About Me cont...

Okay, I'm back from good report card tacos and the kids are in bed and I want to finish what I began earlier. So at the risk of running out time I'm gonna cut to the nitty gritty. I began having issues with my weight and food earlier in my life and had always been a yo-yoer so, I finally decided to do something about it after my first son was born. I joined a support group and they talked about nothing but God. However, this was a room full of thin women, so I listened to them. They said to "take what I liked and leave the rest", so I 'left' the God stuff for a while without much success. I did finally get a handle on my emotional eating and have kept the weight off for years now, but I guess I did that by finding "God" and loving that part of myself and therefore took better care of me.

I had put myself through what I call God Boot Camp. I went to the library feverishly checking out books by scientists that discussed the Universe or spiritual teachers that appealed to me or that had been recommended to me by people I admired. It ranged from Deepak Chopra to Oxford University Buddhism professors to Wayne Dyer to Gary Zukov to Katherine McTaggart to Khalil Gibran, I still have not read the Bible - just can't, sorry.

During this time, I went to a friend's birthday dinner and was seated next a friendly, well-dressed, stunning and slightly intimidating young woman named "Nicole". She asked me if I'd seen a movie called "The Secret." I said no and she said "you should, it changed my life". "How?", I asked. She said it teaches you how to have every thing you've ever wanted. I was curious but my food arrived so we got distracted. My friend later told me that the woman I was sitting next to was a former, addict and prostitute and was now living a happy life as a successful actress (no, not that kind). "WHAT?" I need to see that movie, she said "I have a copy, you can have it." So, I got it from her the next week.

I watched it and thought it was a bit over produced but I liked the message it gave. That the power of the Universe is inside me not separate from me and that thoughts have energy just like anything else on earth that attract like thoughts to them. And with a little effort you can control what you bring into your experience. There was a woman who spoke on the original version of "The Secret" with such incredible conviction and peace that I was instantly drawn to her, her name was Esther Hicks. I googled her and found her and her husband Jerry Hicks' website www.abraham-hicks.com. I won't tell their story here. If you're interested, they will send you a free 90 minute introductory CD or you can download the free MP3 from their site, you can also check them out on youtube. Their books have been No.1 on the NY Times and Amazon best seller lists. The more I read and saw of Esther & Jerry Hicks and the Teachings of "Abraham" the more I liked what I heard and needed to know more.

I learned that I had been bringing all kinds of things into my life both wanted and unwanted without realizing it, just based on what I was thinking about, worrying about, fantasizing about or obsessing about. We all are, most of us just don't know it. So after a couple years of playing around with this information, I feel like I'm starting to have a little better handle on it. So far I've "manifested" (that's the term they use) a better relationship with my husband, a great job that was a perfect fit for my family at the time, and a new home. My husband has joined the bandwagon as well and we enjoy manifesting new experiences A LOT! Here's an example:

A year or so ago, we decided it may finally be time to entertain the idea of selling our tiny starter home and buying a bigger house close to better schools. I started writing lists of all the features I wanted in a new home. My list went like this:

OUR NEW FAMILY HOME:

~ WE LOVE IT

~ IT HAS GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

~ IT'S IN A SAFE BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORHOOD

~ IT'S HAS 4 BEDS & 2 BATHS

~ A LIVING ROOM AND A SEPARATE FAMILY ROOM

~ A POOL

~ IT'S A GREAT DEAL

~ IT HAS A FIREPLACE

~ AND NICE NEIGHBORS

~ GOOD SQUARE FOOTAGE, BUT NOT TOO BIG

~ SAFE STREET FOR KIDS TO PLAY

While we were house-hunting my husband and I disagreed on one feature of the house we were looking for. I wanted a pool (I'd never had one and have wanted one my whole life) he absolutely did not (he grew up cleaning one and hated the chore of it). The house we found was a house with these exact features in a neighborhood with a HOA that included free use of the jr. olympic-sized pool down the street.

This was co-creating at it's best, we both got to have what we wanted without the other "losing out". By making the list I set my intention and then I let it go, I didn't obsess (much). I just stuck it to the fridge and forgot about it. I found the list when I packed up my refrigerator magnets and couldn't help laughing. That's when I realized that I can screw around with this powerful information and chalk it up to coincidence or I can dive in and see what I can create in the other areas of my life.

The worst that can happen is that skeptics to this way of thinking will laugh at me, and I will have tried to create a better life for myself and therefore others who spend time with me. I'd love some company as I attempt to Re-create Vanessa.

Next time, a little more on the old me, and why I need re-creating.

Thanks for reading, if you're out there.