posted June 28, 2007 07:49 PM         

Can You Not Do It?

by Alan Cohen

When the primal forces of nature tell you to do something, don’t quibble over details.

― From the movie Field of Dreams

For many years my office assistant Noel had a dream to become a certified teacher. Noel often fantasized about going to a specialized school to take an advanced training, but she was not certain if this was the correct path for her and she did not know how she would find the courage to accomplish it. Moreover, she would have to travel a great distance and take time away from her current work, friends, and family.

One morning Noel arrived at the office glowing. “I have decided to go,” she told me with a smile.

I could see she was quite resolute. “What made your mind up?” I asked her.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about going. Finally last night I asked myself, ‘Can you not go?’ Then I realized that I couldn’t not go. I’ve been thinking about taking this course for a long time, and the idea keeps knocking at the door of my mind. It only gets stronger. There must be a reason. I have heard that at the end of your life, it’s not what you did that you regret ― it’s what you didn’t do. I know I would regret not taking this course, so I called this morning and registered.”

Noel traveled abroad, took her course, and received her license. She also met a man, got married, and now has a beautiful family. Now she is quite glad she followed her instincts!

Soon after I self-published The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, I wondered how to disseminate my book to the public. I knew nothing about the book industry, and I wasn’t interested in the business aspects of publishing.

Then I came across the catalog of a distributor that specialized in books related to A Course in Miracles. I was a student of the Course, and a significant portion of the material in Dragon was inspired by the Course. This company might be a good venue, I thought. But since I was shy about self-promotion, I tossed the catalog into the wastebasket and put off my marketing plans for a later date.

A week later I received a letter in the mail from a friend. When I opened the envelope I found a copy of the exact catalog I had thrown away. “I think you should send your book to these people,” my friend wrote.

Okay, okay, I can take a hint.

I contacted the company and showed the owner my book. He enthusiastically put Dragon into his catalog and placed sample copies in the hands of key people. Soon the book became popular. Before long I was receiving invitations to speak all over the world, meeting wonderful people, presenting programs, selling lots of books, and feeling more fulfilled in my career than ever before. In a short time my life changed in a huge way.

As we enter this bright new year, many opportunities lie before us. You may be wondering which one(s) to follow up on, and which to lay aside. When something is right and important for you, the universe will stay after you, prodding you to do it. You may resist your next step, put it off, deny it, or even run away. But if an event, relationship, activity, or career is in line with your chosen destiny, it will find ways to get your attention and keep you in the game.

If you are not sure whether or not to do something, try not doing it and see what happens. If the impulse fades away, you have your answer. If, however, the voice becomes more insistent; or you can’t stop thinking about it; or the universe keeps putting the idea “in your face,” you may do well to heed its call.

Rather than judging or belittling your intuitive promptings, imagine they proceed from a source of wisdom. Most of the time you will find there was a good reason you were feeling the impulse. Your intuition is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more easily you will recognize your joy path. Often you will receive confirmation by some kind of outer sign.

While I do not believe in a destiny that is forced upon us from some alien source, I do believe that we attract to us certain situations that we have chosen from a very deep level to advance us along our life path. Very often these situations keep presenting themselves until we acknowledge, receive, and act on them. If something keeps showing up and you keep wanting to do it, give it your serious consideration. If you can’t not do it, then you may do well to allow life to have it wonderful way.
http://www.alancohen.com/articles/Can%20You%20Not%20Do%20It.htm

posted June 28, 2007 07:50 PM         

by Alan Cohen

Leap, and the net will appear.

― Julia Cameron

“I feel caught between my old life and my new one,” John confessed in our coaching session. He reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and handed me his business card. It was loaded with telephone, cell, and pager numbers, along with several e-mail addresses and a website. “For many years I was very successful in the oil business,” he explained. “I had vast amounts of money, prestige, and power. Then I got sick of the whole scene and quit. I just walked away from it all; I just wanted to clear my head and find some inner peace.

“I felt content for a while,” John went on, “but then my money began to dry up and I started to panic. I had let go of all of my security and I felt like a trapeze artist flying through the air without a safety net. It was really scary. Then a few weeks ago I received a phone call from a friend in the oil business, offering me a job. I don’t want to go back, but I don’t know how I am going to pay my bills.”

I considered John’s situation and asked him, “If you were not afraid about money, what would you be doing?”

John’s face softened and his eyes lit up. “I would study holistic healing,” he told me. “I would travel. I would meditate. I would spend time in nature. I would connect with my spirit and pass along to others what I learned.”

“Can you trust that if you are true to yourself, the universe will provide for you?” I asked him.

John thought for quite a while. I could see he was moving through significant inner territory. Then he answered firmly, “Yes, I would.” John’s eyes looked resolute. He had tapped into a bank of faith.

“Then you are in a perfect position to manifest what you want,” I told him.

A week later I received a phone call from John. He was laughing. “You’re never going to believe what happened!” he exclaimed. “After our session I went to visit my father, who has never approved of my lifestyle. We had a good talk and I told him what I wanted to do. Without saying a word, my dad walked to his study and came back with a check for me. When I read the check I was stunned ― it was enough to sustain me for a year.”

During the next six months John took yoga teacher’s training, became certified as a hypnotherapist, and attended the Mastery Training. Then he went off to Nepal, where he meditated in a Tibetan monastery. Later John came to visit me, and he bore no resemblance to the man who had been struggling. He looked happy. Then he returned to Nepal where, I am told, he is meditating peacefully.

The force of your personal evolution, speaking to you through your spirit, is moving you toward the fulfillment of your dreams. Your role is to move with the strongest energy you feel. If, out of fear or insecurity, you try to hold on to something that no longer serves you, you will feel constricted and unfulfilled. If, on the other hand, you give more power and attention to your destiny rather than your history, doors will open in amazing ways.

John had a strong intention to follow his dreams, but his fear was throwing up a thick smoke screen that obscured his vision. When he tapped into his faith, his fear dissipated. Fear and faith cannot coexist in the same mind or place. The antidote to fear is not to push hard against it or buck your way through it. The answer is to tap into a deeper knowing than the level that fear is speaking from. That deep place always exists inside you; your role is to relax into it.

There is a profound difference between fearlessness and courage. Fearlessness means that you are not afraid, so you go ahead and do what you want. Courage means that you feel fear, but you move ahead anyway. That movement is not accomplished through sheer will. It is accomplished through heart. The word “courage” derives from the French word “coeur,” which means “heart.” So the answer to fear is not force; it is heart.

John’s dad has a checkbook, and so does yours. Consider the universe your loving parent who is happy to support you to live the life you would sincerely choose. Then you will not have to make compromises and do something you detest. “If a man’s son asked him for a loaf of bread, would he give him a stone?” Just as you would answer your child’s need, your spiritual source will answer yours. You can ask my friend John, but you might have to go to Nepal to find him.