“The WHAT HAPPENS IF I… Book” was written from a need to understand my life, as well as to change what I didn’t like and appreciate what I had. The idea for the book came to me as I was driving home from work one evening and trying to make sense out of my day. Things hadn’t gone well and I wanted to know why. I had faith in what I call the mirror theory and believed in emotional give/receive, i.e., whatever I gave to others—loving or unloving—returned to me. But I was struggling to be honest about what I must have given to explain what I had received.
I knew that action/reaction was the boomerang in effect; which meant that I received the emotional gift I gave whether I wanted it back or not. The theory wasn’t complicated, just hard to remember in every situation. When the boomerang returned full of love and acceptance, I rejoiced in my good fortune. When the boomerang returned full of criticism and rejection, my tendency was to look for someone to blame.
On that particular evening, I was trying to get out of the mode of whose fault is this? and into the mode of what did I do to invite it? I suddenly realized that many people around me were as curious as I was to understand how these physics played out in our every-day lives. My motivation for writing this book was to share the message I was receiving of how action/reaction could be used to create the best possible outcome, not only for me, but for everyone else around me—since the only way we truly have of impacting others is through example. As I opened my heart and became more honest about my own behavior instead of focusing on the behavior of others, new behavior started changing my life.
I believe this process of facing my mirror has always been with me; I’m just getting better at recognizing it. I would love to say that an angel fell into my lap and gave me this magical formula for resolving all my issues. But there was just the every angel I met who showed me more about myself.
The answers I found from looking within and finally admitting to the emotional actions I had taken convinced me of the identity of the soul who determined my experience: me.
In this book, I use the term God to indicate energy. Sometimes I call that energy all-inclusive—or the whole through which we all participate. Sometimes I call that energy individual—as in you, me and others. But whether I describe this energy as out-of-matter or in-matter, male or female, gracious or rude, it still represents the light of eternal love. Regardless of the judgment it holds, the blessedness it lives, or the intellect it professes, it still represents everything that exists. In that isness, energy meets its reflection and has the mirror of present insight to know its current growth.
As I wrote this book, I noticed that I changed back and forth in my usage of he and she in different situations. My purpose was not to stereotype, but to make sure the sentences read more easily. In the end, I decided that rather than reword any phrases, I would try to make sure my words were filled with love.
I believe this book is a collaborative effort. Without spirit, I wouldn’t have found these ideas. Without me, the ideas wouldn’t have manifested in this particular form.