We wield tremendous power in our lives as we take more and more charge of how we see things. Gosh, it sounds so simple. Most certainly, we can easily do this when we hold this intention: “I want to be awake in this moment!”
Reaching back 46 years, a man named William Irwin Thompson wrote in Evil and World Order this stimulating observation,
“We are like flies crawling across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. We cannot see what angels and gods lie underneath the threshold of our perceptions. We do not live in reality; we live in our own paradigms, our habitual perceptions, our illusions, the illusions we share through the culture we call reality, but the true… reality of our conditions is invisible to us. “[1]
An Example Provides More Clarity
Laney visited her cousin and in an evening of looking at a collection of his wife’s photos, that dear woman, Genevieve, got offended by Laney’s demeanor. Genevieve interpreted L’s lack of spoken appreciation as a criticism, and G conveyed her feelings of hurt and disrespect.
L aspired to explain herself and make amends. During that stay G was not open to shifting, and she held herself apart.
Surely, at first Laney was so hurt that G would not soften. As she reviewed how harshly G had spoken to her, L felt deeper resentment and anger.
An outsider might perceived that that this was G’s problem and she had to forgive. But L knew she had the power to shift herself.
Waking up, Laney used the tool of appreciation in a consistent and heartfelt way for the months till the next encounter with G. Each morning L listed as many of G’s positive aspects as she could—and hey—repeating ones from yesterday was fair game 😊.
As our star persisted, she shifted her perceptive lens, Our heroine eradicated any resentments and hurts and placed her focus only on the love she wanted to share. This was her priority.
Laney knew if she wanted love she needed to live in an atmosphere of love.
As goodbye’s were shared at the next visit to G’s, family members spoke of what a good visit it had been. As G hugged L farewell, she whispered in L’s ear, “I love you.” L’s heart swelled with satisfaction. What great pay off for shifting her mind view to what she most wanted!
What stories have expanded your heart and demonstrated your waking up? Please share them with us!
[1] Thompson, Evil and World Order (New York: Harper & Row,1976,81)