Have you ever thought of how using a
GPS is a great example of finding your path in life? I had not considered this thought until I was reading Chapter 3 of
Manifesting Change by Mike Dooley. After all, the GPS gives us an insight to the way our journey in life unfolds or how we think our journey will unfold.
If you have a GPS, you know that in order for it to be of help, you have to put in your destination. In the GPS I have, you can also just display a map as you are driving which is nice because you can see from a bird's eye viewpoint all that is around you as you drive down the road. Without entering the destination, the GPS cannot help you find the location to where you desire to go.
So you put in the destination using the steps of the GPS by entering the city/town or zipcode. Then you enter the street and house or building number and if you have entered information that the GPS understands, it comes up with the correct address. Next, you have to tap the button, "GO" because until you do that, it is just an address showing on the screen. Once you do this, you will most likely hear proceed to designated route.
It is at this point that you have to put your car in motion to the proceed to the designated route and begin following the path the GPS is laying out before you. Most of the time, it just visually shows you the immediate upcoming turns guiding you to turn here or there or within so many feet. If you follow what it says, the GPS will guide you to your destination. At times though, the path it has laid out for you to get there will seem uncertain or strange or illogical but if you continue to follow the directions, most of the time you will end up at your destination.
Now, consider how this parallels life. Many of us know where we want to go or what we desire in life and so we enter it in the GPS of our life. We do this through the thoughts, actions, words and ways we spend our energy. It is like what you put in, you get out. Then once we've filled our world with what we are currently aware or conscious of (the address or destination) that goes into our life's GPS), than we proceed to our destination.
However, we often set our GPS up (with things that will help us get there or with things that may take us on a scenic route) and then we say - that's it - that's all I have to do. What a wonderful life (or a wonderful GPS) and that all I have done will just get me where I need to do. I'll just keep doing the thoughts, words, actions and spending my energy like I have. I'll keep repeating mantras, positive thoughts and hanging out with the junkies from the Secret. Of course, there is nothing wrong with any of that. It is all good stuff but here's the catch.
When I was reading this in Mike Dooley's book, it hit me like a 2x4 upside my head. The thing that most of us fail to do is to put the car in gear and let the GPS take us to our destination. We get so hung up on entering our destination and trying to figure out where we are going that we forget to engage the car (ourselves) in a forward motion. How can we expect the GPS (universe) to get us where we are going if we just stand still in life.
Wait though - there's another point in his book that just hit me a little harder. Often if we are headed to a destination that we have never been to before, we have no idea what roads the GPS (universe) will bring up in the display to get us there. It will most likely not be a familiar path we need to travel. Again, if we follow the GPS (universe) along with the roads that show up before us, we will get there. That is, if we trust that the GPS (universe) knows what is the best route for us and that it understands how to get us to our destination.
The point he makes in his book is that we may not often know what is coming up in our travel to the destination but we have to follow the road along. If we stop and analyze every mile and if this road is the right one or if it is turning the wrong direction or if it is too steep or long, we may be throwing ourselves off our path with unnecessary worry. If we stop and worry about whether there will be gas stations along the way or places to eat and rest or if we will be all alone or stuck in traffic, we may be focusing on things that most likely will appear just when we need them.
Let the GPS (universe) of life help guide you along your path because there is something much greater than ourselves that sees the best path ahead for us in our life. This is something that is located within each of us and if we search within the deepest parts of our consciousness and awareness we will find it. It is our connection to the path ahead. Don't worry about the roads may come before us but allow them to unfold as the miles progress. Keep following the GPS and keep trusting that it knows where it is taking you. Most of all, put your life in forward motion because if your life is at a stand still waiting to get to your destination, until you engage the forward motion, you won't get there.
For me personally, I have an idea of where I am going and where I need to go. It is something deep within me that keeps finding ways to prompt me and let me know when I'm headed in the right direction or when I need to take a U-Turn on my journey and recalculate my route. However, the part that is difficult for me is trusting this process. All too often, I want to know every step ahead and have it planned out. I'm sure this is part of the left over remnants from the days where life was out of control and I had no say in what was taking place. While that was something that was was part of my survival, it is no longer that useful to me in my daily journey. In fact, it takes me off my journey forward and keeps me from heading to my destination.
Yes, I've watched the movie, "The Secret" and "What The Bleep" and many other things. They are all great movies but in the end, our journey forward is not located in a movie or other new age concept or any one that says they have the answers for us. Some of these things can help us discover these moments of clarity within ourselves but to find your way, you must look within yourself for the answers. By cleaning out the cobwebs and clutter of your life, life will become more real, sincere and full of answers. Standing in the shadows of your life may be the necessary part to help you begin moving forward but at some point, you have to emerge from the shadows to walk on your journey.
I'm not going to write that any of this is easy to do. In my life, it has been anything but easy. It has been downright difficult. Often I have had to travel by faith that the GPS knew something I did not understand in that moment. There were times that I followed my gut instincts and intuition because it seemed right when in fact, I could not explain why I was doing this. I now understand more that all experiences we have had in life get us to the point where we are now at. At one time not long ago, I had no way to understand this.
If we put our destination into the GPS of our life and put ourselves in a forward motion, we will get where we are going. Yes, we may not even fully understand where that destination is but we can always adjust our route and make a U-Turn if we need to. We can always travel a scenic route while the GPS will recalculate to bring us back to our intended path. The best thing we can do is just keep moving forward and opening ourselves up to the roads that come our way. Knowing that everything we will need is going to show up when we need it is the key to allowing ourselves to move along our path. It may not be easy but if you look back at your life, you will see much of this in action and if it worked for you all these years, it will continue to work for you in the days ahead.
Further Reading: Manifesting Change by Mike Dooley
(c) 12/5/10 by Don Shetterly - use by permission only.
not share them publicly but until I sat down and did this exercise, I had almost missed the significance of them.
