The Power of Positivity
Posted: May 3, 2021
By: Phoenix Giardino
“Promise me you’ll always remember: you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”—Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh
(Image courtesy of morguefile.com)
Rock Bottom
Many, many moons ago, I suffered a terrible divorced. Though I willingly gave up my house and every marital possession to avoid an unnecessary court battle, I lost my only reason for living—my then seven-year-old son. And to add injury to insult, my then soon-to-be ex-husband filed for child support—though he earned more than three times my pitiful salary. Heart-broken and destitute, I barely retained enough cash to pay for small two-bedroom second-story apartment and the utilities. Faced with the choice to pay my student loan or starve, my I defaulted on my payments. That is, until the government loan shark sent their knee-breaker in the form of a wage garnish. Groceries became a luxury I could rarely afford.
Eighteen months later, following losing my apartment and couch surfing for half a year, Karma set her sights on my ex. After twenty years of service, his employer decided he was no longer needed. In the blink of any eye, he was unemployed. In the midst of a financially devasting divorce, he, too, was near penniless. But unlike me, he was strapped with a mortgage on a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car attached garage he could no longer support.
In a moment of divine brilliance, I offered him a solution. I would temporarily move into his guest room and cover half of the household expenses—if he would drop the child support. After all, if he accepted my proposal, his unemployment benefits would be equivalent to my wages and I once again would financially support our son as much as he did. Furthermore, it would allow me to save for a place of my own once he was back on his feet. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he agreed to the deal lock, stock, and barrel.
Contrary to our epic battles in the courtroom, our living arrangement was truly harmonious. Not only did we learn to respect each other as roommates, but our co-parenting improved in ways neither of us every imagined possible. All the bills were paid on time; the cabinets and refrigerator were always full. My vehicle ran like a dream; the house and laundry were always clean. Our son, who became an offensive Mr. Hyde at the onset of the divorce, returned to the former peaceful Dr. Jekyll.
Dating wasn’t even an issue. From the onset, we agreed to maintain our court-appointed weekend “visitations”. On the weekends I was scheduled have our son, he and I stayed at my Mother’s home; on the weekends my ex was to have him, I stayed with my significant other. Believe it or not, we maintained this lifestyle for an entire calendar year. Unable to wrap his mind around this concept, it was the judge who threw me out on my ear. However, our new-found friendship didn’t end with my removal from the premises. Amazingly, my ex and I remained best friends for more than decade thereafter.
(Image courtesy of morguefile.com)
The Power of Positive Belief
So, what made this unusual situation work? Simple—the power of positive belief. Unlike the fear my ex and I faced at the very real possibility of leaving our son homeless, the uplifting belief that together we could provide not only for him, but ourselves created that positive reality. As unlikely as this may sound, science has proven when the members of a group—any group—share an awareness, the effects can be measured beyond not only the group itself, but the physical space they occupy. Known as the “Maharishi Effect” in honor of the Mahesh Yogi, who discovered the ridiculously simple formula for this miraculous occurrence, we know for a fact peace and healing can happen instantaneously.1 The key to making your belief a reality is confidently living as though the event has already happened, not hoping that it will.
Here’s the formula:
Determine the total number of people present.
Calculate one percent (1%) of the total number (multiply the total from Step 1 by .01).
Calculate the square root of the one percent (enter the number from Step 2 and press the √ function on your calculator.
Contrarily, negative beliefs have the very same effect. When I was a child, I heard an urban legend about a man who froze to death in a refrigerator truck. Upon finding a refrigerated delivery truck unattended, this man climbed into the cargo space to nose around. Unbeknownst to him, the driver of the truck, now finished with his deliveries for the night, closed the door and drove away, unaware another man bounced around amongst the empty pallets. When the door was opened for reloading the following morning, the man trapped inside was found frozen to death—even though the internal temperature of the truck never fell below a balmy 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Whether or not this story happened, is irrelevant. Science proves it could have, simply based upon the power of our own beliefs.
You are what you believe. We are so empowered when we trust in a realm that gives us every reason to fear, when we grant true forgiveness to someone rooted in revenge, or to offer compassion to a world which opts to destroy what it doesn’t yet understand. To quote Gregg Braden, author of The Divine Matrix, “You are the living bridge—both the pioneer and the midwife—for every other person with the courage to choose this path. Each time someone else makes this choice, it’s a little easier because someone else did it first.
“The people who make the choice to become a living bridge find their truest power by living their truth in a system that doesn’t support their belief at the time. Regardless of what life may look like at this very moment, every experience is a path leading each of us to the same destination. Therefore, our everyday activities can’t be separate from our spiritual evolution—they are our spiritual evolution!”2
NEXT UP:
The most destructive force force we can face:
Negativity