Strong Future Events vs. Free Will

I recently posted the report of an amazing 'serendipitous synchronicity' on the Illuminations Facebook page (5.13.13). It's a story that makes you wonder about destiny and free will. Here's where I explain 'SFEs' (Strong Future Events) and how they interact with free will in Fearless Future.

From Chapter Five: Accessing the Future — Strong Future Events and Free Will

There was a time when I was enjoying frequent discussions with a physical chemist. We were tossing around the question,“How far off your path can your free will take you?” I conjectured that if you let Divine guidance pull you along life’s path, you could not stray far. If you exert enough energy and free will, however, you might succeed in opening a few closed doors. But it would be a struggle.

My scientific friend felt that some choices might lead you away from critical destinations. However, you will eventually come to a node, something like those in train switching yards, directing you back toward your destiny. The node might be a seemingly insignificant event, such as sitting next to a stranger on a bus. He is looking to rent out his apartment, one that turns out to be the ideal place that you have been looking for. You end up living two doors from your next girlfriend/boyfriend . . . and so on. Synchronistic events switch you back onto your path.

My friend also expressed some interesting ideas about what he termed 'Strong Future Events.' We referred to them as 'SFEs.' They are not necessarily the traditional significant life events, such as graduations, birthdays and funerals. They can be seemingly fickle, fleeting moments when you could have made one choice, but instead, made another. You could have gone to the right, but you went to the left.

He explained that these SFEs are prevailing future probabilities. I find that they create a strong pull through corridors from a specific moment or event to the present. I make this information practical when I work with clients whose paths seem to present continuous struggles. It often looks as though they are being pulled through a tunnel sideways, staring at the wall, stymied and confused.

In consultations with clients, I often see certain inevitabilities lurking on the horizon. They appear to be in place for the purpose of forcing the surrender of my clients’ free will. One client was extremely frustrated that her life was not following her specific agenda. “Sounds like you're trying to play God,” I said. She replied,“Somebody has to!” She was serious.

Life works best when frustration forces the release of personal agendas to a much grander scheme. When effective, a serendipitous chain of events ensues and ultimately positions these clients to move forward. Their lives start to flow with greater ease and clarity.

Meg is a client who insisted upon exerting her free will. She did everything in her power to become a partner in her law firm. She was so focused on this goal, determined to make it happen, that she was willing to do anything. Maneuvering in ways that compromised her relationships with co-workers, she was eventually fired. A few weeks later, an old friend from law school invited her to lunch. At the last minute, she accepted the invitation.

The two had been very supportive of each other through school and had worked well together on community service projects. Her friend had recently quit an unrewarding government job. They commiserated about their mutual dissatisfaction with the legal profession and joked about the possibility of becoming partners in their own practice. They now work together building a legal practice that is gratifying for both.