So, if all this positive energy is flowing through you what causes problems in your life? Blockages to flow. Blockages come from three main sources: friends, family, and society. When you are born you are in ideal flow — everything you do is done because it is natural and what you are supposed to do. That is really why people view babies as being “innocent”. But as time goes on friends, family and society put constraints on you, knowingly or not, that block your flow: You shouldn’t associate with this group or that one, you must pursue this career, you’re a failure if you don’t win every time, etc. These blockages build upon each other, creating even bigger blockages, and ultimately result in a wide variety of problems from unhappiness with life to extremes such as drug abuse and alcoholism (depending on the person).
Say, for example, that your mother is a doctor, her father was a doctor, and her grandfather was a doctor. Therefore you were expected to become a doctor. But your flow is to become a librarian. If you pursue the medical career your life will be out of flow, even if you make a lot of money at it. You won’t like your job, will do anything to avoid working, and will not have a passion for life. Plus, anything you do – from attending medical school to setting up a practice – will take twice as much energy since you are fighting what’s inside you.
I had a friend like this is college. While his father was in high-powered executive, his family insisted he become a doctor. But he loved books and wanted to become a librarian. He struggled through college, studying endless hours at subjects he knew he hated, just to please his family. As he applied to different medical schools doors kept being closed to him — not because he was dumb but because his flow was preventing it. His family spent endless amounts of money financing his various potential careers (doctor, podiatrist, dentist, etc.), yet he still struggled. I lost track of him but saw in a recent alumni magazine that he was living in Florida and worked as, surprise surprise, a librarian!
My own life has been a similar story, although in reverse. I entered college as a computer science major. All my family and friends kept praising me saying how much money I’d make. Well, I hated it and switched to being an English major my sophomore year. My family did not approve and my friends started making fun of me. In fact, five minutes before my graduation my aunt told me my degree was worthless. But my flow was in writing, and I followed it. I obtained things in life that I know would have been impossible if I had forced myself to be a programmer.