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Of Fear, Black Widow Spiders and Personal Growth

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I admit it, I like spiders. They get a bad rap. Undeserved, I might add. Not only do they eat a lot of those pesky flies and other bugs, but they often provide great personal growth lessons.

At least they have for me. I’ve already written about the little jumping spider who taught me a lesson about gratitude. And then there was the little guy who sacrificed his beautiful web in order to teach me about where to build my creations.

And now there’s this spider lesson about fear. And while the event that catalyzed this post and the original article happened two years ago, the lesson is still important.

It all began one Saturday morning. My wife came out of the bathroom and said, quite calmly, “Ed, there’s a big black spider in the bathtub.” Since I was watching my daughter, Ella, at the time, I carried her in there to investigate.

I was a bit surprised that my wife did not call it a Brown Recluse. That’s our running joke. She grew up in Brown Recluse territory, and whenever she sees a brownish spider she says “Ed, I just saw a Brown Recluse. Go get it.” And every time she says it, I gently remind her that the Brown Recluse does not live in Northern California as I go to gather up the culprit and take it outside.

But this morning, when Ella and I went to look in the tub, I could understand why Melissa had not called it a Brown Recluse. This spider was a deep shiny black. Now, while most spiders can bite, the only truly dangerous spider in our area is the black widow, a very distinctive, shiny black spider that I had never actually seen. So I’m usually pretty casual about spiders. But the color of this one caused me to act with a bit more caution. And it was good that I did. When I gathered up the critter in a Tupperware bowl, I could see, through the translucent plastic, the distinctive red hourglass on its belly.

Here was my first Black Widow Spider.

This was an exciting day for me. Unfortunately, Melissa did not share in my enthusiasm at this discovery. She promptly took Ella from my arms and commanded me to take the spider far away from the house. I must admit that I was pleased and a bit surprised that she did not insist that I immediately squash it.

Spiders Get A Bad Rap

Now I want to stop and put in a bit of a plug for spiders. They get a bad rap. They take the blame for a lot of stuff they don’t do: flea bites, tick bites, bed bug bites, even mosquito bites. You name it; spiders take the blame for it. Most spiders don’t bite humans, others only bite when confronted, and of those that do bite, there are only a handful that are truly dangerous to humans. (At least here in the US. There are a few countries that have some seriously dangerous spiders!) Even the bite of the supposedly deadly Black Widow is fatal in less than 1% of all instances.

And then there are the legends that have grown up around the infamous Brown Recluse. Over 60% of the medically diagnosed Brown Recluse bites occur in regions in which the spider does not live! How a spider that lives only in the South Central portion of the USA can be responsible for so many unexplained ailments here in California and elsewhere is beyond me.

Here’s a brief excerpt from a spider info site at the University of California to give you some perspective:

This website presents evidence for the lack of brown recluse spiders as part of the Californian spider fauna. Unfortunately, this contradicts what most Californians believe; beliefs that are born out of media-driven hyperbole and erroneous, anxiety-filled public hearsay which is further compounded by medical misdiagnoses.

This DOES Relate To Personal Growth!

At this point, you may be wondering what this has to do with personal growth. Fear not, I do have a point. And as the good Dr. Seuss would say, “This may not seem important I know. But it is, and that’s why I’m bothering telling you so.”

How do you feel about spiders? Do you cringe when you see one walking on your wall? Do you quiver at the thought of one crawling up your leg?

Where do those feelings come from? When you were a youngster, did someone in your family go into paroxysms of fear whenever a spider was spotted? Did you inherit that fear? And does that fear continue to control your relationship with these critters?

Ok, lets face it, a fear of spiders is not going to prevent you from living a successful, abundant, joyous life. But here’s the catch: What fears do you harbor that DO prevent you from living that life? What other fears have you inherited from your family and friends and the culture around you? And how do those fears hold you back from becoming the person you have the potential to be?

Fears Always Appear Larger

Your fear, because it is rooted in the past, always appears much larger than it really are. When we feel fear, we’re almost always reacting to the projection of something that was planted inside us long ago. Just as the shadow of a spider walking in front of a light appears huge and frightening, so too do our fears become magnified many times when we look at the projection. The reality of the spider, when viewed from a place of present-time awareness, is much less scary. So too do your fears become manageable when you shift your perception from the shadow to the source.

Fears thrive on the lies and exaggerations that are possible only in the dark, hidden places. As soon as you bring those fears out into the light you can begin to see them for what they really are. The trick, of course, is knowing how to pull those fears out into the light.

So here’s your assignment:

When you see a spider (or a snake or a mouse or you look down from a balcony or get onto a plane or fill in the blank) and you notice the dread that lives in the pit of your stomach, know that you have a great opportunity to practice shifting your perception.

So the next time you find yourself face to face with a spider (or whatever your fear is) rather than running away or calling for reinforcements, try to stop and breathe for a moment and become an explorer of your inner world. If you need to catch the spider and place it in a hermetically sealed container in order to breathe, that’s ok! And then see if you can observe that spider with the objectivity of a scientist.

This practice will serve you well the next time you find yourself confronted by a fear that really does hold you back from the life you want to live. When you feel yourself quaking as you prepare to give a presentation, when you watch your arms quivering as you walk into a job interview, when your mouth becomes drier than the Sahara desert as you share your portfolio with a gallery owner, whenever you notice yourself entering a place of fear, become a scientist, objectively exploring the phenomenon. Become a neutral observer of your own life. When you discover the source of your fear, you may be surprised to find that the reality is much less scary than the perception.

And just so that you don’t think I’m asking you do something that I’m not, I have a confession to make. Before Ella was born, I would not voluntarily pick up a spider in my hand. While I “logically” knew that it could not hurt me, the ferocious look (and some of them do look quite fearsome if you get up close) and the spider fears I inherited from both of my parents caused me to exercise caution.

But after Ella was born I made a conscious decision to do whatever I could to keep my fears out of her. So now, when I see a spider, and Ella is with me, I’ll just reach over and grab it with my hand. (I do grab a container to relocate those Wolf Spiders: Their bites aren’t that dangerous, but apparently can be quite painful).

I feel the fear as I’m doing it. It’s alive within me as I reach out. But my desire to give Ella the option to choose her path without the weight of my fears is enough to help me push through that fear and grab that little creature.

Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, it is feeling the fear and doing it anyway!

ANGER: Awakening New Growth Encountering Resistance

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It sure seems like there’s a lot more anger around lately. The cover story of the most recent Utne Reader asked “Why are we all so angry?”

Wikipedia has entries for, among others, Anger, Anger Management, Rage, Road Rage, Air Rage, Computer Rage, and even Wrap Rage, which is defined as “heightened levels of anger, frustration and violence resulting from the inability to open hard-to-remove packaging.”

Come on; raise your hand if you’ve ever wanted to take a bazooka to the 12 inches of bulletproof plastic wrap surrounding a tiny flash drive!

The topic of anger has also come up at the last two drop-in Law of Attraction groups, so I’ve been pondering it a bit lately.

Anger often gets labeled bad or lower or negative. Even the Law of Attraction emotional scale has labeled the lower half of the emotional scale “negative.” But as I explored earlier in a post about Redefining the Law of Attraction Emotional Scale, I don’t believe there are any bad or negative emotions. Those “lower” emotions serve a valuable purpose: They point out our resistance.

And anger is one of the most powerful expressions of resistance which is actually a good thing!

Anger is filled with energy and movement. Harnessing that energy can help propel you to the next level. But first you must acknowledge the anger, recognize it for what it is and accept the opportunity that comes with it.

So recently, when I have felt anger bubbling up from the depths I have begun to think of anger as:

Awakening
New
Growth
Encountering
Resistance.

When I approach anger with that attitude, it immediately softens my perspective and allows me to open up to the opportunities that the anger is bringing.

Instead of saying, “This is bad. I need to get out of this anger.” I can ask powerful, forward focused questions such as, “What is the new growth that is awakening in me?” or “How am I resisting that growth.” and “What can I do right now to release my resistance and allow this growth to blossom?”

These questions lead the way through the anger to personal growth and movement.

Anytime we label something as “bad” we immediately give it more power and cause it to become more entrenched and secure.

So the next time you feel anger starting to bubble up to the surface, don’t push it back down.

Instead, remind yourself that it is Awakening New Growth Encountering Resistance and see what you can do to open up and allow that new growth to come through.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, stories or insights about anger. Use the comment form below to join the conversation.

Curb Your Enthusiasm…NOT!

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[Authors’ Note. I wrote the first draft of this article almost 1-year ago. But while the event that triggered this article might be old-news, the lesson is timeless. Enjoy!]

One of my daughter’s, favorite activities recently is the wild and exuberant release of a sound that is a cross between a Tarzan yodel and a Native American war whoop. She starts out softly and increases the volume as she pats her hand on and off her mouth. It’s an expression of pure enthusiasm and joy for life.

There is no pattern that I can discern, no rhyme or reason to her whooping. It happens spontaneously and rises up from the depth of her being at unexpected and completely random moments. It’s as if the beauty, excitement and joy of this life become too much for her to hold inside any longer and she lets them out!

When we’re at the park or on the beach it’s great. When we’re home it’s usually fine. When we’re in the car it’s all right, although it certainly does echo quite a bit in that small space.

But when we’re in the grocery store, or a restaurant, or the video store, I feel compelled to moderate the volume a bit.

And when we’re on a plane, or at a funeral well…

On our trip to my father-in-law’s funeral, I had the opportunity to experience both of those.

During the 5-hour flight to Nashville, there were numerous repetitions of:

“Stop kicking the seat, Ella.”
“Why?”
“The person in front of you doesn’t like it.”
“Why?”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“Why.”

And then there were the multiple refrains of:

“No we can’t walk up and down the aisle again.”
“Why?”
“The fasten seat belt sign is on.”
“Why?”
“Because the captain thinks it could be bumpy?”
“Why?”

And then there were those moments when I heard her winding up into one of those whoops. And I knew that wasn’t going to go over very well on the plane! A couple of times I actually had to put my hand over her mouth to muffle her whoops. Which, of course, made her think it was a game and caused her to do it with even more intensity.

You get the general idea.

When we arrived in Nashville, and connected with Melissa, Ella was able to let out some big whoops. And I encouraged her to get as much of it out of her system as she could before we got to the family’s house.

And then came the funeral. It was hard enough keeping tabs on Ella while we all waited to go into the sanctuary. (Thank goodness the funeral home had a kid’s room with books and puzzles and games!)

Finally the staff came and let us know it was time. They ushered us into the sanctuary and wheeled “Pop-pop” in. And the moment the preacher stepped up to the podium, Ella suddenly had the inspiration to start singing. And so she did!

Now, personally, I can’t think of anything more appropriate for a funeral than singing! Especially when it’s coming from the cutest three-year-old girl ever!

But apparently not everyone shared my opinion, and Ella’s. So we went outside where Ella could sing and dance and whoop it up as much as she wanted.

The whole experience, from plane flight to funeral, made me painfully aware of how often I was asking Ella to curb her enthusiasm. I became acutely aware of how enthusiasm un-friendly our culture really is. I mean how many places are there where a kid, or an adult for that matter, can really let loose and whoop it up?

How often do our children hear “shh,” or “stop that,” or “use your inside voice,” or “calm down or you’ll get a time-out?”

How often did you hear those things when you were a child?

Is it any wonder that the vast majority of us mature grown-up types have a hard time connecting with our passion and enthusiasm? Most of us had our passion “shushed” out of us by the time we were three!

Now I know I can’t always give Ella free-reign to let loose with her whoops, but helping her to grow up with her enthusiasm intact is more important to me than being socially acceptable. I want her to grow up with that zest for life still bubbling up from within her. So I occasionally find myself walking the fine line between what is culturally acceptable and what feels best for Ella.

Fortunately, we have found pre-schools that encourage that enthusiasm rather than attempting to stifle it, and Ella has wonderful “friends” (babysitters) that encourage and even join in her passionate expressions of joy.

And even I’ve gotten into the habit of joining her whenever possible, showing her that, yes, there’s even hope for the old-fogeys in her life!

If you haven’t tried it lately, I assure you, there is something truly thrilling and awakening in the pure uninhibited expression of joy and enthusiasm.

What about you? Where does your pure, uninhibited enthusiasm for life come out? Anywhere?

Well, if not, where do you begin to touch the edge of your enthusiasm? Where do you feel your excitement beginning to bubble up to the surface?

Sill not happening?

Well then, where do you begin to feel the ice of inhibition and constriction breaking? What activities, places, people, begin to awaken your joie de vivre, that innate joy for life that you carry deep inside you?

As you discover these activities, people and places, start making space for them. Allow your enthusiasm to awaken. And when you hear that voice in your head saying, “shh,” or “calm down,” or “Use your inside voice,” I encourage you to stick your tongue out in its general direction and get even louder!

And here’s a tip: There’s nothing like a good Tarzan yodel to break the inhibition and awaken that passion that’s waiting to come out. Come on; give it a try right now.

I double dare you!

Negative Thoughts Are Not ONLY In Your Head

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As I pulled up in front of the office this morning I caught a line from the Counting Crows’ song, Round Here, “She says ‘Shhh I know it’s only in my head’”

I wanted to shout into the radio, “IT’S NOT ONLY IN YOUR HEAD!”

And of course the intensity of my reaction made me realize that I needed to hear that! But I also thought I would share it with you.

So often we get caught up in the futile act of chasing self-defeating thoughts around our head. If you’ve ever tried to turn off a “negative” thought you know how difficult it can be.

A slightly better approach is to replace that negative thought. But even then, a deeply embedded thought may take days or weeks or possibly even years to completely replace.

That’s because it’s not only in your head!

You heard me right. Thoughts do not live just in your head or your brain or your mind. Thoughts are alive and they live in your emotions. They live in your body. They live in the very essence of your life force.

The thoughts that you are aware of are just the tip of the iceburg. They are the little bit that you can see. The rest of the thought, for most people, lies hidden from view.

And that’s why understanding that a negative thought is not only in your head can be extremely helpful. When you understand that, then you can begin transforming those thoughts on many different levels.

Adam Kayce wrote a post yesterday that got me thinking more about how we solve our personal development “problems.”

He brilliantly connected these two quotes:

The greatest and most important problems of life are all fundamentally insoluble. They can never be solved but only outgrown. — Carl Jung

The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. — Albert Einstein

When you attempt to “turn off” a negative thought or even replace it with a more empowering thought, you are doing exactly what Einstein tells us can’t be done.

Do you want to change a thought? Then change your feeling. Change the state of your physical body. Change your energy.

Look at those quotes and feel the power they give you to change yourself:

First, let go of this idea that negative thoughts are “problems.” They are not problems. They are opportunities to transform your life! You can’t solve them. And you don’t want to solve them. But you can outgrow them.

You can evolve through them to the next level of your personal growth!

And once you understand that your negative thoughts are not problems, it becomes much easier to follow Einstein’s advice and move to a different level.

So the next time you hear the Counting Crows, or anyone, telling you “It’s only in your head,” you can just smile and calmly say, “No it’s not.”

Law Of Attraction Carnival #15 - Emotions And Success

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Aaron Potts of Today Is That Day has just posted the latest edition of the Law of Attraction Carnival.

The topic of this edition is how your emotions control your success with the Law of Attraction. Aaron has done an amazing job of picking out the best entries to feature on this topic. And there are quite a few additional entries that cover other topics related to the Law of Attraction.

So for some great reading on the Law of Attraction, go check it out.

When you’re done reading this edition, you can view all of the archived carnivals (back to August 2006) at the Law of Attraction Homepage.

If you are interested in hosting a future edition of the Law of Attraction Carnival, please let me know what topic you would like to focus on.

Thanks again to Aaron and to all the bloggers who contributed to this edition of the Law of Attraction Carnival!

Why You Will Never See A Rant Category At Evolving Times

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Rants are popular these days. You see them on many blogs. In fact some blogs are devoted entirely to the eloquent expression of irksome events, people, and things.

I understand the appeal of rants, both from the ranter’s perspective as well as that of the reader. There certainly is much to rant about in this modern world. And there have definitely been moments when the temptation to rant here on Evolving Times has been quite strong.

But as a student of the Law of Attraction and one who chooses to be the Deliberate Creator of my life, I recognize the power of thoughts and especially words. Because I accept the basic premise of the Law of Attraction – that what you focus on expands in your life – I am, understandably very careful about what I focus on, and even more selective about which topics I choose to address here.

Now please don’t hear this as judgment or advice. I am not suggesting that rants are bad and that everyone should stop their ranting. There have most definitely been times in my life when a good rant was the only thing that allowed me to maintain my sanity!

Sometimes you really do just need to get it out of your system.

In the mid 1980s, my family found itself in a bit of a crisis and we were presented with the choice of exploding into our separate and disconnected directions or to enter family therapy. Amazingly enough, we all agreed to go into therapy and spent the next 10-months having weekly sessions together.

One of the most important discoveries we made was that we all had mastered the art of “stewing and fretting” as we named it. Instead of expressing and communicating what was bothering us, those things were stuffed back inside where they proceeded to ferment. Not the healthiest way to live, I can assure you!

Our therapy sessions gave us the opportunity to communicate and occasionally rant in a safe space. And this was, literally, a family-saving experience.

It seems to me that the blogosphere is providing this opportunity, which otherwise might be unavailable, for people to express what would otherwise get stuffed back inside to ferment.

So I absolutely do recognize the importance of rants. And, at the same time, I choose to deliberately focus on and share positive, uplifting material.

Another way of expressing the basic concept of the Law of Attraction is “where attention goes, energy flows.” I want my energy and time flowing in the direction of continuous, positive change in my life and in the world. So I choose to focus my attention on those aspects of my life that are already positive and on my vision of an even more positive future.

And when I notice contrast in my life – some situation or condition that I would choose to change – I focus on the change I want to bring into my life and how to achieve it, rather than focusing on the existing condition that I want to change.

And if, on occasion, I feel the need to rant – which most definitely still do – I’ll go to the ocean or the mountains or the redwoods and share my rant with the vast, healing presence of the Earth so that I can release it from my space and shift my focus onto the change I want to bring into my life.

So if you’re looking for rants, you’re in the wrong place. But I have a feeling you won’t have to look very far to find some darn good ones out there on the blogosphere.

Is Darren Rowse Going Personal Developmenty On Us?

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Darren Rowse has this entry over at Problogger, What A Buddhist Monk Taught Me About Blogging.

Sounds like something I would write.

One of the things I like about Darren and why I read almost all of his entries is his (usually reading between the lines) holistic approach to blogging. It’s nice to see that out in the open with this entry.

Thanks Darren for being a great resource!

How Do You Want To Die? Not A Rhetorical Question

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Earlier today I was driving my daughter to her play-date. Today was not my scheduled day to pick her up from pre-school but my wife has not felt good for the past two days and I’ve had to pick up a few extra Ella “shifts.” This, on top of an already overly full schedule had put me into a bit of a fluster.

I was driving a bit fast given the conditions. It was raining quite hard and there was a lot of standing water on the road.

As we drove, the thought flashed into my head, “What if one of the oncoming cars skids and slams into us?” Admittedly, not a great thought, but it was a powerful motivator to turn inward for some self-exploration.

What if I died right then? What would my last thought have been? Something along the lines of, “I don’t have time for this. I’ve got way too much to do. Why couldn’t Melissa just get out and drive Ella like she was supposed to?”

Not the most positive thoughts in the world.

And what about feelings? What was I feeling in that moment? And if I had died, what would my last feeling have been?

Overwhelm, frustration, judgment. These are not feelings way up high on the emotional scale.

When examined in the light of the question,” How do I want to die?” it was crystal clear that I did not want to die with those final thoughts and feelings. I did not want to carry those thoughts and feelings back with me into Source. For I believe that is what we do when we die. We carry the thoughts and feelings that we are having at the instant of our death back into Source.

And with this clear awareness, it was quite easy to shift into better thoughts and feelings. What do I want to carry with me back to Source? Gratitude, love, peace, joy, contentment. These are the thoughts and feelings I want to contribute to Source when I return.

So this question, “How do I want to die?” can provide an extremely powerful inspiration on a daily basis. By holding that question in your awareness, it reminds you to monitor your thoughts and feelings and continuously reach for better ones.

How do you want to die? What thoughts and feelings do you want to contribute when you return to your Source?

No Time To Grieve

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Yesterday morning, as I was getting Ella ready for pre-school, my wife came downstairs and, after our good morning hugs, began telling me about some stuff that had come up around her father’s recent passing. She had just realized that the next meeting of her women’s group would be on November 1st, the Day of the Dead.

There was obviously some intense emotional content present, and yet, my first thoughts were along the lines of, “I don’t have time for this now. I’ve got to finish getting Ella ready so that we can get to pre-school and meet the physical therapist for her appointment.”

What was I thinking? Melissa lost her father less than 3-weeks ago, and there I was expecting her to be able to channel her grief into “appropriate” times. After a brief and not very positive interchange I went upstairs to get dressed, and quickly recognized my insensitivity.

I got dressed, went downstairs and sat with Melissa and Ella, giving her the time and space she needed to explore what was happening for her. If we were late for Ella’s PT session, it would not be the end of the world. It turns out that Melissa just needed a couple of minutes of connection. Nothing more.

With a bit of perspective, it becomes obvious how completely unreasonable is is to expect someone who has lost a loved one to experience their grief on a ‘regular” schedule. And yet, this seems to be a fairly common belief.

I have had several clients recently who have lost parents. Their struggle has been around giving themselves permission to fully experience the depth of their sorrow. They have internalize this cultural belief system that says you get a set amount of time to grieve and then you should be “over it.”

Sorry. Grief doesn’t work that way. Grief is a very unpredictable experience. Some people experience most their grief soon after the passing of a loved one. Others go into a period of numbness immediately following the death. This can help them get through the funeral and family stuff that surrounds a death. But as that numbness begins to thaw, the grief begins to come up in unexpected ways, places and times. It can take weeks, months even years to fully experience and express the sorrow present when a loved one passes.

But in our culture of go, go, go, do, do, do, there is very little space for that type of experience. We have truly created a culture in which there is no time for grief. What are we saying about grief when your work gives you 2-weeks off for bereavement (if you’re lucky)?

I find it interesting that the question I’ve been getting a lot lately is, “Are things back to normal yet?” Back to normal? What is normal? And how could things ever be back to normal? Certainly for Melissa, her life will never be “normal” again. This experience has completely transformed her life and will continue to transform it in ways that she is only vaguely aware of right now.

There can be no return to normal after a loved one dies. And yet that seems to be the expectation of our culture.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t get caught in the trap of seeking “normal.” And don’t fall into the trap of encouraging someone you know to return to “normal” after they lose a loved one.

There’s a lot more to come on this topic so keep your eyes peeled.

Law of Attraction Carnival 5 - Emotions

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Welcome to the October 24th edition of the Law of Attraction Carnival. The topic of this edition is The Role of Emotions in the Law of Attraction. We’ve got a great group of submissions, some directly related to the topic others a bit more tangentially related. But they’re all great and worth a read!

One of the most powerful aspects of the Law of Attraction is its focus on feelings as a primary mode of experiencing the world. The Law of Attraction teachings often speak of our “emotional guidance system.” The primary point of this is that our emotions provide us with a valuable source of information.

Even the so-called “negative” emotions provide us with powerful guidance: When we are feeling angry or depressed, or frustrated, or overwhelmed, these emotions are clear indicators that we are disconnected from our Source energy. When we are feeling emotions on the lower end of the emotional spectrum, we are, most likely, attracting more unwanted things into our life.

By paying attention to our emotions, we become clear about our point of attraction. In other words, are we attracting from a positive, connected, intentional state, or are we attracting by default, from a negative, resistant state? When we know where our point of attraction is, we can begin to take steps to consciously raise our point of attraction up the emotional scale.

So let’s take a look and see what some other folks have to say about emotions and the Law of Attraction.

Beverly Keaton, over at Embrace Your Gifts and Soar starts us off with an entry on Finding Peace Through Forgiveness. Often, forgiveness can provide a truly effective doorway into more positive emotional content and, therefore, a more positive point of attraction.

Patricia, at A Better You, once again has a great entry on How to Know Who You Are In About 20-Minutes. Her technique is very connected to emotional content. She gives us this insightful example: The other day my 15-month-old baby was walking and fell by our brick fireplace. She split her lip and it was bleeding. I think her tears hurt me more than her, because I rushed to comfort her and tell her it would be okay. As I held her, I reassured her that it would be “all better” soon. Suddenly she jumped up as if everything was fine, and took off running past the fireplace to play. I remember thinking, why can’t we do that in life? Get comfort, take courage, then try again. Over at The Fast Lane, Steve includes a great personal story in his entry The Incredible Power of Failure. What does failure have to do with emotions? What is it that makes us believe that failure is bad? Emotions, feelings, thoughts. Steve’s entry reminds us that failure is a very powerful teaching tool and motivator.

Fear and failure seem to go hand in hand. They are certainly connected. Over at Verve Coaching, Erek Ostrowski has this entry on Facing the Unknown. Erek reminds us of this wonderful quote from Richard Bach, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly”.

Hueina Su at Intensive Care for the Nurturer’s Soul has this wonderful entry on shifting From Self-Sacrifice to Self-Love. She includes a wonderful example from her Chinese cultural background as well as an extremely insightful metaphor from Don Miguel Ruiz. Self-love is one of the most powerfully positive emotions from which you can practice the Law of Attraction.

And finally, we have Cultivate Greatness with a podcast about Napoleon Hill’s Law of Success Podcast Series #02/16 - A Definite Chief Aims. Napoleon was a master of the Law of Attraction even though his focus was on the power of positive thinking. Thoughts are often precursors of feelings which lead to the vibrations that attract things into our lives.

That’s it for this edition of the Law of Attraction Carnival. To few past editions, please visit the Law of Attraction Carnival homepage.

The next carnival will be out on November 14th and the topic will be The Power of Intention. I bet we’ll have some amazing entries on that topic!

If you would like to submit an article please make sure you read the submission guidelines first. You’ll find them on the Law of Attraction Carnival homepage as well.

Posted by Edward Mills | Filed Under Carnival, Emotions, Law of Attraction, blogs 

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