Mi Hamba Blog

All the good that comes into our lives is based on love (the positive) and all the bad that comes into our life is based on fear (the negative).  With that knowledge, how can we use it to attract everything we desire?  First, we must have at least a basic understanding of how the Universe works…

A Primer on the Law of Attraction

Quantum Physics has proven that our thoughts and feelings “vibrate” at a specific frequency.  Positive thoughts have a much higher and faster vibration, and negative thoughts a much lower vibration.  We attract more of what we’re thinking and feeling into our lives - whether positive or negative, whether conscious or unconscious.  This is a Universal Law.  Consciously putting ourselves into that higher vibration is the key to getting what we want in life.

Gratitude and Giving are 2 of the most powerful ways we can attract things into our lives.  This week of Giving Thanks, we’ve shared our views on the importance of making giving and gratitude a part of our lives.

With Thanksgiving come and gone, let’s all remember to be of giving hearts - give freely and without intention of return - give heartfelt thanks for the gifts in our lives and the gifts we wish to receive.

Continued practice WILL bring you more beautiful things into your life to appreciate and share.

We all have our stories and memories of Thanksgiving - embraced by our sometimes quirky and colorful family and friends.  We just had to share one such story with you on this Thanksgiving Day.  You’ll find it to be vibrant in it’s telling of one such family and the joy, laughter and memories created in years past…

Uncle Harold

As the Thanksgiving Holiday approached I found myself thinking of my Uncle Harold. My Uncle Harold was the center piece of each and every family Thanksgiving dinner for twenty five years. There was one simple reason for this family legacy. Uncle Harold had the ability to render an entire group of heathens quiet and reverent for two minutes by virtue of his being the only family member that could do a good Thanksgiving rendition of “Grace.” He wasn’t just good; he was marvelous and his prayers were full of style and flowing drama. Sometimes they went on for more than the two allotted minutes and the gravy got cold.  And then there was the year, 1981 I think it was, where he wouldn’t stop and mold started growing on the mashed potatoes, but during those times Uncle Harold was really in spirit and you didn’t want to mess with spirit, at least not anything you couldn’t drink. With Harold anchoring grace it was as if Moses himself had stopped by to give a helping hand or in this case a helping prayer.

Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving Uncle Harold literally Kicked “Grace” through the family goal posts (The Lions and Packers being respectfully turned off) and thus properly blessed and civilized we could get on with the eating and drinking, primarily the drinking.

Where Michael Jordan was the face of pro basketball, Brett Farve the face of pro football and Barry Bonds the face of pro baseball, Uncle Harold was the face of “Professional Grace” throughout my life.  As a young adult and living far away from home I sometimes had to travel more than a thousand miles to get there for Thanksgiving, but the thought of Uncle Harold giving grace, those two magical minutes or “More” and wondering whether you might be featured, “Lord, bless Bill and be with him on his long journey home,” always sustained me somewhere just outside of Grand Island, Nebraska. Being featured in Uncle Harold’s Thanksgiving recitation of grace created another, smaller family industry, the industry of the wager. There were always three or four side bets as to who was going to be featured that year in the prayer. I usually had a better than fifty percent chance because of the sacrifice of distance traveled and besides, I hadn’t been around to piss Uncle Harold off. I usually wagered ten bucks on myself and more often than not collected some sizable gas money.

Where Uncle Harold acquired this unique ability is somewhat of a mystery. He owned a small Roller Mill company and was pretty wealthy and married to my Dad’s sister Mae. I mean if you own a Corn Roller Mill company in Iowa you “ARE” somebody! They were church going people Harold and Mae and he held church going titles like “Elder” and such. Their three kids grew up to be fine adults and the lone boy John became a missionary and he’s currently teaching religion and sanitation somewhere in South America. Despite all this, there was a dark side to Uncle Harold.

Uncle Harold might have been the meanest most demanding customer a restaurant ever entertained. I was especially sensitive to this because I was a big shot in the restaurant industry at the time and was appalled one day to watch the Michael Jordan of “Grace” reduce a poor innocent waitress into a tearful stuttering heap. I sometimes felt like Uncle Harold might have made a good slave owner in the Deep South. I could see him giving the lead slave Tobias a few instructions just before gathering the family in the wagon and heading off to Sunday church.

There was also the fact that Uncle Harold was an alcoholic and maybe his ability to give the perfect prayer came from some facet of speaking in tongues, albeit a well lubricated tongue.  There was also the time I watched Uncle Harold jump off the roof of his house and break his leg. Somehow that just didn’t fit one who could take a group of heathens and turn them into pious, grateful, God fearing folk with a simple two minute prayer right before Thanksgiving dinner. Still, all in all Uncle Harold held every member of the family in the palm of his hand each and every year when the call went out to gather for prayer.

Generally my Mother and then in later years my sister or cousin would give the call to the table. “Hey everybody! It’s time to eat dinner! Uncle Harold would you say grace?”  The last part was totally unnecessary because even my little three year old niece knew who the King of Grace was and it was after all, what I had driven all those miles for. So with everybody putting down their glasses of beer, homemade schnapps, homemade wine, wine in a box, shots of whiskey, and seven and seven’s and with my youngest brother Steve outside puking in the ditch somewhere, Uncle Harold, hands clasped in front of him, would sidle up to the table with eyes closed in preparation for prayer.

Of course at that very moment my cousin’s husband Larry would be in the middle of slurring another dirty joke to my cousin Dave but fortunately Uncle Harold always started grace with the famous “Clearing of the throat” sound and that silenced everything and everybody. Outside the cows and chickens stood quietly. Steve would rollover on his side in the ditch, wipe his face off out of respect and Larry would catch himself in mid punch line and lower his head. Uncle Harold thus seizing the moment would begin.

There’d be one more clearing of the throat, probably because these magical words required a clear and firm voice, especially considering the audience. “Aahhrruummpphh, aaahhhrrruuummmpphh, aarruummpphh” For God’s sake put it in gear.

“Dear Heavenly Father we ask that you bless this food before us this day.” I always liked that first sentence. When you’re hungry there’s nothing better than mashed potatoes, turkey and those little snow peas and knowing they have been properly blessed. I would literally start drooling at this point.

“And Lord, bless each and every one of the assembled here today. Bless their families and be with Bill on his long journey back to Utah.” SCORE! Boy did I like getting top billing in Uncle Harold’s prayers! I started adding up my take, ten, fifteen, twenty. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my brother in law mouth the words Damn!

“Lord bless those that are away from their families on this day and be with those that have lost loved ones this past year.”  God, what style he had. He was the “Mozart of Grace” I swear.

“Be with each of us this special day and help us remember the many blessings that thou hast bestowed upon us!” That part of grace usually followed Uncle Harold’s having had to have listened to a couple of family members bitching about the President and his handling of current political affairs, a man I might add that Uncle Harold had voted for. It was tough being a Republican in a Socialist State like Iowa.

“We ask you Lord to bless the marriage of Carla and Gilbert.” Carla and Gilbert! Who in the hell is Carla and Gilbert? I did a quick review of the family and there wasn’t a Carla and Gilbert as far as I could tell. I snuck a peek and didn’t see anybody that could be mistaken for a Carla or Gilbert and there were plenty of looks my way as if maybe I knew who he was referring to. Oh, well, even the great ones slip up once in a while.

“We bless and rejoice in the knowing that you sent your son Jesus here so that we may be saved.” At this point it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Nobody, I mean nobody wanted to be caught glancing around, fidgeting or snickering at this juncture of grace lest ye be struck down by a bolt of lightning with Uncle Harold shouting, “Good! He deserved it!” Then there would be the dramatic five second pause before Uncle Harold said,

“We ask these blessings in thy name, Amen.” Everybody would raise their heads, smile and thank Uncle Harold. Then with someone going outside to pee and fetch my brother Steve the scrum to eat would begin.

Though I was hungry, I was always just a little sad and depressed at this time because Uncle Harold went back to being the real Uncle Harold and that quiet couple of minutes had now become a scene of utter chaos and destruction as the heathens fought over drum sticks and macadamia nut casserole. I knew that someday the two minutes or more with Uncle Harold would be but a fond memory and right now, today, I had at least three hundred and sixty five more days to wait before this scene would play out again. Still, all in all, it was good to be with family, the food and drink was truly a blessing and my brother Steve had stopped puking and was now quietly asleep in the basement. Another wonderful Thanksgiving with the Kenny’s, Mohr’s, Britt’s, and Weber’s was well under way and if you were related to them, you might as well suck it up and enjoy yourself. Besides, I knew that I had once again witnessed the master of Thanksgiving grace and I was filled with gratitude on this special day.

Later as we helped carry Uncle Harold to his car, we knew he was in good hands because Aunt Mae was always the one that drove home after dinner. After he had passed away a couple of members of the family had even taken their turns at saying grace and filling Uncle Harold’s shoes, but nobody came close and my brother Gary was actually booed one year which caused me to worry about whether your food could be blessed when people were booing the giver of grace. But after someone had again fetched Brother Steve from outside, (this time he was located in the barn) I was happy to discover the food tasted just fine. We finally decided to forget grace what with Uncle Harold being gone and with the understanding that we were all heathens anyway. Yes, it’s always this time of year I think of my Uncle Harold and maybe, just maybe, if we’re all real quiet this year right before dinner and imagine hard enough and we all click our heels together just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we’ll hear him clear his throat one more time. I sure hope so and I hope I’m featured. I’m betting on it!    

Here we are just one day before a nationwide day of thanks, giving and family gatherings.  Each and every one of us has much to be grateful for in our lives.  Here’s how you can put gratitude and giving into practice in 3 easy steps… 

1. Be grateful NOW for everything you have in your life.  If you have a hard time feeling grateful, imagine your home, car, personal possessions, loved ones out of your life.  How does that feel?  Now feel grateful.  Remember to also be grateful for those things that you want in your life, whether they’re physically present yet or not.  Start every day with gratitude and watch as more things to be grateful for appear in your life.

2. Give freely on a regular basis.  Make it a practice to give 10% of your net income to charities and causes that you believe in.  If you can’t manage 10%, start with 5% or 2% or even 1% - just start.  The giving freely of money to others will bring more of it into your life.  Remember also to give freely of love, time, attention and all the other non-physical things that we all want.

3. Be ready to receive.  Acknowledge the gifts that come into your life with whole-hearted appreciation.  Thus the cycle begins anew.

Are you one of many people that still struggle with creating success in your life?  Struggle no more - you have 2 very powerful tools awaiting your command…

Many people think that they can only be grateful for what they have and spend much time moping and obsessing over what they don’t have.  When you think in terms of “not having”, you get more “not having”.  Let’s take a different approach…

Think about what you want.  Experience having what you really want.  Feel how you feel having what you want.  Now, be grateful for having what you want.  Feel how grateful and happy you are to have those things in your life that you truly desire. Doesn’t that feel different - better?!

“The simple practice of being grateful in advance will bring into your life everything that you want.”

Let’s talk about how giving plays an important role in receiving.  You already know that giving what you want more of brings it back to you in greater and greater quantities.  They key here is the “intent” of your giving.  Do you give to be of service to others or do you give only to get?   Be aware, giving with the intent of getting back is not giving.  When you give, do it freely and to benefit the receiver.

Do you recognize how good you feel when you give to others - in time, money, gifts, attention?  That powerful vibration that you’re putting out brings you back more of the same.  Remember to always give before you receive.  You wouldn’t expect to be paid for work you haven’t completed, would you?  The same applies to all forms of giving.

So what about the other half of giving - receiving…

Many people are very good at giving but have a difficult time receiving.  That’s because there’s a misconception that to give is good, to receive is selfish.  You are entitled to have everything you want in life - it is your birthright.  When you refuse to receive, you break down the natural flow of benefit for yourself and the giver.  You’re essentially pushing away that which you wish for and saying, “No, I changed my mind.  I really don’t want that.”  Imagine how the receiver feels when you refuse their gift?  How would you feel?

As I was preparing for Thanksgiving week, it occurred to me that this holiday wraps 2 very powerful ways to attract everything we want into our lives - Thanks and Giving.

Why Gratitude?

It’s a widely accepted fact that gratitude plays an very important role in or lives.  Gratitude is the recognition and acknowledgement of all that is good in your life.  This can be material things (your house, car, etc.), or non-material things (love, happiness, etc.).    The mere act of being and feeling grateful for something in your life puts you into a powerful vibration of love - the most powerful in the Universe.  Given that the Law of Attraction brings you more of what you’re vibrating, being grateful is essential to your happiness, health and wealth.

Why Giving?

Another globally recognized fact is that you get back what you give.  Want more money - give money.  Want more love - give love.  Consider the validity of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Giving is another vibration of love.  Sending that powerful vibration of love outward is what attracts more of the same back to you.

This is a week of Giving Thanks.  Remember to acknowledge and appreciate all that you love and have in your life. 

Are you the smartest person you know?  Do you make more money than all of your friends?  If the answers to these questions are yes, it is time for you to make some new friends.

There is truth in the saying you are who you hang out with.  If the people who you associate with make an average of about $30,000. per year in income, it is safe to say that you make about the same.  If the people you hang around with are negative people who complain all the time, you probably do the same.

We are easily influenced.  You have probably already noticed that you talk the same and even use the same slang as the people you spend the most time with.  It is safe to even go so far as to say that you think the same way they do.

It is so important that we take a good hard look at our associations.  Do these people challenge my thinking in a positive way?  Are they supportive of my big goals and dreams?  Are they positive minded and forward looking?  Are they continuously making improvements in their own life, or are they content to be stuck in the same rut they have been in for years?

If you do have toxic people in your life, get rid of them.  If they are family members, you can at least limit the amount of time you spend with them.

Look to associate and build relationships with people who are doing what you want to do, successful people who you can learn from.  Become friends with people who are making the kind of money you want to make, or who are at least working towards the kind of success that you are working towards.

 You are who your friends are, so pick your friends very carefully. 

When we start to go through and create our daily routine of affirmations and new beliefs, we must be careful to add emotion to the mix.  It is easy to get caught up in simply reciting a list and creating this mundane daily experience which ends up meaning nothing to us. 

A great way to add emotion is to remember back to a positive and empowering experience in your life.  Recite your affirmation or new belief at the height of the feeling of the positive emotion from that experience.  This will allow you to link that great feeling to your new belief or affirmation. 

There are probably certain sights, sounds, scents, or feelings which your mind already links with that memory.  You can use these sensations to bring about the empowering emotions from that experience. 

We have all had great experiences of triumph and success, why not use these past experiences to help create new ones?  Relive the emotions that you experienced during these successful events, then link these powerful feelings to the affirmations and new beliefs you are imprinting in your mind.

Reciting your affirmations and beliefs will soon become a powerful emotional experience instead of an ineffective, mundane routine.

Do you always blame other people when things go wrong?  It seems to be the automatic thing to do.  We are programmed to see others mistakes as opposed to our own. 

But what is really happening when we blame others all the time?

 First, we are opening ourselves up to be blamed by others for their problems.  If you just got passed up for yet another promotion, you may want to blame the boss.  What happens when one day you are the boss?  Will you accept the blame from your employees for their lack of results?  If you are always blaming others for your problems, you will have to accept the blame from them for their problems. 

Second, if you are always placing the blame on other people, you are probably not very popular.  You may have even lost a friend or two because of arguments over whose fault it is.  Wouldn’t you be better served to take your share of the responsibility and work together to fix the problem?

Last but definitely not least, if you are always blaming everyone else,  you are giving up your control.  If someone else is creating your problems, then they are the only ones who can fix your problems.  Wouldn’t it be better if you had that power yourself?  The sooner you can acknowledge that you had a part in creating the mess, the sooner you can begin to fix it.

Although it may seem easier at the time to blame someone else for your problems, you are better off in the long run if you face up to them yourself.  Keep your integrity, keep your friends, keep your power and take your responsibility!

For many, and unfortunately this is an overwhelming majority, setting goals is as unfathomable to them as horses walking on their hind legs.  Why is that?  Highly successful motivational speaker Jim Rohn shed some light on the answer when he said,

 

“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps it’s because escape is easier than change.”

There have been many studies done on the relationship between success/wealth and goal setting.  In one such study, it was found that 95%-97% of the people do NOT have their goals written down - and they fail; 3%-5% have written their goals down and they succeed.  Given these statistics, doesn’t it make just plain good old-fashioned sense to write down your goals?!

So, what sets you apart?  Setting Goals!

Become bigger than your circumstances.

Do you live in the past?  Do the mistakes of yesterday haunt your tomorrow?  We have all made mistakes, but we don’t have to relive them.  Leave them in the past where they belong.

We are very often our own worst enemy, always beating ourselves up.  The key is to forgive yourself for the mistakes that you have made.  They are not who you are, they are simply something that you did.  If you keep reliving them in your mind, the law of attraction will think you want to relive them in your reality.

You have to let them go and stop focusing on them, free yourself to be the person that you want to become.  Your past mistakes should be viewed as merely a learning experience, a way of guiding you to steer clear of repeating them.  Just because you have made the mistake in the past, it doesn’t mean that you are the person that always makes that mistake. 

Even if it is a mistake that you have made repeatedly in the past, it is time to break the cycle.  Decide who you want to be today and focus on becoming that person.  Leave the past where it belongs, in the past.