The World Needs To Be Flooded In Divine Love

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Dan Joseph (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

awakeningpath.com

For Awakening Path: Dan Joseph - Writer

This morning, I was sitting in a coffee shop, trying to do some reading. Three women were sitting at a table next to me. The women were talking about various men in their lives, and occasionally threw in a comment about how men are controlling, how men are not very psychologically aware, how men try to replicate their relationships with their mothers, and so on.

I was strongly tempted to walk over to them, and say no, no Â�" you have it wrong. Not all men are like that. In fact, some men are quite loving, respectful, and wise. Perhaps youÂ're missing out on the experience of those loving men because of your preconceived notions. Perhaps you should work on opening your own minds.

And that, of course, would have been my attempt to correct Â�" in them Â�" what really needed an internal correction. If I had said anything to them, it would have come from a sense of anger and defensiveness. So instead of commenting, I opened my notebook and asked myself what it was, exactly, that I didnÂ't like about their conversation.

I made a list: I couldn't stand the tone of superiority that I was overhearing. I couldn't stand their unwillingness to look at their own inner blocks. I couldnÂ't stand their smug confidence about the "wisdom" of their view.

As I made this list, the problem became clear: These were familiar thought-patterns to me. I had spent years indulging Â�" blindly Â�" in very similar attitudes to what I saw in these women. Perhaps I still did, without realizing it. In fact, it was possible that I was completely mishearing and misinterpreting the womenÂ's conversation Â�" perhaps I was merely projecting my own errors upon them.

Either way, the choice was the same. I could continue to condemn and mentally-distance myself from these people. Or I could say, "I, too, have the tendency to engage in thought patterns like these. I am willing to accept a correction for myself." I asked for that inner correction Â�" and opened to it as much as possible. As a sense of peace returned, my attitude shifted and the situation resolved.

Our Job
Recently, many people have shared with me how frustrated or angry they are with their romantic partners, with politicians, with business leaders, and so forth. They have said, as I said this morning, "If only they would change..."

Of course, it would be nice if they would change Â�" that's true. ItÂ's wonderful whenever anyone becomes more loving, patient, and kind. But as A Course in Miracles implies, focusing on other people's errors is a trap. Not only can we not force a change upon others, but trying to correct them is a way of avoiding our own inner correction.

To paraphrase the Course, the world needs to be flooded in divine love Â�" and it needs to come through you and me. We are, each of us, infinitely-capable conduits for it. There is no limit to the blessings that can flow through us. But no miracles can flow while we hold on tightly to our own inner blocks.

Our job is to let God work in us, and through us. As we do that, we become conduits for what everyone craves: the experience of divine love, wisdom, and peace. It is that love that the world really needs. That love is the ultimate correction Â�" and it simply needs an opening.

Instead of saying:

"Those women at that table next to me are being unfair to men,"
(an external perception, which seems to "call for" an external correction)

Â"I could have highlighted my own thoughts/feelings, which were:

"IÂ'm feeling defensive. IÂ'm feeling insulted.
IÂ'm choosing to see those women as smug, unfair, etc."

Blessings to you,

Dan Joseph
Quiet Mind Newsletter
www.DanJoseph.com

www.DanJoseph.com

Dan Joseph has been writing about the connection between spirituality and psychology for the past ten years. He is the author of two books: "Inspired by Miracles" and "Inner Healing."

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.