Lately, I’ve been letting the universe do the work for me.

Do you ever have those surprising moments where you write an amazing blog or paint a great picture or get a piece of work done in a jiffy, and it almost feels like that energy came from somewhere outside of ourselves?

I certainly do.

Some people might call it “channeling” or the touch of something divine. That’s all well and good, but terms like these tend to turn people off because they sound supernatural. I believe it is the natural order of life to be creative and productive—and when we participate in that beautiful artistic process, we are merely tapping into the flow of life.

In Chinese philosophy, this is referred to as the Tao—the harmony of nature. When we move in alignment with this energy field, this natural order of all things, we feel the most connected to ourselves and to the world around us.

I know, I know…that’s a lot of new age jargon, but stay with me.

People are control freaks. We are always trying to “make everything work” or “make things happen.” We are like this for two reasons:

1. Things need to get done, and it takes effort and will to do them.

2. When we feel out of control, it reminds us that we’re mortal and quite fragile—so we obsessively and pathologically try to harness the world to compensate for these deeper feelings that we’d like to steer clear of as much as possible.

I’m more interested in number two. Number one is too obvious to spend much time on.

So, we try to control things because it makes us feel powerful and effective; but the problem is that when we neurotically try to put everything in order, we so often lose touch with the natural order of the universe. We get stuck on the surface and lose sight of the deeper purpose of the cosmos that is desperately attempting to manifest itself through you.

It’s actually pretty amazing. There is a life force that is not our ego, and its primary function is to express itself through us in a beautifully creative way. That is cool.

Here’s the key: let the universe speak through you.

I don’t mean this in a weird self-help, woo-woo type way. It’s actually incredibly practical. When we’re trying to accomplish something—feeling overwhelmed with stress about our inability to do get this done right now—take a breath or two and relax for a second. Seriously.

Instead of feeling the absolute need to accomplish this or that—and the searing tension that comes with the idea of not being able to—let’s see if we can feel something different by simply watching what’s happening in our body and mind. Be the passive observer, unattached to what you’re doing. Take another breath—and another. Let’s remove ourselves from the “doing,” and just see if we can just accept what is. Here. Now.

This works for me. The less attached I am to what I’m doing, the more capable I am at doing it. It’s weird, but it’s actually effective. We’re tapping into the energy of life, rather than clinging to our ego for answers.

If we approach this as a method to get something done, a means to an end, it won’t work. We have to actually be unattached, not just pretend to be for half a second until we move back into the ego realm. This is not a game. When we connect with the present moment (the only place where life actually happens), then the universe speaks through us. Something greater takes over that has little to do with our personal history, and it is this “something greater”—call it God, or Mother Gaia, or the cosmos, whatever you like—that is the source of our true power and creativity.

This is a “flow state,” where everything is happening with a smooth and effortless finesse. We are able to participate in the play of the universe with ease and intelligence. It feels natural. It feels good. There is a sense of being a part of it all, instead of being stuck in our heads off in some distant place.

Let’s let go of our tight grip on life, from time to time, and step into the realm of direct experience—the one place where the infinite possibilities presented to us by the universe can unlock our greatest potential and allow us to meet our highest possible selves. I’d say, it’s worth a go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Ak8Vh9oZc&t=26s

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Relephant:

5 Lessons in Trusting the Universe.

20 Alchemist Quotes to Revive Your Faith in the Universe and Yourself.

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Author: Samuel Kronen
Image: Unsplash/Tyson Dudley
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina
Copy Editor: Sara Kärpänen