For all of you who asked to see it…the new haircut!
I saw my mother the other day and she loved my new haircut, and said that she wanted to get a similar one. She then asked me to make an appointment for her with my hairstylist, Liz. While I can enthusiastically recommend Liz, I felt a little twinge of discomfort thinking about setting the appointment up. My mother has never liked her hair cut/styles and although I know that she has changed over the past year (and become a lot more positive in general), I had visions of her being unhappy and grumbling about it afterward. I called Liz anyway and left a message.
As I drove home, I thought, “If this is not in the highest and best for everyone, I ask it to be roadblocked.” This “prayer”* is one of the most helpful spiritual tools that I have ever used. Many years ago, I was working as a volunteer for the Norman Vincent Peale Prayer Line, and the director (at that time) was the one who first told me about it.
Sometimes we make commitments, or say yes to something, that we’re not totally comfortable doing, and aren’t sure if we should cancel, or go forward with it. This is the time when the roadblock prayer is so helpful. Basically it says, “I am turning this entire situation over to a Higher Intelligence. I cannot figure out the best course and feel confused when I try to. I am going to move forward with the plan (whatever it may be) but if it is not in the highest and best good, then I give You (Spirit/God/Universal Energy) full permission to roadblock it, and I will now drop the struggle from my mind.”
The wording is not important, but the intention is. I have to be ready to really let go of the mental debate and turn my current dilemma over to the part of me (the Divine Self) that always knows the best course to take, but that I might be, in the moment, having a hard time hearing because of my conflicted thoughts/emotions. After I’ve said this prayer, I drop the issue from my mind and refuse to entertain it again.
An hour after getting home from meeting with my mother, she called to say that she had changed her mind and was going to give her own hairdresser another try. It was so simple and easy and I didn’t have to say a word. There is so much more help available to us, spiritually/Universally, than we sometimes realize.
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell
* The “Roadblock Prayer” has been such a helpful tool in my life, and I’ve wanted to share it here for a while, but felt I couldn’t adequately explain it. If what I have written is at all confusing or you would like me to say a little bit more about it, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to talk more about it.
