As I walked to my seat down the aisle of TWA flight 649, I wondered what kind of travel companion would greet me. It had been two years since my last vacation—an unbelievably magical, romantic trip to Turkey where I had manifested a handsome, loving and adorable husband. However, with the love of my life unable to join me on this journey, I was more interested in settling into reading Richard Bach’s "ILLUSIONS" with its mysterious blue feather on the cover. A dear friend had gone out of her way to make sure I’d have this book as my chief companion on this much-anticipated trip to New Mexico.

As if the book held some premonition, a young man with a bright blue feather-like hairstyle, body piercing and wearing Martian-styled oval sunglasses beamed up as me as I took my seat. I thought to myself, "What could I possibly say to someone who looks like this?" And hunkered down for a pleasant read.

A few minutes later the pilot came over the loudspeaker to announce that a fog in St. Louis, the connecting stop on my trip, and that we’d be in a delayed take-off pattern— which he informed us would keep us on the ground for at least another hour. The young bird-man next to me was holding his tickets in his hands, shaking and saying, "Oh my God! I can’t be late! I have to be on at 6PM!" I asked him where he was going, to which he replied, "Minneapolis. I’m the karate champion of the world and I need to defend my title in the tournament tonight."

The frantic energy coming from him was so strong that I felt he would get out and push the plane all the way to St. Louis. I calmly told him that it was merely fog in St. Louis. Let’s try moving the fog with our thoughts— it’s a lot easier than pushing a plane. As it turned out, his hairdresser was Turkish and Paul Mitchell hair products sponsored his travel. He was known for his outlandish hair colors— blue one month, white and orange tipped another. Next thing we knew, the pilot came on and said, "We’re pushing off the gate and taking our position for take off as conditions can change. We’re going to proceed as normal and hope the fog clears."

Before we knew it, we were air borne and ended up arriving in St. Louis ten minutes early! And I had an amazing conversation with a young man who had his own karate school in Brooklyn, was a stunt man in many Hollywood movies and his grandmother lived down the street from me in Washington Heights. I felt I was enjoying Richard Bach’s "ILLUSIONS" and I hadn’t even cracked the cover!

A few days later, I had decided to greet the dawn on the patio of my host’s extraordinary home on the mountainside overlooking Taos. I had reached page 150 of "ILLUSIONS" where the author was asking his companion to teach him how to create "little miracles." He was told, "To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there." And Richard Bach imagined a blue feather, surrounded it in a golden light to magnetize it and waited for it to appear. It wasn’t there immediately; however, over dinner that same evening he glanced at a carton of milk and saw that it had a picture of a blue feather on it and was packaged for Scott Dairies by Blue Feather Farms, Bryan, Ohio.

I thought to myself, "I want a blue feather!" and tried the same exercise. When I opened my eyes, a large blue bird swooped past me and settled in a patch of pines next to the patio. He was soon joined by another blue bird. I was smitten when they flew off and I went over to search the ground for any stray feathers. I didn’t find any but felt elated anyway.

A few days later, I was visiting Chimayo, an ancient sacred site to the Indians where a Spanish Roman Catholic Church now stands. Chimayo is famous for miracles that have occurred there and has a chapel displaying crutches, IV’s and notes hung on its walls from those who had been cured during their visits there.

My friend, Susi, and I later found ourselves in one of Chimayo’s gift stores where I found a spectacular "milagro" in the shape of a hand which I bought as a birthday present for the gifted healer and astrologer who had helped me manifest my husband. While I was completing my purchase, Susi was deep in conversation with a raven-haired woman who had a magnificent presence. I was drawn over to the counter where she stood and she had laid out the most exquisitely beaded items which she was pulling from her purse. She said no one in the shop had seen her work before and for some reason, she had decided to bring some items with her that day. As we admired her work, her hand reached into her bag and she pulled out a BLUE beaded FEATHER!!! I gasped! This was the most magical feather I’d ever seen, intricately beaded with multiple shades of blue, turquoise and silver, charged with light.

When I told this gifted beader about "ILLUSIONS," she was familiar with the book, and of course.....I’m now the proud owner of her brilliantly beaded feather hair clip. However, this dear woman went one step further. She told me she must give me a REAL blue feather and asked what I would use it for. I told her that I use feathers when I smudge (I burn sage and use a feather to "fan"the smoke). I feel the power a feather has to clear your thoughts and move the energy around your aura to help align you with your true intentions and spirit guides. I would use her feather to help guide me to manifest a writing project I’ve been dreaming of for years.

Though Hasta had hoped to deliver the feather to my hotel door the next morning before I departed for New York, it arrived two weeks later. As my husband was leaving for work at 5:45 AM, he opened the door and found a long tube marked "Priority Mail" propped up against the doorway. Inside it was an exquisite BLUE FEATHYER from a Macaw Parrot, iridescent blue with black-tipped edges on one side and golden yellow on the reverse. When I held it, full of awe and anticipation, I waved it through the air, and it played with unseen energies in a manner I have never felt.

Along with the BLUE FEATHER came a tiny hand-written note above a picture of a black-chinned hummingbird drawing nectar from an exotic flower: "marianne, I’m so thrilled to help make some li’l part of your dream come true! Your friend forever, Hasha."