Manifesting Mastery – part 1

Some people seem particularly gifted in the art of manifesting. While the rest of us work hard, struggle, and often show small results for our efforts, these magical beings seem capable of getting whatever they want with surprising ease. They inspire our envy, often our dismissal — Some people have all the luck! But inside, don’t we really want to know how they do it?

Two women come to mind when I think about this kind of manifesting mastery: Donna and Kaye. I met them both at Sufi camp, the spiritual retreat I attend most summers.

Road to Sufi Camp

Donna’s specialty was attracting rides. It is a highly useful skill at Sufi camp because of the remote location — at the edge of a national forest 70 miles southeast of Albuquerque, NM. The nearest town, four miles down a dirt road, has neither laundromat, restaurant nor store. Since the majority of the people who attend Sufi camp come from far away, few have cars. Those that do are highly sought after people.

The need for rides is heightened by the fact that at Sufi camp, meals are a simple fare — vegetables, grains and beans twice a day. No breakfasts, no dairy, no meats, no treats. Great for spiritual work, a bit challenging for our bodily desires! Also there are no laundry facilities at camp. You either wash your clothes by hand or hitch a ride to a not-so-near-by town that has them.

Once a week, on Tuesdays, there is a day off from the Sufi spiritual work. It is a day when most people leave camp and head for Albuquerque, Santa Fe or at the very least Mountainaire for laundry, a little breakfast and supplies. With the advent of the smart phones and laptop computers, finding reliable internet connection has been added to the list.
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Donna Dressed for Town

In the days leading up to Tuesday, there’s a lot of negotiating, bribing, begging or cajoling, to get a ride to town. Donna was immune to these intrigues. Although she had no car of her own, she never felt the need to make arrangements. On Tuesday morning she slept in while those of us who lacked travel plans hung around the kitchen hoping for a last minute invite while watching the favored drive off down the road.

After a rejuvenating sleep, Donna would arise, take a leisurely shower and make her way to the kitchen for a tasty breakfast of oatmeal and honey. Once these essential needs were satisfied, she would casually look around the kitchen and easily spot the perfect person to take her to out of camp. So great was her power of manifesting, she sometimes she didn’t even have to ask.

Kaye’s manifesting skill was a little different. She manifested living accommodation when attending one of our teacher’s many out-of-town Sufi workshops. She made no prior arrangements — no hotel reservations or telephone calls to local friends. She simply showed up, bags in tow, at the workshop. Within minutes of her arrival she had numerous offers for a place to stay. She could even do this at the Christmas workshop when out-of-towners are abundant and guest accommodations scarce. Yes, she is a charming, likable person, but it is more than this. There is energy about her — a clarity and confidence that all would be well. This attitude of certainty, I believe, is fundamental to the art of all manifesting.

Sufi camp, it seems, is an excellent place to develop manifesting skills. It takes you out of everyday time and connects you to spirit, to source. It teaches you the certainty that when you surrender to the soul’s journey, all will be well.

Acoma Pueblo – “Sky City”

The very first summer I attended camp I had my own stunning experience with manifesting. It was during the break between the summer camp and September extension. At the time, I owned an old VW camper van. Being one of the few car owners, I had made arrangements to take several German Sufi students to Acoma Pueblo for the fall harvest dance. On the way, we made a brief stop in Albuquerque to pick up another Sufi. At her apartment my van suddenly refused to start.

Heart clenched, my mind started down a familiar road of fury and upset. Curses and tears were grabbing at my throat when I remembered that I had just finished two months of Sufi camp and that this hysterical response no longer fit me. I took a deep breath. Then I got out of the van and proceeded to follow the diagnostic instructions of the “Idiot’s Manual for VW Repair.”

The moment I had figured out the problem, a young man appeared at my shoulder asking if he could be of assistance. I laughed and said, “Only if you’re a VW mechanic.” He said he was. After I recovered from my surprise, I explained the problem and asked if he happened to have the part I needed to make the repair. Yes, it turns out, he had that too. He then proceeded to do the repair charging me only the cost of a replacement part. As I left Albuquerque and got back on the highway, it hit me that it was Labor Day and all the garages were closed. I had been very lucky and for that I was extremely grateful. And yes, I bought an artifact from Acoma for my rescuing angel.

Sufis on their way to Acoma

I learned from this adventure that if I trusted spirit, all would be well in the end. This is true of everything that show up in life when we embrace the perspective of the soul – i.e. that everything whether seemly good or bad is an opportunity for growth and expansion. In fact, it is during the challenging times that we learn the most. This, however, is not easily remembered in the midst of our discomfort.

Ten years later, almost to the day, I had another car adventure. This time I was returning from a meeting just north of Santa Fe when the car I was borrowing started steaming. I pulled off the highway at Camel Rock Park to assess the situation. Mindful of the first adventure, I kept calm. Sure enough a woman showed up offering assistance and she happened to be an auto mechanic. From here the story diverges from my first one.

There was no quick fix. As is the nature of old cars, new problems keep cropping up. I ended up camping out at Camel Rock with this half-Irish-half-Pueblo car mechanic for almost a week buying tools and parts, cooking and cleaning up. Since she worked all day, she could only work on the car at night. After her first effort failed to solve the water leakage problem, she slowed down. First she was too tired,next she need to go to a Tibetan temple, and then she wanted to go to the movies. Little work on the car got done. It seemed as though she was stalling, that she didn’t want me to leave. It felt a little like  a Southwestern version of the film Misery.

I became very frustrated because I was missing the Sufi workshops and the costs kept mounting. Furthermore, I had nothing to do all day (Oh that I had that problem now!) Fed up, I finally told her I would abandon the car and take a bus if the car was not repaired that very night. The owner could handle the car. I was done.

It was raining that night. I held the umbrella while she worked. The last bolt resisted her attempts to secure the fan. She tried and tried, but just couldn’t get it in place. “Give me the bolt,” I said, and with determined fingers I maneuvered the recalcitrant bolt into its hole. Next morning I was  back at Sufi camp feeling a great relief for my escape.

Only in retrospect do I realize how valuable that time was for my education and growth. I learned, for example, about the limits of my inflated sense of responsibility for a car that I did not own with problems that were not my fault. I also saw how my obsession for returning to camp as soon as possible prevented me from being fully present at the talk by the Tibetan monk at the temple. He noticed and made a comment I completely missed about people being so closed off they don’t see the value of what is in front of them. And lastly, I understood how I had become trapped by my narrow focus that did not allow me to see other solutions to my situation until the final day. Like Dorothy in Oz, the power to return to home was within me all the time.

The truth is, my manifestation was flawless. A mechanic appeared; the car was repaired. It just didn’t happen the way I expected – and that is the most important lesson of all. Manifestation is about fulfilling the goals and needs of the spirit not the ego. Expectations can get in the way of appreciating our manifestations.

It is the new moon today– the ideal time to set the seeds of intention for the month. When the moon is full, notice what shows up. Manifestation is a skill that benefits from practice.

Evolutionary astrologer and Manifesting with Moon Cycles teacher, Marina Ormes, suggests that in setting an intention, you do better to focus on the feelings that you want to achieve rather than a specific out come,  e.g.  love, joy, companionship, sexual fulfillment, sharing, etc., rather than getting into a new relationship. This way you allow the universe, in its infinite wisdom, to provide for you in the way that best meets your soul’s needs rather than relying on any faulty ideas your mind might have.

Focusing on the feelings you want forces you think beyond the object of desire. Perhaps what you have in mind is not really the best way to get what you really want. You may think, for example, that you want a million dollars, but as many lottery winners can attest, a million dollars is not always such a great boon. What if instead you thought about how you will feel when you have plenty of money, e.g. worry free, enjoying the things you love to do, connecting with family, feeling empowered? Is that what you really want? When the details of your vision are fuzzy or unclear, the best place to start is in the heart.

Receive a special discount to Marina’s Manifest with Moon Cycles program by accessing HERE.

Go forth and set your intentions. I would love to hear back from you about how it worked at the full moon.

Michelle

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Grief Transformation Coach Michelle Peticolas, Ph.D. helps people transform their grief with a holistic approach to mind, body and spirit that heals trauma, reframes past attachments and releases limiting beliefs while uncovering a true life purpose and direction. If you’re ready to shift into a whole new way of being with death and loss, a new way of living your life, get Michelle’s complimentary guide, Essentials for Grieving Well at www.secretsoflifeanddeath.com