Greetings from Oddly Correct!

Good Morning My Confidants!

I'm coming to you from one of my favorite places on Earth!

Things are a little tight money-wise right now until some Disability checks come in, so this is a treat. It's a latte this morning and no treats―biscuits, bagels, etc―but it's a treat enough being here on this gorgeous morning. It got up to 71° yesterday and the weather people are still saying 60° today, so I am happy as a morning robin (although I don't think I've seen one yet....do they migrate or hibernate?).

My office has already become a catch all for the other two Bears! If it looks like it's mine, let's put it on the floor in Ben's office so it's out of the way! Well, that has been a whole lot of shit and I don't even know what to do, so one of my dearest long-standing friends on the planet is coming today to help me out.

I have something...ADHD or something, and I just have never been able to jump in and tackle a project without help. Part of it is that―"Squirrel!"―and part of it is that I get so overwhelmed I have an anxiety attack and find it far easier to go downstairs and watch cable.

I can say this though....! RBear has built these gorgeous shelves for our vast DVD collection and he started putting the DVDs up there, but for the last few days, I have done a ton of the work. I can actually get to everything I need to get to, and I can do it in little bursts instead of all at once. I've been really proud of my progress, and like a good puppy have been waiting for my pat on the head and a "Good Daddy!" but alas, that hasn't come yet.

RBear especially is one of those people who works hard because, "I'm an adult and that is what I'm supposed to do" and Noah is the biggest introvert I've ever known, even though we've lived together now for almost five and a half years (and I hope this didn't embarrass him, and I could have unintendedly). I will say this, he always thanks me for making dinner and any clean up I do in the kitchen and that means a lot to me.

I may not be a puppy in puppy play (LOL!) but I do, like a dog, do so much better when I get that little pat. How about you? Are you a go-er and a get-er, diving right in with a do or die, or do you like those little pats as well?

ANYWAY, when Belinda comes by to help me with something, she knows just how hard and how long to push to keep me going, and knows when it is time to stop, or Ben will never even go into his office (or wherever) again! LOL! She is the bestest of friends. Not only friend, but coach, ear to listen, laugh-partner, cheerleader, Firefly and Buffy fan (we've both seen "Once More with Feeling" about a million times), party-thrower, pet lover, shoulder to cry on, accepter of exactly who I am with no judgement, project-helper (that goes both ways), housework helper, fellow weight management partner, and general amazing, terrific, loving person. I am so blessed to have her in my life. We have had a few times where for some reason as much as a couple years passed where we hardly spoke, and then just like that―SNAP!―we are together again as if the last time we spoke was only yesterday.

Do you have one of those friends? If you do, please remember to tell them how much you love and appreciate them!

What we think about, and thank about, we bring about after all!

I talk about this a lot. It's because I believe it just as much as any really religious person believes what they believe. I believe not because I've been trained to believe it, or because how I was raised, or because I am afraid I will go to hell if I don't, but because the proof―for me―has been in the pudding.

I witness it over and over and over again.

I began to suspect that there was something like the Law of Attraction going on long before I ever heard of it. I would notice these "odd" occurrences and I began to wonder, somewhere in the back of my head―but there was no way I was going to tell anyone―if perhaps I was helping make these things occur.

I really, really, really wanted to be one of those fans who got to be on the set of Star Trek, but alas, there was no Star Trek. I read the stories of those who had been blessed to do so and I would look at blue prints of the sets and photos of the actual sets and dream dream dream!

And then suddenly and out-of-the-blue, there was a new Star Trek! Along came Star Trek: The Next Generation, and once again I started hearing the stories of those lucky enough to get on the sets! Then, oddly (oddly correct?) a close friend of mine had a visitor from out of town and she wanted us to meet, and right in the middle of dinner he happened to mention that his best friend in the world was a Gene Roddenberry's personal assistant! Like, what are the catastrophic odds for that to happen? And he talked about all the times he had been on set and I just hung―puppy-eyed I am sure―to his every single word.

And then a week later, he calls me and wants to know if I want to get on the set. Two of his other friends (one was Gene's secretary!) had written an episode that was about to be shot ("Ménage à Troi") and he had gotten clearance for me to visit. He even had so many frequent flier miles that I didn't even have to pay for plane tickets! I met Gene Roddenberry! I met Majel Barrett and she was dressed as Lwaxana Troi! I walked through nearly ever single set, and while the bridge was closed that day, I was still there next to it, looking right at it, touching the outer shell, looking right at the captain's chair! I sat around Gene Roddenberry's office and watched the dailies from the day before! It was a dream come true and one I will never ever forget.

And that is only one thing. I got to go to Egypt after being in love with that country since I was in fourth grade and first saw The Ten Commandments (that is what I got out of that movie, how gorgeous it all was! LOL!) and then out-of-the-blue my mom asked me if I wanted to go with her, and I didn't have to spend a dime.

I got to go on a three-day retreat led by the Lama Surya Das―an event beyond my financial means―for free and got to really speak with the man (a hero of mine whose book helped save my life at a very difficult time).

And I am barely scratching the surface! Like how about being able to afford those vintage Allan and Ken dolls at time when I didn't have really any income coming in?

But I also noticed it wasn't just the good stuff.

For instance, my license plate tags were greatly expired, and I hadn't noticed, and after getting a parking ticket (thereby knowing I needed to get that taken care of), on my way to the DMV to get them updated―the entire drive me saying over and over inside Please don't let me get pulled over, please don't let me get pulled over, please don't let me get pulled over, please don't let me get pulled over―I got pulled over. THAT DAY! Now understand that I had been driving along oblivious that they were expired for months! But on the day that I was chanting that I didn't want to be pulled over, I got pulled over.

And what does that mean?

I was thinking about being pulled over. I was chanting not to be. But I was thinking about being pulled over. And I got pulled over.

I wondered....could I have had something to do with it? It sounds insane, but could I have had something to do with it?

Then I was invited to a new church―and I had been looking fiercely for a new spiritual home (vs a religious one)―and I walk in the door and on that first day I started hearing all about how the Universe responded to our thoughts! My mouth fell open. The speaker was saying exactly what I had been thinking for years! Something that was not taught in any church I ever went to!

The next week (because there was no way I wasn't going back) there was more and more of this kind of teaching and the more I learned and the more I began to understand this so-called Law of Attraction, the more it began to work for me.

I mean, for goodness' sake, the first time I ever submitted a story for publication, it was accepted four days after I sent it in. The one time I was worried about a submission, it became the first book they turned down in something like seven years! Coincidence? Some inward knowledge that it wasn't up to par?

Maybe....

I will say this.... Those couple/three years that were so bad that I am just coming out of? Those were years that I wasn't living what I believed and spend all my time dwelling on So what bad thing is going to happen today?

Things that make me go "Hmmm..."

And since I started attending a spiritual home again and changing my way of thinking? Why bit by bit, things are getting better.

I know what I am going to do.

It might all be nonsense, but that isn't the direction of my thoughts!

If all I am doing is thinking positive again, that is not a small thing.

Positive thinking doesn't mean that we ignore life's less pleasant situations.

Positive thinking simply means that we approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. We think about how the best thing is going to happen, not the worst. Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through our heads. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of our self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that we create because of lack of information or expectations due to preconceived ideas of what may happen. If the thoughts that run through our heads are mostly negative, our outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If our thoughts are mostly positive, we're likely an optimist—someone who practices positive thinking.

Researchers believe the health benefits of positive include: increased life span, lower rates of depression, lower levels of distress and pain, greater resistance to illnesses, better psychological and physical well-being, better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke, reduced risk of death from cancer, reduced risk of death from respiratory conditions, reduced risk of death from infections, and better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables us to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on our bodies. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles—they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess.*

So, does it really matter if it's simply heathier thinking helping me make healthier choices, or if it is the Law of Attraction? I mean, perhaps the two are intrinsically interwoven.

Whatever the reason, my days are getting better and better, and that's all that really matters, right?

And―Oh!―look at the time! I need to get out of here so that I am home when Belinda gets there! It is going to be a good day and we are going to get so much done!

I hope that your day goes even better!

I'm thinking about it!

And what we think about....

Namaste,

BG "Gentle Ben" Thomas

* Positive Thinking: Stop Negative Self-Talk to Reduce Stress:  https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950