Practical Enlightenment by Ariel & Shya Kane
When you are operating as though what happens in your life is supposed to happen, then life becomes an adventure. When life is a discovery; an ever-expanding experience of living, and when every occurrence is held as though it is perfect, you are enlightened. When you feel a genuine “Yes!” to how life is showing up, or when you interact with the people you meet as though you are meant to be there with them — then this moment is your destiny, and life becomes a joy.
Instantaneous transformation happens when you are living in the current moment of your life. This moment – right now – is all there is. Something in the future will not get here until it does, and when it does, it will occur as a moment of now.
Anything that you disagree with is what you are stuck with, however, what you allow to just be the way it is, allows you the freedom to be yourself. This moment is perfect exactly as it is.
The moment we stopped working on ourselves to get “better”, our lives instantaneously transformed. This has profoundly impacted everything. What we have learned is not to take ourselves so seriously and not to work so hard to get somewhere. We have learned that life shows up exactly as it does in each moment, and it rarely, if ever, shows up to meet our exact preferences. If meeting your preferences determines your well-being, chances are that you’ll never feel well, even if you meet your goals, thus operating as though what happens in your life is supposed to happen is “practical enlightenment.”
We often hear people say, “Okay, I accept this situation. It is what it is.” Roughly translated, that means, “I don’t like it… but I’ll get over it.” This kind of acceptance is a “No” in disguise. When you are a “No” to your life, even if it is disguised, then your well-being or lack thereof is blamed on circumstances. You can either be the victim of your life or the author of your life. As the victim of your life, circumstances determine your sense of well-being, satisfaction, and accomplishment. If it doesn’t work out, it’s always caused from outside you. What we’re talking about it is truly being a “Yes” to the way your life is unfolding, in each moment.
Your life shows up as a reflection of how you are “being.” All is unfolding exactly as it is intended to. When you disagree with the way your life is showing up, which, by the way, is how we have all been taught to relate to life, then you are in a constant state of incompletion and disharmony. If you are resisting the way your life is showing up and say “No”, you perpetuate those very things you resist. Being a “Yes” to your life and the way your life is showing up in each moment shifts your reality and allows you to truly take control. Saying “Yes” and meaning it is a skill set. With practice, you’ll get better at being a “Yes”, regardless of the circumstances.
YOUR THOUGHTS CREATE YOUR EMOTIONS — A Guide to the Present Moment By Noah Elkrief
Emotions seem inevitable and inescapable while you’re in their grip. If you’re willing to look at your life with real honesty, it is possible to discover that your emotions are all created by thoughts in your mind – thoughts about yourself, your relationships, your situations, your past, your future and each of them can vanish in an instant if you just stop believing these thoughts to be true.
If a random person tells you, “The world is going to end tomorrow”, and you believe this, how would you feel? You will likely experience fear. But if you didn’t believe them, then how would their comment make you feel? You almost certainly wouldn’t feel any fear. If a co-worker tells you, “I deleted all of your emails!”, and you believe them, how do you think you would feel? You would probably get angry. But if your co-worker told you this, and you didn’t believe them at all because they are always joking around, then how do you think you would feel? You surely wouldn’t experience anger because there would be not be anything to be angry about.
These scenarios demonstrate that when you believe someone’s words to be true, they create emotions. But when you don’t believe someone’s words, their words don’t have the power to create emotions. The same is true of the thoughts (words) in your mind. If you believe a negative thought about yourself or your life, that thought will create an unwanted emotion. However, if you don’t believe that thought, it quite simply won’t create the unwanted emotion.
TIME FOR SELF NEWSLETTER contributed by:
Heather Young, owner of Time for Self
Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) / Yuen Method™/ Holistic Practitioner
Certified Personal Transformation Coach / Alternative and Energetic Medicines
403-358-2362 — Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
