Too much time on my hands (or feet)

Perhaps I just have too much time on my hands but I have been thinking about the sayings that we use all the time and wondering why we use them and if maybe some of them should be updated. For example, it is very common for people to say that their phone has been "ringing off the hook" but when was the last time you saw a phone who's receiver was actually hanging on a hook? It is certainly time to update THAT saying. So what should we say instead? Maybe "my phone has been vibrating out of my pocket!" No, I guess that just doesn't have the same "ring" to it (pardon my pun.)
OK, so how about the phrase "well that opens up a whole can of worms!" Really? Did people used to buy worms in a can? I don't even know how to modernize that one. Would it mean the same thing if some one said that something "opened up a whole bottle of Gatorade?" (My apologies to the Gatorade people.)
And I am so tired of hearing that something is so hard to find that it is like "finding a needle in a haystack." I mean first of all, how do needles get into haystacks in the first place? And even if you did loose a needle in a haystack, couldn't you just get another needle? I mean surely it will turn up sooner or later. Maybe your cow will find it when he starts eating your hay.
And what's so great about being on "cloud nine?" Wouldn't it be better to be on cloud ten?
Do other people think about these things? Or do I just have too much time on my hands? Wait, why do we say we have "time on our hands?" I think I actually spend more time on my feet.

What's in a name? Plenty!

Shakespeare said that a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. What do you think? Does it matter what the name of something is? The law of attraction teaches us that thoughts are things, and that words are very powerful.

I have recently gotten involved in a new business venture where I work with a lot of other companies, and it fascinates me to see that there often seems to be a relationship between the name of a company and how well the company does. For example, there is a plumbing company I know of that thought that they would be really creative with the their company name, and came up with the name "In Hot Water." That's right, they call themselves, In Hot Water! Well they may have come up with a name that is easy to remember, but the company is really struggling. It seem that the company truly is in hot water.

On the other hand, I know of two companies, in totally different fields, that begin the name of their companies with "A-Plus _____." And both of these companies are really thriving! Go figure!

We all know of the hit TV show called Everybody Loves Raymond. It was a huge success that still plays in reruns. But a show called Everybody Hates Chris, didn't do so well, hmmm.

Suddenly it's not so funny to call a truck selling prepared meals a "roach coach" is it?

Thoughts are things, words are powerful and names make a difference.

I too watched the Dateline report about the girl who was mistaken for a dead girl and was fascinated by it. There were so many lessons to learn. I think that it is so amazing that once we have a belief we will always look for things that support our belief and rationalize away things that don't support what we believe. And there were many examples in this story. The parents were told that it was their daughter that was in the hospital bed and they believed that. When they noticed that her teeth were different, they simply said, "how odd the the accident changed her teeth." Then when she could identify everyone in a picture of her and her friends they said, "that proves that our girl is getting better." Then when she said the phrase "false parents" they again dismissed that as a lingering effect of the accident. To me, that is what the law of attraction is all about because what we believe becomes our reality, and if we want to change our reality, we have to change what we believe, EVEN WHEN IT IS OUR NATURE TO LOOK FOR THINGS THAT SUPPORT WHAT WE ALREADY BELIEVE. In my case for example. My greatest desire is to be married. But I have a deep seated belief that "all the good ones are taken." And everywhere I go I find attractive MARRIED women to support that believe. Even though logically I know that they can't ALL be "taken," I seem to be blind to only those things that support my deep seated belief. Anybody got any pointers on how to change what I believe?

Understanding "The Secret"

Today I watched a local talk show called "Good Things Utah" where they talked about "The Secret." And it was clear to me that the ladies talking about it, just didn't get it. When talking about the principle of "acting as if" they said that that must mean that if you want to be a millionaire that you go out and buy expensive things, because that is what millionaires do. And then they said that was a dumb idea because if they did that then they would actually be poorer because they would be deeper in debt. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT MILLIONAIRES DO! Millionaires don't buy things they can't afford. Millionaires don't "max out" their credit cards. So how DO you act like a millionaire. I suggest you try much more subtle things like asking yourself questions like these:
If I had a million dollars, how would I walk, and how would I breathe?
If I had a million dollars, what books would I read and who would I hang around with?
If I had a million dollars, what charities would I support?
And most important of all I would ask, "what does it FEEL like to be a millionaire?" And then choose to feel that way now!

Mormonism and the Law of Attraction

With Mitt Romney running for president there has been a lot of talk about the Mormon religion. Like the Romney's, I too am a Mormon and thought that I would post an article here that I have written about the Mormon religion and The Law of Attraction:

Is there a conflict between what Mormons believe, and the principles of the law of attraction? To me that is an easy question to answer because; I believe that not only are there no conflicts between the two, but they are actually the same thing just worded differently.

For example, in the classic law of attraction book “Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting,” the author, Lynn Grabhorn, says that the way to attract anything into your life is to determine what it is that you want and then to imagine what it would feel like if you already had it. The Mormon Church, just like all other Christian churches teaches that God will bless us with the desires of our heart if we ask in faith. So whether you call it faith, or a feeling, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

And I like to compare the teaching of Mormonism and the principles of the law of attraction; because a clearer understanding of one, leads to a better understanding of the other. For example, a common misunderstanding of the law of attraction is that you just have to feel good, and suddenly everything you want will just appear. But a key component of the law of attraction is to “act as if” you already had what you want. This is perhaps better explained by the scripture that Mormons like to quote which says that “faith without works is dead.” Taking inspired action is both a gospel principle and a part of the law of attraction.

My favorite Biblical example of Christ teaching people to “act as if,” is the story of the leapers who called out to Christ, asking him to heal them. His instructions to them were to go show themselves to the Chief Priests. Why? Because it was the custom of the day that when someone was restored to health after being seriously ill, that they had to have the Chief Priest certify them as “clean” before they were aloud back into society. So Christ was telling the leapers to go ahead and do what they would do if they were healed. He was telling them to “act as if” they were healed. They acted, and they were healed.

I am a life coach who specializes in the law of attraction; I am also a practicing Mormon. And I have found that my religion is a great aid to me as a life coach. One thing that Mormons teach is that time is pretty much meaningless to God. Think about it, if God knows right now, everything that has ever happened, and everything that will ever happen, then the concept of “time” certainly changes.

And playing around with “time” is one of the best techniques that I know of to apply the principles of the law of attraction. This worked wonders with a client I was working with that was so stressed out about a major crisis in her life that it was making her physically ill. She couldn’t see HOW this crisis could possibly be resolved. So I told her that I didn’t know HOW the crisis would be resolved either, but I was certain that it would indeed be resolved over time. So I asked her to imagine that she could travel 2 weeks into the future and imagine what it would feel like to have the issue completely resolved. That didn’t work for her, so she asked if she could go 2 YEARS into the future! And when she imagined herself 2 years into the future she reported that she felt completely at peace. I told her to focus on that feeling, and trust (or have faith) that her feeling of peace would manifest itself into reality. And within 2 weeks everything was resolved and she really was at peace.

So in this example, did this woman create the solution to her problem? Or did God bless her with what she needed? Or perhaps God blessed her with the ability to create what she needed in her life. And perhaps that is why some people have trouble reconciling Mormonism (or any religion) and the law of attraction. Perhaps some people feel that the law of attraction’s teaching that WE attract what we want into our lives, leaves God out of the process. I don’t believe that to be the case at all. I believe that by blessing us with an understanding of the law of attraction, God is simply teaching us how to become more like him. And when our lives turn out just the way we design them, is God really concerned about if He gets all the credit?

Robert Higginson is a Life Coach and a High Priest in the Mormon Church. Robert has a BA degree from Brigham Young University and lives in Orem Utah. Robert was trained as a life coach by Jeannette Maw and specializes in the Law of Attraction. For a list of great of great books about the law of attraction, or for a free 15 minute possibility session, contact Robert at robertsmap@comcast.net or 801-225-2733