Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ohhh, You Gotta Believe!

(...AND, believe LONG enough for it to actually manifest!)

I have been hearing a song lyric in my head for a number of days now, and the only part I hear is "Ohhhh, you gotta believe..." I don't even know what the song is, but I just keep hearing "...you gotta believe!" And, it is apropos, because I have a story to tell about that very idea (faith, believing in your own power to manifest your dreams, etc.) that happened to me a couple of weeks ago...

I was en route from Seattle to Las Vegas, booked on a flight that was due to arrive at about 11:30pm, but all of my friends were already in Las Vegas, and I wanted to get there sooner. The ONLY flight I could take that would make any significant impact on my arrival time was due to depart Seattle at 3:30, and was already 3 seats OVER sold!

But I had faith - I was going to get on that flight!

I sat down and took a few moments to do my own version of a formal manifestation technique (a combination of Intention, Meditation, Theta Healing, and Success Visualization), being sure to include that my manifestation was 'for the highest good of all concerned' and would come about in the most benevolent fashion. I combined it with a heaping cupful of faith that my "order to the Universe" would actually work, and I set about taking action AS IF I was DEFINITELY getting on that flight!

I went to the airport early and checked in my bags, got on the official "stand by" list, headed toward the gate for "my" flight, double-checked with the gate agent to let them know I was there, etc. I continued to have faith with every action, every word, every thought, that though I did not yet know HOW it was going to happen, I was definitely getting on that flight. Now, as I write this, it sounds like it was easy to have faith that my manifestation worked... But, this is precisely when the Universe tests us to see what we are willing to settle for, to see at what point we are going to give up and throw in the towel, thinking that it didn't work...
The Universe will ALWAYS give you EXACTLY what you are WILLING to settle for.
There were countless "encouragements" from the environment indicating that I should give up and start making other plans: The raised eyebrows of EVERY airline representative we spoke to that day, the actual words "I don't know what to tell you" and "well that one is oversold, but there is a flight at 7:30pm that has open seats", or "I don't know..." (with accompanying non-verbal subtext of "fat chance kid"!) as they looked at the mighty computer screen! The gate area was overflowing with hoards of people rushing the gate to get on to the fight, so determined themselves that they were not even sitting down to wait for the aircraft to arrive (not that there was a place to sit close by anyway) It wasn't even Southwest Airlines, and still I have never seen so many people so anxious to get on a plane when it wasn't the holiday season! Through it all, I kept mentally repeating to all the naysayers "that's not my reality - my reality is that I am getting on that flight and going to Las Vegas early!". Even as they were boarding 100's of people and the gate area was emptying, I still had faith and was not willing to even look at the gate information for the later flight (because I still believed (against all odds) that I wouldn't need it) and therefore, I did not need a contingency plan! When I talked to my friends, I said "the airline may not know it yet, but I am getting on the early flight!" I held on.

Then, after hours of waiting, when there were only a couple of people left to board, the airplane obviously full, there was an announcement indicating that they needed to hold boarding the last few passengers to attend to a passenger who needed assistance. Lo and behold, 10 minutes later, off come a woman and her husband who were unable to take the flight for which they had already boarded! I know it was not a medical emergency (because they were ushered aside to seats right in front of us where we could overhear their discussions about next steps) but I sent them prayers all the same. As the airline announced our names, I knew that not only had my manifestation worked, but also, because I included "for the highest good of all concerned" to it, I was confident that it was going to work out even better for the couple who vacated the seats too!

When we stepped up to get our boarding passes, the gate agent said "today is your LUCKY day, because that NEVER happens!" I smiled, and thanked her in agreement, even though I knew that "luck" is something we manifest for ourselves!

So, all that to say: Hold on to the faith! It IS working (even when it feels like it is taking a long time (or more time than you'd like)) and...

You gotta BELIEVE (long enough for it to actually happen!) Happy Manifesting!