Leaving the Graveyard of Dreams Behind

In popular spiritual and self-help teachings these days, there is often a message that says: you can have whatever you desire, or if you set an intention properly, it will manifest as you desire it.

Although I am a huge believer in intentional living, what about when our best laid intentions don’t manifest as we had hoped? Or, how do we stay on our path when our vision of what our financial or work life is “supposed “to look like, is, in fact, quite different?

To stay attached to a desire or fantasy that does not show up as we had hoped, often keeps us living in a graveyard of grasping, stuck on what is not alive. This behavior is like a zombie with dead, sunken-in eyes, wandering aimlessly through a dark, barren graveyard, and curling up with the bones of the dead, and then wondering why he doesn’t feel warmed and nourished by the interaction.

I often see well-intentioned people trudging through life this way, enslaved by dead fantasies of what their life “should” look like, while ignoring calls to walk through doors with living, breathing reality on the other side.

As much as we may think that we know what we are here to do or believe that we can only be happy when our career or bank account reaches a certain point, we will never be able to control exactly how our life will flourish. Sometimes, the only way to truly align with situations that will be successful for us is to let go of our agenda and open to places where the flow of life is appearing on our path.

So how do we know where to find the currents of life that are beckoning us toward success? Pay attention to what people are asking of you.

If the Divine wants us to help people in a particular way, she will express that through our natural talents, through the ways we are already meeting people’s needs, and through the ways people are already asking for our gifts.

I want to let you in on a secret: Life only exists where needs are being met.

To be successful, we must understand the unique ways we can solve people’s problems—how we meet their needs. No matter how much we want something to work out, if we are not meeting needs that exist in the world around us, we are unlikely to find abundance through those pathways.

I promise that participating with what the universe is actually offering us is a much more alluring choice than roaming the graveyard of dead visions. When we say yesto what the universe actually needs from us, it can finally have a chance to give us what we need in return.

Here are six ways to let go of the dead, and follow the living currents toward our own flourishing life:

1. Look at where you are attached.

In order to live in the land of what is truly possible, we must first identify where we are stuck on our old, dead fantasies of what our life “should” look like. What ideas do you carry about your financial or work life, that, if they didn’t appear in exactly that way, you feel you would not be okay, or able to be a happy, whole person?

2. Fall in love with the worst-case scenario.

What financial realities do you most ardently resist? 

In order to lessen their grip on our life force so we can be available to a more abundant flow, it is helpful to list exactly what these worst possible scenarios would look like. When we clearly articulate or write them down, we can get more comfortable with them.

This brings our projections out of the nightmare realm, and into the light where they can be met and seen more clearly. We then have a chance to realize that we would be strong enough to find grace in any situation, and love our life no matter what.

3. Think about what could be the positive outcomes of that scenario.

Need more help falling in love with your worst-case scenarios? Make a list of at least five outcomes of those scenarios that would be positive. Maybe you need to let go of your yoga classes, for example. But upon reflecting on this loss, you realize that you really enjoy being outside and hiking more. Or, maybe you could start a home practice that would help you get better at discipline.

What we think we need versus what we really need can be quite different. And, what our worst case is could actually be the biggest blessing in disguise.

4. Pay attention to doors that are opening.

It’s always important to be aware of what opportunities are being presented to us, even if they are not the ones we have pictured. Although it’s important to have goals and intentions, if we are too rigid, we may miss what we are truly being called to do in the world.

What do people need from you? In what ways are they asking for your help? These are the subtle calls to leave the decaying graveyard of our fantasies and move into the flourishing garden of our soul’s true purpose.

5. Say yes (with willingness).

We are shortchanging ourselves if we show up for unexpected opportunities begrudgingly. The universe is blessing us with an open door, and it is likely only the first opening in a series of better and bigger openings. If we walk through the first door with a closed mind and clenched fist, we will not recognize what we are being offered next.

6. See what happens.

It feels amazing to align our desires with the Divine’s desires for us. The results of stepping into the current in this way may be even better than we dared to imagine…

May you flourish in the fertile ground of your heart’s desires to serve and be served, to be and to create.

 

Joetta Marie Johnson is the Priestess of Finance. She partners with her clients to create extraordinary experiences of success with money. Joetta is a practical and gifted intuitive coach who helps budding entrepreneurs overcome limiting beliefs and patterns with business, money and success. She has extensive education and experience in personal and entrepreneurial finance as an auditor, controller and financial analyst. She offers individualized coaching packages in person in Boulder, Co, or via Skype and telephone. In addition, she also offers group financial programs via webinars and tele-seminars, as well as many other projects designed to help clients attain money mastery. Are you ready to turn your longing for right livelihood into a reality that shows up in your daily life — and your bank account? Join Joetta for her upcoming teleseminar to create a plan before you take the leap!  Starts Oct 24^th 2012.  More details at Sacred Business Platform.

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Editor: Nikki Di Virgilio

Photos: elephant journal archives

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