I wanted to share a couple of special quotes that I’ve chosen to kind of set the tone for the upcoming year with you.

“As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” -James Lane Allen

I feel that this personifies that what we do with the year to come is based, as every day is based…on choice. We live our choices, whether we like to admit it or not. I’ve decided to replace resolutions with the recognition of my choices this year–recognizing that each thought, leading to a choice either takes me closer to my goals, or farther away. This past year I’ve learned that sometimes the choice to be still and use patience actually proves to be the action that is absolutely necessary to move closer to the goal. Remember that inner work coupled with action is where successful results are found.

“Our destiny changes with our thoughts; we shall become what we wish to become, do what we wish to do, when our habitual thoughts correspond with our desires. – Orison Swett Marden

A final quote regarding the choice to recognize the thoughts that we allow to control our actions.

“You cannot escape the results of your thoughts…Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your controllin desire, as great as your dominant aspiration.” – James Lane Allen

A final suggestion that I have is to do a little digging and find some quotes that not only motivate and inspire you, but that help you recognize when your thoughts need a little ‘personal training’ to work for you and not against you. Exercise is not only for our muscles, but for our mind as well.

I am truly grateful for each of you. Choose to make this a wonderfully blessed 2011!!!

I’d like to offer you a special gift! I’m offering a special discount for THIS WEEKEND ONLY!!! But first, I’d like to share something special with you, if I may.

One of our vendors, Praols’, start came through the challenge of dealing with tragedy. Palmyra, one of the owners, an attorney at the time, had lost her mother suddenly and was struggling with grief, when her best friend and co-owner of the company suggested that they go take a beading class, just to ‘help clear her mind’. They purchased $200 worth of beads and supplies and went to the class. She really enjoyed it and the therapy that it provided her but wondered what in the world she was thinking, buying so many beads! A friend of theirs was holding a jewelry party and invited her to come and make and bring some bracelets to sell to help them get rid of all of the excess beads. They were a hit immediately! They couldn’t believe how fast everything sold! So they decided to reinvest the money made at that show in more beads and took their designs to a street fair. They sold out in just a couple of hours!

At this point Palmyra was really feeling the pull to this calling. She had been feeling out of place at her job and decided to take the plunge with her best friend and begin taking this business seriously. Soon after, they were approached to fill large wholesale orders and knew that they needed to really think about how to approach this sector of their business. They felt that they wanted to make a difference in other women’s lives but weren’t sure who needed their help the most. Palmyra and Rosario (the owners) decided to take a drive and talk about it. They stopped at a traffic light and looked over, noticing that there was a crowd of women standing outside a school for handicapped children of single mothers, and they both were overcome and immediately knew who they were meant to help. I was so touched I just had to share their story with you.

In their words:

We create unique hand-crafted inspirational jewelry, because we believe that everything in life carries a message therefore our bracelets and necklaces are not just “jewelry” but rather a fun way to pass the message on.Your purchases affect so many—let the gifts you buy this year not only uplift you & those you give them to with their positive messages and meanings, but also know that you will help make a difference in all of these women’s lives as well.

Our inspirational jewelry is handcrafted by stay at home moms and low income single mothers that find themselves in dire situations, our flexibility not only enables but also empowers them to earn an income without the burden of day care expenses.

Unlike most of the jewelry currently out there, ours is proudly handcrafted in the USA.

Oh, one more thing….. Thank You For Your Support !! and remember to “Share the Story”!!

 Go to www.peptext.com and then be sure to enter the coupon code ‘10for30’ when you check out at our store (http://store.peptext.com ). An additional 10% will be deducted from our already discounted price that’s listed there when you purchase $30 or more. REMEMBER: This coupon is only good through Sunday, November 14th so you’ll have to act fast !!!

Come & join me in spreading positive energy! Surrounding your senses, and those around you, with as many positive products as possible can only improve your thoughts, which in turn improve your life. Feel free to pass this email on to those you think it will touch. Thank you so much for your time and please know that you are always welcome at www.peptext.com .

P.S. If you know of anyone that you’re not buying for that would benefit from our gift, make sure to forward this blog post to them. Thanks!

Isn’t it amazing what we have the power to do, and how amazing it is that Providence moves if we just take three steps: Ask, truly Believe (meaning letting go completely!), preparing to Receive, and then having your gift/answer show up? Simple, right? But definitely not always easy!!! I have been through many, many heavy duty learning experiences and it still rocks my world when I actually follow these steps correctly, that everything just aligns and flows the way it’s supposed to be.

This is a very powerful tool that is not unknown, it just seems to trip us up and confuse some of us just because of a little phrase–”let it go”.  Why does it take us so long to realize that we cannot be the controller of the Universe? Simply stated, you cannot swim across to the other side without letting go of this side of the pool first. I guess that’s what makes the journey fun–the discovery, right? Taking the plunge into the water is so refreshing and it feels good not to have control of it. Embrace your inner child and let someone else (the Universe) worry about how things are going to turn out right…just know–really know that everything is going to turn out right.

Throughout the last six weeks or so I’ve been struggling with a bit of a control issue–the one that you don’t realize you have until it smacks you in the face–you know…that one. During this time I’ve been focused on pursuing my purpose, my blessing, that thing that I was sent here to accomplish. In the mean time, I’m busy, busy pursuing my passion, which is helping others discover clarity in certain areas of their relationships and lives. All the while I did not realize that I’ve been ignoring certain key factors of some of the laws of the universe. At these times it’s best to slow down, breathe, and see where you’re losing a little bit of grip on what’s important vs. holding onto everything and not letting go.  Once I realized that I was gripping on so tightly to several things that were really not in my control to begin with, I let go and it was like the tension released & I was able to breathe deep and enjoy the view!

After I realized that when things went well I was Asking, (which did not include a continual begging type of asking–when begging or a barrage of continually asking without leaving a space for an answer to occur, there is no belief), Believing, (making sure that I had the positive feeling, or belief, that my request was clearly heard) and then after letting it all go, I decided to look at the 3rd step which is Receiving, but in between these steps it’s really a time to prepare yourself for the receiving step–which takes what I like to call “flying your faith flag” or faith-in-action, on your part.

In my experience, the law of attraction will not work correctly if you haven’t prepared a home or place for the gift that you’re asking for. Each of these steps require certain amount of attention and if a part of it is not put in place it can feel like this law doesn’t work. But to me the laws of the Universe have become a bit like a puzzle. Each piece has it’s place and you know it fits, you just need to find the combination that brings the picture into view.

Here’s to becoming a puzzle master! :-)

I am really excited about the growth that is happening to Pep Text right now. It seems as if we’ve turned a corner and a lot of little goals are adding up to be a BIG step forward. It’s kind of like combining the ‘knowledge’, ‘taking action’, and then ‘letting go’ steps of achievement, all at the same time. It’s been a monumental learning experience. I found that once I finally faced my fears and grabbed hold of the faith in my life’s purpose, things began to flow. Not totally smoothly, by any stretch of the imagination, but more like a water ride at an amusement park. Just going with the flow, and at the same time never knowing when you will take a surprise descent down a fantastic hill and get soaked. Only then do you realize that the whole breathless ride was totally worth it at the end! And everyone knows that the best way to experience any ride at an amusement park is by letting go, and having both hands straight up in the air—letting go fully and just focusing on completely enjoying the experience. Recognize that if you put yourself on the path of your dreams, be ready to accept the experience, then take any action necessary to actually experience it…then let go, enjoy the ride & have some fun!!! Even if it’s imperfect action, you’ll see that even if the path changes, it all adds up to taking a giant step toward your goals!

Come back and see me! I’ll be here…provoking positive thought…always.

Rachel

Believe me—I have a teenager that is wonderfully passionate and incredibly opinionated, but there are days that the opinion that he has set in stone and mine don’t see eye to eye. This requires me to dig deep and try looking through new glasses, always remembering that it’s my choice—to make this a good and potentially meaningful conversation for both of us, (which will, I hope, be a life lesson for him at the same time), or a complete knock-down-drag-out battle, in which nobody ever wins. No doubt, I’m a very passionate, and opinionated person myself, and like everyone else I am also a work in process, but anytime I can alleviate stress from my life, I’m going to take that path whenever possible and see what happens!

For me, writing my thoughts down, whenever and wherever they occur helps me keep track of them, and place them in a holding place until I can hone them into something of value. I didn’t use the word organize earlier on purpose—because I don’t think we necessarily need to focus on organizing our thoughts, per se. Generally it takes a little while for the polishing to take place. Just like a rock tumbler, it takes time, consistency, focus, and commitment to turn plain, dirty, sharp and broken rocks, or thoughts in this case, into beautifully smooth, shiny, polished pieces of art. There are times that I don’t go back to my original thought and complete it until after a year or more. This piece is a prime example. The title of this article came to me about a year ago. I scribbled the title down in a notebook, one of many notebooks that I have around me at all times. I have several notebooks that I keep my thoughts in, but the collections of thoughts are in no particular order. When I came across it this morning, everything clicked into place and I immediately knew that it was time to write about this beautifully polished thought. It’s always fun to find hidden treasures!

Just like going through all of our “stuff”, we all have thoughts that we keep, just like storing things in the basement, attic, garage – even your inbox (which I am guilty of). Some are valuable and others are just in the way. These thoughts also need to be either put to use or “recycled”. When thoughts seem to be bouncing around inside your head, sometimes in a never ending collage of meaningless chatter, and begin to clog the flow of the creative process, this is your sign that it’s time to have a “mental garage sale” or send to a “donation station”. Begin clearing the clutter to stay on track – personally, professionally, and spiritually. Find that place that inspires you – the beach, a park, your back yard…wherever you can go to just let your thoughts slow down and for relaxation to set in. I know. It’s hard to allow yourself to relax, especially when you’re trying to work to make ends meet, keep the household running smoothly, teach the kids right from wrong, all of those items that form a group of immediate necessities that require so much of your time that nothing seems to be left for you.

I know that I am a better wife, mom, friend, and colleague when I’m clear and focused on my vision. This only happens when I have some alone time and clear my mind of clutter. Whatever helps you take a clarifying breath and puts you back on your path is not a waste of time. It makes your time with others so much more meaningful when you are enjoying it. You have to release the old to receive the new, in all areas of your life. Just remember: “The receiving slows until the clutter goes!”