Donna Quesada: Yes, yes. You also talk about scheduling things in life that make us feel good.
And I loved this, and I think this is in one of your audiobooks. You know, we’re so busy, and we’re so goal oriented, and so achievement oriented…that I found this very intriguing, that we could schedule a time to feel good, or to have fun, or to maybe even feel peaceful. You know, we’re talking about things that work, that really work! And we forget to schedule a time for it. And it seems so counterintuitive because it feels like…well, the stuff I put on my list is the stuff that’s…that’s for work. You know, it’s this…we’re always doing, and doing, and doing. And so, it seems so antithetical to what we’re told to do, and I’m wondering if you can speak about this and why it’s so important to schedule stuff that’s fun?
Jonathan Robinson: Yeah, well you know, nowadays our culture, the CULTure we’re in, is focused on more money, more doings, and in order to counteract that, it’s good to make sure you schedule what’s really important to you. If what’s really important to you is connecting with your mate, well you don’t wanna give your mate your leftover time. You want to give them your scheduled time. Or, like…I’m really gonna be available for you during this time. Or, if we’re…if having a strong body is what’s important to you, you have to schedule it because now it is only scheduled things that get done consistently because there’s so many things coming at us… that if you don’t schedule it, it’s likely it won’t get done. I even schedule quality time with my dogs, you know. Because if I don’t, and I really love my dogs. If I don’t schedule that time…
DONNA: I’m a dog person! I get it. I’ve got two!
JONATHAN: If I don’t schedule that time, sometimes it won’t happen, so…I try to make my time in alignment with my actual priorities, rather than make work take over everything…which can happen, if you’re not careful.
DONNA: So, an example of scheduling something that’s good for us, would be anything…even having quality time with our mate, or with our dogs. And so,we’re talking about ways to make life more peaceful, more feel–good, to improve generally, the quality of our lives.
JONATHAN: Yeah, and here’s a great, simple way to improve your happiness level…to double it in one easy step, very easily. When you find yourself in a happy moment, a loving moment, a peaceful moment, try not to leave it so quickly.
DONNA: Because a lot of rushing…
JONATHAN: Yeah, a lot of the time, you think, oh, I gotta go do this…Well, hey…if your goal in life is to try and feel really good, next time you’re connecting with someone, don’t say, hey I have to do something else right now…hang out there for as long as you can, and that will help you to have more happiness and joy in your life.
DONNA: Beautiful. Thank you for that. Another big interest of mine, is intuition. And you know, as a Kundalini Yoga teacher, we have these meditations to increase intuition, and so, what I was reading…and I think this was in your book, called How to Align with Your Higher Self…or, maybe that was just an article.
JONATHAN: An article, yeah.
DONNA: An article, yes. You talk about intuition, so my lights…you know, all went bright and you talked about a game. How God plays the hot and cold game with us, and I thought, this is so different. I haven’t thought of this. And I’m wondering if you can explain this with some examples of how we can awaken our intuition by listening to those hot and cold signals from God.
JONATHAN: Yeah. So a lot of people find this really valuable.
DONNA: Yeah.
JONATHAN: You know, one way to get information about what to do in life, is through intuition, and I think that’s great. But sometimes you want also to listen to your life. And if you remember the hot and cold game you played as a kid…somebody takes a pen, they hide it somewhere, and you’re…as you get closer to the pen, they say, “you’re getting warmer.” “You’re getting cooler,” as you’re getting farther away. Well, I think God or the universe, is playing the hot and cold game with us. So, if you’re trying to make a living, doing something you love…if you’re at a job that you hate, and it’s boring, that’s the universe saying, “You’re freezing! ”You know, that means you’re supposed to go in another…a wrong…in a different direction because it feels bad. Feeling bad is a message that you’re getting cooler.
DONNA: I love that.
JONATHAN: And then…but there’s another way you can get messages…not just through your feelings, but through the results that you get. So, if you try to do some business and the day you open up the service, a hundred people call you, that’s the universe saying, “you’re red hot, keep going in that direction.” So, by taking small steps, the universe gives us feedback in our feelings and results we get. By listening to those hot and cooler messages, we can figure out where the target is. So, in my own life, I think I told you, I was a lousy psychotherapist. I didn’t like it…
DONNA: No, you didn’t say that!
JONATHAN: Oh, ok yeah. I can tell you, now. I was impatient. I found it boring, and and I didn’t have many clients. So, that’s the universe saying, “you’re getting cooler…do something else. ”Then I start writing books and I loved writing books. That’s the universe saying, “you’re getting warmer.” Then I ended up on Oprah several times. That’s the universe saying, “your red hot baby…keep going in that direction!” So…
DONNA: Confirmation!
JONATHAN: Yes…yes! So, by listening to the universe, we can keep on making turns to find where…where things feel good and we’re getting really good results. And you can also use intuition to help you in that process.
DONNA: You know this is a fascinating topic for me. My brain is lighting up all over the place. I want to ask a few things about this, just to sort of play devil’s advocate, you know, just…just to clarify my own intrigues and questions others might have as well, ‘cause this is fascinating. We’re constantly told well we’re hedonistic…we can’t be guiding our life based on what feels good. “We need to be disciplined,”you know? And so, how do you answer for that? Maybe we just need to be more disciplined and do the thing, anyway…because dog-gone-it, we’ve been trained to do this and I can’t quit the moment it stops being fun…because every job has the wanted and the unwanted. And so, we just got a plug, plug through!
JONATHAN: Yeah, that’s a good question. The goal isn’t that something always feel good, but I call it feeling right. So sometimes I’m writing something and it’s hard work, and I don’t necessarily like it, but it feels right that I’m writing this book, or it feels right that I’m doing this project. So it feels meaningful, let’s call it.
DONNA: Ahhh!
JONATHAN: That’s different than happy-joy-joy. It feels like this is what I’m supposed to be doing and that’s a message that I think is really important to follow because we have an epidemic…of lack of meaning in this culture. You know, people don’t feel aligned with any meaning and that creates depression and loneliness. So, when you find something that feels meaningful to you, then that’s a real message that you’re getting warmer, even if it’s hard to do.
DONNA: And how do we know the difference between that feeling and ego? Ego just lapping up the sensation of being rewarded or lapping up the sensation of it feels good. What does meaningful feel like? I know that’s an impossible question, maybe? It’s like trying to describe vanilla to someone who hasn’t tasted vanilla, maybe.
JONATHAN: Well that’s where intuition can be useful. You know, if you listen to yourself, and you ask yourself certain questions…I’m big on questions because questions, the right question can really help. Like,what feels right to me, in terms of work? Does this job, “A” job feel right, or does this “B” job feel right? And you listen for what your intuition’s saying; it will often guide you in the right direction. But the good news is, the universe is always giving us feedback. So, if you go wrong…if you go in the wrong direction long enough, it becomes incredibly clear. Have you ever done that, where you’re beating your head…you’re beating your head against a wall a little bit…I’m not sure if it’s a wall? But, if you do it for long enough, it really…that’s a wall! That really hurt!
DONNA: Yes. And I have gotten to a point where I do love to trust the way I feel, rather than…because our minds can take us on quite a ride…a wild ride. And all of these pros and cons lists are…really, the way I see it, all mental and so, sometimes to bypass that, we’ve got to go to the heart. And you know, the way our body feels when it feels right. And so, I think that’s what you’re talking about, you know, getting better or sharpening that perception of what it feels like in our body.
JONATHAN: Yes, yes…what it feels like in your body. And then, also, looking at work results you’re getting…because you might feel like it’s good in your body, but the results are consistently terrible. That’s a message that you should be doing something different. And a lot of spiritual people get so focused on how it feels in their body, that they don’t look to see what results am I getting? So, we need different pieces of information and that’s why I think it’s useful to have the intuition, and you listen to the hot and cold messages that you’re getting. Both together are like two wings of a plane. You know, if a plane only has one wing, it goes around in circles and then it crashes. But, if you have intuition and the ability to listen to the results that you’re getting, then you can really soar.
DONNA: And you also talk about combining intuition with action because some people have these grandiose ideas and it’s just not enough. This raises other questions too, that I find fascinating. And I don’t know how you feel about The Law of Attraction teachings, but a lot of people out there might be thinking that there’s too much emphasis on action. But yet, you’re saying that we need that, we need to sort of get to a place where we take action, and idea is not enough, by itself. Maybe that’s another example where one wing wouldn’t be enough; you need to take action, as well. So, are you saying that it’s not enough to just say let the universe deliver…I’m just gonna hold the intention?
JONATHAN: Right, right. Once again, the two wing analogy is really good because there are…there is something to The Law of Attraction that is one wing.
DONNA: I like The Law of Attraction teachings, so I ask with great interest!
JONATHAN: Yeah, yeah. No, that’s one valid wing and if you only have that wing, and you only hope that the universe plops a million dollars at your doorstep, then you’re gonna probably be disappointed. But, if you have that point of view that that way of looking at the world…and you’re willing to take action, then you really have two wings of a plane…that it’s gonna be stronger. So the key is to really be able to have both abilities and those people generally get a lot more done and have a lot more success.
DONNA: What do you think has been the most effective practice, in terms of getting to this point of awakening to our own intuition and awakening, so that we can bring these qualities to all aspects of our life…whether it’s our work, like we been talking about, or relationships—what you’ve written about quite a bit. How do we get to that point? What is the most effective tool of awakening that you found, at least from personal experience, and also with your clients?
JONATHAN: Mhmm. Well, I’m gonna give everybody one of those methods in just one minute. But you know, I have this podcast called Awareness Explorers where we interview people like Adyashanti or Rupert Spira…all these different teachers. And I’m always asking them that question, what’s the simplest, most…
DONNA: And let me just stop for one second, I’m sorry. Where can people find this podcast?
JONATHAN: It’s on iTunes…
DONNA: …iTunes…
JONATHAN: …or Google Play. They can also go to Awareness Explorers.com and get…it’s obviously free. So, I’m always asking teachers that question. And they always say, “This is the method…”And it’s always a different method. So, the best method is the one that works for you. So, I encourage people to try out 20 different methods, which they can get on our podcast, and then see which one works for them. So, why don’t I give you one right now, and see if that works for you?
DONNA: Please do!
JONATHAN: Ok! Now you can do this with your eyes open or closed. But…become aware of the sound of my voice. And that takes nothing to really hear the sound of my voice…no effort. Just kind of comes out of the field of silence. And you hear the words out of this field of silence that’s in the background. And then, become aware that you’re also seeing images. It might be that your eyes are closed, and still, you see light and dark. And once again, it just comes to you. Nothing you need to do. And there’s sensations that you’re aware of…sitting in a chair. Nothing you need to do. It just comes, and you feel this field of sensations, and sound, and images, all entering into your awareness. And not only are all these things happening, but you’re aware that they’re happening. So, see if you can become aware of the sounds, sensations, sights, and even thoughts, passing through this field of awareness…this witness that you are, that is always in the background. Before you judge it, or like it, or don’t like it, it’s just noticing. And even if your thoughts obscure it, become aware of your thoughts, and how they move through a field of awareness. And this eye of the storm, this awareness at the center is peaceful. It’s open, it’s relaxed, and it’s always there. And when you’re ready, you can come back and open your eyes, if they were closed to this movie in front of you.
DONNA: Well, what if I don’t want to come back!
JONATHAN: Ok! Well, you don’t have to. So that’s a simple method and there’s dozens of others. If that one doesn’t work well for you then you try something else.
Read and Watch Part I Here: Awakening Is Really A Shift In Identity, From Your Personality And Ego, To Pure Awareness.
Read and Watch Part III Here: Get To The Place Of Witness Consciousness.
