This morning I was contemplating about how we each solve our individual personal problems. We all have our challenges may they be health related or relationship issues, money troubles or worries about the job, some big some small, but all are looming right in front of us.

When confronted with an unpleasant, unkind, or even horrible, painful experience, do we acknowledge it truthfully, reason it out, handle the issue, or do we just hide whatever it is under the rug?

Is it healthy to ignore the signs and hope that it all will work out at the end? Or is it better to confront the encounter once and for all with faith and courage?

Many times, what we see in this world, especially in our immediate surroundings, is not to our liking. We would do things differently, we say, but are our observations and opinions the correct ones?
We can observe and criticize and complain - or we can look at it and do something about it. A problem is only a challenge waiting to be solved.

But then, of course, there are situation that we cannot do anything about, or so it seems. What then?
I concluded that I must listen to myself carefully. How is my inner chatter? Is it hopeful and confident, filled with faith and cheerful expectations? Or is it tending toward the darkness of my imagination?

I decided that I must choose the words I speak and think wisely. Thinking is causative, and my thoughts and feelings will create my reality, good or bad.

Any situation can be handled if I am willing to take the time and carefully apply right and positive thought. In a matter of fact, it takes a lot of energy to stay negative. So why not turn it around and transform each challenge into an opportunity to grow and evolve? Negative events can turn into positive events when we see them as learning tools.
I must keep the faith, faith in the Allness of Good, faith that all will work out perfectly and I must forgive not only the ones I think have hurt me, but I must forgive myself. My little, brittle ego so easily hurt; forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made over the years and love myself for the daily effort to correct them.

When we forgive (for+give), give from ourselves - and forget (for+get), we will get back our peace of mind. Only then will we return to our natural state, called harmony. Forgiveness is the generosity of the heart. Love is the answer.
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And so, the journey continues: Being good, acting good, doing good, and being a factor in this Universal awareness that is growing and blossoming.

I will start with my own little world and this active loving goodness will spread throughout the Universe little by little. It will prove to me that the Allness of Good (God) exists, now and forever and has always been present. I just need to open my heart and my eyes – and act on it.

I was thinking this morning about ‘lifting’ my perception of self. How do I truly see myself? I find that when we’re genuinely honest with oneself we must admit that we constantly put ourselves down.

‘I’m not smart enough to manage this new technology’, I’m not good enough or I’m not capable to learn a new thing, but mostly in this stage of our lives: ‘I’m too old for this or that’ or ‘you know what happens when you get older’… always something that looks down on our self and isn’t in conformity with the Truth.

Sadly, we believe it and thinking is causative. What we are convinced of will become reality. At least this earthly reality, this deception, this trickery we are born into.

Yes! It seems difficult to awaken from this power of illusion, or cosmic hypnosis, that our earthly life presents to us. It seems so real, so tangible. And so, every time we accept that this movie of life is our true life, with all our pains, sorrows, and miseries, we let God down. We are part of this Almighty Power and our work must consist of finding the Truth, God’s Truth.

The fact is, we are created perfect and good, in his image and likeness, and it is our duty to live up to this standard. It is not always easy, but we can make a concerted effort to live our lives to the best of our ability. To enjoy, love and spread goodness to all. 

In the end, our only responsibility is to ourselves and our spiritual unfoldment. When this sense of conscientiousness and reliability to our own spirit is in balance, we will naturally do the right thing for others, because once we understand life to be “one”, we will spread nothing but goodness and love.

The direction of our Consciousness must always be upward, intentionally seeking a better understanding of Truth. Therefore, I must not coast and be mentally lazy or I will reap the unpleasant rewards of staying in the same daily rut and experiencing the same pains and discomforts. The only way out is to clear my mind of this mental clutter and lift my thoughts to where they belong. What about you? 
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Lately anxiety has been my constant companion. I never knew this debilitating sense of fear, this tightening of the chest, the ringing in the ears and the uncontrollable nervousness expressing itself in shaky hands and a racing heart.

I’ve heard many people talking about their anxieties, but I felt I was a reasonable being, not fearful, very focused and balanced, nothing could shake me up that bad - so I thought. Life has its own way of testing us.

We are living through times of heighten fears with Covid-19 starring into our faces. The violent pictures of people fighting and killing each other over their ideology, instead of communicating and making peace. Not to mention the daily personal challenges with family, children, and spouses. The inevitable health encounters as we age, always relating and being heavily influenced by our own mental state.

I’m asking myself, when was the last time that I felt perfectly calm and at peace? Nothing was troubling to me, nothing bothered my conscience, no worries creeping up in the midst of the night, no hesitation about a project I worked on, a task to be finished. Just blissful content.

And now, in this less than calm state of mind I observe this hectic world of ours and I must ask myself, what would make me less frantic and what would lessen my anxieties? I write in my diary, the good and the bad. The reasonable and the unreasonable. Right or wrong. I think, I ponder, there must be an answer to all of this.

I question myself: I have great faith in the Allness of Good. So what makes me think that there could be anything but the good? Why go to negative expectations instead of having faith in the positive?

Again, I ask: Why do I talk about my problems rather than what’s working well? Does saying it out loud help me to destress? Do I need confirmation that I’m doing the right thing? What does hearing myself speak out loud do to my thought habits? Does it intensify the feeling of being right? Or am I reaching out for help?

I know full well that focusing on the negative is an addictive and destructive habit. Instead, I must talk about what is good in my life, the joys, and upsides rather than the daily frustrations. No more banging my head on the wall. No more feeling the ‘end is near’, rather looking at the light and knowing that ‘a new beginning is awaiting’ with God’s grace.

I cannot fix the outside, my perception of what I see; it’s my inside, my innermost thoughts and feelings, that need attention. I cannot fix the ‘other’, not even a spouse or a child. The law of Individuality is always at work. Intelligence works its perfect way, it is for me to become aware of this fact and fully understand it.
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Practice the Art of Calmness. Letting go of worries and fears - easier said than done, you say? Yes, I know…but only practice makes perfect. We have thought wrongly and negatively for so long, now we’ll have to change our long-held thought habits and turn them into a ray of light. We can do it, I know I’ll surely do the best I can!