Julie's beautiful insight of our "response to perception" reminded me of the following: A few months ago I was struggling with two different directions to go, fearing that I'd have to give up one dream to follow the other. A friend then told me, "Dreams don't have to compete." What a gift.
For the last couple of weeks I have been encountering this phrase over and over again, unexpectedly, and I've wondered why. At the same time I've been stressing about many things I want to accomplish and wondering how in the world I'm going to do it all. I awoke yesterday realizing that again I had two dreams and one seemed to be getting in the way of the other. Was it time to give one of them up? I thought about it all day--what should I do? That evening I found myself suddenly staring at this same wonderful phrase where I had posted it on the wall. Ah, that's why I needed to be reminded of this. Now is the time to apply it.
As I relaxed about my situation I began to realize other things as well. I always have the availability of divine inspiration to give me ideas about how to proceed. Information, inspiration, is in constant flow around me. There are no times when Spirit is not working or giving me direction. But when I begin to think that nothing's going on, that once again I have a problem that seems to have no solution, I'm not seeing truly. The truth is that I am one with Spirit and my mind is connected to God's. So how can there ever be a time when nothing is happening? There can't. I am always being guided by the thoughts of God because God is always thinking. I always know what to do, I just don't always know that I know because I'm not paying attention.
Jack Kornfield says that when we see the endless mental stories of fear and judgment that repeat over and over, we can, through mindfulness, "let them go and relax, steady the mind, and return to the present." When I steady my mind, return to center, and change my perception, I know what to do.
