Taken from January 2022 Newsletter
As I’ve said before, 2022 might be a bumpy ride, so I thought I would offer some insight that I hope will be useful this year and beyond.
The great spiritual teachers tell us that suffering comes from the mind. Our minds are the source of all suffering because it is the mind that is the source of all expectations, desires and perceptions, especially about unmet desires, unmet needs and unmet expectations. The mind believes in the concept of loss, the spirit knows that “loss” isn’t possible because nothing real can ever be lost.
The introduction of The Course of Miracles says,
”Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.”
(Eckhart Tolle says, if you understand this, don’t need to read the book!)
So, once we accept that all the things that cause us anguish stem from the mind, then we can start to observe our mind and thoughts with curiosity. We begin to make choices that serve us and we wish to keep, and those that cause unnecessary suffering and we may discard. (Yes, you can do this any time you like!)
One of my suggestions for general happiness and well being in 2022 and beyond is to examine your thoughts around 3 words:
Enough
Satisfaction/Satisfied
Gratitude
Often in spiritual/ self-help circles, you are told to jump into “gratitude” and start a gratitude journal. In theory, that’s sound advice. Gratitude has a high vibration (as it is a facet of unconditional love) and it’s seen as a “quick fix for low vibration woes”. But going straight to gratitude has 2 problems:
1. Most people aren’t experienced in understanding gratitude and so run out of steam once they’ve got to no. 10 on the list (1. My health 2. My home 3.My job so I can have a home 4. My family. 5. My friends 6. My pet 7. Flowers 8. Trees 9. My hobby 10.Er……….)
2. By going straight to gratitude many haven’t first understood the deeply important concepts of enough and satisfaction.
You see we have all grown up in modern societies with the masculine mantra of “More” – it’s what capitalism is based on: More!
But More is never satisfied.
Nothing is ever enough.
More is also the means by which the mind creates suffering. Whenever you reach your goals and dreams it says, “that’s nice, but what More could we do now?”
More never rests.
More changes the goalposts once you’ve achieved your goals.
I read recently that one of these productivity gurus went around and asked newly made millionaires if they felt like “they’d made it” now that they had finally become millionaires. And do you know what? Not one of them said yes. So they were asked, what would make you feel like you had? They said, “to be a billionaire.”
More is NEVER satisfied.
More changes the goalposts.
The mind will invent something new to make you suffer (and the sad thing is we’re kinda addicted to the suffering because we keep agreeing we need More to be happy).
So my suggestion for this year is to become acquainted and good friends with “enough” and “satisfaction”.
It will create untold happiness and contentment in your life, I can guarantee it.
It will also help your waistline should you wish it too.
When we say, “This is enough, I am satisfied” it demonstrates acceptance of what is.
Sadly, people have been scared into thinking acceptance means that we can’t strive for improvement and that we’ll all become “lazy” (I hate that word) but that’s a trick of the mind that you need to set aside.
Being satisfied doesn’t mean you can’t still wish to and work towards improvement, but it does mean that in this moment, for now, you are content.
Aaah and breathe!
What a relief!
No longer rushing into the future!
No longer berating yourself for things not done yet!
Just resting in peace in the present moment and saying,
“All is well. I am enough. This is enough.”
Satisfaction and Enough-ness is the Gateway to Gratitude.
When people rush to gratitude journals, what often happens is that they only put things on the list that are obviously of benefit for them. That’s what these lists tend to become; what in my life serves my needs best and therefore “makes me happy”, rather than true gratitude.
True gratitude, which you can only really see if you’re not searching for More, is the appreciation of every single thing that exists Now and has Ever existed that allows you to live well Now.
True gratitude extends back through time and across space to everyone and everything that contributed to your life Now.
For example: those who developed language, those who cultivated raw materials for writing and painting from primitive to modern, everyone who ever wrote anything down, painted anything, drew anything, created records, compiled dictionaries, created paper, died for freedom of speech, legislated for freedom of expression, designed writing materials, manufactured them, distributed them, sold them and you now have a pen on your desk that you can use to write whatever you wish. This is the very very short version! But you get the idea.
Nothing and I mean nothing in your life from a blade of grass in your garden, to the food on your plate, to the clothes you wear, to the thoughts you have, are there in the first place , if it were not thanks to someone unseen through time and space who helped it be there for you and ultimately, nothing in your life including your life itself is possible without the powerful love that created the Universe.
Once you tap into this gratitude that’s when you restore the wonder of the Universe and realise what a great gift it is to be alive.
So that’s my tip for 2022, rediscover the wonder of the Universe, through the more feminine energy of Enough. … Allow contentment to be your companion into 2022.
Let go of More and allow that space to be filled with nothing but acceptance, peace and gratitude.
Love,
Sharon x