As Diana went through the course, life seemed to get harder before it got easier (as it can sometimes feel). She wasn’t sure if she was the only person to experience this, so she asked:
Is this normal? Yes, I wanted to learn this well and quickly, but it’s wearing on me. How do you keep positive energy flowing when another battle surprises you right around the corner?
Even though I often feel exhausted by my efforts to think right, I know I would be having even more difficulty if I didn’t have any understanding of the laws.
I have also discovered that my temporary dives into the pity pool or moments of doubt have not kept me from realizing goals. God knows we can’t be positive and cheerful 24/7. We can’t experience the positive emotions without the negative.
I guess what I’m saying is don’t despair when you are not able to keep the positive energy flowing. Be kind to yourself and just keep looking for what you can be grateful for.
I concur!
So, Diana proceeded with courage.
Now, let me tell you what happened during her Mindset Mastery course experience…
As a Mindset Mastery Program participant, she started having success in several areas of her life, and because success has a way of breeding success, she had a lot to share! What we observe, and what we think about those observations, has a real impact on what happens next, so it’s awesome when we aren’t resigned to only imagining happy results, but when we finally have some real results we can think about with wonder, awe, and gratitude. It’s fun to see people turn the corner and start consciously experiencing the principles working. It’s why I love this work so much.
Diana was excited to share each of her wins along the way, even when they weren’t connected to a particular assignment in the course. Like this one:
Goal set yesterday: Rejoin American Festival Chorus
I started in 2008… [but] had to quit for a while for family issues. This is …a stretch for me, because we’ll have to record ourselves from home on our cell phones with the music either quietly in the background or in small earbuds. We only have about 14 days (Oct 1 – 14) to PERFECTLY tape four (wait, five?) different hymns for mastering into a virtual Veterans Day concert. Then, we turn around and do it again for our Christmas songs. Phew! I have my work (and fun! and a HUGE learning curve!) cut out for me.
Goal achieved yesterday: Rejoined American Festival Chorus & attended the once-a-week rehearsal via Zoom with new music in hand to mark and practice. I didn’t expect it to manifest that quickly.
God is good to me.
Take a look at the concert she got to be a part of, and what they accomplished despite the pandemic:
Gossner’s, or AP History test fee?
Another win was related to overcoming the worry and stress of not having what she needed for her family. She shared the following update in the group:
I keep having experiences like this on a daily basis. Though not all of them resolve as quickly as this one did:
Gossner’s, or AP History test fee?
Those of you in class last night might have noticed my son interrupt me. I gave him a sticky note to write down his thought and promised I would get to after class. It turns out, his note said his AP History test fee is due TODAY. I have $100 in my bank account and was planning to use most of that for a trip to Gossner’s for lactose-free milk and shredded cheese.
Gossner Foods, Logan, UT
I sighed and logged in to the fee payment site but hesitated to pay for it, yet. I thought: There is some way for me to have both things that we need. My ex is supposed to pay for half of everything. However, past history has not shown that he’ll do that any time soon, pushing the envelope of court-approved turn around time.
Still, I decided to do what I had power to do and trust that it will work out somehow.
So, I called my mom to set up the time to go to Gossner’s together and texted my ex about paying for his half ASAP because of our pending Gossner’s trip. I received a text back from him that not only would he bring the money in the morning, but he had shredded cheese for us.
My first thought was “I’m not going to hold my breath!” but my next thought was “No. I’m not going to think like that. I’m grateful he is bringing the money and the cheese. We can get what we need.” I went to bed without agonizing over it.
This morning, he followed through, above and beyond what was promised. Not only did he pay for his half of the AP test, but he paid his half of a delinquent fee I had forgotten about. The total was $69, which is what I usually spend at Gossner’s on our once-a-month trip for cheese and milk.
That wasn’t all. He brought two large packages each of shredded AND sliced cheese.
Now, I don’t have to buy cheese at all, and have enough money to pay tithing on the funds he gave me, AND the AP test, and Gossner’s milk, with a little left over until next pay period.
This HOW turned out to be more miraculous than I expected. I wrote it in my Mindset Mastery Journal and gave thanks to the One who really made it all happen.
Diana continued to share stories of seeing the principles at work, including overcoming the cigarette smoke coming from a neighbor’s home despite sensitivities that prevented her from getting a good night’s sleep, seeing blue Hyundai hatchbacks, finding the right tool or program for furthering her work, obtaining a certain magazine that was out of print, getting the money she needed to feed her teens and get them the clothes they needed, and more.
But for the rest of this article, let’s focus on her two main course experiments.
I asked: “What was your Phase 1 Inconsequential Goal?”
Now, first let me explain something about this piece:
Outcomes to which you have no current attachment seem to go more easily. Things that are somehow connected to past struggles are typically harder. This is why we start with an inconsequential goal in the Mindset Mastery program. When setting your goals, strive to bring “nothing” – no history, no story, no past – to the experiment. It’s a mental switch-flip to disconnect the two. You have to pretend like you have no history with the desired result to do these experiments most effectively.
For Diana’s Inconsequential goal she reported:
I was determined to find a $1 physical Sacagawea coin in my palm for me to keep. This was [ranked] a 10 for me. However, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t written the specifics for my Inconsequential Goal! I only stated that I wanted to find a $1 coin and imagined a Sacagawea $1 coin.
And the result?
Achieved but not as anticipated.
I envisioned holding a $1 Sacagawea coin in my hand. I felt the weight and the ridges and bumps. I took extra walks everywhere, keeping my eyes on the ground. I was sure the coin would manifest there. It took about a week from setting the goal to finding the paper Sacagawea $1 coin in my wallet (from a prior experiment).
I didn’t expect that and discounted it.
So, I tried to focus more on a physical $1 coin. Shortly after that, while doing some homework for another class, I found a picture of a Walking Liberty coin. I didn’t think that counted, as I was trying to find a physical Sacagawea $1 coin.
Remembering that agitation doesn’t make anything work, I took a breath, renewed my vision, and tried again. After that, Sacagawea popped up everywhere: books, movies, posters, random conversations! Still, never in physical $1 form. When time kept passing and I wasn’t finding EXACTLY what I expected to find, the doubts and fears began creeping in. I had to FIGHT for my intention and my Inconsequential Goal!
Finally, I realized I was going overboard with this.
I reread my goal. I never specified which $1 coin it would be, nor did I state it had to be in physical, metallic form. I imagined I was behaving like the people waiting for God to save them from the flood that hit their area. Within hours of one another, a truck came, a boat came, and a helicopter came, and they rejected each rescue. They insisted that God would save them. When they died, they complained to God that He hadn’t saved them. He asked them what more they wanted when he had sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter. I could just hear God asking me, “What more did you want? I sent you a $1 Sacagawea coin (paper), a Walking Liberty coin (electronic pic), and plenty of Sacagawea everywhere.” I laughed at myself and let go.
The week I posted about joining the chorus and after letting the details go, I found my $1 Sacagawea coin (AND my boys’ Sacagawea coins) – our “cool money” stashes- in each of our boxes that we hadn’t unpacked from the move.
This was a lesson to me on writing the specifics!
When I realized I hadn’t written exactly what I was imagining, I should have stopped, written it out, and gone on anticipating. It took longer than expected, because my written vision didn’t match the vision I held in my head and hand.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who makes things harder than they need to be.
Indeed, Diana. We all do it.
It Begins with the Thought
It’s easy to believe things “work out” when you can look back and see how they did, but for Diana, they “worked out” for her because of how she began thinking differently, even before she knew HOW things would work out.
Case in point:
Before the coins showed up, and despite her frustrations, she posted this. Notice her decided optimism and expectation coming through:
It’s amazing how the weekly topics seem to pop up as tests the same week in real life. I know I’m learning skills that will last my lifetime, and I’ll have plenty of ups and downs along the way. I’m nervous but excited that my “downs” are really “ups;” it’s just perspective.
I’m amazed at how much negativity I’ve been living with for years.
Lately, I’m finding new Fave Five people to hang around — not that I’m leaving other friends and family for new people, they’re just absenting themselves from my life. Life is changing rapidly for me. I think I’m ready for Phase 2 as soon as my goal manifests.
Her thinking wasn’t “natural”, but it was very “intentional”.
As she continued to be intentional in her thoughts, things continued to improve, but she noticed it was a little hard to accept what was happening. We’re naturally afraid to believe that things won’t always be hard.
She said:
This Mindset Mastery works! Yet, I still had the thought, “Though this is real, it can’t last.”
How can I overcome that thought?
Yes, we have ups and downs, but I don’t need to carry the negative baggage with me. I’m learning the “downs” are really just times to get creative with problem solving and manifesting.
So to keep her head in the game, she decided to apply what she was learning and kick her New Year off right:
Instead of making New Year’s Resolutions, I like to give gifts of my year-end and new-year resolutions to Christ on Christmas. This year, I gave gifts of letting go, gratitude, patience, and practicing Mindset training for a number of things on my plate, including finances and the training programs I’m considering this year. I am attending Genius Bootcamp in Logan instead of Arizona in February.
As she progressed in her lessons, I wanted to know:
“Did you face a fear from assignment/lesson 18? How effective were you at being able to think truth in spite of appearances?”
Here’s what I found in my class journal for Lesson 18:
“Wow, I really am on my way. I got supremely sick last week after making the determination that I will stick to this choice I’ve made to
Get my driver’s license and
Attend Genius Bootcamp in February
I’ve hit the terror barrier, and my body is feeling anxiety and dis-ease. I’m glad we are to listen to a recording of, or read our goal statements daily. Leslie extended the Black Friday deal, so I only have to pay a little more to switch Bootcamps! Heavenly Father is paving the way for me to do this.
Here’s my part:
I will read Leslie’s [Goal Review] feedback, plot out the driver’s license path (bite-sized steps) and interim studies, and plan the bite-sized steps for attending Genius Bootcamp. Things are moving, and I am moving with them!
I suspect the Terror Barrier is not a one-time event. It’s a breaking through process. ‘You cannot live like a victim and get ahead.’ I choose to not live like a victim!
Self-talk: head check! Settle down and LET THINGS HAPPEN! Set the intention: Dream. Believe. Feel. Let Go! God wants me to hold to the belief…LONG ENOUGH! My job is not the HOW; it’s to see it and feel it happen in the present from all angles. Keep calm. And, watch what happens!”
I also asked her, “If you had difficulty with anxiety or other troubling emotions, did you find a method for overcoming them?” She said:
Yes! I had to constantly be vigilant about my self-talk/head checks, vibration, clarity/fine tuning, and other principles. I recorded my vision with music, which I listened to daily. I also posted in the FB group and spoke with the Weekly Forum group when I got stuck… For me, it all begins in the head and making sure what I picture there is what I have also written.
Now, I don’t have to do as many head checks and check-ins with others. When I do, it’s more often as a “shine a light on the issue” (sounding board session) and it chases it from me and makes the path clear. I still have my moments, and lately they’re with bigger issues.
Truly, awareness is key, closely followed by the tools and good company to help me recognize my blind spots and change my mindset.
But Diana got Stuck during her Phase 2 Goal
In Phase 2, our students select a short term goal and then they use Rare Faith to accomplish a bite-sized piece of it. It’s the practice with the Inconsequential goal in Phase 1 that gives them the mental muscle memory to know how to think when it’s time to apply the principles to something of greater significance.
Diana struggled at first with this Phase 2 assignment because she knew what her short term goal was, but thought she had to accomplish the whole thing before she could graduate. In her words:
I wanted to surprise everyone in my MM03 class with my Phase 2 Goal completely finished: a pic of me at the Driver’s License station with my license in hand.
There are a LOT of difficulties and even terror barriers surrounding the finished product of this Phase 2 Goal. There are COVID restrictions, insurance issues, trust issues, and a host of other things for me to overcome. including my personal physical needs (no masks!: ADHD + myelin sheath = hearing/comprehending interference) and the loss of my one-time driving buddy and Lighthouse Healing mentor to personal and family issues that make it impossible for her to continue to help me. This goal has been a unique and ongoing challenge for me to maintain my joy, “see” it done, and charge through each barrier as it appears. Nevertheless, the more I practice my visualizations, the deeper the vision goes and the more detailed are the sights, smells, and etc. The more I recognize the negative thoughts, the more I channel them into appropriate directions for accomplishing my goal.
I’ve now attended Genius Bootcamp twice. I’ve also uncovered my life’s mission, which is extremely satisfying. Though COVID has suspended my driver’s license dream, I maintain a plan for obtaining it. With each terror barrier and all the other opposition I’ve encountered for this goal, it’s going to be supremely WOW.
[In fact,] I’ve had some amazing downloads since Genius Bootcamp. I’m a business owner. It’s happening this year! Creating my business name and setting up my LLC was supposed to be my end-goal for my Mindset Mastery self-paced program.
It’s happening faster than that! I’m going to have to pick a new goal!
So knowing she was feeling stuck and disappointed that she didn’t have her license already, I asked her, “What is the next step in the Driver’s License goal – what is left for you to do with that?”
She replied:
It took me a long time to identify my driving instructor. I practiced gratitude for the wait and welcomed the fact that she is amazingly patient and encouraging — the best situation for the wait.
As I’ve never had a license, her instruction is vital to my success. We agreed to a physical driving course of study, and I obtained a driving booklet for teens from the local office. We completed one successful driving visit in which I graduated from parking lot to not-so-busy roads.
However, we have many lessons still to complete that are not possible with the governor’s mandate of social distancing and only being out for jobs, grocery shopping, medical reasons, and so forth. I’m not ready for an actual driver’s test, even if it were accessible at this time. That’s not a mindset thing, I simply don’t have the knowledge or practice.
So I assured her:
“Diana, knowing where you’re coming from, I’d say what you did is a perfect example of accomplishing a bite-sized piece of your short term goal: finding the right instructor and even completing one successful drive. Yes, you still plan to accomplish getting the license, but one bite at a time is how you get there. For the sake of accomplishing the course objectives for Phase 2, it sounds to me like you’ve done that. What do you think? The defining question would be, would that bite-size piece rank high enough in difficulty for you, and was it beyond your natural control and require some rare faith to achieve it?”
Absolutely, it was. In fact, that question caused some tears and gratitude to overwhelm me like a blanket. I’m having a hard time counting that as my Phase 2 goal, because I kept imagining the plastic coated license (with a flattering picture of myself!) in my hand. I know it will happen. It just feels like cheating to stop short of that, no matter what the world’s circumstances happen to be.
“Diana, no, you need to absolutely count it. Seeing the plastic in hand is what caused you to know how important it was to get this bite-sized piece done and done right.”
I really want people to get this – to recognize how important and powerful the little pieces of our goals are, and to really acknowledge them and celebrate when they are achieved. They create momentum, and they affirm our ability to overcome obstacles. This is exactly how to do this!
Thanks, Leslie. That makes more sense to me and has settled with peace in my heart. I kept thinking that the original end-goal was the only answer. I needed the reminder that sometimes, the steps are the vital pieces that count for more than I give them credit. With that understanding, I accept and acknowledge this was monumental for me and qualifies as my Mindset Mastery Phase 2 goal.
Therefore, I’m keeping on, keeping on with my head held high and the tangible dream of having my own driver’s license (AND my own vehicle). “I HAVE my own Utah driver’s license …and car of my dreams!” — Daily rereading or listening to my present-tense written goals and more complete descriptions (with added inspirational music), aka VISUALIZATION practice has been a HUGE key to my manifesting success.
The bottom line is that I manifested a driving helper once and got over my terror barriers to actually drive. I can do it again, and again, and again… (as long as it takes) until it becomes just as easy as some of the other manifestation projects I’ve worked on in 2020 that I mentioned at the beginning.
Yes, she did. I wanted to drive the point home again, so I said, “Do you see how and why I am so confident that ANYONE can graduate with honors, and that they can do it by whatever deadline they set for themselves? It’s all about identifying that NEXT seemingly impossible step, and achieving it with the rare faith principles.”
Yes, I do. This is all SO mind-bending, yet empowering! It feels as if I’ve cracked another miracle nut of understanding today. Thank you for this discussion. I hope it helps others, too.
A Fun Side Note
Diana’s group share about finding the perfect driver unexpectedly pointed back again to her Phase 1 Goal:
For those who know my Phase 1 (Inconsequential) goal that manifested already, take a gander at how I was paid yesterday. This was the same day that I finally found someone to drive with me, and we WENT! I graduated from parking lots to the road on my first drive!
The Terror Barrier
With all of her work in the course finally complete, I asked if she faced a terror barrier along the way. She answered:
Absolutely! First, there were a couple of times that I didn’t want to attend class. I had printed the Supplemental Questions and completed the homework every time, but I felt I “didn’t belong,” I was “a know-it-all Show-off,” or contrarily, I did “not have anything to contribute.” I went anyway. I was ALWAYS glad I did! There was something I needed in every class. And, every week prepared me for the object lesson the Lord sent my way that went along with what we were studying.
Terror Barriers abound. I liken them to frequent gym visits that build more muscle.
It’s hard to mention more specifics. I held myself to completing three goals (Inconsequential, Short-Term, and Long-Term) for both the Guided Mindset Mastery and the Physical Mindset Mastery program. Included below are the Inconsequential and Bite-sized goals for the Short-term (which has become a Long-term) for the Guided Program.
I’ve been setting and accomplishing many goals since then (e.g. join Joyful Heart and the Mentoring program; graduate from Lighthouse Healing Hearts; register my business; certify in Advanced Body Mapping; find a way to pay for and take Kekchi at BYU online; join American Festival Chorus this Fall 2020 season [as mentioned before]; attend Noble Calling Intensive workshop in SLC, and make a connection with someone actively involved in an integral program for Human Trafficking rescue and rehabilitation and find out how to get involved).
So far, I’ve completed all of the ones I mentioned.
Many of these are happening quickly. Some are happening in pieces. The point is, they are getting DONE with visualization, mindset shifts, and a joyful spirit of gratitude to God for His help in making them possible.
Diana’s interest in Kekchi comes from the time she spent with the Mayans in Guatemala.
Diana concluded with these words:
Mindset Mastery is a must-have program for every individual and family. I’ve been blessed through the physical and electronic copy of the Self-paced program and the electronic and in-person Guided program. Thank you, Leslie, Trevan, Cari, and Guided MM Class 03!
Knowing the laws (and discovering more along the way) is crucial to understanding how life in general and manifestation in particular work. Attending the weekly lessons and weekly forum and posting and reading posts on the FB group has brought greater understanding, peace, joy, and connection with like-minded, higher-authority respecting (God-loving) individuals.
I’ve appreciated hearing about others’ struggles and how we each have overcome them. The Terror Barrier is real, and so is our ability to scale or penetrate it! I highly recommend Mindset Mastery (and Rare Faith podcasts! and The Jackrabbit Factor! and Genius Bootcamp!) for “doing life smarter.”
Come, join a tribe that “gets it” and respects your journey and our Creator in the process.
Well done, Diana, and congratulations! Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
_________________
Since all of this began, Diana’s business was born: AIM 2 Heal – Christ-based coaching and energetic healing facilitation. She says AIM stands for…
Abundance: Christ has it.
Intention: We refine it.
Manifestation: We co-create with Christ and bring our hopes and dreams into being.
Leslie Householder is the award-winning, international best selling author of The Jackrabbit Factor, Portal to Genius, and Hidden Treasures: Heaven's Astonishing Help With Your Money Matters. Since 2002, she has helped people all over the world discover and apply the Rare Kind of Faith that causes things to happen for powerful life changes. Through story and shifts of perspective, Leslie aims to help her readers crush every challenge, achieve every goal, and vanquish every monster under their beds. Above all, Leslie is a dedicated wife and mother of seven children.
