Your Creative Life

Fear of Change

I recently conducted a workshop at my local community college. I had designed and subsequently presented said workshop, titled "What is Getting in the Way of the Life You Want?"

The purpose of the workshop was to take time to notice habits that no longer serve and are causing unnecessary pain. Six participants actually showed up. As did I.

I don't know if the workshop changed lives and I can only hope that the participants came away with something.

What I gained from the experience was what each participant brought. The common thread was that each was experiencing some kind of change in their lives and were looking for some answers about how to negotiate the change and ease the pain.

At 64 years in retrospect the constant has always been change and how to survive it.

Be Quiet and Still

Since it's so difficult to be still in this overly stimulated culture of ours, I've chosen to be still as if my life depends on it. A practice and the practical apply.

Here's more from the How to Listen to God pamphlet -

These are the conditions:
- To be quiet and still
- To listen

So, with these basic elements as a background, here are specific
suggestions on how to listen to God:

I . Take Time

Find some place and time where you can be alone, quiet and undisturbed.
Most people have found that the early morning is the best time. Have with
you some paper and pen or pencil.

2. Relax

Sit in a comfortable position. Consciously relax all your muscles. Be
loose. There is no hurry. There needs to be no strain during these minutes.
God cannot get through to us if we are tense and anxious about later
responsibilities.

3. Tune In

Open your heart to God. Either silently or aloud, just say to God in a
natural way that you would like to find His plan for your life-you want
His answer to the problem or situation that you are facing just now. Be
definite and specific in your request.

4. Listen

Just be still, quiet, relaxed and open. Let your mind go "loose." Let God
do the talking. Thoughts, ideas, and impressions will begin to come into
your mind and heart. Be alert and aware and open to every one.

Do Fish Know They Swim in Water?

I'm sure this has been asked before. More appropriate might be do we humans know we are in and of a sea of love. I find this difficult at times to accept or comprehend. I need evidence being of a somewhat legal, analytical mind. (I asked a lawyer once what are the first 4 letters of analysis? The response was delicious).

However, I'm reminded of Chogyam Trungpa's discussions of Basic Goodness and a portion of the pamphlet by Chaplain John E. Batterson:

"These are a few simple suggestions for people who are willing to make an experiment. You can discover for yourself the most important and practical thing any human being can ever learn--how to be in touch with God.

All that is needed is the willingness to try it honestly. Every person who has done this consistently and sincerely has found that it really works.

Before you begin, look over these fundamental points. They are true and are based on the experience of thousands of people.

1.  God is alive. He always has been and He always will be.

2.  God knows everything.

3.    God can do anything.

4.    God can be everywhere--all at the same time. (These are the important differences between God and us human beings).

5.  God is invisible--we can't see Him or touch Him--But God is here. He is with you now. He is beside you. He surrounds you. He fills the room or the whole place where you are right now. He is in you now. He is in your heart.

6.  God cares very much for you. He is interested in you. He has a plan for your life. He has an answer for every need and problem you face.

7.    God will tell you all that you need to know. He will not always tell you all that you want to know.

8.    God will help you do anything that He asks you to do.

9.    Anyone can be in touch with God, anywhere and at any time, if the conditions are obeyed.

These are the conditions: 

·       To be quiet and still

·       To listen

·       To be honest about every thought that comes

·       To test the thoughts to be sure that they come from God

·       To obey."

Being Present

BE GRATEFUL TO EVERYONE

Without this world, we cannot attain enlightenment. Without this world,

there would be no journey. By rejecting the world we would be rejecting the

ground and rejecting the path. All our past history and all our neurosis is

related with others in some sense. All our experiences are based on others,

basically. As long as we have a sense of practice, some realization that we

are treading on the path, every one of those little details, which are

seemingly obstacles to us, becomes an essential part of the path. Without

them, we cannot attain anything at all -- we have no feedback, we have

nothing to work with, absolutely nothing to work with. So in a sense all

the things taking place around our world, all the irritations and all the

problems, are crucial.

  From "Point Three: Transformation of Bad Circumstances" in TRAINING THE

MIND AND CULTIVATING LOVING KINDNESS, pages 88-89 by Chogyam Trungpa.

Being present in the world is a good place. We only conjure that it is not.

Don't Be Afraid of Who You Are

With the practice of sitting meditation, I'm able to begin to have some comprehension of this slogan that is presented in Shambhala Training and written by Chogyam Trungpa.

In meditation I'm able to sit and be with my thoughts, observe how they come and go and are replaced by another thought - a constant stream. This is all there is and I don't have to be afraid of who I think I am.

Time to Review

It's time for me to take a look at what I've learned so far.

• Begin with a question that may turn out to be based on a falsehood.
• Examine core beliefs that don't work.
• Develop a meditation practice.
• Relate everything I do to a higher goal or purpose.
• Acquire the belief that I am connected to a higher power, others and myself.
• Discard the beliefs that I'm not connected, that I'm alone, that I'm not worthy.
• Acquire the belief that I'm creative because I must be/am and that I cannot not be creative.

These compare favorably with Julia Cameron's Basic Principles in The Artist's Way.

Relate from Your Heart

   Relate from your heart. Prof. Ray defines compassion as seeing the highest in your Self first and then seeing the highest in others. He says if we have a full, rich feeling of self-worth, we have already taken the first step toward having compassion. If we see others from this perspective, we begin to change the nature of our relationships for the better. We make connections that move us toward the highest goal.

  He says further that when we experience compassion we experience our vast inner resource in the form of love we have within us. When we experience this we are experiencing the highest goal. This love doesn't come from the other person. It's within us. In fact, he says, a great teacher once said there is enough love in the individual human heart to fill the universe. When we relate with our heart we understand that there is only one way to meet the challenge of relationships with the people in our world: the way of compassion - seeing the highest first in yourself and then in others.

   Somewhat recently I've experienced what Prof. Ray is talking about consequent to sitting meditation. I had been told that I was well-defended by my therapist. I took this as a compliment at the time. I could probably add that I might have been a bit shallow as well. During meditation I noticed that my chest felt like it had been cracked open. I felt joy but also sadness simultaneously. I've come to see this as the experience of compassion. Indeed, my perspective has changed for the better of myself and others.

Turn Fear Into Breakthroughs

   Turn Fear Into Breakthroughs. When we have the grounding of the highest goal, we can see our fears for what they are. Learn from them, and turn their energy into breakthroughs and opportunities of the most lasting kind.

   Prof. Ray says an option is to move toward our fears rather than moving away or fighting them. By approaching them, we get to know them and where they come from. Observe the fear, stay with it, and learn what the most appropriate reaction might be. When fear comes, observe what happens. Note your physical sensation. What can you learn from the fear? It will normally disappear, and the mind becomes clear.

   Sakyong Mipham says in Turning the Mind Into an Ally that many of us are slaves to our minds. Our own mind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay but anxiety keeps us awake at night. He says further that if we want to undo our own bewilderment and suffering and be of benefit to others and the planet, we're going to have to be responsible for learning what our own mind is and how it works, no matter what beliefs we hold. Once we see how our mind works, we see how our life works too.That changes us.

Travel Your Own Path

   Travel Your Own Path.  Prof. Ray asks: What does the highest goal mean to you right now? The necessity of finding and following our own path is the stuff of timeless legend and lore. Yet we often avoid the quest for the highest goal because it is frightening to create our own way.

   I contend that we develop habits, habitual ways of responding to life, that we think protect us, but actually get in our way. Prof. Ray provides that the key is to pay attention to what works for us so that we begin to develop our own path. The benefits are that the more we develop and stay on our own path the more self-worth and purpose we have, and the more we will want the rewards that support a meaningful life. Our experience of the highest goal will become its own reward, a beneficial addiction that can increase the meaning of our lives and the transformation of the world.

   I didn't begin to follow a/my path until I stopped drinking and committed to a twelve step program. Indeed, I had to renounce my addiction to drink in order to find and practice the twelve steps. Whatever I do now must conform to these steps, something that is practical and works. I've also begun a dedicated practice of sitting meditation. I've chosen Shambhala training because it too is practical and works.

Beyond Passion and Success

   Go Beyond Passion and Success. Prof. Ray says that living for the highest goal is radically different from what is normally considered the highest goal: reaching success in external terms and having passion for what you do in life. Most of us sub-optimize. We tend to be satisfied with the short term and that which is transitory. He says to go beyond these lesser goals in order to use the gift of life we have been given.

   How does this apply to me?  Upon reflection I have been closed and defensive and wondering why my life is going nowhere and why I'm not getting what I want in life. My intention was to retire after 30 years so I could enjoy life, that is, play golf and travel. Now I see that I was settling for something less, what was expected, just relative success. But when I retired, I got bored quickly and then I decided to do what I wanted to do all along: To follow a path of spirit. That has meant developing a discipline and practice of daily sitting meditation. This has begun to open my heart and I've started to wake up.