Yesterday afternoon, I did a little decluttering.  I put the books from my recently completed A.R.T. Healing class on the bookshelf and gathered the various books on Kabbalah, Psychic Self and such from the living room to shelve them as well.  In the process, I crossed paths with the shelf above my monitor which holds a variety of things connected with psychic development and self improvement, as well as my ever growing collection of Tarot decks.  What I have taken to referring to as my “Spiritual Shelf”.  Though it is now full to overflowing and, in fact, many of my books have now found their way to other shelves in my library, this is where my journey really began. Though it isn’t visible in the picture, there’s a whole second layer behind what you see, as the shelf is fairly deep.

But I digress.  In the process of putting things away, a phenomenon which has repeated itself frequently in recent months occurred.  I noticed my copy of “The Secret” and suddenly had a driving need to re-read it.  So on a Friday night when many of my friends were out dancing or otherwise being social (and, I might add, recovering from a work week which is no longer part of my lifestyle), I curled up on the sofa with Toby in my lap, snoring softly, and Dylan beside me, purring loudly, and read the first 158 pages of the book.

What an eye opener that was!  I had no idea how much the last nine months had changed me until I realized how much of the book had become so much clearer to me!  The first few times I read it, I accepted the fact that we are all made up of energy, as is everything around us, but I didn’t feel it.  But after spending the better part of a year actually working with my energy body on a daily basis, I seriously lit up that giant lightbulb we all have above our heads, just waiting for us to start experiencing those “Aha!” moments. 

But it wasn’t just a single concept which suddenly became clearer to me.  The idea of manifestation is right before my eyes!  Haven’t I taken that leap of faith, knowing that the Universe will align things perfectly, and I have only to act upon what I’m offered?  Haven’t I been overriding my feelings of trepidation with affirmations that I know everything is in alignment and occurring exactly in the time and space it is supposed to.  Haven’t random checks appeared in my mail box already?  Haven’t I been presented with someone who can design my business cards?  Don’t I get things in email almost daily which help me to continue moving forward?

In short, I’ve truly experienced the fact that intentions are energy and energy creates action!  As my A.R.T. teacher told us repeatedly, and a statement which is reiterated in different words in “The Secret”,  we must set those intentions with broad strokes, not concerning ourselves with either the details nor the “hows”.  When we let the Universe (or whatever you prefer to call it) fill in the blanks for us, what we receive is always far better than what we originally envisioned. 

Even more important, and something I practice every day, and especially, in this blog, is to be grateful.  Grateful not only for those intentions becoming reality, but for every, single small thing. 

When I drive down the freeway and am signalling to change lanes, and someone lets me in, I say a loud “Thank you!”.  When I get green lights all the way down one of the major streets in town, I say another loud “Thank you!”.  When I wake up and just leap out of bed, full of joy to face the new day, I say another “Thank you!”.  And so it goes.  The gratitudes I post here aren’t always something big.  More often, they’re small things.  But don’t a lot of small things add up to one big one?  So if I post gratitudes for 5 small things, aren’t I really opening the door for a bigger one?  And if, every day, I post 5 gratitudes for small things, by the end of the week, haven’t I opened the door even wider for something really big to just saunter on through?  (and frankly, the 5 things I post here are only the tip of the iceberg of the gratitude I express every day!)

Sure, I’ve rambled on and on about gratitude here on numerous occasions, but re-reading “The Secret” last night made me reflect back upon just the last year or so, and what I saw during those reflections simply astounded me! 

My circle of friends is growing.  My love of myself is growing.  My life is virtually stress free most of the time.  I notice small improvements all the time.  I have over 77,000 words of a novel written, and am working towards completion of the editing process by the end of April (how’s that for setting an intention?).  I was guided to contact a Marketing expert while still in the editing process, and keep a file with her guidance open all of the time, referring to it, while thinking about what/where I want/to go.  (In fact, as I was trying to fall asleep last night with Dylan purring around my head, I started mentally writing the dedication for my novel!)  I have a couple of accounting clients who keep my mind sharp and a little extra money coming in.  I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

While reading last night, I set a few more intentions.  I’m going to try to do as the book suggested, and not continue to send out the same intention, nor to dwell on the ones I sent out.  Instead, I will simply make sure that I’m grateful for every little thing (like an unexpected breakfast date with my daughter today), and just love the life I’m living.

My gratitudes today are:
1. I am grateful for Divine Guidance.
2. I am grateful for all of the people (both human and otherwise) who are part of this new life I am constantly creating (with a little help from the Universe), and who are making my life fuller and more meaningful.
3. I am grateful for quiet nights of reflection.
4. I am grateful for crazy, dance-filled nights with my girl friends and their wonderful hubbies.
5. I am grateful for beautiful Spring days that put buds on my plum tree and birds in the tree outside my office for the kitties to watch, hungrily.

Love and light. (to Infinity and Beyond!)