State intent, let God go to work

How do we live our lives abundantly? Do we get there by hard work or by not giving a thought for tomorrow?

Sometimes life has a way of serendipitously bringing joy to us, often when we least expect it. Through a process I call Creative Synchronicity, we can help attract this serendipity into our lives.

A few years ago at a Crystal Mountain retreat, I had a glimpse of this synchronicity. I was able to attract some amazing “coincidences” that helped me answer the question, what is my work and what is God’s work?

Two of the 10 steps in this process are setting a clear intention and maintaining an attitude of positive anticipation.

I set several intentions over the four-day stay. My first intention was to find an opportunity to play my drum with others in a group setting. Secondly, I wanted to find some Benadryl for my wife, who was allergic to the bees.

My next intention was to have the gray birds on the top of the mountain pluck a treat from my hand, and my fourth intention was to find out what kind of birds those were.

Here is what happened.

Day one: While heading back to the condo where we were staying, three women we didn’t know were walking down the stairs. Just as they got near us, I overheard them talking about setting up a drumming circle that weekend.

I let them know that I’d brought one of my drums, which I was hoping to play. They told me that I’d be welcome to join them, and the next day I got my wish.

Day two: My wife put up a notice on the community bulletin board that she was looking for some Benadryl. We didn’t have a cell phone, so weren’t quite sure how anyone would find us.

Later in the day, just as I was walking past the bulletin board, a lady mentioned to a friend that she wished she knew how to get ahold of the person who needed the Benadryl, as she had some.

I said my wife was the one who needed it, and at that moment she returned from the restroom. I introduced them to each other. My wife got the Benadryl she needed.

Day three: We were on the top of the mountain and couldn’t find any treats for the birds. We were getting ready to leave when I saw a Cheez-It lying in the hallway. I stood on top of the ridge, holding the little cracker between my thumb and forefinger.

In about two minutes, a gray bird flew up to me and landed on my hand and sat there for five or six seconds. He didn’t even take the Cheez-It. He just looked at me and then flew away. It felt magical.

Day four: I’d asked several people on the mountaintop if they knew what kind of birds those were; none did. Later, as we were checking out, I noticed a laminated sheet on the checkout desk that had dozens of pictures of the local flowers.

I picked it up to look more closely at it and underneath the sheet was another set of pictures – this one of the local birds. I saw one that looked just like the bird on the mountain: a Clark’s Nutcracker. I asked the clerk and she confirmed that’s what it was.

All of these intentions were satisfied easily, without struggle. We find our abundance by setting clear intentions and allowing the universe to manifest them.

It is our job to set clear intentions, it is God’s job to make them happen: Creative Synchronicity in action.