Have you ever thought about someone and they called you? Recognized a desire for something and the way to have it immediately appeared?
Well it recently came to my attention that I wanted a new car. I am not someone who prioritizes cars – there are many other things that are important to me – travel, my home, my education, etc. – and
so I drive a fairly old car. But I have recongnized the desire for a car, and decided I want one. So I wrote CAR on the post-it note, with the dollar amount I want to spend on a car. It would probably make a lot of sense to take action to locate said car, but I really don’t enjoy anything about cars (other than driving them). So I said to myself, “the right car for the money I want to spend will cross my path without me having to do anything. It will be the perfect opportunity, and I’ll just know it.” And with that I turned it over to the Universe. I said I’d like it around February.
Well, I was recently talking to a friend of mine who accepted a job offer overseas. She mentioned all that she needed to do to prepare for the trip. They would have to get rid of all their electronics because they won’t work at their destination. I got all opportunistic, “Ooh, what else do you have to get rid of?” (hey, she’s got an amazing shoe collection!). She said she would be selling her car.
She drives a great car. It was very expensive new, and it is in great condition. It is a small SUV with butt warmers in the seats. I probably wouldn’t have picked it out new, yet I found myself starting to get excited about it. Her company will subsidize the sale, and she leaves in February.
Fast forward to later in the week, I am about to travel 16 hours to visit my family. I chose to drive so I can travel with my dog. Right before my trip I noticed a funny burning smell in my car. The repair shop couldn’t fixed it same-day, but they said, “don’t worry, the worst case, it will start on fire.”
I thought that seemed like a pretty bad case!
So I rented a car. I went with an intermediate car. I briefly looked at the little SUVs – they were four times as much to rent and I decided I didn’t “need” all that.
On my drive I was listening to an audio in which David Neagle (my mentor for 2010) was talking about Desire and Decision being the first two steps to having anything you want. He was talking about how the desire doesn’t come into our awareness unless the way for it already exists. There were examples about beginning to have what you really want, like first class travel, now, not someday (which you know I believe in). I began to think about my rental car. I wanted the little SUV. I want butt warmers. (Did I mention my family is in Northern MN?) I thought about how I chose the cheaper rental car, and wondered whether, had I made the decision to get the more expensive one, the extra money would have come in. I have seen such things happen before, after all.
As I am pondering this, the rental car I’m driving begins to shake. Then the maintainence light comes up on the dash. Of course, I rented a car so I wouldn’t have car trouble on my 16 hour drive. I was about 5 hours in. I could have gotten upset or angry, but I have a practice of asking myself, “what’s the opportunity here?” when things go “wrong.”
I was just passing through Chicago. I would drive right by the airport. Perhaps the opportunity was to manifest the car I desire? This instantly changed my mood, and I thought it would be an interesting challenge.
I popped off at O’Hare Airport and asked to exchange my rental. The woman at the counter was searching her database for my new car. I very nicely said, “is there any chance I could get an upgrade, given the inconvenience of having to stop here?’
She began to look and pointed out that car I was driving was already an upgrade from what I had paid for. She’d try to keep me in something comparable. “Thank you, I’d love an equally big trunk for my christmas gifts!”
I had picked the car up from a small rental shop in my neighborhood, and it turns out that only certain classes of cars were allowed to go back there. As she she checked her list, the only one that would be an upgrade that I could drop off there… Jeep Liberty.
I was so excited as I got in the car. Then I madly scanned the dash assessing the different buttons. Ahh… butt warmers. Thank you Universe for the free car upgrade.
Now, you could say, “yeah, but shouldn’t you have paid for the car?” I actually interpret this as a signal that, yes, I need to start treating myself the way I want to treat myself now. Starting with my friend’s BMW. If the desire i
s there, the way will appear. I believe that manifesting the rental car I wanted for free is just as powerful as paying for it, but it is a signal that I need to pick it up from here. Looking for a freebie is never powerful. Having one land in your lap simply because you thought about it? Awesome!