Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender (Power vs. Force, #9)
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To be free of inner conflict and expectations is to give others in our life the greatest freedom. It allows us to experience the basic nature of the universe, which, it will be discovered, is to manifest the greatest good possible in a situation.
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The basic rule is that we focus on what we have repressed.
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The fastest way to move from the bottom to the top is by telling the truth to ourselves and to others.
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The world can only see us as we see ourselves.
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One of the laws of consciousness is: We are only subject to a negative thought or belief if we consciously say that it applies to us. We are free to choose not to buy into a negative belief system.
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It is as though when we are in the proximity of the auras of people with certain capacities, some transfer of ability can take place. Simply put, we are either positively or negatively influenced by the company we keep. It is unlikely that we will overcome an inhibition if we choose to be in the company of others who have our same problem.
Aeric John
Choose your friends wisely.
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That part of us to which we refer as our “greater Self” loves rather than seeks love. Consequently, there comes the awareness that we are at all times surrounded by love, which is unlimited. Love is automatically attracted to the person who is loving.
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In fact, the most pious, meek, and harmless individuals are often riddled with guilt. Guilt is really self-condemnation and self-invalidation of our worth and value as a human being.
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As the quantity of guilty fear and the energy accompanying it are relinquished, we will notice that physical diseases and symptoms begin to disappear. The capacity to love ourselves in the form of increased self-esteem returns and with it comes the capacity to love others. Being freed from guilt brings about a renewal of life energy.
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Why is it already ours? In a lower state of consciousness, the universe is seen as negative and denying, frustrating, and reluctant. It is like a bad, stingy parent. In a higher state of consciousness, our experience of the universe changes. It now becomes like a giving, loving, unconditionally approving parent who wants us to have everything we want, and it is ours for the asking. This is creating a different context. It is giving the universe a different meaning.
Aeric John
Our outer world is a mirror of our inner world. We don’t change the inner by trying to change the outer; we have no control over that. Simply change the inner world and the outer will reflect those changes.
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As we relinquish our smallness and revalidate our own inner innocence, and as we let go of resisting our generosity, openness, trust, lovingness, and faith, then the unconscious will automatically start arranging life circumstances so that abundance begins to flow into our life.
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The way to become that exciting person whom people want to know is very easy. We simply picture the kind of person we want to be and surrender all the negative feelings and blocks that prevent us from being that. What happens, then, is that all we need to have and to do will automatically fall into place.
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Our mind is so powerful that, if we hold in mind a single thought such as, “My relationships never work out,” then that is most likely going to happen in our life. Our unconscious genie, which can only take orders and not make decisions, sees to it that our relationships don’t work out.
Aeric John
The mind is a powerful tool when used properly.
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One source of pride is connected with self-sacrifice. If our relationships with others are associated with our small self in the form of sacrifice, then we are setting ourselves up for later anger, because the other person is usually unaware of our “sacrifice” and is, therefore, unlikely to fulfill our expectations.
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The way to offset this anger is to acknowledge and relinquish the pride, surrender our desire for the pleasure of self-pity and, instead, view our efforts on behalf of others as gifts. We can experience the joy of being generous with others as its own reward.
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This whole arena of anger can be offset and prevented when we see the enormous value of simply acknowledging the gestures of others toward us. This means to acknowledge all of their communications to us. For instance, if friends call us on the phone, we thank them for calling us. The reason for doing this is that it makes the other persons feel complete and secure with us. It is an acknowledgment of their value in our life, and everyone feels pleased when we acknowledge their value.
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In all of us, the prideful feeling, “I have the answers,” blocks our growth and development.
Aeric John
Everything we “know” reflects back in our outer world, thus cementing and reinforcing our biases. Try assuming you know nothing for a day or a week (but it has to be genuine), and then see what your experience is like.
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When we truly love something and, thereby, become one with it, it is because we see its intrinsic perfection. In fact, its “faults” are part and parcel of its perfection, for all that we see in the universe is in the process of becoming. In that process, its perfect evolution is part of that perfection.
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True humility cannot be experienced by the person who is said to possess it, because it is not an emotion. As we have said before, the truly humble cannot be humbled. They are immune to humiliation. They have nothing to defend. There is no vulnerability and, therefore, the truly humble do not experience critical attacks by others.
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Gratitude is one of the antidotes of pride. If we happen to be born with a high IQ, we can be grateful for it rather than take pride in it. It’s not an accomplishment; we were born with it. If we are grateful for what has been given us and for what has been fulfilled through our God-given talents and endeavors, then we are in a peaceful state of mind and invulnerable to pain.
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Carl Jung said that the healthy personality is equally balanced between work, play, love, and an aspect of personality called spirituality, which we could also define as the search for meaning and value.
Aeric John
Spirituality has become such a loaded word and I avoid using it since it causes so much confusion in conversation. Work, play, love, and the search for meaning and value. (I wish there were a good word for this.)
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They occur spontaneously on their own when conditions are appropriate. The development of a spiritual ego is avoided by the realization that the phenomena are a gift from beyond our personal self; we are only the channels of Love, not its origin.
Aeric John
In reference to the Siddhis, the events like synchronicities and things that would appear to be miracles to the common mind. All kinds of powers can arise as one progresses. It’s best to remember that these are usually temporary gifts arising spontaneously and not something that the ego is doing or something to try and control or will into existence just because one can.
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Determined not to give up or allow a block in the flow of the process, finally, the bottom of the pit was reached and up came black despair of overwhelming intensity. In spite of this, there was the knowing that everything would be okay, because the primary identification was not with the despair but with the surrendering itself.
Aeric John
Without dispassion and a detachment from the ego, or small self, there are many terrifying roadblocks. If one is able to identify with formless awareness, it becomes evident that nothing arising in awareness is “you” and what You are is the invisible, formless awareness/consciousness.
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When we are finally and fully surrendered on all components, the answer will be there waiting for us. We won’t have to look for it.
Aeric John
This is an example of a paradoxical situation where continuous intense desire for something pushes it away. Why? Because you’re believing you don’t have it, and so that is what you will experience.
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In the discussions that follow, it will be noted that the transitions from one state to a higher state are not difficult to make. They may only seem “difficult” to us because of current perceptions. It’s important to keep in mind that, as we surrender, our perceptions will change. Our goals will automatically be elevated. What now seems impossible will become old hat after we have been practicing the technique a while.
Aeric John
It’s best to move slowly through the levels so as not to become overwhelmed. Getting glimpses of states that are much higher can be terrifying. Allow time for new perceptions to solidify. Don’t rush things and let things unfold organically.
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We will also notice that, as the mind contrasts the lower level of life with the higher level, a peculiar resistance to the description of a higher level of functioning will occur at times. The mind will get critical and try to save face by ridiculing a higher state. This is a golden opportunity because this is the very attitude that prevents a person from reaching that higher state of life. The very process of reading this material is invaluable, for it will reveal precisely what the blocks are and exactly why these goals are impossible at the present time. As resistances, criticisms, and ...more
Aeric John
If we watch our mind, it writes off things it’s not ready for as “crazy” or not worth doing. If the thing in question is not hard, do it. This is also why it’s best not to talk about most things with others at lower levels, since their minds will write you off as “crazy” as a means of preserving their sanity in the face of new information that conflicts with their current model of reality.
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The unconscious brings to us what it thinks we deserve. If our view of ourselves is small, limited, and miserly—due to accumulated guilt—then the unconscious will bring those economic conditions into our life.
Aeric John
It is not arrogant, egotistical, or prideful to assume and expect that we are worthy of love and joy. When practicing loving kindness when thinking of others, it is common to forget to include ourselves in the process. We are always our harshest critics. It’s best to view ourselves from the identity of awareness and not treat ourselves better or worse than we treat others. It’s hard to do though since we know so much more about our own “I” than we do the “I” of others.
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When we shift out of a lower to a higher energy pattern, we create a protective shield on the energetic level, as it were, and we can no longer be psychically vulnerable to that other person.
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Paradoxically, if we really want to affect other people, then we ought to really love them. Then, their anger at us will boomerang back upon them with no effect upon us! This was the wisdom of the Buddha’s statement in the Dhammapada, “Hate is not conquered by hate. Hate is conquered by love. This is an eternal law.”
Aeric John
So many of the teachings of the great avatars are misunderstood. This is a great example. “Love your enemy” is not coming from some ambiguous noble virtue, but from the understanding that Love is a power that creates and destroys. By loving your enemy, you let them destroy themselves with their ill intentions while you remain in phased by their actions. It takes no effort on your part and prevents them from pulling you down to their level, which has very little power.
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If we are really in tune with others, we forgive them when we see a passing jealousy or reactivity. We realize it is only natural. And we know that they, in return, are aware of our passing resentment. Yet, they are overlooking it; they accept our humanness, and they understand the situation. They know us so well that they recognize the likelihood of a passing resentment in certain situations, but they know, also, that we are going to let it go.
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The most successful people in the world are those who hold in mind the highest good of all concerned, including themselves.
Aeric John
One of the most powerful thoughts to hold in mind and also the simplest, though it is often difficult to remember to include ourselves in the equation. ☺️
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One immediate discovery was that every negative feeling or thought is associated with guilt, and this guilt is so all-encompassing that it is constantly being suppressed. Thus, there is no such thing as just anger. The actual feeling is anger/guilt.
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Those of us who have had the experience of healed vision agree on one discovery: It is with the mind itself that we see, not the eyeballs!
Aeric John
Anyone who’s had experience with lucid dreaming, out of body experiences, astral projection, near death experiences, etc can attest to this. It’s something that needs to be experienced directly to believe. It’s not something that can be proven by outside experiments or observations of others.
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Another common issue is over-parenting. Sometimes a parent confuses loving a grown child with bailing them out of every difficulty. At a certain age, sometimes love means “tough love,” that is, letting the child find his own way out of the mess he made so that he has the opportunity to discover his own inner resources.
Aeric John
The Universe treats us much in the same way. Though it’s not some vindictive father god figure. It’s more akin to gravity. Either you abide by its laws, or you fall off the cliff when you walk over the edge.
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The grief that we feel when we lose a member of our family is not just about losing that person here and now. It’s an accumulation of the energy of all the deaths from all the lifetimes.
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If you let go of trying to control your experience of the moment, and if you constantly surrender it like a tone of music, then you live on the crest of this exact alwaysness. Experience arises like a note of music. The minute you hear a note, it’s already passing away. The instant you’ve heard it, it’s already dissolving. So every single moment is dissolving as it arises.
Aeric John
Imagine a life that feels more like watching a great movie or listening to wonderful music. You don’t try to control the movie or the music but simply enjoy it, moment to moment.