The other day on Twitter, someone share a link to Forbes gallery of the world’s billionaires. This person’s tweet said, “Something I can’t ever imagine being.”

I replied, “If you can’t imagine it, you won’t ever be it.”

Indeed, if you want to be something–a billionaire, a millionaire, a writer, a mother, a wife, a doctor, a lawyer, a musician, a dancer, a comedian, a scenic designer, a retired person–you must first be able to imagine yourself as that person.

As Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

So, today, just for fun…since having fun imagining help you get in the spirit of having (and creating) what you want…take some time to peruse the Forbes gallery of billionaires and just imagine yourself  in that gallery for a moment or two. Or imagine what it might be like to be in that gallery.

Forbes Gallery of Billionaires

Then create a gallery of your own–pictures of what you want to become. You could create it in Pinterest or somewhere more private. But create a gallery that you can look at daily so you can imagine yourself as whatever it is you want to become.

Imagination is an amazing tool. Use it often. Daydream whenever you can. Just do it with focus and intention…and with joy. Let me know what happens and how you enjoy looking at the Forbes gallery. Or share some galleries you enjoy in  a comment.

What does it mean to have a visual image of you? I’m not talking about a photo now. I’m talking about the hottest new social network around: Pinterest.

I fought this one tooth and nail. No way. No how. Not another social network. No time. No energy. Not me.

Then someone told me that as an author I could use Pinterest to give my readers and potential readers a visual image of who I am. Interesting. No words. Or less words. Just pictures.

Then someone mentioned that I could create a vision board on Pinterest. A board (on Pinterest you create boards) where I could pin (on Pinterest you “pin” photos) photos of what I want to create.

Now I was getting interested. Then someone sent me an invite, and I followed the link.

And now I’m a pinner. I have a Viritual Vision Board! I have a board of things I would wear–a sort of virtual vision shopping trip! And, yes, if you visit me on Pinterest, you will definitely get a visual sense of who I am, what I like and what I’m interested in by looking at my boards. They show you my interests and my tastses–at least some of them. And you’ll get a better image of me if I spend more time on the site.

And I definitely DO need to spend more time there–when I have time. Then I’ll have more boards on more subjects and the picture of who I am will become more complete.

And so many of my friends are there…dancers, rabbis, writers, inspirational teachers, you name it…they are there. And I can see who they are, too.

Pretty cool really. Pinterest. A visual image of me…and you. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you might want to.

What do you think? Is it possible to create a visual image of a person (to get to know them) by  looking at the pictures they’ve posted on a social network?

2012. The world was supposed to end, some said. (We knew better.) But things were supposed to change–the energy was supposed to change, at least.  A whole week has gone by. We are being flooded now with the light of the first full moon of this pivotal year, which is supposed to affect our consciousness on every level. Something is supposed to be changing. Or it should be getting easier to create change, right?

I wrote my vision and my goals. I created a vision map or board. I set out with good intentions. Nothing. Same ol’, same ol’.

I could blame it on the fact that my daughter is here visiting. That clients called. I had things that got in the way..projects, the need to learn to podcast, interviews to conduct, old work to get handled and out of the way, bills to pay, shopping to do, emails to answer, social media to attend to, etc., etc., etc.

It felt l like 2012 came in with a rush, driving me forward at breakneck speed. That’s how 2011 went out. Why would the new year be any different? I don’t seem to have brakes on this car I’m in. I’m not sure I’m driving. I’m trying to get control.

Here’s the fact: In the first eight days of 2012, I  didn’t keep to the schedule I set as part of my plan. I didn’t do even one of the things I said I would do. Well…I take that back. I did do one thing. I took a bit of time off to spend with my daughter. I relaxed with family. That is on my vision map and in my goals–to find balance in my life between work and personal.

Yay! I made one change. I made it consciously.

Changing habits can prove difficult. Yet, to achieve some new degree of success we must change our old habits. They’ve only gotten us the degree of success we enjoy right now.

Anything can get in the way and become an excuse. For me, getting up early to complete my client work first is a new goal, a new habit, I’d like to form. It’s easy to say I went to bed too late and simply not get up early. It’s easy to answer the phone when it rings during that time period, or to schedule an activity anyway (like walking with a friend, since that’s a goal, too), and to say that’s why I couldn’t meet my goal, make the change, create a new habit.

I find myself saying all too often I just don’t have the time to change, the energy to change. I’ll do it tomorrow or next week.

Well, a week has gone by of this new year…this year that everyone said would be one of such awesome change…when we could affect change in ways heretofore not possible. I, for one, have not found this year much different. It still remains up to me to make the change. (I hear the refrain of some song…I can’t quite put my finger on it…)

Ah, well…the Kabbalists must right. We are simply in transition. We have a long way to go before the predicted time of peace on Earth or the World to Come. (They say not until the year 6,000 on the Hebrew calendar.) Actually, many other people also say we are simply in a time of transition. And it’s likely our consciousness is changing. We can affect change and do so faster, more effectively if we do it in a conscious and focused manner. We don’t need a new year, a new era, a new anything for that.

The trick is to put that lesson–an old one really (and no “secret” either) to use now to create the desired change. For me, I’m starting small–in my life, with my habits. This helps me achieve what I need to achieve and then has a ripple affect, allowing me to affect others through my work.

I’ll go back and focus again on my vision, my goals, my vision board. I’ll work every day to keep on track, making those little changes that end up in new habits formed. By year’s end, I may have achieved a new level of success based upon those new habits.

What about you? How’s it going after the first week of the New Year? Does the energy of 2012 seem to be supporting you? Is change happening in your life or around you?

I do a lot of things to help make my dreams come true in the physical world. I take a lot of action steps. I do the things I should do. I do the things I’m inspired to do. I seek answers and solutions and I work at achieving my goals many hours a day. I don’t give up. I don’t accept rejection as failure. I ‘m determined. I persevere.

But there are some other things I do, too. These are not necessarily done on the physical plane…or not all of them. They have more to do with using my mental focus to create what I want in my life. Some of you may find these actions, if you will, somewhat woo woo, metaphysical or spiritual, but some of the most successful athletes, businesspeople and creatives I know use these same steps in one form or another. So, today I thought I’d share them with you.

First, I get very clear about what it is I want to create. For some people, this might be a new job or relationship. For others it could be better health or a new car. Because I work with a lot of aspiring writers, I’m going to use a writing example. Maybe you want to create a career as a writer, a published book (a career as an author), a relationship with an agent, an acceptance by a publication, or something else related to your writing. In this first step, write this down in fine detail, but do so in the present tense (as if you had already manifested what you desire). You can write about it in the past tense, too. Create a clear picture of what you want using words.

The second step often is missing from this process. Consider how your creation–your article, book, career as a writer–will serve others? How can you give to others by getting what you want? Will you donate money to charity? Or will your book or article actually help solve an important problem people have? Can you give the gift of support via your writing? Or can you go a step farther than that? Consider how you will share your creation into the big picture of actually creating it.

Third, read this description of what you want aloud. When you do, instil in it all the feeling you can muster. By feeling I mean all the emotion you would have in this moment if you already had what you want. How would it feel to have just gotten off the phone with your agent, to be holding your published book, to see your article in a magazine, to pay your mortgage with the income you make as a writer? Don’t forget to imagine what it will feel like to share your dream come true with others. Muster up these emotions and combine them with your imagined scenario.

Third, close your eyes and consider what actions will bring  your dream into reality. What must you do? More importantly, what do you feel inspired to do? Or what do you feel intuitively that you must do? Create a to-do list and start taking action to help bring your desire into your experience.

I employ these steps all the time. In particular, I use them when bringing my dreams into reality feels difficult, or when I feel things aren’t going as I’d like.

I call this Kabbalistic conscious creation. It’s similar to other deliberate creation processes, but they tend to not include the aspect of giving. When I teach this, I also speak about the four worlds. You can learn more about this in my book, The Kabbalah of Conscious Creation.

Try the process, and then tell me how it works for you. Leave me a comment, and tell me your results.

Chanukah celebrates miracles–the miracle of a small army defeating a large one, of a small jug of oil that should only have burned for one day lasting eight days instead.

This year Chanukah and Christmas fall during the same week. Christmas is about miracles,too–the miraculous birth of Jesus.

It doesn’t really matter if you believe either of these stories are true. Our wisdom teachers–the Kabbalists in particular–tell us that this is a time when we can access the energy of miracles.

As we soak in the light of the Chanukah candles–or any candles–we can become receivers of miracles. Like the oil put into receptacles used to create light, we can make ourselves receptacles for God’s goodness.

Light has always been associated with God. And the Kabbalists say God created us as receivers. We need only open ourselves to that light, allow it in…make room for it in our lives and with ourselves.

How do we do this? I suggest we spend eight days considering the miracles in our lives already. Gratitude is the strongest prayer of all, so why not consider the miracles we already have in our lives, and be thankful for them?  Each night, thank God for a small or large miracle you now experience or have experienced over the last year.

Bask in the glow of miracles.

If you want, you can also imagine the miracles you’d like bestowed upon you in the coming year. Offer gratitude for them–as if God had already graced you with them.

Bask in the glow of these miracles as well.

Eight days of miracles…When you spend more than a week considering miracles, you’ll realize you live a miraculous life all the time. You’ll appreciate the miracle of life and the miraculous nature of God.

That’s the miracle of truly observing Chanukah.

When recently have you experienced pure joy?  I had to ask myself this very question as I watched a recent episode of Oprah Winfrey’s new Lifeclass. Leave it to Oprah to get me thinking.

In this Lifeclass she showed several episodes of the Oprah Show when people experienced “joy rising,” including one I wrote about before. (This one always makes me feel great!)

I watched her show and laughed and cried. And I admitted to myself that I have had little joy in my life over the last four or five years.

Oh, I’ve received joy from watching my children grow and excel and mature. I’ve had some joy from my work. But I haven’t had the type of “joy rising” experienced by those on Oprah’s shows…or by Oprah herself in some of the situations she aired.

How many of us do experience that type of joy? What can we do to allow it in, to make it happen?  I think that’s really the question.

The answer I think comes in giving and receiving. That’s what I saw Oprah doing—giving in so many, many ways. And that created joy rising inside her—and inside the people around her. They received her gifts. They had to be willing to receive.

I read a book an participated in its challenge earlier this year. It’s called 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. It’s an amazing way to change your energy and to focus on giving. My book, The Kabbalah of Conscious Creation, also talks about the need to give and to receive.

However, I think there’s even one more step: to feel grateful for even the smallest things.

Tonight I was grateful to laugh and to cry and to vicariously feel joy because of the joy rising I saw in other people.

Life’s too short not to enjoy at least some of it. I know we should enjoy every moment…but we can start small if we aren’t finding enjoyment now. We can enjoy the sunset, the cat purring, the smile on a child’s face, a hand holding our own, the fact that someone loves us, the tweet or email saying our work is appreciated, the yummy ice cream we treated ourselves to after dinner. Or we can enjoy giving something…anything to someone we know that brings a smile to their face.

When and how do you experience joy…and can you experience more of it? I’m surely going to try.

I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about as a Yom Kippur, Day of Repentance topic. This Jewish High Holy Day typically brings up issues of forgiveness. I didn’t really want to delve into that once again.

Then I watched an Oprah Winfrey Master Class video about surrender, and I knew. That’s my topic: surrender. If ever there were something for a Jew to forgive himself or herself for during the High Holy Days–or for anyone to forgive themselves for any time of the year–its for not surrendering.

More than that, simply commit TO SURRENDER. It’s one of the most powerful things you can do. Seems ironic since it’s actually a passive action. When you surrender you “let go and let God,” as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous. Then amazing things happen. Your path and your purpose are revealed.

In the Master Class video (link below) Oprah talks about jogging and talking to God and singing and praying. This has been my practice–my hitbodedut. Rebbe Nachman told us to walk in the fields and talk to God, to tell hand our problems over to God, to have a conversation with God. To listen to God. I don’t run, but I walk and I cycle. I often talk, plead, pray, chant, sing, ask questions, cry, listen…try to hear or see  the plan God has for me while walking or cycling. This is just what Oprah describes.

And while she focuses on what she wants, she lets go and surrenders. She allows Something Greater to bring her “this or something better… for the highest good of all concerned.” Those are the words are was taught to offer up as I asked for something–a way to surrender my desires to the Universe. And because she is aligned with the energy, sure enough her thoughts, her focus, her intention lines up with her desire and with God’s plan for her.

As always, Oprah just says it all. I couldn’t say it better even if I keep trying.  Her message is the message I take to heart today, for the upcoming High Holy Day, for the year, for my life. I pass it on to you, my friends. Surrender to something larger than yourself. There’s a plan. You have a purpose. Let it unfold.

Watch the video…(I couldn’t find the video anywhere to updload it–sorry–so follow the link).

Over and over again we hear how we must connect our thoughts and feelings to create what we want. Even more important is simply to feel good.

Lately I’ve been having a hard time getting to that feel-good place. Then I watched this video of the Black Eyed Peas singing “I Gotta Feeling” at the kick off of Oprah Winfrey’s 24th season, and I started smiling and feeling pretty good. It wasn’t the singing that did it, though–even though the words of the song are enough to raise my spirits a bit. It started with the lady up front jumping up and down dancing and then the flash mob dance that ensued. Then it was Oprah’s joy and wonder. Wow.

Oprah said it best,”That was the coolest thing ever!” Watch and feel good.

I’ve been working really hard lately to change my negative thoughts into positive ones in a variety of areas in my life. I’m a firm believer in the creative nature of our thoughts and words.

Sometimes, however, I need inspiration as well–I need to be reminded that I need to keep persevering even when something feels difficult, when I’m experiencing rejected, when I feel alone, or when I perceive obstacles getting in my way. So, I thought I’d look for a video to inspire me that I could also post here to inspire others who might feel some area of their life was getting them down.

If you feel like something has happened in your life that has caused you to fall and it’s become difficult to get up and, therefore, to achieve your goal, watch this video.

Then get up. You can do it. And try again. You can do that to. You can achieve any goal if you set your mind to it. If this guy can do the things he does, you can, too.

Each year during the Passover holiday Jews tell the story of how the Pharaoh in Egypt enslaved the Israelites. Sometimes we talk about what modern day pharaohs exist in the world. I, however, think most of  us live with personal pharaohs every day–those in our minds.

I know I struggle with the chains put on me by the pharaoh who rules my thoughts. Well, he does not rule all my thoughts, but he does rule my negative thoughts, the ones that hold me back and don’t allow me to achieve my goals or create the things I desire. In this way he keeps me shackled, stuck in one spot.

I was listening to Wayne Dyer the other day and he spoke about how we often have the desire–the thought–that we want to be rich but the opposing thought that we will always be poor (or don’t have the ability to become rich). He said this state of mind equates to insanity. I say it equates to slavery. The part that wants to become rich is shackled by the part that believes it can’t achieve this goal.

Each negative thought that exists in opposition to your positive thought serves as just one more chain that keeps you enslaved to those negative belief patterns. And so you stay stuck right where you are or have been–achieving the same results as before.

How do you free yourself from this bondage? How do you achieve liberation from the pharaoh in your mind?

You become conscious of your unconscious negative thoughts.

Here are a few things to try (and believe me I’m trying them, too)  to help you become conscious of your unconscious thoughts:

1. Catch yourself thinking and saying things that negate what you truly desire.
2. Write down your positive thought in one column of a piece of paper and then write down the first negative thought that comes up in your mind in a second column. Do this until you run out of negative thoughts in your “response” column.
3. Ask a friend or loved one to tell you when they hear you saying something that negates your desires.
4. Spend time journaling about why you think you don’t achieve your desires.
5. Explore any issues of deservability or self-worth with a counselor or coach.
6. Make affirmations of action; rather than saying or writing positive things, actually do things that convince your mind that you are what you say you are.
7. When you say something that negates your positive thought qualify it with the words “until recently” or something like this that nullifies the negativity of the statement.
8. Try talking to your subconscious mind as if is not “sub”-conscious; treat it as if you want it to “come out of the closet” and be known. Talk to it and ask it to talk back to you. Allow those thoughts to come up in meditation or in your journal.
9. In a journal, ask the part of you that feels negative (about becoming wealthy, getting a new job or finding a perfect mate–or whatever) to tell you why it feels that way. Then try to stay aware of this part of yourself when it’s “energy” arises and turns negative at any given point during the day. In Voice dialogue, a therapeutic process developed by Hal Stone and Sidra Winkleman, this is called developing an “aware ego.” The part of you that functions as”you” most of the time becomes aware of the other parts of you that impact how you behave or react–or think.  We all have many parts of our “selves”–an Inner Child, an Inner Parent, an Inner Critic, etc.–and they can become our pharoahs controlling how we behave. Becoming aware of them allows us to free ourselves of their influence over our thoughts (and our behavior).

I suggest you try freeing yourself from the tyranny of your negative thoughts. It doesn’t have to be Passover for you to do this–and you definitely don’t have to be Jewish. We all become enslaved by our negative thoughts to some degree. I hope some of these tips help you find freedom in some way.