Managing the Moment

 There are some things we do well.  There are arenas in our lives where we feel very good – confident, comfortable – enjoying it all.

There are some arenas, however, where we feel frustrated, confused, helpless, hapless and otherwise not having any fun at all.

There are those people who have a wonderful consciousness for prosperity.  Money and such are never an issue for them and they enjoy all the delights of prosperity.  They have a great relationship with money.

At the same time, however, they may have a messy personal life which drains them emotionally and physically and is no fun at all.

Across town are those folks who have great personal relationships, wonderful family life, and a satisfying social life.  Yet they can’t balance a check book and seem to forever have money problems.

Then there are those wonderful folks who enjoy all aspects of their life and everything just seems to fall in place for them.

Most of us have parts of our living experience that are enjoyable, and some areas that alert us that we are not fully in sync with Consciousness.  And that’s okay.  If we could always “get it right” and live in full 24/7 Bliss, we’d probably be on another planet.  Planet Bliss – I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.

I had a discussion with a colleague recently who was distressed with the conundrum of being so skilled, so confident in some areas of life, but so lost, confused, and frustrated in others. 

Why do I have problems HERE while all is well over THERE, and there, and there?

Universe is very, very big and our life experience is much larger than we are typically aware.  There’s lots of room for us to experience ourselves.

It all boils down to relationships.  Not just interacting with other people, but interacting with everything.  LIFE is all about relationships.  In those areas where we have good, effective relationships, we feel the benefit.  In those areas where we stumble around, we feel that as well.

We often hear the phrase “our higher self.”  This is one relationship that is worth developing.

We create our experiences in the various arenas of our Life experience based on our consciousness.  A prosperity consciousness produces that.  A health consciousness produces that.  Varying degrees of consciousness produce the mixed results.  The point is that it is natural to have different levels of consciousness at the same moment.

It may be time to “cut some slack” and step back from dwelling on one thing or another that we are having difficulty with and listen to our higher self – our usual source of intuition.  In this moment do you want to feel good or to feel bad?  It’s a simple question.  But how do you answer?

“Why, George, I want to feel good...BUT...”

Some call it sabotage - along the lines of “the more I thought about it, the angrier I got!”  Well, then cease thinking about “it.”  Gosh, Doc, it only hurts when I press there.  Then don’t press there.

Alas, there is often a better relationship with feeling guilty (or any other variation of bad) than feeling good.   Of course I want to be happy, BUT... let me list all of the reasons why I can’t be happy...let me list those people who won’t allow me to be happy...let me list the sorry conditions I live...  Yet there are those whispers encountered urging a list of what is good right now, a list of gratitude, a listing of appreciation.  These listings evoke good feelings.

Higher Self is consistent.   Yet if we do not have a working relationship with our higher, intuitive, self, we may not only fail to HEAR this sane counsel, but may be unaware it’s even there.  There is no such thing as coincidence.  Every effect has a cause and every cause produces an effect.

On the whole we do not spend a lot of time thinking about those aspects of our life that are doing well.  That’s natural, normal!  What gets our attention are those areas that aren’t in sync with our higher self, or Consciousness.  This is certainly reinforced all around us – news, media, tv, movies, radio – all portraying what is WRONG. 

This is “news” because it’s not NORMAL.  On some instinctive level we know that such conditions/situations/experiences are abnormal, not the norm, not the usual, not a part of the plan, etc.  We focus on a hurricane because…it is rare.  We don’t focus on the usually fine weather.  Or whatever relationship is the issue.  Notice, though, that awareness of the hurricane highlights the pleasure of the gorgeous weather.

Not on the loose

Yet if we dwell on something feared, we cheat ourselves of the enjoyment of the moment and experience the moment.  It’s not some devil or villain  on the loose that robs our joy in life – it’s our own mental sabotage.  Whatever’s on our mind determines how we feel.  The disagreeable thought produces the unpleasant feeling; the unpleasant feeling reinforces the disagreeable thought, and so forth.  It’s quite possible to get so ensnared to become oblivious – feeling so bad, all the time, and totally preoccupied with the negative thought that nothing else can enter the experience.

Escape and freedom from such a vicious cycle can only happen right now.  Not later, not when, not if, but now.  And, no one can do it for you.  They may want to, sincerely, but it’s not possible.  No one can think for another.

Higher Self will allow the mind to settle on a soothing, pleasant concept.  That’s the natural “flow” we hear of.  We naturally flow towards joy unless resisted.  The resistance is attention given to the un-natural/un-normal which produces the bad feelings.  The more we look at something undesirable, the more undesirable we’ll see.  That’s just the way it works.  So, rather than jerk attention back to the negative arena when it takes a moment to dwell on something other (there’s always something more pleasant, more desirable that is accessible to thought in the moment.)

Manage the moment.  Give thanks, appreciation, for every relationship.  With your car, the television, loved ones, your job, APPRECIATE.  The area of challenge can be appreciated – become still and listen for your higher self to provide guidance on improving the situation. 

It all happens NOW.  This Moment.   Enjoy yourself, ashali.