8. YOUR INNER CRYSTAL BALL


 

One of the most challenging things in life is having to make decisions. We try to learn as much as possible about our options, but very often we have to make a decision without being able to know all the facts. How can we know what the future will bring? You don't need a crystal ball or a "floating eight-ball" to tell you what decision to make. This is not about getting advice from "spirit guides" or any external source. You have within you a source of wisdom and inner knowing that can guide you in making even the most difficult choices.

The Being of Light that you are sees far ahead into the future, along what we call "probability lines". By consulting your Actual Self, you can get a better sense of how different choices you make today will affect you (and others) tomorrow. As you learn how to ask for inner direction with enlightened awareness, the "still small voice within" becomes easier to hear.

We all have the ability to probe into the future, but some are more gifted than others at bringing this inner knowing into their awareness. It's like music, anyone can learn to play a tune on the piano, but only someone with an inspired gift or talent can make it emotionally moving. Whether or not you are "clairvoyant" (clear seeing), "clairaudient" (clear hearing), or "clairsentient" (clear sensing) in the traditional sense of these terms, you have the ability to get the inner knowing that you need to make the choices required of you in life. With practice in using enlightened awareness you can further develop and enhance that ability, regardless of your innate level of talent in perceiving what lies ahead.

 

FROM THE SEEDS OF THE PAST

Before we proceed to the "how to", let's look at the "how". Nothing happens as a completely isolated incident. Every action has a reaction, and everything in the cosmos is interrelated to some degree. The seeds for what is happening today were planted in the past, and today's events set the stage for the future. If you look at time as a continuum of events, you can view any particular sequence in time as an evolution-one event making possible something else, and so on. This flow unfolds along specific lines of probability, not randomly.

Evolution does not mean predestination. Many people take the word of a psychic, oracle, or prophet that something is going to happen, and assume that there is nothing they can do to change it. We influence the future by exercising our free will to respond rather than merely reacting to circumstances. Probability lines indicate what is likely to happen, not necessarily the inevitable.

 

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

As Beings of Light our awareness of probability lines is infinitely more extended than what we perceive as personalities. Enlightened awareness provides a linkage between your own Divine Awareness and your human awareness. When you go within to seek guidance, you allow your Higher Self to give you input. Of course, you may not always decide to follow your inner direction about which course of action to take. We have the free will choose to learn in countless different ways. Russell Schofield, the founder of Actualism, spoke of the "infinite variables in the cosmic learning game."

 

DESIRE AND PURPOSE

We get ourselves in all kinds of trouble when we let our desires push and pull us into things, rather than following our inner direction. Not that desires are inherently bad! In many religious and spiritual teachings desire is thought to be something to be suppressed and avoided. This has caused a lot of needless suffering and unhappiness due to the misunderstanding of the nature of desire.

Actually, desire based upon need is essential to our very survival, as well as to finding joy in life. Instinctual desire motivates us to eat when we are hungry and drink when we are thirsty. The problems come in when desires become separated from need and purpose—causing us to want to eat and drink when we are not hungry or thirsty, or to want food and drink that give pleasure but do not nourish.

Under the influence of conditioned, unenlightened awareness, we are ruled by random, fragmenting desires which can never be fulfilled. Many obsessions and addictions are due to deep unfulfilled needs for which the natural desire has been suppressed, repressed and therefore deviated. As we hold even these desires in the light we gradually become more free to discriminate with good judgment whether pursuing a desired object or experience would be worthwhile and constructive for ourselves and others. Then we find that our deep desires, rather than being distracting or even destructive, draw us closer to fulfilling our purpose in life.

 

MISTAKES AND LEARNING FROM THEM

The "mistakes" we make when we ignore our inner direction and better judgment are not really mistakes, just opportunities for learning in a different way. It's not about choosing the right or wrong path, but about deciding how we want to learn. Lesson learning and growth can occur with more or less pain, depending upon what choices we make. Sometimes pain can be a great teacher, even if it is just to give us compassionate, loving understanding of what others are going through. At other times the lesson in pain is that we have had enough of suffering and are therefore ready and willing to find a more enlightened way of growing.

You can verify these ideas for yourself. Look back at your life. Examine what you consider to be some of your biggest "mistakes". What did your inner knowing tell you at the time? What did you learn as a result of those choices? What good came out of it in terms of your growth? If you cannot find any good that came out of these experiences, you need to work with the memory of them in the light, processing them further so you can extract the essence from them.

 

TECHNIQUE FOR ENLIGHTENED DECISION MAKING

The following technique is presented as a useful adjunct to getting all the facts you can about your options in any decision you need to make. It is not intended as a substitute for common sense, or for good research. In a pinch, however, it has helped me and many others when a decision had to be made, but all the facts were not available. Furthermore, it is very helpful when the various choices you could make seem equally desirable.

Before you begin, it is helpful to identify what options are open to you, narrowing the choices down to two or three. This gives you a better focus for your inner work.

1. Gather and enlighten your awareness. If you are in an agitated state, work with the downpour of crystal-white light as described in Chapter 1 to steady your energy systems, and even do a field clearing as in Chapter 3. When you are upset your energy is turbulent and muddy, which makes clear perception and thinking more difficult.

2. With your enlightened awareness, move into your Upper Room (six inches or 15cm above the top of your head). Think of the first possible choice in the situation you are considering. As you think of it, let your enlightened awareness move along that path of probability into the consciousness of this option. Explore with knowing awareness, sensory awareness, and emotional awareness the qualities of this experience. The qualities may be very subtle, such as a slight lightening or increasing heaviness of weight, an increase or decrease in tension in some part of your body, or some other change in your sensory, emotional, or mental state. Make a mental note of these changes.

3. Repeat the previous step with each of your other two options. Then compare all three experiences and see which one best suits your current tastes and needs for learning. Again, it's not a question of making the "right" decision, but rather making the one that is best for you (and all others concerned) at the time.

Sometimes you are faced with a situation to which there seems to be no solution, no acceptable options at all. In these cases you need a good dose of inspiration. At times like this, simply unify from your Upper Room with all the Beings of Light who can help you along your way, and be open to ideas and inspiration coming in. When ideas do come into your awareness, give them some time to develop, then check out the probability lines using the technique described above.

 

LONG TERM BENEFITS

Don't hesitate to unify with your Upper Room consciousness for even seemingly trivial decisions, like "what if I turn down this street instead of that one?", or to select a movie or restaurant. Your Higher Self is not insulted by being included in such decisions. On the contrary, you honor the Being of Light you are by opening to Higher Mind for assistance in any and all areas of life.

As you practice the techniques presented above, the long term benefits go beyond being able to make more enlightened decisions. By strengthening the linkage between your Divine Mind and your brain-mind, you will find that you can access inner direction almost instantly, accelerating your growth toward wholeness. When you experience joy and fulfillment in life, the Being of Light you are rejoices, as the Creator-within and your creation share life more abundant.

 

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©1994-2018 Bruce R. Jaffe/Actualism