​There are millions of self-help books written about success and how to achieve it. Jack Canfield wrote The Success Principles. Steven Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. There’s The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, How Successful People Think by John C. Maxwell, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, to name a few. And every year more books are written. You’d think we haven’t figured it out.

I’ve read numerous self-help books on both personal and business success and still haven’t achieved the level that makes me feel accomplished. And many others are in the same place. Do you know why? The answer, for me, is that I wasn’t sure what I wanted.
 
People who get what they want have clear, measurable goals. Rather than saying, “I want to be rich,” they say, “I want to make $100K this year.” Rich is a vague concept. $100K is a measurable amount. If you make $99,999 you haven’t reached your goal.

​When I think about money, especially in terms of my business, I’m often unclear. I usually can’t make up my mind how much I want—$50K, $75K, $100K, or more. When I get into the larger numbers my conscious mind balks. “That’s too much,” it says, meaning it doesn’t think I can do it. But if I set my goal too low, then there’s a big piece of me that wants more.
 
So the first step in having what you want is to be clear about your goal.
 
This year I started reading The Path to Wealth: Seven Spiritual Steps to Financial Abundance by May McCarthy. The first thing that excited me about this book is that the 7 steps are listed in the Table of Contents. How easy is that? Then in the first chapter she gives you an overview of those steps and how you’re supposed to work with them each day. It couldn’t be simpler. The remainder of the book goes into more detail about each of the steps and offers additional help on reaching your goals. 
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A huge portion of my spiritual growth right now is about deepening my connection to Spirit (God, Divine, Source) and trusting it to find my highest good. I used to be all about controlling the situation and only relying on myself. I felt I had to save all my money in order to have more, rather than being willing to give to receive. Those beliefs are changing. I began working the 7 steps on January 8 and am now into my second week. Each morning I thank my CSO (Chief Spiritual Officer) for all that I have (right now) and all that I will have (as if I already have it). The exercise is fun, exciting, and ever-changing. I haven’t seen a huge windfall of cash or an avalanche of clients, but I am much more at peace and excited about facing every day. And I know the abundance is there because I’m trusting in Source to deliver.
 
Another part of The Path to Wealth is beginning your day with reading something spiritual. McCarthy recommends the book The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovill Shin. It’s a small book written in 1925 by a metaphysical teacher and chock full of wonderful examples of using universal law and the correct wording to attract what you want. She gives story after story to illustrate her meaning. One of my favorite examples is about asking for more work. People often ask for more work (e.g., more clients) because they want more money. But they don’t specifically ask for more money. So she gives a simple rhyme to cover both bases:

I have a wonderful business
In a wonderful way
And I give a wonderful service
For wonderful pay.​
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​Easy to say, easy to remember, and the wording is just right!
 
So do you have what you want? This is a brand new year, a year to have fun, to expand, to accelerate your growth, and to achieve those lofty goals. Be clear. Trust in Spirit. And expect miracles!

by Rebecca Kirson 

Our nature as human beings is often in opposition to the surrendering and release associated with letting go. Logically we may understand it but our hearts long to hold onto the things that mean so much to us. The families that we have sacrificed parts of ourselves to create, the careers that we have devoted so much of our precious time to building year after year, the relationships that we’ve poured our hearts and souls into. How can we simply walk away when that chapter ends and a new one begins?  

Because the ownership of any and all things is just an illusion.

How can anything be fixed in time as “ours” when all of eternity is a dance of continual movement, a flowing of energies connecting all that is? Our desire to cement experiences into stone only sets us up for disappointment because it goes against the laws of nature.  A tree doesn’t decide to stop growing at 3 feet because it’s so enamored with that view.  A wave doesn’t set up camp at the top of the crest, cutting off its experience before it heads into the descent.  All of life is unfolding in perpetual movement . . . forward. 
 
As Kahlil Gibran says in The Prophet:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. 

And how else can it be? 

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
 
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? 

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. 
 
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. 

Our time as a spiritual being having a human experience is meant to expose us to many different ways of being.  Our soul craves knowing itself in all possibility.  When we limit what we can receive because we are afraid to let go of what use to be, we stifle ourselves and the opportunities that are all around us waiting to be let in.  

Choose today to see letting go as a viable part of the equation of life as each new beginning is. 

Rebecca Kirson, Akashic Record Practitioner and Transformational Coach with Your Sacred Truth, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To pre-order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

by Corinna Murray, DVM
 
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. - Joseph Campbell

Most of us were taught to believe that it is better to give than to receive. We believe it is virtuous to give our time, love, energy, and attention to our family, friends, and worthy causes. Yet most of us find it uncomfortable to treat ourselves in the same manner and, therefore, feel unworthy to receive many of these same things from others. In fact, many have been conditioned to believe that self-directed love and attention is selfish.

In reality, giving and receiving are aspects of the same flow of energy, just as breathing depends equally on the inhale as on the exhale. The quality and depth of the in-breath nourishes our bodies with life sustaining O2, stimulating growth and expansion, while the out-breath releases what no longer serves us, calming our bodies for healing and rest. What no longer serves us is in turn returned to serve our planet through our plants, which nourish us again with oxygen and their fruit. The flow of love is the same. It is self-sustaining, expansive, and infinite.

Self-directed love is the foundation for the expression and the flow of love. Only by loving your perfectly imperfect self (who in any given moment is doing your best, with what you know and how you feel), can you open fully to the generous love of the universe and the love of others. Self-love is healing, nurturing, and honors All that has and will continue to contribute to your existence. The way in which you care for and engage with yourself shows the world and others how to love you. It becomes your legacy and opens you to the flow that is reflected back. Only from this place of self-love, can you truly be whole and capable of returning love to the rhythm and flow of life.

Start today to hold yourself in loving awareness and let your heart receive. Connect with and feel how much you want to know that you are loved and valued. Look into your heart and feel your timelessness. Feel everything—your joy and your sorrow, your compassion and your passion, your curiosity, playfulness, and wisdom. You contain it All. You are whole. Each time you find yourself in self-reflection today, take a moment to be a witness. Then, with loving awareness, quietly say or think these words, "I feel you, I accept you, I love you." Carry this mantra through your day and witness your heart gently open to yourself and to others. Notice the flow of love.