LIVING WITH JOY - Chapter 14
XIV. Clarity: Living in more Light
Achieving clarity involves seeing the larger picture, a longer time frame, a bigger perspective. The larger your view, the clearer you can be. The ability of a great master to know the purpose of a soul in this lifetime brings clarity of vision and advice. How can you develop this kind of clarity in your own life?
Most of you are in a time frame that involves thinking of weeks and days, rather than years, rather than looking from the perspective of your entire life span, of your time here on earth. If you are willing to look at yourself as a whole, you can begin to find different levels of clarity around the present moment. It does not mean you need to know the form or where you are going. It means that the larger the picture you hold of who you are, the clearer you can be. If you were to go into the future and look back at today, you could gain a new perspective of who you are, for clarity is brought about by the changing of perspective. Most of you have certain ways you think, certain habits and patterns. Every time you break free and find a new way of thinking, you increase clarity.
Clarity is not something that you reach and have from then on. It is an ongoing refinement of your picture. Imagine a boat trying to find a place to land near the shore. There is heavy fog, and the men in the boat cannot see anything, so they do not leave the boat nor do they take any action. As the fog lifts and they continue to look, they begin to see the fuzzy outline of the horizon and the shore. But still, they do not know what is there, so they do not take any action. Pretty soon, as the fog begins to dissolve, the picture becomes clear. They now know what lies ahead, and so they prepare for action. It is the same process with clarity. At first, ideas seem vague and foggy, for that is the way essence becomes form. As the perceptual process begins, a new idea or a new way of looking at things emerges, vague in form. Often it is only a sense that something you have now is not right. It may start as an uncomfortable feeling, for the process of gaining clarity is also the process of letting go of confusion. It may be a longing, a desire, a want or a need. It will become part of your emotional awareness after it passes through your perceptions.
Things do not usually suddenly become clear, as there is an ongoing process to clarity. When you first feel that vague dissatisfaction, that sense that something needs to be changed, ask yourself, "How can I fine-tune this picture?" The more precise you can be about your experience, the more quickly you will gain clarity. Take any area of vague discomfort, of fogginess, and focus upon it to the exclusion of all other thoughts. Pin down precisely what the uncomfortable feeling is. If you were to focus upon that vagueness, putting words to it, trying out different thoughts about it, you would finally find a viewpoint that clicked. Once you find that viewpoint, you have clarity. Clarity comes from seeking and finding the information you need, from having the patience to seek out the light of wisdom that will assist in the higher choice.
Clarity often involves a way of looking at things that puts them into a usable format, that fits them with and adjusts them to who you are, so you may proceed with action. Action is always preceded by a decision, and a decision is arrived at through clarity, if you are operating from your highest level.
What is the value of clarity? What will it do for you to be clear? It will save you much time; in fact, it can save years of being on a slower path of evolution. Being clear means taking the time to think out issues in your life. It is more important to think them out than to act them out. Many of you want to take action, to see results. Finding right action is quite easy if you are willing to spend the time to think, to pull in your higher, finer self, to concentrate, and to create the space to do it.
Clarity comes from a
state of mental concentration,
of focusing the thoughts,
and paying attention.
Clarity is reached by training the mind to be precise and accurate in its definition of experience. Clarity means that you are focused and living at a level of energy that others cannot interfere with. The clearer your energy is, the less affected you will be by other people, the less touched you will be by other people's expectations or desires, and the clearer will be your path in life. You need clarity not just to carry out your life's purpose, but in every area of your life.
Be clear on your intent. What do you intend to do with your life? To grow? To be happy? To be joyful? To serve, to heal? The higher the level of clarity you can begin with, the more that energy will flow down into every area of your life. Your life purpose is the most important thing you can get clear on. Clarity of purpose will direct clear energy into every other area of your life. You may say "What is life purpose, in essence?" It is that deepest desire within you, that which gives you the most joy, that which you think of, fantasize about all the time. It is that deep soul-level urge, that motivation; it is the dream that you hold within you.
The next level of clarity after the level of life purpose is clarity of intent. How do you intend to carry out your life purpose? Even more importantly, do you intend to do it? Clarity of intent is the picture, the vision you are creating. When you intend to do something, you may or may not have a clear picture of the end-product or the goal. Clarity of intent in one sense is a picture of where you are going or the process you want to experience in getting there. You may simply want to create a happy life, or to be clear in your intent to get something done.
After clarity of intent comes clarity of motivation. What is your motivation for doing something? Whatever action you take, you will want to be clear on why you are doing it. What do you see as the gain? What do you want out of it? A lack of clarity is often perceived after an action is taken, and what is gained is not what is expected. You may have created something you thought you wanted in your life and found it was not what you wanted. If you had been clear about what you wanted, about what you expected to gain, it would have been easier for the universe to bring it to you in many different forms.
There is also clarity of agreement. On every level of personal and interpersonal relationships, in every business relationship, business venture, and group, there are unspoken agreements. The more those unspoken agreements can be spoken, the clearer you will be. Many disappointments and problems occur when agreements are not clear, when one person follows one set of agreements, and the other follows another. Both can be operating from clarity, but if they are not communicating, there can be confusion.
Careful communication
brings clarity .
Clarity of communication means being precise and accurate as you speak. It means not exaggerating your experience, making bad things worse, making good things glamorous. There can be a tendency to exaggerate bad times, and this creates an imprecise communication to the self and others. It creates unfocused, even negative experiences. Watch your words when you speak to others. Are you reflecting accurately your experience, or are you communicating to impress, dazzle, or gain sympathy and understanding? Be clear on what you want to gain when you speak to others. Are you hoping the other person will give you certain things?Are you operating from many unspoken agreements? It is important to communicate what you expect clearly if you do not want to be disappointed. Communication is one area that controls the life you live and the forms you attract. When you speak precisely and clearly, when you know the intent of your communication, you will find your experience of others and the world changing.
Get clear on your purpose,
intent, and motivation.
When you are clear on your purpose, your intent, your motivation, your agreements, when you are clear on your communications, action flows. Many of you want to start with clarity of action, and yet it is clarity of purpose that is the starting point. Clarity of perception lets you create the vision that matches your motivation, inner self and core being.
Clarity in a spiritual sense is an alignment of the physical, mental, and emotional bodies with the spiritual self. It can be accomplished through various techniques. The aura can be cleared by techniques of energy balancing, so that you can work on clarity with your mind. The mind is one of your most powerful tools. You can create clarity through visualizing and working on your aura. Linking the spirit to the mind can bring more clarity than any other step. If you want clarity, ask your soul to give it to you. The spirit has the answers, and a connection to the flows of energy in the earth plane that will bring you abundance, love and peace, and anything else you are asking for.
Think now of something you want clarity on. Imagine that you are going upward into your spirit. Picture it as a fine, light energy. See it flowing through to your mind, literally cleaning house, rearranging your thoughts into a pattern that allows you to become a part of a probable future that is more light and joyful. Feel the energy coming all the way down through your body until all of your bodies—mental, emotional and physical—are aligned. If you want to know more about your life purpose, or about any personal situation, then ask. You will need to create the intention and a time to hear. Take the time to sit quietly. It may not happen the first time you try. But if you continue to create the space for the ideas to come through, that is all that is required.
Any time you create a clear, relaxed space, calm down your mind, and ask for information, you will be given it. Like a radio receiving station, the more you create the space to receive, the more you will receive. The more you spend time getting clear—quiet thinking time, linking up with the higher energies within you— the more you will find yourself taking actions that are entirely different from what you would have done. You may eliminate 80 percent or more of the actions you would have taken. One half-hour spent thinking and getting clear can keep you from spending years on a slower path. You can evolve rapidly on a spiritual level by spending the time to get clear, asking for what you want, and opening to receive it.
CLARITY: LIVING IN MORE LIGHT
PLAYSHEET
I Write down something you feel ambivalent or confused about and would like new understanding and clarity about.
I Close your eyes and let a symbol emerge that represents the highest resolution of this problem. Draw or describe the symbol here.
I imagine you are placing this symbol upon your heart; ask for clarity and understanding.
A. What insights are you receiving about how to act or think?
B. What beliefs do you have about the outcome? Do these need to be changed to a higher view?
C. What choices do you have? Think of at least three.
D. What do you now intend to do?