Dream on

What are your dreams? Are you moving in the direction of your dreams?


I knew a guy who loved Rock 'n Roll. He was in a band that was popular in the clubs on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. His band recorded an album. Then they filmed a music video that closed Sunset Boulevard for the night. I asked him if that was his dream come true. He said yes.


His band never went any further. Outside of the locals that knew about it, no one's even heard of the band. Does that mean he never "made it"? He had that dream come true. As he grew as a person, new ideas about how he wanted to build his life became important. He has gone on to touch lives in a meaningful way. He's "made it." Only it just looks different than he expected.


Someone shared something  about prayer that I thought was pretty wonderful. When you ask God for something there are three possible answers: "Yes", "Not yet", and "I have something better for you!" 


When things don't work out as you originally hoped, planned, and prayed, never lose heart! It could just be that there is more that needs to ripen, and it could be that there's really something better for you.


Keep taking the steps to create what you want in life. Even little steps that feel too easy are great! They move you forward. Lots of little, easy-shmeasy steps add up. One, and then another. 


It starts in your thoughts and heart, you dream, then you take action. You can do this!


Love,
Aunt Laya

It's there even if you can't see it

 An interesting thing happened one morning when I was picking figs for breakfast...

This summer I spent many mornings eating breakfast at my fig tree. Divine! The interesting thing about a fig tree, is that the figs don't all ripen at once. New fruits come out each day as the older fruits are ripening. When eating straight from the tree, the trick is to find them ripe enough, but not too ripe. 

One morning I saw the perfect fig. I knew it would be a taste of Heaven. I moved in close between the branches and leaves. As I got closer, it just disappeared! How could it be? I moved out again and saw it. So I knew that when I moved in closer, something blocked my view as it seemed to disappear.  What a metaphor for our goals and dreams in life.

You may know clearly what your goals and dreams are. You may be taking action in the direction of your goals and dreams. Then, as you think you are moving closer, all signs of actualizing it seem to disappear.

Take heart! 

Just because you don't see your goal as close as you thought you were to it, does not mean your heart's desire is not there. 

Try changing your perspective, move about (in thoughts or actions or both). You'll see it, maybe closer than you thought!

Love,

Aunt Laya

Photo by me one morning at breakfast. :-) 

With gratitude to the Creator of figs, cameras, and all of life!

How to Have More Joy in Life

Keep an open mind as you read this first sentence:

Joy is a choice! (keep reading...)

You can go to a movie that's sad and even though you were not sad when the movie started, you can find yourself crying--and you know the characters are not even real! You can listen to a comedian and laugh even though you weren't thinking about anything funny before that. Just like when the weather can be cold and you can put on warm boots and a warm coat, and feel cozy, or you can turn the heat on in your house and make the whole place warm--you can change the weather of your emotions.

I know this sounds very simple and that's ok, like I've said before, simple does not mean easy. You can choose the way you want to spend your emotional time, the same way you get to choose how you want to spend the days of your life. You get to choose the people you spend time around. You get to choose how seriously you take the comments from people around you. You get to choose to stay in a room where people are fighting or if you want to walk out of that room, or even if you want to engage in the conversation at all--or not!

We all just seem to forget we have free choice. We forget, or no one ever pointed it out, we even have the power in our lives to change our minds or step into something new altogether.

Questions to ask yourself: What kind of life do I want to build? What small step can I take today to feel good about myself and my life? How can I give this day meaning? How can I serve others today? What did I do right today? What can I think about that will put me in a truly happy state?

You can do this. Step by step.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Thank you to Morguefile.com and Grafixar for the great photo Grafixar

What I've been up to...

Click Here! to see what I've been learning how to do. Please let me know what you think, how I can improve, what you'd like me to talk about... feel free to email me through my website for confidentiality.

My book is hot off the press and will be at Amazon ready for delivery before too long. I'm very excited about it and will keep you posted.

Meantime, remember that you DO have the power to create the life YOU want to live.

More soon,
Love,
Aunt Laya

Your Heart's Desires

Sometimes we just ache for something so much. We have a desire for something in our lives and it just always seems to be out of reach. A lot of people talk to me about wanting to find a life partner, for example. They date and date. They've met lots of people. Sometimes they thought they were with "the right one" only to be disappointed or heartbroken when the relationship ended.

Sometimes teenagers crave to be in a relationship. But the timing is just not right. The time is not yet ripe and the outcome is either forced or painful.

I'm here to tell you that when something doesn't work out for you RIGHT NOW, it's because there is something BETTER around the corner. Do not become down hearted.

You can imagine that the thing you desire is already a part of your life, because on some level that really is true. Does that sound weird? There are many aspects to this life and our physical world is part of it, but not the whole thing. There are many forces at work in this world, from the magnetic pull of the earth and moon to the invisible rays of the sun. Now if you can just imagine, there is a force that regulates the sun and moon, and that same force moves you and your dreams.

On the other hand, you need to make sure you're doing your part in the equation--to be able to recognize your dream when it's staring you in the face, and take action! Are you sure you're out of your own way? In Buddhism there's a term called "monkey mind" that blabs on just to fill you up with self doubt. In Hebrew it's called the "yetzer ha-rah". I think the Native Americans use the coyote as the Trickster in stories. What ever your culture or background, beware the Trickster: thoughts, people, roadblocks, self doubt, and so on.

If you have a dream in your heart, it's because there is something for you, some treasure, some gift of life and living, that you will find on that path. Sometimes, the thing you think you want isn't really meant to be. And that will always be because there is something BETTER, yes, better, waiting for you.

Plan, put your effort into moving in the direction of your heart's desire. Trust. Express gratitude, because gratitude will always keep the flow going.

What is of great value is not thrown around, it's earned through some combination of time, intention, and action. Ask for guidance. Study those who have accomplished similar goals. (Like if you want to be a body builder, learn from someone who's mastered that. If you want a good marriage, ask the couples you know what makes their marriage work. If you want to be an actor, study and practice.)

Here's to dreams come true... in the perfect timing, even when it's not the timing we thought we wanted or hoped for.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Thank you to Scott M. Liddle (scott.liddell.com) and Morguefile.com for the great photo