The MARBLE GAME

... and an example of using it on the lie of NOT ENOUGH TIME

Photo of multicolored marbles from Nick Fewings on Unsplash

​Want a quicker read? Scroll down for a numbered list of 12 ways to think about time that feel better.

If there’s any detrimental belief that A LOT of people from all walks of life share, at least in American culture (and I daresay in plenty of other places around the globe), it’s that there’s not enough time. We have more to do that we have time to do it in. Does that even sound right? Is that even possible? It's certainly disempowering and engenders all manner of stress and feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction.

When your thoughts and beliefs are making you feel bad (in other words--when you feel bad, and take note of what you're believing in that moment), Abraham-Hicks has a clarifying and focusing process to call forth and drop in with what you want to believe instead. They call the marble game. It’s really simple and it’s really worth trying. (I do it often, sometimes daily, usually to clarify my focus early in the day. Much as I approach the focus wheel and other amazing Abraham processes.)
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Think of marbles as a metaphor for your thoughts and beliefs. All the thoughts and beliefs you’ve ever had. Since you've got a lot of those (accrued & revisited over time, and constantly added to), the point is that it will always be a mixed bag. You'll always have some beliefs that serve you (because they're aligned with what you want) and some beliefs that do you no good at all. Those beliefs run counter to what you say you want, so they churn up resistance. Besides the fact that resistance feels bad, it also makes you NOT A MATCH to what you're dreaming up, asking for, working toward. So in the marble game, you determine--and establish--which beliefs you want ACTIVE in this situation. Which beliefs do you want to have in view? Which ones do you want to run the show?

For example, you may have three time-related marbles in your bag that make you feel bad about yourself & your daily accomplishments:

1. Time is scarce.
2. I'm bad at managing all the tasks I need to get done.
3. I'm always behind and playing catch-up.

You may have three other marbles that support you to feel good about yourself & your work:

1. I have all the time I need to do all I need to do.
2. I'm always as prepared as I need to be.
3. I'm getting better & better at keeping to-do lists pared down and enjoying each task as I get it done.

Which marbles would you like to have active as you start your work day?

Notice you’re likely to feel bad about yourself and ill-equipped for your day if you have the first set of marbles active. If you have all six marbles, or both sets, active, you’ll feel torn and you'll vacillate between the two mindsets. With the second set of marbles activated, you’ll feel more relaxed and at ease and ready for the day ahead. You'll be likely to build momentum in what you do and feel good whether you get as much done as you might have imagined or not.

So anytime in life that you notice you’re leading with a bad set of marbles or you have a seriously active marble that neither matches where you want to stand nor promotes or enhances how you want to feel—like, There’s not enough time for all I need to get done--then play the marble game to consciously choose 12 marbles you want to activate and bring to the fore. I did that on that very topic one morning recently. (See my activated, chosen marbles #1-12 below the illustration.)
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Here are the components of the process as I do it. It's a simplified version of what Abraham explains (with no component left out).

1. Briefly (BRIEFLY) write down what got you thrown off or where you notice your wobble is. Simply lay out the problem. (I woke up with a light sense of dread and pressure, already feeling like I don't have enough time for all the tasks I think I have to do or want to get done today.)
2. Write down the feeling state that goes with that for you. How do you feel with this story or set of thoughts active? (Discouraged, overwhelmed, lacking in confidence.)
3. In the margin, draw one marble and, next to it, write down a belief you have that would actually support you in this situation. I like to color in or make a design on the marble as I watch the thoughts form. (See below.)
4. Repeat that until you have 12 marbles and 12 statements of more positive, empowering, helpful beliefs you already have (or ones you don’t have to reach too far to get to), the ones you do want to have activated. (Examples for this are just below.)
5. When you've got your 12 shiny chosen marbles out that support you, write down how you feel now. (Confident, equipped, looking forward to my workday.)

Since I actually played the marble game on this very topic, here are the 12 marbles (things I actually believe, or that aren’t too far out of reach, and that I want to have as my ACTIVE beliefs) that got me from "Not enough time for all tasks" to "Tasks & time coexist perfectly."

1. I live in more power, joy, effectiveness, and efficiency when I don't make myself wrong for how much I get done.
2. I treasure presence and practicing being gracefully in this NOW moment. I always have NOW.
3. I like working relaxed, doing qigong, going into nature, taking most evenings off. All of this is more important to me than getting it all done.
4. I'm getting better & better at putting things down into the powerful realm of the Universal Manager. [Reference to the Placemat Process from Abraham-Hicks.]
5. I love actually believing that the organizing intelligence of the Universe moves things forward when my attention is elsewhere. I love collecting evidence for that.
6. I have all the time I need to do all I need to do. What I don’t get to I must not need to get to because it’s beyond my right capacity.
7. I like remembering I could let go of anything, take it off my plate/list/mind.
8. I'm still at the beginning of the new era [in which I've pared down some commitments] and I'll keep stretching & relaxing into that.
9. I'm guided, and that guidance is brilliant. I know what to do, when, and at what level. I course-correct constantly & trust that. [Note that writing that down taps me back into guidance, which I was beginning to forget about with the sensation of having too much to do, which made me the doer who had to also figure it all out and orchestrate all the parts.]
10. It's OK with me that I won't get everything done today. I'm going to show up to work well, relaxed, in love—and that's enough.
11. I love the magic, the wow, the fun, the laughter. I will not allow things-to-do to keep me from that.
12. Today, all things new, all things possible. Today, I will not sing old, tired refrains.

Hand drawing in a sketchbook from Jaya showing marbles lined up along the left side of the page

If you don't get through all 12 marbles because life intervenes, just get some chosen marbles in view! You'll head toward the way you want to feel and can keep cultivating that in other ways.  If you're on a roll and you want to hang out with this game for more than  twelve marbles, go go go, and enjoy how solidly established you get in the mindset and feeling state you're actually consciously choosing. I personally find this so empowering and satisfying.

I invite you to play with Abraham’s marble game to consciously activate the beliefs you want to live out of in general—and to very specifically carry into your day or the one situation coming up.

Love & blessings, Jaya