The Energy of an Oprah Possibility.

I was just reflecting on the amount of energy and hope I got from a simple call from a producer putting together a pilot for the Oprah Winfrey show.  In sharing this possibility and asking for prayers, this simple possibility spread energy and excitement to my family and friends as well.  That got me to thinking.  I have no idea of the outcome, and yet in the present moment I was excited and energized.  Since the opportunity has not yet been manifested physically, then it is not the outcome only that produces the energy, but the hope of a possibility does the same thing.

Energy Has Attraction Power

That being the case, then we should dream hopeful dreams and set exciting  goals all the time.  Like Jessie Jackson always said, “Keep hope alive.” What are you hoping for and what are you doing to “keep hope alive.”  It is that hope and faith that generate energy.  When there is no hope, there is no energy.  When there is no energy, we lose the power of attraction.  When we are feel hopeless we may be pushing away the very people who could help us and attracting the company of those who are also in misery.   Both hope and fear are contagious.  At any given moment, we are either spreading joyful energy or sucking energy out of everyone we connect with, so we must be very careful of our power.

We live our lives one moment at a time and if we have the power to influence the current moment and make it joyful, exciting, and hopeful, then we should do it habitually.  I also believe strongly that it is the energy of anticipation that helps to attract things to us.  Whether it is anticipating the realization of an exciting goal or the fearful anticipation of a calamity or negative outcome, our focus (energy) draws whatever we are thinking about to us.  I guess that’s why the Bible teaches us:  “As a man thinketh, so is he.”

3 Tips to Silence Your Inner Worrywart | BNET

Amanda Alexander outlines advice to get control of your stress, including these smart tips:

Walk down the memory lane of your previous worries. Can you remember what you were worried about this time last year? If you can actually remember them, which were worth the worry? Remember the old saying: “Today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday.”

Play with your worry voice. Give the voice a character with a life. For the sake of illustration, I like to call mine Dobby (after the negative little house-elf from Harry Potter)…. Turn the volume on the worry voice up and down, change the pitch of the voice, get it to sing. How about getting the voice to sing its lyrics to the tune of Kylie Minogue’s “I Should Be So Lucky”? Once you’ve had a good old play, go back to the volume and turn it right down until you can’t hear that worry voice at all!

Perform a worry autopsy. Write down what you are worried about in a notebook. What is the worst that could happen because of these worries? Think about how you would handle this worst-case scenario.

via 3 Tips to Silence Your Inner Worrywart | BNET.

A Scientific View of Why Women Earn Less | BNET

The wage gap is getting worse, even though women are choosing higher paying specialties. In 1999, the gap between men and women was only $3,600, even though women are choosing higher-paying specialties now than they were ten years ago. In 2008, only about 30 percent of women doctors went into family medicine, compared to about half in 1999. If the wage gap is due to women choosing lower-paying specialties, you would think that the decreasing number choosing family medicine would mean that the wage gap would shrink.

via A Scientific View of Why Women Earn Less | BNET.

Shocking Body-Image News: 97% of Women Will Be Cruel to Their Bodies Today: Health & Fitness: glamour.com

“Read these words: “You are a fat, worthless pig.” “You’re too thin. No man is ever going to want you.” “Ugly. Big. Gross.” Horrifying comments on some awful website? The rant of an abusive, controlling boyfriend? No; shockingly, these are the actual words young women are saying to themselves on any typical day. For some, such thoughts are fleeting, but for others, this dialogue plays on a constant, punishing loop, according to a new exclusive Glamour survey of more than 300 women of all sizes. Our research found that, on average, women have 13 negative body thoughts daily—nearly one for every waking hour. And a disturbing number of women confess to having 35, 50 or even 100 hateful thoughts about their own shapes each day.”

via Shocking Body-Image News: 97% of Women Will Be Cruel to Their Bodies Today: Health & Fitness: glamour.com.

How many negative self body thoughts do you have each day?  When you look into the mirror are you loving and accepting or disgusted or dissatisfied?  Please read this article.  How can we love others if we have so much hatred for ourselves?  How can we appreciate others when we don’t even value our own image?  We  can’t give what we don’t have.  Love yourself and perhaps loving others will come easier.

The Science of Creating Your Own Luck

Are you lucky?  Is there a science to luck or is it a spiritual blessing or divine grace?   I am one of those right brain people whose pendulum swings way to the right when given a choice to rely on science or spirit. I tend to look first towards spirituality to explain or guide me with work, relationships, and setting goals.  I also look for the spiritual lesson when I encounter adversity.  So, looking for a scientific explanation of why things are is not my first line of defense.  But, I’m consistently learning that science compliments spirituality and explains things logically.  With spirituality, I don’t have to know why; I just know what is.  But, science explains the why and I am even more confirmed.  For example, I know from experience that prayer and meditation work.  Science attempts to explain why.    But, I’m learning that it is not an either/or choice.  Both are valuable and both play a role.

4 Steps to Create Your Own Luck

Many people would consider me lucky.  I am if the definition is: “Luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.”  Yes I am lucky but I feel that my attitude and faith create my luck.  Richard Wiseman studies luck and has actually come up with a prescription for how it’s done.  You’ll want to read his insightful article, Be Lucky- it’s an easy skill to learn. He writes,  “My research revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic principles.They are:

  1. Skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities,
  2. Make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition,
  3. Create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and
  4. Adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.”

After graduating from his luck school, 80% of his students were luckier.  Scientific or spiritual luck?  Perhaps you don’t have to choose and can have both!  I’m  going to make sure I apply the principles above and for luck, I’m going to continue to pray.  There you have it.  Feeling luckier?

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.