self improvement

My Star Rating for Idiot:

Is Laura Clery an Idiot?

Laura Clery has proven that she was not stupid, she just made poor choices. Wit is a sign of intelligence- I don’t know who said that, but my father once told me that and since he’s really intelligent, I stick to it. Ipso facto, Laura Clery is not a stupid person. She was a troubled person. She was a lost soul. This story takes you through her life, from her happy, albeit weird, childhood, to her first experiences with drugs, and to her rock bottom. I thought my rock bottom was low, living in a tent in the woods, but that was nothing compared to being chased out of a house by your boyfriend’s girlfriend leaving you in the middle of LA with no friends, no family, and no place to go. So, yea, she’s had it hard. But equally drastic a difference between us, she is now living in Beverly Hills making a shit load of money. It balances out, right?

Why Idiot?

This book is not for idiots, because I fear they will misinterpret the message Laura is trying to communicate. I think this book is for the following:

• addicts
• anyone who is troubled spiritually, emotionally, etc.
• victims of abuse, as well as survivors/thrivors of abuse
• anyone who doesn’t know what to do with their life
• anyone who knows what they want, but doesn’t know how to get there
• anyone who wants to know Laura Clery’s life story

This book is for us Witches, too!

I found so many parallels in Laura’s story, so I can’t help but feel a connection to this book (hence why I’m reviewing a non-occult book on my blog). The thing is, the answer to her incredible life is mystical, and therefore it does fit on my blog! So this book is also for witches, pagans, and every other person that ascribes to the Law of Attraction, and lives by the power of Gratitude.

Laura Clery’s Magical Life

She spent a huge part of her life partying, drinking, drugging. She struggled to stay sober. She almost lost her husband because he relapsed and tried to detox off of benzo’s cold turkey (>>>btw that’s lethal. If you are addicted to valium, Xanax, or any other benzodiazepines, please don’t quit cold turkey. Get yourself to a rehab facility to chemically detox so you don’t die<<<).
All in all, she has been through the ringer. So what got her to her house in the Hills? The Law of Attraction. Yes! score one for witches baby! She specifically states in her book “I don’t think this is magic”. Well, Laura, hate to break it to you, but if you’re visualizing what you want and expressing gratitude as if you’ve already achieved it, that’s magic. That’s the law of Attraction, a law upon which magic works. So yea, her life is literally magical.

I mean, if getting paid to sing about your VAGANA isn’t magical, I don’t know what is.

Another reason I think Laura Clery’s book review is fitting for my blog is because she empowers the witch’s idea of a woman. She’s all about female empowerment, without being feminist, she’s a vegan, and she knows and acknowledges the power of the mind. So, yea, ’nuff said.

Peeing in Public, Shitting in a Hot Tub.

This section is actually going to be an assortment of my favorite quotes, but I wanted to make this a headline and couldn’t figure out a better place for it. I do want to say that I have the audiobook, and while I’m certain of the words, because I listened to the clips multiple times to make sure I noted them down right, I might get punctuation wrong. It’s setting off my OCD anxiety not knowing if it’s exact, so the least I can do is let you guys know I did my best lol. And, yes, she claims she pissed in public. She didn’t actually shit in the hot tub- her friend did, then handed her the turd. So Laura held a turd, and threw a turd, in a hot tub. Like I said, she was a fucking weird kid. Makes me love her all the more lol. #nocontextforyou #buythebook #justdidthat

…we are constantly in a state of either love or fear, and these states control the choices we make and the way we live…

It sounds really cheesy, but those affirmations are what lifted me over the edge. I swear by them. I had such a rigid self image before, and the only things that could break the cycle of self hate were intentional, affirming, statements. I have been depressed, anxious, and suicidal for much of my life, and this is what has turned it around for me.

Buy Laura Clery’s new book Idiot!

We are almost to the end of our 28-day challenge! This month has FLOWN by! They say time flies when you’re having fun, and I’ve certainly had more fun this month! My mood has improved, my patience has improved, my luck has improved (and considering it was almost non-existent before, that’s saying something!), and most of all, I’m feeling grateful for so much! It’s been snowing all weekend, and instead of thinking “oh this sucks, I have to shovel this damn walk way” I thought “I’m so glad I have warm boots and gloves and a shovel to clear my walk way! And I’m blessed to have been able to get my son a nice snow suit, so he can play in the snow while I clear the path and dig out my car, and don’t have to worry about him getting soaked through to his clothes.”
Have you noticed any differences in how you look at your world? in what you think? in how you react to things?

The very first desire that I received was bringing joy to millions of people through my work. The rest of my desires magically followed, and one by one, as they appeared before my eyes, I crossed them off my list. So now it’s your turn to use gratitude’s magical power to make your desires appear before your very eyes.

Top 10 Desires

Day 12: Magical People Who Made a Difference

Every one of us has received help, support, or guidance from other people at particular times in our life when we needed it most…And then life goes on, and we tend to forget those times when one person touched us or changed our life. Sometimes you don’t even realize the impact a person had until well into the future, when you look back on your life and realize that a particular person was pivotal in magically changing the direction of your life for the better. 

The evidence of gratitude’s power working is always that first and foremost it makes you happy. The secondary evidence of gratitude’s power is that you attract wonderful things. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, the happiness you feel after practicing gratitude also attracts more wonderful things, which will make you even happier. That’s the magic of life, and that’s the magical power of gratitude!

Day 12 Recap

Welcome to day 11! 

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful, thankful week!

The best thing that happened today for me was seeing my son run up to his teacher and embracing her with love and appreciation. His teachers are amazing. When my son started the school year, he could barely speak. He tried, but I could only understand maybe 50 words. He couldn’t count, despite my attempts – I would count everything with him! He knew his colors, although only I could understand what he meant when he said anything other than blue. He loves school – everyday when I pick him up, (he only goes for a few hours, Pre-K is half day), when I pick him up he tells me “he played! with cars and play doh and friends”. Of course he still has a speech impediment, but now even strangers can understand him! He is speaking so much better, it swells my heart with pride to hear him babble on with his teachers or friends, my mother. He can count to 10, and I almost cried when I realized it. He knows his colors, and can say each one almost clearly. I am so thankful for his teachers and the work they have done with him. 

My boy opening gifts at my father’s house, telling his Nana he didn’t want to pick up the wrapping paper I believe lol

Welcome to Day 9! 

Day 9 Exercise: Gratitude for your bills…

If you don’t have enough money, the last thing you would normally do is feel grateful for your bills, but if fact that’s exactly what you have to do to receive more money in your life.

Get your bills together and separate them into 2 piles – paid and unpaid. Get at least 10 paid bills, and all of your unpaid bills. On all of your unpaid bills, write THANK YOU FOR THE MONEY and feel grateful for the money to pay them (even if you don’t have the money). Feel grateful for the services provided to you, feel grateful that you were able to get electricity or cable or phone time without paying up front. Imagine you have the money to pay them all in full and appreciate that money to your bones. 

Now, for your last 10 bills you’ve paid, write THANK YOU – PAID and feel truly grateful you had the money to pay the bills!

Take a Bite Into a Gratitude Sandwich

Welcome to Day 8! We are more than 1/3 through the 28-day challenge! I don’t know about you, but things have already started magically improving in my life! 

Day 8 Exercise

Hello my lovely readers!

We are going over day 6 and 7 today! Yesterday I went to my fathers house for Christmas, (it went well!) and after grocery shopping I was wiped out! I’m still fighting off a cold, but again, grateful it’s not worse!
So, a quick recap – everyday we are adding 10 items to our gratitude list, and before bed each night we take our rock into our hand and say thank you  – while feeling grateful for the best part of the day. I know I’ve said this every day, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart: Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to read this, and hopefully for following along with me in your copy of The Magic.

Day 6: Works Like Magic

One thing I see often on social media is people complaining about their job, or their small paycheck. I’m on disability – I cannot work. I got my first job when I was 14 years old, and always did well at work, so it grinds my gears to see people taking their work for granted. Byrne says that if you are miserable at your job, the best way to get into a better job is to start being grateful for the job you have.

You should love your job, whatever it is, and be excited about going to work, and you shouldn’t settle for anything less. If you don’t feel that way about your current job, or if it’s not your dream job, the way to receive your dream job is by first being grateful for the job you have.

The Magic, p. 71

Day 6 Exercise

The next day you go to work imagine an invisible manager is following you around, taking notes of everything you’re grateful for. Does your office have good coffee? Do you have a coworker you enjoy talking to?As your “gratitude manager” follows you around during your next shift/the next time you work, have them “take note” – you will cue them to note it down by saying or thinking “I’m grateful for ______” and feel as grateful as possible. It can be anything – if no one took your stapler, the building didn’t get set on fire, that kind of stuff. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the silly Office Space reference).

Day 7: Magical Way Out of Negativity

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.

Day 7 Exercise

For today, your task is to choose one problem or negative situation in your life you want to resolve. List 10 things that you are grateful for about the negative situation. At the end of the list, write “Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the perfect resolution.”

For one whole day, try to get through without saying anything negative. If you catch yourself saying or even thinking something negative, stop yourself and say “But I have to say that I am really grateful for _____”
This is sort of how I boosted my self confidence. I started by giving myself one compliment a day, and stopped myself from putting myself down. If I put myself down, I would immediately counter with a compliment. It felt silly at first, but I would make a point to look in the mirror and say the compliment aloud. You get used to talking to yourself, and you finally start internalizing the truths of how great you are.

Hello my lovely readers! Who is feeling amazing today!? THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for joining me on this magical endeavor to transform into a grateful person! I have a cold, hence why I’m writing this later than usual. It was great to sleep in! I’m thankful that my cold isn’t as bad as it could be, and I’m thankful that I’m starting to feel better!

If you haven’t already, get a copy of The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, the author and creator of this process.

Let’s review…

So, every morning we are adding 10 more items to our thank you list, and before bed each night we take the gratitude rock into our hands, thinking about the best part of the day and saying thank you, feeling the energy of the gratitude fusing with the rock.

Yesterday we focused on our health and renewed our appreciation for it. Todays’ topic is a bit more touchy – something that can cause wars, murders, make people eat weird stuff and do crazy things:

 Magic Money 

Rhonda explains that if there’s a lack of money in your life, “understand that feeling worried, envious, jealous, disappointed, discouraged, doubtful, or fearful about money can never bring more money to you, because those feelings come from a lack of gratitude for the money you have.” (p.61)
This was one of the first things I started doing when I began my healing journey – I started appreciating the money I have, despite the fact that I get less in a month than many people make in a week. I’m on disability because of my mental illness – I cannot work, so I am lucky to get any money at all. I have a roof over my head, my son and I never go hungry, we are never cold, we have plenty of clothes, and my rent, electricity, and phone bills are always up to date. I am even blessed enough to have cable and internet – a blessing many people in my situation do not have. Has being grateful brought me loads of money? No, but I am confident that my gratitude for what I have is why whenever I have an unexpected expense I somehow come into money to cover it – I get a writing gig, my mother gifts it to me, I sell clothes, one time I was chosen to take a survey for Google and received a $50 gift card, which bought me an office chair I needed so I could spend a large portion of my day at my desk writing. Gratitude has made a HUGE difference in my life, especially when it comes to money.

Now, today’s exercise should have been read in the morning, so I apologize for posting this in the afternoon. But, better late than never! There are a couple steps for today’s exercise:

1. Take a few minutes to recall all the times you have been given things at no charge to you. When you were a child, did you have toys? Meals at home, a snack and lunch at school? Did you receive gifts for your birthday or holidays? Did you have a pet? Were you rewarded for good grades, or given an allowance?  As you remember each time money was paid for you, say and feel the magic words from your heart for each instance.
2. Take a dollar bill or small bill and put a sticker on it. (I used a Post It Note). On the sticker write: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE MONEY I’VE BEEN GIVEN THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.
   

3. Take your magic bill with you today, and at least once in the morning (oops, lol you can do it tomorrow too), once in the afternoon, and once in the evening, or as many times as you want, and take the bill out. With the Magic bill in your hands, read the words you wrote and be truly grateful for the abundance of money you’ve been given. 
4. After today, put the Magic bill somewhere you can see it everyday, to remind you to continue to be grateful for the abundance of money you have been given in your life.

Until tomorrow, my lovely readers!

Welcome back my lovely readers! 

My Magic Rock

Yesterday we reaffirmed our gratitude for our three closest relationships by taking their photos out periodically and saying “Thank you _____, for _____”. We have been starting each day by adding 10 more items to our thank you list and reading them aloud, saying “thank you” three times before moving on to the next item. Before bed, we take our gratitude rock into our hand and reflect back on the day. When the best thing is clear in your mind, you say “thank you, thank you, thank you”. We are beginning, ending and spending time throughout each day being grateful.

Day Four

Today, day four, we are focusing on something that is of the utmost importance, but ironically is the #1 thing we take for granted: our health.
Take a moment to think about your eyes, your nose, your sense of taste – how would life be for you if you were to lose any one of these senses? What about your hearing? The sense of touch?
Think abut your legs, and how they help you get to where you’re going, how they support your weight day in and day out.
Starting with your toes, focus on each body part in turn and think about why you are grateful for it, then say thank you toes/feet/legs/hips etc.

Now get a sticky note, index card, or scrap piece of paper even and write in bold letters:

The gift of health is keeping me alive.

Put the card somewhere where you will see it often. On at least 4 occasions, read each word carefully,  slowly, and feel as grateful as possible for the gift of health. Byrne explains that being grateful for your health is not only essential to keeping it, but it guarantees that it will continue to get better, with increasing energy and zest for life.

If gratitude were used in conjunction with conventional medical treatments, we would see a health revolution, and recovery rates and miracles like we’ve never seen before.

The greatest wealth is health.

Gratitude is a vaccine an antitoxin and an antiseptic.

John Henry Jowett  (Presbyterian preacher & writer), p.53