An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Two

Posted to Facebook March 1st.
This chapter is about my inner roommate.  Blah, blah, blah.  Chatter, chatter, chatter.  It can fill up a whole day and then I look back and wonder, "where did the day go?"

What I got from this chapter is that Michael wants us to realize that the part of us that is doing all the chattering is not who we really are (WWRA).  On page 15 he suggests that when we are feeling disturbed about something to ask ourselves "What part of me is being disturbed by this?  By doing this I can practice recognizing that the disturbed part of me is actually that part we often refer to as things like our ego, or the personality, or the habitual, or the human doing part of me.  It is not WIRA.

Once I've remembered that the part of me that is disturbed is not WIRA, it has felt good for me to then ask myself, "What belief is disturbing me about this?" I found that my answer to this question would add even more clarity to the knowing that this disturbance is not WIRA.

Example:  "Oh shoot, I am going to be late.  I let that phone call/conversation/work on the computer/workout go on to long.  I hate being late.  What are they going to think?  This is going to put me behind on my schedule for the rest of the day.  I never have enough time." 
1.  What part of me is being disturbed by this?  Well, it is that very small part of me that can become consumed with what is going on in this moment, in my little world.   It's that small me that gets out of balance with the big ME that knows the sun comes back every morning, the seeds for the plants continue to appear, and that water continues to flow downhill, all without me controlling any of it.
2.  What belief is disturbing me about this?  I hate rushing.  I hate pushing.  I hate not being in control.  When I am not in control I am vulnerable, unprotected. 
3.  What does WIRA know?  WIRA knows I don't need to rush or push.  WIRA knows that remaining calm is how I best arrive on time, and if I don't arrive on time, a simple apology is all that is needed.  WIRA knows that there was no maliciousness or ulterior motive or disrespect in my lateness.  WIRA knows it is an innocent bleep in the schedule and that there is an unfolding here that I will probably never really comprehend in its fullest.  If I want a sense of control in my life WIRA knows I do not do that by trying to control all of the outside circumstances, but by my response to them.  WIRA knows that there is nothing from which I need to protect myself; my invincibility comes from my 'vulnerability'.

Ahhh, that has soothed/quieted/stopped the resistance of the inner roommate.

What part of this chapter stood out or had value for you?

The Camel and the Needle

The other day I was attempting to get a lot of things done; get them off my 'to do' list.  Now, you'd think I'd know better than that by now, since I go on and on about Living On Purpose.  But sometimes it is just so tempting to fill myself up by trying to accomplish a lot of things.  Well, it didn't go very well.  By the end of the day I was tired and frustrated because everything I had attempted to 'get done' had seemingly backfired -- sound familiar?  I threw my hands up in exasperation and said, "I can't make anything happen!"  Then a voice, and a chuckle from within said, "Ahh, you said it yourself."

I can't make anything happen, I can only allow them to happen.  When I am making them happen I am forcing, controlling, worrying about, being right about things in order to get'em done.  I may get away with this mediocre method of creating in my life for a while, but eventually it will lead to exhaustion and probably giving up. 

As I heard myself say, "I can't make anything happen," the biblical reference, "it's like trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle" flashed through my head.  In this story a rich young man wants to know what he needs to do to obtain eternal life, and Jesus instructs him to follow the commandments.  The rich young man replies that he has done that and wants to know what else he needs to do.  So Jesus tells him to sell all he has and follow him.  Well, that feels like a lot to give up/let go of for the young man.  He probably began to question how much he really wants eternal life?  Jesus turns to his disciples and, in my opinion is meaning to exagerate his point by saying, " . . . it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Well, sometimes it may seem more likely for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle (next to impossible) than it is to let go of controlling things, making things happen, or trying to fill the void of unworthiness through accomplishment and achievement, but it is not.  LOP guarantees that letting go of making things happen, and instead relaxing into the ease and flow of allowing what we want, will be more productive.  Productive as in bigger, better, and faster than what we were expecting through making things happen.

LOP means the willingness and belief in letting go is how the camel will fit through the eye of a needle .