Effort Can Become a Form of Escape

 The mind quickly concludes, “I cannot be like this. I need to be better,” and immediately tries to improve itself.

But the real issue is not a lack of effort—it is the belief that we are not good enough. When effort is driven by this belief, it is directed toward the external world. We think we must do more, try harder, and become better.

This, however, is the wrong direction. When the direction is wrong, effort becomes endless. Over time, it leads only to exhaustion, powerlessness, and frustration.

True work begins by turning inward. It is from the inner world that real change arises.

By Suzhen Liu

 

Being in Oneness

 Our notion of self arises as the interplay of body, mind and world. It’s conditioned energy and a much weaker force than the energy of the field of Oneness. On the inside, we can examine, understand and letting go of blockage that cut us off this Universal Energy. On the outside, we are invited to simply ride it. 

S (tillness)

E (nergy)

L (ove)

F (low)

describes the ease of being when the flip from self-generated living to being in Oneness is made.

 

Put your attention toward pain and dissolve it

 “What are you thinking of when you are in pain?”  Teacher Suzhen Liu invites us to inquire.

 

Do you try your best to get rid of the sadness, anger, or grief you are experiencing? Whenever you try to eliminate your pain, you are actually fighting it. Psychological pain is created by a mindset, and attempting to get rid of it means one is using one mindset to battle another! This inner struggle creates conflict, and as a result, you become stuck.

 

When you turn your attention toward the pain instead of resisting it, your energy naturally shifts into attentiveness. In that moment, conflict and struggle begin to dissolve. As you remain present with the pain, it is no longer being pushed away or judged. When pain is fully met with awareness, it begins to transform on its own.

 

This is the key element of The Letting Go Method.

 

By Suzanne Yang

Vigilant on behalf of Freedom

 A friend reminisced about the Berkeley Hippie movement in the 60s and said that he was part of the societal change at that time. Then he paused and added, commenting on today’s contentious political climate, “I guess the mistake we made then is thinking the job was done. We always have to remain vigilant on behalf of freedom.”

A spiritual quest is not that dissimilar. Yes, Grace descends on many of us as we break through new levels of consciousness along the spiritual quest. Yet, we call ourselves human beings for a reason. As long as we walk the blue planet there is always an opportunity for learning in between the being.

True Reasons Beneath Rebellious Behaviors in Children

 There must be a reason why children demonstrate rebellious behaviors. The real reason is not that the parents hit them. Hitting is the consequence of anger. Parents must have held some belief sets about their children, for example, the father may feel that the kids are a burden. If the father feels this way, then the kids will subconsciously act on this feeling and react accordingly. Some kids will rebel, and some will slack off and lose their purpose in life. So, the father’s belief has become self-fulfilling in the end. Yes, the kids are a burden to him, and yes, they also make trouble, so the father is naturally angry, but in reality, it was his belief system to start with that made the kids act up.

 

Because the kids don’t feel accepted, it is hard for them to succeed. They rebel and have many other adverse reactions. Because the father is feeling stressed about life, he may feel that this kid is bringing more burden to him. Whenever the father has this belief set, he will look at the child this way, and the kid doesn't feel accepted and is therefore bound to rebel.  Once children misbehave, the father will feel that they only add to his stress, so he is even more furious. So, on the surface it seems that the anger of the father makes the kids rebel, but the real reason is that the father never really accepted the child.

 

Belief sets not only influence yourself, when you carry this belief set around and interact with family, it will influence the family dynamics and future generations. Whenever parents feel stressed and they receive very little support, whenever you feel this way, as a parent or a child, it’s time to study underlying belief systems and upgrade yourself.

 

Suzhen Liu

 

If you enjoy Suzhen Liu’s writings please check out her new book, “Discover Love Within—Release Your Suffering” available at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Discover-Love-Within-Release-Suffering-ebook/dp/B0G4L29MVN

Awakening—Keep your eyes on the ball!

 If you remain in the "don't want" state, everything will come to you. That is why both likes and dislikes are not wanted. (Sri Ramana Maharshi)

Do you want to live like an enlightened one does? It’s not hard to do, just keep your eyes on the ball. Rain or shine, we mostly know what to do. So just do it and otherwise keep quiet. That’s what the masters do as well.

If you feel awful doing what needs to get done, do it and recover from the emotional turmoil later. If you feel excited reaping your rewards, that’s fine too. Just don’t let these moments of joy interfere with what needs to get done.

A friend once observed, “It is true what they say, before enlightenment cut wood and carry water. After enlightenment, cut wood and carry water. It’s just that afterwards we do it much more happily!” Contentment is what distinguishes the master from us.

The true learning opportunity happens when we are asked to face the depth of our subconscious. In moments when we don’t know what to do, or in times when the pain or excitement becomes so overwhelming that we take our eyes off the ball.

God gave us two eyes to spot life’s invite for learning in between the being.

Stop the Hurting Cycle

 Why do we hurt others?  The reason is that you get hurt, and you cannot face yourself. You make others responsible for your pain, and in turn, hurt others. So, hurting others is a way of escaping pain.

Running away from your pain and not be willing to face it will only create more issues. If you can come back to yourself, then you can end this karma. Ending this karma is the ultimate way of achieving peace. The alternative is to hurt others, then add more resentment toward each other, add even more karma, and then you hurt more, and add more karma. This is the endless cycle so many are born into. This is incarnation.

Suzhen Liu