As Claire was paying for her groceries at a checkout line, a message that she had kept from a fortune cookie fell out of her purse. The message, which stated “Something wonderful will happen for you today,” was a visual reminder that she regularly looked at to impress her mind. She realized that positive expectation plays a major role in the quality of her life. Fortunately, the checkout lady noticed the slip of paper, and Claire was able to return it to her purse for safe keeping.

***

According to some sources, our subconscious mind processes approximately 400,000,000,000 bits of information per second; but our conscious mind is only capable of processing 2,000 bits. Estimates about processing capacity differ widely; but we can at least conclude that there’s a vast difference. This is often referred to as a “bottleneck.” Unless we believe that all of our experiences occur randomly (which I don’t), we may conclude that there’s an ongoing process that determines what we’ll experience in our reality. It might be helpful to imagine this as blinders on a horse; a device that limits the horse’s view to what’s straight ahead. In other words, the horse is only able to view a slice of the reality that’s actually available. Our blinders (which function via attention, functional memory, and expectation) play a large role in what we’ll experience.

The role of focus in our life is tremendously important. In Claire’s case, she wisely chose to remind herself that–in any given moment, on any given day–she expected something wonderful to happen. In other words, she was informing the Universe that she was receptive to the greatest experiences available. Do you believe, as I, that attention influences our experience, or do you believe that your experiences are completely random?

Please contemplate this: Does it seem logical that directing our attention to a “something-wonderful” perspective leaves ourselves open to better experiences? Does believing that something wonderful is happening–in our health, career, and relationships–attune us to those probabilities? If such is the case, we can logically conclude that reinforcing a negative perspective attunes us to a negative “reality.”

For many readers, a question may naturally arise: So, how do we open ourselves to the positive reality that we desire? In part, by realizing three ways in which we unintentionally sabotage our goals:

• 1. (Fear): So often, it’s fear that makes us say “no” to a new experience. It’s fear, disguised as common sense, that forces us to focus on what could go wrong, instead of on what could go marvelously right. It’s also fear that keeps a ship “safe,” but rotting, in harbour, when it was intended to sail the world’s oceans.
• 2. (Confusion): Until we know what we desire, we can’t possible achieve it. What type of sculpture might we expect from a sculptor who changed his/her mind on a moment-to-moment basis? Might confusion have resulted in Michelangelo’s David being a Donkey or a Daffodil? We must know our passion and focus upon it, as though already achieved.
• 3. (Impatience): If we’re unwilling to let the Universe work through us, in its own way, in its own time, we’re sabotaging our own efforts. Patient and persistent detached focus pays big dividends.

To support this information, it may be helpful to know that Andrew Carnegie, who commissioned Napoleon Hill to write Think and Grow Rich, was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He obviously knew a thing or two about the power of the mind. He’s attributed with the following quote:

“Any idea that is held in the mind, that is emphasized, that is either feared or revered, will begin at once to clothe itself in the most convenient and appropriate form available.”

I offer this suggestion: Consider writing your own fortune-cookie message about your heart’s deepest desire. Write it in the present tense, beginning with “I am now…,” as though your desire is already fulfilled. Keep it close (in your purse, wallet, or pocket) and refer to it several times a day, in moments of quiet reflection. The life that you desire is already here and now. A change of attitude, prompted by our own good-fortune expectations, will help you experience it in your reality.

Dare to dream (and care for one another).

With heartfelt regards,

Art

Copyright © – 2026 – R. Arthur Russell

P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones), press here. My YouTube videos can be found at Think2wice@I-Am-Aware. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. “Thank You” & “Note to Publishers” 🙏🏻🧡