Miracles-Acting As If
Linda Stern of The Convocation of the Divine Feminine
Talking about Conditions of a Miracle,
The Condition of “Acting as if.”
Good Miracle and Good Morning to you!
I’m Linda Stern and I am here today to speak about creating miracles in our lives. As you might know, here at Interfaith we have been referencing a book called 12 Conditions of a Miracle by Todd Michael. He did research about The Miracle of Loaves and Fishes in the New Testament in the Bible and found ways for us mere humans to create miracles. So, to get us started this morning, I want to do a quick review of the year that has gotten us to this point with a short description of the first 9 conditions of the 12 and a quote.
Month One was establishing a void within us so that spirit can slip in and speak to us. From the Old Testament, Psalms – “Be still and know that I AM God.”
Month Two was Alignment. This means getting your own life and intent to move in the same direction as the multiverse. From Brian Tracy- “Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance with the universe.
Month Three was Asking. If you know what you really want, and how to ask for it, the universe will fulfill your request with startling accuracy so Be Careful what you ask for! From Jules Renard: “Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” From Neale Donald Walsh: “Life is bendable to our will more than we know. In fact, that's the deal. If we don't know that life bends to our will, it will not. So, the trick is to know that life is on our side -and awaits our command, so ask”
Month Four was Maximizing - maximizing what already exists, not materialization from nothing. The multiverse is very careful. It dislikes waste. Those who use its precious energy with appropriate gratitude and care are rewarded. From E.F. Schumacker: “Our ordinary mind always tries to persuade us that we are nothing but little acorns and that our greatest happiness will be becoming bigger, fatter, shinier acorns; but that is of interest only to pigs. Our faith gives us knowledge of something better: that we can become giant oak trees.”
Month Five was Giving. The act of giving stimulates flow and relieves congestion. From St. Francis of Assisi: “For it is in giving that we receive.”
Month Six was Grounding, at a physical and metaphysical level. As in electrical power, if a circuit is not grounded in the now- currents cannot flow through it- miracles won’t get to us. From Buddha: “The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.” And from Theodore Roosevelt: “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”
Month Seven was visualizing. Unless the desired end is clearly seen, it cannot be reached. From Nikola Tesla “I do not rush into actual work. When I get a new idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination and make improvements and operate the device in my mind. When I have gone so far as to embody everything in my invention, every possible improvement I can think of, and when I see no fault anywhere, I put that into concrete form."
Month Eight was Gratitude. When a human being is in a state of true gratitude, the fabric of time and space in the multiverse is favorably altered. From G. K. Chesterton: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert, the opera, the play, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” From Sarah Breathnach: “You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
Which brings us to…. Month Nine which is Acting as If. This maybe the most difficult of the conditions as it requires action on our part and as my mother used to tell me: “words are cheap, action counts.” Acting as if means to take action as if your miracle has already occurred. It requires for you to believe in your miracle and perhaps take a leap of faith and to move with that belief into actions.
In the example of The Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, Jesus knew that he only had a small amount of bread, yet he didn’t let this stop him from moving forward to feed the crowd. He just “acted as if” the miracle of feeding 5,000 people had already happened. He didn’t just pray and visualize; he did something. He broke bread and handed it out. He chose a reality that everyone was feed.
Miracle workers break through barriers of inertia and doubt and get moving. They know that when they act, they must do it with perfect confidence. Spirit helps those who help themselves. And the multiverse funnels its energy into the lives of those who act, those who work, those who make an effort to actually get things accomplished.
Don’t get me wrong- prayer, visualization, and affirmation- all the rest of the steps of the process are important and necessary BUT at some point, you have to act to set your miracle in motion. You have to move and transform your current reality into the reality of your miracle.
It is said that the first level of manifestation is thought, then visualization, then affirmation, then really feeling that miracle/dream/concept in your Being, in your body. The next step is to put this idea into spoken word, and some say- the next step is to write them and then, and then…… you just have to move, have to put the pedal to the metal, and act. Act as if the intended creation is real, has happened and move! It may take a leap of faith but don’t worry- the cliff is not as high as you might have feared!
The painting I have brought with me today is about a time in my life when I had to “act as if” to make my miracle happen, to choose my reality. It involved a leap of faith to believe enough in myself to take the courage to leap off the cliff……but it was so worth it! An unknown mystic has said, “When you come to the edge of all the Light that you know and are about to step into the darkness of the unknown, taking a leap of Faith is knowing that one of two things will happen. There will be solid ground to stand on or you will be taught to fly.” I absolutely love this saying!
I look at this painting and remember when I created it and my life at the time. It reminds me that I can do anything I believe in. And.... I can do it with Joy, which makes a huge difference, not with fear, only with Joy.
So, begin to create your miracle now. There is never any other time to begin. Avoid procrastination at all costs! Napoleon Hill reminds us: “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, better tools will be found as you go along.”
Expect a miracle but know the miracle will unfold in its own time and grow at its own rate. Remember, we are still on a learning curve about manifesting miracles. Of course, a true master can manifest in a moment but perhaps we might need to be a little more patient. Don’t be discouraged! Just plant the seed and it will unfold! You may not see the complex processes unfolding but it is. Trust. Be patient.
This is not to say, that there might not be fear involved with “acting as if” but as C. D’Amato said, "Heroes and cowards feel the same fear; the difference is in the action."
I remember when I was a little girl and my mom taught me a way to believe in myself – to “Act as if.” She was incredibly wise and would use creative ways to teach us about life.
You might remember the musical, The King and I. In it, Anna, sang a song to her son, Louis, in which she teaches him how to take action; to “act as if” even if he was afraid. To make believe you’re brave. The song is called “Whistle a Happy Tune.” My mom suggested I use the song whenever I needed to believe I was brave. I did and still do.
Here are the words and I am sure you remember the tune. Let’s sing it together.
Whenever I feel afraid
I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune
So, no one will suspect
I'm afraid.
While shivering in my shoes
I strike a careless pose
And whistle a happy tune
And no one ever knows
I'm afraid.
The result of this deception
Is very strange to tell
For when I fool the thing, I fear
I fool myself as well!
I whistle a happy tune
And ev'ry single time
The happiness in the tune
Convinces me that I'm not afraid.
Make believe you're brave
And this gift will take you far.
You are as brave
As you make believe you are!
I have used that tune so many times to take action. My mom was a big believer in “acting as if.” In her life, she conquered many obstacles with acting as if- death of a husband, death of a child, cancer and advanced age.
One of my favorite quotes from my mom is: “I wish I felt as good as I sound but I just can’t act any other way.” She “Acted as if” as a way of life and she lived gracefully and beautifully until the age of 101.
Successfully “Acting as if” requires a deep belief of what you desire. You can do this by “acting as if” your wish is fulfilled until it becomes your dominant feeling and experience. “Make believe you’re brave or Fake it until you make it” or “Act as if”, until you become your miracle spiritually, from the inside out.
Quantum physics supports “acting as if” and miracles because there are an infinite number of potential realities that we may choose. So, choose the reality of believing in your miracle and then “act as if” your miracle has already occurred. As long as we are acting as if, why not act as if you are ......starlight, (because you are), why not act as if you are the most precious Love you could gift to another (because you are), or why not act as if your smile is a miracle- because it is!
Recently, I saw a show on PBS about Happiness- The Happiness Alternative. And the scientist’s name was Shawn Anchor, a professor at Harvard, who spoke about the science of happiness. One of the sub-topics of happiness that he spoke about was………smiling. During the program one of the studies, he cited had been done at large hotels and then hospitals in the US. In this particular study, employees were instructed that at 10” from another person they were to smile and make eye contact. The most extraordinary thing happened. The rating of the hotels and hospitals involved skyrocketed and they became very successful, just by smiling! I totally believe that!
He also told spoke about MRIs that were done during 2 seconds of smiling. The MRI showed that the brain thinks you are happy when you are smiling and then dumps dopamine into your bloodstream. And evidently our brains aren’t as smart as we thought they are- they don’t know the difference between a real or a fake smile so again- “act as if” or “make believe you’re brave or “Fake it till you make it” to your happiness and joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh has said- “Sometimes your Joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your Joy.”
Another study was cited that showed how you can change someone’s else’s happiness level- what a miracle that is! Again, MRIs were done. It showed that smiling…...or being smiled at, are the same, as far as our body/brain is concerned; they both dump dopamine into our bloodstreams. This is because we have mirror receptor neutrons that are wired for empathy, so we receive smiles, i.e., happiness, the same as if we were making them ourselves. As an aside we can see that science is showing what we knew all along – that we all are connected to each other.
So why not connect with a gift of happiness to each other, in a wonderful ripple out effect. If we are going to ripple out- and we do- why not touch another’s life in a joyous way ......just by smiling. Happiness scientifically spreads. We can be the sunshine in another person’s life by lighting up our smile. Just by “Acting as if” you are Joy and Happiness and Love by the simple act of smiling. You can gift yourself AND another with the miracle of happiness.
Here’s what some Wisdom Holders have said about “acting as if.”
Carlos Castaneda said: “A man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting.”
Thomas Jefferson said: “Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask! Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
Fidel Castro said: “I began a revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.”
Theodore Roosevelt said: “In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
And Meister Eckhart reminds us: “What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action. Action and Becoming are one.”
“Acting as if” may take courage on your part but you and your miracle are worth it. So “Act as If” so you may go in the direction of your destiny and create your miracles.