All the universe conspires…

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Paolo Coelho, from The Alchemist

If something has been put in your soul to do, it has been placed there by the Divine. Trust that you will be divinely helped along the way. I have seen direct proof of this on several occasions in my life. Several months ago, I was living in Istanbul working as an English teacher and heard a strange unrelenting voice in my heart saying, “Go to Fes.” While I had visited other parts of Morocco in 2002, I had never seen the city of Fes. I knew no one there. At the time, my teaching hours were gradually dwindling along with my savings from times of plenty (or more accurately times of overwork.) In short, I couldn’t see a way of making the move.

After making the intention to go to Fes, out of no where I received an email from my old alma mater in Chicago asking me for a current address in order that they might send me refund checks owed from summer of 2001. This, combined with my tax refund from a few miserable months spent working in a call center to earn money to fly back to Istanbul after a prolonged visit back to the US, provided the money needed to go.

Once I finally got to Fes (after being sidetracked in Marrakech for a few months), absolutely everything, down to my smallest need, came to me in greater ways that I ever expected. When I was running out of money from living in a hotel, I found an English teaching job with working conditions that would make teaching once again tolerable, wonderful students and colleagues, AND free housing options. When I wanted an apartment and was almost entirely out of money, I found a great roommate and was provided with money to purchase furniture and appliances by the school.

It was also my desire to learn more Arabic living in Morocco. If anyone is familiar with Moroccan Arabic, one knows that learning Arabic comprehensible to anyone outside the country on the street is an impossibility. It just happens that my school shares facilities with a school for learning Arabic and allows their English teachers to take Arabic classes for free. The Arabic program attracts numerous students from English-speaking countries, so there is a built in community of cool, open-minded Americans to converse with whenever I get homesick. While all of this is school policy, at the time, it was nothing short of a miracle to me.

I was similarly aided both times I went to live in Istanbul. Before going the first time, I was simply contemplating teaching English abroad and had no particular country in mind, but knew I wanted to live in a Muslim country. I read on the internet that Turkey has a high demand for English teachers. I thought vaguely that Turkey might be a interesting place to spend 6 months or so. Soon after, I came into contact with an American woman who is married to a Turk. Through her I met a group of Turkish and American women, several of whom were planning to take a trip to Turkey that summer. Through their connections, the whole group got free round-trip airfare and I managed to get a ticket with a one-year open return and job contacts in Istanbul. Our group was given an all-expenses paid 9-day tour of Turkey. Afterwards, I was given free housing and a teaching job was arranged for me in private high school where both teachers and students couldn’t have been more helpful and welcoming. The people who own and run the school are also religious, so I had no problem performing my daily ritual prayers, usually a bit of an inconvenience if not an outright issue working in the US.

The second time I went to Istanbul, I found a Turkish woman online looking for someone to share her furnished apartment. I got a job at the first language school I visited. Not only did I meet a number of wonderful friends there, but the school was willing to break Turkish law to allow me and other teachers to wear headscarves during class. This was a big concern for me in my decision to return to Turkey.

So I think you’re getting the message by now. Heck, even the words of this blog post have been provided by Divine providence and synchronicity (I wrote the boring, badly written parts myself.)

 

10 Ways to Make the Spirit Sing

1. Just do it. Chances are you have something (or many things) that your soul has been nagging you repeatedly to do. It may be something small or something big. Don’t ignore it. Don’t try to suppress it. Don’t try to drown out its voice with mindless entertainment, mindless activity, work, substances, etc. Don’t put it off until later. DO IT! You’ll be glad you did.

Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Music. Listen to music that moves you. Feel it. Sing along with it. Dance with it. Love it.

3. Dance. Don’t just dance, but dance badly with your whole body and soul. Imitate the craziest, worst dancer you’ve ever seen, that you can ever imagine, and laugh heartily at yourself.

3. Walk. Walk in nature, preferably in the sunshine with plenty of fresh air. Breathe deeply. Feel and savor the smell and freshness of it in your lungs. While walking look around you – REALLY look. Be thankful for your life and your legs and your health and the eyes you see the world. Be thankful for the day and the many ways God has cared for you and continues to care for you.

4. Be a child again. Do the things that brought you joy when you were 5 years old. Better yet, find a young person to do it with and re-experience the unbridled enthusiasm that was once yours. Did you love to fingerpaint? Swing? Build model cars? Do it again and do it with the same abandon and unattachment you did it with as a child. Don’t care about what others think. Maybe you’ll inspire the naysayers too. If they criticize you, they are probably miserable and want to drag you down with them into their dark, dank pit of misery so they don’t feel so alone. Do you want to follow miserable, critical people or live in bliss?

5. Enjoy or create something of beauty. Watch an inspirational movie, read a good book or poem, look at some art that lights up your soul…or better yet create one of these yourself. Don’t think about the outcome, but simply enjoy the process of creation.

6. Communicate. Communicate what’s in the depths of your heart. Listen attentively as someone else does this. Ask questions.

7. Cook (or dial.) I personally love to cook, so spending an afternoon making a nice meal really does it for me. Those not culinarily inclined, can order a pizza or pad thai (eat some for me!) To increase and spread the love around, share with a friend or a future friend. Make an evening of it.

8. Share. Share with others. Share something you need, or for more happiness, something you do need or value. Expect nothing in return.
I got to see this in action recently when taking the train from Tangier to Fes. Everyone (except me unfortunately) brought some kind of food in amounts to share with everyone in our “couchette.” One had a bunch of bananas, another a 2-liter container of fruit juice, another candy for us and any passing children. We quickly became like old friends. I discovered that a couple of the people in the cabin even spoke English and were happy to give me a “big welcome” to Morocco. Together, they had a lovely indepth discussion about religion and spirituality that my bad Arabic unfortunately wouldn’t permit me to join in. That first bunch of bananas made all the difference. Next journey, I’ll be sure to stop at the corner store beforehand.

9. Don’t Keep Up With the Jones’

When you see one who has more, look to the one who has less.

Prophet Muhammad

Don’t compare yourself to those with more. Compare yourself to those who are less fortunate and be grateful for what you have. With so many victims of war and natural disasters in the world today, I think I can safely say that if you’re reading this, your life is overflowing with blessings in comparison.

10. Expect more.
Expect the best each day and see it happen. Ask the universe for pleasant surprises and watch them appear in your life. Your thoughts and expectations are powerful things that can bring you to a place of amazement at what you receive.