Relax Into Life!

Life is a spiritual adventure.

I believe that we are given guidance in many ways, one of which is dreams. Most of my dreams are just a jumble, but occasionally I've had dreams that I believe have a much deeper meaning.

In my early twenties, I had a dream that I knew was something special immediately upon waking. Indeed it has stuck with me for decades because I believe it conveys an important life lesson. Here it is...

I was floating down a small, but swiftly moving river. I wasn't in a boat though, I was in a basket. The basket was just large enough for my rear end, and my arms and legs were hanging out, but they were above water level. Yes, the imagery is kind of silly.

All of a sudden, I started floating towards a log jam towards the right side of the river. I was going to get stuck, or so I thought, so I put my hand in the water to steer myself around the log jam. As soon as my hand touched the water though, I started quickly spinning around in circles, completely out of control.

I took my hand out of the water, and all of a sudden I was serenely floating down the river again. Then I started heading for a large rock that was creating a dangerous looking eddie. This time I stuck my foot and hand in the water to steer away from it, and again, I went spinning around and around.

This happened a number of times. Sometimes I was headed for white water or a scary looking waterfall. Every time I tried to avoid the obstacle, I would lose control.

At some point, I was inspired to not try to intervene by putting my hand in the water. To my surprise, at the last minute I changed direction and gently passed by the obstacle. I tried this again and again, and each time the river itself would miraculously move me out of the way of the obstacle.

Eventually I learned to trust in the river to take me where I needed to go. After I developed this ability to trust, I relaxed into it. I actually leaned back and my basket reclined like a reclining chair and I started to move at double speed and the river widened. I had a great feeling of relief.

The meaning of this dream was immediately clear to me...

Me floating down the river represents me living my life. Apparent obstacles constantly appear in life, and my first reaction is to act out of fear (putting my hand in the water to avoid the problem). But when I react out of fear and my lower impulses, I magnify my problems in life and cause my life to spin out of control. If, however, I can learn to not act out of fear and instead trust God to guide me through the obstacles of life, I will get through each obstacle every time. In other words, I need to learn to trust life, and trust God. Beyond this, I need to relax into life, and if I can learn to relax into the life God wants me to live, my life will go smoother and I will learn faster.

As I said, this was not just a normal dream. I knew that it was a significant message for me, and I've subsequently come to learn that this is a major life lesson that I've needed to learn.

So here are some points I've learned about relaxing into life...

FIRST, we are here for a purpose, and that purpose, in my humble opinion, is to learn and grow in Love. To accept that there is a purpose, you need to accept that there is a God. Not only that there is a God, but that God Loves you.

SECOND, when I say "Trust in Life", that is the same thing as saying "Trust in God". Every single event in life is an opportunity that God is giving you to live in harmony with his love.

THIRD, we get ourselves in trouble when we act, or don't act, out of fear. What do I mean by this? Here are some examples...

• People can develop a fear of intimacy if they've lost someone, been betrayed or been dumped, which prevents them from loving or being loved.

• Many people hide from fears by drinking or drugs, which magnifies the problems in their lives.

• A fear of failure may prevent someone from taking a risk at starting a business of their dreams.

• Someone is scared of being poor, so they rob, steal or harm someone. This makes a lot more problems for yourselves and others.

FOURTH, it takes courage to act in accordance with your highest inspirations, and it take confidence to stick to what you think is right even if it may seem like the hard path to take. For the betrayed person, the courageous act is to again open yourself to love. It takes courage to face life directly and not hide behind alcohol or drugs. It takes courage to treat people respectfully at all times and to earn money the honest way.

FIFTH, life happens. We can and should make goals and plans for our lives, but in the end, life happens. Accept it and move on, because whatever happened is the best thing for you to learn what you need to learn. I think, in fact, that this is a very important thing to learn, and it may be the most difficult.

SIXTH, be grateful! Life is a gift from God. Constant tension and stress, on the other hand, close our hearts to God's Love.

SEVENTH, give back to life with purity in your heart. If God's Love comes into your heart, you have to give it out.

So, relax into life! Enjoy yourself. Laugh and have fun with the family. Keep your heart pure. Be brave and be grateful. And find something that inspires you so much that you want to go all in! Then, with God's Love, give back.

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