Discernment

What's the connection between discernment and the Law of Attraction? The LoA affects absolutely everything we experience and discernment is the very best way for you to interpret and understand what is happening. Then discernment is the best way to decide what you want to experience, actively rather than reactively.

So what is discernment? My definition is "thinking through your gut". For me it is a knowing I get that really does come from the center of my body. Something will ring to me, giving a calmness and peace that I simply "feel" is true. Let me tell you, this is a fantastic way to live. If I let my mind get involved with a question, I can go through so much hand wringing and analysis; and then I'm still not certain if a decision is the best one or not.

I'm certain we all are born with good discernment skills, but they sure are trained out of us in a hurry. It is very important for us all to remember just how we got ourselves into this fix (since it is so hard to drop the addiction of thinking). When we are small children, we are simply computers downloading information with no analysis skills. That is, up to the ages of 5 or 6 (I don't remember exactly) all we do is accept what we see and are told. So if your father kiddingly calls you fatty or dummy or ugly, that is accepted as reality. Children don't understand joking or sarcasm, and those thoughts become the basis for who we are. Great example: I have always known the power of names, so when our daughters were small, my wife and I never said anything to them that wasn't positive. Occasionally, Sara, my older, would say "I'm so dumb" obviously learned at school. I would always immediately say, "No, you're not! You are very smart. You should never say you are dumb!" I was reminiscing once with her and recounted those incidents and she replied, "Oh! So that is why I always freak out when someone calls themself stupid!" See? There is a small monster I created, totally inadvertently. So think of all the other inadvertent things people say and do in front of their children that get logged into the psyche. OK, then add teachers, religion, peers, clubs, television, movies...... well, you get the picture. No wonder we are all screwed up from everyone telling us what they want us to be and do and think. Not because it is best for us, but it keeps us under control and they can feel better about being under control themselves for their whole lives. Sigh, I'm beginning to rant...

So discernment is the answer. Don't listen to your mind, because it wants to f*#% with you and stay in control. I know, that is easier said than done, but it is true. Stop and be quiet right now for a second with me. Slowing count to ten, thinking only about the counting itself. Then, pause again and mentally ask your body -not your mind - what I am saying. Is this true? Have I been controlled in my thinking all my life? Feel your answer. That, My Love, is discernment. More on the topic and methods for improving your skills later. But regardless of what you have always been told, you are Love incarnate. You are Joy. and you are Peace. I truly love you.

The Old Monk