“I don’t believe in magic. But a few times in my life, I’ve seen things. Things I can’t explain. And I’ve come to believe it’s not so much about what you believe, it’s how hard you believe it.” -Indiana Jones in the “Dial of Destiny.”

We recently took a trip to Los Angeles to celebrate one of our dearest friend’s 20th Anniversary in ministry. We flew first-class there and back; however, that is not where my story begins.

I often get upgraded to first-class and people ask for the “hows” of this phenomenon. Well, first of all, there is no how to it. Yes, we Delta Medallion status. Yes, we fly Comfort+. Yes, we put ourselves on the upgrade request list. However, this doesn’t answer the question of “How.” Many other people do this also.

There is something I’ve come to believe and I believe it, as Indiana Jones would say, “hard.” I believe there is a Power in the Universe that responds to us as we respond to it. In regards to flying first-class, long before that upgrade is ever asked for or given, I have a belief that says, “I am flying first-class.” It has nothing to do with the seat I’m in. I could be sitting in coach or in the back seat of the plane. It has to do with the person who is sitting in the seat.

My husband and I embark on a trip and we look at each other with a knowing, “We are flying first-class.” It is a deep knowing that our experience is first-class. We will have first-class connections with the people we meet along our journey. We will treat ourselves in a first-class fashion in every way. Many times, we get upgraded and when we do not, it doesn’t change our experience.

So, I have come to believe that It is your attitude about life, which comes from your belief system, which influences your thoughts, which creates your experience. How do you approach your day? What do you believe about the relationships you are experiencing? What do you think of as you are paying your bills?

The Universal Laws respond to our mental and emotional state. There is no way around this. We are immersed in and surrounded by a field of energy which is only vibrational. You might ask about the people that you judge as less than good or maybe even call them “bad” people. Why are they rich? Why do they have seeming success? The Universe is impersonal. It is simply “done unto you as you believe.” And the caveat is that if you use this Power with anything less than love, it will return to you in exact measure.

Life is not about manifesting first-class tickets or getting things. It is about living from the energy of Love: love for ourselves and love for others.

I invite you to begin your first-class life today. Treat yourself well. Extend the same to others. We must become the change we say we wish to see in the world. The very world depends on our spiritual evolution. We are able to experience boundless good, not because of what we do, but because of who we are. We are God, each of us, expressing the Divine. It is our life. All we need to do is live it fully no matter what.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author, Teacher, Co-Spiritual Founding Director of Center for Spiritual Living Kaua`i