The thing I would say is, Jesus is very, very, playful, but also very
practical and will guide you, to help this journey be as smooth as possible.
You know sacrifice, pain and suffering, they are optional. And if you
follow Jesus, of course that's the point of following Jesus, to experience the joy
and not the illusions of clinging, suffering, sacrifice, you know guilt, all
those things. I always thought of it, Jesus would use the analogy of like a water slide where he
would say, "It's like a big waterslide that goes down to a big, warm, beautiful, pool,"
and he said, "When you're going down pull those fingernails, those hands in. Tuck
those arms in, and really wheeee, go have a fun ride. Let me assure you, it
will be that." And when we're going down we're all going down, we're all going down that waterslide, but
if we're taking our fingernails and we're just digging it into the plastic
with everything we can, maybe snapping some fingernails along
the way. And as we squeak and scrape down there, we're still going to make it,
splash into the warm pool, but it's just going to be a slower more
difficult ride with fingernails flying all over the place if we're going to resist. So
just tuck it in and go for it. What that means is, are you willing, like Frances was
sharing today, to trust so much that you can actually let go of your plan B's.
We have all these Plan B's where we take on a self-concept, Francis
was talking about, and we start to act and react and behave based on the
decisions to support that self-concept, that was made as an idol image to take
the place of our Christ Self. We're actually fighting ourselves with these
Plan B's. When we are afraid to take the plunge, remember that old Nestea,
"Take the plunge." They have the big glass, ice, and then, "Ahhh, Nestea." You remember, and
then falling back into the pool, splash, oh, I love those commercials. That's actually
what you Jesus is saying, "There's a warm beautiful pool, take a nice cool sip on a
summer's day and then fall back I've got you."
Splash right down into that warm pool, and to do that you have to let go of
Plan B's. Now admittedly all of your education in this world has been about
making plan B's, so that's like a big reverse. It's almost like you've been
going in one direction your whole life and now all of a sudden it's like, stop
and drop. Drop down and let go of those Plan B's because the Holy Spirit and Jesus
have to show us that Trust is justified. They're like saying, "If you listen to me,
I will go before you and I will handle absolutely everything." And he even goes
so far in the Course to say, in The Rules for Decision, that basically
you're your only difficult your only difficulty is that you first decide what
you want, and then you ask. See how backwards that is? "Well, I know what I want,"
and then at some point, "Oh yeah, what's the guidance?" You know
the asking needs to come first, and then the, what do I want needs
to take a backseat to the asking. Because as Frances was sharing this morning too, if
you're identified with a self-concept, you don't perceive your best interests, you
don't know the way out, you're just plain lost, like that old TV show, Lost in
Space. "Danger Will Robinson, danger." There's danger when you think you know
your own best interest, when you actually don't.
That's also an early workbook lesson," I do not perceive my own best interest."
And then you get into the lesson and it's even more specific, "In no situation do you perceive
your own best interest." He's saying you're in a delusion, you're
hallucinating a world that doesn't even exist. And you are really lost in
time and space and you need so much help, if you knew how much help you needed,
you would start asking. You would start praying right away wouldn't presume, "Okay I'll handle my checking
account, Jesus you stay out of the checking account. I'll handle the portfolio,
the investments, stand clear. That's my nest egg Jesus, don't mess with the nest egg. And my
children, no, hands off with the children. They're mine, I have
ambitions for those children. I want them to turn out a certain way, like our Adam
Sandler character, and that's what happens though, when we have Plan B's.
We're basically, we're ignoring the present moment, we're ignoring this
beautiful teaching in the Course that is, "Let go of your past associations and
let present trust direct the way." Isn't that beautiful, let present trust direct the
way. We could just pour our hearts into that one, that would answer all these
hypothetical problems and concerns so swiftly and directly and immediately,
"Let present trust direct the way."