Sometimes it takes a big whack on the side of the head towake us up. Sometimes it’s a dream. Last night I dreamt I was hosting a meeting in a room fullof noisy people. I kept talking louder, trying to get their attention. I finallyshouted, “Why are you here? Don’t you want to experience something great? Please…” They kept small talking, totally self-distracted.
I woke up, exasperated. Reviewing the dream, I had anincredible realization and couldn’t wait to share it with my online friends onthis list, people like me who are interested in meaning.
That noisy room? That’s the inside of my head! That’s oftenmy interior experience that produces my outer reality. Yikes! And that dreamgrew out of a small dinner party we’d just had where much of the conversation was just noise. Chicken or egg, which came first?
Never again!
It’s over. I’m done with distracting BS. How manyconversations do I need to have about the virus, the vaccine, conspiracytheories, etc? That may have been the last one. I sure hope so.
Giving Up
Have you ever felt like just giving up? Me too.
It’s happened when I’ve realized that what I was trying todo will never work. Examples: giving up on fixing a relationship,assembling an Ikea desk, or trying to right a wrong in the world.
I’m sure you’ve had your own moments like this. So, what dowe do next? For me, giving up has often led to a kind of deep discouragement andthe attitude: “What’s the use?” Then I do nothing. But there’s an alternative, a different response that I’ve been actively exploring. It starts with embracing a different meaning to those words, “giving up.”
In spiritual systems, up is considered the direction ofspirit while down lead to the earth. That suggests that “giving up” actuallymeans giving in an upwards direction, towards spirit. So, giving up, described this way, can actually become agood thing. In fact, in these next few words I will do my best to convince youthat this is the single most important thing we can do in our lives right now. In fact, I’ve come to believe that this is our best chance for creating a fulfilling life and making any sort of significant contribution to creating a better future.
The Power of Love
What’s missing in the world? What’s behind all the problemswe struggle with? My view is that we’ve ignored the power of Love. Here’s acompassionate intelligence that’s already steering the stars, digesting our lunch, multi-tasking in so many inconceivably grand ways that no human or computer could ever match.
So, why not let the power of Love govern our personal lives,especially our decision making?
As I contemplate my own experience of doing this, I rememberan enlightening meditation experience I had when I was 22. Half way through my regularmorning TM session, a shaft of sunlight hit me as the sun moved. It seemed like lightning!
Suddenly, I turned 180 degrees within myself. The noisesthat had been bugging me, like car horns honking and random thoughts andphysical discomfort, became targets for appreciation. In one moment I was feeling bombarded by all this and in the next I was feeling my energy reaching out to bless every seeming distraction.
This was a turning point in my young life, one that has echoedthrough the years and still lives within me. I somehow connected with the powerof Love as a force I could express, not just something to receive. This began my life-long experimentation with giving and receiving Love.
Easy Does It
Reflecting on this memory reminded me of another realization,likewise dating back to my youth. I once converted my car to natural gas(better for the environment). I immediately learned that when I flipped the switch on the dashboard to change fuels from regular gas to natural gas the engine would sputter and lose power, UNLESS I took my foot off the gas for a few seconds. When I did that, I could resume accelerating smoothly, now using a different fuel.
I’ve never forgotten this and often recall it to describeour best strategy during the transition from using mental cleverness to lettingLove run our lives. It’s a profoundly different “fuel.” So, whenever I’m struggling in this transition, I remember that experience in my car and relax. Often this means breathing consciously for a moment, sitting down, or just moving slower. LoveCasting can’t happen without Love! Fortunately, we canincrease our reservoir by practicing every day, pausing to let Love become ourfuel of choice in the moment. As you know if you’ve been following these posts, I describe Love as gratitude and appreciation, being grateful for the gift of live and expressing appreciation for everyone and everything.
This is always the moment to surrender to Love and restoreour orientation in that universal, compassionate intelligence. Wow, whathappens next?
