Can I “let go”? Probably not in any way that removes any sense of anxiety or emotional turmoil. Can I “let go” enough to move past the anxiety and emotional turmoil and do whatever it is that needs doing? On most days, I can—and when I do I generally find my anxieties lessened.
First, let me say again what an excellent writer you are, Peter. You succinctly nail your concepts and intents with every word. Perhaps someday you will feel called to write best-selling self-help books - perhaps all you’ve lived through is preparation for that.
Regarding today’s post, the constraint you’re wrestling with has been termed ‘resistance’. Have you followed at all the new-age ‘manifesting’ craze of the past twenty years? It’s based on the findings of quantum physics, and it works essentially like this:
A person desires some outcome, so he puts his ‘intention’ (for many people, a prayer) out into the universe. Then he ‘lets go’ (lowers his resistance to what actually transpires, - I.e. accepts the will of God. If his intention is in alignment with the will of God - because we co-create with God (however you conceptualize Him) - then the quantum wave function collapses into the outcome you desire (your prayer is answered).
The problem is, this doesn’t work most of the time for most people. The reason is that it truly IS difficult to have NO ‘resistance’, to be accepting of any outcome. If we desire something so much that we pray for it, it’s pretty hard to not experience ardent desire for it, right? It comes down to ‘trusting’ that God has the best outcome planned for you, which is why the manifestation people advise that you end each intention with words such as “this, or something better for all concerned”.
You’ve studied Zen, and know a whole lot more about it than I do. But as I understand it, much of Zen focuses on letting go of desire, attaining ‘no-mind’, and attaining the state of just ‘being’. This is the state of truly ‘accepting’, with no resistance to ANY outcome, even death. It’s difficult to attain, but it’s why the Bible has so many passages admonishing believers to ‘trust the Lord with all of your heart’.
So yes, take action! Make plans, develop habits to achieve your goals, strive with all of your might - but don’t worry about the ‘pathways’ to your intention, the ‘hows’. (This has been called the ‘cursed hows’ because it’s SO DIFFICULT not to fret about ‘well, HOW is this going to happen?’). And don’t stress about the outcome. The spiritual goal is to reach a point where, emotionally and psychologically, you are REALLY okay with ANY outcome. The outcome you wish is just a ‘preference’, not a ‘need’.
If your new ministry fails - you’re okay with that outcome, because you trust that God therefore has something better in mind for you! If your mind rebels - with resistance - saying, “No, it MUST succeed!”! then you have resistance, and your intention is not ‘in alignment’ with God, because you’re not ‘trusting’ (however that works, in the quantum-physics view of collapsing the wave function).
By all means, be clear about what you ‘prefer’ to happen in your life, and take action to achieve it -the more action the better. (As people used to say, “God helps those who help themselves”.). But try to eliminate stressful feelings about the outcome, because if you’re FEELING optimistic and happy about your actions, then you’re sending a ‘frequency’ of trusting God with the outcome.
I’m condensing stuff, but you grasp the main concept. Your intention is a PREFERENCE, not a NEED. FEEL happy. ‘Miracles’ can occur if you’re truly trusting God with the outcome.
Let me give you an example from my life. In 2008, my mother-in-law passed away, leaving us enough money to buy a better house, as a cash buy. I soon started looking at houses, fell in love with one, and wanted to get it - but my husband was not ready to buy anything yet, as the estate was still going through probate. I was very disappointed, because I loved that house and fretted that I would never find anything better, or at a better price. But I ‘accepted’ the outcome, and put the whole house-hunting project on a back burner of my mind. A few weeks later, what turned out to be a better house for me - in ways I was not even aware of - came on the market. My husband agree to look at it, but still was not ready to buy. I worked at ‘accepting’ that, psychologically - trusting the Universe.
Now, this was during the ‘mortgage meltdown era’ of 2009. The owner of the house I wanted to buy had priced the house way too high for the market conditions, had to reduce the price repeatedly, and it remained unsold until it finally went as a ‘short sale’ - so we ended up buying it for $55,000 less than when we first looked at it! I got the best house for my needs, at the best price possible, and I believe it’s because I reduced my desire to just a ‘preference’, and trusted that God had the best outcome in mind for me.
Somehow, it’s all about being on a trusting ‘frequency’ in your feelings, feeling at peace with ALL that God has in mind for you. You have a superior intellect, Peter, and a rational, analytical brain that wants to figure everything out (and is really good at this!) But forget about the ‘cursed hows’ and FEEL happy and at peace. Everything will work out for the best, in ways that you maybe aren’t able to see in advance, if you can ‘trust the Lord with all of your HEART.’
For me a constant stumbling block is "what should I be doing?"
Part of God's overall plan is me doing.... something. I might not know what it is all the time, and more often than not I find myself questioning if I should be doing this or that, going to the left or to the right.
It's not so much a lack of trust in God as a lack of trust in me. Am I doing what I am called to do?
That's a daily question, and all I can do on any day is make a choice, pick a direction, and pray.
You and I were trained to think analytically, figuring out all of the ‘whys and ‘hows’. But the guidance from God is in our INTUITION, so the goal is to become more in touch with our intuition,and follow it. Easier said than done, but there is a really great mechanism to feeling good, getting in touch with our intuition, and lowering resistance: it’s staying in gratitude!
Really, all you have to do is develop the HABIT of FEELING grateful for EVERYTHING. I emphasize those three words, because they are key.
One: at the quantum level, where everything is pure energy, this energy exists on different wavelengths and frequencies. The energy of ‘feelings’ also have frequencies. It has been postulated (obviously, there’s no way to prove it at this time) that God is at the ‘highest frequency’ of ‘pure love’. So when our emotions are ‘good’ - such as love, kind caring, and gratitude- we are more ‘in synch’ with the frequency of God. You and I have not had lives of focusing on feelings, so you may have to work a little at truly FEELING gratitude. With brings us to two: develop a HABIT of it, because then you are habitually entrained with the higher frequencies, and ‘walking with God’. Then three: make it a habit of being grateful for EVERYTHING. When you wake up, FEEL - truly experiencing the emotion is crucial to getting on the frequency (or wavelength, or whatever it is) of God - FEEL grateful for a good night’s sleep. If it wasn’t a good night, then FEEL grateful that it’s over now and you have a new day. Just keep working to truly feel grateful for everything, all day long.
When you envisioned your new ministry, you undoubtedly had a plan of trajectory and growth rate and functioning, right? X number of your readers would donate Y amount of money over Z amount of time, enabling you to accomplish A through G. But you’ve heard the old proverbs about ‘Man plans, God laughs’? They are true! Very little in life actually works out as anyone plans. God has His own Plan and timetable, and our intentions are woven into it somehow, if our intentions are ‘good’.
So follow your intuition, and then be grateful for EVERYTHING that happens. Your readers are all swamped with inflation, so maybe they aren’t going to donate as you hoped. But there are dozens of ways that your ministry’s goals can be reached anyway. Suppose your intuition tells you to stop to talk to a particular down-and-out person. While you’re listening to him, a reporter happens by and talks with you. Next day the local paper has a headline, “Charitable Man Aids Homeless On Shoestring Budget”. Wealthy donors, disgusted with the poor results of their previous donations to homeless organizations, turn to HousesofRefuge.org and suddenly you have tens of thousands of dollars to work with. Or, maybe a single person responds to the newspaper article with a job offer for you to head up an established charity, because you have shown that you are able to get results with few resources. Or, maybe the article eventually leads to new people, new paths that had never even been on your radar before. “God works in mysterious ways”. By staying in gratitude (thereby walking with God) and following your intuition (the small, still voice of God within you), everything works out for the best of all concerned. You will be ‘in synch’ with God’s unfolding on the Universe.
Just work at developing the HABIT of FEELING gratitude for EVERYTHING!
Oh, and a clue for getting in touch with your intuition? Does it FEEL right?
We’ve all had the experience of walking along the street and ‘sensing’ that something is not right and we should cross to the other side of the street. We cross to safety, look back, and see a shady-looking character lurking in a doorway - our intuition lead us to make the right move.
When you are trying to decide whether to take path A or path B, try them out in your mind. You’ve taken path A - does it FEEL right? Are you at peace, does it seem right at a gut level? Or do you have lingering unease with this course? Then envision following the other path, getting different results - does this FEEL better? You pray on it, then be receptive to further little signs from God. Sleep on it, then notice what you’re feeling about it when you first wake up.
As I’ve said, you have been expertly using your rational, analytical mind all of your life, so getting in touch with your intuition is likely to take time and conscious effort. I suspect for most people it’s what ‘midlife’ is all about!
P.S. Remember months ago I said to you, “Stay alive, no matter what”? That was my intuition jumping to the fore.
You are such a principled man (and I adore these many fine traits of yours) that I got the feeling that you would someday, for some principled reason, offer yourself as a sacrificial lamb in some future, dire circumstances. DON’T DO IT. I have this strong intuitive sense that you are meant for something more important than cannon fodder. You are Magnificent Man. God has some really wonderful, impactful destiny in store for you. I don’t know what it is - but you need to stay alive and wait for it. It will give you the deep happiness and satisfaction that you have earned, through your search for life’s meaning and God’s truth. Bless you always, dear Peter.
Good read and I can relate to a lot of it. Linking as usual @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/
First, let me say again what an excellent writer you are, Peter. You succinctly nail your concepts and intents with every word. Perhaps someday you will feel called to write best-selling self-help books - perhaps all you’ve lived through is preparation for that.
Regarding today’s post, the constraint you’re wrestling with has been termed ‘resistance’. Have you followed at all the new-age ‘manifesting’ craze of the past twenty years? It’s based on the findings of quantum physics, and it works essentially like this:
A person desires some outcome, so he puts his ‘intention’ (for many people, a prayer) out into the universe. Then he ‘lets go’ (lowers his resistance to what actually transpires, - I.e. accepts the will of God. If his intention is in alignment with the will of God - because we co-create with God (however you conceptualize Him) - then the quantum wave function collapses into the outcome you desire (your prayer is answered).
The problem is, this doesn’t work most of the time for most people. The reason is that it truly IS difficult to have NO ‘resistance’, to be accepting of any outcome. If we desire something so much that we pray for it, it’s pretty hard to not experience ardent desire for it, right? It comes down to ‘trusting’ that God has the best outcome planned for you, which is why the manifestation people advise that you end each intention with words such as “this, or something better for all concerned”.
You’ve studied Zen, and know a whole lot more about it than I do. But as I understand it, much of Zen focuses on letting go of desire, attaining ‘no-mind’, and attaining the state of just ‘being’. This is the state of truly ‘accepting’, with no resistance to ANY outcome, even death. It’s difficult to attain, but it’s why the Bible has so many passages admonishing believers to ‘trust the Lord with all of your heart’.
So yes, take action! Make plans, develop habits to achieve your goals, strive with all of your might - but don’t worry about the ‘pathways’ to your intention, the ‘hows’. (This has been called the ‘cursed hows’ because it’s SO DIFFICULT not to fret about ‘well, HOW is this going to happen?’). And don’t stress about the outcome. The spiritual goal is to reach a point where, emotionally and psychologically, you are REALLY okay with ANY outcome. The outcome you wish is just a ‘preference’, not a ‘need’.
If your new ministry fails - you’re okay with that outcome, because you trust that God therefore has something better in mind for you! If your mind rebels - with resistance - saying, “No, it MUST succeed!”! then you have resistance, and your intention is not ‘in alignment’ with God, because you’re not ‘trusting’ (however that works, in the quantum-physics view of collapsing the wave function).
By all means, be clear about what you ‘prefer’ to happen in your life, and take action to achieve it -the more action the better. (As people used to say, “God helps those who help themselves”.). But try to eliminate stressful feelings about the outcome, because if you’re FEELING optimistic and happy about your actions, then you’re sending a ‘frequency’ of trusting God with the outcome.
I’m condensing stuff, but you grasp the main concept. Your intention is a PREFERENCE, not a NEED. FEEL happy. ‘Miracles’ can occur if you’re truly trusting God with the outcome.
Let me give you an example from my life. In 2008, my mother-in-law passed away, leaving us enough money to buy a better house, as a cash buy. I soon started looking at houses, fell in love with one, and wanted to get it - but my husband was not ready to buy anything yet, as the estate was still going through probate. I was very disappointed, because I loved that house and fretted that I would never find anything better, or at a better price. But I ‘accepted’ the outcome, and put the whole house-hunting project on a back burner of my mind. A few weeks later, what turned out to be a better house for me - in ways I was not even aware of - came on the market. My husband agree to look at it, but still was not ready to buy. I worked at ‘accepting’ that, psychologically - trusting the Universe.
Now, this was during the ‘mortgage meltdown era’ of 2009. The owner of the house I wanted to buy had priced the house way too high for the market conditions, had to reduce the price repeatedly, and it remained unsold until it finally went as a ‘short sale’ - so we ended up buying it for $55,000 less than when we first looked at it! I got the best house for my needs, at the best price possible, and I believe it’s because I reduced my desire to just a ‘preference’, and trusted that God had the best outcome in mind for me.
Somehow, it’s all about being on a trusting ‘frequency’ in your feelings, feeling at peace with ALL that God has in mind for you. You have a superior intellect, Peter, and a rational, analytical brain that wants to figure everything out (and is really good at this!) But forget about the ‘cursed hows’ and FEEL happy and at peace. Everything will work out for the best, in ways that you maybe aren’t able to see in advance, if you can ‘trust the Lord with all of your HEART.’
Thank you for all your kind words!
For me a constant stumbling block is "what should I be doing?"
Part of God's overall plan is me doing.... something. I might not know what it is all the time, and more often than not I find myself questioning if I should be doing this or that, going to the left or to the right.
It's not so much a lack of trust in God as a lack of trust in me. Am I doing what I am called to do?
That's a daily question, and all I can do on any day is make a choice, pick a direction, and pray.
You and I were trained to think analytically, figuring out all of the ‘whys and ‘hows’. But the guidance from God is in our INTUITION, so the goal is to become more in touch with our intuition,and follow it. Easier said than done, but there is a really great mechanism to feeling good, getting in touch with our intuition, and lowering resistance: it’s staying in gratitude!
Really, all you have to do is develop the HABIT of FEELING grateful for EVERYTHING. I emphasize those three words, because they are key.
One: at the quantum level, where everything is pure energy, this energy exists on different wavelengths and frequencies. The energy of ‘feelings’ also have frequencies. It has been postulated (obviously, there’s no way to prove it at this time) that God is at the ‘highest frequency’ of ‘pure love’. So when our emotions are ‘good’ - such as love, kind caring, and gratitude- we are more ‘in synch’ with the frequency of God. You and I have not had lives of focusing on feelings, so you may have to work a little at truly FEELING gratitude. With brings us to two: develop a HABIT of it, because then you are habitually entrained with the higher frequencies, and ‘walking with God’. Then three: make it a habit of being grateful for EVERYTHING. When you wake up, FEEL - truly experiencing the emotion is crucial to getting on the frequency (or wavelength, or whatever it is) of God - FEEL grateful for a good night’s sleep. If it wasn’t a good night, then FEEL grateful that it’s over now and you have a new day. Just keep working to truly feel grateful for everything, all day long.
When you envisioned your new ministry, you undoubtedly had a plan of trajectory and growth rate and functioning, right? X number of your readers would donate Y amount of money over Z amount of time, enabling you to accomplish A through G. But you’ve heard the old proverbs about ‘Man plans, God laughs’? They are true! Very little in life actually works out as anyone plans. God has His own Plan and timetable, and our intentions are woven into it somehow, if our intentions are ‘good’.
So follow your intuition, and then be grateful for EVERYTHING that happens. Your readers are all swamped with inflation, so maybe they aren’t going to donate as you hoped. But there are dozens of ways that your ministry’s goals can be reached anyway. Suppose your intuition tells you to stop to talk to a particular down-and-out person. While you’re listening to him, a reporter happens by and talks with you. Next day the local paper has a headline, “Charitable Man Aids Homeless On Shoestring Budget”. Wealthy donors, disgusted with the poor results of their previous donations to homeless organizations, turn to HousesofRefuge.org and suddenly you have tens of thousands of dollars to work with. Or, maybe a single person responds to the newspaper article with a job offer for you to head up an established charity, because you have shown that you are able to get results with few resources. Or, maybe the article eventually leads to new people, new paths that had never even been on your radar before. “God works in mysterious ways”. By staying in gratitude (thereby walking with God) and following your intuition (the small, still voice of God within you), everything works out for the best of all concerned. You will be ‘in synch’ with God’s unfolding on the Universe.
Just work at developing the HABIT of FEELING gratitude for EVERYTHING!
Oh, and a clue for getting in touch with your intuition? Does it FEEL right?
We’ve all had the experience of walking along the street and ‘sensing’ that something is not right and we should cross to the other side of the street. We cross to safety, look back, and see a shady-looking character lurking in a doorway - our intuition lead us to make the right move.
When you are trying to decide whether to take path A or path B, try them out in your mind. You’ve taken path A - does it FEEL right? Are you at peace, does it seem right at a gut level? Or do you have lingering unease with this course? Then envision following the other path, getting different results - does this FEEL better? You pray on it, then be receptive to further little signs from God. Sleep on it, then notice what you’re feeling about it when you first wake up.
As I’ve said, you have been expertly using your rational, analytical mind all of your life, so getting in touch with your intuition is likely to take time and conscious effort. I suspect for most people it’s what ‘midlife’ is all about!
P.S. Remember months ago I said to you, “Stay alive, no matter what”? That was my intuition jumping to the fore.
You are such a principled man (and I adore these many fine traits of yours) that I got the feeling that you would someday, for some principled reason, offer yourself as a sacrificial lamb in some future, dire circumstances. DON’T DO IT. I have this strong intuitive sense that you are meant for something more important than cannon fodder. You are Magnificent Man. God has some really wonderful, impactful destiny in store for you. I don’t know what it is - but you need to stay alive and wait for it. It will give you the deep happiness and satisfaction that you have earned, through your search for life’s meaning and God’s truth. Bless you always, dear Peter.
I’m not looking for a hill to die upon.
If/when I find myself on such a hill, I pray I live that moment well.
Until then, I focus on learning how to live well.