Why three steps? The first is where you are testing the waters, you can see the path, but you have not actually chosen it as your own. The second is your intention to walk the path, you have stepped fully on to the path now, but you are still unsure as to where it will lead you. Fear and doubt remind you that going back to the old path is still possible. The third step is commitment, you no longer worry about what lies ahead, this is the path you have accepted as your own, and you trust yourself implicitly. Fear and doubt have become distant voices, left standing back on your old path.

If we accept that the reality we perceive is not a rock bed reality, but merely a reflection of our current beliefs, then each and every detail of waking reality is created specifically, by us, rich with symbology that reveals what sort of path we are creating for ourselves.

The little events of our daily lives are filled with symbols and telepathic reminders of the world we shape with our beliefs. Recently, while walking Merlin (our puppy) I was followed by a young butterfly. It was resting on the ground as we initially approached it, and took off as we got close. The butterfly stayed with us though, paralleling our course for at least 50 feet, this is one of those times when a symbol wanted to make sure it was noticed.

The day after that, I saw a baby tree frog as I walked, and yesterday still another one in the garden outside of our house. For me the translation of the symbols here were quite easy, but no less potent. Both the frogs and the butterfly had recently metamorphisized from their earlier forms, and represented symbols of major transformation. During this time, Kristen and I decided to start Conscious Creation . Another recent incident involved symbols of power and energy. A couple of weeks ago, we came home to discover that the stream by our house was barely flowing; construction workers in the area had set up a series of temporary dams which had blocked the flow of our stream. We also received a call from our landlord telling us that our power would be temporarily shut off the next morning.

Subtlety was not exactly the strong point here; the universe was sending us clear signals about our energy "not flowing." We walked out to the site of the first dam just as a small trickle of water was working its way around a low point, winding its way back to the stream bed. Within the space of an hour the little trickle established itself and became a powerful water fall. The stream had not fully re-established itself, but it was on its way.

The next day, after our electricity was restored, we went out to the field again. Our friend Tom and I were looking at the area by the first waterfall, and the layout of our field. The El Nino floods had left a chasm running down the opposite end of the field from the normal stream bed. The new dams made it possible to create a new stream through the chasm with a minimal amount of effort. After five minutes of work, Tom and I had the new stream flowing. We had re-channeled the power of the stream in a new and very personal way. The stream has always been a powerful symbol for us. Through our interactions with it we have learned a great deal about the flow of abundance and universal energy. Around the time the dams were built, I had been feeling rather bored. I had all this pent up energy, but no place to really let it flow. Writing is equivalent to the new stream; it is an excellent channel, but the built up energy still remains behind the dams.

Kristen and I have both had dreams lately in which we experience something "bigger" than ourselves. For the last few weeks we have continued to experience symbols of death and transformation. I believe that this writing is a part of that transformation, and you the reader, in some way are a part of it as well. As Kristen and I are establishing a more public presence, we are connecting with those who are of like mind and spirit, creating something that perhaps is more than the sum of our parts. I have no definition for this, only an intuition that tells me that I have touched upon "the truth." That intuition has been my guiding light since I stepped fully onto this path into the magical.

©1998, John McNally. Printed in the October 1998 Issue of the online Conscious Creation Journal. (Feel free to duplicate this column for personal use - please include this copyright notice.)
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