Writing "Letters to the Universe"

I mentioned that I had written a Letter to the Universe in a recent weekly email. I thought I had talked about doing this before on FemmeHead, but I’m not sure I have. So, of course, I had to take a moment today to share the power of doing this. 

I’ve never been a very religious person. I tried really hard growing up, I went to bible study, youth group, and church with friends and family. I worked to memorize where in the Bible the different chapters were because it was always so embarrassing to feel like I was the only one that couldn’t just flip to a chapter as it was called out. 

I also grew up in small-town Iowa where everyone was religious. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it never resonated with me no matter how hard I tried. Eventually, I stopped trying to squeeze myself into that mold that I just didn’t fit in, and I feel like I’ve been able to connect to a level of spirituality that I never found with Christianity. 

[This is not going to be me talking smack about Christianity, I promise. I just have to share how it wasn’t for me, and I think people shouldn’t force themselves into something that doesn’t work for them because there are plenty of options for discovering spirituality out there in the world. There is no right or wrong option as long as you’re not harming anyone or discriminating against anyone.]

I’ve never been able to wrap my mind around the idea that there is one entity in control. Instead for me, it’s more like there’s this energy that connects everything. And everyone has a different name for what this is to them. For me, I like to picture this “energy" as Mother Nature or the Universe. 

Ok, that’s enough of me trying to explain all that. But it’s important for explaining why I love writing Letters to the Universe so much. 

I first discovered LTTU from the lovely Vienda Maria. She was talking about them as a tool of manifesting in a course of hers. I wrote one for the first time back in 2015, and it’s been something I’ve been doing ever since. 

So, what the heck is a Letter to the Universe” you might be wondering? 

For me it’s like writing in my journal, but bigger. Because I’m not just documenting, or musing about something. I’m consciously putting a desire or wish into words and then releasing it to the universe. I’m asking for help with something I want to happen, or guidance on an issue I don’t have an answer to. 

I start it like any letter you’d write, “Dear so and so” only the “person” I’m writing to is the Universe. 

My most recent one started with “Hello Beautiful Universe” and went from there. I also like to date my letters for when I stumble across them again. I love to see what I asked for and to think about how that came to me, or didn't. 

I always start my letters with something I’m grateful for. I say thank you for x y and z. From there I get into what I’m there to ask for. I like to get detailed in these letters. What is it exactly I want, why do I want that and how is that going to make me feel? 

After I feel like I’ve adequately explained my request I’ll finish off the letter with even more gratitude and thanks. 

Sign that letter with love, and then let it go. 

I keep all of my letters in my Evernote because that’s where I keep everything I write (except for my journal of course). So they’re there if I want to look at them, but I rarely do. 

You want to imagine it as taking what you want and releasing it to the Universe with the expectation that whatever you’ve asked for is going to happen. Because it always does in one way or another. 

It’s all part of manifesting, the law of attraction, prayer, whatever you want to call it. 

The great thing about writing these letters is that it forces you to get detailed about what it is exactly that you want. How often do we “want” something but when we sit down and think about it we don’t have a clear idea of what exactly that is, or how it would work out.

If we don’t know what we’re looking for we’ll never find it. 

And once you put in the time of actually writing down what it is and how it would make you feel to have it, things start to happen. Opportunities come, you start making decisions to get yourself there, and the magic starts happening. It’s a way to open yourself up to different possibilities, a way to stay conscious so when something does come along you’re able to stop and say “Hey, this might be my answer from the Universe”. 

In the end, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. People do it all the time in so many different ways. Writing letters is just one way I like to put my desires and intentions out there in the world. 

Do you do anything similar to this? What does that look like for you, and what are some of the cool things that have come from it? 

Using Pinterest to Create Dream Board

I love the concept of dream boards. 

My teenage bedroom was essentially four walls of dream boards, or whatever I decided was worthy of getting cut out of a Teen Vogue and taped on my wall. 

I don’t collect magazines anymore, nor do I find my “dream life” in them. 

But do you know what has come along since my moody teenage days?

Pinterest. 

I don’t even have to explain what it is: the internet’s dream board. 

We’ve all spent countless hours pinning drool worthy recipes, outfits that are a little too perfect and a detailed plan of our dream wedding before we even had serious boyfriends. 

I’ve seriously curbed my Pinterest addiction since college, but I’ve found it a cathartic exercise to collect and curate different aspects of the dream life I strive for.

In January I chose two guiding words for 2017: Ignite and Radiate. And I created a board of different images and quotes that spoke to those words that I’ll scroll through every now and then. 

And one of the best features of Pinterest? Secret boards. 

No more scouring magazines, scissors and glue for this girl. 

My most recent secret board creation? One I dubbed, “Beautiful Abundance” where I put all the things I’m working to manifest in my life. 

And if you hear the term “manifest” and want to gag a little bit, stick with me. I was once in your shoes not that long ago. 

Then I discovered “Letters to the Universe”, dipping my toes into manifesting, and things started to happen. 

I asked the Universe for freelance opportunities and I got an email from a gal I went on to do a internship/mentorship for. 

I asked for more money opportunities, and my mom called to ask for help with two painting jobs, totaling over $1600 in less than three weeks. 

“I’ve got to put this power to good use!” I thought. 

So, back to my “Beautiful Abundance” board. I created it as a place to put all the things I wanted to manifest for my future. And not my “where will you be in 10 years” future. My 6 months - 5 years plan. 

While it’s obviously important to consider where you want to be in 15 years time I think so many people spend all their wishing on years and years down the road. 

What about the life we’re living in the here in now? 

Why not focus on that? I know I am. 

Fill your dream boards, your vision boards, whatever you want to call them with things that make you feel something. That get you excited to work towards your goals. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m a visual person so actually seeing something versus just writing it down (which I also think is important) sparks something different in my brain, making it seem like more of a possibility for reality. 

So, go and spend some time on Pinterest (I’m giving you permission) and make a board that is just for curating your dream life. Don’t hold yourself back, fill it with images, words and whatever else feel right to you. 

Go back and look back on it here and there, edit it and refine it to keep it up to date with what you want. And just let it soak in, think about how it would feel to have or be whatever it is. Visualize that, and magical things will start to happen. 

Why I Have $100,000 On My Wall

Last week I wrote a post about lessons I had learned from the book “Get Rich, Lucky Bitch” which I devoured and thoroughly enjoyed. 

One of the glaring realizations was that I had this subconscious belief that I only deserved to make the bare minimum needed to survive. 

But what happens when your goals change, what you want changes? What if a house and a family doesn’t seem so distant? 

The answer: you’re going to need more money. 

I realized that I thought making more money than I “needed” was greedy. That I should only want what I need and nothing more. 

Why set big goals if you have enough now?

Well, I realized it wasn’t about being ungrateful for what I already have. It’s about growing, as a person, as a business, and it’s OK if you desires and goals change. 

It doesn’t take much money for me to support myself at this point in life. I’m pretty proud of that fact, but I also discovered that the idea of making “a lot” of money freaked me out, gave me these weird, cringey feelings that I didn’t like. 

In the book she talks about clients who had the goals of making six figures, seven figures, and each time I found myself a bit bug eyed thinking, “That’s sooo much money!” 

When I thought about what it would be like to make six figures I found myself really uncomfortable with the idea of that much money. 

I’m a far way off from that income goal, but how could I ever expect myself to seek out more money if I wasn’t even comfortable with the idea of making more money. 

Essentially, I was repelling money and opportunities that led to more money because I didn’t think I needed it nor deserved it. I was uncomfortable with it. 

So, I’ve started doing a few things to change my attitude towards making more money. 

One, slightly absurd, thing I’ve done is put “$100,000” on the bottom of my felt letter board that sits on my desk. 

And when I first put it up there I would hide it behind candles, embarrassed that it was even there. But slowly, as I sit down and look at it every day I’m becoming more and more comfortable with it. Slowly but surely it doesn’t seem so absurd, it doesn’t seem so greedy, it doesn’t seem so impossible. 

I’ve also started putting up little positive money affirmations on sticky notes above my desk. 

I’m slowly chipping away at my preconceived notions about income and self-worth. 

I want things in life, and I want them sooner rather than later. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Having goals doesn’t make me greedy. I’m not harming anyone to get there. 

I love learning about personal finance and money mindsets. Money will probably always be taboo, but it doesn’t mean I can’t change my own attitude towards the matter. 

What are some of the big money lessons you’ve learned so far in life?