Uncertain Confusions And Hazy Motivations

By The Pathwork Guide

Greetings, my dearest friends. God bless each one of you. Blessed is this hour.

Mankind in this country has just celebrated the day of Thanksgiving. At this opportunity I should like to tell you, my friends, that we, in our world, thank each human being who makes an effort towards purification and development. Every effort in this direction counts in the total Plan of evolution for the entire Universe. Every problem you solve, every insight of honest self-recognition is, in some measure, instrumental and changes the course of the universal and cosmic forces. You have no idea how important the efforts and the endeavors of every single human being are. If only this were realized, then many more people would try harder. All suffering in this world comes from ignorance and from the lack of wanting to face the truth. Therefore, those who honestly do this work must ultimately, in one way or another, affect those who are still submerged in unawareness about themselves, and also in a state of blindness in relation to the entire Universe. Those of you who walk this Path so courageously should know that all of us in the spirit world thank you for your efforts, not only on our behalf, but on behalf of all the other beings in the universe.

And now, my friends, I should like to say a few words which may prove helpful for those of you who struggle and try, but who always encounter new difficulties within yourselves. These words may help you to overcome certain difficulties and give you a clearer overall view. This is often necessary at certain stages.

One of the most important things in the course of this work is to realize when you are confused about a particular subject. Perhaps a confusion exists and you do not even know about what. This sounds as though I am not telling you anything new, yet I can see a great need for elaboration on this subject. Nine out of ten times you are not even aware that a confusion exists in you.

You know from our previous talks that any inner problem sooner or later, in one way or another manifests in an outer problem. The outer problem is the result of the inner one and, at the same time, is the tool with which to correct the wrong attitudes which bring forth both the inner problem and the outer problem. When such outer manifestations occur that make you feel disharmonious, unpleasant, anxious, or angry. You often forget that there is some confusion in you. But you do not know exactly what the confusion is. In other words, in what way your conscious or unconscious thinking may be incorrect.

I cannot emphasize too strongly that you need first to find out what the confusion is in exact, precise, and concise thought form. Whenever something bothers you, be it merely an unpleasant inner reaction or an actual outer happening apparently caused by other people that upsets you, try to find out the way you are confused, the way your thoughts are muddled, the way you are not clear about an idea, a supposed "right" reaction, or about a principle of general conduct. Ascertain where you think a contradiction of right principle exists. Put this confusion down in writing -- whatever it may be. Break it down into several questions. The more concise your questions are, the more aware you will become of exactly what the confusion is. That contributes most constructively towards eliminating the confusion, even long before you are able to find out the exact answers to your questions. If you then pray for the answers and work with these questions, at the same time checking your inner resistance towards receiving the answers, you will make great advances and prepare for most important new insights that will give you new freedom. So remember, my friends, try never to forget the importance of becoming aware of the questions in you regarding a particular complexity, problem, or confusion. The moment you have the concise question clearly crystallized, you will already feel relief. You will have smoothed the way towards complete purification.

Another thing I would mention, before turning to your questions, is that you who have progressed a little on this Path should now stop for a moment (I certainly do not mean in your work), turn around and get an overview, just as the wanderer occasionally does when he makes an ascent. While going forward, his glance is directed towards a particular or partial goal on the way. In doing so, he may forget the distance already covered, the obstacles surmounted, and lose the encompassing view of the whole picture, of the entire outlook. It is very useful to ccasionally turn around and make an overall survey of the terrain. I say this now with a particular aim. Once again you should investigate what your main problems in life are with a more comprehensive view. Put these down concisely, describing in clear-cut words whatever area of your life they may deal with. With your findings so far, you may now be in a better position than when you started on the Path to determine that wherever your aim is confused and your life-goal muddled with mixed motivations, there you will find the troublesome area of your life. This recognition will do much to help you further. The deep-rooted emotional reactions brought to light always show the child operating in you. And that child is self-centered and ignorant. Out of this self-centeredness and ignorance selfish motives arise, unconsciously or sometimes half-consciously. Or, you are unclear as to what you want in life in a particular area of your life. You drift, and all goals are in a fog of confusion and unawareness as to why you should want a particular thing. Even genuine unselfish motives are not clearly expressed in your thinking. Whenever or wherever such a condition exists, you are bound to have difficulties or unfulfillments and frustrations. The difficulties may be either outer obstacles, or, if outer obstacles are not yet on the horizon, you may inwardly feel ill at ease, guilty, tense, full of anxiety or impatience. In other words, even if for the time being things go well outwardly, your inner peace is lacking in this respect of your life.

Whenever such a condition exists, your motives must be mixed with unconscious selfish motives that produce this negative result. Hence, survey your life once again. See exactly where you have problems, either manifest or inner feelings of anxiety or disharmony. Then check what your motives really are. Look behind the apparent outer "positive" appearances. Use your findings, your images, and wrong conclusions. Try to crystallize negative or confused motives out of them and apply them to the trouble area. Or, determine where you merely drifted into a certain course of life without even knowing that you wanted this particular goal or why you wanted it. Such indetermination often is even more damaging than clear-cut negative motives. This is so for various reason that I will not go into at this time.

This may concern any area of life. It may be something more general: a profession, your marital life, friendship, and human relationship. Or it may concern a particular personal relationship which may be full of tension and conflicts. Whatever it is, check your real motivations behind the conscious ones. Check whether or not you have a clear-cut aim. Check your reason for living generally. What is your purpose in life? What do you want it to be, apart from developing yourself to the best of your possibility? And then see what you really want. Why do you want it? Beware of the error that one motivation necessarily excludes another. You know this is not so. Try to be honest with yourself, in this respect as well as in any other. The relief and the reward, if I may call it that, you will get from honest answers to your own questions, will be tremendous, regardless of how negative the answers may prove to be.

One of the most outstanding facets of such procedure will be that the moment you recognize your lack of clear-cut motivations, or of such as are destructive, you will see the law of cause and effect operating in your own life. You will thereby instantly lose the feeling of injustice which may be conscious in some, but is perhaps unconscious in most people. When we discussed the general fear of life, the fear of the unknown, you learned that it is always the distorted God image which is responsible for it. You may unconsciously fear that there is an arbitrary God who metes out punishment and reward according to whim. And if you you do not actually believe in such a God, such is your concept of life and your role in it, if you regard yourself as lost, helpless, a prey to circumstances beyong your control, and if you grasp for "chance" and "luck." You feel like a lost little boat in a big ocean. Sometimes the waters are wild and the waves carry you against the current, meaning that life produces unhappiness, and sometimes the waves may be smooth and carry you into "lucky circumstances." Either way, "there is nothing you can do about it." This is a deep-rooted feeling in almost everyone, and it is of the utmost importance to make such concepts of life conscious. Some of you have succeeded in doing so, but you do not as yet see the way out. You may say, "all right, and what now?"

You will find the answer in establishing your hazy, or mixed goals that are responsible for whatever it is you lack. This particular confusion and lack of motivation is directly responsible for unfulfillment, lack of success, if you want to call it that. I you the realiaze that it is you who have caused it, and not a chaotic life or God, you will automatically lose some of your fear and insecurity. You will know that you are capable of producing favorable conditions, even if you are not as yet doing so. You will at least see the road. You will begin by thinking about it, by clarifying your motives, or establishing those in accord with what you really want and not what you believe you ought to want. You will keep such established motivations conscious and clearly defined, and work toward that end. Even while you may not yet be able to shed the selfish motives, the very admission that they exist, this very honesty, the clear vision about yourself will, on the one hand, release an entirely new inner force and energy and, on the other hand, you will see your own responsibility for your fate. You will then cease being afraid of an unknown fate, whether your fears be conscious or unconscious.

So at this point, my friends, it is very important for all of you to consider these questions. This may not be entirely new to my friends who follow these teachings, but perhaps you will be able to make better use of them than you were some time ago, with all the findings you have now made. They will sink in deeper and enable you to use them more constructively.

Are there any questions about this subject?

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