***BLOCKS

Many times I hear people state that they are “blocked”. They often apply this term to the fact that they are not getting what they want. They are “blocked” from financial abundance. They are “blocked” from true love. They are “blocked” from healing a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual problem. They spend a fortune going to spiritual/alternative healers, shamans, gurus, psychics or energy channels to get “unblocked”. It has occurred to me that all of this is a huge illusion that is totally unnecessary.

The first problem is the issue of unfulfilled desire. Buddhists claim that desire is the root of all suffering. I believe that they are correct up to a point, and that is selfish desire is a cause of suffering while selfless desire is admirable. When we don’t get what we want, we assume that something is wrong and we are “blocked”. We are taught that “if the energy was flowing correctly” then we would be “living abundantly”. If the “energy is blocked”, then someone else should fix that problem so we can get what we want. Gurus proclaim that if we simply change the way we think about ourselves and heal our “core issues” then everything would be corrected and we could “attract” what we want. These self-help gurus overlook a couple of points.

First, proponents of “blocked/unblocked” overlook the concept of karma and destiny. It may be our destiny that we live a humble life, or a challenging one. Perhaps our “life purpose” is to live happily without money. If this is true, we can throw away what money we do have by giving it to someone who claims to be able to change all of that. The irony is that the self-help gurus recommend that we “let go” of our desire for abundance in order to get abundance. Perhaps we should simply be happy with what we have.

Second, self-help gurus perpetuate the myth of separation. What I mean by this is the illusion that we are alone in the world and unconnected with other beings. This is true on a physical level, but not on the emotional, mental and spiritual levels. When we compare ourselves to others, we perpetuate the illusion of separation. When we are satisfied with who we are, and are happy with who we are, we perpetuate the reality of unity consciousness. We do not need healing to do that. We simply have to change our minds.

Somehow this whole “blocked/unblocked” concept smacks of victimhood. We believe that these “blocks” were created when someone did something to us. We believe that when something happens that we don’t like, “blocks” are created. Rather than being grateful for the experiences we create, we feel like we are victims of life. In other words, the people who claim to be able to fix the blocks are actually part of the problem because they make people think there are blocks you need help removing. This is not the case.

What we perceive to be “blocks” are actually thoughts that interfere with our happiness and joy. Whenever we allow ourselves to think in terms of “like/dislike”, we are creating a belief that something is wrong. This is counterproductive. Our mind creates this “like/dislike” belief so it will always have something to do. If we like something, we ask our minds to calculate how we can keep it and not lose it. If we don’t like something, we ask our minds to calculate how to avoid it. We need to be aware that if we “like” or “dislike” our circumstances, we are jumping into a mind trap calculated to keep us miserable.

Whenever we play God we also interfere with our natural blueprint of happiness. We play God whenever we believe we second-guess what we are experiencing. Whenever we are unhappy with our circumstances we forget that it is those experiences that bring us closer to enlightenment and universal intelligence. The extreme example of this is the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus had to go through that experience in order to realize his true self. According to the New Testament, he volunteered for that experience. Yet he suffered because he questioned God, saying “why have you forsaken me?” Whether this is a profound metaphor, a historical truth, or both, it is a good example of how we question God and suffer. Another biblical figure is the prime example of the wisdom of accepting our circumstances. You will find him in the Book of Job.

There is an old saying, “Success is getting what you want, and happiness is wanting what you get.” We need to start thinking that life is on our side, not against us. Real growth occurs when we lose something or don’t get something we really want. Then we have to go within to find true happiness. Derek says, “Dig one hole. Dig deep. Dig until you hit water. Then dive deep until you find pearls.” I would suggest that the pearls are the aspects of our higher selves, universal intelligence, or God. It is these pearls that we yearn for so desperately. It is this inner spelunking that removes the blocks that we complain about.