phenomeNEWS - This Month's Article

Fruitful Limitations

by Rebbie Straubing

I seldom think about my limitations and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.

Helen Keller

When carefully considered, your most frustrating limitations can provide your most enriched awareness. When you reach your limits, you can diffuse no further. You have the opportunity to deepen in your simple moment.

It begins with a willingness to receive the hidden blessing. By standing openly at the edge of your current ability, you shine. Rather than railing against the cruelty of your conditions, you embrace the gift of being a finite vessel.

Celebrate Your Finite Nature

In a world of infinite possibilities, you come forth as a specific set of decisions. Everything about your human experience traces its roots to the specifics of your perspective, your unique perspective, your individual set of limits on the infinite.
If you cannot make enough money to pay the rent or if you cannot walk or cannot see, no matter where you encounter the borders of your finite nature, there you may find the richest pocket of your purse, the strongest power of your soul, the brightest colors of your heart.

The Paradox of Limitation

The paradox of limitation offers you freedom. Within your harsh encounter with the finite, there you access the infinite.

Mystics have known this from ancient times. Many voluntarily opt for these renunciations. They release all worldly possessions. They sit still with eyes closed. They impose on themselves the limitations we fear. Instead, they curse their restless legs, so able and so eager to distract them with travels. They offer their money to free themselves from its tyranny. They close their eyes to the world for the sake of inner vision.

How can you and I transmute our limitations? How can we turn our frustration into satisfaction? How can we transform our disabilities into strengths? How can we trade in our miseries for soul-satisfying moments?

All it requires is a pivot in our focus. Abraham* tells us to simply turn our attention from what is not wanted to what is wanted.

Then where will we place it? This is the art we are learning to master. Within the confines of our limitations, we are finding the nectar in each moment and flowing in its stream.

In order to do this, we must be able to sense the sweetness of pure consciousness independent of circumstances. We must cultivate our roots in the Divine as we live in the manifest world.

Try This. Here is a simple tool you can use to make sure you are in the process of transmuting your limitations into wisdom:

1.The Hug Test. If whatever you are focused on or talking about suddenly transformed into a person, would you want to hug that person?

2. The Food Test. If whatever you are focused on or talking about suddenly transformed into a food, would you want to eat that food?

If the answer is yes, you are in the process of manifesting magnificent moments. If the answer is no, you have caught yourself in the act of perpetuating your frustration.
Once you begin passing these tests on a more regular basis, the words you speak become like a mantra. They encode you with joy. The life you live becomes a trail of light. It no longer matters if you are rich or poor, but you may find more money flying towards you. Your physical condition no longer defines your ability, but you may find yourself exceeding your own expectations.

I invite you to step into the infinite depth of love that you are so that your finite expressions, your limitations themselves, become your work of art.

Dr. Rebbie Straubing is author of “Rooted in the Infinite: The Yoga of Alignment.” You can instantly download the beginning of the book at http://RootedintheInfinite.com. Rebbie is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach and spiritual writer. Her free e-course, “7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart’s Desire”, is available at www.YOFA.net. Her meditation recordings are available at www.affirmativecontemplation.com