Learning and transforming amidst being

 “I never do it again,”

is an empty statement.

It implies that the yesterday “you”

was without wits and determination.

 

“Something inside has shifted,”

is a true acknowledgement of change.

It’s a closer look at the illusionary self and

another step to get the self out of the Way!

(Christian M. Wiese, Get the self out of the Way)

 

I once read a full page special in the NY Times by someone who pledged to beat his addiction with will-power alone. I thought to myself this is odd. He deserves this attention after completion of a ten-year anniversary but not as a statement of intent, but then, the point he made was interesting. He argued that he cannot subscribe to the premise of the 12 step program, “I am powerless,” and I also have to say that I cringe when I see people who have been free from their destructive habits for ten years running when they introduce themselves with the statement, “I am an addict.” We are free but sometimes need a few pointers to realize that we are.

The 12 step program was founded in the 1930s and helped many in finding their spiritual connection in support groups. Surrender is spiritual, “not my will but Thine,” but we are free in joining God’s Will as we participate in this reigning energy. The person who placed this pledge in the NY Times may have succeeded or not in his mission. Sure, we are that powerful to pull ourselves by the bootstraps, but he had one problem to deal with: the will that he appeals to is part of the same entity that got him into the compulsion in the first place. He may succeed in his endeavor to beat his compulsion in one area, but another imbalance will show up without learning and transformation.

The self that we identify with is illusionary and often an addiction is a wake-up call to embark on this quest of losing the conditioned self. There are currently eight billion journeys of a lifetime, and there is no “wrong” or “right” in any idiosyncratic choices of how we live our life. It’s our choice until the day we realize there is no choice. We are being lived by a higher entity with or without our conscious participation. Learning and transforming is what we do, with the occasional glimpses of pure being. I was reminiscing yesterday that nothing really changed since my Awakening started in 2008. I am still riding the higher energies as the first day. Sure there has been some learning and transforming along the Way. We call ourselves human beings for a reason.

#spirituality #Awareness #change #credibility