OPT (other peoples thoughts)

I am happy to say that I find myself caring less and less about what others think about me. This has been an issue with me my entire life - the caring too much for others' opinions of me. It has done absolutely nothing positive in my life. It has only caused me anxiety and sadness and regret that was completely unnecessary.

Other people's thoughts are only thoughts, after all. Nothing more than invisible wisps of energy. They aren't truth! Certainly not MY truth! Hell, even MY OWN thoughts aren't real, so why should I care so much about those of others? Thoughts are usually only what we imagine as reality, rather than what is actual reality anyway! I am learning all about this subject right now, reading "When Everything Changes, Change Everything" by Neale Donald Walsch. This book is changing my life and I have to recommend it again.

So more and more I am living my life for me, without worry of what others think. It's really none of my business. If they have concerns or questions about me they can come to me and I will be happy to explain, if appropriate, but I won't worry about them worrying about me anymore. Phew...it's a weight off my shoulders!!

building happiness moment by moment!

When I am feeling sad or scared or any other unpleasant emotion, I have started getting into the habit of stopping and asking myself "what am I thinking about that has me feeling this way?" When I do that I then have the choice to CHANGE my thoughts, and thereby change my emotions.

Because I know fear is not a "thing", it doesn't exist! It is my mind that creates the fear, it is only a thought, not a reality. I simply remind myself "This moment I choose to act from a place of love. I feel nothing but love. Everything is alright!!" And that fear or sadness or anxiety vanishes and my heart fills with wonder! (Honestly! I know it sounds airy-fairy but it's true!!) It has taken me practice and a lot of time trying to figure out how to do it, but I am finally getting there!

So each time I do that I am creating another happy moment. And when I look back over all those happy moments that I am stringing together, life looks like a pretty wonderful place to be!! :) (As if there were any other place to be...)

So it all ties together: the Power of Now, the law of attraction, all of it. It all means CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!

Much love to you!!!

I'm back - and on fire!

I have been gone from this blog that no one reads for a long time. I was going through a painful realization that was extremely hard to come to terms with. And quite honestly, I wasn't feeling glorious and had almost forgetten how to try!

There was something in my life that needed to CHANGE. I had known it for a while but had been squashing it down, down, down and sealing the lid on it. And like bread dough, it just kept rising and rising. I started seeing a therapist to find out what was "wrong" with me (even though inside I already knew). I was depressed. I was almost self-destructive. Finally the pressure became so intense that I knew I had to make the change. There was no other option - I could no longer contain it. And SPROING!! The lid popped off* and the bread dough puffed out and...you know what?

I feel GLORIOUS!!!

(*I don't recommend waiting for your lid to pop off. It hurts the soul and the body and the spirit)

The moment I made the change things began falling into place for me. Instead of swimming upstream through rapids, it feels like I am being carried along a lazy river, dipping my toes over the side of a raft and dozing blissfully in the sun.

DO IT NOW!!

Whatever it is that you really want (or desparately need) but are so afraid to do - DO IT!! And don't look back! You will be blown away!

Right now I am completely into Neale Donald Walsch. I am reading his book "When Everything Changes, Change Everything" and I feel like this book has truly transformed me. This change I am going through is HUGE but this book has changed the way I look at change. It has also allowed me to use the word "change" three times in the same sentence. ;)

I am no longer in search of the glorious life - I am living it!! Every moment is glorious!!

Much love to you all!!

a little turned around

So...I'm feeling a little lost.

I'm not gonna lie. This is a part of my journey, after all. This blog is called "in search of the glorious life", not "currently and constantly living the glorious life".

My family is going through a tough time right now. Of course I won't list all the things that have happened or are happening, but it's been an exceptionally difficult few months.

The biggest part of me knows what I need to do:

1. Keep going. Don't give up on any of the goals and dreams that I am pursuing.

2. Get honest. With myself and with others.

3. Study. Get back on track with my reading, learning and practicing meditation.

4. Stop taking myself so seriously. Have fun with life and stay POSITIVE.

But the littlest part of me is suddenly finding it very difficult to do these things.

I wish I could go to a spirit-oriented conference or seminar or retreat or something where I can experience some good energy and be surrounded by people who are on the same journey as I am.

In fact, my new short term goal is to find an event I can attend over the next couple of weeks. (One that's free or cheap) Maybe that will give me the jump start I need to continue on my journey.

poor little forgotten bloggy

Things have been so crazy that I forgot for a little while that I have a blog. Crazy in a good way! I am busy doing things I love to do! However, I can see that the Search is slipping again to the background of my life, which worries me a little.

I truly believe that the Search is what has brought all the positive things into my life so I know it is important to maintain the spiritual side of me above all else. However, it's easier said than done, since I don't have anyone else depending on me to do it. With all the other things in my life (my job, the screenplay I'm writing, the record I'm writing and recording with my friend Jonathan) there is always someone there waiting for me to complete my part of things.

In a way, I guess I created this blog to help hold me accountable for my spiritual development, but since no one but me reads it consistently, it isn't working as well as I'd hoped.

Anyway, for this moment I am thinking about spirituality, and this moment is all we really have, right?

I downloaded a couple of new audiobooks from iTunes a few days ago which I am excited to listen to. One of them is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and the other is The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra. I'm sure my next blog post will be about one or both of those.

I'll blog to you then!

regret and positive thinking

I have often heard people say they have no regrets about their lives and would do it all again. I have always thought this meant that people just didn't care if what they did was wrong or right. Lately I have realized that maybe what they were saying was they have lived a life in which they never did anything bad enough to regret.

As I type this I am leaning more toward the former. I mean, it's pretty impossible to live a life in which you never do a single thing that you regret. Or maybe they mean they have forgiven themselves for regrettable actions in the past and moving forward they will not do things they might regret?

Similarly, I have recently realized that positive thinking effects my life much more directly than I had thought. I had thought of it as some sort of supernatural thing or some impossible-to-understand theory having to do with the vibrations we send out attracting similar vibrations. However, I suddenly realize that it's much simpler than that.

occurence leads to thought, thought determines emotion, emotion determines quality of day

When I'm having a bad day it is because I am feeling a negative emotion. I'm angry about something or sad or anxious or upset somehow.

When I am feeling a negative emotion it is my body physiologically reacting to a negative thought I had about something that occurred which I labeled in my mind as "bad".

THEREFORE - If I can avoid labeling things in my mind as "bad" I can avoid negative emotion, thereby making a better day for myself.

So the key is "thinking positive"...which is what they have been saying all along!

my things are not who I am

Times are tight financially right now for my family. We have been forced to drastically change our lifestyle. We took Harper out of day care since at least one of us is always at home to watch her. We have given notice at our lovely townhouse in Irvine and will be moving into an apartment in a less expensive part of Orange County. I am selling my beautiful car and preparing to buy a much less expensive but practical one. We have started going without luxuries to which we had been accustomed, such as Disneyland passports, acting classes, mani/pedis, and the like.

Suprisingly enough, what I am finding is that this makes absolutely no difference in my happiness level. Owning and doing all those things were supposed to make us happier and take our lives to a new level of enjoyment. I am just as happy now as I was then. Happier even. I am looking forward to moving out of this place which is a drain on the pocketbook. Though it's nice, it isn't ideal for us. There are no little neighbors for Harper to play with here. There is no sense of community among neighbors. In fact in the four years we've been here we have never met our neighbors. I am looking forward to selling my car, another drain on the pocketbook. It will be such a relief to have that money each month to put toward credit card bills and savings. Rather than making us happy, without us even realizing it, our possessions have been like a black cloud over our heads.

I am becoming a firm believer in "travelling light". I will be credit card debt free within two or three years and I plan on NEVER having another credit card.

I am finding that the glorious life is already here. It's not about possessions, materialistic luxuries and such. It's about living each day. Truly living. Being present for my life. Yes, having nice things is good in some ways. Quality things don't break down, they are dependable and convenient, and that's great - IF you can afford it. But if you can't really afford it, all it does is add to your worry by creating debt that hangs over your head.

So someday I plan on having a nice new car again. Someday we'll live in a nice home with all the amenities we want. But only when we can truly afford it. Until then, we will learn to live within our means. To truly LIVE within our means. And that's a great thing!!