Report from the 2009 Welcoming Group

Five of us gathered here on the patio over bagels and stuff on New Years Day to reflect and write about what we want to welcome into our lives in 2009.

Three of us had done this before. The other two had not. I found myself feeling very shy explaining the point of it all to my friends and trying not to sound like a seminar leader.

We talked about how being conscious of what you welcome matters. Whether to say "I want or I welcome" came up for discussion too. And whether it was just semantics.

For about twenty years I thought in terms of "I want" for this exercise. Then I became aware of the energy and emotions that generated. How it seemed to focus on the lack rather than the awareness of how welcome the object or experience we desire is.

We got to work and spent four hours thinking, writing, sharing, eating, laughing, crying and learning so much about ourselves and each other.

Each of us had focused more than usual on how we wanted to be, changes we wanted to make in ourselves, rather than stuff to attract from the universe. We had plenty of those too though.

We all wanted inspiration to expand, grow, create, express our true selves in different ways.

Clearing excess baggage was popular as were travel, meditating and spiritual growth.

We added to our lists as we learned from each other and thought of new wonders we'd like to show up in our lives.

Here is some of what I wrote:

Being happy

The will to do what I can to be healthy and pain-free

Greatly expanded ability to accept love and support

Deepening dear relationships

To be well accompanied through life

Writing the next book and selling 100,000 copies

Tech help

Someone to help market CDs and seminars

A perfect tenant for a warehouse/office building I own to whom I can give a big rent break and for whom it will be a well used and appreciated opportunity

A durable solution to roof leaks at that building

Continued prosperity

Being a good mother

Being a good friend

Wonderful books to read

Food, love, shelter for all

Help for our new president from all over

Renewal and deepening of values of honor and kindness in our country -- and the world

We talked about the importance of nurturing, support and open communication, the consequences of isolating when times are tough and admiration for the courage of those who put themselves out there in creative ways for all of us to see and maybe judge harshly.

It was a magical morning. I wish we could all be together at one huge table sharing our thoughts and heart's desires.

I love the comments people posted so far. They are a gift to us all.

May all of our "welcomings" arrive at our doors and may we all be wise enough to let them in.

Love,

Mandy

Temporary Email

Oh no! My website and email are down!

You can reach me here or send email to mandye@ix.netcom.com for now!

Happy New Year!

I love your welcoming posts. I'll get mine in tomorrow.

Love,
M.

Welcome Miracles in 2009

We’ve all had the experience. You think how much you love someone and want to connect. The phone rings. You hear your loved one’s voice and smile with delight.

How does it work? What gets in the way when it does not work?

I’ve rummaged around with those questions for over 30 years with lots of bright, curious, open minded, generous spirited people.

Here is some of what we learned.

The bad news is that you are not in charge of the whole universe, your vote about how things should go is not the only one that counts. If you think about it though, it’s not really bad news. How would you like it if someone else could determine the outcome in your life?

Desire is the rocket fuel of manifestation. It propels thoughts, action and creativity. I’m pretty sure it works in a cosmic way too, pushing and pulling things around in ways we are just beginning to grasp.

Happy desire brings happiness. Unhappy desire brings unhappiness.

Desire comes from the Latin desiderare, to await from the stars.

It works like an inner compass – an awareness of what we want to move toward or attract to us.

Self-defeating beliefs get in the way. They block amazing experiences. Call them miracles, blessings, whatever you want; we deflect and reject them every day. Because these experiences seem like miracles to us, they do not, by definition, fit into our limiting belief-systems about what we can be, what we can have and what we deserve. We rule them out like a foul-happy umpire in the game of life.

When we uncover those beliefs and reveal them as the misperceptions that they are, we can accept the wonders all around us. You may want to read (or re-read!) “Emotional Options” and “Travelling Free” to help you to do that. You can order them at http://www.mandyevans.com.”

On the first day of each New Year, I gather with a small group of friends to become more aware of “What I Welcome Into My Life.”

We’ll reflect on the miracles and wonders we’d like to show up in 2009, write them down and share the ones we want to divulge. I’ll share some of mine here.

There is power in shared consciousness. Letting people know what you would like to connect with improves the chances that it will happen, especially if lots of us celebrate and support each other’s heart’s desire.

I hope you’ll welcome miracles and blessings in 2009.

One desire leaps to mind right now: for each of you to be happier than ever before, more prosperous, healthier, more filled with love and receiving it back from all around you.

Please share this with anyone you’d like to extend a welcome to.

Happy New Year!
Love,
Mandy

Christmas in the Desert

Happy Holidays!

We have snow way down low on our mountains here in the desert of the Coachella Valley in Southern California.



I'm wishing you happy holidays filled with love and joy.

If, as so many of us are this year, you are struggling with health, financial, relationship or other problems, I wish you especially happiness, prosperity, health, inspired solutions, caring support, peace of mind, courage, creativity and hope.

Love,
Mandy

The Most Challenging Talk I Ever Gave

The gift of recovery means so much to those of us who have lived through painful times--especially during holidays that evoke so many memories.

Nobody wants to live in the past, as the saying goes, but many of us live “by the past.” That is because during painful times we often form beliefs that are distorted, limiting, self-defeating – and simply not true. Then we continue to live by those beliefs without knowing it.

Finding and changing those beliefs opens doors we never knew we closed. Then miracles can come in.

So I took the exercises I developed for a seminar, insights from participants and my experience with Adult Children of Alcoholics and put it all together in a book.

“Travelling Free: How to Recover from the Past by Changing Your Beliefs” is back in stock after some updates at Amazon. I hope you’ll buy a copy for some one (maybe you?) to help them recover from a tough time, expand their horizons and accept new miracles!

You can order it from my website, www.mandyevans.com

This year I spoke about my own past at “The Alcohol Awareness Hour” for the world famous Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, CA. I revealed things I had never shared in public.

There were laughter, tears and moments when I was not sure I would make it through the hour long talk. I had not anticipated how hard it would be in a room full of strangers, many of whom were only a few days or weeks clean and sober.

At the end of the talk something miraculous happened that made it more than worth while. Would you like to hear it?

“Making Peace with the Past is not for sale yet – anywhere. Here is the link to listen. It takes a few seconds to load. It’s FREE, my gift to you, sent with love.
http://www.brucefeagle.com/mandyevans/

Thanks to Debra Lux and Catherine Rush for helping me at “The Betty” and Bruce Feagle
(www.brucefeagle.com) filmmaker extraordinaire for help with the CD.

Wishing you the gifts of recovery, love, health, happiness, prosperity and success during this season of many holidays!

Love,
Mandy

PS I'd love to know your thoughts. Please share them at "comments" below.

Share Your Gratitude

What Are You Grateful For?

As we in the USA approach our day of gratitude, Thanksgiving, I would love to hear from you, wherever on this jewel of a planet you call home. Please share your thoughts; click the word "comments" below

Something happens when you share from your heart that is different from what happens when you keep it to yourself alone. You may increase the power of attraction, the goodwill of acknowledgement, the inspiration of your example, the recognition of our shared humanity. So I hope you will let us know what you are grateful this Thanksgiving.

I always thought it should be spelled great-full – as in “filled with awareness of greatness” – the awareness of the greatness of the beauty, abundance, love, joy--the magnificence of being alive on planet earth on the 3rd Thursday in November, 2008.

I am grateful for the love, challenge and many lessons of being my son, Barnaby’s mother – with all I have yet to learn. And to Sheri who loves him so well For my dear Dutch grandson, Siem

I am “great-full” for friendships old and new – like Catherine Rush, Debra Lux, Gary Dorothy, Kerry and Joe Lemier, Buzz Edelberg, Harry Cauley, Bob Burgos, Susan Stafford, Jeffrey Pease, Joe Vitale, Michael Neill, Jeffrey Pease, Abe Zimmerman, Douglas Wilson and Prue Berry, Rae Bales, Kate Nowak, Martin Parks, Sheila Bradley and so many others who have filled my life with love and lessons.

I am filled with gratitude to my reading student, Richard, for his inspiration and for giving me, twice a week, a time when I know without a doubt, that I’m doing something good.

I’m filled with gratitude for the abundance and beauty in which I live.

There is more, always more. What are some of yours?

If you share your blessing and gratitude who knows whose heart you will touch. Who you will inspire?

May your days be filled with gratitude and blessings!

Love,
Mandy

Trusting Reluctance

Perhaps a true seeker of truth never graduates from truth-seeking-school. But then, when would you want to be done with that? When would you want to stop learning more of the sheer, breath-taking beauty of clear vision?

One of my favorite truth seeking topics is “Trusting Yourself.” For the first part of my life I did not know it was even an issue. I just blundered about bouncing off the walls that defined my physical and emotional reality.

Around age 30 I began to listen to that small, still voice within. I began to see that even though a lot of my choices led to painful conclusions, I did want to take care of myself as best I could. I simply had a lot to learn. And a lot to unlearn. I still do.

Even so, I know I do the best I can with what I know and what I believe. I’ll bet you are too. The great news is that we can learn more every day. As we gain clarity our beliefs change with the speed of light.

Of all the ways we can trust ourselves, trusting reluctance doesn’t get a lot of buzz. I’ve never seen a headline or a seminar on “Trust Your Reluctance!”

What is that “oh, no, I don’t want to” message about anyway? So often we assume that if we don’t want to do something we believe we should it points to a character flaw – a sure sign of something in ourselves we need to overcome.

But what if it isn’t that at all? What if that internal braking system that slows us to a halt has another message. Sometimes our reluctance to act tells us that the very thing we try to force ourselves to do will not work. Or will not work yet. Will never turn out well with the approach we are about to take.

I’m learning to honor my reluctance. Sometimes I need more information, more courage, more support, more insight before opening my mouth, my heart or my purse-strings.

Yeah, but what if it is just a character defect of cowardice, laziness, sloth and torpor that holds me back? I ought to know, right? Maybe there is hope or help for improvement.

Here’s a question that helps me to sort it out. Say I dread making a phone call. I ask, “Is the only reason you don’t want to do it that you are afraid to?

If the answer is “no” – I’ve got other reluctance-reasons I can address now that I am aware of them.

If the answer is “yes” I can ask what I’m afraid of. When I identify my fear I can explore it. I can discover my reasons for being afraid. Those reasons are beliefs I can challenge and often dismiss as the limiting misconceptions they are.

I’m pretty excited about this new avenue of inquiry – celebrating reluctance! Who would have thought?

Now there is a phone call I’m ready to make – with no reluctance at all!

I’d love to know what you think. You can post comments by clicking the blue word “comments” below. My blog host shows a reluctance to give much of a clue!