In this short visual meditation, Spiritual teacher Max Ryan (www.attractpositiveresults.com) shares a short section from Chapter 25 of A Course in Miracles; The Light You Bring

There are a few days that bring much of the population of the earth focusing on a single thing. Of course it's impossible with the diversity of the world for everyone to focus on one thing at one time (especially with all the channels on cable TV!) But there are still a few events and days such as this. Christmas, of course comes to mind, New Year's Eve, certain sporting events and also, in the world of entertainment the night of the Academy Awards. You may not know this, but as a young person I did lots of acting and theatre. Theatre and acting was and still is a passion for me. Being a trained actor, I always watch the Academy Awards every year to see which actors and films have been honored for their work.

I believe the people who we honor as stars, have taken the idea of becoming someone who is starring in their own life very seriously. And it is precisely because they have taken that seriously that we in turn see them as stars. Because they see themselves as stars…

Now, of course we know of the stories of actors and actresses who have not led the healthiest of lives. That is not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about how they see themselves and because of that, what has manifested in their lives. The point is they see the star in themselves. They have that belief about themselves.  They sense the unique and beautiful qualities that only they possess. They see this first and then they allow their star to shine. Then we see it too…

How much are you embracing your inner Star?

How much are you starring in your own life?

Are you waiting for the curtain to go up, so you can finally step into the light?

Are you rehearsing for the time when you REALLY need to shine?

Is fear holding you back from being the star of your life?

Do you have a block against shining your light in the world?

Do you believe that the people who shine are self-centered or selfish?

Well, I am here to remind you that the movie of your life started the day you came here. The film crew is always filming. The most incredible thing is that you are not only the star of your own movie. But you are the director, the casting agent and most powerfully…you are the writer.

If you don't like the role that you've written for yourself so far in life, rewrite it and change your role.

If you don't like the cast of characters you have hired to be in your life, change the cast and audition new ones.

If you don't like that your life has become a drama and you thought that it would be more of a romantic comedy, rewrite your story…

There is no time to waste in living the life your heart yearns to live. The movie has already started, but you can always create the most incredible and exciting of plot twists you choose from here on out!

In my training as an actor I was taught that “There are no small parts, only small actors” which means that whatever role you are playing, you are meant to look at that role as being the star of the play.  I was taught to look at it like all the elements of the story and the relationships revolve around the character that you are cast as. When an actor does that, they bring a depth and uniqueness to the character, a character which could have meant nothing at all in the scheme of the play as a whole, but suddenly is noticed and stands out to the audience.  As opposed to the actor saying “Well this is just a five lines and it’s not the starring role” then the actor just walks through the part and no one even remembers them.

You have cast yourself in your life as a certain role. You can either cast yourself as an important and vital role of the whole film of your life, or you can cast yourself as a minor walk on character. Your choice…

The time is now to step out into the light and be the STAR you came here to be.

If you start now, by next year you may hear “...and the winner is…YOU!”

Say YES if you will begin STARRING in your life today! XXX

(This excerpt from the book "Say Yes if...30 Days of Positive Questions to Transform Your Life" by Max Ryan)

As we walk through our lives are we aware how much we are actually creating?  For example: are we aware that the decision to get up in the morning sets up whole powerful series of events that we are on some level creating?  Heck even the decision to get up is a creation.

Let’s break that down:  A decision is a creative act.  Every time that we make a decision we are creating circumstances  which create outcomes which create feelings and more than likely those feeling that we create from that decision colour our future decisions which starts the creative process all over again. When we create it is a divine process in the sense that it is a process that involves energy and energy is what the divine is made of.  When we create we are co-creating with the powers of the Universe.  (MORE ABOUT DECISIONS IN PREVIOUS BLOG "Decisions, Decisions.." Below)

There is no way in the world that we can make every single decision consciously, but we can begin to be acutely aware of the decisions that we are making in order to create things , circumstances and experiences that support us rather than those that keep us stuck, frustrated or feeling bad. The process of becoming a conscious creator of our lives requires a few things: awareness, honesty, consistency and love.

First we have to begin to be aware of the things that we are creating in our lives.  Once we are aware of what we are creating then we have to be honest with ourselves in terms of those things.  We are creating many good things that support us and our world, but we are also creating those things that do not do those things.  Many times when we are honest and look at what we are creating that isn't supportive, loving and good it is because there is a deep belief that we are unconsciously using as our reason for creating these things, experiences and feelings. It is when we face those shadow beliefs that we don't want to look at, that the authentic you begins to emerge.   Once that begins to happen there becomes a kind of peace, flow and power in our lives. It is when we look at those shadow beliefs that are colouring our creations that start a deep and meaningful road to becoming a conscious creator of our lives.  From there we become free to hear our real inner voice and create from that place.

When we get to that point where we clearly see the shadow in any area of our lives, then we need to have a kind of never ending consistency of shifting the shadow belief.  That belief that has been dictating our creations doesn't just vanish when we see it clearly and honestly, although the acknowledgement is HUGE in shifting our vibration towards our authentic selves.  What we need to do is to be consistent and I would say almost vigilant in being aware how those beliefs keep cropping up in our lives.  And it is in that awareness that we can shift the shadow by saying "Thank You for sharing, but I will listen to my Spirit” At first this consistency will seem extremely difficult, but as we go through shifting these beliefs it becomes easier and easier until there will come a time when we can't even remember not having the new belief. 

All of this work around becoming a conscious creator is extremely powerful, but I believe that the only way to shift the shadow beliefs that are dictating our creations on a real, fundamental level is to do this with LOVE for ourselves.  For it is through the amazing power of LOVE that authentic change happens. The energetic vibration of LOVE is key to everything and I mean EVERYTHING.  
If we do this shadow work from a place of "I SHOULD" "I MUST" or anything else that our ego is telling us, it may work for a little while, but true lasting changes towards our overall harmony with life will not happen. 

When we begin on the road to becoming conscious creators from a PLACE of LOVE then the journey to peace, happiness and harmony with ourselves, our world and Spirit is a magical and exciting ride.  Then we start to manifest abundance, success and joy almost unconsciously. It will become a natural flow of who we are.

I do have to say this in terms of becoming a conscious creator; Becoming conscious creators of our lives doesn't mean that life will be all roses and easy every step of the way.  Life is meant to bring us to our highest good at all times and sometimes that means that, for the lack of a better word, "stuff" happens.  Many times people (myself included) have the impression that once we learn the process of being deliberate creators of our lives and we begin to see how powerful it is, then "bad" things won't happen.  That is not true.  The “stuff” as I said before is meant to lift us higher, or as I like to think of it, becoming deeper people.  It is from this new perspective of ourselves that the “stuff” won't rock us to our core, because we have begun to create a real and lasting foundation through awareness, honesty, consistency and love.

A child’s laughter, Marilyn Monroe, White Roses, the smell of Lavender, the grandeur of the open ocean, dolphins, kindness; all of these are things I find beautiful.  I have been attracted to beauty in many forms since I was a boy and later as professional in the beauty industry.   I realized long ago what has been said many times and in many ways throughout history; that real beauty was not exclusively external, but came from the internal.

Have you ever met a celebrity?  Have you ever met 60+ celebrities? Well, one of my first opportunities to work with big and I mean BIG stars came when I got to do hair for a video that had more than 60 stars in it.  Everyone from Meryl Streep (who, by the way thought I had a great “derriere” (Not the word she used!) to Mickey Dolans (a has been celebrity from the 70’s group The Monkeys) was at this taping, so I can safely say that there was beauty from each end of the spectrum represented that day.

What I learned that day about beauty and how it is perceived could fill a book, but the main thing that stood out, (besides Meryl’s compliment!) was that there were a few of celebrities that challenged my belief about beauty.  In many ways they were sort of B list celebrities whom I recognized, but never really thought twice about, but in real life, they were drop dead beautiful! There were a couple in particular that were so radiant, I almost didn’t recognize them because my idea of them was not “beauty”. 

As I watched these women I began to realize what they had that many of the “Beautiful” stars that day didn’t have; a sort of… inner light.  I’m not kidding or exaggerating when I say that.  These women literally looked like they were lit from the inside out; a kind of diffused pale white light emanated from them.  It was the most amazing thing and I was utterly fascinated. I couldn’t stop looking at them.  They weren’t just beautiful, they were attractive and that attraction was not only a physical attribute.  That attraction came from this strange combination of confidence, happiness and that extra thing in Hollywood they call the “it” factor, which I still can’t put into words, but I’m sure that light has something to do with it.  My whole concept of what beauty is changed after that day.

“Beauty does not linger, it only visits.  Yet Beauty’s visitation affects us and invites us into it’s rhythm, it calls us to feel, think and act beautifully in the world: to create and live a life that awakens the beautiful”

~John O’ Donohue

I tell you this because a deceptively simple yet extremely effective way to begin to get back in touch with the Magic in your life is to begin to be conscious of beauty.  When I say beauty I mean anything (a thing, experience or person) that is in your life already or something that you happen upon during your day that you deem beautiful to you.

Being deliberately conscious of beauty does a number of things; it signals the Universe that you want a more beautiful experience of your life and when you begin to focus or refocus on what your soul tells you is beautiful, then more beautiful things, experiences and people will be attracted into your life. When your life begins to become more and more populated with beautiful experiences, things and people, then your energy will slowly begin to shift and the portal to Magic will be opened even wider.

It is literally impossible to be consistently focusing and inviting beauty into your life and have the contrary be true.  Through the law of attraction you will begin to see that if, for example you love white roses and begin to visualize them, think about them and buy some to have in your house, you will begin to see them manifesting in your outer experience.  Don’t be surprised when one day walking the same path that you travel for years, you suddenly see there is a white rose bush that you had never seen before.  Once these kinds of experiences begin to happen for you will know that you are getting back in touch with the Magic.

Much has been written about how to take care of yourself. There are ways to take care of yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and over all self-care. All of these things are vital to your development and for getting into the vibration that attracts positive results in your life.

You see when you are on the road of creating a life that you want, a life you are proud of, a life that attracts joy and creates more positivity around the world, you have to be selfish. That's right, I said be selfish. Now, many of us have grown up with the word "selfish" being a negative word. The word selfish usually comes up to make someone feel bad, or we have a judgment against them. We say that they are selfish people. Because in that connotation they only think of themselves.

We are taught an early age that selfish is bad and to be self less is good. To be selfless and never think about ourselves is the highest attainment of spiritual and moral values. If we are selfless completely then we somehow rise to the level of sainthood. Well, I'm here to tell you that that is not true.

Most of the Dalai Lama's, Jesus Christs, Buddhas, Mother Teresa's Mohammed's etc. who have walked this earth changing peoples lives and helping people are not selfish. They have extreme self-respect and they cared for themselves greatly. If they did not care for themselves greatly and do the things that show that they care for themselves greatly, they would not be able to help others to level which they did and do.

It is exactly like when you are on a plane. They always tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before giving it to your children. If you run out of oxygen you will never be able to help your children. It is the exact same thing when it comes to creating a self-care regime or a self-care ritual for yourself. You got to do it for yourself first so that you can show up into the world and for other people in a much more powerful and grounded manner.

From now on I want you to think of selfish as "self care". Create a self-care routine for yourself that you do on a daily basis. I believe that once you do this and stick with it consistently, your vibration shifts towards the positive and it affects every area of your life. It affects your relationships. It affects your career. It affects your finances. And of course it affects the most important relationship you have, which is your relationship with yourself.

To create a self-care ritual or self-care regime is very easy. First think of the things that make you feel extremely connected, grounded and like yourself. These are things that bring you back to who you are. When you do these things and get positive feelings and good feelings you are better for yourself and better for the world.

Examples of things to include in a self-care routines are as follows: meditation, walking, yoga, artwork, gardening, reading inspirational materials, specific daydreaming, Writing, journaling, exercise of any sort that makes you feel good etc.

If you don't already have a self-care routine I highly recommend it. Actually I don't highly recommend that I would say that it is a requirement is you are serious about having positive results in your life.

Start by choosing to 2-3 things that you will do at least five days a week on a consistent basis. You can always change them as you go along but I would like you to think about what are the top three things that make you feel amazing about yourself that you can do alone with no one else involved.

Pick your three things and do them consistently for 30 days. After the 30 days are done you can reassess and decide if you want to change them up a little bit. The point being your intention is an extreme self-care regime that fills your spirit and in turn fills your life with peace and joy and self love.

Here's to being selfish and all that entails!