Manifesting what?

It's a funny word, manifest. And it's a word commonly used today. But it's been around awhile.

Merriam-Webster says it's a Middle English word, dating back to the 14th century, during a time of ruin and defeat, famine and the Black Plague. It's a word that involves the senses, sight, in particular. To manifest something means you can recognize it. It's synonymous to the word, evident.

Today, we use the word in relation to thought. If you think something, you can manifest it, we say. You can make it so.

You can manifest your own terrible day, or you can manifest your own good day, just by thinking it. And you can do exactly the opposite as well, just by thinking it. You can program your mind to recognize what you want it to think, feel, say or do. From the mind of E.B. White who wrote Charlotte's Web, that's some power.

If it's true, this seemingly magical ability, what are you manifesting in your life?

If you find yourself caught in a bout of depression, do you believe you can think your way out of it? If you wake up in a cheerful mood all the time, how do your thoughts play into that? Are you willing yourself to feel this way?

Share your opinion about the word, manifest, and how it affects your life? Perhaps you'll see your Inner strength is stronger than you thought.

Add your comments here.

All my best,
Jackie

Coaching along

I'm in my second month now as a BIKE coach. I have two clients, and it's going well. Despite the resistance--It's so hard to look inward--I love how people really can figure things out on their own. I've done it myself, but I now get the chance to see it from the other side. It's amazing, the power of the mind.

We all just need a little push sometimes, and people in the mainstream are recognizing that. That's why the coaching profession is seeing such huge growth rate right now. The ICF (International Coaches Federation) has certified more than 4,000 coaches worldwide, in 47 different countries--more than 500 credentialed since January 2008. It's something I'm looking into for myself now.

It just goes to show that we know we are not on this earth alone. We do need assistance now and then. And it's okay to ask for help.

This isn't therapy. It's not consulting (though either could be involved). It's assistance that helps a person set and meet his or her goals. The coach just helps the client figure out solutions that will work best. There's a lot of questioning that takes place to get to the answers. But we all have them.

And we all have the ability to know how to solve our own dilemmas, to overcome our individual challenges, to move forward. We may just need that little push. My coaching technique does that for you; however, I combine that with my BIKE philosophy to help create a system that's always available and easily accessible to you, precisely when you need it. And if you forget, it's there to remind you. We all need those reminders as well.

If you're in need, right now, of help that can lead to problem solving in your life, maybe it's time you asked for help.

If so, post a comment. Maybe I can help. It not me, a referral might net you exactly what you need.

All my best,
Jackie

Are you asking for help when you need it?

If not, here's an article that provides an insightful perspective:

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/70715

I'm paraphrasing, but the article states that seven out of 10 people admit they don't ask for help when they need it. I'm amazed by that number but not surprised. I used to be one of those seven. I was too proud to ask for help, at one time. I wanted to be self-sufficient. I didn't want to appear to be needy or incapable. The article tells a good story about why asking for help is not only good for you but can be a smart thing to do. Then, the author shares the reasons why we don't ask for help and how to overcome the unwillingness and free ourselves up to the gift.

Do you have a story to share about a moment when you recall needing help but refusing to ask for it? Does this article teach you something you didn't know before?

American-made self-help books selling in Brazil

http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-self26-2008jul26,0,2920383.story

Click on the above link to learn about the nature of self-help in Brazil--it's a boom market for authors.

"The self-help and spirituality market continues to boom in the U.S. -- in 2007, it pulled in more than $600 million in U.S. revenue, according to Simba Information, a Connecticut-based market research firm. But only certain American self-help books do well in the international market," the article states. Who knows why it's growing in Brazil, but it is and publishers are going to try to capitalize on this, for sure.

The article went on to quote Mark Tauber, vice president and deputy publisher of HarperOne, a spirituality and self-help division of Harper Collins who says success abroad remains a case-by-case possibility.

"It's not a universal thing for self-help to work abroad," Tauber says in the article. "A lot of these books do find a very big international audience -- some of it has to do with where authors have advocates or disciples."

Los Angeles-based author Steven Carter, who just cashed a $60,000 royalty check for a self-help book he wrote several years ago must have a few.

I thought the article was interesting and may be of interest to any of my readers here with a self-help book ready to be written. I know I have mine to complete.

All my best,
Jackie

When is adultery okay

When we learned last week that John Edwards did, in fact, commit adultery against his wife in 2006, someone posted a link to the news report on a forum to which I belong. It attracted more than 90 posts from a few dozen or so women, debating whether the story was news or not.

Some thought absolutely not. Others weren't so sure. But the posts that really attracted my attention were the ones that pushed the affair aside altogether and thought the news was more about the lies than the cheating, if there was any news here at all.

Granted, they were making the point that the affair is private business, to be handled by the husband and wife, and I agree with that. And I'm sure it will be. But to so nonchalantly push the affair aside, to say that it's immaterial to the life and ability of a politician, I confess, disturbs me. From where, I had to wonder, did they think the lies came?

Without the adultery, my friends, there would be no need to lie.

But some of these women couldn't or wouldn't connect the two. They insisted on separating the cheating from the lies, to compartmentalize, as if they had something to protect. That, in turn, made me wonder if they understand that's the modus operandi a cheater uses to save his butt.

He may think, "What she doesn't know can't hurt her." But it can.

He may think, "As long as I don't get caught..." But he generally will, some how, some way.

And even though it may look from the outside that he's doing well, the inside tells a different story.

So, maybe he can compartmentalize for a while. Maybe he can, like my women friends, separate the lies from the cheating for a while. But the underlying message is still there. Elizabeth could sense it on some level. He knew what he was doing on all levels. And his colleagues more than likely witnessed his character flaw in ways they may be discussing and hashing out right now at this very moment. Compartmentalizing only works so well for so long.

What I mean is that the choice Edwards made to take part in a sexual relationsip outside of his marriage--clearly without his wife's permission--illustrates a serious character flaw that cannot be solely contained within the bounds of adultery. Just as I've discussed here so often, character represents who we are at our very core. And if his belief system allowed him to get away with adultery, you can imagine he's gotten away with much more than that. And, unfortunately, he probably had plenty of people to shield him from his own truths, to allow his lies to continue, to act as enblers. The betrayal, unfortunately, extends beyond the marital bed.

So that's why the adultery matters. Not for the need to know what goes on inside someone's bedroom in a voyeuristic sort of way. But to know what a person is really made of, to know who he really is at his core. If he's not honest, and we can know about that ahead of time, I think it's something voters are entitled to know. That's why I would agree with the media that this is news. Is it news I want to hear? No, no way. I'd prefer we never heard such stories again.

But I refuse to believe as some of these women also believe--that politicians can be expected to cheat, that it's the nature of man to cheat, and other myths to which I refuse to subscribe. I may be naive, but I believe in the ability to choose. And I believe that marital vows mean something. And I'd like to think that there are men out there who believe that as well.

And for the women who think otherwise, I hope you're not speaking from experience, because adultery is never okay in my book.

Your thoughts?