How did Stage One go? It’s time for Stage Two!…
Make sure you talk with your mentor regularly to get your questions answered. They are here to help.
Here is your next assignment: completing Stage Two…
- Try manifesting the experiences and things that you want
- Understand that your experiences are not you
- Stop wasting time on the past
- Evolve your list of needs and try to meet them
- Get enough sleep
- Make time for relaxing and regenerative activities
- Choose a form of movement and do it most days
And here are the details on how to do all of that…
Connecting To Experiences
Experiences are one of the first things we learn to separate from ourselves. We inherently know that we should not identify with the bad (or good) things that happen to us. But that is really hard to put into practice. Suppose, for example, that you had been robbed while walking down the street. You may take on a sense of fear that stays with you for your whole life. If you have experienced an assault, you might hold on to a sense of unworthiness or sense that you are a victim.
These bits of identity weigh us down and stop us from moving forward. Good experiences can be equally stifling if you keep revisiting them over and over. Suppose that in High School you were a great athlete. You might hold on to a notion of high school star that can prevent you from ever doing anything great in your adult life.
Are you holding on to a bit of the past? Ironically, to let go of an experience, you must connect with it deeply.
For each major experience in your life, write down what it taught you. What beliefs did it give you about yourself, humanity, or the world? Do you still think those beliefs are correct? What should you carry forward from those experiences?
Those experiences, good and bad, teach you something about yourself, humanity or the world. It is worth examining them for what they have taught you, affirming that they are not you, and then moving on. If you find that you are revisiting the same event over and over, consider getting some help to let it go. Therapy, Reiki, massage, journaling, prayer with a trusted spiritual advisor and other techniques may help you bring it to the surface and let it go. You can also create your own ceremony to let it go. Meanwhile, pack your life with new and exciting events so that you have something else to fill your thoughts.
Don’t waste time on the past, except to see how far you have come, what you have learned and to be thankful for that. As new experiences enter your life, thank them for what they have taught you, enjoy recalling them from time to time but let them go too. Focus on the now and plan for your future.
Connecting To Your Needs
We all have needs. The problem comes when we tend to ignore our needs, or worse, not even know what they are. When moving between phases of your life, your needs will evolve. It is useful to take some time to consider what they are and list them out. Consider each of the following categories and make some more of your own….
Physical Needs – How much sleep do you need? How much down time just relaxing? What kind of exercise do you need? What are your sexual needs? (we will get to that more later as well). What kind of nutrition do you need? What kind of self-care routine is optimal?
Mental/Emotional Needs – Do you need to feed your mind? What kind of intellectual activities do you need? Do you need close relationships? What kind and how much contact? Do you need time alone? How much?
Spiritual Needs – Do you need time to attend to your faith? Time to attend a service of some kind? Or just time to study your favorite text? Are there pilgrimages or retreats that you feel called to take?
Medical Needs – What issues in your body and mind to you need to attend to from a medical perspective? How can you take care of these issues? Can you isolate the root cause or the way out? What time and opportunities do you need to connect with your body and mind to heal?
Professional or Purpose-Driven Needs – What professional training do you need? What time do you need to pursue your purpose? What would you do with that time? What equipment, or skills or knowledge do you need?
What Else? – Your unique life may have other needs. Do you need to feel like a good parent? Do you need to feel validated for something?
The important thing is to be truly honest about what you need. Do not feel ashamed of what you need. If you feel badly about a need or you find that you need something unhealthy, explore that. Why do you feel that way? If you find that you have needs that are unhealthy, ask yourself WHY you need that. What does it do for you? How does it make you feel? You are being rewarded in some way for filling that supposed need. Ask if there are other ways that you can get the same feeling or the same result in a healthier way.
Lastly, remember that needs change. As you evolve and your life evolves, your needs evolve too. Update your list of needs as you learn about yourself and grow. Keep this list near so you can refer to it, and periodically update it. Overall, all of this planning and understanding is meaningless if you do not act. Make sure you are attending to your needs regularly.
Connecting To Your Body – Sleep, Regeneration, And Movement
Connecting to your body ensures that you will make your health and well being a priority, which forms the foundation for connection to yourself, and ultimately everything else.
Among your needs that you previously cataloged, will certainly be physical needs like sleep. Connecting to your body starts with making sure you are getting enough sleep. How much is enough depends on you. Everyone is different. There is a lot of research out on how much sleep is the optimal amount. You can read about it, or you can just experiment on yourself. Keep a log of how much sleep you get and how you feel the next day. Too little sleep tends to make us feel stressed and impatient. Too much sleep tends to make us feel tired and unmotivated. The right answer is somewhere in the middle.
Beyond sleep, you can connect with your body through regenerative activities such as…
- Hot baths (or ice baths)
- Massage
- Exercise or movement (see below)
- Somatic meditation (focused on scanning the body for feelings and sensations)
- Rituals to honor your body (see Margot Anand’s writings for ideas)
- Giving yourself a pedicure or other treatment
- Giving yourself Reiki
- Or just being mindful when shaving or brushing your hair or teeth
Regenerative activities should be on your list of needs. If they are not, add some now. Regenerative time, sometimes called self-care is critical to maintaining a connection to your body and therefore to yourself, which is the foundation for everything else. Do not neglect it. Try several different types of regenerative activities and see what gives you the most benefit.
Next, start moving. Your body was not built to stand still or sit down all day. Choose a form of movement and engage with it regularly. Here are some ideas…
Move at the gym…
- Walking
- Running
- Cycling
- Elliptical Training
- Jumping Rope
- Dancing
- Aerobics/Cardio Classes
- Tai Chi
- Martial Arts
Move at home…
- Turn on the radio and dance in your living room.
- Try fitness or dance classes and videos online.
- Do yoga or Tai Chi at home.
Move in the world…
- Walk or run around your neighborhood.
- Hike a nearby trail.
- Kayak a nearby lake or river.
This is just the beginning. Get creative! You do not need to be an athlete, or have impressive photos of your efforts. Just move. For five minutes or five hours, it does not matter. The point is to move every day. You may find that some activities are a lot of fun and you may choose to do more of them, or do them with friends. Besides all the documented benefits of movement for your mind, heart and body, movement connects you to your body in a way that lets you appreciate your human form and all it can do.
Connecting to your body through sexuality comes in stage three, so be patient. Get your sleep, regeneration and movement in line first (in that order) so you will be ready.
Manifesting – A Comprehensive And Simple Guide
Step One… What would you like to manifest? Plan it out in advance. What would enrich your life, your efforts or your wellbeing right now? You can ask for nearly anything. Here are a few categories to get you thinking …
- People (who are not already in your life)
- Places
- Things
- Lifestyle
- Self-Completeness
- Experiences
- Feelings / Emotional States
- Jobs
- Opportunities
- Health
- Immunity
- Social Interaction
- … be as creative as you like.
Step Two…Technique: Do it right and you will get what you ask for (see the critical warnings below)
- WRITE it down by hand on paper or in your device.
- FEEL what it’s like to have or experience what you want.
- LET GO of your need and desire for it, as if you already have it.
- LISTEN closely for hints and guidance on how to make it happen.
- ACT on that guidance.
- Keep it up daily – BE PATIENT – requests may take days to years.
Critical Warnings:
- The universe/divine attempts to deliver on all requests – so be careful what you wish for.
- Mind your root emotion. Why do you want that? If it is coming from a place of fear, inadequacy, or other negative emotion, you will get it in a way that multiplies that negative emotion. It will make it worse. Likewise, if you are coming from a place of love, compassion, purpose, joy, etc, you will get your answer in a way that multiplies these emotions instead.
- Once a person, place or thing is in your life, you cannot change their qualities. You can only add or remove things from your life, so plan carefully.
- When attracting people, who you get is also looking for you. Be careful to assess WHY they are looking for you.
- Be specific… very specific … or you may get undesirable variations.
- Once you are experienced, It is possible to manifest things without really meaning to. Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings.
- If what you want is somehow bad for you, the river of your life will try to stop you by making it a struggle to get what you want. Pay attention to that and stop chasing it. Your river is trying to save you from pain and suffering but will ultimately let you have that pain, if you insist.
- Understand that manifesting can feel like you are in control. You do not have control. What you have is influence over that which is not yet in your reality. Do not confuse influence for control.
Most beginners make the mistake of not feeling what it is like to have it. Vision boards are useless if you do not feel it. Feeling is everything. If you feel it, it will come.
Overall, have fun! Manifesting is the mechanism by which you will design your ideal life and make it real. There is no better time to start than now.
Manifesting Struggle – Swimming Against Your River
Our thoughts manifest our reality – you can, simply by thinking about what you want and feeling what it would be like to have it, bring people, places, things, jobs, situations, etc, into your life. You can design and create your self and your world. So, why then does it sometimes not work? Why is it sometimes such a struggle?
The universe makes an effort to deliver on what you ask for, BUT sometimes it may try to stop you, for your own good. IF you are asking for something counter to your purpose, you will struggle. And if you ask for something that is massively counter to your purpose, the universe may block it all together.
They key is to recognize this struggle.
Trust that the universe will try to block you from anything that would destroy your purpose entirely. If you are struggling, accept it, and let go of what you were trying to do. The universe is trying to tell you that particular relationship, job, school, etc is not good for you and will take you off of your path.
Ultimately, if you continue to struggle and continue to insist, the universe may eventually, begrudgingly deliver; and it will set you up to learn some hard lessons.
People, places, things, experiences, etc that lead you to your purpose will come “easily” (that does not mean quickly or with zero effort… but it will not feel like struggle). Be mindful of what you are asking for, and WHY you are asking for it. Recognize struggle, and act on it, and you will get to your purpose and a fulfilling life much faster.