If you took an inventory of your life, what would you find?
Are there areas that are totally hunky dory? And how about train wrecks – are there any of those?
I like to think that my life is train-wreck-free, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes my trains get seriously wrecked. Or life wrecks them for me. However it happens, I’m a mess.
photo: IMLS DCC on flickr
So, how do I make it better?
Well, there are lots of ways to make things better. Some involve action and some don’t. I find it helps for me to get clear on the inside before I take any action on the outside.
This “Inner-First” approach rocks for three reasons:
1. Any action I take will be inspired by the clarity of my vision.
2. The internal work allows me to stay connected with the Divine, allowing It to guide my life.
3. Often, the internal work solves the train wreck and no external action is necessary.
And what do I mean by “internal work”? No, I’m not talking root canals or anything involving the word “scope.”
photo: Alex Proimos on flickr
I mean interior, spiritual/psychological inquiry and investigation:
Meditation. Prayer. Affirmations. Gratitude practice.
Melissa and I do a gratitude practice every night. At one point, Melissa came up with an addition to this practice that’s seriously groovy. Not only that, this addition has proved to be an amazing way to transform our lives.
It’s called the “Magic 5,” and here’s how it works.
First we do our gratitude practice. We each list 10 things we’re grateful for. Actually, we’re hard core, so first we list 10 things we’re grateful for in the area of abundance, and then we do 10 “regular” gratitudes.
Then – and here comes the fun part – we each list 5 things we’re going to be grateful for in the future.
See where I’m going with this?
Anything that’s driving us crazy, we put into the Magic 5. Anything we want to change in our lives, we add to the Magic 5.
We speak our gratitude for this desired change as if it’s already done.
The Magic 5 works with both big things and little things. Bottom line, it’s our consciousness that’s changing, and the “size” of the problem is irrelevant to this aspect of ourselves.
Here’s an example of how this has worked:
For months, I had a glitchy Facebook “Share” button on my website. Given that Facebook is one of the major ways we promote OhMyGod Life, this little issue was driving me crazy. Granted, it was not a problem of earth-shattering proportions, but it was causing some minor tremors in my little area of the planet.
So I put it in the Magic 5:
I’m so grateful that my Facebook “Share” button is fixed! It feels so good to be able to share my blog so easily now! It’s so awesome that everything came together and I was able to find such a quick and easy solution!
And here’s the interesting thing: In this case, I ended up being inspired to hire a new techie person to help me with my site. One who fixed the problem right away. Before this, I had several different folks attempt to solve the problem, but it wasn’t until I put it in the “Magic 5” that the right person came forward.
I’ve also used the “Magic 5” with health issues, money concerns, relationship challenges – You name it, the “Magic 5” can handle it!
photo: sideshowbarker on flickr
Which brings us to the question: Is there anything we can’t put in the “Magic 5”?
The answer to this is both simple and complicated:
Trust your intuition.
In other words, don’t let your ego guide this process. Sometimes the ego comes up with desires that aren’t really in our best interest: a specific job, or specific car, or relationship with a specific person.
photo: Sean McGrath on flickr
When the ego picks it, it often doesn’t manifest. Or if it does, we realize we didn’t want it after all.
Instead, it’s better to let the Divine take the wheel. Then the “Magic 5” can be a conduit for our greatest desires.
Indeed, one thing I regularly put in the “Magic 5” is a closer relationship with the Divine:
I’m so grateful for my relationship with Spirit! It’s so awesome that my connection with the Divine gets closer and clearer every day! My life is blessed with this rich, powerful, amazing connection!
photo: ameilynn1124 on flickr
So what are you waiting for? Allow your intuition to reveal your greatest desires, and then put them in the “Magic 5”!
I love the process of getting into the “feeling” place of a desire being manifested or a problem being solved.
It truly is powerful to find the feeling of relief — and even better, gratitutde — of everything having been taken care of.
Ahhhhh. I’m doing that right now with a couple of little concerns. I know I’ve just now improved my future. 🙂
Thanks, Z, for your clear and delightful posts.
Hi Karen!
Yes, the process of finding the “feeling” place is definitely a key component of this process. Thanksto both you and River for pointing this out.
I also agree with you that this process is incredibly empowering. I guess channeling the Divine can’t help but be empowering. And fun. And amazing. And so it is! 🙂
XOZ
So I thought I would just do the five as feelings so here goes.
I will be great-ful for a job that makes me feel:
Easy and interesting
Joyous
Profound
Connected
Life Giving
And So It Is!
Hi River,
I love this! The Feeling 5!!
I look forward to hearing about your Easy and Interesting, Joyous, Profound, Connected, and Life Giving job as it manifests in your life.
XOZ
As I was reading your post, an idea came to me that seemed unrelated (but probably wasn’t really) – a title for my current writing project that made me chuckle. So, that’s now on my Magic 5. I’m grateful for the manifestation of a new, interesting story that will touch hearts. How will the Divine make that happen . . .well, faith will see me through. Thanks for the inspiration, Z.
Hi Jo,
This sounds really cool. I love how Spirit surprises us with ideas, stories, titles, etc. I look forward to hearing more about it as the story progresses. . . .
XOZ
Good morning, Z.
thank you for this! how wonderful to add to my spiritual practice!
<3
xos
Howdy Squirrel,
Yay! Have fun with it. Let me know how it goes! 😉
XOZ
One of my MAJOR Graditudes is you and Melissa in my life. Thank you, Connie
Hi Connie,
Okay, so I read this comment to Melissa. Thanks for making us both cry! 😉
XOZ
Hey baby,
Thanks for the props on here!
I really do LOVE the magic five experience….I had a habit that I consciously took on when I was about 13. Some things look cool at that age, that are seriously not cool!
Anyway, I had tried and tried to quit this nervous habit of biting the inside of my mouth! I just could not break the habit…it has been a long time since I was 13.
😉
And you know? Now I list that as one of my regular gratitudes regularly! I am VERY grateful that this is no longer a habit!
It has been months, and I HAVE had stressful moments, and I just don’t do that habit, or start to, without awareness now. So far, since putting in the Magic Five, it is gone!
Yay -Yay-YAY!
Thanks for being such an awesome writer…well, and everything else too, love….
Happy Magic Moments to all!
Hi baby,
I can attest to the fact that, once you put the “end of your mouth-biting habit” into the Magic 5, it quickly vanished. It really is an amazing practice – and I have you to thank for it! Thank you thank you thank you!
And thank you for being such an awesome editor as well. And awesome Everything Else too! 🙂
XOZ
Blush…. <3
Me likey (the magic 5). I’m going to incorporate this into my daily practice right away. It sounds like fun, and I can almost feel the calcified limiting beliefs dissolving away! .
Hi Jill,
Let me know how it goes. Melissa and I have found the Magic 5 to be surprisingly effective. The surprising part is because it’s so simple, and so fun. Though “they” always say life isn’t supposed to be so frickin hard. So there you go! 🙂
XOZ