Your Direct Path to Inner Freedom

that's very important if you're going to grow on this path is to say very focused on what's going on because it's very easy like everything else to get lost and all the noise they shouldn't call it spirituality they should call it working on yourself I like to call it investing in yourself working on yourself what does that mean it is so simple it means if you sit down to play the piano and you've never played before you're not gonna do terribly well not with fine music the classics but if you really want to play doesn't mean you give me a concert pianist but if you really want to play you can learn to play there may be some physical limitations it'll let your fingers they saw the other thing so you pick some pieces that don't stretch it as far there may be some limits but if you want to play you're gonna play you just decide I am going to learn how to play the piano I don't usually interject my personal stories but when I was in college sophomore year downstairs in the basement there was an old broken-down piano and I don't play the piano never played the piano and I decided little Micky it wasn't me then it was him that he was going to play Beethoven's moonlight sonata period and he had never played and didn't play and didn't remulak and I had to go egb pick it hit it pick it hit it I'm in one movement you know the main movement and I learned it I played it I can play it to this day reasonably and it just showed that's why I can teach this you can do anything you want now that doesn't mean you can end up only in the Empire State Building because you want to or you can make a mountain move you want to but when you're dealing with yourself and the only competition is yourself the only thing in the way is your patience your commitment your frustration in other words the only thing in the way is you then you can do anything you want because you can beat you and I'm telling there's only one thing that could stop you from being a reasonably good pianist a reasonably good tennis player a reasonably good whatever you want and that's you isn't it so you are in your way of achieving what you want to do with yourself there is a world of you there is a world inside of you there's a world that is involved with you and what you do in your abilities and your goals and so on that is what spirituality is about it is about investing in yourself it is about sitting there saying right now I wouldn't have the patience to do it make you did I couldn't I know I wouldn't I'd sit there to play and it wouldn't work well when somebody would walk by and I'd be embarrassed whatever it is that your mind would say all right I want to change that I don't want me to be in my way so you stop and you look at it and people always say don't have to be honest about myself well when you start playing tennis you didn't write you're no good be honest that doesn't you know learned you know that you accept that when you go in to trig or seven you know math class when you walk in that first day you do not know how to do trig or calculus you don't walk out and tell the professor I I can't do this I don't know how to do calculus he said well why why you're taking the course he's if I don't know how to do it understand I can't take this course I don't how to do it it's like who would do that or walk onto the tennis thing with a tennis coach and he threw a ball and it goes into the night hit it back in the net oh I can't do this I showed you I can't do this I'm not a tennis player but I don't understand that's why you came here to learn though you just spiked do it how stupid does that sound you have to understand that's what you do with yourself you literally say that's not me I can't do this I don't have the patience for this I can't handle someone who did something like that that's the end of the relationship and words you just accept that it is the way it is you're as good of a tennis players you are the day you stepped on the court you're as good as math is your first day in the class that's stupid it's also stupid to deal with yourself that way that's what we're here to talk about and that's what I mean I work on yourself it means exactly the same thing as working on your tennis game working out working on your math it means right now I'm not so good at it but if the only thing in my way is me I can get better period and I'm telling you I want you to look at this whole spiritual growth thing forget the rest look at it that way it is basically saying there are things that I would like to be good at within myself as I go through my life under store right now and every day I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say I want to be good at and then if I'm not stopped I want stop smoking I did for five minutes but then I smoked again I guess I can't stop no in other words it's going to be hard it's going to be hard to learn to play tennis you're going to have to show up multiple times you're gonna have to put up with failures you have to put up with hitting into the net over and over again oh my god put up with so much anything you want to do you're going to have to put up with the fact that it requires effort it requires work it requires time it requires investment why are you not willing to do that with the most important asset you have yourself you live with yourself people work on their relationships oh my god they go to counselors they put up with all kinds of stuff really some relationship is not so healthy I put up with it anyways you know this and that and they do so much to try to better because the relationships are important what about your relationship with yourself there is nothing more important than your relationship with yourself you live with yourself every single second and you give yourself a hard time you have much more trouble getting along with yourself into anybody else if you behave the way you do with yourself with anybody else you'd never have a relationship you pick on everything you do you bring back things that happen years ago don't you give her so hard times about it you just eventually get to the point where you say I need to invest and be willing to work on myself it is not going to be easy it is going to take time it is a gradual process but like anything else I can better this you who's in there need to be conscious centered willful and mindful that there can be nice things inside or messy things inside if you hang out with the messy things your life is going to be a mess if you hang out with the nicer aspects of your being and raise them up your life is going to be easier you're going to attract good things to yourself there's going to be the ability to achieve and succeed at whatever you want to do because you're coming from a higher place inside it is not random it is not something that you have to just tolerate you have the ability to raise yourself did you know that if I sat there and asked you do you ever get down do you ever feel lack of energy or filled down you ever feel depressed ever feel you can't succeed at things and kind of you lost your will you lost your power you lost your stuff and other times do you feel energized and excited and ready to take on the world which one do you want you go out onto that tennis court you can play a certain way and all the planes you play terrible which one do you want you want the better you there's just as simple as that I am Telling You you have control over this you are not helpless you can be whatever you want inside it's your kingdom there's nobody else in there would you like to learn to be able to raise yourself so that when it starts to feel down you can bring it up and when it's up you can it higher until eventually the downs are what used to be your up that's what I want for you that is what spirituality is it is you waking up that you're in there and you deciding I like sunny days I like hi I like enthusiasm I like love I like excitement and I am gonna learn to work with myself so that I have learned to raise myself you've been listening to an excerpt from Michael singers the untethered soul lecture series vol 9 your direct path to inner freedom