Gratitude For Who I Am Now, Online Gratitude Journal #15

There is a pitfall in personal development

You are motivated to improve yourself and your life. You read personal development books and blogs and try new techniques eagerly. The visualization of success to utilize the law of attraction. New meditation technique. Maybe a new skill in time management. All is good, right? (Photo by Mr. Greenjeans)

Yes. As long as it starts with the appropriate starting point every time you adopt the new approach. And that is the acceptance of who you are as you are here and now.

You see how tricky it is? It’s so easy to forget this self acceptance part and jump to the improvement part. But when we do so, we start skidding. All the great techniques start to pressure you and push you further, not closer, from the love and joy you ultimately desire.

The horrible week I just went through

Now acceptance is easy to say. Let me tell you just a little bit about the little ding-dong I live with (that is, me). Things turned un-nice last Friday. I was invited to a dinner at a friend’s place. I was looking forward to this a lot – she is nice and it was also going to be a great opportunity for me to get to know some other people in this area. That afternoon, I went to the supermarket to get some salad greens and cheese to make the salad I was to bring. As I was driving, I suddenly noticed I had a headache. Of course, I ignored it.

I came home and thought I might take a bit nap – that would surely help me feel better. Well, no. The pain got worse and worse, accompanied with terrible stomachache. By 5:30, I had to admit to myself I wouldn’t be able to make it to the dinner. I called her and apologized. I felt bad for making her dinner salad-less and disappointing her.

I suffered over the weekend and started recovering earlier this week. I was working fine Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday evening, I had a phone session scheduled for my Akashic Record Reading. I felt a bit distracted that afternoon – things like the marketing of this blog weren’t working the way I want, etc. And – when I noticed, it was more than one hour after the scheduled time!

Embarrassed would be an understatement for the way I felt. I take pride in offering excellent service, and that includes being punctual. I had never missed a business occasion like this.

So . . . do I have to accept myself like this? Do I accept myself?

. . . yes. For the second blunder, of course I need to learn how to manage my schedule better, but still, that needs to start with seeing myself as I am and accepting her.

I was going to write more shortcomings about myself, like how terrible I am at finding directions when I drive or that greed that distracted me that Wednesday, but I think it’s getting too long. I trust you got the point.

And really – Akemi is not such a horrible person. Just a bit ding-dong (or whatever you call). I’m grateful for the person she is.

Link Love

Extend the love for who I am – extend it to all beings for who they are – right here and now. As if everyone and everything just came into existence here and now. No reasoning for the love, no attached “stories” for things are not. I think that is what Andrea talks about in her post Attachment and Manifesting What We Want.

Do you love quotes? It looks like Hunter Nuttall had the love and lots of time in his college days. Check out his 1,000,001 Things I Wish I Had Said First. I just wish it’s categorized so that I can find good quotes that fits well in my writing, but even as it is, it’s so much fun to read any part of it. I think this may be one of the great example of how to make money doing what you love.

Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler. — Albert Einstein

My Law of Attraction Dream Money Project, Week 14, $819,200

I want to review this Dream Money Project< before it hits the million dollar mark. This is a fun way to expand your wealth consciousness. I started with $100 of dream money that I can use on anything I like. The money doubles every time I write this Gratitude Friday series. It’s quite challenging to come up with creative ways to use the money.

The way I see it is the dream spending must be something that resonates with myself, something I want to get or do really if I had that money. Here are the ways I’ve spent the money so far:

Week 1, $100 for a drive to the coast (Done!)

Week 2, $200 for an iPod nano and music download

Week 3, $400 for strawberries and gorgeous lingerie (Sounds sexier than it was, huh?)

Week 4, $800 for donation to good cause

Week 5, $1,600 for antique furniture

Week 6, $3,200 for trip to Italy and Spain

Week 7, $6,400 for arts I like

Week 8, $12,800 for trading up to Prius

Week 9, $25,600 for down payment of my new townhouse

Week 10, $51,200 for a community garden with a little gazebo

Week 11, $102,400 for free-for-all day at the local art museum with lunch reception

Week 12, $204,800 for foundation to explore soul-mind-body relationship

Week 13, $409,600 for my secret beach house, purchased by cash

(Sorry there is a discrepancy between the week of this Dream Money Project and the Gratitude Friday. It’s because I started the Dream Money Project on week 2 of Gratitude Friday.)

So what do I want to do with this week’s $819,200? I can buy an apartment house and become a landlord. That will bring a nice chunk of passive income. Or maybe I can buy a yacht for my beach house. I love the ocean so that will be nice (although I have no idea how to operate it. . .)

One of the comment to my post Spiritual Money Practice To Eliminate Poverty got my attention. Abundance starts from within, but how can someone surrounded by poverty perceive abundance? I know it’s difficult but I think it’s possible. And that can bring huge change.

Think about India. Just several decades ago, it was one of the poorest country in the world. Now the economy is booming and they can’t find enough people to fill positions. On the other hand, most countries in Africa stay in poverty. I know, I know, there are many factors like the wars in Africa, but still, it’s an interesting contrast.

I think the difference originated in their mindset. India remembers its past glory and has kept their abundance mindset even during the challenging times. That, with their commitment to education, has made the difference.

I want to donate books to schools in Africa to help them see the big picture and start cultivating their abundance mindset. Let’s see, with the budget of $500 per school, $819,200 can cover 1638 schools. If I can get some publishers to help, $500 can buy quite a few books. Along with books for basic education of reading (I encourage them to learn English – it can open a lot of doors) and math, I want books like The Secret and Ask And It Is Given.

I’m grateful for the beautiful autumn leaves, new crop of apples of so many varieties, and matsutake and other mushrooms (yummy!). I heard we can go matsutake hunting in Oregon mountains. . .

Next week, I’ll resume the Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship. Have a great weekend!