Week 5 Part I-Recovering a Sense of Possibility

My plan was to write about the exercises in this chapter but instead i want to remember what in the chapter struck a chord for me and then get into the exercises.

My love with the chapter starts with the 1st page where it says:

pg 91
Most of us never consider how powerful the creator really is. Instead, we draw very limited amounts of the power available to us. We decide how powerful God is for us. We unconsciously set a limit on how much God can give us or help us. We are stingy with ourselves. And if we receive a gift beyond our imagining, we often send it back.

I think this is so true on so many levels. I know i serve an awesome and powerful God but when certain situations arise i am so guilty at some point or the other of the questions-Can God do this? will he do this? or when God does do something i say are you sure God?

pg 92
More often. what we are talking about seems to be a conscious partnership in which we work along slowly and gradually, clearing away the wreckage of our negative patterning, clarifying the vision of what it is we want, learning to accept small pieces of that vision from whatever source and then, one day! presto! the vision seems to suddenly be in place. In other words, pray to catch the bus, then run as fast as you can. For this to happen, first of all, we must believe that we are allowed to catch the bus.

By listening to the creator within, we are led to our right path. On that path, we find friends, lovers, money, and meaningful work.Very often, when we cannot seem to find an adequate supply, it is because we are insisting on a particular human source of supply. We must learn to let the flow manifest itself where it will--not where we will it!

pg 94
As each idea comes to us , we must in good faith clear away our inner barriers to acting on it and then, on an outer level, take the concrete steps necessary to trigger our synchronous good. Ask yourself bluntly what next step are you invading. what dream are you discounted as impossible given your resources? what payoff are you getting for remaining stuck at this point in your expansions?

God as my source is a simple but completely effective plan for living. It removes negative dependency-and anxiety-from our lives by assuring that God will provide. Our job is to listen for how.

One way to listen is by writing morning pages. At night, before we fall asleep, we can list areas in which we need guidance. in the morning, writing on these topics, we find ourselves seeing previously unseen avenues of approach. Experiment with this two step process: ask for answers in the evening; listen for answers in the morning. Be open to all help.

pg 95

We startle ourselves by saying yes instead of no to opportunities. As we begin to pry ourselves loose from our old concepts, we find that our new, emerging self may enjoy all sorts of bizarre adventures.

By holding lightly to an attitude of gentle exploration, we can begin to lean into creative expansion. By replacing "No way!" with "Maybe" we open the door to mystery and to magic.

Exercises

What would I try if i wasn't too crazy?

Sample Answers (bold my answers):
1. sky diving, scuba diving. Sky diving, check! Not sure I'm ready for any more adventures right now. lol
2. belly dancing, latin dancing. check! loved both even though i was uncoordinated. taking a Liturgical dance class.
3. getting my poems published. framing some of my recent art.
4. buying a drum set. learning to drum in a drum circle.
5. bicycling through France. taking an excursion (tbd) on an Alaska cruise.

1. The biggest lack in my life is doing something I feel born to do.
2. The greatest joy in my life is God, my family, and my friends.
3. My largest time commitment is not sure. varies from week to week but something that is consistent is probably tv/movie time with hubby.
4. As I play more, I work less
5. I feel guilty that I am not using my talents more for God and that I dont have original artistic ideas.
6.I worry that I'm not good enough.
7. If my dreams come true true, my family will know love is one of the greatest gift God gave us and that we are indeed blessed.
8. I sabotage myself so people will
9. If i let myself feel it, I'm angry that I am not more adventurous, know what I want and go after it tenaciously.
10. One reason I get sad sometimes is I don't want to disappoint people.


List 10 things you love and would love to do but are not allowed to do. These are forbidden joys.

1. Enjoy dancing with complete freedom and abandonment.
2. Increase my art supplies and create a small studio in my spare bedroom (some supplies i want: easel/ variety of painting supplies and other artistic supplies outside of my norm mediums of pencils, sketchbooks, and pastels/charcoal)
3. Take more r&r/creative trips
4.Learn to cook healthy: vegetarian/non vegetarian meals/ethnic foods
5.Take interior decorating class
6.Take a pastry making class
7.Work on a stage design team
8.Assisting with a mural
9.
10.

I can't think of the last two items and its getting late..ill finish the remaining exercises later in the week.