I'm assuming you have heard about how we can all "attract" good things into our lives by using the power of our minds. This is true, yes, but there needs to be some understanding about it in order for it to work. What must we do to train our minds? How can we use our training to attract anything we want?

First you must realize that by training your mind, you won't be necessarily be receiving the things you "want". The things we think we want may not always be what we REALLY want. I'm sure you have heard something similar plenty of times before. And there is a reason many people make that claim. You must understand that we attract through our subconscious mind, not our conscious mind. Unfortunately we don't always know what it is our subconscious wants. Even if you want money and luck and fame, you subconsciously may not feel you deserve those things. Why? Well it could be a number of things. From the day you were born until now, you may have been told over and over again that "money is the root of all evil". "Money makes people selfish". "Fame can be a bad thing". I'm sure you get the point. Even if you don't agree with those statements (and I know I don't), they could have been pounded into your subconscious enough times for your subconscious to be influenced by it. The question is, how can you know? And how can you reprogram your subconscious?

One way you could tell is by looking at your life. How would you rate the follow areas from 1 - 10?

Love and Relationships

Business / Work Success

School Experience

Luck

Money and Finances

Health and Diet

Friendships

How do you rate your life up to this point?

If you didn't give yourself a high score in all of those areas, then you know that your subconscious could use some work.

I also want you to take a look at your dreams. Keep a dream diary if you have to. Write in it the second you wake up, even from just a small nap. Even if you don't think you will remember much. Even if you can only remember a few words, then write those few words down. I promise that if you keep this up, you will start to remember your dreams better. You will notice they become more vivid. Take a look at your diary every few days to study your dreams. If overall they seem like happy, positive dreams, then you are subconsciously happy. This means that the things your conscious mind finds happy agrees with your subconscious mind. This is a very good thing because it means everything is aligned enough for you to attract positivity into your life.

If overall your dreams seem bland, unexciting, or even upsetting, it could be a sign that your subconscious mind isn't aligned with your conscious desires. This could mean that you're not attracting all the luck and success and love that you wish. So what do you do? Well there are many exercises to help reprogram the subconscious mind. Many of them might cost you money, such as NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and hypnosis, subliminal messages, self help cds, etc.. But there are also things you can do to help without paying any money at all.

Now remember, this goes beyond some of the things that I'm sure you may have already tried. This takes more than affirmations, raising your vibrations, and receiving healing energy. Although those things are very, very helpful, they're not always enough for some of us. Some of us still have work to do on reprogramming our subconscious. For those of you who are totally new to these ideas, then I suggest you do them as well as the next steps. Affirmations are positive thoughts that we can repeat over and over and over again as a reminder to stay positive. "I am feeling happy today." "I have wonderful things happening in my life!" "I am filled with good luck!" "I have all the money I need!" Raising your vibes can consist of anything you say or do that makes you feel happy and positive. Do you have any hobbies that fill you with absolute joy? Jogging? Dancing? Joking with friends and laughing? Listening to uplifting music? Watching funny movies? Try to spend at least a half hour a day doing something that makes you truly happy. Do this nonstop for at least 30 minutes, along with affirmations. Remember to keep your affirmations positive. Never use a negative word. For instance, you could say "I am wealthy! I am thankful for being wealthy!", but never say "I am not wealthy now but I will be". You always want to align your subconscious with positive words, never any negative ones.

For those who ARE doing these things every day but still don't see the results they'd like to see, then it's time to take a step further. It's time for you to try to reprogram your subconscious mind some more. Remember when I said to stay away from negative words as much as possible? I meant it. Firstly you could start with staying away from the news. Stay away from television shows where anything negative is being talked about. If someone is on tv talking about anything bad, anything bad at all, then change the channel. Even if it's a fictional show talking about a fictional murder, CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Anything that you perceive as negative, stay away from. The key is to put more positive words, thoughts, and actions into your mind than negative. The better you can get at this, the sooner you will start seeing the results you like.

Now I have a fascination with unsolved crimes and murder mysteries. Unfortunately the more I read about them, the worse I feel afterwards. I have to force myself to stay away from watching crime shows or crime websites. The more I stay away, the more positive I feel and the more pleasant my dreams are. But this is something that I must force myself to do sometimes for my own benefit. I also recommend that you only listen to happy songs. Make a play list of your favorite, upbeat songs. Read some books that will bring a smile to your face and that have a happy ending. Do whatever you can to stay away from negative thoughts and ideas. Sometimes you may even have to avoid negative people. If you are in a work environment with negative co workers, you must try to not let them get to you. If you start to feel down at work, put your right hand over your heart and take some deep breaths. Breath in deep for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, release it for four seconds, and then hold for four more seconds before breathing in again. This will help you to remain focused and centered.

Another very important factor in your journey, will be to feel grateful for everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Try thinking of at least 15 things a day to be thankful for. Even if it's something that many people would consider insignificant. Those little "insignificant" things can and will add up in time. For instance, you could be thankful for the pennies you find on the sidewalk or your pet happily greeting you every time you come home. You could even try showing gratitude for having good shampoo or a nice ink pen. You must remember to accept everything that you already do have with gratitude before being ready to receive more. Who or what should you be grateful to? It's up to you. If you believe in the Powers of the Universe, thank the Powers of the Universe. If you're a christian, thank Jesus. If you're a pagan, thank the Goddess. Some people even go outside to find a pretty rock and thank it for every thing. I'm sure if you look around the internet enough, you could read about these "gratitude rocks". What matters most though, is that you ARE thankful. TRULY thankful.

So in summary, if you've tried many different ideas and tips to attract good things in your life, but still haven't seen the results, it could be that you need to work more on getting rid of the negativity that is aligning itself in your subconscious. You may not even be aware of it. Let's run this through again:

1. Pay close attention to your dreams to see whether they are mostly good dreams or not.

2. If not, say positive affirmations and work to raise your vibrations some more.

3. Stay away from as much negativity as possible, including the news and violent tv programs. Give NLP/hypnosis a try if you're interested enough.

4. Learn to be grateful and thankful more.

Some people may already have some of these steps mastered but may need some more improvement. Some of you may just be beginning and should try working with all four of these lessons. The more you practice these ideas, the more you'll be aligning your subconscious mind with your conscious mind. Once you finally master these lessons, you will be the Master of your own Life.