THE HEART OF LOVE

We all have “stories” – something we repeat over and over to ourselves and often to others.

“I’m fat.” “I don’t like the way I look.” “I’ll never find the love mate I really want.” “I’m so tired of not having enough money.” “I’m struggling so hard to succeed.”

If you have repeated something like this to yourself at least 100 times, it’s your “story.” We all have them. But here’s the big question: How long do you want to stay buried in your story? Are you ready to transcend your story to higher ground?

You might think the answer is obvious. “Of course I want to transcend my story.” But we often put enormous energy into maintaining our story by rehearsing it repeatedly to ourselves as inner negative talk. And we often share the same story over and over again with others. That takes a lot of energy – energy that could be flowing to higher ground. So ask yourself, what percent of your energy are you using to rehearse your stories? And what percent of your energy are you using to rise above your stories?

We need to be open to transcending our story – even when there is no obvious evidence of the possibility of “success.” This takes faith. But it is actually spiritual wisdom – because “success” is often not what we think it is going to look like.

For example, we were each previously in marriages that ended in divorce. This didn’t look like “success” to either of us. Our “story” seemed rather clear. Neither of us was very successful in the area of marriage.

Yet rather than spiraling downwards in perpetual inner rehearsal of that “story,” each of us, before we even knew each other, began to move past this limiting “story” by opening our hearts to something higher. We didn’t have a clue what that might look like, but we did know that our “story” needed to be transcended. In that journey of transcendence, there was a lot of healing of our wounds as well.

So you might say our first step was to simply become open – to open our hearts that something good would unfold. And we did this without trying to outline how it should look. This is a powerful tool for transcending your story. The outcomes we so often and doggedly hold on to in our imagination are part of our limiting story. Of course you know how you would like things to work out. But there is a universal law that wants to bless you, operating as a power much broader and stronger than our stories. As you begin to move away from your story, the blessings of growth and healing begin as well.

Think of your story as a movie, with you in it. You may have been handed the script by your upbringing or some event, but you are free to walk away from that life script anytime – like right now! And you can choose a higher way of thinking, outside the script. Who would you be if you weren’t the person in the script?

The more we grow as an active observer of our story, watching how the story plays as ourselves, the more we are able to transcend our stories. The role of observer creates a gap between you and your story, allowing you to see that you are not your story. You are actually an observer!

The practice of surrender also moves us out of our stories. Surrender doesn’t mean, “I give up.” Surrender means we turn over our life to a higher power, to love. As Einstein said, “We cannot solve problems at the same level of awareness that created them.” Surrender creates a new level of awareness that moves us into heart and mind openings and away from our stories.

That’s what happened to us. We refused the script that “we are failures in love” or that “we may never find our ultimate love mate,” and this refusal opened us to Love’s infinite possibilities. An attitude of spiritual receptivity and openness led each us to participate in a love event that brought us together in a way that was far beyond our own planning.

That’s what you can expect as you open your heart to moving past your “story” or “stories” to higher fulfillment. You don’t have to know how it will occur or what the outcome is going to look like. In fact, that’s almost a given in spiritual transcendence. The delightful outcomes awaiting you are invisible to a limited vision stuck in a story.

You probably didn’t start the day thinking, “I’m going to move past my stories today and read the Peck’s column.” Yet here you are. Love is calling you higher without your own planning. Your openness brought you to this column and that openness will take you all the way. Welcome to the heart of love.

© 2006 Scott & Shannon Peck

Dr. Scott Peck and Shannon Peck are co-founders of TheLoveCenter, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to raising universal love awareness and awakening a world of Love Masters. This column is based on their new book, “Love Skills for Personal & Global Transformation: Secrets of a Love Master” available now at www.TheLoveCenter.com and in bookstores September, 2006.