Henry Thoreau is right on target.  It seems simply doesn’t it, if we desire less, we’ll have more– more time, more disposable income, and perhaps more happiness.   As you struggle with the demands and complexities of life on a daily basis, you probably desire a simpler, happier and harmonious life.   You may be tempted to utilize more technology to make your life simpler, but does technology really makes our life simpler or add to the complication and clutter?   What makes for a simpler life is a true assessment of your wants and needs.  Adding another thing may  only increase the stress or complicate the process even further.  There are many ways to simplify your life, but in this short article, I am offering two simple things you can do today to simplify your life.  The first is to remove clutter from your life.  What usually come to mind when most people think of clutter is disorganized things that impede movement or limit their effectiveness.  However, there is another kind of clutter that  isn’t in your physical environment, it is what I call, mental clutter. 

Mental clutter, as I define it, is any negative emotion, memory, thought, or feeling that take up space in your mind and leave you feeling drain, remorseful, angry, confused or conflicted.  This type of clutter inhibits your ability to fully function at your highest level, because it either divides or takes your energy,  which means that you are left with very little energy to focus on the important things.   Most people are not consciously aware of this type of clutter  and that it may just be the source for their low energy, lack of motivation, or stress.   Most often, they attribute it to something or someone else and tend to remedy it by engaging in activities, or distractions that only in the short-term make them feel better .  Dealing effectively with mental clutter requires a heightened sense of awareness of the things that have impacted you negatively.  Once you’ve become aware, you can begin the process of de-cluttering your mind.  One way to do this is by releasing these negative emotions and thoughts by meditating.   Another very simple step is to inject quiet into your life.  Turn off and tune out the TV, radio, video games, cell phone, and the other distractions that keep you plugged in.  Having a clear mind allow you to focus your energy on the things that matters most and be better at making impactful decisions.

Another suggestion for simplifying your life is live within your means. Unless you are wealthy, you should be living within the boundaries of your income.  Basically, don’t spend more than what you make.  Although the following example is elementary, I think it is warranted because we are living in a credit-driven society, which means most people prefer to use credit over saving for the thing they want.  Needless to say, if you’re making $65,000 per year, your living expenses shouldn’t exceed this amount.  The rule of thumb is that you spend approximately 30% of your income on housing, put aside 10% for savings (in today’s unstable economy you may want to consider saving a little more, if you can) and the remaining spent on your other physiological needs such as food, transportation, clothing, etc.  Saving 10% of your income may be easier said than done. Depending on where you are living, you are spending more than 30% of your income on your housing, so that may even take away from your ability to save.  Also, you may not possess financial prudence, or may be an impulsive buyer.  If so, your next move is to get a handle on the problem. Try attending a financial literacy class that will help you develop your budget management skills and prioritize saving.  

Simplifying your life is not only an investment in yourself, but is also an added value to your family, friends, and coworkers.  When you are able to balance time, balance your budget, and balance your life you are able to be more effective, confident, calm, and organize.   If you want to love the life  you are living and live the life you love, then simplify your life.  For more information about ways to simplify your life,  please contact Deborah at info@indigocoachingsystems.com .

I would like to introduce you to a powerful tool, your intuition.  This tool rarely gets the recognition it deserves because it isn’t valued by many as a credible source of information.  Defined as the “power of knowing”, intution is a phenomenal gift.  This gift can assist you in raising your consciousness, increasing your self awareness, identifying trends in business, discovering new solutions, gaining innovative insights into complex issue; and strategically plan.

Imagine for a moment you had a map for your life.  This map shows you where you need to go and what you need to do to be successful in life.  Wouldn’t that be great?  I tell you what, it will make life easier, especially when it comes to making decisions.  Well you do have a map, it is called intuition.  Your intution is a powerful gift that once developed, can be the map you need to navigate life and provides you with instructions that alert you when to take action,  slow down, speed up, or change direction.  When you listen to your intution, you will find that your life will be simplier and happier.

If you are interested in developing your intutitive abilities, it is easy to do.  All you need is a belief in the principle and a positive attitude.  You can start by quieting your logical mind. This can be done by practicing meditation, deciphering your dreams, or journaling.  After you have quited your mind, you should identify your type of intuition, which can either be emotional, mental, or kinesthetic; most people have a combination of the three.  Knowing your type of intuition helps you to clearly distinguish its messages from other culprits such fear, negative emotions, anxiety, etc., and gain mental clarity. To help the intuitive messages get through, I encourage you to be aware of your habits, tendencies or traits. This will help you to differentiate between your intuition and common culprits that can lead you astray.

To be successful in today’s society, you need more than just traditional intellectual skills such as writing, reading, communication, etc.  What is also required is your ability to acknowledge and manage emotions within your self and in others and your capacity to make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Your intution is your additional skill and a successful tool that will guide you through this process.  I encourage you to learn to trust and practice using your intuition.

The rescue and recovery of so many people have demonstrated an intervention from a higher source; however, the numerous death and massive destruction have challenged my belief.  According to Rene Descartes, the French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, I can either choose to believe in order to understand, or choose to first understand then believe.  My orientation is to believe in order to understand and that has shaped my fundamental principle that regardless of what tragedies humanity face, there is a being greater than us, a source with infinite wisdom and power.  And I have defined this source based on my limited understanding and knowledge, which came from my teachings, traditions and religious orientation.  My resolution is that there is a God, in spite of chaos and catastrophes, and we cannot define it based on what we think we know, or understand about it. 

You too may have been touched by these events, the tragedy in Haiti, or been affected by your own personal tragedy.  The downfall of our economy for the past few years, have caused many people to lose their jobs, fail in their businesses, foreclose on their houses, or file bankruptcy.  For many people, these losses have been devastating, not only to their finances, but to their emotional and physical health as well.   

The victims of these tragedies are now forced to do more with less, or nothing at all. Perhaps, you are one of these people who have been affected, and if so, you may be questioning God’s existence and involvement in your life.  As you ponder your next move, I encourage you to focus on possibilities not problems.

While this is your current reality, other folks are experiencing a different one.  A reality where many of them are getting richer, wealthier and living happier lives. So why them and not you?  Well, this is the million dollar question that you need to answer for yourself?  And please don’t let your answer be “it’s bad luck”.  My question is, are you going to be a victim or victorious?  It means that you may need to be more creative, or more resourceful. But you also need to be ready to receive.  I want you to think about God as a source of endless possibilities.  I see the tragedy in Haiti as an opportunity for concern citizens from around the world to come together to address the social, political and economic problems it has experienced for many years.  I see the crash of our economy as an opportunity to restructure and rethink our lives.

So what do I mean by Ready to Receive? Living outside of the scarcity model, which says there isn’t enough to go around. Whether this is your truth or not, you don’t have to continue living this way.  Ready to receive is about proactivity.  You aren’t waiting for something to happen, you make it happen.  You aren’t wishing for a change in your circumstances, you change it.  You aren’t hoping to be saved by a heavenly force; you save yourself.  Basically, the premise is that you position yourself to receive the things you want to see manifest in your life.  That means, you must not dwell on your current situation, you must not operate from the model of scarcity, rather you must operate from the model of abundance, which says that everything you need is available, all you have to do is access it.  No, this isn’t positive thinking; it’s beyond that, it’s about taking action.  It’s about making the choice to change your situation by changing your thinking and your behavior.  Jim Rohn said “asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you“.

As you do your own reflection, I encourage you to focus on your positive experiences; however small they may be, and only reflect on your negative experiences from a stand point of lessons learned.  Also, you must:

• Change one thing about your life or business.  For example learn a new skill, change your daily routine, get more organized, or stop a bad behavior.
• Don’t let you or emotions control you. You may be a highly sensitive people and sometimes that works against you.  Control your emotions by simply choosing not to respond to a situation immediately.  Rather, take some time to process your feelings and rationalize your thinking.  The best way to control your emotions is to allow time to pass.  Don’t be reactive, be responsive.
• Create a plan for what you want.  If you want to be married in 2010, figure out what you would like in a spouse and become that very person.  We attract who we are, so if your desire is to have a kind-hearted, loving, sexy, financially stable spouse, guess what, it starts with you shedding those extra pounds, tightening up your budget and being more giving in your current relationships.
• Take responsibility for your actions and yourself.  Don’t play the victim role, and don’t place the blame on others.  Know that whatever you are experiencing you may be a contributor, whether by choice or default.  Once you have taken responsibility you can begin to change your situation.
• Challenge yourself.  Most of us become too comfortable doing the same thing every day.  Challenge yourself to do more, learn something different; find a different way to do some thing, or create something new.
• Laugh and play more.  Remember when you were a child and the only thing you thought of was playing? Why not think about how you can incorporate play into your daily life today.  Remember when your laughter was from your gut, so much so that it used to hurt or cried when you laughed?  Laughter is a powerful force; it has been used in hospitals to help sick people heal.  Think about how happier a person you will be if you laughed more.
• Get your life back on track.  You may have made some poor decisions in 2009 that have caused you to be in a bad situation today.  Forgive yourself, and figure out a plan of action.  Don’t focus on your past mistakes, focus on solutions.
• Ask God what it wants from you.  Before you ask this question, remove any teachings that have formed your ideology about God and your life. You must be in an unbiased state to receive your answer.  Sometimes our teachings cloud the messages that come through form Spirit and create conflict in our thinking.
• Be honest, be authentic.  Most of us are telling false stories, whether to ourselves, or to others, and we find a way to justify our lies.  Be honest about your situation, feelings, beliefs and values.  Yes, you can be honest without hurting others; you can say how you feel about something without being hurtful.  Live your life as authentic as you can. You don’t want any regrets on your death bed.

Be Ready to Receive is offered as 3 tele-classes consisting of the Financial Fitness class, Emotional Wellness, and the Building a Better Business class.  For more information contact Deborah at info@indigocoachingsystems.com

Memoirs of a women after God’s heart:

Everything was crystal clear.  My career was on track, I knew what I wanted to do with my life and I knew God’s purpose for my life.  For much of my life my dream was to become a director, president or vice president of someone’s company.  I longed for the five meeting days, long hours and late nights at the office.  As I progressed in my career and aged, I decided I wanted to have my own company and/or a non-profit.  Again, along with that would come long hours and late nights.  For as long as I remember I have always lived my life five years ahead.  I never saw where I was now my only concern was where I was going or what I could be until one day someone asked me “what do you see when you look in the mirror?

The mirror is a reflection of who you are not just how you look physically, but the mirror allows you to look deep into your soul and spirit and discover what your strengths, your fears and the your weaknesses.  That day in the mirror I saw a future size 6, successful, powerful woman, who spent her days walking with God. In the same mirror, I saw a young lonely, chubby girl longing for acceptance, and scared of rejection.  But what I did not see is who I was at the moment.  I did not see all the good that others saw.  I did not see success or beauty. It seemed as if there was a gap between the past and the future, there was no present.  For many years, I professed knowing and walking with God, but that day I realized that you cannot walk with God if you are absent from the present.  In the chapter of Matthew, Jesus said “Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow is not promised to you”.

That is the question that changed my life and at that point I became a woman after God’s heart. 

I also requested your participation in an exercise given from one of the folks on my list and said that I will share my outcome.   So here it is:

1) What are the opportunities worth pursuing?  Surprisingly, there were plenty of opportunities that came up for my clients, none for me.  These opportunities were clear as a bright summer morning and I recommended that my clients pursue them.   I was surprised because I thought that the exercise was very personal, it was intended only for the participant and I was expecting something that will directly make it self available to me.  However, showing others the opportunities that are in front of them were so much more rewarding.  

2:  What’s missing in this picture?  What came up for me as the missing elements were tolerance and acceptance.  I feel that there is a spirit of intolerance in the world and I think it is more pervasive than ever before.  In my picture I saw people, including myself at times, being intolerant.  Interestingly enough during the week of the exercise my patience was tested in multiple ways; one being a gas station attendant who refused to provide her duty of service with a pleasing and helpful attidtude.

Another event occured which also showed me my intolerance was when I escaped a near head on collision because the other driver was going the wrong way.  At that moment, I was so angry and all I thought about was my own safety and the other driver’s incompetence in navigating the road improperbly.  It never occured to me when I was infruriated that perhaps the driver was new to the area and was desparately lost, or something even worst.  When the police (who was in the right lane across from me) pulled him over immediately I felt a sense of satisfaction.

We aren’t very tolerant of others who are different, not very tolerant of people making mistakes, people cutting us off when we are driving or waiting in line.  We aren’t tolerant of other people’s prespectives, some of us will vehemently defend our political, religious or scientific views.  We will even go as far as imposing them on others.   So what does this mean?  Should you and I tolerate bad behavior, crime, poor legislations, road rage and the like?  Well, no.  No one should tolerate bad behavior, crime or anything else for that matter that take away something of value from us. 

What it means is that we suspend judgment until we get the facts.  As people we often judge others by the way they look, act, talk, walk, work and so on.  We almost never suspend our judgments until we get to know the person.  Most of our judgments come from our own limited understanding and the lenses we see the world in.  We instantly size others up and get to an opinion even before they get to hello.  Now there is credit to be given to our gut feelings about a person.  But intuition doesn’t come from a place of judgment, it comes from Spirit, and Spirit doesn’t judge, it gives us wisdom so we can act accordingly. 

Since we are all guilty of judging others here’s something you and I can do this week.  When we are introduced to someone new before we formulate our first thought about the person, what if we suspend that thought and operate on the principles of acceptance and understanding.  What if we begin the introdutions by asking a question that will provide us with a little more information about the individual? And how about we apply those principles from here on out?

On July 2nd I participated in a teleseminar with Michael Gerber, renowned author, The E-Myth.  This teleseminar was very powerful in that he described how we as individuals limit ourselves by our own beliefs about what we can accomplish in our lives.  He said that many of us don’t want to go outside of our comfort zones.  How true. I usually think of myself as a person who takes risks, makes bold moves and challenges conventional wisdom, but after hearing Michael’s views about limiting beliefs, I have much streching to do with my vision for my business.  So I’m going to implement a very basic exercise he suggested.  He said that this exercise will awaken the level of consciousness that is needed to birth new products, services, etc. but is lock.  Beginning this week I will look for opportunities worth pursuing and make observations in terms of what is missing in the picture.  He suggested to do this for 7 consecutive days.  So please join me in doing this exercise.  In your journal this week write 1: Opportunities worth pursuing and 2: What’s missing in this picture.

I would like to hear what you’ve came up with, so please post your results and I will do the same.  Want to know whose on my list and want to work with me to help make my dream come true?  Contact me at info@indigocoachingsystems.com. 

Interested in dreaming with Michael Gerber in his Dreamingroom, here’s some information:

Greetings!As you know, for the past 31 months, small business owners. and people who want to start their own business have been gladly investing $3,000 – $5,000 for the opportunity to spend 2 1/2 life-changing days with me, Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth, in our spectacular Dreaming Room Intensive!    Many speaking opportunities have been converted and are being expanded into full Dreaming Rooms across the Globe – London, AU, New Zealand, Jersey Island, Wales, Cardiff, etc.     The E-Myth Revisited book has been introduced and implemented into a 3 year curriculum in a London University!     We have added a “Mentoring Program” which is taking Intentional Dreamers from Dream to Launch in 6 months.     We have began the process of “Duplicating the Dreaming Room System” and now have our first Licensee!     Our Affiliate Program has tripled!     We have opened new Dreaming Room Intensives in new horizons     Dreaming Room, Manhattan, NY     July 9-11, 2008 Dreaming Room, Manhattan, NY     July 25-27, 2008 Dreaming Room, Houston, TX         August 1-3, 2008 Dreaming Room, Flagstaff, AZ        August 21-23, 2008 Dreaming Room, San Diego, CA    August 29-31, 2008     AND MORE…   “A Business Without a Dream is Like a Life Without a Purpose!” - Michael Gerber “With the E-Myth, Michael Gerber created the seminal business development system for the small business owner. Now, with The Dreaming Room, he is offering us the next level-the opportunity to awaken the entrepreneur deep within us and dream bigger than we ever have before. When I heard I could spend three days with Michael Gerber and receive personal coaching from the world’s #1 small business guru I literally jumped at the chance. I experienced a total transformation that has had an immediate and explosive effect on my business. I implore you – please – don’t walk, don’t run, but sprint to The Dreaming Room. You and your business will never be the same.” Come dream with me Michael E. Gerber and The Dream Team         See You In The Dreaming Room!

Come Dream With Us In The Dreaming Room®… “Where All Great Ideas are Born”

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Most of us consume much more than what we need, whether it may be food, clothes, shelter, etc.  We buy more house than we use, eat more food than our bodies can handle, resulting in obesity and other types of diseases, and we generate so much waste which produce tons of trash that are overflowing our landfills.

If you are a “consumptionist” ( a term I like to use) the one thing you can do now is simplify your life.  To do this, you must achieve a clear understanding of your needs, not your wants.  Understanding your needs will help you choose things that are important for your survival and happines, not for your ego or for the status quo.  Get started on living a simplier life by eliminating 2 or 3 things from your life that you don’t need.  This could be clothes that you haven’t worn in years, monthly pedicures, 2 cups of coffee that you drink to keep you awake, or what about that 5 bedroom house you purchased for your wife and one child? Eliminating the extras will also help you to reduce your expenses, a benefit in today’s recessive economy.

Living simplier changes your life.  You will not only know what’s really meaningful and important to you, but it frees you from society’s definition of what’s important in life.  When you choose to live a simplier life, the Universe will always send you exactly what you need and when you need it. But what you must realize is that what you need may not always be what you thought you wanted. Don’t reject what the Universe sends you, thinking that something better is supposed to be on the way. Live everyday with a sense of gratitude for your blessings, and yes, even what you think are curses.

Think about how you talk to yourself. Do you say things like I’m so stupid, I can’t do this, I’m not good at anything, I’m too fat, too tall, or too short, I’m not very attractive; or what about I will never amount to anything? These words are negative self-scripts that someone once said to you. You have now held these self-deprecating remarks to be true about yourself.

Repeating these and other types of negative scripts reinforce negative behavior and only deminish your self-worth and self-confidence.

To overcome this mindset, try replacing the negative self-talk with some positive self-talk. Identify all of your accomplishments, no matter how great or small you may think they are and celebrate them.  Replace the negative self-scripts with positive words such as: I have everything I need, I can do this, I feel energetic and excited about my life and I welcome new possibilities, I am an attractive, intelligent person with unique gifts and talents. 

Don’t be surprised if these words feel awkward at first.  They might feel completely foreign to you. You might feel like you are just making these things up, they aren’t really true, but what you are doing is reprogramming your mind to counter everything you have come to believe to be true about you. 

The more you practice your positive self-talk, the more you’ll connect with your Higher Self and reveal your true authentic self.  It’s this connection that will ultimately silence your negative self-talk for good.

If you had a magical tool that can make all of your desires come true, how would you feel?  I bet you would feel wonderful, fantastic, like you’re living your best life ever!  Now let’s use that magical tool and fast forward one year into the future. Are you happier? Do you feel that life can’t get any better, but it does?  

Well you do have that magical tool and it’s called WORK.  What I mean by work is putting forth your best effort, time, resources, skills, knowledge, techniques, life experiences, and everything else in between to get you living your best life ever!

Most people want the world but do not want to work for it.  They want the quick-fix solutions to their problems.  They want to lose the extra 20 lbs, but instead of applying disciple by eating the right foods and regular exercise, they opt for liposuction to get rid of the weight. 

The truth is you and only you are responsible for your life (of course they are always exception to the rule).  That means, you are to do whatever (within society’s moral and ethical code of conduct) it takes to create your best life.  If you are mentally and physically able, then you have what it takes to do the necessary work that will position you to live the life you want. 

WORK means making sacrifices, applying discipline, initiating will power, possessing determination, and most of all investing time into working on your dreams.  If you’re serious about living your best life, then you must certainly do the WORK.

Based on the results my clients have received, it showed that if you do the work, you will get the “World”.