“From the Ancient Wisdoms to Quantum Physics,
It's All About the Energy!”
Patience—Part I©
Dennis L. Dossett
(All Rights Reserved)
I know that I have written about this before, but there is obviously a major lesson I have yet to learn, so I’m going to take yet another stab at it. I have the calendar on my computer set up to let me know that I need to get started on next month’s blog if I haven’t done so already. The “alarm” is set for the 25th of the month, and I start getting “warning” messages three days before on the 22nd of the month. I have the choice between dismissing the message entirely or clicking the “snooze” button, and I always choose the latter with a snooze interval of 12 hours. So, twice a day I get a reminder that the deadline is approaching, which really helps me to focus on thinking of a topic, writing down a few ideas, and eventually start writing. This allows time for ideas to germinate as well as the time necessary for editing, rewriting, and (on some occasions) throwing the whole thing out and starting all over from scratch.
Well, this month was no different and, similar to many other months, I didn’t have a clue regarding a topic. All I could think of was “Why do I put myself through this month after month?” and other choice phrases to that effect. As I was driving to a local bookstore where I meet and treat clients, I suddenly had the inspiration of “Go with the Flow” as a topic. As I thought about it, ideas came pouring into my head so fast that I was a little concerned about keeping my attention on the freeway. What a great idea! And it seemed to fit so well with all of the other things going on in my life at the moment. Great! What a sense of relief! Halleluiah!
But by the time I arrived at the bookstore, I had the nagging feeling that all of this sounded a bit too familiar. I booted-up my computer and checked my website only to have my worst fears materialize in front of my eyes. I wrote about “Going with the Flow
” last January! Arrrgh!!! Too good to be true (but I think it really was a pretty good blog). Ahh, well. Back to the drawing board. Then I realized that what my spirit guides (“My Guys”) had given me wasn’t at all an idea for a topic to write about, but a familiar lesson to learn. Arrrgh!!! Here we go again!
As the days passed, that [expletive deleted] alarm on my computer calendar kept going off twice a day, right on schedule. But I wasn’t on schedule at all, and the deadline was looming ever closer. Last weekend I went camping with my daughter on Mt. Rainer. I took special care to put a notepad and pen in my shirt pocket, hoping that the clear mountain air and relaxed surroundings would prompt a viable topic. Well, it was a wonderful trip, but inspiration totally escaped me. Finally, on the drive home I realized that the message from “My Guys” really was a lesson along with the germ of a topic closely related to “Going with the Flow.” In fact, it is a major aspect of Going with the Flow that I hadn’t realized in that previous blog. That aspect is PATIENCE. I know it; I’ve known it for decades as evidenced by the following lines I added to as each decade passed into a new one. The following has been my personal view of the topic over the past 50 years:
• Age: 20 – “Patience is a virtue for those who have time to wait.”
Age: 30 – “Patience is a virtue.”
Age: 40 – “Patience!”
Age: 50 – “Patience is next to Godliness.”
Age: 60 – “Lord, please have Patience with me!”
And yet the clock ticks relentlessly, the months and years fly by, and I still haven’t learned the lesson of Patience in “Going with the Flow.” What can I say except “Old habits die hard?” Maybe it’s finally time to get serious about this thing called Patience.
We all know what Patience is, right? I mean, isn’t it just the ability to wait for something to happen? Well, that isn’t necessarily wrong, but that alone is a bit limited in perspective. For example:
• Patience is the ability to put up with people you’d like to put down.” ~ Unknown
• Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.” ~ Barbara Johnson (1947-2009; American literary critic and translator, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society at Harvard University)
• Patience: the ability to listen to your own thoughts above the noise of the world.” ~ Unknown
Clearly, there are many different facets to Patience, but these definitions all have to do with the ability to behave or perform with Patience. But performance = ability X motivation. If one’s motivation to perform is zero, all the ability in the world will go nowhere! So, what would motivate one to respond to a situation with Patience?
One good reason is the conscious intention to do so (discussed in Book 1: The Foundations of Conscious Living in the Dancing with the Energy series of books). Conscious intention is an excellent way to ensure the motivation component. In that vein here is another perspective on Patience:
• Patience is when you’re supposed to be mad, but you choose to understand.” ~ Unknown
This definition really reminds me of the following quote which, I believe, warrants serious consideration:
• Patience is the companion of wisdom.” ~ Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE; Carthaginian author & church father)
Another good reason for choosing to understand is the desire to raise one’s vibration, to take the opportunity to grow into an improved version of oneself (soul evolution). For example, Maitreya (channeled by Margaret McElroy) says:
• I am often asked, ‘Master, what can I do to become more spiritual?’ and my answer to that is to have patience.” ~ Maitreya (Newsletter # 298, March 5, 2010)
• The most important thing to learn in your spiritual development is patience. Without patience, you will not move forward.” ~ Maitreya (Newsletter # 60, November 25, 2002)
Here, Maitreya identifies Patience as a necessary part of the process of spiritual development. Patience is not some “quality” that you either have or don’t have (similar to The Myth of Willpower in last month’s blog). Rather, Patience is a learned skill that requires practice and refining over time.
• When one is in spiritual development one is working with us. When we are working with you, we cannot rush the work we do. If we did, your human body would not be able to handle the energies that are being generated by us.” ~ Maitreya (Newsletter # 298, March 5, 2010)
Maitreya modifies the performance equation here by adding an additional term: performance = ability X motivation X readiness. If one is not ready to learn (in this case, “the mind is willing but the body is weak”) the learning will not occur “until the time is right.”
As Maitreya further explains:
• The battle between the Self and the Higher Self [soul evolution] can be overcome. It takes patience, determination, and knowledge that it will not happen immediately. Change takes time on the earth plane. However, when one starts to make the climb uphill to a higher vibration, one can then move forward in enlightenment.” ~ Maitreya (Newsletter #19, August 5, 2001)
So, how does one learn Patience? The answer is really quite simple if not always easy to accomplish. Patience is learned by “Going with the Flow,” which is the essence of Patience.
But there is yet another aspect that Patience and Going with the Flow have in common, and it is really quite important to both. That factor is geared not only to the future in terms of soul evolution, but also to the present in terms of the quality of one’s life here and NOW. But that is a topic for next month’s blog.
Have a great month!
Dennis