It is interesting to ponder on our lives and notice where the big changes happen and how we manifest them. Yes, we did manifest them with that very powerful mind, body connection. So be careful what you wish for!

For me, one of the biggest changes came approaching my 40th birthday.  I remember I was off work with a very painful back injury and I said to nobody in particular because I was alone at the time. “There must be more to life than this.”  I felt powerless to change but at that moment new people started showing up in my life, new experiences, like finding spiritual groups in the local paper and being invited to a spiritual retreat for free! Being exposed to healing, meditating and meeting likeminded people as if by chance.

When we are in alignment and flow with life, anything is possible. I was not in the flow, I was in pain. But from that time, when I surrendered to the pain and to my stagnation, it started to change. It was like I had wiped the steam off of my bathroom mirror and things became crystal clear. I knew that I was living a glass half empty kind of life and as much as it was not dreadful, it was not fulfilling. I had a husband, two beautiful children, a house and a career but I was not feeling fulfilled or happy.

If you have not yet found the formula for creating the life of your dreams, do not despair.  I finally (in my sixties) have a happy and loving relationship. We travel the world, care for pets. We teach yoga and TRE®, work less for others as we are choosing to be of service, and we feel so healthy! This is my formula and I happily share it with you as you might benefit.

Surrender

Surrender sounds like a  negative way to look at things but we have to realise that our bucket lists and intentions can’t be realised if our bucket is still full of all that stuff back there! My first task was to surrender to my back pain and seek advice. The surgeon who told me that he doubted he could improve my deteriorating lumbar discs was probably my Guardian Angel. He told me “Just keep moving.” So I started Yoga classes. It was not easy, but a voice inside of me kept gently pushing me through those first painful months in class. Teachers and mentors appeared once I got out of the way. When we are in pain or at a low place, it seems like nothing works. When we surrender and acknowledge where we are, it can be the first step to manifesting our purpose.

Listen to the Teacher

We think we need to change our boring, hectic, unfulfilling, ordinary lives, and when we hear words of wisdom from friends, family, online, even from the kids, we ignore them because we are expecting the teacher to appear. Everyone is our teacher so the art of listening is the key. We learn and grow so much from listening (instead of reacting) to the people who are right there with us every day. If we stop blaming or reacting and listen, we hear wisdom.

Faith and Trust

It is rare for a flash of light or fanfare of trumpets to herald the new life we are manifesting for ourselves. Often it comes in baby steps as we learn to trust and know that there is light ahead. The dark night of the soul is like a rite of passage for some of us. When it gets really gloomy we are probably in the middle of it and close to passing through to the other side. If our thoughts remain positive, hanging with inspiring people, practising mindfulness, consuming nourishing foods, reading Elephant Journal and getting fresh air and exercise, we are lining up with life. Trust the process.

Gratitude

At least three times a day, I give thanks. Firstly for the food I eat. Then for the things that I am seriously grateful for. My lover, kids, friends, health etc. I even say thank you for the pain as I know I have a lot to learn from it. (See Surrender) Gratitude is our path to manifestation. Keep saying thank you.

Support

When we are in a dark place and people offer support or advice, it can be difficult to be receptive. We may feel disempowered or weak if we accept.  We don’t hear, we can’t understand. As we learn to receive, illumination appears like the light at the end of the tunnel. Our support network is an integral part of our manifestation process.

Patience

I have so many manifestation stories but this one illustrates patience beautifully.

I lived in London in my twenties and as an avid tennis fan, it was my dream to go watch a match at Wimbledon Centre Court. I moved to New Zealand so it was an event I watched on TV and dreamt of being there. The strawberries, cream and champagne, the crowds, the excitement of a world-class event. Whilst in England in 2018, with my partner on our petsitting travels, we looked at buying tickets for Wimbledon. You could probably feed a small country for the cost of them so we looked at getting a Ground Pass just to get into Wimbledon. We were so fortunate to visit on the day the Football World Cup semi-final was playing. England was competing, so over half the country was in football fever.  We got into the grounds with no queuing at all, after being told the likelihood of even getting into the ground was remote. Around 5 p.m. hoards of people left Wimbledon to go watch the football. We bought resale tickets for Centre Court for £15 each (which went to charity) and watched mesmerised as Del Potro and Nadal slugged it out in a jaw-dropping five-setter. A dream realised after 35 years! With patience we manifest!