Why is it that so many people have a challenge manifesting what they desire? Because they are too busy visualizing what they want. Does this sound contradictory to everything you have been taught? Yes. Then what is it that would drive someone to visualize what they want or pursue their dreams? The fact that they have forgotten Who they really Are.

Our inner journey to rediscover who we are, even when it is highly fascinating can sometimes appear overwhelming or scary because it challenges us to re-evaluate our whole life including our habits, belief systems and everything we have claimed so tenaciously as to be the ultimate truth. Our minds are so used to the way things are that to suggest that there could be another way may seem like a threat, an insult to our intellectualized ideas of how things are or ought to be.

So if the journey is so fascinating, why is it that so many people do not embark on it? There are many answers to that questions, all rooted in the same thing. Fear: Fear of the unknown, fear of failure sometimes fear of disappointment that the whole time invested in getting to know ourselves may be wasted.

The bottom line is, in order for us to experience ourselves as who we really are, spiritual beings who are perfect, whole and complete, we literally have to let go of any idea of who we are not, human beings living in a world which is determined by outer circumstances and events, even when those circumstances and events may be what we have experienced.

Memory and experience are what keep people trapped in the world as they know it. So how do we shift from the world as we know it to the world we want to experience? The following story will assist me in explaining how we can shift our awareness and why we sometimes experience fear when in truth all we need is to trust.

A Sailor's Tale

A poor sailor wants to discover a new world. A world he has never seen physically but he has dreamed about. The only way he can experience the dream he has envisioned is through silence. So as he sails out on the ocean, he sits in silence and a peaceful and pleasant smile showers his face as the vision of a new world occupies his mind.

When he shares his vision with others, most people laugh while others do not even bother to listen to him. "Experts" will try to discourage him by letting him know that is impossible that another world exists According to their studies, it is pretty obvious that once you get to what appears to be the edge of the ocean, which is what the naked eye can only perceive, there is nothing else.

Somewhere in the sailor's heart, he still wants to follow his vision. By himself, he decides to sail away in search for the promised land. He is moving from the known, the "physical," to the unknown, the "consciousness." He does not know what he is going to find. All he knows is that a very quiet voice keeps getting louder as he experiences more silence. By shutting do the outer world he can connect more deeply with his inner voice, which guides him and inspires him.

As he sails farther and farther away, he begins to experience fear and doubt. He can still go back because he has not lost sight of the land. This is a very critical point for most people because as we moved to the realm of the spirit, unless we can lose sight of that which we are familiar with, it is very difficult to open ourselves to a new experience. At this point the sailor decides to move on in pure faith and trust. He is in the middle of the ocean where he has lost complete sight of land and cannot really point out where he is going. There are times when he experienced fear, worry, or anxiety, and the only way he could avoid those feelings was by going within, by experiencing silence which will bring him back to peace.

In the stillness he begins to develop a sense of trust, which will keep him serene as he continues on his journey. Somewhere in the horizon he sees land and he gets real excited. He sails across some of the most beautiful islands until finally he finds himself in the place he had been dreaming off. Not only has he gained a sense of inner awareness of who he is, he also has experienced wonderful and fascinating places he would not have experienced if he had listened to what the world dictated was possible or not.

Everyone in the island was drawn to him seeking this inner peace that the sailor was able to maintain. With his knowledge and new awareness, he becomes a spiritual counsellor. He is loved and admired by everyone. People bring him food, money, gifts, he becomes the wealthiest and needless to say, the most popular person on the island, the island of his dreams.

End of Tale

As you can see, there is an inner voice that knows the truth and wants us to experience it. While we sail through unknown waters, these are the times when we have to go deeper, which simply gives us the opportunity to really experience the exquisiteness of our soul. And as we see our visions manifest, we develop an inner sense of trust where we no longer fear anything for now we know that the One Who planted the seed or the desire in our hearts is always going to be there to assists us in completing the vision.

The interesting part in all of this is that when we truly let go and trust, we may end up doing something completely different than that which we previously thought was going to make us happy. The sailor didn't know what he would end up doing with his life. All he knew is that he wanted to find that promised land, and as result of listening and trusting, he ended up experiencing love, excitement, fulfilment and wealth beyond his wildest dreams. From a poor sailor to a wealthy spiritual counsellor. Who would have thought?

I would like to add something to the story before it gets misinterpreted by many. Once again, this is not about visualizing what you want. It is about letting go and allow the vision to come through you, which is the opposite of what is being taught by most teachers. The sailor did not visualize the island of his dreams, the vision was there first, he then moved in that directions trusting his inner guidance.

We all have that Guidance available right here and now. The key to listening however, is by prioritizing peace over anything else. Those who think that our driving force is pain and pleasure will never experience the peace that passes understanding.

They will simply spend their whole life chasing something that will never satisfy them.

And that is to dream the impossible dream. To reach, the unreachable star.

Nick Arandes was part of the self-help movement for close to 20 years. Published 4 books, produced CDs and DVDs, wrote countless articles and touched the lives of many people worldwide before becoming homeless, broke and diagnosed with a thyroid tumor. Then something happened that forever changed his life! A miraculous turn of events led him to the teachings of A Course in Miracles. As a result of putting the principles of The Course into practice, and experiencing a powerful inner transformation, he published What Happens When You Let God. To find out more about Nick's work, or to order your copy of the book, simply log on to: www.TruthAndMiracles.com