It was like a dream. There I was, sitting on the edge of a cliff with legs dangling over, gazing at the ocean that stretched before me. It was mesmerizing.  And, “just think,” I told myself, “this awesome scene is less than a five-minute walk from my front door.”

My thoughts continued to drift to the surface of my consciousness, saying, “this is a long way from Ensign Avenue.” Ensign Avenue is the street where I resided the first 12 years of my life. A child does a lot of imagining in their first 12 years, or at least I did. 

I unconsciously gave Creative Mind a very
clear picture of what I imagined for my life.

I was in the first or second grade when I read, “If I Were Going.” I traveled to different countries and learned about other cultures through the pages of this primer. My young mind carved lasting impressions about a more expanded world; one far beyond the short block that made up Ensign Avenue.

My best friend and I spent our summer days playing “house;” playing “school;” and playing “office.”  The only unspoken rule for these games was to use our imagination and “act out” those unlimited possibilities. Now, as I reflect back to those days; I clearly see how certain values and beliefs were established about family, education and career during this play time.

Unconscious opinions, beliefs and expectations,
both positive and negative, were born.

Death, dying, war, peace, sickness, accidents and the Cleveland Indians winning the world series 😊 were all part of my formative years. All this took place while under the influence of parents who were part of the great migration of the early 1900’s; a time when many African Americans fled the deep south and moved north, seeking “the warmth of other suns.” ¹

It was my last year on Ensign Avenue when everything changed.  Most of all I remember my best friend’s birthday party. I was not invited. She and I acknowledged we would go to different schools in the fall, even though we lived on the same street.  We never spoke about why this was happening, although we knew.  The thoughts, feelings, beliefs and the imaginings of people, long before either of us were born, had a direct impact on our lives. We inherited those tendencies. We suppressed them.

“If this is my day of harvest, in what fields have I sowed the seed
and in what unremembered seasons” ²

That which I identify as “this present moment” has shown up in different guises. Sometimes the present moment is clothed in nature’s beauty and love. Sometimes “the present moment” looks like storms of fear and doubt. Sometimes “the present moment” appears as a geographic change.  Whatever my experience, it is the movement in consciousness, made manifest as the eternal now, expressing as I believed it would.  

“I put away childish things.” ³

Ensign Avenue is my metaphor for a state of consciousness that is unaware of its own power of thoughts, feelings, and imaginings. In its innocence it embraces whatever comes to mind. It plays the same game tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.  

I now know The Creative Law of Mind does not make distinctions between race, age or gender, any more than it does the past, present or future. It simply responds to that which is believed and deeply felt.

I now consciously direct the energy of my intentions by letting my words, silent and audible, match my soul’s sincere desire. I have moved a long way from Ensign Avenue. 

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This Week’s Affirmation

I am one with Spirit.  I direct the Law of Creative Mind to manifest my desired experience for good, ignited by my faith and emotion.

By Angela “Chris” Beam