Like everybody else who takes a turn at writing for the newsletter, sometimes I find myself at a serious loss for ideas. After last week’s newsletter went ‘live’, I looked to see who would be writing the lead article, and was a bit dismayed that it was my turn. So I started looking for patterns in my life, seeking something that might form that thread of continuity that would be useful to explore and write about.

Mentally, I’ve been all over the map this week. This morning, I read a bbc.com article about a life hack ostensibly to help with divided attention aptly called GYLIO (get your life in order). What made this of potential use to me was not the implication that I was going to stop everything and reorganize my life completely before I attempted anything (like the name implies), but simply that I could start taking a few well-defined steps to get a handle on what needs doing, and then just start somewhere. Anywhere. I realized I generally, mostly, do this fairly well. That was a relief, and that relief made space for progress to occur.

My car got sideswiped last Monday while I was driving on 22nd Street. No one was hurt, and both of us drove away from the accident site. The damage to my car is impressive looking, crumpled metal usually is, and the damage appears to be primarily cosmetic. The dude who hit me was very apologetic and took total responsibility for the accident. His insurance covers the repairs, and the loaner car. It has been sorting itself out in the most amazing manner. When I got to the rental car place, I asked for a small car for the duration of the repair. What they had, and offered me, was a Nissan Frontier, which feels like it is the size of my townhouse, and drives like a big truck.

I noticed pretty quickly how readily I adapted to driving a relatively large truck. I haven’t driven a large vehicle in a very long time. It has a turn radius of a tank, and I feel like I can see the road construction all the way to Phoenix! Yet it didn’t take long before it felt familiar, almost like it had become second nature. That got me thinking about how we move in our consciousness in the direction of our dreams.

The Foundations class is entering the 5th week now, and the students are getting serious about writing affirmative prayers that work. Part of what makes prayers work is the writer has to get into the mindset that this idea represented by the affirmative prayer is conceivable and plausible, they can imagine it could actually happen and become manifest (technical term for ‘show up’ or ‘become experience-able’) in the physical world. When we act as though something has become true, the universe conspires to support us in that experience.

It doesn’t matter whether what we are claiming is positive or negative. We claim the event or experience and the Divine Mind (in which we live, move and have our being) says “Yes, my Beloved”. There are times we wish it said, “Really? Are you sure? Is that your final answer?” But that’s not Its nature. It says, “Yes”. We choose. It delivers. Again, and again, and again.

So I apply this to the question I began with today. “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” The Universe, with all its legions of helpers (seen and unseen), is standing by… awaiting your clear instruction. (And mine.)

— Rev Janis Farmer