Image by John Hain
Narrated by Marie T. Russell and Will T. Wilkinson
Video version at the end of this article
We are spirits downloaded into bodies,
programmed to become creators.
“God” is a loaded word. Can we use it without stirring controversy? I’ve turned it into an acronym: G.O.D. This seems to help.
G.O.D. stands for Gratitude Over Desire. Here’s what this means. As spirits downloaded into bodies, programmed to become creators, our forever challenge is to remember who we are and navigate the human world without going mad. It helps to remember that the human world itself is a madhouse, populated by amnesiacs wandering around aimlessly in search of happiness and meaning.
Some of us just dive whole heartedly into civilization, having families and careers, enjoying what we can, struggling to overcome our challenges, and generally avoiding those deeper questions. But I doubt that’s you... you wouldn’t still be reading.
Others of us retreat from the world. We meditate, we stick to a circle of like-minded friends, we do our best to resist the alluring temptations of Maya, and we judge (secretly or overtly) those manipulators running the planet for their own pleasure.
There’s Another Path: Gratitude Over Desire (G.O.D.)
It starts with prioritizing gratitude. What are we grateful for? We are grateful for what we have already received, primarily, the gift of life. So, we learn to live in gratitude for that, without needing anything further, although there’s always something showing up to be grateful for.
About desire: desire is a problem for the puritanical amongst us. As the joke goes, sex is dangerous because it might lead to dancing. For those steeped in religion as duty, pleasure is a seductive danger, always tugging us away from God. This sets up a constant battle between desire and duty. “I want to do this... but I know I should do this.”
G.O.D. offers a formula to disrupt this conflict. All that’s required is to (always) ensure that we have more gratitude than desire. Example (I’ll use a familiar, crude one): A business man is working late with his assistant. To unwind, they have a drink. This leads to a hug. Which lasts longer than usual. And... He’s got a wife and kids. She’s got a husband and kids. But, in that moment, desire inflames and suddenly they find themselves on the precipice of catastrophic pleasure. And the only two options seem to be: 1. Give in and enjoy; 2. Resist and lose out.
G.O.D is the other path. All they need do is to remember what they already have - loving spouses and dear children - and consciously summon gratitude for those blessings. They could also allow themselves to feel love as gratitude for each other. What happens? Gratitude becomes bigger than desire. G.O.D. - Gratitude Over Desire. But here’s the cool feature of this formula in action: the desire doesn’t go away, it just takes the right position, that is, it doesn’t eclipse common sense and sabotage loyalties.
It’s possible to share desire, to feel intimacy, without compromising a primary relationship. That hug can be genuinely loving, without initiating a shedding of clothes! After all, what’s wrong with loving each other? Nothing! As long as we choose appropriate ways to express that love. Cheating on a spouse is a violation of our marriage vows. Many people have suffered the repercussions of this failing! But being grateful creates a miracle, enjoying without destroying.
That’s just one example. I encourage you to begin practicing this G.O.D. process in any situation where desire becomes a potential threat (another drink, more chocolate, exaggerating profits on a balance sheet, misrepresenting an opportunity, etc.) and experience first-hand how natural it is to enjoy life fully, without compromise or deception.
A hug can be genuinely loving, without initiating a shedding of clothes!
G.O.D. ACTIVATION:
(See audio or video for this guided meditation read by the author)
Relax into this moment... Breathe deeply, in and out, letting go of any tension you may notice in your neck and shoulders... in your arms... in your chest ... your abdomen ... your back ... your legs ... and your feet. Flex your fingers several times and close your eyes for just a moment ... reading again, breathe one more time, deeply, in and out.
Place your right hand on your chest and feel your heart beating. Imagine blood flowing through your amazing circulatory system... your last meal being digested... your fingernails growing... and now expand your awareness to consider the wide world we live in. Picture a mountain stream, with clear water cascading down the hillside... remember the tides, from a time when you stood on the sea shore.
Remember clouds on a summer day, floating across the sun... and now a sunrise ... a sunset... watching and realizing that it’s the earth that’s moving... moving in space. Remember the moon, watching it track across the sky... and the stars, sparkling in the heavens.
Contemplate the vastness of creation, within you and around you, and know that this is all God, that God is not an old man with a beard, God is not a belief, God is the intelligence behind all of creation. Feel yourself part of this creation and part of the creator. Invite the feeling of gratitude to well up within you, gratitude for being alive.
As you feel this gratitude, make a commitment to install this emotion as your primary attitude, the one that will encompass the entirety of your life. Speak the spell to download this heavenly software: “I am grateful.”
Pause to feel this, knowing that it is the deep truth. Beyond logic, beyond reason, in this moment you are experiencing the truth of who you are: a spiritual being in a human body connected to all of life through the primary emotion that permeates creation: gratitude.
Finally, recall a moment of pleasure. Feel the memory differently, from within this ocean of gratitude you are swimming in. And speak the spell to install this upgrade: “I am here to enjoy life.”
Pause a moment and repeat these words, as often as necessary to begin feeling the truth of them without reservation. “I am grateful... and I am here to enjoy life!”
You have just turned God into G.O.D. and activated a formula for maintaining your spiritual center and enjoying your human life.
Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the author.
Book by this Author
Now or Never: A Quantum Map for Visionary Activists
by Will T. Wilkinson
A time-traveler's guide to personal and global transformation. Discover, learn, and master simple and powerful techniques for creating the future you prefer and healing past traumas, to improve the quality of your personal life and help create a thriving future for our great grandchildren.
"Now or Never reveals how to balance authentic mystical experience with radical, urgent, wise action in the world." (from the foreword by Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism."
Click here for more info and/or to order this book. Also available in a Kindle edition.
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About the Author
Will T. Wilkinson is a senior consultant with Luminary Communications in Ashland, Oregon. He has authored or co-authored seven previous books, conducted hundreds of interviews with leading edge change agents, and is growing an international network of visionary activists.
Find out more at willtwilkinson.com/
