How do You Keep Faith that Things Will Work Out for Your Highest Good?

What do I tell someone who's going through a challenging life phase? What if this someone is me? How do I lovingly persuade myself that "this too shall pass"? How instead of getting stuck in the moment and panicking I embrace myself for the obstacles because they are a necessary nudge to shake me up, make me move forward?

If you are settled into your sweet comfort, submerged in the haze of status quo, rest assured Lady Fate will come with a huge bat and give you a much needed blow. Before you know it, you no longer gaze sleepily at your possible destiny, you run toward it as fast as you can, before another blow finds you.

And it doesn't matter if while on the road of trials you remain strong and keep your face and dignity, or you succumb to the pain and fear, and wail like a wounded animal. The only thing that counts is that you keep pushing forward.

Many warriors scream on the top of their lungs as they lead the way into the battle. It helps scare the enemy but also suppress, deafen their own fear. Maybe I too, should give in to panic and yell out "I'm scared", and then repeat it a hundred, two hundred times, till it loses its meaning and power over me.

What do I tell myself in this trying times? That I'm given a loving push and, though it hurts now, it will take me to a new place, my next train station where I'll get off and experience life all over again. Things always have a way of working out and someone knows what they are doing, putting me through this obstacle maze.

Upsize

 

 

Maybe I deserve better... The mere thought suggests a whole wonderful rich world that exists out there, that I never dared to claim. Up till now I was pretty confident that life was generous enough to me and I collected a lot of ripe fruit into my gifts-from-life basket. Or maybe I busted my ass to fill up that basket. The details don't really matter at this point, what counts is that I should have the sufficient amount of happiness material to just sit back and enjoy it all. Yet it doesn't work that way. We are wired to hoard up our accumulated happiness and then venture out for more.

I have to admit I set up my own limitations. So today I decided to do something nice for myself and got a treat of delicious Pinkberry frozen yogurt.  I carefully picked the flavors I liked and then asked how many toppings I could have. The lady at the counter said somewhat hesitant - "for this size cup - three toppings". I ended up getting just two because I was afraid that asking for three is just too much. Almost as if subconsciously I quickly assessed myself and determined that I'm only worthy two toppings. And then I realized that it's exactly what I do with my life: I go for happiness, but I just don't go all the way. I hold back limiting my desires and advances by the golden rule of moderation. If I get some of what I want, wanting more is selfish. But is it really? I deserve to at least consider possibilities my old cautious self would decline by instinct. That's not for me, let others do it I used to think.

What if I change the perspective. What if I start believing that wanting more is not only okay, it's what I actually deserve. I'm worth having more caring people in my life, more adventure, more fun, more knowledge, more dreams. If the Universe offers its gifts in abundance, do they remain unclaimed thanks to the "humble" individuals like myself, who opt for a smaller share? I don't mean to become greedy where you suffer about not having enough without ever enjoying and feeling grateful for what you already have. I just don't want to feed on the crumbs as the Universe is waiting all puzzled about when I will come for the main meal. It's okay to upsize, to get all the toppings you are eligible for, to try more favors. Sometimes "more" is all about a healthier self-esteem, about enriching your life once you start believing that your capacity is limitless. For now I will move the mark a little higher and watch more happiness pour in to the newly available space.



No more 12-12-12

 

12-12-12 happened to be a day in my life that I could have crossed out and pretended it never happened. It was not a good day for me. In fact it was the darkest day in the whole year - so much for the pretty number combination.

My son's teacher told the class it is a magic date and kids should all make a wish before they go to bed so that their wish got granted. I want my share of magic to undo some of the damage that was done today. So I will make my wish before I say good bye to this sad day. And I'm certainly glad it won't happen again for a century.

... and my wish is ....

TO HAVE THE WISDOM TO SEE THE RIGHT FROM THE WRONG AND MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES, EVEN WHEN EMOTIONS DISTORT MY VISION

How Does the Universe Work

We live on a planet that is more multi-dimensional than we can possibly imagine. Because beyond the visible world, there are layers and layers of things that have no physical substance. Yet they are real and very much present. The fact that they have no shape or color certainly makes them harder to grasp, but ignoring them will not eradicate them from your life.

Take a tree for example: objectively it's just a tree with one and only way to describe it's physical nature. But if you send it through a complex mechanism of your subjective interpretation, it expands its meaning and purpose exponentially. Tree as a symbol, inspiration, source of energy, trigger of thoughts and dreams that would evade our attention otherwise. So here's the world beyond our visible existence, which is a vast grid of human thoughts, feelings, motives, interpretations and purposes that vibrate invisibly day and night and give direction to all things physical.  And above it all there's the world of eternal wisdom.

Material objects are always the same and the change they undergo in their life cycle is very predictable thus supporting this law of the sameness. We know what things are at the moment and what they are going to be when they change. The invisible field however is constantly morphing, affecting our perception of things depending on the "charge" we get from it through invisible connection.

So maybe there's a grand plan for all of us, and maybe there's more than one path to take. There's probably a passion we were born to pursue, with a multitude of sub-passions to entertain and educate us along the way. But in order to pass to the new reality, where the unknown becomes known, in order to attach yourself to this source of wisdom, you have to initiate the search. If everything gets handed down to us on a silver platter, it would be too easy.

So how do you find the outlet to this omnipotent energetic field, how do you connect to the right source of energy and inspiration? How do you get magic out of thin air? By finding your magic steps.

Mend what's broken (from a hole in your pocket to broken relationships, this will restore the flow of energy)

Use the power of words (saying makes it real)

Explore small things (for they are just the beginning of something big, that is at the moment too enormous for you to grasp because you are not ready. So start small)

Create where there was nothing before (a blank sheet of paper, uncultivated plot of land, empty space. Why use someone else's portal to the world of spiritual bliss? You can create an entrance of your own. You just draw a door and then watch it open) Also: create today what didn't exist yesterday.

Cultivate your belief (It's too weak on its own without constant supply of fuel. Create a ritual, say a mantra, establish a habit, read and make notes. Anything that will empower your "I believe" till it becomes an indispensable part of you, till it is you.)

Why We Need Success Even Where We Don't Need It

 

I've had a job interview that went very positively for me. In fact, they were so excited about me being such a good match for the job, they were all ready to give me an offer. The only problem was that I didn't want it. I was saved from the final step, meeting with the CEO, by the fact that he stepped out for an unplanned meeting with a client. As I was leaving the building I saw him entering through another door and felt like a Cinderella, making her escape.

Yet I felt bitter-sweet relieved. Yes, it's somewhat of a disappointment when you get something good you didn't really ask or have no good use for. And it can be real tricky to tell the right from the wrong in the context of your personal preferences. But I needed it to go well for me as a testament to my abilities, so that I could tell "you got it!" to my self-esteem and raise my standards. If I can pass this interview, I can do it again for my dream job.

Life gives us these occasional freebies for a reason. We just can't always guess which one it is each time. To show us that we are on the right track? Or that there's always hope, it's just taking longer sometimes to achieve what we truly want? To prepare us for the right occasion so that we didn't blow our chances when it finally arrived?

What I know is today I felt present and more awake than I did in a long time. I felt like my life was actually happening and not just in my head,  I moved from the shielding shadows and, though briefly, played the lead role. It felt good to be back.  

A New Day Will Always Come

 

How fragile is our comfort. Maybe my mom is right after all and we should always be prepared for the worst: train our bodies for deprivation, be used to the prolonged feeling of hunger, to the absence of basic necessities. It should always be in the back of our minds that many of the luxuries we have and frequently take for granted can vanish in a blink of an eye.

We depend on our possessions and only losing them makes it clear that we are incapable of finding comfort elsewhere. We need our things to be happy. We each build a small private universe around our possessions and as we see them go, we can't help the feeling of being sucked into a black hole. Kids are so different from us in that sense. They can still be overpowered by joy even under the worst of circumstances. Kids can spot and enjoy countless things of interest even in the deteriorated reality; they will invent a fun game and play it among the rubble.

So how do we adjust to the feeling of loss, to unexpected hardships and unplanned turns of events? Should we try to restore normalcy at all costs, get things to the way they were so that we could blissfully forget the dire times and move on? Or maybe it's wise to dwell on the experience, to seek some deeper meaning and adjust the mindset so that it could encompass these new unfortunate possibilities. Appreciate what we have, but above all appreciate life and value things that aren't as easy to lose: our body in good health and working condition, our head that has enough knowledge to find a way out of any situation and our heart, that finds joy where we didn't look before, too busy multiplying and holding on to our possessions.

Why "Be Safe" are Not Just Words

You are not supposed to mess with natural disasters, ignore evacuation orders, think that you know better, that media yet again is blowing it out of proportion. Hours before hurricane Sandy hit New York,  I was watching journalists interviewing people who decided to stay in their homes and ignore the government's plea to evacuate. Everyone was saying the same thing: we left last year during the hurricane Irene and nothing bad happened, so this year we are standing. I was immediately struck by the illogic of their thinking: how can you compare one hurricane to another? As if these natural monsters always strike the same way, damage the same property and injure the same people? And on top of that, people were making the comparison after they've been told a number of times that the coming storm is entirely different from the last year's one.

So why can't we learn a lesson unless we experience firsthand this danger, the deathly breath of the calamity we otherwise refuse to believe is possible. Do we really have to look the death in the face to practice caution? I remember coming to the nearby park a few days ago to sit in the quiet of the nature with my book, to enjoy some crisp autumn air. But as I went deeper into the park, I realized that I was the only person there. Such an eerie but almost exciting feeling of being all by myself in this magic kingdom of trees. But instantly I had the alarming thought that many crimes happen in secluded parks and should I get attacked, I could count on no help.  I was already there, hypnotized by the incessant rustle of the falling leaves, itching to get immersed in my book and forget the world. So I stayed. And only later I thought it through and realized how it was not worth the risk. Nothing bad happened this time, it's possible that nothing bad will ever happen but why mess with my luck?

When we get the warning the first time we listen and comply, by the second and third times we begin to lose vigilance. I heard that new drivers are less likely to have accidents the first year they are driving in spite of their far-from-perfect driving skills. But they are still afraid so they pay attention and practice safe driving. But as they get more confident they engage in some risky maneuvers that don't end so well.

Our problems begin when we lose fear and replace it with self-confidence. Maybe it's good for career growth or with personal aspirations, but when it comes to mother nature and basic safety precautions, you don't consider yourself invincible. You don't make silly jokes to stress your fearless nature but think back about all the past victims of a similar disaster. You ask yourself: what can I do to keep me and my family safe. And then you do it even if the whole world laughs in your face. Because we've all learned at some point the bitterness of "I told you so"  and it's better to waste your time but stay safe than keep your cool just to lose everything in the end.