Question:

I am perplexed. On the one hand, the 2/11/02 message says:

"[Our God] Presence sees everything as perfect just the way it is. From our human perspective, we taught ourselves to believe that some situations are better than others. This leads us to try to change those situations that seem unsatisfactory into ones that are more satisfactory. This assumes that what we are experiencing is a mistake, an aberration or possibly a failure on our part.

"The truth is that we have gone to great lengths to have the experience that is before us. Avoiding or being dissatisfied with that creation is a diminishment of our brilliant and powerful creative talents.

"The other choice is to appreciate the present circumstance. Look at it with fresh eyes. Feel the miraculous power of your Self that brought this precise experience to you.

"The game we call life is not trying to bring into existence that which we believe is best for us, such as a new house. The Universe brings us that which is most supportive in each moment. When what is present feels uncomfortable, go into the heart of the energy and feel the energy as the Power of God. That is who you really are. Do you need more than that?"

On the other hand, the book "You Can Have It All" says, at page 8:

"In my experience over the past fifteen years, as soon as you make the commitment to yourself to play the real game, the Universe will acknowledge that commitment and offer such generous support that the quality of your life will improve substantially and will continue to improve with each step you take.

"There is no limit to the amount you can improve the quality of your life...."

I recall loving that book because I was interested in the possibility of improving my life. Does it turn out that I am stuck with just learning to be content with what is?

Does it turn out, after all, that any improvement [work I actually feel like getting up in the morning to do, enough income to avoid another bankruptcy, saving my marriage, helping my struggling teenage son] requires hard work, self-discipline, sacrifice, "putting on the blinders and just doing my job," doing the right things, and all the other righteous efforts required to win at this competitive, adversarial game of life?

 

Answer:

You interpret improving the quality of your life as a choice to have something different from what is presently there. You are looking in the mirror and want to change what you see. Would you buy a mirror that didn't give you an accurate reflection?

What the mirror is reflecting is the ultimate in perfection and magnificence. Your perception that what you see is unpleasant, difficult, and boring is a result of beliefs you have about what you are looking at. You are seeing what you believe. You are not seeing what is really there.

You are always looking at the God Presence. Improving the quality of your life results from opening the energy around your beliefs. As you do this, what you see will more closely resemble the perfection and magnificence of the God Presence.

Your wife, children, career and finances are the ultimate in abundance and joyfulness. See if you can open yourself to view this more clearly.

Your present perception is that if you try hard enough you can change what you are looking at: a new wife, new children, a new job and a new bank account. This can never work to improve the quality of your life since you will always see what you believe. What you believe is that I never get what I really want, or what will make me truly happy. So, you will keep re-creating the same results with ever-changing players. In the long run, opening the energy around your beliefs is much more efficient and satisfying than the alternative.