2001-12-12. Keeping Open Even If Disappointed
Nashville #134
Topic: Keeping Open Even If Disappointed
Group: Nashville TeaM
Teacher: Ham
TR: Rebecca
Opening
Ham: Greetings, children, I am Ham and I welcome you this evening. Tonight, let us talk about how the Master remained always open-hearted. As you go through your lives and experience the ups and downs of it, it is tempting always to close your heart, to react to circumstances by a certain degree of closure, for protection.
Lesson
When circumstances are disappointing, or people are a source of disappointment, it is easy to close down and be afraid of opening again. Indeed, the life of the spirit is a constant combat against that animal reaction. That tendency to pull within, and to withdraw, which is always struggling to manifest from fear which creates an instant reaction. The mind is a bit more sophisticated in its justifications, its resentments, and so forth, but it is that animal adrenalin reaction of closing off the outside and pulling the life force within.
This, of course, closes off that spiritual sensitivity which is so important for spiritual insight and intuition. The spirit is always reaching out and engaged in the world and with other people, sensing their reactions, their feelings, and the animal self wants to pull within and concentrate on one’s own feelings, one’s own reactions, one’s own justified feelings about how one is treated, and so forth.
But, while living in the human body, this animal instinct is constantly clamoring. It must be counteracted by always giving the mind into higher realms. And not allowing the mind to be drawn down into the body, but consciously propelling the mind outward and upward into the spiritual realms, where the ego and the animal self is not active– where there is peace and tranquility and perspective.
You are all very sensitive people, very talented people, and you know the feeling of putting yourself out and having any kind of rejection and what not that causes that pulling inward and that withdrawal from the world again. How quickly it comes and how stifling and how it can be the death of the heart. And so you then must start all over it seems, and begin again putting yourselves outward, little by little. This is where the spiritual realm is so helpful for you, to be able to disengage from that ego-need, that ego-self which is part of the drive, yes, but can also be a drive toward destruction as well as success.
The Master experienced much rejection and ultimately the ultimate rejection during his life and he was always able to find that place of peace where his mind and the Father’s mind became one. Where he could see the bigger picture and understand the greater purpose of what he was doing. If he was not able to do this, his mission would have been derailed early. Because like all people, he was sensitive to rejection and his human heart was very hurt and lonely much of the time. He was truly a person who could say that no one understood him. No one really did.
And yet, he was able to keep his heart fully open. To be so sensitive, even on the cross, to minister to others, even then. He constantly resisted the pull toward self-absorption, or self-pity and continually kept his spirit flowing outward.
His life’s work, to reveal the Father in heaven to his fellow man, was one of evolution. As you look at his life, you may draw inspiration for your own, for he went through much learning, much change in his work, change in his ministry, change in his approach. What would work? What wouldn’t work? If he succumbed to the pressure for healing and healed the bodies of his fellows and friends, would they then be as receptive to the spiritual message as they had been in their suffering? Usually not.
At times, he spoke openly and boldly. Other times he spoke in seeming riddles that confounded many people, but reached a certain few. He had many decisions to make on a day to day basis. The fate of so many on this world and others at the time and for the future, all rested on his shoulders. When you are tempted to feel defeated or pressured or sorry for yourselves in disappointment or disillusion, think carefully about the one who went before you and experienced all these things, a million fold. The pressures on him were enormous.
And yet, he seemed to be very peaceful, self-possessed, and certain of himself and his mission. You, too, my children, can find this same measure of peace within yourselves. By consciously deciding which direction the mind will turn. The mind turns toward the animal body instinctively, reflexively, but you can turn it the other direction toward the spirit by making the conscious decision to do so at every turn, at every decision, at every temptation. Your will controls which direction your mind will seek for answers.
I know it is difficult. Life is very hard and full of hard choices. Hard problems to deal with. Hard decisions to make. But before each one of these things, you are free to say, “I choose the higher mind of my Father. I choose the higher mind of my higher self.” And in doing so, you determine the direction the mind faces, so to speak. You determine how the mind will seek for answers.
Also, this is difficult to do when you are tired, when you are fatigued and stressed in any way. It is very important for you to receive rest, relaxation, to be able to separate yourselves from the problem at hand and to minimize the stresses on the body as much as possible. Drugs, alcohol, all these things create more stress on the body, and the mind follows that stress and moves inward even more. So please be careful with the Father’s temple and treat your bodies very well. Get enough rest. Give it exercise. Be careful not to abuse drugs or alcohol in any way. And then, you will find your will is much freer and your mind is much freer to attain higher and higher levels during your daily life.
Closing
Life is very hard, and you don’t need to make it harder than it is. Free yourselves from the attachment to the ego and the body by making that decision to focus the mind on the higher realms. And make that decision over and over again. This should be very helpful to you.
