A Whisper to a Scream

We all know That Voice. The one that pops up in our heads but doesn't feel like it comes from our own brains. The one that feels like a secret someone else is whispering to us. He's not the one. You're going to get hurt. This job is draining your spirit dry. Maybe you could make a career out of that hobby you love. 

We hear it and get that sensation of "hmm..." and then we go on our merry way.  

Oprah likes to talk about how intuition begins as the softest of suggestions—maybe a gentle nudge—and if you don't listen to it, it gets louder and louder until it's like a brick upside the head. And if you continue to ignore it, eventually it'll be like an entire brick wall coming down on you. Catastrophe.

When I dated Mr. Redflags years ago, my first warnings about him came as quiet inclinations. Then they grew to cries and blossomed into alarm sirens and then into the brick wall of a night when I found out about the other girl and the potential baby.

What would have happened if I'd listened to the first whisper?

Caroline Myss says that intuition is the source of our greatest suffering because it points out to us when we are betraying ourselves.

Our intuition is trying to protect us from betraying ourselves. 

It's pretty amazing when you think about that. This powerful guidance system we have built in to help us stay true to our essential selves. If we're willing to listen, that is. Although even when we don't, we'll still get the lesson.

Sometimes the crumbling brick wall is rescuing us from some sort of worse fate. It would just hurt a heck of a lot less if we paid attention to it when it was a mere speck of clay.

Falling Fast, Getting Up One Step Closer

The past month has been a bit of a roller coaster for me and my Mr. Wonderful. We found a house we loved in one of our favorite towns and, knowing we were pre-approved for a home loan, put an offer on it. And then all sorts of things started going wrong.

One approach to the loan failed. And then another did. We decided to change mortgage brokers and, despite an optimistic outlook, yet another attempt to get funding fell through. Amidst all of this, I was pulling out all my manifesting stops—acting as though, writing in a pray rain journal, trying to let it go.

When none of that seemed to work, and none of the loan options panned out, we made peace with the fact that this just wasn't our house and the Universe had something better in store for us. Which, of course, marked the moment that everything turned around and we got our loan. We get the keys to our new abode tomorrow.

Failures are always the stepping stones to success. 

The more you try and fail, the closer you get to clarity, understanding and, ultimately, your goal.

I learned this lesson many times over when I was dating. At one point, I affectionately renamed the dating process "Operation P.O.E." Process of Elimination. I knew that every bad date, every failed fling was inching me closer and closer to finding the right guy.

I knew that the faster I failed, the faster I could move forward to a new approach that might work better.

It's too bad that failure gets such a bad rap. There's so very much to learn from those crashes and burns. And if we give up after the first botched attempt, we may never find out how far we can go.

If you've felt like you failed at something recently, do me a favor—give yourself a big pat on the back. It took courage to even try, and if you give it another shot, you'll be one step closer to succeeding.

Expecting the Flock Can Make Them Fly Your Direction

I share a story in my book, The Path to Mr. Wonderful, about a time my Mom showed me her amazing (and somewhat unintentional) manifesting skills in the area of bird attraction. Here's how it went:

My parents still live in the house where I grew up, and it seems like every time I visit, they have a new vegetable planted in the garden or a new ornament adorning the deck. It was no surprise that I noticed a bright-colored, unfamiliar bird feeder hanging from their back fence during one of my stops.

“Did you see my new finch feeder?” my mom asked.

In all my days on their property, I had never, ever seen a finch in their yard. Doves? Sure. Hummingbirds? Plenty. Finches? Not so much.

“Mom, I don’t think there are any finches around here,” I said, gazing at the unoccupied seed dispenser.

“Not yet,” she replied, “but they’ll come.”

It was as though she knew beyond a doubt that, one day, her feeder would be covered in birds.

A few weeks later, I returned for dinner and immediately detected a flurry of chirping as I wandered onto the deck. The feeder was crawling with finches.

Had my mom manifested their arrival with her positive feelings? Had her knowing outlook and invitation of food been enough to attract them right into her backyard? There’s no way to tell for sure, but the bottom line is that she got her birds.

By acting as thought her yard was already filled with finches, she had drawn them into existence. 

I've mentioned the idea of "acting as though" in a couple other posts here because it's one of the most paramount principles of manifesting. I know, it's all very Field of Dreams, "if you build it, they will come." But it works!

What would you start doing differently if you were acting as though your perfect life already existed? Would you treat yourself better? Engage in different activities? Laugh more?

Why not start with the positive feelings and joyful actions and let your dream align with YOU?

You could end up with an entire flock of fulfilled fantasies right in your backyard!