Be yourself. It’s what the world wants.

Lately I’ve come across a lot of people who have actually become oppressed by the notion of doing good in the world. What I mean by that is that they have such a strong desire to add and contribute to this world, coupled with such specific notions of how one does that, that they have actually begun to feel powerless because of it.

The crazy and totally ironic thing is that most of the time we make the biggest impact on people completely on accident. Someone once told me that Bobby McFerrin’s song “Don’t worry, be happy” was actually made in a sound check. He was just goofing around! It was his biggest hit.

When we walk around with this erroneous notion of what it takes to contribute positively to this world— thinking that it can only come if we become doctors, or nurses, or teachers, or save the day in some measure— in most cases it actually prevents us from being ourselves (which incidentally is who we have to be to truly contribute.)

Last week I was blown away by this so fun, beautiful, and really uplifting video of a bride and groom and their wedding party dancing into their ceremony. I felt inspired watching it. I had goose bumps and I cried when I saw the bride dance into the wedding with such joy, in the wake of all of her friends who had been doing their own fun and goofy moves. Watching it actually made my night. 28 million people have now seen this video. The couple was actually interviewed on talk shows because of it! Do you know what they were thinking when they planned this into their wedding? “Wouldn’t this be a fun thing to do!?” It actually got on YouTube only because one of the couple’s parents wanted to share it with some relatives who weren’t present. It would be impossible to measure the amount of joy and positivity that was generated, entirely accidentally by this couple— during one 5 minutes minute period of their lives.

Do you see what I mean here?

My point is this—never underestimate the difference you can make in the world just by being yourself. You may, or you may not ever know of it, but guaranteed, the only way you can truly add to this world is by shining in your own unique way.

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive, author, and speaker/teacher. This is an excerpt from her October newsletter.  You can subscribe to receive her free monthly newsletter by clicking here. To schedule a reading or find out more about her work go to www.spreadingblessings.com.

Simple Formula for Life: Notice what brings you joy. Do it again.

Inspired by a conversation that I had with a friend the other day, I’ve been thinking of things that bring me joy. Yesterday at the end of the day I made the following list.

Today’s Joyful Actions
∗ submitted speaking proposal to East West Books
∗ Meditated
∗ Ran
∗ Talked to my dad
∗ Watched a movie
∗ Put my pajamas on at 6pm, and then drove into town in my PJ’s to get a root beer float.

Honestly, the last one was my favorite. And it was actually prompted by me making my list. I wrote it down before I did it. That simple simple action of reframing my day in terms of the things that brought me joy and satisfaction had a huge affect. It actually caused me to think of other things that I could do that would be fun. Let me tell you, I had an ear to ear grin last night as I got in my car wearing the fleece sesame street character pants that my sister made me when she was about 10 (text messaging her on the way) and drove into town for my root beer float. It was totally out of the blue and so much fun!

A lot of times in our lives we try to make things complicated—and we succeed. We tell ourselves we can’t do this or that, because of this or that reason. But the truth of the matter is that no matter how complex a system or life you have gotten yourself into—the simplest formulas always apply. They work. Always. Feel unhappy? Turn toward joy. How? Notice what makes you happy. Then do it again.

It’s really not hard. And it truly does work. It may take you a while to dig yourself completely out of your hole, if you’ve dug yourself a big one— but even the simplest steps will get you there. Even baby steps are movement in the right direction. Make it simple. Then repeat.

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive, author, and speaker/teacher. You can subscribe to receive her regular blessings and inspirations in your inbox by clicking here. More about her and her work can be found at www.spreadingblessings.com.

Accept Grace

I made a new motto the other day, “Accept Grace.” It felt like the antidote to my usual do-it-yourself kind of attitude. I’ve always been an independent person, even as a girl, but sometimes the knowing you are capable can get to be a little too much. “Take a load off, take it easy Aimée, you don’t have to do everything yourself,” I heard myself thinking. Then I asked myself, “How can I accept more grace into my life?” The first answer that came was an action verb, “Accept.”

Instead of thinking I have to do everything myself, I’m making my action be accepting the plethora of bounty and beauty that comes my way, without me even trying. I’m saying yes to the delicious experiences and support that arrives. I’m relying on the help of the benevolent Spirit beings that are always guiding my life.

Within hours of me making that motto someone came up to me at the grocery store and said “Hey thank you for your writing. I’ve been following your blogs. Also I heard you are looking for more speaking opportunities. Would you like me to put you in touch with some people who are doing this for a living? I’m a member of the National Speakers Association.”

“Yes.” Grace accepted.

Next, the grocery bagger offered to carry my one bag of groceries and bottle of wine to my car for me.

“Yes.” I accepted.

At the post office I was surprised to find a whole box of books waiting for me. All “Chicken Soup for the Soul, What I learned from the Cat,” books to which I am a contributing author. The books were sent to me to give away.

Then, a person who has been trying for weeks to find a quote he had jotted down of something someone said in response to my work, finally and easily, just walked up and handed it to me.

The quote was so beautiful it was like poetry.

“Aimée speaks from such a clear and centered place. Her voice has the ring of honesty—it was like listening to a bird sing.”

Is accepting grace all I ever need to do? I don’t know yet, but it’s an experiment I am willing to try.

Aimée Cartier is the founder of Spreading Blessings Media, a company dedicated to providing tools for inspired living. You can sign up to receive her regular blessings and inspirations in your inbox, or for her free e-newsletter here.

Finding Security in Insecure Times

My sister got a new job recently. A nine-five salaried position for a company she has worked for in the past. I was thinking about her position the other day as I was driving down the road. I was remembering what the “security” of a nine-five job with regularly scheduled checks in previously-agreed-upon-amounts felt like.

As an intuitive, writer, and speaker/teacher, it’s been years since I experienced that sort of regularity and consistency in my income. At the moment I was thinking about it, I was driving home from a booksellers conference where I had gone to make connections and find a publisher for my new book. Like most things I do, it was another example of how I live my life by the seat of my pants. I move, as I go along finding the solutions that are best for me in any given moment. I follow my intuition to the next step wherever and whatever that is. My security is not provided by the timing of my paychecks, it is provided by the fact that I know I am actually living what I am here to do. I am on course for why I came to this earth right now.

As I envisioned myself in the kind of job/life that my sister was in, I felt a huge sense of unease. I could see that what was perfect for her, was far from perfect for me. For me, choosing that alternative would actually create insecurity because I knew that it would only be a matter of time, (and probably sooner rather than later) before that so-called “secure” option ended, and forced me to get in line with what I was really here to do. My sense is that with the drastic changes we are experiencing in our life right now, those are the kind of choices and opportunities that many of us are facing.

We are each of us, right now, being asked to get on our own particular path,whatever that is. Security no longer comes from having a regular paycheck, because as we’ve all seen, that can change. It comes from knowing that you are living the life that your soul intended—that you are living a life that is authentic to you, and that you are offering the particular gifts you came here to give. There is a security in finding and living this that doesn’t come from external circumstances. You don’t know exactly how it is all going to work out, but you know for certain that it will.

We are each here to offer something special and specific that the world needs at this time. It is something that no one else can offer in quite the same way that you can. The road to your personal security lies in being able to identify this and in choosing to continuously move in that direction. It might not happen overnight, but if you keep preparing, and stay on course, the Universe will support you, even monetarily, in doing what you are here to do.

If you don’t know what that is yet, I’ve included the some guidance and a book recommendation in my free September newsletter. You can sign-up here. It also includes inspiring quotes and a great video clip. If you do know already—keep up the good work. If you don’t know– thank you for inquiring. And to all of us, wherever we are on the journey– have faith. Remind yourself often that the world needs your knowledge. Trust that by fulfilling who you are and what you are here to do, support will arrive, is arriving, has arrived!

All my love,

Aimée

Aimée Cartier is an author, intuitive, speaker/teacher and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media. This is an excerpt from her September newsletter. To subscribe to this newsletter click here. To contact Aimée about scheduling a speaking event on this subject or on the subject of her upcoming book entitled, Getting Answers: How to get the answer to any question you have. Email us at info (at)spreadingblessings.com.

You ARE significant!

A little man arrived in my dreams this morning.  He had white hair parted down the middle that was sort of brushed straight down and curled out at the end.  He had a very distinct jaw line that mirrored the chin of the person I had been thinking about when I went to bed.  The first thing that he communicated to me was, “Have you ever considered that things are going this way for your own good?”  He was talking about my disappointments.  He was showing me what I had failed to consider— that even the actions of others that I experienced as painful were actually to my benefit.

Then he said, “Most people spend their whole lives thinking that they are insignificant, never understanding that just being here has already made them important.”

When he said this, I began to cry.  Washing over me simultaneously I felt the grief of feeling I was insignificant, and the notion that I was more loved and significant than I could possibly imagine.

I knew this man was an envoy.  He was a spirit being that had taken pity on me and come to me in my dreams.  He told me things about the person he looked like, pointing out why he was behaving certain ways and doing certain things—giving me background that I wouldn’t have understood otherwise.

But his most significant message was universal:  “You are significant.  No matter who you are and what is happening in your life, you are significant.  The idea that it could even be otherwise is simply absurd.”

When he communicated this, in my minds eye I saw the millions of people who go about their lives everyday never really truly understanding or even considering their own significance.  They move around their lives thinking that they and their lives don’t matter.  I saw also how we are all being watched.  How there are spirit beings who are watching all of our lives with interest.  Who we are and what we do is significant to them.  They care about us.

Like the being who stepped into my dreams this morning to set me straight—we are all, always, being watched and loved by benevolent beings who have an interest in our lives.  No matter who we are, we are significant beyond imagining.

Aimée Cartier is an author, intuitive, speaker and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media.  To sign  up to receive her blessings and inspiration regularly by email click here.

It will all be clear in hindsight

Let’s face it—bizarre things happen in life.  Unexpected occurrences, events or interactions that didn’t quite work out the way you anticipated.  Plans that you had that were dashed, just when you were ready to move forward.  Experiences that didn’t quite take shape the way that you had hoped.  These things happen.  Disappointments happen.  They can.  And they do.  They are something that most of us experience in this life.

So what do you do when these things happen?

One of the most comforting thoughts I have during these periods is, “It will all be clear in hindsight.”  It is—it always is.

I’ve found that whole periods of my life sometimes became clear only after they happened.  At the time, I had no idea why this should be happening I knew only that it was.  Looking back upon it though I’ve always found that whatever that experience gave me, it was essential to me later.  I needed it.  I built upon it later.  What I learned was essential to me, sometimes for the rest of my life.

So if you can’t find the reason (why this is happening) now, it’s because you don’t need to know, yet.  Focus on what you do know.  What is in front of you that needs your attention?  Do that.  Follow your instinct.  And if it helps you, take comfort in knowing that it will all be clear later.  Because it is, it always is.

Resistance is futile!

Resistance is futile!  The world is careening in a direction that has your own best interest in mind.  Just because it is not what you thought, doesn’t mean it is bad.  In fact nothing could be farther from the truth.

Let go of resistance.  Relax into what is– it is taking you precisely where you need to go.

Aimée Cartier is an author, intuitive, speaker, and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media a company dedicated to providing tools for inspired living.  To sign up to receive her regular blessings and inspirations in your inbox or to get her free monthly e-newsletter go here.  To find about more about her and her work visit www.spreadingblessings.com.

Things go wrong so that….

Things go wrong so that they can be fixed.  It’s an empowering thought isn’t it?  Those were the words that I woke up with in my head this morning.  The things that aren’t working in your life aren’t, as you may have been perceiving, the scenes of a sick and enduring tragedy.  They are instead like little beacons, shining light on what needs to be changed.  They are like little pinpoints looking for some love, a little massage, a little newness, a little shift.

We are all evolving all of the time.  Things change, we change.  As we have new experiences, we start to crave and want others.  We master some things and are ready to move on to learn bigger things.  We are constantly learning and changing.  So it’s no wonder then that at some points we will run into periods in our lives where things get a little rough around the edges.  In some way, these are actually signs that we have graduated.  We have finished one way of being—one way of relating, one set of experiences and are ready to move on to another.  We are being given the tools to identify what is not working in our lives and the ability to take the steps to fix it.

So when things aren’t going “right” in your life, look at things in these terms.  You are not as you may have imagined, the victim in a sad melodrama.  You are the hero/heroine with just the tools you need to fix it.  You find these tools by identifying what is wrong, and then asking yourself, “What is the antidote to this challenge?” Ask yourself, “What would transform this situation from something uncomfortable into something glorious?”  And then take these steps.

Things go wrong so that they can be fixed, that’s the message.  And you are the hero/heroine of your life.  You have everything you need to identify the challenge, discover the antidote, and take the steps to fix it.  You are that powerful!  Congratulations!

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive, author, and the director of Spreading Blessings Media.  To sign up to receive regular blessings and inspirations in your inbox click here.  More of her published work can be found in her online portfolio.

Let beauty ease your discomfort

To be honest, for a few weeks I’ve been in and out of a funk.  In contrast to my normal way of being, where I can usually find just the tool I need to fix it, this time I haven’t really had the slightest idea of what to do.

It was in a phone conversation with a friend this morning that things became clear.  First of all she told me that astrologically there are some very significant things going on.  Then she also described her life in the same terms that I have been feeling in my own.

Of late, my feeling has been one of general lack luster.  When I look around at my life it has felt as though, although I can’t identify precisely what is wrong, I feel that I am not satisfied.  I haven’t even been able to identify what exactly has changed, but I know that things don’t feel right.

This morning my friend revealed that the nature of this astrological event is one of “something needs to change but I don’t know what.”  Her words reflected precisely the question that I had asked in my own journal the day before, “What is missing and how can I get it?”

Although I don’t yet have an answer to that question, the conversation I had with her revealed some very important truths that helped me feel more lighthearted about my life.

One is that for many people this is a time of general lack luster.  Second, if you are feeling this, especially as for me if it is something you are not accustomed to feeling, you can rest assured that it will pass.

Putting it into that perspective somehow eased everything for me.  I felt like, okay fine, this is just an uncomfortable period, and even though I can’t currently see the way out of it, I know that it will move.

It reminded me of a Fiona Apple song that I love entitled Extraordinary Machine. One of my favorite lines in the song is one that goes, “I’m good at being uncomfortable so I can’t stop changing all the time.”  She goes on to say in her chorus, “If there was a better way to go then it would find me.  I can’t help it the road just rolls out behind me.  Be kind to me, or treat me mean, I’ll make the most of it, I’m an extraordinary machine.”

I love that.

Although most of my usual methods have not worked of late, there has been one thing that I have been moved to do—and that is focus on beauty.

I’m currently making what I call a Spirit Garden in my yard.  I am filling it with only plants I love and  think are really beautiful.  Looking at this space reminds me even in times when I don’t feel it, that there is beauty in the world.  It helps me focus on whatever gorgeous aspects I can find in life.  To me, it symbolizes my connection to Spirit in a tangible way, one that allows me to see it even when I can’t feel it.  Although it’s not in place yet, at the center of my garden will be a sort of cauldron.  This receptacle will be a place for me to put, and burn whatever cares or concerns I have, or whatever messages, even of gratitude, that I want to send to Great Spirit.

So my message for this time period two fold.  One remember this time of discomfort will pass.  And two, in the mean time apply this medicine: focus on beauty.  Even if, and especially if, there are other things in your life that don’t seem quite right, find your own way to focus on what is beautiful in this world.  It will uplift you and remind you, that even when you can’t feel it, it exists.  It will act like a beacon, or a magic carpet of hope, guiding you, even if slowly, back to the place where you can feel that all IS right in the world.

Aimée is an intuitive and writer.  She is the founder of Spreading Blessings Media.  To sign up for her blessings and inspirations by email click here.

Your mind serves your heart.

Sometimes I have an over active mind.  It’s true.  From time to time it can get the best of me.  For the last couple of weeks my mind has been doing just that.  It’s been hard at work driving me insane.  It create scenerios, envisions outcomes, has conversations–with itself!  They go like this, “first I say…, then he says…, then I say….”  The subject of these conversations are positive, so at least I’m not creating arguments, but still they are maddening!  I mean they are not even happening!  Do you know how frusterating it can be to have conversation after conversation with your own mind?  If you’re human– I bet you do.

So how do you handle this very human tendency?  Well I must say the answer I discovered this week startled even me.  I am used to my mind, I am aware of how it can sometimes get in ruts and think endlessly about things that are totally not helpful for it to think about it.  Initially when I noticed this thinking rut I was in, my tactic was to  just let my mind do it’s job of making up stories, without getting upset about it.  Then came a certain point where I actually got tired of the subject- and still my mind kept going.  So when I could see that these make believe conversations were  driving me to the point of nausea-  I started pulling out my usual box of “tools.”

I would methodically switch to repeating a mantra in my mind when I found myself thinking about the subject.  I would breathe deeply and look around me- trying to bring myself back to the present moment and out of my mind.  I went on walks.  Man I went on walks!  I tried to get as grounded in the present as I possibly could.  Sure these things worked– for a while.  But not with any longevity.  I dug through my box of books for a title that had helped me in the past: Mystery of the Mind by Swami Muktananda.  I lay on my bed reading it.  It helped.  Some.  But still my mind had things to say.  It couldn’t let go of the subject, it wouldn’t let go of the subject.

It was two days ago when I finally realized what was going on.  Actually, it wasn’t my mind that was trying to communicate with me, it was my heart.  ”I’m lonely,” I finally heard it say.  Here I was getting all bent out of shape because of my mind’s rampant imagination when all it was trying to do was communicate the notions of my heart.  My heart needed to be heard.

Let me tell you, the silence that enveloped me after my heart spoke was immense.  For the first time in I don’t know how long my mind was quiet.  It was pure and blissful silence.  It felt like poetry it was so beautiful.  It was as though my mind had finally  just shut off.  If it had had a thought it probably would have been something like, “Finally she gets the message!” said in an exasperated and relieved tone.

This experience rocked my world– in many ways.  First because I realized that it wasn’t even the actual loneliness that was eating me up, it was the being totally unaware of what was in my heart that was causing me pain.  But mostly because I realized that my mind IS completely aware of its job to serve my heart.  For so long I thought this was something I needed to train my brain to understand.

After this experience I realized how naturally, without any outside prompting, the whole amazing mechanism of my human body including my complex and intricate mind, intrinsically understands its focus on my heart.  In so many subtle and profound ways it is this ever-beating organ that both keeps me alive, and makes my life worth living.  It points me to what is important in life– people, connection, friends, and makes me able to have those interactions.

So the next time I find myself in a thinking rut, the first thing I’m going to do is to ask myself instead not how can I change this line of thinking, but, “Heart what would you like to say?”  Then I can move directly on to the real business of my life: serving my heart.

Aimée Cartier is an intuitive, writer, and the founder and director of Spreading Blessings Media.  To find out more about her work or sign up for her regular newsletters and blessings click here.