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July-September, 2019

How Do You See Your Life? How Does Your Helpful Self See Your Life?

by Rev. Mary Gerard Lenihan, O.M.C.

Do you ever notice those thoughts in your mind telling you all the things wrong with you and your life? I do. As a Pause for Inspiration Mentor, I run across a lot of people who do too! We tend to think we are alone in having these thoughts; we’re not. Thoughts telling you that there is no hope for you, you’ve made too many wrong turns, why bother, it’s too late for me, etc., are favorite one-liners of this me-jokester. But we don’t have to believe the words of this confounded joker.

Yesterday, I was about to do some simple movements to help calm my mind and wring out accumulated stress. I always begin with a Pause for Inspiration, and in this one pause, I received the following suggestion from My Helpful Self, “Let go of your perceptions and judgments of you and your life.”

WOW! This was a direct solution to a problem so many of us roll over again and again in our minds. The list of negative opinions we have about ourselves and the lives we live — a dirty laundry list from this cubicle mind who is always gossiping about us to ourselves! I can forget about what I think anyone else thinks of who I am and look at the nonsense and lies I am thinking and believing about who I am. 

In that momentary Pause for Inspiration I was shown how easily I can make my day miserable or peaceful by choosing to not listen to that me-character who is by the way, constantly assessing itself, analyzing itself, sizing itself up and down, and comparing itself to others.

Your Helpful Self has a whole different view of you. So, switch out the headphones playing such greatest hits as, “Something is wrong with me and my life.” How?

Instructions For Switching Out Headphones: Pick up a Pause for Inspiration practice card, read it and be willing to be easily guided out of hassling yourself and into Accepting Your Helpful Self. If the new headphones seemed to have failed, repeat instructions.

A student of Pause for Inspiration courageously shared his experience after being guided through, “Getting to Know Your Helpful Self.” He shared that at first it felt weird to open to connecting with his Helpful Self, but his experience shifted from feeling weird to feeling comfortable as he realized that his Helpful Self is him!

So, who has time to Pause for Inspiration? One student dealing with impatience shared how after asking her Helpful Self, “What will be truly helpful now?” she saw herself staying with someone through a conversation even when she felt like bolting out the door. She could practice Pause to be present and listen to another. She also had the insight that this practice is like “multitasking and meditating at the same time!”

She is right on! I don’t have to stop doing the things I need to do to Pause for Inspiration. I can pause in motion with my helpful self!

© 2019, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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