We all experience many frustrations in trying to love and
 help our wayward friends and companions. One of the most
 frustrating things about helping others is, it takes so much
 time, and so much love, and so much seeing them as they
 truly are -- and they STILL have to choose it. Until they
 choose -- firmly and consistently -- to see themselves as
 they truly are, we don't see the improvements we want.

 This frustration is shared even by God. But God does not
 say, "I'm frustrated;" God says, "I'm impatient!" This cosmic
 impatience is a direct result of the fact that, as long as they
 persist, people's confusions and delusions are actually creat-
 ing suffering on an ongoing basis. Therefore, if anyone were
 even a little empathetic, they would be impatient to end the
 suffering of their children, their friends, and all those they love.

 Two kinds of impatience

 But the problem is, human beings have a destructive tendency
 to turn impatience to their disadvantage, as an expression of
 egotism. And therefore, if we were to compare Divine impatience
 to human impatience, we would find that, oftentimes, the impa-
 tience of human beings takes on a much darker color. In that
 darker color, impatience actually obstructs the liberation that
 it is purportedly "about." For example, we may feel, "I want lib-
 eration so bad, and I am so angry about my limitations, I can't
 even get near my goal." A bad mood is just not open enough,
 you see?

 Through self-destructive impatience, people get SO into delaying
 their own liberation. We push it SO far away by the very means
 by which we try to achieve it. That's why, dear friends, we must
 constantly remember that there are two kinds of impatience:
 There's a kind of impatience or frustration that is of spirit, and
 a kind that is of ego. The one helps; the other hinders.

 Therefore, although it is understandable that we are impatient,
 we must also be, insofar as possible, helpful and constructive.
 We must remain ever mindful of the kind of orientation that is
 required for maximal effectiveness for our purpose of relieving
 our beloveds from their suffering. So we need to discern be-
 tween that impatience which is constructive, and that which is
 not; that impatience which expedites, and that which actually
 slows; that impatience which shortens evolutionary time, and
 that which lengthens it.

 If we really wish to help, we MUST tune to God-ness, and not
 merely dwell on problem-ness, half-empty-ness. For the more
 we recognize the God in others, the more profoundly those
 we're trying to love will respond according to that recognition.
 And as you can see, that considerably eases our whole process
 of blessing, of interacting, and loving.

 How long must we be patient?

 The question we all have -- and this is the matter to which impa-
 tience addresses itself -- is, "How long?" How long will it take be-
 fore patience itself is rendered obsolete? Because truly, if and
 when your recognition of others combines with their recognition
 of themselves in such a way as to actually elevate them to true
 I AM consciousness or higher self-identification, then they will no
 longer seem to require your patience, but rather, will become a
 source of enjoyment.

 How long that takes depends, in part, on the extent to which you
 can resonate in others that higher consciousness and recognition.
 To the extent that your conviction about them is positive and
 stable and strong, then the time you need to remain patient is
 reduced. But to the extent that your recognition of their Divine
 nature is unstable, or their recognition of their Divine nature is
 unstable, to that extent it takes much longer for them to get out
 of their patterns of suffering and delusion. And you will be forced
 to be patient for a much longer time.

 Better than hope

 Also, we need to recognize that there is something better than
 hope that we can bring to life: KNOWING. Thus, instead of hoping
 our loved ones will turn around, it is better to KNOW that they will.

 The word HOPEFUL, in the sense to which many people relate, is
 actually a conviction of not is-ness. In that sense, it is only a little
 better than despair. We tend to say, "This person is really messed
 up. And most likely, they will remain messed up for a long time.
 But I HOPE they won't."

 Instead, if you see your friend or your child messing up, say to
 yourself, "I know this person will see the light." Maintain faith con-
 fidence in true knowing. It is true, actually, that no matter how big
 a ne'er-do-well a person seems to be, or is; no matter how stub-
 born they are, they WILL in fact see the light and be free -- eventually.
 That knowing is helpful, even when liberation does not seem to be
 near. It helps them now. And, it will be helpful tomorrow, tomorrow,
 and tomorrow, as long as you hold such a view.

 So, continue to tune your impatience for its constructive colors.
 Enjoy and employ the value of that which could be called healthy
 impatience.

The writer of this article, David Truman, is the founder of the Living Love Fellowship. If you want to read more of his writing, visit the Soul Progress website.

 Imagine waking up on your honeymoon morning --
 perhaps from a deep sleep, or even a bad dream --
 to find the loving gaze of your true lover. You
 certainly would be very happy to awaken into such
 a beautiful reality, wouldn't you? In that case, your
 partner is drawing you into a higher level of awaking
 even as they lie there with you, gazing lovingly at
 you. No words can describe the value of being seen
 and loved in that way.

 By loving, by appreciating the true Self of others,
 you create for them the same happy heart-heaven
 into which you awakened that honeymoon morning.
 In exactly that manner in which you were drawn into
 love by being seen in love, you draw others into love.
 You draw them into a higher level of awakening by
 the love you give.

 We are all each other's saviors -- at least, we can
 be. The title "savior" may sound grandiose, but in
 fact, to the extent that we have rejected illusion in
 ourselves, and to the extent that we have accepted
 the responsibility to hold onto Reality, we become
 saviors by virtue of those choices. Our mind is such.
 Our radiance is such. Our certainty is such. Our
 loving is such.

 The right way to relate to our fellow human beings
 is by giving love and true recognition. Take respon-
 sibility to be generous with energy and light. That
 giving is, in itself, our liberation from illusion, our
 salvation AND our saviorhood, all rolled into one.
 Advancement or elevation into "savior" status de-
 pends ENTIRELY on that love-commitment, that
 loving focus, that love-holding, that love-giving,
 that love-living, that continuing to be the light.
 The recognition -- the seeing of the Being. Only
 true and appreciative seeing reminds both the
 seer and the seen of who they are.

 So you see, it is not that you become a savior by
 withdrawing from the world entirely, by going to a
 cave in isolation for long periods of time. In reality,
 quite the opposite is the case. You become a savior
 just as much by the way that you hold your con-
 sciousness during the course of your ordinary living
 as you do by the way that you hold it in prayerful
 seclusion.

 The awesome work of avatars, bodhisattvas, saints,
 sages, parents, lovers, and friends throughout time
 has always been this: to resonate the truth for
 those who otherwise would not strongly feel it;
 to offer Reality-awareness in the face of delusional
 consciousness; to remain hot in the chill. This is
 what avatarhood, bodhisattvahood, sainthood,
 motherhood, fatherhood and friendship are ALL
 about. Until all sentient beings have been liberated,
 until then there will be avatars, bodhisattvas, saints,
 moms, dads, and there will be friends. GOOD friends
 are those who hold that candle for us.

 However, all too often, what happens is that would-
 be bringers of higher consciousness allow them-
 selves to deviate from the higher conviction that is
 so helpful and necessary. For example: Imagine you
 have a friend who really thinks they are an absolute
 loser, doomed -- and you try to convince them
 otherwise. Really, the effectiveness of that conver-
 sation depends, in part, upon your ability to main-
 tain your own conviction on the matter. Sometimes,
 you'll labor along for an hour or two trying to con-
 vince your friend that they're okay, but then there
 comes a point where you begin to believe their
 bleak story. Some of your zeal, your optimism, be-
 gins to deflate. You feel discouraged. You begin to
 think that perhaps they ARE a loser. Oh, dear! The
 teacher has been taught, but the student has not.

 Obviously, blowing hot and cold is not very helpful.
 If one is to be a good influence, one must remain
 so. The way that saviors stay warm within a chilled
 and chilling reality -- a reality that is always tending
 to share its delusion with you and thereby chill your
 own vibration -- is through not buying into the chill,
 but remembering and seeing the other IN SPITE OF
 IT. That's the challenge of motherhood, fatherhood,
 avatarhood, bodhisattvahood. It's the challenge of
 friendship -- at least, of GOOD friendship.

 All progress lies in the combination of the rejection
 of illusion and the acceptance of Reality. That is how
 one enhances one's effectiveness as a salvatory
 influence in the sphere of relationship. That is our
 essential responsibility as parents, lovers, and friends.
 And the discharge of that responsibility depends on
 our will -- our will to do so, to be so, to live and love
 so.

The writer of this article, David Truman, is the founder of the Living Love Fellowship. If you want to read more of his writing, visit the Soul Progress website.

 Who is Choosing
 
In every culture, and in every age, people have
 prayed for change, and those prayers have been
 answered.

 HOW THE UNIVERSE ANSWERS THE PRAYER
 FOR CHANGE

 Prayers for change are answered when the winds
 of change in your life pick up speed and force, and
 you enter a state of flux. In that state of flux, you
 have choices to make, because everything seems
 to be up for grabs. Things that were once taken for
 granted are called into question. New possibilities
 arise; old possibilities shake. The sand shifts under
 your feet.

 But real change is a change not in the state of ex-
 ternal affairs, anyway. Real change is a change of
 CHOICE in relation to the external world, in relation
 to the presented options. Changes in CHOICE re-
 sult in changes in life; this is the only way change
 occurs. For example, a person loses weight if,
 when confronting the fork in the road called a piece
 of pie, they don't eat it. A person gains weight if,
 at that same fork in the road, they take the oppor-
 tunity to have two pieces of pie when normally they
 only have one. This is how changes of choice, when
 confronting familiar options, result in changes of
 body weight.

 As a result of your prayer for change, the number
 of options may be increased, the variety of options
 may be multiplied, and new options may appear more
 quickly; but you will experience change ONLY if you
 make a different kind of choice when confronting the
 options that the wind of flux brings into your life.

 We've all seen it happen: The winds of change can
 bring many possibilities to your doorstep, but that
 does not guarantee that the choices you make
 among them are new and fresh choices. You could
 be presented with a vast array of new options,
 and you could still make the same old choices.

 So, when a person prays for change, what they
 are really praying for is a chance to re-do a
 choice and choose DIFFERENTLY this time.
 That means, they are praying that they them-
 selves will make a different choice; that's really
 what the prayer is for.

 WHO IS CHOOSING?

 top
 Change is choice -- it's up to you. WHAT do you
 want? WHY do you want it? And, OUT OF what
 you want, what will you CHOOSE? The answer is
 in the mirror of your choice of self-identification:
 WHO am I?

 Beloved friends, consider your rightful, deserving
 relationship to beauty in all your choosings. When
 you pray for something higher, when you yearn for
 improvement, the universe might give you some-
 thing "too beautiful to choose." What that means is,
 your habits of ego-identification will not PERMIT you
 to choose it. For example, you think, "I'm not wor-
 thy," "It will never work," "People can't be trusted,"
 etc. What those statements amount to, for all
 practical purposes, is a "no" to beauty -- a "no"
 to "outrageous" positive change.

 Who do you think you ARE? That determines
 a great deal. If you identify with the ego, you
 will not choose beauty. This is an issue of "inte-
 grity." The ego tells you, "Who I am is not beau-
 tiful and that is WHY I cannot choose beautiful."

 Recognize the simple fact that the more beauti-
 ful the choice on the buffet, the more ego-mind
 will recommend you reject it. And, the ego ob-
 jects to the more beautiful REASONS for choos-
 ing, yes? Such as, choosing for real love, for
 ego-transcendence, for God, for others. There-
 fore, if we listen to the ego, we do not feel ready,
 willing, able, worthy to choose the higher things
 for which we prayed on bended knee. "Many are
 called but few CHOOSE."

 Know that that feeling of unworthiness is a trick;
 KNOW that you have the right to choose some-
 thing beautiful, because you ARE beautiful.

 Think, oh bright and shining ones: Who are you?
 Everything unfolds from that. Remember who God
 made you to be; know who you truly are; then be
 true.


The writer of this article, David Truman, is the founder of the Living Love Fellowship. If you want to read more of his writing, visit the Soul Progress website