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Separate from this blog, I am keeping a log of all the serendipitous moments I have in my life, almost like a record of spiritual practice and outcomes. It is far from empirically validated research, but I started it because I wanted to try and remember prayers I said and see if I could capture any results. We can spend a lot of time praying our little butts off without actually paying attention to what we’re asking for or whether or not the results are genuinely in our best interest.

But I tell ya, it sure is fascinating to capture the Universe in action. Two weeks ago, I prayed about a willingness to release any counterproductive behaviors or habits, and anyone associated with those old patterns. Less than ten days later, I experienced some significant shifts in long-standing dynamics I have struggled with for many years. Just like that, everything changed. 

I can’t help but give credit to God or Good and this new found faith. It may just be that my prayers have been answered. I am reaching a point of being comfortable saying that. But for the skeptics out there, there may not be some sort of intergalactic involvement operating on my behalf. It could also be that just because I have faith, I consider myself worthy of better behavior in relationships, and therefore I am acting differently, which is changing dynamics around me. Either framing works for me, so long as it works for you, dear reader. 

In one situation, I became willing to do important work accepting my own spoiled rottenness in a very important dynamic. I changed (and I committed to that change with an ease that was almost eery) and the circumstances around me changed as a result. In another situation, a person near and dear to me basically disappeared from my life, opting to remove themselves. Now, I had prayed with a genuine desire to release any pattern holding me back and anyone associated with those patterns. And, poof, Person Number 2 was gone. It was actually a great relief when they departed. But, third and most interesting, this past weekend some sort of cosmic alignment occurred in which I ran into someone I had not seen in years and it changed our shared history in a way that was so satisfying and so healing for me that, were I not standing solidly on the grounds of faith, I would still be shaken up or reeling from it. 

When I told a friend about the situation, she said, “Wow, it’s almost as if the Universe was involved.” Girl, you have no idea. 

So, if you’re skeptical of all this faith and prayer stuff, let me just say that I was, too. For a long time. For many moons. For many years I exhausted myself and also wished that I could have faith in something. I had a lot of false starts, and I think I had to have all of them to arrive where I am now, which is willing to have faith, willing to believe, willing to just give belief in a basic Good a go, no matter what. And the best, wildest, most wonderful thing is that stuff keeps happening to reinforce my faith.

Whether it’s just positive thinking, a shift in outlook, or actual spiritual works happening around me doesn’t really matter to me. I am enjoying it either way. It is improving my life, helping me appreciate what I have, have hope and aspirations for the future, savor the present, and see value in my past. All of which I would wish for anyone, including (or especially) the most cynical among us. 

Basically, no matter what it is, it’s working for me. And maybe it could work for you, too.