Working in Partnership with the Universe

Have you ever felt like you are banging your head against the wall, trying to achieve your goals? Setting very large goals and attempting to accomplish everything yourself is one sure way to get overwhelmed fast. No matter how confident you are at the outset, you will lose steam quickly when you begin encountering obstacles at every turn.

One good way to turn this around is to ask the universe to work in partnership with you. By asking for help and believing that help will be provided, you ease the sense of pressure you would otherwise feel by knowing everything is resting on your shoulders.

If you turn every endeavor into a joint effort, you truly can’t fail. The universe helps by sending lucrative opportunities, shortcuts and more in your direction. You do your part by taking care of what comes most naturally or easily to you.

In their popular book, “Ask and It is Given” Jerry and Esther Hicks describe an exercise called a “Placemat Process.” This process was named such because the Hicks’ were traveling a lot for business and Esther found herself feeling overwhelmed by everything she needed to do on a daily basis.

She devised a simple way to divide up her duties by asking the universe for help. While sitting in a restaurant, she took a paper placemat and flipped it to the blank back side. With a pen, she drew a single line down the center of the mat. At the top of one column, she wrote, “The Universe,” and at the top of the other, “Me.”

She then proceeded to list everything she wanted the universe to take care of in the proper column, and in her own column she listed the things she would be able to handle on her own. According to Esther, this process works incredibly well for her. The universe does indeed seem to take care of the things she lists on that side of the paper, and her focus is freed up to take care of her own duties. Talk about a brilliant partnership!

If you want to perform a similar activity for yourself, simply use a sheet of plain paper and follow the same format. Which tasks seem too overwhelming to you? Which of them seem confusing or burdensome in some way? Which do you feel you can handle without a problem? Place these tasks in their proper columns, then fold the sheet and put it away somewhere, trusting fully that it will be taken care of.

If list-making isn’t your favorite activity, you might try verbalizing this process in prayer, or simply making a mental list during a visualization session.

In the end, the process you use doesn’t matter. The whole point of this exercise is to move you from a position of overwhelm to more balanced and productive place so you don’t feel like it’s all up to you.

When you do this on a regular basis, everything automatically seems easier. Not only do you look forward to holding up your own end of the bargain, you just never know who or what you might attract into your life by asking for help.