The most excellent way

[muffin]

Originally Posted by Molearner

23rd Psalm….”He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.”

This is the ‘work’ of one spiritual path….

Good afternoon Molearner

Finding solitude in the darkness

I love what comes from the side lines, asked mrs muffin how to spell solitude, you stirring again

[Aknaton]

Originally Posted by Molearner

In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul speaks of ‘the most excellent way’ which is presented as love in the following chapter……absolutely right. But I have also thought about this. I think about how difficult we can make the spiritual path appear to be….do this…do that. What about the other way ? Do nothing….

I think that Apostle Paul is speaking about being a channel for God. If we are charitable to others expressing non-judgemental love in action, then we can open ourselves to becoming channels of God. Paul uses the word 'prophesy' which is sharing God's words with oneself or another, channeling is another word. And if we desire the gift of 'channeling', we've most definitely got to be charitable, because if we can't be charitable with what we have, whether it's material, emotional, intellectual,we definitely can't be charitable with spiritual things. I 100% believe that channeling is for everybody, and channeling God at that! And when our channeling gift is activated, it isn't just God that we can channel, we can channel other spirit-beings.

I am totally convinced that spiritual gifts are not us doing the work but the Spirit doing this work through these gifts in us. I've noticed that most of the spiritual gifts and offices are about serving others more than our self. At the end of the day, it is God that gets all the glory for the working through these spiritual gifts, because without the Spirit, there can't be no work done through these gifts.

[FallingLeaves]

once you realize you don't have to do something and that may actually be better for you, then you instinctively start learning to do that - to do not doing something.

But I find that living with doing of not doing something is very different from living in that space where you actually aren't doing something.

For some reason I can't let go of wanting to grab at wanting to let go.

It seems to be a disease...

Sigh.

[sky]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

For some reason I can't let go of wanting to grab at wanting to let go.
It seems to be a disease...
Sigh.

Imo, control is a disease and surrender is the cure

[Redchic12]

I so agree with Sky. #24

[Maisy]

It's a tricky business as surrender may or may not be a solution. Remember one can try to surrender, then they are still in the boat of creating conflict in the now, in their minds and creating the corresponding experience of conflict.

The opposite of doing is not, not doing as both involve a "doer" doing. Either doing doing or doing not doing. The true opposite is having no "doer" at all. No-one or no-thing to put forth an effort to try to fix or accomplish something imagined. The idea one can or should change through some mentally imagined effort or technique or practice needs to be dropped.

But there again I said "dropped" conjuring up an idea of the "dropper." All ways we point to this thing through language don't work. There is no way to represent what is done in words or language because words and language are always symbolic and not the things they describe. One function of words and language and thought is to project the idea of a self external to us. A self embodied in language itself as thought. The source of "I want to do this or that" is always thought, and thought is a product of the brain, not us.

So surrender is more than trying to drop doing. It has to include freedom from the idea that there is something that needs to be done or "someone" (thought based self) that can do it. Something does need to change, but we are returning to the way things are, not how we want them to be.

The ending of self interest (or focusing the attention solely on ourselves and not everything else or others external to us) ends the thought created or projected self, so change occurs. But we did not do something or not do something to make this change happen. We simply got off the treadmill of a thought based interpretation of now and our own relation to now or state of being. We are here now with no interference of mind or interpretation of thought. And in this new reality, we are just what we have always been. And we experience an experience that has also always been here.

It what exists when we no longer are looking and experiencing through the filters of our conditioned mind.

Luke 17:20 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come? Jesus answered them, and said: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.

One needs an observer to have an observation. Observe the observer and realize that is not you either... perhaps one then experiences the kingdom of God.

[sky]

Quote Maisy "surrender may or may not be a solution"

Imo and through experience I know I cannot control everything so my solution is to surrender to that which is uncontrollable and change what is changeable.

[Redchic12]

Thanks Sky. I’ve lived by that philosophy for many years now and life seems to flow very nicely.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

Thanks Sky. I’ve lived by that philosophy for many years now and life seems to flow very nicely.

What's the point of wasting our energy on trying to control the uncontrollable, save it to change what we can and surrender to the rest