Articles and General Interest

LIVING IN WELL-BEING by Barbara Burt-Davis

Each one of us wants to live in well-being, to experience feelings of happiness, peace and contentment. We all desire to live in harmony and connection to the world around us. Nobody wants to live in upset, bother, anxiety, depression, anger, regret, worry---the list goes on and on …

Mystics, philosophers, and spiritual leaders have attempted to point us towards our inner resources---the well-spring of universal intelligence that is available to every human being in every moment.

We can all relate to moments of calm when we experience that grounded, tranquil, “all is well” feeling. In these moments there is no pain about the past, no worry about the future, there is simply that stillness, the gap we call the now or the present. Let me attempt to explain how we can live in the now more of the time. All I ask is that you attempt to keep an open mind in order to hear something new.

Of course there are circumstances we cannot control in our lives---it is how we experience these circumstances that we have the capacity to control. The Dalai Lama was once asked how he lives in well-being knowing that Tibetans have been forced to endure pain and suffering. He simply smiled and replied that he lives in well-being because that is where he wants to live.

We recently witnessed the brutal slaying of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alberta. One of the officers’ fathers stated that he chooses to live in forgiveness and understanding of the event so that he cannot be a victim of it. These wise men, among many others, have shown and will continue to show us the way.

Selah is an ancient word meaning tranquil, at rest, quiet, serene, secure, pause. It describes the state of mind in which we “wait” in the stillness. This will allow a flow of thoughts which are new and fresh and appropriate to the moment.

The Selah Group is a counselling and training centre based in West Vancouver using a wellness model often referred to as Health Realization or the Resiliency Model. This model, founded in the mid-70s by Sydney Banks, reflects an understanding which assumes our innate capacity for mental health. It is now used globally for treatment and prevention.

Health Realization explains how we experience life, how we function psychologically to create our own reality in each moment. It is a simple model based on the inside-out nature of experience, and the understanding that each human being has the capacity to access inner wisdom and common sense when in a calm, or impersonal state of mind. Being in calm or flow thinking is our natural state of innate health. From this powerful and creative state, we experience life in the present, where we are truly responsive and appropriate to the moment.

The ability to understand that we think, coupled with the understanding of the power of thought, gives each person the freedom of thought, moment to moment, regardless of circumstances. The source of our experience is always thought; behind every feeling is a thought. It is our feelings that guide us through life.To imagine our innate health as the sun acknowledges that it always shines.

To imagine our insecure thoughts as clouds acknowledges they will pass when we let them go. When the clouds pass, the sun shines forth. Our health or resiliency is always there, waiting and ready to show us a better way, a healthier way.

The Selah Group teaches people about their thinking. To recognize the creation of experience enables us to let go of negative, insecure and unproductive thought; to return to flow thinking, to the now, where we uncover new ways to look at life. From this impersonal or neutral place we tap into the unknown, gain perspective, see a bigger picture and the world of possibilities. Here we realize the miracle of health and resiliency in ourselves and others.

The instant you awaken to your own creation, you can no longer be gripped by thought. To feel good, you must let go of your negative thought. You might say a good feeling is just a thought away. You are the only one standing in the way of your good feeling. Taking responsibility for your own creation is precisely what sets you free!!

Don’t be alarmed by an insecure thought---it is nothing unless you act upon it. We cannot control what thoughts pop up, but we can control what we do with them. The only thing we need to do is to be aware of our feelings. As stated earlier, every feeling comes from a thought. For example, we cannot have an angry feeling without an angry thought. In the instant we recognize that our anger comes from thought, created from within, not from a circumstance without, we can step back from the experience to allow our thoughts to change. Because we are wired to live in well-being, when we step back, we naturally see the circumstance from a healthier point of view.

We teach people how to live in the present. The past is not real now. The pain we feel about the past is a memory carried through time by thought. The past belongs in the past; it is over, it is no longer real. Why would we choose to re-experience pain? There is no need to dig into the past. We can trust that what we need to learn from it will occur to us when we are ready. When we are living in a healthier state of mind, we will see the past with wisdom and understanding.

The worry we feel about the future is our imagination created by thought. Have you ever noticed that the future, when it is real, is not as difficult as we imagined it would be? Worry about the future does not serve us; it only distracts us from living in the present where we are responsive to function at our best. We know that in a real crisis, we automatically shift into the moment, where we access our capabilities.

In his book Face to Face With Life, Mansukh Patel writes:

"Every human being is endowed with a tremendous power, ability and strength. We have all been given the free will to choose to be happy or to be sad in each moment, to be confused or clear, full of inspiration or depressed. We always have the choice either to be kind and respectful to others or to despise and challenge them."

We have the ability to choose to believe in hope and faith as opposed to hopelessness and doubt. We have the choice to look at every challenge in life as a gift through which we can transform ourselves and become better, stronger and more peaceful human beings. The only thing that is involved is you, in this moment, now.

Thank you for paying attention to these words. May you live in well-being. May you have insights that deepen your understanding of your innate health. May you recognize your creation. Finally, remember to hold out for a good feeling; you are worth it!!

Peace and blessings,

Barbara Burt-Davis

For more information visit: Health Realization