doc benway Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) All of us at some point or another hit cross-roads in life where small time frame defines our next destiny. I am at such place and have been thinking about next steps and nothing shows up so far. I am wondering how do other people solve such puzzles? I.e. move or stay in certain location, get or not get that job, do or not do something, study or not study, etc... I know the teaching point of "following your heart", but my heart so far is screaming about what IT DOES NOT WANT to do, but not about what IT WANTS to do". How did you do it in your own life? Meow... If I am having trouble making a decision, I recognize two things - 1. I've analyzed enough... the intellect isn't going to provide the answer 2. The heart is not clear or I'm not hearing what it's trying to tell me My approach is to rest and remain open. When the intellect begins to do its thing again, I notice and allow it to rest. As I quiet and get out of the way, I trust that the right choice will come from a deeper, subtler place when it's ripe and ready to come - assuming a choice needs to be made at all. It is often the case that after all of the struggle, there's really nothing to decide, as Rene shared. The most important part for me is to trust the silence and the openness. Edited April 21, 2017 by steve 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted April 21, 2017 Little update on the topic: 1. Does not seem to be any progress. Still on the cross-roads. 2. Sifu told me to go find "Divine" ( i.e. God) and Lama told me to go find "Wisdom". Seems I will be living on cross-roads forever with these impossible tasks... Sorry I didn't read the whole thread before my first reply. To find the Divine we can adopt the attitude of prayer - trust that there is something deeper and more wise than our intellect and reason and open to what it has to offer. Ask for help, embrace our vulnerability and helplessness. This is very unfamiliar to many and may even seem foolish but can be very powerful if it comes from a place of sincerity. Wisdom to a lama is the realization of emptiness, it is the knowledge that the the one who is trying to decide is an illusion. Finding Wisdom is letting go of what we already know and opening to what is new and fresh, what is there when everything else is released. One of my favorite teachers was a poet priest turned Celtic mystic named John O'Donohue. I'll share a quote of his that I love which may not be specifically about sitting on the crossroads but may have something to offer. It's been enormously helpful to me: "And if you want a point of departure for this new journey of soul, don't choose an intention, don't choose a prayer, don't choose a therapy, and don't choose a spiritual method. Look inwards and discovery a point of contradiction within yourself. Stay faithful to the aura and presence of the contradiction. Hold it gently in your embrace and ask it what it wants to teach you." That contradiction is the crossroads, what is it trying to teach you? The lesson may be deeper than the choice it represents. Good luck! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
