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Originally Posted by Shivani Devi
As I sit here tonight, the Serenity Prayer comes into my mind:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference".
How do we know and understand when we are "wise" enough to tell the difference between those things we can change and those we cannot?
Isn't affirming something simply a desire to change or control things which may be beyond our influence or ability to do so, instead of merely accepting things how they are?
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But you've hit it with the word "MAY". A basic principle of affirmation (to me) is that it has to be practicable. If one isn't wise enough to know whether something is practicable then they'll soon learn because it won't work if it isn't. Let's hope they learn...
....Which isn't to say that what initially seems impractical can't be reduced to stages. I want to be a brain surgeon. That ain't gonna happen overnight but in stages it might just. (Just an example. I don't really want to be a brain surgeon!)
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If I could affirm anything, it would be to be taken more seriously and to engage in more "deep and meaningful" conversations, yet whenever I express this desire, I am always advised to act with selfless intent and not to wish for or expect any desired outcome...which leaves me wondering "what about this Law of Attraction" thing then?
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Perhaps it's about intuiting the suitability of the respondent to hold the type of conversation you feel necessary. I find sometimes it takes an effort to
be interested enough in others' views in conversation and keeping on message. In negotiation it's necessary to try.
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Why is it that I always seem to "attract" negativity, when one would think that if the Universe wanted me to grow spiritually, it would be a heck of a lot more supportive and understanding instead of being rude and dismissive.
If it is my ego that is getting in the way and my lesson is to "let go, let God", do I honestly know what I want and what is best for me that I am even able to make an affirmation? would that not be what my ego wants, which may not even be beneficial to me on any "soul level?" I mean, do I even have any free will or am I just going along for the ride?
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Is relying on some (presumably) exterior force to decide what's best for you the best way? Isn't it rather throwing yourself in the seas of fate? Isn't this a bit of a cop-out, exposing you potentially to blame this agency when things don't turn out as you hope? Could this force have already decided and tried to prompt you but you have yet to respond? Is that possibly what the search for Self is about? Could it be behind how you now see yourself as a negativity magnet?
There's nothing wrong with ego. It's the interface between your aims (from wherever they emanate within you) and people and things you need to facilitate them (by whatever means). There seems at least some consensus that what we are and do emanates from our souls which supposes the spark within us, i.e. not being driven, zombi-like, by an external force once we're placed here.
I don't believe the way we live founded itself on waiting around for god/universe to come up with a care plan for every human ever existing. Ok, a big discussion but it starts with the most basic drive - to survive, a feature of organic life. We're prompted to choose a way to survive. That seems to have been written into the ecological system. We've elaborated it into a process that involves many choices and decisions which are up to us, surely?
Are affirmations and "letting go" really the only mutually exclusive choices? My suggestion would be don't affirm if it's impractical or one hasn't the staying power to see things through and/or isn't deeply motivated to achieve the aim.
But...just my views....