Christy Whitman

Like a lot of people, I find great joy in accomplishment. Maybe this is because I’ve come to understand that as human beings, we were not created to maintain the status quo, but to eternally strive to express, to experience, and to become more. We are born to make our desires manifest – both big and small. The old adage that “all things must grow or they die” speaks to the thrilling sensation of forward progress, of how good it feels to be in motion, and to be moving with excitement and velocity toward an outcome we desire. And when motion forward is unrestrained by resistance or self-doubt, the net result is exhilaration. There is nothing more life-giving than to summon a great deal of energy through us while allowing that energy to flow unobstructed. When our mental, emotional, and creative energy is aligned – meaning we are focused without distraction on the person in front of us or on the task at hand– we not only feel great, but it seems there is no end to how much we can accomplish. If you’ve ever had one of those days when your actions were inspired by joyful anticipation – cleaning your house in preparation for a visit from an old friend, perhaps, or mapping out the details of an upcoming celebration – you know how different the feeling of inspired action is from action that is driven by obligation or necessity. Inspired action fuels us, whereas actions taken without inspiration can easily lead to being overwhelmed. How To Regain Your Focus When You Feel Overwhelmed The fallacy that underlies the experience of feeling overwhelmed is that pushing harder when we find ourselves in a situation that is not unfolding in the way we’d like is the key to accomplishment. But in fact, applying more effort when we’re overwhelmed, only increases our resistance, making the outcomes we’re working toward harder to achieve. So, the next time you become aware of the first sensation that your inspired focus is beginning to degenerate into frustration or anxiety, here are three steps you can take to dismantle that energy and stop feeling overwhelmed: 1. Take a breather The primary reason that "overwhelm" feels so unpleasant is that it is an indication that our thoughts and emotions have gained a lot of momentum in an unwanted direction. And we simply cannot reverse that momentum in one fell swoop, in the same way that a train going 50 miles per hour cannot reverse its course in a single moment. Instead, we have to allow the momentum of that feeling to slow down and eventually stop before we can begin to encourage it in the opposite direction. Some effective ways of slowing down the momentum include taking a walk outside, stretching or moving your body, paying attention to your breath… anything that allows you to rest in the gap between whatever you are currently focused upon and your response to it. 2. Engage your imagination Once you’ve allowed your thoughts to settle, take a moment to conjure the feeling you think you will experience once you’ve accomplished whatever it is you’re working on. Is it a feeling of relief? Of pride? Of freedom? By identifying the essence of how you want to feel once you’ve attained your goal, you refocus your energy toward that end. 3. Define next steps Lastly, clearly identify three actions that make the most logical sense to take to move you forward. As you take them, pay attention to the sensations of your thoughts and emotions, and if you feel yourself applying too much effort, back off. Action taken from a state of internal alignment not only produces the intended result more quickly and with greater ease; it’s also life-giving in the process. Paying attention to the way you feel is the surest way to achieve this balance.

Each one of us has our own distinct ideas about what it would mean to "have it all." Some people thrive on the process of expanding their careers and succeeding professionally. For them, work is a major component of having it all, and their lives would not feel complete without this expression. For others, having it all is centered around family, children, and community. Some of us place a high value on being physically fit and active, while others derive empowerment and joy from engaging their minds. In whatever terms you define your “it” and your “all” (and, yes, this definition will change many times throughout your lifetime), the secret to manifesting it lies in aligning yourself in thought, word and deed, with the energy of that which you desire. The Secret to Having It All: Aligning With Your Desire Here are three principles you need to understand and apply in order to achieve this alignment: 1. Everything that you are – your body, your breath, your thoughts, feelings, ideas, beliefs, and desires… the basis of all of it is energy. If you close your eyes for a moment, you’ll notice that you can actually feel the energy that is pulsating throughout your body; that is moving along with your breath. This energy is at the very basis of everything that you perceive to be solid or material – and it’s at the basis of everything that you desire. 2. The next principle to understand is that all energy resonates at a particular vibration or frequency. This means that the actions we take, the words we speak – and most significantly, the thoughts, beliefs, feelings and conclusions that we generate – even if we never speak them out loud – all carry a particular vibration. When you stop to consider it, it’s easy to feel how the energy of appreciation moves or vibrates at a different frequency than the energy of frustration, and the energy of delight vibrates at a higher frequency than the energy of resignation. 3. Lastly, you need to understand that in every given moment, the vibration that is most dominant within you is being broadcasted at an invisible level to everyone and everything around you, and this vibration is attracted to and becomes aligned with anything else that is vibrating at that particular frequency. So, the secret to creating your version of having it all is to identify the essence of that desire and to then offer a vibration about it that is in resonance with that essence. Let me give you an example from my own life: Several years ago, magnetizing an ideal partner into my life was at the top of my “it” and “all” list, so I applied the principles above to go about manifesting him. First, I made a list of all the characteristics that I would love for this man to possess, and then I closed my eyes and allowed myself to experience how I would feel in his presence. Once I had identified that companionship, connection, and love were the primary feelings that I wanted to experience in a relationship, I imagined sending out a clear intention to connect with this man soul to soul. Anytime I noticed that the vibration I was offering in relation to manifesting the love of my life was attuned to a lower-level emotion such as loneliness, sadness or self-doubt, I would use these feelings as a reminder of my desire to experience connection, companionship, and love, and take actions that were in harmony with the experience of love and companionship – not only with others but within myself. Creating your it and your all is a process of calling forth into physical form that which already exists as an energetic possibility. This is not a linear or sequential phenomenon, but a holographic one that takes place simultaneously within your mind, heart and solar plexus. It begins with a mental image of the specific and tangible results you desire to create, but far more important than the clarity of this vision is your ability to connect to the energy of it as already being fulfilled, and to allow this frequency to flow in and through every cell of your being. To the extent that you are connected to the energetic essence of your desire, you empower this energy to guide and direct you in ways you could not have possibly orchestrated or predicted. What some call magic is actually a science!