dailydatewithgod

One of the beauties in the reality of being human is our ability to change our minds. We do not always use this capacity to its fullest because we have become accustomed to our routine way of thinking and thus seeing life. Why fix it if it ain’t broke, right? From my experience in recovery both personally and as part of the recovery community, it is often not until we break that we become open to changing our thinking. The new way of thinking, however, is about a shift in thinking about our thinking. In recovery, we are broken open first to the inadequacy of our current thinking and the desperate need to change our approach overall. It is not about finding a new way of thinking and never adjusting it. It is about finding a way to continue to think differently. It is through questioning our thinking that we continually break ourselves open to making room for our hearts. We develop the skills of a stunner who seeks the awe of life. A stunner is one who has the awareness of things that lay outside what our minds can comprehend. A stunner is resonant with the strings of the heart to expand our perspective and be breathed by what is more than we could imagine. Sometimes the stunning comes as a slap aside the head or a misstep in our footing. The stunner is God’s way of reminding us as we are awakened to taking a deeper breath of who we are, which requires us to tend to the sensations of our heart. God is inviting us to resonate with the vibrations of life one note at a time.

Are we willing to embrace a stunner as God’s gift of opening our hearts to the music of life today?

It happens to be raining and raining hard on the day that I write this. I have a love/hate affair with the rain. Actually, that is not true. I love rain and used to dance around in it as a kid. I love the musical classic “Singing in the Rain” with Gene Kelly. The only time I am not a fan of the rain is when I am driving in it or I am wearing something I do not want to get wet. I love being curled up on the couch in a warm blanket with some hot tea and listening to the sound of the drops hitting the window and whatever other surfaces stand between the drops getting from the clouds to the surface of the earth. I love the cleansing nature that being awash with water represents. On some level, I always imagine rain representing an opportunity to release and move forward. I am most likely impacted by being raised as a Christian and a decent grasp of the sacrament of Baptism. Also growing up in the desert allows for the presence of water on any level to have a greater impact. When I witness the rain pouring out of the sky with no end in sight I feel the effusion of energy from the heavens. It kind of reminds me of when I have one of those epic cries only after which I feel like I can breathe. I imagine the earth has a lot of tears to shed or perhaps it is giving us as humans permission to grieve. (something we are not very adept at). There seems to be an inherent fear of effusion, regardless of whether the emotions expressed are good or bad. Honestly, it is hilarious that as emotional beings we fight our very nature so much so that we classify effusion as something best kept in artistic expressions like stories, art, music, or poems. Somehow it is okay if we want to dance for joy upon hearing a song or cry bucket loads of tears after watching a touching movie. But if we find ourselves effusing emotions randomly we are somehow out of control. Maybe it rains consistently as part of the earth experience because God is trying to invite us to accept our nature. For that matter, maybe that is why waterfalls are so awe-inspiring. One cannot get more effusion than seeing a cascade of light-filled water come over a mountain. Maybe we could all benefit from embracing the effusion of life and what it means to be alive and not worry so much about how it looks to those who are still stuck in the denial of being an emotional being.

How might we open ourselves up to allowing the effusion of life to spring forth from us today?

We can go through life not realizing what it is calling us to if we look through the lens of things to get through. Life is not a checklist though I have certainly been guilty of behaving as though I was striving to earn the epithet: “Here lies the first woman to accomplish everything on her checklists.” Each experience is an opportunity to discover more of who we truly are. Our character is revealed in how we show up to each of the circumstances. What happens does not make us who we are, but how we handle what happens. God invites us to look at life and notice what it is seducing us to reveal to the world about ourselves. When we move from one thing to the next without pausing to tap into the energy of our hearts, how can we respond to the seduction of life? In case you haven’t noticed, life seems to be working hard to seduce out of us the strength of character needed to attend to more than we thought we could handle. God encourages us to summon the courage needed to step into the seduction of life and embark on a fuller understanding of the truth of our own hearts and engage in the dance of seduction inborn in the tapestry of what it means to be alive.

Are we willing to pause and connect within so we can take the first step into the seduction of what it means to be fully alive today?

It is curious to me how God would have equipped us with something inherent to what it means to be human and then constantly offer to either relieve, manage, or overcome it. The utility of fear is clear as it ensures our survival. However, based on the number of times in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures where God says, “Be Not Afraid or Fear not, ” or something similar it can leaves one feeling confused. Is fear a good thing or a bad thing? Or perhaps God is aware of our proclivity to take our natural states and either misuse or misdirect them. Hmm, I can’t think of any other survival element to who we are as humans where this happens. (wink, wink). The deeper question then becomes, is it about being fearless or fearing less? Is it about getting rid of fear or keeping it in its place? It is often spoken of as the opposite of faith so are we to believe that when we are in fear, we are not in faith or they are just temporarily disproportionate to one another. Maybe the key is to find a way to incorporate more intrepidness into our lives. Fear can be an indication of having strayed away from who God knows us to be at our core. If we are not fearful, how will we know when we have gone off course? When embarking on a new experience of any kind, we can be swayed by fear because by its very nature the unknown is uncertain and our brain interprets that as something to be potentially fearful of. If we pause, however, and check-in with our hearts we can see a different picture. There is an intrepidness to the power of our hearts which is equally inherent. It takes stepping outside the confines of our minds and breathing in the expansive view of our hearts. Whether it is something as small as an unknown conversation or as big as taking on a new job, our intrepidness can be our guide to navigate through the unchartered potentially fear-laden experience. Embarking on an intrepid path sets the course to discover who we are beyond what our mind tells us is the known reality of who we are.

Are we willing to use the fear messages being run through our minds as a signal to get in alignment with the intrepidness of our hearts and discover a fuller perspective of who we are today?

As human beings, we naturally accumulate. It is part of the process of growing and evolving that from an early age we are in the process of gathering and assimilating ideas, beliefs, and experiences. These formulate who we understand ourselves to be. Once we reach a certain age, we develop the capacity to take what we have accumulated and use it. We step out of simply ingesting and move into a phase of digesting. We also come to a discernment capability that allows us to determine if we are newly accumulating matches and mismatches with what we already know. We learn to test our initial ideas, beliefs, and experiences with what is coming to us that is new. Typically, again with little awareness, we use what works, what is acceptable, what allows us to have our basic needs met, and more. As we go along in life we create a collection of ideas and beliefs which work and it is not until we experience a breakdown of them do we look a little closer. There is a reason for the cliche: “If it ain’t broke, don’t’ fix it.” At the outset of any breakdown, we tend to view it as a problem. We can sometimes think we are broken because the up till now working collection of accumulation has worked. God invites us in these moments to take a deeper look. What kind of collection have we been operating from that is no longer in alignment with who we are designed to be at our core? What kind of collection do we want to operate in a way enabling us to be the best version of ourselves. It is challenging to question long-held collections of accumulation and it feels uncomfortable. It is why in recovery it is said that one’s bottom is found when the pain of continuing on the usual way is greater than the pain of changing. God invites us to investigate the collections of our lives not because we are broken but because we are standing on the precipice of getting to know the truth of who we are as God designed us to be.

Are we willing to accept God’s invitation to investigate with curiosity the collections of our lives that are breaking down today?

The process of improvement is often couched under the idea of a complete renewal. The reality of honing is about fine tuning. Bit by bit, step by step, with each breath and each choice we have the opportunity to creatively hone in on what is in need of attention. The distinction comes in knowing whether the honing is needed on the level of mind and thinking or on the level of the heart and feeling. We are, of course, not separate entities of mind, heart, or body. One always affects the other. Most of the time the drive behind honing comes from our minds. Our perception is affected and we have thoughts about it. Those thoughts build ideas and we are off to the races. We find ourselves seeking out tools for improvement. God invites us to take a step back, pause, and check-in with our hearts. When we take a breath, connect in with the truth of who we are we can open up a honing exploration that may lead us in a direction outside of what our minds can conceive. Equally, we may find that there is no honing needed except to remember to more readily connect with our hearts as often as possible. It is a process of choosing where our drive to improve is coming from the mind which is defaulted to first uncover what is wrong is an integral part of the honing process but it cannot be driven only from our minds if we want to live from the truth of who we are.

Are we willing to pause at the start of the honing process and check in with our heart to determine if the drive for improvement is stemming from the truth of who we are today?

Those of you who are fans of the Back to the Future series will recall that it was the flux capacitor which made time travel possible. It came to Doc Brown in a vision after being knocked out. For most of us, flux is experienced as the continuous change that accompanies what it means to be alive. God invites us in this flow of life’s changes to engage with curiosity that makes our lives possible. Possible without burning or blowing up. The flux makes room for us to find a place of peace with our past, present, and future. While it is not time travel in a linear sense there is no mistaking the human experience of the past impacting our present and being the template of our expected future. To be able to deal with the flux of life we need to know how to navigate the past, present, and ideas of the future. It sounds like a lot of avoiding the reality of the present but it is just the opposite. An awareness of what has impacted us and setting a vision for how we see life gives us what we need to know how to most effectively walk through the flux in one piece. Especially with the rate of flux happening today in the world. The ability to increase the capacity of handling flux comes from accepting God’s invitation to get to know what has shaped us and how it is in alignment or not with the truth of who God created us to be.

Are we willing to look with curiosity at our template for flux capacity through the lens of our hearts today?

We live in a world full of information and ideas. Sometimes it seems as though their speed of expression is driven by a fear of running out of style. In such an environment it becomes imperative for us to harness the power of the pause. Not only for whether or not the ideas in our heads truly need to be voiced in the moment but also to determine which to take in. God invites us to take the time to determine the validity of what is coming across our path before we simply adopt it. Just because it is popular right now or what everyone else seems to be doing does not mean it is in resonance with the truth of who we are. This applies to ideas that have been readily ingrained in our sense of ourselves as well as things newly presented to us. On my daily dates with God over the years as I sit in a quiet and gentle space of love and acceptance held by God in my heart, I am given the grace of being in the moment. I come to it full of ideas and questions. God welcomes all that I am in that moment with open arms. Validity of anything for God is about what she sees as resonant with how I am designed. Each of us has a role to play in our own lives and in the lives of those with whom we interact. Interaction can be the simplicity of walking past someone on the street, standing in line behind them in the grocery store, or being stuck in traffic with them. And yes, even the one who isn’t using their blinker. What is valid in those moments is God’s presence in all of it. Even if the ideas and information they are presenting irritate us. In the space of quiet with our Creator, God invites us to find the peace of acceptance in all that we are and are not at any given moment. When we incorporate the knowing of such acceptance we find ourselves capable to hold the validity of the being of another being at any time because it is their God presence that resonates with us despite what is emanating from them.

Are we willing to take God up on the invitation of acceptance of us and make room for the validity of the being of others today?

We all play a role, most of us many roles in this game of life. There are also the ingredients of who we are which we bring to the roles we play. We have both a unique and common design inherent to who we are. Getting to know our own ingredients is a process. As we develop our awareness and recognition of them, we become equipped to make choices about how we show up. It is a bumpy road filled with missteps and triumphs. It involves bumping into and mixing in with the ingredients of others. God invites us to begin by learning the ingredients that make us up regardless of where we find ourselves or of what the world says we are made. We can take the information provided as feedback. However, to use the ingredients to their greatest capacity we must know for ourselves what is included. Paying attention with our minds and hearts to what resonates and moves us to utilize our ingredients to create in an energetic fashion is the invitation from the start. It is not about doing it perfectly or getting the right mix of ingredients but noticing which of our ingredients when mixed with others’ and experiences create life-giving meals. Honing in on what we bring to the table as well as noticing the ingredients brought by others enables us to live in alignment with the truth of who we are for the greater good of all. Being given the opportunity to create with our ingredients is what allows us to mirror the Creator himself. She has designed us to be the reflection of love embodied. Our connection and awareness of our ingredients is the path to get there.

Are we willing to develop an awareness of our ingredients and be the creators we are designed to be today?

We all know the feeling of our attention being captivated. The world is full of experiences that are constantly vying for our attention. They sparkle and shine. They dance and illuminate. The grab us but whether or not we let them keep us is up to us. An immersion experience developing from a captivating moment can seem unchosen. With so much outside of us flashing and clanging (and that is just coming from our phones!), it is hard not to fall for the feeling of being an immersion victim. The thing we often neglect to recognize is how God is equally vying for our attention. God has designed us to become immersed in what it means to be alive. The key is learning how to tune into and allow ourselves to be as captivated by it. We think it lacks the bells and whistles but perhaps that has more to do with our perspective. Perhaps we have allows our minds to be pulled this way or that by everything outside of us for so long we lost touch with the juiciness of how miraculous it is that we are alive and breathing in this very moment. I can’t explain how almost 20 years of daily dates with God has altered my perceptions of life but I can tell you there is something powerful about it. Somehow by taking a little time to start my day connecting with the power of who I truly am within, by allowing myself to reconnect with what it means to be alive down to a few breaths and movements of my heart the eyes of my mind are captivated and immersed by the littlest of things. How some prayer and meditation time each day no matter what has softened my heart and widened my desire for beauty and kindness I don’t know. Perhaps someone much smarter than me can explain the impetus to notice when I am immersed in the joy of the simplicity of life almost like a child, but I honestly don’t care. It does not mean I ignore what the world is drawing me to be immersed in, it just means I have a greater sovereignty and choice in where I keep my attention.

What would it take for each of us to desire an immersion into the simple joys of what it means to be alive today?