You could say that yesterday was a wreck.  At least, it felt like that for the most part!

I’d gone to the airport to meet my sister who was flying interstate from Melbourne.  I thought she was arriving at 12 noon but her flight wasn’t actually due till 1.15pm – 1^st oversight on my part.

Next, I was convinced she was flying Qantas as that was the airlines she’d flown coming in from overseas – 2^nd oversight on my part.

I got to the airport by 11.15am, much earlier than I needed to be.  I was taing a new route to the airport and had allowed myself extra time.

I hadn’t seen my sister in over 2 years and I was quietly excited about spending the next four days on our own – something we’ve rarely had a chance to do as we’ve always had the company of other family members and friends on the rare occasions our schedules allowed us to meet across continents.

I knew we’d spend a good bit of our time talking about the thing that matters most to us – our ongoing spiritual awakening – and I was so looking forward to it.

Well, 12 noon arrived and no sister.  1 pm arrived and still no sister.  2pm and I knew something was amiss.

I’d paced the domestic airport arrivals lounge and allowed my excitement to build up each time I saw a bunch of people or a single figure appear at the top of the escalator.  And each time, my spirit flagged when I didn’t see the face I was expecting!

It was a long wait, not just in hours but especially in the cycles of anticipation and disappointment!  I’d also not had a drop to drink nor a bite to eat.

By 2.15pm, I knew I had to do something.   Three flights from Melbourne had landed by this time.  There’d been no cancellations or delays.  Where could she be? Why hadn’t she called me?  Surely she would think to have the airport help desk page me?  Besides, we’d confirmed just the night before that she was arriving at the domestic airport and that I’d be there to meet her.  Out of desperation, I decided I would go and check the international terminal just in case.

Before I went to my car, I stopped at a parking ticket machine to pay for my parking but the machine swallowed my ticket, refused to accept my $20 note and wouldn’t respond to the ‘Cancel’ button.

I pressed the intercom button which, fortunately, did work and got to speak to someone and explained the situation.  I was told to pay at the exit gate.  I did.

I drove in the unrelenting heat (the air conditioning in my car had packed in) to the International terminal, about a 7 minute drive, parked my car and raced over to the arrivals lounge.  It had been almost a year since I’d been at that terminal and much had changed.

The arrivals lounge was almost deserted but for a solitary man.  It was clear she wasn’t there and I started debating with myself whether to return to the domestic terminal or head home and call the place in Melbourne where she’d been staying the last couple of weeks. (She’d gone down for a conference).

Driving out of the car park, I noticed all four lanes to the exit gates had overhead signs saying ‘Prepaid Tickets’.  I had not noticed any parking ticket machines either on my way to or from the arrivals lounge.  They certainly were not where they used to be.

I realized I would not be able to pay at the gate.  I drove back into the parking area, went looking for the machines and finally had to ask someone.  She pointed to a corridor where they were all standing like sentry.  Why wasn’t there any signage to those machines?

All this time, thoughts about my sister were running through my mind with the heat urging them on!  They vacillated between unjustifiable anger and frustration towards her for not being where she was supposed to be when she was supposed to,  to concern for her as this was her first time in this city.

I was finally on route home, some four hours since I’d set out in the morning, when my car brakes went!  How was I going to return to the airport if I needed to?  Would I get home without an accident?  When would I be able to get my brakes serviced?  How would we manage without a car?

I was beginning to feel that the day that had started so well had turned into a disaster.  I soon realized, however, that that kind of thinking wasn’t going to help.

I switched to thinking about how I would want the day to go from this point.  I also wondered why it hadn’t gone the way I’d imagined it.  What was happening here?

On some level, I sensed a greater purpose to all this although I could not yet see the ‘details’.  In the meantime, however, things were getting almost unbearable.

I did manage to get myself home safely when a friend called.  I told him about the situation and he volunteered to go to the airport himself since he lives closer to it than I do.

In the meantime, my sister had called my landline (the number of which she had) and had left a message saying that she’d been waiting over two hours!  I was both relieved and frustrated — relieved that she was safe and that both our waiting would finally be over.  Relieved also that all the anxiety and frustration that go with waiting and having your best plans thwarted were nearly gone.

But how on earth had we missed each other?  Still, my friend would be picking her up and bringing her home which he did, about an hour and a half later by which time I’d cooled off physically and emotionally.

What a day!  I don’t believe in punishment, but it certainly felt like a punishing day!  Why?  What on earth had I done to deserve this?

It is at trying times that questions about things that I no longer believe in or value seem to turn up as if to have another go and getting me to reinstate those old beliefs and values!  Questions about punishment and deserving things.  And there emerged doubts about being a conscious creator.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by them.  It’s easy to abandon your desire for freedom and joy and conscious creation when you cannot find ready answers to questions that challenge your desire, your beliefs.

I have learned to recognize some of these questions as old, unhelpful habits of a conditioned mind, a mind conditioned to be afraid to desire good things, a mind not yet prepared to take responsibility for its creations!

And it’s these moments of self-reflection, of remembering, observing and recognizing the habits of the mind that take us to the windows of inner happiness.

And it is the fresh permission we give to our desire for something better that throws wide open the windows to inner happiness!

Love always

Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!

Useful Stuff

How can you be a truly inspiring parent?

How to help your child stay healthy and happy

Why should you let yourself age?

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“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.” Earl Nightingale

Yes, I know, sometimes it’s easier to blame it on that rascally, indefinable, elusive thing called ‘luck’, isn’t it?

But jokes aside, what is this equally hard-to-pin-down thing called ‘success’?  Have you ever thought of yourself as a success?  Have you ever done or ‘achieved’ anything that you would consider a success?

You must have heard the story about Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb.  He was asked in an interview:  How did it feel to have failed all those many times (reportedly in the vicinity of a thousand).

“Failed?” exclaimed Edison, “those weren’t failures!  They were all the ways I learned how not to do it!”

Ah, yes. It’s hard to have that kind of attitude though, when a relationship has ended or you’ve been told you didn’t get that job or you just blew the diet plan yet again.

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.”
– Thomas J. Watson

Here are some dictionary definitions of success:

• The achievement of something desired, planned or attempted
• The gaining of fame or prosperity
• One that is successful

So, how about it?  Would you consider yourself a success?  Or do you think it would be more accurate to say that you have been successful on some occasions and not others?

It’s an important question to ask yourself because, you see, success and happiness have a lot to do with each other.  Or at least, your beliefs about success and happiness do.

Which brings me to the question in the title of this post:

What comes first, success or happiness?

Well, if you believe that success is the achievement of things, then it is more than likely that your happiness will depend on how successful you consider yourself.

If you get what you desire, aim for, work for, in other words, if you succeed, then you will be happy.  This kind of belief demands certain outcomes and your happiness is contingent upon securing those outcomes.

But is there a different way of looking at things?  Could one be happy regardless of the outcome?  Put it this way, would you rather be happy regardless of the outcome?

I know I would.  In fact, my life experiences have shown me that there is no other way of being truly happy and staying happy.  I would go so far as to say that being peaceful and happy is the greatest ’success’ one could have or be!

So, I’ll finish with a rather nice quote to which I’ve made a slight adjustment to make it more gender inclusive:

“When a person feels throbbing within them the power to do what they undertake as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.”
Orison Swett Marden

Notice, this kind of ’success’ and happiness isn’t contingent upon an outcome.  Rather success and happiness are experienced in the enthusiastic and fully committed (passionate) ‘doing’ of something!

Love always, Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!

Want to be a Happy and Successful  Parent? Learn ‘INSPIRED PARENTING’ from 5 teachers from The Secret. (Might be the perfect gift for Christmas :))

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You’ve decided that this is what you really want.

You’ve given it a lot of thought.  You’ve checked your feelings.  Yep, they’re completely congruent with your goal, your idea, your intention.

The weight on your shoulders has dropped.  There’s lightness in your footsteps.  It’s nigh near impossible to wipe that smile off your face.  Goodness knows enough people have tried.

You’ve shared your desire with those you trust most.  They’re happy for you, really happy.  You’ve never felt more certain, more determined, more ‘in sync’.

You’re doing all the things that you believe will attract what you want.  Yes, you’ve become the magnet.  You’re poised for success.  You can smell it in the air.  You’ve gone past waiting.  You’re expecting.

And sure enough, success does crown you, perhaps not mind-blowing success, but enough to persuade you you’re on the right track.

It was what you’d wanted, dreamed about, planned, executed, attracted, created.  It was wonderful while it lasted, thrilling even.  You’ll never regret it…

So why are you feeling as if there’s unfinished business left, as if you’re going to do it all over again…?

That’s when this big ‘little’ question that has been lurking in the background of your consciousness finally plucks up enough courage to show its face…


“What more do you want ?”

It’s the Law of Creation – always inviting you to more!

Love always,

Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!

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The genie swirled amorphously out of the bottle and wafted his way onto the chase, arranging himself elegantly amidst his brocades and flowing pantaloons.

His expression was intense.  His words, spoken in a deliciously sonorous voice, were, well, impossible to ignore.

“You asked for time and I’ve given you time.  You didn’t say how much, so I took the liberty of giving you infinite.  But now you must decide what your next wish is, for although your time is infinite, mine isn’t.  In ten breaths, I shall have to re-enter the bottle and there’s no way of knowing when I shall be allowed out again”.

“So”, he began to speak more slowly and deliberately, “what is your wish?”

I knew it was inevitable, having to make a decision, having to choose.  I’d been thinking about it for years.  I’d thought of fame, beauty, the perfect partner, a palatial home overlooking the shores of the Seine with my AI-designed, energy neutral convertible in the driveway.

I’d imagined traveling the world leisurely with a bottomless pocket of money.  I saw myself giving hefty financial gifts to my loved ones and to children in need and their carers.

I fancied hanging out with the spiritually enlightened, the artistically awakened and the musically inspired.  It was all so very intoxicating.

I also wanted peak health and perfect recovery from illness for various members of my family…

Perhaps I could ask for all of these.  Now that seemed like a smart thing to do.  But wait, what if I forgot something?

Oh gawd, this was just too hard!  He’s only got ten breaths of time and I can’t decide….

Of the countless things I could ask for, what did my heart really want?  And, why, in heaven’s name did I find myself resisting listening to my heart???

“Look, I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but seeing as I’ve only got five breaths left, may I suggest that you…eh..em…well…listen to your heart?

And no, I can’t read your mind but I know what an agony it was for me when I was asked the same question and just because I was too scared to listen to my heart.  Oh, and by the way,  two breaths left”.

I was shaking.  I’d never been so excited and so terrified at the same time.  I took a deep breath knowing it would help settle me.  A sudden calm swept through me, a calm so deep and so tender, I was sure I had dissolved in it.

I opened my mouth even as the genie drew his tenth breath and spoke my wish as if it were the only thing that had been on my mind.

“I wish for….”

“Your wish is my command” replied the deliciously sonorous voice as the genie vaporized off the chase and spiraled back into the bottle.

Ah, I know you’re wondering…

How did he do that???  :)

Okay, nuff teasing.

What did I wish for?

Happiness.  Yep.  I figured that if I had that, it wouldn’t matter whether I had any of the other stuff.  I’d be happy, regardless.  No brainer?  You bet :)

Love always

Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!

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Ok, here’s the story.  I was writing the post below when I received these pictures.  How could I resist sharing them with you?  I couldn’t.  But more importantly, I didn’t want to.

Which therefore leaves me with this somewhat odd post of things seemingly unrelated.  But are they?  Mmmm…I’ll leave you decide… :)

Discipline.  Or self-discipline.

You’ve heard of it.  You may have recoiled in disgust.  Or you may have applauded its merits.  And most, if not all, of us equate it with ‘hard work’.

Let’s take a look, shall we?  A really good look.

Let’s begin by why some of us at least regard it a good thing and consider it necessary.  In other words, let’s examine what we believe its merits are.

Most of us think that with self-discipline, we’re more likely to do what we should do, avoid what we shouldn’t and therefore remain stable, secure and safe.

Fine.  So, what exactly are the threats to our stability, security and safety?  Or, if you prefer, to our wellbeing?

Is it greed or gluttony?  Is it promiscuity, whether sexual, intellectual or sensual?

Here’s what I think:  The only threat to our wellbeing, to our stability, security and safety is….

Ignorance.

Ignorance, you say?

Yes, ignorance.

Of what?

Of who and what we truly and naturally are.


In my experience, when I am in touch with my naturally free, uninhibited, creative, joyous, abundant, powerful SELF, flowing seamlessly in it, as it, I am unencumbered.

The so-called ‘merits’ or effects of  ’self-discipline’ are naturally what I am – stable, secure and safe – not by any conventional standards but by the unconventional, unrivalled, unparalleled, unconditional, immeasurable nature of love.

You’ll simply have to try it for yourself.

Blessings,

Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Prosperity and Freedom!

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Dear Friends

I cannot tell you how absolutely crucial it is to support your intentions with your feelings.  You cannot intend something while feeling the fear or doubt of it not happening.

Your intentions or desires will only be created/attracted when they are supported by the feelings that correspond with them.  It doesn’t happen any other way.  What is created most closely matches what is felt.

As Abraham so clearly and repeatedly explains, you cannot create what you want by pushing against or feeling the unpleasant feelings of what you don’t want.

What do you most desire now?  Is your attention fully on it?  Or is it on what you don’t want?  Are you feeling the joy, the power, the freedom, the ease of what you want?  Or are you feeling the stress, the certainty, the discomfort, the fear of what you don’t want?

Match your intentions with your good feelings and see them manifest.  It’s certain!

Blessings,

Lucy

Awakening to Happiness, Abundance and Freedom!

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