What is your attitude toward surprises? Many people say they don’t like to be surprised. They want to know if there is a surprise party for them about to happen. They don’t like change. They don’t like the feeling of ‘not knowing.’ They don’t like to feel that they are not in control.
But what about loving surprises? Loving that surprise party that a loved one engineered just for you. Being thrilled when someone does something nice for you or gives you an unexpected gift. How do you feel when that happens?
Life on the Earthly Plane is full of surprises. Some of these surprises are as thrilling as that unexpected gift. Some, however, are not so much fun. Are you willing to accept the ‘not knowing’ as an essential part of life on Earth?
As a human being, it is easy to fall into the trap of always wanting to be in control of your life. That would be nice. But the Earth is inhabited by other human beings who also want to be in control of their lives. What happens when these two desires collide?
Life can become chaotic through no fault of yours. Or you can thrive on the drama that chaos creates. Things can go smoothly for about a minute and then some new wrinkle is thrown into your day. How do you react?
The important part of growing in your level of consciousness is to make peace with the understanding that you will never be in 100% control of your environment and the circumstances of your time on Earth. Other people around you have free will and will sometimes make choices that will conflict with your desires, especially if one of your desires is for total peace and control over everything.
And sometimes Mother Nature decides to let you know that she is in control of her biosphere – that you are allowed to inhabit HER domain but she is ultimately in charge. Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, winter storms, lightning – these are not under your control and yet they happen. What is your response?
Are you reading these words and thinking that they conflict with the concept of ‘your thoughts create your reality’? There really is no conflict, if you think about it deeply.
The point is not that people don’t sit around wishing for a huge storm to come and destroy their house. But there are a lot of people who are worrying about that eventuality. Worry sets up the same magnet of attraction as desire does – did you know that? Thinking about what you don’t want does attract that very energy.
And thinking about what you do want has to have some caveats attached to it. Not the usual, ‘is it realistic?’ caveat, which really means, ‘can you see the way to make that happen?’ But are you wishing for something that takes away the power of others to have free will?
I’ve heard people say that they are trying to work with the Law of Attraction but that other person still hasn’t changed into what they want them to be. Hmmmmm…… What’s wrong with this picture?
How about understanding that not knowing HOW you will receive that which you are desiring allows the Universe to bring it to you in unexpected, surprising ways? And if you are working with the Law of Attraction you must be honoring other Laws of the Universe, including the Law of Free Will of all individuals. You do not have permission to try to make others change.
When you demand control of your environment, you limit the ways in which the Universe answers your requests. Your thoughts are projecting an often unconscious request to keep things just the way they are. And, yet, there are laws of the Universe about change being ever present.
Your thoughts are sending out energy that does create those storms and that chaos and we’ll talk about that later. For today, remember this equation:
EVENT leads to your REACTION and then you choose a RESPONSE.
While you might not control all the events that happen [Surprise!] and your reaction is your immediate ‘knee jerk’ feeling, you DO control how you respond. Put your energies into practicing Conscious Response – choosing the response that demonstrates your personal growth. Then you can relax into making peace with the ‘not knowing’ and enjoy the ‘Surprise!’
PS: Why not surprise yourself this week with a Discovery Session with me? They are FREE! Go here to apply




ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: Still in School?
February 17, 2014 — RosemaryAs I write this we are experiencing a huge snow storm on the East Coast of the US. Schools have been closed, businesses are closed, even the Government Offices are closed. No matter what plans had been made, what meetings were scheduled, what classes/tests/speakers were planned – they are not happening.
Life happens like this all the time. We create a PLAN, our very own statement about how things are to go, and the Universe arranges a different way for us to learn our lessons. For that is really what every incident in our lives is – an opportunity for us to learn a lesson.
We are always facing circumstances over which we have no control. We do, however, have control over how we respond to those circumstances. That is what we do when we accept what is going on around us and seek the lesson.
Of course, you can curse what is happening, or bemoan the lack of what you had wanted and planned, but neither of those choices advances your learning. What if, instead, you were to ask, ‘What is the lesson in this for me?’ and spend your energy seeking the chance to grow?
There is a popular saying that you must ‘Bloom Where You Are Planted.’ I would change that to, ‘Learn in the School in Which You Find Yourself.’
No matter what your circumstances are there is something for you to learn from those circumstances. No matter what you feel you lack, you have everything you need right now, in this moment, to learn the lesson that is there in front of you. Still can’t see the lesson? Then go inside and seek the answer there.
Sometimes the answer is to learn how to wait for guidance. Sometimes the lesson is to learn patience. Sound familiar?
And sometimes the lesson is to let go of fear and take a big step out into your Life Purpose! Maybe now is the time when you can’t hide from your Self and everything else becomes an excuse to avoid growing and moving forward.
It takes more energy to stay stuck than to let go and move forward! And, yet, for many, choosing to stay where you are seems less frightening that moving forward. Just because the familiar seems the comfortable place, doesn’t mean it is the best place for you to realize your highest good.
Look around your life and see what has stayed the same for a long time. Are you staying in your comfort zone because you are waiting for lightning to strike or the time to be perfect or for someone else to change? Or are you staying in a place where the lessons are becoming more difficult for you to learn but you are afraid to move out into an unknown classroom?
Seek out your lessons. Move out of a space where you cannot learn anymore. Leave behind a place, job, relationship, town where you are ready to graduate and learn new lessons. The school that you find yourself in will always present you with an opportunity to learn, but what if the lesson is that it is time to graduate and move on? Are you ready to complete that class?
Long-term relationships last because the people in them support each other in learning their lessons and continuing to grow. This is true of intimate relationships, friendships, jobs, associations. Are you feeling stagnant? Then ask yourself if you can find a new classroom, a new school, where you can learn and grow and expand.
Love yourself enough to learn the lessons! Step out of your comfort zone and learn the graduate level classes. You left kindergarten and grade school and high school behind you when you were ready. Maybe now it’s time to move into the Graduate Academy of Life and keep learning!
There are no ‘snow days’ in this Academy of Life!