648 thoughts on “‘It Was Meant to Be’ and ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’”

1. Understanding how words are so important energetically then when we start to understand how Love is interpreted makes so much difference, as you have shared Jo.

2. Our bodies are constantly communicating with us all the time, you had dreams Jo about driving cars with no brakes. I always had dreams where I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car I was supposed to be driving. I felt this was telling me that I was not the master of my body. I haven’t had a dream showing me this for years. So I know that I have mastered my body in as much as my mind has less control than it did, as for years, I would say I was a walking mind only, I was completely disconnected to my body.

3. Honesty offers me the space to learn and to understand where my reactions, attachments or needs comes from. Having a relationship with myself based on this quality empowers me to accept my healing process and to hold myself lovingly no matter what. This approach to life based on the Ancient Wisdom supports me to understand that all that happens in life has its energetic root. By going deeper I can understand all that on the surface may cause a reaction or judgment. Then I can heal and let go…

   1. A relationship with self based on self-honesty and commitment is a great step towards loving and adoring self, ‘I have been inspired to re-develop and deepen my self-honesty and commitment to myself and to life’.

4. Simply, the living truth of words brings things like ‘making sense’ and decency and respect energetically assessable, so they become a part our living way as in, The Way of The Livingness and understanding the energetic truth of words brings so much to our evolution.

5. Responsibility, offers us so much, and as we become more aware we open up ourselves to deepening our relationship with divinity and divine purpose.

   1. gregbarnes888 I can relate to what you are saying, I became more aware the other day that I wanted something sweet to eat. I stopped what I was doing and asked my self what was going on. I have such a caring relationship with my body now that I know if I eat sugar it races me so that I do not feel myself; there’s a disconnection. The thoughts I had were tempting me to eat something sweet, but I appreciate myself so much now that to have those few seconds of sweetness in my mouth before I swallowed the sweet something was not worth the disconnection to me it would bring, as not only would I disconnect from myself but to everyone else, as we are all held in the one body of god and everyone can feel everything all the time, so it becomes not about me but about everyone. That’s our relationship with divinity and divine purpose.

      1. Absoulutely Mary, and may I add that every step we take towards these divine relationships makes it simpler to feel the ill energy trying to get us to disconnect through our movements long before we see the chocolate.

   2. Responsibility is super important, ‘I have been learning to observe and feel my own body and things around me and as a result I have been gaining more and more understanding and awareness about why things happen and how I have a part in it all.’

6. Thanks Joy this brings responsibility into a more moment by moment experience, noting how our quality is and how we are impacting on our environment and those around us – “When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.”

   1. Absoulutely otherwise we are simply living a lie in all we do when we leave our the process of using our will to self-correct.

7. This is a great read because it allows us to feel just how out of whack we all are with ourselves and the universe, and we have no one to blame but ourselves because we stood by and allowed it all to happen.

8. It is so empowering when we know and understand that life happens through the choices we make, including our health. All we have to do is choose a different way ✨

   1. Energetically we hold Responsibility for so much, then as we become more aware we open up ourselves to deepening our relationship with everyone as we are responsible for all our choices and to reflect the divine purpose we can all obtain.

   2. Yes Vicky, the choices we make have a big impact on our lives, ‘ I started to realise that it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations I was in and that it would be my choices and responses to life that would get me out I realised that everything does happen ‘for a reason’.’

9. This is a great read because Jo expresses the truth about Serge Benhayon. There is no rah rah just the fact that Serge Benhayon talks such deep common sense on a huge array of subjects, his understanding surpasses any scientist because he is at one with the universe, he does not try to own anything. Whereas to me, scientists try to own what they know and so talk down to people. Serge Benhayon is by contrast a great leveler, he talks to you not at you.

   1. What Serge Benhayon shares makes complete sense, thank God that we have him here to support our return to Love and Truth, ‘It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.’

10. ‘If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe.’ I know the arrogant part of me does take on the universe and thinks somehow it can get away with it. But like a loving parent the universe says no, that’s enough now and allows all the ill choices to be felt and, when I have sense enough, for me to surrender and release.

11. When we say everything happens for a reason it gives us an opportunity not to be a victim but instead to take a few steps back and to read things energetically. I have definitely not lived this but am starting to a bit more now and it is really supportive because it gives me space to understand things more and to change my actions, behaviours or thoughts if I need to.

12. I grew up hearing the words – ‘it was meant to be’ – echoing around me regularly and as a result I began to use them too, but in the process, I can see how I developed a victim mentality, believing that everything happened to me, not because of me. Letting of the victim and taking responsibility for my choices in life has me seeing so very clearly that, ‘everything happens for a reason’

13. The irony that you ‘used to go-and-go despite recurring dreams that my cars had no brakes…’ shows us Jo just how much we push ourselves and don’t listen to such signs or symbols in our day to day life that tell us to literally slow down.

14. I have finally come to a place in my life where I know so clearly, “that life can be understood and as a result I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train”, and what a wonderful and very rest-full place that is. It was very exhausting being a passenger on that train but not for one moment did I even consider that I could take my place in the driver’s seat, pull the handbrake on and come to a stop. But when I finally did, I felt like I could breathe my own breath again and the feeling throughout my body was one of liberation and joy.

    1. We are supported in life to return to our true selves, to be more aware, ‘ I see how intricate life lessons naturally formulate to support us in coming back to balance; in coming back to ourselves and to each other. ‘

15. “It was meant to be” ignores free will so how can it be true?

16. This self-honesty thing, I am constantly finding the layers of dishonesty I have been cloaking myself under, it’s quite staggering I almost convinced myself.

17. These days I never believe that things ‘just happen’ or it’s random. There’s always something deeper to read behind a situation. That’s what makes life more interesting.

18. Such a different view to life that everything in life offers us 24/7 opportunities to learn to be more loving and keep deepening that. Instead of having ‘bad luck’ you have a chance to grow.

    1. Exactly, we are forever offered opportunities to heal, to return to our Soul, ‘If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe. And then a correction may occur in the same way as our body physiology is continuously correcting, discharging and healing little parts for the integrity of the whole.’

19. ‘More and more I am making choices based on the wisdom that comes from my body; these are always loving and supportive decisions and through this experience I know that what I need truly is inside me.’
    The difference between what my body communicates and what the thoughts try to make me see as the way things are, are vast. My head can be worried about a situation whereas when I connect to my body that can be completely absent and there is just settlement, confidence and trust.

20. ‘it was meant to be’ is very much giving our power away as though you are a leaf in the wind. ‘everything happens for a reason’ understands that all aspects of life are significant – and noteworthy of our part in any given situation.

    1. Understanding the meaning of the word ‘reason’ here is very important and helpful.

    2. I love the analogy of being a “leaf in the wind” when we give our power away with the words “it was meant to be”. I grew up hearing that power-less statement all around me, but something never rang true as it felt like throwing any decisions into the wind, and hoping that everything would turn out all right; and not surprisingly, more than often than not, it didn’t.

21. I love what you are saying here, Jo, about Love letting us know when we are moving disharmoniously. Everything means something and a tangled up vacuum cleaner cord is a sure sign of things not flowing smoothly. As you say, a stop moment to re-connect and learn from the reflection makes all the difference.

22. What you share here is really important for us to consider – not as a ‘must’ but as a consideration…”If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe. And then a correction may occur in the same way as our body physiology is continuously correcting, discharging and healing little parts for the integrity of the whole.” To consider that we contribute to a greater whole offers us an opportunity to really appreciate who we are and what we contribute to the world.

23. I love your approach, which way do we want to experience what happens in our lives? I would rather see everything as a lesson and look at how I got to that lesson, then see how I can move in a different way so my outcomes are simpler.

24. I feel part of this relates to religious beliefs, that there is a mysterious and greater power out there making things happen. We curse God for all sorts of perceived misfortune and may believe we are being rewarded when things are going well.

25. Thank you Jo, it is a very powerful read. I agree that responsibility (to respond with love) is the reason for all of our corrections, we often move so far away from our true loving selves for so long that the body must rid itself of the impact. Understanding this is so key to healing because often we see illness as “luck of the draw”, when it’s actually a strong communication about something and our body needing to clear the effects of our separation from our true selves.

    1. Bringing more responsibility, and love into our lives means we are supported more, ‘As I have been developing a foundation of self-care I have found that supportive elements I have previously struggled for (but been unable to acquire or maintain) now come along without effort. In this I see that I hold the keys to my life and I feel held by God.’

26. Seeing things as ‘that’s how life is’ – there’s a certain resignation, and given-upness in that, where we disempower ourselves. On the flip-side, living with the understanding that everything happens for a reason, even if we might not understand or know immediately what those reasons are, just that it is happening for a reason that is beyond or temporal comprehension, enriches life and empowers us to take responsibility for all of our choices.

    1. I find that reason (that it’s happening) can take a split second to understand or it can take years to come to an understanding of why certain things came about. What I find very beautiful is the deepening and widening understanding that comes as we start to piece our different reasons (circumstances) together.

27. When we can understand and accept that everything happens for a reason, it becomes very clear that to believe that something ‘was meant to be’ is simply an excuse to not take responsibility for our choices.

28. Having phrases like ‘things just happen’ or ‘it’s fate’ or ‘it was meant to be’ are things we tell ourselves when we don’t want to be responsible for our actions. We are the creators of our lives and what happens to us is not as random as we would like to tell ourselves.

29. Two common saying I grew up around and did not delve deeper into their meanings. Yes it was ‘meant to be’ but why was it meant to be was never looked into further.
    ‘Everything happens for a reason’ again another saying that is asking us to investigate but I certainly did not put any further thoughts to it either.

    It is since meeting Serge Benhayon too that I have more understanding to both of these sayings and everything in life comes with a responsibility and in some respect it’s like a boomerang, what you put out comes back to you.

30. In a world where everything is energy first before it manifests physically, no ‘meant to be’ can exist as everything has a precursor, everything is subject to cause and effect. ‘Meant to be’ is a prison of our own making and supports irresponsibility whereas responsibility makes space and liberates.

31. Jo you raise an important point here – ‘With more awareness has come a huge understanding of responsibility’, yes many prefer to dull their awareness to avoid the responsibility, I know I have but am discovering the joy that can come with being more responsible.

32. Jo, what a joy to read. Our life = our choices. So simple. What we make of our life, is up to us. And responsibility is new black. It’s a very cool way to be.

    1. And I love this ‘new black’, it really suits me; taking responsibility that is. For much of my life I lived irresponsibly, especially when it came to making choices around the care of my body, and then inexplicably wondered why it was always breaking down. Oh yes, when it comes to the quality of our lives, it’s the quality of the choices that make the difference.

    2. Responsibility is the way forward, ‘More and more I am making choices based on the wisdom that comes from my body; these are always loving and supportive decisions and through this experience I know that what I need truly is inside me.’ Very beautiful, wisdom comes from within our body.

33. “taking initiative to choose the quality of my path to be one that feels true for me” and each choice we make prepares us for our next step on the way.

34. I love how these corrections are always there for us to return to love and never as a punishment. They are basically saying ‘come on, you are so much more than what you are living right now.’

35. After living most of my life feeling “like a passenger on a runaway train” it feels so great to be in the driver’s seat instead. I always used to suspect there was much more to life and thanks to the amazing presentations of Serge Benhayon I finally discovered that what I was feeling was in fact the truth. Now that was the biggest ‘light-bulb’ moment ever!

36. I think it’s great how you’ve highlighted here how we can use phrases or words to gloss over things, to not really consider what was going on or what is happening on a deeper level and by doing this we can avoid being more aware of how the way we are in life has an effect on everything…

37. One day we will reunite fully with God. This is the truth. It will also happen for a reason: because we will all realize that this is not it and we are meant for something else, much higher. Till that time, life will provide us with constant offerings. The problem with the word ‘offerings’ is that we do not see some events as offerings, even if they are.

38. ‘If it was meant to be’ raises the question of meant by whom? It could be ourselves.

39. I love how and when things unfold, why they happened. The key for it is to allow space. The moment we judge a situation, because we expected or wanted a different outcome, there is no space. The moment we allow the possibility that it happened to reflect us something and accept that, every , really, every situation is an amazing opportunity to grow for us.

    1. Thank you Stefanie, these were the perfect words for me to read today.

       1. This is why expression is so important and indeed is everything. By expressing whatever I understand and live in life, might inspire another to do the same. What a beautiful exchange of currency.

40. The way that we use the “it was meant to be” card is a way to avoid resonsibility for the choices that we have made that lead to situations that we do not like. It is a humbling moment when we realise that we are responsible for our choices.

    1. And responsible for the outcomes.

41. “When I commit to deepening my self-honesty and listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs, I then move into truthfulness which allows me to be more-of-me instead of investing deeper in my avoidance techniques (which take me further away from being who I am) and then needing the painful and/or dramatic ‘wake-up calls’”. What an amazing paragraph, thank you Jo. I had not made the link between self honesty and then the opportunity to live more of me, the truth of who I am. It’s a great observation too about the subsequent avoidance techniques we employ if we are not honest. Beautifully written, thank you.

42. “I have discovered that life can be understood and as a result I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train” And you realise you have the responsibility to move into the driving seat with an awareness of every signal that is shown to you so that you bring yourself and all those travelling with you with a return ticket back to where we all come from.

    1. I love that picture Mary. Yes, never sitting on the backseat of the car. Steering the wheel through every situation in life, as everything is perfectly constellated and designed to grow and evolve us back to who we truly are. So why waste time sitting in the back seat!

43. ‘ When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.’ As soon as we clock that we are not feeling ourselves and we reunite, how lovely that feels to come back home to who we truly are…to bring harmony again from the discord we have allowed.

44. Once we get that everything happens for a reason and that we have had a part in every situation we find ourselves in; then life starts to look different. We also start to view the so-called ‘bad things’ that happen to us as a point of evolution, an opportunity for us to learn from and to go deeper with the relationship we have with ourselves.

45. Equally if nothing is nothing, then there is an energy making it happen. What energy source do we choose?

46. “This ‘common sense’ is the Universal Love that Serge Benhayon lives and consistently shares as an inspiration for all.” Ive always been a lover of ‘common sense’ – a practical, down to earth approach to all things in life. So enter Serge Benhayon who takes everything back to the bare bones so that we understand there is ‘common sense’ behind everything, and shows us that we are capable of living life in a simple and clear way as long as we are willing to take responsibility for our ill choices, and you have an attentive listener who is then able to begin to turn their life around.

    1. yes, common sense is a doorway to simplicity. It has been interesting to observe how there are some ‘common sense’ people who shut themselves off to the possibility that their common sense is subscribing to a model that doesn’t make sense at all! So I have learnt to question my normal as often as possible without finding myself in a heap and unable to make sense of anything.

47. The more we honour our connection to the universal source, the all knowing wisdom, the less we abuse our body in any shape or form. The moment we disconnect to that, we become “human” in a millisecond denying the multidimensionality we are, which always gives us space to observe and read energy, instead making it about a person or an incident that suddenly happened without reason.

    1. Nothing comes from nothing and everything is part of the cause and effect equation, whether we like it or not. It’s much better to like or t least consider it because it teaches us much and ends up making life much richer and more fulfilling.

48. The more we honour our connection to the universal source, the all knowing wisdom, the less we abuse our body in any shape or form. The moment we disconnect to that, we become “human” in a millisecond denying the multidimensionality we are, which always gives us space to observe and read energy, instead making it about a person or an incident that suddenly happened without reason.

49. To me there is a cause and effect happening all the time, along with consequences that follow the cause and effect. I have experienced this for myself in this life, there is a cause that I have brought in from another life that is playing out in this life, it is up to me and my choices whether I make different choices that produce a different effect or outcome. That is to me how we learn to rebalance what through our own choices through many lives have become out of balance between ourselves and the universe. To think that we exist outside of the universe and that we do not affect the universe and vise versa is to me at the nub of our wayward existence on earth.

50. There’s a lot we can gain from paying attention to and listening to what life’s messages, signs and unfoldments are there to show us. Nothing is random, and how we relate to life knowing that things do happen for a reason is what defines what kind of student (of life) we are.

51. Everything does happen for a reason and sometimes it is not till much later that we understand the why, and often is the case that we have learned something valuable.

52. We moan and complain about life events but so often it turns out when you look deeper that it’s us who have said yes to them in the first place and actually created it. Being honest about our true intent is step one of changing things.

53. Thank you for the links here. I had not visited Simply Living Global before and found it very interesting, there is an article about ‘spice’ there that is very informative and could help many get clearer about this substance.

54. I love how you use the phrase “deep common sense” in describing Serge Benhayon. He talks about many aspects of life that we have made so complex and complicated in a way that is not only easy to understand but also simple. He has such a deep understanding of what makes everything the way it is.

    1. I agree, Jennifer. Serge was the one who re-introduced the power and truth of simplicity back into my life. And now I can say and feel that if something is not simple it is not from the Soul and I need to reconsider and change something.

55. Whenever I get too close to letting go and just allowing life to be rather than trying to control it, I cut myself of from the intricate support that is available to us all by sabotaging myself. This choice keeps me as the individual only thinking of myself and not about the plight that humanity is in.

56. ‘It was meant to be’ statement makes you feel that it is all out of your control and in this takes all responsibility away, however when we consider ‘everything is energy and everything happens because of energy’ responsibility then is given its rightful place.

57. ‘like when I am working in a less-than-loving way and the vacuum cleaner cord gets hung up in unbelievable ways to show me that I need to stop and re-set myself by breathing or moving more gently.’ The magic of God is everywhere to get us back to our true nature, and in a very playful way if we open our eyes and follow what we innately know and feel.

58. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ is God’s everlasting love communicating to us and giving as an opportunity to learn and evolve.

59. I definitely used to be more in the ‘It was meant to be camp’, although I also always felt that ‘everything happens for a reason.’ The kicker was that when I was responsible for something bad happening or creating some problem I would tend to say “It was meant to happen” in a way that absolved me of any responsibility as if I had to learn the hard way in order to work through the issue and like there was no other option than for those chain of events to occur (which is obviously nonsense). Then, if somebody else was at fault for the same kind of accident or negative occurrence, I would go with the “Everything happens for a reason”, in a way that asked them to ponder on what choices they made that lead to that thing happening and take responsibility for it. Quite crafty of me, but no evolution or true learning ever came of that approach, and I appreciate what Jo has said here about the true difference between those statements, which I agree with and live by whole-heartedly now.

60. Responsibility is fast becoming one of my most favourite words… as a quality of being alert and aware in each moment and responding with love to everything that life offers us.

61. Life has a flow to it and within that flow, things happen as they are meant to. For example, we may have set ourselves a time we want to be somewhere and have allowed that time to get there. But along the way we get stuck behind a slow car. We can either take this as something that has got in our way as we want to control how life flows, or we can see it as everything happening as it is meant to so that we arrive at our destination exactly when we are meant so that everything that is constellated to happen can happen.

62. There is always a reason why certain things happen, and it is when we actually start taking responsibility for the events that lead to the consequences, that we realise that we have a choice, and an opportunity to choose differently in future.

63. Oh, I felt like you were writing a ‘love letter of truth’ to me today, thank you. I needed to hear what you shared, i picked this blog for a reason today. To be reminded to let go of my avoidance techniques and to return to love and responsibility. This was a standout for me – “When I commit to deepening my self-honesty and listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs, I then move into truthfulness which allows me to be more-of-me instead of investing deeper in my avoidance techniques (which take me further away from being who I am) and then needing the painful and/or dramatic ‘wake-up calls’.”

    1. A beautiful example that everything’s happening for a reason. You reading and picking this blog, when it was needed, was certainly no coincidence. We just need to follow our impulses and trust in the flow and rhythm of life and everything approaching us makes so much sense!

64. “Everything happens for a reason” – is understanding the everything that is in everything.

65. ‘” It Was Meant to Be’ and ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’ ”
    I would like to add that everything happens with a purpose , to balance what’s not balanced with harmony.

66. “Meant to be” takes away any responsibility for the choices we are making, a total cop out.

67. ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’. . . .is asking us to pay attention, do the reading and respond accordingly.

68. There is something that does not feel quite right about the phrase “everything happens for a reason”. I hear it quite a lot in general discussions and have used it myself. I have found that it does not bring us to a stop to reflect on life or what is happening. While there is a truth to it, I don’t know that it brings us to truth. It feels like its only part way there, thereby clouding the what is.

69. Whenever I used to say “it was meant to be” I would feel a niggle in my body that was telling me that this was not true and that I was actually not taking responsibility for the consequences of the choices I had been making. But when I say “everything happens for a reason” I can feel a solidity in the statement as the truth is undeniable. I no longer use the first statement as if I was to even consider it the niggle in my body would alert me to the lie that I am about to share. What a wise body I – we all – have.

70. Just as there is ‘no meant to be there’ is no coincidence. If we accept this a whole world of divine design and cause and effect opens up, showing us the workings behind human life and how all is orchestrated to be, either by divinity or the wayward spirit.

71. “it is meant to be’ is excusing us from discerning and feeling for ourselves what is truth.

72. This sentence really stands out for me today ‘In this I see that I hold the keys to my life and I feel held by God.’ Often when we feel powerless, it is because we are giving our power away to the world, friends and family, but in those moments, what we fail to realise is that we are choosing our reality and that it is an illusion that we are the victim, or that we cannot change our circumstances around us. This sentence tells us that we are the creators of our lives and that we are never not held by God.,

73. If, or when we open up to seeing the deeper reason behind why things happen in our life, or that we see around us, we can learn so much and appreciate how much of a difference our way of being makes, not just to our wellbeing, but that of everyone else as well.

74. I feel that we have as a society accepted being much less than who we truly are, there is a lack of genuine care and deep nurture. It seems to start from an early age and the current education system exacerbates this lack of care and understanding. So we grow up feeling empty and insecure. When we feel unsupported in life, lacking in confidence with ourselves, we can act in a way that is irresponsible and from there, is it any wonder that we make some harmful choices.

75. Nothing is by accident every thing is divinely planned the only problem is that we often do not like the part we are designed to play in the plan, so we tend to go off on a separate tangent away from the Universal Love.

    1. Yes very true Mary-Louise.

76. ‘It was just meant to be’ is a great way for us to avoid the beauty of responsibility.

77. What I got so clearly from reading this today is that life is the most amazing, incredible, school that you can ever wish to attend. And you know what? We all do know this, as often we refer to lessons learnt as ‘life lessons’.

78. ” I can lie to myself and deny this message by cursing (blaming) God, the vacuum or the world for ‘making things hard for me’, or I can be open to learning by stopping to get honest and ask, “OK, why is this happening?”. A great question to ask. We can then use every ‘incident’ as an opportunity to go deeper within and feel what is really going on. Honesty brings clarity.

79. Everything is perfectly designed to be a the reflection we need in the moment to learn and evolve from.

80. If we truly understood what ‘everything happens for a reason’ meant, how could we watch TV? How could we ever find ourselves wanting to be entertained and play a computer game? For every move and word we say, every person that we meet and everything we see in the street, is perfectly and powerfully placed to communicate the truth to us. The only reason I can see that we might want to avoid this fact, is it brings responsibility right back to us, and eliminates blame. We have to stop playing our age old get-out-of-jail-free card -‘it wasn’t me’. Thanks Jo for this honest blog.

81. Brilliant Jo – it can seem that life’s events are concrete and engrained in the sands of time like immovable pyramids. But what is huge to understand is that these circumstances are purely results of what we choose. Like a scientist performing experiments, with equipment he cannot read, whilst we think our experiences to be ‘pure chance’ or ‘fate’ we never grow and learn.

82. Absolutely, everything that we allow to be in our life is reflected back to us, and it is either reflecting the grace of who we truly are of something which isn’t resolved.

83. I can really feel the arrogance and waywardness in the way I used to say ‘It was meant to be’ as well, which implied somehow God wanted it that way, while I had no personal intension whatsoever to comply with His way.

84. The terms ‘Meant to be’ or ‘Things just happen’ are like a get out of jail card, an invitation to be irresponsible and an excuse to blow things off without seeing our part in them. If we do not pay attention to why things happen and what there is to learn, how will we ever change?

85. Everything that happens is an opportunity to learn from and grow or alternatively use as a form of delay.

86. Exactly. And what an ingenious disguise for irresponsibility to hide behind.

87. “It was meant to be” ignores the element of choice we all have.

88. In the past I was leading a very toxic and self-abusive life with no disregard and no self worth. And my body gave me a correction in the form of Breast Cancer, which brought my world to a big stop, shook me and wakened me up to such a degree that I knew I wanted to heal and clear my old behaviours and patterns and not go for a ‘quick fix’ . It was this choice that allowed me to get honest, and from honesty I could understand everything so much clearer, and from this understanding I could take responsibility for my life….. and my healing began. 7 years later, I am still clear, and healthy and live a super simple life with a new foundation of self love and self worth – my life has completely transformed. I am forever in deep gratitude to Serge Benhayon for all he presents and lives and for his pure love for humanity.

89. Thank you for sharing Jo the common sense approach to life that Serge Benhayon offer to us. when we look at a situation and choose to look at our part we become responsible, this opens up the opportunity for greater awareness and understanding so that healing can occur.

    1. Yes, we all know the true meaning of things, we simply have not wanted to know. It is all about choosing to consider what our part is in everything that happens and this is the start of taking up the responsibility which has been ours to take all along.

90. When we avoid responsibility and deny our true nature, it is very easy to think that ‘it was meant to be’. When we are open to the part we play in every situation, we are offered an opportunity to evolve and grow.

91. “‘Help’ often does not come in the way we want it but in the way we need it.” This is possibly one of the reasons of negating the lessons that need to be learnt, but opening to them, to that help, opens us up to a deeper and greater understanding of our lives.

92. This is so true! It sounds so laid back, accepting life as it is, not a care in the world and ultimately an idyllic state of mind, which many people I’ve met in the past expressed and tried to emulate. But what I noticed was that it required a lot of effort and force to try to be that way and the disharmony caused was seen in their life which revealed the lack of responsibility and true purpose in their life.

93. Perhaps the most important thing is to know (not question) that there is always a reason why things happen if we are prepared to look at it. We always have a part to play in any situation so rather than blaming the world, there is always something for us to look at in how we have acted or moved in relation to it.

    1. Yes, there is a cause and to find the cause, the true cause, can be amazingly liberating.

94. ‘There is a reason that everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being and back to a more loving and natural Way.’ This is such a beautiful way of being that can be taken into my day and when I am reminded of it I am instantly connected to the all and no longer in any poor me/victim or blame stuff – and this can include thinking I’m not loved by God for this to be happening which could be very small like all the lights on the way to work are red! No, when truly understanding everything is there for a reason and the chance to see a reflection that’ll bring the opportunity to be honest and let go of what is not loving, one cannot but feel the love and the beyond wow wisdom of God.

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96. Everything happens for a reason, so what part of that reason has been my choices? I could do with sitting with this question today. Everytime I take responsibility for something life improves. It’s worth being responsible as irresponsibility hurts.

97. ‘Things do not just happen’. There is always a reason why something happens. The reason may or may not be apparent to us. Yet, when we open up to this, we also open up to what the reason may be. That understanding is of great value. It helps us to deepen, change or confirm our movements.

98. The ‘it was meant to be’ mentality fosters irresponsibility, apathy and giving up on self, others and life.

    1. Beautifully exposed gabriele

99. Everything is everything – the fact is that we have a big part to play in each movement and what we experience are the sum of our choices.

100. Universal Medicine takes the awareness of everything happens for a reason to an extraordinary depth that brings an overview of humanities true destiny.

101. When you begin to connect to the detail of God, you realise that nothing is by accident and everything is working towards a greater purpose.

102. “Everything happens for a reason” re-enforces that we all have a innate ability to read and understand why events play out as they do, it invites us to reflect and empower ourselves with a lived understanding of the impact of our choices.

103. Jo, I used to say ‘it was meant to be’, I would say this when relationships ended or jobs didn’t happen or friendships broke up – never taking responsibility for why this might have happened and just thinking it was something out of my control, I can feel how irresponsible this way of living was; “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens.’

     1. I can relate here Rebecca. It’s like that’s happened and I don’t want to understand what has occurred. Its a nice approach to defiance, without even releasing it.

104. Re-reading this has reminded me of a very clear message I received many years ago when a family member reeled off to me all the disastrous things that had happened in that week, and it got me thinking about how things happen to us and what part do we play in this. And I supposed I asked myself ‘How come those things never happen to me’ (which I was glad that they didn’t), but there still begged the question, why do these things happen? – is it as random as we want to believe and is there a deeper message for us to learn from. I now know that there is and always will be more to understand about all the situations we find ourselves in, if only we take the time to listen and to observe, and that it is our responsibility to not just shrug things off with a throw away comment.

     1. Great question Julie. When there are a string of events that happen to someone, it is not unusual for there to be alot of emotional drama involved. If we stop and ovserve this and ourselves, and how the more we dont get sucked into this ‘drama’ aspect of anything that happens in our lives, the more we are able to stay detached and to see that whatever happens there is always a message for us to learn something deeper about ourselves. It starts to become clear that the drama feeds the emotion, and vice versa.

        1. “there is always a message for us to learn something deeper about ourselves.” And feeling how I move (gently, tenderly vs rushing and harsh etc. ) either feeds the blinding emotions and drama or cuts it and allows clarity for the message of the lesson to come through.

105. Saying just, ‘it’s meant to be’ leaves so many questions unanswered – who meant it to be? Why now and not yesterday or last year? Why this particular venue or group of people? Seeing that there could be a REASON behind every seeming ‘coincidence’ opens up these questions as interesting constellations to explore, and thus a lot more in life makes sense.

106. When we value our wisdom and the majesty we are part of – everything means something.

     1. We realise we are living in a multi-dimensional universe and that we too are multi-dimensional.

     2. Beautiful Rachael! Accepting our power and impact on this plane of life will eventually let us recognise how much we are needed and that we are surrounded by a huge universal order, that communicates with us ALL the time.

107. I just love the way you describe fundamental energetic laws all at once here, Jo, and make it so simple and accessible for everyone – “If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe.”

108. This is lovely Jo and all you say about Serge Benhayon is so true. When reading I was thinking that
     ” It was meant to be ” saying should be changed in the world to ” it was energetically meant to be ” this would give cause for more responsibility.

109. We can no longer avoid taking responsibility – we are doing ourselves and humanity a disservice by not allowing ourselves to feel the full implications of our every move – and rather than this being tedious it is in actual fact a wonderful moment of connection and expansion as we are no longer running from life.

110. Everything does happen for a reason because we are the sole custodian of our every movement and it is from these movements we move from our choices, the energy in which we have connected to and the connection of our bodies moving as one that then reveals the outcome of this combination. Everything then happens for a reason because we have either moved in responsibility or not and what comes next will be revealed and there for us to learn and understand much for the way we choose to live life.

111. I now love the fact that there is a message in everything and nothing is left to ‘it just happens’, life takes on a whole new level of awareness, and discards the mundane.

     1. That’s beautiful Julie – the magic of life continues to deliver as we embrace the wonder of who we are, which the world then reflects.

112. There are many things we can use in life to dismiss all that is there for us to be truly aware of – and words or phrases are certainly one of those things! When we dismiss the entirely of a situation we fail to see the truth of our part in it and that stops us from truly learning and evolving.

113. I had a sense over the course of my life that things do not just happen to us by chance or for no reason, but I did not have any further understandings than that, so there was a knowing but without the details. Then on meeting Serge Benhayon and listening to the Ageless Wisdom presented by Universal Medicine, all of the wonderings of how life truly works has been revealed and is no longer, and never was a mystery.

114. I have seen too much over the years, too many ‘coincidence’ or things that happen for no apparent reason other than to confirm me or rub my nose in it not to see that we are part of a bigger picture. We are making micro choices by the 1000 every day and these are what set us up for everything that then happens; good and bad. We need to take responsibility for that and stop blaming the world, others etc.

115. We must never ever discount the fact that there is always a cause and always an effect to everything we feel say and do.

116. I read to here today and stopped, allowing my self to feel the full embracing truth of what Serge Benhayon has reminded humanity of. ‘Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.’

117. Religion should always be about discernment, and never if it true should it seek to disempower the individual in any way shape or form.

118. I love the way the soul gently stops us in our tracks when we need it with an accident, so called, minor bump or bruise and then eventually an illness or other such condition. It may never feel nice to experience but when I am open to what it is showing me there is a great magic in realising how I can change my life from there forth to be far more loving again.

119. Taking control of the reins is the best way to live life. If we develop an understanding of our potential then we no longer need to let life happen to us but can instead initiate every single part. Of course we do initiate through inaction too, as it is always a choice we make and why life is never made up of fate or chance, regardless of how comfortable it might be to think life unfolds this way.

120. Another phrase that comes to mind is ‘that’s luck’ or saying someone is lucky for something fortunate happening in another persons like. To me, there is no such thing as luck and the belief in lucky things happening actually robes us from seeing and feeling the divine constellations that transpire when we choose to live a certain way.

121. Yes little incidents like that of the vacuum chord give us a chance to take stock and ponder on what is really going on. Everything is a gift if we have the grace to accept it as such.

122. “I have never heard anyone express such deep common sense as Serge Benhayon.” I so agree. Serge presents in a way that makes complete sense of life. Any question I have ever had – and been searching for the answer too – in the many and various spiritual courses and books (which never gave satisfactory explanations) – Serge has an understanding that surpasses any I have come across in my 60 plus years of living.

123. “When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.” A great point Jo. It is so easy to blame people and situations outside ourselves, rather than focus on how we are in ourselves and the impact this has – for love – or not.

124. Gosh the ‘it was meant to’ is so trapping and keeps you in a cycle of regret without actually taking any responsibility for your choices or actions. Something I have learnt is that we are presented with many different potentials and then the rest is up to us. Nothing in life is ever guaranteed or meant to be.

     1. Well said James for when we are caught in a cycle of regret it perpetuates itself all the more and denies us taking responsibility for the repercussions of our own choices that got us to that point.

        1. Thank you Suse, regret just keeps us stuck in the past, a a perpetual cycle of not being enough, of trying to make up for our choices and stops us from truly moving on and seeing it is simply a choice to keep repeating the same thing or an opportunity to move on, learn and deepen.

125. Emotion = illness. Every so often I think about this connection and see how much healthier I feel when I don’t respond emotionally to situations. Be that a driver cutting me off, or a close one acting up, there is something quite magical and marvellous in not reacting to the world around us and getting on with life free of emotional responses.

     1. Yes Stephen – learning to observe life is a crucial skill to stay with oneself and not be taken out by taking on what is happening around us. From the stance of observation we have a different perspective on circumstances and how life plays out so much more understanding is on offer.

126. It is available to everyone (thanks to Serge Benhayon who brought the Teachings of Ageless Wisdom back to us) to take the responsibility for one’s choices, understand cause and effect factor and live it, turn life around by stopping being a victim.

127. I love to work with “Everything happens for a reason”, I might not like what does happen in my life all the time, but a deeper understanding helps me to get through it more quickly by viewing the bigger picture rather than getting trapped in the details inside the picture. When we don’t get caught up in it, we are not pawns at the receiving end, but empowered to make our choices.

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129. The wisdom we hold in our bodies can bring us through interconnectedness, leaving ourselves to be not governed by seeming chance but by choice and our evolving path.

130. There is such a beauty to the law of cause and effect because it shows that absolutely everything that we do matters and has an effect. At a deeper level we know this law very well but often try and avoid the responsibility that it asks of us.

131. The Law of Cause and Effect, as you have introduced it or some may call it karma, is one of the most beautiful laws in this universe as it gives ourselves the grace to correct our wrong choices and bring love back to the world, which is as you have so beautifully shared the ultimate responsibility that we all have.

132. Since I read this wonderful blog for the first time I have been hearing so many people around me saying “it was meant to be”, more than I had ever heard. At times I could hear the resignation in their voices as if they were totally convinced that they had no say in the particular matter, whereas you show so clearly that this is definitely not the case; we always have a choice even though the choice that is presented to us is not one we really want to make, it is still our choice.

133. What if, our choices are like Dominos? We have the choice on how to stack them as we move through life! They can be laid down flat with a solid foundation in an ever increasing circle or standing up and creating amazing patterns, that is always susceptible to being undone from outside forces and then we are surprised why it happened?

134. It is only hard when we resist being the naturalness of who we are. Joy is our natural expression when we choose to simply be ourselves. In expressing joy and all the other natural attributes we are, we are stepping closer and closer back to the truth of who we are.

135. ‘everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being and back to a more loving and natural Way.’ Everything is a reflection, and to honour and see the truth that each reflection is offering, as it happens, is a self-education that shows us our next step of evolution.

136. ” “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude” Yes, this phrase can be used very liberally when actually it is really just an excuse for not taking responsibility for our choices.

137. Yes, Jo. When I was a young woman I remember for a while feeling that things just randomly happened in life and that there was no rhyme or reason behind anything. Learning about the energetic law of cause and effect has given everything in life greater meaning and purpose.

138. “Everything happens for a reason” is an invitation to consider what part one has played, in something occurring

139. Responsibility in its truest sense would not allow us to use the phrase “it is meant to be”. Instead responsibility would have us track back through our actions and our way of living and look at what led to this situation. It is important to note responsibility contains not an ounce of self-blame, and is actually a loving way to develop and evolve. Such is the power of The Way of The Livingness.

140. “The absolute responsibility and utter common sense this man lives and presents has woken me up to what I already knew but have been pushing aside for far too long…” so true, nothing here is new, it is ages old yet it is the key to life that we have had but not used for a long time. Being reminded of that, supported and inspired to use the keys and this is one of the greatest gifts I’ve received.

141. The phrase ‘it was meant to be’ for me feels soo clostrophobic and does not allow for any true growth or evolution. It keeps things set and stuck rather than allowing for more, after all the Universe is constantky expanding so who are we to demand otherwise. The phrase also negates choices as every move we make has an effect on the whole.

142. ‘There is a reason that everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being’ – The fact that there IS this opportunity offered all the time for a correction, whether it’s in the form of illness, injury, or things constellating around us to offer a clean slate is absolutely amazing; it’s easy to see that we’re not alone and the universe is always interacting with us.

143. We have gone to the point of creating a T-shirt describing why unfortunate things happen, with a round yellow smiley face saying ‘it happens’. Does this not show our complacency and disregard of the effect our bad choices and the results that follow?

144. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ leads us to continue to question and learn when ‘it was meant to be’ leaves us resigned to what has happened with no understanding or learning. We are therefore missing the point of us being here – to learn from our choices.

145. I have come to understand that when I am honest and want to understand – then everything is shown to me. Like the example of the vacuum cleaner getting tangled – we can chose to see life as against us or we can say ok what is the block here and why is there a complication and be willing to know.

     1. I know what you mean we are shown and given so much when we are open to it. The more I say ok why did that happen the more life and everything makes sense and the more support I feel I, as we all, have.

146. Interesting that as a child you considered the possibility of cause and effect. We instinctively know this to be a fact and everything around us in life keeps reflecting this. In fact one of the greatest lessons is to observe just how every one of our choices has an impact on the whole of life for ourselves and others. Within this context I find the use of the phrase “it was meant to be” to be one of the most irresponsible making exercises ever. With the use of this phrase, in one full swoop, we are labeled a victim of circumstance and the relevance of observing our own impact and responsibility is thrown our of the window.

147. ‘It was meant to be’ is the ultimate excuse for not taking full responsibility for our choices, whereas understanding that everything happens for a reason gives us an opportunity to reflect on why certain things happen when they do and what part we played in them happening. Really great to highlight the significant difference of these two phrases that get used so liberally, but so often without true understanding.

148. How amazing …. That ‘common sense’ can be a reflection of the ancient wisdom of time immemorial guidebook of humanity’s reconnection back to its true nature.

149. You are right Jo, we get such a reflection from Serge Benhayon that exposes us by the absolute responsibility and utter common sense that he lives and presents. It is a wake up call to us all to be aware how we live our lives. When we know we can make changes to most things in our lives, it is empowering that we don’t have to accept something we may have done for a long time, thinking it won’t change. It will change when we make a different choice.

150. ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ In accepting this more, I am opening up to the endless lessons life offers and the beautiful responsibility I have to be humble enough to receive these lessons and learn willingly. And the amazing thing is it is super fun… letting go of all the pretending that I need to know everything (or look like I do) and approaching each day as a fresh faced student!

151. “More and more I am making choices based on the wisdom that comes from my body; these are always loving and supportive decisions and through this experience I know that what I need truly is inside me.” Jo, you hit it on the head with this, there is no doubt that when I listen to my body I am loving and honouring of everything and all that is needed in the moment, it’s only when I go into my head about justifying x and y that the problems occur.

152. Every thing happens for a reason, we need to read the situation/reflection clearly, so we get the message/blessing that it is showing us.

153. I agree Jo that “Everything Happens for a reason” and it is up to us to find out what that reason is and take responsibility for changing this.

     1. There are no chances or no coincidences – the more we look at ok so why has this happened or why is this happening the more we will start to look at and see that the way we are living has an effect on everybody and everything – only then will we truly make loving choices that are for all not just ourselves!

154. “like when I am working in a less-than-loving way and the vacuum cleaner cord gets hung up in unbelievable ways to show me that I need to stop and re-set myself by breathing or moving more gently.” Life presents us with so many reflections, when i acknowledge these pointers to what is playing out, i know there is an opportunity to get honest & trace behaviours and ways of being that do not serve us.

155. ‘Move into truthfulness’ I can see that it is a movement, a choice to alter, how we have been moving and choosing, and when we are honest and honour the signs in life and how we feel, we move in to a clarity and lightness that is our truth.

156. Another expression I have heard people say is ‘it is just the way it is’. There is such a feeling of resignation with this, as if when we say it we have no control over the situation and there is nothing to do but accept how things are. When we do this we are also generally saying: ‘and so it will be next time too’.

     1. Yes. This is very disempowering and leaves no room for change or for anything being any different, so it keeps us in the very misery we say we don’t want to be in.

        1. And it also stops us from fully appreciating what is right before us as well as our part in it. For me it allows for one to get really comfortable with the way we are living as essentially we are saying this is it rather than allowing for the depths of love to fully lead and impulse our lives forth.

     2. I know this very well, as I used to give up on life like that, thinking I had no say and could do nothing about it, which is so disempowering – so really I cannot recommend these kind of thoughts and would not entertain them anymore.

     3. Yes, Jane, I also feel the resignation in the saying ‘it is just the way it is’.

        I have discovered that I need to accept what has come about from my and all of our choices, I need to be real and honest about where I am at but not leave it there to, as you say, repeat again (‘and so it will be next time too’) because I have not made any different choices.

        My choices got me into my troubles and my new choices are getting me out.

        1. ‘My choices got me into my troubles and my new choices are getting me out.’ Love this Jo, thank you.

        2. So very true ultimately we are where we are because of the choices we have made and only we can make the choices to return back to the full light we are from. There is no one to blame and boy oh boy when we do truly make the choices we are fully supported along the way.

157. There are things that are not meant to be, they just are! The sun rises in the East, 2 + 2 = 4 and God lives within us all are examples! Are we trying to justify, relinquish ourselves of all responsibility or deny our unwise choices by saying ‘it was meant to be’? And, every choice we make is the reason why things happen! They even made a T-shirt about the one choice, of eating and its result!

158. Thank you for this piece of writing, with it you give a very solid sense of purpose to life that cannot be denied.

159. ‘I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train’ what’s so important to understand is that when we sit back in the passenger seat and watch things get messy, the reason this is happening is because we’ve handed the wheel to something else; emotions, issues, problems, other people ideals and beliefs, sympathy and more possibilities!

     1. Well said Susie W, I agree when we sit back life and time seems to pass by and everything gets cemented and nothing changes whereas when we are on the front foot we initiate the change and the way we want life to be.

160. It is meant to be could be changed to it needed to be! It needed to happen to support with a correction that was required for us and those around us. Whether we choose to take that correction is still our choice, eventually and some point in some life the lesson is embraced.

161. We could create a whole life based on ‘meant to be’s’. We can get swept away with situations or relationships purely on ‘meant to be’s’ without truly discerning what is right and true for us. The ‘meant to be’ has a kind of romantic edge to it that is not connected to reality. It is void of our actual choice and knowing. Feeling our way through life is so important. We cannot simply give our power away to ‘meant to be’s’.

162. “Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.’ Love this call to our responsibility and truth that is there for us to choose in every moment.

163. yes the minute we bring blame towards other we have robbed ourselves of the potentially huge insight into our ill behaviours and the gift of greater awareness and evolution we could otherwise embrace.

164. We do have to be careful about how we use phrases such as ‘It’s meant to be’ – ‘everything happens for a reason’ – ‘we only live once’ – or the classic Aussie expression ‘She’ll be right, mate’ (meaning: don’t worry about it)…most of these expressions are ones that are flung around carelessly with no real thought to what they bring with them…and they all bring with them the attitude of a lack of care of true responsibility, they encourage us to not think, to not feel, and to not be connected to the offering and the reflection that is there given to us as a gift by the Universe to learn, to appreciate and to grow. But do we really want to say no to this growth, to this evolution? If so then it is time to use our words and expressions with greater responsibility and understanding of how they affect us and all those around us. Thank you Jo for bringing our attention to this!

165. ‘I no longer buy into the “it’s meant to happen” or “things just happen” consciousness because I can see that so much has led up to each situation.’ This is great Jo. Responsibility and accountability in action. We are the players on a stage of our own making.

166. “It Was Meant to Be’ and ‘Everything Happens for a Reason” I like the fact that you do not take these two sayings for granted and throw them in one pot but have felt what they bring and truly mean.

167. This is a great explanation of the difference between the two approaches one may take about the things that happen – we are not an immune player in life and its outplay, we are as much a part of the equation in any interaction with others, that then has a bearing on the result.

168. “Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life. This understanding makes so much sense and purpose to our lives and explains what is happening in the world everywhere when we really embody this instead of “the it was meant to be ‘ dismissive lack of responsibility mentality we carry as humanity today.

169. If we dismiss occurrences in our lives as just being ‘random’ we negate whatever is truly there for us to see in relation to the way we have been living or what is on offer for us to understand, appreciate and learn from.

170. I love the fact that the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason’ – leads to more questions, such as why?.. and how? It ignites and maintains a search for more understanding practically of its application.

171. When we embrace true responsibility everything in life feels empowering, even when we experience events that may seem overwhelming or troublesome. Choosing to take responsibility for everything that happens to us eliminates blame and opens us up to greater learning and opportunities to evolve.

172. Observing situations including those that are deemed unpleasant or even awful lets you see the path that was taken to have those events occur, and then there is a choice as you say to choose a different path going forward. This is ultimately a gift of development and evolution.

     1. I agree. Not shying away from seeing what lies behind any situation, however awful, means we allow and accept the opportunities to learn that are on offer.

173. Every thing that happens is a constellation that occurs for a specific reason/purpose, this needs to be read and honoured to make the most of the moment.

174. There are so many things we use to distract us away from our responsibility in everything that occurs in our lives, and how, why, when it does.

175. If I take my current job for an example I can see that I was put there for a reason, and when I am clearly living this and going above and beyond it is a very evolving place to work.

176. ‘If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe.’ Understanding this assists us greatly in dealing with aspects of life that would otherwise seem completely unjust.

177. It is so easy for us to give our power away to something that is simply an excuse for not taking responsibility for our choices. I love how this blog makes it so clear that there is a huge difference between simply letting things happen and that whatever happens, there is a reason for it and one from which we can learn.

178. Why would we ever say “it was meant to be” unless we are setting the stage for washing our hands from responsibly engaging with what we are perceiving. I have never heard anyone say “it was meant to be” about the Sun shining, the earth going round, or grapes tasting sweet. The use of this phase alone is a give away that we already know there is more to the story.

179. I am guilty of falling for the “It was meant to be” rubbish, I think I had a different name for it but it had the same feel. The theme was always irresponsibility; it was a justification of why I was able to do whatever, after all things would always “work out in the end”. What I feel the philosophy’s of Universal Medicine offer is the possibility that there is no set end…. and that life isn’t about building character or rolling with the punches but leaving behind in our forever returning circles an imprint of love.

180. Fatalism or responsibility? Victim or self-governed? The former of these two questions garner such a disconnected, given up relationship with life that it is now simple and clear for me to develop my relationship with the latters.

181. A joy to read and a gift to us all. Inspiring us to totally look at what happens to us in a truly supportive way.

182. Not only did I think that things just happened, but I took it one step further and thought that what I did had no bearing on any other events cause they would just happen the way they would anyway. Not sure if that makes sense in words but it was certainly real for me.

     1. Yes that makes sense. A depth of irresponsibility and lack of self value that leaves us all bereft of the very thing that we yearn for more than ever – brotherhood.

183. When life felt out of control years ago, I would feel that ‘it was meant to be’ served me quite well, to feel that fate played its hand and I couldn’t do anything about it. It was how it was, but I didn’t learn from that at all. Knowing now that there is a reason for everything that happens in our lives, gives us the choice to learn from whatever we experience. It feels very supportive how our lives give us the chance to grow and evolve.

184. ‘Why things happen’ is simple, they are always our choices! If we jump off a bridge into the water we get wet! Choices are energy, and the reaction for every action is hard to disprove!

185. Nothing is random, there is no ’things just happen,’ everything is constellated for a specific reason. We often don’t want to know this as we would then have to take full responsibility for everything that happens to us.

186. The ‘everything happens for a reason’ view of life is about cause and affect…every choice has a consequence.

187. ‘It is meant to be’ is a cop out and one that suited me for a long time…accepting that the way things were had some higher purpose but without discerning if that was to support me or distract me.

188. The common sense presented by Serge Benhayon makes sense of a seemingly insensible world. It takes the understanding to a depth of wisdom that benefits everyone.

     1. Yes. Life is super simple when we relinquish the falsehood, pretence and lies.

189. Trying to get out of the consequences of our choices and say it was meant to be rather than seeing how we’ve created our life to be that way, only creates more disharmony and irresponsibility until we get honest and deal with the fallout of our way of living and change the energy we choose to run it. That’s when the healing begins and true change happens.

     1. So true Karin – we can burry our irresponsibility but just like nature sprouting through pavements, it will always resurface in another guise!

190. I have settled for less than love in my life – and that is towards myself.

191. I smile at the ‘tangle cord’ scenario – how many little ways are there to gently show is we have a choice? A moment to re-connect to ourselves, our body and let the thoughts slide right on by, or use the mind to blame the messenger for the disturbance, creating a bigger disturbance?

192. I have noticed that there are many philosophies on life that appear similar on the surface but when you really apply a certain level of energetic discernment, which is something that can be done easily in the body, they suddenly appear to be very different and not so healthy as they might first appear.

193. If we start paying attention to what happens in our lives, I am sure us will be aware of many cycles that keep on reoccurring, it is not change that this happens, there is a purpose to it. The universe has a natural order, are we part of it or do we oppose it? Things do not just happen, where is the chance….chance is not involved. Everything has something to learn available and everything is ‘there for a reason.’

194. Magic happens right? No, magic occurs because we have aligned to truth! Life that is lived with us being obedient and aligning to God’s laws allows us to magnetically pull all the things that are there for our evolution and this feels like magic.

195. …and we have the power to create our own destiny!

196. “There is a reason that everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being and back to a more loving and natural Way.” If we saw every situation in this way, however difficult it may seem at the time, our lives would be much less complicated and we would be able to appreciate the beautiful simplicity of how life unfolds when we let it.

197. I agree instead of looking outside ourselves by using ‘things just happen’ or ‘it’s the luck of the draw’ or’ it was meant to be’ etc. We have to be willing to check in and address the emotions, self neglect and the disregard we have been allowing ourselves to run with by accepting self-responsibility for our thoughts and actions for only then can we be in charge of running our life instead of life running us.

198. Reading the insights you share here Jo feels a bit like watching a puppet show and then seeing the curtain taken away, revealing the puppeteer with their hands at play underneath. For we can look at the dramas that take place in our life, and think they occur randomly, all by their own, but that is a complete illusion. It is all of our choices, every day that are truly pulling the strings – we just don’t like to see this and prefer to stay in a state of deliberate ignorance where we all get played with.

199. We may wonder if we actually want to be the masters of our life as deep down we know that then there would be no excuses anymore but everything the result of our choices and actions. So what is it then, taking responsibility or suffering by what irresponsibility throws back at us?

     1. I know that the longer I resist embracing responsibility in my life, the more chaos and detritus I am creating.

200. This is a great topic to ponder on why things happen? and bring honesty to the table, where we can understand that it is our responsibility on how we approach and initiate life and the quality we choose to live in that creates our reality and the quality of relationships we have with others.

201. Never should we ever be ignorant to the fact that there is always one of two intents behind things happening.

202. I found myself saying ‘if it is meant for us then it will be’ the other day but I felt something wasn’t quite right with the statement but left it at that. As I read the blog and apply this statement to my life there is certainly a lack of responsibility on my behalf regarding the situation I find myself in and the nearer I find to doing something about it the more I want to avoid it. It is interesting how in life we want to ‘pass the buck’ onto another or in my case to God yet it is our responsibility to face and embrace opportunities that naturally supports us to evolve if we so choose.

203. There are a multitude of sayings such as this that we have blindly accepted into our lives and assumed harmless, yet it is this lack of discernment, this steady dripping tap that is responsible for what is before us today, an increasingly loveless society.

     1. How innocuous is water! One needs to only look at the Grand Canyon and what a dripping tap can do over time. What is our part in the erosion of today’s loveless society?

204. Today I found myself saying ‘“It was meant to be” and because of reading this blog paused to consider what I’d just passed off as an innocent comment. It was a case of reading into a situation as either a divine constellation or as me avoiding a particular event. It wasn’t chance!

     1. That’s cool Karin, I love that you paused to look underneath the thought that ‘it was meant to be’.

        It is so important to notice what our mind is up to; to understand why it just pulled a certain card.
        Since thoughts don’t just pop in by chance; we are the one allowing certain kinds of thought to ‘pop in’.

205. “It’s meant to be’ not only negates responsibility for our part in making things happen and being the driver of our circumstances, but also takes away the opportunity to deeply appreciate our steps and choices in life. Nothing is a coincidence and the more we allow ourselves to appreciate our choices and learn from them, the deeper our relationship with life and it’s inner workings develops.

206. Just so simple; “‘Help’ often does not come in the way we want it but in the way we need it.” I often look back on my life and see how I missed the help that was so perfect to support me because I was so busy looking for the help to fit my picture of the only way I thought I could be helped! Heavens – thank you for pointing it out to me so I can take a moment to stop in moments where I am struggling and check in to see if I am repeating that self-abusive pattern.

207. I love reflecting on the difference in these two approaches to situations in life – from the point I am at now it really feels that you can work with the expression ‘everything happens for a reason’.

208. This is something I remember my mum always used to say – ‘everything happens for a reason.’ More and more I am questioning why things have happened and what my part in it was. Once I am open to this, then it means I can make better choices the next time.

209. After reading this blog a few days ago I checked in with how I referred to something. I felt the cop out of “it was meant to be” and when I claimed that “it happened for a reason” there was such a steadiness and expansiveness that came with that. Because I acknowledged God and the Universe in the way I referred to what happened, I had all the support of the Universe to guide me with looking at why and taking the evolution on offer.

210. “The Universe will provide”, “it was meant to be” – all spiritual new age terms that whilst seemingly are close to the true surrender and acceptance that offers one grace in life, are actually disempowering, and equally prevent one from understanding their true responsibility in the scheme of all things.

211. I fully agree with you Jo, ‘it was meant to be’ is a massive cop-out! A huge one at that at removing ourselves from the responsibility we have to discern and consider everything that happens and why it happens.

212. There is a lot of gold in this blog Jo, so much and revelation and understanding coming through,so thank you for sharing, I love this part and feel we can all relate to this “When I commit to deepening my self-honesty and listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs, I then move into truthfulness which allows me to be more-of-me instead of investing deeper in my avoidance techniques (which take me further away from being who I am) and then needing the painful and/or dramatic ‘wake-up calls’.

213. ‘It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.’ – Very well said – Serge Benhayon holds nothing back, not once during the 12years I have known him have I seen him compromise truth to gain ‘followers’. He offers something that I had never experienced before and that is very rare in our society, a complete transparency and a consistent energetic responsibility.

214. The often said statement ‘It was meant to be’ doesn’t allow any claiming or study into the detail of how we are the creators or co-creators of our own path in life.

215. Swallowing the poison of ‘It was meant to be’ can nudge us for lifetimes into the pits of comfort and security.

216. “Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life. This Esoteric truth presented by Serge Benhayon along with all the support and understanding from his integrity and wisdom, really is life changing and allows us to take true responsibility for our lives and to live it in full with a joy and vitality for life with our part to play in this understanding.

217. It is actually empowering to know that we can choose how our life turns out. Every time somebody older than me tells me that I haven’t lived long enough to know something, I feel quite powerless in telling them that I do know, however I don’t have to have lived 100 years to tell somebody something I have already experienced in my 20’s… #lightbulb!

218. Knowing the energetic whys and wherefores, and that nothing ever ‘just happens’, removes fear and uncertainty as it allows us to take back the power to make our own choices according to what we know to be true.

219. ‘‘Help’ often does not come in the way we want it but in the way we need it’ – supporting us to make a correction, to surrender to the wisdom and learning on offer, as we have ignored all the previous nudges, which have also been divinely constellated to deliver just what we need in that moment. So the ‘help’ continues until we stop and allow the space to finally understand the message.

220. “It was meant to be” is such a great way to wriggle into irresponsibility.

221. I remember as a child wondering if there was a reason my father seemed to be always losing things, particularly around the house. Other adults would comment that it was ‘just old age’, which prompted me to wonder what else happened as you get older. It’s actually very re-assuring to now know that everything happens for a reason and therefore we don’t all experience the multitude of ‘problems’ that get bundled into ‘old age’. Instead, I embrace the fact that there is always something to learn in everything that’s presented to me in life, irrespective of how it is presented.

222. Reading this I remember that early questioning of ‘why do things happen?’ Not only in the sense of events and outplays but also in the way the water changed the look of something or why the light caught in a certain way, I knew that there was a reason, a set of laws that the world was ordered by, they fascinated and made sense to me as they slowly revealed themselves throughout my lifetime, none so more actively than through the presentations of Universal Medicine by Serge Benhayon over the last ten years. I see myself as an active agent in life and know that things don’t just happen, there is always my part in that outcome.

223. It seems we may have got confused with naming events in life positive or negative when really there may be no such thing as good or bad events, just moments and opportunities to grow, learn and develop into more of who we are which is love. So are all events in life simply asking us to choose more love?

224. As I reflect upon my life prior to attending Universal Medicine courses I can clearly see how much irresponsibility (and thus exhaustion) there was in gliding along with the attitude of ‘it was meant to be’. Rather like a ship without a rudder floating aimlessly around in circles.
     “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens”.

225. ‘Things happen for a reason’ came home to me recently when a project I ‘believed’ was the next thing mysteriously did not materialise. And when it didn’t there was no disappointment, but realisation. Had I taken that route, I would have missed out on opportunities opening to me now that support me to evolve in new ways. It is never about following the tried and tested: what worked last year is over and may not be true for now. Stay open to the present and the plan will unfold.

226. “I am seeing that essentially every thing that happens offers me a chance to choose more awareness and understanding, and when I don’t then I am creating/forming another similar (often stronger) lesson.” this is a really great point, what I feel it means for me is that if I listen and learn from what I am shown then I grow and evolve and if i don’t it comes back around again and again but gets more and more extreme. I’ve experienced this many times before and what I feel is that its my choice what do I listen to and respond and be willing to evolve with and how much of what happens do I try and avoid? Anything that I avoid comes back around more extreme.

227. “I have never heard anyone express such deep common sense as Serge Benhayon on the vast subjects of who we are, why we’re here and what is going on in humanity.” If you want to know what it’s all about, Serge Benhayon is the man to listen to, he shines a big light on why we are in the mess we are in (which is quite huge to say the least) and how we address this mess from the inside out. And if one should require any proof of the validity of his teachings, then your blog Jo is ample evidence of how, when we sit up and take notice, we can transform our depression, exhaustion and lethargy into a life rich in purpose, commitment and joy.

228. Probably one of the best things I have ever learnt is that I am where I am at because of every choice I have ever made, so there is no point blaming my parents for this or that or my teachers, bosses, friends or whoever because the buck stops here with me.

229. “…I recall as a young adult wondering if there could be a cause and effect going on in life and if I would ever understand ‘why things happen’…” This approach to life is the same approach a scientist has when looking down a microscope with the thirst of enquiry and questions to understand why things happen… We are as much a scientist of our life when in observation and question…. and just maybe what is seen microscopically down through a microscope is a parallel reflection of what happens in life size around us human beings …

230. The words ‘common sense’ unites us all in the knowing of what we are already connected to. What Serge Benhayon presents makes sense because it is ALL of our ‘common sense’ – a sense that we all share in common because we are all connected and divine.

231. Everything happens for a reason leaves me in pondering about and understanding energy. It allows me to grow and inspires me to listen more carefully to the body. It is a way to take responsibility for my past choices and opens up the space to choose differently.

232. ‘…allowing things to happen to me without taking initiative to choose the quality of my path to be one that feels true for me.’ Without initiating our steps forward, we are choosing to forever at the mercy of what comes our way.

233. There is a certain disclaimer in the phrase “it was meant to be”… it allows irresponsibility, an apathy or given-up-ness and disempowerment – like we are at the mercy of life, which is in fact the exact opposite of the truth! Every moment we have a choice – we can choose this external irresponsible lie, or we can follow the truth and wisdom we innately know within.

234. We never use the term ‘it was meant to be’ for anything other than small individual positive events. We would never use the term for things like war, natural disasters or even personal calamity, which just goes to show how imbalanced and irrational the saying is because if one thing was meant to be then surely everything was also meant to be because the macro is a reflection of the micro.

235. I have been aware all my life that there is an order and precision in the whole of the Universe. Yet so much about humanity simply did not add up and did not make sense, even after years of looking at science, psychology, religion.

     It has been amazing meeting Serge Benhayon and find so much has already been explained in depth through the ageless wisdom. Humanity at times is not been able to join the dots because we either look at too small a snapshot, or we simply lie about what we see. Yup there is a precise pattern and order in everything. It all can be read and understood. And free will is a an unquestioning part of that equation.

236. ‘essentially every thing that happens offers me a chance to choose more awareness and understanding’ and this is where paying attention to details is important. Bitten by insects or have a small bruise or cut? Specifically where in the body? Every part of the body is a reflection of aspects of our lives, so everything that happens to our body, in our body and with our body is a reflection of our choices.

237. it is no coincidence that if we don’t learn what is needed for one situation, then the same situation will arise again, maybe with a slightly different flavour or scenery but with the same lessons, same energy to be addressed – it is another offering to see, understand and have another go at taking the steps back towards the truth we know within.

238. Life does give us reflections of where we are at in life. And the way out for me anyways, is acceptance of what is and an openness of what can be.

239. “If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe.”

     We are part of a grander ‘whole’. All our problems originate in the denial of this fact. We’re not small, all of us have an enormous influence on earth, the people and the universe. It is our choice of energy that makes the difference. Choosing either the source of love and union or the source of any emotion and separation.

240. “Everything happens for a reason” is a very empowering statement to understand. It leads us away from the given up belief that there is some-over riding fate that we have no say in… but it is quite the opposite, we have a say in every single thing, by the choice.

241. ‘It was meant to be’ is the ultimate set up to avoid taking responsibility.

     1. I agree, Eva, and in so doing we are actually choosing to be irresponsible by burying our issues even deeper and strengthening the false belief ‘it was meant to be’ even further. Energetically, there is no such thing as being impassive, we are choosing to be with something or against it.

242. “When I commit to deepening my self-honesty and listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs” ah yes Jo, these things take us inward whilst at the same time taking us outward ( as in supporting us to expand). Whist dishonesty and avoidance keep us contracted and at arms length from discovering who we are.

243. In understanding that everything happens for a reason, whilst I might not enjoy the outplay of anything ‘negative’ and find things challenging, I appreciate that I am being asked to dig deeper – to work out why things are playing out the way they are, what my responsibility has been in setting it all up and so on. There does come a point where a big realisation hits and I get the healing I need or have been asking for. Always. I am also always blown away when this happens by the support I have had along the way to arrive at the point of evolution I have been offered.

244. Very interesting topics you have raised here in this blog Jo and it has led me to ponder on what we would call a negative life event. We all have things happen to us in life that are not pleasant or that we say we do not like and I agree that with all due respect life can get very intense sometimes and there is a lot of evil in the world, however what I am wondering for myself is that when these things happen and I react to an evil act or get attacked or something intense happens, am I reacting to the evil of the act or am I reacting to the fact that this event is asking or calling something more from me? Asking me to be more and come further out of the shadows and hiding and actually stand up and speak my truth? I suspect that for me what I am reacting to more is the pull to be more and the fact that I don’t want to take that extra step of responsibility. This is a fascinating observation and discovery and also very liberating!

245. I know I have found the teaching and understanding that everything in life happens for a reason and the reason is to support me to learn more about who I am, very helpful as it has stopped the old ‘punishment theory’ where I used to believe that bad things happened to me because I was bad, and has also stopped the ‘it’s not fair’ attitude where I used to get angry or frustrated when things did not go ‘my way’ in life or if I witnessed things in the world which seemed awful. It is a very philosophical approach to see everything as a learning and a nudge to be more me and has stopped a lot of my reactions to events and situations.

     1. It is the understanding that philosophy is meant to bring that has helped me learn from life more than react to it.

246. There is a greater purpose to corrections and a long history of momentum that we have lived that has warranted such a stop.

247. Everything happens for a reason – an empowering statement that allows full acceptance of whatever is going on in our lives and an allowing for any learning that needs to take place.

248. I can remember using this expression alot when I was younger whenever things didn’t work out the way i hoped they would, or when something positive came my way that wasn’t expected. But what I realise now is that it is a great excuse for just allowing life to role along beside you, and a way of dipping in and out if it as we feel so inclined. But life doesn’t just happen to us, there is always a reason for everything that occurs, and it is up to us to read it and take personal responsibility for our actions, good or bad. I love that you have brought this to the fore Jo, for us to dismantle the difference between the two.

249. When we really take this truth on board and ponder all that has happened to us, we can begin to unravel all the behaviours and beliefs that do not belong inside us. The more we embrace the immutable truth that everything happens for a reason, the faster we return to our naturally transparent and divinely innocent expression.

250. “Everything happens for a reason” when this point is posed and presented it asks us to look at what reason, and for me opens up the possibility of what part have I played in the what has occurred. It also feels very empowering as it allows me to bring a level of understanding into my life and most importantly starts me on a new relationship with the word responsibility. Thank you for sharing as it reflects the period in my life where I used to think things used to just happen to the current period where every choice has a consequence.

251. There is a big plan and we are all an integral part of it!. We may at times not realise our part of the process but, it just feels right. It is always our responsibility to feel what is true.

     1. So our ultimate responsibility is to feel the truth we each carry within and live it in full?
        The Ancient Wisdom has reminded me of this Universal law and I feel it’s truth to the bone.

        As scared as so many of us are or have been of living a life of utmost responsibility, life is far more difficult and torturous when in procrastination of taking the responsibility we can feel is ours, acting as if we can get away with not living a deeply honest, gentle and truthful life…

252. It is a wise thing to learn from life and to not use it as a way to justify our mistakes and misbehavior.

253. Interesting about dreams, I used to dream I was being chased, I could fly in my dreams, but not always high enough. I was never caught, but there was a continuing anxiety about not being able to travel fast enough, either running or flying, always pushing myself for more. No wonder I was always exhausted when I woke up!

     1. I also had the flying dreams, a lot, often just barely staying abreast of whatever was chasing me.
        I feel that this was about how I was living; my way of constantly trying to ‘escape’ life or avoid dealing with things face to face. I was trying to run away from what I felt, what I was afraid of and from my responsibility to be all of who I am. That created a lot of anxiety.

        Now that I am learning to commit to myself and life and embrace the challenges that are here to teach me things, thanks to Universal Medicine, I have no more chasing or flying dreams and the deep anxiety and depression I had are replaced with purpose and a beautiful sense of me-in-the-world.

254. This is beautiful thank you Jo for sharing, all we ever need to live from love is inside each one of us to connect to with the choice to choose that love.”More and more I am making choices based on the wisdom that comes from my body; these are always loving and supportive decisions and through this experience I know that what I need truly is inside me.”

255. ‘The absolute responsibility and utter common sense this man lives and presents has woken me up to what I already knew but have been pushing aside for far too long…’ I completely agree, Jo. Serge Benhayon ‘unpacks’ life as I’ve known it, exposing the lies behind the ideals and beliefs that I have held all my life, which I can now see, have held me captive, restraining me from living my life from the sacred knowing that I hold deep inside.

256. ‘It was meant to be’ is like a set of heavy chains wrapped around your wrists, that locks us down and in to abuse and difficult situations in life. It’s as if our life is something we are destined to have and the only part we have to play is to take a back seat. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ leaves me feeling empowered and informed, that if something is showing up, then it’s there to help me and everyone. Reading your words this morning Jo has been a great help to me in unlocking those chains and turning my head around to look again at yesterday and see what I am being shown – thank you.

     1. Beautiful Joseph, there is so much support coming to us all the time from the intelligent Universe, so much to learn if we but turn and look at things with an openness to understanding what is being shown.

257. ‘I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train – allowing things to happen to me without taking initiative to choose the quality of my path to be one that feels true for me’ …. I love the reclaiming and honouring of you in this statement, Jo. While we choose to sit back and say ‘it was meant to be’, we are accepting of and complicit in everything that happens to us, good and bad. To know with absoluteness that everything happens for a reason, we start to appreciate the magic in life and the support that is actually there for us when something bad happens, it is truly very beautiful.

258. “It was meant to be” = the spiritual ‘free out of jail card’ – free of the of responsibility we consider to be a jail but actually is the warranty for unconditional love and harmony.

     1. It is interesting though why we come to consider responsibility as a jail or a burden while it is something that naturally comes when we choose unconditional love and harmony as our basis for life?

259. It is beautiful and actually very light and natural to take our lives by our own hand. How amazing is it to live a joyful life full of activities chosen by ourselves? And all along we will learn more and more simply through living our life and taking more and more responsibility as we’re developing being masters on certain topics in life. Simply because we live them, day in, day out.

260. Great blog post on two comments people throw around all of the time. I’m truly committed to ‘everything happens for a reason’ – when I talk about it a lot of people question or are challenged by it believing things can be random, (un)lucky, fate, etc. But experience has proven to me that I know it’s true – confirmations and learnings alike help me to know this.

261. It doesn’t make any sense why we would just let things happen and that we have forgotten to consider that everything happens for a reason. In learning to read life, everything that happens, thanks to Serge Benhayon, life makes much more sense, is interesting and it supports me to understand what is going on in life whether that be with myself, others or the world around me.

262. To ‘go with the flow’ is not merely the irresponsible path that entices us to not speak up, keep the status quo or be swept up in the latest current of the majority. To go with the True Divine flow is to honour our deepest sacredness and to take absolute responsibility for our every movement and the flow on effect to all that is.

263. It is truly refreshing to see life is not a random occurrence, double-blind wishbone experiment and to take full responsibility for all that comes our way, every interaction, event, connection and blessing, for we are the master of the life we will go on to live and be a recipient of.

264. It can be very easy for us to abdicate responsibility and become victims of circumstance, completely identifying with struggle and hardship rather than claiming the power and authority we innately have that can change the world.

265. I drifted along, going with the flow for most of my life thinking that things just happened, also that there was such a thing as luck bad or good. Not a lot of responsibility there at that time. But thanks thanks to Universal Medicine I now know that the more responsibility we have the faster we will return to where we are from.

266. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ is the responsibility and result of our choices!

267. It can be difficult to accept that everything happens for a reason, especially when what is happening is not so great. It has been in these times that I find it most important to hold on to the love that you feel for people and for yourself, as this can be the guiding light out of the shadows and into glory of who you are once again.

268. When I allow myself to feel the truth I am able to ‘see how intricate life lessons naturally formulate to support us in coming back to balance; in coming back to ourselves and to each other’. The more we let go the greater our understanding of the beautiful balance of the natural Laws of the Universe that are there to support us to return to our innate way of being where we will live in harmony and joy.

269. “I have never heard anyone express such deep common sense as Serge Benhayon on the vast subjects of who we are, why we’re here and what is going on in humanity.” We can no longer make God a ‘scape goat’ for our self-made woes. Serge brings an immense simplicity to our conundrums here on Earth along with some very simple tools that empower us to resume 100% responsibility for everything that happens to us, in the full knowing of the true Masters of love and life that we are.

270. The fact that we allow the rot of comfort to exist shows just how complacent we are in life, I know for me I thought I had it all covered – well pretended that I did, when the reality was I was deeply lost and not knowing how to go through life, how to cope let alone live as the Son of God that I am. My blanket of comfort was so think that it enveloped me.

271. We can excuse anything and everything under the banner of “it’s meant to be”. This is absolute pure irresponsibility and deeply uncaring.

272. ‘When I commit to deepening my self-honesty and listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs, I then move into truthfulness which allows me to be more-of-me instead of investing deeper in my avoidance techniques’. I love what you share here, Jo. When we go into avoidance, we ‘think’ we’re getting away with something, but we are not. We are just burying it deeper, making it even harder to deal with when the more intense nudge comes along and so the dance continues until we are prepared to be honest and take responsibility. How much simpler to allow the self-honesty up front, deal with the issue and have a healing, knowing that we have then closed the door for that issue to ever bother us again.

273. Sure, we can sit back and say ‘life just happens’, but that’s one big invitation to get smashed. Because life doesn’t ‘just happen’ there is divine purpose with everything; we are constantly receiving messages, opportunities to see things in a different way and to learn, to expand and deepen our awareness. To shut our selves down to this the messages inevitably need to become louder and more severe to get our attention.

274. “I am realising that I have far more support and guidance to do this than I have taken advantage of.” We have the support of the Universe as we are impulses to do things. When this opportunity is originally missed and we do later, or much later, that support is no longer there. It is a great reminder to complete and get onto those things that have not been actioned.

275. ‘It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat.’ Indeed it is a rotting boat and we are trying to patch it up in places but we just need to abandon ship and learn to swim. Serge Benhayon reflects to us that we do know how to swim and he is guiding us all to the new land. He is the navigator and we are all the ones who can guide our fellow man.

     1. Absolutely well said – we are all masterful swimmers in an ocean we have chosen to pollute and later choke on with laboured breathing. Thank God for Serge Benhayon and the Masters we have known to live amongst us and reflect Heaven in full and patiently impart our needed stroke correction.

276. We often bandy around words and sayings and it is great to feel each one and what it is we are truly saying.

277. Buying into the “It was meant to be” consciousness holds us as victims of circumstance. We then abdicate responsibility and give our power away instead of taking charge of our lives and leading the way guided from our inner knowing which has a natural flow and is in harmony with the all. If we are aware that “everything happens for reason” we will accept responsibility and be able to examine our choices and what led us to such a circumstance and we will then have the power to make any changes.

278. Well said, Jo. Our rotting boat does need a seriously good rocking, and Serge Benhayon shows us how we can expose the rot with the greatest of love equally for all of humanity.

279. “When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed …” – yes, we really need to get a sense how our natural flow actually feels like otherwise, we will only know ourselves by a flow that is not in harmony with our ‘inner workings’ as it is imposed from the outside. When we know our natural flow we will be aware of everything that is going to disturb it and have a say in how to deal with any situation from an inner knowing and confidence.

     1. So true Alex, getting to know our own ‘natural flow’ is essential, the key to this being that it is in harmony with our ‘inner workings’ as you say. We are so used to giving our power away and aligning to someone or something we determine has more authority than we do, and hence denying or departing from our inner workings, as you so beautifully put it. Ensuring the flow we are in, is in line with this, is the key.

280. “It was meant to be” seems like such a deliberate detraction of our responsibility of everyone and everything we interact with.

     1. I agree Michael, feels like a ‘cop out’ and complete abdication of responsibility, an absolute unwillingness to even consider there may in fact be a reason behind why something has happened and even the way in which is has happened.

281. Do we pay attention to the constant ‘signs’ we are getting in our day to day living, or do we simply find them irrelevant and override them or even annoying and pushing through? Nothing is insignificant, there is so much playing out in our day to day living that we can learn and grow from if we stay aware, the choice is ours.

282. A beautiful, practical testimony to responsibility and the obvious joy and liberation of taking it… thank you.

283. There are no coincidences in life… only perfect constellations.

284. These are but two of many cliches we flippantly use in our everyday conversations without discerning what they truly mean and represent.

285. So true Jo, these two sayings are poles apart, with responsibility and commitment to life being the missing ingredients in the throw-away line ‘it’s meant to be’.

286. “It was meant to be” is a platitude and completely removes the fact that we have a choice in every moment. When we begin to see that there is more to life than what we see then we will understand that “everything does happen for a reason”.

287. I love the way the two sayings have been discussed here, with simple truths that the words expose, when we choose to again ignite our responsibility in our lives.

288. Thank you for the link to Simple Living Global. This is a great site with no messing, saying it like it is. Very inspiring.

     1. I am in full agreement Elaine and Jane, Simple Living Global and all these blogs written by students of life bring a much wider perspective on what is truly going on in life.

289. ‘It’s meant to be’ and ‘Everything happens for a reason’. … Just in the words ‘meant to be ‘ feels so heavy and draining, where as ‘happens for a reason’ has a much more lightness. Interesting when you stop to feel the two different statements.

     1. Yes Amita, life for me is certainly very interesting when I stop to feel things.
        Understanding the science behind this is helpful; that everything is energy and so our body can feel the truth of whatever energy something is delivered in.

        No matter what the words are saying there is always a truth to be felt and known.

290. Sometimes it is tempting to say that life just happens randomly or if not randomly, that it happens to us without us having any say in the matter and that we are just recipients of life and events. But on closer examination for me in my life this theory does not stack up and there have been numerous examples of my own choices and actions having a knock on effect further down the line and creating a sequence of events that have caused something to happen back to me or to someone else. It makes sense to me then that we have far more responsibly in what happens in our world then we allow ourselves to be aware of.

291. Doesn’t it seem unbelievable that we are all living a life that we are pretending not to understand? Why on Earth would we choose to make things so difficult and traumatic for ourselves? The amount of upheaval, torment, pain, abuse, trauma, general unease and all the other strains and forms of disharmony are all simply not necessary, we could put a halt to them at any time by simply choosing to not actively ignore and bury the knowledge that is flowing through us all constantly.

     1. Yes, Alexis, it is crazy what we do here on Earth. I certainly have made my life difficult and painful when I could have just chosen to live from the harmony I felt deep inside…

        …bringing understanding as to why we do things that hurt us and others is the place to start and Universal Medicine does exactly that. I have found that eventually we get fed up enough with the way we have been living and start truly asking for more awareness it does come and awareness shows us the Way of Living that makes sense down to the core of our being.

        1. Jo your words ‘chosen to live from the harmony I felt deep inside’ highlighted the fact that for most of my life what I felt deep inside was a gnawing agitation and it was this gnawing agitation that lead to my constant seeking to quash that awful feeling. I can now recognise that this is the way that most people live and yet like me for so many years, it is simply seen as normal. The only way out of the cycle is to address the inner agitation.

292. I feel that ‘everything happens for a reason’, I can see now there I have observed life, the more regularly I see the same patterns, habits, cycles repeating for me to either pay attention to and learn from or assume again that I am some how a victim in this life….it can be a difficult subject to be honest about because the truth is it requires upmost responsibility…and many people squirm at this word..I am learning through commitment and care that responsibility is wonderful, some times it challenges me, but so often I feel expanded and much more powerful, claiming responsibility for me life and choices.

     1. I have come a long long way in taking up more of my responsibility and there is no end to how much more there is to claim…

        Getting honest about what responsibility is is not just challenging but with this stepping up comes a beautiful sense of purpose and empowerment.

        Responsibility is a truth and with truth comes all the beauty of who we all are and the knowing once again that we are in this together and that there is a huge amount of love to be felt and known for us all.

293. “The absolute responsibility and utter common sense this man lives and presents has woken me up to what I already knew but have been pushing aside for far too long” And a necessary awakening it is, because as you say Jo, we really do know but we choose to ignore the big white elephants in our lives, the ones that Serge Benhayon never hesitates in pointing out or in exposing the root causes of why they exist. We are central to all our issues, so it’s up to us to not only deal with them, but ensure that we live in a way that ceases manifesting them in the first place.

     1. It is great work that Serge Benhayon has done in exposing what true responsibility is. Like you say Rowena it is up to us to live in a way that does not manifest issues.

        How long have I been going along with things that I know do not ‘feel right’ and things that I know do not serve us to get back to a harmless way with each other? Way way too long.

294. For me, when I consider that everything happens for a reason, it gives me an opportunity to take an honest look at what that reason might be – whereas if I would see something as meant to be, it feels closed off and not something to learn and grow from.

     1. Exactly the point Eva! Well said.

        Looking at a thing from a consciousness of being a victim or being helpless does not allow for any learning or evolving whereas looking at a thing knowing there are causes and reasons for it being the way it is, opens us up to consider, learn and evolve.

295. “The absolute responsibility and utter common sense this man lives and presents has woken me up to what I already knew but have been pushing aside for far too long…” now that sums it all up, what Serge presents is what I also immediately to connected to as truth within me as we all know the truth deep down but may have things blocking us from that truth. Yet like you I pushed that truth away, having someone stand up and live that truth is what is so inspiring.

296. With the understanding that everything happens for a reason, I’m appreciating more and more just how divinely supported we all are, and, the responsibility I have to live my part – to live in the fullness of who I am and to never settle for anything but the truth.

     1. Yes. And when I accept the sign posting as the support it is I am more and more open to the learning on offer.

     2. So so beautiful Alison.
        As I take more responsibility and expand my awareness I too am feeling how immensely we are all supported by the Divine all the time.

297. “….by softening what I felt..” This is something I know well as when softening what I feel, the world and what I feel within myself seems not anymore so hard but actually the opposite is happening in my body as then my body gets hard as my body expresses truth naturally but when I hide and not express what is natural for me my body hardens as this expression is unnatural.Serge Benhayon is a role model for staying true and loving and all encompassing.

     1. I love how you put it Kerstin, that “Serge Benhayon is a role model for staying true and loving and all encompassing.”

        Because Serge lives and breathes this all encompassing truth and compassion in everything he does he presents to us the wisdom and beauty that we all are in a way that we are able to feel it and be inspired to choose this for our selves.

298. To leave this “meant to be camp” is such a great joy as you so beautiful share in your honest blog Jo. The light way you described it is so welcoming that others can freely feel invited to choose to also leave this camp when ever they are ready to do so.

299. There is a traditional chinese life reading where our birthdate, time etc are studied, and our lives would be laid out in front of us. Many people pay lots of money to have their lives read wanting to know if they would be rich or should they get married someday. But in essence relying on such a tradition is to completely give our power away that this life can be what we make of it, that we can empower ourselves by taking responsibility of our own lives. The truth is most of us are living and have lived in such a disempowered way, not knowing there is anything more. But through Universal Medicine and many others, we are returning to the power of taking responsibility. Each ocassion of responsibility lived, is a deeper embodiment of who we are felt—tangibly felt in our bodies, which is a very needed re-correction of empowering ourselves again, and one I feel fully blessed to have found.

     1. Incredible to read your description of responsibility Adele.

        “Each ocassion of responsibility lived, is a deeper embodiment of who we are felt—tangibly felt in our bodies, which is a very needed re-correction of empowering ourselves again..”

        Your words deepen, for me, the realization that the ultimate responsibility is to be who I am in full.

        1. And to my experience the more I choose to live the love and harmony that lives within, the more I experience that being responsible is not a burden or a imposition but is something that naturally comes with becoming more aware that we all have a job to do and that is to return to our natural state of being and in that irresponsibility does not exist.

     2. Our true power lies in our ability to choose the energetic source that is governing our body. And the way that we get to make that choice is through the way that we move. We have to move our way out of the illusion and back into Co creation. If we don’t bring awareness to our movements then by default we will be in illusion, swimming around aimlessly for yet another lifetime.

300. This morning I got to appreciate just how divinely everything constellates to support us. It was a seeming small thing, but for me it was very significant. I have been attending a live in workshop and had borrowed some blankets as the nights are cool. I went to place the blankets back into the crate and to do so, I needed to lift two boxes off the top, in the moment I arrived, a lady appeared by my side, the same lady who also came to get blankets and the very moment I did when we arrived. There are over 300 people at this workshop! We were both there to help and support each other in that precise moment. It was a very precious moment, one that we both celebrated together.

301. Spot on Jane, I love what you have presented here! It certainly would be a very different world we would live in if we were all encouraged to really empower ourselves and take responsibility for all the happens around us. How beautiful to have had this reminder!

302. Jo I love how you have presented about the sayings ‘It’s meant to be’ and ‘Everything happens for a reason’… I have always felt that the term ‘meant to be’ is really yucky – there is something about it that just feels so wrong and it makes sense that this is because of the way it is being used, and when we use it to disempower ourselves. We can use sayings in a way that cements us in disempowerment, or on the contrary we empower ourselves and understand that we have indeed played a part in how things have unfolded. And hence this is confirmation of what we have claimed or what we have yet to claim.

303. A beautifully written blog Jo. There is so much here for us to all to take away with us.

304. ‘“It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens.’ and yet this is almost made to seem cool in some way, to give up our path in life to some predetermined route that we do not control – looking at this now this feels awful.

305. When we live with irresponsibility there is a constant tension within our body, knowing we are living less and bringing that less to the greater whole of all.

306. The notion of everything just happening and random occurrence is a deliberate denial of our individual and collective responsibility for the energy we live and the choices we make

307. This is a great blog to read, to see the responsibility we hold in living our life. We are constantly shown that we can make choices that determine the way we experience life. And that it is only us that can truly determine how the love we hold can bring about amazing changes. It is amazing to see this and the support that is given to us when we live according to the universe, that is supporting us all the way.

308. I have often used the ‘it obviously wasn’t meant to be’ as a way to try and get over something not going my way, when in reality my investment in the situation going my way is causing me to feel devastation – it relives me from taking responsibility for what my part is in the situation.

     1. Agree 100%. And it is no coincidence that there are so many varieties of this phrase – such is our insatiable appetite for dodging responsibility.

309. I feel now how life can be very flowing, if I but allow it. The more I am truly open (not having any expectations or needs), the more love will reveal itself to me. It is a truly unfolding path. Accepting the abundance of love is quite a process if I’m honest. For a long time I’ve told myself that true love can’t be lived on this planet. Now I discover and experience that the opposite is the true truth. I’ve chosen to disconnect and give up on my own love and as a result I didn’t want to see the love that is on offer and can be connected to in every single moment. How precious is life? If we so choose.

310. Corrections can come in so many ways and can be enjoyed if we take the time to understand them.

311. Every day I deeply appreciate that Serge Benhayon loves mankind so much, that he is willing to stick his neck out and present the absolute truth of “who we are, why we’re here and what is going on in humanity.”

312. A very real and amazing blog to read “When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.” This is so true and real and makes so much sense . The reality of what is going on and our responsibility in life is so supportive and offers us so much insight and reflection to claim who we are and live this.

313. I have been inspired also to re-develop my commitment to myself and to life, and in fact realising after many years of being shown and role-modeled true commitment, that it is in fact in every movement a willingness to stay with the truth of who we are.

     1. True, this is a moment by moment ongoing continual choice and when lived as a consistent truth, is absolute grace in our every expression

314. It is easy to dismiss what is going on as not important when even very small incidents can tell us so much.

315. “It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.” And therein stands our greatest friend, who is by his immense living example, is showing us all how to breath new life into the rot, to cleanse it from the very foundations of our lives by resuming our real energetic, emotional, mental and physical responsibilities.

316. “With more awareness has come a huge understanding of responsibility” i totally agree and this can be something I also avoid at times, yet when I embrace it, when I make this part of my will to grow and evolve then it is amazing the difference I feel in all that I do.

317. It is great to feel that we are not passengers on a runaway train, where ever I used to go in the world I used to wind up meeting and hanging out with the same type of people, the ones that liked getting wasted with no responsibility. I used to think that this was the way it just was, but now I know that I was attracting this scene by the choices I made.

318. “It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.” – I couldn’t agree more, the clarity that Serge Benhayon presents is deeply loving and unimposing – he doesn’t hold back from sharing what he can see and at the same time never imposes this on another, you either resonate with it or not, no strings attached.

319. As you say Jo with the support of Universal Medicine I have come to appreciate that there is so much more going on in life than we are currently willing to be aware of. That there is a reason why we are living on this plane life called Earth. And as I start to reconnect back the vast depth of our natural awareness then I can really feel the self made prison I have been hiding/ living in.

320. I have used that trap of ‘it wasn’t meant to be’ lack of self-love, not worth it or good enough just roll off the tongue to not dig to find where this hurt is buried. And the other is just trying to justify the bad or good results of our choices without feeling the truth and the energy behind the actions!

321. I feel a great irresponsibility and ignorance in the ‘it was meant to be’ quote. It feels to be an easy way to turn a blind eye to what is truly at play in our everyday. And not feel the absolute divine power we hold within our every move.

322. The words ‘meant to be’ – do they imply that somebody else is steering events? If yes, what is their intent and how much does our past behaviour influence what happens and, perhaps too, why would this be the case?

323. By choosing to opt out and not take responsibility for what happens to us we are just delaying learning the message that is there for us to learn and the delivery of the message will become more and more extreme until we choose to wake up to ourselves.

324. We are so conditioned as a society to feel that when ‘bad things’ happen, we are doomed, we’ve fallen off the tracks, when in fact, if we’re not making mistakes, we’re not moving forward, exploring, looking to evolve. We learn far more from our mistakes than we ever do when things go ‘right’.

325. I used to never understand why I kept getting repeated messages or things happening to me repeatedly that I thought I couldn’t change. I didn’t understand the body was supporting me to give me another chance, I thought here we go again. I was stuck in the ‘things happen’, ‘it was meant to be’ scenario. When we know everything that happens is there to support us for our learning, then it feels completely different.

     1. That is true, it is fascinating when the same thing happens several times in a row.

326. This is true, we are being presented with little messages all the time and it is only because we ignore those that we get the big wake up calls.

327. I agree Jane, what we are saying when we use those dried up old sayings is; ‘I have chosen to opt out of life and no longer take responsibility for my part in it’, not only that but ‘I am also choosing to perpetuate the lie that as human beings we have no say in what’s going on’. Both irresponsible and harmful contributions to society.

328. We’re to take responsibility in every moment of our life. We choose the quality of each moment. Whether this is a loving quality or not. They confirm either who we are in truth or the given-up-state so many people currently live in. Coming back to the inner-knowing that we are offered countless learning each and every day is quite a process if we have been living in denial for a long time – perhaps even longer than this lifetime. It’s a wonderful process with lots of issues coming along and at times I’ve found it quite difficult. But looking back, the path of ‘everything happens for a reason’ is the path that fulfills me. Which I could never say about the moments that I chose to be in the ‘meant-to-be-camp’. Life’s too precious, we are too precious, aren’t we?

329. Life is not a runaway train… we are the driver and master of everything that life offers and presents for life is not a haphazard concoction of randomised events but is a flow of rhythms, learning and opportunities for our growth.

330. If we subscribe to the ‘everything just happens’ thinking and see ourselves as recipients of life, then never will we seek to take responsibility for how we live in the quality of energy in which we live life.

331. Whenever I have followed the ‘its meant to be’ I often was simply handing over to some other outer power the responsibility for something to occur without first and foremost doing my part irresponsibly to make it come about, and also looking at making sure I am not invested in the outcome either way – because yes, in some ways if something to meant to happen inevitably it will, no matter how much we may resist or try to divert, but it is not a get out of jail free card.

332. “It was meant to be” really stops us from reading the situation, it offloads our responsibility onto some imagined force (often at fault) outside of ourselves. It is in ignorance of the fact that everything is energy and therefore everything (everything in life) is because of energy, a fact that Serge Benhayon has been presenting on for many years.

333. Good point Doug there can be no ‘meant to be’s’ in a universe made of energy where we each possess the choice to choose which energy makes us all that we are… however there is much to understand about why we often chose less than love.

     Universal Medicine has been the school I always wanted that teaches about life, how we work and what is really going on here.

     1. Totally agree, great point Doug and how conveniently we use that ‘meant to be’ a real cop out of responsibility…thankfully we have the opportunity to choose to live honestly and responsibly.

334. When we learn that everything happens for a reason and that we are opening to knowing what that reason is we can no longer go into blame and resentment for things that happen. I have learned that everything ‘negative’ that happens is an outplay of my choices and holding back in expression. Once I have clocked why things are happening then it is easy to chalk it up as a learning and so not make the same mistakes again.

335. Everything in life, how it currently is, makes it look like things ‘just happen’ and are not in any way in our power to change. But I found once I do give it a go and make different choices, my whole life changes – everything.

336. “It was meant to be” feels like resignation, resigning ourselves to fate and making the best of it, but “everything happens for a reason” feels like acceptance of how our choices brought something about. The first is disempowering but the second empowering for it opens up space for us to make different choices.

337. I too see how everything happens for a reason – how every action causes a reaction- this is happening all the time. And with what Serge Benhayon presents I now know the role of responsibility in all of this and my choice to be more transparent and aware of the all in all of my movements.

338. Corrections are a beautiful thing we can appreciate by understanding that they offer an end to a cycle.

     1. Yes – a necessary stop to the energy that we have been living and an opportunity to take stock and to wisely discern our next energetic choice.

339. We all have situations we see as coincidences in our lives, but isn’t it so much better to consider there is more to each situation than chance and fate and luck. When we view life this way it enriches every aspect of our life as it allows us to see that things are not just meant to be but a deliberate outplay that we can always learn from.

340. Aren’t both, excuses for justifying our ill choices?

     1. And not claiming who we are and what our true purpose on earth is.

     2. Great question Steve.

        It takes a lot of honesty to track an outcome all the way back to what I have put out to the Universe.

        …Or I can use any number of excuses to differ my accountability onto someone or something else?

        To fix on the idea that ‘I have no control over what happens’ is certainly an excuse for my poor choices …AND… yes, I could even use the idea that ‘there is a reason’ for what happens or a cause and effect going on to transfer my taking responsibility to something ‘out there’ but understanding that ‘something’ set up my current situation can be the beginning of looking at what is going on and…

        …only with honesty will I track it all the way back to me.

341. What you are sharing makes so much sense Jo, and your complete turnaround is a true inspiration.

     1. Thank you Eva,
        Nothing has freed me and empowered me like the understandings I have gained through what Universal Medicine has offered and all that Serge Benhayon has presented and inspired.

342. “I have been inspired to re-develop and deepen my self-honesty and commitment to myself and to life.” Me too, Jo. Universal Medicine has inspired thousands of people who had given up or resigned themselves to mere functionality, to embrace life in full again and re-connect to the joy and wonder of the world as they had as a child. What greater gift can there be, and what a blessing for humanity.

     1. Yes Janet I feel this way too; there is no greater gift than to live in a way that inspires others to come alive to themselves and to the world again and Universal Medicine has been this for thousands of us.

        As you say, it is a blessing for humanity to live in a way which can inspire another (or many others) to come out of a given-up way of existing and back to themselves so they can embrace life in full again re-connecting to and living from the togetherness and Joy that is our innate nature.

343. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ beautifully introduces responsibility into the equation where it is absent in ‘It’s meant to be’ philosophy – I never did like the idea of fate determining outcomes in our lives.

     1. Leaving life to whim or chance or fate seems so complacent and like we are choosing to purposely not be aware that 1. Everything we do has an affect and 2. We have the power of our life in our hands.

     2. Yes Michael being open to the concept that there is a reason for the way things are is about bringing responsibility into the equation.

        …and isn’t our lack of seeing deeper levels of cause and effect all about avoiding our deeper responsibilities; the big responsibility that we see when we remember that we are very powerful?

344. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ and taking responsibility for our own actions go hand in hand; how we live and what we do causes things to play out around us, and thus it’s so important to be responsible all the time.

     1. Ripple effects are happening all the time from every moment and movement we make. How we choose to be aware about this is reflected in how energetically responsible we are.

345. I used to also go through life thinking everything happened and it was out of my control, yet like you when “I started to realise that it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations ” it started to change everything about how I approach life, and more importantly it meant that if things were going on around me that were not great I could change that by my choices and and how I was with myself. The truth be told I was the one that was creating that mess in the first place.

     1. It is super interesting how in life we tend to use the sayings ‘it was meant to be’ and ‘happened for a reason’ with such a convenience really. We use the one that suits us to keep us stuck in the thoughts or position or unseen truth by choice.

        1. Agreed Johanna, in fact there is a whole collection of sayings that we trundle out automatically to make up what we call conversation. Conversation for so many has become simply a collection of words that are repeated ad infinitum that ensure that the way that we are living gets repeated ad infinitum and never challenged.

     2. Accountability is so empowering and really, we are so lost without it.

346. ‘I was unaware of how much I had compromised and how irresponsible I had become by softening what I felt and knew to be true by not claiming myself.’ I can so relate to this softening Jo. For me it was and still is at times a great way to stay both small and in comfort. This ‘comfort’ now feels so uncomfortable in my body that when those alarm bells ring I know it is time to bring a deeper awareness and understanding to what is happening and make more loving choices.

     1. This is a great part to quote from the blog Jane. It really highlights that until we take the responsibility to be aware, to choose to see how we are affecting everything with how we are then and only then can we be truly aware of how much and far we compromise our true selves and how irresponsible our thus far behaviours and patterns have been.

     2. Isn’t that amazing Jane when what we once used to play smaller-than-we-are to be in a form of comfort becomes very uncomfortable?!

        I am appreciating more all the time how my soul does not reward me for hiding or being less than I am and I am learning to appreciate the un-ease and discomfort as the loving messages they are.

347. ‘It was meant to be’ is a great get out clause we use to shirk the responsibility we each have to make loving choices in our lives.

348. I did not think I was in given up energy but I am – I am very irresponsible with many areas of my life, some I was not even aware of, but I have lovingly been brought down to earth with a bang.

349. Serge Benhayon speaks common sense about every thing I have heard him present on. He has lived every thing he presents so I know he speaks the truth and it deeply resonates with in my own body and inspires me to expand to live divinity on earth.

350. When we understand that everything happens for a reason we are able to be far more honest about why we are where we are rather than blame anyone and anything for outcomes.

351. “Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.” And so we are re-educated on how to read life, appreciate it as the reflection of choices that we constantly make and hence support our alignment to the Divine Order of the cosmos, an order we have attempted to arrogantly ignore for far too long.

352. I like to know that I’m in control when driving a car and I know that what ever happens on that road is a direct result in how I’m driving. If I have an accident even if by law it is not my fault I still know that my actions have led me to this point as I know there is no such thing as an accident. Our lives are no different, I love knowing that what ever comes my way is a result of my choices with no one to blame with lessons there to be learnt.

     1. Yes that is so true Kev, even if you did not cause the accident, the fact that you are there is because you either need to learn something from the event, or you are there to support others by way of reflection.

353. This is a key point where it is akin to being at the crossroad of choices … “listening to the gentle nudges, messages and signs, I then move into truthfulness which allows me to be more-of-me instead of investing deeper in my avoidance techniques…” I’m sure we all do this, either unconsciously or being aware, and each one leads to either a favourable or less favourable consequence.

354. Love your sharing here Jo, having awareness is the key. Our emotions and all of our choices accumulate in our body no matter what or how we try to hide them and eventually it all comes out.

355. Not only is it very empowering to know that things happen for a reason and, therefore, that we determine what happens to us by the choices we make, it’s very beautiful to appreciate that we are being held in love as the Universe is constantly constellating to bring us what we need in that moment, whether we can appreciate the gift there for us, or not.

356. Things not only ‘happen for a reason’, they are heavenly constellated to bring us exactly what we need in that moment so we can learn what is there for us to learn, which in turn deeply supports us in our development to living the fullness of who we are.

357. Truth is we cannot escape responsibility what we experience is through our choices. We carve our own path and there we need to connect to the awareness that comes through to make more loving choices so we can deepen our connect with the true path of unfoldment.

358. I have also heard people use the words ‘everything happens for a reason’ with a sense of powerlessness and void of responsibility. So for me learning to discern the energy behind words expressed is key, because the words may sound correct but the energy behind them can be totally off or harmful. Learning to read energy behind every expression supports us to discern what is truth and what is not.

359. This is amazing, your strong and honest voice is incredible.

360. It is a great level of awareness and responsibility to have where one is open and honest to the fact that we create every situation and issue we “find ourselves” in.

361. Life has provided us with so many lessons and we ignore – have done for centuries. Now we can no longer ignore what is going on – society is breaking down, our bodies are breaking down and we are listening.

362. There is something very beautiful about knowing that we are not at the mercy of things, that behind everything that occurs is a series of choices that have been made. If we can make choices and don’t like the consequences then we can change the choice. How empowering is that?

     1. I know, right? This simple truth is so empowering and puts us firmly in the driving seat of our lives, which are continually fascinating if we are open to learning every step of the way.

363. Currently we live in a world where the majority of people are pretending that they are not aware of the laws that govern life and as a consequence we are living in chaos; it will be a very different world indeed when we admit that we do know how life works and begin, once again to consciously apply that knowledge to life.

364. I love the understanding, unimposed Wisdom, clarity and appreciation in these words. All the observations being shared have one thing in common: we’re all responsible for ourselves and we’re supported in a million ways to be-come more responsible. Allowing all that is being shared here in, reconnects me to a deeper level of myself. I love how it brings me back from the ‘chaos’ I absorbed during the day. Love is worth living and a study in itself.

365. It is a great point you make about ‘it’s meant to be’ being built on a given-up energy – it’s the perfect way to avoid taking responsibility.

366. We can pardon ourselves from responsibility with these phrases all we like – for the time being, as at some point we will inevitably be faced with bringing harmony back to what we let get out of hand.

367. “it’s meant to be” or “things just happen” are simply excuses to not look with more awareness at what is really going on. It absolves us from ever recognising, claiming or understanding our part in it, and for that matter, the power and effect our choices hold.

368. Thanks for this Jo, I love the concept of listening to the whispers of life so we don’t have to hear it shout…

369. I always wondered: ‘It was meant to be’ – by whom or what?

370. Everything does happen for a reason, without a reason nothing would happen.

371. ‘It was meant to be’ feels like a defeatists answer to not take responsibility! And, everything that happens, is because of a choice!

372. There is so much in this blog, Jo, to reflect further on and appreciate, and I especially love how you have captured the heavenly blessing that Serge Benhayon is offering humanity – “It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.”

373. A wonderful sharing Jo, opening my eyes to the need to take more responsibility for my decisions continually in my life. I agree that Serge Benhayon has offered us all a great gift of the Ageless Wisdom this lifetime!

374. “There is a reason that everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being and back to a more loving and natural Way.” Once we can understand this, we are able to change our whole perspective on life and the circumstances we find ourselves in and to see these times as opportunities for true healing.

375. ‘ “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens.’ I feel this every time the phrase is used and I am so appreciative of your writing this article which clearly shows the energy behind these words and how it doesn’t have to be this way.

376. I love this understanding that everything happens for a reason. So instead of thinking ‘poor me’ when something goes wrong, we can understand why this has happened and what can we learn about it, to move on from old patterns we thought we were stuck in forever.

377. ‘Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.’ When we approach life from this perspective even a bump to the head offers up a significance because it asks me to look at the energy that I have been choosing in how I have been moving and doing things in. It also offers a stop moment and the opportunity to re-connect and choose differently.

378. I love the insight and awareness shared here about these two words – that they can at first appear so similar but yet on true understanding be poles apart.

379. How often do we see life’s hurdles or issues as an amazing gift? As opportunities to learn and evolve? When we can be honest with ourselves about what is really going on and our opportunity to let go and heal we can see how life’s hurdles are points in life which support us to see the world differently and connect back to who we truly are.

380. Jo, it was the Gentle Breath Meditation as presented by Serge Benhayon that bought me to a stop, and opened up a space within me that belonged not to me but was of the universe. As I built a consistency with this stillness I could feel that I was one with everything; this threw much of my then life on its head and exposed the individual identity that I so strived for as a fallacy. I could feel an energetic interconnectedness between myself and others that no longer relied on needs or expectations, plus this re-newed awareness opened me up to a waterfall of wonderment and appreciation for the world around me. You have then shown us, Jo, how this bigger picture can then be weaved into the practicalities of our everyday lives.

     1. I love the way you have expressed, Lucinda, how the Gentle Breath Meditation “opened up a space within me that belonged not to me but was of the universe.” I feel exactly the same, and come back to it every day, reconnecting to the grandness of what life is all about.

381. Often, there’s a clear correlation between something eaten and feeling of discomfort in the body. The question is when we hear the body speaking are we prepared to stop the ill-behaviour or do we wait until alarm bells ring loudly.

382. “once I started to realise that it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations I was in and that it would be my choices and responses to life that would get me out I realised that everything does happen ‘for a reason’.” Imagine learning this from birth? And if we were all brought up this way, what then?

383. Without honesty we are not able to see the truth of what is really going on, and we get stuck in patterns that keep us held in the basic functioning of life. At first glance ‘It was meant to be’ and ‘Everything happens for a reason’ could be seen as being similar, bring more honesty to it and a willingness to look deeper as you have done Jo, and we can see that one keeps us stuck in the status quo of things being as they should be, and the other asks us to open up and consider other possibilities, and that there are deeper levels that we could go to that reveal more about life than we initially choose to perceive.

384. Serge Benhayon walks his talk and anyone and everyone who is graced to meet this man gets a powerful reflection of how to live in this world being yourself, ‘being love’, which we all can equally choose.

385. We cannot escape responsibility. If we think we can, we are responsible for this too and one day we will all have to accept the fact.

386. “Since then I have discovered that life can be understood and as a result I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train – allowing things to happen to me without taking initiative to choose the quality of my path to be one that feels true for me.” What an immense revelation this is, to in effect discover that we are the ones who are driving the train and thereby resume our responsibility in ensuring that we drive it in a quality that not only honours ourselves, but all those whose tracks cross ours along the way. If you want to find out how to resume the controls, then Universal Medicine comes highly recommended, presented by simply the smoothest, coolest and most divine train driver of them all, Serge Benhayon.

387. It’s such a positive thing to fully understand that we are the cause of everything that happens to us even though sometimes its a bit hard to accept.

     1. I agree Kev, when we realise this it stops us from falsely believing we are at the mercy of life – which we only are if we choose to not know/accept that every action thought and word we make has its effect on everything and everybody.

388. To move from the approach that “it was meant to be” to “everything happens for a reason” is one of the most empowering changes I’ve made in my life, it was through the support of understanding how I am 100% responsible for everything that has happened to me in the past, present and future in every detail that this starts to make more sense – even if its challenging at times.

389. A transformational and directional read Jo, your love and steadiness for Universal Truth, Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine is palpably felt through your words and expression. Inspirational.

390. “Everything happens for a reason” is an extension of choices and coincidences

391. Taking responsibility for the part I have played in whatever road block, or unpleasant situation I face is an absolute gift. It presents the opportunity for a healing, sealing the hole I have had, preventing me from ever facing that same situation again. To avoid doing this just buries the hurt that has been revealed even deeper meaning the next situation that comes around for me to learn from will need to be even more significant – all from my own choosing!

     1. I agree Alison – it can at times feel uncomfortable, and yet it is such an eye opening and supportive way to see life unfolding around you, not as some out of control car crash but as a learning ground, the school of life.

392. Scientifically there is the term ‘confounder’ for items that affect both cause and effect. If energy exists and it influences everything, then we have a universal confounder that is partly or completely ignored in most of life’s interaction, leading to continuously baffling outcomes.

393. ‘During these years I was depressed, I felt very lost, needy, alone, unguided and unsupported and I made many reckless and harmful choices.’ …. it’s amazing how unsupported and lost we feel when we are disconnected from our ‘all knowing’ selves. The energy that pours through us sets us up to fail and encourages our reckless behaviour. We allow ourselves to be the victim, at the mercy of ‘life’, when with one simple choice, to re-connect, our whole world can change so quickly and dramatically.

394. “It is with immense love and commitment to humanity that Serge presents the full energetic Truth; un-compromised, un-bastardised and not held back in fear of rocking our rotting boat. Because of his courage we now have immense support in seeing our own way out of our mess.” It is love with which Serge holds all of humanity and the consistency with which he unwaveringly holds us all in truth until we too can recognise and awaken again to the truth of us all – that is the greatest inspiration ever – and the knowing that we too hold equal responsibility to bring the same for all.

395. Laying blame on fate or providence cuts us off from the beauty of the claiming responsibility for our choices and taking charge of our life.

396. It’s quite cool to realise that if you get yourself into a pickle, it is you that got yourself there, so it is then you that can get yourself out of it as well.

397. Beautifully written Jo, there is a greater responsibility than we wish to see when it comes to how we move and what occurs because of this chosen movement. Living with this greater awareness brings greater responsibility, as we then know everything happens for a reason.

398. The wisdom you share here Jo gives us pause to consider how it is our lives when not in rhythm with our own cycles and the cycles we live within can become chaotic and out of harmony with the greater whole we are a part of. This is a key to our way forward and we all have an equal loving responsibility in this.
     “If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe. And then a correction may occur in the same way as our body physiology is continuously correcting, discharging and healing little parts for the integrity of the whole.”

399. I have often felt the difference between the two of these – one that says ‘it will happen if its meant to be’ being a handing over of the reigns and responsibility – I remember once when moving house my mum said that it would happen when it was meant to, only to find ourselves mad packing the night before the move because funnily enough, it hadn’t just magically occurred on its own. Reality of life is that we have to commit 100% to life, and in doing so we can realise that everything that happens, happens for a reason and that in some cases, you will go where it is you are meant to go, but with the basis of first being connected to yourself and living that in every aspect of you life so as to be open to the potential rather than waiting its delivery.

400. What I have noticed is when we choose to stay in the hurt and emotional drama of life and choose to blame others or choose not take responsibility for our choices, behaviours and ill situations, it feeds a perpetual cycle of abuse. This is very evidenced in our current society where abuse is rampant. I feel a huge majority of people have forgotten what it means to take responsibility, hence this is why we see high levels of abuse and conflict around us. The best way to remind each other of what true responsibility looks like is to start living it and to choose it more consistently.

401. It’s interesting to reflect on my own attitude over time as I know there was a time when i have attached to the ‘it’s meant to be’ mentality however I have not realised that I have gone through this shift to understanding that everything has consequences and that I am exactly where I am now through my own choices.

402. I love the analogy you make between the two being as different as water and vodka on closer inspection- one gives you life and sustains you and the latter dehydrates and removes you from life.

403. “I am realising that I have far more support and guidance to do this [take responsibility for learning from my choices] than I have taken advantage of.” One of the many corruptions of the word responsibility, is for it to be seen as something we have to do alone. I know when I have felt responsibility to be a burden, heavy, something to carry, then I am solo, when in actual fact, the responsibility I have is to be me and nothing else, which is a joy, and wherever I look I am supported to be this through love letters from God in the form of nature and symbolism. It matters not if I know exactly what this bird or that flower represent for the support to return to the responsibility of being me is felt in every leaf, sun beam, cloud, blade of grass, magnificent mountain and anything and everything that comes our way. We do not, and have never had to, do it alone.

404. “There is a reason that everything ultimately offers us a chance to correct ourselves out of a disharmonious way of being and back to a more loving and natural Way.” …and isn’t this the divine magic of life? To see everything in life as an offering for us to learn and grow is an absolutely wonderful reason to be alive. Very opposite to accepting our lot and waiting for life to happen.

405. This is very empowering ‘However, once I started to realise that it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations I was in and that it would be my choices and responses to life that would get me out I realised that everything does happen ‘for a reason’.

406. A beautiful realisation Jo – learning that our choices set the foundation for the way our life is lived or played out is the beginning of true responsibility.
     “I understand that I have played a big part in the set up and repetition of all of my issues, so it follows that I hold a responsibility to learn from my choices…”

407. It is interesting to observe that people love to hide behind the meant to be slogan and how I used it for many years as well. When I know that everything happens because of a reason I have the opportunity to evolve.

408. What you share is super interesting because you knew from with-in something wasn’t making sense with the approach/perspective on life. If/when our awareness is sparked, we can make steps and choices based on our own understandings and wisdom of how things are working, However as I discovered it was like walking around in the dark, I’d bump into unidentifiable objects and everything that reflected back to me from the usual way of living had that ‘it was meant to be’ attitude – basically accept it and go with what it seems the rest of the population agree is normal. On meeting Serge Benhayon all the unanswered questions started to make sense – and so much more has unfolded since. My question is what if we start to offer the true ‘making sense’ of things to little ones so they too don’t have to spend their precious lives stumbling in the dark, they can start living in their own fullness and making sense of the world now. Now this makes perfect sense to me.

409. Oh yes Jo, . . . the old saying that it must have been meant to be, relinquishing all responsibility and dismissing any reason to reflect on of how we may have behaved or whether we need to take stock of the choices we have been making

410. Yes, everything happens for a reason! To raise our awareness and become more detached from the world in order to be more loving – evolution. Not to explain for ourselves after things happened, why it happened, why it might have happened etc. There’re so many people actually abusing this phrase to not take responsibility. Which leads to involution and on the long run, to illness and disease. Life’s offering us a lot, if we would take it for what it truly offers.

     1. If it happens for a reason, it would be useful to know the reason and how it affects what is happening.

411. The empowerment of realising that things happen due to our choices is a grand way to live. Thinking that things are due to fate and chance are a sidestep of the responsibility we have to live with the intelligence we are really all about.

412. ‘I hold a responsibility to learn from my choices’ the whole world is constantly reflecting back to us the consequences of our choices and it is our choice to learn from those reflections. Everything is a choice, but in the first instance our choice is to align with the Soul because otherwise our choices are impulsed by the Astral Plane.

413. I love this line -“when I am out of whack I feel that Love, without a speck of judgment, lets me know when I am behaving in a way that is dis-harmonious”. It feels important to know that it is love and not a punishing God that allows us to correct our wayward ways.

414. “The absolute responsibility and utter common sense this man lives and presents…” shows what is possible, that it is possible, how it is possible and that it is actually only a matter of choice, ie ones own responsibility. And all the reasons we come up with why we may not choose to do what we know to be true and loving are exposed for being excuses. In the end everything comes back to us – the choices we make are the life we live.

415. What a way to view life in its truest form – we have a choice always – we can reach for the given up irresponsible quick fix and move on – blind and not wanting to be aware of the truth that has been revealed. Or we can accept that every moment is a lesson that allows us to deepen our connection with the all that we come from supporting there to be more revealed.

416. There is such a difference in the energies we can approach Love in, either as a victim and given up or taking responsibility and seeing our part in it. And the second one frees us to live and be the love we are and offers all of us a way of being for all to do the same. No contest really, but to live this we need to get honest with ourselves in each moment and be willing to see what we are choosing and to know that love is always there.

417. I love your closing statement about common sense Jo. We dismiss common sense at our peril for it is, in truth real wisdom.

418. Jo you bring such a clarity to the ‘things just happen’ statement. It is great to read how you are open to exploring what your role in every situation has been and how nothing happens just because. There is a message in everything and it is love that is delivering that message.

419. Wow, you have unfolded in leaps and bounds all from opening up your heart and awareness..

420. The title of this blog is the perfect excuse to not have any responsibility for the choices we make! I know, for I have been there in the past.

     1. So true Steve and this is not the only thinking I have used to excuse and avoid myself from living my full responsibility and I still catch myself using little excuses not to take full responsibility!

        I have always found it disturbing how we, as human beings can use our ‘intelligent minds’ to rationalize ourselves out of all manner of true responsibility…

421. I do not see these two terms as exclusive. If something is meant to be, is only meant to be because there is a reason behind it. If is not meant to be, on the other hand, there is a reason too. Both statements, on the other hand, make clear that the crucial part is always the reason behind everything.

422. Serge Benhayon’s presentations are so full of common sense it is at times confronting because it has made me realize how far away collectively we are living from that.

     1. So true Nicole, after straying farther from the deeply loving common sense of my heart than I wanted to see I had, it was very challenging and even painful when presented with the simple common sense Serge Benhayon always comes from.

423. I love the water and vodka comparison it strikes at the core of of our responsibility to discern the choices that we make.

424. I love that life is about our choices and the consequences of them. There is no wriggle room and it can seem very uncomfortable or even really heart breaking when life presents major challenges, but when we zoom out and know this life is one of many lives that there will be lessons being learnt at all stages, if you choose that, or you can cement in reactions and emotions, life takes on a whole new level of understanding and the depth of love and intelligence we are surrounded by the universe becomes a very humbling experience.

425. I used to feel quite fatalist about life especially when things got out of control , I thought they just happened, in the ‘it was meant to be’ category. But understanding we can learn from everything that happens, it is interesting to observe what our learning is and gain that understanding. We may come to a point where we don’t need that message ever again.

     1. I can relate to life feeling fatalistic and out of control in life but now I understand that that came from my reaction to withdraw and chose not to see and feel the understanding of cause and effect.

        I love how you say we can learn from everything that happens.

        I have learned that being open to understanding is an essential ingredient or a key to a life lived with harmony.

426. ‘I have never heard anyone express such deep common sense as Serge Benhayon on the vast subjects of who we are, why we’re here and what is going on in humanity.’ – Well said Jo – Serge Benhayon tells it as it is, and he is never making himself stand out as ‘special’, he makes it very clear that we all have equal access to all that he presents, it is just a matter of choosing to live with the utmost energetic responsibility.

427. ‘There’s a reason for everything’ requires a great deal of honesty and for many it is way too painful to go there. With the support of Universal Medicine and team of practitioners we are invited and supported to look within and gain awareness and understanding. When we do, the rewards are immeasurable..

428. I have heard so many times in my life that every moment is a gift. I used to hold this phrase as a platitude, one where you are so accepting, you are like a Buddhist monk, you nod your head and walk ahead. But today I get this statement in a whole other way: every day things happen for precise reasons, and if we choose to read why that is, we are supported in every move that we make. If you are contemplating heading down a route that is not true for you, you get to see a few different alerts that everything is not well. Appreciating this ‘magic of God’ gives you a whole understanding that we absolutely do choose to get into strife and get lost – by ignoring heaven’s constant support. Thank you Jo for offering the present of your wisdom to my day today.

429. “Everything happens for a reason” brings purpose back to each and everyone of us. If we are prepared to understand why something has happened, accept and work with it, the cycle is much less likely to be repeated.

430. Love the visual analogy Shirley- Ann.
     Every single day of our life shows us clearly that there is a change and a consequence as a result of every choice and every action. I am amazed at humanity’s capacity to entertain the notion that we are like a “bobbing cork on the river” of life for so long.

431. ‘Meant to be’ is a dishonouring of the power we have to make different choices.

432. The two statements are the difference between apathy and commitment to life.

433. Wow, Jo, you have really captured the law of cause and effect in the most accessible way for everyone to understand, based on your own experience and openness to learn and take responsibility for the energy you choose in your everyday life. Thank you for sharing this.

434. I have found that in accepting “everything happens for a reason” gives us a chance to be constantly reflecting and therefore grow from every moment, situation, accident, illness…etc we are presented with. “It was meant to be” means I get washed along in the tide and go along with everybody and everything life does to me. I know which feels empowering or disempowering and the one I’d rather live in!!

435. I love this Jo – so straightforward and simple in its message. We are responsible for what happens to us in our lives, regardless of the number of ways we try to wriggle out of that responsibility, and this sentence is beautifully succinct: “If we don’t correct our out-of-harmony-way-of-being, eventually we run into the greater rhythm of the Universe. And then a correction may occur in the same way as our body physiology is continuously correcting, discharging and healing little parts for the integrity of the whole.”

436. Understanding that everything happens for a reason and that there is something to be learned from each challenging situation, enables an openness and acceptance to walk through the difficulty.

437. I really appreciate the definition between the fatalistic ‘it was meant to be’ and the more insightful ‘everything happens for a reason’. In the past whenever things didn’t go my way I applied the former attitude. Interestingly however there was still a part of me that knew events unfolded the way they did because of the part I had played in setting them up. The un-admittance of this however came from the fact that I found it hard to dig deep enough through and past my hurts that would allow me to see this clearly. Once I started to address my hurts and let them go there was more space and a more stable platform to observe life and become more responsible for my choices.

438. I simply love the fact that we can change from “it was meant to be” and live in a way that we see that everything happens for a reason, yet wind back 13 years and I would not have seen the difference. It is also not time that made me wiser but my choice to grow and evolve and heal with the deep support of Universal Medicine.

439. Both of these sayings are a favourite of the new age spiritual movement, and often I hear both used as a excuse or justification for what has happened. Often I hear people say “it happened for a reason”, as though to put a positive twist on something that was otherwise devastating. But in that there is the danger of avoiding responsibility if we are not careful. For most often when you hear people say that, it is as though they are looking to extract some good out of what happened. And whilst I am total agreeance that everything happens for a reason, that should not stop us from asking, if that is the case, then did it still need to happen in the first place, or would it have happened had different choices been made? Does someone need to get cancer? Did that relationship breakdown have to happen? By taking this line of questioning with things, we become more self-reflective on what has actually happened so that it truly becomes an experience we can learn from, rather than just leaving it as something that had to happen because the momentum we had created in our lives allowed for no other outcome.

440. Jo, I used to live by this this, “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens.’ I can feel now how irresponsible this is, I used to think that we did not have any say in our lives – that what happened in life was not based on our choices – this was a very disempowering way of living and did not feel joyful or loving. Now I know this “It was meant to be” attitude not to be true as I am now taking more responsibility for how I am living and my everyday choices and see that my life and what happens in my life is very much based on the choices I make.

441. I wonder what percentage of the world’s population actually knows that nothing happens by chance or is random and that each decision we make has a positive or negative consequence, for this is one of the major things to truly accept before we can truly start to evolve back to where we are from.

442. “Everything happens for a reason” gives purpose and understanding for life rather than a random chemical/biological accident.

     1. The belief that life is a random chemical/ biological accident will often result in life resembling an accident, as opposed to us understanding that life is governed by an intricate order of laws and therefore making choices with the intention of directly influencing those laws and therefore influencing life itself. We are in the driver’s seat, therefore if we crash it is our own doing.

443. Thanks Jo for the reminder that our lives are truly in our hands but greatly supported all the way.

444. ‘“Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.’ And there before us lay the keys to life, the way to finally understand that life is not an accident, but a very detailed reflection of how we choose to live and what we choose to impulse us. When we make the adjustments inwardly, then the outer world will follow suit.

445. “Everything happens for a reason”. I know this to be true and yet I still can ignore it at times – which is in fact a bigger irresponsibility than those who may not have re-awoken to that understanding. Serge Benhayon and The Way of The Livingness have taught me the energetic foundations of how life works. My responsibility is to commit and build and move in relationship with those foundations. If I don’t, stuff happens to show me that I am not being true. If I do, stuff happens to confirm my choices – whatever happens, it is always happening for a reason.

446. This is a great sharing in understanding more deeply the comfort of ideals and beliefs and how we are often trapped by them. It is great to get awareness and leave them behind.

447. We can say that we were never even meant to be here, as humans on this planet – so the notion that anything after that ‘was meant to be’ is clearly a total falsity.

     1. now that may explain the un-settlement many feel here, and the call to return to a way of ‘being’ that encompasses the multidimensionality of our nature. Understanding that this is not our resting place and we are actually in a cycle of return.

448. Understanding that everything happens for a reason and knowing that my choices affect everything that happens enables me to look at life completely differently, knowing that everything means something, and nothing can be ignored as being of no value.

449. This is a very beautifully crafted blog. Having been an “It was meant to be” sayer and using blame and defence as ways to not take responsibility for my choices I get everything you are saying here. Like you I can thank the great wisdom and clarity of Serge Benhayon for waking me up to the fact of responsibility, choices and consequences and there being a reason for everything. This has proven to be true and understanding this takes away the dis-empowerment and brings back commitment, purpose and a great joy to life.

450. “I no longer buy into the “it’s meant to happen” or “things just happen” consciousness” – I remember being or living just like this… as if there was ‘nothing I could do’, it gave a convenient opt-out and abdication of having to take responsibility… Living fatalistically like this under the thoughts of someone else doing it, or me not having any say in how things panned out, was immature and led to a life of self-doubt and insecurity throughout my 20’s. And so coming to know now for the past few years that ‘everything is everything, and nothing is nothing’ as shared by Serge Benhayon, has been one of the greatest kits for life, and to living it, truly enjoying life – with reason and responsibility.

451. It took a while for the penny to drop but eventually it did and I realised that I was the common denominator in all of the situations in my life that were going wrong. That was years ago and yet I still find myself having to remind myself that it is me that sets everything in motion.

452. There is a science behind everything and we are all part of that living science and as such we all understand the mechanics of life. How much force do we all therefore have to constantly apply to continually play dumb.

453. Responsibility never sleeps, it is there calling us to all we are capable of in every moment.

     1. … yes, and to awaken to this truth is empowering, a return to a lived way with true purpose and joy.

454. That we are always making choices, that everything has consequences – these really are the big white elephants in a room that I kept claiming I didn’t see. I so agree – what Serge Benhayon presents are common senses that we can all somehow recognise as true – regardless of what choices we make then on.

455. Everything is an opportunity to evolve. It’s up to us whether we take the gift that we are receiving or to pretend we didn’t see it.

456. Beautiful blog Jo, I love the following line – ‘I am seeing that essentially every thing that happens offers me a chance to choose more awareness and understanding’. I wish we were taught this in school so that we never went down a path of being critical or judgemental of ourselves and others but instead knew exactly what was on offer to us.

     1. I agree, Sally. If we see everything that happens as a learning opportunity, we can always be evolving and not setting ourselves back with negative thoughts.

457. Everything does happen for a reason – there are no coincidences in life… including all the little signs we are offered along the way – like a feather falling at our feet as we walk, a particular bird flying in front of us… all these seemingly too simple Magic of God gifts are also there to offer us a point of reflection – maybe to confirm how we are in that moment or to consider something that may need changing in some way… we are constantly being offered an opportunity for evolution.

458. This is so lovely to read and an opportunity for me to reflect on my relationship with life, how much I’ve grown and where my next steps are. I’m inspired to put myself on a programme of reading everything in my day as being a result of the energy I’ve chosen – so no more discounting of life’s lessons as just inconsequential or not worthing of attention. It’s not that I’m going to be hyper vigilant but open to observation without internal blinkers on what I don’t want to accept as my responsibility.

     Today I’ve really noticed how ignoring my awareness and acting small life can feel out of focus, blurry and though I maybe doing all the right things, I’m choosing to not bring all that I could (waiting for others to pick up on things) which greatly depreciates the support I offer. It’s about stepping away from being passive and stepping into my knowingness which, once I pay attention and bring focus to will naturally build as it has done already and could do far more so..

459. I have always felt ‘everything happens for a reason’, and looked to find out what that reason was but this was only for the ‘big’ events of life – like my mothers sudden death… but I never looked at my responsibility in all the little events, like when something wasnt going to plan – I would get frustrated and blame something or someone else. What I have learnt from Serge Benhayon’s presentations and workshops is the responsibility we have in every little detail of our lives, right down to the energy we are choosing when we do whatever it is we do, and how that not only affects our immediate world but has a ripple effect out into the universe.

460. I love the example of the vacuum cleaner cord being in disarray, and how this was a moment to stop and reset your connection with you. It made me smile as I recall so many moments like these within a day that show us so clearly when we are in or out of rhythm.

     1. Very true Victoria – we are constantly being offered reflections of where we are at with ourselves. Question is, do we care to read it and re-connect or do we override and push through?

461. Awesome blog Jo, ‘It was meant to be’ has become a convenient throw away line which brushes of any self- responsibility as you say. Life is continually offering me/us reflections of our choices and we also have the choice to interpret those reflections as a blessing or a curse. We are ever being supported to return to the truth of Soul.

462. Inspiring to feel your commitment to everything happening for a reason and your willingness to explore the reasons for these happenings and take responsibility for changing your behaviour accordingly. So much more empowering than the given-upness of saying ‘It was meant to be’ which leaves the person with nowhere to go in effecting positive change in their lives.

463. I love some of the phrases you use Jo, a “passenger on a runaway train” being one. And to consider something like a vacuum cleaner cord being tangled and not dismiss it as just a physical occurrence, but that it has an energetic root that sprouted into the outplay to show us an aspect of life lived off key. Such simple observations can change entirely how we view life, and how life is lived with deeper meaning and greater joy and enjoyment.

464. When I hear the words “it was meant to be” it feels as if we are the victims of circumstances or someone else’s decision; that we had no say in the outcome so we simply acquiesce. It feels as if we then give up on what we wanted and in doing so begin to shrink, with the shrinking probably triggering various emotions in the body, from resentment to frustration and even bitterness. Conversely when we come to the realisation that yes, ‘everything happens for a reason’ we are offered the space to begin to understand; ‘why did this happen’ and ‘what I am being shown here’ – and from the willingness to ask the questions we have the opportunity to expand our understanding of ourselves, our life and the world.

465. I remember these lines, “it was meant to be and everything happens for a reason” and the way I used them. I used them both as a way to explain what I thought was the unexplainable. A way to make sense of things that weren’t making sense. Funny thing was when I used these lines only a part of me was appeased, another part remained restless or anxious and looking back now I said them almost with an eye shut. I knew I wasn’t seeing the whole picture but no matter what I did, metaphorically speaking the other eye wouldn’t open. It was like I needed something to explain what was going on and these lines gave me a part relief from the tension I was feeling with life. I am aware now that the way I used these words didn’t bring anything to me but more just delayed me understanding what was going on. It would have been better for me to ask at those points, ‘show me more or what’s really going on here’ rather then try and explain what I was feeling by washing it away in a throw away line. It’s not the words themselves but the way they have been used and equally the way I have used them that makes them feel to me like a side step or a turn away from something that is needing to be known.

466. Jo, you have taken two very common and everyday sayings and exposed much about what is truly going on behind them. You have exposed how different they truly are, and how much our choices lie behind them.

467. Thank you Jo for ‘sharing what is simply “common sense” – available to all equally. I love the example of the vacuum cord being tangled, this is the moment of invitation to stop and re-connect to our breath – supper simple. How many times do we make it harder, pull the cord, bang into something and then blame anything and everything because we are refusing the invitation to re-connect to who we truly are? When this is considered there seems to be a vested interest to keep things anything but simple, including ourselves simply connecting to our essence through our gentle breath.

468. So beautifully shared Jane – and I can relate to everything you have said here – taking responsibility can be something that I too resist, and yet when I surrender to it, then I find it to have been the most beautiful thing that I could ever have taken on board.

469. Jo you have triggered a memory for me – I recall use to have dreams all the time about driving my car and the breaks not working….or that I had lost my handbag, wallet and ID…these were recurring dreams that I would have and it took me a long time to understand what was happening. I came to realise that, like you, the brakes not working in my car was about me needing to stop and breath and feel how I was going about things. And the missing handbag and ID was all about giving my energy away/loosing my kidney energy in the process not being myself…I love the symbolism of these dreams and how they do carry such valuable messages for us. At times these need to be de-coded and understood for what they are, but more often than not they are super simple and a way for our soul to communicate with us and give us hints and clues as to what we can work on next. The magic of dreams…love it!

470. The moment we accept that our life is made up of the choices we make and that every moment offers an opportunity to go deeper, to take responsibility, to no longer get on the boat tossed about by the sea’s of life is a truly beautiful and enriching moment. Avoiding this and going with ‘it was meant to be’ is shifting responsibility for our lives. We are the choices we make and if we make loving choices, our life will made up of Love.

471. Jo this is a beautiful sharing – thank you very much! There is much revelation you impart here for us all, things for us to ponder on and things for us to reflect upon. We do get constant messages and constant communication from our soul, the question is do we listen and heed it? Or do we leave it for the ‘universe’ to deal with, in other words give our power away, just as your blog title asks us…

472. ‘once I started to realise that it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations I was in and that it would be my choices and responses to life that would get me out I realised that everything does happen ‘for a reason’.’ Well stated. It takes a certain courage to honestly look at one’s choices and to understand that we are not victims to life but the creators of our own life stories. The courage is needed as there is much pride to let go of. Personally I have experienced a number of ‘ouch’ moments, but to be honest I would rather have these ouch moments than continue to be blind to what my choices have been!

473. Yes life sure does show us where we are at, but like you share we can either take responsibility for this or we can ‘pretend’ we don’t know how it has happened etc. Rather be honest and take a good look at what has lead to what is happening and then we can make changes to support ourselves, the other way just buries everything and so the cycles continue.

474. It is so very self-empowering to accept the responsibility that where we are and what happens or not to us is a direct result of our choices and how we behave. It is also an amazing point to get to when we can see that what ever happens to us is a loving nudge back towards the right path if we tend to wander.

475. Responsibility is for me the difference. In the first approach we excuse whatever happens with ‘everything happens for a reason’. The second consciousness is offering evolution. In order to read (feeling energy) what is offered in terms of evolution, so is asking for deepening our responsibility and awareness all of the time.

476. Jo there is so much here that I will need to read a few times to appreciate it all. It reminds me of the time when I was entrenched in the spiritual new age and would go by the mantra ‘if it’s meant to be it will be’, so not actually taking any steps towards anything because it would just somehow magically materialize or just happen. This was disempowering and irresponsible and ensured that I continued to stay in a victim mentality and slumber. I’m laughing remembering when I first went to a Universal Medicine practitioner and said this line ‘oh well if its meant to be it will be’, because the practitioner was so loving in supporting me to feel how contracted this way of thinking was.

477. When I was young I was uncomfortable hearing “It’s God’s will” in society. That phrase was equivalent to “it is meant to be” and I guess there is nothing wrong with either phrase but it is how they are used. “It’s God’s will” always accompanied an element of resignation and finality, so although every part of me knew there had to be more to the story, there was no opening to discuss anything.

     Nothing is random. There is an order and a pattern. This is great to recognise, but we are intrinsically part of this flow. So it is well worth having conversations about it and deepening our awareness.

478. If we consider that …”everything happens for a reason…” it opens up the opportunity to consider the cause and consequence of how something has happened and our part in it that contributed to it.

479. This is truth – everything happens for a reason indeed. We may not like that truth as it asks us to be more responsible and stop making life about ourself.

480. There are lots of gems to pick up here Jo. There is a magic to feel that everything happens for a reason, and it is a deeper understanding to be had when we discover that. So no matter what happens to us, we will learn when we view it in this way.

481. There is so much in this blog to consider. When I first read the title I also thought the two phrases were similar. But when it was raised they were different, I could immediately feel the ‘given-upness’ and abdication of responsibility that comes with the ‘its meant to be’ phrase. It really is only through engagement with life, awareness and taking responsibility for what we create that we can grow, learn and heal ourselves.

482. “When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.” I love the responsibility you are prepared to take for yourself. Far too often we want to blame others for our problems but blame gets us nowhere except further away from the joy and love that we are. When we welcome responsibility life changes completely.

483. ‘“Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.’ And that is one of the great teachings that I have learned from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine – that nothing happens by chance. If it happens at all, I am in some way responsible, whether it is my past choices or what I am choosing in this moment – life simply reflects back to us our choices.

484. I remember the “Choas Theory” being explained to me, where by every single moment and incident in the universe is at random. I just couldn’t buy into it after seeing some of the magic that is brought through in every day life. Surely that cannot be random!

485. There is so much in this Jo it is all beautiful to read and feel your depth of observation and true care.

486. It’s true, being lost in the world of ‘meant to be’s’ just keeps us in a pathetic state of wishi-washi-ness while giving our power away big time. Taking command by recognising that everything happens for a reason, and that reason is so we can learn from our mistakes and make different choices enables us to feel empowered. The two are totally different

487. For me “everything happens for a reason” has become an absolute – an at times confronting or uncomfortable one but something that just makes sense – if I choose my path and walk down it, I am the author of my life and my experiences and my choices call to me a certain stage and environment within which I will experience life

488. To think that certain situations are meant to be can lead us to believe we have no power to make any true change, and perhaps think we can get away with taking responsibility for our choices.

489. Great blog Jo about the true responsibility we have to read every situation we are in and not blindly accept life as it is. There is a purpose indeed, and that purpose is our return to love.

490. ‘When I don’t feel quite myself it is as if my natural flow is disturbed and this is also disturbing to all around me, and I know it is my responsibility to correct myself.’ – Thank you for an honest and relatable sharing Jo. To see everything in life as a reflection to where we are at and how we are with ourselves, and what then consequently plays out, is key.

491. The water versus vodka analogy is great – I really get what you mean! Love what you share here and couldn’t agree more when you say that Serge Benhayon helped you reconnect or wake up to something you already knew deep down but had been dismissing or ignoring.

492. I must have spent many lifetimes of being reckless with the harmful choices I have made because it feels like an old comfortable pair of shoes that you refuse to get rid of! I have also now found from the teachings of the Way of the Livingness that things happen because of the way we choose to live and the choices we make.

493. What an incredible blog Jo. Your blog reminds me that every choice I make has consequences. The whole world reconstellates with every choice I make. I sometimes find it overwhelming wondering which ‘sliding door’ I might end up going through but this is a lie because I will always receive my own choices back and the way they look is actually irrelevant. Love begets love, lies begets lies, truth begets truth and so on every choice I make comes back to me.

494. Learning to take responsibility for everything that happens to us is a big one, especially if we come from the ‘it was meant to be’ camp. The wisdom that Serge Benhayon expresses makes ‘common sense’ of everything that life brings.

495. What a powerful blog to read Jo Elmer. The analogy the old way of feeling out of control on a runaway train and making new choices to be responsible for the quality of your daily living is very inspiring.
     “Since then I have discovered that life can be understood and as a result I no longer feel like a passenger on a runaway train – allowing things to happen to me without taking initiative to choose the quality of my path to be one that feels true for me”.

496. I loved reading this blog as it reflects my experience with Universal Medicine as well. A part of me did not want to read “it was my own choices and reactions which got me into the unhappy situations I was in and that it would be my choices and responses to life that would get me out I realised that everything does happen ‘for a reason’.” but the beautiful thing was that I was able to feel how resisting this fact actually hurts my body. It’s not about being perfect and understanding everything mentally, logically and instantly (been there, tried and got exhausted doing so) but being open to feeling life that is before me and thats when I can make changes and understand life.

497. I love how you mention about the fact that Love will without a doubt pull you back. Be it with a wake up call in the form of an accident or illness or in a lesser form of the two. But when you do take the steps of responsibility it responds and supports you as you need it to come back to who you truly are. Love never lets you go ever.

498. “I have never heard anyone express such deep common sense as Serge Benhayon on the vast subjects of who we are, why we’re here and what is going on in humanity.” I so very much agree with this, that what Serge Benhayon presents resonates with the truth that we know deep down, it is simply and vast in one and makes absolute sense.

499. Jo thanks for elaborating on the huge difference between the two sayings in the title of your blog. I used to accept certain things about myself as just being who I am. In actual fact, there is a lot I do that is learnt behaviour that definitely stems from a cause that produces the effect. It’s great to be curious and ask questions of ourselves like, ‘why do I behave in that way?’ As a result, I have chosen new behaviours to replace many old unloving ones. The idea of choice and taking responsibility is ultimately a very powerful combination for making a change.

500. Actually, when we are out of whack we need that stop from our body and when we understand that everything happens for a reason. We also can feel that it actually is the love of God that presents us with a moment to stop where we are presented a possible other way of living where it is always our choice to accept and choose for this offering or not.

501. Your analogy to water and vodka is a powerful one and this expression, on its own, completely exposes the difference between ‘It Was Meant to Be’ and ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’.

502. “It was meant to be” represents a given-up attitude where I am not taking responsibility for understanding my part in what happens” That is what I used to say so often in life until I started going to Universal Medicine workshops and events. It was the best thing that could ever happen to me, because it made me realise I had the choice to take responsibility in my life for my life.

503. If the universe is innately harmonious – and if observed I feel this is a conclusion we can all reach – then it makes sense to me that beings living disharmoniously will feel tension due to the discord between their choices and the ‘environment’ that surrounds them. Tension is certainly something I experience and this indicates to me that there are two differing points of perception or awareness. It also makes sense to me that living disharmoniously will create a disharmonious experience in the body such as a disease or illness. So, in my view it is very possible, if not likely, that our lifestyle choices lead to our experience of either harmony or disharmony in life and directly impact on our health and wellbeing.

504. I used to struggle and resist doing mathematics. I was one of the worst in my class at my school. ‘What was the point of it all?’ I used to wonder, as we tried to wrap our heads around these numbers. But now, I see life differently. I feel that everything about our life is part of the most magnificent equation. Each part contributes and is important and in the end ‘adds up’. Sometimes we can’t see the whole statement and can begin to think things are messy and falling apart. But the universe has the most magnificent way of showing that time + space always = True Love. Thank you Jo.

505. “It’s meant to be” or “Things happen” or “Life happens” gives us the ultimate excuse to not take responsibility for our massive part in what happens day to day in our lives. Things don’t just happen – we create them and we are create them non-stop. The shape of our lives and how they look, feel and play out is down to us and our day to day choices, and I love that, it’s empowering to really take charge of your life and not leave it to chance.

506. Stopping and appreciating the ‘wake up calls’ however big or small rather than blaming them has changed so much for me. There is a reason everything happens and when we stop the blame and start to look at our own responsibility then we bring awareness to what is true.

507. There was a light bulb moment for me when I realised that I am always making a choice, even when I think I can’t/don’t know how to make a choice, I am still making a choice…not to choose!
     Thank you for sharing your realisations with us

508. Saying ‘it was meant to be’ totally makes us feel powerless in situations. It is the ultimate form of irresponsibility as all in life is happening for a reason and because of the choices we have made. Thank you for making this really clear.

509. The example you give of the vacuum cleaner cord is so similar to me and my life. I am constantly being given messages/reminders/stop moments. But so often, I will run past them and ignore them. Nothing just happens, nothing is luck or bad luck or happenstance or coincidence or fate or chance or ‘just what happened’. If I can commit to holding that truth then life becomes a joyful 24/7 lesson supporting me back to my truth at every second.

510. Really inspiring blog Jo. It’s so interesting that as you’ve shared, dreams are another point of reflection for us in our day; ‘I used to go-and-go despite recurring dreams that my cars had no brakes’. What if there was a science behind our dreams, then we may learn an awful lot from observing them and seeing how that relates to our daily choices and things going on when we’re awake.

511. I have in the past used these two terms inter-changeably. Jo you bring much needed clarity to the true meaning of each.

512. Distinguishing the difference between the two sayings in the title of this blog clearly defines two distinct perceptions and understandings of life. Choosing the latter is most definitely choosing to live life rather than it living you.

513. Jo, thank you for writing this, I feel the absolute truth in what you are sharing. I also experience this more and more clearly; ‘When I am out of whack I feel that Love, without a speck of judgment, lets me know when I am behaving in a way that is dis-harmonious’, I notice this if I am about to eat too much food then the food may fall out of my hand as I am about to have it, or if i’m rushing I may stub my toe – this reminds me that I am not choosing love. The messages are getting more clear and are hard to ignore and so I am listening and learning and using them as a guide to come back to love.

514. What happens to us in life does not just blow out of the wind, it is a consequence of previous choices. Accepting our responsibility for everything keeps us open to reflect on why something happened and commit to learn from it. Waving the casual wand of ‘it was meant to be’ equals no reflection, and zero learning.

515. There is nothing that exists that does not exist within the body of God and the body of God is ordered with unfathomable diamond like precision, therefore to entertain for even a nano second that there is anything that either happens randomly or by chance is nothing short of ludicrous.

516. Interestingly people don’t say ‘ it was meant to be’ when they get cancer.

517. “‘Everything happens for a reason’ represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.” We often express concern and despair at the state of the world we live in but when we take responsibility for our part in the whole we can make change happen by the way we choose to live with responsibility and love for all.

518. Such a clear explanation of two different choices in our lives Jo Elmer, thank you deeply. And so with immense gratitude to Serge Benhayon, we have an awareness restored to us about how we can live life. We can continue to arrogantly think we can behave as we like and treat the consequences as ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’; or wise up, take responsibility and begin to see that what happens in life is a direct result of all we choose to do. When we choose the latter we begin to live in a very different way, a way that brings us home to the power and effect of every movement, action and word and clearly demonstrates that we are in fact the train drivers on that ‘run away train’ and it’s time to resume the controls.

519. Great blog Jo, the statement: “it’s meant to happen” or “things just happen” … does give one an easy exit or way out from the consequences of any actions… Recognising that everything is energy, there is always something that precedes something… a cause and effect.

520. Jo where to start, what a stunning reflection of the awareness that Universal Medicine has bought you and a great confirmation for the same path that I went on. Going from “it was meant to be” with everything therefore out of my control to “everything happens for a reason” a key and significant turning point that likewise with all the support of Serge, Simone, Natalie and Universal Medicine forms an ever deepening way that I am in relationship with everything.

521. I would often start to say “it was meant to be” but there was always a part of me that held back as it just didn’t feel true, yet all around me others were saying it regularly. Even coincidences never rang true but once again those around me put certain events in their lives down to them consistently. But it wasn’t until I began to study with Universal Medicine that I began to see that the doubt that I had had was well founded. When Serge Benhayon presented that our lives are the result of every choice we have ever made, with not a “meant to” in sight, I could instantly feel the truth; I may not have liked to hear it at first but today that is the cornerstone of how I live – totally responsible for my life.

522. Being willing to see and understand the energy behind everything is very natural. It is our investment in life being The way we want it to be that prevents us from seeing it all with clarity and thus responsibly.

     1. Great point – the fact that I know there is an energetic reason for everything defines life, eliminating the ‘random’ from the equation. It makes life clearer.

523. The description of life as a “runaway train” is very apt when it comes to thinking everything is fate, an accident or wasn’t meant to happen in the way it did. It feels great to get off that train and I haven’t looked back since I did.

524. Love all that you’ve shared here Jo. The “it was meant to be” phrase always irked me – especially when said with (to be honest) a smug conviction that actually either dismissed the actual power of a situation or relationship for example, and/or masked a depth of giving up on exactly the thing you have brought home here so well, i.e. responsibility for our part in the whole.

525. “Gaining a clear understanding that there are two thoroughly different ways of living (two different consciousness, which Serge Benhayon has illuminated for us all) has inspired me to come back to a position of self-empowerment, understanding and a place of greater responsibility” – It has definitely been a life changing experience understanding that we have a choice to either live dis-harmoniously and add to the chaos of the world or live from an inner knowing connection to truth which contributes to more love in our world.

526. I was feeling stuck in a rut that was not comfortable recently, and during these situations I observed that it is very easy to look outside and blame what and who is around. And yet the situation did not dissolve back to a lovely flow until I not only looked at my part in responsibility, talked about it openly with those involved and initiated to change in my part, then I feel harmony returning from all parts involved. Isn’t it true then that – when we return to responsibility, this empowering is actually for everyone? And my next question was, do we really know how powerful we could be when we re-commit even deeper to life and to responsibility?

527. Thank you Jo for adding your voice to the growing number of people around the world who have, through their association with Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon, discovered a different way to be in life – a way that is harmonious for ourselves, and everyone.

528. Wow Jo, what a much-needed and powerful piece of writing! You’ve made me sit up and take note of my own choices and how they need to be real choices and not tiny abdications. Thank you.

529. Thanks Jo. I had never considered the saying ‘it was meant to be’, as a giving up of responsibility around the reasons why X happened. But it makes sense, in the way that you describe it. I have however felt that when I have used that saying, it has come from an understanding that whatever unfolds is always due to the thread of choices we make along the way, bringing us to ‘everything happens for a reason’. It’s all very cool.

530. It is also wonderful to understand that Karma is a law of love and not a punishment. What we may call a disaster or disease is actually a loving reminder and opportunity for us to correct our ill way (as you have described) and return to the love we are. This is never ending as we are always learning and developing and allows us to have a completely different relationship to whatever is there for us to heal and attend to.

531. I completely agree, it is very empowering and liberating to know that everything happens as a consequence of our choices and that we are responsible for our life.

532. Great post Jo, you capture so well what so many of us think or hold about those two phrases, just reading them the energy feels so distinctive –

     “It was meant to be” – to me feels apathy, inner resignation, inertia…

     “Everything happens for a reason” – is pure understanding, responsibility, action

533. This is a beautiful account of how responsibility restores the light of our true being and in this allows us to live religiously, in communion with the All we are a part of. What I love about these words; ‘responsibility’, ‘restores’ and ‘religion’ is they all begin with the prefix ‘re’ which indicates a return to a previous state, to renew, refresh. That is, we are forever given the opportunities to revisit that which we have lived if what was or is being lived is not in accordance to the greater whole – the Universe/Body of God – that holds Us All. In short as outlined clearly through Jo’s account here – responsibility restores religion. How cool is that?

534. An excellent blog. Sometimes it feels like things happen for a reason, there is a bigger thing making it happen and usually, it turns out better than I imagined which makes me think, meanwhile we try and control so many aspects of our lives but forget the bigger picture.

     1. Great point Harry – what often is highlighted is how controlling I can be. The everything happens for a reason part of it doesn’t fully flow when I’m trying to control or micromanage my life!

535. Jo this is stunning, an absolutely inspiring read that I know I will read again and again. The honesty and realness that you write with is so tangible. A big thank you from me.

536. ““Everything happens for a reason” represents an understanding that comes with responsibility and a deep commitment to life.” Jo one of my favourite little sayings and one that puts responsibility back in our hands to move closer to love with every movement we make. It all brings it back to the simplicity of choice and how we choose to move with life or against it. A great read thank you so much.

     1. Very true kelly. The more truth we are willing to see the better we will understand exactly why our lives play out as they do.

     2. This quote you highlighted reminds me that there is a lesson in everything that happens to us. When we embrace these lessons we learn and grow but when we resist it is simply a delay to evolve.

537. Yes, life felt like being at a steering wheel of a shopping trolley with a life of its own – you had an influence but those wheels kept going where you don’t want them to go.

     1. Perfect analogy Christoph, always at the whim of those annoying self-created trolley wheels!

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