October was a rough month.
I broke electronics, my car got hit in the parking lot, and when my laptop was stolen- my words, words that I had spent countless hours perfecting, a book that I was in the middle of writing, poems that had poured from my heart- were gone in an instant. It was like losing someone. Losing a part of me.
Slumped into a mini-depression, I tried to tell myself it had happened for a reason, but honestly I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I avoided friend’s calls, I watched angry woman TV, and for the first time in many months, I put down my writing pen.
Then out of the funk, I heard about Oprah’s Life You Want Weekend, an inspirational experience aimed to help you re-discover the life you’ve always wanted to live. I knew I wanted to attend, but with hundreds of dollars spent on fixing electronics, the car, and a broken window from the robbery, I just didn’t think I could afford it.
This is how God works in mysterious ways.
Although I knew I couldn’t afford it, I manifested it to become a reality. I put my order into the Universe and said, “I would really like to see Oprah, even though I know it is expensive. I believe it’s something I need right now to pull me out of the darkness.”
The wish was put out on Wednesday night. I fell asleep and the next day I received a text message from a friend who had tickets to Oprah: “Hey did you still want those tickets to Oprah?”
I’ve been listening to Oprah and Deepak Chopra’s 21 day meditations since the very start back in 2012. I remembered the deep words of wisdom and sense of comfort I received from hearing Oprah and Deepak speak. I would often go on my daily walks listening to them and return to join them in meditation. Receiving that text message from my friend was validation that I knew I had to attend the Life You Want Weekend.
As luck would have it, my friend couldn’t find someone to buy her ticket so she gave it to me at a reasonable price. Within less than a day of manifesting, I was headed to Miami’s American Airlines Arena to watch Oprah- someone I had been inspired by before I even knew what inspiration was!
Lesson 1: Ask For It
I know I would never have attended the Life You Want Weekend if I didn’t ask the Universe for the chance to go. The truth is: life can drag us down and then we forget the power of our own intention. Mindfully asking for what you desire is the only way to push the desire from a random thought into a reality. Manifesting Destiny is one of the first things Oprah talked about that night.
She read us a passage from her favorite poem, “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I recognized how easily I had given up my power this month. Things had gone wrong in my life and instead of steering the ship, I had just given up. I had let go and retreated and silenced my soul. I had stopped writing…the beautiful poetry that flowed through my veins had dried up and I had allowed it. I knew in that moment with Oprah on the stage that I had to get back to manning my ship.
Lesson 2: Find a Prayer Chair
I watch Super Soul Sunday every week on the OWN Channel and I dream that one day I will be sitting in that chair next to Oprah under her huge oak tree being interviewed by her as we sip on tea. On the Life You Want tour Oprah spoke about that tree and that chair. It’s a place she often sits, she calls it her prayer chair. She says everyone should have a prayer chair, “a place to renew yourself…to recognize that there is no life without a spiritual life.”
I make meditation a part of my daily practice, but I don’t have a continuous sanctuary that I feel is my own. Her words inspired me to find a prayer chair. But since I still haven’t found one, I now just go to a beautiful place at least once a week and I spend time connecting with nature, with the divine, and with myself.
Lesson 3: Let It Feed You
Oprah says you don’t have to be doing something profound to be honoring your calling. No matter what job you do, make sure you are doing it in service. Ask yourself: how am I helping people by doing this job? She says everybody has a calling they must honor. Sometimes you can get paid for it. Sometimes you won’t. And if you are not being paid for your life’s calling, “let it feed you.”
My mind was blown. Even though I am not currently being paid for writing my books, that doesn’t mean that my writing has no value. It has immense value…to ME.
In that moment, I knew why my writing was stolen. It was because I didn’t value it. I didn’t let it feed me. Instead, I wrote in the hopes that someone was going to read it and tell me how amazing I was. That someone ELSE was going to give it value. What if I was just supposed to write to let it feed me? What if those writings were just my catharsis? My emotional release? That there was a greater book inside me that needed to be written now.
Lesson 4: Believe
Throughout my life I have fluctuated from faithful to faithless. It can be hard to see the good when you wallow in the bad. When things are going good- they are great. When things are going bad- they are horrible. As I was watching Oprah, I was reminded of all the times in my life when I have been truly aligned with my purpose: to help people, to spread light, and to raise the vibration. When I am aligned, I am never filled with doubt or fear or anxiety. I am filled with faith.
Oprah said something so simple and so profound. “I know I’m God’s child, so why should I worry?”
That was my missing ingredient! Faith! Just believing.
As if to reinforce this simple message, as I was leaving God placed a police car in front of me. It sped by quickly and cut me off.
And on the bumper sticker it said:
————————————————————————————————————————————-
About Suki Eleuterio
Suki Eleuterio is a blogger, spiritualist, yoga enthusiast and poet living in South Florida. She is the founder of Found My Light, and the creative mind behind Sookton’s Space. She enjoys writing and discussing spirituality, holistic health, and vegetarianism. Growing up in Kenya with parents from different religious and cultural backgrounds, Suki has spent time finding her own path. You can follow her musings on Twitter and Instagram.
0 Comments