After years of working for corporate companies, I wanted the opportunity to pursue my artistic and creative passions. This story is becoming increasingly typical of Millennials, who are either ‘Quiet Quitting’ or taking part in ‘The Great Resignation’. I feel that 2022 showed me that there are different ways of existing in the world, and I gained a lot of confidence for being able to stand on my own two feet. I learned that my job was not my identity, and that I could find parts of myself that I loved more than the feedback I received at each soul-sucking one to one. (Special shout out to Dom** and Nereen** for showing me how truly dreadful and heartless the corporate world could be- I needed that swift kick up the ar*e 🙃 **names have been changed ) . I had in my heart the intense need to create something that would have a positive impact on my community and the world, through the healing power of Art. I found my voice and a beautiful friendship through the truly brilliant modern tool of Podcasting and Spirituality. With these humble yet seemingly difficult (at the time) goals in mind, I spent the last 4 years working very, perhaps too hard, eventually moving to four days per week, with the long-term goal of reducing this further to work on projects I am truly passionate about. When I say it was hard- I mean severely hard. My mental health is worlds apart from where it formerly was when on the grind.
In the last 4 years , I’ve spent my time incanting countless affirmations, spent hours upon hours visualising and reading hundreds upon hundreds of pages reading self-help information. I’ve done several many spiritual baths, soul cleanses and mushroom journeys. I’ve ‘kissed the frog’, spent thousands on therapy and even trained to be one myself! I’ve truly done the self-work to drag my formerly negative mental attitude into a positive one. And to my joy, it’s been a brilliant journey- I am now a full-time Artist and Spiritual Podcaster, creating gold-laden manifestation art and spreading the wonderous message of self-transmutation. Here’s how I’ve accomplished this feat.
“Reach for the thought that feels better, and allow the natural well-being that is yours.”- Abraham Hicks
By working smart and feeling my way into success, I was able to create something that I am proud of, and I am excited to continue to grow and develop this dream life. Feeling your way into success, as coined by Abraham Hicks, is the idea of visualising and manifesting your goals with a positive mindset. It’s not nearly as high-vibe-toxic-positivity as you’d think. Yes, It involves believing in yourself and your abilities, and focusing on the end result you want to achieve. It’s also a powerful form of shadow work that helps you to critically look at pessimistic behaviours that could be holding you back. It’s helped me to flip these on their head, and rapidly moved me into a place of post-traumatic growth. A major factor in me launching my art business in the dark of 2022. Abraham Hicks has been a way of understanding my feelings and emotions, and using them to drive me towards success instead of a way from it. It promises that, by learning to tune into your intuition and trust your gut, and being open to the possibilities that come your way, you can create a path to success that allows you to reach your goals. This practice has required a lot of positive visualisation, and I can happily say that visualising the life I desire has, bit by bit, come into my physical reality.
3 Tips to feel your way into success
Keep a positive attitude: believing in yourself and your abilities is key to success. Abraham Hicks encourages us to stay focused on the positive outcomes and experiences that we want to create.
Take inspired action: Abraham Hicks suggests that when you are feeling inspired and motivated, take action. This could be anything from doing something small such as setting goals to something bigger like starting a business.
Surround yourself with supportive people: it’s important to have a strong support system of people who will cheer you on and encourage you to keep going. Abraham Hicks encourages us to find people who will support us and help us stay on the path to success.
Jay Percy The Artist outside of The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square for The World Reimagined Art Trail. She stands in front of ‘The Three Mothers’, a Globe that she designed and painted.
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”- Napoleon Hill
Visualising your dream life is a great way to help you stay motivated and focused on your goals. It’s truly helped me to stay focused on mine. At one point in time I was deadly afraid that I’d never achieve anything beyond tap-tap-tapping away at a computer keyboard for someone else’s dream. This week has been a dream! Getting up at hours that feel more human, having time to set my intentions in the morning, painting all day and going to the gym before the rush- This is everything I visualised and more!
Visualisation, also known as visual imagery, is the act of creating mental pictures in your mind of a situation or outcome that you want to become a reality. It is akin to Meditation, in that, it can help to take your mind away from current worries around situations, instead placing your mind into a calmer time and space where you’ve achieved the bliss you seek to gain. It is a tried and tested method, touted by the likes of Napoleon Hill, Lady Gaga and Michael Jordan who have all admitted to this practice helping them to achieve their personal successes. (You can learn more about visualisation here)
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, believed strongly in the power of visualization. I spent a lot of time studying his work prior to thinking about what I wanted to do with my existence. He wrote that when you visualize your life as you want it to be, it helps you to focus on the positive and stay motivated to put in the hard work to make your dreams a reality. Visualizing your dream life can also help you to recognize the steps you need to take to get there, and can help you to stay focused and on track.
“The power of nature exists in its silence. Human words cannot encode the meaning because human language has access only to the shadow of meaning.” ― Malidoma Patrice Somé, Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman
Lastly, but certainly no way least- Reconnecting with my African Diasporic Spirituality has been an incredible way to manifest my goals and dreams of Art and Oration. I spend time altering at my altar, meditating on my visualisations, speaking to my ancestral strength of creativity and natural abundance. It’s also helped me to get very in tune with nature- learning lessons from the elements by understanding their function within the Cosmos. By understanding the principles of Animism, not only have I felt empowered in my place in the Universe, but I’ve also managed to create ‘Art from the Heart’, that speaks to so many people.
At one Exhibition that I visualised my way into, a Woman with the most beautiful soul cried at my painting, saying it reminded her of how she found herself through her own path away from religious Dogma. It is this level of community conversation that I aim to create in my Art, as Art is truly healing and transformational.
Jay Percy The Artist stands in Front of ObeahWoman, Ancestor, Healer Painting.So here I am, now an Artist and Spiritual Podcaster, spending each day in my home studio planning and tweaking my career bit by bit to move it forward into a material existence I never knew could be possible. Transmuting the imaginary ( I like to think of this word as ‘Image-Engine’- the mechanics for moving mental image into reality) into the material is not for the weak, but is truly possible. To conclude, here’s how I’ve done it in condensed into three simple steps:
3 Simple Steps to Achieving Your dream Life:
Feel the positivity around your dream life, and you’ll feel it into existence.
Let the mind conceive that it is truly possible in this realm
Find a practice to keep your ambitions on track
This is all very possible for everyone, Artist or not- The Earth is an abundant realm if you learn how to tap into it’s innate abundance. Happy feeling it into reality! You deserve it, truly.
Jay Percy is an Esoteric Artist and Spiritual Podcaster for The Afro Animist Podcast, which she runs with her close friend, Shamanic Practitioner Nix Roffe. Jay Percy paints Afro-Spiritual, Manifestation and Psychedelic Inspired Art that aims to inspire and document the natural and super-natural.