Hi Everybody!
Sixteen years ago I began applying a principle in
the midst of my circumstances for the purpose of ending my pattern of living my
life at the mercy of my circumstances. It was—it IS—a very simple principle that
goes like this:
“Where I place my attention,
I am placing my intention.”
Mary Manin Morrissey
What does that mean? It means that whatever I
place my attention on is going to grow in my awareness, because if I have my
attention on it I am, in essence, telling my subconscious mind to find me more
of it.
This morning as I am writing this piece, my
husband Rick happens to be in the hospital. We took him to Urgent Care
yesterday at about noon with chest pain and shortness of breath, and they sent
us straight to the Emergency Room. I was there with him all day as they poked
and prodded him and ran test after test, the results of which—at 8:00 last
night when I finally came home to care for our dogs—were this: He definitely
has another blood clot in his lung (pulmonary embolism). Those of you who have
been receiving the I Choose for some time will remember that it was a pulmonary
embolism that landed him in the ICU in Oklahoma in 2013, and that it very
nearly took his life.
This time around there is more, as he is having trouble
with his heart, too.
They are treating the clot with blood thinners,
and they had scheduled an ultrasound for last night to see if there were other
clots anywhere else in his body. I look forward to hearing the results of that
when I get there this morning so the limbo that is “not-knowing” can end on
that subject. And then later today they will be doing more testing to see what’s
up with his heart.
So this brings me to this week’s message. I happen
to LOVE how this stuff always works out for me when I use it deliberately. Last
Monday, during my regular evening “letting go of my day” process, I had a
pretty deep experience of completely
letting go of all resistance and/or attachment to anything and everything. It
was an experience of what is known as “resting in Christ,” or “resting in the
Buddha.” For me, it felt like “resting in rightness,” or “resting in faith.”
During those few minutes it was SO clear to me
that there is far, far, far more going right in my life than not. It was
clear to me that the things that feel like they’re going “wrong” or that
frustrate me are piddly compared to all that is going right. It occurred to me
that this must be what it feels like to really stand firmly in faith in the
goodness and perfection of all things.
Aside from the obvious stuff like my job and my
relationship with my husband; the blessings that are my children and my grandchildren
and my spiritual community; my car and my home, it came to me that in those
times that I feel REALLY challenged, I can broaden my awareness to things like
the fact that there are literally trillions of cells in my body that know
exactly what to do to keep my body working, and that I do not have to do
anything at all to make them work that way. My hair knows how to grow, my lungs
know how to breathe, my nails and skin and organs all do exactly what they’re
supposed to do without me having to concentrate on them at all. And even when
something seems to be wrong with my physical body, that one thing is as nothing
compared to the trillions of things that are working exactly as they are
supposed to. I do not have to spend any of my energy or attention on getting my
lungs to breathe or my heart to work, etc.
And the same goes for Rick, even in his current
circumstance. There is far, far, far more that is going right in his body right
now than there is that appears to be having trouble. When I can place my
attention on this simple truth, I am more able to be strong for him as I stand
firmly in my faith. Deliberately (emotionally) co-operating with all of the “rightness”
that I can find in this circumstance keeps me from spiraling into fear and
worry, which would not serve him at all.
Another example that goes even broader is this: I
do not have to do ANYTHING to keep our sun shining or our planet in orbit. I do
not have to do ANYTHING to make sure that the Universe stays intact and
functioning as it does. That is something I can always count on, and I’ve found
myself (you know, because the “Universe” is kinda “my thing”) coming back to
this one all week long as a faith-strengthener. I am completely supported by
all of the infinite number of things that are going right in my life, even as
far out as the boundary of this boundary-less universe, and this week I have
been deliberately practicing “co-operating with” all of that. And it has been a
really great week for me.
And then yesterday happened. If you’ve ever spent
a day in the ER with someone that you love, knowing that they are not feeling well,
and not having any answers as to why, then you know how stressful that can be.
Yesterday was long and exhausting for Rick and I, both. However, I found myself
repeatedly going back to this idea that I’ve been applying in my life all week
as I’ve been preparing to send it out as today’s message.
Even in this highly challenging situation I have been
able to look for, find, and actively co-operate with the many, many
things that are going right throughout every single aspect of this
circumstance.
I encourage you to try this for yourself, in the
midst of whatever you’re living right now. All of us have challenges to deal
with in our lives. How much more emotionally healthy and effective would we be
in the midst of those challenges if we could consistently keep our active attention on what’s going right,
rather than the things that appear to be going wrong? As we place our attention
on the “rightness,” we tell our subconscious mind to focus on more “rightness,”
and more “rightness” occurs to us and for us.
And as you find it, make a choice to consciously—actively-rather-than-passively—co-operate with it, which will help you
to know that feeling of rightness throughout your whole being, and throughout
your entire life circumstance in every moment that you do this deliberately.
That has been my experience, and that IS my experience even right now as I
write this message from this limbo-place of not knowing what is going to happen
next in this circumstance.
I Choose… Conscious Co-operation With “Rightness”
This week, I
choose to pay attention to how I feel, and in those times that I feel like
things are not going the way I would like them to, I place my attention
deliberately on the fact that the vast majority of my life is made up of things
that are going right. It is all of those things co-operating with each other
that keep my body functioning, my relationships healthy, and even my planet
spinning in its orbit around the sun. I choose conscious, active co-operation with these things, and I
feel blessed and grateful in this amazing life that I am living.
Remember: Where you place your attention, you are
placing your intention. This week make it your intention to have a deep
awareness of all of the myriad things that are going right in your life, right
in the midst of whatever circumstance you happen to be experiencing.
And please keep Rick in your prayers, if you are a
person who prays. Thank you so much, and much love to you all!
Love,
Sandi
Have
an awesome day if you choose to!
Rev.
Sandra Daly
480-226-1763
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Where
are you headed? Where are your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs going to take
you? I find the following quote from Mary Morrissey very helpful. Maybe you
will, too. J
“Just
a little shift in direction and a mile down the road you’re in a whole new place.”
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