A "15 Minute Miracle" Playshop

Story by Jim Jackson

A few issues back in the Journal we ran a press release about a workshop to be held in Bigfork. The headline read, “Can You Come Out and Play?” The playshop, as it was called, was organized by Gayle North and Lily Rambo. I was interested in finding out more about this event, and talked with Gayle about attending. She put me in touch with Jacquelyn Aldana the author of the book, The 15-Minute Miracle Revealed. I was familiar with this book because Gayle had given it to me last spring. Although I had not read the entire work, I had glanced through it and was intrigued by its positive message and unique format. At the very beginning of the book is this statement:

“This ‘feel-good’ book was lovingly written for all those who have a sincere desire to transform fear into love, worry into well-being and scarcity into abundance. May each and every person who reads it experience a comforting sense of ‘coming home.’” Jacquelyn wrote this book as a result of a crisis in her own life. In 1991 her husband Ron was stricken with a virulent cancer and told that there was little hope of survival. “After exhausting all known possibilities, there was nothing left for them to do but to surrender and pray, surrender their fears and pray for a miracle.”


The miracle happened and that is when she realized that all things really are possible, when she made the steadfast commitment to find solutions. Although this near-fatal episode challenged them both, it turned out to be the necessary catalyst that relentlessly drove her to discover what they now endearingly refer to as “The 15-Minute Miracle.”

On the morning of Saturday, September 18th, I arrived at the clubhouse of the Bigfork Harbor condominium complex not knowing quite what to expect. I have been to quite a few motivational conferences and listened to many such speakers on tape but this would be the first one where the scale was so intimate. Jacquelyn likes to keep her playshops small, 25 people or less, so that she has the opportunity to interact with each person on a one to one basis.

 

Having read portions of her book, I was familiar with the basic premise of her work, which is based on the concept of positive expectancy. That is, if you keep your mind on positive thoughts and your focus on the belief that good things are happening in your life, then the chances are greater that good things will, in fact, happen. Gayle talks about these principles in her “Using Your Brain for a Change” column in the Journal and we both agree that they are part of the universal truths that are found in all theologies. Regardless of your religious convictions, these principles can be applied to your life with positive results. As a committed Christian, I believe these same principles are at the very core of Jesus’ teachings. There is nothing that Jacquelyn teaches that I found at odds with the Bible.
 Jacquelyn’s playshop is designed to teach a process for bringing these core principles into your life on a daily basis. At the clubhouse there were tables arranged in a cozy semi-circle so each participant could easily see one another. We each had a playful looking activity book and a small bag of toys and treasures that aroused my sense of curiosity and positive anticipation. The first thing I noticed was the playful and unpretentious nature of the event. The same was true of Jacquelyn, she does not present herself as some kind of mystic guru, or put on any airs of mystery or power. She is an ordinary person, well grounded in common sense and without the enormous ego that you so often find in people who work in the self-help field. Jacquelyn is a very likable person and as she states during her introduction, she is the “happiest person she knows.” It doesn’t take long to realize that she really believes in the things she is teaching and that she really cares about helping other people to discover these amazing truths for themselves and then put them into action.
Here are some of the truths she shared with us during the playshop.
Clarify your dreams and desires by writing them down. Appreciate what you already have before asking for more. Think about, talk about and envision only what you do want. Notice how you feel in every moment (feelings of comfort or discomfort). Make it your ongoing intention to be the happiest person you know.
Now, all that sounds well and good but how in the world do you sustain such an attitude in the face of your daily grind? That is what the 15- Minute Miracle is all about. Jacquelyn has developed a formula for success that you can use to start each day and which will set you firmly on the path to living a happier, more productive and abundant life. The Miracle Manifestation Manual helps you to incorporate this formula by giving you a guide for writing out the steps. 		Here is the success formula: First, focus upon your ongoing intention, then wipe your slate clean and claim a new day. 1. Write down all that you appreciate and why. 2. Explain how you most love to feel and why. 3. Summon divine guidance by asking questions. 4. Ask for assistance and surrender your fears. 5. Release and let go of anything negative. 6. Be kind to yourself and someone else. 7. Playfully bask in your imagination and then sign your Sacred Contract.
Now, I know that some of you are probably pretty skeptical of what I have written. You are probably thinking that it just can’t be this easy or everyone would be doing it and life would be perfect for everyone, but that is not the case and that is certainly not what Jacquelyn is telling people. Difficulties and challenges may still come your way even if you totally devote your life to doing everything in the 15- Minute Miracle on a daily basis. That is just the nature of our existence; this is not the Garden of Eden and we are not perfect beings. However, spending 15 minutes each morning doing the success formula will greatly enhance your attitude of positive expectancy and your attitude about life in general. The result can only be an improvement compared with doing nothing.

Ever since I accepted Christ as my Savior, I spend 15 minutes each morning reading Scripture and I know that it has helped me though some very difficult times that I might not have made it through without the strength the Lord gives me through his Word. Since I added the 15-Minute Miracle to my morning, I have truly begun to feel an increasing attitude of positive expectancy. My vocabulary is changing, I look for opportunities to compliment people and practice random acts of kindness. I also have a more optimistic outlook about my own life and I appreciate the blessings that are already in my life. As Jacquelyn says, I feel like I am becoming an irresistible magnet for miracles. Since the playshop weekend there have been a number of miracles in my life and I firmly believe there will be more and more as I continue to practice the success formula in the Miracle Manifestation Manual.

Jacquelyn is not a rah rah, knock your socks off guru, who gets you all pumped up, sells you a bunch of tapes and books and then leaves town, never to be heard from again. She is a real person, very grounded in what she believes and very caring about the people who come to her playshops and very dedicated to sharing with others the fundamental truths that she discovered while going through her own personal crisis. In my opinion, this is not some Pollyanna, feel good, rah rah, bunch of foolishness that lasts for a few days and then fades away under the pressures of the daily grind. I can honestly say that I look forward to my time with the 15-Minute Miracle as much as I do my time with the Scriptures.

If you would like to learn more about the 15-Minute Miracle, you can contact Gayle North at 837-1214. Gayle keeps Jacquelyn’s starter kit in stock and can help you get started if you have any questions.

Also, you can contact Jacquelyn directly by calling 1-888-468-4335 or writing to her at Inner Wisdom Publications, P.O. Box 1341, Los Gatos, CA 95031-1341 or by visiting her Internet site at http://www.15MinuteMiracle.com.

If you have been looking for a way to change your outlook on life and experience greater joy, fulfillment and abundance, the 15-Minute Miracle might just be what you have been looking for. The people who attended the playshop in Bigfork on September 18th and 19th can tell you that their lives were definitely impacted positively by the wisdom that Jacquelyn Aldana shared with them during her time in our little corner of the last best place.