I have not only been practicing gratitude with Rhonda Byrne’s The Magic but also Calling in ”The One”.
Let me explain.
In 2004, one of my
sister friends convinced me to meet her at a workshop at 9am on a Saturday when
I was not on Mommy Duty.
Now you know.
En route, however, she
called to tell me that the workshop had been cancelled (!) but all was not
lost! “Turn on WHUR,” she said, “You just gotta hear this author on the Audrey
Chapman Show!”
Are you kidding me?
So I obliged her and was
introduced to Katherine Woodward Thomas, author of Calling in “The One”.
According to Miss
Katherine and my sister friend, if we followed the course outlined in her book,
The One would appear in a mere seven weeks.
So instead of our
original plan, my sister friend and I high-tailed it to Borders in Bowie (so
miss that place!) only to find the last two copies of Calling in “The One” on the shelf, side-by-side, waiting just for
us.
As it turned out, the
Calling in The One process was more about developing an authentic spiritual
life and practice in order to clear out anything that may be blocking love from
one’s life than just turning a frog into a prince.
This was right on time
for me because I was beginning to redefine spirituality and a practical
relationship with the divine and found this book to be profoundly helpful.
What’s more, I thought
this process was successful because – lo and behold - my second husband
appeared by the end of that year. It took a bit longer than seven weeks but
still. (By the way, he also disappeared a few short months later but that’s
another blog for another time.)
As a budding networker
and writer, I began emailing Miss Katherine with details about my Calling in
The One experience. And not long after that, she spoke at Unity of Washington,
DC and I got to meet her! Yet another serendipitous link in the golden chain I
call this magnificent journey as Unity is now my church - her talk and book
signing were my first visit.
So fast-forward eight
years to now and here I am, rearranging the clutter, I mean cleaning up my room,
which always includes re-shelving stray books. That’s when my eyes landed on Calling in “The One”. For some unknown
reason, I picked it up – you know, just for kicks.
As I began to leaf
through its very tattered and marked-up pages, a lesson on meditation fell open
on my lap.
It struck a chord with
me as I realized that everywhere I go, this meditation / going within theme
appears. And I remembered that, for me, the Calling in The One process was more
about spiritual connection than manifesting the man of my dreams.
So maybe this is a
course worth revisiting?
Come on, God, really?
I sat on that one for several
days because I know me - when I embark on these major self improvement
projects, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, I become fraught
with anxiety.
But this time felt
different.
I can honestly say that
I really “get” that a satisfying life is about so much more than romance. I
don’t have to “fix” myself to manifest a far-off happiness somewhere down the
road. I just have to focus on loving and accepting myself as I am and believe that
I am worthy and deserving of all that I want. At the same time, I gently nudge
myself toward that reality by celebrating all of my epiphanies and victories
along the way.
In Lesson 2, Miss
Katherine notes the unfortunate separation our culture insists on maintaining
between romantic love and agape or
neighborly love. But, she notes, “…while romantic love does have the benefit of
hormones and biological urges to enhance its allure, the qualities that make up
a loving relationship are the same whether we love our friend, our sister, our
student, or our husband. Compassion, generosity, and kindness transcend gender,
title, or the form of a relationship.”
Just the other day I remember
watching Oprah’s Life Class where she and T.D. Jakes were both encouraging an
audience member to “see” an unexpected life twist that seemed to bring her
nothing but pain and frustration as a profound opportunity to share and receive
love, fulfillment, and purpose. As Oprah noted, we all look for love when it’s often
right in our backyard.
And see that’s where
gratitude comes in. It occurs to me that even if The One was here right now, my
day-to-day would not become vastly different or somehow complete because I already focus on all that is good and choose to feel grateful and happy for
it.
As author Gregg Baden posted
on his Facebook timeline this fine morning, “Happiness is not a destination; it
is a way of life.” (Author unknown)
Gotta love this
synchronistic way of living J
So, as you can see, I
did recommit to Calling in “The One”.
My practice for the past few weeks has been to wake up being grateful with Miss
Rhonda and go to sleep making room for love with Miss Katherine.
But this go ‘round I’m
taking my time and going with the flow.
I don’t care if it takes
seven weeks or seven months – the objective is an ongoing unfolding. My focus
is on letting go of anything in my past that could be holding me back from the
life of my dreams.
And I’m not terribly concerned
about The One showing up. That’s because whenever I get antsy, I remind myself to
surrender. I remember that my life is truly in God’s hands and to trust the
process. I know that the desires of my heart will appear as I focus on the
blessings I have and give thanks for all I want as though it’s already here.
Because, in the Spirit, it
is.
P.S. I’ll let you in on
a little secret – The One is in my June “I-Got-Mail” New Year’s Eve letter.
Gotta love 2012 J
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