Full transcript
0:00I remember in my early 20s the very
0:03first personal development course I ever
0:06took. It was a series of CDs that came
0:09in a big case.
0:11Uh I think there were like 12 CDs in it
0:13total called the luck factor by Brian
0:15Tracy. And in it one of the modules he
0:19taught about how to think in order to
0:23produce results in your life. And he
0:24gave us an exercise. He said, "If you're
0:27struggling with a problem or you're
0:29trying to be creative, trying to think
0:30something through, get a piece of paper
0:34and then list one through 20 and just
0:37exhaust your brain with possible
0:39solutions to the problem or different
0:42creative ideas. So, you would sit there
0:44until you just exhausted your brain with
0:46possible ideas, holding back nothing.
0:51And then the trick is once you've
0:54exhausted your mind of all those
0:56thoughts
0:58to set the notebook aside, go for a
1:01walk, take a nap, get in your boat and
1:04go fishing,
1:06go do something else and completely
1:09forget about the problem and any of the
1:12solutions that you wrote. And he
1:14suggested that in that state, the answer
1:17will come to you. Now, he had all kinds
1:20of various different scientific reasons
1:23as to why that would happen. He talked
1:25about the power of the unconscious mind
1:27and so on and so forth. But it triggered
1:30in me the idea that
1:33perhaps our thinking isn't as powerful
1:35as we think it is. There's also a story,
1:38many of them like it like this, about
1:41scientists. I'm thinking of the guy who
1:43discovered the benzene ring. his his uh
1:47his story is often used to demonstrate
1:50the power of what I'm saying right now.
1:51I think his name was like Kirku or
1:53something is a German scientist and you
1:56know scientists are trying to figure out
1:57like what things look like when you
2:00can't really see them. He so the benzene
2:04ring which I don't even know what a
2:05benzene ring is. He discovered but
2:08discovered it but here's how he
2:09discovered it after weeks perhaps months
2:12of trying to figure this thing out right
2:14like they knew how many atoms it had
2:17they knew like a lot of the properties
2:19but they just didn't know how the atoms
2:21were constructed in this benzene uh
2:24molecule if you will and they just
2:27couldn't get it right and then one day
2:29he goes home and he goes to sleep at
2:32night right he's done working today
2:34exhausted himself and trying trying to
2:36figure this damn thing out. Can't figure
2:38it out. So, I'm going to go to sleep.
2:40So, he goes home. He goes to sleep. And
2:42in his dream, he sees an image of a
2:46snake eating its own tail. They refer to
2:48this as the uh oraorus. And he wakes up
2:51out of that dream and not and realizes
2:54instantly that the answer has been given
2:56to him. The answer is the benzene ring.
2:59It looks like a oraoris.
3:02How is it that this man in all of his
3:05education, in all of his
3:08knowledge
3:10and understanding
3:12can't get the solution with his
3:15conscious thoughts and has to set it
3:18aside, go to sleep and that's where the
3:20answer is given. There are lots of
3:21stories like this. I remember hearing
3:24about uh um the guy who uh invented the
3:31light bulb, Edison. Edison. One of
3:33Edison's favorite things to do was to go
3:36lie in his boat out on the lake in, you
3:39know, in his in his near his home. And
3:42the reason why he would do that is that
3:44he would allow that time for
3:47the magic processes to take fold so that
3:50he could understand or better produce
3:52his new invention. All his brilliant
3:55thoughts, solving problems, discovering
3:58uh benzene rings and you know inventions
4:02all coming from this process of turning
4:05the brain off. Turning the brain off.
4:08And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying
4:10don't think. It just seems like thinking
4:12oftent times is an exercise in futility
4:16that maybe we have to exhaust before we
4:19actually get the truth. I don't know,
4:21but it seems like this is what's being
4:23shown to us in these various examples.
4:26And if we really stop to consider where
4:29our thoughts come from or what our
4:31thoughts are, we begin to realize not
4:34just the futility in our thinking, but
4:36we begin to realize that our thoughts
4:39may actually be
4:41a hindrance to true understanding.
4:45Briefly, thoughts, the brain, how does
4:49it work? Now, of course, I'm not a
4:51neuroscientist, but I'm going to give
4:52you some uh pretty clear examples of
4:57what we could experience with our brain.
4:58What we and what happens in our brain
5:01and just some things I've learned about
5:02the brain.
5:04Number one of which is
5:09our thoughts are not our thoughts. Just
5:12think about this. If you're thinking in
5:13terms of language, just just just
5:16language itself.
5:18And if you think that when you're
5:19thinking that you're thinking in
5:20language, right? I'm thinking in circles
5:22right now. I'm using the word thinking
5:23about thinking because that's what we
5:25got to do. We got to think about our
5:26thinking. You think about your thinking
5:27and you think about your thinking in
5:30words.
5:31You got to understand that it's so
5:33abstract. It's symbols.
5:35And there's no life in the word. Like
5:37Paul says, the the letter is dead. It
5:40doesn't give any life. There is no
5:41actual life in the words that we speak.
5:48Interesting that in the Bible the
5:51the author John writes that the word the
5:55log ghost with with was with us right be
5:58before the creation of the world was the
6:00word it's interesting that we use the
6:02word word to represent the logos like
6:05the logic of the world but at the same
6:08time we use it to describe the material
6:12of the world. If God, if Jesus is the,
6:16if Christ is the logos, the word
6:20that animates and makes logic, makes
6:22sense of this mathematical fractal world
6:25that we live in. So much so that like
6:27every chemical that's being released in
6:28your body at the right time for the
6:30right things and the stars are moving
6:33like there's a there's a logic to the
6:35world. That's the that's that word.
6:38But the words that are in our heads are
6:40dead symbols of a language that we use
6:43to represent his word, the logos.
6:47So tree, that's a tree. That's a tree.
6:50In my mind, it is t re e. It's the sound
6:54tree. It is not the actual thing. So
6:57nothing in our brain is the actual
6:59thing.
7:01It is a representation of the thing in
7:03the form of words and symbols.
7:07How do those words and symbols get
7:08there? Now, that's another question.
7:11Those words and symbols are borrowed.
7:14I don't know that's a tree unless
7:16somebody tells me that's a tree. And now
7:18I borrow the concept of tree. When I
7:21borrow the concept of tree, I've
7:22collapsed
7:25all potential
7:27into the third dimension reality. The
7:30minute we name a thing, the minute the
7:32minute we have a opinion about a thing,
7:34a preference about a thing, the minute
7:35we try to own a thing with our thoughts,
7:38we've we've we've taken it out of the
7:40realm of infinite possibilities and
7:41collapsed it into reality, third
7:43dimension. And there therefore, it no
7:45longer has any potential. This has no
7:47potential to be anything for me except
7:49for the word tree in my mind. But it
7:52does not represent the the wholeness,
7:54the reality of this organism.
7:57There's a whole lot to that organism
7:59beyond the word tree. But so that the
8:02mind can grasp, we we we make things
8:05simple, we simplify things. Dog, that's
8:09my dog. As a kid, we're taught dog. It
8:12goes rough rough and there's a symbol,
8:14right? It has ears and the tongue is
8:16hanging out. So to us that then becomes
8:19to the brain that then becomes a piece
8:21of material to manipulate inside this
8:25container for
8:28representation,
8:31symbols, words.
8:34And like I said, they come from other
8:35people. They come from what people have
8:38told you. They come from what you see
8:40other people doing and saying. They come
8:41from the music, the movies, the media.
8:44They can even come from
8:47your your your ancestry
8:50like the thoughts of your mother can
8:52penetrate you through the so this is all
8:54based on the um
8:58attachment theory where they talk about
9:00the mirror neurons the prefrontal cortex
9:03and how it has a direct link to the
9:05vagus nerve which reaches the heart and
9:08that as a baby you spend a lot of your
9:10time especially if you have a caring
9:12mother looking into her eyes as you're
9:13being nursed and that the very
9:15countenant on the baby's face
9:17penetrates. The baby looks like my dog
9:20looks at my face to know what's going
9:21on. He looks at me, he knows like what
9:23I'm about to do next. The baby doesn't
9:25have language. So, it does that. So,
9:27whatever whatever unconscious language
9:29is being portrayed to the to the baby
9:31through the mother's face, maybe her
9:33anger, maybe her sadness, maybe her
9:35whatever emotion it is, it passes
9:37through the baby into its heart. And so
9:40now the spirit of the mother lives in
9:42the baby. I'm saying that that's my
9:44language. If you study attachment theory
9:46and mirror neurons and how the brain
9:48works, uh this is very plausible.
9:51So now the spirit the emotional the
9:53emotional predisposition of the mother
9:55now penetrates into the baby and the
9:57baby unknown benounced to itself
9:59unknowing to itself
10:02carries the emotional baggage of the
10:03mother. Right? You say what does that
10:06have to do with thoughts? But just check
10:08this out. How often, I'd say a lot of
10:11the time, are our thoughts influenced by
10:14our feelings? Do you ever notice that?
10:16Like if you just don't feel good, which
10:18is literally a physical phenomenon. I'm
10:20not breathing deep. My heart is racing.
10:21Whatever it is, my brain can't be still.
10:24I start thinking negative thoughts. I
10:26start thinking I start thinking
10:28frustrated thoughts. Frustrating
10:29thoughts, discordant thoughts. Why?
10:31Because the emotion is dictating the
10:35thoughts. It's informing the thoughts.
10:40But when you feel at peace, when you
10:42feel serenity, when you feel calm in
10:46your body, the thoughts are actually
10:48more positive. They're more
10:52harmonious.
10:53They're more relaxed. They're better
10:56thoughts. Your thoughts are affected by
10:58your emotion.
11:00So if you go to your thought without
11:01considering the wholeness of who you
11:03are, your emotion,
11:06then you're going to be playing with
11:07dirty thoughts. You're going to be
11:08playing with these messed up thoughts
11:09that don't belong to you. All kinds of s
11:11abstract symbols that have been given to
11:13you that have been penetrated you and
11:15that you making up on your own because
11:17of the emotions that you have. And it
11:19doesn't stop there. Do you know that the
11:21foods that you eat, the air that you
11:22breathe, the water that you drink,
11:25notice if you drink alcohol in the
11:27evening, how happy your thoughts are in
11:30the morning.
11:33The drugs that you use, they're going to
11:35affect your thoughts. And we're
11:37constantly bombarded with all kinds of
11:39chemical
11:42penetration. We're we're getting all
11:43kinds of pentacle uh chemical stuff.
11:47So this all lists just to help you
11:51question your thoughts a little bit.
11:53They're not as solid as we tend to think
11:55they are. They're not as real as we tend
11:57to think they are. And they definitely
11:59are not as much ours as we think they
12:02are. 12 minutes into the video, you've
12:05already started not trusting your
12:07thoughts. At least that's my my hope
12:09here. Because what I'd like to do in
12:10this video today is to dive into chapter
12:13six of abandonment to divine providence
12:15where Father Kusad makes some really
12:17strong statements about the use of our
12:21thoughts, the use of our our reason, our
12:23brain. And if if I didn't preface what
12:27I'm about to say with this what I'm
12:30about to read from Father Gusad, you you
12:32might think that like
12:35this is craziness,
12:37Elliot. I I've lived my whole life
12:39trying to solve problems with my
12:40thoughts. Well, you'll see in a moment
12:43based on the way of abandonment
12:46the most potent way to actually use the
12:49brain. So what do you say folks? Let's
12:52dive in. So once again, abandonment to
12:55divine providence father Jean Preosad.
12:59He was 15th century monk. This book has
13:02a impromater meaning there. It's free
13:05from moral and doctrinal error. I use it
13:09not as a substitute for scripture, but a
13:11better understanding of the application
13:14of the words of Jesus Christ in my life.
13:17And so I invite you to do that, too. I
13:19got to get my dog first. Fooly, Rem,
13:21where are you? Leave that. He likes to
13:23dig in that [ __ ] place. Leave it. He
13:26can't help himself because he lives on
13:27instinct. Like, I could tell him that a
13:29thousand times. He'll just go back there
13:31every day. His body just drags him
13:32around. You know, your body does that,
13:34too. your body just drags you around.
13:36When your body drags you around, that
13:38means the heart is involved because the
13:40heart is where in the body. I mean the
13:42the mind is the body. So if our
13:44instincts and our emotions are dragging
13:46us around, trust me, the thoughts are
13:48getting tossed around also.
13:51And just like my dog, he can't help
13:52himself. They're they're they're think
13:54about lust I talked about yesterday.
13:56You're being dragged around by your
13:57dick. Now, your thoughts are gonna
13:59support like he like my dog, his
14:02thoughts are supporting his his need to
14:04go dig that hole. He's like, "Oh, you
14:06know, it makes perfect sense. He's not
14:08even looking at me right now." You know,
14:09dogs dig. So, he's he's reasoning why he
14:12has to go do that [ __ ] There's a reason
14:14why you can reason with yourself why you
14:16got to go watch porn or you got to do
14:17something lustful because your body's
14:19being drugged around by it. So, in
14:21previous videos this week, I talked
14:23about prayer being a integration. You
14:26need the heart. You need the mind. You
14:28need the spirit. And in abandonment, we
14:32go straight to the spirit. That's why it
14:35doesn't seem logical,
14:37but it is soothing to the heart. If you
14:39can get it on board. So, section six,
14:43the title is uh on the use of mental
14:45faculties.
14:47And the subtitle is, check this out. The
14:51exercise of mental and other faculties
14:54is only useful
14:57when instrumental of the divine action.
14:59I'll read that again. The exercise, the
15:03use of mental and other faculties. I'm
15:06not sure what other faculties he's
15:08talking about, but these are human
15:09faculties. So the thoughts, reason,
15:13logic, you know, imagination, all of the
15:15all the mental faculties is only useful
15:20when it's instrumental
15:23of the divine action. What does the word
15:24instrumental sound like? It sounds like
15:26instrument. What is the use of an
15:28instrument? Nothing. There's no use for
15:31an instrument without the player. Right?
15:34You see a flute, you see a a a guitar,
15:37you see a set of drums, they can ugly
15:40make ugly noises
15:42if they're not in the hands of a skilled
15:45practitioner, a skilled musician who
15:48knows how to take that piece of
15:49equipment and use it gracefully. Well,
15:52that's what he's saying right here about
15:53our brains, about our thoughts. The
15:55mental and other faculties is only
15:58useful when instrumental to the divine
16:00action. Your thoughts are useless. maybe
16:03even detrimental if they are not being
16:06played by the creator. If they're not
16:09being
16:11carried along by the same power that
16:15grows these trees, that grows this
16:17grass, that digests the food in my body,
16:19that beats my heart, that raised Christ
16:21from the dead.
16:23I will trust in that over my own
16:26discordant, wayward, sinful thoughts.
16:28But it's not an easy thing to do. So,
16:30we're going to talk about it.
16:32It goes on. So, what I'm going to do
16:34today, I'm just going to try a different
16:35strategy. I'm going to read the whole
16:36paragraph and I'll go back and pick
16:38apart pieces that mean things to me. And
16:40of course, each chapter is only two
16:41pages, so this should go very short.
16:45The mind with all the consequences of
16:47its activity
16:50might take the foremost rank among the
16:52tools employed by God, but has to be
16:56deputed to the lowest as a dangerous
17:00slave.
17:01It might be of great service if made use
17:04of in a right manner, but it is a danger
17:07if it is not kept in subjection. When
17:11the soul longs for outward help, it is
17:13made to understand that the divine
17:15action is sufficient for it. When
17:18without reason it would disclaim this
17:21outward help, the divine action shows it
17:24that such help should be received and
17:26adapted with simplicity and obedience to
17:29the order established by God and that we
17:31should use it as a tool not for its own
17:34sake but as though we do not use it and
17:37when deprived of all help as though we
17:39want nothing. A lot of good stuff right
17:42here. So he k he kicks off by saying
17:45that the mind is a beautiful instrument
17:47when it's used by God. It's a it's it's
17:48the foremost rank amongst the tools
17:50deployed by God. That's his words. But
17:53it has to be deputed, sent down to the
17:55lowest as a dangerous
17:59slave. Think about like if you a slave
18:01owner, right? And like you got a slave
18:02that like he's a powerful slave,
18:04powerful slave, right? Toby.
18:08And this powerful slave can get [ __ ]
18:10done if he listens to the master better
18:13than any of the other slaves. But
18:15because he is so strong, so powerful,
18:19but yet
18:22disorderly when not listening to his
18:26master, he could be dangerous. You your
18:29best slave could turn into your biggest
18:31enemy, right? I haven't watched like
18:34these renditions of slavery movies like
18:37uh that they used to play make a lot of
18:40you know in the 80s and 70s and so forth
18:42right I think a lot of it was propaganda
18:44but you know that's for another day but
18:46it was like I remember like some of
18:48these slaves were like big [ __ ] tough
18:50guys
18:52and you wouldn't want him to be on your
18:55bad side that's what it is with the
18:57brain with the mind the mind is powerful
19:00but if he's not subject to the master,
19:03he will destroy you. He goes on, it
19:05might be of great service, it was if it
19:07was used in the right manner, but it is
19:09a danger if it's not kept into
19:11subjection. When the soul longs for
19:13outward help, it is made to understand
19:15that the divine action is sufficient for
19:18it. That's important. When the soul
19:20longs for outward help, now like I said
19:22before, Brian Tracy, the soul is seeking
19:25outward help, meaning I need to solve a
19:27problem. I need this creative project. I
19:29need to do this thing, right? When the
19:30soul longs for outward help meaning like
19:33once again outward help, help with
19:37things that are material, help with
19:38created things, it is made to understand
19:42that divine action is sufficient for it.
19:44So this is somebody who practices the
19:46way of abandonment. He knows that no
19:47matter what it is that I want and how
19:49I'm thinking, what I see in front of me,
19:51what God presents to presents to me,
19:54divine providence as it is in front of
19:56my face is sufficient for it. Meaning
19:59all the answers are contained in the
20:01problem and it is present right here
20:02with you. Problem is we can't see it.
20:05The problem is always inherent in the qu
20:07the the solution is always inherent in
20:09the question. They're two sides of the
20:11same coin and all we have to do is look
20:14at it
20:16when without reason it would disclaim
20:19this outward help. Right? The divine
20:22action shows it that such help should be
20:23received and adapt with simplicity and
20:25obedience to the established order of
20:27God. kind of a redundant question. He's
20:29saying like but if you just reject if
20:31you reject this outward circumstances
20:33meaning like I reject the fact that my
20:37bank account is diminished. I reject the
20:40account that creditors are you know
20:42calling on me or I reject the whatever
20:44it is. So when we reject where am I
20:47going with this?
20:49That reason the out received it as
20:51obedience to God.
20:53Not for its own sake, but as though it
20:56were
20:58not using it. Where was I going with
21:00that? Where was I going with that? Where
21:02I was going with that is that
21:05and and he'll reiterate this later on is
21:08that there is no power in outward
21:10things. And that when we reject our need
21:14to manipulate things and recognize that
21:17the divine power, the divine the divine
21:20providence is good enough, we accept
21:22outward things. We say, "Oh, I don't
21:25like the way that looks, but I accept it
21:29as the truth, the light, and the way
21:33demonstrated by divine providence." Even
21:36though my sensibility is against it, I'm
21:39going to move on. These aren't the best
21:41sentences,
21:42but these are. The divine action,
21:45although of infinite power, can only
21:48take full possession of the soul in so
21:50far as it is void of its own confidence
21:53in its own action. For this confidence
21:55being found on a false idea of its own
21:58capacity excludes the divine action.
22:02Very very clear what he's saying here.
22:03The divine action has infinite power,
22:06but it's only can only work in you. can
22:09only possess you if you are void of your
22:12own confidence. You got to distrust your
22:14own thoughts. If you trust your own
22:17thoughts, you trust your own reason. The
22:20mind of God can't unfold within you. You
22:22your mind can't be renewed. You can't be
22:24renewed by the You can't be renewed by
22:27the renewing of your mind. How does how
22:29does Paul say it? Right?
22:31You can't be reborn. You you you can't
22:33be transformed by the ru renewing of
22:36your mind if your mind is caught in the
22:38things that you believe. Right? So you
22:40got to let go of what you believe. You
22:42got to let go of your own confidence.
22:43You got to let go of your own faith in
22:46your in your ability to take action.
22:48Why? He says, "For this confidence being
22:50found on a false idea of its own
22:52capacity excludes the divine action." I
22:54don't know about you, but I've been
22:56exposed for having a false idea my own
23:00capacity many of many of many of times.
23:03Many of many of times I try to push, I
23:06try to force, I try to make, I try to
23:08think, I try to create based on what I
23:11believe my capacity is and then I
23:12discover that my capacity is useless,
23:15worthless, damaging if it excludes
23:18divine action. Meaning, I'm not paying
23:20attention. It's like groping around in
23:22the dark. I don't care how big and
23:23strong and skilled you are as a
23:25jiu-jitsu fighter or Muay Thai. If you
23:29are blindfold and earplugged because
23:33you're not paying attention to what's
23:34around you, you can't use it. It's no
23:37useful. It's no use. You could be the
23:39best martial artist, but if I put a
23:41blindfold plug in your ears right now,
23:44you drop two senses,
23:47I could beat you and I can't fight.
23:51goes on this is the obstacle most likely
23:54to arrest it. Belief in your own trust
23:57in your own confidence in your own
23:59ability void of divine action. He says
24:01this is the obstacle most likely to
24:03arrest it being in the soul itself. For
24:07as regards obstacles that are exterior,
24:09God can change them if he so pleases
24:11into means for making progress. All is
24:14alike to him, equally useful or equally
24:16useless. Without the divine action, all
24:18things are as nothing. And with it, the
24:21various nothing can be turned into
24:23something.
24:25You see [ __ ]
24:27You see like nastiness, badness. You see
24:31evil. You see pain. You see destruction.
24:35You see that which is against your
24:37sensibility and that your judging mind
24:39doesn't like it rejects. And God will
24:41use that to glorify himself. That's why
24:44we can't judge the whole thing. I've
24:47just like recently started to understand
24:49what it's meant by in the garden when
24:51it's when when God says to Adam, "Do not
24:53eat from the tree of the knowledge of
24:55good and evil." Because the knowledge of
24:57the tree of good and evil means that I
24:59become judged. Now, I decide what's good
25:02and evil, but I don't have the mind of
25:04God.
25:06Who am I to decide what's supposed to
25:08mean what? I don't like that. It goes
25:11against my conditioning. That's what it
25:14is. A lot of it. We're taught to what to
25:16like. We're taught what not to like.
25:18We're taught to what what to reject. But
25:20if you've been raised by wolves, those
25:22won't be problems,
25:24right? If you were raised with the
25:25Amish, CO wasn't a problem, right? It's
25:27it's it's just what you're instructed
25:29on.
25:33He goes on, the obstacle most likely to
25:35arrest it being in the soul itself. For
25:37as regards obstacles that are exterior,
25:40God can change them if he so pleases
25:42into a means of making progress. All is
25:44alike to him. All is alike to him.
25:49Sunshine and rainbows,
25:53storms and hurricanes, all is alike
25:56equal to him. And I'm not just saying
25:58sunshine and rainbows in the literal
26:00sense, but like when you when your life
26:02is what you think it should be versus
26:04when your life is not what you think it
26:05should be. All is useful to him or
26:08equally useless. Let's move on to the
26:10next next paragraph because this is
26:13going to tie into something that I was
26:14saying earlier this week. Whether it be
26:16meditation, contemplation, vocal prayer,
26:19interior silence, or the active use of
26:22the faculties, either sensible or
26:24distinct or almost imperceptible, quiet
26:27retreat or active employment, whatever
26:30it may be in itself, even if very
26:32desirable. So he's basically saying
26:35whatever you do and these are all good
26:37things equally. Uh he says they're very
26:38desirable. Meditation, contemplation,
26:40vocal prayer, interior silence. I was
26:42talking about all these various
26:43different types of prayer. And when it
26:45comes to abandonment, there's no one
26:46type of prayer. That's why he's saying
26:48it doesn't matter if you're meditating
26:49or contemplating, you're doing vocal
26:51prayer, right? Like repeating the our
26:52father interior silence or active just
26:55all these things active employment or
26:58quiet retreat. Are you are you in a monk
27:00season, monk mode season where you pull
27:03away from the world or are you in active
27:05employment? Are you in the springtime of
27:06your life? You got a wife and children,
27:08a career and people depending on you. It
27:10doesn't matter. or whatever it may be,
27:11even if very desirable, that which God
27:14wills for the present moment is best and
27:17all else must be regarded by the soul as
27:19being nothing at all. This is where our
27:22thoughts get become troublesome because
27:25what he's saying is it doesn't matter
27:27what's going on and what you're doing,
27:29especially if you're abandoned to divine
27:30providence. But when
27:35when when when we regard it as God does
27:39as nothing, meaning like, oh, it's just
27:40we're just going we're just going along
27:41the flow. We're just doing what's in
27:42front of us, that's when God can use
27:45these things. But as long as we're
27:46manipulating with our own will and our
27:48own power and our own hands, we got the
27:51steering wheel and we're [ __ ]
27:54Thus beholding God in all things, it
27:56must take leave of them as he pleases,
27:59and neither desire to live nor to
28:01improve, nor to hope, except as he
28:03ordains, and never by the help of things
28:06which have neither power nor virtue
28:07except from him. I said that earlier.
28:11You got to take, he says, thus beholding
28:13God in all things, our soul, us, we must
28:16take or leave all things as he pleases.
28:19This house, right, I love my home,
28:21right? You guys, some somebody said they
28:22wanted a tour of my house before I
28:24leave. I don't think I'm going to do
28:25that. I don't know why. They feel like a
28:28brag. I don't know. I don't know why I
28:29don't want to do that.
28:31Um,
28:33he says of all these things that if we
28:36take if we allow ourselves to take leave
28:38of as he pleases, let go of it. Let go
28:40of the relationship. Let go of the
28:42money. Let go of the as he pleases.
28:44Right? Meaning, I'm not saying reject
28:46those things, but when God takes it away
28:47from you, that mean he pleases. And then
28:49he says, "And you neither desire to live
28:52nor improve nor to hope or uh in
28:54anything except what he ordains."
28:57Right? Don't have any except expectation
29:00except what he ordains. He says, "By the
29:03help of these things which neither have
29:05any power or virtue except in him
29:07because all those things are but dust
29:10unless they're being used by him." And
29:12that is the same thing with your
29:14thoughts. He's he's like making this
29:16point to and he's going to come full
29:17circle when it comes to your thoughts.
29:18Your thoughts are used as things by God
29:21for his glory. But when we give them
29:24power, when we infuse power into them,
29:27when we give our trust over to our own
29:30thinking and thoughts,
29:32we're moving around chairs on the
29:34Titanic.
29:35He says, "It ought the soul, you and I,
29:38it ought at every moment and in all
29:39occasions to say with St. Paul, Lord,
29:43what wilt thou have me do without
29:46choosing this thing or that? But
29:48whatever you will. I have no I have no
29:50preferences. You have no preferences.
29:52Whatever you want, Lord. The mind
29:54prefers one thing, the body another.
29:57Remember, we're talking about the triune
29:58being. The mind wants to go this way.
30:00The heart wants to go that way. And
30:01they'll just circle jerk and tug on each
30:03other. The mind prefers one thing, the
30:05body another. But Lord, I desire nothing
30:08but to accomplish your holy will. work,
30:12contemplation, or prayer, whether vocal
30:14or mental, active or passive, the prayer
30:16of faith, of understanding, that which
30:18is distinguished in kind, or gifted with
30:20universal grace. It is all nothing,
30:22Lord, unless made real and useful by
30:25your will. It's so funny because he's
30:27talking about all these good things.
30:28These are all good things. Work,
30:30contemplation, prayer, right?
30:33But they're nothing. They're they're
30:34useless if it was not by his will. Stop
30:36doing good things. Stop being a good
30:38boy. Stop being a good boy. Stop because
30:41you made that up. Stop doing so-called
30:43good things. What does what does Jesus
30:44say to Martha in the story of Martha?
30:46Mary, Mary, Martha, Martha. Martha, he
30:48says, "You're doing very many good
30:50things." And then he rebukes her. He
30:52says, "But Mary, she's doing the best."
30:53In other words, you think you're doing
30:55good things, but God has different
30:57plans. So, let go.
31:01It is to your holy will that I devote
31:03myself and not to any of these things.
31:05Right? I devote myself to God's will and
31:07not to anything. however high and
31:10sublime they may be because it it is the
31:12perfection of the heart for which grace
31:14is given and not for that of the mind.
31:17The grace of is given by grace to the
31:20heart. The perfection of the heart. The
31:23heart is the child. The heart is
31:24childlike. The heart is stupid.
31:28Brilliantly stupid. Right? It's so
31:31stupid that it's keeping you alive. But
31:33it's so stupid that it's going to follow
31:37your thoughts. Oh, thinking they're good
31:38thoughts. And you know what the child
31:39does? Yes, daddy. That's why we go with
31:41the father and the son. The child is
31:43here. The father, the son. The father,
31:47the son says, "Yes, father." And does
31:49what the father says.
31:52But of course, it goes back and forth.
31:55So anyway,
31:57the presence of God which sanctifies our
32:00souls is the dwelling of the Holy
32:01Trinity in the depths of our heart when
32:03they submit to his holy will. Bang. the
32:05presence of God which sanctifies our
32:07souls. You're looking for the presence
32:09of God. You're looking for the
32:10sanctification of your soul and you're
32:12looking outside yourself and you're
32:13trying to read about it. You're trying
32:14to think about it. But what he's saying
32:16is the presence of God which sanctifies
32:19the soul is this what it is. It's being
32:23the Holy Trinity in the depths of our
32:26heart when it submits to his holy will.
32:31the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son,
32:34and the Holy Spirit. The mind, the
32:36heart, and the spirit
32:40in the depths of our heart, all three of
32:43us, of who we are, the Trinity, the Holy
32:45Trinity in our heart
32:49is the it sanctifies when they submit
32:52themselves to God's holy will. So, the
32:55Holy Trinity in your heart isn't God. It
32:58isn't Jesus Christ. And it's not the
33:00universal holy spirit, the animating
33:03force of the world. It it it is
33:09the personification of those things. It
33:12is like a wave in the ocean. The wave
33:14contains all of the ocean. But the ocean
33:17but the wave is the ocean waving.
33:20The Holy Trinity in your heart is the
33:23father, son, and the holy spirit in
33:27individualized, personalized form. You,
33:30and Jesus Christ was the example, the
33:32holy trinity. He's, you know, all three.
33:35And so are you when you give your heart
33:39to him, the holy trinity. Holy. You can
33:42say holy with an H, but holy, wh o holy,
33:45all of it. Here, here, here, all of it.
33:50There is therefore nothing unlawful in
33:53the law in the love and esteem we have
33:56for contemplation and other pious
33:58exercises. If this love and esteem are
34:01directed entirely to the God of all
34:04goodness who willingly makes use of
34:06these these means to unite our souls to
34:09himselves to himself. Therefore I'm
34:12rereading this. Nothing is unlawful.
34:15Meaning like it's okay. It's not
34:16unlawful to love and esteem
34:19contemplation,
34:20meditation, prayer, all these things
34:23that you use to when when when we use it
34:26wrong.
34:28I'm going to because I have to point
34:29this out because that's what most of us
34:30do. When we use it wrong, it is to our
34:32own ends. I'm going to meditate so that
34:35I can have peace. I'm going to
34:36contemplate so I can figure out this
34:38problem. But he's saying these things in
34:40and of themselves are not unlawful
34:43if that means they could be unlawful if
34:47this love and esteem is directed
34:48entirely to to the God of all goodness
34:51who willingly makes use of these means
34:54to unite our souls to him. If if if
34:56anything we're doing has any other
34:59objective other than
35:03follow knowing loving and serving God
35:07to know love and serve God means what?
35:09Abandoning yourself to his divine
35:11providence. Catholics know they say what
35:14is the point of life right? And I've
35:16heard this, but it just sound like pious
35:18[ __ ] most of the time. Because
35:19people repeat things because they're
35:21just words in their heads and they don't
35:22even understand. What is the purpose of
35:25life? To know, love, and serve God.
35:26People will repeat that. They will just
35:28spit that out wrote. But what do you
35:30actually mean by it? I'll tell you the
35:32shest and fastest way to holiness
35:34according to Father Gusad is to allow
35:37him to make use of these things. Give it
35:40give your holy trinity. Give your
35:41thoughts, your emotions over to him.
35:43They'll also say prayer is lifting the
35:45heart and the mind up to God. All these
35:48things when thought of as concept means
35:51I need to do something about it.
35:54When the truth of what's required is
35:56abandonment a non-doing doing non-doing
36:00wooi woo
36:02as they would say in the east. This is
36:05this is wooue.
36:07It's like I said it's
36:11impro stamped fool your rim let's go
36:14leave that
36:17but it describes in Christian Catholic
36:20language that which is so much more
36:23clearly delineated in traditions of the
36:26east
36:29I'm not saying reject Christianity for
36:31that I'm saying that we can learn a
36:34thing or two by hearing things with
36:36different languages anguage cuz that's
36:37all it is. Different symbols, different
36:39language that helps you understand a
36:41little bit better. So, we are doing,
36:42non-doing in the grace of God and
36:44allowing him to do all the doing through
36:46me. Just be.
36:50And I'll stop on that. Done.