by Lynn Woodland
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Generating your own sense of that awesome force called faith.
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Faith is an awesome force that can give us the power to accomplish the seemingly impossible. There are many well-known examples of the power of faith in action. Mother Theresa, for instance, always had faith that God would somehow provide the food, money and provisions she needed to continue her service to the poorest of the poor. Writings about her work are filled with miracle stories of how the things she needed showed up exactly when she needed them, often in the most surprising ways.
If you put your hand in fire, do you believe it would burn? Of course you do, and it probably would. Yet if you were to attend a fire-walking event and spent an evening with a group of people convincing yourselves that the fire wouldn't hurt, it probably wouldn't. Many ordinary people have attended such events and successfully walked over impossibly hot coals with little or no blistering.
Group agreements such as these, where a group of people decide that reality is going to work differently, are very powerful. Faith is catching. We can catch it from each other, and one person with particularly powerful faith can spark the faith of many. Dr. Willard Fuller, the well-known healer who visited the Twin Cities a couple of times last year is an excellent example of this. He is best known for his incredible ability to spontaneously heal teeth through laying-on of hands-something that until you have witnessed it first hand can be quite mind-boggling and doubt-evoking. Yet his faith that God can do anything is so great that he inspires hundreds of people at a time to suspend their beliefs about reality and have an experience they wouldn't have thought possible the day before. He has a remarkably high rate of spontaneous healings in every healing service he conducts. Some people who attend his seminars are even able to "catch" the ability to heal teeth themselves.
Recently, the people in my weekly spiritual support group decided to make a new agreement about reality. We agreed that each of us would experience some form of quantum leap toward our highest good before the week is over. We defined a quantum leap as an instantaneous manifestation of something our Higher Self wants for us-something that would happen quickly, through synchronicity, coincidence and ease rather than through planning, waiting and working hard. One person experienced a leap before the evening was over. And by the next week many others had stories to share. In case you're thinking it's all very well to talk about the power of faith and something else altogether to actually have it, what follows are some practical how-to's for growing your own faith bigger. You may want to make a decision yourself to experience a quantum leap toward your highest good this week.
1. First, understand what faith is. When we have faith we have the experience of complete, total inner peace and contentment. We feel very centered in the present because we know the future is going to be fine, no matter what. With faith we are not attached to a future outcome. With attachment there is always fear and the feeling that we won't be okay unless things work out in a particular way. When we are in fear about the future we can't be very present in the moment and we certainly don't experience inner peace. Faith is also not the same thing as wishing. Faith produces results. Wishing doesn't. Wishing keeps us focused on what we don't have. We feel lack rather than peace.
2. Seek out people who have more faith than you or at least support your faith. Find a friend, a group or a spiritual teacher whose faith will spark your own. Read books about Mother Theresa, Peace Pilgrim or other stories of faith in action. Don't talk about your faith to people who have less than you unless you have enough to share. Doubt can be catching, too.
3. Don't worry about dispelling all doubt. As Jesus pointed out, we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. Instead of trying to get rid of your doubts, focus instead on paying attention to your mustard seed of faith. Let your imagination help you with this. Imagine how it would feel if you did have total faith. Imagine what it would feel like to be someone you know of whose faith is greater than yours. As you step out of yourself in this way and see through new eyes, you will experience a bigger faith. Even a moment of faith is a powerful force.
4. Now the question is, what to have faith in? You might want do the same experiment as my group: decide you will call forth a quantum leap in the coming week. As a focus, think of something your heart has been calling for, maybe something that seems a bit out of reach, even a little bit impossible. Be clear about what you want. Be specific. Put it in writing. Visualize it. Pray and ask God for what you want. Know you deserve it and that God wants you to be happy. Then let it go. (If you would like additional support, consider leaving a request for prayer on my prayer request phone line: 651-641-9996, or on my prayer request service on-line at www.LynnWoodland. com. These are both free services where dozens of people will pray for your highest good every day for seven or more days.)
4. Next comes the tricky part. Now you have to really let it go. It's important not to go back into doubt by wondering if it worked and when you'll see results. While there is creative power in being clear with God about what we want, there's even more power in placing our request and then having faith that God will deliver it in the best possible way, even if it winds up looking very different than we expected. Imagine that your quantum leap has already occurred, you just don't know where in time it has been placed. It's like a birthday present that's in the mail. You know it's there, you know it's yours and you will receive it simply by going about your life with as much contentment and pleasure as possible.
5. Finally, faith means expecting success and declare everything that happens to be part of your success no matter what. Instead of looking for signs of your success, which is tinged with an attitude of prove-it-to- me doubt, this week practice finding signs of success. It's a little like being on an Easter egg hunt. You know without any doubt those eggs are out there. Some may be so obvious you'll practically step on them, while some you might have to peek behind bushes and rocks to uncover.
One slight warning: be aware that taking a quantum leap is not a quick fix. While it is characterized by greater ease, fewer steps and less struggle, it isn't necessarily the most comfortable path. Quantum leaps involve a big step into the unfamiliar. They take us out of our comfort zone, requiring us to embrace change quickly. As physicist Fred Alan Wolf, author of Taking the Quantum Leap puts it, "Taking the quantum leap means taking a risk, going off into uncharted territory with no guide to follow. Such a venture is an uncertain affair at best. It also means risking something that no one else would dare risk." A risk well worth taking. See if you don't move mountains!
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Lynn Woodland is the author of the book Power, Effectiveness and Spirit. With over twenty-five years of clinical experience in transpersonal psychology, spiritual development, mind-body psychology and attitudinal healing, she specializes in bringing spiritual experience down to earth. For more on her work and for free spiritual healing and growth services see her web site: www.lynnwoodland. com or call 651-642-5405.
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