Ask any neuroscientist - our brains generate electricity. Changes in the brain’s electrical impulses can be consciously self-generated. This is called operant conditioning.

When we choose to alter our thinking, we alter cortical rhythms as well as the brain’s structure. In essence, we become our attention.

If you want to do or have something different, you have to start thinking or vibrating differently. You have to be vibrating at the frequency of what you want to attract.

Since energy follows attention, and like attracts like, what kind of energy are you attracting?

Practice Conscious Appreciation

One way to ramp up your magnetic attraction vibration is to practice conscious appreciation.

• Think of 3 things that you can appreciate right now.
• Think of 3 things you can appreciate or value about yourself right now.
• Think of 3 things that may not be going your way – now appreciate them, right now.

Searching our minds for things that we can appreciate is a fabulous state changer.

Sympathetic Vibration

Along with music and personal development, audio engineering has always been my abiding passion.

In audio parlance, being ‘out of phase’ is two or more signals whose phase relationship with each other is incongruent. The resulting sound is weak and hollow.

Sometimes I think our hearts and minds are out of alignment or ‘out of phase.’

When our hearts and minds are vibrating congruently with love and compassion we create a magnetic field that abundance simply can’t resist!

I ‘Preciate Ya!

A common expression in the North Carolina mountain town where I live is, “preciate It”. Or, “I ‘preciate ya”. When I first moved here from Canada, I thought, “what a lovely thing to say!”

Appreciation is a gift you can give to anyone you encounter. You can also inwardly give appreciation to groups gathered at a public event or church service,

Being in a constant state of appreciation is good for you and good for the world.

• When you radiate appreciation, abundance is drawn to you.
• When you radiate success, success is drawn to you.
• When you radiate love, you’ll get more of it.

Breathing in Appreciation

Imagine a hole at the center of your chest. Visualize yourself breathing in appreciation for all. Feel it expand like you are blowing up a balloon. With each inhalation, see the balloon of appreciation growing larger.  Allow your spiritual heart to expand. Do this for 2 or 3 minutes. You can do this exercise anytime or anywhere you like.

You can also imagine breathing in appreciation for something that you love, like a friend, spouse, hobby or place. When you do, that love will grow stronger in your life.

2 - 4 - 6 - 8  Who do You Appreciate?

I recently attended a music concert and the band started playing an old tune that I completely forgot about. It was written and recorded by Bo Diddly, called: “Who do You love.”

So who do you love? What kind of person are you attracted to? Let’s get specific here. Get out a piece of paper and write down the exact qualities of a person that attracts you. Awareness is power and writing it down brings it into manifestation. How about writing a 250 word statement about exactly who you would like to attract.

Here’s my short list:
I’m attracted to people who are comfortable in their own skin. I’m also attracted to open, compassionate and easy-going people. I love people who are spontaneous, fun and witty. I’m attracted to successful people.

What frequency do these people vibrate to? What is the quality or frequency of their voice? What makes your vibration different or similar to theirs? What do you suppose these people think about?

Appreciation Affirmations

The persistent use of positive daily affirmations is a great tool to help you remember to be appreciative.

I appreciate my life and everyone in it
I love and appreciate myself
I appreciate my surroundings
I appreciate the differences I find in people
I appreciate my lessons in life

If you forget to consciously appreciate, why not buy our “Soul Affirmation – Music for Better Outcomes” CD. Just listen and allow these positive daily affirmations to affect your sub-conscious mind.

I’m Thinking of Good Vibrations

How can you not be in the moment when you are in a state of conscious appreciation?

There is always something to appreciate. Take a few minutes everyday and cultivate a synchronous appreciation vibration in your brain and in your heart.

Re-calibrate your vibration to: love, peace, gratitude and success. That’s exactly what you’ll get in return.

Automatic parenting strikes again. Within 5 hours I observed 3 incidences of parents running on “automatic” mode without any seeming awareness as to how crucial their words, actions and behavior are to their child. I am not looking for perfection but I do wish to see more and more parents operating from a positive parenting style. This means less use of profanities, less threatening children with spanking and less discouragement. It is parenting from an informed optimistic, encouraging and conscious place.

Such parenting I know is happening. More parents have also been coming into my purview that really are being “positive and firm” in their approach, which is evidenced over and over again as the most effective parenting approach. It only happens through reviewing your automatic parenting style, assessing what works and what doesn’t and then consciously seeking to parent in a fashion that supports your child’s unique development - now this is awakening parental awareness.

Awakening Parental Awareness

So the three incidents I refer to happened in the supermarket, bookstore and coffee shop. I felt as if the universe was giving me a message. One I didn’t ignore. Dad at the supermarket threatened his son with spanking, and said it was “gonna hurt” with his fist raised. Grandma in the bookstore looked at her energetic grandson and said, “What is wrong with you?” as if his exuberance needed to be squelched. And the finale was the coffee shop where mom used 4-letter words as adjectives, verbs and nouns when speaking to her sensitive teenager. He looked mortified.

So where does this leave us? I believe each of us on a regular basis need to step-back and take a review of our:

Words - Words have the power to propel a child’s best life or discourage his or her dreams. Be careful in your words. Not perfect but thoughtful. And kids fully accept apologies as well as most can extend a level of forgiveness and compassion for you. “Mommy has had a tough day at work, and needs a few minutes” is perfectly acceptable upon coming home.

Actions - Do your words and actions match? My mother always used to say, “do as I say, not as I do” and as a kid this never made sense to me. It still doesn’t. A parents words and actions are ideally in alignment so that children truly can learn how to become authentic and trust that it is not only okay, but supported in this world.

Feelings - Feelings really are indicators. If you are feeling incredibly frustrated, unsupported or angry with your spouse or kids - it might be a time for you to take a “time out.” Really. Your feelings matter and as you take better care of your own emotional well being such gains naturally spill into your parenting style.

Thoughts - Our thoughts truly create our worlds. So being mindful of how we think about our kids is essential. In other words, don’t label them even in your mind (i.e. the smart one, the quiet one, the bad math student, the slow one). Focus upon your child’s unique and positive qualities (i.e. excellent painter, mechanically skilled, gifted singer) as well as thinking positive thoughts about him or her will be a priceless gift. It may not be easy as your 2 year old is crayoning the wall to see his or her artistic talent  — but try, just a little bit.

Words, actions, feelings and thoughts that convey similar encouraging messages are at the heart of positive parenting. It is parenting with a deepened awareness as you raise these highly intelligent children. And because I am so darn passionate about this topic I will share with you some ways to awaken your parenting awareness.

Keys to Awareness

Awareness is a journey not a destination. So wherever you are on your path of developing your awareness there are tools and teachers to help you. And since awareness is personal, I will share with you some key experiences that have worked for myself as well as others:

Get a Teacher - Find someone that you really resonate with about deepening your awareness or refining your parenting approach. It’s a small plug but please forgive me. I teach a workshop called the “Tao of Parenting” that teaches parents how to deepen their awareness as well as develop parenting techniques for the highly creative, intelligent and sensitive child. I am honored to be a witness to such courageous parents as they hone their conscious parenting style.

Commit to It - Decide that parenting with a little more awareness or mindfulness is something you really want to do and do right. Once you make the mental and emotional dedication to it - it just happens without resistance and so much easier. Think also about committing to something to support your decision. One thing that helped me was attending a regularly weekly meditation class from a qualified teacher.

Learn - Pick up books, information or connect with those similar to you that are on a path of parenting as well as raising your consciousness for the good of you as well as your child or children. Two books I enjoy are: How to See Yourself as You Really Are by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Present Moment Awareness by Shannon Duncan.

Show Up - I believe showing up is over 50% of the key. So many of us have good intentions, worthy aims and great ideas but when push comes to shove we don’t go to that class, forget nurturing ourselves or place a priority on spending focused quality time with our child. I encourage each of you to show-up fully for yourself, your dreams and your child.

Slow Down - I once had a friend say to me, “slow down to go fast” and I got it. It’s the proverbial turtle and hare story, the turtle won by going slower. Faster only gets you to your destination quicker, it still may not be the right destination. By learning to go slower, become mindful and pay attention — you actually arrive exactly where you wanted to be as a parent faster and with more awareness.

So each of these may sound simple. Usually the practice is harder. But I encourage you wherever you are on this great path and mystery we call life to delve deeper into developing your own awareness for the benefit of yourself as well as others. You may decide to do more journal writing, group meditation classes, listening to lectures, taking more slow contemplative walks or solely being more present. I salute your willingness to explore and go deeper. It really is in the day-to-day steps that great strides are made - this much I know is true.

Maureen Healy (BA, MBA, MA) is the Founder of Growing Happy Kids, a worldwide organization dedicated to bringing out the best in children. Her expertise is fostering children’s emotional health as well as guiding parents to do the same! More information: www.growinghappykids.com

I think we think too much. Don’t get me wrong, I think the mind is an amazing tool to help us live and survive in this world, but sometimes it feels like my incredible thinking machine has a life of its own!

When I start thinking, thoughts seem to morph from one thought to another. “I need to mow the lawn” and suddenly the color green flashes before me. Now I’m thinking of “money” which leads to thoughts of retirement. Then I think, “who will care for me?” transforms to, “I wonder what it will be like to die alone?”

As I continue to contemplate the mind and its effects on who I am, I notice that many of its functions seem to be more deleterious than actually helpful to my overall wellbeing.

I’ve observed that my compulsive thinking habits certainly keep me out of the present moment. When my mind is racing from idea to idea and past to future how can I partake in a conscious state of allowing each moment to be just as it is?

How Do I Un-Enlighten My Mind?

Since we are already enlightened, and all we have to do is wake up to it, I ask myself the question, “How do I un-enlighten my mind?”

Holding on to old beliefs or fixed opinions un-enlightens my mind. These hardened thought forms keep our minds closed and unreceptive to new ways of thinking.

So when you hear yourself uttering a fixed opinion, stop. Remind yourself: “Energy flows where attention goes.” You can’t afford the luxury of a closed mind.

Mind: Friend or Foe?

Since our thoughts shape our future, being mindful of the conversations we have with ourselves can help us discover our purpose; and more importantly – who we are.

In my work as a coach, I help clients envision and target your ideal life. Going for your best life requires that you let go of unconscious mind stuff that may be sabotaging your success. After all, why waste valuable energy and attention on thoughts that don’t serve you?

Are old ways of thinking preventing you from achieving the success in the life you see for yourself? Maybe it’s time for some new thinking.

New Mind: New Life

If you are in a constant state of struggle with yourself and unable to be fully present for more than a few moments, perhaps you are compulsively addicted to self-seeking habitual thought patterns.

Since struggling is how the small self maintains its existence, you may be reluctant to stop struggling for fear of losing the old definition of who you think you are.

At first, it’s a bit disconcerting to be boundless, but when you cease to identify with the limited self, a deeper dimension suddenly reveals itself to you and you begin to see the futility of resistance.

When you no longer seek yourself in the past and future, you are more able to embrace and accept each moment just as it is.

Let It Be

I love the song, “Let it Be” by the Beatles.

Without the boundaries of the mind, allow and accept each moment just as it is. Rather than limit yourself to the small self – why not embrace the wholeness and all-inclusiveness of life.

Do you have the courage to allow the enormous power of life to flow through you?

Whispering words of wisdom, let it be.