Look closely at this image. Anyone who has engaged in sustained creative activity, irrespective of medium and expression, has encountered a multitude of “happy accidents,” positive outcomes that occur spontaneously, without intention or planning. The occurrence of a dragonfly in this image was one of them.

Somewhere in my early sixties I’d experienced so many of them that their frequency, impossibility and accumulation opened my awareness to the fact that these could not be accidents. And it’s not just a matter of the “prepared mind.” As time went by my suspicion grew that these were the result of guidance. Eventually, the evidence became so clear, so unmistakable, that am confident that this is so. I can actually feel when it’s happening. And when these happy incidences occur, gratitude prompts me to say a silent “Thank you!” to the Universe.

We say we were “inspired” when we produced something we feel is beyond our capability. Artists have been crediting their “muses” for centuries, and scientists cite their “aha!” or “eureka” moments” as inspiration coming from dreams or psychological preparedness punctuated by a period of rest or distraction. From time to time we all experience them. And a common response is to praise or blame “the universe” because it’s obvious that the cause was beyond even our anticipation.

Whatever name we give them, “spirit guides,” “angels” or “discarnate entities,” I’m convinced that we are actually, all of us, continuously receiving guidance from another dimension. Deepak Chopra identifies three universal realities—the material domain that we experience with the senses, the quantum domain which is not available to the senses yet is fundamental to the material world and the virtual which is the domain of spirit, the ground of all being, the “field” within which certain discarnate entities operate as our guides and teachers. In his book, How to Know God: The Soul’s Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries Dr. Chopra writes—

It is my belief that the brain is the last stop downriver, the endpoint of impulses that begin on the virtual level, flow through the quantum level, and wind up as flashes of electricity along the trunks and branches of our neurons. When you remember anything, you move from world to world, maintaining the illusion that you are still here among familiar sights and sounds. 

I have and continue to experience felt awarenesses—as I think everyone has—of distinct guides and teachers in various areas of my life, particularly when it comes to problem solving, creative activity and expressions of wisdom. When we speak of “accessing our inner wisdom,” I think it occurs when we’re in a state of being receptive, open to guidance from the virtual realm.

As part of this dynamic I’ve also observed that happy incidences, small or grand in scale, have the effect of consolations, their appearance evoking an approval of an activity or the appropriateness of a thought that occurred just before or during the event. Whenever a happy incident occurs now I pay attention to what I am doing or thinking, and take it as an indication that in that moment, I am aligned with my soul purpose.

In The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav’s bestselling book, he advises us to—

Think of what you are doing as entering into partnership with Divine Intelligence, a partnership in which you begin to share your concerns with the understanding that there is an Intelligence receptive to what you are saying that helps you create within your own environment of matter and energy the most effective dynamics to bring you into wholeness. You do not need to think that you are creating alone, but rather that you are guided strongly in ways to help co-create in the most effective way for your healing and for the fulfillment of your contract. 

The “contract” he’s referring to is the one made by the soul prior to incarnation. In another part of the book his recommendation is to—

Take your hands off the steering wheel. Be able to say to the Universe, “Thy will be done,” and to know it within your intentions… The final piece of reaching for authentic power is releasing your own (intentions) to a higher form of wisdom.

It is not my intention in these blogs to persuade or promote any particular philosophy, idea or practice, rather it’s to demonstrate and encourage the use of images in evoking contemplations along the lines of appreciation and gratitude. So when a dragonfly made an appearance at the precise moment I took a picture of some clouds underlying the sun in 1/1200’s of a second: enough to freeze it, I  take it as a happy incident of co-creation, and a consolation that tells me I was at the right place at the right time doing the right thing with respect to my soul purpose. Interestingly, a little research turned up the information that, in every part of the world, Dragonfly’s symbolize change in the perspective of self-realization.

The appearance of the dragonfly in this image provided one more stone in the mountain of evidence that I am being guided in all things. In this regard I appreciate the fact that I am not, as Gary Zukav says, “creating alone.” It’s a realization that provides enormous comfort because I can relax and let go of any anxiety about what to do or think in all the areas of my life. I can “take my hands off the steering wheel” and assume a posture of aligning and allowing rather than trying to figure things out, make something happen or take control. Indeed: “Universe, thy will be done.”

Full disclosure: While I am the specifier and organizer of these postings and photographs—the bringer of form, their contemplator and appreciator—I believe the wisdom they contain comes from the virtual domain.

In a universe that’s an intelligent system with a divine creative force supporting it, there simply can be no accidents. As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today, and the evidence is that you did.

Wayne Dyer

ABOUT THIS IMAGE

Title: Clouds and Dragonfly

File: DC 9955

This image was captured last week in Florida, the day before hurricane Hermine arrived on the beach where we were staying. The difference in temperature between the air conditioned condo and the outside air on the patio caused instant condensation on the camera lens, so I had let the camera sit outside enclosed in a sealed plastic bag to let it adjust to the change gradually.

After about half an hour I saw the clouds gathering, so I went out and made several exposures. Inside again, looking at the images on the camera’s screen to delete unwanted takes, I accepted this one because I liked the sun flare. I didn’t see the dragonfly until I got home a week later and zoomed the thumbnail to full size. I remembered that during one of the cloud shots I thought a “bird” flew past when I clicked the shutter, so I took another, identical picture. Gratefully, it wasn’t a bird and the shot wasn’t ruined. The dragonfly made it a very happy incident! I’m so pleased with the image I had it printed large: 16×24.