Tag Archives: buddhism

Doing It Differently in 2015

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by Gregory Toole

As we journey into this new year, many of us envision so much more for our lives. The beginning of a year is a great time to give thanks for what has been, and to look forward to experiencing more fully the vision for our lives.

But how do we do it differently? There is an inherent inertia in the human experience that seems to sabotage most people within a week or two of the new year, when old habits and patterns seem to resurface and we are right back where we were despite our best intentions and great hopes for something better.

Doing it differently really begins with being different. Anything else is just window dressing as the saying goes. So what does it mean to be different, and how do we be different? Being different requires a fundamental shift at the feeling level of our being. Rather than just setting a goal to be, do, or have something different, we enter into the vibration of the newness that we desire.

The vibration of what we desire is the feeling tone of it. We need to ask ourselves, what would it feel like to be, do, or have the desired good? When we uncover how we would feel if what we want were real right now, then we enter into that feeling. We evoke that feeling within us right now through the use of our imagination. The more we can feel that right now, the more real it becomes for us. In doing so, we are aligning with the vibration of our desired good.

The vibration about which I am speaking is the invisible substance that now takes form as we align with it. It is the substance that is spoken of in the scripture from Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We have evidence of our good before it even arrives through our experience of its vibration. We are already experiencing it at a feeling level, so we have evidence that it is real. Aligning with the vibration is what actually brings the “substance” of it into form.

The more we align with the vibration, or feeling tone, of that which we desire, the more we become something different. And when we become something different, now our life will change in the direction of what we have become.

The human inertia that might have set in when we only worked on the outer with our goals is now neutralized, because at a deep level we truly are different as we move toward our goals, intentions, or resolutions.

The real beauty is that by becoming something different, we not only have the power to transform ourselves, but also to transform our world.

Happy New You! It is already turning out to be a great year!

Love and blessings,
Gregory

Surrender: Where The Real Power Is

by Gregory Toole

In our upbringing, most of us have probably known “surrender” to be a negative action, something we surely only do as a last resort. The common definition equates surrender to giving up.

In spiritual terms, the only thing we give up with surrender is our need to be in control of everything. And since we don’t actually control nearly as much as we sometimes think, ultimately we are not giving up much at all when we surrender.

However, we gain much–greater ease, peace of mind, and expanded possibilities for our life that are beyond anything we could ever imagine when we needed to be fully in control.

A big question is, “What are we surrendering to?” What we surrender to is our divine nature, our higher nature. In short, we surrender to God, or whatever we call our higher power.

Another question is, “How do I do it?” The answer to this question is a bit more involved, but the simplest response is that we begin to let go, little by little, of our attachment to specific outcomes and how and when those outcomes come to pass.

In letting go, we get out of the way of our higher nature, making room for grace to come into our lives. Grace can only occur when we get our human ego-centered selves out of the way.

As brilliant as the human brain is, it really is finite in terms of its ability to coordinate the infinite range of activities that need to take place for our lives to be full and, at the same time, for us to be at peace and at ease with life. Our divine, or higher, self is infinite, capable of coordinating an infinite array of simultaneous synchronistic activities on our behalf, all at once.

“How is this possible?” you may say. It is possible due to the infinite intelligence embedded in our divine nature, combined with the reality of oneness, that all of life is one and connected. Surrender aligns us with the flow of this one life and infinite intelligence. In that flow, synchronicities become commonplace and we find that our effort is only a small part of what takes place to get our needs met.

Five Steps

Here are five initial steps to support you in your desire to practice surrender:

  1. Let go of the notion that you’re fully in control.
  2. Spend some time in meditation daily, even if it’s just one minute a day. Use this time to listen for divine wisdom and inspiration, but don’t be attached to getting a result.
  3. When you feel stressed, pause for a moment and get in touch with your breath. Your breath is your connection to life, and thus the flow of life.
  4. Don’t schedule yourself so tightly. Leave at least a little room for divine opportunities (those that match what you want, but not your human timing).
  5. Develop strategies in advance for how you will capture your divine inspirations and insights (e.g., keep a recording device handy). These insights are a gift to you and often provide clarity and solutions that would have required far more human effort to develop if you had waited until you felt you had time to think about them.

The practice of surrender is possible for you. It starts with willingness, and being open to divine guidance. Little by little, you can loosen your grip, and as you do, the ease and peace you’ve been wanting start to become real, and yet your life is even fuller.

Enjoy the journey!

17 Practices to Transcend Fear

by Gregory Toole

Fear remains a prevalent part of the human experience, inhibiting or derailing the fulfillment of many heart-felt dreams and intentions. What can we do to transcend fear? Here are some practices that may support you in transcending fear.

  1. Recognize that the feeling of fear is natural when you’re trying something new or on the edge of your comfort zone.
  2. Be aware that fear is primarily a feeling or sensation in the body and that you still have choice about your actions.
  3. Journal about what specifically you are afraid of and ask yourself, objectively, whether there’s anything to actually fear? (If the answer is yes, take steps to address those concerns.)
  4. Put your attention and energy on what you want to happen rather than what you fear will happen. (What we put our
    attention on expands).
  5. Take steps every day (no matter how small) that move you toward your desired outcome. With every step you take,
    the feeling of fear will subside, even if only little by little. Fear breeds in the imagination; bringing reality to it diminishes
    it.
  6. Let go of any idea that you are doing it all yourself. You are the vehicle for an infinite intelligence, power, and creativity.
  7. Let go of responsibility for outcomes. Your role is to take the divinely guided actions and you ultimately have little control over how others receive or respond to them.
  8. Let go of the idea that you need to get it right the first time. Allow yourself to enjoy the creative process.
  9. Spend time in meditation daily, listening for divine inspiration, and follow it in faith and trust.
  10. Stay centered in love and gratitude. It is impossible for fear to live there.
  11. Let everything you do be guided by love. If it’s not from an intention of love and offering love to the world, don’t do it.
  12. Let go of the need to personally accomplish anything. Let your only goal and intention be to fulfill the vision of your higher self, your divine destiny, or your soul’s highest calling.
  13. When fear comes up, don’t push it down. Keep breathing, fully feel it, and let it be your teacher. What is it telling you
    about how you look at life?
  14. Be on divine timing, not your own human timing. When divine inspiration or perfect opportunities show up, know that
    it’s the right time for them, even if it’s inconvenient personally.
  15. Treat each day as a new day. What you couldn’t do yesterday you may be able to do today. What was confusing
    yesterday may be clear today.
  16. When feeling overwhelmed, take baby steps. Any step that moves you in the direction of your vision is progress.
    Every time you do something you were previously afraid to do you dissipate the illusions of fear.
  17. Be in it for the long haul. Don’t give up at the first setback.

Letting Go Into Your Greater Possibility

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by Gregory Toole

So often it seems as human beings we are waiting for the right moment or the right opportunity in order to step into something greater. Yet, metaphysically we know that we co-create our own experience.

Creating that great new opportunity is as much about letting go as it is about accepting the new. In order to create the new, we must let go of the old. The Christian scripture guides us not to pour new wine into old wine skins.

Right now, for the third time in my career, I am releasing a position without a clearly defined next position in sight. Many people look very surprised when I tell them that. Some even look like they are about to administer me a sanity test.

In my experience, however, I find that sometimes I need to let go of what is, before I can discover the new, that it’s a challenge to hold on to the old, while at the same time bringing forth the new. As I write this, I am imagining an interesting visual of someone carrying around a big sack called “the past” on his back, laboring under its weight, while at the same time attempting to be nimble in navigating the newness that is calling him. It’s not a very graceful picture.

In holding onto what is, we get to feel safer and more comfortable, but perhaps that is a false sense of comfort since nothing in the outer world represents our security and all temporal experiences can change. What if we put our sense of security and comfort in our inner power and creativity, our ability to co-create our experience?

Then we’d be able to move as Spirit moves us, rather than as human comfort dictates. Then we wouldn’t be holding so tightly to things and experiences of the world. Grace would be our experience. Change would not concern us very much at all because we’d be in the flow of change, welcoming it, trusting it, knowing it is always a movement toward greater good in our lives.

I would suggest this way of being is what we are being called to. It is a more natural way for us to live in alignment with our spiritual nature.

Faith and Your Triumphant Nature

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by Gregory Toole

Faith is not blind, nor is it merely hoping things will work out. True faith involves knowing. What we know is that there is a power within us and all around us that is for us. It is really knowing that life itself is for us. If we can let go of our need to control and our need for specific outcomes, then let go of our opinions and judgments, we find that all things truly are working together for good.

Yes, there are plenty of things that show up in all of our lives that look anything but good, some even appearing horrendous. Yet, if we take a larger view of life, of its eternal and infinite nature, we can actually feel, see, and know the inherent goodness of all that is unfolding.

A favorite story of mine in the Christian Bible is that of Joseph whose brothers sell him into slavery. Joseph recognized that no one could interfere with his divine destiny and as he rose to the highest levels of influence and power in Egypt, he eventually said to his brothers, “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

If we can know with the Buddhists that everything can be used toward our enlightenment, then we can know that nothing comes into our lives except for the reason of our soul’s unfoldment on its eternal journey. If we can let go of any sense of victimization or righteousness about the various situations that we have experienced in life, we have the opportunity to see a bigger picture of what Life if unfolding for us.

I am reminded of the scene in the 1970s movie “Jaws” where two characters compare scars. If we get into this type of comparison we will always find someone with a life story similar or more difficult than ours who has used their experiences toward good.

I always encourage people to tell their story from a place of love, triumph, and power. Everyone has overcome much to be where they are today. Mistakes have been made along the way and we have fallen short more than once, and yet we are still here, still showing up, and still aspiring to something greater. And we’ve all had our successes and high moments along the way.

Claim victory today. It is the divine truth of your being, and it is more real than any story of victimhood or lowliness. Claim your divine destiny of eternally unfolding into the greater and greater. It is yours and I stand with you in the powerful unfolding of your life.

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