• Tending to our dreams has the ability to save us time in our growth and conscious development. There is a wisdom in dreams that assists us, when we allow it, in identifying areas of ourselves that are calling for attention.  We are able to gain access to the core of an issue at a heightened rate of speed as the images themselves hold the homeopathic medicine necessary for healing regardless of whether that healing is physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.

• The ego longs to understand, analyze, and logically explain a dream image, whereas the psyche and soul are curious and receptive by nature, and therefore long to relate to and with the living images.  As we meet the dream images on their own behalf, something shifts. We begin to develop relationship with the images, developing a respect for their presentation.

• As we hold the vision and intention of who we are becoming, dreams assist in keeping us on path, nudging us back on course each and every day so that mindfully, we move towards that intention.

• It is our responsibility to set up communication with our unconscious, to develop an intentional relationship with it so that we may work in conjunction with each other.  A wonderful way to do this is through dreamwork.  The reason this is so important is because if we do not “meet” the unconscious, if we do not develop a relationship with that part of ourselves that is so often at work in ways we are not even aware of, it can begin to appear in ways that are distorted. Nightmares are an excellent example of this vibrational discord. One of the quickest ways to see where we are out of alignment to that which we are wanting to create is to tend to our dreams, for they will almost immediately show us the areas in which attention is required to align with our highest self.

Incorporating dreamwork into our life allows us the ability to create an even richer, deeper life experience. Any time that we make a conscious choice to connect with a higher knowing, we are supported by the dreamtime as it offers guidance and information throughout our journey.  All we have to do is begin by paying attention, and listening.

If you would like to begin or improve working with your dreams, please click on the link below and access my gift to you, a FREE eBook titled, The 10 Best Kept Secrets for Remembering Your Dreams

Disappointment is one of these opportunities.  It’s so common to hear people say that life is full of disappointments and you just have to learn to deal with them.

Is it possible, however, that held within every disappointment is a blessing in disguise masked by the cloak of expectation?  It is after all just a belief about what we think should have happened but didn’t.  Maybe you didn’t get the job you were hoping for, perhaps a romantic interest you had turned out to be unavailable or uninterested.  Or maybe it’s something as simple as not getting to a theater in time to see that movie you were so interested in.  Regardless of what the disappointment is, if you were to look at life believing that there is no such thing as an accident, and trusted that a better scenario was working its way towards us in order to bring us closer to what we truly want, then there couldn’t be disappointments.

When we change our mind about that which has disappointed us and view it through the lens of opportunity, everything changes.  We are no longer victim to circumstance, but believers in the beauty of life.

Neale Donald Walsch says it wonderfully, “Disappointment is temporary.  Change your mind about what has disappointed you and you will change your life.  All disappointment is just advantage looked at from the other side.”

We have all been given the gift of choice, and that means choosing what and how to think. Next time you are faced with a situation that feels disappointing, just give this a try and see what might be directly on the other side because chances are, it’s so much better than you could have imaged. Just watch this month’s Motivational Video below to see a perfect example of turning disappointment into joy.

Turning disappointment into joy: From Service Dog to SURFice Dog

When you think about yourself, what do you think?

When you speak to yourself, what do you say?

When you want to take action on something, do you do it? Or do you talk yourself out of it?

When setting your New Year’s resolutions and goals or making any decisions to embark on a journey of self improvement, we always begin with great intentions.  Perhaps you want to get in shape, lose weight, eat better, start meditating, learn to dance, or any multitude of things that you know will make you feel better about yourself and improve your life.

These are terrific goals, however what can often happen is that the way in which you see yourself does not match the outcome you want to achieve.  For example, if you want to start meditating but you see yourself as someone who cannot sit still for even one minute and you believe it’s going to be really difficult to just sit quiet, then the prevailing thought you have about yourself is that you won’t be able to do it.  If, however, you decide to see yourself as someone who can learn new things and can envision all of the benefits you will achieve by meditating, then the way you see yourself immediately supports what you desire.

Or, let’s say you want to meet the love of your life.  You know what you want and have put yourself in all the right places and circumstances to find the right mate, but what you think about yourself is that you’re not really that good a catch, or you aren’t funny enough or soon they’ll see all of your imperfections. What you think about yourself will keep you from having a healthy, loving and successful relationship.

Have you ever known someone who is really an amazing person, talented, beautiful, intelligent, but they don’t see it?  No matter what you tell them, they don’t believe it about themselves so they go about their life believing they are not those things while everyone around them is baffled by the obvious.   How you see yourself is more important than how others see you and it will determine your outcomes long before you even get to them.

When we go through life thinking that when “this” or “that” happens, then we will be happy, then we will be successful, and then we will enjoy life, what is really happening is we do not see ourselves as capable of having or being all of that now.  Life is not about pushing the “pause” button and waiting to feel good later. Life is about living in the moment with as much joy and appreciation as possible which means that you learn to love yourself and appreciate who you are first.

“You cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself.” ~ Zig Ziglar

“If you see yourself as prosperous, you will be.  If you see yourself as continually hard up, that is exactly what you will be.” ~ Robert Collier

Your thoughts are things, and they are constantly creating your reality.  Whatever you think about expands in your life, which is why it does not matter what others think about you, it’s what you think about yourself.  Attaining any of the goals you have set for yourself this year will come about by the thoughts you think about you.  There will always be things that we want to improve on within ourselves, but let me encourage you to mindfully celebrate your best qualities and make the way in which you see yourself a priority this year because it is the actual foundation from which all your choices, decisions and actions are based and makes all the difference in attaining any goals you have set for yourself.

Do you ever wonder why you keep ending up in situations that keep you from reaching your goals no matter how big or small?

The truth is, sometimes we all engage in self defeating behaviors such as procrastination, fear, envy, obsession, anger, self pity, compulsiveness, neediness, guilt, rebellion or inaction. But for others, these are a way of life and when left unaddressed, these behaviors can keep us from ever living the fulfilling and meaningful life we desire.

Do any of the following sound familiar?

• Saying Yes when you want to say No
• Waiting until it’s too late
• Letting other people control your life
• Chasing after love and approval from parents or loved ones
• Getting involved with the wrong people
• Playing it safe
• Always having to be right
• Focusing on what your partner/children/co-worker is doing wrong
• Not learning from your mistakes
• Trying to change others
• Letting fear run your life
• Holding it all in

And the list goes on.

If so, then you are engaged in self defeating behavior. So what do you do about it?

The first thing to do is to acknowledge what it is that you are doing.  Understand that by continuing to live like this, for even one more day, you will keep yourself from ever living fully. Therefore, the time to take responsibility and take charge is now, right now.  Only you can make the deliberate choice that is required so that you can change self defeating behaviors into self empowering ones.

Ask yourself what the payoff is for engaging in these behaviors and how they are allowing you to play “small” in your life.  Not only do you hurt yourself, but you hurt others by not being the amazing person you were born to be and sharing your gifts.

The biggest obstacle to change is often self confidence and the belief that you can actually learn new and effective ways of dealing with old patterns.  But like everything else, the journey begins with the first step and if you can imagine living a life that brings you great joy, abundance, love and fulfillment, then you are already part of the way there.

There is no better way to earn personal self respect than by overcoming self defeating behaviors.  Find small ways of shifting your thinking to empowering actions. For example, the next time you try to change something about someone else, stop and ask yourself how you can change something about yourself to be a better person.  The next time you find yourself procrastinating, take an action towards completing a project. Set your timer for 15 minutes and go at it with all your might.

Decide what you DO want and place your focus and attention on how you want to live your life and how you want to wake up feeling about yourself each and every day. Get in the habit of acknowledging all of the things you appreciate about yourself and start living into your Greatness by making small changes to unhealthy behaviors that don’t support you. Live your life “on purpose”, one choice at a time.

Maybe you are in a relationship that you really want to work out but you just can’t seem to make it succeed. Maybe you have been pursuing a career path that you believe is right for you yet it’s not coming to fruition.  It may even be that you’ve found yourself trying keep your home, your employment or your finances intact, yet the external circumstances seem to be prohibiting the result you desire.

In the Abraham-Hicks teachings, there is a metaphor used to describe this type of resistance.  Basically, it goes like this; imagine that you are standing at the edge of a raging river.  You watch the water as it runs downstream, but you are determined to get upstream because you believe or have been told that what you want is up there.  So you place your boat in the water and use the oars to turn the boat around and begin paddling with all your might. The current of the river is strong but you are determined to get up the river so you paddle even harder, pushing against the force, meanwhile, exhausting yourself in the process.

Living with the belief that what we want is upstream; we work hard, play hard, live hard and end up tired, lifeless and unhappy.  We get stuck on “how” things will manifest, we fight for them to come about in the way we think they should. We have all been taught to never give up, to go for things with all our strength and to fight for what we want because our interminable effort will eventually pay off.

So, what do you do when you want something so badly yet all the results you are getting are that of struggle or conflict? Instead of paddling upstream, try pulling the oars into your boat and allow the river to take you where it will. In other words, surrender and learn to go with the flow of life. If you are determined and passionate, then something will always happen, it just doesn’t always happen the way you want it to. When you are not stuck on the “how”, you can allow opportunities to present themselves that may not have otherwise existed.

Do not view surrendering as giving up; there is a huge difference. To surrender means to yield, to concede to the way things are and to give way to something else without forcing it to happen our way.  Giving up is entirely different, it means to quit, to stop and to resign yourself to the idea that something is just not going to happen.  It’s important to know what you want and to take action steps every day to achieve your goals. However, you must also incorporate the Law of Allowing into the equation because there is a greater power at work in your life and surrender is the invitation by which we summon the mystery of life’s unfolding.

Never give up, but do surrender by waving that spiritual white flag and choose to go with the flow of whatever is happening that is causing great resistance because you just never know what may be right around the next corner when you’re willing to be unattached to the outcome.

“If things don’t work out the way you want them to, it just means there’s something better yet to come and you may never have found it if you hadn’t been forced too. With each change that you’re forced to make, life will take you into new worlds, introduce you to new people, open your eyes to things that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Just one introduction to one person, one person you would never have met had you not been forced into change, could re-arrange and re-shape your entire life into something you never could have even imagined before. With each change you have to make, a great many more options will open up to you; they always do. I know that change can be frightening, but you can’t let that hold you down, or hold you back. Tomorrow is a new day, so pull your shoulders back, raise your head up, and greet the morning sun with a smile on your face.  This could be just another day… or the beginning of the best day of your life. Step into the new day with a thirst for challenge and you might just be surprised with what comes your way.”

~ David Crawford, Author and Poet

“As you perceive something, you give birth to a thought, and this thought now thinks. Now that it exists, now that it has been conjured, now that it has been focused, now it vibrates. Now, by Law of Attraction, other thoughts that are vibrationally same will come to it. So it begins its expansion immediately.”

I receive a daily quote from Abraham-Hicks Publications and this one is worth sharing.

Here, stated in this quote is a perfect example of an act of conscious conception, that infamous moment when you begin creating your reality with every thought you birth into existence. For some, it is a deliberate choice, intentionally thought out and followed through while for others, it happens as if by accident without much regard to the outcome. Placed in this context, it gives us a broadened perspective about how the thoughts we think directly affect the quality and outcomes of our lives and why.

Consciously or unconsciously, the thought we have given birth to begins to grow and we either find ourselves trying to force it into what we want it to be or we help it blossom into the potential it is imbued with.  Care is taken to nurture our perceptions which we either defend and protect or allow to grow and evolve as they bump up against that which challenges them and forces them to shift and change into something even healthier.

In manifesting the life you desire, it’s imperative to give birth to positive thoughts that support and empower you. And though it’s not difficult to change your thinking, it does require practice because the mind tends to dwell on that which is fearful, lacking, doubtful or wrong.  When allowed to run around uncontrolled in your mind, these kinds of thoughts have the ability to affect every area of your life without your even realizing it

Try this for the next few minutes. Watch everything that comes across your mind and notice what kind of thoughts you’re giving birth to. Are they the kinds of thoughts you want to keep multiplying into your reality? Do they make you feel uplifted or disempowered? Are they deliberately chosen or do they randomly burst forth based on habit?

As the deliberate creator of your life, practice restating your thoughts with conscious intent.  Choose what you think about with discernment and mindfulness because thoughts are things and will undoubtedly create your reality. Find ways to recreate your thoughts in a way that allows you to feel like you just gave birth to a new life with the power to help you achieve your dreams.

Have you ever had someone ask you if you knew what your life’s purpose was and felt completely stumped?  I certainly have, it just sounded so daunting and so big that all I could say was, “Oh gosh if only I knew! I’ve been trying to figure that out for years!” But when asked what I was passionate about, well I could go on about that for hours!

Here’s a little secret; our passions and our purpose are directly related.

Each of us has things that excite us to the point that our entire energy shifts just by talking about them.  Let me share a small example; I recently posted the following question on Facebook:

“What one thing completely lights you up when you talk about it or think about it?”

I immediately received all kinds of responses like:
Art!
My children!
Flying!
The Sea!
Mythic Stories!
Kittens!
Spirituality and bass guitars!
The love of my life!

…and the list went on.

These are things that people truly love, they are passions that make them who they are and they are actually clues to these people’s life’s purpose.

Abraham says that, “The basis of your life is freedom, the purpose of your life is joy.”  Though it sounds pretty simple, what does it actually mean to say that the purpose of your life is joy?
It means that it is our responsibility to find that which brings us true happiness and share it. Our life is our message, and how we do anything is how we do everything. So living our life’s purpose is about the way in which we live our lives each and every day. It’s about sharing our passions, experiencing things we love to do and it’s about taking small steps to invite our passions into our lives so that we can further connect with that which brings us joy.

Here is my invitation to you… find something that you are passionate about and do one small thing every day to bring the experience of that passion into your life.  It could be as simple as buying books or tapes on the subject you are passionate about, signing up for mailing lists with like minded people, donating time to your favorite charity, taking a walk in nature, attending seminars or workshops about what you love, anything counts as long as it’s an action step!  Then, send me an email at Bambi@BambiCorso.com and share what you’re doing so I can celebrate you!

There are so many ways in which to take small steps towards a purposeful life, it just takes the decision to do so.  The more you can surround yourself with the types of things you most want to manifest in your life the quicker you will begin to see them show up in your life.

Not quite sure what your deepest passions are anymore?  Then give me a call for your 20 minute, no-cost Life Fulfillment assessment just for taking action and making the call. I hope to hear from you!

Many years ago, I attended a seminar given by Caroline Myss in Los Angeles, CA.  During the course of the seminar, one young man raised his hand and asked a question. It seems he was confused, not yet knowing what to do with his life and facing a variety of job offers and opportunities. But he was stuck because he had no idea which one to take.  He listed them off, one by one, there were five total.  He asked Caroline what he should do, how could he possibly know which one would be the right one, the best one, when he wasn’t even sure of his direction.

Her answer still plays in my mind today as she replied to his question. “It doesn’t matter WHAT you choose, just choose SOMETHING.  Make a decision, just choose one and do it.”  She went on to say that through the act of making a decision, a purposeful choice, he would begin to see what he wanted and that choosing any one of those opportunities would eventually lead him to the place he is meant to be.  She finished by saying, “You have until 12:00 noon tomorrow to decide.”

His question resonated with me because I too have found myself in that place many times throughout my life, asking, “What should I do?”  “Which choice is the right one?” And there began the battle between heart and mind.  There have been many times when I didn’t know, so I didn’t choose, and unfortunately, that inability to decide made my choices for me.

How many times have we decided to just wait and see what happens?  Isn’t that just another way of not making a decision? If so, it’s not a very good way of going about it. Like the band Rush says beautifully in their song, Freewill, “If you choose not too decide you still have made a choice.” Without making a decision, we are powerless to manifest what we truly want and lose confidence and belief in ourselves in the process.

So here’s a suggestion to try the next time you need to make a decision and you’re not sure how to make it.  Realize that it’s not about making the “right” or the “wrong” choice, it’s about deciding what experience you want to have.  Be sure to bring your heart into the decision making process and see what it wants.  We get so caught up in making the “right” choice that we lose touch with the experiential nature of life itself and therefore miss out on the ability to allow our heart and intuition to play a role in the decision making process.

Is it time for you to make a decision about something?  If there were no right or wrong choices, what experience would you choose to have right now? Which experience would make your heart happy?

I’d like to share a personal family story since it’s almost Independence Day here in the states.  The reason for this story is two-fold; first, it’s a story about an American flag and second, because it’s a great example of how the power of choice and determination can change your life.

My grandmother Zabel, and her mother Varter were both 100% Armenian on my father’s side of the family.  Born in the United States, my Grandmother traveled back to Armenia with Varter to visit family twice when she was a child. My Grandmother was only 10 years old when they went back for a second visit in 1914.  This was during the time of the Armenian massacres and though they were American citizens, they were still Armenian.  Trying to flee the massacres, they were traveling through the desert from Harpoot to Constantinople where her Uncle, an Archbishop resided. With them were 7 others, including nieces and nephews on her father’s side, and a couple of family friends. On their way, a band of Turkish soldiers stopped them and threatened to kill them.  But sewn to their covered wagon was a small American flag. In that instant, Varter showed them the flag and yelled out, “You see that flag! If I don’t go back the American’s are gonna come and get you, they’re gonna retaliate!” She fought and argued with them, she stood her ground, she didn’t stop and it worked. They were released and made their way to Constantinople to safety.  Eventually, they made it back to the States and never returned again to Armenia, while others were never heard from again. Throughout her life, my grandmother repeatedly said that it was an absolute miracle that the Turks ever let them go, a miracle from God.

Two months ago, my father gave me the actual flag that was sewn to that covered wagon, and the photograph of that flag is shown here for this article.  When I held it, the first thought that came to my mind was, “My goodness, without this little flag, I wouldn’t be here today.”  And it inspired me to share the story. Through my great-Grandmothers determination and wisdom to have even carried the flag with her to Armenia, she changed the lives of everyone on that wagon, and therefore, the lives of generations to come.

We have no idea the reaching affects of our decisions, or the affects of how one determined action can change an entire outcome.  Therefore, we must choose wisely, because what we choose determines our fate.  What chooses us, determines our destiny.

It took many years for me to completely understand what this meant, but when I did, I realized the past is definitely behind us and we have the ability every moment of every day to decide how we want the rest of our life to be.

When I started taking 100% responsibility for my life, I realized I could not blame anyone or anything for my circumstances. This was a turning point, for I truly understood that I had so much more power than I ever realized, power to be what I wanted to be, to do what I wanted to do, and the power to choose how to use each moment.

Taking responsibility for our lives means we can no longer place blame for how things have turned out, or for the things we have or have not done.  It requires that we connect with the authentic part of ourselves in order to live a purposeful life.  We are 10% what actually happens to us and 90% how we respond or react to what happens.  In every moment we have a choice; respond or react, be kind or unkind, tell the truth or tell a lie, be loving or hateful, appreciate or take for granted. These are all conscious choices.

Part of conscious choice and authenticity is also choosing to begin doing something you have always wanted to do, to live out a dream or pursue a calling.  Everyone has something they long to experience and many of them develop and live by reasons for why it hasn’t happened yet. They may be waiting until they get married or divorced, until the kids are grown, until they change jobs, until there’s more money coming in, until they have more free time or whatever it is that keeps them from living their dream.  Why put off until the next moment what you could start doing right now? Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so don’t allow yourself to put off doing something that can bring you tremendous joy right now.  All it takes is one small step towards the direction of your dreams to start participating in your life in a new and empowered way.  Choose to take responsibility for who you are and who you want to be, and you will begin to see immediate results.  For example, if you have always wanted to work with animals, start by volunteering one hour a week at a local animal shelter. The idea is to choose a direction toward being true to yourself.

If you want to lead a more peaceful life with less conflict, when the moment comes that you are faced with conflict, make a peaceful response your course of action. Life is about deliberate choices. We can’t always control what happens to us or the external circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them, and who we are as we move through them. Life is all about choice as Rush says so wonderfully in their song Freewill, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life, so start living the life you want now.