Be the change you desire to be

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 35

An apple fruit comes from an apple tree which grows out of an apple seed. The fruit is contained in the nature of the tree. We know that an apple tree cannot suddenly bear plums because the nature of it, in its entirety, is that of a plum tree. The fruit is a direct result of what type of tree it is from seed to tree. The fruit borne is in the nature of the tree.

In order for you to change you must be the change that you desire to be. As an apple tree is an apple tree from seed to plant to fruit, so you must begin from the clear focused decision on what you desire to accomplish in your life and set your intention on the type of person you desire to be.

This is the first seed of thought, followed by focused attention on being what you desire. You see yourself in your mind's eye, your imagination, your visualization (they're all the same thing) and experience the feeling, deep in your inner being, or as some would say, your gut feeling. Go to that place over and over daily.

Let go and let God. Everything will fall into place. Once you've completed your session of visualization, you consciously release your desire into God's hands; some call it releasing it into the universe. Universe or God, they're one and the same. God is everywhere and the universe is in God.

Allow yourself to experience the feeling of achieving what you desire until it begins to materialize. It is important to note, that as you're inspired to act, the inner feeling or knowing that you should do something, follow that feeling and act. Sometimes, no inspiration comes because the answer may come directly to you.

Gratitude: Remember to give thanks for what you desire to have. This thankfulness is your expression of being grateful for what you have already received. If someone gives you something, you say, "Thank you." Saying thank you is acting as if you've already received what you've asked for.

You don't have to physically have that thing in your hand for you to express thankfulness. Saying thank you is saying to God, "I know you have heard me, I receive what I have asked for and the answer is now here." You keep being thankful until your desire has manifested itself into your outer reality.

This daily practice becomes embedded in your conscious, as well as your subconscious, thereby transforming and renewing your mind.

Determine your 'why' to achieve your goals

Tending the garden of the heart - Day 17

We've decided to start our garden this year because we have a large family and it will cut down on the cost of our grocery bill. Because we have so many apple trees in the backyard, we were able to cut down on our expenses on purchasing fruits last year.

We decided to take it a step further this year, so we could also save on vegetables and just spend cash on those items we can't grow. Not only are we going to save in the summer and fall, but with proper planning, we'd also save during the winter months, as well. If you've ever done any gardening, you'd know that it's hard work, but the pay off is worth it.

When embarking on any change, you must determine your reason for doing so. This will be the finish line you're targeting to reach. Your reason or some call it your 'why' is your motivator for enduring the difficult times.

Your 'why' must be compelling enough to keep you going through the tough times. If it's wishy washy, you'll find yourself slacking off and finding other more enjoyable events to engage yourself in.

Determine your 'why' today and make it a strong one.

Changing Inside Out Now! Getting my body back - Day 31

Be the change you want

Whatever goal you are working towards, you must make the necessary changes to draw you closer to seeing that goal manifested in your life.

You must change the way you are doing things in order to get a different result. You can't want to be 10 lbs lighter and do absolutely nothing to achieve that goal; like sitting on the couch all day, eating potato chips. Your thought pattern and your daily action steps determine the outcome of your desire.

It is you who must make the change within. Wishing to lose weight or achieve some other goal is just not enough. Every desire and decision starts internally, but that's only one part of creating change. The second part has to do with external actions.

You see, there are two main parts to achieving your goals:

1) The internal - thought, specific desire, plans, and
2) The external - putting those plans into action, evaluating the plans and progress you've made and making necessary adjustments for future actions.

They both go hand-in-hand to give you the results you're looking for.

Being the change you want causes you to think differently; going from thinking that you'll just lay there all day doing nothing other than eating potato chips and just dreaming about losing weight to deciding you are going to become healthy, full of energy, eat differently and then actually doing so.

You first see yourself doing what should be done followed by the action. You are living in your heart and mind the end results, which, when put into physical action produces the final results you're looking for.

As I move forward to achieving my ideal weight, I see myself in my mind's eye or you may say your imagination, eating healthy, being full of energy, having fun working out and wearing that same red and white checkered dress I wore when I was at that weight. This gives me the extra boost needed to externally/physically engage in my exercise routine.

Fuelling words: I see my ideal weight. I'm enjoying the changes in my body. I love my body.

Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.

Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.

Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.