Spirituality & My New Roof

How in the world does Spirituality have anything to do with your roof? Fair question, but bear with me, my lovely readers. For those of you who have followed this blog, you know I've been experimenting with using visualization and intention to manifest things - sometimes with amusing results like my post on our new windows. It's been so fun, I decided to try it for something more expensive. Something we wanted - okay, needed,- but didn't want to pay $16,000-$18,000 for - a new roof. We've lived in our house 4 years and had a roofer certify it for 5 years when we moved in - because I'm a math genius, I knew we had one year left before it would need to be replaced. It's one of those cedar shake (ie.wood) roofs that's the equivalent of having a tinderbox on top of one's house.

So I began visualizing the heck out of this roof and while I usually leave the "how's" to the universe, I did let the universe know I was open to the idea of hail - so long as it didn't also hit my car or any of my neighbors (I like my neighbors). I told my neighbor I was doing hail dances (mentally of course, because it's the kind of neighborhood where that sort of thing wouldn't go unnoticed) and she told me she'd do them too as she'd been coveting a new roof as well. I knew it was a long shot because we hadn't had hail in the last 4 years but figured maybe global warming would work in my favor. So what happened?

5 hailstorms later, yes, 5 within a 5-week period, I watched new roofs going up everywhere around me!

With all that encouragement, I decided it was time to call my insurance company. A very nice gentleman comes out and .... denies the claim. Seriously?!! I will admit that thoughts ran through my head like "Are you blind - parts of our roof are laying in our yard?!" but I refrained. Also, I'm altruistic by nature, but the roof I visualized so clearly was definitely MY roof, not someone else's. So we contacted our insurance company again and politely asked for a 2nd opinion - my mama always said you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I kept visualizing and later that week, we had our 6th hailstorm of the summer. The next day the second adjuster came who started out by telling me that he hoped I wasn't expecting a different response this time around. Something must have happened in the hour and a half that he was on my roof because...

END RESULT: I'm sitting here typing this, not even minding the racket going on overhead as a new roof is being installed. The insurance check more than covered a lifetime, 50-year, kick-a## roof - when you get to be my age, things like roofs truly are exciting! Plus, our insurance said when it's done, they will lower our homeowners insurance premiums for having a safer roof.

Now, you can say the whole thing was coincidence. You can attribute the flurry of hail in my neighborhood to global warming or El Nina or El Nino (I always get them confused). Many areas of my state have had abnormal amounts of hail this summer and clearly, weather is unpredictable.

All I know is my goal for the end of summer was a brand new roof, and I can finally stop doing hail dances. BTW - I talked to neighbors and not a single one had any damage to themselves or their cars. We do have a lot of happy people with new roofs though!

Challenge: Take 2-5 minutes a day and visualize what you want so clearly that you feel you already have it. When you feel you already have it, it means you do. It just hasn't shown up yet - but it will. Have you already done this? What have you manifested? Let us know. Until next time....:)

Spirituality & Creative Visualization

"Ordinary people believe only in the possible.
Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable,
but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible,
they begin to see it as possible."
- Cherie Carter-Scott (author and motivational speaker)

Spirituality & Creative Visualization:

Welcome Spirituality & Science readers - this post will address the concept of creative visualization. As mentioned in a previous post on Spirituality and Conscious Manifestation (scroll to the last entry), a powerful way to manifest your desires is to use creative visualization. If you are creating a clear mental picture of the desired result whether it be something material (new windows, car, etc.) or something immaterial (relationship, health, job, etc.), then you are using the power of thought to bring about a positive change in your world. Athletes have long used this in sports, and often use visualization before a competition to enhance their performance. Tiger Woods has spoken of using intense visualization as part of his preparation for tournaments.

So where is the science in this?
One of my favorite speakers on visualization is Joe Dispenza, D.C., and his book explores this topic in depth: Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind. He gives his own amazing account of using the process of visualization to recover from a horrific spinal injury (and refused an operation that was thought to be his only possibility of walking again). He also cites a 1992 study by the Journal of Neurophysiology in which subjects were put into one of three groups:

1) The 1st group of subjects were asked to do finger exercises (yes, finger exercises - it was 1992, long past the time when you could give electric shocks to other people in the name of science) where they had to contract and relax one finger on their left hand for 5 training sessions per week for 4 weeks.

2) Group 2 rehearsed the same exercises on the same time table, but only mentally. They did not physically move their fingers as the first group did.

3) This group got off easy. They didn't exercise their finger or their minds. This was the "control group." (Note: Any time you agree to participate in an experimental study, hope for the control group.)

And the results? Well, as expected, Group 1 (who actually did the finger exercises) exhibited 30% greater finger strength than those in the control group. What was surprising was that Group 2 (who only did the exercises "mentally"), still evidenced a significant 22% increase in muscle strength than the control group. So, while visualizing a 5 mile run might not burn off all the chocolate ding-dongs's you ate last night, you would at least burn more calories than doing nothing at all.

What it all means?

The basic gist is something I've stressed often in this blog. Your thoughts literally create your reality and have much more power than the majority of the population realizes. If you're not thrilled with how your life is going right now, in this moment, start with changing your thinking and the rest will follow.

Have any examples of your success with creative visualization? I'd love to hear about them to feel free to share. Until next time...

Spirituality and Conscious Manifestation

"Our minds become magnetized with the dominating thoughts
we hold in our minds and these magnets attract to us the forces,
the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize
with the nature of our dominating thoughts."
- Napoleon Hill (author)

Last week in Spirituality and Science, we continued the topic of the power of intention and discussed how it works whether or not we are consciously aware of it. This can result in both positive and negative manifestations depending on the thoughts we think. If you know someone that ALWAYS seems to have negative things happen to them (hint: they're the ones that listen to someone else's sad story and proudly say, "you think that's bad, wait 'til you hear this...") They are attracting those things to them just as someone who thinks positively tends to attract good things. The quote beginning this article says it all in a nutshell.

The Conscious Use of Intention
So what about when you really understand the concept of manifestation and how it works? Surely it must be even more powerful once you know to be aware of your thoughts at all times. As I mentioned in a comment to a blog follower last week, there is amazing research out there on the conscious use of intention. A wonderful book that explores some of this research is "The Intention Experiment" by Lynne McTaggart. It's a comprehensive look at how groups of people "intending" a specific outcome have achieved incredible results in things ranging from plant growth to distant healing. One study even resulted in a 22% decrease in crime in specific cities! Even a single person can have a huge impact on the world around them simply by focusing their thoughts.

My Personal Intention Experiment
I had been using the power of attraction since well before I understood what it was. People would "coincidentally" show up in my life at the right time - and I don't really believe in coincidences either but that's a whole post in itself. I attracted the life circumstances, health and family situations that I wanted - but still, once I really understood the mechanics behind the law of attraction, I wanted to test it out. I first did it a year ago with a specific car that I wanted and within a few months, I had that car (my process was mainly doing just a few minutes of intense visualization a day.) That was great but I decided I wanted to test it in a more controlled way. Now, as someone who had to create a rigorous, statistically sound scientific study for her Ph.D. dissertation, I can tell you that this was NOT that type of experiment. This was a personal experiment that I wanted to do to get my concrete "proof" that it worked because of my thoughts. For this purpose, I picked a material thing rather than something intangible (such as an event or life circumstance). This is what happened and...

Why it's not a good idea to get too specific in your intentions:
We needed new windows in our house - really needed them as in the old frames were rotting - so I asked my friend in the neighborhood who just got new windows how much they cost. She told me her windows cost $8000 dollars. So this is how I set up my experiment. I decided on a time frame (30 days) and exact amount of money ($8000 of course, since I didn't want to seem greedy). Before I began my experiment, I told 3 people my time frame and amount (one of which was my husband who was also looking forward to new windows). For 30 days, I set aside 5 minutes a day to visualize this $8000 and how great the new windows in the house would be. I didn't focus on how the money would come, because a) I had no idea and b) I figured the universe would be better able to come up with something than I would. My visualizing was intense - I imagined getting the check, the feel of the check in my hands, opening my new windows without them sticking to the frame, etc. I felt extremely confident for the first 3 weeks, knowing that I would soon have new windows.

Then, day 29 came and went without so much as an extra penny to my name. I started to think, hmmmm, maybe I didn't visualize enough or maybe the universe didn't like being given a time frame. My husband encouraged me not to give up.

Day 30: I go to the mailbox and there is an envelope from a distant relative on my husband's side of the family. I had met this relative once at a funeral over five years ago. Inside the envelope was a check for ....drum roll please... $8000 exactly (someone in his family had sold a farm and decided to distribute money among remaining relatives)! I could not have imagined that scenario in a hundred years so I'm glad I didn't try to figure out the "how" of it. My husband was shocked and amazed - and became a total believer. The other 2 people I told also began doing this and one of them just manifested their dream house. So why shouldn't you get as specific as I did in terms of time frame and amount of money?

This is why...
So, still excited by the check, I call the same window company my friend used and they come to the house to give me an estimate - an estimate way higher than my friend told me (in fact, over twice as much). My friend says to me, "Oh, well it was $8000 but we only got half the house done. We're doing the second floor next year." It also turned out that we had many more windows than she did which further increased the estimate. I found this all to be very comical. I had asked the universe for $8000 in 30 days, and I got exactly $8000, not in 12 or 22 days, but 30 exactly! If I had simply visualized the windows and not put a specific time frame or amount on it, it would have turned out differently. I think the key is to visualize the intended outcome. Leave out the "hows" and the "how longs" - the "how longs" is the hardest one for me as I'm impatient by nature but I'm working on it. I'm currently working on a professional goal but have left off the time frame this time - and yes, I've told the same 3 people my goal.

What to try this week?
Set aside 5 minutes a day where you simple close your eyes and visualize yourself already having what it is you desire (hint: decide beforehand what that thing is and stick to that thing for now). If you visualize multiple things on multiple days, the universe won't be sure what you really want. Then when you visualize that thing, focus on the feelings of happiness you have from having it (whether it be a great relationship, a rewarding job, a new car, etc.) If you don't feel unbelievably happy while doing this visualization and that you already feel you have that thing, then keep trying until you do. Most importantly, at the end of that 5 minutes, thank the universe for giving you your desire - gratitude is a powerful force. If you have a partner or friend you can share your goals with, then do it! It's fun to visualize or share your "progress" with someone supportive. If you want to share - you can also do that here and leave a comment. Until next time...