Thursday, June 23, 2011

What's On YOUR Mind? by Liimu

I know I've blogged about this before, but it's really important.

What we think about, we bring about.

How many times have you found yourself facing a horrible situation - financial crisis, sick child, or just general feeling of overwhelm - and then started "venting" to people about it, lamenting how horrible the situation is, and how horrible you feel as a result? What I have learned, and experienced, is that "venting" only makes the situation worse. That the more I talk about it, the more I wallow in it, the worse it gets.

Take this past week. We got back from Martha's Vineyard - a wonderful family vacation - only to find that all three of my girls somehow had gotten lice. Can you say, nightmare? To make matters worse, my babysitter had also gotten it, so I was faced with a Monday where I had an important meeting to go to in Delaware, and I had three children who desperately needed serious treatment for their conditions, a three-month old who is still extremely clingy and unpredictable, and no one to help me. Add to that the fact that it was my husband's first day back after paternity leave and you can understand why I began to feel like my life was spiraling out of control. I started to worry about my finances, my weight, my parenting skills - basically, I started to FREAK OUT.

Years ago, before I learned The Secret and the Law of Attraction, I would have let things continue to spiral, wasting days or even weeks whining to friends and family about how horrible everything was, and lo and behold, it would have gotten worse and worse. As a devout believer and practitioner of the Law of Attraction, I know better. I know to work my tushy off to change my feelings and my attitude and get my mindset back on a positive vibration as soon as possible. That's exactly what I did. I got help, did my part to take care of the situation and started praying, meditating and visualizing a better situation for me and my girls. It worked. Not even a week later, I am feeling on top of the world. Things in my life aren't much different (aside from the fact that we are all lice-free, thanks to RID, Nix, LiceMD, olive oil and shower caps, and good old fashioned nit-picking). I can FEEL things moving in a positive direction, and thankfully, the Universe is kind enough to show signs that I'm not imagining things. For instance, someone I had all but forgotten I loaned money to 9 months ago decided to start sending monthly payments! And suddenly, it doesn't feel so hard to resist the chocolate and whaddyaknow? The weight is finally flying off!

It's a choice we can make to decide to stay in the positive. When someone tells me I look skinny (which they have been recently - go figure), guess what? I don't say, "Oh, no - I still have tons of weight to lose." I say, "Thanks! I feel skinny!"

Here's the best example of this positive thinking at work in my life that I can recall. Forgive me if I've shared it with you before.

In May 2009, my 5 year old daughter began to complain of headaches. This wasn't unusual - she'd had a history of migraines. We gave her motrin and thought nothing more of it. Then, she started to run a fever for several days. We figured it was a virus and hoped the motrin would take care of it. When it hadn't lifted by day 5, we realized it might be something more serious. Long story short, she had contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever thanks to a dog tick bite we hadn't even realized she'd gotten. Less than a week later, the Fever had spread to her brain and her spine - she no longer recognized us and wasn't moving from the neck down. Teams of neurologists and doctors came into her room every couple of hours, each time with more depressing, scary news. She could need MRIs for several months afterward to rule out brain damage, she might need long-term physical and speech therapy, she was at risk of a stroke, which could even kill her. My husband and I cried, and kept saying to each other, "How did this happen? How did this happen?"

At some point I realized that I was getting caught up in the drama of it - not to be callous, I know that it was a dramatic and genuinely scary situation. But getting caught up in the drama of it wasn't helping her, and thank God I knew that getting into a positive mindset just might. I turned to my husband said, "That's it. I'm done with this way of thinking. I don't know about you, but from here on out, I don't want to think about anything else but her getting better. I don't want to imagine her doing anything but sitting up playing Uno and watching SpongeBob. If you can't do that, you should maybe go home for the night." He did go home for the night, not because he couldn't think positive about her - he could and did - but because he knew that in addition to thinking positive, we needed to also begin to take care of each other and ourselves.

That night, after hours of praying and visualizing her recovery, I sat next to Amelia's bed and asked her, "Which would you like me to read, Winnie the Pooh or Knuffle Bunny." To my delight and surprise, she said the first word she'd said in days - "Knuffle Bunny." I immediately began texting everyone to let them know she'd spoken as tears of joy spilled down my face. The next day, the doctors were amazed at her exponential progress. Within 48 hours, she was walking. When she left the hospital less than a week after she was admitted, they were amazed to proclaim her restored to nearly fully functioning. No additional therapy of any kind would be needed.

I always think back to our Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever experience when things start to look bleak - it helps me to remember how important and powerful the mind is, and to remember that life really is as good as I can imagine it to be.

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Sunday, March 07, 2010

Dream & Believe -- by Liimu


I am LIimu McGill. My husband, Glen, and I had our third child just a few months after I turned 36. I didn’t realize how much energy it took to be a mom until we added Autumn to our family, which already included two toddlers, then 3 and 4. Never one to back down from a challenge, I have continued to live life with gusto, regularly running half-marathons and participating in triathlons, running my own business, LSM Consulting, and most recently re-launching my singing career (my first CD is due out this Spring on an independent label). I live by the personal philosophy that the best way to encourage your children to follow their dreams is by following your own, no matter how late in life you start.

I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you!


When Robin (founder of MotherhoodLater.com) asked me whether I wanted my very first Motherhood Later blog post to run on March 4th or March 7th, I didn’t hesitate before answering that the 7th would be the perfect day. It’s a day of reflection for me every year, as it is the anniversary of the day I got sober, 15 years ago. Who would have thought when I was sitting in rehab 15 years ago listening to others share their experience, strength and hope about how they accepted that they needed to avoid a drink one day at a time, that I would one day be sharing my experience, strength and hope about being a nearly-40 mom of three?? Before I got sober, I didn’t really think I would ever have a husband, let alone children, though it was my deepest desire from as far back as I can remember. Sobriety has given me so many gifts, not the least of which being the courage to dream and the faith in a Higher Power and in the fact that He/She can make those dreams come true.

The recovery process is not just about recovery, it’s also about discovery. Over the past 15 years, I have learned ways of discovering what I do and don’t like about myself, what I do and don’t like to do, and who I do and don’t like to do it with. As a result, I have the life of my dreams. I run a business that offers me the financial freedom to travel and enjoy my own personal favorite activities like running and playing tennis, while also giving me the flexibility to spend time with my children. I have a husband who I often look at and think, who is that hot guy? Oh, wait! That’s my husband! I get to go home with him! (And it’s not just me – just the other night at a gig, another singer said, “Is that your husband? WOW – he’s hot!” Yep, and he’s all mine…tee hee.)

In addition to having my own business, I have always had the dream of being a singer. This past year that dream has come even closer to coming true. Before I got sober, I wrote a song about believing in your dreams, and that song was recorded with a real band (the drummer played for Stevie Wonder!!) and even played on the radio. People tell me that when they hear the song, they tear up with emotion. It makes me feel so good to know that I’m not only realizing my dreams, but touching others in the process.

And of course, the greatest dream I have realized over these past 15 years was to get married to the man of my dreams and have three beautiful, spectacular, breathtakingly wonderful daughters. With my 40th birthday fast approaching, I’m feeling an even more intense desire to continue to follow my dreams not just for my own selfish reasons, but also for them. I have come to the conclusion that the best way to get them to pursue their dreams is for me to pursue mine.

‘Cause if you believe in yourself
Then you don’t need anything or anybody else
If you believe in your dreams, then your dreams will come true
So believe in yourself, as I believe in you.
Believe in Yourself, © 2009 Liimu

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