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Conversations with God
Spiritual Mentoring Program
_________
Month # 3 : Mastering Now
Topic # 34 : Enoughness
This lesson written by Neale Donald Walsch based on the information found in Conversations with God Book One
Discussion
There are three concepts from Conversations with God that utterly changed my life. They are the concept of Oneness, Enoughness, and Beingness. We covered the first concept in Lesson #33. The second concept could heal the fear created by lack of embracing the first. The illusion of lack of Oneness is something that I call “ Separatism.” The idea that "there's enough" makes Separatism unnecessary. We remain separate from each other only in order that we may ensure our survival. We think that "every man for himself" is, ultimately, the only way that we can survive, and so we separate ourselves into groups, called, variously, Cultures, Nations, Religions and Ideologies. We say that these groupings help us to identify ourselves, but the truth is they are an attempt to indemnify ourselves. We seek to protect ourselves from the ravages of life, and we imagine that our safety will be created by separating ourselves, rather than unifying ourselves— even though our life experience teaches us exactly the opposite. Were we to adopt a philosophy of "Enoughism," we would come from a place of knowing that there is enough for everybody, and then the fear that drives us apart would turn into a joy that draws us together. (This is precisely what happens when we fall in love.) So let me repeat: In a startling statement of utter, two-‐word simplicity, God gave us the formula to end all wars, heal all wounds, and eliminate all dysfunction, pain and emotional suffering from the human experience. The words "there's enough" sums up a wisdom so vast, and a truth so magnificent, that it has not heretofore been possible for the world's people to wholly embrace it.
Whether we embrace it or not, however, it is the truth. And the lives of those who have embraced it have changed forever. "There's enough" is the second of a trio of one-‐sentence statements in which God sums up the central message of his conversation with us, as given in the CwG texts. But what does it mean, "there's enough"? And can it be literally true? Yes, it can. And it is. Looking More Closely God has created a world with sufficient supply for all. There is no lack of anything in God's universe. There are moments when it may SEEM as if something is in short supply, yet in those moments we are advised to "judge not by appearances." As a practical matter, what does this say to us? In CwG God tells us that if we would but husband our resources, we would find out very quickly that there is more than enough of everything we need on this planet to live joyous, peaceful, productive and fulfilling lives. As an example, God tells us that there is no need for anyone to be starving on this planet. There is enough food for everyone. All we have to do is share. The same is true of every good thing. Love. Money. Shelter. Sex. Compassion. Name a thing. Name any of the Good Things in Life. God says there is more than enough of that for everything. All we have to do is share. Yet sharing is not something that humans do easily—unless they do. Those who do not are coming from a deep-seated fear that they are giving away something of which there is only a finite quantity. And so, they only share when they are sure that they have enough for themselves. Yet blessed is he who shares that of which he believes he may not have enough—for in that sharing will he experience his abundance. Sharing is not something that humans do easily— unless they do. Sharing God is perhaps our most difficult generosity. We just can't seem to do it. We say that God is a jealous God, but in truth it is in humanity where the jealously lies. We want to appropriate God, to make God ours and ours alone. And so we create a way to worship God that we say is the only "right" way, claiming God's approval and God's rewards as ours and ours alone. We have told ourselves that there isn't enough approval and there aren't enough rewards to go around. That is our prevailing thought. And so, we must compete for both approval and rewards. We call these competitions "religions."
And if you thought there was enough love for everybody, and that the human heart only grows larger the more it is allowed to express, would you ever seek or desire to restrict or limit another? Be careful with these questions. They could change your life. Going Back to the Source It is really easy to see how people have come to the conclusion that there is “not enough.” But now, again for the purposes of further study, let’s see what the Communion with God text has to say about this idea. As you know, that book announces that most people are living according to the Ten Illusions of Humans. And the text says that… The First Illusion is: NEED EXISTS This is not only the First Illusion, but the grandest. On this Illusion are all other iIlusions based. Everything that you currently experience in life, everything that you feel moment to moment, is rooted in this idea, and your thought about it. Need is non-‐existent in the Universe. One needs something only if one requires a particular result. The Universe does not require a particular result. The Universe IS the result. Need is non-‐existent in the Mind of God. God would need something only if God required a particular result. God does not require a particular result. God is that which produces ALL results. If God needed something to produce a result, where would God get it? There is nothing that exists outside of God. God is All That Is, All That Was, and All That Will Ever Be. There is nothing that is that is not God. You may better grasp this if you use the word Life in place of the word God. The two words are interchangeable, so you will not alter the meaning, you will merely increase understanding. Nothing that is, is not Life. If Life needed something to produce a result, where would Life get it? There is nothing that exists outside of Life. Life is All That Is, All That Was, and All That Will Ever Be. God needs nothing to occur except that which is occurring. Life needs nothing to occur except that which is occurring. The Universe needs nothing to occur except that which is occurring. This is the nature of things. This is How It Is, not the way you have imagined it. In your imagination you have created the idea of Need, out of your experience that you need things in order to survive. Yet suppose that you didn’t care whether you lived or died. Then what would you need?
Nothing at all. And suppose that it was impossible for you not to live. Then what would you need? Nothing at all. Now here is the truth about you: it is impossible for you not to survive. You cannot fail to live. It is not a question of whether you will live, but how. That is, what form will you take? What will your experience be? I tell you this: you need nothing to survive. Your survival is guaranteed. I gave you Everlasting Life, and I never took it away from you. What If YOU Were the World’s Supply? That is the end of the excerpt. Now let me speak from my own personal experience. If you have read Friendship with God you already know that I spent a chunk of my life living on the outside, in a tent at a campground, because I had no money, no place to go, and was destitute. From that place I rose to an experience in life of unlimited abundance. I did this when I came to the complete understanding that God and I are one, and that there is no separation of me from anything in the universe. I began to act as if “there is enough” was the truth of my being , and not some simple-‐minded concept in a “way out” spiritual book. It worked. I began to live this message (and all the messages of the With God books) as a discipline in my life. I remembered the CwG invitation to BE THE SOURCE of that which I wish to experience. Whatever I wish to experience in my life, I could BE THE SOURCE of it in the life of another. I decided to try this. Whenever I felt that there was not enough of something….money, love, compassion, whatever…..I began immediately to look around me to see where I could add more of that to the world’s supply. This process worked like magic. It changed everything in my life. The moment I began giving away what I thought I had none of or little of, I found through my experience that I had enough of it to share with others. That experience changed both my inner and my outer reality. It can do the same for you. When you begin to act as if ‘there’s enough’ is the truth of your being, and not some simple minded concept, you open the door for miracles to happen.
from.” He used to make this statement to me about everything. “There's more where that came from” became a mantra that I heard over and over again throughout my young life. What my father was hoping to instill in me, and what he successfully implanted into my mind as a deep understanding, is that nothing truly ever runs out. There is always “more where that came from.” There is always more love, there is always more time, there is always more money, there is always more oil, there is always more of whatever it is you think you need to be happy. And if you can't find its exact duplicate, you can find some other substance or experience in the Universe which provides the same outcome. And so, for instance, if the oil truly runs out, we can use the energy from the sun. This is a simple example of what I mean. Now, I want to place here a letter that I wrote to a person about the idea of tithing as a wonderful solution to the problem of “lack.” This letter will illustrate, more than anything else I could tell you, what I am trying to get across here about the Process of Sharing as a very practical solution to unravel the belief that there is simply not enough. Letter to person who says “cannot tithe…” Dear Friend… Thank you for your note regarding your level of income and your ability or inability to tithe. I ask your gentle permission to make these personal observations, and see if you agree… Nearly every person receives some money in their life, if only a few coins now and then. Even people in prison may earn a few pennies a day for certain work that they do. If you have access to only one dollar a week (14-‐cents a day), you may tithe .10 cents per week. If you have access to 10-‐cents a week (1.4-‐cents per day), you may tithe 1-‐penny per week. If you have access to only 1-‐cent a week (52-‐cents a year), you may tithe a nickel a year. The act of tithing is an act of deep commitment and of deep faith. Tithing works in many cases to increase income from all sources, because tithing is an extraordinary statement to the universe that "there's enough." One is so clear that there is "enough" that one even gives away 10% of what one has, whatever amount that may be. In short, it is the act of tithing, not the amount of tithing, that plays its effect in the Universe. Tithing is a very effective means of increasing your financial abundance, for that which you give to another, you give to yourself. If you demonstrate yourself to be abundant, you will experience yourself being abundant. That is why most spiritual movements and nearly all religions encourage tithing in one form or another. Not because it is “good” to tithe, but because what goes out comes back to you.
Yet always remember: the reason we tithe is as a demonstration. By tithing, we systematically demonstrate the truth which we hold about money—just as our whole life is a demonstration of our truths about everything. The only people who tithe, who routinely give money away to others, are people who are very clear that there is more where that came from. Out of this clarity arises the demonstration, and out of this demonstration arises the precise experience of that about which one is clear. So find the source of your spiritual nourishment, and tithe to that source (or to anything or anyone else you believe deserves your support) every time to receive income! That’s my advice. Hugs, Neale. Of course, we are all confronted with that age old question: which comes first, the chicken or the egg? In the case of the Universal Laws, or what I call the Metaphysical Principles, the question is answerable. Demonstration always precedes Experience. That is, you will experience what you demonstrate. “That which you wish for yourself, give away to another.” Be Careful But there is a “trap” here for which you must look out. If you are practicing enoughness in order to produce a result (for instance, tithing in order to bring more money into your life), then you will not produce the results, and you may as well give it up before you start. Why? Because your very reason for undertaking the demonstration says a lie about you: namely, that you do not now have what you wish, and want more. That underlying truth—what CwG-‐Book 1 calls your Sponsoring Thought—is what produces your reality. So no matter how much you give, you will experience not having “enough,” and “wanting more.” On the other hand, if you are doing something as a demonstration that the result has already been produced (for instance, tithing 10% of your income each week out of your deep sense of knowing that there is always enough for you to share; that there is “more where that came from”), then you will have larger and larger experiences of this truth. Got it? This is a deep metaphysical understanding, and an important part of the CwG Spiritual Mentoring Program. Remember, you are not producing the truth, you are recognizing it.
TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT:
Conversations with God
Spiritual Mentoring Program
_________
Month # 3 : Mastering Now
Topic # 35 : Beingness
This lesson written by Neale Donald Walsch based on the information found in Conversations with God Book One
Discussion
The third of the three concepts from Conversations with God that dramatically changed my life is the concept of Beingness. Together with Oneness and Enoughness, these three profound ideas altered my inner reality and changed forever my outer experience. In truth, Beingness and Oneness are the same thing. There is no other thing that you can Be except ONE. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this course we are going to explore these two experiences separately, because if each nuance in life’s Single Expression can be grasped completely, the ultimate expression of the Totality of Your Being will be within our reach. Let me begin this exploration of Beingness by telling you about a lady in a spiritual renewal retreat that I facilitated in Augsburg, Germany once, who asked me a question that will live on in my memory forever—because it so perfectly epitomizes the human condition. The lady allowed as to how she had used the “Law of Attraction” to create the ‘perfect man’ in her life…but that she had not yet managed to create the ‘perfect job.’ “How can I have what I want to have in my life?” she asked. “I mean, all if it. The Law of Attraction says that you can ‘have it all,’ that nothing is too much to ask, so what am I doing wrong?” Asking the wrong question I looked at her for a very long moment, then I said: “’With respect, may I gently observe that ‘having’ is kindergarten stuff. ‘Being’ is graduate school. ‘Having’ is what children want. ‘Being’ is what students of mastery seek. “Why are you so concerned with ‘having’ everything you want to have in life? Why not be concerned about ‘being’ everything you’ve always wanted to
be? And I don’t mean what you have wanted to be, I mean what your Soul has wanted to be.” I explained that I was talking about States of Being here, not occupations or activities. I was not talking about stuff the Body does. I was talking about stuff the Soul IS, and which the Soul seeks to express and experience, using the Body as a tool with which to do so. For most people such talk is pure “gobbledegook.” They can’t relate to a word I said. In this spiritual renewal retreat, however, there was great receptivity in the room. The woman to whom I was speaking clearly understood—and saw immediately the shift she chose to make in the focus of her life. “There is,” I told the group, “an irony here. For the moment you begin focusing away from the desires of the Body and on the agenda of the Soul, the desires of the Body automatically begin to be fulfilled.” In other words, all the love, all the creativity in one’s work, all the physical safety and security, all the fame, money, power—all the anything that one could possibly need suddenly falls in on you…without your even trying to “create” it. It literally crashes in on you. It comes to you without effort. This is what was meant by, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all else will be added unto you.” The moment you begin focusing away from the desires of the Body and on the agenda of the Soul, the desires of the Body automatically begin to be fulfilled. I told the lady in Augsburg that the first step in having everything you want is to not want it, not need it, not search for it or reach for it or strive for it or yearn for it. First of all, I said, your life has nothing to do with your Body. It has to do with your Soul. The Body is something you have , it is not something you are. It is a tool. A device. A mechanism. It is a physical machine, and a marvelous one, impeccably designed to facilitate the fulfillment of the Soul’s desire. And what is the Soul’s desire? It is to experience Itself as some aspect of what it knows Itself to be. That Which is You is Everywhere What the soul knows Itself to be is Divinity. It understands that It is Divinity, individualized. This is not an intellectual understanding. This is a cellular knowing. The soul knows what It is; that It is a smaller part of a Larger
Then I had the conversations with God experience, and everything changed. God told me that I was starting out in the wrong place. What I needed to do was BEGIN where I thought I was going to END UP. All creation starts from a place of BEING, God said, and I have had the Process of Creation reversed. The trick in life is not to try to GET to be “happy,” or be “secure,” or whatever, but to start OUT being happy, or being content, or whatever, and go from there in the living of our daily lives. But how do you do that if you don’t HAVE what you NEED TO HAVE in order to be happy, or whatever it is you wish to be (content, secure, etc.)? That’s the question, and it’s a fair one. The answer is that coming FROM a state of being, rather than trying to get TO a state of being, assures that the state of being is achieved (because you are creating it arbitrarily!), and the “havingness” end of the equation takes care of itself. When you come FROM a state of being, you need to “have” nothing in order to begin the process. That’s the beauty of it. You can have, literally, nothing. You simply select, like the Goddess and the God that you are, a State of Being, and then come from that place in everything you think, say, and do. Because you are thinking, saying, and doing only what a person who is being happy, contented, joyful and peaceful thinks, says and does, the things that a happy or contented person winds up having come to you automatically. This is the magnet of creation (that which attracts all the energies that create exterior and physical experience in the phenomenal world) and most people are not aware of it—or, if they are aware of it, don’t believe in it; or, if they do believe in it, do not use it. But Can It Work? Can It Really Work? Let’s try this out and see if it really can work that way. Let’s say that what a person wants to BE is the thing called “secure.” If that is the desired experience, what we can do is start OUT from the square on the playing board that says, I AM SECURE. We start out with this idea, and this is the operating idea behind everything we do. We have moved into the BE-‐Do portion of the paradigm. When a person does what only a secure person would do, that person almost automatically winds up having what only a secure person would have. Try it out some time. It’s amazing how this works. Yet how can you BE “secure” if you are not feeling that way? And what if you “have” none of the things that a “secure” person would have? The answer is, you decide that you ARE “secure”—whether it looks that way or not. Then you DO what a “secure” person does. You drop away any other behaviors that don’t harmonize with that. Soon, the only behaviors that are left are behaviors that produce the result. You come FROM a place of mind that causes attitudes to shift, and realities to change.
Life’s Crucial Decision So look to see what it is you want to BE in life—that is, what state of beingness you wish to experience. This is life’s critical decision, and most people go through their entire lives and never think of it in those terms. You are invited, here in this Spiritual Mentoring Program , to think of it in those terms all the time. Every day, every hour, every minute if you can manage it, ask yourself only one question: What do I want to BE now? It may be more than one thing. But just try one at a time for a while. Choose a State of Being (Happy. Compassionate. Sensual. Wise. Caring. Creative. Considerate. Forgiving, etc.) ahead of time —that is, in advance of each approaching moment, then move into that. It is merely a decision, based on nothing. It’s a decision made out of choice. Pure choice. Then, act the way a person who is being that would act. Say the things that a person who is being that would say. Do only the things that a person who is being that would do. You will amaze yourself at how effective this process is in producing a State of Having that corresponds with what you’ve chosen to Be. Now Let’s See How Practical This All Is In the CWG dialogue this concept was introduced within the context of some considerations about money. God’s no dummy. He knows how to get our attention, and how to make immutable Wisdom stick by applying it to practical everyday problems. And there is no problem more practical or more “everyday” than the problem of money. For most people, money is a problem. That is true for the vast majority of people on this planet. For them, it is a constant challenge. Perhaps you have moved past this challenge. Perhaps you have mastered “the money game.” If so, you are among the minority. You are a member of a very small group. Even so, keep reading ahead. You can use this information to help others. Probably the biggest misunderstanding I have encountered over and over again in people trying to figure out “the money game” is their thought about how it is that money comes to us. What makes money flow to us? How does it come to pass that another willingly gives us this stuff? Most people believe that money comes to them in exchange for something they do. In this construction they see a quid pro quo. They give this, and they’ll get that. In truth, the arrival of money (and all good things ) has nothing to do with what we’re doing. It just looks that way. (And, I will admit, sometimes those appearances can be very convincing.)
I emphasize this because there are some who insist it is “wrong” to feel good about one’s self. It is the Ego exerting undue influence on us. Or it is Satan, for heaven’s sake, tempting us with worldly things. In truth, it is none of these. Feeling good about yourself is all you are trying to do here. Because what you are IS “good.” You are, in reality, “That Which Is Good.” And all you are trying to do in your life is experience yourself as exactly Who You Are! Let’s be clear, then, that not only are there no selfless acts—no acts were ever intended to be selfless. Indeed, the whole point of action itself is to produce an experience of the Self. Most people do not visualize it this way. They do not see what is actually going on. In most people’s understanding, they are doing things in order to “get” things, and after they “have” those things, they think they will “be” something. Perhaps they will be “happy.” Or perhaps they will be “secure.” Or perhaps they will be, finally, “peaceful.” These “States of Being” are what they imagine they will experience as a result of Having what they got by Doing what they did! Got it? There is no such thing as a selfless act. Every single thing you do is an attempt to “be” something. When you undertand this, you will simply “be” it first, and let what you do flow FROM that, rather than trying to make it flow TO that. For many people all of life is a process of doing something in order to have something in order to be something. Yet in this they have the Be-‐Do-‐Have Paradigm reversed. They are trying to arrive at a State of Being by moving into doing. Yet the creative process works best the other way around.
LESSON #35:
‘BEING,’ NOT ‘DOING,’ CREATES WHO YOU ARE.
‘DOING’ DEMONSTRATES WHO YOU ARE,
BUT IT CANNOT CREATE IT.
One More Time… Okay, let’s go over it one more time. Not because you’re not “getting it,” or because you “don’t understand,” but because repetition is the fastest way to integration. It is not understanding that we are after, it is integration. I want you to make this a part of your daily life.
So….first, decide what to “be” (that is, what State of Being, what “beingness,” you wish to experience), then move into that beingness without doing anything. (In my lectures I am fond of saying, “You don’t have to do a damned thing. In fact, you should stop doing ‘damned things.’ Until you do, very little will work out for you, and you’ll walk around muttering, ‘Well, I’ll be damned’.”) Out of this beingness you will find that doingness will flow. Indeed, beingness fully experienced will produce doingness. And that doingness will be a reflection of the beingness which gave it birth. Getting the Sequence Right A person can either do something in order to “be happy,” or a person can start the day by simply deciding to “be happy.” Then the things that person will do will automatically reflect this. You can either use doingness as a means of getting to beingness—or you can decide to already be there... and let your doingness be a demonstration of that. Let’s just try an experiment in your mind. Ask yourself this: If you simply decided, arbitrarily, and as a result of nothing in particular, to “be happy” for the next hour or so, do you think it would change in any way the things you say and do during that time? Let’s choose some other states of beingness. Suppose you decided, just because you thought it might be fun, to be seductive; to be sensual. Do you think you might speak and act any differently than you normally do? How about compassionate? Do you think you could arbitrarily decide to “be compassionate”? And if you did, do you think it would change in any way the manner in which you behave, even for a short time? Of course it would. In both cases it would. In every case it would. The fact of the matter is (and this is one of the great secrets of life) you can choose to be in any state of beingness you wish, and you can choose this ahead of time. Your experience of how you are being does not have to be a reaction to what is going on, it can be a creation of what is going on. When you learn this, you begin to turn life upside down. You no longer react to situations, you create them. You move in your day-‐to-‐day life from a state of beingness, rather than trying to move in your day-‐do-‐day life to a state of beingness. There is a vast difference.
THE GRID
This is a process designed to enhance and expand the experience of beingness as described in this CwG Spiritual Mentoring Program. A. Take out a piece of paper and create a grid, drawing 7 lines down and 7 lines across. B. At the top of the 7 down lines write in the names of the days of the week. In the 7 lines across you put 7 States of Being that you would like to see expressed in you, as you, and through you. Those States of Being could be wise, peaceful, confident, outgoing, humorous, transparent, sensual, creative, safe, etc. C. Make four of the seven States of Being uphill challenges, and three of the States of Being downhill slides. (“I have no problem Being humorous,” so make that one of your three easy ones. “I have no problem Being sensual,” good, so make that one of the three. “I have no problem Being compassionate—I’m a nurse, for instance—so make that one of the three. “I do have a challenge Being confident.” Okay, make that one of the four. “I do have a problem Being creative or patient,” or whatever it might be. So make sure four of the seven States of Being are things you face a challenge experiencing within yourself. Alternate these when you make up your chart D. Now, when you have your grid made up, 7 down and 7 across, pick a day on which you are going to Be one of those things, and put an X in that square on the grid. Do this for each day of the week. That is, every day you are going to try to Be one of the things on your list. This is your activity for that day of Week #1 of THE GRID process. Week #2 – You decide to Be two of those things each day……. Week #3 – You pick three of the States of Being per day……. By Week 7 you are all of those things all of those days. Every square on the grid has an X in it. Then you begin to learn how to concentrate that power. You can do the same thing by hours of the day. Pick 14 waking hours of the day and you expand your list to 14 lines. You see, the grid must always have the lines across equaling the lines down. So this really forces you into doubling your chosen states of BEing.
Then you choose the times: From 7-‐8 a.m. I’ll be “creative,” from 8-‐9 I’ll be “happy,” from 9-‐10 I’ll be “industrious,” etc. Invite yourself to change your state of Being on any given day at any given time , because you arbitrarily choose to do that. You will find this to be one of the most empowering processes of all time. You just arbitrarily choose to “be” a thing because you said you would. By the end of the day you may be emotionally exhausted, but you will have proven to yourself, “Oh, my God, I’m making it all up! I’m making it all up. I’ve decided just arbitrarily, because it’s 2 o’clock, to Be humor…just arbitrarily, because it’s 4 o’clock, to Be understanding or patience or resourcefulness, or whatever.” You will see that you can be whatever you want to be, whenever you want to be it, and that you can do this quite arbitrarily. Then, when you find yourself “in a mood,” or not being very happy or very content or very okay with life, you will know that you can change how you are being right then and there , with nothing exterior to you having to change at all. This is an experiment in the Process of Creation. What you are creating is the Self. The idea (as you may have guessed) is to get you…what? Off the Grid , of course! That’s the whole point, that’s the whole point! We get ourselves ‘off the grid’ in the sense that we no longer decide to be compassionate at 2 o’clock because our grid says it is time for compassion, but to call forth any state of being we wish at any moment we choose. That’s the whole point of it! So it takes 7 weeks to do the first diagram. After you have gone through the 7 weeks and all the squares are full, you have been all those things all day long, because it’s such a broad brush stroke. Then you get down to specifics. Fourteen things across, 14 hours a day. This is a 21 week process. Twenty-‐one weeks to re-‐creating your Self. Because the 14 things are done each day, 14 hours and 14 things across, and it takes 14 weeks to complete it, so that is 21 weeks in all. The first week you are all those things at that hour of the day and the second week you start doubling up, and the 3rd^ week you start tripling up, the 4th^ week you start quadrupling up, until by the 14th^ week you are all of it every single hour. Every single hour you are all of those 14 things!
