Pause

For most of my life I have been using audio and video equipment that have a "PAUSE" button. The cassette machine my neighbor introduced me to in 1965 when we were playing radio, had a pause button. The cassette machine I used to learn how to play trombone had a pause button. In the radio business I have used reel to reel players; DAT machines; digital recorders and more with the proverbial pause switch. Video players and now, DVR machines, allow you to pause. Pause recording and pause playback. Pausing, is important.

As human beings it is important to "pause". But we don't always, do we?

An aspect of my daily life that I have improved since immersing myself in the material of Ernest Holmes, is putting time in between the hearing or observation of something negative, and any associated reaction. Quick reaction time may be important in sports but can be disastrous in life. It is important to: PAUSE. Put time in between the event and your reaction to it. In the Science of Mind we are taught that there is a difference in what is Truth and what is a so called "fact". It was a fact that people did not fly in airplanes prior to the Wright brothers but it was not true that humans could not fly in airplanes. They always could, but it took the belief, commitment and passion of the Brothers Wright, to manifest this Truth. In relation to an outward appearance of someone seemingly doing or saying something negative about you; it simply may not be true. We are often mistaken. We perceive slights that are more reflective of our own state of mind than the person in question. That is one reason to press PAUSE. According to many mystics all of this is illusion anyway, so, even it there is some truth to a criticism, it is not Truth in Spirit Reality where you and your brother are Perfect; Whole and Complete.

Getting upset about something you "think" you heard or "think" you know is simply thought-less. Life is not like all those 1970s sitcoms that open with a "misunderstanding" that everyone laughs about in scene three. PAUSE; when you perceive something is amiss. Anger won't make it better anyway. If you are perceiving the circumstance incorrectly your negative reaction may quickly take center stage.

I speak from experience. When you have a built in "expectation" that a person, especially one in an authority position, is going to eventually find fault in you or your performance, guess what happens, either they do (Law of Attraction) or you simply "think" they do as you press PLAY on the reruns of your life. PAUSE. Erase old thought patterns that contribute to self sabotage.

Let me share a secret: People are not out to get you. They are usually too tied up with their own real or imagined dramas than to spend a whole lot of time on you. God is with you. God is your partner and protection. Be at ease knowing that God is with you, so who could possibly be against you, except yourself?

In the Science of Mind (and many other New Thought practices) the idea is to believe that the WHOLE WORLD is conspiring ON your behalf. Believe it. Affirm it...And It Is So.

Pause. Put time and space in between the hearing of anything of a negative nature. There is almost always something more to the story. It is like that kids game Telephone where the story gets bigger down the line. And remember, even if there is a temporary "fact" in the negative appearance, (such as the boss being upset with something you did or didn't do) it is just that; a TEMPORARY fact that can be replaced with the permanent Truth that you are perfectly fine. PAUSE. Smile. Own the moment, after all you probably attracted at least a part of it through negative thoughts.

I have seen and been a party to situations that should have amounted to nothing, that became full fledged four-alarm emergencies because of OVER reacting, whether it was in offense or defense of a factual or fictional happenstance.

Pause. See the lesson or gift. See the opportunity for you to be the Adult if the charges put forth are ridiculous. Have a laugh. Be as quick to offer forgiveness as you would have desired mercy had you been the one that "got it wrong".

What is most important after all; to be right, or be happy? Pause. Relax. Speak from the Peace that is God that resides in you.

As someone who works with audio recorders everyday, I can tell you that I am able to erase mistakes and/or rewind tracks. In life, it is much harder to rewind or erase words and emotions once they have been expressed. The Universe moves and creates based on your vibrations which come from your beliefs; actions and reactions. Your thoughts. Pressing your internal PAUSE button will give you a chance to keep you on the right track, instead of throwing a verbal punch that could change the entire trajectory of your life.

There is a book called "10-10-10" written by Susan Welch. Her formula is simple. With whatever choice you are about to make, once made, how will it affect you 10 minutes from now; 10 months from now and 10 years from now. Even when you are "right", it is still better to press PAUSE, and act like the person who is speaking with the assurance that God is within.

Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" says it so well:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Pause.

Sharefully,

~Doug