Margaret,
Thanks. Yes, the story you told from The Book of Mormon is just what I mean. Yes, there is a certain pleasure that comes for me with following cycling and basketball online, but something in me knows that behavior really isn't currently aligned with my "my highest good", and I need to give it away.
Incidentally, I am told that "repent" literally means "to turn around". The way I translate it is - to turn around and face whatever I am thinking or doing and see it for what it is, without blame or judgment. Just see it. I have also heard that the word "sin" translates to "miss the mark". When I turn and face these things that I'm doing in my life and recognize that I am somehow missing the mark, I have the opportunity to make a fresh course correction.
"Surrender" and "giving up" get a bad rap in this win at all costs culture of ours. But the more I am able to look through the lens of a larger (spiritual) context, the more it seems that I have a great deal to gain by letting go of the things that I think define me - thoughts, behaviors, possessions, and the like.
As I continue to dance with the Law of Attraction via Jack Canfield, Noah St. John, Joe Vitale, and the rest of the pantheon of money making manifesting maestros, the words of Jesus continually echo in my background thoughts - "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all else shall be given unto you." Hell yeah, I want to achieve my goals and improve my lot in life, but in many ways I previously felt like I was putting the cart before the horse. At the moment "giving up" feels like an appropriate course of action, the backward step that may naturally give rise to a truly authentic brand of progress.
Thanks for being willing to take me up on the invitation to action. I look forward to hearing what shows up for you.
Stevers
