Intention statements, framed negatively, evoke the opposite and do not work. For example, rather than say, “I intend I am not sick anymore,” as Intenders, we would assert, “I intend that I am in perfect health.” Because we haven’t mentioned anything about sickness or disease, it cannot be created from our statement.
As Intenders, we are successful at manifesting because we add strong statements at the end of our intentions. When we finish stating an intention, we emphatically say, “So be it,” “So it is,” or “So it is done.”

These words are powerful because they allow us to see our intentions as already having 
manifested. For us, the key to manifesting anything is to picture the end result from the beginning—to see it as “a done deal,” and then hold that vision in mind until it actually appears in our three-dimensional world. In order for our intentions to manifest, they must serve the highest and best good of the Universe, including ourselves and everyone concerned.

We would never make an intention without including a “highest good” clause, as it ensures that only those intentions which are truly for our highest good will manifest. All other intentions that do not serve us or our fellow men and women will not be created. Intenders place tremendous value in coming together in community to make intentions with other like-minded and lighthearted people. At every opportunity, we take advantage of the fact that there is strength in numbers. We create Intenders Circles, in which we get together with others who align with us and who help us to envision our intentions as already manifested.

This makes everything manifest more swiftly and easily. In 15 years of observing Intenders Circles in action, we have learned that it is of prime importance that we gather and work together in community in order to create a world where we live in peace, freedom, abundance and fulfillment.

For more information about the Intenders of the Highest Good, visit Intenders.com.

Even as a child I questioned the madness and pressures of rushing around during the holiday season.  I saw that pressure played out in many ways.  Not only in the excitement of Santa, the pretty stores with all the lights, and the laughter of people as they greeted one another, but the tenseness as people rushed to, or pushed their way around those beautifully lighted and decorated stores and sidewalks.  It was always such a paradox to me.  I still feel that way today.

The holidays, if we choose, can be an opportunity for greater introspection, not only of what we’ve achieved during the year, or even where we could do better, but how we have an opportunity to create a better way of being with ourselves and others.

It seems to me that Awakening Consciousness is just that…BEING.  How can I be with myself in a better, more meaningful way?  How can I nurture myself better?  How can I nurture those around me in a more aware and conscious manner?  Does it mean listening better, more carefully?  Does it mean really looking at who you’re talking to when engaged in conversation?  Could it be the much-needed five-minute break from the noise of living that I have put off?  Could my sister or brother need the, “Hi, I love you.” call.

If you are on the outs, how about just the, “ Hello, how are you?” call.   Does it mean listening to what people are really saying? Could it sound like, “Boy, I’m sad today.” “I’m scared today.” “I’m tired of the pressure.”  “ I thrive on pressure.”  “ Where am I?” “What am I doing with my life?”

ANYTHING THAT GETS US TO ASK THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF OUR LIVES IS CONSCIOUSNESS.   
Consciousness is tapping us on the shoulder and asking us to look in a different direction, a new direction, a new place and way of being.

The current affairs taking place on the world stage have showed us we can no longer create a meaningful world through old-paradigm approaches.  We must be mindful of who and what we are and what we contribute, both positively and negatively, to both the world around us, and the people we hold close in our hearts.  With honest assessment, we can be in our lives in a much richer and more fulfilling way, consciously making choices that contribute in more meaningful ways to our family, friends, co-workers and environment.

So this holiday season, let’s ask ourselves the important questions.  No need to be shy, your Self loves you.  Then allow the answers to come honestly.  Listen with an open heart, and maybe, just maybe, the consciousness we aspire to can express itself throughout the year and not just during the holidays. With a grateful heart, I wish you a more conscious, loving holiday and new year.  And if you keep asking those important questions, welcome to a greater awakening.

By Kathleen Noone

In this busy world, with very busy people, doing very busy things, where is our centering line?  Where is that place in each of us that finds peace, home, breath, and a place to live quietly?  That is a question that each of us must answer for ourselves.  It takes an authentic heart to answer this truthfully.  By that I mean a willingness to examine what is keeping us hooked into unhealthy situations, and where stress is showing up in our lives.  We need to be brutally honest about our relationship to everything in our lives – work, significant others, friends, surroundings and ourselves. 

Anything you bounce off of in life is a relationship.  As I’ve stated in previous articles, “The issue is not the issue, it is our relationship to the issue that is the issue.”   The only one we have dominion over is ourselves.  So we need to find a place in our day to tend to ourselves, make what we need as important as everything and everybody else.

What is at stake is our health and wellbeing: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  Now maybe this can only be a two-minute-long deep breathing moment, or a five-minute break.  That’s a good place to start.  Keep it simple.  Think in terms of a simple first step that will give you a hint as to what it’s like to feel better, happier and healthier.  For me, there’s a great little health food store on 9th Avenue that makes wonderful fresh vegetable juice.

The simple act of stopping by there on my way home to get my veggie drink, is good for my body.  I feel better, and I give myself a treat that tastes good.  It is a simple small act that impresses into my subconscious that I like doing good things for myself.  The subconscious does not differentiate between fantasy and reality.  I’d rather be feeding myself things that support me than not.  The results are a better life.

Experiment for yourself.  Ask yourself, “What can I do to relieve pressure, or have a better relationship, or ease my time constraints?”  Whatever your issue, ask a simple question of your own design and then trust your simple answer.  Invite yourself into a more gracious way of living.  Allow for joy in your day.  Have a good laugh with a friend.  Give yourself permission to put into better perspective the things that no longer nurture, give support or add kindness to your day.

Eventually allow yourself to let go of those things that no longer serve you well.  This is your life.  It is not a rehearsal.  It is your life. As Chick Corea said, “I searched through rebellion, drugs, diet, mysticism, religion, intellectualism, and much more, only to find that truth is basically simple and feels good, clear and right.”  This month I invite you into simple acts of kindness for yourself.  I invite you into a more truthful way of being with yourself, all done simply.  Have a loving month!

There’s a wonderful article in the “Health Briefs” section of the September issue of Natural Awakenings NYC. The article discusses how music harmonizes the brain.  It references a study charting a patient’s recovery from heart surgery, while listening to the tranquil tones of a Brazilian guitarist.

In measuring the brains response to musical notes, doctors are discovering music’s harmonizing path, from head to heart.  I was taken with this article because if music can have this affect on a healing body, and help its progress, what other things in our surroundings can assist us in a healthier way of being?  In certain hospitals that recognize the importance of this kind of care, they already use music and animals in service to those who are ill and/or in the process of transitioning from this life.

I have seen patients light-up when a service dog comes into their room for a visit.  I’ve also witnessed the joy on the faces of the family members.  Music feeds our souls and the dogs help us remember unconditional love.
Have you ever walked into a room and there was a certain personality that literally sucked the life’s blood out of it?   Conversely, have you ever attended a party and were instantly drawn to that upbeat, warmhearted person who felt so present and alive?  We’ve all had these experiences.

The key is, IT’S TIME TO PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE EXPERIENCES.  This is your life.  It is not a rehearsal. What surrounds your life is your life.  It is its reflection.  You get to choose.  Isn’t that great!  We have been given the grace of choice. So, what can you do this month to begin to pay more attention to your surroundings?

Here are some questions to ask yourself to 
support this process.

What surrounds me that I truly love?
Do I like my apartment…the furnishings, paintings, family and friend photos, the colors in the rooms?
Do I choose the right foods to eat that give my body life-affirming energy?
Do I speak in an affirming way about and to people I’m in contact with on a daily basis?
Do I give my body good exercise to be in my surroundings in a health filled way?
Do I keep good company with people who 
support and nurture me, and my surroundings?
Do I have enough fun?
Do I honor my spiritual yearnings?
Do I allow myself to be in silence, even if just for a few moments a day?
Do I accept and honor my vision for a 
health-filled, joyous and abundant life?

Have a great journey being of greater service to your Self, and lovingly enjoying your surroundings.

Award-winning actress, Kathleen Noone, holds master of fine arts and master of 
spiritual psychology degrees. Send questions and comments to KathleenNoone@nugreencity.com or visit her website at KathleenNoone.com.

Internationally renowned author 
and speaker Wayne Dyer, Ph.D., 
has devoted his life to helping 
others become healthier and happier. He is the author of more than 30 books and producer of the motion picture, The Shift. His newest book, Excuses 
Begone! How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits, was inspired by the ancient teachings of 
the Tao Te Ching.

Q. What common excuses do people use in grappling with their conscience?
Excuses are the explanations we use for hanging on to behaviors we don’t like about ourselves; they are self-defeating behaviors we don’t know how to change. In Excuses Begone! I review 18 of the most common excuses people use, such as “I’m too busy, too old, too fat, too scared or it’s going to take too long or be too difficult.”

We spend a big hunk of our lifetimes contemplating what we can’t have, what we don’t want and what’s missing in our lives. What we have to learn is to put our attention and focus on contemplating what it is we would like to attract, and not on what is missing.

Q. You talk about mind viruses. What are these?
A virus has three purposes: to duplicate, to infiltrate and to spread from one host to the next. Ultimately, even a single virus can shut down an entire system.
A mind virus is different in that there is no form to it; these are ideas placed in our heads when we are little. We get programmed by well-meaning people like our parents and their parents, our culture, religions and schools. We get conditioned to believe in our limitations and what’s not possible.

After a while, we start really believing these things are true. People who have had self-defeating behaviors for a long time, such as people who have been overweight since they were children or people with longtime addictions, actually believe there is no other alternative.

Q. What’s the payoff for living a life filled with excuses?
There’s a payoff for everyone. The reason we hang on to self-defeating behaviors is because it’s easier not to take responsibility. If you’re blaming something or someone else for the way you are, then that person, those people, those circumstances or those energies, are going to have to change in order for you to get better; that’s most likely never going to happen. It’s also a way to manipulate other people.

Usually, making excuses is just something we can get away with, rather than challenging or changing ourselves. If you want to change and you want your life to work at a level you’ve never had before, then take responsibility for it.

I’m not saying that a child who was abused or beaten or abandoned made that happen, but your reaction to it is always yours. While you were four, you didn’t know anything other than being terrified and scared; you’re not four any longer. Now [as an adult] you have to make a choice and recognize that even the abuse that came into your life offers you an opportunity to transcend it, to become a better person and even more significantly, to help someone else not go through what you did.

Q. What is your seven-question paradigm to help people change long-established habits of negative thinking?
The paradigm helps a person identify the thought system, which is almost always false, that is behind the rationale for the continuation of excuses. It helps them really look at excuses from an objective point of view and realize that everything they’ve been thinking is just as likely to be not true as it is to be true.
I believe if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Q. When we look at our own lives and think about the lives of loved ones, what is key to living a healthy, happy, love-based life?
The key is to trust in your own divinity, to know that you are a piece of God, and that you are like what you came from. As a spiritual being, you have Divinity within. When Albert Einstein was asked about the impact of quantum physics, he said, “It’s just all details, I just want to think like God thinks.” And God thinks in terms of creating, kindness, beauty and goodness.

For more information visit DrWayneDyer.com

Ellen Mahoney is a freelance writer who teaches writing at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Contact evm@infionline.net.

Creative Expression
Effortless Expression

“You make the arrangement with your feet because it is your walk through nature that teaches you the truth.” 
  – Hisako Shohara, Ohara School of Ikebana.

Don Amendolia, dear friend, extraordinary actor (recently in the Broadway play “33Variations” with Jane Fonda), wonderful chef, and Ikebana flower arranger, gave me this quote from his teacher at the Ohara School.  I found it so apropos to this month’s theme of Creative Expression, that I wanted to share it with all of you.  Don is someone who lives his life in creative expression.

He has an uncanny ability to tap into his creativity with grace and ease, always making it look effortless, whether he is on stage, film, cooking a magnificent meal, or just walking through the moments of everyday life.

The key word I want to focus on here is “effortless.”  Have you ever had the experience of working on a project knowing you were using all your well-trained skills and mental acuity to the best of your ability in its creation, and at the same time felt its expression was somehow effortless?  In other words, all of your fears, concerns, anxieties and doubts, once you were truly in the moment of your creative expression, were pushed to the side.

At that moment you were an open channel for the free flow of your particular creativity to shine through. You were walking through the nature of your particular craft and its truth was able to reveal itself without interference.   Many years ago someone who I will always hold close to my heart once said, “Kathleen, you get all your set of facts straight first, and then you let your inspiration talk to you.” As an actor, I was very happy to hear that from a lawyer.

It gave me the insight that it’s not only artists who have the ability to listen to the muses, but those leading what might be perceived as more linear lives have that same access.

Creative expression takes place on an experiential level for each of us individually, and experience has taught me that there is no formula for its manifestation.  It is a state of being that comes alive within us when the “ego of I” moves out of the way.
A number of years ago I was performing in a rotating repertory theatre.

At the height of the season we were performing eight shows, six days a week.  I felt like a finely tuned instrument.  On several occasions I had the experience 
of stepping on the stage and feeling that the performance, with all its elements of timing, being in the moment and absolute command of the performance, were in that perfectly balanced mode of expression.

Other actors would come up to me and comment that my performance was in another stratus sphere, right on the money, etc.  I remember so clearly that my answer to them was, “Yes, thank you. I had nothing to do with it.”  I truly felt outside myself.  Not out of control.  Out of my way.

These experiences became my “carrot at the end of the stick.”  They are something I always reach for, yearn for, because they felt effortless. In hindsight, those were moments of the best creative expression I ever had to offer.  I had the experience of that perfectly balanced state of being, with all its exhilaration, freedom, ease, grace, presence of mind and openness.

My walk through the nature of my craft gave me the tools to manifest a truthful, authentic performance.  It was allowing the inspiration to shine through me and that was without my usual stress and pressure.   I had the experience of being in an effortless state, and it was an “AH-HA!” moment for me.

I invite you this month to walk through the nature of your life and careers, with all your great training, education and skills, and allow your truth to shine through you and teach you how to be in an effortless state of being.

Have a wonderful September!

Award-winning actress, Kathleen Noone, holds master of fine arts and master of spiritual psychology degrees. Send questions and comments to KathleenNoone@nugreencity or visit her website at KathleenNoone.com.

Playing in the Sandbox
OF YOUR LIFE

By Kathleen Noone

Have you ever watched children play in a sandbox?  Have you ever sat in a sandbox with them, and observed their single-minded focus on what they’re creating, and their ownership of it? ( ie: “No, no, let me do it!” )  Take a moment to look back and remember the feelings of warmth, joy, comfort and happiness you felt when being a part of that experience.

There is something about watching a child’s freedom of expression that touches our yearning for the ability to do the same thing as adults.  Yes, as adults, we have had to learn to express ourselves within the behavioral guidelines acceptable in society.  But, have we ‘thrown the baby out with the bath water’ by stifling our creativity?  Have we set up so many boundaries that we can no longer feel safe enough to think outside our familiar world?  What would it feel like to not only observe children playing in the sandbox, but to join them in that sandbox?

Could we allow our hands to feel wet and messy in our creative process?  Could we stick with that uncomfortable feeling long enough to see the germ of what we are creating start to take shape?

A couple of weeks ago I was out for my power walk and turned down a quiet side street off Columbus Avenue.  In that relative silence I heard the sound of a gaggle of little children, happily chattering away.  Within a half second of identifying the sound I looked up and saw a small sea of colored balloons bobbing along.  All the children were holding the balloons they received on their outing to the frozen yogurt store.

I got that information from the excited, happy, chattering faces that greeted me when I inquired about their adventure.  As soon as I saw and heard them from a half block away there was a smile that immediately came to my face.  That smile only broadened when I was among them.  The sound of that joy, and the beautiful, radiant colors of the balloons brightened my day.

I was so taken by there openness to be present in the moment.  I asked myself to be present like that for the rest of the day, and what happened is that it turned into a better one.  I said hello to more people on the street.  Believe it or not, in the middle of NYC, they said hello back, and some of them with a smile.  I made a better effort to acknowledge the sales people at the stores.  I asked the checkout guy how his day was going.  I remember he looked at me with that hesitating look of, “Did she really ask me how my day was?”

Two days later I went back to that store and that same clerk went out of his way to get something for me.  I was surprised at his effort.  I shouldn’t have been.
We are in a world that distracts us from our basic good, kind and playful nature.  We need to set our intentions, which I discussed with you in previous articles, to carry an open heart for adventure, and then keep it open  to receive what good comes from it.

My hope is that this month you will give yourself permission to play in the sandbox of your life, with your inner child’s open heart, and carry your own colorful balloon, with your inner child’s eagerness and expectation. Happy adventure!

Feeding the Body, Nurturing the Soul

By Kathleen Noone

When told this month’s theme for Natural Awakenings NYC was natural foods, I thought, “How am I going to relate this to Emotional Fitness?”  I have used the word natural in many conversations with complete confidence as to what it meant to me, but never specifically defined it.  One of Webster’s Dictionary definitions is: “not artificial.”  I liked that.  It felt right. I came to the conclusion that “not artificial” meant being authentic. I started asking myself, “Where and when in my life am I not authentic?   This turned out to be a very specific question, which has given me specific answers.  This month I invite you to do the same.

Those of you reading this magazine may already be looking into being with your body in a more supportive and healthful way.  Are you willing to be with your Self in the same way?  Sometimes we keep body and soul in separate camps, when really one helps the other to flourish, and needs to symbiotically feed off each other for full development.  Science has proven that what we put in our bodies can have an effect on our moods, as well as our physical health.  The same is true of what we feed our minds.

Paul Hawken, writer, renowned entrepreneur, and environmental activist, in his address to the 2009 graduating class of the University of Portland stated that, “Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider.”  As you reconsider what you’re feeding your body, are you willing to reconsider what you are feeding your mind?

This is a world of tremendous possibilities, yet sometimes we surround ourselves with those who limit those possibilities by espousing what’s wrong with the world.  Our news organizations seem to often deliver the worst scenarios, rarely giving enough time to those who are making meaningful contributions that result in long term positive change. I want to feed my mind with new ideas of positive possibility.My Dad, in his later years, was challenged with life’s physical and mental frailties.  I always asked him, “How you doing Dad?”  His answer, “Doing the best I can, Kat”.  I’ve never forgotten.

by Kathleen Noone

The cold months of winter in NYC are over.  Say “Amen” somebody!

Soon the full force of summer will be upon us with hot air, lots of humidity, short tempers and a general malaise of  “oh my God, I can’t breathe, it’s so uncomfortable.”  Well, breathe, we must!  I’m talking about breathing new life into how we approach our experience of summer in the city, and the Emotional Fitness starting point is in setting our intentions, and giving ourselves permission to fulfill them, and enjoy the process of getting to their manifestation.

Last month I talked about a reframe of the word responsibility, moving from a sense of burden to a proactive awareness that we have the ability to choose how we are going to respond.  Setting and consciously repeating our intentions, verbally or in silence, can and will assist us in refining our ability to make better choices for a more supportive and healthier life.

Dr. Wayne Dwyer in his book,” The Power of Intention”, defines intention as “a force that we all have within us.  Intention is a field of energy that flows invisibly beyond the reach of our normal, everyday habitual patterns.  It is there even before our actual conception.  We have the means to attract this energy to us and experience life in an exciting way.”

Someone asked me, after I won an Emmy Award, “To what do I attribute success in my career?”  One of my answers was focus.  The term intention wasn’t used at the time.  When I became very focused (clear about my intention) what I wanted manifested itself to me.  So this month, as we face a long hot summer in NYC, I invite you to define, very clearly, what, good, fun, interesting, exciting, fulfilling, playful, new, easy, nurturing, relaxing experiences you would like to have. And, what they would look like, feel like, smell like, taste like, be like for you.  Give yourself permission to explore this.  Then write down whatever you come up with in the form of an intention.

Here’s an example:
I am ready, willing and able to share a wonderful picnic in the park with my good, supportive, fun loving friends.  Play with this. Keep it simple and direct.  Make sure you express your ideas in the affirmative, as you want to manifest new approaches to your life, and not keep rehashing old paradigm resistance thinking of what you can’t do.

We choose how we are going to approach our day.  We can make it miserable, or choose to find something or several things that will support us; help us face and deal with a difficult boss, help us be with our children in a more positive, productive, and yes, more fun way.  Assess what works or what you would like to work for you and when the day gets you down, set the intention to change your usual response to it, as you have the ability to make another choice.  Then follow through with your new idea.   Being in a state of play requires your imagination to show up.  Let your imagination help you create your intentions.  Let your intentions help you see the greater possibilities outside the ones you have planned, and then, welcome yourself to a wonderful state of play.

Award-winning actress, Kathleen Noone, holds master of fine arts and master of spiritual psychology degrees. Send questions and comments to KathleenNoone@nugreencity.com or visit her website at KathleenNoone.com.

Kathleen Noone’s Summer in the City
On weekend evenings I love to go to the rooftop sculpture garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sculpture, cocktails, interesting people and an absolutely beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline…It doesn’t get better than that!

By Kathleen Noone

There is a wonderful song in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, “Oklahoma” titled ‘I Can’t Say No’ It’s a problem many women have.  It’s important we all learn how to set and honor boundaries.  Equally important is the knowledge that saying “no” can be a healthy influence in our lives and the lives of others we touch.

I tried to be a wonder woman once.  Caught up in trying to be all things to all people, I was unable to draw boundaries and consequently over-extended myself, physically and emotionally.  Thank God I had a best friend who woke me up to what I was doing.  She asked a very simple question.  “Why do you think it’s your responsibility to save this situation?”  My defensive initial reaction was ‘If I don’t, who will?’

I took a couple breaths and realized I needed to look deeper into why I felt I had to be responsible for everything.  What came from that examination was a healthier way of being with my Self.  And the answers that came to me set new boundaries that honored my needs while dealing with the particular issue at hand.

Michael Bernard Beckwith (The Secret) writes in his new book, Spiritual Liberation, “Initiate a conversation within yourself. Call it a dialogue between yourself and your Self…I’m talking about cultivating a pattern of learning into your inner Self with confidence, so that you can skillfully handle whatever arises in your life.”

I think it’s time we reframe the word “responsibility.” It doesn’t have to just mean “burden.” Take a moment to break the word down. Response–ability, the ability to choose how you are going to respond. And always remember the issue is never the issue. It is our relationship to the issue that is the issue.

The following are some questions to use in “Self Talk” that can help guide you towards a new relationship with boundaries.

•    Can I be courageous and tell my truth?

•    Am I willing to hear the answer?

•    If I can’t change the present situation,

will I allow myself to be aware of what’s really going on?

•    Can I take care of myself even though I can’t or won’t 
get out of it now?

•    How can I take care of myself?

•    Is there a healthier way of being in the present situation?

•    Can I appreciate what I am doing, to support myself and others?

•    Do I know there is a better way?

•    What’s the first step I can take to get to that better way?

These are starter questions.

Refine what works for you.

Remember it’s okay to say “no.”

Establish boundaries with dignity, grace, and the assurance you are setting up new and healthier patterns that will enrich your life.

Award-winning actress Kathleen Noone holds master of fine arts and master of spiritual psychology degrees. Send questions and comments to KathleenNoone@nugreencity.com or visit her website at: KathleenNoone.com