Accomplishment Overload

Inner freedom is not a matter of adding anything. It is purely a ridding experience. Vernon Howard (1965)


We have four ways of experiencing our lives. Our physical bodies let us move, speak, hear, see, taste, and touch. We have an emotional body so that we can receive and experience a range of feelings and engage in life with receptivity and curiosity.

Your mental body can imagine, accumulate knowledge, make plans, focus and problem-solve. You also have a spiritual body that houses your inner blueprint and your connection to the wellspring of life’s source.

Let’s imagine that at a young age, you observed others and landed on the idea that the purpose of life is to keep busy and use your physical, mental and emotional energies to get as many possessions as you can.

You learn to use your physical energy to do whatever is needed to attain as much as possible. Mentally, you acquire knowledge in as many areas as you can. You supply focused mental energy, and use your imagination to set bigger goals for future achievements. Your list of accomplishments continues to grow.

Emotionally, you ride the roller coaster of a wide range of emotions. You experience the thrill of winning and the agony of losing. You weather painful disappointments and defeats as well as exhilarating and ego-inflating successes.

All of your actions help to fulfill the underlying and unchallenged dictate to accumulate more, bigger and better possessions and experiences.

The next question that naturally surfaces is “What about my spiritual body?” Can spiritual energy be harnessed and used to accumulate material goals?

Many are diligently giving that a try. It is perfectly fine to fill your life to the brim . What you bring into your life has more to do with your personal preferences than anything more than that.

You can only eat one meal at a time. You can only integrate one experience at a time. Therefore, the amount of things and experiences you accumulate has to do with how much you are willing to manage.

Imagine that your spiritual energy is like a still, fathomless, crystal clear body of water that beckons you to come and rest for a while. As it welcomes you, it asks you to gaze into this pondering pool. As you settle in, you begin to see the essence of who you are reflected back to you.

The purpose of this respite is to shift your focus from the external world and turn inward to begin the process of opening your mind, softening your heart, and deepening your willingness to receive guidance and new directions from a deeper source.

Perhaps it is time to turn your attention away from producing external outcomes for a little while. Allow yourself to rest. Refresh your tired, problem-solving mind, your weary emotions, and/or your depleted, physical body.

Breathe in and out. Rest in the arms of the present moment. Let go of frantically pushing ahead.

Allow your innocence to return by acknowledging your basic goodness and the basic goodness of your life. Surrender into the healing waters of the present.

What you are seeking is also seeking you.