Rick Warren provides a list of questions to reflect on p292 in his book ‘The purpose driven life’. I asked my higher self to answer them. This is what I channeled (11 Mar 2015).
What has God taught me from failure?
- Not to be egoic, that you are not superior to others
- That intellectual achievements do not bring happiness
- That hiding in your mind is depressing and unfulfilling
- That connection with others is what matters most
- That you always have enough. God brings work when it is needed. Surrender to his plan, rather than your own. Let go of goals, plans, dreams that are ego based and live from the heart for God and humanity and the Earth.
What has God taught me from a lack of money?
- That more always comes
- That success is not determined by wealth
- To be humble
- To feel my pain, not hide in work
- To love everyone – not just the successful. Be proud of all, not judgmental, for everyone has their challenges.
What has God taught me from pain, sorrow, depression?
- That I can survive and heal
- That it is challenging to resolve and takes time
- That all people go through it in some way in their lifetime
- To smile despite it, to overcome it, to enjoy life
- Not to compare with other people’s journeys or judge people’s actions. You don’t know their pain that leads their actions. Forgive those who hurt you, for they only hurt others due to their own pain, defenses, inability to feel and connect from the heart.
- To pray for help and fall to my knees asking for God’s help – to let God in, believe he exists, to seek him and believe in his ability to solve all situations
- To be patient and accept life happens in God’s timing not mine, that his will matters more than my own.
- To love each other no matter what.
What has God taught me through waiting?
- Patience – I haven’t learned it fully yet!
- To be in the moment and trust God, to live each day as my last and have fun, honor each other and be of service in whatever ways I can be
- To know I am given what I need, not necessarily what I want
- To look at what I want and question why and what for it is wanted, to let go of the want and trust God to bring what is best for me – flow with what is, accept what is.
- Choose peace not frustration. Don’t fight what is. It’s pointless and makes you miserable.
- Celebrate with gratitude what you have and what will come. Love it all, the highs and the lows, seeing that it all helps in your evolution and growth. It is all part of God’s plan for you and he knows best. Even though we resist this notion it is the truth. God’s truth. Surrender and BE.
What has God taught me through illness?
- How much I love my parents and don’t want to see them suffer
- How sad I would be to lose those I love, even though I don’t let them very close or spend time with them
- To pray to God for their health to return, to love them and not try to fix them, to offer assistance, but accept their right to refuse it. To let go of judgments of people’s life choices and accept them and their choices. To respect their right to live the way they are.
- To accept sometimes people’s pain is so deep they can’t see a way through it or face their demons. Send them love. There but for the grace of God go I. There but for the grace of God go I. We all play out all scenarios in different life times and each goes through it, so be kind and loving to all.
- Without challenge we wouldn’t know triumph. Without pain we wouldn’t know joy and freedom. Without cold we wouldn’t know warm or hot. Without pain and loss, we wouldn’t appreciate or value what we have. It all serves a purpose. Great loss, great tragedy helps us stop, pause, reflect on our life and release the emotions buried within. It creates opportunity for significant change, reevaluation of how we live life. It serves a purpose. It brings people together. It gets people talking and reconnecting. It unites us in our grief for a lost one. It serves a purpose.
- Accept life’s tragedies as stepping stones to greatness and know it is all perfect in the eyes of God and for your evolutionary growth. Nothing is wasted or inconsequential. It all has meaning. Amen.
What has God taught me through disappointment?
- Not to give up. To trust. To persevere. To carry on. To choose joy anyway. To let go of control and surrender to what is. To live in the moment and not try to force my will to manifest, my desires, to surrender to God’s will and accept that.
- To let go of the past and pain. To see how it poisons the present and future if you hold onto your baggage.
- To see the pointlessness of being disappointed and resentful. Forgive everyone for all they do, so you have peace and happiness. Value peace and happiness above all else. Choose peace in all circumstances. Yes, be passionate about your chosen course, but do so with a peaceful and loving attitude. No fighting against. Just loving, educating, supporting and nurturing change. Joyfully uniting for a cause, to spread love and wisdom.
What have I learned from my family, church, relationship, small group, critics?
- To forgive them and accept them
- To understand each has their version of the truth and story to tell. Each has a unique journey.
- To stop rescuing, judging, trying to fix or change anyone
- To love them as they are and let them in. That it is a cold, lonely life when you isolate yourself so much from others as protection
- Allow people close, see their light, let people love you.
- Most people, if not all, are not trying to hurt you. It is your own projections onto them that lead to fear. Yes, set boundaries where needed and speak your truth about how you want to be treated, but accept people as they are. Don’t lose sleep, your joy over others choices and actions. You can’t control them and they can’t control you. So let go of the fight, the conflict, the pain and choose peace. Work together for good, for harmony, for love.
- Life is not black and white. Churches aren’t all good and Christians aren’t all loving. Some are, some aren’t. Same as all of life. Each is at a different level of consciousness and growth. God does live there. Jesus is real and present when called upon, but you don’t have to be in a church building to do so. Gather with like minded souls and celebrate life. Celebrate in whatever form feels right to you. No right or wrong. Just love. Amen.