I'm worried…
“Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don’t want” – Abraham-Hicks
This past week-end I went to see the new Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg movie “Bridge of Spies” (it’s great). The movie takes place during the Cold War and Tom Hanks plays an attorney who is asked to represent a Russian spy. If found guilty, the spy is facing the death penalty. The Russian spy is one cool customer — throughout the movie, he is completely calm, unruffled and dignified. As he remains so cool and collected (in spite of the potentially dire circumstances), Tom Hanks asks him [tiny spoiler alert] “Aren’t you worried?” And he replies, “Would it help?”
My friend and I laughed heartily at this response, but we also talked about it later. We both know the answer is, not only does it not help to worry, it can be harmful. We both believe (and I hope you do too) that
• We are all creating our reality in every moment
• Everything is all about energy
• What we put out, we get back
• What we think about, we get more of
• What we think about gets bigger
So if all that is true, that’s why I love that Abraham quote and that’s why I know that worrying doesn’t help!
Think about it. When we let ourselves start worrying about something, pretty soon our minds are off to the races. We’re suddenly thinking about all these crazy things. Thinking about all these things that are probably never going to happen. But what’s worse, if you think about it from the Abraham perspective, your worrying is energizing and making bigger exactly what you don’t want to have happen! You’re using your imagination to create something you don’t want!
Watching the movie and watching Tom Hanks with his client reminded me of what used to happen during the 20 years that I was a divorce attorney. My clients were always worried and understandably so. They were going through one of the most difficult situations a person can go through. The outcome of their divorce would be affecting them for the rest of their lives and they were justifiably concerned. In the last 10 years of my practice, I had started to really embrace all these concepts, so I knew that worrying about the case not only would not help, it was actually counter-productive for my clients and would only get them what they did not want.
Knowing that my clients couldn’t help but worry, I made a deal with them. I told them that if they needed to worry, they should do this little trick. Schedule 10 minutes each day to worry about their case. If they found themselves constantly thinking about it and worrying about it throughout the day, they should tell themselves, “I’m going to worry about that in the 10 minutes I have set aside, I won’t worry about it now”. Then when they did the 10 minutes, invariably, they would find they could only keep the worrying up for 2-3 minutes!
After they had done the scheduled worrying, I had them think about what they did want. I told them to take a few more minutes to visualize the judge announcing the verdict and awarding them what they wanted (custody of the kids, keeping the house, or whatever it was that was important to them) and how much better they would feel when that happened. Virtually all of my clients who did this faithfully reported that they felt much calmer and much more peaceful even in the midst of the stress of the divorce. And I’m happy to say that the vast majority of them got exactly what they wanted (but also let’s remember they had an excellent attorney – ha ha).
I’m not saying that you won’t every worry again. You will – it’s human nature. Do I ever worry? Yes, my mind goes there automatically sometimes, especially about things that are important to me. And it’s also interesting to me when I materialize something that I’ve worried about. What a terrible way to prove what I teach — when I get something I don’t want because I’ve worried about it! Physician, heal thyself!
But when I find my mind going there, I always try to make myself stop and remind myself that I’m energizing what I do not want. That usually stops my mind in its tracks. I then ask myself what I want in this situation and I start thinking about that instead. It’s not that I don’t ever worry, it’s just that (most of the time) I can stop it and start flowing my thoughts and energy toward what I do want.
It’s simple but not easy. It’s a simple process, but not always easy to do consistently. But when you know that worry is actually increasing your chances for getting what you do no want, this process gets easier and easier to do.
Sometimes we find ourselves at a point in our lives when we are overwhelmed with our worry and we can’t seem to make it stop. Most worries are coming from fears and those fears can come from a number of sources, some of which are conscious and some of which might be from our unconscious. If you find yourself overwhelmed with worry about something in your life or your relationship, you need to think seriously about doing something about it. Once we get on that merry go round it’s hard to get off, it’s hard to stop obsessing.
Think about coming to Sedona and doing a Soul Adventure. Can you imagine being in a situation where the worry starts to melt away and it’s replaced by a deep trust and knowing that all is well? Can you imagine what it would feel like to know (on a deep level) that all is well? That’s what happens to people here all the time. They come here stressed out, burned out, worried and anxious about things in their life or things in their relationship. They leave happy, connected and at peace. It’s still amazing to me after all these years and the thousands of people who have done this.
If you’re looking for peace, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada) or Click here to contact us. For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988. Speak to an Angel Guide, tell them what’s going on with you and they’ll custom design the perfect retreat to take you from where you are to where you want to be.
Wishing you a week of no worries,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Harry says his Soul Adventure “changed everything”, living his life without fear, worry or angst
“I came to Sedona wrought with fear, anxiety, and grief. Within the first three sessions, I was well on the road to a spiritual Re-Awakening that would change everything. After my five days of Soul Adventuring I returned to Seattle with a new outlook on life and ready to walk my Great Path without fear, worry or angst. Thank you all for Reminding me of how important my existence in this world is, and most of all for Reminding me of all the love that is here supporting all of us. I LOVE ME!”
Harry C., Seattle, Washington
Is fear keeping you from the Egypt trip?
II find that people typically say 2 things to me about the Egypt trip (and they’ve been saying both things since I started going there in 1983): 1) “I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt and 2) “Aren’t you afraid to go to Egypt?” And my answer has always been the same – No. This next trip will be my 15th time going to Egypt and I’ve been taking groups each year since 2004. The Egyptian people are some of the warmest, friendliest people I’ve ever met and I’ve always felt safe there. The US State Department issues Travel Advisories for countries they do not feel are safe for Americans to travel to and there are no Travel Advisories for Egypt.
But don’t take my word for it, here’s what 2 people said who went on the trip this February (2015):
“This trip was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, especially because I felt very safe during the entire experience.” – Ginger Wishik, MD
“The Egypt trip was life changing. I personally felt very safe in Egypt.” – Shelly Pitts (that’s Shelly in the picture above on the right – I don’t believe she could look anymore relaxed than she does!)
Or as one of the people from last year’s trip (2014) said:
“Please don’t let fear keep you from one of the most exciting adventures in your life. You will never regret your trip to Egypt.” – Joyce Eleanor
Our Return to Egypt tour is February 14-28, 2016. It’s an amazing journey – we see the Pyramids (and have 2 hours of private time just for our group inside the Great Pyramid for ceremony), the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, the Isis Temple at Philae and much more. We stay at 5 star hotels and do a 5 day cruise down the Nile on a 5 star ship. Everything is taken care of for you and traveling with like-minded soul adventurers is so wonderful. The cost is virtually all inclusive.
Click here to download our beautiful brochure which has all the information on pricing and our fabulous Itinerary.
Or you can read all about it on our web site – Click here
I’d love to have you join me. If you’ve always wanted to go to Egypt, now is the time to go! Send me an email if you have any questions:
[email protected]
Or better yet, give me a call — 928/301-2896.
I guess I struck a nerve
I guess I struck a nerve last week with my newsletter about the Top 5 Deathbed Regrets. I can’t remember (in 13 years of doing this newsletter), a response like I got from this one — I was deluged with emails from people, we had so many calls to the office and requests for Angel Guide sessions, so many people who booked retreats, plus I had many more people than usual contact me about the Peru and Egypt trips and a bunch of people who signed up for both trips.
Whew! It’s so funny, I almost didn’t write that newsletter because I thought it might be too “down”. I even sent it to 2 people whose opinion I value, asking them if they thought this was an okay subject or too depressing? They both loved it and judging from the response, I guess I was right. This is something we all have to be thinking about — we have a limited amount of time on this planet and we have to be thinking about how we are spending our precious time here and how can we live with no regrets?
The emails I received were so sweet and telling. One woman wrote “Debra, I’ve been reading your newsletter for 8 years telling myself that “someday” I’ll do a Soul Adventure. I’ve been telling myself I couldn’t afford it and, hopefully, “someday” I’ll be able to do it. Now I realize I can’t afford Not to do it. And I know I need to do it Now!”
It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from one of my teachers, Abraham:
“Your life is right now! It’s not later! It’s not in that time of retirement. It’s not when the lover gets here. It’s not when you’ve moved into the new house. It’s not when you get the better job. Your life is right now. It will always be right now. You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now!”
Is there a dream in your life that is unfulfilled? Is there something you’ve been telling yourself you’re going to do “someday”, but so far nothing is happening in that direction?
Do you keep waiting for something to be different? A situation or a person? As Einstein said (and you’ve heard a million times) ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’
I spent over 10 years being dissatisfied with my work, my life, my body, my relationship and always telling myself that “someday” things would be different, even though I was never really doing anything about it. I admit I was completely insane – I kept doing the same thing over and over again somehow, magically, expecting a different result. It wasn’t until I came to Sedona for the first time (in January, 1999) that things started to really turn around for me. Here’s some advice from a formerly insane person:
Nothing will be different in your life until you do something different.
If you’re unhappy about your work, you need to do something about your work.
If you feel like you aren’t living your life purpose, when are you going to start?
If you feel like you don’t know what your life purpose is, what are you doing to find out?
If you’re unhappy about your relationship, you need to do something about your relationship.
If you’re unhappy or dissatisfied about anything in your life, you have to do something about it. It’s not going to miraculously change without you doing something different.
I met with a couple this week who were here starting their couples retreat and the husband told me they had never done anything like this before and he was freaking out a little because it was out of his comfort zone. They had been in traditional therapy for over a year, it wasn’t working and it looked like they were headed for divorce. I told him this works exactly because what we do IS different and not like anything they had done before. As Einstein says, the only way to get different results is to do something different.
I was so happy to see them on the last day of their retreat. Everything had turned around, they both even looked different. Their relationship has been completely transformed — they were able to get to the heart of their issues and come back onto love and connection, plus they received tools to continue to maintain and deepen that connection. He told me he could hardly believe what had happened in just 4 days. Four days of doing something different had given them completely different results.
I love it so much that this past week we had such a surge of people contacting us to take steps to do something different with their lives and their relationships, as well as people signing up for bucket list trips like Egypt and Peru. Do you want something different in your life? If so, call us – we we can help you do exactly that!
Click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. Or if you’d prefer, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada). For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988 or click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you.
Wishing you a week of different and better,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Ian says his Soul Adventure was the most important week of his life
“It’s been a year since my Sedona Soul Adventure. Who knew the extent of the results, I can hardly believe the year I’ve had, and to this day, my week with Sedona Soul Adventures and all the lovely angels that I met remains the most important week of my life. I came for three days of soul work and had so many blocks removed and so many profound shifts and awakenings. I had no idea just how quickly my new life would unfold. I cannot thank you enough.”
Ian S., Edmonton, Alberta
Egypt or Peru? Don’t wait
In the spirit of what I’ve been talking about this week, what are you waiting for? If going to Egypt has been something you’ve wanted to do your entire life, do it now! If seeing Machu Picchu is on your bucket list, you’re not getting any younger!
Both of the trips are amazing and spectacular, with everything planned for you and deep spiritual connection waiting for you.
The Egypt trip is February 14-28, 2016. Click here to download our beautiful brochure which has information on our Itinerary and Pricing.
The Peru trip is June 17-30, 2016. Click here to download our beautiful brochure which has information on our Itinerary and Pricing.
Send me an email if you have questions – [email protected] or better yet, give me a call on my cell – 928/301-2896
Top 5 deathbed regrets and how to not let those happen to you
I think one of the most terrible things in life is regret. And regret at the end of one’s life is even more sad and deep. The book “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” was written by a palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware. She worked for many years with people in the last 3-12 weeks of their lives. Here’s what she said:
Top 5 Regrets of the Dying
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
“This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.”
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.”
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
“Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved.”
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier
“This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”
Gosh, don’t reading these just break your heart?
Why do we tell ourselves we can’t have the life we want? Why do we tell ourselves we have to work so hard? Why can’t we let ourselves be truly happy?
I think we all have emotional blocks, trauma and limiting beliefs that are holding us back from living our best life. The key is to find them, do something about them and start living a life with no regret. The great news is, that’s possible. It’s so interesting to me how all of these issues are exactly the things we work within our retreats each and every day here in Sedona.
Are you ready to start living your best life? Are you ready to transform your connection with your partner into the relationship of your dreams? Call us – that’s what we want for you too.
Click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. Or if you’d prefer, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada). For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988 or click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. They’ll connect with you (or both of you if it’s a couple) and custom design a retreat that will allow you to live the life you want, have the relationship you’re craving and be happier than you ever thought possible.
Wishing you a week of no regrets,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Tommy says “I gained so much knowledge about life and how I’m supposed to be living it” from my Soul Adventure.
“On my Soul Adventure, I gained so much knowledge about life and how I’m supposed to be living it. Sedona Soul Adventures is an amazing team of people who really care about each person who walks thru the door. They are very knowledgeable and loving. My soul adventure truly changed my life!”
Tommy R., Cowpens, South Carolina
Is Egypt on your bucket list?
I’m amazed at the number of people who tell me they’ve wanted to go to Egypt since they were children. And they’ve never given themselves permission to go. If Egypt is on your bucket list, perhaps it’s time to go! It’s such an amazing trip — the Great Pyramid (where we have 2 hours of private time just for our group for ceremony and meditation), the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Karnak, 5 day cruise down the Nile on a 5 star ship and the price is virtually all inclusive — air fare to and from New York (JFK), 3 flights within Egypt, 5 star hotels, breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, our incredible Egyptian guide (who reads hieroglyphics!), tips, even travel insurance. And being in this amazing place with like minded soul adventurers is so amazing! Click here for our incredible day to day Itinerary.
Click here for all the information on pricing.
Send me an email if you would like more information – [email protected]
Or better yet, give me a call at 928/301-2896 – I love talking about Egypt!
2 minutes to feeling more confident and powerful
If you could feel more confident and powerful in 2 minutes would you be willing to do it every day? Believe me when I tell you, it’s worth it.
If you’ve been reading my newsletter this past year, you know I’ve been talking a lot about how our brains affect everything in our lives. But today I want to talk about how doing something with your body can affect everything.
Researchers at Harvard have discovered that not only does your body language effect how other people perceive you, but your body language has an affect on how you perceive yourself and how you feel. What they discovered is that people who stand or sit in a power pose for more than two minutes have increased levels of testosterone and decreased levels of cortisol.
These hormones can change within seconds and have a dramatic impact on how you’re feeling. Testosterone makes people feel more confident, more self empowered. Reducing cortisol results in lower levels of stress and anxiety. Cortisol is also known to lower immune function and bone density, interfere with learning and memory, increase weight gain, create negative impact on blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease, so anything you can do to lower cortisol is a very good thing.
The power poses that they studied were what we usually call the Superman or Superwoman pose, with your hands on your hips, feet at least shoulder-width apart, chest out, head held high. They also included sitting back with your feet on a table, and the decidedly less-ladylike sitting with your legs spread wide apart (guys, you can get away with this one). What they found was that in 2 minutes, the hormonal levels changed dramatically.
Not only did the testosterone and cortisol levels change, but the people reported feeling much more confident and powerful. And I don’t mean the kind of power where you’re barking orders at everyone and they’re shaking in their boots. That’s not power, that’s intimidation. I’m talking about the feeling that comes from truly being in your own power. Self empowerment.
Try doing this every day. Stand in that power pose and breathe deeply. Do it for 2 minutes each morning. Or do it for 2 minutes before an important meeting (I just did it last week in a bathroom stall!) Visualize powerful energy coursing through you and coming out of you. If you’re doing it before a meeting or an important event, visualize how you want the meeting or event to go.
Okay, so now I’ll be very vulnerable and share my secret with you about how I do this. I do the pose, but I don’t envision myself in a Superwoman costume. Instead I envision myself (don’t laugh) in full Egyptian regalia. I do this because I know I had a past life where I was a priestess in the Temple of Karnak and I had some very strange powers. I wasn’t anyone famous (I’ve never been anyone famous), but I was very powerful. One of the things I could do was blast energy through my hands and knock people over. Literally, I could knock them over. In that lifetime I abused those powers and one of the lessons for me in this lifetime has been around the abuse of power (a lesson that received a lot of healing when I was an attorney).
So I do the pose and see myself dressed as an Egyptian woman in the dresses you see depicted in the temples and tombs, I have gold bands around my wrists and upper arms and a beautiful headdress. I envision the power energy running throughout my body and then coming out of my heart. The power energy is mixed with the heart energy in a beautiful combination of power and love. The energy is never used to blast anyone (or knock them over!), it’s used for my own self empowerment and for the other person to feel that and my love. It’s a very juicy combination!
Self empowerment is so critical to a meaningful and happy life. Do you feel self empowered? Do you know that you have the inner strength to face anything that life throws at you or to create the life of your dreams? Standing in a power pose might not be enough.
If that’s the case, I urge you to contact us and do something about it. Empowering yourself, living your best life is your birthright and helping you find that is what we do best.
Click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. Or if you’d prefer, call us toll free at 1-877-204-3664 (US and Canada). For our friends outside the US and Canada call 01 928-204-5988 or click here and one of our Angel Guides will call you. They’ll connect with you (or both of you if it’s a couple) and custom design a retreat that’s perfect for you for the life or the relationship you’re craving.
Wishing you a week filled with self empowerment,
Debra
Debra Stangl / Founder
Sedona Soul Adventures – Transforming Lives One Soul At A Time
(877) 204-3664
https://sedonasouladventures.com
Andrew says his Sedona Soul Adventure gave him “a renewed and lasting sense of purpose, clarity, freedom, balance, and support.”
“My Sedona Soul Adventure was a 10! I am beyond excited to have returned from my retreat with a renewed and lasting sense of purpose, clarity, freedom, balance, and support. Thank you, Debra, and EVERYONE at Sedona Soul Adventures!”
Andrew L., Raleigh, North Carolina
Come with me to Machu Picchu and Peru June 17-30, 2016
Imagine:
• Doing ceremony at Machu Picchu on the Solstice
• Spending 2 weeks with our amazing shaman and guide, Jorge Luis Delgado
• Traveling with other like-minded adventurers making friendships that last a lifetime
• Having your entire trip planned and perfectly executed
• Coming home with a renewed connection to yourself and Spirit
“The Sedona Soul Adventures Peru Trip in June 2015 was AMAZING! It is my second Sedona Soul Adventures Sacred Travel trip and it, like the first (in Egypt), was life changing. The magic of Machu Picchu, the peacefulness of Lake Titicaca, the energy of the Apu mountain spirits is not something you can read about – it must be experienced! On this trip, we had the privilege of being in the presence of Jorge Luis Delgado, our Peruvian Shaman and Chacaruna (bridge person – messenger of light) who is an extraordinary guide, teacher and spiritual Master. I have been on my spiritual journey for approximately 10 years now, and I have learned and experienced many things, but Jorge had an incredible way of saying things in such simple powerful ways, it was like I was learning them again for the first time. He reaches you heart to heart, rather than from your mind. He led me on a Pilgrimage to my Inner Sun that deepened my commitment to a higher level of consciousness, that increased my understanding of the Cosmos and its wonder, and that fueled my desire to shine brightly in the world. I will be forever grateful for this trip and the positive impact it has had on my life.”
Suzanne West, Calgary, Canada
Would you like to have a life changing experience that brings you into higher consciousness? Join us!
Click here for all the information, including pricing. And if you haven’t already, download my beautiful free report, “Machu Picchu & Sacred Peru”.