Secret Societies & Subcultures

Do your curiosities lead you to some interesting places? I know mine do.

I was thinking about it this morning - just how cool of a world we live in. We can have a moment of curiosity about any offhand subject - a question - and then get the answer instantly if we so choose to do so.

It's just how we do things nowadays. 

You're watching something on TV and you KNOW you've seen that actor in something else and you no longer have to wrack your brain trying to figure it out. If you're watching Amazon Prime it's right there on the screen. Or you just IMDb it. 

You can be having a conversation and then have this moment of non-clarity...when you're not sure about something, and say I wonder...  

How does Super Tuesday work? Why do they call it Super Tuesday?

How do you convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?

What's the difference between true north and magnetic north?

What's the tallest peak in this state?

What's the best place to live? Best spa?

​​​​​​​What's the difference between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens?

And then to The Google. And just like that [finger snap] - mystery solved.

No trip to the library required. 

You have to admit - that's pretty cool if you grew up in the days of encyclopedias and micro fiche. (🙄Oh good grief...just Google it. You probably don't know how to use a rotary phone either.)

Has one of those discoveries ever led you down a rabbit hole where one thing leads to the next and then the next and then the next?

Have you ever gotten involved with something new and figured out there's a whole sub-culture to it? Complete with secret societies like the Illuminati or Knights Templar? It's a whole new world to discover!

The Marvel Universe. Dungeons and Dragons. Black List or 24 (best TV shows EVER).

Manifesting and tuning into what you want is just like that.

There is a whole secret society of people who tune into abundance and are able to manifest it. Manifest abundance? That's a thing? If you're like me the first time I heard that term you're thinking..."Huh? I want to know about that."

😉 I got you.

I know. I know. Kinda woo woo sounding on the surface. But remember- whole sub-culture. 

It's really not so woo woo when you start to think about it. Even if you don't go around talking about manifesting and attracting what you want - you've probably done it before if you've ever had any margin of success or achievement in your life. 

Let's break it down and unpack it quickly.

Think about an area of life you're super happy with. You're on top of it. OR...even better...think about any time you've achieved or gotten something you really, really, ree-yuh-lee wanted. Something you were super-duper excited about. Remember? Great.

Let's call it like it is. You OBSESSED about it. You know you did. You wrote it down. You thought about it. You imagined what it would be like when you got/achieved it. How your life would be different. What it would feel like. Maybe you Googled it. Possibly looked at pictures or read reviews related to it.

IT had your attention, your focus. You envisioned it. It was palpable. You could see/hear/taste/feel/speak it.

You talked about it to your trusted friends. You journaled about it. You posted about it on social media. 

And...you got it/achieved it.

THAT is manifesting. 

Boom.

See? Familiar.

And your past successes hold a lot of clues and resources for you to create what you want next.

Still with me? I thought so.

You're not new to realizing your goals/results/outcomes.

Let's start with the part you know by heart.

First - think of what you want. Not just generally speaking - although that's fine, too, at times. Describe it as if you were packaging it for the shelf. And go crazy if you're in the mood. Dream big - why not? Be specific. Write it down.

Next - Connect to why you want it. Get emotionally attached. Think about why it's important to you. How will it feel? What would it mean? Who do you have to become to achieve it?

Then...Create an action plan. List out the steps to doing it.

Write it down. Draw hearts and rainbows if you want. 

All that probably sounds somewhat familiar to you. (Not the hearts and rainbows part - but everything else.)

But wait...there's more!

Allow me to introduce you to the sub-culture of manifesting,

Yes - there is a whole sub-culture to this.

It starts with knowing it's not enough to only go through the exercise above just once. It's great to get connected to why you want something. I've said that enough times to wish I had a dollar for every time I did.

AND...

In addition to that...

Keep getting connected to it every single day. Multiple times a day even. 

Manifesting is a little (okay a lot) like obsessing. 

You look for every opportunity to work it in. 

Golf was one such obsession of mine. I was hooked from the very first swing when I  smashed the ball with my driver on the first try but it sliced off to the right. Wow! This is a puzzle I must figure out! That was that.

Every Saturday and Sunday I played golf. Sometimes 18. Sometimes 27. Summertime the Wednesday night dog fight, too. Or walking a 5-hole loop I could start behind my house.

I could not go out of town on the weekends without my sticks. I'd be on the hunt for a course to play.

Girls golf weekends? Yep. Golfari at Pine Needles with the famous Peggy Kirk Bell? You better believe it.

Golf movies. Golf clothes. Golf shoes. Golf accessories. Golf tech - range finders and the like. Sparkly ball markers. Pink! Golf books. Golf instruction. Golf videos. Golf workshops. Harvey Pinnick's Little Red Book. See? Whole subculture. 

What were we talking about?  (I still get distracted by it.)

Oh yes- manifesting what you want and the subculture of it all.

How is manifesting different than just setting goals and working towards them?

For starters, journaling is a big part of manifesting. 

You can chant incantations, meditate and create vision boards. All great tools I've used myself. 

Yet - I don't know a better way than journaling. Journaling provides a place for you to start with a blank page every day. A place to get in touch with what's on your mind right that very moment. And write what you want to have/do/be. You can be specific or vague. And tap into (i.e. focus on, obsess about) what you want. Every. Day. Versus putting it in a binder or on the wall or on your bathroom mirror so you can ignore it or not even see it after a period of time.

Journaling is a practice - like yoga. You don't do it once and say okay cool, I got that. Next? You do it regularly. Preferably daily. Or even more frequently.

One tip I can give you is to write things as if they are already true. This allows you to feel it, similar to what I described above, but better. Let me give you an example.

Writing out your goals and stating why it's important and how you'll feel when you achieve it plays out like this:

>>>"I will lose 10 pounds and weigh 130 by August 1st. It will feel great! I will love my new body. I will fit into my jeans again."<<<

Or something to that effect. Not bad. Very useful. Problem...does that really elicit a strong emotion from you? And how does that really connect to the rest of your life? It does mind you - but it's not being channeled to the highest potential when segregated from your other goals. 

Compare that with a journaling session that plays out more like this:

>>>"I am fit AF! I look incredibly hot in my jeans. My husband loves the new look and it has helped me feel like my sexy self again. I stop traffic! I love the way I look and feel. I have boundless energy. I am crushing it at work. I go to high end spas - those places are for me. I complete an incredible photo shoot and love the new pics. I book my vacation to Italy this week. I get two new soul-mate clients this week. I buy those hot shoes I saw. I am a compelling rock-star coach. I hire a chef. I have $50K cash in the bank. etc. etc."<<<

The later is random. At least it appears that way on the surface. But see how it's much more connected to emotion? And see how integrated it is - being from a "random" stream of conscious? Are all of these things connected? You bet they are. Because they all have to do with identity. This is me, my life. Not just a segment of my life.

And the later contains layers - some surface stuff like shoes and some deeper stuff too. 

Stating goals and mapping plans will always be an important step - don't skip it. But consider journaling to be an important part of your arsenal. Use it to get into state every day. I know you "know" state is everything. But do you have a practice to get into it? A consistent, daily practice? 

I've said it before - getting into state is doing the work that allows you to do the work. 

The subculture, yes! It includes:

• A dedicated time in your schedule. Journaling is a non-negotiable part of your day.
• Pens
• A journal - (#duh 😂)
• A computer file accessible from anywhere in case you travel or otherwise can't access your paper journal. 
• Sticking with it. Some days it comes faster than others. Just stick with it and do the work, already.
• Seeing your visions come to life from out of nowhere. (That's really a thing)
• That funny feeling that says "That's weird. I just wrote about that yesterday."
• "Hmm. I never even knew I wanted that."
• "This is happening fast!"
• Not checking your favorite social media feed until you finish your journaling session. 
• Seeing journaling as a "critical" daily action item that takes priority over answering emails.
• "What other crazy stuff could I imagine and conjure up?"
• Feeling superhuman.
• Feeling like you have a secret. You know something is going to happen before anyone else. (See - You're in a secret society.)
• Feeling like you have a magic wand.

I challenge you to make journaling part of your daily routine. Unleash the you you'd love to be on those pages. And actually - it's the you you've always been. And your journal is a great place to remember exactly who that is.

Today is the day to #GoForIt and #Live Deliberately.

Founder, Personal Evolution Co.