We were greeted at the head of the line by a barricade of cars and people. A local village had taken over the highway for an all night festival. We could see a sea of lights covering the highway further on up the road. Our driver rushed into the crowd and returned with the mayor. The sight of four Westerners did not impress him. He said it was impossible to get through. We would just have to wait.

The day and night had been filled with one obstacle after another. The driver had lied about how long the trip would take. As a sign of respect for our beloved teacher (a woman), we had arranged with the driver before we left to periodically stop at hotels with Western facilities. He had refused to stop at a decent hotel for lunch and drove around for an hour in search of one to make us pay for the delay. He refused to stop in Allahabad for dinner at a decent hotel too. At that point, the tension between us was so bad that one of the other students was ready to beat up the driver (and almost did). He was enraged by the driver’s total lack of interest and initiative at honoring his agreement with us, and he was losing it. Their argument drew a large crowd and things were on a dangerous, unpredictable edge. Fortunately some local college students stepped in, helped calm things down, and guided our driver to a four-star hotel.

That had been 6 hours ago. Now, as we hung around our car exploring our options as to how we could move forward, our teacher suggested we meditate and see what insights might be revealed as to why the journey had been so difficult, and what could be done to remove the current obstacle. We agreed that it was a good idea. After a short amount of time in silence, we shared what we had received.

One of the students (not the one ready to beat up our driver) said, “I was very disturbed by what happened in Allahabad between us and our driver. I don’t feel comfortable moving forward as part of this group until I share how I feel about what happened and how it has affected me.”

This student was carrying unexpressed feelings that helped create a strong intention that manifested in the physical in a powerful way. To me, it was a stunning example of the power of setting intention. In Kabbalah, intention is associated with the sefirah Keter (a sefirah is an emanation of God’s energy, Keter means Crown), the top-most sefirah on the Tree of Life. The influence of an intention, basically a thought form that exists only in one’s mind or in the subconscious, moves through the rest of the Tree (i.e, life) and impacts what is manifest and the quality of energy associated with that manifestation.

In this case, the student’s will, even if it was unconscious, was so strong that it manifested in stuck energy that was going to keep us up all night by the side of the road. With the help of our teacher, the obstructive energy that stopped us from moving forward was released.

Within 15 minutes of clearing the energy, the driver ran over with the news that we would be able to drive on within a half hour or so. We were elated! Less than 5 minutes later, he ran back with a village official. The driver screamed, “Get in the car! We can go right now!”

With the village official leading the way by foot, the barricade opened and we were slowly led through the sea of people who had gathered for the celebration into a tunnel of multi-colored fluorescent light that lined the road. Each side of the road was filled with booths packed with food, speakers blaring music, and a dense mass of villagers. We waved to the staring crowd as we drove by in our white car. I felt like some kind of celebrity.

The scene was one of the most surreal I have ever experienced. There was no doubt in my mind that God had set this up as a powerful lesson on the power of intention. It was like the Universe was celebrating with us once the energy was cleared, and the intention was set to move forward in unity. It was one of those moments where there was absolutely no doubt that God’s hand was running the show.

Nothing else got in the way of our safe arrival in Varanasi. As I learned that night, there can be an easy way or a hard way to get to one’s destination depending on how one expresses strong feelings and uses his will. Even though the road has not always been straight since then, when I remember that night on the road to Varanasi, I check my intention to see if I am the cause of the roadblock!

*This article was rewritten after the student who was on the trip pointed out that I did not recall what his experience was accurately. I apologize to him for any misrepresentation I made due to my faulty recollection of his role in God’s play that evening.