Bottom line - Miracles are happening to us and for us, all of us without exception, every minute of every day. The real question to ask yourself is, “Am I open to receive?”
Go ahead. Ask yourself right now. “Am I open to receive?”
I’ll bet your first response was “Well, of course!” Probably with just a wee touch of indignation.
As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?”
Snarkiness aside, saying “I’m open to receive” is just the first step. Taking action is the second. Accepting is the third.
Clearing the Path
Have you prepared yourself to receive miracles in whatever way they come or are you putting restrictions and limitations what your miracles “should” look like? To a large extent, our definition of what qualifies as a miracle may be getting in the way.
How do you define “miracle”?
The word "miracle" is often used to describe an unexpected beneficial event, meaning there is a beneficial outcome. There’s an element of magic and mystery because we think that outcome is somehow unlikely, even though it isn’t contrary to the laws of nature. Things that often count as miracles include falling in love with a soulmate, getting that job you’ve been craving, the exact nugget of wisdom you need arriving at exactly the right moment, surviving a natural disaster, conquering an illness diagnosed as terminal, escaping a life-threatening situation, or anything under the heading of “beating the odds.”
We have this common human mindset that miracles are all fluffy, pretty, happy events.
However, the real commonality is that miracles all have a beneficial outcome. Sometimes, in the thick of things as those miracles are unfolding, they look more like trials or troubles. They can be painful or even perilous. They are still miracles because they are addressing exactly what your soul is yearning to remember and are stepping stones to exactly where you want to be, the awakening that you want to occur. Think about this: Exorcisms and cures, unpleasant as they may be in their process, are considered miracles. Childbirth is a natural miracle, yet it can be excruciatingly painful for both the mom and the baby while it’s happening.
Are you willing to expand your definition so you can be fully receptive and allow miracles to come in whatever way is best for you rather than whatever way you dictate? Are you willing to clear out your preconceived ideas, checklists, and “shoulds,” so miracles can flow freely?
Actively Accepting
Miracles are typically thought of as something new, fresh, and different instead of whatever is here right now. If you are feeling unhappy with something in the here and now, if you are looking outside of yourself for a miracle, you are being nudged to practice acceptance. Miracles come from within. You cannot find them outside of yourself. That’s not where they live.
Acceptance does not mean accepting staying stuck. It does mean retraining yourself to appreciate the wisdom of each present moment as a way to open your eyes and hearts. Every moment, regardless of what is happening, is a miracle of life. Appreciating that is becoming a good steward – when you are faithful and grateful in each moment, you will be given more to be faithful and grateful about. But when you judge moments as “good” or “bad,” you set yourself up for staying in that same place until you get it.
The best way to create something fresh and new, a miracle if you will, is to look inward and clean up your own mess. External “fresh and new” can only cover up your personal toxic waste dump for a little while. Eventually, that mess explodes to the surface again, destroying your new creation. That’s why jumping to a new relationship or job before bringing the old to its conclusion or buying more new “stuff” without cleaning out your closet to make space so rarely works out long term. Those are just covering up the root cause and putting more junk in the way of the real miracles that are knocking on your door. It’s kind of like putting on clean clothes when you desperately need a shower. You might look better, but the stench is still there.
Cleaning up your mess doesn’t mean dwelling on the past as an unhappy place or trotting it out as an excuse. If you keep mulling over the same hurts and screw ups of your past, for whatever reason, you’re stuck and your miracle door is stuck closed. You’ve probably heard the saying, “You can’t drive forward looking in the rearview mirror.”
Let’s say you keep creating the same unsatisfying relationships over and over. Any kind of relationship. Instead of ruminating, feeling down in the dumps, or feeling sorry for yourself, pause. Ask the common denominator in those relationships to reveal itself. Then be open to whatever it is. Chances are you already know the answer. It may not be pretty, but just knowing what it is will be a little miracle itself.
About 20 years ago, it finally dawned on me that the only common denominator in all my relationships and experiences was me. Not my parents or colleagues or lovers – they were an ever-changing cast of characters. I was the only one in each scene. At first, that bummed me out. You mean it wasn’t because my parents screwed me up? Or colleagues dropped the ball? Or I only met guys who were all wrong? After a bit of a pity party, it gradually dawned on me that realizing this put me in the driver’s seat. I could then see the experiential common denominator, what each relationship or incident was re-creating. That led to understanding that my soul loved me enough to keep putting me back in the same situation again and again until I got what it was showing me, which resulted in an understanding that I had asked to be shown this even before being born into this life. And that, of course, made me the originator of my own miracles.
Accepting that little truth opened the door to the greater truth and wisdom of every incident and relationship in my life. And I realized the miracles had always been flowing. I just couldn’t see them.
Here’s the bonus – if you start by cleaning up your mess, fresh and new will create itself automatically.
Going with the Flow
So then it became all about going with the flow, only there was still one more ah-ha.
On the surface, deciding to just let things flow freely from the heart sounds great. What could go wrong, right?
Think of a river. Despite the strength of the main current, eddies, whirlpools, branching creeks, and dead end sloughs can all create detours. Rocks and logs can block the way. All of them can get you sidetracked, stuck, and in places where you can’t see your way out. Staying in the main current, the flow, takes focus and focused action. This can be a delicate dance. Too much and we’re back to trying to control and manipulate. Too little and we are buffeted every which way.
The balance is learning to do your part and allowing the flow to do its part. Your part is cleaning and clearing to allow awareness and gratitude, then allowing the flow to carry you in the best way possible, maybe a way you haven’t considered, rather than fighting it for control. Otherwise, you end up all over the place, directionless, faltering, and frustrated.
Do I Need to Become More Spiritual?
You are already divine by nature. Being a miracle is your birthright as a soul in human form. You are already a a Manifester of Miracles, even if you can't consciously see it quite yet.
Accessing miracles isn’t about becoming more “spiritual” whatever the heck that means. We are spiritual by nature, by creation. "Spirituality" isn't attained by cleaning up your act and becoming a caricature of goodness by someone else's definition. It is in finally recognizing the divine truth of exactly WHO you are right now in each and every moment whether you are lovers or loners, warriors or peaceniks, mediators or rabble-rousers, entrepreneurs or worker bees. Accepting your own I AM....now that's enlightenment! And that is the door that opens to miracles.
Anne Wade is Teacher, Writer, Mentor, and Coach for courageous women in midlife and beyond who want to disrupt their own status quo and design life on their own terms, even in turbulent times. She has developed the Becoming Found process of going within to find and address the inner barriers we have all inadvertently built up against love, happiness, health, wealth and any other desires of our hearts. Teaching women to unapologetically shine like a superstar and live their legacy is Anne’s mission.
You can follow her on her Facebook page “Anne Wade – Becoming found” or join her “Becoming Found” Facebook group.