1.  Prayer is not a “spare wheel” that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a “steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout the journey.

2.  So why is a car’s windshield so large and the rear view mirror so small?  Because our past is not as important as our future.  So look ahead, and move on.

3.  Friendship is like a book;  it takes a few minutes to burn, but it takes years to write.

4.  All things in life are temporary.  If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever.  If going wrong, don’t worry, they can’t last long either.

5.  Old friends are like gold.  New friends are like diamonds.  If you get a diamond, don’t forget the gold because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold.

6.  Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles from above and says, “Sweetheart, it’s just a bend…not the end!”

7.  When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities;  when God doesn’t solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities.

8.  A blind person asked St. Anthony, “Can there be anything worse than losing your eye sight?”  He replied, “Yes, losing your vision!”

9.  When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them.  When you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10.  Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.

~Annonymous

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Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

“You may never know what results come from your action.  But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

Those of you who have heard me lecture or read my new book know that I am a huge proponent of changing your thinking by following your intuition, or said another way, allowing your feelings to guide you.  Our feelings are the one and only thing that has the power to change the world.  Think for a minute about how much more powerful a feeling is than a thought.  It is the feeling about something that always spurs you into action.  The thought arrives, a feeling follows and then action takes place.  The magnetic field of our heart, when overlaid with the magnetic field of the Earth, is identical.  So what does that mean?  It means that our feelings and emotions have the power to change the actual magnetic field of the Earth if we allowed it.

Gregg Braden gives a great example of how powerful our feelings really are.  Our country has 2 satellites in space whose main job is, by the hour, to report back to the scientists on Earth a measurement of the Earth’s magnetic field.  The Earth’s magnetic field ebbs and flows in cycles but mostly stays in a fairly consistent wave.  One day, researchers were astonished when a reading showed a very large spike in the Earths magnetic field.  What on Earth (literally) could have happened to cause such a massive spike?

When traced back, the precise moment of the massive spike in the Earth’s magnetic field was at 9:00am on September 11, 2001…15 minutes after the first plane hit the towers in New York and the world was informed that the United States was under a terrorist attack.  A flood of pure, raw, unrehearsed emotions were set loose, not only changing the magnetic field of each individual person’s heart, but the magnetic field of the Earth itself.  Our hearts were not the only hearts affected on that day…the Earth heart took a hit as well; hence, the power of our feelings.

If you are of a science mind and still questioning the validity of what I am saying, that is ok.  I am a scientist by nature as well.  But remember, not everything can be explained and there are just some things that cannot be understood using the human mind.  Some things need trust, hope and faith to understand.  Some things we may never truly understand.  Understand it or not, the world still goes round and round.  Sometimes the things we least understand, by not understanding them and trusting, are the exact things we need in our life to change the world we know.

Embrace the unknown and with your feelings, help change the world!

We can do it!

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Purchase your copy of, “Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live:  How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press.

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(I have had this story in my possession for many years and do not know who the author is, but it is one of the most beautiful stories I have heard.  Whoever you are, I give you credit here.  Thank you for your words of wisdom – I now share them with all of you.)

 “The Quilt Holes”

 As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was.  They were filled with giant holes.  Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life.  I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me.  Nobody else had such squares.  Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune.  I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth.  The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries.  So filled their lives had been.  My angel looked upon me and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame.  I hadn’t had all the earthly fortunes.  I had love in my life and laughter.  But there had also been trials of illness and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it.  I had to start over many times.  I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again.  I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.

An awe-filled gasp filled the air.  I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ.  Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes.  He said, ‘Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.’

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Our Creator to shine through!

God determines who walks into your life…it’s up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay and who you refuse to let go.

What lessons have the moments in your life taught you?

All of those painful moments – the ones that make you hold your breath when you think about them – are the exact moments you came here for.  Those moments are happening for you so you can learn, grow, and have a chance to look at life in a different way.  How else would you learn how to live other than by making mistakes then getting a chance to learn and do it all over again…a different way?  The depth of your past dictates the height of your future.  Just like a rubber ball, the harder and longer it falls, the higher it bounces back.

Affirm:  I open myself to the unknown future in full trust and I release the past with gratitude for how it has blessed my path with joy, difficulty and knowledge.
~Doreen Virtue

Bring it on!

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Purchase your copy of, “Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live” by Christine Sopa published by Balboa Press.

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Sunday morning I decided to go on a hike.  For the last several weeks I have felt kicked around by life.  Every time I seem to turn a corner, another “opportunity for growth,” in the form of a major life disappointment seems to await me.  I feel as if I am letting everyone in my life down, failing at my business, failing as a Mom and a major loser when it comes to relationships.  I decided to have a conversation with God before I went on my hike.  It went something like this:

            Hey God, it’s me, Chris (Ok, I know that is not original!).  I was wondering if you could do me a favor?  Lately I have been feeling kicked when I am down and very alone here in this fearful world.  I know my purpose and why you have put me here and I understand my road demands much more than the average person, but…can you cut me a little slack?  Can I have a small break?  A little breather maybe?  I am exhausted on every level and feel as if I am there for everyone but no one is there for me.  I feel very alone.  Can you send some help my way?  Throw me a bone?  In return I will, as always, be your channel.  Feel free to send through me any messages you feel the people whose paths I cross need to hear in whatever way they need to hear it.  I think that is a good deal, how about you?  You’re the best!  Amen.

So, off I went on my hike.  As I was walking the four mile round trip hike up Pinnacle Peak, I passed an area that said “environmentally sensitive area.”  If there had been a bench right there, I would have sat my sweaty, tired butt on it!  It seemed that area was made and named just for me.  Sensitive to say the least!

We have two environments in which we live:  external and internal.  Your external environment is everything you can experience with your five senses…your apparent “reality.”  Your internal environment is that which goes on inside of your head – your thoughts and feelings.  This internal environment also includes your psychic senses.  Yes, I said psychic.  We all have them…even you non-believers.  Intuition, visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses exist within us all.  We use them every day.  When we tend to be more sensitive in our external environment due to circumstances happening which we have no control, our internal environment takes over.

I don’t know about you but on a daily basis I choose to live according to my internal environment rather than my external one.  I choose to believe in synchronicity, guidance, signs, that I can create my own reality, answered prayers and that a higher power is watching over me and always by my side…no matter what.

We are currently in times where our external environment is in chaos.  Fear is running the show.  If we give into fear it pollutes our internal environment.  Take a moment today to “clean the air” in your internal environment.  De-pollute it by getting rid of negative thinking, self-depreciating thoughts, and a belief that it is unsafe to be yourself and to speak your truth, beliefs that some external force or person has power over you.  Set up your own filter…decide what you will allow in and what needs to go.

It’s ok to feel over-sensitive every once and awhile.  It keeps us on our toes and aware that there is some “cleaning house” that needs to be done.  Get out the broom and start sweeping…

Now where did I put my vacuum?

Chris

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Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Trust, even if your future seems uncertain.

Trust, even if you have no idea how your situation could ever improve.

Trust, even if you feel alone and abandoned.

Trust, even if your heart is shattered.

Trust, because your strength comes from trusting that everything always gets better with time, that miracles do occur and that prayers are answered in illogical ways.

Trust, because God loves you for who you are right now and has a wonderful plan in the works for you that you cannot yet see or feel…but you soon will.

Don’t quit 5 minutes before the miracle happens!

Trust…

Revealing the Truth Prayer

Lord, I ask that you give me very clear guidance so that I can easily notice and understand in order to reveal the truth about this situation to my conscious awareness.  And so it is…Amen.

Live an inspired life!

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

“You do not need to leave your room.  Remain sitting at your table and listen.  Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary.  The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” ~Frank Kafka

Being a “newbie” to the Scottsdale, AZ area, I decided recently to use Meetup.com as a way to meet new people in the area.  I have been kayaking, hiking, business networking…you name it.  But one meeting I attended this past week stuck out for me.  Being the spiritual person that I am and always interested in meeting people of this circle, I decided to attend a spirituality meditation meet up.  The meet up was scheduled from 7-10pm and the first thing I thought was, “Wow!  That is a long-a@* time to meditate!”  Having always felt I rocked in meditating, I took on the challenge.

The meet up group met at an amazing bookstore in Scottsdale called Vision Quest which was full of anything us spiritual gurus would want to buy to help us “ascend.”  I was guided into a back room where the chairs where arranged in a circle with 4 lit candles on a table in the middle of the circle.  I was greeted by a large African American man who may have frightened me due to his size at first, until he smiled.  His smile turned him from a giant into an angel.  I found myself a chair and plopped down, ready to meditate my little tush off.

Once the meditation began, the instructor explained how throughout the meditation he would call in different angels and guides from the 12^th dimension (stick with me here).  As soft music played in the background, I fell into my meditative trance, meeting the energies of Archangel Michael first.  I am very familiar with him because he and I…well, let’s just say we are “buds.”  As the meditation continued, I found myself antsy and then becoming frightened.  I always teach my clients to be “an observer” of their life and behaviors, so I took my own advice and observed myself.  Why was I frightened?

Here is what I found…silence is a healer, but in order to heal it, you have to feel it.  When we allow ourselves to slip into silence, even if only for a few minutes, we allow the healing to begin.  In order to heal, we must first know what we are healing.  Let me use an analogy.  Say you want to clean out your closet.  In order to do so, you must take out each piece of clothing, look at it and decide if you want to keep it or send it to “Goodwill heaven.”  You cannot get rid of it until you look at it and see what it is and then make a decision.  Do you want to keep that old, dirty polka-dotted dress from the 70’s or trash it?  Does it serve you anymore?

Now let’s return to your healing.  Those old wounds, hurts, anger and grief…are having those feelings serving you?  Do you need to give them to “God’s will heaven?”  In order for God to take them, you have to make the choice to give them to him.  He gave you free will, remember?  That allows you the choice to do what you want with your life.  That includes holding onto things that are hurting you.

It is never easy to face pain.  The tough decisions we need to make in order to heal…let’s face it…suck!  But at some point you have to realize that one day, like it or not, they will have to be faced.  Why not do it now?  Why not finally realize that you have the right to life!  You have the right to a life without pain, suffering and sorrow.  Suffering is not and never was God’s plan for you…you chose to feel those things; God did not put that upon you.

Go into silence, even if it is only for 5 minutes a day.  Just listen to your breathing and every time a thought comes in re-focus on your breath.  Ideally, you want to get to 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening of meditative silence.  You will be amazed at how you miraculously heal.  The road may feel rough at first but the ride is worth it.  😉

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
~Henry David Thoureau

Helping love make its stand on Mother Earth,

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

“One cannot weep for the entire world.  It is beyond human strength.  One must choose.” ~Jean Anouilh

Ok, hands up if you would label yourself a “control freak?”  Its ok, my hand is up too.

Here is the thing about us control freaks…we worry.  Worry about money, worry about our kids, worry about our friends, worry about the poor innocent ant we just accidentally stepped on and whether we are going to go to heaven now…we just worry.  And if there is nothing to worry about, self-sabotage kicks in and we subconsciously create a drama so there is something to worry about.  I know, it sounds sick when you actually say it out loud.  But it’s true.

Why is it that we believe that by thinking and worrying about something incessantly it is going to solve the problem?  It’s like we believe there is a little clock in the heavens that measures the amount of time we think about something and go over and over it in our minds and if we do that enough, Whamo!, the answer will appear and all will be good in the world again.  Wrong!  We are made of energy and so is everything around us.  Our thoughts are a form of energy.  When we think about something, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, we are giving energy to “that thing.”  Since the universe’s language is energy, it picks up the signal of what we are thinking about most (our worry) and thinks that is what we want more of, since we are thinking about it so much, so it makes it so.  Worrying is a form of prayer.  Prayer is simply the process of giving our thoughts to God.  What thoughts have you been giving to God lately?  Are they of gratitude for what you do have in your life or are they worrisome thoughts of why things are not how you want them to be?  God is a kind God; at least that is my belief.  Nothing happens in this world, even if you perceive it as “bad,” that is out of alignment with God’s highest plan for you.  Sometimes it is those things that tear us down that eventually are the catalyst that builds us back up later.

Lately, my personal struggle has been worrying about my 20 year old daughter.  She is 6 months pregnant and let’s just say “lost” at the moment.  My first instinct…to worry about her.  My second instinct…to jump in and “save” her by fixing it all for her so she is happy.  But, what makes me think if her situation is “fixed” she would be happy?  Is that true?  I don’t know God’s plan for her.  Only God knows that.

Let’s take Lazarus as an example.  Jesus loved Lazarus like a brother and did not want him to die.  When Jesus found out Lazarus was sick and dying, he did not intervene by running to Lazarus’ side, shoving raw food and vitamins down his throat  and making him drink water to flush out his system…he left town as planned.  He did not only leave town, he stayed away for 2 days.  Was that hard for Jesus?  I would guess it was agonizing.  But, Jesus knew his Father had a plan for Lazarus and he did not want to interfere with that plan, even if it would make him feel better…even if it meant he had to watch his friend suffer.  “Love one another as I have loved you”…that was the plan.

God never leaves our side during suffering…he and his angels are always there.  We must learn to step out of the way and allow him to do his work.  We need to stop playing God by thinking we know what is best for those around us.  Just because it makes us feel better and would be what we would do, does not necessarily mean it is best for those we love.

Sometimes we must love from a distance, watch those we love fall and simply be the hand that comes in to help them pick up the pieces when it is all over.

Worrying never solved anything…

“Though we would love to run and catch them, we have to let the people we love stumble and fall.  In this way, they can get back up, and without any nudging from us, go on to choose the best path for them into their Father’s arms.”
~Allia Zobel Nolan, “The Worrywart’s Prayer Book”

Praying a different way,

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

“We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within.”  ~Earl Nightingale

The other day I received an email from a dear friend and former coaching client who has been unemployed for over a year now.  Not only has she been out of work, but the cancer that she successfully beat 5 years ago returned and her son lost his job as well.  She wrote me an email to tell me about a wondrous thing that recently happened to her.

As she was at church one day, visitors from Argentina arrived and asked the priest to bless their statue of St. Cajetan.  Being brought up Catholic and never hearing of St. Cajetan, she proceeded to look him up.  St. Cajetan is the saint of the unemployed.  Upon looking him up, she found a novena to St. Cajetan that the unemployed can recite for 9 days with hope of finding employment.  My friend and her son decided to pray the novena to St. Cajetan.  Within the next few days, both of them received job offers out of the blue!

Of course, I was fascinated by this story so when I returned from Peru on Saturday after reading her email, I decided to try it as well.  I am self-employed but since moving to Arizona, I have been looking for new clients too, let’s say, “help my financial flow” a bit.  After only reciting this novena for 2 days, I received a call today from a large government agency asking me to do a workshop for them in a couple of weeks!  Coincidence?  You tell me…

For those skeptics out there, whatever it is you believe is true for you.  But for you believers, here is the novena if you are interested:

Glorious Saint Cajetan acclaimed by all people as father of providence because you provide miraculous aid to all who come to you in need, I stand here before you today, asking that you present to the Lord the requests that I confidently deposit in your hands.

(Mention here the graces desired.)

May these graces that I now request help me to always seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, knowing that God – who dresses with beauty the flowers of the field and abundantly feeds the birds of the sky – will give me all other things.  Amen.

(Say this prayer for 9 days followed by 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Mary’s, and 3 Glory Be’s – if you do not know these prayers, repeat prayers you know that are sacred to you and of your religion in their place.)

I would love to hear your comments on any amazing miracles that happen for you as a result of this prayer!

Remember, even though at times life seems as if it is “against us” because things don’t seem to be going our way, the universe is a kind place.  Nothing happens that is not for the highest good…nothing.  Everything in life has a purpose.  Just because you are not aware of it does not mean it is not meaningful or present.  There are a number of stories of folks who have lost their jobs only to find amazing opportunities waiting for them on the other side of their misery.

Do what you need to do to keep your center.  Take a walk, talk to a friend, exercise, pet your cat, read a good book, take a nap, etc.  Don’t let life circumstances get you down.  Let your internal environment dictate your mood, not your external environment.  The only person who has control over your mood on a daily basis is you.  If you allow someone or something to upset you, it is only because you “allowed it in.”  Keep your internal environment protected.  It is sacred space…treat it as such.

Hang in there and keep your thoughts focused on what you want to bring into your life, not on what is not showing up.  You pull in the exact things that you put your attention upon…make them the good things.

“Prayer does not cost anything but can reap wealth in a wonderful, unexpected way.“
~my friend, Kathi

Let’s pray for each other and watch the amazing miracles that happen!

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.

The Smithsonian recently published an article on “inattentional blindness,” or in other words selective attention.  The article was written based on an experimental minute and a half video asking viewers to count how many times a ball is caught by the individuals in white shirts (www.smithsonian.com/gorilla).  There is something amazing that over 50% of the viewers miss when watching the video.

The human mind is an amazing tool.  What we give our attention to dictates the reality we see in our world.  According to the Smithsonian, “we consciously see only a small subset of our visual world, and when our attention is focused on one thing, we fail to notice other, unexpected things around us, including those things we might want to see.”

I believe that every prayer is always answered and the reason many of us believe that they are not are for two reasons:  Number one, we are expecting it to show up in a certain way (the way we want it to) and when it does not show up how or when we want it, we assume it went unanswered.  Number two, our attention is focused on either the past or the future and never in the present.  We are “in our minds” most of the time.  When we give our energy (or attention) to reliving a past upset in our minds over and over again or worrying/stressing about an unknown future event, a miracle could pass right in front of our eyes and we will miss it.  It happens every day.  Trust me.

How many times in your life have you been so focused on one thing that a bomb can go off around you and you wouldn’t even notice?  How many times have you been so bent on being right that you fail to see (are blind to) other people’s point of view?  How many times have you been so focused on what is going wrong in your life that you miss the beautiful blessings that are in it?

This year has been a time of change for many of us.  I have noticed what I call a “black or white” effect; people are either doing the work they need to do on themselves and are experiencing joy and dreams coming true or people are not doing the work they need to do on themselves and are experiencing turmoil, upsets and loss.  There is not a middle ground anymore.  The difference between these two sets of people is where they are choosing to focus their attention.  Abundance or lack?  Giving or receiving?  Joy or sadness?  Where you focus your attention is a choice.  Are you choosing to focus your attention on what you have in your life or what is missing?

I just spent the last week on the East Coast after moving to Arizona in July.  I decided to move to Arizona because for over a year I felt a strong pull I cannot put into words to move.  I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to move but I did know it was out west somewhere.  Before I moved I experienced many synchronistic events that confirmed for me that I was making the right decision; such as the owner of the house I am renting in Arizona by chance being the neighbor of my assistant Ruth who lives in Pennsylvania.  It was very odd for me being on the East Coast again so soon after my move; I felt as if I was trying to fit into a life in which I no longer belonged.  Old friendships were not the same, places did not feel the same and I could not shake the feeling of “wanting to go home” the entire week.  I loved seeing my daughters but was haunted by old memories, sadness around changes in relationships and an overwhelming sense of joy for having the courage to follow my urgings to move.  I found myself having to pay attention to what I was choosing to focus on; the things in my life that are naturally coming to an end or the new and beautiful things that are coming into my life.

Change is scary sometimes; there is no doubt about that.  But one thing I have learned is that change is the only thing we can count on in life.  It is how you choose to view the changes that are occurring in your life that makes all of the difference.  Choose to have vision, not blindness.  Choose to be present-focused so you can see your answered prayers in the form of miracles showing up in your life daily.  Your life is a blessing; choose to believe it!

“The trick is what one emphasizes.  We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same…” ~Carlos Castaneda

Where is your attention focused today?

Chris

Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.