Here is a good question for you. Are you happy with your life? If you were to die tomorrow would you feel satisfied with what you have accomplished, with the way you have lived your life? It?s kind of funny, but one of the things that got me moving in my life was reading the obituaries, which, by the way, was a practice my kids thought was pretty morbid. As I tried to explain to them, at a certain time in your life this is as good a way as any to keep up with old classmates and acquaintances.
But anyway, one day while I was reading the obituaries, I wondered what my obituary would say, and realized it would be really short. I?m not saying I had not done anything with my life, but it did make me start thinking about how I would feel if I died today. What could be said of my life? I set an intention at that moment to do something about my obituary. I decided to live my life in such a way that I would leave a legacy when I went.
This was not a well formed intention, but it was an open door and I went through it. We are Sons of a Creative Force and therefore we are creative, as well. Our intentions are powerful, and if followed through, will transform our lives. Rev. Jack Boland said, ?March forth-and transform your life. Be the person God intends you to be.?
I can?t say that at the moment of the original intention I began marching forward. That was more of an intention to set an intention, but even that was enough to set my life in a new direction. The Universe wants us to succeed, and will conspire to assure our success with only the least invitation.
However, the Universe does not do it for us; It does it with us. Setting an intention is the important first step, but it is just one step. Once we decide to be the person God intends us to be, He provides us with all the support we will ever need. Previously closed doors open, but we must walk through them.
An important thing I learned was that transformation does not take place outside me; it is the work of the mind. Oh, I can learn to use the power of intention to manipulate my world; my job, my finances, my health, my home, all of that. But this doesn?t really change anything. It is like a child spending endless hours rearranging building blocks. It may be entertaining for awhile, and distracting, and even briefly satisfying. But at the end of the day, you just have building blocks. And after all the hard work, someone can just come along and knock them over.
The kind of change I am talking about is real. Change your mind and your world changes. Bring your thoughts in alignment with God?s plan for you, and the world sinks into insignificance. What is it that God wants for you? He wants you to experience yourself as He created you. He wants you to be like Him. He wants you to wake up from this bad dream you are having and realize that you are still as He created you and that you are still part of Him, and He is part of you.
I am not suggesting that there is anything about your true nature that needs to be changed. You are perfect the way you are. There is nothing about you that is wrong or needs to be fixed. We do not have to improve upon God?s creation. The change I am talking about is one of experience. If you are not experiencing yourself as God created you, then there is a way to change that experience. There is a way to awaken from the dream of lack and limitation, and to experience the abundance of God.
There are steps you can take to bring you to this awakened state. The first step is intention. I set an intention to wake up and know God. I didn?t know how to do this, but I did know I wanted to. It has been a stop and go process because this was not my only intention. When my focus is on God, my life begins to take that form. I am peaceful. I experience love, both in the giving and receiving. I am joyous.
When my mind wanders to other goals, things change. I spend my time and energy trying to make life conform to these new goals. I struggle and fight and work hard for little gain. Even when I do attain what I think will make me happy, I am inevitably disappointed. It all seems so hard because I am fighting my own nature. When I acknowledge my Creator and thus my own true nature, I move back into the ease of being a child of God. Nothing else fits me like that role because nothing else is worthy of me as a Son of God.
Once I set my intention to live the life God has planned for me, I needed to develop some mind training. The problem is that my mind wanders. I intend to keep my mind on my goal, to make this my only goal, because a split mind in ineffective, but I get easily distracted. I chose A Course in Miracles as my vehicle for mind training. There are others to choose from, but this one suits me and offers a faster, surer way than most.
So the way this works for me, is that I designed a practice around the Course. The Course has three parts and one of them is a workbook with a lesson for each day of the year. I get up in the morning and make a cup of coffee. With my coffee in hand, I begin to read my lesson. I plan carefully so that I have time to do this. If I have to be someplace early, I plan the night before to wake early enough to do this. I make time for God in my life. In fact, I make sure that God comes first in my life.
It is so easy to find excuses for putting this time off. Life intrudes with seemingly urgent problems. I choose not to respond to these. I put my trust in God. I know that if I give my attention to God first, everything else will fall in line. This is my trust and it does not fail me. I make my commitment and I show up for my commitment.
Rituals can be an important part of a spiritual practice. Once practiced, they send a signal to yourself that it is time to set aside all distractions and begin your sacred work. Some people like an elaborate ritual with candle lighting and gentle music. Some incorporate yoga and lengthy meditations. It is helpful to plan a quiet time that will not be interrupted and to use the same process everyday, a repeatable pattern of behavior that becomes an automatic call to your attention. Because I am often in different places when I wake up, I have created a very simple ritual, but I adhere to it daily.
My spiritual practice does not end with my daily lesson and meditation. My life is my spiritual practice. I practice being aware, that is paying attention to my life. It is through the stories of my life that I can see where my thoughts need correction. I don?t focus on changing the behavior because then I am back to playing with the blocks again. But particular behaviors signal a need to examine my thoughts.
So much of our life is spent in a fog of inattention. We say and do things without even noticing what is going on. Our life just seems to happen to us without our input because we aren?t paying attention, and are not examining our thoughts to see what caused our life to take that turn. Our life is not someone else?s fault, nor did it ?just happen.? Our life is the cumulative effect of our thoughts.
From the spiritual intention of the morning?s ritual, I open my mind to God?s Voice within me. Throughout the day I deliberately ask for guidance. It is not that God needs to be reminded, but that I need to remind myself to step back and let Him lead the way. Through my attentive focus, I notice when my thoughts are not leading me to peace, and I ask for correction. When I am uncertain what to do with circumstances in my life, I ask God how He wants me to use this. It is in this way that my life becomes my spiritual path.
Love is at the heart of every spiritual practice because God is Love. And because God is Love, so are we who were created in His image. To live my life according to God?s plan I must live a life of love. This is not romantic love, though God?s love can be expressed in this situation, too. It is not a special love for a special person. God?s love is impersonal. It is the same for everyone. Nothing is outside God?s love because nothing is outside God. This is my model. I do my best to express universal love; loving without conditions or limits.
Universal love is expressed as patience because I know that God?s Will must be done and so I can afford to wait. It is expressed as compassion because I know that none of us experiences our true Self all the time. It is expressed as devotion because we are all one in God, and my brother deserves my devotion. It is expressed as service because service to my bother is service to the Creator of my brother.
So, am I happy with my life? Yes I am. I am not living a perfect life, but I do the best I can every day. I start and end my day with prayer and I look to God for guidance in all things. I am, more often than not, at peace. I am happy. I don?t know that my obituary will read any different, but I know that at the end of my life I will leave a legacy. I will have made a difference in the world. You won?t read about my contribution in any history books, but the people in my life know they are loved and appreciated. My legacy will be to have lived the life God planned for me to the best of my ability.
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