Manifestation 101: How to consistently make the right choices

It sucks being torn between two (or more) choices.

Should you spend your meager savings on that new car you’re going to need soon, or should you pay off your credit card debt first?

Should you take the job in Company A (which pays less but looks kind of cozy)? Or should you go for the job at powerhouse Company B (where you could climb the ladder fast, but where the atmosphere is highly competitive)?

Should you date the nice guy or the hot guy?

Well, you can stop agonizing because there's a way to make the right choice. You don't have to do it all by yourself: All you have to do is ask Spirit (aka God, Creator, the Universe) for help and keep your eyes open for an answer.

Here's a personal story to show you how signs from Spirit and synchronicity can point you in the right direction.

Dammit, what kind of book am I supposed to write?

I had started working on two very different books: one was a middle-grade novel and the other a nonfiction book on the Law of Attraction. 

For a while, I was going back and forth between the two, but I knew sooner or later I'd have to make a decision. 

This was not just a choice between two books, though. It was also a question of where my life was headed. Was I a children's book writer or a nonfiction writer? 

So I asked God to provide an unmistakable answer.

Spirit's two-by-four response

As soon as I started working on the Law of Attraction book again, I immediately noticed a shift in energy. Whereas I’ve often felt dejected and stuck working on the novel, the nonfiction writing went much more smoothly.

I also noticed a measurable uptick in Twitter followers, many of them motivational speakers and spiritual teachers, some even famous. (And that even though I didn’t write about manifestation on Twitter at all.)

I also started meeting more and more nonfiction writers in person. And the little miracles kept coming.

One night, I attended a local mini-workshop called “The Art of Transformation” with Ronald Rand, a seasoned theater man. I had expected to learn more about acting, but I hadn’t expected a lesson in spirituality.

At some point, Rand started talking about and quoting from the book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, by Eckhart Tolle.

“Forget about guilt,” Rand said (I’m paraphrasing), “forget about worry and fear. Just trust that the Universe will support your dream, your life’s purpose, and that it will guide you where you need to be.”

That caught me completely by surprise. But it still didn’t answer the question: Fiction or nonfiction? Children’s novels or body, mind, and spirit?

When I went to bed that night, I grabbed the book The Weekend Book Proposal by Ryan G. Van Cleave, which I had started to read a few days earlier. Now, in case you don't know this: you ONLY need a book proposal for nonfiction books, but not for novels.  

I turned the page and saw this:

The last two books I bought? The Elfstones of Shannara and Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. I picked up Terry Brooks’ fantasy novel because the poet in me loved the sound of elfstones and Shannara. (I’m also partial to anything that reminds me of Tolkien, the first “adult” books I ever truly loved.) My inner child insists that I buy one fantasy book a month, so I was browsing the Sarasota Barnes & Noble sci-fi/fantasy shelves, wondering if I should finally read Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, when my eyes fell on Brooks’ fantasy book. 

Elfstones.

Shannara.

There’s something luscious about how the harsh monosyllabic stones is softened by the three-syllable word Shannara. But then I’m a poet, which means I get unduly excited about nuances of language and sound in ways my family doesn’t understand.

Okay, so if you read a book and find your first name mentioned FOUR TIMES in the span of a few paragraphs—especially if you have an unusual first name like me—please don’t shrug and turn the page. 

First, gasp in awe. Second, say "Thank you, God." Third, stop and ponder what this may be telling you.

EXERCISE: This week, watch for a sign

Here’s a little fun exercise for you. Ask a question you really want the answer to, about some choice you have to make or a problem you’re facing. Ask Spirit to send you guidance in form of a clear sign. Ask out loud and then let it go.

But keep your eyes open.

Don’t walk through your day like a zombie, as most people do. Be aware of what happens around you and keep looking for that sign. 

• It could be in the vanity plate of the car in front of you. 
• It could be in the headline of the newspaper you just opened. 
• It could be in a conversation between two strangers you overhear in passing. 
• It could be something your mother says to you, or the guy at the deli counter in the grocery store. 
• It could be that every time you think about choosing door number one, you step in dog poop, trip over a crack in the sidewalk, and spill coffee onto your shirt. But every time you think about choosing door number two, you get a check in the mail, have strangers smile at you, and discover that the sexy dress you ached for is on sale at 70% off.

Observe and scan everything that happens to you, every day. Observe how dealing with certain things makes you feel. The more observant you get, the more frequent and clear the signs from Spirit get. 

I think they’re there all the time, it’s just that we’re not paying attention. But if you practice this a lot, at some point the second-guessing stops and you just know—which is the exact moment when you’ll start to live a truly enchanted life.