First Chapter: Open Your Heart for Happy Relationships by Eve Picquette

Title: Open Your Heart for Happy Relationships: 10 Shift Keys – What Your Angels Have Been Trying to Tell You for Centuries
Author: Eve Picquette
Publisher: Enchanted Eve, Inc.
Pages: 78
Genre: Self Help/Inspiration
Format: Paperback

Purchase at AMAZON

How many times have you read or seen something that made you want to change your life and relationships – but you didn’t know how? Introduced by two angels, Hope and Impatience, Open Your Heart for Happy Relationships – What Your Angels Have Been Trying to Tell You for Centuries… answers the “how” question. Eve Picquette shows readers how to:

• Open their hearts to love
• Shift their lives, using 10 keys—how-to-do-it ideas created with the help of angels of inspiration—to change in real and satisfying ways.

In this lighthearted, uplifting, and beautifully illustrated gift book, each chapter opens with images of the author’s angels and quotes she believes were angel-inspired sometime in history. Readers may also download companion MP3 Mini Meditations available on Amazon.com. They are “Dared to Shift” their thoughts and behaviors and these shifts will improve lives and relationships: • Shift 1: Always Connect to Love • Shift 2: Just Stop It, Really • Shift 3: It’s All About You • Shift 4: It’s Not About You • Shift 5: Give Up on the Past • Shift 6: Expect the Best Future • Shift 7: Appreciate Everything Now • Shift 8: Re-Choose Your Relationships • Shift 9: Handle Conflict with Grace • Shift 10: Love So it Can be Felt.

If you are ready to try these simple shifts, the results will amaze you. Every encouraging and comforting word in this beautifully illustrated self-help book will lead you to the path of peace, happiness, and fulfillment. A treasure to own, it would also serve as a thoughtful, caring, and loving gift.

First Chapter:

You probably would like some magic stardust to change your life and your relationships.  You may have been trying to be loving, light hearted and to live a happy life, but it has been less than a success.  Perhaps you read something and decide to change.  But you don’t know exactly how and quickly fall back into the same patterns, just as I did.  This book will give you practical shifts you can make in your life. I will be showing you what the angels had been trying to show me for years: how to shift to love, open my heart, and have happier relationships. If you make these shifts, you will become more relaxed, have more fun, and draw in the very best from your relationships.  You will have the magic stardust.

There are only two reasons to make these shifts:

• You will feel lighter and happier.
• You will attract people, places and events, which are also lighter and happier.

When you are feeling lighter and happier and have attracted the same, you will find that your relationships have evolved, as well. They will be fixed in amazing ways. The easiest way to explain this is to think about each of your relationships as a teeter-totter. You are on one end and your partner, child, boss, or friend is on the other end. When you shift to lighten your heart, it is like lightening the weight on your end of the teeter-totter. The person on the other end must change, as well. But you cannot control what choices the other person will make. Sometimes the other person may change in ways that are happy and pleasing and keep things in balance. Sometimes the other person will refuse to play and will move away from the relationship. If so, it will be OK. Because you are shifting your life to happiness and love—another partner, friend, or job will show up to take their place. They will have lighter hearts and be in balance with the changes you are making to lighten your heart and enjoy your life.

It would be nice to just ask your angels to sprinkle some stardust on all the difficult people in your life—swish! But, unfortunately, all those people have free choice, so you can only hope to influence them in a positive way. The very best way to influence the difficult people in your life is to connect to love, yourself. Whenever you are not feeling light and happy, just stop whatever you are doing or thinking and connect to love and ask for an open heart. When you do this, it will be like magic stardust for you—your vibration will raise, you will feel better, and this transformation will influence everyone around you in a positive way. The first Shift Key is learning that there is always magic stardust for you. You can always connect to love at any time, in any circumstance.

When I was learning this—I had it all backward. I wanted to get more love from others.  But I did not have my own connection to love.  I thought if I could change everyone else, I would be happy. As it turns out, I could not get anyone to change even one little bit. I had read many of the self-help books published in the last twenty-five years and become an authority on why I was sabotaging myself, and why my childhood or other experiences might be causing my pain. Everything I learned was helpful, but most of what I learned just made me want to change other people and circumstances beyond my control.

I also thought that working on my own education and accomplishments would make me more lovable and happy. I consistently chose with my head, then second-guessed my choices.  I was accepted into medical school, and then chose not to attend. Later I became an attorney, not because I really wanted to be an attorney, but to make up for my “mistake” in not going to medical school. I was mostly concerned with how others would view me.  My accomplishments were not from my heart.  I am glad for all I accomplished as nothing we learn is ever wasted.  But I was mostly operating out of worry and fear, not love.

I later found that I was making two major errors and even though the results were poor – I didn’t know what else to do.

• First – I was trying my best to be and do what I thought everyone wanted me to be and do.
• When that didn’t seem to be working out, I often made a second mistake.  I waited and hoped that others would change to be who I wanted them to be.

I was trying so hard to do it right and be good enough – I wasn’t really being myself.  Then, instead of moving on when a relationship, job or situation did not meet my needs – I waited and waited – hoping that others would somehow change (despite strong evidence to the contrary!).

I wanted to stop wishing and hoping that others would change, so that I could be happy.  I asked my angels to show me an answer:  How could I love and respect myself and have harmonious and happy relationships, at the same time? This book contains the answers I found.  The secret was to connect to love and then shift in the only areas where I had some control – my own thoughts, feelings and actions.  When my own heart was right, then everyone and everything around me sorted out with the law of attraction.  When I connected to love and my inner world (my heart) was right – so was my outer world.

Our angels have been trying to tell us this down through the ages.  However, in the last few years, science is confirming the importance of connecting to love and its impact on our world.  Joe Dispenza in his book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, notes research indicating that we are each part of a vast, invisible field of energy, which contains all possible realities and actually responds to our thoughts and our feelings.  We can use our minds and emotions to create our reality.  The neuroscientist, Dr. Newberg, in his book, How God Changes Your Brain, explains how just thinking of the word God and contemplative practices enhance the neural functioning of the brain in ways that improve physical and emotional health, no matter the religion or belief – as long as it is based on peace, love and compassion.  The Institute of HeartMath research shows that positive thoughts actually add energy to our system and negative thoughts dissipate our energy.  Our heart energy extends out three feet and more, influencing whatever is around us, as well as connecting to those we love around the world.

Opening our hearts and feeling love, appreciation and compassion have a powerful beneficial effect on how we relate to life.  I learned from Dr. David Hawkins’s book, Power versus Force, that we all vibrate on an energy scale that ranges from low vibrations of despair, loneliness, and sadness up to the higher vibrations of hope, peace, happiness, and joy.  Further, whatever level we are at determines what we attract—like attracts like.

• High vibrations —Happiness, Peace, and Joy
• On the way up —Hope, Expectation, and Contentment
• Low vibrations —Despair, Guilt, and Shame

Our emotions are based on how we interpret events and what we are thinking about. Our energy or vibration level is determined by the emotions we feel.  Our vibration then determines what we attract and the outcome of our interactions with others and our world.   So why don’t we all just move up to joy?  Usually because most of us grew up learning unhappy behaviors from our parents, who also wanted to live happy lives, but didn’t know how.  Unless we connect to love – it is difficult to

break these unhappy patterns.

So no wonder I was not getting what I wanted! My attitude, emotions, and vibration were often fearful and worried or critical and negative. When I was critical and negative, that was the type of experience I was going to attract. I realized why the Law of Attraction wasn’t working for me.  I began to think of my thoughts as a flock of ducks flying through the sky.  I could say some nice affirmations about what I wanted – that gave me three or four ducks going in the right direction.  However, I had habitual thoughts and feelings of doubt, fear and unworthiness.  Those twenty ducks were circling or going the wrong way, so chaos reigned.  The universe responded not to my affirmations, but to my primary energy and vibration of fear and doubt.  Law of attraction sounded good, if I could just stay in peace and joy – and attract that!  But I didn’t know how to shut off the anxious, negative perspective. I found that the easiest way was to simply ask for help and ask to be filled with the energy of unconditional love.

I had signed up to go to an Angel Conference presented by Doreen Virtue, but was hesitant to go.  The universe knew I sincerely wanted help—when I ask I always get assistance. I usually recognize the angel’s hand only in retrospect. But this time, I actually heard a voice in my heart say, “Atlanta, Atlanta.” Since the conference was in Atlanta, that helped me find the courage to go. At that time Doreen had recorded a beautiful short meditation. I found the best way to get out of my negative thoughts was by listening to this. All I needed was a few minutes of quiet time. I felt the peace the first time I tried it.  Later, if I found my thoughts drifting into negativity, I just paused a moment and asked for help again.  I opened my heart to the energy of love and gratitude.  I began connecting to light and love this way about fifteen years ago, and it has made a profound difference in my life.

No matter what you are facing, connecting with the source of love and light in the universe (the power running the universe) will help. You may wonder how this will improve your relationships, but when you connect to the power of love, you can see yourself and others with a love that creates miracles. There is a power that spins the world and holds the stars and planets in place. That same power is available to you at all times. You may call it Source, you may call it God; you can think of it as delivered by angels of unconditional love or the power that created the galaxies. It truly does not matter. It is light and love flowing to all of us, no matter what our belief or religion.  The power is love, and it does not discriminate. You do not have to believe in it; all you have to do is hold out your hands. It keeps you alive, and you cannot turn it off. You can only temporarily cut off part of the flow—the part that would make you fully alive, vibrant, happy, and at peace.

So your first shift key is to quiet your mind and open your heart. I want to emphasize—I am not recommending some formal meditation practice; often, just five minutes will move you up the emotional scale from fear to hope.  The secret is not long meditation, but repeated requests throughout the day and a change in your emotions and vibration.  You will receive help and see your situation with the eyes of love.  If you ask, you will receive that magic stardust,

When you walk in nature, listen to uplifting music; close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply, your heart responds. When you ask for help from Source or the angels of unconditional love, or when you repeat a comforting phrase, you are slowing down enough to notice and connect to the light and power of the universe. If you ask to be filled with the energy of unconditional love, you will feel your vibration rise, and you will feel better. If you are fearful or upset, you will become calmer. If you’re angry or frustrated, you will move up to hope and see answers more clearly. It will help you with the rest of the Shift Keys. It will raise your energy and vibration and make it more likely that you will attract what you want and reach your dreams. But even more important, it will connect you to love. You will see that everything, no matter how it appears, is really working out for you—right now.

You may be thinking that if that worked, it would be a miracle. It is.

ANYONE ELSE THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA?

You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars guides you too.

—Anandamurti

If you want to find God, hang out in the space between your thoughts.

—Alan Cohen

So many mornings I have chosen email over meditation…. I override the call to feel myself—the call to pray, or meditate, or be fully awake. Prayer comes in all forms and each one spoken brings grace to the day. —Danielle LaPorte

Love stretches your heart and makes you big inside. —Margaret Walker

You don’t have to go looking for love when it’s where you come from. —Erhard

You are today where your thoughts brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. —James L. Allen

Everything that exists, … is vibration in motion—and all of it is managed by the powerful Law of Attraction. —Abraham-Hicks

And my favorite:

If it weren’t for my mind, my meditation would be excellent.  —Ani Pema Chodron

DARE TO SHIFT

Shift and connect to the energy of love and gratitude every single day. Put five to ten minutes on your calendar today. I cannot urge you more strongly—try it for a week and prove me wrong!  I am not talking about long meditation – I believe that most of us are here to live our lives, rather than sit in contemplation.  But we need to pause long enough to stop the negative thoughts and emotions, which are cutting off our supply of loving energy.  We need to ask to be filled, here and now, with the energy of life, light and the power of love.  We need to take the time to be lifted with the energy of love, to raise our vibration and open our hearts.

• If you feel you have no time, just take a few minutes in the car in a parking lot. I have done some of my best connection in the car, or waiting for an appointment in a place where I could close my eyes and relax. If I am in a really stressful situation, I excuse myself for just five minutes (even if I have to retreat to the restroom). I breathe deeply and ask for calm and clarity or whatever I need.  I ask to be filled with light and to see the situation with love. This has helped me respond and make decisions in a clear and positive way.
• Close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply; ask for help and repeat a soothing phrase. I like the phrase All is well.  If you have time, you can use a short meditation or soothing music without words.
• Ignore any negative thoughts or your to-do list—repeat your request to be flooded with love and light and continue relaxing, breathing slowly.
• Once you feel some peace and love, if you want, you can also ask for specific help. You can ask for clarity on a problem at work; the ability to see your partner or children with more loving eyes; or the ability to see your own goals clearly, without worrying about everyone else.   Then let it go, and continue the day.
• Do not ask for predictions on the future, because both you and others have free choice.   You can choose again at any time, and change your future.  The angels do not predict the future, but angel messengers of unconditional love or the love and light of the universe can help you recognize what makes you light and happy and help you move toward the best next step for you.  So ask to clearly know what choice will bring you and others the most love and happiness now.
• Note – This is asking for help in living your life.  This is not about channeling, predicting the future, or connecting with anything other than the light of love or Source.  The Source of unconditional love and light only wants you to choose and will help you follow your choices – Source, angels or the light of unconditional love never dictates your path, you have free choice.  But connecting to love will lighten any path you choose, increasing your freedom and joy.
• Only accept loving thoughts that lighten your heart. If a thought makes you feel heavy or burdened, it is a lie. Ignore it and expect positive inspiration later. Ask to be raised above critical vibration. See all negative thoughts fade away with the stardust of love.  Ask to connect to the loving truth of unconditional love and that loving truth will make you feel light and free.
• Note: Sometimes you will know that you must do something, like apologize, that you don’t want to do – but thinking of completing that task will lighten your heart with relief and you will feel that it is right and true.  Sometimes what is best for you won’t make everyone else happy, but it will make your heart lighter.
• You will receive help. You may get an immediate thought or idea when you ask and open your heart to unconditional love—or, at a later time, you will hear a song or snippet of conversation, speak with someone, or find a book or magazine article that seems meant to open your eyes to new possibilities or gives you a new insight.  But remember – if it is the true direction for you – it will make you feel lighter and happier – not burdened, guilty or fearful.  Your inner knowing is from light and love – learn to trust it.

 

WHAT WILL I GET OUT OF THIS?

Purpose and Peace

When I first moved to Arizona, I had a job I enjoyed and was living the life I thought I wanted, but life still felt like a daily struggle. I decided to make the drive to work a sort of prayer for help and an appreciation of my blessings. I repeated soothing phrases, over and over, asking my angels and the source of unconditional love and light to lift my energy and give me the grace to enjoy the day and bring good to all I met. By the time I got to work, I was feeling a sense of purpose and a light heart, ready to face the day. I had connected with love and begun to understand that the connection to love, not any external events, was what made me happy.

Clarity

I wanted to find an interesting program for my daughter when she was going through some difficult experiences. I asked for help, and within a few days I got it. On a flight for a conference, I was seated right next to a woman who was part of an organization that did wonderful weekend programs for teenagers. She was able to tell me all about the program. I took my daughter to this weekend program in Seattle the next week. It was a life-changing event and helped her to come to terms with some of the unhappy things in her life, such as the recent death of her great-grandfather. I knew I had connected to love and had received a wonderful answer.

Deep Happiness

You are so loved, and you will find that when you connect to love, you can feel happiness and peace, no matter what is happening around you. This will help you see your relationships with eyes of love and respond to your partner, family, and friends from a stronger, happier, heart-centered place.  You will begin to expect blessings and miracles.  You will see the difference in how you relate to everyone when first you open your heart and connect to love.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

Childre, D. (1999) The HeartMath Solution, NY HarperCollins

Dispenza, J. (2013) Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One, Hay House

Dyer, W. (2012) I Am: Wishes Fulfilled (CD)

Newberg, A., Waldman, M. (2010 ) How God Changes Your Brain, Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist, NY, Random House

Schmidt, J. (2003) Still, Still, Still MP3

Tabell, R. (2012) The Lord’s Prayer MP3

Picquette, E. (2012) “Connecting to Love,” track on Mini Meditation—Shift Keys MP3

Virtue, D. (2004) Chakra Clearing (book and CD)

For an easy click on book list of all the reference books – go to AdvisorIsIn.com

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