CONTROL
        Look back at the last twelve months.
        Look at how you have changed.  Look
at the changes you have made.  Look at what
you had to do to make things happen.  You
took control and you found success in one
form or another.
        The more control you choose to take
over your life, the better you will feel about who
you are.
        Never be ashamed of who you are.
        You are just as deserving of all the happiness,
joy, love, compassion, and success the Universe
has to offer as anyone else is.  You will receive it all
in ways created especially for you.
        And with that same distinctive style, you will
give of yourself to the world in ways no one else is
capable of doing.  Be proud of who you are and
what you have to offer.

THOUGHTS ARE EVERYTHING
        The more you think about something, the more
you become it. Like putting a tea bag in a cup of boiling
water, your thoughts become stronger the longer you
allow them to steep.
        Everything you have and do in your life at this
moment were all born within a mental movie created
in your mind.
        If you want to make changes in your life, you can...
you've done it before, you continue to do it, and you
can do it again.
        Listen closely to the clear whispers.  Be aware of
them.  They are yours.  They are there to help you move
forward.
        Be strong.  Be in control of your own thoughts.

CHANGE
        There are three steps to creating change:

1. FOCUS
        Decide what you want to change. Be specific.
Know exactly what you want to accomplish.    Know in
your heart that this is something you want to do.

2. SUBSTITUTE
        Imagine the person you want to be.  Visualize the
things you want.  For every negative belief you were ever
forced to listen to and swallow, for every negative belief
that grows like a weed inside your spirit, substitute them with:
-I CAN DO THIS
-I CAN SUCCEED AT THIS
-I CAN CONQUER THE BLOCKS
-I CAN DO ANYTHING BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO
-I WON'T BACK DOWN
-I WON'T QUIT
I WILL PERSIST NO MATTER WHAT

3. REPETITION
        The decisions you make have to be turned into actions.
Repeat those actions every day. It's the only way you will be
able to develop a new attitude, skill, or lifestyle change.

PEOPLE
        Surround yourself with people whose love you can feel
and whose intentions are genuine. They are there to help you.
        A "safe" person is someone who:
        -listens
        -hears you
        -accepts the real you
        -is real back
        -is not judgmental
        -is supportive
        -is loyal
 
        An "unsafe" person is someone who:
        -doesn't listen
        -rejects you
        -is competitive all the time
        -is judgmental
        -gives mixed messages
        -does or says things with an agenda

BIG RED STOP SIGNS
 
        DO NOT LET THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE
PAST DESTROY YOUR LIFE!!!
        Let them go.
 
        Do not become a slave to guilt.
        Take responsibility for YOUR actions.  Responsibility
does not mean you must take the blame for things that have
happened.  You hold your head up, look straight ahead,
put one foot in front of the other and move onward.
That is what taking responsibility is all about.

        Worry is like a pimple; it's a fear that builds up and
becomes bothersome.  It's caused by indecision.
Its cure is action.
        -Define (very specifically) what you are worried about
        -Ask "What is the worst thing that could happen?"
        -Decide to accept the worst if it should happen
        -Take action
 
        Your judgements limit what you can accomplish.  Stop
judging the limits of your possibilities.
        It's never about:
        -right vs. wrong
        -good vs. bad
        -possible vs. impossible
        All what you need to do is ask yourself...
        "IS THIS USEFUL FOR ME?"
 
        Every problem you will ever face will have two things
in common:
        -they have the possibility to become something positive
        -and they will have a limited lifespan; either the problem
        will change or you will
        Knowing this, you need not turn against yourself when a
problem comes up.  Don't use up your energy doing battle with
yourself by bashing your choices or your capabilities.  You don't
need to put yourself down.

        "Yes, I want to do this, but..."
        (...I don't have enough time/money/education etc etc)
        The "yes, buts" are like allowing yourself to step on a tack.
Indirectly, you are telling yourself you don't have the power to get
what you want.  It's almost as if it is easier to deny yourself of what
you want before someone else gets a chance to do it for you.
        Turn them into "Yes, and..."
        "Yes, I want to do this, and I'll figure out a way to make it happen."

TRUTH AND REALITY
        Tonight, before you go to bed, go outside and look at the stars.
        Forget about what you don't have or what you do have but wish
you didn't...
        Just experience infinity for a minute.
        Absorb the vastness of it all.
        Let your sense of hope and faith rise into your essence and
overwhelm your senses.
        The sky holds a billion mysteries.
        You hold one. Your life is a mystery.
        Enjoy the process of solving it.

FINAL THOUGHT
        Happy New Year to all 2, 412 of you.  To all the people who
have subscribed, to those who have e-mailed me and shared their
tenderness and thoughts, to those who e-mailed me and whose
e-mail got lost in hard drive crashes before I could respond...
thank you for making MIND-MAGIC more than what I had
ever expected it to be.  I love you all.
        I hope each one of you comes closer to finding the
happiness you are searching for.

"It's not what happens to us that counts, it's what happens in us."
-W.Mitchell

Until next time...be well

Forever always,
Wendy