Joy Comes Without Worry Tags

Yesterday, I had been graciously given a new book about the "real" teachings of Jesus, which are a breath of fresh air on the theme of spiritual liberation which many of us had already come to believe was what Jesus was really teaching. It opens the whole world and language of Christianity to include all human beings. It is explosive in its potential to heal our lives - all of life - from wars, disease, interpersonal relationships, mental illness, everything. It reaches right across all our human limitations, our human fears, and our cultural and religious and even historical boundaries. In short, it gets to the point of everything. In it, we are shown a vivid glimpse of who we really are and how we can reach the pinnacle of our authentic being. The material is bursting with light, love, energy, hope - and most of all joy. It literally blows your mind right out of the water into a new perspective that in a sense transcends everything you ever thought was possible.

We are shown that at the source of all that is, in terms of our earthly lives, dreams, dilemnas, everything - is the creative power that is always within reach, always there. It is in every cell and every galaxy. It's in our actions and choices, powered by our thoughts. In short, it is our "power," and you know I'm going to tell you that our power is not our power but our creator's power within us as it is in everything. It is our conscious intentionality that chooses to subscribe to its presence. Does that make any sense? It is by - to use old Christian language - surrendering to God that God will enter into any situation to remedy it. Now, deperonsalize that concept, remove the shoulds, guilt, unworthiness and judgment from it, and think, by inviting the power of all of life, creative power of all of life, to enter your mind, your choices, your life and allow yourself to be fueled by this great "other" and you will find your life transformed from black and white to brilliant Pixar technicolor rainbows.

So, who does that right? Well, think about Gandhi's walk to the sea. He chose non-violence to stand before the British and only held in his hand the weapon of love, the weapon of the power of love. In his decision NOT to use any form of violence, defense or weaponry, he made that choice to surrender. When we consider that this power is available to all of us, bar none, absolutely unconditionally, no strings attached, and that with this power (which is the creative power of love, or maybe we could call it the power of creative surrender to "that which is the power source of all of life - always has been, always will be) we can re-create our lives from hum drum or even just down right miserable into magnificent lives of power and joy, animated by this beautiful life source and inspiring and animating all those around us as it flows through us out into our lives and life all around us. Now, just imagine if everydone did that? Bingo! Paradise. Maybe that's the vision for what will come after 2012. Let's hold on to that one.

But, just one more thought on this. When you realize that you don't have to control everything - every single detail in your life - you feel this awesome release from worry about outcome. Then, you can just go back to doing what you love (once you know what that is) and let life take care of itself while you hum while you work. That, in my mind, is the beginning of joy.

My only hope and prayer is that we can stay awake to this new idea, which this book calls the "good news, " or what I would call the news from God - in a way, it's kind of late-breaking, but nonetheless very ancient. It was what created the heavens and the earth and made life on this beautiful planet. Yet, behind all great power is ultimate being, so I can only imagine, if I could really imagine this, Who is this ultimate power Who can create such magnificence? Creation, plus power, equals being-hood. Well, that's just awesome!

Check out this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA8PaIw5gcE