Willingness to Do What Life Gives/Requires
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Take Care of the Current Work & Life Responds
When an individual takes care of his current work, does what needs to be done, and doesn't focus on what he wants, life will bring him what is aspired for on its own. (MSS)

Do One's Duty & Life Will Respond
When Man does his duty, Life does its duty of responding. (MSS)

Accepting Conditions of Life Attracts Response from Life
Moving from reluctance to acceptance, or even from indifference to accepting the conditions that life has put before you has a great tendency to attract sudden and abundant positive response from life.

Taking Up What You Were Reluctant To Do Exceeds It

It is repeatedly astonishing that when you take up what you were reluctant to do, that the original expectation is far exceeded. E.g. The work gets done in far less time, or there is far less to do, or it was much easier than you thoughts, etc. Our fear makes us completely ignorant of the future truth, which freezes us to inaction in the present. By giving up the fear or reluctance, when we shed the false view, there is created a new unfolding in time.

Living in the Present
Living in the present, you will tend to preoccupy yourself and fulfill the demands of the the work required of the present, not be preoccupied by past influences of future desires. Taking such a tact tends to attract positive conditions from life.

Absorbed in Present is To Be in Tune with Flow of Life
To be absorbed in the current work is to be in tune with the flow of events, of the unfolding of life. Positive conditions will tend to issue from such an approach.

Being Absorbed in the Present Succeeds
One significant point any one of us can fully appreciate is when we are ABSORBED in the present - forgetting the past and never calculating the future - the work becomes a glorious success and gets done to perfection. (MSS)

The Power of Now in Work

Here are several thoughts on how to bring the Power of Now to our daily work.

-Focus on the work before you, not something else you want to do, or resorting to indolence. This the key starting point.

-Focus completely on the present, without thought of past or future.

-Patiently do that work, with no apprehension, tension, and demand.

-Do the current work as carefully and perfectly as possible. Fully absorb yourself in trying to reach that perfection. This is another key.

-Consecrate the work to bring life’s conditions under control.

-Move to the depths and feel the silence and timelessness, and work from that poise. Meditation or concentration can support that effort.

-As a result of living in the depths over time, you will have intuitions of the past influence on the present, and intimations of where the present is going in the future. You will thus know at each point what to do in the present.

-Maintain fully positive attitudes at each point.

 -Be cheerful throughout.

-The goal is to create the greatest Efficiency in the work -- i.e. the greatest results with the least effort in the shortest period of time.

-In the peace and demands of the Now, we can create ultimate perfection.

-It will be accompanied by breakouts of sudden good fortune – i.e. Life Response.

Accepting the Given
If you accept and work with the reality and given at any moment, you enable positive response (of improvement over the given) in the next round.

The Road to Hana
In Hawaii there is a place that has captured the imagination of adventurers, tourists, and lovers alike. It is the mysterious island of Maui. While many come to vacation, snorkel, golf, and wander its endless palm-lined beaches, others come to have an experience in nature that will be moving -- perhaps even enlightening.

But where would one find such a place on this allegedly enchanted island? Probably not in the big, luxurious hotels lining the shoreline of Lahaina; nor the exceedingly wealthy gated communities on the gently sloping hills overlooking the spectacular beaches of Wailea.  Rather one tends to look up to the two great volcanoes on the west and east sides of the island that soar majestically 10,000 feet above the sea -- often covered by a mysterious fog that lures one to the top where the cones and crags puncture an impossibly blue sky.

In my case, something else had that effect; or rather seemed to have that effect on others. It is an area on the northeast side of the island, hugging the shoreline, and just below the towering volcano of Haleakala. There resides a spectacular tropical forest of unfathomable beauty. It is not however the usual type of rainforest -- hidden in some deep valley; shrouded in mist, moisture, and mystery. Rather it is located astride the coastline -- on the hillside and mountains overlooking the stunning Maui shore. What makes it particularly interesting for the first time visitor is that you traverse this tropical wonderland via a one-lane byway known as “The Road to Hana.”

As you drive this mountain highway, you pass through 30 miles of what can only be described as the world’s largest and most magnificent plant store. An astonishing array of tropical plants, flowers, and trees pass by as you traverse the steep, winding road on the slopes of an impossibly beautiful shoreline. As you make your way through the sun-dappled region, navigating the 50+ hairpin turns, on a road that is often a single lane shared with oncoming traffic (!), you feel as if you have arrived at Eden -- to a real, not a mythical paradise on earth.

And yet despite the 1 to 2000 cars that navigate the difficult-to-travel road on any given day, you are enthralled by the green landscapes, the endless cascading waterfalls -- not to mention a spectacular 1/4-mile arboretum with plants, flowers, and trees so beautiful, strange, and mystical-like that you want to cry.

The Road to Hana is a journey through the physical beauty of life -- a tour de force, magical place dreamed up by some God-like artisan. In addition to the enjoyment of the ride, there is the added promise that you will find something special when you arrive at the mysterious town the road is named after. You imagine a village of artists, poets, and seekers of the New; an ideal world, of happy, contented individuals, expressing themselves through their strange and beautiful art, or musing on the nature of life in the cosmos.

However, when you finally arrive at Hana after a grueling 2-3 hour drive, you see that there is hardly anything to be found. There are a few buildings, a few shops -- even a few places to lodge; but that is all. Sure, the hillsides are dotted with spectacular homes tucked away in coastal forests overlooking the ocean, but what you find in Hana is a little underwhelming, despite the promise of its namesake road. How odd, I thought at the time, that after this thrilling but arduous journey, so little was to be found.

And yet, there was no point in dwelling on misgivings, since there was still much to see. In particular, I was eager to drive on beyond Hana, and traverse the eastern side of the island below the great Haleakala volcano. My goal was to work my way all the way around the eastern side of the island to the southern town of Kihei where I was lodging. Though I began that effort with enthusiasm, after 10 miles I came to a sign indicating that that the road ahead was closed. Undeterred by the marker -- which I rationalized as likely being out of date -- I forged ahead. After all, I was certainly not ready to go back and navigate 50 hairpin turns, impossibly difficult one-way roads, potholes filled with rainwater, and gawking, camera-toting tourists looking for beautiful shots of road-hugging waterfalls. And so I plowed ahead, seeking my next adventure.

Unfortunately, after several more miles, I came upon yet another sign indicating the same thing: that the road ahead was blocked. Pursing my lips, and letting out a sigh, I now realized that my vision of driving around the deserted part of the island below the Great Volcano for 20 miles on a dirt road crossing virgin, untrammeled, hardly-navigated and inhabited spectacular scenery would have to wait for another day.

And so now I was forced to contemplate the journey back to Hana and then further on back to civilization. It was not the happiest of thoughts, considering my physical exhaustion and my frayed nerves. However, after grumbling about the situation for a minute, I gathered myself, took a deep breath, and accepted my fate. I then shifted my orientation inward, and psychologically prepared myself for the grueling 3-hour return drive. And so I got into my car and joined the foray of vehicles that were returning to the populated areas of the island.

Then something very unexpected happened. Instead of being in a slow procession of vehicles working their way along a difficult to navigate 1-lane road, I found myself in a small caravan of cars that was moving quite swiftly! “What was this,” I thought, as I sped along at the tail end of a 10-car procession that were moving at perhaps 4 or 5 time the speed I arrived at. How was this possible?

As I revisited the same winding road traversing gorgeous rainforests above spectacular seashores, I perceived several things going on. First, I saw that there were hardly any cars coming from the opposite direction. Second -- and this was particularly striking – I did not have to concentrate intently while I was driving. All I had to do was watch the one car ahead of me, follow behind in tight formation, and I would be swiftly swept along with the pack!

I then realized that I would now make my way across the road in less than an hour, instead of the expected 2-3 hours. As I whizzed by familiar landscapes, I was utterly dumbfounded by this change in circumstance. However, soon after I understood what this was all about. It was simply life responding to my change in attitude. I.e., the moment I accepted in full that I would not be able to drive around the island, and would instead have to turn back, life cooperated from all quarters. When I shifted my attitude from reluctance to acceptance, and embraced the given that life had put before me, everything began to go well for me, as I was whisked across that landscape at the tail end of a swift-moving caravan!

In the end, the Road to Hana really was a profound experience for me -- even if it did not unfold as I expected. In fact, that lovely afternoon turned out to be not only an exhilarating outer experience, but an enlightening inner one as well. Outwardly, I was captured and enthralled by the physical beauty of a once in a lifetime locale. Inwardly, I was reminded once again of the vast power we have within ourselves to alter the conditions of life around us. In that way, The Road to Hana revealed several of its hidden mysteries to me -- providing another extraordinary moment on an unforgettable, once in a lifetime trip.

Utility of the Past
Use the past as a spring-board to leap towards the future. (The Mother)

Moving Out of Time
By not thinking of the past or future, one comes out of Time. (MSS)

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When a man does a wrong in a situation you are involved in, and you -- don't complain, work with what you have, and do what is required of that moment, -- the man will return with what is right.

Also See thoughts on Living in the Present Moment, the Eternal Now

Overcoming Reluctance; Not Listening
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The Attitude of Reluctance and Life Response
Whenever you overcome a negative attitude life will respond with the onset of good fortune. One common type of wanting attitude is our reluctance to accept something. If we shift from that reluctance to fully embrace the thing, sudden good fortune will surely come our way.

Reluctance and Attitudes
A reluctance indicates a bad attitude.

Examples of Overcoming Reluctance
When you overcome your reluctance -- itself an indicator of a reversal from a bad attitude -- life has an astonishing way of quickly responding with sudden good fortune. Here are some examples:

-A trainer was reluctant to review a series of complex training materials. Moreover, his schedule was so full that he was wondering how he would have the energy to go through them and do his training as well. He decided to overcome his reluctance, and went through the materials. As he finished the last changes, his telephone rang, and he heard the voice of his training manager, notifying him that a couple of his classes had been rescheduled, making it unnecessary to go through one of the complex set of training materials he was about to go through next, thus relieving his anxiety and tension.

The effort by the trainer to do something he was reluctant to do helped trigger a life response that helped ease his situation.

-An individual was studying the cause of the phenomenon of life response. Reading fiction as a way to learn about the varieties of ways in which life response occurs is suggested. He says at one point that he doesn't usually read fiction, thus he is unconsciously shutting himself from the understandings of life response that could come from such works of fiction. So he reverses himself and shows interest in a work of fiction that can help him understand life response. He reads over one hundred pages of a suggested novel that could be useful for this topic. Along the way he notices that he hasn't the deeper insight to derive great understanding from the novel. The next day he receives unsolicited from an associate an email with a very detailed line by line(!) explanation of life response in the book.

He has understood that by making the effort to overcome a reluctance he miraculously received all the insight he sought o know on his own.

-"One of the nurses upstairs called for a chart. The computer showed that the chart was still upstairs. This meant that I had to go upstairs to look all over the place for the chart, which is something I don't usually do and get frustrated when I do it. Well, this time I resigned myself to going upstairs to search for this chart. As I was going out the door from my department, there was a cart there holding several charts. I turned the first one over and it was the chart I was just about to go find!!!"

She overcame a reluctance, a limiting attitude, and a limiting habit all in one stroke to enable this wonderful response from life. 

Doing What Was Reluctant to Do Encounters Unexpected Ease and Good Fortune
How often we have seen the phenomenon where a person was reluctant to do a large work, then he changed and took it up, and found somewhere at some point in the work that the remaining part of the work was suddenly and surprisingly easy to do, or nearly completed, or confronted similar good fortune. It makes one see that there is never a reason to fear what one fears doing.

Taking Up What You Were Reluctant To Do

It is repeatedly amazing that when you take up what you were reluctant to do, that the original expectation gets shattered. E.g. The work gets done in far less time, or there is far less to do, or it was much easier than you thoughts, etc. Our fear makes us completely ignorant of the future truth, which freezes us to inaction in the present. By giving up the fear or reluctance, when we shed the false view, there is created a new unfolding in time.

Life Response Multiplier Effect from Overcoming Reluctance
If you take up an area you were hesitant to address before, life will respond by giving you a benefit in a related area from seemingly out of nowhere. If you then take up this life response benefit, another response will come, likewise in areas related to the original area and its response, again from seemingly out of nowhere.