Divine Discomfort

This episode is about embracing change, and getting all the good we can out of all the changes we encounter in our lives, whether they be inner or outer changes.

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Transcript

Fearlessly Feral Episode - Uncomfortable?  Embrace it!

This episode is all about reshaping our experience of change.  Instead of telling ourselves “I don’t do change well,” we can tell ourselves, “change is about opportunity!”

But first, the intro!

Welcome to Fearlessly Feral Living!  Broadcasting to you from the Woogie Ranch, out here in the back 40 of northwestern Nevada, where I’m a half hour away from the nearest gas station and grocery store! 

Our MISSION is to teach practical application of Science of Mind principles to provide a strong and unshakeable inner foundation that facilitates long term successful living.

Today’s topic comes from the Centers for Spiritual Living Global themes.  The topic for the month of February is Divine Discomfort.

Divine discomfort indeed.  What’s so divine about it?

Well, I’ll tell you:  what’s divine about it is that when we are uncomfortable, we are at choice.  We can choose to either fight the change, thus limiting ourselves, or we can lean into it, embrace it, discover new and wonderful ways of being as a result of it.

I have a confession to make. I thought I had this change thing down.  After all, I AM a transition specialist.  I figured I had been through so many changes in my life that surely I must be an expert by now!  And I took that to heart, and became an interim minister, where my job is to successfully usher communities from the big huge change of losing a minister and the resulting chaos, and into something new that works for them.

And without fail, each and every community I work with fights the change on some level.  Many times this shows up as impatience.  They want to dive in RIGHT NOW and get some work done!  And I always patiently tell them not yet.  There’s a process to be done first.  There’s grief work to be done, there’s forgiveness work to be done, there’s visioning work to be done, there’s simply resting to be done.

So imagine my surprise when I joined a group called Deconstructing New Thought and got impatient because all we were doing was meeting on zoom and talking about our ideas about the direction the group should be going.  One day I even went so far as to post in our Facebook group a list of what I thought we should be doing!  In a blink of an eye I went from divine discomfort to LET’S MOVE ON AND GET OUT THIS STAGE!

I had to laugh at myself.  And I reminded myself to practice what I preached.

So I began to lean into this thing and explore what was up for me.  And through a series of opportunities I found myself reading the book for this month that is recommended by the Global Themes committee.

“Trust: Mastering the four essential trusts” by Iyanla Vanzant.  Oh, and by the way?  I’ll be doing a book study based on this book, beginning in march.  If you are interested, let me know.

And my world is getting rocked.  Because I realized that I might just have some tiny little trust issues.  

That’s like being a tiny little bit pregnant, in case you are wondering.  Or like having a tiny little drug or alcohol problem.  There’s no such thing!  You either are, or you ain’t.  There is no middle ground with those things.

So yeah, I’m a bit uncomfortable.  But I’m leaning into it.  Because I know.  I FEEL.  I BELIEVE, that doing this work is important and that it will allow me to be more effective in my work in the world, both as a minister facilitating successful transitions, and as a person working towards social justice in this world.  

I also know this truth that Ernest Holmes so eloquently voices:  “Nature will not let us stay in any one place too long. She will let us stay just long enough to gather the experience necessary to the unfolding and advancement of the soul. This is a wise provision, for should we stay here too long, we would become too set, too rigid, too inflexible. Nature demands the change in order that we may advance. When the change comes, we should welcome it with a smile on the lips and a song in the heart.”

So yeah, in the midst of the uncomfortability, and perhaps the sadness and the anger, we also can welcome change with a smile on our lips and song in our heart.  Because i know without a doubt that the change brings with it the opportunity for advancement.

I take great comfort in statements like this.  This statement reassures me that what i am going through with this uncomfortable stage I am in is a right place right time sort of thing. It is perfect right timing, perfect right action.  There is divinity here.

So finding the divinity in the discomfort is about welcoming change with a smile on our lips and a song in our heart.

And I can hear it now.  Some of you are saying, “yeah right.”

Don’t believe me?  Here’s another yummy quote for you.  This one is from Emmett Fox in his book Around the Year with Emmett Fox, it’s part of the reading for April 12:  “Change is the law of the universe. Without change, the world would not merely remain in a static state, but it would soon become stale and stagnant. Without change there would be no progress, for change is the essence of betterment. It is obvious that to do anything in a new and better way there must be a change.”

Here’s the deal folks:  There are not only two certain things in life: death and taxes.  There are three and the third is change.  Change is a certainty in our lives

So how do we successfully do this thing called change?  How do we lean into the divine discomfort and glean the nuggets of growth and wisdom with gratitude and joy?

If you have listened to my podcast before, you know what I’m going to say.  Right?

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES!

It’s what this teaching called science of mind is all about folks.  Here’s what we learn in Science of mind:

Change is uncomfortable, which means life can be uncomfortable. In Science of Mind the discomfort of change highlights the importance of embracing conscious awareness, positive (not wishful) thinking that is based in principle, and aligning our beliefs with the creative power of the universe. By embracing change with openness and releasing resistance, we can experience personal growth and create a more fulfilling life.

We embrace conscious awareness, and positive thinking based in principle.

So what principle and which practices do I recommend in order to embrace change?

Freedom coupled with introspection, treatment or affirmative prayer, and forgiveness.  

Freedom.  Oh my.  Such a deep principle.  I’m not speaking here of the freedom to do what we wish when we wish. I’m speaking to freedom from paralyzing thinking, from anxiety, from arguing for our own limitations, from trying to control everything around us in order to protect ourselves from the craziness of the world.  And I don’t know about you, but when I think about freedom from this stuff, my mind turns to faith.  And yes, trust as well.  Turns out that Vanzant book is timely for me.  Because when I am experiencing the uncomfortability that comes with this type of change, I need every ounce of faith and trust I can grab hold of, or create, or feel, or something.  Faith tends to be a dirty word in new thought circles.  Trust?  I don’t know anyone who speaks of trust the same way they speak of, oh, let say gratitude. Trust isn’t something I’ve heard people want to cultivate.  I’ve heard some folks substitute the word “know” for faith.  Substitute the word “allow” for control.  And it is in the allowing that we must have faith.  Faith in what?  And trust?  Trust what?  Well, they say god is everywhere present and all good all the time.  So maybe we can start there.  If god is all good all the time and everywhere present, then it must also be in this uncomfortability I’m experiencing.  My job is to have faith in that and allow, yet at the same time know that I am ok, that I can and will take care of myself and all the pieces of me that need to be cared for.  I can and will and always have protected myself.  Unfortunately tools I’ve previously used to protect myself no longer work.  Control no longer works.  And so I release.  Allow.  Let go.  Breathe.  Settle in to the breath.  Simply breathe.  

And then from there I can investigate with a clearer head what I am really feeling.  Do that spiritual practice of introspection that is so valuable.  

Ok, so what does that look like in this case?  

First of all, we must be aware of what we are thinking and feeling, at all times.  Yes, there are times when we need to settle in and take some time to perhaps journal and simply sit and think about what is going on inside us.  Asking ourselves questions such as what am I feeling about this situation?  And honoring those feelings with empathy, not judging them.  Asking ourselves what the pattern of our thinking is, and recognizing if that needs to be changed or tweaked a bit. Again, without judgement.  

When you practice personal self awareness long enough, it becomes the default setting and pretty soon you can easily become aware of what is going on inside.  I recommend doing some introspective practice daily, every day, from here until forever.  It’s that important.  It is, at least for me, the beginning of all possibilities in my life.  Find or create a process that works for you, and do it.  

If you listened to my podcasts covering the introduction to the science of mind textbook, you know that Ernest Holmes encourages us to practice this teaching called science of mind.  Not just hear about it at church and think, “oh, that’s great!”  No.  We need to PRACTICE this stuff.

After introspection comes treatment, or affirmative prayer.  Five steps: god is, I am, It’s done, thanks, bye.

We recognize that god is all there is, and that I am a part of that thing called god, and it a part of me.  From the power that I get from that state of oneness, I speak my word, in the first person present tense, feeling and knowing that what I am speaking is manifesting in me right here and right now.  I express my gratitude and release and anchor with that wonderful term: AND SO IT IS!

And if you have a resentment?  If you are angry at someone or something, guess what?  You get to do forgiveness work.  

You will know the next step by doing the personal self awareness practices and the treatments.  

Go and do that.

As for me, remember the awareness I had about trust issues?

Well, I’m leaning into that and, like i mentioned before, I’m offering a book study on the Vanzant book.  Wanna join in?  Contact me!  It will be via zoom, on Monday afternoons from 2-4 pm pacific time, for five weeks, beginning Monday, March 4.  Free!  Contact me and i will send you the rest of the details.

Meanwhile, know that this thing, this leaning into change and coming out the other end more successful than ever, living more fearlessly feral than ever, is what this teaching called Science of Mind is all about.

The connection with a god that lives as us helps us navigate those stormy waters, and gives us the power to to steer ourselves through.

The personal self awareness allows us to know ourselves and to know what it is we wish to create in our lives as a result of all this divine upheaval and deconstruction.  

The treatments affirm our direction and send us right into that beautiful and powerful creative process so that we can begin to create something new and wonderful in our lives.  

I am feeling moved to end this podcast with a good old fashioned bonafide science of mind treatment.

And so it is!

I thank you for listening and for your support, and I am knowing fearlessly feral living for me and for you!

Outro:  Fearlessly Feral Living is a Focus Ministry of Centers for Spiritual Living.  Your support is much appreciated and fully tax deductible!  You can support us in a number of different ways:

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