My Newest Blog

www.avonlealoves.blogspot.com

Thoughts become Things was a great Blog.  She gave me the space I needed to find my footing as a writer and as a thinker.  On this blog I was able to learn about myself and analyze my mistakes over the last decade or better.  This is a necessary part of the journey and evolution of any person or thing or movement.

I am retiring this blog in pursuit of other subjects that reflect my new Journey.  I have discovered quite recently, that I am able to LOVE quite deeply and this is a new kind of experience for me.  I have had sort-of a Spiritual Awakening and now I can never be the way I was before.  I feel this is a long time in coming and I am thankful for the Forces of Nature that have brought me here even if I feel out of place and scared.

I have some truly amazing friends and people in my life who are helping me to get used to this new energy frequency that I am vibrating at.  I like how it feels even if it is sort of shaking up my foundations.  But as I already said, I can no longer see the world as I did before.  I can no longer think of things that way because I have a new paradigm.

So this blog will be retired.  I love some of my articles here and I hope that they catch the eye of important people and that those people will follow the link I posted above to read my new stuff.  My new Blog is focused on LOVE, which is the greatest force of life and is healing people who seek it.  I wish to offer Love to all who need it and not for personal gain but for the evolution of a peaceful world and Unified Consciousness which I now believe in.

Please follow and share my new Blog Link.

~namaste

Cosmic Changes Are Affecting Us All

In the universe, there are new developments in the year 2012.  The galaxy shifting, in it's natural course, is coming to a unique point and will culminate this year.  It is not the end times of life on this planet.  Some doom-and-gloom reports have caused fear.  It is an end of a long period in history...and era of sorts.

You may feel it.  I say you will feel it, because it is something to be felt, not seen.  It is a time to allow ourselves to transform rather than fight these new changes.  It is a time for us to listen inwardly to our deeper beliefs and look within to find our higher calling and our higher self. 

If this sounds difficult to understand, I can see why. The only way to get the answers you desire is to desire them deeply from your innermost place of wanting and then it will be shown to you.  Perhaps inside of you there is already an awareness of this shift...a stirring.  are you feeling aches and pains?  Lower backache without cause?  Dizziness and feeling off-balance?  Have you recently met someone in your life who means a lot to you in a deeper way then you can explain?

These are symptoms of this consciousness shift...and they are an awakening.  You should allow yourself to go through it and even embrace it.  Learn what you can about the growing consciousness of Unity and Community.  This is the time for us all to see ourselves as connected to one another, not as individuals.  Individuality is greatly overated.

~namaste

Why must we Transform

Transformation is a process by which any individual is changed from one form of being to another form of being.  In the Animal Kingdom, transformations can sometimes be very dramatic...as in the change of a caterpillar to a butterfly.  When it is human Transformation, we often mean a change in the physical appearance or something that is deeper than epidermal....perhaps a spiritual, emotional, financial or ethical change.  This would apply to any dramatic change for the better.  Transoformation does not carry the connotation of lessening one's value but of increase.  Therefore, one cannot transform from a model citizen to a criminal.  We would call that deterioration or regression or a "fall from grace".  To be transformed is to acquire knowledge that could better your life and then to use that knowledge actively to create a better life...to form a "new you".

My personal transformation began with reading "The Secret" and has been ongoing...including other types of Personal development.  Along with friends, I am a collaborator on a Group called CBA.  We are devoted to making life better in our communities starting with ourselves.  My transformation is personal...theirs are personal...we all are growing in different ways.  For me, transformation now...in my present...has to do with body and mind combination.  I am making major strides and changes in my food, source of food, mental process about food and my actual eating of food.  This is very important to my process because food purity, in my opinion, has everything to do with my mental clarity.  When my mind is clear, my meditation and visualization will be stronger, which will lead to greater progess in all areas of my life.

Transformation is hard....hard work.  I FEEL my body changing.  It feels both good and bad.  I feel exhausted, sometimes hungry, I have aches and pains associated with the alteration of my diet.  I am amazed at the power of foods...and the power of chemical reactions that happen in your body with the intake of food.  Every person has their own unique needs in this way, so each person will have their own journey when they make changes of this nature.  But for me, I am at the point of absolutely no return.  My convictions on this matter run so deeply now that I cannot disengage from them.  I really honestly cannot eat the way I used to eat. 

Now to be very raw here...I am at least 50lbs overweight from the acceptable body weight for my height (a mere 5'1).  So I should weigh around 105lbs to 110lbs for perfect health.  In the past, the weight loss was my goal and I always felt pressure to achieve it.  But now, although I know I must get to that weight and maintain it, I no longer focus on the achievement of the weight in pounds.  My transformation is based on HOW I achieve the right pounds.  My goal is to eat a Certain Way and exercise a Certain Way with a Certain Thought Process.  By doing this, I am allowing transformation from within to show itself without.  The reflection of my inner change will be shown outwardly on the body (in time).

Just like my perfect weight will present itself in time, so will other changes as they are ready.  But once again...unless the changes I wish to see outwardly, begin from a transformed mental state, they will not ever really show outwardly because they must first begin inside. 

Ask yourself how you can effect change?  What changes do you want to see in the world?  You can become that change and then effect the world.  You will make a true and real difference by living out your passions...no matter how small you may think they are.  You could be the person who inspires a worldwide movement that makes life better.  You really have to believe it. 

~namaste

The Full Moon in Leo

So full moons are beautiful.  Last night I was driving home from Providence to Warwick and I saw the moon on it's rise from horizon to high-sky.  She was orangy and huge hovering over Garden City.  I always love the glow over Cranston's Garden City but this was a beautiful place to discover her majesty in all her glory.  I felt her all day...oh ya...all day.  When the moon is coming full, I feel a general stir around me.  The children become agitated more easily and their general noise and activity level increases significantly.  If you have pets, you too may observe these types of changes.

On a personal level, I usually experience a dull headache, heel pain and I sway.  Yes, I said I sway...from side to side.  This is an ideal time to use my body as a pendelum....point myself north and ask for guidance.  Yay!  Full Moon!  I love the full moon.  This is due to a high water intake.  Yesterday morning when I woke up I could not keep my balance for about the first hour of the day!  Now that is what I call sensitivity to the moon phases. 

For those of you who follow my Morrocco Method Blog, the full moon and moon cycles in general can be useful when planning hair trimming, shaving, plucking, waxing, haircuts and other beauty treatments...particularly detoxing the body internally or from the scalp.  If these subjects interest you, I urge you to visit the page that follows:

www.morroccomethod.com

You can follow a link from there to products, information, the Lunar Hair chart, and the Blog.  I contribute to the Blog but not every post is written by me.  I also contribute to their sister blog.  The link is below:

www.thehairshaman.com

Ok, so enough about the links to my work.  I am excited to contribute and be a customer of MorroccoMethod. One of the main reasons is that I love to be inspired and I love that I love things...weird right?  Think about it for a moment.  have you ever had a phase in life when nothing moves you or makes you feel happy?  It's just duldrums all the time for a long stretch.  Am I the only one who has ever experienced this?  It can't be!  I have had short spurts like this and also long bouts of it.  I still go through it but I have found a few useful techniques that help get me through it until the next wave of enthusiasm brings me up high.

Now, understand that we create our lives by our vibration which comes from thought, so if we are in this funk I just described, we are going to stay there until something external effects change upon us or else we change from within.  Change from within relies on an understanding that we...you...I...are in control of this journey.  We control our thoughts and our thoughts create the vibrations that place us on the frequency with...I love this phrase...LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS.

Let that sink in.

Like-minded.  It means, that you and the people around you are in-synch.  That feels good sometimes.  Misery loves company...so BEWARE.  Do you feel like wallowing with someone or do you feel like you want something better to come along?  If you want something better...make something better.  Create in your mind a sanctuary of pleasant happy thoughts and positivity and you will draw that to you like a magnet.  You will, in the process, repel any person or situation that does not share your vibration.  So raise it up!  You can do it!  Raise your vibration!  Get on a new and higher frequency...and you will find others who think and feel like the person you WANT to be.  The REAL YOU. I know it can happen because I have done it.  I am speaking from personal experience.

I am no longer a "dumping ground" for every sad story and I no longer unlaod them on others.  I do write about things...I let off steam.  But most of it, I take it to meditation.  I breathe and relax and restore the mental posture I WANT...not the one that the chaotic world around me is delivering up day after day.

If I can achieve this, so can you.  If you want to meet some like-minded people, and start working on a new possibility for living with positivity and integrity, I urge you to come out and meet my Personal Development Team called CBA (Conceive Believe Achieve). 

You can find us on facebook and meetup and our actual meetings take place at the Warwick Library.  Our next meeting is THIS Saturday, February 11th at 2:30pm.

www.cbagroupri.meetup.com

www.conceivebelieveachieve.facebook.com
 and
www.cbagroupri.blogspot.com

I have been maintaining our blog so guess what?  You get more of me...me, me, me!  I am not vain, really...I mean it.  LOL

Ok folks, that is all for today.  See you next time.  I love you all.  Have peace, real peace.  Make peace.  Love everyone as much as you can.  Be excellent to one another!

~namaste

Flowers of Avonlea

I love gardens.  You might say flowers and greenery and shrubs of all kinds, combined into gardens and secret escapes, is a passion of mine. 


I may not have the green thumb or training to create these wonders, but I sure can and do appreciate them with a ferver.

I on the other hand, can and DO create gardens...where the majestic flowers are friends.  Where the events ar "happenings" and the souls truly connect, regardless of miles.  In my experience, the formula has perfect balance when the right ingredients are combined and the climate is controlled...not too much water or direct sunlight.

This is what Flowers of Avonlea is all about.  It is my Secret Society of friends who share and bare there souls.  If you feel you are one of us...maybe you are.

My flowers love me and I love them and they are loving each other...and reaching out to share what they know, feel or believe and that makes a difference in the life of each flower.  I look forward to checking in with my flowers everyday to see how they are and to meet the discussions of the day with enthusiasm and confidence and love and compassion.  And when I need them, I reach out.  I know they will always be there for me.

In my lifetime, I always wished for my Diana.  Diana to my Shirley, that is.  I always wanted a best friend.  Now I have a circle of best friends to love.  I am the luckiest woman alive.

Thank you Flowers...with much much love!

Lilac

How Loving Anthony Kiedis has changed my life

So Thoughts...become things.  Dreams are thoughts.  They are the thoughts that roam about the subconscious, which analysts say are the more vital thoughts for the production energy.  In other words...if thoughts become things....dreams are the superthoughts that have the power to produce the greatest things!  the key to tapping in is tuning in.  About 6 months ago I began a campaign to tap into my dreams.  Last night I experienced the most vivid and interesting dream I have had in many years.  I have to journal about it because it was profound and within it must lie a very important message from the deeper recesses of my subconscious mind.

Many of you who know me or ever read my profiles and observe my "likes" are aware of my love for Anthony Kiedis, the Lead singer of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP).  I first discovered them when I was not quite 16 years old and I have been a diehard fan ever since.  I have always loved Anthony.  I have never dreamed about him before now until last night and the dream was very very vivid.  I will assume that Anthony being there was a message to listen to that part of myself that I hold most dear and that would be, my dreams and my beliefs.  Anthony Kiedis is a Vegan who observes the philosophy of Middle Eastern practices like buddhism and Yoga.  He uses breath therapy and retreats to restore his creativity and battle his addictions.  He surfs and stays physically active to balance his deep inner world and outer world, thus producing (in my opinion) his ability to write song lyrics that speak to people (like me).

Kiedis is a Leader to me...not the only one, certainly, and not without major failures (behind him), ultimately leading to his success.  Last night I had the privilege of exploring what it might be like were I able to meet one of my Idols of Pop culture.  In my dream I was visiting a Theme Park and as night approached, I entered a bar that was part of the park (similar to World Showcase at Epcot).  The bartender was Anthony Kiedis and nearby the drummer from the band, Chad.  I was immediately dumbfounded to see Kiedis there and began apologizing for the mess I looked like, as if in an effort to show him that I could be WAY more beautiful then I looked at that moment..funny, huh?

Kiedis was surprisingly approachable and gave me his full attention as I stumbled to find words fitting enough to express my enormous affection and knowledge of and for him.  I was trying to do this in a guarded way so as to not let him think I was a stalker/psycho.  He must have misinterpreted this or else it backfired because he immediately introduced me to Chad and explained that Chad was recently Single after separating from his wife.  I thought Kiedis must have a girlfriend and thinks I am looking for a relationship.  I changed my approach and relaxed a little and embraced the introduction and began to feel confident...as though I was in fact among friends and people who were my peers.  I talked a bit about my musical background and that helped.

By the end of my dream, I had gotten a very nice compliment from Kiedis...that he loved my hair!  In my dream I explained that I had been using red henna to create this color and wanted that "rock-star" edgy look.  Anyway, his approval felt really good.  He kissed me on the cheek as I left and I no longer felt like this amazing guy was way out of my reach.  I interpret this as meaning the dreams and beliefs I have about how I want to live (which I associate with Kiedis) are also, NOT out of my reach.  They are within my reach.  I can attain them.  I can attain them.  I can attain them.

Now I am feeling happier than I have in weeks.  Not because of some silly dream, but because in my dream I placed myself in a moment I have literally dreamed about having in my lifetime.  a moment when I can meet a Legend of Music whom i adore and practically worship.  I truly visualized it in my dream last night.  I knew exactly how I would feel and how awkward I would be and how I would waste the first few minutes in fear and babbling before I could relax.  And sometimes, we do not get that extra time to really get to know a person.  In my dream, Kiedis made himself approachable.  He spent time with me and I was able to open up and be myself finally and then leave feeling that I had turned an Idol into a friend and peer.  The thing that stood out most was my ability (while asleep and dreaming) to change my course of action.  In my dream, I made choices...to back off...to speak up...to stay in the room talking.  I lead my dream where I wanted it to go.  I created it.  I did not just experience it, I created it.

I think that is how it should be...in every relationship.  It is important to know we are all here under the same universal energy with the same aptitude for greatness as we admire in those we deem to be heroes.  I will always consider Anthony Kiedis a hero in my life, because I have learned so much from his life because I cared to watch and look and observe it and learn.  What I really want in life is to be watched and observed and learned-from and admired.  I also want to be adored.  Any takers?  Anyone want to adore me?...because you could be the key to giving me my wings. 

I want to be High-Flying Adored.  But not alone.

~namaste

Neptune has arrived

I am not sure about the rest of you, but I am pretty dang excited about Neptune's arrival this day.  It has newly aligned itself in the cosmos and we are in for a super good time.  Neptune is an influence I need to feel now, in a different house of my solar chart, to lift the veil of uncertainty that has clouded my vision over my relationships for literally 14 years now.  Neptune will remain in it's new location for...can you guess?...14 years.

A bit more on the astro-front:  It is the year of the Chinese Water Dragon.  If anyone is interested in how that affects their sign, go ahead and do a bit of research on it.  I found that Leo was particularly unmoved by the elements in last year's Chinese zodiac...being the Rabbit.  He is slow.  Leo's like me, are firey and passionate and we want to see action.  The Dragon guarantees a bit more of a Leo-favored pace in 2012.

When a new month arrives I analyze Leo forecast from four different sources:

1.  Diana Garland.  I watch her on youtube and she delivers and audio report
2.  Freshastrology on youtube.  She focuses on long-term influences instead of day to day.
3.  Susan Miller.  hers is not audio, I read it at astrologyzone.com
4.  Usually Shine

So Susan Miller for the past year has always had a nugget of something very useful wedged into her monthly forecast for me.  She predicted a death in my family in July and has accurately pinpointed a few key dates when emotional outburst or arguments have occurred and in general has been accurate about my relationship arena.  In her February 2012 Leo Forecast, I discovered this little segment that totally blows my mind. I am going to cut it and paste it for you to read.

"Now let's turn to matters of romance. Earlier, at the very start of your report, I discussed the important role of Neptune in your joint financial arrangements in coming years. Yet there is more to discuss - the fact that Neptune will not only enter your financial house but LEAVE your partnership sector for the first time since 1998 is important. Neptune will not return to your marriage and partnership commitment house (including business partnerships) in your lifetime.


This could easily signal a big and possibly improved change for your most romantic relationship. While it is possible that you were inspired by your partner, perhaps because this person is very creative or helped people in need (perhaps in a charitable way), there is a possible downside that Neptune may have brought during your time together. You may have had to give up too much for a partner in the past, sacrificing your own needs so that your partner may benefit. You may have done this willingly, or you may have been in a circumstance that dictated this must be.


Or it might have been that your partner has not been entirely honest with you all these years. (By now you would know if this applies to you.) Now, however, on February 3, you will no longer be subject to these types of difficulties in a relationship. You will enjoy the difference - everything will change now and you will find your relationship more even and clearer too. Now let's turn to the specific days of this month that you may want to note"
So since I have faith in this stuff, I am interested to see what develops between now and Tuesday of next week, a key date for my sign.

I have some ideas of how I want things to look in a few weeks or months.  The question is, will I get support from the universe in accomplishing it?  We shall see.

~namaste

Dabbling in the Law of Attraction vs Letting it Transform your life

Aha!  Now I have really caught your attention with that title, haven't I?  Yup, it is time to take it to a deeper level.  That will be the theme for this month (February 2012).  It's time to talk about committing...committment...taking it to a deeper or higher level.  Oh I hate this!!!  Don't you?  Don't you just hate the part when you have been doing this exercise program and all of a sudden, after months of excellent results, the "same old" routine is just NOT giving you results anymore?  You know what you need to do.  And so you suck-it-up and change the program to take what you have established and created...to the next level.  You have to do it if you want to continue with forward growth.  You see the end goal but achieving it is not as easy as it looked 10 months ago. 

So look back at where you started and realize and praise yourself because you have really changed some things!  If it is an exercise routine, undoubtedly you have gained muscle mass, lowered your BMI and possibly lost weight (as in fat)?  Your clothes feel better....heck, you have new clothes!  People are treating you differently I bet, because they do that when a person becomes thinner or healthier-looking.  It is unfair, I know, but human nature.  So take stock of your achievements and give yourself credit and praise yourself because there is a chance that no one else will do it.  Yup.  I am serious.  You may have overcome the biggest obstacle of your life and it may be noticeable from the outside and yet, you may get no cheers for it...no congratulations for your success.  In case that happens to you, give it to yourself because you really do deserve it.

For me, reflecting through 2011 and up to now, many things are new and different then they were in February 2011.  In fact, my whole outlook on life is completely altered from one year ago.  I deem this as improvement overall...absolutely improvement, no doubt!  I think I have recapped my year in prior blog entries and I don't want to repeat myself but lets have a glimpse:
January 2011 I was working 7 days a week (supplementing my regular job by a weekend call center job)
February 2011 I hated that job for stealing all my free time.  My daughter asked me to let her audition for an acting opportunity which turned into Camp from February through March. 
March 2011 She gained representation with Model Club
June she got her first acting job and my daycare business had an upswing in business for thr entire summer
September 2011 I helped form CBA Group
October 2011 I was headhunted to be a paid blog-writer
November my daughter got a lead role in school play ( a program she petitioned for and we had been working on visualizing into existance since January.
January 2012..now...lots of stuff going on just below the surface for me.

Ok, so little glimpse of what my physical or life transformation looked like from January to January 2011 to 2012.  When you do that for your own life, what do you observe?  What I did not write down were the thoughts I had during the changes I experienced or the new people who have entered into my inner circle. The people and thoughts and subtle inner shifting is so much more valuable to me then the larger changes I have told you about above.  It is always the little things that make the biggest difference.  I will compare it to the very small rudder of a very large ship.  We all know (from the Titanic) what the value of that tiny little rudder is.

The people we surround ourselves with and what input and words and ideas we allow to fill our mind, has all the power to transform us for better or worse.  What we read, we come to believe. 

So at what point do we move from dabbling in our understanding and knowledge of the Law of Attraction and really start to let our lives transform?  I personally believe that this happens at the point when we finally say to ourselves, honestly: "I will no longer let fear of the unknown stop me from jumping in wholeheartedly".  It comes down to committment and trust.  Do you commit yourself to the future you have dreamed-up or do you want to just dabble in the process of creating it?  Are you ready to put the real physical walls on the house or would you rather just draw-up the plans and then leave the building to others?
This is the point I find myself at.  I have been here before...many times I think.  A few times I have jumped.  Those times were hard for me.  A perfect example of this would be when I enrolled in college.  The admissions part was fun and the auditioning for the music scholarship was great and the applause of getting accepted and getting scholarship money and choosing the classes.  It was all great.  But then came the most difficult part for me.  Arriving at my dorm and moving in my stuff and watching my Dad leave...I knew I was totally and completely alone on this part of the road to my future.  I was terrified and I felt sick and I was violently ill from it but somehow I trudged on and slowly the campus became my home.  Soon I made new friends who made my life full and taught me new things and it is so easy for me now to forget how HARD it was to take that first initial step to do it.  It was SO...SO...So...hard.

Another great example was having a baby.  It is amazing when you realize you have actually gotten pregnant and you start dreaming up the baby's life...their room...what private schools they will go to...LOL...and then at about the 8th month you realize suddenly that there is no turning back. Oh my goodness...there is NO turning back!  There is this tiny human being inside of you but inside of you it feels like there is this enormous creature and the very idea of how they are planning to exit the womb...horrifyingly scary!  Especially when it is your first child.  After the second child, it becomes easier because you overcame the fear of the first.  Confirmed your ability to master the process with 2nd child...and if there are more to come, they will be with far less fear. 

Our fears can trip us up at any stage in this process of creating the life we desire and believing that we can manifest the possibilities in our mind and in our hearts.  I love writing about this stuff.  But I want my Blog to have impact not because I understand ideas and share them, but because I inspire my readers through my own transformation process.  No one will care what I can say if I cannot live it myself! If I tell you I know the secret to maintaining the perfect body weight and yet I am still 50lbs over my perfect body weight then why on earth would you care if I know it or not?  I would not have proven that I could use what I know, so therefore, there is no value in my knowledge. 

I must decide now, what it is I truly want.  It is time to create the best vision for me...the one that really inspires my deepest happiness and then work towards that goal now...today...and keep building that "into the future".  Last night I attended an Introduction to Landmark Forum.  I was a guest of my friend Berta.  I promised her I would write about this today and she is looking forward to the recap.  It was such an oddball night and it felt like there were so many obstacles in our path.  Whenever I attempt to do something and then there are myriad obstacles in my path, I am not quick to give up...unless it was something I never really wanted to do in the first place or else I saw no value in the activity.  But since Berta and Sam and Bob have all been offerring me the advice to attend and because I am a first-hand witness of their transformations and the way they seem empowered to really take the actions they desire, I wanted to know more about it.

Just to get us on the road, Berta and I faced many challenges.  Finally on the drive out to Quincy and looking to be approximately 10 minutes late (which we were), we discussed th odd events of the day.  I cough it up to Mercury retrograding pulling us all backwards a bit but also sat'an who wants us to fail in our goals.  Then Berta tells me the Landmark course recently moved to a new location which we are discovering on this drive...a new place.  We see the number 1200 sprawled across a building on the street.  Sam has given Berta this address so my first (silent) thought is..."ooops...he gave her the wrong address and this is Citizens Bank and we are in the wrong place".  My second thought as we park and lock the car is, "oh well, me and Berta still got a girls night out from this and I am pretty sure we just passed and IHOP...hmmm, pancakes sound good." 

We get to the front of the building and by now I can smell those pancakes. Berta calles Bob to get a confirmation and I observe that the door to this bank is open...just a crack.  On the glass is the tiniest little ticker tape notification of the whereabouts of our Landmark Forum. 

All I could think was how ridiculously clever was this universal energy that brought us all the way to Quincy Ma tonite to eak through a cracked door in a bank, marked by the tiniest little "sign" if you will....after all the obstacles and the most unlikely scenarios.  But we were there.  We got there.  Observe:

It was truly odd.  Then...poor Berta..she was mortified to discover that although I was her guest, I was to be separated from her for the whole night, as I was attending an Introduction and she was continuing her education with a more advanced seminar.  I had no problem going, but Berta was mortified...it was kind of funny.  Afterwards, when we left I suggested we grab a warm coffee for the long ride home and we tried but lo-and-behold...nothing was to go our way this night.  We instead talked and bonded for the ride back.

I definitely needed 24 hours to mull over the events of this past evening.  So there you have it.  Now I am looking at the threshold of possibilities slightly differently from before.  I am uncertain about when I will attend the full 3-day forum.  I would like to go with someone else instead of alone.  If anyone out there wants to take a transformational workshop at the same time as me...inbox me.  No committment.  we would not need to travel together or anything like that...just be nice to have a familiar face in the crowd.  Any takers? 

If you are ...like me...ready to stop dabbling and really really change your life:  Inspire me.  I need the inspiration.

~namaste

Music is the international langauge

I am having a really annoying flashback to a movie that was once a favorite of mine:  "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure".  Some of you reading this will no doubt remember the movie and will understand why it is connected to the subject of this blog.  I will warn you that today I am in a rare "comedic" mood. 

There ya go.  Now you have a visual..."Wild Stallions", featuring Bill S. Preston esquire and Ted Theodore Logan.  Ok, back to the blog message.

So in the movie, music (in the future) was going to be what brought World Peace.  Seems crazy, I know.  But is it really crazy?  Or is music in fact the very secret to everything?  Being a musician (as I am), I can tell you that the world of music is so vast and expansive that no one is an expert.  If you say, "I love music"...what does that even mean?  You love to hear sounds?  You like a specific genre of music?  You like to create music with instruments or with your voice?  You are into the production and distribution of music?  You like to attend concerts?  You are obsessed with a Musical Icon?  What does it mean?  What do you really mean?

My Musical journey began long before I began playing the french horn at age 11.  I was what Mom called a "tapper".  My daughter is a tapper too.  I asked Mom and Dad if I could take the drums but was given a horn instead.  I did master my instrument over time but my passion was not really fulfilled through it.  In college, I discovered my mousy voice actually had a volume control switch... and when I was able to control it, I began singing.  I had a bluesy sweet voice and loved being mistaken for a woman of color!

These days, it is easy to feel detached from the way I used to know music, but actually music and I have been evolving together.  I feel so many emotions now when I listen to music.  I feel there are messages within the sounds and also the lyrics.  I hear two sets of conversations because I am using my whole body to listen and my spirit too.  Does this make any sense to anyone?

I want to create a Discussion Group to become better acquainted with music from around the world...something I wanted to do while I was studying music in college.  Perhaps I am off to a late start...but better late then never.

~namaste

Why is everything in Life a "give and take"?

Whether we like it or not...nothing comes free.  Everything in life, everything in the universe is give and receive.  It is the Law and it is unchangeable.  When you receive anything, you must give.  If you do not, whatever you received...or somthing else you have..will be lost or taken or stolen or removed.  You must give if you wish to receive.

It is funny to me right now at this very moment, I just made the observation that I have been trying to recognize the deeper wisdom of this very concept for a while now.  You see, I am from a family (my childhood family, not my present family) who lived life as the "entitled"...the "give me because I need" -types.  It is so sad and pathetic to live that way and it never ever results in anything good.  There is something inside of us...in fact, MANY things exist inside of us that are qualities that can be shared and they count toward giving.  We can give of ourselves emotionally.  We can share ideas, experiences and thoughts.  We can share compassion, passion or love.  We can share laughter.  Sharing our lives with others takes effort...and it can be exhausting.  For some people, who reach out but feel shut down, it can sometimes feel sad or too difficult.  But we must always respect other people's needs.  Some people need  to be left to themselves from time to time and some people are steering clear of certain types of energy that comes from being around specific people or types of people.  If you are someone who feels that you do all the reaching out but are not feeling it in return, just look around you and ask yourself..."who is trying harder to be close to ME..?" Chances are there is someone , or some people who are interested in being there for you and you have been closed-off to them.  So it works both ways.  We close ourselves off to certain people at certain times, and People close themselves off to us at certain times.  It is completely possible to love a person more at certain times then at other times and it still be love that you are feeling.

So, in case that was hard to understand, let me give you an example of what I mean.  I think this happens to all people all the time and for many years I used to let it affect me emotionally but now I understand this give and take phenomenon much better.  Let's start with the LoA- the Law of Attraction- according to LoA, everything in our lives is drawn to us.  It comes to us like a magnet by the thoughts and ideas and feelings we generate which have their own vibration.  These vibrations place us on a frequency with "like-minded" individuals and experiences.  Just like we will be attracting them, they will be attracting us.  So if I use a high-power magnet and you wear a metal jacket, you have no choice but to be drawn to me, do you?  This is exactly how the CBA Group (I am co-founding with my associates) came to be what it is today.  But more on that later...

I have some friends that I am always seeking out to spend time with.  Some of them reciprocate the interest, some accept the invite, and others distance themselves.  From my end of things, I am the same.  Some friends seek me out and I am glad to reciprocate.  Some friends, I will accept an invitation if it is extended, and others I distance myself from.  Clearly I do not distance myself from someone I am drawn to like a magnet, do I?  How could I?  It would be physically impossible!  Imagine me attempting to resist...or them attempting to resist?  I laugh picturing it.  When distance grows between people it is because they are not on the same frequency of thought/life/interest/Love.  There is a divide and it can be blamed on science.  To try and force these two together would never gel.  The only way to bring the two together is to change the thoughts or mindset to the same frequency.  But we are not robots.  We have the freedom to think and feel as we like and that can change from day to day and from minute to minute.

Our true feelings give us away.  They do.  There is no doubt in my mind on that one.  If someone loves you, you know it and you feel it.  If someone's behavior is contrary to their feelings, this also you can sense and see and feel.  Some people are better at reading those signs then others and some people are better at hiding their feelings then others.  But giving of ourselves is demanded if anything great is to be achieved in life and so we must always try with people.  I like to think of myself as a positive and giving person.  I have an outgoing nature.  I ask myself everyday, "what can I do to help (insert name: client, friend, child, etc)" and then once I have decided what I will do for them, I do that PLUS I add a little something more.  Obviously I cannot do this for every person every day, but I sure do try!  And when I feel the prompting or have been given something by someone I certainly go the extra mile to return the favor or to pay it forward if I cannot give back to the one who helped me.

Some time ago, I had a heartbreaking break-up with my two female cousins.  I felt blindsided by them.  They are not speaking to me anymore.  You see, they believed I owed them some sort of emotional attention that I failed to recognize they were in need of.  They came to take...to be takers...of my energy and my emotions.  Meanwhile, I was unaware they needed anything from me at all.  I saw myself as a giver and a helper...but to other people, not to them.  You might say, I thought our relationship was sound and that they saw me as paying it forward.  I was wrong.  they accused me of being selfish and a fraud, because I would blog about Law of Attraction and Love and all that.  I definitely came under attack by these two and I am still not forgiven for having overlooked their needs.  Situations like this have a way of knocking us backwards and for a few months I really just didn't want any friends in my life because I was afraid that would happen again.

Meanwhile, if I had stopped looking so closely at why they didn't want me in their lives, and instead kept my gaze at paying it forward with love and friendship, I might have noticed (sooner, because I eventually did notice it) that there were people in my life who were really showing me love and offerring me opportunities that reflected they understood my real value.   Now there is another important subject...knowing your value.  a true friend does not use you. They know your real actual value.  They care what you say and think simply because they like you...really and truly...not because you can do something for them.  Remember...what you take, you must give.

This puts me at an unfair advantage in life because I am a ChildCare Provider.  I take care of children (my own and other people's).  Whatever a person gets paid to do that kind of work is NOT ENOUGH...LOL.  Believe me, I am not trying to say that people should pay me more...I really don't mean that.  But if you are a parent, ask yourself, is there really a price you can place on the safety, protection, wellbeing and care of your precious child?  You know in all good conscience you cannot say yes to that.  There is no price that covers the value of what I do or give to the little charges in my life.  I love them. I do that freely...I get paid enough to cover my costs and there are no frills from it and that is as it should be.  BUT...it gives me a great opportunity to give...to give a lot...and also the unique position to receive...alot.  although my life seems modest from the outside, and it is far from perfect, inside my growth has been indescribable and in the next few years, my life is likely to look very different.  I know it will because I have seen it in my mind's eye.

understanding that to Give IS to Receive...this is a precious gift of knowledge.  It means absolutely nothing until you put it into practice.  You can know that doing sit-ups will help get you rock-hard abs, but unless you practice the sit-ups, you still have flabby abs.  If you are still wondering what you can resolve to change in 2012...maybe think about giving...more that receiving.

~namaste

Sincerely Organic, for life.

I have written before on the subject of our Way of doing things or our choices and how they matter.  I have said it and I really mean it.  When our conscience is stirred and our inner peace is either put in turmoil or simply vibrating, then it is time for action.  I feel often stirred to action.  Last August, I was pointed in the direction of searching for Organically produced clothing, cleansers, haircare and foods.  Most people know about organic foods.  We have stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes to help educate the public.  But I went searching deeper.  I knew it was a part of my life that I needed to take a radical look at.  I discovered a number of great communities online and also some wonderful products that I switchedbrands and started using.  All in all, it has been a positive venture.  I now even write for one of the Blogs for one of the Organic companies. 

When I looked for these better products, as I said above, I performed a search for "eco-friendly" rather than "organic".  My reason for this was again a certain probing of the conscience.  There is a difference that is subtle...it is a micro-difference.  Any change, no matter the size, has the ability to multiply.  I was dabbling with a vegan lifestyle then and was feeling challenged by certain aspects of veganism.  I would be so proud to be able to call myself vegan fully, but I do stray from the vegan food chain and so to be fair, I simply say that I always choose orgainc whenever possible and live as closely to vegan dietary guidelines as I can.  I have increased my raw food intake to 50 % per day.  Last summer we had  small garden.  This Spring, I intend to do better.

This is all we can ever do is to improve from where we were last.  Wherever we left off, that is an excellent point to grow from.  The way our brains work is that we see backsliding as failure.  What we ought to be focused on is the success.  Once we get back on the track, we continue to experience more success.  It is the trick of sata'n (not Christian Satan but saTAN as in kabbalah)...it is the way to pull us off course and distract us from achieving and from overcoming our weakness.  We can become Masters over anything that once kept us enslaved.  The key is seeing ourselves already having mastered it and then we are seeing our present circumstance as the weakness and our future in victory.

There is nothing that cannot be accomplished...only what will not be accomplished due to our personal fears or doubts.  Wih patience and perseverence, there will be beautiful things created for your life.  Sometimes a brief period of loneliness or frustration or anger is needed to illuminate the right path.  Once on that path, we will struggle too but at least there is movement in the right direction.  Sooner or later, the path may resist us like an uphill battle.  But eventually, there is bound to be a hill where we can coast easily along.

~namaste

a profile of abuse

Abuse is defined as:

·buse (-byz)

tr.v. a·bused, a·bus·ing, a·bus·es

1. To use wrongly or improperly; misuse: abuse alcohol; abuse a privilege.

2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment; ill-use.

3. To force sexual activity on; rape or molest.

4. To assail with contemptuous, coarse, or insulting words; revile.

5. Obsolete To deceive or trick.

n. (-bys)

1. Improper use or handling; misuse: abuse of authority; drug abuse.

2. Physical maltreatment: spousal abuse.

3. Sexual abuse.

4. An unjust or wrongful practice: a government that commits abuses against its citizens.

5. Insulting or coarse language: verbal abuse.

 

 

When something is abused, it is mistreated or used improperly.  When something or someone is abused, they are hurt or injured by maltreatment.  By this definition, there is abuse everywhere.  It is running rampant in our society.  I know that I have abused people and things in the past but have changed my ways and I now strive to improve my life and the lives of others by making careful choices.  How we do things..in the spirit we do them...with clear thoughts and true purpose causes us to go about our lives peacefully and not wastefully or abusively.  If our lifestyle choice negatively affects even one other person on the planet...and we know we are doing this...we must consciously stop and change and care that we improve.  If we do not, we are abusers who victimize.

Some of us...perhaps some of my readers...are being abused.  These people are in a situation (that they attracted to themselves) and they are the victim of maltreatment.  In some cases, they are yelled at alot or ignored...maybe they are not being listened to by people in their lives.  This can sometimes be the case with children and teens but also in marriages or even just in friendships.  No one is perfect, but if a person feels they always give and are treated poorly in return, then they may be the abused party in the relationship.  Abused people are still operating under the Law of Attraction and they must recognize their responsibility in helping themselves out of the negative situation they find themselves in.  If a teen or child...in time, when reaching adulthood, there is an opportunity to get away from the situation.  But in a marriage, this can feel like a life-sentence. 

Verbal and Mental abuse is a very real problem.  Some people are very good at exerting control and manipulating a spouse, friend or even work associate, to the point that the abused person may not even see that they are in this cycle of abuse until they have become so deeply affected that their negative mental state puts them at risk for many self-destructive behaviors.  Some of these can be identified as:  overeating, binge-eating with bulemia or even anorexia; anxiety or depression; suicidal thoughts; alcohol abuse or drug abuse...or any antisocial behavior.  Behavior that is engaged-in for the sake of taking the victim's mind or thoughts off of the pain that they feel and perhaps allowing a brief amount of pleasure or otherwise inflicting pain.  Some people will want to hurt more...while others will want to alleviate the pain.  Either way, these are a side effect of unhealthy relationships stemming from abuse.  This causes an entirely new entity:  Self-Abuse.

Negative Thinking hurts everyone around us..but it especially hurts us most of all.  The idea of holistic wellness is a process for healing and curing this type of illness.  Healing is a part of the process that everyone needs.  We all need to heal and it is an ongoing process.  We all need to eliminate stress and it is an ongoing process.  In everyday of our lives, we need to build-in time to rest and relax and soothe our tensions from these dangerous influences and make sure that we ourselves are not contributing further to the negativity in the world.  Our collective thoughts matter to the progress of the world and its Global Wellness.  Other people can bring their negetivity into our lives and this can lower our vibration and energy and then our productivity.  We need to be mindful of it and take action to change not only our own negative thought patterns, but to avoid being dragged down by those around us.

Wearing a mask will not work.  We cannot cover up who we really are and what we really think because sooner or later, we will let the real face show...it will poke it's head out here and there and people will figure out that we are faking.  when we fake (lie) we help no one...least of all ourselves.  We cannot improve by lying to ourselves or our loved ones.  A lie can deeply scar others and will definitely tear apart the person living the lie.  It will never be able to last.  When the lie disintegrates, what will be left will be painful scars. We cannot hide from others who we really are and so who we are ought to be a face we can show the world.  It's ok to be a little private, but be honest with yourself and others and let them know who they are really dealing with...and hopefully they will show their truth as well.

Finding and keeping true friends is a journey for sure...it is a journey of a lifetime.  How can we be sure when we are identifying them?  How will we avoid the pitfalls of dangerous people or fakers or liars or abusers?  By the way, a liar is an abuser who uses their lie to control you and this can cause pain or loss in your life.  This is misuse of trust and a manipulation of the power they have in your life...a power based on trust.  Trusting someone is a sacred gift.  Abuse of trust is hard to forgive.  Just like it is harder to sway a person's good opinion back after you have lost it.  It is better to not lose it.  A person's reputation...their word...is their honor and their honor is them.  It is everything.  Recovering it can take a lifetime.

People are abused every day.  A customer is abused when they shop in a store and ask for help but get ignorance or disinterest from the clerk.  A child is abused when the parent neglects to supply their basic needs (except in the case of poverty). A spouse is abused when they are made to live in unhappy surroundings by a person who lies and manipulates or hits them.  A teacher may abuse power in the classroom, leaving students to blame themselves and feel inadequate as learners.  There are many, many abuses happening at this level all around us everyday.  So why are the victims staying?  It is their tikun to overcome...their karma or destiny or purpose.  They must recognize their position in the abusive relationship and then analyze and discover the way to regain their self-esteem.  When they truly believe that they neither deserve nor asked to be mistreated, then they can finally find a way out.  It will not be easy, but their karma has placed this situation in their lives and if they can overcome it, then they will have found strength indeed.

How can we avoid becoming victimized?

Anyone who believes they may be vulnerable to abuse or otherwise that they already are in a situation of abuse (there are degrees) can take steps to get help.  First of all...if you are being violently abused and this could result in fatality, you must contact an authority or go to a hospital right away.  Do not be afraid...just go and get help.  If you are one of the many people out there who are experiencing chronic abuse from an unhealthy relationship and feel you can make changes, then here are a few steps I believe can help you:

 

1. Create a space for daily prayer or meditation
2. Spend 5 to 15 minutes per day in your prayer and meditation
3. Exercise daily for at least 15 minutes...a brisk walk or some yoga is fine. 
4. Use breathing to relax you during tense moments
5. Allow your mind to wander when in a stressful situation.  Perhaps reflect upon some peaceful imagery like what you use during mediation?
6. Step back from what you are being told and ask yourself if it is true before believing it.  When we accept words and thoughts, they become a part of us.
7. Drink plenty of water.  If you feel ill, or tired or stressed, reach for a bottle of water and drink the entire thing.

These are just a few ideas to get you started.  In addition to counseling or therapy services, there are alternative types of counseling out there. There are support groups, Internet Chat groups and Forums to help with special problems.  You are not alone...NOT ALONE.  Our fears can make us feel isolated so we must really expand outwardly and surround ourselves with loving people who act kindly toward us.  A kind word...even from a stranger...can really turn someone's day around so remember to pay it forward too!

One last thing.  Above where I stated, "Step back and ask yourself what you are being told"...I want to stress this point a second time.  Ask yourself if what you are being told really resonates with you.  If you are unsure, you may need more time to think about it and that is ok.  Take ALL the time you need.  But make sure that when you have come to the conclusion, it is your own.  Every person creates their own reality and sets their own limitations in life.  Aside from Natural Laws, the only limitations we live with are those we accept to be true.  I hope this helped!

~namaste~

 

 

 

ADDICTION: The biggest secret of all

I am a woman who was raised in a Family where addictions run rampant.  I am deeply ashamed to openly admit this, and even as I write these words, I am deeply saddened by the truth of them.  Addiction shaped my life, altered my personality and destroyed my innocence and my childhood.  The addictions that did this were not my own...they were the addictions of others that did this.  And my greatest fear has always been that I am NO BETTER...that I will have addictions too...that I will hurt or destroy people with my bad choices brought on by addictions.

Now, I have made some hefty bad choices...I have.  But in retrospect I do see that most of them stemmed from my turning the negativity I felt from being rejected by people with their own addictions, turning theat inward on myself and behaving in ways that demonstrate self-loathing and a desire to hurt myself.  I somehow carry THEIR guilt...which maybe THEY THEMSELVES...do not even feel!  I carry their guilt...I wear it like a crown of thorns upon my head...upon my heart.  But today, this will change.  For this is the first time I have ever really acknowledged the root of the problem and I have such an urgent and passionate desire to see improvement ...that I know I will overcome this at last.  One day, I will be the person who people reach out to for advice at ovecoming the entanglements of being the codependent or the enabler.  In honor of the late great Dr. King, I will echo a refrain I often sing to myself when I am alone in my thoughts:

WE SHALL OVERCOME ONE DAY

The road to recovery if you are the Addicted one, is long and challenging.  But what about those affected by addiction?  This is not the only time in my life I have been exposed to opportunities to reach out and gain help.  In college, a concerned teacher of mine once brought me to an ALANON meeting. But until today...this very day...until today I have never recognized it before.  I am going to share a story now about my childhood.  I want to share it but it's not a happy story.

My mother was married to a man and they lived in Florida.  She wanted to have a baby and so she arranged the situation so that he would get her pregnant.  When he found out, he attempted to cause her bodily harm in order that she might miscarry.  But in that moment, my Mother found the strength to leave that marriage and escape that abuse and instead, returned to live with her parents.  I was the child she would have...her first.  She was 21 years old.  My Mother's parents were my Nana and Papa.  My Nana was a mean and ornery (God please forgive her and let her Rest in Peace), but she was visciously cruel to my Mother.  My Mom tolerated it as best she could but often left me with them to escape the abuse and just get away.  My Papa was a jolly alcoholic who had a huge circle of friends and was loved by everyone at the bar.  I would know since he brought me there weekly!  Yup...3 years old being driven around by a drunk with no car seat or seatbelt.  I learned quickly to be charming.  My Papa developed alzheimers as a result of his excessive alcoholism at the tender age of 56!  He was 56 years old and stricken with alzheimers.  He failed fast.  I loved that man.  I loved my Nana, even though she was so cruel to my Mom.  But it was hard for me to sympathize with my Mom when she was following in their footsteps with me.  I would find out as an adult that Nana was addicted to prescription pain pills and Nicotine (I knew about the smoking obviously).

In time, my incredibly beautiful mother found a new husband and before long had 3 more children with him.  My "Dad" adopted me.  My biological father did not dispute it.  By the time I was 7,  I was seeing my parents smoking pot, using Meth, growing and selling pot and then using cocaine.  It was a common occurrance for Mom and Dad to be snorting lines of coke on the living room coffee table when I would walk in the door from school.  They didn't try to hide it from us.  It was just there and we were told not to tell outsiders about what Mommy and Daddy do.  I learned from then forward that lies were a part of life.  I had to lie to cover their tracks and feel loved by them. I had to lie to be accepted in my own home.  I had to accept feeling bad and being separated from others on a deep level in order to have the love of Mom and Dad.  I thought that was supposed to be unconditional?  I was dependent on them and I became their enabler.

In high school, as my Parents marriage deteriorated, my father began to drink heavily in addition to his drugs.  we were evicted 3 or 4 times from various homes.  When we lived at a house on Sprague Avenue, my Dad disappeared on "a long trip" and was gone a year.  During that time my Mother became heavily addicted to Crack.  She let us go hungry.  She left us alone.  And too many nights I had difficulty sleeping because I was afraid I would wake up and find Mom OD'd on her bed and dead.  And then I would be there with 3 terrified little kids and no idea what to do.  No Dad...no Mom...no idea what to do.  I thought often about telling a trusted adult.  I hinted a lot.  Before Dad left for that year, I told him that I knew about Mom's problem and I begged him to help her.  He laughed at me and said I was a drama queen.

When I got a scholarship to URI, I disappeared.  They didn't seem to miss me.  Within 3 months of being at URI, I took an entire bottle of a friends Prescription meds and waited to die.  My roomate, for some reason, returned early from her class and called the paramedics and I was brought to the hospital...stomach pumped...made me drink tar.  It was awful.  I had bottomed out. 

I thought I was in the clear.  But you cannot escape addictions.  Even those of other people.  They have a lasting effect on you.  I carry their addiction around as my scar tissue.  And everyday I ask myself, are you addicted Angel?  Are you addicted to coffee?  Sugar? Is your neediness your addiction?  Are you obssessive compulsive?  Do you have Bipolar or depression?  I have no idea how to answer these questions or if I should even bother.  But in 2010, when I read "The Secret", I felt empowered that if I could get control back...control over my thoughts and feelings, I could begin to make a better life for myself.  And that was the best decision I could have made.  You see, I have made some seriously bad decisions, but then again, I have made some really brilliant ones along the way too...and more each day. 

I am sharing this story for a reason.  It is my way of reaching out and being open and trying to be really really honest and for once, NOT ashamed...as if I had done something wrong that caused the addicted person to hurt me, or caused me to retaliate against them.  The Law of Attraction teaches me that I will attract the same situations over and over again until I mindfully take control.  My subconscious mind has been working very hard these last several weeks and I often find myself having the same dreams over and over...about college..about moving from my home...about transition...about being afraid.  And I want to conquer that fear.  I want to really heal.  I want to have compassion on others.  I want to really deeply care and not because I am dependent on them for my self-esteem, but because I love them.

Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

~namaste~

How to become a Paid Blogger

Hi everyone!  Some of you out there (like me), very much enjoy reading People's Personal Blogs and Business Blogs.  Gone the way of the dinosaur are the Article Writers who get Newspaper Column syndication and then bore us to tears with their monotone babbling.  Blog-Writers are the new columnists...they are the cutting-edge writers with fresh perspective, angle and in some cases, talent that outshines their educational background.  If I can borrow the words from Pixar's Ratatouille..."Anyone can Write!"  There are so many types of Bloggers out there...they write from the heart and they create experiences that they can share and they really touch the hearts of the people who read their writings.  If they never earn a penny from their blogs, and only did it because they are passionate about their subject, then they are great successes.  Some of us however, love to write and want also to earn money doing it.  I am one such individual.  I desire to be a published writer.  Right now I am experiencing a taste of writing for a paycheck because I am a contributing Blog-Writer and Social Media Networker for a wonderful company.

Because of my interest in Nature, Holistic Healing and Organic Products, I was able to find a home among one of the top Organic Haircare Company's in the country.  The most exciting part of my experience was that I was already writing my Personal Blogs and being active in social Networks like Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook...and then I was simultaneously writing my blogspot blogs and my Thoughts.com blogs.  I created activities and used Facebook to publicize them and learned the ins and outs of how to use Facebook to reach people and how to use the right phrasing to capture my target audience.  I suppose, these attributes would make for an exciting career in advertising.  It's a little different though.  Advertising as an Industry is a much broader and bigger and far more competitive world then Social Network Marketing or Blogging.  The Blog-Writer gets to maintain their passion and be creative in a more independent way.  But as with all things, if you want to get scooped up, you need to deliver something that the corporations need or want.  For me...I demonstrate my abilities through enthusiasm for participating and for their products, Skill at writing and researching topics, and eagerness to stick with it!

Here is what I did to get started:

1.  First, I Created Personal Blogs based on certain Subject matter.  For example, I have four personal Blogs.  One is about living life through the Law of Attraction or "The Secret".  One blog follows the career path of my daughter who is a youth actress.  One Blog follow child development using my son.  The fourth Blog is about kabbalah.
2.  Next, I monetized these blogs with Adsense by Google.  I can potentially earn money if people visit my site and click through to advertisements they see there.
3.  I registered for Blog jobs on any and all sites I can find
4.  I read other people's blogs...and I read about Bloggers who are successful.  What did they do? How do they capture the audience and get the following ot people who will finance their journey?
5.  I am working on Branding.  It is important to have a brand or no one will know what you are trying to share with the world.  Anyone can write, so what are you writing about?  What matters to you and to others?
6.  Comment.  Comment on Twitter...Facebook...on Blogs and Forum sites.  Look at your favorite company websites.  Are they hiring?  Could you find a way to get in?  If you love what you are talking about then you will succeed in time.

Ultimately, my way "in" as a Blog writer happened this way:  I became curious one day in August of 2011 in finding a line of beauty products that were chemical-free, all-natural and organic.  I discovered Morrocco Method. 
Here is their link:
https://www.morroccomethod.com/

I browsed and read from their website and then I placed an order.  I then "followed" them on Twitter and that same day "Liked" their Facebook page.  I joined the Facebook and Twitter discussions immediately with comments and feedback while I was waiting to receive my order and then after I used the products.  I was impressed with them when I received my first shipment and found there was much enclosed literature to further inspire my passion to continue with them from a customer standpoint.  It was very exciting to meet a company with their zeal for using Natural products and doing their best for the environment. 

I discovered their Blog pages.  They have two of them.  One can be found at the above link.  Here is the other:

www.thehairshaman.com

I researched about Anthony Morrocco and who he was, and why he founded the company.  I then began to follow the blogs as a reader, leaving comments as I found points of interest.  On their Facebook Page I saw an advertisement that they were looking for people to go to local healthfood stores and set-up a table to show and demo and discuss Morrocco Method Products.  They called it "The Ambassador Program".  I wrote to them explaining how my years in Avon Leadership qualified me for such a job as this and that I would be delighted to share my newfound passion for their products with my community.  Unfortunately it was not meant to be.  As it turned out, their Ambassador Program had targeted several areas for expansion but Rhode Island was not one of them.  I was disappointed but continued with being a happy customer and sharing links to their facebook page or tweeting about them.  I even wrote in my Daughter's Actors Blog about how Morrocco Method was improving her personal appearance (her hair).

The lines of communication were wide open between me and Morrocco Method and they (if they were watching...and they were) observed my enthusiasm and propriety and perhaps my writing ability since I was commenting and had written them a letter of interest once.  And a few weeks after I was turned down for the Ambassador Program, I received an email inviting me to participate in an online screening to qualify as a potential contributor to their Blog and other types of Social Media and Networking.  Until that moment I had not even realized that I had acquired these skills..of being more than a marketing maven but being a real connector...a Social Networker extraordinaire!  And I wasn't a bad writer either...LOL

In  a few weeks, I was given assignments.  They started me with a few hours a week and gave me topics and then assignments varied until we are where we are now.  It has only been a few months with Morrocco Method but I love what I am doing with them.  We are developing a rhythm and rapport with one another and they are allowing me to find my niche and empowering me to develop a voice that really delivers their message.  I can be a vehicle for their message and in doing so I am not in violation of my own value system because what they believe and do...inspires me.  If I can inspire others to come to their website and consider their line of natural and organic products...then I feel that my work and my passions are balanced!

I hope this has given you some ideas on how you may grow your own Paid Blogging Career.

~Namaste~