Ulene Latham

Sooooo Week 14 we are supposed to watch a movie and look for the Hero’s Journey in the movie. Sadly, I have not done that yet! I’ll be back to update you on this one.

This week in MKE has turned out to be one of my favorite weeks. We were asked to we looked for kindness around us as our word for the week and to do random acts of kindness every day without getting caught. This is something my son and I love to do. Sometimes we hide dollar bills in a convenience store and he loves that. I try to make someone smile who is having a bad day or just hold the door for someone. I often do it without thinking so it was nice to take a moment and intentionally create some extra RAKS throughout the day. It was actually harder than what I thought. I had to think outside of the box because my regular routine didn’t always offer up the opportunity to do so. I called and checked in on friends, hopped on Facebook and was intentional about commenting on some posts I thought were special to my friends, let people out in traffic, did some little extra’s around the house for my family and so much more. It’s so nice knowing that one little simple act can change or alter someone’s day.

One of our exercises this week was to pick a virtue out of a list that I felt needed the most improvement in my life and write how many times I saw it each day. The goal of the exercise is to identify, magnify and multiply it by being aware of it. Here’s an example. Have you ever purchased a car and once you owned it you started to see it everywhere? You rarely saw it before and now you wonder if there isn’t someone who doesn’t have one. When you focus on something you see it more.

I noticed that by the end of the week the virtue I had chosen was seen more and more each day. I also noticed that I started to practice that virtue myself more often. I thought it was a really cool way to work on something I felt could use some improvement.

During the MKE experience I have been taught time and time again that thought and belief charged with feeling leads to action and results. One sentence in this weeks lesson really gave me what I call a V-8 moment. Have you ever watched the commercial where the person smacks their forehead and says “Wow! I could have had a V-8!” ? It was an reaction meant to say…hey, why didn’t I think of that?

The one sentence “Your homes are set upon the land a dreamer found. The pictures on its walls are visions from a dreamer’s soul.” caused me to pause and want to slap myself in the forehead as I looked around me. The very home I was standing in was first a thought. I wanted to build a home and not just any home but one that would last me for years and fit my family. I wanted enough bedrooms for each kid, an office, room to entertain family for the holidays and so much more. I could see this home in my head and feel what it was like to walk across the floors and run my hand down the stair railing. I saw my children all snug in their beds and the dogs playing in the large backyard.

My husband and I started to think and dream of that home. We put our heads together and said we could do it with no idea how. We would drive around on the weekends in search of the perfect property and pour over plans while we dreamed of our future home. We felt and believed with every fiber of our being that we could make it happen even though we didn’t have the money or land.

We have had the pleasure of living in this beautiful home now for 11 years. I look around as that sentence runs through my head. Every piece of this home, it’s existence, and everything in it is here because we had a thought and belief charged with feeling that turned into us taking action and making our dream come true. Without the thought and belief in ourselves that was tied to strong emotion and feeling our dream would have never materialized.

It is simply amazing to look around and see all that I have created. Most good and some not so good but it’s mine and I know that with the right thoughts, feelings, emotions and action I can dream up and create so much more.

This week in MKE we were given more ways to engage our minds to steer towards what we want and a very powerful tool to use in order to quickly let go of a negative thought.
One of the the things I love the most about this course is how we are given new tools and different ways to accomplish the same thing. Everyone learns in a different way and will respond to something different. There is a tool for every type of learner.

I am one of those learners who needs it coming at them from all different directions so it is perfect for me!

One of my struggles during this course has been to let go of a negative thought quickly. We were told a story about a bear clinging to a kettle when he should of let go. This bear kept holding tightly to this kettle even though it was the thing that was hurting him. You see, this is what tends to happen in every day life. Being around someone negative, ending up in a stressful situation, having a negative reaction to something that irritates us. You get the picture. When this happens it helps to remember the bear that eventually saw his demise because he didn’t let go.

A positive mental change and shift can’t happen in a negative mind. We must always remember we bring about what we think about. This week I have used that bear as a constant reminder to let go!

In Week 11 we reviewed parts of other lessons and major points. One piece that really stood out to me was how the Monarch butterfly is a great example of what we are practicing here. You see, the Monarch butterflies are know for their migrations to California and Mexico each year. This mass migration brings these butterflies thousands of miles in their short 6-8 months lives. This could not be done without a burning desire/purpose, focus, plan, and alliance with the other butterflies.

These 4 steps or tiny habits are exactly what we are learning and practicing every day in the Master Keys. 4 tiny habits will either bring me what I want in life or further away from it. If I don’t have the correct purpose, fail to focus, skip making a plan and try to do it all on my own, I will likely fail in every single way. If I choose to follow the habits of the beautiful Monarch butterfly and practice the 4 tiny habits by knowing my purpose and having a burning desire to achieve it, apply unwavering focus, make a plan and make an alliance with someone who will encourage me along the way I will have the luxury of chipping the old cement of my past away while turning into the beautiful butterfly I see my future self as.

Everyday I have the opportunity to wake up and go to sleep with these new found principles and make the decision of whether or not I will pursue my dreams or settle for mediocrity. I choose to follow my dreams and be like the Monarch. Things are unfolding in a way I never saw coming and I am so happy for the opportunity to share them with you along this journey.

Well, it looks like it happened. I got behind on my blog. That’s ok though! I am human and it happens. Right? I am still plugging in, doing the exercises and making things happen. This mind shift is moving a long and I am loving the journey.

I enjoyed the time with my family for the Thanksgiving holiday, decorated the house and did a little shopping too! I hope you had the perfect holiday for you as well.

Join me in week 11 and let’s catch up!

Remember, life is a journey and it’s not perfect but it’s beautiful and it’s your journey.

I know, I know. I am behind! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday with loved ones. I enjoyed family time with lots of food and spent some time decorating for Christmas! It was s great time.

During the MKE lesson this week they warned us how the holidays would start to sneak up and could derail some of the diligent work we have been putting in. In week 9 it was all about reinforcing what we have learned, continuing to dig deeper and make more connections with all that we are applying. We are still working working on making our future self who is a stranger an intimate friend and I have to admit, I LOVE watching my future self be the beautiful person she is.

I am continuing to dig in and dig deep but I’m not going to lie, the Thanksgiving holiday week was a little off compared to previous weeks. I am starting to get back on track and move onward and forward once again. It’s amazing how quickly you can let things change when something as simple as a schedule change happens. It’s a reminder of why it’s so important to do the daily work.

Here’s to continuing to grow and did deep….

It’s week 8 of the Master Key Experience and it’s amazing how much cement you can chip away at when you really work on it. The power of thought is moving on and forward in this mind of mine. I have noticed I am still making changes. It’s as if the more I chip away at the old mind set and way of doing things the more in tune I become with what it is I really want. This causes me to make changes on my dream board, DMP and goals.

This week we have been challenged not to watch any tv and to keep it up with our 7-day mental diet and giving no opinions. I am still doing resets on the mental diet but it’s getting better. The most difficult challenge for me is when others come to me with a negative mindset. I am learning ways to deflect this with steering the conversation in a different direction or just stating I must get back to work. It has been a challenge to chip away at wanting to jump in there and get my opinion in! It has also been a challenge not to watch tv while in the kitchen cooking. However, that time has been better replaced with letting my mind be free to think. The more I do this the more relaxed I feel. I am starting to realize I do not have to occupy my mind with activities every minute of the day and when I don’t, I am less stressed, more relaxed, and more creative. This helps me chip away at that old subby and make way for a new me.

In the class last week, they talked about the “diet pill”. Everyone has a choice. You can choose your stimulus and response. Here’s an example. You leave for work every morning and if you are one minute late you get stuck behind the school bus. You now must rush to work like a crazy person and by the time you arrive you are frazzled and in a bad mood. By doing this your subconscious will work to recreate the same pattern.

Here’s the reality. You can CHOOSE to get up earlier. You can choose to be out the door in time to hit the drive through and grab a coffee if that’s what you wish to do. You get to work without catching the school bus, have a hot steaming cup of coffee in your hands and are wearing a smile. Which morning feels better to you? Do this enough and your subconscious will work to recreate this pattern.  

There are tons of everyday decisions that can be tweaked if they aren’t fitting what you need to give you a better and happier day. Choose a different stimulus, your “diet pill”, and your old subby will start to work for you without you even realizing it. Keep a card with your goals in your pocket. Anytime a situation gives you a negative response use that to instantly change your response. You can read it or simply touch it to trigger your conscious to intentionally pick a different stimulus. Your entire body will respond to whichever response you choose to use. The response triggers peptides in your body and the more of whichever peptide it gets it will crave and you will either find yourself in either negative or positive situations based on what you are doing.

Everything we do is a choice and it’s up to us decide what choice it is. I have been mentally working on these choices and using them to make a better day today and tomorrow for myself.

This week has been all about the 7 day mental diet for me. Have you ever tried to go 7 days without having a negative thought?

I always thought I had a pretty positive mental mindset but after doing the 7 day mental diet I’ve realized just how much negativity goes through my mind in an hour! Our assignment for the week was to go 7 days without a negative thought and if a negative thought goes through your mind to replace it with a positive thought within 7 seconds or start the 7 days all over. I worked diligently on this all week long and guess what? I had to start over today. AGAIN…that’s OK though!! I am a work in progress and I feel it’s actually working. My mind is clearing out and making room for more happiness and positive thoughts. I’m so glad to have been given this challenge. I will keep working on it every day. I’m human and will always be a work in progress but I absolutely LOVE having this way of thinking about it and working on it. When I couple that with not giving my opinion when not asked or if I’m not an expert it has cleared my mind and given me more room for positivity and awareness of what I allow in my thoughts and life.

A whole new world is starting to open up and I’m becoming a happier and more productive person. If you decide to give it a shot come back and put in the comments what it’s done for you because I would really love to know!!