Quote:
Originally Posted by cylon  Wow that was about three Max Power posts in one.
I found a shiny new quarter on the ground today. Just yesterday I had doubled in my mind what I wanted my income to be. I usually find lots of pennies. I'd visualized finding a quarter for awhile.... got a couple dimes, never the quarter until today.
I guess my point is, finding a small amount of change can be enough of a challenge in the mind. No one thinks badly of finding a penny, they may even look out for one because it is good luck. People take it for granted, so it seems that just about everyone finds pennies all the time and it doesn't break their reality because it's such a "small" amount.
But no one goes looking for quarters. When you find a quarter you're like "wow! I'm rich!" even though of course it's just a quarter, but in the context of only finding pennies, it's like a big deal. Now what happens when I start expecting to see five dollar bills on the street? Or going through some papers and see a hundred dollar bill slide out (see.. already I find it difficult to imagine finding such a large amount on the street)?
I have to be ready for that type of "payoff" for my beliefs, because like you said it goes against my conventional beliefs, wich means I would be uncomfortable.
But I'm comfortable with the Quarter. Maybe next I'll find a dirty crumpled dollar bill and won't feel so "guilty" because it will have bugs and sticky stuff on it.  |
Years ago, around say, 1985, a guy approached me with a camera for sale. At the time, I had never even heard of LOA, or anything remotely close to it, but I had always wanted a decent SLR 35mm camera, because I was really into photography.
So anyway, this dude had one for 50 bucks; a Canon AE1 with a telephoto lens, 2X converter and a macro lens. It was worth about 400.00, give or take.
I told him I didn't have the money. I checked my wallet, and for some reason, stashed away in a hidden pocket for who nows how long, was a 100 dollar bill, perfectly folded into a tiny rectangle. I couldn't believe it. It had to be there for at least a year, maybe two (or maybe ten seconds??), but I had no clue it was there. I sure was happy, and I bought the camera, and spent most of the remaining fifty on film, a camera bag, etc.
Now, I knew the camera was hot, because this dude sold all kinds of stuff out of the trunk of his car around the neighborhood, but I didn't care at the time, because I had no clue where it came from, and it sure wasn't going to be returned. I knew that was true, and I knew he would never tell me where it came from. So, I rationalized the situation, along with any guilt I may have been feeling.
I used that thing until the year 2000, then my house was broken into, and it was stolen (along with lots of other things). Now some one else has it. In this digital age, it's probably collecting dust somewhere.
In hindsight, this was a whole lesson in LOA, SR, and a bit of karma as well. I wanted the camera so badly that the money appeared out of nowhere, and since it was hot, it was eventually stolen from me.
That post just reminded me of that. It's something I haven't thought about for a long time until tonight. The benefit of hindsight can really lead to some deeper understanding at times.