You can't step into the Same River twice...

[Aley]

I love this saying. For as the river flows, we know it never is the same river we have walked in before. Things change and resistance to the change is wasted energy. So how do we let go and allow for the new thing to come to us in right time?

Besides meditating and prayer, what are other tools you have used to release your need to control an outcome?

and what advice can you share with others who seek to make things happen that may not be aligned with the souls higher purpose?

[CG Walters]

Walking the mountain tops (NC Black Mountains, 6k feet) for upwards of 10 hrs, in the winter, writing, feeding the birds, digging lots of ditches or big holes, splitting wood with a maul, moving large rock around, Mozart (or other Classical--or earlier--period) music, certain movies, time with my sweetie......I guess just about anything that will disengage my mind.

A successful science fiction/fantasy writer said something about avoiding writer's block that works well (for me) in avoiding seeker block as well...."I have never had writer's block since I realized it only happened when I was trying to take the story some place it did not want to do."

The path is alive...and has a mind of its own.

[Dana Zhukova]

writer's block quote: a truth well spoken! dana

[Aley]

I love your share CG. The mountains do carry magic don't they? I am reminded of the ascent of Mt. Ventoux, where the writer decides to climb a mountain becuase it is "there". Amazing...and very long ago...

Yes, the path is alive...and each winding way presents itself in right time...
Thanks for sharing!

Love, Aley

[Dave]

That is an intersting question -and an interstingly tough question!

I shall think about it in due course.

Besides meditating and prayer, my friend -I do not feel, on first thought and reaction, that there is naught which will help one maintain a level of control.

Ritual, of course, plays a part in any ones faith, regardless of scale or degree. We all have an inward routine to which we hold dear.

Perhaps then Ritual, in its various forms -as per a means of bringing one to the point of upmost focus- is what I would include here.

Cheers!

[Dana Zhukova]

The need to control an outcome is motivated by fear--fear of failure, success, loss, embarassment, etc. We must take steps to become aware of those unconscious beliefs that feed such a fear and work to change those beliefs. Interestingly, it would seem to take a certain amount of self-esteem to seek to control an outcome; or at least it takes a sense of one's worth or capability. People who seek to control outcomes are usually very resourceful and successful; people we don't associate with negative beliefs about themselves when in fact, their negative beliefs may very well be the most entrenched; they arenot able to recognize unconscious beliefs so at odds with their self-concept.

Affirmations are a good tool. Where there is the belief "I am inadequate"--use any affirmation that affirms your adequacy.

[Dave]

Affirmations are a good tool if they do not seperate self from other.

"I am" is the death of all spiritual progress.

[Dana Zhukova]

Point well taken! Thank you. Dana

[ResurrectedOne]

The lesson of the river is to Be Here Now.

If you try to control the outcome, you're bringing the past into the present. Each moment is brand new. It has never been seen or experienced before. Before projecting something into this New Moment, just let it Be. See what the moment brings You. Keeping your eyes open for a new opportunity.
=)

[Aley]

Wow~ great posts! (Sorry I have taken so long to respond, as I have been moving, living in limbo and also had not much internet access time!)

I know trying to control the outcome is something many people try to do, but do not understand this cannot be done. The IChing was the best tool for me to work with to release the attachment to the outcome and to allow things to flow as they should...while it is considered a divination tool, I found it more a meditation tool...allowing you the ability to tap into the subconscious mind and see from what position you were acting or reacting and also to focus more on letting go...

Being here now is the only place to be...outward focused on the future leaves your "present" unwrapped....we need to unwrap the present and appreciate the gift....

And so now in this present moment..I appreciate all of you and your wonderful comments...

Namaste.

aley

[Aley]

Ah! Wonderful comments Leastone!

Welcome to HL! and thanks for your insightful comments!

It is a paradox how water can both be beautiful and destructive...we sure saw plenty of it with floods and tsunamis like the one in 2005. I like your analogies and find each comment here bringing new life to our thoughts about life.

I went tubing down a river a few summers ago and enjoyed free floating along the current...there was no feeling of concern as I bounced along twirling round and round in my inner tube....until I met up with a downed tree limb and it nearly impaled me..! Had the current been swifter, I know I would have had a sadder tale to tell...what lies underneath is not always viable to the eye...and while I choose not to worry over being endangered, I must be aware of all that may not be apparent to the visible eye...it was a lesson in watching...and being present as the water can change for many different reasons, and we may not be aware what lies beneath...

Blessings!

Aley

[Su Keister]

One must be careful to position that body within the flow FEET FIRST, so as not to get caught in the 'strainers'! One must be able to see what is coming...while flow-ting along.

I have found that 'detachment' is a great tool for surrendering control.

[Shah]

I don't profess to be someone who actively seeks enlightenment. I don't meditate. I don't pray. I don't really try to make anything happen.

The most important thing for me is to allow. I don't think there's anything real complicated about traversing the path. If there's something I need, something I'm looking for, the first step is deciding. Consciously putting out the message: "I'm ready."

Things come so easily when you open yourself to moving forward. It's like everything just unfolds, not so much the world, but oneself. The options were there the whole time, the trick is just seeing them.

I do a lot of what could be considered "woo-woo" stuff, but I guess it boils down to what feels right. I may not meditate or pray, but I do channel and I regularly talk to my guide and my higher self. My inner child is my friend, and so is the universe. And hey. Whatever happens, whatever choices we make, whichever path we take. It's all gonna turn out fine in the end.