Michael, I absolutely love Effortless Success!  I have listened to the first four CDs three times and the last two once.  I know I will play them even more.  My husband and I listened to them as we drove across Texas this last week.  They have already helped me so much!  Bless you and thank you!

Woo Hoo!  I just picked up my Effortless Success CDs at the post office!  I'm so excited!

I just ordered Effortless Success today!  I'm so excited! 

Hatpin, I'm so sorry about you losing your mother!  (I just had an image of a gardenia.  A gardenia is an offering of love.  She is sending you love, Hatpin.)

I'm curious.  Why did you use the name hatpin? 

Kayleigh, that is so great!  I agree; they were good times!

Thanks for that link!  What an inspiring man! 

That sounds interesting, Limbo!  Would you give a more concrete example?

What a great program, Michael!  You demonstrated compassion with Karen.  She was really hurting, and you were so kind!  Of course, you show compassion to your callers all the time.  Thanks for being real!  The world is a better place because you are in it.

Bless you, Michael!  May you get well super quickly, Supercoach! 

Wow!  I missed that one; I had to go back and read it.  "Kindness is love made visible."  I like that.  Thanks from me, too!

Guy, my cousin has a daughter who was her younger sister's natural child, as in your case.  She was not told.  Someone told her after she was grown.  Can you imagine?  Of course, it caused a terrible problem.  So, I'm glad your parents were open with you.  The fact that you love them very much and that you were brought up well is wonderful.  You were blessed!  And, you got to know your biological mother, too.  Many people don't have that opportunity.  Many people spend years looking for their biological parents.

I have a lot of deep seated anger in my life.  I don't really know where it comes from, but I was raised by my biological parents, so, in my case, it has nothing to do with feelings of rejection. 

Do you feel rejection?  I know my son has some issues, because he has never really known his father.  He didn't have anything to do with my son, as he was growing up.  However, he did have my wonderful father around, and he was with my Dad when he took his last breath.

Gosh, everyone has a different set of problems, don't we?

I really don't have much advice for you.  I'm not a counselor.  I just feel compassion for your situation. 

Have you talked to your aunt/bio-mother about this?  Do you think that would help?  It sounds like she felt she was doing a good thing by giving you to someone she loved, her sister, and that she could still be a part of your life.  It almost seems like you are sabotaging yourself, because you don't feel worthy.  You certainly are worthy!  Your bio-mother felt you were worthy enough to deserve the love and care of her sister.  It seems like she wanted to do the best she could at that time.

It sounds, to me, that you need to learn to love and value yourself as much as the people you have grown up with love and value you!   

[can]

Hi Emma!  I feel like my husband and I have a pretty good relationship.  It was really rocky at first, because he was abusing alcohol.  However, he hasn't had a drink since September 2000.  Since then, it has been really good.  We have our money problems, but we each acknowledge that we were both rebels, and that we made poor life choices early on.  We are working to make a good life together. 

We are both artists.  (Horrors!  LOL!)  We met when I was 43, and he was 38.  (Yes, I robbed the cradle!)  I have a grown son from my first, very short marriage.  He had never been married, nor did he have children.  However, we do have a dog and a lot of cats.   

I am 60 now, and he is 55.  We have been married for over 14 years.  I amazed that we found each other, and I feel very blessed that we are still together when so many aren't.  We are both very loyal to each other.  That is key in a good relationship.  We have arguments.  Everything is not perfect.  We get depressed about our situation sometimes, but we love each other very much.  And, really, he is my best friend.

I just want you to know you can form a good relationship, even if you are a rebel!     

LOL, Regina!  I liked the walk-in fridge video, too!

Great post!  I love the comparison.   

Thanks, Regina!  That made me smile!

I'm feeling pleased.  I made some progress today!

That's a very good practice, Terri!  I wish my mother had done that for me.  Maybe I wouldn't be having such a time now.  Not that I'm blaming it on her.  When I was young and clueless, I should have been more concerned about living my life and less concerned about finding true love.  LOL!

Hi Terri!  Thanks for your response!  That is something I have been considering, but my printer is slow, and I can't afford one of those fast scanners or a scanning service.  However I did scan an old letter yesterday that is starting to deteriorate, and it looked good. 

Someone at Unclutterer yesterday told me to stop torturing myself.  LOL!  She said to buy a filing cabinet and go at this slowly and enjoy the memories. 

I discovered something about my sentimental paper clutter.  I found this in a blog I was looking at.  "The trouble is that memories tend to get stuck to things."  This is my problem.  There are a lot of things I just don't remember, but the memory comes back when I look at a related piece of paper.  Most of the memories are good, and I enjoy reliving them, but there are too many of these memory triggers.  I don't know how to manage them. 

Paper clutter is my worst problem, and I feel that I need to conquer it before I can move forward to my other plans.

LOL @ your avatar, Regina!

Well, I have been busy melting down as I am trying to deal with sentimental paper clutter.  The paper clutter is sitting on the kitchen counters.  I am in another room cleaning and moving stuff around in one of my best avoidance routines! 

Hi Regina!  Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, too!

Actually, it isn't about art, but if I successfully launch the one I have in mind, I might think about an art blog, too!  This blog would be aimed at older people.  I have a specific focus.  I will give you a link just as soon as I post my first entry!

An art blog would be great, too.  As I get into it, I could post some video.  I like watching the art process.  Maybe others would enjoy that, too.

Thanks for the link!  Hugs!

Hi Regina!  Thanks for sharing that with me.  I will pay attention to what I'm thinking, because I know that is true about thoughts.

I took a positive step today.  I also belong to the Unclutterer forums.  I posted a topic about my challenge today, along with a link to photos of the clutter in my house.  I've given myself a little over a week to find a place for everything, so that I can move forward with my other plans.  That way I won't fall over things while I'm working!  We are doing projects over there, with deadlines and moral support from the other members.  It's going to be a lot easier to sell things on ebay if I can find them.   

I have made myself a plan for the year.  I have 3 priorities.  One is to sell unwanted items on Ebay.  The second is to begin doing my art again and sell it on Etsy.  The third is to start a blog.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday.  I moved bedroom furniture (with help), and I moved a lot of clutter out.  Unfortunately, I didn't sleep too well last night, so I'm dragging today.  When I buy Effortless Success, I need to buy I Can Make You Sleep by Paul McKenna.  I think he was a guest on Michael's show. 

Happy New Year, Imaginer and Michael!  This is going to be a great year!

Love & Hugs,
Mary

Rebel against procrastination?  That is a new way of looking at it!  Thanks Terri!

Jay, I went back and looked at Don's site again.  I read an interesting post about a boy he worked with.  It was good info for me.  Thanks again!

Wow!  I regularly walk through my mind with dirty feet.  I guess I'd better stop that!

I've already been working with one of Brad's videos.  I will continue to do so.  It really does make me feel better. 

I can't afford the Solutions Cafe just yet, but I am definitely buying Effortless Success.  I am a visual learner, but I love hearing Michael speak.  He makes everything so clear.  Plus, he tells great stories and has a wonderful sense of humor.

Thanks for being here when I needed you, Regina!  Hugs!

Thank you so much, Regina!  LOL, you caught the part about being fragmented before I deleted it!  I started feeling bad that I had written that.  I came back and edited it, but I'm glad you caught it, because I was feeling very fragmented!

I have tried the EFT a couple of times, and I found that it made me feel better.  It was for something else, so I certainly need to try it for this!  Thanks!

I was about to order Michael's Effortless Success.  Do you think it would be better for me to order the other one? 

I did go to Blackerby's site.  It seemed to me that it was more for children.  I will go check again.

Thanks again!  Love & Hugs to you!

Well, I thought I was losing it today, but I got so angry that I got some things done.  I hate having to lose my temper to get enough energy to accomplish anything.

Thanks, Jay! 

I'm feeling pleased.  I accomplished far more than usual today!

Michael, I watched that speech at the link you provided, and I have now filled my daily quota for tears.  Very inspirational!

I'm seeing this right now with myself.  Jay is helping to make me more aware of my inner dialogue.  It certainly does seem curative!

Hi Jay!  No, I don't see a finished painting.  Sometimes I see clay vessels.  I think about painting and the act of painting.  I will start concentrating on seeing a finished painting.  That's a great idea!

You know, something strange has happened.  After I wrote that internal dialogue out, I woke up this morning and started working on the Christmas cards I had been procrastinating on.  I didn't go to the computer immediately and start fooling around.  Is that because I wrote that out?  It seems kind of odd!

Hey RWW!  How is your furniture making business going?  I think it is so exciting that you are doing this!

I'm always glad to read some good news, Tom!

Congratulations from me, too, Michael!  I have enjoyed hearing about it on your radio program.

How are you all doing on your money gains? 

(Are there two Anjas?  I'm confused.)

Tom, if you make handmade items, you should be selling on Etsy.

Good wishes to you, Anja!  It is my hope that you will find the best person for you and have a happy family.

Have you thought about taking martial arts, Anja?  I took it for several years.  I could hold my own in a fight, but the main thing it did for me was give me confidence.  I could walk down the street and hold my head up high and make the world think I wasn't afraid. 

I will be thinking of you.  I'm sorry you are in such a situation.  Love to you!

Imaginer, I think you are doing well at expressing yourself.  I have enjoyed reading this conversation between you and Jay.  It helps me, too! 

There are so many movies I love. 

All of the Star Wars, Star Treks, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potters (I love scifi/fantasy.)
Anime by Hayao Miyazaki
Matilda
Bagdad Cafe
Bread & Tulips
Transformers
The Last Mimzy
Mirrormask
Holes
August Rush
Cars
The Lion King
The Secret of Roan Inish
The Secret Life of Bees
Etc.

I'm looking forward to getting it myself.  I will have to wait until the new year, but I will savor the anticipation!

I'm sure glad I have found this forum!  I'm happy it's still going.

Hello!  I live in central Texas.  James, I love Scotland.  I was there when I was 14 (ages ago).  It was so beautiful and magical!  I've had at least one past life there. 

I like anime, too, anything by Hiyao Miyazaki (sp?).  You should check out Mark Crilley on youtube.  He does great manga art!

LOL!  My first concert was Herman's Hermits and The Hollies when I was 16. 

Hi Anja!  You like Thailand?  A friend of ours has moved there with his wife who is Thai.  He has emailed us some incredible photos.  They talk about eating fresh fruit and veggies every day at the different outdoor shops.  It sounds great.


My year:  I have had a couple of good visits with family in El Paso, my mother and my son and his family.  I have wonderful grandsons. 
I've helped my MIL a lot.  She has moved into assisted living.
I had a wonderful trip to St. Augustine, FL, to visit my BFF who I hadn't seen in several years.  She has had breast cancer since I last saw her, so that was a big highlight of my year. 
I would like to say I have accomplished a lot.  That's the main reason I came to this forum.
I discovered books by Alexander McCall Smith and just love them.
I've eaten a lot of Mexican food.  Yum!

In my own defense, I'm not a total flake!  LOL!

I have raised a wonderful son who is a very good man, husband, and father.  I keep my husband fed and his clothes washed.  We have a good relationship.  I'm not working now.  I worked for many years and have very little to show for it.  Lately I have been helping my mother-in-law.  She had to move into assisted living.  I take her to the doctor, pay her bills, and balance her checkbook.  We have moved into her house to deal with her belongings and get her house ready to sell.  I have had two estate sales, but I have some items I need to sell on ebay so she has extra money for assisted living.  I also need to sell some of my things.

I'm actually pretty good at following through, if I am doing something for someone else.  It's myself that I let down continually.

LOL, Jay!  I guess I am a master of procrastination.  Actually, for a woman, I do have big feet! 

I haven't actually been diagnosed with ADD.  I'm pretty sure I have it.  I think I have had it since I was a child, but they were just barely talking about it when I was a teen.  I can focus for long periods of time on something unimportant, like a computer game.  I will sit and mindlessly play a game, because it blocks everything else out, sometimes even my inner voice.  Most of the time, my inner voice is scolding me.  "Why aren't you doing your art.  You are always thinking about it.  Why don't you do it?  This stupid game is boring.  Why aren't you doing something creative?  Why aren't you organizing your house?  You want it to look nice!  Just the thought of clear spaces gives you such a feeling of peace!  Why aren't you doing it?  If your things were more organized, you could spend time painting or working with clay.  I can't do clay.  That's my favorite thing, but the equipment is too expensive.  You'll have to do something else first, so you have enough money to buy the equipment.  You're getting older.  Even if you had the equipment, you wouldn't have enough time to become really good with the clay.  It takes a long time.  You might as well give up the idea of ever working with clay.  Do some handbuilt clay.  You don't need a wheel.  I still need a kiln.  The nearest kiln that I can pay to use is 50 miles away.  Do you know how much gas is?  I don't have a dependable car.  Our car is at work with my husband.  You have such creative ideas.  Why don't you follow through?  No.  You sit here like an idiot and play this mindless game."  Sometimes it gets even more complex than that. 

When I was a teenager, I would have a strange dream about chairs stacked up in front of me.  It was a wall of chairs I couldn't get through.  Sometimes it was a tangle of string, a huge tangle.  I don't need the silly dream anymore.  I have built a wall of obstacles myself.    

Thanks so much for your response, Jay!  I will certainly check that website.

I have had a struggle with procrastination and rebellion my whole adult life.  I have seen the enemy, and she is me!  I'm 60, and it seems to be getting worse, because I seem to be less able to concentrate on getting things done, more ADD.  Oh, I get the absolutely necessary things done, like paying bills and such, but my dreams are passing me by, and I'm not getting younger.  The woman who spoke of the inner rebel is 30, so she still has time.  With me, I figure it's now or never. 

I know that Michael was talking about Yoda saying there is no try, there is do it or don't do it.  I rebel against taking the actions that I know are in my best interest, the things I really want to do.  I think about making art all the time, and yet I do nothing.  There is a constant pull, and I am constantly pulling in the other direction.  Just trying to get up the nerve to sell something on ebay has me paralyzed.  I want to do a blog; I have a great idea for one, and I'm not getting it done!

Help!