I realized as I was reading chapter fifteen that I don't really know anyone that wants to be happy, not according to how Michael defines choosing happiness. All of us say we want to be happy but we have "a deep-seated set of preferences" that we choose over and over again as more important than our happiness. Really wanting to be happy is about letting go of the qualifying of our happiness.
I want to be happy but my car isn't working.
I want to be happy but I am 10 pounds overweight.
I want to be happy but my boss is a tyrant.
I want to be happy but I had terrible childhood.
I want to be happy but I have had a string of bad luck.
I want to be happy but my spouse drives me crazy.
I want to be happy but I don't have all the money I need to do all the things I want.
I want to be happy but my kids are not making the choices I want them to make.
Really wanting to be happy is choosing happiness in all conditions.
What is really cool about making the decision to be unconditionally happy is not that I will instantaneously be happy forever more, but that I will get to see/recognize what I am making more important than my own happiness. What I am allowing to get in my way. When we consciously see the reasons we are selling out on our own happiness, my bet is that nine times out of ten we will easily be able to let go of the reason for not being happy, and be able to find our happiness again.
Now this may seem ridiculous, to choose happiness when things appear to be going wrong. What could possibly be the benefit of that? Well, in Michael's words, "your heart will be so open and your spirit so free, that you will soar up to the heavens." Choosing happiness even when there are justifications for not being happy is the key to "the peace that passeth all understanding," the freedom that generations of people have fought for, and the unconditional love upon which all religions have been based.
LOP is choosing joy over my set of preferences.
Living On Purpose (LOP) is remembering, believing in, and expressing who we really are. This blog is the sharing of the moment by moment experience of practicing Living On Purpose . . . because we all want to feel good.
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Sunday, 7 July 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Fourteen
Since my last Untethered Soul post I have probably read chapter fourteen three times. There is so much in it that I am enjoying, and each time I read it there seems to be yet another level of clarity for me. However, for this moment in time here are some of the highlights for me.
On page 132 Michael talks about peace. It reminds me of a realization I came upon a couple years back when people in my life saw me dancing around singing,"I'm a loser" (I think it is from an old Beatles tune). Now that may not sound like a great break through, but it was. It was representative of the freedom and peace I felt when I shed all cares about what others thought and said about me. It was a complete embrace of exactly who I am without editing, pretending or justifying. It was complete appreciation of myself with all blemishes, mistakes, and 'un-normal' aspects of me -- total peace . . . complete freedom.
What I heard on page 133 is that our power in life does not come from outer-directed control (trying to control everyone and everything), our place of power is inner-directed control (remembering Who I Really Am in every moment). It may seem like a scary thing to do, to let go of controlling our outer world, but that is where my peace and freedom reside.
There is the saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In this chapter what I got is, "Insanity is resisting what is."
And lastly, on page 135, what I heard is that the walls we build around ourselves, to protect us, are the very walls that become the prisons that we resist, resent, and for which we blame others.
The peace and freedom I hear Michael referring to in this chapter far surpasses that for which any other person may hold a key. This peace and freedom is a gift from me to me and comes with wings un-clippable by anyone else.
When I LOP I know I am free -- that's what allows me to fly.
On page 132 Michael talks about peace. It reminds me of a realization I came upon a couple years back when people in my life saw me dancing around singing,"I'm a loser" (I think it is from an old Beatles tune). Now that may not sound like a great break through, but it was. It was representative of the freedom and peace I felt when I shed all cares about what others thought and said about me. It was a complete embrace of exactly who I am without editing, pretending or justifying. It was complete appreciation of myself with all blemishes, mistakes, and 'un-normal' aspects of me -- total peace . . . complete freedom.
What I heard on page 133 is that our power in life does not come from outer-directed control (trying to control everyone and everything), our place of power is inner-directed control (remembering Who I Really Am in every moment). It may seem like a scary thing to do, to let go of controlling our outer world, but that is where my peace and freedom reside.
There is the saying, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In this chapter what I got is, "Insanity is resisting what is."
And lastly, on page 135, what I heard is that the walls we build around ourselves, to protect us, are the very walls that become the prisons that we resist, resent, and for which we blame others.
The peace and freedom I hear Michael referring to in this chapter far surpasses that for which any other person may hold a key. This peace and freedom is a gift from me to me and comes with wings un-clippable by anyone else.
When I LOP I know I am free -- that's what allows me to fly.
Friday, 5 July 2013
Well-Being Breaking Loose
I grew up believing that if I didn't control life and others, if I didn't resist what I didn't want, if I didn't work hard and justify myself, 'all hell would break loose'. Very exhausting.
I now know that when I relax, when I open, when I let go, and allow life, 'all well-being breaks loose'. Very freeing.
LOP is being free.
I now know that when I relax, when I open, when I let go, and allow life, 'all well-being breaks loose'. Very freeing.
LOP is being free.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Thirteen
I find Michael's words to be so clear and ring so true, I don't think I have much more to say about them. So, I will let them speak for themselves.
"If you want to go beyond your model, you have to take the risk of not believing in it. If your mental model is bothering you, it's because it doesn't incorporate reality. Your choice is to either resist or go beyond the limits of your model." (page 120)
"If you really want to see why you do things, then don't do them and see what happens." (page 121)
"So, there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom." (page 122)
"When you truly awake spiritually, you realize you are caged. . . . You see that you're afraid to tell people what you really think. You see that you are too self-conscious to freely express yourself. You see that you have to stay on top of everything in order to be okay." (page 123)
"Throughout each day, you frequently hit the edges of your cage. When you hit these edges, you either pull back or try to force things to change so that you can remain comfortable. . . . Sometimes you can't even fall asleep at night because you're too busy thinking about what you need to do to stay within your cage." (page 124)
When you are trained, like a great athlete, to immediately relax through your edges when they get hit, then it's all over. You realize that you will always be fine." (page 125)
I could have included more, but my purpose was not to transcribe the whole chapter. Which of Michael's ideas put a smile on your face?
"If you want to go beyond your model, you have to take the risk of not believing in it. If your mental model is bothering you, it's because it doesn't incorporate reality. Your choice is to either resist or go beyond the limits of your model." (page 120)
"If you really want to see why you do things, then don't do them and see what happens." (page 121)
"So, there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom." (page 122)
"When you truly awake spiritually, you realize you are caged. . . . You see that you're afraid to tell people what you really think. You see that you are too self-conscious to freely express yourself. You see that you have to stay on top of everything in order to be okay." (page 123)
"Throughout each day, you frequently hit the edges of your cage. When you hit these edges, you either pull back or try to force things to change so that you can remain comfortable. . . . Sometimes you can't even fall asleep at night because you're too busy thinking about what you need to do to stay within your cage." (page 124)
When you are trained, like a great athlete, to immediately relax through your edges when they get hit, then it's all over. You realize that you will always be fine." (page 125)
I could have included more, but my purpose was not to transcribe the whole chapter. Which of Michael's ideas put a smile on your face?
Sunday, 9 June 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Twelve
In this chapter Michael shares an allegory of us locking ourselves in a dark house, in the middle of a bright open field, searching for and trying to create some light. In other words, all we have to do is let go of our self created walls and the light naturally is shining.
Michael writes, "If you see a wall and it is protecting you from unending darkness, you will not want to go there. But if you see a wall that is blocking the light, you will want to go there in order to remove the wall." Pondering what is on the other side of my walls need not be viewed as scary. In fact, I want to be viewing it as fun and exciting; a place I want to go.
If I really get this chapter's allegory, that I am in a dark house out in the middle of a bright open field and I am wanting more light in my life, opening the door and walking through it is an obvious, easy, welcomed choice.
LOP is knowing that living a light-filled life may not be normal, but it is natural.
Michael writes, "If you see a wall and it is protecting you from unending darkness, you will not want to go there. But if you see a wall that is blocking the light, you will want to go there in order to remove the wall." Pondering what is on the other side of my walls need not be viewed as scary. In fact, I want to be viewing it as fun and exciting; a place I want to go.
If I really get this chapter's allegory, that I am in a dark house out in the middle of a bright open field and I am wanting more light in my life, opening the door and walking through it is an obvious, easy, welcomed choice.
LOP is knowing that living a light-filled life may not be normal, but it is natural.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Eleven
I love this chapter of Michael's! Well, I love all of them, but this one really seems to bring it home for me. What I get from this chapter is resistance of what I don't like in my life (i.e. psychological pain) by withdrawing, pulling back, protecting myself, or defending my point of view, imprisons me. Letting it go is my path to freedom.
For me there is a physical analogy that depicts this psychological concept really well. My husband is an ART practitioner, meaning he does deep tissue work that has a reputation of being a bit uncomfortable (some may call it painful). When he works on me I notice that as his fingers 'dig' into a muscle my natural reaction is to resist/protect/defend by tensing up. As I tense up the initial problem becomes worse, and then I resist even more.
The answer to my freedom from the physical discomfort is to relax, breathe, and allow his fingers to assist the muscle to stretch and relax. As I open and allow his fingers to go deeper, amazingly it does not hurt, but instead actually feels good and I can sense a flow of relief. He has assisted me to get to the other side of the tight/knotted/resistant muscle. He has assisted me to relax into my bodies natural well-being.
I see that it is no different with psychological discomfort. When I resist something that happens, or something someone does, I become even more uncomfortable. If I allow the situation into my experience, remember to breathe, relax, stretch to embrace my truth of the situation, and trust the well-being, this situation assists me in getting to the other side of the resistance, to where my freedom awaits.
LOP is opening to that which I may want to resist and allowing it to assist me in remembering Who I Really Am.
For me there is a physical analogy that depicts this psychological concept really well. My husband is an ART practitioner, meaning he does deep tissue work that has a reputation of being a bit uncomfortable (some may call it painful). When he works on me I notice that as his fingers 'dig' into a muscle my natural reaction is to resist/protect/defend by tensing up. As I tense up the initial problem becomes worse, and then I resist even more.
The answer to my freedom from the physical discomfort is to relax, breathe, and allow his fingers to assist the muscle to stretch and relax. As I open and allow his fingers to go deeper, amazingly it does not hurt, but instead actually feels good and I can sense a flow of relief. He has assisted me to get to the other side of the tight/knotted/resistant muscle. He has assisted me to relax into my bodies natural well-being.
I see that it is no different with psychological discomfort. When I resist something that happens, or something someone does, I become even more uncomfortable. If I allow the situation into my experience, remember to breathe, relax, stretch to embrace my truth of the situation, and trust the well-being, this situation assists me in getting to the other side of the resistance, to where my freedom awaits.
LOP is opening to that which I may want to resist and allowing it to assist me in remembering Who I Really Am.
Friday, 24 May 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter 10
"The prerequisite to true freedom is to decide that you do not want to suffer anymore." This is the sentence that starts Chapter 10 of "The Untethered Soul". Seems simple enough and yet, I have watched myself be willing to give up the suffering in some situations more than others. We suffer by engaging in our fearful, pessimistic, or controlling thoughts. We may think we want to give up suffering, or that we don't suffer, however, if we pay attention we will probably find we are doing it on a daily basis.
After making the decision that I am no longer willing to hold myself back, to suffer, I then see that life is full of opportunities for letting go and being more free. Michael writes that we can find these opportunities to let go of our 'suffering' by hearing ourselves when we are focused on "the problem of the day." The Abraham-Hicks materials encourage us to use our emotional guidance system to realize when we are not being who we really are (which is suffering). Whichever way works best for us, there is no need to work hard at becoming aware of when we are still suffering. Once we genuinely decide that we are done with trying to earn our worthiness through suffering, we will easily see where we are ready to be more free.
Michael writes that when we catch ourselves suffering the key to freedom is to just be quiet. " . . . not that your mind has to be quiet. You be quiet. You the one inside watching the neurotic mind, just relax." We don't need to fight our thoughts, chastise ourselves for them, deny them, or worry about them. Just relax, and open, and watch them and we will realize that they are not us. Who we really are (WWRA) is actually watching the chatter.
Of course, I may find I need to remind myself to relax a few times, or ten times, well maybe a hundred times a day. But, this is not a concern because . . . "If you follow this path, the only action you ever take is to relax and release. When you start to see this stuff going on inside, you just relax your shoulders, relax your heart, and fall back behind it."
LOP is taking a breath, catching myself in those moments when I have forgotten Who I Really Am, and once again opening to the Me behind me.
After making the decision that I am no longer willing to hold myself back, to suffer, I then see that life is full of opportunities for letting go and being more free. Michael writes that we can find these opportunities to let go of our 'suffering' by hearing ourselves when we are focused on "the problem of the day." The Abraham-Hicks materials encourage us to use our emotional guidance system to realize when we are not being who we really are (which is suffering). Whichever way works best for us, there is no need to work hard at becoming aware of when we are still suffering. Once we genuinely decide that we are done with trying to earn our worthiness through suffering, we will easily see where we are ready to be more free.
Michael writes that when we catch ourselves suffering the key to freedom is to just be quiet. " . . . not that your mind has to be quiet. You be quiet. You the one inside watching the neurotic mind, just relax." We don't need to fight our thoughts, chastise ourselves for them, deny them, or worry about them. Just relax, and open, and watch them and we will realize that they are not us. Who we really are (WWRA) is actually watching the chatter.
Of course, I may find I need to remind myself to relax a few times, or ten times, well maybe a hundred times a day. But, this is not a concern because . . . "If you follow this path, the only action you ever take is to relax and release. When you start to see this stuff going on inside, you just relax your shoulders, relax your heart, and fall back behind it."
LOP is taking a breath, catching myself in those moments when I have forgotten Who I Really Am, and once again opening to the Me behind me.
Friday, 10 May 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Nine
Posted to Facebook May 12th.
Well, I have found this chapter to be short, but to the point. Protect our thorns, or let go of them!
What Michael stimulated for me in this chapter, is a curiosity about what I am avoiding in my life without consciously realizing it. Here are some things I caught myself avoiding, that I was inadvertantly allowing to run my life: rush hour traffic, not getting enough sleep, being out in the wind, shopping/doing errands when everyone else was doing errands, certain foods/drinks I enjoy, having conversations with some people, getting assistance from others, rushing, taking care of things on my "to do" list, being out of control.
What I am hearing Michael say is that in my attempt to avoid situations like the above, I will go to great lengths. And these 'great lengths' will end up taking over my life until eventually the freedom I was trying to create by avoiding the situations has been replaced by the 'great lengths' that I have come to believe are true and necessary.
So, as I don't try and avoid, I can see that . . .
I don't create freedom by avoiding rush hour traffic, I am only truly free when I can sit in rush hour traffic and resist it not.
I don't create an energized body and mind by getting a certain amount of sleep each night, I feel energized when I let go of the things I am resisting in my life.
I don't create fun by being upset that the wind is blowing, I create fun by choosing to fly my kite with the help of the wind.
I don't create ease by trying to avoid others, I create ease by focusing on what I do want and allowing all others to do the same.
I don't create a happy, healthy body through a rigid routine, I create a flexible, adaptable body through balance and variety.
I don't create my reality by trying to control what others say and do, I create my reality by being fully present in each moment and being aware of what it has to offer.
I don't earn my worthiness by doing everything myself, my worthiness is natural, God given, a done deal, un-earnable.
I don't avoid feeling rushed by slowing life down, I avoid feeling rushed by trusting the speed of the current and that I don't have to manage every detail.
I don't handle things on my "to do" list through obligation or pushing myself, I handle them by knowing my answers are out there and I am on an adventure that will find them.
I don't increase my feeling of peace and freedom through controlling things -- that just creates more things to control. I increase my feeling of peace and freedom by allowing WIRA to show up when I let go of avoiding.
What thorns are you ready to let go of?
Well, I have found this chapter to be short, but to the point. Protect our thorns, or let go of them!
What Michael stimulated for me in this chapter, is a curiosity about what I am avoiding in my life without consciously realizing it. Here are some things I caught myself avoiding, that I was inadvertantly allowing to run my life: rush hour traffic, not getting enough sleep, being out in the wind, shopping/doing errands when everyone else was doing errands, certain foods/drinks I enjoy, having conversations with some people, getting assistance from others, rushing, taking care of things on my "to do" list, being out of control.
What I am hearing Michael say is that in my attempt to avoid situations like the above, I will go to great lengths. And these 'great lengths' will end up taking over my life until eventually the freedom I was trying to create by avoiding the situations has been replaced by the 'great lengths' that I have come to believe are true and necessary.
So, as I don't try and avoid, I can see that . . .
I don't create freedom by avoiding rush hour traffic, I am only truly free when I can sit in rush hour traffic and resist it not.
I don't create an energized body and mind by getting a certain amount of sleep each night, I feel energized when I let go of the things I am resisting in my life.
I don't create fun by being upset that the wind is blowing, I create fun by choosing to fly my kite with the help of the wind.
I don't create ease by trying to avoid others, I create ease by focusing on what I do want and allowing all others to do the same.
I don't create a happy, healthy body through a rigid routine, I create a flexible, adaptable body through balance and variety.
I don't create my reality by trying to control what others say and do, I create my reality by being fully present in each moment and being aware of what it has to offer.
I don't earn my worthiness by doing everything myself, my worthiness is natural, God given, a done deal, un-earnable.
I don't avoid feeling rushed by slowing life down, I avoid feeling rushed by trusting the speed of the current and that I don't have to manage every detail.
I don't handle things on my "to do" list through obligation or pushing myself, I handle them by knowing my answers are out there and I am on an adventure that will find them.
I don't increase my feeling of peace and freedom through controlling things -- that just creates more things to control. I increase my feeling of peace and freedom by allowing WIRA to show up when I let go of avoiding.
What thorns are you ready to let go of?
Thursday, 11 April 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Eight
I love Michael's descriptions, in the first few pages of chapter eight, in regards to how many of us do life from a place of trying to control it. That couldn't possibly be because I relate to what he is saying : )
On page 71 he says, "If you have a lot of fear, you won't like change. You'll try to create a world around you that is predictable, controllable, and definable." And, "Because people don't deal with fear objectively, they don't understand it. They end up keeping their fear and trying to prevent things from happening that would stimulate it. They go through life attempting to create safety and control by defining how they need life to be in order to be okay."
Page 72 says, "If you attempt to arrange people, places, and things so they don't disturb you, it will begin to feel like life is against you. You'll feel that life is a struggle and that every day is heavy because you have to control and fight with everything."
Michael's recommendation for dealing with our fears, and moving beyond a life of struggle is to let the fears come up and then consciously decide to let them go. Don't resist them, just be a witness to them, and they will pass on through. It is my resistance to life that makes it uncomfortable.
The above are just a few of my favourite quotes from this chapter. What passages stand out for you?
On page 71 he says, "If you have a lot of fear, you won't like change. You'll try to create a world around you that is predictable, controllable, and definable." And, "Because people don't deal with fear objectively, they don't understand it. They end up keeping their fear and trying to prevent things from happening that would stimulate it. They go through life attempting to create safety and control by defining how they need life to be in order to be okay."
Page 72 says, "If you attempt to arrange people, places, and things so they don't disturb you, it will begin to feel like life is against you. You'll feel that life is a struggle and that every day is heavy because you have to control and fight with everything."
Michael's recommendation for dealing with our fears, and moving beyond a life of struggle is to let the fears come up and then consciously decide to let them go. Don't resist them, just be a witness to them, and they will pass on through. It is my resistance to life that makes it uncomfortable.
The above are just a few of my favourite quotes from this chapter. What passages stand out for you?
Thursday, 4 April 2013
An Untethered Soul Discussion -- Chapter Seven
In chapter seven of The Untethered Soul we are 'Transcending the Tendency to Close'. This tendency, as Michael describes it, is what we do to protect ourselves, our self-concepts, or what some refer to as our ego. This tendency may manifest itself in the habits of withdrawing, closing down, pulling back, getting angry, putting up walls, becoming defensive, blaming, or trying to control the world around us. But, as Michael reminds us, "You will get to a point in your growth where you understand that if you protect yourself, you will never be free."
Michael outlines how we begin letting go of protecting ourselves. First, we just begin to notice ourselves protecting or defending ourselves. As I have noticed where I tend to react and close I have seen there are patterns; common themes.
Second, Michael talks about making a commitment to be free. In my experience 'making' a commitment is not something we do, it is something we become ready for as we realize it is us who is holding ourselves back. As I have witnessed the common themes of where I am protecting and guarding myself, I have had a growing knowing that I am ready to free myself from the chore of protecting these 'soft spots'. I see the amount of energy, time, and even money that I put into trying to control them. I can feel how I have come to a place where I am tired of it, and I am ready to move on. I am ready to be free.
Third, Michael shares with us that we will get to a point where we just notice ourselves making a different decision in those moments where we usually protect. We see or feel ourselves getting ready to protect/defend/close ourselves and we just choose to let it go instead. He writes that eventually what happens is, "Every place you go there's someone or something trying to disturb you, trying to get your goat. Why not let them have it? If you don't really want it, then don't protect it."
Thoughts that have helped me to let go are:
Stop.
Breathe.
There's nothing wrong going on here.
Choose to open (focusing on my heart or solar plexus area).
I don't know all the answers around this, nor do I need to.
I know micromanaging things never really creates the results/success I am desiring.
What I do know is I don't know all the possibilities here, and I want to stay open to them all.
My work is to relax, breathe, trust, and recognize my inspirations as they appear.
There is an ease and unfolding around this situation I want to find.
I am wanting to move through this to where my true freedom lies.
What do you find helps you to let go in those moments you catch yourself ready to protect?
Michael outlines how we begin letting go of protecting ourselves. First, we just begin to notice ourselves protecting or defending ourselves. As I have noticed where I tend to react and close I have seen there are patterns; common themes.
Second, Michael talks about making a commitment to be free. In my experience 'making' a commitment is not something we do, it is something we become ready for as we realize it is us who is holding ourselves back. As I have witnessed the common themes of where I am protecting and guarding myself, I have had a growing knowing that I am ready to free myself from the chore of protecting these 'soft spots'. I see the amount of energy, time, and even money that I put into trying to control them. I can feel how I have come to a place where I am tired of it, and I am ready to move on. I am ready to be free.
Third, Michael shares with us that we will get to a point where we just notice ourselves making a different decision in those moments where we usually protect. We see or feel ourselves getting ready to protect/defend/close ourselves and we just choose to let it go instead. He writes that eventually what happens is, "Every place you go there's someone or something trying to disturb you, trying to get your goat. Why not let them have it? If you don't really want it, then don't protect it."
Thoughts that have helped me to let go are:
Stop.
Breathe.
There's nothing wrong going on here.
Choose to open (focusing on my heart or solar plexus area).
I don't know all the answers around this, nor do I need to.
I know micromanaging things never really creates the results/success I am desiring.
What I do know is I don't know all the possibilities here, and I want to stay open to them all.
My work is to relax, breathe, trust, and recognize my inspirations as they appear.
There is an ease and unfolding around this situation I want to find.
I am wanting to move through this to where my true freedom lies.
What do you find helps you to let go in those moments you catch yourself ready to protect?
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