Scared? STOP!

I once experienced an attack by a man I did not know well. He pushed me down and suffocated me until I blacked out. I remember how scared I was when it happened. At the moment of suffocation, in my terror, I thought:

“STOP!”

But he didn’t.

And at that point, fear and STOP joined together in my mind. I mixed the feeling of fear up with the desire to put on the brakes.

Even as an adult, for years, fear meant stop. Imagine how problematic that was for me. Having a baby? Scary – STOP! Leaving my marriage? Scary – STOP! Becoming a Nia Trainer? Scary – STOP!

Sometimes I would push through the fear and make myself do it. Other times I would think, well fear does mean stop, doesn’t it? And I would put the brakes on the things I really wanted.

But what if my feeling of fear doesn’t mean anything about what is going on around me. Feeling fear doesn’t mean I need to stop or change my circumstance or even figure things out. In fact, the only thing I know for sure is that my feelings are a reflection of what I think, and my thinking is changing all the time.

It sounds simple enough, 100% of the time feelings are coming from your thinking and thinking changes. But pay attention.  How many times through the day do you credit other people or circumstances for the way you are feeling?  Do you find yourself asking other people to do or say something so you will feel better?  What if feeling’s only tell you about the quality of your thinking and not the quality of your life?

Secreted away within this exploration is the ultimate freedom – The Knowledge That We Think. It is worth every investigation.

Join Divine Play on Saturday for a complimentary Community Talk.

Carry On Luggage?

While flying home from London last week, (Yes, I did find the right terminal!), I over heard a man exclaiming, “No you can not move my bag!”  On closer examination this man was protective of his carry on luggage.  He did not want to turn it sideways so another passenger could fit more luggage into the same space.  He refused to have his luggage moved, by anyone, even himself.

The people watching the interaction felt that the carry on luggage vigilante was at fault.  How could he be so uncompromising?  What was wrong with him?  Couldn’t he see that we are all in the same boat?  (Well in this case, plane?).

I admit to laughing when I over heard the drama, after all, isn’t this what we all do?  We all have something that looks important to us and say, “I won’t compromise on this.  I know this is not good for me (or my kids, or my mom, or who ever).  You can’t convince me otherwise!”  When we see the carry on luggage dispute, are we really so sure we don’t have a few pieces of unmovable luggage ourselves?

For me, inquiry is not “Why do I get caught up in thinking this is important?”  Or even, “What should I do to fix this situation?”  The real awakening is, “Oh look, I have luggage too!”  And the deeper understanding that, “I am one thought away from something else entirely.”

The next time you see another person guarding their luggage, consider what is behind their ferocity of spirit.  Be gentle with each other, we are only human.

Walking to the Other Terminal

Traveller at airport

© Pontuse | Stock Free Images

While visiting London, England to study with my teacher, Michael Neill, I overheard fellow Advanced Track Coaches commiserating about the problem with the return trip. Heathrow is a large airport with 5 different terminals.  The subway, or tube, has 3 different airport tube stops, two of which cannot be reached via the same train.  This means weary jet-lagged travelers on their way home to America often end up at the wrong terminal.

I turned to one of my comrades and commented, “but it’s not a big deal is it? I mean they have free transfer between the terminals, so if you go to the wrong terminal, you just hop a bus to the right one!”

He smiled and said, “ah, but by then it is too late!”

Too late? The thinking here is that once we’ve climbed those particular steps with our heavy luggage, the worst thing would be to do that again.

But isn’t that what happens in our own minds all the time? For example I love to write a short, inspiring note for anyone who wants to be in the conversation about freedom, ease, pleasure and grace with life. Lately I started to dread my Thursday deadline (did you know I have a Thursday deadline?) Due to my change in thinking, I lost energy, felt tired, and pulled teeth – thinking I better get this done.

But today (in the shower) I realized I am waiting at the wrong terminal. It’s not a big deal, it happens all the time. I can walk over to the other terminal whenever I am ready.

“I want the change. When will I get that?”

moneyI used to hate myself. I was an outgoing person, people seemed to like me, but I hated myself. I wanted to hurt myself, and I did do that. One way I did it was by drinking, another way was by cutting myself, or scratching myself, or having sex or screaming until I was hoarse.

That doesn’t look like a good idea to me now. I can’t even imagine spending my time that way. There are no lapses now. It just doesn’t exist for me.

I used to earn under $20,000 a year, every year. I worked hard, I was dedicated to learning and to helping, but I didn’t see creating opportunities for income as worthy or righteous. I despised people who charged more money for their work.

That doesn’t look like a good idea to me now. I can’t even imagine feeling bad about charging for my work. There are no lapses now. It just doesn’t exist for me.

When you are ready for a change, you only need to make one decision. What is the one thing that you know you need to do and you have been refusing to do? It may be a nap, a blog post, an e-mail, a phone call, or scheduling an appointment. Whatever it is, stop listening to all your thinking about it. Put that thinking down, set it aside, and do the next thing – the thing you know to do when you stop measuring, analyzing, and attempting. Do that one thing, and then do it again, and then do it again. There is nothing that can stand in your way if you listen to the wisdom that flows through you. You may never get the outcome you were expecting, but you may fall in love with you and tap the abundance of living life effortlessly.

Become a Divine Player and join us for LIVE RADIO, every third Saturday of the month at 8 am EDT.

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