The Power of Not Reacting - Audio Newsletter Series - Instant Download

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The Power of Not Reacting

You can do a hundred things right, but it takes only one thoughtless, reactive action to destroy it all. As we grow spiritually, we must attempt to enter into a state of non-judgementalism, and be more unconditional in our capacity to be more loving, tolerant and forgiving of others. Think of how many friendships and relationships with loved ones have been lost, damaged or permanently destroyed within a second as a result of being reactive. Especially, never speak in anger. Redirect your speech in prayerful meditation. Words are so powerful. What you say can never be erased, it becomes akashic record. It will follow you to infinity, it will even hurt your personality and your reputation. Use your words to heal, uplift, build and bless everyone. Do not use your words to divide and destroy others.

Sometimes when you want to react, wait. It is important to practice the spiritual art of waiting because so much more is revealed in time and this leads to positive spiritual transformation. Look back over your life and remember times when you reacted and later, realize that waiting would have been better for you and everyone else. By taking time for ourselves, we allow divine intelligence to work on the subconscious level in ourselves and others so that we may be shown what to do next. The process of not reacting is a spiritual practice that develops your awareness. It makes you more conscious and open to listen to the voice of divine wisdom causing you to see things from a broader perspective. When you are more conscious your character starts to change. A conscious person is more compassionate. Happiness is not possible without self-discipline. Every situation in life is a platform where you get to experience the quality of your consciousness. For us to operate from a place of pure consciousness we have to be completely free from all negative conditionings, all complexes, all unhealthy likes and dislikes and prejudices so that we may have absolute neutrality. All situations we are faced with happen in order to provide us with opportunities for growth and learning. They prepare us for things that may happen in the future to ourselves or others. In the present moment these things cannot so clearly be seen. By not reacting we allow ourselves to enter more into a neutral space of our own divinity, then it becomes clear, in time, why things unfolded the way they did. We must keep in mind that the Creator always reveals his vastness and infinite wisdom to mortal minds over time. In the same way you must always look at the actions of a true Spiritual Master over time.

Above all, it is important for us to work upon ourselves constantly in order to ensure that in a moment of forgetfulness we do not become reactive and hurt anyone who has done something that, according to our mortal perception, is seen as being wrong or having caused us frustration or anger. Our perception of reality can change our reality, and through our words and actions we can change that reality for others as well. If we choose to see sunshine then that is what we will see, and we will not give power to the dark clouds that loom to spoil the day. If we choose to focus on the negative aspect of everything, then negativity will penetrate the way we see everything. If we choose to go through our challenges with a smile on our face, then our challenges will never have a chance to cling to us like mud. When, through a lack of consciousness, we choose to give the power of our good feelings and of our joy over to somebody who is excessively critical, then we allow our good feelings and joy to be clouded by their negativity. As a result of giving away our power, we spiral down and down into the mud. Do not allow an overly critical person to make you feel negative. Some overly critical people often have unreasonably high expectations of their own accomplishments and personal behavior. Most of them are smart, talented and effective. Sometimes they are so set in their ways that their narrowmindedness causes them to constantly complain and look down on those who do not share their limited view of life If someone is criticizing everything that others and you are doing, maintain your sense of positivity and do not allow them to pull you in their negative storm. Never accept another person’s reality as your own. Do not identify with another person’s opinion unless it makes you a better person. Do not place too much importance on other people’s opinion about you unless it makes you better human being. One of the great laws of spirituality is that one must be the most severe judge of one’s self and the most understanding friends to others. We always have to remember, when we quickly judge or criticize anyone we don’t even know what severe troubles a person that looks better off than ourselves has been through in the past or what silent sorrows are hidden behind appearances. We don’t even know what brutal trials may await them in the near future that we may or may never know about. Life is full of so many difficulties even for those who appear to be well off. The more conscious we become, before trying to see the faults of others we must work harder at discovering their qualities or everything that can bring us closer to them, everything about them that we can help develop so it may blossom like a beautiful flower spreading its healing fragrance to uplift its surroundings. Life is truly what we allow and make it to be. Train your mind to see the good in every situation.

No good has ever come out of reacting. Karma is action and reaction. We only create further undesirable karma when we react. Reacting prevents us from controlling our reality. Think of your circumstances as a test of your spiritual character. When we react, we are operating from a low frequency and everything that we do from a low frequency has a ripple effect that pervades every aspect of our actions. When we act from the low vibration of being upset, emotional, angry or fearful, that low vibration goes on to influence everyone we interact with. In essence, you are transferring that low vibration onto others. When you lower your vibration, you are no longer a force for good, because in everything that you are doing, you are causing pain. When we do not operate from a high vibration, everything that we do leads to pain. Therefore, it is important that we give ourselves both time and space, so as to gain the strength and wisdom that we need to be neutral and create a platform that can give birth to healing actions.
The best way to get light is by learning to resist reacting and the best time to resist is when you feel like you are on the verge of reacting. When you are about to react, stop and use the power of the breath to bring your mind under control. For example, inhale to a count of 20, hold for a count of 20 and exhale to a count of 20. Continue for a couple of minutes until you have your mind under control. Always remember that the mind always follows the breath, the breath is the king of the mind. When you control your mind you control your reality. During the day, we are faced with many opportunities to react, which are actually opportunities to accumulate light. Every time you resist the urge to react, you are collecting light and your willpower is strengthened. When you control yourself, you can control the events of your life and direct them in a way that is harmonious. You are no longer a victim of circumstances: instead you become the creator of circumstances. Indeed, if you can control yourself, you can control the forces of nature. If you cannot control yourself, you cannot control your reality. In other words, when you can prevent yourself from reacting, you can control the events of your life. You can redirect them positively. If you cannot control yourself and your reactions, then you cannot control the conditions of your life. Every time you prevent yourself from thinking or feeling negatively, you increase your light. Every time you prevent yourself from saying something negative, you gain more light. The same is true for resisting the urge to say something negative even about yourself. What you say about yourself can make you or break you. The words we speak are creative; they are creating every aspect of our lives on a daily basis. Words are expressed thought and it is the nature of our mind to condense thought into form.

Not reacting allows us to develop the capacity to expand our perception in order to embrace the totality of life. Life is 1% seen and 99% unseen. The 1% we see is a false reality, whereas the 99% we do not see is the true reality. The paradox is that most people rely 99% of the time on the 1% they can see, and only 1% of the time on the 99% they cannot see. Sadly our false self, our body of pain is preventing us from accessing this rich and limitless aspect of life that makes up the 99% and as a result we are left to experience only 1% of life fraught with limitations and struggles of all kinds. The truth is our life is a reflection of our consciousness, we get what we are, and we see things the way that we are, we see things through the distortion of our filter, through our body of pain. When we give in to impulsive behavior, we create more problems for ourselves. Reacting causes us to become victims of our false self. We need to prevent ourselves from becoming a slave to our body of pain. As we align ourselves with the forces of light, we must do our best, even in times of frustration and anger, to see the light that exists in the darkness and follow it. We must hold on to a positive way of looking at every event or situation, and to look back in times of darkness and count the miracles and the blessings that we have received from our lives, the blessings we have received from the sacred wisdom, in order to see how far we have come.

It is important to be tolerant and act with grace. By acting with love and grace, we heal the person who needs to be healed, including those who are associated and directly connected with that situation, and those who may not even know that they need healing. A good way to overcome any resistance is to always act in consultation with your own Divinity and intuition. Apply your humanity, your compassion and your carefulness as you stay present and find the perfection of God in each moment, and with the help of prayer, use these qualities to restore harmony.

We must appeal to the higher angel of our nature. As we surrender to this Great Work, we should not forget that we may, at times, be challenged, especially if we are to grow and become the perfected beings that exist inside of us now as potential. We must become examples through which obstacles of the most complicated kind can be resolved through our commitment to tolerance, compassion and spiritual transcendence. We must acknowledge in truth, the true temptation of the body of pain or ego and how to transcend it. We have to develop healthy ways of using our ego to perform right actions, as opposed to reacting from our false self. We must align ourselves with the Divine, so that we may become an extension of the creative presence on Earth.
True love removes suffering and brings joy and happiness. The healthiest form of change always transpires through the process of evolution and not revolution. We must take into account the law of love and evolution as we create change. The law of love must be applied throughout all changes. Remember, love makes everything easy; faith makes everything possible; and hope makes everything work. Unconditional love makes it possible for us to rise beyond the false self so that we may penetrate the hearts of all those we interact with. The truth is, our perception of life creates our reality. By choosing to direct our thoughts, our feelings, our words, our actions, and our attitude consciously and positively we can transform and improve everything around us.