Do you ever feel like you’ve up-leveled to the point that you shouldn’t have to deal with pesky fear-based temptation? And then it comes up again… and again?
Understand that no matter how enlightened, no matter how evolved on the learning journey, no matter how aligned you become with the will of your soul, temptation will always be a part of your free will choice. As you say ‘no’ to the more obvious temptations, the platter of temptation will simply become more and more refined, more subtle to discern.
What is on the platter of temptation being served up in front of you in your current life? Another way of saying this is in what areas of your life are you settling for less than what you really want? I encourage you to be willing to look deeply.
Let me give you an example of the level of temptation I am currently facing in my own life. As a self-employed spiritual teacher, I have the ability to make my own work hours, yet I’ve struggled with finding the right balance of how many hours to work each week. Spirit has been urging me to complete several books. But when I focus solely on writing during the day, I will suddenly have clients calling me for late appointments, say from 8-11pm. If I give in to the temptation to do a session that late, I’ll be buzzing from all the Loving energies until at least 1 or 2am. If I don’t get enough sleep, I’ll feel tired and cranky the next day. Wanting to support my best interest, several years ago I set the intention to up-level to get plenty of sleep nightly. Just like in Dr. Suess’ Green Eggs and Ham, Spirit has been testing my resolve, “Would you, could you?” over and over again.
At first, I was able to handle the temptation to see late clients pretty easily by letting go of my external office space. Using my home as an office; it was a simple matter of saying, “Evening times are no longer available, as my family is home after 5pm.” But then tricky temptation came around with several new phone clients. I gave into temptation a few times, did a few late phone sessions, paid the price by feeling very tired and cranky the next day, and had to firm up my resolve to say ‘no’ next time.
I said no a few times, rescheduling those clients to daytime hours. Then the platter became even more tempting, “What about in this case? Would you, could you?” I now had several phone clients with young children saying, “The only time that will possibly work for me is after the children are asleep. Please can we do 8pm? I won’t be able to schedule with you otherwise.” When this occurs, the lingering dredges of my people-pleasing part of my personality whispers, “You have to say yes! It is your job to assist them,” while the voice of my soul simply reminds me that the only way I will be able to create the life and schedule of my dreams is if I refuse to settle in any way for less than what I truly desire.
I will admit, as of this writing I am still working on my willpower to say ‘no’ to working after 5pm altogether. I know I can do it, and I still occasionally experience my choices as challenging. I forgive myself!
I am a work-in-progress, just like everyone; we are all doing the best we can in every given moment. As long as we are in human form, we will all have some level of temptation testing us no matter where we are on our journey because we are all always evolving. The process of self-betterment never ends.
What I know from experience is that when I am truly ready for a better quality of life, I will refuse to settle in any way for less than what I truly desire. My readiness fuels my commitment to follow my soul’s guidance. Each time I achieve dominion over a certain temptation, I take another up-leveling in that area of my life. I know I can do it, and so can you.
Say, “Experiencing temptation is a normal part of the free will process. It’s Ok for me to be wherever I am in my current process of evolution.”
Many Blessings of Joy and Vibrant Freedom
Action Step ~ Accept temptation as a normal, on-going part of having free will choice, and be gentle with yourself as you learn how to handle the ‘would-you-could-you’s. Declaration: “My evolution is an on-going process. I will always face temptation each time I up-level in any area. I am now gentle with myself as I learn to accept my gift of free will. I now know that if I want to up-level, I must be ready to commit to following the voice of my soul.”
Additional Support: Listen to this 9-minute closed-eye process on the process of human evolution; please refrain from driving while listening.