Manifesting 101: Pursue Your Dream and the Universe Responds

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Though I’ve been passionate about walking for decades** I’d gotten away from it after a move left me in a place where it was it was a challenge.

Not to mention I was working on publishing the Metatron’s Army and Dragon Core series.

Life Intervenes

Thanks to Covid and biting off more than I could chew in terms of writing and consulting I hit a giant brick wall.

And wall thy name is Burnout.

When this hilarity landed me in the ER I knew I needed to get back to basics.

Live what I write about – a holistic healthy approach to life.

Those first steps out the door in the middle of a Pacific Northwest Rainy Season were tough.

I would come home soaked through.

Not a Choice

I knew from experience that walking is therapeutic on an incredible scale.

For body mind and spirit.

I also knew if I was going to recover I had to keep at it.

Regardless of the weather.

I’d done it before.

Walked in snow and freezing rain and sleet in Michigan while working in a high-stress industry.

Hold Your Head Up

2 miles turned into 6 turned into 8

Every day 7 days a week

I found myself feeling better.

Slowly but surely.

Um – Have You Noticed?

Not really no.  

Too  busy watching my feet as I put them one in front of the other.

I would come home from the morning walk and kick off shoes soaked through, peel off soaked socks and do what I could to warm up.

I was so sick at that point I couldn’t handle coffee.

When I pushed myself out the door for the midday walk those dry socks became wet as I put on shoes still damp from the earlier walk.

And head out in the rain with an umbrella woefully inadequate for the task of a PNW Rainy Season.

Turn Turn Turn

Eventually the seasons changed.

I made a vow that by the time PNW Rainy Season came back around the following year I would be prepared.**

I began to see the same faces day after day.

A number of them told me seeing me slog through the inclement weather inspired them to start walking.***

I introduced myself to them.

So we could do more than smile and say Good Morning/Afternoon

A Fun and Funny Thing Happened

Weeks of putting one foot in front of the other turned into months and Good Morning/Afternoon turned into small talk that evolved.

I came to see that I’d attracted like-minded souls because I’d pursued something incredibly important to me.

Health in mind body and spirit.

Not The First Time

While out walking recently considering how I’d attracted such wonderful souls into my life I realized it wasn’t the first time.  Decades earlier while working for a Fortune 500 company going down in flames I found myself hitting the pavement of Kensington and/or Maybury.

It started with random conversations with colleagues during which we would discuss our plans for after work – usually working on one proposal or another – and/or the weekend.

Conversations during which a number of us said we would be walking at one of the local parks.

Within a short time those of us of like-mindedness were agreeing to meet to walk together.

No Geek Fest

These were never b*tch sessions.  

We were all so done with the stress and chaos of a career that ever seemed like we were Wylie Coyote to the Discrete Manufacturing Road Runner life.

Start Slow and Go From There

Great philosophy for manifesting dreams.

It started where we would talk about what we were doing after we were done with the walk.

Some talked about going out with their spouse or going to a sports game of their kids.  Some of us talked about our hobbies.  Mine was writing – had a dream of doing it full-time – learned some of my colleagues were on the same path.  One colleague played in a band.  Another entered marathons.

As trust between us grew we began sharing life philosophies.

And talking about dreams we wanted to achieve.

We offered advice to help each other realize those dreams.

We Liked Each Other!

Yeah But

We may have come to trust and like each other but walking 8 miles and discussing the meaning of life was a far cry from spending 80 plus hours a week in a cubicle.

We went to the mat against each other if necessary but once we were one with Mother Nature?  The gloves came off.

The Take Away?

Ah yes – corporate speak.

When you pursue what you love you will attract like-minded souls who can help you on your path to manifesting your goals.

** I invested in waterproof shoes and other gear that will get me through this year.

Aaron gave me an aawesome new umbrella for Christmas.

*** I discovered walking as a wonderful way to strengthen after being paralyzed by a brain bleed when I was 10.

Nine months after the incident that caused it – falling off a diving board – I walked 26 miles to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy.

Walking story from Nashville…

Link to Jamf Nation User Conference

Manifesting 101: Time to Travel

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In his book I’m Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams I am I am I am Thomas Pauley suggests adding the line (paraphrasing here) It is seeking me as I am seeking it when writing your goals.

The idea being what you want is attracting you as you are attracting it.  

I recently saw this in action.

As a novelist one of the first decisions I make after deciding on a plot and the characters is setting.  As part of my selection process I take into consideration whether or not I’ve been to the area I’m considering.

If not then I consisder whether I’ve been to a place close or in some other way similar location.

In the case of my Dragon Core series it wasn’t just deciding between Seattle and New Orleans it was deciding on the setting within the setting.

I lived in New Orleans but so long ago I didn’t feel I could do it justice.

When it came to Aesop’s Cove I had the perfect location in mind as a “stand-in.”

I planned on having it as a place I could go work at so I could really soak up the vibe for the story.

Excited to have this ironed out I went with hubby for a celebratory lunch only to learn we’d shown up on the last day.

I remember staring at the waitress in shock as she told me they were going out of business.

Timing

What are the chances?

She brought the boss over after I explained why we were there.  He was polite but strained.

No wonder.

Though I was ready to go forward with the story I knew I had to find a suitable place as a stand-in for Aesop’s.

To serve as a place to go when I needed an energy tune-up during times of writing fatigue.

Weeks turned to months and I could not find a suitable location.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Waterfront

For a variety of reasons including serious career burnout I took time off from writing.

A lot of time.

During this time I focused on self-care.

A lot of walking.

As I walked I sorted through challenges, mysteries, and solutions to those mysteries.

Many of those mysteries related to manifesting goals.

What I didn’t do was focus on the challenge of finding a suitable location to be a stand-in for such an important plot element.

I just kept walking and “not” thinking.

One day I decided to try to get a bit of work done.  At the time I was more thrilled with the idea I’d be able to do a bit of writing than where. As a result I gave little thought before slipping into a local haunt and sitting down to work.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

It had been some time since I’d been there.

Thank you Covid lockdown.

On some of these occasions I struck up conversations with visitors either local or not.  While I occasionally mentioned what I was doing more often than not I just enjoyed listening to their stories.

I love hearing people’s stories.

I continued this trend and came to see the location was becoming key in my recovery from burnout.

Likely because while I was working there I didn’t associate it with work.

I associated it with relaxing and the opportunity for spontaneous conversation.

I tuned into the music playing, the conversations.

Conversations that took my mind off my troubles.

And then it hit me.  I’d found my Aesop’s.

It only took about a year of not looking for it.

On a recent walk I pondered the mystery of how this happened.  I’d been in that place before burnout and never considered it a suitable stand-in for the Cove.  No sooner had that thought surfaced then Pauley’s words came to mind.

It is seeking me as I am seeking it.

During the time away from writing due to events beyond anyone’s control the place underwent a shift.

Thank you Covid shutdown.

I came to understand that as I was changing through my focus on self-care and health and wellness the location and its employees were also changing.  By the time I circled back around it had become what I needed.

The Lesson  

If only I had changed or only that location had changed it’s doubtful I would have found it to be a suitable stand-in.  It’s because we were both pulling mutual energy for the same or similar goal that I was able to manifest what I needed.

One of the bigger changes was that they wanted to be more than just a place to hangout.  They wanted to serve their diverse customers’ needs in ways I feel is friendlier.

Warmer, more inviting.

More like how I pictured Aesop’s Cove.

In coming to understand this need for transformtive change not just in myself but in some other aspect of the goal I found myself relaxing about a key element in the manifestation game.

Time

I’m more relaxed about how long the goal may take to manifest because I now truly understand it won’t til things are in place.

And that may take time.