Do you trust life?
My spiritual journey began in 2014 when I read Eat, Pray, Love. I know it’s a little cheesy, but I will always adore this book. It really opened my eyes to spirituality without religion. I didn’t even know this was possible! But once I knew it was, I had to learn more.
I dabbled in meditation, tried prayer for the first time, and wrote letters to the universe. I loved it. It felt so strange to relax and feel like something was looking out for me! A year later, I landed my dream job working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, something I had dreamed of since studying abroad there 2 years prior. I just felt like I could trust the universe and it felt really good.
Since that time there have been moments where I was trusting easily and times when it was very hard. I’ve found myself trying to manifest and plan everything in order to feel safe. I’ve deviated from that sense of trust and unconditional well-being many times. But I’ve just started a new chapter of my life and above all else want to settle back into trust.
But the question is how do we learn to trust? What does it look like? What do we do? I’ll go through a few ways I have learned to trust and hopefully they will help you too.
Look around you. Whenever I actually look at the world around me, I am stunned. We live on a planet that is so spectacular, it’s a little too good to be true. We have mountains, oceans, and flowers. We breathe without thinking about it. Our wounds know how to heal themselves. I mean it’s wild! All of this is life. Life created all we see around us, it created you and me. If life can figure out how to create a planet where nature works perfectly, I think it can definitely take care of us.
Prayer and gratitude. Prayer and gratitude go hand-in-hand in my spiritual practice. The moment I pray, I am immediately reminded of how blessed we all are! If you are having trouble letting go of control in an area of your life, pray about it. Tell the universe you can’t let go and would really like to. Pray for the highest outcome of all. Then list a few things you are grateful for in your mind. This will help you relax and trust in the moment. Remember, prayer is your birthright! You do not need to go to church or be religious to pray. Prayer is always available to you.
Petition the universe. This is from Eat, Pray, Love and is one of my favorite spiritual practices. I reserve it for very difficult moments, but you can use it as often as you like. The idea is to petition the universe for the outcome that you want. Lay it all on the table. Tell the universe what you want and why you want it. Then sign it and ask for the psychic permission of others to sign it. This part is so fun! Go wild. I always have the Obamas and Abe Lincoln sign mine if they agree to it, because why not? Then let it go. Hide the petition away and trust the highest outcome will be yours.
Make a list of all the times things “didn’t go your way” and it was actually for the best. This is such a fun activity! Our minds always think they know what’s best, but they do not. When I write down all of the times shit hit the fan in my life and then worked out perfectly, I am instantly realigned with trust. Remember, time isn’t real! The universe holds all potentials and knows based on our past, present, and future what is going to support our highest good.
Meditate. I think of meditating as the prime time to communicate with the universe. I like to sit down and tell my guides that I am open to receiving any messages they have for me. If something is challenging me, I ask them to tell me why. And they do! If not in my meditation, then they’ll tell me through a sign in a different way. When we meditate we take the time to strengthen our connection to self and source. You don’t have to do it perfectly! Just sit with the intention to get to know yourself and God. Then trust that whatever happens is perfect.
Okay there you have it! These are my favorite ways to cultivate trust in the universe. I have become a much more relaxed and loving person now that most of the time I feel like I can trust. I still have my moments when I don’t, but then I just come back to these activities. Above all else, trust comes with practice. With practice we can see that when we trusted in the past, we were fine, so we can trust again and again and again.
Let go and let God my friends. She knows what she is doing.