Shift – A Game About Love, Fear and Life

Check out this blog. She correlates her thoughts and intentions to the traffic she received. It’s a great piece and here’s my response:

Wendy,
I just found your site because someone mentioned Alexa and then ironically, I read your post which was only too perfect. It was the exact message I needed to hear. I created a game called Shift that, like The Secret, shows us that our thoughts create our reality. Yet it actually shows us what those thoughts are.

I admit I’ve been ignoring my blogging to focus on our corporate trainings and the work we do with kids… and all that other stuff that as women working from home, takes precedence. (I commit to baking a cake for my husband’s birthday this weekend- that and the laundry will happen!). So, I went to check our traffic, which unlike you and your readers has received little of my attention even though I sold internet advertising for 7 years in SF and thought I knew everything about viral marketing. I guess I just gave up on it because I started to believe we’d need a PR agency or at least some college students to start posting for us. And yet, I’ve really been ok seeing that our traffic is consistent without growth.

Then I came to your post and got so excited about who you are, what you’re doing and your amazing chart that shows the correlation of your thought with your traffic rankings. I love it. Like most of us, I’m sure, I’ve had my valleys and my pinnacles and notice that when I’m in it or just running my male energy because there’s so much on my plate, I stop writing.

For me, writing is my catharsis and I think I’ve censored myself a bit and only wrote when I thought I could represent “The Shift.” Yes, a shift in thought can shift your life…and yes, it can happen in an instant. And yet, there are times when shifting is a gradual change of direction, like a ship changing course and after reading your post, I feel you’ve given me a reminder to be gentle with myself and let it all show on my blog…

After all, I’m training my mental muscles and some days it really is like bending spoons. Thank you for reminding me that the good stuff comes before what we grow into and it’s ok to be in that place too.

Thank you,
Nicole

April Shift Circles are posted at the Shift Circles page. Even more exciting is the announcement of our full day THINK IT, SHIFT IT AND MAKE YOUR MOVE!
The full day Shift and Make your Move Intensive is here! This is an opportunity to identify and release those thoughts that are holding you back from your full potential and apply the rules of the game to your daily life. You will learn the techniques and the tools to shift your thinking in 30 days or less. Join us for a full day workout of your mental muscles at The Shift and Make your Move Intensive on Saturday, May 19th 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM in Boulder, CO, beautiful location TBD. Cost is $150/person. You will leave this day of insight and play facilitated by Shift creators, Nicole Casanova and her team, with a new understanding of your power because you will own the experience that “one small shift in thought can shift your life.” Space is limited, so RSVP today at Circles@ShiftTheGame.com or call 303-666-0168.

“The Secret” is about the law of attraction. It says our thoughts create our reality. Shift shows us exactly what those thoughts are. We get to see what’s holding us back from our full potential and why we keep attracting the same situations. Shift shows us why we do what we do and allows us to see that one small shift in thought can shift our lives.

Shift Circles are gatherings of people ready to make a shift. Shift Circles are the place to work your mental muscles so that we can live from a place of love. The evening includes space for networking from the heart, game play and each month we’ll focus on a new muscle and do some dedicated exercise around it. We’ve already worked Gratitude and Trust, come see which muscle we’ll tone in March.

You’ve seen The Secret, now apply the lessons to your life with Shift. “The Secret?”
COME PLAY WITH US! Tuesday, March 13 at Tattered Cover, Highlands Ranch, 6-9 pm. Space is limited so we suggest reservations at CIRCLES@ShiftTheGame.com or call 303-666-0168.

Mark your calendars for up-coming Shift Circles:
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at Tattered Cover, LoDo, 6-9 pm
TBA April, 2007 at Flatirons Borders Bookstore in Broomfield and Translations Gallery in Denver

If you cannot attend these events, please forward this newsletter to someone who can.

We’ve had so much going on lately… we had an amazing evening playing Shift with some of Colorado’s top executives from companies such as Crocs, Corporate Express, Bowne, Mclain Finlon, WorldWit, Entercom, Strategize & Organize, Sassy Martini Radio 107 FM, at the owner of SieGal Media, Candy Campbell’s stunning home. Be on the lookout for the upcoming article and series in Colorado Company Magazine.

We just exhibited as a feature presenter at the World Wellness Weekend. There were incredible keynotes from T. Harv Eker and Jean Huston. We got to connect with amazing people including Mark Victor Hansen, Reggie Rivers and Rod Smith. We’ve had so much fun meeting and playing Shift with everyone.

We had our first Shift Circles of the year last night at the Tattered Cover and started to work our mental muscles by conditioning our Gratitude muscle.

LOTS GOING ON… and I have so much to write about… yet there’s much to do… so I’ll leave you with this. It was the closing meditation we read last night. It is our new Shift Meditation that we read to acknowledge the work we’ve done. Enjoy.

The Shift Meditation
I am abundance, joy and peace.
And I acknowledge all that I am.
I Trust, I am open and I live in gratitude.
And I acknowledge all that I do.
I am complete and know I need ask and I’ll receive.
And I acknowledge all that I have.

I am loved and I know that loving is my purpose.
I am a catalyst for change and my shifts start within. I walk in triumph for I have made a choice and the choice I’ve made is Love.

I’ve been MIA becuase I took the last month or so to reestablish my priorities. I was working insane hours and because I just got married, I had an excuse to totally shift gears and think about me, my new husband, and fun. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!! I went fishing in Montana and hiking and biking. I got back to me.

I’ve experienced a shift. For the last many months I was consumed with the struggle. I was pushing instead of going with the flow and I had all sorts of limiting beliefs blocking my success. I can’t tell you how many times I repeated statements like, “I don’t have the time or the money or the people.” Guess what? That’s what I got.

I was working so much that I constantly had back pain from sitting at the computer. I’d go see my chiropractor and things would get a bit better but I was still doing the same stuff to my body.

After taking time in July and Auguest to be a new wife, I saw that it truly was possible to get everything done by working just a few hours. I could take time for myself in the morning with a walk and that everything I needed to get done, could get done even if I stopped at 5 and made dinner or just spent time with my man, me or my friends. Wow. There truly was abundance.

The projects I was struggling with, instantly came to me and the direction I’ve been wanting to go in became incredibly easy to pursue. We now offer workshops based on Shift. This is exciting for me because I’ve been wanting to facilitate for years and now I get to , with my own content. I now get to interact with an audience whether it’s teachers or employees or members of an organization, and see them have their aha moments first hand. I get to see them realize that they are in control of their reality. I see people come into their power and it fills me with energy.

I made a decision to stop seeing my chiropractor even though I love him. I decided to step back to the cause and make a shift in the way I work so that I could maintain a healthy body. I’m cruising now. The creative juices are flowing. I have more than enough time and money and I truly am living in abundance. It’s so cool.

I probably spent 6-9 months wrapped up in the struggle and knew that for things to change for us at Shift, I had to change within. Now I walk or do something for me every morning. I spend some time visioning, really feeling what I want to acheive or have. I am 100% omplete with work. I sleep soundly and guess what, I no longer have any pain in my back.

So on my walk today I thought about conducting an experiment. I’m curious to see what would happen if we could get 1 million people to commit to making a personal shift by January 1st 2007. Would things feel any different? I believe they will.

I’ve been watching these news stories and wish I could snap my fingers and rebuild New Orleans and end every war. I’d also love to improve education, house the homeless and provide healthcare to those in need. I’m guessing it might take a while for me to change the world. However, what I can shift right now is me. I realized that although we might be frustrated with our partners, our work, our community, or even our country, to make a real shift in the world, we need to start within. Making a shift doesn’t require money, the right politician or anything outside us. It can be as easy as just choosing to see something differently. I know that if 1 million people committed to making their own personal shift we’d feel something, more peace, abundance, connectedness, love.

Perhaps you’ve heard that what we think is what we’ll get. My co-worker Joyce puts it another way, “When I believe it, I’ll see it.” It’s true. Our thoughts can create our reality. The cool thing is, when we write what we want down, we are even more likely to attain our goal. So, I’ll start by writing what I’d like to shift and let’s see if we can get 1 million people to join us and declare their personal shift.

Please send this to as many people as you know and when you do, make sure to include the person that sent it to you. (If anything, that person knows you and can “call you on your Shift” to keep you committed to making your shift.) For every 100 people that make their declaration, we’re asking that the email come back to us so that we can post your shifts on our site. Imagine a massive list of people committed to improving their lives by making a shift.

Let’s declare our personal shift to the world and, even better, publicly commit to make that shift.

What are you willing to shift? Please tell us what you are willing to shift and then make sure you include the sentence, “I commit to making this shift,” your name, location and date.

1. I will create balance because I will make time for my physical and spiritual well-being everyday. I commit to making this shift. Nicole Casanova, Boulder, Colorado 8/29/06

2.

When we reach 100 people, can you please email to info@shiftthegame.com too. Thank you.

One small shift in thought can shift your life!

Let’s make it happen,

Nicole

This is a quote from a participant at a recent Shift Workshop. Other comments included playing Shift in the workshop “taught me how to think and react to any subject”, “I learned my defense is The Critic – I will improve and be less judgmental” and “I came in today with fear and now with the game I have the ability to SHIFT into a happier place”. And this was not an easy crowd! This workshop was with staff from all levels at a public Pre-School – 12th grade special needs school. Staff concerns on their first day back from vacation ranged from time issues to communication to being able to express emotions when needed. Through exercises and playing the game, many SHIFTED to start their year in a better place that just the day before. Check out our Shift Workshop pages to learn more about what Shift can do for your organization. Teachers learned that a game really can change your life.

Still somewhat out of commission as I take the month of July to honor my new marriage!!  We had the best week of non-stop partying, eating and hanging with friends and family who came in from around the world. I must say I miss cooking for groups of 20 and it’s slightly lonely here. My lovely Dorothy came in from SF to marry us. We had an amazing ceremony (the rain stopped for long enough to get the job done) and I thought I’d include one portion of it.

  This is a combination of passages from A Course in Miracles and Momentum by John-Roger and Paul Kaye:

Love is given to everyone just as the sun shines on everyone. Not everyone, however, wants to stand in the sun. So, you are the one that determines the level of your experience with love. Love sits by you until that time when you will let love flow through.

You do not have to love personalities. People are not their personalities.

Then what are you? You are living love. You always have been. Let your loving lead you into awakening and the discovery of what you already are.

You may not always be clear in your direction, but if you keep moving and let love lead, the direction will clarify itself. And when it does, ask, “Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him?”

People often say that love will cure the world. But this is not exactly true. It is loving that cures the world. Loving is action. Loving is manifestation. Loving is movement. Loving is the consciousness of giving.

Even in the midst of conflict, you can allow love to lead you.  Most arguments between husbands and wives are about the yearning underneath the words. Usually the person is asking to be loved as they are, without demand for change, without judgment. Listen for love. Love knows that you got married for a good reason and that was to learn to live and love unconditionally.

When difficulty happens, you have the ability to raise yourself. Don’t contract from your experiences. Bless them. Love them.  After all, what could you not accept, if you but knew that everything that happens, all events, past, present and to come, are gently planned by One Whose only purpose is your good?

Love your consequences. They are your opportunity to learn. They are your opportunity to gain wisdom. They are your opportunity to properly identify with what is true.

And remember.

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.

I’ll be MIA for a bit-camping with my new husband and the dogs. Married life is great so far.

caio for now,  Nicole 

 

Click here to see my demo! Live from New York!

Keep in mind, I was given 1 minute and 1 take to convey our message. I’m actually more fun than this… but pretty cool. Look ma, I’m famous!

nicole –

i love the show grey’s anatomy –
and i love many of the quotes – this one is about fear and is about mistakes but most of all it’s experience.

you have the experience to back your word, you’ve learned from our mistakes and from what worked and didnt.

go big nikki, go big.

i’m with you – k

“A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don’t know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I’d have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you’re wrong? What if you’re making a mistake you can’t undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can’t pretend we hadn’t been told. We’ve all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today’s possibility under tomorrow’s rug until we can’t anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.” meredith grey

We’re off to Toy Fair tomorrow and I am pumped. The last week or so, I was quite aware that I’m a beginner when it comes to mind control. Actually, I’m just lazy. I’ll let my mind cycle and run and process and constantly think of to do lists and just plain ol crap. And I let it run run run. The last few weeks I allowed myself to feel overwhelmed at times. I couldn’t even sit in meditation. I really considered getting up and leaving.

That mindset changed last Friday night. I had a crazy day where I was running an hour or two behind to everything and just couldn’t get it all done. My girlfriends were going out (the first time we’ve done that in months) and before I left I sat there crying (ruining my newly done makeup) because I didn’t want to ruin their night with my negative attitude and my complaining.

My boyfriend yelled at me- that’s not the Miami girl I know. You need to go out and dance! Go stand on a bar or something. Reluctantly I went. While I was driving there a great song came on and I screamed- this was not singing- I screamed the lyrics as loud as I could and it felt great. I decided to just leave everything back at the house and show up for a great night.

It was fantastic. One of those nights were everything falls into place- including the live reggae band. There’s nothing like a night out with the girls (for me anyway) to clear away the debris and muck and get down to fun.

A night of fun can do wonders!!!!!!! I’m still feeling it.

More to come from New York- wish us luck,
Nicole