Let go, let God, and listen

Let go, let God, and listen.

Let go. Let God. Listen.

Right now may be the best time ever to let go, let God, and listen. With all that has occurred this month and what is yet is scheduled before it’s over, that is really good advice.

I first heard the adage Let go and let God from my grandmother when I was 9 or 10. She explained it to me something like this: Tim, you don’t have to try to solve every problem you face or to make everything all right all by yourself. You can count on God to do it, and probably you can help.

Since I heard it from my grandmother, I immediately assumed the passage to be from the Bible. Not so. Asked about “Let go and let God”, Google returns dozens of websites, each offering between 5 and 25 scriptures that don’t say those words but give the same idea. Many would say that the actual imperative originated in the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program.

In truth, I don’t believe where this powerful statement comes from is as important as how we might use it right now. Use it with a slight yet significant addition. Now we need to do all three: let go, let God, and listen.

Let Go.

If my grandmother was right, and she almost always was, we want to let go of the assumption that everything is ours to do, that everything is our responsibility to take care of, and that everything is ours to make better. Taking the challenge to create our world by ourselves is the root of duality. In many cases it puts us in competition with Spirit. It almost always sets us up for more tension and stress and frustration and heartache and headache than we want. By letting go of feeling that we must create all the answers, we can be the peace of which we are created.

It is because you did not make yourself that you need be
troubled over nothing.  (A Course in Miracles)

Let God.

The belief that God is the only true Power and Presence there is stands as the truth of most religions. Couple that with the faith that as we are created from peace, which we may also know as love or joy or harmony or goodness…or all of those as One, leaving the “do” up to God is not like passing the buck or shirking our duty. Not at all. The Presence and Power of Spirit is an essential spark in each of us. As that is true, then to “let God” is to let ourselves be God’s expression. We can let ourselves know God as transcendent over everything and as immanent (or intimate) within us. Some refer to that spark as the Christ Spirit.

Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do and, in fact,
will do greater works than these…  (John 14:12)

Listen.

So, we let go of what’s bugging us, that we can let God do it. However, like Jesus said and my grandmother paraphrased, we play a part in the doing. Yet to know what our part of the doing is, we have to listen. My grandmother said that, too.

We listen for the guidance. Our minds tune in for the message. Our hearts pay attention to what we may hear with other than our ears. How?

First of all, being still can quieten our minds. A quiet mind more readily tunes in and waits. If we are not busy worrying, planning, working out solutions, we clearly see whatever blips on our spiritual radar screen. Yes, it may seem mental, but it’s really spiritual.

Secondly, be conscious that listening goes far, far beyond words. And listening goes beyond just hearing. Whatever touches our hearts is something to be listened to. Whatever makes us smile or cry or catch our breath and wonder wants to be listened to. All we have to do is be attentive. This is where the encouragement to “stop and smell the roses” has true meaning. Allow your heart to listen.

Third, opening up to praying is really listening. Praying is definitely not a one-way communication from you to God. The thanks, affirmation, praise, love that we express in our prayers shared with, not merely spoken to, God. I believe that Spirit is as much behind my prayers as on the receiving end. That the diving spark of Spirit is within me supports that belief. Praying is talking to your spiritual Self which is one with God. So, praying is also listening to yourself, as you are one with God.

Prayer to Let Go, Let God and Listen

Good Friend, God, we are grateful for the power
to let go of our desire to control
and to let go of the tension and distraction that can cause.
Our awareness that you are present within us
and that your power we can express
fuels our faith that you are all good
and that everything you do produces pure goodness.
The co-creative power we possess thanks to your presence
allows us to participate with you in expressing good.
We understand that we must listen with our hearts,
not limit expectation to words we hope to hear
but open our attention for messages of every kind
that all our senses can receive.
We affirm our awareness of the good that comes
when we let go and let you guide us with what we listen to you say.
And so it is. And so we thank you, Spirit. Amen

Love and blessings,

Tim

 

 

11 January 2021

 

 

Posted on January 11, 2021 at 6:56 am by Tim · Permalink · Comments Closed
In: Christ Spirit, God, Joy, Love, Peace, Praying, Unity Principles

Making “Happy New Year” Mean Something

Let’s make Happy New Year mean something in 2021.

Making 2021 a happy New year

I missed you and writing and posting here. Really, I have missed the truth of the pandemic affecting me. I was able to come back and post one time after it began. All the while, I’ve assured myself I was riding with it and all was OK. Large parts of my mind still think that’s the truth.

Yet, something kept me away from here and sharing thoughts and feelings about praying. Certainly, I was (almost) as actively praying all along, but I wasn’t bringing it here to share with you.

I missed you.

So. Here I am opening the New Year with every intention in the world (and beyond) that it will be a NEW year, in the sense that it will be different in a whole bunch of ways. I offer a few actions I believe will let each of us and all of us make 2021 a year that is both new and happy.

Let Last Year Go!

I suggest we start with my favorite phrase from Myra Goodman’s Prayer to Welcome the New Year. She suggests that we pray to honor and release last year’s sorrows. Last year was more than a problem, more than a pot full of problems. It sucked.

And it’s over. We honor the sorrows because they occupied time and energy, gave us pain and worry and fear and stress. Anything that takes that much from us must be honored as having an effect. Since 2020 is gone and is no more, we owe it to ourselves to release it. Let it go.  The more we let last year linger in our thoughts and feelings, the less we are letting it go. When it comes to mind, acknowledge it and remember that last year is no more; it is past. For the first few times, you may want to remember that aloud.

Give Virtual Hugs!

Recognize the need for hugs. Not just the value or the pleasure or the sweetness of hugs but the true and utter need all of us have for hugs. And then key into the fact that the familiar arms-around-each-other hug is not the only kind. Consider that the joy of a hug is the emotion and memory that swell from the embrace. While we feel good during the hug, acknowledge how often you think that felt good when it’s over.

So, nice if every hug is a true embrace. But since our arms are not six feet long, let’s bring into play alternative hugs… emotional embraces that feel good when they happen and when they are over.

Some obvious virtual hugs are phone calls, text messages, emails, waves or shouts when the other person is in sight.

What words can replace the arm squeeze of an in-person hug?

Please feel free to comment your virtual hugs below or email me and I’ll post the collection in one of the next three posts.

You Can Take It with You!

Despite all the difficulty of last year, it’s a 100% sure thing that everyone of us found or created and experienced some things that were beneficial, pleasing, rewarding. While we do want to let the cruddy parts of 2020 dissolve and disappear, we really should hold onto anything and everything that was good. Start a checklist today. Write down whatever comes immediately to mind. Keep the list handy for the next month; more and more items will come to mind. Add them to the list.

Here’s what I’ve put on my list so far:

If you think your ideas may jar others’ thoughts, comment below or email me. Please.

Step Up!

More than a hundred times in 2020 I consciously wanted our nation to step up and make things better, make things work, make things right. Although I continued to have those thoughts, they always recalled my granddad’s good advice: When you want something to happen, you have to be part of making it happen.

Papaw’s words tell me that making 2021 new (different) and happy begins with making it that way for me, for myself, and for my Self. True that for each of us.

I am already putting in motion my plan to step up my new, happy year. Here are some parts of that plan:

What will you do in 2021 to step up your own game? Hurray if you’re also stepping up for your community, our nation, this world. Hurray for any and every step you take.

A Prayer to Welcome the New Year (Myra Goodman)

As I stand upon the Earth with the light of the New Year dawning,
I lift my face to welcome the rising sun, grateful for the constancy
of its radiant warmth that coaxes everything to grow.
I pray for loving connection with all of creation,
remembering that I share the sun’s infinite light with all living beings.
I pray to honor and release last year’s sorrows,
to let go of separation and condemnation, and
to have faith in the essential goodness of all beings.
I pray to always live with an awareness of my original infinite nature
in gratitude for the abundance and beauty the Earth graciously bestows.
In this New Year, and forever more, I pray to walk forward in love toward the light.
And so it is. And so we let it be. Amen.

Happy New Year!!

Tim

 

 

4 January 2021

 

Posted on January 4, 2021 at 7:05 am by Tim · Permalink · Comments Closed
In: Affirmation, Change, Commitment, Energy, Gratitude, Happiness, Mindfulness, Praying · Tagged with: , , , ,

Get Past the Upset: Praying’s Just One Way

Getting “past the upset” is what we’ve all been trying for quite some time. Like getting through the gate

Photo by Miriam McCarron

with better on the other side. There are several ways to do that, but first it helps to know what really causes the upset.

Chuck Swindoll was convinced that “life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

I believe that’s true and with all that is going in these times, it’s a really good truth by which to balance our emotions. Another way of looking at it is this: 9 times as much of what we feel is caused by the attitude we carry as causes out attitude. For sure, there has to be something happening for us to react to, so it’s not really a question of which comes first. But the way in which we choose—consciously or subconsciously—to react to the occurrence is our making, 9 times out of 10. And that just may be an underestimation!

Right now, we are facing four major things that give us cause to react. The presidential campaign. The COVID pandemic. The state of our economy. The transparency of racism. And, of course, none of those is a single event; each is comprised of dozens, if not hundreds, of factors to which we are likely to have reactions. One factor that likely applies to all three: longevity. There may not be a soon or sudden end to any of these stressors. We can choose to have that be an overriding concern. Or not.

So, I’m offering a few attitude uplifters to use as positive contributors to the 90% of the time we react to what’s going on. They’re intended to help us not carry stress around with us.

Note what’s past the upset.

Carry a pocket-sized notebook with you. When something threatens to (make you) push your “reaction button”, write a single sentence of the feeling. Take a deep breath. Write another sentence stating why you choose not have to feel that way. Why do this? Because there’s much evidence that writing things down—by hand rather than on a keyboard—connects our spirit, mind, and body. That plants the thought more deeply and securely. So, the final step to take in your notebook: cross out the first sentence.

Example: Hearing about increasing unemployment, I feel ____. I choose not to feel that because ____.

Find thanks past the upset.

Given the seriousness (if not severity) of all that’s occurring in the world currently, it may be difficult (if not impossible) to feel grateful. However, we likely believe the power of gratitude. We probably hold the belief that as we are more thankful, we experience more to be thankful for. If we look closely, we can discover small rewards coming from the big problems. I’ve heard people say:

Phyllis Cole-Dai wrote 58 one-line prayers for the pandemic. She then comprised a poem of the prayers. I can see each of the “May we…” prayers as a different way of saying, “Thank you that…”.

 

When the negative reaction threatens, take that deep breath and think of something for which you are thankful. Let that be the focus for your heart and mind for a few moments. There is a great deal of scientific verification of the benefits of feeling, showing and sharing gratitude. Here are lists of 4, 7, and 28 such benefits.

Pray past the upset.

I have recently found myself praying in a For-That-Thanks sequence. I’m not sure where it came from, but I find it delightfully fulfilling.

Praying for is praying for the reason, not so much praying to receive.
I am praying for my feelings about the increasing clarity around racism.

Praying that is to affirm the prayer’s manifestation, outcome, results.
My praying affirms that recognizing my racism allows me to counter it, release, and be free of it.

Praying thanks is releasing the prayer to Spirit, giving thanks in advance for its manifestation.
I am thankful for my awareness, my eagerness to free myself of racism, and the forgiving love accompanying.

Prayer for the 90%

Wonderful Spirit,
with unlimited energy and increasing awareness
I bring this prayer forward for the numerous concerns
present now in our world.

The reasons for this prayer are
health and well-being of everyone on earth,
intelligence and harmony among all Americans electing our president,
stability and success concerning our economy, and
perhaps most important the release and disappearance of racism.

And so, Spirit, I affirm that we know and affirm the well-being of our bodies,
the arrival of the best medical solutions, and
the most effective behaviors and restraints by each and all of us.
I affirm these see us through and beyond the corona-virus.
Spirit, I affirm that the election of our president be a true demonstration
of all that’s right and good about our democracy.
I affirm peace and energy, harmony and respect
by every voter for every voter that the outcome
be what is best for our country and accepted by every citizen.
As affirmation I pray that our economy return to successful operation
and that employment become the norm for all who can work
and that financial security is enjoyed by everyone
With sincere heart and intention, I affirm recognition by all
that racism is reality and need not be. And then, I affirm the certainty
that I understand my racism and release myself from its chains.

That I affirm what’s true, I thank you Spirit. I thank you for discovery
and realization. Thank you. And so it is. Amen.

Love & Blessings,

Tim

 

 

25 August 2020

Posted on August 25, 2020 at 6:31 am by Tim · Permalink · Comments Closed
In: Happiness, Life, Oneness, Peace, Prayer, Praying · Tagged with: ,

Peace Is Always at Hand: 5 Ways to Know It

Peace is always at hand. The pandemic is not over. The presidential election is some 90 days away. The economy is fraught with tension.

Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash

Peace, though, is always at hand.

I believe the key to finding peace is simply knowing, believing that peace is always at hand. Peace is always within us. We are peace, each of us. We are the same peace. The peace that is love. That is joy. And that is harmony. Peace that is Spirit.

If we allow ourselves to relax just long enough, we can bring our awareness into contact with that peace. Therefore, if we take a break from all the thinking about what is going wrong. Don’t worry about it going away if you’re not worrying about it. Because, it will be there for your worry when you get back…if you want it to be.

Peace Is Always at Hand

Let me offer you 5 simple practices to make your way to peace. observe, breathe, move, be still, pray. Emphasis on the word “practices”. The more you practice each and all of them, then the more proficient you will become and the more peace you will experience. The more proficient you become, then the more likely that you will make each or all of these your regular practice.

Five Ways to Peace

Observe. Although there is more beauty and more wonder in the physical world than we can experience in all our life., there is not too much to observe for just a few minutes. Select something you will enjoy looking at. For 3-5 minutes simply observe. Observe closely each detail. View broadly  its entire scope. Look at it. Look into it. See how it must have been before. See how it might become after. The more often you practice this, the more ways you will discover and create to observe. Hold what you observe in your memory.

Breathe. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, pay attention to your breath and your breathing. Notice the rhythm of your breathing. Change the rhythm and pay attention to the difference. Play with breathing. Give meaning or metaphor to inhaling and different meaning or metaphor to the exhaling. Don’t rush. Take your time breathing and focusing on breathing, feeling breathing when you concentrate on it.  Hold the calm that breathing brings.

Move. Without any regard for the “right way” to move, just move. Pay attention to what your body parts do and how they work in such wonderful unison. Notice how the movement, the attention to your movement, brings you joy and that the joy is peace. Run. Walk. Swim. Dance. Hop. Stretch. Skip. Roll. Jump. Wave. Sway.

Be Still. This is stillness not of your body only, but of your senses, your thinking. Remove yourself from all distractions. Be mindful of being at rest. Still. At peace. Concentrate on the absence of motion, of doing. Focus on the fact that at this moment you are doing nothing except being. Free yourself from thinking how much work goes into being. The world around you may be moving at the rate of three times hubbub. For these few moments you do not have to. You do not want to. And so you do not. You are still.

Pray. To pray is to communicate with Spirit. That communication happens in an infinite number of ways. It may be spoken but it does not have to be. It may be written but it does not have to be. Praying can be silent or aloud. It can be in motion or at rest. Praying is simply and wonderfully your awareness that you know the presence of Spirit and you know Spirit is aware of you. That is communication with Spirit. To magnify the power of praying to let you know peace may be to make time for praying. To consciously know that as you pray—no matter the focus or the content of your praying—you bring the peace you are to the surface of your being. Consider that the other four ways to peace are praying in themselves.

Praying because Peace Is Always at Hand

Power. Presence. Peace.
How wonderful to know full well You are, I am, We are.
Thank you, Good Friend, from whom I come, with which I am made,
for giving me the power and the presence that come from peace.
I thank you, too, for allowing me to know and to practice
simple joys that pull peace to my surface being,
as I know your peace is always present within me.

With comfort and grace I expect and respect your gentle guidance
in the things I do that I may know
that peace is always at hand. I do this
by observing peace in so many forms,
from breathing the full complement of peace continually,
when moving with peace and through peace and as peace,
by being still in the presence and with the fullness of peace,
thanks to praying from peace and for peace.
Thank you, Spirit, for the peace I am and share and have.
And so it is, and so celebrate the Christ within. Amen.

Love & blessings,
Tim

 

 

17 August 2020

 

 

Posted on August 17, 2020 at 9:30 am by Tim · Permalink · Comments Closed
In: Beauty, Breath, Inner Peace, Peace, Prayer, Praying · Tagged with: , ,