by MarBeth Dunn | Dec 10, 2012 | Uncategorized
What amazing times we live in! You’ve no doubt by now heard that the Mayan calendar ends on December twenty-first of this year. Although there has been great speculation about our world ending in a cataclysmic disaster, there are other interpretations that posit this winter solstice to be a transition date to mark an ushering in of all people on Earth to an era of positive physical, and 
especially spiritual, transformation.
The precipitation of this new era is due in part to quantum physics becoming more understandable to mainstream, “regular” people (not just scientists) thanks to movies like “What the bleep do we know?” and “The Secret”. Although a deep and vast topic, simply put, quantum physics proves that our thoughts create our reality. Whereas before, we lived with the adage, “I think, therefore I am”, which denoted an existence, we have moved into the understanding that “I Am” (the name of God in the book of Exodus as told to Moses when he encountered the burning bush) creates a state of being and this creates our reality. Just as there is a higher and greater good, we all have a higher and greater self that we can aspire to.
A Course In Miracles advises, “There’s no such thing as an idle thought” and science is clearly proving that mere thoughts can change physical matter. In fact, quantum physicists discovered in the 19th century that matter was affected by the simple act of our observing it. When scientists had a preconceived notion of how electrons and photons would act, and observed them, the behavior met the scientists’ expectations. However, when they were not being observed, the photons and electrons behaved quite differently! scientists discovered that the very act of observing an electron’s path changed its behavior. In other words, electrons behaved differently while being watched than they did when not being watched!
What this means is that since you are composed of electrons, you can, will and do behave differently depending upon your thoughts, expectations, perceptions and perspective. What you think, feel, believe and imagine all have the power to change your reality. Think of yourself as a superhero. With this knowledge, you can use your powers for good or for evil. Use it for good to create a life for yourself that is peaceful, happy, serene and which you will shine as you present your best self, in your best life, to the world. Conversely, if your thoughts are constantly negative, doubtful and pessimistic, you will find yourself creating a reality that is bleak and living a life that is thoroughly unenjoyable and definitely not serving others. It’s difficult to have positive, altruistic desires when you are coming from a place of despair and lack. So use your power wisely!
The earth is changing rapidly, as we’ve moved into the age of Aquarius from the Piscean age. Scholars on this subject agree that the key word for the Piscean age is “inspiration”, while the key word for the Aquarian age is “enlightenment”. As a people, we’re learning and discovering information, and growing spiritually at a rapid pace. When we gain more information and greater clarity, our horizons are expanding and our level of awareness grows as well.
As we close out 2012, I’m reminded of the REM song, “It’s the End of the World (As We Know It)”. No, the physical, literal world won’t disappear on the twenty-first of December but it does signify the end of the way we’ve known the world for centuries. We’re moving into a new age: an age of consciousness and I can’t help but think of the next line of that REM song….”and I feel fine”.
© MarBeth Dunn. All rights reserved
by MarBeth Dunn | Dec 8, 2012 | Uncategorized
Have you noticed how much we learn about ourselves from our relationships with other people? The people we surround ourselves with are, in essence, a mirror image of ourselves. This may make you smile in some cases and perplex you in others but
` one thing is for certain, the phrase “Birds of a feather flock together” didn’t come out of nowhere!
One of the key tenets of any relationship is good communication. Without it, a relationship will falter. Whether verbal or non-verbal, it’s communication that connects us to other people. When our interactions are positive and uplifting, relationships are harmonious. When they’re hurtful or nonexistent, relationships can fall apart. Very often we project the things we dislike in ourselves onto others. You will find your interactions with others flowing more easily, when you treat them (and yourself!) with love and compassion. To communicate effectively and in a loving way, it’s important to remember a few rules of thumb.
In any relationship between a man and a woman, the universal and undeniable fact is that men and women really do speak different languages. Have you ever noticed that as a woman, you can say certain things to your girlfriends and they’ll just get it? If you said the same thing to a man, however, he would either not understand or may even get annoyed. It’s not that he doesn’t get the bigger picture; it’s that men and women deliver and receive communication in different ways. A man might be able to say something to another man that would anger, hurt or confuse a woman. Again, it’s not that women can’t handle the truth or are fragile creatures, they just have different filters. If you want to improve your relationships with the opposite sex, romantic or platonic, you may want to become a student of how men and women differ in communication. There are many great books out there, and often times, a dating and relationship expert or coach can help you understand and improve your communication, which will help you improve your relationships.
I’ve notices that all relationships respond favorably to appreciation rather than criticism. Before you criticize, first identify your motivation for it. Is it to make you feel more righteous, or is it to better someone else? How much does the criticism involve you (otherwise known as an ego extension)? Do you know why the person you are about to criticize is doing what they’re doing? Ego is big and present in all of us. After all, it’s the ego’s job to protect us! If you’re secretly feeling small, nothing will help your ego like the realization that someone else has serious flaws! Asking yourself those questions may help you reconsider the next time you’re tempted to give someone “feedback.” If you still want to criticize, determine whether or not this person has given you permission to voice your opinion. They may not want it or care about it! Even if they do give you permission, you need to be 100% okay with the fact that they may not take your advice. The St. Francis of Assisi quote, “Seek not to be understood but to understand” is a good thing to commit to memory in these situations!
Finally, relationships are best when you commit to always being authentically you. Strive to be in your heart space, and communicate from a place of compassion and love. Are you in your head trying to justify what you’re feeling? You’ll find your interactions are always more authentic and when you speak from the heart, you’re more prone to speak in a way that is loving rather than a way that attacks the other person. It takes great courage to speak from the heart but that’s where true communication, and love, begin to happen. When that occurs, you’ll find much more joy in the dialogs that create and foster growth in all great relationships.
© 2012 MarBeth Dunn. All rights reserved
by MarBeth Dunn | Dec 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
Most of us would love to have a relationship with a significant other. Have you wondered why you currently don’t have a “special someone” – or why things don’t seem to go well in the romance department? 
If you’re frustrated by meeting quality people and sustaining romantic relationships, here are a few things you can look at and then practice immediately to change your situation.
If you find that you continually have challenges in this area, or attracting the same people over and again in different packages, I know, it can be tempting, and perhaps not without merit, to cast blame on the people you’re meeting for not being good relationship material. Yet, don’t be surprised, there’s a good chance the common denominator is you!
Darlene (not her real name) had a pattern of attracting unavailable men. She had never had a good relationship, and feared she never would. Since her dad had not been available to her growing up, she had no reference for having an available man in her life. Upon connecting this recurring pattern with her family history, and releasing the underlying beliefs undermining a good relationship, Darlene has seen a very positive shift in the men she’s dating.
If you would like to change your recurring pattern of attracting the same “bad news” type, ask yourself if there is indeed a pattern. Then you can start examining it. What kind of similar character or behavior traits do you typically attract and do these traits resemble any of the significant people in your past?
One strange thing about patterns is that they feel familiar and when things feel familiar, we tend to gravitate towards them, regardless of whether it’s good for us or not. Familiar starts to mean “good” or “right” in your mind because familiar can be comfortable in a weird way, even when being comfortable isn’t the best or most healthy thing for you. Just as you may routinely turn to unhealthy eating or drinking habits when you’re not conscious of your behavior, it’s very common to do the same thing when meeting and creating a relationship with someone.
A great way to stop the cycle of having unhealthy relationships is to become very aware of who you attract into your life and who you have previously determined as “attractive”; not just physically but as a partner. When you examine your romantic relationships, you’ll probably discover that you keep dating the same type of person over and over! Give some thought as to where that pattern is coming from, on and why you may be attracted to certain personalities.
Remember, you have the power to create your life. Decide the kind of partner you would like to have, and ask yourself whether you are the person they might be attracted to. Ultimately, you won’t have the relationship you desire, until you love, accept, and appreciate yourself for who you are.
So what can you do to start loving yourself?
A great way to begin, is to speak to yourself in positive terms. Would you ever talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself…or would that just be too mean? Stop judging yourself, and begin to appreciate all you do and everything you are. Choose to have better thoughts about yourself, and you will find you start choosing better people. When you truly begin to see the wonderful person you are, you will only allow people who choose to cherish and love you into your life. Then, you will notice the ones who don’t meet your criteria disappearing from your life. If you’re not treating yourself with love and respect, it’s almost a certainty that no one else will.
A quick exercise you may want to try this week, is to stand in front of a mirror three times a day and tell yourself that you love yourself and why. When you find the joy of you, in you, other people will notice and want to be a part of your life. To have a great romantic relationship, and be well loved by others, you have to be well loved by you. Change that and all your other relationships will change as well.
© 2012 MarBeth Dunn – all rights reserved
by MarBeth Dunn | Nov 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves….”
– Rainer Maria Rilke
If you haven’t heard this quote before, it’s an excerpt from a poem by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. There are certainly many times in life where the answers aren’t forthcoming, no matter how hard you try to get them, and you must be content to just love the questions. However, there are moments where you could experience answers that are pivotal to guiding you in the direction you want to go, where, in fact, you must go, yet, you’re not in the space where you can hear these answers. So how do you get there?
The best way to connect with the inner guidance and inner wisdom you already have is to be able to get quiet enough to hear what your highest self is trying to tell you. But to connect to your highest self, 
you really need to be vibrating at a high level and that takes both awareness and a commitment to spend the time to achieve and maintain that higher vibration.
One of the first things you’ll want to do to achieve a higher vibration, is to get into your heart space and taking the time to concentrate on nothing but your heartbeat and your breathing. It will help you to connect with your inner wisdom. Quite often, you do have all the answers within you but if you are living in the world at the world’s pace without taking the time to go inward, you’ll never find those answers. The external noise is just too loud and will drown everything else out. Meditation will also get you vibrating at a higher level and that’s key to being able to hear the answers that are within you.
When you are vibrating at a higher level, you are open to receiving things you are unable to receive when you are putting out a lower level vibration. Many of the answers that you’ve been seeking will magically seem to appear and without effort when you raise your vibration. This is key, because there are so many people who seem to have really great lives but who are walking around unhappy and dissatisfied. This is because they are carrying around deep, unanswered questions, so they are living lives that aren’t authentic to who the really are. They are living lives that aren’t reflective of who they really want to be. Don’t be one of these people!
To live the life you love and live the life you want to live, you need to love the questions and then you need to be able to be in a place where you can hear, receive and then act on the answers that are coming to you…the answers that are already deep inside of you. It’s really all there, you just need to connect with your higher self. When you do that, all of those big questions will start having big answers and when you have big answers, you can live a life that is authentic and joyful.
© MarBeth Dunn 2012 – all rights reserved
by MarBeth Dunn | Nov 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
Have you had a “teacher” who show up in your life at the perfect time to say or do exactly what you needed to learn? The Universe will never fail to give you exactly what you need to learn, if you stay open about the way in which your teacher shows up.
There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive” and I know for me, there is inherent 
truth in that statement. There are a few things you need to do to ensure that you are in a frame of heart and mind to receive both the teacher and the teachings. Sometimes things show up far differently than we would like or expect!
It’s important to stay present to create a space that will allow your teacher to show up. While it’s far too easy to get busy, trying to find what it is you’re looking for, letting go and moving only through inspired action is actually a better way to stay present. It will also help create space for what you want and need. When you are present, you’ll start to notice that everything you need is actually found in the now. It will be hard to see this though, if your heart and mind are in the future or in the past. Enjoy the beauty of this moment, this day, and where you are right now. Staying present is a “present” all its own, as you will begin to discover when you make a concentrated effort to do this. The exact teacher you need, providing you with the exact lessons you need, are hovering nearby, waiting for you to notice them!
Another element of getting what you need when you need it, is to stay in service to other people. There are a great number of people who need your particular gifts and talents, and when you focus outward, rather than inward, you’ll find that the Universe again responds with delivery. What do you do best and what do you love most? Find where those two intersect and you’ve more or less identified the best path to follow. When you are in service to other people, other people will naturally be in service to you. This “sweet spot” is where many people find that a new teacher or guide shows up and no scouting around for this person was required.
Finally, don’t worry about being perfect or trying to achieve perfection in your life or business! There’s really no such thing, yet so many of us keep trying to grab that particular brass ring. Your imperfections are the very reason you are wanting and needing a teacher, so ride that wave! If you had all the answers and everything was always buttoned up exactly so, what need would you have to learn anything anyway? Don’t be so focused on making sure that each day and everything in each day is exactly the way you think it should be. You’ve probably heard, “Make the mess your message” but let’s take it one step further. If you’re mess isn’t showing up clearly enough, how is your teacher going to find you? The imperfections and all the things that are your current struggles are what allow you to be ready to learn new lessons. So embrace where you are right now. No striving for perfection allowed!
We live in a strange and wonderful world and the Universe definitely has a sense of humor. Stay present, be of service and don’t worry about perfection and just see what shows up for you! You never know who your teachers may be but one thing is for sure: if you let them, they will feed your soul and open up your world to all kinds of new and wonderful things. And that can lead to great joy.
