If you find yourself butting your head against the wall wondering what the hell people mean when they say things like,

“Surrender and make space to receive what wants to come through.”

or

“Pay attention. The answer will come to you when you least expect it.”

well, the story I’m about to share should relieve some tension. It’s an example of what it can look like to stay open to receiving.

Each person will have their own version of what this means. This story highlights has all the elements of how the Universe communicates when I’m really listening: by creating a trail of breadcrumbs in the form of words. All I need to do is be aware enough to notice and follow.

Context…

Before I share, context will help: I’m currently leading a book club focused on Tosha Silver’s “It’s Not Your Money: How to Live Fully from Divine Abundance.”

So the message that comes through the story I’m about to share is very much focused on what we’re learning in the book regarding prayer, surrendering to the Divine (or the Universe, or God, or whatever you want to call it), and abundance. That’s all you really need to know.

Okay. Now, the story.

Be open to signs

Supposedly, since young kids aren’t yet influenced by society, they still have a close connection to their souls. If you’ve been around kids, you’ve noticed they act purely on emotion and instinct. They also don’t doubt themselves. I think this is a pretty good description of someone who’s in tune. It’s something I’ve noticed in my little one.

And when I pay attention, his soul has very important messages for mine. Like the message he shared with me earlier this week.

If I hadn’t been open, the whole sequence of events I’m about to share could have been chalked up as just that: a sequence of events. No meaning at all.

On an afternoon like any other, we were exploring in my office. First he picked up my amethyst. I wasn’t too keen on it because I didn’t want it to break, but I decided to let that go.

Sign No. 1 — What does the Amethyst signify?

According to Energy Muse:

"In the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, amethyst meaning is quite different. Amethyst properties are not of sobriety, but of wealth in this ancient harmonizing technique. If placed in the wealth corner, amethyst can amplify the flow of prosperity into the home.”

Ok, then. Abundance and prosperity. Got it.

Sign No. 2

Then, with the amethyst, he walked over to the table in the corner that’s about his height, and sat down. He patted the ground for me to join him. He got up and went to my pile of tarot and oracle decks.

He could have chosen any deck, but he chose the same one he’d chosen the week before, Seeds of Shakti. The cards he chose last week were very much connected to the book club, and I felt the same with these:

While the book talks about surrendering to the Divine, it’s very much about creating space to honor the wisdom that comes from within. This wisdom is a direct line to the Divine.

And then the second card will make sense when you read about Sign No. 3.

A bit more context…

You have to imagine all this happening through the lens of a toddler. He’s two years old, and his attention span is minimal. He zips back and forth, going from sitting to standing in a flash, picking up what instantly catches his attention.

So he gets up again and chooses a journal from a pile I have on the desk. They range from the year 2013 to this year, 2019. I keep them there with a plan to go through them for possible social media or blog content.

Well, I’ve got that content right here. Check the page he turned to:

Sign No. 3

August 11, 2014
I feel grateful...
- for doing 30 minutes of embodying the body
- for finally watching Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion for Education video
- for finishing Judith Blackstone’s book.
- for doing a 12-minute leg workout.
- for jamming with Byongchan.
- for planning (my lessons) in a chill way.
- that when I looked in the mirror the first thing I saw was BEAUTY.
I’d like to create a prayer for myself. A morning prayer. An intention. A gratitude. It has to be short and also touch my heart. I want it to give me strength.
I don’t want to ask for anything. Who am I speaking to? God. The Universe, Everything is one.
“May I have the strength to follow my heart and to use the skills I’ve been graced with to bring love to into the world.”

Two things I love about this entry:

it shows how I was very much in strive/hustle mode. Look at all the self-development work I was doing! Not that there’s anything wrong with it. But I was clearly dealing with an imposter syndrome gremlin that was telling me I needed to improve myself.
Or another way to look at it: my soul desperately wanted me to get over this stuff so I could live the life I’m living today. No doubt, both these perspectives go hand in hand.
Look at that prayer! Could it be any closer to what we’re reading in “It’s Not Your Money”? No! And could it be more aligned with the life I’m living today? No! Wow. I found the strength to follow my heart — and continue to follow it every day — while I do work that I absolutely love, which I truly believe brings love into the world.

And if that journal page wasn’t enough, here’s the next journal he zipped to and handed to me:

Sign No. 4

Jan. 22, 2016
It’s not the fact that I just got a 1,000,000 won (about $1000 US) bonus out of the blue today that’s blowing me away. It’s the timing of it all. If I ever had a doubt that the Universe had my back (and I was starting to wonder), it’s now dispelled.
I went to bed with the intention of waking up and then praying and meditating before doing anything else. I woke up and I did just that. I left my phone alone, I laid in bed a bit, and tried to pray, and then went to my meditation cushion. For the first time in a long time, I lit a candle and allowed the prayer/intention to come naturally.
I prayed for strength to trust myself so that I could be happy and as a result, serve others. And serve myself so I can serve the world.
But of course, as I walked to my office to print documents for my taxes, an old familiar voce showed up. The one that keeps me small and judges me for being so self-involved. Can’t I stop thinking of myself for a moment?!
And this is why I felt deep in my gut that taking the Yoga Leadership course with Ayurveda Yoga felt right.
But I couldn’t ignore the test I was given. For the first time in a long time, we had to count our money in order to make sure we wouldn’t fall short at the end of the month. Of course we aren’t in any way strapped for cash, but this month was going to be tricky. I had taken out 1,000,000 won to pay for the course. This meant we’d need to be careful until next paycheque.
But then…. BOOM!
The Universe (and my university) provides. My heart is overflowing! I’m in awe and in gratitude for this sign that' I’m on the right track.
My prayer this morning was focused on giving me the strength to see and hear the Divine Goddess’s messages. I see them loud and clear.
I’m back on track.
I am love.

Side note added after my initial entry:

I also want to note how I was going to pick Tosha Silver’s book (Outrageous Openness) before meditating but got a sign to trust myself through the process. This may have been the first step on the path to opening up.

BAM! Can’t make this shit up!

A page about abundance, service, and to top it all off, I write about Tosha Silver?! What?!

So what does this have to do with surrendering?

Everything.

I could have tried to control my kid’s behavior. I was tempted to because I imagined either the amethyst or a widow breaking if he threw the stone.

He also kept sitting in a tiny space where he could’ve bumped his head.

You get the picture. I could have been the helicopter mom. But I let go of that.

And what did I actually receive?

No, I didn’t get money.

And yes, I was only reminded of the money I’d once received.

But if I deny this message, I deny the way the Universe is trying to tell me that I’m on the right track. Because this is what I believe this whole thing was about.

It was the Universe, speaking through my kid’s soul straight to mine, letting me know that if I keep doing what I’m doing, abundance is already with me.

And abundance will keep coming.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because I know you want to do your best and often that best looks like you following the trail of “shoulds” rather than the ambiguous trail of breadcrumbs the Universe lays out.

But if you put aside your “shoulds” once in a while, and make space for this kind of magic, you’ll be surprised at what you find. You might find the abundance you’re craving.

To learn more about the work I do related to letting go of the “shoulds” and creating space to make your soul workflow, check out my About page.

Big love,

Josette

How the hell do I surrender and what does receiving look like anyway? Here’s an example.