In January 2011, I bought The Secret at a tiny bookstore at the airport while I was waiting to board my flight back to the USA from my hometown in Kerala, India. Reading it on the plane back to L.A. changed my life forever. I had struggled with negativity my entire life, but the teachings of The Secret helped me to change my outlook and take control of my future.

But I still fell off the wagon many times. I often overlooked the blessings of my new job, beautiful new home, and great new relationship, and focused on the things I did not have – in particular, a permanent green card that would allow me to continue living in the States.

I had a temporary green card based on my short-lived marriage, but to get a permanent one I would have to prove that the marriage was real and still valid. The marriage had been real enough – I had the emotional scars to prove it – but my husband and I had separated barely a year after our wedding and were on our way to finalizing the divorce.

I had to hire an immigration lawyer, which was expensive, and all I did was gripe about how much all this was costing and the fact that I was going to be deported. As a result, the law of attraction ensured that my problems continued.

Things were going from bad to worse when I decided to visit The Secret site and read some of the testimonials to change the funk I was in. I was inspired by the many people who had written about their personal miracles and decided to get back on the wagon right away. I printed two color copies of my current green card and changed the expiration date from 2011 to 2021. I pinned a copy to my corkboard at work where I could see it and put the other one in my wallet.

And then I did something that ensured the success of my wish: I forgot all about it! I did not spend another minute thinking about the process, what the lawyers were up to, whether I had given enough supporting documents – not a single negative thought. I also did not try to “help” the process along, as I normally would have done. I did not imagine my interview with the immigration officer going well; I did not spend any thought on my lawyer providing brilliant arguments in my favor. I quite simply let it go. Whenever someone asked me how it was going, I shrugged and said my application was being processed. I refused to follow up with my lawyer’s office or fret over the date by which I should have heard back about an appointment with the immigration officer.

With my understanding of how the visa process works, logically, I would have at best envisioned a brief interview, a successful meeting with an immigration officer who was inclined to like me, and so on. But the law of attraction gave me more than I could ever have imagined! On the first day of June, two months before my current card expired, I received my new green card in the mail. No interview, no immigration officer, no meeting, no follow-up, just the card with the expiration date 2022 printed on it: one year MORE than I had written on my inspiration copy!

What I learned from this experience is that often the answer is not to strive constantly to think only positive thoughts about something we want; it’s the ability to ask, believe, and then let go. Trusting that the Universe has received my wish, being confident that I have articulated it clearly, and believing that my wish will be granted are the three steps I have mastered. I am still working on resisting the urge to keep trying to fine-tune my request or help it along by adding more positive vibes.