there's no one in your way

Of the many empowering and inspiring concepts I've learned from Abraham-Hicks over the years, one of my favorites is the idea that there's no one who can keep you from happiness, joy, and success.

You are the creator of your own reality, and so you are not in jeopardy. You do not need to control the behavior of others in order for you to thrive. Your attention to things that you think they do that keeps you from your thriving is, in fact, what keeps you from your thriving... It is not what they do to you; it's what you do to you in fear of what you think that they will do to you. -Abraham-Hicks

In the plainest and simplest terms, it is your attention that determines whether you thrive or not, not the actions or attitudes of others. That's not what most of us have been taught, so it takes a little mental retraining to keep your attention on the roses instead of fixating on the thorns. But even in the most challenging situation, there is something positive to focus on.

For example, let's look at the economic situation. Any roses there? Sure! People are talking to each other. Kindness and generosity are thriving. Families are spending more time together. Creativity is being called forth to provide new and exciting solutions. Communities are coming together. Gardens are springing up everywhere. Values are realigning. There is much to celebrate.

Only your own thoughts can interfere with your momentum. So take the focus off of what anyone else is doing, look around for the positives, and ride that wave of joy until the next one catches your attention. Don't waste one precious minute blaming anything outside of you for your lot in life. Lots of us haven't yet learned how to harness our attention. Luckily, it's pretty easy to master, once you point your effort in the right direction. It's certainly far easier than trying to force agreement, convince others to step aside, or barrel through external resistance.

Let your alignment (with Well-Being) be first and foremost, and let everything else be secondary. And not only will you have an eternally joyous journey, but everything you have ever imagined will flow effortlessly into your experience. There is nothing you cannot be or do or have—but your dominant intent is to be joyful. The doing and the having will come into alignment once you get that one down.
Abraham-Hicks in Portland, OR on Wednesday, July 14th, 2004

If you could get to the place where you no longer feel a need to push against anything that you disagree with--you would become in alignment with what you do agree with. Even within your own body, it is your pushing against those things you don't agree with, that causes you to be out of alignment with what you do agree.
Excerpted from the workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Monday, May 13th, 2002

Since nothing matters to you other than your personal alignment with your individual goals or desires, then that is where our work is. We are not here to debate the rightness or the wrongness of what you, or anyone, chooses. We are not taking sides, for or against, anything. We are here to help you understand that your life can be as wonderful or as horrible as you allow it to be. It all depends upon the thoughts that you practice. And therein lies the basis of anyone's success: How much do I practice thoughts that bring me joy, and how much do I practice thoughts that bring me pain?
Excerpted from the workshop in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, March 8th, 2003

Let others vibrate as they vibrate and want the best for them. Never mind how they're flowing to you. You concentrate on how you're flowing. Because one who is connected to the Energy Stream is more powerful, more influential than a million who are not.
Excerpted from the workshop in Portland, OR on Tuesday, June 10th, 1997