Have you ever had a day where everything was going right? Things just happen the way you want them to, you find what you are looking for easily, what you want just seems to magically appear? Have you also had days where it feels like accomplishing anything you want to is difficult? Where it feels like even the simplest things are Herculean tasks requiring mountains to be moved?
Both ways, the Universe is telling you something.
In a recent newsletter, Joseph wrote about The Calling: “The Calling has to do with recognizing what the Universe wants for you or needs you to do” (and if you aren’t getting our newsletters, sign up for an Introductory Membership to get on the list). When I read that post, what stands out to me is the fact that getting the new car was relatively easy. Certainly Joseph and Susan did their work, and what I mean by easy is that they payed attention to the information the Universe was sending them, and acted at the right moment – which resulted in perfect timing with little or no roadblocks to them achieving the goal.
I compare this to my own recent car purchasing experience, which I thought would be easy but in fact required far more paperwork, caused me to jump through far more hoops, and cost me far more money than I had been planning on spending.
Why was my experience different? Because I resisted what the Universe was telling me.
I resisted the information that was available to me and instead focused on accomplishing what I thought I wanted to do – buy that nice car that I wanted, right at that moment. Had I been paying more attention I would have been aware of that it wasn’t the right moment. The process took more than two full days, and I had to overcome roadblock after roadblock – you’d think I would have taken the hint.
That doesn’t mean that I made a completely horrible decision, instead it tells me that there was probably something better for me just waiting around a corner. That resistance that I felt was the Universe trying to get me to pay attention and to take a different path, a better path for me.
Through The Practice, I’m learning to recognize my resistance (sometimes well after the fact), and to instead acquiesce to what the Universe wants. Quoting Joseph again from that same post: “When the Universe wants something to happen, get out of the way.” This has been a difficult thing for me, because what the Universe wants for me isn’t always what I want for me in the moment.
What I’ve learned is that what the Universe wants for me is always what is best for me.
I used to think this was “surrendering”, but it’s not. To me, acquiescence means accepting that there is either a better path to my goal, or that my goal in that moment will turn out not to be that great for me in the longer term. I’m not surrendering to the will of a higher power, I’m accepting that the higher power really does have my best interests at heart, and is actively trying to communicate with me the best way to achieve them.
When I resist – I can feel it. Everything is more difficult than it should be, it seems like I’m climbing mountains, and now after some time in The Practice I can truly feel the extra push when I’m going the wrong (or at least not the best) direction. It’s like swimming in a river – you can swim with the current and get to shore with a few easy side strokes, or you can swim upstream against the current and push much harder to achieve a similar goal.
I’ve learned that the Universe truly does have my back, and is always showing me how to get where I most want and need to be. The Practice is training me to pay attention to the signs and energies around me that are giving me the best advice, and then following that advice.
Why swim upstream? All I have to do is acquiesce to the truth of the River, and work with it instead of against it. As I’m starting to do that, I’m constantly amazed at where the River will takes me.
Nice post. Good learning. Congrats.
FWIW, when I notice that simple stuff is taking longer or not working as it should – something as simple as a “copy&paste” not copying and pasting – I pull back and start asking myself if a cigar is just a cigar or if something else is at work.
It’s figuring out when a cigar is a cigar and when a cigar is something else that takes some time sometimes.