02 February 2011

It's Already Here

One of the most difficult lessons for me to learn is that everything that I'll ever want or need already is here inside of me, a part of who I am, and that all I need to do is look inside myself to learn all that I'll ever need to know.  All the time while I was growing up I was taught--mostly from poor examples and implied lessons--that what I need and want is outside of me.  But as I've grown older and the slightest bit wiser, I recognize that my satisfaction, my peace, my fulfillment, my learning, my love--and everything else I need and want--already are here.

It's difficult to allow this lesson to sink in, but the lesson itself already is inside of us, too.  And when we slow down and listen and allow ourselves to feel and experience our inner selves, rather than focusing constantly on all the stimuli that come from outside of ourselves, we learn that there's a great deal of beauty and grace inside of us, and that life is a question of setting it free so that it can be an active part of our conscious selves rather than being buried in the muck of so much of what we've learned that's not very useful at all.

Think about it--when are we taught to value all of the thoughts and ideas that are at our core?  When are we taught how to look inside to discover answers to important questions and problems?  And if we never learn how to value our inner realities, how can they ever help us to live our lives fully and completely?
I'm amazed sometimes at some of the answers and ideas that come from inside when I give up on trying to find answers and ideas.  I'm mostly amazed, though, at the fact that I so rarely allow myself to give up on trying to find them.  After all, when I do so I almost always feel what I need just coming to me, so why don't I do so more often?

Somehow, we've come to value our rationality and logic so much that we don't trust parts of ourselves that don't depend on rationality and logic.  So we try to control outcomes, and we try to "find" answers and solutions.  But what happens if we just relax, let our minds run more freely, and allow answers to come to us, and from us?  Then we get the feeling of what it's like to be in tune with life, and we learn some of the most important lessons about just what we and life are like.


Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul,
a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice. . . .
Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power.
It is simple.  It is serene.  It is amazing.  It is radiant.

T.R. Kelly


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