Start Right Where You Are. Sam Bennett
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Accept the energy. Plug into the energy of the cosmos. Let it heal you. Let it come through you to heal others. Let God express God’s self through you exactly as you are right now. This begins right now. And this has been happening the whole time. You’re just tapping into it with a bit more consciousness and deliberation.
You can see in your mind’s eye how the activity of this Net can defy logic, expectation, and conventional wisdom. If everything is interconnected, no wonder quantum leaps are possible. No wonder people and events can arrive in our lives suddenly and unannounced. And no wonder once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come around every single day.
In my heart of hearts, what I really believe about God, what I believe God is, is that Net. I don’t perceive God as a moral force. I don’t believe that the Net cares, really, what we do, any more than nature cares what we do. There are laws of cause and effect, certainly, and those pertain to both nature and the Net. We, the people, care. We, the people in your community, would rather that you not covet our neighbor’s wife or cheat or steal or dishonor your parents. But as far as the Net is concerned, you are fine. You are forgiven. You are valuable. You are essential. You are loved, and you are love.
God is the Benevolent Hum.
I imagine the Net makes a sound that I call the Benevolent Hum. It’s the song the universe sings. It might sound like Om. And this humming energy, this creation, is moving — breath moving, cells dividing, things coming into form and leaving form, water to steam to clouds to rain to water. Being born and dying. It’s an infinite cycle. And we are fortunate enough to be present in this form in this moment. What a blessing.
So when I say God, or the Net, that’s what I mean.
LITTLE CHANGES ACTION STEP: Right now, make some 5-Minute Art expressing one moment from your life when you felt connected to the Net, to that which is bigger than you, to the beauty, grace, and mystery of life. (Need a suggestion? Write two short paragraphs about a powerful encounter you’ve had with nature, describing both what you experienced and what it meant to you.)
* The Universe, produced by Matt Hickey, History Channel, 2007.
4.
IF YOU’RE GOING TO STAY CONNECTED to the Net and to the center of yourself, you’re going to have to start taking better care of yourself.
Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. In fact, it’s the opposite of selfish. When you spend all your time giving to others and you’re tired, stressed out, overwhelmed, and exhausted, you are no fun to be around. In fact, making the rest of us deal with you when you are a humorless wreck is really quite selfish of you. (I’m kidding. We love you.)
On the other hand, when you are rested, fed, meditated, walked, cuddled, and creatively satisfied, you bring your best self to the world. You have more to give, and you give more freely. You think more clearly, and you don’t sweat the small stuff.
Here are some behaviors that my existing and former clients have demonstrated that, to me, indicated an imbalance in the whole “taking care of you” thing:
1. Sharon refused to go to the doctor, even though she’d been feeling lousy for a while. (It turned out she had severe anemia, which is easily treated but can be life-threatening if ignored.)
When you are rested, fed, meditated, walked, cuddled, and creatively satisfied, you bring your best self to the world.
2. Diana always works through lunch. Doesn’t everybody? (Nope.)
3. Jason couldn’t help saying yes every time someone asked a favor of him. He had always just assumed that owning a truck meant that he was automatically obligated to help people move.
4. Nancy tolerated long, energy-draining phone calls from “friends” who just wanted to complain.
5. Risa made long, energy-draining calls to her friends just to complain.
6. Claire would buy new clothes for the kids but not for herself.
7. Belinda would go shopping to buy new clothes and end up just buying the exact same thing she always wore. (That’s not shopping, that’s replacing.)
8. Kelly wore old, worn-out shoes. (Nobody notices the scuff-marked heels, do they? Um, yes. We do.)
9. Ava kept the Mother’s Day gift of expensive scented lotion in the cabinet, feeling it was too good for every day. When she finally felt like she had an occasion special enough, she found that it had spoiled.
10. When other people asked Ethan, who was caring for two young kids and his ailing mother, if they could help him out, he would automatically say, “Oh, no thanks,” even though he really could have used an extra hand. He didn’t want to appear needy, even in his time of need.
11. Daniel refused to get new clothes because he was going to lose weight any day now.
12. Ashley thought it would be a waste of money to hire a great coach (or therapist or trainer or teacher) to help her achieve her goals. She kept thinking she should be able to do it all by herself, but so far, anyway, her actions haven’t matched her ambition.
13. Christopher was not keeping his professional skills or his résumé up to date. (Even just keeping a hard copy of your résumé around so you can make little notes on it whenever you get promoted, finish a big project, or obtain a new degree or certification will make it easier to get a new job when you want one, or to negotiate for a better salary in the job you have.)
14. Megan, an artist, didn’t spend enough time cultivating professional relationships, so her circle was small and her resources were limited.
15. Hannah never upgraded her computer. Nor did she back up. (A disaster waiting to happen.)
16. Victoria never allowed herself to sleep in, even when she could.
17. Kayla would fall asleep in movies because she was so exhausted.
18. Kevin had clutter. A lot of clutter. (We’ll talk about the clutter thing more in chapter 47.)
You might feel like it is impossible to find enough time in the day to be well rested, intellectually stimulated, physically active, and well put together, but I assure you that it’s entirely possible. In fact, you probably know someone like that — someone who always looks great, is rarely tardy, and always seems to have a good attitude. That person is that way because of his or her habits. And I promise you, it takes exactly the same amount of time