Do You See the Signs of the Universe? | Ulla Suokko | TEDxBigSky

Translator: Amanda Zhu Reviewer: Peter van de Ven What if this was the moment your life changed? How would you know? How would it feel? Imagine if there were

signs

from the

universe

, clear

signs

that you could trust, so that you would always know which path to take or what decision to make. What if I told you that those signs are here for you to see or even make up? Quantum physicist Max Planck said, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." When I was a child in Finland, I loved books and I still do.

One day I was in the bookstore in my hometown and I saw a book that caught my attention. I had to open it. I began to read and savor each word. It was Pablo Neruda's poetry about Machu Picchu and the Andes. Honestly, I didn't understand much at 13, but every word somehow moved me to my core. I had to know more, so I bought the book and went to the library in my hometown, and there, looking at the photographs of Machu Picchu, I promised myself that one day I would go there. At 13, I didn't know much about signs, but I was given a sign and a part of me understood it.

It just so happens that I currently live in the Peruvian Andes, (Laughter) and I have been many, many, many, many - did I say many? - times to Machu Picchu, and I stopped counting when I reached one hundred. So we often see our lives through limitations; we cling to stories that make us small or keep us small, we even begin to see signs that support those limiting stories, or we begin to see even bad signs; I do not recommend it. So sometimes we can miss or overlook the signs that are there to support us on our path because we are too busy and too stubborn, perhaps, to think that we need something else or want something more.

One of my favorite poets, Rumi, told us or asked: "Why are you still in prison when the door is so open?" So what do you do if you feel like you're in prison or trapped in a limiting story? Do something surprising, like brrr, to get it off your back. Let's all do that. Brrr. And just to demonstrate, if you do it without sound, (Laughs) it doesn't work as well, right? (Laughter) Another good technique is to get out of there, literally snap your fingers and get out of that space: something happens in the brain. Try it. But you have to move from that space, so (Laughter) you try it in the intermission and then you expel that energy: Swish!

You could do this: Swish! Whistle! - quite. Feel your body. Do it right now. Embrace yourself. Hmm. Say to yourself, “Oh, you are so amazing.” Mmmmm. And remember that this is where you are, not in the future, not in the past, not in the history of duty, coulda, woulda, not a victim of circumstance, but right here. Say to yourself: "I love you." Say to yourself, "I am so proud of you." And breathe, right now: Ahhhh. Remember that signs in themselves are neither good nor bad; It is our judgment or our interpretation that makes them so. So why don't we decide, here and now, to see only good signs?

Well, a deal. Albert Einstein said: "There are only two ways to live life: as if nothing were a miracle, or as if everything were a miracle." Remember the law of physics: when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Let me tell you a story about a stubborn man. When I was preparing to come to New York City to study at the Juilliard School, I went to a bookstore again and found a book meant to convey messages. You open the book and read the message, easy. Then I took the book and concentrated, asking for a message, and opened the book: Hmm.

I didn't like the message that much, so I decided to focus again and then opened the book again: that same message. But I thought there was something wrong with this book, so I took another copy of the book and opened it; and I ended up opening five different copies of the book. And I read it? No. I thought something was wrong with all of them: they opened on the same page, a defect of the book. So I told a friend later that this is what happened and it was really strange. And he said, "Well, what was the message?" "I don't know.

Something like energy or opportunity." I had no idea. He hadn't even bothered to really read what he said. A few weeks later, he and I were having dinner and he said, "Close your eyes." He put a book in my hands and said, "Open it." I opened it. Can you guess what happened? Mm-hmm, yes, that same quote. So at that moment I started paying attention. This is what it said: "How much longer will you continue to let your energy sleep? How much longer will you remain oblivious to your immensity?" "Do not waste time in conflict; do not waste time in doubt: time can never be recovered.

And if you miss an opportunity, it may be many lifetimes before another presents itself." Fast forward, and there I was, in New York City, doctoral candidate at the Juilliard School, flute student, studying with the incredible and legendary Julius Baker. I loved him. I was thriving. I loved both the academics and the performance opportunities. I was at Lincoln Center. I got to play with some of the brightest people on this planet and study with some of the brightest people on this planet. And yet, at the same time, I often felt insecure; I didn't feel good enough or even doubted if I was on the right path.

So, one particular summer Sunday, I was in that troubled moment where I felt like nothing was moving, like I was stuck or couldn't move forward or couldn't figure it out. And I say "conflicting" because at the same time I loved acting and I felt that something wanted to be born through me. And he was playing in hospitals and psychiatric wards and at the bedsides of hospice patients. Especially in those moments, I really felt the healing power of music and I felt my soul calling me to that greater purpose, but at that moment, like I said, I couldn't understand it, I couldn't see it clearly.

I was banging my head on professional doors that wouldn't open, so I decided to talk to the

universe

. "Hello. Anyone? I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I'm scared. I don't know what to do. And please don't give me that about listening to your inner wisdom, because I don't hear something, and if I hear something, I can't trust it." , because I'm a mess (Laughs). So here's the deal: I'm willing to persevere if I'm sure I'm on the right path. If I'm not on the right path, let's change it now. Are you listening? Give me a sign I can't understand okay?" (Whispering) Silence.

On the one hand, I felt better because I had unburdened myself to the universe; On the other hand, I felt a little shocked because I had just demanded a sign from the universe. So I decided to go for a walk. And as I walked, I really felt sad and alone and lost: "No one loves me." And as I crossed Broadway on West 83rd Street, I saw a book on the ground, a book again. It must be someone's book, I thought, but at least I can take a look at it. Then I take the book; I turn it over.

The title of the book is "The Singing Flute." Hmm. Could this perhaps, perhaps, possibly be my sign? - I was still hesitating. They might as well drop the book on my head, but I had asked for a clear sign. Then I open the book and read: "This is the story of a Finnish girl." (Laughs) (Sigh) I close the book and say, "Okay. You've got a deal. Just show me the way." The reason I love sharing this story is because it really happened. If my mom was in the audience, she would say, "I've seen the book." (Laughs) I love it because we all have signs.

And in my case, I was looking for other people's signals (I was looking for my professor's signals or other colleagues' signals), without taking into account my own unique signals. And I'm here in front of you, from Finland, through New York City, through the Andes, because I started paying attention to the signs. Since finding the book, I have gotten into the habit of speaking out loud to the universe. I have manifested computers, cameras, a piano, amazing trips around the world, amazing people around the world, men. We have spoken out to each other tonight here at TEDxBigSky. And also when I planned to go to Peru for the first time to fulfill that promise I had made at the age of 13 - in 2010, when I was going there - I asked the universe for extra financial help as a sign that this was indeed the case.

It was time to leave, and exactly that same day, a substantial and unexpected amount showed up. So I got my sign and I live in Peru. So remember that the universe speaks to you through everything. Listen to it. The signs are everywhere. See them. Recognize them. Feel them. Be them. Invent them. Trust them. I am the flute, the flute that sings, and so are you. The 15th century poet and musician Kabir wrote: "The flute of infinity is played incessantly and its sound is love. When love renounces all limits, it attains truth." So we are all flutes through which the infinite longs to play.

Listen to the sound of love calling you, your own soul calling you to give up all limits: there are no limits. And remember, when in doubt, brrr. (Laughs) Have the courage to follow your heart and create your story. Choose to live as if everything is a miracle: it's in the little things. And when you show up authentically here and now, you can be a sign to someone. So I ask them, "What if this was the moment your life changed? What if this talk was your sign?" Thank you. (Applause) (Greetings)