Adversity

I got a new purse for Christmas, which is good, because my old one was looking pretty hammered. That meant I needed to clean out my old purse and take everything out of it. While doing it, I came across a folded up piece of paper with the following story on it. I'm not sure exactly where I got it but I love the message.

Shake It Off and Step Up
Hardships

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up! This he did, blow after blow.

"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

What a great message!! When you're feeling down and having a hard time, remember to SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!!

New Year

I realized that when I gave my last entry the title "I Resigned...," I think I subconsciously resigned from updating my blog.

What I love about the new year is it always gives me a fresh start. I'm planning to update my blog more regularly. Writing is something I don't feel comes naturally to me, but I know that the more I do it, the better I get. I am continually learning and this is a good way to share what I'm learning with like-minded individuals.

Thanks for visiting my blog. One of my goals for 2009 is to make it even better and provide more content. I'm excited for the new year and all the possibilities it contains!

I Resigned...

In writing my last post, I wrote about doing the best you can and letting God make up the difference. Leslie Householder tells us to resign as Manager of the Universe. I've always kind of chuckled at that and gone on with my life.

I've been rereading Florence Scovel Shinn's book "The Secret Door to Success" and in there is a chapter entitled The Fork in the Road. I was reading it about a week ago and I had been going through a rough time. I was feeling sick, stressed out and like I just couldn't handle everything. I read a quote and the thought came to me, "You need to resign as Manager of the Universe." I started to laugh it off and it came to me again and said, "No, you literally need to resign as Manager of the Universe."

I know it's powerful to bring goals, dreams, etc. into the physical by writing them down so I drafted a letter. I did it quickly because if I dragged it out, I would end up not doing it. So, here it is.

October 15, 2008

Dear Universe,

I hereby submit my resignation, effective immediately, as Manager of the Universe.

In contemplating the last few weeks of my life, it has come to my attention that I haven't been doing a very good job.

I am ready and willing to step aside for the good of my life, and that of my family.

I am divinely led. I follow the right fork in the road. God makes a way where there is no way. I am turning that job over to God NOW!

Sincerely,
Melanie Valderrama

You know what? I feel great!!

The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 7

I apologize for being a slacker lately. I went out of town and got out of the habit of posting. I'm back and ready to get going again.

On to chapter 7 of "The Science of Getting Rich." This is the chapter on Gratitude and a lot can be said on this topic. I have really learned over the past little while to express gratitude for EVERYTHING!! Even my trials. When I have done that, I am amazed at what good I can find in any situation--ones that would have reduced me to tears and anger in the past.

With that in mind, one of my favorite quotes in this chapter is: "The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more good things we will receive, and the more rapidly they will come; and the reason simply is that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come." The trick in that is to choose gratitude even when things aren't going well. Try it and see what amazing experiences you are able to enjoy.

He then goes on to say, "If it is a new thought to you that gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe, consider it well, and you will see that it is true. The good things you already have come to you along the line of obedience to certain laws. Gratitude will lead your mind out along the ways by which things come; and it will keep you in close harmony with creative thought and prevent you from falling into competitive thought.

Gratitude alone can keep you looking toward the All, and prevent you from falling into the error of thinking of the supply as limited; and to do that would be fatal to your hopes."

Your life is perfect as it is now! If you're resisting that idea, just choose to believe it. Do the best that you can and God will make up the difference. What a relief to me to not have to do everything myself! Express gratitude for ALL that you have and remember that there is good to be found even in the bad.

The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 6

"If you fix upon your consciousness the fact that the desire you feel for the possession of riches is one with the desire of Omnipotence for more complete expression, your faith becomes invincible.

...

All that there is of possibility is seeking expression through men. God wants those who can play music to have pianos and every other instrument, and to have the means to cultivate their talents to the fullest extent; He wants those who can appreciate beauty to be able to surround themselves with beautiful things; He wants those who can discern truth to have every opportunity to travel and observe; He wants those who can appreciate dress to be beautifully clothed, and those who can appreciate good food to be luxuriously fed.

He wants all these things because it is Himself that enjoys and appreciates them; it is God who wants to play, and sing, and enjoy beauty, and proclaim truth and wear fine clothes, and eat good foods. "It is God that worketh in you to will and to do," said Paul."

What are you looking to express in your life? Music? Art? Fashion? I love this passage as it inspires me to pursue and cultivate my talents.

I am musically inclined and I could be so much better than I am. I enjoy playing the piano and organ and singing and I haven't been doing much with those talents lately. I do find that when I practice, even if it's just a little bit, I get pretty good. When I slack off, however, I lose my gifts quickly.

Maybe you have an eye for art or fashion or can cook amazing food. I'm not much of a cook, so I am in awe of people who can make delicious food or eat delicious food and name all the ingredients in it!

Here's a question for you to ponder: What is the possibility seeking express through you, RIGHT NOW?

The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 5

I love this chapter because this is where we first learn about the competitive vs. creative plane. I LOVE this concept because I hated to think that in order for me to get more, someone else had to get less. Here are the words of Wallace Wattles:

"You must get rid of the thought of competition. You are to create, not to compete for what is already created.

You do not have to take anything away from any one.

You do not have to drive sharp bargains.

You do not have to cheat, or to take advantage. You do not need to let any man work for you for less than he earns.

You do not have to covet the property of others, or to look at it with wishful eyes; no man has anything of which you cannot have the like, and that without taking what he has away from him.

You are to become a creator, not a competitor; you are going to get what you want, but in such a way that when you get it every other man will have more than he has now."

As we become creators, we help everyone else. I love the way Leslie Householder explains this in her book "Hidden Treasures: Heaven's Astonishing Help With Your Money Matters." On page 19, she says, "...picture a pie, with one piece which belongs to you. If your piece of the pie represents the prosperity or wealth you enjoy, then to get more, someone must get less, (see fig. 1 and fig. 2).

On the other hand, you will see that to obtain wealth on a creative plane, you are adding some pie to the outer rim of your piece, increasing the diameter of the pie; and because Nature Abhors a Vacuum, the rest of the pie gets filled in, by law, and a bigger pie is created for everyone, (fig. 3 and fig. 4)." (To see the illustrations, you'll just need to order her book, which is excellent, by the way.)

So, you make the entire pie bigger which helps everyone. What an amazing concept! We are all creators and there are many ways to make this happen. An example Leslie gives in her book is when she held her first seminar. It was win, win, win all the way around. Not one person lost out in the event. I've not yet done this on a grand scale, but I now look for ways to live on the creative plane. I've taught a friend's daughter piano in exchange for makeup. I try to look for situations that will be win-win for everyone involved. Life is so much more fun this way!

The Science of Getting Rich, Chapter 4

I love so much in this chapter that it's hard to choose, so I'll share a couple of quotes that go together.

The first quote I love is: "Man is a thinking center, and can originate thought. All the forms that man fashions with his hands, must first exist in his thought; he cannot shape a thing until he has thought that thing."

So, EVERYTHING we see was first a thought. Look around you. Your computer, couch, table, decorations, piano, games, the list could go on and on. Someone thought a couch would be nice to sit on and created it. Cool! I'm grateful for that because I love my couch.

Have you ever thought of something and said, "It would sure be nice if someone would invent that." You may find out that it already exists. I love looking through catalogs. The other day I saw a strainer that you can put over the top of a can. I think it's handy, but I'm fine with the way I strain liquid out of a can, so I'm not planning to buy one. That was something I had never thought of, but when I saw it, I realized that there must have been a need for that. Again, the list here could go on and on.

The other great thing about this quote is that it says that we are creators. We think about what we want to create first. The world was even created spiritually first before it was created physically. We have a great pattern to follow. We can't shape anything until we first think about it. Makes sense, right?

Wallace Wattles also gives three fundamental statements to read, memorize and meditate on and they are as follows:

"There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought, in this substance, Produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created."

Ponder these statements as you read Chapter 4 and see what you can come up with. Remember that we are creators and can do amazing things!