One of the critical insights people have on our Creating the Impossible program is the moment when they realize that their own efforts are not going to be enough to bring about the creation of their impossible goal or dream for themselves or the world.
For some people, this discovery is accompanied by disappointment, denial, anger, and frustration. After all, they've signed up for the program to discover their capacity to create beyond the limits of their current imagination, and then they find out for themselves that they can't do it through sheer force of will or massive action.
But some people express relief at the very same discovery. It confirms something they've long suspected but were never comfortable articulating:
We are not in control of the universe.
Fortunately for both groups of people, we don't need to be. Here's an analogy I often use to illustrate this point...
Imagine you are walking along a mountain path with two invisible giants by your side. To the left of the path is a rock face extending up for as far as the eye can see; to the right is a sheer drop, extending downwards into apparent nothingness.
You are excited at the prospect of finally arriving at your next destination when you see the path ahead of you blocked by an enormous boulder. You push with all your might, but despite your best efforts, you can only move the boulder a few inches.
Defeated but not yet discouraged, you decide to work smarter, not harder. You find a long and sturdy tree branch, and using a small rock that has fallen by the side of the path you create a lever strong enough to move the rock a full foot away from the rock wall to your left. It's a tight squeeze, but with only minimal scraping of your hand and knees you are able to sneak through the gap and get through to the other side.
You feel an incredible sense of accomplishment at the near completion of your heroic quest and the triumphant conquering of a seemingly unconquerable obstacle. Weary from your efforts but filled with the adrenaline of victory, you push on your journey towards the final destination...
Now imagine you are back on the mountain path, two invisible giants once again at your side. This time, when you come across the enormous boulder you give it a try but quickly realize your strength will not be enough. You turn to the giants for assistance, and between them they easily remove the boulder long enough for you to pass through and continue on your way.
You feel no particular sense of accomplishment. You don't want or need a medal for your efforts. But you do feel humbled by the enormity of the journey you have set out on and grateful for the fact that you don't have to travel that journey on your own. That energy of humility and gratitude carries you effortlessly forward on the path towards the final destination...
The question, of course, is what powerful forces available to all of us at any time do those two invisible giants represent?
1. The creative force
One of the things that all human beings have in common is the ability to think new thoughts - to get insights and ideas from out of the blue that bring with them a renewed sense of possibility and a rush of deeper feelings. Where this flow of fresh thoughts and inspired ideas actually comes from is a mystery and probably destined to remain so.
Some people call it "the creative mind"; others refer to an "impersonal intelligence". Lately, I've taken to simply describing it as "the blue" - the field of pure potentiality where possibilities that have yet to come to light of are waiting for us to think them into being.
Whatever you call it, this "giant" resource is always available to us, and even the most difficult of situations will succumb to its simple, quiet wisdom. In my experience, the longer I'm willing to not know what to do without trying to force an answer, the more insightful and effective the answers are when they come.
2. The invisible web of seven billion people
The second resource we all have available to us are the seven billion people living on the planet alongside us. We may not know them and we may not know how to get to them, but even now there are people who could assist you in solving your problems and creating your dreams if only they knew what you wanted to create and were enrolled in the value of its creation.
It's amazing to me how often people want to go it alone, "winning through willpower" rather than risking rejection at the hands of our fellow human beings. But even those who do ask for assistance often do it with either arrogance ("You owe me - it's not fair that you've got ____ and I've only got ______") or desperation ("Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi - you're my only hope!")
The invisible web of 7 billion people will supply you with pretty much everything you could need in the world of form, but you do have to ask - and chances are that at first, your asking will need to take you outside your current circle of friends and your current zone of comfort. If you focus on the benefits - for the other person and for the world - it's surprising how often people will delight in assisting you on your quest.
So in the end, it is up to you - not to make things happen, but to take the time to listen for the whispers of the creative force and to make the requests of others that will bring what you most want to create into being.
Have fun, learn heaps, and the next time it feels like you're being heroic, pushing with all your might and sacrificing all for the sake of your goal, STOP. There are two invisible giants waiting to help you just as soon as you let them.
With all my love,
For more by Michael Neill, click here.