and a comfort. Every now and again I would hear Wayne Dyer's voice in my head, reminding me that by changing my thoughts, I could change my life.

I'm happy to say that I was able to slowly and carefully remove that boulder from my path. It has rolled to the side of road and although I hope I don't have to meet with it again, I feel pretty confident that I'll able able to handle it if I do. It just takes a constant awareness of what I'm feeling and what thoughts I'm focusing on. I can't always control the things around me, but I do have the power to control how I react to them. And, really, I feel it all boils down to trusting that the Universe is always looking out for me. If deep in my core I know that I'm being taken care of by an all-loving, peaceful and generous Universe, then I've got nothing to worry about.

Until next time.

Peace and Light and keep dreaming,

Gene-Manuel