Are you really sure you're ready to jump?

[Cantando]

Reading various posts on this forum, I hear some people saying "Go for it, you can get anything you want, right now", and others saying, "I am trying all these vizualizations and affirmations, and I just end up with a headache. Nothing's happening and I'm getting really frustrated".

Well, you may not be happy with who you are and where you are, and you are looking across the ditch and seeing all those nice things you want to be and have, and, in your impatience, impetuousity, pride, egotism, or whatever, you jump and don't make the other side. You land flat on your face. You pick yourself up and say, "Thanks a lot, God! I believed in you, prayed to you, did everything you wanted; now look what you've done to me. You know what - deep down, I really hate you!!!".

The fact is, you weren't ready to make that jump. But how do you make yourself ready? How to you get the necessary impetus, spring and momentum to make it to the other side?

Well, the answer is a paradox, a dichotomy.

You have to totally accept who you are, where you are, and what you have, right now, in this moment. But, you say, "How can I accept being a miserable failure, when I want to be rich and happy? How can I accept living in this rubbish apartment when I want a big house of my own?"

Unless you have total self-acceptance, the Universe cannot fully answer your requests. They have been heard, but repeating them over and over, imagining, visualizing and affirming, will only produce limited results, and you will continue to feel frustrated.

Be as a fledgling bird, high up in a tree, safe and still amongst the branches. It's parents fly to and fro, bringing it food. It has no worries. It sits quietly and patiently. Then, one day, the Universe whispers quietly, "Now is the time, my precious. Spread your wings and fly".

Don't rush it. Be calm and trust in God/the Universe/Higher Self.

'It had been my repeated experience that when you said to life calmly and firmly (but very firmly!) , "I trust you, do what you must", life had an uncanny way of responding to your need.' (Olga Ilyin)

'The quieter you become, the more you can hear'. (Baba Ram Dass)

'To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders'. (Chuang Tzu)

[cylon]

I wonder what happens when you intend to manifest something, give it lots of positive momentum, then for whatever reason, you DON'T practice acceptance, and things go screwy. Does the manifestation completely stop (cancel itself) or does it just take a "time out"?

If something really good was coming my way, clearly I would be upset when it didn't work. Yet the intention hasn't changed. It does seem a paradox that I would need to not fight the appearance and still trust that my overall intention, is still there.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by cylon

I wonder what happens when you intend to manifest something, give it lots of positive momentum, then for whatever reason, you DON'T practice acceptance, and things go screwy. Does the manifestation completely stop (cancel itself) or does it just take a "time out"?

If something really good was coming my way, clearly I would be upset when it didn't work. Yet the intention hasn't changed. It does seem a paradox that I would need to not fight the appearance and still trust that my overall intention, is still there.

Well, I hope I haven't misunderstood your question, Cylon.

I believe that, at a deeper level, where you are most connected to Source/the Universe, you know how your life is going to unfold, in general terms, for your positive growth and expansion. If you consciously maintain that connection, whatever comes your way will be welcome and you will be happy with it. You will recognize the manifestations that you really wanted, which will help you.

Where I disagree with Hicks, is that your actual, current desire may not be in line with your overall purpose. For example, your ego/mind/body may look around and see others with fancy, sports cars and you think, "Why can't I be like those guys and have a car like that?", and you start trying , oh so hard, to manifest a car. However, at a deeper level, your Higher Self/Universe may not consider it a worthy desire, as it is ego/worldly based.

You, in fact, may manifest the car, through sheer intention and will power, but it may give you no added joy.

If you were upset because a particular desire didn't manifest, then you are just showing a normal ego/mind/body reaction, which would disconnect you even further from your true self.

On the other hand, it may well be that having a fancy, sports car may be just what you need to help you grow and expand. Only you, at a deeper level, knows that.

If I made lots of requests for things like houses, cars, money, etc, and they weren't quickly fulfilled, I would just say, "Oh well, not to worry, maybe they'll come later, let's be cheerful and think about something else", and I would try to find peace and contentment where I currently am, and with what I currently have. That is, actually, the pivotal point, the starting block, when the things you really need for your growth and happiness, will start to appear.

[Angela]

I would like to suggest that if you're doing something, you're ready to do it, and if you're not doing it, you're not ready to do it. Regardless of how it turns out.

I don't think you have to be in a place of peace or contentment, or to prepare in any way, in order to take the next right action. The things you need for your growth and happiness, as Cantando puts it, are right there with you no matter what you're doing, no matter what you feel ready for.

I totally see your point about the power and effectiveness of getting yourself centered and accepting, Cantando. It also looks to me like the more contented you are, the more likely you'll recognize blessings as they appear in your life, bidden or unbidden. So, being peaceful and contented are very beneficial things to generate in your life at any time! "Connection with source" is an image that you use and I don't, but I agree with you on the principal of it nevertheless.

My point is just that where ever you are, whatever state you're in, if your next right action is to jump, Jump*! Why wait?

*Of course, Smart People will recognize that I'm speaking of jumping into the manifestation of your desires, not jumping off a cliff. This is my small print for any not-so-smart people who are spoiling for a fight and want to argue that I'm encouraging dangerous or harmful behavior.

[torilink]

Originally Posted by Cantando

Where I disagree with Hicks, is that your actual, current desire may not be in line with your overall purpose. For example, your ego/mind/body may look around and see others with fancy, sports cars and you think, "Why can't I be like those guys and have a car like that?", and you start trying , oh so hard, to manifest a car. However, at a deeper level, your Higher Self/Universe may not consider it a worthy desire, as it is ego/worldly based.

I think this is where people get stuck in the manifesting process - the ego thought "Why can't I be like those guys and have a car like that" is a belief in lack. This is the ego based mind in control, perceiving that it lacks what it desires - because it doesn't see it physically, which creates negative emotions & beliefs (anger, jealousy, resentment, and so on).

I don't think it is the higher self not considering it a "worthy desire", it is the higher self knowing it in fact is right there waiting for the ego mind to perceive it and allow it to be in its awareness. The higher self, or consciousness is in this game to experience desired states of being - so every desire is made manifest (how do you think we create all the garbage so easily?)

but, So long as the ego mind focuses on the lack of that thing, it cannot perceive it. But - if that mind can look out and say, well I know it is there even though my eyes don't see it yet, and it is coming into my awareness....., granted slowly, but it is coming - then the belief shifts from that of lack of the desired state to a belief in the desired state, and this is acceptance (accepting that what our eyes see isn't necessarily truth) and deciding not to judge what the eyes perceive, not to react emotionally to it, and especially not to offer any negative thoughts of lack.

[cylon]

Well I thought I had a nice relationship starting. Felt right, felt REALLY right. Now it "appears" to be over, and that I may never see this person again.

Other than the objective observation that I deluded myself, from the IM perspective, I just wonder if I was starting to worry that I was getting more than I bargained for, and the whole thing vanished. I still wanted it though.

Or, maybe I thought it was her but she was really getting me ready for the next her.

Times like these, you look back on they syncros and reflections, and wonder if you misinterpreted.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Angela

My point is just that where ever you are, whatever state you're in, if your next right action is to jump, Jump*! Why wait?

Ah, but what is your 'next right action'? You may think you really need a new car, but afterwards it may bring you a load of grief. If you stopped and thought about it, you may realize that you don't need a new car at all, and that it would be better to buy a bicycle instead.

Personally, I can only take so much jumping and falling flat on my face.
The point I'm making is that just wanting, or going for something, right away, is not necessarily in your longer term interests.
Don't rush things. Take your time. Find out where the desire is coming from.

Do you take your children into Mc Donald's every time you walk past with them, because they're screaming for a burger?

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by torilink

I don't think it is the higher self not considering it a "worthy desire", it is the higher self knowing it in fact is right there waiting for the ego mind to perceive it and allow it to be in its awareness. The higher self, or consciousness is in this game to experience desired states of being - so every desire is made manifest (how do you think we create all the garbage so easily?)

I can't agree with that.

For example, I could work myself up into such a negative state, that I wanted to kill someone. Yes, through intention and will power, it could be manifested. But, here we are on the level of the impersonal, physical universe, manifested energy, and the laws of attraction (and even repulsion), gravity, etc., where there is no good or bad. Yes, I could manifest that, but I would not be in alignment with my higher self/source, which I believe is good by default, and is at the spiritual level below and underpinning the universe.

When I am about to kill that person, perhaps, if there was enough decency/sanity left in me, I may heed a small voice coming from deep inside me, telling me to stop. Hopefully, I would then stop, being realigned to whatever small degree, back with my higher self and going with the more 'worthy' desire not to kill that person.

[Angela]

Cantando, I think our difference is that it's important to you not to fall on your face, while I believe that sometimes falling on your face is the next right action.

But that's not quite accurate. Thinking of undesired outcomes as "falling on your face" is catastrophe thinking -- exaggerating and horriblizing an event that doesn't require exaggerating and horriblizing. For instance, your car/bike example: so what if I manifest a car and it turns out I really wanted a bike instead? That is a pretty neutral thing to happen. You could interpret it any way you like, but it's hard for me to see it as "falling on my face."

Same thing for "bigger" manifestations: so what if I manifest a job that doesn't work for me? There's something for me to learn in that anyway: maybe I need to grow into a job, or I need to practice graciously letting go, or some other lesson. Maybe I fail to get the job at all? That's still not falling on my face; it's just another form of freedom!

If I manifest walking down the street with my kids and they demand McDonalds, the next right action may be indulging them and we all have fun, or it may be I say no and we all get to learn how strong my No is (and maybe we'll go rent "Fast Food Nation" together), or I may have a retroactive abortion (just kidding! ). But none of that is falling on my face -- none of it is anything that has to stop me in my growth.

What if I actually do fall on my face? Well, that has happened, and it occurred for me as pretty catastrophic. I stepped off the curb because I wasn't paying attention. I was 9 years old, and I had a facemask of scabs for a while. Now, that was horrible. And I healed up, no scars, and I learned a very important lesson: Be Present. Do what you're doing when you're doing it. I learned the hard way, it's true, but stepping off that curb was my next right action that day. How do I know? Because that's what I did. There's no benefit to arguing with reality.

You say, "I can only take so much jumping and falling flat on my face." and I say, "I can't get enough jumping and seeing where I land!" You and I just have different temperaments.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Angela

Cantando, I think our difference is that it's important to you not to fall on your face, while I believe that sometimes falling on your face is the next right action.

I understand what you are saying, but how do you know or decide what your 'next right action' is?

If I am overweight and very focused on satisfying my bodily desires, when I walk past McDonald's, I may ignore the advice of my doctor and go and get a Big Mac. Is that the next right action? Or, I may stop for a second and think, "Hmm, maybe the doctor has a point. It wouldn't be very nice for the kids if I had a heart attack and dropped down dead". So then, I don't go into McDonald's. Is that the next right action?

Are you saying that whatever you do is the right action? If so, then deciding not to jump must also be the right action.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Cantando

Are you saying that whatever you do is the right action? If so, then deciding not to jump must also be the right action.

Right!!

In my experience, if there is an action in front of you to take (a "jump") it's almost always better to jump than to hesitate and bicker with yourself about jumping.

I don't think your McDonalds story is at all what we're talking about here, though, Cantando. Neither you nor I would consider eating a Big Mac to be one of our desired manifestations, I don't think. Weren't we talking about manifesting desires?

What would be a more pertinent example of what you're saying? Something that you do want to manifest in your life, but that it might be a good idea to get yourself centered, peaceful and connected to Source before you jump into manifesting it? Is there a real example of something like that in your real life?

[torilink]

Originally Posted by Cantando

I can't agree with that.

For example, I could work myself up into such a negative state, that I wanted to kill someone. Yes, through intention and will power, it could be manifested. But, here we are on the level of the impersonal, physical universe, manifested energy, and the laws of attraction (and even repulsion), gravity, etc., where there is no good or bad. Yes, I could manifest that, but I would not be in alignment with my higher self/source, which I believe is good by default, and is at the spiritual level below and underpinning the universe.

When I am about to kill that person, perhaps, if there was enough decency/sanity left in me, I may heed a small voice coming from deep inside me, telling me to stop. Hopefully, I would then stop, being realigned to whatever small degree, back with my higher self and going with the more 'worthy' desire not to kill that person.

In the context of your example (the guy feeling he cannot have what he sees others have) - there is no alignment, this is my point. But it isn't the higher self judging anything, because consciousness doesn't judge, the higher self doesn't exist in duality - the ego mind does.

If we are aligned, everything is all good - there is no opposite.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Angela

Right!!

In my experience, if there is an action in front of you to take (a "jump") it's almost always better to jump than to hesitate and bicker with yourself about jumping.

I don't think your McDonalds story is at all what we're talking about here, though, Cantando. Neither you nor I would consider eating a Big Mac to be one of our desired manifestations, I don't think. Weren't we talking about manifesting desires?

What would be a more pertinent example of what you're saying? Something that you do want to manifest in your life, but that it might be a good idea to get yourself centered, peaceful and connected to Source before you jump into manifesting it? Is there a real example of something like that in your real life?

I think it's more about taking time out to make an informed decision (that's not hesitating or bickering), rather than a rash one, about what action to take (look before you leap). As I believe in the higher self, being informed also means getting information from that source, as well as others.

My post was more aimed at those who have been trying too hard to manifest, but not succeeding (jumping in too quickly into various mental exercises and visualizations). My advice to them was to step back, relax, be still and get into a mood of self-acceptance. Frustration isn't a nice feeling. It creates a block to the flow of source. The manifestation may well occur when you have taken your attention off it and just get on with your life as happily as possible.

You ask for a real life example. Well, getting a job would be one. There have been times when I've really focused and tried to do a good interview and even came out, thinking I had got the job, only to be told that I hadn't. And then, recently, when I didn't really care, I came out of an interview thinking I hadn't got the job, but had in fact got it. So, the conclusion I drew was to be myself, accept myself more, stay aligned with my higher self as best I could and basically forget about manifesting. The Universe already knows what I need for my growth and happiness, so all I need to do is stay happy and aligned.

I wouldn't agree that all actions are right. Some are just plain mistakes, and some of us don't learn and keep making them. I can testify to that every time I wake up with a hangover!

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Cantando

'It had been my repeated experience that when you said to life calmly and firmly (but very firmly!) , "I trust you, do what you must", life had an uncanny way of responding to your need.' (Olga Ilyin)

'The quieter you become, the more you can hear'. (Baba Ram Dass)

'To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders'. (Chuang Tzu)

Great quotes Cantando. Thank you.

[Angela]

Cantando, you mean that beating-your-head-against-the-wall, "why can't I have what I want" phenomenon? I agree, it's a good idea to relax. I like that Hicks process of relaxing your desire down to, "wouldn't it be nice if I got that job?"

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about right actions. My feeling is that whatever you have done, it was your right action in that moment. There is no benefit to fighting reality and telling yourself "I shouldn't have done that." I don't believe in shoulds and shouldn'ts; I don't think they add anything to living a life you love. (You shouldn't make shoulds! )

There are things that work better, like not choosing to have that third martini. But if you do, then that's what you did, and that was your next right action. Waking up with a hangover and thinking, "I don't want to ever wake up with another hangover" might be your next right action. Telling your wife you're sorry for being such a doomkopf last night might be your next right action. If it happened, it was the right action in that moment. The next right action might involve cleaning up a mess made by the last right action. And the next right action might be that you remain unconscious and never clean up the mess.

I think you are thinking when I say "the next right action" I mean: "the best choice you could make for creating for an ideal outcome." I'm not. Two different things.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by Angela

My feeling is that whatever you have done, it was your right action in that moment.

Well, I agree with nearly all you said, Angela, but I'm still not altogether with you on your above quote.

Why does the fact of performing an action make it right?

At the time, the action may 'seem' right, according to the state you are in, but does that mean it is absolutely and universally right?

What if that action is born out of hatred, jealousy, anger, fear or anxiety, which are negative, transient and illusory states? At best, the action may be neutral, since, at the level of the physical universe and manifested energy, there is neither right nor wrong.

Would it be more accurate to say that it is not that the action is right, but that you believe you are right in performing that action? However, that belief may be coloured by your current emotions and state of mind. Later, in hindsight, when you are more relaxed and more expanded in consciousness, you might have seen better, more growth enhancing alternatives (but you have already said words to that effect, so we are in agreement there).

A real life example would be a home alone case, where parents leave a child at home, while they go on holiday. At the time, it may have seemed the right thing to do - they wanted to quickly manifest a holiday; they 'jumped in' and 'went for it', without stopping to give it any thought or consideration. But, who could honestly say it was the 'right' thing to do.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Cantando

At best, the action may be neutral, since, at the level of the physical universe and manifested energy, there is neither right nor wrong.

This is getting closer to what I mean, Cantando.

Again, I think you are still thinking when I say "right" I mean it like:
"Here I am, faced with all the choices in the world, moral and practical, and whatever I do, whether it causes harm or leads me down a path of pain or kills the goldfish, it doesn't matter and will hold up in court."

What I mean is: who am I to judge what "should" be? For me to try to enforce my will on reality, to argue with what is, is futile and a sure path to pain. That doesn't mean I can't see my own desirableness of a circumstance and act to change or maintain the course of it. Whatever happens, though, that's what happens. It's not my job to change what is so, but it my job to take my next right action. And of course there are consequences to each next right action.

So maybe what you are calling "neutral" I am calling "right"; and what you call "morality" I call "desirability". (You might say it's highly immoral or wrong to kill another human being; I would say it's strongly undesirable to kill another human being.)