Intentional Thinking

By Marilyn Hay


What if our thoughts had
power—the power to bring us what we think about? Sounds like magic …
or, perhaps, craziness. But what if it’s true?  

I’ve heard
about intentional thinking and the Law of Attraction from a variety of
different sources over the past year, only recently stopping long
enough to pay attention and learn what they are about. Simply put,
everything in the universe is energy and all energy is connected—we are
all part of the whole. Our thoughts, like everything else, have energy
that resonates with the universe and the universe ‘sends’ us more of
what we’ve been thinking about. So, if we’re thinking about what makes
us grateful, we get more of whatever that is. If we think about a thing
or circumstance we don’t want, we get more of it.

I tested
this “Ask, and it will be given unto you,” message out for myself
several years ago. I was sitting in the hot sun by the side of a road,
hoping for a parking space while waiting for a friend. I looked
longingly at the full parking spots across the way, in a shaded circle
under a cluster of trees. To make the test valid, I didn’t just ask for
a parking spot—that would be too easy. I chose exactly which spot I
wanted and asked for it. Less than two minutes later, a couple
appeared, got in the car that held that specific spot, and drove away.
In the next half hour, no other spot became available. Coincidence?
Maybe.

Forms of intentional thought like meditation and
prayer, followed by surrender and trust in the power of the universe,
have been and are used by people in many cultures as vehicles for
expressing one’s wishes. I’m reminded of Mother Theresa, who, with all
the good she achieved, only physically worked for two hours a day. She
spent the rest of her time in meditation and prayer, asking for help,
seeking a power stronger than her own to improve the lot of those
around her. The National Demonstration Project
of 1993 was a famous experiment proving the power of intentional
thought. A group of 4,000 came together over a period of 7 weeks to
meditate and pray on reducing the crime in Washington D.C. Crime was
reduced so much the police themselves became convinced that it worked.

What
if that 96% of the universe we don’t understand, the dark energy and
dark matter that doesn’t conform to our laws of science, is
intentional? Is something greater than we can imagine, something that
wants us to have what would please us and that only requires us to
think it?

Can it really be that all we need to do is just ask,
believe, and then surrender fear, worry and doubt to allow the change
we seek to happen?

I think of this process of asking,
surrendering, listening and receiving as a continuum or flow in the
universe, rather than as disjointed, separate steps in a process. Not
believing there is something around us, something we are part of in an
intrinsic way that simply wants us to be joyous in our experience of
the miracle of life, something we cannot touch, see or measure, stops
the flow. I think the trick is in the surrendering. Doubting we’re
worthy enough, not believing anything is truly possible, fretting and
holding onto control, believing we need to do everything for ourselves
(even though we know we can’t)—surrender means letting go of these.
There are infinite opportunities around us—we just have to see them and
respond to them. The choice to act, to accept the opportunity
presented, is always ours to make.

A woman I know who lives in a
nearby town decided she’d had more than enough of the dating scene. If
there was a man out there for her, he would have to come to her door.
She had a good idea of the sort of man she hoped to have in her life,
but had given up hope of ever meeting him. One day, he did, indeed,
come to her door—he was a deliveryman. Recognizing an opportunity when
she saw it, she decided to go out with him, and now they’re happily
married.

So what’s happening when we don’t end up getting
things we ask for? Perhaps we sabotage our wish by believing it really
can’t come true; essentially, our own thinking that it’s not possible
stops it before it can happen. Or we may be thinking of the old adage,
“Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.” Afraid of what we
might manifest, we stop wishing. Stop asking. Stop hoping. And stop
believing that miracles are possible.

I challenge you to focus
on what you’d really like to have in your life, your community, your
world. Think about it every day, visualize how great it would be, and
then surrender all doubts and worries. Trust it will happen, and then
let go. But watch and listen for opportunities to arise around you. And
tell me what shows up….