I am sure you have had something negative happen to you in your life.

So why do bad things happen?  What create them?

There are two schools of thought out there when it comes to the world.

#1 You have no control over everything that happens outside of you and you are helpless to world events.

#2  You create everything that happens outside of you.  Your perception of reality makes it real.  You attract or create everything that happens to you in your life.

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As you can see, these are VERY different belief sets, but as unlikely as it may seem, both of these belief sets lead us to the same conclusion.

Let’s take a look at belief #1.  This is the belief that comes from feeling separate from the world around you.  Here you have believe that when something bad happens to you, there is nothing you can do but respond to the bad thing.   There are no lessons to be learned in creating the bad thing, because you had nothing to do with it occurring in the first place.   A Secularist may believe that the world is random and that it is random chance, and a religious person may blame the devil, or feel that he/she is being punished from God, but either way, the thing they all agree on is that they do not create the world outside of them.

So, with that belief set, the obvious conclusion I come to is this:

IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU SHOULD KEEP A POSITIVE MINDSET.  YOU SHOULD TRY TO NOT LET BAD THINGS BOTHER YOU BECAUSE YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT TO BEGIN WITH.  WHEN YOU FEEL BAD, YOU LET THE WORLD CHANGE YOU, AND GETTING ANGRY AND/OR DEPRESSED IS SIMPLY BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH AND LOWERS YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS.

Now let’s take a look at belief #2.  People with this belief take responsibility for everything that happens in their life, good or bad.  They believe that they create the world outside of them, and that every interaction is a product of their own creation.  A secularist may believe the world to be a projection created by the mind and that reality is a malleable illusion.  A religious person may believe that they are co-creators with God, and that they are connected with everything because everything is a creation of God and therefore they are in the same flow of being of God, with everything in existence.

So, with that belief set, the obvious conclusion I come to is this:

IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU SHOULD KEEP A POSITIVE MINDSET.  YOU SHOULD TRY TO NOT LET BAD THINGS BOTHER YOU BECAUSE YOU WILL CREATE MORE BAD THINGS BY REACTING AND FEELING NEGATIVE.  WHEN YOU FEEL BAD, YOU CREATE MORE NEGATIVE THINGS IN YOUR OWN LIFE.  GETTING ANGRY AND/OR DEPRESSED IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH, LOWERS YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS AND ATTRACTS/CREATES MORE BAD THINGS IN YOUR LIFE.

So you see, either way, being positive in a negative situation is solution.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

This has made me aware of how many non-happy or non-positive thoughts I allow in my own daily routines.

Here is one popular pitfall that should be avoided:

Entertainment:

I quit watching the nightly news years ago because of all the negativity and how it made me feel.  But I never thought of this:

When watching TV or going out to a movie, if you want to remain true to the only positive thoughts for 7 day challenge, you need to steer clear of Dramas, Violence, Horror, Action and instead watch a good comedy.   Laughing is very positive, but feeling scared, or ready to fight, or anger…  those are all negative emotions, and they are hard to avoid when you are watching a TV show or Movie.

I went and saw an action movie with a friend of mine and realized this while watching it.  It became a very strange movie for me when I began doing deep breathing and focused on relaxing my body.  Instead of feeling tense or involved in the movie at all, I felt great…  similar to meditative state, and the movie played on in front of me as if it were background.

People were kicking, shooting, yelling and fighting, all the while I remained in this near meditative state.  It felt surreal.

When you really think about it, the human race thrives on negativity.  Most people crave it because they have become addicted to feeling bad.  How else would you explain all the scary, violent movies and tv programming?

Each and every one of us has the freedom to chose what we are going to program ourselves with.  Like it or not, when you sit in a movie theater immersed in a horror, action or a drama that makes you feel tense for the whole two hours, you are programming yourself to feel tense.  It conditions your subconscious mind.

It is surprising how hard it is trying to think only positive thoughts for just one week.  Imagine how powerful this would be if we could do it for a month….  6months…  or a whole year.

To be honest, these pictures do not do justice to the breath taking scenery.

I had a wonderful time in Sedona, and to be honest with you it was hard for me to leave.  I visited some very special and sacred spots (not pictured) and had a most enlightening meditation.

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I hope you enjoy the photos.

Feel free to make them your desktop, download them, but please leave my domain text on the images.  Thank you.

I can’t shake being drawn to Sedona.   Not just for another visit, but as an amazing place to live.

I’d love to hear from you if you have any input on Sedona.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Be sure you are signed up for my weekly newsletter (top right of this page) to get more details as we close in on July 22nd.

It’s a little over a week away, so I am going to be busy putting everything together!

Blessing to you,

John Derrick

In the early spring I plant the seeds, knowing full well that later in the year I will be able to eat wonderful foods that came from my efforts.

So today, I was working in my garden, and I realized that the law of attraction is a lot like gardening.

When you want to have food in the garden, it all begins with a seed.  You then nourish and water the seed and it grows and grows until one day you find yourself with the fruits of your labor.

The seeds are like the seed of thought, and all things in life begin with thought.  Without the correct mindset…  without nourishing positive thoughts, you can not expect positive outcome.

Now, most people live life under the false assumption that things are random.  They have no idea what will appear in their life (or in their garden) and they hope that something good happens to grow.

They live on what ever they find, all the while not realizing that they are in charge of what grows.

Other people would walk into the garden and demand food in the spring.  “Where is the food?” they would ask.   They want things immediately and are disappointed when the food is not there before the seeds are planted.

These people don’t have time for seeds.  They are too busy.  So they go from garden to garden always hoping to find fruits and wanting to live on the seeds and fruits of others.

Someone who understand the law of attraction is like a master gardener.   They realize that the soil must be fertile  (the mind) and that they must plant the seeds of what they desire (specific positive thoughts) and then they nourish the seeds until they grow into what the gardener desired when he planted them (Manifesting).

The law of attraction is much like a garden.  The results do not happen over night.  Everything in your life was planted long ago.  Events are not random…  you have more control of things than you ever imagined.

So if things are happening in your life that you do not want, the master gardener would say you must pull your weeds.

Pull your weeds…  stop attracting what you do not desire.

You see, if you have a garden full of weeds, it is still your garden.  You allowed them to grow by not pulling them.

If you have a life full of things you do not desire, make changes today.  Pull your weeds and plant the seeds of what you truly desire.  Then nourish your seeds and watch them grow into your desires.

When I wrote the Secret Course I was not thinking of gardening, but Book I: (Harness The Power of The Law of Attraction) of the Secret course prepares your soil for planting.  It removes your weeds  and gets the soil ready for your new seeds. This is the base for the new garden that is to come.

Book II (The Manifesting Cards Method) is the instruction manual of sowing seeds.  It tells you how many seeds to sow, gives you the right seeds and the instructions to make sure your seeds grow up healthy and strong and as quickly as possible.  This is the growing book.

With both of these books, it is my belief that anyone can have a strong healthy life without weeds.

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and it is 100% free!

Close your eyes and search your mind for something that makes you happy.

Not something forced or something that SHOULD make you happy, but rather something that brings you pure joy.

You will know when you find it because when you think about it or imagine it, you will FEEL happy inside.

Now that you have found it, concentrate on it all day long.  Think about this happy place or happy person or happy thought all day long.

You’ll improve your day greatly.

HINT:  I find this works best with something you are looking forward to, but have not accomplished yet.

For example:  If you were expecting a baby, or a grandchild, this would be a very happy thought indeed, that has not arrived yet.

Another example:  If you have a goal for buying something large, like a house, then focus on the happy feeling of owning your new house.

When you do this, you will find that life’s little problems roll off your back easily and you’ll find yourself with a new spring in your step.

I know it may be hard to believe, but no one can make you angry.  No one can make you cry.

Yes, people can behave in ways that you do not prefer, but ultimately it is always your choice on how you choose to react to their actions.

Have an argument with someone?

Okay, now that it is over you can choose to let it go and no longer think about it.  It is your choice.  If you choose to dwell on it, then you will only be damaging yourself.

It may be tempting to want to hold on to anger because:  “You know you were right”  or because “That is not fair”, but anger weakens you over time.  You may feel empowered by anger, but it wreaks havoc on your body and your health….

When it comes to arguments (especially with spouses) Kim Miller use to teach:  “I would rather be happy than right.”

The law of attraction tells us that we get more of what we feel like, so if you allow yourself to feel angry often, you will be attracting more things for you to feel angry about.

How often do you hear that?

Not often enough, I am sure.

Most of us are too hard on ourselves and we spend far too much time focusing on the one thing we did wrong that day and forget to praise all the wonderful things we are doing everyday.

You really are a great person who is getting better everyday in every way.  The mere fact that you are reading this is proof of that.  So try not to be so hard on yourself.

Remember, focus on what you want… not on what you don’t want.

So what if you make a mistake here and there.  That is to be expected.  No one…  (and I mean NO ONE) is perfect.

So give yourself the praise you need, and tell yourself how great you truly are!

Let me explain,

I have been broke in my past.  So broke in fact that I had to file for bankruptcy.  Sure, I was frustrated, but I never was poor.

You see, once I discovered the power of The Secret Course, I knew that I was rich long before the money showed up.

Being broke is a temporary state in which you have a temporary lack of money.

Being poor is a way of life.

Poor people believe they have bad luck…

they believe that life is hard….

they are often jealous, envious or even bitter towards people who have money…

and they expect to always be poor.

Your thoughts, your attitude, your expectation and even how and what you say to others are all creating your personal future.

Be sure you never fall into the “poor me” trap, and instead KNOW that you are rich.

So how do you feel rich when you don’t have any money?

There are a LOT of tips on this very site.  One of the best articles to make you feel rich, even if you are broke, is:    Odds Are, You Are Richer Than You Think!

More tips to feeling (and thereby becoming rich) can be found at:  Stop Wanting Start Having

They exact method that I used to go from lack and wanting to always having more than I need is The Secret Course.

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So many of us walk through our life in a zombie like stupor, living in a state of being that I like to call “autopilot”.

When you are living a life on Autopilot you get into a routine (or is it a RUT?) and you just go through the motions day in and day out.

While this may be surviving, it is NOT Living!

WAKE UP…..

I challenge you to wake up and realize the potential in your life.  Become aware of who you really are.

You are the creator of your reality!

It is okay to dream of a better life!

You can never have anything more than you have right now unless you reach beyond where you are right now!

So reach up and grab what you want!

Become who you want to be…..

The only thing holding you back….   IS YOU.

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It was a HUGE success…   Thank You to everyone involved.

The sale may be closed, but Things are STILL absolutely CRAZY around here.

The looks the neighbors have been giving me when I load my kids into a car that is filled nearly to the roof with packages…..   

The links to birthday cards and youtube videos were wonderful.  As were the digital flowers that were sent, (thanks Liz)

Today, Sunday, is my birthday.

Looking at the many guesses, Mahir was a very close second with a guess of 37…  because you see I was 37 at the time I wrote this.

But the question was how old will I be, which means that Caroline is our winner with the guess of 38.

Congratulations Caroline.  I will be sending you an email requesting your address so that I can mail you your prize.

Thank you all again for your Birthday wishes,

- John Derrick

Yes, it is time for another birthday.

So Guess How Many Years Young I will Become On Sunday the 17th

Simply hit the link to leave a comment on this post, and take a guess at my age, and if you are the first one to get it right, you will win a prize.

HINT: I am between 18 – 100 years old.

The Prize is an unopened  bottle of Acuity Brain Formula from The Brain Evolution System, which I reviewed here.

This Bottle Was Given To Me From Brain Evolution.

It is supposed to help you think clearer and improve your memory.

So please take a moment, and simply type in your guess in my comments area.  The winner will be announced in next weeks newsletter.

I will contact the winner and ask for your shipping address then, so I can mail you your prize.  Yes, shipping is on me.

One guess per person please.

PS-  Keep your eyes peeled on your mail box if you are a member of my weekly newsletter, because I am going to have a BIG surprise for you coming VERY soon (hopefully next week).

Amazon is having a huge DVD Sales event that will run from today until Jan. 24th, while supplies last.

SEE FOR YOURSELF
- Click Here -

I saw deals up to 75% Off

YES, you can buy your favorite movies, but instead why not consider getting yourself a fitness DVD.  They have over 200 fitness DVD’s included in this sale, everything from Yoga to dance workouts.

Winter can be a very sedentary time, so I thought this sale would be a great excuse to help make those new years resolutions come true. 

PS – I found some great fitness stuff as low as $6 in this sale.

PPS – Yes, I did buy a movie or two also.