Gigi Langer

Worry Less Now!

 Love More Now!

A Mystery Quote: “Songs of Plenty and Songs of Want”

a course in miracles

Several years ago, my friend, Mo, dictated into her 1990s tape recorder several selections from A Course in Miracles (ACIM).  I’ve spent many hours listening to the 90-minute tape; I even converted it to a CD when cassettes died. Now it lives in my phone’s music app. I love every wise word Mo recorded, and I often thank “Angel Mo” for this dear gift.

At the very end of Mo’s recording is a section called, “The Human Experience.” I’ve always thought it was taken from ACIM, because everything else on the tape was from there. But this beautiful section is NOT in the Course, and I can’t find its source anywhere. CAN YOU? If You’re The First One to Find It, You’ll Get A Free Copy of “Worry Less Now.” Here is part of the section I love so much. 

The Human Experience

“So dear are you to me. I see you struggle and let go, struggle and let go again. And that is the dance of life. Seek not to end the dance. 

The earthly dance moves from ballroom to ballroom, 
from dance floor to dance floor. The cosmic dance moves from era to era. But the dance must continue until all the music has been heard. 

You are now hearing different stanzas to the same song. The song is salvation. The verses speak of learning all there is to learn. 

All there is to learn includes songs of plenty and songs of want. You learn the dance of prosperity and the dance of scarcity, until you realize that all the dances are the same.

You move to the rhythm, sway to the beat. You pause to start again. You feel the heartbeat of the music until your heart and the beat of the music are one. Then that dance is over.

Worry not, my child. All earthly experiences teach only one thing: That you are a child of a loving God who punishes you not.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Although it’s very similar the the Course‘s style, it’s not from there. I hope you can find out where it was published.

What IS a Course in Miracles, Anyway?

You may already know about the Course, perhaps from Marianne Williamson’s best seller, A Return to Love–a wonderful introduction. The three books form a “curriculum” that people study on their own or in a group, thus the reference to a “course.” It’s main purpose (the “miracle”) is to help us align our thoughts and actions with love rather than with fear.
Here is my summary of some of the key ideas presented in ACIM (from Chapter 3 in 50 Ways to Worry Less Now)

•  We are spiritual beings living inside a physical body. The confusion of the human experience comes from thinking our body represents the full extent of our being. The true essence of a person, however, is not the body. It is the spirit, also known as the soul, positive power, love, true self, and so on. Most of us seek to connect with a loving source of safety, comfort, and wisdom.

•  Fear separates us. When we believe we are merely a physical body, we think there isn’t enough love, attention, or material security to go around. We live in fear as we constantly compete against others to fulfill our human needs. In this survival state, we separate ourselves from one another. The Course and many other teachings refer to this self-centered fear as “the ego,” and consider it the main source of unhappiness. (Note that Freud defined the ego differently—as the decision-making part of the personality.)

•  Love connects us. When love (positive power) is our driving force, we trust there is enough of everything we need to be happy and secure. We connect with others in loving care and compassion. We are no longer driven by our fears and we find joy.

To simplify: Fear, judgment, and separation create negativity and worries. Loving connections cure them.

What do you think? Do you agree? What’s your experience with ideas such as these? I’d love to hear from you!

Worry Less Now CoverGigi Langer has been clean and sober for 33 years, and holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She’s a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who has helped thousands improve their lives at work and at home.
Read her blog here or order her award-winning book (50 Ways to Worry Less Now) from Barnes and Noble, Amazon (5 stars), and all e-book vendors.

Interview Part 1: Your Destructive Whispered Lies

Want to worry less? Become aware of your negative self-talk:  “whispered lies” such as, “Oh, this is just so awful.”  “I can’t handle this.” “I need to fix (situation/person) right now.” “I can’t be happy until (situation/person) changes.” “I’ll never be able to do that.” or “I wish I hadn’t . . .”

Stressful thoughts like these scare us so much that we end up with life-threatening illnesses, or we find ourselves too preoccupied to give love and attention to our family or friends. Not a recipe for happiness!

How do we overcome our whispered lies so we can find peace, wisdom, and fulfilling relationships?

That’s what Charita and I talked about in this interview series about my award-winning book, 50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity, And Connection.

Interviewer, Charita H. Cadenhead, Realtor, Author, Radio host, Entrepreneur (R.A.R.E.). http://renewrefreshreset.com/about/charita-cadenhead/

worry less nowGigi Langer holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She’s a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who has helped thousands improve their lives at work and at home. Order her award-winning book, 50 Ways to Worry Less Now at Amazon or get 20% here off with promo code 20lessnow.

BREAK THROUGH YOUR DOUBTS! 

 

It’s so weird how my gut prompts me to take on these big goals—yup, like narrating my audio book of 50 Ways to Worry Less Now! And then I get frozen with doubts for a while while “whispered lies” play on in my head: “It’s too much work!” “It won’t be good enough!” Indeed, in the FB video I posted last week, I had decided to hire a narrator for the audiobook. Then something amaaaaazing happened. Watch the 5-minute video to see how providence moves, in spite of our fears and doubts.  

Gigi Langer has been clean and sober for 33 years, and holds a PhD in worry less nowPsychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She’s a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who has helped thousands improve their lives at work and at home. Order her award-winning book at Amazon or get 20% off with promo code 20lessnow here.

 

Don’t Let Fear Sabotage Your Dream

worry less nowDo you have a dream or goal,  but you just can’t get yourself to pursue it? Every time you think about working on it, you find tons of reasons to put it off, or tell yourself you just can’t do it.

In short, you sabotage your dream in spite of your passion for it. It’s a horrible feeling: you’re inspired to do something but too afraid to actually do it.

I’ve been there.  In 2011, I suddenly had a desire to write a book to help people overcome negative thinking. As I wove together my personal stories, techniques, and exercises, I hit more than a few blocks. Fortunately, I was able to complete a first draft with support from other authors and an energy therapist.

After an editor and some other readers suggested major changes to my first draft, fear almost sabotaged my dream by whispering, What if the changes ruin it? How could I possibly do that much rewriting?  Would it ever be “good enough?” What will happen when I share so many personal details about me and my family?

Recently, I ran across a journal entry from that time in 2015. My writing had come to a halt and I was seeking a way forward.

Providence Moves

W.H. Murray wrote, “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.”

Providence moved when I found four questions that freed me up to pursue my dream (the questions may be from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield). Here are the answers I wrote to those questions.

What painful ideas are keeping me from finishing my book?

– I’ll miss out on lots of fun

– I hate the idea of marketing after I finish

– It might not be good enough

– I dread the publishing process

What pleasure can be gained from finishing it?

– Doing what I’m probably here for: teaching kindness and love

– Finding out that the ideas I’ve presented have helped others

– Holding it in my hands, beautiful and complete!

– Knowing that I accomplished this monumental task

What will it cost me if I do not do this?

– I’ll feel embarassed because a lot of people know about it

– I would let down the part of me that’s inspiring me to do this

– Ego would have a victory

– I would feel self-hatred and shame

– I would continue to be jealous of other successful authors

Why is completing my book so important?

– I want others to be able to use the many concepts, tools, and actions I’ve learned so they can be free of worry/fear, and be more loving, happy, and content

– It shares who I am with readers so they can see my difficult times and be inspired to grow past theirs

– It is a useful resource-book–a compendium of many helpful tools

– I want to show myself that I can do this really challenging thing

Worry Less Now by Gigi LangerThe answers to these questions proved to be very powerful motivators. Within a year, I had completed chapters 5-7, and by 2017 I had an advance copy ready for reviewers. Then in February 2018, I released the completed book,

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the great reviews and the national award “50 Ways to Worry Less Now” won. It just goes to show that fear can NOT sabotage our dreams when we have enough tools to break through it!

For specific tools to overcome negativity and worry, check out my book “50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity, and Connection.” 

worry less nowGigi Langer is the former “Queen of Worry” who  holds an MA in Psychology and PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She is a popular speaker who has helped thousands of people improve their lives at home and work. Gigi hasn’t had a drug or drink for over 30 years, and lives happily in Michigan with her husband, Peter and her cat, Murphy.