A Trail of Inspired Thoughts

    A few years ago I had some spare air miles and an invitation from  friends in Mexico. So I went on a whim. I never imagined that it would lead to where I am today.
    I fell in love with the Latin culture, took a few more trips to Mexico and then decided to check out Costa Rica. Even as I was in the process of moving there I often wondered what drew me to this new world. I used to joke about looking for my “Latin roots.” You would appreciate that if you saw me in person. My coloring is quite the opposite of any Latino.
    Proponents of intentional thinking tell us to follow our feelings and use them as a monitor of where we need to be and a guide for our decisions. That is the main thing that made me move. Of course I can give you many other reasons for my wanting to be in Costa Rica, but really, above
all, I just want to. I have been doing this, following my feelings, so much lately, that when people ask me about my ambitions, I respond with the same dumb smile your labrador retriever has when you throw the stick. I dunno, I just want to.
     Looking back on the last two years in Costa Rica I see a trail of inspired thoughts. The first one was to write an email journal. Someone suggested it as a way to keep in touch with friends at home. I’d never had the discipline to do this before, but this time the idea stuck with me and I followed through. My friend, Hatch, said to put it online so I could show photos. I love taking pictures so I did that. Then there were my journal readers who told me to write a book. Desperate for a new way to make money and continue my life in the tropics, I decided to do it. I had planned to seek out a publisher when my friend, Wendy, who was listening to Eat, Pray, Love in audio book form, told me I could do the same thing. Now that idea really excited me, I knew I could do it. Two months later, I ended up with a very fine product. When I put it up for sale on my web site, my first customer, Gary, suggested I create an eBook for those who prefer to read rather than listen.
    “Ok, “I thought, “That sounds good too.” That took another month and everyone who has read it, loves it.
    I feel like I have been following instructions! The person to come along with my next directive was my friend, Nancy. After three months of intense work, my audio and eBook were selling slowly, time was moving on and I still didn’t have enough money to give it another try in Costa Rica. I did not want to let myself wallow into a discouraged frame of mind. All the “what ifs” were rolling around in my head and I had no positive answers for any of them.
    Nancy asked me if I had seen the movie, The Secret. Of course I had. I owned it!
     “How long has it been since you’ve watched it?” she asked.
      I couldn’t remember. That same day I got an email from a stranger, someone who had bought my book. Everything Kate said to me pointed me in the same direction as Nancy. I needed a good shot of positive thinking. I watched the movie. And you know what? During the movie I got my own inspired thought! That was where this blog came from.
    “The hell with “what if!” I was going to alter my perspective and focus on knowing that somehow this will all work out. I decided to change the way I responded to my “what ifs.” What if I looked at them with curiosity and discussed them openly and objectively with the world?  I think that as humans, when there is something we feel a critical need for, there is always a doubt somewhere in our mind. “What if it doesn’t happen?” “What if things go wrong?”  I believe a thinking person questions things. Even the guy in The Secret, who uses positive thinking to get a parking space, must notice other parking options, while headed to the place he really wants to park. The idea that we might think of a "plan B" shows doubt.   
    One of my first readers of this blog commented that he was curious as to how I was going to get this $5000.00 I am expecting in a month. I said that I am curious, too. What if I don’t? Will I feel like a fool?  Absolutely not! I will feel more like a scientist and continue on with the experiment, remembering to pay attention to every inspired thought.
   

What I am working on today:

    My main concern is getting my house rented. I have been imagining the perfect renters for my particular house and my particular situation. I see them as I fall asleep and as I wake up in the morning. The times between wake and sleep are when we are in the alpha state of brain waves and somehow, that is a powerful place to visualize. I learned this twenty years ago from a book by Jose Silva called Silva Mind Control. His methods are what got me and my two babies out to Montana and into a great new life.  I showed the house twice yesterday and twice today. There’s one couple I have a good feeling about. We’ll see. Tomorrow is the deadline!
    I’ve now got my 79 year old mother thinking about this thought creates reality stuff. She watched The Secret with me and is trying it out to sell her house. She has had it for sale all summer with not even a bite. She just took it out of the hands of the realtor and put it in mine. I re arranged all the furniture and took pictures. I’ll be putting posters all over and ads on Craig’s list. This is her deal, but I am doing my best to support it.
    As for the $5000.00...... It hasn’t showed up yet but it feels really good to imagine. I’ll keep you posted.