Brad Isaac of Persistence Unlimited made an important point in response to my previous article on affirmations and being happy:
“I think you hit the nail on the head when you said we can cut out the middleman and just be happy now. But how?
I read recently that unhappiness is over-focusing on the small things that are wrong. Something or someone is imperfect, so let’s get mad or unhappy.
Perhaps happiness is just over-focus on what’s right.”
And Vickie of Contemplate This (who I’ve come to think of as my unofficial coach when it comes to the Abraham teachings) wrote about a process from “Ask and It Is Given” that quite frankly, I don’t remember reading about before seeing it on Vickie’s blog.
The process is called “Wouldn’t It Be Nice If…”
Which brought to mind yet another resource that I recently found… the “What If Up Club.”
And I finally realized something: affirmations work.
I’ve been doing them over the past few weeks and didn’t even know it!
The Wouldn’t It Be Nice Process
When you say, “I want this thing to happen that hasn’t happened yet,” you are not only activating the vibration of your desire, but you are also activating a vibration of the absence of your desire — so nothing changes for you. And often, even when you do not speak the second part of the sentence and you say only, “I want this to happen,” there is an unspoken vibration within you that continues to hold you in a state of not allowing your desire.
But when you say, “Wouldn’t it be nice if this desire would come to me?” you achieve a different sort of expectation that is much less resistant in nature.
Your question to yourself naturally elicits from you a more positive, expectant response. And so, this simple but powerful game will cause a raising of your vibration and an improvement in your point of attraction because it naturally orients you toward the things that you want. The Wouldn’t It Be Nice If…? Process will help you let in the things that you have been asking for, on all subjects. – From Ask and It Is Given by Abraham-Hicks (and Vickie’s article)
Wouldn’t it be nice if:
- My debts were paid off?
- I was living a healthier lifestyle?
- My intentions for 2008 worked themselves out?
- I could be happy right now?
That I can do. For me, because of my habit of having to “tell it like it is”, the energy behind asking the question is much more powerful.
What If Upping
I’ve always thought that rather than “When the student is ready, the master will appear,” the saying should be “When the student is ready, he’ll start paying attention to and doing what the master does.”
I first read “Ask and it is Given” quite a while back, but pretty much “skimmed” the processes. A few resonated with me, such as Segment Intending… but most were passed over pretty quickly.
So the “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” process has been out there and available to me… but I never really gave it a go.
It took the idea of “What If Upping” to get me to try it, and it’s been fascinating to see the results.
There are physical manifestations (extra income has been a big one that’s been popping up lately), and there are also internal shifts that have been happening since I started this process.
No… I haven’t become some goofy Pollyanna… it’s a deeper happiness – a joy that I’m not sure the English language has a word for.
Or maybe it’s just that it’s becoming easier and easier to find things to be happy about.
Because that’s what I’m looking for.
Which finally brings us to the answer to the question…
How Do I Find Something To Be Happy About?
Look Around You.
Yes, I know that much of it sucks.
But so much more of it is good.
Do what you can about that stuff that sucks.
Can’t do anything about it? Then why are you bothering?
Look at all of that other stuff that you can be happy about.
That’s really all there is to it. I’m not saying it’s easy… old habits die hard. But it really is just that simple.
It sure seems to be working for me, at least.
Similar Posts:
- Your Lips Say No, But Your Eyes Say Yes
- Taking Inspired Action
- 4 Steps to the Authentic Self
- Six Reasons Why You’re Not Living Your Best Life
- Three Steps of Personal Development
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Lyman,
Great article. I hadn’t used the “Wouldn’t It Be Nice If” tool for a while, but I think I’ll pick it up again. I remember hearing the audio book of ‘Ask…’ and thinking this was one of Jerry’s favorite tools.
Mike
Mr. DeWitt… how the hell are you!
I’m glad you liked the article… and that’s interesting about Jerry Hicks’ opinion of it. Thanks for sharing it.
It sure has become my personal favorite since I picked it up again.
Great article, Lyman! You’re motivating me to actually read through the processes carefully – like you, I skipped a lot of them!
Blessings,
Andrea
Hi Andrea!
I’m glad you liked the article. Reviews are always good. It really got me wondering what else I had missed in Abraham’s book.
Lyman, this is a gem.
Thanks, Dereck!
Thanks for this post. In my experience the skepticism you had before about affirmations is common — when many people say something like “I’m powerful,” they get an uncomfortable sensations somewhere in their bodies that they interpret to mean “no you’re not.” But I’ve found that if you experiment with thinking of that feeling as just energy arising in your body rather than a rejection of what you’re saying, you can use the affirmation to push the edge of how much discomfort you can tolerate. — Best, Chris
Thanks for that, Chris… the thought of it as energy rising rather than an outright rejection is an excellent reframe, and really resonates with me. I appreciate you taking the time to comment on it.
Lyman,
I big thank you for sharing the What If Up process. Our culture can make it easy for us to choose to What If Down. But the positive consequences to let in the possibilities by What If Upping can and has transformed lives. Please stay in touch as the book will be coming soon!
“A posse ad esse “
(Latin for “From possibility to actuality”)
Shawn