Sunday April 28 I will give this talk in my office at 2 pm Eastern time on one my favorite topics. I gave a version of this talk several years ago to my local teaching and discussion group, and again two weeks ago as part of the Lenten series at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Endicott, NY. This talk will be streamed live on Facebook.
Here is a link to the talk: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelHallPhD/
Here is a link to the talk: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelHallPhD/
What can we do to assist the process of discerning God’s
will?
Ask for guidance. Do not assume that you know the right
answer. It is essential to ask with absolute humility and openness to being
shown the way. Willingness is essential. This willingness to be shown and
to follow through with action is the meaning of surrender. It is possible to
recognize the need for an action that is not appealing or even goes against our
own best judgement. Even if we receive guidance but do not wish to follow,
waiting is usually OK. When a particular action is ‘suggested’ repeatedly, it
is probably wise to follow it. This process does not negate the thinking mind
or undercut the role of reason, critical judgement or thinking in the usual
sense. However, if we are not willing, we will not be able to see what is being
revealed. Willingness benefits from a comfort and even eagerness to dwell in
‘not knowing’. Not knowing is your friend. The mind that knows is closed. Adopt
the perspective of not knowing. Learn to be OK with uncertainty. It is a myth
that we should know what we are doing all the time. Only those who are closed
can always know or believe they know the truth. A closed mind
knows programming and belief, not revealed truth. We are looking for revealed
truth. Programming and belief are already known and very limited in its power
and effectiveness in the world. Therefore, we must remain open and frequently
dwell in a kind of uncertainty. Learning to tolerate this Cloud of
Unknowing is a large part of the spiritual path. We are always
searching for the revelation of the Will of God. This searching must be
accomplished without fear, doubt or anxiety. It is more like a watchful
waiting. There is no effort to force an outcome. This waiting is actively
passive. It is neither active nor passive. It is open, curious, receptive.
When in doubt, it is often good judgement to wait. Wait in
the not knowing. Expect to know but recognize and accept when you
don’t know. Try to be content with not knowing. When the time is right and
there is a need, what is next will be revealed.
How can we discern the difference between what my
conditioned mind wants and what God wants? It is not always easy or clear.
There are certainly no rules. To recognize it requires trust, intuition and
surrender. Usually, however, God’s will is not very subtle or hard to
recognize. It tends to be insistent. You will notice yourself repeatedly
revisiting an idea or plan of action. If something repeatedly occurs to me
without obvious external or internal prompting, it is a safe bet I am being
guided. Once you recognize the guidance, try to relax and carry through with it
to the best of your ability. Avoid doubt or any other kind of worry or
rumination as much as possible. Worry is merely your thinking mind doing what
it does best. It is not helpful and is just a bad habit. Observe the worry and
then try to lose interest in it and ignore it.
The indicated action is revealed as a ‘next’. Try to stay
present and attuned, always open to further guidance. Recognizing and carrying
out guidance skillfully requires understanding and practice. These skills will
develop over time, as with anything else. Remember experiences where you felt
guided in the past and review the outcomes. Usually you will see that things
went well, often much better than you could have ever imagined. While the
indicated action might engender fear to the self-identity beforehand, there is
often a feeling of relief and ‘rightness’ afterwards. Try to maintain awareness
of this entire process. We all have this ability inherent in us as human
beings, although some appear to be naturally more at ease with the required
letting go of perceived control.
Eventually this other way of knowing becomes second nature
and is mostly effortless. Interruptions in the flow of awareness come as
conditioned beliefs and habits are triggered. This eruption of conditioning and
fear is not a problem. Rather, it is an opportunity to become more aware of
unconscious programming and release it. In other words, it is an opportunity to
become more free and clear. Everything that appears to be a problem will yield
to a calm and present awareness.
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