She listened patiently and when I finally took a breath, she asked, “Is your commitment greater than your resistance?”
It was a simple question.
I stared at her dumbfounded as her question reverberated through my soul like a thunderstorm.
Is (boom!) your commitment (crack!) greater (bam!) than your resistance? (boom! boom! boom! rumble... rumble...)
Spirit had asked me a question.
In the ensuing silence, I realized that I had grown complacent, keeping my head down, putting one foot in front of the other, taking class after class. I had ensnared myself in the all-too-common trap of believing that I had to make it happen, that I had to manifest the Vision. It’s that same thinking that says, “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.”
I had fallen into a habit of goal-setting and working to accomplish those goals. I was looking for solutions and possibilities, planning and implementing, making lists of pros and cons, trying to figure out how to make it happen and setting timelines.
The more I efforted, the tighter and more complex the entanglement became.
Rev. Michael Beckwith said, “When there is a willingness there is a way, but when there is willfulness there is a wall.”1
That wall was tall and getting taller because I kept adding bricks to it.
No wonder I was exhausted.
I let out the breath I had been holding and answered softly… Yes.
One of the final steps of the Visioning process in each Visioning session is committing to the Vision or saying a sacred “yes.” This commitment is a statement of our willingness to do the work necessary to bring ourselves into alignment with Spirit’s Highest Idea.
This work is not the same as trying to make the Vision happen. It is the work of personal transformation and spiritual growth.
Personal transformation means change, and change is something we often resist. Change is frequently messy and uncomfortable. It can also be difficult to imagine ourselves without our pain and our stories. When we allow them to, our desire for comfort and our fear of the unknown hold us captive in our small lives.
In an interview with Science of Mind magazine, Rev. Michael Beckwith said, “All spiritual growth, 100 percent of it, is about releasing or eliminating, rather than attaining something, because we’re already It spiritually. We’re in the process of releasing inhibitions, limitation, false concepts, and all the other baggage that prevents our greater yet-to-be self from expressing.”2
What we are to release, embrace, embody, and become are revealed through the questions we ask during Visioning. Then releasing, embracing, embodying and becoming become the pathway of our transformation and bring us into alignment with Spirit’s Highest Idea so that It may be fulfilled through us. Paraphrasing Ernest Holmes, “Spirit can only do for us, what it can do through us.”
When we remember that “It is not I but the Spirit within that does the work,” rather than efforting, we are allowing. The work need not be hard.
The commitment is to our Self, to our personal transformation, to being the transparency for God through which the Vision fulfills Itself.
Recently the question came to me again. But this time…
The answer was, “No, my resistance is greater than my commitment.”
Instead of a thunderstorm, it was like a bolt of lightning. Shocked. Stunned. Singed.
My call is strong, so what was this about?
I came to the realization that I had made some worldly commitments out of obligation. My resistance to fulfilling these commitments and the subsequent resentment were making me feel miserable. I had said yes to some things that weren’t mine to do. I let these commitments get in the way of the Vision fulfilling itself as my life.
The resistance I was experiencing was actually Spirit’s way of nudging me back into alignment with my commitment to my Self. This “no” served to remind me of my sacred “yes.”
100% of spiritual growth is letting go so... I took the opportunity to graciously release those obligations and self-judgment.
There is no one correct answer. It’s a simple question, but one that can lead to self-discovery and freedom.
“Is your commitment greater than your resistance?”
Biography
What we are to release, embrace, embody, and become are revealed through the questions we ask during Visioning. Then releasing, embracing, embodying and becoming become the pathway of our transformation and bring us into alignment with Spirit’s Highest Idea so that It may be fulfilled through us. Paraphrasing Ernest Holmes, “Spirit can only do for us, what it can do through us.”
When we remember that “It is not I but the Spirit within that does the work,” rather than efforting, we are allowing. The work need not be hard.
The commitment is to our Self, to our personal transformation, to being the transparency for God through which the Vision fulfills Itself.
Recently the question came to me again. But this time…
The answer was, “No, my resistance is greater than my commitment.”
Instead of a thunderstorm, it was like a bolt of lightning. Shocked. Stunned. Singed.
My call is strong, so what was this about?
I came to the realization that I had made some worldly commitments out of obligation. My resistance to fulfilling these commitments and the subsequent resentment were making me feel miserable. I had said yes to some things that weren’t mine to do. I let these commitments get in the way of the Vision fulfilling itself as my life.
The resistance I was experiencing was actually Spirit’s way of nudging me back into alignment with my commitment to my Self. This “no” served to remind me of my sacred “yes.”
100% of spiritual growth is letting go so... I took the opportunity to graciously release those obligations and self-judgment.
There is no one correct answer. It’s a simple question, but one that can lead to self-discovery and freedom.
“Is your commitment greater than your resistance?”
Biography
Rev. Jeffrey Ryan is the Senior Minister of Riverside Center for Spiritual Living in Riverside, CA. He is the Chair of both the CSL Visioning Team and the CSL Global Themes Team. For him, Visioning is a way of life. He is committed to sharing this transformative process with as many people as possible. He regularly facilitates Visioning sessions and workshops within CSL as well as for secular, interfaith, and business organizations. Rev. Jeffrey also teaches the Visioning course for CSL Online Education and is an adjunct faculty member of the CSL School of Spiritual Leadership.
Notes
1 Beckwith, M.B. (2012), Life Visioning, Sounds True
2 Beckwith, M. B. and Juline, K. (1996), An Interview with Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Science of Mind Magazine
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