Sunday, May 22, 2011

Breakout from Regret

Regret works like swallowing a bit of poison every day.
It destroys your health and well-being. It closes down
your view of life, blocking out opportunities and beauty.
Habitual regret exacts an enormous toll but delivers no
reward.

A man I'll call Tom taught me my first lesson about
regret. He showed how experiences from long ago fire
up a feeling like the replay of a video - only in real life.

If you want to find beliefs that block happiness start
with a strong feeling you do not like having. Identify
the feeling and question it.

That takes courage because when you question an
emotion with an open mind you enter into uncharted
territory. When I work with people neither one of us
knows what we will discover and go through together.
Years of explorations have taught me that the feeling
we are looking at will most likely come alive while
we study it.

The feeling Tom did not like having was rage. We began
asking questions. I did not have the answers, but Tom
did.

What are you feeling rage about?
My childhood.

What about your childhood?
My mother died when I was twelve. I was the oldest of
five kids and my father always wanted me to take care
of them. His idea of taking care was being in charge of
them. They resented it. They hated me.

What about that leads to rage?
I felt like I only had two choices, disappoint my dad or
make my brothers and sisters hate me.

What about that involves rage?
Tom's body trembled with anger. He spoke through
clenched teeth and began to cry.

Because I'll never know! I'll never know who I would be
if I'd just been free to be a kid. I'll never know.

What about not knowing who you would be if your childhood
had been different leads to rage?

Though I've seen this look many times it always moves me deeply.
Tom's rage slowly dissolved. After a quiet moment he moved
into a sort of soft bewilderment. That's the space of creativity
where the way it was is gone and the new way can come
into being.

He smiled and said simply, I don't know. I don't feel it now.
I guess none of us knows who we would be if things had
been different.

That was a beginning of many explorations for Tom and
for me.

I began to notice the power of regret in the lives of my
students, my friends and myself. For some of us it lingered
as sadness, for others an abiding sense of shame, for many
the default feeling was anger or even rage.

What belief held these feelings in place? What kept them
alive so long?

Since we each create a unique belief system as we go through
life I found many beliefs. There was one belief though, that
everyone held that fed the feelings of regret: If that regrettable
thing or circumstance had not happened, I'd be me, with
my life, only it would be better.

The kinds of better differ; I'd be more confident, successful,
stronger, more beautiful, have more money, be unashamed,
fearless, lovable.

That belief, I would be me, with my life, only better, is not true!
You can't change one puzzle piece in real life and come up with the
same picture only prettier. The whole thing changes. Your life would
be completely different. We have no idea what it would be like. How do you
regret a complete unknown?

Instead of wondering what caused things to happen, Bruce Di
Marsico (founder of the Option Method) liked to ponder, I
wonder what this will be for? I like to ask, what would I like
this to be for, what do I want to come from this?

If there is something you regret you may want to ask those two
questions too. I'd love to hear what you find. Post comments at

Wishing you happiness, success and freedom from regret!

Love,
Mandy


Sunday, February 27, 2011

Vision and Action

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without a vision is a nightmare.”

This anonymous “tweet” packs more wisdom about how to create your life than I learned in my first 30 years. For most of them I bounced off the walls of disaster. I reacted and recoiled. The only purposeful moves I made were toward isolated, specific goals I created in an unconscious prison of limiting beliefs. Beliefs about what I could have. Who I could be. How I must feel.

Beyond stories of saints and madmen, I had no idea what a vision was. It never occurred to me to consider what kind of life I wanted to create much less a game plan with action.

My daydreams played out fleeting moments, mostly half conscious fantasies that came to me unbidden.

Since I began to work with them so long, long ago I have learned a lot about how to break out from limiting beliefs that block happiness and keep people stuck in anger, fear, resentment, guilt and other painful emotions. It has been thrilling to witness courageous seekers strip away beliefs that block success, to see them flourish and thrive.

When you see for yourself, with certainty, that something you have believed for a long time is simply not true you move through confusion into a more open field. It’s the one the Persian poet, Rumi, talks about when he says, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”

It is a wonderful open space filled with possibilities for your creativity to mold into unique form and experience. Few people go there after childhood. We cling instead to illusions of certainty like our ideas of right doing, believing that (even false) certainty provides security.

I know a lot about how to get to that open field. I’m just beginning to learn how to combine vision and action to harness the vast power of conscious creation available there.

I can almost feel the boundaries between me and infinite possibilities. Though I perceive only a tiny glimpse of what is possible for one human to create in real life on planet earth it is more than I ever imagined for much of my life.

The time we spend together in that field of possibilities reminds me of the less known lines of the Rumi poem:

“When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase, each other
Doesn’t make any sense.”

Cheering us on to great visions and inspired action!
With love,
Mandy

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Breakout to Love














Do you greet the approach of Valentine's day
with joy? Or dread? Or something in between?

With a whole day dedicated to celebrating
love most of us focus on romantic love. What
to give or get? On what it means if we don't
have a sweetheart. Or didn't get a rose or a
dozen roses. It can all be very stressful, even
heartbreaking if you hold limiting beliefs about
love.

There's an easy fix; celebrate all kinds of love.

I love Valentine's day and sending Valentines.
So I'm sending one to you with a very long stemmed
rose from my patio!

Wishing you an open heart overflowing with all
kinds of love, like the love I feel for you
right now.

And brotherly love, sisterly, fatherly, motherly,
grandmotherly, co-workerly, son and daughterly,
we-are-all-one love, spiritual love, sexy love,
happy love, grieving love, caring love, generous
love, curious, wondering, friendly, blessing,
compassionate, grateful, forgiving, and romantic
love.

All kinds of love!

Happy Valentine's Day!

With love,
Mandy

http://www.mandyevans.com/

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Break Out from this Futile Fight

Don't fight reality, use it.

Reality changes all of the time. We can fight it, deny it, complain about it or use it. I recommend using it. Especially since reality does not give a fig about what we think of it. It just is.

Complaining about, fearing and railing against reality it only raises blood pressure and increases tension. It limits creativity.

But you can change reality! Especially your own. You can lose weight, gain financial success, get out of debt, become more loving, move to another town or country, get married, get divorced – well you get the picture.

Helping to change someone else’s reality (like sharing resources or sound advice) is more of a challenge but often worth the effort. Since it is almost impossible to alter someone else’s reality without their cooperation I suggest skipping that endeavor all together!

Here’s an example of how to use reality. A flurry of inflation warnings made financial news today. Some of us will worry and complain others will take advantage of this new reality.

We can bemoan the price of coffee or buy coffee stocks. You can open an online brokerage account for as little as $500. There is even an EFT (electronically traded fund) just for coffee, symbol BAL. Not recommending, just sayin’.

If interest rates go up, the price of bonds will go down. Sell bonds? Redouble efforts to pay off credit cards? Buy real estate, as in “buy low, sell high?”

That is just one example of how to break out from a futile fight against reality.

Here are some others:
• Stop complaining about what is and invest some energy in what you want to attract or move toward.

• If your friends take advantage of you, put your foot down and say no and/or find some thoughtful new friends.

• If someone betrays your trust, instead of trying to make him be more loyal factor in that information when you interact next time.

• If you do not like where you live, move!

• If your boss is a total pain find a better a way to communicate with her or start look for another job.

• If you want more love in your life, be more loving. Just sitting quietly to send love and blessings to people you care about changes you and the energy you share with others.

• Denying reality does not delay it or make it go away. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

The most important, powerful change you can make is your own limiting beliefs. When you regularly uncover and break out from beliefs you hold that block success and happiness you step into a whole new world. Your view of reality opens up. You can see amazing possibilities that used to be obscured by self-defeating beliefs.

Reality rocks! Use it well.

Please share this with anyone who might benefit.

Cheering you on to success and happiness with love,
Mandy

Author of:
“Travelling Free: How to Recover from the Past by Changing Your Beliefs”
“Emotional Options: A Handbook for Happiness”
Available at www.mandyevans.com

Friday, December 31, 2010

What to Do in 2011?

Here it comes, 2011! And how are we going to know what to do?

Advice pours in from ever-expanding sources. Google, Facebook, Twitter and life coaches have joined Fox News, CNN, the print pundits, gurus, clergy, therapists, teachers, spouses, friends and family in a great cacophony of do-this-don’t-do-that’s.

I get a fair amount of requests for such advice myself – a bit more than I can handle sometimes. It keeps me thinking about this:

Each of our lives is so unique, so very precious. No one on this planet has ever walked your path or ever will again. No one but you has learned everything you know or rises to meet the same new challenge you face. What a wonder you are!
I’m reviewing the lessons that enrich my life. They may add strength, love and beauty to yours.

You are the authority on your life. No matter who tells you what, you have to decide what advice to follow, who is wise and who seems foolish to you. There is no escaping it, in the matter of your life, it is up to you!

Desire marks the path. I spent last week with my family. Our newest member, Emery is a small 5 month old bundle of happiness and desire. Watching her bright eyes as she reaches and rolls over for the next delight to crinkle, crunch, bang or chew on reminds me of the simple strength of this inner sense of guidance. It may be all we need to lead us through life, if we only dare to follow it.

My son, Barnaby says I gave him some good advice about my favorite form of desire when he was in high school, “You told me if I follow my intense curiosity, I’ll always be alright.” He’s a happy entrepreneur, founder and CEO of http://www.foodista.com/; it seems to work.

Happiness is the ultimate goal. Never hold your happiness hostage to be ransomed for love, money, success or stuff. As supercoach Michael Neill says, “Happiness leads to success a lot more often than success leads to happiness.” You can have your happiness cake and still devour your fill of material gains and mighty triumphs.

As each new year approaches, I write an “I Welcome List” of what I want to bring into my life. This year I’m focusing on who I want to be and how I want to experience the precious days of this miracle – being alive and capable of learning, teaching, loving, laughing and being happy.

Please share your comments, thoughts and knowing what you welcome in 2011 here. I'm pretty sure sharing helps make it real.

Cheering you on with happiness and love,
Mandy

“Emotional Options: A Handbook for Happiness”
"Travelling Free: How to Recover from the Past”
are available at http://tinyurl.com/ordermandysbooks

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Breakout from Struggle

This powerful principle rarely makes it to the
lists of rules, keys, codes, lessons, steps,
agreements and secrets out there:

Your word is your bond.

Some emails from people who are caught in
desperate struggles inspired me to write this
message to you.

It took me a long time to understand the
incredible creative power that doing what
you say you will do generates.

I'm still learning. I'm doing a pretty good job
of keeping my word to others. I have a way
to go on keeping my word to myself. I think
I lack awareness of the consequences. They
appear so quickly when you break your word
to someone else!

Your word is your pledge to yourself, another,
the universe, about the new reality you are
going to create.

You can promise, intend, affirm and visualize
forever but if what you say is not true you
really affirm that you are a liar.

I did not say bad liar. Just liar. This message
is not about being good or bad or to promote
guilt in any way. The laws of attraction and
natural consequences are quite strong enough
to teach us what we need to learn if open
ourselves to honest observation.

When you can count on yourself to do what
you say you will do, you sign up to play in the
major leagues of manifestation. When others
can count on you and you on them, you build
strong friendships and partnerships based on
earned trust.

I first began to ponder this issue seriously when
I took the est Training in the 1970's. Werner
Erhard's powerful, controversial 2 weekend
seminar emphasized keeping your agreements
as a requirement for having "your life work." I
continued to participate with the est organization
in seminars and the 6 month grueling, no-holds-
barred Guest Seminar Leader's program.

To get clear may require piercing layers of
unconsciousness and hidden beliefs. I remember
one such piercing vividly. I sat at a long phone
bank with a stack of cards from people who
had attended an est guest seminar that week
preparing to call and ask them to sign up.
I dreaded it.

My enrollment team leader shouted through the
roar of surrounding voices to ask how many
people I was going to register that night. My
mind raced about like a squirrel on steroids
searching for an acceptable answer. It never
occurred to me to tell the truth, "I'm just trying
to stay under the radar and get through the night
without crying."

I had only just begun to recognize that myself.
As the fog lifted I saw more examples of how
afraid I was of standing out if I did not match
someone's expectations. As much as I loved
applause and approval, I always left a door
open to slip out the back.

That explained a lot of things about the struggles
in my life: my lack of success, the painful
relationship I clung to, my paralyzing fear of
confrontations.

That moment on the phones served me well. It
opened doors I did not know I closed. As I
write this, I'm proud of my accomplishments.
I have only mutually beneficial relationships.
I recently weathered a few confrontations by
standing up for myself without losing compassion.

Those fog-parting moments seem infinite--as
perhaps enlightenment itself is. There have
been many more. I'm sure there are more
where they came from.

If you want to breakout from desperation to an
adventure in enlightenment, pay close attention
to your real desires, your discernable intentions
and what you tell yourself and others. Not so
you can be good or avoid being bad, but for the
sheer clarity and power of truth as you know it.

Your word is your bond.

Love,
Mandy

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

How to Break Up Reality

Al Diaz and I had such a stimulating conversation last night on his show I’m still thinking about it. One thing we talked about were our personal wake up calls.

Here’s one. When my son was about 12 we were shopping for school clothes with our friend Brenda. Brenda worked as head of finance for Werner Erhard’s famous and infamous est organization. She knew a thing or two about what constituted reality.

When my son’s strong will met my soft heart getting him to do stuff was tricky. When Brenda and I were ready to leave the store that day I told him it was time to go. Then I gave him a few minutes more. Then I told him it really was time to go – about 12 times.

Finally Brenda leaned in and said It’s time to break up reality. When I asked what she meant, she replied, We walk out the door and go to the car.

You’d be amazed at how quickly he got there too.. He adjusted to that new reality immediately.

I get a lot of questions from people about how to change someone else. The key is always the same, change yourself. In family therapy the concept goes like this: If one member of a family changes, everyone else has to adjust to the new role definition. In metaphysics it is: If you wiggle our finger, the whole universe has to adjust.

That triggers another est memory. I was in at an est seminar with Werner Erhard. Someone asked a question, then listened to the answer about how he had to be responsible for his own experience. How come it’s always me? He asked only ½ joking. I don’t know how to tell you this, Werner replied, but in your life it’s always going to be you.

If there is a situation or relationship you are struggling with, maybe it’s time to break up reality. It takes action. Talking, unless it’s really different from your old familiar routine will not do it. For a lively adventure tweak your role in the universe, with your family, or at work with a new dance step, a new approach. I strongly recommend a light heart in a happy spirit of adventure. Watch what happens and let us know.

Love,
Mandy

You can listen to my recorded conversation with Al Diaz at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ilumine-Ao

You can break up reality at the BREAKOUT to Miracles Weekend in Vancouver, BC.
www.breakouttomiracles.com