Alan Cohen – The Power of Radical Contentment
As you practice following your bliss, you will discover a particular quality or vibration associated with the inner voice which gets the best results. The more familiar you become with that voice, the easier you will be able to tap into it quickly, with minimal effort. You are learning the language of the spirit.
OMTimes: How can I find joy or follow my bliss if I feel depressed?
Alan Cohen: At the heart of the word, “depressed” is the word “press,” which indicated that life force is moving. Passion is a form or pressing, or movement. Emotion is energy in motion. The word “press” is also at the heart of the word “express.” The quickest and surest way out of depression is to start expressing yourself. You cannot express and depress at the same time. Depression is life force turned inward against yourself, and expression is life force moving out into the world. If you start to feel depressed, do anything creative ¾ play music, write poetry, work in your garden, dance, draw or paint ¾ anything to move your energy outward. Express your feelings to a friend, a therapist, or in a journal. Lifeforce is always moving, even in depression, and if you can get a handle on it and express it in ways that empower, rather than debilitate you, you are on the road to greater joy.
OMTimes: How do I overcome negative core programming? When I was young I was imprinted with many limiting beliefs by my parents, teachers, religion, and society. Now when I set out to have a good job or a healthy relationship, I seem to sabotage myself. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Alan Cohen: You may not realize what an old dog you are! Who you are is far greater than what you have learned. Your negative beliefs were adopted from outside authorities, and you can return to internal authority at any time. As a spiritual being, you run far deeper than anything you have learned, and while you may be influenced by your past, you are not determined by it. Your history is not your destiny.
I learned of a new birthing technique in which the placenta is frozen and stored. If, later in the child’s life, he or she needs a blood transfusion, blood cells are taken from the placenta that lived with the child in the womb. They are pure, untainted cells that match the person’s exact original blueprint for well-being. Similarly, on a spiritual level, we can access our pure Source at any moment, and heal our hearts, minds, and bodies.
We may get so involved in trying to recall, analyze, and understand our core negative programs that our very attention to them perpetuates them. Let’s remember that we get more of whatever we pay attention to. If we concentrate on what limits us, we remain imprisoned. If we concentrate on what brings us joy and freedom, we invite more of that into our experience. I would pay little attention to what went wrong, and as much attention as possible to how I would like or choose it to be now.
OMTimes: How does prayer or meditation or visualization fit into following my joy?
Alan Cohen: All of these important practices help us get in touch with the voice of God, which is pure joy. Philip Brooks noted, “Prayer is not the overcoming of God’s reluctance, but the laying hold of God’s willingness.”
For many years I have started my days with time to connect with God. This practice has made a huge difference in my life, and I highly recommend it. Before you do anything, align your thoughts and feelings with Spirit. Connect with the loving energy that animates you and all living things, and feel how blessed you are. Open your heart in appreciation of the good in your life, and send kind thoughts to everyone you can think of. Set the tone for your day, and you will become a magnetic force field that draws unto you health, prosperity, love, and well-being.
Prayer should not be approached simply as a religious ritual, but a practical exercise to tap into our infinite reservoir of good, and align with universal forces to fulfill our highest purpose.
I feel stuck about money. I have enough to think about just trying to pay my bills. How can I follow my joy when I have obligations?
There are many forms of prosperity other than money. If you can develop your sense of prosperity independent of money, doors will open. Begin to notice and appreciate the many blessings and forms of abundance you already have: good health, beloved family, dear friends, rich green trees, the vast expanse of ocean and sky, the internet which offers infinite information and connection at your fingertips, a wealth of ideas, etc. As you shift your attention from what is lacking to what is overflowing, your whole energy field becomes lighter, your body chemistry changes and an entirely more powerful level of manifestation becomes available to you.
A number of years ago I found myself in a financial pinch and I felt restricted. I asked myself what I would do if I had the money to have whatever I wanted. My answer was to buy a new Mazda Miata. But I didn’t have the money to buy one. So I went to the Mazda dealership and acted as if I was going to buy one. I poked around the showroom, took a Miata for a test drive, and talked options and prices with the salesman ¾ all the while knowing that there was no way I was going to buy a car that day. I came home feeling exhilarated; just playing in the field of ideas surrounding having that car lifted me into a sense of abundance.
That was a turning point for me. As I reconnected with my joy simply by exploring delicious possibilities, money started to flow, and before long I remembered that I live in a prosperous universe. Within a year I bought a car ¾ a Mazda RX-7, the top of the Mazda line, far more attractive to me than the Miata.
The point here is not that I got a car; the point is that I regained a sense of prosperity, which paved the way for the car. Attention is intention. Hold thoughts on vision, and vision manifests
OMTimes: How do I know when to hang in there in a relationship, or a job, or a friendship, and when to let go?
Alan Cohen: How joyful is the journey? Every job, relationship, or friendship offers both flowers and weeds, things we love, and things we do not. Everything may not be wonderful all of the time. The question is, what is the balance between what is wonderful and what is not?
Consider your relationship like a cup. If the foundation of the cup is good and strong and glued together with love, challenges can come up and occupy space in the cup, but they will not have the power to crack the cup; in fact, moving through the challenges strengthens the cup. If, on the other hand, the cup is cracked or weak, even little things can shatter the cup. Is the basis of your connection joyful and rewarding, and do the challenges come and go? Or is your foundation one of pain and difficulty and separateness and bitterness, with a few occasional bright moments? If there is more joy than pain, you are ahead of the game. If there is more pain than joy and things are not getting better, but worse, it is time to question what you are doing.
Even the best of relationships have difficult moments. What is the overall trend of the relationship? Are you growing and discovering more about yourself and your partner and Spirit, or is the relationship sucking life force from you? The purpose of a relationship is to grow in love. Evaluate it from that perspective, and you will have your answer.
OMTimes: How important is it to have a teacher?
Alan Cohen: A good teacher points you to your own inner source. God lives within you and speaks to you through your own heart and mind; all external experiences exist in the service of self-discovery.
A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you what time it is. If you do not know how to tell time, the consultant is very helpful indeed. But ultimately your best interest is to learn to tell time yourself. A good guru, psychologist, personal coach, psychic, astrologer, or healer helps you get in touch with your own wisdom. A guru sits beside a river selling bottled river water. If you do not know how to access the river yourself, the guru serves. And if the guru shows you to way to the river, he or she serves in the highest way. When you find the river yourself and plumb its life-giving waters, you have established your own relationship with Source. A guru is an extension of your own true self, showing up in an external form as a temporary teaching device, assisting you to become acquainted with the guru within. Ultimately the only guru is truth, which lives within you and everyone all the time.
OMTimes: How can I know my life’s purpose?
Alan Cohen: Use everyday situations to build your intuition and authenticity. The mundane is a magnificent springboard to the divine (that is its whole purpose!). You can find yourself through everyday life by finding God in everyday life. If you feel drawn to go to a particular seminar, go, even if you are not sure why. If you feel moved to take one plane flight instead of another, go with the energy. If you feel like calling a friend you haven’t called in a long time, do it immediately; you might discover that person has been thinking about you, or needs help, or can offer you help. As you use “little” experiences to find and express your truth, you will discover they are not so little at all. After a while, you will start to see patterns and discover the big picture.
Connect with Alan Cohen at www.alancohen.com
