Hi, I’m Saachi!

If life feels like a chore, like you’re constantly uneasy waiting to achieve something, you’re in the right place.

It turns out this forcing is the very thing blocking the magic.

Every week, I write about the science, stories, and experiments you can run to prove it to yourself. ✨

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A couple of years ago, I let myself binge YouTube for days on something my mind kept calling the biggest waste of time.

And it turned into one of the most effortless transformations of my life.

I know how silly that sounds. But this small, low-risk story is going to show you exactly how following your intuition can bring any of your goals to life...

especially the lower-risk ones you’re willing to let go of, so you can build the proof to do the same on your big life goals.

The silly little story I promised you

Dressing well has always been one of my goals. I know, it sounds trivial. Stay with me though, because the size of the goal is the whole point.

A couple of years ago, I was at my parents’ place for summer break with my kids. I was bored of my wardrobe and wanting to refresh how I looked.

Over the years I’d picked up all kinds of clothes impulsively while shopping, and a lot of them didn’t go together at all.

My goal was simple: cut the junk and find a smart capsule wardrobe style that felt easy and second nature. But how do you even start?

A little before this, I’d started journaling and following the curiosity experiment, jotting down every idea and thought without judgment into my notes app.

(If you want to start there, here’s last week’s post —>)

So I set the intention to dress better. And one day, in my notes, I wrote down a single small idea: check out capsule wardrobes on YouTube.

That’s how I found Lydia Tomlinson’s channel.

It seemed like a light bulb moment and I followed the itch.

From there, I gave myself a free pass to binge. Endlessly. For days.

I took screenshots. I started pairing clothes from my wardrobe every single day to fit this style. I went deep.

This was something I would never have let myself consciously do before, because my mind would have called it the biggest waste of time.

But it was an experiment, and I had a free pass, so I went with it.

And boy, was it fun.

From there it got effortless. I experimented daily with capsule pairings. I culled my wardrobe by 50%.

I kept only the pieces that fit my new style, and it improved how I looked dramatically. Family members started complimenting me. So did the mothers at my daughters’ school.

I went so deep, so freely, that it changed my style forever.

I genuinely don’t know how I’d go back to the way I used to dress. I can barely even remember what that was.

What this actually taught me

Like I said, this story might sound silly and pointless.

But here’s the point:

Following your intuition, especially on your smaller, lower-risk goals, is the easiest way to feel how effortless achieving a goal can actually be.

It only asks one thing of you.

Permission.

Permission to follow freely, without judgment, second-guessing, or doubt, no matter how illogical it sounds.

Permission to go deep even while your mind keeps insisting you’re wasting time, get back to work.

That’s exactly why it works so well on the lighter, smaller goals first.

They’re safe enough to let go of. But the more you do this, the more you’ll watch your goals arrive in your life almost effortlessly.

Don’t get me wrong, you are participating. You are doing the work. It just feels effortless, because there’s no friction between thought and action.

What’s really going on here

This is what walking the path of alignment looks like.

The more you let your intuition speak freely, the louder it gets.

The more you hear it, the more reassurance you get that yes, this is what you actually want. And then you follow it.

This is the path to discovering your ‘personal legend,’ as Paulo Coelho would say, and living up to your highest potential.

Think of your intuition as an intelligent guidance system that’s quietly coordinating with the universe to bring your goals to life.

The guidance won’t always make sense at the moment.

But when you follow it anyway, you participate intelligently, and you reach your goals effortlessly.

That’s the magic: when you do what lights you up, led by your intuition, outcomes start to organize around you.

Your free pass for this week

So this week, we take the curiosity experiment one step further.

First, a quick word on last week. We ran a 7 day experiment just to begin hearing what our intuition wanted to say, without judgment, without shutting it down.

What did you come up with? Did anything surprise you? I absolutely love this experiment, and I still do it daily.

Here’s the quick refresher (skip if you’ve read it):

Keep a fresh notes page open on your phone, called the Curiosity Experiment.

Or carry a small notebook and pen in your pocket.

Every time a thought or idea comes, no matter what it is, write it down without judgment or commentary. That’s the key.

Catch it like a sneaky journalist following your intuition around.

This week, we go further. I want you to follow an idea - any one idea.

Allow yourself to follow it as deeply as your intuition wants you to, exactly like you saw in my capsule wardrobe story.

The steps are simple:

• Take one idea or thought from your notebook this week.

• Ask yourself: what’s the next small step I could take to explore it?

• Then give yourself the free pass to just do it. Endlessly, no time limit. Let it consume you, no matter how deep you want to go.

• Explore it without judgment, and see where it takes you.

• Have fun with it! It’s a free pass, after all.

This dive might last a day. It might last months.

Don’t force it. When your curiosity moves on, move on.

You got what you came for. The only rule: don’t question it.

Don’t ask ‘what’s the point.’ It’s a free pass.

When you do this freely, you may find a smaller goal begin to arrive in your life effortlessly, exactly like my capsule wardrobe.

You won’t always know in the moment why you’re going so deep. But at some point, the dots connect.

And when they do, document it. That’s how we build proof that this magic is real.

If you want to go deeper, or you have questions about the experiment, I’d love to hear from you. Comment ‘EXPERIMENT’ below and I’ll reach out personally to check in.

This is a big step in learning how to live with this magic! I wish you all the best.

Hi, I’m Saachi!

If your life and the tasks in it feel like a chore (as they do for me at times), you’ve forgotten the point.

We think we should do things to control the outcome. But when we do what lights us up, outcomes organize around us.

Subscribe for weekly reads on how to self-experiment with this magic and build the proof for yourself.

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Do your mornings feel heavy?

You have to get up, show up, and perform again. Pretend to care about things that stopped meaning anything to you a long time ago.

Part of you doesn’t want to. But the bills are real, so you suck it up and you go.

You tell yourself it’s worth it for the weekend, the vacation, the little pleasures the paycheck buys. For a while, that justification worked. Lately, it isn’t working…

I lived in that for years. Until the day it all came out of me at once, in a one on one with my boss, the tears just exploding out for no reason I could name.

Nothing was wrong. And yet everything in me was saying something was very wrong.

That feeling has a name. It’s called misalignment.

It’s what happens when you force yourself to do something for reasons that have nothing to do with actually wanting to.

And it’s not fear.

Fear is when you want something, push through the nerves, and feel alive on the other side. Misalignment is the opposite. You force yourself to show up, and even after, you still feel terrible.

Does that sound like where you are right now?

The only exit you can see

So you’re exhausted from forcing it. And the only way out your mind offers is to quit. Walk away. Go do something completely different.

But that feels enormous.

What would I even do instead?
How would I know it would work?
What about the money holding my whole life together?

So you don’t move. You stay stuck, telling yourself this is just how life is.

It might not be the job

I know, because I picked the dramatic door myself.

Right after that day with my boss, I quit. Then I threw myself into one venture after another, thinking the missing piece was passion.

If I was truly passionate about it, I’d make it work. Each one felt exciting for a while. And each one, in time, left me feeling exactly the way I had in the job I walked away from.

The heaviness had followed me everywhere.

That’s when I realized, maybe it wasn’t the job, but something I was doing in all of them.

Here’s the tell. If you once loved this job before it slowly turned into a chore, the job probably isn’t the issue.

For me, it wasn’t the job. It was the way I was showing up in it.

(Sometimes quitting really is the aligned move, when something real has been calling you and you’ve buried it because the job feels safer. If that’s you, you already feel it. But many times, quitting feels like the only option when the truth is we don’t know what other options are there)

So how was I showing up at the job?

Think about how you actually spend your days at work.

Present it this way. Soften your opinion so it gets approved. Sound smart in the meeting.

Take on projects that bolster your case for a promotion. Run the same process everyone runs: benchmark, pull the best practices, optimize, repeat.

That constant performing, doing all of it to control the outcome, is the misalignment.

And underneath it is a voice you’ve been talking over for years. Call it curiosity. Call it intuition.

It’s the pull that tells you what you’re drawn to, the thing that gives you those little tingles when something truly interests you.

It’s those creative ideas that show up at work, the ones we shut down the moment they appear because they don’t sound logical enough, or because we’re scared they’ll make us look dumb.

When you ignore that voice and perform for the outcome, work feels like a chore.

Follow it instead, and the very same work starts to feel alive.

A new angle on a campaign. An idea out of nowhere. A spark you actually want to chase.

This is the whole shift.

You don’t have to quit to feel that. You just have to start listening.

Now you might be wondering: if these ideas seem illogical, or might make me look dumb, how am I ever supposed to act on them?

Intuition feels illogical because your rational mind can’t see the whole picture. It catches connections your logic misses. That’s exactly why trusting it feels risky at first. But put it into practice, and you start to see doors opening… illogically :) More on this in next week’s newsletter!

This week, you don’t have to act on anything at all. You just have to start listening.

7 Days of Curiosity

So before we meet again next week, I want you to try an easy experiment. It’s the simplest way I’ve found to start hearing your intuition again.

Open a new note on your phone notes app. Or if you like writing with pen and paper, keep a small pocket notebook.

Every morning, write today’s date. This quick action helps you remember the experiment daily.

For the next 7 days, write down every idea or thought your brain throws at you, however random or wild or dumb it seems.

The sudden urge to understand photosynthesis. An ad that caught you for a reason you can’t name.

Don’t make any of it connect to your job or your goals. Just catch it as it comes.

One rule: no commentary.
No “this is pointless,” no “that would never work.” You’re a journalist on assignment. So record, don’t judge.

This is a record of creative thoughts and ideas that come to you without the imminent judgement or commentary that follows.

Because those out-of-nowhere ideas are a way of how your intuition speaks to you.

A few real captures from mine, exactly as messy as they came:

• Capsule wardrobe, how to dress well without thinking about it. Follow LT on YouTube.

• The difference between misalignment and fear. How do you actually tell them apart? Go through old journal entries.

• Look up photosynthesis and that quantum possibilities experiment. So cool.

• That ad concept I came across yesterday on Instagram, could any of it work for this startup?

• Read Sugarman’s book on advertising. Old school, all about psychology.

• Richard Claremont’s intuitive painting course. Art sounds exciting to me for the first time! Buy it and try it.

• Check out Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks!

Do it for seven days. Just capture. Then read them back the same way you collected them, as the journalist, with no judgment.

This week is only about listening. The whole point is to let that inner voice speak freely again, without getting shunned the moment it does.

The more we let it speak, the stronger it grows. And slowly, it comes back into command.

That’s how we start living to our highest potential, joyfully and vibrantly, in every moment.

Next week, we take this experiment a bit further, and we start following our intuition.

You might be stunned by how much spark is hiding in the exact place that’s felt like a chore.

So, are you starting this week?
All you need is a note open on your phone and an open mind.
Comment below so I can follow your journey! I’ll be right here walking it with you. See you next week! :)

Most of us believe forcing a plan against our will is the way to achieve, even when our heart isn’t in it. We power through the day doing what we should, for goals we think we should want.

“I don’t want to do this, but I have to if I want to win.”

“No pain, no gain. This is just what it takes.”

We tell ourselves it’ll all be worth it someday, that this is what being a responsible adult takes.

But what if it couldn’t be further from the truth?

Watch how life actually unfolds and you’ll see it works the opposite way.

Clinging to fixed plans blocks the magic, the possibilities waiting to open up in your life.

So if your life feels like a chore, what you’re doing isn’t working.

Life unfolds miraculously when you participate in sync

We do things we think we should in order to control outcomes.

But when we follow our heart, the outcomes organize themselves around what we do.

Here’s why. Contrary to what we believe, we aren’t separate from this universe. We are a cell in the universe organism, and the universe is an extension of us.

Our rational mind can’t see the whole. It only sees our small perspective as a single cell, so it keeps forcing us to choose options that don’t work in sync with the larger organism.

But we have a magical connection to that organism, accessible in every moment. It’s just not as loud or as rational as our mind. This is our intuition. Call it curiosity, the pull, the heart.

It’s an intelligent guidance system that shows us how to act in sync with the unfolding of reality. Just as the cells in our heart and brain know what to do to keep the whole body alive and thriving, so do we, if we’d just stop thinking and getting in the way.

This isn’t a diss on hard work, just the opposite.

Forcing a fixed path assumes it’s the only way, so you blind yourself to the doors swinging open right next to you.

Following the pull is how you live out your personal legend!

The proof

I love spotting these stories, in the things I read, in the lives of others, in nature. I came across one earlier this year that stuck with me.

Alysa Liu won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating this February in Milan.

Her story is interesting and one where she actively switches from force to pull.

Growing up, she had a plan that seemed to be working. She became the youngest U.S. figure skating champion at 13. She made the Beijing Olympics at 16.

Then she quit.

In April 2022, she announced she was retiring to focus on her mental health and just be a normal teenager. For two years, she wasn’t a skater. She went to UCLA. She hiked to Everest base camp. She lived.

Then something pulled her back.

When she returned, she returned on the condition to do it her way.

The halo hair. The “smiley” piercing. The Lady Gaga programs. She ate what she wanted, wore what she wanted, skated how she wanted. She said her only goal that day wasn’t to win, it was to do programs she loved.

She won gold in Milan. The first American woman to win the individual title in 24 years.

For years she’d believed, like most of us do, that becoming a gold medalist required forcing a fixed diet, a fixed look, a fixed routine.

“I don’t want to do it, but I should if I want to win.”

That wasn’t true.

If your heart says otherwise, follow it. Let those possibilities open up. When you follow your heart, you’re all in. You’re joyful. And you participate intelligently in the universe.

Now, you may be thinking this is a nice story, but what about all the others who followed their heart and weren’t as lucky?

We don’t know everyone’s story. But you can look into yours and find your own proof.

The way I landed my dream job, found the love of my life, and got so many other things I’ve wanted, all happened through what we call “luck.”

But luck is actually what happens when you allow possibilities to stay open and you participate with them intelligently.

Usually our rational mind says no to the very things our intuition nudges us toward. Call that person. Click on that website. Just apply to this job even if the page looks vague and silly (that was my case). And so we block the possibilities before they can open. We ignore the nudge, call it illogical, tell ourselves it will never work.

You’ve already lived this proof.

Find your own proof

So go back through your life and find the serendipitous moments that just worked out. Maybe it was a job you landed. Maybe it was how you met your partner, or how a trip somehow came together perfectly.

Then notice the pattern in how you were acting. Were you forcing, or were you flowing?

Were you gripping a fixed plan, stressed and anxious or were you playful and open?

I think you’ll find that in the lucky, serendipitous moments, you took a chance. You followed your heart, didn’t overthink it, and just went for it…and things worked out.

Sometimes you participated more, sometimes less. But you participated intelligently. You let the sync of the universe work through you.

The reminder

If you’re forcing your way through life, you’re misaligned. I was too, and still am at times.

So remind yourself, over and over: if life feels like a chore, what you’re doing won’t work, at least not for the reasons you’re doing it for.

The great news: when you follow your heart and lead with joy, that is how you get the outcomes you want too.

Follow the pull, the curiosity, the intuition. Then watch the miracles show up.

Joy is the path, not the reward!

Curious about experimenting with this in your own life? Comment below so I can share the life experiments I've been running!

This week’s reminder

Most of us feel like something is wrong with us if we have multiple interests.

If you’re someone who constantly takes up new things, goes deep, and then abandons them… chances are you were told you’ll never be successful.

That without discipline you’ll waste away your talents, or that you just don’t have what it takes to succeed.

In this day and age, unless you master one thing and make a socially celebrated income from it, it doesn’t count as success. So we tend to postpone or ignore our multiple interests and force one direction to become our vocation, our calling in life.

I did that.

It turns out that if you’re like me, you’re not alone. And more importantly, you’re not a failure!

I recently read Barbara Sher’s Refuse to Choose!, and that book helped me change my perspective. If you’re pulled in many directions, going deep and then swerving, Barbara’s insight is that you already got what you came for from that project.

The intent was never to go all the way. That one idea is so refreshing.

If you got what you came for, and every interest doesn’t need to be a five-year career plan, that’s a relief.

And more importantly, it becomes a magical puzzle to follow towards discovering your personal legend (as Paulo Coelho would say).

Your curiosity and intuition are carrying you through these interests to discover something new about yourself, to learn something that will make sense later when all the dots connect.

This is you becoming the full, uninhibited expression of life you were meant to be!

So trust your intuition, follow your curiosity, and do it all. Prioritize, sequence, time-cap… do what you must, but follow it all. It’s there for a reason.

The dots will all connect in hindsight!

Moment of wonder

I recently read the biography of Leonardo da Vinci. Turns out he was a “scanner,” as Barbara would say, a man of multiple interests, plenty of abandoned ones too, who followed his curiosity in an age where that was celebrated.

His notebooks are what struck me!

From birds to flying machines, to human anatomy, to using ‘fire mirrors’ for welding, to water, light, and the movement of muscles, he let his curiosity wander, go deep, and switch freely.

He was a polymath of the first order: artist, engineer, anatomist, inventor, scientist. How exciting!

He gave the world some of its most iconic paintings, but he let his whole life unfold uninhibitedly, and that’s something we can all learn from.

Follow your curiosity even when it wanders onto the most unconnected things. Go deep where you’re called, then switch. You never know how the dots will connect for you.

Walk the path of your own personal legend.

This week’s reminder

Most of us think curiosity is a distraction. Something to ignore or park for later while we focus on the responsible thing. We don’t trust it because we can’t see the whole picture yet. We don’t know how this small inclination connects to what we truly want.

But curiosity is how our intuition speaks to us. It is the inner voice that connects us to everything around us and guides us to participate intelligently in the unfolding of life. It shows us a path more intelligent than what our limited minds can rationalize or our senses can perceive.

That is why it feels like a distraction. But it isn’t. It is the way.

Follow your curiosity and you build luck. Desires come into reality. Life becomes miraculous.

Moment of wonder

Yesterday I attended a talk by Nobel laureate Klaus von Klitzing, who won the 1985 Nobel Prize for the discovery of the Quantum Hall Effect.

It was phenomenal to see his mind at work. But what struck me was how he made this beautiful discovery.

At 2am on the night of February 4th 1980, while running experiments on a completely ordinary silicon transistor, Klaus noticed something unexpected in his data. A tiny anomaly. A discrepancy so small that every other scientist who saw the same results dismissed it entirely.

But something in him pushed him to look closer. To ask why.

That small act of curiosity, the one everyone else ignored, led to one of the most significant discoveries in physics and a Nobel Prize.

Curiosity is not the distraction. It’s the path.

If you’re in a constant swirl of overthinking, know that there’s a way out and a much more blissful, peaceful way to live. Overthinking makes us feel heavy, overwhelmed, anxious, like everything we’re doing is a chore.

If you’re feeling any of this, know that overthinking is at the root of it.

“Thinking is the root cause of suffering” - Joseph Nyugen

Beyond the unpleasant feelings, overthinking is detrimental to our life because it blocks intuition and leads us to take actions that cause more overthinking.

It’s a deadly spiral.

Anxiety is what happens when you stop listening to yourself

We overthink because we are out of alignment. We are taking actions that we don’t actually want to take…we feel we “should” be doing things instead of wanting to do them out of love and inspiration.

And while you may understand this logically, you may be wondering, “What is it that I really want to do?”

The fog has an answer hidden inside it

Many times, we need to discover that answer because it’s not always clear. It’s lost in the fog of overthinking that has surrounded us for so long.

So the first step to coming out of overthinking and all the negative feelings that come with it is to get clarity on what it is that we truly desire.

Empty your cup to receive guidance

If you are overthinking, here is a great way to get out of it and get clarity.

Every time you catch yourself overthinking, journal.

Write out what you’re thinking word-for-word without editing. Let it all out - your whole stream of consciousness if you will. Don’t think about how it sounds or what you’re even saying. Don’t try to limit it or phrase it in a particular way. Don’t judge it. There is no right or wrong…

It doesn’t matter if you write a sentence or 2000. Just write out anything and everything your mind is saying in that moment. It could be multiple topics or just one thing you’re obsessing over…it doesn’t matter!

Once you let it all out in your journal, you should feel relief or some sense of release…It’s the feeling you get when you’ve vented out everything that’s on your mind. If more is coming, keep writing…There’s no right or wrong! You’ll know when you’re done.

The question that lets your intuition speak

When you’re done writing what you’re thinking, you can ask a question. A big one for me was to understand what I wanted to do professionally…or rather to understand what I wanted to dedicate my life to…my vocation.

Ask and write out the question

“What would I truly want to do if I had unlimited money, success, fame, and all my material desires met?

What would I do just because it makes me happy, curious, or inspired?”

While this is a big question to answer…you could use this process for any question, big or small, that you seek clarity on.

Get out of your mind and transcribe your thoughts

Once you write the question, start writing whatever comes to your mind, similar to the previous exercise. No editing, no judgement, no analysis…just free flow whatever comes to your mind.

If you feel like your mind is blank and no words are coming out, that’s okay! Write that out!

Don’t force an answer. Just know that the answer will come to you eventually, if not in that moment. Do this exercise as if you’re an independent transcriber just writing out whatever is on your mind. Move on and carry on with your day.

And the next time you’re overthinking (which could just be an hour later), repeat the same exercise.

How to tap into your intuition

What I’ve noticed is when you ask a question this way, you will receive an answer on paper.

This is your intuition answering your questions. This is what you truly want.

It may not come out the first time you write…sometimes it will…regardless, if you repeat this exercise every time you overthink…the answers will come and they will change your life, if you allow them to.

After you receive the answer, ask yourself, “How do you feel about this answer?”

Writing about how you feel is a sure shot way to know whether that is what you truly want to do.

Do you feel inspired, lighter, excited, or joyful?

Don’t let fear or judgement stop you here. Fear and judgement will likely pop up right about now.

Fear is not a stop sign

But fear and judgement are not indicators of not doing something. Fear and judgement pop up all the time when we go into the unknown. They are a companion to being courageous and in alignment so don’t let them deter you.

So let’s try it…Assuming everything you feared and judged was taken care of, what is it you truly want to do?

Follow that path to clear the fog…

As I woke up today I’ve been itching to express this. It’s almost like I got an epiphany.

I’ve been searching for a deeper purpose in life.

First through startups, money, success... then through art...

maybe if I completely removed external validation and people pleasing from my life, that gives me purpose and fulfillment to show up everyday.

But I’ve realized what is even more powerful, beautiful, and ironically simple is the act of service.

Service is a form of unconditional love.

The act of taking action with unconditional love whether for the work itself (as in art), yourself, or others.

No strings attached, not doing it for reasons other than the service itself.

And it is that intent in all our actions that gives us satiating purpose in life.

So what is this act of service?

The act of doing things for the sake of them with full sincerity. Even if secondary goals are attached... they are, well, secondary.

For instance, money is a goal for most of us…but money isn’t an action, the action itself is something else.

Let’s say you want to start a social media channel.

Sure, you can create a channel and follow trends to create content others would like to hear... but if done only for the purpose of follower-ship, it becomes a conditional goal.

It’s only worth it when you have followers. So when the hype is over, or when things get shaky, so does your purpose.

If the conditions aren’t met, then what are you even doing daily? If progress is slow or takes time, you are filled with doubt.

The moment we act out of service for secondary goals, money, success, fame…

not only do we not perform our best actions, we are distracted, cloudy, and unable to make the most of opportunities in the present moment.

We start living in the mind, separated, anxious, and always fighting… instead of integrated with the universe, living in flow.

We stay unfulfilled, drained, exhausted.

Wondering why we don’t have the motivation or discipline to just grind it through.

My personal examples.

I started my hair care brand a few years ago because I wanted to create beautiful, clean products for curly haired women, to inspire them to learn how to style their hair and not feel guilty about it.

I cared deeply for this act of service... but not all my actions supported this service.

It became about growth, scaling, costs, and how I can make this into a viable income.

Let’s first test the viability and then we can work on service.

This felt exhausting, uninspiring, and frankly I lost interest.

Since then, I’ve been searching and searching…

Starting up in various fields, exploring new interests, and wondering why it isn’t enough…

What am I searching for?

I noticed a pattern…

I started something out of love, to serve fully…but very shortly after, it became all about secondary goals - money, fame, and ‘success.’

Even when I first began my writing journey on another platform, I realized I’m falling for the same trap…

Is this a prison of success I’m building where I’m constantly running the hamster wheel?

It was becoming about lead magnets, leads, followers, subscribers.

Or is it about the act of unconditional service, the act of giving fully to the mission, first.

Then comes money, and other things.

In fact it is through this relentless search for meaning, fulfillment, and joy that I decided to publish my journal as notes to self.

To explore human thought patterns and emotions out loud and make sense of them, to share what it means to live joyfully, vibrantly daily.

The core of it is to get clarity on things in life for me first... and then I share it out of love, unconditionally. It’s to serve authenticity.

To be a true conduit for what wants to be released into the world, not to mould, shape, and grow followers.

Can you do things just for money? Can that be a sincere intent?

Because money is currency for exchange of value, it can’t be a pure act of service.

The exchange of value can be the pure act of service... but money, fame, followers, all that is secondary. And can come as a byproduct of devoted service.

Even if you’re a stock or crypto trader directly dealing with money… building a bot, building judgement and intuition, the service here is to master the craft.

Doing my best with sincerity is different from doing it for money.

So really, what I’ve been searching for all along...

Is finding an act of service. An act of unconditional love to commit to.

Where can I show up fully, daily, as an act of devotion, where mastery is inevitable... and money, success, and fame perhaps natural byproducts.

That is perhaps what ikigai is :) Finally understood it.

But can we scale service?

I don’t think we necessarily demonize money.

Money is essential to survive, thrive, and actually provide the best service we can.

But it still comes down to taking actions that protect the act of service, even when we think about scaling.

For instance, if I’m adding clients to my consulting business, while it can be for growth, I’m doing so in a way that doesn’t compromise my sincerity for each client I do get.

The intent is preserved. The act of service is still devotional.

At an older gig, my role was to grow the business and run experiments that bring in more revenue.

So my act of service was to serve them with sincerity and do my job.

I’m not only doing it to get paid. That is secondary.

So even when we do things for money, we still have the option to give fully when we act, in service of why we are getting the money.

Putting the emphasis on money, security, success first, and then wanting to go all in is where we lose this devotion.

Because that is no longer an act of service.

Note to self

Where I am involved and committed, I give fully with sincerity. I devote to the service. I follow the nudges and see where life takes me.

Yes, I want money, success, and fame... but as byproducts, by devoting to the actions I’m already involved in (or want to get involved in).

Abundance flows to those who act in abundance.

Things work out when you’re all in, plugged into the present moment, following the path laid out for you, led by your intuition.

When we give fully, we live a deeply fulfilling life that’s not tethered to external metrics out of our hands.

If I don’t enjoy something and I have the choice, I leave it and choose something else, even if it’s for money.

But I act with sincerity.

Does this resonate? How do you find meaning in life?

Growing up, we have learned to always judge an action before taking it.

When we get an idea or a whiff of curiosity, we evaluate it against our long-term goals, the fixed plans in our heads, and view the 10-steps-ahead version…the potential finished version…and then most times, decide it doesn’t fit and move on with inaction.

For the longest time, I thought this was the right way to live.

It’s a productive way to live…

one where we (think we) prioritize our goals, our ambition.

So even whenever I went for a walk, commuted to work, or found 10 idle minutes in the day, I optimized for productivity.

I used to plug in my AirPods and put on a podcast about growing businesses.

I’ve realized that this way of life, taught and celebrated as the right way, is actually draining.

It pulls us out of sync with who we truly are, what we want to do, and ironically limits the life we live.

Why?

The inner GPS, or our curiosity, is what guides us intelligently in this universe.

Intuition: the intelligent cosmic connection

As a subprocess in this meticulously interconnected, enormous process that is the universe, our limited minds are an unintelligent tool to guide us.

The thinking mind only recycles old experiences in new ways, often in ways that are intended to protect us or keep us safe.

The inner GPS, on the other hand, call it intuition, or the pull of curiosity, actually guides us on how to participate intelligently in the present unfolding of reality.

The nudges of curiosity don’t make sense in the moment to our logical minds…but they are connected to the larger process, which we may or may not understand later.

Following our inner GPS is how we’re meant to live.

Children know this

Children do it.

My kids know what to do without thinking.

They get an idea, they take action. Or at least they want to…and these days I’m trying not to limit them (which is usually my autopilot response).

In the name of ‘good behavior’ or moulding to social norms, we as parents (and the larger society) stifle this inner voice by the time the kids have grown up.

More luck, more magic

So when we follow our inner GPS, we can follow the swings and larger movements of life. We can find more serendipitous moments, moments of luck, things falling into place.

It keeps us open and receptive to how reality is unfolding in the present moment and guides us on the most effective and exuberant path to our goals.

Our goals, the ones we truly desire, and our inner GPS come from the same source.

Think about why you want certain things…or why you're curious about some things over others. There's rarely a logical reason. It just is.

So life isn’t about end goals.

Those are inevitable if we get out of the way (i.e. stop thinking) and follow our inner GPS.

Then, we can relax and actually enjoy the journey.

Soak in full moments of aliveness, of expanded awareness… noticing the beautiful intricacies of life and living in marvel.

Whether it is the beautiful shades of the sky, the sway of leaves on a windy day, or what our children are really trying to tell us with uncontained excitement.

We can truly live those moments without concern about our end goals.

We can fully immerse ourselves in the moment we are in now.

The goals will happen…

and we will live an exuberant, beautiful, and adventurous journey when we follow our inner GPS, our personal, cosmic connection to the universe.

Sadhguru, the Indian mystic and yogi, talks about the difference between being goal oriented and being life oriented.

In one you go all out for a particular goal. Focused. Almost ignoring other aspects of life.

In the other, you live with full intensity in every moment. Participating fully. Whether that moment logically aligns with your goals or not.

What’s fascinating is that…

The goals and the path to them come from the same source. So by living fully in every moment, we are actually living the path. That is the magic.

It is when we try to force a fixed, focused plan in our minds onto reality that’s when we suffer. That’s when we don’t live fully. That’s when we think this narrow focus and the suffering it requires is a necessity to achieve our goals.

Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s not.

I get stuck on the bridge

But here’s what I notice in myself. I get an idea I’m genuinely excited about. And instead of acting on it, I delay, because it doesn’t fit the fixed plan I already have in my head. I overthink. I try to force my limited mental plan instead of tapping into what the universe is actually offering me at that moment.

I never close the gap between intent and action. I get stuck on the bridge.

Closing the gap

Bruce Lee, the brilliant martial artist and philosopher, talks about exactly this. When you close the gap between intent and action, you achieve so much more in life.

This means acting on our intuition and introducing some spontaneity in our lives but also we need to work on our subconscious programming. So that how we truly want to act…is how we actually act.

When we act, we are fully present tapping into our intuition…or when we don’t have a choice, we have programmed our subconscious or autopilot enough to make decisions on our behalf that are the best fit actions in the moment.

Intuition is the universe talking

The way we live fully in every moment, and not just for our goals, is to let intuition guide. You get an idea → you act.

Even if it’s an imperfect or small action without letting doubt, fear, or thinking convince you otherwise.

And our intuition?

It is the intelligence that connects us to the whole universe.

Itzhak Bentov, a fascinating scientist, inventor and mystic who studied consciousness, says the universe is holographic, each part holds a connection to the whole.

That information is accessed in relaxed, meditative states. But it’s also accessed through intuition…when the mind is still.

And how does the mind stay still in daily life?

When we’re immersed in action. Fully engaged. Not thinking about the future or how the outcome will be. Just taking action.

There’s beauty in simplicity.

My note to self

So my note to self and to whoever is here is this:

Move from goal orientedness to life orientedness.

Stop forcing a path you believe is required for your goals…and start participating fully in every present moment.

Make quick decisions and actions as a means to live fully.

The dots will connect later. They always do.

You don’t need to worry about reaching your goals.

Life force is intelligent. It will find its way. And it’s guiding you through your intuition, towards your goals.

Stop getting stuck on the bridge.

When I first came across it, I was skeptical. It sounds a bit defeatist… as if we need to be ‘guided’ and ‘rescued.’ It’s a blow to the ego.

But through my observations and research, I’ve realized that this very much lines up with how reality works. And things can start falling into place more effortlessly if we learn to ‘get out of the way.’

Let’s start by understanding some fundamental concepts…

We are not separate from the universe

What if the idea of “me vs the world” is actually a misunderstanding of the system we’re in? It’s a mental construct not a reality.

We usually believe it’s me against everything else. But in reality, we’re a drop in this magnificent ocean that is the universe. We are not separate from the universe. We are a cell in this infinite organism.

We are literally made of recycled bits of the universe

We are made of ancient elements the universe has been recycling since the beginning of time.

This means:

• The atoms in your body existed long before you did.

• They will exist long after you’re gone.

We are a temporary arrangement of something much bigger.

‘I’ is a process

No organism survives independently. We exist in the background of our environment, not separate from it.

Just as a cell outside the organism doesn’t exist. Independence doesn’t actually exist in nature.

We are in continuous interchange with our environment:

• Every time you breathe, you exchange air with the outside.

• Every time you eat, you incorporate the environment into yourself.

• In fact, your cells in your skin (the supposed boundary that separates us from the world) is a living membrane, constantly shedding cells, exchanging moisture, heat, and responding to the world around it.

• And the more closely you look, the more these “boundaries” dissolve… they’re not lines at all, but ongoing processes.

In the same way: If you remove a human from the universe, it doesn’t exist.

So we are a process in this universe.

The idea of “I” is a mental construct

The idea of “I” or the self feels very real. But it’s not a hard boundary in reality.

It’s a mental construct: Something the mind creates to categorize the process we show up as. And because of constant association, it feels solid.

But it’s not as fixed or separate as we think.

There is a greater intelligence beyond our thinking mind

Once we understand that we’re part of the universe, the next step is realizing how this universe-organism functions.

There is an intelligence at work that exists beyond our conscious thinking mind.

An intelligence that exists in everything that is the universe. Whether we accept it or not, it guides us daily, keeps everything functioning with minimal conscious effort.

This intelligence is what:

• Grows us from a single embryonic cell into a human being

• Digests food

• Heals our body when we’re ill

• Coordinates all our muscles, organs, and cells for all our activities like talking

It’s what allows:

• A child to learn how to crawl, walk, and eat

• Seeds to know how to sprout and grow

• An apple tree to grow apples… not bananas (there are clear goals with this intelligence. More on this in another post…)

This intelligence is undeniable. And it does not come from our thinking mind. This intelligence isn’t rigid or hard-coded either. It’s adaptive.

Whether you eat an apple or you eat something completely new, your body figures out what to do. It learns on the go. It adjusts in real time.

Life runs on this intelligence

Life runs on this greater intelligence. In Zen, acting in alignment with it is called Wu Wei or effortless action. When we move this way, we’re not pushing against life, we’re moving with it.

The universe has a way of unfolding. It keeps moving, finding paths forward…

And since we’re part of this same system, this is how we function too.

How We Get in the Way of Our Goals

So how does this all connect to us ‘getting in the way’ of this greater intelligence?

You already know what to do

Our connection to this universe-organism shows up as intuition. It shows up as nudges of curiosity or a sense of what feels right or aligned.

These nudges guide us toward our goals …even when our thoughts and emotions disagree!

If we are open and receptive to what’s actually happening in the present moment (vs. being stuck in our thoughts), we can notice many openings for us to flow towards. It’s this behind-the-scenes precise coordination of the whole that’s truly remarkable.

However, we usually miss these nudges! Because we prioritize our thoughts, emotions, and the rigid plan in our heads.

The problem: we over-prioritize the thinking mind

Instead of following intuition, we default to thinking.

This is because intuition isn’t always logical and often leads to uncertainty…which triggers fear and the reaction to stick to what we know.

So we usually question intuition, doubt it and suppress it. And we give more importance to the thinking mind.

Trusting something larger than our thinking mind feels unsettling… the ego (i.e. thinking mind) is built to stay in charge.

Why the thinking mind can’t lead us forward

The thinking mind is limited.

It only pulls from past experiences, recycles old information, and responds based on memory. Think of it as localized intelligence.

How can this limited system lead us to:

• New goals?

• A completely different future?

• Something radically new?

It can’t. It’s a trap. It keeps looping the past and repeating old patterns in new ways.

What “getting out of the way” really means

So getting out of the way means to not use out thinking mind and rely on our intuition instead.

It means stopping the thinking mind from running our lives and using it as a tool instead.

It’s about being open and receptive to what the present moment has to offer…to see all the openings and not hide under the veil of our old thinking patterns.

Strengthening your inner GPS

Your intuition is like an inner GPS. When it’s trusted, it can take you somewhere your usual thinking never would.

Some of the most influential entrepreneurs, scientists, and philosophers describe their breakthroughs as intuitive leaps rather than linear thinking.

So perhaps when the ego loosens its grip, we can move alongside a greater intelligence instead of pushing against it.

And when we finally do, maybe that’s how we discover our own personal legends, as Paulo Coelho would say.

The real question is whether the ego is willing to step aside…

What if I told you you’re stuck not because you lack motivation but because you have a choice?

When there’s a choice, the mind chooses comfort over progress.

But what happens if choice disappears? 🤔

Is that even possible?

This post explores what happens when you remove choice from the moment of action…and how this unexpectedly powerful shift keeps you moving forward.

Why we get stuck

If you’ve felt stuck toward one or more of your goals, you’ve probably blamed a lack of discipline or motivation.

That’s the obvious explanation.

But what if we’re stuck because we think?

Right when we’re about to take action, the mind hijacks us. It clouds us with thoughts and emotions that ultimately prevent action.

Why?

Because the moment action becomes optional i.e. a choice, the mind starts optimizing for comfort, not progress.

This isn’t random.

Alfred Adler called this acting in service of goals we’ve set subconsciously. The mind is intelligent. It’s always optimizing… just not always for what we consciously want.

You know what to do…but choose not to do it

Most of us already know what to do.

Lose fat → eat better, move, work out
Write a book → write regularly
Start a side hustle → research, show up, take action

Clarity isn’t the issue.

The issue is that at the moment of action, the mind still has a choice: to act or not.

And when there’s a choice, thinking enters.

When thinking enters, comfort wins. 🤯

Remove choice —> Get more freedom

So what if we removed choice from the equation?

Ironically, the less choice you have in the moment, the more freedom you experience while moving forward.

But how do we do that? It seems like an impossible loop.

There’s a surprisingly simple way around this… one that doesn’t rely on forcing discipline or motivation.

The best way to remove choice is to decide in advance:

• what you’ll do

• when you’ll do it

• how you’ll do it

When the time comes, there’s nothing to negotiate. You just show up. You prevent choice. You prevent inner negotiation.

This is what James Clear describes as removing friction at time of action.

I go deeper into this idea here, sharing a few practical examples of how removing choice at the moment of action can help us get unstuck.

The more you show up, the more aligned you feel after action.
Over time, that alignment replaces doubt, anxiety, and “stuckness”.

There’s a strange possibility most of us never consider.

What if being stuck isn’t failure at all? What if it’s success ...just pointed at the wrong goal?

We tend to explain stalled lives with familiar language. Maybe it’s lack of discipline. Lack of motivation...or no consistency.

But if we observe more closely...

People don’t just randomly repeat the same patterns year after year.
Something is working. Something is being executed with precision.

The uncomfortable thought is this:

The Invisible Goal Running the Show

Most of us assume setting an intention is enough to change our lives. Set a goal. Decide to change. Apply effort.

Sometimes it moves…but most times, very little actually moves.

Let’s honestly look at how many of our 2025 goals have moved forward?

Here’s where psychology offers an interesting explanation.

Your behavior isn’t governed by conscious goals - the ones you actually chose. It’s governed by an internal operating system or an autopilot software that’s wired for different goals.

Alfred Adler, one of the early influential thinkers of modern psychology, believed behavior is not driven by the past, but by goals.

These aren’t goals we consciously choose - e.g. “I want to lose weight” but rather the goals we serve subconsciously.

If you’re procrastinating, overthinking, hesitating when trying to take action for some of your goals... it doesn’t mean something is wrong.

It actually means a goal is being executed extremely well.

Usually one like:
Staying safe.
Avoiding pain.
Protecting reputation.
Choosing familiarity over uncertainty.

Seen this way, stuckness isn’t dysfunction.
It’s competence!

How the System Gets Built

This operating system isn’t consciously chosen. It’s installed during our early years.

Think about times in your childhood when you encountered a moment of embarrassment, a rejection, or a public failure.

All these are noted in our system as “things to avoid” subconsciously.

Over time, avoidance becomes intelligence.

Your mind starts generating hesitation, doubt, overthinking, not as sabotage, but as protection.

It’s doing exactly what a good system does: optimizing and executing the goal perfectly.

Why This System Keeps You Stuck

Fast‑forward to adulthood. Now the goals sound different.

Start the business.
Create something meaningful.
Change your body.
Change your life.

So when uncertainty appears, the system responds in accordance to your original goals: Thoughts intensify. Motivation disappears. Logic argues for delay or procrastination. This is all too familiar.

You want change.
But your system is optimized for safety not for change. Now, you’re stuck.

How to Rewire the Operating System

So how do we actually change this system?

Most of us wait for clarity, motivation, or confidence before acting.
But that never comes...because the feelings are produced by the old system.

Here’s the counterintuitive truth to rewiring our system:

This is brilliantly explained by Dr. Russ Harris in his book The Confidence Gap, which I highly recommend reading if you haven’t already.

When you take action despite discomfort, the feelings that arise afterward are different.

When you take courageous action towards your new goals…You feel alignment, self-trust, and a sense of pride for showing up.

Over time, as you keep repeating this, your brain is rewiring to replace your old system of anxiety and fear with these positive feelings.

That’s how the system gets rewritten.

Not by thinking or engaging in logical arguments against the mind. But by doing despite the discomfort.

The temporary pain is there until you upgrade your old operating system to the new one.

The Big Mistake

The most common mistake is assuming thinking will free us. But thoughts and emotions are not truth-tellers.

Believing them completely or even fighting them... will keep the same old system intact. You end up not taking action --> reinstating the old system.

So if we can’t use our thinking...how do we rewire our old system?

What if the way forward doesn’t involve thinking at all?

The No‑Choice Idea

There’s an interesting paradox here.

Freedom doesn’t always come from more choice.
Sometimes it comes from less.

The core idea is simple:

Remove thinking as an option at the moment of action.

When action is pre‑decided i.e. scheduled, simple, friction‑reduced, the mind has nothing to negotiate.

The system experiences something new: Action without internal permission.

We remove choice from the equation when it’s time to take action. When there’s no choice, no optionality, there is no room for thinking.

There’s only action...

Over time, your system learns and upgrades: “This is who I am now.”

Thank you for reading.

If this resonated, feel free to pass it along to someone it might help or stay connected by subscribing.

Your life runs on autopilot 95% of the time

Our mind is a double-edged sword. It is competent, capable, and highly efficient but if used incorrectly, it can lead to a life of turmoil.

95% of what we do is determined by our subconscious - we are not even aware of it. In fact, most of our decisions are made about 7 seconds before we consciously think we’re making it.

So it’s not a surprise then that sometimes, we seem to be stuck in the same cycle - unable to get that promotion, unable to lose that weight, or unable to reach a goal despite trying several times.

What is it that’s stopping us?

Here we are again: with a plan (this one looks different than the last)… and with fresh enthusiasm and willpower (despite the fact it didn’t work before).

So what really is it?

In this post, we explore what is really stopping us from breakthrough and how we can train our minds to create a reality we desire.

Your mind is an efficient, autopilot software

Our minds are a machine and have a job to do like our lungs, heart, and other organs do. Our minds process our past experiences, connect them with the present, and warn us about potentially dangerous things.

It’s a noble intent, to be fair, but what it classifies as “danger” is often fear stopping us from stepping out of our comfort zone.

So it’s a highly competent machine and does it’s job of processing our past, connecting the dots, and protecting us - but it’s not always accurate.

And if we understand that it’s just a machine with a specific job, we can learn to use it to our advantage rather than have it run our lives.

You don’t expect your lungs to begin pumping blood, do you?

This autopilot software runs your life

As you grow up and try things, you react to them. As you react to them, your mind registers the reaction to this stimulus.

Now, the next time you try it, your mind reminds you of the thoughts and feeling you had when you tried it last. As you’re reminded, you’re likely to feel something similar this time around.

This cycle continues.

The more you repeat your reactions, the more your brain wires them as a set response. Over time, your neurons learn to fire together in a instant pushing this reaction on autopilot.

For instance, if you’ve tried a sport or tried to start a business several times but failed, your brain reinforces the belief like “This is not for me…” or “I’ll never make it.”

It’s a self-fulfilling loop and it doesn’t work in our favor.

This autopilot software then creates your reality

What is even more fascinating but also scary is that this autopilot software that’s controlling how you respond to everything… begins to project your reality.

Essentially, the reality that you see, hear, taste, touch and smell is created by your autopilot software!

How?

Our brains have a filter known as RAS or Reticular Activating System. This filter ultimately decides which way your life will go.

Your brain is an incredible filtering machine. it takes in billions of bits of data every second but only lets a tiny fraction reach your conscious awareness. Some of the signals it filters out (like radio waves) are literally around you all the time but your brain ignores them because they’re not “useful” for survival.

While that’s useful for survival, the RAS also filters reality based on what goes on in your mind - the thoughts you have, the feelings you feel.

This is why when you want to buy a red car, you’ll start seeing red cars everywhere. This is also why if you try not to think about something…you will inevitably keep thinking about it.

So if your thoughts and feelings focus on limitations, scarcity, and suffering → that’s all you’ll perceive. Because that is the reality your are projecting.

On the other hand, if you thoughts and feelings focus on abundance, opportunities, and miracles → that’s what you’ll get.

And considering this is all on autopilot, when we’re stuck, we’re stuck bad.

I am not sure why we are not taught this in school…but managing our mind seems to be the biggest, most important factor in deciding what direction our life will go.

Manifestation is the art and science of controlling this autopilot software

Manifestation is essentially your autopilot software, your subconscious, creating your reality.

Manifestation has become a buzz word and sometimes can sound too magical to be real…but it is science!

I’ve noticed the duality of science and spirituality in many facets…but here, manifestation is essentially your brain filtering out reality based on what you focus on.

Whatever you think about most, manifests inevitably…because you’re filtering out reality to only see those things.

What is equally fascinating are the parallels of quantum physics and the importance of the observer in creating this world but I’ll save this for another time.

Understanding mind mechanics can unblock your life

Now that we understand how this incredible tool that is the mind works and what it’s limitations are, we can work to retrain the mind to unblock us - to live to our highest potential.

How?

Awareness: Understand where we have control

First, we need to separate ourselves from our thoughts and our feelings.

We are not our thoughts and feelings. Our thoughts and feelings pass through us without our permission.

If you meditate, you know that you can observe your thoughts and feelings. And if you can observe them, you are separate from them.

For this reason, meditation is hugely beneficial in creating space from our autopilot patterns.

Follow your GPS: Retrain the mind through action

It’s futile to try and change your thought pattern and feelings because they are not so much in our control.

What do we do instead?

We can follow our GPS, our intuition or inner compass, and take action based on what we want to do vs. what are our thoughts say about it.

For instance, let’s say losing weight is a health goal for you. You already know what to do - you know to get healthy, you should eat better, maybe lesser and get active.

But often when we start taking action, we start believing our thoughts and start accepting our feelings as the truth:

• I’m not feeling well today. I’ll start tomorrow.

• What’s the point? This will never work.

• I can’t make it to the gym today, I’m buried in work!

The issue is that we accept what we think and what we feel as the truth.

Retrain your mind through action

In the The Confidence Gap, Russ Harris offers an empowering way to live by one’s values and take action you want to take. Defuse from thoughts, make space for feelings, and take the action you want to take.

So the actions come first → feelings come post.

By doing things you want to do (regardless of what your thoughts or feelings say), you are rewiring your brain with new connections.

Often when you courageously show up and do something, you feel better → by showing up over and over, you rewire your brain.

Rather than believing our thoughts and feelings, we take action first - guided by our intuition or inner compass.

We then feel post action.

And as we’ve learned, through repetition, we can train our minds to rewire and project a reality we actually desire!

Intelligence is beyond the brain

One of the most interesting things I’ve watched recently is Dr. Michael Levin’s videos about how everything from the most complex beings like humans to the smallest building blocks of matter are “intelligent.”

Dr. Levin is a professor at Tufts University who researches how embodied minds come about and function in this world. I highly recommend his Youtube channel if this tickles your curiosity.

Intelligence is not limited to our brains but is a fundamental aspect of all matter, living or passive.

The implications of this are mind-boggling!

In this post, we talk about our role in this universe and how relying on our brains may not be the smartest strategy.

But first, let’s align on what we mean by intelligence.

This definition is also what Dr. Michael Levin goes by.

Passive matter is intelligent

What is fascinating is that everything around us even at the atomic level has goals and meets those goals even when placed under constraints.

It’s not a “follow the script” as encoded in your DNA way…but rather in a way where it tries new things to meet the goal. It learns and adapts.

Equilibrium is a great example of this.

When you spray perfume in a room, molecules spread until they’re evenly distributed. The system as a whole “solves” the change introduced and reaches equilibrium.

The same thing happens with heat.

Passive matter such as atoms are able to collectively stabilize without needing some sort of central direction (e.g. brain or neurons).

Organisms without a brain are intelligent

A single-cell organism known as Lacrymaria can meet its “goals” of finding food and navigating its space without any nervous system1. How does it know to do that? Where is this direction coming from? It doesn’t have a “brain” or “neurons.”

Collective intelligence is even more fascinating

In biological tissue reengineering, cells are often left on their own to “figure out” the rebuilding without much micro-management.

Why?

Cells have end goals and collectively know what to do …and when to stop.

Not only do cells have goals of regulating and surviving individually…but when you put cells together, the collective group becomes intelligent!

The flatworm Planaria is able to regenerate new worms from any part of the body. If you cut the planaria into pieces (the record is ~275 pieces)...each piece regrows to the exact whole even if that piece didn’t have the brain2.

How does an individual cell know what the whole flatworm looks like?

Collectively, how does the cut piece and all the cells in it know to recreate the whole worm and STOP when done?

It doesn’t accidentally grow two heads or keep growing. It’s precise, has memory, and is intelligent.

And no matter what the constraints (even the 275 cuts!)…it strives to meet its end goals and stop once done.

That is absolutely mind boggling!

Why this matters

As I write about this, I get goosebumps. Science is now coming across concepts that spiritual seekers have experienced and shared since thousands of years.

Here’s how knowing that intelligence is in everything (not necessarily just in our brains) can help us live more joyful, peaceful, and radically interesting lives.

1. Everything from the bottom up seems to have goals. Humans have goals too (whether we know or not). Perhaps the source of these goals is deeper than our conscious thought. Ever wonder why you have the desire to do something?

2. This intelligence that guides all matter to their end goals is accessible to us too. After all, we are very much a responsive part of this fascinating interconnected web that is the universe.

3. That guidance is our intuition…transcending our brains and rational thought.

4. In a big way, I think this gives us a way out of psychological suffering.

5. When we know that our goals and the path to the goals doesn’t fall on our limited brains, it reduces the pressure to control the future and allows us to engage in the present moment.

6. This means that whatever we truly desire is possible, perhaps inevitable. We are part of this greater intelligence and as long as we follow our intuitive nudges, we are guided to this end state.

7. After all, intelligence is the ability to meet the end goal using different means.

8. And if the goal is inevitable, life is about the journey and experiencing this incredible interconnectedness with the illusion of the self.

And coming to why these goals?

That’s another mind-boggling mysterious question to be explored another time.

If we are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or down, it is because we are thinking instead of living.

What I mean is that instead of immersing ourselves in life's actions, we are in our mind thinking about things. We may be with our kids but our mind is elsewhere. We may be working but our mind is worried about that promotion or about the upcoming presentation.

If you are intrigued by the mechanics of this, Joseph Nyugen explains this wonderfully well in his bestselling book “Don’t Believe Everything You Think.”

Thinking can come in many forms. Usually, it’s our fear telling us why we can’t or shouldn’t do something. Or it’s our fear trying to control the outcome.

We suffer because we think. It’s as simple as that.

In this post, we’ll cover the 4 big traps of life that cause a lot of thinking for us, which means a lot of suffering. Being aware of and avoiding these traps will help us live a lighter, joyful, and vibrant life.

Trap #1: Life is about end goals

We are doing things only to get other things in return.

If we are feeling stressed, anxious, and any of these negative emotions every day, we are out of alignment with our true self.

What does that mean?

That means we are taking actions that we don’t truly want to take. We take actions because we think we have to do them. We are fighting who we truly are. We are not being our authentic self.

And that creates immense resistance which comes in the form of overthinking.

Our overthinking = resistance.

Why do we feel resistance?

Sometimes we choose goals that we don’t actually desire but think we desire because others desire it for us. Or we desire them because others desire them.

For instance, imagine someone who has done well in school. Now their parents and friends expect them to become a “successful” professional or an entrepreneur. This expectation starts to loom over them, and they may feel they must pursue that path just to uphold their reputation.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to be an entrepreneur. The real question is about intent.

Are we starting a business out of genuine inspiration and curiosity? Or are we doing it with strings attached - seeking money, success, or reputation as conditions for our worth?

When we choose the latter, we often find ourselves taking action toward the goal only to run into resistance and overthinking, which leaves us feeling stuck.

This often happens when we choose goals that are, as Joseph Nyugen says, “means-to-an-end” goals where we do something to get something else in return. For instance, I want to build a business to get money, fame, and success in return.

Means-to-an-end goals mean that we are not happy until we get the outcome.

That’s a lot of pressure on the outcome. This brings with it a huge amount of thinking to control the outcome.

Because if we don’t see progress, what are we even doing?

How can we create from unconditional love and inspiration with so much pressure?

All this thinking = suffering.

Trap #2: No pain, no gain

We grow up believing that success only comes through hustle, hard work, and relentless grind. After all, the stories we hear and glorify are about people who worked day and night for years to finally “make it.”

Nothing’s easy in life… Without sacrifice, there’s no success.

And without ambition, life is worthless.

I mean, can you really be successful while enjoying life?

Even when it comes to our health goals whether it’s losing fat or getting fit… the “no pain, no gain” mentality is prevalent.

This form of thinking is a big blocker to getting anything in life because it makes you think suffering is a prerequisite to get it. So if you’re not suffering, whatever you’re doing is not working.

If we believe this to be true, it will be true. But it doesn’t have to be.

This kind of thinking is how we build a cage of expectations on how life should be…

This cage becomes iron walls that are never questioned. It becomes the truth of life.

And so we continue to stay imprisoned in this trap we’ve built for ourselves, forgetting that we created it.

(PS: I’m all for discipline and showing up for what truly drives us. But burning ourselves out isn’t the only way to get what we want. In fact, there’s a far more efficient and joyful path… one I dive into in my earlier post, Living Efficiently.)

Trap #3: Thinking is the solution to our problems

This trap is so ingrained in us that at first, it’ll be hard to see.

Think about a time when you were trying to solve a problem.

You started thinking…which led to spinning in mental loops, thinking it over and over until exhaustion and frustration set in.

So you drop it and move on…

At some point, when you’re more relaxed - maybe in the shower, on a walk, or while reading a book, a creative idea comes to you about how to solve it. It’s an ‘aha’ moment!

This is the magic of tapping into higher intelligence.

(And by the way, this can become a way of living not just an out-of-the-blue event you can’t control. More on that in this post - Why the best ideas come when you stop thinking)

When we come across a problem or a challenge, we dive deep into thinking. However, thinking from our limited minds for a solution is bound to create uninspiring, even frustrating solutions.

Why?

Because our minds process our past to give us these solutions. And if we want something bigger, better, magical, or different, our past can’t help us.

There is a superpower within us that we can tap into that’s accessible to us. As we grow up, we learn to completely ignore it!

So if you are using your thinking mind to solve a problem, that is a trap. And that will not solve your problem (at least not in the best way possible), so don’t bother.

It’s a bit shocking to think of what you’ll do if you won’t think …would you be stuck?

On the contrary, when we aren’t thinking, we are guided by our intuition. We tap into limitless possibilities that open up new doors for us.

When we take action as guided by our intuition, it feels effortless and aligned.

Trap #4: Trusting external validation over inner guidance

Similar to the first trap, this one is about the compass that guides our actions.

Many times we don’t realize it but when we feel psychological uneasiness or resistance, it’s because we’re acting out of alignment.

What does that mean?

Acting out of alignment means we behave differently for external reasons rather than the way we really want to.

This could mean saying things you don’t really want to just to please someone, laughing at a joke you don’t get, or taking action to get a specific response.

Socially, we do this all the time. Think about moments when you felt like crying out loud but held back because, “what will people think?”

We take action to receive some sort of praise or to appear in a certain way rather than taking an action that comes out of inspiration, curiosity, and authenticity.

A good way to know whether you are acting in alignment or not is to remove fear from the equation and ask yourself what you would do.

If the answer is different from how you are currently behaving, know that that is how you truly want to act. That is your truth.

And the more you fight that, the more you think. The more you think, the more you suffer.

Living to our highest potential

Letting go of our ‘ego’ or our thinking mind opens up limitless possibilities in the universe that were previously hidden behind the ego’s veil.

Staying in the ego’s veil or in your karmic patterns is why you find yourself back in similar situations over and over when you want something different.

Becoming aware of these 4 traps frees us from overthinking, anxiety, and fear, allowing us to live more freely, more creatively, and closer to our highest potential.

Thank you for reading!

Living efficiently isn’t likely what you think it is. I don’t mean living productively or optimizing your time in the best way possible to get things done. Yes, that’s is “efficient” in how society defines life…but there is an alternate way to live that is in flow with the way of the Universe.

And this way couldn’t be further from what we grow up believing life is about.

In this post, we’ll explore how most of us live and what it means to live on the path of least resistance…and how to flow as water through life - peacefully, joyfully, and in abundance.

Let’s get started.

What does it mean to live inefficiently

Before we talk about how to live efficiently, it might be easier to define how we currently live.

I vs. Universe

We grow up believing that we are beings that exist in a world independent of us. This world exists as it is and we need to make our way and “conquer” it to get what we want.

In essence, it’s us against the world. And this is obvious when we look at some beliefs we grow up with that we adopt from our parents, schooling, and society:

• Do what it takes to win

• No pain, no gain

• Hobbies are for “free” time

• Suffering for money, success, and fame is worth it

• Work hard now, reap the rewards later

Using your thinking mind to drive your life

When we think that we are pitted against the world, we often operate in a mindset of scarcity, competition, and fear. We use our rational mind to make decisions and take actions. Most of these are centered around “should dos.”

“I should get a high-paying job even if it’s not what I dream about doing.”

“I should do what it takes to be a millionaire.”

“I should get that promotion, then I’ll be set”

“I should exercise everyday”

“I should take a course in my free time rather than pursuing a hobby”

While I’m all for discipline, it is the source of discipline or the intent behind the action that matters. Is your intent for discipline coming from inspiration or is it stemming from fear?

Thinking creates friction

It is important to note that our mind is a tool with a specific job just as our lungs, heart, and kidneys have a specific job. More often than not, our minds take our past experiences and project scary futures. They intend to protect us but what they spit out isn’t necessarily accurate or relevant most times.

And so, if we use our thinking mind to drive our actions, we usually operate from a place of fear. We constrict our creativity and inspiration.

Most importantly, we block our intuition. Intuition is our connection to the Creator. The source of our desires and the path to fulfill them is guided by this Creator. Now, I don’t mean this from a religious point of view.

The Creator is this greater intelligence that is undeniably in everything. It’s how you knew to grow from a single celled embryo to a full grown adult without any conscious thought.

You already know what to do but thinking blocks it.

Pushing through obstacles

The “I vs. Universe” mindset solidifies the notion that we are separate beings that have to fight for what we want in this world.

If an obstacle comes along the way for us, we either play victim and give up or we push through and don’t take “no” for an answer.

Either way, we suffer.

When we operate from our mind, we have fixed plans based on our past that we try to impose on the world. We miss what is being offered in the present moment. We are so clouded by our thoughts, we aren’t able to see the creative, intelligent path that we can flow with.

In essence, we think a lot. And hence, suffer a lot.

We live inefficiently…

What does it mean to live efficiently

Now that we’ve approximated a baseline for how we live, let’s look at an alternate way of living. A way of peace, joy, fulfillment, and abundance.

I am the Universe

This perspective tells us that we are very much a part of this Universe just as a drop is part of the ocean and the whole ocean can be found in a drop.

In the same way, the Universe is like one marvelous, infinite organism of which we are a ‘cell.’ We are part of it and can experience it as the ‘cell’ and we can create or manifest things in it as the Creator. (If we are spiritually advanced, we can experience it as the Universe as well…but let’s park that for a later time).

Physically speaking, we are made of the same things that make up the whole universe. What we consider a boundary - the skin of our body - is constantly interacting with the environment around us. In fact, our breath is repeatedly shared and recycled with the whole cosmos.

When we drop to the quantum level, everything is in a wiggly state as Alan Watts would perhaps say. Everything is wiggling and there are no real boundaries. The boundaries are manifested by our mind…and so is this whole Universe.

The greater intelligence (that I spoke about earlier) guides everything around us including us. If you just stop “thinking,” you’ll know what to do. You will be guided by your intuition - this greater intelligence.

By the way, I go into this in a lot more detail in my previous post linked here if you’re interested!

Doing less and getting more

The Creator in us gives us our desires (not our “should do” desires but our “just because” desires). When we truly want something in life for the sake of it, we are shown the path to it by the same Creator. The source of the desire and the path to it comes from the Creator. If we follow the path, reaching our end goals is inevitable.

When we have a desire, the Universe organism works to bring this desire into form. This greater intelligence guides you through your intuition on how you should participate.

In Taoism, there is a concept called Wu Wei, which means effortless action. This means we flow with the way of the Universe, staying receptive and open in each moment.

Sometimes doing nothing is better than meddling … just as muddy water gets cleared by waiting and letting it settle.

Doing nothing sounds defeatist in modern hustle culture. But it’s a more intelligent and efficient way of living because now you operate as the whole Universe. You the ‘cell’ aren’t taking action but the organism of which you are a part is working cohesively.

Sometimes, you do a lot.

If you follow your intuition, you live efficiently and let the Universe help you on your path. You participate when needed as guided by your intuition. You flow with the way of the Universe not against it.

There’s no thinking involved. Because there’s no thinking, it is effortless and efficient.

Going around obstacles

When obstacles show up in life, we stay open and receptive to fully absorb the present moment. It’s as if we are deciphering an intelligent puzzle. We know what to do but this knowing may not always be rational. In fact, most times, the guidance our intuition gives will be opposite to our thinking! That’s because our minds want to protect us from what we don’t understand rationally…from the unknown.

But that’s where creative, boundless solutions lie! Following this path, however scary, is where we live life to the highest potential.

We live efficiently, we flow like water…Where we leap, a net appears or sometimes we may just soar.

What I find very interesting is that in any given moment, you have two ways to respond or act. You can either respond based on your “thinking” or your mind, the source of which comes from your past experiences…or you can respond based on your intuition.

The path you take leads to how happy, peaceful, and fulfilled you are in life.

Taking action that comes from “thinking”

When we respond based on our “thinking”, we miss opportunities and signs the Universe is giving to us.

And so our response or action coming from this source often feels forced or not supported. The cloud of thoughts block us from seeing reality as it really is and we often don’t participate in the way the Universe is guiding us to.

Think about all the times we just run through schedules, meetings, deadlines and task lists that sit in our mind all day. How often do we drop all that and observe the present moment and all it has to offer in a state of non-thinking?

We are living life in our minds.

Taking action based on what’s in our minds rather than what’s present leads to forcing outcomes and subsequent overthinking about trying to control the outcomes. And thinking always leads to suffering, psychologically speaking.

Taking action that comes from your intuition

On the other hand, when we clear our mind from thinking, we have space. Now, we are open and receptive to what the present moment has to offer. In this space, we can observe things just as they are and respond from our intuition.

In other words, we can follow nudges of curiosity and inspiration without the cloud of fear, judgment, or our past. That’s what brings about miracles! Because now we respond and play alongside the Universe and not against it.

In Taoism, Wu Wei means effortless action. It means to flow like water with the way of the Universe. In other words, we are not forcing things to happen but rather accepting the moment as it is and seeing possibilities with fresh eyes. It means listening to the signs of the Universe and responding to them.

Flowing like water

Think about how water flows through cracks, crevices, and even across large rocks through erosion. It’s not about force but about a gentle, calm, and creative persistence.

When we live like this, we live in a state of joy, peace, and love and get what we want effortlessly.

Effortlessly doesn’t mean no action. It means our action is play and feels effortless. We are not engaging in the effort to “think” and rather just act in a state of flow. It’s a bit crazy to believe but we can exist and act constantly in a state of non-thinking.

At this point, you may be questioning this very rigorously brushing it off as craziness…or perhaps you are intrigued.

We already know what to do at every moment… as does every matter in life whether passive or alive. And this knowledge is not through our rational thinking mind but from our intuition.

Think about how you know to digest your food or how you know to treat a wound when you’re hurt. You don’t engage in conscious thought for this.

This is not just limited to Taoism. If you have listened to Sadhguru, a spiritual leader and a mystic, he speaks about how the present moment is inevitable. It is already happening. You can’t change or fight the present moment but you can accept it fully and wholly and then respond to it.

This moment to moment awareness and response is how we live life effortlessly.

Modern hustle culture blocks our intuition

When we are too focused on rigid schedules, deadlines, and milestones…we are often forcing things against the way of nature. I can recall several times in my career and personal life where I’ve forced through things that didn’t seem to want to happen because I thought I needed to make it happen.

If you want something, go get it no matter what, right?

Sure… but the question is do you want to play the I vs. Universe game or do you want to play the I am the Universe game?

The first way leads to stress, anxiety, hard rigor, and often a lot of overthinking and suffering. The first way is celebrated by our society. And it’s not to say that it doesn’t work…sometimes it does…but what do we really mean by “it works”?

Is success really about just the end goal, the victory of which lasts momentarily as you immediately get on with the next goal? What about the journey that is arguably 99.9% of life? Is life 99.9% hustle and stress for that 0.1% of momentary achievement?

An alternate, effortless way of living

The second way seems mysterious or possibly delusional if this is all new to you. I get it…I was there most of my life and still go back and forth. You don’t have to believe it because I’m saying so…in fact, if you take time to observe life and notice how things are happening to you or for you, you can experience this for yourself.

If we are actually open and receptive in each moment, we can hear our intuition clearly. You already know what to do…This intelligence already exists in you and in everything around us. For us, it comes in the form of our intuition. You don’t need to “think” to access it…On the contrary, “thinking” blocks this boundless intelligence.

This is the same intelligence in you that helped you grow from a single-celled embryo to a full grown adult without any conscious thinking.

It knows infinitely more than our rational minds could possibly imagine.

The thinking trap

Thinking blocks this intelligence because “thinking” comes from your mind, which like your other organs, has a definite role of processing your past to seemingly protect you from danger.

Like most tools, it has its flaws. It often inaccurately perceives the unknown as danger because it’s very conservative. But if we see it as a machine doing its job, we can use it when useful and not let it drive our life.

So rather than living in our minds (again, which are machines that take past experiences and try to project scary futures), we can live in the moment…and actually respond from a place of non-thinking. It is in this state we access our intuition or this infinite intelligence.

So that means not fighting obstacles when things don’t work out but rather, flowing like water does - persistently, gracefully, and calmly. When an obstacle shows up, we embrace it and find creative opportunities around it rather than pushing through using sheet force. When we push through, we ignore the signs the Universe is showing us.

Effortless action doesn’t mean wasting away on the couch

On the contrary, being in flow with life means taking action from a place of openness, curiosity, and inspiration in each and every moment. It’s living intelligently.

It means seeing the moment as it is without your past baggage or your limited future projections. And responding using your intuition not your “thinking.”

This feels off because our intuition is not always rational. And we’ve grown up to believe in data-driven, logical decision making so how can we choose a seemingly random inclination over reason?

So we scrap our curiosity and stick to our 6-month action plan and set goals. We choose “effort” and what we think is a “safe” plan over effortless action and unknown, boundless possibilities.

Quitter attitude?

Accepting the moment and especially obstacles seems like that’s something a quitter does. Note accepting does not mean giving up. On the contrary, it’s an attitude where we going around the obstacles as water does through crevices and finding an intelligent way.

When we take this route and follow our intuition, it feels expansive, light, joyful, and peaceful. You get to the same (or perhaps better) destination as with hustle culture but now we live fully in every moment. Life is now about the 99.9% journey.

And if you’re read my past posts, you already know that life is about the journey because the source of your desires and the path to it comes from the Creator in you.

In other words, if you don’t “think” and just “get out of the way,” your end goals are inevitable. And if they’re inevitable, it’s not about the end goals. It’s about the marvelous experience of the human journey.

The Universe is a mysterious organism

If you are wondering why I capitalize the Universe, it’s because of how I perceive it. The Universe is one marvelous, incredibly massive organism, if you will, and we are a part of it just as a drop is part of the ocean and the ocean itself. Similarly, we can imagine ourselves as a cell in this infinitely large organism.

Contrary to what we grow up believing, we are not human beings planted in an independent, external universe that we need to “conquer.” Rather, we are very much a part of this interconnected intelligent organism.

When we want something in life, the Universe collaborates with all its different parts to bring it to life. That’s because your desire for that something originates from the Universe itself. This is how miracles happen! And they are happening all around us all the time…but usually, we just miss them.

We are too busy living in our minds.

If you’re curious about how this works, check out my post on The Way of the Universe where I go into a lot more detail.

Until next time!

It seems engrained in us that hustle, grind, and stress are necessary to get things in life. Struggle is a societal expectation or a prerequisite for success. After all, there’s no free lunch, right?

And through these years as I lived by this expectation, I wondered if this is really what life is about - chasing routines, ruts, and deadlines. Chasing milestones that last just momentarily so then we can begin chasing the next milestone.

That can’t be all there is to life, right?

It’s come to my realization that I’ve been living it wrong. And that there is a miraculous way of the universe that we can live and flow with.

Let’s start by understanding the life fundamentals.

I will caveat by saying this. If you’re someone who isn’t spiritual (I wasn’t for a long time and in fact was a hard-evidence numbers and science person)... don’t believe this to be true. I will also go out to say that we can’t experimentally prove it as true. It’s beyond our senses and the world that we know of.

But you can experience this magic for yourself in ways which I’ll mention towards the end of the post. If you experience it for yourself, there’s no going back.

Let’s begin.

Life Fundamentals: How Life Really Works

We are the Creator and the Creation. This duality is very interesting because without one we don’t have the other. Similar to light and dark. They are relative and without light there’s no darkness. So it’s a way of seeing two sides of the same thing.

We the Creator are experiencing the Creation through the human form.

What is interesting is that the Universe is one marvelous, incredible, interconnected organism. And we as humans and everything else around us is part of this interconnected organism.

In fact, if you think about it, our breath itself is shared by the whole cosmos and recycled over and over from the beginning of time.

Just as the ocean is in a drop and a drop has the whole ocean in it, so are we a cell in this marvelous Universe organism and the organism itself.

Contrary to what we’ve grown up believing…We are not human beings planted in an external world independent of us that we need to conquer and win.

We are very much a part of this interconnected web of marvelousness.

So now that we understand life fundamentals, let’s look at how our desires work and what is the way of the Universe.

How Desire Works

There are two types of desires. One type is our “should haves” - usually societal expectations of what success or a happy life are.

I should get a high paying job. I should be a millionaire by now. I should have a house etc. And while we may very much believe so, these may not be what we truly want to do or have.

And then there are desires that are “just becauses.” I want to learn dance "just because.” I want to travel to Morocco “just because.” We want to do these things just for the joy of it.

Source Of Desire Or Intent

Our true desires come from the Creator in us. Think about why you have these desires? Usually, it’s a spark of curiosity or joy without reason or logic.

And the path to our desires is led by the Creator in us through our intuition not through our thinking.

We often rely on thinking and sometimes overthinking to control the outcome and make things happen for us. But why use our limited minds tied to our past to bring about our intent when we have the intelligence of the entire cosmos?

Tapping Into A Greater Intelligence

A seed knows how to grow into a tree without thinking. You knew how to grow from a single celled embryo into a full fledged adult without conscious thinking. You know how to digest a pizza without thinking. Your body knows how to heal itself without thinking.

This intelligence that exists beyond the mind is spectacular and boundless. We are already plugged into this intelligence. We just rely on our “thinking” instead of this intelligence.

If we follow our intuition and not our thinking, we tap into this intelligence. And that is when we are in flow with the Universe.

The Universe is one organism. And if we have an intent where we are willing to act on it, our intuition will guide us on how and when to participate as the whole organism works to bring our desire to life.

When do we hear our intuition? When we are in a state of non-thinking. Think about times when you did your best work or had peak performance. What were you thinking? You knew what to do without thinking. It was an effortless flow.

Way Of The Universe

If we let go and surrender the outcome → it leads to non-thinking.

Most of our thinking happens when trying to control the outcome. If we let go, we create space and through this space, we are nudged gently by this greater intelligence or intuition to participate in bringing our desires into form.

The Universe gave you this desire and the Universe guides you to it. If you are in a state of non-thinking, you will be led on this path by your intuition.

That is the way of the Universe. We flow like water towards our desires. Gently, persistently, joyfully, and effortlessly. Things start to happen to us to bring our desire into reality. These are synchronicities or signs that you see that are surprising and may seem out of the blue. These are signs that the Universe is working to bring your desire into form.

Because the Universe gives you the desire and the path, life is not about the end goals. So while you, the Creation are in pursuit of the desire, the point is actually to experience the journey. Because if you don’t “think”, and if you follow your intuition, the desire coming into form is inevitable.

You already know what to do. You don’t have to think about it…just do it. You intuition will guide you in the present and you’ll experience miracles every day.

Don’t believe this?

So how do we believe this for ourselves? How do we know that this is true?

After all, how can we accept something as true if it’s not rational or experimentally proven?

I get it. I’ve been there most of my life.

It’s almost too much to let go of control in our lives. It’s the way of society and modern life as we know it. Through control and routines we get some predictability. Through predictability, we feel safe and in power. But this sense of safety is hugely limiting and a big cause of suffering.

So how do we live this alternate effortless way of life?

The best way is to build proof of miracles.

Choose a desire where you’re willing to completely surrender and let go control over. It could be something where you don’t know how to approach it. Something low-stakes where you’re willing to experiment.

Perhaps it’s learning how to dance or maybe it’s solving a feud with an old friend. It could be any desire.

When you’re in a relaxed state and have time, think about what you really want. Maybe you visualize yourself dancing or chatting happily and hugging an old friend.

Then it can help to actually say this: “I surrender this desire to the Universe. I’ll step out of the way and let you guide me.”1

What does “step out of the way” mean? I’ll stop thinking about it…because I trust I know what to do in the moment.

Carry on with your life. If you catch yourself trying to control the outcome or thinking about the end state, be aware of that and gently surrender again and again. Don’t put time pressure on this desire. Just let go fully.

You will start seeing miracles happening to you. So don’t miss them! Stay open and receptive - not lost in thought.

Maybe the friend calls you…or maybe you get an ad for a dance class that just fits your timings. Stay open and receptive because the Universe responds.

And as you experience this, start documenting your miracles. That’s how you’ll build proof little by little and eventually let go of your big dreams.

I’ve been thinking about cycles lately.

Ever noticed how life moves in cycles?

The sun rises, sets, and rises again everyday. Without fail.
The moon waxes and wanes.
We breathe in… and out.
Even our hearts beat in a rhythm.

Let’s look at the planet we live on…
The Earth spins on its axis, orbits the sun, and returns to the same point, year after year.

In fact, our entire solar system is swirling through space in a cosmic dance.

What is the significance of this intelligent cyclical design?

Cycles are how we experience life

Take my 1-year-old for example. She’s currently learning how to walk.

Every few minutes, she gets up, takes a few wobbly steps… and falls.
Then she tries again. And falls again.
But she keeps going.

Why?

I’m not sure why to be honest… Falling hurts. And if it were an adult… we’d probably overthink it, question everything, and consider quitting.

But she? She falls and tries again and again…and surprisingly, with the same enthusiasm.

She’s not reading motivational quotes. She’s not doubting herself. I’m not sure if she consciously knows this…but some part of her is sure she will walk if she just keeps trying.

And it’s not just walking.

She crawled that way. She started sitting that way. She’ll soon talk that way…
Everything she’s learned so far has come through repetition and trust.

Trust is the secret ingredient

How does a child have such blind trust …to keep repeating something that hurts in the moment?

And as adults, have we lost that?

We set goals and expect instant results.
We try something once or twice… and if it doesn’t “work,” we spiral into doubt.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”
“It’s just not happening.”
“I don’t want to waste time.”

We break the cycle before it has a chance to take form.

Life seems to flow when we repeat our actions with trust. That’s when mastery feels effortless (even though it is very much effortful.)

But without trust…we lose the power of cycles.

When we bring in force, overthinking, stress… we interrupt the rhythm. We stop showing up. Or we show up second-guessing ourselves.

And that’s what blocks this flow.

🌀 Inner Experiment

If you have a goal you’ve been struggling with, try this:

Pick one small action towards that goal… one that you can repeat daily. Do it every day for 30 days.

For instance, if your goal is to become fitter, maybe exercise for 10 minutes everyday.

If you want mental peace and clarity, journal every morning first thing when you wake up.

Here are the rules for this 30 day experiment:

• Pick something small enough that you’ll actually do it.

• Pick an action that you believe works towards achieving that goal.

• When you do this action everyday, say this to yourself:
  “I step into the field of pure potentiality.

  I release attachment to outcome.

  I trust that everything I create or do with intent

  ripples outward in perfect timing and form.”

• Drop the expectations. No thinking about the outcome. No pressure.
  Just show up and trust the cycle.

See what happens…It’s how we’re built!

Comment below on how your experience has been! I’d love to hear about it.

We have two minds

Recently, I read a book by Joseph Murphy called The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, a classic from the 1960s that bridges spirituality and mindset in a beautifully simple way.

Here’s the premise in a nutshell:

We all have two minds.

The conscious mind is the one we’re aware of…it thinks, reasons, decides. It’s the voice in your head you identify with. Think of it as the navigator of your life’s experience as you know it.

Here’s where it gets fascinating: we also have a subconscious mind. This is like a creative engineer that works behind the scenes, faithfully shaping your reality based on whatever the conscious mind accepts as true.

If this sounds over the top, you’d better read the rest…

What you believe is expressed in your life as you know it

What you believe to be true ends up becoming your experience.

Murphy even goes a step further. He says your subconscious taps into a universal pool of intelligence and power…think of it as universal consciousness that connects all of us and all things in this universe.

When you tap into this field, things start to align to make your desires into reality.

(PS: If you’re into quantum physics, universal consciousness has fascinating connections with the theory of entanglement. More on quantum physics and its ties to spirituality here.)

Less strain = more support from the universe

In other words:
When you choose your beliefs, you let the universal consciousness (which is connected to your subconscious) go to work for you.

And the less you force, the more it flows.

That’s… the opposite of how we usually think success happens.

Grind. Hustle. No sleep. Push through. Burnout.
That’s the default story most of us see as the way to success.

(And yes, grind often leads to success because we believe that's the way it works. That belief itself makes it real… more on that soon.)

Inevitably, if we don’t work as hard, we may believe that we’re undeserving of success which also then happens…

But what if that’s not the only way?

In fact, Murphy and several others argue that there is a path that is more effortless with higher chances of leading to success.

One that does not come with grind, hustle, and no sleep.

The real question is:
Does it actually work?

Proof of magic

If you’re someone who is skeptical about spirituality, here are some concepts explained by Joseph Murphy that show us how what you believe is projected into your reality.

The caveat is that it’s always too good to be true —> The subconscious doesn’t argue with your conscious mind.

If you have negative thoughts or focus on fear, anxiety, stress, and worry —> those are the things that are manifested in your life.

Let’s just say it’s another take on the law of attraction and manifestation but one that puts all the power in you.

Proof 1: Your subconscious is pro life

A good way to start gathering proof of this magic is to think about the creative activity that keeps you alive without your conscious awareness i.e. your heart beating, your brain working, your breathing, your cell functions, etc.

Your subconscious mind is pro-life. It wants you to thrive. That is why when you get a cut on your skin, it heals itself with you knowing the how. Or when you eat an apple, it converts the apple into you (and not a dog or a cat).

It naturally supports your life.

You experience your life through your conscious, aware mind, which takes in sensory inputs from your 5 senses and then projects them as experiences, events, and life as you experience it.

Proof 2: Medicine and placebo effect

Here’s an interesting one…

When we feel ill and want to get better, we usually turn to a doctor or take a pill to fix it. But Murphy suggests it’s not the treatment itself…rather it’s our belief that this treatment will cure me which executes the cure.

That’s exactly what the placebo effect is…when a patient is given a non-drug but believes it’s the real thing. Their mind expects it to work… and somehow, it does.

In fact, placebo is widely used in scientific studies to separate the actual impact of a drug from the healing power of your own belief.

Proof 3: Hypnosis

Here’s one that blew my mind…

Hypnosis is a state where the conscious mind becomes quiet and the subconscious mind becomes more open to influence. In deep hypnosis, you can lose awareness of your conscious mind entirely. You can self-induce hypnosis or have someone else do this to you.

Murphy shares a striking case by Dr. M. Bourru, a 19th-century French physician, who hypnotized a patient and suggested that his nose would start bleeding at a specific time. Sure enough, at that time prescribed, without any physical cause, the nosebleed happened.

So how did this happen?

Dr. M. Bourru instilled the idea in the patient’s subconscious mind that he will bleed at the particular time…and the belief made that into a reality.

Proof 4: Miraculous healings

Hypnosis and the subconscious mind’s ability to accept suggestions as truth has been linked to countless cases of seemingly miraculous healing.

When you deeply accept the belief that the same creative, infinite intelligence that designed your body also knows how to heal it, healing happens…

Murphy shares stories of a paralyzed individual who walked again through belief alone and many more astonishing examples that show just how far the mind can go when it fully accepts healing as reality (especially when deemed medically impossible).

Think Inception, but applied to self-healing…

Speaking of miraculous healing, if you haven’t read Proof of Heaven by Dr. Eben Alexander, I highly recommend it. He’s a Harvard-trained neurosurgeon (not into spirituality) who goes through a near death experience and miraculously reemerges to life with incredible proof of consciousness, this infinite creative intelligence, and afterlife.

Proof 5: Religious rituals

Murphy claims that religious rituals work because they strengthen your belief that what you desire is already happening.

When you are told that performing x, y, and z in an often complicated, meticulous sequence will give you what you want…

…you believe that this effort is working and you have faith that what you asked for will happen!

Interesting, right?

So it’s not so much the ritual itself but again, the belief that makes the thing happen for you.

Proof 6: Fortune Telling

This one has always been a no-no for me.

The power of beliefs is too powerful to let someone else influence my life story.

While this is not to discard fortune telling, if you believe a fortune teller (or anyone who poses as one) and accept that as reality, it is dangerous —> what you believe will now be manifested in your life… the good and the bad.

I’d rather leave things to chance.

No grind = No success

Anyway, coming back full circle to this premise.

I hope I’ve convinced you how powerful your beliefs can be in creating the life that you want. If you believe that the only way to success is grind, hustle, and no sleep —> that is how you’ll get it!

So choose your beliefs wisely…

I highly recommend reading The Power of Your Subconscious Mind if you haven’t yet.

Experiment for yourself

I also recommend doing smaller experiments to build up proof on how powerful your subconscious can really be.

If you're anything like me - curious but skeptical about all things spiritual, it took a lot to accept all of this as true but experiencing it for yourself can be life-changing, literally…

…so try it!

PS: If you like this topic (as much as I do), do leave a comment so I know this tickles your curiosity!