As Greg and I sat in the thermal pools in Harrison Hot Springs last month, I grabbed both his hands and said, “let’s set an intention for our few days together. I intend that we have a relaxing time, great food, fun and laughter, a good time together AND” I added with a twinkle in my eye, “that I win every game of Parcheesi.”  Greg grinned at me and then laughed. 

As we played six games over the next two days, I won every game. The first game I was so far behind it was ludicrous and then miraculously, I beat Greg hands down. Six games, six stunning, against-all-odds victories. It was like watching miracle after miracle on a gameboard. 

Was I excited? You bet! Not so much about winning, although that always makes me happy, but about how powerful a little intention in the hot springs had proved to be. Greg later told me that during those six games, he felt almost helpless and hopeless about playing against me, as if the odds were absolutely against him no matter what. 

Many times while I am in the pool here at the condo in Mazatlan, visitors will ask me how long I am staying. When I tell them that I have rented the condo until the 15^th of October, they are stunned. Many do stay for a few months but rarely does a renter stay for the better part of a year! How did I manage to rent a place for an entire nine months at the last minute is inevitably their next question? When I tell them the incredible story (see January’s blog ) they are even more amazed. I have come to realize that it was about as miraculous as winning six games of Parcheesi in a row as it was to find an ocean-front condo for a reasonable price for nine months in peak season at the last minute. 

I’m really getting into the miraculous power of intention and have set some bigger and more exciting intentions for this year. Seriously, what is the difference between a board game, a relationship, a home or a seven-figure income? I don’t think there’s much difference at the giving end - just at the receiving end. So I trust that the Universe can give me what I want. I just need to focus on being an excellent receiver and isn’t that the most fun part.

What I learned from these two stories is detachment and unwavering trust. I seriously didn’t think about that intention I had set in the hot springs as I sat down to play the first game of Parcheesi with Greg that night. I just played the game like always, although I noticed that I felt more confident and more attentive to the game. It was like I was on high alert at a sub-conscious level. It was a very interesting feeling.

In talking about finding my condo so miraculously, I realized that in my mind, right from the start, I had an association that because I speak Spanish I would find a place to live. Honestly, there is no real correlation between the two, except in my mind, and that’s all that was needed for success. That is a very key point.  Isn’t there a saying, “What you believe, you will achieve.”

Focus is another critical part as I saw very clearly this past week.  Last Wednesday, one of my clients from Vancouver, along with her son, came into Mazatlan by cruise ship. We arranged to meet and spend the day together touring Mazatlan together.  One of our first stops was the cliff divers. Young men climb a 45 foot tower and then dive into the water below that may be just five feet deep or less.  You can see pictures at www.janjanzen.com under Around Mazatlan. 

The diving tower is a good jaunt up a number of stairs - we climbed up and our stomachs did somersaults as we climbed down with no protective railings.  So this is no walk in the park for the divers.    If we slipped and fell, we were headed straight for the rocks. These young men were going to purposely dive into the unfriendly waters of an area only 15 square feet in diameter. One misjudgment about the wind condition or the tide and it is game over for them. 

Do you think they have a strong intention?  In their mind, they have to focus on their intention to safely make the dive.  The minute their mind goes from affirming that this is a safe, doable venture to screaming danger and a subsequent lack of focus, they are toast. With their life literally on the line with each jump, this is not for the squeamish.  

Clarity, focus and action are all part of intention. There are so many things to take us out of the game. As I now live in a holiday resort, the sun shining every single day, balmy temperatures, a beautiful pool and ocean at my doorstep, it would be easy to spend my days with my feet up, sipping Margaritas and doing nothing. And I do spend a day or two ocassionally doing just that.

But I am really committed to two major projects this year, on top of maintaining a regular, albeit modified client schedule. My next book is coming along on schedule and my project with Sacred Gifts is progressing beautifully. I can’t just intend to have leveraged income and then sit and wait for the sky to open and send me a check every month any more than I could have intended to win every game of Parcheesi and then have never played the game. Wanting to live in a beachfront condo in the sunshine and warmth was never going to happen if I didn’t buy a plane ticket to Mazatlan.

So have you set your intentions and then wondered why they haven’t manifested? Perhaps you need to take some action, get clarity, and focus. Those cliff divers do not get paid for their risky dives. They do it for tips from the audience and they ask for those tips. They don’t stand around, risk their lives and hope someone gives them a few bucks. Trust me - they actively ask and consequently they also receive. 

It’s easy to give up when the news doesn’t seem to be in our favor. Many people were astounded at my audacity to just think I could show up and rent a place for six months or more without having booked it months in advance - particularly at the height of tourist season. But it doesn’t mean that it was impossible - it simply meant that I was open to receive a bigger miracle.   

So look at your intentions or lack of them. Then see if there is any action to follow up those intentions. Release any detachment as to how they show up and have unwavering trust in a perfect outcome. Go have a look at the photos of the cliff divers and then get your own clarity, focus and action clearly in place.  Miracles do happen! They really do.

Have an outrageously miraculous intention-filled month.

Jan