Faith

It's funny, for some people they absolutely have to understand something before they will accept it, fortunately that isn't the case for me, that's not to say I don't have a curiosity about how things work, I do, but I have enough faith to accept that which I do not understand.

One of those things in my life is my "ability" to know something or someone is about to enter my life (for the first time or again). What happens is I will suddenly, usually out of the blue think of something or someone, it will be more than just a passing thought, it will often remain on my mind, I have learned through past experience that usually means I will be getting a phone call, or I'll run into that person soon. It happens more often with people, but sometimes it happens with inanimate objects too.

This just happened tonight, let's backtrack a bit. Many years ago, I had made a special music CD for my (late) mom, this was a song that I created using software called Sonic, the song was a techno song, I even made a hand drawn label to go in the CD case. I thought I had lost that song and CD, I didn't have the original anymore, there are a precious few copies, but they seemed lost too. The other day I thought about that song, I lamented the fact that I probably would never hear it again. I thought about that CD and song off and on for most of the day, then put the thought away.

This evening, I was chatting online with my sister, she told me that she found her copy of that CD, she had misplaced it too, I was so excited, she is going to make a copy and scan the hand drawn cover too, I will once again have this song and a copy of the cover.

Now for the understanding part, I wonder how this works, is it a matter of my "mind" knowing more about what is going on in time and space and somehow I knew I was about to "find" this lost item again, or did I somehow put out the intention of wanting to find it again and that is how it came back into my life again (I drew it into my life)...

I don't believe these are just coincidences, it happens too often, I have no "proof" to provide, I just know it happens, and happens frequently and regularly. I don't "try" to do it, I don't try to control it, it just happens. Fortunately I am usually able to recognize it as it is happening, usually about people, not so much about things, I will start thinking about someone and I start looking for them, knowing I will see or talk to them soon, usually within a week or less.

Intent and a Big Thanks to a Big Man :)

Life is interesting, the longer I live and the more I work with intention, the more it becomes clear to me that we have a great deal of influence on what happens in our lives. Here is what I mean, my biggest wish that I had was to be able to live off grid, being self sufficient. That has happened for me in a big way, I am getting to live my dream and I didn't have to wait until the end of my life to do it. The next wish I had was to work at the Country Store in the middle of our community. I "put it out there" that I wanted this very bad, I didn't say it to anyone, just to the "universe". I knew that the lady who owned the store had all the help she needed and wasn't looking for anyone. One day, I went into the store and purchased a couple of things. I walked out to go home when "something" stopped me on the porch, I was "told" to go back into the store, I wasn't finished yet. I was prompted to ask the owner about working there, I told her that if she ever needed an extra hand, I was experienced with this sort of work... it turned out that one of the other ladies who worked here had just put in her notice THAT MORNING. The owner had not even had a chance to let the other employee know about it. I was hired on the spot.

Another wish I have relates to being off grid, I wanted to get a chest freezer, these can be converted to be an uber-efficient refrigerator. Again, I "put it out there" that I wanted this and then I let it go, I thought about it every now and again, but didn't dwell on it or worry about it. Today I get a phone call at the store, one of my neighbor's is moving and wanted me to post a message on the community bulletin board, she was selling a chest freezer, she wanted $50 OBO,  I told her that I would have to speak to Bob to make sure, we might want it, then she said for us it would be $25. Wow!

There are so many other things like this that happen on a very regular basis, when I have a need, or even just a want, I have learned to "put it out there" and it usually comes back to me, often better than I even wished for.

I also want to thank Big John, (John knows why), John Lipscom is a very generous man, he knows the power of "putting it out there" and getting great returns. John, is a prolific writer as well as a radio host of his own show, he has many websites and businesses, please give him a visit:

http://bigjohnlipscomb.blogspot.com get ready for a big dose of the TRUTH!
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http://youtube.com/bigjohnlipscomb
http://www.donttreadonme.tv
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http://www.survivalistseeds.com
http://www.bigjohnsheirloomtomatoes.com
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http://www.jojohorsesales.com

Corners Collect More Than Dust

I realized today, something that I have seen most if not all of my life, corners seem to collect more than dust. I see more spiritual activity in corners, I am speaking about the corners of rooms, inside corners. I remember as a teen, living in the house where I spent most of my growing up years, there were at least 2-3 corners in the house that had "doorways", places where spirits seemed to come and go. The other corners in that house were not active like those specific ones. I have seen this activity on the floor side of the corners as well as the ceiling corners. Typically where three surfaces come together, not so much in the middle.

At my neighbor's house, there is a particular corner in the hallway that always attracts my eyes. When I am sitting over there, watching TV, doesn't matter if it's day or night, the hall is always fairly dark, but there is a part that is darker than the rest, the darkness seems to become almost 3D, it isn't just a shadow. It appears to be a darkness/shadow that is separate from the wall, actually floating out from the wall. I don't believe that is an entity itself, it appears to be another doorway between this reality and the spirit world.

I have seen these doorways since I was a teenager. I used to see them outside, up in the trees, the limbs of the trees would not grow into these doorways, they would grow around it, framing it. If I stood under one, looking up through it, the sky looked different, usually brighter or a different shade of blue. I would also feel a pulling sensation. I used to feel fearful that I might be pulled right through, so I wouldn't spend too much time directly under them. I'm less fearful of this now, I figure that if it happens, it happens and it's supposed to. I am not trying to make it happen though. Just to be precise, not every corner is a "doorway", not every corner has this energy (that I have seen). not every tree grows around doorways. I think I'll start looking up in the trees again, it's been a long while since I've seen a doorway within the branches of a tree.

Back to the corner thing, I wonder if the act of building a room, and making the corners has anything to do with this? Is this intention in action? Does the act of making the corners create the energy that makes these things happen? Or is it just a natural occurrence that energy AND dust collect naturally in corners...So many questions... maybe I'll dowse for the answers, I just need to make a good set of questions. I am discovering that having good and precise questions helps to get accurate answers.

Do you, my dear readers, have any experience with this sort of thing? Do you have any theories? I know that this is true. it happens, I just don't have the why's and how's of it.

Strength

Trials and tribulations, not fun to go through, we often wonder "why me?", why is this happening? Does the diamond ask why it had to go through the intense pressure when it was still a piece of carbon? Does the gold ask why it had to go though brutal heat to remove the impurities? Does the blade ask why it had to be heated and beaten to be shaped into a wonderful and useful sword?

Strength is not known until it is tested, we often don't think about that. It's all too easy to want to to take the lighter load, to take the easy road. But the only way to become stronger is to take on the challenges of life. The answers to life's tough questions are not always easy to find, often you are looking for one thing only to stumble across something even more valuable.

Sometimes the diamonds crack, sometimes the iron breaks, life is not easy, it is not neat and clean, life can be difficult and messy, but you cannot hide yourself or stop living because you are afraid of what might happen, I don't know if we are given one life to live, or if we have multiple lives to get things right, either way, I will live my life as if I have this one shot, if it turns out that I'll get another chance, then that is a bonus, but one I'll not count on.

The saying is easy, the doing is hard, but ohhhh the rewards for getting it right...

Ultimately I ask myself, do I want to end up as a lump of carbon, relatively soft, crumbly, dirty, or do I want to become a diamond? What about you? It's your choice.

Intent

Intent, what exactly does that mean? Here is what Dictionary.com said

in⋅tent
1  /ɪnˈtɛnt/ [in-tent]
–noun
1. something that is intended; purpose; design; intention: The original intent of the committee was to raise funds.
2. the act or fact of intending, as to do something: criminal intent.
3. Law. the state of a person's mind that directs his or her actions toward a specific object.
4. meaning or significance.

in⋅tent
2  /ɪnˈtɛnt/ [in-tent]
–adjective
1. firmly or steadfastly fixed or directed, as the eyes or mind: an intent gaze.
2. having the attention sharply focused or fixed on something: intent on one's job.
3. determined or resolved; having the mind or will fixed on some goal: intent on revenge.
4. earnest; intense: an intent person.

So what does that have to do with anything? I am here to tell you it has to do with everything! Believe it or not, your thoughts have control over what your life is like, more than you realize. It is even thought (no pun intended) that our thoughts create our reality. I don't know if I believe that completely, but I do believe that our thoughts and intentions do create or affect much of our reality. How often have you been in a situation where you had a negative thought, "I'm not going to get that raise / That bird will probably poop on my newly washed car / I'll probably trip going up those stairs...", well without realizing it you are creating that reality, and chances are those things will happen just as you "predicted".

Now think of a time when you were doing something, like playing a sport or a video game, and you were "in the zone", you were perfect, you were on your game... you didn't "think" about it, you just did it. So what was the difference? Well, it's really no difference, it was intent all along, when you were thinking negative thoughts, or when you were thinking positive thoughts, they came true, yes, it is that simple.

So why doesn't it seem to work all the time? If you "wish" for a million dollars, to win the lottery, or something like that, and it doesn't work, I don't have an answer, but it works often enough, why not use it to your benefit? I can say that I personally believe we all have lessons to learn while living our lives, and I believe that some things that you want to happen would get in the way of something else you are supposed to be doing. I have a real life example, a number of years ago, my mother was killed in a car accident, she was a security guard for a big name company, they worked her far FAR too many hours, she was coming off shift, going back to the office, according to the witnesses, she apparently fell asleep at the wheel, she rolled out into an intersection and was hit by a taxi, she died shortly after that. After I investigated what had happened, I talked to a lawyer and the lawyer said that the company was at fault, working her so many hours, we had a case. So we sued, we fought this for several years, bantering back and forth, we were pretty sure that the company would eventually make an offer, we assumed it would be a large offer. Eventually my lawyer contacted an "expert" in the field of sleep deprivation and driving, he told us that based on what he could see, even though the company was in the wrong, there was no precedents for this and chances would be a judge would not award us anything. So I was given the choice to continue or quit, my lawyer clearly didn't want to continue, he had spent many years and lots of money out of his own pocket, (it cost me nothing), so I figured if he was willing to give up, we didn't have a chance so after discussing it with my sister, we decided to give up.

On the surface that sounds like a negative thing, my mother was dead, the company that was responsible got off with only a slight inconvenience, and we received no compensation. Now that I look back on all of this, as hard as it was, it turned out to be a positive thing not to win any money from this. Had I won the money, I was planning on buying a house, this was just before the housing crash, I would have been saddled with a house in a neighborhood that I wouldn't have wanted to spend the rest of my life in, I probably would not have been able to sell the house for any amount of money, and I would not have been in a position to buy the property where I live now. I am living the life I have always dreamed about, that probably wouldn't have happened if I had won that money.

Sometimes the things you think you want are not the things you need, plain and simple, and because we don't see the big picture, we can be our biggest stumbling block. Now comes intent, you have to find that place where you are "in the zone", it's not as hard as you might think, one of the ways I do it is by focusing on a specific thing, in my case, it's usually my hands, generally all I have to do is think about my hands and in a few seconds I begin to feel a tingling sensation in my palms. It doesn't matter where my hands are, if they are together or not, I still feel that sensation, I usually put my hands together in front of me, palms facing, hands cupped, but not touching. I imagine I am creating an energy ball that is floating between my hands. Another thing I do is I look "through" my hands, I see the space between my hands but do not focus directly on this, I look beyond my hands so that my hands go out of focus, then I "look" at my hands while they are still out of focus. I know this may sound strange, and even complicated, this is just how I do it, it's not necessarily how you will do it, this has evolved from simply trying to see the energy lines or webs coming from my hands into this set of steps I do.

Anyhoo, I will pray my intent into that energy forming in my hands and send it out to work. I was concerned about my son a few nights ago, he is in the Army and is stationed in Iraq. I simply placed my hands together without touching, the tingling sensation began immediately, I prayed my intent into that energy and sent it to my son. Now before we go any further, I must state that I am a Christian, and everything I do in this realm is in the name of Jesus, I am using the gifts given to me by God, I do not call on any other force, I believe all of this ultimately comes from God, I am merely tapping into this higher power. Now I can see two groups of people, those who do not believe in God or religion, this would be offensive to them, and those who are Church going Christians who would also be offended by my beliefs and think I am going to Hell for dabbling in witchcraft. All I can say is, I'm glad I don't have their limitations, I do believe that all things were created by God, therefore my gifts are also from God, the spiritual energies are also of God, or at the very least, a neutral force that can be tapped into and used either for beneficial or detrimental purposes, no different from any other gift or ability, some people play music, some people are artists, some people can see spirits and tap into the energies that surround each and every one of us.

As for the Christians who would condemn my actions and beliefs as demonic, I can only point you to the Bible, the parts that aren't usually read in Church, the parts that teach us how to test the spirits to see if they are of or from God, I don't know what else to tell you except don't judge me lest you be judged yourselves, those without sin get to throw the first stone and such... (sorry, I couldn't bring myself to say "ye" in the lest ye be judged line, I don't believe that throwing "old English" around or going "King James" makes my words any more Godly).

I digress, so back to the subject, intent, that is what prayer is, only we usually do it wrong, or should I say, there is a better way, a more effective way to do it, instead of whining and begging for what you want, try stating what you want to be true, thanking God for it and leaving it alone to happen. Say you are not happy with your appearance, you would like to lose a few pounds, you might be thinking or saying:

Why am I so fat?
I wish I wasn't so fat.
I wish I was thinner.
I wish I could look like _______.
Why can't I look like ________.
Why can't I be thinner?
I'm so ugly. fat.
I'll never be ________.

Now, when you say these things, even in your mind, you are stating your intent, if your intent is negative, or detrimental, then that is exactly what you will achieve. Now let's turn those statements around and make them positive or beneficial:

I am thinner
I am thin
I am healthy
I am happy with my appearance
I am happy with myself

or how about, "I thank you God for this body, bless it and balance it for health and happiness, in the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen." BTW, "amen" simply means, I believe, I agree, or so be it.

I could go on, I think you get the picture, you need to state, in the positive, in the now, how you want things to be, as you re-format your mind to think in the now and in the positive, your body and health will catch up with what you are stating. You can do this for anything. You are planting the seeds of tomorrow, just like any gardener, that gardener wouldn't go out into the garden and expect to see plants growing there unless he/she had planted some seeds, once you plant those seeds, you know that plants will grow, sometimes weeds (detrimental thoughts) will try to grow, you have to remove those weeds, do it while they are small and easy to pull out, if you allow those weeds to grow, it will crowd out the beneficial plants you want to grow and it will be harder to remove without damaging the beneficial plants.

Intent, grow some beneficial intent today!

One of my favorite mantras I made up when I worked for Curves goes like this:

I am happy
I am healthy
I have everything I need

I am happy
I am healthy
I have everything I want

I would say this 10 times in a row at least once a day, out loud, eventually your beneficial intent will overcome the detrimental intent, good things will happen, give it a try, what do you have to lose?