5 Delightful Ways to Live What You Already Know (by Gail Brenner, Ph.D.)
OK, let’s get serious. I know that you know, even if you
don’t admit it to yourself. How could you not?
In your heart of hearts, in the deepest place within
yourself, you know the truth. The truth of living from love, of being free of
whatever holds you back, of fullness, well-being, and contentment. Why pretend
you don’t know any longer?
You might be afraid to acknowledge and live this knowing.
You might be diverted by thinking your life doesn’t measure up or you’ve been
dealt a bad hand or you’re a prisoner to your to-do list.
But if you go within and tell the truth, you will find this
seed of possibility and turn it into the living flesh-and-blood reality of your
precious life.
All you need to do is start with this very moment, then the
next and the next. Let the truth expand and be alive in you – in your choices,
your priorities, and what you value most. Don’t worry about what others will
think; you only need to answer to yourself.
But you’re not being selfish at all. Live what you already
know. You are at peace, and everyone around you gets to bask in your glow.
None of these five truths will be news to you. You know them
already more intimately than you could imagine. Is now the time to start living
them?
Enjoyment
Is it so hard to enjoy yourself? Yes, things can be hard
sometimes, but for the most part, it is easy to make the choice to enjoy.
You can be caught up in your mind about all the things you
should do, or you can sit quietly and drink a cup of tea.
You can worry about your relationships, or you can let your
heart open and offer a hug or kind word.
You can think about everything that is missing from your
life, or you can go outside and take a walk.
Recognize when you’re not enjoying yourself, and see what
other choices are available. What do you choose?
Appreciation
You already know how to appreciate whatever you are grateful
for. Because at the purest level of the totality of life, nothing is separate.
There is just the substance of life that includes everything and doesn’t resist
or reject anything.
From this point of view, you see yourself everywhere. How
could you not be grateful?
It’s part of our culture to appreciate – how many times a
day do we say, “Thank you?” Next time you do, don’t just throw the words away
by rote. Instead, feel the gratitude in your bones. Consciously experience the
“thank you” for that favor, compliment, or overture of friendship.
Then simmer in gratitude. Don’t even think about it – simply
contemplate the possibility of living in appreciation. With distracting mental
chatter out of the way, it’s so easy to be grateful.
Savoring
Life is bursting at the seams in every moment in an amazing
array of people, objects, sounds, sights, situations. Rather than judging what
you experience by dividing it into right and wrong, acceptable and inadequate,
try savoring things as they are.
Don’t be concerned about liking or disliking. Come out from
behind the fog of any thinking and see things as if for the first time. Like an
apple, for example. Use your senses to take it in. Taste and smell it. Hear the
crunch. Savor the deliciousness of this apple moment.
Now savor the experience of everything – your home, your
partner, doing the dishes, walking the dog, working.
Be present with what is as it is by not rejecting one iota
of it. This is it. Right here. Your now moment.
Wholeness
You might think that you are deficient or damaged, but what
you already know is that you are whole. You may have had life experiences that
tricked you into believing that you are not OK. Is that really the truth?
Even if it’s just a whisper, you know that before any ideas
of you, you are limitless, infinite, magnificent, so full you are overflowing.
Something in you believes that this is true. Because it is.
What would it be like to live from wholeness? No more fear
of rejection or pretending you are a victim. You realize that every moment
offers opportunities that support happiness and well-being. And you are free to
choose them.
Instead of pretending you are damaged, assume that you are
whole. Then the world is your oyster.
Peace
You can choose to resist what is actually here in this
moment, but you are going against the grain. Because you know that reality is
already at peace with itself.
You don’t need to find inner peace. If you stop battling
your own experience, peace is revealed, naturally. Stop running from your
emotions or believing things would be better “if only,” and, effortlessly,
peace will permeate your experience.
You have to work to be at war by thinking and resisting. Do
you want to be peaceful? You don’t have to do one single thing except align
your consciousness with things as they already are.
A blessed, effortless life is so available when you live
what you already know. Surrender everything to
enjoyment…appreciation…savoring…wholeness…peace. Wake up to the truth of
yourself.
Do you live what you know in your heart of hearts?
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