I won at the casino! I won at the casino! LOA Rocks!

For those of you who have been studying the LOA (Law of Attraction), part of making your manifestations or dreams come true involves "pretending" that you have received what you ask for. It works like this:

1. You ask for something you really want. You have to feel fabulous when you think of this something. The top things asked for are: money, homes, cars, jobs, and someone to love. So, think of what you want. Then ask for it. Ask God, the Universe, your Higher Power, and then move to step 2.

2. Believe you deserve to have it. Yes, I believe you should have it, so you should believe you should have it. You are the child of a King, start acting like it. I don't mean be a jerk and act like everyone should wait on you hand and foot, but just know that good things are coming your way.

2.a. There is a little codicle to this step. You have to let it go. Believe God or the Universe is going to deliver it and let go THE HOW of when it will show up. Everyone has a hard time with this, so this will take some practice. I know, it's hard for me.

We humans want to control how things come into our lives, we want to control those "X" factors that we really have no business controlling. Remember, God is a Creator, and sometimes, creation takes time. There is no failure, just a delay in results, as Helene Hadsell says. She should know. She's won every contest she's ever entered for the past 50 years, including a new home. How? She let go, and let God. Get out of His way so He can do His job.

3. Be ready to receive. If you don't believe you should receive it, you will experience a delay in results. If you have any little inkling of doubt or worry or fear, or have any negative thoughts as to how it's going to arrive, then you will experience a delay in results. Fear, doubt, worry, and negativity, act as roadblocks and will re-route your dreams.

You also have to be ready. Prepare your life for your dreams. If you want more money, make a list of how much and what you will do with it when it gets here. Don't spend it for real until it arrives. Spend it in your head, and then "pretend" you have another installment coming from your own spiritual escrow.

Yes, you have an account that holds all that you desire. The problem is, you are the only one with the "access code". If you are not in alignment with the vibrations of the Universe, then you will be denied access to your account. Think of your thoughts as spiritual "PIN" numbers. :)

If you spend a little time on this each day, you will be amazed at what you can manifest into your life. Make your manifestations good things. If you want to manifest something for someone else, that's ok too, but the results will vary. If it is something they truly desire, your energy with their energy will make it appear faster. But it isn't something they truly want, then you may be disappointed that they aren't excited about their manifestation.You will see faster results with your own desires.

The main key to all of this is gratitude. Be grateful first for what you have. Notice the contrast of what you don't have, but first and foremost, you must be grateful for what you have. If you aren't sure what to be grateful for, start with a list: health, family, friends, job, money coming into your life, money going out of your life (it means money is flowing naturally in and out of your life), your home, your life, the sunrise and sunset, your car, and anything else you love.

But what about those who are struggling or living in poverty? What about those people who have lost their homes and jobs and are going through a really hard time? Be grateful for your circumstances. You have a lot of things to be grateful for, including the struggle. Why? It will make you stronger, it will bring you to what is most important. Remember, "this too shall pass", and it will leave your life faster when you start to feel better.

Feeling better starts in your head. Start with some small thing that makes you smile, or laugh. Look at something beautiful. Remember a time when things were better, then feel how that was. The feeling will bring it faster.

And always, write down what you want. It's like placing your order with the Universe.

And we are going to the casino tomorrow.

Did I tell you, I won at the casino?

Be a part of the Prosperity Experiment. Kits will be available soon. Go to http://www.crawfordwriting.com/ and click on "Prosperity Experiment".

I surrender!

Ok, I admit it, I am mortal. I don't possess any supernatural powers, I cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound (I can't even hop from a boat to a dock without getting wet, sheesh!), ...and I cannot control the Universe. There, I feel much better now. I give up, and I am not going to keep trying anymore! I'm getting out of my own way. I submit. Tap, tap, tap!

What has brought me to this "lightbulb moment", you ask? Well, tomorrow my son, my only child, will be graduating from high school. There has been a large part of me that has been in denial of this since, oh, the first day of school this fall that this was indeed his Senior year. This was it. In true dysfunctional fashion, I have been in total denial that this was coming about, that it would be here so quickly, that time was NOT on my side, and God, the Universe, the Holy Trinity, has given me the spiritual equivalent of a smackdown! Hoo boy, did it hurt!

You see, all of the "bad luck" that has been occurring in my life has been a side effect of my denial. I realized this today, and it didn't cost me a dime or any time on the therapist's couch. I have been so wrapped up in thinking that this was going to take place later, that I realized that nope, tomorrow is it! No more school supplies to buy, no more backpacks to buy or forget in the morning rush, no more books to lug around, no more fingerpaintings of turkeys at Thanksgiving or metal geometric shapes welded together from shop class.

No more field trip fees! No more permission slips or medical emergency cards to fill out! Hey, I'm seeing the good side of this now! He, he!

All joking aside, I guess I have been stressing myself out and working myself into a stroke because I didn't want it to be over...not yet. When I put him on the bus that first day of Kindergarten, I was wiping the tears from my cheeks as the bus rounded the corner and looked across the streets to the other mothers in the neighborhood doing the same thing, then we all turned and went home. At least we knew we weren't alone. Now, my son is a grown man, who is driving, shaving, holding down a job, and I cannot believe that he is who he is, but mostly, I cannot believe he came from me!

I have a biased opinion, I know. But he is the kind of person I am proud and honored to know. Truly, I am. And I will be sitting in that fieldhouse, crying my eyes out and I am sure I will look around and see the other mothers from the neighborhood and we will nod and acknowledge each other and one of us will smile and the others will smile back as if to say, "Here we are again! Wasn't it just yesterday we put them on the bus for Kindergarten? Where did the time go?"

My son is taking the summer for himself, to have some fun with his friends, to work and save up some money. He is planning to enlist in the Navy and leave in the fall for boot camp. He's not doing it "just for the money" for college. I asked him if I hit the lottery if he would just take the money and go to college and he said, "No. I would still enlist in the Navy. I want to see the world." Fair enough. I totally support him on that. I'm still scared for him, our world is at war and there is a part of me that prays he never has to fulfill his duty as a soldier and kill someone or be killed or wounded himself, but if that is where his heart lies, I will be there to support him. So, when he takes that journey this fall, I will have a whole new set of worries, but I know my son will be taking the path that is right for HIM, not the path I think is right for him. And that right there tells me that we raised a fine, young man. And I am grateful to all of those who helped me make that possible. In a way, we are all graduating too. Congratulations!