I've heard it before. When it comes time to make a tough, long lasting decision, with potentially dire consequences, the gut knows best. But, why is that supposed to be good advice? What wisdom is in my gut that supersedes that which (I humbly presume) is in my head? What is my gut? (I glance down at my lower chest, then my belly-button. I'm not impressed.) How and when does my gut speak to me? Surely, those who would offer the sage insight must be implying more than just the random gurgling and growling sounds of churning air that accompany hunger in an otherwise quiet room. I don't "get" what I should listen for, yet...
I do, however, feel my gut. When I am aware of them, I notice that my stomach muscles are very sensitive and respond to stress by tightening up. (Ironically, when I am aware of these muscles, I also realize how seldom I experience this awareness.) Health nuts suggest I breathe from my stomach muscles, like an infant would, and not from my chest. This often takes conscious effort on my part. (What an oxymoron - it takes effort to relax!) However, it's not enough to change my breathing pattern as I become aware of it. I must understand why the pattern changed to begin with.
My tendency is to breathe from my chest, and not my stomach, when I am feeling any stress. I'm feeling stress when I'm excessively relying on my thinking - when my brain is overwhelmed with information, questions, or contradictions. Listening to my gut is rather a matter of becoming aware of my gut's reaction to stress. Once I have the awareness that my gut feels tight, I can ask myself why.
I frequently perceive that this world is spinning faster than I was created to process. A tight gut indicates that I am responding to real stress. I can't just use my awareness to change my breathing pattern because the moment I become unaware my gut tightens up again. The operative word is reaction. My gut is not thinking and speaking on its own. It's reacting to stress signals from my brain. I must change my thinking.
The first step is to slow down. Only then can I attempt to simplify the complex, organize the chaotic, rationalize the illogical, and pursue a topic with a healthy curiosity. The next step is to follow through. Process the stressor. Muscles have memory. That's why musicians can improve with practice. It's also why my gut tightens again if I am reminded of an unresolved stressor. The reaction is automatic unless one of two things change: 1) either the reaction is retrained (which is really impossible: it just moves the reaction elsewhere in my body), or 2) the stressor is resolved and ceases to cause the reaction.
How do we process the stressors in our lives? By being truthful about them. So many bad habits and discomforts are tolerated because they seem less painful than the truth. In fact, we often bury the truth with busy-ness or surrender. "I like this job; it keeps me busy." "That's just the way I am." The absolute truth is that we are lonely, discontent, impatient, angry, etc.
The problem is that this world does not offer a safe haven to express the truth. It robs us of our chance to truly come alive. We must transcend the world. How? We can't propel ourselves into a safe haven. Counseling may help temporarily. But, in reality, we're stuck in the muck and mire of what's familiar and natural for us. We must be completely drawn out of it and given a new nature. Life itself is the reward. We only need to let ourselves be drawn. There is Someone who loves us and wants to give us that life. Why do we so arrogantly resist His advances and stubbornly cling to our gravestones? Why don't we listen to our guts?
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (ESV)
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Writing, for sure
How do I know when my writing is done?
Is it meant to be work, or meant to be fun?
I love to write, when I do I feel free,
Exposing my thoughts for all to see.
It just isn’t work, it’s more like play,
Like hopping and skipping with what I say.
What about poetry with its rhythm and rhyme?
It can change my emotion if I give it some time.
Writing is fun and it makes me happy,
Even if rhymes are weak and crappy.
When I’m not writing I’ll venture to read.
Books sprout with ideas that start from a seed.
I’ve learned not to judge a book by its size,
I won’t know ‘til I read it if it’s useful or wise.
I watch my own seeds grow into a plant.
Knowing I can and not saying, “I can’t.”
With TLC my plant will mature.
It’ll grow handsome and tall, that’s for sure.
==================================
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein
Is it meant to be work, or meant to be fun?
I love to write, when I do I feel free,
Exposing my thoughts for all to see.
It just isn’t work, it’s more like play,
Like hopping and skipping with what I say.
What about poetry with its rhythm and rhyme?
It can change my emotion if I give it some time.
Writing is fun and it makes me happy,
Even if rhymes are weak and crappy.
When I’m not writing I’ll venture to read.
Books sprout with ideas that start from a seed.
I’ve learned not to judge a book by its size,
I won’t know ‘til I read it if it’s useful or wise.
I watch my own seeds grow into a plant.
Knowing I can and not saying, “I can’t.”
With TLC my plant will mature.
It’ll grow handsome and tall, that’s for sure.
==================================
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein
Monday, February 27, 2006
Ask the right question
What does God want me to do? This is a huge question for me. I want to be sure I'm not hearing my earthly father's voice in the back of my head.
He was a diver and a diving coach. I was his student. I didn't know if I wanted to be. He gave me little choice. He was a business owner. In that regard, he left me alone. He didn't teach me about being in business. I've struggled in life on two fronts.
The mixed message I got from him was that I could be a good student if I disciplined myself to perform drills and listened to the experts. But, I could not be a good leader because someone else would always be better than me. As a result, I often gave up before I tried, or if I get too far ahead.
What does God say? Die to my sinful nature and live in Christ. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Pray without ceasing. And so on. I must live by the Spirit until it becomes natural to live by my spiritual nature.
How is that freeing? Does it simply repeat the pattern with which I struggle?
I think I want to succeed, in a worldly sense, so that I don't have financial worries. I would have freedom with my time, and so contribute to the advancement of His kingdom on earth by the riches of my wealth.
Oddly, however, it is not the prosperous man I admire. I may envy him for a duration, but I always get back to my heart. I admire the starving artist, the rebel who chased his passion despite the opposition and distractions in his midst.
Jesus humbled Himself as a man, becoming obedient even to death on a cross because His passion was to do His Father's will. His Father was different than my father. He didn't seek worldly wisdom, riches, or even approval.
Perhaps my question should be, do I want what He wants? Who knows? Maybe my idea of success falls far short of what He has planned for my life. I want this. I want purpose, direction, focus, and passion. His will is in His word, Scripture, not the business or self-help section of an online book store. If I want adventure, I can follow the unknown and trust He has only the best in store for me. But, am I willing to love Him? Do I have to give up being me? Who am I anyway? Whose am I?
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)
He was a diver and a diving coach. I was his student. I didn't know if I wanted to be. He gave me little choice. He was a business owner. In that regard, he left me alone. He didn't teach me about being in business. I've struggled in life on two fronts.
The mixed message I got from him was that I could be a good student if I disciplined myself to perform drills and listened to the experts. But, I could not be a good leader because someone else would always be better than me. As a result, I often gave up before I tried, or if I get too far ahead.
What does God say? Die to my sinful nature and live in Christ. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Pray without ceasing. And so on. I must live by the Spirit until it becomes natural to live by my spiritual nature.
How is that freeing? Does it simply repeat the pattern with which I struggle?
I think I want to succeed, in a worldly sense, so that I don't have financial worries. I would have freedom with my time, and so contribute to the advancement of His kingdom on earth by the riches of my wealth.
Oddly, however, it is not the prosperous man I admire. I may envy him for a duration, but I always get back to my heart. I admire the starving artist, the rebel who chased his passion despite the opposition and distractions in his midst.
Jesus humbled Himself as a man, becoming obedient even to death on a cross because His passion was to do His Father's will. His Father was different than my father. He didn't seek worldly wisdom, riches, or even approval.
Perhaps my question should be, do I want what He wants? Who knows? Maybe my idea of success falls far short of what He has planned for my life. I want this. I want purpose, direction, focus, and passion. His will is in His word, Scripture, not the business or self-help section of an online book store. If I want adventure, I can follow the unknown and trust He has only the best in store for me. But, am I willing to love Him? Do I have to give up being me? Who am I anyway? Whose am I?
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)
Thursday, February 16, 2006
A Blog and An Escape!
Hi, I'm Mr2Happy!
What did you think when you read that name? It was a nickname given me a long time ago, pre-social media if you can believe it, for use in a chat-room. I used the nickname elsewhere. It stuck.
Someone once asked me, "Is it possible to be too happy?" I smiled inside. I liked the idea that it raised this question. I decided to expand the use of that name for other things, like this blog.
I've become aware of my appreciation for alternate or variable meanings. I love allegories and parables, for example. What comes to your mind when I mention the word "killed" in the same sentence as "murdered"? Yet, the word "killed" is mere jest when used in the phrase, "killed time."
I love a puns and a poetic play on words. Mozart's opera The Magic Flute is a cute romantic comedy on the surface. Yet, underneath it's full of deep, Masonic symbolism. I think parables are timeless. I love stories and story telling, just so long as they have a deeper, more profound meaning than what appears superficially.
I could go on -and I will- but not now. So, who is Mr2Happy? He's my ego and my alter-ego. He's fleshy, yet emotional. He's selfishly extroverted and generously introverted. In short, he's an escape for all that is in my heart, mind, and soul. It is the intention of my heart to discern my innermost thoughts, my Mr2Happy Thoughts.
By the way, I will occasionally insert quips and quotes of profound wisdom or cute jokes. Here's my first serious entry: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb 4:12, ESV)
What did you think when you read that name? It was a nickname given me a long time ago, pre-social media if you can believe it, for use in a chat-room. I used the nickname elsewhere. It stuck.
Someone once asked me, "Is it possible to be too happy?" I smiled inside. I liked the idea that it raised this question. I decided to expand the use of that name for other things, like this blog.
I've become aware of my appreciation for alternate or variable meanings. I love allegories and parables, for example. What comes to your mind when I mention the word "killed" in the same sentence as "murdered"? Yet, the word "killed" is mere jest when used in the phrase, "killed time."
I love a puns and a poetic play on words. Mozart's opera The Magic Flute is a cute romantic comedy on the surface. Yet, underneath it's full of deep, Masonic symbolism. I think parables are timeless. I love stories and story telling, just so long as they have a deeper, more profound meaning than what appears superficially.
I could go on -and I will- but not now. So, who is Mr2Happy? He's my ego and my alter-ego. He's fleshy, yet emotional. He's selfishly extroverted and generously introverted. In short, he's an escape for all that is in my heart, mind, and soul. It is the intention of my heart to discern my innermost thoughts, my Mr2Happy Thoughts.
By the way, I will occasionally insert quips and quotes of profound wisdom or cute jokes. Here's my first serious entry: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb 4:12, ESV)
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