Today we are looking at steps 5 and 6. We'll start with Step 5.
STEP 5...Rewrite the entry for #4, replacing the circumstances with facts and details from your present life, but maintaining the essences.
This step is a wonderful challenge for your imagination. Throughout the course, you've learned various ways to use your creativity to express your vision of what your experience will be when your desire has come to pass. Step 4 invited you to create a very detailed picture of what this will look like, with a focus on the essences. You may want to review Days 9, 22, and 25 for ideas to prompt this exploration.
The idea is to create a DESIRE STORY via any artistic expression (through art, writing, dance, or a combination) that captures this desire and makes it real for you.
Once this picture is in place, it's just a matter of switching the details of the story with details of your own life.
For example, let's say that your desire story includes something like the following:
I walked into the dressing room, filled with anticipation for what was to come. I knew that any minute, I'd be meeting Oprah, and even though I was excited, I also felt a certain calmness, knowing it was exactly where I needed to be at the moment, and that I was here because of my hard work, faith, and trust. I knew I had something important to share, and that somewhere out there were viewers who really needed me. What a lovely feeling. I poured a glass of the sweet tea that had been left for me and felt instantly refreshed. I drank a toast to myself, with thanks for my gifts, for Oprah, the viewers, and for God’s blessings.
Now, while it may seem like a tough bill to fill, the trick is to keep the basic essences the same, but change the details with information in your own life. Here's an example of what could be done with the above paragraph:
I walked into my office, filled with anticipation for what was to come. I knew that any minute, I'd begin the first chapter of my book, and even though I was excited, I also felt a certain calmness, knowing it was exactly where I needed to be at the moment, and that I was ready to start this chapter because of my hard work, faith, and trust. I knew I had something important to share, and that somewhere out there, there were readers who really needed me. What a lovely feeling. I decided to go to the kitchen before entering, and make myself a glass of tea so that I could nourish my body and appropriately toast this occasion. I drank a toast to myself, with thanks for my gifts, for the new day, my future readers, and for God's blessings.
All that I did was change the details of the surroundings and occasion. The rest remained intact.
The example above shows the DESIRE STORY and the re-write in written form, but you could also express both of these exercises in the following ways:
- An expressive dance or movement exercise that depicts both the DESIRE STORY and then your "re-write"
- Two collages or other works of art; one for the DESIRE STORY and one for the rewrite
- Two poems or pieces of abstract writing
- Any other creative expression that you can come up with
If you're having a tough time, here are some hints for working with your DESIRE STORY in this way:
a. The "re-write" doesn't necessarily have to do with your creative passions, goals, or desires. It can do with anything in your life. For example, the above paragraph could also have been re-written to talk about the excitement of meeting a dear friend, spending some time gardening, or the anticipation of starting a new book, reflecting a desire to spend more down-time doing things you enjoy.
b. If you're stuck on where to start, just pick a room in your home. Any room: kitchen, dining room, bedroom, studio, office, backyard. Visualize the room, and figure out what you could be doing in the room that would be relatable to the feelings and essences described in the DESIRE STORY.
c. If the re-write seems completely impossible...just suspend your disbelief, for the sake of the exercise. There will be more instruction along these lines when we discuss Step 6, below.
d. If the re-write isn't coming, try a different medium. For example, if you wrote your DESIRE STORY, try creating a piece of art to reflect the re-write.
The purpose of this exercise is two-fold. First, it helps us realize that we are closer to our desires than we think! Second, it serves as a bridge to the next step, which is to create a plan for tangibly putting these essences into action, making a conscious effort to bring them into our lives.
STEP 6...Use the rewrite to determine ways you can achieve these essences related to your desire in your PRESENT life.
In yesterday's lesson, we looked at the BE-DO-HAVE paradigm as a powerful way to ignite your manifesting abilities. In addition to helping you become a more powerful magnet for what you desire, focusing on the BE first makes life a lot more enjoyable, too!
Step 6 involves taking a look at Step 5 and making a conscious plan to bring more of those core essences into your life on a daily basis.
The first step is to brainstorm on the ways that you can bring these essences to your life.
Taking the paragraph we've already used as an example, here are some things that could be on that brainstorming list:
- Start each writing session with a cup of tea, to remind me to drink a toast to life and creativity
- Create a collage to remind me of this scenario and tape it to the top of my computer
- Create a mental picture of a reader who will be really inspired by my book, and tap into that reader before I begin writing
- Create a reward system for myself to reward myself for each successful writing session
- Put a picture of Oprah on my computer monitor
- Play a recording of the theme to "Rocky" to kick-start my writing sessions
Really let your imagination fly as you brainstorm your list of things that you could do to actively bring these essences to your life. No idea is "stupid" or "silly". My golden rule in brainstorming is that each idea leads to the next...so every idea comes up for a reason.
When you are done, pick three to five things on your list that will serve as your ESSENCE INTENTIONS for seven days.
Ideally, these will be small actions that you can take on a daily basis to positively infiltrate your life with these core essences. However, if you want to include some actions of larger scope (say, things you can only do once a week, rather than daily), that's fine. Trust your guidance to help you know what to choose.
If you'd like synchronicity to decide, cut your list into slips of paper and choose a few of them at random. Or number each one and roll dice to determine which ones you'll try first.
However you select your three to five items, write them down in the Intention Log that you may download
HERE. Then try this for one week: at the end of each day, put a check mark on the Intentions that you were able to fulfill. The Log also gives you some space for notes or remarks through the week.
The goal isn't to be "perfect"...it is simply to make you more mindful of your process of spicing up your life with your core essences. If this method works for you, keep it up after this course is complete. If not, release it, but take notice of any shifts that occurred while you were focusing on bringing more of these essences into your life.
Some creative variations on the Intention Log include:
a. Instead of check-marks, add drawings, doodles, stickers, or cut-out images when you "check off" your intentions each day.
b. Create an exciting border around the Intention Log, with images and words related to your core essences. Or create a collage on the back.
c. Create a larger-than-life Intention Log where you have plenty of space to write and create art, in addition to checking off your successful intentions. Consider hanging large poster boards or butcher paper on a wall, and creating an Intention Mural in this way.
As with all of these steps, the purpose is to move the "learning" from your left brain to your right brain. It's time to go beyond simply understanding concepts…and move to living them in the deepest cells and soul of your being. As we discussed earlier in the course, your creativity is your VERY BEST manifestation tool.
Don't be afraid to make it work!
Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.
