I have been thinking a lot about the notion of “creating expectations,” as I am preparing for my journey next week to Brazil to visit the psychic healer, João Teixeira de Faria, known to all as simply, John of God. John of God purportedly heals many people from varying ailments through his connection to God. He steps aside and allows the deceased spirits of healers, doctors, surgeons and saints to use his body to perform their healing feats on the many people who flock to his care.
What are the expectations of those who, quite often, travel great distances, coming from places that span the entire globe? I would assume they come with the hope to receive a healing. So my question has been, do the healings occur because people expect to be healed or are people healed because they believe in the power of the entities working through John of God? No matter which way you look at it, the power of one’s expectation lies at the source.
We all live with expectations every day. An expectation centers on the belief for how something will transpire in the future. We wake up each morning with expectations for the day, regardless if they are conscious or unconscious expectations. We have expectations about ourselves that often, when unconscious, follow us around no matter where we go and what we do. We may have a belief that “life is always hard” or that “I can never get ahead” that exists at the core of our expectations. These underlying beliefs craft and create our experiences.
You can expect anything and everything that you want, but have it seemingly back fire on you again and again. The expectations are not at fault. Instead, the issue lies within your core beliefs. To expect without awareness of how your beliefs influence and color your expectations can prove disappointing when the expectations are never realized. To arrive in Abadiânia, Brazil, the location of John of God’s practice and expect a healing from an ailment requires much more than the expectation in and of itself. It requires a belief in the healing first—that you can be healed or that you ARE healed. Then the expectation for healing is reinforced by your belief in the healing.
So, how can you support your personal expectations for future events? You do this by being clear on your expectations and making them a priority to focus upon. This means, reviewing your underlying beliefs about what it is that you expect to happen. Get these two things (beliefs and expectations) in alignment. If “healing” is your expectation, then get in alignment with what it means, feels like, looks like, sounds like, etc. to be in a healthy state. Imagine all of these qualities within your life now. Experience them as if this is your reality. Be as if you are already aligned with your expectations. Get to a point where you know it is not only possible, but it is imperative that you are healthy in order to support these expectations.
The key to fulfilling expectations, is also accepting the element of surprise. When expectations don’t quite go the way you expected, be open to the direction they do go. Quite often and most often, this factor of surprise brings with it another possibility to your experience that is far more supportive and enticing to your overall experience than you could have even envisioned. With our example of “healing,” healing doesn’t necessary mean the absence of symptoms or ailments, but instead could mean a new experience that takes you along a different trajectory for living than you were currently following. As John Lennon once said, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”
Life is full of sweet twists and turns. Expectations create the possibilities and beliefs provide the fuel, but quite often beauty is found in unpredictability.
Happy Creating!
Karen A. Dahlman ©
Author of: The Spirit of Alchemy: Secret Teachings of the Sacred Reunion