Sunday, December 29, 2013

Desire


Qamea, Fiji

We may desire, for example, a new home, a new job, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a new car, and so on.  Obtaining the desired object will only bring us fleeting satisfaction.  Soon, we will feel frustrated again and desire something new.  

If we dig a little deeper, we understand that these desires are only reflections of what we truly desire.  When we desire a new home, what we really desire is safety and security.  When we want an expensive car, we really want to be acknowledged and admired.  When we want a boyfriend or girlfriend, we really want to be loved.

Instead of focusing on what we think we want, we can focus on what we actually want, on a deeper level.  The material things we want are but a poor reflection of our true heart's desires.

When we acknowledge what we truly want, we begin to understand that what we really want is what we actually have.  We do not need to add anything to achieve it.  It is our natural state.  We just have to shed the layers of desire, expectation, judgment and belief, which have been programmed into us and which are keeping us from being fulfilled.

If we surrender our material desires, we can have all the peace, love, joy and freedom we crave.  It is simple because we do not have to seek them out or do anything to obtain them.

Let's focus on what is important and true.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Thought

Coromandel, New Zealand

Have we examined our thoughts recently?  If we do, we will find a mixture of regret about the past ("what he did to me was not right!"); dread or hopeful anticipation about the future (If only I get this job, everything will be great."); ill-informed judgments ("that woman looks like a phony."); mundane thoughts ("I need to take the garbage cans out"); and utter gibberish ("What if PLANET OF THE APES was real?").

A very, very small percentage of our thoughts involve helping us achieve our life's goals.

So if the vast majority of our thoughts are at best useless and at worst are causing us to be angry, frustrated and depressed, how do we improve this situation?

We create a separation between ourselves and our thoughts through awareness.  By bringing our attention to our thoughts, without judgment, a separation is created, and we realize that we are not our thoughts.  We are beings who are aware of our thoughts.  This separation causes our thoughts to lose their power over us.  By shifting from unconscious thinking to awareness of our thoughts, we align ourselves with Universal Intelligence.  This alignment brings peace, joy and love into our lives.

Our thoughts bring us nothing, especially compared with the gifts that awareness brings.

Let's be aware.





Sunday, December 15, 2013

Stop making decisions!

Waihihi Bay, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Figuring out the best course of action can be stressful.  We weigh the pros and cons of each decision and have anxiety over whether we are making the best one.

Instead of making decisions, we can allow decisions to be made.  We can stop trying to figure out the best solution through thought, and allow the decision to come through by relaxing into being.  The best course of action for all concerned comes to us naturally and effortlessly.

The information we have available to make decisions is incredibly limited compared to the all encompassing knowledge of the Infinite Energy Source.  If, instead of trying to think a problem through, we surrendered the outcome to Source, we would be guided to the best possible solution.

Our stress levels diminish greatly because it is a relief to realize that we do not have to decide anything.  We can merely allow decisions to happen.

Allowing decisions to be made is not being passive or lazy.  It is instead a recognition of who we are: Divine spirits in physical manifestation.  Allowing Source to guide us causes us to fulfill our life's purpose much more quickly and directly than having our limited minds try to figure things out.

Let's stop making decisions.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Sadness

Whangapoua Beach, Coromandel, New Zealand

When feelings of sadness appear, we seek out memories that are consistent with that emotion.  The thoughts and memories strengthen, magnify and lengthen the duration of the feeling.   Our sadness intensifies and lasts for hours, days, or longer.  In addition to the present feeling of sadness, we are reminded of all the other times in our lives when we felt sad.

If we break the connection between the emotion and our thoughts, the emotion will enter and leave us in minutes, if not moments.  We can feel the emotion with all of our attention, without giving it power by connecting it to our thoughts.  We can break the connection between our emotion and our thoughts by bringing our awareness to our feelings without judgment.  Thoughts and memories keep giving the emotion energy to sustain it.  When we feel the emotion without triggering thoughts and memories, it soon passes.

Shifting our attention away from thought can feel like death.  In a way, it is.  Our ego, which consists of our thoughts, beliefs and judgments falls away and we awaken anew.  We awaken to the realization that we are not who we thought we were.  We are divine beings materialized.

Let's bring awareness to our emotions.