Magic Practice Number 20
Heart Magic
Day 21
Magnificent Outcomes
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936)
WRITER
We all want good outcomes to everything we do. In giving thanks
before
he performed an action, the writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton used the magic of gratitude to guarantee the outcome he wanted.
You will have had times when you thought to yourself, “I hope this goes well,” or, “I hope this turns out okay,” or, “I’m going to need a lot of luck.” All these thoughts are
hoping
for a good outcome to a situation. But life doesn’t happen by chance or because of a stroke of luck. The laws of the Universe operate mathematically to the finest possible degree; that is something you can count on!
A pilot doesn’t
hope
that the laws of physics will keep working during his flight, because he knows the laws of physics will never fail. You don’t go into your day and
hope
that the law of gravity will keep you on the ground so you don’t float off into space. You know there’s no chance at play, and gravity’s law will never fail.
If you want Magnificent Outcomes to everything you do, then you have to use the law that governs outcomes – the law of attraction. That means you have to use your thoughts and feelings to
attract
Magnificent Outcomes to you, and being grateful for Magnificent Outcomes is one of the simplest ways to do it.
The Magnificent Outcomes practice is being grateful
before
you do something you want to go well. You could be grateful for the magnificent outcome to the work meeting, job interview, or exam, the magnificent outcome to the sports game, phone call, catch-up with a friend, or seeing your mother-in-law. You could be grateful for the magnificent outcome to your exercise routine, your pet’s vet appointment, or your medical or dental checkup. You could be grateful for the magnificent outcome when an electrician, plumber, or any tradesperson is addressing a problem in your home, the magnificent outcome to a family outing, conversation with your child about their behavior, or heart to heart with your partner. You could be grateful for the magnificent outcome to a purchase you will be making, such as a birthday gift, engagement ring, or wedding dress, or the magnificent outcome to choosing a new cell phone, new carpet, drapes, or renovation company. You could be grateful for the magnificent outcome for a reservation at a restaurant, or great seats for a concert, the magnificent outcome to your daily mail, your daily emails, or your tax refund for the year.
If it helps you to believe in the magical power of gratitude to create Magnificent Outcomes, you can wave your fingers through the air and imagine you’re sprinkling magic dust over the event you want to turn out magnificently!
Another time to use gratitude for Magnificent Outcomes is when something unexpected happens during your day. When something unexpected happens, very often we can jump to conclusions and immediately think there’s something wrong. For example, you arrive at work and are told that the boss wants to see you right away. The problem with jumping to conclusions and thinking there’s something wrong is that the law of attraction says that what you think and feel you will attract to you. So instead of jumping to conclusions and thinking you might be in trouble, take the opportunity to make the magic happen by being grateful for a magnificent outcome.
If you miss your bus or train on your way to work, or miss a flight, or are unexpectedly delayed, instead of thinking, “This is bad,” be grateful for the magnificent outcome so that you put the magic into motion to
receive
a magnificent outcome.
If you’re a parent and you’re asked to attend an unexpected meeting at school about your child, instead of thinking there’s a problem, be grateful for the magnificent outcome. If you receive an unexpected phone call, email, or letter, and the thought flashes into your mind, “I wonder what’s wrong,” immediately be grateful for the magnificent outcome,
before
you pick up the call, or open the email or letter.
Most of the time you will see and experience the magnificent outcome you asked for, and occasionally you won’t even know how you benefited from an unexpected event. But when you ask for a magnificent outcome and feel sincerely grateful for it, you are using the mathematical law of attraction, and you must receive a magnificent outcome back, somewhere, at some time. Guaranteed!
Whenever you find yourself thinking there’s chance at play with something in your life, or thinking you have no control over something, or when you find yourself
hoping
something will turn out well, remember that there’s no chance for the law of attraction – you will get what you’re thinking and feeling. Gratitude helps protect you from attracting what you don’t want – bad outcomes – and it ensures you get what you do want – Magnificent Outcomes!
When you are grateful for Magnificent Outcomes, you are using Universal law, and changing hopes and chance into faith and certainty. When gratitude becomes your way of life, you automatically go into everything you do with gratitude,
knowing
that the magic of gratitude will produce a magnificent outcome.
The more you practice Magnificent Outcomes, and make it a daily habit, the more Magnificent Outcomes you will attract into your life. Less and less you will find yourself in situations that you don’t want to be in. You won’t find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. And no matter what happens in your day, you will know with absolute certainty that the outcome will be magnificent.
At the beginning of today, choose three separate situations where you would like Magnificent Outcomes. You can choose three things that are important to you in your life currently, such as a job interview coming up, an application for a loan, an exam, or a doctor’s appointment. You can also start by selecting three things that are normally humdrum activities for you, because when the magic happens to those humdrum activities you will be really convinced that you attracted the magnificent outcome! For example, you could choose your drive to work, doing the ironing, going to the bank or post office, picking up the kids, paying the bills, or collecting the mail.
Make a written list of the three situations you’ve chosen for Magnificent Outcomes. Use gratitude’s magical power, and as you write each one imagine that you’re writing about each one
after
it has happened:
Thank you for the magnificent outcome to
!
For the second step of this magical practice, you are going to choose three unexpected things that arise today and use the magical power of gratitude for their Magnificent Outcomes as well. You could do this practice before you take three phone calls, or before you open three emails or three letters in the mail, before you do an unexpected errand, or anything else unexpected that comes up in the day. This part of the practice is not so much about what unexpected events you choose as it is about you practicing gratitude for Magnificent Outcomes on the little unexpected things. Each time an unexpected event arises, close your eyes briefly if you can, and mentally say and feel the magic words:
Thank you for the magnificent outcome to
!
You can’t do this magical practice too much, because the more you practice it, the more Magnificent Outcomes you will have in your life as a matter of course. But practicing it today will get you into the idea of it, and in the future, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re
hoping
for a good outcome or thinking you need luck, you will immediately turn to the magical power of gratitude, and make Magnificent Outcomes a certainty in your life!
Magic Practice Number 21
Magnificent Outcomes
Day 22
Before Your Very Eyes
“This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, inscrutable, magical, and more to whosoever will think of it.”
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
WRITER AND HISTORIAN
Seven years ago, when I first discovered The Secret and the magical power of gratitude, I made a list of all of my desires. It was a long list! At that time, there seemed to be no possible way my desires could come true. Nevertheless, I took my top ten desires and I carried them with me on a piece of paper every day. Whenever I had an opportunity, I would take out my list and read through it, giving as much gratitude for each desire as I could, as though I had received it. With my number one desire, the desire I wanted more than anything else, I kept it constantly in my mind, and I would say the magic words,
thank you,
for it multiple times in a day, and feel as if it had come true. One by one every desire on my list magically appeared before my very eyes. As I received my desires I would cross them off my list, and when I had new desires I would add them to my list.
One of my desires from my original long list was to travel to Bora Bora near Tahiti. After spending a beautiful week at the exact place in Bora Bora I had listed, another beautiful thing happened. I was flying to the mainland of Tahiti on my way home when the airplane stopped en route to pick up passengers. The flight had been empty, but it filled to the brim with native Tahitians, and suddenly laughter, smiling faces, and a happiness that was palpable surrounded me.
As I enjoyed the short flight with these beautiful people, it became crystal clear to me the reason why they were so happy. They were grateful! They were grateful to be alive, they were grateful to be on the airplane, they were grateful to be with each other, they were grateful for where they were going – they were grateful for everything! I could have stayed on that plane and traveled around the world with them, it felt so good to be with them. And then it struck me that I had just received my final desire; Bora Bora was the last desire on my original long list, and the reason I was on that plane was before my very eyes – gratitude!