An experiment in imagination
I hadn’t vacuumed or cleaned the carpets in the two years I’d been living in that damp apartment. Yet there I sat, surrounded by copies of Men’s Health, Car and Driver, Maxim, Consumer Reports, GQ, Cosmopolitan, and a myriad of other magazines of lesser brand recognition. Each was missing full page spreads, key product imagery, feature photos, and showcased the occasional outline where a nude model had once been.
On a dreary day in the fall of 2003, for hours on end, I butchered magazine covers and editorial content with a pair of kitchen scissors. Each gaping hole I left represented some our world’s most desired stuff. And here I was shoving it all into an old Patron tequila box, wondering when it would magically appear in my life. This was my “manifestation box.” I had just been introduced to the Law of Attraction and naturally assumed that the cars, gadgets, models, beaches, and mansions would all soon be mine.
I still had a lot to learn.
I’m a self-help junkie. Like many, whose credit cards literally created the billion-dollar personal growth industry, I have purchased every get-rich-quick scheme, real estate course, fad diet, brain stimulator, speed reading course, miracle healing device, and home juicer.
Late night infomercials are designed for people like me.
I’m also addicted to religion (another billion-dollar industry I’m growing), and not any one in particular. I grew up in the Christian church, briefly turned atheist when that was a fad, found out what agnostic meant and claimed that for a while, experimented with my own version of Buddhism, hit a rough patch and resorted back to Christianity, found it limiting my creativity, discovered metaphysics, got turned off by a bunch of old hippies, got turned on by a bunch of young hippies, realized it was the “organized” part of things that I found inhibiting, but then found some organizations that I aligned with, took a step back and went through the entire gamut of religions from a new perspective, saw a lot of similarities and a lot of differences, ultimately landed back where I started (and, breathe), which was:
What do I really believe?
In early 2011, after years of practicing (when I remembered to) the power of positive thought, I took a job at Google and became fascinated with an idea that’s embedded into their culture. Based in eastern religion, it’s the concept of mindfulness. For too many years, I was so focused on the dogma of everything, that I never noticed the spirituality. I decided that instead of trying to understand why and what everyone else was believing, I would take a look inward and see if there was any truth there.
What did I end up finding at the root of all my problems? The usual—self-loathing, excessive alcohol, and a lethargic mind being the main culprits.
I’m now in the process of reexamining everything I know about mind, body, and spirit. From the vantage point of mindfulness I’ve discovered that approaching these things in terms of right or wrong solutions isn’t the answer. With an altered perspective they can all make sense.
Yes, I believe in the Law of Attraction. But I also believe in Jesus (Yeshua). I believe in the Buddha. I believe in Geometry (God Math for the win!). I believe in subjective reality. I believe in our quantum awesomeness. (cue building music) I believe in Me.
But mostly, I believe that no matter what, having a positive attitude, an inquisitive mind, and an open outlook will always benefit us no matter what.
In November of 2012, I quit my job at Google to explore the universe full-time through the lens of my own imagination.
This blog is an experiment in thinking beyond what is possible. To try and figure things out, or step beyond the need for physical proof. To approach life from a place of innocence, like the new kitten who rolls around on the floor with a loose piece of paper.
So, join me on my journey of the mind, body, and spirit.
If our thoughts are things, let’s see how far honest imagination will take us.