As we should already know; assuming we sincerely aspire to a higher level of being; our present nature wants little to do with seeing its own limitations. Instead of being self-investigating (as we're created to be), interested in discovering the truth of ourselves, our first inclination is in the direction of being self-deceiving. So that rather than doing the self-transforming...
Do you ever suffer from anxiety? No, that's not a trick question. And if you're willing to agree the answer is ""yes,"" here's something you should know: You're not alone! I'm about to give you some surprising facts, so please bear with me for just a few minutes. Then I'll give you the startling solution to the problem of anxiety that most people will never learn, but that you can use...
What could be more natural than letting go? Think about it. If half of our life is spent meeting moments that are natural endings, then what are we to do with these things in our lives that can no longer serve us in a meaningful way? The answer? We must let them go! To do anything else would be unnatural, even unhealthy for us.
Have you ever noticed that when you're under the cloud of some negative state, what you do to try to "make things better" actually makes the situation worse? Struggling to free yourself from your own negative reactions is a bit like throwing gasoline onto a fire, isn't it? Recognizing that you get trapped in this pattern of taking action that neither relieves nor rescues you from...
If we were to take the whole human race and try to see its nature as being one creature, what kind of animal comes to mind for you? For me, the answer is evident: humankind most resembles an ostrich. When a disturbance comes along this creature sticks its head in the sand so as not to see what's taking place. This is not unlike closing our eyes in the hope that an approaching...
What many of us have yet to understand is that dark, negative reactions to unwanted events do nothing to cure them. In fact, these painful impulses have just the opposite effect. They actually "cement" things -- fixing both themselves and the false sense of self through which they then are empowered to run their unhappy course.
Occasionally, for all of us, we accidentally enter into the flow of the Now. We could be skiing, skating, doing yoga, playing golf, and suddenly our activity aligns us with the flow of that moment. Emotionally we can enter accidentally into the Now when we look out and see the sun breaking through the clouds or we catch the evening light as it shades trees differently. Intellectually we can enter into the Now when we have an insight and an epiphany comes.
How would you like to live from a nature where no matter what happens, no matter what comes at you, as soon as whatever it is lands on you, it's changed into something good? "Oh gosh, wow! You mean I could live from a part of myself where it wouldn't matter what it was that came to it -- no matter how dark, fearsome, hateful, worried, angry, no matter what it was -- as soon as it touched me...
Real self-independence is the fruit of an awakened inner life. And just as fruit on a tree must develop into fullness following a certain order of natural events, so too is there a natural order of self-realizations that lead up to winning your own life and living it as you please. Every step along the way to this higher independent life is both the challenge and the reward. The challenge is...
I am trying to apply Light to a crisis caused by my husband's infidelity, and to not let fear or pain tell me what to do. I realize that I can only trust God, and that I am perfect in His eyes, but how can I not be in pain at the loss of trust and intimacy with my husband? Wasn't that what I was suppose to gain through marriage? I've been in a relationship with my boyfriend for about five year...
The best time to practice going quiet -- to detect and drop dark inner voices -- is when the world around you is more or less already in a natural state of silence. So, early morning, upon arising, and just before you go to sleep, are the most likely times to yield the best results. But, as you'll no doubt come to discover for yourself, any time is the right time to go quiet. Find a place...
We have an essential need to be at peace. Part of that essential need to be at peace is to know that we are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing -- and to know it in such a fashion that nothing can come along and convince us otherwise. There is only one way that can happen for us, and that is through the idea of being a true individual...