I believe that God will help us do what we need to do, but I do not believe that He will do them for us.

God will help us find the strength we need to get through things, but he's not going to do our dishes for us. We've still got to do our parts, too.

can you trust that everything will be ok because of your spirituality?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I couldn't until I really *felt* it for myself.

Up until my late 20's, I intellectually understood that holding a 'positive attitude' may be a valid psychological strategy for improving one's life ~ but, I just couldn't do it ~ I couldn't talk myself into feeling ok about stuff that I really didn't feel ok about & I was honestly confused & more than a little 'put off' by the people that could. Even if it seemed to work for some, it still seemed 'dishonest' to me.

But then some things in my life shifted. The simplest way of describing what happened to me is that I had a *psychic awakening* & I started to *see* the world from an additional perspective. I was hit with wave after wave of *psychic* information & it felt like all the dots in my head were instantly connected ~ larger patterns than I had ever noticed before became more than obvious ~ it was pretty overwhelming & it did interfere with my regular, everyday life but, after a while, I got used to it & found ways to use it to my benefit.

Part of this 'awakening' was a very direct connection to a spiritual reality. If there had been any way to deny that this was happening to me, I would have found it ~ I didn't want to accept it ~ spirituality? you've got to be kidding me! I'm still a bit embarrassed to speak openly about it, but there was/is no doubt about it. I *felt* it ~ boy, did I feel it!

I now can easily trust that everything will be ok. Of course, that isn't to be interpreted as "nobody will ever encounter any suffering & people's every whim will be instantly satisfied" ~ the world is full of challenges that bring the full spectrum of experiences into our lives ~ sometimes very painful & distressing experiences ~ but, it is clear to me that I can handle the worst of it, if need be & that my new found access to deep love & almost indescribable *joy* far outweighs the suffering that still comes my way.

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Before this new awareness, I didn't really care much for poetry ~ but, I get it now!

I don't try to push my perspective on other people, but I do attempt to explain myself to those that bring it up first. Putting this all into words isn't easy & is a challenge just at that. I vividly remember that, not really that long ago, I was one of the people who saw 'overly enthusiastic attitudes' as a kind of denial of the very real & painful suffering exists in our shared reality ~ at best, an over-simplification & at worst an insult to those who are suffering right now. I know that I didn't understand until I felt it for myself ('felt it' is an understatement ~ it smacked me hard!) & I don't expect to convince anyone with only my words.

I still want to tell my story, tho. You don't need to 'believe' me ~ but I think it may be useful to just hear what I describe (as best I can). I kinda wish that I had had some examples of experiences similar to mine in my general environment when I was first going through the shift into expanded awareness ~ maybe then I wouldn't have fought it so hard & could have possibly saved myself some trouble. I'm pretty sure that I did it the hard way, but even so, it still worked out ok.

love all-ways,
mem

"We are God - took us a long time to figure it out, didn't it? - and it's high time we stopped messing around with all this guilt crap and got down to business, which is, I think, creating Heaven on Earth. Let's affirm our past and say goodbye to it and get to work on the present." - Paul Williams

I trust that everything will be okay...and I consider myself spiritual...but I have zero belief in "god," or "religion" and if there's a "higher power" I find it far more likely that it looks and acts more like the force in Star Wars than it does like Jehovah.

So...yes and no.

I find faith and look for solace in my fellow humans...not in mythological sky beings.

sometimes trusting in yourself is trusting in god
it is much how we define things and hwo we use our thoughts and words iand our choices in actions

do good or dotn do good?
gossip or discuss other activities?

be ethical or just surface person?
there never was a guarantee in life..
ther is however much knowledge about how to be happier., more productive, more healthy, how to get out of debt, how to work, ...

The only supreme being I trust is my cat!

I trust completely in the evolutionary process.

i have always said " i worship in the church of Amy:-)"


I am finding that when i get into "self" love, "self " improvement, " self" everything... that my "power" seems to come forth...

Its when I get entwined with others..like falling in love or taking care of others, other than my self.... I cant get untangled...

still working on reclaiming myself..

Amy:-)

i think things work out as they need to not because of my spirituality, but because there is a natural flow to life in general.

<<if personal issues get you down, can you trust in your self or just believe that it all a part of a "plan ' that the Higher power is dictating?>>

Ha!Ha! I do not wish to sound rude or offensive, but that notion is so incredibly unbelievable for me. I am the highest power in my life. I choose what direction I take, and I am the one who deals with the consequences. The "plan" is subject to my own devices and decisions. As far as everything being "okay", I have something to say about that.

I have a friend who was a new father and husband who worked building forms for concrete. One day as he was working a flange overhead released scalding hot coke ash all over him and the guy working with him. He lived for about three days burned over most of his body. The other guy died instantly. That was in no way "okay". So how could I possibly suppose that I am any better than him to ask that things be "okay" for myself? If the "plan" includes friends dying horrible painful deaths, innocent children dying slow painful deaths with cancer and parents having diseased minds so bad they forget who their children are, I do not want ANY PART of something that came up with a sick-o "plan" like this. And I am damn sure no better than those unfortunate enough to NOT be "okay".

So the answer to your question is no, I do not have that trust because reality mandates that some will be okay while others are not. I wish I could take all the bad and let everyone else be "okay". As for some afterlife mess, I know that doesnt happen. When the brain is dead, you cease to exist as a person and you will neither know nor care what happens after that. You want to know where you go when you die, think back to before you were born. Nothingness, non-existance, that is reality.

I accept the things I can not change. I change the things i can. And I have the wisdom to know the difference. I do not have to ask someone who does not exist for assistance, I just do it...And things will be as they will be.

I would only trust a higher power that I was part of.

I consider it, but don't give in anymore.
From what I've seen, it's clear to me now.
Why trust the intangible?

We are whatever we think we are, if we think we are "ok", we are.

There is no higher power. Like the idea of the hypothetical "normal", higher powers exist only in the imagination of the perciever as an abstract ideal.

I say, "Suck it up and go".

If You Were God
-Kevin Benedict

If you were God, what would you do?
If you were omni-everything, and nothing could surprise you
If you knew all the answers, and asked the questions too
If you were God, what would you do?

If you could fly; if no star was out of reach
If no student ever failed to learn the wisdom that you teach
If you always could have sunshine and bikinis on your beach
If you could fly; well then how high

And what if it said “made by me” on the back of all your toys
And all your friends could all come out and play
What if you had all the girls you want, or all the boys
Do you think you’d get tired of it someday?

If you were God, what would you do?
If you were all that ever is or was would you break yourself in two
And then forget so you could say sincerely “Who are you?”
“Oh hi, I’m God. How do you do?”
You’d get to know each other for a lifetime, maybe more
And look at things from different points of view
You’d set aside the future so you won’t know what’s in store
But keep the memory deep inside of you

If you were God, what would you do?
Would you want to be surprised by something challenging and new
If you could choose to be anything would you choose to be you

If I were God, that’s what I’d do
I’d spice up all my happiness with a little dash of pain
And make up lots of pretty things to see
Then I’d create endings…so we all could start again
Then I’d probably pop on down with me

If we were God, what would we do?
Would we play at being separate so the wind could whistle through
And would some of us get so caught up that we’d forget what’s true
And then remember, and start anew

If I were God, here’s what I’d do
I’d want to have some mystery, adventure and surprise
Which I couldn’t do if I knew everything
I’d want to see divinity through different colored eyes
And of course I’d want some silly songs to sing

If you were God, what would you do?
Would you want to have eternity to change and grow and bloom
And do you think eternity would be quite enough room
To do the things that God could do

If you were God
If God were you

Hmmm, well I never believed in a higher power until I needed one. And I believe that anyone who doesn't believe, hasn't ever lost all faith. I have lost all faith, and it ain't pretty.

Also, there's too many "out of blue" coincidences in my life to think otherwise.

How does it happen that I call my friend, who i haven't spoke with in a year, and just as the phone rings, my friend picks up and starts dialing my phone number? Let's see... 69 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 365 days in a year..... you do the math. Coincidence? I think not.

There absolutely must be something in the universe that connects us together weather we believe it or not.

Those are my beliefs, and I'm sticking to them.

And I won't judge you for what you do or don't believe in.

Hmmmmmm....IU do not belive that a "higher power" exists in some sort of conscious form. Circumstance and personal choices decide our situations.....

So I guess my answer would be a "no."

I don't trust that "everything will be OK" because *everything* is never always OK> There are ups and downs, joys and horrors..it's just part of life. The road of life twists and turns, and the best you can do is ride the course as best you can.

>if personal issues get you down, can you trust in your self or just
>believe that it all a part of a "plan ' that the Higher power is dictating?

I absolutely believe, through a knowing which comes from personal actual experiences, that there is more to life than what meets the eye. That "more than meets the eye" thing is the space where the "higher" power shows, and it's very real. (I don't like the metaphor "higher" since it implies "above us" or "in the skies above".. I much prefer the metaphor of within and around).

> can you trust that everything will be ok because of your spirituality?

Yes, I can.

I sometimes get lost in this world and put aside my spiritual beliefs. But I do know that despite our desire to control everything and use our Holy self to make outcomes exactly the way we'd like, that our power is only part of the bigger picture, and that submission of "control" over things which aren't ours to control, actually awakens the very outcome we seek.

Some very real and common examples:
- parents who can't conceive and choose to adopt -- WHAMO.. pregnant
- someone who can't find love and finally stops trying -- WHAMO.. love enters
- people in long-term relationships, who have subsumed "self" for the sake of the other.. seems to be a formula for success in the long-term. Whether that's monogomous relationships, or even polygomous, surrender of ego seems like a good thing.


I do indeed trust that things in the big picture will be exactly as they should be. With that belief, we can go through life without fear of fucking up -- there is a reason beyond reason, and during a few lucky moments in our life, some of us get glimpses of this.

Whether or not you have faith Amy. Whether or not you believe in a higher power outside of your self, it is there. And it *is* within you. So maybe your self-care is what you personally need to awaken your personal higher power... I say go for it. Just don't forget that combined with others, it can be an incredible amplified force, and one of goodness (however you define the word).

Your words -- are powerful.
Your thoughts -- are powerful.

Your influence reaches far beyond what you are aware, and you have, and continue to, make a positive difference in people's lives.

So, absolutely, yes. You are the living evidence to me of the "higher power" -- and our meeting years ago is the evidence [to me] that everything will be OK.

All for a reason. All in time. And if we're lucky, we'll connect the dots and "get it."

I read about higher power on a wall poster. I started looking past this and found traditional sin. The seven sins such as gluttony, pride, lust, sloth, and so on. I thought, every sin has an advantage and a disadvantage. I knew I better be myself and not toy with human nature though.

I trust that the higher power exists, but it does not interfere in my life, nor can it be blamed for my actions.