Last night I was watching the Olympics on TV, and was intrigued by the vivid example of how mind affects body, and beliefs can help or hinder us.

The US Women’s gymnastic team was going head-to-head against China for the Gold (and, well, if the minimum age is supposed to be 16, then I suspect China should have been disqualified anyhow — but that’s beside the point).

The uneven bars competition was finished, and they were up for the balance beam, with US team leader Alicia Sacramone going first.  As the NBC color commentator described how difficult her mount would be, Alicia flipped up onto the beam — and then fell off.

It was a costly mistake — but not insurmountable.

Obviously she was distraught at her error, and you could read it on her face throughout the rest of her routine, and afterwards as she stood with her team watching the others perform.

It seemed to shake her teammates as well, because they also teetered on the bar more than they apparently usually do.

But they had a chance to come back with the floor routine… a chance to prove themselves worthy of being #1 in the world.

So what happened?  Alicia, still looking defeated, went first again… and fell again.

At that point it was obvious that Silver was the best they could hope for.  And her teammates, again, didn’t perform up to par.  They were affected by Alicia’s mindset and the distraught shadow that hung over her, so thick you could probably feel it from 10 feet away.

She believed she screwed up.  She believed she had cost her team the Gold medal.  She believed, suddenly, that she wasn’t as good as she used to think she was — and her performance reflected that.

But even moreso, she infected the others on her team, whose performances also reflected the same thing.

The mind is incredibly powerful, but sometimes we don’t realize it until we see it in action like I did last night.

What about you… what do you believe you can — or can’t — do right now?

Because whether you believe you can, or you believe you can’t… you’re right.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Since today is Barry’s birthday, I’d like to share something very private with you.

Saturday night when I went to bed, Barry said he was right behind me… but instead, he got distracted by something special.

Yesterday morning he surprised me with a video that moved both of us to tears (yes, even Barry, often seen as the big tough guy around here, has a soft side!)

It was not only heart-warming, but synchronistic on many levels, and reminded me how magical the past year has been.

During that time, as we’ve been living together permanently, I’ve gotten to know Barry intimately in many different ways, and that has allowed me to see that my original pre-conceived notions about him were a little off too.

See, we weren’t a couple when we recorded and released Masters of the Secret. We were business partners who argued as much as we synced up (that’s what often happens when two super-passionate, vision-minded and driven people collaborate on something).

And even after we fell in love, he made it clear that he didn’t really like cats (something I loved) and that he loved sports (something I didn’t care for very much).

But perhaps it’s because he’s a Leo (and his 39th birthday is today — starting his last final year in his 30s, and a time of reflection for all humans as we question what’s important or not) but he has grown to not only like, but love our two cats (Mercury, who I brought with me from Toronto, and Jupiter, who we picked out together here).

He goes out of his way to do special things for them, and only gets angry at them when they show a stubborn streak — which, I suppose, is some twisted feline version of the mirror effect since, as a Leo, he has the same feline-inspired stubbornness.

That’s probably why he connected with this video in a way that never would have phased him a year ago.

Today’s also the anniversary of the day I left a lot behind (including a city I adored and some very special cats) in order to follow my heart.

Yes, it hurt — and sometimes the saying “No pain, no gain” is true, because we have to sacrifice something we love for the greater good, or so that we can move forward in other areas.

Now we have something even more amazing coming our way in three months — a little being that we created together.

And in the course of this whole process, I’ve learned that love truly has no limits — as shown in this moving video.

Grab a box of tissues, and go to the next page to check it out:

Click HERE To Continue > > >

For the past few weeks, Barry and I have been moving into our new house (the yellow color has already grown on him, and is starting to grow on me too).

Yes, we did the bulk of it already, but there have been some smaller things that we had to go back for as we’ve been slowly settling in around our normal routine.

It has certainly disrupted our business a bit (okay, actually a lot) because we’ve had to spend so much time away from the computers, buying new things that we need, fixing things up, taking care of the yard and garden, etc…

But we love the house, the 10-foot ceilings, the expansive square footage, the yard, the huge kitchen — everything about it.

And definitely, being in a more prosperous and expansive mindset is going to help us in many more ways down the road.

A couple of days ago, while taking a quick break from moving stuff (honestly, he’s doing all the heavy lifting and I’m just helping organize and clean) we were watching our new satellite TV service and a show came on about the wildlife in Toronto.

They featured raccoons and squirrels, both of which I used to raise from babies as a foster parent for the Humane Society, whenever they were orphaned and brought in to the shelter.

Funny thing though, I just assumed the three color types of Eastern Grey Squirrel (grey, black and brindle, which is halfway between the two) were available wherever squirrels lived.

I’ve been living in Oregon for a year, and have seen many grey squirrels — and really just didn’t give it a second thought as to why I hadn’t seen black ones, because they’re so ingrained in my reality that I thought they must be here too.

Turns out, those are unique to Toronto and surrounding area, and tourists love to stop and look at the black squirrels that hang out around the provincial parliament buildings (about two blocks from where I used to live).

Barry says he’s never seen a black squirrel before in his life. Wow!

Just one more of those instances where it pays to never assume (it makes an ASS out of U and ME).

It’s amazing how we go through life with blinders at times, not really noticing what’s around us, seeing what we want to see rather than what’s there, and taking things for granted.

I’m taking a vow not to do that with our new house. I love so much about it, that I’m going to appreciate those things as much as I can.

I love to eat my breakfast out on the deck, overlooking the English style garden. I feel grateful every morning to be able to watch the birds and the flowers, and the little creek that will have water in it during the winter.

And that’s the way to enjoy life… with eyes wide open, appreciating and loving what we have, and experiencing what’s there rather than what we assume must be.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Over at the Manifest Life blog, Barry and I have been stirring up some controversy lately about the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and others of his ilk.

And we’ve worked long and hard, done a ton of research, and pulled the wrappers off the incongruencies and potentially dangerous concepts and methods some teachers are feeding into the mainstream via mass media that you need to be aware of.

The result? The Eckhart Effect and the Quest for Spiritual Accountability… nearly 40 pages of solid meat, and it’s only available as a bonus with our newly released Renegade Growth Pak that I told you about last week.

Eckhart is like an anti-renegade… and differs in many critical ways from the other teachers featured in the Renegade Growth Pak.

They all have a knack for showing you why you’ve got the life you have now, and how to truly change it for the better — if you’re willing to take responsibility and be accountable for your results.

How do they do it?

Well, if you’ve ever found yourself stuck in a rut, unable to manifest the life you want, maybe even up to your neck in the crap you’ve created… then you owe it to yourself to find out.

Read all about the straight-shooting, hard-hitting and highly effective Renegade Growth Pak here.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

Over the past couple of weeks, Barry and I have been slowly moving into our new house… on Monday the movers are coming to take all the big stuff, but we thought it would be easier to take things bit by bit.

Like the old saying… how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

But this represents more than a physical move for us…

It represents a move of, not just the body, but the mind and soul as well.

We’ll be able to think more clearly because of the expansiveness of the space inside our house.  My office will no longer be in the bedroom, but in its own separate room, and Barry’s won’t be in a tiny den but part of our large open-concept living room area.

We won’t feel claustrophobic anymore when we spend 24 hours a day under the same roof… and if we do, we can always step outside into our beautiful yard.

And that’s why we’re also moving the soul… because we have a nice private fenced-in back yard with a full deck, complete with glass patio set, and an English-style garden where the birds come to eat the seeds I put out, and I’m going to put a meditation bench that will allow us to sit and enjoy the surroundings in peace.

All in all, it’s a very inspiring setting to spend our time — living, working, playing, and creating.

Like any change, of course, there are elements that are scary… but the powerfully inspirational parts far outweigh the scary parts.

It fits in perfectly with a new package we’re launching next week, that teaches people how to get out of their comfort zones and achieve the change they want as well… it’s called the Renegade Growth Pak, and yes, it will definitely help you grow too!

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!

As you probably know by now, there are TWO very important elements required to achieve what you want in this journey we call life; and those two elements relate to the two sides of you: spiritual and physical. Inner and outer.

Neither is better than the other, because like the rest of the Universe, we operate in total balance.

Sit and meditate or visualize all day, without DOING, and you won’t get results.

Work your butt off all day, with no understanding of your beliefs, purpose, or the importance of down time to nurture your inner self, and you won’t get results.

At Life Without Limits, we go out of our way to offer you both… and for little or no monetary investment (because we know you still have to invest the time, AND we love to over-deliver on value)…

Click HERE To Continue > > >

Well, for the past several months Barry and I have been looking at EVERY house in the local market that fell within a certain price range.

But we’re picky… we need somewhere we can live and work together 24/7, since we work out of the home. We need a place that has room for two offices (we work separately because when one of us is on the phone, interviewing someone or chatting up business associates and JV partners, or recording audios or screen-capture videos, both of us need to be able to concentrate, and not be interrupted).

And of course, we also need someplace with a separate bedroom for the baby that’s both near our bedroom, and my office, so he/she (we’re now affectionately calling the baby Mango instead of Peanut since that’s about the size he/she is) can get immediate attention when required, and when not sleeping right beside me.

We need a nice yard, where we can work outside if we want, or get some fresh air while still having privacy, or meditate and connect with nature… and we need to be away from noisy streets for sanity, and so we don’t have traffic noises in every recording we do.

We also need room for our home gym and our video studio. We need a big walk-in closet (yes, NEED, or else we have to live in an uninspiring mess). And we need modern bathroom and kitchen facilities, with a double sink in the master (because that’s what we’re used to) and granite or tile counter tops in the kitchen, including an island in the middle (because that’s what we like).

Yup, we need the perfect house… but we want this champagne-grade house on a beer budget.

And finally we found it… or, perhaps, it found us…

Click HERE To Continue > > >

Since I’ve been pregnant (or at least, since I’ve know about it at 6 weeks) of course I haven’t been drinking any wine — even though in Europe pregnant women drink it without consequence, and in Canada they used to say a glass “every now and then” was okay — because here in the U.S. it’s Zero Tolerance (no alcohol for pregnant women).

Actually they’re just being safe, because some studies have shown it takes much more alcohol than a glass of wine every few weeks to cause problems — BUT since they “don’t know” how much is safe, they just say “none at all”. Better safe than sorry, and I’m fine with that, even though I feel they’re probably being over-cautious.

But I really have missed my wine — not so much for the alcohol, but because I enjoy the taste, I enjoy the antioxidant health benefits, and I enjoy the ritual of sipping a fine beverage from a fancy glass.

Enter my savior… Sutter Home Fre (alcohol-removed) wine!

Click HERE To Continue > > >

May 15 is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights day… where the call is out for bloggers to “use their space to make the world a better place”.

There are many human rights issues that deserve to be talked about. My personal issue though, is with the way journalists have often been treated, and now — through expansion — censorship of the internet.

Barry made a great post on his blog about Net Neutrality that is a good place to start on that topic. If you publish OR consume content on the internet; if you like to be able to go to whatever sites you want, regardless of what ISP you choose; if you actually want to receive emails that you subscribe to; then you need to care about Net Neutrality.

And of course, this is just an extension of the censorship that has been going on in mainstream media for years. The internet is the media of the people — anybody can create a video, audio, article, e-book, or nearly any kind of content and distribute it online, including very professional “radio” and “TV” shows that are webcast or podcast rather than broadcast… and is in essence “the medium of all media” in the way that you can mimic any other form of media online (be it print, TV, radio, or anything else).

The true “journalist” — even in mainstream media — really believes that they are working for the people, and publishing our “right to know” for the good of all. But true journalism doesn’t really exist in mainstream media, try as hard as the reporters might.

Yes, journalists around the world are being wrongfully jailed, tortured, and even killed for publishing (or attempting to publish) stories that certain countries want to censor and keep under wraps. Those governments don’t believe that people have the “right to know”…

Click HERE To Continue > > >

Today I went for another acupuncture session, and this time we’re focusing on the sugar allergy. Wow, I’ve been avoiding sugar for many, many years, and although I don’t plan on going crazy on the refined stuff, I’m so happy to be ridding my system of all sensitivity to it — because it’s in almost everything!

Yes, I can remember many times when I thought I was avoiding sugar, only to feel like crap afterwards and knowing that some of it snuck in… restaurants in particular love to put it in every sauce, dressing, marinade, or just on the grilled chicken breasts that are supposed to be pure.

Now, I just finished my 6-hour avoidance of sugar like after every treatment (the food changes, but the procedure stays the same) and that’s the last time I HAVE to (rather than CHOOSE to) avoid it.

So anyhow, the number of needles went down again… I just ended up with two in the back of my neck. And I enjoyed the treatment a lot, because this time the doctor asked “out of the blue” if I’d been getting headaches (well, he actually got that message from my body, but it seemed to come from nowhere).

I admitted that yes, I had been getting them quite often over the past week or two… and that I used to get them a lot, but they had greatly subsided except for very recently.

So he gave me an acupressure treatment on the back of my head and the sides of my neck, where it was so tender that it hurt like heck for him to press, but felt good at the same time because I could feel the pain melting away. I call that a “good hurt”.

One of those instances where it’s true to say, “No Pain, No Gain!”

It was almost as good as getting a full massage… which reminds me, I’m due for another one soon!

Except this was a bonus massage, because it means that sugar will no longer be an issue for me. Sweeeeet!

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!