Tag: shift

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Closets

I believe this is the first post that I have written that forced itself out of me. The topic kept coming back and despite the fact that I resisted it, it would not be denied.

Why? What was I trying to avoid? I wasn’t sure but I knew I had to explore it.

Have there been times in your life when you knew something important was about to happen, but there was an element of concern in your mind? Maybe I ought to be clearer, I don’t mean ‘concern’, but straight up ‘fear’.

That’s the sense I had when the topic, ‘closets’, came into view.

The first thought I had was simple enough. After all we have lots of closets in our house, most of them pretty full. Some have clothes, shoes, boot, jackets, hats, and other articles of clothing. Others have towels, sheets, our vacuum, extra Kleenex and toilet paper, and a host of miscellaneous things.

Okay, no big deal there.

I did notice that closets are places to hide things you don’t want to see out in the open, because they would be too messy or take up too much space you need for other things.

This observation seemed to offer a clue, but the picture still wasn’t clear.

I remembered a saying about closets, that they are a place to store your skeletons. I checked out Wikipedia and discovered the saying came from 19th century England and was an idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact about someone which, if revealed, would damage perceptions of the person.

So, now I’m getting closer. Closets are an important hiding place for what you don’t want others to know about you. They house secrets and hide what we might describe as shameful things. I wondered; don’t we all have things we hope never see the light of day? Things we’ve thought or done that if others knew, would alter their opinions of us?

That’s closer to my fear about not wanting to write this post, but not the end point yet.

It only took a second longer to realize that closets have a much more significant reference point…’coming out of the closet’, where an individual reveals their sexuality, rather than hiding it. For those brave people who take this extraordinary step in their lives, I want to say, bravo to you.

Allowing others in society to dictate who a person can or cannot be through the use of shame, denial, stigma, humiliation, or any other form of control, devalues all humanity, especially those who refuse to continue hiding who they really are.

Unfortunately, many feel a strong sense of need to adhere to a set of religious beliefs that have been taught to them. Beliefs that are fear based rather than love based.

I fully realize this is an emotionally charged topic and is often seen as divisive, with only polar views, so that any stand I voice may be both popular and unpopular.

Okay, now it’s obvious to me why I wanted to resist this post.

But I have to take a stand.

I believe in love. Love opens, expands, embraces, forgives, accepts, is compassionate, caring and, valuing. It is the foundation of everything.

I also believe that the only role that fear plays is to be a messenger, a guide, a redirection from itself back to a state of love. Fear is meant to be temporary. Love is meant to be permanent.

I stand with all those who believe in love and encourage all those who believe in fear to use it to return to love.

Everything is out in the open in love and nothing is hidden, nor does it need to be. I believe we all are meant to be who we are in this life. We have free will for this very purpose and it is not up to anyone to control another’s view of their life. I believe love offers us all a chance to embrace our lives in the ways we choose.

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Holding and Releasing

I’ve been thinking about what it means to hold onto things and the value there can be in releasing them.

Here’s a simple, quick test for you.

Stand up and pick up something in each hand, like a book or other small object, then raise both of your arms, stretching them away from your body at shoulder height. Okay, now hold this position for as long as you can. You can also modify this if you can’t stand up at the moment. Simply hold the objects as if you were standing.

It’s incredible to me how fatiguing this exercise can be, despite the limited amount of weight you’re holding. Of course, the fact is, you’re also holding up the weight of each of your arms. After a little research, I discovered a 190-pound persons arms weight about 10 pounds each, which adds to the difficulty of sustained holding.

Why does any of this matter unless you are a body builder and need to increase your strength? Well, for me, it’s because the physical challenge of this exercise has emotional, intellectual, and spiritual ramifications.

How, you ask?

Imagine that instead of physical weights, you substitute something else. Here’s a few examples I’d offer, but if something more personally relevant strikes you, please use it in place of what I’ve provided.

Imagine someone in your life just said something mean to you, or you remember a time a year ago, ten years ago or from your childhood where you felt ignored, abused, or devalued.

If it was easy to conjure up this image, it’s clearly something you’re still holding on to. Something that has weight and the longer you hold it, the heavier it gets. You may think you’ve let it go, but if you still remember it, you probably haven’t.

And what about a time when you couldn’t get something done because it was too hard. You didn’t understand it or didn’t have enough time or a good enough teacher to help you. And because of this, you failed. How heavy is the feeling of failure to you?

Can you visualize a time when your spirit suffered because you felt too weak or too small? Perhaps someone else convinced you that you were not spiritually worthy, not lovable, not valuable. I suspect the weight of this cannot be measured.

So, what is the antidote?

From the title of this post, you may realize that, in my view, it is the act of releasing, of letting go of the weight, setting it down or setting it aside, that is the antidote.

Easier said than done, you might be thinking. Or you may be entertaining the question, how is it possible to release what you are still holding?

As with all things, I believe it begins by making a conscious choice, recognizing that you have the power to choose the direction of your life. The decisions and actions of others are their ‘business’, not yours, and you needn’t have any investment in them.

Because you have ‘free will’, you are in charge of what to keep and what to release, no matter what others tell you. And you are the one to decide if you take anything personally that others say to you. You have the freedom to choose, and you can exercise this freedom in every moment of your life.

Some things that we have absorbed over the years have taken root in us, but we can make a practice of releasing them. Each and every time they surface, we can acknowledge them and the weight they place on us and bid them farewell, knowing they are no longer necessary in our lives. We’ve experienced them enough and can let them go.

This may only take one time, but it may also have to be repeated, before we are free from them.

I wish you well with your practice.

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What Is Valuable

I am constantly coming up with questions I feel are important for me to consider.

One consistent thing that others have told to me over the years, whether at work, home, church, or casual conversations, is that I ask good questions. I take from that, that there is some immediately perceived value they sense. It’s probably not so much about my question, as what it stirs inside them that they feel would be worth considering.

So, here’s my latest question…what makes anything valuable?

I played with it for a little while and realized it could be asked another way too…what make something valuable?

If you’re interested, you can play along too, coming up with your own answers. In fact, I encourage you to jump in and see what rises up in your consciousness.

For me, I sense a need to define ‘valuable’ before I can explore the question fully.

I think my temptation is to accept a worldview of the word as referring to an object worth a great deal of money, such as land, gold, houses, or jewelry.

Fortunately, that’s not the only meaning. It can just as easily mean having qualities worthy of respect, admiration, or esteem.

I think my tendency is to consider what a person, place or thing means to me personally. The closer my connection, the more valuable something becomes to me.

If I sit back for a moment, it occurs to me that nothing is inherently valuable. It only becomes valuable once we desire to own or experience it. I find there needs to be some personal connection, some investment I believe is worth my time or other resources to trade for what I want to possess.

So, what would I be willing to pursue that would be worth this trade?  What would you trade?

As I think about this, I realize my answers have changed a great deal over the years. As a child, it was all about toys and playing with friends and my family. Once I went to school, the toys changed, but playing with friends and family didn’t. Eventually, freedom become incredibly important to me. I wanted to be able to roam around on my bike and explore and then when I got my driver’s license, my world expanded further. In college, it was never so much about my studies, it was about my friends (especially my girlfriend- my eventual wife) and again, the freedom to explore the surrounding countryside.

Then of course more things changed. I had a job, a career, a family of our own, a car, a house. All of those things were valuable to me. And all of those things were worth the trade of my time and talents.

Now that I am retired, my wife’s and my ability to remain connected to our children and grandchildren is extremely valuable to us. Beyond that I treasure having the freedom to pursue my personal creativity, whether its writing or artwork.

I also greatly value my physical, emotional, and intellectual health. Most of all though, it is my spiritual health I value, and it guides my life. I yield to this desire easily because I know that above all else, I am made of spirit. I know I am a part of the divine essence. I came from there and return to there. Knowing this in my heart offers me a genuine sense of being valuable in this world.

So, my final answer to the question of ‘what makes anything valuable’ is that we are all from the same source, the same spirit essence. We are all inherently valuable. We don’t need to accomplish anything in our lives to be valuable. It is our very nature.

I hope you feel the power and truth of this.

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Limitless

My friend, Cheri Warren and I, created a Four Word Question Deck for Self-Discovery. It’s based on an Instagram series of four-word questions I created and beautiful background pictures Cheri designed. We created a 52-card deck that asks questions with the intention of serving as a springboard for going deeper into your inner awareness. They act as a kind of prompt for your intuitive side to tune into knowledge and wisdom you don’t normally experience. If they sound like something you’d be interested in purchasing, information is available at the end of this post.

The reason I’m mentioning this at the beginning of the post is that I recently shuffled through the deck and randomly selected one card to focus on. It read; “is your life limitless”.

I’ve pulled several cards in the past for review since we made the deck and each time it starts out as a mystery why the card appeared. I began with an assumption that they would always make immediate sense to me, but they don’t. And now that I’ve had a chance to reflect on it, I’m glad they don’t, because it encourages me to engage more deeply with them.

In this case, my first reaction to the card, “is your life limitless” was that it depends on what I choose to believe about the whole concept of limitlessness.

I could defer my choice and allow my cultural training to govern my answer and my life path, or I could make an entirely different decision. It was difficult for me to get beyond the idea that my answer has to be, ‘no, my life is not limitless’, regardless of how much I want it to be otherwise.

There are in fact plenty of limits for me to contend with. I have obvious physical, emotional, and mental limits. I cannot defy gravity and fly on my own. I cannot imagine being able to emotionally handle losing family and friends because of a war or other tragedy. And I cannot understand calculus or quantum physics. There also happens to be other significant things I feel limited in performing, which makes me wonder how the answer could be anything but, ‘no’.

And yet I want my answer to be ‘yes, my life is limitless.’

How can I justify this outrageous claim?

I thought about this for quite a while and asked myself, what are my life limits? Can I become a millionaire, walk on the moon, travel around the world, be kind to everyone I meet, sit under a waterfall in the mountains?

It occurred to me that one of the values of considering this question is because it assists me in determining what’s important enough to me to push my limits. Sure, it’s easy to see I have defined limits, but am I allowing my assumptions about them to control the outcomes I experience in my life?

The answer to that for me is ‘yes, I am’. So, I have to wonder, why is this my choice? Am I afraid to push beyond what I believe is possible? How is that worthwhile for me?

So, despite my initial reaction to the appearance of this card, that of course my life is not limitless, I want to shift my awareness and make a conscious choice to test my limits to see which of them are real. I want to collect up all of my assumptions, place them in a bag and tie a tight knot at the top so they can’t escape.

I want to explore the magnitude of my capabilities. How else will I ever know what my actual limits are? If I answer too quickly, I know I will feel smaller than I am. If I listen to everyone else around me, I will fall prey to those who don’t want me to experience too much success. And, if I resist trying to grow, I fail before I even begin.

The value of this card has shown itself to me. Within these four words there lies the promise of expansion outward into the greater world. My life may not be entirely limitless but there is still so much beauty, magic, and radiance for me to experience.

In my heart, I believe the same is true for you.

Should you be interested in purchasing your own Four Word Question Deck for Self-Discovery, please visit my website:

www.messagesforinspiration.com and click on the Four Word Question tab, then click on the picture of the box. From here you can place your order directly.

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Grace

Are you familiar with the idea of grace?

Perhaps the most common usage, would be the ‘saying of grace’ before meals, especially dinner.

I wondered where the practice came from. It wasn’t hard to discover. It appears in most Christian traditions and is a short prayer said before a meal. Saying grace comes from the Latin phrase ‘gratiarum actio’, which means an act of thanks.

Some traditions believe that grace and thanksgiving impart a blessing which sanctifies (makes holy) the meal, while other traditions focus on the belief that humans should thank God for the food and other blessings they receive.

I’ve never really been entirely comfortable with either of these concepts. I am very grateful that there is food in the world for me and I want it to create health for my body, but there’s something underneath the idea of saying grace that is bothersome to me.

I feel as though I need to take a big step backwards and perhaps ask myself several questions. I use questions as prompts. They challenge me to think deeper and delve into new territory.

Does saying grace change the flavor of the food? Does it change the power of the food to create better health in me? If I don’t say grace, do I lose some of the value of the food?

And then there is another side to this. When I say grace, who am I saying it to?  Is God the granter of grace? If so, does God speak everyone’s language and grant everyone’s wishes?

If you are with a group of people and grace is said, do all of those present have to think, feel, and believe the same thing for grace to work?

Maybe I tend to think too deeply into issues, but it feels like something important is waiting here for me to discover.

As I lean into this whole idea, I sense the word ‘grace’ has more far-reaching implications for me.

In the religious culture I was raised, ‘grace’ has a very specific meaning. God offers us grace as a free gift because God is willing to forgive us and bless us, even though we all fall short of living righteously (a good life). Further, grace is viewed as the love of God shown those who do not merit love.

These statements, and the concept of grace as it’s used, touches a nerve in me.

Who does not merit love?

In my world, there is no one who does not merit love. Some may act from places of hurt so deep that they appear cruel and heartless. But there is a place within them that is human and lovable. Every one of us comes from love and returns to love.

In my view, we all came from heaven and return to heaven. We are all parts of the whole, the holy, the one. We all deserve love and no one is excluded.

The way grace is used implies that we are missing something and need to be supplemented from outside of ourselves. This makes us dependent on someone or something else to be whole.

This is the part that challenges me because I believe that god lives inside of me (and inside of each of you), therefore I am not dependent on an external force to grant me grace.

I believe that each of us is connected to each other and to the world. We extend love because inherently, we are love. None of us is ‘less than’ or unlovable and so none of us needs grace from the outside. It is always within our power to offer love to ourselves and to remind each other that ultimately, love is who we are.

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What If god Is Bigger Than We Think

I grew up Protestant, first Presbyterian, then Dutch Reformed. In college I majored in Religion and was set to go to seminary and afterwards into the ministry. That is until my whole world broadened and exploded in college.

I discovered the enlightening fundamentals of Buddhism, the inner strength of yoga, experienced the raw, untamed beauty of nature, explored the psychic world, and embraced the essence of love. Overwhelmed with these experiences, the constraints of specific religious dogmas felt too limiting to me. More than that, it felt far too small to be applied to the world at large.

During my life I’d been taught that ministers, priests, and rabbis and all the other religious teachers were somehow closer to god. They’d studied and learned things ‘regular people’ hadn’t and were experts who could help us make sense of what god wanted.

For the most part they appeared to care for their congregations and did their best to help interpret religion so that it could assist others with living their lives.

The difficulty is that ministers, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders are also human. Despite their best intentions, they fall, just like the rest of us. Sometimes, they fall harder, buried under the weight of needing to be shining examples and god’s emissaries.

Since we’re taught to defer to their religious wisdom we often don’t grow on our own and we’re tempted to take the easy way out and let them stand between ourselves and god.

For me, I couldn’t do this. I still can’t do it.

I’ve always felt that, as a part of god’s creation, I have a bigger part to play in the grand scheme and I always wanted my own direct, personal relationship with god, not one where anyone else was filtering the flow of divine information.

Growing up I was trained to accept what others told me, but what I wanted to know was, how did they know what to teach me?

The instructions I received sounded very limiting, as if god could only behave in prescribed ways and that our relationship was based on master/servant rules. If I did not act in certain ways, god would be unhappy and would punish me.

I was taught that, by myself, I would never be good enough, after all I was born a ‘sinner’. No matter how good I was, I would always fall short of what god expected of me.

The underlying message was that god was to be feared and the ultimate threat of going to hell hung in the balance.

It took many years for me to see the real truth that god is all about love. It was not until I began having my own intimate, direct conversations with god that I began to understand the importance of our relationship.

Rather than feeling confined to the previously understood set of rules I’d been taught, god shared with me that god loves me no matter what and always will.

God then reminded me what ‘free will’ means. God told me I was open to explore and move in any direction I chose, without any risk of separation. Of course, some of my choices might lead to frustration, suffering or pain, and yet in every situation there would be teachings for me to learn from, to spur my spiritual growth and help me become the person I want to be in this world.

Because god and I have had thousands of conversations, I’ve come to realize that god is far bigger than I was taught and far bigger that I could ever have imagined.

I ask that you not accept anything I have to say at face value, because for you to know your truth, it’s important for you to explore your own divine relationship. It’s only then that it becomes a part of you.

NOTE:

If you need some help establishing your own personal, intimate connection to god, I’ve written a book, talking with (god), that shares a way that has worked for me, and it may also work for you. talking with god is available on Amazon (books) in both print and eBook versions.

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Garage Sale Insights

It is my personal belief that every single thing I encounter in my life has meaning. The fact is I miss most of the learnings I could be experiencing because I don’t grasp them at the time. Occasionally, something will connect after the fact, but I sense the majority passes me by.

How is it for you? Do you feel that you’re missing some of the valuable things happening in your life? Would you like to find ways to change this and live a richer life?

I’m trying to change some of my ways I experience my life, to deepen my awareness and to connect the dots, so that my life expands, grows, becomes more joy filled.

Now, you might not expect to find anything valuable in hosting a garage sale, but for me, many gifts presented themselves. Perhaps it was because I intended to find them. I chose to open myself up and look closely, believing gifts would appear and enrich my heart.

I wondered, if it is as simple as that, why don’t I do this all of the time? Maybe it’s an issue of practice, as well as attention.

My daughter and I share many traits, one of which is a giving heart. We agreed that we would let every customer pay whatever they felt items were worth. We both recognized this was an unusual choice, since most of those who organize and hold garage sales are trying to maximize their earnings. For us, we wanted to release the things we were selling and have happy customers.

Although we did price some items, if someone asked for a reduced price, we granted it immediately. For the rest of the items we sold, we accepted whatever the customer decided to pay.

This was one of my first learnings.

It seems everyone loves a bargain and there were in fact many who were quite happy to be able to purchase things at minimal costs, but there were also many who would not buy at the deflated prices we suggested. It was simply too good a deal for them, so they paid more than we asked.

Curious…why do you suppose that is?

One conclusion I drew was that they wanted a fairer trade and did not want to take advantage of our generosity. Maybe there are several explanations for this, but it was always fascinating to watch their faces and try to read their thoughts.

Another learning was about the value of human connection.

My daughter, Jenny, and I greeted everyone who came to our garage sale, young, old, and in between. This seemed to surprise many who stopped by. They stood for a moment, looked at us, smiled and said ‘hello’ back. Seeing their returned smiles lit me up and made my day. No one passed by without acknowledging us. It was a beautiful thing, and I am still energized by the recall of it.

It shows me that all of us here on earth can get along, we can make valuable contact with each other, we can extend ourselves, even if just a little bit. This fills me with hope and wonder.

It was also fun to meet neighbors and catch up with friends who stopped to check things out. There is something magical and mysterious about our human connections and I constantly find that I am overwhelmed (in a good way) with how much we want and need each other. Despite enjoying my alone time, I love feeling deeply connected to others, even if it’s during a garage sale.

Jenny and I both felt very satisfied to have released our grip on the things we own, to share them with others and to make a little money for ourselves.

An idea surfaced for each of us, to only buy something new if we were prepared to give up something old. I’m not sure if it will stick, but I’m sure we’ll learn something valuable no matter what happens.

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A More Complete Diet Plan

It certainly seems to me that there is no agreement about the best or perfect diet plan to follow. A casual glance reveals an incredible variety of approaches including ketogenic, Mediterranean, low-carb, Veganism, Carnivore and Paleolithic. I could easily name ten more I noticed during thirty seconds of research.

If you factor in specific issues and concerns, the complexity multiplies. We face so many varying physical challenges; diabetes, heart disease, dementia, cancer, allergies and so many more, all calling for modifications to any plan we choose.

It can easily become mind-boggling.

In wondering where to turn for wise counsel we seek out experts. Unfortunately for us, there are experts for every conceivable diet plan. Each has a set of facts to support their position, making it all but impossible to know what path to take.

Adding to this we may find that it is difficult to stick with whatever we do choose. Some diet plans are too restrictive or complicated or cut out all of the foods we like making it very difficult to adhere to them.

I am not a professional in the field nor would that ever be a claim I would make. It is always advisable to discuss all of your specific issues with a qualified medical professional.

What I am is a person who generates a lot of questions. I have found throughout my life that asking good questions prompts me into action, and action is what drives me forward. I am someone who tries to think into and out of issues so that I can offer perhaps a broad range of considerations which might be helpful to you.

For me, the primary question to ask before choosing any path is, ‘why’? What do you personally hope to experience? Weight loss, a fuller life, improve specific aspects of your health or simply look and feel better? Through my personal experience and that of others I know, I have come to realize that without answering the question, ‘why?’, it’s very difficult to apply any plan selected.

I sense it is also critical to take into consideration each aspect of myself; physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. If I am missing any one of these, I’m unlikely to experience success.

Before I choose a diet plan (or any other important decision) I spend time having an inner dialogue and allowing my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves to voice their concerns and desires. This may sound unusual to you, but sitting back and focusing on each voice provides an opportunity to flesh out my ‘why’ and any challenges which might make it harder for me to succeed.

It also feels important to me to define what ‘success’ means to me because I have little doubt we all end up expecting certain things to happen no matter what decisions we make. Keeping our expectations reasonable and realistic will surely assist us in reaching our aims.

Once you know your ‘why’ and have listened to your inner voices for direction and given some thought to your version of success, it becomes very important to create an action plan.

No matter what diet plan you’ve chosen, there are steps you’ll need to take to shift from what you’re doing presently to how you’re going to implement your new plan. Releasing old patterns and adopting new ones requires some will power.

Is it easy for you to alter your perspectives and habits or will this create major hurdles for you? I believe this is where your ‘why’ comes into play. Once you’ve answered the question of ‘why’, hopefully you’ve armed yourself with positive motivations you can use to overcome any challenges or difficulties you encounter. Having important physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual reasons for your choices gives you power and offers you your best chance for the success you desire.

Whatever you decide, I hope you experience a wonderful life.

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No Compete Clause

Are you a competitive person?

I wonder how quickly you were able to answer that question. As quickly as others might be? If you’re wondering, you probably are competitive.

I know that I am, even though it’s not across the board or evenly divided between things. Being honest, I would not say it was one of my better traits.

It’s lead to both positive and negative outcomes. I needed it for the workplace, to survive and thrive. But I don’t actually need it during my day-to-day life and often find that it works against me.

When I feel I need to be the fastest, smartest, most hard working, funniest or anything else, I’ve come to the conclusion…I lose.

If I pay closer attention, I can easily see that by feeling the need to be better, I set up a competition between myself and someone else and there is usually a clear winner and loser. Someone is always going to be unhappy.

I’m no longer a fan of this process. Instead, I’d like to find a way for everyone to be mutually satisfied.

I want to borrow an idea from the legal community. Instead of the title I’ve given this post of ‘no compete clause’, there is a legal document known as a ‘non-compete agreement’, whose purpose is to prevent an employee from competing with their prior employer. The employee is prohibited from certain things, such as revealing proprietary information or stealing clients.

It’s a way of limiting competition and that’s what I’d like to do for myself.

As I thought about this, I wondered how I could manage to rein myself in. I wondered how I was going to be able to go from being pretty competitive to valuing mutual happiness. It didn’t seem realistic to believe I could make this switch in one step, so I decided to break it down and start slowly.

I wondered, what if I choose a relatively short period of time and committed to a ‘no compete clause’, where I consciously decided to release any inner drive to ‘compete’ with anyone about anything? Could I see myself being able to do this? And, if I did, what would the results be? Would it impact me in a favorable way?

So, I decided to begin today and focus on this one simple idea and see where it takes me.

Early this morning I went to the YMCA to workout. Swimming in the pool drew my interest first, so I put on my bathing suit, grabbed my towel and flip-flops, and headed through the glass door to the pool. Incredibly, there was one open lane, so I jumped in and began backstroking my way to the other end. You might assume this free swim would not invoke any competitive urges in me, but that’s where you’d be wrong. Every time I’m in a swim lane, something inside me wants to get to the other end faster than the people in the lanes next to me.

I’m a reasonably good swimmer, but certainly not as fast as most of those at the pool. But ordinarily that doesn’t stop me from trying. And yes, there is a part of my brain that screams at me, saying, ‘what are you doing, they’re not racing you, you silly fool’?

Because I’m challenging myself to find a better way of moving through this life, and I’ve committed today to not competing, I tried to ignore the other swimmers. It was hard at first, but then something else took over my thoughts. The force that usually attempts to ‘win,’ released itself and gave in.

It surprised me and created real joy inside of me. I felt free, liberated from one of my customary competitive rules. I allowed myself to be aware that other swimmer surrounded me but was unconcerned with their speed or position. I allowed myself to feel the cool softness of the water, the strength in my arms and legs, the distance I was covering, the sensations of my environment.

It felt like winning without competing.

It encourages me to consider how this might apply to other aspects in my life. I wondered; how could I continue my idea of the ‘no compete clause’?

Now that it’s here, I think there will be numerous ways to use and profit from this. If this appeals to you, I hope you profit as well.

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Staying In Your Own Lane

It’s interesting to me how various phrases come into our working vocabulary. One I’ve recently heard is the phrase, ‘stay in your own lane’, by which the person generally means, mind your own business, and stop interfering in mine.

There can be especially troublesome moments, at work and in other settings, when someone who has an insufficient knowledge or ability to handle things, attempts to interject themselves in tasks that are not assigned to them. Although it’s difficult to redirect these folks, it’s often necessary in order to inform them that you have things covered and it’s your job, not theirs.

Overstepping is particularly challenging when the person refuses to stop, either by their intentional or unintentional actions and it may require supervisory intervention.

Why all this focus on ‘staying in your own lane’?

The answer is, because I’ve been having conversations with Lia, an ethereal feminine voice of god who has been offering me wisdom and guidance about this very subject, but from an entirely different direction.

How so, you may ask?

It all started with a conversation about the challenges I felt about being able to stay connected to the divine. What I want most in my life is to feel a direct, unwavering, deep connection with the divine, so that the whole of my life revolves around it.

What I discover on a daily basis is that there are numerous distractions that push or force or entice me away from this straight line. There are so many of them that I easily get caught up in them and lose my focus. Although I tell myself that they are worth my attention, what really happens is that they sap my strength and dissipate my power, which makes it difficult and near impossible to maintain my true aim, union with the divine.

I cannot stay in my own desired lane.

No outside force is doing this to me. They may try, but because I have free will, whatever happens is either because I allow it, or I choose it.

Of course, I turned to Lia and asked for her guidance. Here is what she told me.

“Until you practice ‘staying in your own lane’ (in my case, paying attention to my most important aim of deeply connecting with the divine), you think it is not possible, but as you practice, you see that it is possible. When a distraction arrives (anything I initially perceive as not heading me toward the divine), the first and most essential step is to take notice of its arrival. Spend a moment truly seeing it for what it is, an opportunity to teach you something valuable. Allow it to offer you its insight, thank it, then move back into your lane.”

I wondered if there was more. There was.

Lia continued, “Distractions are not permanent, but rather temporary events, guideposts to help redirect you with a greater awareness, and improve your focus.”

That made sense to me, especially if after some practice, it became a relatively quick process for me. If I could make the choice to acknowledge them, see their value and release them, I would easily be able to return to my straight path and then stay in my lane.

I expressed a deep sense of gratitude to Lia for sharing these valuable insights with me and I hope they are of worth to you as well.