Do You Believe?

Posted on January 04, 2016 by Johanna Druen, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Happy New Year! I took off a few weeks to spend time with my family, refresh, and recollect. I hope that you had a refreshing and blessed holiday time as well.

As we start the new year, lots of people make new year’s resolutions. I feel like my list is pretty long because my goal in 2016 is to keep working on living my best life. That means to continue to meditate and reflect, to continue to choose powerful foods & to increase my physical activity to improve my health, to set business goals and continue to put my magic out there in the world, and to not be so hard on myself. None of that is new, so I don’t feel like I have the traditional resolutions, but that’s what works for me.

Have you set some goals for yourself in this new year? Have you vowed to improve your health, physically or emotionally? Have you vowed to make more money? To love yourself more? To love your spouse/kids/parents/siblings more? And have you made a plan for how you’re going to get those done? (Yeah, that’s the important step! Hit me up if you’d like a session to help you with that. But this post is about something a bit different, though related.)

My question to you here is “Do you believe?”

Ya know, do you believe in Santa Claus (aka the goodness in humanity that gives without expecting to receive)?

Do you believe that when you ask God (or the Universe) for abundance in your life that he/she is going to actually bring that abundance?

Do you believe that you deserve more money, better health, more love?

Your initial response might be, “Well, duh. Of course!” (OK, I’ll give you a small break if you said that you don’t believe in Santa Claus, but not on the others.)

I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church. I am a Christian, and I pray to God. (I’m including a note at the bottom of this entry to explain my beliefs on God/Universe in case you’re interested.) I grew up in a culture of asking God for what we want and need, praying for those who are sick and hurting, those in need, and those who would like to add abundance to their lives.

I also grew up on a farm, so in my area, we prayed a LOT for rain.

The thing is that lots of really faithful Christians like me pray for rain, but then walk out of the house without an umbrella.

Why would God grant prayers for those who truly don’t believe? While it’s true that we don’t know the exact timing of when a prayer is going to be answered, if we just go about our lives as though nothing is going to change, then the likelihood is that it isn’t.

Let me relate this to something a bit more every day. As a new business owner and a person who has some blocks about money, I struggle with the belief that I’m going to wind up homeless or starving. I’ve never been either, but my bank account and my lizard fears say that it’s possible. So, I’ve been working on that. I’ve been working my business and also asking God to bring abundance into my life. I’ve also completed some manifesting exercises which I’ll talk about some other time. And then comes the waiting.

If I go about my life feeling the same gut fear and hording panic of a person who believes that the dollars currently in my account are the LAST ones that will ever be there, I am not BELIEVING. I am asking, but completely doubting that God can make it happen. I’m praying for rain, but then walking out of my home without an umbrella. It’s like saying, Yeah, I prayed, but just in case…

If I act like I do NOT BELIEVE that the money is coming, is already on its way, in fact, then I am doubting the power of God.

And that is totally defeating the purpose. A beautiful friend once told me that fear is a lack of faith in God. When I sit around with my stomach in knots, fearing where the money is going to come from, acting as if no money is coming, I am acting out of fear and that’s a lack of faith in God.

I’m not saying that believing is easy. We’re such doubters of miracles and power in our culture that it’s hard to break that mindset. It takes time and energy. And letting go of the control (Yeah, that’s a biggie for me, too).

So, some simple steps to starting to believe:
1) Let go of the need to see something RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

2) Breathe deeply. Right now, when you ask, and after. Keep taking deep breaths.
*Deep breathing is the #1 tool for living a better life. It helps to slow down the heart, steadies your nerves, and helps to clear the mind. Focus on deep belly breaths, at least three in a row. Try this any time you’re feeling anxious, angry, or overwhelmed.

3) Be clear on what you want, when you want it, and why. Asking for abundance in your life isn’t like giving a test. Don’t say to God, “Well, if you love me…” God doesn’t want that sort of relationship with us. He also doesn’t want to bring pain into our lives, so if you’re asking for something that isn’t to your betterment, that’s not going to fly either.

4) Ask and then let it go. It’s also a good idea to ask “For this or something better.” Once you’ve asked, you don’t need to keep fussing over it. That’s key to believing. Start living your life as if the abundance is on its way.

5) Recognize when you’ve received what you asked for. You may actually receive MORE than what you asked for or something even better. God and the universe act like that. They want you to live in abundance. So, be on the lookout for the arrival of what you’ve asked for, like when you know a good friend is coming to visit. Then, give thanks for receiving.

The key is to BELIEVE that you will receive what you ask for. It starts with hope, and then builds to assurance. And it’s so beautiful.

​I’d love it if you would let me know when you receive what you’ve asked for.