James Smith’s Info Serv

Author: Maria Meiners

Words are so important. They form the basis of our human language and are in large part how we communicate with one another. But what about communicating with ourselves? Here words become even more important because they reinforce our beliefs and even our reality.

As a Law of Attraction teacher and coach, I am constantly reminding my students and clients to choose their words wisely. The words we choose, weather spoken out loud or echoed in the recesses of our minds, tell us a lot about our true emotions and beliefs. They also form in part the messages we’re sending to the Universe, which are then reflected back to us as manifestations.

If our words contradict our stated desires then we may be disappointed when we continue manifesting things we don’t want. Case in point: Your stated desire is to have a beach ready body by summer. Yet every time you look in the mirror you frown in disgust and comment on how flabby you are. And when you go shopping you complain to your friends how you’d never look good in this or that. What message do you think this sends to the Universe? (Hint - it’s not “get this body in shape by summer!”)
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Author: Willie Horton

A number of years ago, a friend of mine asked me if I was happy. I replied that I was 100% happy at the time, to which she responded “Oh, that’s very sad!” I went on to explain to her that one finds happiness within (where else would you expect to find it?) and that my being happy didn’t mean that I didn’t want to achieve more, that I didn’t want more of all the good things that life has to offer.

I used the word “want” but, in truth, what I meant was “prefer”. You see, generally speaking, we haven’t got a clue as to what we really want. And although one so-called personal development expert recently told me that that is why most people are unhappy and unsuccessful (that they don’t know what they want), how could the normal mind know what their heart really, really desires, when all the other normal people around them are judging their happiness and success in terms of how they compare to all the other normal people? Indeed, some people who single-mindedly knew what they wanted are some of history’s worst nightmares. Adolf Hitler knew what he wanted - in the end it was good for neither him nor anyone else. Pol Pot was single-minded in the pursuit of his goals as was Josef Stalin. These are not the type of people we should aspire to be!

No. Want for nothing. Indeed, even if all hell is breaking out around you at this moment, if you pause for reflection you will discover an eternal truth - that all is well in this moment, you have everything you need for the perfect life, here in this now. Therefore, the single-mindedness you need is a commitment and determination to live life to the full in the present moment, to engross yourself in the task in hand, to invest more and more of your energy into the here and now.
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Author: Anastasia Netri

When you hear the word “perfect”, what do you think of? Most definitions of perfect are something along the lines of “being entirely without fault or defect”. So many of us are walking around trying to be perfect in some way. We want the perfect job, the perfect partner, the perfect body, or the perfect child. I think there’s nothing wrong with wanting perfection. The trick is to change the definition of a “fault” or “defect”.

It’s almost amusing how we believe that we have faults or defects. How can a person ever grow without experiencing the range of human emotion? When we are trying something new, isn’t there a process we must go through in order to learn it? So, is it a defect inside us when we pick up a violin for the first time and it doesn’t sound very good? Of course not. The process is perfect, not just the end result. To say one must practice to be perfect is to say that where you are, learning what you are learning at this moment, is only a means to be perfect somewhere in the future. The more we put perfection out there in the future, the more we tend to stay in a state of dissatisfaction. The perfect future never seems to come.

I’ve never met anyone who says they have the perfect life. Have you? I know I’ve looked at somebody else and said they have the perfect life, but when I talk to them I hear another story. Everyone seems to always be chasing after something that will take all of their problems away. For most of us, we think it is more money. Even though people with money tell us over and over that it doesn’t make everything perfect, there is still this illusion that many of us carry around with us that life holds a place for us, somewhere, in which we will have no more challenges to overcome.
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By Matthew B. James

Many of us are looking to ancient or traditional teachings to guide us in today’s ever changing world. One topic that often comes up is that of forgiveness. On a Dr. Phil show I recently viewed while channel surfing, I saw a guest on the show telling Dr. Phil, “I’ll forgive him, but I’ll never forget.” And as she said it, she was clearly hanging on to negative emotions. Does that sound like true forgiveness to you?

Like all of us, I’ve experienced painful relationships or situations in my life that made me question whether I should forgive the other person or not. But one truth I learned from my lineage of Huna is that there is only one person that you hurt by holding onto feelings of unforgiveness — and that is you.

My kumu (teacher) explained to me that there were three types of “wrongs” in ancient times in Hawai`i. These three wrongs– hala, hewa and ino –were a part of the code of forgiveness practiced in many parts of the islands. Hala is to miss the path, or err by omission. Haven’t we all missed the path at some time or other? I have. Often it was crossing a boundary without understanding that I had done so, or neglecting to do something out of ignorance. The wrong called hewa is to go overboard or to do to in excess. I’ve certainly been guilty here as well, especially when I become passionate about a topic and express my enthusiasm without considering others. Ino, the third wrong, is to do harm intentionally to either self or others. Most of us would claim that we’ve never intentionally hurt another, but what about ourselves? Personally, I know that I’ve judged and criticized myself, saying cruel things to myself that I would never say to another.
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There are two ways to improve the good luck / bad luck ratio in your life. One is to take steps to do those things that lead to more good luck. The other is to stop doing the things that cause bad luck. This lesson is about the latter. It is an examination of the actions, habits and thinking of unlucky people, so that you can learn what to avoid.

Six Things That Cause Bad Luck

1. Blaming. Blaming others - even when it is justified - is one of the most de-motivating things you can do. It puts things outside of your control and so things tend to “happen” to you even more - and sometimes these are bad things. It is fine to acknowledge that someone shares some blame for a situation, but then follow that immediately by asking yourself, “What can I do differently next time?” Put the control back in your hands.

2. Making Excuses. Really just another type of blaming, this bad-luck habit is often more subtle. For example, a real estate agent says, “I can’t sell enough homes because I don’t have the contacts that others have.” This might be 100% accurate. The solution, though - developing more contacts - is then ignored, because the real reason to say this was to justify his unsuccessful habits. Saying, “I know I can sell more homes by meeting more people and making more contacts,” is certainly more likely to lead to good luck (success) than the first statement, right?

3. Waiting For Luck. This is perhaps one of the worst bad-luck habits. Work invites luck, not waiting. While one man waits for his “ship to come in,” others are building ships. Unlucky people just wait, and let things happen - for better and worse - and so miss out on the many opportunities that are out there waiting to be seized.
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