Trent RhodesFortune favors the bold and the universe favors those who listen to its messages. It whispers wisdom in the wind. Shines insight by using the sun’s heat. Works through others to manifest opportunities. Its cosmic affection entices relationship, so that we may co-create with it in the world.
What we experience as problems are lessons. They nag, poke, prod and penetrate our thoughts beckoning us to see their teachings. They try to help by disrupting our affairs. If we ignore them, they fester, only calling out our awareness more and more. When we transform the issue into an investigation of why it bothers us, suddenly the problem disappears, our minds ease. The monster becomes a beauty. This is the skill of perceiving opportunity in every roadblock.
An antidote to poverty frequency or lack is to give, to share and to assist others. What you had all along is then in your awareness, and your inner lack gradually becomes inner fullness. When basking in fullness, it seems life itself takes care of you, and all that you need becomes available when necessary.
Your turbulent moments are when your light is needed most. It clears pathways, empowers you to see down the line of your decision-making. Its brilliance is self-sustaining, comes from within. Emanate positive energy when faced with negativity and you can help others flip their own switch.
You create disharmony in your life when you act against nature’s flow, in competition with her waters. You manifest harmony in your life when you choose to ride nature’s waves.
Fighting against situational realities disrupts life balance. Combating the way a thing is. Feeling the need to enforce a change upon an event that’s already occurred. Obsessing on what happened in the past. Balance returns when the present situation is seen clearly as it is, with accuracy and wisdom. Action is taken from that point on. Ultimately, one must accept that the water is wet.
Failure is like carving a masterpiece statue. If you’re wise, each experience will chip away at the inessentials, the weaker elements, sharpening your edges and strengthening your foundation. Pushed to exhaustion, the failure urges you to carve until you cannot any longer. Then you carve more. No great success or heroic passion becomes such without tasting this drink so many people avoid consuming.
But the courageous, the people who “make it,” who “evolve” know that failures are vital to craft our desired destiny.
Universe & Gifts
When it comes to gifts, I consider “Thank you,” a smile, warm expression and acts of grace someone gives me a gift. When someone I just met gives me a genuine compliment, that’s a gift. When someone elects to invest time to connect with me, that’s a gift. When someone sends me a letter of their deepest appreciation for how I’ve impacted their life, that’s a gift. Sharing minds on a project is a gift; you can’t take back that time or energy. These are high-level spiritual gifts and we likely experience several of them each day, just “going with the motions.”
Imagine if we consciously recognized and “collected” these immaterial gifts, we may feel more abundance in life. Material gifts are extra. No new phone? So what, you have 3 great friends you can always count on. Want more of anything? It is first important to recognize what we already have, that which we may not recognize as valuable. You must also be willing to give and have the courage to be the first who gives to others.
Universe & 2020
As 2020 approaches, I urge you to live now and beyond with a clean heart. Do not allow life experiences to poison your spirit, dim your vitality or ruin your zest for living. Hold grudges against no one. Conquer the darker emotions. Let hate slip off of you like a water droplet down your cheek. Embrace the challenges, no growth occurs without them. The Creator provides challenges matching our capacity. Children are naturally clean, mentally pure, and their (which is now our) test will be to grow into adults preserving that spiritual health amidst the toxic, confusing environment we tend to create. Be well.
Don’t overexert chasing externals you think are precious, meanwhile the treasure is already living inside of you. Literally.
Oil struggles to contaminate water. And toxic thoughts have a hard time corrupting clean minds.
Universe & The Wild
Observe the wildlife. Each species possesses its own method for survival and flourishing. They use intelligence according to how they were created and instinctively know how to use their unique skills. They live together, take care of their offspring and teach the young how to survive in nature. They choose the best and healthiest mates, those who live best according to their design. And they can do all of this without destroying the environment.
Trees endure the challenges given to them. They lose leaves when they need to, grow them when the time is right, drink the water that nourishes them, bask in the sunlight and root themselves, deeply connected to the earth. We can learn a lot from a tree.
The cheetah allows no distraction to deter it from the goal. Focus is laser-like. Its meal is swift and alert and there is no guarantee of nutrition tomorrow. No permanent sustenance. No family hand-me-downs. No perfect safety. No time for self-doubt. It gets one opportunity to take action, a singular moment to succeed. Potent mental performance is obligatory. Much to learn from a cheetah’s hunt.
Universe & Strength
To know our strengths we must exercise them. We can become too comfortable in the ivory tower, unwilling to expose our skills to risk of failure, viewing from afar while criticizing others. But the only way to know the extent of our growth is to be tested, unsheathe our talent swords and experience how skillful we are when they’re in use.
Universe & Prime Directive
Being a witness to others’ mistakes induces the urge to want to fix the situation, or criticize the other for the actions. A nuanced balance is required between knowing when to offer help and when to step back and accept another for learning at their own pace. On the evolutionary journey, that of realizing inner happiness, we’re all on different paths, take longer and shorter strides and learn quicker or slower. Refrain from snatching away someone’s life experience by trying to fix what isn’t broken. This is a sage’s universal prime directive.
Universe & Awareness
Focus on asking accurate questions rather than chasing answers. The answer is the bull’s eye and the question is the arrow. Throw your questions in the right direction and you’ll hit the target.
To demonstrate superlative performance in any endeavor, one must have lightning focus. Sharp concentration. Indefatigable willpower.
When you overcome the distractions in your life leading to confusion, you begin to perceive reality as it is. Your eyes become imbued with natural wisdom that’s been inside of you all along.
When your mind is balanced, so are all of your activities. It is only when your mind becomes disturbed and scattered that you feel external experiences are chaotic, out of your control.
The more experience you have living out of your comfortable zone, the greater your courage becomes and the more potential you can tap. If fulfilling experiences can open your door to talent, making excuses can shut it just as fast.
The more you see, the more self-aware you become. The more self-aware you become, the more you see.
One can believe one’s own opinion with such conviction as to think it is fact. While a belief’s strength can influence mental/emotional states, that strength does not make it a truth. So if others strongly believe you cannot do something, it is just that, a strong belief, and you have the power to demonstrate otherwise. Do not fall into the trap of belittling yourself based on others’ views.
“And upon waking up from my mental slumber, I saw a rose. Realized it was the catalyst for my transformation. It had a name: Passion. Smelled delicious. Sweet. Invigorating. Passion fueled my ambition. I then saw nothing but the direction to focus my capacities.” – Julian Von Craft – julianvoncraft.com
