“Whatever you believe about yourself, whether it’s accurate or completely off base, is likely to become true. With that in mind, try this one on for size: You are at the beginning of a cycle of prosperity.”

This was my horoscope on a day last week. I read it over a few times allowing its message to sink in. A barrage of thoughts flowed over me. Did I believe these direct and curt words? At some level, I did. What could it mean by prosperity? Was it metaphor or literal? How had others with my birth sign read these words? Did they take them seriously or allow them to roll off with the nonchalance of a fortune cookie message?

Perhaps I let this particular horoscope get under my skin because just a few days earlier I had been sharing a process called “appreciative inquiry” with a group of people. I encountered this way of assessing a situation,decision making, group process, this past summer while at a conference with author Parker Palmer. The second principle of appreciative inquiry is: “What we focus on becomes our reality.” The fact that this horoscope came so close on the heels of this conversation seemed important to me.

This short statement may seem simplistic to some or untrue to others. But I remember when I first came in contact with it and it caused me to reflect on what had been some particularly difficult experiences that had lasted several months. I realized that my focus had, indeed, created a reality, a reality that was painful and could have, if I had switched the focus even a degree or two, created a completely different experience. I began to wonder how much my focus had helped deepen an already difficult, already frayed fabric. It was a humbling realization and I feel sorry for it.

Over the years I have known people who practice daily affirmations, positive words that guide their thoughts and actions. They do this in intentional ways, like a prayer. Thinking about these folks in the context of both my horoscope and appreciative inquiry, I came to see that these people are often the very ones who seem in possession of their path, grounded in a way that I admire. They are also some of the most gentle, kind and joyful people I know.

All this caused me to wonder: Were the messages they sent themselves, whether accurate or completely off base, such positive words that they were creating a reality that was beneficial to their own well being and also to those with whom they have contact? Like a pebble dropped in a pool of clear,cool water, did the ripples of their affirmation spread out into the world?

It seems a beautiful possibility, doesn’t it? And it seems drenched in prosperity to me.Maybe not the prosperity of financial wealth but the wealth of healthy, happy living. Suddenly my horoscope, those often-thought frivolous words guided by the stars, seemed a credo to give my heart to, an act that might just make me rich.

So today I am being careful. Care-full with what I am believing about myself, those I meet, even those that rub me the wrong way. This reality thing is fragile and I want to be kind to myself and to everyone I meet, at last as much as I possibly can. Something tells me it could make a world of difference.