I'd be more spiritually centered if only I didn't have so much to do in my life activities.

If I had more time for myself, I'd also have more time for God.

It is easy to be spiritual on a mountaintop! Gurus have an easy life! I'm sure if he or she had my job, commute, spouse, housework and children peace wouldn't be so easy!

There are not enough hours in the day to be practice spirituality as I would like to do. I'm jealous of all the people who can make spirituality his or her personal career. I wish I could be independently wealthy just so I could be more spiritual!

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY that there is just not enough time in the day? Our calendars and To-do lists are full. Stress levels are out of control. In between caring for the kids, job, pets, spouse, and home, having enough time to pencil in God seems next to impossible.

We may clearly recognize our need for God in our busy lives. However, as we beg for the time to practice the rituals of spirituality, we feel guilty for choosing the tasks of the world instead. The result is time lost in self-depreciation and jealousy towards those individuals who are independently wealthy or more available for his or her spiritual goals than our traditional life permits. However, does Jeshua expect us to compromise the complex needs of the world so that we may spend endless hours practicing meditation, personal reflection, or daily lessons?

Simply, the answer is no.

Only the ego is complex. Its complexity looms from the need to add more fuel to the fires of confusion. Truly, without a constant barrage of distractions, questions and needs, the part of our mind knowing Truth would quickly encompass our entire existence and game over. Imagine briefly considering yourself as the Magnitude of God while simultaneously standing before a mirror and viewing your body. Looking at the suit of flesh could not fool you. There would be absolutely no attachment to its appearance or functioning. Most likely, you would hysterically laugh at the mere insinuation of the body being any representative of the Known Self. If we consciously held the full awareness of Truth, the game of hide and seek would be over. Therefore, the ego needs to prolong the game by making a myriad of separate intense distractions. Here the ego keeps our mind occupied and away from accepting our natural awareness.

A Course in Miracles states:

God's Plan is simple; never circular and never self-defeating.

Holy Spirit does not ask us to struggle with time, tasks, emotions, or needs in order to achieve God's Peace. There are no dangling carrots nor does He lay out a complex pathway. All answers are simple, just as God Himself is simple. Research the origin of the word "simple" and you will see how it means "one, always" or "pure." With this in mind, we can see how struggling never is the way to Peace of Mind. Experientially, we are not sensing tranquility amidst any struggle. Psychologically, we feel more internalized pressure and fear. Physically our muscles strain and blood pressure rises. In fact, the origin of the word "struggle" stems from "ill will." Recognize the evidence and you can clearly see how struggle is not of God's Will.

God is not a God of requirement. He does not ask you for an ill will, but offers us the opportunity to yield from complexity to a clear and present Will of perfect happiness. Take this within you and you will see how any idea of sacrifice or comprehensive planning in not necessary for us to obtain The Peace of God.

So does this mean that you must deny any task of the world? No, you can always have time for God as long as you bring God into your time. When A Course in Miracles states "[we] need do nothing" all Jeshua is referencing is the fact that we, of our own confused minds, need to do nothing. This is because, ultimately, our browbeating methods of doing have rarely accomplished any real triumph. As we have kept the wheels of minimal functioning spinning, we have also equally kept the sense of Peace away. Therefore, the time we give to God is not separate or structured apart from our day's activities but instead is a continuance of every experience, simply yielded over to God's wisdom. Trust in Him and He will show you what to say and do in every incident.

Once I saw a bumper sticker that read: "If God is your co-pilot, switch seats." Topping onto this metaphor, if we choose to give God the driver's seat, He will still allow us to stick our head out the window, feel the breeze on our face, play with the buttons on the console, and flip the map around. However, no matter our distractive activities, the drive remains straight and serene. His Presence is Oneness existing in content far beyond any surface form. He is not asking us to drop our distractions reluctantly, but instead encouraging us to value them differently and bring each one of these tasks to Him for His Guidance. Thus in our surrender, God knowingly drives Homeward bound despite any bump in the road and our journey remains smooth.

Getting in touch with God's Simplicity is easy. No, really! The difficulty stems only from our thinking. Only our thinking feeds resistance, making th e idea of giving over to God complicated. Being the pervasive storyteller our thinking mind provides a million conflicting solutions for two million incompatible problems. Only the thinking-mind will run you around in your living room, exhausting you in analysis and judgment before taking a single step into the open air towards solving any predicament. It is possible to make our surrender to God easy. First, we must remember that any struggle exists only of the ego. It is essential that we be clear and vigilant for this awareness. If we can go as far as to make a perceptual world in the quest for self-discovery, playing the ultimate game of hide and seek, we can surely turn the desire for peace into our own game of tag. Therefore, as you notice any hint of complexity rising to the surface of your mind and attempting to get your attention, let your answer be strong and certain: "Gotcha!" Then, in that moment, laugh, cheer and let yourself notice how your thinking mind seeks only to invest you more into the dramas of the world. Discovering the option for peace instead, choose then to rest in trust.

In my own experience, I used to believe that I had to wait until I arrived home from work in order to engage with God. Likewise, the hours at work often seemed oppressive at worst and at best drawn or futile. However, once I decided to open the door to my mind to God and give Him the driver's seat, every moment at my job became a dance of happiness and sharing. Miraculously, my boss appeared to change from a demeanor of conflict to a supporter of all my contributions. In addition, all my coworkers were mighty companions. Furthermore, as I did extend this miracle to family, neighbors, and even my romantic life, a ripple of peace transformed all of my life experiences through complete surrender.

Perhaps you want to allow my witness to be an inspiration. Nevertheless, my own circumstances are incomparable to the peace that Jeshua felt upon the cross. It is better to use his experience as an affirmation of our glory despite the distracting or overwhelming moments. If we did yield to God's simplicity through the drive to work, making phone calls or moving papers across our desk, conversing with our spouse and spending quality time with our children, we will soon come to recognize how God's gentleness and peace expresses itself in all moments. Here, God's peace would reign despite any appearance of redundant soulless actions. Only Love and magnificence would shine forth and every moment would become a moment of deep connection, Self-awareness, and bonding with God Himself. No longer would we be reserving a certain space of time to be temporarily present for God, but instead we would notice how all time centered in the constant certainty of God's Presence.

© 2009, Pamela B. Silberman

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela B. Silberman is author of Simply Being: One Year with Spirit, now available through a multitude of online and independent booksellers. She will be conducting a five-day retreat on Living the Love of A Course in Miracles in 2009 with the Omega Institute. Her website is www.simplybeing.net.