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Saturday, February 12, 2005
Below is this week's installment of A Course in Creation.
Today, we will continue our Course in Creation. We began with the inside and moved outward. Last week we were moving into the areas of manifestation, your ability to affect the world outside by your thoughts and your actions, all of it working together in concert to give you one unified field which is centered on the firm intentions and commitments of your life.
And today, we will focus on one particular expression of commitment and intention, and that is discipline. Ah, such a cruel word! It makes you think of painful sessions where you force yourself to do what is difficult for you, and that, of course, can be a part of it in the beginning.
For you are still so much a little child, a child who rebels against authority, who tries to break the rules and sneak around to get little treats and treasures. A child who has not yet learned to take full responsibility.
For these go hand-in hand: discipline and responsibility. For when you have truly taken responsibility for your life, when you understand that you can do and achieve anything in the entire world if only you will align your mind, your emotions and your actions, if only you will pull in all of the power which surrounds you and is within you, then you must move into full responsibility.
You are completely responsible for your life. Yes, there were things which were done to you as a child which you could not control. And yes, you developed certain defense mechanisms in response. But all of that is over now. Right now, accept that the past was as it was. Right now, set it aside. Set it all aside, take a look at who and where you are right now, and take full and complete responsibility for what happens from this point forward.
We have spoken much of the powers which you have, of the help which is all around you. But every time you abandon your own commitment, your own disciplines, your own responsibility, you signal to the world around you, to the angels and spirits and gathering energies, that you are not truly committed.
Consider this. You can achieve anything and everything if you will but ask for and summon help and combine it with an unwavering intention to see it through. Yes, you know there will be obstacles. You are prepared to face them and overcome them. Yes, you know it may take years, perhaps many years. But you are prepared to go forward with great patience. And yes, you know that it will require that you make choices, that you forego some pleasures of the moment in favor of certain disciplines which will take you where you wish to go. But then, that is the glory of it, the wonder of it.
For when you walk to the top of the hill in an easy stroll, there is very little growth which takes place. But when you take on that vast mountain, you are a changed person when you reach the summit, and everything that went into getting you to this place was there for that very purpose.
Why should life be easy? What would be the purpose of strolling through life bored and unchallenged, when you might instead pull out all the stops, reach in deep and find the greatest strength which resides within you, pull it out and then use it, not only to take yourself to the next step, but to lead others as well.
But in order to do this, in order to take that next step of mobilizing other people as well as the spiritual dimension to accomplish what you wish to accomplish, you will need to be deeply centered inside, both in your utter and complete belief that you can do what you wish to do, and in the commitment you have to do what it takes.
If you think about it, you will see that the lack of commitment and discipline on the part of a leader is often his downfall. When the minister is caught seducing those he was to care for, for example, the crime is so much greater than when committed by someone who had no moral standing, who was not acting as a leader. But when someone does stick to the disciplines and choices which are demanded of others, Gandhi, for example, the result is incredible power. Power over self which then translates into both spiritual power and worldly power.
And all it takes is alignment. Alignment of all of the parts of your life toward what it is you wish to achieve, so that you are never undermining yourself, never working against the very things you say you wish to have and be, but always taking full responsibility for each and every action and word, every thought and emotion, knowing that it all counts. Yes, it all counts. Not just outward actions, although these count deeply as well. Everything counts.
What would you do if you believed completely that you would succeed in anything and everything you set out to do? What great mountain would you tackle if you believed you could establish and then follow the disciplines which would take you to the top? What if you had complete faith in your own ability to learn to control your own thoughts, emotions and actions, in a loving way? What if you knew, deep inside, that this would then pull toward you talented and committed people to join in your cause? What would you do then?
I wish for you to look upon discipline not as a punishment enforced from outside, but as a very deep form of self love. Exercise, for example, is a great expression of love for your wonderful body, as is a healthy diet. Nothing extreme in either case, but consistent and loving care, applied toward yourself. This is the type of discipline you wish to have.
Begin with your spiritual practice. Get up earlier and every morning, spend time alone doing what you need to do to center yourself, with meditation, perhaps journaling. Then segue into your physical disciplines as well, yoga or walking or dancing, whatever works well for you. Remember that it is your goal the very first thing in the morning to remind yourself of how much you love yourself by giving yourself this time and space to do what you need to do to bring yourself into alignment and balance, giving to all parts of yourself, your mind, your body, your emotions, your soul. All parts need to be fed and balanced and aligned. Spend the time to picture what you wish, to meditate on it, to hold it out in front of you as you meditate and as you exercise your body. Align it all.
Remember that you cannot achieve anything if you allow your body to fall into disease and disrepair. It is very important to give yourself what you need. And from this little exercise of discipline each morning, getting up earlier and giving yourself this great gift, out of this can flow the rest of your day, as you face it with peace and resolve, with a deep commitment to follow through on what needs following through on.
And along the way, you will also apply discipline to achieve some order in your life, so that you are not thrown off your path by unnecessary crises. Just a few disciplines, so that you deal with the administrative, financial and legal issues of your life in a timely way, so that they are never catching you off-guard and putting you in a turmoil. Procrastination is not your friend. Discipline is the opposite of procrastination. It is the ability to just take a deep breath and spend a few minutes doing what must be done, even if it is a bit distasteful. If it is necessary, then do it. Just get it done and then you can breathe freely as you do what you wish to do.
If you are a procrastinator, you will find great release and freedom in overcoming this. You will find such peace opening up as you are then allowed to do the things you wish to do without guilt, knowing that there is nothing hanging over your head, lurking around the corner.
You will also find that great honesty and integrity in your dealings with others will help bring you peace and pull you into a centered place. If you are direct and honest in your dealings and if you do what needs to be done well before the deadline, you will find that you are suddenly able to breathe much more freely. You will also find, over time, that this will improve your health and general well-being.
So take stock. Look at your life and see what needs a little straightening up. Are you wasting time because you are so disorganized that you cannot locate anything? Are you in crisis mode because you are always up against deadlines or wasting money because you have missed deadlines and are now paying penalties and late fees? Are you trying to sneak about and avoid confrontation, thus adding anxiety to your life, when you might instead learn how to walk up to someone, look them straight in the eye, and calmly say what you need to say?
Take a good look at how you behave and what is causing your anxiety and then take care of it. Just do it. Just change the way you act. It will not happen overnight, it is true, but it will happen if you simply decide to change.
You can continue to struggle, fighting your life and what it holds, always battling your weight, your finances and your relationships. Or you can decide that instead of fighting, you will just win. Yes, you can choose this. You can choose to stop undermining yourself with old habits and change. You are fully capable of this. And you are also fully responsible for it.
If your life is chaotic, take responsibility for changing it. Take responsibility for organizing your life, for doing what needs to be done, for instilling disciplines which will free you. Discipline is a great gift of freedom and peace. Give it to yourself now.
I would ask you to see yourself as standing in the middle of a circle. The perimeter of the circle is your life in five years. You will reach that perimeter no matter what you do, for the time will pass. It is up to you to decide how you will spend that time and what your life will be like when you reach that five-year mark.
First, look straight ahead and see what your life will be like if you do not change your habits. Now, turn around in your circle and see the different possibilities. See how a little tiny action right now, if applied consistently for five years, can radically alter where you will end up at the end of that time. If you were to practice a foreign language every day for five years, you would be fluent when you reach that perimeter. You could be playing the guitar, singing, dancing, painting or sculpting, being an actor. You could be completely out of debt and beginning to build a new financial structure for yourself and your family. You could be slender and toned, strong and full of energy. You could have a completely new career, a college degree.
Give yourself the time and the space, hold your intention and commitment out in front of you, and you can do it, whatever it is. And one other thing will happen. If you do this, if you decide what you want to do and give yourself a full five years to achieve it, it is likely to happen in less time than that. For if you hold true to your own disciplines and actions, if you take full responsibility and act in accordance with what you want to achieve, if you stop undermining yourself and whining and making excuses, if you move into full adulthood and do what you need to do, then the entire universe will swing into gear and support you. Support you lavishly, with an abundance of opportunity, an abundance of coincidence and serendipity. Ah, yes, the universe loves it when you love yourself. It is the most powerful place to be.
But what of doing what you enjoy? If you will but begin, if you will overcome that whining child who wants to find easy ways around difficult tasks, if you will move into adulthood, you will learn to love this process. You will learn to look forward to giving yourself this gift of discipline. You will learn to appreciate the beauty and wonder of acting on your own behalf. You will learn to love loving yourself and giving yourself so many great gifts, every day, every moment, for all of your life.
Discipline is only punishment to a willful child, who is rebelling, as if against a stern parent. It is not punishment to a motivated, committed adult who truly wishes to mobilize the universe and accomplish great things. To this adult, it is pleasure, it is joy, it is a loving partnership with the world, to actually do what you intend to do and to do it with commitment and joy. Yes, yes, this is a great gift to give yourself.
And so, this week is cleanup week. This is the week to look at the little crises and bits of chaos which take away your money, your energy and your time, and fix them. Just do it. Stop complaining and wishing your life were other than it is. Stand in the center of that circle and decide now to spin slightly this way or that; alter your behavior just a little, by adding in this activity every day and this one once or twice a week, getting up earlier and watching less television, spending less time in idle talk, and taking more action to move yourself toward what you want in your life.
And then in five years, you will be there, where you had wished to be, and you will also be standing in the center of your life for the next five years, with more wonderful things to do and take action on. Make it a lifting process, so that you are in an upward spiral, accomplishing what you had set out to do and then reaching further, building your confidence and your faith at every upward step.
If you are now in a downward spiral of chaos and depression, just stop. Stop and breathe deeply and set out a few disciplines. Begin with meditation every day. And do whatever other activities you need to do. Begin with baby steps if you like, or with big ones. It is entirely up to you. After all, you have five years to turn yourself around, and if you will but begin with something, you will grow in strength; you will pull yourself up out of that spiral.
Begin also with eating well, so that you are not putting your body out of balance chemically with sugar, caffeine and alcohol, for example. Do just a few things for yourself, to lift yourself up and out of the downward spiral, and then let it build. Keep adding wonderful upward steps until you are moving toward what you wish in your life.
You are capable of doing this. You are deeply loved and all it needs is for you to match the love which the universe holds for you with your own love, expressed in action and discipline. You are an adult. Set aside your childish ways. Set aside those old ways of defensiveness and trying to get out of things. Accept it all. Accept your life with full caring and loving responsibility. Treat yourself as you would a dear friend. Give yourself encouragement. Give yourself support. Give yourself love. You can do it.
And know that for every step you take in the direction of your choice, you are surrounded by angels applauding your every effort. Allow yourself to feel their presence. Allow yourself to know that you are completely surrounded by loving assistance at every turn. Allow yourself to feel this and then be worthy of it, simply by giving yourself what you truly desire. It is really so simple.
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I wish you a joyous week.
Love & peace, Carrie |
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