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Browse every published article connected to Guy Finley, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to Guy Finley, or search within this exact expert archive.
Key Lesson: Part I: It seldom occurs to us that whatever we persist with in our lives works to perfect the same, so that by allowing persistent negative thoughts and feelings to have their way with us, we unknowingly perfect self-punishment! Part II: As surely as raindrops have the power to ...
It was a little before 7 AM on Saturday morning when Alex sat down in his living room with his first cup of coffee. He was up a little bit earlier than usual because a strange noise had awakened him from his sleep. So, when he looked out of his bedroom, he wasn't too surprised to discover the source of the disturbance was his neighbor Sam, who lived just across the street. Sam was dragging several folding tables out of his garage, and arranging them on the front lawn.
(Excerpted from "Let Go and Live in the Now" -- Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004: 1,150 words) I can think of no greater encouragement than the self-evident Truth that there dwells in each of us the opportunity to explore and know the Extraordinary Life. The meaning of Extraordinary I wish to convey ...
Have you ever been so upset, so disturbed by someone, that if you didn’t lash out at them, you were sure the whole world would come crashing down on you? When you and I get upset with someone, our attention is instantly glued onto the source of our irritation. All we do is think about the irritation we have and how it’s connected to what someone else has done.
The greatest, most abundant resource on planet Earth is also its least understood and utilized. Its unlimited supply is found virtually everywhere, anytime, and under all circumstances, even though few recognize its real value. What is this most precious collective resource? It is our relationships.
We value negative states because of the strong sense of self we get from them. This may be very difficult for us to see, but a strong light will show us the freeing facts. No one wants to believe that he or she values things like self-pity, anger, and depression. We would insist we don't, and as evidence we point to the fact that we fight against them, but the struggle gives us a false sense of life and importance. It focuses attention on us and makes us feel like the center of a great deal of activity.
A man once awakened to find himself riding through what appeared to be a haunted house. He didn't know exactly where he was. All he did know was that it was very dark and that he was moving along with no choice as to the direction. And if that wasn't bad enough, around almost every twisting ...
There is nothing wrong with being a successful human being. In fact, the purpose of your life is to win. But what if, in your quest for this victory, you were accidentally drawn into a compelling game in which, unknown to you, it was impossible to win no matter how well you performed or religiously followed the “rules?” Where, instead of finding the freedom to run as you wish, you found yourself moving more and more mechanically through your days? And, to make matters worse, each passing day leaves you feeling more frustrated than fulfilled because of an ever-increasing pressure to win!
If we want to help our partner change, we must change. There is no other way. And more: unless we’re exceptionally blessed, it’s unlikely our partner has the same wish that we do: to keep growing and exploring a love that, at the start, was filled with surprising changes, but that has lost some of that sparkle because one, or both of us has stopped changing.
There is no moment in which everything around us isn't beginning. In fact, if the various cosmos – from the greatest to the least – had a slogan it would be this: “In with the new, out with the old.” This celestial principle of regeneration is not only ceaseless in the world around us; it is always at work within us, as well. We are renewed every moment, from the inside out. Now let’s see how this one truth can empower us to let go of any lingering pain of the past, whether from three seconds or thirty years ago.
There is an unseen source of daily suffering that is the constant companion of humanity. It is in one respect one of the great driving forces behind the darkness that encompasses this planet – the unremitting wars, the violence, the greed, the fear, the desperation – all the things we see in the world around us.
Truthful principles can only act as agents of change for us when we choose to enact them. Their capacity to restore self-command, grant us a mind at peace, or deliver us from fearful dark states is only as great as our willingness to call upon their powers. That’s why we must do the personal work it takes to put higher principles into practice. Napoleon Hill, one of the early great pioneers of personal development, asserts: “We can become complete masters of ourselves, if we so desire.
Since what others may do to us is not in our power to change, we need only conce ourselves with what we do to ourselves . . . for this is in our power. There is always a moment before a problem starts with another human being where we realize that what we want is not going to happen. ...
By the fact that everything about her existence is perfectly ordered, Mother Nature is “choice-less.” What does being “without choice” mean in this context? All creatures – from the smallest to the largest – from gnat, to gorilla, all the way to the humpback whale, must serve nature as she demands. Their individual lives exist to serve and to sustain a living planetary matrix greater than themselves.
Often when someone feels wronged by their partner they demand “payment” for the pain they feel unjustly inflicted upon them. History proves they will argue until this well-established pattern completes itself, one way or another. At some point, unable to resolve who’s to blame for the pain, one or the other will either storm off to brood over the mistreatment, or decide that “retreat” is the better part of valor and make some kind of peace offering, perhaps an apology. Sad, but true to say, in the long run, neither of these “solutions” makes any real difference.
We are all familiar with the general laws govern our physical well-being; eat healthy foods, exercise both mind and body, and avoid toxic people and places whenever possible. Adhere to these simple laws, and be relatively free from suffering; break them, and you place yourself under another set of laws that pretty much guarantee you won’t be happy with how you feel.
Key Lesso Part I: Life itself has never weighed-in so heavily upon us as to hurt us; rather it is we who - - in ignorance of reality - - carelessly attribute weight to events that are essentially without substance, causing ourselves to suffer nothing less than the fervent magnitude of our own ...
When a person wants to reach the next level in their life, when they want to understand the truths -- the principles that actually produce in them a new kind of freedom -- they have to know where to look for it. From micro to macro, you can discover that the whole universe is based on cycles and that these cycles run through our lives, determining our relationships with each other. And yet, there is something -- which we will call Love -- that contains these cycles… and it is right inside of us.
Our lives are meant to be bright, noble, and ever ascending. This promise of our True Potential is made good in us by the fulfillment of our possibilities, and not through the interminable struggle of trying to do what is impossible. Most of our sorrows are the offspring of trying to be ...
Three New Choices That Dismiss Dark Conditions One reason we must learn to say "Yes" to life -- regardless of how much we may not want what it brings -- is that whenever we embrace a fearful or negative view of some unwanted situation, not only must we still find our way through the twists and ...
The journey to the divinity within has its dangers. About this we are clear: the inner path is lined with many trials and pitfalls. But there is nothing to be feared in this realization. In truth, these encounters are actually stages of initiation; they are necessary points along the upper path where the aspirant reaches – again and again – the proverbial "fork in the road." A great confusion usually clouds these unwanted moments. The aspirant can't see down either path, as a kind of darkness shrouds the entrance to both.
Six Ways to Know a False Inner Guide From the True One From The Secret of Your Immortal Self By Guy Finley The journey to the divinity within has its dangers. About this we are clear: the inner path is lined with many trials and pitfalls. But there is nothing to be feared in this knowledge; in truth, these encounters are actually stages of initiation; they are necessary points along the upper path where the aspirant reaches – again and again – the proverbial "fork in the road."
Any weakness we may harbor in our present character persists only because we have yet to see how its presence compromises our happiness, but a growing awareness of this interior shakiness changes everything. Our awakening stirs within us a Celestial Character created for the purpose of ...
Love often appears at our door as a beggar in disguise. There are countless ancient myths that tell how the gods would show up at the door of someone’s home, appearing to be in dire straits. On the surface of things, they seem to be seeking food and shelter; but, in truth, they’ve come to ask if the ones they have chosen to visit will make room for them in their lives.
It’s safe to say that most us wrestle with some kind of frustration on a daily basis. This kind of dissatisfaction can be with ourselves, over what we can or can’t get done—or with others, who may deny us our wish or otherwise disappoint our expectations. Accordingly, we can feel as though we are blocked, incapable, unable, not strong or wise enough to move ahead as we would.
Flow With The Present Moment Into The Fullness Of The Free Mind Here's an inner life exercise of immeasurable value. Think of these new instructions as a kind of special cleansing agent, but not as a way to improve yourself. Let me explain. When we wash a window, to clean away its ...
So many people today are bitter, broken-hearted, or just plain angry because of what happened to them while growing up.
If there could be only one idea—a lamp whose light could show the aspirant of real life the way out of the prison of dark thoughts and punishing feelings—it would surely be this: Your true Self doesn’t win in life by overpowering problems, but by revealing they never really existed as you once believed they did.
Our relationships with one another are often a source of distress. In general, the principal form of conflict we experience with others has to do with some form of consideration that we feel they are not giving to us. We often suffer from thoughts like these: "She is not being respectful enough." "He is not as kind as I want him to be." "They just don't care as deeply as I do."
When expectations get dashed, we don't see new possibilities unfolding; all we see is the way things should have gone. We don't see what is with all of its positive possibilities; instead we see only the negative . . . what is not. We feel powerless because we've become the captive of a mind resisting itself, an involuntary prisoner of a mind struggling to escape its own negative images. There is nothing but powerlessness in this resistance because by law whatever we resist . . . persists!
Long before it’s possible for us to be spiritually reborn, we must first awaken to ourselves. Awakening is the sudden realization that somehow or other what I took to be the only world isn’t the only world..
(An Excerpt from "Apprentice of the Heart") Seated in the center of the heart, as surely as the essence of a tiny seed holds the promise of a towering tree, lives within us the Presence of a Power that can dispel any gathering darkness and change what is unkind into conscious compassion. What ...
When a person wants to reach the next level in their life, when they want to understand the truths -- the principles that actually produce in them a new kind of freedom -- they have to know where to look for it. From micro to macro, you can discover that the whole universe is based on cycles and that these cycles run through our lives, determining our relationships with each other. And yet, there is something -- which we will call Love -- that contains these cycles… and it is right inside of us.
Those with whom we assemble, we soon resemble! This simple old saying hides a deep Truth that can enlighten and empower every aspect of our lives: Who we are — our very essence — is continually being transformed by the company we keep. Stated differently, when we keep the company of what is light and bright, our lives get lighter and brighter. And when we keep the company of what is dark and discouraging, our lives can’t help but be dragged downward.
Barring those moments when we find ourselves in real physical danger, conditions of themselves have absolutely no authority over us. It's true. No event or circumstance has any power to make us feel one way or another. The only command any condition may have over us is that which we ...
An angel has two wings. On each of these wings is written one of these two words: YES and NO. As we are about to learn, these two simple words represent special principles that are the wings of spiritual freedom. For instance, we must learn to say YES to self-study, prayer, meditation and ...
excerpted from Guy Finley's newest book "Let Go and Live in the Now." Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004. I can think of no greater encouragement than the self-evident Truth that there dwells in each of us the opportunity to explore and know the Extraordinary Life. The meaning of Extraordinary I wish to ...
Victory over our own lower nature is now or never. We can't end conflict later. We can't stop being sad, cruel, angry, scared, or anxious later. Thinking, or hoping, that any destination we have in mind is going to be superior to where we're presently standing is exactly why we're still standing in that same place where we have to hope that some tomorrow will be better. Later does not exist in reality.
Regardless of our certainty as to whether we or our partner starts or rekindles a quarrel, the real cause of the continuing conflict between us lies elsewhere. Which is why, as strange as the following insight may seem at first, the importance of working to see the truth of it simply can’t be overstated: Despite any appearance to the contrary, it’s not our partner, nor is it we who strikes the first blow in any dispute: it’s pain that picks the fight.
It's a familiar analogy, but quite accurate, to talk about our relationship with the sacred in the same way we describe a beautiful gemstone. There are many facets to a gem, and depending upon the angle from which we view it, we see light reflected and refracted differently. Several people looking from different angles may report seeing something different, and yet they are all describing the same gem. In the same way, there are many facets to the sacred, and we all see it differently depending upon the “angle” of our culture and experience. And yet there is but one sacred.
Somewhere in a remote region of the Southweste United States, a park ranger was seated in his high tower. It overlooked the deep canyons and ravines that ran through the national park where he'd worked for the past twenty years. Looking out over the terrain through his binoculars, he could see a thunderstorm gathering in the west and knew it was only a matter of minutes until a flash flood would come crashing through the canyons below.
As events occur, we always assume that we know what they mean for us, and we immediately fall into what feels like the appropriate emotional reaction. That reaction further influences the way we view the following events, and in this way our initial response is “confirmed.” We rarely question either our view of events or our response to them. In fact, if someone were to tell us that things were not as we took them to be, we would probably take that person as an enemy who cared nothing for us and who was, himself, a part of the threatening situation.
Find Your Fearless Inner Guide The journey to the divinity within has its dangers. About this we are clear: the inner path is lined with many trials and pitfalls. But there is nothing to be feared in this realization. In truth, these encounters are actually stages of initiation; they are necessary points along the upper path where the aspirant reaches – again and again – the proverbial "fork in the road." A great confusion usually clouds these unwanted moments. The aspirant can't see down either path, as a kind of darkness shrouds the entrance to both.
Freedom, real freedom, does exist. But it is not a condition or an event, nor is it found within another person's approval of us. Nor is real freedom ever a mere effect of circumstances, otherwise it is not freedom but merely a temporary pleasure we have mistaken for being the same as being free.
It's a little known - yet much denied fact - that people treat you the way you secretly ask to be treated. Your unspoken request that determines how others behave toward you is extended to -and received by - everyone you meet. What is your invisible inner life? It's the way you actually feel - as opposed to the way you're trying to appear - when meeting any person or event.
When you want to enjoy the sunshine directly, you must go outdoors. You understand you have to take yourself physically to a place where the warming rays of the sun can fall upon you without interference. Likewise, when you want to know the powers that circulate through a quiet mind, you must take yourself to that place where this Silent Strength can make itself known to you. To go quiet, you must go within.
By Guy Finley It is impossible to change the relationship we have with the world around us without changing the relationship we have within ourselves. This is the secret teaching of the ages.
Have you ever noticed that whenever a secret is circulating among your close friends you will do almost anything to learn its undisclosed nature? Or, if you think someone knows something that you don’t, you won’t rest until you too are "in the know"? All of this is to say we seem to love secrets!
Unlike the untold billions of other life forms teeming on the Earth -- whose nature is an open and shut case -- human nature is not fixed. What does this mean to you? Only everything! The tiger, the horse, and the bird, must express their nature. They have no real choice. And even though they ...
A middle-aged man had recently moved into a new city and, soon after, decided that he wanted to explore his immediate area, maybe meet some of his neighbors, as well as visit some of the interesting shops that lined the streets all around his apartment.