By Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the Light
During my keynote address at the 2021 IANDS Conference, I mentioned an exercise that I have many of my clients complete when they are trying to get in touch with what they most desire in their lives. This thought and journaling exercise is called by many different names, but I call it The Miracle Exercise.
Goal: Build a vision of your best, most expansive life, and create a vision for the world.
This is a fun but serious thought and journaling exercise, so grab a pen and your notebook (or your computer) and dive in. I also want you to avoid sharing this with anyone else, at least for a while. It's meant to be a private exercise, between you and Spirit; I want you to avoid feeling self-conscious, which could skew your resulting miracle. You may also want to create art or music to accompany your vision of a miraculous future.
Give yourself at least an hour to envision and write about this:
If you had no fears, and all of your needs and desires were miraculously guaranteed to be given to you, what would your life look like? How would it be different from your current life, and what would be the same? What would you do every day? Where would you live? Who would be with you? Would you volunteer your time to help a cause? If so, which one(s)? Make sure to describe your health, your relationships, your spirituality, how you spend your time, your finances, and any hobbies or interests you have.
Once you complete envisioning your miraculous life, write at least another paragraph about the miracle you envision for the world. How would the world function in your personal vision of utopia? What would be different from the way it is now? What problems are solved? What would life be like for the planet? Get as detailed as you can, but remember to keep it in the best and highest good for all.
Be as clear with your vision as possible. Take as much time as you need, and revise these miracles as often as you like. This exercise is designed to give you a glimpse into your own innermost desires and purpose by helping you envision what is truly important to you. Some people finish this exercise in an hour, others may spread this out over several days. Take as much time as you need.
Some thoughts from having done this myself a time or two...once you have all of the "stuff" you desire in your miracle (house, vehicles, travel, etc.,), give some serious thought as to how you're going to spend the rest of your time on this planet. Will you travel? Help others? Maybe you'll spend 6 months a year sitting on a beach in Tahiti, or trekking in South America. Perhaps you'll go back to university and take classes, or get that degree you've always wanted. You might even want to train service dogs to help those with mobility challenges. Think of how you'd want to fill your days if you didn't need to have a regular job or worry about the future. Also consider why you've chosen the activities you have. Dive into this as deeply as you can.
Once you have finished, set aside your miracle exercise for a day or two before analyzing what you wrote. Can you find any overarching themes, or anything that is particularly interesting? What is in your life now that is not in your miracle? What is in your miracle that is not in your life now? And what things carry over from today to your ideal vision of your future?
Here is an example to get you started: one of my coaching clients was a journalist who thought she liked her job well enough but was feeling a bit restless about it at the same time. Like many people today, it had been so long since she listened to her soul's innermost desires that she had forgotten she had any. On our first meeting, I asked her to do this miracle exercise. Over the course of the next couple of weeks she wrote one version then revised it twice, going ever-deeper with the exercise each rewrite.
We reviewed her third draft at our next meeting.
In her miracle, she was no longer writing at all. Instead, she volunteered as a counselor for children who needed extra guidance and encouragement to be a success in life. She felt surprised because in her mind, she thought she wanted to be a writer. She finally saw that her heart's desire was to help counsel and coach children who needed an extra hand in order to be a success. She considered her life and decided to stay in her job, but she took evening classes so that she could get a second degree in child psychology. Her graduation date is approaching and she will open her own practice, in addition to volunteering to coach kids in a local homeless shelter for teens.
Go back to your miracle and underline or make notes about the top three to five things that stand out, and one or two things in your world miracle. For example, you might want to live in Vancouver, Canada, have a spouse and two kids, go sailing at least twice a week, play guitar, and finish your degree in ancient history. For the world miracle, you might envision the end to poverty.
Then brainstorm ways you can take steps to start making some of these things a reality. For example, if your dream life involves playing guitar, can you start taking lessons now? If you want to end world hunger and poverty, can you begin by volunteering for an organization whose goal is to end these things?
Another optional add-on to this exercise is to read your complete miracle to yourself every day. I usually do this in the morning, but you can read it any time of the day that is best for you.
Blessings,
Nancy
Archive: Past Newsletter Issues
TODAY Show: Nancy's Interview on NBC TV's TODAY
Messages of Hope with Suzanne Giesemann: Exploring NDEs with Nancy Rynes
Article: Seven Lessons That Dying Taught Me About Truly Living (Aspire Magazine)
Article: Lives Changed by NDEs (Boulder Daily Camera)
Article: Awakening to Life(Pages 6-10, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, Summer 2016)
Article: The Meaning of Life (Excellence Reporter)
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