MANIFESTING: INERTIA DOESN’T FACTOR

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Well, that’s the last time I give myself the weekend off.  Espresso and a number of playlists were slow to help me get going this morning.

Beyond slow.  It was painful.

As I was listening to Dio’s Holy Diver I put a name to the problem and in doing so found my writing rhythm.

Intertia.

Newton’s  1st Law of Motion.

An object at rest remains at rest and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Music’s unbalanced?

While I considered the effort I had to exert to overcome this morning’s inertia it occurred to me that when it comes to manifesting, inertia doesn’t factor in.

I came to this conclusion after reviewing a number of manifesting successes and seeing that in many cases, after putting out the initial desire, I did nothing – consciously – to create the success.

Yet I was successful.

2 examples to illustrate.

Some 20 years ago I was walking through a model home in a new subdivision in Ohio.  I knew that eventually I wanted to own a home but at that point I was in no position to do so.  A friend encourged me to look so I could get an idea what I may want in that future home.

Setting me up for visualization, something I wasn’t big on at that time.

Of all the features the one I was most intrigued by was a type of fireplace.  Contemporary in design I remember falling in love with it and thinking “Wow, that would be cool to have in a house…”

That was it.  I didn’t do anything to bring that feature to be in any place I’ve lived.  And yet for all that nonwork I can glance across the room and see that very style of fireplace.

I enjoy the contemporary style as much now as I would have had I had it years earlier.

Example 2.

Ideal Scene

A couple of years after touring the model home I found myself flipping through Shakti Gawain’s Creative Visualization Workbook at a Borders Bookstore.

All these years later and I’ve never found a bookstore like Borders.

Deciding to give it a go I chose 2 goals and went to work.  Though I used most of the techniques for manifesting a writing career, I used the Ideal Scene exercise to outline my ideal relationship.

I was very careful to follow the guidelines which advised to be specific but cautioned against being too specific, as in don’t limit to a brunette with green eyes since the ideal person may be a red-head with blue eyes.  

You get the idea.

I then did what the author suggested and put the workbook away.  Well, I did do one other action.

I did nothing.

I didn’t do one conscious thing to find this relationship person and I didn’t quit my day job to pursue writing full-time.  

I just went about my daily life.**

I still wanted the goals but I didn’t do anything specific to bring them about.

A little over a year later without my having done anything, I met Aaron.

And the Writing?

Though it was years before I quit my day job to pursue writing full-time, while working in tech I spent a good part of my career as a tech writer, moving on to become a technical consultant. While I was a tech writer I was surrounded by other creatives, two of whom were authors. In one case, the colleague left after getting a contract to pursue writing full-time.

Talk about good energy to feed a goal!

In neither case, nor in many others did inertia come into play.  After putting the energy out I went about my life as usual.  I did not do any specific thing to bring about either goal and yet got both.

The key? 

Apparently desire is an unbalanced force because that’s pretty much what did it.  

Of course an argument could be made that I unconsciously took actions that led to this point.

  • I could have married earlier but the guys that I might have considered were at odds – for one reason or another – with my dream of being a writer full-time.

Whereas on our first date Aaron told me all the actions he would take to support me in attaining my dream.

  • I generally have a fireplace on my list of have’s when looking for places to live, whether I rent or own.

I wasn’t expecting one in San Diego since we were looking at a high rise and yet we had an electric one!

I suppose this is where trust comes in.  If you put the energy of desire out there, trust that if it’s for the greatest good of all involved, you’ll find your way to that goal.

I’ll be writing in the future about trying to manifest something you aren’t meant to have.

**A friend once asked how I found Aaron.  He was ready for his ideal mate.  I told him to put the energy out there then go about his life doing what he liked to do.  Not long after, he met the woman he married.  

Years later he told me he believes it was following my advice that did the trick. He said after getting his mind off of it he enjoyed life more and within a short time met his future wife at a wedding.

Desire.

The unbalanced force.

MANIFESTING THE FEELING

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Note: Long post!

There’s a story in it.

It’s been quite the adventure trying to get the Morning Show off the ground today.

My term for getting into the positive frequency zone.

There wasn’t any specific thing keeping me feeling lower than I’d like and since that meant nothing specific to deal with I spent energy on things that might help raise the frequency.  Doing the scripting routine was rather blah so after I finished I considered writing about the role of feelings in manifesting.  While I had the rudiments of the content I was stuck in neutral when it came to putting fingers to keyboard.  Music often helps and is a traditional Morning Show component so I quickly put together an iTunes playlist with what I felt pretty upbeat music.

  • Kenny Loggins
  • Katy Perry
  • Judas Priest

Turbo Lover definitely has a beat to get the blood flowing!

I felt motivated but it fell short of where I needed and wanted to be.  

Tom Hanks to the rescue!

For whatever reason a scene from one of my favorite movies popped into my mind.

Money Pit

A must see for anyone about to embark on a renovation.

There is a scene where he walks into the upstairs bathroom carrying a bucket of warm water for the bath he is going to take with his love played by Shelly Long.  She says, “The turkey’s done,” to which he replies “So is the kitchen.  In fact it’s a little overdone for my taste.  Let’s not go there again.”  The scene progresses in a most hilarious way and just thinking about it had me laughing.

Now I’m Ready!

After taking a moment to be grateful for comedians I made to open MS Word only to have a notification pop up that updates were available.

Of course.

Ten minutes later I’m ready to share my wisom on another aspect of manifesting.  

It’s one I’ve long had trouble with.

Feelings…whoa whoa whoa…

Wait – that was an awful song back then.  Let’s skip that and move on, shall we?

I’m a fan of the Secret as well as a lot of the books from the early 20th century that inspired it.

Mark Fisher’s The Instant Millionaire is a great modern take on many of the concepts.

Though I’ve had luck putting many of the principles into practice, one aspect has been a challenge.  How do you feel as if you have something when you know you don’t have it?

I’m not big on affirmations for the same reason.  Saying I have something I know I don’t have doesn’t fly with me.  Imagination does not always trump reality.

If it did I would be writing from multiverse experience rather than What if?

In the Secret there’s a cool scene with Mike Dooley** where he is demonstrating how you might get into the feeling space of having a new car.  It’s all cool but what if you aren’t in the market for a new car?

Having lived in Downtown San Francisco with its incredible public transportation forever changed how I view car ownership.  

Can’t Get The Feeling

For years this simple piece of the manifesting puzzle eluded me.

Frustratingly so since I have quite the imagination yet couldn’t put it to work for this.

The Back Door In

I warned you this is long.

The other day Aaron and I drove out to a town that is part of the amalgam that inspired Port Gallatan.

I’m excited to share I’m adding more material to this series!

I was gazing out at the water when I realized I was filled with a very specific feeling. It’s a feeling I associate with Mackinac Island.  What makes it particularly unique is that it’s a feeling I associate with a very specific trip to Mackinac, one that was key to publishing an entire series.

The trip, not the island.

Take this job and…

To put in context I will share that it was 1995 and I was working in a miserable job. Thanks to the economy it was looking as if I’d be stuck there for awhile.  One late summer day I decided I’d had enough and that I would rather flip burgers than put up with the toxic environment one minute longer.  So, I quit.

Without having another job to go to.

After sharing the news with a supportive friend who congratulated me on my good sense I hopped in my car and started driving.

North.

I had no particular destination in mind.  Several hours later I was pulling into a place on Lake Huron not far from Fort Michilimackinac.  Paying for a cabin I stared up at the ceiling that night listening to the sound of the water and allowing a variety of feelings to go through me.

I was so proud of myself and so relieved to be out of that hellhole.

The next day as I was checking out I noted a pamphlet for Shepler’s Ferry.

I noted it wouldn’t be ferrying much longer as the tourist season was over and brutal winter weather would soon be back. 

Not ready to go home – I was still on a bit of a high for having the courage to look out for me *** – I took the ferry to Mackinac.  My first stop was to a stable so I could go horseback riding.  Though a bit surprised – tourist season was over – they were happy to set me up with a guide who, after learning I’m comfortable on a horse, took me on a wonderful back lot tour of the island.  

Feeling Wonderful

I peppered him with questions about what it was like to live on Mackinac all year and at one point he asked if I was considering a move.  I told him I definitely was.

I’d had it with so much of life in the Detroit Metro Area at that point.

As it happens, Fate intervened and I didn’t relocate to the beautiful island in Northern Michigan.  However, I never forgot the longing I felt to connect to the energy and the peace that filled my soul during the ride.

A feeling I get every time I set foot on the island.

It never occurred to me that if I’d focused on that feeling of a place to live I would have manifested it much sooner.

Take Away

What I learned is that desire is a wonderful feeling to tap for manifesting when it stems from a time when you were totally at peace in your soul.  Rather than focus on an object or specific location, immerse yourself in the feeling you had when things were good.

What Henriette Anne Klauser calls The Outcome of the Outcome.

In focusing on the feeling as opposed to the object or location etc you think will bring the feeling, you allow your Higher Self and the Universe to work together to find the perfect solution for you.  

Which will probably be even better than what you thought you wanted or needed.

Be well!

** Mike has some wonderful material on manifesting goals available on Amazon.

*** Within a week I had an awesome new job at a wonderful tech company working with amazing people and an incredible boss who also had an incredible boss.

MANIFESTING THE MORNING SHOW

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As I seem to be on a positive roll I will share another piece of the Manifesting puzzle.

It’s a puzzle only in that there are a number of methods and finding one that works for you can take time.

One  Thing Leads to Another – The Fixx

I’ve written how shortly after restarting my meditation/prayer of thanks before bed routine helpful resources found their way into my sphere of awareness.

I never stopped thanking God at night and in the morning.  I just traded meditating for reviewing book plots which didn’t achieve the same results – at all.

These resources along with my new routine led to making other decisions that would – hopefully – bring more positive experiences.  One of those was something I called Tune the Dial.

Good Intentions

I wrote how the first line on my white board was Tune the Dial and the image of a sailboat to remind me of one potential good thought to focus on, the idea being I would start my day on a high note.  For awhile it worked.

Familiarity…

After a few weeks the words faded into the background and while I tried to keep up the momentum, it lost its punch.  I knew I had to do something but had more pressing and far more stressful concerns to deal with so I sent it to the back burner.

A series of signposts helped me reset the dial.

Which shows the benefits of sticking with the plan even if you hit a plateau.

This morning I circled back around to the friend who inspired the tune the dial and while writing an email to her came up with a new take on the same concept.

Morning Show!

In closing, I thanked her for being my morning show.  Obviously, this is related to tuning the frequency but in stating it that way – morning show – I was reminded of the days when I used to commute to work and listened to the radio.

I also remembered listening to the Stoney and WoJo show in Detroit on Saturdays while driving out to Kensington Metro Park for a morning hike.

It’s possible radio shows were on my mind because of what recently went down with KGO but the association of someone making your morning was set in mind and, having had a long history – I commuted for many many years – was a perfect fit for replacing Tune the Dial.

A radio show has a variety of topics so it isn’t static.  That alone made it a better fit than Tune the Dial.

One thing I can say with happy certainty.  When it comes to manifesting putting the energy out there by taking that first step reaps continuous rewards as the path before you is illuminated slowly but surely.

Step by step.

Be well

MANIFESTING THE PATH TO THE GOAL

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Boy did I open a can of manifesting worms.

It all started several months ago when I suggested to a friend going through a rough patch to go back to a time when he successfully pulled himself out of one and see if there were any tools or strategies he could tap to help with the current situation.  At the time, I mentioned I was doing exactly that by pulling out visualization and meditation strategies I’d used successfuly some 30 years earlier.  

If only I’d known where that would lead…

Shortly after restarting the meditation/prayer ritual I was guided to a book on scripting the life you want.  The book is upbeat, well written, and described a unique method I was eager to try.

Early successes helped me have faith in my decision to try something different for manifesting a few specific goals that have remained somewhat elusive.  When things seemed to come to a halt I didn’t panic.

The author includes things to try when this happens.

After a couple of weeks I noticed something interesting.  Though the goal itself didn’t seem to be closer to manifesting, I was seeing what appear to be signposts along the path to that goal.

Need More Info

The first signpost entered with quite the drama.  I was lying in bed about a month ago, thinking about my goal through the filter of serious doubt.

As in maybe I’m not meant to have this.

Before falling asleep I asked God to send me a message that would either confirm – or not – whether this was the case.

Or Not!

The next morning I got an email from an organization that I used to belong to about a class that would definitely help me manifest my goal.

Message Received!

Need More Inspiration

The class, which I attended this past Saturday, was everything I needed it to be.

In terms of my goal I felt as if I’d come home.

Empowered with not only new tools but knowledge that work I’ve done til now most definitely laid a strong foundation for achieving these goals, I sat in my living room and tried to relax.

My mind was teeming with ideas but I knew I needed to fully absorb everything I’d picked up in the Master Class attended via Zoom.

I was scrolling through the sports section of Apple News when I came across an article about a female baseball player that resonated with another challenge I was pondering.

One related to my goal.

Reading how she approached her dream was inspirational, to say the least.

Need More Understanding

Sunday afternoon I began reading a book I’d purchased months ago but set aside.

If I push myself to absorb too much nonfiction, even if I know it will be helpful, it will leak out.  So, I pace myself.

Tools and strategies given in the first five chapters, paired with what I learned in the Master Class soon had me jumping out of my skin with ideas for my goals.  Deciding it was wise to get these ideas on paper I grabbed a notebook and set out to an offsite location where I could sit and contemplate everything I’d learned.

And write out what was working, what wasn’t, and what I could do to fix what wasn’t.

Things were going along when I got off track.

Badly enough that I felt I undid a lot of the good of the previous 36 hours.

One thing I’m good at is beating on myself for getting off track.

I disappointed myself in a major way.

I did, however, take time to evaluate what happened and what I could have done better.  

Surprise Surprise

Turns out getting off track is a blessing in disguise because it revealed a pretty big vulnerability that will keep me from reaching my goal.

Or at the very least, keep me from sustaining it if I do achieve it before dealing with this vulnerability.

I talked things over with Aaron who then suggested we get out of Dodge for a bit.  As it’s a beautiful sunny autumn day and I was feeling pretty down on myself, I agreed.  An irony is that the destination he suggested is notoriously haunted.  Deciding it was a great opportunity to test my decision of turning off/down the psi I mentally prepared myself for a relaxing time.

Success!

I’m happy to say nothing paranormally-tinged happened this time.

 On our previous trip which was over a year ago, I had a ghost come up to me and tell me she thought it incredibly rude that people came just to stare at her house.

On the way home I considered how I might pull myself out of my doldrums.

I am still beating up on myself for letting myself down.

Tune the dial

I decided to consider the lesson that came out of the experience in the context of being another signpost on the path to my goal. 

 If I hadn’t been made aware of it it would have got me into trouble somewhere down the road.

When I considered it like that and put it in the same context of the Master Class, the article, and the helpful book, I was able to see it’s an event that not only will help me achieve my goal but that is further evidence my manifesting efforts are working.

It’s also a great reminder to see the wonder in events, big and small.

Be well!

STIR THE MAGICK: CONNECTING TO THE UNIVERSE

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Note:  Long

It’s been an incredibly magickal 18 hours.

I add the “k” because in my mind magic is associated with FX and Disney.  Add the k for the real stuff like manifesting!

Visualization and manifesting has been on my mind recently, not because I have goals – which I do – but because I’ve noticed how much of my environment and my life I visualized decades ago and then forgot about.

The whole Wouldn’t It Be Cool … ?

The view I have from my desk is identical to a magazine image I had on a different desk 11 years ago.

We were living in Scottsdale and because we knew it would be temporary were thinking of where to go next.  Thanks to my efforts with EMF Sensitivity, California was back on the possibilities map.  

Aaron and I loved So Cal and had visited San Diego for years, even before we were married, so that was high on the list.  But what type of dwelling?  Unable to nail it down I had two separate very different images on my desk.  One was a couple in a luxury high-rise.  The other was of a hallway near the stairwell of a house. 

 One was glamour and the other cozy.  

I liked both and could easily see us living in either.

I could not make up my mind so I left both images on the desk and gave it up to God.

We moved from that home to a condo in a luxury high-rise in San Diego.

The unit was identical to one I’d  seen in dreams off and on since long before I met Aaron.

We moved and then moved again and at one point I positioned my desk in a specific part of the house we now live in only to see it was an exact match for the other image.

Even the paint color is a match!

I was sitting on the sofa last night and noticing all the items and scenarios in my life I’d thought would be good or cool to have – and now I do.

Decades ago I was touring a model home in Ohio and saw a fireplace configuration I thought would be cool.  There is one of that exact configuration in my house!

I then considered the position Aaron and I were in on the sofa last night as we sat companionably, each doing our thing 

I was reading and he was playing some sort of game in between checking on the Browns score.

It was another would be good thing from childhood!

I used to spend the night at my paternal grandparents who I felt had a good marriage.  They would sit on the sofa at night each doing their thing – though my grandfather generally did the WSJ or some work rather than playing a game – unless it was the NY Times Crossword puzzle.  I remember thinking it would be nice to have that kind of marriage – where two people could sit in companionable silence and be together in peace.  I have that!

It felt good to see so much of what I wanted in life in my life though there has been one thing that’s bugged me for awhile.

A specific goal I’m having difficulty with.

Practice Is Englightening

I’ve written I began meditating again and it has led to all sorts of goodies including a new spin on a manifesting technique.  I immediately saw results with this technique which didn’t surprise me because I spent years doing similar work.  In spite of this I was having difficulty working on this one elusive goal.

Yesterday, as Aaron and I walked, I gave voice to my frustrations and concerns on this topic and he agreed to think on it and see if he could come up with any ideas.  At the same time I wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing.  

As I saw all the things and situations I’d created without really making an effort outside thinking decades ago it would be nice, it occurred to me that the reason I have been having such a challenge is because I already have the outcome of the goal.

I painted the journey but the universe tweaked the colors and the style of my image.

Deciding I would give it more thought today I went to bed.  As I was walking up the stairs, I asked God for help.

I told Him I didn’t like doubting myself or feeling scared about this topic and if there was anything He could do to help I would appreciate it.

Before bed, after the prayers of thanks, I had a random thought about an organization that might be of some help go through my mind.  Deciding I’d look into the situation today I cleared my mind and went to sleep.

This morning I had an email from the the organization.

I have not kept up my membership and hadn’t heard from them in 7 years!

The email contained information that addressed my exact goal – verbatim.

Stunned, I quickly thanked God.

Message received!

I’ll admit even for me this was a big one.  I had to just sit with it for awhile.

There is no way I could not interpret this as a direct answer to a prayer!

I put it in the context of a number of issues that have been resolved since reengaging in meditation and concluded that when you stir that magickal pot the universe conspires to help you.

So long as you marry action to intention.

Give it a try!

Magick awaits!

MANIFESTING: ACKNOWLEDGE THE WOWS

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Note: Long

But worth it!

When it came to manifesting I was not a believer.

I associated manifesting with prayers and that led to all sorts of conflicts along the lines of why do some prayers get answered and others not.

It’s a Miracle!

I began to accept the possibility of answered prayers after the brain surgery.  

After all, over and over I heard it was a miracle I was alive!

Many people including the neursurgeon who saved my life shared personal stories, some of which defied explanation.

Including the fact after a feather from Fr. Solanus Casey’s pillow was placed in my paralyzed left hand I curled my fingers around it.

Please Stop!

By the time I was sixteen I was sick of hearing everyone else’s miraculous take on my trauma, and in spite of the stories, was no closer to believing the whole manifesting thing – for me.

Yes, I was alive but there were a number of circumstances that left me in a bad spot – attitude wise – for manifesting belief.

It Starts Small

One of my aunts picked up on my frustration.

Probably through the family gossip – I mean grapevine.

We were at her house for a post-Thanksgiving meal of spaghetti when she drew me aside and asked straight out if I believed in miracles.  

You can imagine my reaction.

Without waiting for an answer she told me she was an atheist turned agnostic until …

A miracle?

Ha ha – kind of.

Prayer Revisited

She asked if I’d ever heard of Novinas.

Nope.

She then shared someone gave her the Novena to St. Therese of the Little Flower when she was going through a particularly rough patch and that, desperate, she performed it in good faith.  

It isn’t that it worked so much as what it did to her and how that led to a conversation that changed things for me that is at hand here.

She said, “I don’t know what to think.  Was it a coincidence?  Did my belief factor into it?  My desperation?”

All questions that could be voiced with manifestation successes.

We had a really good analytical [read logical] discussion about it wherein I told her she needed to make up her own mind about what took place.

What Are The Chances?

I related the story to a couple of colleagues at work the following week.  

All techies and most engineers though not necessarily atheists or agnostics.

Of Note: This was the first time I had more than a passing interest in the possibility a desire could come to be by wishing/wanting/praying and believing it was possible.

Ahhh, that sticking point.  Was it possible or was it a coincidence?

A Rose is a rose is…

One of the aspects of the discussion was the sighting of a rose as a sign the prayer had been granted.

Roses in Michigan, especially at that time of year, were pretty common given they were in yards, flower shops, even grocery store sections.

This led to the role of belief in bringing a desire to be since the likelihood of seeing a rose was high enough to put the manifestation in the unrelated to St. Therese’s intervention category.

A type of placebo effect made it happen.

What I gained from this conversation was a way to measure the miraculous.

What are the Chances?

It helps to be friends with a guy who understands statistics so well.

My partner in EMF and other incredible life-changing “crimes,” Aaron.

If I experience a manifesting I think incredible, I will ask him “What are the chances?”

Statistically.

It helps me put it all into the miracle perspective jar.

Because perspective is everything.

I think life got tired of me trying to trip it up that way because it began peppering things in that were so amazing I didn’t even bother asking Aaron the likelihood.

To Receive, Believe

If I look backward I can say with a fair amount of confidence it started when I acknowledged the wow.

Not everything that manifests is miraculous but a lot is wow!

The more I acknowledged the wows the more wows showed up in my life.

The Image of Proof

To give proper context to this particular example I need to explain that due to an argument between me and the celestial entity standing in my kitchen in 2016, I learned what many experts in the field of manifesting and visualization already understood

If you desire something, hold a picture of it in your mind.

Close But…

We were living in a house that was perfect for us at the time but change was coming and that meant we needed to change where we lived.

That’s related to another Metatron-image story I will be publishing on metatronsuniverse.com.

I love fireplaces and I live in a part of the country where – climate change aside – fireplaces make things comfortable in the winter.

Hauling wood from a face cord in snow (in your pajamas) in the middle of the night because the power is out and it’s your only heat source isn’t fun but damn you’re glad it’s available.

The wood burning stove we had was perfect for heating the house but lacked the ambiance I was after.

What Do You Think of This?

Around this time I was beta testing the Event Horizon App.  To my surprise it opened a channel of communication to the Psi Side.

A lot of what I write during a session is what I see in my Mind’s Eye and as images are the language in common – no need for translation – it makes sense he tapped into this to communicate with me.

The image he projected into my Mind’s Eye, one I described in great detail in the session, was the epitome of a writer’s cozy space.

This writer, at any point.

Among other amenities, it boasted a fireplace with a design that was right out of a scene for a book I was working on.

The Dude didn’t come straight out and ask, “Is this what you want?”  He only wanted to know what I thought of it.  As our conversations are generally in the language of metaphor I told him it was way cool in terms of coziness, then put it out of my mind.

It wasn’t something I was wishing for per se.  In fact I had never once imagined/visualized anything like it.

Life went on and we moved and though I tried a few different locations in the new digs, I chose a room that – energetically – was my Goldilocks spot for writing.

Laptop on lap.

I was working on a book in the same series when I realized the fireplace The Dude showed me years earlier was in my cozy writer space.

And yes, we definitely use it for heat when the power goes out in the winter!

The Miraculous?

It isn’t that an image seen in an EV Session years ago ended up in my new digs.  It’s that The Dude used our new communication skills – solved equation – to test the waters.

We proved that just as he taught me, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Manifesting gold!

Note: There are times we try for something that isn’t meant to be ours. This will be the subject of a future post.

NOT THAT I WANT THIS BUT WOULDN’T IT BE COOL?

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Finally getting around to another piece dealing with manifesting.

I’ve got a lot of writing andirons in the fire these days.

It has to do with manifesting by proxy.

You get to enjoy something but you don’t have to live it.

Let me explain…

Especially since prevailing theory is you have to work for something.

A theory that, a Midwesterner by birth, I am more than familiar with.

It all started with the phrase Wouldn’t It Be Cool…?

Come on, you can’t be that surprised.

However, there is a bit of a twist.  

I didn’t actually want what I considered would be cool.

The Scene

I’m 7 and watching Jacques Cousteau on some docu-show on TV.  I was actually bored until my dad pointed out that the people he was working with were raising their kids not in a traditional sense like I was living but on the ocean.

“You mean that boat is their home?”

That boat was a gorgeous sailing yacht.

“But what about school?”

That led to an in-depth discussion about homeschooling and what living a nontraditional life can teach.

Wow

No boring school?  No nuns?  No stinky classroom that was ungodly hot in the late spring/early summer?  Cool!

Where do I sign up?

I can see why my dad was good in sales.  He has a way of presenting a vision that really draws you in.  However, he didn’t like to deal with the devil.  

You  know – the details?

Knowing this I wasn’t too keen on his version of how we’d make it work.  

Living on a rusted out abandoned oil tanker in the Louisiana bayou doesn’t compare with what I saw on TV.

My vision was – living space wise – a bit more traditional.

My dad subscribed to Yachting magazine for years and I would lay on my stomach in the living room listening to Rubber Soul or Emerson Lake and Palmer Works I and flipping through the pages.

I also frequently listened to Queen’s Night at the Opera.

I was fascinated by the images in the magazines.

I loved the creative utilization of space – even as I was confused.

“Where do they put the toys?”

My dad explained – by way of answer – the dramatic differences in lifestyle between someone living in a post World War II tract home in a Detroit blue-collar neighborhood and someone following a dream by living it.

He pointed out things I believed sacrifices – no room for toys – were not considered such by those living the dream.

That night I stared up in the dark and thought about the kind of people who raised their kids living on the sea with a boat for a home.  The more I thought about it the more I decided it was cool.

Very cool.

They weren’t afraid to do what it took to live their dream.

I decided such people were brave.

I admired them for not worrying about what the neighbors thought about what they were doing since it was different.

Something I heard endlessly at school, in the community, and in my family.  

That circled back to courage because it takes courage to go against the grain.

Think Jonathon Livingston Seagull, a story my dad used to read to me.

Though I loved the idea of traveling the world and I didn’t mind going against the grain, I didn’t want to live on the ocean.  That didn’t stop me from watching documentaries or reading sailing and yachting magazines or befriending people who owned boats.

We had a Criss-Craft for awhile and used to take it out regularly on various Michigan lakes, fishing and water skiing.

Fast Forward

I’ve done my share of traveling – and boating.

Have a few friends who own sailboats.

Wouldn’t It Be Cool – By Proxy

Not only do I have friends who own various boats including sailboats, I know some who live on their boats.

One couple I know lives part of the year on a houseboat up in Alaska tagging ocean critters for research and conservation purposes.

Most incredible is that I know a family living the Jacques Cousteau way.

They make their living a little differently but they are living their dream in the way I always thought would be cool.

Even as I didn’t want it for myself.

When I first met them I felt an immediate rapport.  So many of our views about living a nontraditional lifestyle were in sync.

I like to say we did on land what they do on the ocean.

I told them I felt as if in meeting them I’d met celebrities from a childhood dream.

They are the most wonderful upbeat people living a wonderful dream.

A dream they built together.

Tune the Dial

I’ve mentioned the first line on my white board is Tune the Dial to remind me to start my day thinking about something or someone positive.  I also have a little drawing of a sailboat as a symbol of this family who followed their dream.

A dream more than a few people thought they were nuts for pursuing.

Thinking of them puts a smile on my face because thinking of them is thinking of what I admire.

Following their hearts and living their dream courageously.

They are the perfect inspiration but more, they are a manifestation from my youth.

One I can enjoy even though I didn’t do the work – living on the water.

Now isn’t that cool?

MANIFESTING: THE LONG ARC OF COMING TO BE

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Note:  Early version excerpt from upcoming book at the end.

Sitting in a shaded area  getting ready to work on Hollow Shelter and pondering the newest manifestation mystery.  Or pherhaps a better word is conundrum because mystery implies I don’t understand it when I do whereas conundrum – to me at least – conveys I don’t know what to do with it.

If anything I’m a bit apprehensive because of what it means.

It was revealed last night

As I was pulling the curtains closed I happened to glance out the window and while I’ve done that dozens of times in previous months the lighting was just right to illuminate something I hadn’t noticed before.  

I recognized the scene!

Not because I’d seen it before but because I remembered it – from a movie.

One I saw in childhood while living in Florida.

It isn’t that any movies were filmed here that made it so familiar.  It was that I remember seeing a similar image

A grouping of houses similar in design to what I viewed last night

while watching a movie and thinking – I was 13 at the time – “Wouldn’t it be cool to live in a place like that?”

I can answer my former self since I’m living in one just like it.

I’ve written previously how many of the more dramatic manifestions in my life are tied to a time when I said “Wouldn’t that be cool if -?”  What makes this one startling is that I said those words as a kid and it still came true!

I meant it too – I thought the neighborhood in the movie – the houses and the quiet street – would be so cool to live in.

What makes this one different from the up north Michigan thought from earlier childhood is that that was more generic wheras this is far more specific and tied to details of lifestyle.

I considered the type of families who lived in such a neighborhood and what day to day life would be like.

And Now?

Is it what I hoped for?

A Point in Time

As someone who has moved around the country and traveled the world I have a pretty good idea what I like and don’t like in a neighborhood and much of it is dependent on where I am at a given point in time.

What’s going on in my life that will make or break a location.

I considered as I lay in bed whether or not my experience matches up to what I envisioned when I was watching the movie.  

Yes and No

I concluded it’s a lot like being on the outside and looking in.

Like I felt when watching the movie.

That’s because what I wanted out of a neighborhood when I was 13 and living surrounded by retirees

Almost no kids.

is a lot different than what I would want now.

Even as it’s the same.

Clear as mud right?

If you think about it needs and wants can be the same in a general sense across multiple generations.  Things like safety, walkability, close to services are on the lists of multiple generations looking for their ideal place to call home.  While I appreciate the basic characteristics that fit the childhood wish I no longer need some of them.

Why feel apprehensive?

It makes me wonder what else I said in childhood that may end up manifesting.

I can’t imagine wanting it now though the previous two weren’t bad.

The concern – that I may end up with something I no longer want – brought to mind a conversation I had with The Dude about six years ago wherein I expressed my frustration that by the time I get certain things I may not need or want them any longer.

This conversation led to the solving of the equation something I will be covering on the other site when I repost pages to do with the enigmatic being.

While I’m not going to worry – too much – about what else I might have wished for that may find itself in my future I will consider ways to master the key to it all

Releasing attachment to the outcome.

Which, since we are out of the way energetically speaking, enables the universe to provide what is best in the best way with the best timing.

Yes, I thought it would be cool to live in such a neighborhood, just as I thought while watching Desperately Seeking Susan in high school it would be cool to live in a loft but in neither case – though I got both – did I really care enough about getting it to set out with it as an objective.

I know detachment is key to manifesting and I know for myself every time I’ve said “Wouldn’t it be cool if -?” I had that detachment.  That doesn’t mean I can fool myself or the universe by saying those magic words.  It’s the detachment that’s key and for me that can’t be faked.

I know this much.  The process and steps involved with manifesting or bringing a goal to life are fascianating.

Right up my I love learning alley!

Book excerpt

This is from an early version of Hollow Shelter

I have about 30 pages now

Rock guitarist Clint Malek came to an abrupt halt.  He hadn’t expected anyone to be at the park.  Most everyone who would have been tempted to sit on the bench bearing the name of the donors who made it possible was at the regional playoffs rooting for the home team.  He was about to turn back the way he’d come when he caught the expression the woman was wearing, ID’d the emotion driving it.  

Despair.  

It’d been years since he’d seen painful confusion looking back in the mirror but not so many he didn’t recall wishing for someone to talk with at such dark moments.  The least he could do was offer.

Hollow Shelter will be available in the coming months.

Stay tuned