Lesson 24, I do not perceive my own best interest.
In this lesson, I do not perceive my own best interest, Jesus is restating the same idea that he has taught in many of the preceding lessons:
What I see is a form of vengeance
I am determined to see things differently
I see no neutral things
I have no neutral thoughts
He is letting us know that we have a perceptual problem. Jesus counsels that “we have no guide to appropriate action” because we are relying on our own perception and “that perception is wrong.”
In NTI Luke 5, the Holy Spirit uses equally direct language, saying, “Things are not as they seem. This is why I ask you to trust Me and follow Me. I know how things are. You are blind to these facts, for you only know what you think you know, and that is nothing but a deep and burdensome slumber.”
In today’s lesson, Jesus states, “If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could be taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do know what they are, you cannot learn.”
When I read NTI Luke again, I heard the Holy Spirit say in a commanding voice, “Step away from the mind Lady and I will show you what you don’t think is possible and prove to you that it is true.” Wow, I had better be about the lesson and let the Holy Spirit prove his point. So my workbook exercise went something like this:
In the situation involving my desire to retire from the family business and my daughter Katy’s potential to take over, I would like to see Katy more involved. I would like proof that she has the interest to run an enterprise that has so many intricacies. We serve over a hundred companies. Each company has one to fifty different products that we custom manufacture for them. We have over twenty-five employees, which subjects the company to all the federal laws like family leave and military leave and other compliance laws. And, of course, there is Osha and DOT, not to mention bookkeeping and complicated tax laws. And, in the mist of all this I would like to taper back my involvement. I want to work less or not at all. But I want Katy to be happy, but not stressed with all there is to know and do. But, with her laid back personality, can she handle all that needs to be handled?
Whew! In my attempts to uncover the outcomes that I wanted in the scenario I picked, I realized these views about how everything should be resolved were all perceptual concepts and perceptual concepts imply personhood. But this is what I’ve been learning: to step back and Rest, Accept (allow) and Trust. I know what I really want in any unresolved situation isn’t the conflicting goals or desired outcomes and the un-related expectations that my mind was showing me. Present Awareness is what I really want; to heal my mind with Knowledge which is of God, not my interpretations. That is what is in my best interest.
