Together, We Light the Way

Choosing Happiness in Every Situation

When I am in touch with the truth that all I need is God, I am happy and content. But when I am focused on the ego part of my mind, I am always looking for the next better thing. I think that if only the world were somehow different, I could be happy. This has been accepted as normal for so long, that now I have to be vigilant to realize I am doing it. I am learning to watch my mind for thoughts of dissatisfaction so that I can ask the Holy Spirit for a different way to see.

One of the ways I am doing this is that I made a decision (after being prompted by the Holy Spirit) to be happy in every situation. This is a good reminder to me that the world is not the cause of my problems, but rather the effect of my discontent. The other night I was driving home after a long week on the road. I was at the top of the state and had to drive very nearly to the bottom and it was already dark out. I figured I would not get home until after 9:00.

My very first thought was about how tired I was and how much more tired I would be as I continued this drive. The miles seemed to stretch out endlessly before me. This thought was followed by thoughts of how stiff my neck was, how night blind I am, how my sciatica was acting up and how much worse it would be in a couple of hours. It all happened very quickly, and I began to really dread the drive home, which is nuts because there is no way out of it.

This is all just another way of saying I would be happy if the world were different. In the short term it would be nice if Scotty would just beam me up. Since that is unlikely, it would be nice if, in the future, I didn’t have to work and at least this wouldn’t happen again. Which is equally unlikely. The ego loves this; if only the world would change, and it won’t.

I started talking to the Holy Spirit because I recognized that I was back into the ego trap of thinking that my happiness lay somewhere outside myself because I was listening to the wrong teacher. The Holy Spirit reminded me of my decision to choose happiness in every circumstance. At one time I would have argued against happiness insisting that in this case it just wasn’t possible, but since it has been working for me I am really motivated to keep doing it. Anyway, the more I turn from the ego as my teacher and to the Holy Spirit, the more natural it seems, and the more quickly I am ready to do it.

So I just decided to be happy. Ha! Who would have thought it could be so easy! All the ego arguments for misery just dissolve in that decision to listen to the Holy Spirit. I didn’t have to do anything to make myself happy, I just was. I enjoyed my own company for awhile, I listened to some spiritual CDs and was inspired. I spent some time looking at ego thoughts with the Holy Spirit and allowing them to be healed. I noticed that I was not feeling the pain I had expected and I think that a lot of the discomfort I feel when I have to drive so many miles in a week is from tension, and a lot of that tension is from discontent with the circumstances.

When I was about thirty minutes from home, thoughts of a friend I haven’t spoken to in awhile popped into my mind. I called her and we had a nice chat which made the final leg of the trip much nicer. More importantly, she told me about a spiritual experience that was very inspiring and I told her something she was grateful to hear. I think it was my relaxed and happy state which opened my mind to that little prompting to call. I am very glad that I did.

Holy Spirit, it was hard at first to get into the habit of listening to You all day long. It is hard to turn from the ego voice so that I could hear You. The ego is so compelling with its scary doomsday predictions. It is compelling with its “woe is me” stories. I am so glad that I am learning to make a different choice. I am committed to continue this practice until the ego voice is just a quiet drone in the background. Thank you so much for Your constant and patient guidance.

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Remembering My Goal

This was helpful

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I was enjoying the perfect weather as I drove along the highway to see my next customer. I had been sharing texts with my daughters about what was going on in our lives and was thinking how much I wished I could enjoy this beautiful weather with them in person. We could hang out in the sun and talk. If only we didn’t have to work.

Suddenly I realized that my mood had plummeted. I started to try to push the mood aside and get back to feeling good but then let myself explore it first. I was surprised that when I allowed the mood rather than trying to push it down that it was so strong. I felt like crying. I had a tightness in my chest and my stomach clenched.

I used The Work by Byron Katie to get some clarity on this because I was having trouble seeing it differently. I asked the four questions and did the turnaround. It looked like this.

I think I should not have to work.

Is that true?

It feels like it is true. But maybe not.

Can you absolutely know it is true?

No.

How do you feel when you believe that you should not work and you are working?

I feel sad enough to cry. I have a lump in my throat and a weight on my chest. My stomach clenches. I feel unhappy.

How do you feel when you are working and you don’t believe that thought?

I feel happy and satisfied with the day. My mind is open to possibilities.

Turn it around and give three valid reasons why it is true.

I should have to work.

1.  I want to earn a living.

2.  I like making money.

3.  I enjoy my customers and often enjoy my job. It is not often boring.

Then I did the same thing with the statement, “I would be happy if only I didn’t have to work. As I got more clarity and more detachment from these thoughts and my feelings I asked Holy Spirit to help me look at this differently. The question that came into my mind was, “What is your purpose? What is your goal?”

Is it my goal to win the lottery and quit work? Is it my goal to spend time with my girls? Is it my goal to have more free time? Is it my goal to write, to teach, to preach?

As I considered these goals, which I obviously have, I remembered that I have a goal, a purpose and that is to wake up. It is my purpose to do my part to help awaken the Sonship. In order for it to be effective it must be a single undivided goal; my only goal. I cannot awaken with one foot in the world. It is all of these small goals (which may seem inconsequential) that are distracting me and taking the place of my true purpose.

All of those petty goals pale in the light of my true purpose. As I realized this I felt the weight lift from my chest. I could breathe again. Then I remembered that I am awakening. In NTI 1 Corinthians, the Holy Spirit assures us that if we are reading this book (and by extension doing these lessons) then I am in the process of awakening. I said it aloud. “I am waking up!”

The words put a smile on my face and opened my heart to joy. All of the other feelings (I could barely bring them to mind by now) faded away completely and I spent the rest of the day happy and at peace.

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I Was Just Thinking

I think that whatever appears in my life that is not adding to the Kingdom is something to heal. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. It might be the result of the little private hell that I call Myron’s mind. For instance, perhaps I had been thinking about my daughter’s life and thinking she should be living it differently if she wants to be happy. These are thoughts that Myron is thinking and these thoughts are not true in spite of appearances. Holding onto these thoughts keep me in hell.

I think that there are thoughts which do not necessarily originate in the story of Myron, but are simply thoughts held in the one mind that are not true and need to be healed. If these thoughts pop up in my mind or the effects appear in my life then it is because I can heal them. In other words salvation isn’t personal. It doesn’t matter who is holding the error thoughts, the one who is most able to heal them has that opportunity.

If I see that someone is living as if they are separate from God in a way that I no longer do , then I think it has come to my attention because I can forgive that thought in the mind. This way of looking at it has made it easier for me to understand that I do not stand alone in anything. I am always part of the Sonship and all I think say and do affects the Sonship. I am always 100% responsible.

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By Rev. Myron Jones

Most recent entries

• Choosing Happiness in Every Situation
• Remembering My Goal
• I Was Just Thinking
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• Look on All You See and Love
• Defensiveness is War
• I am Essential to the Plan for the Salvation of the World
• Transitioning from San Francisco to My “Ordinary” Life
• A Christmas Story
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