My Birthday Wish

It's two days before my birthday and everyone is asking me, "What do you want, Debbie?" To tell you the truth, most of the gifts people give me are nice but since my memory is not that great and I already have most of what I want, the question has gotten tougher and tougher to answer - until last night. I spent the day yesterday praying and meditating at Yom Yippur services. Those hours gave me a lot of time to think about what is truly important to me at this time of my life. I've really lived such an incredible life and I feel full. I feel like I have made my creative dreams happen. I have a fantastic family and friends who I love and who love me. I have an incredible staff and team working alongside me and I have the most inspiring group of talented coaches and community members that anyone could ask for. So what's left?

Besides a month floating in the crystal clear blue waters, the only wish I have for this year is for every single person who reads my newsletter to read my new book. I know many of you have and I thank you for all of your heart-opening appreciation. You've already made it #1 on Amazon in categories like Self-Help Personal Transformation, New Age Mental & Spiritual Healing, and Spirituality Personal Transformation.

So here is what I am asking you to do for my birthday and what I am willing to do if you will do this for me. Buy a copy of The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse by midnight on October 1st (my birthday). If you don't learn to lift your consciousness or if you don't get joy or love or insight or deep comfort or spiritual nourishment or an inspiring vision for the rest of your life by the time you are done reading the book, I will write you a personal check to refund you the price of your book. If it doesn't lift you out of the level of consciousness you are in now and plant you in a place of hope, faith and power, you can mail in your receipt in the next 30 days and I will give you your money back or trade you for another one of my products. This is how much faith I have in this book. And I am so committed that you read the book and experience life after the Consciousness Cleanse that I am willing to take this risk which, by the way, is Day 12 of the cleanse -- The Power of Risk.

For me to have a birthday beyond my wildest dreams, I wish for you to open your hearts a little wider, tap into the priceless resource that resides inside, and step into the next greatest evolution of yourself. The wisdom and the processes in this book have freed me from addiction, grief, loss, insecurity, procrastination, and a plethora of other issues and I promise you that they will do the same for you.

Thank you for supporting me and trusting me.

With love and blessings,

Debbie Ford

Are You Scared to Come Alive?

I just arrived home after a magnificent week on tour doing screenings of The Shadow Effect movie and lecturing on my new book The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse. As I was reflecting on all the extraordinary people I met, one woman's story stuck in my mind. She came up to me with tears in her eyes telling me how much she loved me and loved my work and how she's read every newsletter that I've ever written for the last nine years. I was so struck by her. Her tears were not just tears of joy. They were tears of deep sadness as she told me about her best friend whom she had turned on to my work five years ago who is now living the life of her dreams in a new career, having shed 30 or 40 pounds, and in a recent marriage. She told me that her friend had come and done The Shadow Process Workshop and then had gone through my trainings. She talked about how she envies her friend's growth and wishes she too could have grown that much. So I asked her the obvious question. Why hadn't she come to The Shadow Process or done one of my trainings? With these little puppy-dog eyes, she said, "Because I'm too scared." At first I was shocked but then I felt deep compassion for her. I never really think that people don't come to do The Shadow Process or one of my trainings because they're scared. in that moment, I realized that is true for many. I felt the need to press her so I asked her, "Aren't you scared of having another five years go by and watching your best friend grow and evolve while you stay stuck where you are?" She began sobbing into tears as she realized that this indeed was her greatest fear.

I share this story with you realizing that many of you are scared. But that is just the trick of the ego. It's the mechanism that keeps you stuck in the past and repeating the same monotonous self-defeating patterns over and over again. It's the voice of our wounds, of our heartache and of our deep resignation and hopelessness that it won't work for us or that we can't do it.

It makes me want to cry because I know that if that voice wins, you will go to your grave never having lived your full potential and shared your gift with the world. This young woman deserves it. And you deserve it. We need you. We need your greatness. We need your unique perspective. We need your special gifts. And confronting your shadow is the fastest and easiest way to reclaim your power, and step into the person your soul longs to be. So if you're thinking about doing one of my programs or really any program with a therapist, Weight Watchers, a 12-step group, etc., and you feel scared, just reach out, grab someone's hand and allow them to support you in moving toward your evolutionary edge. Don't let your fear win. Love it. Hug it. Understand that it's a 3-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old stuck inside of you. And trust the part of you that wants to grow because you will never be happy and fulfilled until you do.

Your Weekly Shadow Work

(1) Take a few minutes and think about your future. And when you feel quiet, ask yourself this question. Are you more scared to stay the same or to do the work to reinvent yourself?

(2) Choose to come alive. Enroll in something this week. Come to The Shadow Process, train to become one of our amazing coaches, participate in The Shadow Effect Interactive online workshop with Hay House, hire one of my amazing coaches, go back to school. Do something that will stretch you, anything that's been calling to you.

Your time is now.

With love and respect,

Debbie Ford

The Gift of Desire

Desire is the spark that ignites the flame of your soul and illuminates your innate creativity, imagination, and vision. It is the impulse that gives you the ambition and the energy to share your unique talents with the world. Your soul's desires are with you at birth like a hidden treasure chest of possibilities for you to discover as you grow and evolve into the person you were meant to be. Yet before you can harness this powerful force, you must give voice to what you long for in the deepest place in your heart. You may be one of the many who have stopped letting yourself feel the ache of your own desires - either because you are ashamed that some of your desires are self-serving or because you're afraid of the disappointment and hurt you might feel if you don't get what you ask for. But unless you embrace the desires of your heart, you are left empty, estranged from the passion of your soul.

On this day - the first day of this life-altering process - you will summon one of the most powerful agents of change in the universe: desire. In its purest form, desire drives you to want something so badly that you are willing to release your outdated behaviors and beliefs in order to manifest it. Desire forces you to grow, evolve, and move closer to your highest expression. Beneath the surface of your ego's insatiable cravings, your authentic desires wait patiently for you to acknowledge and claim them. Gently but persistently they are nudging you to go deeper, to fi nd greater meaning, and to step into a self you have never met before. Desire is your most primal, inborn motivator to become fully expressed, inspired, and passionate and to fulfi ll your soul's mission on earth. It is one of your most powerful friends and guides. 

CLEANSING RITUAL

Make a list of all your desires-both those things that you want to achieve in the outer world and those that you long to feel inside. Do you want more self-confi dence, more love, a clearer sense of purpose, greater peace of mind? If so, write it down. Do you desire more money, more friends, a soul mate, a child, or a new career? If so, write it down. This is the time to list all of your desires without censoring yourself. Be honest. Be bold. 

SOUL FOOD

My soul's desire is the voice of God. 

With love and blessings,

Debbie Ford