Hello everyone,

It's been awhile since I been here and I just want to say I am back. My return is do to the very ah ha moment I had Friday. Since slipping from the principles of TSOGR it has been a tough time. To my surprise I was brought back to the book and the forum by the most strangest method a Movie that I loaded on Netflix the night before and got reminded of it while watching another video on youtube Friday night the individual mention very breifly about a movie the secret. I quickly found the film and watch it.
This movie really a documentry "The Secret", once i started watching it all I could think of was Wattles and that book and how through all the troubles i was going through managed to bring me back to this point.I had decided to give up and just let the world roll me over and hey out of no where poof what i had learn several years ago came to my aid I feel great and the light at the end of the tunnel is back on.

Welcome back, Casper1!

Thanks

quote:

Greatness in Small steps

Which then makes small step great, eh?

I, too, am returning - and I did the SOGR practical genius course in 2005! I am amazed to find that I am still in need of support and reminders of the power and necessity of GRATITUDE! I am now over 60, applying for jobs in an area of high unemployment, in a youth-focussed culture, and even though I can easily do all the jobs I am applying for, have done them, in fact, I am not even getting an interview. I am having trouble feeling grateful for this situation. I may lose my house, unless I can find a way to bring in some money, asap. Any suggestions gratefully received!

BettJoy,

I'm so glad you have joined the forum. I think we all need support from time to time. In my case, I appreciate almost CONSTANT support from these forums.

Have you seen the "I am grateful" thread on the "It's all relative" board of these forums? We like to cultivate and express gratitude daily and the thread provides a convenient place to do that. Also, reading the posts of others may help you to discover more in your life to be grateful for.

As for how to be grateful for your situation, that may come later. For starters, it may be easier to be grateful for small things. Health, running water, sunshine. Remember that not everyone has even these simple things. If nothing else, it's a blessing to have access to the internet and the inspiration and guidance available form the Science of Getting Rich, right?

Keep posting to let us know how you are doing.

Love and blessings,
Rachel

Rachel -

Thank you for your response! I had spent that day in outrage - I think I had finally let in the information that getting a job at my age was going to be a LOT harder than I had, in my ignorance, thought, I was powerless to fix it, and I was mad as a hornet about it! I am now excluded...
I had been sharing my outrage with everyone who was willing to let me vent, that day. That evening, still full of the energy of righteous anger, and now wanting to let it go and move on, I realised that anger is an aspect of grief. I was in GRIEF! This was a HUGE, scary, big fat hairy, loss! No wonder I had such a strong physical reaction to this "news of the world".
Along with that realisation came the release: the angry energy left my body: poof! and relief replaced it.
Now, days later, I am faced with "now what?" And I am waking up in panic and fear, as I have no solutions that I have any hope of implementing.
So, I am starting SOGR and Rebecca's course all over again. I feel grateful that it is still here, and still available to me. Even though I have never stopped my studying of similar material, I feel the need of this particular information and structured study course.

BettJoy,

You are making progress! Although I know that your situation is still scary to you.

When I first discovered SOGR, I was stressed and terrified and so, so very tired. It was an enormous relief to me to accept that success, happiness, and money don't come from work. Prosperity can be fun and easy and it doesn't have to involve anything your parents would call a real job.

Our whole lives we've been trained to believe that "money doesn't grow on trees" and "If you work hard and keep your nose clean, you'll be okay in life." Recently, you've been "taught" that at your age, jobs aren't available to you.

But what SOGR teaches is that we create our reality through our thoughts and feelings. You can have WHATEVER you want -- security, success, respect, dollars, fancy stuff -- whatever. All you have to do is to live in the Certain Way.

As you know, living in the Certain Way is both very easy, and very hard. It's difficult because we have so much programming and physical evidence to distract and discourage us.

It's easy because our first responsibility is just to be happy. That's why gratitude is so important. If we can find things to be grateful for, we get at least two benefits: 1) we feel better right away, and 2) we increase the body of evidence in support of the belief that life is GOOD. Life can be and IS good for you, and it will get even better as you allow good things to enter your awareness.

I like to boil things down to their bare bones. Here's my outline for living in the certain way and becoming rich.

1) Be happy -- that means keep reaching for whatever you can that feels even a little bit better than where you are now.
2) Know what you want. Put yourself inside the experience of having it until you feel the positive emotions attached to it.
3) Notice the good things that the universe is giving you every day and be grateful for them.

That's pretty much it. Occasionally, a life experience, or an internal blockage or belief will distract us from doing these three simple steps. When that happens, Rebecca's Life Labs, these forums, and other tools such as EFT, The Work of Byron Katie, breath release, ect. can be very helpful in getting us back on track.

Hang in there, you are doing great. Believe that you DESERVE all that you want and need.

Love and blessings,
Rachel

I believe that when we don’t get some job we want, it’s because we’re supposed have a better one, or something else that’s better.

In SOGR Wattles says not to dwell in disappointment, implying that disappointment is misleading.

“Never allow yourself to feel disappointed. You may expect to have a certain thing at a certain time and not get it at that time, and this will appear to you like failure. But if you hold to your faith you will find that the failure is only apparent.

Go on in the certain way, and if you do not receive that thing, you will receive something so much better that you will see that the seeming failure was really a great success.” From Chapter 16 of SOGR

This has happened to me many times. I failed to get some job I went for, only to end up in a better one. Or, I got laid off, but took it as a ‘blessing in disguise’ focused on staying calm and expecting things to work out somehow, and found a better job.

It’s also something that has happened to me in relationships, or with car problems, or when I’ve had to move.

It seems to me, everything that seems unwanted is a blessing in disguise AND, when we take on that belief, it helps us receive that blessing all the sooner, with less or no effort or struggle.

I believe if you always just focused on feeling some good feeling (which of course also means, constructively resolving any painful feelings) you would find that ‘somehow’ the solutions would come about, and/or your needs will be met.

“The Universe is responding to how we feel.” Esther Hicks

Is it easy to focus on feeling good? Only if you understand it to be a VALID thing to focus on.

If you don’t think how you feel is important (VERY IMPORTANT) then you won’t make it a priority. How important do you believe our feelings are? How important do you believe it is, for you to feel good about yourself, and feel good about what’s possible? Do you think your feelings matter? Do you believe you determine how you feel?

“We create our own heaven or hell. Your thoughts can imprison you or set you free. Complications, conditions or people do not upset you, but the way you think about them causes your upset. Freedom is not possible until we discipline and retrain our minds.” - p. 124 of Choose To Live Peacefully by Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D.

“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it. Be aware of the thought you are thinking.” Eckhart Tolle in ‘The New Earth’ p. 90

Here's something else you may want to consider:

Were You Told?

Phil

I feel hesitant to give advice. Sometimes I feel like that and at other times I just can't stop myself. Magic things have happened to me this past week. I was born in 1953 so I know it has nothing to do with youth unless it is within. Since you are both reading Wattles I can add nothing more than what he will tell you. So I will just send my love and blessings.
If you want me to help with a resume or anything at all let me know.
Pete

Since I started back on SOGR I was dealt a serious blow and it has put me back a few days and I am really trying to get back on track.
A good friend of mine whom I went to high school with past. Well here is the kicker I am just finding out now a year and a half later. By chance his brother found me on Facebook.I moved away after high school and kept in contact on and off. For some reason this information come to me right when I was seeing changes in my life. The message from this situation has still got me pondering.Now I am in great pain that I am trying to adjust to the news that is so so late. What brought me back to SOGR was a co-worker had died on march 15 in an accident and I knew him well and get this his name was Brent. Well now what do you think the name of my past friend's brother's name was BRENT!!!!! Somebody tell me why This would be done to me while I can't put a clue on this what's the meaning.

Still focusing on the Gratitude but it is a push right now

quote:

Originally posted by Casper1:
Somebody tell me why This would be done to me while I can't put a clue on this what's the meaning.

Still focusing on the Gratitude but it is a push right now

Oh, Casper1, I am so sorry.

As for meaning - as I now understand it, there is no meaning - other than what we give it. Give it a meaning that helps you feel better.

But not yet - not until you are ready. Sadness, heartbreak, etc - are all healing feelings and perfectly good. Let yourself just feel how you feel - without trying to add meaning to it.

Again, I am so sorry. With Love,

Leslie

Casper1,

I agree with Leslie and add my love and support to hers.

As Leslie said "let yourself feel how you feel - without trying to add meaning to it." Sadness can be a beautiful feeling. It is an important part of the human experience and a measure of how much we care. In fact, you could be grateful for those feelings. Not only can they be exquisite, they prove that you are alive and a compassionate human being.

Watch out for any thoughts that you are in any way responsible for the suffering of others, or that you in any way deserve to be unhappy. You can let go of any such thoughts as soon as you notice them. You are responsible for YOUR experience -- not anyone elses. And you can be sad just as long as you choose to be.

The fact that this is happening while you are learning the SOGR could be confusing. But I suggest that you view it as a blessing. As Brenna said, "Give it meaning that helps you feel better." You received some disturbing news just AFTER you were re-introduced to the tools to help you cope with it. What if these passings were going to happen anyway, and you were lead to return to SOGR in order to help you handle the news?

Death is a normal part of life, after all. We can miss someone, and be sad that they are passing out of our lives, without assuming that the death experience was a bad thing for them. Abraham-Hicks has some very comforting things to say about death. They call it a transition from the physical into non-physical. According to Abraham-Hicks, the experience is a positive one for those in the middle of it. Imagine your friends suddenly emerging from the limited perspective of this world into the pure enlightenment of the next. Do you think THEY are sad to have done so? I don't think I would be.

In the fullness of time, you may even discover a hidden gem for you -- a gift within the situation -- that only a practitioner of the Certain Way could see. What wonderful thing will present itself? When it does, will you be open to noticing it? Will you be open to receiving it?

hugs,
Rachel

quote:

Somebody tell me why This would be done to me

Casper1, what do you think was "done to" you?

The older we get, the more people we care about start dropping off. We don`t have any training for this & it doesn`t get better. We never get "used to" death. All we can do is realize that death is a natural part of living. When we are young we don`t understand how temporary life is. If someone you cared about has died & you didn`t know about it, just consider it a lesson that`s telling you that maybe you can keep in closer contact with those you love. I wish I had. Guilt & regret are damaging emotions.

Thanks to all who have offered words of wisdom. I just have not been exposed to death so close to me and the questions that come forth about it seem to be unanswered. Knowing someone and now they are gone something I have to come to grips with.

As far as giving meaning to the situation I am trying to find a place to go to when I think of those I lost.Everytime I try to move forward I get this heavyness in my heart that just locks me up.

Healing time needed I am guessing

quote:

As far as giving meaning to the situation I am trying to find a place to go to when I think of those I lost

How about gratitude and appreciation for all they have meant to you and for the wonderful times you have shared? (For starters!)

BTW, no one is ever lost to you. That's just a matter of PERCEPTION, really.

I am responding to all who have commented and really just speaking from the heart so bare with me on this reply. Rebecca I feel as though now that I am retuning myself back to the principles something is trying to set me back to those old ways of thinking. I was seeing very positive things unfold before my very eyes and was feeling like the days when I started years ago on SOGR. I can't put my finger on it but as things were turning for the better more of the bad stuff increased. Is this a test early on before I get back up to speed or is it just the truth telling me to stop and go back to the other way of thinking.

I am not going to give up because of what SOGR has done for me in the past I just cannot seem to shake this eerie feeling of a battle of wits with me and something else. My ordeal is clearly not over but with the SOGR way of thinking I intend to win if not have already won this battle.

Everyone the little steps I take now are hinged on the very comforting and encouraging words from everyone here.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I feel at home with the this community of like minded people here and I know I am going in the right direction

quote:

Rebecca I feel as though now that I am retuning myself back to the principles something is trying to set me back to those old ways of thinking.

Well, Einstein said the major question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not we believe this is a friendly universe. I certainly do! The Formless Substance/All The Mind There Is/God/Infinite Intelligence/Whatever Name You Prefer is, to me, ENTIRELY backing us up.

Wally said it this way: "The universe desires you to have everything you want to have. Nature is friendly to your plans. Everything is naturally for you. Make up your mind that this is true."

What are you calling "bad?" What stuff in particular? I ask because we so often take the VERY short-term view and call something "bad" right now, when in a while we can see that it wasn't really. In fact, with the passing of time we often say that something we thought of as "bad" in the moment turned out to be an amazing gift, even "the best thing that ever happened to me."

I like this: Whatever happens, happens FOR me, not TO me.

I personally do NOT believe there are any "tests." Who would be testing you and for what purpose? YOU are the creator of your reality, of all your experience.

And ANY time you feel bad -- any feeling that is not what you want to feel -- then, yes, you're being told (by your own inner Self, your own built-in guidance) that you are heading AWAY from what you want to experience. Your feelings always show you where your thinking is REALLY focused. It's a no-fail signal to get back on-course.

What do you mean by "my ordeal is clearly not over?" See, an "ordeal" is unnecessary. The only thing that determines whether your experience is an ordeal or not is your attitude about it, how you are choosing to look at it and experience it. You don't have to struggle and fight if you don't want to. The Universe is naturally FOR you, Casper1. Make up your mind that this is true.

I hope you find this relevant and helpful.

You mentioned how certain circumstances have come up that you call ‘bad stuff.’ I think the thing that will ‘set you free’ is if you question whether stuff is bad or good, in the first place.

“Nothing is bad or good, but that thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare

Now, this doesn’t mean that we will enjoy everything. But let me try to point out with some examples, how everything really has both sides of the coin or good and bad.

If you cut yourself you usually experience a bit of pain. And the deeper the cut the more painful it is. Now, let me ask you: Is it good or bad that you feel the pain? If you didn’t feel any pain you might just watch in curiosity as you bled to death. So, the pain prompts you to do something about the bleeding. So, doesn’t this mean that the pain is good, in that it helps you?

So then, pain is painful. But isn’t it a good thing – at least in some cases’ – that we experience pain?

Suppose you never got hunger pains? You might not eat. And then you might just whither away and die. So, again, pain serves a good purpose at times.

Now, you mention friends dying and how it evokes pain in you. I think I can relate, at least somewhat, but I also think I have a slightly different view of death that causes me to experience differently than you. Not that my experience of death is better; it’s just different. But maybe it’s worth passing it along a little.

One of the people I’m closest to is my son. If he were to die I would definitely NOT like it. To what degree would I not like it I don’t really know, and don’t really want to know. But I’ve thought about it, and I think, if he were to die, he certainly would not want me to just be miserable. I think he’d want me to get on with my life.

I think if I die and my son is still alive, I’d want my son to certainly get on with his life. I’d certainly want him to be happy. (Ok, maybe it would be flattering if he said something nice at my funeral, but hey, I’d be dead, so maybe I wouldn’t really get to be flattered.)

Years ago my mother died. When I thought about it, I concluded that, if there’s a ‘hereafter’ and she’s in it, she would certainly want me to go on and live as full and rich and happy a life as I could.

And by the way, even if there is no hereafter, it doesn’t mean that we can’t make the best of this experience we’re having. We certainly have some ‘wiggle room’ or options in how we think about life and all. So, why not think about it in ways that make this experience more pleasant than not?

Just some thoughts. Should I apologize for rambling?

Phil