Loving What Is November 9, 2015
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Life Balance, Mindfulness.trackback
Loving What Is by Byron Katie (2002) focuses on letting go of toxic thoughts that cause unnecessary suffering.
As we become aware of our “inner spin doctor” (who creates turmoil with stories based on lies and half truths), we learn to let go of the spin.
We begin to accept the “what is” as it is.
We let go of fears and doubts and allow peace to surface.
We stop resisting reality and learn to “go with the flow” of the present moment as the path unfolds before us.
Here, Now.
Aah . . . that’s better!
We carry around so many memories, intentions, and concepts in the pockets of the mind. Keep emptying your pockets. ~ Writing on Water, Mooji
Related post: Pondering ~ Accepting What Is (Find Your Middle Ground)
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Nancy, this has been THE most transformational insight in my life. I had no idea how much I was resisting life and trying to take control to have things my way. It was how my mother was, and I grew up thinking that this is how life should be.
What a relief to find out different and to learn to let go!
Thanks for the share 💛
Yes! When we “let go” of the desire to control things that are outside our control, we remove the largest source of unnecessary suffering from our life.
Loving the “what is” allows us to relax and enjoy the ride.
Nancy this is BIG for me. Like Val, I had a Mom that was a control freak and I was too. It can wear you out! I wasn’t a stamp my foot have to have things my way, but more of a have to control my surroundings anxiety kind of thing. I have learned to do some letting go. Aah.
Yes! When we’re trying to get our ducks in a row, the ducks don’t always cooperate.
If our thoughts insist that things should be the way we want them to be, and we don’t question that thinking, we are apt to be in for a bumpy ride ~> jostled about by worry, doubt, and perpetual dissatisfaction with life.
There is always something to “tidy up.” But who says we have to do the tidying?
So true, Nancy. This is a great way to really be present in the moment.
Speaking of present, I’m off to be with my mom for her surgery tomorrow. So I won’t be present on my blog for a while. 🙂
While waiting in the Waiting Room, allow intrusive thoughts (fear, doubt, and anxiety) to drift away. They are not real.
They are “know nothings.”
When our thoughts are not clouded with toxic thinking, inner peace and serenity surface. Far better companions! Peace!
It’s amazing where our thoughts can lead us, if we allow them to take hold.”Keep emptying your pockets.” Love it!
Most of life is outside the parameters of our control. We cannot dictate our desires and expect them to be fulfilled. The more we insist on having things “our way,” the greater the frustration we feel at our impotence.
But we can learn to control our thoughts. When we notice our thoughts resisting the “what is,” we can reclaim the remote and change the channel.
When we remind our Mind to accept the “what is” as it is, the more peace, joy, and tranquility we feel as we flow from moment to moment attending to things that ARE under our control:
Eat when hungry. Sleep when tired. Move when restless.
One serous problem could be holding a grudge. I can remember things that happened when I being ganged up on and bullied back in High School, more than 50 years ago; and sometimes I can get really worked up about them; which is totally foolish.
Whenever I happen to meet one of my former classmates, we always get along well. There’s no way I’m gonna bring up something that happened 50 years ago.
There is the saying, “Forgive and forget”, which is good advice. However, if you can’t forget, you should forgive anyway.
If we scratch grievances into rock . . . they continue to fester.
If we write grievances in the sand . . . they blow away in short order.
When we learn to write our grievances on water . . . they dissipate as soon as they arise.
Oh, such wise words, Nancy. Love this post. 🙂 ❤
From our limited vantage point, it’s almost always impossible to tell if something is “good” or “bad” because everything’s connected. We don’t have sufficient perspective to see the long range view. So passing judgment on this, that, and the other thing (as if we could see the future) is a rather pointless exercise. Anything could be a gift of gold in disguise.
Being willing to embrace “maybe” allows us to accept the what is as it is and eliminate much of our self created suffering.
So true. 🙂
Agree with all that! And will keep emptying my pockets…things tend to creep in there unnoticed 🙂
When I notice resistance to the “what is,” I take a quick peek at what I’m thinking.to see if I am telling myself stories that aren’t mirrored by reality.
The “what is” just is ~> shaking our fist at the sky never stops (or starts) the rain.
I have to remember that imagery!
Love this post. Here’s to evicting our inner spin doctors and emptying our pockets.
We went kayaking this afternoon. About 30 minutes into the paddle, I heard thunder in the distance and mentioned it to one of the leaders. He checked the radar. The storms were still “in the distance.”
Reassured, I kept paddling WITHOUT whipping up waves of worry in my head. 😎
Cool indeed. Why sacrifice the moment for unneeded worry? Hope your paddle was a good one!
Calm, cool, and collected.
I was talking to a friend the other day who said he must be covered in big red buttons because people are continually pushing them. No, I told him, just let go. Now I’m going to tell him about the ‘internal spin doctor’. We all have one and this post is awesome for letting us all become fully aware of that little devil! 😀
Oh, yes! If we’re covered in big red buttons, it’s because we put them there. If we dismantle the thoughts that keep those buttons “front and center,” the buttons evaporate.
No one can push buttons that no longer exist.
People who annoy us are our “teachers.” In time, people who can upset us become harder and harder to find.
Another good reminder, Nancy. We might as well accept reality. What else is there?
Far better to deal with reality than battle with imaginings.
It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. ~ Sally Kempton
The older I get the more holes I have in my pockets and I don’t mind, I keep the good stuff safe in my heart.
Excellent practice!
Breathing and moving is so much lighter and easier when your pockets aren’t full and heavy.
Yes! The sun will set without thy assistance. ~ The Talmud
I love this post, Nancy. I run with a friend two mornings a week and we always talk about this kind of stuff. Letting Go, Acceptance, Praying to want what we have. Life is a lot less heavy when I can do this. Thanks for the reminder!
Yes! We travel best when we travel light. Enjoy your continued journey.
I’m firing my inner spin doctor right now. 🙂
That’s the ticket!
I need to do more letting go and more accepting. Great reminder!
Accepting the “what is” is a great practice . . . but it includes accepting ourselves as we are here and now.
You are facing so many changes. Don’t be hard on yourself if your human-ness gets in the way of acceptance now and again.
Even that is part of the practice.
I don’t know about you, but I have been known to tell myself some really good stories…not that they were necessarily true, you understand, but VERY good stories. LOL! I am a bit “awed” by Byron Katie. She’s quite an interesting woman!
She’s unique! I’m not sure I would care to sit down with her for an extended chat ~> but she’s “right” that we shouldn’t buy into what our inner chatterbox is telling us day in and day out.
Byron Katie is a favorite teacher of mine. I like her story of awakening and how after awakening she instantly lost her agoraphobia and went from 200 pounds to a normal weight. It’s amazing how becoming free from believing our thoughts has an impact in the quality of our lives and state of being.
Yes! Our bodies store toxic beliefs and stale emotions. When we release them, we free ourselves!