Reb MacRath, Action Manifester! Chapter One

The one subject that's sure to set eyes rolling and hopes soaring in almost equal numbers has been called by many names: The Secret, The Law of Attraction, Manifestation, Creative Visualization, Positive Thinking...to cite just a few. Some call it Absolute Hooey. Some call it Pure Hokum. Some call it much worse.

The philosophy, though, has been around a long while. The Secret traces it back to the ancient Babylonians. But we needn't go back quite that far, since no Babylonian books have survived. We can follow the thread quite easily in our own country: from Ralph Waldo Emerson's and Prentice Mulford's shared doctrine 'Thoughts are Things'...to James Allen's 'As a Man Thinketh'...to Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich'...and on down the line to Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra and the gang.

Whatever their lingo, whatever their slant, the basic tenet that all share was best expressed by Joseph Murphy: 'Life is an out-picturing of your inner pictures.' Whether you believe devoutly, scoff in complete disgust, or are sitting on the fence, know this: a poor and miserable boy born as Archibald Alexander Leach transformed himself into his image of the ultimate elegant actor...renamed Cary Grant. An Austrian weakling with bad teeth and an unpronounceable last name hit the gym, seeing his arms as giant oaks--until they became just that. Arnold then saw himself as an actor, despite the 'impossible' odds and his accent. He then saw himself as Governor...Many fighters include visualization when they're training for upcoming fights...And, back to good ole Cary Grant, he succeeded in quitting smoking through a form of self-hypnosis, picturing his success.

Relax: Reb MacRath, Action Manifester will arrive in just a minute. But before he takes the stage, know this: I'd studied the subject for over twenty years with wildly mixed results. 
On the plus side: I'd seen myself, finally, breaking into print and winning the Stoker Award...I'd seen myself traveling to New York, landing a copywriting position, marrying the girl of my dreams..
On the dark side: I'd seen my marriage crumble, seen myself enter a decade-long crash, seen my writing career go up in flames, seen myself enter The Desert for years...
Getting back onto the plus side: I'd seen myself getting my life back on track, seen myself publish 5 ebooks, seen myself lose 25 pounds and whip myself back into shape...

How could I avoid drifting again to the dark side?

Well, bless my soul--it's Reb MacRath, Action Manifester!

Now, I don't object in the slightest to becoming a new sort of hero: a man of a certain age who got his bleep together and succeeded in out-picturing some groovy, incredible things. But I really must confess:

THE 'GONG' WAS STRUCK BY ACCIDENT!
Forget all of my efforts to will new success. Forget all of my drive to control every single detail. Here's the miracle that came about to launch the debut of Reb MacRath, Action Manifester:

Certified 100% true:
Several weeks ago. with a week to go until payday, I'd taken care of all my bills but had next to nothing to live on. You can imagine my emotions. I didn't know what to do. But I'd just read a passage by Wayne Dyer: one that involved the spirit of abundance and the need to release our obsession with controlling all the details. I set out one day dead broke, but grateful for the job I had, for the ebooks I'd managed to publish, for the weight I'd been able to lose, for the modest pleasures I've managed to find here in Charlotte.
Dead broke, but feelin' good. I got to talking with a guy. Money never entered the conversation. I was dressed nicely, my manner upbeat. But he thanked me for brightening his night and handed me $12. As he left, he turned back around and slipped me $20 more!

Read what you will into this. But I never asked for anything. And I do believe that my embracing the spirit of abundance, instead of thoughts of scarcity and need, brought this turn of luck around.

And two days ago, out of the blue, I received an EFT from Amazon, unexpected royalties.

OKAY, OKAY, ALREADY! ON WITH THE ADVENTURE!
Well, here's the way-cool news for all: a master strategy came clear to me for keeping the wind in my sails. Find a good one of your own, if you decide to sail with Reb. I bought:
A new pocket-size Moleskine notebook.
The Grand Plan: a rotating five-part arc, with two pages a day for each part. My opening 5:
1) What Don't I Want? Frank, specific answers.
    E.g.: I don't want low, or no, Amazon sales.
2) What Do I Want? Transformations of these into frank, specific positives on which I'll focus instead of Don't Wants.
    E.g.: I do want a top-selling catalog of well-reviewed Amazon ebooks.
3) What Are My Top Priority Clearings? Note: The last word has no connection whatsoever with Scientology. It refers to areas in which I need more work.
    E.g.: Anger management. Nutritional improvement. More consistent workouts.
4) Which intentions do I most need to feel I've already achieved?
    E.g.: I need to feel like Ruby Reb now, not when I'm a millionaire.
5) Where do I most need to start letting go?
    E.g.: My need to control specific outcomes. Or to let go of the hold of past painful memories,

Finally, to keep up my interest:  I write one daily Perception, or new thought on the process.  I list one or two Clearings.  I visualize in detail one of my intentions as accomplished. And...I list one or two of the day's actions that further my intentions.

The Almighty Trick of It
But you already see the trick: Batches of 5 offer variety, but the constant repetition could take the wind from my sales. Soooooo...
For my second batch of five, which I began today, I did a variation:
1) What are the two Don't Wants that can most impact the rest, if I correct them first?

So, Where's the Beef, El Reberoo?
I thought you'd never ask! In the first week of the adventure, I manifested the following things:
--I won a part-time job at Macy's, which enables me to move from a substandard one-bedroom apartment into a newly renovated condo in August...also to beef up my wardrobe with compound associate discounts on threads...also to start advertising my ebooks by posting the covers on World Literary Cafe in June.
--I began rising long before the alarm to implement a new, Spartan fitness regimen. This is based on a program described by fitness master Matthew McConaughey: I'd read that he reached peak physical condition one summer by doing 1000 situps and 500 pushups each day--not all at once...but through the day. I've halved his numbers to start with.
--I've incorporated meditation and constant review of the new Moleskine into my daily routine.
--I've reached the halfway mark in 'retailoring'/rewriting my first Kelley Wilde book, The Suiting, for its 25th anny edition.
--At the same time, I'm prepping mentally to start revising the first draft of the next Boss MacTavin novel.

To be continued next week...