Please join me in congratulating Mindset Mastery Graduate, Denise Calton!
Denise took her program study seriously and did the work to apply what she was learning. One thing that stood out to me about her story is how much living the principles doesn’t necessarily remove the difficulty from our experiences, it just gives us the mindset tools we need to achieve our goals despite them. Maybe you have dealt with nay-sayers and know for yourself how that can be one of the most challenging parts of achieving a goal with Rare Faith. Denise faced this herself, but didn’t let it stop her.
I am pleased now to announce her graduation and share her story. As it goes with all our applicants, I had some questions for her:
Q. What was your experience with the Phase 1 experiment? (The “inconsequential goal”)
At first, it was difficult for me to fully accept the idea that by simply desiring to “see” something, it would eventually manifest itself.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in miracles. I just thought they were reserved for special, significant, or purposeful occasions. It took some time for me to identify the paradigm that was sabotaging my thoughts. It had to do with an incorrect religious belief.
There was something about the inconsequential goal that seemed frivolous, even sacrilegious to me. It had to do with the meaning I attached to miracles. I thought, “Does God really grant “frivolous” requests?” I felt like I was “tempting” Him. I had to set aside my belief and simply trust that I must be dealing with something I didn’t entirely understand about the nature of God. I decided to believe that God wants me to gain experience with His laws, to practice asking and believing that He cares about things that might even seem insignificant to me.
After pondering the situation, my perspective shifted regarding the relationship between religion, science and universal law. I now see natural law differently. Pure intent grants me access to its power if only I am willing to believe. It is exacting regardless of the circumstances. Judging whether something is significant can be a roadblock to communication. I had to purify my intent and believe that God wanted me to have this experience with Him. After weeks of struggling with this, I finally felt free to take action on my inconsequential goal.
I thought about a mother opossum and her babies I saw on my back porch when I first moved into my house many years ago. I hadn’t seen another one since. I decided that I wanted to see an opossum.
I live on a ten-acre lot, which is full of wild animals. Several years ago a mother opossum wandered onto our back porch with her babies. I realized that since that time (about 25 years ago) I had not seen another opossum. I wondered if opossums were still around. I wanted to see one. I prepared my mind, in anxious anticipation, to see an opossum. I dismissed any doubt that crept into my heart and mind that I would not see one.
Well, I didn’t see one all that day, or the next. But, on the second night, as I was having difficulty sleeping, I decided to get on Facebook for a while in the wee hours of the morning. As I was scrolling through, I couldn’t believe that I saw a picture of a baby opossum! It brought an ecstatic smile to my face! The caption read:
“If you see an opossum in your yard, let it be. The opossum is able to withstand up to 80 rattlesnake or coral snake bites. Thanks to him, there is an antidote to poisonous snake venom. Please don’t kill them! They don’t get rabies and they eat ticks. They’re your friend.”
I didn’t see an opossum in my own yard, but I did get an education from the one I saw online. Since there are lots of snakes and ticks where I live, I actually feel grateful now that such a critter lives in my woods and is extraordinarily beneficial to me! I was stunned! This was a sweet experience that strengthened my trust in God.
Q. What was your bite-sized Phase 2 “difficult, meaningful, or important” goal?
My bite-size piece of the short-term goal was to strengthen my legs through daily exercise and by improving my diet (It was becoming more difficult by the day for me to walk for longs periods of time or to walk without pain.)
I found that when I got on my stationary bike, did lunges, and took a slow walk down my street that my knees felt better. But the most exciting thing that happened to me was finding an all-natural product designed to eliminate inflammation from the body. Within a matter of days after taking this product, the weakness I felt in my legs subsided and my knees were pain-free! I cried and thanked Heavenly Father that I could walk with ease!
Q. What were some of your biggest take-aways from the course?
The Mindset Mastery course helped me to apply the doctrine of Christ in a way I had not previously understood. It literally addresses how the doctrine of Christ should work in our lives. The program encompasses all the elements of that doctrine and the principles contained therein – faith (the first principle), entering the covenant path (setting goals and being committed), changing course when needed (repentance) and listening to and following that “inner voice” (the Holy Ghost) which offers guidance and inspiration.
Mindset Mastery was a powerful, eye-opening experience. Before this course I had no idea how much God really wanted to be involved in my life. I knew it, yet I didn’t. I suppose I understood His love for me on an intellectual level, but not on a personal, emotional one. I was taken aback when my simple inconsequential goal to see an opossum actually showed up on my Facebook screen! I became a believer.
Afterwards, I had the chance to apply rare faith in a couple of life-events while taking this course, but I will only share one:
How will I survive financially?
I am getting older and have been concerned about how I will survive financially. Several years ago, an opportunity fell into our laps when we purchased a business from some friends who moved. That business brought in more money than we could ever have imagined for ourselves, and I wasn’t about to waste it! I wanted to invest it. I didn’t know how long this blessing would last, so I carefully saved. We stayed in business for about 16 years when Covid-19 forced us to shut-down. During those 16 years, we paid off our mortgage and bought two rental properties. We paid off the mortgages on the rentals, too, while at the same time maintaining a substantial savings.
Still, I didn’t feel secure enough with what we had. Recently, we decided to turn our home into an Airbnb. An opportunity to house interns over the whole summer came to us through a local organization called The Family Foundation. But not every bedroom had its own bathroom to provide privacy for our tenants. They were set to arrive in five weeks, so we got busy designing the floor plan for a new addition.
We were on a very tight schedule. I immediately started contacting skilled workers to set the work in motion. I got the whole line-up in place, but my husband (and others) believed that my plans were too rigid and unrealistic. They didn’t believe that the addition would get finished in time. By most standards they were probably right, but I wasn’t about to make 5 people use the same bathroom for weeks on end.
This is where Rare Faith came in.
Not only did I battle the nay-sayers throughout the whole process, I ran into one roadblock after another. Workers would cancel on me. Generally, it’s difficult to find skilled workers at the last minute, but I believed that God’s universe would go to work for me if I did my part. I made phone call after phone call just knowing that someone would “show up.”
As expected, I found the people I needed just in the nick of time. Just when I thought it would be smooth sailing from here on, another setback would occur. This happened week after week. I was being tested to the limit. At times I felt like giving up. Doubt crept in. Maybe it really was ridiculous to think that I could pull this off. But I didn’t want to jeopardize this opportunity to continue housing interns year after year.
I stayed with it, always believing it was possible to finish on time. Finally, the electrical, plumbing, insulation, and sheetrock were done one week before the interns were to arrive. The walls were painted; flooring, sinks and toilets installed. All that was left to do was the installation of two very complicated shower kits. I didn’t have anyone who knew how to install them.
Four days before the interns arrived, the carpet cleaner came to do his job. I asked him if he knew of someone who could install a shower kit. He couldn’t think of anyone, but he thought his step-dad might be able to help me. He called his step-dad (Tom) to tell him about my situation. Tom, a complete stranger yet a very caring person, immediately called to say he couldn’t do it himself but that he would try to find someone for me. He called “Pro-Source” looking for a handyman. It just so happened that the only person available on the day he called was a man who had experience with this particular shower kit. He seldom goes to Pro-Source for work, but he just happened to go there that day, within a few minutes of Tom’s call.
The handyman came that same day to look at the details of the job to give me an estimate. He was willing to do the work on Saturday (two days before the interns arrived), IF another emergency job didn’t get in the way.
Now, you are probably thinking that it all ended well. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the handyman couldn’t make it that Saturday. He came the following Monday, the same day the interns arrived.
In consideration of the fact that everything else was finished and that my guests would only be inconvenienced for a day or two (sharing one bathroom), it’s pretty amazing that the whole addition was done in just five weeks despite all the roadblocks I encountered.
If I hadn’t applied Rare Faith, it wouldn’t have come together as quickly as it did. Over and over again I saw the hand of the Lord in this project. In the picture below, the new addition is the structure on the left side of the house.
Amazing, Denise! And what a beautiful property!
Q. What was your experience from facing a fear from assignment/lesson 18? How effective were you at being able to think truth in spite of appearances?
I ranked my goal an 8 because I knew it would take a lot of discipline to exercise regularly and avoid the temptation to eat junk food. I also did not know if it was God’s will to heal me. I feared that I might have to go through an expensive surgery on my knees or end up in a wheelchair. Knowing that diet is foundational to many of our ailments, I wanted to believe that my situation could improve and eventually change without using the radical route of surgery.
In a conversation with one of my cousins, I was told that I was crazy to believe that food could help my legs and knees. She encouraged me to get surgery. I refused to be intimidated by her opinion and stuck to my goal. That is when my husband found the product I’m now using to keep me on track (and pain free) as I continue to exercise and improve my diet. In spite of appearances (the need for surgery), I believe that if I obey the law of health, the Lord will heal my legs.
Yes, there are laws that govern pretty much everything!
Q. What would you tell someone who is facing their fear right now?
I would say that fear (and failure) provides feedback. A heightened awareness of what is causing the fear is the first step to addressing it. Every fearful encounter is an opportunity for growth. Taking a positive stance regarding the situation will advance your ability to face the fear head on. The opposition is there to give you a choice to either remain stagnant or to move forward and grow. Remaining calm is the best way to find remedies. Calmness frees your imagination to find creative solutions to the problem and opens the door to abundance.
Q. Any final words about your experience?
I loved this course and the lessons it taught me. I feel more confident in my ability to make things happen by following “the laws.” Thank you for developing this wonderful course! I’m grateful to know that I can change the course of my life. I can do anything I set my mind to just by changing the way I think!
Congratulations again, Denise! You rocked it!
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