“Zuvuya” is an old Mayan word for the connecting thread between all realities and dimensions, including time. Back in 1988, American New Age spiritual author José Argüelles wrote a delightful book called Surfers of the Zuvuya about time travel across dimensions and all the adventures that can be had along the way.
I was delighted by the title and the image of surfing realities—shwooshing effortlessly between dimensions, engaging all sorts of beings and intelligences and novelties. The book firmly reestablished the idea of “life as an adventure” in my mind, lifting Earthly existence out of the “painful burdensome slog” category it’s been for the last few thousand years. (And exponentially sloggish since 2020.)
Surfing the zuvuya seemed the perfect entry point for part three of “The Power to Manifest.”
Difficult conversation
https://cmontana.substack.com/p/the-power-to-manifest
In Part 1, I covered the exaggerated science behind intention and human mental powers, the grotesque commercialization of personal manifestation in the spirituality arena, the various problems involved in manifestation the way it’s currently being taught—including how the practice skirts the edges of manipulative magic, as well as how emotionally damaging the Failure to Manifest Syndrome (FMS) is to a lot of people who judge their spiritual advancement by their ability to manifest successfully.
In Part 2, https://cmontana.substack.com/p/the-power-to-manifest-part-2
we examined the unitive, holographic nature of existence and the fact that humans are spirit beings of pure love that reflect the whole of existence. We are not separate from anything. We are nature—all of creation—bundled up into what seems like individual physical bodies that actually are not physical at all, but rather interpenetrating fields of energy/information containing the wisdom of the All in All.
As the Sufi poet Rumi put it: “You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop.”
With this in mind, I made the point that manifestation is not personal and can never be “personal,” because we are, in truth, each part of the whole. Thus, it is the whole of existence that does the manifesting—it is the whole of existence that decides what manifests and what doesn’t based upon whether an individual desire is beneficial for the whole … not just beneficial for the teeny tiny “part” called you and me that thinks it would be a great idea to win the Mega Millions lottery, buy a yacht, and live in a mansion on Majorca.
As Jacqueline Hobbs, aka Oracle Girl puts it: “Nature decides,” not us. Which totally explains why “the power to manifest” is so hit and miss. Why little things arrive effortlessly and BIG things don’t. Or why one major hit happens like magic and then POOF! Nada. Nothing else happens no matter how intensely you focus.
Nature decides.
Not us.
Implications
When I first hit on this understanding, I had mixed emotions. The first was discomfort and indignation stemming from the immediate sense of disempowerment. “Whaddaya mean ‘nature decides?’ What a load of crap! How is that any different from believing everything that happens or doesn’t happen is ‘God’s will?”
Good question—which I’ll get to later.
My second reaction, which kicked in a few days afterwards, was, interestingly enough, relief. Whew! It’s not all on me! I can relax now and let go. Let go what? Strain. Stress. Expectation. The need for things to turn out a particular way. Having to figure out how to manipulate life to get what I want.
That sort of thing.
All those pressures just sort of melted into this fluid sense of “It’s all alright mate.” (Said with an Aussie accent.) Like I could just relax, lie back, and float down the river, trusting that where the river was taking me was where I needed to go. Maybe not necessarily where I wanted to go. But where I needed to go to experience what was best for me.
Which is where the trust part kicked in.
The only way I could relax into this sensation was by trusting that I was part of something bigger than just me—something that has a vastly greater perspective than me. Something that can see the Niagara-size waterfall downstream miles ahead of time. Something that knows where the take-out is before the current gets too strong. Something that will nudge me in the direction of that safe landing point with room to spare.
All I have to do is stay awake and receptive to the nudge.
Personal power
So, where does individual autonomy and personal power belong in this picture? Well, I can pick which river I’m floating down. I can choose the canoe or brand of kayak I paddle. Or the tube I float. I can choose a jetliner to get to my destination instead of a river raft. I also choose my destination.
But whether I get there or not … nature decides.
I may think Cincinnati is my ideal destination … there’s a guy I know there and like. Or there’s a job waiting for me. Or rent is cheap. Whatever. These are all perfectly valid, but extremely limited, linear reasons for moving to Cincinnati. Very human reasons.
But if I accept that 1) I am one with existence and that 2) maximum healthy growth/evolution is the overarching focus of life/nature/creation/existence (which would seem appropriate) and that 3) not having all the information of the universe at my fingertips, I just might be wrong about my very personal human reasons for going to Cincinnati … I won’t be surprised or upset when I get steered toward Akron, OH instead.
Or Miami.
Sure, I can fight the current and insist on Cincinnati. But if I’m aware of all the above, wouldn’t it make more sense to relax and allow myself to be steered to where it’s best for my healthy growth and evolution?
The following story is a case in point.
Surprise landing
Back in 2017, after 30 years, I was done with living in the Pacific Northwest. Overdone. I was starting a book tour promoting The E Word: Ego, Enlightenment & Other Essentials—a book my editor at Simon & Schuster was convinced was the next Power of Now. I had let go my cool apartment overlooking Puget Sound and put all my furniture in storage, put a huge chunk of money on a credit card and hired a prestigious PR firm, and hit the road. First stop, Las Vegas and a TV interview for something called the Spiritual Light Broadcast, hosted by (the amazing) Sandie Sedgbeer. https://www.sedgbeer.com
Now, somewhere between Olympia, Washington and Vegas, I got the “hit” that I was on the wrong road. Not the wrong highway, but the wrong personal path. All my fevered (expensive) publicity plans suddenly seemed “off.” I had the strongest sense that public success of this book—which I’d labored over for three years—would be a disaster personally.
Disconcerted, I got to Las Vegas and did the show (which went great). Afterwards I ended up having lunch and talking with another guest on the show, mystic and spiritual teacher Robert Rabbin.
Now, Robert was a majorly intense dude who had spent 10 years living and working with meditation master Swami Muktananda. (We became good friends after this chance meeting and remained so until he died.) So, we’re at this restaurant and had been talking for maybe 45 minutes, when suddenly he grabs my hand across the table, squeezes hard, stares into my eyes, and says,” You’re on the wrong path and you know it.”
Out of the blue. No lead in. No prep. Just BAM!
Okay … message received.
I’d already set up my speaking itinerary in areas I was especially interested in possibly moving: Boulder, CO (Gaia TV had me on a show there); Sedona, AZ, Santa Fe, NM, Santa Barbara, CA. I kept my commitments for the first six months of shows … but, following inner instructions, pulled the plug on all further promotion.
The book died practically upon launch. I saved a ton of money, and my editor stopped returning my calls.
Now what?
Surprise
At that point a friend who lived on Maui invited me to come stay for a month. Now, I’d never visited Hawai’i. Never wanted to visit Hawai’i. I figured it was just one more overly-developed tourist trap exploiting the native population, disfiguring yet one more Earthly paradise. Who needed that?
But I was at a loss what to do with my life at that point. Stopping the book’s promotion had been like shutting down the launch of the space shuttle in mid-air. So, I booked a flight. Three days later I was minding my own business, sitting on the beautiful north shore beach at Paia Bay, not a thought in my head and … well …
Let’s just say I got the message loud and clear to “come home.”
Beyond surprised, I stayed the month, went back to Olympia, sold everything I owned, and shipped my car. I’ve been on Maui ever since. For my maximum healthy growth and evolution, I’m assuming it’s the best move I could ever have made. Certainly, it’s been one of the happiest.
Absolutely, it’s been the most unexpected.
Freedom
Apparently, there’s a Zen saying that goes: “The wave is free when it realizes it is part of the sea.” It’s an odd saying, but it captures the feeling of what I’m trying to say.
Yes, I have total autonomy when it comes to my choices in life. And I do the best I can to make choices that feel the most aligned with my personal essence and life itself.
I show up. I work hard. I make sure I have plenty of downtime. I make sure I spend as much time in nature as I can. (Ocean swimming yay!) I do my best to follow-through on commitments and be there for others. I stay as open as possible to “life’s whispers” (and shouts). And if the message is I’m wrong about something or off-base, I do my best to humble myself to correct course.
I am perfect at none of this.
But the more I relax and don’t worry. The more I relax into the ocean, the bigger the sense that I am being carried. Supported. Not by something other than myself. But certainly something infinitely more expansive. So expansive it seems other.
I guess that’s the Great Mystery.