book in practice and then decide whether you think the flow exists or not. The alternatives flow is a truly sumptuous gift for the mind. The keys to any problem are encoded within it. To access them you have to learn to move in the direction of least resistance. As a rule, people look for complicated solutions because they perceive the problem as an obstacle and as we know, obstacles can only be overcome by applying much effort. It helps to get into the habit of choosing the simplest possible solution to any given problem.
We all have to learn to something new at some point, or think about how we can do familiar tasks in a more effective way. One approach to doing things in the most efficient manner is so simple it is hard to believe it actually works: in accordance with the principle of harmonious movement everything should be done by the easiest and simplest means possible.
The most optimal alternatives to any action are organised in streams which are like chains comprised of links which represent optimal cause and effect. Deciding to take the next step in a given action is like choosing the next link in the chain. It is a matter of deciding which link is a part of the stream. What normally happens though, is that a person makes a logical decision based on what they think would be most correct based on their day to day experience of life.
The mind makes wilful decisions believing that it is capable of calculating and explaining anything but this is not true. You can probably recall many occasions when you have suddenly seen how things could have been done differently and yet it was too late. It is not that the mind is scattered or lacking in sharpness so much as that the chain in the stream does not always correspond to logical construction.
However meticulous you are, you will rarely choose an optimal action relying solely on logic. Generally speaking, the mind is always under some kind of pressure, be it stress, anxiety, depression or heightened activity. In other words, the mind is constantly distracted by pendulums, which makes it a little bit pushy, or prepared to launch an attack on the outside world.
In order to choose the next chain in the stream all you have to do is free yourself from the puppet strings and have enough compliance to follow the flow. This means adopting a condition of balance and having enough mindfulness not to project inflated importance.
Once you feel that you are in a condition of balance and harmony with the world just follow the flow. You will notice a multitude of signs that will guide you. Let go of the situation. Be the objective observer rather than the participant. Perform your actions simply adopting neither the position of slave nor master. Instruct your inner Guardian to nudge you every time your mind tries to make a ‘sensible’ but nonetheless wilful decision. Detach yourself emotionally as if you were simply an administrator and observe your work from the outside. Everything can be done a lot more simply than you think. Yield to the simplicity. It is the mind not the alternatives flow that carries you to the edge of the waterfall.
Imagine that there is something you need to buy, but you do not know where to find a shop that sells it. You rely on your mind which suggests the most sensible and the most complicated way of finding the shop you need. You drive round half the town looking for the right shop, only to find one, right next door to your house. If you had attributed less importance to the search, the mind would not have been set on finding such a difficult solution.
Here is another example. You have a list of things to do and you are wondering which task to start with and which to put off until later. Do not think about it. If there is no particular need for the tasks to be done in a specific sequence, do the task that you feel most inclined to start with. Go with the flow; Separate your mind from the influence of the pendulums. It is about learning that smooth, light, simple movements are enough to navigate the water. You do not have to be an impotent paper boat or splash your hands wildly about in the water,
I will not go on with a long list of examples. If you spend even just one day truly going with the flow you will discover for yourself just how helpful and surprising living your life in this way can be. Every time you have to come up with a solution to a problem ask yourself which approach would be the easiest and go with that. Every time something or someone comes in to distract you, do not hurry to resist it or skirt around it. Try detaching yourself from the situation and then observing what happens next. Every time you face a new task, ask yourself: How can I do this as simply as possible? Then allow whatever it is to get done with as much ease as possible. Every time someone suggests something different or tries to prove their own point of view try not to jump in and argue back. Maybe the rational mind just cannot understand the advantage or see the alternative. Activate your inner Guardian. First observe and only then take action. Come down into the auditorium. Do not hurry to take control. Let the game develop as far as possible of its own accord under your supervision. There is no need to madly splash your hands about in the water. Try not to get in the way of the flow of life and you will feel much better for it.
Guiding Signs
How can we distinguish between an approaching sandbank or waterfall and a normal turn in current? There are always tangible signs that will help us navigate ourselves through life. Life is constantly sending us signs.
The most common, well-known sign is an omen. There are good and bad omens. Seeing a rainbow is a good omen. A black cat crossing the road is an omen of misfortune. Widely acknowledged omens are created as a result of multiple observations and comparisons. If the percentage of correctly predicted omens is high enough, a certain pattern is determined which then becomes public opinion, because people love to talk to one another about strange phenomena. However, omens do not always come true; far from it in fact.
In Russia, when you forget something and have to go back for it people worry because they say that returning to a place you have just left is a bad omen. Even if a person is not particularly superstitious the strong social stereotype throws a shadow across their subconscious. The person begins to fear that something unpleasant will happen and so decides that it is not worth returning to pick up the thing they left behind. Unfortunately, that does not help either, because an even flow has already been disturbed and the person is already slightly out of balance. The expectation of misfortune introduces change into the parameters of a person’s thought energy and they shifts to a life line that corresponds in quality. Not surprisingly, they then end up experiencing whatever it was they were feared. In effect, the person has allowed the possibility of the event to enter their personal script. This explains why an increasing percentage of omens are fulfilled.
As you can see, the omen of itself cannot serve as a law or pattern. Why is it that everyone considers a black cat in particular to be a bad omen? Or, put differently, how is it that a black cat can have any kind of influence on our lives? Of course it is not the cat that has the influence but a person’s response to seeing a cat. If you believe in omens they will play a role in shaping the events of your life. If you do not believe in omens, but still experience doubts when you realise you have seen one, the influence will be slight. If, however, you do not believe in omens at all and pay absolutely no attention to them, they will have no influence in your life whatsoever. The principle is very simple: you experience what you allow into your personal life script. A person who believes omens to be empty superstitions will experience no indication of their validity in the layer of their world. Omens may appear real in the layers of other people’s worlds because those people look for confirmation of them, whereas the sceptic does not.
If omens have no direct influence on the events in our lives, then what do we mean when we talk about guiding signs? The black cat cannot have any direct influence over you but it can serve as a sign warning you of an event that will take place further down the line in the alternatives flow. It is amazing how many signs you can spot once you decide to be observant of what is happening around you. You can end up seeing them just about everywhere. So which signs should be considered guiding signs? The other issue is how signs should be interpreted but we will not go into that as it is too comprehensive and vague a topic. All you can reliably do is increase your inner Guardian’s level of watchfulness and vigilance, notice the sign and take its presence into account.
Guiding signs are signs that indicate a possible turn in the alternatives flow. In other words, a guiding sign serves to herald an event that will substantially change the flow of everyday life. If you are expecting some sort of change in the current however small, a sign will appear to signal