For the past several years, my wife has regularly posted inspiring word art on Facebook. But of all the hundreds of posts she’s shared — others’ and her own — I’m most inspired by the ones she’s put up in the last two months. It’s not because her previous words weren’t inspiring (they were) or that the art wasn’t beautiful (it was); it’s because these latest posts are more than just words to me — they’re my own real-life experiences.

I’m living them.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but an experience is worth a million!

For instance, I love the words she put with the picture above: “Your dreams are just waiting to come true. Imagine them. Feel them. Live them.” Before the past few months, I might have just thought that these were nice-sounding, uplifting words; but now I know how profound and true they really are — and that the picture is the living evidence of their truth!

You see, this is exactly what we experienced.

It all started with our dream of moving to the coast — a dream that was born over a year and a half ago, when we visited the coast for our 10th wedding anniversary. Although we spent less than 24 hours there, we liked it so much that we decided to go back. And next time, we decided, we’d stay longer — maybe for a weekend or even a full week. As we imagined spending an entire week at the beach, it felt so nice that we thought, why not spend an entire month? — and this thought felt so appealing that we started imagining how nice it would be to spend the whole summer.

And this desire grew into our dream to move to the beach…forever!

So, now that we had a dream, we had a perfect chance to try out everything we’d learned in recent years while immersed in the world of self-help and spirituality — all the stuff about “making your dreams come true” from all those self-help books, Abraham-Hicks videos, personal-growth blogs, and, yes, even the many inspiring sayings posted daily on our Facebook walls.

It was time to put it all to the test and see if this stuff really worked!

We knew that, for better or worse, we couldn’t just snap our fingers and live this dream immediately. We had business commitments, health concerns, and other obstacles that wouldn’t let us pack up and move the next day. But while we were waiting for the externals to align, we didn’t have to wait for the internal experience — we could imagine the beach and feel how good it would be to live there.

So that’s what I did: I took daily “trips” to the beach…in my mind and in my heart.

I’d visualize the sand, the waves, and Jodi sitting next to me. I’d feel relaxed and happy — just as I’d been during our anniversary trip…and just as I expected to be once we moved there. And I’d exhale and smile. 🙂

And while these inner vacations felt great immediately, they also had another benefit: they strengthened my resolve that this dream would become a reality. And, thanks to the Law of Attraction, they helped get me on a beachy “wavelength” — attracting elements that would help manifest this dream.

As time went on, my visualizations got more and more specific — including imagining us spending Christmas Day on the beach. Well, to make a long story (somewhat) short: Just after Thanksgiving, circumstances changed dramatically — and within a month, this dream that we’d nurtured for a year and a half became a reality. We moved to the coast on December 23, had our stuff delivered December 24, and spent Christmas Day on the beach! 🙂

I wanted to share this for two reasons: First of all, because it makes me incredibly happy, and I like to share my happiness with others! Even more than this, though, I wanted to share evidence that all of the feel-good words that we talk about and write about and post about are more than just words…they’re real! All of the teachings about visualization and manifestation and Law of Attraction and raising your vibration and going to the “feeling place” of a dream even before it becomes an external reality…and on and on and on — this stuff really works!

(For proof, see the pictures above and below, which wouldn’t exist if the words were merely words!)

So, while your dreams may be very different from mine (especially if you’re not a beach-lover), the same principles can make them come true. Even before you can do anything external about your dream, you can visualize it. You can go to the feeling place (as if you were already living it). And you can maintain faith that, in divine timing, you too will be living it.

And you will.