What You Seek Is Seeking You: 13 Insights To Rumi’s Way 2024

Jalal al-Din Mohammed Rumi was a 13th-century poet and theologian. Born to a Muslim family in Central Asia, he later became associated with Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam.

He spent a period of his early life as a refugee as his family moved west, escaping Ghengis Khan’s army. They eventually settled in modern-day Turkey, where Rumi spent the last 50 years of his life.

As a boy, he studied the Quran and Arabic poetry at Aleppo, in modern-day Syria. He was encouraged to do so by his tutor, who took over his education after his father’s death.

Rumi was working as a jurist, scholar, and teacher in Konya, Turkey, when he met his mentor, Shams of Tabriz. Their relationship caused tensions between Rumi and his family, and Shams disappeared mysteriously.

This was a traumatic event in Rumi’s life, but one that made him grow spiritually. It was also the catalyst for him to start writing poetry. He went on to write over 5000 poems and a six-volume epic poem called the Masnavi.

Over 800 years later, his words continue to inspire and capture our imagination. They remind us of both the beauty and the pain of the human condition.

His famous phrase, “what you seek is seeking you,” is no exception. And while we can never be sure exactly what Rumi meant when he wrote these words, we can still gain insights from them.

So without further ado, here are 13 insights into Rumi’s way of thinking and living.

1. Rumi Understood the Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction gets a lot of attention these days. It became mainstream when The Secret was published back in 2006.

But knowledge of the Law of Attraction has been around for centuries. People across all cultures realized that universal natural laws could be harnessed to manifest desires.

We attract things into our lives through our energetic frequency. When Rumi wrote that “what you seek is seeking you,” he was referring to the attraction that occurs between people and objects whose frequencies match — aka the Law of Attraction.

2. What’s Meant For You Will Come Effortlessly

There’s a common belief in our society that nothing worth having comes easy — life should be about struggling and forcing.

But all that’s required is a mindset shift to see that doesn’t have to be true.

Rumi invites us to reflect on what we really want. If we are struggling or forcing to try to achieve something, maybe that thing is not for us.

That doesn’t mean that what’s meant for you will come without effort. Action is always required.

But when you take aligned action, it doesn’t feel draining. In fact, it can often feel energizing.

3. You Have a Purpose in Life

What you seek is calling you. It’s what you’re here to do — your purpose.

That doesn’t mean your future is predetermined. You still have free will and every right to exercise it.

What it does mean is that there is a path that will lead you to your greatest bliss and joy in this life if you are willing to follow it.

And the way to do that is to start listening to the voice of your inner guidance.

4. Your Intuition Is Your Guide

There’s a difference between egoic desire and intuitive desire. Egoic desire feels desperate and clingy; intuitive desire feels more like a nudge toward something, even though you’re not sure why.

Intuitive desire can sometimes feel scary because it often leads us out of our comfort zones and into the unknown. Sometimes it can lead us in directions that don’t make sense until later.

Egoic desires feel safer. They give us a false sense of control, of being able to predict the outcome.

You don’t need someone else to tell you what your life purpose is. The answer is already inside you — all you have to do is listen.

5. Meditation Is the Key

So now you’re probably wondering how to start listening to your intuition. The place to start is with a meditation practice.

As you meditate, start to observe your egoic beliefs. Don’t judge — just notice them.

Your ego will sound like:

Positions — such as “I’m right, they’re wrong.”
Obligations — “I should do this” or “this should be like that.”
Desires — “I want” or “I don’t want.”

As you observe these thoughts, don’t align with any stories in your head about them. Instead, release them by relaxing your body, breathing deeply, witnessing, and letting go.

As you do so, you will notice a subtler movement guiding you from within. This is the voice of your intuition.

Watch this video on how to know yourself for further guidance:

6. Gratitude Makes Results Come Faster

You already know that what you seek is seeking you. But the timeline is out of your control.

Or is it?

When you focus on what you don’t have, you vibrate a frequency of lack, and therefore, attract more lack.

But there is a way to speed up the manifestation process, and that’s by focusing on being grateful for what you already have.

Do this by listing three to five things you’re grateful for every morning or evening. You’ll be surprised how quickly your energy shifts.

7. Inspired Action Gets Big Results

When you follow the inner guidance of your intuition, small actions can lead to big results.

A chance conversation, a post on social media, or another random event can be the catalyst of big changes when they are in alignment with your purpose and intuition.

When you take inspired action, things seem to flow and fall into place more easily.

8. Trust the Process

Rumi’s quote gives us a sense of relief when it seems like things aren’t going our way.

Life is made of ups and downs; it was never meant to run smoothly. Those less-pleasant lessons and experiences lead us toward where we’re meant to be.

When you know that what you seek is seeking you, you can trust the process and know the universe is conspiring to bring your dreams into reality.

9. Be Open to Possibilities

When you try to control the “how,” you close yourself off to other possible solutions and experiences.

You may get stuck in the trap of forcing and taking unaligned action to achieve your goal.

Sometimes a goal can feel so big and overwhelming that you feel it’s impossible to achieve without defining a strategy to get you there.

But when you open yourself up to possibilities and trust the process and your intuition, you will start to notice signs and nudges that seem to move you in the direction you want to go.

That which is seeking you will meet you halfway.

10. Get Out of Your Own Way

Sometimes we align with a desire but still don’t see it manifest into our reality.

This can be due to subconscious blocks — often called limiting beliefs — that affect our energetic frequency and prevent us from attracting that which is seeking us.

Often, we’re unaware of these beliefs, as they’re so deeply embedded in our subconscious minds.

They create resistance toward that which you’re seeking. Since the subconscious is responsible for creating your reality, you unwittingly block yourself from what you want to manifest.

Some ways to work through this include journaling and working with a therapist or life coach.

This will align your energy with that which is seeking you.

11. Follow Your Joy

Most of us grew up believing life is one long list of obligations — things you don’t necessarily want to do but believe you should because that’s what society expects of you.

Many of us had parents who placed certain expectations and beliefs on our shoulders about who and what we “should” be (usually because their parents educated them the same way).

But the secret that no one tells you is that following your joy is one of the fastest and easiest ways to magnetize your energy and make you irresistible to that which you’re seeking — whether it’s love, money, health, or something else.

Think about it — when you go to a party, who do you feel more drawn to — the person who radiates joy and confidence and sparkles as they talk?

Or the wallflower who’s there out of obligation and wishes they could be at home with their cat?

Most of us will be drawn to the person exuding joy. And the Law of Attraction is no exception.

That’s why joyful people also seem to have all the luck — the joy they put out into the universe is returned to them.

12. Life Is Beyond Our Control

Rumi’s quote suggests that the idea that we have any control over our lives is an illusion.

We can set intentions, but we can never fully control the outcome. That’s why we must trust in the universe and the process and take only aligned and inspired action.

13. You’re Not Alone

Whatever meaning you take from the wisdom of Rumi, rest assured that you are not alone.

Millions of others like you have received comfort, reassurance, and revelations thanks to the words of this enlightened master.

Rumi’s words also remind us that we are not alone in our struggles and suffering. They are the common condition of humanity, and this is what unites us.

“What you seek is seeking you” can help you find ease and relief as you work toward your dreams.

It inspires us to trust in the process and have faith in the universe, knowing that what is meant for us will arrive when the time is right.

What other insights would you add?