It's a Good Year

"Our seedtime is that moment in time when you and I react to anything in this world. It may be to an object, it may be to an individual, it may be to a bit of news that we have overheard, but the moment of reaction, that emotional response, is our attitude. Our attitudes are the seed times of life, and although we may not remember the seedtime or the moment of response, nature never forgets, and when it suddenly appears in our world…” – Neville Goddard

My sister just sent me a text about the death of actor Alan Thicke, most well-known for his role as the dad on Growing Pains. “2016 strikes again,” she wrote. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

As this year comes to a close, I've lost track of all the times I've heard others refer to 2016 as the year of "hell." I've said it myself. And I suppose at first, or last, glance, 2016 is deserving of its reputation as a "hell of a year" as a lot of really crazy sh@@t happened this year, depending on how one defines such. The year certainly offered numerous shocking events and situations that might cause some to judge the year as chaotic, confusing, discordant, heartbreaking, or even tragic. Even the most optimistic in the positive thinking/LOA communities have bemoaned the year for numerous reasons, suggesting that dimensional shifts and unusual planetary alignments designed to uproot our collective deep-seated darkness so it can be healed is responsible for creating all the upheaval and turmoil.

But what if the truth is that 2016 wasn't really any different from any other year? Celebrities, politicians, heads of states, and regular folks die during the course of every year—that’s a given. Chaotic, confusing, discordant, heartbreaking, and tumultuous events and circumstances also occur with regularity during any year, depending on how you perceive what’s happening around you. And individuals and groups have been committing hostile, divisive, and hateful acts since Cain slew Abel. The only constant about reality on planet earth is that change is inevitable; some changes we might welcome and some, not so much.

Still, could it be that the challenges, upheaval, unpleasant events, etc., that occurred during 2016 weren’t the result of some mysterious energetic or dimensional shift, cosmic forces, or even a vengeful God preparing to exact judgment on His creation?

Could it be that the significance many of us have attached to 2016 is unwarranted and that it is just a year like any other, a measurement of the orbital period of the Earth moving in its orbit around the Sun, but our collective (or individual) choice during this particular orbital period to focus ad nauseam on the "craziness"—the chaos, confusion, heartbreak, discord, division—via the news, social media, and coffee-shop conversations, made it seem more significant, more challenging?

"If you believe in the horrors of the world as they are given to you in the paper and on television, your belief causes the horrors to continue." – Neville Goddard 

One thing I’ve learned through the teachings of Neville Goddard is that which we focus on continually and give our emotional energy to, we will continually create into our reality—in some form or another. If we daily focus our attention on the mayhem, turmoil, and chaos happening in the world, and react to it, we will experience more of the same in the world and in our own lives. In other words, you only notice what you’re focused on noticing.

Some years ago I bought a Toyota Highlander. In the years before I bought it, I don’t recall ever seeing a Highlander on the street. In fact, when it was suggested to me that I buy one, I searched for information about it via Google because I hadn't heard of a Highlander before and knew nothing about it. Several months after buying one, I “suddenly” started seeing Highlanders everywhere, still do. What this shows me is that for all the craziness I, and others, chose to fixate upon in 2016, there are likely other events, more pleasant and positive events that I missed or that faded from my attention, which if I had focused on those might very well have opened up the possibility for me to experience even more pleasant and desired situations.

With 18 days remaining in 2016, it’s not too late. It’s never too late as long as you still have breath in your body to transform your circumstances, experiences, life.

Stuff happens all day, every day. What you focus on and give your emotional energy to is your choice. So, if 2016 hasn’t turned out quite the way you had hoped—if your dreams didn’t manifest as you intended and you got distracted by the crazy—don’t blame the year, the moon, the planets, or anything outside of yourself, just shift your focus to whatever thoughts, news, or images fill your heart with joy. Whatever you focus on expands.

...if you can believe and persuade yourself that things are as you want them to be to the point of actually moving into the feeling they are true, they will be felt and seen in your world. – Neville Goddard