An eagerly anticipated alarm hails your consciousness with great excitement, you jump up out of bed enthusiastically to make your way to the place, job or other appointment you desired to have...

Perhaps you desire not to be awakened for anything scheduled. In your case, the morning sun peeks through the window whispering a soft and welcoming hello to your day. There is no alarm clock to buzz you into the morning without warning or patience. The day is yours to enjoy as you like because you have the freedom to take this day for yourself, just as you imagined it before it became your reality. Today it is reality! You are living your dreams and creating new dreams to manifest.

People are living their dreams every day. What aspects of your life do you desire to transform or manifest? The New Year is rapidly approaching. Now more than ever as the joys and pressures of the holidays envelop us, how we begin thinking about the year ahead while we fully enjoy the revelry of the present, will greatly affect what we create in the coming year. It's also a powerful time to reflect on the past year. The transition between the celebrations during November/December and the serious back to work ethic of January can be exciting if you are clear about what you intend to create. Believing in the possibility of manifesting what you envision is one of the first ways you attract and direct energy to help you create what you want. A powerful step in attracting optimum energy is figuring out what kind of energy you put forth and conversely attract today.

For the purpose of our conversation, think of manifestation as bringing a desire, dream or goal into form, in other words developing what you envision from a desire to reality. It is an action oriented process in which you play a significant role. Consciously and unconsciously, you already manifest aspects of your life experience all the time. Here is an example of how quickly we can attract different types of energy to ourselves, which in turn can affect our entire day.

Have you ever awakened, moved around your bed and stubbed your toe hard? The pain and discomfort so early in the morning is awful and your brain, like a computer immediately files the experience under which day of the week it is: [Monday]/unpleasant experience. Next, while in the kitchen, you tip something over. Your brain files it under Monday/unpleasant experience #2. Your brain begins processing the information it has for Monday and spits out a report based on what you have stored in your mental files leading you to utter those infamous words, "It's going to be one of those days!" Perhaps you have this statement filed in your memory to mean that unpleasant things will continue to happen. Now as you rush out the door you spill coffee on your clean clothes in an obvious place. Ah ha! Information to back up your preliminary "one of those days" report; now you are fully prepared to draw more negative and unpleasant experiences to yourself all day. Your brain will then affirm its interpretation of early findings. You may even decide to prompt your brain to label Monday as a day most likely for these kinds of experiences to happen and begin to dread Mondays altogether. Sound familiar? This is a simple example of manifestation. You proclaim what your day is going to be like and experiences that support what you have set up for yourself will occur. This is energy in play. You attract energy based on your reactions to outside stimuli.

The first time someone told me that, I believed it was incorrect because, after all, I did not think anything before I stubbed my toe. I did not invite that to happen. I woke up and "ouch!" I stubbed my toe. Things out of our control will happen, however we always have the power to direct our reactions. What if after stubbing your toe you went into the kitchen, knocked that same thing over, and instead of uttering those other words, you said aloud, "Okay, today is going to be a great day, so let's get it together and turn things around for the better right now!" I have in fact done this many times and it works. Unpleasant things do not continue to happen. Magically, I either forget about the unpleasant things that did take place or laugh about them later. These are basic examples of manifesting types of energy flow and consequently relevant events. Your reactions to stimuli affect the kinds of experiences and results you will receive.

Now that we have illustrated an example of how you attract energy in a reactive state, think of the energy you attract every day based on how you feel about yourself. Just as we react to external stimuli, we also react to internal stimuli. What we believe about ourselves internally determines the type of energy we attract, which then manifests through our relationships and life experiences. What is your outlook on life? Do you desire a wonderful life and expect good things to happen, or do you expect unpleasant people, relationships and events to occur?

You have an opportunity to explore the beliefs you hold for yourself and your life. I hope you will take advantage of it. The information is so valuable because once you determine how your thinking and beliefs relate to the life you live now versus the one you desire, you can begin making the alterations necessary to manifest what you really want.

In terms of the little things that pop up, try this as a new practice. When something negative happens that rattles you, take a moment to breathe in and out, and then state what kind of day you will have exclusive of that moment. It is the first step in becoming aware of how you attract and direct life force energy to interact with you. During this holiday season with so much energy and thought devoted to giving, give yourself the gift of reflection. Consider using a journal to capture notes about your inner expectations. Personal awareness is power! Jump into the driver's seat and join me next month as we discuss how to get your hands on the wheel to consciously direct energy into areas, goals and desires with absolute intent and positive expectations. Begin directing the course of your life!