How to "get out of the way" and let the universe help you
A radically different way to view life...
When you want something in life, the universe conspires to make it happen for you. This idea shows up in spirituality. It also has traces in science.
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…