END OF YEAR TRADITIONS

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I wanted to take a moment this holiday week and let everyone know how thankful I am for my readers.

And visitors to this site!

I am also thankful not only to my team but to all of those at WordPress, Smashwords, and other organizations who make this all possible.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving week.  

Update

I will be offline for a bit.

Though I may be inspired to write a post.

I continue to work on projects but will be using the coming weeks to do a bit of introspection and self-evaluation.

This end-of-year tradition is a significant part of career planning.  

After a hectic 13 months I consider this a well-deserved and much needed break.

I will post and/or provide updates as appropriate but for now…

Happy Holidays 2022!

MANIFESTING: A LOT HAS TO HAPPEN

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It’s been a busy two weeks as I’ve cleared out the old to make way for the new.

All part of the process of manifesting a goal.

As I was getting ready for bed last night I came to understand that some goals take longer than expected because a lot has to happen first.

For instance

In a previous post I wrote of being 13 and thinking while watching a movie that it would be cool to live in a certain type of house in a certain type of neighborhood featured in the movie.  At the time my family was in no position to achieve it and in any case, my vision wasn’t that of my parents.  Needless to say, a lot had to happen between then and now for me to attain that goal.

I lived in a lot of places between then and now and went through a number of life changes along the path to the goal.

It’s no different when looking to achieve a career goal.

For example

There came a time where I decided I wanted to be a technical consultant.  In spite of having taken programming in college and using a computer since I was a teen, I didn’t have the skills when I made the decision.

A lot had to happen.

I spent the next years immersed in classes and activities that filled in skill gaps.

A Wrench

Though an agreement had been in place at my place of employment that once I met a set of criteria I would be promoted, when I met the requirements, the company was in a downturn and there was no headcount.

The Universe Steps In

On the other side of the world

Germany, to be exact

A woman fell in love with a US citizen who happened to be working for the same company I was.  They decided whoever got a job in the other’s country first would move.  As it turned out the American who was a TC in Silicon Valley was the one to make the move.  

Lucky me.

There is a great deal of kismet to this manifestation but suffice it to say that the Universe had bigger plans for me.  Instead of getting a promotion where I worked – one that didn’t come with a raise – I got a bigger promotion and a significant raise.

And a cost of living adjustment.

Pivot

I eventually left corporate to focus on a lifelong goal of being a novelist.

Another Wrench

Thanks to an interesting set of circumstances, I ended up publishing nonfiction first.

The Universe Steps In

In the years since publishing Riding the Waves: Diagnosing, Treating, and Living with EMF Sensitivity, I’ve experienced a number of life changing events, each of which has nudged me – by hook or by crook – along the path of my career goals.  What I’ve come to see in recent weeks is that the path is not only long it’s often like a switchback trail where you sometimes wonder if you’re even going in the right direction let alone have a hope in hell of getting where you are headed.

There is a beautiful 11 mile trail in Sedona that left Aaron and I both wondering this at times.

I think he has video of me with needles from a friendly prickly pear sticking out of my shirt in several places from when I took a wrong turn and got off the path.

Path To a Series

Port Gallatan has simultaneously been fun and infuriating as I’ve tried to build out my vision for the series.

Other work and life in general kept throwing wrenches.

The Universe Steps In

I was so busy working at the macro level of the career goals I didn’t notice that the actions I was taking were in fact clearing a number of obstacles from the Port Gallatan path!

I am happy to say Blue Skye in the Rain, follow-up to Port In a Storm is well on its way to completion.

Availability date to be announced soon.

I’ll take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Holloween!

Closing with a joke I read in an email this morning.

What did Dracula say when the witch and the werewolf started kissing?

Get a broom!

Be well!

MANIFESTING: LET THE DUST SETTLE

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The previous two weeks have been Feng Shui on steroids as I cleared out the old to make way for the new and boy did I feel it!

I was removing colorful candles set on a mirror and got  an energetic shock.  Highly unpleasant.

The process was a bit like pulling the thread on a sweater and while I had a super hero friend advise that I may not want to pull on that thread, I knew delaying it wasn’t going to make it any easier.

Sometimes it’s better to rip the band-aid off quickly than slowly peeling that adhesive.

Though I’ve had lots of experience with the benefits of clearing and organizing I was surprised to find that sometimes things doing the most damage are not in plain sight!  Deciding to leave no stone unturned in my efforts to realize a special goal, I rifled through drawers and opened cabinets, separating into a toss or donate pile.  The process took a few days and the evening of the day where the troublesome objects hidden from sight were gone – mostly in the trash – I felt wonderful.

As if the weight of the world had been lifted.

The next day Aaron and I took everything in the trunk to the donate location and went to a local trash and recycle center to get rid of the rest.  Strangely enough though I felt wonderful on an intellectual level, I no longer had that awesome feeling physically.

It wasn’t regrets, it was the fact that I’d basically yanked the energetic tablecloth off and things had to settle, and yes, some of the stuff went crashing to the floor.  But it had to.

Letting Go.

I’ve never been much for sentimentality.

Probably comes from having lived with a pack rat of a father and/or listening to various  relatives lament “But I might use/need it some day!”

It also comes from being raised in a family, faith, and community that was big on supporting those less fortunate.

We would sponsor a family and buy them either a Thanskgiving or Christmas dinner.  My brother and I went with our parents to deliver so we could understand the love and value of giving.

It isn’t always objects that need to be let go of.  There are times when we outgrow a location, a relationship, a job, or any other number of energetically impactful situations and while some are easier to let go of than others, most of us don’t take the time after to let the energetic dust settle.

We may freak out at the empty shelves or drawers or cupboards and buy more “stuff” to fill them.

In my current situation since it’s a career goal I’m working toward I needed to see where in that area I needed to let go.

Some future projects were axed.

What I found very telling was that I didn’t feel the slightest bit of panic in taking actions that backed up the intention of realizing the goal.

It’s important to clear out what no longer serves to make space for what you wish to come in.

I also didn’t feel an energetic high.  It was more a solid inner conviction that I’d done the right thing.

A Funny Thing.

Interestingly, I discovered that just as with those items hidden from sight there were career related items and situations that had become a dark cloud over my life – and I didn’t even know it until they were gone.

This includes files not only on the computer but in various backup locations!

I spent a good deal of yesterday deleting old files.

Space Freed Up!

Though I’m not one to go looking for stuff to fill empty shelves, I do have a tendency to jump into the next project as soon as one is finished.

Which is how I got so burned out to begin with.

Recognizing the need to let the energetic dust settle I considered where else dark clouds may be lurking out of sight.  

Next Stop?  Kindle!

I generally keep my Kindle library pretty lean and mean with majority of the ebooks in there fiction rereads from my favorite authors.  However, sprinkled in were a few books on various aspects of manifesting and/or otherwise improving your life and while these books are generally upbeat something told me it was time to let them go.  The only ones I raised my eyebrows with were purchases made very recently.

As in “I just got these!”

In one case I hadn’t even finished the book!

And I was enjoying it!

At the same time, I felt as if God was whispering the words “Trust me” into my soul so I went ahead and let go.

Deciding it wouldn’t hurt to add a few more read-for-pure-pleasure books into my library I went to Amazon and while I did find a couple of rereads to add to my collection, I also found an intriguing book along the same subject of the ones I’d just deleted.  I downloaded a sample.

I hadn’t even read four pages when I knew I needed to read the entire book.  What jumped out was the author pointing out that before we can manifest goals, we need to let go of what may be hindering our efforts.

Exactly what I’ve been working on for the previous 2 weeks!

After reading a few more pages this morning I was convinced following that guidance was the right thing. 

But Wait!  There’s More!

While I don’t see meaning in every shooting star I do acknowledge the beautiful synchronicities the Universe puts in my path.  More, I acknowledge them and thank God and his angels, including earth angels, for reminding me I’m not alone in my efforts.  This time was no different.

What stood out was that the author’s words mirrored my thoughts and the material came just when I needed it.  

Acknowledging the good fortune of finding a book that would help me in this stage of the journey toward realizing my goal I went to my desk and started working.  Content the day would unfold as it needed to I didn’t immediately start a specific task.

Such as a blog post I knew I would eventually write – when the time was right and I had my thoughts collected.

No sooner had I made that decision – to remain relaxed and wait for the words – when I found myself looking at an article that addressed something that has been on my mind in tandem with my efforts.  My immediate thought?  Of course.

Because I acknowledged the gift of the book, I was given another gift and upon sending a quick thank you and reading through that gift [article] I got insight into why I was advised to let go of those other books on the same subject.

Now Hear This!  

As a clairaudient who is also a clairsentient I sometimes have trouble figuring which came first, hearing something or knowing/feeling it.  What I do know is that the answer came in both forms fairly simultaneously.

“That author was overly complicating things.”

That was the first message.  When I thought on it a bit I nodded and acknowledged the insight after which I heard, “And besides, you’ve been doing just fine doing the inner work your way.”

It was then pointed out that I’d been studying the subject for decades.

Going all the way back to when I would ask nuns and priests about praying and asking for help for material goods.

The more I thought about the two revelations the more it made sense.  There was nothing wrong with those other books.  They were just overly complicating what is actually a pretty straight-forward process.

Perhaps more important, however, was acknowledging my own skill in this area.

Reading the step-by-step instructions wouldn’t be a good use of time for someone who could teach a class on it.

If that makes a few readers raise their eyebrows as in “If you could teach it why do you need to …?”

Everyone including teachers have lessons in life to learn.

The book I purchased last night is written in a way that speaks to me at this stage of my life and for that I am grateful it came into my sphere of awareness.  

As for everything else I’ve been doing.  I have a few tasks left in terms of letting go but of more value is the knowledge and acceptance that I need to let the energetic dust settle before moving forward.

As I’ve been writing – when it comes to manifesting dreams, it’s a process.

Be well!

MANIFESTING: SURPRISES ALONG THE WAY

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Note: Longer post.

Deciding on a goal to manifest really can be a bit of a chicken or the egg” proposition.  That’s because sometimes a need drives the decision to make a change and you may not have realized on a conscious level the need existed.

Your higher conscious knows something has to change but it may take awhile to get from your heart to your head.

Several months ago I wrote about setting a few career goals   Turns out the path I set myself on to realizing those goals is nothing like what I imagined.

Little did I know what I was in for.

Having manifested a number of goals throughout my adult life I set down the path with some pre-conceived ideas of how to go about things.  This included visualization, and writing down what it was I wanted.

Ala Write It Down, Make It Happen and It Works style.

I have come to see the benefit of the first is learning there is no wrong way to go about writing your goals.  The benefit of the second is that frequently looking at a list of goals helps you stay focused on tasks in support of the goals.  

Turns out I had a lot of inner work to do before I could get where I was headed.  The changes and tweaks I made along the path of that inner work was not only exhausting, it was confusing.

When you are in the midst of turning the boat around and waves are coming over the side from the storm it can feel like you are making no progress except heading for a shipwreck.

More than once I felt despair because of the chaos in my life; chaos I felt was keeping me from working toward my goal.

The chaos had nothing to do with my career goals!

It was only in recent weeks that I came to see the chaos was part of the process.  It forced me to address various issues that would have come back to cause problems if not addressed up front.

In other words, if I didn’t address the situation ahead of time it would stand in the way of my attaining and/or maintaining goal success.

How Did I Get Here?

It was as I was putting the final touches on a few projects related to the goal that I came to see a number of seeming coincidences led to the clearing of several impediments.  I believe the coincidences came because I put sincere intent into the goal and the universe noticed.

I was at a point where I felt as if I’d been dragged through the mud but rather than throw my hands up I doubled down and looked for a way forward, finding it in a very cool book.

Royce’s book was a shot of optimism and helped me reframe the previous months’ chaos as part of the process.  Feeling better I reached out to a wise friend across the country and in so doing set the stage for the next part of the journey.

I was just wishing her a happy birthday but the subsequent back and forth led to several mini victories.

As a result of several email exchanges I looked at my life through a variety of lenses and saw that a few things needed tweaking.  As these tweaks had nothing to do with my career goals I didn’t put it together they, too, were part of the process.  Until…

Making the feng shui tweaks – originally set to address the non-career goal issues that needed addressing – led to my seeing where I’d gone wrong with the tweaks in the career area.  Next thing I know I’ve made a series of sweeping changes that showed me the path to the career goals includes taking care of business as my dad is wont to say in every area that needs to be healthy in order to support the career goals.

Physical, mental, and emotional well-being among others.

What really stood out in the previous few days was how little angst there was with the changes I needed to make.  I think my head finally caught up to the truth that if I allow my heart to lead I’ll get down the path with a lot fewer bumps.

A Thumbs Up

From the universe.

This morning I started a new routine to start off this new phase of the journey and though I felt confident, I also felt a bit worn out.

I’ve done an incredible amount of mental and emotional housecleaning in the past two weeks.

Barista Boo Boo

As if in a show of universal support for my commitment, an error at the local Starbucks netted me two extra dopios.  Accepting the gift I continued down the path of manifesting, smiling because even chaos can be a happy surprise that marks progress.  You just have to let yourself see it that way.

Be well!

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.

MANIFESTING GOALS: WHAT YOU DON’T IS IMPORTANT TOO

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This is my third attempt at writing about an aspect of manifesting goals that came to mind while I was in the liquid think tank this morning.

The shower.

I was thinking of an email exchange with a friend who has recently attained a major goal.  

One he’d been working toward for years!

During that time in which we traveled parallel lanes as we went for goals we did what we could to support each other’s efforts.

Sometimes acting as a cheering coach, other times a sympathetic ear.

I recently suggested he read Neville Goddard’s Be What You Wish and while it may seem an odd suggestion if he’s achieved his goal, it’s actually a critical piece of the puzzle if he doesn’t want to lose what he’s achived.

Most people, myself included, think of the action items they need to do to achieve the goals.  What about what you need to avoid?

Whether you are on the path toward the goal, you have recently achieved it, or you’ve had it for awhile what you don’t do is as important as what you do if you want to attain and/or maintain it.  

Fortunately, you can use Neville’s approach for either.

Let’s say your goal is to be a successful consultant.  Depending on the industry some of the tasks you’d need to do would be take specialized training, subscribe to an industry publication.

Perhaps join a professional association.  

But what shouldn’t you do?

In a nutshell, you’d need to avoid actions, situations, and individuals that would negatively impact your efforts.

You’d do well to avoid activities that would distract you from what you should be doing as well as avoiding people who aren’t supportive of your efforts.

The last one can be trickier than you might imagine because it may not be obvious at certain points along the path to your goal.

As I thought about strategies that might help my friend in determining next steps I considered the importance – now that he’s achieved his goal – of finding people who can help him sustain it.  Not just people like me who are happy for him, but peers with whom he can share ideas and embrace this new place in his life.

People who would understand the enormous effort that went into it.

Since it may not be obvious where and how to find these people – outside professional organizations – it makes sense to go back to Neville’s strategy.

What would a person who achieved this do?  How would they spend their time and with who?

I’m not suggesting turning your back on friends but it is critical to be around people who can support who you are and where you want to go next.  

Who can help you maintain this new phase of your life.

If it’s related to a specific goal, it’s likely you’d want to narrow your search.

You recently passed the bar. What is the next most important thing to do?

If it’s related to a lifestyle goal, you would also want to narrow your search.

You moved to a new state.  What unique activities do the locals do that would help you feel the place home and feel like a local?

Perhaps most importantly, what do you need to let go of?

  • Unless there’s a valid reason you may not want to hang around college after you’ve graduated and passed the bar.
  • It wouldn’t make sense to tell everyone in your new state how much you miss your old state or why a certain store or brand or activity in your old state is superior to anything available in your new state.

While taking this step can happen at any point along the journey to your goal, starting early would be helpful.  

  • If you are studying to be a lawyer, subscribe to legal journals, join a professional organization, find and hang out with other attorneys
  • Visit the new state before moving if possible so that by the time you move it already feels like home.  If you can’t?  Read up as much as you can about it and/or subscribe to a magazine dedicated to a major city there.

No Time Like the Present

Sooner is better.

We go through a number of transitions along the path to our goal.  We grow and become.  If we embrace these changes up front by realizing ahead of time who we need to be, we bring the goal to life that much sooner.

Be sure to include what you won’t do or who you won’t be in your planning.

Letting go of that which no longer serves.

Don’t forget to celebrate your victory, but equally as important, hold on to what you’ve achieved.

Honor yourself.

WHITEBOARD? MY INK AND KEYSTROKES RUNNETH OVER

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Note: Longer post.

I don’t know if I should love my work-away-from-home place or hate it.

I’m guessing love is the better option.

How Did I Land Here?

About 6 years ago, as I was writing into the home stretch for the Metatron’s Army Series, I began setup tasks for what would become Dragon Core, a series originally begun when I was a sophomore in high school.

I wrote 3 full-length novels for the series.

I began writing Dragon Core’s story not long after conceiving the idea for Metatron’s Army.

About seven months after.

I was 15.

Note:  I never typed out a book for the MA series the way I did for Dragon Core.

Until The Dude demanded I do so that is.

In 2014.

By the time I decided to follow the prodding of The Dude and publish Dragon Core I knew it had to be totally ripped apart from the original.

Yep, flushed 3 novels down the drain.

Between Thanksgiving 2016 and when the 1st in the Series was published I redesigned the story.

Even as I kept the original plot in place.

One of the initial tasks I needed to do for Cauldron of the Gods, was find a visual location for Lages’ bar in Seattle.  

Aesop’s Cove.

I originally thought of using J & M.

It was the first place I had lunch while staying in a hotel before we moved to Seattle.

I loved the gritty vibe, the history of the place.

According to the server that first time, Nirvana played one of its signature early performances there.

I love Pioneer Square!

Note: As I write in Psychic Hangover, historical places can be – ghosts notwithstanding – a psychic’s best friend.

I always had a good experience at J & M in terms of food and service and, most importantly, ambiance. 

The perfect vibe for me even if I wasn’t thinking of using it for a novel.

On the day I went to evaluate

It was in contention with a gritty Irish place further up 1st

and after telling Aaron it was perfect I found out from the server they were going out of business.  

I had just told her I’d chosen their location and would give them PR in my series when she dropped that bomb on me.

Wouldn’t you know the owner was in the restaurant that day?  She brought him over so I could explain what I was doing there and how much I loved that place.  

Bittersweet.

Theoretically I could have kept the location but my heart – after hearing they were going out of business – was just no longer in it.

And the other place didn’t fit with the overall vibe I needed though it IS the inspiration for the fake address for the bad guy!

Back to the Drawing Board

For months I traveled a big circle in an effort to find the ideal place to use as inspiration.

Remember I was still finishing the MA series and that includes Metatron’s Legacy.

and found none of them a good fit.

Too touristy, too trashy, too something.

Frustrated, I went back to a local pub I sometimes worked at to not only think over what to do next but to evaluate one last time.

To see if I could use it as a visual anchor for the pub in the story.  

The problem?  

The original problem. Get the right vibe.

It was too upscale for what I was looking for in terms of gritty vibe.

From Cauldron of the Gods

1st in the series:

Determined to reserve judgment, thirty-year-old Clare   Edwards stepped into the darkened interior and looked around.

“It’s just the right balance of gritty and sophistication.”

“I don’t want a dive bar.”

“I didn’t say -.”

“Gritty?”

“Sophistication?  Have you ever been in a dive bar that could be described as sophisticated?  You’ll love it.  Trust me.”

She did trust Lucas Drake, and not just because he was a cop.  The detective was a straight shooter something not necessarily synonymous with a badge.

The Vibe So Needed

Obviously vibe is subjective but as it’s my story and I have to put myself in Lage’s bar – mentally – when writing, I knew what I was looking for.  

But…

Could my local place fit the bill?

Gritty is not a word I would use when describing it.

Hmmmm…

For a variety of reasons including blinders on eyes 

Like those that keep a horse looking straight ahead

I decided to run with it

I have to layer gritty as an imaginative element on top of it but it works…

Wait!  There’s More!

There always is…

In addition to being a visual anchor for a series, it’s a place I’ve been coming to – periodically – when I need to solve a problem.

When I need to get out of my environment because the walls are closing in on me.

As problem solving goes, I have a consistent track record.

Coming here to get out of my space and my head. 

But…

This past week I came to see solving a problem isn’t always the funnest thing.  

At least in my case.

I came to see that as one problem is fixed another if not several more are right behind it.

Waiting for my attention.

For Instance…

When I finished my sandwich this afternoon, satisfied I’d accomplished what I set out to do I saw that I had a rather significant pile of tasks.

The problem(s)/work behind what I came to solve.

Setting the empty plate aside I pulled the laptop close and began a bit of a deep dive into the issue at hand.  

Organizing the task list and assigning owners.

Next thing I knew my fingers were flying across the keyboard with solutions.

And my mind was writing this blog post!

I quickly noted the solutions required additional tasks be completed!

And I needed to start this blog post because it was front and center in mind!

Less than ten minutes later I had a laundry list of tasks to complete

And 1/2 the post written in a file.

While all will bear luscious fruit I can’t help but wince at the additional work I now have on my plate.

Work I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t come up to solve a problem only to find myself hyper inspired by the ambiance!

It isn’t like I’m going to blame anyone at the pub for this quagmire but I can’t help appreciating the irony.

Be careful what you wish for

What Else Did I Learn?

I will try to determine what elements I can transplant to my normal work environment

Home

To achieve balance.

Yin and Yang

This place is obviously an opposite extreme for a variety of reasons.

Elements I know do not factor into the equation:  Food and Alcohol.

In addition to a variety of foods I have wine and champagne along with a nice bottle of tequila that was a recent gift.

I’m saving it for an upcoming occasion:  My birthday!

I’ve never had tequila outside margaritas so I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons!

The Vibe?

A great part of it is the fact it’s a sports pub.

I love watching ESPN and sports!

Sports TV deals with passion and dreams fulfilled

Athletes who started out in a crib like the rest of us

Those interviewing are equally passionate.

There’s also vibrant color and movement and all things helpful for the business side of being a writer.

Read: Inspiring!

Note: It wouldn’t work to just turn ESPN on on my laptop or the TV.

It’s kind of a yin/yang thing.

Music is – I’ll admit – a crapshoot.

I think it depends who’s working the bar.

At the moment Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride is on.

Thumbs’ up!

“…before the thing could answer me – well, someone came and took the lamp away…”

Been there, done that.

What I know is that I solved one problem and wound up with a laundry list of to-do’s as well as the challenge of figuring out what of the energy here I can transfer to my home work space to inject a bit of that yang energy.

There has to be a balance. 

All I have to do is find it…

SIGNS: ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?

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I was recently having a back and forth with a friend about manifesting.  

Specifically, timing.

Time

One of my favorite concepts.

She reminded me that we are not necessarily in charge of the when of something.

Ironically, I was afraid what I was visualizing would manifest before I was ready!

She went on to share a method she employs when working on manifesting.

Show me a Sign

After telling me she is a fan of using signs as a way of validating whether or not she is on the right path she shared a personal take on the method.

From a recent email

“I have always looked for signs.  My favorite saying is…If God’s willing!  Meaning if my thoughts are to manifest He will have a hand in it!”

The other points she brought up left me feeling better about going forward with a bit of visualization without worrying my life would be turned to chaos because it manifested before I was ready.

All in Good Time

I’m aware many in the manifestation/visualization business have philosophies on the timing of things including phrases that help assure it happens in the best time for all involved.  In spite of this I have reason to be cautious.

Past experience!

I was still thinking on it the day after getting the email when I was presented with a decision.  Though I knew how I felt about the decision I wanted a bit of cosmic insight, so, I borrowed my friend’s phrase.

“God, if this would be good for our family…please give me a sign”

He did, followed by several subsequent signs, each leading forward until by the end of the day everything was resolved and all involved were happy.

In the days since I’ve thought over the concept of signs and how useful they can be, provided we don’t overly rely on them.

I had a friend long ago who used to see a sign in every shooting star and every coincidence.  This led her to make some poor life choices, then justifying it by saying “I asked God to show me a sign and right after I saw a shooting star.”  That is not what signs are about.

Someone’s Trying to Tell Me Something

Several years ago I had a rather interesting run-in with signs.  It started when I saw a bumper sticker in the parking lot of a store near our home.  It read Well behaved women rarely make history.  While I thought it catchy I didin’t do anything other than mention it to Aaron.

Told him I thought it amusing.  

By the end of the week I had seen that same phrase in several places on a variety of items including t-shirts, plaques, and other bumper stickers.  The locations were not near each other so there was no obvious connection.

Other than thinking the universe must want me to see it.

A short while after we met up with my mom and stepdad in San Diego.  My stepfather and I were in a tourist shop. Sitting on a shelf near the door was a plaque that read Well behaved women rarely make history.

I laughed and told him the phrase was haunting me.

Over the next six months I kept running into that sign no matter where I went, including other trips to other states!

What Does it All Mean?

Honestly, not much more than an amusing story.

However…

From time to time when feeling anxious about a career decision that phrase will pop into my mind. 

I can’t say I always use it as a Go! sign but I do weight the decision through that filter.

Skeptics Invited

When I was in high school I was friends with a guy who was pretty skeptical when it came to anything science couldn’t prove without a doubt.

He was a skeptic but he was also open-minded to the possibility there was more than what could be proved in a lab.

His mom and I used to have some great discussions about the coincidences and signs that had guided us along life’s path.

Neither of us was a skeptic though her husband, an atheist, was.

I was visiting him at college once when he told me a story

His mom, who’d passed away, had given him a gem as a talisman.  He was inspired one day to pick it up and state “If this stuff is real have J walk through my door.”

Less than a minute later she did.

He’d been thinking about his mom, about the gem she’d given him, wondering if it was possible what she’d been telling him about the mysteries and wonders of the universe were real.

Statistics

I recognize there are those who will maintain such an event is no more than a coincidence.  I don’t agree but it doesn’t matter because it’s about the impact it had on my friend at that moment.

Did it turn him into a believer?  I don’t know that so much as he told me it made him feel his mom was close in spirit, looking after him.

If I want to consider whether something is more likely a coincidence than a sign I talk it over with Aaron, who is a math genius.  

He and I have had wonderful discussions about statistics and how easily they are manipulated to suggest something exists when it doesn’t.

I lay out data points then ask the statistical likelihood of a specific outcome.  It’s a good method to employ

Some may feel it takes the magic out of life but it doesn’t.

Am I On the Path?

Jose Silva developed a method I’ve found to be effective when trying to verify if I’m on the right path.

Or not.

This is different than wondering if I should do something.  

I’m in the process of doing it and want to know if I should keep going.

His method, called Mental Video Technique, instructs students to go to level then think over what they are working on.  

Go to level means put your mind at the alpha level which is the daydream state.

Mentally review any actions taken in line with what you are trying to accomplish then upload the video confident it has been received and that within 3 days you will receive feedback.

Upload is the idea of turning the images reviewed mentally over to 

  • Your Higher Power
  • Your Guardian Angel
  • God
  • Universe

for review

He maintained that within 3 days there will be feedback.  

  • If we are going in the right direction we will get positive feedback

i.e., things become smoother, someone/something that can help will appear 

  • If we are going in the wrong direction we will get negative feedback

i.e., things become more difficult, roadblocks begin appearing

I used this method in 2000 when Aaron and I were trying to relocate from Michigan.

The previous winter we had 17 consecutive days with no sun and an incredible amount of snow.  So much that he and I were standing on our relatively flat roof hip-deep in snow, trying to get it off so it didn’t crash through skylights and/or leak in near the chimney and cause damage the way it was all over the Metro area.  

I broke 2 brooms and a shovel because the snow was so heavy.  

At one point I looked over to where he was shoveling snow off his side of the roof and said “We live here why?”

Initial efforts suggested God didn’t want us moving from Michigan.  Turns out it was where we were looking to move to that was the problem.

At the time we were focused on Arizona since both of us had almost transferred there prior to meeting each other though the idea was to eventually transfer to California.

After getting feedback via the Mental Video Technique – roadblocks galore – I suggested to Aaron maybe we should focus on our first choice, California.

We didn’t think we could afford it so we’d focused on Arizona.

Within two days both of us had job offers.

Two months later we moved to the Bay Area.

While I ended up getting more than I bargained for I don’t regret the transfer.

Many good things happened while we were living there.

Be well!

For more on signs I suggest Robert Moss’ The Three Only Things: Tapping the Power of Dreams, Coincidence, and Imagination.

Post Note: Listening to Reel Around the Sun from Riverdance and realizing that in writing this article I answered a dilemma I’d been dealing with for several months. What sealed it? The Mental Video Method.

Only in my case I wasn’t uploading anything. It was simply a matter of “You know, it’s awfully interesting my life got so difficult after …”

LET WALKING DO THE IMAGINATION

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I’m thoroughly enjoying the Metatron’s Army reboot project.  It not only gives me insight into how my writing style has evolved, it gives me a chance to check whether the plans I have for future books in this series make sense.

I’m happy to say they do!

I’ll admit it was frustrating to discover errors I’d corrected previously had somehow wound up in the versions that were published.  

I even lost an entire section I’d added.

I’m still in the process of investigating how the sync’ing error happened.

Rereading has provided insight into my creative process, albeit primarily with respect to this series.  Many scenes bring back memories of where I was and what I was doing while coming up with them.  

Good memories.

Several have one thing in common:  I was walking while creating.

A number of the scenes were created while I was on a treadmill, going as far back as 1998 living in Michigan. Others were done while I walked outside.

Especially at the Cranbrook Institute which inspired more than one scene in the MA series.

As I thought over the various places I’ve lived and walked I realized that a number of my non-Metatron’s Army projects came about while I was walking.

After moving to the west, most of that walking was done outdoors.

  • The Kerry’s Game/Psi Adventure Series was conceived while I was living downtown San Francisco

Though much of the secondary location – AZ – was inspired from when I lived in Scottsdale and would drive to Tucson for research and pleasure.

  • Soothsayer was conceived while I walked in triple digit temps during a Scottsdale summer.

Though I published Port in a Storm first, that book was conceived years later,  while people watching at KEXP in Seattle.

  • Mirror was conceived on a walk along the Embarcadero in San Diego.

Though the idea for the Ghost Games series – of which Mirror was originally the first – was planted as I was walking down the stairwell of the building I was living in Downtown San Diego.

It’s been a long time since I’ve used walking as a way to stimulate creativity.

I’d swapped to playing Free Cell as it put me in a meditative state ideal for incubating projects.  Having uninstalled it several weeks ago, however, I see the need to reconsider walking.

It isn’t as critical to this current reboot project but it will certainly help as I move forward with the next.

Especially as I’ve resolved the question of Prologue V. Chapter One!

But first things first, an enjoyable memory walk through the process of creating.

Have a great weekend!

BRINGING LIFE TO THE WRITER

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Note:  This post is lengthy.

Listening to UltraVox’s A Friend I Call Desire and working on a fiction project.

Also working on Project Happy.

Andddd….

Making my way through that basket.  

I have work to do!  I need to get some of the crap in there out.

Thanks to a series of events, one leading to the next, I had a very helpful flash of insight.

While listening to the playlist I created for the nonfiction project and staring, more or less unfocused, at a very cool image in my workspace.

I wrote previously that I no longer have Free Cell at my disposal – the MacOS doesn’t like it.

Or would that be the universe telling me to ditch it because it’s a crutch I no longer need?

Tired of having my system lock up because of it I just deinstalled the game.

That it locked up while I was working on my manuscripts?  A message I think.

I tried other Free Cell games from the app store but they all resulted in the system locking up.

Always while I was in MS Word working on a book.

I have not had one problem since de-installing the game.

Message received.

The insight was accompanied by a wonderful feeling; a feeling that immediately mapped to an image, from when I was with my dad in So Cal.

Both when I was a teen after my parents divorced (Downey, CA) and then later (Norwalk, CA) when I visited while waiting for my Sunnyvale Apartment to be ready to move into.

What each of those times have in common, along with a third non-California image, are that I was incredibly prolific in fiction.

I kicked out books in weeks while staying with him.  That second time?  I finished a book I’d been working on for years but had set aside – in a week.

Obviously, there’s something about the place.

That was the point.

Something I will be writing about in the upcoming nonfiction project.

Hint:  It has to do with geologic EMFs.

There’s a point to this.

Understanding I was being given important information I focused on that wonderful feeling.

Specifically, why had it been so long since I’ve felt it?

Fortunately, in remembering it I was able to feel it again.  

It means I’m capable still.  The potential hasn’t been ripped out – by life.

Deep diving into what happened between then and now I came to see that certain events – and the individuals behind them – put a serious dent in my dreams.

These events happened in my early 20s; some during the Corporate Black Hole era.

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.

There’s a scene in Metatron’s Legacy, one character talking with another:

“And the Iconoclast took advantage of that fear, crushed your hope by playing into it.  He crushed your dreams by exploiting your fear.  That’s what evil does, exploits your dreams, turns them against you, convinces you they can never come to be even as they lie and tell you they will help you make them happen.”

I was able to write this scene because I’m all too familiar with the elements in it, having been on the receiving end of it both in and out of the Corporate Black Hole.

I had more dreams than just being a successful fiction writer.

This issue was sitting in the basket, not too far from the bottom.  It’s an item I didn’t realize was taking up so much space though I was aware of it.

I  knew someday I’d have to address it.

Knowing the what isn’t the same as knowing how.

Though I have a couple of ideas.  More music?  Definitely.

Not Alone.

It helps that I don’t have to pull this off on my own.

The universe obviously wanted me to deal with the crap in the basket that isn’t mine. 

A number of random recent emails and/or texts have been tools to deal with the situation.

It isn’t just friends.

Readers have been in my corner as well, something I am truly grateful for.

Patience and understanding with all those web changes?  Switchbacks as I make my way forward?

Ironic – as I’m writing this? The lyrics “…but I’ll never betray your trust…” from Angel Mine by the Cowboy Junkies are coming over the headphones.  It is trust between writer and reader.

Something I’ve worked not to betray.

To give you an idea how eclectic this particular list is, I’m now listening to Army of Me by Bjork.

I also have Cracker, Blue Oyster Cult, Breaking Benjamin, Gary Numan, and Ultravox on this particular list.

This item is one of the slimier icky things in the basket.

With roots that spiderwebbed their way into other items also in the basket.

It’ll take a bit of finesse to deal with it.

The Plan.

A big part of the resolution is simply emptying the basket of what isn’t mine.  For the most part this consists of labels, judgments, and/or other items that do not properly reflect reality.

Deepak Chopra does an excellent job articulating this concept when he writes about how so many labels are put on us like so many coats on a rack. 

It directly ties into the challenge of how I organize my writing, both with genre and on the website.

How do I do justice to all the facets of me as a writer?

Where did this come from?

Well…

It was in the basket.

Why now?

Several months ago I made a Feng Shui tweak that set this all in motion.

And my head’s been spinning ever since.

And now?

The plan is to keep going forward.  I have a lot of projects in various states of completion.  My objective?  Get them completed!

Where do I put this?

That’s the question, isn’t it?

Still.

I have a couple of ideas I’m tossing around.  In order to give them context I need to reprint a nonfiction book I’d pulled.

Because I couldn’t figure out where to put it in the catalogue!

It’s a book on surviving child abuse.

I remember, all too well, the giant silence after I released it in 2013.

The Silent Ones.

I was so unnerved by the cosmic silence that Aaron made a point to use science to help out.

He explained that it was simply a case of action/reaction.  I’d sent energy into the universe.  It took time for the reaction.

He also explained that though people may not comment, it didn’t mean they had a negative reaction.

He called them the Silent Ones.

It helped me get through those early weeks when there was nothing but silence, though a few people did reach out in support, including one guy who said, “You let them off easy.”

I told him, “Yeah, well there are a lot of innocents who have nothing to do with this and I don’t want them pulled into it.”

I also didn’t want to feed the ghouls who gorge on this kind of drama.

I still don’t but I have a plan.

What Else?

I’m still working!

I wrote scripts today for videos providing insight into the writing of Dragon Core and Metatron’s Army.  They will be available soon.

Stay tuned.