“Be realistic: Plan for a miracle.”

~ Osho

When was the last time you experienced a miracle?

Maybe we received an unexpected check in the mail or our forecasted rainy vacation turned out clear and sunny.

Perhaps we suddenly recovered from a serious illness. Or maybe, just when we had given up all hope, we met our soul-mate.

While we might think of a miracle as an extraordinary event that happens in unexplainable ways, the most life-changing miracles are often the ones that take place within us.

In fact, when we experience profound inner shifts in our perception—such as a shift from fear to faith—we actually create the opening required for outer miracles to manifest. And the good news is, there are things we can do every day as part of our sadhana (spiritual practice) that open us to the constant flow of miracles within and without.

In my life and healing practice, I have found that there are three key steps to living a miraculous life: creating the space, asking, and receiving.

Within each step are very specific inner actions that help us transform inside and out.

If we’re in need of a miracle right now, here is my three-step process to start inviting the serendipities and synchronicities that are just waiting to find us:

1. Create the Space with Forgiveness

If you’re trying to fit a beautiful piece of furniture into a room full of clutter and junk, there’s no space for anything fresh and new to enter.

To invite miracles, we first need to clean house in our consciousness so our good can flow freely into our lives. And one of the most powerful “clearing tools” we can use in this process is forgiveness.

I love Dr. Wayne Dyer’s teaching that “there are no justified resentments.” When we find ourselves wronged by someone, of course we need to process our feelings in a healthy way like journaling or talking to someone helpful.

But when our reaction takes on a life of its own, far outliving the initial injury, it ceases to serve us in our growth and instead binds us to our past.

No matter how we have been mistreated or hurt, carrying anger, resentment and bitterness creates toxic and draining energy in and around us. These disempowering patterns take up space inside us that could instead be filled with love, faith, joy and grace. By forgiving, we’re not giving in; rather, we’re giving up our need to be justified victims.

Ultimately, we forgive not for the other, but for ourselves. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said “forgiveness will set you free.” You deserve to free yourself from the prison of past hurts. You deserve the miracles of compassion, wisdom and strength that take their place. And you deserve the material blessings that manifest in response to your choosing the higher path.

2. Ask Through Prayer and Intention

How do we ask for a miracle?

The same way we ask the Divine for anything: we pray.

You don’t have to subscribe to any religious or spiritual tradition to pray, and there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. Prayer is a simple and powerful act of surrender and humility where you declare your readiness to receive support from a non-denominational and all-loving universe.

The same force that supports all things is forever ready to come to your rescue, to heal, guide and uplift you and to do for you what you can’t do for yourself.

If you’re not comfortable with the idea of prayer, you can simply set an intention such as, “I am open to support and miracles.” Spirit doesn’t care how you address it or what name you give it. It simply cares that you called. And it always answers.

3. Receive by Letting Go

So, if this wise and loving universe always answers, how come you haven’t received your miracle yet?

Often when we ask the Divine for support, we get so wrapped up in the details that we end up becoming attached to a very specific outcome. By focusing on the what, when, how, who and where, we can actually block or delay our miracle from manifesting because of our rigidity and attachment.

When I need help remembering this, I recall a moment last year (on my birthday, no less) when a butterfly decided to land and linger on my chest.

I was sitting in a garden admiring the beauty around me, completely relishing the moment, and this lovely creature decided to bless me with its presence. I imagine that if I had tried to chase and catch it, the butterfly would most certainly have eluded me.

The experience reminded me that magic happens when we’re open to receiving the good we desire but unattached to how it shows up. As we surrender our need to control, miracles simply find us irresistible.

Since I always like to have tangible ways to practice spiritual teachings like surrender, I have found that one of the best ways to “let go and let God” is through meditation.

It’s said that prayer is how we ask and meditation is how we receive, because it’s in stillness that we finally allow the answers to arise and the miracles to flow. As it states in A Course in Miracles, “the miracle comes quietly into the mind that stops an instant and is still.”

Of course, no miracle-making practice would be complete without the most powerful of all spiritual principles: love.

Here again, the Course affirms that “Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. They are performed by those who temporarily have more for those who temporarily have less.”

By choosing the most loving response in every moment—especially the ones where it would be much easier to respond with anger or fear—we become magnetic to the flow of all the good that seeks us. While forgiveness sets us free, it is love that gives us wings.

Keep the miracles flowing.

As you start mastering the art of living miraculously by creating space, asking and receiving, keep the flow going by giving constant thanks for every gift along the way.

Like Gabrielle Bernstein, author of May Cause Miracles, says, “An emphasis on gratitude is the only attitude for the miracle worker.” Even in the face of frustrations and tribulations, keeping an attitude of gratitude is far more likely to bring you inner peace and outer solutions than getting trapped in fear.

Practicing gratitude along with the three step process I’ve shared has worked countless miracles in my life—from healing the effects of childhood traumas and becoming a healer and yoga teacher myself to giving up gluten. Actually…because I am gluten sensitive and not intolerant, I do cheat sometimes, but significantly cutting down is nothing short of a miracle for me!

So, whether you need a miracle within or without, by forgiving, praying, surrendering, meditating, loving and constantly giving thanks, you are bound to open yourself to the shifts you desire and the magic you deserve.

Remember, “as above, so below.” Do the work and let miracles flow.

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Assistant Editor: Jes Wright/Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo Credit: Pixoto