Struggling against the universe?
Why not team up with it instead? (3min read)
“I’m a reverse paranoiac; I’m quite certain the world is conspiring to make me happy.” — Matthew McConaughey in Harmony Korine’s The Beach Bum
First nature whispers…
Then it speaks…
Then it screams.
Sometimes it feels like we’re struggling against the universe to get anything to go our way.
Is that really the case, or is nature actually trying to guide us a different way that will ultimately be more beneficial, even if we can’t see it yet?
In the last issue, we discussed the idea of learning by “doing our own research” in order to gain the highest quality information possible—direct experience.
Here’s a story about some “research” I did over summer and what I learned.
Earlier this year, I was living in Ibiza—but this was quite the opposite of a luxury vacation. I was no longer working full-time in the music industry, and so taking advantage of the island’s simpler, slower, more affordable side with my good friend Paul was much more economical than life in Los Angeles.
I had initially gone for my annual retreat The Art of Areté, but felt charmed to stay longer teaching meditation.
After a while however, I started to encounter a bit of “guidance” masquerading as resistance. Affordable accommodations became scarce, the weather became unbearably hot, our basic dwelling had water shortages, and my first run-in with COVID had left me feeling unwell for weeks.
Nature was whispering “maybe it’s time for a change”…
The subtle current was guiding me away, but I felt charm to stay, so I intellectualized this guidance as resistance and attempted to push through.
Paul and I made a non-refundable rent downpayment for the next month.
After only a few days however, I got news my grandmother would pass imminently.
My desire to see her and support my family far outweighed the pain of losing that rent money—and so I was rendered choiceless.
Nature was now speaking at full volume, “go be with family”…
I arrived a few days before her transition and was glad I had made the decision I did.
After the funeral, I was eager to get back on the road, but my post-COVID symptoms intensified severely, and I found myself bedridden.
I could barely even pour myself a glass of water, let alone travel back to Europe, and so I was once again choiceless.
Nature was now screaming, “your time here isn’t over!”
As days turned into weeks without relief from the post-COVID malaise, I found myself feeling more and more grateful I had come to be with family when I did.
It was the worst I had ever felt in my life, and I really needed their care.
My mom was also still grieving the recent loss and so appreciated me being there.
Just as I was starting to improve and once again making plans to hit the road, category 4 Hurricane Ian blindsided us and decimated much of the area.
Nature, still screaming, made it clear “you’re not going anywhere yet!”
It would have been very difficult for my older parents to make preparations, evacuate, and navigate the post-apocalyptic conditions after the storm, but thankfully, nature had parked me there so I could help.
Sitting in the dark eating cold pizza, we realized I had been sent there and kept there for a number of reasons which were continuing to unfold, and that we could never have organized things as perfectly as nature had.
Had I stayed in Ibiza, I wouldn’t have had access to the medical care and support I needed, and my grieving parents wouldn’t have had any help with the hurricane.
I briefly regretted not following nature when she first started whispering, so I could have saved that rent money, but quickly realized that while I may have lost the money, I gained a valuable reminder about surrendering “small self” desires to nature’s grand plans—a reminder worth well more than a month’s rent.
By trying to push through what I perceived as resistance, I had gained direct experience about the difficulty of fighting against the powerful current of nature and a high-quality answer to this essential question:
There is so much evidence that life does quite well on its own. The planets stay in orbit, tiny seeds grow into giant trees, weather patterns keep forests watered, and a single fertilized cell grows into a beautiful baby.
All these amazing events and countless more are being carried out by forces of life that have been around for billons of years—the very same forces of life that we are consciously pitting our will against on a daily basis.
Am I better off making up an alternate reality in my mind and then fighting with reality to make it be my way?
Or am I better off letting go of what I want and serving the same forces of reality that managed to create the entire perfection of the universe around me?
—Mickey Singer, The Surrender Experiment
So how can we better attune our antennae to nature’s guiding frequencies?
The practice of Vedic Meditation, of course. Without this, we end up having our lives guided by the impulses from the stress we’re carrying around, which can cause us to move toward some pretty unsustainable and non-life-supporting behaviors. So be warned!
Let’s discuss during Collective Effervescence, our online group meditation series, this Sunday November 27 at 8am LA / 11am MIA / 5pm EU. Drop in for meditation only (first 30 min) or stay for a discussion + Q&A about various life topics from the Vedic perspective.
Art this week by Stefy Loret
