Neale Donald Walsch and myself share a number of things in common:
we both changed direction after talking to God, both wrote books of our talks, both continue to help others to shine their Inner Light.
(I encourage you to read his awesome books ‘Conversations With God”.)
So, for a change, I’d like to offer you a short article from Neale……
Everything is perfect just as it is, in every moment.
Now, it’s very easy to say something like “everything is perfect,” or “everything happens for a reason”…
But in my case, before my conversations with God began, the only thing I knew for sure was that nothing felt perfect to me.
And yet the message was clear: I needed to see the perfection in all the current circumstances of my life—there were no mistakes, nothing was wrong—in fact, I needed to turn my frustrations into a celebration of all I was learning and experiencing.
This secret changed my life forever.
Your reaction to the idea that “everything is perfect just as it is” may well have been the same one I had all those years ago when God said it to me.
“How am I supposed to see the perfection of living on the street for a year, or having no money, or my relationship having fallen apart, or my family turning away from me? My health is going downhill, too.
What could possibly be perfect about any of that?”
That’s what I asked God, and the message I received changed my life.
It led me to a place of clarity and understanding that I now want to share with you…Because unless you know what it is you are trying to do in your life, and unless you deeply understand the process that is required in order to do it, seeing the perfection is difficult—and yet it is the key to being free from struggle, suffering and shame.
So take a moment right now, and consider something in your life that frustrates you or saddens you. For me it was that I was in dire straits at that time in my life, living on the streets and feeling abandoned.
What is it for you right now?
I ask you this because when I asked God to explain why I suffered as I did, and what could possibly be perfect about it, I was told something very important:
“Suppose you decided that you are the light……Just say these words to me, Neale, say: ‘I am the light’.”
So I did.
And then God asked me: “How would you know you were the light if there wasn’t darkness?”
Then God used the example of a candle in the bright midday sunlight, standing there among millions of other candles.
How can the candle experience itself as light when it is surrounded by light? Only in a room of darkness can a candle experience its own light.
And then God said: “I will surround you with darkness. Yet, when you are surrounded with darkness, raise not your fist to heaven and curse the darkness, but use the darkness so you know who you really are.”
It’s a beautiful metaphor and made profound sense to me, even then.
But I was still struggling with one thing, so I asked God: “How does that awareness work with my day-to-day ‘on the ground’ existence?
How do I face the darkness of everyday life?”
God said: “There is a real simple trick here, Neale.
It’s called Gratitude.
Your job is to be grateful for every condition and circumstance in life, no matter how imperfect you imagine it to be.”
When I looked at how much darkness had seeped into my life back then, I said:
“Yes, God…but why do I have to deal with so much darkness?”
And God said: “It depends on how much of a master you want to be.
The higher level of mastery you call forth, the greater the challenges.”
What that means is that each of us must bless these chances to express Perfection—even when the day-to-day challenges are numerous and difficult…In fact, especially when they are numerous and difficult, for they are simply the equal and opposite force to our own immensity and greatness that we are calling forth from within us.
But if we instead pass judgment on our daily life challenges and make them “wrong” and resist them, we end up feeling trapped by them, as though it’s not even possible to have a life of joy.
We feel defeated by life instead of realizing how every single one of our circumstances actually provides a means for us to express our Perfection.
We’ve seen all the great masters and spiritual leaders do this in their lives as wonderful examples for us.
As in the case of Jesus, when he forgave the people who persecuted him, he was not saying that it was okay for them to accuse, and kill him.
Rather, his forgiveness was his way of showing gratitude for those challenges, by giving him the strength to meet them as exactly who he was—a man of compassion, love, and understanding.
Every single one of your daily challenges is an invaluable opportunity for you to access your own greatness.
For example, you might say something like: “I am grateful for the difficult time I’m having with some of my co-workers, because it gives me an opportunity to overcome my fear, get creative, and resolve the conflict in the best possible way.”
Or: “I am grateful that I’m having to deal with some health issues right now, because it is forcing me to create healthier habits in my life which will allow me to live longer and be happier.”
After you say aloud or write down your gratitude, don’t be surprised if it feels as though a weight has lifted from you, and the way you’ll see and respond to that challenge in your life may shift completely.
And anytime you feel faced with other challenges, try using this same practice, and see if you don’t feel some of the stress and struggle lifting.
Neale Donald Walsch
Need help?
Please remember I am always here for you.
Be well, be safe – be happy!
Peace be within you.
Les