Everything that comes to us is on God’s schedule, not ours. And to get the most from every day, we can benefit greatly by regularly practicing three actions: releasing, accepting and receiving.
#1 Release the past, limiting thoughts and the notion that you’re in control
We can’t meaningfully enhance our life until we let go of the illusion that we’re in absolute control. The only aspect we have authority over is how we may prepare for and respond to a situation.
Caroline Myss, spiritual teacher and author, says we waste a lot of energy believing we are in charge of the forces of creation and that surrender is vital to renewed spiritual strength.
The Most Divine gave us all free will—the ability to do what we want —and the Great Creator won’t interfere with our choices even if it turns our spiritual path into a longer, windier (and at times, more exasperating) trail. To live fully in faith, we need to willingly discard our expectations and invite God to take the reins.
That means we have to “let go and let God.”
Here are several examples of what I’ve worked to release:
- Expecting that if I do “A,” “B” will result. Many of my plans had involved others responding in the way I anticipated or events evolving in a predictable fashion.
- I replayed in my mind recurring incidents, such as my health challenges, and permitted those old scripts to stunt my spiritual and emotional growth. Past events aren’t an accurate predictor of future ones, unless we obsess on them so much that we can’t move forward.
- Prior to my visit to the Goldfield Hotel, I held on to others’ truths about the Most Divine. Truths that I blindly accepted that didn’t serve my greater good as they prevented me from having an authentic relationship with the Universal Power.
What have you been holding on to?
In the act of releasing, we invite the Almighty to play a greater role in our lives.
This doesn’t give us permission to be idle, though. It means:
- paying attention to divine nudges,
- spending time in prayer and meditation,
- taking responsibility for our own actions, and
- working toward what “feels” right, but not rigidly clinging to it when the time comes for us to turn in a new direction.
#2 Accept where we are in life
Let’s acknowledge that we are where we’re supposed to be right now and that our current conditions are fluid, as long as we open our minds and hearts to possibilities.
Nothing is left to coincidence. The Universal Power has a reason for our present circumstances. We can view our less-than-ideal periods as opportunities to discover what we really want from our lives. Forcing a situation seldom works and puts us solidly back in the illusion that we have god-like control.
Recognize that the Great I Am will:
- Never abandon us and
- Give us the tools, people and strength we need to endure.
To accept where we are, we need to work on enhancing our awareness of our thoughts. Then we can stop ourselves from obsessing about what we don’t have and refocus on what we’re thankful for.
#3 Let’s be open so we may receive
By releasing expectations and limiting beliefs, and then accepting our circumstances, we create space to receive blessings. As we concentrate on gratitude for what is working in our lives and God’s unconditional love for us, we can more readily accept that we’re worthy to receiving abundance.
Let me share a story from my own life that illustrates the power of releasing, accepting and being open to receiving:
It took more than a decade of suffering from a debilitating illness for me to give up the belief that I needed to be healthy to live fully. I accepted that I might always be sick, and I acknowledged the blessings I enjoyed (i.e., I made just enough to pay my bills and I had human angels who helped me when I most needed it). If God’s will was for me to remain ill, I would make the best of it. I also accepted that surviving and trying to thrive with chronic illness were evolving me into someone who could better help others.
It was only after I changed my thinking that I was miraculously healed.
By regularly meditating and praying, we increase our faith and awareness of the divine energies around us. Only then, will we be more receptive to heeding the cues that will lead us to new opportunities.