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THE AMAZING POWER TO “ACT AS IF”
By Rev. Dr. Arthur W. Chang
To harness the deeper power within to accomplish your “impossible dream”, the thought of “What is possible” must be followed by the action—“Act as if” it is possible. People who accomplish their “impossible dreams” are no different from those who do not, except more often than not, they “act as if” their goals are possible and discover that life rewards faith.
The power to “act as if” gives wings to our feet, allowing our vision and our believing consciousness to cross from the imaginative into our objective world of becoming. There is an amazing secret passage of creativity patiently waiting to be lit for the desire to be expressed in the objective world. This discovery is implied in Hermes Trismegistus’ “As within, so without” and Jesus’ “Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”
Nevertheless, to “Act as if” does not mean your actual situation changes immediately. It is not magic. It is the process of creativity responding to our deepest thoughts. To “Act as if” means your situation is in the process of changing. This confirms you are on the path to greater mastery, and you must “Act as if.” This activates your belief that is both informing and forming your new reality.
There is a story telling of a young man who joined a bank and from the first day, dressed as if he intended to be a bank manager. Soon he outpaced his contemporaries who started with him and were merely comfortable in their entry-level job status. This young man’s graduation to higher training soon followed, and, in a surprisingly short time, he was promoted to the position of bank manager. When asked about his rapid climb up the ladder, he said, “I came in with the thought of becoming a bank manager.” He started out to “Act as if” and soon his dream became a reality.
At the level of our acceptance, the principles of the sun of good fortune and the rain of supportiveness are working for us as we use them. “Act as if” is a way of using the principles effectively. It is having confidence, where confidence is the password to your promise.
Affirm:
Confidence is the password to my promise.
We have seen that children grow by taking on roles, so do actors. The role we take on can diminish or expand our power. The hidden secret is revealed in the power to “Act as if.”
The Gospel story in Mark symbolizes the power to “Act as if”—also known as “the law of attraction.” Mark 11:20-24, tells this incident of Jesus and his disciples,
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Jesus’ “…believe that you have received it…” is the mental equivalent to “Act as if.”
However, “Act as if” does not mean you ignore your present reality. It means initiating the process of creativity and change by reshaping your attitude or faith for the desired outcome and act on it by starting where you are.
Using the principles of sacred stories means seeing symbolically that the mountain referred to in the story, symbolizes the scale of our assumed difficulty we have built up in our minds standing in the way of achieving our desire. Jesus’ optimism reminds us that the universe does not stand in our way. Further, he said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Fear is that mountain, that dream blocker to your creative thoughts and dreams. We can change it with optimism or faith, making the seemingly impossible, possible.
This is why “Confidence is your password to your promise.” Confidence transposes fear into faith, which begins with your willingness to “Act as if.”
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