Mar 22, 2015

Pondering’s

 

Step 10. Continue to examine my life and to pursue a spiritual solution by surrendering to my God.

 

The process of Living a Life of Abundance is a process that takes the entire journey of life, one day at a time. The effort does require maintenance, for the process either moves forward or in reverse. There is no middle ground, where a “stasis” is achieved, and one can forget about it and it will continue.

 

 

It stops and shrinks, and vanishes, or grows.

 

During a recent discussion at church, I commented on that I am always seeking to become a higher version of myself, so that standard rules and regulations of behavior no longer held sway over my life, and the reply was “So you are still trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up.” My reply was that if the definition of “growing up” was to become rigid and unchanging, I will never grow up and when I pass from this life I expect to continue to grow and change. If I had stopped when stepping back from my engineering life that most consider to have been an unqualified success, I would not be writing these words to hopefully help at least one person find the Joy and Peace of a Life of Abundance.

 

I have seen this reluctance to change time and time again, in every program I have ever seen. First there is this exhilaration and discovery, then the world gets in the way – the kids have to go here or there, bills have to be paid, work becomes more pressing – there is always, always, something. I watch people become excited, work and find the time to do the effort, and then, —- and then. The effort becomes too much, things interfere, I am tired –

 

Always a reason.

 

And Life returns to its chaotic beginning, and the dream of a Life of Abundance (or a life free of alcohol, or free of drugs, etc.) diminishes and the same old life and drudgeries appear, and only a dream remains and fond memories of what could have been.

 

The last 3 Steps are those steps leading into the “life everlasting”, that life that brings lasting joy and happiness into our life, that nothing, and I mean nothing, can upset. And the promise is that this life will carry us through all aspects of this life, and go with us into the next, where the joy and peace will swell into one crescendo after another, for as long as we wish.

 

Yes, these are big promises. But God has said many times that this is the result. Why do we question this expectation and doubt the result? There are many that understand that the promises are true. The 12 step program has helped hundreds of thousands find sobriety in their lives, and this same basic approach can be used to find Joy and Happiness in your own life, free from the fears and concerns that corner us into the despair of fear and worry. Did not Jesus say, as quoted previously: “Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” Luke 6:38.

 

Yes, this program is one of giving to others, and it is also one of immersing ourselves into the balm of God’s words, music, and beauty that surrounds each day, offering us succor to ease our pain and concerns.

 

One cannot live partially a life of God’s way. One either gives oneself fully into the Loving arms of one’s God, or not. And if not, then the result will be according to that wish, and life will return to its meaningless chores, some joy, and much pain.

 

Now, the process is rewarding unto itself. If we apply ourselves as well as we can with this program, then the result will flow into our lives, encourage us to try more, until we will suddenly realize that indeed, our life is one of Joy that leads to Happiness, despite the outward appearances that may still be present.

 

And yes, we will have to carry the consequences of our previous life, as a reminder of what it took to get us to this point, and as a means to provide the knowledge to help others that will appear in your life.

 

As I have seen and experienced countless times.

 

Examining your life

 

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. After completing the previous steps, we feel free, more free perhaps than at any time of our life. We have told our secrets, and we feel as if all is over. But then as our life continues, we discover that we still react many times in the same old way, causing many of he same old problems. We wonder what happened, but we find that the Instinctual Center, that part of our consciousness that is the “flee or fight” corner that has almost zero time of reaction, is still responding in a very similar manner like old times. I will admit that it will seem like these reactions are built into our psyche in such a way that we cannot prevent the destructive behavior.

 

Partly this effect is true, and our personality type will indicate what negative reactions (Remember our Shadow?) we carry with us. The process of seeing how we react to situations gives us insights into how to manage our Shadow so that it provides us with guidance and not overwhelms us. As I had previously discussed, our Shadow is an important part of our being, and helps us to see the beauty of life by revealing the counterpoint of our dark side, giving us a measuring point to see where we are.

 

The Highest Vision of our Life

 

Sometime ago I talked about setting a vision of ourselves, where we would try to live up to “The next highest version of the next highest vision we had of ourselves”. This constant striving to see a more perfect version of ourselves and seeing how to live up to that vision, is what keeps us growing and learning. This process never stops in this life, as we can see greater and greater possibilities rising up in front of us, as our God opens our eyes to the greater glories to be seen in this life, bringing us the Joy and happiness that we seek. The new and growing internal joy that is ours for the asking is always present if we but see.

 

It is against this ever growing vision that we look at our life and see how we have met our vision and where we can stretch ourselves a little more to equal our goal. This effort does require some time, and it is usually best at the end of the day when we can look at ourselves both where we have met our goals and where we could have been a little more compassionate, or not so quick to be angry and snap, especially at a loved one. This is not a time of self-flagellation, finger-pointing, accepting defeat, for it is none of these things. This is a time for observation, for only noting those areas where a better response would have worked better to meet our goal in life, etc. This is not a judgment time, but a reflection time, and a time to try to figure out ways for a better response when a similar time occurs.

 

For it will occur.

 

Count on it.

 

Pursuing a Spiritual Solution

 

It has been said that “We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin) Almost all of us live our life as if we area physical being having, if we are lucky, an occasional spiritual experience. But this life is not who we are, as said by the mystic de Chardin. We have let ourselves be fooled by what we believe we are seeing, limited only by the perceptual limits of the physical world and our strictly physical interpretations of the world.

 

But de Chardin had it right. We are a spiritual being, “Made in the Image and Likeness of God.” (Genesis 1). The entire works of Jesus is based upon that statement, called the most quoted phrase in the bible. We are that spiritual being, the Image and Likeness of God, not in the physical sense because God has no one physical form but all physical forms and beyond, but our spiritual nature is that wavelet of God that still has the infinite power of creation within it. If we are to become that new being, we have to forge ourselves anew in that Image we have sensed but not fully accepted. Only when we accept Who We Are, that Spiritual Being filled with the Spirit of God, a being in the very Image of God, can we begin to understand the potential power that is ours for the choosing.

 

Reclaiming Our Birthright

 

In some ways, the phrase “Pursuing a Spiritual Solution” does not state the meaning of what we are doing: we are reclaiming our spiritual being, that Being “Made in the Image of God”, that is the being that we are, above the physical presence we appear to have. The act of reclaiming is what leads us to the Life of Abundance, for in this reclaiming we state who we are: the Creator of our life, one with our Creator, made in the image of the Universe itself.

 

It is our very birthright, our innermost part of our Being that we are laying claim. This is Who We Are: our creator of our life, and we have the very right to shine in the heavens as a being of God, and to create the life of Joy and Happiness that can be ours. Often this will result in changes in the way our life is lived our physically, as our knowing that God will always grant us a life of Joy will in and of itself create that life of Joy.

 

Surrendering to my God.

 

The act of reclaiming our birthright as a Creator in our own right is the act of surrendering ourselves into the ‘arms’ of our God. This is what Jesus was describing when he said: “Greater works than this shall you do” (John 14:12). We do hold the power to create our life to bring us Joy and Happiness, but we have to be joined with our Spiritual Being, the very essence of Who We Are, to reach that level of confidence.

 

Most of us find our life sometimes reaches an overwhelming state, one that threatens all that we have. When this occurs, most often we believe God has abandoned us, as we search and do not find God, at least as we think we should. But these are the very moments when we have to abandon ourselves into God, and let God guide us.

 

These moments are the moments of surrender, when we feel so stretched that we can let our ego pause and to reclaim our Soul. These moments are a gift from God, a moment where we see the dependence on the physical world is just not enough for us, that we find ourselves able to let it go, and just to be with God, to find the solace of the Eternal Source that is ours to claim.

 

Let it go.

 

Let it go.

 

Our soul will claim our Being, and we can live in the Joy of this Eternal Source. This feeling of Joy may only be a momentary respite, but it is there for us to claim any time we wish. The gentle Lover that is our God will melt the pain in our heart, and bring you to a moment of relief, and show you the Joy that awaits you, if only you continue to surrender your ego into the care of God.

 

This is why so many members of Alcohol Anonymous will state that they would never give up what they have found in the Love of God, and live continuously in the Joy of God. The recognize the pain they have caused to others and to themselves, but the Joy they have found they believe they could not have found through any other means.

 

So do not despair if and when you find yourself buried in the mire of life, for it is in this mire that you will find the Gift of Life Itself. These are the times when the wall separating your life from that of the Being of God is now only a film, easily torn apart, and the act of letting it rest into God is the relief you have searched for all of your life.

 

And do not despair if after releasing it one day, the problem still exists the next day, or even the next minute, for this act of surrender and finding your Soul is an ongoing process, one that never ends. One day this pain will end, even if the condition that caused it does not end, and you will find yourself sitting amidst the Joy of God despite the event that is going on in your life. And some day, even that event will end, but the Joy you have found will never end, in this life and onward into the next.

 

Step 10. Continue to examine my life and to pursue a spiritual solution by surrendering to my God.

 

Meditation

 

Oh Eternal wisdom, I bow in humble gratitude for these opportunities you offer in our life, as desperate as they seem. I recognize and want to take advantage of the opportunities that they offer me to find my Soul, that part of my Being that is the Image of You. I place myself in Your service, to be of help for those you put into my path, so that they too may find the Joy of Your presence in their life, as I have found in my own life.