In this excerpt from an online Q&A with Guy, he converses with an attendee about how we can always choose to start over with any difficult relationship.
Guy explains the interior meaning of the expression "familiarity breeds contempt," which has to do with a nature that only knows itself by revisiting the past. The more that it dwells on the past, the more dissatisfaction grows, and the less able we are to keep from falling into a pit.
There is nothing in the universe that can stop us from growing, except our habitual, mechanical nature.
It's well known that storm-tossed waves often expose new treasures along the shoreline; there is unexpected wealth to be collected by those who know the secret value of rough seas. And yet, even though most of us have little tolerance for anything that "rocks our boat," the truth of the matter is self-evident: *Unwanted moments introduce us to parts of ourselves that would otherwise never get...
Have you ever wondered why our best intentions and the ability to accomplish them seem to live in two different universes? We intend not to do something mean-spirited or otherwise self-defeating. Yet that is often just what we do. Then we ask, "What happened... how could we?" Yet, for all of our questioning, this mystery remains unsolved. See if the following insight doesn't shed much-needed...
We are not here to change other people. Whether or not someone else wants to change has nothing to do with us. We can change. We can use the resistance, cruelty, selfishness, and negativity of others to turn our attention around and see what it is inside of us that rises up to protect the images that we have of ourselves. When we see clearly the parts of us that want to fight because of someo...
Blaming conflict-filled feelings on any condition, or person, outside of yourself is like getting angry at your shoes for being laced too tight. So here is an effective inner life step designed to help you grow and develop greater spiritual strength: No matter what happens, never blame anyone -- or anything -- for the way you feel. Rising above the blame game is the same as learning how to be...
Question: Your teachings say that making demands and having expectations just sets us up for trouble. I know it's true. I always plan how other people should act and how things should turn out, but they never do what I expect, and then I become angry and disappointed. I sense that I am causing all my own pain. If I could just learn to want for myself what life wants for me maybe I wouldn't...
Consciousness of any unwanted condition in us must precede its correction, just as the rising sun dismisses the fear hiding in the darkness of night.
Topic: An Advanced Lesson in Letting Go of Any Past Painful Moment (Classroom Talk 8/21/24)
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Topic: 7 Ways to Recognize False Friends By the Lies They Tell (Classroom Talk 8/31/22)
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Topics covered: There are a legion of false friends within us that we presently do not realize are false friends that deceive us through promises of comfort and consolation; The consciousness responsible for the conflict we feel doesn't change when you temporarily cover up the pain of the moment through a distraction of one kind or another; The same mind that creates the conflict...
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