Cherished wrote:

And CR, to your point I respectfully disagree: it's not POSSIBLE to net your biggest desires without first taking the inner journey. This is ALL about the journey, not about the STUFF.

That's what exactly what I meant. I was saying that one of the reasons people still live in sadness even when applying LoA techniques is because they make the journey contingent on getting the stuff, not on the inward change, and as a result the awareness of lack is still there. If we enjoy what we can now and expand in that energy and not wait or try so hard for our stuff, I think we can see real change.

Cherished wrote:

And from a vibration of hope and beyond, you actually find there IS NO FURTHER PAIN to clear up. Once you shift vibration, the things that were so painful are seen from a much broader, more evolved perspective. That's what this is all about. Transcending your current limitations, and old habitual patterns of thinking.

I generally agree with this but from a different perspective. From a vibration of optimism and positive expectation, something "bad" still happened to me. That something "bad" was actually good because it helped me to look inward and release the old fears that were holding me back from the successful goal I manifested that week. Things are only as good or bad as we define them to be. From a higher vibration things are seen from a broader, more evolved perspective but that doesn't mean we are completely painless - rather the definition we give our pain has changed from our higher perspective, it becomes an opportunity for more happiness instead of a big setback to curse the universe about.

Cherished wrote:

And for anyone who believes I'm blocking out my inner voice.. you couldn't be further from my truth 😊🌈

I didn't mean that you are blocking out your inner voice Cherished, I mean that it's possible that people in a low mood look for LoA teachings for hope and may follow them like a religion, even against their own inner voice. For example, when I first started learning about LoA I was told that there is absolutely no point in accepting our painful feelings, all we have to do is change our thoughts and focus on what we want to build faith. Intuitively, it didn't seem right to bury my feelings but hey - these guys were "experts." I realized over time that my painful feelings were still buried beneath the surface and when I actually felt them and let them be - I found the peace and optimism to begin focusing on what I want with greater clarity and energy and my manifestation finally came true. In this sense, the "experts" were wrong and my inner voice was right. Ultimately, the point I want to make here is that learning to trust our own inner voice above all is a big part of the journey.

Another wonderful post   Thank you

Colonel Roosevelt wrote:

Polarbear wrote:

I now realize that i always have been forcing myself towards feeling good denying my true emotions.

Our emotions on subjects can change when we find better-feeling thoughts on the subject and with repetition and buildup of similar better-feeling thoughts, we can find beliefs that completely shift us - the inward change has been made. The problem is that sometimes our sorrow, pain, and fears are so incredibly strong that we can't even focus on building a better-feeling thought. We might (although not always) be able to distract ourselves and feel pleasure for a little while, but it becomes a drug if the pain inside is eating us up - we become addicted to distractions. We might find a different subject to appreciate and hopefully in the vibration of appreciation, the subject that was once painful can be lifted. But sometimes the pain is too great to ignore and we have to face it and accept it and feel it as it is - at least that was my reality and it led to good things.

Polarbear wrote:

What's the worst thing that that can happen if we allow the darkness for a while? Delay of manifestation? Although it might not speed it up, we need to feel the darkness in order to appreciate the light. Sometimes it's better to go with the natural flow of life trusting the process and knowing we will always float towards the good.

I think allowing the darkness can speed things up, my own experience has shown this to be true for me. But don't do it to speed things up, do it for relief, otherwise you'll just be more aware of lack. There's nothing wrong with allowing the darkness because it's still part of the art of allowing. I think of it as alchemy - the darkness is only as bad and scary as we have defined it to be, but if we can just expose ourselves to it with acceptance, the darkness no longer becomes our vibration - acceptance does, allowing does - because we're no longer resisting the darkness. What we resist persists. I think this idea is important: don't identify with your story of pain and sorrow. There is only the now and the ego likes to form an identity built on past pain and keeps it recurring. Feel your emotions since repressing them builds up in pain, but don't identify with the story behind the pain, otherwise you'll think too much instead of feeling the flow of energy moving through you. The difference lies between identifying with sadness and allowing sadness to move through you like water, between the "I am sad" and the "I feel sad." After all, just because you may feel sad in this moment doesn't mean you have based your identity on sadness and pain, feeling it without judgement can move the energy and help you find relief. Another big idea here is that accepting our fears and sorrows with conscious presence can help us become more aware of our unconscious patterns. This makes it easier to release the old patterns and let in the new vibration.
 

I had a visceral reaction to a picture that an ex of mine posted online of him and his latest girlfriend; we have been friends for years after the relationship ended- and I am annoyed with my reaction because of course he deserves to be happy, in love,etc. He is a lovely man(friendly breakup,etc.) We love each other as friends,and it makes me sad that I can't just be happy for him., just because the current ex in  my life and I haven't reconciled. It seems so negative. If there is one thing I don't want is negative.

But it is a human response...and I needed permission to be human, and imperfect nd real tonight. Thank you for this post.