Soul Matters – March 2021

The following is from the ‘Soul Matters’ archives, back when we went places and saw people.

I was out with a friend the other evening enjoying a real Manhattan in a real bar. In the course of conversation my friend said, in a rather Eeyorish way (i.e. witty, humorous and severely cynical), that he could see his future and what he saw looked a lot like a trailer park.

Now, disregarding the fact that my friend would probably be quite happy in a little trailer somewhere, making music or poking away at his computer, coffee in hand, and regardless of the fact that he’d had a rotten day, I still gotta say, “Be careful what you envision, Eeyore.”

Creation begins with visioning. Even when we think we’re kidding, that little vision pops out of our imagining and into the Universal Soup, and there it floats in the not-too-distant future, waiting to manifest. Remember the famous Henry Ford quote, “If you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right”? Well, if you envision the trailer, or you envision the Playboy Mansion (I don’t, mind you, but I’m offering it as a plausible alternative for a male mind), you’re right.

My grandmother liked to say that it’s just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor one, from which I will extrapolate to say that, from a metaphysical point of view, it’s just as easy to envision something big and wonderful as something small and depressing. I mean, my vision for my friend looks like a smallish stone villa in a vineyard somewhere in the South of France. And really, when you think about it, why not? It’s no more or less plausible than the trailer park. In fact, I rather like it myself….

We dream our world into being with every thought, every wish, and—here’s the big one—every fear. Where attention goes energy flows, and energy, my friends, is everything.

This is not just some woo-woo blather: it’s a demonstrable fact that our energy affects everyone and everything around us and vice versa. Think prayer. Think premonitions. Think the energy of a room. These are not anomalies, but the invisible action of energies being transmitted and received. Time and space are merely mental constructs to navigate the world as we see it; they do not limit energy.

It’s vitally important to be conscious of what we think and envision for ourselves, because we tend to create what we imagine, good or bad. So when we find ourselves sitting in a lawn chair by the trailer door sipping Jim Beam from a paper cup and say, “See, I knew this was how it was going to end up,” it’s because we created it. (Not there’s anything wrong with this little scenario, mind you. If this is your dream, by all means, shoot for the stars.)

We all tend to be a bit cavalier with what we toss into the ethers, playing fast and loose with hopes and fears, thoughts and worries. These things are real. A thought is a thing; it has life and shape and power. Choose yours carefully.

KATE INGRAM, MA, is a counselor, life transitions coach, and award-winning author. She used to pride herself on being a rather wonderful Eeyore, but now chooses to be happy. Her newest book, “Grief Girl’s Guide,” is available on Amazon and locally at Rebel Heart Books. Find out more at katherineingram.com.