Manifesting into Reality!

It's a warm Friday evening in late spring. The most beautiful time of the year, summers, are well on the way. Having shifted the new condo a few weeks ago, I have set up the place quite nicely by now. Surrounded by fuzzy yellow lamp lighting, I am lounging on my comfy couch surrounded by cosy cushions & a blanket/throw around me, knitting a muffler for my mother with my knitting basket next to me, I am watching a true crime documentary by That Chapter on my 85" Samsung Frame TV. 

I pause TV for a bit & soak into the present moment. It is mostly quiet around here on the 22nd floor except for the periodic swishing of automatic air freshener dispenser & the occasional traffic sounds from the busy street below. 

It'll be my birthday next week & I'll be hosting my friends for the first time at this new place. Most of them aren't even aware that I have moved back into the city and boy will they be surprised!

Just a few hours ago, my bi-weekly salary of $ 5625 was deposited. The notification from bank made me super happy. Though I have spent quite a bit in last few weeks to set up the new place, I am happy with the way it has shaped up  :)

I recall the dramatic turn of events over the last few months with a faint smile of gratitude, amazement & bliss. I think of how in February after returning from another longish (but fruitful) trip to India, I was back to living life on an auto-pilot. Living a beautiful penthouse in the downtown of a suburban city, getting up late, making a heavy breakfast, getting coffee, watching YouTube & refreshing Twitter all the time, smoking many cigarettes, going to the gym occasionally & waiting for a new job to magically appear in my lap somehow. After all, it had been 15 months of break in my career, 3 trips to India, spending all my savings & nothing to show for it. I could not foresee a path how my new life will look like. Until the end of that month, when I decided to manifest the reality I wanted & how I immersed myself into it. 

And voila! How things took a turn.

I remember shifting my mindset from that of 'lack' to the one full of 'gratitude'. Though I used to pray before, but it was mostly asking for this or praying for that. Always begging for something. But after listening to several YouTube videos on manifestation & law of attraction, I consciously started the practice of gratitude. Being in the frequency of thankfulness. Living & believing I already have what I want. Training my mind to focus repeatedly on living & feeling of my desired reality. Living in the future, rather than past. I was thankful for my healthy body, for my flat stomach & a beautiful beard, comfortable living arrangements in a luxurious penthouse, polite & non-interfering roommates, great food, loving family, supportive friends, kind mentors, availability of money in spite of not earning, beautiful surroundings, reliable public transport, access to free gym, nice gym buddies/friends in the condo, the Tims nearby that gave me my daily dose of dark roast coffee, an amazing library near by where I could sit for hours and work, the mild winters, my collection of warm jackets & sweaters, my wardrobe of formal & informal clothes, availability of all the medicines I need, my Whey protein, Burnbrae for their 1 Lt egg whites, avocados for my daily brunches, my kitchen scale that I use to measure food everyday to keep my calories in check, YouTube premium subscription for all kinds of songs that uplift my mood, the talented barber whom grooms me well before any official interaction, the storage unit that has kept my furniture and other things safe for last 5 months, the month-long trip my roommate took to India that allowed me to stay at home alone, uninhibited, my comfortable & cozy bed, comforter & soft linen where I sleep peacefully, the photoframe of Guru Nanakji that has been with me wherever I go, my brass idols of Ganpati, Hanumanji, Buddha, Mata Rani & Maa Durga, my various knitting needles & all kinds of yarn, the beautiful balcony on 31st floor that overlooks a serene lake & where sun shines bright every morning at 8.30 am जब मैं सूर्यदेव को जल चढ़ाता हूँ, the Indian grocery store nearby that has everything I need, from तांबे का लोटा to MDH Chunky Chat masala, the Walmart superstore which is walkable from my place and where I take my shopping cart every other week to load in all the essentials I need, the tasty burrito place near by that makes an amazing chicken burrito for a reasonable price, the jet-spray in my washroom, my collection of high-end perfumes that I bought a long time ago but never opened, my mum's warm red shawl that I took from her and I usually wrap it around me when at home, access to all the hair care products & dryer, my amazing phone that clicks praise-worthy pictures, my sleek & sturdy laptop and the separate mouse, great lighting whenever I have any ZOOM calls, Grindr & Tinder apps that help me with validation & occasional gratification whenever I feel the need, the violin in my room, my collection of Harry Potter-esque round glasses in different colors that make me look nerdy on-demand, my super-friendly toastmasters group that is helping me evolve into a better communicator, the high rises, wide roads & regulated traffic around me, the 24/7 convenience store bang opposite my condo where they ID me as according to them 'I look younger for my age' (I'll take that as a compliment :p) and so, so many other things!

It's kind of funny that when I sat to write about things I was thankful for, I had only a few things in mind but the more I thought about every aspect of my life, I became more & more thankful for everything coming together in a harmonious manner. As if the universe has carefully picked & chosen things for me to make me live in comfort & security.

I remember when I shifted my mindset to gratitude, I started going to the library every day, sat on laptop, started looking at my dream house I want to rent in core downtown, the kind of car I wanted, making a list & applying for the kind of jobs I wanted with renewed vigor, mailing my contacts, looking for networking events and attending them & working on reviewing manuscripts, cold mailing my LinkedIn contacts, writing pieces on digital health for newsletters, going to gym regularly, even if for half an hour, abandoned my lethargic attitude, stopped jerking off multiple times a day & walked with a purpose & a smile on my face. 

And then the magic happened :)

Few days into my new routine, things started working in my favor magically. I started getting calls from HRs of companies I had applied to & from headhunters for positions I wasn't even aware of. I dealt with those calls with poise & calmness. While my CV was being reviewed by hiring managers, I was working diligently behind the scene. I thoroughly went through the situational questions that have been put to me in my past interviews and the resources available on internet. I re-wrote all the stories I wanted to tell them in a STAR format highlighting & summarizing my contributions at the end of each question. Once I had all the stories down, I recorded myself responding to the questions, focusing on brevity & substance. I was invested in keeping my answers short & concise. I did a lot of background research on each company that I was going to appear for an interview. I had some solid questions prepared for each round. I also made it a point to come across as being likable & a serious contender. Even if I had no interview I would pick my formal outfit for the day, steam ironing them the previous night & occasionally wearing them when I used to go to library. I was striving to live each moment in wholesomeness. Of completeness. My interview rounds started going well. I was confident, calm & started 'active listening' more than 'just talking'. During conversations, my attitude changed from 'waiting to respond' to actually 'listening what he/she is saying'. After a busy day at library preparing for my career, I religiously went to gym, focused on my diet, did my skincare routine, meditated & prayed before sleeping. I changed my phone wallpaper to an edited message by a recruiter that I have been selected for a job that I was trying for. I was internally happy with the efforts I was putting in & the it showed outside in form of a glow & happiness on my face!

Living in this new reality was turning out great for me. I always knew I was a creature of habit. And I channeled my energies to make this trait work for me. Now the habits were serving me instead of the other way around. I was feeling powerful & peaceful. 

And that led to a whirlwind of change in a matter of few weeks :)

My presentation round at one company went very well. I had done a lot of work to a wonderful slide-deck & written notes. I did a lot of practice before hand & the hiring manager was thoroughly impressed with the final output. He liked my energy, calmness, demeanor, knowledge & cheerful expression. He invited me to meet him in-person which again went very well. I felt connected to him & the organization. He had a similar career trajectory as me and he recommended me for the final stage where I interacted with the CEO. He again, liked me & the feeling was mutual. All in the matter of 3 weeks, I got the message I had being waiting for so long - 'Congratulations on being selected for the role. We would like to discuss the joining date...' .

At that very moment, I felt a calmness & gratitude I can't put to words. That day itself I went to the gurudwara & offered prayers as I had envisioned for so long!

The next few weeks went by in a jiffy. I had contacted my old driving teacher to give me classes and started taking refresher lessons from him as I'd need a car ASAP. I told my parents the good news and they were all very happy. I asked my father to loan me $12,000 to get a car, move out from my current house & set-up my new place. I promised him that in-lieu of it, whenever they come here, I'll book their tickets though they didn't want it. Simultaneously, I started looking for apartments in downtown. I contacted the realtor who was showing apartments in the exact building I had my eyes for so long. I quickly set up a viewing & particularly loved the floor-to-ceiling glass walls & how spacious it was. I immediately got my documents ready & shared it with him for forwarding it to the landlord. I didn't have wait for long & I heard back from realtor the next day that my offer has been accepted! I was over the moon :)

I told my current landlord that I'd be moving out next month and arranged with a reasonably-priced movers & packers to collect my stuff from my current place & the storage, and drop it off to my new place. In the interim, I finalized the car which was within my budget. Though the insurance was on a higher side but I took it as I was going to get car allowance as part of job. 

I started my new job from my old place only. I got my clothes ready (many I brought back from storage), groomed myself well & showed up at the office on my first day, full of confidence & enthusiasm. I was treated nicely & right on the first day itself, I took my job seriously. I made a list of things I needed to do & jumped right into being on top of the science part of it. Within a week, I was good with science, putting in lot of efforts to go through all major publications & slide decks. I also went through the list of important stakeholders & what all things I need to do. I made a rough time-line of what I want to deliver in order to be not just passable, but excellent at my job. Going above & beyond. I had got this opportunity after a long wait & I was not in mood to squander it, unlike the past where I took my career lightly. I was patient, caring & friendly with everyone and attracted similar energies. 

I drove every day to work, feeling happy and listening to Paath/Shabd kirtan/Arti and after a fulfilling day at work, I came back satisfied that I gave my best. And then I resumed the gym and other usual routine. 

Finally the weekend I had earmarked for shifting came along & I spent a day to pack my stuff. I said my goodbyes to all the lovely folks around me & promised to meet them occasionally. The next day I shifted to my new home, started assembling the furniture. In 2 days, the house was kind of livable. In the week up to my departure, I had started ordering TV, carpets & other things I wanted to be delivered to my new place and they started arriving and I began arranging them. Though I had to do frequent trips to IKEA & HomeSense, I was happy doing them as I had my own car and it came with a degree of freedom I had not felt before. 

That brings me to now :)

The house is well set-up. Everything that I need, I have. I have started showing initial results at the workplace, bonded well with my teammates and started earning their trust. The most important aspect is they have started to think that I am dependable which is the most important part for me and on my behalf, I will do utmost possible to do justice to their expectations. I am also excited about the regular work trips I have lined up that will accord me an opportunity to see this beautiful country (which I used to do a lot in India & I miss that badly :p)

I have gathered a group for Vipassana meditators on FB group & will have the first of, hopefully weekly, one-hour Vipassana meditation sessions at my home by month-end.

This coming weekend I am throwing my birthday party. Most of my friends will come to my place for the first time. I am excited about it and want them to hangout here more often. I also want that beach picture in red swimsuit with abs showing uploaded on insta this summer along with the reel of me playing 'Lag ja gale ke phir ye haseen raat ho na ho' as my violin debut :)

The night is setting in & I am tired after a long day. Shall do my paath, meditation & skincare routine before I go off to sleep :)

The world is kind, I am thankful & life is peaceful!

भवतु सब्ब मंगलम :)