A Taste of Love

Once again I am so excited to tell you what I am learning and experiencing from Living in Truth. As I explained the other day, I had an experience that a few years ago would have vexed me very, very much. But this week I recognized it as simply the truth of what had happened. It was nothing I could fix and so I had to live with it and to live with it I choose to just laugh at myself for being so stupid and the situation as being rather strange. It worked and I made it through without being vexed and without taking on any Unnecessary Pain.

But the exciting thing is what happened yesterday. I was simply walking along the sidewalk and an image of the person who had talked to me passed through my mind--no thoughts or feelings just her face, and as the image began to fade I suddenly was blessed with a powerful feeling of love for her. No, I take that back. It wasn't just powerful, it was overwhelming, warm, and extraordinarily beautiful feeling that I can't begin to explain to you, and now when I think of her I feel this same sense (but not as powerful) of love for her.

I know this was a gift from my Father in Heaven, and I know that if I had given in to the negative feelings and become vexed or vengeful or bitter or angry or in any way fallen into the Pit of Illusion, I would not have experienced that beautiful feeling.

I think I was given a taste of what the scriptures call charity or the "pure love of Christ."And that taste has made me hungry for more.

There are so many blessings to be discovered by Living in Truth!

I'm Learning

Yesterday I had one of those interesting moments when Living in Truth saved me. Our ward is doing a Passover Seder this coming Saturday to help us prepare for Easter. While the Passover is traditionally a Jewish festival, God commanded the people to observe it in the book of Exodus which is part of our Old Testament. So to help our ward members understand the significance and why we as Christians are doing it, the bishopric asked me to speak about it in Sacrament meeting. They told me that there would only be two speakers, me and the high councilman so to plan on 20 to 25 minutes. So I did.

Well, I got to the meeting and they had added a speaker. And to make a long story short, I left the high councilman very little time which I feel very bad about. I cut a lot of my talk out, but it wasn't enough. I apologized profusely to the high councilman, but what was done was done. I really did feel bad about it.

Then as I was leaving Church a woman stopped me and said, "I really wanted to hear that high councilman speak today, and then when you went on and on and on." I wasn't sure how to respond to that except to say, "I'm sorry." She had poured salt into an open wound. But could I fix it? No. But I could learn from it.

I pulled out the Truth Tool humor and laughed at myself. I was in the wrong. There was nothing I could do to change it. Other people had noticed and wished I hadn't gone over time. Could I change that? No. So, I had to cry or laugh, and I choose to laugh. What can I say? I make mistakes. I hope I've learned from this one. And I should be thankful this good sister helped me learn my lesson. Bless her little heart!

Sabbath Scripture

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, 

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God 

and the Father by him.

Col. 3:17

Truth for Health!

We’ve talked a lot about Living in Truth and the help Truth Tools can be in your quest to Live in Truth, but I haven’t talked much about the advantages of Living in Truth. But there are many and they aren't just mental. A report from Johns Hopkins explains, “Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness, and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.” And relaxing and enjoying and loving life, whatever it brings to you, is what Living in Truth is all about.
 

Many studies now show that when we get trapped into the negative feelings found in the Pit of Illusion, it not only makes us miserable but it adversely affects our health. When we Live in Truth we are not only at peace but are healthier.

Friday Challenge

It's Friday! 

How did you do with Anchoring yourself to the present moment during the past week? 

I'd really would like to hear your stories. 

So report In!

Living in Truth Challenge #2 - Fix it or Live With It

Remember vexation is the first clue that we have left the  

Realm of Truth 

and drifted into  

Illusion. 

Let's use an example here that we can all relate to. Someone in your life disappoints you.

Perhaps they said they'd do something for you and they don't do it. Or maybe we expect something to happen and it doesn't like your spouse forgets your wedding anniversary. Suddenly you find yourself swimming with the Should Sharks. 

"He/she should have remembered. No one cares about me. If he/she loved me they'd remember." 

This week the challenge is to stop yourself the minute the Should Sharks attack and ask the questions, "Can I fix this or do I need to live with it?"

 If the answer is that you can fix it, go ahead and do it without wasting more time feeling sorry for yourself. If the answer is that you can't, then drop the  

Unnecessary Pain 

and get on with your life. 

Back to our example: Can you fix the fact that your spouse forgot your anniversary? No. What's done is done, and you can't change it. But you can control how you feel about it. You can make the situation worse by crying, complaining, getting angry, nagging, shutting yourself in your room and in other ways feeling sorry for yourself, etc. Or you can use the same amount of time and energy on fixing it. You can make a joke out of it and laugh. Buy yourself a present for your spouse to give to you. Take your spouse out to dinner. Or you can decide that next year you are going to send a note to your spouse before the date with a reminder or give some other hint so this doesn't happen again. At this point another Should Shark begins to circle: "If he/she loved me, he/she would remember!" Is that true? No way! Different people have different ways of showing love, and associating the ability to remember with the ability to love is an Illusion.

So. . . this week as soon as the vexation begins to boil, stop and ask, 

"Can I fix this or do I have to live with it?" 

and then do what you have to avoid the  

Unnecessary Pain 

and stay in the  

Realm of Truth.

Unbending

Christianity teaches us that "the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam" (Mosiah 3:19). In other words, because of the Fall of Adam, we are born into a telestial world as “natural” or “fallen” creatures and the task of life is to be raised up—to become spiritual and saved creatures. 

 

I like the way C. S. Lewis explains it, "Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms" (Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 59). Lewis goes on to explain why this is so important. "A creature revolting against a creator is revolting against the source of his own powers-including even his power to revolt. . . . It is like the scent of a flower trying to destroy the flower." 

 

In another of Lewis's works, a science fiction story entitled Out of the Silent Planet, Lewis uses a word to describe our fallen condition that I like better than carnal or fallen. Lewis says we are “bent.” When the scientist, Ransom, describes the dangerous motives of other space travelers to the inhabitants of the planet Malachandra, he says they are “bent” which implies that they are distorted rather than broken and something that is bent can usually be bent back or corrected.

 

I like this because it gives me a mental picture of me bent with sin and my Savior straightening me out. Yes, it is painful at times, but if I hang in there and don’t resist, I will be straightened. I will be saved. I like that a lot.

Free Agents

I was passing a student in the hall the other day and heard him complaining that BYU was taking away his agency. Since we were passing, I didn't hear what precipitated that comment or what followed, but it is a complaint I've heard a lot and I'm sure you have also. As a matter of fact, most of us have thought similar things.

But when we understand agency, we realize that the problem isn't with BYU or the Church or our parents or anyone or anything outside ourselves. The problem is that we don't understand.

A sports metaphor is the best way to explain. When a basketball player is not under contract to any team, he is called a free agent.  He has his agency and can decide to accept or reject any contract offered him. But let's say he signs a contract with the Jazz. Now he is no longer a free agent. He is an agent for the Jazz. This means that he can't suddenly say to himself, "I don't like shooting at that Jazz basket on the south end of the court. The fans down their are distracting me so I can't do my best, and besides I just like going north. I have my agency so I'm going to shoot at the north basket." 
A basketball player understand agency or he doesn't play ball. 

Likewise, we are free agent, but the moment we enter a covenant with the Lord through baptism we are no longer our own agents. We are His. We have entered a "contract" with the Lord that we will serve Him and do His work. We are on His team and are no longer free agents.

What the student didn't understand is that no one can take away our agency, and that once we have used our agency and agreed to a contract or made a covenants or any other agreement with a university or a company or a church that we will obey their rules, we are now their agents and our integrity requires that we either do what we have promised to do or break our covenant.

Thus those of us who are baptized should consider ourselves agents of the Lord.