How the magic of writing works
Part 1 – expect the unexpected
Publishing short articles online is something I have been doing for only two months, though that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing before. As a matter of fact, I have a lifelong habit of writing, although I wouldn’t call myself an author.
For as long as I can remember I would have a simple wire-bound notebook laying around. From time to time I would pick it up to write down an idea for painting, an observation, or something remarkable that had happened in my life. My writing wasn’t organised in any specific pattern. It seemed to happen only when I was inspired by a particular idea. I didn’t use it to vent my feelings, probably because I have been fortunate to have very patient friends who would lend an ear when I needed it. I wouldn’t even go back and read what I wrote – somehow the act of jolting thoughts down on paper seemed to be more important than keeping track of them. When one notebook was full, I would put it away for potential later use – and then forget all about it.
Until, one day when I was on the move. I’d just bought a large apartment in Oslo that could house both my living space and a studio. It was the dream place I’d wanted for a long time – particularly since I’ve never warmed up to the idea of keeping my work and living space separate.
Buying that apartment was a happy moment, though it was the one that followed an uneasy period; an upheaval as a result of some tough, life-changing decisions on my behalf.
I combed through boxes and boxes of stuff in my new place deciding what to keep and what to throw away. One box contained a pile of my notebooks. My first impulse was just to throw it away as something that belonged to my previous life. However, the curiosity took the better of me and I sat down on the dusty floor to have a meeting with myself.
One of the notebooks, dated 5 years prior to my move, was a reflection of the uncertainty and the worries I was going through at the time. I remembered how desperately I wanted a place that I could truly call my own, but at the time I wasn’t even close to being able to achieve what I wanted. That didn’t prevent me from dreaming though – dreams, as we know, are for free.
There, in the middle of my notebook, I found a three page long, unusually detailed, description of my dream apartment. As I read on, I could feel the goose bumps on my arms – it was a point for point description of the property I’d just acquired.
I had completely forgotten that I had written it, although I could now vividly recall the occasion that led me into doing this – a conversation with a friend. I was most probably doing my friend’s head in with my extensive talk about how much I needed a place of my own. It must be mentioned that my friend was practicing some form of advanced meditation, so it was suggested that I should visualize what I wanted and perhaps even write it down for better result. The most important thing was that the description should be in high definition, down to every minuscule detail. Mind you, it was just before the existence of high definition itself – and way before the existence of ‘Secret’ and the concept of treating the universe as an online shopping directory.
I spent a whole afternoon visualising and writing. Not only was it a truly exciting process, I also experienced a rare state of sharpened focus and determination. The effort I put into the words gave me a feeling of clarity, happiness and much needed respite from my worries about my uncertain future. After writing it all down, I promised myself that I would soon return to my vision. I wanted to repeat the positive experience.
I never did. However, sitting with my notebook and marvelling at how precisely my vision had worked out in real life brought me to the conclusion that somehow I programmed my subconscious mind. Perhaps it was just one of those serendipitous events. I prefer to believe it was the power of my intention that worked behind the scenes while I was busy taking care of everyday tasks.
Could it be the fact that I shaped the vision and then let go of it? How does it work – and can magic be repeated? And if so, then there must be a method behind it that does work.
Funny enough, I found out how it doesn’t work. I moved to London sometime after ‘ The Secret’ had become all rage. So, my friend who had read the book and was very excited about it brought it to me along with the DVD so we could watch it together. We made an evening out of it, plopping ourselves down on comfy chairs in front of TV with enough good wine to keep us focused. In spite of my scientific inclination (that makes me question rather than just accepting everything as a fact), I liked the film – or may be it was the wine. Regardless, we talked about the concept at length and decided that we should put is to work at once. We would pick a wish, visualise it for a week, and then see what happens.
I had an art collector who was on hold concerning one of my large works, so I visualised that big check coming my way within a week. My friend was looking for a serious boyfriend, so she wanted to meet a wealthy man. Just for the record, she was high up the carrier ladder herself, so the wealth part wasn’t because she was in lack of it. It was the fact she went for good looking guys who were at an age where they don’t have an income to match hers – and that was a problem.
We agreed to get on with that and then call each other after a week. A week later, as I was enjoying the sunshine and an ice cream in the park, I called her to report that I had received a check. More than that, I had received a whole check book from my bank – so now I could write all the checks I wanted to myself. On her end, she could inform me that during the weekend, she’d gone out with a group of friends and had met a new guy. His name was Richard, but his friends called him `Rich` – and that was her result on meeting a rich man.
While we were having a good laugh, I suggested the reason for such poor outcomes must have been because of what we believed in was total crap. As I was voicing my theory, one of those London double decker buses stopped on a red light. The side of the bus was covered with huge letters of advertisement: `Believe in Better`.
Perhaps the Universe is not above having a good laugh on our behalf.
On a more serious note, I kept returning to thoughts about how we tend to forget about our great ideas and intentions and quickly replace our long term dreams with more urgent matters of daily life.
Could writing be used to keep track of what is important? The answer is absolutely yes. After all, we type away on our devices all day long already, but somehow it doesn’t contribute to making life easier or more meaningful.
I wondered whether I could use writing in my daily life in such a way it could make it easier. In search for options, I had to do reading and some experimenting – and the results of my research will be posted in part 2 of this article: how to make things happen.
PS: the art collector bought my painting two weeks later; it took my friend 3 years to find a boyfriend she wanted.
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