The Secret

When the mail call came I received two letters from my mother. Interestingly, one of the letters was mailed from Colorado when she was visiting my sister and the other was mailed from New Jersey upon her return home. I received both of these letters on the same day in spite of them being sent 3 days apart and some 2000 miles apart. The mail delivery can be categorized as very inconsistent which falls into the theme of prison; “the only consistency is inconsistency”. Anyhow these were excellent letters and something my Mom wrote stood out. She was telling me about “The Secret” which is energy in the Universe. As my mother wrote, “Basically it’s energy – what you give is what you get.” An example of this in golf before a particular swing (actually all swings and putts) the great golfers visualize their shot. Tiger Woods comes to mind as he sees every shot before he even makes a swing. In a grander scale – it is a goal which needs to be reinforced every day with visualization. My mom went on to provide me with several examples of people we knew who used this technique – one is my younger sister who has been using this method before it was labeled “The Secret”. Essentially it is the power of positive thinking with visualization – it is affirmative realization.

Practically all of my life I thought of myself as a positive person who is kind, caring, and giving. However, I let my compulsive gambling take over my life and made me a thief who is currently in prison. Reading this letter made me realize I have to be 100% or more positive in all aspects of my life. I should not and will not qualify matters anymore. The adage of “hope for the best but expect the worse” does not hold true for me anymore. I expect the best and will approach everything with a truly positive focus. For instance, I will be transferred to Fire Camp next week not I hope to be transferred next week. Yes, I fully understand there are so many events which are out of my control; however, this does not preclude me from being positive and using the positive energy. Happiness, love, and excellence surrounds me in all areas of my life and now I have to channel the positive energy out. Yes, I messed up but it will not define me as a person. I am a good person and have always been a good person. I made a mistake which is now in the past and I am living a positive, purposeful life with meaning. I no longer exist - I live - with such wonders. These wonders are all of my family. Life does get better with each passing day.

I don’t know if what I am writing about makes any sense to anyone other than me, but this very simple concept of positive energy out equals positive energy back rings so true. I am done apologizing for my behaviors of the past and I am a better person today than I have ever been in my life. I live for today with positive energy in all facets. It felt so good to read this letter from my mother and “The Secret” hit home with me. I have been on the peripheral of the “The Secret” for so long but now through recovery it is no longer a secret but my way of life!

I had to read this letter several times and each time I felt the power increase. I can visualize a great life with my family which we begin when my sentence is served. I have no doubt life will continue to get better each day with the positive energy. Also, I have to mention again, my younger sister, her husband, and her children are perfect examples of this positive energy. Their home and their attitudes have always been positive which shows in all aspects of their lives. They never wavered in their support for my family and me. They are great people and I am blessed to have them in my life. My sister has always focused on the positive and does not allow negatives to creep in her life or her home. This permeates to her children who are so very happy. In the past I have always tried to be positive with my children, but now I no longer TRY – I DO. I have always believed “what I put in is what I get out”. Now I will put in positives and get out positives! I was very empowered by this letter and after my hot shower I started to write. Oddly enough I willed a hot shower and it was indeed hot!

As I was waiting for the telephone sign-up, I noticed 26 cadet CO’s arrive on the yard. This meant one thing; they were going to search the dorms. My only thought went to the two bananas in my locker. Unlike last week when I had the two bananas taken from my locker I was ready for any would be search. I had hidden the bananas in my Tupperware bowl deep beneath the food in my locker. Only a search which included actually going into my locker and moving things around would reveal them. I thought they were safe. The cadets were searching other dorms and arrived at ours. I was sitting on my bunk when the cadet searched my locker. He stood looking inside for a good 2 minutes but he did not touch anything. I breathed a sigh of relief when he closed without incident. This search seemed more like a training assignment than anything else as the cadets found practically nothing inside my dorm. They did find my neighbor’s clothesline and a water bag which is used like a dumbbell, but no one was written up for these items. My clothesline was safely hidden underneath my pillow and out of sight. I was still nervous because I will not let anything delay me from fire camp. “The Secret” worked as I willed the cadet away form my bunk without incident. I can feel the power of “The Secret” and I really like it!