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Links from the Show at a Glance:

 

Artist: Yours Truly

Title of Art: Yahnkas Dawg aka Smokey

 

The Secret (At the time of recording it was streaming on Netflix or available to rent on Amazon)

 

Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now

 

Eckhart Tolle’s YouTube channel

 

 

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

 

 

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

 

[Intro:]

 

I was in a dimly lit cream and pink-tinged studio apartment with Nick and our two cats, George and Callie, when I first watched The Secret. I popped the DVD into Nick’s Xbox with certain expectations… and little did I know that what I was about to learn would completely alter the way I looked at the world forever; that it would fuel a creative fire in me that still burns brightly today.

 

If you’re unfamiliar, The Secret is a documentary; a compilation of interviews of some rich and famous types who share stories about how they, essentially, wished their lives into existence with visualization and vision boards.

 

At the time I was only just out of college, in a couple of tons of debt and I’d decided I wanted to pursue a career that had little to do with the degree I’d graduated with. I’d recently gotten a part-time job working as a photo assistant at a magazine that shot primarily product photography, but I knew that I wanted to transition into working for myself and in that moment I wanted to focus my work on animals.

 

And so I committed to a brief visualization exercise, which I stacked alongside my daily meditation practice. For a minute or two I imagined what it would be like to wake up as a ‘real’ full time pet photographer: I visualized packing my gear into the trunk of my silver Mazda3, which may or may not have already had a photo of my cousin’s pink-bowed yorkie, Abbey, smiling across the rear windshield, along with my website and phone number. I saw myself drive to a beautiful park with grassy hills and a cluster of trees. Then as I got out of my car I greeted a puppy, a rottie puppy, I’d decided as the image sharpened in my mind’s eye.

 

After my visualization exercise, I got up, essentially stepping back into reality, and made coffee. And then I went on with my day.

 

It was within a day or two, scrolling through facebook, that I came across the most adorable black & brown puppy – someone had just adopted him and I jumped at the chance to photograph him. I had zero doubt in my mind that the Universe had arranged this for me. He wasn’t 100 percent rottweiler, but his coloring and face sure made him look like the dog I’d envisioned in my little daydream. And this was a sure sign that, for the first time in my life, I’d consciously created something or at least I’d consciously drawn to me, that which already existed… but like the existential chicken-egg conundrum… who really cares what came first? The magick lies in the fact that it happened.

 

Now full disclosure, I never was able to support myself fully with animal portraiture alone, but I got plenty of opportunities to photograph dogs, cats, and birds and I did later on become a full time photographer shooting the most boring photos imaginable… so although it never happened exactly the way I’d visualized it happening, some semblance of professional photographer and animal photographer did manifest itself in my life. Again, I have no doubts… but there were also some other things going on that I didn’t recognize back then, and I’ve learned that that these 3 things are essential keys to the manifestation process that The Secret forgot to mention. Let’s dig in shall we?

 

 

[Art Description:]

 

Oh and that cute little doggie on the cover of this episode? That’s a rescue pup named Smokey and, yes, he is the very pup that helped me to believe that the universe is magick.

 

 

[Story:]

 

 

1) Be that ish! Be it!

 

Ghandi said to be the change you wish to see in the world. And you can only be anything in the present moment. He didn’t say, daydream about the change you wish to see in the world… and so while I agree that meditation and visualization are powerful tools that are always available in your manifestation shed, what you are being and doing right now has an equally large impact on what kind of life you’re creating. To manifest any change you want to see in your life you have to be that change. Fake it ‘til you make it. Be it until you believe it. And once you believe it, the Universe will naturally send you reflections of that belief without you even trying.

 

So, while I was using creative visualization to aid me in my journey, it wasn’t like I was sitting in meditation and waiting for someone with a puppy to knock on my door. I was already very much taking action into seeking out clients with animal companions. So it wasn’t like I didn’t already walk the walk, but I was trying to tip the scales into a full time lifestyle. That’s why I think this particular visualization manifested itself so quickly. I was already being a pet photographer, I was already meeting the universe halfway by taking action.

 

We have to find a way to be the thing we want to be in this moment. Because the past and the future don’t actually exist. Everything we experience is always happening right now. It’s a simple concept, but sometimes it’s hard to wrap our heads around it, because modern society lends itself to overthinking. Many of us have been trained to live in the future or in the past, almost totally unconscious of what’s possible right now.

 

I could go on for ages about how important presence has been in my spiritual journey, but if you want to learn more about how to be present, I highly recommend learning from the master: Eckhart Tolle, who literally wrote the book on The Power of Now. He has a lot of free info on YouTube too, so I’ll put links to all that in the show notes for your reference.

 

 

2) Feel that ish! Feel it!!

 

Our emotions are made of some potent-ass energy. If you’re surrounded by screaming children, or in my case squawking and barking animals, it doesn’t matter how crisply you can see the swaying palm trees on the beachfront property you’re trying to manifest, because most likely, your emotions are more in line with stress than relaxation.

 

You not only have to put your thoughts in alignment with what to create, you have to also create an environment for your body to feel that deep sense of relaxation (or whatever emotion is conducive to what it is you’re trying to create). Sticking with relaxation as an example, I’d recommend getting outside in nature to feel a real breeze, but if it takes locking yourself in a tanning booth and simulating the breeze with a fan while simultaneously sniffing from a tube of sunblock… hey, I’m not judging you. Sometimes you gotta get creative to create!

 

You might have to channel a memory to invoke that feeling, like that time you were in Jamaica walking along the beach at sunrise, smelling the ocean air. Or maybe you can go get a massage while you visualize island life.

 

I will never forget the feeling I had right before my audiobook career manifested. I had just quit my 3rd job in a year with no backup plan and I’d suddenly remembered that the audiobook hobby I’d picked up over the past year was something that some people actually made a living at. I was so excited to dive into auditioning again that my body was practically buzzing. A confidence of a sort I don’t often feel had overcome me, as I sat in Nick’s gaming room and rattled off my sudden plans. I knew that this was something I was good at and I knew, somehow, that it was the answer to my money problem.

 

I honestly cannot tell you where that confidence came from, where I was getting that energy, because I wasn’t consciously doing it. But now, 50 audiobooks later, I recognize that moment as the moment I became an audiobook narrator. I’m buzzing right now just thinking of it. And so now I have that memory to bring me back to confidence and excitement; an emotion, a feeling in my body I can channel to help push my visualizations and meditations to the next level of aligning myself with who and what I want to be. By becoming who and what I am in this moment.

 

 

3) Let that ish go! Let it go!!

 

So I understand that this seems like the exact opposite of the go-take-action message from number 1, but hear me out. There’s difference between micro-managing your manifestations and pointing a compass in the general direction of your dreams. And the truth is: most of us have a lot of letting go to do.

 

The number one reason people struggle with conscious creation in their lives is because they have an opposing belief system that’s getting in the way. Like two magnets that refuse to kiss, sometimes our manifestation goals are not in alignment with our life goals or values, and when that happens, it can seem like our efforts are fruitless.

 

Let’s use my pet photographer daydream as an example. Ten years ago, I thought I wanted to be a pet photographer, and I took a ton of action to make that happen to the best of my ability. I did the work, but I was never able to make it a full time gig, try though I did. I went to events, I volunteered my services at several different shelters and rescues, I advertised, I was on social media nonstop. And I got some jobs out of all that effort… but it did not pay me much in money, as I so desperately desired it to. In contrast, when I practically skydived into audiobooks a few years ago with zero backup plan for money, it somehow worked with minimal effort, and now, more work comes to me organically than ever in my life, despite the fact that I do probably less than 10% of the work I did to find jobs as a pet photographer.

 

So, what’s the difference? Well, I’ve come to discover my top values over the years, and numero uno on my list is Freedom. My desire to be free from traditional jobs, bosses, money, time, and I’m sure an infinitely long list of other things, is and has always been persistently pervasive in my life. Number two is being able to work alone, at my own pace, and on my own schedule… which I guess still falls under the freedom umbrella, but is clearly in contrast with having to book X-amount of clients on their time at their locations, and all weather-permitting of course.

 

I can also see, in retrospect, that I had a hard time accepting money for my work back then. So that could have been yet another magnetic block pushing against my manifestation goals. Another common stumbling block belief is the infamous imposter-syndrome, which I dealt a lot with while launching both of my podcasts, and most likely in my photography career as well.

 

Whenever I’m struggling to create something in my life, it’s never because I can’t create it, and it’s almost always because there is an opposing narrative going on in my head. And sometimes these stories I tell myself can be nearly invisible, they’re so ingrained in my day-to-day life that I don’t even notice them. Like the sound of the fridge endlessly humming away.

 

So this last tip, letting go, is a more of a lifelong practice kinda tip than a quick-and-dirty-fix-it-all-now kinda tip.

 

Sit with your thoughts. Listen to your thoughts. What do you tell yourself on a daily basis? I’ve recently been going through the past decade’s worth of journals I’ve written in. I’m recognizing so many patterns I’ve been stuck in, and recognizing them is the first step to healing them. So I definitely recommend free writing your stream of consciousness into a daily journal, or recording it into your phone if that’s easier. Do this for a few days, weeks, a month, and then go back and review what you’ve created. Look for patterns in your narrative, and when you discover them, ask yourself if those stories are in line with what you’re trying to create with your life. If they’re not you’ll either have to tell yourself a new story or endeavor to change the plans to vibe with what you want to create. Or, I guess you could do nothing… but that’s still a choice.

 

It seems letting go should be an episode in and of itself, but to sum up here are two things to let go of in order to help strengthen your manifestation powers:

 

1. a) Recognize the story you’re telling yourself, and then let go of the story you’re telling yourself.

 

1. b) Recognize how you think it should happen, and then let go of how you think it should happen.

 

This goes back to the whole micromanaging the universe thing. Let’s use my rottie story for an example. If I had been so hell bent on making my visualization come true exactly as I’d imagined it, I never would have gotten the adorable photo you see on the cover of today’s episode. I’d seen a park and green grass in my imagination, after all, and there was not a splash of green to be had nearby the Yonker’s apartment where this lucky pup found his new home. Or if I’d found out before I met him that he was actually a mutt instead of a full blooded rottweiler, perhaps I’d have turned my nose up to that facebook post and kept scrolling for the ‘real’ rottie I’d envisioned.

 

That might seem like a silly example, but people disregard obvious signs from the universe all the time because what they see doesn’t always line up perfectly with their ideas of what should be. Sadly, we tend to follow the egoic thoughts in our heads rather than the infinite knowing that’s totally accessible through our hearts. Follow your heart is a cliché for a reason, my friends.

 

So that’s why letting go is the last, and most important step to consciously creating the life you want to live. It implies you put a certain amount of trust in the universe after you send your intentions out into the ether. Trust that you have been heard and trust that, if you can let go of the details, the universe will be able send you things beyond your wildest visualizations. Your idea of perfect is nothing in comparison to what the universe can send you when you let go of any all preconceived notions you might be holding onto.

 

Because the truth is, all of the most magickal things happen in the unknown, outside of our comfort zone!

 

So to sum up, my friends, because woah, I feel like I covered a lot here and though I could’ve dug in even deeper, I want to stop here and let this all sink in. So here’s a quick recap of those 3 things The Secret forgot to tell us.

 

1) Be that ish! Be present. It’s the difference between knowing I am something versus wanting to be something in the future I think I’m not capable of right now. Always choose to be here and now. I am a writer versus I want to be a writer. I have plenty of money now versus I want to have plenty of money in the future. Take action to get yourself aligned with who you want to be right now.

 

2) Feel that ish! Feel the feels you want to feel! Make sure you are getting your physical body and your emotions in alignment with what you want. It’s impossible to manifest a healthy, energy efficient body while sitting comatose on the couch for days on end eating junk food. There’s no surer way to feel less sad than to force yourself to smile until you mean it. It might feel like you’re faking it at first… but eventually the feeling will always flow in the direction of your reality.

 

3) Let that ish go! Dig deep into your story to find patterns in your thoughts. Ask yourself if these thought patterns, this autobiography you’ve written in your head, is helping you move forward with your dreams or pushing back against them. Common belief blockers are imposter syndrome, self-love and worthiness mindsets, or lack thereof, and fear in all of its innumerable forms. Let go of any stories that are blocking your success by rewriting the script. That includes any stories that attempt to micromanage the universe. Let go of how you think it’s supposed to happen and let the universe delightfully surprise you!

 

 

[Conclusion:]

 

Thank you all so much for listening today. I’m really excited to finally be sharing some of the magick that’s touched my life over the past decade. I do realize however that this episode might seem a bit abrupt if you don’t know me personally. Then again, I had the realization recently that I may have been hiding behind fiction for a while now. Because many of the magickal concepts I inject into my short stories are things that I actually believe in and have just been too afraid to admit publicly.

 

There was a turning point, however, when I realized that hiding magick in a make believe world is a little bit selfish. Because the truth is, we are all constantly creating our lives with the thoughts, actions, and beliefs we surround ourselves in. Whether we create consciously or unconsciously we are the creators of our own lives. And I’m actually excited to share with you some of my own unwanted manifestations in a future episode to give you some examples of my own unconscious creations. But anyway, in my opinion, there isn’t a person in my life, including myself, who couldn’t benefit from some more conscious creation in their lives. And who I am to hoard that information.

 

So please let me know if you have any questions or comments for me. I have a list that’s 3 or 4 pages long, full of magickal stories and concepts that I plan to share with you in the future, but I’d be happy to dig in deeper or better explain anything else I mentioned in this episode if anything was unclear. So please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Alright, that’s a wrap, my friends! TTFN!

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