Star
I discovered Pinterest in 2014 and it was to change my life as an author for the better.
I didn't really understand it consciously until last January a friend of mine, a gifted yoga nidra teacher (yoga nidra is a deeply powerful meditative sleep) held a woman's only manifestation party. For me, I had a lot of things I wanted but I saw no clear way to get there. But I was having a lot of fun on Pinterest, looking at pictures and imagining both story worlds and things that drew me for my own life—though often it's pretty interchangeable.
During this party each of the women was given a board and then tons of magazines to rip apart for images that spoke strongly to us. We were told two things: First, be careful how you arrange what you want on your board because you'll often manifest it that way exactly—for example, one woman wanted some spiffy new clothes. She put pictures of models wearing her dream outfits next to some pictures that reminded her of her children. What happened? That year her kids got great wardrobes from their grandparents, but the woman still didn't have her own dreamed-of clothes. This year she'd going to be more careful placing her pictures on her board.
The second thing to be aware of is that things don't have to make any sense. Another woman was moved to put a beautiful photo of a pear on her board. She had no idea why until she was in France the following year and visited an orchard where pears just like the one on her vision board grew.
For me, it's been a powerful year. One of the things in my vision book were pictures of a streamlined modern kitchen. I saw no way back in January how I'd have that. It seemed total fantasy to put it there. But now I've bought a new home and it will have a new streamlined kitchen.
That's not all. I also had pictures of a healthy and slim woman climbing a tree next to pictures in France. I was not healthy early this year and needed surgery but was afraid to take the step. By the time six months had passed, I'd had the surgery and lost more than 30 pounds. When I look at those pictures, I can see I was saying "I want to go to France when I feel better." Stay tuned, because that's happening for me next.
So what does all this have to do with my holiday novella Star?
Well, Star is a pretty raw look at manifestation.
Matthew is a janitor who just got fired from his job because he's angry and hopeless. How he sees his life is how it's unfolding. Kind of 'dark' manifesting. We all do that sometimes.
When an angel literally falls from the sky and into his life, Matthew has trouble accepting that he could have the love and healing he longs for. We can't blame him because as we follow his story we see this perfect dreamer he was as a child, how he yearned to explore the stars and was drawn to science fiction.
Because he has a big heart, he did something that put him in a dark place and now bitterness has corroded the door to his heart. So what he needs is a miracle. A reason to trust enough to just open that creaky door to let some light in.
And that's really where my novella takes off, exploring how we can live in the world we create—light or dark. Matthew has that decision in the book and I think it's one we all make at one time or another.
I hope some of you try the manifestation party on your own. It's a lot of fun and pretty powerful stuff, and maybe it will bring a little magic into 2015. I hope so!