Today I discovered a new aspect of Mantra. I have studied Mantras in the past and understood the theory that certain sounds and words have a high vibration, and invoke an effect. I was given an every-day Mantra by Amma, and also a purpose-specific Mantra by another teacher of mine. I chanted the purpose-specific Mantra with great intention and saw the effect very quickly. Purpose achieved! The general Mantra was a little trickier. I approached it like brushing my teeth. I was told that I should chant it daily 108 times, so I would squeeze it into my schedule and then check it off my to-do list. I didn't see an effect, not surprisingly considering my lack of concentrated intention. After only a week or two, I dropped the Mantra. I already had a meditation practice and a Yoga practice, but I haven't incorporated my Mantra into either of them, and therefor a habit was never formed. 
Those of you who know me personally or professionally, know that I am a HUGE fan of Abraham-Hicks. I have been following their teachings for about a year or so, and they have inspired me more than any other teachings I have encountered. The group of teachers known as "Abraham" talks about the law of attraction in its pure, original form. The law of attraction states that whatever you focus on grows, whether wanted or unwanted. This means that our worries and fears manifest the exact circumstances we were afraid would take place, and it also means that when we focus on what is good in our lives we get more of the "goodness". This law is fantastic providing we are able to control the nature of our thoughts, but most people are quite incapable of doing so. There are different practices that help direct our thoughts towards a certain direction, and today I discovered how Mantra is a great tool for mastering the law of attraction. 
When worries start to come up and negative thoughts begin to pester, you can purposely direct your attention to something that is working out well in your life, or anything that makes you happy; your pet, a vacation you are planning, a funny movie you just watched, etc. But I found that when something worrisome is coming up again and again it is hard to keep combating it with more and more positive thoughts. It can be exhausting to scan your mind for nice-feeling thoughts, and it is easy for the mind to wonder to unpleasant places while you scan it. This is where Mantra comes to play. If you have a high-vibration Mantra that you associate with a positive and meaningful message to yourself, you have an Ace up your sleeve. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and a worry pops into your mind? Repeat your Mantra to yourself over and over until you fall back asleep. Are you ever driving and find yourself thinking a series of angry, complaining, self-pitying, envious, or guilt-fillled thoughts? Whip out your Mantra. You can even prepare a visual image, such as a huge red rose, and visualize it while repeating the Mantra. The brain can't do two things at once (though it may seem like it can when you quickly jump from one thing to another), so as long as you give your brain something positive to focus on, the negativity will go away.
Wayne Dyer said "Once you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". In my experience, it is astonishing how you attract positive people and experiences into you life, once you adopt a positive mind set. It is not about being in denial or accepting unpleasant situations, it is ACTUALLY allowing all the abundance and well-being that you have energetically summoned to show up in your experience while not providing an avenue for negative occurrences to reach you. Try it! Decide that for one day you will bring up your Mantra whenever you have a negative thought. if you don't have a Mantra you can use "So Hum", I am that (meaning I am all creation). Add to that a visualization of something you deem beautiful and relaxing, such as a flower or a rainbow. Watch how you feel better throughout the day, and then try this practice for a week to see how life changes for you. I will try it with you and we can compare notes at a later time. 

Blessings and good vibes from me to you,
Sharon

Abraham-Hicks says it is as easy to manifest a castle, as it is a button. It might not appear that way since the secret to manifesting is having no resistance, and we usually tend to have a lot of resistance when it comes to what we see as our “big dreams”. Very often our thoughts and resulting feelings regarding what we want are accompanied by contradicting thoughts and feelings. Henry Ford had said that "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't- you are right". He was someone who understood the Law of Attraction. This resistance to fulfilling our desires is equated by Abraham-Hicks to hooking up engines on opposite sides of a train, therefore canceling out any forward movement. A thought such as “I want a lot of money so that I can buy a big house, travel extensively, and not worry about being able to pay my bills” is usually followed by “I don’t deserve abundance, life is a struggle, I can only achieve a goal over time with hard work and sacrifice” etc.  We weren't taught to believe that our dreams can easily manifest and that the world is abundant. We have the misconception that there is a shortage in resources and that our “piece of the pie” will come at the expense of the finite pie remaining for our fellow humans. There is so much more to the subject of manifestation than I could possibly write about in one blog post. I will come back to this topic in the future and I also suggest attending one of my Manifestation workshops and listening to YouTube videos by Abraham-Hicks on the topic.

Now coming back to Vision boards, though they are simple to create, the creation of effective ones requires thought and strategy. Here’s a little step-by-step guide to creating your Vision Board:

1) Make a list of what you want to manifest in the coming year and that you haven’t manifested as of yet. Leave for subsequent years whatever is not part of your immediate plans. For example, if you have the goal of going on a coast-to-coast two-month-long road- trip this year, I would leave the European two-month-long road- trip for next year.

2) Have faith that all is possible and that you are worthy of great joy and abundance, while you list the major desires you wish to manifest this year. You don’t have to settle on a small house, simple car, local trip, etc. Allow yourself to include in your list your dream house, your dream car, your dream travel destination, etc.

3) Once you listed your major desires, add your “smaller” wishes, such as a spa visit, going to a show, and purchasing something small which you had your eyes on. Throughout the year you will gain more confidence in your abilities to manifest as you witness the manifestation of smaller desires, and then bigger ones.

4) Add to your list things you have manifested and want more of, such as a spending time with family and going out with friends. Don’t forget to appreciate and include things you might take for granted, such as your health (you will match this with an image of healthy foods and/or exercise), nature (an image of animals/hiking trails/ your own backyard, and rest and relaxation (an image of your bath-tub surrounded by candles and petals/ your pool/ the sea). Another key to manifesting your desires is a sense of gratitude. The feeling of gratitude attracts into your experience more manifestations to be grateful for. Gratitude has a very different vibration than a feeling of longing for what we don’t have, or frustration over needs unfulfilled, or all other unsatisfying emotions. The Law of Attraction according to Abraham-Hicks states that whatever you focus on expands, the good along with the bad. So focus on the good in order to create more of it, and feel gratitude and joy over your desires that are yet to manifest, in order to attract those manifestations into your experience.

5) Once you have listed everything you want to put on your board, find the images that most closely resemble your desired outcomes. It is of course possible to use images from magazines, drawings, etc., but my personal preferred sources for images are images found on-line combined with prints of my own photographs. The amplitude of on-line images allows you to be extremely specific in your choice of images, and using your own images allows you to manifest more of what already exists in your own life. If using on-line images that have people representing you and your loved ones, try to find people who resemble you and them. For example, if you are a dark-haired woman and you want an image of yourself on a beautiful beach, pick one of a dark-haired woman from afar, from the back, etc. Be as specific as you can be, and witness how over the years you attract into your experience the exact manifestation you were focusing on. If you want something more abstract, such as a loving relationship, it is fine to use a less detailed image, such as an image of a couple in the distance holding hands and watching a sunset. Re-evaluate and add forgotten items during the days preceding the date you set as a goal, though you can always make a change during the year if something major shifts in your life.

6) Glue your images to a large board, writing the year on the top of the board, and leaving some space under it for adding images as the year goes by. Once you have created your Vision Board, hang it in a prominent yet private location, such as your bedroom. Make sure to look at its images frequently, feeling gratitude for the manifested desires, and joyful anticipation for the about-to-be-manifested desires. If you feel incredulous when looking at a specific image, or fear attached to the manifestation, explore those sentiments and if necessary remove those images from your board for the time being. When you look at the image, truly visualize yourself as having the experience or owning the desired belonging. Visualize the process of obtaining that goal as well as the outcome, simply daydream a scenario where you are able to purchase the car, get the raise, go on the trip, etc. With details! Many times such scenarios have happened to me in the exact way I imagined them happening. Other times the process was a surprise, but the desired outcome was expected. When the year is over, don't just "update" the board into a new one, but store it away and create a brand-new one. You can re-visit your old boards as time goes by and feel delighted as to all that you have manifested!

I have witnessed the effectiveness of Vision Boards first- hand, as I look back at my older boards and see the exact photo of my dream car which is now parked in my garage, a cartoon of a little smiley baby, similar but not as cute as the smiley baby now napping besides me, images of many local destinations which I have visited since choosing them for my boards, and many more similar examples. So go ahead and get ready for Manifestation Galore! And if you are determined to manifest your best life, and soon, contact me regarding my Signature "Your Dream Life Through Hypnosis" Program!

Blessings and good vibes from me to you,
Sharon