UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young

We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves. –Thomas Merton

We create our lives through choice. Even if we have not chosen a particular event or outcome, we do choose the way we respond. If life is a canvas, choice is our paintbrush. True, our choices may be coloured by past conditioning or present beliefs. And they may be influenced by others’ expectations or reactions. However, allowing those influences is a choice in itself.

One might argue that some of those influences are unconscious, but becoming conscious is also a choice. We have this one lifetime as the person we are and what we create for ourselves as we journey through it is up to us.

Certain characteristics of our life and circumstances are part of the raw materials we have to work with. Our intelligence, aptitudes and the physical and emotional environment in which we are raised may either help or hinder us.

Once we reach adulthood, it is really our own choice as to how we interpret our background and circumstances. We may see them as a crutch, a springboard or an excuse. Regardless of what may have happened in the past, we are both responsible and accountable for our future. We are making choices every day, big ones and small ones, and they are the seeds of our future.

Choosing to honour one’s soul, to know oneself and being true to that self, will create a different life than remaining unconscious, living to please or impress others or remaining in the same unappealing job, relationship or geographical area just because it seems easier.

One way to ascertain where we may be neglecting our power of choice is to look at any areas of our life that we seem to complain about. Another way is to look at what we wish for or dream about. If we have not created the life we want, it may be time to make some choices.

Of course, it is not always easy to make those choices. Fear of change is common. People may not like their present circumstances, but they fear that if they make the change, they might somehow end up with something worse. They also struggle over whether they are making the right choice. This suggests they may not trust themselves or the universe.

A trustworthy guide, or compass, is our intuition. If we feel drawn in a certain direction and we seem to be getting an inner push to move that way, we can assume we are being given some guidance. This is not to say that following that guidance will lead to the results we desire, but it may lead to the results we need.

The journey of life is much more interesting when we co-create with the universe. It is like a dance; sometimes we lead and other times we allow the universe to lead. The inner urgings indicate the universe is trying to lead. If we stubbornly insist on leading, we may miss out on something delightful just up ahead.

This is why choice is so important. This is also why conscious choice is critical. We must be conscious of what our choices are creating for us. We must also be conscious of what we may be denying ourselves if we choose to ignore our intuitive voice.

Developing the ability to tune into that intuitive guidance is something we all can do. We get intuitive messages all day long. It is like the print message that runs at the bottom of the television screen during a program. We can either read it or ignore it, but the message still keeps running.

Our intuitive messages are like signposts along the roadway. They give us ideas, options and truths. It is up to us to notice them. We have the choice to follow them, or not. That is what makes our lives either an endless, boring highway or a creative adventure. It is our choice.

Gwen Randall-Young is a psychotherapist in private practice and author of Growing Into Soul: The Next Step in Human Evolution. For more articles, permission to reprint and information about her books and “Deep Powerful Change” personal growth/hypnosis CDs, visit www.gwen.ca