“The secret folly of we human beings isn’t that we struggle to have a say in our experience of life, but rather that – in spite of all evidence to the contrary – we cling to the idea that we understand the true nature of experience.”
The universe we live in is not fixed but fluid. This means that it is a place of infinite potential as opposed to finite problems. What our eyes present to us is not the whole story. Something in us sees a false picture of life. Real spiritual work is about uncovering what produces these blinders. We are meant to discover that our perception of life is part of the pain we have and it is what fixes us in the pain of our limited view. It is resistance that fixes us and makes us solid. Real life is fluid and unfixed – appearing and disappearing.
A good King had 2 sons that he sent on a mission to the outer part of his kingdom where trouble was brewing. Take this message to the outer region to show the people that the pain they are in is not necessary. The message would help them as well along their journey. The first part of their journey was pretty smooth but then they came to a dead end against a sheer granite cliff that was as high as it was long and impossible to pass. The younger brother wanted to quit but the eldest brother finally sat down and was quiet and remembered what his father told him, “There is always more than one possibility in any moment you just have to remember that and act in accordance with what happens next.”
The younger brother and older brother both live in us. The younger brother can never remember anything. Its experience is determines only by what it sees. The older brother is capable of remembering. What we experience in any given moment is the effect of what our attention is doing and determines our possibilities. We place our attention so much on what we don’t want. This is not fluid but fixes itself into a problem. 99% of our experience is self-created and only 1% participation. How often do we enjoy the night sky or the unfolding of spring? We do not create this but we are a part of it. All of our misery is self-created. We are trying to control the whole of life and acquire power to overcome conditions to feel secure.
Mind produces constant consideration, life doesn’t conform and up comes a stonewall and we try to change and control life but this only causes us pain. When our attention is on the problem our reaction is always to straighten it out. Trying to change the problem only fixes it further and makes us feel like it is essential to our wellbeing. The self with the problem didn’t exist prior to our attention on it. Our experience of life is directly connected to what we give our attention to. We have to participate in the creative act of freedom and be part of that fluidity.
4 Steps to Transform Problems into Pleasant Surprises
1. We must recognize our actual condition which is not the same as being absorbed by what we think is happening to us. We can begin to see that the conflict we feel in the moment is self-created.
a. Use your attention to keep yourself from reseeding the field. Stop participating in making yourself a victim.
2. Remember Yourself – remember your true nature is not a solid state but part of an intelligent creative process perfecting itself.
3. When you Release the state of resistance to the situation you are releasing yourself. This is what affirms God’s life and gives you participation in his unfolding life.
4. Refresh your intention – bring your attention back and place it where it needs to be.
If we participate in God’s life nothing can stand in our way. Remember there is more than one possibility, another possibility appears and a path opens up and a whole new world exists.