Unlike the people who gave up on that artist, the Universe will never give up on you. There's an old saying from the Bible, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" The Universe knows that you can accomplish anything you desire. And It doesn't play favorites by giving one person more good than another. If you want something, then you have the ability to bring it into being. The only thing holding you back from what you want is not believing in yourself.

As It did with the artist, the Universe can present you with great opportunities, but if you don't take advantage of them, nothing will happen. There's another old saying, "God can only do for us what It can do through us." You could be the most talented salesperson, greatest artist, creative businessperson, meet supportive people willing to coach you, but unless you follow through, your desires won't manifest. In these cases, you are your greatest enemy.

As Pogo, the comic strip character said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Fear, laziness, self-sabotage, low self-worth, all this old programming will prevent you from accepting what the Universe is offering. The Universe believes in you, but is limited by how much you believe in yourself.

When you begin to believe in yourself, you start making rational, healthy choices in your everyday life. Because you know that you deserve the best, you choose to take actions to avoid toxic people, situations and substances. At the same time, you do positive things to support your well being.

In my Tobacco-Cessation classes, one of the affirmations some of the participants use is "I love myself more than I like tobacco." In saying this, they're letting their subconscious know that they are deciding to take responsibility for their health. It's not always easy to break old habit patterns of avoiding good, but the more committed you are to yourself, in all ways, the more the subconscious will begin to open up to the good you desire.

Answer: There are several things that could be happening, and you'll have to consider which one might be happening for you. It could be that as you first use the affirmation, you're very conscious of it, you are dedicated in its use, you say it with feeling. Then, as you get results, and get used to the affirmation, you begin to say it by rote, without emotion, almost automatically. The solution is to stay aware when you say it, and say it with feeling, again.

Or you could simply be getting so used to the affirmation that it loses its punch, or you could be getting bored with it. In that case, change to another one that with the same idea for awhile. Switching back and forth between affirmations on the same topic is sometimes a good idea to keep them fresh.

Or there could be an inner resistance or conflict to the changes that are occurring. In this case, you'd need to create an affirmation that would address the outdated ideas. I have one on my affirmations page to deal with blocks - "Whatever has been blocking what I desire is an outdated thought form which now dissolves in the Light of Spirit."

Or as things taper off for awhile, as the changes you've experienced begin to become more solid, you begin to "feel" frustrated, lose faith in the affirmation, or feel desperate. The subconscious will respond to your feeling before it responds to your words, because feeling and imagery is the language of the subconscious. In the same vein, you could be holding an image/mental picture of the opposite of the affirmation.

These are some of the most common reasons an affirmation begins to flame out. It's not the affirmation, it's the attitude or belief of the person saying it. With everything, you have to be patient and persistent. If it takes longer, you can have an attitude that the longer it takes, the better the results are going to be. The affirmation is working in the background, making changes that you may not be aware of yet.

I'm not one much for dream interpretation books. Dream symbols tend to be personal, but sometimes I encounter a very puzzling symbol. In this case, I use a guide like "The Dream Encyclopedia" to help give me a direction to explore the meaning for myself. This encyclopedia has an excellent section on dream symbol interpretation that's been very helpful, but it's only about one-third of the book. The rest of the material is about much, much more than that.

The bulk of the information covers everything related to dreaming in an A to Z format and goes into great depth. The entries explain who various people, religions, cultures and deities are in relationship to dreaming. It explores various approaches to dreaming, from the ancient past to the present, including sleep research. It would be hard to believe there's anything even remotely related to dreaming that doesn't have a mention in this book. Each entry also has a bibliography of the source of that information.

I was enthralled with this encyclopedia. If you're interested in dreaming, more than just interpreting them, then you must have this book. It would also be a great gift for someone who is interested in this subject.