Monday, June 20, 2011

Abraham: Aftermath of Portland Abraham Workshop



A Portland cat.


This is less than 2 minutes long:




I am so FILLED with love right now that it feels as if my Vortex is beating like a giant heart all around me. This is the feeling of complete and utter alignment with my Inner Being that sometimes feels elusive to the point of misery these days. It's so true what Abraham says: 


You can't go back once you've tasted deliberate alignment. Living in and around the Vortex is so delicious that once you've gotten used to it, being out feels worse than ever. 


So, feeling awful is really good news. Most of us have spent so much time out of the Vortex before we discovered Abraham that we got used to feeling bad, just okay, pretty good, and at times very good, but none of it necessarily on purpose. I, for one, had no idea that life is supposed to feel good, and that I could choose to feel wonderful by deliberately choosing to do so, thought by thought, and moment by moment. 


I learned some incredibly powerful lessons before, during and after the Abraham workshop in Portland on Saturday (June 18th). 


Lesson Number One: Loving What Is
I've gotten very good at ignoring reality. I loved the woman in the hotseat on Saturday who worried about being in denial when it came to relationships. Her question dealt with the deal breakers, as some might call them, in past relationships. She--like almost everyone in our culture--felt she was ignoring red flags about some of the men she had known despite the fact that she really, really liked them and appreciated much about them. She had come from an alcoholic family and had probably done some 12-Step work or some theraputic work, or both, in which denial of reality is pathologized. Abraham congratulated her on being in denial and guided her to look ONLY  at the positive aspects of her partners. I didn't identify too much with her situation at the time of the workshop. I, after all, am in a long-term relationship and I truly love my partner and appreciate him very much. It wasn't until later, when I'd lost contact with my Inner Being temporarily, that I realized that I'd been doing some very sloppy thinking in that arena (I love me very much; aren't I precious?) I'd been doing so well on other fronts, but I had been letting it slide a bit when too many moving parts got my attention the night before the workshop (driving in rush hour traffic, meeting an out-of-town friend who is unfamiliar with the Vortex, and pre-paving my whole busy day only up to the part that I assumed would be a lot of fun). Here's what I learned: my Book of Positive Aspects is an invaluable tool. It's just a cheap little notebook in which I've listed almost everyone I know and interact with on a regular basis. I have Post-It flags dividing up the sections (office supplies are very Vortexy to me), and I've taken the time to list the positive aspects of each person. I started with those who are the most difficult to see through the eyes of Source consistently. I wrote down EVERYTHING wonderful about them that I could think of. Sometimes I could only come up with a few things at first, but as I kept attempting to see my Vortex version of them (seeing them through the eyes of Source), I was able to come up with longer lists. I identified everything from physical characteristics to good taste in clothing, from strengths in personality to talents. Sometimes it was a stretch and I ended up noting a particularly nice pair of socks I saw them wearing. I review the lists occasionally and add to them. And here's the magic: If I take time to quickly read through the list right before I interact with the person, I have way more fun than when I don't. 


I hadn't made a page for our out-of-town friend whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years, so I was just winging it. Instead of loving him where he is and seeing him through the eyes of Source, I did some Step One work and observed things in him I'd forgotten about that I don't like and I focused on that instead of his numerous and wonderful positives. Not only that, I forgot to appreciate the contrast temporarily and completely forgot that I can jump into the Vortex any time I want to if I relinquish my focus on what is. I did have quite a bit of fun in and among the contrast-y moments, but my vibe took a dip that night as I used him as my excuse to ignore the call of Source. 


Lesson Number Two: Tell Your New Story Exclusively
Abraham often reminds us that getting to know someone should never include stories about where you've been. I'm often so amazed at how far I've come that when I meet a new person, I want to demonstrate the power of deliberate thinking by talking about the extreme contrast of my past. It's true that many of us deliberate creators who are enjoying the sweetness of the Vortex on a regular basis are also born teachers who seek to uplift those around us. I can easily fall into the trap of telling the old story, which is quite dramatic, and for which I am ecstatic at having lived, as I get to know a new person. So, fabulous and wonderful new person to whom I blah, blah, blahed the old story on Saturday morning, forget everything I told you if you please, because it really doesn't matter where I've come from. What I forget, at times, is that even though those things happened long ago, I am telling that story in the present moment and I have to lower my vibration to tell that story. And it's amazing how telling one part of the old negative story attracts other parts and pretty soon a trend has started. So I'm sticking with my new story; it's a much better story. 


The point of briefly revisiting those detours from the Vortex is that even though I spent all day Saturday in the Vortex, I had a little bit of a hangover from those Step One moments of focusing negatively. I had two very late nights Thursday and Friday and a very busy week in general, so when I got home on Saturday afternoon, I crashed hard. On the couch. Fully clothed. I think it's very common to download lots of information after seeing Abraham, as well as to make major vibrational adjustments. In addition, fabulous partner was working away on a plumbing project in the basement and those banging and creaking and watery sounds, I believe, figured into whatever was going on with my sleeping body and mind. Let's just say that when I awoke around 8PM, I had no idea where I was. I only stayed awake for a couple of hours and then trundled off to bed.


Sunday was one huge long adjustment period. It took quite a while and a double dose of meditation to find my way back to the Vortex, but when I arrived it was VERY sweet. And today I started with back to back meditation again from the Vortex meditation CD and had a killer day in the Vortex. When I went to YouTube I found exactly what I'd needed to hear, starting with that very short clip at the beginning of the blogpost. Here is another amazing clip that addresses exactly the lessons of this weekend:


http://tinyurl.com/DontLetRealityTrainYourVibe


In addition, I found some new YouTube folks to subscribe to. Eventually, I'll get around to doing another homage to those generous YouTube uplifters. One of the hotseaters on Saturday mentioned how he visits YouTube often, as did a wonderful artist with whom I walked to Starbucks with before the workshop.


Abraham was FANTASTIC! I squeezed some time from my extremely busy week to make--very quickly and somewhat haphazardly--some Vortex Diary cards to pass out to folks at the workshop.  The cards read:


Vortexdiary.blogspot.com
A hardcore Abraham fan documents her experiences in the Vortex.


I was pumped about the trip and about seeing Abraham and in the Vortex and running on adrenaline, I'm sure, and the minute I got to the workshop began passing out cards--about 50 of them. I met so many extraordinary people. Gorgeous, generous, wonderful souls beaming the light of who they really are. Artists, writers, healers, soldiers, teachers and just regular folks who happen to be, one and all, on the leading edge of thought in this incredible Universe of ours. I spoke with several of the hot seat victims, as Abraham likes to jokingly refer to those select few who are called upon. It was a pleasure to interact with so many lovely souls and I invite any of you to subscribe or to email me if you'd like to be on an email list to be notified of new blogposts. I also post on Facebook and Twitter (Judy Corona and JudyFrida, respectively), so there are lots of ways to follow the blog.


I'm really rambling here, as is my habit at times. I will write more specifically about seeing Abraham in the future, I think. Suffice to say, it was amazing as always. This is the first time I've attended with friends and that was a spectacular bonus. Our Abraham group in Salem is turning out to be a wonderful resource for me, and seemingly for many others. Kudos to our wonderful organizer who heard the call of Source and created a space for us all to come together. She is so awesome! 


And a shout out to a friend who is going downstream on some health issues right now. I've been picturing her in perfect health on a daily basis because that's what is in my Vortex and in hers. Much love.