“Oh no, not another one of these problems!” I exclaimed after my husband had told me that our trash can outside of the house had just vanished into thin air. It wasn’t our own container. In Germany, we usually rent them from the local waste management company.
My mind started racing. Would I have to inform the police and insurance company that it was stolen? What does a trash can cost? Where do we store the trash now?
I’ve had enough of these annoying issues already. From April 2015 through August 2015, they arose one after another. Threats to my time, plans, money, and even my health. Ranging from mildly annoying to frightening.
During one of these issues, I went into panic mode and made an unwise decision. When the train drivers announced their strike, I canceled my train tickets right away and decided to go by bus instead. But about two days later, the strike was called off temporarily and the train drivers agreed to enter mediation instead. Now, I was stuck with the bus tickets which meant a much longer travel time.
That was a lesson. Had I only been able to stay at peace and listen to the voice of intuition! During the next issues, I made sure that I didn’t let fear take over.
It was as if the universe said Boo! in a haunted house ride, trying to push me off center, and all I needed to do was stay at inner peace and say to myself, “I wonder what I feel guided to do now and how this issue will be solved.”
The answer from the wise inner voice was usually,
“Don’t worry, you’ll be okay.”
And then I watched how things worked out – with little or no action from my side.
What about the trash can?
“Oh, it can happen that the garbage truck swallows the trash can altogether. Don’t worry, we will provide you a new one next week”, the lady from the local waste management company assured me. “You can even have a larger one at no additional cost.”
How great! We could really use a larger trash can. With much relief and gratitude, I accepted the offer.
Spiritual Awakening 
How delightful and candid your words are Karin; it can almost seem as if we need the anxiety in order to sense relief and gratitude within – the many shades of mind and its pernicious identifications!
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Thanks for your appreciative and thoughtful comment, Hariod.
Yes, the identification with my plans, my time, my health is causing the rush of fear during each perceived threat.
Sometimes, I am able to feel gratitude right at the beginning of the problem. An attitude of “I am sure this will be solved and I am so grateful that all will be ok”. Then things really seem to work out well.
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Quite so dear Karin.
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Hi Karin,
Such a treat to find a new post from you. I totally get your decision to be proactive and your surprise when it did not work out. Sometimes it feels like Mercury is retrograde even when it isn’t!
I also understand the trashcan thing. I love how it worked out , especially to your benefit! I do think that the universe plays with us to help us grow and to help us release what we no longer need.
Keep the stories coming and enjoy your new trash cans! ;)
peace, Linda
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Thanks, Linda. I am always grateful for your appreciative and encouraging comments.
The universe helps us grow and release. Definitely. For me, this felt like a “trial by fire” phase for the inner peace which ACOL mentions somewhere ( I just can’t find the exact quote anymore).
Peace,
Karin
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Great share Karin… And reminder to not to believe our thinking when things appear to go wrong! Thanks :)
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Thanks for your appreciation, Val.
I am glad that it resonates with you. Yes, it is so easy to be fooled into a reaction when things appear to go wrong in this virtual reality of seeming separation. Reminding ourselves that what our five senses tell us (lots of separate things out there) is not real, this is very important.
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I’ve been working on letting go and letting things work themselves out too. For me, being overly proactive was actually a form of trying to control the situation. I feel like these types of trials are tests for me to listen to my intuition and trust. I’ve been much more at peace as I have practiced this. As a matter of fact, what is happening now, is my husband is noticing how things seem to work out for me. He is a very proactive type too;-)
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Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Yes, being proactive is a form of control. I see that. And the spiritual path is about letting go. About giving up the illusion of control. About trust.
It is hard to do when we have learned that life is about being self-reliant and proactive and responsible.
I agree, these are tests to listen to our intuition.
It is wonderful that situations work out for you when you are at peace.
And thanks for sharing this here. I love exchanging experiences with fellow bloggers who are also on uncharted terrain.
I bet your husband learns something from your teaching by demonstration.
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You hit the nail on the head with the self-reliant piece! I completely identify with that :-) I hope my husband is learning too, we all are. Thank you for continuing to visit my blog. My internet connection is terrible and so it takes me awhile to catch up. I kept seeing your yellow flowers and knew I needed to come visit.
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It’s so hard when a lot of irritating things all come at once. It is interesting to watch how my little ego reacts in situations like that, and I just have to identify with my higher self, comfort the little upset one, and proceed in a healthier way. The trick is to disidentify with my ego and get into higher self mode. Haha. Deep breaths help me do that….sometimes.
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Thanks for your comment and for sharing your experiences.
Deep breaths help , sometimes, I agree.
Disidentifying is not easy. I find it challenging, too.
What motivates me to detach from the outcome is the experience that trouble gets only bigger if I get upset, and that situations tend to resolve themselves when I stay at inner peace.
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Hi Karin,
While reading your blog article here, there were a few times when I just smiled. Isn’t it amazing when we are fortunate enough to even see ourselves in action? I think it’s significant when we can actually be aware of our actions and how they may be contributing to our outcomes- whether it is our pro-activity or lack thereof, or even just our approach/style. I certainly haven’t found the secret to constant peace (or lasting balance), except as you mention via one’s own inner wisdom, we do get those nudges. I also really appreciated reading everyone’s thoughts here – all really great responses. Your title has me thinking of the universal scare: boo! It’s adorable when we see if for what it is, and for when we have navigated beyond the challenges we are presented with. Many of you have me so curious about The Course of Love :) It’s spoken of with such high regard, and it does carry some sweet vibes.
Warm regards, Ka
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Thanks for taking the time to read here and for your kind and thoughtful comment, Ka.
Yes, the awareness of how we react and how it influences the outcome is indeed important. I see it as one of the basic requirements for this journey (- among the other prerequisites are the strong desire to know peace and truth).
Sometimes I think that I go along this path with an observing mindset like in science.
The boo! of the universe is only scary if we have forgotten what we are. Eternal creative consciousness which is connected to Source. If we have forgotten that, then we are on the hauted house ride and have forgotten that it is just an amusement park and that we have paid at the entrance to get scared.
It is hard to remind myself of this truth in challenging situations.
But the growing evidence of events which turn out well despite all odds when I manage to stay at peace supports my endeavor.
Warm regards,
Karin
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Hi Karin,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I loved this analogy, “If we have forgotten that, then we are on the hauted house ride and have forgotten that it is just an amusement park and that we have paid at the entrance to get scared.” How figuratively true that is…and yet it has often been quite literal, too!
Peace, and glad to join with you here, Ka
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I loved this post, Karin, and the seeing of the distress over such things as the trash cans. Part of the difficulty is the sudden way we are plunged into the unknown. The trash can scenario strikes me as a situation where you’re mind is not immediately sure how to proceed, which frightens it, right? Maybe you don’t know who to call? What the consequences will be? Where to put the trash in the meanwhile? Will it become a mess? What if it attracts critters we don’t want? All of this in a nanosecond.
I like how we move along the path of awareness, and we discover ourselves as Ka said, balancing on the edge, and then we say, “Oh, yes! I should put the other foot down and stop leaning over the side!”
Hope all of the dilemmas rolled up into a ball, and disappeared in a puff of peaceful smoke. Or maybe you made room for them in the new can!
Peace
Michael
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Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Michael.
Yes, all of these Boo! events put me exactly into the mental spiral you described. And in the middle of the mental fearful chatter, I always needed to remind myself to keep calm and listen to the still small voice inside.
So far, all of the dilemmas have disappeared. But new ones keep coming up. So, I am not quite through this phase yet. Well, practice makes perfect…
Peace,
Karin
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I must have missed this post Karin.. and yes we can soon over react at times as we get caught up with the fear of something.. That inner calm voice is always there, when we push the one that heckles us from time to time aside :-) I found the middle of the night is my worst time… my mind works overtime, and then I chastise myself, take a deep breath and say ALL is well in my world.. and it usually is… :-) But those negative gremlins will keep on pushing to be heard..
All ended well with a new larger trash can ;-)
Hope you are enjoying a peaceful Sunday .. Hugs Sue
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Thanks for your comment, Sue, and for sharing your experience.
Yes, the issue is pushing the other fearful voice away so that that still small voice can be heard. And before that, there must be discernment which voice is which. Both steps are difficult.
There should be classes like
Telling the difference between ego and guidance 101,
Making ego shut up – for dummies,
Daring to follow the advice of the still small voice, beginners class.
;-)
Peace,
Karin
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haha.. Yes I agree.. It takes some discerning.. But with practice we learn which one is which.. ;-)
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