Saturday, July 11, 2009

Spirituality and parking spaces

Jen Weigel (ChicagoNow.com, 7/10/09)


Did you know that you can always find a parking space in Chicago? I can see you rolling your eyes, but I'm serious. I have been successfully parking in the city for years. But there's a secret to getting that key place at the corner of Ohio and Michigan Avenue, and here's how it works...

You have to thank the Universe in advance for your spot. Again with the eye roll? I'm serious. "Thank you in advance for the parking space right where I need it." Say it before you even leave the house, and you will get your spot. But there IS a catch: You have to believe it when you say it...


Hey, where am I supposed to park my yana ("vehicle")?

Where do I come up with this cr*p, you might be wondering. My husband blames it on my "woo-woo" books. I was reading Neale Donald Walsch's book Conversations With God several years ago, and while a lot of his writing is kind of exhausting to me, one part really stuck. He says that if you continue to say "I want" or "I need," you will continue to create more want and more need in your life because the Universe is just delivering what you are asking for -- it's the energy behind the statement.

I want a new job. I need more money. I want a boyfriend.

But if you thank the Universe in advance, as if you already have everything you could possibly want -- then you have more luck.

Thank you for the perfect job that pays all my bills. Thank you for this cupcake digesting perfectly without adding any girth to my thighs or butt.

I had a hard time thinking that I could create the perfect job just by changing my vocabulary, so I decided to start small with parking spaces.

Thank you for the parking space right where I need it.

I actually kept a note pad in my car to document my progress when I started out with the experiment in case people didn't believe me. I would drive to every single appointment I had, whether it was three blocks away, or three miles -- just for the case of the experiment.


You're Mahayana, I'm Vajrayana, this guy's Hinayana. Doesn't matter! Like the sign says, ALL VEHICLES will be towed.

I stopped counting after 243 rock star parking spaces IN A ROW! No kidding. That was 2002, and whether it's been for a Cubs playoff game, or a meeting at Tribune Tower, I have been finding perfectly placed parking spaces ever since.

I tried to do the math on this (look out because I was a theater major in college, so adding isn't one of my strengths). If I drive downtown an average of three times a week for seven years, that's over a thousand parking spaces.

So give it a shot....The only thing you have to lose is all that time you spend circling around looking for a d*mn parking space. Source