The universe has a plan for me. It's what's happening right now.

Religious people often say, "God has a plan for me." People who fall into the spiritual-but-not-religious camp often say, "The universe has a plan for me." Deepak Chopra assures us this is the case.

Some Googling revealed lots of examples of the second variety of planning. I looked at a few. 

In The Universe Always Has A Plan, I read: 

You aren’t sad because you are an unhappy person. You are experiencing sadness as part of your healing journey, to create space for more light to be embodied. You will receive everything you desire at exactly the moment in time it is meant to arrive.

There is a destiny. It is guaranteed, and it also requires your participation. It may include outcomes the ego may desire, but it can only be fulfilled by the light of your soul.

In 6 Ways to Accept the Universe's Plan For You, I read:

However, eventually things turned around for me and I did find some answers by learning to trust that the Universe had simply put me on a much more suitable path. In the process of making my life better, the first step that I made was to put aside my university dreams and study astrology instead.

I did much of my coursework from my bed during my illness, but, as I made changes, the Universe showed me signs that I was on the right track. At first, I didn’t understand these signs. I didn’t know the meaning behind seeing the number 11:11 everywhere I looked, or by seeing other number patterns and coincidences. At this time I had no idea that other young people all over the world were having the same experiences with seeing 111, 222, 333, etc.

Well, I have difficulty understanding the difference between God having a plan for me and the universe having a plan for me, since in either case a supernatural sentient being is aware of me and is actively working to change the direction of my life in a way that the being views as desirable.

Seemingly the main benefit to viewing the universe as my planner, rather than God, is that the universe doesn't demand that I do anything special, like going to church or praying. And the universe is, not surprisingly, universal, while God comes in all kinds of guises depending on what religion is followed.

My personal position is that I see no reason to believe that anyone has a plan for me. Sure, it'd be nice to have an all-powerful being on my side. But the idea that such a being exists makes no sense, and the notion that this being wants to direct my life in a certain fashion makes even less sense. 

However, I do accept that the universe has a plan for me in this way.

There are laws of nature. Causes and effects take place in accord with the laws of nature. Whatever happens occurs in accord with those causes and effects. So whatever is happening right now in my mental and physical life can be thought of as the universe's plan for me. 

It isn't a conscious plan. It isn't a plan created prior to happenings. It is simply that portion of the unimaginably vast network of causes and effects in the universe that impact little me.

Tonight I was drawn to write this blog post. I know this was the universe's plan for me because it is what happened. Now I'm going to eat a small slice of frosted carrot cake, my favorite evening snack. That also was the universe's plan for me, assuming it happens in the next few minutes, as I suspect it will.

Meister Eckhart, the great medieval mystic theologian, had a similar view about God's will, as I quoted him in a 2006 post.

Now I hear you ask: “How do I know that it is God’s will? My answer is that if it were not God’s will even for a moment, then it would not exist. Whatever is must be his will. If God’s will is pleasing to you, then whatever happens to you, or does not happen to you, will be heaven.

Comments

[Ron E.]

Whether its 'God has a plan for me' or 'The universe has a plan for me', it all adds up to the same thing: - the human need or desire to be special, so special that some fabricated deity or universal principle is invented to give meaning to a persons life and existence – which is misunderstood.

In other words, the 'self' structure that has unconsciously been built up over the years and accordingly believes itself to be real, has little option but to maintain its shaky position. Much of this illusion (not what it appears to be) rests with the processes that form that other illusion – the mind. The mind, being comprised of the many mental processes such as thought, memory, emotion etc. Such mental phenomena form the end-product of information derived from the brain and senses as it arises in the spotlight of awareness.

Unlike the body/brain organism that sustains itself physically through food, water, air, etc., the mental 'self' structure can only 'exist' via the minds' other mental processes. Whatever thoughts, emotions, imaginations and so on have accumulated in the brain as information, they have the power to imagine a separate 'self', a 'me' and such a strong sense of a self has to be maintained and protected.

Conjuring up concepts of supernatural categories is just one way that a 'me' strives to exist as a tangible entity, yet, the 'me', the 'self' needs to exist as its part of the human total survival system. It's just that it needs to be acknowledged for what it is (deconstructed in Barretts' terms) or exposed to awareness from the Buddhist and mindfulness perspectives. Perhaps that is the nearest we can ever come to freedom – of a sort!

[Kranvir]

There is a plan for this cosmos , it is to delude, hide, and cause suffering to humanity souls for eternity. Only those that have sold their soul to the negative have a plan by their god, kaal, jot niranjan. The latest crook to have sold his soul is gurinder singh dhillon. His job is to confuse, divert , and waste the lives of those that are on rock bottom and looking outside for a saviour figure to save them from their misery of this life that they , gurinder and kaal, have put them in. This is where bent, crooked babas, like gurinder , whose vessel has been used by kaal, to redirect souls towards the fake light and expand his empire on earth. In exchange gurinder and his family get to be treated as a god, and as a billionaire, living the dream while the minions sangat suffer. Jot niranjan/ kaal then take the soul and as sex demons do all sex acts, as kammasutra, your then harvested and thrown back into this hell planet, ie reincarnated. Gurinder singh dhillon, your days are numbered, you and your family will face the consequences of your actions. You may have brainwashed millions but people are waking up. There will be many unhappy ex sangat wanting justice so watch your back Haha

[Karim W. Rahmaan]

The Sat Gurus like say Sawan Singh Ji, or Hazur Charan Singh Ji always said that the real Master is within.

Go within and see for yourself. That is the science they teach, and that is their method. The only way to know if what they teach is true is to conquer or subdue the Mind. The essence of proper Raj Yog.

[um]

The dictum was:

In order for you to say: "I eat",, two conditions have to be fullfilled.
One, there has to be food on the plate.
Second, you must have hunger.
Both conditions are GIVEN.

One can take "GIVEN" as there has to be a "GIVER"
There might be a giver their might be not.
In any case "given" means that the one that receives is not the giver / maker.

Whatever we have and are is GIVEN.

EVERYTHING .... and ... so is what we do.

What we "do, think and feel" is bound by whatever was given to each and everyone of us.

The crow HAS to FLY.

He has to live the will of something that is not his, something given
His body, his environment.

He cannot but act as a crow.

[um]

On closer examination, whatever exists, is a wonder.... EVERYTHING. ...whether, we humans experience and label it as evil or beneficial..

If the possibility to kill was not "GIVEN" nobody, could of would kill, for food, thought or emotion..

Some do realize that, whatever is there, whatever, happens is all "given" and that whatever is "given" is functioning together orderly according laws that scientists try to catch in a formula, so that they can harnass that power and use it.

The deeper that realization that all and everything is "given" will result in all sorts of emotions .. like gratitude. .... feelings they might want to express.

In order to express, they need something towards they can express and if it is not there the might create it ...

Light needs an object in order to reflect.

The object can me abstract .... hahahaha .... and ......humanized

And than we have ... HIS plan for us ... hahaha

We have to "endure" existence as crows do.

[Roger]

All human experience is causal.

It’s a lack of conscious awareness that creates the stories about them.

We can create stories about their origin and believe them to be a truth in or of themselves.

Concepts such as luck, fate, chance, destiny, accident, random or chaos are used to give meaning to an experience because the causal conditions are not recognized.

No human experience is a spontaneous event.

Whatever the experience is, the only reason it happened is because of an infinite number of inter-related preceding causes and conditions.

This same causality principle applies to all things (physical, emotional, psychological, or any combination thereof) within the known universe.

Within that principle, no first cause of anything can be evidentially established, and because of this, the need for conceptual stories may lead to confusion.

I’m human and am capable of creating such concepts. Hopefully, there is some honesty that I can provide for myself.

[PascalsPager]

We can at least discern the plan of the universe for our diet: since our ancestors for the last 5 million years weren't vegetarian, it makes no sense for us to believe the universe wants us to be vegetarian -- and thus ruin our health with the high sugar content of vegetarian foods.

On the other hand, if we subscribe to the notion that the universe wants us to eat plant food, then we're following a quasi-religious idealistic view. A view in harmony with the Sant Mat gurus.

[🦉]

Brian, absolutely loved and appreciated this post! I agree wholeheartedly with what you have written. ❤️ 🙏 ❤️ 🙏

[🦉]

In this day and age “God” is particularly difficult to define. The term means so many different things to so many people. That said, as an agnostic I find it very refreshing.

None of us can claim to know everything. But we can make the best choices based upon our personal experience. And “personal experience” makes it very clear to us that others have their own way of experiencing reality. If we respect that to the best of our ability, suddenly life becomes a lot more vibrant and interesting.

It doesn’t bother me that many people have a somewhat rigid view of the universe. I find that easy to accept. What’s difficult is practicing letting go—letting go of unnecessary offenses. Letting go of worry about whether others agree with me or not (as if that’s going to actually change Reality).

I’m still a big fan of EckhartTolle. Living in the here and now is so liberating. But you can only experience it for yourself. You can’t push it on anyone.

[La Madrugada]

Thank you for this post Brian.

[um]

@ Pager

All creatures live in an environment where they can "gather" their food ... AND ... they are all equipped with bodies / brains to do so.!!!

Outside these original habitats no creature can survive.!!!

Only humans have an extra talent, that they use to adapt to situations that differ from their original habitat . So in order to survive they have to RE-create the original habitat situations. And .. that is exactly what they do.!!

Originally they lived where the differences between day and night temperature were not that great that they needed any form of shelter, cover or heat.

When they migrated to colder climates they invented all these things. They also invented agriculture as in these colder climates there is not enough food to gather the whole year around. They also learned how to domesticate animals, as hunting is not part of their original and natural make up. They in no way resemble having the tools that carnivors have at their disposal.

As they can not easily lay their hands on other animals as predictors can, they had to develop FIRST hunting techniques and weapons of hunt before they could.

Next they have not the tools, strenght and the organs to swallow and digest RAW meat. Before being able to consume meat they had to invent first means to change meat in such an way, qua structure and taste, that it was possible. They had to invent fire and the technique of cooking.

What is cooking all about but changing the structure and taste of otherwise undigestible food in such a way that it resembles "fruit"

Have a look at how the aboriginals have lived after leaving Africa ... they are vegetable gatherers and eat only some small living creatures in wood, Mind you BEFORE they developed the use of hunting weapons the like of boomerangs etc.

Original man lived in a place where the differences between day an night temperature were minimal and where there was an abundance of vegetable food that they could just pluck with their hands.

And THAT is what they still do today wherever they are

No need of religion and or science to understand these simple thins.

Walking in nature, looking at crows makes these things seen.

For the rest ... lucky is the human that has not lost the intuition to eat what is good for his body and has not become dependable on so called experts, to tell him what to eat or not ... like the crow, that stands not in need of scholars, docters, dietitians and what more.

Enjoy your meat my friend.

[Jim Sutherland]

The following Link was reposted on Youtube by some one who had saved it. It was so controversial, that Rick Archer, the Site Owner deleted the complete Inter interview. I watched it before it was deleted, and it resonated with me, and I just watched it again yesterday after it resurfaced on Youtube. I could really FEEL the truth and sincerity of Dr. Robert’s “Wakening” ……not “Awakening”. Aren’t we ALL in the same lost at sea humans incarnates in this mysterious Ship?
http://www.thetenthousandthings.net/Robert%20on%20BATGAP.mp4?fbclid=IwAR2zQIQvnsAZJ-CNVtgpxnReOcAj2WODA6Z5VvkRR8apGougUiRB0EwWbBk

‘Up shit creek with out a paddle.”
Jim Sutherland

[um]

@ Jim

What was so controversial that it was removed?
The man did not say a wrong word on anybody.
He just said that if you are caught up in the movie, you are hypnotized by its content.
That is all he said.
Whatever movie you are into, is a movie.
The movie can be a piece of art or transfer great this or that but it is still a movie from which one can wake up.