Okay, let’s review. You’ve learned some exciting and very empowering things about yourself and the Universe. You know there’s magic weaving in and out of you and everything you see, that magic comes from God/Source/the Divine/choose-your-favorite-term, and you are a part of that magic! You realized your inner Genie is the part of you that can connect with that magic and manifest the life you want to live. You’ve learned the steps that get you out of that magic lamp so that you’re free to make magic! Hopefully, you’ve even gotten clarity on what wishes you’re ready to make come true for yourself (or you’re working on that, at least).
Now the time has come to start learning about how to use your magic!
HEAVEN IS SO CHATTY!
I mentioned earlier that I attempted to follow the path of a spiritually based career for four years without success. But when I tried again a few years later, suddenly it all worked!
Would you like to know what I did differently?
(I thought you might.) Well, I started following my personal Divine guidance.
The Universe is always talking to us. The voices of angels, spiritual guides, and even the Divine itself never stop lovingly whispering how you might have greater joy in your life. The problem is that those precious whispers often get drowned out by this noisy world. You may forget to listen for them or be so convinced that they aren’t there that you don’t even bother to try to hear what they’re saying.
Those messages are your Divine guidance. It’s like the transmissions of your Divine Guidance Communication System (DGCS) are on a radio frequency that resonates in concert with that magical music inside you. These messages are always trying to help you to manifest the life you’re dreaming of. Once you learn how to recognize or “hear” those messages—and start to follow their direction—you will gain more and more access to the magic within you.
So what does that look like—following one’s Divine guidance? Well, in my own life, it went something like this . . .
For the past few years, I’d been getting the message that I should convert to vegetarianism. I’d learned that whenever a thought gets stuck in your head, you should pay attention to it, and this thought was definitely stuck in my head. In talking to my guardian angel Joshua about it, the conversation was similar to this:
Joshua: Radleigh.
Radleigh: Yes, Josh?
Joshua: You’re a vegetarian.
Radleigh: What? Oh no, I’m not!
Joshua: Yes. Yes, you are.
Radleigh: <in a whiny voice> But! But what about cheeseburgers?
Joshua: Trust me on this one. You’re a vegetarian.
Radleigh: <heavy sigh> Okay. Fine. I’m a vegetarian.
A few weeks later, this exchange happened:
Radleigh: <somewhat leery> What?
Joshua: You’re sober.
Radleigh: Oh, the heck I am!
Joshua: <laughing> No, really. You are!
Radleigh: But! But what about martinis?
Joshua: You’re sober.
Radleigh: <trying not to cry> Okay. Fine. I’m sober.
And then this happened:
Joshua: Radleigh.
Radleigh:<fingers in ears> LALALALALALALALA! I can’t hear you!
Joshua: Yes, you can. That little trick only works on the ego.
Radleigh: Okay, fine. What now?
Joshua: No more caffeine.
Radleigh: <silence>
Joshua: Radleigh?
Radleigh: Okay. Fine. I’m not even going to argue about it. No more caffeine.
Joshua: Good job.
Since I had those conversations and followed my guidance, I completely left the accounting world. I have signed over 20 contracts with my publisher and spoken at over 70 events in 10 countries. In short, suddenly the magic was flowing like a Smoky Mountain river.
You might be thinking, Well, gee, Radleigh, not everyone can hear their angels like you. Actually, you’d be wrong about that. I’ll give you the inside scoop on chatting up the great winged wonders in the next chapter.
In the meantime, it’s important to realize that the angels, Heaven, and God aren’t trying to be stubborn or difficult when they ask you to make certain changes. What they’re trying to do is make you an energetic match for the life you want to live.
Your own guidance does not necessarily involve vegetarianism, or sobriety, or a decaffeinated life. Don’t follow my Divine guidance; follow yours. Whatever that might be, take action.
You know what you’re being called to do. It’s a nagging feeling or group of thoughts that starts with I really should be ___________. The blank will be filled with positive actions, not negative, ego-based ones. Things that you know are good for you and would improve your life. Even as you read this, you’re undoubtedly thinking, Oh yeah. I know some of the things that I’m being guided to do.
Because this is such an important concept, let me give you another way to think about it. You’ve heard the saying, “Like attracts like,” yes? Everything in the Universe is made up of energy and is attracted to energy on the same wavelength. Your thoughts and actions will attract to you more of what you focus on.
Let’s pretend that your dream is to become a doctor. And let’s say that being a doctor works best when the energy around you is emerald green. However, your energy is currently pale blue. (You’ll recall that colors simply represent different wavelengths of light.) While there’s nothing wrong with pale blue—it’s a perfectly lovely color—it’s just not the best energy for being a doctor. As soon as you let the Universe know that your wish is to become a doctor, it starts to chitchat away at you like a neighbor with absolutely nothing better to do. Seriously! The Universe just won’t shut up until you start to listen to the guidance it has for you on how to turn your pale blue energy into the emerald green necessary to successfully manifest becoming a doctor. But you have to listen!
You may already know a lot about what your Divine guidance is trying to tell you. Perhaps you’ve been getting messages such as Take up yoga or It’s time to let go of caffeine. If so, I highly recommend that you begin to follow that guidance right away.
Even if you’re already aware of some of the changes you’re being called to make, I still suggest that you partake in the Genie Academy lesson at the end of this chapter for two reasons:
THE FAITH GYM
Once you’ve learned to tune in to your DGCS, you have to act upon that guidance. If you find yourself making excuses, then stop and ask yourself why: Why would I want to delay my perfect life? Why not start today? The answer is probably that your ego is playing games with your mind.
Magic is pretty amazing stuff, but it usually requires action on your part. Not everything requires Divine guidance and changes to your life in order to become manifest, but more often than not, the big things do.
I know, I know . . . you were hoping you could just cross your arms and blink and then stuff would happen. Well, you may be pleased to know that sometimes that really is the case!
However, if you were to analyze what was really going on when something seemed to manifest right out of thin air, you would probably discover that you had actually wished for it without realizing it. There were no negative thoughts you’d attached to the wish. You’d released it to God without any sense that you didn’t deserve it. Then—voilà!—it showed up.
If you have a hard time feeling that you deserve your wishes, I want you to do the following:
Make a list of every wonderful thing you ever did for the world or someone else. Now is not the time for humility! Write down each and every nice act you can remember. If you’re truly honest with yourself, you’ll be astonished by how long this list will be. This is proof positive of how worthy you are and that you deserve your wishes, big and small!
Let’s say that you’ve gotten Divine guidance and are following through on that advice. You’re ready to take action, but frankly you have really big dreams. Your faith is a little shaky, and you have no idea where to start. The answer to that dilemma is to take actions that are the same size as your faith. Remember, building faith is like building muscles. You start small and work your way up.
Let’s say your dream is to accumulate $1 million. Do you have absolute, unshakable faith that that will happen? Because if you do, it’s on the way! But if there’s even a bit of nagging doubt in your mind, then that million dollars is probably locked up tight in your Genie lamp.
So let’s see how big your faith is.
Do you believe that you could just suddenly receive $1,000 in the coming week? No? Okay, what about $100? $50? $10? Oh, come on! You can find $10 in a purse you thought you’d completely emptied or under the seat of your car. So can we agree on $10? Good!
Begin your wishing work by asking for $10, then stay awake. Notice what is happening in your life, and especially notice what happens as it relates to the manifesting of your wishes.
Before you start digging around in the cushions of your couch, let’s get clear on the nature of abundance. Yes, if you found a $10 bill on the floor, it would be a clear manifestation of your wish that you could easily recognize. But what if your co-worker unexpectedly picked up your $10 tab at lunch—wouldn’t that count as fulfilling your wish? If a friend of yours gifted you a box of chocolates because she was on a diet, then that would count, too! In any case, you started by wishing for the magical, energetic worth of $10, and you got it. Excellent! Your faith got just a little bit stronger.
How do you feel about wishing for $20 now? Think you can do it? If so, go for it! If not, then go another week wishing for the $10, until you do feel good about being able to manifest the $20.
You can repeat this exercise on any of your wishes. If you have big dreams—and you should!—then you may need to grow your faith by building it up incrementally until it has reached the level of your big dream. The small pieces will always lead to greater accomplishments, and soon you’ll be on your way!
GENIE-OLOGY
In order to have your magical life, you need to believe, somewhere down deep, that you’re amazing. You have to know that your life has beautiful meaning. You have to have faith that when your day comes around to pass through the gates of Heaven, you’re going to arrive to a rousing burst of applause. Having that kind of belief in yourself puts a restraining order on your doubting, negative ego. If your mind, heart, and soul are in on the task, then your ego is vastly outnumbered. It doesn’t stand a chance.
One powerful way to help build this level of self-esteem and make magic happen is to get fellow Genies in on the action. This requires seeking out others who share your beliefs and your desire to have a magical life. It’s kind of like having the same magical DNA, so I call that Genie-ology!
While large organizations have their place, I’m a big believer in the power of small groups. To really create your dreams, it works best when you have an intimate group where everyone is crystal clear on the big picture and the details of what everyone is wanting to create.
You may need to have different groups for the different wishes you’re manifesting. For example, in one of my groups, I have three guys who have been in my life for almost two decades. We’re the “bestest of besties.” To us, we’re truly brothers and behave as such. I can turn to them for anything, and they’re there to cheer me on! For the most part, we support each other with personal life goals. Frankly, just having them in my life is the fulfillment of a personal life goal, and I consider it one of my most successful Genie wishes come true.
I also have another group, consisting of three women whom I call my “Superhero friends”! We make sure we’re on target with our career goals, check each other on our crap, and pray for one another. Sometimes the lines are a little blurred, and we talk about personal things in my “career goals” group, but that’s perfectly okay. There don’t need to be strong boundaries and hard-and-fast rules about allowed topics. Just let the support and conversation unfold organically.
A small support group instills in you a sense of empowerment and of your own value. Everyone needs a cheerleader in life, and there’s no reason why you can’t build your own cheer-leading squad! Gather a few close friends, and make sure to have regular calls or get-togethers. There’s no need to take yourselves too seriously—laugh, drink tea, and form goals. Be there for each other on good days and bad days. Remember that support is a two-way street, and giving is just as important as receiving. So if your phone rings or you get an SOS text, you do have to respond!
Then again, perhaps your goals aren’t necessarily something you want to share with your friends or immediate acquaintances. I know what it’s like to have good friends but not feel that I can talk to them about what I’m fascinated by or concerned about at the moment. In my hometown, the topics I was drawn to were not exactly considered mainstream. There was just no one to talk to about angels or tarot cards or any of the myriad things that made me different. And so I turned to the Internet. I found people who lived in four or five other states who shared my interests and passions. With the countless opportunities for connection that exist through social media, there’s no reason you can’t put together your own Genie-ology team.
BLESSED/STRESSED/YES/MESS!
You will have to be patient at first as you wait for your wishes to come true. You’re a newbie playing with your magic. Some dreams require things to change not only in your life but also in the lives of others. The gears of your Genie magic may at first turn a little slowly, but things will start to speed up as you work more and more with your spiritual gifts and Heaven has time to reorganize earthly situations to match your new desires.
Eventually, you’re going to start to notice that the things you want begin to manifest faster and faster and with bigger and bigger results. This brings us to a concept I call “Blessed/Stressed/ Yes/Mess!”
During the time I was writing this book, I had a lot going on. I had two books to write, an angel oracle card deck to create, an app I was working on, an extensive video course to film, a three-day live course to plan, and a European tour coming up. Oh, and I also got married and promised my new husband that we’d somehow squeeze a honeymoon into the same period. This was all on top of my regular activities of hosting a radio show and social-media video show, as well as providing daily support to the thousands of students of a video course already in place.
In short, I don’t think I had ever been so blessed in my entire life! There wasn’t a single thing on my list that I wasn’t elated to be doing. All of it was a part of my magical life.
I’m also not sure if I’d ever been so stressed in my entire life! Now mind you, this was all “good stress” from so many wishes coming true at once. I had no desire to give up even one of the many things I was working on.
The problem was that I continued to agree to everything I was offered. Radio interviews, magazine articles—you name it, and I just said yes. And you know what that turned into?
A mess.
I believe that yes is a very magical word, but that period of my life taught me just how magical no could be. Blessed had turned to stressed so that each new yes made my life a mess.
Once you’re in touch with your magic, your inner Genie might just start granting wishes right and left! The magic spirals upward and out in the world, and it can get a little out of control. So if you’re going to be your own Genie, you have to stay in control of your magic. Having a magical life is all about joy, not anxiety.
I wholeheartedly agree with the common phrase, “Say yes to life!” But when life starts to become too much, it’s okay—and healthy—to say no (or even “wait”) while you bring one wish to life before taking on any others.
Up until now, we’ve spent a lot of time on the intellectual side of using your magic. Magic, however, is also a very emotional thing. Having your head in the right space is crucial for manifesting a magical life, but if your emotions are fighting your thoughts, you’re not going to get very far.
One of the awesome things about using your emotions in your magical life is that they don’t actually have to be centered on what you’re trying to manifest. While this might seem odd to you, it’s actually great if you’re having trouble keeping faith or remaining optimistic about creating your big, beautiful new life. Perhaps you’re managing to keep your thoughts positive about making your wishes come true, but deep inside you have nagging doubts or a sense of pessimism. Well, you need to get in touch with your feelings of happiness and elation—even if those emotions have absolutely nothing to do with your wishes.
You see, the Universe is a very magical and joyful place! That’s just the vibe it resonates to. So when you’re in a place of delight or exuberance, you’re vibrating with the Universe instead of against it. Like attracts like, remember?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that you magically create happier outcomes with joy than with worry or fear. It’s similar to the saying, “You attract more bees with honey than with vinegar.” So if you can keep your thoughts in check while walking around feeling happy, you’ve got some serious magic happening.
It doesn’t matter where your joyful emotions and memories come from. Just discover your “happy place” and practice being able to bring those emotions to the surface whenever you need them.
Let me give you an example from my own life . . .
I really don’t like to talk too much about my age. First of all, I don’t feel that my energy matches the number of candles on my birthday cake (assuming I even allowed anyone to put candles on my birthday cake). Focusing on how “old” I am just manifests feeling old, so why do that?
However, in this case I’ll just come right out and tell you that I’m five years old. Yes, five. At least, on the inside I am! I may look like a grown-up guy, but at heart I’m a total kid. And nothing brings out my inner child more than the holidays.
Christmas trees and menorah candles. Yule logs and hot cocoa. Snowmen, dreidels, candy canes, shiny packages, reindeer, and jolly old elves all dressed in red and green. Just seeing that list, it’s all I can do to contain myself and keep from jumping up and down and squealing!
I think the biggest thing for me is the strings of lights. I just love the lights. As for our house, we go old-school here. Remember those big bulbs? They’re called C9s, and the colors are white, orange, green, red, and blue in that exact order. (Sorry, but the order is important!) Every year, people try to talk me out of those old-style bulbs and get me to go all LED and stuff . . . but, nope, I’m not doing it! Those lights, and the lights on the tree, are what really get my inner child going!
Whenever I’m aware that I’m feeling worried or anxious about something, I realize that I’m shutting down my magic. And I don’t like that. So I take a minute and close my eyes and think about those holiday lights. I might even put on the appropriate music. (Yes, I’m one of those “holiday music in July” people; don’t judge.) I let those giddy emotions take over, and suddenly I’m happy! I’m in joy! I remember that the Universe wants me to feel this way all the time, and I hold on to those feelings.
It’s obvious that my happy place is the holidays, but yours will likely be something else. Whatever it is, once you are able to bring up those emotions, focus on your dream while keeping in mind those optimistic feelings. Remind yourself that you deserve all the happiness in the world—that it’s coming to you because you’re a worthy and magical child of God.
Now, you might have a hard time keeping those joyous emotions going while you’re thinking about your dreams. If contemplating your desires brings you down, then don’t do it! Just go back to your happy place.
It’s time to talk about the aspects of being your own Genie that can be a little more challenging. You’re going to need an unwavering, solid, stubborn belief that everything—absolutely everything—that happens to you is meant to eventually bring you joy in some way. I’m sorry to start boldfacing words again, but this isn’t faith, it’s faith. It’s a belief in a God that’s always loving you, eternally trying to help you, and never stops adoring you.
This is a philosophy that I hold in my heart completely and absolutely without any doubt. Bad things, or things that we label “bad,” happen in everyone’s life. I’m no exception. While I’ve got my own little scary list of experiences, I can explain how almost every one of them is a part of the happiness I enjoy today. The few that I can’t explain, I have utter faith that in time I will be able to explain them. While it’s great to have a nice little “answer hook” to hang your faith upon for every little challenging thing that occurred in your life, it’s not necessary. faith doesn’t require answers. (That’s why it’s faith.)
Like most everyone, I’ve had to endure the loss of people and animals I love. Time has healed the pain of some of those losses, while others continue to bring tears. From them, I learned the importance of every single moment. I came to see the need to infuse magic not just into the special times but into every moment. My faith that those passed-over loved ones are in Heaven and that they watch out for me has been born out through signs and miracles that had their fingerprints (or paw prints) all over them.
Physical and emotional abuse as a child taught me compassion and kindness for others. It also brought me the realization that I can never know the reasons why someone might be bitter, unfriendly, or guarded, because I don’t know what they have lived through.
An unbelievably cruel romantic relationship in my youth taught me the true value of later relationships that were tender, loving, supportive, and profound. It also taught me something about my own value and self-worth so that I never let anyone ever treat me so horribly again.
We can greatly dislike or even abhor experiences that occur in our lives. I’m certainly not debating that. But the ability to maintain the faith that something about every experience has the ability to make you stronger, more resilient, and a better person . . . well, my friend, that is a big part of the magic. And that faith will bring you more happiness in the long run than you could possibly imagine.
TRICKY MAGIC: LETTING GO
There’s one last piece to making the magic happen that I want to share with you. Of all the things I’ve explained, this is the part I think most people have the biggest challenge with.
You have to let go.
You’ve figured out what you want to create. You’ve visualized it. You’ve got your head and your heart in sync, and you’ve even starting taking action. And . . . now I say to let go?
I know it sounds crazy . . . maybe even a little contradictory. However, just remember what I’ve told you from the beginning: believing is critical to getting that magical life you want. You have to trust that the Divine is the source of all magic. Nothing is beyond its ability to create.
The mistake that people make with their wishes is to try to tell God “how” and “when” they will come true. They cling to every detail with a sort of desperate energy that’s anything but faith. In fact, it’s fear. Fear won’t manifest you a magical life, but it will definitely manifest you a very unhappy one.
Every single time that I ask the Universe for something and then let it go, it seems to manifest in my life in record speed! Although some wishes require action, others are completely out of your hands. There won’t be any action you can take; you’ll just have to wish and wait.
I’ve even made wishes and forgotten about them; then—poof!—they manifested. Those incidents always make me laugh. One of them occurred while I was writing this book . . .
My new husband, Lee, and I had chosen our favorite place to get away for our honeymoon, which also happens to be a spot where a certain celebrity is known to visit from time to time. While I admire this celebrity’s work, he had absolutely nothing to do with the choice of our honeymoon destination. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder, What if we were to run into him? It was a fun thought, but nothing I really put much energy into. Just a little wish I made and then let go of.
One morning, Lee and I were at the grocery store getting supplies, and—poof!—in walked that celebrity. I couldn’t believe it. We didn’t want to be intrusive, but we did get to say hello and let him know how much we love his work, and he responded to us very graciously.
Now let’s break this down: What are the odds that a celebrity I respect and admire would walk into a grocery store at the same time we were there? (This wasn’t a tiny town, either. We were right outside a major city where celebrities tend to live.) What are the odds that the celebrity would walk into the same part of the grocery store I was currently shopping in so that I would see him?
That, my friend, is the power of letting go!
When you try to control how the magic unfolds instead of just letting it come to you in the Divine’s all-knowing way, it’s basically putting your inner Genie back into the lamp. And, as I’ve already explained, the magic doesn’t happen in the lamp. It happens outside the lamp.
GENIE ACADEMY
Lesson #5: What Is Your Divine Guidance Telling You?
I suggest that you do this lesson over several days just so you can gain real clarity about discerning what is your Divine guidance as opposed to your ego just ganging up on you. Divine guidance feels like gentle, positive ideas that come into your mind. The ego feels more like berating outbursts or prolonged guilty feelings of not being good enough.
At the beginning of each day that you’re working on this lesson, incorporate something like the following into your daily prayers or meditations. I’m using the word God, but you can substitute whatever word fits with your spiritual beliefs.
Dear God,
I am so very excited to be on this journey to make my dreams come true. I know that in order to be successful, I need to listen to and act upon any Divine guidance you’re sending my way. Please make that guidance crystal clear to me. Let me know what I’m being asked to do through repetition of the message, signs, and the experience of positive emotions when I think about the changes being asked of me. I ask that you help make the changes flow easily and fill me with the necessary motivation to be successful.
Of course, feel free to adapt this prayer for guidance and support in any way you feel led to do. If the changes you feel you need to make create negative emotions within you, such as guilt or helplessness, then ask God to help you release those emotions and make you feel empowered instead.
If the negative feelings continue, then the proposed “changes” might be your ego distracting you from the changes you really need to make. Set those things aside for now and concentrate on the Divine guidance that feels good and attainable to you. If you’re really meant to work on the things that don’t feel good right now, they’ll come back around later. Then you’ll be stronger because of the progress you’ve already made, and thus better able to deal with them.
Some people do best making one change at a time. That was certainly the case for me. Over the days that you are asking for clarity on your Divine guidance, pay attention to the item that comes up the most. That is the one you’ll want to start with.
Write down what you want to manifest on a few pieces of paper. Write just one thing on each slip of paper, not a whole list. If you already have a list, that’s cool. What a Genie you are! Just get more paper and transfer each item onto a fresh sheet.
Next, you’re going to put each piece of paper in a separate box. These boxes can be small or large. It’s up to you. I like a variety.
Now wrap each of these boxes as gifts (gifts to yourself from Heaven!) with as much joy as you can muster. Bring up your most euphoric memories from your happy place while you’re wrapping these gifts from the Divine to sweet little magical you! As you cut and fold, ask the angels to help you make those dreams come true. Then put these magical gifts somewhere special where you can look at them when you want.
If you ever start to feel down or worried about your dreams, remember those wrapped gifts and smile. Stay in that joyful anticipatory state. Because that’s exactly what any not-quite-yet-manifested dream of yours is: just an unopened gift! It’s coming, but you’re just going to have to wait a bit more.
Feel yourself getting in the vibe of the Universe, and watch magical things start to happen!