Blessings all,

As many of you know I am streaming "Sunday Night Alive"  on Facebook and YouTube Sunday evenings at 6pm EST. My program  is dedicated to Practical Spirituality - topics which provide the tools to walk and talk our spiritual journey with power, poise and confidence. I am happy to synthesize and broaden these topics for you each week on this blog.   Enjoy this topic from Sunday, February 12th.

Claiming Contentment

This past week on Sunday Night Alive we explored the necessity to personally claim contentment as our chosen way of living and being. Contentment is defined as a state of happiness, peace, and fulfillment. I would add that it is the experience of moving through life knowing that you have enough, you have done enough, and you are enough.  Can you imagine putting your head down at night feeling that way?

Some might argue that contentment and happiness aren’t guaranteed in this life or perhaps even to go so far as to say that happiness is not even the point of life. I fervently disagree. We do not suffer the pain and hardships we experience locally or globally because people are overcome with happiness. Sad, angry, discontented, unfulfilled people lash out. First because they are unhappy and secondly because they believe it is the world’s fault that they are not happy. On the other hand, contented happy people are generous of heart, loving and compassionate.  They don’t harm themselves, others, animals, or the earth. Contentment leads to a state of generosity, cooperation, and peaceful co-existence. I know we need a lot more of that!

This is a challenge because we live in a mental environment that is rigged for unhappiness and dissatisfaction. We are born and raised to believe that something is always missing or broken, something or someone is always wrong and even if it is good, not to get too comfortable because the other shoe will drop at any moment. Most of us were given a list of what isn’t working or imperfect about us personally rather than a list of what is good or great. We were not praised for our gifts but criticized for our shortcomings.

The cornerstone of our  philosophy, faith and way of life is an awareness that the content of our lives is determined by an unseen operating system within our sub-conscious beliefs which ultimately is the cause of all of the circumstances or conditions in our lives. What actually shows up flows from what we believe at our deepest level. The big idea comes first and from that over-arching idea flows circumstances and conditions.  Said another way, consciousness precedes form and form flows from consciousness. Unfortunately, if the operating context in you is one of chronic discontentment, then only discontentment can come forth or be experienced. Context is decisive. To take responsibility and experience a contented life, you must do the work of re-creating and creating the source code for contentment.

This atmosphere of not good enough, of being fundamentally discontented, arises at the level of collective consciousness.  You and I didn’t make it up, we merely accepted it and once an idea lives in us subconsciously, it cannot help but determine conditions and circumstances. Because we are powerful creators and have the ability and responsibility to think for ourselves and to design our life, we can consciously with intention and commitment create a new context, a big new idea which will, by virtue of how the universe works, begin to form new conditions and new circumstances for us.

As a practicing metaphysician, you create your life through vision, commitment, and declaration.  You will live from an inner assertion rather than an outer reaction.  It isn't possible to expect to live a happy life by expecting the world to provide you with reasons to be happy. This is true about contentment as well as joy, happiness, abundance, health, and all other qualities of being. These innate qualities are to be discovered and expressed.

“You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator.
You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages
and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.” 
~Anthon St. Maarten

This does not mean it's easy because we are all conditioned by the past and the world. We are all conditioned by our cultural influences. So there comes a moment as a mature human and spiritual adult when we must embrace the truth that life will be to us what we are to it. That we do have the capacity, the responsibility, and the power to bring into existence new paradigms and new contexts. Why? Because we are made in the image and likeness of supreme intelligence. Thus, we either believe we are  puny insignificant beings or that we are endowed with the intelligence, wisdom, and capacity to change, to begin again.

I say that the first step is to merely give yourself permission to be happy. We can’t wait for our family or friends to give us permission. Nor can we wait for society to decide that a contented population is ultimately a far healthier option for our world; mentally, physically, or spiritually. Ultimately it is a decision we make and then stand for that decision with all our might. The single decision to be contented will re-orient your life. It will re-prioritize your life. You will make different choices, have different friends, do different things, and ultimately live a far superior quality of life.

Choosing happiness does not mean we care less about the world.  It is not an either/or option.  Being contented does not equate to apathy. Choosing happiness is not selfish. The reality is that in your happiness, you will offer the world happiness.  That isn’t possible when you suffer. In your unhappiness you will offer the world suffering.

The creation of a new context or a new idea is quite easy. Right where you are, today, regardless of the circumstances simply say something like this:

• I will practice contentment and happiness from this day forward.
• Today, I give myself permission to be a happy and contented person.
• Regardless of my past and present circumstances, I choose contentment.
  
• What would a contented person do or say right now in this situation?

You know yourself better than I do, so from that self-knowledge, write your perfect affirmations. And then do them faithfully 100 times a day!

Have fun with it. There is truly nothing to lose.

This concludes today’s message for Living A Life of Spiritual Power
Next week – "Don't Listen to the World, Talk to Your SELF" February 19th 6pm
Until then, Love, love and more love, Rev. D