Eternity and Stillness

    genesis Zhangsun: I am a little overwhelmed
    genesis Zhangsun: I made a very big decision today
    stevenaia Michinaga: I would love to hear
    genesis Zhangsun: I woke up this morning feeling completely still
    genesis Zhangsun: a feeling of complete eternity
    genesis Zhangsun: I then went to go take an important exam
    genesis Zhangsun: one that I thought was the most important thing in my whole life
    genesis Zhangsun: and in the middle of the exam
    genesis Zhangsun: in complete calm
    genesis Zhangsun: I walked out
    genesis Zhangsun: not out of fear
    genesis Zhangsun: but the opposite
    genesis Zhangsun: I found for the first time I was without fear
    genesis Zhangsun: in facing my path
    genesis Zhangsun: and realized
    genesis Zhangsun: that I had no love for what I was doing
    genesis Zhangsun: without fear driving me
    genesis Zhangsun: I walked out

The discussion takes a turn into the inner perceptions that cause us to be motivated to make a change. Distinctions are made between thinking and feeling, the mind and the heart.

    genesis Zhangsun: feeling something leaves a memory that you never forget
    genesis Zhangsun: ideas, information, words those things we forget
    genesis Zhangsun: but the things that tug at your heart or open your heart you never forget
    Sylectra Darwin: Genesis, would you say this is the connection of the heart, that helps us be more clear about what we           want?
    genesis Zhangsun: sorry oh yes Sylectra the heart doesn't lie
    genesis Zhangsun: I looked into my heart for two hours after I stopped the exam
    genesis Zhangsun: in the middle of over a thousand people typing feriously
    genesis Zhangsun: it felt like eternity
    genesis Zhangsun: to me it was
    Sylectra Darwin: A moment of clarity.
    genesis Zhangsun: and I let my heart speak to me
    genesis Zhangsun: in the middle of all that pressure
    genesis Zhangsun: so loud and clear
    genesis Zhangsun: I heard it
    genesis Zhangsun: I felt there was no other choice
    genesis Zhangsun: so I sat in a trance silent and in awe for two hours while others took the exam
    genesis Zhangsun: just smiling
    genesis Zhangsun: I felt so crazy
    genesis Zhangsun: :)
    Sylectra Darwin: smiles
    Sylectra Darwin: wonderful

     genesis Zhangsun: but I felt like it was being that made me sit there in the stillness with the decision
    stevenaia Michinaga: I was thinking about what you call courage, and was about to equate it to stillness, but you already     did
    genesis Zhangsun: :)
    Sylectra Darwin: How do courage and stillness relate?
    genesis Zhangsun: to be firm you must be still
    stevenaia Michinaga: the time to make a decision is in stillness, the refection of the action is courage
    stevenaia Michinaga: almost like the smoke trail of the decision
    stevenaia Michinaga: that is courage
    Sylectra Darwin: But where does the energy for change come from, after the moment of clarity?
    genesis Zhangsun: hard to say in a way which came first
    Sylectra Darwin: smiles
    genesis Zhangsun: it was the chorus
    genesis Zhangsun: it came from beyond me
    genesis Zhangsun: that is what I know
    genesis Zhangsun: because the easier thing for Gen to do would have been to keep going
    Sylectra Darwin: Is it a kind of encouragement? Or would you describe it as an urgent feeling?
    genesis Zhangsun: but something beyond just Gen held me down
    genesis Zhangsun: or maybe not down but with a strong grip
    genesis Zhangsun: both
    Sylectra Darwin: putting your feet to the fire, so to speak...
    genesis Zhangsun: I felt magnetized
    genesis Zhangsun: there was no where to go
    Sylectra Darwin: Would you all say that there is sort of a feeling of helplessness in the grip of such a force?
    stevenaia Michinaga: energy that comes from within is very powerful, usually bringing big smiles along with it
    Adelene Dawner is practicing keeping her beak shut and listening.
    genesis Zhangsun: yes helpless but in a pleasant way like a child with its mother
    genesis Zhangsun: helpless and nurtured at the same time
    Sylectra Darwin: Like a boat in a strong current?
    genesis Zhangsun: content to be helpless
    Sylectra Darwin: Like a lady in a couples dance.

This conversation had me wondering about the difference between surrendering and letting go, so I asked.

    Sylectra Darwin: This is in a way about surrender.
    stevenaia Michinaga: surrendering or letting go?
    Sylectra Darwin: Are they the same?
    stevenaia Michinaga: ...wonders
    Sylectra Darwin: I am thinking that letting go is something like making it okay to say goodbye to something which no             longer works in your life.
    stevenaia Michinaga: both decisions with the same result
    Sylectra Darwin: And that surrendering is more powerful...maybe it's about listening to Being and doing it without letting     the inner Editor stop you.
    genesis Zhangsun: i would take away the letting in letting go
    genesis Zhangsun: it was already going
    genesis Zhangsun: a long time ago
    Sylectra Darwin: smiles
    genesis Zhangsun: you just saw it
    Sylectra Darwin: laughs
    Sylectra Darwin: delightful.
    genesis Zhangsun: :)
    Sylectra Darwin: Maybe they are the same, and it's just semantics separating the two.