The Power of Choice
The Power of Choice; the power of the will to choose is much overlooked in today’s fast-paced, quick-results culture. Integral Health reminds us that we are mind-body-spirit, not just a body and a mind. We have evolved more into a “Human Doing” instead of a Human Being! Our choices determine our character.
The great American humorist, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) had a plethora of witty sayings. One of his sayings I really like is: “Quitting smoking is easy – I’ve done it thousands of times!” Very funny as it is so much the human condition to be captive to our habits!
There is a deeper message: no matter how many times you’ve done something, you have the power of the will do choose in every moment. This is one of the coolest things about our humanness, that we do have the power of the will to choose and to change our habits! Even if it does not immediately work out, you can choose again, and again, and again, and so on.
Spiritual teachers of millennia ago to present, and today’s “peak potential” speakers and authors have the common thread that you can choose your responses, your reactions to life’s circumstances. Granted, it is easier to say than to do, but the freedom to choose your response remains!
Paramahansa Yogananda, a great Hindi saint, spoke of habits and the power of the will to choose: “Your greatest enemies are your bad habits. They will follow you from one incarnation to another until you overcome them. In order to free yourself from fate, you must cure yourself of bad habits. How? Good company is one of the best medicines. If you have a tendency to drink, mix with people who do not. If you are suffering from ill health, be with people who have positive minds, who don't think about sickness. If you have the consciousness of failure, associate with those who have the consciousness of success. Then you will begin to change. “
Mahatma Gandhi said: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
The power of the will to choose frees yourself from limiting beliefs, old habits and much more!
In fact, just using your will to take a moment to consider your choice is very powerful! It is called a “pattern interrupt.” That’s where the real spiritual juice is, deliberately taking the moment to tune in to your choices! Taking the moment to consider changes the energy of the situation.
It is what the Christian Bible calls “commanding the blessing” or your authority over your decisions. Deuteronomy 28:8 NLT: “The LORD will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.” To me, “LORD” is the Inner Christ or God within you, as we live in oneness. That is, commanding the will to choose for your self-empowerment, highest and greatest good, is making the best choices in the moment!
After all, the present moment is all we have in making our choices and decisions to think and act.
The next time you are at that decision point, take the moment, do the pattern interrupt and command the blessing. And consider what response would best serve your highest and greatest good!
Blessings,
Dr. Richard Jelusich, Ph.D.
