If you’re offered a ride on a magic carpet, don’t ask where it’s going. Just jump on!
Remind yourself each morning, “Today is the day! I’m really getting it folks! Connected to God with trust, I can enjoy seeing myself doing wonderful things, accomplishing all that I am inspired and desire to do. Knowing that the God–in–me is infinite wisdom. He leads with joy.”
Recovery is part of it, joyful expectancy is all of it. All twelve step programs kick things off with joyful expectancy. Step two, “Came to believe a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity,” is an affirmation of hope. Someone not in a twelve step program could just as easily say it as, “I believe God is renewing my mind and improving my circumstances.”
I’ve developed the healthy habit of doing what I refer to as my morning routine. As soon as I get up I make myself a cup of coffee, sit on the couch and begin reading a page from each of my daily meditation books. Then I meditate for a few minutes, after which I jot down my to do list, also known as my best attempt at what I believe God’s will is for me that day. I refer to it as this so that I can remain flexible throughout my day. If something doesn’t go as planned or something doesn’t get completed I’m more able to let myself off the hook, knowing that it wasn’t meant to get done that day. But more importantly it frees me up to follow unexpected detours and to go with joyful hunches.
Matter of fact right before writing out my list for today I began it by jotting down, “Ok God, I’m ready to follow your lead today, no hurry and no worry on my part. Optimistic trust is my part. Today I’m partnering with you regarding… a) story 1,500 words, b) cards to Theresa, c) caulk bath tub…” In short, in spite of our to do list, we must be willing to relinquish control, trusting that God is always leading us to our heart’s desire. The will of God does not lead to the poor house.
If you are really serious about being plucked from obscurity and dropped into incredible good fortune, you must be willing to let go of your excessive carefulness and let the spirit guide you. Don’t let reason slip you a mickey.
A friend of ours named Stephanie texted that she was meeting with a client in Los Angeles, CA. She lives many miles away and we hadn’t seen each other in quite some time. It was great to reconnect via text. A few hours later she texted that she was done with her work and would be driving through our neighborhood. Incredibly, I had just finished lunch and another mutual friend of ours, Ed was just getting off work, so we all agreed to meet up at the local coffee shop.
During our conversation it came up that Stephanie’s dog, Mister, had died some time ago. She said that her and her husband weren’t rushing into getting a new pet. She then asked how my wife Lori, a professional pet photographer, was doing. I was excited to tell her that just the day before Lori was apprehensive about photographing dogs at a new rescue facility. In order to overcome this Lori used the affirmative prayer, “I’m going to meet wonderful people and have a wonderful time.”
I went on to share that within an hour of Lori being there she texted me that her expectations were exceeded. Everyone was so happy to meet the “celebrity photographer” and she had the best assistant with lighting, set-up, and dog handling. Lori even sent me previews of her favorite shots of a rescued dog named Stella. I could not resist the joyful nudge to share them with Stephanie.
I handed my phone to Stephanie. As she went through the photos Lori had taken of Stella, she began to tear up. She apologized about being so emotional. “My heart just felt so full when I saw her,” Stephanie said regarding Stella. The conversation switched to how she and her husband had been waiting for the right time to bring a new dog into their lives. “It was something I want the two of us to do together.”
Her husband was out of town until Friday and this was Tuesday. The topic of the shelter where Stella was came up. As coincidence would have it, the shelter was only four miles away from where we were drinking coffee. This was a coincidence since the shelter Lori regularly photographs at is twenty-six miles away. In either case, Stephanie had to head home soon in order to beat rush hour traffic. It seemed more reasonable if she was interested in meeting Stella to head home now and return on Saturday with her husband.
Stephanie said, “I’m going to go see her now!” “Really? Wow! OK.” I said, and gave her the address. What really impressed me about her decision was her spontaneous ability to go in the direction of the call of her spirit.
In regards to the calling of the spirit, Emmet Fox describes it as a unicorn. “Some day it may happen, probably when you least expect it, that the unicorn will suddenly appear at your side, eyes flashing, nostrils quivering, pawing the ground with impatience. When that happens, do not try to put a bridle on him or to look for some task for him to do; He will not do it, and there will not be time. No sooner, seemingly, has he appeared than off he will go again. So do not pause, but leap upon his back, for he is a flying steed, and he wings his way to the gates of the morning. On that ride problems are not solved—they disappear.”
Soon after Stephanie met Stella she called to say how they immediately fell in love with each other. Should she adopt her today without her husband being part of the discovery process, or not? She would also need a crate so Stella would have a cozy and safe den until she became familiar with her new home. Plus Stephanie drove a tiny Mini Cooper and Stella is a fifty-five pound dog. It was also now the height of rush hour traffic. I reassured her that God was in charge and if it was meant to be it would be effortless. She thanked me, saying that was exactly what she needed to hear to let go of any sense of urgency.
An hour later I received a call from Stephanie. She said that she was on the road heading home and that Stella was with her in the car. She went on to share how she called her husband and that he was one hundred percent on board with adopting Stella in absentia. In addition, the rescue had just received a donated brand new collapsable crate Stella’s size and they gave it to her. To top things off, to Stephanie’s surprise, everything fit perfectly in her Mini Cooper.
This was over three months ago and Stella, Stephanie and her husband Josh agree that this was definitely meant to be. They are extremely happy and Stella is so appreciative and easy to care for. What I didn’t learn until later was that Stella is a doppelgänger for the dog Stephanie had when her and her husband first met.
Belief in God’s love frees us up to live with flexibility and trust. And with a full trust, success is a must. Loosen your grip and allow God to have free play in your life. Step out boldly and trust intuition. Don’t be afraid of silly ideas. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” In other words, let joy be your guide. It will never lead you astray.
I’ve found the best way to develop the ability to be sensitive to intuition and to have the confidence to act on it comes simply from the practice of prayer and meditation. Twelve Step programs encourage the same. Step Eleven states it as, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us (intuition) and the power to carry that out (act on it). Over the years I’ve learned to never argue with a hunch; they are magic carpets that come to carry you off to outrageous good fortune.
You are always invited to join me for an uplifting guided meditation on any Friday from 12:00pm-12:30pm, at Unity of the Westside, 10724 Barman Ave, Culver City, CA, 90230. Drop by, connect with God and leave feeling renewed, healthy and happy. No previous meditation experience necessary. It’s free and all are welcome.
Artist Darrell Fusaro is a decorated U.S. Coast Guard veteran and author of “What if Godzilla Just Wanted a Hug?” For more information visit www.ThisWillMakeYouHappy.com
Remind yourself each morning, “Today is the day! I’m really getting it folks! Connected to God with trust, I can enjoy seeing myself doing wonderful things, accomplishing all that I am inspired and desire to do. Knowing that the God–in–me is infinite wisdom. He leads with joy.”
Recovery is part of it, joyful expectancy is all of it. All twelve step programs kick things off with joyful expectancy. Step two, “Came to believe a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity,” is an affirmation of hope. Someone not in a twelve step program could just as easily say it as, “I believe God is renewing my mind and improving my circumstances.”
I’ve developed the healthy habit of doing what I refer to as my morning routine. As soon as I get up I make myself a cup of coffee, sit on the couch and begin reading a page from each of my daily meditation books. Then I meditate for a few minutes, after which I jot down my to do list, also known as my best attempt at what I believe God’s will is for me that day. I refer to it as this so that I can remain flexible throughout my day. If something doesn’t go as planned or something doesn’t get completed I’m more able to let myself off the hook, knowing that it wasn’t meant to get done that day. But more importantly it frees me up to follow unexpected detours and to go with joyful hunches.
Matter of fact right before writing out my list for today I began it by jotting down, “Ok God, I’m ready to follow your lead today, no hurry and no worry on my part. Optimistic trust is my part. Today I’m partnering with you regarding… a) story 1,500 words, b) cards to Theresa, c) caulk bath tub…” In short, in spite of our to do list, we must be willing to relinquish control, trusting that God is always leading us to our heart’s desire. The will of God does not lead to the poor house.
If you are really serious about being plucked from obscurity and dropped into incredible good fortune, you must be willing to let go of your excessive carefulness and let the spirit guide you. Don’t let reason slip you a mickey.
A friend of ours named Stephanie texted that she was meeting with a client in Los Angeles, CA. She lives many miles away and we hadn’t seen each other in quite some time. It was great to reconnect via text. A few hours later she texted that she was done with her work and would be driving through our neighborhood. Incredibly, I had just finished lunch and another mutual friend of ours, Ed was just getting off work, so we all agreed to meet up at the local coffee shop.
During our conversation it came up that Stephanie’s dog, Mister, had died some time ago. She said that her and her husband weren’t rushing into getting a new pet. She then asked how my wife Lori, a professional pet photographer, was doing. I was excited to tell her that just the day before Lori was apprehensive about photographing dogs at a new rescue facility. In order to overcome this Lori used the affirmative prayer, “I’m going to meet wonderful people and have a wonderful time.”
I went on to share that within an hour of Lori being there she texted me that her expectations were exceeded. Everyone was so happy to meet the “celebrity photographer” and she had the best assistant with lighting, set-up, and dog handling. Lori even sent me previews of her favorite shots of a rescued dog named Stella. I could not resist the joyful nudge to share them with Stephanie.
I handed my phone to Stephanie. As she went through the photos Lori had taken of Stella, she began to tear up. She apologized about being so emotional. “My heart just felt so full when I saw her,” Stephanie said regarding Stella. The conversation switched to how she and her husband had been waiting for the right time to bring a new dog into their lives. “It was something I want the two of us to do together.”
Her husband was out of town until Friday and this was Tuesday. The topic of the shelter where Stella was came up. As coincidence would have it, the shelter was only four miles away from where we were drinking coffee. This was a coincidence since the shelter Lori regularly photographs at is twenty-six miles away. In either case, Stephanie had to head home soon in order to beat rush hour traffic. It seemed more reasonable if she was interested in meeting Stella to head home now and return on Saturday with her husband.
Stephanie said, “I’m going to go see her now!” “Really? Wow! OK.” I said, and gave her the address. What really impressed me about her decision was her spontaneous ability to go in the direction of the call of her spirit.
In regards to the calling of the spirit, Emmet Fox describes it as a unicorn. “Some day it may happen, probably when you least expect it, that the unicorn will suddenly appear at your side, eyes flashing, nostrils quivering, pawing the ground with impatience. When that happens, do not try to put a bridle on him or to look for some task for him to do; He will not do it, and there will not be time. No sooner, seemingly, has he appeared than off he will go again. So do not pause, but leap upon his back, for he is a flying steed, and he wings his way to the gates of the morning. On that ride problems are not solved—they disappear.”
Soon after Stephanie met Stella she called to say how they immediately fell in love with each other. Should she adopt her today without her husband being part of the discovery process, or not? She would also need a crate so Stella would have a cozy and safe den until she became familiar with her new home. Plus Stephanie drove a tiny Mini Cooper and Stella is a fifty-five pound dog. It was also now the height of rush hour traffic. I reassured her that God was in charge and if it was meant to be it would be effortless. She thanked me, saying that was exactly what she needed to hear to let go of any sense of urgency.
An hour later I received a call from Stephanie. She said that she was on the road heading home and that Stella was with her in the car. She went on to share how she called her husband and that he was one hundred percent on board with adopting Stella in absentia. In addition, the rescue had just received a donated brand new collapsable crate Stella’s size and they gave it to her. To top things off, to Stephanie’s surprise, everything fit perfectly in her Mini Cooper.
This was over three months ago and Stella, Stephanie and her husband Josh agree that this was definitely meant to be. They are extremely happy and Stella is so appreciative and easy to care for. What I didn’t learn until later was that Stella is a doppelgänger for the dog Stephanie had when her and her husband first met.
Belief in God’s love frees us up to live with flexibility and trust. And with a full trust, success is a must. Loosen your grip and allow God to have free play in your life. Step out boldly and trust intuition. Don’t be afraid of silly ideas. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” In other words, let joy be your guide. It will never lead you astray.
I’ve found the best way to develop the ability to be sensitive to intuition and to have the confidence to act on it comes simply from the practice of prayer and meditation. Twelve Step programs encourage the same. Step Eleven states it as, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us (intuition) and the power to carry that out (act on it). Over the years I’ve learned to never argue with a hunch; they are magic carpets that come to carry you off to outrageous good fortune.
You are always invited to join me for an uplifting guided meditation on any Friday from 12:00pm-12:30pm, at Unity of the Westside, 10724 Barman Ave, Culver City, CA, 90230. Drop by, connect with God and leave feeling renewed, healthy and happy. No previous meditation experience necessary. It’s free and all are welcome.
Artist Darrell Fusaro is a decorated U.S. Coast Guard veteran and author of “What if Godzilla Just Wanted a Hug?” For more information visit www.ThisWillMakeYouHappy.com
L-R Darrell, Stephanie, Josh and Stella
This story is featured in the March 2020 issue of Keys to Recovery Newspaper
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