Prosperity Attraction – you create your own reality

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Happy Independence Day!

As you know, here in the US, today is the day we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence (although it was actually signed a few weeks later) which declared our freedom from the Kingdom of Britain.

For most of us, Independence Day, or July 4th, has become a good time for a barbeque and fireworks. And there’s nothing wrong with a fun barbeque and a great fireworks display. In fact, we had our town fireworks last night which we watched from a neighbor’s balcony after a nice barbeque. It was great!

But since I’m not one to pass up a perfect opportunity for personal growth, here’s a suggestion: While you’re grilling up some great food and “oohing” and “ahhing” over the spectacular fireworks display, take just a moment or two to declare your independence from something that restricts your freedom.

In 1776, the leaders of what then were the Thirteen Colonies said “No more” to the tyranny of British rule. They declared their (our) freedom!

These leaders new, full well, that their actions would escalate what is now known as the Revolutionary War. But they were willing to fight for their freedom. They were willing to fight the “good fight.”
For these great men (and I’m sorry to say that no women signed this document) the good fight was described like this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
What holds you back from fully living? What restricts your liberty? What prevents you from fully engaging in the pursuit of happiness?

Check out this section (emphasis mine):

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Change just a few words in that section and you could easily be talking about the thoughts, beliefs, patterns, and habits that hold us in our comfort zone. Most of us are far more “disposed to suffer” in our comfort zone, that place we know so well, than we are to “right ourselves by abolishing the forms to which we are accustomed.”

Well today is the perfect day to declare your independence from some “Form” to which you are accustomed, one that restricts your freedom.

So lift a beer today and give a toast to freedom: Your freedom!

Choose a thought, belief, pattern or habit that holds you back and commit yourself, today and from this day forward, to the path of freedom!

And if you want to give your declaration a little oomph, speak this concluding line from the Declaration of Independence:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

And if you happen to be in the Bay Area and want to join us for a fun and potent process for declaring YOUR Independence, come to the monthly Law of Attraction group tomorrow (Saturday, July 5th) in Santa Rosa from 9:30 – 12:15.

Wow.

That’s just about all I can say.

This weekend I attended my second Millionaire Mind Intensive and it was even more life-changing than the first one. This one was in San Francisco, so I didn’t have to fly anywhere. And even more important, T. Harv Ecker was there this weekend.

If you’re interested in personal development or have any interest in creating more wealth – of all kinds – in your life you must see Harv.

Well, that’s assuming that you’re willing to hear the truth.

Harv is a truth-teller which means it’s not always easy to hear what he has to say. But if you want to change your life and you are ready and willing to listen to what he says you want to go check him out.

At the beginning of the weekend, you’re introduced to the “three most dangerous words in the English language.” Any idea what they are?

I KNOW THAT!

Once you know something – or even worse, THINK you know something – the game is over. You stop learning and growing. Your mind turns off and closes down to new information.

One of Harv’s most important points is that if you’re not living it, you don’t “KNOW” it. The first time I went to the Millionaire Mind Intensive I got some great insights, but there was still a part of me that fell into the “I know that” trap. So I didn’t get as much out of it as I could have.

At this MMI I was ready and willing to participate fully. I was ready to let go of my image of myself and look at the reality of my life – which is a much better reflection of what I “KNOW.” And because of that I had some huge personal breakthroughs.

Have you ever fallen into the I KNOW THAT trap? It’s not just for “know it alls.” We all do it. And it can be extremely subtle. But once those three words kick in, your ability to hear, accept and apply new information basically shuts down.

Here’s the bottom line: Look at your life.

• Do you have as much money as you want?
• Do you have as much joy and fun and happiness as you want?
• Do you have as much love and intimacy as you want?
• Do you have as much confidence as you want?

If you answered “No” to any of those questions there is something you DON”T KNOW. You may have read it somewhere. You may understand it intellectually. You may even be starting to apply it in your life. But if you aren’t fully living it you haven’t embodied it which means that you don’t trulyknow it!

And until you do, the three words, “I KNOW THAT,” will continue to hold you back.

So take a moment to look at your life. Where would you like to see some imnprovements?

Now ask yourself what knowledge you need in order to make those changes.

Or you may need to look at what knowledge you already have that you need to begin applying! Because remember, if you’re not living it, you don’t know it!

So I encourage you to be on the lookout for those three most dangerous words in the English language. (And if English is not your first language, go ahead and translate them into your language). And when you catch your mind trying to convince you that you know something ask yourself these two simple questions:

1. Am I living this knowledge?
2. Is my life a reflection of this knowledge?

If the answers are “No” you don’t know it! And if that’s the case it’s time to get yourself back into the best school there is… LIFE!

Now I’m not a big believer in “coincidence.” I find that when I remain open to the signs and signals from the Universe my life tends to flow much more smoothly.

That said, there are certainly times when I’m better at picking up on those signs even when the “coincidences” are a bit subtle and require some stretching to turn them into signs.

And there are other times when I’m a bit slow on the uptake and I either miss the sign altogether or the Universe is forced to send me one of those unmistakable, “bang-bang Maxwell’s Silver Hammer on the head” type of signals that does not need a whole of stretching!

I think you know the kind I’m talking about!

Well last weekend I got one of those.

It began on Saturday morning at the monthly meeting of the Drop In Law of Attraction group. We were exploring the connection between the Comfort Zone and the Law of Attraction. A great topic by the way!

During our discussion, after I had led the group through a visualization where they got to explore the edges of their comfort zone, one of the participants shared that the edge of her comfort zone was a circle of fire surrounding her. I immediately began singing the Johnny Cash song, “Ring of Fire.” I’m not sure where it came from. I’m not a big Johnny Cash fan and have only heard that song a handful of times. But out it came.

So there’s #1!

Later that night at a housewarming party for a friend who had just returned to Sonoma County, I was playing my guitar and singing along with a few of the party guests. Although my song list is significantly shorter than before my daughter was born, I was doing my best at taking requests. Some of them I could muddle through, most of them I either didn’t know or had forgotten.

And then, out of the blue, someone asked if I could play… you guessed it, “Ring of Fire.”

Now in all my years of leading sing-alongs at parties I have NEVER had anyone request Ring of Fire! What’s up with that?

Someone there knew the basic chord progression and another person knew the lyrics, so we were able to put together a passable version (although Johnny was probably rolling over).

There’s #2.

The next day at our local Farmer’s Market, my daughter and I ran into one of her pre-school friends and her dad, Mike Emerson. Ella and Sequoia started playing a bit while Mike and I chatted.

I knew that Mike was a keyboard player and since I’ve been interested in taking some piano lessons, I checked in to see if he knew of any good teachers in the area. Turns out he teaches as well as performs. Cool.

So as we talked about schedules he said that he wouldn’t be available until late in the month because he’s doing a quick European tour with… are you ready for this? Carlene Carter.

Now if you’re not a Country Music fan and don’t know who Carlene Carter is – I didn’t – she’s the daughter of June Carter – who happens to have written Ring of Fire - and Stepdaughter of Johnny Cash – who as you now know made it famous! And Ring of Fire is one of the songs they play in their shows.

So there’s the magic #3 and Maxwell’s bang on my head!

Yes I got it!

The sign that is. Still working out the details of the meaning. Sometimes with these “coincidences” the meaning is obvious and sometimes not so much. With this one I’ve got some ideas, but I haven’t come to any conclusive opinion.

I do know that I’ve been having fun imitating Johnny’s deep, gravelly voice as I belt out “I fell into a burning ring of fire…”

What do you think? What message is the Universe sending me? I’d love to hear your take. And in case you haven’t heard Ring of Fire, here are the lyrics:

Love is a burning thing
and it makes a fiery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire…

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns, burns, burns
the ring of fire the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
when hearts like our’s meet.
I fell for you like a child
oh, but the fire went wild..

I fell in to a burning ring of fire…..[etc]

Have you heard of the Term Punctuated Equilibrium? It’s the term evolutionary scientists use to describe a widely held theory related to evolution. According to this theory, evolution happens mainly in short bursts of rapid and sometimes massive changes that “punctuate” long stretches of “equilibrium.”

It’s also sometimes, and affectionately I’m sure, called Punk Eek! (I think it’s safe to say that those evolutionary scientists have a darn good sense of humor and maybe a bit too much time on their hands!)

Here’s the official Wikipedia definition:

Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolutionary biology. It states that most sexually reproducing populations will show little change for most of their geological history, and that when phenotypic evolution does occur, it is localized in rare, rapid events of branching speciation (called cladogenesis).

Got it?

This theory is not accepted by all scientists: Another school of thought embraces what they call Phyletic Gradualism (these guy s don’t have a catchy nickname) which states that evolution happens gradually and continually.

Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Phyletic gradualism is a macroevolutionary hypothesis rooted in uniformitarianism. The hypothesis states that species continue to adapt to new challenges over the course of their history, gradually becoming new species… During this process, evolution occurs at a slow but constant rate; for this reason, it is known as “evolution by creeps” (as opposed to punctuated equilibrium, or “evolution by jerks”)

Phyletic gradualism has been largely deprecated as the exclusive pattern of evolution by modern evolutionary biologists in favor of the acceptation of occurrence of patterns such as those described on punctuated equilibrium, quantum evolution, and punctuated gradualism.

Note that this theory “has been largely deprecated,” meaning it is no longer accepted by a large portion of the scientific community.

And that makes sense to me, because in my personal experience and observation of others, personal growth and evolution seems to happen more like Punctuated Equilibrium than Phyletic Gradualism. And it makes sense that our personal evolution would follow a similar pattern as our macro or societal evolution.

There are times, most of the time in fact, when we are coasting along, making gradual, incremental changes in our lives. We are in a homeostasis or equilibrium state. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, these times are important because they allow us to rest and integrate and prepare for the next round of punctuation!

Because, once in a while, our equilibrium is punctuated by something that throws us into a rapid state of growth. It could be a job loss or a divorce, an illness or the death of a loved one. Or it could be something internal that just bubbles up to the surface ready to be acknowledged and healed so that you can move to the next level of your life.

So if you accept that personal evolution flows in a pattern of Punctuated Equilibrium pattern how can you leverage this knowledge to accelerate your personal growth? Here are some suggestions:

1. Learn to recognize when you are in a phase of equilibrium or homeostasis and when you are in a phase of punctuation or rapid growth.
If you want to leverage this pattern to accelerate your personal growth the first step is to become aware of which part of the cycle you are presently in. Begin to recognize the symptoms and signs of equilibrium and of punctuation. There will be physical, mental, and emotional patterns indicative of each phase. In general, if you notice you are having more resistant emotions than usual, it is a sign that you are either in or moving towards a period of punctuation.

2. Ideally, learn to recognize the signs that you are beginning to move from a period of homeostasis into a period of rapid growth.
A more advanced form of awareness provides you with an early warning system. You begin to recognize the signs and signals that indicate you are preparing to head into a period of rapid personal evolution.

3. Take full advantage of your time in the equilibrium state.
For leading edge thinkers, the equilibrium state is not a time for twiddling your thumbs. This is a time of integration, rejuvenation and sharing. During these periods of homeostasis you put into action the insights and new awareness you have gained from the last round of punctuation. This is also a time for sharing and modeling what you have learned with others. And finally, this is a time to truly enjoy and appreciate our life experience.

4. Don’t rock the boat of equilibrium.
This is a tough one for me. I was affectionately given a charter membership in the “Gluttons for Growth Group” while working through the Master of Intuition Program I was going through the Academy of Intuition Medicine. For some of you, like me, the equilibrium times will be the uncomfortable phase. If there is no crisis or upheaval or rapid growth happening, you’ll want to shake things up and jump right back into a period of punctuation. Don’t do it! Both phases, equilibrium and upheaval, are necessary for your personal growth. And trust me…your equilibrium will be punctuated without your help.

5. When your equilibrium is punctuated, ask for support.
Let go of the Lone Ranger approach to personal growth. It doesn’t work! When you find yourself in a period of rapid growth or approaching one, call in the cavalry. When you ask for and allow support into your life during these times of rapid growth, you can dramatically accelerate your return to equilibrium. It’s important to have support systems in place before you enter a period of punctuation. I just launched a new program, the Rapid Evolution Mentorship, for times like this.

6. Just say “NO” to the sweep it under the rug school of personal evolution.
During times of rapid personal growth, crisis and upheaval, it is tempting to do whatever you can to return to homeostasis as quickly as possible. During these times of potential growth, issues will most likely come up that are uncomfortable and downright painful. Sweeping them under the rug does not make them go away. It just causes them to go back into hiding and regroup for the next round. And when they come out next time you can bet they will be even more potent! And even if you are able to return to equilibrium it will be at the same level as before. You will not have stepped up to the next level in your personal evolution and will have, therefore, wasted the time you spent in the punctuation period.

7. Mine the moment for gold.
It is during these periods of upheaval and rapid evolution that you will find the true gold in your life. Carl Jung called this the “Gold hidden in the shadows.” During these periods of rapid evolution higher levels of personal awareness are available to you if you’re willing to do the work. In this case, doing the work means being willing to look at and explore whatever is coming up. When you dive into the underlying elements that are bubbling up from your subconscious mind, you will facilitate a faster return to equilibrium AND a higher level of personal awareness. In other words, you will bring that gold back with you into your next period of equilibrium. And that gold will help you create a better life for youself and for those around you.
8. Know that it’s all good!
This is a tough one for some people. Most of us want to claw our way out of those periods of punctuation as quickly as possible. A few of us slightly strange folks (yes I’m one of them) can’t wait to dive back into the punctuation. In reality the most enlightened approach to Personal Punctuated Equilibrium is to enjoy both phases. Think of it this way: At an amusement park you’re not on a ride the entire time. You walk around, grab a snack, wait in line, and then get on a roller coaster for a short, thrilling ride. Punctuated equilibrium works the same way. You need both of them if either of them is to be truly effective.

Both the periods of punctuation and the periods of equilibrium are necessary for our personal growth. And if you judge either of them as bad or negative, you will minimize your ability to grow and the overall quality of your life.

So enjoy all of it and always be ready for your next ride!