Monday, July 13, 2015
Lesson 194: “I place the future in the Hands of God.”
Our egos put the future in the insanity of our own making. Our egos think the future is going to better than today so then they lure us into the mentality that the future- what is out of reach in the now- is going to be an improvement over what we have now. This way we get fixated on fantasizing about the future or playing it out in our thinking as a reality over which we have control and one where our egos believe there will be a happy ending.
This is such a false hope because we must be focused in the now and loving the now as it is. We must be sure the future is never a concern because it is not in the realm of what is the top priority. What we want to do is remember that lots of times our ego gives us this sad song about how terrible is our present and then says the future will be totally different. So then we focus on trying to create and shape some unknown future which actually never comes. This is a terrible shame because we entirely miss the moment when we are focused on the future.
The Course says the future doesn’t exist anyway. Jesus in teaching us how to think keeps telling us not to miss out on the moment by fixating on the future. We often are trying to plan for the future as a way to reduce anxiety in the present. Further, we worry about the possibility of a future that is unwanted. Therefore, we have to be vigilant in not letting our minds run to this kind of methodology to manage our fear. We have to remember that the future is unknown.
Thus, sometimes we feel anxious about what will come because we don’t know. Then our egos will try to plan incessantly to try to prevent what may seem like a sure melt down in our immediate future. The ego thinks it must plan- this is the way to stave off this horrible outcome that thrashes us when we aren’t looking- or that we have planned so much we think we will be immune to the ups and downs of existence. The ego thinks kind of rigid planning is the way to keep out the unknowns coming round the bend.
This is why the Course tells us many times not to plan. We have to understand that the Course tells us to completely do away with planning because it takes us from experiencing the moment. In reality what we want to do is understand that on some level planning is part of what we do as humans. What we are asked to do is to plan only with God. Pray all the time and release these plans into the Hands of God. Let God be the ultimate chooser of what the plan contains by way of our inner guide, the Holy Spirit. And what Jesus wants us to do is completely release our attachment to our plans.
Our egos get really stressed and upset and self righteous- acting like they are fully in the know when our own little plan does not turn out as we envision. This is where we must practice our grace. We can surrender with a forgiving and grateful heart that what we thought as the best outcome did not arise and yet we accept this. Our job is to keep watching our judgement. Let go of our need to judge and assign definition to everything. This just keeps us locked into a painful cycle of trying to make things other than they are. We are being asked to give the future to God.
What we want to do is not be attached when we need to be in the world and making a future. What we are instructed to do is to give our fear about the future to God. When our egos are attached and reactive about maintaining control about the future this is because they fear a hard future. This is ever so important to understand that this is actually due to fear. Our egos act out because they are lacking love- and this is a call for love. This is why we want to be gentle because our egos are suffering, but also ensure them that when we give the future to God we must also give God whatever fear we harbor. This is the way to feel totally safe not planning the future. We can rest easily, with a quiet heart because we give all of our fear to God with out reserve.