BRENT MARCHANT: Reaching our goals can be challenging at times, but I've found they're generally easiest to accomplish by making use of conscious creation/law of attraction principles, the practice whereby we combine the power of our beliefs with the energy of All That Is to manifest what we desire.

And, as I've noted in several previous posts, the more effectively we formulate our beliefs to begin with - by astutely assessing the input from their intellectual and intuitive building blocks - the better the results we'll achieve, both in shaping beliefs and in realising outcomes.

Sometimes, though, we may find that the results don't quite measure up, taking longer to materialise than expected. Consequently, we grow frustrated, wringing our hands and wondering where we screwed up. Even when we employ the best of intentions, we may find ourselves despairing over the snail's pace progress.

So what causes this? In my experience, I've found that it's often because we get too hung up on the 'how' of achieving the desired results. In the process of envisioning the hoped-for outcome, we often picture all of the individual steps that we need to take to get there, sometimes down to the finest of minutiae. If things fall into place as planned, that's great; but if they don't, we need to reassess, a process that generally involves us focusing more on the end point than on all of the steps needed to reach it.

Our preoccupation with the 'how' of things, I believe, stems from our reliance on the predominant male, intellectual energy that characterises the world's current paradigm. To be sure, this mechanistic, procedural approach to things can serve us well in many ways. But implementing such a micromanaged approach may not be the best course in some cases, because it might thwart the plans that All That Is has in mind for us.

Conscious creation/law of attraction principles maintain that the Universe knows how to best attain our goals and that we should thus leave things in its hands when it comes to the manifestation process. This approach may seem illogical at times, especially if it prompts us to take several 'left turns' in reaching our destination. But no matter how irrational it might appear on the surface, it also often yields the best results.

So what's the solution? Since conscious creation/law of attraction principles state that our role in the process is to come up with the goals and then let the Universe take over, we need to let go of the 'how' of things and look more at the bigger picture, focusing on the final result without the shackles of 'practical' considerations. Taking such a broader view, without worrying about the particulars but trusting that the outcome will nevertheless occur, may seem like a less rational approach, but that's probably because it's more intuitive in nature, more in line with the feminine energy that's now emerging (but has previously been largely subverted) in the prevailing worldview.

Adopting this approach may be difficult at times, because it takes us out of our comfort zone, asking us to put more faith in our intuitive side than we may have traditionally. It requires us to trust, a practice that, by its nature, practically flies in the face of the intellectually driven paradigm we've so wholeheartedly embraced. But, as I've noted in previous posts, doing so allows us become better conscious creators and enables us to better balance our masculine and feminine energies.

Embracing this approach to things may take some time to get used to, but I've found it becomes easier with practice and often produces results that not only meet but exceed expectations. I discovered that for myself several years ago when I was looking for a new apartment. When I began my search, I had a lengthy list of requirements for what I wanted out of a new place. I outlined my search process thoroughly and methodically, convinced I had all the bases covered. But once my search began, I repeatedly came up dry; the places I looked at lacked one or more of the required elements (and sometimes they barely met those that they did fulfill). And the longer this went on, the more frustrated I grew, becoming increasingly less confident that my wish list would be fulfilled.

On some level, I knew that the apartment I wanted was out there; all I needed to do was reaffirm my faith in the belief that All That Is would reveal what I was looking for. And so I cast aside my need to hold on to the 'how' of finding a place, trusting that the Universe would bring it to me - as long as I allowed it to do its work without my micromanaged intervention and undue interference.

The day after I underwent that shift in my outlook, I found the apartment I wanted. It was great. The unit was larger and had more amenities than I was looking for, and it was located in a much better building than the one I had been living in. The rent was lower than what I had been paying, too. I absolutely loved it.

However, there was also one major, unexpected twist. Of the 22 items on my wish list, 21 of them were met or surpassed. The only requirement that wasn't fulfilled was the neighbourhood in which I wanted to live. Ordinarily this would have been a deal-breaker for me, but in this case, it wasn't an issue at all, because the neighbourhood was an improvement over where I had wanted to live. Needless to say, I took the place and have been happily living there ever since.

If I had adhered to the typical way of doing things, by focusing on the 'how' of arriving at the desired destination, I never would have found this place. But by getting out of the way and letting the Universe do its thing, I was shepherded to my new front door. This experience reaffirmed my belief in the need to trust, because it reaffirmed my belief that doing so brings us what we want - and then some.

As readily as I make use of conscious creation as an approach to living, I still sometimes need to be reminded of how the process works, and this exercise did just that. All it takes is learning how to trust, a lesson I'm so grateful to have learned.

Nov 30, 2010 - 2:39 PM

Cynthia Dodd -

All so true Brent. As an addition I find that this goal setting and letting the universe reply does not operate in our "linear time thinking patterns" that most of us have learned. Perhaps this is a part of the "how", as in how long ? The concept of time is a whole new wrinkle to this goal setting that I do try to put into the goal.

Nov 30, 2010 - 12:16 AM

Suzanna Gratz -

Thanks Brent ~
I appreciate the reminder to get out of my own way. Attention - Intention - No Tension, right?

Nov 29, 2010 - 6:06 PM

Jobi -

You gotta love the Universe. Excellent article. It helps to make note of the little jokes the Universe can play. They can add fun to the whole adventure.