22 Days of Transformation, Day 11, March 10 2010
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said in his book, Flow
“What I discovered was that happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events but rather on how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us come to being happy.”
Interesting! What is the relationship between “controlling inner experience” and going with the flow of life? They appear to be contradictory don’t they? In our process this morning with flow, Shafiya gave a good example of controlling inner experience when she spoke of becoming more aware of her fear and choosing not to let it block her. In other words, we can choose to trust despite our fear. Transformation often happens when the desire for something becomes bigger than our fear of it.
Vicktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning said:
“Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.”
And that course greater than oneself is the unique calling of one’s own soul.
Deepak Chopra said:
“Modern science tells us that we live in a universe with no edges in space, with no beginning or ending in time. Eastern wisdom says we have a universe within us as profound as infinite as timeless as the world outside. Unbounded freedom permeates everything and yet we continue to live our lives as prisoners of fragmented values – prey to disease, unhappiness and caught in the web of time. “
Where, and how, in your life, are you limiting your freedom?
Osho said:
“Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax. If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, you start vibrating with it.”
LaoTzu said:
“ To know the masculine and be true to the feminine is to be the waterway of the world.
To be the waterway of the world is to flow with the Great Integrity, always swirling back to the innocence of childhood.
To know yang and to be true to yin is to echo the universe.”
What do you say?
Photo by Peter Bowers
Rose, thanks for all these lovely quotes….they all ring true for me, especially the LaoTzu line…”swirling back to the innocence of childhood” ….a most divine place to be. Thanks, again for the many gifts which you so generously give.
Love bubbles to you. Sue
Rose, this morning’s visualization immediately put me in familiar territory. I once owned a canoe & have lived along rivers my entire life. So I heard the waters lapping at the sides of the boat & felt its familiar rocking. Even the river, though different than any on my earthly plane, was familiar, for I heard a massive waterfall ahead & knew exactly where I was. Pulling the canoe from the water, I proceeded to the waterfall’s base on foot, carrying the canoe. Then at the base I stood in awe as this majestic spot where the Divine & I had met before. Forcing myself to again launch the boat downstream, I realized the others on this journey this morning were waiting on shore up ahead. Knowing my stop at the falls had delayed me, I paddled hard to reach the others awaiting my arrival. As I stepped ashore, I knew these souls so well. We were not strangers scattered across a huge country but well-known beings who arrived at a common meeting place, each from a different river of life. And so it is.
Very powerful and spine tingling, Raora, soul friends gathering as if at an appointed time!
Sue, thank you for your bubbles of delight.
Much love
Rose