"Your true self no more fears an unexpected change in life than water worries about how it will take the shape of the glass into which it is being poured." - GF
Every day, whether we're aware of it or not, we move through a series of unexpected changes. Today it snowed in Southern Oregon a rare occurrence this time of year. Not even the weatherman predicted it. The spring flowers and budding perennials didn't expect it but they're just fine. Wouldn't it be a relief to honestly know that no matter what happens, we will be just fine? And further, to know that life is mercifully giving us exactly what we need for our spiritual transformation each and every moment. In order to know this we have to get a lot more involved in our interior life
A conscious Naval Commander has the ship and crew's best interest at heart at all times. He is fully present when he is on the captain's deck. His job is to know what possible dangers threaten his ship and what courses of action he can take for each circumstance that arises. He has studied navigation and been vigorously trained to deal with whatever comes up. He can't know what lies ahead but this training will keep him calm and focused through the unexpected. This doesn't mean he performs his duties flawlessly. A conscious commander takes each new circumstance and learns the lesson needed to avoid the same mistakes. His life and the lives of the crew are his responsibility each time he goes to sea.
I haven't been out to sea but I have flown on hundreds of commercial airlines over the years. Each time I enter the plane I try to get a good look at the pilot. I am trying to get a sense of his/her presence. I always love it when I see the pilot on the ground walking around the plane doing the final exterior check. Once I enter the plane my life is in the pilots hands. The same is true inwardly. In order to ever have conscious command I need to be aware of who is commanding the ship.
Do I ever ask, "who is commanding my ship" when:
1. I am angry, nervous or depressed. Conscious command has a quiet calm. Use these strong indicators to remember yourself.
2. I am hard and inflexible in my work or family life. It's necessary to hear this state speaking both outwardly and inwardly. The cruelty we see in the world resides in us.
3. I am soft and sentimental. This is a tough one to see. I have always thought that the soft emotions were all good. They can be, but many times we fall fast asleep thinking what a good person we are because we have a sentimentalized feeling over God, family, a movie or even a dog. Be aware of where these feelings take you.
4. I allow my senses to lead me. Test each desire by saying no just once. Then see the mind and body howl in rebellion. This ancient saying says it all. "Free from desire you realize the mystery, Caught in desire you see only the manifestations."
5. I am judging another person. None of us want to see the self-righteous judge that has a comfortable home in us. We think it's ok to make judgments because it's so clear where others are at fault. Catch the judge sooner than later.
This list could go on for pages. I encourage you to make your own. Typically when I am in a negative state, I don't look to see who is commanding my interior ship. I blame the state on "outside" people and events. Unless I see that I am a divided human being I can never truly be in relationship with the unexpected (which is the present moment.) The whole point of our inner work is to uncover who and what is taking us over moment to moment so that we can begin to have conscious command of our lives. As Guy said in last night's talk "find out what matters most now... in this (and every) moment and you find your true self (conscious commander.)
Doug Norby/Alive Guide Host
4/16/09