Sharing Our Deepest Secrets and Dreams

It was almost two years ago when my then nine year old daughter, Therese, had something very important to share with me.

But for some reason she could not get it out. She was tongue-tied, which was very unusual for Therese. “I want to share this, but I’m scared that if I share this I’ll really have to do it,” she said.

I thought that was some bold self-awareness on her part. Finally, she got the confidence up and blurted out, “I want to be a jet pilot.”

Her dream was to fly fighter jets and then to eventually become an airline pilot. Since she told me this, I have been able to get her books and introduce her to people who can help make her dreams come true.

This summer she will be going to a camp that centers around kids and aviation. While math is not Therese’s favorite thing, I have been able to show her how her math is so importantly connected to her dreams of becoming a pilot.

Recently in these blogs/columns, I have been looking at Rev. Ken Daigle’s wonderful new book UNAPOLOGETIC MANIFESTATION: 5 STEPS TO CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT. In previous blogs, I’ve looked at the first three of Ken’s steps, which include:

— FOCUS THE MIND;

— SHIFT OUR CONSCIOUSNESS, and;

—TAKE ACTION.

Now we come to Ken’s Fourth Step, which is:

— SHARE YOUR JOURNEY.

Ken writes that the “people who can help you manifest your dreams are already in your life. They are the ones who genuinely care about you, who listen, who show up, and who perhaps even challenge you to grow.”

“By sharing your journey, you’re not just building your dream – – you are creating a collective vision that is enriched by the contributions of those drawn to your light,” he adds.

Ken has written a very powerful affirmation for this fourth step: “I am open and receptive to the flow of ideas, resources, and collaborators as I manifest my highest good.”

I have discovered through life experiences that spiritual manifestation is a “team sport.” As the Beatles have put it so well: “We get by with a little help from our friends.”

Let me give several real world examples of how sharing a vision has made all the difference in my life. As many of you know prior to my call to ministry, I was an economist. It was back in the mid-1980s, and I was a newly minted Ph.D. I was fortunate to have been hired as an economist for the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which is part of the Library of Congress.  CRS is like a “think tank” for Congress.

I was very interested in human resources in high-tech corporations, and I was using the new fangled power of personal computers to study labor supply and demand within top tech firms.

At the time I had met the director of UCLA‘s model of the economy twice. I decided to share with him some of the research I had been doing. I thought there was a good chance that he wouldn’t even answer my letter.

Much to my surprise, he not only answered my letter, but he read the work I sent him. He praised it and then he said to me, “We are holding a conference at UCLA on human resource management in high-tech firms. We would be honored if you would give the paper and lead the session on labor supply and demand in high-tech firms.”

Then he told me that the conference proceedings were going to be published in a book by one of America’s leading publishers. I was flabbergasted. Of course, I said yes!  It was through this conference, and the subsequent book that my career as an economist was able to takeoff. If I had not shared my vision with the director of the UCLA model, this never would have happened!

Let me give a second example of where sharing a dream or vision really made a big difference. It was now the late 1980s, and I was an economist with The Conference Board, which is known for its work on consumer confidence, international trade, and recession predictions.

At the time I wanted to do a study on what looked like the growing income inequality in America. In the late 1980s some people were still disputing that the middle class was shrinking, etc. I was so concerned whether or not  The Conference Board would let me do this study, but I felt it important to share my vision with them.

I was amazed by what happened. Not only did The Conference Board want me to do the study, but they asked me some very thought-provoking questions. For example, if there is growing income inequality in our society, how will that impact where people shop and what kind of stores they go to? Quite frankly, I hadn’t thought through about this important question. It was only because I shared my vision that other people suggested I expand it to really think through how all of this would impact consumer spending. From this, you could very easily predict that stores like Sears were not long for this world.

I think Rev. Ken Daigle is so right about the importance of our sharing our dreams and visions with trusted mentors, colleagues, and friends. They not only can help us in making our dreams come true, but they can also often enlarge and improve our visions.

Spiritual manifestation is a ”team sport,” and there is no reason why we should act like a Lone Ranger.

Many blessings,

Rev. Rick