Part 1 Only the surrendering heart sees the good in moments that seem hard to bear. Part 2 There is much to be said for the "fighting spirit," but only when what is fought for is bought with the sacrifice of self.

Guy Finley explains that the only way out of any painful circumstance is through a transformation in our understanding of who we really are and what's possible for us.

Part 1 Moment to moment things happen in the only way possible; we can either live in denial of this fact or, by facing it, find that freedom and surrender always appear together in the now. Part 2 Just as darkness serves the Light that reveals it, so does fear (serve) the Love that heals it.

No one escapes a painful pattern who doesn't see it as being one; this means our freedom begins only as we work to realize and then release our relationship with whatever is seen to be holding us captive.

Here is a great spiritual truth: The only time we ever "fail" at anything in our lives is when we walk away from a challenge before we've allowed it to teach us its lessons.

Classroom Talk: 12/24/2004 - Whenever we can remember that we would rather smile about what life brings us than suffer over it -- that our natural preference is happiness, not hurtfulness -- then in such moments of being mindful of what we love most... can't we also strive to remember how much better it is, for everyone, to brighten the life of another rather than to darken it in our forgetfulness?

50% of our fear in life is born of suspecting just how impermanent everything is around us, and then trying to prove otherwise. The other 50% of our fear is born when our suspicions are proven true, in spite of all we do.

In this short talk, Guy Finley talks about how it is possible to give all of ourselves to something that we love to do, and yet at the same time have no painful attachment to the outcome of our endeavor.

Topics covered: Why we run into walls over and over; Starting over is not in time; We need a change in consciousness; Starting over begins with recognizing parts of yourself that demand things go the way you want them to; The wall is that level of consciousness that makes demands of life; There is a repeating nature that resists the moment; A new plan is not starting over; Our sense of self is...

Surrender of self is not the beginning of something "better" to come; it does not set the stage for the gain of anything, but spells the end of that nature in ourselves that ever holds onto the hope of "saving" itself with what it can imagine.

The next time that a piece of your life breaks off and falls away, try to remember that what is Real cannot be lost, and then give thanks that what is false must always prove itself so.

Freedom is not found in escaping "this" or possessing "that" . . . Real freedom is the active understanding that the world of "this and that" is a window into a higher order of reality not limited by the opposites.