Disappointment

We do not believe your shortcomings are defaults, defects, as we have the longer range view. You know that a shortcoming acknowledges a less-than-desired attainment, but this word would be better dropped and instead substituted with the word acknowledge where you can see ahead to what is attainable. In a sense I will break down knowledge into two words: acknowledge and ledge. A ledge, like a cliff over a chasm, appears ominous and difficult to cross. When you perceive these shortcomings, you are gaining your knowledge; you now know what to work on. At these times shift to discerning the means whereby you may cross the chasm of inexperience, of lack of understanding. Seek ways in which you may provide revelation landfill that may help you bridge over to the solid ground you seek at a higher level of behavior. My purpose in expressing this to you today is to attempt to draw your attention away from failure at execution and place it upon your success in perceiving what is attainable. When you break something, the first impulse is to seek to fix it. This applies not only to objects but to your own personality ascent. Cultivate the reflexive action toward reparation and acquirement of higher skills. Make your recognition of shortcoming but a fleeting moment that catapults you into your new project for growth. There is far too much work and time to be spent  attaining this new level to be wasted brooding over your failures.

Malvantra: I would add some more to the words of Evanson. I would suggest that you adopt the strategy of turning your disappointments into what you would perhaps consider to be the exact opposite. Look with excitement upon your disappointments, for they have shown you your next growth level; they have pointed out to you that aspect of your being that should be focused on to become a more perfect, more complete soul. Indeed, we look upon your realization of your shortcomings, as you see them, as a breakthrough in which the doors are open to growth, to the challenge presented before you of your apparent failure.

No individual is a perfect, complete unit, and in order to become more perfect you must, in your course of activities, discern where you are not perfect and where the work lies to change that situation. It is indeed a blessing for you to have the realization that a particular area of your being requires some service on your part. If you would look at this service to your own soul growth as you would look at the service you so eagerly seek to be about for other individuals, perhaps you would put into better perspective that the very sense of desiring to serve others can be turned inward toward your own soul growth. When an area of your soul growth is illuminated that needs and, indeed, requires your service, you should rejoice with this awareness, with this perception, for you now have some starting point to work to actually be of service to your own self. Therefore, when you perceive that you have failed, delight that you have shown yourself the area in which you need to focus and be of service to yourself so that your overall being can become more perfect. Every being is challenged with many such imperfections in their being, and it is the resolution of these imperfections which constitutes soul growth. 

Mortal living can bring many disappointments and crushing blows to the spirit. A man may perceive his adversities to be a chastisement from God. He may believe he has somehow earned his misfortune. He wonders what could he have done to deserve such adversity. What could he have done different? How
could he turn the tables in his favor? How might he escape this bitter reality? A man with this outlook is likely to become greatly discouraged, embittered and hopeless. His perception is narrowed to fit his one
dimensional thinking. This thinking recruits the spirit poisons, and difficulties that were not that bad, are now made worse.

Another man who has also experienced life's brutal difficulties may look to his Father and ask, what is the meaning of this, Father? This faithful man may perceive this to be a lesson in acquiring spiritual fruits. He knows in his mortal state his difficulties are only landmarks upon his eternal path. His difficulties are stepping stones to higher learning. His broad vision allows him to go beyond the ego to an overall good that serves everyone. This man is observant in watching Father work within his problems. Using the
stillness mind he is open for Father's suggestions and solutions. This man can perceive his difficulties without fear or unknowing or loneliness, for Father has promised His assistance.

In learning to remain steadfast in faith and persevere through difficulties, it is important that you perceive your mortal life as if you are standing at the beginning of all eternity — because this is so. These mortal problems that plague you today are exercises in which you become strengthened by, to advance spiritually. There is not an escape, you see. There is not a way to advance without having these experiences which strengthen those spiritual muscles.

In learning to carry on one must be aware of how you perceive your difficulties. Is Father the cause of your difficulties? No. Is He available to show them to be valuable? Yes. Is He showing them to be with meaning?
Yes. Is mortal difficulties a frown from Heaven or a lesson in spiritual advancement? Yes, it's all in how you perceive your difficulties. You stand at the beginning of eternity. Expand your vision and embrace the entire
view. Do not cheat yourself by decreasing the view to ego size or allowing the spirit poisons to make worse what is already seemingly bad.

In the midst of your difficulties, what can you do to repel the spirit poisons, like self-pity, anger, or depression from setting in? Certainly worship and prayer are extremely helpful. Stillness time is a wonderful
asset of course, yes. To be observant though refrains you from acting  out — using those spirit poisons. Being watchful, as if you were beside yourself, is a benefit that the Master used quite often.

Jesus when confronted with adversity did not scream out in panic or make foolish and rash decisions, no. He stopped and consulted with Father — what is the meaning of this? How can I endure through this? It is difficult I know to be patient in these trials, but to act upon feelings of anxiety only draws you closer to those spirit poisons.

In your practicality can you be faithful that Father will show you how to make good use of your adversities? He can show you how to take those feelings of despair or anxiety and put them to work in a spiritual way. Can you perceive your adversities as stepping stones to higher learning? Can you broaden your vision to perceive an overall picture of Father's plan? Can you be beside yourself and be observant? The mastering of these techniques will surely lead you to understand the true meaning of strength and endurance.

The Master's difficulties on many occasions left Him in great emotional distress. Of course, there was His divine stamina ever standing by, but on many occasions His human heart felt that destructive torture that every mortal must experience. Was He emotional at times? Yes, of course. Did this serve Him? Yes, certainly. It was a release of His human will towards embracing His divine will.

Your emotions are for a reason; hide them not. Allow them to release and know that there is not a tear that you can cry that Father does not know the meaning of, yes. The spiritual lessons are not mandatory, no, but there is no escape from them either. Even the Master experienced great emotional release in the laying down of His will to taking up the Father's.

Be not afraid to discuss with one another these mortal trials. Be not afraid to allow your emotions to release the human will to aligning with the Father's. When you become comfortable with the divine will then your trials are not so big, not so overwhelming. You can find strength from that source within, the source of all strength. You can master your difficulties and not be enslaved to them when you are in alignment with Father's will and wholeheartedly willing to drink the cup.

The working out of your human thoughts may take some time alone with Father. To be emotional is not weakness, but a slow transformation of will.

Solonia: It is indeed the measure of one's spirituality that is reflected in the way that they handle the disappointments of human life. It is an accepted, though unfortunate, part of human societal culture at this point in time, for people to desire the validation of their disappointments through having others share in feeling sorry for the apparent failures of human desires. It appears to be the natural state of accepted response, to share how sorry they feel for you when things do not go according to your plans. People feel that it is being sympathetic, and hence somehow helpful to the discouraged individual, to be verbally demonstrative in relating their impressions of how insurmountable, how unfortunate, was the outworking of those undesired circumstances. The more Spiritual individual will rather seek to discover the new pathway that is opened due to the blocking of another path.  

The step of Faith does not routinely bring expected results, rather it is far more likely to reveal new and previously unrecognized perceptions. The discovery of our Father's will is often made possible through 
actively finding out what indeed is Not His will. Disappointments, rather than putting you into a place of inaction, should rather stimulate you further to step again; to continue your forward motion; to seek to 
discover all of those things which are Not the will of our Father, thereby revealing by process of elimination what indeed, truly Is His will. Do not let the fact of results which appear to run contrary to your expectations, stifle the exuberance of your seeking. It is natural to take a moment of reflection to sort out your feelings of disappointment, and indeed it is also healthy, for in so doing is the next step made clearer to you through a better understanding of how your will may more closely co-inside with Father's Will.  

Be energized; be spurred on; be excited by the potentials which always seem to be just beyond your reach. For these experiences do in fact provide for you, not only increased growth and maturity, but also a better 
and more clear concept of what it is that will truly serve you in the unfolding of your highest dreams. You are truly the architects of your dreams. Father, being perfect in wisdom and understanding, will reveal the more Divine way for them to unfold in order to serve the greatest number of people in the most beneficial and satisfying way. It is only when you cling too tenaciously to your own perceptions of what the results should be (by your standards), that discordance occurs.  

I would suggest to you that you continue as would the little child hunting for a hidden treasure. The successful child is not disappointed when it picks up a stone and discovers that there is no treasure there.  
Rather he runs to look under the bush, or behind another stone, or in the tall grass. He does not become overly concerned about all of the places that he does not find the treat. Rather he knows and trusts that he will find it, and more, if only he continues to press onward and look in previously undiscovered places. At the end of the hunt, he will have much that is pleasurable in his basket, because he did not quit looking; he did not sit still while others continued in their quest. He held firmly to the spirit of excitement in the discovery of the next.

You are becoming more and more like that little child on the treasure hunt. When you discover that your dream is not to be found in one specific place, that indeed it will be found in another. You are getting close to finding another treasure. Grab hold of, and never let go of the excitement of the search. The journey will be fondly remembered even moreso than will the arrival. For you, when once you arrive, will very soon discover that this arrival is but the very first step in a new and higher journey. What you see now as your Goal, will eventually in retrospect, be recognized as one of your initial baby-steps. You have potential far beyond what you can even imagine at this point. Stay excited, stay active, and stay focused upon discovering what truly is, and is not, the will of our Father. 

Levona: Expectations cannot only be a thrill — that anticipation of knowing something good is going to happen — like going to grandmother's house for the weekend. Having expectations and knowing they will happen are joyous expectations. But having expectations when the result — the outcome — is not known, is not a guarantee of excitement or joy. That is when you may end up feeling devastated, discouraged, or sorrowful. Expectations are a human concept. They are tied to ego consciousness. Your ego wants things to feel secure. It wants to feel loved. You set yourself up for disappointments with these longings when it is not God you look to, to give them to you. The spiritized person ceases all expectations because the only moment that matters is the moment he or she is in. It is not a consciousness that you are expected to develop 100 percent while you are in your earthly bodies, being humans in process of spiritization.

I did want you to understand the difference, however, so that you can continue to find more and more 
spirit-consciousness, joy of living in the moment, and less and less dependence on expectations of something to come. If you live fully in the moment, every need of yours will be provided for in God's time.

For you see, our Eternal Parent knows all, sees all, and He is ever with us. So never doubt how fully He is working to provide you with everything you need, when you need it. And to fill you so full of Spirit that all you ever want is what He sees that you need. That's kind of a tricky little statement. It might be food for thought for this next week. Chew on it for awhile.