It's No Secret: I Went Fishing!

Like many folks, I put some extra thought into choosing what to read at the beach. Oddly, I'm not now, and never have been, a fiction reader. (I know, I know. Believe me, I know. The rest of my family are voracious fiction readers. And they all think I'm weird.)

Although I'm a little slow picking up the trend, I chose The Secret And before I left home, I even downloaded the movie.

The book poses some interesting theories, which I had plenty of time to ponder while drifting a few feet from shore on my neon green raft:

* If our entire bodies are replaced within a few years, as science has proven, the how can it be that degeneration or illness remains in our bodies for years?

* Think of a car driving through the night. The headlights only go a couple of hundred feet forward, but you can make it all the way from California to New York driving through the dark, because all you have to see is the next 200 feet. And that's how life tends to unfold before us. If we just trust that the next 200 feet will unfold after that, and the next 200 feet will unfold after that, your life will keep unfolding. And it eventually get you to the destination of whatever it is you truly want, because you want it.

* To lose weight, don't focus on "losing weight." Instead, focus on your perfect weight. Feel the feelings of your perfect weight, and you will summon it to you.

Well, one of the things I wanted to unfold for me was a fishing trip with Dale Woodruff, captain of a charter boat called Class Act.

A call last week to book a reservation left little hope for going fishing this week. Capt. Woodruff told me he had no charters on the books - partly because many travelers are having to spending more of their vacation budget on gasoline.

Why not use "The Secret" to manifest the fishing trip, I thought. Using the Creative Process involves three steps: ask, believe and receive. Simple enough? Sure.

Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Dale called to announce he had a charter going out Thursday morning. Less than 12 hours hours later, I was aboard Class Act for a six-hour trip with 11 men - a grandfather, his three grown sons, his three sons-in-law and four grandsons.

Not only did we have an absolute ball catching fish - red snapper, bonita and trigger fish - but we also had plenty to take home for dinner Thursday night.

And once again, the Universe confirmed what I have always believed: Life is good, especially when the fish are biting.

Beach Club - Here We Come!

If you've been reading Ready Maid for any length of time, you've probably scrolled past this image in the sidebar. Dr. Wayne Dyer says every thought is like a ticket to purchase more of the same. Think about frustration; you'll get more. Think about lack; you'll get more. Think about love; you'll get more.

"The most important tool to being in balance is knowing that you and you alone are responsible for the imbalance between what you dream your life is meant to be, and the daily habits that drain life from that dream," he instructs. "In the early stages of the rebalancing process, concentrate on this awareness: You get what you think about, whether you want it or not. Commit to thinking about what you want, rather than how impossible or difficult that dream may seem."

In the last four years, we've been to the beach three times. I love to go to the beach. I dream of the beach. I could live on the beach.

But can you believe the last three times I've been to the beach, I never even put on a swimsuit to enjoy being at the beach?! In fact, the last time I was there in June of 2006, I didn't even walk on the beach. Why? I didn't like the way I looked. But I told everybody I couldn't go out because I had to work. So I sat at my computer and wrote stories I could have finished before I left home.

Well, heads up everybody. Write this one down: When I get to The Beach Club Resort Saturday, the first thing I'll do is put on my swimsuit and head for the water. And I promise to put on my swimsuit every day I'm there. I'll post pictures. And I will milk next week for all it's beachy worth...outside, in the sun, enjoying what I love!

From now on, I will NOT be denied. I've visualized this moment since January 15, and I'm ready to make up for lost time!

Quotes from Being In Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires

Hold That Thought

Dr. Wayne Dyer asserts, "There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and you hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking."

Furthermore, "the imbalance between your desire for a healthy body that feels great and persistently unhealthy habits is not remedied by simply changing those habits. You must have a firm determination to learn the art of passionately believing in something that doesn't yet exist, and refuse to allow that picture to be distorted by you or anyone else. Truly, you are not what you eat or how much you exercise, but rather what you believe about the you that you're presently birthing in your thoughts."

"Keep reminding yourself, I get what I think about, whether I want it or not."

From Being In Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires.