One
of the absolute Spiritual keys to effective self-mastery and Self-Realization
is the ability to turn lemons into lemonade.
It
must be understood that life will not always go according to our
preferences. This is why the concept of having preferences rather
than attachments is so important.
If
one is attached to having things go the way they want this person
is going to have an enormous amount suffering in their life. When
we have only super strong preferences, we are happy no matter
what happens. We still want our preferences met but our happiness
is not based on achieving them. There is another "Noble Truth,"
however, which I am going to humorously add to Buddha's Four Noble
Truths on the nature of truth and suffering if he doesn't mind.
I now humorously add "The importance of turning Lemons into Lemonade."
My
Beloved Readers, let me now explain my meaning to begin to lay
the foundation for this understanding besides the concept of preference,
which is essential we must also understand that from GOD's perspective
everything that happens is positive and should be looked at as
a gift. The proper attitude to everything in life is "Not my will
but Thine; thank you for the lesson!" No matter what happens in
life no matter how horrific the example, this is the proper attitude.
As His Holiness the Lord Sai Baba has said, "Welcome adversity."
From
GOD's perspective there are no accidents in the universe and everything
happens for a reason. The reason is always to Spiritually teach
a lesson that needs to be learned.
Now
sometimes the "negative" things that happen are caused from personal
karma. Sometimes they are caused by planetary or group karma.
Sometimes they are caused by passed life karma. The truth is it
doesn't matter why it happened or where it came from, for if it
happened, you can be assured that you needed that lesson for some
reason and the proper attitude is to welcome it, accept it and
look at it as a gift.
From
GOD's perspective everything that happens in life is a Spiritual
test. In every situation in life we can respond from God consciousness
or negative ego consciousness. We can respond from our lower self
or our Higher Self. We can respond from unconditional love or
from fear. We can respond from separation or from oneness. We
can respond from our Melchizedek/Christ/Buddha consciousness or
from personality level consciousness that is not connected to
the Soul and Spirit.
So
Earth is a school to practice demonstrating GOD or to practice
demonstrating being a Melchizedek, the Christ and/or the Buddha.
The terms or names we use do not matter for they are interchangeable.
Now the truth of the matter is life is constantly throwing us
lemons. The key principle here is will you turn it into lemonade
or will you keep tasting the bitter taste of the lemon. This is
all governed by your attitude and perspective. As His Holiness
the Lord Sai Baba has said "your mind creates bondage or your
mind creates liberation."
So
no matter what happens in life and no matter how catastrophic
the occurrence, it is each person's responsibility to turn that
experience into lemonade. We constantly see examples of people
doing this. They do this as a means to heal one self and to create
meaning.
Victor
Frankl in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany created a whole
new form of therapy called Logo Therapy.
The
woman whose son was killed by a drunk driver creates an organization
to prevent this from happening, so others do not have to suffer.
The
person with AIDS gives up everything and dedicates her life to
travelling the world to raise consciousness about AIDS.
The
story of Job tells how a man loses everything, and I mean everything,
but ultimately turns it into a Spiritual test of his "Righteousness"
in believing in GOD. Job's statement in the Bible is one of my
favorite quotes where he says: "Naked I come from my mother's
womb, and naked shall I leave. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh
away, blessed be the name of the Lord." In my own mind I have
called this the Job initiation, and I have reminded myself of
this on many occasions when I have been asked to give up certain
things. No matter what happens in life the key is to "Focus on
what you can do instead of what you can't do!"
If
you lose your voice and can't speak any more, then become a writer.
If you canıt walk, then join the Olympics in a wheel chair event.
Look at the inspiration Christopher Reeves has brought to himself
and the world after becoming paralyzed.
If
you have an illness and can no longer go outside then dedicate
your life to developing your inner life.
If
you are losing your sight and can no longer read than listen to
tapes. If you have digestive problems and canıt eat without discomfort,
then learn to live on light.
No
matter how much is taken away and no matter how many things you
cannot do, there is always something you can do. Focus yourself
and your consciousness on that which you can do! Your own Mighty
I Am Presence and the Holy Spirit can always help you to find
meaning, another purpose, and another direction to follow no matter
what happens. A person who has an optimistic positive attitude
will ultimately remain so no matter what happens in their life.
A person with a negative, pessimistic attitude will find a way
to feel unhappy even if outwardly things are going well.
The
world is nothing more than a projection screen for our attitudes
and interpretations.
GOD
would have us be 100% positive and optimistic no matter what happens
in life, no matter how morbid the example. What ever happens in
life is there to teach us certain Christed/Buddha qualities.
The
Master Jesus knew this for that is why he said on the cross "Forgive
them Father, for they know not what they do." The Master Jesus
saw this situation as a Spiritual test and lesson in forgiveness,
and demonstrated this understanding in a most extreme situation.
No
matter what the situation of life, make lemonade out of the lemon
you have been handed. If you lose a large some of money, and someone
rips you off, you are being given the wonderful opportunity not
only to practice forgiveness, but to not be attached to money.
Whatever the situation of life, you are being given the wonderful
opportunity to transcend negative ego thinking and feeling and
to practice Christ/Buddha thinking and feeling.
Let's
say you make a big mistake and the whole world finds out about
it like President Clinton did. That can be transformed into lemonade
by practicing true humbleness and humility. If you have to go
to jail, look at it as a Spiritual retreat. Malcolm X, while in
jail, basically educated himself. If one has to go to jail use
it as a time to totally focus on your Spiritual life and getting
yourself psychologically and physically strong. Whatever goes
wrong in your life no matter how extreme, use that situation and
become an expert in it.
Dedicate
your life to helping others, so they never have to go through
what you just went through. There is no situation of life where
GOD, your own Mighty I Am Presence, the Holy Spirit, the inner
plane Ascended Masters and your own positive creative Spiritual
consciousness cannot turn lemons into lemonade! We have all heard
the expression that "This was a blessing in disguise." This understanding
stems from what I am writing about in this chapter.
The
truth is everything, and I mean everything that has ever happened
in this world, is happening or ever will happen, is a blessing
in disguise. If it happened it means our Soul needed that lesson.
There
is no such thing as good luck or bad luck in this world, this
is total illusion. Luck does not exist in GOD's reality. The concept
of luck is an illusionary fabrication of the negative ego thought
system. Everything in GOD's Universe operates out of laws on a
Spiritual, mental, emotional, etheric and physical level, and
if something happened then there is a cause.
This
is the immutable law of karma, or cause and effect. We cannot
always control what comes into our life on an outer level, however,
we can control 100% our attitude, interpretation and perspective
of what happens to us.
I
remember Elizabeth Kubler Ross said that it was the atrocities
of Nazi Germany that inspired her to dedicate her life to being
a better person. It is not what happens to you, it is how you
use what happens to you. My beloved readers, in the ultimate sense
there is no such thing as death for anyone, there is just translation
from dimension to dimension, and the wearing of different bodies.
So
in truth as the "Course in Miracles" states, all perception is
a dream. The purpose of Earth life is that it is an Earthly school
to practice living and demonstrating GODıs dream rather than the
negative ego's dream. It is to live the loving happy dream rather
than the fearful, attacking, angry dream of the negative ego.
If there is no such thing as death, then what is the worst that
can happen? Is losing all material thing that important?
My
beloved readers, it all comes back to Lord Buddhaıs Four Noble
Truths dealing with attachment. If you are attached to people
and things you will surely suffer. If everything in life is a
super strong preference and you go after your preferences with
all your heart and soul and mind and might, many of them will
manifest. Those that don't, or go exactly the opposite will not
affect your happiness because they are preferences, which means
you will be happy either way. Happiness and inner peace hence,
becomes a state of mind rather than anything outside of self.
I
like Parmahansa Yogananda's saying, "GOD is my stocks and bonds
and financial security." So the key is to look at everything that
happens in life no matter what it is as a Spiritual test.
So
no matter how bad the lemons are that you are given, you can thank
GOD and bless this experience, for it has given you the opportunity
to transcend your negative ego and practice Melchizedek/Christ/Buddha
Consciousness. Even if everything is taken away on every level,
then my beloved readers, all that is left is GOD, and you can
say: "Naked I come from my mothers womb, and naked shall I leave.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord!" You can bathe in passing the Job initiation and
retaining your happiness and inner peace even though everything
has been taken away.
It
is then you can rise again like the Phoenix, and give birth to
a new creation, by focusing on what you can do instead of what
you can't do. You find double meaning by then becoming an expert
in the lemons you have been handed, and you dedicate your life
and your Spiritual Path, to helping other people not to experience
the lemons that you had to go through.
By
selflessly giving in this manner you have practiced Spiritual
and psychological alchemy and turned a negative experience into
psychological and Spiritual Gold! You have healed your self, and
helped to heal the suffering of others, through the wisdom you
have gained, and your own positive, optimistic, creative Spiritual
attitude.
