A Tale of Two Thoughts
The Offer
Two women lived next door to each other in beautiful homes overlooking a mountain lake. They knew each other quite well because they had been neighbors now for several years. One day while hiking together they stopped in a meadow near the lake. Both women lived in extreme physical pain caused by what Doctors had told them was an incurable disease. They stood together in the meadow enjoying the warmth of the spring sun when suddenly a spirit appeared and began to speak to them. The spirit told them that if they would spend the next three days thinking about what they wanted in their lives, He would grant it to them without hesitation. The spirit assured them that the more precise that they thought about what they wanted, the more powerful the experience would be.
Day one: Connie
Upon returning to her home, Connie immediately went to work gathering all her medical and financial records as well as her diaries and took them into her small home office that overlooked the beautiful lake. In just a few minutes Connie was feverously typing on her computer.
Later that day Connie looked up from her work and saw that her neighbor Janet was sitting on her deck in obvious deep contemplation, Connie thought to herself: “Oh, that poor woman, she doesn’t know where to start”. She felt sorry for her because she knew that her neighbor did not have the extensive back ground in education that she had. After all, she had an MBA as well as a PhD in psychology.
By the end of day one, Connie had compiled a comprehensive list of the issues that she wanted to change. She was feeling quite fatigued and decided that she was well ahead in her work so she chose to quit for the day. As she carefully saved her work on her computer and shut everything down for the day she looked over towards her neighbor’s home and saw that Janet was still sitting on her deck. Only now it appeared that Janet was having a conversation with someone with the use of her laptop. Connie thought that it was so sad that Janet did not have the mental tools to take advantage of such a generous gift that the spirit had offered them.
Day one: Janet
After hearing the words that the spirit had spoken Janet returned to her house, full of the anticipation and joy that a child feels walking into a living room on Christmas morning. The words that the spirit had spoken were like the lyrics of a school song repeating peacefully inside of her head. Thoroughly enjoying this feeling she made a cup of hot tea and went out onto her deck. She chose the spot on the deck carefully so only vista of the lake could be seen. She had chosen a specific chair for its comforting qualities and sat down. As she gazed upon all the natural beauty that surrounded her and felt the sunlight warming her body she began to feel a sense of peacefulness.
She imagined that this could be the same experience a pine tree would have as the spring sun melted away the winter’s snow from its branches. She felt a warm slow thawing beginning deep inside of her. Janet’s attention was drawn towards Connie’s home next door. She saw her neighbor moving about in her home office at a feverous pace, finally settling down behind the screen of her computer. She thought how wonderful it was that her neighbor had been given the same opportunity that she was given by the spirit to feel so free and happy. She smile to herself and began to visualize the things that she now wanted to do such as Yoga down by the lake, taking walks in the woods or talking to old friends.
It was that last thought that reminded her that one of her oldest friends who had moved to Germany over a year ago and had sent her an email message explaining how they could reconnect online with a program called Skype. She could felt another wave of serenity as the thought of speaking with her friend motivated her to pick up her laptop. She was about to discover a new world of communication via the internet.
Day two: Connie
After taking her morning medications Connie again went into her office and began compiling in detail what she wanted to change. As she began sifting through her large pile of paperwork she looked out to see how her neighbor was doing. She saw that her desk was empty and that her computer hadn’t even been turned on and again felt sad for her. She began to re-evaluate the detailed list of all the things in her life that was causing her grief, particularly her physical ailments.
She was quite proud of her work from the previous day and decided to improve the list by placing each ailment in order from highest to lowest based on the negative impact that it had on her. She then created a sub-list to better define the problems individually to ensure clarity of each problem. At the end of the second day she looked at her work and was very satisfied with the progress that she had made. Every problem was listed in the order of importance based on the level of pain that each had on her life and each sub-list clearly defined the problem.
By midday the symptoms of her medical condition had become unbearable and she decided that she had done enough to ensure her reward. As she shut her office down for the day she again looked to see what her neighbor was doing. She saw that her neighbor had been working in her garden planting fresh flowers and pulling weeds out. She began to become concerned, and it was then that she decided that as soon as she had completed her report she would help her neighbor. After all it was the least she could do for someone who was obviously ill-equipped to compile the necessary information needed to be given the spirit.
Day two: Janet
Janet awoke as the sun made its daily appearance beyond the lake. The sunlight shimmering off the surface of the lake sent shards of light that danced on her bed room walls. Janet felt peaceful; she decided to spend the morning enjoying this feeling. Selecting a book from the collection by her bed she began paging thru the one with photos of some of the most beautiful places on earth. With each new page she would imagine herself standing in the exact spot which the shutter of the camera had opened and closed like the blink of a human eye capturing the beauty of the landscape. She would imagine the feeling of the sun on her face or the wind in her hair or even the smell of the sea.
The experience of her imagination sparked the desire to create a place of beauty in her own back yard. As she began dressing she made a mental list of the items she would purchase from the local gardening store. Upon her return she began the exhausting task of digging and raking the soil in preparation for the special plants that she had chosen to create this “most beautiful place on earth”. With all the planting and watering completed she began carrying bags of mulch from her car to put over the newly turned soil. With the sun now dropping behind the trees to the west she sat on her deck viewing the results of her labor. She became aware that the pain running through her body was somewhat different than what she was used to. She wasn’t sure why but the pain didn’t seem as intense nor did it depress her the way it always had in the past. She smiled and thought “I don’t need to know why, I just want to enjoy it”, and she did just that.
Day three: Connie
On day three just like the first two days, Connie went to her office to work on her project. As she stood looking out over the lake trying stretch the increasing pain out of her joints, she felt confident that she could complete this work with time to spare. She felt that with all the details that she had meticulously organized in her report the spirit would surely grant her the physical peace and tranquility she desired. Her attention was drawn to the shore lake by a slight movement. As she struggled to focus her vision, another issue that she needed to add to her list she thought, she saw that Janet was doing yoga on a small flat outcropping of rock by the lake. She felt sadness creep into her heart as she thought that perhaps in desperation her neighbor had increased her pain medication. She knew that they both suffered from the same symptoms of an untreatable illness and these symptoms would make it impossible for her to move in that way if she had not. This strengthened her resolve to assist her with her work once she had completed her task.
As the sun began to set Connie was exhausted and in great pain from her illness. She had taken several breaks throughout the day to rest her body but nothing seemed to help. Not only had she compiled every detail of her troubled life but she had also created a superb graphic presentation on a PowerPoint program on her computer that detailed each problem and cross referenced it back to its earliest existence. By now she was completely overcome by the demands of the past three days. Her body was racked in pain and she could no longer think clearly. The only thing left was the pride she felt as she looked at her great piece of work. She thought about the failures of her neighbor but knew she had nothing left to give. She could only hope that the spirit would have compassion for her neighbor.
Day Three, Janet
Janet awoke just before sunrise and found herself thinking about how wonderful her life had been. She could feel the discomfort in her muscles from the strenuous activity of the day before but the feeling could no longer be called painful. She thought about how wonderful it would be to do yoga on a small flat outcropping of rock down by the lake. This would allow her to stretch the stiffness out of her body and allow the muscles to regain strength. She had seen this spot by the lake and remembered thinking that it would make a perfect yoga spot for someone. “Well”, she thought “that someone is me”.
Gathering a few items that she needed she walked out of the house and headed toward the lake. She glanced up at her neighbor’s home and saw her again sitting in front of her computer. She appeared to be slumped over a bit more today than normal. As Janet walked towards that outcropping of rock that she intended to do yoga on she began to think about what the spirit had said. She thought about how quickly she had already begun to receive what she wanted in her life.
The peacefulness that she felt in her heart could easily be recognized by anyone who saw the smile on her face. By the time she reached the lake’s edge she felt so free of past burdens she felt like dancing. She went through her yoga poses with ease and then after another half an hour of mindful meditation she headed back to her house. Stopping briefly to admire the work that she had done in her yard the day before. Once home she began compiling a list of people that she was grateful to have met in her life. She was surprised how many names were flowing through her mind.
Rewards are Given
The next morning, Connie was barely able to walk as she pulled behind her a small wagon with all the work from the previous three days. She had the look of severe pain etched into her face but her eyes where full of anticipation for she knew that her dedication to the problems of her life would bring her peace and tranquility as the spirit had promised.
Janet had awakened that same morning filled with anticipation. She knew that just as the spirit had said, had already granted her, without hesitation everything that she had been thinking about these past three days. Now her heart was filled with gratitude for having been shown that all she needed to do was to stop her constant thoughts about what was wrong in her life and focus on what was right to experience bliss. She was grateful for so much that she couldn’t think of what she was going to say to the spirit.
She wanted more than anything to thank spirit for this gift. She decided that she would go to the meadow a little early so she could settle down and think more clearly about what she would say. As she sat in contemplation of everything that she had been thinking about the past days she noticed that Connie was on her way down to the meadow pulling a small wagon with great difficulty. In the wagon was a file box with the words “MY LIFE” in large black letters. Janet wondered as she watched her if perhaps she had been hurt in a fall or had taken ill. She jumped up and went to assist Connie.
As Janet approached her Connie said that she was sorry for not having the strength to help her. She said, “I know that you are not as educated in the art of researching problems as I am and I had planned on helping you as soon as I finished with my work but I simply did not have the strength left in me to help you”.
Janet smiled politely trying to comprehend what it was that she needed help with. At that moment the spirit appeared. Unable to contain her joy Janet jumped up, half running half dancing, and went over to the spirit, smiled and said: “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” All the words that she had previously thought about saying to the spirit just slipped away and she stood there flushed in pure joy.
Connie was unable to comprehend why Janet was so happy. She clearly had not completed the task. Connie summoned every ounce of strength that she had left and lifted the file box containing her report complete with the Power Point presentation walked over and placed it at the spirits feet.
The spirit looked down at the file box then back to Connie and asked: “What this is?” Connie replied that this is what she had been working on for three days. She guaranteed the spirit that she had not thought about anything except what was in this report. She went on to assure the spirit that this report clearly detailed all of her problems in great specificity. The spirit looked at her and said” “I know, and as I have promised I have granted them all to you without hesitation”.
A look of horror came across Janet’s face as she realized that she had in fact received everything that she had thought about for the past three days. Her mind was racing with thoughts of being condemned to this life of pain and suffering by her own thoughts. Janet seeing the anguish in her friend's eyes walked over and put her arm around her and said, “You can now see that your thoughts have tremendous power over your life. This is a great thing because now you can change your way of thinking and create a new and exciting life starting today” Connie looked at the spirit and ask, “Is this true?” The spirit replied, “This has always been true”. Connie looked over to Janet and smiled when she looked back the spirit had vanished along with her box marked “MY LIFE”.
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About the author: William L Molitor BCH, CI, is a Board Certified Hypnotist, Hypnosis Instructor, Hypnotherapist, and the Director of the Tri-State Hypnosis Center, a full-service Hypnosis Center as well as a training center for Hypnosis and Advanced Hypnotherapy training and certification located in Cincinnati Ohio. He is certified by and is a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH). For information about hypnosis or to contact William Molitor call (513) 943-1444 or email Doris@tri-statehypnosis.com
