Living the Certain Way Today

It's been a sweet day in SGR world.

I'm grateful to be easing back into the flow. I wonder what has me dance away from it? Am I every really away from it?

Today I went to work and had opportunities to more than fill my present place, for which I was grateful.

I also had my head up my butt, well, let's say it was, like, up my butt, but peeking out. LOL! I kept hearing the words, "Do today's work today." They helped me keep returning to the present. I also was saying to myself, "I am the awareness that is aware."

I felt better after lunch and wondered if maybe the unease was just hunger.

Also tonight I was on my Diamond call (excellent) and heard some things about how some Diamonds can take up to almost a year to fully cycle. I felt sort of nervous because I feel like I somewhat count on my Diamond to bring me cash. But recently, when coming present to this, I've realized the limitation of the thought, and opened up to all sources. Opened up to be pleasantly surprised. But, in a way, not surprised. As Mr. Wattles reminds us, gratitude begets faith, and living in faith, we expect good things. We ARE infinite.

I stood on the lawn in front of the Allman Brothers Band and knew that I am the very same as those guitars, as the sound, as the people, as the lights, as the trippy visuals on the screens. I felt absolute peaceful gratitude.

So as I had my moment or two of worry, I gratefully remembered the words that I read today:

" . . . do not spend time in planning the best course in possible future emergencies. Have faith in your ability to meet any emergency when it arrives."

Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 11

It's such a relaxing statement. In those moments I do a quick scan to see if there's any problem in the moment or anything I need to deal with in that moment, and there is not. What's there to do is today's work - and to do today's work well.

I'm grateful for opportunities to do work, to more than fill my present place, to give off the impression of increase, to be grateful.

AND, I need to take good care of this generous body, so I'm going to get on to bed.

Thanks for reading. May your day be filled with the impression of increase.

Yours,

I.P.

Where are you trying to get?

"You cannot act where you are not. You cannot act where you have been, and you cannot act where you are going to be. You can only act where you are."

Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 11

Funny, even as I sat down to write this, I started to scroll backward through the days and found myself about to read about my past. Sometimes I find it useful or even inspiring to read some of my past writings, but that's not my intention today.

A few days ago I took twenty-plus pounds of journals and threw them in the trash can on trash day.

I've been slowly but surely purging things in my house. A few weeks ago I donated about half of my books to the library. I could keep going and not miss most of them. During my next upcoming visit from my organizer, we're hitting the closets and clothing. I can hardly wait!

Sometimes it feels great. Sometimes it feels weird. Purging those journals was mostly weird and kind of reactionary.

I'd been wondering for a while what, if anything, I should do with them. But I'm pretty hip to what's in them: past.

Does relieving myself of past writing free me from my past? Perhaps it helps. I've been known to open those books and just get lost in them. Solidify a false sense of self based on how horrible I think I am that I haven't grown more (that I'm still whining in similar ways, still having relationships that make my friends say, "That's not what you want.") or feel guilt or shame for how out-of-it I've been. How wistful and naive. Other times I become present to my on-going commitment to and devotion to the Divine and see in writing the continuing unfolding of that experience.

Any journal I write today would be more or less the same.

Last night I was at a concert (thanks, Giraffie, for going with me and making it all possible! I had a great time!) and I had a great ah-hah moment:

I saw that I've been living as if there's some place to get to. The money. The man. The Airstream Dance Party.

And as I sat on the toilet at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion, I knew: THIS IS IT. There is nothing else but this.

There's nothing else but me here, legs crossed (feet freshly pedi'ed), Ray Brown Trio playing on my Abdullah Ibrahim Pandora, the slight breeze from the ceiling fan making itself known to the left side of my face, my clothes clicking against the side of the dryer in the next room, this key board warm underneath the heels of my hands.

Where else is there to be?

I'd been wondering earlier yesterday evening if almost 40 is a little late to be getting my life started. What I wonder now is, what would have me think that it's just starting. It is a continual becoming.

Somehow I've been duped into thinking that there's somewhere else to be. Some other way to be before I've made it, am complete, worthwhile, a success. And such sweet relief at dropping that from a place of knowing, rather than theorizing.

So I go back to the quote from our good little green book at the top of this page:

"You cannot act where you are not. You cannot act where you have been, and you cannot act where you are going to be. You can only act where you are."

There truly is no place to get. The only place we're eventually going to get, in this lifetime, is to our death. And if I'm scurrying to do things -- to make it -- before I get there, what real use is there? I'm going to achieve that finish line no matter what, right? And what about right now?

This music I'm hearing is super mellow and fits in nicely with my now 3/4 drunk cup of chamomile and my pensive and fatigued mood. I have to remind myself that I'm very tired from the big night last night and not to get too lost in thoughts or emotions, for they are all passing.

What's left to do is make my bed, fold and put away my laundry, rest. A little meditation sounds nice. For really, there's nothing else to do. There is this moment, opening up always.

I appreciate this part of Mr. Wattles' philosophy that helps me calm down and focus in a little more. Act more efficiently. But just remember, we do this not to get somewhere. We are right here, aligned with the Supreme Power, that which takes total care of us.

Good News & Generosity = the Impression of Increase!

Okay, first of all, how totally freakin' awesome is this?

DarynKagan.com, a site dedicated to hopeful news stories! People living their dreams! Successes! Daryn Kagan IS sharing The Certain Way! She is showing increase and more life for all. She worked for CNN for 12 years and when they didn't renew her contract, she set up a focus on the world that's positive. That's becoming. Hallelujah! All things are possible!

I was so psyched when I saw an article about her in Body & Soul magazine. It was especially great because I haven't been reading my copies of the magazine lately, and, in fact, had this one in a pile to give away, but, well, I took it into the bathroom with me this morning. I also came across two inspiring recipes that shaped my grocery shopping and will shape my eating this week. Mmmmmm Wild Salmon with Yogurt Dill Sauce. Aw yeah.

Thank you, formless substance.

And something else I'm getting that I want to share with you:

In my gifting circle I'm in (called the Diamond Experience), I'm in a position called Generosity. I was just reminded a few days ago of this by Victoria, who's in the Abundance/Gratitude position in our Diamond. It was so cool to see that reminder from her! I saw these words in a text message: " . . . because you're in Generosity."

What a beautiful thing to be told!

Ahhh! How wonderful!

I recalled right away how when I was traveling this week, I had several opportunities to give big tips . . . bigger than expected in those situations. It was great and helped me see my Clear Mental Image of putting $100 bills in the tip jar at Cafe Mundi, my favorite morning hangout in a town full of great ones. My friend calls it my "second living room". Anyway, so I'd been giving big tips, and that was fun. And doing so also helps me get into the feeling of infinite increase, as I just know I can "afford" to hand the shuttle driver a twenty dollar bill. Of course I can! Increase for all!

Also since I've been back from my trip, I've had two opportunities to give things away at the bus stop next door: a stack of records, and a ticket to a concert. I even got to trace the ticket a bit as the person who picked it up emailed me (I'd posted on craigslist that there was a free ticket to a show taped to the bench at the bus stop) so I looked him up on Facebook, where he'd posted about going to the show! How cool!

Those moments have been giving me joy.

So I looked to see how it connects with the Science of Getting Rich. And what I saw is this:

Generosity is like giving off the impression of increase. When we feel that we can give freely of anything - money, time, food, attention, other resources - we are living from abundance. When we feel that we can freely share, we are not coming from any lack. And according to Mr. Wattles, there's no hurry on the creative plane. And the stuff from which we create is infinite, as are our opportunities, resources and positions.

Being in generosity is relaxing, like being in the relaxed state studying Mr. Wattles puts me in. Just present. Just trusting. Just being and relaxing and celebrating. It's so fun!

One last thought for tonight that stems from this.

Today I got to do something that gives me great pleasure, usually after I've completed the task. I swept and mopped all the floors in my apartment. I have wood floors (except in the bathroom and tiny kitchen) and a wild assortment of spider webs and dust bunnies that exponentially produce the moment the floor dries from its last mopping. And, um, its last mopping could have been as long as a year ago. I don't like doing floors.

But today!

When I remembered, I held the impression of increase as I worked. I looked to see if I was doing the work efficiently, as Mr. Wattles teaches us (see yesterday's post). And so, especially when I was getting tired, I reached for the Supreme Power, which, for me, means getting really present. It helped keep me focused throughout the cleaning AND when I remembered I would tell myself that that activity was keeping thousands of dollars in my bank account and bringing me all I want.

And now I have clean floors and it rocks!

It's all very interesting, and I'm having fun.

Love,

Your loyal,

I.P.

A Ramble of a Blog Entry, from Chicago

I flew to Chicago today. On the plane I read from the book The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, loaned to me by my friend, Annie, who was the person who sent me to the bookstore to buy The Science of Getting Rich last winter.

I read a chapter that suggested one keep one's heart open, no matter what.

Dig this:

"The most important thing in your life is your inner energy . . . Learn to work with these things . . . You do this by opening and releasing. You do this by not buying into the concept that there is anything worth closing over. Nothing, ever, is worth closing your heart over." (The Untethered Soul, Chapter 5)

Sound familiar? Like maybe, truth, regardless of appearances?

Most everything I read these days I look to see how it relates or fits in with SGR since this is the study I've taken on. And I hope for the best results because I haven't been able to drop my other studies, as Wallace Wattles suggests. Awakening my consciousness and opening my heart - if I do have control over such things - are the most important things to me. Everything else is secondary.

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I feel that my writing today lacks organization or one particular point. Which, overall, is pointing to my general ADD style of things. So distractable! Sometimes I make a commitment only to look at email/Facebook twice a day. It's interesting to see how much more focused I can be. It does take practice in this ADD world I've created around myself.

Which brings me to the topic of Efficient Action (SGR, Chapter 12). This morning I felt the smoothness of efficiency: getting up and getting ready to go on my trip and making breakfast and cleaning it all up and driving to the airport and getting to my flight, smoothly, easily, on time. No hurry, no worry.

I heard from a friend the expression "stop the splatter" referring to doing too many things at once. What's possible if I actually focus on just one thing at a time?

Mr. Wattles:

"The matter turns, then, on the question of whether you can make each separate act a success in itself. And, this you can certainly do.

You can make each act a success, because the Infinite is working with you, and the Infinite cannot fail.

The Supreme Power is at your service. To make each act efficient you only have to put your own power into it." (SGR, Chapter 12)

I like to look at this through the lens of presence. When we are present with an action, when we are understanding that there is no other purpose at all for us than what's happening right in that moment, we are dialed in to the power of the Infinite. It is the Power of Now that Eckhart Tolle talks about. From there, every act is a success.

There is a de-programming that one must do in order to have a focus like that. In our culture, we are trained that most acts are a means to an end.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said this:

"The good news is that the moment you decide that what you know is more important than what you have been taught to believe, you will have shifted gears in your quest for abundance. Success comes from within, not from without." (Ralph W. Emerson, 1803 - 1882)

That means doing things in the certain way. Mr. Wattles reminds us that in living in the certain way, we may not be doing different things than what we were already doing; we just begin to do them in a different way. Success comes from within.

In my estimation, then, it is not about a competitive push to see who can do more faster than whom and all that jazz. It is about how present we are when we are doing things. And how filled with faith, purpose and gratitude.

I walked along Lake Michigan with my dad today after I arrived in Chicago. It's gorgeous out there, just across the street from his apartment building. I notice in myself when I come here to visit that sometimes I feel awkward. I still feel some of this, even now; worry that I'm disappointing him or causing him discomfort in some way. But I called on what I've been studying and practicing: presence, the impression of increase, keeping the heart open - no matter what, truth regardless of appearances. And noticed my mind wanting to make wrong and then just breathed, looked at the sky, the lake, the trees, the people, and kept feeling the openness and peace and love that I live in and just hung out in that, hoping that it translates.

My dad said to me, "I'm not sure if you're actually my child," jokingly and mystified as to how we can appear to be so different in how we live our lives. I told him, "That could be a liberating thought!" He said it wasn't. He said he still feels responsible for me. I told him, "You don't have to. I know you can't help it, but you really don't."

Would riches satisfy his concerns? Would him knowing somehow on a deep level that I am giving off the impression of increase and that my success is for the good of all? Will he come to know those things?

I hope so because my dad is a good and caring man, and I'm clear about my path, too. May my being radiate peace, radiate the impression of increase, so that others may benefit in exponential ways and so that we all may drop the false need for fear.

That IS the ultimate aim, is it not? Without fear, all things are possible. All love. All celebration.

A brief note on Gratitude

Gratitude is such a key part of the Science of Getting Rich, it has its own chapter in this short book (that's Chapter 7). I don't actually believe that it's redundant to say that I am grateful to feel so much gratitude. It is a true gift. It is a feeling, an oozing, so different from the head-tripping I was doing this morning.

I wonder about getting too into my head with the study of this work, but then I see that the further one gets into it, the more it becomes about presence and gratitude. What else is there?

I think it's key that we get to that truly quiet place before the real creation and the real dial in to the Formless Substance happens.

I've been listening to The Power of Now a lot in the past week or so, and it's been wonderful to dive back into it. I'm clear that it IS my path. There have been times when I've been unsure how these two worlds (The Power of Now and The Science of Getting Rich) align, but even as I asked the question, it was answered for me.

And that, my friends, is another blog entry all together. I'll just say, for me, the alignment of the two is the only way I could go deeply into SGR. I'm grateful for that.

And I just want to say: I'm grateful for my life! It really is spectacular: filled with love and wonder. The most wonderful thing is to feel the love that emanates from within me. What deeper blessing could a person ask for except to get out of one's way and allow that state to be present all the time? It is only the thinking mind - and I'm grateful to have one that works well! - that distracts us from the knowing that emanating love is always present.

When I return to moments of quiet and true appreciation, it's a relief. I don't always feel so clear and overflowing. But I was reminded today by a friend's writing that balance is the way of nature. Downs happen. Ups happen. And they all pass. My Vipassana training showing up in the moment. Everything arises to pass away. May my highs be more relaxed. May I not fret when I'm low. Humans miraculously heal. And sometimes we feel tired or sick or sad or anxious or lonely.

And other times we feel a deep and pervasive sense of gratitude.

May the two states not be mutually exclusive. May our hearts stay open - and not just from a heady place.

Love, love,

I.P.