It feels like such a long time since I’ve written. Chris and I were on vacation for two weeks, one of which we were actually gone, and one we spent settling back in and working to prepare for yesterday’s service and getting our house and garden back in shape. It feels good to be jumping back in fully, rested and ready to go.
The time away has allowed me to get back into my healthier physical patterns, like starting every day with not only Spiritual Practice, but an hour-long walk. I am happy to report that I have maintained them, even before church yesterday! It has also afforded me the retreat time to allow Spirit’s Guidance to reveal my next steps. Part of what is next for my Ministry is tying in my daily writing to the Mystic Heart monthly themes, making them more coherent with one another, and more relevant to the Sunday Taize and Celebration Services. So, here we go!
This month’s theme is Free to Be Me. We will be exploring the idea of Spiritual Liberation…what that means to us, what may be blocking us from experiencing it, and practices that can help lead us in the direction of Spiritual Freedom. This week’s writing will be focused on Opening to Possibility. Why? Because if I don’t see Spiritual Awakening and Freedom as a real possibility in my life, it is highly unlikely that I will experience it. And truth be told, many of us have a conscious or unconscious belief that awakening, enlightenment, is for other people…spiritual people…shamans…gurus…saints. We see it as unattainable for us. We are familiar with all of our perceived faults and foibles, and somehow imagine that awakened beings are flawless.
Opening to possibility, or stepping into possibility consciousness is like tilling and preparing the field or soil of my mind before planting new seeds, increasing the likelihood that they will bloom. It is actually a conscious preparation for a journey of awakening, one that allows me to do identify and remove my assumptions of limitation. In this way, I can generate a clear and unshakeable intention to awaken. Clarifying and deepening my intention will serve as fuel that will empower my Practice, and ultimately make the journey possible. Doesn’t this make sense? Think about your last vacation. Didn’t you spend time planning and preparing for the trip? Some of this may have been physical preparation like scheduling, purchasing, and packing. But it is likely that you also prepared mentally…imagining what it would be like, seeing yourself in the place you were travelling to, expecting that it would be enjoyable. Isn’t it true that the more prepared we are, the more determined we become to make the journey, the more likely it will unfold gracefully to its completion?
Before we look at the first potential block to spiritual awakening and liberation, I want to define what I mean by opening to possibility. Sometimes we can get confused by New Thought teachings that seem to be saying that if only we believe enough, we can make it so. And there is an element of belief, or better of faith, that is required to even approach the idea of enlightenment. But I want to make certain that you don’t confuse possibility consciousness with magical thinking. “If only my belief was strong enough that I could fly, then I could.” In this physical body, on this material plane, at this stage of my spiritual evolution, I had better not jump off any rooftops.
What I’m really talking about is stepping into a consciousness that doesn’t impose limitations on my experience. It means that I may not be sure what is possible AND I don’t assume things are impossible. We do have a tendency to unconsciously impose limitations on what is possible. Why? Because of our previous experience in similar situations. This is one of the powerful ways we learn…by paying attention to what doesn’t work. But does this always serve us? Of course not. Nonetheless, I may come to believe that because a marriage ended in divorce, I am unlovable or don’t have what it takes to be happy in relationship. I put up conscious or unconscious blocks to the development of a new experience of love in my life. Or maybe I have been fired from a job and I unconsciously steer clear of anything that reminds me of that situation. Or maybe I was told I wasn’t smart and felt unsuccessful in school, and so anytime an opportunity to learn something new comes along, I shy away from it. You get the picture. Basically, we experience what feels like limitation and then project it onto future possibilities.
Can you see how this gets in our way? Sometimes the assumption of limitation is so strong that we become cynical or pessimistic about life in general. But for most of us it is much more subtle and difficult to see. And while this habit pattern causes problems in our daily experience of living, it is really a problem for one seeking to walk the spiritual path to Freedom. I have first created a block by assuming that enlightenment is not a possibility for someone like me (limitation number 1). And then, I reinforce the blockage with my projection. Because I have never lived as an awakened being before, I assume that it is impossible for my future. (limitation number 2). I sense that awakening to the Truth of Being would change me in profound ways, that my life would be more Graceful, that my sense of Peace and Harmony would be greater, that my choices, words, and actions would be Guided by a Higher Wisdom, and all would be well. But in the background the program is running that says, “it couldn’t really be that great, because it hasn’t up until now.” This pattern of assuming limitation will undermine the urge to stretch toward the Ultimate, the Infinite…will prevent me from living from my God Self.
The assumption of limitation is really a life-denying use of Spiritual Principle. It is an expression of the Law of Cause and Effect in a couple of its configurations…the Law of Faith and the Law of Expectancy. But the mystics of all traditions have told us that we are not bound by what has come before, but rather, by what is alive in our hearts and minds here and now. Ernest Holmes, founder of Science of Mind and Spirit, said that “Principle is not bound by Precedent.” When I change what I believe or expect, when I redirect my faith, in that instant, everything changes. My possibilities have just expanded 10-fold, or more.
What would it mean to live life with no assumption of limitation, being completely open to possibility? I invite you to spend some time in contemplation. Where are the places in your experience that the assumption of limitation may be getting in the way of your greater experience of Life, your fuller expression of Self? Know that by your very asking, Spirit is ever at the ready to reveal what is required to make the next step toward Illumination, and toward a sense of Freedom like you’ve never known before.
I step into Possibility Consciousness, knowing that in God, there are no limitations. And in Truth, I Am a perfect and intentional expression of the Divine. So there are no limitations on my ability to live a life of Spiritual Liberation. Let the journey begin!
May we all be well…stay in touch…know our unity…and thrive!
And may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day…
