Wednesday, August 6, 2008

You Had It All The Time

My friend Slade Roberson from the blog Shift Your Spirits recently wrote an article called "Are You Developing Too Rapidly?" found at http://sladeroberson.com/manifesting/are-you-developing-too-fast.html.


I read the above article just after reading the beginning chapters of a book called "I Had It All the Time" written by Alan Cohen back in 1995. I wanted to share a few quotes from the book in case you are like me and haven't read anything by Alan Cohen.


From the Foreword, on page ix:
"Sooner or later we reach the point where living the truth becomes more important than seeking it. Knowledge, techniques, and experiences pale in the face of riches of the heart. Learning must give way to being."


From page xii:
"You are not a black hole that needs to be filled; you are a light that needs to be shined. The days of self-improvement are gone, and the era of self-affirmation is upon us. It is time to quit improving yourself and start living."



For many years, I saw myself as a black hole wanting to be filled with love, with food, with something so I wouldn't feel so empty. I felt emptiness because, like my parents, I had abandoned myself.


What it took me years to realize and what this book says is, "I had it all the time."

I spent years running here and there, reading this book, watching that video on self-improvement. According to Alan Cohen's book, I didn't have to do any of that searching. I already had it; I just didn't know it. All I had to do is remember who I really am.


In the book "I Had It All the Time," Mr. Cohen talks about self-discovery rather than self- improvement. He says your spirituality isn't your journey. You don't have some place to go; you are already there and always have been. The real you doesn't need improving. You have forgotten the greatness of who you really are in searching for self-improvement when all you really need to do is remember and just be.
Patricia

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Patricia,

I really liked how you took what can sometimes be a complex concept to understand and made it simple.

Patricia Singleton said...

Barbara, thank you. I do believe that simple is often the best way to present a concept.

Anonymous said...

Patricia, this is a beautiful article! It's a great reminder that we have nowhere to go, and nothing to be but ourselves - our true Selves, not just the egoic selves, that is!

Blessings,
Andrea

Patricia Singleton said...

Andrea, thank you. It is always good to hear from you. Recognising the ego for what it is is a very important step. Ego isn't bad. It is a necessary part of the journey back to realness.

Anonymous said...

I want to disagree with you, but I can't. I will say. There is always room for self improvement. We were all raised in an imperfect upbringing. Add society claws, and you have room for self improvement.

Patricia Singleton said...

David, it is ok to disagree with me. With the ego, there is always room for self-improvement. With the Self, that part of us connected to Spirit, there is no need for Self-improvement.

River of Karma said...

As always Patricia,
Your posts just highlights your wisdom. I couldnt agree with you more.

You know, its like the more you're on your quest to get the answers, the more we are learning. Thanks to you.

Take care friend. Looking forward to hearing more from ya.

Cheers,
RoK

Patricia Singleton said...

River, I am just agreeing with Alan Cohen's wisdom. It felt right to me when I read it and so I wanted to share it. Most of my wisdom comes from other people.

Anonymous said...

Dear Patricia,

You slight yourself just a bit when you say...'Most of my wisdom comes from other people'.

IF you were only sharing just their words, I might be okay with that statement of yours.
But what you do so brilliantly is
frame the thoughts of others through your OWN world and then share it back to US... your readers.

My first encounters with
Alan Cohen came from reading his many articles listed at this site.

http://innerself.ca/html/

THANK YOU Patricia for the way you share YOUR thoughts. wink

xo xo
Debs_E

Patricia Singleton said...

Deb, thank you for your words of praise. I didn't intend to "slight" myself. I just don't see myself as any more wise than you or Karl or any of my other readers. We all have our gifts of wisdom that Life has given us through our experiences. My way with words is a gift that I have been blessed with.

Thanks for the Alan Cohen website. I will check it out.

Anonymous said...

Here is a link to Cohen's site.
The other is one that has many
of his articles. :)

http://www.alancohen.com/

AND I wrote a post inspired by
you and Alan today. :)
Check it out in the link to my name....

xo xo
Debs_E

Patricia Singleton said...

Deb, thank you for being my inspiration. You are a sweetheart. I loved your article and hope everyone else will check it out too.

Anonymous said...

Patricia,

Thank you as always for acknowledging my work. This is a Message that is near and dear to me, somewhat an over-arching mission:

"You are already everything you've ever wanted to become. You fulfill your life's purpose with every breath you take."

The connections you draw with all these great quotes is what I like to call The Ruby Slippers.
:-)

Patricia, one of your strengths is the way you identify powerful affirmations in what you study and share them.

Patricia Singleton said...

Slade, I love having my blog to be able to share the exciting and powerful messages that I receive through my reading. You are a wonderful friend.

Anonymous said...

I'm truly glad I did not miss this post. Something told me to pop over today. I'm going to stumble this one.

This is beautifully written. You said just enough. Thank you, it makes me simply want to say this.

I am.

Patricia Singleton said...

Tom, thank you. I have been over at your blog this afternoon catching up on my reading but didn't leave any comments even though I very much enjoyed what I read.

Anonymous said...

I guess I did always have it in me! I did a bike-a-thon this weekend and rode 36 miles! I was aiming for 44 but for my own safety's sake I stopped! I guess I had it in me the whole time and just didn't know it!

Patricia Singleton said...

Jenny, congratulations on the 36 miles of the bike-a-thon. That is fabulous. You definitely had it in you all the time. What a glorious achievement.