Part IV - our money mindset and our business - wrapping our heart around this stuff

To recap some actionable stuff that will create a more abundant money mindset for us:

1. Respect our money - see this post here - this is about mindfulness
2. Invest (some regular percentage on a regular basis) - this is about telling ourselves we deserve stability
3. Make a list of money memories and beliefs. Use forgiveness exercises and tapping to release the ones we need to let go of. This is usually a process and not a one time deal, but brings dramatic results.
4. Nurture our 2nd house needs - see this post here
5. Listen to our language about money - are we telling the best stories
6. Money challenges are a symptom. Money represents energy so our health often mimics how we manage our money, too. What can we learn about our relationship to our money by looking at our health?

We pray/set intentions for more money and then are surprised when instead of cold, hard cash what we receive is an invitation to change our vibration. But that is how life on planet Earth works!

Think about it like this - asking for patience will draw to us situations to practice patience (how else will we learn to be patient?) - like long lines and traffic jams (this is why I do not ask for patience!).

So what does asking for more money or more business bring in our own life? Life will show us our imbalances. Guidance is communicated to us all the time - no one is left out of the loop. Usually this guidance shows up in the form of patterns so we will take notice. How people treat us and how events happen around us is a direct mirror of our beliefs.

(One day within an hour of driving I had 3 other drivers flip me the bird in 3 different incidents! This would sound like I was driving like a maniac, but I wasn't - note I live in NJ which might explain one middle finger, but 3 is still an extremely unusual, once in a lifetime event - now if this happened today I would be thinking about what part of me I was saying f* you to, each incident was unprovoked so I would ask myself how I was making myself guilty for something I didn't do. Back then I didn't think like this. I did think to drive myself safely home and park my car for the rest of the day - and of course I would still do that!)

So, if we are desiring more money (and more business) we need to pay attention to what comes up when we focus on this. Lack of money shows up as chakra imbalances, too.

If we have too strong (open) a heart chakra, for example, we will give our money and energy away too much - this will reach a critical point when we are sick of giving. Our heart is meant to inspire and empower people to do things for themselves, not for us to do everything for them. Within our business we will be giving out much more than we are getting back. A weak (closed) heart chakra will result in us being critical and suspicious and not being able to spend the money we need to spend on our business or let go of things that are not working - we will hold on too tightly.

Being a victim is root chakra issues of not taking responsibility for our actions and blaming others. This will cause our business to lose money and alienate people who can help us. Our weak root chakra brings people to us who will take advantage. This isn't about life punishing us - let the idea of punishment and reward go. Once we take responsibility for ourselves and learn to say no to things - we will draw people who are an asset to us instead of people who drain us.

(and our emotions show us our vibrational base with all of this - if someone asks us to do some little thing and we get annoyed right away even though it is something that is very easy for us to do - our emotions have told us that we are giving too much)

Our outer and inner worlds are always in balance. The stuff we are seeing in our life is always the reaping we have sown.

So, say you see certain patterns of being a victim in your own life. Use the internet. We are so lucky to have all this information at our fingertips! Google "what chakra imbalance would make me a victim?" or something like that and then "how to strengthen my root chakra" - use your own judgement with this and do what feels right.

The reason to think about this stuff is never to beat ourselves up - there is no blame in this universe truly. I have seen enough astrological charts to know with absolute certainty we are all here for different things.

The reason it is easier to build a business when we need to make a living is that this is all a lot of work and the output needs to be equally balanced with input or we will get out of balance by doing/giving too much.

There is nothing wrong with going on Etsy (for example) and making a business and not caring if you are making any money as long as you are certain about your beliefs with this and understand they may change over time. We can certainly do this for fun as long as it really is fun! When we are doing something just for fun and it stops being fun, we need to stop doing it.

Since a business is never going to be all fun - there are lots of things we will have to do that we will not want to do - it is usually best to balance it out by making money with it. We need to take this stuff seriously before anyone else does. If other people are not respecting our business, they are only reflecting us back to ourselves.

The reason it is hard to build a business when we really need the money is that our business is always about our value to other people. The giving must come before the getting. We are not really selling our whoseewhatsee, we are really trading its value to another person for money. When we come from a place of "need" we will be trying to sell our whoseewhatsee to everyone instead of exchanging it for money with the people who will get value from it. We will also need a certain amount of money to build a business that makes money. Money likes its own kind.

I got a bit off-track from my original post and where I intended to go with this series and that happens sometimes. Hopefully, the next reader/writer will come along, pick up my wayward thread and keep the conversation going or make it even better. ..... xo all

Part III - why our money mindset matters - tapping into business success and releasing money guilt using EFT and the 2nd house

In astrology money is 2nd house stuff; the 2nd house rules our finances, our values, our possessions, even our talent but what really shows up in the 2nd house is our self worth. It rules what money can buy and what it can't buy. This is the space where we pull our own weight in the world. This space is ruled by the planet Venus and the sign of Taurus.

Most people think of Taurus as represented by the stubborn bull and they can be, but Taurus is really the space in the zodiac that expresses our need for stability and grounding - ain't nothing moving that bull if he don't want to be moved.

(yes, I am going to talk about grounding again - this stuff is all connected plus I am obsessed we know this)

They always benefit by being out in nature,

(a Taurus in the city will not be a pleasant person to be around for long unless allowed a cat, dog or at least a fish tank, plenty of plants and frequent trips to the country)

peace and quiet, hands in the dirt, music in their ears and sensual touch

(think cuddles, hot baths, massages - the kind of touch that feels like safety).

Because Taurus is the natural ruler of the 2nd house the things that strengthen Taurus will strengthen our own 2nd houses, too.

(yes, the same 2nd house that holds our money, our values and our self worth - if you know who is hanging out in your 2nd house and where Venus and Taurus are in your natal chart, you can also work with that energy)

It could seem like taking a hot bath is not something that will make us any money, but it may be exactly what we need to feel safe and cared for. This is the rich soil of self nurturing that grows money best.

Anyhoo, on to tapping (not the kind with the awesome shoes - sorry!).

I first read about tapping and the Emotional Freedom Technique through Jack Canfield - the Chicken Soup for the Soul Guy.

It's a form of accupressure and is a simple exercise that you do to yourself.

Tapping works on the theory that negative emotional experiences disturb the energy meridians that run through our bodies. When we use our fingertips to tap on specific points on our face, head and body while focusing on a negative feeling, EFT quickly realigns the energy meridians associated with those particular thoughts and memories and allows healing to occur.

It is an excellent tool and you can do it almost anywhere. Google around and find some information and videos. Cheryl Richardson has one here. She is talking about anxiety but it works exactly the same with our beliefs.

I use the "Even though I have this fear - naming the fear", or "Even though I have this memory - naming the memory - I deeply and completely accept myself." There is something about the pressure on specific energy points while our body is hearing these words that allows our body to reset itself. It's amazingly effective.

With EFT we take responsibility for calming and soothing ourselves and changing our negative mood or belief instead of waiting for some external thing to come along or happen to change it - it allows us to take our power back. I think that is my favorite thing about it, plus it really does work. Try it for a week and see what happens.

So, what kind of negative belief or memory should we be tapping on to change our money mindset?

Make a list of your money memories or negative beliefs about money you want to release.

I will tell you one of mine that relates to my job loss story from Part I and Part II.

Even though I had technically 'quit' my job I filed for unemployment and since my employer did not want to fight me on this, I got it. I had a much loved uncle and one day I was over his house, no doubt whining about my job loss, but also complaining about the dollar amount of the unemployment check I was about to receive.

My uncle, born in 1924, had probably never worked a week where he made more than $400 in his life.

When I complained about the unemployment amount, he said "you should be grateful you have that". I was immediately filled with guilt. The guilt wasn't about any lack of gratitude on my part, but that I had embarrassed my uncle with my words.

And of course, what I internalized was - "who are you to deserve/ask for more than that?"

When I started thinking about the way money flowed in and out of my life and didn't stick to me, this was one of the memories that came up for me. I knew it told me a lot about my family heritage with money, what I grew up believing I was worth and the ways I self-sabotaged my own stability with guilt over having more than the others around me. I did the forgiveness exercise in the previous post and tapped to release the negative beliefs.

(our memories are always a doorway to our beliefs - asking ourselves why do we remember this particular thing among the gazillion things that have happened to us)

Negative money memories (beliefs) need to be released if we do not want to be sabotaging our business when we hit our income comfort zone.

Often I think I have released something because I have released it in my mind, but my body is still holding onto it.

Many years ago I had a rolfing session with an experienced practitioner and while he was working on my shoulder I had a flash memory of a collection of smiley face stickers on a metal background. It took me about a week to remember these stickers were stickers I had stuck to a metal slide in my backyard when I was a child. I had broken my collarbone when I was nine years old on that slide. When the rolfer (rolfer?) worked on my shoulder, that unconscious memory, stored in my right shoulder, was released. Truly this is self-acceptance at a soul level we are working on with this.

Women often feel guilt about debt more strongly than men do. If you think you will feel better about yourself when you are out of debt you probably won't.

(well maybe for 10 minutes until you celebrate your debt-free status at your favorite restaurant with your Mastercard)

If you let the current state of your wallet dictate your self-worth it will be dictating the future state of your wallet, too. Re-framing your thinking about your debt as life's belief in your future earning ability might help.

When I was in banking I worked with people who had declared bankruptcy. Generally men bounced back faster. They were usually able to separate their money from themselves, "it's just business", they would say, even about their own personal finances. They would file for bankruptcy one week and be in the bank asking me how to get their credit fixed the next. Women often seemed to carry more guilt.

If you have declared bankruptcy - tapping and forgiveness work can help.

Banks who lent you money expecting to get it back took a risk. That's how banks work. They are gamblers, and it’s part of their business to lose sometimes. They have long ago moved on and you should, too.

(this isn't a reason to not pay our debts, but some people have debts that have been legally excused for years still casting shadows on their self-worth)

Everyone needs an investment program. Don't think about saving your money for a rainy day because you will inevitably have one with this way of thinking. You are not saving money - money needs to flow. You are investing your money.

(even if your investment looks oddly like your sock drawer right now).

But don't really use your sock drawer. Money likes to be respected - it is part of our 2nd house family of self-worth after all. Some other tips are HERE.

Next up - Part IV -  tying this back into our businesses (for real this time) and why it's easier to build a business when we need the money, but not when we REALLY need the money

New Moon in Aries - Cardinal Cross - Action Jackson - NOW the New Year Really Starts ...

I will get back to my money series next week!

We have the first New Moon of the astrological year on Sunday in the "take no prisoners" sign of Aries. This has an energetic connection to April's once in a lifetime planetary activities for all of us.

(more on this next week)

Uranus is really calling the shots here. Jupiter is squaring it and Mars is opposing it, but Mars rules Aries and is hanging out in Libra (justice, balance, relationship). Uranus is about change. And we have Pluto in Capricorn representing the parts in all of us that are desperately trying to hang on to the stuff that is based in fear, the stuff that is crumbling, the stuff that is familiar.

Next month's activity is once in a lifetime, folks.

On Sunday let's set intentions and apply our focus to Aries stuff. Aries is the first sign so rules newness. What does it take to embrace the new? It takes courage.

Aries is very self sufficient. This is the energy of "me". The baby of the zodiac. They can't always see the other person's side of things because if they did they wouldn't be able to take quick, decisive action and that quick decisive action is what they are here to manifest.

Aries doesn't have the staying power of some other signs; he doesn't need it. Aries isn't the cross country race. Aries is that first powerful kick off at the starting line.

Aries isn't about winning or losing (maybe don't tell that to an Aries sun sign); Aries is about daring to start that race in the first place. Aries supports jumping in and taking action. He doesn't promise us that we will come out a winner or even come out alive (yes he's ruled by Mars and he's badass), but he does promise us we will have evolved from the experience.

This doesn't have to be about us jumping out of an airplane or starting a new job or launching a new business (although it could be) - this might be about us standing in the Home Depot paint aisle with a can of our old familiar Tender Taupe in one hand and Behr's New Shoot Green in the other and with a nod to our own Arian energy tossing that Taupe (be careful this stuff might be combustible because we are pretty much on fire now) back on the shelf where it will grow dust bunnies and cobwebs because we have started a New Shoot Green revolution!

And with every coat on our kitchen wall we are channeling the Goddess Athena and howling at the moon (we may hate this color later, who cares - we may repaint it, that's not the point).

The point is we are a different people now. We have evolved and that's what we're here for. We didn't come for the outcome, the outcome has already been decided. We all win in the end. We came for the experience. Aries knows this.

When deciding between familiar and new right now - we choose new and then we let the choice change us.

This is an excellent time for energetic support to make changes with things ruled by Aries : the head (headaches, acne, eyes, brain), the overall physical self, exploration, initiative, courage, leadership, strength, stubbornness, impulsiveness, temper tantrums, anger, stress from inaction - what do we need more of in our lives, what are we needing to release. Now is the time to set intentions for this stuff.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place - write your affirmations down by hand in script, speak them out loud - I write my affirmations on strips of paper and burn them, releasing the ashes into moving water - then release your attention from these things knowing that your intention is known. Know these things are already yours.

Have a nice weekend everyone! The world she is a changing. I just realized how many people I know who have broken or injured their feet or toes over the last few months - we are all trying to stand on shifting sand now, this is tricky stuff (also a lot of people navigating some depression) - remember this stuff is transitory as we move into a higher consciousness - this New Moon is really a continuation of the Libra New Moon in 2013 and the Capricorn New Moon in January - this is cardinal sign stuff - more on this next week. xo all

Using Astrology and Moon Timing to Launch Your New Product

Now, I do not believe in fortune telling (although these folks look pretty damn reliable, don't you think) but I do believe in right timing.

For anyone launching a creative venture - business, product, book, etc - knowledge of astrology and the moon can be extremely helpful.

The best and most accurate right timing would be personalized to our own natal chart and our business's chart, but there are some general things we can talk about here that apply pretty universally.

First off - unless you absolutely, positively must launch something creative when Mercury or Venus is retrograde - don't. I would try to avoid Mars retrograde periods also. These 3 periods cover almost half of 2014, so we can't always avoid them, but be prepared to be doing revisions and dealing with increased glitches and setbacks.

Of course, sometimes this is exactly the stuff that separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls and makes us and our launches stronger - so if you must move ahead during these periods just move fearlessly and know you can do it! 

The muscles you are building now will be needed later anyway.

THE MOON:

The moon is fast moving; changing astrological signs every 2.5 days and working its way through its entire cycle in 28 days (through all the signs and from new to waxing to full to waning and back to new).

The Moon is ruled by the sign of Cancer. Cancer is the mother energy that is all about beginnings - tenderly nurturing and appreciating the newness of things.

The New Moon is the time when the skies go dark (the moon is between the earth and the sun). We can't see the new moon (until it forms a crescent later on in the week) - it is literally the time we are "in the dark".

Now, remember everything starts life in the dark as a thought (think seeds in the ground). This is the beginning part which only feels like the beginning part if we are paying attention.

This is the time of pure potential - use it well, but we don't want to actually launch something new at the New Moon (I know it sounds like a good time, but the moon is not so physically strong at this time). The moon should not be void of course either.

The best time to launch something new is the time between the new moon and the full moon - the time when the moon is waxing (appearing to grow larger in the night sky). Ideally we want the moon sextiling the sun or trining the sun - this would be 5 days after the new moon or 10 days after the new moon.

THE SUN:

The sun is strongest in a fire sign. The fire signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.

(now I am speaking generally here all sun signs have positive qualities that can work for creation)

The best time to launch something new is when the sun is in Aries (March 21 - April 19 and ruled by Mars the planet of action), Leo (July 23rd - August 22 and ruled by the sun) or Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21st and ruled by Jupiter the planet of good luck).

THE PLANETS:

Some planets are generally more important than others for your new business or product. Mercury rules communication so it is important. Saturn rules structure and hard work and the 10th house so he is important - there is no excellent placement for him, but some are better than others. If your creative venture is a creative venture you want to take a look at Venus (she rules the arts) - it is important she be well placed. Jupiter brings good luck and expansion so we do not want to waste her. I would shoot for a time when Jupiter is in the 1st, 5th, 9th or 11th house.

THE HOUSES:

Who is ruling the first house? The first house represents the business. Who is ruling the 2nd house? The second house is our values and our money. Who is ruling the 10th house? The tenth house is all about our reputation and status. Who is ruling our 7th house of customers and partners - I wouldn't want Saturn hanging out there and bringing me challenging customers who make me work harder. Also check where the natural rulers of these houses have landed - that would be Mars, Venus, Saturn Capricorn & Libra.

So, how do we time the signs and houses the planets are in when we launch?

Pull an astrology chart for the date and time you are thinking of launching HERE - even if you have no knowledge of astrology or interest in learning you can read about your creation as if it is a person (not in a businesses are people kind of way, but sort of) - is this someone you would like spending time with? Does this sound like someone who would offer value to the world? Think about what you are looking to do with your new business - does this sound like someone who could do it?

Use your intuition with this.

If you are able to compare your own natal chart with this new chart it would be a huge benefit. There are astrologers online who can do this. It is a bit of work so likely won't be cheap. The truth is though, that no one knows you and what you are creating with your life and your work better than you do.

Astrology is more about what events mean than it is about predicting them; feeling charts rather than studying them.

It is the emotional journey of planet Earth we are all here for, after all.

There are no outcome guarantees with anything we do, so we always want to be moving toward what makes us happy. And obviously we can have the most spectacularly fertile ground for a launch and it we do not then water the ground, rake out the weeds and provide lots of sun and attention even the strongest seeds will not grow. It surely isn't a bad thing to check the soil first though ....

I believe the most powerful and soulful business technique we can nurture is a quiet mind.

I know from my own life when I am unbalanced and "trust my gut" I come from a place of fear (think : knots in your stomach, things we can't stomach, eyes bigger than our stomach) - I always attract exactly the crap I am trying to avoid.

When I am actively quieting my mind on a regular basis and "trust my heart" I come from a place of love (think : heartfelt, heartful, know by heart, change of heart, close to your heart) - things always go smoother. There is a total guarantee of happily ever after with this because this kind of happiness is not circumstance dependent.

Play around with the times for your location and really think about what you are looking to create within your own life with this launch - I am especially liking the days of April 4th (Friday ruled by Venus - art), April 5th (Saturday ruled by Saturn - business) and April 9th (Wednesday ruled by Mercury - communication - unless you are an over-thinker, Wednesday's child is full of woe and worry after all). Of course we still have Mars retrograde so if you can wait until he moves direct - or ideally wait until July when all the retrograde energy is past - that will be even better!

What does launch mean? Well, that is really up to you because our beliefs and intentions are key here. I once sat outside my county business office waiting for the right time to register my business name (this is inexpensive and a great way to establish a launch date, time and place). If you sell on Etsy you can certainly determine a good time to press that list button. You can not go wrong with this kind of mindfulness.

NOTE - I give this advice and all advice on this blog with my usual disclaimer:

Disclaimer - I cannot be held responsible for any actions you might take from reading any of my posts - please keep this in mind if you end up in your parents' basement obsessed with pinterest and green tea.

(unless of course, this would be an improvement over your current living situation, in which case, I take full credit)