thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
space.I am aware that this may sound a little too simplistic. Belief will come as we start to use it and witness the results.ReassuranceYou may think this all sounds well and good, but if you are anything like me then our everyday 'thinking' mind (call it ego if you like) sensing defeat, will either scream at you to get real or sneakily get in on the act. Typical commentary would be something along the lines off, "What the hell are you doing? You're up to your neck in debt, you've not seen your kids since last Monday, the dog's sick, you've promised that proposal by tomorrow morning, you haven't slept for last 24 hours and your better half is threatening to walk out if you don't get your s**t together soon. And you want to wander off into ga-ga land?!"For many of us this is the crux of the matter. How can we relax and stop trying when all these things are going on? How can I stop thinking when I am up in court next week? How can I simply choose to be happy when my world is falling in around my ears? The answer lies in our recognition that letting our attention rest in our True Self, the feeling of Love that comes from within, is the one real and practical answer to all our problems; the awareness that in doing this we're addressing the cause instead of struggling to apply bandages to the symptoms. It does takes trust in the beginning, 'faith' if you like.I remember soon after I started on this road, asking my Self for a little help in knowing 'what to do' to resolve my pressing problems. The answer I received was that I didn't need help, only a little reassurance. I guess I'll never forget the words given me.Anticipation plays no part at all for present trust guarantees a future undisturbed, without a trace of sorrow and joy that constantly increases, so just relax and enjoy this day. If you need a thought, a word or just a tranquil open mind then that will be my gift for I [true Self] am in charge by your request.What more could I have needed but this?Here is everything we need - the strength, the source of all understanding, love, health, creativity, flow, true vision, the answer to all our questions. This is Home, where our safety, comfort and power lie. There is nothing our true Self cannot do. It is not limited by the 'laws' of space or time or any material, economic, social or other law that we think we are beholden too. It is equal in its power to solve all problems because there is no order of difficulty in what this Creative Spark can do.Our true Self sees nothing of our problems; it only sees our potential and how to make that potential manifest in our lives. This is it's one and only agenda and because this is all it sees, when we allow it into our awareness, this is all that we create.
When we recognize our Self as being the presence of Joy, we know that there are no problems that accompany it. So here's the thing: Our true Self is the answer to all our problems. Flow is the answer. When we think we have solved a problem there is always a sense of relief and perhaps a temporary elation, but no matter how effective we are at solving problems there'll always be an underlying uneasiness about when and what the next one lurking around the corner will be. We can never be truly joyful until we have the remedy to the cause of all our problems, until we can replace monkey mind with our genius, our true nature, this feeling of the loving life force that flows through us when step back and allow it.Nevertheless, old habits die hard. Its so easy to be tempted to try to fix things ourselves instead of stepping back and trusting our Self to take over. When this happens with me this is the no-brainer question I ask myself: "Would you rather have your ego handle this or our genius, would I rather try to deal with this on my own or harness the power and intelligence of the universe, the life force itself?" In spite of appearances this is our one and only choice - the choice for free will or to be led around by a thought system thats grounded in an illusion of powerlessness and limitation.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 4 Flow on demandOur deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We were born to make and manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." .....Marianne WilliamsonWe've looked at how we can use the power of our attention and intention together to bring our true Self into awareness and have the love, insight and flow that are simply attributes of who we really Are shine in our work, our relationships and our lives at large. Even though this is incredibly simple to do, its the nature of our limited self to have us forget, complicate and to denigrate the power and simplicity of this simple invocation. We've so over-learnt the belief that we need to use our intellect and 'try' that its very difficult for us to accept that pure intention is everything, and that the doing is not by us but through us, when we step back and allow it happen.I personally found it useful to have
a 'mantra' to remind me of this real choice, our ability to invoke our power and genius at will, and you may too. Something like this might help you, "I can choose to step back and enjoy letting our True Self nourish me and lead the way" or perhaps, "I choose to step back and allow Truth to shine true".It is usually as well to start the day right. Every morning, as we awake, we quite literally remember who we think we are and dress ourselves in our self-concepts. And then of course, we immerse ourselves and get lost in the busyness of our lives. So it's always easier to start as we mean to go on by catching ourselves in the moment we start to awaken, before we remember who we think we are. Remember that this is nothing to do with positive thinking. Positive thinking just energises those things we are denying through our forced thinking. What we are doing is setting our intention to have a day that reflects our original and true loving nature rather than accumulation of fears, grievances and limited beliefs that are so pervasive. Perhaps we could use a little reminder such as, "Today I choose to step back and just enjoy letting my true Self express itself and shine upon my day." It's hard to describe what an incredible a day we can have without our conscious planning when we allow ourselves to get out of our own way like this.The words themselves do not matter. The map is not the territory and so the words can only be a reminder. It is the experience that they point to that is our concern. So remember that saying the words does nothing. Neither does thinking about them. It's only in actually stepping back from our world, our body and our thoughts and actually relaxing into the feeling of our own Presence that makes the difference. Simply choose to bring this into your awareness and trust that in choosing it is done. That is all. It is available to us at any time, in any place and in any situation simply because it is our original and natural state of being. It is who we Are.Use whatever words you are comfortable with, the ones that resonate deep within you. If you prefer more religious terms and you dont see God as an entity separate from yourself or Gods Will as different from your own then you could just as easily use words such as 'I choose to rest and trust in the Love of God that shines within me" or perhaps, I can step back and allow Gods Love to shine upon the worldPerhaps you'd prefer to use more reassuring words to help you in those times when are extremely stressed and your willingness to choose to step back and call upon you Self is weak. Maybe something like, "I am entitled to miracles. I can choose, in spite of my fear and resistance, to let my true Self shine true and trust that in choosing
it is done", or perhaps "I count on God and not myself to give me certainty", would remind you.As I said, don't get hung up on the words. Words can be neither right nor wrong because they are only symbols. The choice that the words point to is the only thing that matters. What we are not trying to do here is create another belief, but rise above all beliefs so we can directly experience What Is, unencumbered by belief, religious doctrine or mental concept. Otherwise we just perpetuate the confusion and suffering of thousands of generations by letting words get in the way of experience of Truth. So why not ask your true Self what words would work for you?There's a huge temptation, particularly if you're like me, to try to figure this stuff out and choose just the right words. This is all a distraction - our ego trying to muscle in. It's our recognition that our part is so little and letting go of our need to know, that allows this invocation to be so powerful. Our part is only to invite it in. By attempting to add more we simply let our ego get in on the act and that just messes up everything.I know it sounds paradoxical, but it's in letting go of our intellectual curiosity and relaxing into the feeling of Love growing within is that enables us to understand. It's impossible to understand unlimitedness from within a mind set based on limitation. Knowledge and understanding are attributes of our true nature. When we accept ourselves as we really are the understanding comes automatically as part of the package. This is the feeling that must come from within.Choose it and trust, then allow yourself to feel the warmth of the Love that envelopes you as you recognize your Self in this space. The rest will be known to you. Perhaps that's what was meant by, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."Another common disruptive tactic that the ego uses is to hijack our best intentions by wanting 'flow' for something else. It's ironic that when we just hold the one goal, to let our True Self shine true, to live each day for the joy of having our Self nourish us and express itself, then we accomplish everything our heart desires effortlessly. When we just do this the 'work we were meant to do' finds us and we become a magnet for everyone and everything that perfectly supports us. Whilst it's true that all truly great works come from this state of flow, whilst ever we want 'flow' for what it can give us we are choosing littleness over magnitude and that's what we end up with. Such is the power of our choice.Here's a personal example of having this choice in any circumstance:A few years ago I took my eldest son Ash motor racing at the Silverstone circuit in England. There were about 80 drivers there with a full day of racing activities
in sports cars, single seater racers, and off-road rallying. I guess I'm reasonable good in a fast car but had virtually no previous competitive experience, and that day there were a number of ex-professional racing drivers competing.It was sweltering hot weather, we'd been wearing fire proof racing suits all day and in the excitement and frenzy of the racing I must have forgotten to drink enough fluids. After a few races I began to feel ill - a mixture of feeling feint and nauseous.I guess I didn't want to be a kill-joy, seeing as it was Ash's big day out, so I pressed on and somehow managed to get through to the final race. This was the big single seater race that we had been practicing for and building up to all day. I was at the back of the grid with the faster drivers in front. As I was being strapped into the car I began to feel much worse and realized I had serious problems.I felt as though at any second I was going to pass out. As the heat and fumes from the racing engine filled the cockpit all I wanted to do was close my eyes and fall asleep. By now my mouth was bone dry and I could no longer swallow. I remember my limbs feeling very weak and shaky as I tried to focus on keeping my hands steady on the steering wheel. It was taking all my effort just to remain conscious. I knew I could no longer get out of the car as the race was just about to start but if I could only manage to drive around the circuit once, then I could pull into the pits and get help.Alas, I realized there was absolutely no way I was going to make that first lap. I longed to be with my family waving from the track side blissfully unaware of my plight as I cursed my bad judgment for pig-headedly getting in the car in the first place. I felt my heart starting to pound and race in panic at the hopelessness of the situation, and my eyes close as I started to slide into unconsciousness. In that very moment, and for the first time all day, I remembered what I've been writing about here. I chose, in spite of my fear and the sickness, to stop resisting what was happening to me and fully experience my Self and my situation in that moment. What happened next beggars belief.I'm telling this story sequentially, but it must have been at the exact same moment that I made that choice that the starting lights turned green. I remember steering to the left and center of the track to avoid the car in front of me on the grid, because the driver was waiting for the lights to turn green before he accelerated away. It's not that I had false started by jumping the lights. It's just that I drove away at the exact same instant as the lights were changing. Not 1/1000th second before
or after -just as they changed. Please don't ask me how I knew. The experience that followed was both surreal and sublime. I found myself driving through a pack of racing cars at over 120 mph with just inches between us, and at the same time felt such an incredibly serenity and overwhelming peace. Whatever car was in front of me I passed at will, but with absolutely no sense of competition - just a knowing what needed to be done and doing it - and enjoying the process.I recall at one point driving flat out into the back of the car in front of me as we approached a long sweeping left hand bend, knowing full well that it was about to spin off, leaving the racing line and track space for me. I shudder to think of the carnage if I had been wrong, but the risk was zero because I just knew there was no way I could be wrong. Again, I have no idea how I knew what was happening with everyone else around me but I just did. The strangest thing was that it didn't actually seem strange at all, as though this is how it is supposed to be.I remember at one point in the later stages of the race thinking I must be in the lead, or at least very close, but the very next instant I recognized the error of entertaining a thought. I then instantly felt myself being pulled back into the stillness, safety and sanctuary of my Self. That was the last thought I had before taking the chequered flag.After the race had finished and the customary slowing down lap we got out of the cars and everyone came over to great us. I was basking in a warm glow of well being that had enveloped me and it was only then, for the first time since the start of the race, that I actually remembered I had been ill. I had completely forgotten.This had been Ash's day - a birthday present from me. He was just 18, had driven brilliantly and apart from this one race had been better than me all day. So I felt a bit pissed off with myself at the prize giving for actually winning. This was his day out and here I was stealing the limelight. I kept the trophy they presented for winning the race - not for any sentimental reasons or as a sporting memento but as a reminder of the power of our simple decision to experience our Self at any moment of our choosing.Sat on the starting grid and hidden behind my full face helmet everyone track-side was blissfully unaware of my plight. When I stepped out of that car at the end of the race I was as happy as a sand boy. There was no way anyone could possibly understand what had just happened to me if I had told the so I guess that's why I've never recounted this before.The point of the story is that we can at
any moment and in any circumstance step back from the world and our thoughts and choose to simply rest and receive. This is the easiest thing in the world. Choose it and trust that in choosing it is done for it our Self that knows the way to us. When I say rest in your Self I mean rest like a lion cub and not like a monkey. The lioness holds and carries the cub wherever she wants. The cub has nothing to do with it. On the other hand, a baby monkey must hold onto its mother by itself. It clings to its mothers waist and is always in fear. You can see it in its eyes. When a mother jumps from one branch to another the baby monkeys are afraid they will fall and sometimes they do. So surrender to your Self in trust, like a lion cub would.In doing this we become a magnet for everyone and everything we need, intuition replaces thought, knowing replaces questioning, serendipity replaces effort and perfect ease replaces stress.This is the choice for miracles. Just choose to rest and receive, - rest in the feeling of our own true Presence that's growing within you and trust in This to nourish you and shine upon your life. This is the one thing that really satisfies, the most enjoyable experience imaginable, the greatest good we can do for ourselves and everyone else, and we don't have to wait one instant.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 5 Towards a permanent Flow StateAnd the creatures downstream, to which he was a stranger, cried, 'See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us!'And the one carried in the current said, 'I am no more Messiah than you. The river [of life] delights to set us free, if only we dare let go." ......'Illusions' by Richard BachHopefully we've now cast enough doubt on our everyday thinking mind (some call it ego) to recognize that it doesn't serve our best interests. It operates mostly from a fear of what we don't want disguised as 'what we think we want', rather than from a love for what we really do. If we can recognize this then it's a great place to be.We've also seen that although it appears that we have many choices in this life there is in fact only one. The choice we have is always between letting our attention follow the dictates of the ego that weaves our self-concepts and tells us what to think; or to let our attention return to where it came from, to the awareness of our own Presence, our true Self, so that our inner knowing can guide our life, our natural state of Flow can do all our 'doing' and our own Presence can connect with everyone we meet.So it all boils down to this choice of attention.But we can't force attention - attention follows desire. You can't make yourself want what you don't want - we like what we like and there's not a lot we can do about
that. What we can and must do then, is get absolutely clear about what we do really want.Now, here's the problem. There's absolutely no way to know what we really want by pondering or thinking about it - our ego, or 'everyday thinking mind' as we have been calling it, will never sign it's own death warrant. Our egos supply us with a continuous stream of things we think will satisfy us, that are 'worthy' causes and we think will help us to feel fulfilled, successful or valued. Ultimately they all disappoint, as all temporary things do.The sad thing is, that most people spend the vast proportion of our lives in this rat trap before they finally fall down exhausted or resign themselves to making the most of what they've been given with a cheery smile and a life of quiet desperation. It usually takes a serious illness, a traumatic mid life crisis or arrival at the point of despair before we finally wake up to the fact that despite our best efforts we still feel unfulfilled. Why is it that we choose to go on suffering so long before we are willing to let go of our seeking for answers in the world, and open up to the possibility that there might be a better way?We don't have to wait, but if we are really serious about living our whole life in a state of flow then this transformation has to be the most important thing to us. At any moment we can choose to take the quiet time to allow our True Self to show us what would really satisfy us. This is the easiest thing in the world to do but we do need to be vigilant in case our ego subtlety gets in on the act under the guise of 'worthy goals'. Whenever we ask 'where can I find the work I love', 'where is my genius' or 'what is my purpose in life' we are still asking from the perspective of 'me' - this vulnerable little thing our ego would have us believe we are. Questions like these craftily maintain the belief in a separate 'me' and it is this belief in a separate, disconnected self that is the cause of our feelings of powerlessness and the root of all our problems.What we can do instead, is back up a little and ask a more fundamental question. Ask, "Who is it that asks these things' or simply 'Who am I?' and then give yourself the space to experience the answer. Ultimately we learn there is no 'little me' and we are not separate, but for now we need only concern ourselves with the direct experience of our own Presence. Do this and everything else is known and makes perfect sense. Ironically it's when we nurture the feelings of Love growing within us, the recognition of our true Self, that the 'work we love' and were 'meant to do' mysteriously has a way of finding us and our genius shows up in everything we attempt to do.So how