6

Enlightenment Journal | Summer 2011

consciousness. Some will try tools—

say an affirmation, offer a chant, or 

engage in a ritual action that signi-

fies the process of moving through 

the barrier. Any of the methods that 

we choose to apply can potentially 

be useful, if they signify a change in 

consciousness. Any real change in 

relationship to external obstacles must 

come from within us. Are there any 

reliable steps we can take to help move 

through obstacles? 

There are five steps we can take to 

open ourselves to any change that is 

needed. Since life is one Reality and 

we are not separate from it, we are 

empowered to move through obstacles 

in life by first making any useful inner 

adjustments. Often people work so 

hard on the outside, literally wearing 

themselves out trying to change things, 

when it is much more efficient to do 

the inner work first. This allows us to 

be clear about what action needs to be 

taken, if any. Sometimes the obstacle 

just falls away in the light of a change 

of consciousness. 

Here is a process for getting beyond 

obstacles:

1. Clear the mind.

 Sit quietly. Simply 

notice your breathing until thoughts 

and feelings settle. Meditate. Remain 

for a time in the awareness of your 

essential nature as spiritual, beyond 

thought, change or phenomena. Affirm 

and feel that your mind is clear, your 

discernment is keen and your intuition 

is awakened. 

2. Use discernment to objectively 
view the obstacle.

 After medita-

tion, remain for a time in tranquil, 

insightful awareness. Remind yourself 

that whatever the obstacle is, it is 

only a condition and all conditions 

are subject to change. Nothing in the 

manifest realm is permanent. Every-

thing is continually changing. Free 

yourself from seeing this obstacle as 

permanent. Know, and affirm, that 

divine order prevails in your life. Once 

you have discerned that your plan 

is useful and in harmony with the 

highest good, have faith that things 

will move forward at the right time. 

3. Inquire into any connection you 
have to this obstacle.

 This inquiry 

works best if done in a nonjudgmental 

way. Try simply being curious. Ask 

yourself some friendly questions like, 

“How might this obstacle be useful 

to me?” Sometimes we discover that 

we have called it forth because it 

either serves a purpose for us, or it is 

consistent with some belief that we are 

holding. Once we see our relationship 

to the obstacle, we can change our 

thinking and release any connection 

to it. 

4. Affirm divine order. 

An affirma-

tion that can be used after the inquiry 

is: All things are removed in divine 

order. When speaking these words, 

connect with their meaning and the 

feeling that the meaning evokes. Rest 

assured that all things are moving 

according to the divine plan and 

Ask yourself some friendly questions like,