[In this little story, we describe how one fictional character expresses in the course of a single day a number of the key methods of how to evoke "Life Response," i.e. sudden good fortune.]
A New Dawn Rosa Sanchez awoke on a beautiful spring morning in the Central Valley of Northern California. After a few moments gazing out the window at the hills in the distance, it dawned on her that she now has far more energy than she used to have at this time of the day. Normally, it took at least a cup of coffee to get rid of the morning cobwebs. She wondered what it was exactly that was giving her this new-found energy. She thought about it for a moment, and then began to understand. Well, for one, she'd really been energized and excited by her new job. Just a few months ago, Rosa was struggling to find the right type of job. However, at that time she used the evolve! website and made a 30-day personal commitment to move to the next level in her life. In one of the evolve! learning lessons she read about the idea that there was a process of growth that one can follow to take ourselves to the next level of achievement and success in life. She decided to follow this process, focusing on elevating her career to the next level. As a result, life responded with a wonderful new job! In fact, it almost seemed like the position had come to her instead of the other way around! As she gazed out the window, Rosa wondered what it was that enabled her to acquire this job. What did she do that made life respond to her efforts? She then recalled that the first thing she did at the time was to use evolve! to set a 30-day goal to acquire a number of new skills in the areas of business and project management. When she executed that objective, it really energized her. Then after when she fully committed to finding a good position in that field while also making the inner effort to overcome her reluctance to aggressively seek work - - both tracked through evolve!'s Life Planning system -- everything started going right. Life suddenly started moving towards her as work offers began to arrive from seemingly out of nowhere. In fact, Rosa received solicitations for work from organizations she hadn't even made an effort to contact! This response to her efforts -- including the actual job she secured -- gave Rosa an enormous boost. No wonder she felt so energized on this beautiful spring morning! Adding to this was the fact that she had dramatically reduced her carbohydrate intake, lost twenty pounds, updated her wardrobe to match, and looked great. Rosa was operating at full throttle! Now compelled to meet the new day, Rosa turned away from the window, showered, dressed herself in one of her new outfits, and set off to work. A New Attitudes at Work When she arrived at her job that morning at IntegralNet, she noticed her friend Alicia down the hallway, and waved to her. When Rosa first arrived at her new job, she had felt a certain tension with her. There always seemed to be something about Alicia that bothered her. Fortunately, back at that time, Rosa remembered the idea that if one can overcome such negative feelings towards another, good things can suddenly start happening. In fact, on one particular day last month, Rosa was really feeling a bit irritated by Alicia, yet somehow managed to catch herself and control her feelings. She was even able to turn her irritation into the smallest amount of good-feeling towards her friend. On further thought about this incident, Rosa realized that later on that day her boss called her in and told her that she had been named project manager for the company's big product push! That gave Rosa far more responsibility than she ever had in the past. It also placed her in a much higher-level job position, which meant a boost in both her status and her salary. At the time, it was hard for Rosa to equate her change in attitude toward Alicia with the sudden new opportunity that came to her minutes after; but Rosa was now sure there was a direct connection! Changing an attitude and then experiencing a sudden, miraculous-like "life response" was a phenomenon that Rosa had begun to get used to. She had seen this miracle at work at least a few times in the months she'd been working on the new job. For example, she saw that each time she overcame her irritation, something good would happen -- whether a positive development on a project she was working on, or good news on the home front, and in other areas. Often the response seemed to come out of nowhere, as people she hadn't heard from in years would suddenly call; or someone from half way around the world would offer unsolicited new opportunities for the firm; and in other peculiar ways. As a result of her new understanding, Rosa made the commitment to overcome all such negative attitude and feelings in her life, right down to the smallest details of her moment-to-moment existence. She had decided back then that whenever she was bothered or irritated about something or someone, she would catch herself and stop it in its tracks. Rosa then went a step further. She also made the unusual commitment to consider how such negative feelings related to particular aspects of her life -- such as her childhood conflicts with her father, and the problems she had with boyfriends in the past; both areas she had never really dealt with. This overall daring and brave approach to life enabled Rosa to see her own true nature in a new light, while uncovering several negative qualities in her being that needed scrubbing. One direct result of this effort of self-improvement was that she was becoming calmer and more balanced in her being. In fact, the other day, when Tom came into her office and as usual carried on a bit too much, she remembered how she was able to get over her irritation, and just go with the flow of things. In fact, in that meeting she reversed her attitude of impatience towards Tom to such a degree that she actually listened to him very attentively; even encouraging him about his ideas on taking their project in a new direction. Instead of pushing him away in irritation, Rosa's new-found calm enabled her to have a relaxed, friendly interaction with Tom, in which new potentials and possibilities of work suddenly revealed themselves. Now, a week later, Rosa recalled how Tom's suggestions in that meeting were absolutely crucial to the eventual success of their project. If she had remained bothered and irritated, she may have never heard Tom's important suggestions, and their wonderful recent success on the project might never have happened. On reflection, Rosa realized that being calm, balanced, and open to others, devoid of any negative feelings and poor attitudes certainly opened the way to very positive developments in her career and life. Accepting the Givens of Life Speaking of which! In the first stages of the project Rosa was presented with tasks that she didn't exactly find to her liking. As a result, she either put them on the back burner or simply ignored them. It was only later on that she realized just how important these tasks were to the outcome of the project's success. Fortunately, as it turned out, at some point after she visited evolve! and read about the need to overcome one's reluctances in life. She learned about the fact that life presents us with situations we want to avoid and not deal with; perhaps because of a missing skill, or a lack of confidence, or some other insecurity or fear. She read there that what life presents you is often more important than what you would like to happen or do; more critical to life’s outcomes than our own wants and preferences. After seeing how avoiding the givens had put her in a hole in the early part of the project, Rosa became more attentive to, and proactive towards what life presented her, especially in relationship to the project. Instead of demanding what she wanted and fighting the givens before her, she embraced them in full. Most interestingly, she noticed that every time she overcame her reluctance and gave into the demands of the Now, whole new possibilities opened before her! Not only did the work go far smoothly than she imagined, but new, positive, and most unexpected developments occurred on the project. Wonderful things she never thought possible just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Once again, she realized that by overcoming a negative attitude, -- in this case her reluctance to embrace the present conditions -- life miraculously responded in kind. Rosa by now had really been intrigued by these ideas about changing one’s attitudes toward others and life, including the importance of embracing what life presented. Now as she looked down the hall at Alicia, she felt a small shiver as she knew that her life was not only different on the outside, but was also quite different on the inside, within herself. She now understood that these ideas were far more than abstract concepts s, but were practical, hidden truths of life that were having dramatic effects on her life. As a result, Rosa was now beginning to view the world through entirely new eyes. Most intriguing to Rosa was the concept of how taking certain actions -- like a conscious change in one's attitude or overcoming a reluctance -- triggered miraculous "life responses;" where positive things start suddenly happening from seemingly out of nowhere. Rosa smiled and felt a rush of energy just thinking about her experiences of this phenomenon as she made her way toward her office this bright spring morning. Consecration and a New Opportunity When she arrived at her office Rosa sat down on her leather chair, started up her computer, and thought about looking at her email. Then she caught herself, and decided that she would try something different. Instead of clicking on the Connect button on her screen, Rosa paused, and then remembered to "offer" the activity she was about to engage in to the Higher Power. Rosa had read about the spiritual method of "consecration," and thought why not try it now. So she relaxed, concentrated herself, and then thought in her mind "I offer what I am about to do to the spiritual Force. I have faith in Its action to bring about the very best results." Then she relaxed herself, focused her thoughts on the needs of the present, and continued on with her work. A moment or two later, she opened her email and noticed the usual assortment of messages. However, on closer examination, she noticed an email from her supervisor. Rosa opened up the message and learned that she had been invited to a high-level management meeting regarding the strategic direction of her division. She was thrilled by this message, knowing that this meant she was now going to be involved in the decision-making process for her entire division! This was a breakthrough in Rosa’s career, and as a result she was ecstatic and overjoyed. Interestingly, she also had the presence of mind to perceive that this astonishing result was another of those little life responses; this time in response to her "offering" of the act of retrieving her email to the Higher Power a moment before. Dazzled and dazed, Rosa once again shook her head in wonder. Now as her thoughts drifted back to her present situation, she suddenly realized that the meeting was going to start in 30 minutes! A half hour later Rosa was understandably a little anxious about the meeting; after all she had no real experience in the areas that were to be discussed. However, remembering the earlier "offering up" technique, Rosa once again tried it just before walking in the door for the meeting. An hour later when she walked out of the conference room, Rosa was amazed at how well the meeting had gone; how clear and understandable everything on the project had become; how amenable everyone was to one another; and perhaps, most significantly, how much she had actually participated in the discussion! "I guess this opening to a higher Source method really works after all," she thought to herself as she walked down the hall on the way to the cafeteria. It was another startling, even profound moment in her life. Power of Organization After lunch Rosa returned to her office to work on her big project again. She looked for a file on her computer and had a little trouble finding it. She also looked for her project management software manual and couldn't find that either. It turns out that Sherri dropped by the office at that very moment, and saw Rosa in a state of confusion. Rosa looked up and said "I can't find anything around here!" Sherri smiled sympathetically at her friend, to which Rosa said sardonically "Sure it's easy for you, you're organized to the hilt! This place is a mess!" Rosa slumped back into her chair, not knowing where to start. She had to do something about the intolerable state of her desk. Fortunately, she then remembered a series of articles at evolve! where they described different aspects of personal organization. Rosa then immediately wrote herself a note to reread that section when she had the chance. Now after a moment of reflection, Rosa was now committed to changing this aspect of her life as well. An hour later, Rosa told her two aides that she needed a little quiet time. She then walked down the hall and went to the company's business library. She took a seat at one of the high-speed Internet connected computers and went directly to the key Power of Organization article at evolve!. The part of the article that really got her attention was the list of determining factors that indicate whether or not one was organized. It included: --The way we organize physical things around us -- such as our home, our paperwork, our finance, etc. --The way we manage our time, our schedules, and our work --How systematized certain aspects of our lives are -- such as having systems for our finances, schedules, appointments, and to dos. She wrote them down on her highly visible yellow notepad with the understanding that she was going to come up with a plan to right this wrong in her life. When Rosa then lifted her head up a moment later, she saw Tom of all people standing right in front of her. He then told Rosa that he found out she was in the library and so he decided to come over and tell her the good news. "What good news?" Rosa asked. Tom then relayed the fact that the first phase of the project had been completed; three days ahead of schedule! He explained that the programming work had gone much faster than expected. Rosa was clearly elated by the news! Then a little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had just made a commitment to better organize herself. "Yes, I remember," she thought, "the evolve! site said that if you change an attitude or make a commitment for improvement, such as I just did to better organize myself, life suddenly responds in kind." This news about the early completion of the first phase of the project certainly seemed like an instant life response to her decision to better organize her life. She then realized that even before she actually made the actual effort to better organize herself she got the response. I.e. just the desire to improve one's self can bring about the life response result. It was another "wow" moment for Rosa; only a few minutes after the previous ones! A New Way of Living A while later Rosa returned to her daily job chores. She was so energized by the turn of event of the day that at one point she began to softly sing to herself. Then a moment later she quickly got up from her chair, but whap!, she banged her leg into the corner of the table. Her first reaction was an expression of pain, followed by a fear that she had done something serious to her leg. However, she caught herself, stayed calm, and pushed the idea of a bone being broken or some other serious damage occurring out of her head. In fact, she decided not to give it all a second thought. Twenty minutes later, she realized that after that initial painful and worrisome moment, she did not remember having a single twinge of pain from her little accident. She recalled reading awhile back that reacting to and thinking the worst about one's physical pain only increases it. In fact, the other day she had a similar situation when she felt a sharp pain in her side. Rather than dwelling on it, giving in to it, having fear about it, which would have surely kept the pain intact, she ignored it, and again, a few minutes later, noticed in retrospect that it had completely disappeared. "What a day!," she thought. On the way home, as she made her way through the traffic spilling out of Silicon Valley, she thought about how she had begun to gain control over her life; how she felt so much more happy, alive, energized, and in control. But what felt best was that she had begun to understand the deepest secrets of life, a feeling which enriched her to the core of her being. Rosa then decided that in addition to exploring ways to better organize herself, she wanted to understand more about those hidden secrets of life and existence that were alluded to at the evolve! site. She was also interested in learning more about why and how life in our universe came into being, how we came to be who we are, what we humans are really up of, and where we are headed in our human evolution; all topics addressed at evolve!. In particular, she really wanted to learn more about those magical "life responses;" how to trigger them, and how to live one's daily life filled with these small and large miracles. As her thoughts drifted to the traffic ahead, she felt a soft peace and tranquility envelop her. She had reached a point beyond feeling and thought, and bathed in what felt to be a higher presence. -by Roy Posner
0 Comments
"Life is a field of energy. When human beings relate to one another they exchange energy. When they relate positively and expansively, the energy level increases. When they relate negatively or critically, it shrinks. If life is a field of force and human attitudes and emotions are expressions of force, then what occurs to us and around us reflects the play of those energies." (from The Book by Garry Jacobs) Example: I spoke with my business partner the other day. He was completely exhausted due to the fact that he had just put in a significant effort with a new client and now he was faced with a group discussion in another venture he was involved in. In our conversation I brought up a number of issues related to our common work in the consciousness space, and the tremendous opportunities before us. Plus it was peppered with life response and related insights. At the end of the conversation he was filled with energy and was looking forward to utilizing some of the new knowledge in his upcoming conference call. As we see, fatigue can instantly disappear and energy reappear when a higher consciousness is introduced. -by Roy Posner We have continually witnessed the power of the supramental Force, i.e. Mother’s Force, to quickly set right the conditions of life. In a recent episode, I experienced this phenomenon at work multiple times in succession, defying all human logic and possibility. Here is my story:
I was scheduled to do a training class at a major corporation in Sunnyvale, California in the heart of Silicon Valley. I had to fly up from Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area late one evening, rent a car at the San Francisco Airport, drive to the motel in Sunnyvale 38 miles away, get up the next morning and do the class, and then in the latter afternoon begin my return journey to Long Beach in reverse order. Considering the fact that the highway system is now completely jammed in Silicon Valley these days because of the boom there, it was a daunting prospect. A 30 mile drive could take over 2 hours or more during rush hour. As it turns out, my trip from Long Beach to the Bay Area, though somewhat intense, went smoothly for the most part, more or less as I expected. However, the trip back was a different story. It was filled with adventure, the unbelievable, and the miraculous. Here is what happened: I knew the return journey would be difficult, as I was going to be driving in the midst of the rush hour from Sunnyvale to the San Francisco Airport. However, I caught my anxiety, detached from focusing on any particular outcome, and consecrated that upcoming trip. My driving strategy from Sunnyvale to SFO was to avoid the two main highways going south to north because they would likely be jammed. Instead I decided to take the El Camino Real, a 50 mile long street that runs all the way from Silicon Valley through San Francisco. Often in the past when I lived in the Bay Area I used it as a shortcut to get back home. I called it “a slow boat to China,” but at least it moved. And yet I knew in the back of my mind that these days in this latest Silicon Valley boom even this 3rd or 4th choice of passage, the non-highway El Camino, could be log-jammed. Still I remained positive. I also had my map app on my smartphone to inform me where the log jams were appearing on the El Camino in real time. And so I left the client's facilities in Sunnyvale ~4:20 pm and headed over to the El Camino, with its endless shopping centers, motels, residence, etc. So far so good as I steadily navigated through the towns of the “South Bay.” However, after a short while I realized that I was moving forward in fits and starts, which was verified by my Smartphone Maps app red-dotted street indicators. I also discovered that there was the possibility of a big rain storm hitting, which I actually took as positive as it could put out the fires raging north of San Francisco. In any case, I remained calm. And yet an hour into the ride I realized I was only half way to my destination, and there was a legitimate chance that I wouldn’t make the 7pm flight. Also there was the possibility that the storm would cancel the flight anyway. Though I was ready to inform my roommate down in Long Beach of these possibilities, I held on and kept silent. I continued to consecrate in the back of my mind. Now here is where the story gets interesting. Time for the flight is ticking down. After two hours on the El Camino I got off the street and drove over an overpass that took me to the extremely busy Hwy 101 heading directly for the airport. Was the highway also going to be jammed? Fortunately, it turned out not to me. Another good sign. I then drove a few miles and came to my first stop; the car rental area where I had to return my rented vehicle. When I arrived on the 3rd floor, there was a big backup, and I was all the way on the back. However I remained calm and did not emotionally react. Then suddenly out of nowhere a check-out attendant greeted me and quickly processed the checkout of the car. That was a startling change, I thought! Actually, I was amazed, yet subtly tuned into the fact that the Force was behind these outcomes. But now I had to get to the airport via the AirTram, the overhead driverless rapid transit system that went two miles or so deep into the airport terminal system. At this point I recalled the vast effort I had to make the day before upon arriving at SFO; the exhausting situation; the fact that I had to stop every few minutes because of the strain; and now once again my bags were getting very heavy. With these thoughts in mind, I felt even more exhausted and barely had enough energy to walk to the escalator still 100 yards ahead. And so I stopped in my tracks, and then took a deep breath. But then I quickly noticed that there was an elevator that could take me more easily to the AirTram above me. I pressed the button and hopped in. When in the elevator I immediately encountered a young, friendly, well-dressed young man leaning on his luggage cart containing his own baggage. I asked him where one could rent one of these and he informed me that it was actually free, provided by the airport. "I could really use one of those right now" I thought, and I could see he had the same idea in mind for me. We then got off the elevator and began to wait for the AirTram. However, within a few seconds the young man pointed to a single, lone unused luggage cart on the platform that was almost directly in front of me. Needless to say I immediately grabbed onto it. Wow that was incredible, I thought! No more schlepping my luggage to the far end of the huge airport. Not only had the baggage been heavy, but the weight was slowing me down, as time was ticking away and the departure of my flight was imminent! A moment later I hopped onto the futuristic-like AIrTram that circled the airport, and two minutes later I was getting ready to exit at the International terminal. As I was getting off I looked to my left and there was the young man who pointed out the cart now winking at me as if to say “I am happy to have found the cart for you and good luck the rest of your way!“ As I wheeled the cart through the terminal I thought about him as a kind of guardian angel: the wink and smile he gave me being the confirmation. It was yet another opening of light on this dizzying path toward my goal; even as time still seemed hopelessly stacked against me. But now before I could get to the end of the terminal which was still a long distance, I had to get through security! Again I wondered how in the world I would get to the flight in time. I imagined that it must be lining up for departure now, etc. However, I still kept my faith; and so far, in the past half hour or so, life had cooperated fully. In the past when I went through airline terminals I had special privileges to move through TSA security rather fast. Recently I had apparently lost those privileges. And so as I approached security, I prepared myself for a long wait at the back of the line. However, when the guard looked at my ticket, he waved me through for fast processing, enabling me to avoid any long line. Not only that but I was the only one at the checkout, plus the security requirements were next to nothing! This all seemed just too unbelievable; yet I knew the Force was working for me in every conceivable way. After less than two minutes of security check - by far the fastest I had ever experienced - I was on my way to the end of the international terminal; past British Air, Japan Air and dozens of major airlines. Yet my airline, JetBlue, was a domestic carrier, the only one in the international area. Plus it was stuck at the very back of the International departure gates! Life was surely testing me to the limit. However, now with the baggage cart I could move more rapidly, and in conjunction with the people-mover I was now gliding toward my destination. Still I wondered if the plane had fully boarded and I would be left out. When I arrived at the very far end of the international terminal, I was able to make out the voice of the announcer at my gate, and he seemed to be indicating that boarding had begun for my flight. I had apparently made it; and just barely in time! Life had in the last half hour or forty five minutes magically cleared a path for me. It could only be the result of the spiritual Force to create these wonder of wonders when life seemed so stacked against me. Consider that- --I was stuck on the El Camino with less than an hour to my flight, and suddenly things opened up when I veered off and got on the highway leading to the airport --When I arrived to the car rental it looked like a twenty minute wait with many people ahead of me, though it turned out to be just two minutes --When I was exhausted and thought I had to drag my heavy bags to the escalator far away, there was suddenly an elevator before me to help me more easily get to the AirTram. --When I thought I would have to carry my heavy bags to the far end of the international terminal, a man appeared on the elevator with a cart and then pointed out an available one that helped make my day --When I got to security check out which normally takes 15-20 minutes, it happened in just two. --I sailed through the very long terminal with the aid of the cart and a fast-moving sidewalk trajectoring me rapidly forward, enabling me to arrive in the gist of time. Life had cleared the way at every point. It had cooperated with my faith that was the guiding light at my side. It became an occasion for one miraculous-like event to dovetail into the next in a symphony of the Unimagined. As I shook my head on line for departure of my flight, I took breath and recognized the magic carpet ride I had just been on. “Wouldn’t this make for a fine life response story?” I thought to myself as I handed the pass to the attendant to step into the plane that would now take me home. -by Roy Posner A small effort to change a habit or routine can propel one into the next stage of one's life and career. Here's an example:
In the 1950s Walt Disney had reached the pinnacles of success as the most famous Hollywood animation producer in the world. His Snow White, Mickey Mouse, Fantasia and dozens of other animated films had made him legend in his own time. However, when the studio began development of its next project, the animation of Cinderella, Walt unexpectedly dropped out of the production. Instead he stayed at home and rode a model train that went around his vast estate. Every day he would sit on the engine and hour after hour went round and round on the scaled down mini train. People now thought that the pressures of his position had finally gotten to him. Some even thought he had gone mad. And yet what was actually happening was that Walt had gradually come to see that he could develop some sort of park in which a small train could circle the environs. Not long after, the vision matured and he envisioned an amusement park where his cartoons and animation could come to life. It became Disneyland, built in California which then spread around the world with additional parks, taking Disney and his corporation to even greater heights. And it all happened because Walt Disney wanted something FRESH in his life. He was willing to give up the routine, in this case the Cinderella film, and try something different, and as a result, he came upon an idea that changed the course of entertainment history. With that in mind, think about what has become mere dull habit and routine in your life, and consider how you can make it fresh. Not by eliminating or abandoning the job, but by seeing a new wrinkle, a new possibility of doing the work, instead of the same old way. One man we know of simply took a different path one day on his daily walk and suddenly came upon a small store that contained a book that changed the course of his writing career, enabling the publication of his breakthrough book. That is the power of changing the habit and routine into something fresh and new. The world suddenly opens up before your eyes! -by Roy Posner |