Cleaning Out The Closet of Your Mind with Debbie Friedman

ISSUE DATE: July 2006

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Ø ARE YOU SENDING YOUR GIFTS TO SOMEONE ELSE?

Ø WHY IS IT SO EASY TO BELIEVE THE BAD STUFF?

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ARE YOU SENDING YOUR GIFTS TO SOMEONE ELSE?

The first time it happened I just thought it was a bit strange. The second time it happened I became downright curious.

A woman sent some very expensive items from a high-end department store addressed to herself at my business address. To help you put it in perspective, one of the packages contained a simple summer dress priced at more than $800.

While I'm all in favor of surprising people with unexpected gifts, that wasn't what was happening here. In fact, the store pursued the question the second time around to find out that the woman had written out the address herself.

As I thought about it, I started wondering: Are we sending our gifts to someone else?

Are we refusing to receive what is already ours?

Have we decided - consciously or unconsciously - that we don't deserve what is just there waiting for us by Divine right?

Universal law and the teachings of the Ages are clear - we live in an abundant Universe full of endless possibilities and limitless prosperity. Everything we could ever choose or desire is just waiting to be delivered to our front door.

It's all up to us.

As a conscious co-creator we know that we can be, have, and do anything we choose. What we believe, what we focus on, what we give emotional energy to determines the reality that we experience in our world.

By the Law of Attraction, what we vibrate at is what we vibrate to, and what is naturally attracted to us. It works all the time every time for everyone in every area of life.

And yet here are some of the things I hear that send the goodies and gifts in life to someone else:

Someone else needs it more than I do right now.
I can do without that for now. I'll make time for myself later.
Once [fill in the blank] is finished, then I can take care of my needs and desires. (Translation: then I will live my life.)
I don't have time. I have too many other responsibilities.
I don't think I deserve it.

By denying our needs and desires, we can become trapped in the "not enough" mentality of poverty consciousness, full of lack and limitation thinking, and feeling that we got left out when all the goodies were being passed out in life. This false sense of responsibility has a certain benefit, but not a truth. It may make us feel important to be needed, and yet it is our responsibility to live our life, not someone else's. It's essential that we become willing to stand at the front of the line in our life.

As we stop minimizing our importance, or trying to please others by placing their needs ahead of our own, we recognize that generosity begins with ourselves and we can start living our lives with freedom, peace, joy, love, and unlimited prosperity.

One of the women who started the Manifesting Made Easy workshop last month had quit her job a couple weeks before because of the broken promises, stress, long hours, compromise and conflict. As we began to work together, she created her choice of the qualities and characteristics of her ideal job - stable, supportive, a certain dollar amount, regular hours so she had her evenings free to enjoy, and the list went on. Three weeks later she was offered her ideal job with everything she'd chosen - the money, benefits starting from day one, three people to support her, no reference checks, an employer who met with her to tell her how happy he was to offer her the position, and all with a relatively easy drive time.

By leaving the old comfort zone, becoming clear on what she truly desired, and using the tools and techniques of conscious creation, she made space for her good to arrive. And, she was ready to receive the gift!

With her new consciousness, the floodgates opened. The migraine headaches that plagued her for years are gone as she let go of the need for mental struggle. She made a decision to go on a trip and found an un-cashed check for exactly the amount of money she needed. Everywhere she goes, she is finding money on the ground around her. Problems that would have seemed huge to her in the past are being resolved with little or no effort. People are calling her to offer their support without her even asking. Today she emailed to tell me it keeps going on - she just got an unexpected $130 refund check!

By honoring her Self the Universe is responding by honoring and respecting her in return. She is in the flow with grace and ease.

This is the time to choose to honor yourself and to accept all the gifts that the Universe is offering to you. This is the time to place yourself first in your life. This is the time to love yourself and to demonstrate that you expect only the best. This is the time to create the life you love to live.

If you're ready to start receiving all of the good things in life, here are some steps you can start taking today:

1.	If you have been making excuses or participating in the habits of judgment, gossip, criticism, resentment, complaining, fault-finding, living in the past, or negative thinking, give yourself permission to stop. Choose to seek and see only the very best and your vision, your thoughts, your feelings and your life will shift. What you expect is what you will get. You will begin to see the reflections of your new powerful, positive thought habits in your experiences.
2.	GIVE! Give from your surplus, your overflow. And remember that giving begins with yourself. As you are generous with yourself, you are confirming that you believe the Universe (and its people around you) shall be generous as well. It's about getting into the abundant supply of the Universe, what we call prosperity consciousness, with giving and receiving in balance, knowing that you deserve and that there's always plenty more just waiting to be delivered.
3.	Set limits and boundaries with yourself and others. Remember, "No" is a complete sentence that doesn't require a justification or explanation.
4.	Actively demonstrate to the Universe that you are generous with yourself and others. I recommend starting each day by choosing 3 things that will make you feel really good to gift to yourself during that day. These don't have to be expensive or time consuming. They may be as simple as a walk in the park, your favorite coffee drink, 5 minutes on the phone with a friend, shooting some hoops, taking a swim, or giving yourself 10 minutes of peace and quiet. While you're at it do 3 things for someone else, too, and don't tell anyone that you've done them! You can open the door for someone who needs help, leave a card on someone's desk, give compliments that are sincere, or put money in a parking meter. Be Creative! And, remember, if you know someone in need remember you can always deposit money into their bank account anonymously if you know their bank account number.
5.	Keep a self-care journal to record each day what you've done for yourself that feels really good. It's also a place that you can record the things that you have done that don't feel good. In the days and weeks to come, do more of the feel good things and less of the "don't feel so goods".

Create joy in your world, create love in your heart, embrace and open up to receive all the wonderful gifts that are being presented to you every day, be grateful for everything you receive, and continue to be generous with yourself and others.

Before you know it, you will be amazed by the demonstrations of prosperity and abundance and joy and love and fulfillment that open up for you!

YOU deserve it!

To your wealth and success,

Debbie Friedman, C.Ht.

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For information on Debbie's Cleaning Out the Closet of Your Mind
CDs and books, click here.

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"Here's the question I would ask you to consider; do you treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you?"

- James Ray

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WHY IS IT SO EASY TO BELIEVE THE BAD STUFF?

I'm often asked why it is easier to believe the bad stuff about ourselves than it is to believe the good stuff - the compliments - that we receive.

There's actually a biological reason for that - our human brain has a "negative bias" in that it is more sensitive to what we consider negative. Studies done at Ohio State were reported in Psychology Today in June 2003 that documented that the cerebral cortex of our brain has a stronger response, measured in electrical activity, to negative feelings when compared with positive or neutral feelings.

Now, from a practical standpoint, this makes sense. Your subconscious mind is there to protect you, to help you survive. Anything that might pose a potential threat to your survival would need to be weighted more seriously.

It's important to remember, though, that this "bad news" predisposition operates in every area of our lives.

Further studies on relationships showed that balancing out negative input requires a specific ratio of positive input. According to Hara Marano, numerous researchers have found that "it is the frequency of small positive acts that matters most, in a ratio of about five to one."

So, reduce, minimize or eliminate the negative stuff in your relationships. And, then, along with your daily diet of 5 fruits and vegetables, add in a healthy mental diet of 5 huge helpings of positive thoughts and feelings to create your life full of love, joy, prosperity, laughter, and all things good.

YOU deserve it!

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"I want to tell you something. You're God in disguise.""

- Dr. Fred Alan Wolf

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, September 12th: Cleaning Out The Closet Of Your Mind: Winning The Inner Game For Success!
National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)
Phoenix, AZ
www.NAPO-Arizona.com
For more information and to register, contact Jody Owen at jody@thespaceyourein.com

Sunday, September 17th: Prosperity Manifesting Made Easy: Creating The Life You Love To Live
1 - 3:30 pm
$25 in advance $35 at the door
Spiritual Living Center of Ventura County
430 Mobil Avenue Camarillo, CA 93010
For more information and to register:
www.spirituallivingcenter.org or call 805.484.1137

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"Take time off to give to yourself, in a sense to fill yourself up to fullness, to where now you can overflow in giving."

- Dr. John Gray

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The contents of this newsletter may be copied, reproduced, or freely distributed for all non-profit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author's name and contact information are included.

For more information contact:

Debbie Friedman, C.Ht.
Cleaning Out the Closet of Your Mind, Inc.
15332 Antioch Street, #159
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Phone: (310) 230-0872
Fax: (310) 230-0972

Email: info@cleaningoutthecloset.com

Website: www.CleaningOutTheCloset.com

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