Arlene Miller's Blog, page 2

Capitonyms

Image by Y. Wolf from Pixabay

A capitonym is a word that is sometimes capitalized and other times not, without having the same meaning. In other words, sometimes a proper noun or adjective and other times a common noun or adjective. I don’t know if any are verbs,  but I will check it out. So Rome and roam are not, but Turkey and turkey are.

Obviously many of these capitonyms are people’s first names. They can also be last names or names of places, etc. In this post, we are talking only about capitonyms that are people’s first names. Mine obviously isn’t one (Arlene), but my last name is. I guess the Miller surname came from us being millers. I grew up on Baker Street, but I don’t know if there were any bakers on the street (LOL).

I got these first names from a list of fairly common names. I also checked out a list of the 1000 most common baby names of 2025. Most of them were not names back when I was growing up. Of course, you can name your baby anything you want. There are no sanctioned first names. I wonder if Linda, Susan, and Barbara were ever considered unusual….

If you have any names to add to my list, please let me know. This list is not exhaustive.

Ace, aceAmber, amberAsh, ashAugust, august (majestic)Autumn, autumnAxel, axel (the skating jump kind)Banks. banksBasil, basilBeau, beauBill, billBrandy brandyBrook, brookCapri, capriCharity, charityChase, chaseChip, chipChuck, chuckClay, clayCrystal, crystalDaisy, daisyDale, daleDawn, dawnDean, deanDon, don (to put on)Drew, drewEve, eveFaith, faithFrank, frankGene, geneGenesis, genesisGrace, graceGrant, grantGuy, guyHaven, havenHazel, hazelHerb, herb (Hm….this one isn’t always pronounced the same)Holly, hollyHunter, hunterIris, irisIvy ivyJack, jackJade, jadeJohn, johnJoe, joe (coffee)Juniper, juniperKit, kitKitty, KittyLance, lanceLily, lilyMark markMay, mayMason masonMelody, melodyMisty, MistyNick, nickNoel, noelOlive, oliveOnyx, onyxPaisley, paisleyPat, patPiper, piperRain, rainReed, reedReign, reignRiver, riverRobin, robinRock, rockRose, roseRue, rueRusty rustySandy, sandySage, sageScarlet, scarletShea, sheaSienna sienneSummer, summerSunny, sunnyTeddy, teddyWade wadeWill, willWillow willowWren, wren

Oh, there must be more!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Summer Vacation

Image by luow from Pixabay

Nope. I didn’t go to Europe. I didn’t go to any island. Nor Australia or Iceland. Not a cruise. Not a road trip.

My “vacations” are generally flights to where I used to live to see people I haven’t seen in a while: That would be California or Boston. I grew up on the north shore of Boston and lived in various cities and towns around the Boston area for about 40 years: Winthrop, Lynn, Somerville, Allston, Brighton, Framingham, Natick, Worcester, N. Grafton, and Westborough. Then I moved with my (ex) husband and two small children to Petaluma, California, where I lived for about 25 years. Then I moved to Florida nearly 5 years ago. I never used to visit Boston unless my daughter was performing (Disney on Ice) there. I would visit California because my son is still there, and I had a lot of friends and acquaintances there. 

When I went back to Boston for two high school reunions (since I moved to Florida), I realized how many friends and acquaintances I have there. It seems that I now have more people to see there than in California: my best California friend doesn’t really keep in touch. Another moved to Washington State. My teacher colleagues I used to visit have all retired and scattered about. 

So, using a concert as impetus, I decided to go to Boston last week for several days. It was so hot there when I went that I didn’t even have to adjust my internal thermostat from the Florida weather. In fact, it was hotter there than in Florida. On the day that I left, it was 100 degrees in Boston and only 93 in Tampa, Florida.

I had an interesting mix of people to see in Massachusetts. The only person I contacted who couldn’t meet with me was going to be in Grenada. She and I were in mothers group together when our daughters were infants, and we — and they — became friends. Although I rarely see or hear from her, I know we are still friends. 

When I travel like this, I try to schedule my time with people beforehand. First of all, I am there to see people, not sightsee, and I don’t want to just sit in my hotel room. (I don’t really like staying with people.) Second of all, most of my friends don’t know each other, so I mostly visit with them separately.

No complaints about the flights even though traveling by plane, hotel, and rental car is a hassle, especially if one is traveling alone.  Not to mention expensive!

The first evening, a friend I met at work in the 1980s and I went to dinner, She and I reconnected quite a while ago, and whenever I go to Boston I see her. She is also one of the few people who actually prefers the phone to texts, so we talk on the phone fairly often. She and I are  sympatico. Very alike emotionally.

The next day I drove up to New Hampshire to see my college roommate. I had not seen her since my wedding in 1985, although we had reconnected on Facebook several years ago. Obviously, it was great to see her. We have led very different lives and continue to do so — and both of us have pretty must lost touch with the other four women we hung around with in college.

That night I had dinner with a friend I went to elementary school and junior high with. We had lost touch for many, many years, and had also reconnected quite a while ago. I remember that three of these friends had come to see my daughter in Disney on Ice when I went to see her in Boston. I am not sure if that is when we recommended. 

The next day was the Happy Together concert with a bunch of oldies groups. Six of us met for dinner and the show: The two I already mentioned, another friend from junior high and high school and his girlfriend, and a Facebook friend from high school.

I had lunch the following day with a woman I met on Facebook, but had never met in person. She and I are big fans of the same oldies group. I knew we would get along, and she was a lovely lady.

My final evening there was dinner with four people from high school. One was a friend who lived down here in Florida who moved back to Massachusetts in December, so I had not seen her since. She brought a friend who was an acquaintance of mine from  high school. Joining us was the friend who had gone to the concert with us and his girlfriend (incidentally, he was my 9th grade prom date). And then I invited another person from high school who is a Facebook friend, but not a close one, and none of us had seen him since high school graduation day…..and that was a long time ago!

One of the best parts of all this socializing is that I brought some people together. Two of my friends who didn’t know each other at all plan to socialize together; they live fairly close to one another. And the two guys at dinner realized they had both taught high school physics and chemistry — and were long distance bike riders. They are going to bike together. 

Someone always had to do a lot of driving, but we did it. My friends live all over the state and then some. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with New England, but my friends lived in Salem, Stoughton, Milford, and Lowell, Massachusetts; Newton, New Hampshire; and Johnston, Rhode Island. 

And I didn’t eat any lobsta! I don’t even think I had any fish!

Home again….and next, something grammary or wordy!

 

Are You A Slasher/Or Not?

Image by Jori Samonen from Pixabay

I am out of town this weekend, so here is a post from the Archives!

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The slash (/) did not make an appearance in the grammar book I used when I taught 7th grade English. The slash doesn’t make an appearance in any of the grammar books I have written. The slash does not make an appearance in the books I edit. However, some people apparently do use the slash, whether correctly or not, and whether appropriately or way too much. And the slash has  uses in many different fields, as well as many different names besides slash.

Sometimes the slash in writing means or. The slash should not be used where the word or could not be used in its place. For example

           The pass/fail option was tried at the school last year.

I would prefer to simply use the word or rather than the slash.  The above example is clear, but not all uses of the slash to mean or are quite as straightforward. And after all, or is only two letters!

Some writers use he/she, his/her, and him/her. I do not like that construction and would advise writers to use he or she instead. Better yet, rewrite the sentence to avoid needing the singular pronoun to indicate both genders. Although it is also acceptable to use they as a singular, I don’t like that either.

2. Sometimes the slash is used to replace the word and when joining two nouns. By replacing and with a slash, you suggest that both nouns are equally important. For example
          
          The mother/executive has very little free time. (This sentence means someone who is both a mother  and an executive, and both nouns are equally important.)

Using and instead of the slash here could be misleading and cause the reader to think we are talking about two different people, a mother and an executive (well, except for the use of the singular verb!). However, you can write the sentence without the slash by writing something like, “A mother who is also an executive has very little time.”

Obviously, I wouldn’t use a slash to mean and.

3. Slashes are commonly used in the  phrase and/or, indicating that the two options are not mutually exclusive. For example
          When you come to the potluck, bring a bottle of wine and/or an appetizer.     

I wouldn’t do this either. Why not just write it out? “When you come to the potluck, you can bring a bottle of wine or an appetizer. If you want, you can bring both!”

Notice there is no space between the slash and the letters on either side of it.

Here are some other uses of slashes:

1.Slashes are used in web addresses (URLs): http://www.bigwords101.com/blog

2. Slashes are used to indicate a line break if you are quoting a poem or song lyrics. When using slashes in this way, you do include spaces before and after the slashes. This use of the slash is acceptable and proper in any type of writing.

          Ring around the rosy / Pocketful of posies / Ashes ashes / We all fall down

3. Another use of the slash is to replace a hyphen or  dash to make a connection between words or phrases. For example

          The fantasy/fairy tale genre of books

4. Sometimes a slash is used in a two-letter expression such as w/0, meaning without. Another example is n/a meaning not applicable. Even the one-letter expression with is sometimes written as w/. This use of the slash would not be acceptable in formal writing, but could be used in a memo or in a chart or illustration.

5. This use of the slash may be antiquated, since proofs are not what they used to be before everything was computerized — however,  a proofreader marks changes in the margin and  separates the comments with a slash. 

6. Editors use slashes when marking a manuscript by putting a slash through an uppercase letter that should be lowercase.

7. In math, slashes are used to indicate division; they are also used in fractions, such as 3/4.

8. In bowling a slash is used to indicate a spare.

9. Slashes are used in dates, but not in formal writing. For example, 8-30-15 to indicate August 30th, 2015.

In addition to a multitude of uses, slashes have many other names:

The slash used by the proofreader is called a separatrix. The slash used when quoting poetry is thinner and is called a virgule. Fraction bar Solidus Stroke (when reading the mark aloud)

To sum up, the slash has very few uses in writing. Something can always be done to avoid using slashes. Some writers never use them. Some writers apparently use them liberally instead of dashes and who-knows-what else! But grammar books rarely talk about them because they really have little use in writing.

 

Capitalizing Titles: Which Words?

Headings, chapter titles, book titles, movie titles……these titles all require proper capitalization. Which words are capitalized in a title, anyway? Or, which words are not?

Here are some rules to help you:

1. The first and last words of a title are always capitalized, no matter what they are.

2. The articles a, and, and the are not capitalized unless they are the first or last words of a title.

3. The conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so are not capitalized unless they are the first or last words of a title. However, sometimes for, yet, and so can be other parts of speech. For can also be a preposition, but you don’t have to worry about that because little prepositions are not capitalized either! However, yet and so can also be adverbs, and adverbs are capitalized in a title. Here are some examples of yet and so:

I am so tired. (So is an adverb.)

I am tired, so I will take a nap. (So is a conjunction here; it is connecting two clauses.)

Are we there yet? (Yet is an adverb here.)

I am tired, yet I can’t sleep. (Yet is a conjunction here, a connecting word.)

You probably won’t have to worry about yet and so too much in titles. My guess is usually they will be adverbs in a title, unless your title is really long. So capitalize them.

4. Small prepositions of four or fewer letters (with four letters you have a choice of whether or not to capitalize) are not capitalized.

Common short prepositions: to, for, by, in, out, up, down, at, with, past, over.

Common longer prepositions (capitalize these): above, below, beyond, between, among, along, beneath, under.

NOTE: Although in is a preposition, if and it and is are NOT! These words need to be capitalized! If is a conjunction, it is a pronoun, and is is a verb.

Here are some titles that are capitalized correctly:

Tender Is the Night

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Joy to the World

Somewhere over the Rainbow (or Over)

Woe Is I

The Best Little Grammar Book Ever!

Correct Me If I’m Wrong

Algebra Is Tough, yet Fun!

I that last title, yet is used as a conjunction, or connecting word, so it isn’t capitalized. It looks kind of funny to me. If all words except one in a longish title are capitalized, and it looks odd to you, you can capitalize all the words. In a title, ’tis better to capitalize a word when in doubt, than not capitalize one that should be capitalized.

Special Note: Is, Are, Was, Were, Be: These words are all verbs and thus very important and always capitalized in  a title. If you don’t capitalize these, the grammar police will be out looking for you!

Another Special Note:  These are standards, but other standards do exist. There are newspapers that capitalize only the first word of a title, known as sentence style. But book titles and other actual titles generally follow the standards I have outlined here.

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Need a graduation gift? Grammar books make great graduation gifts! Check out my books on Amazon! 

 

Manifestation – Part 5: The Coaches

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

So, do you want to manifest having lots of money? You might try becoming a manifesting coach. The going rate for one-on-one coaching seems to be about $330 an hour. 

Neville Goddard, the granddaddy of the Law of Assumption, has many followers who coach. These people also make YouTube videos to get their names out. Many of them also use Instagram and I think TikTok, but I don’t use those, so I see them only on YouTube. Most of them also have quite nicely done websites. 

In addition to one-on-one coaching, most of the coaches have online workshops and courses (usually not cheap either), and some do group coaching. A number of them have a paywall and you can join for extra content, a lot like Substack. However, most of them give a lot of free and useful content in the form of videos. Some do videos once a week, others nearly every day, others at random. Many of them have been doing this for a decade or more. 

So, is there a college degree in manifestation? A certificate? There is no one certificate you can get. I believe you can get a certificate from MindValley, which is a large company offering self-development and transformation. The people I listen to and watch all sound very intelligent and have a variety of credentials. To me, the most important criteria are that they themselves have successfully manifested, they have some type of education and speak intelligently, and that they resonate with me. Some coaches resonate with you, and others don’t. Some have degrees in therapy; others are energy healers; some have other college degrees; others have certification in things like neuro linguistic programming. 

Are these people for real or are they fakes? I guess we will never really know. They are obviously in business to make a lot of money, but I believe they believe in what they are doing, at least the ones I watch. Here are some of the coaches I would recommend (or have watched fairly consistently). And yes, you can get hooked on just watching videos for inspiration and do nothing about it. It could be best to just watch one or two. 

The first person I found was Shelly Bullard, a very attractive woman, who has a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling, I believe. She likes to pose for photos in nice clothes if you look at her website. She deals mainly in manifesting the SP (specific person). She has been going for a while, posts quite often- either longer videos or shorts –  and introduced me to Neville Goddard. But she is kind of a lightweight and repetitive. She apparently manifested her husband and baby when she was over 40 and worried about her biological clock.

Then there is Kim, who calls her business Core Union. I don’t know her background, but I think she had other businesses, in real estate or interior design. She deals also almost entirely in specific person manifestation and talks about soul mates and twin souls. She posts almost daily, shortish videos of under about 12 minutes. She is very repetitive and does not really resonate with me. 

I love Manifest with Genevieve. She posts about once a week and her main point is to teach us to manifest in a healthy way without becoming stressed, depressed, and frustrated. She speaks very intelligently, and I enjoy her videos. She does manifestation and intuitive healing. 

Amy Westmoreland has been at this a long time. She hadn’t been making videos when I first started looking for manifesting information, but she does make a lot of shorts now, and has some videos of her discussing manifesting on podcasts or other types of shows. She talks a lot about manifesting winning contests and meeting famous people. Her business is called Illuminating Joy, and she calls herself a Certified Master Coach. This could mean she has a Life Coach certificate. I wish she would do more videos because I really like her. She seems very trustworthy.

Tom Kieran of Be Something Wonderful drives me out of my mind. He jumps around with a whiteboard full of writing. I never really get what he is talking about. He has a lot of subscribers and is well liked, but….I don’t know. He seems to post nearly every day.

Missy Renee of Awakened Imagination is one of my three favorites. She calls herself a mindset and manifestation coach. She is the absolute expert on Neville Goddard and  makes videos explaining his lectures. She posts a few times a month, but she does have a weekly question and answer live video on YouTube that goes for about 90 minutes or so. I have been faithfully watching it every week, usually live. She is very intelligent  and very sincere. She manifested her specific person back after a couple of breakups as well as beautiful house in California with enough acreage and space for her other interest: kitten fostering. She often shows her adorable kittens in her Q&A. There is no paywall on the Q&A, as there is on Q&As of other coaches. I actually got an hour of coaching from Missy. I was not impressed, partly because of my own disbelief at the time. 

Athena Raven is another of my absolute favorites. An exotic beauty who lives in London, Athena has been studying and teaching manifestation for a couple of decades. She is very sweet, very clear, and very knowledgeable. She is well versed in several therapeutic modalities, including hypnosis. She used to post more frequently, but she now posts a long video once a week. She also has a paid subscription, which I don’t have, but I have thought about it. I believe it is a Discord group.

Athena Raven and Joseph Alai apparently manifested each other (it took a while) and are now together. I watched his videos before he was with Athena and didn’t care for them. I am not so sure about him now. He is a math and science guy, and has been working for a couple of decades on making manifestation a proveable science. He has gathered all kinds of data. He does his own videos and coaches on his own, but I believe they do the paid group stuff together and he and Athena appear together sometimes. I believe he has developed an AI Neville Goddard who can answer questions. That is behind the paywall.

Alison Coghlan is another of my favorites. She just began making videos a few months ago. She comes from somewhere in England. Her website is Know The Truth And Live Your Best Life, and it says she studied science and was a developer. I just looked at her site, and that has been around a while. She is full of common sense, and  she is very clear in her explanations. She posts every few days. Her coaching seems quite a bit less expensive than many of the others. Maybe I will try that!

Brittney,  the I AM coach. She doesn’t really resonate with me. She is too “out there” for me. Nonetheless, I do watch her.  She has a video about once every week or two. I think you either love Brittney or you don’t. I don’t. 

The Rosey Life. She calls herself Dr. Rose, and she does have a master’s degree in clinical counseling and was a therapist for over a decade. However, her doctorate is in metaphysics from The Universal Light, which I am unfamiliar with. She is also an ordained metaphysical minister. She isn’t really putting out manifestation videos any longer. She got tired of it and began doing videos of her day-to-day life. Then she started posting shorts. Now she has a very expensive video behind a paywall. She is a little elite, and you may or may not like her personality. I enjoy some of what shes says. She doesn’t really talk about manifestation so much as believing in yourself.

Neville Goddard – The best way to find out more about Neville is to Google him and/or read his books – or listen to his videos on You Tube. He has many lectures on You Tube as well as his videos. The problem with Neville on You Tube is that so many of the content is AI using his voice. It is hard to tell what is really him.

Same with Joe Dispenza. Dr. Joe is a former chiropractor. He is very, very well known in self-transformation and manifestation as well as self-healing. There are many videos of his clients’ healing successes. Otherwise, it is best to find a video where he is actually being interviewed and you can see him. Much of the other videos use his AI voice. He has week-long retreats that sound interesting if you can afford them. He has a big website you can check out. I spoke to someone who does something similar to Joe, and he said Joe is legit as far as he knows.

There are many, many more manifestation coaches. I have watched several of them — once or twice! I would recommend staying away from the ones whose videos are called, “Manifest a Text from Your SP in 7 Seconds!” It is easy for some of them to just copy the other ones even if they themselves are not very knowledgeable. And some of the not-so-believable ones have a lot of subscribers. Go figure.  And some of the best videos to watch are the success stories, which many of the coaches will read or talk about in a video. Success does apparently exist.

So, you are ready to go ahead and manifest — or stay tuned and next week we will return to grammar or words or something!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manifestation – Part 4: Terminology

Image by Ruby Montalvo from Pixabay

As with other “fields of study,” manifesting has its own vocabulary and concepts. Here are some of the most common:

Creation is done – Just about everyone I have listened to utters this sentence. The belief is that creation is done, and all possibilities exist. Unlimited versions of you exist, and you just need to step into the one that has the thing or person that you want. 

Parallel universes/changing your state – Not all manifestation “experts” talk about parallel universes, but if unlimited versions of us exist, it follows that there must be parallel universes. Some coaches say we are stepping in and out of different states (or universes?) all the time without knowing it. Some say you can tell, and that sometimes you notice sme things are slightly different because you have stepped into a new “state.”

3D/4D – The 3D is the world around you, what you have always considered reality. But manifestation considers your imagination (4D) your only reality — and what you see as 3D is just a reflection of how you see the world, and what you see is the old story — your old manifestations. When you are trying to manifest something, you are advised to not let what you experience in the 3D trigger you. Example: You are trying to manifest an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend back.  In the 3D you find out they have a new love. You are advised to not let that bother you, and continue to manifest them. Are you a relationship wrecker? Not according to the next concept.

No manipulation – You cannot manipulate others. You can only change yourself. So manifesting your ex back even though they have a new relationship is OK. You are not changing them. You are changing you. Or maybe you are stepping into the version of you that has this relationship. “You don’t get what you want. You get who you are.” Manifestation is all about becoming the person who has what you want.” If that is difficult to wrap your head around, try the next one. 

Revision – Didn’t like something that happened in your 3D day? Change it! What????? Yup, revision is going  back and changing something in the past so that it happened as you would have liked it to. You can revise as many things from your past as you want. Something in your childhood? Revise. Something that happened this morning? Revise. Neville Goddard, whom I have mentioned before, and you cannot talk about the Law of Assumption without mentioning, advises that every night before bed, one goes through their day and revises anything that didn’t happen exactly as they would have wanted it. I have tried it with things that happened long ago, and it did blunt the emotional effect it had on me. In manifestation there is no future and no past. There is only now. (Have you read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle?) The past is malleable. Consider the fact that two people who experienced the same event in the past remember it completely differently. Revision helps you get rid of limiting beliefs you have because of your background and experiences. One of my favorite coaches said revision changed her life.

Mental diet – This is related to self-concept. A good mental diet is good for your self-concept. Self-concept is not really the same as self-esteem. Self-concept is who you believe you are. And who you believe you are when you are manifesting should be the version of you who has what you want. You must embody (there’s another common term) that version of yourself.

You – You are not that character you see in the mirror. That is your human part. We are all connected as one consciousness. That is our higher self. Our higher self (God) is what manifests. Not our human self. I have not heard every coach say that, but I have heard it many times.

List technique/ build up your faith – Some coaches recommend things like the list technique to build up your faith in manifestation. Choose random small things that you would like to manifest and then forget about it. Do not dwell on them. See what happens! By small things, I mean a free cup of coffee, a duck in the middle of the road, twins wearing blue dresses — you get the idea. And manifestations do not always happen immediately.

The sabbath — You are working on manifesting for a while. Maybe you are using visualization, maybe affirmations. After a while, you feel that it is done and will come to be. You are relaxed. That is called being in the Sabbath — waiting for your manifestation — even though you are not supposed to “wait” for it. 

Birds before land – Sometimes you will see clues that your manifestation is coming in the 3D world — which you are supposed to sort of ignore. (Don’t ask me; I am just the messenger of these ideas!) Maybe you have been manifesting a new love. Someone does come into the picture, but it is short lived, and that person is not quite right. Is that a sign that your manifestation is working? You are manifesting money. You come into some money, but not nearly the amount you are trying to manifest. A clue that your manifesting is working out? You are trying to manifest an ex back. You  hear her name everywhere and see the color and make of her car everywhere. Is that a sign? Some say there are no signs because the 3D is an old story.

Bridge of incidents – When you manifest something you DO NOT need to know how it is going to happen. That is not your job or your business.The universe will move things around to get you what you want. It might take a lot of steps, but you don’t need to be concerned with it. Example: You are trying to manifest a promotion. But your co-worker gets promoted instead. You are crushed. A month later that co-worker gets job in the city across the country where his girlfriend lives. He takes the job. You get his. Done!

SATS – This is a really common one, named by Neville Goddard. It means State Akin to Sleep. It is the time when you are drowsy, but not quite asleep. Your brain is in an alpha or theta state, not the active beta state or the sleeping delta state. When you are relaxed like this, your thoughts have more access to the subconscious. If you visualize in this state, it is easier to leave an imprint on your subconscious and plant the seed for your manifestation. One of the coaches who resonates with me the most highly recommends trying to get to that state, which is easiest when going to bed and just waking up. I have never been able to do it without falling asleep first! It is not easy. 

Vibration– What is this vibration stuff? Mostly it belongs to the Law of Attraction, not this Law of Assumption, both manifesting laws. The Law of Attraction says you need to match the vibration of what you want to manifest to draw it to you. I don’t know all that much about the Law of Attraction although I read The Secret more than once and saw the movie. I did try to raise my vibration once with the same thing I am trying to manifest now, and I had some results.

Meditation/hypnosis – I don’t have the patience to meditate, but there are manifestation meditations online to manifest certain things. Also meditation is good for manifesting because of the relaxed state it puts you into. Add hypnosis to that. There are also hypnosis videos as well as coaches who will make a specific hypnosis “tape” for you.

Inspired action – Perhaps I have not mentioned that you don’t actually need to DO anything to manifest. If you want to manifest money, you don’t have to work harder. To a point. If you want to start a business, you might have to do something. If you want to manifest a relationship, you might have to leave the house, although some say you don’t have to. But inspired action is action apparently unrelated to your manifestation. Going on five dating apps if you are trying to manifest a relationship is not inspired action. (It isn’t even wise action! LOL) But a sudden urge to get your daily coffee at a new coffee shop one day might be inspired action. You don’t know why you are driven to do it, but then you meet someone there. That is an example of inspired action.

SP– The old SP is probably the most common manifestation: Specific Person. This person can be an ex. It seems that it usually is. Some coaches deal primarily with helping you get your ex back. If your ex was lacking in some way, in manifestation you are supposed to be able to get the version of your ex that you would have liked, not the one that may have caused issues. In my opinion, an ex is easier to get back than any other type of SP, simply because lots of exes get back together anyway. But that is just my opinion. It is supposed to be as easy to manifest a celebrity specific person  — or someone who doesn’t know you exist that you are interested in — as an ex. And then you can of course manifest someone you don’t know yet, just a love relationship where you create a list of traits you want in the person. Ultimately, everyone agrees there are no “big” and “small”  manifestations. They are all as “easy” to get as the next one. A celebrity specific person is as easy to manifest as a free cup of coffee or a duck in the middle of the road. Go figure. Oh, and a specific person can also refer to anyone and doesn’t have to be a love relationship. It can refer to a family member or a friend or a boss or anyone you would like a relationship or a better relationship with.

and this big one —

I AM  – This one is from the AI explanation on Google: The phrase “I am” is a fundamental declaration of existence and identity. It affirms the speaker’s current state of being and serves as a basis for self-identification. In various contexts, it can have deeper meanings, such as emphasizing one’s divine nature, expressing self-acceptance, or affirming a personal identity. 

And yes, you can manifest for other people if you would like to help them out.

Yeah, I know that was a lot. Next week the conclusion: Some manifestation gurus.

 

 

Manifestation: Part 3

Your new Maserati!

If you want to learn more from the granddaddy of the Law of Assumption, listen to Neville Goddard or read his books. The best book to read is the short, easy-to-understand Feeling Is the Secret.

Goddard has many lectures on You Tube, but because he was long ago and You Tube is now, there are many questionable and AI versions of his lectures. I have listened to parts of a couple of his lectures, and there is one  (at least) manifestation coach who often posts a video where she picks aparts and explains his lectures.  More about her in the next post. I have his complete collection of books, but I don’t know if I will ever get through them. They are pretty repetitive — and as I probably said last week — contain many Biblical references.

OK, so you want to manifest something: A new love, an old love you want back, money, a successful business, a Maserati, a beautiful house in the country, a better relationship with your mother, a free trip to Belize. What do you do?

Well, you could make a vision board and stare at it every now and then. Never worked for me, but many people find them helpful. But it likely isn’t enough. You could pray for it (which is pretty much like manifesting if you really believe). Or you can think about it all the time and wish for it. Likely not enough.

The key is that you must feel as if it is already yours. That is the tricky part. Should you be delusional and believe it is yours even though you can see in the 3-D (physical) world that you don’t have it? And even if you could see doing that, what about all you picked up as a child and beyond: I can’t have that! I am not good enough for her! I will never have money because my parents were poor!

So, you need to get rid of the limiting beliefs, or at least recognize that they are there and work on them. Coaches do disagree on these points. BUT you do need to somehow feel it is already yours. If it involves a relationship with someone, manifestation does not imply that you can change them. It is very clear that you can change only self. So, you must change in order to be the version of yourself that would have what it is that you want. Coaches vary: some say if you want to be married, wear a wedding ring and act as if you are married. Most say there are infinite versions of you (and maybe infinite universes that we move through), so you need to be that version of yourself that has what you desire. 

How do you get there? You don’t need to do anything to get there except believe. REALLY BELIEVE. There are techniques to help you get there, but the techniques are only tools. They themselves do not manifest. You need to get to the end in your mind.  Here are some of the techniques; you may have heard of some.

Affirmations – Telling yourself positive things to help clean up your self concept. Everything always works out for me. I am perfect as I am. I am beautiful. Loves comes easily to me. I have all the money I need. My partner loves me.  You get the idea. Some coaches love them; others don’t. I don’t. Sometimes it is just saying things to yourself you don’t believe, but some say after a while you believe them. Everyone prefers different techniques and finds certain ones more beneficial.Scripting – Obviously writing something down. I have not really done scripting per se. You would write out maybe a conversation you would be having with a friend about your new relationship and how wonderful it is. Something to indicate you are living in the end and have your desire.Inner conversations – This is pretty much like scripting but without writing. I do this sometimes. It could be a conversation with your boss congratulating you on the promotion you are  trying to manifest. Or maybe you are sitting with your new spouse at the kitchen table talking about how happy you both are. Or going into the showroom and buying your new Maserati with cash. These are conversations, not to be confused with the next technique.Visualization – This is by far my favorite and the one I use most of the time. You picture the manifestation as already done by some scene you create. You don’t need to use the same scene all the time, but you can. Up to you. Some rules: You need to be in the scene, not watching it like you are watching yourself on a screen. It is best to use as many of your senses as possible: obviously sight, as detailed as you can get it, even it you have to make it up; sound; smell; touch; all of it, or as much of it as you can. Apparently some people cannot visualize and see only black, but I have never had that problem. So what is the difference between visualization and daydreaming, you ask? Daydreaming is wishful thinking. Visualization is living in the end, believing so much that what you desire is yours that you assume (law of assumption) that it will happen —  to the point that when it comes, you are not surprised.

Well, I think I might need two more posts to complete this. So next week, a couple of other “techniques” and some odds and end before the last installment where I talk about some of the coaches. 

 

 

 

Manifestation: Part 2

Image by Eva Michálková from Pixabay

It is difficult to talk or write about manifestation because there is so much, and everyone has different thoughts and ideas about it. Neville Goddard has lots of books, but he is difficult to understand. There are a multitude of coaches and other “experts” on YouTube (and TIK TOK, which I don’t watch; it seems less legit). 

Here is what I have learned:

We are always manifesting, although most of the time unintentionally. What your 3-D world looks like, well, you created it. Sometimes it is obvious; people who are pessimistic and think they can’t have what they want, generally don’t. People who are positive thinking are generally more successful. People who have more self-confidence seem to have more “luck.” It goes as far as this manifestation thought from Neville: “Everyone is you pushed out.” This means that your reality is a reflection of what you believe. People show up in your world according to your expectations of them.

The kind of manifesting everyone is interested in is intentional: when you want something and you don’t know how to get it, you turn to manifesting. However, this is also true in manifestation: “You don’t get what you want; you get who you are. There is no one to change but self.” You get what you assume to be true, thus the name “law of assumption.” Assumption sounds easy, but it is not. All those things you learned as you grew up, all those limiting beliefs, make it difficult to assume certain things. So you need to clean up your “mental diet.”  And you generally, according to manifestation people, don’t need years of therapy to do this. Paying close attention to your beliefs and assumptions helps.

Here are some other common beliefs about manifestation:

You can manifest anything if you can imagine it. 

Big things are no more difficult to manifest than small things.

You should be able to feel your desire as real with all your senses, to live in the end. Neville’s best book — and a short, easy-to-read one — is Feeling Is the Secret. There are techniques to get there, and people often think the techniques are the answer. The techniques are only the methods to help you get to “feeling it as real” — without being delusional.

Manifesting is not the same as daydreaming or wishful thinking. With daydreaming and wishful thinking, there is no real assumption that you are going to change anything. 

Neville Goddard quotes the Bible a great deal – but he looks at the Bible as a metaphor rather than taking it literally. One of the coaches I will talk about in a future installment makes videos deciphering some of his books and lectures. 

Some coaches say to build up your faith in manifesting by starting with really small things that you are not attached to attracting. For example, you might try to manifest seeing a yellow butterfly — or getting a free cup of coffee.

There are different thoughts about what I am going to mention now, but it seems most coaches believe them:

Creation is finished. Therefore, every combination of everything is somewhere, and you simply need to shift into that reality. Yes, it is the idea of parallel or multiple universes. There is a version of you for everything imaginable. And, you, in human form, is not all that you are. You are actually God, and we are all connected as such in a collective consciousness. That is what manifests, not the human you, which cannot manifest. That may or may not agree with your religious beliefs. Nonetheless, that is the common thought in manifestation and the Law of Assumption. 

Next Installment: The techniques and the notion of revision

Final Installment: Some of the coaches I have found and either resonated with — or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Manifestation Part 1

Image by Pexels from PixabayThe dictionary definition of “to manifest”: 1. to make clear or evident; show plainly2. to prove; put beyond doubt or question3. to attempt to attain (something desired) by thinking or focusing intensely on it, especially as a spiritual act4. to record in the manifest of a ship, airplane, train 

What I am talking about here is definition #3. Is manifestation WooWoo or is it scientific? Or both? Or neither? My personal opinion is that it is somewhere between both and neither.

I have been studying (reading, watching Youtube videos, and practicing) manifestation for a couple of years. However, I have dabbled in it now and then for much longer. I have always been attracted to weird things: aliens, crop circles, remote viewing, backwards speech, and other ideas I used to get from listening to the late Art Bell on the radio. Anyone else listen to him???

When most people think of manifestation they might think of vision boards. That is likely the first thing I ever did related to manifesting. You take a piece of cardboard and some old magazines, and you cut out pictures of things or ideas you would like to see in your future. Then, in five years, you take out your old vision board (which you are supposed to place where you will frequently see it) and say, “Look at that picture of a house! That is exactly the dream house I live in now!” (Well, maybe.)

Then in 2006, Rhonda Byrne wrote The Secret, which was about the Law of Attraction (LOA). Then there was a movie made from the book. Around the same time, there was a movie called What the Bleep? which was about the spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness, and the idea of a common consciousness.

The idea of the Law of Attraction is to raise your vibration to match the vibration of what you want. You do this partly by envisioning that you already have what you want. If you want to read about the Law of Attraction, Esther Hicks has several books. She speaks through an entity called Abraham. That whole thing never resonated with me. However, when I “raised my vibration” by redoing myself inside and out (I won’t go into details), I seemed to get some of my manifestation (which is the same one I am still working on). This was a couple of years ago. I raised my mood, so I felt my vibration was higher….

Then, maybe a year ago, I discovered the “other” LOA: The Law of Assumption. This law has some similarities with the Law of Attraction, but is also very different. It is self-explanatory. To get what you want, you must assume it is already true. Sounds simple. Not so much though. 

Why do people manifest in the first place? People come to manifestation because they want something, and they do not know how else to get it. This might be love, money, a house, a new job, etc. The most common manifestations are for love and money. The love manifestation is called the SP( special person). This person might be an ex you want back (very common), someone you know, or maybe even just a relationship with someone you have not yet discovered.

The granddaddy of the Law of Assumption is Neville Goddard.  Goddard was a writer and mystic from Barbados, who learned about the law from the rabbi Abdul. Goddard lived from 1907 to 1975. The basic tenet of this law: You must feel it as real with all your senses. You must live in the end. 

In the next installment of this series, I will talk about what you actually do to manifest in this way and some of the basic thoughts about this law. 

Two more things. 

You have obviously seen manifestation, maybe in your own life. People who are  pessimistic and don’t think they can accomplish things, usually don’t. Athletes often practice in their imagination to improve their performance. I will leave you with this. The law of assumption states that the imagination is as real as the 3D (a common term in manifestation, which of course means what we think of as reality.) And if you think about it, all creation does begin in the imagination.

 

 

 

 

Throwback Saturday!

This is the very first post to appear on the Grammar Diva Blog, way back in 2013! (edited of course)

Welcome to the Grammar Diva blog….here you will find grammar information, interesting articles, and hopefully your input! We welcome guest bloggers, questions, comments, stories, and anything else that will make this an entertaining place to be! Of course we can’t always write about grammar (well, I guess we could), so we can also talk about books, publishing, words,  language and my favorite topic — coffee! (which I don’t believe I ever have!) So, grab your cup of java and read on (this is actually  a reprint of a guest blog I wrote for someone else’s blog) — 

TYPO Is (Sometimes) Just a Euphemism!

In 2008 editor Jeff Deck and former Dartmouth College student Benjamin Herson undertook The Great Typo Hunt, a road trip from coast to coast of the United States in which they located and corrected typos! Their journey was been made into a book and a blog. I will give you the link later. Mr. Deck, a former spelling bee champion, and his friend Benjamin Herson found over 400 typos on their trip….and they corrected about 55 percent of them — sometimes getting into a little hot water!

They did have some ground rules: 1. The typos needed to be in public  – things that everyone could see, like menus and signs. 2. They would not be unkind to those whose native language is not English. 3. They corrected only text, not any speech. 4. They learned not to correct a menu item until after the food was served!

Now, you and I both know that these really were not all typos….a typo occurs when your fingers inadvertently hit the wrong key. For the most part, these were simply common mistakes.

As an editor, teacher, and author, I know a mistake when I see one (or hear one)! What do you think are some of the most common mistakes in grammar (“grammar” meaning spelling, punctuation, and usage)?

In no real particular order, here are the Top Four Grammar Mistakes that I see:

4. There is no apostrophe in a plain old plural noun.

Here are my vacation photo’s! What?? Oh, you mean photos!! Don’t put an apostrophe in a plural noun unless it is a number, letter, or symbol (a’s, 5’s, &’s). Apostrophes are for possession.

3. Don’t use your when you mean you’re. I hope your coming with us. Huh??? Oh, you mean you’re! You’re is the contraction meaning you are. Your is a possessive adjective (for example, your shirt).

2. We were all corrected to use I when we said, “My friend and me are going to the movies.” However, sometimes me is the correct word to use (same goes for us, her, him, them, and whom). He gave the tickets to my friend and me. Using I is incorrect here. You wouldn’t say, “He gave the tickets to I,” so you don’t say he and I either. Between you and I is also incorrect. Between you and me is the correct way to write or say it. The rule is to use the pronouns I, we, he, she, they, and who when used as the subject of a sentence (or a predicate nominative, which is a noun or pronoun that comes after a verb of being. For example, “It is I” and “This is she” are both correct. “It is me” is incorrect.). Use me, us, him, her, them, and whom when used as the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition in a sentence. The boss promoted him and me (direct objects). The boss gave her and him raises (indirect object). The boss gave the account to him and me (object of the preposition to).

1. Do not separate two sentences with a comma….EVER!! You will have a run-on sentence, otherwise, known as a comma splice (a definite no-no). I hope you can attend the meeting, it will be very productive. Sorry, no way. There are several ways to fix a run on.

I hope you can attend the meeting. It will be very productive. or

I hope you can attend the meeting; it will be very productive. or

I hope you can attend the meeting because it will be very productive.

–Arlene Miller, Your Grammar Diva

If you would like more information about The Great Typo Hunt: The Great Typo Hunt 

Or just Google it!