I dreamed that life was joy. I woke to find that life is service. I discovered that service is joy.

[read part 1] [read part 2] [read part 3]

ACCEPTANCE IS THE KEY

The concept of acceptance has been taught in many traditions, by many
teachers and masters. Does acceptance mean that you must simply do
nothing? No. Although acceptance could be interpreted in that manner,
it is more complex.

Acceptance requires discernment. Each of you will have a strong desire
to do something. This doing may be entering a relationship, beginning
a business or taking a class. Many of you can relate experiences of
taking a new direction in your life simply by following the deep inner
urge to enroll in a workshop, attend a lecture or read a book. These
deep urges are messages from your higher self. You could also say that
the flier or book you saw activated encodements that propelled you in
a new direction in your life.

Many of you are familiar with what is called the Serenity Prayer:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the
difference." Wisdom as it is used here is about discernment. Wisdom is
the discernment of when you act and when you accept things as they are
and send love to others or bask in the love that you are.

You gain wisdom by learning from your experiences. Learning in this
manner is a developmental process, just as learning to walk is a
developmental process. The difference is that development in this area
has extreme variations. Some people do not appear to learn from their
experiences; others learn very quickly. Realize that you are
experiencing exactly what you planned to experience, no matter what
the pace. This is where acceptance is the key.

Your life is a balance of being proactive and of waiting for what
comes to you. There are times when you will feel the urge to be
proactive. Follow that urge. If following the urge results in what you
would call disaster, then stop and wait. Listen. Feel. Experience.
Move internally. What about those who never learn this? Dear ones, you
are learning and experiencing. There is no "wrong" way to live this
life. There are ways to live and experience that are judged to be
healthier and happier. The truth is that there is no wrong way to live.

Does this mean you have license to do whatever you wish? Yes, of
course. Do whatever you wish and accept responsibility for the
consequences. If you wish to steal, then accept the responsibility of
the consequences, whether that be riches, fear or jail. You can choose
what to experience in this lifetime. Your experiences will be in
alignment with what you planned on experiencing.

Some will read these words and ask, "Why bother trying? Why bother
growing?" Developmentally, "Why bother?" is a question of adolescence.
Think back to your own adolescence or to an adolescent you have known
or currently know. How can you convince him to stay in high school
when he sees no value in high school? How can you explain that the
process of high school, whether it be traditional or alternative
education, is more than "book learning"? Think of experiences you had
or chose not to have and now regret. Your regret comes from what you
learned by doing or not doing, from the wisdom you developed as you
matured.

Why bother living life? Generally, the answer is for the excitement,
the wonder, the desire to see, feel, hear and experience what will
happen. What will be the ending of your movie? What will be the
climax? Will things change if you do encodement work, holographic
repatterning, Reiki, begin a new career when you are fifty? The only
way you can find the answers is to live the question and watch
expectantly. Those who have discovered the joy and excitement of
learning for the pure joy of learning will understand this concept.

to be continued...

from
Power and the Higher Self
Amma through Cathy Chapman
July 2006
www.OdysseyToWholeness.com

SEDONA Journal of EMERGENCE ~ September 2006 Issue
http://www.sedonajournal.com