Inspiration
Mastery comes when fear has been completely dissolved. Fear is dissolved not by fearing it, not by hating it, not by judging it. But by being looked upon with perfect innocence.
Mastery is a state in which you have embraced yourself as a ceaseless creator and assumed complete responsibility for everything that comes into the field of your awareness without judging it, so that you can simply decide whether it is going to stay or be dissolved in its effects. Mastery is fearlessness. That is, you no longer fear the infinite, creative power of your perfect union with God. “I and my Father are one!” is one expression of mastery.
What I learned
Watching myself drop pebbles into the water and watching the ripples that are the effect of dropping that pebble in is a very helpful image. I am a visual person and so being able to see a picture of what is happening makes it easier for me to understand, and it also helps fix the idea in my mind. Now when I notice that I am giving attention to certain thoughts I automatically envision the rippling effect of those thoughts.
Yesterday my son was talking to me about some financial difficulties he is having and I noticed that I was feeling anxious. As I looked I paid attention to my feelings and the thoughts and beliefs behind those feelings, I realized that I was experiencing “yesterday’s” ripples. In the past I taught myself, through placing value on certain ideas, that it is my job to fix things and especially when it concerns my children. Focusing on that belief, that is, entertaining thoughts about what I should be doing to fix his problem is like tossing in the same pebble over and over, and so creating tomorrows which are just like today.
I looked at the effects of yesterday’s choices without judging them. I decided that I no longer desire them. I was not wrong for having them; I just don’t want them anymore. I asked the Holy Spirit for new thoughts, new beliefs that I could toss into my pool of awareness. I had the thought that Toby is calling to himself what he most needs to learn a particular lesson. I even saw clearly what that lesson was and how his situation today is going to lead him to an awakening of his own.
It was just a momentary flash of insight, but it helped me to reinforce the new thought. For a moment I saw Toby, not as my child in need of my help, but as a creative force, making this and making that, then deciding which creation he favored, coming to his own “aha!” moment. If he feels great discomfort right now that is good. It is helping him realize that limitedness is not a belief that he wants to keep.
After all, I just experienced that very same thing. The anxiety I felt when Toby expressed his concerns about his financial situation was uncomfortable for me. But it was that discomfort that called my attention to the belief I am holding that says I need to fix Toby. I am still experiencing the effects of those ripples. Even as I write this I feel the tug of those old beliefs. My ripples go on until they lose their momentum, but I don’t have to be upset by their effects. I can see them for what they are and use them to practice a new way of thinking. They only upset me when I judge them.
All quotes are used by kind permission of the Shanti Christo Foundation. To buy a copy of this profound book visit their website at www.shantichristo.com. I invite your thoughts and comments.