God is love, spirit of love, energy of love. That love is always here for us when we open our heart. Our heart opens automatically when our intent is to learn what is loving to ourselves and others rather than protect against what we fear with our controlling behavior. To know God is to know Love. To know Love is to know God.

When Brianna looks at Connor with love, Connor feels afraid and turns away. If he opens to her love, he fears he will be vulnerable to being hurt. Maybe she won’t like what she sees if he is open and will reject him. Maybe she wants more than he wants to give. Maybe she just wants to suck life out of him like his mother did. Protecting against his fears is more important to him than being loving and sharing love with Brianna. Brianna loves Connor but is often lonely with him because he is afraid to share love with her. Connor complains that he doesn’t feel good a lot of time – he feels empty. He avoids his emptiness with food and TV, which doesn’t bring him joy.

Connor complains that he doesn’t know how to experience God. I tell him it’s not about how, it‘s about intent. When his deepest desire is to be loving rather than controlling, he will easily and naturally experience God. It’s all about intent. Our intent is what we have choice over. Our intent governs how we live, who we choose to be, how we behave. Our intent to love and learn about love opens our heart to experience of God.

If you feel empty, consider that it may be more important to you to control than to love. If you know others who appear to be empty, consider that it may be more important to them to control than to love.

Opening to love does not mean that we will be vulnerable to being hurt, manipulated, taken advantage of. In fact, opposite can happen: in experiencing God, we receive wisdom and strength to know what is good or bad for us, what is right or wrong for us. In opening to God, we discover what is in our highest good. It is far safer than relying on our wounded ego self. Opening to Love that is God through your intent to learn can bring you deep sense of fullness and safety for which your heart and soul have always yearned.

Fear is another thing that often defeats our efforts. Let's assume you've identified employment as your need, and you are middle aged. Throughout your life, you've worked in a certain field and have become an expert in that field. You now find yourself unemployed. How do you go about petitioning for employment?

In this illustration, it is not easy to approach petitions without filling your mind with all negative thoughts: "Who will hire a person of my age," or, "Would it be difficult for someone of my age to find a job?" "How can I compete with all these young people?" "I can't do anything else," or "Doing so or so is all I know how to do." You may unconsciously fail before you start by placing a severe limitation on what you want done by thinking, "I have to find a job in my field."

To avoid sabotaging your efforts, it is important to reexamine your identified need. Ask yourself what being employed would do for you. Is it possible you miss your morning routine of waking up at a certain time in morning, dressing and leaving house for work? Is it possible you miss being in a work environment where you are constantly in contact with coworkers? Is it possible you miss sense of accomplishment you had when you were employed?

After reexamining your need, you may discover being employed is not what you need; you need those benefits being employed brings to your life. You should then visualize yourself enjoying very things you want from being employed. Again, it shouldn't matter if someone calls you up and wants services of a very experienced person like you on a consulting basis. It shouldn't matter if a nonprofit organization needs a mature, experienced individual like you to advise them on certain aspect of their business. You shouldn't care how you once again enjoy things employment brings to your life, and it doesn't have to be in same field.

UNCONSCIOUS PETITION MANIFESTED

Here is a story of someone I've known for years. She was a very healthy lady in her sixties when she lost her job through forced retirement. She had worked in same job for a very long time. Being very active and having financial obligations to meet, she didn't want to retire just yet. When I talked to her before her last day on job, I asked her,

"What are you going to do now?" "I don't know," she replied, "but I know I have to do something."

Think about her response again. You can't get any more positive, more determined, and full of confidence than this. It doesn't matter if her positive attitude, determination, and confidence were driven by fear or need. I was very happy for her, because I knew then she was on right track and her needs would be met. I knew then she had triggered an unconscious petition, and her positive attitude and confidence were an outward confirmation of a petition granted, whether she realized it or not. It's one thing to proclaim how positive we are, but it is another thing to live positively and let our positive outlook on life radiate and shine through when faced with difficult situations.

The next day following her last day on job, this wonderful lady was back in building where she used to work. She attended and sat through all public meetings as she did when she worked there. A few days later when I saw her, she handed me a nicely done business card with business name, "I-Search." During breaks, she would stop to talk to consultants, lawyers, and business people she had known while working at place. She would hand them her business card and let them know she no longer worked in her past position and could do research for them. Who wouldn't want an experienced, dependable person like her to do research for them? This lady's story should serve as an inspiration to many. She continues to enjoy contact with her former coworkers and associates while working in a different capacity and is being paid for it.

She may not have recognized it, but in her moment of anxiety, she obviously triggered into motion certain natural forces, which in turn, generated ideas she needed. Ideas are just that - ideas, and are meaningless until they are put in action. If she didn't follow up on these ideas as they occurred to her, she probably would still be waiting for answers to her needs, and wondering why they were not forthcoming.

What would you do if you were in this lady's situation? Would you limit yourself through negative thoughts of your mind? Would you recognize an answer to your petition when you receive one? For a detailed discussion about subject of petitions, please see another one of my books, Seeds of Luck: The ABCs of Creating Your Heart's Desires.